New Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Phenomena", "Way Out"

Couple tracks from the forthcoming Yeah Yeah Yeahs album, Show Your Bones, out March 28 in the US, and a day earlier in the UK.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs have already begun a North American tour, at the conclusion of which, they'll head across the pond and give whatever energy they have left to entertaining non-North-Americans. They get the album a measly day earlier earlier; we get the earlier concert dates...

Yeah Yeah Yeahs US/Canada Tour Dates:

3/1: San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's 365 Club
3/2: San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's 365 Club
3/4: Hollywood, CA - Troubadour
3/5: Hollywood, CA - Troubadour
4/3: Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
4/5: Philadelphia, PN - Trocadero
4/7: Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
4/10: Toronto, Canada - Kool Haus
4/11: Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre
4/12: Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre
4/14: Chicago, IL - Riviera
4/15: Milwaukee, WI, - Riverside Theatre
4/16: Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
4/18: Omaha, NE - Sokol Auditorium
4/19: St. Louis, MO - the Pageant
4/21: Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium
4/22: Salt Lake City, UT - University of Utah
4/24: Vancouver, Canada - Orpheum Theatre
4/25: Seattle, WA - Paramount Ballroom
4/26: Portland, OR - Roseland Ballroom
4/28: San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
4/30: Indio, CA - Coachella
5/2: New York, NY - Roseland

Enon Seeks New Bandmate, Announces Tour

CMJ reports that offbeat noise-synth pop trio Enon is looking to add a fourth to its ranks, specifically "a multi-instrument expert and/or guitar god". The addition of such a skilled musician should have an interesting impact on Enon's quirky sound.

Also, the band will be able to play "4 or more players" games. And then I imagine at first, a couple of bandmates might tell the third they plan to boss the new one around for a bit as a part of a friendly hazing ritual, order them to fetch chips and soda, that kind of thing. When only one person did that, the new person would think they were a jerk, an impression the others would initially do nothing to correct. Naturally, 70s-sitcom-style-hilarity would ensue. CMJ doesn't mention anything about game-playing skills or hazing, but one should be prepared, just in case.

Upcoming Enon Tour Dates:

March 24 - Telluride, CO - Sheridan Opera House
March 25 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
April 15 - Richmond, IN - Earlham University
April 18 - Akron, OH - The Lime Spider
April 19 - Cleveland, OH - The Spot
April 20 - Newport, KY - Southgate House
April 21 - Columbus, OH - Little Brothers
April 22 - Notre Dame, IN - Legends

Enon - The Nightmare Of Atomic Men (from Lost Marbles And Exploded Evidence)

Enon - Leave It To Rust (from High Society)

Three more Enon songs ("Kanon", "Believo!", and "Rubber Car") are available for free download at Amazon.

David Bowie Duets With Cher

Via Entertaintment Weekly, an unusual array of rare music clips available on YouTube.

Fans of David Bowie, Cher, 70s fashion, and/or campy and weird viewing experiences might want to check out Bowie and Cher's lengthy medley, beginning with "Young Americans", and including parts of "Song Sung Blue", "One" (as in "One is the loneliest number"), "Da Do Run Run", "Wedding Bell Blues", "Blue Moon", and oh, so many more. It's enough to make one crave more epic medleys. This one is from Bowie's November 1975 visit to the Cher Show. He also sang "Can You Hear Me" with Cher, and took to the stage alone for "Fame" during the episode.

Cheesy, yes. Cringe-inducing, sure. More-than-vaguely-horrifying, perhaps. Yet there's something special about the variety show format that the U.S., at least, is missing out on in its focus on encouraging celebrities to ice-skate and dance. Shouldn't we have different celebrities embarrassing themselves in a wide variety of contexts without fear of being voted off, like our forefathers and foremothers like Cher did? They probably saved a lot of time not having to phone in votes.

With The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour presumably kaput, the world can only wait for a new variety show to step in and fill that gaping hole in the TV schedule... and I daresay, in our hearts.

David Bowie - Fame (from Young Americans)

The Stories Behind the Songs

Twelve artists explain the stories behind one of their hit songs to The Guardian in a sort of short-attention-span, print version of Behind the Music.

The songs discussed include Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)", Kaiser Chiefs' "I Predict A Riot", New Order's "Blue Monday", The Smiths' "How Soon Is Now?", Sparks' "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us", Tubeway Army's "Are 'Friends' Electric?", and Underworld's "Born Slippy".

A line from Guys and Dolls ("Have you ever fallen in love with someone you shouldn't have?") inspired the Buzzcocks song, while a more common line inspired Sparks to write "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us." Keyboardist Ron Mael, who wrote "This Town", says, "having a song that was the opposite of a cliche but used a cliched line really interested me."

The story behind "Blue Monday" takes the "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" theme a step further. According to Peter Hook, New Order "ripped off" the drum pattern from a Donna Summer B-side (but accidentally lost it, so they had to start over, "and it was never as good.") They also lifted a bass riff from Ennio Morricone, and the title itself from a Fats Domino song (because they "were all miserable" so it seemed "quite apt.")

Gary Numan based "Are 'Friends' Electric?" on a short story he wrote "about a man who calls up for a prostitute and is visited by one." And a "'friend' is an android" hence the quotation marks. Numan had been working on two songs, and hit a block with both, then decided "they sounded all right stuck together." He says this explains the track's five minute length.

Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've) (from Buzzcocks, etc.)

Sparks - This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us (from The Best Of Sparks, etc.)

Tubeway Army - Are 'Friends' Electric? (from Replicas, etc.)

The Sex Pistols Snub Rock Hall of Fame

The Sex Pistols, scheduled to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 13, have colorfully RSVP'd "no" via a handwritten missive posted on their website. It reads, in part: "Were not coming. Were not your monkeys and So what? Fame at $25,000 if we paid for a table, or $15,000 to squeak up in the gallery, goes to a non-profit organisation, selling us a load of old famous." (Imagine [sic]s wherever you find them appropriate)

Susan Evans, Executive Director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, took the rejection well, saying, "They are being the outrageous punksters they are, and that's rock and roll."

I can't tell whether she's cool with their decision or not. Something about her word choice makes me wonder whether she's possibly slightly less hep than when she was first appointed as Executive Director back in 1983. Different days back then. We began the year with hits like "Maneater" and "Down Under", heard plenty of Lionel Richie, and by the time 1984 rolled around... well, there was still room for Lionel. But it's a different world now. And, come to think of it, did anyone non-kiddingly say "outrageous punksters" in 1983? Is the term meant to be a bit condescending, is it meant to be a "fun" use of obviously unhip language but she's down with the rebellious punk rockers' decision, or is it unintentionally unhip language but she's cool with the decision?

In any event, the Sex Pistols will forsake a possibly-delightful Waldorf Astoria dining experience, which apparently they could have had for free. A Rock Hall of Fame spokesperson said each inductee receives two tickets for free, and can buy additional tickets for $2,500.

This was the outrageous punksters' fifth nomination, which means they've possibly been waiting several years to tell the Rock Hall of Fame they don't want to be accepted into a club that would accept them. Putting much time into that R.S.V.P. would have looked like they cared, though - a big "faux pas", as the kids say.

Dave Clark Five, Grandmaster Flash, J Geils Band, John Mellencamp, the Patti Smith Group, and the Stooges are among those who were nominated for induction this year and perhaps one of them could have taken the Sex Pistols' unwanted spot, had they withdrawn from the nomination process. More fun (and rock) to be wanted and then reject The Man, though.

The Sex Pistols - My Way (from The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, Kiss This: The Best Of The Sex Pistols, etc.)

Mogwai's Latest Targets: Damon Albarn, Test Icicles

Mogwai's Barry Burns is at it again, and this time bandmate Stuart Braithwaite has joined in the band-bashing fun.

