Radiohead coming to St. Louis next tour
UPDATE: according to a Pitchfork post, 05-14 St. Louis, MO – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
So it’s been confirmed, Radiohead will play St. Louis on this tour; what incredible news. I last saw them during the tour for The Bends, far, far too long ago. “St. Louis is confirmed as a stop on British rock band Radiohead’s upcoming North American tour. Exact dates and venues are to be announced. The tour will be broken down in two parts – a first leg prior to a European summer tour, and another leg after the European tour. Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” CD is the top-selling album in the country this week.“ F – yes! I have seen far too many concerts of them on video – must see the new shit live…so damn cool.
Best music of 2007
It’s that time again, our annual list of our favorite music from each year. New for 2007’s best of list is far more detail and interactivity than before, and it’s even linked to the fak3r’s aStore at Amazon in case you want to pick up any of the recommendations from the page, how convenient!. As always, scroll to the bottom for picks from years past. Leave comments here if you have ones you disagree with, or ones we missed. See ya next year…
They Might Be Giants
Last night at Dinner, my son, soon to be 5, let it be known that his favorite They Might Be Giants album is Flood. My kids got into TMBG after we got them the band’s first kids cd, NO!, followed by the amazing Here Come The ABCs on both cd and DVD (*highly* recommended if you have kids). A greatest hits compilation, A User’s Guide… rounds out the bunch which gives them a wider swath of material to judge TMBG, who now perform family shows, as well as the traditional 21 and over shows, while on tour. Of couse his mention of Flood being his favorite only reminded me that I still need to burn him a copy of Lincoln, and also about the time I bought their first release, They Might Be Giants (pictured) on vinyl in 1986. At the time it was only available on vinyl, so I had to go to a friend’s house who had his parent’s stereo setup with a good turntable so I could tape it, and then play it in my car. Yeah, that’s funny, both in how long ago it was, and that I remember all of it. As I’ve mentioned before, I love music, and even the act of visiting a music store is some religious experince for me, there’s no telling what will happen that I’ll be retelling some 20 years later…
Music that stands the test of time
Carrie Brownstein (former Sleater-Kinney guitarist) now has a great blog on NPR called Monitor Mix. A recent post talked about her learning what bands were important to her father over the years, and it leads to a question I’ve always wondered, what music that is important to us be as important for our kids when they grow up? In other words, what will make the jump. I posted a comment, and the submission form wouldn’t let me post it! I’ll try again later, but for now I’ve put it here. What bands are important to you, or were growing up, that you can see making the jump to the next generation? (more…)
Paul Raven dead of a heart attack
Wow, here’s an unexpected blast from the past, Paul Raven, bass player for industrial bands that I used to love like Pigface and Murder, Inc., as well as Killing Joke and Ministry contributer, has died in his sleep of a heart attack in France at the age of 46. “MINISTRY bassist Paul Raven was found dead yesterday (Saturday, October 20) in a private home in a small French village on the Swiss border after suffering an apparent heart attack. Raven (who is also known for his work with KILLING JOKE and PRONG) was in Geneva working with French recording artists TREPONEM PAL on their new release alongside drummer Ted Parsons (PRONG) and members of THE YOUNG GODS. Born in Wolverhampton, UK on January 16, 1961, Paul Vincent Raven established himself with his work in the seminal post-punk/industrial act KILLING JOKE after he replaced the band’s original bassist in 1982, recording and touring with the group throughout its most commercially successful period, performing on “Fire Dances”, “Night Time” and “Brighter than a Thousand Suns”. Throughout his extensive career, Raven participated in other collaborations, including PRONG, MURDER, INC., PIGFACE and GODFLESH. Most recently, Raven was nominated for a 2006 Grammy for “Best Metal Performance” for his work with MINISTRY’s Al Jourgensen, with whom he had begun collaborating in late 2005 on the MINISTRY release “Rio Grande Blood”. After a 2006 world tour with the group, Raven helped Jourgensen and PRONG’s Tommy Victor pen the latest MINISTRY CD, “The Last Sucker”, which is also the band’s final studio release.” While much of the industrial music I dug years ago (listed above, and bands like Skinny Puppy, Nitzer Ebb, Revolting Cocks and the like) haven’t stood the test of time, I need to break out the Murder, Inc. CD and give it another go. The combination of rhythm with Chris Connelly’s vocals made it a classic industrial record, with Paul Raven and the then current incarnation of Killing Joke.
