In a Typically German Style, Kraftwerk to Release Eight Remastered Albums Under the Title 12345678 The Catalogue
You can’t really get more German than with an album title like 12345678 The Catalogue. "Acht Remastered Alben" ("Eight Remastered Albums," according to Google Translate) would probably run fairly close. "Ändern der Welt der Musik ein effizientes Album zu einer Zeit" ("Changing the world of music one efficient album at a time" – thanks again Google) would also be a contender. As you can see, coming up with German album titles is serious business.
You know what's also serious business? Kraftwerk. The completely serious group will be releasing eight remastered albums on October 5, showcasing their ordered, consistent, umm German approach to electronic music. The albums to be reissued are: Autobahn (1974), Radio-Activity (1975), Trans Europe Express (1977), The Man Machine (1978), Computer World (1981), Techno Pop (1986), The Mix (1991), and Tour De France (2003).
Of course it would have been far more efficient to just click on this link to find out this information, but whoever gave a damn about that.
EMI Receives Half A Trillion Dollars Through Parent Company; Meanwhile, I Had Ramen For Lunch Again Today
Today, while I ate Ramen for the third day in a row and Febreezed the same pair of jeans I’ve been wearing for two weeks straight because I’m too poor to spend my quarters on laundry, I found out that EMI, the gigantic British music conglomerate, received $495 billion in equity from a deal with their parent company, Terra Firma, to refinance their $4.3 billion debt.
Wow, EMI, it must be really nice to have other companies and their investors relieve you of your debt. On that note, any loyal TMT readers want to front some money for my outstanding student loans? I’ll make you a mean cup of noodles in return.
Jaguar Love Loves Fat Possum, Fat Possum Signs Jaguar Love as a Sign of Mutual Affection
Remember the heyday of 2003? The Blood Brothers had just put out their breakthrough record, Burn, Piano Island, Burn, and Fat Possum was still exclusively putting out records from Mississippi blues musicians. At the time, the two worlds couldn’t seem farther apart. But time goes by, bands break up, labels start signing bands like Dinosaur Jr. and Wavves, and the two worlds come closer together. So close that Fat Possum ends up signing Jaguar Love, the current band of former Blood Brothers Johnny Whitney and Cody Votolato.
At the moment, the band is preparing to enter the studio with producer John Goodmason, who worked on the final two Blood Brothers records, to record the group’s Fat Possum debut. The Take Me to the Sea (TMT Review) follow-up should be out sometime in early 2010. Whitney and Votolato currently have 18 songs written for the new record, 10 or 11 of which should make it onto the album. The duo plan to release the rest of the songs via online channels, giveaways, and bonus tracks.
Sufjan Stevens Continues to Do Everything in the World Other Than Put Out a New Record, Schedules Fall Tour as a Middle Finger to You and Me
Dear Sufjan:
On behalf of everyone everywhere, please stop stalling and make another “U.S. state” record. Everyone is waiting, man. Seriously. The live show is cool, and another U.S. tour scheduled for this fall is a really nice gesture and all... but you’re totally pissing everyone off here. I don’t care how handsome and non-threatening you are; you can’t just wink and smile and tour and smile and Christmas-album and b-side-comp and pray and BQE-box-set and smile and another-Christmas-album your way out of this thing here, dude. So once again, please-and-thank-you: stop fucking stalling. Get to work.
Respectfully Yours,
Everyone everywhere
P.S. Seriously, get to work.
Tourdates:
09.12.09 - Monticello, NY - ATP New York
09.21.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
09.22.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
09.23.09 - Ithaca, NY - Castaways
09.24.09 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
09.25.09 - Pontiac, MI - Crofoot Ballroom
09.26.09 - Champaign, IL - The High Dive
09.27.09 - Minneapolis, MN - 400 Bar
09.28.09 - Madison, WI - The Majestic
09.29.09 - Bloomington, IN - Buskirk Chumley
10.01.09 - Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Place
10.02.09 - Montreal, Quebec - Cabaret
10.03.09 - Portland, ME - Port City Music Hal
10.04.09 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
10.05.09 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
10.06.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
10.07.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
P.P.S. Have you gotten to work yet?
