Prince Goes Clubbin' With Patti Labelle?

Err, Billboard reports: Prince will open a nightclub at the Rio hotel in Las Vegas, which will host concerts by the artist as well as acts signed to his NPG label. Sources tell Billboard.com that Concerts West/AEG Live, producers of Prince's $90 million Musicology tour in 2004, will be working with the artist on the project, which will launch next month.

A flash graphic on the Web site 3121.com, named after the artist's most recent studio album, includes the Rio plus photos of Prince and such artists acts as Sheila E, Maceo Parker, Floetry, Patti LaBelle, Esthero and Cee-Lo, although it is unclear what connection they have to the endeavor.

It is also unknown how regularly Prince plans to perform at the venue formerly known as Club Rio, which has hosted a topless revue called Club Eroticka since February 2005.

MP3: Prince - Purple Rain

Just Can't Get Enough

This list idea randomly popped into my head. And I love it.

Bands I've seen MORE than 5 times over the course of my concert-going career. And I know, many of you will probably wonder why Radiohead is not on the list below, and well, it's because they only come in at 5, sadly. Here are the 5+ers:

Band Of York - 11 times
Sufjan Stevens - 8 times
Rufus Wainwright - 7 times
Stellastarr* - 7 times
Sondre Lerche - 7 times
Badly Drawn Boy - 6 times
Ben Kweller - 6 times
Coldplay - 6 times
Sigur Ros - 6 times
The Walkmen - 6 times

What would YOURS be?

MP3: Depeche Mode - Just Can't Get Enough

The Stones CANCEL Halloween Show At Beacon!

Apparently Mick Jagger needs to rest his little voice. Normally this wouldn't be extremely newsworthy but since Xtina was set to open the show, I'm hoping somebody YouTubes the video of her screaming at Mick. Not so beautiful, I'm sure. Also, this show was to be the 2nd of 2 shows (the first being Sunday) benefitting former President Bill Clinton and err, his wife? Maybe? Either way, the show's a no-go. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Via NME: The Rolling Stones have postponed a club show at New York's Beacon Theatre tonight (October 31) so singer Mick Jagger can rest his voice. On Friday (October 27) a concert at New Jersey's Boardwalk Hall was also cancelled hours before it was due to begin. It is now scheduled to take place on November 17, reports the BBC.

There is as yet no rescheduled date for the New York show.

MP3: 'You Can't Always Get What You Want'

MyBusinessSpace

Any thoughts on this:

from the BBC:


MySpace 'to block illegal files'

Social networking site MySpace is to block users from uploading copyrighted music to its pages.

It will use a file-filtering application to scan old and new content to weed out any unauthorised material.

Illegal files, the company said, would be removed and persistent offenders would be banned from the site.

Online sites are coming under increasing pressure from the music industry to stop copyright infringment on their pages.


Last week Google, new owners of video-sharing site YouTube, vowed the company would not tolerate any copyright violations.

MySpace, which reportedly has over 90 million users, is to use technology from a company called Gracenote to review and identify copyright files on its site.

MySpace CEO and co-founder Chris DeWolfe said: "MySpace is staunchly committed to protecting artists' rights, whether those artists are on major labels or are independent acts.

"This is another important step we're taking to ensure artists control the content they create."

MySpace will also soon be allowing unsigned musicians to sell music downloads from their pages. It eventually aims to begin selling copyright-protected songs from major record labels.


I guess it's not necessarily the copyright checking that bothers me - bands will still be able to upload their own stuff, although it's a shame for users that they might not be able to share their favourite tracks. But the whole selling stuff via myspace? Somehow, even though it all seems like a glorified AdSpace, doesn't that seem to be against the spirit of the thing? Or does MySpace actually have any spirit left?

three posts in quick succession? holy moly!

The Rapture & The Presets @ Webster Hall: The People We Love

Definitely one of the most fun shows I've been to all year, but does that shock you? I mean, The Rapture AND The Presets, this was destined to be dance-a-rific and it sure was.


The Presets started the show and kept reminding us that their job was to 'warm us up', and this they did, very very well. The Presets and Klaxons are the forerunners for what's being declared 'new-rave' (gotta love the British press) and I must say, I definitely prefer the former to the latter. The Presets got everybody riled up over the course of their 40-minute set. The Sydney natives ran through a set reminiscent of a rave straight outta '92 with a bit of early Kasabian and even a Chemical Brothers sample! By the time they got to their last tune of the night, the entire crowd at Webster Hall was jumping up and down frantically. Long live The Presets!


Next up, The Rapture. Somehow it's been over 2 years since I last saw them (Curiosa Fest). I neglected seeing them at their Bowery and Crash Mansion teaser shows earlier this year because I was waiting to hear the Pieces tracks in their full glory and not in the work-in-progress stage. Last night was the first official show following the second release.


