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The Beatles’ ‘Yellow Submarine’ remastered for re-release

Tom Goodwyn
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The Beatles’ ‘Yellow Submarine’ remastered for re-release
The Beatles' 1968 animated move and accompanying album, Yellow Submarine, has been restored to be re-released on May 28. The team behind the new release decided against the usual practice of using automated software to digitally clean up the film. Instead, due to the "delicate nature of the hand-...

The Beatles‘ 1968 animated move and accompanying album, Yellow Submarine, has been restored to be re-released on May 28.

The team behind the new release decided against the usual practice of using automated software to digitally clean up the film. Instead, due to the “delicate nature of the hand-drawn original artwork”, the team up-dated the film frame-by-frame.

Yellow Submarine, based on the song by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, follows the Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, as they travel to a city under the sea to confront the music hating Blue Meanies.

The re-packaged film will also feature a short making-of documentary, audio commentaries, behind-the-scene photographs and a 16-page booklet that includes an essay by Pixar and Walt Disney chief, John Lasseter.

In the sleeve-notes, Lasseter writes: “As a fan of animation and as a filmmaker, I tip my hat to the artists of Yellow Submarine, whose revolutionary work helped pave the way for the fantastically diverse world of animation that we all enjoy today.”

Ahead of the Yellow Submarine DVD and Blu-Ray and the repackaged soundtrack, Candlewick Press will publish a book of the screenplay from the movie on April 26. The publishers promise the book will showcase “the light-hearted wit of the film’s script”.

The Jazz Baroness

Michael Bonner
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The Jazz Baroness

Mini-bio of the great Thelonius Monk... Even in the mid-20th century, a genius still needed a patron. For Thelonious Sphere Monk, the “high priest of bebop”, that patron was Panonica De Koenigswarter, born into the über-rich Rothschild family. On a trip to NYC, a friend played her Monk’s “Round Midnight” and, on hearing the tune, ‘Nica’ experienced a damascene conversion to jazz. The interchange between high society and perceived low-life is a defining feature of bohemian life, but even in this context, the relationship between Monk and Nica was unusual. The pair were not lovers (Monk remained devoted to his wife Nellie) but kindred spirits, floating around NY’s vibrant jazz scene, encountering kindly bemusement on the way. Cats, in short, dug her; she was hip. Some folks who didn’t dig the Baroness’ downward mobility, however, were her family. Nica’s redefinition of her life vexed the Rothschilds, who will still not discuss it. And this is where The Jazz Baroness comes unstuck. Made by Hannah Rothschild, Nica’s niece, and someone you would think literally born to tell this story, the film never gets over one hurdle – the fact that family members who might lift the veil on Nica’s enigma refuse to talk, even to another family member. “What are you doing this for?” one unseen relative asks, crushingly. “Is it just for the publicity?” Compared to Clint Eastwood and Charlotte Zwerin’s Thelonious Monk: Straight No Chaser, The Jazz Baroness isn’t flattering. There’s simply not enough Nica to go around, so this becomes a mini-Monk bio, handicapped by Rothschild’s lack of empathy with jazz and its players (an interview with Sonny Rollins is particularly painful), and her fatuous attempts to draw parallels between the lives of someone of unimaginable wealth and someone whose father was born a slave. Unwittingly, the film’s about access (something that, as Withnail & I had it, is “free to those who can afford it, very expensive to those who can’t”). Where doors flew open for her aunt, for Rothschild, alas, they remain stubbornly closed. EXTRAS: Over 100 minutes of extended interviews. John Robinson

Mini-bio of the great Thelonius Monk…

Even in the mid-20th century, a genius still needed a patron. For Thelonious Sphere Monk, the “high priest of bebop”, that patron was Panonica De Koenigswarter, born into the über-rich Rothschild family. On a trip to NYC, a friend played her Monk’s “Round Midnight” and, on hearing the tune, ‘Nica’ experienced a damascene conversion to jazz.

The interchange between high society and perceived low-life is a defining feature of bohemian life, but even in this context, the relationship between Monk and Nica was unusual. The pair were not lovers (Monk remained devoted to his wife Nellie) but kindred spirits, floating around NY’s vibrant jazz scene, encountering kindly bemusement on the way. Cats, in short, dug her; she was hip.

Some folks who didn’t dig the Baroness’ downward mobility, however, were her family. Nica’s redefinition of her life vexed the Rothschilds, who will still not discuss it. And this is where The Jazz Baroness comes unstuck. Made by Hannah Rothschild, Nica’s niece, and someone you would think literally born to tell this story, the film never gets over one hurdle – the fact that family members who might lift the veil on Nica’s enigma refuse to talk, even to another family member. “What are you doing this for?” one unseen relative asks, crushingly. “Is it just for the publicity?”

Compared to Clint Eastwood and Charlotte Zwerin’s Thelonious Monk: Straight No Chaser, The Jazz Baroness isn’t flattering. There’s simply not enough Nica to go around, so this becomes a mini-Monk bio, handicapped by Rothschild’s lack of empathy with jazz and its players (an interview with Sonny Rollins is particularly painful), and her fatuous attempts to draw parallels between the lives of someone of unimaginable wealth and someone whose father was born a slave.

Unwittingly, the film’s about access (something that, as Withnail & I had it, is “free to those who can afford it, very expensive to those who can’t”). Where doors flew open for her aunt, for Rothschild, alas, they remain stubbornly closed.

EXTRAS: Over 100 minutes of extended interviews.

John Robinson

Neil Young On His New Album, ‘Americana’

Michael Bonner
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Neil Young On His New Album, ‘Americana’
Neil Young has penned brief historical details about each of the songs on Americana, his forthcoming album with Crazy Horse. Comprised on classic American folk songs including “Clementine”, “She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain” and “Gallow’s Pole”, it features some arrangements orig...

Neil Young has penned brief historical details about each of the songs on Americana, his forthcoming album with Crazy Horse.

Comprised on classic American folk songs including “Clementine”, “She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain” and “Gallow’s Pole”, it features some arrangements originally made by The Squires, the band Neil Young formed in 1963 while at High School in Winnepeg.

The album, which also includes guest vocals from Young’s Buffalo Springfield and CSNY band mate Stephen Stills, is released on June 4 on Reprise Records. Stills provides vocals on “This Land Is Your Land”, along with Young’s wife, Pegi.

Here are Young’s liner notes for the album.

Oh, Susannah

This song written by Stephen Foster was originally performed on September 11, 1847. The Americana version was arranged with a new melody by Tim Rose and was originally performed by The Big Three in 1963, and updated by Tim Rose and the Thorns in 1964. This band did a lot of arrangements of folk songs that were changed to be rock and roll songs and called folk-rock. Tim Rose was one of the pioneers of folk- rock. Much of the music of Americana is based on this idea.

Clementine

This American folk ballad is believed to be based on “Down By The River Liv’d a Maiden” by H.S. Thompson 1863. However, it is usually credited to Percy Montrose, 1884 or Barker Bradford from about the same period. The Americana arrangement extends the folk process, using many of the original words and a new melody. The song tells the story of either a bereaved lover recalling his lost sweetheart, or a father missing his lost daughter. In both cases the daughter has drowned in an accident. The song is now famous as an American children’s song. The verse about Clementine’s sister has been omitted from most children’s versions. This verse has different meanings depending on whether the point of view of the singer is taken as the lover or the father.

Tom Dula

This folk song, writer unknown, is based on the 1866 murder of a woman named Laura Foster, who was stabbed to death with a knife in Wilkes County, North Carolina. Tom Dula, a confederate soldier returned from the war and Laura Foster’s lover, was convicted of her murder and hanged May 1, 1868. Grayson, mentioned in the song, was instrumental in supplying information to the posse that eventually found Dula. Dula had another lover, prior to his leaving for the war, named Anne Melton. It was her comments that led to the discovery of Foster’s body. She was charged with murder but was acquitted based on Dula’s word. Dula’s last statement on the gallows was “Gentlemen, do you see this hand? I didn’t harm a hair on the girl’s head.” Anne Melton died insane a few years later. The Americana arrangement is from The Squires with a new melody and the original lyrics.

Gallows Pole

This centuries-old folk song, writer unknown, probably originates in Finland. It is about a woman condemned to die and telling the hangman to wait because someone was coming to rescue her with either money (gold) or information proving her innocence. The folk process enhanced this over the years and it has had many interpretations. The Americana arrangement, which assumes the condemned is a man, is based on Odetta’s interpretation, now an enduring American folk classic.

