We're coming up on the 10th anniversary of Franz Ferdinand's first single, "Darts of Pleasure," and the band have just announced details of their fourth studio album. Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action will be out on Domino on August 23 (a Friday, not your normal release day). What can we expect? "The Intellect Vs The Soul, played out by some dumb band," says frontman Alex Kapranos.

The band's last LP was 2009's Tonight: Franz Ferdinand. While no tracks have been released from the new record, you can check out a teaser trailer, cover art and tracklist below.

Franz Ferdinand recently played Coachella and will hit October's ACL Fest in Austin. All upcoming tour dates are listed below.

Continue reading "Franz Ferdinand releasing 'Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action' in August (cover art, tracklist)"

The 2013 ACL Festival happens in Austin, TX on two consecutive weekends: October 4 - 6 and October 11 - 13. Weekend passes are on sale now and the full line-up is below...

Continue reading "2013 ACL Music Fest lineup announced (Depeche Mode, The Cure, Atoms for Peace, The National, Vampire Weekend + more)"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

Sigur Ros / Bat For Lashes / Spiritualized

"It was a mixed bag for veteran acts on Saturday. On one hand, The Evens, featuring ex-Minor Threat and Fugazi man Ian MacKaye, drew a respectable (and respectful) Gobi Tent crowd early in the day; the Descendents' influential melodic-punk found a fairly large following at the Outdoor Theatre under the stars; and New Order brought a solid throng along for its night-capping Mojave Tent performance (despite going up against headlining Phoenix and post-rock favorites Sigur Rós, among others). But reunited D.C. garage-soul outfit The Make-Up, underground hip-hop icon El-P and British ska survivors The Selecter played to some of the weekend's sparsest audiences in the Gobi Tent." [Las Vegas Weekly]

Coachella 2013, now streaming live, continued on Saturday with the previously discussed sets by Phoenix (and R Kelly) and The Postal Service (Jenny Lewis included), as well as Sigur Ros, Bat For Lashes, Major Lazer, Descendents, 2 Chainz, Savages, The Evens, and many more. Pictures from Friday are HERE and HERE.

UPDATE: Pictures from Sunday are HERE.

Saturday photos are in this post and continue below...

Continue reading "Coachella Day 2 Photos (Sigur Ros, Bat For Lashes, Major Lazer, Descendents, 2 Chainz, Phoenix, Postal Service, more)"

by Bill Pearis

If you miss those mid-'00s days when everyone had a music blog that they worked on during frequent downtime at their office job (was it just me who did that?) -- and the music people blogged about then -- you might want to check out UK band Citizens!, whose fizzy, danceable synthrock recalls the heyday of Franz Ferdinand and, um, Moving Units. In fact FF's Alex Kapranos produced Citizens!'s debut album, Here We Are, which is out now via keepers-of-the-flame label, Kitsune. You can watch a couple of the video from that below (the "True Romance" video is kinda amazing), along with a Spotify stream of the whole thing.

Citizens! just arrived in North America for a tour that will hit NYC on Monday (3/4) for a show at Music Hall of Williamsburg with HITS and Grayshot. Tickets for that show are still available. After that, the band will make it's way to Austin for you-know-what. All tour dates are listed below.

Continue reading "UK band Citizens! released debut LP, currently touring North America (NYC, SXSW included)"

Click it for the bigger poster.

photos by Amoreena Lucero

Franz Ferdinand / Jack White / Bloc Party, Outside Lands 8/12/2012

Outside Lands might be the only major festival where 93 percent of the musical acts on the bill could walk the grounds without getting recognized.

The headliners certainly had their fans - particularly the Vermont jam band Phish, which played nearly 3 1/2 hours of droopy guitar licks to twirling dancers on Friday. But the rest of the acts on the three-day bill drew less discriminating crowds.

On Sunday, the kids waiting for the Swedish electro-pop troupe Little Dragon to take the stage in Lindley Meadow sang along to the sounds of John Fogerty floating through the trees from the Polo Field. The 66-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and former leader of Creedence Clearwater Revival filled his hour-long set with classic rock staples such as "Bad Moon Rising" and "Up Around the Bend."

