Small Tour, Big/Family; Akron/Family on Tour

By Elzee on 10-28-2008

Yes, we are really writing about The Killers. I mean, I was confused too – TMT doesn’t cover Fall Out Boy tours or tell our readership much about Coldplay’s activities. But when the story popped up, I couldn’t resist. Why? I must confide in you that I harbor a secret -- a dark secret, one that I have shared with only my most trusted friends. It is a delicate situation; treat this with care.

THE KILLERS HEADLINED THE FIRST SHOW I EVER ATTENDED.

Brandon Flowers, he who is sort of Mormon and definitely attractive to 14-year-old me, seemed to defy the logic of my “no-eyeliner-on-guys” rule. When I saw them live, it was everything I wanted and more. I screamed along to every song and thought Brandon Flowers’ stage antics (rolling around on the floor, balancing precariously on the stage’s edge) were a manifestation of his intense connection with and commitment to his music (I figured out halfway through high school that everyone occupying the stage had simply been very drunk). All in all, it was actually a pretty good show. Manufactured pop music often translates well to a large live setting.

And so I say unto you, esteemed TMT reader: if you like The Killers and have (or, if you are brave, have not) been hiding it all this time, let the world know who you are! Go to one of these shows and suspend your disbelief! Carry on the torch of pride through the masses of hipsters shunning you for liking something on the radio! Go out there and make me proud, dammit!

They’re taking control!

By Mike McHugh on 10-27-2008

In his lifetime, Frank Zappa recorded approximately 12 million albums. I have listened to nine of them. Die-hard Zappamaniacs have listened to about 100 of them. I accept that I will never fully understand Zappa due to the sheer breadth of the man’s material. Zappa “experts” do not. Being an expert on Zappa is nigh on impossible; his studio albums alone could serve as the mortar for a new Tower of Babel. (Imagine that if you will: A thousand greasy Zappaites climbing to heaven so God can sign all their copies of Shiek Yerbouti. Yikes!) Yet, I have met far too many rubes who claim they “get” Zappa because they’ve listened to a third of his recorded output and know exactly what he was “trying to say,” despite remaining ignorant to the months worth of unreleased live material and studio recordings that are just sitting in Zappa’s storage unit on the moon or in Captain Beefheart’s fallout shelter.

Well, I’m not sure about any “moon unit” releases just yet (hey-oh!), but the Zappa Family Trust has announced plans to release a series of expanded editions of Zappa’s early albums, starting November 25 with his strictly orchestral solo debut Lumpy Gravy and classic hippy send-up We’re Only In It For the Money. According to Billboard, this initial combo will be titled Lumpy Money, and along with brand new mixes of both albums, it will include a never-before-heard Stravinksy-esque “ballet” recording of Lumpy Gravy. “You're going to be listening to how Frank worked, all the little developments of these pieces as opposed to just an outtake or another performance of that particular piece. You're going to hear how he got there from here," said Frank’s widow Gail Zappa.

Subsequent releases will receive individual treatments as opposed to the twofer presented here. 1968’s Cruising with Ruben and Jets is already slated for the deluxe treatment thanks to extensive plundering through the Sequin Mines vault located underneath the Zappa’s house. Other releases include live recording from the Roxy in Los Angeles and a collection of Edgar Varèse compositions performed by the fu-manchued man himself. So, Zappa freaks, looks you got some more studying to do. Hopefully these new releases don’t throw a wrench in all your doctoral theses about how “Camarillo Brillo” should become the new national anthem. Or maybe you’ll at least snap back into reality and actually have fun listening to a Frank Zappa album instead of behaving like a pompous crybaby when somebody doesn’t say the full title of “Bobby Brown Goes Down.” But probably not.