Get A Job

A song about a man who has not been able to find work, and is assumed lazy and a liar by his woman, “Get A Job” is included in Americana because it is a genuine folk song with all of the true characteristics. This song was written by Richard Lewis of the Silhouettes, although credit is shared with the whole group because they did the vocal arrangement. The hit recording performed by The Silhouettes was released in 1957. The Americana version follows the original arrangement.

Travel On

“Gotta Travel On”, adapted by Paul Clayton and others from a British folk tune, was recorded by Billy Grammer in 1958. His version is an American classic. The song tells of a man who has to keep moving for a variety of reasons, all common with American life. The Americana arrangement is based on Billy Grammer’s version with some lyric changes.

High Flyin’ Bird

Written by Billy Edd Wheeler, this is a folk song performed by The Company in 1964. Stephen Stills was the lead singer. The song is about freedom, life and death. The Americana arrangement is based on The Squires’ 1964 version.

Jesus’ Chariot (She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain)

Written in the 1800s based on an old Negro spiritual, this song refers to the second coming of Jesus and “she” is the chariot Jesus is coming on. Some interpret this as the end of the world. Others have said that “she” refers to union organizer Mary Harris “Mother” Jones going to promote formation of labor unions in the Appalachian coal mining camps. The Americana arrangement continues the folk process with a new melody, a new title and a combination of lyric sources.

This Land Is Your Land

This folk song was written by Woody Guthrie in the 1940s to a pre-existing melody as a response to “God Bless America” which Guthrie was tired of hearing. The lyrics Guthrie sang varied over time, but the lyrics sung in the Americana version were in the original manuscript of the song.

Wayfarin’ Stranger

This 19th century folk song is about a soul traveling through life, perhaps envisioning the end approaching. The Americana arrangement is influenced by the Burl Ives 1944 recording, with the same words and melody.

God Save The Queen

Written in the 18th century with possible melodic roots in the 17th century, this anthem has been sung throughout the British Commonwealth and may have been sung in North America before the American Revolution and Declaration of Independence in 1776, which rejected British sovereignty. The Americana arrangement draws from the original melody and changes some melody and lyrics in the folk process, also adding lyrics of the same melody taken from “My Country ’Tis Of Thee”, in recognition of the war of Independence and America’s transition to freedom.

Slash confirms Guns N’ Roses will not perform at Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction

Tom Goodwyn
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Slash confirms Guns N’ Roses will not perform at Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction

Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash has confirmed that the band's original line-up will not perform together at their Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction next month. Last month (February 15), it was reported that all the members who had contributed to the band's seminal album 'Appetite For Destruction' would be attending the ceremony, which takes place in Cleveland, Ohio on April 14, but Slash has now confirmed that they will all be simply attending and not performing. Speaking to QMI, the guitarist said he had been caught unaware by all the furore that has been caused by their appearance at the induction as he had been away from the band for so long. He said: "Either it hasn't hit me yet or maybe it’s been so long since I had anything to do with Guns N’ Roses that I just don't really get it. And we're not playing. I would imagine that they asked us to play but I know that we're not playing." The guitarist also confirmed that the band's former drummer Stephen Adler would be attending, but said he couldn't confirm for the attendance of any of his other former bandmates. Slash releases his second solo album 'Apocalyptic Love' on May 21 and will play a one-off UK show at London's HMV Hammersmith Apollo on June 6. The show is two days before Slash headlines the second stage at this summer's Download Festival. The current line-up of Guns N' Roses, meanwhile, are set to tour the UK later this year. The band, who are currently working on new material for the follow-up to 'Chinese Democracy', will play seven shows across the UK as part of a full European tour this May. They will play: Nottingham Capital FM Arena (May 19) Liverpool Echo Arena (20) Newcastle Metro Radio Arena (23) Glasgow SECC (25) Birmingham LG Arena (26) Manchester Evening News Arena (29) London O2 Arena (31)

Former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash has confirmed that the band’s original line-up will not perform together at their Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction next month.

Last month (February 15), it was reported that all the members who had contributed to the band’s seminal album ‘Appetite For Destruction’ would be attending the ceremony, which takes place in Cleveland, Ohio on April 14, but Slash has now confirmed that they will all be simply attending and not performing.

Speaking to QMI, the guitarist said he had been caught unaware by all the furore that has been caused by their appearance at the induction as he had been away from the band for so long.

He said: “Either it hasn’t hit me yet or maybe it’s been so long since I had anything to do with Guns N’ Roses that I just don’t really get it. And we’re not playing. I would imagine that they asked us to play but I know that we’re not playing.”

The guitarist also confirmed that the band’s former drummer Stephen Adler would be attending, but said he couldn’t confirm for the attendance of any of his other former bandmates.

Slash releases his second solo album ‘Apocalyptic Love’ on May 21 and will play a one-off UK show at London’s HMV Hammersmith Apollo on June 6. The show is two days before Slash headlines the second stage at this summer’s Download Festival.

The current line-up of Guns N’ Roses, meanwhile, are set to tour the UK later this year. The band, who are currently working on new material for the follow-up to ‘Chinese Democracy’, will play seven shows across the UK as part of a full European tour this May.

They will play:

Nottingham Capital FM Arena (May 19)

Liverpool Echo Arena (20)

Newcastle Metro Radio Arena (23)

Glasgow SECC (25)

Birmingham LG Arena (26)

Manchester Evening News Arena (29)

London O2 Arena (31)

Kiss’ Gene Simmons brands Rihanna ‘fake’

Tom Goodwyn
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Kiss’ Gene Simmons brands Rihanna ‘fake’
Kiss' Gene Simmons has branded pop artists such as Rihanna 'fake' in an interview promoting his band's forthcoming US tour. The bassist was referring to pop singers who now play the stadiums once usually only filled by rock acts like his band Kiss, and called their music "bullshit". In the interv...

Kiss‘ Gene Simmons has branded pop artists such as Rihanna ‘fake’ in an interview promoting his band’s forthcoming US tour.

The bassist was referring to pop singers who now play the stadiums once usually only filled by rock acts like his band Kiss, and called their music “bullshit”. In the interview with Billboard, Simmons said: “We’re sick and tired of girls getting up there with dancers and karaoke tapes in back of them.”

He added: “No fake bullshit. Leave that to the Rihanna, Shimiana and anyone else who ends their name with an ‘a’.”

Simmons was speaking as Kiss announced that they will be touring across the US this summer with co-headliners Motley Crue. The two bands will each play 90-minute sets on the 40-date trek across the country.

Kiss will headline this summer’s Sonisphere festival, along with Faith No More and Queen with Adam Lambert.

The band, who are adding the finishing touches to their 20th studio album, will headline the opening night (July 9), with comedian Tim Minchin playing before them.

The Black Keys apologise to Nickleback for calling them ‘shit’ – video

Tom Goodwyn
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The Black Keys apologise to Nickleback for calling them ‘shit’ – video
The Black Keys have apologised to Nickleback for calling them shit in an interview with Rolling Stone earlier this year. The band were speaking to MTV Canada when Patrick Carney made his apology. Although it remains to be seen whether Nickleback will accept his admission of guilt, as the duo burs...

The Black Keys have apologised to Nickleback for calling them shit in an interview with Rolling Stone earlier this year.

The band were speaking to MTV Canada when Patrick Carney made his apology. Although it remains to be seen whether Nickleback will accept his admission of guilt, as the duo burst out into fits of giggles while saying sorry.

Drummer Patrick carney said: “I didn’t mean to single them out, it just came out. There’s much worse bands that Nickleback…maybe. That was the worst apology.”

In his initial comments, Carney told Rolling Stone that he disliked the Canadian rockers as “rock & roll is dying because people became OK with Nickleback being the biggest band in the world”.

He added: “So they became OK with the idea that the biggest rock band in the world is always going to be shit – therefore you should never try to be the biggest rock band in the world. Fuck that. Rock & roll is the music I feel the most passionately about, and I don’t like to see it fucking ruined and spoon-fed down our throats in this watered-down, post-grunge crap, horrendous shit. When people start lumping us into that kind of shit, it’s like, ‘Fuck you’, honestly.”

Carney’s original statement was met with a humorous response from Nickleback, who thanked the drummer on their Twitter page for saying they were the “biggest rock band in the world”. Carney admits he is still wary of Nickleback’s Chad Kroeger, and says he’ll avoid him if he sees him, as he reckons the singer will most likely “punch us in the face”.

