Looking back 2011: Morrissey

Morrissey was in the news quite a bit in 2011. In April he revealed in a BBC interview that he was working on his autobiography, he debuted three new tracks in June, and in July he got bit by a dog and fans were allegedly patted down for meat products before allowed entry into concerts.

Morrissey launched a North American tour in November which was scheduled to kick off in Chicago, but two days before the opening date the Chicago show was postponed (and rescheduled for December) due to an immigration issue with a member of the band. Chicago fans were crushed, but somehow were under the belief that Morrissey was somewhere in the Chicago area, prompting Scotland Yard Gospel Choir to react to the frenzy by recording this little ditty:

"Morrissey's In Chicago" Scotland Yard Gospel Choir



Fans in Oakland were dealt the low blow of having their Morrissey show cancelled (this time due to an eye issue with a band member), and fans there didn't take the news well.

Morrissey booked a couple of late night television appearances, but Jimmy Kimmel canceled on him due to a scheduling snafu. Luckily Conan O'Brien had the good sense to have him on the show and Moz performed one of his new songs:




Moz played his final show of the North American tour at the Royal Oak Music Theater, which was awesome except for some aggro security issues.



A few days after the tour's conclusion, Morrissey sounded off about security at the ROMT.

He ended 2011 by revealing the records of which he's "most proud," and was named PETA's Person of the Year.

Looking back 2011: the Cure

The Cure played a handful of shows on the Reflections tour--the tour featured Robert Smith and the band playing the first three Cure records in their entirety followed by a greatest hits encore.





Watch more footage from Reflections here.

In December, the Cure released a live collection, Bestival Live 2011, which was recorded during the band's September appearance at Bestival.

Looking back 2011: R.E.M.

After 31 years together R.E.M. packed it in and called it a day in 2011. The band posted the following announcement on their official website on September 21st:

"To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening." R.E.M.

In November R.E.M. went on to release the double disc career retrospective R.E.M: Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982-2011 which featured three new songs. The also band made a couple of videos for one of the new songs, "We All Go Back To Where We Belong."

Goodbye R.E.M., your music will live on...

"Shaking Through"



"Harborcoat"



"Driver 8"



"Fall On Me"



"The One I Love"



"World Leader Pretend"



"Texarkana"



"Nightswimming"



"Strange Currencies"



"Electrolite"



"At My Most Beautiful"



"Imitation Of Life"



"Leaving New York"



"Supernatural Superserious"



"Blue" (with Patti Smith)

Looking back 2011: New Order/Peter Hook

In 2011 New Order reunited for some live shows in Paris, London, and South America, but WITHOUT key member Peter Hook. Hooky was pretty mad about not being asked to participate and made some cheeky comments on his official website and to the media, but at the end of the day, the New Order reunion went on without him.

"Temptation" New Order WITHOUT Peter Hook



Watch more live New Order footage WITHOUT Peter Hook here.

By the way, New Order will release a live recording of their December 10th concert as a 2-cd set Live At The London Troxy in January.

Don't feel too bad for Hooky because he wasn't sitting around at home doing nothing. In the fall he toured North America with his band the Light and performed classic Joy Division albums Unknown Pleasures & Closer. Some surprise guest vocalists even showed up at a few of the shows to sing the encore:

"Transmission/Love Will Tear Us Apart" Peter Hook & the Light w/ Billy Corgan



"A Means To An End" Peter Hook & the Light w/ Moby



"Isolation" Peter Hook & the Light w/ Perry Farrell

Paul Westerberg

It's Paul Westerberg's birthday today

Red House Painters

Red House Painters is one of the best bands to listen to when you're feeling sad. You can't go wrong:

"Glass on the pavement under my shoe...without you is all my life amounts to"

"Katy Song"



"I've had enough of these brutal beatings and name callings. To lose me to this bed, bruised internally, eternally..."

"Mistress" (original version)



I think the piano version of "Mistress" is even 500 times better than the original version:

"Mistress" (acoustic/piano version)

Shoplifters of the media world unite...

Filmmaker Ti West wrote a piece on why you should pay for independent films (instead of ripping them from the net). A lot of what he wrote could also be said about other forms of art (like music) particularly this paragraph:

Every time you purchase something you are making a statement. You are creating physical evidence that something has value. If something has a high value, then it becomes in high demand. So if you make a concerted effort to support lesser-known, interesting and esoteric things (Art?) then you are helping make those lesser-known things more popular. I'm sure we can all agree that there are incredible movies made every year that never get the attention they deserve - That's not the movies' fault. That is our collective fault for not being proactive enough to GO OUT OF OUR WAY to support them.

