Alex Chilton/Big Star

Alex Chilton's first post-Box Tops and pre-Big Star recordings are set to drop in January. Alex Chilton Free Again: The '1970' Sessions will be available January 10th on cd, digital LP, and vinyl LP (the first 1500 copies will be pressed on clear vinyl) through Omnivore Recordings. Stream a track from the release below and pre-order the release here.

"The E.M.I. Song (Smile For Me)" (Original Mono Mix)



In other related news, a documentary about Big Star is currently in production. Check out the official trailer from Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me below and visit the film's website here.



"Big Star served as a Rosetta Stone for a whole generation of musicians" ~Peter Buck, R.E.M.

PETA Photostamp Collection

Morrissey, Chrissie Hynde, Joan Jett, Natalie Portman, Pythagoras, and others are featured in a new limited edition PETA Photostamp collection honoring famous vegetarians throughout history. The Vegetarian Celebrity US Photostamps are sold in sheets of 20 and can be ordered here for a limited time.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

We're hours away from the official announcement from Trent Reznor regarding the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo soundtrack, but Reznor and his peeps dropped a little bit of new information today on Twitter. Reznor revealed director David Fincher requested a cover of Bryan Ferry's "Is Your Love Strong Enough" for the soundtrack. Also, they're still creating the packaging for the vinyl release of the soundtrack which will contain 6 records! More info shall be posted as it becomes available. Reznor has said previously that he'll be giving out info on the release on December 2nd.

Travis Barker

Travis Barker appeared in a new NFL promo/opening for the NFL on Fox. Watch Barker's skillz below:



Barker was also reportedly contacted by the LAPD a couple of days ago after some comments he made on Twitter about his unpleasant experience during a "routine" traffic stop over the weekend.

But wait, there's more. Barker revealed a new Transplants record is coming next year. Oh and he's shooting a video today for "Almost Midnight" along with his peeps in Blink 182.

Corey Taylor on Scott Weiland

Corey Taylor has been on the road performing solo acoustic shows and some of his banter with the audience has been classic to say the least. A couple of nights ago in Indianapolis Taylor ripped on Scott Weiland. It started off with Taylor ripping on people putting out releases (film, records, etc) and cashing in without doing much in a creative sense. Taylor ripped on Weiland's new Christmas record calling it "painful" and went on to call Weiland "a lazy piece of shit" for cashing in (though he respects Weiland's work in his previous bands.)

Taylor's comments about Weiland start at around 7:30 minutes into the clip (via Blabbermouth) below:



Personally I think Weiland's Christmas music is way less offensive than his atrocious cover of "Reel Around The Fountain." He wore a COWBOY HAT for that cover, for fuck's sake. And don't get me started on him covering Radiohead and The Stone Roses. Wow.

Scott Weiland "Reel Around The Fountain"



Scott Weiland "Winter Wonderland"

VCMG

The debut EP from VCMG is available today exclusively from Beatport. EP1/Spock will be available at other digital retailers starting December 12th, and the 12 inch version drops December 19th. A full length record is expected sometime in the spring. VCMG is the new project featuring Vince Clarke and Martin L. Gore who haven't worked together since Depeche Mode's 1981 debut Speak & Spell.

VCMG "Spock" (Edit Remix)



And for fun, trip all the way back to 1981 and watch Depeche Mode play their very first single "Dreaming Of Me" live (with an awesome reel to reel player onstage.)



Here's a Depeche Mode 1981 television performance of "Puppets" (another track from Speak & Spell). Fair warning--it cuts off kind of abruptly at the end.

The Killers

Christmas came a day early for the Killers. You can download the band's new Christmas song "The Cowboys' Christmas Ball" from iTunes now. In addition, you can also download the (Red) Christmas EP featuring all the band's previous Christmas singles today. Proceeds from all of the Christmas singles (whether you purchase the EP or as individual songs) are donated to the Global Fund to help fight AIDS. Download from iTunes here and find out more about (RED) here.

Morrissey

Morrissey performed his new song, "People Are The Same Everywhere" on Conan last night.



"People Are The Same Everywhere" is one of three new tracks Morrissey premiered in June on the BBC's Radio 2. Unfortunately, the show archive is no longer available online, but you can listen to another Morrissey interview from April where he discussed the Smiths, his solo material and forthcoming autobiography on BBC Radio 4 here.

"People Are The Same Everywhere"



"The Kid's A Looker"



"Action Is My Middle Name"

Korn

Korn has unlocked another song from their forthcoming cd The Path To Totality. Check out "Chaos Lives In Everything" featuring Skrillex, plus listen to the record's previously released singles, "Get Up" and "Narcissistic Cannibal" via Hype Machine.

You can also check out a 7 minute sampler from The Path To Totality below. The sampler features clips from all 13 songs off the record which will finally be released on Tuesday.

The Black Keys

The Black Keys will finally drop their new cd El Camino next Tuesday. Even though it's one of the last records to be released in 2011, El Camino will most definitely end up on a LOT of 'Best Of 2011' lists. Don't believe me? Check out 5 tracks from El Camino right here and see/listen for yourself.

Coldplay

Coldplay's 90 minute Austin City Limits performance will air on PBS at 11pm on New Year's Eve and will also be available for online viewing on pbs.org.  For more info, hit up Coldplay's official website.