But turntables were as prevalent as guitars. One of the biggest draws of the weekend was Girl Talk, the 30-year-old Pittsburgh DJ Greg Gillis, who on Saturday in Speedway Meadow did nothing more than stitch together hundreds of familiar riffs and beats from other peoples' songs in rapid-fire bursts.
If you didn't know where to head at any given time, all you had to do was jump into the nearest stream of young people. It was almost impossible to go wrong with more than 70 acts on the bill, including the Black Keys, Foster the People, Best Coast, the Arctic Monkeys and the Roots. - [SF Gate]

San Francisco's Outside Lands Festival wrapped up another successful year on Sunday (8/12) with performances with performances from Stevie Wonder, Jack White Franz Ferdinand, Regina Spektor, fun., Bloc Party and loads more.

Pictures from Day 1 are here and Day 2 are here. More pictures from Sunday are below.

Continue reading "Outside Lands Festival 2012 Day 3 in pics (Jack White, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Regina Spektor & more)"

photos by James Richards IV

Frank Ocean/Bloc Party at Lollapalooza - 8/4/12

Lollapalooza continued in Chicago's Grant Park yesterday (8/4) after beginning one day earlier (8/3). Day 2 gave us sets from Frank Ocean, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, tUnE-yArDs, The Tallest Man on Earth, Neon Indian, Chief Keef, Bear in Heaven, Washed Out, The Weeknd, and more. Unfortunately, during Neon Indian's set (which was cut short), the festival was shut down due to "dangerous weather," causing the tens of thousands of fans to flood the streets of Chicago in evacuation. But the fest reopened at 6 PM CST with an updated schedule. A number of performances were cancelled, including Alabama Shakes, B.O.B., Chairlift, and the Temper Trap, but others, like tUnE-yArDs, were rescheduled and took place at later times after the gates reopened.

If you aren't at the fest, have you been streaming it online? Today's stream begins at 1:30 CST.

Pics of day 1 are HERE. More pics of day 2 are below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2012 day 2 in pics (Frank Ocean, RHCP, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, tUnE-yArDs, Neon Indian & more)"

We just posted about Austra who's coming back to North America (including 9/19 at Music Hall of Williamsburg) after a tour of Europe. She's also one of many artists playing the 2012 Osheaga Festival in Montreal which happens August 3 - 5. Tickets are still available for the three-day event.

In addition to Austra, Osheaga plays host to The Black Keys, Snoop Dogg, Justice, Metric (who play Radio City Music Hall soon), Sigur Ros (who play Prospect Park and are streaming their new LP), Florence & The Machine (who plays Jones Beach this summer), The Weeknd, Passion Pit (who play Governor's Ball soon), The Jesus & Mary Chain, MGMT, Santigold (who just played Irving), Zola Jesus (who just played the Guggenheim) and many many more.

Full Osheaga lineup is below.

Continue reading "Justice, Metric, The Black Keys, Sigur Ros and more playing Montreal's Osheaga Festival in August "

"Another Planet Entertainment, Superfly Presents and Starr Hill presents, in a partnership with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, are proud to announce the lineup for the fifth annual Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival. The world's only gourmet music festival will once again take place in San Francisco's historic Golden Gate Park August 10 - 12, 2012. Tickets will go on sale Thursday April 19 at 12 noon PDT via www.sfoutsidelands.com. A significant portion of every ticket sold will directly benefit San Francisco's Recreation and Park Department."

Pretty massive lineup for the San Francisco festival this year. Check it out below....

Continue reading "Outside Lands 2012 lineup (Metallica, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, Jack White, Foo Fighters, Beck, Skrillex...)"

Lollapalooza (more by Grant MacAllister)

Chicago Sun Times reports:

Lollapalooza has revealed its official 2012 list of performers -- a typically wide-ranging smorgasbord of genres and styles topped by nearly a dozen mainstage headliners: the Red Hot Chili Peppers, freshly reunited bands Black Sabbath and At the Drive-In, the Black Keys, Jack White, Florence + The Machine, the Shins and Passion Pit, plus spotlighted electronic music including Swedish house titan Avicii, French dance duo Justice and DJ-producer Bassnectar.

The annual music festival is scheduled for Aug. 3-5 in Chicago's Grant Park.

Rumored lineups have circulated widely, as they usually do, and Lollapalooza itself stoked the speculation in recent weeks via a series of CTA and online advertisements that seemed to hint at who would be playing.

The ads featured lyrics from such acts as Sigur Ros, Santigold, Jack White, Kimbra, Twin Shadow, the Weeknd, Bloc Party and more -- all bands that wound up on the bill.

