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The Beatles, The National, the Coens and Jim Jarmusch for this year’s BFI London Film Festival

Michael Bonner
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The Beatles, The National, the Coens and Jim Jarmusch for this year’s BFI London Film Festival

The line-up has just been announced for this year’s London Film Festival, and it looks like pretty good – with new films from the Coens (yes, it’s that one), Jim Jarmusch, Alexander Payne, Steve McQueen, Jonathan Glazer and Richard Ayoade at the top of our must see list. It’s worth, too, flagging up this year’s particularly rich selection of music documentaries, including Good O’ Freda, Ryan White’s documentary on Beatles secretary Freda Kelly, Tom Berninger’s National film Mistaken For Strangers, and Sini Anderson’s film about Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKYMHhMeexU Of the big hitters, the films I’ll be queuing down the front to see include Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity, Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave, the Coen Brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis, Alexander Payne's Nebraska and Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUQNjfhlREk Those aside, I’m fascinated to see Frank Pavich’s documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune, which explores Alejandro Jodorowsky’s doomed attempt to adapt and film Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel in the mid 1970’s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-oBEGF7uwE You can find a full list of what’s on – and when – over here. See you in the queue for popcorn… The 2013 BFI London Film Festival runs from October 9 to October 20. Tickets will go on sale to the public on September 20. Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner.

The line-up has just been announced for this year’s London Film Festival, and it looks like pretty good – with new films from the Coens (yes, it’s that one), Jim Jarmusch, Alexander Payne, Steve McQueen, Jonathan Glazer and Richard Ayoade at the top of our must see list.

It’s worth, too, flagging up this year’s particularly rich selection of music documentaries, including Good O’ Freda, Ryan White’s documentary on Beatles secretary Freda Kelly, Tom Berninger’s National film Mistaken For Strangers, and Sini Anderson’s film about Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKYMHhMeexU

Of the big hitters, the films I’ll be queuing down the front to see include Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity, Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave, the Coen Brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis, Alexander Payne’s Nebraska and Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive.

Those aside, I’m fascinated to see Frank Pavich’s documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune, which explores Alejandro Jodorowsky’s doomed attempt to adapt and film Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel in the mid 1970’s.

You can find a full list of what’s on – and when – over here. See you in the queue for popcorn…

The 2013 BFI London Film Festival runs from October 9 to October 20. Tickets will go on sale to the public on September 20.

Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner.

Arcade Fire to release new single next week?

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Arcade Fire to release new single next week?

Australian radio DJ Richard Kingsmill has revealed in a Tweet that a new Arcade Fire single will be available on September 9 at 9pm EST. Rolling Stone report that the band's American label, Merge, has confirmed to the magazine that something connected to the band is due to happen on that date and time. This is the latest twist in the band's campaign for their fourth album, believed to be called Reflektor. At the start of August, graffiti images incorporating the word 'reflektor' appeared in a number of cities. Shortly after, the band confirmed their connection to the graffiti. Meanwhile, the band have recently announced they will score Spike Jonze latest film, Her. The band have also confirmed live dates for early 2014.

Australian radio DJ Richard Kingsmill has revealed in a Tweet that a new Arcade Fire single will be available on September 9 at 9pm EST.

Rolling Stone report that the band’s American label, Merge, has confirmed to the magazine that something connected to the band is due to happen on that date and time.

This is the latest twist in the band’s campaign for their fourth album, believed to be called Reflektor.

At the start of August, graffiti images incorporating the word ‘reflektor’ appeared in a number of cities. Shortly after, the band confirmed their connection to the graffiti.

Meanwhile, the band have recently announced they will score Spike Jonze latest film, Her.

The band have also confirmed live dates for early 2014.

Flats in Beatles’ former Apple Records offices sold for £10.2m

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Flats in Beatles’ former Apple Records offices sold for £10.2m

Five flats on London's Baker Street in what used to be offices belonging to Apple Records have been sold for £10.2 million. The Apple Apartments, which will be available to rent by the end of the year for between £750 and £1,150 a week, were restored by developer The Malins Group and sold to Middle Eastern investors after just four weeks on the market. London's Evening Standard reports that the flats have a "contemporary design and a splash of Sixties pop culture" and are described by developers as "the ultimate slice of memorabilia". A blue plaque on the exterior of the building marks the link to John Lennon and George Harrison. Last month (August) it was reported that The Beatles will release a second volume of recordings from their sessions at the BBC. A new collection featuring previously unreleased songs from the Fab Four's sessions with BBC radio in the mid-'60s is set to be released: a follow-up to their 1994 compilation 'Live At The BBC'. Plans for the new set of recordings were revealed by a Beatles fansite which spotted a Facebook page from MCA Music in the Philippines, which is part of Universal Music, promising the new collection was on its way. The claims have not yet been confirmed by either The Beatles' official website or by Universal's representatives in the UK or US. Photo: Apple Films Ltd

Five flats on London’s Baker Street in what used to be offices belonging to Apple Records have been sold for £10.2 million.

The Apple Apartments, which will be available to rent by the end of the year for between £750 and £1,150 a week, were restored by developer The Malins Group and sold to Middle Eastern investors after just four weeks on the market. London’s Evening Standard reports that the flats have a “contemporary design and a splash of Sixties pop culture” and are described by developers as “the ultimate slice of memorabilia”. A blue plaque on the exterior of the building marks the link to John Lennon and George Harrison.

Last month (August) it was reported that The Beatles will release a second volume of recordings from their sessions at the BBC. A new collection featuring previously unreleased songs from the Fab Four’s sessions with BBC radio in the mid-’60s is set to be released: a follow-up to their 1994 compilation ‘Live At The BBC’.

Plans for the new set of recordings were revealed by a Beatles fansite which spotted a Facebook page from MCA Music in the Philippines, which is part of Universal Music, promising the new collection was on its way. The claims have not yet been confirmed by either The Beatles’ official website or by Universal’s representatives in the UK or US.

