...hang the dj is a music blog. Old school, shoegaze, psych, and darkwave are featured genres.
Legal disclaimer: This blog is my personal, independent website. It is not affiliated with Bell Media, nor does it represents the thoughts, opinions, or desires of Bell Media
...hang the dj
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Contact info
Send music submissions, press releases, or questions/concerns to: cristina [at] 89xradio.com or: hangthedjmag[at] gmail.com
...hang the dj is a music blog. Old school, shoegaze, psych, and darkwave are featured genres.
Legal disclaimer: This blog is my personal, independent website. It is not affiliated with Bell Media, nor does it represents the thoughts, opinions, desires, etc of Bell Media
For music submissions, press releases, or questions/concerns:
Listen to Time Warp on 89X - the long running classic alternative show airs Sunday mornings from 8am - 12pm ET. Listen on the radio (88.7) in Detroit, or stream it worldwide on the net. The Time Warp playlist archive is posted here.
Ride's classic 1990 album Nowhere has been covered by bands from the Boston area. Read more about the bands who contribute to NofuckingWherehere and download the entire compilation for free here courtesy of clicky clicky music blog.
Meanwhile, Mark Gardenerrecently announced a handful of shows on the West Coast, including a 20th anniversary celebration of Ride's 1992 album Going Blank Again.
UK Subs have announced they'll webcast their upcoming gig at The Fleece in Bristol on May 19th. The webcast will be available to view on Ustream at 2pm ET/7pm BST. For more info and to access the stream, visit drummer Jamie Oliver's FB page, or catch up with U.K. Subs here.
Fans of UK Subs can purchase their 28 track double cd Complete Punk Singles Collectionhere, and take a listen to a Peel Session from 1978 below:
Happy Mondays and Inspiral Carpets, two huge bands from the legendary Madchester scene, kicked off their tour of the U.K. this week and they'll play a massive gig at Manchester Arena in Manchester tomorrow night. The excitement prompted the BBC to write the piece: 'Can Manchester music move onfrom its past?' The article takes a look at the recent high profile music reunions and talks about the current music scene in the city. Read the full article here.
24 Hour Party People trailer
For those interested in catching up musically with Manchester today, Manchester: Beyond Oasis, the documentary about the current Manchester scene, is currently being screened in the U.K. Take a look at the screening dates here, view the official trailer below, and listen to an interview with the film's producers here. So far there are no North American screenings for Manchester: Beyond Oasis and a DVD release date has not been posted.
Morrissey isn't the only member of the Smiths looking to release a tell all book in the near future. According to the Toronto Sun, Mike Joyce is planning on releasing his own "explosive" book, but he won't write it until he reads Morrissey's autobiography. Joyce recently told Record Collector:
"Someone's approached me to do a book, and I'm quite interested. I've heard Morrissey's bringing a book out, so I'll hang fire and see what we get out of that, and that might accelerate my side of things. Who knows?"
Joyce famously sued Morrissey and Johnny Marr for back royalities in 1989, and after years of litigation was awarded over a million dollars. Morrissey is still pretty bitter about the whole case and it's kind of entertaining that Joyce is waiting to see what barbs Moz throws his way before he throws his own. Morrissey's autobiography doesn't have an official release date yet, so it looks like we'll have to wait awhile before the sparks start to fly. Stayed tuned for impending drama!
Eric Erlandson has been on the road promoting his newly released book Letters To Kurt. The tour has visited several book stores and has featured Erlandson reading from the book and performing an acoustic set of songs. Ex-Hole bandmates Melissa Auf Der Maur and Patty Schemel joined Erlandson at the New York City Barnes & Noble instore a few weeks ago. Watch a few songs from the performance below and order Letters To Kurthere:
"Paint A Vulgar Picture" (Smiths cover)
"Seasons In The Sun" (Jacques Brel/Terry Jacks cover)
Soundgarden premiered the official video for their new single, "Live To Rise." The song is on the newly released Avengers Assemble soundtrack. Take a look at the video below:
Yesterday, John Peel's massive record collection archive went live via interactive site, the Space. Only a small portion of Peel's collection is archived (his entire collection is said to include over 25,000 vinyl albums and 40,000 singles) but there are tons of gems and rare tracks available to listen to. Unfortunately you'll need a Spotify account to listen to most of the archives, but even if you don't, you can still flip through the mind blowing collection on the interactive site.