Check out the full list below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2012 lineup (Jack White, At The Drive-In, Sigur Ros, Black Keys, RHCP, Afghan Whigs, M83, Weeknd, SBTRKT, Black Sabbath & more)"

New wave/post-punk pioneers Blondie recently released Panic of Girls in the UK, their third album since reuniting in 1997, and ninth overall. The album includes the single "Mother," which they recently performed live and acoustic from Abbey Road. Check that video out, which includes an interview below. The music video, which B-52 Kate Pierson makes a cameo in, for the track is below too.

Panic of Girls now has a US release date of September 13 via the band's own imprint. They will head out on a North American tour in September and October in support of the album's stateside release. The tour hits NYC on September 12 and 13 at Highline Ballroom. Ticket info is not available yet, but check ticketweb for updates.

Beirut, whose track "Sunday Smile" is covered by Blondie on Panic of Girls, also has a North American tour around that same time. Beirut's tour hits NYC on September 21 and 22 at Terminal 5. Tickets for both of those shows go on Amex presale Wednesday (7/6) and general sale Friday. Listen to the cover below.

Speaking of Blondie covering indie bands, Debbie Harry contributed a cover of Franz Ferdinand's "Live Alone" to their Record Store Day Covers EP with help from the band themselves. LCD Soundsystem offered their take on the same song, though their cover is twice as long (obviously). Stream the entire EP below, which also features covers by Stephin Merritt, ESG, and Peaches. The Record Store Day release was a limited edition colored 12" vinyl. A few are available on ebay. The EP is also now available as a CD and black vinyl. CD versions are on sale at Amazon.

All Blondie tour dates, video, and the EP stream below...

Continue reading "Blondie announces tour in support of new album (that has a Beirut cover on it) --- dates, video & Franz Ferdinand too"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Orange Juice - Felicity (MP3)

In what I hope (but don't promise) to be a regular feature, I'm gonna recommend a couple notable new reissues. What with the holiday season it full swing, either of these would make good holiday presents for the serious indie music lover.

Firstly is Domino Records' new Orange Juice box set, Coals to Newcastle, that compiles nearly everything the Glasgow legends ever recorded. (The single mix of "Rip it Up" is mysteriously absent.) This marks the first time 85% of this material has ever been released in America. Polydor reissued their albums on CD in 1997 but they fell out of print almost immediately. You can now chart the band's progression from their shambolic, jangly beginnings on Postcard Records through myriad line-up changes and transformation into what could be called an indie equivalent of Chic. Even the weird stuff -- like the high life-inspired "Million Pleading Faces" on Rip It Up -- is pretty good. And even if, like me, you shelled out the dough in the mid-'90s for the Polydor reissues (which went out of print almost instantly) there's previously unreleased 12" mixes, dub versions, rough mixes, non-LP singles, radio sessions, live tracks, and interviews. There's also a DVD containing rare Orange Juice television special Dada with Juice, and a Derek Jarman-directed video for "What Presence?" that I'd never seen before. (Why is this not on Youtube?) At $70 it ain't cheap, but if you think of it as less than ten bucks a disc it's not so bad. And well worth the money. You can stream 18 tracks from the box set over at Domino's website and download classic OJ single "Felicity" above.

While on the subject, OJ's Edwyn Collins' new album, Losing Sleep, is one of the year's best. His first made since two brain haemorrhages nearly took his life in 2005 and left him at first without the ability to walk or talk, let alone write songs. That it exists at all is a miracle, that it's as great as it is a testament to his spirit. Helping him out on the album are a cavalcade of talent -- Johnny Marr, Roddy Frame, The Drums, The Cribs, Franz Ferdinand, The Magic Numbers -- but always in the service of getting Collins' songs on record. Like his last two albums, Losing Sleep hasn't been released in America but is well worth picking up on import. Hey Domino... how about putting this one out too.

Speaking of Domino, the label just reissued Robert Wyatt's entire back catalog on CD and vinyl. If you don't own Rock Bottom, Nothing Can Stop Us and Shleep... now is the perfect time. Then move on to the rest of his records.