Photo: Apple Films Ltd

Arctic Monkeys stream new album ahead of official release

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Arctic Monkeys stream new album ahead of official release
Arctic Monkeys are streaming their forthcoming album AM online. The album, which is released on September 9, is now available to listen to via iTunes. The band's fifth studio album features guests including Josh Homme and former member of The Coral, Bill Ryder-Jones. See below for a full tracklist...

Arctic Monkeys are streaming their forthcoming album AM online.

The album, which is released on September 9, is now available to listen to via iTunes.

The band’s fifth studio album features guests including Josh Homme and former member of The Coral, Bill Ryder-Jones. See below for a full tracklisting.

The ‘AM’ tracklisting is:

‘Do I Wanna Know?’

‘R U Mine?’

‘One for the Road’

‘Arabella’

‘I Want It All’

‘No.1 Party Anthem’

‘Mad Sounds’

‘Fireside’

‘Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?’

‘Snap Out of I’

‘Knee Socks’

‘I Wanna Be Yours’

The 32nd Uncut Playlist Of 2013

John Mulvey
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The 32nd Uncut Playlist Of 2013

As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, a big backlog of music to work through here. And while I try and offer some fractionally different recommendations away from the usual media pile-ons (Oh look, Haim etc), this Janelle Monáe album is terrific and I totally recommend having a listen on The Guardian’s stream: very much in the zone of “The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill” (especially “Victory”). Elsewhere, those of you who’ve been worried about some kind of Black Keys-style streamlining of White Denim can relax: “Corsicana Lemonade” has plenty of the progressive garage-choogle, or whatever, as requested. Also sounding especially good on first listen: the new Cian Nugent and Chris Forsyth full band sets; Carlton Melton’s “Always Even”; and a business-as-usual outtake from the last Date Palms album. More as I get it/listen to it a second/third/fourth/etc time… Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnRMulvey 1 White Denim – Corsicana Lemonade (Downtown) 2 Giorgio Moroder – E=MC2 (Repertoire) 3 Date Palms – Sky Trails (Thrill Jockey) 4 Cian Nugent & The Cosmos – Born With The Caul (No Quarter) 5 Blitzen Trapper – VII (Lojinx) 6 Lonnie Holley – Six Space Shuttles And 144,00 Elephants (Dust-To-Digital) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UKGmCMBP9E 7 Chris Forsyth – Solar Motel (Paradise Of Bachelors) 8 Matthew E White – Outer Face EP (Domino) 9 Various Artists – I Am The Center: Private Issue New Age Music In America 1950-1990 (Light In The Attic) 10 Carlton Melton – Always Even (Agitated) 11 The Dirtbombs – Ooey Gooey Chewy Ka-Blooey! (In The Red) 12 Damon – Song Of A Gypsy (Now Again) 13 Lee Ranaldo & The Dust – Last Night On Earth (Matador) 14 Euros Childs – Situation Comedy (National Elf) 15 The Celebrate Music Synthesizer Group - Warung Mini (Drag City) 16 Israel Nash Gripka - Israel Nash’s Rain Plains (Loose) 17 Dino Valente – Dino Valente (Tompkins Square) 18 The Grateful Dead – Sunshine Daydream (Rhino) 19 Janelle Monáe – Electric Lady (Atlantic) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEddixS-UoU

As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, a big backlog of music to work through here. And while I try and offer some fractionally different recommendations away from the usual media pile-ons (Oh look, Haim etc), this Janelle Monáe album is terrific and I totally recommend having a listen on The Guardian’s stream: very much in the zone of “The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill” (especially “Victory”).

Elsewhere, those of you who’ve been worried about some kind of Black Keys-style streamlining of White Denim can relax: “Corsicana Lemonade” has plenty of the progressive garage-choogle, or whatever, as requested. Also sounding especially good on first listen: the new Cian Nugent and Chris Forsyth full band sets; Carlton Melton’s “Always Even”; and a business-as-usual outtake from the last Date Palms album. More as I get it/listen to it a second/third/fourth/etc time…

Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnRMulvey

1 White Denim – Corsicana Lemonade (Downtown)

2 Giorgio Moroder – E=MC2 (Repertoire)

3 Date Palms – Sky Trails (Thrill Jockey)

4 Cian Nugent & The Cosmos – Born With The Caul (No Quarter)

5 Blitzen Trapper – VII (Lojinx)

6 Lonnie Holley – Six Space Shuttles And 144,00 Elephants (Dust-To-Digital)

7 Chris Forsyth – Solar Motel (Paradise Of Bachelors)

8 Matthew E White – Outer Face EP (Domino)

9 Various Artists – I Am The Center: Private Issue New Age Music In America 1950-1990 (Light In The Attic)

10 Carlton Melton – Always Even (Agitated)

11 The Dirtbombs – Ooey Gooey Chewy Ka-Blooey! (In The Red)

12 Damon – Song Of A Gypsy (Now Again)

13 Lee Ranaldo & The Dust – Last Night On Earth (Matador)

14 Euros Childs – Situation Comedy (National Elf)

15 The Celebrate Music Synthesizer Group – Warung Mini (Drag City)

16 Israel Nash Gripka – Israel Nash’s Rain Plains (Loose)

17 Dino Valente – Dino Valente (Tompkins Square)

18 The Grateful Dead – Sunshine Daydream (Rhino)

19 Janelle Monáe – Electric Lady (Atlantic)

End Of The Road, Matthew E White, the New Age revival, some other stuff…

John Mulvey
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End Of The Road, Matthew E White, the New Age revival, some other stuff…

