Music News & Notes

Alice Cooper's Film Collection Found, But He Loses a Friend and Assistant

Alice Cooper has recovered his bag containing a 300+ collection of rare horror movies was turned in to the lost-and-found at London's Heathrow Airport.

Unfortunately, his archivist and personal assistant, Brian "Renfield" Nelson, has passed away suddenly. Nelson had been with Cooper since the early-80's and had been a collector of memorabilia since 1972. A statement on Cooper's website said:

It is with extreme sadness that we need to inform the community of Alice Cooper fans of the passing of Brian "Renfield" Nelson, Alice's long-time archivist and personal assistant. It was a sudden, completely unexpected, and untimely passing. We would appreciate it if you would keep him in your thoughts, appreciate his many contributions to Alice's life and career over the years, and respect Brian's privacy and the privacy of Alice and his extended family (at home and on tour) at this time.

Alice is currently on tour in Russia, because the show must go on, which is as Brian would have wanted it.

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New Zeppelin Book

A new book is scheduled for release in August that chronicles Led Zeppelin's final performances in the U.K. back in 1979. Then As It Was: Led Zeppelin At Knebworth 1979: 30 Years Gone has previously unpublished photos along with fan recollections of the August 4 and 11 shows. Look for it August 8.

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Pixies Put On A Show

The seminal band the Pixies took the stage at the Isle of Wight festivalon Sunday night, marking their first gig since wrapping up their 2004 reunion tour and its subsequent festival gigs in 2007.

Frank Black, Kim Deal, Joey Santiago and David Lovering treated the crowd to a nearly hour-and-a-half greatest-hits set that kicked off with “U-Mass” and featured “Debaser,” “Gouge Away” and “Gigantic” along with their cover of the Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Head On” and their version of Neil Young’s “Winterlong."

According to the NME, the show went off without a hitch, save for a moment when Black and Deal laughed off a mistake that ended “In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)” early. After Deal told Black he was supposed to scream on the track, he replied, “I haven’t screamed since about 1989″ and the band cracked up. The set ended with an aptly named song: B side “Into the White.”

In other news, all of the Pixies‘ studio records are being reissued in Limited Edition and Deluxe Edition box sets titled "Minotaur" that are scehduled for release on today. The sets — include the Come on Pilgrim EP (1987), Surfer Rosa (1988), Doolittle (1989), Bossanova (1990) and Trompe Le Monde (1991) — are being repackaged with the assistance of the two men responsible for art directing and shooting the photographs for the original albums, from Surfer Rosa’s iconic flamenco dancer to Trompe’s popping eyeballs: Vaughan Oliver and Simon Larbalestier.

For $175, the Deluxe Edition gives fans the five albums on a 24k layered CD and a Blu-ray for a total of five discs, plus a DVD of the band’s 1991 Brixton Academy gig (a year before their split) that also includes all their videos. The Deluxe Edition features additional artwork by Oliver and a 54-page book. The Limited Edition costs $450 and includes the entire Deluxe Edition plus all five albums on 180 gram vinyl, a Giclée print of Oliver’s artwork and a 72-page hardcover book. The Limited Edition comes with a slipcase, the Deluxe in a custom clamshell.

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Monsters Of Folk Release Debut September 22nd

Monsters of Folk - comprised of Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis, My Morning Jacket's Jim James and singer/songwriter M.Ward - will be releasing their first collaborative album on September 22nd. The self-titled effort was recorded in Malibu, CA, and Omaha, NE, and produced by Mike Mogis. Although these critically acclaimed artists have shared the stage before, this album marks their first recorded output as a band. The record will be released in North America on Shangri-La Music, and internationally on Rough Trade (UK/Europe), Spunk Records (Australia/New Zealand) and P-Vine Records (Japan).