John Peel fans may also want to watch a 2005 BBC documentary about the legendary broadcaster which highlighted some of his most prized and valuable records in the collection. The film features appearances by Jack White, Damon Albarn, Mark E. Smith, Laurie Anderson and more. Watch John Peel's Record Box below:
Morrissey is currently on tour in Japan. At his show in Zepp Nagoya earlier today he dusted off the Smiths' classic, "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me." Watch and swoon!
"Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me"
"Let Me Kiss You" (complete with shirt ripping)
"First Of The Gang To Die"
"Alma Matters"
Meanwhile, according to a blurb in Queerty, while on tour in Japan, Moz guitarist Boz Boorer has been rocking out in drag on stage (note Boorer in a flashy, silver number in the "First Of The Gang To Die" video posted above). Here's another picture of the band (Morrissey, 4 band members in speedos, and Boorer in a shimmery dress.)
John Peel's mammoth music archive went live today. The John Peel Center, in cooperation with Peel's family, has launched the website The Space, with the goal of housing Peel's entire collection of records, live sessions (Peel Sessions), photos, radio shows, and videos/home movies. About 100 Peel Sessions and 100 albums from Peel's vinyl album collection were made available today. More albums will be added each week in alphabetical order (today 100 artists starting with the letter 'A' were added, next week 100 more starting with 'B' will be added, etc). It should be noted that The Space isn't streaming the archives itself; instead there are links that direct you to listen to the material on iTunes and Spotify.
Go and explore the John Peel archive by clicking on one of the yellow icons (the yellow album will take you to the record collection, the sound board takes you to the Peel Sessions, etc). Scroll around and peruse Peel's collection--there's sessions from David Bowie, The Cure, The Smiths, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Pulp, PJ Harvey, John Cale, Ian Dury, Julian Cope, Killing Joke, and the list goes on and on. You'll also see scans of index cards with Peel's typewritten notes/track listings, and the vinyl sleeves and artwork that house each record. Super cool stuff.
Unfortunately it appears the Space only has funding until October 2012, so unless they receive additional funding, the project will likely only be accessible through the autumn.
Read more about the Space and the John Peel Archive here.
Crocodiles return with their highly anticipated new album, Endless Flowers, on June 5th. The band premiered the first single "Sunday" a few months ago and now the album's title track is streaming (via Spin.) Take a listen to "Endless Flowers" below and watch the official video for "Sunday" below. You can also pre-order Endless Flowers here.
My Bloody Valentine fans, rejoice! Yesterday NME revealed via a Mojo interview with Kevin Shieldsthat a new My Bloody Valentine record and ep will be released later this year. All of the "new" material was recorded in the mid-90's and has been shelved for years due to internal and record label turmoil. Shields rediscovered the music while he was preparing the upcoming remasters of Isn'tAnything, Loveless, and the compilation EPs 1988-1991. From the Mojo interview:
"I listened to the stacks of CDs and thought, 'Shit, this is better than
the unreleased tracks on the compilation'. I decided it would be insane
not to finish it," he said.
There is no release date for the album and ep, but if Kevin Shields says it'll be released, you know it's potentially not happening.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Pitchfork, Shields explained why the reissues of Isn't Anything and Loveless have taken forever--he blames the delay on record label Sony and alleged that the label hid the master tapes from him:
"The contract we did in 2001 basically gave me ownership of
the tapes, and then the Sony regime that existed when that contract was
signed left. And when the new regime came in, the tapes disappeared.
That was relevant because even though I was the owner, it would only
revert back to me if I remastered from the original tapes-- if the tapes
were gone, I couldn't remaster from them and hence I couldn't ever own
them."
Take heart though, the reissues of Isn't Anything, Loveless, and EPs 1988 - 1991 will indeed be released starting next week. Isn't Anything and Loveless are remastered, but won't contain any unearthed material, and Eps 1988-1991 will feature a handful of previously unreleased tracks, including the song "Good For You," which Pitchfork "premiered" yesterday. "Good For You," however, was unearthed several years ago (though never released) and you can take a listen to it below.