I guess there are probably worse jobs to return to after a fortnight’s holiday. I arrived back in the Uncut office yesterday to be greeted by a big pile of new releases, which I’m still picking my way through. Currently playing: Track Two of Damon’s reissued “Song Of A Gypsy” – “Generally regarded,” it says here in the press release, “as one of the finest privately-pressed psychedelic rock records” of the late ‘60s. We shall see. It’s been easy to be distracted these past 24 hours by reissues of records that were barely released in the first place: a big chunk of yesterday afternoon was consumed by a beatific comp titled “I Am The Center: Private Issue New Age In America, 1950-1990”. Some vintage New Age music is being deservedly reassessed at the moment, as you might have divined from the Rediscovered! review of Iasos in the current Uncut. Also waiting for me in my inbox yesterday was an interview for next month’s mag with sometime Eno collaborator, the spiritually elevated Laraaji. Laraaji, I learn, is “currently learning the didgeridoo and has a sideline in laughter workshops”. His lovely music never worked well in clubs, apparently, because it “would put people into trance states. And people in a trance don’t buy drinks.” Laraaji also talks about sharing Eno’s ideas about ambient music: “It’s music that you can just be in – it doesn’t require you to think.” Which is probably why it’s so useful to have on while you’re working. Of course, that’s not always what we require from music, and maybe a few of the new records which have turned up while I’ve been away – White Denim’s “Corsicana Lemonade, Lee Ranaldo & The Dust’s “Last Night On Earth”, new jams from Chris Forsyth and Cian Nugent, plenty more stuff I haven’t had time to play yet – are rather more arresting. I’ll write about these some more in a playlist blog in the next day or two, and include a few things for you all to hear. But in the meantime, this is incredible, I think: the lead track from Matthew E White’s new “Outer Face” EP. It’s called “Hot, Hot, Hot” and it sounds extremely roughly like how “Gris Gris” might have worked out if it had been produced by the Tropicalia scene’s maestro of orchestration and sound collage, Rogério Duprat. White was, by all accounts, one of the highlights of the End Of The Road festival last weekend, which Uncut was proudly involved with this year. Tom was there blogging, among other things, throughout the weekend, and you can read his reports on Belle & Sebastian, Eels , David Byrne & St Vincent and plenty more here. And if you fancy telling us your highlights of the festival – or indeed want to talk about anything – I’m happy to announce that, this morning, we opened a new comments system on all our blogs (There’s no need to use Facebook to talk to us any more, if you’re averse to that sort of thing). Don’t be a stranger; or, as it kept reiterating on all those Deadline Day liveblogs I wasted half of yesterday reading, GET INVOLVED! Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnRMulvey Photograph: Pieter M Van Hattem

I guess there are probably worse jobs to return to after a fortnight’s holiday. I arrived back in the Uncut office yesterday to be greeted by a big pile of new releases, which I’m still picking my way through. Currently playing: Track Two of Damon’s reissued “Song Of A Gypsy” – “Generally regarded,” it says here in the press release, “as one of the finest privately-pressed psychedelic rock records” of the late ‘60s. We shall see.

It’s been easy to be distracted these past 24 hours by reissues of records that were barely released in the first place: a big chunk of yesterday afternoon was consumed by a beatific comp titled “I Am The Center: Private Issue New Age In America, 1950-1990”. Some vintage New Age music is being deservedly reassessed at the moment, as you might have divined from the Rediscovered! review of Iasos in the current Uncut.

Also waiting for me in my inbox yesterday was an interview for next month’s mag with sometime Eno collaborator, the spiritually elevated Laraaji. Laraaji, I learn, is “currently learning the didgeridoo and has a sideline in laughter workshops”. His lovely music never worked well in clubs, apparently, because it “would put people into trance states. And people in a trance don’t buy drinks.”

Laraaji also talks about sharing Eno’s ideas about ambient music: “It’s music that you can just be in – it doesn’t require you to think.” Which is probably why it’s so useful to have on while you’re working. Of course, that’s not always what we require from music, and maybe a few of the new records which have turned up while I’ve been away – White Denim’s “Corsicana Lemonade, Lee Ranaldo & The Dust’s “Last Night On Earth”, new jams from Chris Forsyth and Cian Nugent, plenty more stuff I haven’t had time to play yet – are rather more arresting.

I’ll write about these some more in a playlist blog in the next day or two, and include a few things for you all to hear. But in the meantime, this is incredible, I think: the lead track from Matthew E White’s new “Outer Face” EP. It’s called “Hot, Hot, Hot” and it sounds extremely roughly like how “Gris Gris” might have worked out if it had been produced by the Tropicalia scene’s maestro of orchestration and sound collage, Rogério Duprat.

White was, by all accounts, one of the highlights of the End Of The Road festival last weekend, which Uncut was proudly involved with this year. Tom was there blogging, among other things, throughout the weekend, and you can read his reports on Belle & Sebastian, Eels , David Byrne & St Vincent and plenty more here.

And if you fancy telling us your highlights of the festival – or indeed want to talk about anything – I’m happy to announce that, this morning, we opened a new comments system on all our blogs (There’s no need to use Facebook to talk to us any more, if you’re averse to that sort of thing). Don’t be a stranger; or, as it kept reiterating on all those Deadline Day liveblogs I wasted half of yesterday reading, GET INVOLVED!

Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnRMulvey

Photograph: Pieter M Van Hattem

Pixies release brand new four-track EP and video – watch

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Pixies release brand new four-track EP and video – watch
Pixies have released a brand new EP and video today (September 3). The four-track EP, titled EP-1, was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales and was produced by Gil Norton, who also helmed previous Pixies releases Dolittle (1989), Bossanova (1990) and Trompe Le Monde (1991). Also released today i...

Pixies have released a brand new EP and video today (September 3).

The four-track EP, titled EP-1, was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales and was produced by Gil Norton, who also helmed previous Pixies releases Dolittle (1989), Bossanova (1990) and Trompe Le Monde (1991). Also released today is the first video from the EP, for the track “Indie Cindy”, which you can watch below.

