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Watch Neil Young’s birthday tribute to Willie Nelson

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Watch Neil Young’s birthday tribute to Willie Nelson

Neil Young, Chrissie Hynde and U2 are among the artists who have celebrated Willie Nelson's 80th birthday, which took place yesterday (April 30). Tributes paid by scores of musicians and friends - including Young, Hynde, Bonnie Raitt, John Mellencamp, Norah Jones and Band Of Horses - have been posted on Nelson's website. Neil Young sings "Happy birthday" to Nelson from the balcony of a roadside motel, adding: "80 years, unbelievable. Keep on rocking, man." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHA5wkpY3uQ Hynde has written a piece, in which she says, “Oh Willie - where would we be without you? Always and inspiration...” U2, meanwhile, released a video of them duetting with Nelson. The song, "Slow Dancing", was released on 2003's The Essential Willie Nelson album but the video - directed by Lian Lunsen - has not previously been released. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuqdaBA0gmE The rest of the tributes to Nelson can be found here.

Neil Young, Chrissie Hynde and U2 are among the artists who have celebrated Willie Nelson‘s 80th birthday, which took place yesterday (April 30).

Tributes paid by scores of musicians and friends – including Young, Hynde, Bonnie Raitt, John Mellencamp, Norah Jones and Band Of Horses – have been posted on Nelson’s website.

Neil Young sings “Happy birthday” to Nelson from the balcony of a roadside motel, adding: “80 years, unbelievable. Keep on rocking, man.”

Hynde has written a piece, in which she says, “Oh Willie – where would we be without you? Always and inspiration…”

U2, meanwhile, released a video of them duetting with Nelson. The song, “Slow Dancing”, was released on 2003’s The Essential Willie Nelson album but the video – directed by Lian Lunsen – has not previously been released.

The rest of the tributes to Nelson can be found here.

The Doors launch new website

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The Doors launch new website
The Doors have launched a new, expanded website. www.thedoors.com contains video clips and new photo galleries, as well as an archive listing all the band’s shows with setlists, gig notes, and in some cases, audio available for download. Users will find detailed info on songs like "Light My Fire"...

The Doors have launched a new, expanded website.

www.thedoors.com contains video clips and new photo galleries, as well as an archive listing all the band’s shows with setlists, gig notes, and in some cases, audio available for download. Users will find detailed info on songs like “Light My Fire”, which showcases the original single artwork as well as videos and lyrics.

Additional website features include an integrated community for fans to meet, discuss and share all Doors memories.

Commenting on the new site, Ray Manzarek said, “What you want to know, it’s here. What you want to see, it’s here. Want to communicate, it’s here. Want to join conversations…here. Want to be an intellectual, join us here on the new site. Want to buy stuff, hell, we got it! This is so well put together, I love it. Hope you do, too.”

Added John Densmore, “Always on the tech cutting edge, I’m proud of the band I’ve been in for many years and proud that our web presence now matches the longevity of the four lads from Venice, California. Each generation gets to view us through the latest cyber-lens that represents their time. Enjoy!”

Fleetwood Mac release their first new material in 10 years

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Fleetwood Mac release their first new material in 10 years
Fleetwood Mac have released their first new material in 10 years. The Extended Play EP is available now on iTunes. It contains four tracks - "Sad Angel," "It Takes Time" and "Miss Fantasy," penned by Lindsey Buckingham, along with "Without You," originally written by Stevie Nicks for Buckingham Ni...

Fleetwood Mac have released their first new material in 10 years.

The Extended Play EP is available now on iTunes.

It contains four tracks – “Sad Angel,” “It Takes Time” and “Miss Fantasy,” penned by Lindsey Buckingham, along with “Without You,” originally written by Stevie Nicks for Buckingham Nicks project.

Buckingham had previously announced that the band would release new material a few weeks ago.

Earlier this year, Mick Fleetwood told Uncut that the band had recorded “eight or nine” new songs.

The Extended Play EP is the band’s first new material since their 2003 studio album Say You Will.

‘Blame it on Jack White…’ Introducing BP Fallon & The Bandits

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‘Blame it on Jack White…’ Introducing BP Fallon & The Bandits

The last time I had occasion to write about my old friend BP Fallon in Uncut was in March, 2010, when he’d just released his debut single, produced by Jack White and released by Jack’s Third Man Records as the first in the label’s new Spoken Word-Instructional record Series. “Fame #9” was backed with “BP Fallon Interview By Jack White” and “I Believe In Elvis Presley”, on which White played some viperish slide guitar, with The Raconteurs’ Patrick Keeler on drums. There was also a video, featuring some of BP’s many friends, including Kevin Shields, Bobby Gillespie and Gemma Hayes. Readers whose memories are still more or less intact may recall me writing about Beep as someone who had loomed large in my life since my very early days on Melody Maker, which I had just joined as a ‘junior reporter’. I first met him in 1974, at a Roy Harper show I was reviewing at Kensington Polytechnic. I recognised him from a photo that had appeared in MM of him interviewing John Lennon and Yoko Ono at the Amsterdam Hilton, where they were holding what I think was their first Bed-In. Lennon was smitten enough with him for Beep to later turn up on Top Of the Pops as a member of The Plastic Ono Band, ‘playing’ bass on “Instant Karma”. Beep was, famously, a self-styled ‘media consultant’, often also described as controversial, since he had an inclination towards the kind of colourfully outlandish behaviour that had made him as legendary as some of the people he has worked with over many years, including Marc Bolan at the height of his popularity, Led Zeppelin, Harper, Ian Dury, The Waterboys and U2. He was what I suppose you might call a ‘scenester’ and that night backstage with Harper I introduced myself and was very quickly regaled with many hilarious tales that he told in a hipster Esperanto of his own sublime invention that was nothing like anything I’d ever heard. I was beguiled to the point of impressionable infatuation and many colourful adventures ensued as we became friends, a night out with Beep not something you would easily forget. Wherever we fetched up, there would be people he knew, and what they had in common was that they all clearly loved Beep, who was popular with everyone, including people his various antics had at times in their relationships with him caused them no end of exasperation. His company is a blessed thing to recall. Anyway, I return to BP now, because when I recently got back from a quick trip to Los Angeles on urgent Uncut business, there was a package waiting for me at home, sent from Texas, that when I opened it to my amazement contained a CD called Still Legal, credited to BP Fallon & the Bandits. And there Beep was on the cover, unmistakably groovy in a picture where he was flanked by his band, The Bandits: former Blondie bassist Nigel Harrison, Aaron Lee Tasjan who has played guitar with The New York Dolls and Blondie drummer Clem Burke. The CD turned out to be a gas and was followed not long after by an email from Beep, who had just played the South By Southwest festival in Austin, with The Bandits, augmented for the occasion by Stooges drummer Scott Ashton and Primal Scream guitarist Barrie Cadogan, pictured below with The Bandits (l-r in shot, we have Nigel Harrison, Aaron Lee Tasjan, BP, Barrie Cadogan, Scott Asheton and Clem Burke). Here’s what Beep wrote, inimitably, plus a clip of him and The Bandits roaring through a version of “Gloria” from one of their SXSW shows: bpbandits300413_W “Never thought I'd be sitting here in Texas emailing you re my rock'n'roll band. Never thought I'd be sitting anywhere telling anyone about my rock'n'roll band. Yesterday I played the test pressings of our LP 'Still Legal' from United Record Pressing in Nashville. Fuck, Allan. To hold this 12" record with my music on it, to look at the grooves, to look at my little message in the matrix... to play the thing, round and round and now - nervously, excitedly - the very first hit of the needle going into the vinyl... and then - bam! - Clem's drums kicking off this crazy mad rock'n'roll adventure. “All this is ludicrous of course - the 109 year old rock singer and his lyrics and his bunch of... well, Bandits. We write the tunes together. Unhumbly, I believe we're fucking great, what rock'n'roll is meant to be, an incredible band on fire with the guitar player Aaron Lee Tasjan a young legend-in-waiting. Catchy songs written in New York about lust and mutual infidelity, drugs and Jesus and models and - as one does - Bob Dylan and Columbus... and sometimes love and the passing of time, age and agelessness... Us Bandits, we have a laugh and we take it very seriously. I'm having the time of my life. Never thought that this would happen. Thank/blame Jack White for lighting the... whatever he lit/set free/unwittingly unleashed. I mean it (man). “At SXSW the promo said "BP Fallon is the most interesting new singer in rock'n'roll". It might even be almost true. If I could wave a wand, we'd do dates in Britain and Ireland with The Strypes and Jake Bugg - it'd be three new bands all loosely drawing on the same well, which is rock'n'roll unfettered and unhomegenised. Rock'n'roll should have a hard-on, not some limp-dicked weediness. Sensitive, yes, but not dribbling like a wimp. Get a grip! And it should be fun and uplifting and out there - and it's time for less segregation between the band and the audience. We're all in this together. Good morning. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gu0wXKwOus “Whatever... it's a crazy story. I've discovered that being in a band is one of the best ways to hear music. If, say, I want to hear more drums, I simply have a choogle nearer to Clem... or to Scott Asheton. It's a hard life. Seriously, I'm more than blessed to have guys of this calibre allowing me to have a band with them. Someone said ‘Put a sticker on your album – “Contains 3 Members Of The Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame!”’ Well... no. Sometimes I do go ‘Fuck! That's Scott who played on “I Wanna Be Your Dog”’ or it flashes on me that my friends playing behind me are the chaps who powered all the Blondie hits like 'Heart Of Glass' or 'Atomic' or 'One Way Or Another' which Nigel wrote with Debbie Harry and has just been a huge hit again, for One Direction which is a hoot. Am I the new Debbie Harry? I feel more like Gene Vincent on acid. “I wore his leather jacket once, the one with the medallion on his LP covers, at York Rialto when I was a schoolboy and he was doing a sound check. I asked him ‘May I put on your leather jacket, please?’ and he took it off over his head and the greasy grapes of quiff falling into his eyes unfurled even more and I put it on and it was quiet tacky close up and The Outlaws who were backing Gene coaxed him into singing the Bill Monroe hepped-up country viber 'Rocky Road Blues' and Gene clung onto the the mic stand and his eyes gazed up forlornly to God knows where and then a gleam came into them and this miraculous voice of wounded freedom soared out, ‘Weeeell, the road is rocky but it won't be rocky long...’ Ah yes. Magnificent. And then suddenly these little old ladies, these little blue haired old dears, are swarming into the auditorium like enthusiastic ants, all cardigans and handbags and excited chatter. It's - God help us - afternoon bingo time. Gene and the band grind to a halt and Gene haltingly asks me for his leather jacket back, saying ‘I'd better put it back on before the faces see me.’ The faces. Wow. Cool American slang. But bingo? What the fuck. What about 'Be Bop A Lula', mister?” There was more, as there always has been with Beep, including a recent picture of him with Willie Nelson (see below). “Did we have a joint or two?” Beep asked. “A gentleman doesn’t tell.” bpwillie300413_W BP Fallon & the Bandits’ Still Legal is out now on Vibrosonic Records All pics: Christopher Durst