Read West's entire commentary here.

Patti Smith

Happy Birthday Patti Smith!

"People Have The Power"

Motor

A couple of weeks ago Motor released their new single, "Man Made Machine" featuring Martin L. Gore on vocals. The song is awesome:



Gore had been a fan of Motor and Bryan Black explained in an interview with Beatportal how Motor wound up opening up for Depeche Mode on the band's 2009 tour:
Martin Gore had always played our records when he DJed, and at some point Mute asked us to remix the DM single “Precious.” I was hanging out with the band in NYC while they were recording their last LP, Sounds of the Universe, and the idea of Motor supporting DM on their upcoming stadium tour was brought up. Naturally we took it

Black also talked about the other guests that are on Motor's new cd--namely Gary Numan and Billie Ray Martin, plus how he hooked up with CLR music. Read the entire interview here. Motor's full cd Man Made Machine drops March 30th. (Wow, that's a lot of M's in one sentence).

Primal Scream

Primal Scream will close out the year (and their 20th anniversary Screamdelica tour) with two shows in Scotland tonight and tomorrow. Last night the band played the O2 in Dublin. Watch some fan shot footage:

"Slip Inside This House" (Live from O2 in Dublin)



For some professionally shot Primal Scream footage, check out video from their appearance at this summer's Glastonbury Festival

"Come Together"

Noel talks Smiths reunion

Contact Music recently asked Noel Gallagher who he'd most like to see reunite, and it turns out it's The Smiths.  

 

"The one everybody would like to see is The Smiths and they say it's not going to happen but they said the Roses wouldn't happen and they said Led Zeppelin wouldn't happen."

 

Read the rest of his comments about The Smiths and also his comments about the recently announced Stone Roses reunion here. 

 

Also note that a couple of internet sites are taking this quote out of context, acting like Noel's got some special knowledge that a reunion is going to be taking place, when in reality, he's just saying "never say never."

David Sylvian

David Sylvian will release a solo retrospective A Victim of Stars 1982-2011 next year. The 2-disc set will feature a previously unreleased track, "Where's Your Gravity" and drops on February 29th. Sylvian will also hit the road for the Implausible Beauty 2012 tour in March, which so far is scheduled to visit Europe and the U.K. tour next year. Sylvian posted a statement on his official site which explained why he's decided to embark on a tour:

There are key moments in one's life where you feel a corner has been turned, milestones where what was will never be again, at least not in a manner that might be considered comparable or even recognisable. Over the past decade I feel I've had a number of these pivotal experiences in both my public and private lives. Some of these changes are welcome, in fact most are, but with some come a sense of regret. In 2007 I felt certain my touring days were behind me. I simply couldn't see myself going out on the road or, more pertinently, the stage again. As the work I produced became increasingly improvisational and abstracted and other, conflicting, issues arose, so the likelihood of my touring appeared all the more remote. But mercifully life is nothing if not capricious and unpredictable. So it is with a disconcerting degree of anticipation that I find myself preparing to take to the road again albeit for a relatively short, sharp, restorative jaunt.

Catch up with David Sylvian on his official website.

"Forbidden Colours" David Sylvian + Ryuichi Sakamoto

Morrissey

Morrissey posted a ranking of his ten favorite records "of which I'm most proud" on his favorite fansite and it's kind of an interesting list--take a look below:
1. Years Of Refusal
2. Ringleader of the Tormentors
3. You Are the Quarry
4. Vauxhall and I
5. Strangeways Here We Come
6. Rank
7. Louder Than Bombs
8. Bona Drag
9. Southpaw Grammar
10. Your Arsenal
Morrissey was also named PETA's 'Person of the Year' in the U.K.

Morrissey

Morrissey was named PETA's 2011 'Person of the Year' for making the world a kinder place for animals. Most fans know Morrissey's views on animal rights, and those who have attended his concerts over the years have seen first hand how passionate he is about the subject (fans in the U.K. were even allegedly patted down for contraband meat products before allowed entry into his show this summer).

If you're interested in Morrissey and animal rights, you might want to check out a couple of interviews Morrissey did with PETA's Dan Mathews--here's one from 1985, and here's a more recent interview.

VCMG

Earlier this year Vince Clarke and Martin L. Gore formed techno project, VCMG, and released an ep titled Spock a few weeks ago. Now comes news that VCMG has set a release date for their debut album: the record, SSSS, will drop February 28th in the U.K. and a week later in North America.

"Spock"

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

British tabloid The Sun recently doled out their year end awards--the Bizarre Lord & Gig Awards 2011--and among the winners was Noel Gallagher. His solo debut release Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds scooped up Album of the Year. Congrats, Noel! Check out a picture of Noel & his award (scroll down the page) plus take a look at the other winners here.