The Killers

Check out the Killers' 2011 Christmas single, "The Cowboys' Christmas Ball" via Killers' fansite, I've Got This Burning Belief. The single will be available on iTunes starting December 1st and proceeds go to the Red campaign.

The King Of Limbs

Radiohead's The King Of Limbs was the best selling vinyl album of the year, and even though a lot of fans weren't blown away by the music on the record, the special "newspaper" edition and packaging for the release was truly something to behold. Mojo magazine named The King Of Limbs their favorite "music package" of the year, and they've done a pretty fantastic feature on the release in their Best Of 2011 edition. Radiohead's Colin Greenwood and Stanley Donwood (the art director of the package) were interviewed for Mojo's year end issue and revealed a ton of details regarding the release, production, and design of the album packaging. You'll have to purchase the magazine to read the entire interview, however since Donwood had SO much to say in the interview, Mojo decided to publish the "director's cut" of the interview here. I posted one excerpt from the piece below--Donwood's comments on the good ol' compact disc:

"They are atrocious. Human invention has made some serious errors, the private motor vehicle being chief among them. Compact discs are not in that league, but they are still extremely annoying: and in a few years they'll all be landfill. No-one has any serious love for them; they look cheap, and promise much that they cannot deliver. They merely allowed the bloated 'music industry' to continue for a few more stolen years whilst millions of people bought music they already owned in this new, hideous format. And those jewel cases! What a waste of our hydrocarbon resources. I will not mourn them."

Morrissey!

Morrissey played a show at the Pomona Theater in California last night. Wow, what a finale--watch Morrissey sing "Still Ill" while TONS of fans crowd surf to get to the front to shake his hand. Not to spoil it, but there's more than one fan to make it onstage. And a shirt comes off.

Morrissey will be on Conan tonight, but I'm going to go ahead and say, it's gonna be hard to top the video below:



I'm still reeling (around the fountain) about Spinner putting Morrissey in the same category as ICP, Nickelback, Creed, and Limp Bizkit...

Korn

Wow, you really have to hope Korn's Jonathan Davis was misquoted or taken out of context for this Billboard story titled We Were Dubstep Before There Was Dubstep. Kind of a stunning comment, though in the band's defense they were talking about their use of bass. Still, who says that, especially to a reporter? Trust me, Billboard reporter Kerri Mason knew as the comment was being made, the story would be instant gold. And it is.

Korn's new cd The Path To Totality drops next Tuesday, December 6th.

Check out the video for "Narcissistic Cannibal" from the dubstep pioneers below:

Joan Jett

Because sometimes, people suck...

Red Hot Chili Peppers

The first batch of dates for the Red Hot Chili Peppers' North American tour have been announced.  Tickets for the 6 dates (tour will stop in Charlotte, Raleigh, Columbia, Duluth, Greensboro, and Memphis) will go on sale December 3rd.  For more info on the tour and tickets, visit the band's official website.  More cities and dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

Beady Eye

Beady Eye has announced a short North American tour.  The 9 date tour kicks off tomorrow in Vancouver and ends December 10th in Boston.  After the tour, the band will take a few weeks off for the holidays, then start working on the follow up to their debut cd, Different Gear, Still Speeding.  Check out Beady Eye's tour itinerary here.

Smashing Pumpkins

You can listen to Zane Lowe's (BBC Radio 1 host) special on Siamese Dream for another few hours (until 4pm ET) here.

I'd also recommend listening to Matt Pinfield's 30 minute interview with Billy Corgan if you're a fan of the Smashing Pumpkins.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Trent Reznor is expected to reveal information about The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo this Friday, December 2nd. While you're waiting for more info to surface, check out a report of some YouTube drama from overnight, and also read an extensive interview with director David Fincher with Wired.

Garbage

Well, according to Garbage the new record is DONE. They sent out a tweet last night revealing that the record is done:

"There is NOTHING more incredible than getting really drunk and listening to your own NEW completed record. Whoo Hoo"

The still untitled record from Garbage is expected in the spring. The band is also currently mapping out some dates for a tour. Details forthcoming...

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds debuted a video titled "Ride The Tiger" which features all of the band's previous music videos, bridged together with some previously unreleased/unused footage. The 19 minute video is sort of like a western mini-movie set to Noel's music. Watch it below (contains "If I Had A Gun," "The Death Of You & Me," and "AKA...What A Life.")

Coldplay

Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland played a charity acoustic event in a church* in London last Thursday. Everything was great but for an audience member who thought it would be sweet to smuggle in a tambourine and play it along to the songs. (WTF, who brings a tambourine to a show?) Check out some footage (including Chris Martin's rant regarding the tambourine) from the show below and read the Guardian's review of the show here.

*interesting to note that being in a church didn't stop Chris Martin from dropping a few f-bombs!

"Viva La Vida" (tambourine debuts, much to the dismay of Coldplay)



"The Scientist" (Chris Martin put his foot down in regards to the tambourine--song starts at around 2:00)



"Shiver"



"Violet Hill/Clocks"



"Paradise"



"Fix You"

Tears For Fears cover

I'm pretty sure you've never heard "Mad World" from Tears For Fears covered quite like this. Wow.

