It's been roughly 15 years since Jeff Buckley released his only album and sadly passed away, but there's yet another addition to the posthumous family: Columbia/Legacy will release Grace Around the World on June 2.
Billboard reports that the CD/DVD package, executively produced by his mother, features unreleased live performances from around the world, two unreleased tracks, and a whole lotta liner notes. Splurgers on the deluxe edition will also get a JB documentary entitled Amazing Grace.
I brainstormed a few other ways the word "grace" can be used, in case Columbia wants to keep milking it:
- Fall from Grace - Saving Grace - With Good Grace - Say Grace - Grace (Chicago Edition) - Grace You with His Presence (Holy Edition)
I'd post the tracklisting, but it's just so damn detailed that if you're actually going to purchase it, just peruse it here.
Couldn't score tickets to that Green Triceratops Gnarly Aurora Borealis show this Spring? No fear! Your second favorite band with an over-the-top clusterfuck of a name is touring the States this spring. Black Moth Super Rainbow, in anticipation of the May 26 release of its fourth LP Eating Us on Graveface Records (TMT News), is touring the Midwest and West Coast. The tour kicks off in Chicago and ends in Columbus, OH; former Secret Machines guitarist Benjamin Curtis' new project School of Seven Bells are along for the ride on all dates, except the Sasquatch! Music Festival
05.20.09 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge 05.21.09 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon 05.22.09 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club 05.25.09 - Quincy, WA - Sasquatch Festival 05.26.09 - Portland, OR - Holocene 05.28.09 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill 05.29.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour 05.30.09 - Costa Mesa, CA - Detroit Bar 05.31.09 - Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room 06.02.09 - Austin, TX - The Mohawk 06.03.09 - Denton, TX - Hailey's 06.04.09 - Little Rock, AR - Sticky Fingerz 06.05.09 - Nashville, TN - Exit/In 06.06.09 - Columbus, OH - Circus
Hey ya’ll. The news roundup is a little thin this week. Most of the press releases I had were related to SXSW and weren’t exactly news-worthy. All I figured out was that, as Annapocalypse mentioned, Pains of Being Pure at Heart are taking over Austin and that I really want to try and see Best Worst Movie on the Friday of SXSW. I’m heading down to that mess on Wednesday. I’m mostly excited about eating tacos.
- Just to clarify, The Melvins, as a band, are turning 25. The Melvins, as people, are old as fuck and are way older than 25 (sike, they are in their 40s... that ain’t too old.) Regardless, the boys are celebrating their band-birthday with some shows in May. The four shows will happen in New York, Boston, Chicago, and Austin and will feature the original lineup of Buzz Osborne, Dale Crover, and Mike Dillard. Trevor Dunn (bassist for Fantômas, Mr. Bungle) will join Buzz and Dale to perform Houdini later during the set. All of this happens in mid-May; you can find the details on the Ipecac site.
- Danish dudes Efterklang are currently on tour, hitting the West coast, SXSW, the South, and the East Coast during March and some of April. I like to say their name the way I think (yes I know he’s Austrian) Arnold Schwarzenegger would say it: ef-ta-klaang. I live in Georgia though, so it probably sounds more like “YEE HAW, EFTER-KLAN-G, YA’LL!” Anyway, you can find out the specific dates at their official site.
- Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction are heading out on tour together this summer, with Tom Morello and Boots Riley’s Street Sweeper as support -- ’90s in the HOUSE. The tour will run from May to mid June and will be the first time in 17 years the original lineup of Jane’s Addiction will tour (whoopee). You can find more details on either the Nine Inch Nails site or the Jane’s Addiction site, but I’m going to link to Nine Inch Nails because I don’t really care about Jane’s Addiction. Sorry.
- Have you ever thought to yourself, “Man, I wish I didn’t have to leave my house to go to a show. Wouldn’t it be awesome if David Bazan could just play in my living room?” Yeah, me neither. But if you are one of those people, you are in luck! David Bazan is releasing his latest record Curse Your Branches August 25 and is also doing some weird tour where he will play your house to “35-75 people.” Didn’t Music Tapes do something like this, only cooler? You can learn more about this at his website.
Due to my above-mentioned SXSW plans, you might get a “roundup” next week, you might not. Just in case, I leave you with this video (NSFW):
After Diddy and co's neat, tidy little bow packaging of the complex life of rapper Notorious B.I.G. with the film Notorious (TMT Review), we knew it would only be a matter of time before another biopic on a legendary rap artist would appear. In this case, it's on a legendary rap group, as word dropped recently that pioneering gangster rappers N.W.A. will be getting the biopic treatment. The movie is being produced by founding N.W.A. members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre along with Eazy-E’s widow, Tomica Wright. According to Entertainment Weekly, the producers "are now actively searching for a director along the lines of Curtis Hanson," director of Eminem's pseudo-biopic 8 Mile.
