Excellent Online

Apparently I'm still not back on track but managed to go through my leads and pick out some interesting stories.  So if you've been AWOL like me for the last couple of weeks then this should help you get caught up, read on!

So let's try something new.  I've been on vacation for over a week and have gathered up a ton of links to interesting stories.  Instead of writing a bunch of little stories for each thing, I'm just going to lump them all in this one post.  This should get me all caught up and ready for the rest of the week.

I have been listening to a lot of Suede lately, revisiting all those awesome b-sides when I saw the news that they will be releasing another 'best of' collection (track list below).  Suede reunited earlier this year for a one-off show, but have continued and will be playing their largest indoor gig ever at the London O2 Arena on December 7th.  Their best of collection, "The Best Of Suede", will be released on November 1st and has a bunch of remastered singles, album tracks and bsides.  Looking over the tracklist I'm happy that it focuses on their earlish career and not so much on their latter albums.  I'm also pleased that they consider, "Europe is our Playground" and "My Dark Star" among the best of Suede.

Last week the Charlatans were on tour in the US and at their Philadelphia stop, Jon Brookes collapsed on stage.  A doctor in the audience actually came up and resuscitated Brookes and then he was rushed to the hospital.

He returned home and has to undergo treatment for a brain tumor.  The band has released a statement confirming his condition and also announcing that they will continue the tour with a short-term replacement.

UPDATE:  NME has also followed up on this story with the news that the Charlatans have announced that the Verve drummer, Pete Salisbury, will be joining them on several UK shows as a temporary replacement. 

I'll be frank, there's really no reason for this story except for the fact that it talks about Elbow.  And I like Elbow... a lot.  Guy Garvey (the lead singer) did an interview in NME where he has quotes about the new album:  "romantic and nostalgic, as a lot of our stuff is, but... I don't really know how to put it; I suppose it’s bigger in some places and subtler in others."  Or y'know, like all the other Elbow albums that have ever existed, except this one will be bigger and subtler.  Needless to say, I'm still excited about the upcoming album.

Next year in Feb/Mar 2011, Godspeed You! Black Emperor will finally make their return to the states with a US tour.  It's one of the few bands that I never got the pleasure of seeing as they split up shortly after I got into them.  Something that has happened to me several times in my life.  My brother just got into the Smiths when they split.  Then we discovered Echo & the Bunnymen and they split.  There were many annoying years in the early nineties where the Stone Roses seemed like they fell off the face of the earth.  Then GY!BE.  But that dream is finally being realized.  Tour dates below.

Weezer isn't really an "Excellent Online Band" as seen by our complete and total lack of coverage of them over the years.  But the Blue album (their debut) and follow-up, Pinkerton, have been guilty pleasures of mine since they came out over 15 years ago.  So I was glad to  hear that even after just releasing an album, Hurley, they are going to play both albums in full.  Here's the official statement from their label, Epitaph:

This winter (November/December), Weezer will launch a multi-city U.S. tour, dubbed by fans as the “Blinkerton Tour.” The band will play two shows in each market-on the first night Weezer will play the Blue Album in its entirety, and the second night they will play Pinkerton in its entirety.

While I'm super stoked about the shows, they can easily fit both albums into one night as they are pretty short records but they decided to stretch it out into two nights.  (via 24bit)

(via stereogum):  "DJ Shadow hasn’t had a new record since 2006’s The Outsiders (or, for a lot of you, since 1996’s Entroducing …..)."  So true...  I get excited for every new release but I'm just going to have to accept the fact that there will never be another "Entroducing".  The new songs, "Def Surrounds Us" and "I've Been Trying" are available on djshadow.com for today only.  After that they will be sold as a digital single.

In other Shadow news, he's also stashing his new vinyl in random stores across the US and Europe in a distribution method he calls, "shop-placing".  "You go into a store, and leave your record in the racks to be discovered later. It's not about being cute, it's about passing the music along in the most unobtrusive way possible."  He continues,

"I'd rather give away free vinyl than a download, because to me, downloads are so impersonal and soulless. In 2010, it has become akin to sending your dad an e-card on his birthday; no personality, no class. And from an artistic point of view, I think it sends a negative message about the worth of the music."

His next album should arrive sometime next year.

Freebass was a bass super group formed by Peter Hook and some prominent bass players.  Last week Andy Rourke (ex-Smiths) left the band and now Mani is taking a dig at Peter Hook as well.  He writes on twitter (of all places):

"Three things visible from space, Great Wall Of China, Peter Hook's wallet stuffed with Ian Curtis' blood money, Man City's empty trophy cabinet!" he tweeted, adding: "I've actually got an ongoing career, so I don’t feel the need to exploit my past glories. I exist in the here and the now."

"It's where it belongs mate… in the fucking bargain bin before it's even released," he wrote. "You live and learn."

I, personally, was thinking along the same lines, sorta torn about Peter Hook going on the road to play Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures" album in full with no other members of Joy Division.  Then again, it's probably the closest thing I'll ever get to seeing the band so it might be worth it.

UPDATE on Sept 14:  Mani has apologized for his outburst and Peter Hook forgives him.  Personally I'm way to cynical as this whole thing could've just been manufactured to bring attention to their Freebass album which comes out next week.

Y'know how when you go to a concert and there are all these annoying people trying to film it on their crappy phones?  Well a bunch of Radiohead fans decided to make it a mission to record a concert from as many angles as possible with the goal of creating a full concert DVD.  They gathered the footage and Radiohead even gave them the audio directly from the board.  So you have footage which is surprisingly not horrible AND amazing sound AND it's available for download.

The site has been down all week (for me) and it's finally working today.  My favorite part is their credits page where it has the list of contributors.  If the site is busted, you can also watch the whole thing on youtube (link goes directly to the youtube playlist with all the songs queued up).