Aretha Franklin, John Williams set for Obama Inauguration

Jan. 11, 2009

Aretha Franklin, John Williams Set For Obama Inauguration
Alongside the 10,000 U.S. troops that are being assigned to watch over the festivities, a plethora of special guests and speakers will be part of President-elect Barack Obama’s swearing-in ceremonies in just a couple of weeks on January 20. As many as four million people are expected to be on site in Washington, DC when Obama takes his Presidential oath at noon on the steps of the Capitol. Along with the ceremony itself will be performances from the U.S. Marine and Navy bands as well as from Detroit’s Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin; there will also be the performance of a new work as composed by John Williams (Star Wars, Jaws) and played by Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and violinist Itzhak Perlman. Vice President-elect Joe Biden will also take his oath on this day, which is already being called “an event of historic proportions”...
Death Cab for Cutie just celebrated their tenth anniversary, and addition to the assumed cake and other festivities, the band has also re-issued their 1999 debut CD, Something About Airplanes, in a deluxed limited edition version on Barsuk Records. The set is a great look/listen to the band’s early beginnings, and this particular version of the disc will also include a bonus CD featuring a recently-dredged-out-of-the-archives recording of the band’s first-ever Seattle show from February, 1998. The tracklisting on the concert CD includes tunes “President of What,” “State Street Residential,” and “Pictures in an Exhibition”...
The National are hard at work on the follow-up to their 2007 set, Boxer, which sold almost a quarter-million copies in the U.S. The band is sequestered in member Aaron Dessner’s home studio in Brooklyn, NY, and say they’re fairly far into the process of songwriting for the next disc. Being as that they’ll be involved with writing and recording for quite a while, they’re not planning any tour dates until summer 2009, with the exception of a one-off performance on February 3 for the annual Tibet House Benefit show at NYC’s Carnegie Hall, where they’ll share the stage with Philip Glass and Vampire Weekend...
And after much speculation, it’s finally happening - 20-year veteran UK rockers Blur have confirmed that they’ll reunite for a show in London’s Hyde Park next summer, and all four members - singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James, and drummer Dave Rowntree - will take part in the reunion. The London show is set to take place on July 3rd, as promoted by Live Nation; and now it’s time for a second round of rumors, namely those that state that Blur is also now a contender to headline the Glastonbury Festival in June 2009...

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:
For the next best thing to great live performances, hop online to Yahoo! Music for the Nissan Live Sets, where you can watch concerts by The Pretenders, Brian Wilson, Moby, Weezer, Alanis Morissette, Fall Out Boy, Coldplay, and many others; you’ll find it at http://new.music.yahoo.com/nissanlivesets/...

MINI BUZZ:
The Decemberists have finally set a release date for their new high-concept album, The Hazards of Love - the set will now hit stores on March 24, complete with appearances from Jim James and Robyn Hitchcock...
Veteran producer and 27-time Grammy winner Quincy Jones has been tapped to deliver a keynote address at this year’s SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas...
The new Doors documentary, When You’re Strange, is set to premiere January 17 at this year’s Sundance Film Festival; Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek says it will be “the true story of The Doors” as opposed to the earlier Oliver Stone version with Val Kilmer...
Elbow will perform and record their Mercury Prize-winning album, The Seldom Seen Kid, with the BBC Concert Orchestra on January 17; the performance will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2...
The Rakes are set to release their third album, Klang, on March 23, complete with 10 new Rakes songs...
Collective Soul have signed a new record deal with a division of Roadrunner Records - the band will go into singer Ed Roland’s studio early this year to begin work on a new album...
And new in-stores this week are these new songs on brand new discs... 1/12 ON CD: The Gourds’ Haymaker... My Dear Disco’s Dancethink Music... Various Artists on the soundtrack for Revolutionary Road... Soundtrack of Our Lives’ latest (with title TBA)... Hot Chip’s Forget My Name... and Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion... and ON DVD: The Cribs: Live at the Brundenell... 4 Film Favorites: Elvis Presley Classics... Jimi Hendrix - At Last: The Beginning: The Making of Electric Ladyland... and Jimi Hendrix’ Electric Ladyland: 40th Anniversary Collector’s 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