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Neil Young & Crazy Horse add dates to UK tour

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Neil Young & Crazy Horse add dates to UK tour
Neil Young & Crazy Horse have added two dates to their upcoming UK tour. The band will now play Liverpool Echo Arena on August 18 and London O2 Arena on August 19. This is in addition to previously announced shows at Newcastle Metro Radio Arena on June 10, Birmingham LG Arena on June 11 and so...

Neil Young & Crazy Horse have added two dates to their upcoming UK tour.

The band will now play Liverpool Echo Arena on August 18 and London O2 Arena on August 19.

This is in addition to previously announced shows at Newcastle Metro Radio Arena on June 10, Birmingham LG Arena on June 11 and sold out shows at Glasgow SECC (June 13) and London O2 Arena (June 17). Los Lobos will support at all shows and tickets are on sale now.

They will be Young’s first UK gigs with the Crazy Horse line-up of Frank ‘Poncho’ Sampedro, Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina since 2001.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse released two albums last year: ‘Americana’ and ‘Psychedelic Pill’.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse will play:

Newcastle Metro Radio Arena (June 10)

Birmingham LG Arena (11)

Glasgow SECC (13)

London O2 Arena (17)

Liverpool Echo Arena (August 18)

London O2 Arena (19)

Who’s That Man – A Tribute To Conny Plank

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Who’s That Man – A Tribute To Conny Plank

Four-CD box set honours the great Krautrock producer and collaborator... When Conny Plank is credited as the man that produced the lion’s share of great experimental German music between the years of 1969 and 1980, it may yet be selling him short. Plank, like but a few production greats – Joe Meek, George Martin, Phil Spector, Martin Hannett – wasn’t just a talented studio hand: he was a collaborator, and sometimes, an architect. Krautrock as we know it would likely not exist without him. A bear of a man from Hütschenhausen, West Germany, Plank began his career as soundman for an icon of the old Germany, fading Weimar starlet Marlene Dietrich. His enthusiasm for early electronic music drew him to Cologne’s new music community, where he worked as assistant to Stockhausen. But Plank soon tired of the classical avant-garde, which he deemed stuffy and lifeless. It was in the burgeoning West German musical counterculture that he would find those closer to his artistic temperament - emergent groups such as Kraftwerk, Neu!, and Cluster. Enamoured by the possibilities of sampling and multi-track recording, it was Plank’s technical know-how that helped bring many of Krautrock’s most revolutionary records into existence. He didn’t make groups sound ‘the Conny Plank way’, or strive to capture their live sound. Instead, he explained his role as “a mediumâ€, and helped bands to find ways to bring their ideas to life through a fusion of technology and frenzied experimentation. In an interview published in 1987, the year of his death from cancer, he summed up his philosophy with admirable brevity: “Craziness is holy.†Such legacies can be difficult to summarise, although Who’s That Man - a four-CD box honouring Plank’s career - makes a noble attempt. There are inevitable, but still painful omissions. Plank worked with Ralph Hütter and Florian Schneider for five years, starting with the 1969 album Tone Float by the proto-Kraftwerk group Organisation, and finishing with their first masterpiece, 1974’s Autobahn. None of that, of course, appears here. Instead, the first two CDs are, while something of a curate’s egg, at least faithful to the breadth of Plank’s vision: a mix of canonical Krautrock cuts, collaborations, oddities and rarities seemingly chosen because they bear clear traces of the mad scientist’s fingerprints. The two Neu! tracks here speed out to the duo’s polar reaches. “Negativland†builds from the hammer of pneumatic drills, Klaus Dinger’s motorik drums circling Michael Rother’s cosmic guitar in a fearful orbit. “Leb’ Wohlâ€, meanwhile, strikes a note of new-age meditation, Dinger bidding a tearful auf wiedersehen over the gentle crash of waves. A number of collaborations with Cluster’s Dieter Moebius showcases the pair’s playful studiocraft – from the proto-techno of 1982’s “Pitch Controlâ€, recorded with Guru Guru drummer Mani Neumeier, to “Farmer Gabrielâ€, a bizarre tale of chicken slaughter narrated by the Red Krayola’s Mayo Thompson. One fan of Cluster’s early work was Brian Eno, who travelled to Plank’s studio in June 1977 to record with Moebius and Rodelius - and, one suspects, to pick up a few tricks in the process. Included here is “Broken Headâ€, a surrealistic highlight from 1978’s collaborative After The Heat. Less interesting are the proggier selections: the interminable 14 minutes of Ibliss’ jazzy, saxophone-heavy “Dropsâ€, and Streetmark’s misfiring cover of “Eleanor Rigbyâ€. But Eurythmics’ “Le Sinistreâ€, originally a B-side to the group’s 1981 single “Never Gonna Cry Againâ€, cloaks Annie Lennox’s voice in the sonic tropes of horror cinema, while two tracks by electro-industrial duo D.A.F suggest that for all Plank’s association with Krautrock, he continued to innovate well into the post-punk ‘80s. The third disc passes Plank productions over to a team of remixers, who with the honourable exception of Boredoms’ Yamataka Eye – who turns in a psychedelic mangling of Neu!’s “Fur Immer†– add little but height to the European Remix Mountain. The final disc unearths a performance by the trio of Plank, Moebius and Arno Steffen, recorded in Mexico, 1986. A strange soup of Arp and Oberheim synthesisers, blasts of trumpet, primitive techno and occasional enthusiastic yodelling, it is 80 minutes of pure invention, at times sublime and at times ridiculous. But, then, as Conny Plank might have put it, craziness is next to Godliness. Louis Pattison Q&A Dieter Moebius, Cluster How was it to work with Conny? With us, he was a collaborator – a co-musician, in a way. When he got his own studio, he bought all kinds of new things that we couldn’t afford – we could use his synthesisers, all the new gadgets. The studio was a big stall in a farmhouse - a stable, where pigs were kept. But he changed it totally. It didn’t smell anymore! We would make tape loops, stretching tape all around the room, 20 metres long, and sample things from the radio. But he was happy to remain in the background? He was very modest. But he was also very sure of what he wanted to do. He recorded a lot of things that were not his kind of music, because he liked the people. But he could have produced U2 when they started out, and he didn’t. I don’t know why – perhaps he didn’t like the guy… A show from Mexico in 1986 is included in the box. How did that tour come about? We were invited by the Goethe institute, a German cultural organisation, who paid for it all. The word travelled fast, and the shows got bigger and bigger as we went. We played in some countries where rock’n’roll was not allowed – in Chile, for example, where Pinochet was terrorising his people. For some, it was like finally – we can go to a rock show. It was Conny’s last and only tour – for him, this was unique. INTERVIEW: LOUIS PATTISON

Four-CD box set honours the great Krautrock producer and collaborator…

When Conny Plank is credited as the man that produced the lion’s share of great experimental German music between the years of 1969 and 1980, it may yet be selling him short. Plank, like but a few production greats – Joe Meek, George Martin, Phil Spector, Martin Hannett – wasn’t just a talented studio hand: he was a collaborator, and sometimes, an architect. Krautrock as we know it would likely not exist without him.

A bear of a man from Hütschenhausen, West Germany, Plank began his career as soundman for an icon of the old Germany, fading Weimar starlet Marlene Dietrich. His enthusiasm for early electronic music drew him to Cologne’s new music community, where he worked as assistant to Stockhausen. But Plank soon tired of the classical avant-garde, which he deemed stuffy and lifeless. It was in the burgeoning West German musical counterculture that he would find those closer to his artistic temperament – emergent groups such as Kraftwerk, Neu!, and Cluster. Enamoured by the possibilities of sampling and multi-track recording, it was Plank’s technical know-how that helped bring many of Krautrock’s most revolutionary records into existence. He didn’t make groups sound ‘the Conny Plank way’, or strive to capture their live sound. Instead, he explained his role as “a mediumâ€, and helped bands to find ways to bring their ideas to life through a fusion of technology and frenzied experimentation. In an interview published in 1987, the year of his death from cancer, he summed up his philosophy with admirable brevity: “Craziness is holy.â€

Such legacies can be difficult to summarise, although Who’s That Man – a four-CD box honouring Plank’s career – makes a noble attempt. There are inevitable, but still painful omissions. Plank worked with Ralph Hütter and Florian Schneider for five years, starting with the 1969 album Tone Float by the proto-Kraftwerk group Organisation, and finishing with their first masterpiece, 1974’s Autobahn. None of that, of course, appears here. Instead, the first two CDs are, while something of a curate’s egg, at least faithful to the breadth of Plank’s vision: a mix of canonical Krautrock cuts, collaborations, oddities and rarities seemingly chosen because they bear clear traces of the mad scientist’s fingerprints.

