"Rip it Up and Start Again", Human League and Synthesizers

I've spent the greater part of the weekend pretty much lazing about and reading Simon Reynolds' 2006 book "Rip it Up and Start Again" (Postpunk 1978-1984). It's post-punk on overload, helping one learn about those fitful, conspiring and musically experimental bands that followed the 1976-1978 punk explosion. Bands like PiL (Rotten's Pistols' follow-up), The Fall, Gang of Four, Joy Division, Devo, Talking Heads. The Human League, Scritti Politti, James Chance and the downtown NY Mudd Club scene and so much more.

The book tackles loads of postpunk ephemera - Malcolm McLaren's post-Pistols dabbles in soft porn scriptwriting (eventually leading to his puppet handling work with Annabelle in Bow Wow Wow); the Talking Heads' David Byrne and Brian Eno's musical love-fest, moving the Heads from a choppy guitar band in 1976-1977 to a massively African-influenced supercharged unit in three short years; and the downtown NYC club scene revolving around Club 57 and the Mudd Club, where decadence and decadent dance reigned in equal amounts.

The book's Amazon entry calls it "an ambitious, cerebral effort" and its brainy thesis wanderings can be a bit brain-taxing at times. Reynolds eventually lightens the book up with more anecdotal goodness when it comes to the synth bands and their early efforts. That's the part that highly resonated with me.

As much as I'd like to remember that I went from listening to the first wave of punk rock straight into post-punk and hardcore then American indie rock circa 1984, it's not entirely true. There was a brief shining 18 months where my pal Rick and I were crazy on The Human League, Visage, Depeche Mode and other early synth pop pioneers, as well as Adam and the Ants and early Duran Duran. The 1981-1982 period was very fruitful for British pop coming over to our shores. I was also still into Flipper, hardcore, DKs, Black Flag and others too, but we wanted to hang with girls, too, ya know? :-) In any case, read the book. Here's an interview Simon Reynolds did with The Quietus around this time last year, for further illumination.

Now, onto The Human League. Here are a couple of clips below with the The Human League's Phil Oakey (old AND young Phil). In the first clip, he describes the early rudimentary synthesizer that helped create The Human League's 1978 debut single "Being Boiled". Two versions of that are below - the original FAST PRODUCT release and the version played in 1978 on Granada TV.



The Human League's "Being Boiled" (1978, FAST Product version)


The Human League playing the song "Being Boiled" on Granada TV (hosted by eventual Factory Records head Tony Wilson):

Rock Clip of the Week - The Pixies "Levitate Me" (live 1988)

Got 2:20 to spare? Then click off and dig the entrancing sounds of The Pixies, captured in a live 1988 performance doing the song "Levitate Me" from the band's 1987 (!) debut "Come on Pilgrim".



Is this song a come-on to a lover? Is it a halt to another? You decide!

"Give me help, give it help, you can Levitate me
Then take off them rings, off them hose Levitate me
Higher place Levitate me
Elevator lady, elevator lady, elevator lady, elevator lady, lady
Levitate me
If all in all is true, if all in all is true, if all in all is true
If all is true
Won't you please run over me? Won't you please run over me?
Won't you please run over me? Won't you please run over me?
Shaky shake, shake it Levitate me
Come on, pilgrim, you know he loves you
Levitate me
Higher place
They kick your baby??
Elevator lady, elevator lady, elevator lady, lady
elevator lady, lady, lady
Levitate me
If all in all is true, if all in all is true, if all in all is true
If all is true
Won't you please run over me? Won't you please run over me?
Won't you please run over me? Won't you please run over me?
Won't you please run over me? Won't you please run over me?
Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me."

The Pixies are spending their entire March in the land down under. Click here for the 2010 tour dates. You can download a free live EP from the band's site in return for your email address.

Red Pens Rock Out - NYC this week

Learned recently about the rockin' sound of Red Pens, whose debut music piece, Reasons, was released in February on Grain Belt Records (pretty apt!), which says it "focuses on the sounds of the new Minneapolis indie music scene." Sounds A-OK to me. I've loved the sounds of rockin' Twin Cities bands over the years.