Burns' focus this time is on a regular target of his ire: Damon Albarn. Mogwai's US/Canada/South/America online store sells a "blur: are shite" t-shirt, alluded to in Burns' latest missive. Mogwai started selling the shirt in 1999, and Albarn apparently has bought at least one of them.

Braithwaite's target is Test Icicles' break-up after a short career, and his message is short and... well, not sweet exactly, but pretty funny. These guys are like the online Andy Rooneys of alt-music, only funny.

I can change the world with African Music. I can turn the colour blue into sound. I can have a band with crazy animated characters. I can kick box. I can turn George Bush into a nice man with mere words. I can actually fly. I can have another previous band with such differing styles for each and every album. I am a pearly queen when I want to be. I can write a gut wrenchingly beautiful broken heart ballad. I laugh in the face of ad hominem attack t shirts. I will try to get into theatre and musicals and I will probably succeed! I am London. I am Mali. I am Music itself. I am Damon. I am All Bran. I will prevail. You will suffer at my musical might and other numerous talents. I am Damon. I am Damon Suzuki. I am good at everything.
Barry
ps Just in......Test Icicles have split up because of "The constant pressures of touring"! That is so ridiculous it doesn't even merit a snide sarcastic comment. Jesus, they've only been going for about 3 bloody weeks!! (Stuart)

Blur - Charmless Man (from The Best Of Blur, etc.)

Ray Davies - Things Are Gonna Change

Lest Ray Davies' solo work be overlooked...

Ray Davies - Things Are Gonna Change (from Other People's Lives)

The Kinks To Reunite... Maybe

Ray Davies, while promoting his first solo album, Other People's Lives on BBC Radio 4's Front Row, expressed much fondness for The Kinks. Particularly giving fans reason to believe there may be a reunion is that Davies said, "I love all the work I've done with them, I hope to do more one day, who knows."

Naturally, he's bound to be asked about The Kinks in every interview for the solo project. A Kinks reunion could be cool, but discussion of it does run the risk of overshadowing his solo work...

The Kinks - Do It Again

The Kinks - She's Got Everything

Old 97's - She's Got Everything (cover of The Kinks tune)

ABC Tour/Album News/Preview Of New Song

Martin Fry, ABC's singer, has announced plans to launch a concert tour this May and June with a new version of the group. Fry is the only original member of ABC in its current incarnation, but in August he said he and onetime ABC drummer David Palmer had "reunited" during an appearance on VH1's "Bands Reunited" (makes sense) and had since been "out playing about 16 dates to get things rolling again." Unsurprisingly, Palmer's joining the upcoming tour is considered likely.

Fry is also "putting finishes touches to" Traffic, a new ABC album. No word on whether Palmer plays in Traffic. For some reason I can't put my finger on it feels wrong to hope he does. A tentative list of songs "likely to appear on the album" includes "Minus Love", "This Love Is Strong", and "Sixteen Seconds To Choose".

Upcoming ABC tour dates are referred to as "ABC & Martin Fry live shows" on the main page of the "Martin Fry & ABC" website and as "Forthcoming ABC Live Dates" on the "Live Dates" page, where they are also disclaimered as "yet to be confirmed".

Long after all the clouds of confusion have cleared, on May 6, someone(s) might show up and sing about poison arrows and how to be a millionaire in Agoura Hills, California. He/they might then do likewise in assorted other cities in California, Toronto, Boise, NYC, and such.

Fry has cleverly given folks a chance to preview a song ("Ride") from ABC's forthcoming album at the website for The Lost World Trek rather than at his and ABC's website.

Fry, Tony Hadley (of Spandau Ballet), Richard Drummie (of Go West), their manager John Glover, and 31 others recently went on a rather intriguing-sounding trek to The Lost World in Venezuela. They traveled through jungles and "misty cloud forests", checked out waterfalls and cold jacuzzis, camped in the occasional cave, and climbed mountains and sheer cliffs. Their goal wasn't the adventure, it was -- and remains -- to raise 100,000 pounds for Action Medical Research's Touching Tiny Lives campaign, for which Glover is an ambassador.

The campaign partly involves lobbying the UK government to double its funding by 2007 for research into preventing premature births and pregnancy complications. As part of the campaign, Action Medical Research also is "committed" to raising 3 million pounds to invest in medical research.

Naturally when Fry isn't trekking through the jungles of Venezuela for a good cause, he's singing. He'll soon appear on BBC1's program "Just The Two Of Us", singing duets with Gaby Roslin, along with other singer/celebrity couples (I've never heard of Gaby Roslin. I think it's because I'm an American). The public will select the winners, which means there must also be losers. It sounds vicious, really. However, on the upside, it's hosted by "the UK's most glamorous celebrity couple - Vernon Kay [sic] and Tess Daly." He hosted, "Hit Me Baby One More Time", which forced me to confront the cold hard truth that Animotion doesn't sing particularly well anymore, if they ever really could, whereas I've never heard of her. Their chief skill being glamour, nothing else about them matters much. They need only dazzle UK viewers with their combined wow factor!

The program tapes in London March 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th, and tickets may be requested online.

ABC - Be Near Me (from Look of Love: The Very Best of ABC)

ABC - Vanity Kills (from Look of Love: The Very Best of ABC)

Uncut March 2006 Magazine and Playlist CD

As Paul Weller recently received a Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music (essentially a lifetime achievement award), naturally Uncut felt it a particularly appropriate occasion to spend "a day - and a night - talking and drinking and gigging and clubbing" with him. Then they stopped giggling long enough to figure out how to turn a day - and a night - of talking, drinking, giggling, and clubbing into an article, and honored "the Modfather" by putting him on the cover of the magazine.

Only not on the US editions, which instead feature KISS, boasting "We were Spinal Tap!". Maybe Weller never offered to pay for a single round, all day or night. There must be some explanation for what on the surface appears a pretty cold way to treat your drinking (and giggling) buddy. Surely it isn't just that Uncut feels a Weller cover wouldn't move as many copies as... a KISS cover?

Uncut's explanation:

"EXCLUSIVE KISS COVER AVAILABLE ON ALL US EDITIONS!
On the 30th anniversary of The Year They Ruled The States, metal make-up gods Kiss feature on the front cover of this special American collectors' edition of Uncut* *All other content remains the same as the regular edition"

It's a "collectors' edition"! Man, those with the ordinary Paul Weller cover must feel a tad ripped-off.



Both the regular and collectors' editions include interviews with Sparks, Squeeze, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, as well as brief interviews with Mew, Suzi Quatro, and, yes, of course, Jenny Lewis.

In a page-long Q&A, Pete Shelley is asked whether he and John Lydon were lovers ("To my knowledge, it's not true.") and whether he "looks up to" or "down upon" Morrissey ("More the former. I do believe that Hatful of Hollow is one of the great albums. I also firmly believe he stole my idea of the non-gender specific lyric. I suppose imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.") He also says the Buzzcocks will go on tour next year to mark their 30th anniversary and likely play more older material. He names "the great punk bands" as "Pistols, Clash and Buzzcocks."

The cast, director, and writer of a "violent western set in the Australian outback" called The Proposition are also interviewed. Uncut seems particularly interested in it because Nick Cave wrote it, and it doesn't hurt that Guy Pearce is in the cast. The film addresses the "the racial politics of colonial Australia, challenging liberal accounts of tribal tensions between Brits and Irish, white settlers and Aborigines." There's lots of graphic violence, including "rape and torture" but "it's ultimately a story about the healing power of love."

