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WHIP IT

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WHIP IT
DIRECTED BY Drew Barrymore STARRING Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore Whip It! is a curiosity. On one hand, it marks Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut; more intriguingly, it offers insight into a world rarely depicted in movies: women’s sports. While Bend It Like Beckham or Million Dollar Baby have...

DIRECTED BY Drew Barrymore

STARRING Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore

Whip It! is a curiosity. On one hand, it marks Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut; more intriguingly, it offers insight into a world rarely depicted in movies: women’s sports.

While Bend It Like Beckham or Million Dollar Baby have addressed the attempts of women to become established in a male environment, Whip It! is almost exclusively girl-powered.

Juno’s Ellen Page is 17-year-old Bliss, groomed for pageant shows by her overbearing mother, who discovers there’s more fun to be had at the Texas Roller Derby league.

It’s hardly searing, feminist stuff – Barrymore opts instead to give us a breezy piece of hipster kitsch. Under aliases like Bloody Holly and Iron Maiven, Bliss and the girls unleash hell-on-wheels to a soundtrack that includes The Breeders, MGMT and Kings Of Leon. Slight narrative arc notwithstanding, there’s a lot of warmth here.

Michael Bonner

THE GHOST

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THE GHOST
DIRECTED BY Roman Polanski STARRING Pierce Brosnan, Ewan McGregor It’s clear that author Robert Harris, adapting his own novel for the screen, has no great love for Tony Blair. Here, Blair is thinly satirised as Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan, playing Pierce Brosnan), an ex-British PM who hires a gh...

DIRECTED BY Roman Polanski

STARRING Pierce Brosnan, Ewan McGregor

It’s clear that author Robert Harris, adapting his own novel for the screen, has no great love for Tony Blair.

Here, Blair is thinly satirised as Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan, playing Pierce Brosnan), an ex-British PM who hires a ghost writer (Ewan McGregor employing a dubious metropolitan accent) to rewrite his memoirs, after his closest aide dies in mysterious circumstances.

The assignment becomes more interesting, as the ex-PM is accused of war crimes. But the involvement of Polanski switches the emphasis somewhat, as the retired politician is besieged by the media on his Cape Cod retreat, and unable to travel freely across borders.

The film works while McGregor is trapped on the island, finding himself distracted by the PM’s wife (the excellent Olivia Williams, who is Cherie, with added sultriness), but it loses direction as Harris’ rage is channelled through some clunky plot developments.

Alastair McKay

CEMETERY JUNCTION

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CEMETERY JUNCTION
DIRECTED BY Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant STARRING Christian Cooke, Felicity Jones, Emily Watson, Ralph Fiennes Reading, the ’70s: three teenage boys yearn to escape “the town the swinging ’60s forgot” and discover girls, thrills and purpose. To do this, they must rail against fusty ...

DIRECTED BY Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant

STARRING Christian Cooke, Felicity Jones, Emily Watson, Ralph Fiennes

Reading, the ’70s: three teenage boys yearn to escape “the town the swinging ’60s forgot” and discover girls, thrills and purpose.

To do this, they must rail against fusty authority. They must also, apparently, indulge in much schoolboy humour about flatulence while speaking in the precise cadences of the film’s authors.

This is a passable, mildly diverting, coming-of-age Brit-flick. Coming from the Gervais/Merchant stable though, it’s a frustrating let-down after past successes.

If the intention was to subvert the grotty feel of UK ’70s comedy, too often the “ironic” racism and sexism – jokes about “poofs”, black people described as “monkeys” – feel awkward and shaky.

Gervais and Merchant’s great achievements previously have been the result of a delicate balance of laughs and pathos – a trick that this project pulls off only fleetingly.

Chris Roberts

‘Malcolm McLaren was an absolutely essential catalyst for punk’ – video tribute

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‘Malcolm McLaren was an absolutely essential catalyst for punk’ – video tribute
Malcolm McLaren's lasting influence on the music world has been celebrated in a new video tribute on Uncut.co.uk's sister-title [url=http://www.nme.com/news/sex-pistols/50665]NME.COM[/url]. You can watch the clip, which features Uncut's editor Allan Jones, along with NME Editorial Director Steve Su...

Malcolm McLaren‘s lasting influence on the music world has been celebrated in a new video tribute on Uncut.co.uk‘s sister-title [url=http://www.nme.com/news/sex-pistols/50665]NME.COM[/url].

You can watch the clip, which features Uncut‘s editor Allan Jones, along with NME Editorial Director Steve Sutherland by clicking [url=http://www.nme.com/news/sex-pistols/50665]here[/url].

The Sex Pistols manager [url=http://www.nme.com/news/malcolm-mclaren/50611]passed away of cancer last week (April 8)[/url]. Speaking about McLaren and his career, Jones said:

“McLaren wasn’t unique in his viewpoint, but he became an absolutely essential catalyst for what happened in 1975, 76 and especially 77.”

He added: “I think he did have a very vivid vision of what music could be, of the music that became punk and what we recognise as punk.”

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT – ALL DAYS ARE NIGHTS: SONGS FOR LULU

