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WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY

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WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY

DIR: Jake Kasdan ST: John C Reilly, Jenna Fischer All satire operates in the gap between how its subject thinks it appears, and how its subject actually appears - the greater that gap, the easier to find laughs. In setting out to parody James Mangold's 2006 Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line, Walk Hard paints itself into an impossibly tight corner from the off. Walk The Line was a plausible, well-written, beautifully-acted cinematic homage to a towering musical figure. There was simply nothing ridiculous or preposterous about it, rendering satire redundant and futile. That being the case, Walk Hard was always going to have to be powerfully funny in its own right. Unfortunately, like co-writer Judd Apatow's previous efforts The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, it's merely competent, un-oppressive, occasionally chuckleworthy. It starts by following the template of Walk The Line almost exactly, telling the tale of country star Dewey Cox (John C Reilly) from hardscrabble Arkansas upbringing to global superstardom and associated self-destructive decadence. Some effective mockery is made of the gothically awful details of Cash's life, but the laughs are fairly hollow. Cash actually did lose a brother in a dreadful childhood accident, and actually did always feel guilty about it, and it's actually not that funny. Nor, after a very short while, is the cast's wilfully laboured delivery of deliberately overwrought dialogue, the exuberant campery never compensating for a dearth of genuinely great lines. As if in acknowledgement that Walk Hard is mining an extremely shallow seam, it gives up on the Cash story halfway in, and riffs furiously on other rock'n'roll cinema - Don't Look Back, Ray and Help! are among those referenced (the latter at least inspires a show-stealing turn by Jack Black as Paul McCartney). Having abandoned its original source material, Walk Hard aspires to the rarefied daftness of Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker's Airplane!/Naked Gun franchises, but inexplicably telegraphs the gags to death. When an elderly Cox disdains drugs, saying he doesn't want to succumb to the temptations, then bumps into a bunch of guys rehearsing harmonies for "My Girl", it should have been assumed that the audience wouldn't need to be told that said chaps are, indeed, The Temptations. None of which is to say that Walk Hard is a disagreeable means of wasting 90 minutes. The cast are terrific, especially Jenna Fischer, late of the American The Office, as Darlene Madison Cox (for which read June Carter Cash), and there are some lovely cameos, including Jack White as Elvis Presley, and Eddie Vedder as himself - the latter a droll depiction of the pompous rock star blowhard that Vedder often ends up resembling despite its best efforts not to. Ultimately, though, Walk Hard takes aim at a target that didn't need to be hit, and misses. ANDREW MUELLER

DIR: Jake Kasdan

ST: John C Reilly, Jenna Fischer

All satire operates in the gap between how its subject thinks it appears, and how its subject actually appears – the greater that gap, the easier to find laughs. In setting out to parody James Mangold‘s 2006 Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line, Walk Hard paints itself into an impossibly tight corner from the off. Walk The Line was a plausible, well-written, beautifully-acted cinematic homage to a towering musical figure. There was simply nothing ridiculous or preposterous about it, rendering satire redundant and futile. That being the case, Walk Hard was always going to have to be powerfully funny in its own right.

Unfortunately, like co-writer Judd Apatow‘s previous efforts The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, it’s merely competent, un-oppressive, occasionally chuckleworthy. It starts by following the template of Walk The Line almost exactly, telling the tale of country star Dewey Cox (John C Reilly) from hardscrabble Arkansas upbringing to global superstardom and associated self-destructive decadence. Some effective mockery is made of the gothically awful details of Cash‘s life, but the laughs are fairly hollow.

Cash actually did lose a brother in a dreadful childhood accident, and actually did always feel guilty about it, and it’s actually not that funny. Nor, after a very short while, is the cast’s wilfully laboured delivery of deliberately overwrought dialogue, the exuberant campery never compensating for a dearth of genuinely great lines.

As if in acknowledgement that Walk Hard is mining an extremely shallow seam, it gives up on the Cash story halfway in, and riffs furiously on other rock’n’roll cinema – Don’t Look Back, Ray and Help! are among those referenced (the latter at least inspires a show-stealing turn by Jack Black as Paul McCartney). Having abandoned its original source material, Walk Hard aspires to the rarefied daftness of Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker‘s Airplane!/Naked Gun franchises, but inexplicably telegraphs the gags to death. When an elderly Cox disdains drugs, saying he doesn’t want to succumb to the temptations, then bumps into a bunch of guys rehearsing harmonies for “My Girl”, it should have been assumed that the audience wouldn’t need to be told that said chaps are, indeed, The Temptations.

None of which is to say that Walk Hard is a disagreeable means of wasting 90 minutes. The cast are terrific, especially Jenna Fischer, late of the American The Office, as Darlene Madison Cox (for which read June Carter Cash), and there are some lovely cameos, including Jack White as Elvis Presley, and Eddie Vedder as himself – the latter a droll depiction of the pompous rock star blowhard that Vedder often ends up resembling despite its best efforts not to. Ultimately, though, Walk Hard takes aim at a target that didn’t need to be hit, and misses.

ANDREW MUELLER

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

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NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