Howard Hamilton III is the guitarist, vocalist and scuz-sound mastermind behind Red Pens. If this blog post is to be believed, it looks like he's been rockin it out with fellow Minesotans and others for a while now. His singing drummer gal pal is Laura Bennet. Listen to the song Blue Lighters - crazy rock shouting fun, that's my kind of noise!

Red Pens Tour dates
Feb 21 Chicago, IL - Hideout *
Feb 24 Ithaca, NY - The Shop *
Feb 25 Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's *
Feb 26 New York, NY - Pianos *
Mar 1 Columbus, OH - Thirsty Ear *
Mar 6 Minneapolis, MN - Hexagon Bar
Mar 20 Minneapolis, MN - Sauce
Mar 27 Minneapolis, MN - 7th St. Entry
Apr 3 Minneapolis, MN - Hexagon Bar
Apr 16 Minneapolis, MN - Voltage Fashion Show
Apr 23 Saint Paul, MN - Turf Club
May 1 Minneapolis, MN - 501 Club

Midweek Mumblings

Blogging will be a little light the rest of the week, methinks, as I'm in situations offline for a few days. Think of it as a rest home. For the young at heart.

But here are few shorties to curl round yer finger today:

- Local AZ goodguys Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers (pic left) are bringing their rocked-up goodness to London and English cities this week on its Circus Britannicus tour 2010. Lots of fun pics from the guys' Twitter feed. And yes, they visited Stonehenge.

- Spinner looks at another band coming to SXSW - The Downbeat 5, who describes their own sound as "Real rock 'n' roll. Garage, soul, and R&B".

- Never heard of Ben & Vesper, but they recently collaborated with Sufjan Stevens for a new slice of indie popness (per this piece at Spacelab)

- Trey Anastasio from Phish will introduce Genesis at the Rock and Roll of Fame, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day will introduce iconic punk band The Stooges and Wyclef Jean will induct reggae artist Jimmy Cliff. I'm bored already.

- University of Tennessee's Daily Beacon finds time to profile...The MONKS? The 1960s military base garage rock insanios? Apparently there's been a re-release of The Monks' “Black Monk Time,” which has been beautifully remastered and rereleased by Light In The Attic Records. Read a review at Crawdaddy.

The Soft Pack - Tour, New CD - "Answer to Yourself"

The Soft Pack is a San Diego-formed, LA-living and currently touring mighty rock band that sounds pretty fuckin' awesome to my ears. I found their great song "C'mon" playin' on the Limewire blog post about a new Indie California comp CD.

The band likes to rock! Yes. And they are clearly building buzz in Los Angeles - here's an LA Time piece about the band, spotlighting its '10 shows in 13 hours' to spotlight its debut LP (Buy it at iTunes)

From the LA Times article:
"What didn't change was the band's commitment to stripped-down indie rock, inspired by the Stooges, Jonathan Richman and San Diego's early punk act the Zeros. "I felt like no one was really making very simple rock 'n' roll at the time," says Lamkin, who performs with the deadpan demeanor of a David Byrne or actor Charles Grodin. "I always wanted to make music that was timeless."

Consequence of Sound reviewed The Soft Pack CD and wrote: "Given the simplicity in their style, from the blunt and honest lyrics to the proven melodies, it’s hard not to be charmed by The Soft Pack. There’s a rawness that doesn’t leave you rare, rather, it’s perfectly balanced between just enough lo-fi and keeping things sharp. With their intentions lying open and out there, you get right to the heart of the matter. If they do decide to broaden things down the road, that’s great, but for now we have a new home for the catchy punk rock that’s been missing from our lives lately."

You can stream the band's songs at their website player. Here's The Soft Pack on Letterman last week, with its monster song called "Answer to Yourself".



The Soft Pack are already in Europe, doing several weeks of shows, before returning to the US in March for shows, plus SXSW and Coachella appearances to wrap it all up. Goodbye California, hello world!

