Thursday’s Tasty Treats (Legal MP3 Downloads)

(From 7/1 to 7/7.. All of our legal MP3's will be recordings from the legendary Jim Diamond of Ghetto Recorders in Detroit, MI.. Enjoy)
The Red Aunts:: I’m Cryin
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New Bombs Turks:: Killer’s Kiss
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The White Stripes:: Jimmy the Exploder
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Clone Defects:: 15 Minute Love
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The Go:: Keep on Trash
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Prince “Musicology” (Album Review)

Larry Graham introduced Prince to the Jehovah Witness Protection program, luckily for music fans he brought his bass. The legendary bassist of the Family Stone and Graham Central Station has shown the artist formerly known as a trademarked symbol some riveting undertow that pulls the listener in as the surf breaks…in Minnesota? Well it is the land of a thousand lakes and like most people every few years I read the papers and hear that Prince is making a comeback or a tour (hence the name check “down in Atlanta G-A”) or he’s doing something and I get his new album and I play it and I think to myself-this guy’s a fucking genius, this is a fucking great album and then I never play it again and six months later it goes to CD Warehouse and I trade it in for a re-issue of Articles of Faith or the Crucifucks…Prince has a way of making complicated, sophisticated music sound very simple, almost casual. I especially enjoy how he connects disparate vocal styles into a harmonious cloud that dissipates once the volume is increased. Just when I’m focusing in on the music Prince is making he backs away and does another trick, he loves to show off his virtuosity and his mastery of the production board which brings to mind a gentleman with a Zapata mustache and beard, now deceased ten years. I did not wish to bring up the comparison because, after all, comparisons are short cuts to thinking. Regardless, in the middle of one of the better funk numbers on “Musicology” a small horn riff shows up and disappears…like a Frank Zappa song! A recommended release.(By: Jim Hayes)

THE WHITE STROPS!

THE WHITE STRIPES are distancing themselves from a documentary on the band that’s recently been shown in the US. The film, ’Nobody Knows How To Talk To Children’, was shot by director George Roca during the band’s residency at the New York Bowery Ballroom in 2002. The band have issued a statement on their website, claiming the film, which was recently shown at the Seattle Film Festival, was not cleared by the band, and they own the rights to the footage and music. The statement reads: "We never authorised, released, or legally allowed in any way for the video to be shown." MTV news reports that Roca has been sent a cease-and-desist order telling him not to show the film any more. The White Stripes are planning to release their own DVD, recorded on their recent UK tour, later this year.

Hot Water Music Preps 'Next'

Rock outfit Hot Water Music will release its third Epitaph album, "The New What Next," on Sept. 21. The disc was produced by Brian McTernan (Thrice, Cave In), who also manned the boards for HWM's 2002 album "Caution," at his Washington, D.C., studio Salad Days. "We purposely tried to make each song stand on its own," bassist Jason Black said. "We kind of got stuck in a mid-tempo rock rut on 'Caution.' I mean, we're all proud of that record -- it's by no means an embarrassment, but we were looking for different tempos and feels. We even experimented with different tunings, which in the past -- if it had been brought to the table -- we would have thought, 'That's never going to work.'" The 12-track "The New What Next" promises stylistic diversity. Tracks like "Keep It Together" and "End of the Line" are in the roaring yet-melodic vein Hot Water Music fans have come to love, while "Ebb and Flow" and "All Hands Down" have rhythmic leanings. "We did a lot more re-writing in the studio," Black explains. "There was no pre-production in Florida. So we'd be like, 'Okay, that chorus doesn't stand up to the rest of that song, so we have to write an entirely different chorus or lose the song.' It might seem like we put a lot more pressure on ourselves to come up with great stuff on the spot, but it all came together easily." The album news comes just a week after guitarist Chuck Ragan severely injured his hand and underwent reconstructive surgery, forcing the band to prematurely drop off a series of dates on the Dashboard Confessional-fronted Honda Civic Tour. According to Black, "[Ragan] just sort of fell and put his hand through some glass. It's a bad break. We have the summer off so he should be fully rehabilitated by the time we head out on tour." "It's definitely got the potential to be a really serious issue, but its really good timing for such a sucky thing," he continues. "In fact, when it happened we were only an hour from home, and we had played five of the seven nights we had planned. So we were like, screw it. We don't have our guitar player, it's only 20 minutes a night. See ya." Hot Water Music's next round of live dates is slated to coincide with the new album's release. They will kick off Sept. 21 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and also visit Sunshine State destinations Orlando (Sept. 22), St. Petersburg (Sept. 23) and Gainesville (Sept. 25).

The Donna’s hit the studio

Female rock quartet the Donnas are recording their sophomore Atlantic album in Los Angeles with producer Butch Walker (Avril Lavigne, Sevendust). The as-yet-untitled album will likely be released in the fall. It's the follow-up to 2002's "Spend the Night," which hit No. 1 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart and has sold nearly 390,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Fans who can't wait for new music can download the Donnas' cover of Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself," featured in the film "Mean Girls," through Apple's iTunes Music Store. The group has four shows on tap for late summer, beginning Aug. 17 in San Francisco and wrapping Sept. 4 in North Tonawanda, N.Y. The foursome will also be DJing July 8 at the Beauty Bar in Los Angeles.

Wednesday Prime Cuts (Legal MP3 Downloads)

Loretta Lynn:: Portland Oregon
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Tin Hat Trio w/ Tom Waits:: Helium
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Nina Simone:: How True (REMIX)
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The Witches:: Demons all around her
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Fahrenheit 9/11' Sets Record

Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" took in a whopping $21.8 million in its first three days, becoming the first documentary ever to debut as Hollywood's top weekend film. If Sunday's estimates hold when final numbers are released Monday, "Fahrenheit 9/11" would set a record in a single weekend as the top-grossing documentary ever outside of concert films and movies made for huge-screen IMAX theaters.

David Lee Roth to the rescue?

Apparently, the bad boy of rock 'n' roll is looking to clean up his act. Former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth has announced his intentions to add the unlikely title of emergency medical technician to his hard-rockin' rsum, according to the New York Daily News. Roth, 48, has reportedly relocated from his estate in Pasadena, California, and taken up residence in an apartment on New York's Lower East Side, where he reports for EMT training several days a week. The rocker says he hopes to earn his certification by November, at which point he plans to try to volunteer one weekend a month. He's training under New York safety consultant Linda Reissman, who, he joked, "has a rsum as long as your femur." "I want to be working in the outer boroughs," Roth told the Daily News. "This city promises great color and insight in each and every neighborhood. On the Upper East Side, it's gonna be heart attacks and stomachaches. But in other areas, it's all trauma." The "Runnin' with the Devil" singer claims that his medical aspirations are not as far-fetched as they may seem. "I used to be a surgical orderly in South Central, L.A.," Roth said. "I started that when I got out of junior college in the early '70s, and that led to a variety of things in the outdoor medical fire force and training with the Green Berets." It also seems that medicine runs in the Roth family. "My father was a surgeon and uncles and my cousin were also in the medical community, so I come by it natural," the singer explained. Bearing that reassuring fact in mind, we're sure Diamond Dave will make a great EMT.The rocker's career reinvention may be a reaction to his former band's current tour--on which Roth's replacement, Sammy Hagar, is pulling lead singer duty with original members Eddie and Alex Van Halen and Mike Anthony. Two years ago, Roth and Hagar shared headlining duties on the Song for Song: The Heavyweight Champs of Rock and Roll tour, unofficially known as the "Sans Halen" tour. However, the dueling frontmen apparently didn't hit it off--Hagar said he would never take the stage with Roth again after witnessing some of his off-color antics. Roth fans expressed mixed reactions to the rocker's reinvention tactics on the Roth Army Forum message boards. "Always learning, always giving, always funny and always inspiring!!!!" wrote a poster by the name of Northern Girl. But poster meanstreet disagreed. "Not inspiring news at all. It's like being a lawyer for 30 years and then deciding to work at a McDonald's to 'help out.' Do you honestly think Dave would be doing this if his solo career was stellar or he waback in VH? No way, it's the end of the road..." Despite his seemingly noble aspirations, it's possible that Roth has other motivations for becoming an EMT beyond simply helping mankind. "My dream would be to save a Scandinavian hikerette," the rocker admitted to the Daily News.

