Beck, Ryan Adams, Razorlight's Johnny Design Book Covers

The goal of the campaign, as started by Pengiun Publishing, is to encourage readers to use their imagination in order to create their own covers to their favorite books (gimmick or brilliant? I'm unsure). Seven blank covers will be released this fall to some of Penguin's best-selling titles. To promote the project, Penguin has enlisted musicians to design and share their stories. Here's some quotes, via BBC.

Johnny Borrell on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby: "I was running a book on the Grand National in Tokyo and I was writing out a betting slip for everyone, and decided that my bookie's name was going to be Gatsby. So the cover of this book is a betting slip."

Ryan Adams on Bram Stoker's Dracula: "I'm a huge fan of novel sleeve art and wanted to contribute...I can't reveal my secrets but I can reveal that no garlic was harmed in the making of this cover."

Beck on the entire campaign: "The idea is to provide something that calls for interactivity. Cover art and all the paraphernalia that comes with albums have always been important to me. I'm one of the people who needs a visual crutch for music."

MP3: Beck - No Complaints

Britpop Allstars To Recreate 'Sgt. Pepper'

Via NME: Oasis, The Killers and Kaiser Chiefs are to cover songs from The Beatles' 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' to mark the 40th anniversary of the classic album's release. The original album was released on June 1, 1967 and to mark the event the big names will all be covering tracks from the record for a BBC2 special to be aired on June 2.

Razorlight, James Morrison, The Fratellis and Travis are among the other acts taking part. The BBC reports that Geoff Emerick, the engineer in charge of the original sessions will use the same equipment to record the new versions. Radio 2 controller Lesley Douglas said: "This will be not only a unique radio event, but a very special musical moment. The range and quality of artists involved ensure that this will be a fitting tribute to one of the great albums of all time."

MP3: The Beatles - Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (via Press The Button)

Razorlight & Mohair @ Bowery 2/27: Majorly Distracting

An invitation to see the sold out Razorlight show at Bowery? Um, yes please. Since falling for the song ‘Golden Touch’ in 2005, I’ve been dying to see the group live.



Thoughts on a night at The Bowery Ballroom with Razorlight and 600 British fans:

SCORE! Just got the coveted front parking spot right in front of the venue. I want to climb on stage and lead everyone outside to look at my primo space. This means I can leave my coat in the car and run inside.

Got here just in time to see the openers, Mohair. The lead singer looks as if he belongs in the film Withnail and I (“We want the finest wines available to humanity. And we want them here, and we want them now!”), has a v. Roger Daltry look to him.



With The Darkness caput, they seem to be taking over for them a bit, though their music floats somewhere in-between Razorlight and The Darkness, definitely not a glam rock revival band. They are very charismatic, very charming, very young and very very good. The entire crowd seems to be all on board.

As per usual when a British band plays New York, every Brit in the city has come out to see the show. Mohair’s Withnail tells us they are from Watford and is greeted with a surprising round of applause. The Englishman behind me says to his girl, “Watford is a shit town.”




Huge applause when Razorlight comes out. They open with ‘In the morning’ and by the third song have already played, basically, the reason I have come, ‘Golden touch.’ ‘Golden touch’ is a great, poppy, very quintessential British radio BBC 1 song, which doesn’t make it any less brilliant than it is. There is a massive sing-a-long at the final chorus and Johnny stops singing to hold the mic out over the audience.

The next eruption from the full house is when ‘Fall to Pieces’ starts up 5 songs after ‘Golden touch’ and soon the band is back on track, blazing through ‘Somewhere else,’ ‘America,’ and ‘Kirby’s house.’ Before that, the crowd’s attention had begun to wane and the security guard standing next to me even whispered into his walkie talkie, “The crowd’s not feeling it.” He’s right, I wasn’t. Though Johnny Borrell is a great, very spot on, live singer, he is not the most charismatic, or even likable, on stage. Razorlight’s songs are good, but not great enough to warrant a close mouthed singer (a la Julian Casablancas). That being said, the two incredibly irritating English girls next to me who would not stop shouting “Johnny, it’s my birthday! SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely. All I kept thinking was, “maybe if I punch them in the head, they’ll shut up.” They were very distracting and rude, ruining the experience for a fair amount of people. This is not cool, please consult your concert going handbook next time ladies.