Feb 18 2010 The Plug, Sheffield Sheffield
Feb 19 2010 Ruby Lounge Manchester, UK
Feb 20 2010 Korova Liverpool, UK
Feb 22 2010 Cluny Newcastle, UK
Feb 23 2010 King Tuts Glasgow, UK
Feb 24 2010 Cabaret Voltaire Edinburgh, UK
Feb 25 2010 Rocket Leeds, UK
Feb 26 2010 Bodega Nottingham, UK
Feb 27 2010 O2 Academy 3 Birmingham, UK
Mar 1 2010 MTC Cologne, Germany
Mar 2 2010 Paradiso Amsterdam, Netherlands
Mar 3 2010 AB CLub Brussels, Belgium
Mar 4 2010 Nouveau Casino Paris, France
Mar 6 2010 Indie Club Grüner Jäger Hamburg, Germany
Mar 7 2010 Zapata (Tacheles) Berlin, Germany
Mar 18 2010 STUBBS (930pm) Austin, Texas
Mar 19 2010 TRAILER SPACE (415PM) IHATEROCKNROLL PARTY Austin, Texas
Mar 21 2010 DOUBLE WIDE BAR (BRO FEST- STARTS AT 3PM) Dallas, Texas
Mar 23 2010 PROUD LARRY’S w/ NODZZZ, BEATERS Oxford, Mississippi
Mar 24 2010 EXIT/IN w/ NODZZZ, BEATERS Nashville, Tennessee
Mar 25 2010 THE EARL w/ NODZZZ, BEATERS Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 26 2010 CAT’S CRADLE w/ NODZZZ, BEATERS Carrboro, North Carolina
Mar 27 2010 BLACK CAT w/ NODZZZ, BEATERS WASHINGTON DC, Washington DC
Mar 29 2010 GREAT SCOTT w/ NODZZZ, BEATERS Allston, Massachusetts
Mar 30 2010 JOHNNY BRENDAS w/ NODZZZ, BEATERS Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 31 2010 MAXWELL’S w/ NODZZZ, BEATERS Hoboken, New Jersey
Apr 1 2010 THE MERCURY LOUNGE w/ NODZZZ, BEATERS Manhattan, New York
Apr 3 2010 MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG w/ MALE BONDING Brooklyn, New York
Apr 6 2010 LA TULIPE w/ MALE BONDING, BEATERS Montreal
Apr 7 2010 EL MOCAMBO CLUB w/ MALE BONDING, BEATERS Toronto
Apr 8 2010 MAGIC STICK w/ MALE BONDING, BEATERS Detroit, Michigan
Apr 9 2010 THE EMPTY BOTTLE w/ MALE BONDING, BEATERS Chicago, Illinois
Apr 10 2010 TURF CLUB w/ MALE BONDING, BEATERS St. Paul, Minnesota
Apr 13 2010 CHOP SUEY w/ MALE BONDING Seattle, Washington
Apr 14 2010 DOUG FIR LOUNGE w/ MALE BONDING Portland, Oregon
Apr 15 2010 BOTTOM OF THE HILL w/ MALE BONDING San Francisco, California
Apr 18 2010 COACHELLA Indio, California

Frightened Rabbit single - Nothing Like You

Hey, I like a band that rocks the 2010 flag! :-) But even better yet is Frightened Rabbit's layering scrapes of feedback over lovely melodies and Scottish-kilted guitars. Check out their song "Things" for a taste at the band's MySpace page.

Per PHX blog So Much Silence, Frightened Rabbit is releasing a new LP called "The Winter of Mixed Drinks" (great title, that), in two weeks, starting a UK tour, then hitting SXSW, then back to Europe for a week and half, then off to Coachella - hope someone's picking up the band's travel costs!

Per Wikipedia...: "Frightened Rabbit are a Scottish indie rock band from Selkirk, formed in 2003. The line up consists of lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and lyricist Scott Hutchison, guitarist and bassist Billy Kennedy, guitarist Andy Monaghan, drummer Grant Hutchison and guitarist and keyboardist Gordon Skene. The band has so far released two studio albums, with their second, The Midnight Organ Fight (2008), receiving widespread critical acclaim. Their third studio album, The Winter of Mixed Drinks, is due for release on 1 March 2010.