Circle the Wagons! The Meat Puppets Are in Town!
The Meat Puppets have always done things their own way. Their shift from a more hardcore sound to the now-legendary underground rock/country hybrid known as “cowpunk,” their well-known battles with drugs, and all that touring with Stone Temple Pilots; it’s all well-documented, and it’s all part of the legend, for better or for worse. Original members/brothers Cris and Kurt Kirkwood have been performing under the Meat Puppets name since the band formed in the early 1980s and started releasing output for SST Records. The Meat Puppets reunited a couple years ago and are touring in support of their most recent album, Sewn Together, out now on Megaforce. When I saw them this summer, it was sweltering, packed, and totally awesome. And now you yourself can relive the magic of that night, but hopefully with less of a chance of heatstroke and your shorts getting all sweat-drenched and clingy. Gross.
Back in 1993, the band hit it big after appearing with Kurt Cobain on MTV’s Unplugged in 1993. The Kirkwoods and co. then embarked on their first tour with STP, and their album Too High to Die went gold. The band began working together again in 2006. Today, Sewn Together has got the critics all in a tizzy, and after a weekend stint with old tour buds Stone Temple Pilots, The Meat Puppets are ready to rock a venue near you. Taking over opening duties on much of the tour will be Athens, GA country/grunge practitioners Dead Confederate
09.05.09 - Tuscon, AZ - Club Congress
09.16.09 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theater *
09.17.09 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern *
09.18.09 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theater *
09.19.09 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's *
09.20.09 - Sebastopol, CA - Hopmonk Tavern *
09.22.09 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom *
09.23.09 - Chop Suey - Seattle, WA *
09.24.09 - Boise, ID - Grizzly Rose *
09.25.09 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge *
09.26.09 - Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre *
10.24.09 - Atlanta, GA - 40 Watt Club *
10.31.09 - Houston, TX - Rudyard’s
11.01.09 - New Orleans, LA - Voo Doo Music Experience
11.03.09 - Oxford, MS - Proud Larry’s
11.04.09 - Little Rock, AR - Revolution Room
11.05.09 - Tulsa, OK - Cain’s Ball Room
11.06.09 - Kansas City, MO - Record Bar
11.07.09 - Omaha, NE - Waiting Room
11.08.09 - Des Moines, IA - Vaudeville Mews
11.10.09 - Columbia, MO - Mojo’s
11.11.09 - DeKalb, IL - Otto’s
11.12.09 - Chicago, IL - Schubas
11.13.09 - Chicago, IL - Schubas
11.14.09 - Chicago, IL - Schubas
11.15.09 - Indianapolis, IN - Radio Radio
11.17.09 - Louisville, KY - Headliner’s
11.18.09 - Cleveland, OH - The Grog
11.19.09 - Ithaca, NY - Castaways
11.20.09 - Albany, NY - Valentines
11.21.09 - Teaneck, NJ - Mexacali Live
11.25.09 - New York City, NY - Bowery Ballroom
11.27.09 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
11.28.09 - Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live
* Dead Confederate
Pope Benedict to Release First Album; Yes, the Real Pope
Hot on the heels of the rapidly developing Christian music scene and the recent resurgence of Christian Doctrine, Pope Benedict of Rome has recorded his first album, Alma Mater, due November 30 on Geffen Records (home to Snoop Dogg, M.I.A., and the Kung Fu Panda soundtrack). The album will show off the multilingual abilities of the Popester through a selection of litanies, chants, recitations of prayers, and Bible passages, backed by The Choir of the Philharmonic Academy of Rome and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Said Colin Barlow, president of Geffen Records: “I think in this day and age, as the public are, as I am, people are fascinated by all kinds of music. We're not fed on one type of music.”
Can't get enough Pope? Check out the Vatican's official YouTube channel, and maybe you can find the video of the Pope in studio with Jesus Christ laying down some overdubs on online-only single "Pope B Blessing."
