Monthly Archives: August 2013

Chills Return w/Triple-LP Set

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Chills

Now that’s the kind of excess we can get behind…

 By Blurt Staff

 It’s called Somewhere Beautiful and as you can glom onto the photo above, we’re sure you will agree it is something beautiful indeed: that would be the new triple album from New Zealand legends The Chills, and it’s due Oct. 15 from Fire Records. Boasting sleeve art (plus limited edition art prints) by New Zealand artist Shane Cotton, the record was recorded live at a private party on New Year’s Eve 2011 and features a slew of material culled from the group’s estimable career.

The Chills (promo)

 Check out track “Night Of Chill Blue” below, and note, also, that Fire has decided to reward folks who preorder the album by sending it to them a month ahead of the official street date. Sometimes being a superfan can pay off, eh?

Listen to Frankie Rose Cover The Damned

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Frankie Rose

Ghostly and sexy…

 By Blurt Staff

 This was an unexpected treat this week – Frankie Rose unveiled an arresting cover of the Damned’s “Street Of Dreams” from her upcoming Fat Possum album Herein Wild. Check it out, along with the first single from the album, “Sorrow”:

“Street Of Dreams” comes weeks after the first track, “Sorrow”, was revealed to fans on and praised by a diverse range of critics. Billboard, who recently did an interview on Rose, lauded “Sorrow”, noting that it “presents some unexpected sonic treats, including a string arrangement that bulks up the track’s emotional impact and a roaring outro that rewards patience.” SPIN remarked that Rose “expands on her New Wave-y pop leanings, turning in an upbeat, string-enhanced performance with just a hint of Broadcast in the mix.” Stereogum went on to compare the song to “David Lynch’s idea of coffeehouse folk.”

 Tour dates:

 09/23 – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY *

12/03 – 02 Academy – Newcastle, UK #

12/04 – 02 ABC – Glasgow, UK #
12/06 – Academy – Manchester, UK #
12/07 – Rock City – Nottingham, UK #
12/08 – 02 Academy – Bristol, UK #
12/10 – Roundhouse – London, UK #
12/14 – UEA – Norwich, UK #
12/15 – The Institute – Birmingham, UK #

* with Tamaryn
# with White Lies

Dear Tame Impala: Please Stop Covering the Flaming Lips

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Tame Impala

Unless, of course, you think you can tackle “Jesus Shooting Heroin”…

 By Perez Mills

 Bloggers have been wetting their pants lately, so it seems, over the fact that buzzband Tame Impala has been covering the Flaming Lips in concert. Below, you can check out the much-embedded versions of “Silver Trembling Hands” and “Are You A Hypnotist?” and while one man’s opinion is at least as valuable as another man’s arsehole, it’s pretty hard to avoid the fact that the former track is tentative and unfocused (where the original was emphatic and, uh, unfocused), while the latter is just a meandering snoozeathon (compared to the original, which was a meandering mindfuck).

 Our suggestion to the band: consult the Rolling Stones back catalog for your next burst of inspiration. Maybe hum a few bars of “Start Me Up,” eh? Oh, and fire that keyboard player, too. He makes you sound like Supertramp.

The Who Prep “Super Deluxe Edition” of Tommy

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Tommy

Six times to the well and counting for the ‘oo…. and yes, we ARE gonna take it!

 By Fred Mills

 Bob Dylan once queried, “How many roads must a man walk down?” In 2013, The Who want to know, “How many times must a man purchase Tommy?” Hey, if you’re like me, we’re at 5 times and counting—original LP, cassette, first generation CD, second generation CD because the first generation edition sounded like shit, and finally the deluxe remastered version CD a few years ago. Looks like I’ll be queuing up at Best Buy once again when November rolls around (not really, I just like writing the words “best buy” ironically), ‘cos Pete ‘n’ Roger have the latest iteration of the-album-formally-known-as-Thomas set to go: a 4-disc, mega-packaged “Super Deluxe Edition.”

 According to Uncut, “It will include a [newly] remastered version of the original 1969 album, 20 demos from Pete Townshend’s archive and also a full live performance of Tommy recorded at the Capital Theatre, Ottowa, Canada on October 15, 1969. The Super Deluxe box will also feature a 5.1 mix featuring the complete album remixed in surround sound on new Hi Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-ray format, as well as a hardback 80-page full-colour book featuring rare period photos, memorabilia, a 20,000-word essay by Richard Barnes and a rare facsimile Tommy poster housed in a hard-back deluxe slip-case.”

Yow. That ain’t gonna be cheap. There’s also to be a regular “Deluxe Edition” featuring the remastered album plus the ’69 live show, which presumably is intended to make you feel like your previously-purchased deluxe edition is now totally superfluous.