Watch the entire Noel Gallagher Sitting Here in Silence concert here while you can.

"Don't Look Back In Anger" (from October show in Manchester)

Dinosaur Jr

Dinosaur Jr has been on the road playing Bug in its entirety followed by an encore set with some greatest hits. Some of the shows also featured a pre-show interview with the band hosted by Henry Rollins. Check out some interview footage plus some live performances below:

Henry Rollins interview with Dinosaur Jr



"Feel The Pain" (December 14 in Los Angeles)



"Just Like Heaven" (December 14 in Los Angeles)



"Freak Scene" (December 13 in Solana Beach)



"Yeah We Know" (December 13 in Solana Beach)

Heaven Knows I'm Christmassy Now

It's worth a giggle, no?

Rhodri Marsden "Heaven Knows I'm Christmassy Now"

Heaven Knows I'm Christmassy Now by freefrench

David Bowie/Bing Crosby

Buz Kohan, the writer of "Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth" revealed in an interview with CBS how the duet between David Bowie and Bing Crosby came together. Watch the interview with Kohan, plus watch video of the classic performance which aired on Crosby's 1977 Merry Old Christmas Special:




David Bowie/Bing Crosby "Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth"

Merry Xmas from Al Jourgensen

Always fun to dust this one off--back in 2009 Al Jourgensen recorded a Christmas song, "It's Always Christmas Time" along with Mark Thwaite (in memory of Paul Raven who died earlier that year). Check it out:

***Take note--F-bombs o'plenty:

Al Jourgensen & Mark Thwaite "It's Always Christmas Time"



Now, that's holiday cheer! Don't you think Al's video/Christmas cheer is 5,000,000 times better than watching Scott Weiland pretend he's Bing Crosby???



Stunningly bad, isn't it? I love the first comment below the Weiland video on YouTube: "I've heard drunken hobos with better vocal technique." Awesome. And true.

Radiohead

If you weren't on the 'net yesterday, you might not have heard that an alleged old school track from Radiohead has been unearthed. Legend has it, the song is titled "Putting Ketchup in the Fridge" and it was recorded sometime in the 1990's--either for Pablo Honey or the Bends. Take a listen:

"Putting Ketchup in the Fridge"



Full disclosure: I hope it turns out the song was recorded during the Pablo Honey sessions because it's incredibly entertaining to read comments from certain music peeps who couldn't slag Radiohead/Pablo Honey enough in the early days and now are essentially creaming themselves over anything that came out back then (for instance, the internet frenzy over these demos was hysterical.) Good times.

"Stop Whispering"

Morrissey

Morrissey issued a statement recently on fansite true-to-you.net (as he does from time to time) regarding his recent North American tour as well as a few other things.  Check out the comments he made regarding Sunday's show at the Royal Oak Music Theater:

 

I stopped the show at the Royal Oak Theater in Michigan in consideration of the audience - who were being unashamedly assaulted by the in-house security. It is difficult to watch this happen, especially when our friends (such as Douglas) are being forcibly choked to death simply for being there. If such attacks happened at the opera or in a night-club, the victims would rightfully sue. Strangely, in-house security sense that they have freedom to manhandle patrons of 'rock' shows. I wonder why? You all know how to contact the Royal Oak Theater. The Head of Security at the Royal Oak was the one inflicting the most damage. He obviously thought he was still down at the abattoir - or wished he were.

He also had these choice words about the Jimmy Kimmel Live cancellation:

We all enjoyed the Conan O'Brien Show, especially after the sinking loss of the Jimmy Kimmel Show being dropped. We only had one other free night to do the show, so Jimmy asked his booked guests 'Lady A' if they would switch their slot so that we could fit in; but they refused. Oh.

Morrissey also discussed his recording future (he doesn't think he'll get a label deal) and his ongoing legal suit against British mag NME.  Read the entire statement from Morrissey here. 

 

Joe Strummer

Joe Strummer died on this day in 2002. Check out some footage of Strummer from over the years, starting with video of the U.S. television debut of the Clash:


"London Calling/Train In Vain" (U.S. TV debut, 1980)




"Love Kills"



"Bankrobber"



"Johnny Appleseed" (Letterman, 2001)

Primal Scream/Bobby Gillespie

An interview with Bobby Gillespie from Primal Scream has been published in today's Irish Times (via NME). The interview focuses mainly on 1991's Screamadelica, which the band has been playing live on tour for the 20th anniversary of the influential record. Gillespie revealed the band was initially hesitant to perform the shows, thinking fans wouldn't be into seeing the full record live. It wasn't until he saw Van Morrison perform Astral Weeks and The Stooges perform Raw Power live (as full concerts) that he decided it would work for Primal Scream.