Mario Speedwagon’s Under The Radar News Round Up: !!! Tour North America, Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele Tour Europe, Basement Jaxx Release Scars This Fall, Shonen Knife Announce North American Dates (And Haven’t Aged Since 1981)
- !!! are heading out on a bunch of mini weekend tours in September and October. In the beginning of September, they’ll hit up New York, Boston, and Washington DC. At the end of September, they’ll go to Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Tucson. Finally, in October, they will play Emo’s in Austin and Austin City Limits. To my knowledge, they don’t have any album plans, but you should check them out anyway because they’re fun live. You can check out the dates on the Touch and Go website.
- Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele is going on tour in August and September in Europe. They head to Paris on August 18 and end their tour September 13 in Bristol, UK. Dent May released his record The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele (TMT Review) in February 2009 via Paw Tracks, which is also where you can find a list of tourdates.
- Basement Jaxx will release their fifth studio album, Scars, on October 6, 2009 via XL Recordings. The album features appearances by Lightspeed Champion, Yo! Majesty, Sam Sparro, Santigold, Kelis “and some other chick” (according to their Wikipedia page, however the press release says its Maleka & Chipmunk), Eli “Paperboy” Reed, and Yoko Ono. Their last album was 2006’s Crazy Itch Radio.
- Shonen Knife has announced North American tourdates, shortly after exciting news of a new album, Super Group, dropping in the United States on August 25 via Good Charamel Records. To celebrate, the band will embark on a North American tour that starts October 16 in New York and ends November 18 in Buffalo. Tours in Europe and Australia to follow. All the tourdates are listed on the Good Charamel website.
Satan Forces Spencer Krug to Go On Tour with Sunset Rubdown Again
Not so long ago, the Devil was feeling a little bored down in the underworld and decided to check out what was up with Spencer Krug. The man had been a particular nuisance to the Devil for a long time. Many who might have sworn their allegiance to evil instead bought Sunset Rubdown’s latest LP, Dragonslayer (TMT Review), thinking it was a metal epic. This bothered the Devil, so he summoned Spencer Krug into the depths of Hell and demanded that Spencer Krug cease making epic rock music.
Spencer Krug, in his gracious and zen-like way, politely refused. This angered the Devil but also gained him some respect; instead of damning Krug to an eternity in Hell, the Devil challenged him to a game of skee-ball. Being the withdrawn composer that he is, Krug lost and is now damned to tour with his various bands for eternity.
And so it is that just after their exhaustive North American tour, Sunset Rubdown will be traversing Europe and some of America in the coming months. Give Spencer a high-five if you can – most people don’t even try to beat the Devil at skee-ball.
Europe:
09.02.09 - Groningen, Netherlands - Vera
09.03.09 - Malmo, Sweden - Debaser
09.04.09 - Goteborg, Sweden - Parken
09.05.09 - Stockholm, Sweden - Strand
09.06.09 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Loppen
09.07.09 - Hamburg, Germany - Knust
09.08.09 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
09.10.09 - Glasgow, UK - Stereo
09.11.09 - Belfast, UK - Spring and Airbrake
09.12.09 - Dublin, Ireland - Crawdaddy
09.13.09 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club
09.14.09 - Manchester, UK - The Deaf Institute
09.15.09 - London, UK - Garage
09.16.09 - Cardiff, UK - The Glode
09.18.09 - Leffinge, Belgium - Leffingeleuren
09.19.09 - Brussels, Belgium - Botanique
09.20.09 - Berlin, Germany - Magnet Club
09.21.09 - Leipzig, Germany - Ut Connewitz
09.22.09 - Munchen, Germany - 59:1
09.23.09 - Vienna, Austria - B72
09.24.09 - Zagreb, Croatia - KSET
09.25.09 - Ljublijana, Slovenia - Menza Pri Koritu
09.26.09 - Pisa, Italy - Caracol
09.27.09 - Carpi, Italy – Mattatoio
09.30.09 - Lille, France - L'Aeronef
10.01.09 - Paris, France - Point FMR
U.S.A.:
10.16.09 - New York, NY - Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom
10.17.09 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
10.18.09 - Columbus, OH - The Summit
10.19.09 - Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium
10.20.09 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon
10.21.09 - St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway Nightclub
10.22.09 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
10.24.09 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
10.26.09 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's
10.27.09 - West Hollywood, CA - The Troubadour
Devandra Banhart Wakes Up, Shaves Beard, Gets Serious, Signs to Warner, Gets Unserious Again, Releases New Record With Suspiciously Penis-related Cover Art
When a band as big as Radiohead signed to XL in late 2007, you just knew that someone had to get kicked out of the club house to make room. “You know who I’ve never really liked on your label?” Johnny Greenwood was heard to casually remark from the back of the XL board room as he toothpicked the caviar out of his perfect teeth with one capable hand and calligraphically penned an untouchable new avant-garde musical score for “stringless-viola trio, ambient South Pole field recordings, manipulated whale song, and coke machine” with the other. “Devandra Banhart.” Sure enough, the very next day, Banhart arrived to work in his avocado-green Pinto only to find that his parking space in the XL lot had been painted over...