Tuesday's Tight with these Legal MP3 Downloads

Guided By Voices:: Gonna Never Say Die
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Division of Laura Lee:: View of the City From an Airplane
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Calexico:: Stray
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The Briefs:: Poor & Weird
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Secret Machines:: Nowhere Again
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Iggy, Strokes, Dolls Hit The Garage

Iggy and the Stooges, the Strokes, the New York Dolls and Bo Diddley lead the lineup for Little Steven's International Underground Garage Festival. An offshoot of Little Steven's Underground Garage radio show, the event will be held Aug. 14 at New York's Randall's Island. Tickets are $20 and are available through Ticketmaster. Rounding out the lineup is the Raveonettes, the Pretty Things, the Mooney Suzuki, the Romantics, the Chesterfield Kings, the Fuzztones, the Electric Prunes, the Contrast, Cocktail Strippers, the High Dials, the Chains and Flaming Sideburns. The winner of Little Steven and Dunkin' Donuts' Underground Garage Battle of the Bands, to be held July 23 at New York's Irving Plaza, will also get the chance to perform at the festival. The Garage Festival stage will be created by Pink Floyd production designer Mark Brickman. Organizers also claim the event aims to "set the world record for most go-go dancers appearing in one show." Little Steven said in February he has grand plans to spread the good word of garage rock. "It has taken a little longer than I would have liked but we're trying to put together a circuit of clubs around the country that all of our bands can plug into and play and keep playing," he said. "We would have 'Underground Garage' nights in each club. And we would work it out on a circuit, where every week we would just put another two bands on the road." Some of the bands Kingblind congratulated were pleasantly surprised to see themselves listed as confirmed performers. With Ticketmaster's website listing different performers than Little Steven's site, one of the bands in this listing discrepancy commented, "we noticed on the (Underground Garage) web-site that we are not listed and wondered if we had been bumped. I was totally bummed out - I'm glad we're still on!" It looks like this is all coming together quickly with new bands confirming daily. For $20.00, we think it's totally worth it for Iggy and Stooges and the re-united New York Dolls alone.

Modest Mouse Roar Back From Lollapalooza With New Tour

Modest Mouse may be on a major label, and their video may be getting mainstream play, but the band grew up with a DIY approach to making music, so they were able to bounce back with new tour dates just days after learning their summer tour —Lollapalooza — had been canceled. The band has put together a string of headline shows that start July 16 in Chico, California. Nine dates have been scheduled through September 18 in Austin, Texas, and more shows will follow. "We're going to be out for like three and a half months," singer/guitarist Isaac Brock said. "Then something else will come along and we'll do that." Don't be fooled if Brock sounds apathetic: He doesn't like talking about his music but he loves playing and touring. He and his bandmates had been looking forward to being on the road with Morrissey, Wilco and the Flaming Lips, and they're grateful to Lollapalooza organizer Perry Farrell for inviting them to be on the ill-fated festival "I gotta send [him] a Pepperidge Farm gift basket," Brock said. "It was really nice of him [to think of us]." While Modest Mouse will be touring in support of their new album, Good News for People Who Love Bad News, through at least the middle of October, the band will take a break afterward so guitarist Dann Gallucci can get married. "He's going to take some time off to do the honeymoon thing and all that," Brock said. "So I'm just gonna take this next three and a half months and look at it as all I gotta do for the time being, and then move on." Good News for People Who Love Bad News came out April 6. The single "Float On" is currently perched at #3 on the Radio & Records alternative radio airplay chart, and the video for the song, directed by Christopher Mills, has received strong airplay (see "Modest Mouse Greet Success With A Rousing 'So What?' "). "He had a really good idea in the first place, and then anything that I wanted to add, he let me do," Brock said. "So I liked working with that guy." When "Float On" eventually starts to tread water, Modest Mouse will release "Ocean Breathes Salty" as the second single from the record. The band has chosen Chris Milk (Kanye West, Courtney Love) to direct, but there's no treatment for the clip yet. "We're going from Mills to Milk," Brock said. "It looks like we're just going through the phone book [and picking names alphabetically]. But I just really liked his work. Last night I saw a work-in-progress Kanye video he's doing, and it's really, really awesome"
Modest Mouse tour dates, according the band's publicist:
* 7/16 - Chico, CA @ The Senator Theater
* 7/17 - San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
* 7/23 - Phoenix, AZ @ Celebrity Theatre
* 7/30 - Bloomington, IN @ Axis
* 7/31 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave/Eagles Club
* 08/6 - Montreal, QC @ The Rialto
* 8/10 - Rostraver, PA @ Ice Garden
* 9/17 - Austin, TX @ Stubb's Barbecue
* 9/18 - Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Music Festival

Monday's Legal MP3 Madness

Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra:: Dirty and Blood
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The Velvet Underground:: Venus in Furs
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Pinback:: Manchuria
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The Unicorns:: Tuff Ghost
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Top 10 Albums of 2004 SO FAR (A half year review)

Holy cow 2004 is a great year for music!! And we still 6 Months to go!! Here are Kingblind’s pick for albums that are worth your valuable time and money. (Albums that are not yet released will be out in about 30 days or less)

Loretta Lynn:: Van Lear Rose
Alright.. I don’t do predictions much.. But I doing one now.. ALBUM OF THE YEAR.. Flawless.

Modest Mouse:: Good News for People who like bad news
I used to hate this band. Now everything has changed. This album will be in the top 5 at years end FOR SURE! GREAT STUFF.

Guided By Voices:: Half Smiles of the Decomposed (Not yet released)
The best album in years. A great swansong

Beastie Boys:: To the 5 boroughs
Welcome back boys. The new soundtrack of summer

Clinic:: Winchester Cathedral (Not yet released)
Liverpool lads do it again

Secret Machines:: Now Here is Nowhere
Pink Floyd meets Led Zep meets the Flaming Lips.. YUM

TV on the Radio:: Desparate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
Unique and Brilliant.

