NYC band The Strokes are finally prepping to head back into the studio in February, 2009 to get back to work on their next album, after being temporarily derailed by various family matters and solo projects. During the break, bassist Nikolai Fraiture “got bored” and put together his own solo project, a band which he dubbed Nickel Eye; Nickel Eye has already recorded their debut album, The Time of the Assassins, which Fraiture says was “born from old high school poems.” And it’s no thrown-together thing ...Assassins features guest appearances from singer-songwriter Regina Spektor and Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner. Nickel Eye recently made their live debut in London at The Borderline Club, where Fraiture took on lead vocals and also performed a cover of Nico’s song, “These Days.” The Time of the Assassins will hit stores January 27, 2009...
Parlophone Records/Astralwerks and the War Child charity have teamed up for another multi-artist fundraising album. War Child is a charity created to care for those affected by war in Iraq, Afghanistan, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Although the album was originally set for release this week, it’s been moved back to early 2009 in order to accommodate some of the musicians who wished to be included in the set. The album will feature exclusive versions of classic cover songs from the likes of Paul McCartney and Ray Davies (The Kinks); the new versions of the tracks will be performed by the likes of Beck, Rufus Wainwright, Duffy and Hot Chip...
Well, it’s not exactly the reunion tour fans keep hoping for, but Smiths main men Morrissey and Johnny Marr did get together for one thing, namely to select the tracks and album art for two new Rhino Records Smiths complilation discs (Marr also oversaw the remastering of the songs.) The discs, which are in stores now, include a single disc collection dubbed The Sound of the Smiths that will include tracks like “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now,” “How Soon Is Now?” and “Panic,” plus a double disc collection that will include rarely heard B-sides, live tracks and other rarities, including “Handsome Devil,” “Cemetry Gates” and a cover of James’ “What’s the World”...
Jamie Hewlett has created and directed a short film for “Monkey Bee,” the first single from his and Damon Albarn’s (Blur) album, Monkey: Journey to the West, which is a spinoff from the duo’s opera project of the same name. Described as a mixture of 1970’s Chinese spaghetti Western and Korean suspense movies, the short film was shot over three days in London, and stars members of the Monkey... opera cast; it can be seen on Channel 4 in the UK, and on YouTube in the U.S....
MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:
One of the highlights of this year’s BBC Electric Proms concert season was the performance of Coldcut, who celebrated the legacy of the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop with their live remix of the classic Doctor Who theme, which was crafted in the Workshop itself; check out Coldcut’s cool Who tune at www.bbc.co.uk/electricproms/2008/artists/coldcut/...
MINI BUZZ:
Death Cab for Cutie’s recent album Narrow Stairs is being reissued on vinyl, bundled with a bonus 7-inch featuring a couple of rare demos...
Omaha electro-dance band The Faint have added a half-dozen December dates to their current trek, including stops in St. Louis (12/12), Detroit (12/15) and Cleveland (12/16)...
Veteran alterna-rockers Live have signed a new deal with Vanguard Records to release their CD/DVD Live at the Paridiso, which was filmed earlier this year in Amsterdam; the CD/DVD is in stores now...
Panic at the Disco have been writing new songs during their busy tour schedule, and hope to turn around their next album more quickly this time, with a release date tentatively scheduled for summer 2009...
And making fans wonder if/when a Replacements reunion really is a possibility, the band’s Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson did some informal jamming last month in Minneapolis; no tape was rolled, but Stinson did mention that he does think he and Westerberg, being good friends, will work together again somehow...
My Bloody Valentine wrapped a triumphant reunion tour last month in Santa Monica, CA, with all seven of their North American shows coming in as sell-outs; now, they have plans to complete an earlier-abandoned third album and then hopefully start another one...
