photos by Wei Shi

Passion Pit / Alt-J / Purity Ring & Danny Brown / crowd

Coachella 2013 is currently going down in Indio, CA for its second weekend after kicking off this past Friday (4/19). We've already posted pics of day 1 (HERE and HERE), day 2 (HERE) and day 3 (HERE) from weekend 1, and now we've got pictures of day 1 from weekend 2 in this post. This time around we caught sets by Passion Pit, Earl Sweatshirt, Polica, Youth Lagoon, Purity Ring, (who were joined by Danny Brown, whose new album they appear on), Foals, Modest Mouse, Alt-J and more.

Check out more pictures from 4/19, along with a "Coachellavated" video of the festival filmed from the top of director Chris Crutchfield's head and a video of Passion Pit's full set from weekend 1, below...

Continue reading "Coachella Day 1 Weekend 2 in pics (Passion Pit, Polica, Earl Sweatshirt, Youth Lagoon, Purity Ring, Modest Mouse & more)"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin (more at BV Chicago)

Stone Roses / How to Destroy Angels / Johnny Marr

Coachella 2013 is underway and streaming live. if I had to choose a theme musically for day one (Friday), it would have to be new, solo and side projects. The NY Times agrees...

Friday's lineup was teeming with such line-jumpers, performing with various degrees of laurel-resting. Early in the day came the Shouting Matches, a shambolic blues-esque outfit whose sales pitch is that it includes Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. The group took almost a half-hour for sound check, and its set was almost as loose. Mr. Vernon, such a precise and processed singer in Bon Iver, was here far more at ease, pushing his vocals no harder than the amiable songs demanded.

Later, in the dance-centric Sahara tent, Dog Blood performed a loud but not thunderous set. It's a collaborative project of Skrillex and Boys Noize, and does not quite live up to Skrillex's typical punishment or Boys Noize's characteristic exuberance.

UPDATE: Day Two pictures are HERE and Day Three pictures are HERE.

Day One pics continue at BV Chicago and below...

Continue reading "Coachella 2013 Day 1 photos (Stone Roses, Blur, Trent Reznor, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Divine Fits, Sparks, Johnny Marr, more)"

Hell hath frozen over:

It was the bitter Britpop feud of the nineties - Oasis and Blur at each other's throats in the charts and out on the tiles.

Both rugged bands would threaten each other and the rivalry dominated both bands chart success, with record companies pandering to the division of teenage fans.

But despite Albarn, 44, saying in 2007 making up with Noel, 45, would be the end of Britpop the pair were happy to give each other a mellow squeeze at the BRIT Awards last night (2/20).

It seems Albarn had forgotten Noel Gallagher's famous wish he 'would 'get AIDS and die' and his own 2007 pledge: 'I can't make it up with Noel. Britpop would be over and heaven forbid that we'd ever admit we'd all grown up!' -[Daily Mail]

As for the BRIT Awards themselves, Mumford & Sons were named best British group; Coldplay was named best British live act; and Adele went home with Best British Single for "Skyfall." Full list of BRIT winners is here.

Blur will play their first North American shows in ages at Coachella 2013.

Continue reading "Damon Albarn & Noel Gallagher patch things up at last night's BRIT Awards (where Mumford and Adele won big)"

I have to admit I did wonder a bit if enough people actually knew who Blur and The Stone Roses were when I saw them placed very prominently on top of this year's Coachella lineup. Then we just came across this Tumblr which reinforces the idea that maybe the Stone Roses, like Arcade Fire (at the Grammys) and Bonny Bear before them, are not exactly part of the mainstream consciousness.

P.S., as the above-pictured tweet reinforces, The Rolling Stones did not end up being a part of this year's Coachella lineup, despite that weird date that showed up momentarily on their app.

Blur at Hyde Park in 2012 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Last night, the Coachella 2013 lineup was announced, and as usual, there are some exciting reunions planned for the festival.

After we thought Blur might be done with their reunion without ever having played the US, they announced plans for 2013 and now we finally know that Coachella is their first scheduled US date since reforming.

