Big news! Rabid In The Kennel debuts as its own show today with a very special guest: Paul Collins of The Nerves and The Beat!
Visit BreakThru Radio now to hear my exclusive interview with Paul and his live performance at The Kennel Studio in Brooklyn! Click on this story and the link is included, and you can listen to it any day, at any time, at your leisure!
Now that the X-mas rush is over, I wanted to post 17 bonus reviews that I had intended to include in the current issue 65, but ran out of time running up against that issue’s deadline. / Make sure you tune in this coming Monday, the 28th to the weekly Big Takeover radio show at Breakthruradio.com, as I will be hosting a 2009 wrap-up, a countdown show of my 20 favorite albums of 2009 in reverse order, one song each. / Just a reminder to check out the new issue 65 of Big Takeover with the smokin’ live shot of Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth on the cover!
Just a reminder that there’s still time for the perfect X-mas gift: Big Takeover magazine! Our brand new Fall/Winter issue 65 with the Sonic Youth cover is out on the stands (the Thurston Moore live action cover shot is to your left, and a description of its contents is below!), in case you want to treat yourself (you little devil!). Or indeed, if you want a holiday gift subscription for your friends or family whom you think would enjoy our pages (or one of our t-shirts, or any of our back issues, or our CDs), either way you can still order on our secure online store with Visa or Master Card by clicking on “SUBSCRIBE NOW” to your left!!! Just let us know in the “comments” section of the order form that the order is for X-mas (why not write, in all caps, “RUSH! THIS IS FOR X-MAS!”), and we will be glad to send the package by priority mail to ensure it gets there fast and on time. And include in the “gift message” section anything you want to say, and we’ll take it from there.
Hey all, just a reminder than England’s (by way of Ireland and Seattle) That Petrol Emotion is playing their only U.S. show for the foreseeable future this Saturday, December 12 at Bell House in Brooklyn (on 7th St. just off 2nd Ave. in Gowanus, near the 4th Ave stop on the F and V or the 9th St. stop on the R), their first New York show of any kind since the early 1990s. / Once again the big news is that Big Takeover #65 Fall 2009 issue with Sonic Youth on the cover (and concluding part twos of our awesome Decemberists, Swervedriver, and Controllers interviews, and fabulous history interviews with Big Star—and John Fry on Chris Bell—and The Nerves of the original “Hanging on the Telephone” fame!) was completed in San Francisco in October! It began shipping last month! And remember, we only come our twice a year, every Spring and Fall, so you don’t want to miss one of our jam-packed 170-page issues! Below is a quick description of its contents.
Jazz drum great Rashied Ali died on Wednesday after a heart attack.
MARK BURGESS live in Philadelphia on Tuesday, August 11th. Read on!
NEWS1>> T.V. Smith (Adverts) in session, live in the studio and interviewed on “Rabid in the Kennel,” airs this Monday, hear it now!
NEWS2>> Big Takeover Magazine new address (Update your records!)
NEWS 3>> Big Takeover August-long blowout Moving Sale! Buy one, get one free, half-off sale all month long for back issues and CDs, including our complete sets of issues 1-64! What a sale!
Once again the big news is that Big Takeover #64 Spring 2009 issue with The Decemberists on the cover (and concluding part twos of our awesome Death Cab for Cutie, Sloan, and Devo interviews) is now on the stands. / “That [‘60s British folk] generation was really into discovering the centuries-old songs that had to deal with really dark and violent themes of romantic and sentimental love. Particularly Anne Briggs, Maddy Pryor, June Tabor—an essay could be written about feminism and the British folk revival, and how a lot of the women artists were arranging songs where rape figured pretty prominently—and I don’t know why that is. I think it was an interesting way of highlighting how different the relations between the sexes were in the 16th century, the 17th century, and how violent the culture that people were living in was.”—COLIN MELOY
Once again the big news is that Big Takeover #64 Spring 2009 issue with The Decemberists on the cover (and concluding part twos of our awesome Death Cab for Cutie, Sloan, and Devo interviews) was completed in San Francisco in April! (A full description of its contents is just below!) It will begin shipping this week likely, so you should see it quite soon! And remember, we only come out twice a year, every Spring and Fall, so you don’t want to miss one of our jam-packed 200-page issues! Below is a quick description of its contents.
The new Big Takeover 64 is in the works (if you have moved in the last six months and you’re a subscriber, please alert us to your new address as our mags are almost never forwarded!), and I’ve got my hands full, but we’re in luck, because Luke Giffen, singer/guitarist for Fresno’s awesome dreampop-shoegaze band The Sleepover Disaster (see my Top 10 review of their brand new Hover album in the current issue 63!) , has consented to send in a long and detailed diary-report of he and the group’s excursion to Austin for this year’s recent SXSW, complete with copious, terrific photos from his associate, Heather Bernard.
