Take Two Documentaries About Beatles

Aug. 28, 2011

Take Two Documentaries About Beatles
Paul McCartney’s documentary, The Love We Make, which chronicles his experiences as he prepped for the Concert for New York City benefit show that was staged six weeks after 9/11, is now set to premiere on the Showtime network on September 10. Directed by Albert Mayles (who directed the classic Stones doc Gimme Shelter), the McCartney film was shot in black and white, and is said to be an “uplifting” view, complete with appearances from Eric Clapton, Stone Mick Jagger, and David Bowie…
In other Beatle-y news (this time as directed by Martin Scorsese), the George Harrison documentary Living in the Material World is set to air on HBO this fall, and will showcase the history of the Quiet Beatle from his Liverpool childhood through his trek with The Beatles and his following solo musical and charity works. Interviews with McCartney, Yoko Ono, Ringo Starr, George Martin, Terry Gilliam, and Eric Idle are include in the Harrison doc, which is set to air in two parts October 5 and 6…
Oasis main songwriter Noel Gallagher - now out on his own after Oasis’ demise (as is his brother Liam - see below) - will be touring with his band, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, this fall. Gallagher and crew will be hitting the road in support of their debut album, set for release on November 8 stateside on Sour Mash/Mercury Records. Gallagher said at a recent press conference that the band definitely will be performing classic Oasis songs along with his band’s new solo tracks; he says he’s “proud of them and what they mean to people”…
The next album from Portland indie-rockers The Shins is set to arrive in 2012, and will be the band’s first since their 2007 release, Wincing the Night Away which snagged a Grammy nomination. Singer James Mercer’s bringing in more new bandmates for this next round, including Modest Mouse drummer Joe Plummer and singer-songwriter Richard Swift, who replace departing members; The Shins will promote the new as-yet-untitled set with a casual (so far) schedule of festival and club dates including stops in Toronto (9/22), Philly (9/23), and Boston (9/24)…

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:
Blur/Gorillaz’ Damon Albarn’s been in the Congo working on his new Africa Express project, on which he’s collaborating with a host of pals including Dan the Automator, Marc Antoine, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, and Jo Gunton, among others; check out the first music clip from the set, “Hallo,” at http://www.nme.com/news/blur/58398…

MINI MODERN BUZZ:
The other Oasis/Gallagher brother, Liam, will see his new band, Beady Eye, returning to the U.S. for another schedule of live shows, kicking off in Vancouver Canada on November 29…
Arctic Monkeys are touring the U.S. beginning with some co-headlining dates with TV on the Radio - they’ll wrap this section of their schedule with a Pittsburgh PA show on October 18…
Portishead will be touring North America this fall, too, with shows scheduled until the end of October (with the closing date so far being October 27 in Detroit)…
Neon Indian will release their sophomore album, Era Extrana, in September; the set will serve as the follow-up to their 2009 debut disc, Psychic Chasms…
The third annual V Mobile Free Fest is now set for Setpember 10 in Columbia, Maryland, with this year’s lineup including Cee Lo Green, TV on the Radio, Cut Copy, Two Door Cinema Club, and The Black Keys…
And the Foo Fighters have added several dates to their fall show schedule, including stops in Philly (11/10), Newark NJ (11/14), and Boston (11/16); The Joy Formidable are set as opening act…

And hoping you’ll open your wallet for their latest albums are this week’s new CD releases… Hella’s Tripper… Beirut’s The Rip Tide… and The Nightwatchmen’s World Wide Rebel Songs … 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