Fellow britpop legends The Stone Roses have also been reunited for a bit and Coachella is their first scheduled US date since reforming as well. The band have only ever played a handful of U.S. shows in the first place, most of those without original drummer Reni. They played there hometown shows last summer, and if you missed it, you can check out videos, the setlist, and a review HERE.

Since reuniting, and even before, people have been speculating and hoping that Blur and The Stone Roses would play Coachella, and now both bands are not only finally playing the same year, but co-headlining the Friday(s) of the festival (April 12 and 19). Some videos of both bands' 2012 reunions below...

Continue reading "Blur and The Stone Roses are finally returning to America"

Click it for the bigger poster.

Primavera Sound have announced their 2013 lineup, set to go down on May 22-26 in Barcelona, Spain. The announcement came via an animated video and artists performing include Phoenix, The Postal Service, Blur, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, My Bloody Valentine, Tame Impala, Wu-Tang Clan, Dead Can Dance, Grizzly Bear, The Knife, and loads more. Current lineup is below along with the flyer and video...

Continue reading "Primavera Sound 2013 line-up announced"

by Bill Pearis

Pitchfork just posted their much anticipated list of the top 100 tracks of 2012. The #1 slot went to... Grimes! Whether you thought the whole of her album Visions was good or not, it was hard to deny the charms of "Oblivion." (Having that great video didn't hurt either.) Do you think it deserved to top the list? If not then what song should've?

You can check out P4K's entire hot 100 of 2012 below.

Continue reading "Pitchfork's Top 100 Tracks of 2012 (Grimes' "Oblivion" is #1)"

How was your Columbus Day? We didn't take off, and posted a whole bunch on BV, BV Chicago, and BV Austin, and here's even more...

As you can see above, Emceez Ansari is really good at photoshopping Aziz Ansari's face into album covers.

Speaking of funny, get the new Tig Notaro from Louis CK.

Film School Rejects is reporting that Woody Allen has cast Louis CK and Andrew Dice Clay in a new movie (must. see.).

Blur, who just confirmed that they are not done and are playing Belgium's Rock Werchter 2013, are now also confirmed for Primavera Sound 2013 in Barcelona (5/24/13) and Portugal (5/31/13).

Philip Glass Rework is streaming at NPR where you'll also find streams of the new Jason Lytle and Martha Wainwright.

As you may have noticed via an ad on this site, Django Django are running a sale for their new Mercury Prize-nominated album via iTunes. We recently caught them live at Knitting Factory, Bowery Ballroom, and in Chicago too.

--
Purity Ring at Le Poisson Rouge (more by Amanda Hatfield)

If you've seen Purity Ring live this year, you may be wondering what, exactly, is the deal with those interactive light cocoons they use on stage. The Creators Project gets the scoop.

"Red Bull Music Academy" is presenting four upcoming shows in NYC:

1 - BRAINFEEDER SESSION NYC at Villain (October 10)
2 - SBTKRT LIVE at Terminal 5 (October 11)
3 - FOUR TET B2B JAMIE xx at Autumn Bowl (October 26)
4 - GRACE JONES at Roseland (October 27)

Kilo Kish, who has some CMJ shows coming up too, opens the SBTRKT show.

We're also giving away tickets to see tomorrow's Perfume Genius show at Le Poisson Rouge and Calexico and The Dodos at Webster Hall on 10/13 on our Facebook. (Perfume Genius meanwhile plays Music Hall tonight).

Check out an interview with Zammuto who is opening for Ultraista.

Listen to new Trent Reznor.
Stream the new Godspeed! You Emperor album.
Watch a marching band do Zelda , Mario & Pokemon.

Speaking of, PETA released a new Pokemon game.

AND, more stuff below...

Continue reading "ALSO: more Blur dates, John Cusack & Peter Gabriel, Emceez Ansari, Clueless reunion, Purity Ring, Pig Destroyer & more"

Blur at London's Hyde Park in August (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Guess that post Olympics show wasn't Blur's last show after all...

