Monkeying around with the Gorillaz

May 16, 2007

Blur/Gorillaz mastermind Damon Albarn, now busy with his latest band project, The Good, The Bad and The Queen, has news of both The Good and The Bad sort regarding one of his bands - namely Gorillaz. The Bad? Well, Albarn says he’s decided that there will be no more Gorillaz studio albums. And The Good? Take heart, Gorillaz fans - you’ll at least get a Gorillaz feature film before it’s all over, and, if you (and Albarn) are lucky, the film project will be helmed by none other than Monty Python/12 Monkeys/Brazil filmmaker Terry Gilliam...

The White Stripes, who, contrary to popular belief, have not broken up, are doing the opposite, actually - they’re planning live shows around the release of their new album, which they’ve dubbed Icky Thump. Jack White and Meg White will kick off their tour schedule on June 17 in Tennessee, and will continue on for over two dozen concert dates, which will include stops in Toronto (7/5), Montreal (7/6), Boston (7/23), and Birmingham, Alabama (7/30); no West Coast or Midwestern dates have been announced yet, but that’s expected to change...

In other Jack White news, his other band, The Raconteurs, are also busy working on their sophomore album in Nashville; the band has reportedly already penned a dozen songs and were eager to get into the studio before summer made all the bandmates busier than they already are. The new tunes are said to be quite different than the band’s previous release, Broken Boy Soldiers, but there’s no word yet on a release date, as The Raconteurs are label-less following the demise of their previous record company home, V2 Records; anybody out there want to give a band a good home?...

Brit band The Magic Numbers, after much impatience from fans, have finally nailed down a U.S. release date for their second album, which will surface this summer on Capitol Records. The album, Those Are The Broke, was released waaaay back in November in the UK, and will now hit U.S. shores on July 3; it will include new Magic Numbers tunes “Take a Chance,” “Undecided,” “This is a Song,” and “Goodnight”...

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK: Smashing Pumpkins are staying in the news this week with more info on their latest album - they’ve released a tracklist. Songs set for Zeitgeist include “Doomsday Clock,” “Tarantula,” “United States,” and “Never Lost” - and you’ll want to check out the revamped SP website, too, at
www.smashingpumpkins.com...

MINI BUZZ:
Aussie indie-popsters Architecture in Helsinki have hopped on over to Of Montreal label Polyvinyl Records, who will release AIH’s latest album, Places Like This, which is due in stores on August 7...
New Yorkers the Beastie Boys have almost wrapped work on their upcoming album, which they say is more rock-oriented than previous efforts with less sampling (as in, the Boys are playing more analog (read: real) instruments); dubbed The Mix Up, it’s due out before year’s end...
Common will offer up his latest album, Finding Forever, on July 10, complete with production work from will.i.am...
Interpol are finishing up the last-minute details on their latest disc, too, and this album will mark their first major-label release - Interpol’s Our Love to Admire will hit stores on July 10 on Capitol Records, and will include tracks “The Scale,” “Who Do You Think,” “Pioneer to the Falls,” and “Mammoth”...
English modern rockin’ trio Field Music have decided to take a break to work on individual projects, although no one’s sure when their hiatus will start, as they’ve got live shows planned for much of the summer and a new single out this week...
The latest edition of the DJ Kicks mix series is heading to stores, with London’s Hot Chip at the helm; the funky UK DJs included tracks from Ray Charles, Soundhack, Joe Jackson, and Black Devil Disco Club in their compilation...

ON CD: Bjork’s Volta... the Elliott Smith retrospective-demo collection New Moon... The Sea and Cake’s Everybody... Cinematic Orchestra’s Ma Fleur... DJ Jazzy Jeff’s Return of the Magnificent... and Punk Goes Acoustic 2 with tracks from +44, The All-American Rejects, Antiflag, and Sherwood... ON DVD: David Bowie: Spiders from Mars Interviews... B.B. King’s Standing Room Only... the two-disc “Showstopper” edition of Dreamgirls... and Bob Dylan’s Don’t Look Back: Deluxe Edition... 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