Tony Wilson's Headstone Unveiled This Week.

 

From NME: Tony Wilson's memorial headstone has been unveiled, having been designed by his long-term Factory Records cohort Peter Saville and his associate Ben Kelly. 

The black headstone, which is made of granite, is now sitting at The Southern Cemetery in Chorlton-Cum-Hardy, Manchester, reports Creative Review. 

Wilson died of a heart attack in 2007, following a long-term battle with cancer. He is referred to on the headstone as a "broadcaster and cultural catalyst." It also features the following book extract, selected by Wilson's family and taken from Isabella Varley Banks' 1876 novel The Manchester Man: 

"Mutability is the epitaph of worlds/Change alone is changeless/People drop out of the history of a life as of a land/Though their work or their influence remains." 

Despite being designed by Saville and Kelly, the headstone does not feature one of Factory's trademark catalogue numbers. Wilson's coffin, labelled FAC 501, was the last of these. 

Photo: Jan Chlebik via Creative Review

Midnight Oil's Diesel and Dust Takes Top Spot In New Book The 100 Best Australian Albums.

 

Written by John O'Donnell (EMI Australia), Craig Mathieson, and Toby Creswell, the release of the new book The 100 Best Australian Albums on Wednesday will mark the first time such a list has been compiled in book form. The book will be published by Hardie Grant and will be accompanied by a 5-CD set featuring selections from the albums. 

The full list has yet to be released but AC/DC's Back In Black came in at #2 and Crowded House's Woodface was #3. A post yesterday at michaelhutchence.com also said that INXS's The Swing and Kick were included. 

Synopsis: Australian music has a proud, colourful and successful history. In 2008, Australian rock & roll turned 50. This book names the best Australian albums of the last 50 years. It places each album in order (from 1-100) and discusses why each album deserves its place. It tells the story behind the making of the album, where the album fits in the artist's career and the album's impact on the local and world stage etc. The entries will feature new interviews with the artists and the producers/managers involved in the recording and the release of the album. "It wouldn't be a good list if it didn't polarise people and we hope that this list will. We also hope that it will get people sitting around comparing their favourites and discovering or re-discovering these great albums and others. With 70 years of loving and writing about Australian music between us, we shamelessly believe we've earned the right to write this book. And we think we've got it right. Let the debate begin." 

Photo: Hardie Grant

Bernard Sumner's "Road To Damascus Moment."

 

Converse has followed the launch of their Connectivity Campaign, which celebrates its continuing connection with music by "shining a spotlight on the incomparable British music scene," with a visit to Bernard Sumner in Manchester who reveals his influences and how his surroundings shaped his music. 

Photo & material: Converse

Happy 25th Anniversary To "Take On Me."

 

From a-ha.com: Today marks the 25th anniversary of the day "Take on Me" went to #1 in the US singles chart, thanks in part to the song’s ground-breaking video.

Recently the BBC published an article about the making of the video for "Take on Me" and what made it "a defining moment in the history of music promos."

The video for "Take on Me" was unlike any seen before, an exciting combination of live action film and an animation technique called rotoscoping. The video starred lead singer Morten Harket and his girlfriend at the time, model Bunty Bailey. The "Take on Me" video won six awards at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards: Best New Artist in a Video, Best Concept Video, Most Experimental Video, Best Direction, Best Special Effects, and Viewer's Choice.

Photo: musicstack.com

Material: Waist High

Nu Shooz Return.

 

18 years since their last full-length release and 24 years since "I Can’t Wait," Portland Oregon's own Nu Shooz have returned as Nu Shooz Orchestra with a brand new CD.

The 14-song Pandora's Box, "a mix of tunes described as 'James Bond meets James Brown,'" was released August 1 and features nine new songs, funk/jazz remakes of "Point of No Return," "I Can't Wait," and "Driftin," and guest appearances by China Forbes, Curtis Salgado, and Echo Helstrom's Ross Seligman.

