Excellent Online

The following cryptic message appeared on the official EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL forum from Ben Watt:

"hi. six months and not much from us. sorry, everyone. i have been very busy with opening a new club in london called neighbourhood and running my small independent label, buzzin' fly. however, i am almost finished on the solo project i mentioned earlier this year which features guests but not tracey. i am hoping to release it early next year. on the subject of tracey, i would like to register my dislike at several posts on this forum from people taking exception to tracey's choice as family-maker. there are enough useless celebrity mums out there ruining their kids lives with lack of attention, self-centredness, divorces, endless nannies and babysitters. tracey is doing a far more important job now than she ever did before as a singer. get real, people! she has given us 20 years of great music. she is allowed to stop if she wants. we all have to move on at certain points in our life. i am prepared for the fact that EBTG may be over, if not for ever then a least a long while, hence buzzin fly, neighbourhood, cherry jam, beth orton, djing, remixing, solo project etc. i am certainly not sitting around moping that life isn't the same, or DEMANDING that tracey sing again. if she does i will welcome it with open arms. if she doesn't, it was truly great while it lasted, but life goes on. so, to all of us out there i say: pick up your life and get on with it ... best and respect .. ben watt ... and just for the record, remember: who ever thought the eagles would re-form??? "

The end?

The rumor mill has exploded in new info again. It appears that NY indierockers BLONDE REDHEAD have signed a deal with the legendary 4AD Records. Hmm... One-Third Japanese, Two-Thirds Italian... Can I even call them NYers? Well anyway... the sixth album is in the works. Expect an official announcement from the label soon.

After some hemming and hawing it appears the BLUETONES US tour for November has been postponed. The dates that were being held in NY, LA, San Fran and Chicago have been cancelled. Due to the US release of 'Luxembourg' now falling in January 2004, the band felt they should come over when the record is released. November would have been good, but I guess we'll have to 'Cut Some Rug' in the new year instead.

Finally some news on one of our favorite US indiepop bands.

It's been almost a year and a half since any new material from OF MONTREAL... which, for that band, is a bit of a record.

Here's what we HAVE known: Following the band's last release, "Aldhil's Arboretum," in January of 2002, Of Montreal parted with longtime label Kindercore Records. Talk during the tour was that they were planning a double album follow-up, featuring one record of uplifting pop, and another record of down-tempo, moody numbers. That tour was also the last to feature guitarist Andy Gonzales, who left the band in mid-2002 to return to school and focus on his own project, The Marshmallow Coast. In February of 2003, Of Montreal contributed their only new track of the year, "Sad Love," to Excellent Online's own "Flirt!" free mp3 compilation. About the same time, Of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes set off with his girlfriend and brother, playing low-key performance art gigs under the name A Pollinaire Rave. Finally, we learned that earlier this summer, Barnes tied the knot with his girlfriend Nina (formerly of cult Scando faves Ethnobabes.)

Sorry kids... There's been an illness in the Supergrass family and they've had to pull out of their existing US tour. The last four dates of the tour (DC and NYC) have been cancelled. No word on who will be opening for Radiohead at Madison Square Garden later this week.

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.

The Strokes - Room On Fire
Review by Michael F Gill.

Room on Fire?
ROOM on Fire?
Room on FIRE?
FIRE?

So the second Strokes album has come along, and while it is quite similiar to the first album, I can't help but notice my biggest problem with the first album hasn't been corrected : the god-awful, wafer-thin production. There is no backbone to the Strokes music, it simply just doesn't "rock out". It sounds like it is being played out of a rather treble-heavy AM radio. These guitars and drums sound soft and muddy when they should be in your fucking face. I'm not joking when I say Belle & Sebastian have more conviction and "oomph" in their recordings. I don't know how much of a difference the sound is when they play live (although I saw them open for Doves 2 years ago and I was bored silly), but geesh, even Britpop losers like Symposium, Shed 7, and Northern Uproar rock harder then the Strokes. This is a Room on FIRE????

MATTHEW JAY has often been compared to seminal folk rocker Nick Drake, and sadly, now there's another way to draw similarities. Jay died this past Wednesday after falling seven stories to his death from a window. While suicide appears to be a likely cause, no note was left at the scene. The Brit singer-songwriter was only 24 years old. Jay's debut album, "Draw," drew praise from critics and fans alike, including many a vote on Excellent Online's own end-of-the-year poll for 2001. Jay was working on the follow-up at the time of his death.

Radiohead - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl - 9/25/03
Review by Joseph Whitcher

I'll start by setting the scene: after attempts at the presale and the general onsale, we decided to try the WASTE onsale. I'm sure you've all heard what a fucking mess that was, so I won't go into it now. Suffice it to say that I went through more shit to get tickets for this show than probably ever before. And WASTE, who are supposed to get "good seats" - at least that's what they say right? - finally sends tickets: Section J1, Row 22. All that trouble and we still got shit seats.

STEREOLAB are about to release their first material since the death of member Mary Hansen. The 5 track EP titled 'Instant 0 in the Universe' will be limited to 5000 copies and be released October 13 on their label Duophonic UHF Disks. The group has been understandably quiet this year, but they have finished a new record that is expected to be released early in 2004. You can listen to snippets of the new EP on www.stereolab.co.uk.