Radiohead Covers Joy Division

A version of "Ceremony" performed by the band during their webcast on November 9, 2007.

Johnny Marr Falling For the Guitar

"I belonged to it, and the guitar belonged to me." -Johnny Marr

Granada Reports...The Smiths

The Year is 1985, and NME readers have voted The Smiths group of the year. Granada Report's Tony Wilson catches up with the band on the eve of the Meat is Murder tour.

NPR Guest DJ Thom Yorke - podcast

Photo: Jesse Groves

"Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke shares some of his favorite music with All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen. The two talk about Radiohead's latest work, In Rainbows, and listen to some of the artists Yorke admires, including German electronica group Modeselektor, rap duo Madvillain, techno group Autechre and more." [NPR]


Radiohead, "Fake Plastic Trees," 2003

The Bends (Capitol, 1995) is one of my best friends. Listening recommendation: With headphones at an irresponsible decibel.

Mix Tape: The Art of Cassette Culture

Thurston Moore explores the magic of the mix tape in Mix Tape: The Art of Cassette Culture (Universe Publishing, 2005).

"This book can only represent one zillionth of the people out there who have made the coolest tapes for themselves or others. In that respect, it simply exists as a nod to the true love and ego involved in sharing music with friends and lovers. Trying to control sharing through music is like trying to control an affair of the heart - nothing will stop it." -Thurston Moore

New York Dolls To Play 100 Club Gig

They'll play a rare show at the legendary punk venue...

"The New York Dolls are to play a rare gig at London's 100 Club this May. The band, who release their new studio album Cause I Sez So on May 4th, will play the gig on May 14th. The Todd Rundgren-produced record is their second since reforming in 2004." [NME]

Tickets for the 100 Club show go on sale on April 7th at 9am (GMT).


New York Dolls, "Personality Crisis," 1973

April's Soundtrack

Blur, "Country House"
The Stone Roses, "Elephant Stone"
Bob Marley, "Jammin"
The Cure, "Other Voices"
Golden Boy & Miss Kittin, "Rippin Kittin"
The Beatles, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
Phoenix, "If I Ever Feel Better"
De La Soul, "Betta Listen"
The Buzzcocks, "Love You More"
John Cale, "Woman"

Jarvis Speaks To Pitchfork

Jarvis Cocker solo...finding his "métier."

Antony Asks...Transcendentalism or Masochism?

NPR's Live in Concert series from All Songs Considered presents Antony And The Johnsons in concert - footage and podcast of a recent gig in Washington, D.C.

Set List:
"Where Is My Power"
"Her Eyes Are Underneath the Ground"
"Epilepsy Is Dancing"
"One Dove"
"For Today I Am a Boy"
"Kiss My Name"
"Everglade"
"Another World"
"Shake That Devil"
"Crazy in Love"
"Fistful of Love"
"You Are My Sister"
"Twilight"
"Aeon"

Encore
"Cripple and the Starfish"
"Hope There's Someone"

Otherworldly.

The Top Three Albums of 2009

According to The New York Times, as of February 5, 2009, the artist Andrew Kuo (he of obsessive music chart fame) has determined the three best albums of the year...

#1 Antony & the Johnsons, The Crying Light
#2 Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Beware
#3 Morrissey, Years of Refusal


Andrew Kuo on Charlie Rose, February 23, 2008

Hallelujah Leonard Cohen

"Leonard Cohen walked onto a U.S. stage for the first time in more than 15 years just one month ago. It was a triumphant return for the legendary singer-songwriter, who has reached generations beyond with his lyrical portraits. One song in particular, "Hallelujah," has become a signature for both Cohen and many who've come after him. In this exclusive video, Cohen performs the tune from a recent concert in London. "I want to thank all my fans for keeping my songs alive all these years," Cohen told Spinner. The gratitude is all ours." [Spinner]