Isn't Anything, Loveless, and EPs 1988 - 1991 will be released in the U.K. on May 7th and will be available on import in North America in the weeks that follow. EPs 1988 - 1991 drops May 15th; Isn't Anythingand Loveless drop June 5th.
Richard Hawley (Pulp, Longpigs), will drop his seventh studio record, Standing At The Sky's Edge, May 7th in the U.K. So far, it appears there won't be a North American release, but it be available on import May 15th. Take a listen to two tracks from the album below and visit The Guardian for the exclusive full album stream.
The Machine Room have premiered a new video for their track "Camino de Soda." The song is available on the band's Love From A Distance four song ep that dropped earlier this year. Take a look at the video below and buy the ep on iTunes, Amazon, or Bandcamp.
The Machine Room "Camino de Soda"
I'd also like to mention that, "Your Head On The Floor Next Door," which is also on Love From A Distance, is still my favorite song of 2012. It's so addictive, it's like crack. If you haven't listened to it yet, by all means, envelop yourself in its awesomeness:
If you liked the songs on Love From A Distance, you'll probably also want to check out another new track, "Feed Me To The Ocean."
And, here's the band's take on New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle"
As the Stone Roses were starting to blow up in 1989, they played their biggest gig (at the time) of their career at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool England. The concert, released on DVD in the U.K. in 1991, is regarded by many Roses fans as one of the band's best gigs ever. The band played to a packed house of 4000 (it turned out to be more than that--as the story goes, at the beginning of the show someone in the band opened the doors of the ballroom allowing tons of fans to pack in and enjoy the sold out show). Blackpool Live is no longer available to purchase, but you can watch the full concert below.
It's Kim Gordon's birthday today! I'm pretty sure if you look up the word "uber cool" in the dictionary, you'll find a picture of her. Celebrate her birthday with some awesome video:
"Kool Thing"
Kim Gordon 1988 New York City rooftop interview (interview + reading from So You Want To Be A Rock & Roll Star)
Kim Gordon interview (part 2)
Kim Gordon co-produced Hole's debut record Pretty On TheInside. Courtney Love and Gordon appeared together on MTV's 120 Minutes in 1991 to discuss the record:
New Order played back to back shows at the O2 Apollo in Manchester this week. Watch video from both shows, including a couple of Joy Division covers, below and read a review of Thursday's show here:
"Love Vigilantes"
"The Perfect Kiss"
"True Faith"
"Regret"
"Love Will Tear Us Apart"
"Transmission" (starts with LONG intro by promoter AlanWise. Unless I heard wrong, he referred to the band as 5 boys! The song starts at 1:50 into the video, fyi)
Todd Simko, the producer and guitarist for 90's Vancouver band Pure has died after reportedly being involved in a head on car collision. Simko's wife has posted the following statement on Facebook:
"Todd may your soul be finally at peace. You are not only the most fantastic father and husband one could have, but also you were also a great friend, musician, teacher, guide, mentor and music engineer.The music community has suffered now a great loss and talent. Not only did you touch all the hearts of people in music but also in the lives of family, my peers and especially our daughters friends and family. You will forever remain close by in our hearts and you will be greatly missed by all."
Gary Numan kicks off his tour of the U.K. next month. The tour, which coincides with Numan's DVD Machine Music: TheBest Of Gary Numan, features a mix of greatest hits from Numan's entire career plus tracks from his 2011 album DeadSon Rising. Machine Music: The Best Of Gary Numan drops May 22nd and you can watch the short promo video for the release and tour below:
Crocodiles are releasing their new albumEndless Flowers in June. Take a look at their official video for the first single, "Sunday," plus some recent live footage including a 30 minute set from earlier this year:
Swervedriver's Adam Franklin was interviewed by Glasgowest after the band's recent show in San Francisco. Franklin talked about the band's early days (the previous band Shake Appeal), getting signed to Creation by Alan McGee, and there's also mention of My Bloody Valentine and MarkGardener. Franklin also asked some fan submitted questions, including when we expect a new record. Here's part of his reply:
"I think the official line was that we've been working on new material for probably release later in the year. You can take an educated guess or interpret that any way you want but we have a couple of ideas we'd like to execute, certainly and we'll see how that goes..."