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RUFUS WAINWRIGHT – ALL DAYS ARE NIGHTS: SONGS FOR LULU

Fans of the glittering Rufus Wainwright have grown accustomed to his orchestral excesses, his baroque flourishes and his Busby Berkeley sensibility. Now, having made the rather astounding leap from pop star to opera composer with Prima Donna – and pulling it off without being boiled alive by opera critics – Wainwright has made an abrupt about-turn and recorded an album with just voice and piano. But in Wainwright’s world, the absence of an orchestra doesn’t necessarily mean modesty or restraint. He describes the piano as “my main mistress”, and in part All Days Are Nights was designed as an exploration of his own piano technique. Evidently he’s quite proud of his classical chops, and it doesn’t take much imagination to detect glimpses of Schumann or Debussy threading through these dozen pieces, though there are moments when the finished product could have used a little less piano in the mix and a bit more voice. Sometimes the album sounds like a pitched battle between the singing Rufus and the playing one, not least on opener “Who Are You New York?” It’s a kind of magic travelogue: New York can be like a living character in Wainwright’s songs, an effect that would be still more magical here if the non-stop key-board whirlwind left more space for his words. The music starts to grip most powerfully when it’s more allusive and introspective. The central portion of the disc comprises three Shakespeare sonnets which Wainwright set to music as part of Robert Wilson’s Sonette, a gender-bending production of 24 of the sonnets staged at the Berliner Ensemble last year. He has devised a subtly distinctive approach for each of them, from the mysteriously ascending phrases of “When Most I Wink” (Sonnet 43) to the circling triplets of “Shame” (Sonnet 10). Much of the album was written in the shadow of his mother, Kate McGarrigle’s fatal illness, which has given it a poignant emotional cast, even if the songs mostly don’t address the subject directly. One which does is “Martha”, a typically fearless insight into the way Rufus and his sister clung even more closely together as Kate’s condition worsened. “Neither of us is really that much older than each other,” he sings, a recognition of the levelling effect of passing time. Indeed, the event seemingly transformed the dynamics of the whole Wainwright clan, including estranged dad Loudon: “Have you had a chance to see father... there’s not much time for us to really be that angry with each other.” The ‘Songs For Lulu’ part of the album title relates to Wainwright’s fascination with the Lulu character in the 1929 German silent film, Pandora’s Box. A trifle esoteric, but once you know that Lulu is a tempestuous vaudeville performer who wreaks havoc on those around her, it begins to make sense. According to Rufus, three songs relate to his concept for an imaginary stage musical with a Lulu-centric theme. “The Dream” begins modestly before building up to a crescendo of thumping chords and impetuous glissandos, whereas “True Loves” and “What Would I Ever Do With A Rose?” display more formal restraint while heaping on luscious dollops of melody. The faintly Parisian feel of “...Rose?” leads neatly into “Les Feux d’Artifice t’Appellant”, an aria from Prima Donna in which Rufus gives vent to a vaguely Debussian impressionism. The LP closes with “Zebulon”, an ode to a high school friend he once had a crush on. Its ghostly weightlessness, over which Wainwright dreamily ponders issues of love, loss and what “freedom” really means, provides a suitably quizzical conclusion to an album that refuses to unravel itself without a fight. Adam Sweeting Q+A Your mother’s illness must have overshadowed the album? My mother meant a lot to a lot of people so I feel the need to celebrate her and share her legacy with fans. She infused my sister and I with her love of the limelight, of music and art. Also there was a reaction to the huge projects I was involved in – my opera and the Sonette project in Berlin – where I needed to lick my wounds and ponder the universe alone for two seconds. Does your songwriting start at the piano? No, most of it starts while I’m walking around. I’ve written so many songs that writing lyrics has become a bodily function like you eat food and shit. I look at things and a lyric comes out. Is “Lulu” your old party-going self? Partly. It refers to the dark, brooding underbelly that inhabits all of us. I’ve discovered that a lot of those reckless, nihilistic feelings I had in my twenties didn’t go away. But I always seem to come back to the story of Lulu from Pandora’s Box. I see this dance number with Lulu and Fred Astaire for some reason, on some grand staircase. INTERVIEW: ADAM SWEETING

Fans of the glittering Rufus Wainwright have grown accustomed to his orchestral excesses, his baroque flourishes and his Busby Berkeley sensibility.

Now, having made the rather astounding leap from pop star to opera composer with Prima Donna – and pulling it off without being boiled alive by opera critics – Wainwright has made an abrupt about-turn and recorded an album with just voice and piano.

But in Wainwright’s world, the absence of an orchestra doesn’t necessarily mean modesty or restraint. He describes the piano as “my main mistress”, and in part All Days Are Nights was designed as an exploration of his own piano technique. Evidently he’s quite proud of his classical chops, and it doesn’t take much imagination to detect glimpses of Schumann or Debussy threading through these dozen pieces, though there are moments when the finished product could have used a little less piano in the mix and a bit more voice.

Sometimes the album sounds like a pitched battle between the singing Rufus and the playing one, not least on opener “Who Are You New York?” It’s a kind of magic travelogue: New York can be like a living character in Wainwright’s songs, an effect that would be still more magical here if the non-stop key-board whirlwind left more space for his words.

The music starts to grip most powerfully when it’s more allusive and introspective. The central portion of the disc comprises three Shakespeare sonnets which Wainwright set to music as part of Robert Wilson’s Sonette, a gender-bending production of 24 of the sonnets staged at the Berliner Ensemble last year. He has devised a subtly distinctive approach for each of them, from the mysteriously ascending phrases of “When Most I Wink” (Sonnet 43) to the circling triplets of “Shame” (Sonnet 10).

Much of the album was written in the shadow of his mother, Kate McGarrigle’s fatal illness, which has given it a poignant emotional cast, even if the songs mostly don’t address the subject directly. One which does is “Martha”, a typically fearless insight into the way Rufus and his sister clung even more closely together as Kate’s condition worsened. “Neither of us is really that much older than each other,” he sings, a recognition of the levelling effect of passing time. Indeed, the event seemingly transformed the dynamics of the whole Wainwright clan, including estranged dad Loudon: “Have you had a chance to see father… there’s not much time for us to really be that angry with each other.”

The ‘Songs For Lulu’ part of the album title relates to Wainwright’s fascination with the Lulu character in the 1929 German silent film, Pandora’s Box. A trifle esoteric, but once you know that Lulu is a tempestuous vaudeville performer who wreaks havoc on those around her, it begins to make sense. According to Rufus, three songs relate to his concept for an imaginary stage musical with a Lulu-centric theme. “The Dream” begins modestly before building up to a crescendo of thumping chords and impetuous glissandos, whereas “True Loves” and “What Would I Ever Do With A Rose?” display more formal restraint while heaping on luscious dollops of melody. The faintly Parisian feel of “…Rose?” leads neatly into “Les Feux d’Artifice t’Appellant”, an aria from Prima Donna in which Rufus gives vent to a vaguely Debussian impressionism. The LP closes with “Zebulon”, an ode to a high school friend he once had a crush on. Its ghostly weightlessness, over which Wainwright dreamily ponders issues of love, loss and what “freedom” really means, provides a suitably quizzical conclusion to an album that refuses to unravel itself without a fight.

Adam Sweeting

Q+A

Your mother’s illness must have overshadowed the album?

My mother meant a lot to a lot of people so I feel the need to celebrate her and share her legacy with fans. She infused my sister and I with her love of the limelight, of music and art. Also there was a reaction to the huge projects I was involved in – my opera and the Sonette project in Berlin – where I needed to lick my wounds and ponder the universe alone for two seconds.

Does your songwriting start at the piano?

No, most of it starts while I’m walking around. I’ve written so many songs that writing lyrics has become a bodily function like you eat food and shit. I look at things and a lyric comes out.

Is “Lulu” your old party-going self?

Partly. It refers to the dark, brooding underbelly that inhabits all of us. I’ve discovered that a lot of those reckless, nihilistic feelings I had in my twenties didn’t go away. But I always seem to come back to the story of Lulu from Pandora’s Box. I see this dance number with Lulu and Fred Astaire for some reason, on some grand staircase.