The set opened with 'Heaven' and closed with 'Olio'. I don't have the setlist but I will tell you that they played most of Echoes, half of Pieces and of course, 'Out Of The Races And Onto The Tracks'. And everything sounded top-notch. 'Olio' in particular had an interesting arrangement last night, really mild-mannered at first before totally breaking loose, a great closing track; I love how they've re-worked it for this tour. Luke and Matt were in fine spirits, even encouraging the crowd to kiss each other on the cheek during 'Echoes'. Aww.


I can only gather that tonight's Halloween show at The Bowery will be amazing. I'll be seeing Pela @ B61 in Brooklyn, while Jen will be at a showcase at Fontana's, but please let us know what The Rapture is wearing tonight as costumes. We're just aching to know!

UPDATE, SETLIST! (Thanks PSNYC!!):
Heaven / Get Myself Into It / Sister Savior / The Devil / Out of the Races and Onto the Tracks / I Need Your Love / Killing / Pieces of the People We Love / Whoo! Alright, Yeah...Uh Huh / House of Jealous Lovers / The Coming of Spring / Echoes / The Sound // Down For So Long / Olio

They think it's all over...

Okay. Friends (and readers of Music Slut comments) will know that I am not a fan of the so-called "beautiful game"... when Jen was going lah-lah over the world cup earlier this year, I was resolutely watching Wimbledon and ignoring the 250 Italian schoolkids infesting my building and going bonkers over their world-cup progress. Football just isn't my bag, baby.

Mogwai, however, are. And the Scots post-Rockers have put together a stunning soundtrack to the bio-pic Zidane: A Twenty-First Century Portrait, which came out over here yesterday (buy it on import from Amazon.com).

I haven't seeen the film; and I would say that I wouldn't - but the soundtrack is a masterpiece, and I can already imagine lots of beautiful slo-mo replays and tense sporty moments... It's a real surprise that Mogwai haven't done sountracks before - their rhythmic intensity and trademark quiet/LOUD progression seem to lend themselves perfectly to psychological exploration and exposition. Zidane is a record that's no doubt worthy of the man: it's certainly Mogwai at the top of their game.

Mogwai: Terrific Speech 2 (alternative link) (fileden test)

Mogwai: Wake up and go Beserk (alternative link) (fileden test)

The Save St. Brigid's Charity Concert

Official Release:

Don’t Let it Go!!!

In 2004, the Archdiocese of New York closed the historic St. Brigid's Church on E. 9th and Avenue B, and attempted to demolish the building in the name of profit.

This past summer, we won a temporary restraining order against the demolition permit. But the clock is ticking......

Join us Sunday, Nov. 5th, 2006 from 6-9 p.m. at Solas
(232 E. 9th Street, btw. 2^nd and 3rd Aves.)
for an evening of music, performance and prizes and help landmark this cultural and historic jewel of the East Village!

New pieces by NYC poets Jessica Elizabeth and Maria Nieves!

Author Peter Selgin will read from his essay as published in
"Our Roots Are Deep With Passion: Creative Non-Fiction Collects New Essays by Italian-American Writers"

Performance by M. Shanghai String Band!
"The banjos spit fire, the acoustics soothe the soul, and the vocals tell honest tales...a perfect combo of old time American folk and the music as it stands today...a musical performance that is enduring..."

$10 Suggested Donation

St. Brigid's cornerstone was laid on Sept. 10th, 1848 and is known as the "Famine Irish" church for its importance to the City's Irish Immigrants of the time. St. Brigid's is an important and historic architectural monument to the immigrant history of the Lower East Side, and has served numerous immigrant communities over the last 150 years.

www.savestbrigid.org

TV on the Radio @ Irving 10/17: Yeah...No

I tried people, I really tried. After listening to TVotR's first album I though, meh. But everyone else was so into them. I got Return to Cookie Mountain and still thought, what the hell?


But sometimes, a band is just so much better in person (see Editors) so I went to see them at Irving. And you know what? This just really ain't my thing. It's psychedelic jam rock. Their music is so layered with noise that it's hard to distinguish the tune of the song. I felt that if they just pared down the layers of noise and add some hooks, they could actually have something good. Though I do think that 'Wolves Like Me' is pretty good.


The best part of the show? The two HUGE guys behind us who lit two joints and said only my friend and I could have. The smaller of the two got so excited at the encore that he bulldozed his way to the front, scattering hipsters as he ran, and started moshing with whomever he could bump into.


But mostly, this was my view of the night. I never noticed how pretty the chandelier at Irving is.