The trackslisting for ‘EP-1’ is as follows:

‘Andro Queen’

‘Another Toe In The Ocean’

‘Indie Cindy’

‘What Goes Boom’

Last month (August 16), Frank Black teased the new material by posting a Vine which appeared to show him singing along to a new song. The clip followed the release of their comeback single ‘Bagboy’ in June.

Pixies recently announced four UK and Ireland dates this November (2013) as part of the first leg of a “massive world tour”. They’ll be joined on the tour by new bassist Kim Shattuck, who previously played with The Muffs and The Pandoras. Original bass player Kim Deal confirmed she was leaving the band in June.

The new Pixies line-up will play Dublin’s Olympia on November 18, before crossing the Irish Sea for gigs at Manchester Apollo on November 21, Glasgow’s Barrowland on November 22 and London’s Hammersmith Apollo on November 24 and 25.

Pixies will play:

Dublin Olympia (November 18)

Manchester Apollo (21)

Glasgow Barrowland (22)

London Hammersmith Apollo (24, 25)

David Crosby reveals new album details on Twitter

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David Crosby reveals new album details on Twitter
David Crosby has revealed details of his forthcoming album on Twitter. Crosby - who's been providing regular Twitter updates about the album over the last few months - confirmed last night [September 2] the album title and release date, as well as provided more information about the guest musicians...

David Crosby has revealed details of his forthcoming album on Twitter.

Crosby – who’s been providing regular Twitter updates about the album over the last few months – confirmed last night [September 2] the album title and release date, as well as provided more information about the guest musicians who’ve played on it.

In the first Tweet, Crosby wrote: “OK I think it is done ….a brand new David Crosby record…..11 tracks …all new ….I love it ….”

He followed it up by naming the album “Dangerous Night… we finished mixing it tonight… myself… Son James… and friend Dan Garcia….not like anything else”

“Can’t wait to play this live which I should be able to do in Feb. Or March… mostly just can’t wait for you to hear it”

“Probably going to piss off the government again… one of the songs ‘Morning Falling‘ is about a drone strike”

“Most of the others are about life and love… but just as usual…strange and hopefully beautiful”

“I think it will come out in Jan. probably sell at least 18 copies….”

“Players… James Raymond, Marcus Eaton, Steve DiStanislao, Kevin McCormick, Shane Fontayne, Lee Sklar, Steve Tavaglione, Wynton Marsalis”

David Bowie live comeback hit by “stage fright”

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David Bowie live comeback hit by “stage fright”

According to a report in London's Evening Standard last night [September 2], David Bowie is reluctant to make his long-awaited live comeback because he is experiencing nerves over the prospect of returning to the stage. Earlier in the day, representatives working for Bowie have said the singer still has "no current plans" to perform live following reports he has been offered a multi-million pound deal to play in London next year. Live Nation reportedly offered Bowie a lucrative deal to play live at the Olympic Park in East London in 2014. The tabloid reports that the company has close links with Bowie’s tour agent John Giddings and are confident of securing a deal. Rival promoters AEG are also expected to lodge an offer with Hyde Park likely to be their venue of choice. However, asked to confirm the reports of the offer, a spokesperson for David Bowie told NME: "There are currently no plans for any live dates." Earlier this year Michael Eavis has said that he is sure Bowie could headline Glastonbury again. The singer is being tipped to play the 2014 event, having previously headlined the festival in 1971 and 2000. Eavis said: "The younger ones sort out most of the music, but I like to book the headline names...I can't tell you at the moment who that will be as we're still talking to people. David's done it a couple of times before but I'm sure he could come back again."

According to a report in London’s Evening Standard last night [September 2], David Bowie is reluctant to make his long-awaited live comeback because he is experiencing nerves over the prospect of returning to the stage.

Earlier in the day, representatives working for Bowie have said the singer still has “no current plans” to perform live following reports he has been offered a multi-million pound deal to play in London next year.

Live Nation reportedly offered Bowie a lucrative deal to play live at the Olympic Park in East London in 2014. The tabloid reports that the company has close links with Bowie’s tour agent John Giddings and are confident of securing a deal. Rival promoters AEG are also expected to lodge an offer with Hyde Park likely to be their venue of choice.

However, asked to confirm the reports of the offer, a spokesperson for David Bowie told NME: “There are currently no plans for any live dates.”

Earlier this year Michael Eavis has said that he is sure Bowie could headline Glastonbury again. The singer is being tipped to play the 2014 event, having previously headlined the festival in 1971 and 2000.

Eavis said: “The younger ones sort out most of the music, but I like to book the headline names…I can’t tell you at the moment who that will be as we’re still talking to people. David’s done it a couple of times before but I’m sure he could come back again.”

Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Year Of The Horse

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Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Year Of The Horse