Thank you for waiting... Rock Werchter is about to announce that Blur will headline next July. We're excited.. hope to travel in 2013 to play to more of our lovely fans who we haven't seen for a while. Don't know where yet, we'll tell as soon as we do..
Stand by.. [Blur]

The Rock Werchter 2013 trailer video and a video of Blur from that post-Olympics show are below...

Continue reading "Blur are not done, playing Rock Werchter 2013 and "hope to" play more"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

Blur/The Specials/New Order, Hyde Park 8/12/2012

Blur's frontman and driving force, Damon Albarn, had said this might be the band's final performance. But then Albarn has always been a competitive soul, and you wonder if he's just trying to outdo the culmination of the Olympics for significance.

For a while tonight, that appears to be a losing battle. Blur are preceded by the BBC's closing ceremony coverage, shown on a giant screen. As union flags flutter, the 80,000-strong crowd bellows along to the national anthem and cheers as Prince Harry takes his seat. When Madness kick off the entertainment in the stadium, Hyde Park dances along, and you wonder whether everyone's forgotten they've paid £55 to see Blur.

Then, abruptly, Madness are cut mid-song and the screens withdraw to reveal our headliners, under a replica of Albarn's beloved Westway. The band launch into an incendiary Girls and Boys, and, for the next two hours, Hyde Park is theirs. - [The Guardian]

What could be Blur's last-ever show is already up on iTunes and here for those who want a musical souvenir. It'll be released on CD next week.

Of course, it wasn't just Blur, as the concert also featured sets by The Specials, New Order (who have North American shows coming up) and youngsters Bombay Bicycle Club. Photos and setlists of all the band's from Sunday night's Hyde Park concert are below.

Continue reading "Blur, The Specials, New Order & Bombay Bicycle Club played the post-Olympics concert in Hyde Park (pics, video, setlist)"

Light Asylum at BV-SXSW 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

today in NYC
* ASSSSCAT 3000 @ UCB
* Glassjaw @ Irving Plaza
* Stephane Wrembel @ Barbes
* Joseph Keckler @ Joe's Pub
* 10000 Maniacs @ City Winery
* Jason Lescalleet @ The Stone
* Diamond Terrifier @ The Stone
* Hannibal Buress @ Knitting Factory
* Famous Accordion Orchestra @ Barbes
* Sweet Honey In The Rock @ Prospect Park
* Fishbone, Paranoid Social Club @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Eamon Harkin, Archie Pelago @ Gowanus Grove
* Motive, Rubbing Alcohol, PO PO, Crux @ Glasslands
* CSC Funk Band, Dead Tape, Lance Romance @ Zebulon
* D. Charles Speer, Luke Roberts @ The Manhattan Inn
* Iktus, Taka Kigawa, Phyllis Chen @ Le Poisson Rouge
* SSPS, Predator Prey, Kokomo, Blue Miguel @ Cake Shop
* Deutsch Nepal, Bain Wolfkind, Kama Rupa @ Saint Vitus
* Dan Neustadt plays Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Light Asylum, Trust, Mirror Mirror @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Electric People, Van Allen Belt, Catamaran, Long Miles, Josh Elkes @ Pianos
* Wrathcobra, Oh Shit They're Going to Kill Us, Death First @ The Acheron
* The Psychic Paramount, Stabbing Eastward, Guardian Alien @ Cameo Gallery

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I you missed Blur's live-on-the-internet performance of "Under the Westway" earlier in the week, you can check out the video from it below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"

In case you missed the stream. The new songs (and their lyrics) are below....

Continue reading "listen to the two new Blur songs"

by Bill Pearis

Tuning up the ol' Blur piano for today's Twittercast (via @blurofficial)

Blur, who reunited in 2009 and returned earlier this year to perform at the Brits and announce some festival dates, are performing two new songs today live on a global broadcast via their Twitter page. At 6:15PM GMT (1:15PM EDT) they'll perform "Under the Westway" and at 7:15PM GMT (2:15PM EDT) they'll perform "The Puritan." How exactly one performs live on Twitter remains to be seen. The songs will be available to download on iTunes immediately after the performance and there's a 7" single as well. Here's the link for the livestream which now has an archive of the performances.