INTERVIEW: ADAM SWEETING

BONNIE “PRINCE” BILLY & THE CAIRO GANG – THE WONDER SHOW OF THE WORLD

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BONNIE “PRINCE” BILLY & THE CAIRO GANG – THE WONDER SHOW OF THE WORLD

Around the release of his last studio album, Beware, Will Oldham embarked on a small project. According to the writer Kelefa Sanneh, in a New Yorker profile in January 2009, Oldham intended, “To promote the album with singles, a photoshoot, and a handful of interviews, if only to prove that promotion doesn’t really work, at least not for him.” When it arrived in March 2009, Beware turned out to be among Oldham’s heartier records, but not conspicuously one to attract thousands of new fans. Domino are cagey about precise sales figures, leading one to assume that, having made his point, Oldham will now continue on his elliptical career path. Bearing in mind his cantankerous integrity, it’s easy to imagine him taking satisfaction from the fact that his appeal remains, shall we say, reassuringly selective. You do wonder, though, if he is ever frustrated by his lot. Journalists persistently suggest that Oldham, 40 this year and with roughly 15 albums behind him, will be remembered as one of this era’s very greatest singer-songwriters. Wouldn’t it be nice if some of that acclaim transformed into actual – rather than critical – capital, right now? Part of the problem, oddly, is Oldham’s consistency and productivity. Among the vast weight of music he releases – one album, one live album, one capricious ‘Best Of’, two 10-inch EPs, three seven-inches, one iTunes single, six tracks on compilations and four appearances on other people’s records in 2009 alone – there are hardly any disappointments, but also precious few records that have been unanimously acclaimed as high points. Some complex economic theorem might suggest that Oldham could sell more records if he made fewer of them. But that would potentially rob us of tremendous efforts like The Wonder Show Of The World. It comes billed as a collaboration with The Cairo Gang, otherwise known as Emmett Kelly, a guitarist who has frequently accompanied Oldham of late (The original Cairo Gang, incidentally, were British spies operating against the IRA in 1920; quite a contrast to the Catholic rebellion implied by Oldham’s “Bonnie Prince” nomenclature). Compared with the rumbustious Beware, The Wonder Show Of The World initially feels rather low-key. Arrangements are spare, spectral even. Mostly, Kelly tracks Oldham with voice and either acoustic or delicate electric guitar. Bass and drums appear intermittently, as do a choir of sorts. The starkness recalls 2005’s Superwolf, albeit without the clanging interventions of Matt Sweeney. At times, a sacred air accumulates around the songs, so that “Someone Coming Through” betrays closer affinities to medieval church music than Oldham’s usual country references. But there’s a certain warmth and ’70s classicism, too: a hint of After The Gold Rush to the frail hymnal of “With Cornstalks Or Among Them”; something of Eric Clapton’s “woman tone” to Kelly’s keening solo on “Teach Me To Bear You”. Slowly, these immensely crafted songs bed in, emerging as some of the best and most accessible that Oldham has ever written. “That’s What Our Love Is” is remarkable, a tender crystallisation of the album’s principal theme; the enduring consolations of love, both spiritual and physical. For nearly five minutes, Oldham and Kelly indulge in some gentle come-hithering, before tablas arrive and the pace and intensity picks up. “I believe these are end times,” exclaims Oldham. “Wouldn’t it be best to be together then? The smell of your box on my moustache...” It’s an absurd image, delivered touchingly, that is typical of Oldham’s eccentric ribaldry, and of how he has spent the past few years writing about love and contentment in unorthodox, unsentimental ways. The tone of The Wonder Show Of The World (does the title refer to love itself?) might often be austere, but most of the songs are blessed with happy endings. “My chest swells and my nose snores; it’s all OK by you. I’ve never felt this welcome,” he observes on “Go Folks, Go”. In “The Sounds Are Always Begging”, the narrator’s wife goes crazy and starts “chopping up the bed”. She leaves, and Oldham tames his unruly children with the gift of music. “Always choose the noise of music. Always end the day in singing!” he pontificates, and long experience of Will Oldham might counsel against taking his lyrics at face value. Still, it’s tempting to conclude that wonderful music and a loving home are much more important than the vagaries of commercial success. When The Palace Brothers first played London, Oldham covered Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You”, and it seemed ironic. Seventeen years on, experience suggests he might well have meant every word. John Mulvey

Around the release of his last studio album, Beware, Will Oldham embarked on a small project. According to the writer Kelefa Sanneh, in a New Yorker profile in January 2009, Oldham intended, “To promote the album with singles, a photoshoot, and a handful of interviews, if only to prove that promotion doesn’t really work, at least not for him.”

When it arrived in March 2009, Beware turned out to be among Oldham’s heartier records, but not conspicuously one to attract thousands of new fans. Domino are cagey about precise sales figures, leading one to assume that, having made his point, Oldham will now continue on his elliptical career path. Bearing in mind his cantankerous integrity, it’s easy to imagine him taking satisfaction from the fact that his appeal remains, shall we say, reassuringly selective.

You do wonder, though, if he is ever frustrated by his lot. Journalists persistently suggest that Oldham, 40 this year and with roughly 15 albums behind him, will be remembered as one of this era’s very greatest singer-songwriters. Wouldn’t it be nice if some of that acclaim transformed into actual – rather than critical – capital, right now?

Part of the problem, oddly, is Oldham’s consistency and productivity. Among the vast weight of music he releases – one album, one live album, one capricious ‘Best Of’, two 10-inch EPs, three seven-inches, one iTunes single, six tracks on compilations and four appearances on other people’s records in 2009 alone – there are hardly any disappointments, but also precious few records that have been unanimously acclaimed as high points. Some complex economic theorem might suggest that Oldham could sell more records if he made fewer of them.

But that would potentially rob us of tremendous efforts like The Wonder Show Of The World. It comes billed as a collaboration with The Cairo Gang, otherwise known as Emmett Kelly, a guitarist who has frequently accompanied Oldham of late (The original Cairo Gang, incidentally, were British spies operating against the IRA in 1920; quite a contrast to the Catholic rebellion implied by Oldham’s “Bonnie Prince” nomenclature).

Compared with the rumbustious Beware, The Wonder Show Of The World initially feels rather low-key. Arrangements are spare, spectral even. Mostly, Kelly tracks Oldham with voice and either acoustic or delicate electric guitar. Bass and drums appear intermittently, as do a choir of sorts. The starkness recalls 2005’s Superwolf, albeit without the clanging interventions of Matt Sweeney. At times, a sacred air accumulates around the songs, so that “Someone Coming Through” betrays closer affinities to medieval church music than Oldham’s usual country references. But there’s a certain warmth and ’70s classicism, too: a hint of After The Gold Rush to the frail hymnal of “With Cornstalks Or Among Them”; something of Eric Clapton’s “woman tone” to Kelly’s keening solo on “Teach Me To Bear You”.