Crimson Death "Mad World"

Mad World (Tears for Fears cover 2002) by Crimson Death

Foo Fighters

Check out Foo Fighters performing their latest single "These Days" live in concert:

These Days (Live) by Foo Fighters

The Raveonettes

The Raveonettes will drop their 27 track collection b-sides/rarities on limited edition cd and vinyl on December 12th. A digital version is also planned, but according to the band, it might not be a bad idea to start saving your $$$:

B sides album will be available from our website in a few days. Waiting for confirmation from mgmt about exact date it will be up for purchase. Brace yourselves for the price! Unfortunately very expensive to produce, but she's a beauty. :)

Listen to one of the b-sides, "Demon's Fire" below:

Florence + The Machine

Florence + The Machine will perform a special live set at the Masonic Temple in Toronto this Thursday, December 1st for MTV Canada. One song will air live at 6pm ET on MTV Live, then the rest of the performance will air on MTV on December 23rd and also be available for on demand viewing via mtv.ca. Unfortunately, the show/content will not be available for viewing in other countries.

Florence + The Machine just released the new cd Ceremonials. Check out the video for "No Light No Light" below:

Fugazi online archive

Fugazi's record label, Dischord announced earlier this year that they were working on a special website which would serve to chronicle the band's live history. The site has been in beta testing (for Dischord members) but Fugazi Live Series is finally ready to officially launch this Thursday, December 1st. Starting Thursday, you'll be able to watch a ton of live Fugazi shows, view original posters/flyers from the shows, and in some cases download live MP3s. Some of the shows will be free to view, others will be available to download for a small fee (either 5 dollars, or you can enjoy a sliding scale 'name your own price' option.) The band plans on eventually archiving 800 concerts, but they'll start with 130 and go from there. Visit the official Dischord site for more info, plus read the New York Times' interview with Ian McKaye and Guy Picciotto.

Time Warp--Facebook page

Time Warp is on Facebook now.

Time Warp

8 am hour

Michael Penn "No Myth"
Pet Shop Boys "Suburbia"
R.E.M. "Superman"
Oasis "Live Forever"
24 Gone "Trust"
Billy Idol "White Wedding"
Pearl Jam "Daughter"
Wallflowers "One Headlight"
Jesus & Mary Chain "Nine Million Rainy Days"
Siouxsie & the Banshees "Kiss Them For Me"
Nine Inch Nails "Terrible Lie"
XTC "Earn Enough For Us"

9 am hour

Cult "Wild Flower"
U2 "Bullet The Blue Sky"
Smashing Pumpkins "Cherub Rock"
Depeche Mode "Dreaming Of Me"
Pixies "Here Comes Your Man"
Mighty Mighty Bosstones "Someday I Suppose"
English Beat "Mirror In The Bathroom"
Red Hot Chili Peppers "Give It Away"
Replacements "Can't Hardly Wait"
Iggy Pop "Lust For Life"
Plimsouls "A Million Miles Away"
Cure "Let's Go To Bed"
Blur "Girls & Boys"

10 am hour

Foo Fighters "I'll Stick Around"
Social Distortion "Story Of My Life" (live)
Ramones "I Wanna Be Sedated"
Lenny Kravitz "Mr. Cab Driver"
INXS "Need You Tonight"
Elvis Costello "Accidents Will Happen"
Sponge "Molly"
Garbage "Queer"
Chapterhouse "Pearl"
Bjork "Big Time Sensuality"
R.E.M. "It's The End Of The World As We Know It"
Clash "London Calling"
Dream Academy "Life In A Northern Town"
Police "Roxanne"

11 am hour

Smithereens "Blood & Roses"
U2 "I Will Follow"
Depeche Mode "World In My Eyes"
L7 "Pretend We're Dead"
Pearl Jam "State Of Love & Trust"
Replacements "I Will Dare"
Sonic Youth "Bull In The Heather"
Red Hot Chili Peppers "Taste The Pain"
Porno For Pyros "Pets"
Nirvana "Aneurysm"
Smiths "This Night Has Opened My Eyes"
Radiohead "Karma Police"
Cure "Close To Me"

Shelagh Delaney

One of Morrissey's biggest influences, Shelagh Delaney, died last Sunday, November 20th. Delaney was a poet and writer, and probably best known for her 1958 debut A Taste Of Honey. Delaney appeared on the cover of the Smiths' 1987 record Louder Than Bombs, and the song "This Night Has Opened My Eyes" is based on A Taste Of Honey. Morrissey wrote a short tribute to Delaney on fan page true-to-you which you can read here. Check out an interview with Delaney from 1960 below.

Time Warp posts from the past week

In case you don't feel like scrolling around, here are links to many of the Time Warp related posts from this past week (November 20th-November 26th)

Nine Inch Nails auction
Billy Corgan audio interview with Matt Pinfield on Gish/Siamese Dream reissues
Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas" anniversary
Vince Clarke & Martin L. Gore announce new musical project
Early Sonic Youth recording from 1981
Inspiral Carpets return with new music
Old Radiohead demos
Massive Attack played an exhibit opening
Liam & Noel lawsuit might not be over
Footage from Bob Mould tribute concert


The Cure--live footage from Reflections night 1 in Los Angeles
The Cure--live footage from Reflections night 2 in Los Angeles
The Cure--live footage from Reflections night 3 in Los Angeles
The Cure--live footage from Reflections night 1 in NYC
The Cure--live footage of Robert Smith's surprise at the end of "Let's Go To Bed"

Morrissey live footage from Dallas
Morrissey live footage from Phoenix
Morrissey live footage from Escondido
Morrissey live footage from Hollywood
Morrissey fan jumps onstage in Las Vegas

Noel Gallagher

Check out today's New York Times to read an interview with Noel Gallagher. My favorite part of the interview is Gallagher's reply to why the ex-members of Oasis all joined Beady Eye (Liam's band) instead of his solo project. Here's his response:

I never said to them, ‘‘I’m leaving, and if you want to come with me, come.’’ Liam being Liam bullied them into starting a band that night. It’s like Lyndon Johnson being sworn in on the airplane on the way back from Dallas before the body is even cold.

