Whoa Nelly

March 21, 2007

Nelly Furtado is slated to be a big deal at the upcoming Canadian Juno Awards show on April 1- set to be the host and one of the feature performers at the event, Furtado has also been nominated for five Juno Awards, which puts her up in the ranks of this year’s most nominated, along with K-OS and Billy Talent. Also set to perform on the show are the aforementioned two - K-OS and Talent, that is - along with Three Days Grace and Gregory Charles;  up for additional awards are Mobile, Ron Sexsmith, Sarah McLachlan, and Chantal Kreviazuk...
 
Don’tcha dare call Panic! at the Disco emo, whatever you do - singer Brendon Urie, in a recent press interview, stated how the band finds the label “insulting”
as the stereotype is of “guys that are
weak and in failing relationships writing about how sad they are - emo is bull***t!”  Hmm. Perhaps he feels a little strongly about this terminology? Well, other than keeping themselves occupied analyzing what people are calling ‘em, the band is also still hard at work on their much-anticipated upcoming next album, which is slated for release sometime in 2007...
 
Cowboy Junkies have wrapped work on their new disc, which this time around, according to the Junkies’ Michael Timmins, deals with the complex relationships of “family” and all of the forms that family can take. The album itself takes the form of 11 tracks, has been titled At the End of Paths Taken, will hit stores internationally on April 10 and will arrive stateside on April 17;  the band also is in the process of booking a series of North American tour dates for the month of April...
 
And ex-Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks will be releasing a greatest hits album that will span the musician’s entire solo career, including remixes and live tracks as well as behind-the-scenes bonus footage of Nicks recording her first solo album.  Titled Reflections - The Very Best of Stevie Nicks, no release date has been announced yet, but the album is expected to hit stores soon, and Nicks may also be playing some live dates later this year...
 
MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK: 
Retro modern rockers The Black Keys have just released a download-only single, “You’re the One,” that will be backed with a Magic Potion album outtake called “The Way I Feel When I’m With You” - check their website, www.theblackkeys.com, for more details...
 
MINI BUZZ:
Chicago band The Sea and Cake are on their way back with a new album set for release May 8 - titled Everybody, the set of ten tracks was produced by indie dude Brian Paulson (Superchunk) and will include songs “Crossing Line,” “Coconut,” and “Introducing”...
Wannabe indie-popster Mandy Moore will release her latest CD, Wild Hope, on May 8; produced by John Alagia, Moore says that this album is all about “taking risks”...
Galactic are hard at work on their newest funky album, just like (ahem) Mandy, and have roped in the likes of Lateef, Mr. Lif, and Digable Planet’s Ladybug to make contributions - the album is due in late summer...
Indie-rockers The Comas will be offering up their Vagrant Records debut disc, Spells, on April 17, and they’ll package up the disc with a spring tour, including a stop at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas...
The Starting Line are currently busy in the studio tracking their new album, which has been tentatively titled Directions - the band is working with Howard Benson on the disc...
The Roots are working on a new album, too - the follow up to their 2006 release, Game Theory - and, according to drummer ?uestlove, there will be a lot more synthesizers this time around - the album is set for release either this fall or early in 2008...

And here are this week’s eclectic list of new releases... ON CD:  The Fall’s Reformation Post TLC... Adult’s Why Bother?... Good Charlotte’s Good Morning Revival... The Ponys’ Turn the Lights Out... Low’s Drums and Guns... and Jesse Malin’s Glitter in the Gutter...  ON DVD:  Dixie Chicks’ Shut Up and Sing... Live at the Rock N’ Roll Palace Vol. 2... Pure ’80s: The DVD ... and David Bowie’s Young Americans: Special Edition... and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.
 
Questions, comments, rants, raves, suggestions on this column or your fave musicians?  Send ‘em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com.