DIR: JOEL AND ETHAN COEN ST: TOMMY LEE JONES, JOSH BROLIN, JAVIER BARDEM SYNOPSIS: West Texas, 1980. Antelope hunting out near the Rio Grande, Llewelyn Moss stumbles across a drug deal gone wrong. There's bodies everywhere, a truck full of heroin and $2.4 million in a satchel. Taking the money, Moss sets in motion a series of events that will change everything. After all, when money goes missing on the Tex-Mex border someone, inevitably, is going to want it back. You'll find Sanderson roughly halfway between El Paso and San Antonio on Highway 90, the population at last count being 861. It's possible you're already familiar with Sanderson, or at least places like it; fictionalised versions of this kind of fly-blown Texas town have been the go-to location for bloody border fracas and other violent misdemeanours in countless crime novels and movies. As such, you could be forgiven for thinking that pretty much all of those 861 folks living in Sanderson are either drug dealers, psychopaths or hitmen. Sanderson is the setting for Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel, No Country For Old Men, a tense, stripped-down thriller that's here been adapted and directed brilliantly by the Coen brothers. Coming off a disappointing run of movies, culminating in the dreary remake of The Ladykillers in 2004, No Country For Old Men partly calls to mind the Coens' grim, unforgiving debut, Blood Simple, another noir-ish story about greed and murder in, er, a small Texas town. We meet Llewelyn Moss (Brodin), a Vietnam veteran who's served two tours in-country, hunting antelope out on the mesa. He stumbles across several bodies, three trucks and a case full of money. He takes the money. Certainly it'll help him and his wife Carla Jean (Kelly Macdonald) move out of the Desert Aire trailer park and set them on their way to a new life. But Moss knows, too, that men will be coming after him, probably with murder in mind. Brolin, who's recently given fine performances in Robert Rodriguez' Planet Terror and Ridley Scott's American Gangster, has Moss pegged as a fundamentally good man, but who, crucially, isn't quite as smart as he thinks he is. Principally, what Moss doesn't count on is that the man sent to recover the money is Anton Chigurh (Bardem), an appallingly perverse sociopath whose preferred instrument of death is a pneumatic prod made for slaughtering cattle. Bardem's Chigurh, sporting an absurd, baroque hairstyle, is a typically McCarthyesque force of evil, operating some considerable way beyond the natural order. "He's a peculiar man," rival hitman Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson) explains to Moss. "You could even say that he has principles. Principles that transcend money or drugs or anything like that. He's not like you. He's not even like me." Chigurh is as relentless in his pursuit of Moss as, say, Al Lettieri's terrifying Rudy Butler was of Doc and Carol McCoy in Peckinpah's film of The Getaway. You can't imagine Moss has crossed too many people like Chigurh before, even during his time in South East Asia. Neither has taciturn County Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Jones, the perfect fit for any number of characters in a McCarthy novel), who's following Chigurh's trail of carnage and hopes to save Moss from some similarly gruesome fate. "Old age flattens a man," Bell says, and one reading of McCarthy's title is that the modern world has no place for men like the sheriff, whose principles and rules of conduct are obsolete when confronted with men like Anton Chigurh. Another could be that very few people in McCarthy's novels ever make it to the end of their natural lifespan, their journey to the grave hastened by men like Anton Chigurh. The pairing of McCarthy and the Coens works surprisingly well. McCarthy's novels, usually full of grotesque and depraved monsters prone to outbursts of extraordinary violence, don't immediately suggest themselves as potential movies-in-waiting. But the characters and narrative of No Country For Old Men are so cinematically familiar that the Coens can stick admirably close to the novel and still deliver a great film that sits comfortably alongside their best. In fact, the way violence impacts on a remote, peaceful community in No Country For Old Men echoes events in Fargo, and you can draw parallels between sheriff Bell and Brainerd's pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson, both of whom are trying to comprehend the grim horrors creeping across the county line. McCarthy's sparse dialogue also dovetails perfectly with the Coens' wintry humour. "It's a mess, ain't it Sheriff?" Asks a deputy when he and Bell first come across the corpses and burned out SUVs in the desert. "If it ain't it'll do till a mess gets here," replies Bell. After the arch pastiches of their recent films, it's something of a relief to find the Coens playing it fairly straight here. But, astonishingly, for directors who tend to offer some sliver of optimism even in their most downbeat films, the Coens are prepared to run with the bleak conclusion McCarthy draws in his novel. That is, as Chigurh pursues Moss through a series of run down motels and across the Tex-Mex border into increasingly bloody circumstance, the harsh acknowledgment that there's no mercy, compassion or forgiveness to be found in an increasingly godless and heartless nation. "I always thought when I got older that God would sort of come into my life in some way," says Bell. "He didn't." MICHAEL BONNER Click here to read Uncut's interview with Tommy Lee Jones.

DIR: JOEL AND ETHAN COEN

ST: TOMMY LEE JONES, JOSH BROLIN, JAVIER BARDEM

SYNOPSIS:

West Texas, 1980. Antelope hunting out near the Rio Grande, Llewelyn Moss stumbles across a drug deal gone wrong. There’s bodies everywhere, a truck full of heroin and $2.4 million in a satchel. Taking the money, Moss sets in motion a series of events that will change everything. After all, when money goes missing on the Tex-Mex border someone, inevitably, is going to want it back.

You’ll find Sanderson roughly halfway between El Paso and San Antonio on Highway 90, the population at last count being 861. It’s possible you’re already familiar with Sanderson, or at least places like it; fictionalised versions of this kind of fly-blown Texas town have been the go-to location for bloody border fracas and other violent misdemeanours in countless crime novels and movies. As such, you could be forgiven for thinking that pretty much all of those 861 folks living in Sanderson are either drug dealers, psychopaths or hitmen.

Sanderson is the setting for Cormac McCarthy‘s 2005 novel, No Country For Old Men, a tense, stripped-down thriller that’s here been adapted and directed brilliantly by the Coen brothers. Coming off a disappointing run of movies, culminating in the dreary remake of The Ladykillers in 2004, No Country For Old Men partly calls to mind the Coens‘ grim, unforgiving debut, Blood Simple, another noir-ish story about greed and murder in, er, a small Texas town.

We meet Llewelyn Moss (Brodin), a Vietnam veteran who’s served two tours in-country, hunting antelope out on the mesa. He stumbles across several bodies, three trucks and a case full of money. He takes the money. Certainly it’ll help him and his wife Carla Jean (Kelly Macdonald) move out of the Desert Aire trailer park and set them on their way to a new life. But Moss knows, too, that men will be coming after him, probably with murder in mind. Brolin, who’s recently given fine performances in Robert Rodriguez‘ Planet Terror and Ridley Scott‘s American Gangster, has Moss pegged as a fundamentally good man, but who, crucially, isn’t quite as smart as he thinks he is.

Principally, what Moss doesn’t count on is that the man sent to recover the money is Anton Chigurh (Bardem), an appallingly perverse sociopath whose preferred instrument of death is a pneumatic prod made for slaughtering cattle. Bardem‘s Chigurh, sporting an absurd, baroque hairstyle, is a typically McCarthyesque force of evil, operating some considerable way beyond the natural order. “He’s a peculiar man,” rival hitman Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson) explains to Moss. “You could even say that he has principles. Principles that transcend money or drugs or anything like that. He’s not like you. He’s not even like me.”

Chigurh is as relentless in his pursuit of Moss as, say, Al Lettieri‘s terrifying Rudy Butler was of Doc and Carol McCoy in Peckinpah‘s film of The Getaway. You can’t imagine Moss has crossed too many people like Chigurh before, even during his time in South East Asia. Neither has taciturn County Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Jones, the perfect fit for any number of characters in a McCarthy novel), who’s following Chigurh’s trail of carnage and hopes to save Moss from some similarly gruesome fate. “Old age flattens a man,” Bell says, and one reading of McCarthy‘s title is that the modern world has no place for men like the sheriff, whose principles and rules of conduct are obsolete when confronted with men like Anton Chigurh. Another could be that very few people in McCarthy‘s novels ever make it to the end of their natural lifespan, their journey to the grave hastened by men like Anton Chigurh.

The pairing of McCarthy and the Coens works surprisingly well. McCarthy‘s novels, usually full of grotesque and depraved monsters prone to outbursts of extraordinary violence, don’t immediately suggest themselves as potential movies-in-waiting. But the characters and narrative of No Country For Old Men are so cinematically familiar that the Coens can stick admirably close to the novel and still deliver a great film that sits comfortably alongside their best. In fact, the way violence impacts on a remote, peaceful community in No Country For Old Men echoes events in Fargo, and you can draw parallels between sheriff Bell and Brainerd’s pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson, both of whom are trying to comprehend the grim horrors creeping across the county line.

McCarthy‘s sparse dialogue also dovetails perfectly with the Coens‘ wintry humour.

“It’s a mess, ain’t it Sheriff?” Asks a deputy when he and Bell first come across the corpses and burned out SUVs in the desert.

“If it ain’t it’ll do till a mess gets here,” replies Bell.

After the arch pastiches of their recent films, it’s something of a relief to find the Coens playing it fairly straight here. But, astonishingly, for directors who tend to offer some sliver of optimism even in their most downbeat films, the Coens are prepared to run with the bleak conclusion McCarthy draws in his novel. That is, as Chigurh pursues Moss through a series of run down motels and across the Tex-Mex border into increasingly bloody circumstance, the harsh acknowledgment that there’s no mercy, compassion or forgiveness to be found in an increasingly godless and heartless nation.