Scroll down and click to view The Black Keys apologise to Nickleback in an interview with MTV.

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

John Lydon’s Public Image Ltd announce new UK dates

Tom Goodwyn
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John Lydon’s Public Image Ltd announce new UK dates
Public Image Ltd have added more dates to their summer UK tour in support of their new album 'This Is PiL'. The band will kick off their tour at Bournemouth's O2 Academy on July 31, and will finish up at Brighton's Concorde 2 on August 16. The tour will stop off at Reading, Wolverhampton, Blackpo...

Public Image Ltd have added more dates to their summer UK tour in support of their new album ‘This Is PiL’.

The band will kick off their tour at Bournemouth’s O2 Academy on July 31, and will finish up at Brighton’s Concorde 2 on August 16. The tour will stop off at Reading, Wolverhampton, Blackpool and Newcastle, among other cities, along the way.

PiL, who release their new album on May 28, currently finish up their touring schedule with two festival appearances at the Beautiful Days festival in Devon on August 18 and Summer Sundae in Leicester on the weekend of August 17-19.

They will also play two shows at London’s Heaven on April 1-2, prior to the release of their ‘One Drop’ EP on April 21, to coincide with this year’s Record Store Day.

PiL helped kick off the countdown to Record Store Day 2012 last night (March 19), with a tiny show at the Hoxton Gallery.

After the show, Lydon took part in a Q&A session where he launched into an extended rant encompassing his views on record labels, PiL’s recent London gig as part of BBC 6 Music’s 10th birthday celebrations and a bizarre comment about Cliff Richard.

Lydon said: “I live in LA, I can download everything. I downloaded Cliff Richard’s colostomy bag.”

Public Image Ltd will play:

O2 Academy Bournemouth (July 31)

Wolverhampton Wulfurn Hall (August 3)

Blackpool Empress Ballroom (4)

O2 Academy Newcastle (6)

Hatfield University Forum (12)

O2 Academy Bristol (13)

Brighton Concorde 2 (15, 16)

The Charlatans to headline Lounge On The Farm Festival

Tom Goodwyn
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The Charlatans to headline Lounge On The Farm Festival
The Charlatans will headline this year's Lounge On The Farm Festival. The band, who are set to tour the UK later this year playing their 1997 album 'Tellin' Stories' from start to finish, will headline the event's closing night (July 8). The event takes place on July 6-8 at Merton Farm near Can...

The Charlatans will headline this year’s Lounge On The Farm Festival.

The band, who are set to tour the UK later this year playing their 1997 album ‘Tellin’ Stories’ from start to finish, will headline the event’s closing night (July 8).

The event takes place on July 6-8 at Merton Farm near Canterbury and will also be headlined by The Wombats and Emeli Sande.

Also confirmed to play the event are Toddla T, Niki & The Dove, Mystery Jets, Stay+, Spector, Roots Manuva and over 30 other acts.

See Loungeonthefarm.co.uk for more details.

The Lounge On The Farm Festival line-up so far is:

The Charlatans

The Wombats

Emeli Sande

Roots Manuva

Chic feat. Nile Rodgers

Goldie

Mystery Jets

Jess Mills

Man Like Me

Niki & The Dove

Pale Seas

Peace

Roni Size

Roska & Jamie George

Rudimental

Scratch Perverts

Seye

Sound Of Guns

Spector

Stay +

Swiss Lips

The Good Natured

The Heatwave

The Milk

The Other Tribe

Toddla T

Troumaca

Various Cruelties

Zinc

Aluna George

Bastille

Caspa

Cave Painting

Charli XCX

Clean Bandit

Disclosure

Dismantle

Dub Pistols

Escapists

Fake Blood

Gemini

Herve

Jagga

Jake Bugg

Jaymo & Andy George

Reading And Leeds Festivals boss: ‘If The Smiths reformed, it would destroy their legacy’

Tom Goodwyn
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Reading And Leeds Festivals boss: ‘If The Smiths reformed, it would destroy their legacy’

The organiser of the Reading And Leeds Festivals has said he hopes The Smiths never reform as it would "destroy their legacy". The beloved indie band split in 1987 and have batted away suggestions about a reformation ever since, with guitarist Johnny Marr recently joking to NME that he will only reform The Smiths if the current UK government steps down. Melvin Benn, chief executive of organisers Festival Republic, has said that he would not be excited at the prospect of a reunion of the band and would be against it happening at all. Asked about this, Benn told NME: "I think if The Smiths reformed it would destroy their legacy personally. I’m sure grown men would cry if it happened but I wouldn’t want to see them reforming." Then asked if he had any qualms about Oasis reuniting, Benn said that he did not and he would happily book them again. Speaking about this, he replied: "Hopefully there will come a day when Oasis do the same [reunite] but I hope it doesn’t come too soon. Oasis were just one of those bands where you walked away feeling happy. It was very rare you could go and watch Oasis and not have a great time. Whether we wait until 2015, 2020 or 2040 I don’t know, but it'd be nice if it happened at some point."

The organiser of the Reading And Leeds Festivals has said he hopes The Smiths never reform as it would “destroy their legacy”.

The beloved indie band split in 1987 and have batted away suggestions about a reformation ever since, with guitarist Johnny Marr recently joking to NME that he will only reform The Smiths if the current UK government steps down.

Melvin Benn, chief executive of organisers Festival Republic, has said that he would not be excited at the prospect of a reunion of the band and would be against it happening at all.

Asked about this, Benn told NME: “I think if The Smiths reformed it would destroy their legacy personally. I’m sure grown men would cry if it happened but I wouldn’t want to see them reforming.”

Then asked if he had any qualms about Oasis reuniting, Benn said that he did not and he would happily book them again.

Speaking about this, he replied: “Hopefully there will come a day when Oasis do the same [reunite] but I hope it doesn’t come too soon. Oasis were just one of those bands where you walked away feeling happy. It was very rare you could go and watch Oasis and not have a great time. Whether we wait until 2015, 2020 or 2040 I don’t know, but it’d be nice if it happened at some point.”

Lauryn Hill announces first UK show for five years

Tom Goodwyn
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Lauryn Hill announces first UK show for five years
Lauryn Hill has announced her first UK show for over five years. The former Fugees singer, who is set to release her long-awaited second studio album 'The Return' later this year, will headline London's IndigO2 on April 14. The show is Hill's first in the UK since the summer of 2007 and will se...

Lauryn Hill has announced her first UK show for over five years.

The former Fugees singer, who is set to release her long-awaited second studio album ‘The Return’ later this year, will headline London’s IndigO2 on April 14.

The show is Hill’s first in the UK since the summer of 2007 and will see her debut new material from her second album. Her second LP will be released a full 14 years after her multi-million selling debut record ‘The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill’ came out.

The singer most recently made headlines in the summer of last year, when she was sued for harassment and unpaid wages by her former guitarist Jay Gore for over $20,000 (£12,250).

In the lawsuit, Gore accused Hill of regularly dishing out public dress down members of her band in front of groups of people and of not paying him correctly. The case has not yet been settled.

The Flaming Lips include Coldplay, Ke$ha, Bon Iver on Record Store Day LP ‘Fwends…’

Tom Goodwyn
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The Flaming Lips include Coldplay, Ke$ha, Bon Iver on Record Store Day LP ‘Fwends…’
The Flaming Lips have reached out to some of their "fwends", including 'Tik Tok' singer Ke$ha, to release a limited edition double album. The band will release the record on April 21, to coincide with Record Store Day. Wayne Coyne's band have teamed up with a variety of artists including Bon Iver...

The Flaming Lips have reached out to some of their “fwends”, including ‘Tik Tok’ singer Ke$ha, to release a limited edition double album.

The band will release the record on April 21, to coincide with Record Store Day. Wayne Coyne’s band have teamed up with a variety of artists including Bon Iver, Yoko Ono, Nick Cave, My Morning Jacket and Coldplay’s Chris Martin for the record.

‘The Flaming Lips And Heady Fwends’, which will be released on a double multi-coloured vinyl set, contains new recordings and songs that have appeared on the band’s recent EPs.

There will only be one, limited pressing of the album as the band have said they will not be making any more copies of the rare release. According to the press release, the album documents “a series of unique and experimental sessions”.