The last time I had occasion to write about my old friend BP Fallon in Uncut was in March, 2010, when he’d just released his debut single, produced by Jack White and released by Jack’s Third Man Records as the first in the label’s new Spoken Word-Instructional record Series. “Fame #9” was backed with “BP Fallon Interview By Jack White” and “I Believe In Elvis Presley”, on which White played some viperish slide guitar, with The Raconteurs’ Patrick Keeler on drums. There was also a video, featuring some of BP’s many friends, including Kevin Shields, Bobby Gillespie and Gemma Hayes.

Readers whose memories are still more or less intact may recall me writing about Beep as someone who had loomed large in my life since my very early days on Melody Maker, which I had just joined as a ‘junior reporter’. I first met him in 1974, at a Roy Harper show I was reviewing at Kensington Polytechnic. I recognised him from a photo that had appeared in MM of him interviewing John Lennon and Yoko Ono at the Amsterdam Hilton, where they were holding what I think was their first Bed-In. Lennon was smitten enough with him for Beep to later turn up on Top Of the Pops as a member of The Plastic Ono Band, ‘playing’ bass on “Instant Karma”.

Beep was, famously, a self-styled ‘media consultant’, often also described as controversial, since he had an inclination towards the kind of colourfully outlandish behaviour that had made him as legendary as some of the people he has worked with over many years, including Marc Bolan at the height of his popularity, Led Zeppelin, Harper, Ian Dury, The Waterboys and U2. He was what I suppose you might call a ‘scenester’ and that night backstage with Harper I introduced myself and was very quickly regaled with many hilarious tales that he told in a hipster Esperanto of his own sublime invention that was nothing like anything I’d ever heard.

I was beguiled to the point of impressionable infatuation and many colourful adventures ensued as we became friends, a night out with Beep not something you would easily forget. Wherever we fetched up, there would be people he knew, and what they had in common was that they all clearly loved Beep, who was popular with everyone, including people his various antics had at times in their relationships with him caused them no end of exasperation. His company is a blessed thing to recall.

Anyway, I return to BP now, because when I recently got back from a quick trip to Los Angeles on urgent Uncut business, there was a package waiting for me at home, sent from Texas, that when I opened it to my amazement contained a CD called Still Legal, credited to BP Fallon & the Bandits. And there Beep was on the cover, unmistakably groovy in a picture where he was flanked by his band, The Bandits: former Blondie bassist Nigel Harrison, Aaron Lee Tasjan who has played guitar with The New York Dolls and Blondie drummer Clem Burke.

The CD turned out to be a gas and was followed not long after by an email from Beep, who had just played the South By Southwest festival in Austin, with The Bandits, augmented for the occasion by Stooges drummer Scott Ashton and Primal Scream guitarist Barrie Cadogan, pictured below with The Bandits (l-r in shot, we have Nigel Harrison, Aaron Lee Tasjan, BP, Barrie Cadogan, Scott Asheton and Clem Burke).

Here’s what Beep wrote, inimitably, plus a clip of him and The Bandits roaring through a version of “Gloria” from one of their SXSW shows:

bpbandits300413_W

“Never thought I’d be sitting here in Texas emailing you re my rock’n’roll band. Never thought I’d be sitting anywhere telling anyone about my rock’n’roll band. Yesterday I played the test pressings of our LP ‘Still Legal’ from United Record Pressing in Nashville. Fuck, Allan. To hold this 12″ record with my music on it, to look at the grooves, to look at my little message in the matrix… to play the thing, round and round and now – nervously, excitedly – the very first hit of the needle going into the vinyl… and then – bam! – Clem’s drums kicking off this crazy mad rock’n’roll adventure.

“All this is ludicrous of course – the 109 year old rock singer and his lyrics and his bunch of… well, Bandits. We write the tunes together. Unhumbly, I believe we’re fucking great, what rock’n’roll is meant to be, an incredible band on fire with the guitar player Aaron Lee Tasjan a young legend-in-waiting. Catchy songs written in New York about lust and mutual infidelity, drugs and Jesus and models and – as one does – Bob Dylan and Columbus… and sometimes love and the passing of time, age and agelessness… Us Bandits, we have a laugh and we take it very seriously. I’m having the time of my life. Never thought that this would happen. Thank/blame Jack White for lighting the… whatever he lit/set free/unwittingly unleashed. I mean it (man).

“At SXSW the promo said “BP Fallon is the most interesting new singer in rock’n’roll”. It might even be almost true. If I could wave a wand, we’d do dates in Britain and Ireland with The Strypes and Jake Bugg – it’d be three new bands all loosely drawing on the same well, which is rock’n’roll unfettered and unhomegenised. Rock’n’roll should have a hard-on, not some limp-dicked weediness. Sensitive, yes, but not dribbling like a wimp. Get a grip! And it should be fun and uplifting and out there – and it’s time for less segregation between the band and the audience. We’re all in this together. Good morning.

“Whatever… it’s a crazy story. I’ve discovered that being in a band is one of the best ways to hear music. If, say, I want to hear more drums, I simply have a choogle nearer to Clem… or to Scott Asheton. It’s a hard life. Seriously, I’m more than blessed to have guys of this calibre allowing me to have a band with them. Someone said ‘Put a sticker on your album – “Contains 3 Members Of The Rock’n’Roll Hall Of Fame!”’ Well… no. Sometimes I do go ‘Fuck! That’s Scott who played on “I Wanna Be Your Dog”’ or it flashes on me that my friends playing behind me are the chaps who powered all the Blondie hits like ‘Heart Of Glass’ or ‘Atomic’ or ‘One Way Or Another’ which Nigel wrote with Debbie Harry and has just been a huge hit again, for One Direction which is a hoot. Am I the new Debbie Harry? I feel more like Gene Vincent on acid.

