Something like two decades ago, when I was Features Editor of NME and making some pragmatic decisions involving coverage of second and third-tier Britpop bands, I had a kind of argument with Laurence Bell, the owner of the Domino label.
It’s recently been announced that a rare live recording of Syd Barrett guesting on guitar with The Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band in Cambridge in July 1972 is to be released – so now seems like a perfect time to revisit the extensive tribute we published in Uncut just after Barrett’s death in July 2006 (Take 112, September 2006). As well as a fantastic piece written by David Cavanagh, we hear from Syd’s friends, collaborators and admirers, including David Bowie, David Gilmour, Mick Rock, Peter Jenner, Damon Albarn, Julian Cope and Kevin Ayers. Shine on…
I interviewed T Bone Burnett as part of a piece on Inside Llewyn Davis, the new Coen Brothers film, which ran in the issue of Uncut on sale in December. What was originally meant to be a brisk 10 minute chat about working with the Coens and the film's soundtrack evolved into a much longer conversation, the bulk of which, inevitably, I couldn't work into the feature. So I thought I'd post it here for anyone interested in reading T Bone's thoughts on the evolution of folk music, the music he was listening to when he was growing up, and of course his experiences working with the Coens. Other topics under discussion included the American Civil War, George Clooney and Bob Dylan...
Last week, Kim Shattuck expressed "shock" at being fired from Pixies. Shattuck's replacement is Paz Lenchatin, who has previously played with Zwan and A Perfect Circle.
Speaking to Yahoo, Black Francis has spoken about the hirings and firings.
The Quo are currently on a UK tour, hitting London’s O2 on December 15 – and here’s one song that they are sure to be playing. In this piece from the Uncut archives (Take 190, March 2013), Nick Hasted hears all about the denim-clad, ‘boogie-shuffle’ giants’ 1974 hit. “We were the most uncool band in the world, yet the coolest DJ in the world was saying nice things about us…”_________________
Pixies have confirmed that bassist Paz Lenchatin, will replace Kim Shattuck for a series of live dates in America and Europe next year.
Last week Shattuck revealed that her time playing with the band had come to an end. She, herself, was a replacement for original Pixies bassist Kim Deal who departed the band prior to the release of the group's 'EP1' earlier this year. Lenchatin has previously played with Billy Corgan's Zwan as well as A Perfect Circle and The Entrance Band.
As Mark Lanegan prepares to release a career-spanning compilation, Has God Seen My Shadow? An Anthology 1989-2011, early in 2014, we look back at March 2012’s Uncut (Take 178), where the Screaming Trees frontman and solo artist discusses the highs and lows of his catalogue, from collaborating with Kurt Cobain, attempting to thrown session tapes into a river and embracing the synthesizer. Interview: Alastair McKay
If you were a fan, you probably watched with horror, incredulity and fretful concern at the things Lou Reed put himself through in the '70s, especially after the critical and commercial rejection of Berlin hardened an already cynical disposition into an unsparing bitterness and what seemed like a headlong pursuit of self-obliteration. Even more than Keith Richards at the time, Lou seemed the rock star most likely to become a casualty of his addictions.