“I always thought when I got older that God would sort of come into my life in some way,” says Bell.

“He didn’t.”

MICHAEL BONNER

Click here to read Uncut’s interview with Tommy Lee Jones.

Thurston Moore to soundtrack arthouse erotica film

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Thurston Moore to soundtrack arthouse erotica film
Thurston Moore has soundtracked an arthouse erotica film, made by acclaimed New York underground director Richard Kern. The 60-minute film, titled “Extra Action (And Extra Hardcore)”, is released on DVD on March 18, and features original music from the Sonic Youth guitarist. Kern has collabora...

Thurston Moore has soundtracked an arthouse erotica film, made by acclaimed New York underground director Richard Kern.

The 60-minute film, titled “Extra Action (And Extra Hardcore)”, is released on DVD on March 18, and features original music from the Sonic Youth guitarist.

Kern has collaborated with Moore in the past, directing the gory video for Sonic Youth‘s 1984 single “Death Valley ‘69” and supplying the cover image for their 1986 album “Evol”, which was taken from Kern’s film “Submit To Me Now”.

A book written by Moore and Byron Coley, “No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York. 1976-1980”, is also set for release in June.

The book features oral and photographic accounts of the burgeoning avant-garde scene in New York that featured bands including Teenage Jesus & The Jerks, James Chance & The Contortions and Mars.

The No Wave scene was a significant influence on Sonic Youth in their early days.

First Look — Cloverfield

Michael Bonner
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I'd say the key moment in Cloverfield -- just the very monster movie the post-9/11 world has been crying out for -- occurs while a giant creature of unknown origin lays spectacular waste to New York City, and one of the characters screams: "I AM SEEING THIS SHIT RIGHT NOW!" Cloverfield, from Alias and Lost creator JJ Abrams, isn't so much about what we're seeing, but how we're seeing it. We're watching a film of film assembled by the US government from found camcorder footage following a devastating attack on Manhattan. It's a naggingly tricksy, metatextual device, and given how prominent Youtube, camera phones and Big Brother are in our shiny new media culture, it gives a big, fat zeitgeisty spin to the hoary old teens-in-peril/monster movie set-up. Which, essentially, is what Cloverfield is. Chances are, if you have access to the Internet, you've already come across Cloverfield. As with The Blair Witch Project and Snakes On A Plane, the film makers have deployed all manner of viral marketing campaigns to whip fanboys into a froth, launching dummy websites, MySpace profiles, teaser trailers and, most recently, they’ve put on the web five minutes of footage from the film. Chat rooms and magazines (both online and of the dead tree variety) have feverishly attempted to decipher clues about the film: is it a remake of South Korean film The Host or an adaptation of an HP Lovecraft story, even a spin-off from Lost? Or is it, um, just a teens-in-peril monster movie with a gimmicky marketing strategy? There is something achingly “now” about the whole thing. Whether it’s a statement on our increasing status as “observers” rather than “participants”, or simply a bunch of pony-tailed film execs in Hollywood reinforcing their hip credentials, it’s actually very hard to tell. There’s one scene during the initial attack, explosions rocking downtown Manhattan, people running screaming into the streets, when what looks like a large rock smashes into the sidewalk, crushing cars as it lands. It’s the head of the Statue of Liberty no less and, in the middle of all this chaos, people stop panicking, take out their mobile phones and start taking pictures as if they're snapping their mate mooning out of the window of a 38 bus. I laughed, but I have to admit I don’t know whether this was a deliberate attempt at ironic humour on the part of Abrams and his team. A minor digression, if you’ll permit. I went on holiday to Florence a few years ago, and was struck by how many tourists were either taking photos or filming with camcorders the gold doors of the Cathedral’s Baptistery. They weren’t actually looking directly at these primo examples of finely-wrought Renaissance artistry, but experiencing them one step removed from the reality, life seen through a lens. Anyway, this is pretty much how we see Cloverfield. The film is shot on a camcorder held by Hud (TJ Miller), a twentysomething initially entrusted to film testimonials at the going away party held by a group of friends in honour of Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David), who’s off for a new life in Japan. As New York is swiftly reduced to rubble, we follow Hud and his trusty camcorder, Rob, his brother Jason (Mike Vogel) and Jason’s girlfriend Lilly (Jessica Lucas) as they head towards Central Park to find Beth (Odette Yustman), the object of Rob’s desires. Along the way, we get references to Alien, Escape From New York, King Kong and – most pertinently – news footage of the 9/11 terror attacks and reportage filmed in warzones ranging from Kabul to Baghdad. There's even something in the way that each of the characters addresses the camera directly during the party sequence, leaving messages of good luck for Rob, that rather uncomfortably calls to mind those to-camera biographies suicide bombers record before setting off to blow up buses in the Occupied Territories. Early on, we see a shot of people running (there’s a lot of running in this film) as a building collapses in the distance, a wall of dust and smoke rolling at surprising speed down the street. The sequence riffs on amateur footage of terrified New Yorkers trying to outrun similar detritus as the World Trade Center towers fell. Later, as the army unleash an artillery assault on the creature, our plucky teen survivors cower in the gutters, as you’ve seen countless innocent Afghan and Iraqi citizens attempt to shield themselves during military skirmishes on the news. “Maybe the government made this thing,” someone suggests while pontificating on the creature's origin, echoing those bedsit conspiracy fantasists who spend hours on the Web trying to gather enough evidence to prove the CIA were behind 9/11. Of course, as this film is shot first person, we have no context for what’s going on – what the creature is, where it came from. We’re locked solely into the plight of this group as they make their danger-filled way across Manhattan, through the subway and streets in flame. In fact, at a brisk 85 minutes, it’s almost impossible to stop and think during the film, it’s so loud, relentless and breathless. Had it been any longer, you suspect, and you would certainly start questioning some of the weaker elements of the film. The brain-dead dialogue, the two-dimensional characterisations, the eyebrow raising feats of impossible daring our group undertake on crucial occasions. And, anyway, why do belligerent alien bugs on a mission to squish us puny humans always make a bee-line for America? What sort of persecution complex is at work here? Why not the genteel suburban climes of Banstead slimed by some giant extra-terrestrial gastropod, or the splendid dry stone walling of the Cotswolds trashed like Lego blocks under the scaly feet of a 80ft high Gila monster? I guess Cloverfield is a technically very clever film, a smart summation of the way the digital native culture consumes and circulates information. Ain't It Cool's Harry Knowles has rather excitably called it a "milestone in film", and those good folks over at Empire have given it a full five stars. But I can’t quite shake the rather nagging suspicion I was watching The Blair Witch Project for the happy slapper generation. Cloverfield opens February 1 in the UK The official website is here

I’d say the key moment in Cloverfield — just the very monster movie the post-9/11 world has been crying out for — occurs while a giant creature of unknown origin lays spectacular waste to New York City, and one of the characters screams: “I AM SEEING THIS SHIT RIGHT NOW!”

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Pete Townshend collaborates with Eels in London

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Pete Townshend collaborates with Eels in London
Eels were joined by The Who's Pete Townshend last night (July 17) in London, as frontman and songwriter E performed a solo show to celebrate the release of his autobiography. Mark Everett played a number of tracks, including "I Like Birds", "Somebody Loves You" and "Bus Stop Boxer", and fans read o...