The other notable reissue is the four-disc "Omnibus Edition" of The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall, my personal favorite Fall album. The 1984 record was the first fully made with Mark E. Smith's then-wife Brix, who brought pop smarts to the Mancunian band's somewhat difficult sound, and their first produced by the great John Leckie.  Along with guitarist Craig Scanlon, bassist Steven Hanley and drummer Karl Burns this is the classic Fall lineup in my opinion. The Omnibus Edition restore's the album's original running order, putting singles from the same time "Oh Brother!," "C.R.E.E.P." and "No Bulbs" on the second disc with their b-sides and rough mixes of album tracks. The third collects radio sessions, and the fourth is a live recording from their performance at the 1984 Pandora's Music Box Festival in Norway (set time 3:15AM) that shows what a powerhouse live band the Fall were at the time. The box set sold out in the UK, but seems to be easily gettable here in the U.S.

Beggars Banquet also reissued The Wonderful and Frightening World of the Fall on vinyl (just the album) which lets you hear classics like "2X4," "Slang King" and "Disney's Dream Debased" in their analogue glory. Also out on vinyl: its follow-up, This Nation's Saving Grace which is widely considered by people not me to be their best-ever album. (It is a very close second.) It gets the Omnibus treatment in January. Save up, kids.

An Orange Juice video below...

Continue reading "an Orange Juice box set, new Edwyn Collins, the Fall reissues"

by Bill Pearis

Pitchfork reports that '90s-era Glaswegian indie band The Yummy Fur -- who existed from 1992 to 1999 -- are reuniting and will be playing their first-ever American shows in January, including a NYC stop at the 171 Lombardy space on January 15. For those who don't know, The Yummy Fur was fronted by John McKeown, now of The 1990s, and included Franz Ferdinand's Paul Thompson and Alex Kapranos (who at the time went by Alex Huntley) late in the band's career. McKeown and Thompson will both be in the reunited line-up, but Kapranos will not (though he does live here at least part-time, so who knows about the Lombardy date?).

This unexpected tour will be in support of a new "best of" compilation being released by What's Your Rupture? sometime in January. The band's catalog -- four albums and seven singles full of scratchy, Fall-inspired low-fi twee punk -- has been out of print for ages. The band were kind of legendary on the '90s Glasgow scene that also included Uresei Yatsura and Pink Kross, and it will great to (hopefully) have singles "Policeman" and "Plastic Cowboy," among other tracks, available again somewhere besides Ebay. No word yet as to who else will be in the band besides McKeown and Thompson, though, as bassist Jamie McMorrow is also in the 1990s, it seems fairly likely he'll be along for the trip as well.

Dates & videos below...

Continue reading "The Yummy Fur (members of Franz Ferdinand & 1990s) reuniting for a short tour (dates), releasing a 'best of'"

Franz Ferdinand @ the Virgin Fest in Canada - Aug 29, 2009 (Chromewaves)

"Somehow, in its fourth year on Hogtown soil, the Virgin Festival has pulled off the impossible: Amalgamating endlessly changing variables into a cohesive, enjoyable affair. It pleases with just the right ratio of talent to timing and music to distractions. Packed with everything from singer-songwriters and hip-hop to indie gods and blues freaks, the 2009 edition of Virgin Festival was an endless onslaught of sensory overload. Yet despite a stream of diversions such as Thai massage, autograph tents and burlesque pole dancing, music was still the focus.

Starting off modestly, the first day was a slow burner. Not until early-evening did the ample audience show enthusiasm as Scottish outfit Franz Ferdinand revved 'em up. Garnering the most praise, no doubt due to their influencing virtually every other band on the bill, The Pixies nailed a set full of favourites...

...it was the double finale of 25-year-old electronic duo Pet Shop Boys and sinister cult hero(es) Nine Inch Nails that ensured the festival was a raucous success. With PSB boasting the only full-fledged multimedia extravaganza via video, lights, iconic '80s imagery and, er, shoulder pads, their spirited commingling of past and present was as engaging as it was fun.

As for Nine Inch Nails' reportedly final Canadian show, it was a shocking shot of stellar rage delivered with professionalism and gusto, especially when main man Trent Reznor started smashing instruments a mere three songs into the set. While Reznor shows no signs of slowing down, it was still sad to think that such a spotless gig could be the last time we catch him." [Metro Toronto]

Pet Shop Boys are now on a tour of North America that includes two NYC shows at Hammerstein Ballroom this week (Tuesday and Wednesday). Tickets for both shows are still on sale. All dates are below.