Formed in Portland, Oregon in the summer of 1979 by Valerie Day and John Smith Nu Shooz have changed their line-up over the years, "but in all its various forms, they've always pushed the boundaries between pop, funk, and jazz. Now, with the formation of the NU SHOOZ Orchestra, Portland's favorite soul explorers take one giant leap for mankind with a brave new sound, combining their signature brand of funk with elements borrowed from Film Noir, '60s Spy Movies and even Tarzan."

A digital version of Pandora's Box can be previewed and purchased at the Nu Shooz Orchestra store and the physical CD can be found at cdbaby.com.

In addition to her duties with Nu Shooz Orchestra Valerie Day performs with Portland's Vibes Trio and co-founded Brain Chemistry for Lovers, a multimedia performance using "music, film and the latest discoveries in the world of neuroscience to explore one of the most universal of all human experiences...Romantic Love."

Photo: Nu Shooz Music

Quotes: Oregon Music News, Nu Shooz Music, & Brain Chemistry for Lovers

Dale Bozzio Reveals Her New Website.

 

One of our all-time favorite people Dale Bozzio unveiled her new website yesterday which is the first Dale Bozzio site not created by fans, friends, or other well meaning supporters but by Dale herself. Dale says that she has stepped up and taken the reigns and that dalebozzioofficial.com is a site now representative of her image, music, and philosophy. 

A "true work-in-progress," the site features a discography section going back to her days with Frank Zappa, a news and biography section, and a kick ass re-worked version of "Destination Unknown" in the intro. 

Photo: Dale Bozzio

It’s a Mad Halargian World.

27 years after my grandparents drove me to the record store in their Dodge Dart to purchase The Hurting, I have finally found out what the final line of "Mad World" is, and it ain't "enlarging your world..."

Curt Smith revealed yesterday that with the "again-resurgent popularity (of 'Mad World'), I'm getting asked more frequently about the last line on the album version from The Hurting, a line which I occasionally also sing in concert.

"The actual line is: 'Halargian world.'

"(Not 'illogical world,' 'raunchy young world'(!), 'enlarging your world,' or a number of other interesting if not amusing guesses.)

"The real story: Halarge was an imaginary planet invented by either Chris Hughes or Ross Cullum during the recording of The Hurting. I added it as a joke during the lead vocal session, and we kept it.

"And there you have it."

Material: Curt Smith

Simple Minds Finish Recording.

 

From simpleminds.com: Simple Minds have recently completed four weeks in London's Sphere Recording studios. The sessions which featured the band line-up of Andy Gillespie, Mel Gaynor, Ged Grimes, Charlie Burchill and Jim Kerr, were produced by Andy Wright and engineered and mixed by Gavin Goldberg. 

In total 4 songs were recorded and mixed, including an 8 minute long version of "In Every Heaven," originally recorded in '82 during the New Gold Dream sessions and subsequently released back then in instrumental form as a B side to "Someone Somewhere In Summertime." All other tracks recorded are entirely new compositions with both "Stagefright" and "On The Rooftop" being credited to Charlie Burchill and Jim Kerr. "Broken Glass Park" written by Jim Kerr and Owen Parker was however heard previously this year during the live sets from Kerr's solo project Lostboy!AKA. 

As yet nothing has been confirmed regarding the release of the new recordings, although unofficially there has been talk that two of the tracks might feature in an extensive compilation to be released early next year. Meanwhile it is thought that the remaining tracks are in fact the first tracks for what will eventually become the Minds 16th studio album of original compositions due to be released in '12. 

Jim Kerr: "The recordings went extremely well, super actually! Confidence had been high especially since the band had sounded so good live throughout the summer shows, with that in mind we decided somewhat spontaneously to go into the studio and throw somethings down. It's different from our usual method but I would guess that next year we will do a few more of theses short sharp bursts of recording - it's a sort of wham, bam, thank you ma'am, approach that surprisingly seems to suit very well!" 

Photo: Simple Minds

David Byrne's Bicycle Diaries Now Available On Audiobook.

 

One year after the publication of his "behind-the-handlebars view of the world's cities," David Byrne has released Bicycle Diaries in a podcast-style audiobook which is now available exclusively at davidbyrne.com. 