Eels were joined by The Who‘s Pete Townshend last night (July 17) in London, as frontman and songwriter E performed a solo show to celebrate the release of his autobiography.

Mark Everett played a number of tracks, including “I Like Birds”, “Somebody Loves You” and “Bus Stop Boxer”, and fans read out excerpts from his book “Things The Grandchildren Should Know” at London‘s St James’ Church.

Townshend was called up by E – who referred to him as just ‘Pete’ – to read a section of the autobiography.

In other news, Eels are also set to screen an advert during the US Superbowl on February 3, advertising their rarities and b-sides collection, “Useless Trinkets”.

However, due to the extortionate rates for advertising during the much-watched game, the band can only afford a second of advertising time.

The band have paid $100,000 for the advert, which will feature frontman and Eels mastermind E saying the letter ‘u’.

The rest of the advert will be available to watch on the internet after it has screened.

Eels are set to release their greatest hits, “Meet The Eels: Essential Eels Vol. I, 1996 – 2006”, and rarities collection, “Useless Trinkets: B-Sides, Soundtracks, Rarities, and Unreleased, 1996 – 2006”, on January 21.

One last Best Of 2007 list

John Mulvey
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Publishing imperatives being what they are, most of us have virtually forgotten about all the hair-wringing and number-crunching that went into compiling those Best Of 2007 lists. But before we completely write off the last 12 months, here's one last poll that's pretty interesting. The 2007 Idolator Pop Critics Poll was worth waiting for, thanks to its mind-bending thoroughness - 452 critics (mainly American, but also including me, glamorously enough) responded. And, I suppose, thanks to the fact that it further validates Uncut's own chart, since LCD Soundsystem's "Sound Of Silver" appeared to run away with this one, too. As part of Idolator's extensive coverage, there's an excellent essay on "Sound Of Silver" there, too. As far as I can tell, there's about 21 albums in the Top 50 here that figured in the Uncut list (though a few can be discounted, like Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen, since they were released in the UK last year). Besides Amy, the highest placed album that didn't figure in the Uncut 50 was by Spoon: a band you'd have thought would find favour with many Uncut writers and readers, but who seem to be almost totally overlooked - by myself, too, I must admit - in the UK. Anyone who can explain their excellence, and/or why we seem immune to it, I'd be interested to hear from you. A pleasure to see that Voice Of The Seven Woods made it to Number 288 in the Top 1,144, and - if I understand rightly - I was the only person to vote for Sunburned Hand Of The Man's "Fire Escape". After being accused of having consensual taste when I filed my pick of the year here in December, it's nice to be reassuringly obscure once again. . .

Publishing imperatives being what they are, most of us have virtually forgotten about all the hair-wringing and number-crunching that went into compiling those Best Of 2007 lists. But before we completely write off the last 12 months, here’s one last poll that’s pretty interesting.

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Jean Michel Jarre announces historic performance in London

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Jean Michel Jarre announces historic performance in London
Jean Michel Jarre has announced details of a historic performance of his seminal album "Oxygene", to take place at London's Royal Albert Hall. The electronic pioneer will also use the original instruments that were used on the album, released thirty years ago last year, including over fifty analogu...

Jean Michel Jarre has announced details of a historic performance of his seminal album “Oxygene”, to take place at London‘s Royal Albert Hall.

The electronic pioneer will also use the original instruments that were used on the album, released thirty years ago last year, including over fifty analogue synthesisers.

Jarre, who will perform “Oxygene” in its entirety at the concert, explained the use of the original synths, saying: “I’ve composed “Oxygene” on extraordinary instruments, [as much a] part of electronic music mythology as Stradivarius was for classical music or Fender Telecaster was for rock music.

“I wanted the public to discover those and I am so excited about performing for the fans in London.”

The gig is set to take place on March 30.

Roxy Music to release career-spanning DVD

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Roxy Music to release career-spanning DVD

A double-disc DVD of vintage Roxy Music performances is set to be released. “The Thrill Of It All: A Visual History (1972-1982)” charts the band from their inception and first two albums with Brian Eno to the release of their final album to date, 1982's “Avalon”. Due for release in the US on February 5, the set includes 38 performances taken from various TV shows, gigs and videos, including an early performance of early classic “Re-make/Re-model” and the band's version of “Dance Away” from the ABBA In Switzerland TV special from 1979. The videos included are: Disc One (1972-1976): “Re-make/Re-model” 06/72 – Royal College Of Art “Ladytron” 06/20/72 – Old Grey Whistle Test “Virginia Plain” 08/24/72 – Top of the Pops “For Your Pleasure” 11/25/72 – Full House “Do The Strand” 04/03/73 – Old Grey Whistle Test “In Every Dream Home A Heartache” 04/03/73 – Old Grey Whistle Test “Editions Of You” (Live) 04/29/73 – Golden Rose Festival “Pyjamarama” 01/23/74 – Musikladen “Amazona” 01/23/74 – Musikladen “Psalm” 01/23/74 – Musikladen “All I Want Is You” 10/04/74 – Top of the Pops “Both Ends Burning” 10/75 – Empire Pool, Wembley “Love Is The Drug” 10/09/75 – Supersonic “The Thrill Of It All” (Live) 01/23/76 – Stockholm “Mother Of Pearl” (Live) 01/23/76 – Stockholm “Nightingale” (Live) 01/23/76 – Stockholm “Out Of The Blue” (Live) 01/23/76 – Stockholm “Street Life” (Live) 01/23/76 – Stockholm Disc Two (1979-1982): “Dance Away” 04/16/79 – ABBA In Switzerland “Manifesto” (Live) 05/06&07/79 – Manchester Apollo “A Song For Europe” (Live) 05/06&07/79 – Manchester “Apollo” “Still Falls The Rain” (Live) 05/06&07/79 – Manchester Apollo “Ain”t That So” (Live) 05/06&07/79 – Manchester Apollo “Angel Eyes” 08/79 – promo video “Trash” 1979 – promo video “Over You” 05/15/80 – Top of the Pops “Oh Yeah (On The Radio)" 08/07/80 – Top of the Pops “Same Old Scene” 11/80 – promo video “Rain, Rain, Rain” 12/19/80 – Rockpop In Concert “Flesh And Blood” 12/19/80 – Rockpop In Concert “Jealous Guy” 02/81 – promo video “The Main Thing” (Live) 08/27/82 – Frejus, “France” “While My Heart Is Still Beating” (Live) 08/27/82 – Frejus, France “Avalon” (Live) 08/27/82 – Frejus, France “My Only Love” (Live) 08/27/82 – Frejus, France “More Than This” 04/82 – promo video “Avalon” 06/82 – promo video Bonus Track: “The Main Thing” 1982 – promo video

A double-disc DVD of vintage Roxy Music performances is set to be released.

“The Thrill Of It All: A Visual History (1972-1982)” charts the band from their inception and first two albums with Brian Eno to the release of their final album to date, 1982’s “Avalon”.

Due for release in the US on February 5, the set includes 38 performances taken from various TV shows, gigs and videos, including an early performance of early classic “Re-make/Re-model” and the band’s version of “Dance Away” from the ABBA In Switzerland TV special from 1979.