The Hives:: Tyrannosaurus Hives (Not yet Released)
AC/DC meets Garage rock. Buy this album the day it comes out.. ROCK BALLS

DJ Danger Mouse:: The Grey Album
A revolution in sound. Mashed music will never be the same again

Probot:: Probot
And Dave played metal and it was good

Lollapalooza Bands Reshuffle Summer Plans

With Lollapalooza cancelled, several bands originally confirmed for the bill have begun either rescheduling their summer itineraries or heading for the studio. Morrissey's summer plans for North America are unknown beyond a previously announced July 17 show in Chicago as part of American Express' Blue Jam Sessions. Sonic Youth is setting up a headlining tour, which, according to its official Web site, will kick off July 13 in Vancouver and head east, visiting both American and Canadian cities. String Cheese Incident, which was to headline Lollapalooza's second day lineup, is also setting up new North American dates. "We are big supporters of the vision of Lollapalooza and we were looking forward to collaborating with so many great musical acts," SCI bassist Keith Moseley says. The Flaming Lips will spend the summer working on their new album as well as a movie. "With the cancellation of Lollapalooza 2004, we are reminded once again of the risk and uncertainty that accompanies any venture that is purposefully not mainstream," lead singer Wayne Coyne said on the band's official Web site. "Perhaps in a less concert heavy summer this collection of unconventional entertainers may have at least aroused some curiosity, but sometimes being different comes at a price." According to its official Web site, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club were scheduled to tour with the Von Bondies during days off from Lollapalooza, but because BRMC does "not have a record company at the moment, limited funds means the band cannot tour independently." Instead, it is believed the band will begin work on the follow-up to 2003's "Take Them On, On Your Own," its final set for Virgin. Modest Mouse has scheduled brief series of shows beginning July 16 in Chico, Calif. Gomez has yet to announce any new North American dates, nor has the Polyphonic Spree, according to their respective official Web sites. Other bands currently in limbo include Broken Social Scene and the Walkmen. The former is expected to begin work on its next studio album, which should be out by next spring. Yesterday, tour co-founder Perry Farrell posted a message to artists on the festival's official Web site. "Please know that I value your talents and look forward to meeting you again -- a little later on to re-discover ourselves as friends," he said. "If it makes you feel any better, I am in the same boat as most of you; 'Only loaded with talent.' But with talent like ours, they can't hold us down for long." Farrell also cryptically added that the festival might be resurrected for one or two shows: "I am still looking for a shining moment or two for us this summer. I hope you will receive me when I call."

New Jimmy Page Les Paul get top dollar

The first Gibson Jimmy Page Signature Les Paul guitar from Gibson Guitar Corp.'s Custom, Art & Historic Division has been sold for a reported $55,000 to an anonymous buyer. The figure, more than double its suggested list price, is a record for a new, first-run Gibson guitar. Page signed and numbered each of the first 25 guitars of the series on the back of the headstock. The signature model replicates the dings, scratches, playing wear and unique shape of Page's "Number One," a 1959 Les Paul Standard that he acquired in 1969 and used on many Led Zeppelin recordings, including "Whole Lotta Love" and "Rock and Roll." Gibson's Custom, Art & Historic Division offers three version of the instrument: a first run of 25 signed guitars, a second run of 150 unsigned guitars, followed by an open run.

Rhino Looks Back At Talking Heads

Rhino Records has set an Aug. 17 release date for two retrospectives celebrating the work of influential quartet Talking Heads. The label's revamp of the live package "The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads" will mark the first CD issue of a fan-favorite release from 1982, while "The Best of Talking Heads" is the group's first U.S. single-disc greatest-hits set. Both titles were assembled with the involvement of all of the band's members -- David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Franz and Jerry Harrison. Originally a double-vinyl set, "The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads" has been buffed up to a two-disc release with the addition of 13 previously unreleased live tracks spanning 1977-1981. Also appended to the album are three cuts from a 1979 promotional-only live disc -- The Girls Want To Be With the Girls," an early version of "Drugs" titled "Electricity" and "Found a Job." "The Best of Talking Heads" is an 18-track collection of the band's most popular tunes, including "Psycho Killer," "Burning Down the House" and "And She Was." Last fall, Rhino released the three-CD, one-DVD box set "Once in a Lifetime," including songs from throughout the band's career as well as all its videos. A 1992 Sire/Warner Bros. compilation, "Popular Favorites 1976-1992: Sand in the Vaseline," surveyed each of the band's studio albums across two discs and added five then-previously unreleased songs. In related news, former Heads frontman Byrne will follow a July European tour with another North American run. He is touring behind his latest album, "Grown Backwards," released in April by Nonesuch.

Jane's Addiction Members Form New Band

Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro, bassist Chris Chaney and drummer Stephen Perkins have formed a new band with Skycycle vocalist Steve Isaacs. The as-yet-unnamed group has penned three songs and has begun recording with producer Danny Saber, who worked with Navarro on his 2001 Capitol solo debut, "Trust No One." Speculation has been rampant that this spells the end of Jane's Addiction, which has been inactive since completing touring and promotion for its 2003 Capitol reunion album, "Strays." "I am not replacing [Jane's Addiction vocalist] Perry [Farrell]," Isaacs wrote on his official Web site. "Even writing that like it were possible is crazy to me. Dave, Stephen, and Chris and I are just taking some time to do what is the most fun thing in the world to do -- make music and write songs." Navarro was more specific in a Web post of his own this week, when he proclaimed, "The deal is that [the reunion] simply didn't work out. Sometimes things just don't work out. In all honesty, we have broken up and rejoined roughly four times over the years. Perhaps that should shed some light as to where we are now. We really don't know. We do know that we really gave it everything we had this time and we actually made a really great record after so many years of silence." "Sometimes the best creative relationships are the most combustible and they aren't meant to last forever," he continued. Both Capitol and Jane's Addiction's management declined further comment on Navarro's post. "I don't know what the future of Jane's Addiction is, but I do know from being in a band for five years, that you yearn to play with other people and see what making NEW music sounds like," Isaacs said. "Life is beautiful, magical, and way too short, and to spend time not making music makes you die a little bit inside. I know about that, too." The news comes just days after the Farrell-reared Lollapalooza tour cancelled its entire summer run due to poor ticket sales.

Elliott Smith resurrected

Elliott Smith's voice will be heard on a forthcoming Jon Spencer Blues Explosion album. "Damage", the follow-up to 2002's "Plastic Fang" album, is currently being mixed in New York ahead of an autumn release. Eponymous frontman Spencer revealed: "This is the mother of all Blues Explosion records!... We even have some crazy guy playing shark's teeth and sheep testicles!" Recorded with "Plastic Fang" producer Steve Jordan and Alan Moulder, the album also features contributions from DJ Shadow, David Holmes, Chuck D and Martina Topley-Bird. Smith had been working with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion shortly before his suicide in October last year, and "Damage" is likely to be his first posthumous release. The last album Smith recorded for his US label Dreamworks was rejected, and friends and family are now working with "Figure 8" producer Rob Schnapf to release the record themselves. The album, expected to be titled "Songs From A Basement On The Hill", is being finished in accordance with "Elliott's vision" for a late 2004 release, according to fansite sweetadeline.net.