For Nine Inch Nails, the Virgin Fest was the seventh, and only Canadian, stop on this final leg of their "Wave Goodbye" tour. Peter Murphy did not join the band in Canada, but he was at both Chicago shows at Aragon Ballroom the two nights prior. After a night off, NIN will play their first LA show at the Hollywood Palladium on 9/2. The setlist for the first Chicago show is HERE. The setlists for Chicago Night Two and Virgin, are below...

Continue reading "Pixies, Pet Shop Boys (in NYC Tuesday) & Nine Inch Nails (only LA shows left) played the Virgin Festival in Toronto"

Public Enemy @ Roots Picnic (more by Tim Griffin)

WARREN, NJ, June 24, 2009 Speculation and predictions that have filled blogs and discussion boards can be put to rest. The Virgin Mobile Festival is returning, but with a catch. It'll be free.

Virgin Mobile USA, creator of one of the largest and most critically acclaimed music festivals in the U.S., announced today that it would host the 2009 Virgin Mobile Festival on Sunday, August 30, at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., free of charge. All tickets will be given away, and previous Virgin Mobile Festival ticket buyers and Virgin Mobile customers will have the first crack at securing the 35,000 tickets.

The move celebrates both a giveback to music fans in a bad economy as well as an effort to solicit donations to homeless youth agencies in need around the country via The RE*Generation, Virgin Mobiles charitable arm. Most sponsors, including premier sponsor Kyocera Communications, will be building awareness for the cause in their marketing efforts around the festival.

"Instead of focusing on layoffs or the state of the economy, we want to focus on concrete ways to provide assistance to those in need", said Dan Schulman, CEO, Virgin Mobile USA. "People need outlets to both lend a helping hand and to escape and relax, for free, even if just for one day. We want to throw some good news in the mix".

The 2009 Virgin Mobile FreeFest will be hosted on the beautiful, 40 wooded acres of Merriweather Post Pavilion. The grounds and facilities of Merriweather will be expanded to accommodate the multiple stage and dance tent set-up from prior Virgin Mobile Festivals. Those scheduled to appear at this years FreeFest include Weezer, Blink-182, Franz Ferdinand, and Public Enemy, Jet, The National, Girl Talk, The Bravery, The Hold Steady, St. Vincent, Wale, and Taking Back Sunday, as well as dance tent favorites that include HOLY F*CK, Pete Tong, Danny Howells and Lee Burridge.

Weird lineup.
Press release continued, with ticket info and more funny quotes, below....

Continue reading "MD Virgin Mobile Fest returns in 2009 as a free event (lineup)"

DOWNLOAD: Franz Ferdinand - Katherine Hit Me ("No You Girls" dub version) (MP3)

Franz Ferdinand @ Roseland Ballroom (more by Natasha Ryan)

Blood is a compilation album of dub music versions of songs from Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, the third studio album from British band Franz Ferdinand.

Like Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, Blood is the result of Franz Ferdinand's recording sessions with producer Dan Carey in 2008. It was originally packaged in the deluxe and box-set versions of Tonight: Franz Ferdinand that were available in January 2009 in Europe only. However, the newly packaged version of Blood will be released worldwide and will feature one new song, "Be Afraid", which is a reworked version of "Dream Again". All of the track titles are taken from lyrics from the original songs, with the exception of "Katherine Hit Me" whose title refers to lyrics from both "No You Girls" and "Katherine Kiss Me". [Wikipedia]

Blood is out June 1st via Domino. Check out a stream of "Katherine Hit Me", the whole Blood tracklist, cover art, and Franz Ferdinand's upcoming tour dates with... Green Day, below...

Continue reading "Franz Ferdinand releasing 'Blood' ('Tonight' dubified) --- MP3 "

photos by Natasha Ryan

"The band's live set didn't bother with the plot of "Tonight." It mixed old and new songs, switching between post-punk and new wave while bringing out Franz Ferdinand's musical craftiness. The band's songs are acutely conscious of structure; they shift tempo and rhythm, often within a song, moving from rock to something like funk. Every so often, Mr. Kapranos led call-and-response chants, and he kept jumping around the stage with splay-legged leaps. Near the end of the show, Franz Ferdinand was joined by the opening band, Born Ruffians, slamming at percussion and pumping synthesizer parts like an expanded dance-music band. Crowd-pleasing is part of Franz Ferdinand's job." [NY Times]

Franz Ferdinand played Roseland Ballroom in NYC last night (5/7). At least one member of the crowd wasn't pleased. According to "MPRBC", they "played the same song for about an hour. The most interesting thing about the show was the animated screen behind them." More pictures from the show below...