Gillespie also made a couple of choice comments about today's music scene--commenting that rock seemed to lose its creativity around the late '90's/early '00's:

“It happened around the time of the White Stripes and The Strokes, and no disrespect meant to either band. It seemed that a lot of people had given up trying to be experimental."

“Rock music is no longer where creativity is and it’s no longer taken seriously by creative people. It’s been absorbed into the mainstream culture and has become too conformist and normal. There doesn’t appear to be many great minds at work in music right now.”

Read the entire interview here.

"Higher Than The Sun"



"Movin' On Up"



"Damaged" (live)

David Bowie

The BBC aired a Top of the Pops special in the U.K. this evening. The highlight was a rare performance of "The Jean Genie" by David Bowie from 1973. Watch it below (courtesy of WhoColor).

Cocteau Twins

Stars & Topsoil-A Collection 1982-1990, the 18 track greatest hits collection from the Cocteau Twins has been available on cd since 2003, but it will finally be released on vinyl next year. The first pressing will be on heavy white vinyl which will drop on February 7th, then a less expensive black vinyl version will be available later in the year. The full track listing for Stars & Topsoil-A Collection 1982-1990 is listed below. For more info on the release, visit the official 4AD store.

SIDE ONE

Blind Dumb Deaf
Sugar Hiccup
My Love paramour
Pearly Dewdrops' Drop
Lorelei

SIDE TWO

Pandora
Aikea-Guinea
Pink Orange Red
Pale Clouded White

SIDE THREE

Lazy Calm
The Thinner The Air
Orange Appled
Cico Buff

SIDE FOUR

Carolyn's Fingers
Fifty Fifty Clown
Iceblink Luck
Heaven Or Las Vegas
Watchlar

Blur

As previously reported Blur will be honored at the Brit Awards next year with the award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. When news broke about the award there was tons of speculation that the band would perform at the ceremony, especially considering the band is reportedly working on new music. Well, it looks like the Brit performance is definitely happening--Alex James revealed on British XFM today that Blur will indeed unite and take over (yep, I said it) or at least reunite and perform at the Brit Awards, and also hinted at a Blur tour next year.

Ministry

Ministry's new single, "99 Percenters" will drop on iTunes on Friday. Al Jourgensen told Revolver that the song supports the Occupy movement, and was inspired by Vietnam protest song "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag" by Country Joe & The Fish. The full length cd from Ministry, Relapse, is currently scheduled to drop on March 30th. Read more about Relapse here and check out the series of 'making of Relapse' videos below.



Webisode 2
Webisode 3
Webisode 4
Webisode 5

Jourgensen also just released a country record under the Buck Satan & the 666 Shooters pseudonym, and you can purchase the release here and listen to a stream of a few tracks here.

Alex Chilton/Teenage Fanclub

A YouTube search for Teenage Fanclub's cover of Camper Van Beethoven's "Take The Skinheads Bowling," led me to something even better--an awesome bootleg of a concert featuring Alex Chilton & Teenage Fanclub! Chilton & the Fannies performed together April 8, 1996 at the 13th Note in Glasgow. The show was taped and rebroadcast on the Scottish BBC Radio show Beat Patrol soon after the gig and lucky for us the audio has made its way online!

Take a listen to the bootleg of the concert courtesy of slumberm83. The tracklisting is posted below the audio:













1. September Gurls
2. I've Never Found A Girl
3. My Heart Stood Still
4. Patti Girl
5. Any Way The Wind Blows
6. Walk Right Back
7. Free Again
8. Telstar
9. Have I The Right
10. The Dark End Of The Street
11. What Do You Know About Love
12. All Your Love
13. Life's A Gas
14. Waltz Across Texas
15. Wooly Bully
16. Hey! Little Child

Internet legend has it Chilton + Teenage Fanclub covered "Take The Skinheads Bowling" at a different live event in 1993:

Radiohead

Two previously unreleased Radiohead tracks recorded during The King Of Limbs: From The Basement sessions are now available digitally. Radiohead performed both "The Daily Mail" and "Staircase" live at shows, but this is the first time the tracks get a proper release. Download the songs individually, as a 2-song ep, or as part of the From The Basement digital release. FYI, From The Basement will be released physically on DVD + Blu-Ray in January and you can pre-order now from the band's official website.

Take a listen to a stream of both:

"The Daily Mail"



"Staircase"

S'Express

Since the post below this one briefly mentions S'Express, hey, why not relive 1988's "Theme From S'Express", right?