Concerning the band's line-up, Scott Hutchison notes that:
“....the initial line-up in Frightened Rabbit was just myself. I had really only been messing with my 4 track for about 6 months before I started playing some shows on my own. Some of the songs still didn't have words and I was mostly just mumbling nonsense half the time. Grant joined a year later, making the outfit much noisier. Billy came along about 6 months after this and actually made it a bit less noisy. He's very calming like that is Billy. Andy has been in the band since January, and adds all the extra details we were missing before. Still not sure if we're finished gathering members."

Here's the band's propulsively cool song called 'Nothing Like You' below.

Rock Clip of the Week - Iggy & the Stooges 'Cock in my Pocket'

Wow! The "Raw Power' era Stooges are back with the goods! It was huge news just to hear that Iggy and Stooges drummer Ron Asheton had convinced Stooges' Raw Power-era guitarist James Williamson to come back and do the old shit. But I didn't think they'd be touching this ditty! But they are! See below a rockin' clip from November '09 of the Stooges doing the infamous 'Cock in my Pocket'.

'Cock in my Pocket' comes out of sessions the Stooges did in Spring of 1973, the infamous Detroit Rehearsal tapes. I first heard this song as an impressionable kid listening to my copy of the Stooges live recording 'Metallic KO'

From Wikipedia:
"In the essay "Iggy Pop: Blowtorch in Bondage" critic Lester Bangs calls the album a "documentation of the Iggy holocaust at its most nihilistically out of control." He describes the Stooges concert he attended that immediately preceded the Metallic K.O. performances:
-- "The audience, which consisted largely of bikers, was unusually hostile, and Iggy, as usual, fed on that hostility, soaked it up and gave it back and absorbed it all over again in an eerie, frightening symbiosis. "All right," he finally said, stopping a song in the middle, "you assholes wanta hear 'Louie, Louie,' we'll give you 'Louie, Louie.'" So the Stooges played a forty-five-minute version of "Louie Louie," including new lyrics improvised by the Pop on the spot consisting of "You can suck my ass / You biker faggot sissies," etc.

By now the hatred in the room is one huge livid wave, and Iggy singles out one heckler who has been particularly abusive: "Listen, asshole, you heckle me one more time and I'm gonna come down there and kick your ass." "Fuck you, you little punk," responds the biker. So Iggy jumps off the stage, runs through the middle of the crowd, and the guy beats the shit out of him, ending the evening's musical festivities by sending the lead singer back to his motel room and a doctor. I walk into the dressing room, where I encounter the manager of the club offering to punch out anybody in the band who will take him on. The next day the bike gang, who call themselves the Scorpions, will phone WABX-FM and promise to kill Iggy and the Stooges if they play the Michigan Palace on Thursday night. They do (play, that is), and nobody gets killed, but Metallic K.O. is the only rock album I know where you can actually hear hurled beer bottles breaking against guitar strings."

Gee I hope they play this on March 15th at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony!

Iggy & the Stooges - Cock in my Pocket (live - November 2009)

Guided by Voices - Game of Pricks, live 1996, Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH

There's an old-school Dayton, OH guy who keeps putting rare old GBV footage up on YouTube - here's one uploaded on Sunday: Game of Pricks, done live at the UTBUTS Record Release party in 1996 at Dayton's Canal Street Tavern. Love it.



And for comparisons' sake, here's a version of the same song, a decade later and many many many rocks shows in between. God Bless Robert Pollard and all he has brought forth. Including Boston Spaceships!

SXSW Promo #2 - Foxy Shazam

Here's #2 in the Model Home Series on bands heading to Austin, Texas in a month's time to play music shows for the great unwashed at the SXSW Music Fest. [Read last week's #1 here] This week's squirrely bandits are Foxy Shazam, a high spirited and enthusiastic quintet from Cincinnati, OH. Become a fan at their Facebook page.

The band has a wide swatch of influences, and it shows in its musical styles. Their PR peeps write "Citing influences as varied as Marvin Gaye, Elton John and “Born To Run”-era Bruce Springsteen, Foxy Shazam is an amalgam of blues, soul, and brash pop bound by a no holds barred punk-rock aesthetic." The band's major label debut comes out in April on Sire Records. Hear their first sing 'Unstoppable' on iTunes.