“I wore his leather jacket once, the one with the medallion on his LP covers, at York Rialto when I was a schoolboy and he was doing a sound check. I asked him ‘May I put on your leather jacket, please?’ and he took it off over his head and the greasy grapes of quiff falling into his eyes unfurled even more and I put it on and it was quiet tacky close up and The Outlaws who were backing Gene coaxed him into singing the Bill Monroe hepped-up country viber ‘Rocky Road Blues’ and Gene clung onto the the mic stand and his eyes gazed up forlornly to God knows where and then a gleam came into them and this miraculous voice of wounded freedom soared out, ‘Weeeell, the road is rocky but it won’t be rocky long…’ Ah yes. Magnificent. And then suddenly these little old ladies, these little blue haired old dears, are swarming into the auditorium like enthusiastic ants, all cardigans and handbags and excited chatter. It’s – God help us – afternoon bingo time. Gene and the band grind to a halt and Gene haltingly asks me for his leather jacket back, saying ‘I’d better put it back on before the faces see me.’ The faces. Wow. Cool American slang. But bingo? What the fuck. What about ‘Be Bop A Lula’, mister?”

There was more, as there always has been with Beep, including a recent picture of him with Willie Nelson (see below). “Did we have a joint or two?” Beep asked. “A gentleman doesn’t tell.”

bpwillie300413_W

BP Fallon & the Bandits’ Still Legal is out now on Vibrosonic Records

All pics: Christopher Durst

Prince to tour UK small venues?

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Prince to tour UK small venues?
Prince is reportedly on the look out for small venues to play when he comes to the UK. The singer, who is reportedly releasing a new album later this year, has apparently asked his promoters to look for smaller spaces for is gigs. The last time Prince performed in the UK, he played to over 500,000...

Prince is reportedly on the look out for small venues to play when he comes to the UK.

The singer, who is reportedly releasing a new album later this year, has apparently asked his promoters to look for smaller spaces for is gigs. The last time Prince performed in the UK, he played to over 500,000 fans over 21 shows at London’s O2.

A source told The Sun: “Prince has gone back to basics this year, playing in front of 300 people at the SXSW festival in Texas. He’s now on a US tour of small club shows and wants to do something similar in the UK later in the year. It’s still to be decided if he’ll stay at one small venue and play 20 or more gigs or split his time between a few places around the country.” They added: “Prince has asked his team to find unusual venues his fans wouldn’t expect him to play.”

Prince has been releasing a slew of new music recently by posting material on the 3rdeyegirl website. In December he released the track ‘Rock And Roll Love Affair’ and followed it up with ‘Screwdriver’ and another new song, ‘Breakfast Can Wait’, in February.

Morrissey encouraged to crowdsource next album

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Morrissey encouraged to crowdsource next album

Amanda Palmer has written an open letter to Morrissey offering to help him crowdsource his next album. In her letter, written for Salon, the former Dresden Dolls singer shares her love of Morrissey's music, even admitting to turning down the opportunity to meet him in person: "I couldn’t stomach the idea of Morrissey meeting me and not liking me, even if the chances were small." After asking her Twitter followers how many of them would be prepared to pay £3.22 to fund a digital-only Morrissey album, she gained over 1,400 positive responses "You have some of the most fanatical fans in the world; caring and devoted people from countries far and wide who would be really, really happy to support you at levels far beyond $5 just to have the songs in their ears," she writes. "You’re possibly one of the best candidates on the planet to use crowdfunding, because of who you are and what you mean." Dismissing the idea that an artist needs a record label, Palmer continues: "What does one need a record label for nowadays? To put albums in stores? The stores are closing. To make all the phone calls, so that radio plays the album? The radio stations are closing. The good outlets with human beings programming them (non-commercial radio, college, the BBC) will probably just download the record if it’s good, and play it." However, Palmer ends the letter by admitting she thinks it unlikely Morrissey would get involved with a crowd-funded album. Crowdsourcing has proved successful recently; with American TV show Veronica Mars raising $2 million in under 12 hours on Kickstarter and Scrubs star Zach Braff gaining the same amount to produce a follow-up to his 2004 film Garden State.

Amanda Palmer has written an open letter to Morrissey offering to help him crowdsource his next album.

In her letter, written for Salon, the former Dresden Dolls singer shares her love of Morrissey’s music, even admitting to turning down the opportunity to meet him in person: “I couldn’t stomach the idea of Morrissey meeting me and not liking me, even if the chances were small.”

After asking her Twitter followers how many of them would be prepared to pay £3.22 to fund a digital-only Morrissey album, she gained over 1,400 positive responses “You have some of the most fanatical fans in the world; caring and devoted people from countries far and wide who would be really, really happy to support you at levels far beyond $5 just to have the songs in their ears,” she writes. “You’re possibly one of the best candidates on the planet to use crowdfunding, because of who you are and what you mean.”

Dismissing the idea that an artist needs a record label, Palmer continues: “What does one need a record label for nowadays? To put albums in stores? The stores are closing. To make all the phone calls, so that radio plays the album? The radio stations are closing. The good outlets with human beings programming them (non-commercial radio, college, the BBC) will probably just download the record if it’s good, and play it.”

However, Palmer ends the letter by admitting she thinks it unlikely Morrissey would get involved with a crowd-funded album.

Crowdsourcing has proved successful recently; with American TV show Veronica Mars raising $2 million in under 12 hours on Kickstarter and Scrubs star Zach Braff gaining the same amount to produce a follow-up to his 2004 film Garden State.

Neutral Milk Hotel to reform for first live shows since 1999

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Neutral Milk Hotel to reform for first live shows since 1999
Neutral Milk Hotel have announced that they will reunite to play their first live shows since 1999. The band have been on hiatus since their last studio album – 1998's In The Aeroplane Over The Sea and its subsequent tour. Aside from a 2001 live album and a 2002 album of Bulgarian music, the ban...

Neutral Milk Hotel have announced that they will reunite to play their first live shows since 1999.

The band have been on hiatus since their last studio album – 1998’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea and its subsequent tour. Aside from a 2001 live album and a 2002 album of Bulgarian music, the band have been keeping a low profile – although singer Jeff Mangum played a string of solo dates in 2010 and curated ATP at Butlins in Minehead in March last year (2012).

In a bizarre statement on their website, the band announced five dates in the US and Asia, promising “more to come”. As yet no UK dates have been announced. Accompanying the announcement, a cryptic statement reads:

and of water course womb rume is a wandering the welkin woman whose fune caul is all umbilical cord code that comes equipped with read volve vît curtains that čun seel my văl én tich radio reason in remembrance of mademoiselle gabrielle and her wone tym pad lock of burd language as it borders on twin tolk the wolk king wall of woolpack pigeons pointing to the fly blind readers riddle and his rian boh

The touring line-up will consist of Mangum, Scott Spillane, Julian Koster, and Jeremy Barnes.

Boards Of Canada to release first new album in eight years

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Boards Of Canada to release first new album in eight years
Boards Of Canada have announced plans to release their first new album in eight years. The reclusive duo will put out Tomorrow's Harvest on June 10 via Warp Records. The album will consist of 17 tracks. Scroll down for the full tracklisting. Boards Of Canada, who comprise brothers Marcus Eoin and...

Boards Of Canada have announced plans to release their first new album in eight years.

The reclusive duo will put out Tomorrow’s Harvest on June 10 via Warp Records. The album will consist of 17 tracks. Scroll down for the full tracklisting.

Boards Of Canada, who comprise brothers Marcus Eoin and Michael Sandison, last released an album – The Campfire Headphase – in 2005.

The duo haven’t performed live since 2001.