There's also a short feature about the B-side of Morrissey's single "You Have Killed Me", a cover of the New York Dolls' "Human Being". Moz has long been outspoken in his love for the band, and Uncut notes that in his pre-fame days, he wrote their first biography and "organised" their UK fan club. He's sung their tunes in concert, but "Human Being" will be Morrissey's first studio Dolls cover.

Review-wise, Beth Orton's Comfort Of Strangers is given 4 stars (of 5) ("Without altering her style drastically, Orton has broadened her approach on what is her most accomplished record to date.")

Howie Beck's self-titled album, which Uncut notes was first released in the U.S. in December 2004, receives 3 stars and is dubbed "a rewarding slow-burner." The reviewer feels the album, which features Ed Harcourt and Nada Surf, "takes a while to percolate" but that "repeated plays show" Beck "to be as subtly flavoured as Joe Pernice or Elliott Smith, though perhaps lacking the requisite hooks." "Don't Be Afraid" (on this month's Uncut CD) is pretty catchy, anyway.

This month's Uncut CD, Playlist is called "our 16-track guide to the month's best music". It includes some older songs, but they're from reissued/remastered and reissued albums. Lots of nifty songs this month; you can listen to more of them at Uncut's website.

Uncut Playlist Track Listing

1. Arctic Monkeys - Fake Tales Of San Francisco
2. Two Gallants - Steady Rollin'
3. Roger McGuinn - Silver Dagger
4. Squeeze - Another Nail In My Heart
5. Beth Orton - Shadow Of A Doubt
6. Billy Bragg - Greetings To The New Brunette
7. Janis Ian - The Great Divide
8. Wire - Map Ref 41 degrees North 93 degrees West (from 154: Remastered)
9. The Broken Family Band - Diamonds In The Mine (from Balls)
10. Kelley Stoltz - The Sun Comes Through (from Below The Branches)
11. Howie Beck - Don't Be Afraid (from Howie Beck)
12. Richard Thompson - Tempted
13. Scott Walker - Sleepwalkers Woman
14. Clearlake - Far Away (from Amber)
15. Roger Dean Young & The Tin Cup - Little Wind
16. The Jam - To Be Someone

The Redwalls To Tour With Oasis

Chicago band The Redwalls, whose music has been compared to the Beatles and whose lineup includes a pair of brothers, has been added as an opening act for several Oasis concerts next month.

While at first blush the pairing might seem uncreative, I submit the following reasons why the selection may nonetheless be a wise one:

(1) The Gallagher brothers may not be the easiest blokes to get along with -- no, seriously. If choosing a support act with whom they have much in common increases the chances they will get along, this is A Good Thing. The guys may feel both less threatened and somewhat amused by Americans. They might even think "the Americans" have funny accents and use weird slang, although technically-speaking whilst on American soil Oasis' accents and slang may fairly be considered wackier.

(2) Fans who come to see Oasis are more likely to embrace a similar act.

(3) The Beatles comparison, while it's certainly true in Oasis' case, isn't automatically meaningful. It's pretty much a lazy rock critic's easy go-to. Maybe much rock music sounds somewhat like the Beatles in much the same way that all fiction writers are indebted to Shakespeare.

The Redwalls are scheduled to open for Oasis at the following concerts, with more dates to be announced:

March 22 - Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theatre
March 23 - Indianapolis, IN - Murat Theatre
March 25 - Cincinnati, OH - Taft Theatre
March 26 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
March 28 - Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theater

The Redwalls - On My Way (from De Nova)

Oasis - Don't Look Back In Anger (from (What's The Story) Morning Glory?)

Mogwai Lashes Out At Brits, Other Musicians, Bad Reviews, Random Passersby

Mogwai presents an interesting case study in responding to criticism -- really, in responding to anything a band doesn't like. Take The Brits, for instance. If a band thinks those awards are not a particularly legitimate enterprise, they can ignore them, pretend to like them, or be a bit diplomatic about it ("Well, you know we sort of take The Brits in particular with a grain of salt, but awards shows are really about fun anyway, and I'm sure this one will be no exception."). Or they can take the Mogwai road.

In a post on the band's message board, Barry Burns (guitar, flute, keyboards) gave Kaiser Chiefs a few relatively mild words of criticism ("the Kaiser Chiefs won best 'rock act' which is just mental. They're not a rock band. (I met one of them in Japan and he was lovely, if a little scared by my over-affable-drunkness but they're no rock band). James Blunt and Coldplay's Chris Martin did not fare as well. Perhaps they did not once meet Burns in Japan, or they did, but were not lovely and/or were excessively scared of his "over-affable-drunkness".

The Brits themselves seem to be the target of Burns' strongest ire. He writes:

"We all know that the winners are discussed between the big major labels and they decide who'll get the honours that year. Before you dispute this, we know, we've been told by one of them. What a waste of everyone's time and money."

Although if anyone did want to dispute either that or his saying "I have spewed blood down dirty toilets with more talent than" James Blunt, he need merely point to his website's disclaimer:

"Disclaimer: Seriously, if you are easily offended or don't like opinions then please leave this site now. We will not be held responsible for our own views or the views of anyone else who writes words on these pages. It's all a bad joke and you're the punchline. Seriously, as soon as you go further than this page, it's all your problem. Seriously."

They say "seriously" three times, so you know they mean it. Seriously.

As for Mogwai's reaction to criticism, we again hear from Burns. It's very subtle but he seems to rely on humor, in particular sarcasm, to convey his disdain for negative reviews.

In responding to NME's dis of the single "Friend Of The Night", he wrote: "NME, the relevant newspaper for serious music fans. News: we are as ground breaking as Snow Patrol according to the NME... Literally hundreds of people now have a negative impression of our new hit single before it's even out yet. How can we win in this situation? Damn it!"

Burns also responded at length to FHM after a particularly dismissive review of their forthcoming album, Mr Beast:

"Oooof. Just seen a review of ours from FHM magazine regarding our new album. It's a right stinker but I feel I need to review-the-review and the magazine to even things up...

"Firstly, they refer to Stuart as the 'oh so clever Scottish dwarf'. I can state right now that Stuart isn't clever at all. All Scottish people are dwarves because of the low sky. He (the reviewer) then opines that hardcore Mogwai fans will go onto Amazon and leave it five stars. I doubt if any of our hardcore fans can even type, never mind write a five-star review with a fancy computer on an 'internets'.

"Next big giveaway that he hasn't even heard the album was the fact that he heard strings on the album. Perhaps he enjoys to smoke a crackpipe but I don't recall their being any hint of violins or their owners in our studio. Know your subject. Apparently we make Radiohead sound like the Cheeky Girls. Boom Boom! Surely that's a compliment coming from a New Man who probably wears a handbag and has every Cheeky Girls song on his pink iPod Nano.

"But the biggest kick in the balls for the guy who wrote it was the fact that the he clearly just hates our music (and fair enough, not many folk like the miserable shite we release), but his editor clearly thinks we're okay. The review looks like a 0 out of 5 but instead gets a 2 which is actually not too bad considering the 'Tracks to Download' section said 'None' and the 'Mood to Listen' was 'Suicidal'. What a great use of 17-year-old boys' time this magazine is. If I was the editor of FHM I'd be dead against putting even a shit review of an ugly instrumental band from Scotland in my magazine. They need to stick to the Scissor Sisters and rude pictures of young ladies with articles on how to date rape at the weekends.

"Perverts. Dirty perverts."

UK bands seem particularly inclined to verbally pummel each-other. Even Burns' reactions to reviews contain arguably gratuitous (albeit sometimes funny) attacks on other bands. He seems unable to stop himself from responding to reviews, and it's a healthier outlet for anger than physically pummeling people in other bands (or critics). A lot of his humor is clearly self-deprecating, and the FHM review sounds like it deserved to be criticized for many reasons. If he can't have a thick skin, a healthy dose of sarcasm and a computer might feel like the next best thing...