UPDATE: Listen to the two new songs.

It's going to be a big summer for Blur, who on July 30 will release Blur 21, a giant retrpective box that contains:

All seven newly expanded two-disc studio albums

Four discs of rarities, exclusive to this set. Includes 3½ hours of previously unreleased material

Three DVDs including over 2 hours of previously unreleased footage. Includes two pivotal live shows and an exclusive disc of video rarities.

Collectable 7" single of the rare and previously unreleased live recording of the Seymour-era track Superman.

Deluxe hard-bound book telling the story of Blur's 21 year career with extensive liner notes based on a brand new interviews with the band, illustrated with imagery of the era, including some previously unseen photos.

The band still haven't played any US reunion shows, just a few in Europe, where they will continue to play some select shows and festivals, including Way Out West, this summer. Then on August 12 the band will play Hyde Park in London as part of closing concert for the 2012 Summer Olympics, a show that also features New Order (minus Peter Hook) and The Specials (minus Jerry Dammers).

After that, the future is uncertain. Damon Albarn has said this may be it for Blur (and Gorillaz) but in a "preview" video for the Twitter performances, bassist and cheesemaker Alex James said "who knows if this is the end... or the beginning of the next chapter."

A list of all dates, cover art for "Under the Westway," plus lyric sheet flyers for both songs and that Alex James video are below.

UPDATE: You can watch "Lyric Videos" for both songs are below as well.

Continue reading "Blur performing live on Twitter today, releasing new single, closing the 2012 Olympics, then breaking up for good?"

Bon Iver at Bonnaroo 2012 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Bon Iver recorded an iTunes session at East West studios which is available exclusively from iTunes starting today. It includes six tracks off 2011's great Bon Iver, Bon Iver and a cover of Bjork's "Who Is It?," which the band has played live many times. You can stream the session's opening track, "Beth/Rest" below.

As mentioned, Bon Iver is touring internationally throughout the summer and fall and will come to NYC on September 19 and 20 at Radio City Music Hall. Both of those shows are now sold out. All Bon Iver dates, including a recently announced European leg, are listed below.

Speaking of Bjork, she's teaming up with the New York Public Library (NYPL) and the Children's Museum of Manhattan to create interactive educational programs for middle school-aged students based on her Biophilia app. Speaking about the program, Bjork said:

"It's not a bookish thing. You cannot learn to make music from a book." "I love books; they're like the best ever," she added. "There are things you can only learn from books, but it's also important to introduce the physical aspects. So for me, it was very important to make, somehow, music education that was physical." (via NY Daily News)

Way Out West (Aug 9-11) in Gothenberg, Sweden features many of the same bands as Oya like Bon Iver, Refused, Afghan Whigs, St. Vincent, Purity Ring, John Maus, and Bob Mould in addition to Blur, Wilco, I Break Horses, Hot Chip, The War On Drugs, Mark Lanegan Band, Adolescents, Swans, and more. Check out the spotify playlist. The full lineup is listed below.

As mentioned, the reunited Mazzy Star is set to play both of those European festivals. Full lineups and the Bon Iver dates and song, below...

Continue reading "Bon Iver's new iTunes session, Bjork's new program at the NYPL & the full Oya & Way Out West festival lineups"

Blurballs.com writes:

Blur are set to appear in an exclusive NME feature piece to talk about their future. Speculations are that they're going to make a new album with producer William Orbit.

The news about Blur headlining the London Olympics 2012 Closing ceremony concert came on midnight yesterday, just a day before the Brit Awards at 8:00pm tonight at the O2 Arena....