DVD debut of long-unavailable concert footage from 1996, with bonus backstage access... As their recent shows confirmed, there are few more glorious sights in rock'n'roll than Neil Young & Crazy Horse in full flow, a bunch of grizzled old geezers galumphing round the stage like golems trying to party. In this Jim Jarmusch concert documentary shot in 1996, that quality is splendidly on show throughout the live segments, most notably the raw, raucous version of "Fuckin' Up" that seems to smoulder right through the screen. This isn't older musicians trying to sustain some delusion of youthful potency; this is a bunch of middle-aged men, led by a surly, stomping guitarist in baggy knee-length shorts and a nondescript T-shirt. But the very lack of self-conscious stagecraft carries with it the implication that what you're being given is something purely musical, unmediated by modern digital strategies that demand everything be a multi-platform, multi-media, interactive experience. It's pure rock'n'roll, as the introductory tagline explains, "Made loud to be played loud. CRANK IT UP!". Jarmusch filmed a couple of dates, at a Roman amphitheatre in Vienne, France, and at The Gorge, in Washington state, in Super-8 film, the grainy quality of which matches both the attitude of the band's performance, and the earlier backstage footage from 1976 and 1986 which, along with more recent interviews, punctuates the music. It's all neatly stitched together - the "Fuckin' Up" performance, for instance, slips straight into a backstage argument from Rotterdam in 1986 between Young and bassist Billy Talbot about somebody fucking up that performance: Young is heated, furiously demanding, and Talbot gives as good as he gets in return, an indication of the untrammelled flow of energy within the band. Elsewhere, we get to see the 1976 band in dumb rock-tour mode, burning fake flowers in a Glasgow hotel room, and there's a brilliant, brief moment from that tour showing Young smashing his head on a table in mock-exhaustion as he's about to be interviewed by Richard Williams. It's far from the ideal Neil and Crazy Horse setlist, with only a handful of classics – including a version of "Tonight's The Night" following a segment about the deaths of Danny Whitten and Bruce Berry – sprinkled parsimoniously through the show. But it barely matters: as Young maintains, "It's all one song," an ongoing flow of music hewn into eight-to ten-minute chunks. And any technical effects are kept to a minimum, and used subtly, as when stage footage of the band playing "Slips Away" is blended with a tour bus shot of passing sky and landscape. The most dramatic moment, though, comes during "Like A Hurricane", which begins in usual manner, as if the song is being wrenched physically from the sound, like a tectonic plate shifting free, the kind of suitably elemental approach that no other bunch of ndad-rockers would dare attempt - then suddenly, seamlessly segues into a younger, thinner-faced Neil playing the song at Hammersmith Odeon in 1976. It's a startling coup de cinéma which perfectly illustrates his earlier contention that "the older we get, the more we realise how special it is". Andy Gill

DVD debut of long-unavailable concert footage from 1996, with bonus backstage access…

As their recent shows confirmed, there are few more glorious sights in rock’n’roll than Neil Young & Crazy Horse in full flow, a bunch of grizzled old geezers galumphing round the stage like golems trying to party. In this Jim Jarmusch concert documentary shot in 1996, that quality is splendidly on show throughout the live segments, most notably the raw, raucous version of “Fuckin’ Up” that seems to smoulder right through the screen. This isn’t older musicians trying to sustain some delusion of youthful potency; this is a bunch of middle-aged men, led by a surly, stomping guitarist in baggy knee-length shorts and a nondescript T-shirt. But the very lack of self-conscious stagecraft carries with it the implication that what you’re being given is something purely musical, unmediated by modern digital strategies that demand everything be a multi-platform, multi-media, interactive experience. It’s pure rock’n’roll, as the introductory tagline explains, “Made loud to be played loud. CRANK IT UP!”.

Jarmusch filmed a couple of dates, at a Roman amphitheatre in Vienne, France, and at The Gorge, in Washington state, in Super-8 film, the grainy quality of which matches both the attitude of the band’s performance, and the earlier backstage footage from 1976 and 1986 which, along with more recent interviews, punctuates the music. It’s all neatly stitched together – the “Fuckin’ Up” performance, for instance, slips straight into a backstage argument from Rotterdam in 1986 between Young and bassist Billy Talbot about somebody fucking up that performance: Young is heated, furiously demanding, and Talbot gives as good as he gets in return, an indication of the untrammelled flow of energy within the band. Elsewhere, we get to see the 1976 band in dumb rock-tour mode, burning fake flowers in a Glasgow hotel room, and there’s a brilliant, brief moment from that tour showing Young smashing his head on a table in mock-exhaustion as he’s about to be interviewed by Richard Williams.

It’s far from the ideal Neil and Crazy Horse setlist, with only a handful of classics – including a version of “Tonight’s The Night” following a segment about the deaths of Danny Whitten and Bruce Berry – sprinkled parsimoniously through the show. But it barely matters: as Young maintains, “It’s all one song,” an ongoing flow of music hewn into eight-to ten-minute chunks. And any technical effects are kept to a minimum, and used subtly, as when stage footage of the band playing “Slips Away” is blended with a tour bus shot of passing sky and landscape.

The most dramatic moment, though, comes during “Like A Hurricane“, which begins in usual manner, as if the song is being wrenched physically from the sound, like a tectonic plate shifting free, the kind of suitably elemental approach that no other bunch of ndad-rockers would dare attempt – then suddenly, seamlessly segues into a younger, thinner-faced Neil playing the song at Hammersmith Odeon in 1976. It’s a startling coup de cinéma which perfectly illustrates his earlier contention that “the older we get, the more we realise how special it is”.

Andy Gill

Watch Arctic Monkeys debut new track “Arabella” at Zurich Open Air Festival

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Watch Arctic Monkeys debut new track “Arabella” at Zurich Open Air Festival
Arctic Monkeys debuted a new track "Arabella" at Zurich Open Air Festival. It was the first time the band have played the track live. "Arabella" is taken from their forthcoming album AM. You can watch the band perform the song by scrolling down the page. AM is set for release on September 9 and al...

Arctic Monkeys debuted a new track “Arabella” at Zurich Open Air Festival.

It was the first time the band have played the track live. “Arabella” is taken from their forthcoming album AM. You can watch the band perform the song by scrolling down the page.

AM is set for release on September 9 and also features the tracks “R U Mine?” and “Do I Wanna Know?”. Guests on the album include Queens Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme and former member of The Coral, Bill Ryder-Jones.

In next week’s issue of NME (available from Wednesday, September 4) , we speak to the Arctic Monkeys about their fifth album. We went into their studio as they rehearsed their new material – including “Arabella” – and discovered that frontman Alex Turner plans to put down his guitar for the band’s live shows so that he can dance around more.