Here are two sides to Foxy Shazam - one is from NYC's Fearless Music last spring '09, doing the track 'Rocketeer'. And the second video below is a fun acapella version of a doo-wop tinged ditty from the upcoming LP called "Evil Thoughts". Cool. If you don't get to SXSW, the band's tour dates are below.





Foxy Shazam headlining tour dates are as follows:

3/15 – Exit/In – Nashville , TN
3/17 – Las Palmas Racetrack – Las Palmas , TX
3/18 – House of Blues – Houston , TX
3/19 – SXSW – Austin , TX
3/20 – SXSW – Austin , TX
3/21 – White Rabbit – San Antonio , TX
3/22 – Higher Ground – Metarie , LA
3/23 – Juanitas – Little Rock , AR
3/24 – Masquerade – Atlanta , GA
3/26 – Orpheum – St. Petersburg , FL
3/27 – Jack Rabbits – Jacksonville , FL
3/28 – Canal Club Downstairs – Richmond , VA
3/29 – Studio @ Webster Hall – New York , NY
3/30 – Great Scotts – Boston , MA
3/31 – Knitting Factory – Brooklyn , NY
4/01 – Webster Underground – Hartford , CT
4/03 – Petit Camps – Montreal , QC
4/05 – Sneeky Dees – Toronto , ON
4/06 – Mohawk Place – Buffalo , NY
4/07 – The Basement – Columbus , OH
4/08 – Eagle Theater – Detroit , MI
4/09 – Mad Hatter – Cincinnati , OH
4/10 – Beat Kitchen – Chicago , IL
4/11 – The Vault – Minneapolis , MN
4/13 – Marquis Theater – Denver . CO
4/15 – El Corazon Lounge – Seattle , WA
4/16 – The Venue – Vancouver , BC
4/17 – Satyricon – Portland , OR
4/18 – Bottom of the Hill – San Francisco , CA
4/19 – Boardwalk – Sacramento , CA
4/21 – Troubadour – Los Angeles , CA
4/23 – Martini Ranch – Phoenix , AZ
4/24 – Launch Pad – Albuquerque , NM
4/26 – Jackpot – Lawrence , KS
4/27 – Off Broadway – St. Louis , MO

Wanna record where The Strokes are recording?

Here's the main tracking room of Avatar Studios, where The Strokes are recording songs to make up their fourth album. At least that's what I gleaned from the 9-minute video clip below, which includes the band working on a new song called 'Taken For A Fool' with producer Joe Chiccarelli.

Kingblind wrote: "And now we have video proof that the New York City quintet have indeed been working on the record, thanks to an official behind-the-scenes video recently uploaded to YouTube. Though singer Julian Casablancas is conspicuously absent from the nine-minute clip, the band's other four members are featured playing Scrabble, teasing each other, making joke songs, and generally having what looks like a pretty solid amount of fun. Some facts gleaned from the video: Albert Hammond, Jr. cut his hair, the band are working on a new song called "Taken for a Fool", and they recorded in Manhattan's Avatar Studios with producer Joe Chiccarelli (White Stripes, Shins, My Morning Jacket)."

Here's the video mentioned above, with band members and others manning the camera for their (our?) amusement. Shame about the voiceover.

R.I.P. Doug Fieger (of the Knack)

Doug Fieger, singer-guitarist with last 70s/80s band The Knack, died Sunday, from complications from cancer over the last few years. He was 57 yrs. old.

R.I.P. to the man whose songs were being sung by a LOT of people during 1979 and following, after the big hit 'My Sharona' popped out of nowhere. The Knack's home page says an obituary will be at its page.

The Detroit News talked to a few of Fieger's Detroit friends from the early days, and KABC has a 2001 Fieger interview in which he professes his love for pop music through and through.

Here's a younger Doug Fieger with the Knack, doing a cover of The Kinks' "The Hard Way" and below that, a live clip of 'My Sharona' from Carnegie Hall, NYC in 1979.

