Quick News

After having to cancel a slew of dates in Europe, Depeche Mode's "Tour of the Universe" will resume in Germany next month after singer Dave Gahan fell ill with gastroenteritis. Yet as further tests revealed, doctors found a low-grade malignant tumour on the singers stomach. It has now successfully been removed and the legendary front man will be able to hit the road again in a few weeks.

Sigur Ros are in their native Iceland recording their new record. The untitled album is currently being worked on without singer Jonsi Birgisson as he is working on his solo record and readying his new side project Riceboy Sleeps. The band released a statement saying "the recordings have been going very well and that the album is taking form as a slower and more ambient record than með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust and takk." The album is due out sometime in 2010.

Jarvis Cocker has done a great track by track featurette for NME magazine on his latest record Further Complications. Check out why Jarvis says his new album is "about fucking a lot of people." Click HERE to go see why..

Keane on Fallon

The UK pop group took the stage on Jimmy Fallon earlier this week, check out the clip above!

Jeff Buckley Tracklisting

The late Jeff Buckley's legendary debut album Grace is set to turn 15 years old next month. As mentioned a few months back, Buckley's estate will remember the singer and album with Grace Around the World, a live CD/DVD set. Here is the tracklisting for both the CD and DVD below, Grace Around the World is out June 2.

1. “Grace” (BBC Late Show, London, 1/17/95)
2. “So Real” (Live Aus Dem Sudbahnhof tv, Frankfurt, Germany, 2/24/95)
3. “Mojo Pin” (Live Aus Dem Sudbahnhof tv, Frankfurt, Germany, 2/24/95)
4. “What Will You Say” (Live Aus Dem Sudbahnhof tv, Frankfurt, Germany, 2/24/95)
5. “Hallelujah” (MTV Japan, 1/31/95)
6. “Dream Brother” (Howlin Wolf, New Orleans, 12/2/94)
7. “Eternal Life” (MTV’s Most Wanted, London, 3/3/95)
8. “Last Goodbye” (MTV’s Most Wanted, London, 3/3/95)
9. “Lover You Should Have Come Over” (JBTV Chicago, 11/8/94)
10. “Lilac Wine” (MTV Europe, Eurokeenes Festival, Belfort, France, 7/9/95)
11. “Grace” (MTV’s 120 Minutes, USA, 01/15/95)
12. “So Real” (MTV’s 120 Minutes, USA, 01/15/95)

Beastie Boys on Fallon

What a way to finish off the weekend then a little Beastie Boys on Jimmy Fallon from Memorial Day Monday night. Check out the Brooklyn legends backed by The Roots as they perform "So Whatcha Want."

Green Day on Letterman

Green Day had a very busy week in NYC last week with two sold out secret club shows, an appearance on The Colbert Report and Good Morning America, yet the punk heavyweights capped it off with Dave on Friday night. Check out the California trio performing "East Jesus Nowhere" off their stellar new album 21st Century Breakdown.

Quick News

The Beastie Boys have given a title to their forthcoming record, the album HOT SAUCE COMMITTEE will be out in September and is the band's first since 2007's instrumental The Mix Up.

Muse have also given a name and release date to their latest record. The album The Resistance will be out in September just in time as the band is in America to support U2 on their 360 tour.

Its been one of the most anticipated hip-hop records of the year, if not one of all time, no not Dr. Dre's Detox, but Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon's Cuban Linx sequel. The debut Only Built for Cuban Linx was released in 1995 and now 14 years later, Cuban Linx II will be out in August.

The lineup for the annual greatest music festival in history Glastonbury has been officially announced. The long going UK festival has taped Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and Blur as headliners, with others including Jarvis Cocker, White Lies, The Wombats, Lily Allen, Bloc Party, Glasvegas, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Q-Tip, The Streets, Maximo Park and Franz Ferdinand among others. For more info head on over to http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/

Trent Reznor and Tom Morrello Kick out the Jams!