The Tomorrow’s Harvest tracklisting is:

‘Gemini’

‘Reach For The Dead’

‘White Cyclosa’

‘Jacquard Causeway’

‘Telepath’

‘Cold Earth’

‘Transmisiones Ferox’

‘Sick Times’

‘Collapse’

‘Palace Posy’

‘Split Your Infinities’

‘Uritual’

‘Nothing Is Real’

‘Sundown’

‘New Seeds’

‘Come To Dust’

‘Semena Mertvykh’

The 20 Best Fictional Bands In The Movies

Michael Bonner
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The 20 Best Fictional Bands In The Movies
Later this year, cinemagoers will have the opportunity to watch Meryl Streep play Ricki Rendazzo, the ageing singer and guitarist with Ricki And The Flash, in Jonathan Demme's latest film. The Flash are the latest in a long line of fictional bands to appear in films. Accordingly, after the trailer ...

Later this year, cinemagoers will have the opportunity to watch Meryl Streep play Ricki Rendazzo, the ageing singer and guitarist with Ricki And The Flash, in Jonathan Demme’s latest film.

The Flash are the latest in a long line of fictional bands to appear in films. Accordingly, after the trailer for Ricki And The Flash (who is that familiar-looking guy playing guitar..?) here’s a list of the 20 best fictional bands in the movies… in our humble opinion, of course.

Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner

——

The 20 best fictional bands in the movies are…

1: STILLWATER, Almost Famous
Effectively a composite of a number of bands Cameron Crowe interviewed for Rolling Stone in the early 1970s – Skynyrd, Allmans, maybe the Eagles. The songs played by Stillwater in the film were co-writes between Crowe, his wife Nancy Wilson and Peter Frampton. Jason Lee’s singing voice was provided by Aerosmith collaborator, Marty Frederiksen, while Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready played lead guitar. On screen, Mark Kozelek played Stillwater’s bassist, Larry Fellows.

2: AUTOBAHN, The Big Lebowski
That’ll be Kraftwerk, of course. Flea, Peter Stormare and Torsten Voges are the German nihilists/would-be kidnappers/electronic pioneers. The Coen brothers even went as far as to get a sleeve designed for Autobahn’s sole album, Nagelbett (roughly translated as ‘bed of nails’).

3: BLUESHAMMER, Ghost World
Steve Buscemi’s blues aficionado Seymour goes to see Fred Chatham, an 82-year-old blues veteran play a small bar. “If you really like authentic blues, you’ve got to check out Blueshammer,” he is told. As it turns out, Blueshammer’s “authentic, way-down-in-the-delta blues” turns out to be closer to George Thorogood. Poor Seymour!

Eric Burdon – ‘Til Your River Runs Dry

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Eric Burdon – ‘Til Your River Runs Dry

A revitalised Burdon tells survivor’s tales... One of several pleasant surprises on ‘Til Your River Runs Dry is to hear Eric Burdon, who made his name as a blues shouter, croon achingly on “Wait”, a slow, self-written Latin piece with a tango rhythm. It’s one of the album’s stand-outs, perhaps because it ‘s a deeply personal number, written for his wife (and manager) Marianna. It’s also a reminder that Burdon remains one of the best vocalists of his generation, his tenor tones always easy and unforced, whether he’s belting or breezing. At 71, that voice sounds remarkably well preserved. To hear him declaim and roar on “Old Habits Die Hard”, a number with a touch of late-Dylan about it – ruminative, defiant, bluesy – brings favourable comparison with the ruined growl of his contemporary. It’s an arresting song, shifting between scenes from the Arab spring and young citizens fighting for their freedom, and Burdon’s recognition of his younger self : “I turn on the TV and I see myself being hassled by The Man”. Later Eric makes the claim, with poetic licence perhaps, that “they got a file on me over in Scotland Yard”. ‘Til Your River Runs Dry likewise oscillates between past and present, between personal and political. Its lead-in, “Water”, is an eco protest about conservation – “one day soon, the truth will spill into your living room” – but it’s also expressing an unquenched rage: “I will not beg, I will demand!” With its chiming guitars, thudding drums and gospel chorus, the number is cut from Seventies rock cloth, and perfect for AOR audiences. Still, it’s one of the less adventurous outings here, though it reflects Burdon’s kinship with California’s deserts and Indian canyons, which have been refuge and home since he set about rebuilding his U.S. career in the 1980s,the location also easing his asthma and fuelling his interest in nearby Mexico. “Invitation To The White House” finds Burdon dropping in on Barack Obama to offer advice about opening borders to north and south - an entertaining fancy set to a jazzy, big-band version of Muddy Waters’ “I’m A Man” riff. The blues remains a wellspring for Burdon throughout an album that’s a continuum of his past work, with keyboards that recall Alan Price and Brian Auger. There are two tributes to Bo Diddley, one a cover of “Before You Accuse Me”, the other, “Bo Diddley Special”, homage to a hero he never met but at whose memorial service he played. The tone is playful, as Eric celebrates Diddley’s tartan jackets and boxy guitars in his inimitable mid-Atlantic Geordie, where ‘motor scooter’ becomes “moda scooodar”. Mortality casts a darker shadow on “In The Ground”, a rage-against-the-light slow burner, and “27 Forever”, a resonant commentary on the ’27 Club’ of Hendrix, Cobain, Whitehouse et al. With Stax horns and rippling piano riffs, it’s Eric’s warning that the whiskey and women run out and that you sell your soul to the devil for “a place in rock’n’roll heaven”. Eerie. Burdon’shistory is ever present. A cover of Marc Cohn’s “Medicine Man” has echoes of “House of the Rising Sun”, and the protests of “Sky Pilot” et al continue on“Memorial Day”, which celebrates celebrates the survivors – “hippies and poets” - as well as the fallen of war. The flavours of Burdon’s beloved New Orleans ripple through “The River Is Rising”, inspired by Fats Domino’s near miss during the Katrina catastrophe and recorded with members of Domino’s band. It’s a crawling blues whose foreboding atmosphere is shot through with drowsy horns and a chanted chorus, “the greatest piece of music I’ve been involved with” according to its creator. It’s too early to pass such judgment, but in pursuit of Burdon’s stated ambition to “finish my career with my head held high”, ‘Til Your River Runs Dry finds his mission fully on course, a hero returned. Neil Spencer Q&A Eric Burdon It’s a surprise to hear you singing a tango! I woke up one morning with one word: ‘Wait’. Everyone’s in such a hurry these days so it was saying slow down. It’s for my wife, for whom I waited and she came along. I wish I could speak Spanish, the record label is dying for a Latin version. I have hardcore fans in Mexico, which is an intriguing place. The US can’t deal with having another country and another language on its border. “27 Forever” is about the six or seven dead rock stars in the ’27 Club’. It’s more like 600 or 700, not just musicians and artists but people from all walks of life, people who don’t want to become adults. It’s an astrological phenomenon too, the Saturn Return. I was close to Jimi, Janis and Jim. You could almost see it coming, they were dicing with death, asking for trouble. I got through that stage partly through witnessing Jimi’s problems. You’re singing well. How do you look after your voice? I don’t, it looks after me! I don’t practice, I don’t like rehearsals. The Animals never rehearsed, but with young musicians you have to give them the parts. You can’t force new material on audiences, they want a re-run of their favourite movie, but I mix it up. You are writing a third memoir. I feel good about what I have written. The trick is to dance around the other two, not to repeat myself. Plus I’m already thinking of the next album. I had an operation on my back last year and spent six months recovering, but I’m almost back to normal. I just can’t lift anything heavy. INTERVIEW: NEIL SPENCER Pic credit: Courtesy of ABKCO Records ©Marianna Burdon

A revitalised Burdon tells survivor’s tales…

One of several pleasant surprises on ‘Til Your River Runs Dry is to hear Eric Burdon, who made his name as a blues shouter, croon achingly on “Wait”, a slow, self-written Latin piece with a tango rhythm. It’s one of the album’s stand-outs, perhaps because it ‘s a deeply personal number, written for his wife (and manager) Marianna. It’s also a reminder that Burdon remains one of the best vocalists of his generation, his tenor tones always easy and unforced, whether he’s belting or breezing.

At 71, that voice sounds remarkably well preserved. To hear him declaim and roar on “Old Habits Die Hard”, a number with a touch of late-Dylan about it – ruminative, defiant, bluesy – brings favourable comparison with the ruined growl of his contemporary. It’s an arresting song, shifting between scenes from the Arab spring and young citizens fighting for their freedom, and Burdon’s recognition of his younger self : “I turn on the TV and I see myself being hassled by The Man”. Later Eric makes the claim, with poetic licence perhaps, that “they got a file on me over in Scotland Yard”.