Continue reading "Franz Ferdinand @ Roseland Ballroom in NYC - pics "

photos by Darren Kim

"Coachella exists in two time zones: the event itself and its digital afterlife. The second zone, on cameras and blogs and Twitter and video-sharing sites, comes a heartbeat after the first, like a rockabilly slap-back echo. In its 10th year now, Coachella has been the music festival for the most technologically advanced teenagers-to-young-professionals, sniffing around the alternative mainstream. Even when the music doesn't present an argument they haven't heard before, they're controlling their own media representation of it; the act of listening is almost immediately contextualized into their own lives." [NY Times]

More pictures from Coachella Day One, below...

Continue reading "Coachella 2009 - Day 1 in Pictures "

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]

Duffy has since cleaned up at the Grammys, at the British version of the Grammys, and - per Paul McCartney's request, recorded a cover of his song "Live And Let Die" for the new War Child Heroes comp that is released in the US this week. You may have heard the Beck/Dylan track from the same album, when it was played during the credits of last night's Oscars (more on the Oscars in a second...).

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...) "

'War Child: Heroes' is an unprecedented collaboration between music's most heralded legends and the finest current artists.

We asked 15 ultimate icons to select a favourite song from their classic back catalogue and to nominate the new act they most trust to create a unique interpretation of that hand-picked track.

This album is the result: 15 exclusive and breath-taking cover versions.

Beck (Bob Dylan - "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat")
The Kooks (The Kinks - "Victoria")
The Hold Steady (Bruce Springsteen - "Atlantic City")
Hot Chip (Joy Division - "Transmission")
Lily Allen feat. Mick Jones (The Clash - "Straight To Hell")
Yeah Yeah Yeahs (The Ramones - "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker")
Franz Ferdinand (Blondie - "Call Me")
Duffy (Paul McCartney - "Live And Let Die")
Estelle (Stevie Wonder - "Superstition")
Rufus Wainwright (Brian Wilson -" Wonderful & Song For Children")
Scissor Sisters (Roxy Music - "Do The Strand")
Peaches (Iggy Pop - "Search And Destroy")
Adam Cohen (Leonard Cohen - "Take This Waltz")
Elbow (U2 - "Running To Stand Still")
The Like (Elvis Costello - "You Belong To Me")
TV On The Radio (David Bowie - "Heroes")

Though not out until February 24th here in the United States, "War Child: Heroes" was released in the UK on Monday (and it comes out March 3rd in Canada).

"Dark Was The Night" on the other hand, is out now everywhere. Full tracklist HERE. Rumor of an upcoming show at Radio City Music Hall HERE.

Listen to Lily Allen and Mick Jones cover the Clash, and other videos, below...

Continue reading "War Child: Heroes vs. Dark Was The Night (get both now!)"

Franz Ferdinand @ October Diesel Party (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

"Franz Ferdinand's third album has had a difficult gestation. Before Kylie collaborator Dan Carey took the production helm, there were abortive sessions with the eclectic DJ and producer Erol Alkan, talk of African influences and, most intriguing, an attempt to work with Girls Aloud's visionary production team Xenomania. Alas, the latter collapsed owing to the kind of musical differences you suspect may have involved Franz Ferdinand recognising their own limitations. You might talk a good fight about wanting to make music that makes girls dance, but you don't know how indie you really are until you get in the studio with someone who actually makes girls dance for a living.

This is unmistakably the behaviour of musicians who know a sonic overhaul is needed." [Guardian]

Franz Ferdinand's new album Tonight: Franz Ferdinand was released on January 27th. On April 17th the band will be playing Coachella. On May 7th they'll play Roseland Ballroom in NYC. Tickets for the large venue show go on Ticket Rush presale on Friday at 10am and then regular sale 24 hours later.

Lily Allen also just announced a show at the same NYC venue. All currently known FF tour dates below...

Continue reading "Franz Ferdinand - new album out, 2009 tour dates (Roseland)"

Headliners Paul McCartney, The Killers and The Cure are among the 130-plus acts set for the tenth COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL (APRIL 17, 18 AND 19) at the beautiful Empire Polo Club in Indio, CA, the same grounds where the COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL debuted in 1999. Other artists confirmed for America's most critically acclaimed music festival include Morrissey, Amy Winehouse, Franz Ferdinand, My Bloody Valentine, Leonard Cohen, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Thievery Corporation, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (the complete line-up is listed below).