The videos included are:

Disc One (1972-1976):

“Re-make/Re-model” 06/72 – Royal College Of Art

“Ladytron” 06/20/72 – Old Grey Whistle Test

“Virginia Plain” 08/24/72 – Top of the Pops

“For Your Pleasure” 11/25/72 – Full House

“Do The Strand” 04/03/73 – Old Grey Whistle Test

“In Every Dream Home A Heartache” 04/03/73 – Old Grey Whistle Test

“Editions Of You” (Live) 04/29/73 – Golden Rose Festival

“Pyjamarama” 01/23/74 – Musikladen

“Amazona” 01/23/74 – Musikladen

“Psalm” 01/23/74 – Musikladen

“All I Want Is You” 10/04/74 – Top of the Pops

“Both Ends Burning” 10/75 – Empire Pool, Wembley

“Love Is The Drug” 10/09/75 – Supersonic

“The Thrill Of It All” (Live) 01/23/76 – Stockholm

“Mother Of Pearl” (Live) 01/23/76 – Stockholm

“Nightingale” (Live) 01/23/76 – Stockholm

“Out Of The Blue” (Live) 01/23/76 – Stockholm

“Street Life” (Live) 01/23/76 – Stockholm

Disc Two (1979-1982):

“Dance Away” 04/16/79 – ABBA In Switzerland

“Manifesto” (Live) 05/06&07/79 – Manchester Apollo

“A Song For Europe” (Live) 05/06&07/79 – Manchester “Apollo”

“Still Falls The Rain” (Live) 05/06&07/79 – Manchester Apollo

“Ain”t That So” (Live) 05/06&07/79 – Manchester Apollo

“Angel Eyes” 08/79 – promo video

“Trash” 1979 – promo video

“Over You” 05/15/80 – Top of the Pops

“Oh Yeah (On The Radio)” 08/07/80 – Top of the Pops

“Same Old Scene” 11/80 – promo video

“Rain, Rain, Rain” 12/19/80 – Rockpop In Concert

“Flesh And Blood” 12/19/80 – Rockpop In Concert

“Jealous Guy” 02/81 – promo video

“The Main Thing” (Live) 08/27/82 – Frejus, “France”

“While My Heart Is Still Beating” (Live) 08/27/82 – Frejus, France

“Avalon” (Live) 08/27/82 – Frejus, France

“My Only Love” (Live) 08/27/82 – Frejus, France

“More Than This” 04/82 – promo video

“Avalon” 06/82 – promo video

Bonus Track: “The Main Thing” 1982 – promo video

OMD Reissue Dazzle Ships

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OMD Reissue Dazzle Ships

After playing a critical role in the resistible rise of Atomic Kitten, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark are once again keen to remind us of their radical youth. After last year's relaunch of 1981's seminal "Architecture And Morality", the 1983 follow-up, "Dazzle Ships", now gets the deluxe reissue treatment. It features the minor hit single, "Genetic Engineering", along with a bunch of more leftfield electronic pieces. “'Dazzle Ships' is a strange LP,” says bandmember Andy McCluskey in the reissue's sleevenotes, “because obviously it was possibly the lowest selling album that we ever released and yet I am inordinately proud of it. Maybe we did something that was commercial suicide, but we did that album for the right reasons.” The new version is released by Virgin/EMI on March 3. The bonus tracks are: "Telegraph (The Manor Version 1981)" "4-Neu" (B-Side of "Genetic Engineering" single) "Genetic Engineering (312MM Version)" (12" version) "66 And Fading" (B-Side of "Telegraph" single) "Telegraph (Extended Version)" (12" version) "Swiss Radio International" (Album out-take)

After playing a critical role in the resistible rise of Atomic Kitten, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark are once again keen to remind us of their radical youth.

After last year’s relaunch of 1981’s seminal “Architecture And Morality”, the 1983 follow-up, “Dazzle Ships”, now gets the deluxe reissue treatment. It features the minor hit single, “Genetic Engineering”, along with a bunch of more leftfield electronic pieces.

“’Dazzle Ships’ is a strange LP,” says bandmember Andy McCluskey in the reissue’s sleevenotes, “because obviously it was possibly the lowest selling album that we ever released and yet I am inordinately proud of it. Maybe we did something that was commercial suicide, but we did that album for the right reasons.”

The new version is released by Virgin/EMI on March 3.

The bonus tracks are:

“Telegraph (The Manor Version 1981)”

“4-Neu” (B-Side of “Genetic Engineering” single)

“Genetic Engineering (312MM Version)” (12″ version)

“66 And Fading” (B-Side of “Telegraph” single)

“Telegraph (Extended Version)” (12″ version)

“Swiss Radio International” (Album out-take)

Imaginational Anthems Volume Three

John Mulvey
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Nice thing turned up in the post the other day from one of my favourite labels at the moment, Tompkins Square. The New York label tends to specialise in fingerpicking guitarists who are very much in the tradition of the Takoma school, which they categorise, neatly enough, as “American Primitive Guitar”. “Imaginational Anthems Volume Three” is their latest comp of this stuff, and they continue to amaze me with a facility of finding both old and new guitarists in the tradition to celebrate. Out of the 11 players here, I’m only familiar with four of them – Greg Davis, Steffan Basho-Jungans, Mark Fosson and Shawn David McMillen. I must admit, too, that I don’t have the technical expertise to meticulously delineate between these players, as they orbit around American roots tradition and psych-raga expansiveness in generally similar – but individually quite distinctive – ways to John Fahey, Robbie Basho and so on; Tompkins Square’s reissue of “Venus In Cancer” by Basho, incidentally, is one of the records I’ve played most at home in the past year or so. There’s a vague echo of Basho’s medieval courtliness in the opening “Zocalo” by one Richard Crandell – a subterranean hero thanks to sundry private press recordings, apparently – though the track carries a faint hint of John Renbourn to my imprecise ears, too. Steffan Basho-Jungans, of course, went so far as to change his name to incorporate that of his hero, and his “Blue Mountain Raga II” here is a vast – 14 minute – piece of ebbing acoustic ripple that has that shiny intensity, that zen negotiation between mellowness and incredible concentration, that I love about James Blackshaw (another Tompkins Square alumnus who I’ve written about at length round here before). There’s actually a slight divide on this album between the more cosmic players (notably Greg Davis, whose “Here Toucheth Blues” has a treated, warped air that makes it seem in places like an acoustic companion to the music of Growing, maybe) and more traditional players like Nathan Salsburg, George Stavis (a ferociously elaborate banjo player and Vanguard veteran) and the great Mark Fosson (the forgotten man of Takoma, whose ’77 album finally emerged a year or two back on Drag City). But I struggle to recall any recent comps that glide together as seamlessly as these Tompkins Square projects, and “Volume Three” is no exception. Contemplative, intricate, a simple but ornate school of folk that hangs effortlessly between the ancient and the avant-garde – I could listen to this stuff all day. And to be honest, especially at the weekend and in the car (full of knackered James Blackshaw CDRs, chiefly), I often do.

