Filed under: Concerts and Tours

All Tomorrow's Parties New York returned to Kutsher's Resort in the Catskill Mountains this weekend, beginning with "Don't Look Back," a full day of bands tackling their classic albums from start to finish. Australian swamp-garage godfathers the Scientists made their first-ever U.S. appearance to showcase their seminal self-titled album and Mudhoney raised the old flannel flag, tearing through the grunge masterpiece 'Superfuzz Bigmuff (and Early Singles).'

Then it was Iggy's turn. Using their benchmark 1973 album 'Raw Power' as a jumping-off point, Iggy & the Stooges blew the roof off the Starlight Ballroom with a hit-heavy set of surging, sweaty intensity, before surrendering the stage to reunited doom metal trio Sleep, whose return to 'Sleep's Holy Mountain' tested the limits of human hearing.

If day one was any indication, festival-goers are sure leave on Monday morning a little battered, little bruised, and totally blissed out.

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News

The Fountain of Youth is a real place, and to find it, one need only follow the directions written in the muscle folds of Iggy Pop's torso. Too bad he won't stand still long enough for anyone to copy the map. For more than four decades, Iggy has specialized in the kind of maniacally exuberant performance he gave Friday night at Kusher's Country Club in Monticello, NY, where he and the Stooges stole night one of this year's All Tomorrow's Parties Festival.

The Stooges' set was part of ATP's 'Don't Look Back' lineup, in which bands play through classic albums. The Detroit foursome gamely revisited 1973's 'Raw Power.' The collection marked a major turning point in Iggy's career and, more than any other record of its era, predicted the cruddy thrash of punk rock.

Filed under: Free MP3 Download of the Day

Artist: Tera Melos
Hail From: Sacramento, Calif.
Song: 'Frozen Zoo'
Album: 'Patagonian Rats'
Sounds Like: The Flaming Lips, Health

In Their Words: "'Frozen Zoo' was a warped experiment on our version of a pop song. It was very unorthodox in how it was conceived/recorded. In the past we have tried to emphasize the atypical pieces of our music, but on this track the emphasis is pushed towards the simplicity found in nearly all elements of the song: Drums, guitars, melodies, structure etc. The trick is to then tweak those elements in an unusual way that can take the listener out of their comfort zone while still maintaining a classic 'pop' feel." -- Guitarist/vocalist Nick Reinhart

Download: 'Frozen Zoo' (MP3)

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Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News

Whether you want to call him Yim Yames or Jim James, the frontman for My Morning Jacket recently made a semi-surprise appearance with Levon Helm (The Band) at a special club appearance in San Francisco, as part of the festivities surrounding Outside Lands. And while both the Levon Helm Band and My Morning Jacket performed at the festival itself, the three-song collaboration ended there. Until now.

Jambands.com reports that on Oct. 16, Yames (er, James) will link back up with Helm, this time accompanied by his Jacket bandmates. And this time its proper -- the jam will be held at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, N.Y. as part of Helm's legendary 'Midnight Ramble' series.

Filed under: Video of the Day

Artist: Moby
Video: 'Wait for Me'
Highlight: Moby picked this clip from 500 submission to the DIY 'Wait for Me' Video Competition for its "creativity, production value, concept and humor." See 10 Moby video tributes as a girl in search of the electro star becomes a supermarket astronaut, a faux-porn star and more.


Download Moby Songs | Buy Moby Albums

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Filed under: Spinner Interview

By his estimation, Steve Miller has sold about 8 million albums in the '90s, a monumental feat considering he last released a new album in 1993. It's less surprising, however, when one takes a look at classic-rock radio playlists and finds songs such as 'Jet Airliner,' 'Fly Like an Eagle,' 'Take the Money and Run,' 'Rock'n Me,' 'Swingtown,' and The Joker,' all from Miller's chart-topping '70s heyday. The sheer volume of sales puts him on par with other '70s acts such as the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac. So why don't more people realize just how big Steve Miller was? Because he didn't want you to.