Georgia metallers Mastodon that they were releasing a cover of The Flaming Lips ‘A Spoonful Weighs A Ton’, to celebrate this year’s Record Store Day.

‘The Flaming Lips And Heady Fwends’ tracklisting is:

Side 1:

‘2012 (featuring Ke$ha and Biz Markie)’

‘Ashes in the Air (featuring Bon Iver)’

‘Helping the Retarded to Know God (featuring Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros)’

Side 2:

‘Supermoon Made Me Want To Pee (featuring Prefuse 73)’

‘Children of the Moon (featuring Tame Impala)’

‘That Ain’t My Trip (featuring My Morning Jacket’s Jim James)’

‘You, Man? Human? (featuring Nick Cave)’

Side 3:

‘I’m Working at NASA On Acid (featuring Lightning Bolt)’

‘Do It! (featuring Yoko Ono)’

‘Is David Bowie Dying? (featuring Neon Indian)’

Side 4:

‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (featuring Erykah Badu)’

‘Thunder Drops (featuring New Fumes)’

‘I Don’t Want You to Die (featuring Coldplay’s Chris Martin)’

Regina Spektor announces two UK live shows

Tom Goodwyn
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Regina Spektor announces two UK live shows
Regina Spektor has announced a pair of UK live dates for later this year. The singer, who releases her new album 'What We Saw From The Cheap Seats' on May 12, will play shows in London and Manchester in July. She will first play London's Royal Albert Hall on July 2, before moving onto Manchester...

Regina Spektor has announced a pair of UK live dates for later this year.

The singer, who releases her new album ‘What We Saw From The Cheap Seats’ on May 12, will play shows in London and Manchester in July.

She will first play London’s Royal Albert Hall on July 2, before moving onto Manchester’s O2 Apollo on July 4. The dates are her first in the UK for over a year.

‘What We Saw From The Cheap Seats’ has been produced by Avenged Sevenfold/Maroon 5 man Mike Elizondo and is the follow-up to her 2009 fifth album ‘Far’. Spektor has already debuted the album’s lead off single ‘All The Rowboats’ online, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click to listen.

The singer will also a seven-inch single on Record Store Day featuring two Russian cover songs ‘The Prayer Of François Villon’ and ‘Old Jacket’.

All The Rowboats by reginaspektor

Jack White makes surprise appearance at ‘Blunderbuss’ playback in London

Tom Goodwyn
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0
Jack White makes surprise appearance at ‘Blunderbuss’ playback in London
Jack White made a surprise appearance in London last night (March 20) to launch his solo album 'Blunderbuss'. The ex-White Stripes man turned up at a playback of the album at the Debating Chamber at London's County Hall. After the album was played on vinyl from the rafters of the room, the Mayor...

Jack White made a surprise appearance in London last night (March 20) to launch his solo album ‘Blunderbuss’.

The ex-White Stripes man turned up at a playback of the album at the Debating Chamber at London’s County Hall.

After the album was played on vinyl from the rafters of the room, the Mayor Of Lambeth, Councillor Christiana Valcarcel appeared in full robes.

She then delighted the audience by introducing White himself to the front of the chamber. While he did not perform, he was quizzed by the Mayor and the audience in a rare interview. “You should be proud of yourself!” she told him, before commanding, “We’re talking about you tonight, it’s my turn to take you to task!”

Of ‘Blunderbuss’, White said: “It just happened one song at a time, like it always does, let the song be in charge and let the song tell you what you’re doing and you’re just a servant of the music at that point. When you think you’re in control of the song then that’s when you’re making a mistake I think.”

Picking up on the single ‘Love Interruption’, he added: “It’s hard to put love in a song because it’s been used for so long, thousands of times in plays, paintings, poems and if you’re going to say that word I think you have to really put a twist on it for yourself. If you’re going to use the word ‘love’, I wanted to provoke some kind of thought that’s what I wanted it to do for me.”

On the challenge of going solo, White explained: “I’m still in a couple of bands so I’m not missing anything by doing this. But I didn’t know I was doing it until I was doing it, four of five songs in I thought I guess this is turning into something.”

‘Blunderbuss’ is scheduled to be released on White’s Third Man label on April 23. He’s due to play his debut UK solo show at London’s HMV Hammersmith Apollo on June 22, ahead of his slot at Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend (23-24). Prior to coming to the UK, White will be touring extensively across the US.

Jack White, “Blunderbuss”

John Mulvey
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0
Jack White, “Blunderbuss”

Three weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to be in New York interviewing Jack White for what will be Uncut’s next cover story. The trip took in White’s unveiling of his two new bands on Saturday Night Live (you can watch the performances here) and a couple of pretty intense one-on-ones, the first of which became a fairly epic grapple of sorts. The reason for all this, of course, is the reasonably imminent arrival of White’s first solo album, “Blunderbuss”; a record which, I think, fulfils most of our highest expectations for this next step in the story. It marks something of a bridgehead in his career, where the focus inevitably shifts onto White, rather than onto the concepts and confidence tricks with which he has habitually packaged his projects. Still, though, “Blunderbuss” is laden with brilliant topspin, signposted by a new colour code – pale blue – and those two exceptional all-male and all-female bands with which he is playing this new music. As “Love Interruption” and “Sixteen Saltines” may have hinted, plenty of “Blunderbuss” reads at least superficially like a document on battles and misunderstandings between the sexes: even the sole cover version, a roistering vamp through Rudolph Toomb’s “I’m Shakin’”, is consistent to the theme, with its jump-jive era retelling of the story of Samson and Delilah. The first three songs – “Missing Pieces”, “Sixteen Saltines” and “Freedom At 21” (the album’s biggest stylistic departure: a grid of sliding beats and spat lyrics that betrays an inventive recycling of hip-hop dynamics) –in isolation look suspiciously like invective against womankind. But “Blunderbuss” is a more complex and many-sided piece of work, with shifting narratives and perspectives, White voicing male and female parts in at least one song (the outstanding “Hypocritical Kiss”) and a male protagonist on his knees begging for absolution in the valedictory “Take Me With You When You Go”. White is predictably proud and defensive about his various work since the White Stripes’ “Icky Thump”, but there’s no doubt that “Blunderbuss” is the record that most of that band’s fans have been wanting him to make for the past few years: “Sixteen Saltines”, in particular, sounds more or less like a fleshed-out take on the “Elephant”-era sound, particularly “The Hardest Button To Button” (In case you hadn’t heard, White’s live bands are playing songs from throughout his career: no Year Zero absolutism here, pleasingly). Interestingly, though, if there’s one White Stripes album that “Blunderbuss” reminds me of, it’s “Get Behind Me Satan”, with its tricksy R&B piano songs, its playfulness and viciousness. Flourishing piano lines (often played by Brooke Waggoner rather than White. Keyboardists are central to the new live bands- hence the recruitment of Ikey Owens from The Mars Volta as her opposite number in the boy band) anchor a bunch of the best songs here, especially in a run through the middle of “Blunderbuss” that ranks as one of the best sequences White has ever recorded. It begins with the title track, a country-tinged story song that feels very much like a sequel to “Carolina Drama” (the best track, I think, on the Raconteurs’ underrated “Consolers Of The Lonely”), rich with the imagery and swagger of mid-‘70s Dylan. Then there are two extraordinary piano numbers, around which the whole album hinges: “Hypocritical Kiss” and “Weep Themselves To Sleep”, the latter a wonderfully bombastic examination/indictment of male vanity (“And men who fight the world and love the girls the girls that try to hold their hand behind them”) that’s also blessed with the album’s best and most indignant guitar solo. The piano that runs through these two is as much like that of Mike Garson as Nicky Hopkins, which made me think a fair bit of certain neglected congruencies between White and David Bowie. Those are moved on, anyhow, by the sensational “I’m Shakin’” cover and another piano shitkicker, “Trash Tongue Talker”, which features the guitarist from Jeff The Brotherhood among other excellent musicians, but recalls, variously, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell” and, as White himself is happy to point out, James Booker. After that, there’s “Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy”, a rackety New Orleans piano nursery rhyme that might just be the catchiest song on “Blunderbuss”, as well as a rant against hipster posturing and roleplay that reads more self-knowingly than White would probably admit; and a downhome old-time waltz, “I Guess I Should Go To Sleep”, assisted this time by Pokey Lafarge and his band. Waltzes recur throughout “Blunderbuss”, not least on the closing “Take Me With You When You Go”; a song which, along with the shimmering “On And On And On” which precedes it, provide a kind of dreamlike resolution. Among all its other pleasures, “Blunderbuss” has a neat narrative arc, which seems to leave White – or, let’s be scrupulous about this, his protagonist – possessed of a new, contemplative level of self-knowledge. A mature piece of work, you could say, and a terrific album. Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnRMulvey

Three weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to be in New York interviewing Jack White for what will be Uncut’s next cover story. The trip took in White’s unveiling of his two new bands on Saturday Night Live (you can watch the performances here) and a couple of pretty intense one-on-ones, the first of which became a fairly epic grapple of sorts.