Slowly, these immensely crafted songs bed in, emerging as some of the best and most accessible that Oldham has ever written. “That’s What Our Love Is” is remarkable, a tender crystallisation of the album’s principal theme; the enduring consolations of love, both spiritual and physical. For nearly five minutes, Oldham and Kelly indulge in some gentle come-hithering, before tablas arrive and the pace and intensity picks up. “I believe these are end times,” exclaims Oldham. “Wouldn’t it be best to be together then? The smell of your box on my moustache…”

It’s an absurd image, delivered touchingly, that is typical of Oldham’s eccentric ribaldry, and of how he has spent the past few years writing about love and contentment in unorthodox, unsentimental ways. The tone of The Wonder Show Of The World (does the title refer to love itself?) might often be austere, but most of the songs are blessed with happy endings. “My chest swells and my nose snores; it’s all OK by you. I’ve never felt this welcome,” he observes on “Go Folks, Go”. In “The Sounds Are Always Begging”, the narrator’s wife goes crazy and starts “chopping up the bed”. She leaves, and Oldham tames his unruly children with the gift of music.

“Always choose the noise of music. Always end the day in singing!” he pontificates, and long experience of Will Oldham might counsel against taking his lyrics at face value. Still, it’s tempting to conclude that wonderful music and a loving home are much more important than the vagaries of commercial success. When The Palace Brothers first played London, Oldham covered Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You”, and it seemed ironic. Seventeen years on, experience suggests he might well have meant every word.

John Mulvey

MGMT – CONGRATULATIONS

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MGMT – CONGRATULATIONS

It's difficult to imagine how MGMT will ever top their debut single “Time To Pretend”. Not only was it a magnificent pop song, one of the finest of the last decade, but it gleefully and systematically dismantled the whole flimsy defence of pop star privilege before they’d even had a chance to taste the good shit for themselves. “Let’s make some music, make some money, find some models for wives,” it teased. So when actual models starting turning up at MGMT afterparties, Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser knew they had to tread carefully. They’d always been into music for the trip rather than trappings, with the pop hits merely an accidental by-product. Their live shows revealed more of the real MGMT: intriguingly indulgent, always threatening to duck back into their own little universe. Recruiting Pete ‘Sonic Boom’ Kember – hardly a prolific hitmaker – to help record Congratulations confirmed their retreat from the pop frontline. Like Kember’s Spacemen 3, MGMT are a truly psychedelic band, taking drugs to make music to take drugs to. Opener “It’s Working” describes the experience of coming up on ecstasy, essentially framing the entire album as a drug trip. Once you’re into that mindset, and knowing that a narcotic voyage can be as sinister and bewildering as it can be euphoric or revelatory (“Really there’s no trip at all/ That doesn’t result in a fall” they warn on “Siberian Breaks”), then Congratulations’ scuffed, blurry canvases begin to snap into focus. Its touchstones are the original psychedelic explorers: Pink Floyd, The Pretty Things, The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. Congratulations is awash with spindly Syd Barrett guitars, blotchy organs, baroque flourishes and distant childlike vocals. Perhaps it’s just the drugs talking, but the lyrics, too, seem a lot more sincere, even in their silliness, than the sometimes contrived fantastical imagery of Oracular Spectacular.There are tender tributes to Dan Treacy (the Television Personalities frontman has recently become a friend of the band, as well as an obvious influence on the song that bears his name), Lady Gaga (“Lady Dada’s Nightmare”) and Brian Eno, who is cast as a kind of synth-wielding Scarlet Pimpernel: “We’re always one step behind him, he’s Brian Eno!” There are moments when Congratulations’ paisley jangle sounds a little queasy, but once Sergeant Pepper’s cavalry charge in halfway through the astonishing “Someone’s Missing”, MGMT don’t look back. Their new sense of freedom is epitomised by “Siberian Breaks”, a medley of songs in the style of Todd Rundgren’s A Wizard, A True Star, zinging back and forth from honeyed soft rock to campy minuet to twinkling space oddity to prog meltdown with impressive chutzpah. The abundance of hooks tossed casually overboard during its 12 minutes suggest MGMT could easily write another “Time To Pretend” should the need arise, although the straightest song here comes right at the end. The closer and title track is beautifully serene little strum, a distant cousin of T.Rex’s “Life’s A Gas”, on which VanWyngarden can’t resist signing off with a little smirk. “Lay down the quilt upon the lawn/Spread my arms and soak up congratulations”, he sings, self-mockingly, as the album fades out with a polite round of applause. MGMT have already displayed a wry understanding of the workings of the music industry, so they more than anyone will be braced for a backlash from the mainstream media who never would have paid Congratulations a second thought had the likes of “Kids” not unexpectedly become massive hits. This is a wilful and lovably eccentric second album from a band who’ve had a sniff of being pop stars and decided they’d much rather be weird and esoteric, thanks all the same. If they can do just enough to persuade Columbia to keep bankrolling their psychedelic adventures, then MGMT are even smarter than we thought. Sam Richards

It’s difficult to imagine how MGMT will ever top their debut single “Time To Pretend”.

Not only was it a magnificent pop song, one of the finest of the last decade, but it gleefully and systematically dismantled the whole flimsy defence of pop star privilege before they’d even had a chance to taste the good shit for themselves. “Let’s make some music, make some money, find some models for wives,” it teased.

So when actual models starting turning up at MGMT afterparties, Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser knew they had to tread carefully.

They’d always been into music for the trip rather than trappings, with the pop hits merely an accidental by-product. Their live shows revealed more of the real MGMT: intriguingly indulgent, always threatening to duck back into their own little universe. Recruiting Pete ‘Sonic Boom’ Kember – hardly a prolific hitmaker – to help record Congratulations confirmed their retreat from the pop frontline.

Like Kember’s Spacemen 3, MGMT are a truly psychedelic band, taking drugs to make music to take drugs to. Opener “It’s Working” describes the experience of coming up on ecstasy, essentially framing the entire album as a drug trip. Once you’re into that mindset, and knowing that a narcotic voyage can be as sinister and bewildering as it can be euphoric or revelatory (“Really there’s no trip at all/ That doesn’t result in a fall” they warn on “Siberian Breaks”), then Congratulations’ scuffed, blurry canvases begin to snap into focus.

Its touchstones are the original psychedelic explorers: Pink Floyd, The Pretty Things, The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. Congratulations is awash with spindly Syd Barrett guitars, blotchy organs, baroque flourishes and distant childlike vocals.

Perhaps it’s just the drugs talking, but the lyrics, too, seem a lot more sincere, even in their silliness, than the sometimes contrived fantastical imagery of Oracular Spectacular.There are tender tributes to Dan Treacy (the Television Personalities frontman has recently become a friend of the band, as well as an obvious influence on the song that bears his name), Lady Gaga (“Lady Dada’s Nightmare”) and Brian Eno, who is cast as a kind of synth-wielding Scarlet Pimpernel: “We’re always one step behind him, he’s Brian Eno!”

