March 18, 2024

War Child covers album to arrive in February

Jan. 25, 2009
The upcoming War Child Heroes album has now been confirmed for a February 16 release date, with plenty of legends (Brian Wilson, Bob Dylan, The Kinks, Paul McCartney) getting their songs covered by plenty of upstarts (Elbow, Beck, Duffy, The Kooks). Most of the acts have completed their tracking, and the album is being mastered in north London; other contributors include U2, various members of The Clash, and Hot Chip. All profits from the album will go to the warchild.org.uk charity cause...

The Fray’s eponymous sophomore set is on the way February 3 on Epic Records, with its lead single, “You Found Me,” already infiltrating both radio and the download market, where it’s sold a quarter-million copies. In addition to that track, the album will include songs “Syndicate,” “Where the Story Ends,” “We Build Then We Break,” “You Found Me,” and “Happiness.” The band will preview the album with a few club dates this month and next, including a show on February 4 in NYC that will be broadcast on the band’s website; a full North American tour is in the works...

UK rockers Doves will offer up their fourth album this April, a set that was recorded at the band’s own studio in Cheshire, England. Said to be more “expansive” than previous efforts, the first single from the new set will be “Kingdom of Rust,” which features a classic shuffle beat and an emotional feel. Also included on the new set will be “Jetstream,” “Winter Hill,” and “The Outsiders.” Doves will also return to the stage with some UK shows in February, plus a longer tour in April and on into the summer...

A series of Amnesty International benefit concerts that took place back in the ’70s and ’80s will now be made available on DVD for the first time in North America as collected in a three-disc box set titled The Secret Policeman’s Balls. Set to hit stores on January 27, the box set includes five Secret Policeman’s shows that encompass musical performances from Sting, Peter Gabriel, Donovan, Pete Townshend, Phil Collins, Lou Reed, and more, plus retro comedy performances by the likes of Rowan Atkinson (aka Mr. Bean), Hugh Laurie (“House”), and members of the Monty Python troupe, including John Cleese and Michael Palin. A feature-length documentary on the shows will also be included...

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:
Arcade Fire are releasing a documentary about the making of their Neon Bible album; directed by Vincent Morriset, the vid also features concert footage shot by Vincent Moon. The music-doc, titled Miroir Noir, can be previewed via a short video trailer at miroir-noir.com...

MINI BUZZ:
The figures are in - a whopping billion digital music tracks were sold in 2008, up 28 percent over 2007, according to the official Nielsen SoundScan figures...
Paul Simon has been appointed to the Music Board of Trustees at the acclaimed Berklee College of Music; the singer-songwriter already has an honorary doctorate from the music school, as well as two scholarships in his name...
A charity tribute to R.E.M. is set to take place at NYC’s Carnegie Hall on March 11; among the artists scheduled to perform are The dB’s, Patti Smith, Bob Mould, and Calexico...
Van Morrison’s own label as distributed by EMI is set to release Astral Weeks: Live from the Hollywood Bowl early this year...
Great Lake Swimmers will offer up their fourth full-length studio album, Lost Channels, on March 31, melding influences from The Faces to The Byrds to R.E.M....
Singer-songwriter Ben Kweller recorded and produced his own latest album with his touring band, and is taking a more alt-country direction on the new set; look for Kweller’s Changing Horses in stores on February 3...

And in stores this week are the following new discs... ON CD: Andrew Bird’s Noble Beast... Dalek’s Gutter Tactics... Franz Ferdinand’s Tonight: Franz Ferdinand... Duncan Sheik’s Whisper House... Barclay James Harvest’s BBC in Concert 1972... and Loney Dear’s Dear John... and ON DVD: Diana Ross and Michael Jackson in The Wiz... Metallica’s Collector’s Box Set... Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil... and Listen Up! The Lives of Quincy Jones...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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