Though I did have some excitement. Before the show, I saw Randy Harrison from the American Queer as Folk. I am a huge fan, so that was pretty awesome. Rounds out me seeing his on screen boyfriend, Gale Harold, at the Dallas Museum of Art a couple of years ago.

Q Awards 2006: The Winners!

Best New Act - Corinne Bailey Rae

Best Track - Crazy by Gnarls Barkley

Best Video - When You Were Young by The Killers

Q Inspiration Award - A-ha

Q Outstanding Contribution to Music - Smokey Robinson

Q Groundbreaker Award - Primal Scream

Q Icon Award - Jeff Lynne

Q Idol Award - Take That

Q Outstanding Performance - Faithless

Q Innovation in Sound - The Edge

Q Classic Songwriter - Noel Gallagher

Q Lifetime Achievement Award - Peter Gabriel

Q Merit Award - Manic Street Preachers

Q Classic Song - Karma Chameleon

Best Live Act - Muse

Best Album - Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not by Arctic Monkeys

People's Choice Award - Arctic Monkeys

Best Act In The World Today - Oasis

Q Legend Award - The Who

Q Award of Awards - U2

--

MP3s: Muse - Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (Smiths cover) + Oasis - Stand By Me + Arctic Monkeys - Still Take You Home

It's Official: There's No Escaping Bono!

Not even at a place of worship!

Via NME: U2 have had their songs incorporated into church services. A number of Episcopal churches in the US have begun using music by the band into their communion services. Called the U2Charist, the service has spread to 150 churches in 15 US states.

The first U2Charist service was held at Maine's York Harbor on July 31. The Episcopal priest at the service, Reverend Paige Blair, came up with idea. Blair told USA Today: "Bach and Handel were the popular music of their day, and they had trouble getting played in church. The Methodist hymn writers once wrote contemporary music. Are we worshipping Bono? Absolutely not."

A key part of the U2Charist is also an offering for Bono's campaign against poverty and global AIDS.

MP3: 'So Cruel'

Young Love @ Bowery Ballroom: Say Hi To Your New Favorite Act

Is Young Love the new Rapture? Dan Keyes and the rest of the band had that question on everybody's mind last night (except the crazy Lady Sov fans who were dressed EXACTLY LIKE HER!!).

Young Love stormed through an 8-song set, closing with crowd-fave 'Discotech' and running through most songs on his/their upcoming debut release, Too Young To Fight It, out 1/30/07.

The long-lost member of Franz Ferdinand, or so Dan appears, really has the entire package. Good looks, silly dance moves, catchy songs and an affinity for keyboards/synths.

What more could you ask for? By the end of the set, even the pint-sized Sov fantatics were shaking their ponytails and falling in love with Young Love.

The Kooks @ Northsix: Absolute Hysteria!

Whoa. I wasn't expecting this. Sure, The Kooks have the #1 album in the UK, are working on their 5th single from the release, have been touted as 'the next Arctic Monkeys' but I wasn't anticipating the rapturous crowd that I witnessed on Saturday.


The band opened the show, just as they open their debut, Inside In/Inside Out with 'Seaside' and from the first acoustic guitar strum, I knew it was going to be a rowdy show. Laura was lucky, or perhaps unlucky enough, to be in the front row, while I settled for the 4th row. I saw not one, not two, but THREE fights break out (you drunken Brits, how I love you so), people climbing the pillars and then jumping into the crowd, the floor shaking and 500 fists thrown in the air at all times. And this is in just a 45-minute set!


By the time the band busted into the some of the larger singles from the album, 'Ooh La' and 'Naive', the fans were in a total frenzy. I was lucky to get these shots because my body was being thrown from one side of the stage to the other. It was really insane, but kind of amazing also. Is the band worth all the madness? I think they actually put quite a good show. Thumbs up, indeed.


NME success story # 741.

The Fake Accents @ Pianos: Young Team

Thursday night right after The Walkmen, I stumbled over to Pianos to catch DC's finest, The Fake Accents. They had the utter misfortune of playing after a terrible (I'm sorry, they were) local girl band whose name I shall not mention. This however, didn't postone, nor stop the rock n roll.


I've not seen the band in close to 2 years and was thrilled to find that their sound has totally expanded and their live show has become truly a moving experience. It's almost as if Mogwai, Yo La Tengo and Pavement all decided to form a supergroup. This gives you a clue of what The Fake Accents bring to the scene.


Those lucky enough to catch them on their first-ever East Coast tour should also take heed to the limited edition T-shirts, as they are fucking awesome, and one-of-a-kind.

Their debut LP, The Big Disconnect, is available now at their shows and on their site! Add it to your Christmas lists!

Manic MP3 Monday, Week 30

Kristoffer Ragnstam - Breakfast By The Mattress
The Knife - Silent Shout
The Magnetic Fields - When The Open Road Is Closing In
The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
Queen - Don't Stop Me Now

Take Me Out, To The Kitchen!