'Fahrenheit' turns on box office heat

Michael Moore's anti-Bush film breaks the single-day records at the two New York theaters. Director Michael Moore's controversial documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" turned on the box office heat in its first day in theaters breaking single-day records at the two New York City theaters where it played. The controversial film opens nationwide on Friday, but as CNN's Jason Carroll reports, 'Fahrenheit 9/11' has already started people talking. The movie, which aims a critical eye at President Bush and his prosecution of the war in Iraq, sold $49,000 worth of tickets at the Lowe's Village 7 theater, beating the venue's single-day record of $43,435 held by 1997's "Men in Black," according to distributors Lions Gate Films and IFC Films. At the Lincoln Plaza theater, "Fahrenheit 9/11" took in more than $30,000 to top the $24,013 set by "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in 2000. A spokesman for Lions Gate Films said the company debuted the movie in the two theaters to help build good word-of-mouth -- friend telling friend -- publicity ahead of the wide debut Friday when it plays in 868 theaters in all 50 states. The film has caused a storm of controversy because director Moore, whose past work includes Oscar-winning documentary "Bowling for Columbine," makes a case that the Bush administration was determined to invade Iraq following the Sept. 11 attacks. The movie links Bush family members and business associates with wealthy Saudi Arabian families, including that of Osama bin Laden, and Moore clearly wants to see the president fail to win re-election in this fall's presidential campaign. Online ticket service Fandango.com reported Wednesday that "Fahrenheit 9/11" was making up 48 percent of advance ticket sales for the weekend ahead, compared to 11 percent for "Dodgeball" and 9 percent for next week's "Spider-Man 2. (News via CNN)

The Briefs "Poor and Weird" promo only CD now available

In 2001, The Briefs released a promotional only, three-song CD EP on a major label (Interscope). The songs were re-recorded versions of tracks found on the band's awesome debut album, "Hit After Hit," on Dirtnap Records. The band and major label parted ways shortly thereafter without a proper release ever being issued. Here are the songs:
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD
(Thanks Dave Mcgurgan)

Fridays’s Legal MP3 and Music Video collection.

Ikara Colt:: Repetition (MP3)
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Calexico:: "Woven Birds (Cinematic Orchestra Remixico)" (MP3)
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Sufjan Stevens:: Holland (MP3)
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Savath & Savalas:: Folk Song for Cello (MP3)
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Iron & Wine:: Naked as we came (Music Video)
Beautiful video from Iron & Wine
CLICK TO VIEW Requires Quicktime

PJ Harvey:: The Letter- Live on David Letterman (Music Video)
CLICK TO VIEW Requires Real

New York Dolls:: Royal Festival Hall, London-18th June (Concert Review)

You approach these things with a certain amount of trepidation, don't ya? Legendary band reforms, you think "No, No No!" but curiosity and a feeling of "I can't NOT go" grabs you and....The New York Dolls only did a couple of gigs in London in the 70's, most famously on the roof of fashion emporium Biba. Biba was a temple of faux Art Deco on Kensington High Street which finally had to shut it's doors due to profit loss through their drag queen employees stealing the stock and selling it on. It's quite fitting that The Dolls return to this fair city should be at the Royal Festival Hall, a monstrous 50's Modernist building on the South Bank that people love and hate in equal measures. So they come on... and Izzy Stradlin is doing Johnny Thunders and the bloke from The Libertines is drumming for Billy/Jerry but it really don't matter. Arthur Kane wasn't in stack heels and cheap tatt but it was still ARTHUR KANE! Sylvian is Sylvian and he does it well and David Johannsen is fucking amazing. He still looks like a cooler, sexier, low-rent Jagger. They storm through everything you want to hear... "Personality Crisis", "Jet Boy", "Mystery Girls" "Babylon" and Johansen mocks shooting up during "Looking For A Kiss" and you just think.... "I need a fix and a kiss". I've seen my favourite 70's Girl Group, and it was wonderful! (Review By: NOG- London, UK)

The Clash's Classic 'London Calling' Album Upgraded to 2-CD Plus DVD Set

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the release of The Clash's landmark third album, "London Calling" (December 14, 1979 in the U.S.), Epic Records has announced plans to issue a deluxe Legacy Edition version. "London Calling: The 25th Anniversary Edition" will feature 2 full CDs of music plus a newly-created DVD component. The package will arrive in stores on September 21st. The Clash and "London Calling" are constantly cited as influential by the media, music industry, and the band's immense fan base, and recent accolades have included the band's induction into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and "London Calling" being named the # 1 Album of the '80s by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the Top 5 British Albums Of All Time by Q Magazine. "London Calling: The 25th Anniversary Edition," will include 2 CDs of music and a DVD housed in a lavish digipack. The original packaging will be expanded with full lyrics, a new historical essay, and rare photos by band photographer Pennie Smith. Disc 1 will feature the complete classic album. Disc 2 is entitled "The Vanilla Tapes" and features previously unheard demos for the album which were recently discovered in vocalist/guitarist Mick Jones' storage house. Among the demos that will feature on "The Vanilla Tapes" are a number of tracks that never made the final cut of the album. Finally, the DVD will represent a time capsule of The Clash at the time of "London Calling's" release, and one of its features will be a newly-created 45-minute documentary by the band's longtime biographer and collaborator, Don Letts. The documentary includes newly discovered footage of the band in the recording studio with producer Guy Stevens, as well as previously unseen live performance footage, interviews with band members Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Topper Headon, and for the first time ever band manager Kosmo Vinyl telling his side of the story. Incorporating elements of rockabilly, funk, blues and reggae into The Clash's amphetamine rush of sound, and spread out over four sides of LP vinyl, the 1979 release of "London Calling" was closer to a manifesto than an album release. The album's influence is immeasurable and reaches from the ska-punk of latter day bands such as The Offspring and No Doubt, to the political pronouncements of Rage Against The Machine and System Of A Down.

LIBERTINES REVEAL ALL ABOUT NEW ALBUM

THE LIBERTINES have confirmed the tracklisting for their hugely anticipated second album. Simply called ‘The Libertines’, the album will be released on August 30 via Rough Trade Records. The album will be preceded by a single ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’ on August 9. The single and album were produced by Mick Jones and engineered by Bill Price.
The full tracklisting for the album is:
* ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’
* ‘Last Post On The Bugle’
* ‘Don’t Be Shy’
* ‘The Man Who Would Be King’
* ‘Music When The Lights Go Out’
* ‘Narcissist’
* ‘The Ha Ha Wall’
* ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’
* ‘Campaign Of Hate’
* ‘What Katie Did’
* ‘Tomblands’
* ‘The Saga’
* ‘Road To Ruin’
* ‘What Became Of The Likely Lads’

Thursday’s Live and Rare Legal MP3 collection

Beastie Boys:: 1998-07-08 Libro Hall - Vienna, Austria
DISC 1 Download
DISC 2 Download

BADLY DRAWN BOY - live / demo / radiosessions
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

BRITISH SEA POWER - live / video
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

BUTTHOLE SURFERS - live recordings
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MORRISSEY – rarities
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Oz Rock 101

In the attempt to both put Australia on the map and make sure only the good stuff gets on the export ship, the Kingblind Sydney office presents Oz Rock 101, a bi-weekly heads up on the best Australian bands you may never hear. In this space we’ll be focusing on the contemporaries, the locals, the ones that deserve your attention. Some you may already know, some you may not, but one thing is for sure: all, you will love. Well hopefully…

