Winter tour with Peter Bjorn & john

Nov. 21, 2007

Winter tour with Peter Bjorn and John
Swedish indie-pop trio Peter Bjorn and John have announced that they’ll be embarking on a short winter tour starting next week. Touring in support of their recent album,Writer’s Block, the three will hit the road starting in Houston, Texas (11/23) and will continue through the U.S., including stops in Dallas (11/24), Indianapolis (11/27), and Cleveland (11/29) before wrapping in Millvale, Pennsylvania on December 3rd; no word yet on whether or not additional dates will be
announced...

Chicago record label Thrill Jockey is planning out a huge hometown celebration to celebrate their 15 years in the record biz. They’ll be hosting a bash at Chicago’s own Logan Square Auditorium this upcoming December 14th and 15th. Who gets to go? Well, you, if you’re so inclined, plus tons of Thrill Jockey’s very own bands, including Frequency, The Sea and Cake, Califone, Archer Prewitt, and many, many more. Attendees will also get a copy of the Super Epic Thrill Jockey Mega Massive Mix (whew) - but if you can’t attend, you can still snag a copy via mail order on Thrill Jockey’s website...

Razorlight have just arrived on American shores for a series of tour dates that began on November 7th in Cambridge, Massachusetts; the band plans to break in some of their new songs during the North American shows, as they hope to return to the recording studio early next year. Lead singer Johnny Borrell is also prepping to make his film debut - under a pseudonym, no less - in the upcoming movie The Meat Trade, which will co-star Colin Firth and Robert Carlyle...
Coldplay are wrapping up their fourth album, and have recently unveiled two new song titles to fans on their website - the new tracks are called “Famous Old Painters” and “Glass of Water,” and both are slated to appear on the new, reportedly “dense, colorful, and melodic” disc. The album - which has no name as of  yet except the rumored name, Prospekt, - is being produced by both Markus Dravs and the oh-so-experimental Brian Eno, is said to be about 45 minutes long, and is expected to hit stores during the first half of 2008...

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:
As Tall As Lions are releasing a new digital EP next week on Triple Crown; titled Into the Flood, the EP was recorded with Mike Watts over a mere six days, and the band is eager to hear what their fans think - so keep an eye on http://www.triplecrownrecords.com/artist_as_tall_as_lions.php for more details starting November 27th...

MINI BUZZ:
Shortly following their recent “pay as you wanna” label-free digital CD release, Radiohead have just signed deals with ATO Records for the album’s physical release, and with XL Recordings for future album releases outside of North America...
National Geographic Cinema Ventures have announced the first major international NGCV release, set to open in late January 2008 in 3-D, Real D, and IMAX 3-D - it’s called U2 3D, and it was filmed during U2’s appropriately-named Vertigo tour; the film will help establish a new standard in 3D digital technology...
American Music Club are now set to release their 9th studio album, The Golden Age, on February 19th on Merge Records...
James Yorkston and the Athletes will embark on a short UK tour, which will include stops in Liverpool (12/3), Edinburgh (12/17), and London (12/19 and 12/20)...
The Mars Volta are prepping to release The Bedlam in Goliath this upcoming January, complete with guitar work by the Red Hot Chili Peppers John Frusciante...
And Super Furry Animals have announced the details of their upcoming New Year’s Eve gig at London’s Royal Festival Hall - the Welsh band will headline, of course, and they’ll also be welcoming a plethora of additional bands and DJs, plus art and other visuals...

And here are a plethora of new releases for you this week... ON CD: Paul McCartney’s The McCartney Years... Westlife’s Back Home... Streetlight Manifesto’s Somewhere in the Between... The Spice Girls’ Greatest Hits - Special Edition... Incubus’ Look Alive... and LCD Soundsystem’s 45:33... ON DVD:  Django Reinhardt: King of Jazz Guitar... Paul McCartney: Ecce Cor Meum... Spice World (The Spice Girls)... and The Beastie Boys: The Complete Story Unauthorized... and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.

Questions, comments, rants, raves, suggestions on this column or your fave artists? Send ‘em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com