Franz Ferdinand met while cooking together? Whudda thunk it?

Via ContactMusic: Rockers FRANZ FERDINAND owe their chart success to their love of food, because founder members ALEX KAPRANOS and BOB HARDY met while working in a kitchen. Frontman Kapranos worked as a chef in a Scottish restaurant several years ago, and would always discuss his plan to form a band with bassist Hardy during breaks. The TAKE ME OUT singer says, "I had some of the best moments of my life, just having a laugh in the kitchen. "It was really hard work but during prep time Bob and I would listen to music and I think in a way that's where a lot of the ideas for Franz Ferdinand were formed."

Superfantastique!

MP3: Franz Ferdinand - I'm Your Villian (Lindstrom Extended Mix)

The Walkmen @ Canal Room: Short And Sweet

On Thursday evening, both Jen and I went to the DL AOL Party. For those who haven't checked out the DL yet, it's a weekly program on AOL that is a video-based indie music, news & pop culture web show.


The show is hosted by Sara Schaefer, an up and coming stand-up comic (who is friggin' hysterical) and pop culture-obsessed. To celebrate the first week of The DL, AOL hosted a fabulous party at Canal Room featuring the aforementioned Sara Schaefer and TMS all-time-faves, The Walkmen.



Though they only played 4 songs, they did manage to squeeze in 'Louisiana' amongst 3 new unreleased tracks. It was of course, amazing.



It was also nice to see The Walkmen when it wasn't pouring rain outside! (McCarren Park, can you hear me?)


The band is sneaking in a CMJ show at NYU on 11/2. Will you be there?

Joseph Arthur - Nuclear Daydream Review

Another artist recommended to me by the lovely Joan As Policewoman. Joseph can be heard doing some background vocals for Joan on Real Life. Turns out Joseph Arthur has been around a while himself. However, Nuclear Daydream is my first introduction to his music. Similarly to M. Ward, Joseph really captures you with his voice and depth of each song. With hints of Jeff Buckley and hints of David Bryne, it's easy to see why I was drawn to this release. I think it would make a perfect pairing with Nellie McKay's Pretty Little Head (OUT ON TUESDAY, FINALLY!!). Here's the first track on the album, 'Too Much To Hide' (yousendit).

Fresh Friday, Music to Get You Through the Weekend: Locksley

There is currently a stack of cds in my room waiting for me to listen to them. Everything from punk to neo-punk. I look at this stack and cringe. When in the hell will I get the time to listen to all of this?

A few days ago, I picked up one of those cds and popped it in the player to listen as I changed to go out that night. Only a few notes into the first song, I turned back to my stereo in surprise. This was good. Not merely passable good, but GOOD GOOD. A glance through the sycophantic notes that came with the cd came across the words, Not signed. This band is this good and is not signed? Crimeny.

Made up of four boys from Brooklyn via Wisconsin, Locksley’s music is Beatles Please Please Me and Revolver combined. It takes the best of the British invasion from of the 60's and 70's and combines them into something fresh, fun and new. Locksley’s sound is unexpected, unlike any band I have seen in recent memory, and incredibly catchy. So catchy in fact that I have had ‘Don’t make me wait’ in my head now for a full 24 hours. This is a band to get on board with now before they get all popular and you have to pretend to be 'so over it.'

Tour: Oct 27 2006 9:30PM Piano's NY, NY
Oct 31 2006 11:00PM Fontana's New York, NY <--- I'll be there! Nov 1 2006 8:00PM Axis (w/ The Rapture) Boston, MA Nov 2 2006 8:00PM Club Soda (w/The Rapture) Montreal, Quebec Nov 4 2006 10:45PM Santa Fe Cafe College Park, MD <---Matt and I went to college there together! College Park people, GO! Nov 10 2006 11:00PM Baggot Inn New York, NY Nov 11 2006 11:15PM Paradise Lounge Boston, MA MySpace/Website

Download: 'Why Not Me'

Jesse Malin Gets By With A Little Help From His Friends

Billboard reports: Bruce Springsteen, Ryan Adams and Josh Homme are amongst the slew of guests that will appear on rocker Jesse Malin's upcoming record. The New York troubadour's third solo album, "Glitter in the Gutter" in late February or early March of next year. Produced by Rob Caggiano and Eddie Wohl (Scrap 60), the set will also feature the talents of Jakob Dylan and Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett, as well as an acoustic cover of the Replacements classic "Bastards of Young."

"Glitter in the Gutter" amarks Malin's first release on Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong's East West label imprint, Adeline Records. Malin will be previewing some new tracks during a hometown show next Friday (Nov. 3) at the Living Room. He will also play Nov. 13 in Annapolis, Md. The new album is the follow-up to Malin's 2004 Artemis set "This Heat," which reached No. 44 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart.