So the NIN/JA 2009 tour kicked off last week and as promised Trent Reznor delivered on making sure to keeping fans on their toes..check him out guesting with Tom Morrello's new band Street Sweeper Social Club doing the MC5 classic "Kick out the Jams"

Live Review - Jonah Matranga @ Mercury Lounge

Certain artists come into your life either by choice or by pure accident. Someone like Jonah Matranga, the most underrated man in music today, is a healthy combination of both for me. Back when I was working at my college radio station, WQAQ, he had headlined our 2004 spring concert under the name onelinedrawing. It was then when his music came into my life and changed the way I looked at musicians. His music is honest as it is ironic, it is soft as it is aggressive, it is tender as it is sweet and his live shows are an intimate look into a man's personal life on display. At his most vulnerable is when we learn the most about Jonah during his shows. He will discuss everything from past relationships to sexuality to other bands he has been in and he has been in a ton. Tonight at Mercury Lounge was no exception, this was the fifth time I had seen Mr. Matranga and I always seem to walk away from his shows a much more humble human being. Tonight was a quick 60 minute set that featured rare onelinedrawing songs, songs from his band Far and songs from other artists. Opening his show with Weezer's "Say It Aint So," it set the tone for the rest of the nights festivities, he also managed to include covers of Genuine's "Pony," and Van Halen's "Jump," throughout the set. Yet, Jonah will never do anything quiet, he talked about his take on last nights new American Idol, the new Far record (due sometime next year) and his career. Jonah's career has always been about being true to himself and never anyone else. He bought into corporate labels, but left it behind and is probably the happiest person in today's world going to work everyday and doing what he loves. It is a basic operation, just a name and his guitar with beats coming from his Ipod. Jonah was naming the price of his music long before Radiohead, he was giving it away for free before Trent Reznor and was meeting fans and talking to them after shows as a real person and not a musician or some corporate slave. If everything in life was like a Jonah show, the world would be a better place.

Quick News

It has been rather quiet on the front of my December Rising Artist pick, the UK's Blue Knives. However, I got a great message this morning from the band hearing that there debut album is done. This is a hell of a band and you should all check them out. Click HERE to read my interview with them from December.

The newly reunited Blur have set their sites on playing more gigs outside of their three big festival appearances and warm up gigs in England in June. They also have their eyes set on coming to the US! Stay Tuned....

As Tall As Lions have announced the release date and tracklisting to their forthcoming and much anticipated new album, You Can't Take It With You. The record is out August 18 and here is the track listing below:
1.Circles
2. Sixes & Sevens
3. You Can't Take It With You
4. Go Easy
5. Duermete
6. In Case of Rapture
7. We's Been Waitin'
8. Is This Tomorrow?
9. Sleepyhead
10. The Narrows
11. Lost My Mind
As Tall As Lions will be on the road all summer, be sure to catch them! Plus check out my interview with the band from April HERE.

Decemberists on Leno

Check out The Decemberists performing on The Tonight Show just a couple weeks ago...

Quick News

The web was on fire today as Radiohead are officially in the studio working on the follow up to 2007's In Rainbows. Longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Goodrich is helming the project and bassist Colin Greenwood told BBC this weekend “It’s at the stage where we’ve got the big Lego box out and we’ve tipped it out on the floor and we’re just looking at all the bits and thinking ‘What’s next?’ I’m very impressed and grateful for Nigel our producer and his ability to make it all sound vaguely plausible.”

In related news, the original college rockers REM are also laying down the ground work on the follow up to last years best album, Accelerate. Guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills are in Oregon demoing new music before it goes off to Michael Stipe for lyrics.

The newly reunited Blink 182 will hit the road this summer in what seems to be the biggest pop-punk tour of all time with Weezer and Fall Out Boy opening all dates.

