Thurston Moore promises "heavy ass weirdo hooks" aplenty on Sonic Youth's as-yet-untitled Matador debut, due this summer.
"When I started writing, I was immersed in listening to the Wipers," he tells Billboard. "'No Way,' the first song we recorded, has a total Wipers vibe, if the Wipers were a No Wave band."
Moore says lyrics have been inspired by black metal bands, although he promises he's not mimicking their delivery. Other tracks include "Leaky Life Boat," which compares being alive to being in the aforementioned sinking ship, and "Burning Shame," a tribute to the late Fred "Sonic" Smith.
"We're super inspired to make a fresh start," says Moore. "We're glad to be dealing with a label that loves songs." Beyond that, not much has changed. "It's rock-centric, but still experimental," Moore promises. "We're still Sonic Youth. I still don't know how to play the guitar."
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Ramblin' Jack Elliott Readies Album of Depression Country Blues
Ramblin' Jack Elliott will release his long-anticipated follow-up to his 2006 ANTI- Record debut "I Stand Alone" this April, entitled "A Stranger Here." Working with producer Joe Henry, the 77 year-old Elliott sings and plays acoustic guitar, and will be backed by a stellar collection of musicians handpicked by Henry, among them Van Dyke Parks and David Hidalgo (Los Lobos).
Revered for his interpretive take on traditional American music, on "A Stranger Here," Elliott steps out of the country-folk arena that has shaped his legend, 50+ years in the making. Haunting and evocative landscapes crafted by Henry construct a mood that is enhanced by Elliott's world-scarred voice. Together, musician and producer examine a carefully selected number of pre-WWII blues songs in a wholly unique way.
From the liner notes of "A Stranger Here," Henry writes: "I pitched the idea that he interpret country blues music from the Depression era of his birth... songs as dark, funny and strange as is he and the times that produced them, and also ones that still resonate in these turbulent days: songs from the blues masters Jack had known during their latter-day resurgence - and his own ascension - in the early sixties (Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, Rev. Gary Davis); songs that share shape and subject with many folk songs of the same period but speak with a particular poetry to struggle, love, justice and mortality - off-handedly and all at once... I needn't have pitched so hard. Jack seemed intrigued by the notion from the start, and had no trouble reading the songs as pertinent to him. He pounced on each one as it came up during the four days of recording in my basement studio, gave each a face of suave cunning, and was as unexpectedly arch as Bob Hope might've seemed strolling through a Fellini tableau. He's using an old language but always speaking in the present tense."
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U2 releases new single and Horizon tracklist
Apparently it's no longer cool to record an album all in one place, or even in one country for that matter. U2 got her done international-style, from Morocco to Ireland and several countries in between, for the forthcoming No Line On The Horizon.
The album will be released on March 3 and is currently available for pre-order. The first single, "Get On Your Boots," drops Jan. 19. A digipak with lots of goodies will be available with the album and it will also be released in vinyl.
No Line On The Horizon tracklist:
"No Line On The Horizon"
"Magnificent"
"Moment of Surrender"
"Unknown Caller"
"I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight"
"Get On Your Boots"
"Stand Up Comedy"
"Fez - Being Born"
"White As Snow"
"Breathe"
"Cedars Of Lebanon"
The cover art is a image of the sea meeting the sky by Japanese artist and photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto.
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Death Row Assets Auctioned For $18 Million
The assets of Death Row Records, said to include master recordings of Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, were auctioned yesterday (Jan. 15) for $18 million to Canadian development company WIDEawake Entertainment Group.
Because of the less-than-expected acquisition price, the only creditor likely to capture a return after lawyers and other Chapter 11 administrative fees are paid is the Internal Revenue Service.
That means other creditors, including unsecured ones like co-founder Lydia Harris, will be left out in the cold. Harris isn't content with the verdict.
"This was all a scam from the beginning," a disgruntled Harris tells Billboard. "Everyone wanted me to bring judgment down, and so I brought on the case. But now I'm not getting paid because I'm an unsecured creditor? Yet, administrators are getting paid and Suge [Knight]'s bills are still getting paid? If it wasn't for me no one would be getting money. They made sure it happened this way because I was the biggest creditor. There must be some internal thing going on and I'm obviously not in on it."
According to Harris, Conquest Media, an online marketing and branding company, made an undisclosed bid yesterday, but the judge overruled it because it wasn't filed on time.
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Mott Reunion
It looks like Mott the Hoople are back together, at least for two nights. The original lineup of Ian Hunter, Mick Ralphs, Verden Allen, Dale Griffin and Overend Watts are scheduled to play London's Hammersmith Apollo on February 2 and 3 to celebrate their 40th anniversary, although there has been no word on the potential for further gigs.
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Radiohead's first three albums to go collector's edition
As great as some of Radiohead's latter day albums have been, it's still tough to topple the trifecta of its first three: Pablo Honey (1993), The Bends (1995) and OK Computer (1997). Those three albums alone cemented the band's place in rock history, spawning the band's biggest singles "Karma Police" and "Creep."
In a move that will no doubt please completists to no end, Capitol/EMI records has announced it will release collector's editions and limited special editions of the band's first three albums on March 24. The swagged-out special collector's edition comes packaged in a lift-top box that includes a DVD and a series of collectible postcards. No word on prices for either edition, but there's nothing like spending your hard-earned cash on collectibles in a recession, right?
The full features for each edition are listed below:
Pablo HoneyCollector's Edition: album on disc one; demos, rarities, live recordings and a '92 BBC Radio One session on disc two.
Special Collector's Edition: both audio discs; DVD with four music videos, "Top of the Pops" TV performance from '93 and nine live recordings from the band's London Astoria concert in '94.
The Bends
Collector's Edition: album on disc one; EPs with rarities and a '94 BBC Radio session on disc two.
Special Collector's Edition: both audio discs; DVD with five music videos, '95 and '96 TV performances from "Top of the Pops," "Later with Jools Holland" and "2 Meter Session," and eight performances from the band's '94 London Astoria concert.
OK Computer
Collector's Edition: album on disc one; EPs with rarities and live recordings and a '97 BBC Radio One "Evening Session" on disc two.
Special Collector's Edition: both audio discs; DVD with three music videos and a '97 TV performance on "Later with Jools Holland."
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