March 28, 2024

Franz Ferdinand bring African sounds into new album

June 8, 2008
Franz Ferdinand Bring African Sounds Into New Album
Scottish modern rockers Franz Ferdinand have been under the radar as of late, but with good reason; they’re about a third of the way through recording their new album, which they say is in part influenced by some African rhythmic influences and melodies of Ethiopia as well as the sounds of American and British ‘60s soul. The album is expected later this year, with the band also expected to preview some of the new songs during their summer festival appearances; one of the completed tracks, “What She Came For,” is currently slated to be the album’s first single...
R.E.M. took the stage at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles this past weekend, stuffing over two dozen songs into a show that ran just under two hours. They showcased plenty of material from their newest album, Accelerate, but also invited some of their older classics into the set, including Automatic for the People’s politically-charged track “Ignoreland,” which they’d yet to play live prior to this tour. R.E.M. being a great live band, having honed their collective musical teeth in the clubs of Athens and Atlanta, Georgia back in the late ‘80s, they were definite crowd-pleasers, and even threw in a quick rendition of “Happy Birthday,” complete with that R.E.M. flair, for the band’s “computer guy,” after which R.E.M.’s Mike Mills joked that the band was now available for parties. R.E.M.’s U.S. tour dates will include stops in Chicago (6/8), Washington DC (6/11), Boston (6/13), and Atlanta (6/21); their extensive European tour kicks off in July...
Actor Rhys Ifans is joining the ranks (Johnny Depp, Joaquin Phoenix) of actors crossing over to the music community; in this case, Ifans is teaming up with Super Furry Animals’ Dafydd Ieuan to form a new band that they’re calling The Peth. Also featuring fellow musicians Nick Hilton, Kris Jenkins, and Dic Ben, the band will drop their debut disc, The Golden Mile, on September 1; songs set for the tracklisting include “Turbotank” and the, er, interestingly-titled “Shoot on Sight (Flock of Zeigheils).” And in case you’re wondering what Ifans has to do with this crew, early SFA fans might remember that Ifans was actually in an early lineup of that band before acting called...

And if you miss ‘em at their summer festival appearances (Lollapalooza being one of them), never fear - you’ll be able to catch Jack White and his Raconteurs on the road this fall, when they kick off another series of tour dates in September. Continuing to support the release of their second album, Consolers of the Lonely, the band, who also just performed on Late Night with Conan O’Brien last week, will start in Oregon (Portland, 9/16 and 9/17) and will stay on the road until the beginning of October, including stops in Vancouver (9/18), Los Angeles (9/22), and Memphis, Tennessee (9/29)...

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK
Fancy yourself a music video creator? Then check out this global video contest being put on by none other than Moby - just stop by www.mobygratis.com/competition, and you can sign up to submit your take on a music video for Moby’s song “Ooh, Yeah.” One winner will snag a $10,000 prize and will have their video used to help promote Moby’s newest tune...

MINI BUZZ:
Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard have collaborated on the score for the latest Batman movie, The Dark Knight Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - fans will be able to purchase the music on July 15, with the movie hitting theaters July 18...
American Idol winner David Cook - a performer who broke a good chunk of the Idol mold by tackling quirky arrangements of the pop songs requested of the contestants, and who also plays guitar - took over the digital singles sales charts last week, with not one, not two, but a whopping eight tracks (primarily cover versions) in the Top 30...
Harley Davidson’s 105th Anniversary Celebration is set to take place in Milwaukee on August 29, a multi-day fest that will feature performances from Daughtry, Three Days Grace, and Foo Fighters...
Following a somewhat tepid performance of their first single, “Summertime,” on NBC TV’s Today Show, the reunited New Kids on the Block have tapped September 8 as the release date for their new album...
Mike Skinner, aka The Streets, has reportedly dubbed their upcoming new album Everything is Borrowed...
And Muse, in a recent interview with Radio 1’s Newsbeat, stated that they’re not sure they’re going to be releasing their next album in “traditional” format - they’re pondering a more “organic” method of delivering the tracks, although they’ve yet to specify exactly what...
And delivering their tracks for you this week are the latest new releases... ON CD: Goo Goo Dolls’ Greatest Hits Volume 2... Joseph Arthur’s EP... Miggs’ Unraveled... Sister Hazel’s Before the Amplifiers Live Acoustic... Totem’s Solar Forge... and the re-release of David Bowie’s Black Tie White Noise... ON DVD: Genesis: When in Rome 2007... Panic! at the Disco’s The Theater of Imagination... Los Straitjackets in Concert... and yes, folks, it’s The Wiggles’ You Make Me Feel Like Dancing... 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

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