...Speculations for the NME announcement tomorrow is best summed up by dannn, a forum member, who said:

My take on recent developments:
• Blur are active again and that's what we have been craving for years.
• The new song sounds really good and a studio version may not be a piano based ballad and could well be in the same vein as For Tomorrow.
• The gig is a unique opportunity for the band to be part of history. I am sure if it wasn't for the Olympics they wouldn't be going anywhere near Hyde Park.
• Expect some intimate warm up gigs.
• The intention at the Brits (and the Olympics gig) could be to put a line in the sand and celebrate the band's past, whilst looking towards the future as Blur Mark II. I think the band have the desire to continue and produce new music, but I guess we'll find out tonight / tomorrow.

We couldn't agree more - with William Orbit on board, what else can happen? Here's our best guess -

- Under the Westway is the Record Day promo
- They're back "in full" as the article says
- Playing Olympics with some intimate warm up gigs
- Then possibly an album towards December with Orbit

Last night was the Brits (the UK version of the Grammys), and though the winners weren't that exciting (Adele, Lana Del Rey, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars), Blur did perform. Videos of their performance, video of Graham & Damon Albart playing a new song two nights earlier, with the full list of Brits winners and some Graham Coxon dates, below...

Continue reading "Blur are back - played the Brits (videos), playing the Olympics & other dates; Graham & Damon debuted new song (video)"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Bibi Tanga - "Be Africa" (Dave Sitek Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Little Dragon - Blinking Pigs (MP3)

Little Dragon @ Le Poisson Rouge in 2009 (more by Matthew Taplinger)

Little Dragon announced an early 2011 US tour promoting the release of their upcoming third full length album. The tour makes two stops in New York at Music Hall of Williamsburg on January 20 and Bowery Ballroom on January 21. Tickets are on sale. No openers mentioned yet.

Little Dragon are currently on an international tour (Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand) supporting the Gorillaz, whose most recent album Plastic Beach features Little Dragon on two tracks; "Empire Ants" and "To Binge." LD vocalist Yukimi Nagano also performs both songs live with the band (you may have seen her do it at MSG or on Letterman).

Speaking of Gorillaz, Damon Albarn has announced not only an upcoming Gorillaz album, but two other albums as well. According to an interview with Stuff, Albarn has plans for a second album by The Good, The Bad, & The Queen, and for an album by a new band he's a part of. The new band features Tony Allen (also of The Good, The Bad, & The Queen), Flea, and some of Albarn's "favourite African musicians will be involved also."

Stuff also asked Albarn if Blur, who released a DVD documentary this year, have any plans for a world tour or new album. Albarn responded, "There won't be another world tour for me - for anything - for five to six years; it would seem unlikely. I have a young daughter and it's just not feasible, it's too long away from home. This has been great, but it's too much after a while and so, no, there won't be any tours for me for a while, I should think."

Albarn has also been recording a new Gorillaz album on tour with his iPad. He told NME "I've made it on an iPad - I hope I'll be making the first record on an iPad," he said. "I fell in love with my iPad as soon as I got it, so I've made a completely different kind of record." Albarn wants to release the album "before Christmas."

Gorillaz recorded a new single "Doncamatic" with British R&B singer Daley which will be officially released on November 22 in three formats. The CD version also includes a Joker remix of the song, the iTunes EP adds the third track "Album Mix Tape," and the 7 inch single is "Doncamatic" with the Paul Harris remix of "Empire Ants" on side B. All three formats are currently available for pre-order. There's also a video for the song. You can watch it below.

Little Dragon also recently collaborated with Dave Sitek on one of the tracks off this year's Maximum Balloon release. Sitek more recently remixed the track "Be Africa" by France's Bibi Tanga . It has nothing to do with anything really, but it's being offered as a free download, so grab that mp3 above.

The Gorillaz video and all tour dates below...

Continue reading "new Damon Albarn albums & a Gorillaz video, his iPad, Little Dragon tour dates & Dave Sitek too"

by Black Bubblegum

Blur @ Rough Trade East

What happens when you take a recently disassembled New Order, subtract one, and add in a partial Blur. Apparently, you get an Abel Ferrara film starring Harvey Keitel. Confused?