The two Neu! tracks here speed out to the duo’s polar reaches. “Negativland†builds from the hammer of pneumatic drills, Klaus Dinger’s motorik drums circling Michael Rother’s cosmic guitar in a fearful orbit. “Leb’ Wohlâ€, meanwhile, strikes a note of new-age meditation, Dinger bidding a tearful auf wiedersehen over the gentle crash of waves. A number of collaborations with Cluster’s Dieter Moebius showcases the pair’s playful studiocraft – from the proto-techno of 1982’s “Pitch Controlâ€, recorded with Guru Guru drummer Mani Neumeier, to “Farmer Gabrielâ€, a bizarre tale of chicken slaughter narrated by the Red Krayola’s Mayo Thompson. One fan of Cluster’s early work was Brian Eno, who travelled to Plank’s studio in June 1977 to record with Moebius and Rodelius – and, one suspects, to pick up a few tricks in the process. Included here is “Broken Headâ€, a surrealistic highlight from 1978’s collaborative After The Heat.

Less interesting are the proggier selections: the interminable 14 minutes of Ibliss’ jazzy, saxophone-heavy “Dropsâ€, and Streetmark’s misfiring cover of “Eleanor Rigbyâ€. But Eurythmics’ “Le Sinistreâ€, originally a B-side to the group’s 1981 single “Never Gonna Cry Againâ€, cloaks Annie Lennox’s voice in the sonic tropes of horror cinema, while two tracks by electro-industrial duo D.A.F suggest that for all Plank’s association with Krautrock, he continued to innovate well into the post-punk ‘80s.

The third disc passes Plank productions over to a team of remixers, who with the honourable exception of Boredoms’ Yamataka Eye – who turns in a psychedelic mangling of Neu!’s “Fur Immer†– add little but height to the European Remix Mountain. The final disc unearths a performance by the trio of Plank, Moebius and Arno Steffen, recorded in Mexico, 1986. A strange soup of Arp and Oberheim synthesisers, blasts of trumpet, primitive techno and occasional enthusiastic yodelling, it is 80 minutes of pure invention, at times sublime and at times ridiculous. But, then, as Conny Plank might have put it, craziness is next to Godliness.

Louis Pattison

Q&A

Dieter Moebius, Cluster

How was it to work with Conny?

With us, he was a collaborator – a co-musician, in a way. When he got his own studio, he bought all kinds of new things that we couldn’t afford – we could use his synthesisers, all the new gadgets. The studio was a big stall in a farmhouse – a stable, where pigs were kept. But he changed it totally. It didn’t smell anymore! We would make tape loops, stretching tape all around the room, 20 metres long, and sample things from the radio.

But he was happy to remain in the background?

He was very modest. But he was also very sure of what he wanted to do. He recorded a lot of things that were not his kind of music, because he liked the people. But he could have produced U2 when they started out, and he didn’t. I don’t know why – perhaps he didn’t like the guy…

A show from Mexico in 1986 is included in the box. How did that tour come about?

We were invited by the Goethe institute, a German cultural organisation, who paid for it all. The word travelled fast, and the shows got bigger and bigger as we went. We played in some countries where rock’n’roll was not allowed – in Chile, for example, where Pinochet was terrorising his people. For some, it was like finally – we can go to a rock show. It was Conny’s last and only tour – for him, this was unique.

INTERVIEW: LOUIS PATTISON

Atoms For Peace announce three London shows

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Atoms For Peace announce three London shows
Atoms For Peace have announced three London shows as part of their European tour. The band will play three consecutive nights at London's Roundhouse at the end of July. The band, led by Thom Yorke, have already announced three festival dates – Pohada in Slovakia, Exit in Serbia and Melt in Germa...

Atoms For Peace have announced three London shows as part of their European tour.

The band will play three consecutive nights at London’s Roundhouse at the end of July.

The band, led by Thom Yorke, have already announced three festival dates – Pohada in Slovakia, Exit in Serbia and Melt in Germany.

In addition to the London shows, they will play two festivals, both in Italy: Rock In Roma and the (Milan) City sound festival, along side shows in Paris, Belgium and Germany.

Atoms For Peace’s debut album, Amok, debuted at No 5 on the UK charts this weekend.

July 6, France – Paris Zenith

9, Belgium – Antwerp Lotto Arena

10, Germany – Munich Zenith

12, Slovakia – Pohada Festival

13, Serbia – Exit Festival

16, Italy – Rome: Rock in Roma @ Ippodromo delle Capannelle

17, Italy – Milan: City Sound Festival @ Ippodromo del Galoppo

21, Germany – Berlin Melt Festival

24, UK – London Roundhouse

25, UK – London Roundhouse

26, UK – London Roundhouse

Unreleased material for Sly And The Family Stone retrospective box set

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Unreleased material for Sly And The Family Stone retrospective box set
Sly And The Family Stone are to be the subject of a multi-disc retrospective box set later this year, announces Legacy Recordings, the back-catalogue division of Sony. Sly Stone - who turns 70 on March 15 month - has been chosen by Legacy as their 'Artist Of The Month'. The program was started ear...

Sly And The Family Stone are to be the subject of a multi-disc retrospective box set later this year, announces Legacy Recordings, the back-catalogue division of Sony.

Sly Stone – who turns 70 on March 15 month – has been chosen by Legacy as their ‘Artist Of The Month’. The program was started earlier this year by Legacy and has so far been used to honor artists on significant birthdays. Janis Joplin received the honor in January when she would have turned 70 and Nina Simone received it in February when she would have turned 80.

No release date or track listing has been announced for the box set, which will be titled Higher, although nearly a quarter of the contents will be previously unissued material.

Stone’s last album, I’m Back! Family & Friends, was released in 2011.

Photo credit: SBMGArchives

Massive Attack to end three year break with Manchester International Festival premiere

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Massive Attack to end three year break with Manchester International Festival premiere
Massive Attack have been added to the line-up for this year's Manchester International Festival. The band will perform for the first time since 2010 with a special collaboration with documentary maker Adam Curtis announced today. Robert Del Naja has teamed up with Curtis, famous for his films such ...

Massive Attack have been added to the line-up for this year’s Manchester International Festival.

The band will perform for the first time since 2010 with a special collaboration with documentary maker Adam Curtis announced today. Robert Del Naja has teamed up with Curtis, famous for his films such as All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace, at The Mayfield Depot, a new venue opened specially for the festival. Situated in a half derelict former train station, the depot has been abandoned since 1986 and will be transformed for Massive Attack’s performance. Designer Es Devlin and theatre industry figure Felix Barret will also be involved in the Massive Attack vs Adam Curtis show.

Massive Attack vs Adam Curtis will be Massive Attack’s only UK show of 2013. Meanwhile, all tickets for The xx’s residency at the Manchester International Festival have sold out after going on sale in January.

The gigs, which will be held in the city from July 4-21 in 2013 will be performed in front of no more than 100 people. The event is held every two years in the city. The last festival in 2011 saw Bjork, Snoop Dogg, Wu Lyf and Damon Albarn perform.

Visit www.mif.co.uk for more information.

Pete Townshend apologises for mouthing obscenity at seven-year-old fan

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Pete Townshend apologises for mouthing obscenity at seven-year-old fan
Pete Townshend has apologised to a seven-year-old fan and her father after he mouthed the words 'fuck off' at them during a gig. The Toronto Sun originally reported that the rocker had mouthed the obscenity at the pair after he spotted them near the stage during the band's show in Ontario, Canada,...

