Modern Rock

Modern Rock Kristi Kates To both mark NASA’s 50th birthday and the 40th anniversary of the Beatles’ song “Across the Universe,” that same song was recently selected by NASA to be the first musical track to be beamed directly into outer space. Using the Deep Space Network of antennas, the appropriately-titled Beatles’ tune was broadcast towards the star Polaris, 431 light years from Earth; Beatle Paul McCartney called the broadcast “an amazing feat.” NASA also asked Beatles fans to join in on the peaceful space-communications event by playing the song themselves at the same time as the transmission, which took place on midnight on Monday, February 4...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Thirteen lucky cities will be treated to the sight - and sound - of R.E.M. this upcoming spring, as the Athens, Georgia alt-pop legends embark on a now-officially-announced spring tour. Kicking off on May 23 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the band will be sharing the stage with two not-so-shabby-themselves opening acts, namely Modest Mouse and The National, the latter of whom R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe is reportedly a big fan of. Cities included on R.E.M.’s schedule include Chicago (6/6), Toronto (6/8), Philly (6/18), NYC (6/19), and the near-the-band’s-hometown Atlanta, GA (6/21)...
In other concert news, a great spring roadtrip for you and yours might very well be to this year’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Not just for jazz-heads, the fest will also include a substantial amount of other genres of music, and will be staged as the first seven-day edition of the event since 2005. In addition to generating probably around 300 million in much-needed revenue for the city of New Orleans, it’ll also probably generate a pretty big buzz around its staggering roster of live performers, who will perform on a whopping eleven stages. Running April 25-27 and May 1-4, the NOJHF will include sets from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello, The Raconteurs, The Roots, Sheryl Crow, Allen Toussaint, Chick Corea, O.A.R., Galactic, Bela Fleck, Santana, The Radiators, and many more; tix and additional info can be acquired at www.nojazzfest.com...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Athens, Georgia’s legendary modern rockers R.E.M. have been hard at work with skilled producer Jacknife Lee (U2, Snow Patrol, Bloc Party) on their fourteenth studio album, which they’ve dubbed Accelerate, and which is set to include songs “Living Well is the Best Revenge,” “I’m Gonna DJ,” and “Staring Down the Barrel of Middle Distance.” Said to have been the “fastest” album that the band has made, it’s also said to be the most focused of their later releases, and is now scheduled to hit stores this April...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Ghostland’s Very Own Robotique Majestique
Although Austin-based electronica duo Ghostland Observatory have been spending some time meeting with major labels, they’ve decided to release their upcoming album, Robotique Majestique, on their own Trashy Moped label, with distribution by ADA. The band says that they got plenty of proposals from labels, but didn’t see anything that made them want to give up their “band autonomy.” Looks like just one more nail in the coffin for the traditional record industry; and probably good news for indie promo agencies, which the band will likely utilize for touring and promotion...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates It may be over ten years old, but Beck’s classic Odelay album never seems to be a dated listen, given the Beckster’s forward-thinking musical nature - and now, Odelay is set for a special re-release next week on Geffen Records. The new edition of the disc will include all of the original Odelay tracks, plus previously unreleased outtakes “Inferno” and “Gold Chains,” plus Beck’s tune “Deadweight” from the motion picture soundtrack for the Ewan McGregor film A Life Less Ordinary. A second included disc will feature 16 import-only B-sides and remixes, including “Burro,” which is essentially a cover of Beck’s own “Jackass” sung in Spanish with an accompanying mariachi band...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Foo Fighters kick off their U.S. arena tour this week, and it’s already set up to keep the band on the road through early March, for starters. Touring in support of their latest (sixth) studio album, Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace, the Foos are making this particular trek a bigger production than ever, with two different stages and some mechanical “gags,” according to the band. The two stages will be utilized as one main stage and one acoustic stage that will be used for a handful of quieter songs; some guest musicians are also expected to appear. The Foos also recently garnered five Grammy nominations for their newest disc...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates If you’ve been reading Modern Rock all year long, then chances are you’re already among those who are In The Know about the latest happenings in modern rock music. But who can remember every little thing that goes on over the course of twelve long and musically complicated months? Even the hippest among us lose track - so here’s your yearly recap of all that happened on the music scene in 2007.