If you are lucky enough to get tickets...
04-02 Austin, TX - Michael and Susan Dell Hall at Long Center
04-03 Grand Prarie, TX - Nokia Theatre at Grand Prarie
04-05 Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theatre
04-07 San Diego, CA - Copley Symphony Hall
04-10 Los Angeles, CA - Nokia Theatre L.A. Live
04-13 Oakland, CA - Paramount Theatre of the Arts
04-17 Indio, CA - Coachella Festival
04-19 Vancouver, British Columbia - General Motors Place
04-21 Victoria, British Columbia - Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
04-23 Seattle, WA - WaMu Theater at Qwest FieldEvents Center
04-25 Edmonton, Alberta - Rexall Place
04-26 Calgary, Alberta - EPCOR Centre's Jack Singer Hall
04-28 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - Credit Union Centre
04-30 Winnipeg, Manitoba - MTS Centre
05-03 Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre
05-05 Chicago, IL - The Chicago Theatre
05-09 Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre
05-11 Columbia, MD - Merriweather Post Pavilion
05-12 Philadelphia, PA - Academy of Music
05-14 Waterbury, CT - Palace Theater
05-16 New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
05-19 Hamilton, Ontario - Copps Coliseum
05-21 Quebec City, Quebec - Pavillon de la Jeunesse
05-22 Kingston, Ontario - K-Rock Centre
05-24 London, Ontario - John Labatt Centre
05-25 Ottowa, Ontario - National Arts Centre, Southam Hall
05-29 Boston, MA - Wang Theatre
06-02 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (V2, 2009)

Phoenix's fourth album was produced by House maestro Philippe Zdar - one half of Cassius. In anticipation of its release on May 25th, the track "1901" is available as a free download on their website. The band's characteristic brand of catchy guitar driven pop is seemingly infused with more of a synth factor this time around. Worthy of the title's classical reference? A bit of a stretch.


The band plays SNL, April 4, 2009.

Profile: Geoff Barrow

Portishead, "Mysterons" (Roseland NYC Live, 1998)

Dave Simpson says: He takes it very seriously and thinks the world's going to end at any minute. In a musical sense he's very dark...

"As a natural outsider who learned early on to trust little beyond his instincts, Geoff Barrow of Portishead is a classic example of a musical pioneer who has gone against the grain - only to find the rest of the world coming with him. He was born in Walton-in-Gordano, Somerset, but grew up in relative hardship in the small coastal town of Portishead, after which he named his band.

Portishead's 1994 debut, Dummy, remains one of the landmark albums of the 1990s, selling 2m copies in Europe alone. Released against prevailing trends at the height of Britpop, the album popularised what has been dubbed "trip-hop" or "the Bristol sound". A blend of slowed hip-hop grooves, Barrow's old skool scratching, soundtrack samples and (singer Beth Gibbons's) mournful, heartbreaking lyrics, Dummy has been widely copied but never equalled." [Guardian UK]

The Stone Roses

Alan McGee on music: Why people want the Stone Roses to re-form
I find it funny that my kid is as obsessed with the Stone Roses as I was more than 20 years ago. As Ian Brown put it: "The past was yours but the future's mine." It still is...

"The big question is why people want the Stone Roses to re-form? Is it just because we're living in a retrospective age with reunions, reissues and Don't Look Back concerts becoming exceedingly popular. Or is it because, when the music scene becomes stale, you have to look back to understand how to move forward?" [Guardian UK]

Miss Kittin & The Hacker Two

Electroclash pioneers Miss Kittin & The Hacker are back with their highly anticipated (and long overdue) follow-up to their First Album (Emperor Norton, 2001).

In their own words:
"It's been far too long since the release of our "First Album," but wait no more, dear music lover, we are back with a bang. And you'd better believe, it's a big, cosmic "bang." We have not only forged a new path on this impressive collection of new material, but also, by transforming and remodelling our many musical influences, we have fashioned a club-based European cyber-pop of our very own. The album also features a wonderful, stellar sprinkling of metallic soul, glamorous space disco, glossy vocal nuances, crystalline beats and swirling melodies. The music possesses a sexy androgyny, glistening and pulsating. And the songs? Sometimes narrative, sometimes confessional, direct and alternatively clouded in mystery. And the lyrics, are they...blue or grey?" [Miss Kittin & The Hacker]

Two (Nobody's Bizzness, 2009) out now.


Miss Kittin & The Hacker, "1982" (Emperor Norton, 2001)