Pete Townshend has apologised to a seven-year-old fan and her father after he mouthed the words ‘fuck off’ at them during a gig.

The Toronto Sun originally reported that the rocker had mouthed the obscenity at the pair after he spotted them near the stage during the band’s show in Ontario, Canada, where they were playing their album ‘Quadrophenia’ in its entirety.

Jenny Costello – who was accompanied by her father Eric – was holding a sign which said ‘Smash your guitar, Pete!’. When the guitarist spotted it, he said: “Go away with that sign please, just go away with it, just go away with it. Don’t bring your children, use them. I want to tell you two words but I can’t because you’ve got a child there.” He then mouthed the swear words.

Now, the Sun News Network says that Townshend penned a personal letter of apology to the family to atone for the incident. “Apologies and condolences from my side, and very best wishes to you and your family,” he wrote, before asking if they could “meet and be friends and put this behind us”.

He also said he was “sorry the story blew up the way it did” and that he sympathised “with you both, and your daughter’s mother, and that I am most certainly not angry. I was not angry on stage either. I was in rock star mode, the big mouth.”

He went on to add: “I could have handled it differently. I thought of sending someone to find you both and telling you I was not upset, but we were flying to New York straight after the show, and had no time to spare. I wish things had been different. It would have saved you from all this furor.

“I thought your placard was fun,” he continued. “I had a job to do and I didn’t want to lengthen the show by trying to deal with you directly and in detail. I was also worried that your daughter looked a little frightened as the crowd started to follow you down the aisle. The ushers should not have let you leave your seats and walk forward. All that said, you did nothing wrong.”

The Who are set to bring their ‘Quadrophenia’ tour to the UK and Ireland this June. The band will also play a selection of their other classics during the 10-date trek, which kicks off in Dublin on June 8 and wraps up in Liverpool on June 30.

The Who will play:

Dublin The O2 (June 8)

Belfast Odyssey (10)

Glasgow SECC (12)

London The O2 (15)

Sheffield Motorpoint Arena (18)

Newcastle Metro Arena (20)

Manchester Arena (23)

Cardiff Motorpoint Arena (25)

Birmingham LG Arena (28)

Liverpool Echo Arena (30)

The Making Of… Blue Oyster Cult’s (Don’t Fear) The Reaper

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The Making Of… Blue Oyster Cult’s (Don’t Fear) The Reaper
The Columbia Albums Collection, the new 17-album boxset from Blue Öyster Cult, is reviewed in the new issue of Uncut, dated April 2013, and out now. The collection unsurprisingly includes the band’s signature hit, ‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’, and in this piece, originally published in Uncutâ€...

The Columbia Albums Collection, the new 17-album boxset from Blue Öyster Cult, is reviewed in the new issue of Uncut, dated April 2013, and out now. The collection unsurprisingly includes the band’s signature hit, ‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’, and in this piece, originally published in Uncut’s November 2010 issue, the band discuss the writing and recording of their “trans-awesome†tune, perhaps the spookiest FM staple ever. “Nothing like The Byrdsâ€, apparently… Words: Jaan Uhelszki

_______________________

“We got tarred with the whole devilry thing,†remembers Blue Öyster Cult’s singer Buck Dharma. “Were church leaders taking our records and burning them? Yeah. There was a public outcry.â€

Dharma – aka Donald Roeser – is telling Uncut about the backlash that greeted the band’s 1976 breakthrough single, “(Don’t Fear) The Reaperâ€. The reason? Many misinterpreted the song as being about suicide – something Dharma dismisses. It’s a love story, he insists. Diagnosed with an irregular heart rhythm, he was “contemplating my own mortality, and I thought, ‘Gee, wouldn’t it be great, even if you died, that your love would survive?’â€

Instances of record burning aside, “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper†nevertheless transformed Blue Öyster Cult’s career. They started out in 1967 in Long Island as Soft White Underbelly; the name change came in 1970, thanks to producer-manager Sandy Pearlman. Along the way, they found admirers and collaborators in Patti Smith, Michael Moorcock, Stephen King and rock critic Richard Meltzer. But despite such storied friends – and Pearlman’s ambitious plans to present Blue Öyster Cult as America’s answer to Black Sabbath – the band remained very much a cult concern.

“Our first record [Blue Öyster Cult, 1972] sold 100,000 copies in the first year,†says Dharma. “Each one after that doubled the sales again, but we didn’t have a gold record until 1975.â€

“(Don’t Fear) The Reaper†reached No 12 on the Billboard charts in America and has become a regular fixture in horror movies and TV shows like Hallowe’en, True Blood and Supernatural. In 2000, Will Ferrell debuted a Saturday Night Live sketch parodying “…Reaperâ€â€™s recording, with Christopher Walken as a producer and Ferrell as fictional band member, Gene Frankel. Walken’s pleas for “more cowbell!†made the sketch a massive hit and gave the song a new lease of life. And who really played cowbell remains a point of contention within the band itself…

_______________________

Donald “Buck Dharma†Roeser: A lot of my strongest stuff is like automatic writing. I came up with a guitar lick and the first two lines of the lyric in about five minutes.

Albert Bouchard: The first time I heard it was May of 1975, and Donald called me up and said, “I got this new riff,†and played it for me over the phone. Two weeks later we were out on the road and Donald played me the demo. I was like, “Holy crap! This is awesome. This sounds like it could be a hit record.†Not everybody in the band was on board right away. Some people thought it was real soft.

Eric Bloom: I remember hearing Don’s demo and thinking it was a good song, but it wasn’t really like anything else we’d done before. I know both Alan Lanier [keyboards/rhythm guitar] and I thought it was a bit light compared to our earlier work.

Sandy Pearlman: I thought it was trans-awesome. Rarely did any of them write by themselves before this. “…Reaper†was a watershed in the development of their song writing. It was definitely coincident with the appearance of multi-track home recorders on their doorstep.

Albert Bouchard: Everybody got Teac four-track tape recorders. Now we could record multiple parts one on top of the other, the way it’s done in a studio. That changed the way we wrote because we all brought in songs with much more realised arrangements than previously.

Eric Bloom: The four-tracks gave everyone a chance to write on their own. Don’s always been a good engineer and his home demos always sounded slicker than anyone else’s. Although we’d always written as an ensemble before, everyone always brought in their ideas and kicked them around. Don brought in “…Reaper†essentially finished.

Albert Bouchard: Donald didn’t really ask for any help. I gave him some thoughts, which he totally didn’t use.

David Lucas: [co-producer] At the time “…Reaper†was a little bit long and so I made some suggestions for edits, trim it down. We trimmed it down and went into the Record Plant.

Joe Bouchard: We chose the Record Plant because John Lennon had worked there. Everybody had worked there, Hendrix, Aerosmith, Gregg Allman, but it was the Lennon vibe we liked. We’d go out into the lounge and watch The Exorcist on Lennon’s videotape machine that he left there, while we were recording. I think that rubbed off on “…Reaperâ€.

Buck Dharma: David was our co-producer – a very successful jingle guy who we met at a swingers’ party in the early ’70s.

David Lucas: I made a deal that I would do all music production, be in charge of music and recording and sounds and Sandy would mix. So he would stay out of the studio when we made the music, and I stayed out of the mixing room when he mixed the music. All of the songs that I ever produced with them were smooth as silk. I would stand at a podium and I would dance and do my conducting thing, just to keep the band alert, and to keep the rhythm.

Sandy Pearlman: “…Reaper†benefited from a tremendous infusion of new recording technology that the Record Plant, which was one of the three or four or five best and most advanced studios in the world, had. It made all sorts of sound manipulation tools available to us that hadn’t

been available just a few years before.

Shelly Yakus [engineer]: The technological things that became available in 1976 certainly helped. Sure, there was equipment that made it easier for me to get what I was looking for. Would I have found another way? But remember, it’s not about the racecar, it’s about who’s driving it.

Sandy Pearlman: “…Reaper†has a tremendously tall soundscape. It has a very high sonic horizon. Not only is there a lot going on, but you can hear everything that’s going on. And given the conditions under which it was made, what’s going on is pretty much going on well beyond your hearing capabilities. So it’s a kind of festival of overtones.

