Thanks to the amount of outstanding work from my excellent writers last week, and limited space to work with, my Music News column from last week was bumped. But, it can always be found online at siskiyou.sou.edu, whether I print it or not (as can a couple more articles that I didn’t have room for last week).
Here we go with this week…
Beastie Boys release yet another new track
“Tadlock’s Glasses,” the second tracked to be leaked from the B-Boys’ new album “Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2,” is an experimental electro track, quite different from the first track to be heard off the album, the funky, organ-driven “Make Some Noise.”
Both tracks can be found at rollingstone.com.
Gaga go boom
Lady Gaga fell on her ass during a concert in Houston on April 3, though she still kept singing!
She was standing with one foot on her piano keyboard and one foot on the bench when the bench slid out from under her.
Though I dislike every unoriginal thing about Lady Gaga, I have to give her kudos for not missing a beat while she missed a step.
I couldn’t find any high-quality images of her on the floor with her legs in the air (and believe me, I wanted to print one for y’all), so, to lighten up your day a bit, check out the video footage at marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04-/12/lady-gag-falls-during-houston-concert.
Seattle honors Nirvana
The Experience Music Project in Seattle opened the first major exhibition ever devoted to Nirvana on Saturday.
“Nirvana: Taking Punks to the Masses” features “rare and unseen artifacts and photography from the band, their crews and families,” according to EMP. The exhibit runs through April 2013.
‘Bout damn time.
Mucho Tour/Festival News:
Archers of Loaf announce reunion tour
In perhaps the best music news I’ve heard in months, 90s indie rock giants Archers of Loaf have announced they will kick off a reunion tour May 21 in Asheville, NC.
If you’re not familiar with the Archers, check out their album “All the Nation’s Airports,” or the single “Web in Front” off their album “Icky Mettle.” They rule.
This news is coupled with perhaps the worst news I’ve heard in a while: the closest they’ll come to us will be San Francisco on Sept. 3.
Ride-share, anyone?
Soundgarden will tour (briefly) this summer
The reunited grungers will set out on the road in July for four shows.
July 2 they will play in Toronto, in Philadelphia on July 13, Denver on July 18 and Los Angeles on July 22.
No more dates have been announced, though the band says a longer tour will follow.
Outlands Festival line-up announced
Arcade Fire, the Shins, Muse, Phish, the Black Keys, MGMT, the Decemberists and John Fogerty are among those who will be playing this year’s Outlands Festival in San Francisco.
The festival is held in Golden Gate Park on Aug. 12-14, and tickets go on sale April 14.
Did someone say, “ride-share?”
Britt Festival 2011 line-up
Yes, it’s announced! Some of the highlights are: The Avett Brothers on July 17, The Decemberists on July 19, Willie Nelson and Family on July 28, Cheap Trick on Aug. 29 and B-52s/Human League/Men Without Hats on Sept. 9.
For the complete schedule and more info, go to brittfest.org.
The Osbournes need money! (revised)
Earlier this week the IRS placed a lien on Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne’s Beverly Hills home, claiming the couple owed $1.7 million in back taxes.
It was looking grim for a few days, until on Thursday when the couple paid off the IRS. They are now trying to get the lien removed.
Give ‘em hell, Ozzy.
Phil Spector’s lawyers want a third trial
The legendary record producer’s lawyers are pushing for an appeals court in California to throw out the 2009 murder conviction that has Spector currently serving a sentence of at least 19 years.
The first trial was declared a mistrial, and his attorneys are claiming the second was prejudiced by testimony from five women who claimed that Spector subjected them to gun-related violence.
The conviction stemmed from the 2003 death of actress Lana Clarkson, who was found dead from a gunshot wound to the mouth in Spector’s home. The defense claims she committed suicide.
Kink-y brotherly love
The Kinks may reunite if Ray and Dave Davies can get on the same page.
Ray Davies told Rolling Stone, “I hear that Dave is saying stuff in the press like, ‘I’ll do it, but Ray doesn’t want to do it.’ This is me saying, ‘Ray will do it if Dave does it.’”
Damn, boys – use the friggin’ phone.