Later this year, Arctic Monkeys will embark on a nine-date UK tour including a homecoming gig at Sheffield’s Motorpoint Arena. Starting in Newcastle at the Metro Radio Arena on October 22, the tour will then visit Manchester, London, Liverpool, Cardiff, Birmingham and Glasgow before ending with the Sheffield gig on November 2. The Strypes will support on all dates.

Arctic Monkeys will play:

Newcastle Metro Radio Arena (October 22)

Manchester Arena (23)

London Earls Court (25, 26)

Liverpool Echo Arena (28)

Cardiff Motorpoint Arena (29)

Birmingham LG Arena (31)

Glasgow Hydro Arena (November 1)

Sheffield Motorpoint Arena (2)

Freddie Mercury biopic “probably won’t happen” following Sacha Baron Cohen’s exit

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Freddie Mercury biopic “probably won’t happen” following Sacha Baron Cohen’s exit

The long-planned biopic of Freddie Mercury is unlikely to go ahead following Sacha Baron Cohen's exit, the film's writer has revealed. Baron Cohen had been attached to star as Mercury since September 2010, but he pulled out of the project in July, reportedly because he and Queen, who have script and director approval, were unable to agree on the type of movie they want to make. The band apparently want the biopic to be a PG affair, while the actor was keen to delve into the grittier, more adult aspects of Mercury's famously hedonistic lifestyle. Now screenwriter Peter Morgan, whose script was reportedly turned down by Queen, has revealed that the project has been shelved, according to a tweet from the BBC's Entertainment News Team, which read: "Freddie Mercury biopic writer Peter Morgan has told the BBC the film is "probably not going to happen" now Sacha Baron Cohen has pulled out." Morgan is the Oscar-nominated screenwriter behind The Queen, Frost/Nixon and this month's Rush. His script, it was reported in March, was to begin with the formation of Queen in the early '70s and end with their appearance at Live Aid in 1985.

The long-planned biopic of Freddie Mercury is unlikely to go ahead following Sacha Baron Cohen’s exit, the film’s writer has revealed.

Baron Cohen had been attached to star as Mercury since September 2010, but he pulled out of the project in July, reportedly because he and Queen, who have script and director approval, were unable to agree on the type of movie they want to make.

The band apparently want the biopic to be a PG affair, while the actor was keen to delve into the grittier, more adult aspects of Mercury’s famously hedonistic lifestyle. Now screenwriter Peter Morgan, whose script was reportedly turned down by Queen, has revealed that the project has been shelved, according to a tweet from the BBC’s Entertainment News Team, which read: “Freddie Mercury biopic writer Peter Morgan has told the BBC the film is “probably not going to happen” now Sacha Baron Cohen has pulled out.”

Morgan is the Oscar-nominated screenwriter behind The Queen, Frost/Nixon and this month’s Rush. His script, it was reported in March, was to begin with the formation of Queen in the early ’70s and end with their appearance at Live Aid in 1985.

Pearl Jam unveil tracklisting for new album, Lightning Bolt

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Pearl Jam unveil tracklisting for new album, Lightning Bolt
Pearl Jam have unveiled the tracklisting for their forthcoming new album Lightning Bolt. The LP, which is due out on October 15 and will be the 10th studio record of the band's career, will feature the single "Mind Your Manners" as well as "Lightning Bolt" and "Future Two Days", both of which were...

Pearl Jam have unveiled the tracklisting for their forthcoming new album Lightning Bolt.

The LP, which is due out on October 15 and will be the 10th studio record of the band’s career, will feature the single “Mind Your Manners” as well as “Lightning Bolt” and “Future Two Days”, both of which were debuted at a show in Chicago in July.

Meanwhile, the track “Sleeping By Myself” originally appeared on Eddie Vedder’s 2011 solo album Ukulele Songs’. To see the video for “Mind Your Manners”, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click.

The tracklisting for Lightning Bolt is:

‘Getaway’

‘Mind Your Manners’

‘My Father’s Son’

‘Sirens’

‘Lightning Bolt’

‘Infallible’

‘Pendulum’

‘Swallowed Whole’

‘Let The Records Play’

‘Sleeping By Myself’

‘Yellow Moon’

‘Future Days’

Lightning Bolt was produced by Brendan O’Brien and is the follow-up to 2009’s Backspacer. Speaking earlier this year, guitarist Mike McCready said of the new album: “I would say as a cliché answer it’s kind of a logical extension of what Backspacer was. But I think there’s a little bit more experimental stuff going on. There’s a Pink Floyd vibe to some of it, there’s a punk rock edge to other stuff.”

Belle And Sebastian at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Tom Pinnock
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Belle And Sebastian at End Of The Road 2013 – review
David Byrne & St Vincent at End Of The Road 2013 - review Ethan Johns at End Of The Road 2013 - review Eels at End Of The Road 2013 – review Parquet Courts at End Of The Road 2013 – review Mike Heron & Trembling Bells at End Of The Road 2013 – review William Tyler at End Of The Ro...

David Byrne & St Vincent at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Ethan Johns at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Eels at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Parquet Courts at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Mike Heron & Trembling Bells at End Of The Road 2013 – review

William Tyler at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Belle & Sebastian might not have surprised anyone with their last two albums, 2006’s The Life Pursuit and 2010’s Write About Love, but it seems their fans’ love for them is growing even deeper – these two are their highest charting records, in the UK and America.

So as warmly as End Of The Road’s other headliners have been received, the reaction Stuart Murdoch and co get is as frenzied as it would be at a tiny fan club gig. Every bit of stage banter is met with screams, and even relatively obscure cuts like the opening instrumental “Judy Is A Dick Slap” are treated like the cream of their canon.

With added strings and brass, and excellent mixing, Belle & Sebastian sound much meatier than on record, with fantastic harmonies and bountiful energy. “The Stars Of Track And Field” on If You’re Feeling Sinister sounds positively weedy in comparison to the string-drenched, muscular version we hear tonight.