Gerling
Way back in the days of the early nineties when wearing the shittiest clothes and playing with the shittiest gear while constantly staring into the shittiest shoes was cutting edge, three misfits from inner city Sydney were tooling about with lo-fi noise spurred on by their love of Sonic Youth, Pavement, and all those other bands who represented everything that music in Australia at the time was not. Their shows were raw, barely musical at the best of times, and bordering on the psychotic - the perfect soil in which to grow one of the best and most unpredictable bands Australia has ever produced; Gerling. It wasn’t until 1998 that this seed was finally harvested with the release of their debut album “Children of Telepathic Experiences”, a primitive mash of styles, patterns and textures; an album hobbled together with punk, electronica, pop, and lots of sticky tape. Their dabbling with the devil of dance on “Enter Space Capsule” pricked up the ears of Kylie “I used to be a soapie star in Oz but now I live in the UK earning loads of cash for having a great ass” Minogue, who later went on to collaborate on a track on their next album “When Young Terrorists Chase The Sun”, an album with the unfortunate timing of being released in September 2001, when the word “terrorist” was probably not the best word to drop into a quiet conversation let alone brandished on an album cover. The altered international album “Headzcleaner” and the current release “Bad Blood!!!” has seen Gerling perfect their art of imperfection, never bowing to formula or conforming to what’s in vogue. Gerling are the square peg in the round hole. The shoes that never quite fit. Yet there’s something about their grating abrasive dance punk sound that is overwhelmingly magnetic. They wouldn’t know a trend if it set right before their eyes, they wouldn’t know a bandwagon if it pulled up right in front of them. They’re just Gerling. Don’t expect them to be what you want, you probably wouldn’t like it if they were. And they still wear shitty shoes.
(By: Chris Deal- Sydney Australia)

Listen to this: In the city
CLICK TO LISTEN Requires Win Media

Watch this: Blood on the microphone
CLICK TO LISTEN Requires Win Media

Read this:
http://www.gerling.net.au

Buy this: Bad Blood!!!
http://www.fenwayrecordings.com/home.html

Gerling North America Tour
Gerling are currently in the middle of a 34-date North American tour. Here are the remaining dates, don’t miss ‘em.
(You might have seen them with the Suicide Girls in the early portion of the tour)
June
* With The Pleased and The Shore
22 Cleveland, OH Beachland Tavern
23 Albany, NY Valentines
24 Boston, MA Harper’s Ferry
25 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell’s
27 Philadelphia, PA The Kyber
28 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
29 Washington, DC IOTA Club & Café
July
*Co-headline w/ The Red Light Sting
5 Seattle, WA Graceland (TBC)
6 Portland, OR Meow Meow
7 San Francisco, CA TBC (TBC)
8 Hollywood, CA Knitting Factory
9 Long Beach, CA Koos
10 San Diego, CA TBC (TBC)
11 Phoenix, AZ Modified
13 El Paso, TX Schaffinos
14 Austin, TX Flamingo Cantina
15 Houston, TX Mary Jane’s
16 Denton, TX Rubber Gloves
17 Baton Rouge, LA TBC (TBC)
18 Nashville, TN The End
19 Columbia, MO Mojo’s
20 Lawrence, KS TBC (TBC)
21 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge
22 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court

'Never' Say Never: The Prodigy Returns

Electronica act the Prodigy has finally nailed down details for its first album since 1997's "The Fat of the Land." The 12-track "Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned" will arrive Sept. 14 via Maverick XL, preceded by the single "Girls" featuring the Ping Pong Bitches. The Liam Howlett-led group is planning to tour later in the year. "Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned" boasts an array of eclectic guest artists, including actress Juliette Lewis on "Hot Ride," Oasis' Liam Gallagher on "Shoot Down," rapper Twista on "Get Up Get Off," rapper Kool Keith on "Wake Up Call" and "You'll Be Under My Wheels" and Princess Superstar on "Memphis Bells." Sessions for the album were said to have begun as far back as 2001. In July 2002, Prodigy released the single "Baby's Got a Temper," It has been the only piece of new music the threesome has released in recent years but is not included on "Always Outnumbered."

Big Boi, Morrissey To Work 'Blue'

OutKast's Big Boi, Morrissey and Counting Crows will grace Chicago's House of Blues next month as part of American Express' Blue Jam Sessions. Net proceeds from the July 15-17 shows will benefit music education programs in Chicago-area public schools. Big Boi and Sleepy Brown will perform on July 15, followed by Counting Crows, the Graham Colton Band and Jem on July 16. Morrissey will headline on July 17. American Express cardholders can purchase tickets beginning Sunday (June 27) for $55. Local fans can also win admission via radio station contests, while Westwood One/Premiere Radio Network will sponsor national contests for trips to Chicago and tickets. Morrissey's schedule was jolted with this morning's cancellation of the Lollapalooza tour, which he was to headline beginning July 14 in Auburn, Wash. A spokesperson had no information about possible further North American appearances this summer.

Beastie Boys:: "TO THE 5 BOROUGHS" (Album Review)

It's been close to twenty years since "Licensed To Ill" established THE BEASTIE BOYS as obnoxious, wiseass, arrested adolescents. Since then, over the course of groundbreaking albums like "Paul's Boutique" and "Check Your Head," they've grown as rappers, musicians, and human beings, but they've never totally lost the rep that songs like "Fight For Your Right To Party" gave them. On their latest, "To The Five Boroughs," only the deaf or the ignorant will mistake this graying, socially conscious trio for the beer-swilling runamucks of days gone by. But that's not to say that they've lost a step musically. "To The Five Boroughs" rocks! No guitars, no long hair, no spacey instrumental jams, just 15 songs over barely more than 40 minutes, so relentless that by the end it'll leave you gasping. And what other band could mention the Kyoto protocol in one song and "my grandma's kugel" in the next? A strong contender for album of the year. (Review By: Sal) Check out Sal's store next time you are in NYC http://nycd-online.com

Wednesday is wonderful with these legal MP3’s

Charles Aznavour v. Afrika Bambaataa (Mashup)
CLICK TO LISTEN

Wilco – 6/6/04 Point State Park Pittsburgh, PA (Concert Download)
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

John Coltrane and Thelonius Monk - Ruby My Dear
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Squarepusher:: Square Rave
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Andy Warhol and Mick Jagger
Andy and Mick working on the art for a Stones stage backdrop
CLICK TO LISTEN

Low to Release Compilation

Softcore pioneers Low are releasing a compilation box titled A Lifetime of Temporary Relief: 10 Years of B-Sides & Rarities on their own Chairkickers Union imprint July 20. Consisting of three CDs, a DVD and a 32-page booklet, A Lifetime... is an exhaustive collection of (as the title implies) B-sides, rarities, outtakes and demos culled from the Duluth, Minn. trio's decade-long career. The set features more than 53 songs pulled from all over their catalog, ranging from early bedroom recordings such as 1994's I Could Live in Hope and 1995's Long Division all the way to vinyl-only tracks from their last release, 2002's Trust (Kranky). The DVD includes 11 Low videos, live footage and a series of documentaries, offering a historical and informative backdrop to the collection of somber, reflective and utterly minimal tunes penned by the group over the last 10 years. In other Low news, the band is currently in studio with Kranky producer Dave Fridman (Dot Allison, Delgados, Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev and Mogwai), recording the follow-up longplayer to Trust. The forthcoming album is not expected to be released until sometime next year.

Hot Water Music guitarist injures hand

Bad news about Hot Water Music guitarist Chuck Ragan was just announced by bassist Jason Black: Alright, we've got some pretty seriously bad news. This last week, while out on the Honda Civic Tour with Dashboard Confessional, Thrice, and The Get Up Kids, Chuck seriously injured his left hand and has to get reconstructive surgery tomorrow. If all goes well, Chuck should be done with physical therapy and ready to go by the time we hit the road again this fall. Right now he can't play guitar for 8 weeks and won't have full motion or feeling for 12 weeks to 3 years. So, he asked me to say thanks to everyone who was at the shows last week and if you could all maybe summon up some good thoughts for a homey, he'd appreciate it. We'll keep you posted on his progress over the next few months and, Darwin willing, we'll see you this fall sometime.

