Little-Known Post-Punk Band The Lines Gets Reissue Treatment; Aging Goths Around The Nation Celebrate

By Liz Louche on

You look through the shelves of your post-punk music collection. You pull out record after record -- Bauhaus, The Birthday Party, The Cure -- but you just cannot find what you are looking for. You're in a rut. You love these bands, but you're searching for something different. Something more. Something so cultish, so obscure that you will be able to impress the most arrogant record store nerds and closet goth music bloggers. You know you're missing something, but what could it be?

Acute Records has the answer! It's The Lines, a little-known UK group who played alongside bands like those mentioned above, but never really achieved any popular acclaim. Featuring members of prag Vec and Alternative TV, The Lines lasted from 1978 to 1983, never aligning themselves with any movement or scene. They released five singles, one EP, and two LPs, but never made the big $$$.

But now, coming May 27, 2008, you will be able to experience The Lines' mixture of Wire, Mission of Burma, and The Feelies for yourself via the Acute reissue entitled Memory Span. Don't miss out! This could be your best chance to outsnob a record clerk this spring!

Wal-Mart Tells Sony BMG and Warner Music Group to Take a Hike, Ditches DRM

By Scout Leader Kyle on 04-07-2008

According to Digital Music News, Wal-Mart has stripped its online music store of all Sony BMG and WMG artists, while also announcing that it's ditching DRM. Although it will surely be a temporary breakup, Wal-Mart decided to do away with the Sony BMG and WMG catalogs because it couldn't strike a deal with the two majors due to its decision to go DRM-free. (Keep in mind that we're talking about the digital catalog -- Wal-Mart still sells Sony BMG and WMG CDs.)

Wal-Mart currently has lower prices than iTunes at 88-cents a track, but its digital selection has now been significantly diminished. And, of course, Wal-Mart's successes in pricing and catalog are in its physical products, so any decisions regarding its digital music store won't be industry-shaking until it makes actual waves in selling digital music. But ditching DRM is a positive sign at the very least.

Thom Yorke Not Dead; Radiohead Announce Second North American Leg

By Mr P on 04-07-2008

$ Liars

^ Bat for Lashes

& Grizzly Bear

Did Jay-Z And Beyoncé Really Tie The Knot Last Friday?! In Other News, Jay-Z To Sign A $150 Million Deal With Some Little Company Called Live Nation

By Annapocalypse on 04-07-2008

According to the most reputable news source ever, everyone’s favorite couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé got married in New York City last Friday. Apparently the wedding took place at 195 Hudson Street and some of the notable attendees included Beyoncé’s family, the two other forgettable members of Destiny’s Child, Chris Martin, and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Now that we got the important news out of the way, let’s discuss Jay-Z big impending deal with Live Nation.

The New York Times reported last week that Jay-Z is all set to leave his longtime record label, Def Jam, and sign with Live Nation to the tune of $150 million. Expected to be finalized this week, the deal includes financing for Jay-Z’s own entertainment venture, as well as rights to his recordings and touring for the next decade. In addition, the deal would give him money for other business opportunities, such as a record label, music publishing, talent consulting, and management services.

But money or no money, the rapper still likens himself to being in the same league as [insert your favorite indie band here]:

“In a way, I want to operate like an indie band," he said. "Play the music on tour instead of relying on radio. Hopefully we'll get some hits out of there and radio will pick it up, but we won't make it with that in mind."

Maybe a Jay-Z and Animal Collective collaboration could be just around the corner? *Fingers crossed.*

Sigur Rós langferð the veröld. This er íslenska, a tungumál afleitt orð frá Norræna*

By Hanky Panky on 04-07-2008

Icelandic rockers Sigur Rós are shedding their sweaters for a worldly jaunt of a summer tour, a timely escape from the upcoming wet season in their homeland. As Iceland is a temperate zone with temperatures huddling between 30-60 degrees Fahrenheit, there isn't a whole lot of fun in the sun (which doesn't set for the months of June or July), though it's no winter wonderland either. I think I'll keep running with this national fact thing for a few more paragraphs.

Iceland is the most developed country in the world according to the Human Development Index, with the 13th longest life expectancy at 81.8 years (Andorra ranks 1st with an overall average of 83.5). The largest city is Reykjavík, with a population of 118,000. Two hundred thousand of the nation's 350,000 citizens are contained within Reykjavík and its greater metropolitan area (a drastically high percentage of these individuals maintain personal blogs).

The largest music festival is Icelandic Airwaves, spanning five days starting the third weekend in October. The first Icelandic Airwaves was held in 1999 in a hangar at the Reykjavík Airport. It has since showcased hundreds of international bands before they were widely recognized in their own countries, such as CYHSY, The Rapture, and The Bravery, as well as a plethora of Icelandic bands.

Icelandic music is traditionally religious and choral, which is why Björk (which pronounced correctly rhymes with "jerk"), müm, and Sigur Rós all sound like sad, harmonious whales. Whale watching, consequently, is a rapidly growing sector of the Icelandic tourism industry.

Sigur Rós see the world:

*Sigur Rós Tour The World. This Is Icelandic, A Language Derivative Of Old Norse

This Is Not a Test: The Futureheads Are Back to Save the Universe… Oh Wait

By Nobodaddy on 04-04-2008

Hey there, readers. Come on in, and welcome to this rather willfully postmodern news story about the new Futureheads record. Why don't you get comfortable? There's something I want to talk to you about.

Listen, I'd love to entertain the hell out of you today (you know, like I usually do) with a goofy story about lovable Sunderland punk-poppers The Futureheads and their new, third LP, This is Not The World, which was produced by Youth (Primal Scream, the Verve) and slated to be released via the band's own Nul Records May 27 in North America, in case you were wondering.

But, the thing is, I'm a little upset.

Why? I'll tell you why: press releases. If you've ever worked for a music (or related arts) publication, then you can relate to the stacks and stacks of artist-plugging birdcage liner that show up here at our 31st floor TMT offices every day, all with the intent of convincing us, the jaded music literati, that this or that "hot" band is doing this or that "career-defining" thing and releasing this or that "industry-bucking" product. I mean, pretty much every day, the poor guys (and one weird, tattooed girl) from our mailroom bring up literal sacks of these things (along with our Starbucks orders) for us to wade through. These press releases are all packed with insane amounts of information, and each and every one of them makes you feel like you'd be a complete IDIOT not to report on every excruciating iota of these fly-by-night groups' supposedly "storied" histories.

Take this overstuffed Futureheads press release that Tattoo Girl just handed to me. Like, should I report that this next record is going to be their "finest moment"? That's kind of not in my jurisdiction. Or, is it noteworthy that those dudes "embraced the punk-rock ethic like never before" and "took control of their own destiny" by releasing the thing independently? Or maybe you readers would enjoy hearing about how this new record is "the album they've always intended to make"? I mean, come on! That's what every band says about every record, like, ever! Maybe you could trim things down a little bit here? Maybe we could save a tree or two?

The least their press agent could have done was spare me the literally track-by-track breakdown of the record that follows all of this insane hype. Oh, hey, do you want to know what the Futurehead's publicist thinks of the new Futureheads record??

DUH: He thinks it’s fucking awesome, and you should buy it!

Oh, and the band bio going all the way back to the year 2000 isn't exactly helping me contextualize this new record very much either. Remember when the band met Dennis Hopper on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2005 everyone? Well, apparently we're all supposed to! I'm sorry, Mr. over-stuffed press release -- I'll report that right away! Whatever happened to the simple matter of the title, release date, producer/engineer, and trackli...

Oh, damn it! I almost forgot:

This Is Not The World, huh? Tell that to their press release.

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