Excellent Online

WESLEY WILLIS, our favorite head-butting Chicago crazyman, sadly passed away of a suspected heart attack in a Chicago hospice Thursday night. If you're unfamiliar with Wesley's vast catalog of work, that's sadder still. The schizophrenic homeless auteur was known far and wide for his 50+ album catalog of songs, mostly to the identical backing loops (which were themselves mostly demos on a Casio keyboard.) Willis was diagnosed with leukemia several months ago, and had been in failing health of late. An easy target to laugh AT, he was even more fun to laugh WITH. Some of the administrators of Excellent Online can harken back to the days of standing in line for hours outside the Metro in Chicago, waiting for any number of random bands to play, while a then-unknown Wesley roamed around the block, making chalk drawings and talking to the fans. Rock Over London, Rock On Chicago. You will be missed, friend.

Detroit based indiepoppers Pas/Cal are just about finished with their new EP, tentatively titled '[The Truth Behind] All The Vogues She Sold'. The release should happen early November and is the second installment of their EP series released on Le Grand Magistery. According to Nathan, "All we have left to take care of is some final touches, some knob-twiddling, fader pushing and artwork." Oh is that all? ;-)

The band will be playing CMJ this year but in the meantime if you're in the Detroit area you can check them out August 30th at the Labor Day Festival or September 6th at Dally in the Alley Festival.

Well, it's been a busy month for some of the smaller bands who are near and dear to our hearts, so we thought we'd go over some happenings with some of the veterans of our two compilations, Flirt! and Intertwined. Click on READ MORE to check out the news!

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT it set to return with a new album on September 23. 'Want One' will be Rufus' first release since his acclaimed 2001 album 'Poses'. Apparently the recording sessions went so well (with Marius De Vries) that Rufus produced two(!) new albums of material... the second album expecting a release early in the new year.

So more light has been shed on the ongoing saga of THE LIBERTINES. As you've read by now, co-frontman Pete Doherty took an unannounced sabbatical from the band a few months ago, only to re-surface a few months later when he was charged with burgling a London flat. Now, news arrives that the flat in question was that of fellow Libertine Carl Barat, where the estranged Doherty made off with armfuls of music equipment. More to the point, the rumours can officially be confirmed by a story today in the Evening Standard newspaper, where Doherty has gone on record and "come clean" that's he's addicted to both heroin AND crack cocaine. The troubled Doherty claims that he recently left a rehab facility unsuccessful after just a few days and that, "you don't go to rehab, you just kick it. It's got to come from within." Doherty has pled guilty to the robbery and will be sentenced in September (if he makes it that long.) Let's hope this guy gets the help he needs.

Indiepop couple Mates of State apparently ran into a bit of bad luck in London last week. According to a post by Kori on the band's bulletin board, Jason's suitcase was stolen in London. Along with all of his clothes, the band also lost their money, passports, phone and more. :-( I'm assuming by this time the passport situation has been resolved so that they may continue their European tour, but if anyone is planning on attending any of the remaining European tourdates, Kori has a request, "Please bring an article of clothing to the shows over here.... I think it'd be great if he collected clothes along the way instead of buying more grocery store blouses like he has on today."

The Libertines - Chicago - Empty Bottle - 08/10/03
Review by Misa Challingsworth.

I've been waiting to see the Libertines play since last October. I sighed with relief that I didn't waste my time and money on Coachella this year after the fiasco that happened there. When the US tour was announced...and the show was booked at the Empty Bottle (3 blocks from my house), I figured it was fate. I just had to fork out the money (15 dollars + fees) to see them.

To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Magnet Magazine, the music lovers at Magnet have organized a fabulous party. September 5 will see the likes of Guided By Voices, The Shins and My Morning Jacket take over the Trocadero in Philadelphia to celebrate. It's all ages, so gather up some pre-teens and introduce them to what a night of indierock should be.

I'm writing this month's column in the midst of a heat wave, one forecasters say will probably break records for the highest temperature ever recorded in London, and has already helped this to be one of the hottest summers on record. While this means I work up a sweat by merely walking to the corner store and I'm subsisting solely on a diet of ice cream, it also plays nicely into what I planned to talk about this month - The Great Summer Album.

It's been a pretty bad week for record executives.

You name the hot late summer release, there's a good chance it's already been leaked on the 'net. For those who know the right places to look, there's a whole slew of advance releases making their way around the dark alleys of the internet this week. Leaked albums from TIM BURGESS, ELVIS COSTELLO, SHACK, SOUTH, PEACHES, THE RAVEONETTES, STARSAILOR, BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB, and others (not to mention the fantastic Japanese only PRIMAL SCREAM live album) have all made their way to the usual haunts. Not that we'd know where those haunts are. 'Cause we're good boys and girls.