Lollapalooza Tour Abruptly Cancelled

The 2004 edition of the Lollapalooza tour has been abruptly cancelled due to poor ticket sales, according to the event's official Web site. "This morning (June 22), tour organizers and concert promoters, faced with several million dollars of losses, made the very tough decision to pull the tour," the site says. Morrissey, the Pixies, Wilco, String Cheese Incident, Modest Mouse and Sonic Youth were among the acts set to appear at various dates. The tour was to run from July 14 in Auburn, Wash., through Aug. 25 in Dallas. "My heart aches along with the bands, and all of our employees, whose hard work developed one of the most exciting and important tours that this nation was to see," says Lollapalooza co-founder Perry Farrell. "My heart is broken." Adds booking agent/tour co-founder Marc Geiger, "I am in utter disbelief that a concert of this stature, with the most exciting line-up I've seen in years did not galvanize ticket sales. I'm surprised that given the great bands and the reduced ticket prices that we didn't have enough sales to sustain the tour. Concert promoters across the country are facing similar problems. Many summer tours are experiencing weak ticket sales." Refunds will be available at points of purchase.

Tuesday’s Punk Rock Roundup of Legal MP3 Downloads

Avail - Front Porch Stories
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Dickies - All This And Puppet Stew
CLICK TO LISTEN

Dillinger Four - 'Situationist Comedy'
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Lagwagon - Blaze
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Descendents - 'Merican
CLICK TO LISTEN

Against Me! - The Eternal Cowboy
CLICK TO LISTEN

INDEPENDENT MEN AND WOMEN!

ROUGH TRADE are to release a new 'indiepop' compilation in August featuring bands including PRIMAL SCREAM, THE WEDDING PRESENT and THE VASELINES. 'Rough Trade Shops: Indiepop 1' will be released by Mute on August 23, and is the eighth in a series of compilations released by Rough Trade. The album features many bands currently namechecked by artists such as Franz Ferdinand, including Josef K and Beat Happening. The album will be preceded by a 7" single, which will feature four tracks from Juniper Moon, Aberfeldy, Primal Scream, and Josef K.
Tracklisting for the compilation runs:
CD One

* 1. Primal Scream - 'All Fall Down'
* 2. Modesty Blaise - 'Carol Mountain'
* 3. Popguns - 'Waiting For The Winter'
* 4. The Clouds - 'Get Out Of My Dream'
* 5. Sea Urchins - 'Pristine Christine'
* 6. Jesus And Mary Chain - 'You Trip Me Up'
* 7. Mary Lou Lord - 'Some Jingle Jangle Morning
* 8. The Monochrome Set - 'The Monochrome Set'
* 9. Felt - 'Penelope Tree'
* 10. Juniper Moon - 'El Resto De Mi Vida'
* 11. Shop Assistants - 'Safety Net'
* 12. V Twin - 'Gifted'
* 13. Jesse Garon & The Desperadoes - 'Splashing Along'
* 14. Television Personalities - 'Look Back In Anger'
* 15. Dressy Bessy - 'You Stand Here'
* 16. The Wedding Present - 'Once More'
* 17. Helen Love - 'Beat Him Up'
* 18. Pop Will Eat Itself - 'Black Country Chainstore Massacreee'
* 19. I, Ludicrous - 'Preposterous Tales'
* 20. Heavenly - 'Sort Of Mine'
* 21. Beat Happening - 'Indian Summer'
* 22. The Groove Farm - 'The Best Part Of Being With You'
* 23. Field Mice - 'Landmark'
CD Two
* 1. My Bloody Valentine - 'Paint A Rainbow'
* 2. Love Is All - 'Spinning and Scratching'
* 3. Josef K - 'Sorry For Laughing'
* 4. Talulah Gosh - 'Talulah Gosh'
* 5. Aberfeldy - 'Vegetarian Restaurant'
* 6. The Pooh Sticks - 'I Know Someone Who Knows Someone Who Knows Alan McGee Quite Well'
* 7. This Poison! - 'Poised Over The Pause Button'
* 8. The Magnetic Fields - '100,000 Fireflies'
* 9. The Vaselines - 'Molly's Lips'
* 10. AR Kane - 'When You're Sad'
* 11. Darling Buds - 'Uptight'
* 12. Pastels - 'Truck Train Tractor'
* 13. Camera Obscura - 'Eighties Fan'
* 14. McCarthy - 'Should The Bible Be Banned'
* 15. Lush - 'Hypocrite'
* 16. June Brides - 'Every Conversation'
* 17. The Velvet Crush - 'Walking Out On Love'
* 18. The Flatmates - 'I Could Be In Heaven'
* 19. Marine Girls - 'Honey'
* 20. Bis - 'Icky Pooh Air Raid'
* 21. Razorcuts - 'Sorry To Embarrass You'
* 22. Eggs - 'Government Administrator'
* 23. Spearmint - 'Sweeping The Nation'

PETE ARRESTED IN LONDON

THE LIBERTINES’ PETE DOHERTY has been arrested after coming back to the UK from Thailand. As previously reported, the guitarist flew out for a course of rehab at the Thamkrabok Monastery. However, Pete walked out after just a few days, and returned to the UK earlier in the week. It has now emerged that police pulled Pete for a suspected driving offence on Thursday (June 17), just hours after he arrived back in London. Pete was searched, and it’s alleged police found a flick knife in his possession. As a result the guitarist was arrested and is due in court later this month where he’ll face the charge of possessing an offensive weapon. Doherty’s trip to Thailand to clean up was the reason The Libertines pulled out of festival appearances in June.

Mondays’s Legal MP3 Downloads

The Black Keys:: Heavy Soul
CLICK TO VIEW

DETONATIONS:: FEEL IT
CLICK TO VIEW

Boyskout:: Jesse James
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Bonnie Prince Billy:: Ohio River Boat Song
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Big Black:: He’s a Whore
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Monday’s Music Video Roundup

The Rapture:: Sister Sarviour
CLICK TO VIEW Requires SWF

The Walkman:: The Rat
CLICK TO VIEW Requires SWF

The Shins:: Kiss the Lipless
CLICK TO VIEW Requires Quicktime

The Datsuns:: Outta Sight/Outta Mind (Album Review)

For those not in the know or are confused easily, The Datsuns are a lairy and hairy stoner rock outfit from New Zealand, and much like the automobile of the same name, the band The Datsuns also point blank refuse to move on from the seventies, sticking to what they know and what some might say they are best at. Let’s not dispute the facts, The Datsuns are a massive success story for NZ, and Matt, Phil, Dolf and Christian would probably still have the keys to both islands if local boy Peter Jackson hadn’t gone and made a rather successful movie about dwarfs. Their self-titled debut album made no delusions to the fact that The Datsuns are not here to enrich your mind or give you something to talk about at dinner parties – the Datsuns are here to make sure you don’t forget that rock and roll is and always will be the devil’s music, and if you’re going to align with Lucifer there’s no point fucking around with ballads and introspection or anything remotely soft in any way shape or form. Outta Sight/Outta Mind is The Datsuns picking up exactly where they left off, as if someone literally cut the power a few years ago and only plugged it back in yesterday. It’s a dirty, smoky, sleazy sound, echoing trademarks of mentors ZZ Top, The Ramones, Kiss, et al, and produced by none other than Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones. Is it a competent piece of work? Undoubtedly. Does it rock and/or roll? Assuredly. Is it actually any good? If you need to ask, you’re obviously thinking too much about it already. Just turn ‘er up and tell the old witch next-door that it ain’t midnight yet and you know your god damned rights. (By:Chris Deal- Sydney, Australia)

THE CURE:: LIVE, RARE AND DEMOS (MP3 Downloads)

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

FRANZ-TASTIC!