Label mates, The Noisettes, were in the balcony looking utterly fabulous, stylish and oh so cool.



The NME were in the crowd and chatted to Johnny afterward about the supposed quarrel he had with his bandmates on stage in Lyon earlier this month, starting rumours that the band are only really together for financial gain. The story is not all that interesting in a shrug of the shoulders type of way.



Go here to see a jpg of the setlist (via a MusicSnobbery commentator).

Overall, it was a good show. Razorlight are popular because they consistently put out singles people can't seem to get out of their head. They aren't turning the musical world upside down with their innovation, they are simply making music you can sing along to in your car.



MP3: 'Golden touch'

Damon, Franz & Thom Sign Bill To End Nuclear Budget

You can help as well! Details on the protest below the accompanying story.

Dozens of top British bands and musicians today joined forces to oppose the multi-billion pound replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system. A statement was issued on their behalf, warning that ordering a new generation of nuclear weapons would make the world a more dangerous place. Signatories included Thom Yorke, Damon Albarn, Razorlight, Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, Super Furry Animals and Supergrass. The statement said: "If Britain says it needs nuclear weapons for its security, other countries are likely to follow suit. To replace Trident, when we face no nuclear threat, could start a nuclear arms race.

"The cost to replace and maintain Trident would be better spent on healthcare, education, alleviating global poverty or tackling the problems of climate change. Let's choose peace and justice, not nuclear weapons and war." An anti-Trident demonstration will be held in London on Saturday organised by CND, the Stop The War Coalition and the British Muslim Initiative.The groups said the protest was expected to be the biggest anti-nuclear demonstration in Britain in decades. MPs are expected to vote next month on whether to order a Trident replacement. (via At Ease Web)

The demonstration is this Saturday, the 24th, more info can be found here.

MP3s: Franz Ferdinand - Fade Together (Avalanches remix) + Supergrass - Caught By The Fuzz

Razorlight Takes Another Crack At It

After an absolutely cursed attempt to tour the US, Razorlight finally have made plans to have another go starting later this month in NYC. I'll be there with bells on as this will be the first chance I've had to see the British stars. Despite what I've heard about their sometimes weak show, I am really psyched to see the boys perform 'Goldentouch' live- that was my JAM in 2005. The new song 'In the morning' is also pretty darn good: Download trat track here.

Tour Dates:
2/26 - Bowery Ballroom -New York, NY [apparently already sold out, wtf?!]
3/1 - Mod Club - Toronto, Canada
3/3 - Martys - Chicago, IL
3/4 - Varsity Theatre - Minneapolis, MN
3/8 - Slims - San Francisco, CA
3/9 - El Rey Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
3/10 - Casbah - San Diego, CA
3/12 - Salon 21 - Mexico City, Mexico
3/14 - SXSW NME Showcase - Austin, TX

I would like to make this completely unrelated observation after taking a gander at the Bowery calendar, Sons and Daughters in April is still not sold out. Why people, why? They are one of my favourite live acts of all time. I have been waiting for them to tour again for what seems like forever. Buy a ticket and come dance me in [mp3 courtesy of the lovely Jeff Baum at Central Village].

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

Win An Autographed Razorlight CD!

To win their latest release with their very own John Hancocks, please e-mail us at THEMUSICSLUT at GMAIL dot COM with RAZORLIGHT in the subject and simply tell us why YOU deserve this CD over everybody else who enters the contest!

The most creative answer will not only win the signed copy but also bragging rights as we will post your response on the site!

Winner will be announced on Friday.

More on Razorlight at their official site and their MySpace.

Good luck!

MP3: 'America'

Razorlight: It's Official...

From the band's people:

Razorlight have been forced to postpone their own headline shows in LA and New York due to the last minute cancellation of the first part of Keane's US dates.

Razorlight were due to support Keane on the first leg of the tour, however the withdrawal of the Keane shows left their own schedule in chaos, forcing the band to drop their own gigs at The Roxy, LA on Aug 30 and Bowery Ballroom, NY, Sept 11th.

