Misc. Music Archives

Thanks to my latest source for online music (I can't reveal my source, but here's a hint: He's gorgeous. Just ask him.), I have a ton of new music that I'm going through right now: Ted Leo, Humble Rodent, Kings Of Leon, Travis, Maximo Park, etc. I'll have some short record reviews in the next day or two. Yes, you read that correctly, actual content! Combine that with tonight's Mew show and shows this weekend by the Silversun Pickups and The Changes, and I might be able to sneak some music content onto this here blog. Developing...

Until then I want to direct you to two sites that I have been reading quite regularly for the last week or so. The first is Recordreviews.org, straight outta Tha D, written by the incomparable Gorilla with lots of help from Damizz, Peabs and Nummer. If you have some money burning a hole in your pocket and you want to know what's worth buying, these guys will lead you in the right direction. I loved Damore's recent Idlewild review and I'm not just blowing smoke when I say that Nummer's Brief History of Badly Drawn Boy in Detroit is one of the finest blog posts I've read in a while. And Gorilla runs down the big releases for you every week as only he can. I say Buzz.

Also back online is Kegzies, formerly of the dearly departed Glamorama, now of Sendmedeadflowers.com. An anglophile after my own heart (and much more informed than yours truly) Kegzies was singing Mew's praises a good two years before anyone else had even heard of them. Peep his interview with the original Libertines drummer and sample some of the great MP3's he's throwing your way (even if he is totally copying me by posting "Gravity Grave").

Seriously though, it's great to have these guys back online and writing again. It's like 2003 all over again. We'll be doing Friday Afternoon Topics again before you know it.

Dolla, Dolla bill y'all. From Popbitch:

Vanity Fair have invited "pop-humanitarian" Bono to be guest editor of the July issue, to try and "rebrand Africa". Some magazines have been sharing some other facts about Bono:

* In the year since it was founded, his Red campaign (licensed to Gap, Motorola, Apple etc) has raised $18 million - but companies have spent $100 million to market it.

* Bono doesn't invest his own money in Red.

* Apple sells a Special Edition U2 iPod. Its profits are not donated to Red.

* U2 made $389m from the recent Vertigo tour. Its revenue was then funnelled through companies mostly registered in Ireland and structured to minimize taxes.

* U2 moved its music publishing company to the Netherlands from Ireland in June 2006, six months before Ireland ended a tax exemption on musicians' royalty income.

* Richard Murphy, adviser to lobbying group the Tax Justice Network, says "This is somebody who's exceptionally rich taking the opportunity to shift his tax burden to somebody else, but then asking governments around the world to spend that tax take in the way that he would like."

Much more here and here.

Hmmmmmm...This Pitchfork interview with The National reminds me of this other great interview with the band I read last year. Both interviews mention the new record, the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah tour, Beggars Banquet, day jobs...I see a pattern here. I also asked Matt about his baseball allegiances but didn't include it in the finished product.

Seriously though, I say all of this with tongue planted firmly in cheek. I'm not trying to imply that Pitchfork copied me (even though they did*), only that perhaps I'm a better interviewer than I give myself credit for.

All that said, I can't wait to hear their new album.

Want more? Check out all of my interviews from 2006.

* Again, kidding.

I am so ready to jump back into all things Ted Leo. I listened to Shake The Sheets so much that I got burned out on him a bit, but I am totally salivating over his upcoming record.

Accordingly, tonight Starz Cinema (East) is airing the Ted Leo documentary "Dirty Old Town: Ted Leo/Pharmacists vs. Coney Island" as part of their monthly series "Musiac". Hottness. I have this DVD and watch it every now and again. I was at the show too, one of the first I went to post knee surgery.

The Touch and Go website has more details.

The USA will get to see the mighty Mozzer live starting April 27th. He'll embark on a 40 date North American tour, details still TBA. My guess is he comes through D.C. in early May, which is when I'm going to Europe. Bah.