"Theme From S'Express" (Official video)



Better quality audio:

Motor/Martin L. Gore

An ep from techno duo Motor titled Man Made Machine was released today. The title track features Martin L. Gore! Take a look/listen to "Man Made Machine," which kind of sounds like "Personal Jesus" from Depeche Mode:



"Man Made Machine" is the first single from the band's 4th full length record, Man Made Machine, which drops March 30th. Other guests on the full length record include Gary Numan, Billie Ray Martin (from S'Express!) and Reni Lane. The album will be released on Chris Liebing's German techno imprint CLR (Create Learn Realize).

FYI, CLR holds weekly podcasts featuring tons of AWESOME music and you can listen to the latest one (yesterday's podcast featured Martin L. Gore) here.

Also don't forget Gore just launched another project with Vince Clarke called VCMG. The band's first ep Spock is available now.

Morrissey

By now you're probably aware of the ending of Morrissey's show last night in Royal Oak--he cut the encore short after getting annoyed with security. Watch video of the encore below and read a full review of the show here:

Johnny Marr Xmas

Click here to download a free holiday song, "Free Christmas," from Johnny Marr & The Healers! Marr also posted some holiday pictures, so be sure to check it out!

Take a listen to "Free Christmas"

Review: Morrissey at Royal Oak Music Theater

Morrissey played a sold out show (and the final date on his North American tour) last night at the Royal Oak Music Theater. A few comments about the show:

The show was great! Overall the set list was really similar to Saturday night's show in Chicago, give or take a song or two--I didn't write down the songs or the order. Samrx who was at the show sent me an email with the setlist, which is posted below:

I Want The One I Can't Have
First Of The Gang To Die
When Last I Spoke to Carol
You're The One For Me Fatty
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
Black Cloud
Everyday Is Like Sunday
Satellite of Love (Lou Reed cover)
People Are The Same Everywhere
Maladjusted
You Have Killed Me
Speedway
All the Lazy Dykes
Meat is Murder
Ouija Board, Ouija Board
Scandinavia
I Know It's Over
One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell

(encore)

Still Ill

It was great to hear "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out," live, though it was strange to hear it played so early in the set (he did that in Chicago as well.) As for the "Meat Is Murder" video that played during the song--wow, incredibly disturbing! I've seen him screen animal cruelty videos before during "Meat Is Murder" on previous tours, but this one was so much more gruesome than the others. I still shudder at the thought of it and it seemed like a lot of people were actively trying to not look at the screen.

The unfortunate part of the show was the abrupt ending due to Morrissey's displeasure with security at the venue. As is par for the course with Morrissey shows, there were a few people trying to get on stage and security got somewhat more aggressive--I wasn't at the very front & didn't see this personally though. Near the end of Moz's set there was an alleged altercation between security and Morrissey's band member, Boz. During the encore security continued to keep fans off stage and Morrissey attempted to calm things down, but it wasn't in the cards. He cut the end of "Still Ill" short, made a snarky comment about the "excellent security" at the venue, threw down the microphone, and stomped off the stage.



For fans that felt ripped off from the show ending abruptly, keep in mind Morrissey only did one encore song each night of the show, so it wasn't like he was going to play anything else, but still it was unfortunate that the show (and his tour) had to end in the manner it did.

Oh, I'd be remiss in not discussing Morrissey's outfits--he started off the show wearing a pink shirt, then eventually changed into a sequiny black number about halfway through the set. During the final song (before the encore) Moz ripped off his shirt, much to the delight of the audience, natch, but when he came back for the encore he was once again full clothed--this time wearing a forest green colored shirt. I think he rocked the forest green the best, if you ask me.

The band, by the way, were all clad in kelly green UCLA shirts, and when Morrissey introduced them near the end of the show I was surprised to find out most of them were from Chicago. I'm not sure which of them had the eye problem a couple of weeks ago, but they sounded tight as hell. Thumbs up.

The crappy part of my experience is that I learned that my iPhone totally sucks for taking pictures in a concert setting. I wasn't that far from the front, but you wouldn't know it by my crappy pictures. I posted a few of the "better" ones above but they all pretty much sucked. I did, however, get a shot of the magnificent Moz poster/cardboard cutout that was being sold at the merch booth. Brace yourself.



Oh dear. Where exactly would one put that??? By the way, if you can't tell from the picture, that was selling for 100 bucks! Good times...

Unite & Take Over: Stories Inspired By The Smiths Vol 1

If you like the Smiths you may want to check out the comic Unite & Take Over (Stories Inspired By The Smiths Vol 1). The comic was released a few months ago at indie comic shops and now it's popped up on a few Amazon subsellers. To find out more about the project read an interview with the creator Shawn Demumbrum here.

