Filed under: Adventures in Stereo favourite, Albums of Year, Brian Wilson, Calexico, Earth, Future releases, Giant Sand, Greg Dulli, Grinderman, Isobel Campbell, Jane's addiction, Kings of Leon, Lil Wayne, MGMT, Mark Lanegan, Music News, NME, Nas, Nick Cave, Perry Farrell, Satelitte Party, Scott Weiland, Shawn Smith, Stone Temple Pilots, The Gutter Twins, folks on tour | Tags: Stone Temple Pilots, Earth, Jane's addiction, The Gutter Twins, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Mark Lanegan & Isobel Campbell, Adorata, Shawn Smith, Brian Wilson, Nas, Calexico, Giant Sand, Kings of Leon, Lil Wayne, MGMT
Greetings …
… It’s been near enough 4 months since I last posted and there’s been so much that I’ve failed to comment on.
So what’s been going on? I’m assuming that everyone who is interested will know that The Gutter Twins have issued a 7″ of God’s Children, which includes a great (new) track, titled Spanish Doors (which happens to be a door without a handle). They also released Adorata (a ‘digital release’ of outtakes and the likes) through iTunes.
Speaking of iTunes, I aint a big fan ‘digital music outlets’. I have never been inclined to buy MP3’s and although much of the music I buy ends up on the MP3 player, I like the ‘hard copy’. The whole package (whether it be CD or record) is a necessity and I hope that Adorata eventually makes it on to such a format.
I figure that it’d be a good time to look over the year so far and also look at what’s ahead.
The Gutter Twins, Saturnalia
The finest album this year? So far anyhoo. It’s powerful and is exactly what we were all looking for from Mark Lanegan and Greg Dulli. We haven’t been disappointed.
Earth, The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull
Another brilliant release from Dylan Carlson’s Earth. Similar to HEX in its gothic soundscape and a title that refers to the story of Samson, this is one of the finest albums to have been released this year.
Shawn Smith, The Diamond Hand
Another great release from Shawn Smith (Pigeonhed, Brad, Satchel, Twilight Singers). This has been a mainstay of my stereo since I purchased it. It’s also worth noting that his previous albums have been re-issued. Nice one.
Brian Wilson, That Lucky Old Sun
The demos floating around the information superhighway gave us all a taste of what was to come and there’s no denying that Mr. Wilson is back on form (the star studded ’Gettin’ In Over My Head’ was a little hit and miss, while the Christmas album wasn’t so inspiring either).
Other albums worth mentioning:
Nas, N; Calexico, Carried to Dust; Giant Sand, ProVISIONS; Kings of Leon, Only By The Night; Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!; Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III; MGMT, Oracular Spectacular and Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, Sunday at Devil Dirt.
Stone Temple Pilots:
together and touring, Scott Weiland, the De Leo’s and Eric Kretz look as though they are back for good. It’s been too long.
Jane’s Addiction:
a stunning performance at the NME awards in L.A. reminded everyone just how incredible this band were prior to Strays. Sadly it looks like it was just a one off … but with Perry Farrell’s Satellite Party falling apart at the seams and Dave Navarro’s The Panic Channell being the most musically redundant project he or Mr. Perkins have been involved in, maybe there’s hope that they’ll decide to get back in the studio.
What’s on the horizon?
Filed under: 10 Minute Warning, Adventures in Stereo favourite, Bright Eyes, Downloads, Greg Dulli, Grinderman, Guns N' Roses, Isobel Campbell, Jane's addiction, Mark Lanegan, Music News, NME, Nick Cave, Slash, The Gutter Twins, The Panic Channel, Tom Waits, Velvet Revolver, Video, folks on tour | Tags: 10 Minute Warning, Appetite for Destruction, Autobiography, Bright Eyes, Downloads, folks on tour, Fopp, Gears of War, Greg Dulli, Grinderman, Guns N' Roses, Isobel Campbell, Mark Lanegan, Mark Lanegan & Isobel Campbell, Mercury Rev, Sigur Ros, Slash, Spiritualized, The Gutter Twins, The Panic Channel, Tom Waits, Velvet Revolver, Video
So, in between going to work and playing Gears of War on the Xbox I’ve been reading Slash’s autobiography (SLASH) and it’s pretty damn good. Those Gn’R fellas were pretty wild … as I’ve said many times, I don’t care much for anything past Appetite for Destuction, but back when I was ‘discovering’ music I sought out everything Gn’R. Although I don’t listen to much of their post-Appetite output, there is a good album within the Use Your Illusion double. I can’t even be bothered discussing this ‘Chinese Democracy’ and the best of all the post Guns projects was Duff McKagen’s record with his old 10 Minute Warning pals. However, I just had to listen to some early Gn’R stuff that I had kicking around so as to hear what Slash was talking about.
Here’s a few early Guns N’ Roses tracks (available for 1 week only):
November Rain demo from 1986, Welcome to the Jungle, Bad Obsession (early Use Your Illusion demo)
… and away from this Guns N’ Roses stuff, the Connect Festival (held in the ancient grounds of an 18th Century castle in the Scottish Highlands) will feature some mighty fine bands this year (as well as not so mighty fine) and although the tickets are pretty pricey, you can expect your weekend of Friday 29th to Sunday 31st August to include entertainment from Sigur Ros, Grinderman, Elbow, Spiritualized, Mercury Rev, Howling Bells, Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band and … The Gutter Twins! (for the full list of the announced acts visit the Connect Music Festival dot Com).