David Lucas: So, whose idea was it to put the cowbell on the track? Mine. The song just floated and the drums were moving along but it didn’t have four-on-the-floor drive. I had a cowbell that I’d been using for years for my studio, went and got it. It wasn’t because I played the cowbell that I cranked it up. Sandy did that because he did the mix.

Albert Bouchard: I played the cowbell. When I got to the session, I thought that David Lucas was going to have me do a shaker because he always put ’em on everything. But he said, “I want you to play a cowbell.†So I played it, and said, “It’s not making it for me.†So David says, “Let’s tape it up and try it again.†We covered it in gaffer’s tape and I used a tympani mallet. Everybody went, “That’s the sound we want.†I see the cowbell as like the relentless march of the clock. The funny thing is that on the Saturday Night Live skit, Will Ferrell is made up to look like Eric. Eric would play the cowbell onstage, but not on the record.

Eric Bloom: Who played the cowbell on it? I did.

Buck Dharma: I think there was some worry within the band, the organisation, that if “…Reaper†was really popular, would that mean that the Öyster Cult was going in a direction that would preclude our more sinister stuff. But my thought was, I can’t help it.

Joe Bouchard: While it fit into the science fiction aspect of what we were doing, sonically “…Reaper†was different. We’d played covers of Byrds songs in our club days, and specifically the pattern came from “So You Want To Be A Rock ’N’ Roll Starâ€. Then the other part was Hendrix’s “All Along The Watch Towerâ€, for the pacing and the fills.

Albert Bouchard: When Sandy Pearlman heard it he said, “This sounds like The Byrds.†I was like, what? It sounded nothing like The Byrds!

Buck Dharma: I’ve heard that I dreamt the whole song, including the arrangement. It’s a great story. Certainly, the arc of the story was always in my mind. I started contemplating my mortality, and thought, ‘Gee, wouldn’t it be great, even if you died, that your love would survive.’ I had a heart irregularity and I was all worried about that. It turned out to be not life threatening but it certainly got me thinking about my own mortality. I think that’s one of the attractions about “…Reaper†is that it does resonate with people. People think about this stuff. About dying. After I contemplated my own dying, I didn’t really dwell on it. Whatever dread I had about a short life was eventually assuaged by my existence. But it took 20 years for me to get on the proper medication to correct my arrhythmia.

Joe Bouchard: We didn’t know that Donald had heart problems, so we didn’t know what the inspiration was. We were all getting older, of course. I just thought he was affected by that. For years he was pretty ambiguous about the song, saying: “It’s just another silly love song.â€

Buck Dharma: I was kind of appalled that some people thought it was about suicide. If I had thought people were going to think that, I would have changed some of the lyrics. I probably would have taken out the reference to Romeo and Juliet, but it was too good a metaphor.

Joe Bouchard: I don’t know why people connect with it so deeply. It’s a song that’s been able to hold a lot of mystery. Even though I think part of it can be analysed intellectually there’s something still very elusive and otherworldly. There’s always another door opening. Maybe someday it’ll be all figured out.

Buck Dharma: “…Reaper†posits that there is an afterlife and you can cross over. Every once in a while the reality can be rent open and you can actually move within these different realms. When I wrote it, I was hoping it was an afterlife. But now? I’m accepting that this might be all there is. But I’m quite willing to be surprised.

Sandy Pearlman: Did the success of Buck writing “…Reaper†by himself change the dynamics of the band? At the time, I didn’t think it did, but as time went by it was obvious that the market spoke. It was obvious that Donald was much more likely to come up with Top 40 material, radioactive material, than the other guys.

David Lucas: I don’t think the guys in Blue Öyster Cult expected to have a hit. They just expected to have a career.

Buck Dharma: “…Reaper†changed things in the band. It created a little confusion in the band’s identity. After that, Blue Öyster Cult lurched in a direction we’d otherwise resisted, in terms of our conscious image. I never thought we pandered to the occult or violence or any of that. We would deal with these themes much like an author or a filmmaker would. We were hammered as being Nazis or devil worshippers, we like to create mindscapes with our music but it’s not like we lived. It was very uncomfortable because we’re basically just middle-class kids.

Joe Bouchard: The biggest thing to change was we were playing to empty halls, and as soon as “…Reaper†came out we were selling out. It happened like within a week. It’s the power of a hit record.

Eric Bloom: The success launched us into the arenas. A lot of people thought it was our first album and weren’t familiar with the previous four. We were already beginning to headline shows off the success of the earlier albums. Now booking agents advanced that schedule.

Joe Bouchard: Donald resisted the pressure to write Reaper Pt 2. He refused, flat out. Of course, the follow-up for Donald was a tribute to [1950s movie monster] Godzilla.

Buck Dharma: The song has become more like a memorial to people that have passed. It’s something you play or say when someone passes away. And I’m good with that. I’m gonna play it at my funeral.

_______________________

Fact File

Written by: Buck Dharma

Performers: Buck Dharma (vocals, lead guitar), Eric Bloom (rhythm guitar, vocals, cowbell(?)), Allen Lanier (keyboards), Joe Bouchard (bass, vocals), Albert Bouchard (drums)

Produced by: Sandy Pearlman and David Lucas

Recorded at: Record Plant, New York

Released as a UK single: May 1978

UK chart: 16

Sam Raimi, Oz and A Simple Plan

Michael Bonner
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Sam Raimi, Oz and A Simple Plan

It’s possible to view the career of Sam Raimi as one might a musician of a certain stripe. The successful early indie releases, followed by uneven attempts to navigate the mainstream landscape; a dedicated fanbase for whom those formative cult projects are sacrosanct. To be honest, although I’ve enjoyed some of Raimi’s films, I’ve never entirely understood why people continue to make a fuss about his films. The first two Evil Dead movies, with which made his name, were inventive, grisly fun – I always felt he followed in the tradition of George Romero and John Carpenter, who’d also successfully made the most of penuriously tight budgets at the start of their careers. And the Spiderman movies, of course, made a lot of money and legitimized Raimi as a major studio filmmaker after a number of projects of varying quality. Raimi’s latest is Oz, The Great And Powerful. Essentially a prequel (ach, that word) to the 1939 MGM musical, it feels an awful lot like an attempt by Disney to replicate the staggering success of Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland – another much-loved children’s story reimagined by a film maker of similar predilections to Raimi. But both films are hamstrung by the same things – on one hand, an awkward attempt to honour the look of the original using top range contemporary technology, and on the other by a lack of nuanced human drama and character development. Burton is another filmmaker like Raimi who perhaps best operates when in a slump: I’m thinking of Frankenweenie after Dark Shadows, or Charlie And The Chocolate Factory after Planet Of The Apes and Big Fish. Specifically, I think Raimi’s best film came out of the period after the failures of Army Of Darkness and The Quick And The Dead. At best, Raimi’s early career is checkered – literally, a hit followed by a miss – for every The Evil Dead, a Darkman. But after The Quick And The Dead, he gives up movies for three years to concentrate on developing his Hercules TV series. He comes back with A Simple Plan in 1998, an excellent, thoughtful thriller about two brothers and a friend who find $4 million inside a crashed plane in the snowy Minnesota countryside. Inevitable comparisons to Fargo aside, A Simple Plan is a terrific character piece – usual for Raimi, who’s never been especially strong in that area – with three excellent performances from Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton as the two brothers and Bridget Fonda as Paxton’s wife. It’s a study in greed, as the plan to split the money equally come spring gradually falls apart - a riff on a Canterbury Tale. Raimi reins in his usual kinetic camera tricks, and shoots everything like a snowy film noir – there’s brilliant shots of black crows sitting on spindly tree branches filmed against the muted, white Minnesota landscape. There’s a sense of consequence, too: broadly, Raimi’s violence is cartoonish, or throwaway, but here as the story develops and double crosses become triple crosses you sense the weight of each, grim decision making its mark on the film’s characters. I wish Raimi had made more films like A Simple Plan. Everything since seemed to regress back to EC-style horror capers or superhero movies - again, of variable quality. It's hard to imagine him returning to this kind of intimate, character-driven piece - but I wish he would. A Simple Plan is a very good film indeed.

