Blur’s career retrospective Midlife comes out in the UK today, and to celebrate that fact–not to mention their upcoming shows around that country–the band has decided to surprise everyone with a show at an undisclosed location in London today. According to Blur’s official site, the first 170 people to show up at the Brixton Academy box office would get tickets to the gig… although the queue for these tickets started at 11 a.m. local time, so they’re probably long gone by now. But! More »
Blur’s first concert since 2000 is happening in London this Saturday, and to whet peoples’ appetites–and make Americans who don’t have the type of spending money to jet across the Atlantic to see Blur for a weekend insanely jealous–they’ve posted footage of themselves rehearsing three songs online: “Song 2,” “For Tomorrow,” and “Death Of A Party.” But as many astute YouTube observers noted, lead singer Damon Albarn is wearing a backpack during the test run of “Song 2.” Why would that be? Are there weights in there to help him get in shape for what might be a hyperactive performance of the most unlikely jock jam? Is he hoping to bring back raving? Did he really not want to lose his keys? So many mysteries. Video after the jump! More »
The three-disc Britpop-of-the-’90s compilation Common People–named after the Pulp song, of course–comes out in June, and it will come packaged with liner notes written by Pitchfork contributor / Saint Etienne member Bob Stanley. While the track listing does have more than its share of gems, the absence of feuding NME titans Blur and Oasis will no doubt cause lots of message-board handwringing, perhaps even more than the presence of Gay Dad. Get ready to argue over what songs were missed by checking out the full tracklisting after the jump! More »
Video footage of Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon… More »
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Oasis, Alex Turner, MGMT, and Muse were the big winners at tonight’s NME Shockwaves Awards in London, which also doled out awards to the Killers (Best International Band), the Jonas Brothers (Worst Band and Worst Album), and YouTube (Best Web site) in between performances by half of Blur, Franz Ferdinand, and the Cure. Also honored and dishonored: newly minted U.S. President Barack Obama, who won Hero Of The Year honors, and recently departed Commander-In-Chief George W. Bush, who was named 2008’s villain. Full list of winners after the ump.
Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon reunited onstage… More »
Well, the former Suede guitarist and producer of Partie Traumatic didn’t say that exactly. But he did tut-tut at the spate of Britpop-era bands that have been giving one last show a try lately, saying that such attempts at mining nostalgia fiends’ dollars had “no relevance to what’s going on at the moment.” Which means that you probably shouldn’t get your hopes up for a Suede reunion tour anytime soon—although to hear Butler tell it, no one’s been interested! Wait, what?
Yes, it’s true! More »
Perhaps realizing that breaking new artists in the music-stuffed, nostalgia-mired world of now was impossible, many a band that made their mark on the world back in the 1990s got back on their collective horses and rode the wave of “remember when?” this year, from Stone Temple Pilots to My Bloody Valentine to Ben Folds Five to even Ned’s Atomic Dustbin. As you might expect, results were mixed overall, although they were probably better than those that would be realized by any new endeavors by the parties involved.
