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That's right, it's official. THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN are reforming for Coachella (and a European fest or two) this spring. What you didn't know is that playing drums on these gigs will be none other than LOZ COLBERT (ex-Ride). Jim Reid confirmed it to Tripwire today. Holy wow. It just gets better & better...

One of the stalwarts of British music have called it a day. THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH have split up via an announcement on their official message board. Keeping their always tongue-in-cheek form, the band cite "musical similarities" as the reason for the break-up.

Yes, their music's always been a touch corny, but we've always loved their snarkiness, their spirit, and Paul Heaton's lyrical insight. RIP.

Here at Excellent, we bang to our OWN drum.

If we wanna post a story about a band that we like and nobody else on the planet's ever heard of, we do it.

If we wanna post rumors about a Spice Girls reunion, we do it.

And if we wanna post the results of our Best-of-2006 Poll three weeks past it's relevance, we do it.

Okay, so we're not the timeliest of people. But we ARE the most finicky. Which means it takes time for the many members of our mailing list to comb through the releases of an entire year and then hash out the best of the best. Well, the collective nerdgasm is over. The poll is done, the votes have been counted. Wanna see our picks for record of the year? TV show of the year? Our favorite Beanie Baby of all time? Well, you can see at least TWO of those (and oh-so-much more) by clicking READ MORE.

One more reunion coming to Coachella?

Perez Hilton says it's happening... and notes that the password for pre-sale tickets is "Roxanne."

Hrrrrrm.

Today is Tuesday the 23rd of January, which means that you need to march to your nearest record store and pick up the new OF MONTREAL record, "Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?"

For a band that's worn many hats through the years, this is far and away the strongest release of their current glam/dance phase. We've had a promo copy since September, and it's been tough to take it out of the CD player for the past 4 months. Could one of 2007's best records have come out before we've even announced the results of our 2006 poll?

Along with the solid effort comes solid backing from Polyvinyl Records, which includes the band's first non-animated video, for the single "Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse." And it's pure Of Montreal weird. Check it out:

With the announcement of the Coachella line-up comes the annual Intriguing Reunion Rumors. Yes, HAPPY MONDAYS, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN are reuniting to play the fest... but right now, there is nothing to indicate that those gigs will be anything other than one-off reunions (but what a reunion it'll be!)

On the OTHER hand, though, one of the bands that drew our attention on the Coachella line-up was CROWDED HOUSE, who split up several years ago, and, with the death of drummer Paul Hester, seemed unlikely to regroup. Well, we can confirm via official press release that the House is BACK. They're NOT just reuniting for Coachella. The band will embark on a year-long reunion world tour in 2007... and that's not all. Sources are now cofirming that the Neil Finn album that's being recorded now is, in fact, a full-on Crowded House reunion record. Auditions will be held for a replacement for Hester, but it's official that Neil Finn, Nick Seymour, and Mark Hart will all be participating in the reunion album AND tour. THAT's some good news.

It's Coachella season all over again and the line up looks fantastic as usual. Granted there are some better years then others but overall buying a ticket to Coachella is almost a no-brainer these days. They usually pack the event with enough good stuff so your money doesn't go to waste. Here are some of my personal highlights of the lineup:

Friday: Bjork, Interpol, Jesus and Mary Chain, Jarvis Cocker, Sonic Youth, DJ Shadow, Felix Da Housecat, Comedians of Comedy, and Silversun Pickups

Saturday: Arcade Fire, Tiesto, Decemberists, The Good the Bad and the Queen, Blonde Redhead, New Pornographers, Fountains of Wayne, and Sparklehorse

Sunday: Rage Against the Machine (yea yea, I'm curious), Air, Happy Mondays, Paul Van Dyk, Croded House, and Placebo

Sunday looks like the weaker of the three days in regards to the number of good acts, but the inclusion of the Happy Monday's makes it a slam dunk. It gives me a chance to see a bunch of new bands that I might dig. Head on over to the Coachella site for the full lineup.

BLOC PARTY have announced a new leg of U.S. dates (the first since drummer Matt Tong's illness forced the cancellation of their last jaunt.) We've got 'em over on the Tours page...

On the subject of Damon, there's been a lot of speculation this week as to the status of BLUR. First Graham Coxon's representation claimed that there's been NO talk of the rogue guitarist's return to Camp Blur... however, days later Blur bassist Alex James' UK newspaper column in the Sunday Times fueled the fire, saying "I've been talking to Graham and there might be some good news... It's by no means in the bag, but it looks quite promising. Maybe the time is right. We've always left the door open for him, so that's what I'm hoping for."

Fingers crossed, anyone? Or would the results be worth the reunion?

So ol' Damon's new band, THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE QUEEN, featuring The Verve's Simon Tong AND The Clash's Paul Simonon, are poised to release their album in a few weeks to MUCH hoopla. In the meantime, you can hear the entire record now over at the band's Myspace page. What do you think of the record?