More Pumpkin Mash

Feb. 15, 2006

Following rumors that Smashing Pumpkins had booked a slot to play at this year’s Coachella Music Festival, more info on the Pumpkins’ possible reunion has surfaced this week.  The pending performance at Coachella has now been scuttled, to be replaced with the news of Pumpkinhead Billy Corgan’s signing with a new management company, and his bringing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin into the studio to begin work on a new Pumpkins studio album, which would be the first since the band’s 2000 farewell disc, MACHINA. The band is also being considered for a headlining spot at this year’s Lollapalooza, which is now scheduled for August 4 through 6 in Chicago.  So far, original Pumpkins members James Iha and D’arcy are not set to participate in any of the above - but the way things keep changing, who knows - as Corgan himself said on his MySpace site, “...don’t you just love the suspense?”...
 
Influential Brit rockers Massive Attack are making great progress on their fifth studio album, and have also now set a release date of April 4 for the drop of their retrospective disc, Collected, which will feature one regular audio CD and one DualDisc with DVD footage. Bringing together tracks personally selected by Massive Attack themselves, the discs will include plenty of fan favorites (among them “Teardrop,” “Unfinished Sympathy,” and “Angel”), and loads of rarities, including a cover of “I Against I” that the band did with Mos Def, an alternate version of song “Incantations,” and more.  Sixteen music videos are included, too, as is a brand new Massive Attack single called “Live With Me.”  Massive Attack are slated to hop on the tour trail this summer for both festival and headlining shows...
 
Franz Ferdinand and Death Cab for Cutie are teaming up to kick off a major co-headlining North American tour in late March.  Revving up that tour engine on March 22 in Portland, Oregon, the pair o’ bands will continue their road trip through the end of April, making stops in Houston, TX (3/30), Washington DC (4/11), Toronto (4/17), Detroit (4/18), Chicago (4/19), and Minneapolis (4/20) along the way. Both bands are also currently nominated for “Best Alternative Music Album” at this year’s 48th Annual Grammy Awards - up for the same honor are fellow modern rockers The Arcade Fire, Beck, and Detroit’s own White Stripes...
 
In other Death Cab for Cutie news, the band’s new film anthology, Directions - a set of 12 short films, each inspired by a song on their latest album, Plans - have begun showing on the band’s website, www.deathcabforcutie.com . “Marching Bands of Manhattan” and “Soul Meets Body” have already hit the site, and a new film will be debuted each week (and can only be viewed for that week, so don’t miss ‘em!), and will continue until the entire 12-film set has been shown. The mini-movies will be available on iTunes beginning March 28, and then the wide release of the Directions DVD will follow on April 11.  And, in other Franz Ferdinand news, listen for their next single, “The Fallen,” on a hip radio station near you...
 
MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:  Aussie band The Vines have returned to action following their near-demise due to singer Craig Nicholls’ recent medical troubles - and they’ve finally completed their third album, which you’ll have to wait until April to buy.  But thanks to the magic of the internet, you can get a sneak listen right now - the as-yet-untitled new album will include songs “Don’t Listen to the Radio” and “Gross Out,” both of which can be heard on The Vines’ official website, www.thevines.com...

MINI BUZZ:
It’s confirmed, it’s confirmed, ladies and germs - The Who are set to embark on a world tour this summer in support of their first new full-length album in over 20 years...
Pennsylvania rockers Live will release their new disc, Songs from Black Mountain, on April 11 on Epic Records...
Madonna has selected designer Jean Paul Gaultier to design the costumes for her next tour...
Fall Out Boy will be performing as part of the plot on an episode of “One Tree Hill” set to air on February 15 at 8 pm on the WB...
Switchfoot are heading out on a late-winter club tour that will also kick off on February 15 in California - they’ve confirmed a half-dozen dates so far, with more to be announced in the next few weeks...
Yellowcard will serve as the headliner for this year’s College Mega Tour, scheduled to kick off in April and hitting 20 college campuses across the country; along for the ride will be opening acts Reeve Oliver and Mae...
Just who the heck is that bizarre bearded guy in Fiona Apple’s new “Not About Love” video?  Well, it’s comedian Zach Galifianakis, best known for his 2002 late night talk show, “Late World With Zach” - Galifianakis and Apple are pals, and the video was originally just thrown together as filler for the DualDisc edition of Apple’s latest album...  

And as far as latest CDs, here’s what you’ll find in a multimedia store near you this week... ON CD:  Jack Johnson’s Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the film Curious George...  The Go-Between’s That Striped Sunlight Sound... Bela Fleck and the Flecktones’ Hidden Land... Babyshambles’ Down in Albion... Matchbook Romance’s Voices... and NOW #1s, including tracks from Gwen Stefani, Macy Gray, Outkast, and Nine Days... ON DVD:  Sugarcubes’ Live Zabor and Sugarcubes - The DVD... Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ Road to God Knows Where/Live at the Paradiso... and, just in time for Valentine’s Day, Love Songs Volume One... and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock. 
 
Questions, comments, rants, raves, suggestions about this column or your fave musicians?  Send ‘em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com!
 
 

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