"Whenever I got to the very tippity-top of the charts and was ruling the world for a minute, I always ducked for a minute," Miller tells Spinner. "I didn't want that crown." Miller also didn't do a lot of press, instead happily touring and playing for his legions of fans. But now with a new album, 'Bingo!' -- his first in 17 years and one particularly near to his heart, as he takes the blues songs he grew up loving in Texas and turns them into Steve Miller Band tunes -- Miller is cranking up his visibility once more. In a wide-ranging interview, Miller speaks about the importance of music education, how being one of the biggest rock stars on the planet in the '70s wore him out, and why it took him so many years to warm up to the Rolling Stones.

How is the tour going so far?

So far, it's just going great. We put a whole new show together, incorporating the new stuff from the album along with the greatest hits. It's totally changed the way I look at my material, so I'm really enjoying it. The interesting thing for me is that two songs that I was pretty much done with were 'Livin' in the USA' and 'Space Cowboy.' We worked out the original version of 'Space Cowboy.' We always sort of tossed 'Space Cowboy' off as just a joke and so we've put it back together and it's going over quite well.

Filed under: News

The Rolling Stones merchandising empire has added another string to its bow with the release of the group's own version of Monopoly.

The Daily Mail reports that the Stones, themselves a 48-year old institution of sorts, have teamed up with the world's best-selling board game to celebrate the game's 75th anniversary.

The Stones have put their stamp on the new edition with street names like Mayfair, Park Lane and Old Kent Road being replaced by the titles of the band's most revered albums, such as 'Beggar's Banquet' and 'Sticky Fingers.' Houses and hotels have been replaced by gold and platinum records, while the traditional Community Chest cards will feature guitar licks and lyrics.

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News

Swan-diving into rock 'n' roll's primordial ooze, the Jim Jones Revue previewed their new album, 'Burning Your House Down,' with a combustible set that recalled the holler of Little Richard and the electric energy of the MC5 at intimate London club Madame Jojo's on the evening of Thursday, Sept. 2.

The audience at the packed-out venue included band producer and Grinderman drummer Jim Sclavunos as well as former Oasis singer Liam Gallagher and his Beady Eye guitarists Gem Archer and Andy Bell.

Filed under: Video, Exclusive

With a career spanning two decades, the Charlatans are back with their eleventh studio album, 'Who We Touch.' As singer Tim Burgess explains, the album represents "a soulful voyage." It's an album of twists and turns; uplifting anthems standing alongside darker moments to create an record that surprises at every turn. This exclusive video for new single 'My Foolish Pride' finds the band adding to their already impressive back catalogue of indie anthems. Watch it after the jump...

Filed under: News

Previously unseen artwork by Bob Dylan is to be displayed at Denmark's National Gallery.

The exhibition, curated by Kasper Monrad will feature 40 acrylic paintings specifically created for the Danish show which opens on Friday, Sept. 3, and runs until the end of January.

Entitled 'The Brazil Series', the works encompass some of the many sides of Brazilian life including figurative scenes from the country's slums, farms and beaches, the BBC reports.

Filed under: News

Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme has revealed that he considered disbanding the group after firing bassist Nick Oliveri.

Oliveri had been a founder member, but departed in 2004, having fallen out with Homme over the bassist's attitude towards the fans and his "excessive partying."

In a video interview on Zane Lowe's website (via NME), Homme went into detail on what happened. "[It] always made me nervous that it would get to the spot where the personalities would overcome the music because I don't need a better table at a restaurant, I just want people to respect our music.

"I'm playing for respect and I think Nick got a little confused about what the real expectation was. It wasn't about partying. I would never ask someone to stop partying, you do whatever you want as long as you do a good job at your job because you have to deserve the party."

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, New Music, Exclusive, Movies

After playing 354 shows around the globe, Los Angeles' the Airborne Toxic Event decided to pull out all the stops when they ended their tour in support of their 2008 self-titled debut. After kicking around several options, the band ended up playing L.A.'s Walt Disney Concert Hall and filming the show for the band's forthcoming DVD, 'All I Ever Wanted.' As frontman Mikel Jollett tells Spinner, the opportunity to play the venue was a shock to the band.

"We were approached by the L.A. Philharmonic," he says. "They actually came to us and said, 'What do you think about playing the Walt Disney Concert Hall?' We were like, 'Really? You know we played the Echo a year and a half ago, right?'"

Filed under: News

Ben Folds has admitted that he felt under pressure to compose music good enough for 'Lonely Avenue', his forthcoming project with writer Nick Hornby.