Frontman Bernard Sumner, drummer Stephen Morris and guitarist Phil Cunningham have joined with Blur's Alex James for Bad Lieutenant's debut album, due in October. "I'm very proud of it, it's a very good album," Sumner told the BBC. "It's pretty guitary too because we've got three guitarists in the band." There may yet be more guitarists added - Sumner has promised that other Manchester musicians are to join the "collective" on tour. -[The Guardian]

Around 10:42, Graham Coxon's Twitter page gave the game away, rallying the troops to Brixton Academy for eighteen minutes later. A mad dash over the river, through the market and into the unnervingly miniscule queue ensued and fifteen minutes later, wrists were endowed with shining green/ gold dust wristbands emblazoned with the band's now iconic freeform font. All that was left to do was wait.... Until eventually, ...phones and electronic inboxes alike were bombarded with conclusive info as to the wheres and then the whens; Rough Trade East, on stage at 7pm sharp, no arrivals before half six for fear of jeopardising the whole shebang.

...Rough Trade is transformed into the best garage gig never to entail smashed windscreens as involuntary feedback rasps through the murky humidity of an Amazonian rainforest. Invigorating, inspiring and utterly unmissable, the reunion never sounded so victorious. - [Virgin Blog]

The recent shows in the UK are only a handful of their upcoming festival-heavy schedule. Check that out, as well as setlists from both nights and video from last night, below...

Continue reading "Blur played some shows (setlists, video, more dates) + Alex James & most of New Order form Bad Lieutenant "

by Ryan Barkan

Duffy @ Lollapalooza 2008 (more by Bao Nguyen)

The cola war has been heating up globally in the last couple of months with music as the weapon of choice.

Pepsi's image rebranding campaign, including a new smile-esque logo, launched right after Christmas with a tv commercial featuring The Apples in Stereo song, "Energy". They then went deep during the Super Bowl, dropping a spot featuring Bob Dylan and Will.I.Am singing "Forever Young" as the beverage's new anthem.

Coke counters with a European spot for Diet Coke that features a playful Duffy doing things on her time during an encore break at a concert. In the commercial, she sings a cover of Sammy Davis Jr's "I Gotta Be Me."

When Sara Tate, a senior planner at the London advertising agency Mother, was asked to find a new face for Diet Coke, she knew what she didn't want. "Definitely no rent-a-face," says Tate, whose ad with Duffy will launch on British television, before rolling out across Europe. "We steered clear of yet another glamorous star with a six-figure fee who will promote anything if the price is right. The public is getting smart to that. We wanted someone who is well known, but not hugely famous. Someone who is on the rise, for whom fame is recent enough that they remember what it is like to have a regular life. Duffy was a perfect fit because, although she is extremely successful, she's still incredibly down to earth." [Via Times Online]

Coke's second attack is from Justice - Coke enlisted the duo along with Ed Banger Records' So_Me to design a glow-in-the-dark bottle and provide the soundtrack, their massive jam "D.A.N.C.E.", to a commercial. The bottle will be available in clubs throughout Europe. See the bottle in the commercial below.

The third assault from the Coke comes in their Full Throttle NHRA spots; three of the five have licensed songs: The Faces has "Blue Moon" by the Mavericks, The Machine kicks it country with Merle Haggard's "Working Man Blues", and Left Behind features Operator Please's "Zero Zero."

The final wave occurred as I was writing this article. A one-two punch during the Oscars with both The Boy Least Likely To's "Be Gentle With Me" and Sea Ray's "Revelry" showing up in Coke spots during the telecast on ABC (no video available yet). For those not familiar with the band, Sea Ray broke up in 2005.

Other Notable Licensing News:

Continue reading "This week in Music Licensing (Duffy, Justice, Sonic Youth, Franz Ferdinand, Radiohead, Sea Ray & more...) "

PETER DOHERTY
SOLO DEBUT ALBUM
GRACE/WASTELAND SET FOR MARCH RELEASE

"Last of the English Roses" Is Planned First Single

NEW YORK - The first solo album by singer-songwriter PETER DOHERTY (Babyshambles, The Libertines) is complete, and scheduled for North American release on Astralwerks on March 24, 2009, the label announced today.