‘Til Your River Runs Dry likewise oscillates between past and present, between personal and political. Its lead-in, “Water”, is an eco protest about conservation – “one day soon, the truth will spill into your living room” – but it’s also expressing an unquenched rage: “I will not beg, I will demand!” With its chiming guitars, thudding drums and gospel chorus, the number is cut from Seventies rock cloth, and perfect for AOR audiences. Still, it’s one of the less adventurous outings here, though it reflects Burdon’s kinship with California’s deserts and Indian canyons, which have been refuge and home since he set about rebuilding his U.S. career in the 1980s,the location also easing his asthma and fuelling his interest in nearby Mexico.

“Invitation To The White House” finds Burdon dropping in on Barack Obama to offer advice about opening borders to north and south – an entertaining fancy set to a jazzy, big-band version of Muddy Waters’ “I’m A Man” riff. The blues remains a wellspring for Burdon throughout an album that’s a continuum of his past work, with keyboards that recall Alan Price and Brian Auger. There are two tributes to Bo Diddley, one a cover of “Before You Accuse Me”, the other, “Bo Diddley Special”, homage to a hero he never met but at whose memorial service he played. The tone is playful, as Eric celebrates Diddley’s tartan jackets and boxy guitars in his inimitable mid-Atlantic Geordie, where ‘motor scooter’ becomes “moda scooodar”.

Mortality casts a darker shadow on “In The Ground”, a rage-against-the-light slow burner, and “27 Forever”, a resonant commentary on the ’27 Club’ of Hendrix, Cobain, Whitehouse et al. With Stax horns and rippling piano riffs, it’s Eric’s warning that the whiskey and women run out and that you sell your soul to the devil for “a place in rock’n’roll heaven”. Eerie.

Burdon’shistory is ever present. A cover of Marc Cohn’s “Medicine Man” has echoes of “House of the Rising Sun”, and the protests of “Sky Pilot” et al continue on“Memorial Day”, which celebrates celebrates the survivors – “hippies and poets” – as well as the fallen of war.

The flavours of Burdon’s beloved New Orleans ripple through “The River Is Rising”, inspired by Fats Domino’s near miss during the Katrina catastrophe and recorded with members of Domino’s band. It’s a crawling blues whose foreboding atmosphere is shot through with drowsy horns and a chanted chorus, “the greatest piece of music I’ve been involved with” according to its creator.

It’s too early to pass such judgment, but in pursuit of Burdon’s stated ambition to “finish my career with my head held high”, ‘Til Your River Runs Dry finds his mission fully on course, a hero returned.

Neil Spencer

Q&A

Eric Burdon

It’s a surprise to hear you singing a tango!

I woke up one morning with one word: ‘Wait’. Everyone’s in such a hurry these days so it was saying slow down. It’s for my wife, for whom I waited and she came along. I wish I could speak Spanish, the record label is dying for a Latin version. I have hardcore fans in Mexico, which is an intriguing place. The US can’t deal with having another country and another language on its border.

“27 Forever” is about the six or seven dead rock stars in the ’27 Club’.

It’s more like 600 or 700, not just musicians and artists but people from all walks of life, people who don’t want to become adults. It’s an astrological phenomenon too, the Saturn Return. I was close to Jimi, Janis and Jim. You could almost see it coming, they were dicing with death, asking for trouble. I got through that stage partly through witnessing Jimi’s problems.

You’re singing well. How do you look after your voice?

I don’t, it looks after me! I don’t practice, I don’t like rehearsals. The Animals never rehearsed, but with young musicians you have to give them the parts. You can’t force new material on audiences, they want a re-run of their favourite movie, but I mix it up.

You are writing a third memoir.

I feel good about what I have written. The trick is to dance around the other two, not to repeat myself. Plus I’m already thinking of the next album. I had an operation on my back last year and spent six months recovering, but I’m almost back to normal. I just can’t lift anything heavy.

INTERVIEW: NEIL SPENCER

Pic credit: Courtesy of ABKCO Records ©Marianna Burdon

The Monkees announce North American tour dates

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The Monkees announce North American tour dates
The Monkees have announced details of a 24-date North American tour. The surviving members - Mike Nesmith, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork - will kick off their tour, called A Midsummer's Night With the Monkees, in New York, on July 15. "The reaction to the [2012 reunion] tour was euphoric," Dolenz to...

The Monkees have announced details of a 24-date North American tour.

The surviving members – Mike Nesmith, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork – will kick off their tour, called A Midsummer’s Night With the Monkees, in New York, on July 15.

“The reaction to the [2012 reunion] tour was euphoric,” Dolenz told Rolling Stone. “It was pretty apparent there was a demand for another one.”

The 2012 reunion tour marked the first time Nesmith had played with the band since 1997, when he appeared on some UK dates, and the first time he’s played with the group on American soil since 1970, when he left the Monkees.

For this tour, the band intend to perform their sets in chronological order. Speaking about the death of Davy Jones in February 12, Dolenz admitted, “This time we probably won’t lean so heavily on the David situation. I think we have to move on. Everybody has to move on. He’ll always be remembered and acknowledged, but possibly not as much as on that particular tour. We will, of course, still perform ‘Daydream Believer‘ and all the other hits.”

July 15 Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY

July 16 Citi Performing Arts Center, Boston, MA

July 17 Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ

July 19 NYCB Theatre at Westbury, Westbury, NY

July 20 Mann Music Theatre, Philadelphia, PA

July 21 Warner Theatre, Washington, D.C.

July 23 Memorial Auditorium, Raleigh, NC

July 24 Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN

July 26 St. Augustine Amphitheatre, St. Augustine, FL

July 27 Mizner Park Amphitheatre, Boca Raton, FL

July 28 Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, FL

July 31 Long Center, Austin, TX

August 1 Arena Theatre, Houston, TX

August 2 Verizon Theatre, Grand Prairie, TX

August 3 Brady Theater, Tulsa, OK

August 5 Paramount Theatre, Denver, CO

August 9 Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, AZ

August 10 Green Valley Events Center, Henderson, NV

August 11 Humphreys, San Diego, CA

August 12 Terrace Theatre, Long Beach, CA

August 14 Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA

August 15 Uptown Theatre, Napa, CA

August 17 Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA

August 18 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, OR

Beastie Boys sign deal to release book in 2015

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Beastie Boys sign deal to release book in 2015

Mike D and Ad-Rock have reportedly signed a deal to release their memoirs in 2015. The book comes following the two remaining members of the Beastie Boys signing a deal with Random House imprint, Spiegel & Grau. The New York Times reports that the book is currently untitled and that it is unlikely to follow the structure of a traditional biography, focusing instead on a "pastiche of voices, images, irreverent humor and pop-culture reference points". Julie Grau of Spiegel and Grau offered some insight into what fans can expect from the book upon its release, suggesting it may take a similar tone and form to the group's 1990 magazine Grand Royale. The Beastie Boys are "interested in challenging the form and making the book a multidimensional experience," Grau said in an interview. "There is a kaleidoscopic frame of reference, and it asks a reader to keep up." The book will be edited by Sacha Jenkins, a hip-hop journalist, and will be loosely structured as an oral history of the group from their beginnings in the music industry to the death of Adam Yauch in 2012.

Mike D and Ad-Rock have reportedly signed a deal to release their memoirs in 2015.

The book comes following the two remaining members of the Beastie Boys signing a deal with Random House imprint, Spiegel & Grau. The New York Times reports that the book is currently untitled and that it is unlikely to follow the structure of a traditional biography, focusing instead on a “pastiche of voices, images, irreverent humor and pop-culture reference points”.

Julie Grau of Spiegel and Grau offered some insight into what fans can expect from the book upon its release, suggesting it may take a similar tone and form to the group’s 1990 magazine Grand Royale. The Beastie Boys are “interested in challenging the form and making the book a multidimensional experience,” Grau said in an interview. “There is a kaleidoscopic frame of reference, and it asks a reader to keep up.” The book will be edited by Sacha Jenkins, a hip-hop journalist, and will be loosely structured as an oral history of the group from their beginnings in the music industry to the death of Adam Yauch in 2012.