I’ve been a little too upset this week to speak about this in any way via email, Facebook, here, or whatever, but myself, my missus Mary, and my good friend Herb Jue (who was looking after her of late), and the extended Big Takeover family has been this week mourning the loss of our beloved calico cat, Mina, just about to turn 16. / For my money tonight’s bill is the best of the entire festival and features two of San Francisco’s most exciting bands – THEE OH SEES and THE FRESH & ONLY’S. The other two on the bill, fellow West Coasters THE UNNATURAL HELPERS and Detroit’s TYVEK round out things in fine fashion.
The best way I know to quietly plug my weekly radio show at breakthruradio.com is to let you know what you missed—or hopefully enjoyed—this past year for the last seven months, by listing all 475 or so songs I aired. That list is herein!
Shocking news of the heart attack death on December 23 of longtime New Model Army manager Tommy Tee, who did more for one individual band than anyone I’ve ever seen, and did it for years and years and years.
Just a reminder that there’s still time for the perfect X-mas gift: Big Takeover magazine! Our brand new Fall/Winter issue 63 with the Death Cab For Cutie cover is now out on the stands (below is a description of its contents), in case you want to treat yourself (you little devil!). Or indeed, if you want a holiday gift subscription for your friends or family whom you think would enjoy our pages (or one of our t-shirts, or any of our back issues, or our CDs), either way you can still order on our secure online store here. Just let us know in the “comments” section of the order form that the order is for X-mas (why not write, in all caps, “RUSH! THIS IS FOR X-MAS!”), and we will be glad to send the package by priority mail to ensure it gets there fast and on time. / SAMPLE ISSUE 63 QUOTE: “Look, I recommend this business, I do, to anyone who really cares about, and thinks they have, ideas that matter. But don’t get involved in pop music if you just want to be famous. It’s not the place for vacuous idiocy at all. It’s severe. It’s terse, tense, bitter, and ultimately, no one you meet in this business is your friend. Not one of them. They all want to replace ya.”—JOHNNY ROTTEN
Just in time for the Holiday Season! Big Takeover #63 with Death Cab For Cutie on the cover, and concluding part two of our awesome Johnny Rotten Sex Pistols interview is about to ship! (A full description of its contents is just below!) Now is an excellent time to pre-order it if you would like to receive it , or subscribe if you’ve been meaning to; or renew your subscription if it has run out. And remember, BIG TAKEOVER ISSUES, BACK ISSUES, TSHIRTS, CDS (including the brand new, limited edition SPRINGHOUSE CD album, From Now to OK), AND SUBSCRIPTIONS ALSO MAKE THE PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT! Especially in this season when we are all trying to economize. And in general, don’t forget to order the new Springhouse CD!
Hey again, Big Takeover readers! Our new Fall issue #63 is coming soon, and details of that are inside. (Subscribers, don’t forget to update your address if you’ve moved!) But first, here’s the latest update on the SPRINGHOUSE East Coast tour we are doing supporting MAGNETIC MORNING starting this Thursday in Chapel Hill, NC, with more info on it, including the new ATLANTA date with FOR AGAINST (Yes!!!!!!!!)!: Click here for full info!
Big Takeover #62 with R.E.M. on the cover is on the stands! Look for it in your favorite store near you that carries good music magazines!
Once again the big news is that Big Takeover #62 with R.E.M. on the cover was completed in San Francisco in April! It will begin shipping this week likely, so you should see it quite soon! Included in this blog is a quick description of its contents.
IKE TURNER died December 12, reportedly in his sleep. He was 76 years old. Was he a good man? Seems unlikely. Was he a good musician? Hell yeah. The man invented rock ‘n’ roll. Really.
Just a reminder that there’s still time for the perfect X-mas gift: Big Takeover magazine! Indeed, if you want a holiday gift subscription for your friends or family whom you think would enjoy our pages (or one of our t-shirts, or any of our back issues, or our CDs), you can still order on our secure online store. Just let us know in the “comments” section of the order form that the order is for X-mas (why not write, in all caps, “RUSH! THIS IS FOR X-MAS!”), and we will be glad to send the package by priority mail to ensure it gets there fast and on time. And include in the “gift message” section anything you want to say, and we’ll take it from there.
