DOWNLOAD: John Grant - "Black Belt" (MP3)

John Grant (middle) w/ Midlake at SXSW 2011 (more by Bill Pearis)

John Grant released his new, synthier album, Pale Green Ghosts, in the UK earlier this year, and as mentioned, it comes out in the US on May 14 via Partisan. The album features guest vocals from Sinead O'Connor and was produced by Biggi Veira of Iceland's Gus Gus. John will be supporting the album with a previously discussed tour that hits NYC on April 25 at Le Poisson Rouge. Tickets for that show are still available, and if you can't make it, you can watch the live stream from the comfort of your own home. His tour was recently expanded, and all upcoming tour dates are listed below.

Ahead of the album's US release, John also had Hercules and Love Affair remix one of its tracks, "Black Belt." You can stream that clubby remix below and compare it to the original track, which you can download above.

In less positive news, John recently spoke to The Guardian about his 2011 diagnosis of being HIV positive, a topic he confronts on the new album:

Only after his HIV diagnosis has Grant accepted that he hadn't conquered his addiction but simply transferred it from substances to sex. "If I can't go out and do fat rails [of cocaine] off the bathroom floor at a club, I want to at least have my sex, because sex is natural. Nobody's going to deny me that, right? But that's just cheating. I was out there fucking for a purpose, to hurt myself, to punish myself for not being good enough. And when I realised I had to deal with that too, I was just so tired. I was like, Are you kidding me? I can't relate in a normal way to anything! I mean, it's enough to make you despair."

Updated dates are listed, along with those song streams, below...

Continue reading "John Grant expands tour, remixed by Hercules & Love Affair, discusses HIV diagnosis & collaborating w/ Sinead O'Connor"

Gorillaz at MSG in 2010

As mentioned, the 2013 Lincoln Center Festival is taking place this July. Tickets to all shows in the festival go on sale today (4/8).

The shows include Monkey: Journey to the West, created by theater director Chen Shi-Zheng teamed up with Gorillaz members Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, which runs for the entire span of the festival from July 6-28. It also includes SInead O'Connor: The Gospel Sessions at Alice Tully Hull's Starr Theatre from July 26-27, and Zorn@60 in celebration of John Zorn's 60th birthday at Alice Tully Hall on July 18 and 20.

The festival also features the US premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen's Michaels Reise Um Die Erde with German ensemble musikFabrik on July 18 and 20 at Avery Fisher Hall, and Mongolia's Hanggai Band at Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse on July 16, and still more. Full program schedule HERE.

Monkey: Journey to the West

Damon Albarn has never had a problem proving his versatility. The Blur frontman's side projects have encompassed everything from cult animators to African drummers, so it seems apt that his latest attempt at a cross-cultural balancing act culminates in a teetering tableau of spinning dishes.

Monkey: Journey to the West features music by Albarn with designs by Gorillaz collaborator Jamie Hewlett, and was conceived and directed by the Chinese opera specialist Chen Shi-Zheng. Co-commissioned by the Manchester International Festival, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and the Staatsoper Berlin, it's a high-octane, 90-minute rock'n'roll circus, performed in Mandarin and featuring over 50 Chinese acrobats, martial arts experts and a team of tiny contortionists so pliable they could have flown over as cabin luggage. - [The Guardian, June 2007}

The Festival also includes Sinéad O'Connor: The Gospel Sessions where the Irish singer explores the American gospel soul. That happens at Alice Tully Hall's Starr Theatre on July 26 - 27.

There's also Zorn@60, which celebrates John Zorn's 60th birthday with two concerts at Alice Tully Hall on July 18 and 20. The first night (7/18) features a female vocal quintet performing Zorn's Song of Song and his latest mystery play, The Holy Visions.The second night (7/20) features Zorn's complete string quartets performed together for the very first time.

Also at the Festival: the U.S. premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen's Michaels Reise Um Die Erde which features German contemporary music ensemble musikFabrik (July 18 & 20 at Avery Fisher Hall); and Mongolia's Hanggai Band at Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse on July 16.