On Monday, a live version of "Glasgow Mega Snake" will be available for sale at digital retailers. Video footage will be available at 7Digital. There's also plenty of audio and video available at the band's website for free.

A Dizzying Amount of Mogwai Tour Dates:

March 1 - Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium
March 2 - Columbus, OH - Wexner Center for the Arts
March 3 - Lexington, KY - The Dame
March 4 - Charlottesville, VA - Satellite Ballroom
March 6 - New York City, NY - Avalon
March 7 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
March 8 - Chapel Hill, NC - Cats Cradle
March 9 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
March 10 - Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge
March 11 - Atlanta, GA - Whirly Ball Atlanta
March 12 - Atlanta, GA - Whirly Ball Atlanta (matinee)
March 14 - Houston, TX - Numbers, with Torche
March 15 - Austin, TX - Stubbs, with Belle and Sebastian, Cat Power (at South by Southwest)
March 17 - Mexico City, Mexico - Venustiano Carranza 25
March 29 - Bristol, UK - Bristol Academy
March 30 - Southampton, UK - Southampton University
March 31 - Wolverhampton, UK - Wulfrun Hall

April 1 - Oxford, UK - Brookes University
April 2 - Cardiff, Wales, UK - Coal Exchange
April 4 - Cambridge, UK - Junction
April 5 - Liverpool, UK - Carling Academy
April 6 - Newcastle, UK - Northumbria University
April 7 - Sheffield, UK - The Plug
April 8 - Lille, France - Splendid
April 9 - Strasbourg, France - Laiterie
April 11 - Toulouse, France - SDF
April 12 - Clermont-Ferrand, France - Cooperative de Mai
April 13 - Paris, France - Bataclan
April 14 - Rotterdam, Netherlands - Motel Mozaique Festival
April 15 - Cologne, Germany - Live Music Hall
April 16 - Brussels, Belgium - Domino Festival, Ancienne Belgique
April 18 - Florence, Italy - Flog
April 19 - Rome, Italy - Qube
April 20 - Milan, Italy - Rolling Stone
April 21 - Treviso, Italy - New Age
April 22 - Krems, Austria - Danube Festival
April 23 - Munich, Germany - Elserhalle
April 24 - Berlin, Germany - Postbahnhof
April 25 - Hamburg, Germany - Gruenspan
April 27 - Edinburgh, UK - Triptych, Usher Hall
April 30 - Indio, CA, USA - Coachella Festival

September 22 - London, UK - Royal Albert Hall

Mogwai - Folk Death 95 (from Mr Beast)

Barsuk Acoustic Performances

The teases at Barsuk Records have made available online four songs from last years' singer-songwriter showcase, held for the tenth anniversary of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores. The songs currently available are: Nada Surf's Matthew Caws - "What Is Your Secret", The Long Winters' John Roderick - "Ultimatum", John Vanderslice - "Radiant With Terror", and Jesse Sykes - "Your Side Now". Additional batches of songs, including more by Caws, Roderick, Vanderslice, and Sykes, as well as a couple Death Cab tunes performed by Ben Gibbard, will be "released" on February 27th, March 13th, and March 27th. We're told all the performers used "nothing but a guitar and their voice." There is a picture revealing the presence of at least one bottle of water, but let's try not to consider it a performance-enhancing drug.

The Long Winters - Ultimatum (from the Ultimatum EP)

Eisley Announces South-to-South Tour, Enjoys Cereal

Eisley has announced the dates for a North American tour that begins next month in Louisiana and wraps up May 6... in Texas. It's sort of like The Amazing Race, but instead of possibly winning a million dollars at the end as a reward for their exhausting labors, they'll head to the studio to record a second album. They'll preview new songs, intended for the album, during the tour.

Check out the kids' journals (updated with varying degrees of regularity) for breakfast cereal, restaurant/restaurant entree, album, and movie recommendations and all sorts of other musings. Sherri suggests y'all try "Strawberry Delight Mini-Wheats" as they are "simply scrumptious!"

Eisley's Tour Dates:

March 18 New Orleans, LA The Parrish
March 20 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Culture Room
March 21 Tampa, FL Orpheum
March 22 Orlando, FL The Social
March 23 Atlanta, GA Vinyl
March 24 Nashville, TN Exit / In
March 25 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle
March 27 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church
March 28 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
March 29 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
March 30 Farmingdale, NY Crazy Donkey
March 31 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club

April 1 Montreal, PQ Sala Rossa
April 3 Toronto, ON Mod Club
April 4 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall
April 5 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop
April 7 Chicago, IL Metro
April 8 Minneapolis, MN Varsity
April 9 Omaha, NE Sokol Underground
April 11 Indianapolis, IN Harrison Center
April 12 St. Louis, MO Mississippi Nights
April 13 Lawrence, KS Bottleneck
April 15 Denver, CO Bluebird Theatre
April 17 Boise, ID Bourbon Street/Big Easy
April 18 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom
April 20 Vancouver, BC Croation Cultural Centre
April 21 Seattle, WA El Corazon
April 23 Sacramento, CA The Library
April 24 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
April 26 Los Angeles, CA House Of Blues
April 27 San Diego, CA Soma Sidestage
April 28 Ventura, CA Ventura Theatre
April 29 Phoenix, AZ Clubhouse
April 30 Tucson, AZ City Limits

May 3 Tulsa, OK Bob's (Cain's Sm Rom)
May 4 Houston, TX Meridian
May 5 Austin, TX La Zona Rosa
May 6 Dallas, TX Granada Theatre

Eisley - I Wasn't Prepared (from Room Noises)

Juno Nominees Announced

Nominations for the 2006 Juno Awards were announced today.

Of course, the big news is Celine Dion's nomination for the Juno Fan Choice Award (Presented by Doritos). Who are the other nominees in that category? Who cares? Oh, very well. Those "honored just to be nominated" for the Fan Choice Award (Presented by Doritos) are: Diana Krall, Michael Buble, Nickelback, and Simple Plan.

Other Juno Nominees:

Single of the Year:

When the Night Feels My Song - Bedouin Soundclash

Inside and Out - Feist

Man I Used To Be - k-os

Home - Michael Buble

Photograph - Nickelback

Album of the Year:

Christmas Songs - Diana Krall

219 Days - Kalan Porter

It's Time - Michael Buble

All the Right Reasons - Nickelback

Under The Lights - Rex Goudie

Kalan Porter - In Spite Of It All

Diana Krall - Almost Blue

Bedouin Soundclash - When The Night Feels My Song

Valentine's Day Songs

The sweet, the mushy, the romantic, the lusty... the love songs for Valentine's Day. They outnumber the anti-Valentine's Day songs, because, c'mon. Of course love wins.

The Pernice Brothers - The Weakest Shade Of Blue (from Yours, Mine & Ours)

Portishead - It Could Be Sweet (from Dummy)

The Pixies - Head On (from Trompe Le Monde)

Big Star - Thirteen (from #1 Record)

Beat Happening - Our Secret (from Beat Happening)

The Cure - Doing The Unstuck (from Wish)

Of Montreal - Your Magic Is Working (from Satanic Panic In The Attic)

The Divine Comedy - Perfect Lovesong (from Regeneration)

REM - Star Me Kitten (from Automatic For The People)

Juliana Hatfield - Yeh Yeh (from the Fathers and Sons soundtrack)

Spoon - I Summon You (from Gimme Fiction)

Rilo Kiley - Sword (from The Initial Friend EP)

Nada Surf - Hi-Speed Soul (from Let Go)

Nina Hynes - Universal (from Staros)

Dusty Springfield - I Only Want To Be With You (from The Love Songs Album, etc.)