Sigur Ros front man is taking time out from his side project Riceboy Sleeps to remix one of my favorite bands Depeche Mode. Jon Þor Birgisson of Sigor Ros will remix the track "Peace" off Depeche Mode's latest Sounds of the Universe. Also on hand to remix the legendary synth rockers is new synth rockers MGMT as they are set to remix "Fragile Tension." Depeche Mode just recently had to cancel five dates in Europe as singer Dave Gahan came down with stomach flu, the band is up and running and will hit the US late summer with two sold out nights at New York's Madison Square Garden and a headlining slot at Lollapalooza.

Our Lady Peace Tracklisting

Our Lady Peace have revealed the track listing to their forthcoming album Burn, Burn! The album is the band's first since 2005's Healthy in Paranoid Times. Burn, Burn! is slated to hit stores July 21 and the first single "All You Did Was Save My Life," will be out May 25 and you can hear it now on the band run website ourladypeace.net. Here is the track listing to Burn, Burn!

1.) "All You Did Was Save My Life"
2.) "Dreamland"
3.) "Monkey Brains"
4.) "Never Get Over You"
5.) "Escape Artist"
6.) "Refuge"
7.) "The Right Stuff"
8.) "Paper Moon"
9.) "Signs Of Life"
10.) "White Flags"

FREE COLDPLAY!!

Head on over to Coldplay.com as the band is giving away a FREE LIVE EP entitled leftrightleftrightleft. Those catching Coldplay on the road this summer on headlining dates, not festival appearances, will get a free physical version of the EP, yet those who are not can get the EP as a free download...NOW!

Mastodon on Letterman

Music militia Mastodon tore the roof off the Ed Sullivan theater on there Late Show appearance last week. Here is the band performing "Oblivion," check out the clip and turn up your speakers!

Quick News

After touring the US this summer with Coldplay, it is reported that British heavyweights Elbow will go on hiatus after there opening stint in the States.

Snow Patrol front man Gary Lightbody has two side projects in the works according to NME. One project is slated by producer Jacknife Lee entitled Listen Tank, the other project is a country album called Tired Pony. According to Lightbody, "I don't know whether people will dig it or not. It's just something I wanted to get out of my system." There is no planned release date yet for the projects, however, Lightbody does not want fans to expect anything to sound like his main act, Snow Patrol.

In related news, Oasis' Noel Gallagher is prepping a solo disc of his own that he wishes to record once the band is done with their latest tour. Meanwhile, Noel's brother Liam's clothing line Pretty Green has officially launched and began selling clothes out of the company's website prettygreen.com.

Listen to The Horrors

Playlist

Here is a play list of tracks I have been spinning, you should check them out...

- Bell X1 - "The Great Defector"
- The Soundtrack of Our Lives - "Babel On"
- The Rumble Stripes - "London"
- Jane's Addiction - "Chip Away"
- Airborne Toxic Event - "Wishing Well"
- Ladyhawke - "Magic"
- Ryan Adams - "Fix It"
- The Sounds - "No One Sleeps While I'm Awake"
- Pearl Jam - "Brother"
- The Hold Steady - "Ask Her For Aderall"
- Jarvis Cocker - "Angela"
- The Horrors - "Sea Within a Sea"
- The National - "So Far Around the Bend"
- Gallows - "London is the Reason"
- Green Day - "Before the Lobotomy"

The Killers on Letterman

The Killers rocked the Ed Sullivan Theater with a full orchestra last night on Letterman. Check out the Vegas band perform "A Dustland Fairytale."

"21st Century Breakdown" A First Listen

My close friend and sometime contributor to this site, Bill Reese, has given Green Day's much anticipated new record 21st Century Breakdown a first listen before it hits stores next week. Check out what Bill, a lifelong Green Day fan had to say...

Not as good as American Idiot, but at the same time, they (or anyone) will never be able to top this production. It is so fucking epic. It's so big. This is like new Yankee Stadium. They didn't have to build it this big, this expensive. They did it because they could. They did it to say, "look at what we can do, and we fucking DARE YOU to try this." And like New Yankee Stadium, it's not as pretty as Camden Yards, not as historic as Wrigley, but you can't help but stand in awe of it. You can never top history. You can't top American Idiot, especially because they were not trying to be historic. History just happens. What you can do is just be so outrageously bold and audacious that people years from now will say "Man, those guys WENT there."

