South Korea’s Answer to Failing Banks, Collapsing Economies and Legions of Unemployed: A Government Bailout for Korean Popstars!
By Brom on Feb 6 2009
It’s been tough for the superstars of South Korean pop music recently. Thanks to declining CD sales, online piracy, and a global recession, these poor souls have had to cut back on their luxury houses, fancy parties, and bribing television producers for guaranteed TV appearances. Fortunately, the South Korean government has taken the vital step of awarding their music industry $91 million to secure the next generation of Gods (Groove OverDose), Wonder Girls, and Shinhwas.
Amongst the plans are to create a Korean version of the U.S. Billboard charts and a Grammy-style ceremony to increase the profile of “K-pop.” Not only will this create essential jobs for hard-working, downtrodden music journalists and television presenters, but the proposals will encourage greater spending on pop-related products, such as hair-gel and luxury clothes, in these modest times.
Two new concert venues will be built in Seoul with 4,000 seats total, and a K-pop culture center with a 3,000-capacity concert hall is also planned for construction in Goyang City. While Obama intends to get Americans working on infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, and green technologies, the South Koreans realize the only way you’re going to get people out of bed in the morning is to get them assembling places of worship for their future idols.
Politicians should be ashamed of themselves for failing to give cash to the likes of American Idol, Billboard magazine, and the Grammys. The future prosperity of the Justin Timberlakes and Kelly Clarksons of this world are fundamental to securing our economic future.
Cursive Reveal New Album Details to Attract More Attention
By Annapocalypse on Feb 5 2009
When a band has been around for almost 15 years, it’s usually time to start evaluating ways to get noticed again. In Cursive’s case, they have unveiled a three-fold plan to capture their fans attention again:
1. Release a new album. Bonus points to Tim Kasher and Co. for naming their album, Mama, I’m Swollen, which is provocative enough to get indie eyes turning. Look for it on Saddle Creek March 10.
2. Tour, tour, and tour again! And play those new songs live, too. (See Cursive’s upcoming tourdates below.)
3. Be happy that your longtime drummer Clint Schnase decided to quit so you could replace him with Engine Down’s drummer, Cornbread Compton. I shit you not; the dude’s name is Cornbread. If that doesn’t garner Cursive some more attention, then all hope is truly lost.
Mama, I’m Swollen tracklisting:
1. In The Now
2. From The Hips
3. I Couldn't Love You
4. Donkeys
5. Caveman
6. We're Going To Hell
7. Mama, I'm Satan
8. Let Me Up
9. Mama, I'm Swollen
10. What Have I Done?
Mama, I’m Touring:
03.09.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
03.10.09 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
03.13.09 - Los Angeles, CA - The Troubadour
03.14.09 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah
03.15.09 - Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room
03.16.09 - Albuquerque, NM - The Launchpad
James Toth to Issue Two Wooden Wand LPs, One with Track-by-Track Commentary!
By Kat Gardiner on Feb 5 2009
Miss Wooden Wand? Well, perhaps James Jackson Toth does, too, because he's apparently releasing two albums from back in that nostalgic era, before he got backing vocals and fancy guitars and before he ditched the Wooden Wand moniker.
So first, March 31 marks the release of Born Bad, an edition of 500 hand-pressed, hand-screened, signed-on-request, vinyl-only albums. He promises that this album is the reason he was kicked out of the major leagues. The album is co-released on Olympia's People in a Position to Know label and Toth's own label, Mad Monk. It's available for $15.
Then, Ecstatic Peace is releasing a record of his demos on May 21, titled Hard Knox or ‘Are You Sure Hank Jr Done It This Way?’: Home Recordings 1999-2007. And here's the kicker: It has song-by-song commentary by Toth. I shit you not. I'm excited, and I hope he's drunk.
Put Down Your Bong And Pay Attention: The Bonnaroo Lineup Is Here!
By Annapocalypse on Feb 5 2009
I know reading things on the internet is always more fun if you’re high, but all of you stoners out there may want to pay close attention to this news story. Not only am I about to reveal the lineup to the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival below, but if you read it carefully, you may see a subliminal message or two pop out at you:
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Phish (2 Shows), Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails, David Byrne, Wilco, Al Green, Snoop Dogg, Elvis Costello (Solo), Erykah Badu, Paul Oakenfold, Ben Harper and Relentless 7, The Mars Volta, TV on the Radio, TICKETS Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Gov't Mule, Andrew Bird, Band of Horses, Merle Haggard, MGMT, moe., GO The Decemberists, Girl Talk, Bon Iver, Béla Fleck & Toumani Diabate, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Galactic, The Del McCoury Band, of Montreal, ON Allen Toussaint, Coheed and Cambria, Booker T & the DBTs, David Grisman Quintet, Lucinda Williams, Animal Collective, Gomez, Neko Case, Down, Jenny Lewis, Santogold, Robert Earl Keen, Citizen Cope, Femi Kuti and the Positive Force, The Ting Tings, SALE Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Kaki King, Grizzly Bear, King Sunny Adé, Okkervil River, St. Vincent, Zac Brown Band, Raphael Saadiq, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Crystal Castles, Tift Merritt, Brett Dennen, Mike Farris and the Roseland Rhythm Revue, Toubab Krewe, People Under the Stairs, FEBRUARY 7 AT 12PM EST. Alejandro Escovedo, Vieux Farka Touré, Elvis Perkins In Dearland, Cherryholmes, Yeasayer, Todd Snider, Chairlift, Portugal. The Man., The SteelDrivers, Midnite, The Knux, The Low Anthem, Delta Spirit, A.A. Bondy, The Lovell Sisters, Alberta Cross.
Catch that? Well, if you missed it, tickets go on sale Saturday, February 7 at 12 PM EST at Bonnaroo’s website. Taking place June 11-14, the festival is also being held on the same 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, 60 miles south of Nashville. More bands and comedians are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Too poor to attend? I feel your pain, and so do fest organizers apparently, as they’re offering a new payment plan this year in which tickets will be available for five payments of $50 (plus fees). That’s $250 total for anyone out there who has stopped paying attention. Not too shabby for lip-syncing Springsteen’s only North American festival performance this year and Phish’s only festival appearance.
Fan Dies of Heart Failure at Slipknot Show
By Kid Midnight on Feb 5 2009
In a shocking bit of news coming out of Council Bluffs, Iowa, 29-year-old Corey Nickels died of heart failure at a Slipknot show on January 25. According to The Daily Nonpareil, Nickels collapsed after Sunday’s show at the Mid-America Center and was pronounced dead later that night at a local hospital. According to the venue EMS director, Rick Benson, Nickels was not feeling well after the show and while receiving aid his heart began to fail. Despite repeated attempts to revive Nickels with CPR, he was then rushed to a local hospital for further treatment that, like the CPR, proved fruitless.
An autopsy is being planned to determine the full nature of Nickels’ death, but according to friends, Nickels’ family has a history of heart problems. Surprisingly, Council Bluffs police are still looking to find exactly where Nickels was from. No I.D.?
Venue officials stated that around 30 people were treated for “moshing related” injuries in addition to Nickels’ death. The venue also has a history of Slipknot-related violence. In 2005, two fans were arrested after a crowd rushed the building’s main floor, used tables as battering rams on the front doors, and then assaulted police officers attempting to quell the angry mob.