 

Disc 1 The original album (2013 re-master)
Overture
It’s A Boy
1921
Amazing Journey
Sparks
The Hawker (Eyesight To The Blind)
Christmas
Cousin Kevin
The Acid Queen
Underture
Do You Think It’s Alright?
Fiddle About
Pinball Wizard
There’s A Doctor
Go To The Mirror!
Tommy Can You Hear Me?
Smash The Mirror
Sensation
Miracle Cure
Sally Simpson
I’m Free
Welcome
Tommy’s Holiday Camp
We’re Not Gonna Take It

Disc 2 Demos & extras
Overture
It’s A Boy
1921
Amazing Journey
Dream One
Sparks
The Hawker
Christmas
Acid Queen
Underture (Dream Two)
Do You Think It’s Alright
Pinball Wizard
There’s A Doctor
Go To The Mirror!
Success
Tommy Can You Hear Me
Smash The Mirror
Sensation
Miracle Cure
Sally Simpson
I’m Free
Welcome
We’re Not Gonna Take It
Trying To Get Through
Young Man Blues

Tracks 1 – 23 – Pete Townshend – original demos; all previously unreleased except 2, 11 and 12 – released in 2003.
Track 24 – The Who – studio demo/out-take.
Track 25 – The Who – studio recording (NOTE: This version was previously only available on ‘The House That Track Built’ vinyl sampler).

Disc 3 Hi Fidelity Pure Audio – Blu-ray disc (5.1 mixes)
Overture
It’s a boy
1921
Amazing journey
Sparks
The Hawker
Christmas
Cousin Kevin
The acid queen
Underture
Do you think it’s alright?
Fiddle about
Pinball wizard
There’s a doctor
Go to the mirror!
Tommy can you hear me?
Smash the mirror
Sensation
Miracle cure
Sally Simpson
I’m Free
Welcome
Tommy’s holiday camp
We’re not gonna take it

Disc 4 Live Bootleg
Overture (including Introduction)
It’s A Boy
1921
Amazing Journey
Sparks
The Hawker (Eyesight To The Blind)
Christmas
The Acid Queen
Pinball Wizard
Do You Think It’s Alright?
Fiddle About
Tommy Can You Hear Me?
There’s A Doctor
Go To The Mirror!
Smash The Mirror
Miracle Cure
Sally Simpson
I’m Free
Tommy’s Holiday Camp
We’re Not Gonna Take It
See Me, Feel Me / Listening To You

Dirty Three’s Mick Turner Drops “Post-Rock Opera” in Nov.

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Mick Turner

Gifted Aussie artist draws upon his multifarious connections and conundrums….

 By Blurt Staff

 Mick Turner releases solo record Yeah, Don’t Tell the Driver on Nov. 19 via Drag City, natch, but it’s being billed as “a different kind of record from all the Mick Turner records – not just his own, but the ones he’s done with Dirty Three, Bonny Billy, Cat Power, Fungus Brains and Venom P. Stinger (reviewed here recently at BLURT) put together… the first post-rock rock opera of our times – by an artist running out of time.”

 Some details: “Over the last four years, Mick put together the pieces at Big Moth Studios in Melbourne, working his magic with aquatic guitar-and-drums chemistry, augmenting the tracks with melodica, piano and Fender Rhodes, and then bringing in the vocalists, including Caroline Kennedy-McCraken (Dead Star, The Plums, Caroline No) and progressive classical/opera singer Oliver Mann, plus other additional players, such as bassist Peggy Frew (Art of Fighting). Sitting in the drum throne of Tren Brother (and Dirty 1/3rd) Jim White, drummers Ian Wadley (Bird Blobs, Minimum Chips), Jeff Wegener (Laughing Clowns) and Kishore Ryan (Kid Sam, Where Were You At Lunch) do more than just fill the space equitably – they meet Mick out in his wild landscapes and ride the winds with him, bringing expert percussive colors to his soundworld.”

 Well, all right then!

      Mick Turner tour dates:

 Fri. Nov. 8 – Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool

Tue. Nov. 12 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room w/ Bill Callahan

Wed. Nov. 13 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy and Harriets Pioneertown Palace w/ Bill Callahan

Thu. Nov. 14 – Los Angeles, CA @ Japan American Theater w/ Bill Callahan

Fri. Nov. 15 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Soho Restaurant & Music Club w/ Bill Callahan

Sat. Nov. 16 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall w/ Bill Callahan

Sun. Nov. 17 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel w/ Bill Callahan

Tue. Nov. 19 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater w/ Bill Callahan

Wed. Nov. 20 – Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s w/ Bill Callahan

Thu. Nov. 21 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom w/ Mono

Fri. Nov. 22 – Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge w/ Mono

Sat. Nov. 23 – Detroit, MI @ The Loving Touch w/ Mono

 Tracklisting:

01. All Gone

02. Sometimes

03. Long Way Home

04. Don’t Tell the Driver

05. Gone Dreaming

06. Here’s a Way

07. The Navigator

08. Over Waves

09. The Birdcatcher

10. We’re Not Going Home

11. The Last Song

 

Australia’s Beasts Of Bourbon Release 3CD Live Set

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Beast-of-Bourbon-620x349

To date, however, only available at the ongoing series of live reunion shows.

