Modern Rock

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Modern Rock
Kristi Kates 11/2/09
Julian Casablancas Records Solo Set
The Strokes singer Julian Casablancas is following in the footsteps of his bandmates, Albert Hammond Jr. (whose second solo album, Como Te Llama?, was released last year) Fabrizio Moretti (whose side project band, Little Joy, also released a CD in 2008) and Nikolai Fraiture (whose solo album under the name Nickel Eye dropped this year), and is working on his own solo album for release November 2 (U.S.). The set was produced by Mike Mogis, and recorded in NYC, L.A., and Nebraska; songs so far set for inclusion on the album are “Glass,” “Ludlow Street,” and “River of Brake Lights.” As for The Strokes themselves, they’d been on a self-imposed (but not hostile) band hiatus since 2007, but began working on new Strokes songs earlier this year...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Modern Rock
Kristi Kates 10/26/09
They Might Be Giants Might Release New Album

They Might Be Giants, who released their science-focused album this past summer, are also reportedly working on a full-length “regular” rock album, which they’re hoping to release in spring 2010. The band, who are working with producer Pat Gillett on the new set, started recording in March, and say that they’re also experimenting with some new instruments, including an electric drum kit that their drummer Marty has been utilizing to give some of the songs a more quirky electronic sound. In other TMBG news, they’ve got a quartet of giant-sized live shows booked this November, including stops in Philly (11/21) and Washington DC (11/28)...
Built to Spill recently wrapped mixing on their seventh album, which they’ve titled There Is No Enemy, and are now set to release the album this fall. The album arrives three years after the band’s last effort, and the band says that this one was recorded in more of a “live band” format, with songs ranging around five to eight minutes and having more of an analog feel, alongside some songs that were also influenced by soul music. But never fear, fans; it’s still mostly the Built to Spill classic guitar-rock sound, according to the band - and the set is due out this month on Warner Brothers Records...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Modern Rock
Kristi Kates 10/19/09
Beck Starts His Very Own Record Club
Beck’s snagged some famous musical friends to help him out with a new recording project - a little something he’s dubbed “Record Club,” via which he and his collaborators will re-record classic albums, with songs set to be released once a week via Beck’s official website (the website itself - www.beck.com - will be undergoing a complete redesign to coincide with Record Club.) None of the albums slated to be covered will be rehearsed, and the collaborators involved will only have one day to record the entire album; first up is The Velvet Underground and Nico, on which Beck will work with producer Nigel Godrich and Icelandic singer Thorunn Magnusdottir. Other musicians lined up for Record club include MGMT, Sonic Youth, and Jamie Lidell...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Modern Rock
Kristi Kates 10/12/09
Bono and The Edge Bring
Spiderman to Broadway

More details are gradually being revealed about U2 bandmates Bono and The Edge’s venture into Broadway with their show Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, which takes Spidey from his comic book/movie roots to the big stage. Tix for the show are already in advance presale, even though Broadway previews don’t begin until January 16 of next year (the show officially opens February 18) - oh, and did we mention it’s a musical? Bono said in a recent interview that he and The Edge wanted to put the punk rock and comic book aspects of pop culture into a blender to see what they get. Keep an eye on all of the details - including casting, none of which has been confirmed as of yet, at http://spidermanonbroadway.marvel.com...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates 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)...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Modern Rock
Kristi Kates 9/28/09
Detroit Electronic Music Fest Set to Return in 2010

This year’s Movement 2009 Electronic Music Festival in Detroit was another resounding success (May 23- 25), and festival organizers are already planning ahead for the 2010 edition, even though we’re just finished with summer. Carl Craig, who co-founded the event as the DEMF (Detroit Electronic Music Festival) in 2000, is set to return next year as creative director, which organizers say will “tie the festival back to its roots, since Craig was responsible for this whole thing to begin with.” This year’s event drew 60,000 people on Saturday and Sunday, and featured sets from the Prodigy, Z-Trip, Afrika Bambaataa, Tiga, and Craig himself...
Singer-songwriter Richard Hawley’s sixth studio set, Truelove’s Gutter, is out on Mute Records this week, as recorded in Hawley’s English hometown of Sheffield at Yellow Arch Studios. The album includes several unusual instruments, including the megabass waterphone and the cristal baschet, which is a rare instrument composed of 54 chromatically-tuned glass rods, that serve as great accompaniment to eight of Hawley’s new, darker-themed songs, from the opener, “As the Dawn Breaks,” through “Remorse Code,” “Soldier On,” and “Don’t You Cry”...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Modern Rock
Kristi Kates 9/21/09
Twilight Sad Return With Sophomore Set
The Twilight Sad are releasing their much-anticipated sophomore album this week - “Forget the Night Ahead” will hit stores on Tuesday, the “much darker” set having been produced by guitarist Andy MacFarlane with the assistance of Delgado’s Paul Savage. The album was recorded at the legendary Chem19 Studios, and will include tracks “Reflection of the Television,” “Made to Disappear,” “That Birthday Present,” “Scissors,” and “The Room”...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Modern Rock
Kristi Kates 9/14/09
White Lies Wait Until 2010 For New Tunes
White Lies fans will have to be patient until some time next year to hear any new songs from the band, who have been busy on tour all summer, and say that they’re “not a band who can write on the road” - instead, singer Harry McVeigh prefers to get back to his house and use his own keyboard to write new tunes. You will, however, be able to catch them on tour again this fall, via a schedule that will see them play their biggest headlining shows to date and that will include a stop at the acclaimed London O2 Academy Brixton on November 19...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Modern Rock
Kristi Kates 9/7/09
Black Crowes Get “Stuck” With U.S. Tour
More Black Crowes news this week - the band have announced dates for their fall North American Stuck Inside Utopia Tour, during which they’ll play songs from their as-yet-untitled upcoming album as well as familiar Black Crowes songs from their extensive back catalog of tunes. In addition to the usual BC frontmen, brothers Chris and Rich Robinson, the band lineup this time around will also feature guitarist Luther Dickinson, keyboardist Adam MacDougall, bass player Sven Pipien, and drummer Steve Gorman