I don't even know if this is a punk album. The first two acts sure aren't. By Act III they're Green Day again, and by far, the third act is the best. You know I never like anything first time around. I didn't like American Idiot first time around. It's on Rhapsody for free and MTV.com, (which is censored, so don't do it.)

Whether Green Day are a punk band in the aesthetic sense of the word has been debated since "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)," but one of the core beliefs of punk is the idea that the rules don't apply when those making the rules are hypocrites. We're in an age where of a thousand different genres and sub-genres, and so often bands get pigeon-holed into a genre and can never escape. This album is the most "punk" thing they've ever done because it proudly states, "there are no genres. there are no lines. there are no rules. there is no box." Being punk is being free, and real freedom is the ability to think whatever you choose and be whoever you choose. This is a free man's album, that's what makes it so powerful.

New Album Covers!

Jack White's latest project The Dead Weather have revealed the cover to their debut LP entitled Horehound. This gig has White playing drums, while The Kills Alison Mosshart fronting the group. Horehound hits stores July 17, check out the cover featuring Mosshart below..
Wilco have given the cover to their latest effort a fun ship. The self titled released is due in stores June 30.

Back in March I had showed the latest cover to Our Lady Peace's forthcoming effort Burn Burn. Well the band has decided to change the cover up a bit, see for yourself below, but to view the original and very similar print click HERE

The National on Fallon

The National just hit up the late night circuit to perform their latest "So Far Around the Bend," for the charity compilation Dark was the Night.

Cameron Crowe's Favorite Music Moments on Screen

UK Movie Magazine Empire just ran a great article on fellow music aficionado and filmmaker Cameron Crowe on his favorite music moments on screen. Check out the article HERE

A Magnificent U2 Video

U2 Magnificent Music Video on Yahoo! Music- Watch more Music Videos at Vodpod.

Check out the latest from U2 above and Making of the video below...

EXCLUSIVE!! AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT INTV!!!

There are certain songs that you just hear and you remember the moment and time when you first herd them. Just last November I was on my way back from New York City and in my car when I first herd "Sometime Around Midnight" by a then unknown West Coast band The Airborne Toxic Event come on the radio. I rushed back home to read up and listen in on more from the band. Since then I have grown to fall in love with the band's music and back story. While most bands start off young with hopes of rock and roll glory, this LA band started off in their mid thirties and after bouts of depression, career changes and breakdowns they are now one of America's rising artists and are taking their music the world over. With the fast success of the band's single "Sometime Around Midnight," grabbing them attention, it has been word of mouth and live shows that have propelled the band to high applause. With much critical acclaim and praise from the likes of U2's Larry Mullen Jr to Morrissey. I had the honor of speaking with guitarist Steven Chen about the band's music, their new found acclaim and where they are looking for the band to go. Read my interview with Chen below:

1) Your sound is very unique in that no two songs sound the same or similar. There is a good mix of different rock genre's in your music. Describe your influences.

It seems that musical genres are generally more trouble than they’re worth. We never set out to be a particular kind of rock band, or adhere to a specific sub-category of rock. Everyone comes from very different musical backgrounds, and we all listened to a variety of music growing up, and still do today. They aren’t really “influences,” per se—just things we enjoy putting on our CD players or iPods—and probably seep into our consciousnesses some way or another, though without any particular agenda. That said, our tastes are all over the map, many of them old—i.e. the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Clash, and the Stooges—and semi-old—i.e. Leonard Cohen, the Smiths, the Cure, and Archers of Loaf. Noah, our bassist, also has a degree in upright jazz bass, and Daren, our drummer, is a virtual music encyclopedia, so of course that stuff probably plays a role.

2) The name of the band comes from the book "White Noise," by Don DeLillo. Why did you choose this name from the book and what does it signify to you as a band and to your music?