The Mr. T Experience - Don't Go Breaking My Heart (from ...And The Women Who Loved Them)

Teenage Fanclub - Don't Look Back (from Grand Prix)

Stars - Look Up (from Heart)

Cake - Love You Madly (from Comfort Eagle)

Bryan Ferry - Slave to Love (from Boys and Girls, etc. There's a song called "Valentine" on the same album but I feel compelled to pass it up)

Anti-Valentine's Day Songs

Today, a plethora of songs about love lost, love gone wrong, love that was never right, and love that can never be. Happy Valentine's Day!

Tomorrow - mushy stuff.

The Magnetic Fields - How Fucking Romantic (from 69 Love Songs)

Lloyd Cole And The Commotions - Love Ruins Everything (from Love Story)

Ivy - I Don't Know Why I Love You (from Guestroom)

Joe Jackson - Fools In Love (from Steppin Out': The Very Best of Joe Jackson, etc.)

PJ Harvey and Thom Yorke - This Mess We're In (from Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea)

The Magnetic Fields - I Don't Really Love You Anymore (from i)

Further Seems Forever - Bye Bye Bye (from Pop Goes Punk)

Ben Folds Five - Song for the Dumped (from Whatever And Ever Amen)

J. Geils Band - Love Stinks (from Flashback, etc.)

XTC - The Disappointed (from Fossil Fuel: The XTC Singles 1977-1992)

Elvis Costello - No Action (from This Year's Model)

Trembling Blue Stars - Do People Ever? (from Her Handwriting)

Cranes - Are You Gone (from Loved)

The Cure - To Wish Impossible Things (from Wish)

T'Pau - Valentine (from Greatest Hits, etc.)

Billy Bragg - Valentine's Day Is Over (from Victim Of Geography)

CMJ Magazine and CD: Issue 137

Jenny Lewis is on the cover of the new issue of CMJ New Music Monthly, promoting her solo debut, Rabbit Fur Coat. In her interview, Lewis shares that someone recently told her that her face smells like a pencil, so she bought a pencil "to kind of reference." It's a good thing they didn't say her face smelled like a rotting corpse. I'm just sayin'. It's likely illegal to purchase one of those, and ultimately would prove an unsatisfying purchase anyway.

Lewis didn't like touring with Coldplay because she feels their fans are not "music people... It's hard to play for people that really don't give a shit."

She loves Vincent Gallo and seems fondly disposed toward tiny dogs as well.

Much of the material covered will be familiar if you've read other recent interviews with Lewis. Her childhood had issues, she's "clueless" at love, but currently in an "on" part of an on/off relationship with someone CMJ does not name (but if you called him Jonathan Rice you would be accurate).

In the "What's This Song About?" feature, John Roderick of The Long Winters reveals that his songs are "all about 'being with someone.'" He's "not really interested in describing relationships that 'work.' Who cares about those people, the bastards." Never trust a wedding or anniversary card from John Roderick; it is semi-sincere at best.

CMJ compiled a list of the top 30 albums of 2005 for this issue. A best of 2005 list in mid-February? And a top 30? I love it! In the spirit of such wacky randomness, here's the top albums on their list:

1. Animal Collective - Feels
2. Sufan Stevens - Illinois
3. Dalek - Absence
(part of 4.) Wol

CMJ Issue 137 CD Track Listing:

1. Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins - Melt Your Heart (pretty good song from an album that disappointed me)
2. P.O.S. - P.O.S. Is Ruining My Life
3. Chris Mills - Escape From New York
4. Some Girls - Dead In A Web
5. Speech - Esmerelda (Speech Soul Remix)
6. Electric Six - Dance Epidemic
7. Three Fantastic - WWII
8. 3 - Alien Angel
9. Colossus - From The Lab (Colossus Remix)
10. The Churchills - I'm A Sucker For A Girl In Uniform
11. Bleeding Through - Kill To Believe
12. Chicago Afrobeat Project - Tibet On It
13. We Are The Fury - Better Off This Way
14. Everville - Eye
15. Downtown Singapore - What She Said
16. Philip Glass-Luciano Supervielle - Etude No. 2

Oasis Realize Selling Out Is Profitable, Decide It's OK After All

AT&T is using Oasis' song "All Around The World" to link the TV commercials in "the most aggressive campaign" in AT&T's history.

While "All Around The World" may be mostly "upbeat" and definitely fits the company's stated theme "All Around The World", the ad agency folks will probably want to keep snipping out lines like this as they work on this yearlong campaign:

"Take me away 'cause I just don't want to stay
And the lies you make me say
Are getting deeper every day"

The spots hit the airwaves on New Year's Eve, but only now has word leaked of how lucrative this deal is for Oasis -- it's fetching the group either a million dollars, or a million pounds, apparently.

Oasis' big paycheck might not be raising as many eyebrows if Noel Gallagher was less outspoken. Then again, if Noel Gallagher was less outspoken, how would we recognize him?

In this instance, he's being accused of hypocrisy due to his criticism of Jack White's writing a song for Coca-Cola. At the time, Noel Gallagher said, "Jack White has just done a song for Coca Cola. End of. He ceases to be in the club." (I knew there was a club!)

He added, "He's supposed to be the poster boy for the alternative way of thinking. I'm not having that, that's wrong. Particularly Coca Cola, it is like doing a gig for McDonald's."

Possible differences that make Oasis' deal morally superior to Jack White's deal:

1) AT&T, better than Coke or McDonald's? It's a communications company, after all. Why, they bring people together! They don't give them cavities or empty calories!
2) Also, maybe the boys are getting free phone service for life, I mean, c'mon, how sweet would that be?
3) Oasis sold one of their songs rather than writing one especially for AT&T. Perhaps it's a song they didn't even like at this point.
4) Oasis are not the poster boys for alternative anything so they can be held to a lower standard.
5) After Jack White left the club, man... none of them knew what to think anymore. They all just gave up on that "alternative way of thinking" thing.

The guys -- at least some of them -- will still sometimes play without massive payments. Today, Noel Gallagher and Gem Archer performed some acoustic songs on Dermot O'Leary's Radio 2 show.

Oasis is on tour through the end of March, but you'll probably have to pay to see them.

Oasis - All Around The World (from Be Here Now and AT&T ads)

Lush - Hypocrite (from Ciao! - Best of Lush)

Ben Lee Honored, Records Duet, Tours, Teases

These are busy times for Ben Lee. This week, his 2005 album Awake Is The New Sleep was nominated for the first Australian Music Prize. (The others on the shortlist for the Prize, intended as the Australian equivalent to the Mercury Prize, are the Devastations, Don and Charlie, the Drones, the Go-Betweens, Mess Hall, TZU and Tex, the Go-Betweens, and Wolfmother).

Plus, Tuesday night, he recorded a duet with Leona Naess for her next album. Lee thinks the track is called "Boyfriends".

He writes:

"it's a great song about not being ready for relationships. i get to sing the line "cos im not ready, no, not even close", which is a lyric i didnt have to get to method-y to sing with conviction :)

He also announced a U.S./Canadian tour, which kicks off tomorrow night in Connecticut. Along with his own tour, he hints rather strongly that he has a supporting gig lined up this spring as well ("why dont you have a guess at which band im supporting in the spring around the US?").