The reason for all this, of course, is the reasonably imminent arrival of White’s first solo album, “Blunderbuss”; a record which, I think, fulfils most of our highest expectations for this next step in the story. It marks something of a bridgehead in his career, where the focus inevitably shifts onto White, rather than onto the concepts and confidence tricks with which he has habitually packaged his projects. Still, though, “Blunderbuss” is laden with brilliant topspin, signposted by a new colour code – pale blue – and those two exceptional all-male and all-female bands with which he is playing this new music.

As “Love Interruption” and “Sixteen Saltines” may have hinted, plenty of “Blunderbuss” reads at least superficially like a document on battles and misunderstandings between the sexes: even the sole cover version, a roistering vamp through Rudolph Toomb’s “I’m Shakin’”, is consistent to the theme, with its jump-jive era retelling of the story of Samson and Delilah.

The first three songs – “Missing Pieces”, “Sixteen Saltines” and “Freedom At 21” (the album’s biggest stylistic departure: a grid of sliding beats and spat lyrics that betrays an inventive recycling of hip-hop dynamics) –in isolation look suspiciously like invective against womankind. But “Blunderbuss” is a more complex and many-sided piece of work, with shifting narratives and perspectives, White voicing male and female parts in at least one song (the outstanding “Hypocritical Kiss”) and a male protagonist on his knees begging for absolution in the valedictory “Take Me With You When You Go”.

White is predictably proud and defensive about his various work since the White Stripes’ “Icky Thump”, but there’s no doubt that “Blunderbuss” is the record that most of that band’s fans have been wanting him to make for the past few years: “Sixteen Saltines”, in particular, sounds more or less like a fleshed-out take on the “Elephant”-era sound, particularly “The Hardest Button To Button” (In case you hadn’t heard, White’s live bands are playing songs from throughout his career: no Year Zero absolutism here, pleasingly).

Interestingly, though, if there’s one White Stripes album that “Blunderbuss” reminds me of, it’s “Get Behind Me Satan”, with its tricksy R&B piano songs, its playfulness and viciousness. Flourishing piano lines (often played by Brooke Waggoner rather than White. Keyboardists are central to the new live bands- hence the recruitment of Ikey Owens from The Mars Volta as her opposite number in the boy band) anchor a bunch of the best songs here, especially in a run through the middle of “Blunderbuss” that ranks as one of the best sequences White has ever recorded.

It begins with the title track, a country-tinged story song that feels very much like a sequel to “Carolina Drama” (the best track, I think, on the Raconteurs’ underrated “Consolers Of The Lonely”), rich with the imagery and swagger of mid-‘70s Dylan. Then there are two extraordinary piano numbers, around which the whole album hinges: “Hypocritical Kiss” and “Weep Themselves To Sleep”, the latter a wonderfully bombastic examination/indictment of male vanity (“And men who fight the world and love the girls the girls that try to hold their hand behind them”) that’s also blessed with the album’s best and most indignant guitar solo.

The piano that runs through these two is as much like that of Mike Garson as Nicky Hopkins, which made me think a fair bit of certain neglected congruencies between White and David Bowie. Those are moved on, anyhow, by the sensational “I’m Shakin’” cover and another piano shitkicker, “Trash Tongue Talker”, which features the guitarist from Jeff The Brotherhood among other excellent musicians, but recalls, variously, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell” and, as White himself is happy to point out, James Booker.

After that, there’s “Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy”, a rackety New Orleans piano nursery rhyme that might just be the catchiest song on “Blunderbuss”, as well as a rant against hipster posturing and roleplay that reads more self-knowingly than White would probably admit; and a downhome old-time waltz, “I Guess I Should Go To Sleep”, assisted this time by Pokey Lafarge and his band.

Waltzes recur throughout “Blunderbuss”, not least on the closing “Take Me With You When You Go”; a song which, along with the shimmering “On And On And On” which precedes it, provide a kind of dreamlike resolution. Among all its other pleasures, “Blunderbuss” has a neat narrative arc, which seems to leave White – or, let’s be scrupulous about this, his protagonist – possessed of a new, contemplative level of self-knowledge. A mature piece of work, you could say, and a terrific album.

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

Soulwax remix Arcade Fire’s ‘Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)’ – listen

Tom Goodwyn
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0
Soulwax remix Arcade Fire’s ‘Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)’ – listen
Soulwax have remixed Arcade Fire's 'Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)'. The Belgian dance-rock pioneers have reworked the track, taken from Arcade Fire's third album, 'The Suburbs'. You can listen to the track, which premiered on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show last night (March 19), by scrolling...

Soulwax have remixed Arcade Fire’s ‘Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)’.

The Belgian dance-rock pioneers have reworked the track, taken from Arcade Fire‘s third album, ‘The Suburbs’. You can listen to the track, which premiered on Zane Lowe’s BBC Radio 1 show last night (March 19), by scrolling down the page and clicking on the video.

Earlier this month, the Canadian band announced that they were releasing remixes by Damian Taylor of ‘Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)’ and ‘Ready To Start’ for this year’s Record Store Day. The band will release remixes of both tracks on 12-inch vinyl on April 21, with copies limited to 1,000.

Arcade Fire recently released their track from the soundtrack to the new fantasy film The Hunger Games.

The track plays over the dystopian thriller’s closing credits and was recorded by the Canadian band last month. The film itself features a track titled ‘Horn Of Plenty’, which has been written and recorded by Win Butler and Regine Chassagne.

Arcade Fire are currently working on the follow-up to 2010’s ‘The Suburbs’.

Arctic Monkeys, Arcade Fire, The Clash to put out new releases for Record Store Day

Tom Goodwyn
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0
Arctic Monkeys, Arcade Fire, The Clash to put out new releases for Record Store Day
Arctic Monkeys, Arcade Fire and The Clash are among the artists releasing new records as part of this year's Record Store Day. The event, which happens on April 21, will see over 300 artists offer up new vinyl releases, with new material, cover versions, rare tracks and studio outtakes all set to...

Arctic Monkeys, Arcade Fire and The Clash are among the artists releasing new records as part of this year’s Record Store Day.

The event, which happens on April 21, will see over 300 artists offer up new vinyl releases, with new material, cover versions, rare tracks and studio outtakes all set to be released. To read the complete list of releases, scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Arctic Monkeys will release their new single ‘R U Mine?’ on special purple vinyl, with a brand new B-side ‘Electricity’ accompanying the release, while The Clash will release a newly digitally remastered version of ‘London Calling’ on vinyl.

Arcade Fire will put out remixes of their track ‘Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)’, while Noel Gallagher will drop a new EP titled ‘Songs From The Great White North’ featuring four recent B-sides.

Laura Marling will release an exclusive double A-side with tracks ‘Flicker To Fail’ and ‘To Be A Woman’, with Miles Kane also unveiling his new four track EP, which features his new single ‘First Of My Kind’.

Bloc Party are also set to reissue debut single ‘She’s Hearing Voices’ as are the Sex Pistols, who will put out a new special edition single of ‘Anarchy In The UK’. The Vaccines will also release a split new 7” single with R.Stevie Moore.

As well as this, Two Door Cinema Club, Marilyn Manson, Bombay Bicycle Club, Garbage, Noah And The Whale, A$AP Rocky, Bat For Lashes, Belle & Sebastian, The Cure, Twin Atlantic and whole 200 others are set to put out new releases to mark the day.

Public Image Ltd officially kicked off the build-up to this year’s Record Store Day last night (March 19), playing a basement gig in London to mark the announcement of the special releases for this year’s event.