Read the full interview and watch the band's recent Jimmy Fallon performance of their new song "Deep Wound"
According to Billboard, it looks like Jack White's debut solo record Blunderbuss is tipped to enter the Billboard 200 at number one! The numbers don't officially get announced until May 2nd, however the analysts generally accurately predict the charting based off sales figures based from the first couple of days of album sales. Go Jack!
Don't miss Jack White on The Colbert Report tonight and while you're waiting for that, listen to an archive of White's interview and performance on BBC Radio One with Zane Lowe.
Morrissey has announced plans for his only U.K. concert of 2012. Morrissey makes his grand return to Manchester Arena on July 28th, a venue he last played in 2004 while promoting You Are The Quarry. Tickets for the July 28th show go on sale Friday at 9am BST.
Graham Coxon released his new record A + E a few weeks back and he's currently on a month long tour of the U.K. Watch some video from his London show at the London Forum:
Eric Erlandson continues on the press tour for his newly released memoir Letters To Kurt. In an interview with the online edition of San Francisco Bay Guardian, Erlandson revealed he's going to put out a soundtrack to accompany Letters To Kurt later this year:
I’m planning on doing a soundtrack to the book, I just ran out of time, I couldn’t get it out at the same time as the book. I plan to get it out this year. That should be really fun, to go back and use all my musical influences and not have it be tied to a band project.
The Stone Roses are preparing to kick off their reunion tour and as part of the celebration a new exhibit featuring tons of never before seen photos of the band will open in London. The Stone Roses: The Third Coming, The Definitive Stone Roses Exhibition features 70 rare and/or never seen before pictures taken by music photographers Kevin Cummins, PaulSlattery, and Ian Tilton. The exhibit opens June 13th and runs through August 12th at Whiteley's Shopping Center. Take a look at some of the pictures here.
The Stone Roses are kicking off their reunion tour June 8th in Barcelona and will play the European festival circuit this summer. There are no North American dates at this time, but at the band's press conference last year they did make mention of a "worldwide" tour, so perhaps there will be dates to announce shortly!
Last month Damon Albarn got everyone all wound up when he told the
Guardian that there likely wouldn't be a future for Blur or Gorillaz.
Well now Albarn is backing away from those statements saying he was
"misquoted." When asked about his comments about disbanding both acts, here's what he told the Metro:
No. That
comes from an article which was an interesting take on a very long
conversation. I don’t know how we’ll feel when we play Hyde Park. Some
days I feel one way and other days I feel the other. If you don’t see
something as a career but as an important part of your life, you don’t
know how you’re going to feel about it. We want to put on a great
performance but nothing’s been said between us about the beginning or
the end.
Drummers from around the world are coming together for a charity event in Manchester on July 15th. Stick It To MS is a benefit for the Multiple Sclerosis Society and so far will reportedly include drummers from The Smiths, Faithless, and Groove Armada among others. The organizers are trying to get as many drummers from around the world to participate and they're attempting to set a Guinness World Record for having the most drummers playing the same beat for five minutes. You don't have to be a renowned drummer to take part, you just need to be able to play a simple beat. To find out more visit the Stick It To MS website and take a look at the promo video below to get an idea of the drumming skills involved:
Eric Erlandson will be in Berkeley tonight for an acoustic performance and reading from his book Letters To Kurt. The event takes place at Moe's Books tonight at 7:30 pm. If you happen to be in the area, here's all the info on the event.
Monday Erlandson appeared on CNN for an interview, and talked about Letters To Kurt, and why it took him so long to write it. The engaging and insightful interview can be viewed here. Letters To Kurt is available now.
Gaz Coombes has premiered the official video for "Hot Fruit," the first single from his solo albumHereCome The Bombs. Take a look at the video below and U.K. fans can pre-order the album here. So far it appears the album will only be available on import in the U.S.
A collection of R.E.M. related photographs Anton Corbijn took over the last two decades are on display at a museum in Germany. The exhibit titled Anton Corbijn. R.E.M. Seen between 1990 - 2010 will run through June 10th at the Albertinum in Dresden, East Germany. Read more about the exhibit here and view a picture of Corbijn standing in front of the exhibit.