Ben Lee's Tour Dates:

February 11 - Storrs, CT - Jorgensen Center For The Performing Arts at the University Of Connecticut
Acoustic show with Lara Meyerratken and co-headlining with Ben Kweller
All Ages
8PM/$15 Students, $20 Others

March 1 - Vancouver, BC Canada - Richard's On Richards

March 2 - Portland, OR - Dante's

March 3 - Seattle, WA - Chop Suey

March 4 - Eugene, OR - John Henry's

March 6 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall

March 8 - Los Angeles, CA - Silent Movie Theatre
(2 Shows)

March 9 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah

March 12 - Nashville, TN - 3rd & Lindsley Bar & Grill

March 13 - Atlanta, GA - Smith's Olde Bar
8PM/21+ $12

March 15 - Baltimore, MD - Fletcher's

March 16 - Boston, MA - George Sherman Union at Boston University
(for BU students only)

March 17 - South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground

March 18 - Toronto - El Mocambo

Ben Lee - Ache For You (from Awake Is The New Sleep)

At Ben Lee's website, there's video of he and Tina Dico singing.

People Like What Other People Like

According to a new study, our musical preferences may be heavily influenced by the opinions of others.

When researchers gave visitors at a music downloading site information about the relative popularity of songs, they were more likely to download the most popular songs and to reject the least popular songs.

Spelling it out, Duncan J. Watts, one of the authors of the study, says, "Successful things tend to be more successful." So if you want to become successful, first try to achieve an initial success. It will make later success much easier. Watts says the same principle applies elsewhere as well.

Using the input of others as a sort of filter makes sense if you have reason to trust their opinions. Still, if they have to take popularity into account, I wish people would consider it as one factor, and not the most important one. This "success breeds success" business seems likely to water-down and homogenize popular music. What's good for the most successful artists isn't necessarily good for music fans.

The Beautiful South - Hit Parade (from Paint It Red)

Pet Shop Boys - Hit Music (from Actually)

Rilo Kiley - Pictures of Success (from Take Offs And Landings)

Sinead O'Connor - Success Has Made A Failure Of Our Home (from Am I Not Your Girl?)

New Grandaddy Songs: Skateboarding Saves Me Twice, This Is How It Always Starts

Just because Grandaddy broke up does not necessarily mean that Just Like the Fambly Cat will be their last album. The Who have gone on tour about five dozen times and released approximately 58 albums since their split.

Still... it couldn't hurt to "motivate" the guys a bit toward an early reunion by buying an extra copy of the album when it comes out on May 9 (May 8 in the UK). Finances were one of the reasons behind the split, according to the group... And it would make a pretty swell Mother's Day gift if you think your mom is hip. If she looks disappointed at the present, naturally you might feel confused and sad at the discovery that your mom is not as hip as you had thought. Don't be embarrassed to reveal your feelings: let your lower lip tremble a bit, blink those tears back if you must.

Uh, you should probably also get her some other present, though, if she might not dig Grandaddy. C'mon, she gave birth to you. And if she's like my mom she threw up a lot while she was pregnant with you too.

Oh, don't eat while reading that last sentence.

Grandaddy - Skateboarding Saves Me Twice

Grandaddy - This Is How It Always Starts

Stereophonics to Release Live Album

Stereophonics are set to release a 2-CD live album on April 3 in the UK. Live From Dakota will include 20 songs recorded on their 2005 Language.Sex.Violence.Other? tour. One track, "Jayne", is previously unreleased.

On the heels of Live From Dakota (or some weeks later anyway) will be Live. Studio. Video. Other., a DVD including a 49-minute "road movie", "dressing room footage" (alright then), as well as both live footage and videos for all the singles from Language.Sex.Violence.Other? So far, there's only a "UK press release" on Stereophonics' website; it doesn't contain any info about release dates for Live In Dakota outside the UK.

However, it does reveal that, according to singer Kelly Jones, Live In Dakota "was all about capturing an energy", not about being "note perfect." Cagey. He's already prepped a response if any reviewers accuse him of singing off-key.

Jones adds, "It's raw and to the point and I think it captures what the shows were about, no overdubs were added." That's good, but I'd add something like "Rock's supposed to be messy." I'm American, so I might tweak it to "Rock's supposed to be messy, man!" Stereophonics are Welsh, so... well, maybe I'd better not try to sound Welsh. I could do it, but when I attempt to sound Welsh, it's more about capturing the spirit and vibrancy of Wales and their populace than about an "accurate rendition".

Track Listing For Live From Dakota:

Disc One:

Superman
Doorman
A Thousand Trees
Devil
Mr Writer
Pedalpusher
Deadhead
Maybe Tomorrow
The Bartender And The Thief
Local Boy In The Photograph

Disc Two:

Hurry Up And Wait
Madame Helga
Vegas Two Times
Carrot Cake And Wine
I'm Alright (You Gotta Go There To Come Back)
Jayne
Too Many Sandwiches
Traffic
Just Looking
Dakota

Stereophonics - A Thousand Trees (Live At Oxford Zodiac) (from one of the "A Thousand Trees" singles)

Stereophonics - Local Boy In The Photograph (from Word Gets Around, and a single)

And it's not on the album, but covers are fun...

Stereophonics - Sunny Afternoon (Kinks cover, from one of the "Just Looking" singles)

South by Southwest Contest

The South by Southwest folks are giving away a trip for two to the music festival this March in Austin. Enter by February 17 11:59 PST for a chance to "be referred to hereinafter as the 'Winner'", go to Texas, and see more musicians than you can shake a bolo tie at. Among the artists confirmed to perform at "SXSW" next month: Aberfeldy, Art Brut, Billy Bragg, Cerys Matthews, The Deathray Davies, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Elected, The Electric Soft Parade, Goldfrapp, Gemma Hayes, Her Space Holiday, Susanna Hoffs & Matthew Sweet, Ted Leo/Pharmacists, Magnet, Rhett Miller, Minus the Bear, Mogwai, Morrissey, The Most Serene Republic, Mystery Jets, Neko Case, The New Pornographers, Of Montreal, The Rakes, Ratatat, and The Silent League.

Wolfmother - Colossal (from Wolfmother)

If you'll be 1) in the L.A. area on Valentine's Day and 2) in the mood for some psychedelic rock, head to Amoeba Music in Hollywood, where Wolfmother is set to play a free show at 7:00 PM.

The Deathray Davies - Is This On? (from The Day Of The Ray)

Aberfeldy - Vegetarian Restaurant (from Young Forever)

Ted Leo/The Pharmacists - Biomusicology (from The Tyranny Of Distance)

Gemma Hayes - Hanging Around (from Night On My Side)

The Most Serene Republic - The Protagonist Suddenly Realizes What He Must Do In The Middle Of Downtown Traffic (from Underwater Cinematographer)

Bono Is Lazy/RIAA: Still Bad/Split Enz Covers

A Hodgepodge tonight...

Via Slashdot, a couple of interesting stories:

One tips us off to the disturbing news that Bono called a tech support guy to hook up his Xbox. This weirdness and other encounters between techies and celebrities in need are detailed in a Wall Street Journal article, but the Bono story is perhaps the best example of a man who simply has too much money. He simply can't be that clueless and lazy, can he?

Also from Slashdot, a story that reads like an Onion piece: a woman "who has never bought, used, or even turned on a computer in her life" has been sued by the RIAA. Ridiculous, and yet should this kind of thing surprise us anymore? I think we should be concerned about Amish people and Luddites at this point. Babies too. Please won't someone think of the babies? But mostly the Amish and the Luddites? They probably don't read Slashdot or blogs.

On an entirely unrelated note: two more Split Enz covers because one wasn't enough... and both of these are quite good:

Ted Leo/The Pharmacists - Six Months In A Leaky Boat (from Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is Dead)

Amiel - One Step Ahead (from She Will Have Her Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn)

Mojo's 50 Greatest British Tracks Ever & Readers' Poll

The latest Mojo includes a list of the 50 Greatest British Tracks Ever... according to Mojo.