 By Blurt Staff

 Having reformed for a one-off gig for All Tomorrows Parties “I’ll Be Your Mirror” series this year, Australian thug/blooze rockers the Beasts of Bourbon have since engaged in a series of their own, a live reunion featuring different incarnations of the band representing different eras. Bolstering three Sydney and three Melbourne concerts starting on August 22 and concluding this weekend, Aug. 31, is a 3-disc release titled Borrowed Time. Below you can see the tracklisting along with the August concerts’ details – it all comes courtesy of Noise 11.

30 Years Of Borrowed Time Track listing:

Disc 1 – Live at ATP – Original Line Up
1. Evil Ruby
2. Love And Death
3. Graveyard Train
4. Psycho
5. Dropout
6. Save Me A Place
7. Hard For You
8. Playground
9. Door To Your Soul
10. Black Milk
11. Finger Lickin’
12. Cool Fire
13. Bad Revisited
14. Let’s Get Funky
15. Hard Working Driving Man

Disc 2 – Live at Byron Bay Blues Fest – Low Road Line Up
1. Chase The Dragon
2. Just Right
3. Finger Lickin’
4. Save Me A Place
5. Bad Revisited
6. Driver Man
7. Cool Fire
8. The Low Road
9. Straight, Hard, Long
10. Ride On
11. Hard For You
12. Black Milk
13. Drop Out
14. Cocksucker Blues
15. Let’s Get Funky

Disc 3 – Live at Festival Hall – Current Line Up
1. Chase The Dragon
2. I’m Gone
3. Make Em’ Cry
4. Bad Revisited
5. I Don’t Care About Nothing Anymore
6. I Told You So
7. Driver Man
8. Just Right
9. Straight, Hard, Long
10. Master And Slave
11. Railroad
12. Cocksucker Blues
13. Hard For You
14. Let’s Get Fun
Sydney and Melbourne Shows

Thurs Aug 22nd Factory Theatre Marrickville NSW
Original Line Up
Tex Perkins, Spencer P Jones, Kim Salmon, James Baker, Boris Sujdovic

Fri Aug 23rd Factory Theatre Marrickville NSW
Low Road Line Up
Tex Perkins, Spencer P Jones, Kim Salmon, Tony Pola, Brian Hooper

Sat Aug 24th Factory Theatre Marrickville NSW
Current Line Up
Tex Perkins, Spencer P Jones, Charlie Owen, Tony Pola, Brian Hooper

Thurs Aug 29th The Memo St Kilda VIC
Original Line Up
Tex Perkins, Spencer P Jones, Kim Salmon, James Baker, Boris Sujdovic

Fri Aug 30th The Memo St Kilda VIC
Low Road Line Up
Tex Perkins, Spencer P Jones, Kim Salmon, Tony Pola, Brian Hooper

Sat Aug 31st The Memo St Kilda VIC
Current Line Up
Tex Perkins, Spencer P Jones, Charlie Owen, Tony Pola, Brian Hooper

Canada to Foreign Touring Musicians: “F**k you.”

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Canada_flag_halifax_9_-04

Actually, it would hurt small clubs and promoters more. But work with us on this one.

 By Fred Mills

 One of the most intriguing, and controversial, music biz items to break today is NOT the Justin Timberlake/Maxwells concert/Target ad story (although that wrinkle that Yo La Tengo injected certainly made it a helluva lot more fun). No, it was the announcement by the Canadian government that if you are a working musician hoping to tour and play small venue concerts in Canada, it might cost you an additional $275 per gig and for each band member.

 The calculation is “might” because that $275 fee, which came into effect July 31 and is separate from a previously-imposed $150 work permit, is technically imposed upon the person(s) employing you for your show—a club owner or booker. According to a report today at Canada’s The Star, “Every international musician hired to play at a bar, pub or restaurant in Canada must apply for a work permit. That application costs $150 and hasn’t changed. What has changed is that each ‘employer,’ usually the venue or the promoter depending on the agreement, now must also pay an extra $275 processing fee for each musician. The fee is for a labour market opinion, which looks at whether an employer could be hiring a Canadian instead of a temporary foreign worker.”

 It’s no stretch to imagine how that promoter/club owner/”employer”would simply tack on the $275 to whatever charges he’s already levying, or deduct it from what you make at the gig.

 As a result of the news, says The Star, “more than 68,000 people have signed an online petition asking Employment, Social Development and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney to exempt musicians.” Needless to say, there’s now a lot of conversation going back and forth between the organizers of the petition and Kenney’s office, so read the full article at the link provided above.