In addition to narration by Byrne himself, the audiobook also features "location sounds, creating an atmosphere more akin to a radio show than a simple reading of the book. While the chapters are available for purchase individually - as the journal-style book can be read in any order - the complete unabridged book is also available for download at a discounted price," and the Introduction is available as a free download as well. 

From Powell's Books: Since the early 1980s, David Byrne has been riding a bike as his principal means of transportation in New York City. Two decades ago, he discovered folding bikes and started taking them on tour. Byrne's choice was made out of convenience rather than political motivation, but the more cities he saw from his bicycle, the more he became hooked on this mode of transport and the sense of liberation it provided. Convinced that urban biking opens one's eyes to the inner workings and rhythms of a city's geography and population, Byrne began keeping a journal of his observations and insights. 

Photo: David Byrne 

Quotes: Powell's Books & David Byrne

Mute Records To Go Independent Once Again.

 

From Music Industry News: EMI Music and Mute founder Daniel Miller have reached a preliminary agreement that will see EMI support Miller in the establishment of his second record label, and the continuation of the Mute brand as an independent recorded music business. 

Since he founded Mute in 1978, Miller has signed and developed some of the world's most innovative and influential recording artists including Depeche Mode, Moby, Goldfrapp, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Erasure and Richard Hawley. He sold Mute to EMI in 2002 and has continued to lead the label since then. 

Miller's new label will operate under the trademark Mute which it is licensing from EMI. It will tap into EMI's Label Services unit for sales, distribution, synch & licensing and merchandising in the US, UK, Canada and Ireland, and a network of independent record distributors elsewhere. The label will be controlled by Miller, with EMI taking a minority equity interest in the company. Miller will also take a consultancy role with EMI Music as part of the new agreement. 

To help fund the label, EMI is licensing to Miller part of the Mute back catalogue. It is also providing Miller with operational support in areas such as royalty administration and business affairs. 

Miller said: "I am pleased that as a result of this arrangement with EMI, Mute can prosper as a vibrant member of the independent sector, while retaining a strong and constructive link with EMI in the development of our catalogue, brand and roster." 

Photo: SIDE-LINE

The Jam's Sound Affects To Be Reissued.

 

The Jam's fifth studio album has been given the reissue treatment and is set to be released on November 1; exactly 30 years after its original release. The two-disc Sound Affects Deluxe Edition is set to be available exclusively in the UK and will feature the original album in remastered form, 21 bonus tracks, a 24-page booklet of sleevenotes by John Harris of The Guardian, rare photos, and a brand new interview with Paul Weller. 

Of the 21 bonus tracks, eight are previously unreleased and include demos of "Start!" and "Pretty Green," alternate versions of "Set The House Ablaze" and "Monday," and a cover of the Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset." 

Sound Affects Deluxe Edition can be pre-ordered at amazon.co.uk.

Photo: amazon.co.uk

Fleshtones Documentary Now Available At SnagFilms.

 

Geoffray Barbier's 2009 documentary about the Fleshtones, Pardon Us For Living But The Graveyard Is Full, is now available on snagfilms.com. The content is free and the band encouraged fans to post it to Facebook, "should you have the urge to spread the word." A review of the film can be found at Tulip Frenzy. 

SnagFilms say they can be summed up in four words: Find. Watch. Snag. Support.

From the Cinefamily: 30+ years. 2000+ shows. No hits. No sleep. In 1976, a gang of kids from Queens stumbled upon some abandoned instruments in the basement of the house they were renting and ended up forming a band. Little did they realize that thirty years later, they'd still be struggling to play their music and pay the bills. The Fleshtones were an integral part of the '70s NYC underground scene and, amazingly, having soldiered on as a paradox, simultaneously legendary and obscure: boasting a rabid worldwide fan base and a reputation as a white-hot live act, but barely able to keep a record label for two albums in a row and ignored in all histories of the scene they helped create.

Stunning vintage footage, insight from Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Clem Burke (Blondie) and Handsome Dick Manitoba (The Dictators), and candid self-deprecating interviews with band members Peter Zaremba, Keith Streng, Bill Milhizer and Ken Fox add up to a thoroughly entertaining portrait of the real hardest-working garage band in show biz.

Photo: The Fleshtones