Modern Rock

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Beatles’ son Sean is on the go
Singer-songwriter Sean Lennon, who recently dropped his first album since 1998 - namely, his sophomore disc Friendly Fire, has just confirmed a spring tour in support of the album, which arrived packaged with a series of short films, one for each track on the CD. Lennon, who has already played several shows in the southwest, will continue on making stops right across the U.S., including shows in New York City (4/12), Boston (4/13), Detroit (4/16 at St. Andrews Hall), Milwaukee (4/17), and Los Angeles (4/24); Lennon was also just added to the bill for this year’s upcoming Lollapalooza show in Chicago in August...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Rock star, political activist, giant lemon wrangler - is there anything that U2’s Bono can’t do? Apparently not, as he’s now even achieved knighthood. That’s right - Bono, otherwise known as Paul Hewson, was dubbed a Knight of the British Empire last week, an honor shared with the likes of Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, and Elton John. Don’t start calling him Sir Bono, though - Mr. Hewson is Irish, and the “Sir” title is reserved for British citizens. In other U2 news, U2’s The Edge reports that the band has re-entered the studio with producer Rick Rubin in tow and are already working on songs for their next album, which will serve as the mega follow-up to their Grammy-garnering 2004 disc, How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. And, in other Edge news (whew, U2), the upstart guitarist is in the process of organizing the latest installment of Music Rising, the Edge-helmed rock memorabilia auction whose proceeds go to assist musicians affected by hurricanes Rita and Katrina...
 

Modern Rock Kristi Kates This year’s Earth Day (April 22nd) will mark the date for the second Green Apple Music & Arts Festival, which will happen simultaneously in NYC, Chicago, and San Francisco.  The largest carbon-neutral event of its kind, each venue will feature environmentally-friendly supplies as well as a plethora of terrific acts - the New York show will feature Mahavishnu Project, Brendan James, From Autumn to Ashes, and Particle;  Chicago’s will host The Decemberists, Kaiser Chiefs, Mad Professor, and The Walkmen;  and San Fran’s will showcase Trans Am, Martin Sexton, Weir and Ratdog, and Marley;  find out more at
www.greenapplemusicfestival.com...
 

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Continuing to support his most recent album, Ringleader of the Tormentors, legendary Brit modern rocker and former Smiths frontman Morrissey will be touring this side of this pond this year, beginning in California in late April. The rest of Morrissey’s dates will take him through the remainder of the West Coast and on through the Midwest (including stops in Seattle (5/6), Ann Arbor, MI (5/14), Chicago (5/15), and Dallas (5/25)) with East Coast dates set to be announced shortly...
 

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Fresh paint from the White Stripes
This doesn’t necessarily mean the demise of The Raconteurs, for those of you who have taken a liking to Jack White’s “other” band - but fans of White’s most popular project, The White Stripes, will be happy to know that the Stripes are back!  They’ve given a name to their upcoming new White Stripes album - they’re inexplicably calling it Icky Thump - and it’s expected out sometime in June or July.  And, as if that wasn’t enough, they’ve got a whole slate of concert dates set to begin in late July in San Diego.  Other White Stripes live dates will include stops in Phoenix, AZ (8/19), Chicago, IL (8/29, 8/30, and 8/31), Indianapolis (9/9), and Toronto (9/16) - and their September 24 show on Coney Island will include companion sets from The Shins and White’s Raconteur bandmate Brendan Benson...
 

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Nelly Furtado is slated to be a big deal at the upcoming Canadian Juno Awards show on April 1- set to be the host and one of the feature performers at the event, Furtado has also been nominated for five Juno Awards, which puts her up in the ranks of this year’s most nominated, along with K-OS and Billy Talent. Also set to perform on the show are the aforementioned two - K-OS and Talent, that is - along with Three Days Grace and Gregory Charles;  up for additional awards are Mobile, Ron Sexsmith, Sarah McLachlan, and Chantal Kreviazuk...
 

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Modest Mouse are set to release their latest full-length CD, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, on March 20 . The much-anticipated album will include songs “Dashboard,” “Florida,” “We’ve Got Everything,” “Fly Trapped in a Jar,” “People As Places As People,” and “Spitting Venom,” and fans can get an immediate bonus download of the “Dashboard” single if they pre-order the album on iTunes now...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Arctic Monkeys are screeching back with their second Domino Records album, Favourite Worst Nightmare, which now has an April 23 international release date, and will hit U.S. shores on April 24. Called “heavier yet nice” by producer James Ford, the album will include tracks “D is for Dangerous,” “This House is a Circus,” and “If You Were There, Beware,” - and you can tell your ears to start listening for the disc’s first single, “Brianstorm” (nope, that’s not a typo), on radio as of early April. Arctic Monkeys have also just started confirming European festival dates for this upcoming summer, so hopefully some announcement of U.S. dates will be next...
 
Hope you’ve got a record player, Coldplay fans - because Coldplay have just announced that they’ll be releasing all 14 of their singles as a special edition first-time box set - but only on vinyl.  Dubbed The Singles 1999-2006, the set will hit stores on March 26, and will include all of the original artwork for such singles as “Clocks,” “Don’t Panic,” “What If,” and, of course, the track that started it all, “Yellow.”   In other non-vinyl Coldplay news, the band has now backtracked on their previous announcement of taking a five-year hiatus, and will instead begin preliminary work on their next album with superproducer Brian Eno...
 