FRANZ FERDINAND have hit the jackpot after shipping their millionth album worldwide. The band, who have been out on the road in the US, found out the news last week. Industry insiders predict this is just the start of their success with a string of high-profile festival appearances planned this summer bound to make them even bigger. A source close to the band said: "Reaching a million is such a milestone, it just has such a great ring to it. It's so well deserved - the bands haven’t stopped since the start of the year. "There's still so much to do, the band are just about to start their second US tour of the year, only this time they'll be playing much bigger venues and they've yet to go to Japan, so who knows how many they'll have sold in six months.

Johnny Ramone Hospitalized With Infection

Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone was hospitalized this week with an infection related to prostate cancer. "He is receiving the medication he needs and will be leaving the hospital next week to continue his recovery," spokesperson Paul Bloch said. Ramone, 55, whose real name is John Cummings, was treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Ramone and his wife, Linda, released the statement in response to recent, conflicting reports about his health, Bloch said. "If someone says anything contrary, I don't know anything about that," he said. "I got a call from Linda and Johnny last night and they asked me to put out the statement." The Ramones split in 1996 and were inducted in 2002 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Lead singer Joey Ramone (real name: Jeffrey Hyman) died in 2001 of lymphatic cancer. Bassist Dee Dee Ramone (real name: Douglas Colvin) died from a drug overdose in 2002.

September Brings Interpol's 'Antics'

New York rock act Interpol will release its highly anticipated sophomore album, "Antics," Sept. 28 via Matador. The 10-track set is highlighted by the dancefloor-worthy "Slow Hands," the slow, fragmented "Public Pervert," the foreboding "Length of Love" and "NARC," which veers from jagged guitars in its verses to lush chord changes in its chorus. The latter two cuts were previously debuted live on tours in support of 2002's "Turn on the Bright Lights The LP has sold 289,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. "Sonically, it's a really big growth for the band," guitarist Daniel Kessler tells said "We really challenged ourselves. Every single song has a giant identity and a personality. By the time you've gotten to track four, you may not remember what track one sounded like. Every track is a voyage. You really have to listen to the record a few times to really get a hold of the whole entity." While basic tracks were recorded relatively quickly with "Turn on the Bright Lights" engineer Peter Katis behind the boards, Kessler says the band took its time mixing some of the more intricate songs. "'Not Even Jail' is lush and has a lot of sounds and detail," he says. "Making sure we had the right balance on that took more work than something like 'Evil,' in which everything has its purpose. Don't get me wrong; nothing was a piece of cake. Every song took its time, but none more than the other." Kessler says its difficult for him to describe the sound of "Antics," which features a handful of cuts that come off as more upbeat than material from the debut album. "People may say some songs aren't as dark," he observes. "But for us, it just all makes sense. It wasn't a strategic departure. We never really said we'd be an overly dark band, although people may listen to us and interpret us that way. We operate in such a different individual way from each other that when we're all on the same page, we know we're onto something." As previously reported, Interpol will play the main stage of the Cure's Curiousa Festival alongside the Rapture and Mogwai. The tour kicks off July 24 at the Sound Advice Amphitheater in West Palm Beach, Fla. "We'll be playing new songs from the record, but as far as which ones, I don't know yet," Kessler says. The guitarist says Interpol will likely begin a North American headlining tour in October, but such details are months away from crossing Kessler's radar. "I'm just trying to put my affairs in order for the next year," he says with a laugh. "It's like putting your estate to rest!" In conjunction with the release of "Antics," Matador is sponsoring a contest to create 10 short films inspired by Interpol's music. Interested parties are asked to submit treatments to the label by July 5, with 10 finalists to be bestowed with $1,000 and a 60-second fragment of music from the album in which to create their films. Visit the label's Web site (http://www.matadorrecords.com/) for full details.
Here is the track list for "Antics":
"Next Exit"
"Evil"
"NARC"
"Take You on a Cruise"
"Slow Hands"
"Not Even Jail"
"Public Pervert"
"C'mere"
"Length of Love"
"A Time To Be So Small"

Beastie Boys rocket to the top

With "Ch-Check It Out" leaving its mark on MTV's rotation, The Beastie Boys' To The Five Boroughs is flying off the shelves. According to early reports, the Long Island trio is likely to earn next week's top slot as the LP is on pace to sell up to 400,000 units in its first week.

Radio 4 Wants The 'Nation' To Dance

Brooklyn dance-punk outfit Radio 4 has set a Sept. 7 release date for its full-length Astralwerks debut, "Stealing of a Nation." The pressure of moving from an independent label to a major would be stress on any band in this day and age -- but it hasn't seemed to phase the quintet over the last year. "There are bands on Astralwerks far weirder than we are," vocalist/bassist Anthony Roman said. Not to say that Radio 4 is weird, but left of center, for sure. After all, punk kids from Long Island who want to you to move your body aren't exactly the norm these days. What was supposed to be a month-long recording process stretched to three, with all five members working seven days a week with British producer Max Heyes (Doves, Primal Scream). "Nation" wound up being recorded and mixed in seven different studios in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Long Island, with 20-hour days more the norm than the exception. Luckily, the meticulous attention to detail has paid off. "Stealing of a Nation" finds the group refined in subtle ways, consciously departing from its heavily Gang Of Four-influenced 2002 album "Gotham!" Says keyboardist Gerard Garone, "If you listen to the two records in a row, I think it a giant leap for us. Sonically and structurally, they are pretty different." "We wanted to make it dancier and more song-oriented," Roman observes. "I think the vocals are a lot better and more melodic and there's a bit less of that twitchy hyperactive thing going on." As Radio 4's sound matures, the politics of punk still remain a staple in its lyrical imagery. "We feel that at this stage in history and the state of the world as it stands today people have to speak out. There is no time for apathy or silence," Roman suggests. "[Politics] starts to build up on people, and if you are creative, there is no other outlet for expression" echoes Garone. With summer in full swing, the band is taking some much-needed down time from recording and touring. Radio 4 will play three late July dates with Ted Leo/Pharmacists in Farmingdale, N.Y., Washington, D.C., and Wilkes Barre, Pa., and then a handful of European festival dates in August. A full tour is on tap for the fall. "Basically, we have to reinvent ourselves, since it has been two years since our last record," says Garone.