Okay, so maybe that’s not exactly how it went down. But like, EVEN STILLZ, the fact remains that Banhart’s follow-up record to 2007’s hot-and-cold running Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon (TMT Review) is due this October on a brand spanking new major label: Warner Bros. But if you’re thinking that Banhart’s days of just jamming in his house with his friends and recording whatever goofy nonsense came out are over now that he’s moved on to a bigger label, think again: the vaguely shroom-y, vaguely phallic cover art appears above, and the vaguely Hippie Dippie Weatherman-esque oddly spaced title of the new record is:
What We
Will Be
And there’s no shortage of old cronies this time around either. The album was recorded with A Band of Bees' Paul Butler, and his backing band once again consists of a boat load of buddies, such as Megapuss partner-in-crime Greg Rogove, Little Joy's Rodrigo Amarante, and pals Luckey Remington, Noah Georgeson, and Andy Cabic. Hot dog! Stay tuned for supporting dates, as well as the potential for hilarious major label drama! In the mean time, lets all brace ourselves for having this record thrust in our ears and faces this fall at just about every coffee shop and/or book store that we happen to venture into.
What We
Will Be tracklisting:
1. Can't Help but Smiling
2. Angelika
3. Baby
4. Goin' Back
5. First Song for B
6. Last Song for B
7. Chin Chin & Muck Muck
8. 16th & Valencia Roxy Music
9. Rats
10. Maria Leonza
11. Brindo
12. Meet Me at the Lookout
13. Walilamzi
14. Foolin'
RIP: Willy DeVille
From The Wall Street Journal:
Willy DeVille, who brought street elegance and soul to New York’s punk scene in the late ‘70s, died yesterday of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 58.Tall, thin and debonair with almond-shaped eyes, DeVille was an anomaly on the punk scene centered at CBGBs on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. He could sing in a smooth style reminiscent of the great Atlantic Records balladeers and craft a mean pop tune; in time, he co-wrote several songs with Doc Pomus, an influence. During his three-decade long career, he covered a vast musical terrain –- soul, R&B and blues — and scored an international hit with a Cajun-flavored rendition of “Hey Joe.” His song “Storybook Love,” which appeared in the film “The Princess Bride,” was nominated for an Oscar.
DeVille is survived by his wife Nina and son Sean.
- Willy DeVille official website
- Willy DeVille MySpace
- Willy DeVille Wikipedia entry
Q: What’s Worse Than Being Known as "The Baby Born at Woodstock"? A: Sitting Through a Six-CD Set of Material from the Original Festival (Note: Alternate Answer "The Baby Born at Woodstock ‘94" Is Also Acceptable)
As for the headline above, of course I jest. Any festival that has kept television, movie, and documentary directors afloat with easy peasy '60s stock footage choices and kept this guy upper New York state’s most eligible dairy farm bachelor from the festival's end to his death in 1973 can't be that bad. Besides, "The Baby Born at Woodstock" is a misnomer. There were two births at Woodstock. And four miscarriages.
