Archive: 2004

On a Wednesday night at Mississippi Nights in St. Louis, Gillian Welch showed her full-grown subtle beauty and timeless songwriting alongside guitarist David Rawlings.

A plane bound for Washington from London was diverted to Maine on Tuesday after passenger Yusuf Islam

R.E.M has partnered with MySpace.com to preview its new Warner Bros. album, “Around the Sun,” beginning today (Sept. 21). This represents the first such initiative involving a social networking portal.

For the next two weeks, visitors to MySpace will be able to play tracks from the album for free. The preview also will offer links to tour dates, an iTunes clips sampler, photos and mobile ring tones and wallpapers on a dedicated site.

“R.E.M. is one of those legendary bands that create an event-like atmosphere on our site,” MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe says. “This is a unique chance to get millions of people talking, simultaneously, about the new album.”

MySpace.com has about 4 million registered users, but there is no need to register in order to listen to the album. Registered users, however, have the additional capability of adding the R.E.M. profile link to their personal list and passing the link to other users. DeWolfe says that besides the sheer numbers, placement on MySpace benefited from the “exponential” effect of users spreading the word to each other.

DeWolfe declined to detail the underlying business arrangement. “Our site is supported by advertising,” he says. “But there will be times that a music company will pay for advertising, and there are times when we will do business development deals.”

“We expect many more deals like this in the future,” he continues. “It’s a new way for indie and major labels to get their music out to the masses, and we believe it will work out well for the labels, MySpace and for music fans.”

Source billboard.com.

Russ Meyer, who helped spawn the “skin flick” with such films as Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and Vixen, has died. He was 82.

Meyer died Saturday at his home in the Hollywood Hills, according to his company, RM Films International Inc. Spokeswoman Janice Cowart said Meyer had suffered from dementia and died of complications of pneumonia.

Meyer’s films were considered pornographic in their time but are less shocking by today’s standards, with their focus on violence and large-busted women but little graphic sex.

Altogether he produced, directed, financed, wrote, edited and shot at least 23 films, including his debut, The Immoral Mr. Teas, in 1959 and the 1968 film Vixen, whose success earned him notice from major studios.

He went on to direct the major studio release Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, which was co-written by film critic Roger Ebert.

Source: CNN

Few groups seem to explore popular music’s back-pages as profoundly as everyone’s favorite Ozzy Osbourne covering bluegrass group, Yonder Mountain String Band. On October 12, YMSB will more than live up to their “everything old is new again” credo, with the third and latest installment in their on-going series of incendiary live recordings, “Mountain Tracks Volume 3.” Unlike the previous two volumes, “Mountain Tracks Volume 3” is the first double-album compiled by the band,
andbrings together an inspired collection of moments taken from last year’s annual Kinfolk Celebration (Sept. 12 -13, 2003 at Planet Bluegrass in Lyons, Colorado), a two-day celebration for the band’s extensive nationwide family of fans.

If you’ve never experienced YMSB’s singular brand of riff-rollicking Americana, “Mountain Tracks Vol. 3,” is the ideal place to begin. YMSB has shared the stage with everyone from harmonica-shredding Blues Traveler frontman John Popper, to like-minded bluegrass visionaries such as Bela Fleck and Sam Bush. Put simply, “Mountain Tracks Vol. 3” presents one of the most captivating live bands placing their fingers to steel-strings today. Furthermore, the album also serves as a moving tribute to the inspiration behind YMSB’s innovation: Namely, The Kinfolk, or to laymen, YMSB’s uber-dedicated fan-base by way of street-team by way of adoring friends and family. Having a 2-disc document of YMSB beaming live from The Kinfolk Celebration is more than just newsworthy; it’s akin (no pun intended) to Jerry Garcia coming down from the heavens, and gracing his audience with another legendary live album with The Dead.

This fall Vector Recordings will release Joseph Arthur

There

Vinyl may be one of the west coast

Rhino will on Oct. 26 release a three-DVD set spotlighting the on- and off-stage activities of Crosby, Stills & Nash. In addition to the recently released concert DVDs “Acoustic” and “Daylight Again,” the set includes the DVD debut of the 1990 documentary “Long Time Comin’,” featuring interviews, TV performances and live clips.

“Acoustic” was taped at San Francisco’s Warfield Theater in 1991 and boasts 16 performances, including “Deja Vu,” “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,” “Our House,” “Teach Your Children” and Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.”

Recorded in 1983 at Los Angeles’ Universal Amphitheatre, “Daylight Again” finds CSN touring in support of the album of the same name, released that year. Although David Crosby’s substance abuse problems are apparent in his physical appearance and demeanor, the trio still pulls together strong performances of such tracks as “Wasted on the Way” and “Southern Cross.”

“Long Time Comin'” presents a narration-free look into the band’s history, including 11 full song performances and snippets of nine others. Among the highlights are an acoustic version of “Marrakesh Express” from the 1969 Woodstock festival and several live tracks from the group’s 1977 tour, such as “Dark Star” and “Wooden Ships.”

Clips of CSN members playing in other bands are also featured, including Crosby with the Byrds on “Hollywood A-Go-Go” in 1966, plus separate clips of Nash with the Hollies and Stills with Buffalo Springfield on “The Smothers Brothers Show” in 1967.

CSN will wrap a run of tour dates with performances tomorrow (Sept. 21) in Bend, Ore., Wednesday in Woodlinville, Wash., and Sept. 29 as part of the Vote for Change tour in Phoenix.

Source billboard.com.

Fresh off a slot on The Cure’s Curiosa tour, Interpol is embarking on a 24-date North American trek in support of its upcoming second album, Antics.