As previously reported Corbijn himself is the subject of a documentary titled Anton Corbijn InsideOut which is currently being screened in Germany. The film, directed by Klaartje Quirijns, is peek into Corbijn's extraordinary career as a photographer, film maker/director, and video artist. InsideOut is available on DVD in the Netherlands and Germany, and will be released in Belgium next month. So far a release date for elsewhere in the world (including North America and the U.K.) has not been announced.
Eric Erlandson from Hole recently released his book Letters To Kurt. Erlandson appeared on CNN yesterday for an interview and explained why he wrote the book, and how it all came together. Erlandson also briefly discussed his recent revelation that Kurt Cobain had been working on new material in the weeks leading up to his death. Watch the interview below and buy Letters To Kurt here.
As expected, Robert Smith was not happy when he learned that the vinyl single he designed and signed for theSecret 7'' project wound up on Ebay. In a post on the official Cure website, Smith revealed that he'll turn the tables on the Ebay seller by designing seven more singles that he'll personally design and sign, plus he's adding handwritten lyrics to the sleeves. All of the singles will be auctioned on Ebay and ALL of the money will go directly to the Teenage Cancer Trust charity. Details about the new Ebay auction will be posted tomorrow.
Read an excerpt from Robert Smith's post (he loves all caps!) below:.
MY ADVICE?
DONT BOTHER BIDDING ON THIS ITEM
AS IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS ON EBAY YOU WILL UNDOUBTEDLY FIND...
SEVEN MORE RS 'FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE' SECRET 7 SLEEVES/VINYL
ALL SIGNED
ALL WITH DIFFERENT HANDWRITTEN LINES FROM THE SONG
AND ALL AUCTIONED WITH EVERY PENNY GOING TO THE TEENAGE CANCER TRUST
Tommy Marth, the touring saxophonist for the Killers and Big Friendly Corporation died earlier today according to his bandmate Timothy Styles from Big Friendly Corporation (listen to the podcast Styles recorded earlier today). Not much info has been released about his death, other than it was a "tragic, sudden passing."
Read an 2010 interview with Tommy Marth that discusses the saxophone and his experience with the Killers. In the interview Marth mentioned his love of "First Song (For Ruth)" by Stan Getz:
"I don't even have a favorite song, but if I did I might say "First Song (For Ruth)" by Stan Getz. It is a haunting and amazingly beautiful song he recorded just before dying and, I shit you not, there are plenty of times I have cried while listening to it..."
Rest in peace, Tommy.
Stan Getz "First Song (For Ruth)"
This video performance of "Bones" live from Royal Albert Hall features some shots of Tommy in action:
The Joy Division/Ian Curtis biopic Control will be screened next month as part of the BrightonFringe film festival, and in celebration of the screening, four limited edition posters have been designed for the event. Only 30 copies of each poster have been made and are being sold in sets of four. To purchase and/or view the posters, visit thephotography blog of Jim Stephenson, and for info on the screening of Control and Q + A session that follows, visit the Brighton Fringe website. Fun fact: Stephen Mallinder of Cabaret Voltaire will be taking part in the Q + A session! Via Design Week.
Iggy Pop has announced plans to release his 16th solo album, Apres, on May 9th. The follow up to 2009's Preliminaires features ten covers, including songs from Frank Sinatra, Yoko Ono, the Beatles and more. According to the official Apres press release, many of the songs are French. Iggy explained why:
"Many of these songs are in French, probably because it is the French culture which has most stubbornly resisted the morntal attacks of the Anglo-American music machine."
Ultravoxpremiered the title track from their forthcoming album Brilliant last week and now fans in the U.K. can pre-order the release (links for North America will be coming soon.) The band would like fans to use their microsite/link to order the record because it helps the band out financially, so visit the official Ultravox site to order. Brilliant drops May 28th
Fans of the Manchester/Madchester scene might be interested in an article published in the online edition of The Guardian. The piece, How Madchester put the E into enterprise zone, looks back at the music scene as well as the community atmosphere during the Madchester heyday in the late 80's/early 90's.
