Bridging the gap between avant-garde jazz of the sixties, politically charged poetry slams of the seventies, and the raw rap sound of the eighties, ISWHAT?!
U2 and Apple Computer Inc. are expected to announce next week that they have signed a deal to sell custom iPods.
According to a source, the Irish rock band’s upcoming album “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb,” due Nov. 23 via Interscope Records, will come preloaded on iPods that will be available the week of street date.
Interscope, a unit of Universal Music Group, declined to comment; an Apple spokesperson could not be reached.
E-mails from Apple chairman and CEO Steve Jobs and U2 members Bono and the Edge have invited members of the press to a “special event” scheduled for October 26 in San Jose, California.
U2’s new single “Vertigo” is featured in current television ads for the iPod. The track is currently No. 2 on Billboard’s airplay-based Modern Rock Tracks chart, and No. 44 on the Hot 100, which is based on both retail sales and radio airplay.
Source CNN.com.
You might know Billy Talbot as the bass player for Neil Young
HeadCount, a non-profit group that registered more voters than any all-volunteer organization in the country, will stage an Election Eve Rally in New York City on Monday, Nov. 1 at the Mercury Lounge.
The event, which will celebrate HeadCount registering 50,000 voters nationwide, will feature New Jersey-based rock band Rana as well as Big Fuzz, a new project led by former Deep Banana Blackout frontman Fuzz, and the Katy Pfaffl Band.
Also on the bill is Moshi vs. Omen, an electronica duo featuring Disco Biscuits keyboardist Aaron Magner. Jon Gutwillig, guitarist for the Disco Biscuits, will also perform. HeadCount was founded by Disco Biscuits bass player Marc Brownstein, who will serve as the emcee for this event.
The Election Eve Rally will raise money for HeadCount’s future while celebrating its success in 2004. Launched only in February, the organization aligned itself with Dave Matthews Band, Phish and the Dead as well as about 25 other major concert acts.
HeadCount sent voter registration volunteers on the road with bands and also produced public service announcements – starring Dave Matthrews, The Dead and Trey Anastasio of Phish – that have been airing on TNT and TBS. The PSA’s have been seen more than 100 million times.
An organization that is truly grassroots in structure, HeadCount has no paid employees, no major corporate funding and no central headquarters. But through a network of 2,000 volunteers and the backing of a board of directors that includes The Dead’s Bob Weir, HeadCount became one of the most successful voter registration groups
“The event will be our last of about 1,000 acts to encouraging and facilitate voting,” said Andy Bernstein, HeadCount’s co-chair. “Our volunteers are absolutely exhausted, but we figured they have one night of celebration left in them.”
Upcoming Show Details
Monday Nov. 1, 2004
The Mercury Lounge (www.mercuryloungenyc.com)
217 E Houston St – New York, NY
7:30 pm
$12
Tickets at www.headcount.org
Geffen has confirmed additional details regarding the Nirvana boxed set, “With the Lights Out,” due Nov. 23. The three-CD, one-DVD package will include 81 tracks, 68 of which are previously unreleased. Included are a selection of Kurt Cobain’s home demos, live tracks and studio outtakes. The DVD boasts footage of the fledgling band playing a 1987 house party as well as studio and rehearsal clips.
“With the Lights Out” was originally intended for release in Christmas 2001, to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of Nirvana’s breakthrough album, “Nevermind.” But surviving members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic were thwarted by lawsuits from Cobain’s widow Courtney Love, who objected to their planned use of the previously unreleased track “You Know You’re Right” in the set.
The dispute was eventually settled in September 2002, with the parties agreeing to earmark “You Know You’re Right” for a self-titled Nirvana compilation released the following month.
Source billboard.com.
So, what’s Bob Mould been up to lately?
He spent the
After twelve years of shimmering minimalist rock, Luna are calling it a day. The New Yorkers’ new album, Rendezvous (due October 26th), will be their last, and they will play their final U.S. and European dates through early 2005.
“Anyone who has ever been in a band knows why,” says frontman Dean Wareham of the breakup. “This is what bands do. There was no incident, no fight, or anything like that. We’ve been around for a long time. If you look at the other bands that stay together this long, they are usually making millions of dollars.”
Wareham formed Luna in 1991 after departing the influential Galaxie 500, and, throughout Luna’s nine albums, Wareham continued to evolve his somber, moody sound. While Rolling Stone named 1995’s hypnotic Penthouse one of the best records of the Nineties, Luna gradually grew warmer and more upbeat, particularly on 2002’s Romantica and the new Rendezvous, helmed by producer Bryce Goggin (Phish, Pavement).
Despite several lineup changes and record deals, Luna — now Wareham, guitarist Sean Eden, drummer Lee Wall and bassist Britta Phillips — soldiered on. Over the last two years, they’ve released two albums, an EP and the Wareham-Phillips record L’Avventura. Though matter-of-fact about the breakup, Wareham does acknowledge that there is an emotional side to calling it quits. “I can see why people are sad,” says Wareham. “I was very sad when the Clash broke up. It’s kind of like when a friend dies. But it’s difficult to organize your life around a rock & roll band. And I want to stop when we all like each other.”
After Luna’s final tour wraps up, Wareham plans to begin writing a second album with Phillips, and he may do another project with Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung, who recorded Wareham-penned songs for her recent film, Clean.
Wareham will also continue to pursue his budding acting career. He played a credit-card thief in the indie film Piggie and appeared as a bartender on an episode of TV’s Law and Order. He says, laughing, “As David St. Hubbins said in This Is Spinal Tap, ‘Got time for all those projects now.'”
Luna tour dates:
10/30: Hoboken, NJ, Maxwell’s
11/5: Cambridge, MA, Middle East
11/7: Toronto, Lee’s Palace
11/9: Cleveland, Beachland Ballroom
11/10: Ann Arbor, MI, Blind Pig
11/11-12: Chicago, Abbey Pub
11/14: Minneapolis, MN, Fine Line Music Cafe
11/15: Madison, WI, High Noon Saloon
11/16: Champaign, IL, High Dive
11/18: Newport, KY, Southgate House
11/19: Nashville, Exit/In
11/20: Atlanta, Echo Lounge
11/21: Carrboro, NC, Cat’s Cradle
11/22: Baltimore, Ottobar
11/27: New York, Irving Plaza
12/31: New York, Southpaw
Source rollingstone.com.
Every February, the Grammy
