Last night Suede played their first show in seven years.  As reported earlier, the lineup was from the "Coming Up" era and did not include Bernard Butler.  Last night's performance was a warm up gig for their upcoming performance at the Teenage Cancer Trust Benefit on March 24th.  They played for about ninety minutes and included tracks from all of their albums including two b-sides.  The full setlist is below.

Universal Music Group (UMG) is going to test a new lower pricing plan.  Their goal is to get CD's on the shelves for $9.99.  According to billboard.biz, some of the other labels are annoyed/nervous about the move to a lower price but hopefully they will fall in line.  Surely UMG can't be the only major label that has hired an executive that understands basic economics.  If you're sales are dropping year after year and digital sales haven't picked up enough of the slack, then you have to do something.

Two bits of news from NME:

First up is that Noel Gallagher is playing the a show for the Teenage Cancer Trust later this month and he'll be joined by none other then Mani (from Primal Scream and Stone Roses fame.

Secondly, Liam snubbed Noel when he accepted an award for Best Brit Album and then threw the award in the crowd.  Apparently, he was just misunderstood!  He only thanked the band because all the news circulates around Liam and Noel and he "thought it was only right to mention to other lads who played on the album and the best fans in the world".  And when he tossed his award into the crowd, "I thought it was a nice gesture to give this to the fans.  Obviously it was misinterpreted as per usual."

The next National album, 'High Violet', will be released on May 11 and there are already some videos of the new songs online.  The first video we have is from "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" where they played the opening track, "Terrible Love".  Since I'm typically pessimistic, I didn't expect much, but this song is fantastic.  It has a nice build up to the crescendo which I'm a total sucker for.

Following that, we have a fan video (via Pitchfork) of The National performing, "Vanderlylle Cry Baby".  It's more on the mellower side and I'm reserving judgement until I can get the album in my hands.  Click on read more to see the two videos.

Autolux sent out an email announcing that their sophomore album, "Transit Transit", will finally see the light of day on TBD Records (Yes, that's actually the name of their new label!).  Their first album, "Future Perfect", was released in 2004 and after they finished up touring, they went into the studio to record.  But plagued by label issues they haven't been able to release their second album.  So they have been playing random shows around the LA area for the last couple of years and previewing the new material.

Speaking of random shows, Thom Yorke has asked Autolux to open up for him when he plays the Santa Barbara Bowl on April 17th.  They're going to play a few more shows in the LA area the week prior and we'll have the details when they're released. 

See below for the tracklisting of the upcoming album

Mark Linkous, the songwriter who performed under the name "Sparklehorse", has committed suicide on March 6th.  There isn't much to say that hasn't already been said by Stereogum, Rolling Stone, New York Times, and NPR.  Click on Read More for a fan-made video of "It's A Wonderful Life".

Details are scarce at the moment but a new Slowdive complication has shown up on Amazon.  It's going to be released by Cherry Red, which is the same label that release the Adorable 'Footnotes' complication a few years back.  Click on "Read More" to see the full tracklisting. (via creation-records.com)

The Flaming Lips will hit the road this summer mostly through the midwest.  Their tour includes two festivals, Bonnaroo and SunFest.  They're also going to "physically" release their version of Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon".  The album features Henry Rollins and Peaches and the vinyl will be released on Record Store Day on April 17, and the CD comes out on May 4th. 

A French car maker, Citroen, has used a clip from a John Lennon interview in their commercial.  I shouldn't say a "clip" since it's really the bulk of the commercial, it has Lennon saying:

"Once a thing's been done it's been done, so while this nostalgia -- I mean for the '60s and '70s, you know, looking backwards for inspiration, copying the past -- how's that rock 'n' roll?  Do something of your own. Start something new, you know? Live your lives now. Know what I mean?"

Fans were obviously upset and Sean Lennon came to Yoko Ono's defense saying that, "...intention was not financial, was simply wanting to keep him out there in the world".

Check out the ad below:

The Village Voice interviewed a stripper and asked the important questions like which music works and what doesn't.  Apparently Weezer and Muse are popular.  I also learned a new acronym on page 2 of the article, "GAPDY"  which stands for Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective, Phoenix, Dirty Projectors, Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  Apparently those won't make for great strip club songs but the Yeah Yeah Yeahs do alright.  It's a pretty funny/interesting read.