Orbital has been a favorite of mine ever since I found electronic dance music.  I loved Duran Duran when I was a kid because of my older sister.  Then my brother introduced me to the Smiths and Stone Roses.  He and I found electronic music together in the mid-90's (we argue about it to this day, he bought Prodigy after seeing the video for Poison, I bought the Orb after seeing them on the cover of NME for UFOrb).

In 1996, there was no Glastonbury so several of the electronic acts came out to the US to support the new "electronica" movement.  I went for the Orb but soon discovered Orbital, Underworld and the Chemical Brothers.  Orbital was the big breakout act for me because of Organic and I've seen then a dozen times.  One of the highlights of my life was getting to see them at Glastonbury in 1999, a truely amazing experience. 

The very first science fiction movie is a silence movie about a voyage to the moon.  Since it's french it's called "Le Voyage Dans La Lune".  And since it's French, Air wrote the soundtrack to it.  It was a coin flip between them and Daft Punk (HA, stupid americans!).  I find it interesting because it was made in black and white and hand colored versions back in the early 1900's.  The black and white version has long since been destroyed and the colored version was found in 1993 but had to be restored.  Naturally, wikipedia has more info on this film.

Also happening is Killing Joke's return, a bunch of tour announcements, and what the hell was Echo and the Bunnymen doing in a superbowl ad?

Let's see how much of this stuff I can put together.  I'm trying to keep on top of my links by using twitter (which automatically goes to facebook) so if you wanna get this info faster please follow us there (some of the stuff below is probably duplicated on twitter and facebook as well)

The last truly great record they made. - Source

Hallelujah! Royal Albert Hall in September. Radio City Music Hall in October. Spinner reports: *Modern rock innovators Echo & The Bunnymen will make a triumphant live return to New York's Radio City Music Hall on October 1, where the band will be performing their landmark 1984 album, Ocean Rain, with an orchestra as part of its 30th anniversary.* - Source

Echo And The Bunnymen frontman Ian McCulloch is set to publish his memoirs next year. - Source

The Cure, Duran Duran, Hot Hot Heat, Echo and the Bunnymen, Violent Femmes, Psychedelic Furs, Interpol, Marc Almond of Soft Cell, Fountains of Wayne, Berlin, Kings of Leon, and Dramarama
Hyundai Pavilion, San Bernardino, CA
September 20, 2003

The Hyundai (formerly Blockbuster) Pavilion is the probably the worst place to see a concert.... unless you're in the first ten rows. If you're in the lawn (like most people) then just forget about it. You might as well be watching it on TV because you're going to be spending the whole day staring at the jumbo-screens. Today's lineup is pretty impressive and it's the first time that I ever heard of the "nation's largest amphitheater" selling out.

It's been over 10 years since former Echo & The Bunnymen singer, songwriter Ian McCulloch has recorded without former Bunnymen Will Sergeant. McCulloch is set to release his first truly solo effort in the UK on April 28. The album, titled 'Slideling' is Ian's first since 1992's 'Mysterio'.

'Slideling' will be featuring guest apperances from Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland of Coldplay, along with an appearance (of some sort?) by John Simm (star of '24 Hour Party People').

Rhino Records has announced plans to release a 4 disc box set from ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN. The 72 track box promises to include a plentiful amount of unreleased, rare, and live recordings...

Well, it's seemingly fall cleaning season with some of the major UK record labels, and this time round, an extraordinary number of bands have been dropped and left out in the cold. Many analysts agree that the current music climate has labels focusing on more pop-oriented acts and less on the indie scene, causing many familiar names to be dropped from label rosters. Left homeless this summer/fall include:

ARNOLD, who were dropped by the Creation label earlier this summer.

SHED SEVEN, who couldn't reach a deal with Polydor and quickly left the label.