Modern Rock Kristie Kates Modern Rock
Kristi Kates 8/31/09
Math-Rockers Mute Math Offer Up Armistice
New Orleans math-rockers MuteMath have completed work on their new album, and it’s available this week via Teleprompt/Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Elvis Costello/Hives/Modest Mouse collaborator Dennis Herring, the set was recorded both in the band’s hometown and in Mississippi, and is said to showcase the band’s “lyrical development” as well as a dozen new MuteMath songs. The tracklisting includes tunes “Backfire,” “Pins and Needles,” and “The Lost Year,” and the set has been titled Armistice...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Killers Add Tour Dates Across the U.S.
Kristi Kates 8/24/09
Following their recent smash Lollapalooza appearance, The Killers have announced yet another round of tour dates in continued promotion of their current album, Day and Age. The band will trek to Washington DC to begin the new schedule, and will stay on the road through the end of September, with stops including a few legendary ones (Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado, the Hollywood Bowl, and NY’s Jones Beach Theater), as well as cities from Toronto (9/6) to San Diego (9/18), from their hometown of Las Vegas (9/19) to Portland, Oregon (9/24). The Killers’ music video for their track “A Dusted Fairytale” is also available now on iTunes, as is the album itself...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Original Woodstock Fest Gets Box Set
Kristi Kates 8/17/09
Rhino Records will pay tribute to the original Woodstock Festival with a special box set that will be released on August 18, six CDs and 77 songs in all. Included in the set are such previously unreleased recordings as “Pinball Wizard” by The Who and a 19-minute rendition of a Grateful Dead song, plus tracks from Ravi Shankar, Melanie, Sha Na Na, Johnny Winter, Arlo Guthrie, Mountain, and plenty of others. The set, which has been dubbed Woodstock - 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur’s Farm, will retail for $79.98, and will keep the tracklisting accurate to the actual running order of the original festival, as well as including the original stage announcements, Max Yasgur’s famed speech, and audio of Abbie Hoffman meeting Who guitarist Pete Townsend...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Big Star Fans Keep
An Eye On 4-Disc Set
Kristi Kates 8/10/09

Classic modern-power popsters Big Star, whose work is often said to have directly influenced the likes of The Replacements and R.E.M., are set to release a special four-disc set this fall, complete with live cuts, rare tracks, alternate takes, and unreleased demos. The set, titled Keep an Eye on the Sky, will include 98 tracks from 1968-1975, to pay tribute to a band that struggled with commercial success while gaining a huge underground following for their catchy, witty songs. Keep an Eye on the Sky will be in-stores on September 15; Big Star’s Chris Bell’s solo record, I Am the Cosmos, will also be re-released as a deluxe edition this fall...

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Get Well Wishes to
a Beastie Boy
Kristi Kates 8/3/09
An out-of-nowhere announcement was made by the Beastie Boys last week, during which they announced that Beastie Adam “MCA” Yauch has been diagnosed with cancer and will undergo surgery. Yauch spoke directly to fans via a video posted on the group’s website, saying that his docs have told him that the situation is treatable and he’s expected to make a full recovery. The rest of the Beastie Boys have rallied behind him, as the band has cancelled their upcoming tour dates - including the Beasties’ planned stops at All Points West, Austin City Limits, and this year’s Lollapalooza fest in Chicago - and have also postponed the release of their new album, Hot Sauce Committee Part 1, which was originally scheduled to hit stores on September 18. The Beasties’ label, EMI, is also supportive of the

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Elbow supports Coldplay, U2 on tour
Kristi Kates 7/27/09
Elbow Supports
Coldplay, U2 On Tour

Brit modern rockers Elbow have been pounding the pavement for the past year in support of their critically-acclaimed album, The Seldom Seen Kid, and are now reaching the end of that campaign with several stadium support slots for both U2, a homecoming show at Manchester’s MEN Arena on September 17, and of course their slate of opening shows for Coldplay in the U.S. throughout July and August. Following all of that activity, Elbow’s singer Guy Garvey says that the band will begin work on their next album; they’ve reportedly already been writing on tour, and are planning the next set’s release for sometime late next year...
Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon, and Olivia Harrison all showed up at the recent E3 videogame conference in Los Angeles to unveil some of the details about the upcom