Woodstock is still the most famous of music festivals, and as such it gets its fair shake of kudos and stick for being one of the countercultural iconic events of the 20th century. Both fairly and unfairly pigeon-holed as unwashed hippie nonsense, Woodstock featured a slew of performances that, while dated by time that has since passed, simply made the times. It provides one of the best possible time-capsule reminiscences from an era gone by, and of an era constantly recycled and mined for inspiration, nostalgia, and ridicule. The time is again ripe to reminisce over the festival's music and who else but the historical evaluators at Rhino could revisit it up to the gills? No one, that’s who! On August 18 Rhino will release Woodstock. 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur’s Farm, a box set containing 77 songs of the best performances from every artist who appeared at the festival in chronological order of appearance. This is all part of Rhino’s 40-year anniversary celebration of the original "3 Days of Peace & Music." Available already are reissues of the Music from the Original Soundtrack and More and Woodstock Two albums which coincided with the re-release of Michael Wadleigh’s epic documentary Woodstock (1970) by Warner Home Video.
Some recordings of Woodstock appearances have become the stuff of legend (Joe Cocker, Jimi Hendrix, The Who's killer Abbie Hoffman-bashing set, um, Sha Na Na) or damned near inescapable for any flashback victim, while many more have never been released or appreciated fully (Quill, Bert Sommer, Incredible String Band). The Rhino package set offers a "considerable amount of ancillary material sprinkled throughout the discs -- stage announcements, lysergic babble, the sounds of rain, a cameo appearance by Abbie Hoffman, and the graciousness of Max Yasgur's address to the crowd heard for the first time in its entirety" -- and setlists reflect the definite order of the performances that went down in Bethel, NY, a source of conflicting opinion and frustration in the past. Housing six CDs, Woodstock. 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur’s Farm is the most definitive audio document of the "aquarian exposition" of August 17-19, 1969 yet produced.
Here are the tracks and helpful asterisk legend. Blame the hippies. Especially if they have typically bonkers names like "Wavy Gravy" or "Chip Monck." Breathe deep but don’t take the green acid. Or was it the brown acid that was bad? Best not to take any acid, flower children…
Disc 1:
1. Richie Havens - "Handsome Johnny"
2. Richie Havens - "Freedom (Motherless Child)"
3. John Morris - "Choppity Choppity"
4. Sweetwater - "Look Out"
5. Sweetwater - "Two Worlds" *
6. Bert Sommer - "Jennifer" *
7. Bert Sommer - "And When It's Over" *
8. Bert Sommer - "Smile" ‹ Bert Sommer *
9. John Morris - "There Goes Marilyn!"
10. Tim Hardin - "Hang On to a Dream" *
11. Tim Hardin - "Simple Song of Freedom" *
12. John Morris - "Flat Blue Acid"
13. Ravi Shankar - "Raga Puriya-Dhanashri/Gat In Sawarital" *
14. Melanie - "Momma Momma" *
15. Melanie - "Beautiful People"
16. Melanie - "Birthday of the Sun"
17. Arlo Guthrie - "Coming into Los Angeles" ***
18. Arlo Guthrie - "Wheel of Fortune" *
19. Arlo Guthrie - "Every Hand in the Land" *
20. John Morris - "All You Funny People"
Disc 2:
1. Joan Baez - "Joe Hill"
2. Joan Baez - "Sweet Sir Galahad"
3. Joan Baez - "Hickory Wind"*
4. Joan Baez w/ Jeffrey Shurtleff - "Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man"
5. John Morris - "Bring Scully His Asthma Pills"
6. John Morris "Insulin" & Quill Intro
7. Quill - "They Live the Life" *