And here are this week’s new releases... ON CD: Guns N’ Roses Chinese Democracy (so they say)... David Byrne and Brian Eno’s Everything That Happens Will Happen Today... The Killers’ Day and Age... John Barrowman’s Music Music Music... Scott Weiland’s (ex-STP/Velvet Revolver) Happy in Galoshes... and Tom Jones’ 24 Hours... ON DVD: Daryl Hall and John Oates - Live at the Troubadour... Luciano Pavarotti: Life in Seven Arias ... and Blue Man group’s Blu-Ray release of How to be a Megastar Live!... 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
Parlophone Records/Astralwerks and the War Child charity have teamed up for another multi-artist fundraising album. War Child is a charity created to care for those affected by war in Iraq, Afghanistan, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Although the album was originally set for release this week, it’s been moved back to early 2009 in order to accommodate some of the musicians who wished to be included in the set. The album will feature exclusive versions of classic cover songs from the likes of Paul McCartney and Ray Davies (The Kinks); the new versions of the tracks will be performed by the likes of Beck, Rufus Wainwright, Duffy and Hot Chip...
Well, it’s not exactly the reunion tour fans keep hoping for, but Smiths main men Morrissey and Johnny Marr did get together for one thing, namely to select the tracks and album art for two new Rhino Records Smiths complilation discs (Marr also oversaw the remastering of the songs.) The discs, which are in stores now, include a single disc collection dubbed The Sound of the Smiths that will include tracks like “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now,” “How Soon Is Now?” and “Panic,” plus a double disc collection that will include rarely heard B-sides, live tracks and other rarities, including “Handsome Devil,” “Cemetry Gates” and a cover of James’ “What’s the World”...
Jamie Hewlett has created and directed a short film for “Monkey Bee,” the first single from his and Damon Albarn’s (Blur) album, Monkey: Journey to the West, which is a spinoff from the duo’s opera project of the same name. Described as a mixture of 1970’s Chinese spaghetti Western and Korean suspense movies, the short film was shot over three days in London, and stars members of the Monkey... opera cast; it can be seen on Channel 4 in the UK, and on YouTube in the U.S....
MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:
One of the highlights of this year’s BBC Electric Proms concert season was the performance of Coldcut, who celebrated the legacy of the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop with their live remix of the classic Doctor Who theme, which was crafted in the Workshop itself; check out Coldcut’s cool Who tune at www.bbc.co.uk/electricproms/2008/artists/coldcut/...
MINI BUZZ:
Death Cab for Cutie’s recent album Narrow Stairs is being reissued on vinyl, bundled with a bonus 7-inch featuring a couple of rare demos...
Omaha electro-dance band The Faint have added a half-dozen December dates to their current trek, including stops in St. Louis (12/12), Detroit (12/15) and Cleveland (12/16)...
Veteran alterna-rockers Live have signed a new deal with Vanguard Records to release their CD/DVD Live at the Paridiso, which was filmed earlier this year in Amsterdam; the CD/DVD is in stores now...
Panic at the Disco have been writing new songs during their busy tour schedule, and hope to turn around their next album more quickly this time, with a release date tentatively scheduled for summer 2009...
And making fans wonder if/when a Replacements reunion really is a possibility, the band’s Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson did some informal jamming last month in Minneapolis; no tape was rolled, but Stinson did mention that he does think he and Westerberg, being good friends, will work together again somehow...
My Bloody Valentine wrapped a triumphant reunion tour last month in Santa Monica, CA, with all seven of their North American shows coming in as sell-outs; now, they have plans to complete an earlier-abandoned third album and then hopefully start another one...
And here are this week’s new releases... ON CD: Guns N’ Roses Chinese Democracy (so they say)... David Byrne and Brian Eno’s Everything That Happens Will Happen Today... The Killers’ Day and Age... John Barrowman’s Music Music Music... Scott Weiland’s (ex-STP/Velvet Revolver) Happy in Galoshes... and Tom Jones’ 24 Hours... ON DVD: Daryl Hall and John Oates - Live at the Troubadour... Luciano Pavarotti: Life in Seven Arias ... and Blue Man group’s Blu-Ray release of How to be a Megastar Live!... 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
