Pixies Redux - Varia

- Pixies ultimate box set Minotaur is out

- Pixies release Tour EP that can be downloaded on their site

free EP includes four songs -- "Dancing the Manta Ray," "Monkey Gone To Heaven," "Crackity Jones," "Gouge Away" -- from the 10/16 Paris gig, the last of the European leg of their tour. Insert email at pixiesmusic.com.

- Some guy posted Doolittle Demos (here)

- Pixies to play with Weird Al Yancovic for charity on Dec 8-9 in LA (detail here)

- Jay Reatard is playing support to some Pixies gigs and will also support Spoon

What I have been listening to recently

- Atlas Sound

- Spiral Stairs

- Them Crooked Vultures

- Fuck Buttons

- Jay Reatard

- Deastro

- Dirty Projectors

- Girls

- Be my weapon (ex-Swell)

- Flaming Lips

- Volcano Choir

Atlas Sound - Virtual 7" Download

Atlas Sound posted a couple of songs that can be downloaded from Deerhunter/Atlas sound site here.

The songs are

01 - Doctor

02 - The Screens

ATP New York 2010

ATP scheduled in Upstate NY on September 3-5 , 2010

Tickets are available from today on pre-sale via ATP, and will go on general sale this coming Wednesday from ticketsellers via www.atpfestival.com

On Friday 3rd September ATP will present their regular day of Don't Look Back performances, with a very special list of acts set to perform:

IGGY & THE STOOGES performingRaw Power

SLEEP performingHoly Mountain

MUDHONEY performing Superfuzz Bigmuff + Early Singles

THE SCIENTISTS performing Blood Red River (first ever U.S. Show)
+ more to be confirmed!

Various New albums and tour dates

* Spoon to release new album Transference on Jan 18 in Europe and Jan 19 in the US

On Feb 18 will be @ Paradiso Amsterdam, Holland

* These new Puritans to release new album Feb 2 2010 - Tour dates ?

* Atlas Sound made short tour in Europe played at Point Ephemere, Paris (France) last week

Announced ATP 14 May 2010 - More tour dates in 2010??

* Them Crooked vultures (super group wt D. Grohl, Josh Homme, John Paul Jones)

Play continental Europe 3 dates in Germany announced in December

* No Age to play @ ATP 4-6 DEC 2009

* Hot Chip to release fourth studio album One Life Stand on February 9, 2010

* Volcano Choirs - Tour Dates? (ATP/Primavera??)

* A Sunny day in Glasgow - indicated will tour UK+Europe in 2010

* Tindersticks will release new Falling Down A Mountain on February 16, 2010 in North America. The album will be out January 25, 2010 on 4AD in the rest of the world.


* Massive Attack to release new album Heligoland be released on February 8.

Bat for Lashes - Daniel (in a Forest)

Daniel is the first single released from Bat for Lashes (BfL) second album "Two suns".

BfL is currently touring Europe and during her show she preforms the song twice: first as a acoustic version (also dubbed low-Fi version which can be found on Stereogum) and a more jumpy version performed as an encore.

This last version is the one she played at Jools Holland April show. To a careful listener the rhythm base is clearly from the Cure's "a Forest".

On line Daniel has been mashed up (quite successfully) with a Forest (here)

Bat For Lashes: Daniel vs The Cure: A Forest (Thriftshop XL's Obvious Mashup) from Thriftshop XL on Vimeo.

BfL covered A Forest in Cure tribute album "Perfect as Cats" (released October 2008)

This cover can be found of the b-side of the 7" version of the single "Daniel" released end of April.

The song has been compared to Stevie Niks singing K. Bush "running up that hill", but at least to me the Forest connection appeals more...

A Quick List of Good Recent Brit Bands

the Brits seem to maintain a definitive advantage in churning out young and good bands. The irony is that while in the UK there is a fierce competition and specialized press (and increasingly net sites) can make or brake a reputation, many very decent performers get ignored or overlooked, or they have a lot of difficulty to find their public oversea.

So in no particular order,

- The Beta band

long gone Ok they get mentioned in High Fidelity (book+movie), but this is really one of the best examples of band that simply nobody cared about, wrongly IMOMO

- McClusky (partly ressurrected as Future of the left)

Super kickass welsh band nobody has hardly ever heard about

- Pete and the Pirates

- Arctic Monkeys (ok these made it)

- The Wombats

- These new Puritans

- Art Brut

- It Hugs Back

- Late of Pier

- The Cribs

- Archie Bronson Outfit

- The Maccabees

- Cajun Dance Party

- Noisettes (first album)

- The View

- Wild Beasts

- Foals

- Glasvegas

- The Last Shadow Puppets

- Kasabian (?)

- Test Icicles/Lightspeed Champion