Guitars, Bass, Drums, Percussion, Amps, Effects, Effects Processors, CDs, Albums

I posted about Weezer gearing up to release their new record last week and that some new songs from it had found their way online.

The release date of the album has now been pushed up to 6/3 presumably because of the online leaks. A digital single for the “The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)” is now available for purchase on iTunes and inclues the lyrics…

“I’ve got the money/ And I’ve got the fame/ You’ve got the hots / To ride on my plane.” This line, which Pitchfork has marked as being “another Beverly Hills,” if indicative of the rest of the album, will be pretty horrible. The first single “Pork & beans” got a lot of Weezer fans excited because of its fuzz box guitar sound and harmony vocals, reminiscent of the bands finer moments on their classic Blue and Pinkerton albums. Unfortunately most of the songs that have surfaced online so far don’t really reflect this style and most fans seems to be pretty displeased with what they’ve heard so far.

Unless the other tracks on the album are really really amazing, its pretty safe to say you should avoid the Red Album. I might piss some people off in saying this but…All in all I don’t think Weezer’s been legitimately good since…oh…1996. I think its time to throw in the towel guys, sorry.

Source.

Radiohead, who played a show at Bristow, VA’s Nissan Pavilion on May 11 have drawn criticism from fans for deciding to play in heavy rain and flooding conditions.

The Washington DC area has been experiencing abnormally heavy rain and flooding in the past week.

“The D.C. market was faced with monsoon-like conditions around the show, with an estimated four inches of rain and flooding forcing road closures and maddening traffic conditions. Apparently a significant number of fans — hundreds or thousands, depending on who is estimating — were extremely late or unable to get into the show for a variety of reasons.

As such, many fans have taken to the Internet to vent their dissatisfaction, with neither the venue, the promoter nor the band being spared. One area blogger offers this headline: “Radiohead @ Nissan: You Both Suck.”

“Nissan Pavilion owner/operator Live Nation has offered fans that were turned away tickets to an Aug. 12 show at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, N.J. (near Philadelphia), or tickets to a show of their choice at Nissan Pavilion (subject to availability).

Adding fuel to the fire is Radiohead’s self-stated intention of making its summer tour as environmentally friendly as possible. According to one fan post, “One-third of the concert-goers that night were driving around in circles, burning fossil fuels all the while. This is your save the Earth tour … and yet you play in the middle of nowhere with no public transportation leading there. You owe us!”

I have to admit, if indeed thousands of people were turned away, the show should’ve been post-poned.  Someone in the bands management should have had the foresight to realize the weather conditions would not allow people to get to the show easily or at all. Also, since the venue is outdoors it could be dangerous playing music in those kind of conditions, with power adapters and guitar cables outside and exposed.

Furthermore,  it seems like Radiohead has good intentions with their attempt to make up for the carbon footprint they’re putting on the earth. The problem is most likely that the bands booking agency/agents choose the venues with little regard for this or anything else besides tour-routing convenience, perhaps the band should try to step in and take control of that more, especially if they really are attempting to reduce carbon emissions.

Source.

It seems a ton of new album announcements have been touted, posted and talked about on music websites right now. I don’t know if its just the summer season or what.

Sigur Ros has offered up a preview of their new album here. As the video begins the words “Assault & Battery, May 2nd” appear as well as a clip of a new song and various footage of the band in the studio.

The band’s sole US tour dates so far are as follows…

06-11 Omaha, NE - Orpheum Theater
06-12 Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater
06-14 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
06-16 New York, NY - Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom

Sigur Ros - Official Site.

Critically acclaimed rock band Autolux is gearing up to release their 2nd record, “Transit Transit” the follow up to 2004’s “Future Perfect.”

The band has made the first single from their new album “Audience No. 2″  available on their MySpace page and iTunes. So far there is not a set date for the release of “Transit Transit” but one would expect it to be released in the next few months since the first single has just been released.

I’m interested in what kind of turn, if any, the bands sound will take. Autolux have always had a pretty good blend of effects laden shoegaze parts as well as more streamlined grooves and riffs. This new record, I assume, will blend these kind of elements once again.

Autolux @ MySpace.com

Well, this happened a couple weeks ago but I thought it was worth mentioning here. It seems several bands of the Indie Rock variety have done rally’s/concerts to support presidential candidate Barack Obama.

One of the most publicized so far is The Arcade Fire and Superchunk playing a few concerts in support of Obama in North Carolina. On one hand, while I’m not the biggest fan of either band and I think musicians opinions on politics don’t really matter, it is a really good way to get younger people to vote or care about voting…if not just to be aware of the current presidential race.

The story was covered by Pitchfork and they have pictures, anecdotes, etc…at their page.

Source.