Rock Clip of the Week - Todd Rundgren's Utopia, 'Love is the Answer'

It's Valentines Day weekend! Love is for Lovers! Whether you're in it to win it this weekend, or you're just skating by on a three day pass to the couch and Tivo, chill out, take a breather and enjoy the sweet melody that is "Love is the Answer" from rock veteran Todd Rundgren.

[FYI: And he's still very active -- Todd and bandmates played a British show and a Dutch show last week for his nearly 40-yr. old LP "Wizard, A True Star" - Here's an Independent review from the London show. And another from the Guardian. The pic to the left is Todd floating in space, or something like that (Image by John Rahim]. I've included a clip at the bottom of this post from the show, complete with all the costume changes.]

This 'Love is the Answer' clip is from 1980 on the Mike Douglas TV show - live clip, no lip synch, the band's in matching white Devo-esque jumpsuits, Todd sings his heart out and all around, makes your heartstrings fly to the moon. Love Love Love.



From Wizard, A True Star - London, Feb 6th, 2010

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night! Dfactor covers Bay City Rollers

Some guys spend their Christmas breaks taking the kids sledding. Well, I live in Phoenix, and there wasn't any. Snow, that is. So I record my stupid songs and cover songs instead. And here's how I spent Christmas 2009, recording my wack cover of "Saturday Night", the great 1970s Bay City Rollers global pop hit.

"Gonna rock it up, roll it up, do it all, have a ball, Saturday night!" With fun, simple lyrics like that and a melody to please the ears, how can you miss? Well, maybe by sucking all the fun pop life out of it, as I did with this version. I'll let you readers be the judge. Click the big orange arrow to stream it below.

Saturday Night  by  Dfactor


Here is the Bay City Rollers fantastic version if you've never heard or seen it:

SXSW Promo #1 - Grand Atlantic

Lots of band promos streaming in on upcoming South by Southwest shows in Austin Texas in mid-March. If I'm any good at this, I'll try to run a band or two a week by you for your interest and/or listening hijinks.

Brisbane, Australia's Grand Atlantic is heading to West Coast, Chicago then NYC before heading to Austin. Some have compared the band to Oasis, Stone Rose and The Church, among others. Sounds about right to me Their new CD is called How We Survive through Laughing Outlaw Records with a SXSW showcase on March 18th and 20th. See all the tour dates on their MySpace page.

From the Laughing Outlaw site: "Grand Atlantic is an unusual Australian band. Neither defiantly anti-commercial nor oriented toward the mainstream, they write and record detailed and idiosyncratic pop songs that ignore current fashion, yet have massive radio potential."

Here's their video for "She's A Dreamer" from How We Survive.

Gordon Gano joins Delta Spirit in NYC for 'Add it Up'

Violent Femmes mainman Gordon Gano played Pianos NYC the other night (with Delta Spirit and others) and ended up doing a version of the Femmmes' classic 'Add it Up' with Delta Spirit for the fans.

Here's a fine clip of the proceedings - fine mid-song jam and rockin' lights as well - "Who's the boss? Gordon's the boss!".

Black Gold - New video 'Shine'

Brooklyn's quartet Black Gold hit AOL Spinner's video page with their song 'Shine' (I like that title!) Click the video below to watch.

Black Gold (along with Sherwood and others) plays Phoenix's Clubhouse on Feb 22 - tix are available. "The heart of the song is about a time in a person's life when his or her faith is being tested in the most challenging way they've ever known," band member Than Luu explains to Spinner. "In that moment, you pray for something or someone so bad that you'd be crushed if you were let down and reborn if you were not. The concept for the video speaks to this test of faith and the dreams that go with it. You'll see imagery of friends and loves lost, hints of hopes and fears, light and dark."