There are moments when Congratulations’ paisley jangle sounds a little queasy, but once Sergeant Pepper’s cavalry charge in halfway through the astonishing “Someone’s Missing”, MGMT don’t look back. Their new sense of freedom is epitomised by “Siberian Breaks”, a medley of songs in the style of Todd Rundgren’s A Wizard, A True Star, zinging back and forth from honeyed soft rock to campy minuet to twinkling space oddity to prog meltdown with impressive chutzpah.

The abundance of hooks tossed casually overboard during its 12 minutes suggest MGMT could easily write another “Time To Pretend” should the need arise, although the straightest song here comes right at the end. The closer and title track is beautifully serene little strum, a distant cousin of T.Rex’s “Life’s A Gas”, on which VanWyngarden can’t resist signing off with a little smirk. “Lay down the quilt upon the lawn/Spread my arms and soak up congratulations”, he sings, self-mockingly, as the album fades out with a polite round of applause.

MGMT have already displayed a wry understanding of the workings of the music industry, so they more than anyone will be braced for a backlash from the mainstream media who never would have paid Congratulations a second thought had the likes of “Kids” not unexpectedly become massive hits.

This is a wilful and lovably eccentric second album from a band who’ve had a sniff of being pop stars and decided they’d much rather be weird and esoteric, thanks all the same.

If they can do just enough to persuade Columbia to keep bankrolling their psychedelic adventures, then MGMT are even smarter than we thought.

Sam Richards

The 15th Uncut Playlist Of 2010

John Mulvey
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Slightly depressing as it is to plug a designated day on which people should buy music in a shop, a probably unnecessary reminder that Record Store Day is this coming Saturday. Quickly flicking through the listings, one highlight: Rough Trade East have Michael Rother signing copies of a new Neu! 12-inch, which is presumably from the “Neu! ‘86” part of the forthcoming boxset. While you’re there, a big recommendation for the new batch of Not Not Fun releases which came my way this week, notably a double, “On Patrol”, from the sanctified Sun Araw, and the return of his band, Magic Lantern, with “Platoon”. Both amazing records, which I’m trying to write about for the Wild Mercury Sound column in the next issue of Uncut. Look out for the forthcoming Cave and Oh Sees records, too, and I’m back up to my neck in various Moon Duo and Wooden Shjips things, which is, as ever, a pleasure. Oh, full Ariel Pink blog any day now, I promise… 1 Blitzen Trapper – Wild Mountain Nation (Sub Pop) 2 Actress – Splazsh (Honest Jon’s) 3 Sun Araw – On Patrol (Not Not Fun) 4 The Drums – The Drums (Moshi Moshi) 5 Pocahaunted – Make It Real (Not Not Fun) 6 Thee Oh Sees – Warm Slime (In The Red) 7 Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today (4AD) 8 Moon Duo – Killing Time (Sacred Bones) 9 Violent Soho – Son Of Sam (Ecstatic Peace/Island) 10 Delorean – Subiza (True Panther Sounds) 11 Cave – Pure Moods (Drag City) 12 Here We Go Magic – Pigeons (Secretly Canadian) 13 Various Artists – Nobody Sings Dylan Like Dylan (Righteous) 14 Joe Worricker – EP (Rough Trade) 15 Magic Lantern – Platoon (Not Not Fun)

Slightly depressing as it is to plug a designated day on which people should buy music in a shop, a probably unnecessary reminder that Record Store Day is this coming Saturday. Quickly flicking through the listings, one highlight: Rough Trade East have Michael Rother signing copies of a new Neu! 12-inch, which is presumably from the “Neu! ‘86” part of the forthcoming boxset.

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Blondie announce UK tour

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Blondie announce UK tour

Blondie are to tour of the UK this June. Debbie Harry and co will begin the three-date jaunt with a gig at Newcastle's O2 Academy on June 15, followed by shows in Sheffield and Bournemouth. The band also appear at this year's RockNess festival, and play a Forestry Commission gig in Gloucestershire on June 20[/url]. Blondie play: Newcastle O2 Academy (June 15) Sheffield O2 Academy (17) Bournemouth O2 Academy (19) Tickets go on sale this Friday (April 16) at 9am (GMT). Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Blondie are to tour of the UK this June.

Debbie Harry and co will begin the three-date jaunt with a gig at Newcastle‘s O2 Academy on June 15, followed by shows in Sheffield and Bournemouth.

The band also appear at this year’s RockNess festival, and play a Forestry Commission gig in Gloucestershire on June 20[/url].

Blondie play:

Newcastle O2 Academy (June 15)

Sheffield O2 Academy (17)

Bournemouth O2 Academy (19)

Tickets go on sale this Friday (April 16) at 9am (GMT).

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Vatican forgives The Beatles for John Lennon’s ‘bigger than Jesus’ comment

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Vatican forgives The Beatles for John Lennon’s ‘bigger than Jesus’ comment

The Vatican has finally forgiven The Beatles for John Lennon's infamous 1996 claim that the band were "bigger than Jesus". The official Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, carried an article praising the group and saying that due to the beauty of their songs the Jesus comment was "meaningless". "It's true, they took drugs; swept up by their success, they lived dissolute and uninhibited lives," the article reads. "They even said they were more famous than Jesus. But, listening to their songs, all of this seems distant and meaningless." The article adds: "Their beautiful melodies, which changed forever pop music and still give us emotions, live on like precious jewels." The band were described as "the longest-lasting, most consistent and representative phenomenon in the history of pop music". Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

The Vatican has finally forgiven The Beatles for John Lennon‘s infamous 1996 claim that the band were “bigger than Jesus“.

The official Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, carried an article praising the group and saying that due to the beauty of their songs the Jesus comment was “meaningless”.

“It’s true, they took drugs; swept up by their success, they lived dissolute and uninhibited lives,” the article reads. “They even said they were more famous than Jesus. But, listening to their songs, all of this seems distant and meaningless.”

The article adds: “Their beautiful melodies, which changed forever pop music and still give us emotions, live on like precious jewels.” The band were described as “the longest-lasting, most consistent and representative phenomenon in the history of pop music”.

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Blur to release first new material since 2003

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Blur to release first new material since 2003

Blur are to release two new songs for this year's Record Store Day on Saturday (April 17). The occasion marks the first time all four members have recorded together since 'Think Tank' album track 'Battery In Your Leg', released in 2003. The release will be limited to 1000 vinyl copies, and will be on sale through record stores participating in Record Store Day across the UK. One song is titled 'Fool's Day', reports [url=http://www.nme.com/news/blur/50661]NME.COM[/url]. For more information see Blur.co.uk. Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Blur are to release two new songs for this year’s Record Store Day on Saturday (April 17).

The occasion marks the first time all four members have recorded together since ‘Think Tank’ album track ‘Battery In Your Leg’, released in 2003.

