pj harvey: Let England Shake (Vagrant) St. Vincent: Strange Mercy (4AD) Eleventh Dream Day: Riot Now (Thrill Jockey) Nick Lowe: The Old Magic (Yep Roc) Paul Simon: So Beautiful or So What (Hear) Black Keys: El Camino (Nonesuch) Chris Thile … [Read more...]
Archives for 2011
MORE SNAKE-THE-GRASS ACTING TURNS
Ever since Viola Davis stole Doubt from Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Philip Seymour Hoffman, there have been several looming instances where character actors ingest whole scripts. When moments like this hit, when it's hard to distinguish acting from writing, the effects can dazzle (even if Clive … [Read more...]
BAT CHAIN PULLER: BEEFHEART RISING
Obscurantists, shrug with elation: Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet)'s lost moosterpiece, Bat Chain Puller, will finally come out in early 2012 according to the Wire. Related articles An Official Release for Captain Beefheart's 'Bat Chain Puller' (artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com) Lost … [Read more...]
INFOGRAPHIC SWALLOWS ONLINE MUSIC
Click graphic for larger version, via grovo.com … [Read more...]
Top 10 Untrue Facts About Robert Johnson: Greil Marcus
10. Like Huey Newton and Bobby Seale listening to Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" as they drew up the charter for the Black Panthers, Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen were listening to "Hell Hound on My Trail" when in 1941 they wrote "Blues in the Night." "I want him on the session," Bing Crosby, a … [Read more...]
PATRICK MEIGHAN: FAMILY GUY WRITER’S ARREST
Image by Getty Images via @daylife REPRINTED FROM MARK CRISPIN MILLER'S News from Underground: http://myoccupylaarrest.blogspot.com/2011/12/my-occupy-la-arrest-by-p... *My Occupy LA Arrest, by Patrick Meighan* My name is Patrick Meighan, and I�m a husband, a father, a writer on … [Read more...]
PROG SLUT
[photo: Jim Snyder, Summerfest, Milwaukee, 2011] A friend writes: Was Rundgren good? Hadn't seen him since college, long, long ago.... TR: I didn't realize until I got down there that it was a total UTOPIA gig (tour details, reviews here). Great show if you love prog-rock. Todd dressed in … [Read more...]
1.5B EMI/UNIVERSAL DEAL APPROACHES CLOSE
Universal Music is close to sealing a $1.5 bn-plus deal to buy EMI Music, home to acts including the Beatles and Coldplay, with owner Citigrouppushing for negotiations to be … [Read more...]
HAMBURG LENNON LETTER TO HARRISON FAMILY
This letter appears on page 48 of the new Olivia Harrison book Living in the Material World, a better version of last week's HBO special (see Wyman's Slate review, from below). There are rumors about scads of letters in Lennon's hand from this period, which Hunter Davies will collect for publication … [Read more...]
ON POINT, TOM ASHBROOK, LENNON’S BIRTHDAY
Aired October 4, 2011, anticipating Lennon's October 9 birthday. Tim Riley discusses his new Lennon biography. See his author page for upcoming appearances in NYC, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. … [Read more...]
BILL WYMAN ON SCHLOCKUMENTARIES: SCORCESE’S HARRISON
Image via WikipediaFinally, the film really never investigates the real mystery of Harrison: What was he so morose about? Now, Ringo Starr is one who appreciates the cosmic joke life played on him. He has a cheerful acceptance of life's whimsy, hiding what no doubt has been his daily prayers since … [Read more...]
JULIA STANLEY LENNON, ALLERTON CEMETERY
When I last visited in 2008, this gravestone was still missing. My guess is that her daughter Julia Dykins Baird Lennon had it placed there after being unmarked for many years. Still a very moving place: imagine the young Lennon visiting his mother's ghost. … [Read more...]
10 INDOMITABLE LENNON TRACKS
This first list ran in the Kirkus newsletter this week, the second list got dumped: Riley's 10 Favorite Lennon Tracks"Ten is way too hard, but it's a very illuminating exercise," Riley said when asked to list his favorites. "Once you do it, you realize Lennon remains among a handful … [Read more...]
R.E.M., ROCK MECHANICS
Image via Wikipedia My favorite memory of REM: driving around upstate New York in 1985 to catch encores, which could include everything from "I'll Be Your Mirror" to "Hang on Sloopy." In an interview for Rochester's City Newspaper, Buck turned me on to the Plimsouls. Favorite obscurity: … [Read more...]
SINEAD, ROCK PROPHET
I have often wondered how long it would take for people to stand up for Sinead O'Connor and proclaim how right she was on SNL in 1992, or how demoralizing it was to watch her get booed off Dylan's stage a few weeks later. Like how many years will it take for people to start using the dreaded Vietnam … [Read more...]