Excellent Online

Still reeling from the loss of Belle & Sebastian to Rough Trade, this week it was announced that 50% of MATADOR RECORDS has been purchased by the Beggars Group, setting up a potentially lucrative new distribution deal for the struggling indie label. Matador, always a stalwart on the US indie scene, has suffered great setbacks lately with the losses of Pavement (who disbanded), Arab Strap (who found a new home), and now Belle & Sebastian. It's hoped that the new partnership will encourage both Matador and Beggars to rebuild their usually stellar rosters. As for Matador, they're taking to print to play down the loss of Belle & Sebastian, saying in a press statement that they're "obviously disappointed," but that "we'll get over it!"

Saint Etienne - Finisterre
(Mantra - UK Release 30 Sept. 02)

"Baby nothing lasts forever."

So one child, two marriages and two years later, they return. Their lives have been all about change, and titling their newest release 'Finisterre' (the end of the world) is a departure from the escapism of 'Sound of Water'. I was not a huge fan of the last album. I needed them to get that German minimalism out of their system, as I've always loved St. Etienne for that perfect pop song they're able to write. If I'd wanted to hear To Rococco Rot with Sarah singing, I'd find a bootleg mix. They've gone a bit further back to their roots with 'Finisterre'. It's always intriguing to me which influences they're wearing on their sleeves during each album. The campy Dusty and Motown influence of 'Good Humor' was such a departure from the Pet Shop (and Beach) Boys perfection of where they'd started with 'Fox Base Alpha' and 'So Tough'. I feel like this disc melds all their musical passion into one glorious beat box anthem.

Well, it's been several years but the new Ride EP has been released. "Coming Up For Air" is the title and it ws recorded with all four original members for a UK show called "Pioneers". Since only a minute of the music was actually used, Ride decided to release the EP. We've covered this before here and here. Piero has the full announcement inside.

Gentlemen, STOP your engines. OASIS have scrapped their Indianapolis gig tonight as a result of a car accident in downtown Indy yesterday that sent three members of the band to hospital. Noel Gallagher, Andy Bell, and new keyboard player Jay "Hey-wasn't-I-in-Kula-Shaker" Darlington were riding in a taxi when they were hit head-on. The wreck set off airbags and locked seat belts in the cab, and all three members suffered cuts and bruises. According to the band's website, Noel has extreme facial bruising and Darlington's hand was hurt to the point that he had to return to hospital today. We'll let you know if other dates are affected. The band has been advised to rest for 48 hours, and the Indy show is promised to be rescheduled later this year.

UPDATE! (11:55 pm CST) - Philadelphia and Boston are now postponed as well. The band is hoping to pick the tour up in New York City on Sunday.

OASIS are in the headlines again this morning, as Liam Gallagher pulled a disappearing act at the first gig of the band's US tour last night in Ft. Lauderdale. It seems Our Kid's voice bailed on him 4 songs into the show, and he left the stage. The rest of the band covered for him in usual fashion, with Noel strapping on an acoustic and doing an impromptu set, including "Wonderwall" (which he swore never to play again live following his divorce from Meg Matthews.) The official word is that it was the long plane trip to America that did Liam's voice in, and that he should be fine for the rest of the tour. As always, we'll keep our eye on the situation...

Okay, so he may not be your definition of "indie cool," but he IS The Ruler. Totally off topic here, but classic rap artist SLICK RICK needs our help. Ricky's currently sitting in an INS jail cell and likely to face deportation to a country he hasn't seen since he was 11 years old. Def Jam Records has set up a petition to get Rick bailed, and they're looking for signees. Once you hear the whole story, you'll want to lend your support. Click on "read more" to hear the whole scoop.

The nominees for this year's prestigious Panasonic Mercury Music Prize have been announced. The prize is awarded annually to the best British album of the past year, as determined by a panel of high-ranking judges. The nominees usually reflect perfectly the current climate of UK music, and this year's list is no exception:

THE ARROGANTS, whose gorgeous cover of "You Trip Me Up" was featured on the Excellent Online "Intertwined" album, have completed a new EP entitled "Nobody's Cool" which is set to be released on Shelflife Records in August. The new EP features both newly written material as well as Arrogants live favorites such as "Words Apart" and "The Distance Between Us", which, at long last, receive the full studio treatment.

BELLE & SEBASTIAN are parting ways with their record label, JEEPSTER. The band today announced a new 5-album deal reached with the newly revitalized Rough Trade Records. As for the US releases, Matador's distribution deal was through Jeepster and not Belle & Sebastian themselves, so that means Matador's out of the picture as well... and Belle & Sebastian have become one of the first groups to sign to the new label imprint, Rough Trade America.

We're well aware that nearly half our news bits over the past month have been related to internet file sharing, and the topic's been debated to the point of illness, but we wanted to point everybody to a really fantastic article on the topic that's been written and posted... by JANIS IAN of all people.