News
Adam Ant Strips for You (Whether You Like It Or Not)
ADAM ANT has gone nutters again. It was about a year ago when we first learned that the 80's pop icon had been committed to a mental ward following a bust-up in a bar, where Ant waved a gun and threw weighty objects at patrons. Well, now he's done it again, as reports are coming in that Ant smashed a neighbor's window AND dropped trou in a bar... and once again, he's currently being confined in a mental ward. Poor guy. Time to go play "Vive Le Rock" and hope he gets through this rough patch.
Yours, Mine and Ours
THE PERNICE BROTHERS released their third album Yours, Mine and Ours a few weeks ago to tons of critical acclaim. The followup album to 2001's The World Won't End finds the band in rare form and pushing their dark pop tunes to the limit. To quote Keith Phipps in the Onion A.V. Club, "...the music of a grown-up unruly boy who learned that there was more to the record store than U.K.-only B-sides, but who never shook the haunted melancholy of a teenage obsessive. The new Pernice Brothers album Yours, Mine & Ours strikes the same gorgeous, sad tone as its two predecessors, beginning with a track so immediately striking that the rest of the disc could consist of misguided experiments in dub remixes, and it might not matter." Luckily for us, the record does follow suit. You can listen to the new album on the Pernice Brother's Site or catch the band on their upcoming US Tour.
Speaking of Films...
Indie legend Dean Wareham (ex-Galaxie 500, Luna) has launched himself a new career in the pictures. Or rather will be lauching it when he stars in the upcoming film Piggie (directed by Allison Bagnall who also co-wrote Vincent Gallo's indie classic Buffalo 66). Dean has had nominal roles in a few films before, but Piggie will be his first lead role. The film will be screening June 13 in LA at the Directors' Guild of America. You can also see Dean doing a few live dates around the country with luna bassist Britta Phillips in support of their new album L'Avventura.
My Life With Morrissey
Ever considered yourself a little obsessive about The Smiths or Morrissey? We've got just the film for you. MY LIFE WITH MORRISSEY is a "dark comedy that chronicles the adventures of an off-kilter office girl whose life unravels when she meets her idol (British rock icon Morrissey) and sets off on a journey of obsessive self-delusion." I'm sure this could never describe any of us right? Directed by Andrew Overtoom (who has also worked as a director on Nickelodeon's "Spongebob Squarepants"), this has been drawing rave reviews from the few people who have seen it thus far. Is this the story of YOUR life? If so, the creators want to talk to you for their upcoming documentary on the world's Greatest Morrissey fans. Check the website to see if it'll be playing a theatre near you.
Festival Cancellations Left and Right
Sorry kids, but it's true. The word has come down this morning from the god of Long Island that the Field Day Festival is probably done for. In the words of the Riverhead Town Supervisor, "In the interest of the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Town of Riverhead and the public, I believe that the event should be cancelled."
Apparently not all hope is lost yet as the fest said they are looking into alternate venues for this weekend and hope to be able to make an announcement by the end of the day. Christopher Kent, lawyer for the Field Day fest stated that the Meadowlands Sports Complex in NJ is a site under consideration and that camping will not be an option if the show does go on. Hmmm... cos there aren't enough things going on west of the Hudson with the NHL and NBA Finals? In a related story on New York Newsday, the festival was thought to be bringing an estimated 2.7 million dollars to Long Island for the weekend. Above and beyond the music fans who are obviously upset at the fiasco this has become, there's a lot of local businesses that will suffer right along with us. :-/
Kindercore Finally Making Good on Promises
KINDERCORE RECORDS, once home to many of the groups once associated under the Elephant 6 moniker, has been the target of many flaming e-mail posts over the past 6 months with a controversy encircling their Singles Club. The club, which at one time featured exclusive tracks from bands like Of Montreal, The Ladybug Transistor, and the Olivia Tremor Control, ran dry last year with MANY a disgruntled fan wanting the 45's they'd pre-paid for. Kindercore's mailing list has been flooded over the past year with e-mail complaints about the Singles Club, at the same time that many of the label's prime acts (including Of Montreal) severed ties with the label. Kindercore, meanwhile, has spent the last year merging into the umbrella of the Telegraph Company, as well as replacing their departing bands with a decidedly less-indiepop, more punk-pop roster. However, hope has emerged this week, as the label has announced plans to complete their Singles Club with a brand new compilation disc (that will also be available to the general public.) Titled "The Great Singles Club Swindle," the disc will include not only the remaining unreleased Singles Club tracks but also the previously released singles on CD format. The disc will be released free to all singles club members, and a limited edition will hit retail stores on August 12.
Blur: The Soap Opera Continues
So the boys from BLUR are back at the center of controversy this week, as the band have pulled no-shows at their scheduled US festival appearances all week. Rumours are flying all about the band's message boards, with the most frequent being that Damon Albarn split this week with his girlfriend (Suzy Winstanley if we remember right?) With a June mini-tour of the US on the books, there's been concern of future cancellations -- to our knowledge, those shows are still a go at this time -- we'll try to come up with some kind of official word and keep you guys updated as events progress.
Under Morrissey's Influence
From the label that brings us the now legendary Back To Mine series is coming a new venture called Under The Influence. The first artist to contribute to this new venture is MORRISSEY who will "draw on the inspirations and all time loves of the world's greatest recording artists". According to Moz's sleeve notes, he chose the artists to "conjure an atmosphere and a special standard because they were (or are) true pop artists. The mere sound of their names is as powerful as their work, so that we only need to hear that name in order to glide into a half-dream state".
You Need a Pop Holiday
San Francisco will be going poptastic July 10-13 when the indiekids come to town. It's that time again for the SF Pop Holiday. This year's festival has a truly remarkable lineup including several international and renowned bands. The entire event will be held at Bottom of the Hill, which has apparently recovered just fine from that nasty bout of fire they had last month.
33 1/3
Continuum Books has started a new series of books in which artists, writers and musicians focus on one of the much-loved and critically acclaimed albums released over the past 40 years. Because each book focuses on a single recording, the typical biographical music story is thrown out the window in favor of focusing on the music. To be released on Sept 15, 2003 are Dusty Springfield's Dusty in Memphis by Warren Zanes, Love's Forever Changes by Andrew Hultkrans, The Smiths' Meat Is Murder by Joe Pernice, Pink Floyd's The Piper At The Gates of Dawn by John Cavanagh and more. Some of the titles to be reviewed in 2004 include Radiohead's Ok Computer, MBV's Loveless and Jeff Buckley's Grace. What a brilliant idea guys!