Just don‘t call him Sir

April 18, 2007

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...
 
Bjork, who is currently in Iceland rehearsing with her band, will be embarking on a short North American tour to help promote her new disc, Volta, which is set to hit stores on May 7. The record will include a wide range of contributors, including Timbaland, members of the experimental noise band Lightning Bolt, and a Chinese pipa player, while the tour will include stops at California’s Coachella Festival (4/27), NYC’s Apollo Theater (5/8), Chicago’s Auditorium Theater (5/12), and Denver, CO’s famed Red Rocks Amphitheater (5/15)...
 
And speaking of Bjork, the singer will also be appearing on the upcoming A Tribute to Joni Mitchell album;  Bjork contributed her take on Mitchell’s “The Boho Dance.”  Other performers interpreting Mitchell tunes include Annie Lennox (“Ladies of the Canyon”), Sarah McLachlan (“Blue”), the aforementioned Elvis Costello (“Edith and the Kingpin”), James Taylor (“River”), Emmylou Harris (“Magdelena Laundries”), and Michigan’s own Sufjan Stevens, who does his take on “Free Man in Paris.”  Look for the Mitchell tribute beginning April 24...
 
Have you downloaded several tunes from a favorite musician on iTunes, only to find out later that you now have to purchase those songs again when you decide to snag the rest of the album? Well, fret no longer -
Apple has decided to address that very problem. With their new Complete My Tracks program, music buyers will no longer have to double-purchase;  instead, you’ll get credit for songs already purchased, enabling you to upgrade to a full album for less cost. Keep track of your buying times, though - under the new plan, you’ll only get 180 days from the purchase date to upgrade from single songs to the whole album...
 
MINI BUZZ:
Brit electronica duo Underworld are heading back to the road this fall for a trio of September live dates in L.A., Denver, and NYC, where they’re expected to preview new material from their upcoming next album...
Kylie Minogue is making plans for her first album of new material since 2005;  the disc is expected out late this year...
The prolific Ryan Adams is prepping to release his ninth studio set of the past seven years;  dubbed Easy Tiger, the album will hit stores on June 5 and will include songs “Tears of Gold,” “Rip Off,” and “The Sun Also Sets”...
R.E.M. are thinking album, too, and will be roadtesting some new material with a scattered set of gigs in Dublin,
Ireland this summer... Scottish modern rockers The Cinematics, currently in the middle of the two-month tour as opening act for Mute Math, will play on the small screen via their April 27 gig on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live show...
And Tapes N Tapes will be going back into the studio in June to record their sophomore effort, which is slated for release in the fall...
 
And slated for release this week are these new discs... ON CD:  Kaiser Chiefs’ Yours Truly, Angry Mob... DJ Tiesto’s Elements of Life... Grant Lee Phillips’ Strangelet... Lisa Loeb and Elizabeth Mitchell’s Catch the Moon... the CD reissue of Ultravox’s Vienna... and Volume 24 (can you believe it?) of the NOW music collection, featuring tunes from KT Tunstall, Justin Timberlake, The Fray, and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus... ON DVD:  The Electric Company’s Greatest Hits and Bits... The Kinks’ The Golden Years... Leahy’s Live from Gatineau, Quebec... and the critically-acclaimed Screaming Masterpiece: 1000 Years of Icelandic Popular Music... and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.
 
Questions, comments, rants, raves, suggestions on this column or your fave musicians? Send ‘em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com