The group is currently finishing up a European leg, where they’ve been showing off their new songs in the U.K., Germany, France and the Netherlands. Upon their return to the States, they’ll pick up two support acts – Secret Machines and On! Air! Library! – and start a month-long tour in Boston October 11.

The itinerary includes a two-night stand at Los Angeles’ Wiltern and another at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Interpol’s hometown of New York City, where they’ll close out the tour November 11-12.

Two weeks later, they’ll head back to Europe for another month of dates in at least 10 countries.

The group’s much-anticipated sophomore effort drops September 28.

Source pollstar.com.

Albums by Wilco, Air, the Killers and Franz Ferdinand are among the 10 finalists for the 2004 Shortlist Prize, which honors critically acclaimed albums that have not yet been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for U.S. shipments of 500,000 copies. The winner will be crowned Nov. 10 at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles during a concert featuring nominees.

The 10 finalists are Air’s “Talkie Walkie” (Astralwerks), Dizzee Rascal’s “Boy in Da Corner” (Matador/XL), Franz Ferdinand’s self-titled Domino/Epic debut, Ghostface Killah’s “The Pretty Toney Album” (Def Jam), the Killers’ “Hot Fuss” (Island), Loretta Lynn’s “Van Lear Rose” (Interscope), Nellie McKay’s “Get Away From Me” (Columbia), the Streets’ “A Grand Don’t Come for Free” (Vice), TV On The Radio’s “Desparate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes” (Touch & Go) and Wilco’s “A Ghost Is Born” (Nonesuch).

Nominees and winners are chosen by a panel of Listmakers which this year includes Norah Jones, the Dixie Chicks, John Mayer, Jack Black, Jim Jarmusch, the Cure’s Robert Smith, System Of A Down’s Serj Tankian and the Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am.

To be eligible, an artist’s latest album must have been released between July 1, 2003, and June 30, 2004.

Source billboard.com.

2004 should have been a time for the Drive By Truckers to finally capture a well deserved rest. The past three years saw the band mature into a critic

Acclaimed reggae act John Brown’s Body has signed to Easy Star Records, which will release the band’s fifth album in March 2005. The Boston-based band was previously signed to I-Town/Shanachie, which also released lead singer Elliott Martin’s debut solo album, 2003’s Black Castle.

Songs slated to appear on the new JBB set include a few that have become concert favorites as of late, such as “Bread,” “Shadow” and “Full Control.” The album will be the follow-up to 2002’s Spirits All Around Us.

Source Billboard.

Nikulydin and DJ Tym Ryan will team up tomorrow evening, Sept 21, at the Phoenix Landing in Central Square, Cambridge MA. The free show starts at 9:30pm and in addition to their own sets, both the DJ and band intend to interlock sets in seamless fashion.

Nikulydin channels the energy & vibe of a Rave into a dynamic live sound and light performance using traditional instrumentation & cutting edge technology. Appropriating the styles of transcendental musical forms from shamanic ritual drumming and Indian Raga to the modern-day likes of psy-trance, jungle and house; the musical message is one of hope and unification directed to an increasingly global, yet spiritually fragmented world.

Spontaneous, organic, and underground, the improvisational processes of Nikulydin distill the essences of Trance, House, and Jungle to their pure and rudimentary forms, utilizing the structures for their vehicular capacity to shake the rump and move the soul. Always in real-time, by real people, melodic loops, sonic tapestries, deep grooves, & hip-shakin’ dance beats create Nikulydin.
Nikulydin is a process: an experiment in sound, light, rhythm and melody. The process creates an improvisational musical and visual experience for those who want to move the body and ease the mind.

See nikulydin.com for more info.

Move over Woodstock — Field Day is on the way. New York’s mid-Hudson Valley, home to the original Woodstock Music Festival and Woodstock ’94, is drumming up another two-day music gathering. This time it will be on the east side of the Hudson River.

New York promoter Andrew Dreskin got the go-ahead last week from the town board in Red Hook to put together the Field Day music and arts festival on Greig Farm, about 45 miles south of Albany in Dutchess County. Dreskin agreed to give the town a dollar for each ticket sold.

Dreskin said there would be 50 to 60 acts, performing either July 16 and 17 or July 23 and 24, 2005, depending on who is signed. He said possibilities include Radiohead, the Beastie Boys and Norah Jones. The show is expected to draw about 35,000 people a day, with three nights of camping.

The promoter staged his first Field Day concert in June 2003 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., after plans to hold the event in Riverhead, N.Y., collapsed at the last minute. The show featured performances by Radiohead, the Beastie Boys, Spiritualized and Blur.

Source billboard.com.

Technicians at Sweden’s public television have unearthed an unexpected delight for music lovers

Photos by Robert Massie of Fall Hookahville at the Frontier Music Center in Pataskala, OH on 9/3 – 9/5/04. Bands included ekoostik hookah, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Dickey Betts & Great Southern, Bernie Worrell & The Woo Warriors, Hayseed Dixie, The Funky Meters and Rob Wasserman.

t’s difficult to find the notable stand-out of the band, though ironically,
that’s Lotus’ greatest strength – playing as equals. Together, Nomad
exhibits Lotus’ tight ability to blend shades of organic groove with elements of urban house, quite a laudable feat considering the band was born within the sunny festival circuit.

Watch out! Perpetual Groove is attempting to invade the deepest crannies of your already sparse attention span. I

The Thrills top criticism to date was they sounded too much like their idols: Neil Young, The Beach Boys, Beatles. Lets Bottle Bohemia sounds almost entirely familiar again, so the mix of these influences are now welcomed at the real Thrills, even with all the ooohs and ahhs.