In the book, the section titled “The Airborne Toxic Event” tells about a railcar disaster that releases a toxic cloud into the air. The main character, who is so used to these kinds of disasters happening far away and on TV, is forced to deal with this chemical cloud invading his own life. The whole thing is a commentary on mortality and the way in which the media can amplify this fear of death. The military dubs this cloud “the Airborne Toxic Event,” and exposure to it could result in death in a few days or in 40 years. Either way, it’s a ridiculous dilemma and an absurd way to think about your own mortality. The band was born out of this feeling of being confronted with death and wanting to scream and shout and stomp, and share a real experience with a roomful of people.

3) Your songs unfold like little short stories. Please describe your writing process and what spawns the ideas behind the songs.

Every song on this album is 100-percent true. The ideas behind each are spawned by true events in Mikel’s life, which all the members of the band can attest to, as we were present during the events described by some of the songs, including “Sometime Around Midnight.” Mikel has written several short stories, one of which—a portion of a novel, actually—was excerpted for publication by McSweeney’s, a very cool literary magazine based in San Francisco. He’ll usually lock himself in his apartment, or some location, and emerge days, weeks, or months later, with a bulk of a song and lyrics. “Wishing Well” took him eight months to write, and when he was finally done, he tells us, he thought to himself: “OK, that’s what it felt like.”

4) In such a short amount of time the band has received a ton of acclaim around the world. How do you respond to people embracing your music so quickly?

The ethos of the band has always been to work our ass off, stay true to our music, and earn fans honestly. To that end, we figure that the best way to get to know people and for people to get to know us is for us to get in front of them and just play. For the past eight months, we’ve been racing around the world non-stop to play as many shows as we can, so it’s been great to actually see responses firsthand, especially when we return to faraway cities and see familiar faces. We’re amazed by and so grateful for the response that we’ve received, but we also know that we’ve definitely got a long way to go. There are a lot of cities in the world. We’ll probably be touring for a very long time.

5) From U2 to Kings of Leon to Letterman to Conan O'Brien, many high profile music buffs really love your band. How do you respond to such high praise and acclaim from such important people?

It’s extremely flattering, since these are artists and people for whom we have a huge amount of respect. I grew up listening to U2, figuring out how to play some of their songs, and watching Letterman and Conan several nights a week, so the fact that they actually know who we are is a very strange feeling. At the same time, we take everything—praise or criticism—with a grain of salt. People say all kinds of things, and I think it’s important never to dwell too much on what’s said about the band. But yes, to hear Adam Clayton say that he likes the record is pretty fucking cool.

6) Last fall you had done "30 Shows in 30 Days," in the UK. Describe that experience.

Well, it was a very interesting experience—playing in a different city in one foreign country every night for a month. The whole thing started with the idea of doing a residency (playing one night a week for a month) in London, and then we thought that it would be such a waste to be in the U.K. for one month and play only four shows. So someone came up with the idea of playing every night of the week, traveling to other cities on non-residency nights… Of course, it was exhausting and we hit a few walls along the way, but it was one of those experiences I’ll never forget. We played cities most British bands never play—like Barrow in Furness, Hull, Cornwall, and Stoke on Trent, and the audiences were great. We consider ourselves a live band, first and foremost, so it’s important for us to connect with audiences as much as possible, and we definitely feel that sense of community at our U.K. shows now. It’s become like a second home for us, and ideally we can keep doing that sort of thing all over Europe, Asia, Latin America, wherever.

7) In there any place in particular you would like the band to take you? Whether a particular venue, gig, festival, certain fan or endorsement?

Most of us in the band are fairly well-traveled, but we’ve never, ever traveled as much as we have since we started touring. We’re going to tons of cities we’ve never been to before, and we consider ourselves extremely lucky to be able to do that as a rock band, and with some of our best friends. Noah likes to say that never in his life did he ever imagine that he would explore so many new cities with the same group of people. Being able to play legendary venues, like Koko or O2 Arena in London, or venues we grew up going to—like the Henry Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles, has been such a great experience. We’ve seen so many of our favorite bands play these stages. Recently, we played the main stage at Coachella, opening for icons like Morrissey and Paul McCartney. That blew me away. We’re all huge fans of them, and of course of the Smiths and the Beatles… That said, there’s no particular place I have in mind that I want the band to take me—just that we’d like to play as many shows as possible in as many cities as we can manage.