Black Gold Tour Dates:
February
17 Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy
21 San Diego, CA - SOMA
22 Phoenix, AZ - The Clubhouse
23 Amarillo, TX - Common
24 Austin, TX - The Mohawk
25 Houston, TX - House of Blues Houston
26 Dallas, TX - The Door
28 Oklahoma City, OK - The Conservatory

March
3 Nashville, TN - Exit/In
4 Knoxville, TN - The Square Room
5 Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
6 Jacksonville, FL - Jack Rabbits
8 Orlando, FL - BackBooth
9 Tampa, FL - Crowbar
11 Greenville, SC - The Handlebar
14 Somerville, MA - The Armory
15 Vienna, VA - Jammin’ Java
16 S. Hackensack, NJ - School of Rock
17 New York, NY - Highline Ballroom

PIL - Coachella, Video from Dec '09 London Reunion

I completely missed this over the Christmas holidays, but am happy to share seven weeks later. John Lydon and Public Image Ltd. reunited for shows in London and Manchester in December '09 and video appeared in January. {You can buy CDs of some of the shows at Lydon's website and read some of the show reviews.}

The immense interest in their UK shows led to the band agreeing to play their first live date in the US in 18 years. PIL will play Coachella in April. From the blurbmeisters...
"After returning in December 2009 for seven monumental concerts in the United Kingdom–their first shows in 17 years–PUBLIC IMAGE LTD (PiL) are now set to play their first show in the United States in 18 years at the COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL on Friday, April 16 (opening day of the three-day event) in Indio, CA." That will be an awesome gig. Here's some proof below.

Here's the great PIL song 'Rise" from the Brixton Academy gig on 21 December 2009


Here's another clip of Lydon leading PIL the following night at Electric Ballroom, London on 22 December 2009 on "This is Not a Love Song"

Lou Barlow on ABC's 'Amplified'

Lou Barlow (and Dinosaur Jr.) profiled on ABC's 'Amplified' segment - well played by host Dan Harris.

Rockin' the Interwebs

Just stumbling around the Connect-o-Web today like a Colts fan lost on Bourbon Street today...

- Spin writes of The Who's Top 10 Super Bowl Moments - Zak's cymbals! Loved 'em!

- Captain's Dead has the Beatles forgotten Abbey Road Sessions

- 1960s garage rockers Paul Revere & the Raiders Featuring Mark Lindsay: The Complete Original Columbia Singles - available March 23 on Collector's Choice. (Send me one!)


- The SNL tribute to hardcore (featuring Dave Grohl) (via VideoGum)

Grant Hart touring Australia this week

Grant Hart is on the sunny part of the world last week and this, touring New Zealand and Australia.

Pissing on the Mainframe has got more info, plus the cool poster.

Rock Clip of the Week - Husker Du - Live in '85

I stumbled across this off the cuff, 1985 soundboard video taping of a Husker Du show from, well, ANYWHERE. This is the real deal, kids - THIS IS HOW THEY ROCKED. I know, I was up front for a lot of the Chicago gigs back then. I love seeing no Flip cams or cell phones in the crowd - the band plays as unpretentious and energetic as it looked.

Here are like the band's ULTIMATE songs for the price of one - Husker Du EXPLODING onstage with "New Day Rising" "It's Not Funny Anymore" "Everything Falls Apart" "The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill" - CRIKEY! It's gonna be a good year for the Husker legend.



You can hear a snatch of my old song "How Great Was Husker Du!" right at this clip (followed by 'Institutionalized' and some other excellent hardcore). Or download it here. Lyrics below.

How Great Was Husker Du! (Anthemic Pop Wonder)
Way back when I heard the buzzin' guitars
on Metal Circus
of Powerlines and hooks to match
AOF played lots of shows with them
My Father's Dream and Diane

Oooh, do you remember? How Great was Husker Du!

Many blinding punk rock nights (at the Cubby Bear)
Jump like Greg, sing like Grant,
but you know Mould was the glue (Flying V it was)
his guitar was Husker Du

Oooh, do you remember? How Great was Husker Du!

New Day Rising!

Research Turtles, Polysics, Who Dat Boys and Rock Sugar

Louisiana rockers The Research Turtles (pictured left) say they play "British rock invasion meets modern rock" - When I listen, I hear strains of Fountains of Wayne, The Knack and Stone Temple Pilots, but you might hear something else! Hear some clips of their debut CD at their MySpace page or download the CD at their home page. Read more about the band at The Rock n Roll Report.