It’s possible to view the career of Sam Raimi as one might a musician of a certain stripe. The successful early indie releases, followed by uneven attempts to navigate the mainstream landscape; a dedicated fanbase for whom those formative cult projects are sacrosanct.

To be honest, although I’ve enjoyed some of Raimi’s films, I’ve never entirely understood why people continue to make a fuss about his films. The first two Evil Dead movies, with which made his name, were inventive, grisly fun – I always felt he followed in the tradition of George Romero and John Carpenter, who’d also successfully made the most of penuriously tight budgets at the start of their careers. And the Spiderman movies, of course, made a lot of money and legitimized Raimi as a major studio filmmaker after a number of projects of varying quality.

Raimi’s latest is Oz, The Great And Powerful. Essentially a prequel (ach, that word) to the 1939 MGM musical, it feels an awful lot like an attempt by Disney to replicate the staggering success of Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland – another much-loved children’s story reimagined by a film maker of similar predilections to Raimi. But both films are hamstrung by the same things – on one hand, an awkward attempt to honour the look of the original using top range contemporary technology, and on the other by a lack of nuanced human drama and character development.

Burton is another filmmaker like Raimi who perhaps best operates when in a slump: I’m thinking of Frankenweenie after Dark Shadows, or Charlie And The Chocolate Factory after Planet Of The Apes and Big Fish. Specifically, I think Raimi’s best film came out of the period after the failures of Army Of Darkness and The Quick And The Dead. At best, Raimi’s early career is checkered – literally, a hit followed by a miss – for every The Evil Dead, a Darkman. But after The Quick And The Dead, he gives up movies for three years to concentrate on developing his Hercules TV series. He comes back with A Simple Plan in 1998, an excellent, thoughtful thriller about two brothers and a friend who find $4 million inside a crashed plane in the snowy Minnesota countryside.

Inevitable comparisons to Fargo aside, A Simple Plan is a terrific character piece – usual for Raimi, who’s never been especially strong in that area – with three excellent performances from Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton as the two brothers and Bridget Fonda as Paxton’s wife. It’s a study in greed, as the plan to split the money equally come spring gradually falls apart – a riff on a Canterbury Tale. Raimi reins in his usual kinetic camera tricks, and shoots everything like a snowy film noir – there’s brilliant shots of black crows sitting on spindly tree branches filmed against the muted, white Minnesota landscape. There’s a sense of consequence, too: broadly, Raimi’s violence is cartoonish, or throwaway, but here as the story develops and double crosses become triple crosses you sense the weight of each, grim decision making its mark on the film’s characters.

I wish Raimi had made more films like A Simple Plan. Everything since seemed to regress back to EC-style horror capers or superhero movies – again, of variable quality. It’s hard to imagine him returning to this kind of intimate, character-driven piece – but I wish he would. A Simple Plan is a very good film indeed.

The National tour film to receive world premiere in New York

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The National tour film to receive world premiere in New York
The National's tour movie, Mistaken For Strangers, is set to stage its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York on April 17. Mistaken For Strangers was directed by Tom Berninger, younger brother to lead singer Matt Berninger. The documentary follows the two brothers through the band'...

The National‘s tour movie, Mistaken For Strangers, is set to stage its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York on April 17.

Mistaken For Strangers was directed by Tom Berninger, younger brother to lead singer Matt Berninger. The documentary follows the two brothers through the band’s 2010 tour. Tom Berninger said: “When my brother asked me along on tour as a roadie, I thought I might as well bring a camera to film the experience. What started as a pretty modest tour documentary has, over the last two and a half years, grown into something much more personal, and hopefully more entertaining.”

You can see examples from Tom Berninger’s work with the band on The National’s website.

The band will play live following the screening of the film.

The Breeders announce UK tour dates

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The Breeders announce UK tour dates
The Breeders have announced UK dates to coincide with the 20th anniversary of their 1993 album, Last Splash. The Breeders line up that recorded Last Splash - Kim Deal, Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs and Jim Macpherson - have already announced American dates, as well as a UK show at Deerhunter's 2013 ...

The Breeders have announced UK dates to coincide with the 20th anniversary of their 1993 album, Last Splash.

The Breeders line up that recorded Last Splash – Kim Deal, Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs and Jim Macpherson – have already announced American dates, as well as a UK show at Deerhunter’s 2013 ATP Festival in June.

They’ve now added three more UK shows.

Meanwhile, to mark the 20th anniversary of Last Splash, the band’s record label 4AD plan are releasing a Deluxe Anniversary Edition called LSXX in April.

The dates are:

June 17 – Glasgow, The O2 ABC

June 18 – Manchester, The Ritz

June 19 – London, The Forum

June 21 – Camber Sands, All Tomorrow’s Parties

Pic credit: Danny Clinch

Hear new David Bowie album The Next Day in full

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Hear new David Bowie album The Next Day in full
David Bowie is streaming his new album The Next Day in full. Bowie's hugely anticipated new LP is his first new material in a decade and features the track "Where Are We Now" and "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" – which was released last week. The single "Where Are We Now" will see a special vinyl ...

David Bowie is streaming his new album The Next Day in full.

Bowie’s hugely anticipated new LP is his first new material in a decade and features the track “Where Are We Now” and “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” – which was released last week. The single “Where Are We Now” will see a special vinyl 7″ single release for Record Store Day on April 20.

In this month’s Uncut, on sale now, you can not only read the definitive review of the brand new album, as well as interviews with the key musicians involved in the making of The Next Day.

The Next Day is streaming at iTunes.com/davidbowie, and will be available until the album’s release on March 11.

Click here to listen to it.

The full tracklisting for The Next Day is:

‘The Next Day’

‘Dirty Boys’

‘The Stars (Are Out Tonight)’

‘Love Is Lost’

‘Where Are We Now?’

‘Valentine’s Day’

‘If You Can See Me’

‘I’d Rather Be High’

‘Boss Of Me’

‘Dancing Out In Space’

‘How Does The Grass Grow’

‘(You Will) Set The World On Fire’

‘You Feel So Lonely You Could Die’

‘Heat’

Deluxe Version bonus tracks

‘So She’

‘I’ll Take You There’

‘Plan’

Stoker

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Stoker

Hollywood has never quite known what to do with Park Chan-wook. On the face of it, a director of extremely violent genre films like Sympathy For Mr Vengeance and Oldboy, dig a little deeper however and Park’s output isn’t that easy to qualify. His films are violent, yes, and often in the most grisly sense possible, but they are also astonishing to watch – beautifully styled and composed – and undercut with a rich sense of the absurd. Recent attempts to remake 2003’s Oldboy, arguably his most famous film, have seen off a couple of directors (including Steven Spielberg) and leading men from Christian Bale to Will Smith. Spike Lee’s version, starring Josh Brolin, is due later this year. In the meantime, Stoker is the Korean filmmaker’s English language debut. Although the grisly violence of Park’s earlier films is dialled down – though fans of “the hammer scene†in Oldboy will enjoy some business here involving a pencil – a general sense of high camp prevails. When India’s father Richard dies in a car accident, she is surprised when Charlie, an uncle she never knew existed, turns up for the funeral. “This is Richard’s brother,†India is told. “He’s come back.†From where – and why – are the film’s great mysteries, playfully teased out by Park and the film’s screenwriter – Prison Break actor Wentworth Miller. The vibe here is a ripe mix of Gothic fairytale, Almodovar camp and Hitchcock melodrama. Many familiar genre tropes are in evidence – there’s a sprawling house, a mysterious nanny and a distant mother, all filtered through India’s personal and sexual awakening. Matthew Goode’s Charlie is a handsome, charming presence – but he’s impossible to read. He smiles easily, but he has dark, shark-like eyes that give nothing away. And what exactly does he want with his dead brother’s belt? As Evelyn, Nicole Kidman revisits the role of Grace from The Others – another neurotic mother rattling round a rambling old house. Mia Wasikowska, meanwhile, leads the film as India – her dark hair and pale skin bringing to mind one of those creepy ghost girls you get skulking round basements in Japanese horror films. The play between the three leads is terrific – a bit bonkers, quite creepy, often over-the-top. Brilliantly, this is the only house still standing where the freezer sits in the furthest corner of an extremely badly lit basement. Michael Bonner

Hollywood has never quite known what to do with Park Chan-wook. On the face of it, a director of extremely violent genre films like Sympathy For Mr Vengeance and Oldboy, dig a little deeper however and Park’s output isn’t that easy to qualify. His films are violent, yes, and often in the most grisly sense possible, but they are also astonishing to watch – beautifully styled and composed – and undercut with a rich sense of the absurd. Recent attempts to remake 2003’s Oldboy, arguably his most famous film, have seen off a couple of directors (including Steven Spielberg) and leading men from Christian Bale to Will Smith. Spike Lee’s version, starring Josh Brolin, is due later this year.