Speaking of The Gutter Twins, here’s some more dates that are shown on their MySpace:
JUNE
28 - Sled Island Festival, Calgary
JULY
10 - The Roxy, Hollywood, CA
12 - Showbox, Seattle, WA
AUGUST
2 - Lollapalooza, Chicago, IL
6 – Tavastia, Helsinki, FI
7 – Way Out West, Gothenburg, SE
8 – Voxhall, Aarhus, DK
9 - Haldern Festival, Haldern, DE
11 – Zodiac, Oxford, UK
12 – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, UK
13 – Shepherds Bush Empire, London, UK
15 – Pukkelpop Festival, Hasselt, BE
16 - Lowlands Festival, Biddinghuizen, NL
17 – Highfield Festival, Hohenfelden, DE
19 - Beatpol, Dresden, DE
20 – Ampere, Munich, DE
21 – Palac Akropolis, Prague, CZ
23 – Proxima, Warsaw, PL
25 - Forum, Bielefeld, DE
26 - Komedia, Brighton, UK
27 - Leadmill, Sheffield, UK
29 - Electric Picnic, Stradbally, IE
30 - Academy, Liverpool, UK
Also on tour is Tom Waits. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to catch one of the Edinburgh shows, but here’s a list of dates from the Anti- website …
JUNE
17 & 18 – Orpheum, Phoenix, AZ
20 – Plazza Theatre, El Paso, TX
22 – Jones Hall, Houston, TX
23 – Palladium, Dallas, TX
25 – Brady Theatre, Tulsa, OK
26 – Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO
28 – Ohio Theatre, Columbus, OH
29 – Civic Auditorium, Knoxville, TN
JULY
1 – Times Union Centre, Jacksonville, FL
2 – Saenger Theatre, Mobile, AL
3 – Alabama Theatre, Birmingham, AL
5 – Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA
12 – Auditorium Kursaal, SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN
14 & 15 – Auditorium Forum, BARCELONA, SPAIN
17, 18 & 19 – Teatro Degli Arcimboldi, MILAN, ITALY
21 & 22 – KCP, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
24 & 25 – Grand Rex, PARIS, FRANCE
27 & 28 – Playhouse, EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND
30 & 31st – The Ratcellar, DUBLIN, IRELAND
AUGUST
1 – The Ratcellar, DUBLIN, IRELAND
There’s loads of other stuff happening (Festival season and all), but I’ve been to busy playing Gears of War to notice! … oh, and Sunday at Devil Dirt (the new Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan album) was released on May 12th, not May 5th! … but it’s a great album. I also got my hands on The Panic Channel’s (ONe) for £3 out of Fopp: it’s anything but brilliant, but enjoyable enough (hopefully something comes from the NME jam with the original Jane’s Addiction line up).
I’ll be getting May’s bootleg posted in the next few days, but in the meantime enjoy those Gn’R tracks and this smashing video from Mr. Waits.
Filed under: Downloads, Ford Radio, Future releases, Greg Dulli, Isobel Campbell, Jane's addiction, Jools Holland, Little Radio, Mark Lanegan, NME, Perry Farrell, Radio Sessions, Random, Satelitte Party, Scott Ford, Scott Weiland, Stone Temple Pilots, The Afghan Whigs, The Gutter Twins, Video | Tags: Greg Dulli, Isobel Campbell, Jane's addiction, Jools Holland, Mark Lanegan, NME, Scott Ford, Screaming Trees, Stone Temple Pilots, Sunday at Devil Dirt, The Afghan Whigs, The Gutter Twins
Just a few things that you folk might be interested in:
1. Jane’s Addiction will unite for an NME Awards show, where they will receive the Godlike Genius Award
The original line up will perform for the first time since September 1991 at the ceremony on Wednesday, April 23rd at the Goldenvoice El Rey Theatre in L.A.
Hopefully the band rediscover the magic that brought them together and embark on a tour … maybe even record some new material. With Perry Farrell’s Satellite Party seemingly stalled who could say?
2. Sunday at Devil Dirt, the second album from Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan, is due out May 5th. You can expect more of the same, however the chemistry is slightly different this time around (due to the both being in the same room this time), making the whole thing sound that little better. And if what I’ve heard is anything to go by, this album is a lot darker than it’s predecessor.
Although Ballad of the Broken Seas was well received by critics, Lanegan fans were largely divided. I actually enjoyed the album, but felt that ‘Revolver’ (Lanegan’s writing contribution) was the highlight.
Sunday at Devil Dirt is again penned by Campbell and those who fell in love with the first album will no doubt fall in love all over again … those looking for something a little bit more will not be disappointed either.
3. Scott Ford has confirmed that The Gutter Twins will be appearing on Jools Holland’s ‘Later … ‘ on April 29th. This is great news as it harks back to the days when I actually enjoyed watching Later as it had bands that were great, not just ‘cool’.
It seems that The Gutter Twins have been well received and this just strengthens that further. Sadly it means that some tour dates will have to be cancelled, but this exposure is certainly good news.
4. Stone Temple Pilots announced an extensive tour, which is scheduled to kick off on May 17th. At the press conference at Harry Houdini’s Estate in Hollywood, the band also performed a 30 minute set.
This comes shortly after Weiland’s split from Velvet Revolver and almost certainly will result in a new album.
That’s about it.
Until next time, here’s two great MP3’s:
The Gutter Twins: Idle Hands (the Letterman performance) and Down the Line.
… and two great video’s to watch.