The band are hugely disappointed that they have had to delay their US gigs and are in the process of re-scheduling for Dec/Jan when the band will return for substantial touring.

Freaking hell. I really wanted to see them.

The Music Slut Live from T in the Park Day Two!

9:39AM Text message received waking me up on a Sunday morning "Sunday: The campsite is woken to the sounds of Guns and Roses 'Paradise City', as the crowd prepare to sacrifice themselves to the altar of rock." Sounds a bit Big Brotherish to me.

11:50AM I text Skye to tell him that my mate Sea saw Razorlight open for Muse and they were very underwhelming. I wanted him to see Sons and Daughters perform their new material anyway.

11:58AM "Well I think since I've never seen them [Razorlight], I may go...it'll give me something to complain about." Skye=most stubborn person I know. Must remember to implement reverse psychology on him in the future.

12:00PM "Utterly baking at the main stage for Rachel Fuller, who has mistakenly said hello to Edinburgh. Pretty good piano led rock, deserves more of an audience than the few folk who're here this afternoon."

12:03PM "Wow! Pete Townsend is playing guitar in Rachel Fuller's band! This is actually quite exciting stuff!" WTF?

1:16PM "Biffy Clyro- excellent. Surely Sunday mornings were made for jumping around like a madman while a long haired crazy man mistreated a guitar."

2:12PM "A pretty emotive performance from Athlete, who come across as more affecting than whiney that they often do on record." After watching them on TV I got to say that the song 'You Got Style' all but ruined any hope that I could like this band. The lyrics are so ridiculous and I fucking HATE the chorus with the cheerleader chant 'It's getting hot in here, must be something in the atmosphere' One part Nelly, one part Bring it On and all of it utter SHITE. The song 'Wires' was pretty good though.

3:43PM "Razorlight played with the right amount of arrogance and swagger-if they had the songs. A bit weak to be honest, which was kind of emphasised by the playing 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' after their set." Yeah I figured but I can't help but love 'Goldentouch.'

12:25AM Mind I am snuggled in bed by this point. "Now I'm no huge hip hop fan, but Snoop Dog even had me excited... mothafucka [sic]. Although he also though he was in Edinburgh, probably thinks all Scottish cities are made up of tents in fields... Kaiser Chiefs were a definite highlight-splitting the audience in half to see who could clap and sing louder. Bloc Party have some great tunes, so it's a bit disappointing to find that they're a bit too earnest to be very exciting. Oh well. Kasabian were pretty good-well judged with the fast numbers for a pretty pissed up crowd. Green Day. A drunk giant pink rabbit. A Scotland flag being waved onstage, Billy-Jo masturbates while the crowd ooos and aaahs, fires water guns into the crowd, gets a child onto the stage to fire the water gun, gets three randoms from the crowd to play instruments, then plays 'Shout' and ends the encore with 'We Are the Champions.' Political and funky, Green Day were awesome." Side note about Green Day. They wouldn't allow the BBC to film their set and show live footage on TV because they are releasing a DVD soon and are afraid people won't buy it. This news from the presenters which elicited a response of 'phew, Americans!' Somehow I find this ironic given their last album title, American Idiot indeed.

Not covered in Skye's excellent reporting was the appearance of the rockin Eagles of Death Metal (whose mp3s I am searching for right now), the always amazing Interpol, KT Tunstall throwing some sort of fit in the beginning of 'Black Horse and the Cherry Tree' and literally screaming at the people off stage to fix something putting her in an obviously foul mood for the rest of the song but the fact that her and the entire band were wearing kilts nearly made up for it (holy run-on Batman), Echo and the Bunnymen being surprisingly good singing 'The Killing Moon' and last but not least, my boys Travis with Franny wearing a vintage Live Aid tee and not being able to reach the notes in 'Turn' because he was too out of breath from running around the stage then after 'Why Does it Always Rain on Me' jumping into the crowd and having the security guards hold onto him for dear life.

And so ends The Music Slut's coverage of T in the Park 2005. If you had the privilege of going I hope your sunburn will fade fast and if not just remember that there is always next year. Not for me though. Why? Well it's like the old saying goes, does Jen shit in the woods? The answer is absolutely not.