Read the condensed/edited online version of the interview in the New York Times online edition here.

The Cure--Reflections, NYC night 2

Video from last night's show:

Wow, Robert Smith took fan requests outside the venue in NYC...



...and played the request!




Tonight the Reflections tour concludes in NYC

All American Rejects

Tyson Ritter from All American Rejects revealed in an interview that the band will release their new cd early next year. Ritter says the record took the band 2.5 years to make and the music will "speak to a lot of people." The still untitled cd will drop February 7th. Watch the interview with Ritter below via Absolute Punk.



All American Rejects also recently announced Matt Rubano (ex-Taking Back Sunday) will be joining the band as a touring bassist. Oddly enough the band's next gig will be playing the CMT (yep, that stands for Country Music Television) Artist Of The Year awards December 13th. The show will air on CMT and also online on cmt.com

The Cure--Reflections

This is the best Cure video ever! Robert Smith was incredibly animated for this performance of "Let's Go To Bed." And he got a big kiss too. Awesome.

Bob Mould & friends...

Check out video from the Bob Mould tribute concert that took place a couple of days ago in Los Angeles:

David Grohl + Bob Mould "Hardly Getting Over It/Could You Be The One/Ice Cold Ice"



Ryan Adams "Heartbreak A Stranger"



Bob Mould + friends (encore) "See A Little Light"

Band Aid

Band-Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas" was recorded on November 25th in 1984. Check out a great article on the charity single here, (via Duran Duran) and watch the video below.

The video is soooooooooo fun to watch--everyone looks so young and innocent (well, sorta) and the hairstyles are phenomenal. There's an awesome shot of Bono (at 1:31) where his hair/headphones give off an Amy Winehouse vibe, and a truly amazing rat-tail makes an appearance at 2:54. Oh, and in 1984 Boy George was going through his red-hair phase, but he clearly was in dire need of a roots touch up on the day this was recorded. Good times.

Morrissey

Morrissey has been on the road for well over a week on his short North American tour. I've been watching a lot of the footage from shows on YouTube and was surprised I hadn't come across any video of fans trying to make it up onstage. Until now.

The video below is from last night's show in Las Vegas, and the sound is pretty bad, but it's definitely worth sitting through to get to the Moz fan at the end.

The Cure

The Cure kicked off their three night Reflections residency at the Beacon Theater in New York City last night. Watch some footage from the show:












DO NOT WATCH THIS FINAL VIDEO IF YOU HAVE PHOTOSENSITIVE EPILEPSY. There are a ton of flashing lights. Watch at your own risk.

Black Friday

Warning--this is a non-music post:

Isn't it interesting that on Thanksgiving people get teary-eyed blathering, "I love everyone, I love everybody (except Nickelback), I'm sooooooooo thankful" and then the very next day on Black Friday it turns into, "get the F out of my way, that's MINE, DAMMIT!!!" Horrifying. Just plain horrifying.





If you need to watch more insanity, Gawker compiled a gallery of scary Black Friday footage. Watch it here.

Ryan Adams

Ryan Adams will be playing a show in Ann Arbor in January as part of the 35th Annual Ann Arbor Folk Festival. The two day festival is happening January 27th and 28th at Hill Auditorium. Ryan Adams will headline the 27th, and Emmylou Harris headlines the 28th. Check out the full lineup for both dates here. Tickets go on sale to the general public on December 1st, or if you're an Ark member, you can purchase tickets now (call 734.761.1800 for info on Ark memberships.)

Ringo Deathstarr

Ringo Deathstarr is currently on the road supporting Smashing Pumpkins overseas. Check out a short interview with the band below

Morrissey

Morrissey played "Meat Is Murder" the night before Thanksgiving at the Music Box in Hollywood. He made a short Thanksgiving comment before launching into the song:

"Apparently tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Try your best not to kill anything"

The Cure--Reflections

The Cure will kick off their 3-night Reflections residency in New York City tonight.

Check out some video from the band's final Los Angeles show from Wednesday night.

The Stone Roses

The Stone Roses have launched a new merchandise store, so if you're in the market for wearables, go for it.

Black Friday

Yup, it's here. Black Friday Record Store Day. It'll be wayyyy more low key to visit your favorite independent record store than brave the masses at malls and big outlet stores. (And be sure to stay away from Wal-Mart. There's always annual Black Friday drama at Wal-Mart, usually it's some kind of stampede issue. And look this year's issue--so far--didn't take long did it?)

Anyway. The point is, Black Friday Record Store Day is here. Take a look at the list of participating stores, check out the list of goodies available and go. Good luck!

The Killers/Christmas single info

The Killers will be releasing their annual Christmas single on iTunes next Thursday, December 1st. Ronnie Vannucci previously revealed the song was "cowboy influenced" and would be called "Cowboy's Christmas," but the title has been changed to "The Cowboy's Christmas Ball." According to Killers Brazil, the single will also be featured on The Red EP, which compiles the band's previous Christmas singles and proceeds from the sales benefit the Product Red campaign.