The Rolling Stones play tiny club show in Los Angeles – watch footage

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The Rolling Stones play tiny club show in Los Angeles – watch footage
The Rolling Stones played a tiny club show in Los Angeles on Saturday night (April 27). The gig took place at The Echoplex in the Echo Park neighbourhood, with most tickets distributed to fans via a ticket lottery which took place earlier in the day at the El Rey venue across town, after the news o...

The Rolling Stones played a tiny club show in Los Angeles on Saturday night (April 27).

The gig took place at The Echoplex in the Echo Park neighbourhood, with most tickets distributed to fans via a ticket lottery which took place earlier in the day at the El Rey venue across town, after the news of the show went online that morning.

After playing the second song of the evening, 1978’s “Respectable”, Mick Jagger joked: “Welcome to Echo Park, a neighbourhood that’s always coming up – and I’m glad you’re here to welcome an up and coming band.” Scroll down to watch footage from the gig.

Jagger was on energetic form throughout the 90 minute show, dancing and chatting with the crowd. “Thank you very much, you’re too good to us,” he said towards the end of the set. “The first show of the tour, probably the best one!”

A host of VIPs also attended the Echoplex gig – which served as a warm up for the band’s forthcoming arena tour – including Johnny Depp, Bruce Willis, Owen Wilson and members of Green Day and No Doubt. The tour starts officially on May 3 at Los Angeles’ Staples Center, visiting a number cities in North America before they headline Glastonbury Festival on June 29 and play London’s Hype Park on July 6 and 13.

The band, who were evidently in a playful mood, took to the stage at 9.15pm (PT) and played a 14-song set, which included covers of songs made famous by Chuck Berry (“Little Queenie”), Otis Redding (“That’s How Strong My Love Is”) and The Temptations (“Just My Imagination”) as well as their own classic material, including hits “Miss You” and “Street Fighting Man”.

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood were backed by Darryl Jones, Chuck Leavell, Bernard Fowler, Lisa Fischer and Bobby Keys for the show. Mick Taylor also joined the band onstage, playing on their version of Robert Johnson’s “Love In Vain” as well as “Midnight Rambler”.

Before the band exited the stage, after an encore of “Brown Sugar” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, Jagger said: “Thank you very much everybody, you’ve given us hope, peace, love and understanding. Goodnight!”

The Rolling Stones played:

‘You Got Me Rocking’

‘Respectable’

‘She’s So Cold’

‘Live With Me’

‘Street Fighting Man’

‘That’s How Strong My Love Is’

‘Little Queenie’

‘Just My Imagination’

‘Miss You’

‘Love In Vain’

‘Midnight Rambler’

‘Start Me Up’

‘Brown Sugar’

‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’

George Jones dies aged 81

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George Jones dies aged 81

George Jones has died, aged 81. Jones was reportedly hospitalized at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee with an illness on April 18. Jones, whose songs included "White Lightening" and "Why Baby Why", was called "the second best singer in America" by Frank Sinatra. He released his first album, Grand Ole Opry's New Star, in 1957. The previous year, he'd been named the Most Promising New Country Vocalist. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992, and in 2012 he was presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award. Born in Saratoga, Texas, Jones was married to Tammy Wynette between 1969 and 1975. Jones had 143 Top 40 country hits; fourteen of which went to Number One. In 1994, he recorded The Bradley Barn Sessions, which featured a guest appearance from Keith Richards. You can watch Richards talk about playing with Jones below. In August 2012, he announced 'The Grand Tour' - essentially, his farewell tour which was scheduled to conclude on November 22, 2013, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. He was also due to release a duets album with Dolly Parton. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QnxG4BoUi8

George Jones has died, aged 81.

Jones was reportedly hospitalized at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee with an illness on April 18.

Jones, whose songs included “White Lightening” and “Why Baby Why”, was called “the second best singer in America” by Frank Sinatra.

He released his first album, Grand Ole Opry’s New Star, in 1957. The previous year, he’d been named the Most Promising New Country Vocalist. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992, and in 2012 he was presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award.

Born in Saratoga, Texas, Jones was married to Tammy Wynette between 1969 and 1975.

Jones had 143 Top 40 country hits; fourteen of which went to Number One. In 1994, he recorded The Bradley Barn Sessions, which featured a guest appearance from Keith Richards. You can watch Richards talk about playing with Jones below.

In August 2012, he announced ‘The Grand Tour’ – essentially, his farewell tour which was scheduled to conclude on November 22, 2013, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. He was also due to release a duets album with Dolly Parton.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QnxG4BoUi8

Television to play Marquee Moon in full at last ever ATP Weekender

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Television to play Marquee Moon in full at last ever ATP Weekender
All Tomorrow's Parties have confirmed that their regular weekender events are to come to a close at the end of the year with two final 'End Of An Era' events - including Television playing "Marquee Moon" in full. The ATP events have taken place regularly since 1999 and routinely took place in holi...

All Tomorrow’s Parties have confirmed that their regular weekender events are to come to a close at the end of the year with two final ‘End Of An Era’ events – including Television playing “Marquee Moon” in full.

The ATP events have taken place regularly since 1999 and routinely took place in holiday camps including Pontin’s Camber Sands and Butlin’s in Minehead. The two weekend long End Of An Era event will return to Camber Sands with Television taking part in End Of An Era – Part 1 which takes place on the weekend of November 22-24. Hosted in conjunction with Primavera Festival, the line-up also includes Chelsea Light Moving, Dinosaur Jr, Dinos Chapman, Les Savy Fav, múm, Oneohtrix Point Never, Hebronix, Mike Watt, Forest Swords and The Haxan Cloak.

Meanwhile, Loop have reformed to play End Of An Era – Part 1, which takes place at the same venue the following weekend on November 29 – December 1. Loop split in 1991 but have reunited for the festival and will curate a line-up which so far includes The Pop Group, 23 Skidoo, Fennesz, The KVB, Dirty Beaches, Eaux, Hookworms and Thought Forms.

Issuing a statement on the end of ATP weekenders, Barry Hogan states: “When we started all this fourteen years ago, we had no idea how a festival curated by a single artist and based in a family holiday camp would play out. It was a mad idea that somehow came to fruition, helped by the fact that people were looking for something different from the overpriced conveyor belt corporate rock sponsor-fests that populate the British summer. Looking back we have so many great memories – where else would you find Iggy Pop, Matt Groening, Patti Smith or Nick Cave holed up in a basic chalet at a Pontins’ Holiday Camp? The support from the artists and festival-goers alike has been incredible but it’s time to move on and look towards the future, it may also be time to let Camber Sands rest in peace!”

Meanwhile, upcoming events such as the summer edition of ATP’s festivals – which will feature performances from Deerhunter and TV On The Radio – will go ahead as planned.

Watch Laura Marling unveil new material via short film When Brave Bird Saved

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Watch Laura Marling unveil new material via short film When Brave Bird Saved
Laura Marling has unveiled the first four tracks from her new album Once I Was An Eagle via a short film, entitled When Brave Bird Saved. Click below to watch the 18-minute long When Brave Bird Saved, which soundtracks the songs "Take The Night Off", "I Was An Eagle", "You Know" and "Breathe". The...

Laura Marling has unveiled the first four tracks from her new album Once I Was An Eagle via a short film, entitled When Brave Bird Saved.

Click below to watch the 18-minute long When Brave Bird Saved, which soundtracks the songs “Take The Night Off”, “I Was An Eagle”, “You Know” and “Breathe”.

The film was directed by Fred & Nick, who said, “When Brave Bird Saved is an introduction to a visual journey directly inspired, informed, and narrated by the first four tracks of Once I Was An Eagle. Having collaborated with Laura over the last four years, the ambition and scope of this film marks an exciting new direction for us – and we were given total freedom to focus strongly on the distinct journey of the four tracks.”

Once I Was An Eagle is set for release on May 27. You can read Uncut’s exclusive interview with the singer-songwriter in the new issue of Uncut, on sale now.

Bob Weir taken ill during concert

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Bob Weir taken ill during concert
Bob Weir left the stage early last night (April 25), during a set by Further at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York. According to music website jambase, Weir was seen struggling throughout the show and was eventually helped into a chair onstage by two crew members. The band left the stag...

Bob Weir left the stage early last night (April 25), during a set by Further at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York.