Big Takeover #61 with THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS’ A.C. NEWMAN began shipping last week; Again, now is an excellent time to order it if you would like to receive it! / Sonics: ”’He’s Waiting’ is the opener. There’s the voice; how is it so nearly the same?”
It’s odd that a younger generation of consumers is being punished for (and threatened) for exactly—or a very similar—thing that thrived in the repressive JOE MCCARTHY era …
The musical portion of my Friday began in late afternoon when I went to the Pop Culture Press party at a pub a short trip from downtown. Ostensibly, I went to meet up with my friend Michael Krumper and to see the Hoodoo Gurus, because Michael and I had seen them together on their first tour of American twenty three years before. To the great credit of the Pop Culture Press people, the lineup of bands playing at the party was outstanding (and the fish and chips weren’t bad either—although someone stole my beer when I set it down and turned my back for a minute.
Guitarist Robert Lockwood Jr. was one of the greats of blues, though the general public never seemed to realize it.
I wouldn’t want to have been his merchandize seller (who we saw being caned by a wobbling Lee after a Town Hall show a few years ago, for transgressions unknown!), or for that matter his drummer or even his towel boy or bartender or banker or drug buddy, but man, being his fan on these last few years’ concert nights felt better than anything.
Last week, Arthur passed away, due to acute myeloid leukemia, in his birthplace of Memphis, Tennessee. Here, I offer my respect to one of music’s all-time greats.
On Thursday, famed comedian and actor RED BUTTONS died in Los Angeles after a lengthy struggle with vascular disease. He was 87.
In replacing HUGH CORNWELL—who also was the group’s lead singer for 16 years – PAUL ROBERTS had enormous shoes to fill. By most accounts Roberts’ feet were too small.
Some say that once a cultural trend receives coverage on National Public Radio, its next step is to The New York Times and on to ubiquity. If this theory holds true, by this time next year DIR EN GREY will be taking KORN out as their opening act.
He really was an appreciative person, and whenever I would try to pin him down as being in any way bitter or unhappy with his old band’s underserved lack of mass success, he would politely decline my invitation, and instead say he felt lucky to have made so much music.
The passing of GRANT MACLENNAN of THE GO-BETWEENS is especially sad because it seems like he had so many great years of music-making still ahead of him.
From Carroll Gardens to Cobble Hill to Park Slope, Brooklyn is awash with stoop sales, which is great news for music lovers looking to find low-priced treats.
This is not only a big deal for DIR EN GREY, but also speaks to the growing popularity of Japanese rock (J-Rock) all across America.
I am happy to let you know that the promised spring Issue 58 has indeed been completed with our esteemed art director ADAM SYMONS and is well into the printing process—it should be appearing in mailboxes and stores quite soon. Hurrah! Here’s a quick list of what’s in it, and some quick administrative and ordering reminders for right now!
Producers are doing much of the most innovative work in hip-hop, and JAY DEE was one of the best, always pushing the boundaries of the music.
Stern’s radio show on Sirius Satellite, which listeners have to pay to hear, has been made available for free online and by pirate radio stations. With all the talk about music piracy, why did no one see this coming?
There’s still something truly special about records. On the other hand, in our digital era, there’s nothing special about a CD.
Wilson Pickett died of a heart attack on January 19 at the age of 64. He was so loved, idolized, and influential, and his music so woven into the fabric of American culture, that he is one of the immortals of music.
With almost a century of music recorded between them legends Chico Hamilton and Arthur Lee hit the studio together. Hamilton will further spoil his fans by releasing three more records throughout the year.
BONO says he’s working to end world poverty, but for an upcoming U2 show in Sao Paulo the cheapest full-price ticket will cost someone earning the minimum wage there two-thirds of his monthly salary.
A new study by British researchers argues that increased access to music is making people appreciate it—less.
LOU RAWLS was a welcomely ubiquitous presence for four decades, and, with consummate taste, he wielded one of the greatest singing voices in pop music history.
A truly blessed thing has occurred this week. After a dry spell of nearly 7 years, THE SISTERS OF MERCY have decided to grace America with their presence once more and play a one-off gig at the House of Blues in Las Vegas.
THE “5” ROYALES were no ordinary R&B group. So when their great lead vocalist JOHNNY TANNER died of cancer on November 8, why was there no American media coverage?
Since my introductory post, I heard about LINK WRAY’s death at 76, at his home in Copenhagen apparently on November 5 (it wasn’t widely reported until around the 21st). Wray is possibly the ultimate example of what’s wrong with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (into which he has criminally not been inducted) and our whole culture which respects fleeting popularity over genuine, lasting artistic breakthrough (more about that in a future blog).