Check out all the previous Christmas singles from the Killers:

2006: "A Great Big Sled" (also features Toni Halliday from Curve)



2007: "Don't Shoot Me Santa"



2008: "Joseph, Better You Than Me"



2009: "Happy Birthday Guadalupe"



2010: "Boots"

Mayer Hawthorne

If you missed Mayer Hawthorne's halftime show today, it's streaming exclusively on Rolling Stone. Bonus: Hawthorne was performing from his parents' house. Bigger bonus: His dad is featured playing bass. Awesome.

The Drums

The Drums have covered "Birthday" by the Sugarcubes.

The Black Keys

The Black Keys have posted a new video for "Lonely Boy" which gives a glimpse into how records are pressed. Watch it below:

The Black Keys - Lonely Boy (RSD Exclusive) from wbrdigital on Vimeo.

Did you notice the video plays backwards? The Black Keys' special Black Friday limited edition 12 inch single for "Lonely Boy" actually plays backwards too! Take a look:



Supercool!!! The Black Keys will release their new full length cd El Camino on December 6th.

Wow, a ton of free music

If you like garage-metal, or punk, you're gonna love this: the peeps at Seventh Rule made ALL their Bandcamp releases FREE through Sunday! Download full releases from Wetmusic, Millions, Diesto, Sweet Cobra, and tons more. Listen to the albums here and if you like, download free.

Nine Inch Nails auction

Nine Inch Nails has posted more items on Ebay as part of the band's memorabilia charity auction. View all the NIN items here. All proceeds will go to California Greyhound Adoption Promotion (CalGAP) which is an advocacy group dedicated to promoting ex-racing greyhound adoption and to assist rescue agencies in placing greyhounds to adoptive homes.

Yikes

According to Spinner*, Morrissey is in the same category as horrifying bands like ICP, Creed, and Limp Bizkit. The article in question is titled 'Nickelback and 10 Other Musical Acts You Hate Just As Much' which is more of a photo gallery feature which can be accessed here. Oh, Spinner.



*Let's also not forget that Pete Wentz liked Morrissey so much Wentz chose Moz to be the backdrop to those leaked naked photos (NSFW, due to Pete's schlong so don't click if you don't wanna see). Hmmm, on second thought...maybe this isn't a point in Moz's favor?

*Dear Spinner, you might also want to do a little research and see what year Travis began recording and compare that date with Coldplay's first record.

Delta Spirit

Delta Spirit is offering a free download of an EP titled I Think I Found It. According to the band, the EP features the first material the band created and released (dates back almost 6 years ago.) Download it via the widget below:

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds played "AKA...What A Life" on Jools Holland last night. Don't miss Noel live at the Royal Oak Music Theater on March 31st.

Coldplay

Coldplay's 2010 Christmas single, "Christmas Lights" is available this week on iTunes for free. Grab it here. And don't forget you can still download Coldplay's Live In Madrid via Google Music.

Coldplay recently announced details for a special Christmas show for charity Kids Company in London on December 10th. Coldplay will also be posting their entire Dingwalls concert (will be previously recorded in London) via Radio 2 for on demand viewing starting December 22nd.

The Vaccines

The Vaccines released one of my favorite records of the year, What Do You Expect From The Vaccines, back in the spring. The band will return with a new single, "Tiger Blood" which was produced by Albert Hammond Jr. of the Strokes. The single will be available digitally on iTunes on December 13th and you can check out the official video via Rolling Stone.

FYI, Rolling Stone mentions another single, "Tuck & Roll" which has been available previously as the b-side to "All In White."

"Tuck & Roll"

The Cure--Reflections

Yesterday was night #2 of The Cure's Reflection residency in Los Angeles. The band will play their final show in L.A. tonight, then head to New York City for three nights there starting Friday.

"Funeral Party"



"All Cats Are Grey"

Morrissey

Here's some footage from last night's show in Escondido, California. As mentioned yesterday, Morrissey will not be performing on Jimmy Kimmel tonight, but you'll be able to see him on Conan next Tuesday, plus he'll be at the Royal Oak Music Theater on December 18th.

Chris Vrenna exits Marilyn Manson

Chris Vrenna (who is probably best known for his work in Nine Inch Nails) has quit drumming duties for Marilyn Manson according to the following press release:

"I'm incredibly proud of the work I did with Manson and look forward to the release of 'Born Villain.' I wish my brothers well but with the recording largely completed I felt it was time to return to other facets of my career which involves production work, film scoring, and future musical collaborations," explained Vrenna.

Marilyn Manson's official site (and his Twitter/Facebook) hasn't posted anything yet on Vrenna's exit. Manson's new cd Born Villain is expected out next year.

Korn/Skrillex

You've probably heard that Korn will be releasing their dubsteppy new cd, The Path To Totality, on December 6th. How did the collaboration come about? Skrillex was interviewed by BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe recently and told the story. Unfortunately, you have less than a day to listen to the broadcast, but if you have time, check out the show featuring the interview and exclusive mixes Skrillex laid down for the show. If you can't listen, here's my summary:

According to Skrillex, Jonathan Davis called him up about a year ago to congratulate him on the release of Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites. After talking they discussed collaborating, and a short time later, Skrillex joined Korn in a recording studio and together they wrote three songs over the span of two days. Everyone involved agreed the project should be a collaboration--it wasn't Skrillex remixing Korn, it was Skrillex collaborating with Korn. Davis liked the results so much he wanted Skrillex to do the entire record, but due to previous commitments Skrillex wasn't able to do the entire Korn record. Instead, Skrillex hooked Davis up with some other great dubstep producers. The rest is history.