A Morrissey interview from South By Southwest 2006 has appeared online. Moz talks honesty, celebrity, American Idol "I don't know anybody on the planet who enjoys it," and life with Rolling Stone editor David Fricke. Watch it below:
Ah yes, it's Record Store Day today. Not surprisingly, some of the limited edition offerings are already up on Ebay.
1. Jack White "Sixteen Saltines" liquid filled vinyl--ok, you had to know this was going to appear immediately on Ebay--it's a super cool record with liquid inside. I'm not sure how many of these were made (it was only available at the Third Man Records store in Nashville) but one copy is definitely on Ebay now.
2. Jack White "Sixteen Saltines" etched vinyl--again, it's limited edition, unique, and up on Ebay. There are a few copies, and you can tell some sellers believe this will be a windfall. One listing set the auction for 30 days (unlike this 24 hour auction here.)
3. M83 "Mirror" etched vinyl . Another limited edition release, and apparently Jack White isn't the only one with etched vinyl!
4. Morrissey "Suedehead" 10 inch picture disc. There are a few copies of the limited edition release already up on Ebay.
7. The Cure "Friday I'm In Love" vinyl single. Robert Smith from the Cure designed a vinyl sleeve for the band's "Friday I'm In Love" Secret 7 Record Store Day offering. If you haven't heard about the Secret 7'' project, 100 copies of the Cure's single were pressed and various artists from around the world were commissioned to make a unique vinyl sleeve, and each copy featured a different sleeve. Other bands also participated in the event, and over 700 singles were made available in total for Record Store Day.
Earlier today, all the Secret 7'' copies went on sale at an art gallery in East London for a minimum ~ 60 dollar donation--all money raised went to the Teenage Cancer Trust charity. The guy who bought the Robert Smith sleeve (designed and signed by Smith) ran right home and put it on Ebay (current "buy it now" price is $3500).
Hey, all's fair and the seller isn't breaking any laws, but still...
It's Robert Smith's birthday. Celebrate with some amazing performances and a full concert from the Cure, plus watch the Much More Music documentary The Story of the Cure.
"A Forest"
"Primary" (appearance on Australian television)
1982 interview with The Cure:
"Close To Me" (acoustic)
"Lullaby"
Concert recorded in 1980 in the Netherlands (the announcer gives about a minute long intro, so fast forward about a minute in if you just can't wait for The Cure)
The Much More Music's 2000 documentary The Story of the Cure is embedded below. FYI, there's a bit of a lapse between segment 2 and 3 due to a couple of segments being pulled off YouTube. I pieced the film together from different uploaders so most of it is posted below.
Yesterday the online edition of thePhilippine Star published an exclusive email interview with Morrissey. Most of the interview centered around animal rights and vegetarianism, but the paper did question Morrissey about his forthcoming autobiography. Unfortunately, Morrissey sort of skirted the question:
Q: What can we find in the 660 page autobiography that you're putting out soon? How's your book about James Dean?
A: "When I was 19, I wrote an essay on James Dean called James Dean is not Dean, which was unfortunately published as a very slim book, but re-titled James Dean is not Dead. Very, very, very embarrassing for me. I curl up and die whenever I think of it. Rightly so."
And that all folks--no further discussion of the book! Despite no real update on the autobiography, Moz fans should find the rest of the interview interesting, so head over to The Philippine Star.
On the eve of Iggy Pop's birthday, it's a good time to revisit a remarkable letter Iggy sent to a fan in 1995. The letter was written in response to a troubled fan named Laurence, who had written a 20 page letter to Iggy. It took 9 months for Laurence to receive a response, but it was definitely worth the wait. The heartfelt letter has been posted on Letters Of Note (Laurence sent a copy to them) and it's guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Iggy truly rocks.
James have been in North America for the last two weeks on their North American tour. Last week fans in San Francisco were treated to an intimate show at the Independent. Watch a couple of songs from the concert, including the 10 minute encore of "Sometimes."
"Sometimes"
"She's A Star"
Tonight James are back in Indio, California for round two of Coachella. Watch footage from last Friday's Coachella appearance here.
