Wow... The Wedding Present have reformed? The first single, INTERSTATE 5, is due to be released next Monday in the UK. INTERSTATE 5 is the first taste of the of the band in seven years and is a preview of a new album 'Take Fountain' that should see the light February 2005. The band's site on the reformation of the Wedding Present...

After calling what was intended to be a temporary halt to The Wedding Present in 1997, David Gedge embarked on a melodic strings and keyboard-driven project under the name Cinerama, as a duo with his then girlfriend Sally Murrell. Cinerama released their debut album, VA VA VOOM, in 1998 and swiftly became the sole creative output for Gedge's writing, recording and performing - but, by 2002's third album, TORINO, the sound was becoming darker in tone and more guitar driven and Cinerama had also taken to mixing the odd Wedding Present song into the live shows, further blurring the distinction between the bands. Around the same time, following the break up with his long-term girlfriend and musical partner, Sally, Gedge's personal life also entered a darker place, and he moved to Seattle and began writing a series of songs that were clearly influenced by his despair over the split. The resultant material was recorded in Chicago and Seattle by Steve Fisk, producer of The Wedding Present's 1994 LP, WATUSI, and will see Gedge revive The Wedding Present name for the first album since 1996's SATURNALIA.

In other David Gedge news, next week will also see the release of new Cinerama material... a 68 minute documentary that follows the band on the road. 'Get Up And Go' will be released in the US on Tuesday and includes concert footage, radio sessions and interviews while the band was on tour with 'Torino'.

As far as I knew "The Smiths" was not a storyline, but... apparently to some it is. Andrew Wale and Perrin Manzer (creators of Jacques Brel's Anonymous Society) are taking "The Smiths" the way of The Pet Shop Boys and ABBA... into a musical. The show, which will premier in London at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre next summer, will consist of more than 20 classic Smiths tunes re-arranged for a string quartet and a half a dozen vocalists. Negotiations are currently ongoing with the producers and Misters Morrissey and Marr to determine exactly which Smiths songs will be included. How will this weave itself into a story? Associate Producer Michael Brazier told the Independent...

"It is not a linear story. There will be action going on on stage whether it's dance or movement or acting without words depends on the scene. Sometimes the song - and what the singer is saying in the song - will be the main line of action. But other times when you are concentrating on the singer, out of the corner of your eye you will be seeing impressionistic goings- on elsewhere on the stage. The significance of that [action] will become clear later. The meaning of these clues will gradually reveal themselves."

Remember a few months ago when aging Welsh rockers The Alarm scored their first chart hit in years by masquerading as kids? The Wayriders (a young Welsh band) even lip-synced in a video as "The Poppyfields" to complete the scam. Only after the single reached #28 in the radio play charts did the band admitted to using the false name claiming image-obsessed DJs would otherwise refuse to play their song. Well, the story has enticed the movie industry. John Williams, a producer from Shrek, has contacted Mike Peters (lead singer of the Alarm), and Sara Sugarman (a director and old-friend of the band) to begin script development. So far The Alarm are set to provide the soundtrack and will likely appear in cameo rolls.

Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello have struck a deal with the United States Postal Service. Bigwigs at the USPS weren't thrilled when they found out a few months ago that SubPop band, The Postal Service, had stolen their moniker for their band name. It was a little too late to release cease and desist letters as The Postal Service (the band) has been recording record breaking sales and has garnered quite the cult following. When said USPS bigwigs heard The Postal Service background (Ben and Jimmy made the record by sending bits and pieces back and forth through the US Mail system)... they thought they strike a deal with the resourceful duo. SubPop has agreed to let the band's music be featured in commercial spots for the USPS along with ad campaigns and promotions... in exchange for not losing the name.

The Godfather is gone.

JOHN PEEL, renowned BBC Radio 1 host, has died of a heart attack while on working holiday in Peru.