Check out samples from all 11 tracks from The Path To Totality and pre-order the record.

By the way, Skrillex also told Zane Lowe he'd be releasing a remix ep next month, plus another ep early next year. No dates have been set yet.

Smashing Pumpkins

Smashing Pumpkins are reissuing Gish and Siamese Dream on November 29th. Matt Pinfield, best known as music guru/host of 120 Minutes, recently interviewed Billy Corgan about the reissues. If you're a Smashing Pumpkins fan you really need to listen to the interview. Corgan discusses a ton of classic tracks, ex-members James Iha, D'arcy Wretsky, and Jimmy Chamberlin, the band's early influences (Ride and My Bloody Valentine among others), and find out which song's lyrics were inspired by Corgan's first LSD trip. Listen to the interview below:

The Smashing Pumpkins: Billy Corgan Talks Gish & Siamese Dream by FMQB Productions

Visit the official Smashing Pumpkins website to check out the tracklisting for both Gish & Siamese Dream (there's a few different options), plus pre-order.

Massive Attack

Massive Attack played a set at the opening of an art exhibit in Paris on Saturday. Check out pictures of JR's exhibit/gallery here and check out video from Massive Attack's set via HighSnobiety below.

Apparatjik

Apparatjik, the supergroup featuring Guy Berryman (Coldplay), Jonas Bjerre (Mew) and Magne Furuholmen (A-ha) dropped their second cd Square Peg In A Round Hole for free via their iPad app a couple of weeks ago. At the time, they referred to the record as 'Issue A' and it's been revealed that there will be 10 other versions of the album in the coming months. In addition, fans will also be able to remix Apparatjik songs. More details* on that soon.

*Details from Apparatjik are always so difficult to interpret (and they love it that way!) as the band tends to post incredibly cryptic messages on their website and in band email missives. Their music is pretty cool though, so it's worth it. Check out a few tracks from Square Peg In A Round Hole below:

"Combat Disco"



"Your Voice Needs Subtitles"



"Don't Eat The Whole Banana"



"Pakt"

Thursday

Today Thursday announced, "So we stop. For now, at least." Read the band's full statement about their future below, and don't forget to check out their final Detroit- area show at The Eagle Theater in Pontiac on December 3rd.

“look thrice, Imma Let you finish, but…”

Yup. Yesterday thrice, today Thursday. Crazy coincidence for two bands that have led such parallel and intersecting lives. We would’ve spaced our announcement out and given the dust a chance to settle but we are about to play a bunch of shows and we didn’t want anyone to miss the chance to see us one more time, so here it goes…

If you’re reading this long version of our statement, you’ve probably had some interaction with Thursday. We’ve been a band for thirteen years. We’ve played an uncountable number of shows, ranging from living rooms to stadiums. We’ve talked to every Zine, blog, Daily, Weekly, Monthly periodical… We’ve talked to every College, Commercial and Public Radio Station and sometimes we just hung out on the street talking to strangers. Maybe we met you. Maybe we worked together somewhere. Maybe you saw us or heard us with friends. Whatever the case may be, we owe you thanks. You’ve allowed us to be a band for thirteen years, to travel the world, to make records, to meet all of the people we’ve grown to love. And to open for our idols, work with our heroes, employ our friends (the best crew around) and see our dreams made real.

This year, Thursday has had so much to celebrate: our new record, No Devolución, came out ten years, to the week, after the record that was to become our touchstone: Full Collapse. To have one record still being celebrated a decade after it’s release and another to be met with such critical acclaim was really more than we ever could’ve imagined. We just wanted to play basement shows in New Brunswick. It’s funny… That sounds like a well-worn line now but it’s absolutely the truth.

Well, if you’ve been touched by our music or our dedication or our embarrassingly out-of-fashion sincerity, then this is for you, friend: thank you for letting us make No Devolución. We hope you’ve heard it. We say “beg, borrow or steal… music is an idea… ideas are free” but we encourage you to support our fantastically sweet and hardworking label, Epitaph, by buying it if you can afford to.

Despite the fantastic year that the band has enjoyed, creatively, things haven’t been as easy for us on a personal level. Without diving into detail, it’s fair to say that this year has been an endless series of personal difficulties. We haven’t had any falling out and are all still close. I’m sure that we will continue to create, in some capacity, together. We’ve talked about turning Thursday into something else: a non-profit, a band that only records sporadically, a collection of other projects… Underneath it all, the personal circumstances involved make it impossible to continue Thursday in the spirit that has made it special. So, we stop. For now, at least.

We hope to see many of you at these last shows. They’ll be a lot of fun. We promise.

Lots of love,
Geoff & Tom & Tucker & Steve & Andrew & Tim & Lukas
(Thursday)

Paul Weller

Paul Weller has announced he'll be releasing his eleventh solo record, Sonik Kicks, March 26th. Guests on the 14 track record include Noel Gallagher* and Graham Coxon (Blur). The record's first single, "Around The Lake" is available now via iTunes U.K. You can catch up with Weller here and listen to Weller's single below.

Paul Weller "Around The Lake"



*FYI, Weller doesn't play favorites with the Gallagher brothers. Earlier this year Liam's fashion label Pretty Green introduced a Paul Weller clothing collection.