In the meantime, Stoker is the Korean filmmaker’s English language debut. Although the grisly violence of Park’s earlier films is dialled down – though fans of “the hammer scene†in Oldboy will enjoy some business here involving a pencil – a general sense of high camp prevails. When India’s father Richard dies in a car accident, she is surprised when Charlie, an uncle she never knew existed, turns up for the funeral. “This is Richard’s brother,†India is told. “He’s come back.†From where – and why – are the film’s great mysteries, playfully teased out by Park and the film’s screenwriter – Prison Break actor Wentworth Miller.

The vibe here is a ripe mix of Gothic fairytale, Almodovar camp and Hitchcock melodrama. Many familiar genre tropes are in evidence – there’s a sprawling house, a mysterious nanny and a distant mother, all filtered through India’s personal and sexual awakening. Matthew Goode’s Charlie is a handsome, charming presence – but he’s impossible to read. He smiles easily, but he has dark, shark-like eyes that give nothing away. And what exactly does he want with his dead brother’s belt? As Evelyn, Nicole Kidman revisits the role of Grace from The Others – another neurotic mother rattling round a rambling old house. Mia Wasikowska, meanwhile, leads the film as India – her dark hair and pale skin bringing to mind one of those creepy ghost girls you get skulking round basements in Japanese horror films. The play between the three leads is terrific – a bit bonkers, quite creepy, often over-the-top. Brilliantly, this is the only house still standing where the freezer sits in the furthest corner of an extremely badly lit basement.

Michael Bonner

Watch Atoms For Peace video for “Ingenue”

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Watch Atoms For Peace video for “Ingenue”

Thom Yorke's side-project Atoms For Peace have released a new music video for their song, ‘Ingenue.’ The video was directed by film maker Garth Jennings and choreographed by Wayne McGregor – both of whom worked with Yorke previously. In it, Yorke dances onstage with contemporary dancer Fukiko Takase. Atoms for Peace released their debut album, Amok, on Monday. You can read the Uncut review here. The band are scheduled to play two sold out March shows, but will appear in three European festivals over the summer. March 8, Berlin – Berghain March 14 New York – Le Poission Rouge July 12, Trencin Slovakia – Pohoda Festival July 13, Novi Sad, Serbia – Exit Festival July 21, Ferropolis Germany –Melt Festival http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpVfF4U75B8

Thom Yorke’s side-project Atoms For Peace have released a new music video for their song, ‘Ingenue.’

The video was directed by film maker Garth Jennings and choreographed by Wayne McGregor – both of whom worked with Yorke previously. In it, Yorke dances onstage with contemporary dancer Fukiko Takase.

Atoms for Peace released their debut album, Amok, on Monday. You can read the Uncut review here.

The band are scheduled to play two sold out March shows, but will appear in three European festivals over the summer.

March 8, Berlin – Berghain

March 14 New York – Le Poission Rouge

July 12, Trencin Slovakia – Pohoda Festival

July 13, Novi Sad, Serbia – Exit Festival

July 21, Ferropolis Germany –Melt Festival

Bob Dylan confirms Record Store Day release

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Bob Dylan confirms Record Store Day release
Bob Dylan has confirmed he will release a 7" single for Record Store Day 2013. Last week, we reported rumours that Dylan was planning to release two tracks - "Wigwam" and "Thirsty Boots" - from the spring 1970 sessions for the Self Portrait album. Dylan's record label, Columbia Records, have now c...

Bob Dylan has confirmed he will release a 7″ single for Record Store Day 2013.

Last week, we reported rumours that Dylan was planning to release two tracks – “Wigwam” and “Thirsty Boots” – from the spring 1970 sessions for the Self Portrait album.

Dylan’s record label, Columbia Records, have now confirmed the rumours are true, and the 7″ single will be on sale in selected independent record shops for Record Store Day on April 20.

In a post on Dylan’s website confirming the single release, Columbia also revealed that the tracks are taken from the next instalment of Dylan’s ongoing Bootleg Series – Volume 10.

Yesterday, Bob Dylan announced a string of April 2013 shows in America. You can find the tour dates here.

Bob Dylan announces spring American tour dates

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Bob Dylan announces spring American tour dates
Bob Dylan has confirmed American tour dates for April. This latest batch of dates will begin on Friday, April 5 at Alumni Arena in Buffalo, NY. Support will come from Dawes, whose new album, Stories Don't End, is released on April 9. Dylan's record label, Columbia, has also confirmed that they wil...

Bob Dylan has confirmed American tour dates for April.

This latest batch of dates will begin on Friday, April 5 at Alumni Arena in Buffalo, NY. Support will come from Dawes, whose new album, Stories Don’t End, is released on April 9.

Dylan’s record label, Columbia, has also confirmed that they will release a 7″ single on April 20 for Record Store Day: “Wigwam”, backed with “Thirsty Boots”.

Bob Dylan Spring 2013 Tour Dates

April 5 – Buffalo, N.Y. – SUNY Buffalo Alumni Arena

April 6 – Amherst, Mass.- Mullins Center

April 8 – Kingston, R.I. – Ryan Center

April 9 – Lowell, Mass. – Tsongas Center At UMass Lowell

April 10 – Lewiston, Maine – Androscoggin Bank Colisee

April 12 – Newark, Del. – Bob Carpenter Center

April 13 – California, Pa. – California University

April 14 – Ithaca, N.Y. – Barton Hall

April 16 – Richmond, Va. – Landmark Theater

April 18 – Bethlehem, Pa. – Stabler Arena

April 19 – Akron, Ohio – E.J. Thomas Hall

April 20 – Kalamazoo, Mich. – Wings Stadium

April 21 – Bowling Green, Ohio – Bowling Green State University

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers announce American tour dates

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Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers announce American tour dates
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers have announced American tour dates for the summer. The band will play the full spectrum of venues, from festivals as large as Bonaroo to intimate theaters in New York and Los Angeles. More than half of the tour will be split between those two cities, with five nights...

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers have announced American tour dates for the summer.

The band will play the full spectrum of venues, from festivals as large as Bonaroo to intimate theaters in New York and Los Angeles. More than half of the tour will be split between those two cities, with five nights at New York’s Beacon Theatre and six in LA’s Fonda Theater.

Besides Bonaroo, Petty will play three other festivals: The Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama, Firefly in Dover, Delaware, and Summerfest in Milwaukee.

The tour will constitute a brief vacation from the studio, as Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers are recording an as yet untitled album to be released in 2014.