 Meanwhile,the imagination does wander on a matter such as this… a heavy-touring indie band with a lot of members could effectively be crippled if it wanted to go to Canada. Hello-and Goodbye-Polyphonic Spree! Sad news for Canadian music fans. But hey, we could ship all the shitty singer-songwriters we have here in America northward, since their extra costs would only be for a single musician, and be rid of ‘em for months at a time…

How 2 Gt Yr Video On MTV In 4 EZ Steps

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MTV

“Professional, easy and fast.”

 By Uncle Blurt

 Spam. Lord, we get a lot of it. And since the MTV VMAs brouhaha of Sunday night still appears to be reverberating around the internet, it makes sense that a lot of entrepreneurs would be availing themselves of the “spam” button on their keyboards as regards trying to milk the unsuspecting masses. Ergo, the following email bearing the tantalizing subject header MTV Submissions $159.

 Apparently the folks at “Rive Video Promotion,” of Red Bank, NJ (www.rivevideo.com)  want you to give them your money and they will in turn get your music video on MTV.. They call it the “professional, easy, fast, and the most cost effective way to get your Music Video Closed Captioned and Digitally Delivered to Viacom’s MTV/Vh1.”

 And for the low, low price of $159. Operators standing by, and if you act within the next 20 minutes you’ll get a 6’ x 4’ particle board set of shelves suitable for housing your VHS tape collection. (Okay, we made that part up.) To be perfectly candid, it’s a bargain, and definitely cheaper than your manager or attorney’s by-the-hour charges you’ve been racking up. Nevermind that MTV has nothing to do with music videos anymore and hasn’t been a regular or credible source for videos since, I dunno, YouTube was invented or something.

 ———————————————

MTV SPECIAL:

Closed Captioning and DMDS Digital Delivery Combined: $159

 

Rive Video is professional, easy, fast, and the most cost effective way to get your Music Video Closed Captioned and Digitally Delivered to Viacom’s MTV/Vh1.

  

4 Easy steps to make this happen:

1) Get us the video master: Drop your video master on the Rive Video server

2) Provide the lyrics as a text file. word.doc or email

3) Provide us with the MTV required metadata (see below)

4) Provide a valid credit card for the fee. (We also accept PayPal, check, or wire transfer).

——————————————————–

 Step 4 is very important, as you might imagine. Anyhow, this has been a public service announcement – with guitars. Go to the Rive website for more details. Uh-huh. Caveat emptor.

Medical Fund Established for Ailing Kid Ramos

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Kid Ramos

Much-loved and –respected Fab T-Birds guitarist battling cancer.

 By Blurt Staff

 Erstwhile Fabulous Thunderbirds/Los Fabulocos member Kid Ramos has been undergoing treatment for cancer for about a year, and reports are that he’s been responding well. However, the medical bills are massive, so a fund has been established via the Delta Groove Music website .

 Writes BLURT contributor Rev. Keith Gordon at his Blues.About.com blog, “Ramos isn’t out of the woods yet. Ramos is still unable to work and he’s maxed out his disability insurance. Ramos is worried that his family is going to suffer financially and that they’ll lose everything that Kid has worked so hard to build up over the past 30 years.You can help give Kid Ramos a hand, however, and get the guitarist back on his feet and on stage where he’d rather be, singing and playing the blues for all of us as he’s done so well these past three decades.

“Your donation in any amount is welcome, either through the Paypal link on the Delta Groove Music website or by using Paypal to send money directly to the email address kidramosmedfund@gmail.com. If you’d rather send a check, even a $5 or $10 bill, you can send a card or letter to David Ramos, c/o Delta Groove Music, 16501 Sherman Way, Suite 100, Van Nuys CA 91406 and label chief Randy Chortkoff guarantees that they’ll be delivered to Kid. Every dollar helps the cause!”

Amen to that. Get cracking, fans.

 

Saint Etienne’s Bob Stanley Publishes Book on Pop’s History

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Bob Stanley

Arrives in stores Oct. 3.

 By Blurt Staff

 It’s titled Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop (Faber & Faber books, Oct. 3) it’s by Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne. Stanley’s a noted music journalist in addition to being 1/3 of the musical braintrust, so needless to say this is a labor of love for the man. He spent five years researching it to boot.

 According to the publisher, Yeah Yeah Yeah tells the chronological story of the modern pop era, from its beginnings in the fifties with the dawn of the charts, vinyl, and the music press, to pop’s digital switchover in the year 2000, from Rock Around The Clock to Crazy In Love. the birth of rock, soul, punk, disco, hip hop, indie, house and techno. It also includes the rise and fall of the home stereo, Top Of The Pops, Smash Hits, and ‘this week’s highest new entry’.

There will also be a deluxe limited edition of the book, details t.b.a.