Gomez has released their 6th studio album, A New Tide, in the U.S. today. You can get a pretty good exclusive track, “Engine”, if you buy it via iTunes. The band is performing at the Bowery Ballroom tonight and at Music Hall of Williamsburg this Friday, April 3rd.
I went to see Glasvegas last night for my first show at Music Hall of Williamsburg since Northsix was shuttered, renovated, and reopened by the Bowery Presents. Northsix was good, but MHoW is much better. The 550-capacity venue has a spacious lower-level lounge, balconies, and raised, stage-level platforms along the left and right sides of the floor. There’s probably not a bad view from anywhere in the house. It’s as good as the Bowery Ballrooom, perhaps even better.
The shimmery shoegaze of Glasvegas was a relief after recently seeing two boring, uninspired performances by White Lies and The Airborne Toxic Event. I can’t understand what James Allan is singing about but he’s got a slight Joe Strummer-like vibe and I’ve got an affinity for ’50s retro-rock . Glasvegas play Webster Hall tomorrow night.
Obsessive Radiohead fans like me probably bought the 7-disc box set well aware that EMI was capitalizing on the band’s pay-what-you-like publicity for In Rainbows just 30 days after it was made available online. Many fans also complained about how this obviously rushed package was neither re-mastered nor re-released with extra tracks making it basically worthless to those who already own its contents. These non-remastered re-issues may not be endorsed by Radiohead but this time EMI has put in some effort.
“Each Collectors Edition” includes the original album plus a second CD of rarities, including demos, sessions and live recordings. Each “Special Collectors Edition”, in deluxe, lift-top box packaging, includes both audio discs and adds a DVD with a variety of promotional music videos, TV performances and filmed concert performances, as well as a series of postcards.”
Art Brut plays a 5-night residency at the Mercury Lounge (6/1 – 6/5) and Santigold (6/9) and Metric (6/17) will be at Terminal 5. Tickets for these shows go on sale at noon on Thursday for Santigold and Friday for Art Brut and Metric. Visit the Bowery Presents for more information.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OC5_wJLxZU&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1]
The captivating, psychedelic Visa “Aquarium” commercial featuring voiceover by Morgan Freeman and “Tuesday Afternoon” by the Moody Blues was created by TBWA\Chiat\Day. It’s part of Visa’s first global ad campaign, More People Go With Visa, and features TV spots, print/outdoor, and digital components. I haven’t seen the rich media and targeted banners described in the press release, but the core microsite encourages consumer-generated content to provide a highly interactive experience. There are three main sections:
A link above the left footer to go responsibly leads visitors to a related microsite containing personal finance tips, tools, and educational resources. Category and offer filters are a nice-to-have feature, but the internal search engine seems unnecessary.
Digital optimization efforts could focus on testing the navigation, copy, and offers to increase content consumption, engagement, and lead generation but the traffic may be minimal. Unfortunately, the microsite addresss is barely visible in the commercial and there’s no incentive to visit.
Placebo has made, “Battle For The Sun”, the title track of their upcoming album, available for download. Battle For The Sun will be released on June 8th as a download, CD, limited edition CD + DVD, LP, and a special limited edition deluxe box set. See below for the details.
2 hardback bound books in hard back slipcase
Book 1
Contains:
CD1: Full album + 2 exclusive bonus tracks
CD2: Live album tracks from forthcoming world tour – Blank CD that allows exclusive download of live recorded tracks, from selected live dates
DVD1: Live at Angkor Wat. Full concert performance shot in December 2008 of the band’s only show last year which was the first ever rock show to take place at the world famous Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia.
PLUS a film documenting the band’s trip to Cambodia, behind the scenes footage and interviews with the band
DVD2: In the studio; The making of ‘Battle For The Sun’ The album. A film featuring exclusive, never before seen, ‘fly on the wall’ footage of Placebo in the studio making the new album. Includes interviews with the band.
32 page photo book featuring shots from Angkor Wat and Cambodia.
Book 2
Contains:
2 x Heavy Vinyl LP
16 pages of handwritten lyrics & studio photos
Exclusive poster insert
1ST 500 ORDERS RECEIVED WILL BE PERSONALLY SIGNED BY THE BAND!
GOLDEN LAMINATE PASS*
1 Golden Laminate VIP pass will be hidden inside only 5 of the Box Sets! One lucky winner and a friend will come to a gig of your choice, we’ll provide 2 nights accommodation, round trip travel and you’ll get to watch the band soundcheck, have dinner with Brian, Stef and Steve at the venue before finally watching the show from side stage…!
Free digital download of the album will be sent to you on day of release
Price (incl. P&P) £ 70.00
Depeche Mode is bringing their “Tour of the Universe” to Madison Square Garden on August 3rd with Peter Bjorn & John as the opening act. Tickets go on sale on Monday (3/16) at 10:00am. It’s tempting because I’ve never seen them live even though they’re one of my all-time favorites, but they really haven’t made a solid album since Violator (1990). It all went downhill when Dave Gahan got stuck on smack and started writing songs.
Doves are returning to the U.S. this Spring to support their upcoming (fourth) album, Kingdom of Rust. The album will be released in the U.S. by Astralwerks on April 7th.
Tour Dates:
5/14 San Diego, CA – House of Blues
5/15 Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
5/16 Los Angels, CA – The Wiltern
5/18 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
5/19 Eugene, OR – McDonald Theatre
5/21 Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
5/22 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
5/23 George, WA – Sasquatch! Festival
5/26 Denver, CO – Gothic Theatre
5/28 Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theatre
5/29 Chicago, IL – Vic Theatre
5/30 Detroit, MI – Majestic Theatre
6/01 Toronto, ON – Kool Haus
6/02 Montreal, QC – Le National
6/04 New York, NY – Terminal 5
6/05 Philadelphia, PA – The Trocadero
6/06 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
6/07 Boston, MA – House of Blues
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bJOIqVAD-s&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1]
If you like this song as much as I do then you may want it as a ringtone. Download MP3s and WMVs at Cheesy Meet Blog and check the comments for more info about how to create a ringtone for your device. It’s time for one of those rare visits to McDonald’s thanks to Arnold Worldwide.
This Side of Morning is the debut album from 24-year-old, Philadelphia-born soul singer, Ali Hoffman. The release marks the launch of new indie label Wing Court Records, founded by Joe Rosenthal, a former RollingStone.com editor and bassist of the Pelicans. The 12-track album features a cover of Barbara Lynn’s “You’ll Lose a Good Thing” with songwriting contributions from a handful of NYC artists including Rey Loki [New York, AUX] and Matt Hageman [Mikki James]. This Side of Morning is available now via iTunes and Amazon.