The Kinks' Village Green Gets 3xCD Expansion

Sanctuary Records has announced plans to re-release The Kinks' 1968 landmark LP, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, on June 28th, in an expanded edition. The record, most recently reissued by Castle in 1998, has now been digitally remastered and features so much bonus material it can only fit onto three CDs. Included in the bonus material are B-sides, mono and stereo mixes, BBC sessions, and tracks that were originally slated to appear on the original, but later axed. The songs that were cut have only appeared since on the long out-of-print 1973 collection, The Great Lost Kinks Album. Though Sanctuary's plans for the reissue, at this point, only involve a UK release, U.S. fans may want to consider the hefty import price. Sanctuary's reissue will also include lengthy new liner notes composed by Andy Miller, who wrote the Continuum Series book about the album, which, according to Pitchfork's Chris Ott is, "fucking amazingly detailed." Included in Miller's notes are brand new interview quotes from Ray and Dave Davies. Village Green is a concept album that waxes nostalgic about merry olde England. The songs present sketches of characters and scenarios that may or may not be realistic, but present a charming representation of English traditions. Written by frontman Ray Davies when he was but 24 years old, Village Green is often compared to such bastions of classics 60s psychedelia as Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Pet Sounds, but only began to achieve its deserved level of critical acclaim years after its original release. Sanctuary is no doubt hoping to change that with this monolith of a reissue. Here's the massive tracklist:
Disc 1
01 Village Green Preservation Society
02 Do You Remember Walker?
03 Picture Book
04 Johnny Thunder
05 Last of the Steam-Powered Trains
06 Big Sky
07 Sitting by the Riverside
08 Animal Farm
09 Village Green
10 Starstruck
11 Phenomenal Cat
12 All of My Friends Were There
13 Wicked Annabella
14 Monica
15 People Take Pictures of Each Other
16 Mr. Songbird (12 Track Edition)
17 Days (12 Track Edition Single)
18 Do You Remember Walter (Original Stereo Mix from 12 Track Edition)
19 People Take Pictures of Each Other (Original Stereo Mix from 12 Track Edition)

Disc 2
01 Village Green Preservation Society (15 Track Mono Mix)
02 Do You Remember Walter? (15 Track Mono Mix)
03 Picture Book (15 Track Mono Mix)
04 Johnny Thunder (15 Track Mono Mix)
05 Last of the Steam-Powered Trains (15 Track Mono Mix)
06 Big Sky (15 Track Mono Mix)
07 Sitting by the Riverside (15 Track Mono Mix)
08 Animal Farm (15 Track Mono Mix)
09 Village Green (15 Track Mono Mix)
10 Starstruck (15 Track Mono Mix)
11 Phenomenal Cat (15 Track Mono Mix)
12 All of My Friends Were There (15 Track Mono Mix)
13 Wicked Annabella (15 Track Mono Mix)
14 Monica (15 Track Mono Mix)
15 People Take Pictures of Each Other (15 Track Mono Mix)
16 Days (Mono Single Mix)
17 Mr. Songbird (Mono Single Mix)
18 Polly (Mono Single Mix)
19 Days (Mono Single Mix)
20 Wonderboy (Mono Single Mix)
21 Berkeley Mews (Mono Single Mix)
22 Village Green (Mono No Strings Version)

Disc 3
01 Village Green (Orchestra Overdub)
02 Misty Water (Stereo)
03 Berkeley Mews (Stereo)
04 Easy Come There You Went (Stereo)
05 Polly (Stereo)
06 Animal Farm (Alternate Stereo Mix)
07 Phenomenal Cat (Instrumental, Mono)
08 Johnny Thunder (Stereo Remix)
09 Did You See His Name (Mono)
10 Mick Avory's Underpants (Mono)
11 Lavender Hill (Mono)
12 Rosemary Rose (Mono)
13 Wonderboy (Stereo)
14 Spotty Grotty Anna (Stereo)
15 Where Did My Spring Go (Mono)
16 Groovy Movies (Mono)
17 Creeping Jean (Long Stereo Mix)
18 King Kong
19 Misty Water (Mono)
20 Do You Remember Walter (BBC Session Remix)
21 Animal Farm (BBC Session Remix)
22 Days (BBC Session Remix)

Friday’s Eclectic MP3 Downloads

Jason Lowenstein:: Casserole
CLICK TO LISTEN

Boyd Rice:: Tony and Xerxes at the Shortstop
CLICK TO LISTEN

Spell:: Seasons in the sun
CLICK TO LISTEN

Sammy Kaye:: Little Toot (Transfer from 78rpm)
CLICK TO LISTEN

Adam & Cyprien Landreneau:: La Robe a Rosalie (Cajun Music)
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The Forty-Fives:: High Life High Volume (Album Review)

High Life High Volume, the third full length album by Atlanta's Forty-Fives, takes the trials & tribulations of their first two records and their years of touring and turns them into a heat seaking missile that delivers 11 right-on-target rock songs. The target? Your ears, your feet, your ass. The Forty-Fives draw from their own formidable record collections of '60's rock and soul and transforms that influence into a brand of au courant rock that ought to catapult them out of the garage and on to the raceway. All the ingredients come together here - the songwriting, the performances, the production - making this effort rise more than head and shoulders above the Forty-Fives previous promising albums. If this record doesn't bust open those close-minded so-called rock radio playlists, then something is terribly wrong in Denmark. I know a hawk from a handsaw, so let me tell you how you can separate the wheat from the chaff on June 29 when you visit your favorite record store. Simply: Buy HIGH LIFE HIGH VOLUME. The record opens and closes with soul-injected rock. Think of the MC5 with the Uptown Horns. And a little John Lennon twist to the vocals. Hard-hitting drummer Adam Renshaw has injected some swing while his rhythm counterpart, bass-man Mark McMurtry plays off that beat and provides some hip-shakin groove. If "Who Do You Think You Are" and "Stop at Nothing" don't get you wagging your fingers at your dance partner while you sashay across that beer stained barroom floor, then you cannot be moved. There are some worthy nods to under-rated 70s Brit-rock that deserve your attention as well - "Too Many Miles" is a soulful, horn drenched ballad that could easily fit into a set by the Faces. "Bicycle Thief" is the song Ray Davies forgot to put on 'Muswell Hillbillies." As a vocalist, guitar slinger Bryan Malone can drip the honey like any British blue eyed soul-influenced rock singer and he can wink like the Kinks. He can shred like any of the Yardbirds but opts for a bluesy Rory Gallagher touch instead. Trey Tidwell plays a lot more piano on this record than B3, but its all good. They gave the Hammond its own showcase. The instrumental, "Backstage at Juanita's" is another nod to the Faces, whose Hammond organ/Gibson guitar interplay was as iconic as anything Booker T. & the MG's could lay down. Now the Forty-Fives wear that crown. Such fast, forward development comes through miles of touring, which the Forty-Fives do. All that playing live gives the band a chance to develop a song, and a song a chance to develop a personality. Extra Large props to all concerned for making this record at Ghetto Recorders with Jim Diamond. There's magic in that building - just the right amount of dirty water and the right amount of brightness. Its the only place to record and he's the only producer you need when you want to make the rock right. Do not be surprised if some of the dynamic hard driving pop of "Junkfood Heaven" or "Superpill" might happen to invade radio waves. I think this record is a contender for the next breakthrough of a band from that "garage rock" ghetto. Long live the Forty-Fives!
(editor's note: TK listened to the Forty-Fives last album for four hours straight while driving from Austin to Dallas to see them open for the Dirtbombs. She got lost and never saw the show. She did however see the Dirtbombs/Forty-Fives double bill at the venerable Echo Lounge in Atlanta and lived to tell.) (Review by: Ms. Theresa K.)

Deerhoof:: Stuffed (music video)

A funny little video from a funny little band
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PJ Harvey (LIVE CONCERT MP3’s)

PJ Harvey live at Peel Acres May 20th 2004
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