According to music website jambase, Weir was seen struggling throughout the show and was eventually helped into a chair onstage by two crew members.

The band left the stage, returning without Weir.

Bassist Phil Lesh explained to the audience that Weir had suffered a strained shoulder earlier that day.

As members of the Grateful Dead, Weir and Lesh played the Capitol Theatre 18 times between 1970 and 1971.

Weir will play four dates on the Bob Dylan/Wilco/My Morning Jacket AmericanaramA tour. Weir will join Dylan and co on:

June 26th @ Cruzan Amphitheatre – West Palm Beach, FL

June 27th @ Live Nation Amphitheatre – Tampa, FL

June 29th @ Aaron’s Amphitheatre – Atlanta, GA

June 30th @ The Lawn at Riverfront Park – Nashville, TN

The Breeders – Last Splash: LSXX

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The Breeders – Last Splash: LSXX

Big Deal: The Breeders’ best LP reissued as a seven-disc vinyl/3CD boxset on its 20th anniversary... In the red corner: the heavyweight, Charles MK Thompson IV, known to the world as Black Francis. In the blue corner: the maverick, the former “Mrs John Murphy”, Kim Deal. Who was your money on? The guy who wrote 95% of the songs, or the gal who kicked 95% of the ass? In the battle of the post-Pixies projects, Charles was the overwhelming favourite. Kim was well-loved, and “Gigantic” and “Do You Love Me Now?” – originally released on The Breeders’ 1992 “Safari” EP, included here – proved that she could write a killer tune. But even the staunchest Kim supporters harboured niggling doubts about whether the bawdy, beer-swilling bassist could be trusted to skipper her own vessel without the steadying hand on the tiller of a Black Francis, or even a Tanya Donelly (who left The Breeders after “Safari”to focus on Belly). In the end, though, it was Kim who came out on top. Last Splash, The Breeders’ triumphant second album, comfortably outsold Frank Black’s chugging solo debut – and every Pixies album, too, come to that. Even if Kim wasn’t into schadenfreude, it must’ve made up for being sidelined on the last two Pixies albums before being informed of their dissolution via fax. Ironically, it was Kim’s band that cleaved closest to the sound of the Pixies in their shitkicking pomp. Last Splash, with its scuzzed-up take on early-’60s jukebox fodder, sounded more like a Bossanova sequel than a follow-up to 1990’s serpentine debut Pod. In their own rasping style, The Breeders had a crack at girl group romance (“Do You Love Me Now?”), surf-rock (“Flipside”), country (“Drivin’ On 9”) and tiki-bar twang (“No Aloha”). Instead of UFOs and surfer girls there was sarky S&M (“I’ll be your whatever you want”), droll feminism (“motherhood means mental freeze!”) and plenty of gleeful innuendo (what else did you think “Divine Hammer” was about?), all delivered in the Deal twins’ sweetly savage harmonies, honed to perfection years before in the biker bars of Dayton. Still, it takes a lot of effort to sound this effortless. Kim’s desire to prove herself led to the band tracking Last Splash in two studios simultaneously, with the singer obsessing over drum sounds and mutilating Jim Macpherson’s cymbals to obtain that perfectly dishevelled feel. The clutch of pre-album demos on LP3 of the boxset reveal how tightly plotted her vignettes were before The Breeders even entered the studio. Only “Cannonball” (working title: “Grunggae” – grunge meets reggae, see?) had yet to fully take shape, suggesting that the band weren’t sure until the last minute if this was a potential anthem or a throwaway goof. Luckily they chose right. Josephine Wiggs’ immortal bassline inevitably receives the loudest cheer of the night during the frisky live show preserved for posterity on LP2, recorded at Stockholm’s Club Gino in May 1994. The first half was previously released as the fan-club-only EP, “Live In Stockholm”; the LSXX edition restores “Cannonball”, “Happiness Is A Warm Gun” and a pummelling “Head To Toe” to the setlist, with shout-outs to the bartender who kept the band in mudslides throughout the night. The post-Last Splash EPs are manna from heaven for college rock connoisseurs, featuring covers of Sebadoh’s “The Freed Pig” and Guided By Voices’ “Shocker In Gloomtown”, not to mention an alternate version of “Do You Love Me Now?” with bonus caterwauling from J Mascis. The only black mark against LSXX is that the brighter, re-recorded single versions of “Divine Hammer” and “Saints” serve to make the album originals sound a little underpowered. In the long term, of course, The Breeders proved to be as flaky as everyone first feared. Kelley was bundled off to rehab in ’95 and the band have only produced two rather slight LPs since. Last Splash, though, is a concentrated burst of pure pleasure, and “Divine Hammer” and “Cannonball” remain two of the most giddily exhilarating songs in the alt.rock canon. Try to play either of them now without grinning madly, punching the air, goosing a stranger or spitting in a wishing well. That’s the beauty of Last Splash: for 40 minutes, it makes you feel as cool as Kim Deal. EXTRAS: The Stockholm Syndrome (live in Stockholm 1994); BBC sessions, pre-album demos; four EPs – (“Safari”, “Cannon-ball”, “Divine Hammer”, “Head To Toe”); 24pp booklet of unpublished photos and reminiscences. Sam Richards Q+A Kim Deal What are your enduring memories of the Last Splash recording sessions? I remember it being really, really tiring. We had two studios up and running at one time. I felt like I couldn’t even go to the restroom because there was always something that needed to be done. I thought the album was going to kill me. What was the reasoning behind working in two studios simultaneously? I booked Coast in San Francisco because I liked the gear and the board, but I didn’t think about the specs of the room itself. When I got there and I saw this small square box with linoleum on the floor I was very confused. We started setting up the drums and they didn’t sound vibey at all. So we found another studio a few blocks over and a few blocks down. It was in the Mission District, which was a really sketchy area back then. That’s another thing I remember: walking from the hotel to the studio and just seeing bums galore. Not the nice-looking bums – really scary bums. Schizophrenic bums with crack problems. Did that edginess find its way onto the record? I’d like to say yeah, but I don’t think I need anything like that to make it weird. I’m always going to make it strange and weird anyway. In the liner notes, Kelley talks about running her sewing machine through a Marshall amp while you and Jim dropped his cymbals out of a second-storey window because they sounded “too new”. Was there quite a spontaneous atmosphere in the studio? Spontaneous? No. To me, it all makes complete sense. How else are we going to get the cymbals to stop ringing out? Since then, I’ve seen that you can buy cracked cymbals, so I’m not crazy. As far as mic’ing up the sewing machine, that is a little weird. But it does sound good. Did you know in your heart of hearts that Pixies were over by the time you came to make Last Splash? I knew that Charles wanted to do something different. Kelley told me that Pixies broke up when we were in the studio – this would have been January ’93. It didn’t come as a shock. Although I didn’t know it was going to be announced, it didn’t make any difference to what we were doing. I know it would sound great for the TV movie if I was able to go, ‘Having heard that Charles broke up the band, I then returned to the studio knowing I was making the best record of my life!’ But it wasn’t like that. Now that the Last Splash lineup has reformed for the LSXX World Tour, do you have any plans for recording new material? Not yet. But I’ve played with both Josephine and Jim Macpherson in the meantime, so I could very well see us doing some stuff together. INTERVIEW: SAM RICHARDS

Big Deal: The Breeders’ best LP reissued as a seven-disc vinyl/3CD boxset on its 20th anniversary…

In the red corner: the heavyweight, Charles MK Thompson IV, known to the world as Black Francis. In the blue corner: the maverick, the former “Mrs John Murphy”, Kim Deal. Who was your money on? The guy who wrote 95% of the songs, or the gal who kicked 95% of the ass?

In the battle of the post-Pixies projects, Charles was the overwhelming favourite. Kim was well-loved, and “Gigantic” and “Do You Love Me Now?” – originally released on The Breeders’ 1992 “Safari” EP, included here – proved that she could write a killer tune. But even the staunchest Kim supporters harboured niggling doubts about whether the bawdy, beer-swilling bassist could be trusted to skipper her own vessel without the steadying hand on the tiller of a Black Francis, or even a Tanya Donelly (who left The Breeders after “Safari”to focus on Belly). In the end, though, it was Kim who came out on top. Last Splash, The Breeders’ triumphant second album, comfortably outsold Frank Black’s chugging solo debut – and every Pixies album, too, come to that. Even if Kim wasn’t into schadenfreude, it must’ve made up for being sidelined on the last two Pixies albums before being informed of their dissolution via fax.