Johnny Marr BBC episode

Johnny Marr appeared on the BBC Radio 6 show Vinyl Revival earlier today. Marr discussed (and played) some of his favorites from his vinyl collection with host Pete Paphides. He also shared some fun stories about Morrissey, Ian Curtis, and Bernard Sumner. You can listen to the archive of the hour-long episode here. The episode will be available for your listening pleasure for the next 7 days, so be sure to check it out if you're interested.

Morrissey

Morrissey will be playing the final show on his North American tour tonight in Royal Oak. Check out the setlist from last night's show in Chicago for an idea of what to expect. Morrissey was in a pretty good mood and had a LOT to say (including fun comments about Lou Reed before "Satellite of Love") and what some considered a "disturbing" video during the performance of "Meat Is Murder." Tonight's show is sold out, but there's always StubHub I guess.

I Want The One I Can't Have
You Have Killed Me
You're The One For Me Fatty
When I Last Spoke To Carol
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
Everyday Is Like Sunday
Maladjusted
First Of The Gang To Die
People Are The Same Everywhere
Speedway
All The Lazy Dykes
Satellite Of Love
Meat Is Murder
Ouija Board
Scandinavia
I Know It's Over
Let Me Kiss You

Still Ill (encore)

Wire

Wire's 2011 live album The Black Session- Paris 10 May 2011 will be given a worldwide release in February.  The 13 track live album was previously only available exclusively at the band's live shows in the U.K. this past year.  The Black Session - Paris 10 May 2011 was recorded at Radio France's Paris studios in May and features material from their last record Red Barked Tree as well as classic songs such as "Pink Flag," "Kidney Bingos," "Drill," and more.  Check out the tracklisting below and pre-order the record here.  The record will be released on February 6th.

 

01.  Adapt

02.  Comet

03:  Smash

04:  Please Take

05.  Kidney Bingos 

06:  Clay 

07:  Map Ref 41°N  93°W

08:  Moreover

09:  Two People In A Room

10:  Down To This

11:  Drill

12:  Red Barked Trees

13:  Pink Flag

Ian McCulloch/Echo & The Bunnymen

Ian McCulloch will release a new solo cd next year (date pending). McCulloch has described the new record as "Hunky Dory David Bowie trying to find Brian Wilson's surfboard on the moon." McCulloch also called the record spiritual, especially a track on the record titled "Lift Me Up." He did an interview with the BBC yesterday and premiered a song. Check out the broadcast here.

McCulloch's band Echo & the Bunnymen are currently gigging--they're playing the first of two shows in Liverpool tonight.

Trent Reznor/How To Destroy Angels

Trent Reznor spilled some details regarding the How To Destroy Angels full length debut cd to Rolling Stone. The full length cd from the project featuring Reznor, his wife Mariqueen, and partner in crime Atticus Ross, is likely to drop in the first quarter of next year. Reznor reveals the music was influenced by Cabaret Voltaire (uh, and hopefully the band's namesake, Coil) and HTDA has finally found their "sound" so to speak. Read the article here.

Meanwhile Reznor and Ross were nominated for a 2012 Golden Globe award for the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo score. The duo won a Golden Globe earlier this year for the Social Network score, so we'll see if they can enjoy back to back wins. Chris Cornell was also nominated for a Golden Globe for his song "The Keeper" from the Machine Gun Preacher soundtrack. Check out the full list of nominees here. The winners will be announced January 15th.

Al Jourgensen

Al Jourgensen will finally release his long talked about country project under the name Buck Satan & the 666 Shooters on cd next month. Bikers Welcome! Ladies Drink Free will be released physically on January 17th, and you can purchase the digital version from the 13th planet shop here. The album features 12 tracks (the digital version adds one extra song), including three cover songs (the Byrds, Heartsfield, and Grateful Dead covers.) Check out the track listing--the song titles really are quite magnificent--and also stream two tracks from the record below:

1. Quicker Than Liquor
2. What's Wrong With Me
3. Medication Nation
4. Drugstore Truck Drivin' Man (the Byrds)
5. The Only Time I'm Sober Is When You're Gone (Heartsfield)
6. Cheap Wine, Cheap Ramen
7. Down The Drain
8. Sleepless Nights & Bar Room Fights
9. Friend Of The Devil (Grateful Dead)
10. Ten Long Years In Texas
11. I Hate Every Bone In Your Body Except Mine
12. Take Me Away

"What's Wrong With Me"



"Medication Nation"

Public Image Limited

Public Image Limited's ENTIRE back catalog (with the exception of the Metal Box and Second Edition) will be remastered and reissued by E.M.I. in the U.K. on January 16th. No word on if/when these might be available in North America, however it's likely they'll be released Stateside at some point since they were also released in Japan earlier this year.