8. Quill - "That's How I Eat" *
9. Chip Monck - "I Understand Your Wife Is Having a Baby"
10. Country Joe McDonald - "Donovan's Reef" *
11. Country Joe McDonald - "The 'Fish' Cheer"/"I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag"
12. Santana - "Persuasion"
13. Santana - "Soul Sacrifice"
14. John B. Sebastian - "How Have You Been"
15. John B. Sebastian - "Rainbows All Over Your Blues"
16. John B. Sebastian - "I Had a Dream"
17. Incredible String Band - "The Letter" *
18. Incredible String Band - "When You Find Out Who You Are" *
19. Chip Monck - "She Is Lost"
Disc 3:
1. Chip Monck - "We're in Pretty Good Shape"
2. Canned Heat - "Going Up the Country"
3. Canned Heat - "Woodstock Boogie" **
4. Chip Monck - "The Brown Acid Is Not Specifically Too Good"
5. Mountain - "Blood of the Sun" ***
6. Mountain - "Theme for an Imaginary Western" ***
7. Mountain - "For Yasgur's Farm" *
8. Chip Monck - "For Those of You Who Have Partaken of the Green Acid"
9. Jerry Garcia & Country Joe McDonald - "Green Acid Advice"
10. Grateful Dead - "Dark Star" *
11. Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Green River"
12. Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Bad Moon Rising" *
13. Creedence Clearwater Revival - "I Put a Spell on You"
Disc 4:
1. Janis Joplin - "Work Me, Lord"
2. Janis Joplin - "Ball and Chain"
3. Sly & The Family Stone - Medley: "Dance to the Music"/"Music Lover"/"I Want to Take You Higher"
4. Abbie Hoffman - "The Politics of the Situation"
5. The Who - "Amazing Journey" *
6. The Who - "Pinball Wizard" *
7. Abbie Hoffman vs. Pete Townshend
8. The Who - "We're Not Gonna Take It" **
9. Jefferson Airplane - "The Other Side of This Life" *
10. Jefferson Airplane - "Somebody to Love"
11. Jefferson Airplane - "Won't You Try"/ "Saturday Afternoon"
12. Grace Slick - "We Got a Whole Lot of Orange"
13. Jefferson Airplane - "Volunteers"
14. Wavy Gravy - "Breakfast in Bed for 400,000"
15. John Morris - "It Just Keeps Goin'"
16. Max Yasgur Speaks
Disc 5:
1. Joe Cocker - "Feelin' Alright" *
2. Joe Cocker - "Let's Go Get Stoned"
3. Joe Cocker - "With a Little Help from My Friends"
4. The Rainstorm
5. Country Joe & The Fish - "Rock & Soul Music"
6. Country Joe & The Fish - "Love" *
7. Country Joe & The Fish - "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine" *
8. Country Joe & The Fish - "Summer Dresses" *
9. Country Joe & The Fish - "Silver and Gold" *
10. Country Joe & The Fish - "Rock & Soul Music" (Reprise) *
11. Johnny Winter - "Leland Mississippi Blues" *
12. Johnny Winter - "Mean Town Blues"
13. Blood Sweat & Tears - "You've Made Me So Very Happy" *
Disc 6:
1. Crosby, Stills, & Nash - "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"
2. Crosby, Stills, & Nash - "Guinnevere"
3. Crosby, Stills, & Nash - "Marrakesh Express"
4. Crosby, Stills, & Nash - "4 + 20"
5. Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young - "Sea of Madness"
6. Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young - "Wooden Ships"
7. The Butterfield Blues Band - "No Amount of Loving" *
8. The Butterfield Blues Band - "Love March"
9. The Butterfield Blues Band - "Everything's Gonna Be Alright"
10. Sha Na Na - "Get a Job" *
11. Sha Na Na - "At the Hop"
12. Sha Na Na - "Get a Job" (Reprise) *
13. Jimi Hendrix - "The Star Spangled Banner"/"Purple Haze"/"Woodstock Improvisation"
14. Chip Monck - "Woodstock Farewell"
* previously unissued (never before released)
** previously unissued full-length version (previously released on a Woodstock title in edited form)
*** previously unissued Woodstock recording (presenting the actual Woodstock performances here for the first time)