Nice thing turned up in the post the other day from one of my favourite labels at the moment, Tompkins Square. The New York label tends to specialise in fingerpicking guitarists who are very much in the tradition of the Takoma school, which they categorise, neatly enough, as “American Primitive Guitar”.

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The Rolling Stones Announce Their Latest Live Album

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The Rolling Stones Announce Their Latest Live Album

The latest in a long line of Rolling Stones live albums arrives in March, when "Shine A Light" is released by the Universal Music Group. It will be released in the UK by Polydor Records. The album was recorded at New York’s Beacon Theatre in the autumn of 2006 - the same gig which features in Martin Scorsese's forthcoming film of the same name. "Shine A Light" - the movie, that is - will open next month's Berlin Film Festival, and should turn up in cinemas sometime in April. Special guests at the New York show, joining the Stones onstage, were Jack White, Buddy Guy and Christina Aguilera. "Shine A Light" is being released by Universal in a one-album deal. Their contract with EMI subsidiary Virgin is reported to end next month, when the Stones will be able to talk with other labels. A spokesman for The Rolling Stones said, “The band are looking forward to working with Universal Music and are excited about this new venture.” Universal, understandably, are equally excited. “We are really proud to be working with The Rolling Stones and so is everybody in Universal Music globally.” says Lucian Grainge, Chairman/CEO of Universal Music Group International, while David Joseph, Universal Music Operations president, adds: “The Rolling Stones define rock and roll, they are true music legends.”

The latest in a long line of Rolling Stones live albums arrives in March, when “Shine A Light” is released by the Universal Music Group. It will be released in the UK by Polydor Records.

The album was recorded at New York’s Beacon Theatre in the autumn of 2006 – the same gig which features in Martin Scorsese’s forthcoming film of the same name. “Shine A Light” – the movie, that is – will open next month’s Berlin Film Festival, and should turn up in cinemas sometime in April.

Special guests at the New York show, joining the Stones onstage, were Jack White, Buddy Guy and Christina Aguilera.

“Shine A Light” is being released by Universal in a one-album deal. Their contract with EMI subsidiary Virgin is reported to end next month, when the Stones will be able to talk with other labels.

A spokesman for The Rolling Stones said, “The band are looking forward to working with Universal Music and are excited about this new venture.”

Universal, understandably, are equally excited. “We are really proud to be working with The Rolling Stones and so is everybody in Universal Music globally.” says Lucian Grainge, Chairman/CEO of Universal Music Group International, while David Joseph, Universal Music Operations president, adds: “The Rolling Stones define rock and roll, they are true music legends.”

Black Mountain Set Out On Mammoth North American Tour

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Black Mountain Set Out On Mammoth North American Tour

Uncut's favourite heavy psych masters Black Mountain are to follow the release of their second album, "In The Future", with an extensive tour round the US and their native Canada. The album is released next Monday in the UK (January 21) and the tour begins ten days later in Seattle, when Black Mountain head up a stellar bill also featuring Howlin' Rain, Yeasayer and MGMT. The mighty Howlin' Rain (the choogling Comets On Fire spin-off, whose second great album is due in the spring) then join Black Mountain for more West Coast dates. Other excellent support acts later in the tour include Ladyhawk, Dead Meadow, Blood On The Wall and hotly-tipped new folkie, Bon Iver. In other Black Mountain news, the band make their national television debut on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on Thursday, February 21. And you can currently listen to a full album stream of "In The Future" on the band's myspace page, at http://www.myspace.com/blackmountain . Here are those tour dates: 01/31/08 Seattle, WA - Neumo's w/ Yeasayer, MGMT, Howlin' Rain 02/02/08 Portland, OR - The Doug Fir w/ Howlin' Rain 02/04/08 San Francisco, CA - The Independent w/ Howlin' Rain 02/05/08 Los Angeles, CA - The Troubadour w/ Howlin' Rain 02/07/08 San Diego, CA - Casbah w/ Howlin' Rain 02/08/08 Tucson, AZ - Club Congress w/ Blood on the Wall 02/10/08 Austin, TX - Emo's w/ Blood on the Wall + Dead Meadow 02/11/08 Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre w/ Blood on the Wall + Dead Meadow 02/13/08 Birmingham, AL - Bottle Tree w/ Blood on the Wall 02/15/08 Atlanta, GA - The EARL w/ Blood on the Wall 02/16/08 Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle w/ Blood on the Wall 02/17/08 Chapel Hill, NC - The Local 506 w/ Blood on the Wall 02/19/08 Washington, DC - The Rock and Roll Hotel w/ Bon Iver 02/20/08 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's w/ Bon Iver 02/22/08 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom w/ Bon Iver 02/24/08 Boston, MA - Middle East Upstairs w/ Bon Iver 02/25/08 Portland, ME - The Space Gallery w/ Bon Iver 02/26/08 Muncton, NB - The Manhattan w/ Bon Iver 02/27/08 Halifax, NS - The Marquee Club w/ Bon Iver 02/29/08 Montreal, QC - La Sala Rosa w/ Bon Iver 03/05/08 Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace w/ Bon Iver 03/06/08 Cleveland, OH - The Grog Shop w/ Bon Iver 03/07/08 Louisville, KY - Headliners w/ Bon Iver 03/09/08 Knoxville, TN - The Pilot Light w/ Bon Iver 03/10/08 Nashville, TN - Exit/In w/ Bon Iver 03/20/08 Kansas City, MO - Record Bar 03/22/08 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle 03/23/08 Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon 03/24/08 Minneapolis, MN - 7th St. Entry 03/25/08 Fargo, ND - Aquarium 03/27/08 Winnipeg, MB - Pyramid Cabaret w/ Ladyhawk 03/28/08 Regina, SK - The Distrikt w/ Ladyhawk 03/29/08 Saskatoon, SK - Amigo's w/ Ladyhawk 03/31/08 Edmonton, AB - Starlite Room w/ Ladyhawk 04/01/08 Calgary, AB - The Warehouse w/ Ladyhawk 04/05/08 Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom w/ Ladyhawk

Uncut’s favourite heavy psych masters Black Mountain are to follow the release of their second album, “In The Future”, with an extensive tour round the US and their native Canada.

The album is released next Monday in the UK (January 21) and the tour begins ten days later in Seattle, when Black Mountain head up a stellar bill also featuring Howlin’ Rain, Yeasayer and MGMT. The mighty Howlin’ Rain (the choogling Comets On Fire spin-off, whose second great album is due in the spring) then join Black Mountain for more West Coast dates.

Other excellent support acts later in the tour include Ladyhawk, Dead Meadow, Blood On The Wall and hotly-tipped new folkie, Bon Iver.

In other Black Mountain news, the band make their national television debut on Late Night with Conan O’Brien on Thursday, February 21. And you can currently listen to a full album stream of “In The Future” on the band’s myspace page, at http://www.myspace.com/blackmountain .