The full list of releases for Record Store Day 2012 are as follows:

2Many DJs – ‘As Heard On Radio Soulwax’

Abba – ‘Voulez-Vous’ (Extended Dance Remix)/’If It Wasn’t For The Night’

Admiral Fallow – ‘Boots Met My Face’

All The Young – ‘The Horizon’

Amanda Palmer – ‘Polly/Idioteque’

Andrew Bird – ‘The Crown Salesman/So Music Wine’

Animal Collective – ‘4 track E.P’

Arcade Fire – ‘Sprawl II Remix’

Arctic Monkeys – ‘R U Mine?’

ASAP Rocky – Exclusive Mixtape

Babe – ‘Terror Knights’

Battles – Remix 12″

BBC Radiophonic Workshop – ‘Dr Who Sound Effects’

BBC Radiophonic Workshop – ‘Out Of This World’

Beach House – ‘Lazuli’

Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves Of Destiny – ‘Atlas’

Bevis Frond – ‘Hard Meat At The Midnight Court’ (7″)

Billy Brag & Wilco – ‘Mermaid Avenue’

Bitchin’ – ‘Bajas Vibraquatic’

Bloc Party – ‘She’s Hearing Voices’

Blood For Blood – ‘Enemy’

Bo Ningen – ‘Live At St Leonards’

Bob Dylan –’ Can You Please Crawl Out Of Your Window’

Bob Marley – ‘Marley OST’

Botch – ‘An Anthology Of Dead Ends’

Brendan Benson – ‘What Kind Of World’

Bruce Springsteen – ‘Rocky Ground’/The Promise’ (Live)’

Bruno Mars – ‘The Grenade Sessions

Camille – ‘Mars Is No Fun’

Candy Flip – ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’/’Love Is Life’

Carolina Chocolate Drops/Run-DMC – ‘You Be Illin”

Carter – ‘Tutti Void’

Cedric Bixler Zavala & Christian Eric Beaulieu – ‘Anywhere’

Childish Gambino – ‘Heartbeat’

Chuck Persons – ‘A.D.D. Complete’

Chuck Prophet – ‘The Left Hand And The Right Hand’

Circle – ‘Manner’

Civil Wars – ‘Billie Jean/Sour Times’

Clutch – ‘Pigtown Blues’

Cold Specks – ‘Holland’

Common – ‘The Dreamer, The Believer’

Consort Audite Nova – ‘Plays Metronomy’

Crosses – ‘Option/Telepathy’

Cymbals – ‘Sideways, Sometimes’

Dale Earnheart Jr – ‘We Almost Lost Detroit’

Daniel Johnston – ‘Welcome To My World’

Daniel Land & The Modern Painters – ‘Eyes Wide Shut’

Danny Brown – ‘XXX’

David Bowie – ‘Starman’

Dead Boys – ‘Sonic Reducer’, ‘Hey Little Girl’, ‘Down In Flames’

Dead Fingers/Nik Freitas – ‘Dead Fingers’/’Nik Freitas’

Devo – ‘Live In Seattle 1981’

Disturbed – ‘The Collection’

Diva Dompe – ‘Cyborg Sweetie’

Django Django – ‘Storm’

Donald Fagen – ‘The Night Fly’

Dr John – ‘Locked Down’

Dry The River – ‘New Ceremony’

Duke Garwood & Wooden Wand – ‘Duke Wand’

Duke Spirit – ‘Live’

Elbow ‘McGreggor’

Electric Guest – ‘This Head I Hold’/’Jenny’

Emeli Sande – ‘Heaven’

Eric Bibb – ‘Deeper In The Well’

ESG/Las Kellies – ‘Erase You’

Fanfarlo – ‘Romms’

Faust – ‘Like A Stuntman’

Field Music – ‘Heart/Rent’

Fleetwood Mac – ‘Fleetwood Mac’

Footprintz – ‘Rush To The Capsule’

Foster The People – ‘Broken Jaw/Ruby’

Frank Turner – ‘I Still Believe’/’Somebody To Love’

Freakwater – ‘Feels Like the Third Time’

Futurebirds – ‘Seney-Stoval’

Gangrene – ‘The Alchemist + Oh N – Odditorium’

Gary Clark Jr Presents HWUL Cuts Vol. 1

Genesis – ‘Spot The Pigeon’

Geoff Barrow & Ben Salisbury – ‘Drokk – Music Inspired By Mega-City One’

Gilles Peterson – ‘Brazilica’

Go Kart Mozart – ‘New World In The Morning’

Gojira – ‘End Of Time’/’Bleeding’

Grateful Dead – ‘Dark Star – Olympia Theatre – Paris, France 5/4/72’

Gregory Porter – ‘1960 What?’

Grouplove – ‘Don’t Fly Too Close To The Sun’/’Tongue Tie’ remix

Guided By Voices – ‘Jon The Croc’

Hello Bear – ‘Fan Club EP’

Iggy Pop – ‘I’m Bored’/’African Man’

Inca Babies – ‘My Sick Suburb’

Inspiral Carpets – ‘You’re So Good For Me’

Jake Morley – ‘Ghostess EP’

James Brown – ‘Live At The Apollo’

Janis Joplin – ‘Selections from Pearl Sessions’

Jean Michel Jarre – ‘Concert In China’

John Cale – ‘Remixes’ 12″

John Martyn – ‘Transatlantic Sessions Recordings’

Johnny Flynn – ‘A Bag Of Hammers’

Jonathan Wilson – ‘Pity Trials And Tomorrow’s Child’

Karen Elson – ‘Milk & Honey’/’Winter Going’

Kasabian – ‘Video Games’/’Sweet Escape’

Kate Nash – ‘The Thin Kids Theme’

Keith Hudson – ‘Bloody Eyes EP’

Kimbra – ‘Settle Down’

Kreidler/Tarwater – ‘Team’/’Big Eden’/’Voyage To Arcturus Hush/Tanni’

Lanterns On The Lake – ‘Low Tide’

Laura Marling – ‘Flicker And Fail’/’To Be A Woman’

Lee Hazelwood – ‘The LHI Years: Singles, Nudes & Backsides’

Lee Scratch Perry – ‘Blackboard Jungle Dub’

Leonard Cohen – ‘Live in Frederiction EP’

Lianne Le Havas – ‘Lost & Found’

Lissie – ‘Covered Up With Flowers’

Loose Tapestries ‘Soundtrack to new Noel Fielding Show – music by Serge Pizzorno’

Louis And Bebe Barron – ‘Forbidden Planet – Original Soundtrack’

M Ward – ‘Primitive Girl’

Machinedrum – ‘Room(s)’

Madonna – ‘Immaculate Collection’

Marilyn Manson – ‘No Reflection’

Mastadon/Feist – ‘Black Tongue’

MC5/Afrika Bambaataa – ‘Kick Out The Jams’

Mclusky – ‘Mclusky Do Dallas’

Metallica ‘Beyond Magnetic’

Metronomy – ‘Black Eye Burnt Thumb’/’You Could Easily Have Me (Woodwind version)’

Mika Vainio – ‘Rasputin 3000’

Miike Snow – ‘Devils Work’

Miles Davis – ‘Forever Miles’

Miles Kane – ‘First Of My Kind’

Morrissey –’Suedehead’, ‘We’ll Let You Know (live)’, ‘Now My Heart Is Full’ (live)

Mory Kante – ‘La Guineenne’

My Brightest Diamond – ‘I Have Never Loved Someone’

Neon Indian – ‘Hex Girlfriend’ (Twin Shadow remix)

New Build – ‘Medication (Pill Shaped Package)’

Nlf3 – ‘Beast Me’

Nomads – ‘Miles Away’/’American Beat’

Nomads – ‘Solna’

Nurse With Wound/Graham Bowers – ‘Rupture’

Odd Future – ‘The Of Tape Vol. 2’

of Montreal/Deerhoof Split 7″

Orbital – ‘Wonky’

Oscar Cash – ‘Plays Metronomy’

Otis Reading/Aretha Franklin – ‘Respect’

Otis Shuggie – ‘Inspiration Information’

Patti Smith – ‘Hey Joe’, ‘Piss Factory’

Paul Thomas Saunders – ‘Descartes Highlands’

Pelican – ‘Australasia’

Pete Townsend – ‘The Quadrophenia Demos ‘

Peter Tosh – ‘Legalize It (Dub Club & Secret Circuit remixes)’

Preteen Zenith – ‘Preteen Zenith’

Producers – ‘Freeway’/’Garden Of Flowers’

Professor Green – ‘How Many Moons Remix’

Public Image Ltd – ‘One Drop’