Ironically, it was Kim’s band that cleaved closest to the sound of the Pixies in their shitkicking pomp. Last Splash, with its scuzzed-up take on early-’60s jukebox fodder, sounded more like a Bossanova sequel than a follow-up to 1990’s serpentine debut Pod. In their own rasping style, The Breeders had a crack at girl group romance (“Do You Love Me Now?”), surf-rock (“Flipside”), country (“Drivin’ On 9”) and tiki-bar twang (“No Aloha”). Instead of UFOs and surfer girls there was sarky S&M (“I’ll be your whatever you want”), droll feminism (“motherhood means mental freeze!”) and plenty of gleeful innuendo (what else did you think “Divine Hammer” was about?), all delivered in the Deal twins’ sweetly savage harmonies, honed to perfection years before in the biker bars of Dayton.

Still, it takes a lot of effort to sound this effortless. Kim’s desire to prove herself led to the band tracking Last Splash in two studios simultaneously, with the singer obsessing over drum sounds and mutilating Jim Macpherson’s cymbals to obtain that perfectly dishevelled feel. The clutch of pre-album demos on LP3 of the boxset reveal how tightly plotted her vignettes were before The Breeders even entered the studio. Only “Cannonball” (working title: “Grunggae” – grunge meets reggae, see?) had yet to fully take shape, suggesting that the band weren’t sure until the last minute if this was a potential anthem or a throwaway goof.

Luckily they chose right. Josephine Wiggs’ immortal bassline inevitably receives the loudest cheer of the night during the frisky live show preserved for posterity on LP2, recorded at Stockholm’s Club Gino in May 1994. The first half was previously released as the fan-club-only EP, “Live In Stockholm”; the LSXX edition restores “Cannonball”, “Happiness Is A Warm Gun” and a pummelling “Head To Toe” to the setlist, with shout-outs to the bartender who kept the band in mudslides throughout the night.

The post-Last Splash EPs are manna from heaven for college rock connoisseurs, featuring covers of Sebadoh’s “The Freed Pig” and Guided By Voices’ “Shocker In Gloomtown”, not to mention an alternate version of “Do You Love Me Now?” with bonus caterwauling from J Mascis. The only black mark against LSXX is that the brighter, re-recorded single versions of “Divine Hammer” and “Saints” serve to make the album originals sound a little underpowered.

In the long term, of course, The Breeders proved to be as flaky as everyone first feared. Kelley was bundled off to rehab in ’95 and the band have only produced two rather slight LPs since. Last Splash, though, is a concentrated burst of pure pleasure, and “Divine Hammer” and “Cannonball” remain two of the most giddily exhilarating songs in the alt.rock canon. Try to play either of them now without grinning madly, punching the air, goosing a stranger or spitting in a wishing well. That’s the beauty of Last Splash: for 40 minutes, it makes you feel as cool as Kim Deal.

EXTRAS: The Stockholm Syndrome (live in Stockholm 1994); BBC sessions, pre-album demos; four EPs – (“Safari”, “Cannon-ball”, “Divine Hammer”, “Head To Toe”); 24pp booklet of unpublished photos and reminiscences.

Sam Richards

Q+A

Kim Deal

What are your enduring memories of the Last Splash recording sessions?

I remember it being really, really tiring. We had two studios up and running at one time. I felt like I couldn’t even go to the restroom because there was always something that needed to be done. I thought the album was going to kill me.

What was the reasoning behind working in two studios simultaneously?

I booked Coast in San Francisco because I liked the gear and the board, but I didn’t think about the specs of the room itself. When I got there and I saw this small square box with linoleum on the floor I was very confused. We started setting up the drums and they didn’t sound vibey at all. So we found another studio a few blocks over and a few blocks down. It was in the Mission District, which was a really sketchy area back then. That’s another thing I remember: walking from the hotel to the studio and just seeing bums galore. Not the nice-looking bums – really scary bums. Schizophrenic bums with crack problems.

Did that edginess find its way onto the record?

I’d like to say yeah, but I don’t think I need anything like that to make it weird. I’m always going to make it strange and weird anyway.

In the liner notes, Kelley talks about running her sewing machine through a Marshall amp while you and Jim dropped his cymbals out of a second-storey window because they sounded “too new”. Was there quite a spontaneous atmosphere in the studio?

Spontaneous? No. To me, it all makes complete sense. How else are we going to get the cymbals to stop ringing out? Since then, I’ve seen that you can buy cracked cymbals, so I’m not crazy. As far as mic’ing up the sewing machine, that is a little weird. But it does sound good.

Did you know in your heart of hearts that Pixies were over by the time you came to make Last Splash?

I knew that Charles wanted to do something different. Kelley told me that Pixies broke up when we were in the studio – this would have been January ’93. It didn’t come as a shock. Although I didn’t know it was going to be announced, it didn’t make any difference to what we were doing. I know it would sound great for the TV movie if I was able to go, ‘Having heard that Charles broke up the band, I then returned to the studio knowing I was making the best record of my life!’ But it wasn’t like that.

Now that the Last Splash lineup has reformed for the LSXX World Tour, do you have any plans for recording new material?

Not yet. But I’ve played with both Josephine and Jim Macpherson in the meantime, so I could very well see us doing some stuff together.

INTERVIEW: SAM RICHARDS

Watch The National debut two songs on Jimmy Fallon

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Watch The National debut two songs on Jimmy Fallon
The National played two songs from their forthcoming sixth studio album Trouble Will Find Me on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon last night (April 25). The Brooklyn band performed "Sea Of Love" and a web exclusive of "I Need My Girl" on the programme – scroll down to watch footage of both. Trouble W...

The National played two songs from their forthcoming sixth studio album Trouble Will Find Me on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon last night (April 25).

The Brooklyn band performed “Sea Of Love” and a web exclusive of “I Need My Girl” on the programme – scroll down to watch footage of both.

Trouble Will Find Me is set for release on May 20. You can read Uncut’s exclusive interview with the band in the new issue of Uncut, on sale now.

David Bowie breaks silence with 42 words on ‘The Next Day’

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David Bowie breaks silence with 42 words on ‘The Next Day’
David Bowie has finally broken his silence on his comeback album The Next Day. American novelist Ricky Moody, writing for literary website The Rumpus, persuaded Bowie to comment – in a manner – on his album, after asking for a "work flow diagram" explaining his creative approach. Moody writes...

David Bowie has finally broken his silence on his comeback album The Next Day.

American novelist Ricky Moody, writing for literary website The Rumpus, persuaded Bowie to comment – in a manner – on his album, after asking for a “work flow diagram” explaining his creative approach.

Moody writes: “…I wanted to think about [the album] in light of what he was thinking about it, I wanted to understand the lexicon of The Next Day, and so I simply asked if he would provide this list of words about his album, assuming, like everyone else waving madly trying to get his attention, that there was not a chance in hell that I would get this list, because who the fuck am I, some novelist killing time writing occasionally about music, and yet astonishingly the list appeared, and it appeared without further comment, which is really excellent, and exactly in the spirit of this album, and the list is far better than I could ever have hoped, and it’s exactly like Bowie, at least in my understanding of him, impulsive, intuitive, haunted, astringent, and incredibly ambitious in the matter of the arts…”

Bowie recorded a new version of Tin Machine’s “I Can’t Read” for the 1997 movie adaptation of Moody’s novel, The Ice Storm.

The full list of words Bowie sent to Moody is as follows:

Effigies

Indulgences

Anarchist

Violence

Chthonic

Intimidation

Vampyric

Pantheon

Succubus

Hostage

Transference

Identity

Mauer

Interface

Flitting

Isolation

Revenge

Osmosis

Crusade

Tyrant

Domination

Indifference

Miasma

Pressgang

Displaced

Flight

Resettlement

Funereal

Glide

Trace

Balkan

Burial

Reverse

Manipulate

Origin

Text

Traitor

Urban

Comeuppance

Tragic

Nerve

Mystification

Meanwhile, Bowie was recently spotted wearing long brown religious robes alongside actor Gary Oldman on set for the video for the third single taken from the album – the title track, “The Next Day”.

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