Here are those tour dates:

01/31/08 Seattle, WA – Neumo’s w/ Yeasayer, MGMT, Howlin’ Rain

02/02/08 Portland, OR – The Doug Fir w/ Howlin’ Rain

02/04/08 San Francisco, CA – The Independent w/ Howlin’ Rain

02/05/08 Los Angeles, CA – The Troubadour w/ Howlin’ Rain

02/07/08 San Diego, CA – Casbah w/ Howlin’ Rain

02/08/08 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress w/ Blood on the Wall

02/10/08 Austin, TX – Emo’s w/ Blood on the Wall + Dead Meadow

02/11/08 Dallas, TX – Granada Theatre w/ Blood on the Wall + Dead Meadow

02/13/08 Birmingham, AL – Bottle Tree w/ Blood on the Wall

02/15/08 Atlanta, GA – The EARL w/ Blood on the Wall

02/16/08 Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle w/ Blood on the Wall

02/17/08 Chapel Hill, NC – The Local 506 w/ Blood on the Wall

02/19/08 Washington, DC – The Rock and Roll Hotel w/ Bon Iver

02/20/08 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s w/ Bon Iver

02/22/08 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom w/ Bon Iver

02/24/08 Boston, MA – Middle East Upstairs w/ Bon Iver

02/25/08 Portland, ME – The Space Gallery w/ Bon Iver

02/26/08 Muncton, NB – The Manhattan w/ Bon Iver

02/27/08 Halifax, NS – The Marquee Club w/ Bon Iver

02/29/08 Montreal, QC – La Sala Rosa w/ Bon Iver

03/05/08 Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace w/ Bon Iver

03/06/08 Cleveland, OH – The Grog Shop w/ Bon Iver

03/07/08 Louisville, KY – Headliners w/ Bon Iver

03/09/08 Knoxville, TN – The Pilot Light w/ Bon Iver

03/10/08 Nashville, TN – Exit/In w/ Bon Iver

03/20/08 Kansas City, MO – Record Bar

03/22/08 Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle

03/23/08 Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon

03/24/08 Minneapolis, MN – 7th St. Entry

03/25/08 Fargo, ND – Aquarium

03/27/08 Winnipeg, MB – Pyramid Cabaret w/ Ladyhawk

03/28/08 Regina, SK – The Distrikt w/ Ladyhawk

03/29/08 Saskatoon, SK – Amigo’s w/ Ladyhawk

03/31/08 Edmonton, AB – Starlite Room w/ Ladyhawk

04/01/08 Calgary, AB – The Warehouse w/ Ladyhawk

04/05/08 Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom w/ Ladyhawk

Ike Turner’s Death Caused By Cocaine Overdose

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Ike Turner’s Death Caused By Cocaine Overdose

According to the report of a San Diego medical examiner, Ike Turner had died of a cocaine overdose when he was found at his home near San Diego on December 12. The legendary ex of Tina Turner was 76. Paul Parker, chief investigator at the medical examiner's office, told the Associated Press, "We are listing that he abused cocaine, and that's what resulted in the cocaine toxicity." But it was also noted that Turner's autopsy showed that a long history of cardiovascular disease and emphysema had contributed to his death. Turner was no stranger to cocaine, with a long history of involvement with the drug and several drug-related arrests.

According to the report of a San Diego medical examiner, Ike Turner had died of a cocaine overdose when he was found at his home near San Diego on December 12. The legendary ex of Tina Turner was 76.

Paul Parker, chief investigator at the medical examiner’s office, told the Associated Press, “We are listing that he abused cocaine, and that’s what resulted in the cocaine toxicity.”

But it was also noted that Turner’s autopsy showed that a long history of cardiovascular disease and emphysema had contributed to his death.

Turner was no stranger to cocaine, with a long history of involvement with the drug and several drug-related arrests.

Radiohead Bring Rainbows To The East End

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Radiohead Bring Rainbows To The East End

After all their gripping internet shenanigans, Radiohead got back to the business of proper live gigs last night (January 16). The surprise show was originally scheduled to take place at the Rough Trade East shop in Brick Lane. But following safety concerns, the police moved the gig to the nearby 93 Feet East venue. Consequently, Radiohead arrived onstage at 10.20pm, two hours later than planned, with a rueful Thom Yorke commenting, “What a fucking day." As expected, the band played their chart-topping "In Rainbows" album in its entirety, chronologically. In spite of the day's stresses, the band appeared in cheerful form, laughing their way through occasional bum notes. Before "Jigsaw Falling Into Place", though, Yorke commented, “It’s been a very strange day so it’s possible I might have to have a drink at the end of this. I’m trying to cut down, but today seems a bad day to cut down.” After the final "In Rainbows" song, "Videotape", Yorke played a solo acoustic version of "Up On The Ladder", the stand-out track from the bonus discbox CD of "In Rainbows". The band then worked through a lengthy encore of old favourites: "You And Whose Army?", "The National Anthem", "My Iron Lung" and "The Bends". Radiohead played: '15 Step' 'Bodysnatchers' 'Nude' 'Weird Fishes/Arpeggi' 'All I Need' 'Faust Arp' 'Reckoner' 'House Of Cards' 'Jigsaw Falling Into Place' 'Videotape' 'Up On The Ladder' 'You And Whose Army?' 'The National Anthem' 'My Iron Lung' 'The Bends'

After all their gripping internet shenanigans, Radiohead got back to the business of proper live gigs last night (January 16).

The surprise show was originally scheduled to take place at the Rough Trade East shop in Brick Lane. But following safety concerns, the police moved the gig to the nearby 93 Feet East venue.

Consequently, Radiohead arrived onstage at 10.20pm, two hours later than planned, with a rueful Thom Yorke commenting, “What a fucking day.” As expected, the band played their chart-topping “In Rainbows” album in its entirety, chronologically.

In spite of the day’s stresses, the band appeared in cheerful form, laughing their way through occasional bum notes. Before “Jigsaw Falling Into Place”, though, Yorke commented, “It’s been a very strange day so it’s possible I might have to have a drink at the end of this. I’m trying to cut down, but today seems a bad day to cut down.”

After the final “In Rainbows” song, “Videotape”, Yorke played a solo acoustic version of “Up On The Ladder”, the stand-out track from the bonus discbox CD of “In Rainbows”.

The band then worked through a lengthy encore of old favourites: “You And Whose Army?”, “The National Anthem”, “My Iron Lung” and “The Bends”.

Radiohead played:

’15 Step’

‘Bodysnatchers’

‘Nude’

‘Weird Fishes/Arpeggi’

‘All I Need’

‘Faust Arp’

‘Reckoner’

‘House Of Cards’

‘Jigsaw Falling Into Place’

‘Videotape’

‘Up On The Ladder’

‘You And Whose Army?’

‘The National Anthem’

‘My Iron Lung’

‘The Bends’

The Fiery Furnaces ask fans to choose their next album

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The Fiery Furnaces ask fans to choose their next album
The Fiery Furnaces have asked fans to choose the title and concept of their next album from eight possibilities. The band, who are notoriously prolific, have released a string of complex concept albums including “Blueberry Boat”, “Rehearsing My Choir” and last year's “Widow City”. In k...

The Fiery Furnaces have asked fans to choose the title and concept of their next album from eight possibilities.

The band, who are notoriously prolific, have released a string of complex concept albums including “Blueberry Boat”, “Rehearsing My Choir” and last year’s “Widow City”.

In keeping with the current US election caucuses, the eight ideas on the band’s website are split into red and blue candidates.