Social Distortion

Social Distortion has been on the road over the past year promoting their seventh studio record, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes. Mike Ness has revealed in an interview with the Weekender, that the band is aiming to not take so long between records stating, "We have kind of set a goal to be just a little more prolific and not let the gaps be so big in between records." Read the entire interview here.

If you're in the Toledo area, or up for a road trip, don't miss Social Distortion at the Omni in Toledo this Saturday.

Inspiral Carpets

Earlier this year Inspiral Carpets announced they were working on their first new music in 15 years, and original member Stephen Holt* was returning to the band as vocalist. Well, they made good on their promise. Yesterday Inspiral Carpets released two songs--their new single, "You're So Good For Me" and b-side "Head For The Sun." Download both now from iTunes. And listen to a stream of both songs below (yes, both feature that famous Manchester organ!)

"You're So Good For Me"



"Head For The Sun"



Also check out two songs from the band's Live XM Session yesterday

"This Is How It Feels"



"Saturn 5"



In North America, Inspiral Carpets are probably best known for their hit "Commerical Rain" (from Life)



*Tom Hingley was the vocalist for the band in their heyday. Fun fact: Noel Gallagher auditioned to replace Holt, but Hingley was chosen. Noel famously did spend time with the Carpets as their roadie until he found out his pesky brother Liam was forming his own band.)

Sonic Youth

Matador Records posted a link to the video below yesterday on Twitter. It's thought to be the first ever Sonic Youth recording dating back to 1981. Check it out:

Nickelback--Here & Now

Nickelback just released their new cd Here & Now, and of course all the major music sites have posted their reviews. You pretty much can assume what's being written, but if not, go ahead and read Consequence of Sound's review.

But let's be honest--even though most of us seemingly hate the band, Nickelback sells a ridiculous amount of records. They have fans. A lot of fans. Wouldn't it be fun to read a fan's review of the band's latest cd? Enter The National Post who offered up some choice entertainment.

Don't forget you can still download Nickelblock, the plug-in that makes Nickelback disappear. Sort of.

Morrissey

Morrissey's November 23rd appearance on Jimmy Kimmel has been canceled due to a scheduling conflict. Morrissey's other late night tv performance scheduled for November 29th on Conan is still a go.

Don't miss Morrissey at the Royal Oak Music Theater on December 18th.

"Still Ill"

The Black Keys

The Black Keys released a compilation of their videos yesterday. The Black Keys Video Collection features 6 videos and is available exclusively on iTunes. Check out the tracklisting below:

"Your Touch"
"Just Got To Be"
"Strange Times"
"Tighten Up"
"Howlin' For You"
"Lonely Boy"

The Black Keys will finally get around to releasing their new cd El Camino on December 6th. Don't forget the band will be selling a special limited edition 12 inch single for Black Friday.

The Cure--Reflections

The Cure's Reflections tour kicked off a three evening residency in Los Angeles last night. Trent Reznor was among the celebrities checking out last night's show. Another celebrity attempted to play off being at last night's show by posting an OLD live picture of the band on Twitter. Good times.

I'll be updating with more video as it becomes available. If nothing else, watch the stunning up close footage of "A Forest."

"A Forest"



"Jumping Someone Else's Train"



"Faith"

Owl Vision

Owl Vision has posted a mixtape and you can download it for free! Darkmix #2 was made by Owl Vision and mixed by Don Serata. Check out the stream below or download it here. Owl Vision released his new cd Zybersect back in October. You can listen to that full cd here and if you like it (I think you will!) buy it here.

Owl Vision - Darkmix #2 (Mixed by Don Serata) by Owl Vision

"Death Star" is such a 'effing groove! Check out the video below:

Nickelback

OMG, this is hysterical: the ingenious folks at AUX.TV created a plug-in for Firefox and Chrome called NICKELBLOCK that blocks out all mentions of Nickelback--that's right, Nickelback will be blocked from your browser and you'll never see that name again! Unfortunately, it's unlikely that you'll never HEAR them again...but at least the NICKELBLOCK plug-in is a good start. Too bad it won't work on the tv for Lions' fans on Thanksgiving...

Red Hot Chili Peppers

The Red Hot Chili Peppers announced today they're making all of their live shows available to download. Starting with the band's November 7th show in London, you can download any/all of their I'm With You shows in a variety of formats--mp3, FLAC, and ALAC. Each show will be available to download within a few days of the show. Sure, it's not exactly the same as seeing them live in concert, but it's great news if you're a fan and can't wait for them to come to a city near you. North American fans have been on pins and needles waiting for the band to announce their tour itinerary, but according to Chad Smith, the announcement is coming in December (psst, it's December next week already!) Stay tuned for details!

Vince Clarke/Martin L. Gore

The awesome of the day (for old schoolers): Vince Clarke and Martin L. Gore are recording new music together! Clarke used to be in Depeche Mode back in the Speak & Spell era before he quit to form Yaz and Erasure. The two will be calling themselves VCMG (not exactly creative, but hey, the music is going to rule). The first release will be an EP titled SPOCK and will be available November 30th on Beatport, then everywhere else on December 12th. A full album will drop in the spring of next year.