Some new Weezer tracks have surfaced from the bands upcoming “Red Album” with the funny cover. The track “Pork and Beans” has been getting pretty heavy modern/mainstream rock airplay on stations such as KROQ. Many fans hoped this would be a return to the bands Blue Album/Pinkerton sound due to the fuzzed out Fender sound the track had.

Most of these newly surfaced songs however aren’t really even on the same level as “Pork & Beans”. It seems like band leader Rivers Cuomo has been trying to recapture the sound the band had in 1994 for…well…14 years, but to no avail. Working with Rick Rubin doesn’t help matters either, as Rick Rubin is to music as Michael Bay is to film.

Also, its relatively annoying that every Weezer single is the past oh 5 or 6 years seems to reference fame/and or wealth, its really kind of lame. Anyway, don’t take my word for it, judge for yourself…

New Weezer Songs @ Stereogum.com

One of Kurt Cobain’s favorite bands, Edinburgh Scotlands The Vaselines have reunited. It seems that the recent trend of bands reuniting will never end. I wonder if bands will now form just to break up and then reunite soon after to get more press.

Anyway, The Vaselines were covered by Nirvana 3 times. Most famously on Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged CD/TV Show and on, (Nirvana’s collection of b-sides/covers) “Incesticide” album.

The band will play Sub Pop’s 20th anniversary concert/party in Seattle. Maybe they’ll tour, I would definitely catch one of their shows if they did.

Source. 

Highly influential shoegaze band My Bloody Valentine have reunited. While initially their only dates included euro dates and summer European festivals, such as the massive Roskilde Festival in Denmark, the band has now announced US headlining tour dates.

Pitchforkmedia are as usual, really psyched that a cool but really overrated band such as MBV (as hipsters refer to them I guess), is reuniting and touring…

“Well my little gazers of shoe, it’s finally happening. My Bloody Valentine have revealed that they will pack up all the Jaguars and Jazzmasters and all the folks who have to constantly re-tune those Jaguars and Jazzmasters for an extended visit to the United States of America (and Toronto)– one that will include the previously freaked-out-about and recently-expanded ATP New York, along with seven additional dates.”

I might actually go to one of the shows in Santa Monica, if the ticket prices aren’t too ridiculous. A lot of people thought they’d never see My Bloody Valentine reunite ever, but everyone likes money I guess…

06-20 London, England - The Roundhouse
06-21 London, England - The Roundhouse
06-22 London, England - The Roundhouse
06-23 London, England - The Roundhouse
06-24 London, England - The Roundhouse
06-28 Manchester, England - Apollo
06-29 Manchester, England - Apollo
07-02 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowland
07-03 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowland
07-03-06 Roskilde, Denmark - Roskilde Festival
07-09 Paris, France - Zenith
07-17-20 Benicàssim, Spain - Festival Internacional de Benicàssim
07-25 Naeba, Japan - Fuji Rock Festival
08-08 Oslo, Norway - Øya Festival
09-05 Isle of Wight, England - Bestival
09-19-21 Monticello, NY - Kutshers Country Club (ATP New York)
09-22 New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom
09-23 New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom
09-25 Toronto, Ontario - Ricoh
09-27 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
09-30 San Francisco, CA - The Concourse
10-01 Santa Monica, CA - Santa Monica Civic Center
10-02 Santa Monica, CA - Santa Monica Civic Center

Source.

I forgot to mention yesterday that Nine Inch Nails have a website up where most of their official session files from recording have been posted allowing anyone to make their own remix/mix of NIN songs.

The bands newest album “The Slip” (released yesterday) is featured there as well. A lot of people may have already heard about this, but for those who haven’t its worth checking out, especially if you are into recording, mixing, etc…Just to see the different tracks and how the band recorded them is interesting in and of itself.

NIN Remix Site

In a surprising move, Nine Inch Nails have posted access to a free download of their new album “The Slip” via www.nin.com. The band had been posting on their official site that a surpirse was due for Monday, May 5th.

The album is 10 tracks and is available in a variety of formats, including MP3 as well as high-quality lossless, all of which are free. Physical copies of the album will be released in July of this year through traditional distribution methods.

“A statement on the site from frontman Trent Reznor says simply, “Thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years — this one’s on me.”

Demand for the music has been high, as nin.com slowed to a crawl after the free download had been posted.

Personally, I think this is a great idea, and more importantly a great way to show appreciation to all the NIN fans out there. Nine Inch Nails is a band that has been heavily supported by its fans since the early 90’s. I am going to download a copy of the album for myself, give it some listens and post a review here. I’m curious to see if the album is similar to Nine Inch Nails last release, “Ghosts” with lots of ambient and guitar effects, or if it’s similar to their earlier material, it might be neither.

Source - Billboard.com