The release will be limited to 1000 vinyl copies, and will be on sale through record stores participating in Record Store Day across the UK.

One song is titled ‘Fool’s Day’, reports [url=http://www.nme.com/news/blur/50661]NME.COM[/url].

For more information see Blur.co.uk.

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Blitzen Trapper: “Destroyer Of The Void”

John Mulvey
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There are some bands that somewhat cluelessly, from album to album, I tend to forget I like. Portland’s Blitzen Trapper probably fall into that category. I was re-reading what I wrote about their “Wild Mountain Nation” back in 2007, about how much I enjoyed it, how much I enjoyed “Field Rexx” before that, then more or less forgot about them. I have a vaguely optimistic feeling, however, that “Destroyer Of The Void” will make more of a lasting impact. Not to start wringing my hands and fall into a Joanna Newsom trance all over again or anything, but right now Blitzen Trapper’s fifth, I think, album feels like one of the most directly entertaining I’ve heard in 2010. Although a lot of the band’s playfulness remains, they’ve streamlined and cleaned up their treatments of Americana and classickish rock in the past few years; there’s little this time that could be compared to Pavement, for instance. What there is, though, are 12 crisp and almost uniformly memorable songs; dense with myth and allusion; beautifully, unfussily performed. There are a bunch of albums due in the next couple of months that plenty of people (including plenty of my colleagues at Uncut, in all probability) will be hailing as brilliant contemporary takes on American tradition, but none of them, to my ears at least, are a patch on “Destroyer Of The Void”. The easiest reference point, I guess, is with Wilco, and the way Jeff Tweedy has consistently refracted a whole range of older music over the years. Consequently, while there are many, say, Beatles and Lennon allusions on “Destroyer…” (the melodic rasp and clang of “Love And Hate”, for instance), much of it feels like it’s gone through some kind of Wilco filter; an immensely skilful mix of power pop and Americana, perhaps. If you’re one of those Wilco fans who particularly fixate on “Summer Teeth”, “Laughing Lover” and “The Tailor” here, in particular, come heartily recommended. In the Blitzen Trapper back catalogue, the biggest clue to how “Destroyer…” has turned out comes on “Furr”, with the unspooling Dylanish narrative, “Black River Killer”. “The Man Who Would Speak True” feels like something of a sequel/upgrade of that song, and I’m reminded too of another contemporary band, The Raconteurs (and especially their “Carolina Drama”), who conflate similar influences so effectively. “The Man Who Would Speak True” also bears some mark of The Grateful Dead, not least the image of a “Brokedown Palace”, aligning Blitzen Trapper to the Dead’s honeyed early ‘70s roots phase. Indeed, the album actually starts with a capella harmonies in the vein of “Uncle John’s Band”, before the title track explodes into a sort of ornate prog-pop reminiscent, to some degree, of Procol Harum. “Evening Star”, meanwhile, reminds me of something like “Bertha”, perhaps. What else? A neat Gram’n’Emmylou-style duet with Alela Diane, “The Tree”, some immensely accomplished folk-rock and piano ballads (“Heaven And Earth” is wonderful), no duffers as far as I can tell. Pretty sold on this one, and I figure a few of you will be, too…

There are some bands that somewhat cluelessly, from album to album, I tend to forget I like. Portland’s Blitzen Trapper probably fall into that category. I was re-reading what I wrote about their “Wild Mountain Nation” back in 2007, about how much I enjoyed it, how much I enjoyed “Field Rexx” before that, then more or less forgot about them. I have a vaguely optimistic feeling, however, that “Destroyer Of The Void” will make more of a lasting impact.

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Gil Scott-Heron to play WOMAD

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Gil Scott-Heron to play WOMAD

Gil Scott-Heron is set to play this summer's WOMAD festival. He'll close this year's event, performing on the Sunday night (July 25). Scott-Heron joins the following acts already playing the July 12-15 event, which takes place at Charlton Park in Malmesbury, Wiltshire: Afro Celt Sound System Alim Qasimov Ensemble The Bays & The Heritage Orchestra with Simon Hale & John Metcalf Bibi Tanga & The Selenites La BrassBanda Calypso Rose Dan Sultan Dobet Gnahore Don Letts Hanggai Imelda May Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara The Kamkars LA-33 Lepisto & Lehti Little Axe Mayra Andrade Nouvelle Vague Novalima Orchestra Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou Poirier feat. Face T Rango Sentimento Gypsy Paganini Steven Sogo Syriana Tanya Tagaq Toumast Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Gil Scott-Heron is set to play this summer’s WOMAD festival.

He’ll close this year’s event, performing on the Sunday night (July 25).

Scott-Heron joins the following acts already playing the July 12-15 event, which takes place at Charlton Park in Malmesbury, Wiltshire:

Afro Celt Sound System

Alim Qasimov Ensemble

The Bays & The Heritage Orchestra with Simon Hale & John Metcalf

Bibi Tanga & The Selenites

La BrassBanda

Calypso Rose

Dan Sultan

Dobet Gnahore

Don Letts

Hanggai

Imelda May

Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara

The Kamkars

LA-33

Lepisto & Lehti

Little Axe

Mayra Andrade

Nouvelle Vague

Novalima

Orchestra Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou

Poirier feat. Face T

Rango

Sentimento Gypsy Paganini

Steven Sogo

Syriana

Tanya Tagaq

Toumast

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Keane ‘horrified’ at Tory party use of ‘Everybody’s Changing’

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Keane ‘horrified’ at Tory party use of ‘Everybody’s Changing’

Keane drummer Richard Hughes said he's "horrified" that the Conservative party played the band's 2004 single 'Everybody's Changing' at their general election manifesto conference in south London this morning (April 13). Writing on his Twitter page, Twitter.com/richardkeane, Hughes said that the band had not been asked for permission to air the track. "Told the Tories played Keane at their manifesto launch," he wrote. "Am horrified. To be clear – we were not asked. I will not vote for them." David Bowie's 'Changes' was also played at the conference, which was attended by 500 Tory candidates plus new members, supporters and the media. Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Keane drummer Richard Hughes said he’s “horrified” that the Conservative party played the band’s 2004 single ‘Everybody’s Changing’ at their general election manifesto conference in south London this morning (April 13).

Writing on his Twitter page, Twitter.com/richardkeane, Hughes said that the band had not been asked for permission to air the track.

“Told the Tories played Keane at their manifesto launch,” he wrote. “Am horrified. To be clear – we were not asked. I will not vote for them.”

David Bowie‘s ‘Changes’ was also played at the conference, which was attended by 500 Tory candidates plus new members, supporters and the media.