Can we expect to see Ryan on 11/3? I would guess yes. But you'll probably be at The Decembersists, Mew, or any of the gazillion shows happening on the next-to-last CMJ day.

MP3: Ryan Adams + Jesse Malin - Solitaire

Hell.com Up For Sale!

From CNN: The Internet domain name Hell.com is scheduled to be sold at a live auction Friday, with organizers expecting bids of over $1 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. The online address is the latest to be put up for sale in a growing market for domain names, consisting of Internet addresses people type in for Web sites, which has been fueled by the surge in Internet advertising, the newspaper said.

According to the Journal, the Internet domain company Moniker will conduct a live auction of 300 names that it predicts could generate bids of more than $1 million for some domains, including Iran.com, Auction.com and Elections.com. Hell.com, which gets about 5,000 new visitors daily, the paper said. Aronson told the Journal he won't sell Hell.com for less than several million dollars. "Hell.com is one of the most powerful brands on the Earth," Aronson said.

For me, Hell.com would be Norah Jones' entire catalog played on repeat while images of Star Jones flashed at a speed of 5 shots per second. WHAT IS YOUR HELL.COM??

MP3: Nina Simone - Go To Hell

The Week In Mew World

Busy week for our boys in Mew!

First off, pop over to iTunes because 'Apocalypso' is the single of the week! Free download!

You can check the band on your boobtube (and surely YouTube come tomorrow morning) as they hit up The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson tonight on CBS. I believe that comes on around 12:30am EST.

'Special' is all over MTV2's Subterranean. It premiered last week and will surely be played this Sunday as well. Don't miss it, the video is genius.

Lastly, the band comes to Bowery Ballroom as part of CMJ next Friday. The show's sold out (we're ticketless too... ) and also features the much-buzzed Annuals. Sure to be an amazing show!

In case you've been living under a rock, And The Glass Handed Kites is in stores now and is one of the strongest releases of the year. Pick it up for fuck's sake.

A New Year's Gift From The Bravery

We wish they kept it to themselves!

New York rock quintet the Bravery will release its second album, "The Sun and the Moon," early next year via Island. Though the band made headway with its self-titled 2005 debut, which sold 335,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and its dance-heavy single "An Honest Mistake," the new effort finds the boys coming from an earthier place.

"We did it to death a little bit. We were a little sick of it. We went so synth-crazy that it got a little boring to us," frontman Sam Endicott tells Billboard.com. "It was more like, what does an acoustic piano sounds like or what are real organ sounds? That stuff was more exciting to us. There's still a lot of unusual sounds on the record, but they're created more by organic instruments." via Billboard.

I'll honestly be shocked if this album sells more than 20,000 copies. If they force Ash to open for them again, I am seriously boycotting this band.

Save St. Brigid's! Donations Needed!

Part of what comes with being an art historian is an affinity for all things old and meaningful. With the loss of St. Ann's Armenian church to the dastardly NYU housing committee earlier this year, I thought it was high time I put whatever resources I could into helping save structures around the city, like St. Ann's, whose destruction would be an incredible loss to the city and its future generations.

The next building on the chopping block is St. Brigid's church in the East Village. With $7million needed in repairs, the Catholic Church wishes to tear down the beautiful building. But is it really necessary to destroy 158 years of New York history?

With the immigration of so many Irish to New York during the great famine, many workers found jobs down on the docks of the East Village. A temporary chapel was built there for them but soon a larger building was needed. Irish immigrant and architect Patrick Keely was commissioned to design the new church on the corner of 8th st and ave B. The building is currently thought to be the oldest Keely structure in the city. St. Brigid's corner stone was laid in 1848. You can read further about the history of the church at the Save St.Bridgid's website.

On Sunday November 5th, the Committee to Save St. Brigid's will be holding a benefit at Solas in the Village. The fantastic M Shanghai String Band will be playing and I am hoping to drum up some donations to raffle off. So if you have anything you would like to send to me to give away, please drop an email to Kellas@gmail.com and I will give you an address. I am talking concert tickets, cds, signed whatever. Anything you have laying around the office.

Official release:
St. Brigid's Benefit
Date: Sunday, Nov 5, from 6 - 9 PM
Location: Solas (the Irish word for 'light'), a lounge at 232 E. 9th St between 2nd and 3rd Aves., upstairs.(212-375-0297)
The donation at the door will be $10. There will be food and entertainment of various sorts.
Also, we'll be holding a raffle. Raffle tickets will be around a dollar - five dollars.

Download M Shanghai's
'Money Up'
and
'Devil, you and me'

The Cure Get DVD-Happy

Just in time for the holidays!