This marks the first ever U.S. festival appearance for McCartney who is currently supporting his latest release ELECTRIC ARGUMENTS.

"I have heard that Coachella is one of the greatest festivals in the world. I'm really excited to get out there and rock!" McCartney says.

Tickets for COACHELLA go on sale Friday, January 30 at 9:00 AM (PT) at all Ticketmaster locations.

Throbbing Gristle and the rest of the full (real) line-up (as of 1/30) is below:

Continue reading "Coachella 2009 - OFFICIAL lineup announced (My Bloody Valentine, Leonard Cohen, Paul McCartney, Morrissey, The Cure, Antony, Amy Winehouse...) - tix on sale"

DOWNLOAD: Bon Iver - Blood Bank (MP3)

Vivian Girls rocking for kids @ the Living Room - Jan 9, 2009 (by Maryanne Ventrice)

today in NYC
* DANCE
* Whiplash @ UCB
* Les Paul @ Iridium
* Mondomundo Fest @ SOB's
* Matteah Baim @ Chelsea Market
* Brooklyn Songwriters Exchange @ Union Hall
* City and Colour & William Elliot Whitmore @ Bowery Ballroom

Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against The Machine was born today in 1970.

Brooklyn Songwriters Exchange brings Lucy Wainwright Roche, Rebecca Pronsky, Stephen Clair, and Brooke Campbell to Union Hall tonight for free.

"On January 12, in presenting the second part of the 2nd Annual Mondo Mundo Festival at S.O.B.'s, the Mondo Mundo Agency brings APAP attendees and NYC fans alike an eclectic line-up of four globally-influenced ensembles each with a unique, modern interpretation on music from Ireland, Latin America and Morocco.; the first 100 industry presenters with APAP badges will get into the festival for free. Mondo Mundo Agency will present a second evening of music as part of their 2nd Annual Mondo Mundo Festival featuring four artists from their roster including The McDades, Zemog El Gallo Bueno, Jose Conde and Hassan Hakmoun at S.O.B.'s."

happy 50th Birthday Motown.

NY Mag has a feature on Antony & the Johnsons.

Pop Matters lists the Best Music Journalism from 2008.

Goblin Cock tour dates.

The Wall Street Journal suggests How the Music Industry Can Get Digital Satisfaction.

The picture up there is from the Kidrockers gig the Vivian Girls played over the weekend. All of their dates HERE.

Bon Iver's new song "Blood Bank" above. Franz Ferdinand's new song "Ulysses" below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Monday?"

Photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

His latest CD, "Paper Trail," sold more than 560,000 copies in its first week to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 album charts, and his newest single, "Live Your Life" featuring Rihanna, supplanted the album's first single, "Whatever You Like," at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. [AP]

As pointed out in the previous two Diesel party picture posts, after Hot Chip & Chaka Khan came T.I. who made an unbilled, but planned appearance which ended with Franz Ferdinand (who had just played two more Brooklyn shows earlier in the week) playing as his backing band which then went into Franz Ferdinand's set - the longest of the night. T.I. and F.F. collectively were the best entertainment of the evening. The circus performers were a nice touch too. That included two sets (female then male) of aerialists who performed above the crowd before TI and after FF. Circus was the theme with Joey Arias also acting as "ringmaster" and free cotton candy, popcorn and hot pretzels. T.I. didn't bring out Jay-Z like he did at his recent show at Highline Ballroom, but he did have someone else that represented Brooklyn (help?) and...

T.I. also performed a song with the pregnant M.I.A., and called the lyricist "the hottest rap chick in the game right now, period." T.I. recently sampled "Paper Planes" for a collaboration with Jay-Z, Kanye West and Lil Wayne. The song, "Swagga Like Us," appears on "Paper Trail." [AP]

More pictures from that part of the night below...

Continue reading "T.I., Franz Ferdinand & circus performers @ Pier 3 - pics"

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

M.I.A. first appeared on stage at last night's Diesel party during T.I.'s surprise set which was right before Franz Ferdinand played. Then she came back to do her own set which segued right into N.E.R.D.'s short set which closed the whole night Hot Chip played much earlier - only a few of their own songs before they became Chaka Khan's backing band. More pictures of M.I.A. below...

Continue reading "M.I.A. is pregnant, played the Diesel Party - pics"