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

LCD Soundsystem: “This Is Happening”

John Mulvey
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Been pondering this one for a while and, as I possibly implied in the blog about James Murphy’s “Greenberg” soundtrack, it’s hard not to conclude that the third LCD Soundsystem album is a bit of a letdown. A letdown, that is, in the context of “Sound Of Silver” being my favourite album of, what was it, 2007, plus there being a pretty excellent debut album at the back of the racks and a clutch of singles that probably rank with the very best of the last decade. By most measures, “This Is Happening” would look like a pretty good album. It begins quite brilliantly with “Dance Yourself Clean”; archly tumbling percussion, soft vocals and harmonies that package Murphy’s borderline misanthropy in amusingly meek tones, a quietness that betrays this is one of the tracks here that Dave Sardy hasn’t mixed. Then, three minutes in, the beats and synths are radically turned up, Murphy tries on a yowling soul falsetto and we’re off; nine minutes of dynamic, engrossing music. “You’re blowing Marxism to pieces,” I think he’s singing. Great, then, and “This Is Happening” stays that way for a good while. “Drunk Girls” is a broad and tremendously jolly knees-up pitched halfway between Blur’s “Girls And Boys” and Bowie’s “Boys Keep Swinging”. “One Touch” is fabulously intricate acid and redolent of their earlier singles, Murphy using his best Phil Oakey baritone as a counterpoint to Nancy Wang’s yelps. “All I Want” is back on the Bowie jag, being ostensibly “Heroes” bent round a whole load of Eno circa “Another Green World”. Which works for me. “Change” is more or less straight-up synthpop, impeccably rendered. Just over halfway, and it looks good. But where, in the wake of “Sound Of Silver”, you’d be expecting the album’s emotional heart, that brilliant knack that Murphy has of sounding exciting and elegaic, of being tremendously hip while showing his age, instead we get “Hit”. “Hit” takes nine slightly drab minutes to let Murphy whinge about his record label wanting him to, yes, write hits, and while his generally curmudgeonly nature has always been an asset, you’d have expected him to be cleverer than building a record around what is basically an argument with an A&R. It’s certainly churlish to lose faith in an album because of a sour-flavoured lyric, but “This Is Happening” does seem to wander out of focus from “Hit” on. “Pow Pow” is effective David Byrne plus drum science, but “Somebody’s Calling Me” is an immensely pedantic homage to Iggy Pop’s “Nightclubbing” that, after seven minutes, sucks most of the remaining life out of the album. After that, multiple listens have frequently found me completely forgetting that the entirely pretty closer, “What You Need”, is actually playing. Skip “Hit” and “Somebody’s Calling Me”, and it’s just fine. But “This Is Happening” is cursed by lofty expectations: there’s no way James Murphy fluked his earlier successes, little plausibility in the idea that he’s creatively exhausted. He should’ve been on course to make a really wonderful album, and this is mainly a mere good one. Letdowns have been much bigger, I suppose.

Been pondering this one for a while and, as I possibly implied in the blog about James Murphy’s “Greenberg” soundtrack, it’s hard not to conclude that the third LCD Soundsystem album is a bit of a letdown.

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Supergrass split up after 17 years together

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Supergrass split up after 17 years together

Supergrass have announced they are to split up. The band will play a short farewell tour before quitting this June. Jokingly citing a "17-year itch" for the reason to call it a day after six studio albums, they thanks fans in a statement. "We still love each other but, cliché notwithstanding, musical differences have led to us moving on and of course we all wish each other well in the future." There is no word on whether the band's forthcoming album 'Release The Drones' will be released or not. Supergrass will play four farewell shows: Glasgow Barrowland (June 8) Manchester Academy (9) London O2 Academy Brixton (10) Paris La Cigalle (11) Tickets go on sale on Friday (April 16) at 9am (BST). Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Supergrass have announced they are to split up.

The band will play a short farewell tour before quitting this June.

Jokingly citing a “17-year itch” for the reason to call it a day after six studio albums, they thanks fans in a statement.

“We still love each other but, cliché notwithstanding, musical differences have led to us moving on and of course we all wish each other well in the future.”

There is no word on whether the band’s forthcoming album ‘Release The Drones’ will be released or not.

Supergrass will play four farewell shows:

Glasgow Barrowland (June 8)

Manchester Academy (9)

London O2 Academy Brixton (10)

Paris La Cigalle (11)

Tickets go on sale on Friday (April 16) at 9am (BST).

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Kevin Shields to appear on Roky Erikson tribute album

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Kevin Shields to appear on Roky Erikson tribute album

Acclaimed UK indie label Sonic Cathedral is set to release a tribute album to former 13th Floor Elevators frontman Roky Erikson. 'The Psychedelic Sounds Of The Sonic Cathedral' features contributions from the likes of Dead Meadow, A Place To Bury Strangers and an appearance from Erikson himself. Erikson will be backed by My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields and The Black Angels on a live rendition of 13th Floor Elevators' classic, 'Roller Coaster'. The album will be released on June 7. The tracklisting for 'The Psychedelic Sounds Of The Sonic Cathedral' is: Roky Erickson & The Black Angels - 'Roller Coaster' The Strange Attractors - 'Reverberation (Doubt)' All The Saints - 'Don't Fall Down' A Place To Bury Strangers - 'Tried To Hide' Dead Meadow - 'Kingdom Of Heaven' Darker My Love - 'She Lives (In A Time Of Her Own)' Sarabeth Tucek - 'Splash 1 (Now I'm Home)' Lower Heaven - 'Fire Engine' Hush Arbors - 'Dr Doom' Cheval Sombre - 'You Don't Love Me Yet' Le Volume Courbe - 'I Love The Living You' Black Acid - 'Unforced Peace' I Break Horses - 'Goodbye Sweet Dreams' Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Acclaimed UK indie label Sonic Cathedral is set to release a tribute album to former 13th Floor Elevators frontman Roky Erikson.

‘The Psychedelic Sounds Of The Sonic Cathedral’ features contributions from the likes of Dead Meadow, A Place To Bury Strangers and an appearance from Erikson himself.

Erikson will be backed by My Bloody Valentine‘s Kevin Shields and The Black Angels on a live rendition of 13th Floor Elevators‘ classic, ‘Roller Coaster’.

The album will be released on June 7.