The album, Grace/Wasteland, was recorded over a month of sessions in autumn 2008 at London's legendary Olympic Studios with producer Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur, Cranberries, Kaiser Chiefs). Street also produced the 2007 top 5 U.K. album Shotter's Nation by Babyshambles, Doherty's current band.

Album collaborators include guitarist Graham Coxon (Blur), who plays throughout the album; Scottish singer Dot Allison, who co-wrote the duet "Sheepskin Tearaway," which was also featured on Babyshambles' live DVD Up the Shambles; and poet Peter "Wolfman" Wolfe, co-writer and guitarist on "Broken Love Song". Doherty had previously made a guest appearance on Wolfe's U.K. No. 7 single and Ivor Novello Award-nominated song "For Lovers".

Also contributing are Babyshambles members Mick Whitnall on guitar, Drew McConnell on bass, and Adam Ficek on drums.

Further album tracks include "Arcadie," "Through the Looking Glass," "Salome," and "1839 Returning."

With the Libertines, Peter Doherty recorded the U.K. No 1. album The Libertines, and the U.K. No. 2 single "Can't Stand Me Now." Babyshambles have released two U.K. Top 10 albums, Down in Albion (2004) and Shotter's Nation (2007). He is also the author of The Books of Albion: The Collected Works of Peter Doherty (Orion Books, 2007). Doherty was named Hero of the Year in February 2008 at the Shockwaves NME Awards.

Also, Graham Coxon is playing with Blur again, and Dirty Pretty Things announced their breakup in October.

"I can reveal veteran rockers NEIL YOUNG and BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN will join ageing Brit-poppers BLUR as bill-toppers at next year's event.

Ticket sales for the most recent bash were the slowest in years.

It was even feared that the event would not sell-out for the first time in its 38-year history.

Many people pointed the finger of blame squarely at the line-up, which was devoid of any truly legendary acts. But now it looks like Somerset native Eavis has come up with the goods in spectacular fashion." [The Sun] (thx Hiro)

Bonnaroo, the East Coast's premiere multi-day, multi-stage gathering of the vibes (held in Manchester, Tennessee from June 11th to 14th) usually doesn't release its lineup until early February -- but RollingStone.com hears from reliable sources close to Phish that the band will top the bill for two nights, restoring the fest to its jam-friendly roots.......Also being buzzed about with some legitimacy: Bruce Springsteen as Sunday night's closer...

As for Coachella, the fest reputed for reuniting many a dormant band (the Pixies in 2004, Rage Against the Machine in 2007), Blur is believed to be a frontrunner, though a show scheduled for London's Hyde Park in July raises some doubt -- would the Brits really forestall a comeback gig on their home turf for a U.S. one-off jaunt?.... [Rolling Stone]

Blur will play a live show in Hyde Park in Summer 2009. Graham Coxon will join Alex James, Dave Rowntree and Damon Albarn onstage for this first time since their Royal Festival Hall performance in 2000. The concert will take place at London's Hyde Park on Friday 3rd July 2009, and tickets will be on general sale from 9am Friday 12th December 2008 at www.livenation.co.uk. [BLUR] (thx cmandel)

Making his Lincoln Center Festival debut former Blur frontman Damon Albarn, is joined by a host of diverse musicians from the UK, Africa, and the United States, for The Honest Jon's Revue, a musical "chop up" (Nigerian slang for "feast"). Albarn, co-founder of the virtual band Gorillaz, has gathered musiciansfrom his label, Honest Jon's, named in tribute to the landmark London record shop of the same name thathas been selling rare and obscure music to discerning buyers for 30 years. Under Albarn's musical stewardship, a wonderfully eclectic group of musicians--the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Simone White and Malians Kokanko Sata, Afel Bocoum and Lobi Traore--will play together and separately, for one show only on Saturday, July 12, in Avery Fisher Hall

Continue reading "Damon Albarn & the Honest Jon's Revue is happening @ Lincoln Center in NYC --- tickets on sale"