Quantic & Alice Russell With T – ‘Look Around The Corner ‘

Ramones – ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’/’Havana Affair’ 7″

Red Horses Of The Snow – ‘The Bright New City’/’Bridges’

Refused – ‘The Shape Of Punk To Come’/’Songs To Fan The Flames Of Discontent’/’Rather Be Dead’/’The New Noise Theology’

Regina Spektor – ‘The Prayer Of Francois Villon’/’Old Jacket’

Richard Hell & The Voidiods – ‘Blank Generation’, ‘Liars Beware’, ‘Who Says’

Rizzle Kicks – ‘Stereo Typical’

Rockabye Baby! – ‘Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions Of The Smiths’

Rory Gallagher – ‘Stompin’ Ground’

Rosie Thomas & Sufjan Stevens – ‘Hit & Run Vol’

Ryan Adams – ‘Heartbreak A Stranger’/’Black Sheets Of Rain’

Santigold – ‘Master Of My Make-Believe’

Sara Watkins/The Everly Brothers – ‘You’re The One I Love’

Scum/Big Deal – Split 7″ single

Sebastian – ‘The EP Collection’

Sex Pistols – ‘Anarchy In The UK’

She & Him – ‘Vol 1’

Social Distortion – ‘Hard Times & Nursery Rhymes’

Sonnymoon – ‘Wild Rumpus’

Squackett – ‘Chris Squire’/’Stev’

Straylight Run – ‘Straylight Run’

Switchfoot – ‘Remix EP’/Vice RE Verses’

T Rex – ‘Electric Warrior’

Taffy – ‘So Long’

Talibam! – ‘#No School’/’Step Into The Marna’

Tangerine Dream – ‘Electronic Meditation’/’Ultima Thule Part One/ Ultima Thule Part Two’

Tegan & Sara – ‘Get Along’

The Black Angels – ‘Watch Out Bo’y/’I’d Rather Be Lonely’

The Black Keys – ‘El Camino’

The Black Twig Pickers – ‘Yellow Cat b/w You’ll Never Miss Your Mama’

The Civil Wars – ‘Live At Amoeba’

The Clash – ‘London Calling’

The Cult – ‘Lucifer’/’For The Animals’

The Cure – ‘Three Imaginary Boys’, ‘Seventeen Seconds’, ‘Faith’, ‘Pornography’, ‘The Top’

The Czars – ‘Sorry I Made You Cry’

The Fall – ‘Night Of The Humerons’

The Flamin Groovies – ‘Shake Some Action, Teenage Confidential ‘

The Flaming Lips/Mastadon – ‘A Spoonful Weighs A Ton’

The Future Sound Of London – ‘Papua New Guinea’/’Murmurations’

The Heartbreaks – ‘Funtimes’

The Jezabels – ‘Rosebud’

The Kinks – ‘Arthur’, ‘Something Else’, ‘Face To Face’

The Megaphonic Thrift – ‘Moonstruck’

The Misfits – ‘Walk Amoung Us’

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – ‘Belong (Remixes)’

The Pharcyde Bizarre Ride II – ‘The Pharcyde – The Singles Collection Music Box’

The Pop Group – ‘LP’

The Raveonettes – ‘Into The Night’

The Right Now – ‘He Used To Be’/’Good Man’

The Sound – ‘Jeopardy’

The Subways – ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’

The Supremes – ‘Baby Love’

The Treatment – ‘Then And Again’

The Velvet Underground – ‘Sweet Jane’/’Rock & Roll’, ‘Loaded’

The Wedding Present – ‘4 Chansons EP’

The White Stripes – ‘Handsprings/Red Death At 6.14’

The Wombats – ‘The Wombats Proudly Present..’

To Kill A King – ‘Video Games’/’Bloody Shirt’

Tortoise – ‘Lonesome Sound’/’Mosquito’

Trentemoeller – ‘My Dreams’ (Gun Club Cover)

Ulrich Schnauss & Mark Peters/Pyrolator – ‘Balcony Sunset’/’Sonnenaufgang’

Variety Lights – ‘Silent Too Long’

Vivian Stanshall – ‘Men Opening Umbrellas Ahead’

Xiu Xiu/Dirty Beaches – ‘Always/Tu Ne Dis Rien’

Yma Sumac – ‘Mambo (And More)’

Zomby – ‘Where Were U In 92?’

The Hunger Games

Michael Bonner
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0
The Hunger Games

Killing in the name of light entertainment. Hollywood's latest franchise begins... The Hunger Games arrives in cinemas accompanied by a flurry of statistics. We are told that that the day advance tickets went on sale in America one online retailer reported that the film accounted for 83% of the sites total sales. Elsewhere, tracking reports claim 23% of cinema audiences listed The Hunger Games as their ‘First Choice’ pick of forthcoming movies and 54% claim ‘definite interest’ in the film. Forecasters, meanwhile, are predicting it could take between $75 and 100 million in its opening weekend. Although undeniably impressive, these numbers conversely suggest a mild nervousness at work here. The Hunger Games, adapted from a trilogy of teen novels, operate on a very different business model from Twilight, the property to which they’ve become routinely compared. For all its supernatural attributes, the Twilight series was deeply conservative at heart. But The Hunger Games offers different, more interesting vibes. Its roots lie in that strand of dystopian science fiction from the 1970s that gave us Rollerball or Logan’s Run, or more recent films like Battle Royale. There’s no real box office precedent for this kind of movie among teen audiences, and with Harry Potter done and only one more Twilight movie to come, Hollywood might understandably appear especially anxious to keep those audiences happy. Out in the boondocks of post-apocalypse America, contestants are selected by lottery and sent to the Capitol as “tributes”, where in the name of TV entertainment, they will kill one another in pretty woodland surroundings in The Hunger Games. The purpose of this seems to be to amuse the dandified denizens of the Capitol, while also serving to keep the poor folks out in the Districts in check. Donald Sutherland, as the Capitol’s President Snow speaks knowingly about keeping the downtrodden trodden down while lovingly pruning his roses in his expansive garden – always a sign of a bad guy. Meanwhile, Jennifer Lawrence, as District 12’s ‘tribute’ Katniss Everdean, struggles to stay one step ahead from both her fellow contestants and various perils deployed by TV producer, Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley). The film is played totally straight. With its tin shacks and feral-looking children, District 12 looks like the Ozarks of Winter’s Bone – indeed, as she eludes her pursuers here, you might think Jennifer Lawrence is channelling the same kind of ingenuity she displayed as Ree in Debra Granik’s film. The Capitol itself looks like the Emerald City from Return To Oz, a vast metropolis where everyone has blue hair and spray-on make-up. Woody Harrelson delivers a good extended cameo as Katniss’ mentor, a former champion himself, who suggests she “embrace the possibility of your imminent death” with the right degree of cynicism. Stanley Tucci and Toby Jones, as co-anchors of The Hunger Games TV show, provide commentary straight from the Simon Cowell school of cliché. Indeed, if there is one obvious target here it’s reality TV shows, and director Gary Ross doesn’t entirely shirk from displaying some satirical teeth. The idea of a future society where the state controls the population through lethal games is familiar from films like Rollerball, The Running Man and even Doctor Who, but retooled in the era of Simon Cowell gives is some fresh purpose. There are plot holes in the narrative, and there's no clearly defined bad guy for Katniss to face-off against (apart from a couple of posho bullies from District 1). Sutherland is too remote a presence while Wes Bentley's beard is too silly for him to be taken seriously as a baddie. The success of The Hunger Games, though, rests with Jennifer Lawrence, who brings the right degree of resourcefulness and vulnerability to Katniss. And she is good with a crossbow, too.

Killing in the name of light entertainment. Hollywood’s latest franchise begins…

The Hunger Games arrives in cinemas accompanied by a flurry of statistics. We are told that that the day advance tickets went on sale in America one online retailer reported that the film accounted for 83% of the sites total sales. Elsewhere, tracking reports claim 23% of cinema audiences listed The Hunger Games as their ‘First Choice’ pick of forthcoming movies and 54% claim ‘definite interest’ in the film. Forecasters, meanwhile, are predicting it could take between $75 and 100 million in its opening weekend.