Johnny Marr: ‘The Smiths might reform’
So last week we thought the biggest Johnny Marr (who is currently still touring with Modest Mouse) news was that he’s ”…been announced as Salford’s new professor of music. Not just an honorary title, Marr’s responsibilities will include hosting workshops on the composition and performance of popular music.” Salford University is in Manchester, England, where Johnny was born, and the Salford Lads Club is famously featured in an indside picture of The Smiths 1985 release, The Queen Is Dead. So while that’s pretty cool, the fact that he’s going to be teaching 
students about music in a Unversity, it’s nothing compared to what he blurted out this week. Johnny Marr has said that The Smiths may reform. While it’s been rumored to be in the works (with offers being made) for years, no one in the band has ever said it would ever happen, so that he’s not ruling it out seems a big change. “Different members of the band have ruled out offers of reuniting over the years, with Morrissey most recently revealing that he turned down a near $80 million offer to tour again. He added: “It’s no biggie. Maybe we will in 10 or 15 years time, when we all need to for whatever reasons, but right now Morrissey is doing his thing and I’m doing mine–so that’s the answer, really.” O’RLY? It’s no BIGGIE? To WHO? Are you KIDDING ME? “Marr has said that “stranger things have happened.” He added: “Not much stranger things, but stranger things have happened. So you know who knows.” … “Right now I am personally working in a band that I have been in for the last 2 years, with Modest Mouse,” he told the BBC. “You know we are doing a lot of good stuff and kind of strikes me, hits me with surprise really whenever I’m asked it because I’m like well if you are interested in what I’m doing, there is a record I put out in February that a lot of people like so why would I want to talk about a band I was in 20 years ago.” Um, hello, because that band was The Smiths, a huge band for many from the era, yours truly included. I’ve really liked Modest Mouse for years now, and am really excited about Marr’s contribution there, but come on, to act surprised that people are more interested in The Smiths?
np – The Smiths “Strangeways Here We Come”
The Verve reuniting
Of all the brit pop bands to have gone away, The Verve were a great one, and a fitting one to reunite. “Silent since 1999, U.K. rock act the Verve is reuniting for a new album and fall live dates. According to a post on the group’s newly launched Web site, Richard Ashcroft, Nick McCabe, Simon Jones and Pete Salisbury were in a London studio last week laying down tracks for the album, which will be completed in the fall. [...] It appears guitarist/keyboardist Simon Tong, who was last heard from in the Good, the Bad and the Queen, is sitting out the reunion.” I have all of their cds, but the only time I saw them live was a tour for their first cd, back in ‘94. At the time I think some in the band were only 19…great, great set though. That first cd takes me back to working in the art gallery, at a time where I was drinking too much (coffee and beer) while making no money, but having the time of my life seeing bands.
The Good, The Bad, and The Queen
This is just a crazy Brit supergroup, The Good, The Bad and The Queen features Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz), Paul Simonon (The Clash), Simon Tong (The Verve) and Tony Allen (Africa 70, Fela Kuti). All of these guys have solid pedigrees coming into this project, add to that Damon who is on a tear with everything outside of Blur that he touches. Oh, did I mention who’s producing? Yeah, that’d be Dangermouse, who again, seems to have a golden halo lighting everything he’s near. Let’s see, so we have Brit-Pop, Punk, Hip Hop, and Afrobeat…and production by the cat who gave us “The Grey Album” and the fantastic “Mouse and the Mask” along with MF Doom. The debut disc by The Good, The Bad, and The Queen, Kingdom of Doom, will drop on January 22nd in the UK, and the following day over here. Give this track a listen, I think it’s going to be a happy new year indeed.