The tracklisting for ‘The Psychedelic Sounds Of The Sonic Cathedral’ is:

Roky Erickson & The Black Angels – ‘Roller Coaster’

The Strange Attractors – ‘Reverberation (Doubt)’

All The Saints – ‘Don’t Fall Down’

A Place To Bury Strangers – ‘Tried To Hide’

Dead Meadow – ‘Kingdom Of Heaven’

Darker My Love – ‘She Lives (In A Time Of Her Own)’

Sarabeth Tucek – ‘Splash 1 (Now I’m Home)’

Lower Heaven – ‘Fire Engine’

Hush Arbors – ‘Dr Doom’

Cheval Sombre – ‘You Don’t Love Me Yet’

Le Volume Courbe – ‘I Love The Living You’

Black Acid – ‘Unforced Peace’

I Break Horses – ‘Goodbye Sweet Dreams’

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Richard Hawley announces ocean-inspired EP

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Richard Hawley announces ocean-inspired EP

Richard Hawley has revealed that his upcoming EP will feature material of a sea-faring nature. He's set to release the 'False Light From The Land' EP on June 7. The EP features ocean-inspired tracks including a cover of Hughie Jones' 'The Ellan Vannin Tragedy' and sea shanty 'Shallow Brown'. 'Remorse Code', taken from Hawley's 2009 album 'Truelove's Gutter', will also accompany a previously unreleased track, 'The Storm'. 'False Light From The Land' will be available on 10-inch vinyl and as a digital download. Hawley recently present a series of shows for BBC Radio 2 called The Ocean, which saw him travel the British coast. Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Richard Hawley has revealed that his upcoming EP will feature material of a sea-faring nature.

He’s set to release the ‘False Light From The Land’ EP on June 7. The EP features ocean-inspired tracks including a cover of Hughie Jones‘ ‘The Ellan Vannin Tragedy’ and sea shanty ‘Shallow Brown’. ‘Remorse Code’, taken from Hawley‘s 2009 album ‘Truelove’s Gutter’, will also accompany a previously unreleased track, ‘The Storm’.

‘False Light From The Land’ will be available on 10-inch vinyl and as a digital download.

Hawley recently present a series of shows for BBC Radio 2 called The Ocean, which saw him travel the British coast.

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Malcolm McLaren dies aged 64

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Malcolm McLaren dies aged 64

Former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren has died aged 64, it has been confirmed. McLaren had been suffering from cancer and passed away this morning (April 8) in New York, reports the Independent. Born in 1946 in London and raised in the Stoke Newington area of the city, McLaren studied at art schools including St Martin's College Of Art and Goldsmiths College. Before managing the Sex Pistols, from 1975 to 1977, McLaren ran Let It Rock, a clothing store in London, with designer and then-partner Vivienne Westwood. The couple had a son together, Joseph Corre. The shop was later re-named Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die, and then, most famously, SEX. It was here that John Lydon auditioned for the role of Sex Pistols' frontman, miming to an Alice Cooper record on the jukebox. McLaren also worked with the New York Dolls shortly before launching the Sex Pistols. McLaren also took part in several of his own musical projects, releasing the first of his own albums 'Duck Rock' in 1983, and having UK hits with the likes of 'Buffalo Gals', 'Double Dutch' and 'Madame Butterfly'. He also worked closely with Bow Wow Wow and Adam And The Ants. He went on to release albums throughout the 1980s, '90s and '00s, most recently last year's 'Shallow – Musical Paintings'. Writer Jon Savage, who wrote punk biography 'England's Dreaming', said McLaren was a "revolutionary", telling BBC News: "He could be very charming, he could be very cruel, but he mattered and he put something together that was extraordinary. What he did with fashion and music was extraordinary. He was a revolutionary." In later life McLaren hinted that he may run for Mayor Of London (he never officially launched a campaign), and signed up to appear on reality TV show 'I'm A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of here!', though he never actually appeared on the show. McLaren's body is now set to be flown to London to be buried in Highgate cemetery. Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren has died aged 64, it has been confirmed.

McLaren had been suffering from cancer and passed away this morning (April 8) in New York, reports the Independent.

Born in 1946 in London and raised in the Stoke Newington area of the city, McLaren studied at art schools including St Martin’s College Of Art and Goldsmiths College.

Before managing the Sex Pistols, from 1975 to 1977, McLaren ran Let It Rock, a clothing store in London, with designer and then-partner Vivienne Westwood. The couple had a son together, Joseph Corre. The shop was later re-named Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die, and then, most famously, SEX. It was here that John Lydon auditioned for the role of Sex Pistols‘ frontman, miming to an Alice Cooper record on the jukebox. McLaren also worked with the New York Dolls shortly before launching the Sex Pistols.

McLaren also took part in several of his own musical projects, releasing the first of his own albums ‘Duck Rock’ in 1983, and having UK hits with the likes of ‘Buffalo Gals’, ‘Double Dutch’ and ‘Madame Butterfly’. He also worked closely with Bow Wow Wow and Adam And The Ants.

He went on to release albums throughout the 1980s, ’90s and ’00s, most recently last year’s ‘Shallow – Musical Paintings’.

Writer Jon Savage, who wrote punk biography ‘England’s Dreaming’, said McLaren was a “revolutionary”, telling BBC News:

“He could be very charming, he could be very cruel, but he mattered and he put something together that was extraordinary. What he did with fashion and music was extraordinary. He was a revolutionary.”

In later life McLaren hinted that he may run for Mayor Of London (he never officially launched a campaign), and signed up to appear on reality TV show ‘I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of here!’, though he never actually appeared on the show.

McLaren‘s body is now set to be flown to London to be buried in Highgate cemetery.

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

The 14th Uncut Playlist Of 2010

John Mulvey
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A beautiful day, in London at least, and one which inspired me to find some salute-to-the-sun music for heading into work. “Unbroken Chain” and “What Would I Want, Sky?” worked pretty harmoniously as I was crossing Millennium Bridge; just wondering if something akin to spring has changed your listening habits in any way? The terrific new Blitzen Trapper album would probably suit the weather rather well, too; I’ll be writing about that once we get a load of production hassle out of the way. Still loving Ariel Pink, plus a fair bit of the Graham Nash tribute (especially Alela Diane's track), and the "Wu Massacre" trio album. One utterly wretched album here, and it might not be a huge stretch to guess which one… 1 Neu! - Neu! Vinyl Box (Grönland) 2 Miles Davis – Circle In The Round (Columbia) 3 Various Artists – Be Yourself: A Tribute To Graham Nash (Grass Roots) 4 Awesome Color – Massa Hypnos (Ecstatic Peace) 5 White Fence – White Fence (Woodsist) 6 Blitzen Trapper – Destroyer Of The Void (Sub Pop) 7 Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today (4AD) 8 Tobacco – Maniac Meat (Anticon) 9 LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening (DFA/ Parlophone) 10 Gayngs – Relayted (Jagjaguwar) 11 Hole – Nobody’s Daughter (Mercury) 12 Meth, Ghost And Rae – Wu-Massacre (Def Jam) 13 The Morning Benders – Big Echo (Rough Trade) 14 Sam Spence Sounds – Sam Spence Sounds (Finders Keepers)

A beautiful day, in London at least, and one which inspired me to find some salute-to-the-sun music for heading into work. “Unbroken Chain” and “What Would I Want, Sky?” worked pretty harmoniously as I was crossing Millennium Bridge; just wondering if something akin to spring has changed your listening habits in any way?

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