Although undeniably impressive, these numbers conversely suggest a mild nervousness at work here. The Hunger Games, adapted from a trilogy of teen novels, operate on a very different business model from Twilight, the property to which they’ve become routinely compared. For all its supernatural attributes, the Twilight series was deeply conservative at heart. But The Hunger Games offers different, more interesting vibes. Its roots lie in that strand of dystopian science fiction from the 1970s that gave us Rollerball or Logan’s Run, or more recent films like Battle Royale. There’s no real box office precedent for this kind of movie among teen audiences, and with Harry Potter done and only one more Twilight movie to come, Hollywood might understandably appear especially anxious to keep those audiences happy.

Out in the boondocks of post-apocalypse America, contestants are selected by lottery and sent to the Capitol as “tributes”, where in the name of TV entertainment, they will kill one another in pretty woodland surroundings in The Hunger Games. The purpose of this seems to be to amuse the dandified denizens of the Capitol, while also serving to keep the poor folks out in the Districts in check. Donald Sutherland, as the Capitol’s President Snow speaks knowingly about keeping the downtrodden trodden down while lovingly pruning his roses in his expansive garden – always a sign of a bad guy. Meanwhile, Jennifer Lawrence, as District 12’s ‘tribute’ Katniss Everdean, struggles to stay one step ahead from both her fellow contestants and various perils deployed by TV producer, Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley).

The film is played totally straight. With its tin shacks and feral-looking children, District 12 looks like the Ozarks of Winter’s Bone – indeed, as she eludes her pursuers here, you might think Jennifer Lawrence is channelling the same kind of ingenuity she displayed as Ree in Debra Granik’s film. The Capitol itself looks like the Emerald City from Return To Oz, a vast metropolis where everyone has blue hair and spray-on make-up. Woody Harrelson delivers a good extended cameo as Katniss’ mentor, a former champion himself, who suggests she “embrace the possibility of your imminent death” with the right degree of cynicism. Stanley Tucci and Toby Jones, as co-anchors of The Hunger Games TV show, provide commentary straight from the Simon Cowell school of cliché.

Indeed, if there is one obvious target here it’s reality TV shows, and director Gary Ross doesn’t entirely shirk from displaying some satirical teeth. The idea of a future society where the state controls the population through lethal games is familiar from films like Rollerball, The Running Man and even Doctor Who, but retooled in the era of Simon Cowell gives is some fresh purpose. There are plot holes in the narrative, and there’s no clearly defined bad guy for Katniss to face-off against (apart from a couple of posho bullies from District 1). Sutherland is too remote a presence while Wes Bentley’s beard is too silly for him to be taken seriously as a baddie. The success of The Hunger Games, though, rests with Jennifer Lawrence, who brings the right degree of resourcefulness and vulnerability to Katniss. And she is good with a crossbow, too.

John Lydon’s PiL kick off countdown to Record Store Day 2012 at tiny show

Tom Goodwyn
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0
John Lydon’s PiL kick off countdown to Record Store Day 2012 at tiny show
Public Image Ltd. officially kicked off the build-up to this year's Record Store Day last night (March 19), playing a basement gig in London to mark the announcement of the special releases for this year's event, set for April 21. John Lydon and the gang played a private show in front of a few hu...

Public Image Ltd. officially kicked off the build-up to this year’s Record Store Day last night (March 19), playing a basement gig in London to mark the announcement of the special releases for this year’s event, set for April 21.

John Lydon and the gang played a private show in front of a few hundred invited guests at the Hoxton Gallery, while later on Orbital played a DJ set. The band are set to release an EP of new material for Record Store Day.

Public Image Ltd played one song from the EP, ‘One Drop’, tonight and a further new song, ‘Deeper Water’, set for their new album ‘This Is PiL’. That record comes out on May 28.

The former boasts a hypnotic groove reminiscent of the band’s ‘Metal Box’ output stylistically. The latter is a faster, reggae-twinged number in which Lydon declares: “I am John, from London!” before a Bowie-esque squall of guitar and the lyric: “Not really, we are born everywhere!”

After the show, Lydon took part in a Q&A session where he launched into an extended rant encompassing his views on record labels, PiL’s recent London gig as part of BBC 6 Music’s 10th birthday celebrations and a bizarre comment about Cliff Richard.

Lydon said: “We did something for you tonight, we’d like a bigger thanks than that. The BBC really screwed us up [at Friday’s gig].”

He continued: “I’m glad a lot of the labels folded, they did new bands no good. If you have a good idea someone will steal it from you in a flying fart second. We live in this world to share and share alike and that costs money. If you want free pies from pie and mash down the road, guess what: the shop’s going to drop.”

Lydon also commented: “I live in LA, I can download everything. I downloaded Cliff Richard’s colostomy bag.”

Public Image Ltd. played:

‘Deeper Water’

‘This Is Not A Love Song’

‘Disappointed’

‘Warrior’

‘Albatross’

‘Flowers Of Romance’

‘One Drop’

‘8-Rise’

More than 350 releases have been announced to tie in with Record Store Day this year, including exclusive material from the likes of Miles Kane, Laura Marling, Arctic Monkeys and Arcade Fire. Releases from the likes of ASAP Rocky, The White Stripes, The Clash and Noel Gallagher are also hitting the shelves to mark the occasion.

Jack White announces debut solo London headline show

Tom Goodwyn
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0
Jack White announces debut solo London headline show
Jack White has announced his first UK solo headline date at London's HMV Hammersmith Apollo on June 22. The new date is scheduled before White will play Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, which takes place on June 23-24. Prior to coming to the UK, White will be touring extensively across the US. The ex...

Jack White has announced his first UK solo headline date at London’s HMV Hammersmith Apollo on June 22.

The new date is scheduled before White will play Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend, which takes place on June 23-24. Prior to coming to the UK, White will be touring extensively across the US.

The ex-White Stripes man kicks off his tour in the home of his Third Man Records label, Nashville, on May 15, before heading out across the country. The tour finishes in Los Angeles on May 31. Following his appearance at Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend, White will begin his European tour in Amsterdam on June 25.

Meanwhile, Jack White’s solo album ‘Blunderbuss’ is now available as a digital pre-order from the iTunes store in Europe and his official website. Fans who pre-order the album on iTunes will instantly receive a download of new single ‘Sixteen Saltines’.

The track is also available on vinyl tomorrow via the Third Man Record Store and features a B-side cover of U2’s ‘Love Is Blindness’.

White releases ‘Blunderbuss’ on April 23 on Third Man Records/XL Records. The album was self-produced at his own Third Man Studio in Nashville.

Neil Young and Crazy Horse to release new album ‘Americana’ in June

Tom Goodwyn
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0
Neil Young and Crazy Horse to release new album ‘Americana’ in June
Neil Young has announced that he will be releasing a new album in June with Crazy Horse. The album, which is titled 'Americana', will be released on June 5 and was recorded at Audio Casa Blanca studios in January. The record is Young's first with Crazy Horse since 2003 and the first album with th...

Neil Young has announced that he will be releasing a new album in June with Crazy Horse.

The album, which is titled ‘Americana’, will be released on June 5 and was recorded at Audio Casa Blanca studios in January. The record is Young’s first with Crazy Horse since 2003 and the first album with the full Crazy Horse line-up of Billy Talbot, Ralph Molina and Frank Sampedro since 1996’s ‘Broken Arrow’.

The record has been produced by Neil Young and John Hanlon and is entirely comprised of new versions of classic American folk songs, including ‘Clementine’, ‘Gallow’s Pole’ and ‘She’ll Be Comin’ Round The Mountain’.

According the album’s accompanying press release, Young said of why he’d chosen to record these songs: “They represent an America that may no longer exist. The emotions and scenarios behind these songs still resonate with what’s going on in the country today with equal, if not greater impact nearly 200 years later. The lyrics reflect the same concerns and are still remarkably meaningful to a society going through economic and cultural upheaval, especially during an election year. They are just as poignant and powerful today as the day they were written.”

The announcement of the album follows the streaming of a 37-minute long studio session Neilyoung.com, which included lyric sheets for many of the tracks that are now confirmed to feature on the album.

Young, who released his last solo album ‘Le Noise’ in 2010, recently hit out at the sound quality of modern recorded music, describing the sound of modern records as “the worst we’ve ever had”.

The tracklisting for ‘Americana’ is as follows:

‘Oh Susannah’

‘Clementine’

‘Tom Dooley’

‘Gallows Pole’

‘Get A Job’

‘Travel On’

‘High Flyin’ Bird’

‘She’ll Be Comin ‘Round The Mountain’

‘This Land Is Your Land’

‘Wayfarin’ Stranger’

‘God Save The Queen’

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