The famed pianist first announced he was teaming up with the author of 'About A Boy' and 'High Fidelity' in 2008. The idea was that Folds would write music for Hornby's words.

However, Folds revealed to Billboard.com that he was nervous he wouldn't be able to make the grade, saying, "With Nick, my biggest fear was he would send me great lyrics and I wouldn't be able to do anything good with them. I always had complete confidence in him."

Filed under: Picture Book

Each week, in Picture Book, we present an iconic photo from rock 'n' roll's past or present, accompanied with insightful commentary. Whether it's a famous picture or an unearthed rarity, these striking images will serve to illustrate the visual side of music.

Elvis Presley and Colonel Tom Parker, early '60s

While some accused Colonel Tom Parker of robbing Elvis Presley -- the manager reportedly taking 50 percent of Elvis' proceeds -- here Elvis jokingly plays the stickup man on an early-'60s film set. After making Elvis a superstar in the '50s, Parker, a former carnival worker, persuaded Elvis to focus on movies after a stint in the Army slowed Presley's music career.
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Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, Holy Hell

Despite recent reports that the Pogues' upcoming Christmas tour will be the famed band's last, guitarist Phil Chevron says that's not the case. Taking to the band's official forum, Chevron has dubbed that proclamation little more than a "marketing ploy" by his bandmates.

"This claim does not come from me and I will neither be supporting it nor discussing it," an irate Chevron wrote of the group's purported final run, which has been billed as their "Farewell Christmas Tour." This quickly led to a clarification from fellow Pogue Spider Stacy on the band's message board.

Filed under: What's That Song?

'Creep,' Scala & Kolacny Brothers

When the first promo clip for the film 'The Social Network' hit the Web, it marked itself as unforgettable. Fading in from black, an ethereal female chorus sings, "I wanna have control/I want a perfect body/I want to have a soul," building intensity alongside a haunting solo piano. As the image becomes clear, the audience realizes it's looking at the everyday going-ons of Facebook, immediately calling attention to the odd audio/visual juxtaposition. The song can probably be recognized immediately by music fans as Radiohead's 'Creep' -- but with Thom Yorke's melancholy vocals replaced by a choir, lending the trailer a much more ominous tone.

Filed under: News

Gossip frontwoman Beth Ditto is yearning to be a mother. The post-punk singer recently revealed that she and her girlfriend Kristin have started planning a family.

Ditto -- who was plugging her new plus-size clothing line for the UK clothing retailer Evans -- told Marie Claire, "I do want to go to the doctor in the next year and start taking it really seriously ... Once these clothing lines are out I can take space and think about the baby."

Sir Paul McCartney's former publicist has revealed he turned down £150,000 ($231,000) to write a book about his 14 years with the former Mop Top.

Geoff Baker was speaking as a special guest last weekend's Liverpool Beatles Convention. Attending the event for the first time on Sunday, Aug. 29, Baker explained Sir Paul fell out with him in 2003 after his ex-wife Heather Mills suggested he was a bad influence on the former Beatle.

Despite not being able to find much work since he was fired, Baker said he had still refused to succumb to temptation to tell-all in a memoir. However, The Independent reports he is writing a novel, 'One Fan's Tale,' about a globally renowned rock star, though adds that its "secretly gay" protagonist is not based on his ex-boss.

Filed under: Potent Quotables

"It's not like you're rationalizing, 'Would I jump off a cliff for my kid?' You just jump ... But we'll see. Maybe I'll be a terrible dad. What do I know?" --Julian Casablancas

In an interview with Rolling Stone, the Strokes frontman opened up about being a new parent adding, "You just want to be a loving and close-knit family." Aw.
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Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, New Music, Exclusive

One of the nicer surprises of 2010 has been Chapel Hill, N.C.'s Lost in the Trees, a classical-meets-indie-folk collective helmed by Ari Picker. In early August, they released their debut, 'All Alone in an Empty House,' an album that was initially recorded a few years back and sold at their shows. Once they signed with Anti- Records this spring, Picker went back in and added a few tracks and overdubs.

Picker logged time studying classical composition at Boston's Berklee College of Music and on 'Empty House,' he's not afraid to meld those arrangements with a Neutral Milk Hotel approach to folk rock. But look past the quirky nature of the sound and you'll find that Lost in the Trees explore something much more personal.