Music Notes & Vinyl Record News

Lou Reed Reissues Metal Machine Music, Tours With Metal Machine Trio

Lou Reed and his Metal Machine Trio bring music inspired by Reed's infamously abrasive 1975 album Metal Machine Music to the live stage in Europe for a string of dates this April. Accompanied by sax player Ulrich Krieger and noize maker Sarth Calhoun, Reed is set to play many discordant soundscapes, though a press release makes it clear he "won't duplicate the original" Metal Machine Music.

The tour coincides with a reissue of the LP on 180 gram vinyl, audio DVD, and-- for those who want their sonic corrosion crystal clear-- Blu-ray. The reissue is available to order on Lou's site now www.loureed.com/metalmachinemusic/

======================

Foreigner to Release New Studio Album in March

written by Dewa Nugraha

A time of comeback time for old time rockers still on the cards as this year 80's rock lovers will have the chance to hear another new stuffs from legendary group Foreigner as they prepared to release a new studio album titled "Can't Slow Down". According to Blabbermouth, the legendary rockers will be dropping their first studio record after 15 years on March 1 via earMusic.

The new record will consist in total of 13 studio songs that will probably something of a well prepared singles as the tracks are being produced by two renowned music producers, Marti Fredriksen and Mark Ronson. Beside being released as a CD format, the new record will also be included in a special package consisting of 2 CDs + DVD (CD 1 is the new album : Can't Slow Down, CD 2 The band's Live track and the DVD will consist of footage and interviews)

Commenting about the new album also about the band's line up for the record which consist the likes of, Mick Jones, Kelly Hansen, Tom Gimbel, Michael Bluestein, Jeff Pilson and Brian Tichy, the band's frontman and founder Mick said, "Our music has touched a lot of people worldwide. Unwittingly, we've weaved into the fabric of people's lives and this new line-up is working extremely hard to live up to the high bar that was set years ago." He also added, "This is the most dynamic line-up that we've had since the early days."

======================

Sigur Ros Frontman Announces Official Album Release Date

In an e-mail to fans last night, Sigur Rós lead singer Jónsi Birgisson finally announced a release date for his debut solo album, 'Go.' In addition to announcing the drop date of April 5th, Jónsi also published the cover art of the album, which will include a total of 9 songs "drawn from the large pool" of material he collected while working with Sigur Rós. Collaborating alongside Jónsi will be classical composer Nico Muhly, who helped arrange and fine tune the tracks.

======================

My Morning Jacket Plan Spring Tour

Kentucky's own My Morning Jacket are getting ready to return to what they do best-- playing marathon shows that make you believe in the rejuvenating powers of rock and/or roll. After a year away from the stage, the group will hit nine U.S. cities starting April 20 in Birmingham, Alabama. They'll be joined by New Orleans' famed Preservation Hall Jazz Band on all dates. (MMJ frontman Jim James recorded two songs with the Jazz Band for an upcoming benefit album out February 16.)

My Morning Jacket:

04-20 Birmingham, AL - Alabama Theater *
04-21 Nashville, TN - Municipal Auditorium *
04-23 Atlanta, GA - Chastain Park *
04-24 New Orleans, LA - Jazzfest *
04-27 St. Augustine, FL - St. Augustine Amphitheater *
04-28 Charleston, SC - Family Circle *
04-30 Raleigh, NC - Koka Booth *
05-01 Columbia, MD - Merriweather Post Pavilion *
05-02 Columbus, OH - LC Outdoor Pavilion *

* with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band

======================

Nelson Cancels Show Due To Hand Problem (And Crew Arrests)

Willie Nelson had to cancel a Kenansville, North Carolina concert last Thursday because of a sore hand; however, the decision to not go on also came after six members of his band and crew were arrested for alleged possession of marijuana and moonshine.

The charges against the six, including Nelson's bass player Dan Edward Spears, are misdemeanors and they were issued citations. Officers had smelled marijuana when they passed by Nelson's tour bus and investigated.

======================

Vinyl record cleaner makes a comeback

By Bob Karlovits

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Jan. 29--Television-audio dealer Mark Mawhinney is finding a resurging market for probably the lowest-priced item in his business,

It is his 40-year-old Spin-Clean, a vinyl record-cleaning device that sells for $60.

''Right now, we are behind about 700 units," says the owner of Northern Audio & Home Theater in Ross. "We can't keep up."

Spin-Clean is a narrow, plastic chamber that holds 33-, 45- and 78-rpm records, which are rotated through a bath that takes dirt out and drops it into the container.


Read the rest here: http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-15/1264829045309590.xml&storylist=entertainment

======================

Back in Black

Written by Jessica Novak

Maybe it’s the hiss as the needle drops. Perhaps it’s the crackles and pops as the record spins. Or it could be the rush of discovering a classic album buried among thousands of old records. In an era of digitizing and miniaturizing, vinyl is staking its claim in the music market. It seems counterintuitive to believe that bulky vinyl records might still be popular and profitable, yet in 2008, 1.88 million vinyl records were purchased, according to Neilsen SoundScan. Although that’s more than any year since SoundScan began tracking vinyl sales in 1991, the phenomenon seemed to remain an underground practice as digital sales boomed. However, the proliferation of record sales, even in Syracuse, suggests otherwise.

Scott Makarchuk, owner of Books and Memories, 2600 James St., hesitated to continue selling records when he bought the store almost a year ago. But within 11 months, he has collected more than 10,000 records in the basement of the used bookstore, all of which were brought to him by willing sellers. After Makarchuk inspects each, he chooses the best and purchases them for an average price of 85 cents before selling those best records for $3.95.

“I hadn’t used a record player since I was a kid so I didn’t see a point in continuing to sell them,” says Makarchuk, 43. “But after I saw record players being sold more and more and researched the industry, I realized there was potential.”

Read the rest here:

http://www.syracusenewtimes.com/index.php?id=3892&task=view&option=com_content&Itemid=148