The band's catalog includes the following 10 records:

Public ImageParis In The SpringFlowers Of RomanceLive In Tokyo
This Is What You Want...This Is What You Get
Compact Disc
Happy?
9
The Greatest Hits...So Far
That What Is Not

In addition, John Lydon's 1997 release Psycho's Path will also be reissued on January 16th. Take a look at the track listings for all the reissues here.

A new record from P.I.L. is also in the works and you can read more about that here.

Ultravox

Ultravox has been dormant for years (though they did reunite briefly in 2009 for some live shows) but a new record and tour are on the way for 2012. Original member, Billy Currie (violin/strings) has revealed that the classic Ultravox lineup just finished recording the band's new cd, which was produced by Steve Lipson. The band is currently plotting some live shows in April to coincide with the record's anticipated release in the spring. Currie also revealed that the viola will be prominently featured on the record. Read Currie's full update here.

"Reap The Wild Wind"



"Love's Great Adventure"

Morrissey

Morrissey's North American tour is winding down--the last two dates are Saturday's show in Chicago and Sunday's sold out show at the Royal Oak Music Theater.

Morrissey pulled out "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" for the shows in Mexico--will he keep the Smiths' classic dusted off for the Midwest??? If nothing else, he has been ripping his shirt off at all the shows, so at least there's that...

"There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" (check him out getting somewhat misty/emotional)

Peter Murphy

Nettwerk Records is giving away a free download of Peter Murphy's song "Seesaw Sway" for the next 20 hours as part of the label's 12 Days Of Christmas promotion. "Seesaw Sway" is on Murphy's latest cd Ninth which dropped earlier this year. Download the track for free right here.

Listen to a couple of other tracks from Ninth:

Peter Murphy - Ninth [Sampler] by nettwerkmusicgroup

Finally, give a listen to "Clean Break," a track Murphy recorded for the forthcoming Dark Flowers album which is scheduled for a spring 2012 release. More about that project here.

clean break feat Peter Murphy by thedarkflowers

Dandy Warhols

The Dandy Warhols want to get you in the spirit of Christmas, so they're giving away free downloads of "Silent Night" and "Little Drummer Boy" here.  E-mail signup is required, fyi.

Britpop musical

A theatrical production on the Britpop music scene is reportedly in the works according to a report in Contact Music (who referenced a report in Britain's Daily Record.)  Although the project sounds like it's got MAJOR trainwreck potential (part of the plot will reportedly focus on the rivalry between Oasis and Blur), heavyweights Alan McGee (Creation Records founder) and Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting) are on board for the project.  All I know is, forget about the final production--I'd love to be watching the casting auditions for this one--how hysterical would that be?  We'll keep you posted on the progress of what is sure to be an awesome (hey, it's either gonna be awesomely good or awesomely bad) musical. 

Morrissey

Morrissey played Guadalajara last night:

"I Want The One I Can't Have"

Please Please Please A Tribute To The Smiths

The tribute record is finally out today. You can buy a special bundle from American Laundromat Records or buy it elsewhere. Check out some songs from the collection below.

The Wedding Present "Hand In Glove"




Girl With The Black Tights (feat. Tanya Donelly) by americanlaundromatrecords

Sheila Take A Bow (Smiths Cover) by Telekinesis by americanlaundromatrecords

Panic (Smiths Cover) by Kitten by americanlaundromatrecords

Chikita Violenta - Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (Smiths Tribute) by artsandcraftsmx

Well I Wonder (Smiths Cover) Sara Lov by americanlaundromatrecords

Pulp

Pulp will finally get around to releasing remastered versions of their first three cds, It (1983), Freaks (1987), and Separations (1992) early next year. These reissues were expected out earlier in this year, but in this case the delay is awesome--the band decided to go ahead and remaster the records as well as offer up extra material (originally they weren't going to bother remastering the music.)  The new versions will include extra material (b-sides, alternate mixes, previously unreleased tracks), new artwork, and new liner notes penned by Everett True.  All three releases are part of the Embers series and will drop in February.

 

 

Radiohead

Two Radiohead tracks recorded during sessions for The King Of Limbs will get a proper release on December 19th. Fan site Radiohead At Ease discovered links to buy the songs "The Daily Mail" and "Staircase" on digital sites starting December 19th. December 19th is also the day the King Of Limbs DVD drops, so it all makes perfect sense.