Full program schedule and dates are here. Tickets to all Lincoln Center Festival performances are currently on sale for Friends of Lincoln Center, and the general on-sale happens April 8.

53%ers

We already posted lots of posts today. Here's some more, and some reminders too...

Jay-Z & Beyonce raised a cool $4M for Barack Obama at their benefit last night ("Beyonce could not be a better role model for my girls," Obama said,). Go on and brush your shoulders off, Jigga.

If you bought a ticket to that fundraiser, may we interest you in a live entertainment company?

Meanwhile, the President was on The Late Show with David Letterman last night, chatting about the Mitt Romney "47%" video and other things. Watch it below.

In other money news, Amanda Palmer is now going to pay those previously-volunteer musicians and her new LP debuted at #10 on Billboard.

If you were wondering the #1 album is, it's Dave Matthews Band's Away from the World which beat out Bob Dylan. The xx's Coexist came in at #5, not too bad!

Check out what David Byrne & St. Vincent played last night in Chicago.

Look at pictures from our Jon Spencer Blues Explosion record release party that was last night.

Hope to see you at our Rafiq Batia record release party that Anti-Pop Consortium is also playing.

Check out an excellent profile piece on the legendary Neil Young that appeared in the NY Times Magazine.

Sinead O'Connor wrote to Russian president Vladmir Putin, demanding Pussy Riot's release. Is that helping or hurting?

Deftones are back with "Leathers", the new song from their upcoming Koi No Yokan due on 11/13. Check out that song below in a video stream and/or down load your copy at their site.

more stuff below...

Continue reading "Also: Jay-Z raises serious $$$ for Obama, Yo Gabba Gabba, Deftones, 'Ice Ice Baby' analyzed, Wilco, Neil Young & more"

This was announced last month, but I'm admittedly not paying close attention to what is up with Sinead, and just realized it when I saw that tonight's Beacon Theater show was cancelled...

"With enormous regret I must announce that I have to cancel all touring for the year as am very unwell due to bi polar disorder," she revealed in an online message.

The Irish singer added, "So very stupidly I ignored his advice to my great detriment, attempting to be stronger than I actually am."

The 45-year-old vocalist played a few shows earlier this year and was supposed to hit the road again this spring behind her new album, "How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?."

In December, O'Connor announced her split from therapist Barry Herridge after 16 days of marriage. They tried to reconcile, but eventually called it quits in January 2012. [CBS]

Tickets go on sale at noon for Washed Out's show at Music Hall of Williamsburg. It will sell out quick.

Tickets go on sale at noon for Reggie Watts's headlining show at Webster Hall. I wonder how fast it will sell out.

Guns n' Roses tribute band Mr. Brownstone rise from the grave again for a show at Bowery Ballroom on May 19th. Tickets go on sale at noon.

Tickets go on sale at noon for Norah Jones's Summerstage show.

Refused and OFF! tickets are also on sale at noon.

Sinead O'Connor (I don't know) is back again in May for a tour that includes May 19th at Wellmont Theater (on sale at noon) and May 22nd at Beacon Theater (on sale at noon). She recently played two sold out shows at Highline Ballroom (right around the time Pitchfork gave her new album an impressive 7.6). All tour dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Washed Out, Reggie Watts, Sinead O'Connor, Mr. Brownstone & other shows & tickets"

Sinead O'Connor @ Joe's Pub, NYC - June 26, 2007 (CRED)

Not that the comments aren't always a poll, but I'm especially interested to here what people think about Sinead O'Connor. Who likes her enough to buy tickets this Friday (presale) & Saturday for her show October 23rd @ Beacon Theater? I'm not knocking her - I'm just really wondering what people's interest is in Sinead, and I'm admittedly not very up on her recent music - that includes her new album Theology. Her last two NYC appearances were small ones - see pictures above and below. She also made a controversial appearance on WNYC while she was here - listen at their site. All tour dates below too....

Continue reading "Sinead O'Connor - 2007 Tour Dates"