Morrissey loves his favorite Edwin Jagger razor blades so much, that upon realizing his blades were dull, he called in the bigwigs to have more shipped to him. The Sheffield Star reports Moz's staff had the duty of procuring more, which entailed a call to the head of the company, Neil Jagger, at his holiday home in France to have more shipped out! Read the blurb via the Manchester Evening Newshere.
I hope he didn't...panic! Sorry.
Tomorrow Morrissey's Record Store Day release will go on sale in the U.K. The 10 inch picture disc features the "Suedehead" Mael Brothers/Sparks remix, plus two live tracks. A digital release will be available on Monday, April 23rd, but you can check part of it out now.
Morrissey is about to release a10 inch picture disc for Record Store Day featuring a "Suedehead" remix by Mael Brothers (Ron & Russell Mael, aka, Sparks) backed with two live tracks recorded for the BBC in 1995. Back in 2005 a Sparks remix of "Suedehead" was released on Rhino's alternative remix compilation FutureRetro, so it's unclear whether the Mael Brothers remix for Record Store Day is a brand new remix from the Mael Brothers, or if they're just releasing the 2005 remix on vinyl.
FYI, the 2005 version of the "Suedehead" remix is available digitally here and you can listen to it below:
"Suedehead" (Sparks remix, 2005)
A few years ago, Sparks released a pretty entertaining song about Morrissey called "Lighten Up Morrissey." The song appeared on their 2008 album Exotic Creatures of the Deep, and Morrissey was entertained by the song and went on to use it as the intro to his 2009 tour.
Record Store Day is this Saturday, and if you're flipping out about getting a quality turntable for your fresh wax, relax. The New York Times has come to the rescue with an article with tips for finding the turntable that's right for you!
Read "How to Enjoy Turntables Without Obsessing Over Them" here, then once you've got that figured out, head over to the Record Store Day website to view the list of Record Store Day releases and participating stores.
Blur have announced plans to release a massive career spanning boxset, Blur 21: The Box on July 30th. The anthology features 21 discs and over five and a half hours of previously unreleased material. From the band's official website:
Blur 21: The Box is the ultimate and definitive anthology of Blur’s incredible career. Spanning 21-discs and including over 5 ½ hours of previously unreleased material, Blur 21: The Box collects together the remastered and expanded editions of all the albums, four discs of Blur rarities, three DVDs of live performances and rarities, a collectable 7’’ single and a hard-bound book - all housed in a super-deluxe material-covered box. Each box will also include a code to download all the audio contents as high-quality mp3s.
Watch the official trailer for Blur 21: The Box:
The entire tracklisting is posted here and you can pre-order now in the U.K. Though the boxset is a U.K. release, fans in North America will likely be able to order it from Amazon U.S. (for import price) around the time of the release.
Nominees for the 57th annual Ivor Novello Awardswere announced this week. PJ Harvey, Kate Bush, and Adele are up for Album of the Year, and nominees in other categories include Jonny Greenwood, Florence + the Machine, James Blake, and Lana Del Rey (no, really.) The winners will be announced at a ceremony to be held in London on May 17th.
The Cureare releasing a limited edition "Friday I'm In Love" 7'' single for Record Store Day in the U.K. as part of the Secret 7'' charity project. All 100 copies have a unique vinyl sleeve and go on sale Saturday at the Idea Generation Gallery in East London, with all proceeds going to Teenage Cancer Trust. Yesterday a VIP viewing of the sleeves took place at the gallery and now the exhibit is open for public viewing.
Watch a short video about the opening and exhibit below and see if you can spot the sleeve Robert Smith himself designed!
Recommended viewing for any Joy Division fan--Joy Division: Interviews features ex-Joy Division members and key players like Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Tony Wilson, Peter Saville, Anton Corbjin, and many more recounting personal stories about Joy Division, Ian Curtis, the Hacienda, and the Manchester music scene.
Video #1: Joy Division/New Order drummer Stephen Morris explains why the band didn't do interviews, and how they repositioned themselves into New Order after the death of Ian Curtis.
Video #2: Ex-manager Terry Mason talks about being asked about Ian Curtis' death and discusses early Joy Division shows.
Video #3: Bernard Sumner talks about synthesizers and how Ian Curtis introduced him to the music of Kraftwerk. Anton Corbijn reveals Unknown Pleasures inspired him to leave Holland.