Umm, it's really hard to even say anything in tribute to the man, because he was beyond words. Suffice to say that if it weren't for Peel, you wouldn't be here on this site right now. It was John Peel's love of indie music that first exposed the world to some of the best bands on the map. Punk... indie... even hip-hop -- got some of its first world exposure via Peel's radio show. Live recordings of bands playing in his studio have become the legendary Peel Sessions that we all know and love. Even though many of us live in the States and only had limited exposure to his radio show, without it most of our favorite UK bands wouldn't have had the exposure to hop the pond in the first place.

Tributes are pouring into the BBC from fans and artists alike. The BBC has an official obituary HERE. Stop by and read what artists like the Manic Street Preachers, Super Furry Animals, and The Undertones are saying.

Rather than wax poetic, we at Excellent would just like to say thanks, John, for the music. You helped shape our lives.

John Peel was 65. He leaves his wife Sheila and 4 children.

I'd take this with a huge rock of salt, but according to The Daily Mirror, Graham Coxon's back in BLUR. According to the Mirror, Graham met with the other members of Blur last week and all has been forgiven. They quote a "music industry insider" as saying, "The meeting went well - probably better than any of them expected... It's very positive for everyone and Graham will still be able to do his solo work as well as working with the band again." Hmmm...

UPDATE FROM SHANE 20 Oct 6:30pm CST: Looks like, in fact, the salt rock wins out. Designer Magazine is now claiming to have the first interview with Coxon since The Mirror broke this news story. According to the interview, Coxon is NOT rejoining Blur. His direct quote:

It's not true at all. Of course not. Is anything you've ever read in the Mirror true? Can you read any evidence that what the headline said was true within the piece? All that piece says is that I'm definitely recording another solo album with Stephen Street, it doesn't really say anything about me joining Blur at all. So the headline is wrong for what the piece is. It should be ignored.

From the horse's mouth? Who knows. The interview DOES confirm that Coxon recently met up with the other three members of the band, but, according to Coxon, it was to "mend stuff emotionally," not creatively.

MARC ALMOND, onetime frontman of legendary 80's band Soft Cell, has been critically injured in a weekend motorcycle accident in London. Almond was riding passenger when the motorcycle he was on was struck by a car. Both Almond and the cycle's driver were ejected onto the street. Almond was taken to hospital with critical head and neck injuries, and spent the night in surgery. As of this posting, he is out of surgery and listed in critical but stable condition. We'll try to keep you updated as news progresses. Marc's official website has set up a way to send notes to Marc as he hopefully recuperates.

Over at the the Official Swervedriver Website, they just put up four live albums that are free to download. Adam Franklink, the lead singer, has given his "okay" for the release just as long as they are traded freely and not sold. The albums have been compiled by the Swervedriver forum members using the best live versions of each track. If you want higher quality versions then you can download the FLAC version from Sharing The Groove. I'm download that version right now and I'll be seeding this Bit Torrent for another week or so.

Well it's not instantaneous, but it is happening. Dean Wareham is going to let LUNA go the way of Galaxie 500...

On October 26, we will release our seventh studio album, Rendezvous, on Jetset Records. This will be Luna's final record. We will tour the United States and Europe over the next six months, playing our last shows in 2005." We've received a lot of kind emails, people asking why the will be going into retirement next year. Of course with a decision like this, the reasons are multifold. Here are ten explanations I have been giving to journalists:

1. Rock and Roll is killing my life.
2. The Universe is Expanding.
3. There are too many bands out there, travelling around, singing their songs etc.
4. Too much time spent in 15-passenger vans. According to 20/20, these things flip over.
5. Too many hands to shake, that means germs.
6. Too many dinners at Wendy's.
7. People are dying in Iraq.
8. This is what bands do (with a few exceptions, like R.E.M. and Metallica, and the Rolling Stones). Those bands, however, are multibillion dollar corporations. You don't break that up unless the government forces you to.
9. Hotel Electravision.
10. Time to Quit.

Dean Wareham

The FBI were keeping tabs on JOHN LENNON in the early seventies for his anti-war stance. Jonathan Wiener, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, has been in a twenty year battle with the government to get the files released. In 1997 the FBI released 300 pages of their files but Wiener continued the suit and finally won for the remaining ten pages to be released.