We could perhaps have done without “Sukie In The Graveyard” or “To Be Myself Completely” – not bad songs, but no way the equal of many stunning tracks not played tonight – but the closing trio of groovy ’60s pastiche “Legal Man” (during which the stage is swamped by invited crowd members), “Judy And The Dream Of Horses” and “Get Me Away From Here I’m Dying” end the set – and indeed the whole of 2013’s End Of The Road – on a high.

Tom Pinnock

Follow Tom on Twitter for more End Of The Road coverage: www.twitter.com/thomaspinnock

William Tyler at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Tom Pinnock
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William Tyler at End Of The Road 2013 – review
Belle And Sebastian at End Of The Road 2013 - review Ethan Johns at End Of The Road 2013 - review David Byrne & St Vincent at End Of The Road 2013 - review Eels at End Of The Road 2013 – review Parquet Courts at End Of The Road 2013 – review Mike Heron & Trembling Bells at End Of Th...

Belle And Sebastian at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Ethan Johns at End Of The Road 2013 – review

David Byrne & St Vincent at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Eels at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Parquet Courts at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Mike Heron & Trembling Bells at End Of The Road 2013 – review

One of the highlights of this weekend’s Uncut Tipi Tent is almost certainly William Tyler‘s performance on Sunday afternoon. It’s hot and dry in Dorset, and Tyler’s dusty, crystalline solo guitar pieces are the perfect counterparts.

The former Lambchop and Silver Jews musician plays to a surprisingly packed, and rapt, tent, mostly performing tracks from his second album, this year’s Impossible Truth.

Live, the likes of “Cadillac Desert” – which Tyler dedicates to Marfa, Texas, a remote town of artists and musicians that gave him “the most psychedelic experience ever…without help” – are more luminously alive than on record, and with their chorus and echo effects, even more reminiscent of The Durutti Column’s Vini Reilly.

Tyler closes his 40-minute set with the reverby “Country Of Illusion” – he explains it was inspired by the end of the world, but admits that he’d like to put a more positive ‘new beginning’ slant on it in honour of End Of The Road’s positive vibes.

Tom Pinnock

Follow Tom on Twitter for more End Of The Road coverage: www.twitter.com/thomaspinnock

Mike Heron & Trembling Bells at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Tom Pinnock
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Mike Heron & Trembling Bells at End Of The Road 2013 – review
Belle And Sebastian at End Of The Road 2013 - review David Byrne & St Vincent at End Of The Road 2013 - review Ethan Johns at End Of The Road 2013 - review Eels at End Of The Road 2013 – review Parquet Courts at End Of The Road 2013 – review William Tyler at End Of The Road 2013 - revie...

Belle And Sebastian at End Of The Road 2013 – review

David Byrne & St Vincent at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Ethan Johns at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Eels at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Parquet Courts at End Of The Road 2013 – review

William Tyler at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Mike Heron of The Incredible String Band has teamed up with Trembling Bells a number of times over the last couple of years – in fact, I saw them almost exactly two years ago to the day at London’s Vortex Jazz Bar.

It was an intimate and moving set, and tonight the only real difference between that and the collaboration on the Uncut Tipi Tent stage is that today Trembling Bells intersperse the songs featuring Heron with their own versions of String Band classics.

Bizarrely, they pick two songs by the String Band’s other half, Robin Williamson, to perform – the ten-minute “Maya” opens the set, while their take on “Waltz Of The New Moon” follows later. In both cases, the guitar picking from Mike Hastings is impressive, but Lavinia Blackwall’s singing is a little too strident to really evoke the intricacies and subtleties of the ISB’s sound – despite reputation, they were far from hippie whimsy.

Much better are the songs Trembling Bells perform with Heron, who smiles continually throughout the set, even when lamenting the fact that they only have 45 minutes onstage. His voice isn’t quite as confident as it was so many years ago, which is hardly surprising, but it retains that unmistakeable sense of childlike wonder and joy. “This Moment” is especially beautiful, Georgia Seddon’s hushed harmonies complementing Heron better than Blackwall’s blustery delivery.

Of course, as at any String Band-related show, the highlight is the epic “A Very Cellular Song” – tonight, with seven excellent instrumentalists onstage, you wonder if the song has ever sounded so good live – the four-piece ISB of the late ’60s probably never got it sounding so lush and flowing.

Mike Heron/Trembling Bells played:

Maya

Be Glad For The Song Has No Ending excerpt/Spirit Beautiful

This Moment

Waltz Of The New Moon

Log Cabin Home In The Sky

A Very Cellular Song

Tom Pinnock

Follow Tom on Twitter for more End Of The Road coverage: www.twitter.com/thomaspinnock

Ethan Johns at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Tom Pinnock
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Ethan Johns at End Of The Road 2013 – review
Belle And Sebastian at End Of The Road 2013 - review David Byrne & St Vincent at End Of The Road 2013 - review Eels at End Of The Road 2013 – review Parquet Courts at End Of The Road 2013 – review Mike Heron & Trembling Bells at End Of The Road 2013 – review William Tyler at End O...

Belle And Sebastian at End Of The Road 2013 – review

David Byrne & St Vincent at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Eels at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Parquet Courts at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Mike Heron & Trembling Bells at End Of The Road 2013 – review

William Tyler at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Producer turned artist is weird enough, but Ryan Adams producer Ethan Johns playing new songs produced by Ryan Adams is even stranger…

Yes, as he tells the crowd at his Uncut Q&A earlier, Johns has a new album ready to go, recorded over the last few weeks in LA with Adams; and he’s keen to show off the new tracks, filling at least half his early afternoon set on the Garden Stage with them.

They slot in well alongside songs from his debut album proper, last year’s If Not Now Then When?, being similarly drenched in folk and blues, and riddled with images drawn from Americana.