Via Billboard: The Cure's nine-date run at European festivals in 2005 will be chronicled on the DVD "Festival 2005," due Dec. 5 via Suretone/Geffen. The film includes performances of 30 different tracks culled from professional footage and clips shot by fans, the crew and band members themselves.

The tour was the first for the latest lineup of the Cure: lead singer/guitarist Robert Smith, bassist Simon Gallup and drummer Jason Cooper, alongside guitarist Porl Thompson, who had been out of the band for 12 years. Among the tracks featured on "Festival 2005" are "Fascination Street," "Just Like Heaven," "A Forest" and "Disintegration." Also included are "A Night Like This," "Shake Dog Shake," "The Drowning Man," "Signal to Noise" and "Plainsong." Last November, Smith said the band was about to head into the studio to record the follow-up to its 2004 self-titled album, but it is unknown how far along that project is at deadline.

Let's hope what they're working on is better than the last album; what a tragic release that was! Let Thursday sound like Thursday, OK?

MP3: The Cure - A Forest

Anybody Else Missing Interpol Right About Now?

Let's hope that the intial band statement, 'first half of '07', is true, as I'm just aching for a new Interpol release.

MP3s: 'The Specialist' + 'Slow Hands'

Young Love's Tripleheader!

Yes, there are THREE parts to Young Love's hit video, 'Discotech'.

Here's part 1 (parts 2 and 3 all over YouTube):


His debut LP, Too Young To Fight It, comes out in January.

Young Love comes to Bowery Ballroom this Sunday and Monday with the ubiquitous and vertically challenged Lady Sovereign.

We give it The Music Slut seal of approval!

Surprise! Damien Rice To Play Hiro Ballroom!

Over the last few days, we've gotten many many people coming across the site recently searching for Damien Rice + Hiro Ballroom. Sadly upon their search they land on my review of the recent Badly Drawn Boy show.

Well, we just got official word that the show is ON and it will be on 11/16.

No tickets up yet on TicketWeb but we gather they'll go quickly and will be friggin' expensive!

We'll keep ya posted!

What Ever Happened To Beck's Album Sales?

Didn't Guero debut at #2 and eventually go platinum? That was just last year!

Seems like there's no love for the ridiculously entertaining, The Information.

After debuting at a disappointing #7, the album dropped all the way down to #19 on a 70% sales slide and now this week, HITS reports that the album slips even further, down another 19 notches to #38.

Too many albums in too short a span of time?

Perhaps people REALLY hate stickers?

What are your thoughts?

The Killers @ Theater At MSG: Take Me To The Place Where The White Boys Dance

Yes, The Webster Hall show wasn't enough for The Music Slut. Last night we spent an absurd amount of cash for some tickets to The Killers 'small theater' show at T-MSG. Being in the pit for Radiohead or section 100 for the seated Sigur Ros show is a much better bang for your buck, than section 304, row C. Other than that, it was a great show. Brandon and the guys have really become showmen and that awkwardness that they originally used to exhibit on stage has almost completely vanished. That's not to say it wouldn't be nice for Brandon to utter something other than 'New York Fuckin' City' and 'This is Sam's Town'. The band is back again tonight, for another sold out show.


(Photo from The Kid Amnesiac.)

Setlist: Sam's Town/Enterlude/When You Were Young/Somebody Told Me/Smile Like You Mean It/Bones/Bling/Read My Mind/Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine/Uncle Johnny/Glamorous Indie Rock N Roll/Mr. Brightside//My List/For Reasons Unknown/All These Things I've Done///Exitlude

Earning a "living"...

Move over Elvis! Even though all your singles were repackaged over the last couple of years, and you managed to perform via video screen in Vegas, you're now earning less that Kurt Cobain - even if they are giving away Nirvana tracks as free ringtones in silly competitions....

From the BBC:

Cobain 'is top-earning dead star'

Former Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain has overtaken Elvis Presley as the highest earning dead celebrity, according to US business website Forbes.com.

Cobain's work earned $50m (£27m) in the 12 months to October 2006, compared with Presley's $42m (£22m).

Presley headed the list for the last four years. Cobain's top placing follows his widow Courtney Love's sale of 25% of her stake in his work.

Peanuts cartoon creator Charles Schulz was third, followed by John Lennon.

The cartoonist earned $35m (£19m), while the former Beatle's work took $24m (£13m).

Forbes.com said that for some dead stars, "their work, as well as their iconic images, continues to appeal to fans who remember them, and to those born long after they died".

The top 10 was made up by scientist Albert Einstein, artist Andy Warhol, children's author Dr Seuss (Theodor Geisel), soul star Ray Charles, actress Marilyn Monroe and country singer Johnny Cash.

