Though David Bowie is taking the year off, he will curate the High Line Festival in New York in May 2007. It is quite far away, but it will be Bowie’s first show in New York in four years ( source ). Another veteran musician, Robert Plant will headline an Arthur Lee benfit on 6/23. Other guests will include the New York Dolls, Yo La Tengo, and David Johansen. Also, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah vocalist Alec Ounsworth will apparently be leading an “indie-rock supergroup” at the benefit. Clap Your Hands may be fun at times, but if he’s labeling himself as one of the top minds of indie rock, I think he needs to take a better look at things ( source ).
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Radiohead have postponed tonight’s show in Amsterdam at the Heineken Music Hall. It is not known yet whether the show will be made up or not. I have heard all their new songs, but every one besides ‘Arpeggi’ is in such unrecognizable sound quality, it is difficult to have an opinion on them ( source ). The Fall’s Mark E. Smith is involved in a quarrel with everyone it seems, from his own band members to the frontman of The Talk, who threw a banana at him! We know Smith is hard to work with, with the millions of band members The Fall has been through, but the juicy details about other bands calling him pompous, arrogant, and explaining in detail how he looks twice his age. The Fall’s official web site states though, that the tour will consider despite some obvious lineup changes. That’s entertainment ( source ).
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Guns n’ Roses are releasing Chinese Democracy later this year, seriously. According to Axl Rose on a rare and surprising radio appearance. For some reason, I doubt it will live up to the ten years of hype it took to release ( source ).
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AÂ cool interview with the fantastic Sunset Rubdown reveals that the band members obviously don’t agree with the words ‘side project’ ( source ). Oh yeah, Britney Spears is having another kid. We all know that is more important than any other music news ( source ).
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While Franz Ferdinand is taking a little break, frontman Alex Kapranos will be releasing a book chronicling the food columns he has written for The Guardian. It will be titled Sound Bites, with illustrations by touring drummer and keyboard player, Andrew Knowles. It could be refreshing to see a book by an artist that isn’t overdosing ( source ).
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Noel Gallagher is currently making fun of James Blunt and Welsh people. I think the only person I ever heard him compliment was Johnny Marr and Morrissey, come to think of it ( source ). Quentin Tarantino will not be creating the Jimi Hendrix biopic after all. It’s a shame, as I’ve always wanted to see Jimi mixed with kung-fu and spaghetti westerns ( source ).
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New material info: The Pipettes, The Bees, Slayer, Take That, Lil Wayne, ESG, Clipse, Jim Jones, DMX, Amy Milan, Oneida, Metallica
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New tour info: Buzzcocks, Dirty Pretty Things, Editors, Ailing Domino, Calexico, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Roots, Pearl Jam, Happy Mondays, Kaiser Chiefs, Kasabian
