- In a sad note that will unfortunately bring you down, former ELO bassist Kelly Groucutt has passed. Groucutt, 63, died of a heart attack in Worcester, England. Groucutt played in ELO from 1974-1983.
- It’s not often that the little hamlet of Bloomington, Indiana, makes news beyond IU basketball, but indie fans should know the college town also houses the offices of Jagjaguwar (and Secretly Canadian). Why would we be talking about this? Oh, because there’s a Dinosaur of the Junior variety looking to invade both label and province. J. Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph -- collectively known as Dinosaur Jr. -- have signed with Jagjaguwar with plans to release their new album before summer’s end. It’s nice to see feline and reptile become friends.
- Are you prepared for Leonard Cohen? After teasing Americans with a solo New York date, it now appears the poet/singer/songwriter/drinker/lover will be touring more locales within the contiguous forty-eight. Seattlites can rejoice -- Cohen hits town April 23rd to grace WaMu Theater, which sounds sad when lined-up next to his gigs at Radio City Music Hall, Red Rocks, and The Orpheum, but awesome because Leonard Cohen is playing in Seattle!
- Fountains of Wayne, purveyors of such saccharine pop as “Stacy’s Mom” and “Radiation Vibe” are delivering their insulin-rich treats in DVD form. No Better Place, scheduled for a March 3rd release via Shout Factory, will feature the aforementioned hit as well as 14 other songs you forgot FoW made. You may recall that Adam Schlesinger, singer and bassist of Fountains of Wayne has also joined up with former Smashing Pumpkins guitar hero James Iha, Hanson brother Taylor, and Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos to form Tinted Windows. Look for them at SXSW this year.
- New releases on the horizon: British Sea Power re-envision film soundtrack Man of Aran with a CD/DVD combo, while Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band ready Outer South. Both albums are due May 5th.
- Starting next Monday, U2 will be musical guests on the Late Show with David Letterman for five consecutive nights, corresponding with the March 2nd release of No Line On The Horizon. It seems that their twelfth album, which is now streaming on the band’s MySpace page, was inadvertently leaked on the internet by the Australian arm of band’s own label, Universal. It should be noted that the band and label have taken strong actions to avoid early leaks by not sending out review copies and holding monitored listening parties instead.
- Continuing to stay a step ahead of everyone else in the game, Kanye West has a link to the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs song “Heads Will Roll” on his blog, KanyeUniverseCity. Listen or download now!
- Who won the musical awards at the Oscars last night? Slumdog Millionaire... all of them...
- On the talk show circuit, the post-Academy Awards week is filled mostly all repeat performances, but if you missed any of these, you’ve got another chance:
| Tuesday, February 24
Ellen DeGeneres: Raphael Saadiq Wednesday, February 25 Late Late Show: Glasvegas (R 1/15/09) Thursday, February 26 Last Call: Yelle (R 2/4/09) Friday, February 27 Late Late Show: The Knux (R 2/20/09) |
