Modern Rock

Feb. 9, 2005

Modest Mouse motors on
Modest Mouse, whose 2004 album Good News For People Who Love Bad News propelled the band into a whole new level of fandom, have now scheduled a major US tour for the first quarter of this year. They’ve already played a few dates (namely in Nashville, Tennessee, and Eugene, Oregon), and have a whole slew of shows scheduled for February, including stops in Los Angeles (2/7 and 2/8), Mexico City (2/11), Tulsa Oklahoma (2/21), Chicago (2/25), Milwaukee (2/26), and Minneapolis (2/27 and 2/28). The band has also managed to snag a few nominations for this year’s Grammy Awards...
Those of you saving up for a shiny new ipod may not have to save as long as you originally planned - that is, if you don’t mind settling for a much smaller memory, which could still be a useful and fun gadget for commuting and whatnot. Apple has now introduced the $99 ipod shuffle, a slimline version of the “regular” ipod that is smaller and lighter than a pack of gum and holds up to 120 songs; a model that holds up to 240 songs will also be available for $149. The new ipod shuffle will, of course, utilize the ipod’s “shuffle” feature, can be plugged into itunes, and has already begun shipping to the U.S., shipping to other countries later this year...
Fans of the vintage Swedish pop group Abba had long discussed the possibility of the band reuniting in 2004 to mark their 30th anniversary - but it simply didn’t happen. However, there is a consolation prize for Abba fanatics - all four members of the group have now contributed to a new 90-minute documentary DVD that will tell the “Abba story” complete with interviews with Bjorn, Benny, Anni-Frid, and Agnetha, plus 30 minutes of other extras. The DVD, titled Super Troupers, hit stores on January 25, and includes songs “Voulez-Vous,” “Take A Chance On Me,” “Dancing Queen,” and “The Winner Takes It All,” these being only a few of the songs that helped Abba sell 350 million albums...
Los Angeles-based indie trio Oslo - namely, Mattia Borrani (lead vocals and guitar), Gabrial McNair (lead guitar and backing vocals), and Kerry Wayne James (bass) - have just completed tracking and mixing on their self-produced debut disc, due out on March 29. A collection of “haunting soundscapes and poignant anthems, the album, dubbed simply Oslo, has already dropped a first single, “Minutegun,” which recently debuted on Los Angeles radio station 103.1...


MINI BUZZ:
Sting has announced that he’ll perform a one-off show in Australia in February with 100% of the profits going to benefit tsunami victims...
Keane and The Zutons have just hit the road, too, kicking off their international tour on January 24 in Dallas, with plans to stay in the tour bus (and on the tour... er... plane) until April 1, when their tour wraps up in Copenhagen...
The Thrills will drop a third single from their latest album, Let’s Bottle Bohemia - the track “The Irish Keep Gatecrashing” is expected out on February 28, to precede the band’s spring tour, which kicks off on March 12; prior to their spring tour, the band will embark on a European tour in support of R.E.M...
Nine Inch Nails have scrapped the original name for their upcoming album - no longer called Bleedthrough, the new NIN disc will now be called With Teeth; although there’s still no definite release date, the disc is expected to hit stores sometime this spring...
Black 47 will release their new album, titled Elvis Murphy’s Green Suede Shoes, on March 1, and also just launched a tour last week in New York...
‘80’s arena-rockers The Alarm will reissue their Greatest Hits Live album this week, while March 22 will see the release of Daft Punk’s Human After All...


And elsewhere in the album release department... ON CD: Bright Eyes drops both I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn... Erasure releases Nightbird... Pat Metheny presents The Way Up... Nanci Griffith offers up Hearts in Mind... and the soundtrack for One Tree Hill brings together tunes from Gavin DeGraw, Story of the Year, Jimmy Eat World, Get Up Kids, and more... ON DVD: Paul McCartney’s Get Back World Tour... Bobby McFerrin’s Spontaneous Inventions... Roy Orbison - Black and White Night... and Nina Simone - Live... and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.

Questions, comments, rants, raves about this column or your fave musicians? Send ‘em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com!