"The Daily Mail"



"Staircase"

Noel Gallagher

Noel Gallagher will be on Conan tonight. While you're waiting for that, watch Noel's acoustic performance of "Wonderwall" from his appearance at a radio show in San Diego over the weekend.



You can also watch Noel's recent concert from Amsterdam in its entirety here.

Desert Island Discs/Morrissey

BBC Radio 4 has uploaded the entire audio archive for its long running show Desert Island Discs. If you're not familiar with the show, celebrities are invited onto the program to reveal the 8 albums, as well as the book and luxury item they'd elect to have if stranded on a desert island. Desert Island Discs launched in 1942 and will be celebrating its 70th anniversary in January. You can check out the extensive audio archive of past shows and download episodes here or if you want a quick glance at the guests and choices, visit the wiki page here.

I've done you the favor of posting the audio from the episode featuring Morrissey (he appeared on the program in November 2009) below.

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3

New Order

New Order played a handful of live shows this past week--last night they played London and earlier in the week they played shows in South America. Check out some footage from the shows:

"Ceremony"



"Love Vigilantes"



"Love Will Tear Us Apart"



"The Perfect Kiss"



"Temptation"



"Age Of Consent"

The Stone Roses

Apparently the Stone Roses mean business. Yesterday the Kings of Manchester announced they've signed two record label deals (with Universal and Columbia) so you'd better believe they'll be releasing something next year. The label deals just add another layer of $$$ to what the band will be making off their sold out 2012 reunion shows. By the way, more shows are expected to be announced soon, so stay tuned.

The Wedding Present

Listen to the Wedding Present's cover of "Hand In Glove" from Please Please Please A Tribute To The Smiths:



Five other songs from the Smiths' tribute are streaming here. The double disc set drops on December 13th and you can pre-order it here.

Don't miss The Wedding Present live at the Pike Room in Pontiac on March 26th. For more information on the band's North American tour, click here. By the way, tickets are not on sale yet, but official ticket information is coming soon!

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo/Trent Reznor

Trent Reznor and Karen O were interviewed by The Scottish Sun and talked "Immigrant Song," the lead track from the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo soundtrack.  The two talked quite a bit about the soundtrack, which is out today digitally.  The interview is a great read--Trent Reznor discussed being a dad (his son Lazarus Echo is now one, and there's a new baby on the way!) plus he revealed a few more nuggets about his 2012 projects.  Expect a new How To Destroy Angels record in 2012, and a deluxe reissue of Reznor's fave NIN record, 1999's The Fragile, in surround sound (he remixed the record in 5.1 with Alan Moulder.) Read the full article here.

Morrissey

Morrissey played Mexico City the past two nights and you can watch some video from the shows below:

"I Want The One I Can't Have" (December 9th)



"First Of The Gang" (December 8th)



"I Know It's Over"



"You're The One For Me Fatty"



"I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris"



Morrissey has the night off tonight, but he'll pick back up tomorrow night in Puebla, Mexico. The tour will make its last two U.S. stops next weekend--December 17th (Chicago) and December 18th (Detroit). FYI, the Detroit show is now officially sold out.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

The soundtrack from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is available now as a digital download. You can order the physical versions of the album via the band's official store. The standard cd version ships the week of December 27th, and the deluxe version ships the week of February 7th. You can also still download 6 free tracks from the soundtrack here and stream the tracks here. The film opens in theaters nationwide on December 21st.



Lucky fans in Chicago & New York will have special Mouth Taped Shut previews this weekend (Chicago is tonight, NYC is Saturday). LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy will be on hand to DJ both events. Grab free RSVPs (while they last) here and here.

Trent Reznor's memorabilia auction is still going on through ebay. Check out the items currently up for bids here. Proceeds from the auction go to the California Greyhound Adoption Promotion.

Please Please Please A Tribute To The Smiths

After posting about this months and months ago, the two disc cd Please Please Please A Tribute To The Smiths will finally drop on Tuesday. Listen to 5 full songs from the release below. Unfortunately the full version of The Wedding Present's cover of "Hand In Glove" isn't fully streaming, but you can hear a sample of the song here and while you're at it preview samples from the entire record.

Girl With The Black Tights (feat. Tanya Donelly) by americanlaundromatrecords

Sheila Take A Bow (Smiths Cover) by Telekinesis by americanlaundromatrecords

Panic (Smiths Cover) by Kitten by americanlaundromatrecords

Chikita Violenta - Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (Smiths Tribute) by artsandcraftsmx

Well I Wonder (Smiths Cover) Sara Lov by americanlaundromatrecords