The mag. picked songs from 1967 on, allowed one song per artist, and "each track [was] picked for its decidedly British lyrical or musical flavour." So there's nothing about quality per se in the criteria, and this is really more like "The 50 Most British Tracks Ever".

The List (not numbered in the mag... likely #1-50):

The Beatles - Penny Lane
Small Faces - Itchycoo Park (from The Best of Small Faces, etc.)
Pink Floyd - Arnold Layne
Cat Stevens - Matthew & Son
Kaleidoscope - Mr. Small The Watch Repairer Man
Keith West - Excerpt From A Teenage Opera
Van Morrison - Madame George
The Pretty Things - SF Sorrow Is Born
The Bonzo Dog Band - My Pink Half Of The Drainpipe
Fairport Convention - Who Knows Where The Time Goes (from The History Of Fairport Convention, etc.)
Nick Drake - At The Chime Of A City Clock (from Bryter Layter, etc.)
Vashti Bunyan - Diamond Day
Mott The Hoople - All The Young Dudes
Clifford T Ward - Home Thoughts From Abroad
Genesis - I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)
The Who - 5:15
Roy Harper - When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease
Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen
Ian Dury - Plaistow Patricia
Television Personalities - Part-Time Punks
Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights
Dire Straits - Sultans Of Swing
Sham 69 - Hurry Up Harry
Poet And The Roots - All We Doin' Is Defendin'
Squeeze - Up The Junction
The Clash - Something About England
The Fall - English Scheme
The Jam - That's Entertainment
The Specials - Ghost Town
Madness - Our House
Billy Bragg - A New England
Elvis Costello - Shipbuilding
Yeah Yeah Noh - There's Another Side To Mrs. Quill
Pet Shop Boys - Suburbia (from Discography, etc.)
The Smiths - Panic
The Pogues - A Rainy Night In Soho
Robert Wyatt - Pigs... (In There)
Morrissey - Every Day Is Like Sunday
XTC - Chalkhills & Children (from Oranges & Lemons, etc.)
Inspiral Carpets - This Is How It Feels (from Life)
The Ruthless Rap Assassins - And It Wasn't A Dream
Blur - For Tomorrow (from Modern Life is Rubbish)
Saint Etienne - Hobart Paving
Suede - The Wild Ones
Pulp - Common People
Roots Manuva - Witness (One Hope)
The Libertines - Time For Heroes
The Streets - Dry Your Eyes (from A Grand Don't Come For Free)
Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot
Arctic Monkeys - A Certain Romance

Also in Mojo, the results of their 2005 readers' poll:

Artist Of The Year:

1. Antony and the Johnsons
2. Arcade Fire
3. Bob Dylan
4. Kate Bush
5. U2
6. Franz Ferdinand
7. Paul Weller
8. Bruce Springsteen
9. The Go-Betweens
10. The White Stripes

Newcomer Of The Year:

1. Arcade Fire
2. The Magic Numbers
3. Arctic Monkeys
4. Antony and the Johnsons
5. KT Tunstall
6. Black Mountain
7. Hal
8. Bloc Party
9. Editors (who they foolishly call "The Editors"; they love them, but not well enough to know their name?)
10. Edgar "Jones" Jones

Album Of The Year:

1. Arcade Fire - Funeral
2. Antony and the Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now
3. Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise
4. The Go Betweens - Oceans Apart
5. Kate Bush - Aerial
6. The Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers
7. The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
8. Bruce Springsteen - Devils & Dust
9. My Morning Jacket - Z
10. Paul Weller - As Is Now

Unsung Hero:

1. Richard Hawley
2. Devendra Banhart
3. Mark E. Smith
4. Ryan Adams
5. Kanye West
6. John Hiatt
7. John Martyn
8. Dr. John
9. Billy Bragg
10. John Cale

Book Of The Year:

1. Margrave Of The Marshes - John Peel and Sheila Ravenscroft
2. Chronicles Vol. 1 - Bob Dylan
3. John, Paul, George, Ringo And Me - Tony Barrow
4. The Bob Dylan Scrapbook - Robert Santelli
5. Kids In The Riot: The Libertines - Peter Welsh
6. Dylan: Visions, Portraits & Back Pages - Edited by Mark Blake
7. Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix - Charles R. Cross
8. Rip It Up And Start Again - Simon Reynolds
9. Paintings Of A Backwater Visionary - Billy Childish
10. Van Morrison: No Surrender - Johnny Rogan

Bob Dylan's The Bootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home won the Reissue of The Year category and his "No Direction Home" won in the DVD Of The Year category.

The White Stripes were named Live Act of The Year and Pink Floyd re-forming at Live Aid took Event Of The Year.

Readers picked Babyshambles as the Musical Lowpoint of 2005 and Pete Doherty as the Unconscionable Rogue of the year.

Mojo March Magazine & Kinks Covers CD

The Kinks sneer at the reader from the cover of the March 2006 Mojo, but in a friendly retro way. The headline reads " The Kinks. 'Laugh? We Nearly Died!' The Rise. The Fall. The Shocking Truth. By Ray Davies." The free CD this month, The Modern Genius of Ray Davies, includes Kinks covers, three recorded exclusively for Mojo.

In the mag: interviews with John Lydon and Damian Marley, an article about Talk Talk, a look back at the Apollo as it was in the 1960s, and lists of the 50 greatest British songs and the results of their best-of-2005 readers' poll (both of which I'll write about in a separate post).

Revealed in this month's Mojo:

- The Pet Shop Boys' next album, Fundamental, out April 17 in the UK, will be their first with a drummer. Neil Tennant offers fans this attempt at reassurance, "It's OK, he also plays with Air." Trevor Horn produces "an album full of 'epics' you can dance to." Songs include: "Luna Park", "Casanova In Hell", "The Sodom And Gomorrah Show", and "Psychological".

- Scritti Politti's first new album in seven years (title TBD) is out April 10 in the UK. Producer Green Gartside says, "It's an album of me playing around with myself in the back room." Songs include "Empty" and "Boom Boom Bap".

- Spoon-bending maestro Uri Geller enjoys Nizlopi's Half These Songs Are About You (he met the group's singer/guitarist Luke Concannon on a plane and Concannon gave him a signed copy. No word on whether Geller him a bent spoon).

- The first single Rufus Wainwright ever bought was "The Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats, back in 1982.

- My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields has complained of noise from a pub near his home and is opposing its application for a late license. Shields says, "As a musician I really object to being forced to listen to music I don't like." Me too, Kevin, though I have used your music (which I love) as a weapon. (Mojo's subheadline for this story: "Keep That Racket Down, Demands Kevin Shields, Without A Trace Of Irony")


Mojo: The Modern Genius of Ray Davies Track Listing:

1. Fountains of Wayne - Better Things (from This Is Where I Belong - The Songs Of Ray Davies & The Kinks. I love their version)
2. Steve Wynn - This Strange Effect
3. Redd Kross - Fancy (from the "Lady In The Front Row" single)
4. Mudhoney - Who Will Be The Next In Line
5. The Thanes - You Shouldn't Be Sad
6. Bill Lloyd - This Is Where I Belong
7. The Green Pajamas - A Long Way From Home (exclusive to Mojo)
8. Yo La Tengo - No Return (from Little Honda)
9. Kevin Tihista - Situation Vacant (exclusive to Mojo)
10. The Blue Aeroplanes - Big Sky
11. Holly Golightly - Tell Me Now So I Know (from Truly She Is None Other and the soundtrack to Broken Flowers)
12. Peter Bruntnell - Waterloo Sunset (exclusive to Mojo)
13. Mark Lanegan - Nothin In The World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl
14. Ed Kuepper - Steam Train
15. Gravenhurst - See My Friends

The Word Magazine: February Issue and CD

The Man in Black is on the cover of the latest issue of The Word, leading the guy I bought it from to believe this month's CD has a Cash covers theme. The Word seems content to leave covers compilations to the other guys (Mojo, for one, had a Cash Covered CD a couple years ago). The Word's CDs are consistently eclectic and interesting (in a good way), which is enough of a theme for me.