Pela Perform Special (Tiny) Halloween Show!

One of my favorite local bands, Pela, is back with Exit Columbia Street! An ode to their new digs, or as they declare it, 'this bumpy two lane street hugging the waterfront of Brooklyn. The view at times of the city is remarkable sometimes and other times just something in the distance. We lived there quite awhile.'

It's available now on iTunes.

To commemorate its release, they will be in town for the following shows, in and around CMJ.

Oct 31 @ B61 Halloween party, Brooklyn
Nov 2 @ *CMJ* White Rabbit Lounge sponsored by Gothamist, New York, NY
Nov 2 @ *CMJ* TBA sponsored Amp'd Mobile, New York, NY
Nov 3 @ *CMJ* Sin-e sponsored by KEXP and Friction, New York, NY
Nov 5 @ *CMJ* Union Pool sponsored by The Militia Group and Death and Taxes Magazine

MP3s: 'Good Foot On A Bad Doorstep' (banjo version) &
'Bars In The Rain' (acoustic)

Bloc Party's 'WEEKEND' Out In February

Yay!

Straight from Billboard: U.K. rock act Bloc Party will return Feb. 6 with its sophomore Vice/Atlantic album, "A Weekend in the City." First single "The Prayer" will arrive Jan. 29 internationally. The 11-track set is the follow-up to 2005's "Silent Alarm," which debuted at No. 3 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart.

"One thing that we've learnt from touring over the last two years is that there are other ways to be powerful whilst making music, rather than being completely full on, 100 miles per hour," frontman Kele Okereke told Billboard.com in April. "This next record is hopefully going to be a lot more intricate and layered. We learnt so much about the power of arrangements. I know it sound cheesy, but I guess it is going to be a more grown up Bloc Party."

Two new songs have already been played live: "Waiting for the 7:18," which Okereke wrote after watching his post-college friends lose more and more of their lives to work, and "Hunting for Witches," which was influenced by last summer's terrorists attacks on London's transportation system.

Here is the track list for "A Weeekend in the City":

"Song for Clay (Disappear Here)"
"Hunting for Witches"
"Waiting for the 7:18"
"The Prayer"
"Uniform"
"On"
"Where Is Home?"
"Kreuzberg"
"I Still Remember"
"Sunday"
"SRX"

MP3: Bloc Party - American Kids

Razorlight Fall To Pieces For Guy Pearce

Via NME: The video for the next Razorlight single 'Before I Fall To Pieces' is set to feature Hollywood actor Guy Pearce. The song is the third single to be lifted from the band's self titled second album, following 'In The Morning' and recent chart-topper 'America'. Speaking about the concept of the video, Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows told MTV: "It's an amazing video. Guy plays an overweight, ageing, alcoholic superhero who's watching Razorlight on TV. He's a great bloke."

MP3: Razorlight - Somewhere Else

Pre-Halloween Goodies!

Last year, The Head Set did a fine fine job at recreating a classic Police album, and here are their plans for this year's Halloween, straight from their e-mail blast!

Friends-

Halloween is still a week away, but it is COMING SOON and you're going
to have to PLAY THE GAME. Sure, it can be a scary holiday, but DON'T
TRY SUICIDE. There is a CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE that can SAVE ME
from a DRAGON ATTACK, but if you're in New York and don't make it to
Pianos this Saturday, then ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST. So October 28,
SAIL AWAY SWEET SISTER to The Head Set's special Halloween performance
as Queen. We'll NEED YOUR LOVING TONIGHT, and we promise to ROCK IT.

(phew)

Come for the music but stay for the mustache,

THS

--

Also, this week we have a crazy Thursday night, as O'Death & The Vibration are at Cakeshop for the African Food Benefit, We Are Americana play a special late show at Lit, while The Glass and The Fake Accents co-headline at Pianos.

Saturday, since The Kooks at N6 is sold out, try your luck at getting into the Soundfix in-store happening around 3pm.

Am I leaving anything else out?

Oh yes, fulfill all your guilty pleasures tonight as Ryan Star heads to Bowery and The Killers head to The Theater @ MSG. Both are very sold out.

MP3: Queen - Crazy Little Thing Called Love

900th Post: Clinic - Visitations Review

I love the new Clinic album. A lot. For those who have known me for the last 5 years, this should come as no shock whatsoever. I waited with baited breath for the release of Walking With Thee and played Internal Wrangler everyday solid for close to 6 months. When Winchester Cathedral was released about 2 years ago, I ran to Virgin Megastore to be the first to pick it up.

