Magazine asks Joy Division to play at Film Premiere

Despite Ian Curtis being pretty much dead.

From DIS:

http://drownedinsound.com/articles/2457092

Quite funny. I guess they might have meant New Order instead, who split up a few months back, but it looks likely that they might be getting back together (they did do a gig last year with a few Joy Division songs). I’m looking forward to seeing the film ‘Control’, it looks really good. Strangely though, it’s not being shown in Leicester. I think the nearest place is in London. Which is slightly weird, maybe it will go national at a later date.

Here is New Order playing a Joy Division song called ‘Isolation’ at Reading Fest 1998.

and a really awesome video of Joy Division’s “Transmission”, one of my fave songs! It has John Cooper Clarke attatched to it for some reason.

TRAiNSPOTTiNG

The perfect setting to the end of Freshers Week. iLiKETRAiNS release their debut album ‘Elegies to Lessons Learnt’ on Monday. This follows their critically acclaimed 2006 EP ‘Progress – Reform’. I’ve never seen the Charlotte so derelict, it was really strange.

Support band Her Name is Calla are a Leicester band, and one of the most interesting I’ve seen. Their opening track sounded like a swarm of bats descending down upon you (literally – on track ‘Condor and the River’ the trombone player starts playing harmonica and then it becomes more distorted as he screams down a microphone) It’s hardly hardcore music though, more like slowcore. They have a similar sound to that of iLiKETRAiNS, although a lot more melodic. There have been reviews that iLiKETRAiNS are like Sigur Ros if they gave History lessons, and lyrically it’s pretty dry and dark stuff – the new songs reference the bubonic plague, which is on par with Fresher’s Flu to be honest. I guess the one good thing about finishing uni is that you’ll never have the annual illness again. Rejoice!

I’m unsure about iLiKETRAiNS. Live they are pretty interesting, but every song I’ve heard by them has the same formula; starts off slow and builds up into some kind of dark monotone opus. It is rewarding if you give it time, and in the mood. It’s not remotely cheerful. Which is why I found “Progress/Reform” a bit painful to sit through. Live though; it’s a different experience.

Here is an iLiKETRAiNS song called ‘The Deception’, taken from ‘Elegies to Lessons Learnt’.

The Deception

Morrissey postpones retirement

From the NME Website

On August 28th via true-to-you.net he dispelled rumours of his retirement, and now it seems he will have a new album out next year. Which means more tours, but hopefully in more intimate venues (I’d like to think so – He did do a theatre tour for “RingLeaders..”). It would have been ashame for him to retire considering his last 2 solo efforts were significantly better than his earlier work after the Smiths. They were also lyrically different. On ‘Ringleaders’ he starts dropping hints about sex. Do people want to hear about a 48 year old man’s sexual life? I guess considering his sexuality, for the people who care; yes. For the people who don’t; Not Really!

I think it was probably always going to be bad timing with his return in 2004. Ever since then CD sales have been dwindling, and at V Festival last year he was trying to flog a single via text messaging. “Paint a Vulgar Picture” seems as prophetic as ever before; ‘new entry, re-entry World tour! (“media whore”)’. To be honest I can’t really see him breaking into a new market of fans, unless he does something dramatically different. New rave perhaps?

Here he is singing “You Have Killed Me” from the ‘Ringleader of the Tormentors’ album.

..and The Smiths performing “What Difference Does it Make?” on TOTP.

and a recent funny quote about Madonna, attacking her for wearing fur;

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she made that African boy she adopted into a coat and wore him for 15 minutes, then threw it away,”

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

The Return of Radiohead (On October 10th)

It had been widely speculated for some time that Radiohead would release their 7th Studio Album by unconventional methods. They announced today that it will be out on October 10th via digital download! Which is pretty exciting, if every band I liked did that I’d probably have cardiac problems. Which to be honest, on a Student Diet, I’m already half way to my grave.

They have decided that you can purchase their new album ‘In Rainbows’ at any price you choose. Is this a little pretentious? I feel slightly wrong by putting down 1pence, and therefore feel morally inclined to atleast spend £7. It’s an interesting development though. Since finishing their contract with EMI, it seems like Radiohead are dealing with things in their own way. Their last album ‘Hail to the Thief’ came out in 2003, and it’s taken this long for them to get here (after solo projects and numerous other side-liners). This makes quite a big difference from the say, minor league bands who pretty much have to get a new album out every 2 years. It is likely that Radiohead’s new album will sell by the bucket load, and with Ash moving away from making albums altogether, it’s some strange times in the world of music. I think music publishers should start to get a little bit worried – could Oasis be next? They no longer belong to a record company either.

Although this move by Radiohead, will come as bad news to record stores. You’ll still be able to buy a discbox of ‘In Rainbows’ on Dec 3rd, which will be a good collectable (£40 though – maybe they’re thinking people really will take liberty at this name your own price gag) – but I like record stores, especially independent ones like Rockaboom in Leicester, who already suffer from the likes of HMV and Virgin MS, who now have extensive online stores. So Radiohead won’t be doing them any favours.

Link to their download store;

Here is one of the songs featured on the upcoming album, it’s called ‘Nude’. I might be mistaken, but it was a song left over from ‘Ok Computer’, which came out 10 years ago.

Big Ideas (Don’t Get Any) [Nude]