Rolling Stone, bless them, republished their list of “The 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s” on their website this week. The feature – originally published in 1989 – makes for strange and occasionally bewildering reading. For a start, it’s topped by The Clash’s London Calling, which is undeniably a masterwork but also was undeniably released in 1979 (and no, we’re not buying the January 1980 US release date as an excuse here). Now, we know better than anyone that lists are always subjective, and whatever you include people are going to complain (hey, it’s actually nice to be complaining about someone else’s lists for once). And admittedly, we’re evaluating this list with the benefit of 20 years of hindsight. But even so, there are some glaring omissions from RS’s selection – here are 10 records that really should have featured somewhere near the top, but didn’t feature at all.
It was with great joy that we learned yesterday that Roxy Music really is reuniting… with Brian Eno! Although Bryan Ferry and co. had been working on new material and racking up tour dates for quite a while, and there had been talk about Eno contributing, we finally got a release date for the record: Bryan Ferry’s Olympia , which also features Roxy members Phil Manzanera and Andy Mackay, will come out October 25 via Virgin. Flea, who is in just about every band at this point, Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, and Nile Rodgers of Chic will appear on the album, which also boasts guest spots by Scissor Sisters, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, and Primal Scream’s Mani. Not too shabby!
For glam-rock fans, this is especially notable because Eno’s departure was the result of a major feud with Ferry. We never thought we’d see them together again, but stranger things have happened. While holdouts still abound (The Smiths, for one), even bands that promised they’d never reunite are touring and recording again. After the jump, 10 bands that claimed they were done for good, only to return months, years, or decades later — with varying results. Watch the reunion videos and tell us which reunions you think were and weren’t mistakes after the jump.
That’s right, folks: Even rock stars need their daily affirmation. We assume that’s why the Pixies’ Frank Black agreed to be a guest on Morning Prayer with Skott and Behr, which you may recognize from the venerable Tim and Eric universe. The hosts, who have not (of course) heard Black’s music, pose existential questions such as, “What is music?” and “What is sound?” And then Black performs — er, tries to perform.
Why is it that when times are tough, things like movie and concert tickets only seem to get more expensive? Well, don’t worry: We feel your financial pain. As cities across the country gear up for summers packed with free shows and screenings, we want to make sure you know that you don’t have to live in a major metropolis (or risk bug bites and butt numbness) to get your gratis film and music fix. The internet abounds with excellent music documentaries you can watch right on your computer. Check out ten of our favorites, from the Pixies to the Flaming Lips, after the jump.
This is an exciting week for Smashing Pumpkins fans. Billy Corgan and, um, whoever else is in his band these days, have released the first volume in their 11-EP Teargarden By Kaleidyscope series. To be totally fair, the group is generously allowing its fans to download all songs from the project free. But if you want a physical version, be ready to shell out some major cash for a painstakingly crafted special edition. Insound notes that the debut installment “is packaged in a silk-screened wooden box (7 1/4″ tall x 8″ wide x 1.05″ thick). Each box contains: a 4-song CD (with four new Smashing Pumpkins songs and instrumental intros), a 7″ vinyl single (containing a new song and a B-Side), and a hand-carved “leopard stone” obelisk, about 2″ tall, similar to marble.” Considering that there will eventually be 11 $33 EPs to buy, Pumpkins completists stand to spend upwards of $350 to own the entire set.
Think that’s bonkers? Well, it’s nothing compared to some of the other insanely expensive (or just plain over-the-top) box sets and special-edition albums we’ve seen. Check out 10 of the weirdest and most expensive after the jump.
Scrabble is where board game nerds and word nerds meet, a place where Dungeons and Dragons strategy combines with spelling bee prowess. And it’s not just for people who aced their vocabulary quizzes or spent all night playing Risk — Scrabble, indeed, is a music nerd’s paradise. Why? Well, from Gwen Stefani (“That shit is Bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S!”) to the Kinks (“L-O-L-A, Lola”) some bands just love to spell it out. In the grand tradition of our mixes for English majors and science nerds, we present 15 songs that will help you out at your next Scrabble tournament.
As February draws to a close, we can’t say we’ll miss the cold weather, snowstorms, and other dead-of-winter surprises it has thrown our way. But we would like to get something positive out of it. That’s why we’re taking the opportunity of this abbreviated month to draw your attention to something else that’s short and, unlike February, has always been pretty underrated: The EP. While these minimalist, economical mini-albums have introduced us to countless new acts that couldn’t muster the cash or didn’t have the material to record a full-length, LPs still get all the love. To remedy that, we’re counting down our 10 favorite EPs of all time — and, as a bonus, introducing you to three new ones you’d do well to check out.
Jim DeRogatis, veteran Chicago Sun-Times music critic, has a beef with the Pixies’ latest tour. This time, the band that reunited in 2004 is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its classic album Doolittle by performing the record in full. The notoriously cranky DeRogatis refers to Black Francis, Kim Deal and co. as “a cynical corporation cashing in on blatant nostalgia — a hipper version of Creedence Clearwater Revisited or Journey,” and calls them out for failing to produce any new music in the five years since they’ve been back together. And as far as the show itself goes, well, according to DeRogatis, “None of it was embarrassing, but none of it was extraordinary, either.”
Although we were slightly daunted by this take-down, we showed up optimistic and excited to last night’s Pixies performance at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom. And we were far from disappointed. After the jump, we give ten (admittedly Kim Deal-oriented) reasons why Jim DeRogatis is wrong about the Doolittle tour.
Los Angeles-based indie pop trio The Happy Hollows embrace the quiet/loud aesthetic popularized by The Pixies with live performances that are unconventional, immediately likable, and fun to watch. With little or no warning, charismatic front-woman Sarah Negahdari leaps back and forth from singing sweetly to shredding her guitar and screaming at the top of her lungs from the stage floor, while bassist/back-up singer Charlie Mahoney and drummer Chris Meanie support the fantastic chaos of it all.
Time will tell if the band attracts the same national attention of other hometown acts like The Silversun Pickups and The Airborne Toxic Event. The Happy Hollows have shared stages with both — but the release of their first full-length Spells on October 6th proves they deserve it. (If you’re in LA, catch their album release party at Spaceland this Friday night.) Read More »
Start saving your pennies, because the ultimate gift for any Pixies fan is on the way. Pre-orders begin June 15 for Minotaur, a deluxe box set containing all five of the legendary quartet’s studio albums, along with a live DVD from a 1991 London performance and a 54-page book. The whole package comes in a custom slipcase, and is offered by A+R, the same company that produced similar offerings for Nine Inch Nails, Beck, and Sigur Ros. More info and a video trailer for Minotaur after the jump.