PJ Harvey performs on “Conan”
The songstress appeared on “Conan” on April 11 and performed “The Last Living Rose,” the first single off her new album “Let England Shake.”
Take a couple minutes and check it out at twentyfourbit.com, where you can also see nine videos from the new album.
She also performed at Coachella over the weekend.
David Byrne wins lawsuit
The Talking Heads frontman sued former Florida Governor Charlie Crist after the politician used the Heads’ “Road to Nowhere” in a campaign ad last year without permission. Byrne sued for $1 million.
Though the settlement amount has not been disclosed, the settlement did include a video apology by Crist that was posted to YouTube on April 11.
White Stripes to release final concert on vinyl
A 2007 White Stripes concert in Mississippi will be released through Jack White’s Third Man Records and titled, fittingly, “Live in Mississippi.” It will be a double vinyl set with no plans yet for CD or digital release.
The now-defunct band will also release a new DVD titled “Under Moorhead Lights All Fargo Night,” which will feature their set from a 2000 show in Moorhead, Minnesota.
My Morning Jacket releases new single
“Circuital,” the first single off the album of the same name, has been released as a free download. The song is 7 minutes long, and you can check it out at rollingstone.com.
Iggy Pop and Ke$ha say no to clubbing
Seal clubbing, that is. Ke$ha and Iggy Pop are appearing on posters saying, “Canada’s Club Scene Sucks.” The posters are part of a new campaign by PETA protesting the annual clubbing of baby seals in Canada. Really, annual?
Yes, that’s right. Canadian’s actually have a season for seal clubbing, which began last week on ice floes in eastern Canada.
For a moment, allow me to put aside the morality issue of killing baby seals for their fur: The ritual of using a club seems not only barbaric and sickening, but a really, really inefficient way to get the job done. Right?
Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy debuts new song
The Wilco frontman played a new song called “Open Your Mind” on a Canadian talk show last week.
While it’s unsure whether the song will appear on the new album Wilco are currently working on in their Chicago studio, it’s definitely worth a listen. Check it out at twentyfourbit.com.
Green Day’s “American Idiot” may soon be a movie
According to the Hollywood Reporter, studio giant Universal is in talks to obtain the screen rights for the musical stage version of Green Day’s album “American Idiot.”
The movie would be produced by members of Green Day and, get this – Tom Hanks.
Hopefully Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong is planning to play the lead, considering the stage version tanked and shut down as soon as he left.
Lennon lyrics hit the auction block
Some of John Lennon’s hand-written lyrics for “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” will soon come up for sale. The page with the 1967 classic’s third verse also features a sketch by Lennon, as well as the opening line of “She’s Leaving Home.”
The items are expected to bring in more than $200,000 when they go up for sale next month at the Saban theatre in Beverly Hills.
Last June the handwritten lyrics for “A Day in the Life” sold for $1.2 million.
Radiohead news
Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien has shot down rumors of a sooner-than-later follow-up to the band’s recent release. “The King of Limbs” short length – eight songs and 37 minutes – led many fans to speculate a release of more studio tracks from the band, as was the case with the “Kid A”/”Amnesiac” studio sessions.
“When we start a new record, we tend to start afresh,” said O’Brien in an interview with the BBC.
Radiohead will release a single including the only two completed non-album tracks from the studio sessions, “Supercollider” and “Butcher.” The single will come out on Record Store Day on April 16.
The single is a U.K.-only release, but the two tracks have leaked online and can be heard at twentyfourbit.com.
Death Cab for Cutie’s AMAZING one-take video
If you haven’t yet seen it, you should go to youareatourist.com, and watch DCFC’s one-take, live webcast video for “You are a Tourist.”
I knew the concept of the first-ever live, scripted, one-take video was cool, but I really am amazed with what they pulled off.
Record Store Day
Finally, if you missed Record Store Day on Saturday, you can visit Music Coop or CD or Not CD here in Ashland to view some of the vinyl released.
Among the notable releases are material from Nirvana, Sonic Youth, the Velvet Underground, Flaming Lips and Kings of Leon, among many, many others.