Modern Rock Kristi Kates The Police, currently touring in Mexico and South America, will be criss-crossing the globe throughout next year, and have also been tapped to headline the final day of the U.K.’s Isle of Wight Fest, which this year will be held June 13-15; that show is said to be The Police’s only scheduled U.K. festival appearance for 2008. Other stops on the band’s very cosmopolitan tour schedule include Brisbane, Australia (1/22), Osaka, Japan (2/10), Honolulu, HI (2/16), Dusseldorf, Germany (6/8), Oslo, Norway (6/11), and Manchester, England (1/17) If you miss ‘em live and in person, though, you’ll have a chance to snag a live DVD chronicling the band’s reunion tour, which is expected to be released this spring on Interscope Records...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Live from the Artists Den is a new TV series determined to take musicians out of traditional performance venues and into more “magical” performance settings. Helmed by producer Mark Lieberman, who began his idea with living room shows and who says that “not all music fans want to necessarily sit in smoky clubs until the middle of the night,” just to see great music, the series has partnered with cable network Ovation TV, who have already commissioned eight concerts. Those concerts will include Crowded House at the Masonic Hall Grand Lodge in New York; The Swell Season at the Good Shepherd Center Chapel in Seattle; KT Tunstall at the restored Prince George Ballroom in Manhattan; and Fountains of Wayne on a 100-year old ship at the South Street Seaport also in NYC. After the premiere episode airs on January 13, fans can expect Live from the Artists Den to settle into its regular Thursday night at the 8 p.m. spot on Ovation...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Start The New Year With Cool Tunes For a Good Cause
Promo agency Waxploitation brought together a plethora of musicians around the holidays to put on their fourth benefit auction for the victims of the ongoing conflict in Darfur, with 100% of the auction’s proceeds earmarked for Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam America, and Human Rights Watch. Participants got to bid on such items as signed guitars and other memorabilia from Bloc Party, Gorillaz, The Decemberists, Coldplay, Thievery Corporation, Gnarls Barkley, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Brian Wilson, and plenty of others. This particular auction may be over, but if you still want to help (and get some great tunes to boot), you can snag Waxploitation’s Causes 1 compilation CD, which is downloadable now on iTunes and which includes tracks from Bloc Party, International Noise Conspiracy, David Sylvian, Teargas & Plateglass, and more. Check it out at http://www.waxploitation.com/2007/causes.html...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates The first ever DVD collection of the Very Special Christmas series is just out, complete with classic holiday videos and live performance videos from U2, No Doubt, Sting, Run DMC, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Wonder, and plenty of others as the series hits its 20th anniversary. The project, launched in 1987, now encompasses eight very special albums, with the proceeds benefitting the Special Olympics. Titled A Very Special Christmas: 20th Anniversary Music Video Collection, the DVD is in stores now and would make a great last-minute stocking stuffer...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates The once-thought-defunct Smashing Pumpkins, fresh off of their American tour dates, have announced that they’ll be hitting the road (and the airways) yet again for a major headlining UK/European tour kicking off in late January in Serbia. This will be the third trek of overseas countries for the Pumpkins, who continue to promote their new album, Zeitgeist. No word yet on future U.S. dates, but chances are they’ll happen, if not now then likely in the spring. For this jaunt, the band will also be making stops in most of Western Europe, all of the UK, and Scandinavia, where the tour hits its last stop on March 3 in Helsinki.  And speaking of Zeitgeist, you can now snag a special copy of the album at Best Buy stores, complete with three bonus tunes from the album’s original recording sessions, plus a bonus 20-minute documentary DVD and music videos...
 

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Moby just keeps getting cooler - now he’s offering to help fledgling filmmakers with their movie music needs. Got a movie? Need some tunes for your soundtrack? Just make sure it’s an indie or non-profit film (film students, that includes you), and stop by
www.mobygratis.com, where Moby’s made some of his own music available for use, free of charge.  That’s right, free! But what if your movie gets picked up by a major studio, and you start making the big bucks with Moby’s tunes in tow? No prob - Moby just asks that, should a financial windfall happen, you apply for an easy license, and he’ll give the money to the Humane Society. Go Moby...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates We Are Scientists could currently call themselves We Are Drummer–less, at least for the time being – drummer Michael Tapper has abruptly quit the band, with the diplomatic statement of “Michael Tapper has relinquished his duties as drummer of We Are Scientists in order to pursue other things.”  Hmm.

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Swedish indie-pop trio Peter Bjorn and John have announced that they’ll be embarking on a short winter tour starting next week. Touring in support of their recent album,Writer’s Block, the three will hit the road starting in Houston, Texas (11/23) and will continue through the U.S., including stops in Dallas (11/24), Indianapolis (11/27), and Cleveland (11/29) before wrapping in Millvale, Pennsylvania on December 3rd; no word yet on whether or not additional dates will be
announced...