- Japanese high energy rockers Polysics played Phoenix last night, and the New Times Jonathan McNamara (already a longtime fan) was again bowled over:
"These were Polysics fans. Fans who lost their shit when the show opened with "Shout Out Loud," a track on the band's new album, Absolute Polysics, which came out about two weeks ago in this country. And that reaction continued as the band worked there way through other tracks from Absolute, like "E.L.T.C.C.T." There were also tracks from 2008's We Ate the Machine (most noteably a kick-ass rendition of "Rocket") and older tracks including "Kaja Kaja Goo," from National P! and "Baby Bias" and "I My Me Mine" from Now Is the Time! And each time one of these tracks came on, it took about four notes for a group of fans to wail in excitement that their favorite song was being played. You know, just like at an English-language concert."

- The Saints are Glory Bound - Who Dat Say Dey Gonna Beat Dem Saints?


- Rock Sugar's bio writes... "In 1989, Hollywood heavy metal band Rock Sugar was stranded on a deserted island. The only music they had to listen to was the 80s pop CD collection of a 13 yr. old girl. The hardcore degenerate heavy metal members of Rock Sugar spent the last two decades stuck on an island with nothing to do but drink schnapps, catch hard to digest wildlife, befriend monkeys and dream of their long lost groupies while listening only to, and being slowly and systematically brainwashed by, 1980s pop songs..." The results? See for yourself.

Midlake - New CD, tour, song "The Courage of Others"

I wrote about Midlake here at Waved Rumor two years ago, when I heard the song Branches off the band's CD Trials of Van Occupanther. Well, the Denton, Texas band is back with new music on a collection called 'The Courage of Others' and it's is fine fine fine. This title track below is laid back, as is their style, but in the right mood, Midlake hits nicely.



From Midlake's blog:
"We are pleased to announce our forthcoming album, “THE COURAGE OF OTHERS” will be released FEB 1st, 2010 in the UK and EUROPE, and FEB 2nd, 2010 in the US. We thank you all for your patience and support and we are looking forward to seeing you soon." TRACK LISTING
Acts of Man
Winter Dies
Small Mountain
Core of Nature
Fortune
Rulers, Ruling All Things
Children of the Grounds
Bring Down
The Horn
The Courage of Others
In The Ground

Tuesday Tatters

It's Tuesday and here are some twisted turns of phrase from around the 'Splinternet' (who wudda thunk!)

- Little Steven of Underground Garage shows his age in a piece of his top garage rock picks (from Entertainment Weekly)

- Musician Nathan Harden writes about the woes of the music industry and how it's all changed, maaaaaann.
"If a band's first album is not a hit, more often than not, that band is dropped from the label. No second chances. Most artists never turn a profit. According to Andy Karp, a top executive at Warner Music, "There are a lot of great classic bands that would have trouble getting a record deal now, like the Doors or others who didn't have their first hit record until their second or third album."

- on this day 15 years ago (February 3rd, 1995) in GBV history, Guided by Voices began recording Under the Bushes Under the Stars in Memphis, TN at Easley Studios (destroyed by fire in 2005 - has it been rebuilt?)

- Yes, you can now pre-order the White Stripes Under Great Northern Lights box set.

The Who's Pete Townshend on Super Bowl

"This show, for us, is a an example of what he and I can do together, waving the Who flag, carrying the flag for the boomer generation, I suppose, just as Paul McCartney does, and a couple of other artists that have done it recently like Tom Petty and the Stones. But it also marks kind of a watershed. The music industry is changing so much. Almost everything about my life as a writer and a performer is about four or five songs that I wrote in 1971. It's all about television, movies, commercials. When we go out and tour we don't play stadiums like the Rolling Stones or U2, we play arenas, and we don't always absolutely fill them to the brim. We do pretty well because we're quite good at what we do."

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"When I go back and listen to those songs, the Who songs in particular of the late '60s and early 70s, there was an aspiration in my writing to attune to the fact that what I could feel in he audience was -- I won't say religious -- but there was certainly a spiritual component to what people wanted their music to contain. There's definitely a higher call for the music now which is almost religious. U2, for example, are hugely successful with songs about inner longing for freedom, ideas."

Read the whole Q & A interview at Billboard.