Alas, that album was slightly disappointing. I was a little hesitant to get my hopes up too high for Visitations. When I got my hands on the album last week, I was more than pleasantly surprised with the results. It's a fine LP that juggles the more punk-y sounds ('Tusk' is the best 1:45 song ever) with prettier tracks, not too far off from 'Distortions' or 'Come Into Our Room' from earlier releases. The album won't see the light of day in the US until January '07 (booo!), but you can pick up the tracks on iTunes right NOW (and I highly suggest you do!). Below is track 2 off Visitations. Enjoy it.

MP3: 'Animal/Human'

Courtney Love: I Can Write Too!!!

Am I sensing some sort of fad here?

First Arctic Monkeys, now Ms. Love?

Gorillaz last month.

Who's autobiography would YOU like to read (other than Morrissey's which I'm still holding out for)?

More on Courtney, her new album and her future aspirations below (from Billboard):

"I think we made a beautiful, vibey, magical record," Perry says. "Courtney Love's name should be right next to Bob Dylan when they say best lyricist of all time."

Love says that now that she's clean, she's looking at movie scripts and would consider doing a play in London. She also has a hardcover book of her diaries and letters coming out next month. "It's an insight into how I think. Not sure that's a good thing or not. But it's me."

MP3: Courtney Love - Uncrushworthy

Arctic Monkeys: We Can Write Too!

From ContactMusic:

British rockers ARCTIC MONKEYS are so annoyed with an unauthorised band biography they are writing their own book detailing their rapid ascent to the top of the UK charts. The I BET YOU LOOK GOOD ON THE DANCEFLOOR four-piece hope to have the book in shops by Christmas (06). An insider says, "They didn't even know the guy who wrote it and were annoyed he was cashing in on their story."

Oh man. No word yet if How I Rose To Stardum And Was A Burnout All Before I Was 21 is the official title of the book. Oooooh. Am I being mean? I love those guys but hasn't it been enough this year with all the AM talk/hype/mania? Let's hope they fade away for a bit before the sophomore effort. Perhaps then they'll maintain the little bit of respect fans still have for them.

The Music Slut's Pre-CMJ Show @ Midway 10/14: O'death, Ian Love, Adam Streicher and the Molotov Cocktails and David Aaron

First off, The Music Slut would like to thank all the bands that came out last Saturday night to jam for us. Every performance was absolutely stellar. Talking with the Molotov Cocktails afterward, we couldn't help but marvel at how amazing and different every group was. They all brought something intriguing and brilliant to the table. It was truly a great night.


Our first performer of the night was David Aaron. You might remember him from a review I wrote of his show at the CBGB Gallery back in August. Since then, I have been telling everyone who will listen that this guy is about to have the next hit single. And hopefully not one of those one-hit-wonder singles either. Due to some unforseen, um, partying, the night started off a bit late but David soon had the ball rolling and we dove right into...


Adam Streicher and the Molotov Cocktails. A nicer bunch of guys you will not meet. It is one thing when a group makes great music, but another when they combine that with great personalities. It makes you want to do everything you can to help them succeed.


I highly suggest heading over to their MySpace page and downloading 'Jumping trains.' It's fantastic and incredibly infectious. It's also even better in person. You can catch Adam and the gang around NYC and NJ over the next few months:
Oct 28 2006 7:00PM at the WMCH Waste in Milford, NJ
Nov 25 2006 7:00PM at the WM Coffee House (1 year Anniversery Show) in West Milford, NJ
Dec 1 2006 10:00PM at The Blue Room Lounge in Secaucus, NJ
and in NYC Dec 21 2006 10:00PM at The Pussycat Lounge


Next up was very special guest Ian Love. He sang the crowd into silent awe as his majestic songs filled the room. The silence was only interrupted by the thundering applause at the end of each tune. It was really a treat to hear such an amazing perform and talk with him before the show. For all those in the NYC area, Ian will be playing Tonic on November 7th and is also the very special guest of Texas is the Reason at their two sold out Irving shows November 25th and 26th. Apparently, people are flying in from all over the country for the shows.


To close the show, were fast approaching local legend status, O'death. Apparently, Greg plays without any shoes on.


The guys played a rip-roaring set with their stand-in bassist- Jesse was playing another gig. And the guys seemed to have added another element to the act since I saw them last, Gabe and Greg jumping into the crowd. The Gaskets do the same thing and I got to say, I love it.


By the time their set was over, I was drenched in sweat from jumping up and down. My toes were bruised from getting stomped on and my voice was soar from singing.


This guy seemed to really like it as well, he jumped on stage and cut a suspiciously familiar pose...

Thanks everyone for coming out and thanks to the bands for joining us.
The Music Slut's next show is at The Delancey on Saturday, December 2nd. Nous Non Plus, Exit Clov, Man in Gray and The Vibration will all be performing with special guest DJ, Brad Walsh. Be there and come help me celebrate my birthday a bit early!