Video for "Does this mean your movin' on?" (Above) / "Gasoline" Acoustic (Below)



Special thanks to Steven Chen and Pete Galli for setting up the interview! Catch the Airborne Toxic Event on the road all summer.

The Whip on Kimmel

English Electro rockers The Whip cracked it into high gear just a couple weeks ago on Jimmy Kimmel Live before their biggest US gig at Coachella. Take a look above!

Street Sweeper Tracklisting

Tom Morello's new outfit Street Sweeper has changed their name to Street Sweeper Social Club, the band's self titled debut is slated to hit stores June 16, check out the track listing below.

01 Fight! Smash! Win!
02 100 Little Curses
03 The Oath
04 The Squeeze
05 Clap for the Killers
06 Somewhere in the World It's Midnight
07 Shock You Again
08 Good Morning, Mrs. Smith
09 Megablast
10 Promenade
11 Nobody Moves (Til We Say Go)

Rising Artist - The Cheek

Hailing from the UK with a sound that will have you moving and dancing for hours, The Cheek are ready for global glory. Formerly known as Cheeky Cheeky and the Nosebleeds, the band has shot to attention in their native England as one of NME magazine's artist to watch. After supporting the like of Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong and The Wombats and headlining last years underage state at Glastonbury, The Cheek are ready for your ears and want you to listen. As the band readies their debut album for sometime this year with producer Ed Buller (Pulp, White Lies), they are sure to make an impact on its release. A pop punk band with a cheeky tongue if you will, The Cheek are a band to remember and one you will certainly have fun with.

Movie of the Month - Muderball

Easily one of the best documentaries I have ever seen, easily one of the best sports films ever made and easily one of the best films of 2005. The film is Muderball and it is just a pure rush of adrenaline and heartbreak. Telling the story of Mark Zupan and the United State's award winning Wheelchair Rugby team, Murderball is without a doubt a full on collision course of action and drama. As the 2003-2004 US Wheelchair Rugby team preps for the Paralympic Games in Australia it goes deep into the heart and minds of its coaches and those involved in the brutal sport. Picture teams with Wheelchairs that resemble something from Mad Max and going head to head in one of the world's most brutal sports, rugby. As the team preps for the games we meet the teammates and hear their back stories of reasons why they are quadriplegics and get to know everything about them from their family life to their sex lives. One of the most powerful and intense films you will see, nominated for 2006 Oscar for Best Documentary and one of the few films screened at the United Nations uncut, Murderball will have you jumping for joy and cheering as if you are right in the action.

Underated Classic - Weezer "Green"

The essential fun in the sun band with the essential comeback. The band that helped usher in "nerd rock," LA's Weezer were one of the biggest bands of the 90's with just two records under their belt, the band's debut, also known as Blue and their sophomore Pinkerton, Weezer were destined for big things. After constant touring the band went on hiatus, as singer Rivers Cuomo went to Harvard and bassist Matt Sharp left the band to go and work on his side project The Rentals, the changes had everyone guessing what will they release next or will they release anything again? In spring of 2001, Weezer would give us Green. Known for the band standing on the bright green backdrop, a triumphant return to power pop punk rock and roll. Firing back with the big hit "Hash Pipe," that had MTV's head spinning with censuring the word "hash." The song brought the California quartet, now featuring Mikey Welsh on bass back on top. Produced by legendary Car's front man Rick Ocasek, the record would find continued success with the single "Island in the Sun." It was a Renaissance for the band, yet with many highs come many lows as the newest member, Mikey Welsh would leave the band for mental health reasons. The record was an across the board success and one of the best of that year, yet seems to be one of the band's most forgotten. As summer approaches, break out the Green record from Weezer and let it take you to a happy time in the sun.