Modern Rock: Jack White finally embarks on solo career

Oct. 4, 2009

Modern Rock: Jack White finally embarks on solo career
Kristi Kates 10/5/09
Now that Jack White has already conquered an entire trio of successful bands - The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and The Dead Weather - what’s left for him to do? Why, a solo career, of course. With the exception of a few musical contributions (and a film role) in the movie Cold Mountain, White’s never really released anything on his own, and now says that he is hoping to begin work on his debut solo album at the end of 2009...
Mono spent all of last year focusing on songwriting for their new album, and that set, Hymn to the Immortal Wind, is in stores now and will be followed by a North American tour kicking off this month. Produced by long-time band friend Steve Albini and recorded to analog tape as opposed to digital, the band used a wide array of instrumental components on their latest tunes, including strings, flutes, piano, organ, and glockenspiel; the songs reflect this attempt at a big, sweeping tone, and are already receiving critical acclaim. Mono’s tour begins this week, and will include stops in Brooklyn NY (9/29), Toronto (10/2), Detroit (10/3 at The Magic Stick), Chicago (10/4 at the Bottom Lounge), Minneapolis (10/5), and Seattle (10/9)...
The 5th Annual Chicago Riot Fest is set to take place October 7 through the 12th at a variety of venues in the Windy City, including the Congress Theater, the Metro, the Double Door, and the Cobra Lounge. The event’s fifth birthday press release notes that the underrated event has featured over 150 bands since its inception (and one FBI “sting” - hmm...); this year’s bands are set to include Alkaline Trio, Screeching Weasel, and NOFX, among others. And if you miss the Chicago event, Los Angeles is set to stage the inaugural Riot Fest West November 12 through the 14th. Get more info at www.riotfest.org
Producer Mark Ronson is busily producing songs for Duran Duran’s next album, which will serve as the follow up to their 2007 release, Red Carpet Massacre, and D2 recently re-recorded their hit song, “Rio,” especially for Ronson, on which they humorously revise the lyrics to include Ronson’s name and to cheer his mixing skills. Kaiser Chiefs’ Nick Hodgson also helped pen a couple of songs for the new Duran album, for which a release date has yet to be announced; but you can hear that “Rio-Ronson” remake on D2’s official website, www.duranduran.com...

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:
Looking to listen to something a little different in the pop department? Then check out the Portland Cello Project, a group of classically-trained cellists who perform and record quirky, complex, originally-arranged covers of such tunes as Britney Spears’ “Toxic” and collaborate with the likes of The Decemberists. Their new album, Power Sessions, is out now; find out more at www.portlandcelloproject.com...

MINI BUZZ:
Happy Mondays, Psychedelic Furs, and Montreal band Islands are all doing some touring together, including stops in Columbus Ohio (10/12) and at Clutch Cargo’s in Pontiac, MI (10/13); Islands will continue on their own after the trio’s tour wraps up...
The Streets’ Mike Skinner has revealed the name of The Streets’ next album; set to drop in February 2010, the album will be titled Computers and Blues...
A box set of rarities is rumored to be expected from ‘90s grunge band Soundgarden, the band that spawned Chris Cornell...
Anti-Pop Consortium are following up their recent reuniting with their return album, Fluorescent Black, which will hit stores on October 14...
The Who’s classic album, The Who Sings My Generation, is now considered significant enough pop-culturally to be included in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry, right alongside the likes of George Jones and 21 versions of woodpecker calls...
The acclaimed musical TV show Austin City Limits will kick off its latest season on October 3, complete with appearances from Elvis Costello and Pearl Jam...
And making their own appearances on CD and multimedia store shelves are this week’s new releases... ON CD: David Gray’s Draw the Line... Editors’ In This Light On This Evening... Richard Hawley’s Truelove’s Gutter... Pearl Jam’s Backspacer... and Sean Combs’ Last Train to Paris... ON DVD: Secret Policeman’s Ball: The Secret Policeman Rocks!... and The Complete Monterey Pop Festival ... and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.
Questions, comments, rants, raves, suggestions on this column or your favorite musicians? Send ‘em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com