Among the options are “Kythphiaxkis Traans-Oinomaos”, an album about the relationships between two hermaphrodites set to Abba and Bee Gees-style tunes, “Archer Ave. Cupid’s Corner”, an album about autumn in Chicago set to early 80’s Fall-esque tunes, and “Catamite Corner”, which will consist of songs “like ‘Kashmir’, but faster, with real strings”.

At the end of the post, the band state: “Now, there might be a Rich Independent Candidate Album waiting in the wings. But in the meantime, Voice of the People-ize!”

It is not yet confirmed whether the ‘voice of the people’ is binding on The Fiery Furnaces’ choice for their new direction.

Les Savy Fav to play UK club date

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Les Savy Fav to play UK club date
Les Savy Fav have announced a small UK gig in preparation for their Shockwaves NME Awards Show. The New Yorkers will play Bedford Esquires on February 9, the day before their gig at London’s Astoria. They will be supported by Future Of The Left, Los Campesinos! and Cut Off Your Hands at the Lond...

Les Savy Fav have announced a small UK gig in preparation for their Shockwaves NME Awards Show.

The New Yorkers will play Bedford Esquires on February 9, the day before their gig at London’s Astoria.

They will be supported by Future Of The Left, Los Campesinos! and Cut Off Your Hands at the London date.

The band are returning to the UK following the positive reception to their most recent album, “Let’s Stay Friends”, released last September.

Notably, the album was placed at Number 24 in Uncut’s Albums of 2007, while NME awarded it 5th place in their poll.

My Morning Jacket announce new album

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My Morning Jacket announce new album
My Morning Jacket have shed light on their forthcoming album, due for release on June 10 in America. The band's as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2005's "Z" was recorded in New York, but worked on and arranged in Colorado, where the band stayed in a remote compound. Guitarist Carl Broemel explained: "T...

My Morning Jacket have shed light on their forthcoming album, due for release on June 10 in America.

The band’s as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2005’s “Z” was recorded in New York, but worked on and arranged in Colorado, where the band stayed in a remote compound.

Guitarist Carl Broemel explained: “That was priceless, because we don’t all live in the same city. We just got together and played.”

The album is presently unsequenced, according to Broemel, who told Billboard: “We’re seeing every song to its end before we think about sequencing or which songs belong. We’re just starting to be open to how they relate. In general, the record is different in a way I don’t even think any of us realized until we started recording.”

Produced by Joe Chiccarelli, the album is likely to be released in early June in the UK, although this has yet to be confirmed.

My Morning Jacket have also announced “An Evening With…”, a special gig at New York’s historic Radio City Music Hall, to be held on June 20.

Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood scoops BAFTA nomination

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Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood scoops BAFTA nomination
Jonny Greenwood has received a BAFTA nomination for his most recent soundtrack work. The Radiohead guitarist's soundtrack to the Paul Thomas Anderson film "There Will Be Blood" is one of the five nominations in the Best Music category. The soundtracks Greenwood is up against include Marc Streitenf...

Jonny Greenwood has received a BAFTA nomination for his most recent soundtrack work.

The Radiohead guitarist’s soundtrack to the Paul Thomas Anderson film “There Will Be Blood” is one of the five nominations in the Best Music category.

The soundtracks Greenwood is up against include Marc Streitenfeld’s music for “American Gangster” and Dario Marianelli’s soundtrack for “Atonement”.

In response to his nomination, Greenwood said: “I’m delighted, and very grateful to the BAFTA members who nominated me, to Paul Thomas Anderson for giving me the opportunity to collaborate with him on his amazing film and to the BBC Concert Orchestra for making the most of what I wrote.”

“There Will Be Blood” is Greenwood’s second full soundtrack work, following his music for 2003’s “Bodysong”.

The BAFTAs ceremony takes place on February 10 at London’s Royal Opera House.

Amy Winehouse to record a Christmas/Hanukkah album

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Amy Winehouse to record a Christmas/Hanukkah album
Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson are teaming up again to record a festive album of Christmas and Hanukkah songs. Tracks already mooted for the project include "Kosher Kisses" and "Alone Under The Mistletoe". Ronson explained that Winehouse and himself, who both have Jewish roots, wanted to give Jews ...

Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson are teaming up again to record a festive album of Christmas and Hanukkah songs.

Tracks already mooted for the project include “Kosher Kisses” and “Alone Under The Mistletoe”.

Ronson explained that Winehouse and himself, who both have Jewish roots, wanted to give Jews something better to listen to around Christmas time.

“You have all these amazing records to play for Christmas like Motown and Carla Thomas and the Charlie Brown Christmas and, unfortunately, us Jews have nothing that cool to listen to,” the producer told Rolling Stone.

The record is likely to be ready for next Christmas, as Ronson and Winehouse are planning to enter the studio sometime this year, once the singer has written enough songs for the project, which will consist of half Christmas songs and half Jewish tracks.

LIGHTSPEED CHAMPION – FALLING OFF THE LAVENDER BRIDGE

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LIGHTSPEED CHAMPION – FALLING OFF THE LAVENDER BRIDGE
Devonte Hynes' CV reads a bit like a Mighty Boosh parody of east London's incestuous indie world. The Houston-born, Essex-raised, Dalston-based maverick has called himself "Dev Metal", "IVed" and "Nigga Bullshit"; formed a glam metal project called the NLS Crew, collaborated with Michigan's Whirlwin...

Devonte Hynes‘ CV reads a bit like a Mighty Boosh parody of east London’s incestuous indie world. The Houston-born, Essex-raised, Dalston-based maverick has called himself “Dev Metal”, “IVed” and “Nigga Bullshit”; formed a glam metal project called the NLS Crew, collaborated with Michigan’s Whirlwind Heat, and joined an indie, ahem, supergroup called Naked Babes. He remains best known, however, as guitarist in the agreeably silly electro punk trio Test Icicles, who amicably split up last year because, as Hynes puts it, “we never really liked our music”.

His personal taste has always been a much broader church – Broadway musicals, 80s hair metal, thrash punk, country, hip hop – and he claims to “obsess over songwriting to the point where I hear the song rather than the genre”. It’s fitting that this debut contains at least half a dozen exquisite songs that could work in any idiom, although Hynes’s default setting – Americana-tinged acoustic rock, peppered with major-sevenths and flecked with the subtle use of pedal steel, strings and woodwind – suits his material perfectly.

Recorded in Omaha by Saddle Creek’s resident producer Mike Mogis, it’s about as far as you can get from the boisterous electroclash of Test Icicles, recalling an improbable hybrid of Wilco, Aztec Camera and Todd Rundgren. The songs are, by turns, witty, eccentric and often oddly moving: the lovelorn “Midnight Surprise” is his epic, 10-minute voyage into hook-laden power-pop; “No Surprise” is a Fleetwood Mac-inspired tribute to his mother Wendela; “I Could Have Done This Myself” a bittersweet memoir of losing his virginity; while Roddy Frame would kill to be able to once again write songs like the jaunty, tragi-comic shuffle “Everyone I Know Is Listening To Crunk”.

On tracks like “Tell Me What It’s Worth” and “Devil Tricks For A Bitch”, Hynes – as a black indie kid – confronts the peculiar racism he gets from other black youth (“I feel the nigger eyes they’re staring/makes me want to rip off my skin” he spits). That he’s able to enter such discomfiting territory while making you laugh is a tribute to his songcraft.

JOHN LEWIS

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