Posts tagged news

If you are thinking of going to Splendour in the Grass 2010, but don't want to fork out the $350+ price tag, a very rare chance to do both is being offered

Simple as one, two, three…

1. Follow Splendour In The Grass on twitter via the above link.
2. Get the clues they will offer on the days preceding the May 6th ticket release.
3. Be very, very quick.*

*FYI: When Lily Allen pulled this stunt last year during her June tour, it resulted in a few broken bones. So be quick. But not vicious. This isn’t a Myer sale or anything.

Vampire Weekend will be back soon. Or they tell me they will be, at least.

On their recent ultimate PR stopover, I got to speak with drummer Chris Thomson. In the process gaining this SCOOP

The indie pin-ups were hotly-tipped for the Big Day Out, but according to Tomson “it didn’t work out”. When the occasion does come, however, it won’t be a quick dash.

“We actually got a lot of emails from people who are upset that we’re only playing Sydney this tour,” the skins-man revealed. “But we definitely have a lot of fans here and the shows we played here last year were just all really fucking good crowd-wise. I’m not sure when it’s going to be, honestly. I feel like it’s going to be May? I think that’s what were trying to do.

Click above for the rest of my article with fasterLouder.

The Hummingbird 100

The ad guys and gals behind a new “female-orientated” Australian beer Hummingbird has decided to put together it’s own counter-list to the surprisingly male-orientated Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time. Their copywriters say:

We felt that women had been overlooked. What happened to Blondie, Tina Turner, Madonna? It is the legacy of female artists that has inspired the Hummingbird100. We wanted to give you - men and women alike - a place to, in the words of the great Aretha Franklin, show a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T to your favourite female artists.

As an added incentive they have prize draw for one voter to travel to any music destination they wish, to the value of $15000 which is pretty damn sweet. As for the voting itself, I was able to make my list quickly, but I did notice the omission of Siouxie and the Banshees. Such an act should not be overlooked:

My personal list consisted of:

1. Grace Jones - Slave to the Rhythm
2. Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights
3. Sinead O’Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U
4. Aretha Franklin - Respect
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps
6. Bjork - Pagan Poetry
7. Salt N Pepa - What a Man
8. PJ Harvey - Good Fortune
9. Madonna - Material Girl
10. Abba - Mamma Mia

Radiohead reveal 'In Rainbows' sales

Over a year since its infamous pay-what-you-like release, Radiohead have revealed the figures behind In Rainbows. And let’s just say they went home with the proverbial pot of gold.

Jane Dyball, head of business affairs at Warner-Chappell and one of the people behind the now-historic release, heralds the band’s seventh LP as a success. The proof? According to Music Ally, over three million copies of the album were sold in every format, ranging from iTunes downloads to deluxe box-sets (which sold over 100,000 alone!). Whilst over half of those came from its physical release in January, by the time the band discontinued its internet sales they had already made more money than their previous effort, Hail to the Thief.

The average price paid for In Rainbows was not revealed in the report, although two pieces of juicy information were given. Firstly, that if the price got too low, Radiohead had the power to call it off. And secondly, it was the band’s manager who got the last laugh, winning the sweepstakes on total downloads, average price and total box-sets sold.

Hot Chip man goes solo

While most people struggle working one job, bespectacled Hot Chip vocalist Alexis Taylor has found time in his non-stop schedule to release a solo record.

Titled Rubbed Out, it features, “15 bespoke songs and instrumentals by Alexis Taylor”; all of which were seemingly made in between recording, remixing and touring with Hot Chip. It is available now via Treader.org, although the poor status of the Australian dollar might put some off the £11.99 price tag.

The tracklist, as stated on Pitchkfork, is as follows:

1. Fireworks
2. Plastic Man
3. Coming Up (Paul McCartney cover)
4. Baby
5. Girl
6. I Thought This Was Ours
7. I’m Not a Robber
8. Collector’s Item
9. What Good Is Love?
10. Musical Food
11. O Lord
12. I Love My Home
13. I’m Juan
14. Ruffles
15. The Big Drums of Chwodes

Franz make deadly music

Falls Fest headliners Franz Ferdinand have revealed that their third album, tentatively titled Tonight, features percussion from an instrument that puts the entire – œdeath metal’ genre to shame – a human skeleton.

In an interview with MTV’s Chris Harris, frontman Alex Kapranos recalled that they used the skeleton for “a real dry, percussive sound”. The venture with the human remains soon became a whole band affair. ” Nick had the hands and was clapping the bones together. [Drummer] Paul [Thomson] was working with the pelvis bone and a femur. We put the teeth in a glass jar and rattled that about. We smacked the ribs together and we got this really weird, fucked-up kind of a sound that was wicked.”

Tonight is set for release in January, meaning that we get one of the first tastes of the band’s bone-rattling new songs. Only time will tell if their live show is just as spine-tingling.

My Morning Jacket headline shows

In between warming the stage for Neil Young and wowing revellers along the Big Day Out circuit this coming January, My Morning Jacket will be playing two intimate club dates in Sydney and Melbourne.

Touted as “Kentucky’s answer to Wilco,” My Morning Jacket are a blend of country, alternative rock, sonic experimentation and psychedelia, as seen in their latest record, Evil Urges. Characterised by the unique, soaring voice of Jim James, these shows are not to be missed.

My Morning Jacket will bring over ten years of musical brilliance to the following venues in January. Tickets on sale Tuesday 14 October.

Thursday 22 – The Metro Theatre, Sydney

Tuesday 27 – Billboard The Venue, Melbourne