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers will play:

May 16, Evansville, IN – Ford Center

May 17-19, Gulf Shores, AL – Hangout Music Festival

May 20, New York, NY – Beacon Theatre

May 21, New York, NY – Beacon Theatre

May 23, New York, NY – Beacon Theatre

May 25, New York, NY – Beacon Theatre

May 26, New York, NY – Beacon Theatre

June 3, Los Angeles, CA – Fonda Theater

June 4, Los Angeles, CA – Fonda Theater

June 6, Los Angeles, CA – Fonda Theater

June 8, Los Angeles, CA – Fonda Theater

June 9, Los Angeles, CA – Fonda Theater

June 11, Los Angeles, CA – Fonda Theater

June 15, Noblesville, IN – Klipsch Music Center

June 13-16, Manchester, TN – Bonaroo

June 18, London, ONT – Budweiser Gardens

June 20, Pittsburgh, PA – Consol Energy Center

June 21-23 Dover, DE – Firefly Music Festival

June 23, Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center

June 28, Milwaukee, WI – Summerfest (Marcus Amphitheater)

June 29, Minneapolis, MN – Target Center

Jonathan Richman and Aerosmith in battle over state song

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Jonathan Richman and Aerosmith in battle over state song

A campaign to make the Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers classic “Roadrunner†the official state rock song of Massachusetts has hit a snag: Aerosmith. The bill to recognize “Roadrunnerâ€, introduced to the state legislature by Dorchester Representative Marty Walsh earlier this month, now faces competition from a competing bill to give the state rock song honors to Aerosmith’s “Dream Onâ€. Duxbury Democrat Representative Josh Cutler and Marshfield Democrat Rep. James Cantwell introduced the “Dream On†legislation on Monday. “With all due respect, Aerosmith is the best-selling American rock band of all time. No band is more closely associated with Massachusetts,†Rep. Cantwell told the State House News Service. In the same article Cutler argued that “Dream On†was the better candidate because it’s a “classic ballad that's all about holding on to your dreams and seizing opportunity.†The counter-legislation flies directly in the face of a grassroots effort in Richman’s corner. The “Roadrunner†movement was spearheaded by Joyce Linehan, a former Sub Pop A&R rep and current resident of Dorchester who presented Walsh with a petition to enshrine the song. Linehan told The Boston Globe first got the idea from a 2007 article in The Guardian where a writer visited all of the places mentioned in “Roadrunner.†A road song devoted to the Massachusetts highway, Richman would vary the lyrics to include a bevy of local land marks. See a video of a performance of the song below. She was further pushed into action when a new Boston radio station offered a public vote for which Massachusetts-based song would be the first they would play. “Roadrunner†placed second to the Mighty Mighty Bosstones’ “I Want My City Back.†Linehan is hardly alone in liking the song. Over the years, “Roadrunner†has been covered by bands ranging from the Sex Pistols to Yo La Tengo. “I just remember what an anthem it was,†Buffalo Tom’s Bill Janovitz told the Globe. “It’s absolute poetry and cuts right into the essence of what makes suburban Massachusetts so interesting.†http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPCHU-cBWwk Pic credit: Ollie Millington/Redferns

A campaign to make the Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers classic “Roadrunner†the official state rock song of Massachusetts has hit a snag: Aerosmith.

The bill to recognize “Roadrunnerâ€, introduced to the state legislature by Dorchester Representative Marty Walsh earlier this month, now faces competition from a competing bill to give the state rock song honors to Aerosmith’s “Dream Onâ€.

Duxbury Democrat Representative Josh Cutler and Marshfield Democrat Rep. James Cantwell introduced the “Dream On†legislation on Monday.

“With all due respect, Aerosmith is the best-selling American rock band of all time. No band is more closely associated with Massachusetts,†Rep. Cantwell told the State House News Service.

In the same article Cutler argued that “Dream On†was the better candidate because it’s a “classic ballad that’s all about holding on to your dreams and seizing opportunity.â€

The counter-legislation flies directly in the face of a grassroots effort in Richman’s corner. The “Roadrunner†movement was spearheaded by Joyce Linehan, a former Sub Pop A&R rep and current resident of Dorchester who presented Walsh with a petition to enshrine the song.

Linehan told The Boston Globe first got the idea from a 2007 article in The Guardian where a writer visited all of the places mentioned in “Roadrunner.†A road song devoted to the Massachusetts highway, Richman would vary the lyrics to include a bevy of local land marks. See a video of a performance of the song below.

She was further pushed into action when a new Boston radio station offered a public vote for which Massachusetts-based song would be the first they would play. “Roadrunner†placed second to the Mighty Mighty Bosstones’ “I Want My City Back.â€

Linehan is hardly alone in liking the song. Over the years, “Roadrunner†has been covered by bands ranging from the Sex Pistols to Yo La Tengo.

“I just remember what an anthem it was,†Buffalo Tom’s Bill Janovitz told the Globe. “It’s absolute poetry and cuts right into the essence of what makes suburban Massachusetts so interesting.â€

Pic credit: Ollie Millington/Redferns

This month in Uncut!

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This month in Uncut!

The new issue of Uncut, out today (February 28), features David Bowie, Stephen Stills, Kraftwerk and Wilko Johnson. David Bowie is on the cover, and inside is a 10-page special on The Next Day, featuring the definitive review, the inside story from Bowie’s collaborators, including Gail Ann Dorsey and Earl Slick, and the secret history of his last ten years. Stephen Stills looks back over his musical career, recalling his work with Neil Young, David Crosby and Graham Nash, while Kraftwerk’s London Tate Modern retrospective is reviewed and Wilko Johnson talks to Uncut editor Allan Jones about Dr Feelgood, cancer and his farewell shows. Van Dyke Parks answers your questions about Smile, pocket squares and why he turned down an offer to join The Byrds; Edwyn Collins talks us through the landmark albums of his career; and the full story of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti’s revolutionary life is told. Uncut also visits Phosphorescent in New York, The Yardbirds take us through their life in photographs, and we pay tribute to late Troggs frontman Reg Presley. Low, John Grant, Suede, My Bloody Valentine, Emmylou Harris and Billy Bragg all feature in our expansive 39-page reviews section, while the issue’s free CD, titled The New Music, contains tracks from Jim James, Phosphorescent, Low, Edwyn Collins and Christopher Owens. The new issue of Uncut (dated April 2013) is out today.

The new issue of Uncut, out today (February 28), features David Bowie, Stephen Stills, Kraftwerk and Wilko Johnson.

David Bowie is on the cover, and inside is a 10-page special on The Next Day, featuring the definitive review, the inside story from Bowie’s collaborators, including Gail Ann Dorsey and Earl Slick, and the secret history of his last ten years.

Stephen Stills looks back over his musical career, recalling his work with Neil Young, David Crosby and Graham Nash, while Kraftwerk’s London Tate Modern retrospective is reviewed and Wilko Johnson talks to Uncut editor Allan Jones about Dr Feelgood, cancer and his farewell shows.

Van Dyke Parks answers your questions about Smile, pocket squares and why he turned down an offer to join The Byrds; Edwyn Collins talks us through the landmark albums of his career; and the full story of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti’s revolutionary life is told.

Uncut also visits Phosphorescent in New York, The Yardbirds take us through their life in photographs, and we pay tribute to late Troggs frontman Reg Presley.

Low, John Grant, Suede, My Bloody Valentine, Emmylou Harris and Billy Bragg all feature in our expansive 39-page reviews section, while the issue’s free CD, titled The New Music, contains tracks from Jim James, Phosphorescent, Low, Edwyn Collins and Christopher Owens.

The new issue of Uncut (dated April 2013) is out today.