The Good, The Bad, and The Queen – History Song
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Ultra-rare Velvet Underground Vinyl on eBay for over $100K – DENIED
UPDATE4: The top bid(s) were bogus, and the auction ended without a buyer. Looks like it was too good to be true. Regardless, sounds like he’s going to give it another go, “Montreal man thwarted in eBay auction of rare record to try again” As always there’s some fun Monday morning quarterbacking going on over at digg.com on the issue.
UPDATE3: The auction is over, winning bid $155,401.00
UPDATE2: I’ve found more info on the original recording (and the likely source of the FLAC posted for download here – which while it has plenty of surface noise is still very, very cool) plus a full listing of this record on a VU archives site. Check it after the jump.
UPDATE: Some are saying that some of the bids are bogus, just people looking for their “15 minutes of fame” (Warhol pun intended!)
There is an extremely rare acetate Velvet Underground record that was found at a NYC flea market years ago is now up on eBay, the highest bid at this moment is at $110,100.00! Oh, and there’s still over 4 days to go on the bidding! The story is the stuff of any record collector’s dream, “In September of 2002 Warren Hill of Montreal Canada was perusing a box of records at a Chelsea, New York street sale when he happened upon a nice Leadbelly 10″ on Folkways, a water damaged copy of the first Modern Lovers LP on Beserkely, and a brittle 12″ piece of acetone-covered aluminum with the words “Velvet Underground. 4-25-66. Att N. Dolph” written on the label. He purchased the three records for 75 cents each.“So the skinny on the recording is that this acetate is the recording of what would have been VU’s first album, Velvet Underground with Nico, as Andy Warhol recorded it. For me nothing beats Loaded, but Velvet Underground with Nico is how I got into VU, so this is amazingly cool. Goldmine Magazine describes the research of the recording:
…We cued it up and were stunned — the first song was not “Sunday Morning” as on the Velvet Underground & Nico” Verve LP, but rather it was “European Son”- the song that is last on that LP, and it was a version neither of us had ever heard before! It was less bombastic and more bluesy than the released version, and it clocked in at a full two minutes longer. I immediately took the needle off the record, and realized that we had something special. Between the two of us we had heard many Velvets outtakes on both official and less than official releases, but the present material had never been heard by either of us. [...] The recording is comprised of the primitive first “finished” version of the LP that Andy Warhol had shopped to Columbia as a ready-to-release debut album by his protege collective “The Velvet Underground”. This acetate, which is possibly the only surviving copy, represents the first Velvet Underground album as Andy Warhol intended it to be released.
I’m holding out hope that this is bought by a label or someone who releases it to the public; I’ll buy it (not for +100,000$ though…) In the meantime, someone has released what they say is the same thing in Flac format, get the links from the comments section in the original article. I *think* this is the same thing that can be found on P2P networks labeled: Velvet Underground and Nico – 1966-4 Scepter Studios, Norman Dolph Acetate
(more…)
Hi, I'm fak3r and I've been online for over 15 years, blogging for 10. I work with open source software, various hardware and whatever else that I can hack on. I enjoy learning by doing, painting infrequently and listening to more music than the law allows. Feel free to follow me and comment on my thoughts and ideas; we're all in it together kid.
Record Store Day – April 18, 2009
UPDATE: read Euclid Records excellent post from last year by the owner Joe, “Record Store Day: What It Means To You and Me” for some insight into why you should care and participate in RSD
If you’re like me, you can’t wait for Record Store Day 2009. If you were with me last year, you’ll recall that I blogged about it and gave my review of it afterward – I really enjoyed walking up to Euclid Records where I saw the same old staff I’ve seen for years, along with people from the neighbor hood, a local(ish) band play (which my *kids* said were too loud (win!)) and of course picked up some new music. This year’s event will be April 18th, and you know I’m saving my pennies for the day. I think this year I’ll surprise the staff with some donuts to kick the day off right! If not for local music shops, the music world would be even less human, here’s to them rallying a comeback around the world. As, looks like this year bands and artists are seeing the value of having a day devoted to the music merchants, and are chipping in a bunch of exclusive releases to celebrate.
Mar 16, 2009 | Categories: commentary, featured, headline, music, news | Tags: bands, independant, indie, local, music, record store day, record stores, records | View Comments