Rap biopics promise more than the standard Ray-style musician biopics, though it's hard to imagine that, with members of the group serving as its producers, the movie won't be anything but the crystalline spectacles version of the group's story. Still, it's even harder to imagine that a movie about N.W.A., a group known for its riveting oral portraits of poverty, drug use, and disturbingly casual violence, will be eazy to digest. Sorry, couldn't resist! Currently, screenwriters are furiously trying to map out a montage sequence that effortlessly displays the boys talking hard, rebuffing trash talk, pulling people's cards, living in a legitimate manner, and otherwise not saying shit.
This spring is looking to be a busy time for Casiotone For the Painfully Alone. Now that this depressing winter is on its way out, Casiotone's Owen Ashworth is ready to leave his cozy little bedroom and hit the road. He is starting off with a few dates in Texas -- which will see him playing the Tomlab/K/Asthmatic Kitty showcase, as well as the Team Clermont/Utne Reader one as part of Austin's SXSW -- and will soon after be jetting out to Europe to do a month of shows. A U.S. tour is expected this spring, too.
All this activity will be in support of his upcoming records: Advance Base Battery Life, a collection of 7-inch split-singles and compilation tracks he released from 2004-7, all but two of them on CD for the first time, out March 10 on Tomlab; and Vs. Children, the fifth album proper from CTFPA since 2006's Etiquette, which is due April 7 also on Tomlab.
Casiotone For the Painfully Alone Spring Dates: 03.15.09 - Denton, TX - Dan's Silverleaf (NX35 Festival) 03.16.09 - Houston, TX - The Mink Backroom 03.18.09 - Austin, TX - Beauty Bar (SXSW Showcase) # 03.19.09 - Austin, TX - Flamingo Cantina (Team Clermont/Utne Reader) 03.19.09 - Austin, TX - Ms Beas 04.11.09 - Munich, Germany - Orangehouse 04.12.09 - Cologne, Germany - Subway 04.14.09 - Bristol, UK - The Croft 04.15.09 - Nottingham, UK - The Bodega 04.17.09 - Galway, Ireland - Roisin Dubh 04.18.09 - Cork, Ireland - The Quad 04.19.09 - Dublin, Ireland - Whelans 04.20.09 - Manchester, UK - The Deaf Institute 04.21.09 - Glasgow, UK - Nice 'N Sleazy 04.22.09 - Edinburgh, UK - Sneaky Pete's 04.23.09 - Sheffield, UK - TBA 04.24.09 - York, UK - Fibbers 04.25.09 - Brighton, UK - Freebutt 04.27.09 - London, UK - The Luminaire 04.29.09 - Oslo, Norway - Bla 05.01.09 - Stockholm, Sweden - Strand 05.02.09 - Aarhus, Denmark - Pop Revo Festival 05.03.09 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Loppen 05.04.09 - Hamburg, Germany - Knust 05.06.09 - Prague, Czech Republic - Klub 007 Strahov 05.07.09 - Wien, Austria - Arena 05.08.09 - Minehead, UK - All Tomorrow's Parties 05.10.09 - Paris, France - Maroquinerie 05.11.09 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Paradiso 05.12.09 - Lueneburg, Germany - Asta Wohnzimmer 05.13.09 - Nuremberg, Germany - MUZ 05.14.09 - Wiesbaden, Germany - Schlachthof 05.15.09 - Luxembourg, Germany - Exit07 05.16.09 - Saarbruecken, Germany - Sparte04 05.17.09 - Leipzig, Germany - UT Connewitz
# Parenthetical Girls, No Kids, Jeremy Jay, Tara Jane O'Neil
According to a new blog post on their MySpace page, Hella have reshuffled themselves back to the original duo of Zach Hill and Spencer Seim. They are currently at work on Hella’s new album, which will be recorded and finished sometime this year on an as-yet unknown record label. Because this news is not particularly that exciting, I’ve decided to rewrite this story below and add in a few creative details that the Hella boys might have missed when they wrote their blog entry:
Hey guys! Hella is back to being a duo after kicking out Josh Hill (Zach’s cousin), Carson McWhirter (The Advantage), and Aaron Ross. Zach and Spencer decided it was time to part with the band members after learning they were the creators of this blog and that they still believe in the Easter bunny (see the cruel joke Zach and Spencer played on them in the “Band Members” section of their MySpace page.) Zach and Spencer are currently at work on their new album.