Morrissey

Go ahead and mock me, but I'm posting more live video from Morrissey--this time from his show in Phoenix last night:

"I Know It's Over"



Here's some footage from Moz's show in Dallas

Liam vs Noel part 5001

If you thought the litigation between Gallagher brothers Liam and Noel was over, think again. Earlier this year Liam filed suit against Noel for comments Noel had made about Liam forcing Oasis to pull out of the V Festival a few years ago because of a hangover. Noel eventually apologized to Liam and everyone thought the matter was over. Apparently not. According to an exclusive report in today's Mirror, Noel filed legal documents in the matter on November 1st, and some of the documents have some pretty choice words about Liam saying he's "disrupted gig" displayed "generally irresponsible and unreasonable behavior" and was "spiteful and childish." According to the Mirror, Liam had no comment about the matter other than things were in the hands of lawyers at this point. Yeah, the Mirror is a tabloid, and tabloids get things wrong all the time, but they do have screenshots of some legal documents. Check out the full report in the Mirror here.

Meanwhile Q interviewed Noel recently (their interview will be published in their new issue next week) and they quoted Noel as saying, "I want them (Beady Eye) to do well. I don't want to get involved in that shit."

Watch some video from Q's interview with Noel (contains no comments about Liam or Beady eye):

Morrissey

More awesome video of Morrissey--this time it's from his show in Dallas. You can also check out other footage I posted previously.

"Satellite Of Love" (Lou Reed cover)



"I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris"



"People Are The Same Everywhere"

Trent Reznor/NIN

Trent Reznor was full of updates this weekend. Saturday he announced Nine Inch Nails have started to auction off band memorabilia/gear for charity (bid here), and today he revealed he's mastering the score to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (info to be announced December 2nd) and he's mixing music for his How To Destroy Angels project.

Brandon Flowers

A football player named Brandon Flowers keeps getting mistaken for the Killers' lead singer Brandon Flowers. The football Flowers plays for the Kansas City Chiefs as a cornerback and seems bummed that rocker Flowers trumps him on Google. He laments, "every time I go onto Google to look for any action pictures of me, Brandon Flowers of the Killers pops up." True enough, however a Google WEB search is kinder to the Chiefs' player. A Google rep says if he becomes a successful football player the tables will likely be turned. Read the full story on NFL.com

Radiohead

Check out two songs by the band On A Friday, the 1986 version of Radiohead (minus Jonny Greenbrook). Listen to two tracks below via poptart, what's our mission.

"Everybody Knows"



"Girl"

Time Warp

TIME WARP NOW HAS AN OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE.

8 am hour

Tears For Fears "Everybody Wants To Rule The World"
JoBoxers "Just Got Lucky"
Elvis Costello "Pump It Up"
INXS "Mystify"
Counting Crows "Round Here"
Luscious Jackson "Naked Eye"
Roxy Music "Love Is The Drug"
Talk Talk "It's My Life"
U2 "Ultraviolet"
Depeche Mode "Black Celebration"
Peter Murphy "Cuts You Up"
Jane's Addiction "Jane Says" (live)

9 am hour

R.E.M. "Fall On Me"
Replacements "Kiss Me On The Bus"
Iggy Pop/Kate Pierson "Candy"
James "Laid"
Soundgarden "Hands All Over"
PJ Harvey "Down By The Water"
Pixies "Monkey Gone To Heaven"
Cure "Jumping Someone Else's Train"
Siouxsie & the Banshees "Peek-A-Boo"
Erasure "A Little Respect"
Morrissey "Hairdresser On Fire"
Oasis "Don't Look Back In Anger"
Nirvana "Dumb"
Duran Duran "The Reflex"
Devo "Whip It"

10 am hour

Echo & The Bunnymen "Lips Like Sugar"
Clash "Straight To Hell"
Bad Religion "Infected"
Pearl Jam "Crown Of Thorns"
Red Hot Chili Peppers "Aeroplane"
Talking Heads "Psychokiller"
U2 "New Year's Day"
Smashing Pumpkins "Disarm" (acoustic)
Smashing Pumpkins "Siva" (peel session)
Garbage "I Think I'm Paranoid"
Gin Blossoms "Hey Jealousy"

11 am hour

Billy Idol "Rebel Yell"
Primus "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver"
Big Audio Dynamite II "The Globe"
Lemonheads "Into Your Arms"
Sonic Youth "The Diamond Sea"
Stone Roses "I Wanna Be Adored"
Charlatans "Weirdo"
New Order "Blue Monday"
Ride "Vapour Trail"
Radiohead "Fake Plastic Trees"
Morrissey "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" (live)

Time Warp

Here's a quick and dirty rundown of Time Warp-ish posts from this past week. Clicky clicky and you're good to go:

Morrissey ticket info, live footage from shows this week, plus Moz got his hair cut and kept his locks!

Noel Gallagher ticket information plus video of him covering Oasis songs live.

Sinead O'Connor has a new song & you can listen to it here.

Linkage to an interview with Garbage

Replacements film Color Me Impressed

Trailer for Oxford music film Anyone Can Play Guitar, plus video of a Q & A with members of Ride, Radiohead, Supergrass, and more

Time reviewed every song (yup, all 38) on R.E.M.'s career retrospective

A TON of live footage from The Cure's 'Reflections' show in London (part 1)

A TON of live footage from The Cure's 'Reflections' show in London (part 2)

Radiohead's "Codex" covered by Deadmau5

Q's tribute to Achtung Baby (featuring covers from NIN, Garbage, Depeche Mode & more) is now available on iTunes