March 19, 2024

The Killers ready to rock new covers album

March 8, 2009
The Killers will embark on a covers album project as a follow-up to their latest album, a brief break from their usual roster of eclectic new-wave influenced rock originals. Frontman Brandon Flowers said in a recent interview that the covers album will likely include the band’s renditions of songs by Rod Stewart, Genesis, and Tom Waits, among others; no release date has been given for the covers set yet, but in the meantime you can catch the band on the road in Munich, Germany (3/16), Madrid, Spain (3/22), Seattle (4/22), Indianapolis (5/1), Columbus (5/5), and Cleveland (5/6)...
Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) has been collaborating with a variety of his pals, and has released some of those collaborations as an album under the name Brighton Port Authority. The album, which has been dubbed I Think We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat, is in stores now, and features Cook himself working with such talented friends as David Byrne, Dizzee Rascal, Iggy Pop, and Pete York. Most of the songs were recorded in impromptu fashion in Cook’s own studio, which is next door to his house in - where else? - Brighton, England...
Veteran Australian concert promoters Michael Gudinski and Michael Chugg are said to be prepping two venues for Australian fire and flood relief concerts set to take place on March 14. The Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Sydney Cricket Ground - both of which hold around 150,000 people total - are assumed to be the sites for the events, which are also the subject of speculation as far as which musicians and bands will perform. Coldplay has an already-booked date in Australia around the time of the show, which makes them a number-one candidate along with the likes of Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon, and Aussie hometown boys Midnight Oil. Damage in Australia due to the fires and floods is estimated in the millions of dollars, so this charity event is surely welcome...
Modest Mouse have just expanded their U.S. tour dates into the upper East Coast, as they continue to still promote their 2007 disc, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. This particular tour will say goodbye to The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, who’s been accompanying Modest Mouse as of late; he’ll be replaced by Grandaddy’s Jim Fairchild. Modest Mouse’s tour dates will include stops in Atlanta, GA (3/7), Baltimore (3/12), and Philly (3/14)...

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:
The Decemberists have finally announced a release date for their new album, Hazards of Love, which is now set for a March 24th release date on Capitol Records. Said to be more “ironic and campy” than previous efforts, the album still sticks to the Decemberists’ folk-rock sound throughout its 17 tracks, which include “The Hazards of Love (1 and 2),” “The Queen’s Approach,” “A Bower Scene,” and “An Interlude”; track “The Rake’s Song” can be previewed at The Decemberists’ website, www.decemberists.com...

MINI BUZZ:
Pop-rockers The Week That Was will be arriving from the UK for a series of U.S. performances this week, including shows in Chicago, NYC, and Toronto...
Kings of Leon are hitting the road, too, for a spring tour with dates beginning on April 19 and running through May 21...
The Hold Steady’s keyboardist Franz Nicolay is set to open for the reunited Pogues at New York’s Roseland Ballroom on March 13...
Recent Grammy winner Adele has announced dates for a U.S. tour of her own that kicks off this week; she’ll be making stops in Houston (3/14), Nashville (3/18), Detroit (3/20) and NYC (5/5), and will perform at L.A.’s Hollywood Bowl with Etta James on June 28...
It’s probably no surprise to anyone in the music biz that Madonna was named #1 on Billboard’s 2008 Moneymakers list, topping that particular chart at $242,176,466.00; closely following were Bon Jovi, The Police, Celine Dion, Neil Diamond, and L’il Wayne...
But the rest of the country obviously isn’t doing so well, including Sirius XM Satellite Radio, which is reportedly $3.25 billion in debt and expected to file for bankruptcy...
ON CD: Chris Cornell’s Scream... Julien-K’s Death to Analog... Madeleine Peyroux’s Bare Bones... New Found Glory’s Not Without a Fight... Loney Dear’s Dear John... and Taylor Hicks’ The Distance... ON DVD: WOW Hits 2009... Stevie Wonder - Live at Last... Tribute to Pavarotti - One Amazing Weekend in Petra... and The Who Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970... and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.
Questions, comments, rants, raves, suggestions on this column? Send ‘em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com

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