Video #4: Bernard Sumner discusses some of his experience with auditioning drummers, and Tony Wilson talks about the Hacienda.
Video #5: Bernard Sumner discusses the meaning of "The Eternal," plus some Joy Division touring stories
Video #6: Peter Saville on Joy Division imagery, the design of Joy Division's cover art, plus the addition of Gillian Gilbert after the death of Ian Curtis
Video #7: Peter Hook talks about Ian Curtis' epilepsy and how the band members never questioned the idea of continuing after Curtis' death.
Meanwhile, Sebadoh recently played All Tomorrow's Parties in the U.K. last month and you can watch some video from the band's performance below, plus watch the entire 22 song set here.
NPR's All Songs Considered has posted a feature on Jack White's new album Blunderbuss. Watch Jack White: How I Made Blunderbuss below and click over to read more and view pictures.
Meanwhile, the Jack White "Freedom at 21" flexi-disc auction on Ebay is over and the winning bid was $4238.88!
Blunderbuss is streaming on iTunes and will be released next week. Read a glowing review of the album here.
Jesus & Mary Chainhave announced a handful of new U.S. dates but they're all west coast appearances other than a festival date in North Carolina. Tour dates are posted below:
06/14: The Fillmore, San Francisco 06/15: Hollywood Park, Inglewood 06/16: House of Blues, Las Vegas 06/17: House of Blues, San Diego 09/05: House of Blues, New Orleans 09/07: Hopscotch Music Festival, Raleigh
The Sex Pistols' classic track "God Save the Queen" will be re-released in the U.K. on May 28th in celebration of the song's 35th anniversary. Additionally, there's an organized campaign to push the song to the top of the U.K. charts because the re-release of the song coincides with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the international celebration commemorating the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's accession to the throne. Not surprisingly, John Lydon isn't cool with any of this and earlier today he posted the following statement on his website:
"I would like to very strongly distance myself from the recent stories and campaign to push God Save The Queen for the number 1 spot over the Jubilee weekend. It is certainly not my personal plan or aim.
I am proud of what The Sex Pistols achieved and always will be but this campaign totally undermines what The Sex Pistols stood for. This is not my campaign.
I am pleased that the The Sex Pistols recordings are being put out there for a new generation however I wish for no part in the circus that is being built up around it. I am currently very focused on Public Image Ltd."
Public Image Limited will release the One Drop EP for Record Store Day this weekend and follow that up with the full length album This Is P.I.L. on May 28th. For more info on both of those releases visit the official P.I.L. website.
Meanwhile Sex Pistols fans should delight in a couple of YouTube discoveries: first is an episode of I Swear That I Was There featuring a Sex Pistols' 1976 concert in Manchester. The other great find was rare Sex Pistols' 1978 tour documentary D.O.A- A Rite of Passage. Watch both below.
The Pixies are giving away a four song live ep recorded at Coachella in 2004 (email registration required.) Coachella 2004 was the band's first major appearance after reuniting.
According to the Pixies' official website, they decided to give away the tracks in celebration of Coachella:
This week, finding ourselves between two consecutive weekends of COACHELLA for the first time ever, we thought it fitting to rifle through the PIXIES vault in search of an apt celebration. So, we're very pleased to bring you a completely free download of 4 tracks from PIXIES memorable '04 Coachella performance.
The tracklisting and download is posted below. You can also purchase the band's entire 2004 set from Coachella here.
Ultravox debuted their new single "Brilliant," on British radio today, and you can listen to a radio rip of the song here. Brilliant, the full album from Ultravox, drops on May 28th.
...hang the dj is the headquarters for my old radio show Time Warp, which aired on 89X until March 2017.
Headquarters for all the content from the previous site cristinarocks.com
I currently host an independent, internet-based/streaming Classic Alternative show. Episodes debut Sunday mornings around 9am ET. Stream the archives here or here.
...hang the dj is a music blog serving as a complement to my streaming program and features old school and classic alternative bands. Occasionally new music from shoegaze, dream pop, psych, post-punk, and darkwave genres will be featured. If you have a project that fits one of these genres, feel free to submit music via email.