Johnny Marr – The Messenger

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Johnny Marr – The Messenger

The solo debut by The Smiths guitar ace is a joyous return to the sound of his greatest triumphs... Placed bang in the middle of The Messenger is a song that explains a great deal about Johnny Marr. “Generate! Generate!†is, in its author’s own words, “a song in praise of hyperactivityâ€. The hyperactivity in question is Marr’s own, borne out by the song’s stark contrast between a chanting, marching, almost laddish verse and a dreamy Smithsian chorus. It even risks an intellectual pun: “Cogito ergo dumbâ€, from cogito ergo sum, the original Latin version of philosopher Rene Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am.†Marr paints himself as a man oscillating wildly between thought and action: “Sensations jacked my thinking… I can’t get behind a one-track mindâ€. Which, if nothing else, explains Marr’s restlessly eclectic, permanently transient CV. Over the last decade, Marr has, among many other shorter, sharper projects, made his one-and-only album, 2003’s Boomslang, with his own band The Healers, become a full-time member of both Modest Mouse and The Cribs, and popped up on the soundtrack of Christopher Nolan’s Inception. Throughout this time Marr lived in Portland, Oregon, and it seems that the decision to move back to Manchester and the decision to finally make an album under his own name are more than coincidence. The Messenger is Marr’s attempt to relocate his roots in order to express his deep dissatisfaction with the rubbishness of modern life. Not a surprising angle for a smart, left-leaning nearly-50 rock ‘n’ roller to take perhaps. What is more surprising – and happily so – is that much of Marr’s debut solo album sounds like The Smiths. Of course, Marr can neither sing nor write lyrics like Morrissey. But many of the tunes here bear a comforting familiarity, the sonic palette is resolutely rock-meets-indie with an ever-present melodic lilt, and, best of all, the guitars acoustically jangle and electrically rage and soar in a way that can only be described as trademark Johnny Marr. The Messenger’s other singular quality is that its an album that gets better as it goes along, almost as if Marr arranged the running order to reveal his own creative confidence gradually returning. Opener “The Right Things Right†sets the thematic tone, as Marr’s staccato lyric strives to find a path through the din of modern capitalism. But its an underwhelming verse saved by an earworm chorus, and the following “I Want The Heartbeat†does that angular, robotic thing that rockers often do when they want to moan about the dehumanizing effects of technology. Things properly gets going on third track “European Meâ€, a sort of “Safe European Home†for both asylum seekers and exiled guitar icons which crosses “Rusholme Ruffians†with Felt’s “Penelope Treeâ€, and sees Marr’s almost Lloyd Cole-esque vocal merge with the sweet backing trills of daughter Sonny on the truly lovely chorus. Somewhat anonymous verses washed away by fantastic refrains is a recurring motif throughout. From there, “Upstartsâ€, the title track, the definitively Smithsian “New Town Velocity†and the dystopian Franz Ferdinandisms of “Word Starts Attack†match “European Me†and define the best of this persuasive, questioning record. The highlight, though, is a fascinating anomaly in light of Marr’s statement that The Messenger is an album he might have made if The Smiths had never happened. “The Crack Up†is a cracking retro-‘80s pop song, where the synths share centre-stage with the guitars, the rhythm prowls, and something special emerges from the contrast between the eerily youthful calm of Marr’s croon and the sinister feel of the dark melody and fretful, cut-up lyric about misused (or abused?) teenage models. The only thing in Marr’s back catalogue that hints at a similar aesthetic is his work with Matt Johnson over twenty years ago. The Messenger isn’t an album that will blow any non-believers away. It is old-fashioned, in many ways, and its message of humanity being bullied by an alliance of corporate greed and digital distraction is gently conveyed and often oblique. But, even if none of Marr’s concerns engage you, there is one thing above all that makes The Messenger worth 45 minutes of anyone’s time. It features the guitarist from The Smiths playing guitar like the guitarist from The Smiths. And that remains one of the very best noises on Earth. Garry Mulholland

The solo debut by The Smiths guitar ace is a joyous return to the sound of his greatest triumphs…

Placed bang in the middle of The Messenger is a song that explains a great deal about Johnny Marr. “Generate! Generate!†is, in its author’s own words, “a song in praise of hyperactivityâ€. The hyperactivity in question is Marr’s own, borne out by the song’s stark contrast between a chanting, marching, almost laddish verse and a dreamy Smithsian chorus. It even risks an intellectual pun: “Cogito ergo dumbâ€, from cogito ergo sum, the original Latin version of philosopher Rene Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am.†Marr paints himself as a man oscillating wildly between thought and action: “Sensations jacked my thinking… I can’t get behind a one-track mindâ€. Which, if nothing else, explains Marr’s restlessly eclectic, permanently transient CV.

Over the last decade, Marr has, among many other shorter, sharper projects, made his one-and-only album, 2003’s Boomslang, with his own band The Healers, become a full-time member of both Modest Mouse and The Cribs, and popped up on the soundtrack of Christopher Nolan’s Inception. Throughout this time Marr lived in Portland, Oregon, and it seems that the decision to move back to Manchester and the decision to finally make an album under his own name are more than coincidence. The Messenger is Marr’s attempt to relocate his roots in order to express his deep dissatisfaction with the rubbishness of modern life. Not a surprising angle for a smart, left-leaning nearly-50 rock ‘n’ roller to take perhaps. What is more surprising – and happily so – is that much of Marr’s debut solo album sounds like The Smiths.

Of course, Marr can neither sing nor write lyrics like Morrissey. But many of the tunes here bear a comforting familiarity, the sonic palette is resolutely rock-meets-indie with an ever-present melodic lilt, and, best of all, the guitars acoustically jangle and electrically rage and soar in a way that can only be described as trademark Johnny Marr.

The Messenger’s other singular quality is that its an album that gets better as it goes along, almost as if Marr arranged the running order to reveal his own creative confidence gradually returning. Opener “The Right Things Right†sets the thematic tone, as Marr’s staccato lyric strives to find a path through the din of modern capitalism. But its an underwhelming verse saved by an earworm chorus, and the following “I Want The Heartbeat†does that angular, robotic thing that rockers often do when they want to moan about the dehumanizing effects of technology.

Things properly gets going on third track “European Meâ€, a sort of “Safe European Home†for both asylum seekers and exiled guitar icons which crosses “Rusholme Ruffians†with Felt’s “Penelope Treeâ€, and sees Marr’s almost Lloyd Cole-esque vocal merge with the sweet backing trills of daughter Sonny on the truly lovely chorus. Somewhat anonymous verses washed away by fantastic refrains is a recurring motif throughout.

From there, “Upstartsâ€, the title track, the definitively Smithsian “New Town Velocity†and the dystopian Franz Ferdinandisms of “Word Starts Attack†match “European Me†and define the best of this persuasive, questioning record. The highlight, though, is a fascinating anomaly in light of Marr’s statement that The Messenger is an album he might have made if The Smiths had never happened. “The Crack Up†is a cracking retro-‘80s pop song, where the synths share centre-stage with the guitars, the rhythm prowls, and something special emerges from the contrast between the eerily youthful calm of Marr’s croon and the sinister feel of the dark melody and fretful, cut-up lyric about misused (or abused?) teenage models. The only thing in Marr’s back catalogue that hints at a similar aesthetic is his work with Matt Johnson over twenty years ago.

The Messenger isn’t an album that will blow any non-believers away. It is old-fashioned, in many ways, and its message of humanity being bullied by an alliance of corporate greed and digital distraction is gently conveyed and often oblique. But, even if none of Marr’s concerns engage you, there is one thing above all that makes The Messenger worth 45 minutes of anyone’s time. It features the guitarist from The Smiths playing guitar like the guitarist from The Smiths. And that remains one of the very best noises on Earth.

Garry Mulholland

Brian Wilson, Jeff Beck to host Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp

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Brian Wilson, Jeff Beck to host Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp
The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson and Jeff Beck are to host a Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp in Las Vegas. The 'camp' takes place from April 18-21 at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, where attendees will learn songwriting tips from the legendary Beach Boys singer and guitar lessons from Jeff Beck. In addi...

The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson and Jeff Beck are to host a Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp in Las Vegas.

The ‘camp’ takes place from April 18-21 at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, where attendees will learn songwriting tips from the legendary Beach Boys singer and guitar lessons from Jeff Beck.

In addition to practicing and recording music with the two legends, the ‘campers’ will also get the chance to perform at MGM Grand’s Rouge Lounge at the end of the four-day session. There will also be an attendees-only gig by Brian Wilson.

However, those wishing to attend will need to fork out for the pleasure as the cheapest package is $2,500. If money is no object, however, the complete package costs a staggering $6,499.

Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp also announced a further two weekenders in spring. Sammy Hagar and Steve Vai host a session from March 5-9, while Def Leppard lead a fantasy camp from April 4-7. For more information and package details, go to the Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp website.

Meanwhile, when asked recently about the possibility of a Beach Boys reunion – following last year’s 50th anniversary tour dates and the release of a brand new album ‘That’s Why God Made The Radio’ – Wilson said: “No, I don’t think so. Doubt it.”

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