Johns performs the songs completely solo, strumming and picking on an ornate white Gretsch – for the heavier blues workouts he straps on some kind of Airline guitar.

The crowd are sitting but enthralled, and Johns is visibly overwhelmed by the reception after closing with “The Long Way Round” – not bad going for his first ever festival set.

Tom Pinnock

Follow Tom on Twitter for more End Of The Road coverage: www.twitter.com/thomaspinnock

David Byrne & St Vincent at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Tom Pinnock
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David Byrne & St Vincent at End Of The Road 2013 – review
Belle And Sebastian at End Of The Road 2013 - review Eels at End Of The Road 2013 – review Parquet Courts at End Of The Road 2013 – review Ethan Johns at End Of The Road 2013 - review Mike Heron & Trembling Bells at End Of The Road 2013 – review William Tyler at End Of The Road 2013 -...

Belle And Sebastian at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Eels at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Parquet Courts at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Ethan Johns at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Mike Heron & Trembling Bells at End Of The Road 2013 – review

William Tyler at End Of The Road 2013 – review

When David Byrne and Annie Clark got together to make an album you wouldn’t necessarily have imagined they’d be united by brass – especially the kind of brass parts that can only be described as ‘fidgety’.

Headlining the first night of 2013’s End Of The Road, though, the sound is somehow even more brass-based than on Love This Giant, which has its ups and downs. With just a drummer and a keyboardist alongside a massive eight brass players, it allows for some very singular arrangements, as on their version of X-Press 2’s Byrne-featuring “Lazy”.

The constant movement of the polyrhythmic Love This Giant brass parts becomes quite wearing, however, as it does on some of St Vincent’s solo tracks tonight (aside from the gorgeous “Northern Lights”).

The collective take a more subtle approach on the Talking Heads songs showcased, with “Burning Down The House” and “Road To Nowhere” treated to particularly restrained arrangements, the latter tastefully echoing the accordion of the original.

The musicians are obviously all having a fantastic time onstage, though, despite the complexity of their parts – they dance around and circle the stage in procession, and at one point Byrne and Clark seem to engage in some kind of dance-off while triggering a theremin. You don’t see that at every festival.

Tom Pinnock

Follow Tom on Twitter for more End Of The Road coverage: www.twitter.com/thomaspinnock

Parquet Courts at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Tom Pinnock
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Parquet Courts at End Of The Road 2013 – review
Belle And Sebastian at End Of The Road 2013 - review Eels at End Of The Road 2013 – review David Byrne & St Vincent at End Of The Road 2013 – review Ethan Johns at End Of The Road 2013 - review Mike Heron & Trembling Bells at End Of The Road 2013 – review William Tyler at End Of T...

Belle And Sebastian at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Eels at End Of The Road 2013 – review

David Byrne & St Vincent at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Ethan Johns at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Mike Heron & Trembling Bells at End Of The Road 2013 – review

William Tyler at End Of The Road 2013 – review

This time last year they were unknowns self-releasing their Light Up Gold album in a limited run, but now New York/Texas indie-punks Parquet Courts are packing out the Big Top tent at End Of The Road.

They’re not even headlining, but the place is full of fans, nodding along to “Careers In Combat” and wildly cheering “Borrowed Time”.

The four-piece take a while to get going, but really hit their sloppy stride when they get to “Master Of My Craft”, powering through a selection of Light Up Gold tracks exactly as they appear on the record – at breakneck speed with no pause for breath. Although he’s basically playing the same beat the whole evening, you’ve got to feel for drummer Max Savage.

The set nears its close with “You’ve Got Me Wondering Now”, from their forthcoming EP, but climaxes with the group’s customary farewell, “Stoned And Starving” – this proto-motorik groover, the longest track on Light Up Gold, is stretched out even further live, with Andrew Savage and Austin Brown generating all manner of feedback from their Squier budget guitars, while the bass and drums drone on and on… For a few minutes it’s like Hawkwind if they’d grown up in New York instead of Ladbroke Grove.

Undoubtedly one of the best, and brattiest, sets End Of The Road is likely to see this year.

Tom Pinnock

Follow Tom on Twitter for more End Of The Road coverage: www.twitter.com/thomaspinnock

Eels at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Tom Pinnock
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Eels at End Of The Road 2013 – review
Belle And Sebastian at End Of The Road 2013 - review Parquet Courts at End Of The Road 2013 - review David Byrne & St Vincent at End Of The Road 2013 - review Ethan Johns at End Of The Road 2013 - review Mike Heron & Trembling Bells at End Of The Road 2013 – review William Tyler at En...

Belle And Sebastian at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Parquet Courts at End Of The Road 2013 – review

David Byrne & St Vincent at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Ethan Johns at End Of The Road 2013 – review

Mike Heron & Trembling Bells at End Of The Road 2013 – review

William Tyler at End Of The Road 2013 – review

“Look what we brought you!” shouts E. “A motherfucking wonderful glorious double-rainbow!”

It’s a beautiful sight in the sky, but Eels‘ mainman has also brought some serious rock’n’roll energy with him to the first day of End Of The Road – they’ve toured in many different guises (power trio, acoustic with strings, etc) but tonight the band (all dressed in matching black tracksuits and shades) are distorted and fierce, dispensing with keyboards, strings and brass, and using just bass, drums and a lot of loud guitars.

Naturally, the more full-on songs in their Woods Stage set come off the best, including “Fresh Blood” and the “Jean Genie”-esque “Prize Fighter”, but the five-piece are also able to turn their hand to the more tender areas of Eels’ canon, such as “Dirty Girl”.

The highlight of the set is a blistering version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well”, hounded by fuzztone guitars and blazing maracas. E seems to enjoy the song so much he orders one of his guitarists to come down from his riser for a hug.

Tom Pinnock

Follow Tom on Twitter for more End Of The Road coverage: www.twitter.com/thomaspinnock

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