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Iggy’s back! Again! The leader of the legen-dary punk band The Stooges has announced plans to hit the road - complete with the rest of The Stooges - for a tour that will kick off early next month in Montana. Why all the big plans?  Well, The Stooges and Pop are recording their first studio album in over 30 years, which they’ve dubbed The Weirdness. Catch ’em live at the SXSW Festival in Austin, TX on March 17, at the United Palace in NYC on April 9, the State Theater in Detroit on April 13, or the Warfield in San Fran on April 19.  More dates are expected to be announced...
 
Guess who else is back? That’s right, pumpkinheads - after a long awaited are-they-or-aren’t-they debate, the Smashing Pumpkins are returning with a reunion album and, so far, even a few live dates. The album itself has been titled Zeitgeist, and is the subject of a questionable release date - one report says that the release date has simply officially been stated as “summer,” while another more specific source insists that it’ll hit stores on July 7. Tim
e will tell. In the meantime, you can catch the Pumpkins at Germany’s Rock am Ring fest in early June, and Austria’s Nova Rock fest on June 15; an appearance at this year’s Lollapalooza is also rumored, but has yet to be announced...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Ozzy Osbourne’s got a new philosophy - and Ozzfest fans are going to be the ones to benefit. At a press conference last week in L.A., Ozzy and wife Sharon announced this year’s Ozzfest tour, and also announced that admission is going to be free. For reals, dude? Yes, you read that correctly.  With Ozzy putting out a new record and planning to tour throughout 2007, the Osbournes figured that there will be “plenty of time to make money,” so why not thank everyone who’s been so good to Ozzfest throughout the years?  Of course, you’ll still drop a few bucks on food, parking, and that awesome Ozzfest t-shirt, but to see dozens of bands and, of course, Ozzy himself live, it’ll be free of charge. “Well, it’s free to get in, but we’re charging you to get out,” Ozzy joked...
 

Modern Rock Kristi Kates An icy cool, critically-acclaimed docu-mentary of the Icelandic music scene is about to be released, so if you’re at all a fan of Icelandic music, you’ll want to snap this one up. The striking Screaming Masterpiece, as directed by Ari Alexander Ergus Magnusson, is 85 minutes of pure Icelandic talent, featuring interviews and footage of bands from Bjork and the Sugarcubes to Sigur Ros, and trailing the artists both around their homes in Iceland and their world concert tours. Look for it to hit stores on March 6, mittens not included...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Paul McCartney has been working on a song - “Now and Then” - that he was collaborating on with John Lennon before Lennon’s death. The unfinished tune -which Lennon reportedly thought wasn’t up to Beatles standard - is being upgraded, so to speak, by McCartney, who is adding counterpoint harmonies to Lennon’s vocal to expand on what he’s reportedly said is the song’s great potential. No word yet on when, where, or if the track will surface to radio or for purchase...

Bjork is going to be busy throughout the spring and summer, as she’s rumored to be appearing at a major U.S. music festival sometime in the first half of the year, and is also hard at work on her next album. The disc, which will serve as the follow-up to Bjork’s 2004 effort, Medulla, is set to be loaded with collaborators, among them Toumani Diabate, Antony Hegarty, and Timbaland, who so far has produced two of the tracks. The album is due late in the spring, and we’ll keep you updated on any live dates for the Icelandic songstress...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Cheeky pop-rockers Kaiser Chiefs are on the way back with a new disc, which will serve as the follow-up to their 2005 set, Employment.  Titled Yours Truly, The Angry Mob, KC’s newest, which was produced by Blur/Smiths producer Stephen Street, was deftly recorded in a short six weeks last fall, and will include tracks “Ruby,” “The Angry Mob,” “Thank You Very Much,” and “Learnt My Lesson Well.” The CD will hit U.S. shores on March 27, unless you want to snag it early as an import, as it will be released first in Europe and the UK on February 26...
 
Oasis are set to head back into the studio later this year to record what will be their seventh - and, according to Oasis’ Noel Gallagher, their “most ambitious” - album.  The roster of new songs, which began when Gallagher dug up four songs that were left over from studio sessions for their Don’t Believe the Truth album, has been expanded to include “grander” compositions, on which Gallagher explains they’re hoping to add orchestral elements, vocal choirs, and more to branch out from their reliable formula of guitar, bass, drums, and vocals;  a release date has yet to be confirmed...
 

Modern Rock Kristi Kates The Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan has been signed to Sanctuary Records, and will release her very first solo album this upcoming spring. O’Riordan, known for her distinctive voice and her work with The Cranberries, has dubbed her debut disc Are You Listening? and will see the set hit stores in May, with a lead single heading to radio in April. O’Riordan will also be kicking off a world tour in support of the new album in late spring of this year...
 

Modern Rock Kristi Kates French electronica duo Air are “mostly done” with their upcoming album, which has been dubbed Pocket Symphony and which will include contributions from Pulp singer-gone-solo Jarvis Cocker and The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon. The 12-track disc, which Air’s JB Dunckel says is “very influenced by classical music,” also reclaims several songs from the soundtrack for the Sofia Coppola film Marie Antoinette, namely “Night Vision,” “Napalm Love,” and “Once Upon a Time.”  Air will likely follow up the album’s release on March 6 on Astralwerks Records with a world tour, which is tentatively planned to kick off in Sheffield, England...