The cover story offers a look at Johnny Cash's relationship with his brother Jack, and the impact of his death on Johnny.

A feature examines the weirdness of big-name musicians playing at private parties: how it works, how pricey it can get, and who won't do it (i.e. Bruce Springsteen).

The Word "arbitrarily" names the 30 worst cover versions ever, including Sixpence None the Richer's "There She Goes", Roxy Music's "Jealous Guy", Oasis' "Street Fighting Man", Duran Duran's "911 Is A Joke", Jimmy Eat World's "Firestarter", Paul Young's "Love Will Tear Us Apart", David Gray's "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye", and their choice for worst of all... Rod Stewart's cover of Stereophonics' "Cigarettes And Alcohol".

They think the 30 best covers are:

30. The Beat - Can't Get Used to Losing You
29. Johnny Cash - One
28. Pet Shop Boys - Always On My Mind
27. Sita - Bizarre Love Triangle
26. The Beatles - Twist And Shout
25. The Associates - Heart Of Glass
24. Beck - Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime
23. The Soup Dragons - I'm Free
22. The Clash - Police And Thieves
21. Vanilla Fudge - You Keep Me Hanging On
20. The Pretenders - Stop Your Sobbing (from Pretenders, etc.)
19. Radiohead - Nobody Does It Better
18. Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah
17. William Shatner - Common People
16. Futureheads - Hounds of Love
15. Robert Wyatt - I'm A Believer
14. Elvis Costello - Tomorrow's Just Another Day
13. Scissor Sisters - Comfortably Numb
12. Soft Cell - Tainted Love
11. Yes - America
10. Blancmange - The Day Before You Came
9. Saint Etienne - Only Love Can Break Your Heart
8. Kathryn Williams - All Apologies
7. Dani Siciliano - Come As You Are (from ...Likes)
6. Urge Overkill - Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon
5. Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinead O'Connor
4. ZZ Top - Viva Las Vegas
3. The Human League - Rock And Roll/Nightclubbing
2. kd lang - Crying
1. Fiona Apple - Across The Universe

A piece called "How to Read A Men's Magazine" translates headlines such as "[Male Celebrity] Grows Up" for your convenience. (That one means "[Male Celebrity] Grows A Beard.")

An interview with Julian Cope yields this advice: "don't invest even a moment of energy playing in a country whose climate you don't like, whose food you don't like, whose women you don't fancy. You could accidentally become successful there and have to go there to earn dosh." (happened to him with Germany)

There's also the Jenny Lewis interview mandatory for all magazines, of course, and her album receives a positive review. The reviewer didn't care for "Handle With Care", but is pretty keen on the rest. I didn't think much of Lewis' Rabbit Fur Coat though I love Rilo Kiley (and, since comparing their side projects is all the rage, I was much more impressed by The Elected's Sun, Sun, Sun)

I'm more interested in Boo Hewerdine, whose Harmonograph also receives a strong review. I like his song "Patience Of Angels", which appears on this month's CD. According to the review, "Harmonograph starts off sounding like a lightweight thing, but give it a week and it's following you around."

Word Magazine February 2006 CD Track Listing:

1. The Hazey Janes - Don't Look Away (from Hotel Radio)
2. Coldcut feat. Roots Manuva - True Skool (from Sound Mirrors)
3. The Eighteenth Day Of May - Sir Casey Jones
4. Big Jay McNeely - The Deacon's Hop (from Zoot Suit Riot!: Instrumental R&B Smash Hits of the 1950s)
5. Rilo Kiley - Science vs. Romance (awesome song from one of my favorite groups; included on the CD because the album has been reissued in the UK)
6. Boo Hewerdine - Patience Of Angels (from Harmonograph)

YSI is having "issues" which hopefully will resolve soon. The links will all work once YSI is up-and-running. I posted two songs on RapidShare in the meantime:

Big Jay McNeely - The Deacon's Hop

Boo Hewerdine - Patience Of Angels


7. Sparks - (Baby, Baby) Can I Invade Your Country?
8. Broken Social Scene - 7/4 (Shoreline)
9. Christina Kulukundis - Say It To Me Now
10. Moondog - Fog On The Hudson (425 W 57th Street)
11. Amy Allison - Don't You Know Anything
12. The Long Winters - Delicate Hands (from the EP Ultimatum)
13. Dr. John and the Lower 911 - Calm In The Storm
14. Bright Eyes - Method Acting

From Mojo: Cash Covered:

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Singer

Michelle Shocked - One Piece At A Time

Shocked is playing a couple of in-stores in California this month along with artist David Willardson - she says "he'll paint while I play songs old and new. Bring the kids!" Unless "the kids" is slang for "your homies", not everyone has kids to bring, Michelle! Is child rental required? If someone behaves in an immature fashion, will the "bring the kids" requirement be waived?

Last year Shocked simultaneously released a trilogy of albums, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Got No Strings, and Mexican Standoff. They can be purchased separately or as the cheekily-titled digipack, Threesome.

Shocked's in-stores:

Feb. 16 - 7:30 PM - Borders Books & Music - 1360 Westwood Blvd Los Angeles
Feb. 18 - 2:00 PM - Borders Books & Music - 900 State St Santa Barbara

Feb. 26th she'll perform at the Boulder Theater with The Gourds (and her "kid brother", Max - who is probably not even technically a kid). March 3rd, she has a concert in Paris at the Sunset Club. French people (and those in Colorado) have to pay to see her play, but not Californians. Although some sort of child sacrifice might be required of Californians; maybe that's the catch.

Split Enz Regroups; Fans Already Tired of "History Never Repeats" Jokes

If January is "breakup month", perhaps February is the month for reunions. At a press conference today, Split Enz revealed plans for a reunion tour in June. While only 5 dates, all in Australia, have been booked so far, Tim Finn said dates in the band's native New Zealand are likely and that he would like to play in Los Angeles, New York, and London. "Let's wait and see" was the band's on-the-record response today to the question of a new studio album.

While reunion rumors have circulated for years, Tim Finn said the band only decided to make a go of it after playing two shows in association with their induction into the Australian Recording Industry Association Hall Of Fame last year. "There was an electricity there," apparently a good kind. The group played some songs during the press conference, including, "Message To My Girl", perhaps to demonstrate the power of that tingly stuff.

Split Enz formed in 1972 and went through 13 band-member changes in 12 years. The incarnation of the group involved in the reunion is the same lineup responsible for the album True Colours (which included "I Got You", their breakthrough hit). That lineup consists of Tim and Neil Finn (vocals and guitar), Eddie Rayner (keyboards), Noel Crombie (percussion/stylist/set designer), Nigel Griggs (bass), and Malcolm Green (drums).

Dates announced thus far:

Wednesday June 7 Brisbane Entertainment Centre

Friday June 9 Sydney Entertainment Centre

Sunday June 11 Melbourne Rod Laver Arena

Tuesday June 13 Adelaide Entertainment Centre

Friday June 16 Perth Burswood Dome

Tickets for all go on sale Feb. 21 9:00 AM (Australia time, methinks)

Split Enz - History Never Repeats (from Corroborree, etc.)

Split Enz - I See Red (live) (from Anniversary)

Split Enz - Six Months In A Leaky Boat (from Time & Tide, etc.)

Little Birdy - Six Months In A Leaky Boat (cover, from She Will Have Her Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn)