Morrissey Brings the Pain to NME Via Blog
"I had no reason whatsoever to assume that they could be anything other than devious, truculent and unreliable. In the event, they have proven to be all three."

Photo by Alissa Anderson

Last week, an interview with Morrissey appeared in the British music magazine NME. In it, a quote was printed that suggested that Morrissey believed that England had lost some of its national character due to the influx of non-English-speaking immigrants. But according to the mope-rock legend, his words were twisted and presented out of context by the publication. Moz demanded a printed apology, but wasn't given one. So he and his lawyers are suing the NME and its editor, Conor McNicholas, for defamation.

Today, Morrissey released a rather lengthy statement to the UK's Guardian, the full text of which is available here (via True to You.) To begin, Morrissey offers this denouncement: "I believe they have deliberately tried to characterise me as a racist in a recent interview I gave them in order to boost their dwindling circulation. Racism is beyond common sense and I believe it has no place in our society." He then offers his take on the events surrounding the interview and the fallout, castigating the NME for their journalistic practices. And oh man, can he bring it.

On interviewer Tim Jonze: "I do not mean to be rude to Tim Jonze, but when I first caught sight of him I assumed that someone had brought their child along to the interview. The runny nose told the whole story. Conor had assured that Tim was their best writer. Talking behind his hands and in endless fidget, Tim accepted every answer I gave him with a schoolgirl giggle, and repeatedly asked me if I was shocked at how little he actually knew about music. I told him that, yes, I was shocked."

On NME: "I had no reason whatsoever to assume that they could be anything other than devious, truculent and unreliable. In the event, they have proven to be all three... Readers have been driven away by a magazine with no insides. The narrow cast of repeated subjects sets off the agony, a mesmerizing mess of very brief and dispassionate articles unable to make thought evolve...

On McNicholas: "A marooned editor who holds the divine right to censor any views that clash with his own... It is true that the magazine is ailing badly in the marketplace, but Conor doesn't understand how the relentless stream of 'cheers mate, got pissed last night, ha ha' interviews that clutter every single issue of the 'new' NME are simply not interesting to those of us who have no trouble standing upright... Conor has accidentally exposed himself as deceitful, malicious, intolerant and Morrissey-ist - all the ists and isms that he claims to oppose... The magazine's publishers, IPC have appointed Conor as the editor of the 'new' NME, and there he remains, ready to drag them into expensive legal battles such as the one they now face with me due to Conor's personal need to mis-state, misreport, misquote, misinterpret, falsify, and incite the bloodthirsty. Here is proof that the 'new' NME will twist and pervert the views of any singer or musician who'd dare step into the interview ring. To such artists, I wish them well, but I would advise you to bring your lawyer along to the interview."

Morrissey also reveals that he has partnered with the Love Music Hate Racism campaign for his forthcoming tour.

In slightly less tumultuous Morrissey news, he recently signed a deal with Polydor/Decca for his forthcoming album and greatest hits collection, and he'll step out for a handful of tour stops early next year. A few new dates have been added to the itinerary since we reported them last, thanks to True to You. [MORE...]

Jeff Tweedy, Cool Kids Rock for Obama
The Cool Kids forced to choose between '88 and 2008

It takes all kinds for a presidential hopeful to get elected, and that fact is certainly on display in the lineup for "Change Rocks", Barack Obama's campaign fundraiser at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago on December 7.

Jeff Tweedy and the Cool Kids feature on a bill that also includes performances from fellow locals Canasta and the Changes. The lineup gets weirdest, however, when it ventures outside of Obama's hometown with its last two spots. They go to Stephan Jenkins, lead singer and songwriter for Third Eye Blind, and Jill Sobule, who gave us "I Kissed a Girl" and also "Supermodel", from the Clueless soundtrack.

Odd choices, but we have to admit, the thought of Senator Obama having a dance party in his room to "Supermodel" is pretty great.

Regina Spektor Further Postpones Shows

It turns out the vertigo Regina Spektor suffered recently while on tour in Nashville will take longer than expected to pass. "Unfortunately, according to her doctor, the infection may take many more weeks to clear, and the vertigo episodes will randomly continue to occur throughout her healing process," explains an update on the singer's site. Spektor has responded by once again postponing her remaining shows.

Those four shows (in Nashville, Atlanta, Norfolk, and Richmond) will now take place next year, though when exactly remains to be revealed.

Thanks to Lance Conzett for the tip, and get well soon, Regina. [MORE...]

Radiohead Further Flesh Out European Tour Itinerary
Other bands take note, plan tours of their own

It's morning in the U.S. again, which means it's time for yet another Radiohead tour update. This time, the band has finalized the previously up-in-the-air dates and venues of its European tour next spring and summer. The newly confirmed shows go down in Dublin, Barcelona, London, Glasgow, and Manchester.

Still pending: details of that pesky North American tour. [MORE...]

Aesop Rock Plots 2008 European Tour

Photo by Sanchez and Kitahara

Ian Bavitz-- Aesop Rock to you and me-- will head out on a round of European dates next month, right around the time January turns to February.

Having recently wrapped a huge North American fall tour in support of this summer's None Shall Pass LP, the longtime Def Jux associate will take his rapid-fire fables to nine stages in the next year. These remain the MC's only confirmed touring plans at the moment, although there's talk of Australian dates to come as well. [MORE...]

Yo La Tengo Freewheel Into 2008 on Tour
Lambchop's Kurt Wagner along for the ride

Yo La Tengo are all set to begin their usually-annual hometown Hanukkah shows tomorrow, December 4, but not before they sneak out news of even more dates next year. 'Tis the season of giving, after all.

The new shows all take place in the U.S., and they constitute the latest leg of the Freewheeling Yo La Tengo tour. The mostly acoustic sets of stories and songs start January 9 in Charlottesville, Virginia, and Lambchop's Kurt Wagner opens them all. [MORE...]

Photos: The Clean / Times New Viking [New York, NY; 12/01/07]

Words: Matt LeMay, Photos: Christine Tadler
Pictured above: The Clean

New York City's Cake Shop was an ideal setting for three intimate shows by seminal New Zealand rockers the Clean. The venue's small size and minimal sound system highlighted the band's understated charms, most notably David Kilgour's nuanced, feedback-laden guitar playing and brother Hamish Kilgour's skittery, insistent drumming.

Openers Times New Viking and the Mad Scene (fronted by Hamish and joined by Yo La Tengo's Georgia Hubley on guitar) perfectly rounded out the evening, respectively reinforcing the Clean's ramshackle energy and Velvet Underground-esque emphasis on texture.

At Saturday's show (the last of the three), the Clean played a career-spanning smattering of songs, augmented at one point by guitar from Richard Davies (formerly of the criminally underrated Moles). At a time when so many bands of the Clean's stature are cashing in on outsized reunion tours, the whole evening was nothing short of inspiring.

Both the Clean and David Kilgour have finished their current spate of dates, but Times New Viking have a pair of shows scheduled in late January, in support of their forthcoming Matador debut.

THE CLEAN:

TIMES NEW VIKING:

[MORE...]

Super Furry Animals Tour, Do Gigs With Fiery Furnaces

Following a weird and beast-y New Year's Eve alongside Deerhoof, Welsh psych-pop wackos Super Furry Animals will take to North America for a month of shows kicking off in Hoboken in late January.

Perhaps it's mere coincidence, but one can't help but notice these dates appear to line up with the North American CD release of Hey Venus!, which finally hits shelves here on January 22 from Rough Trade following a digital/vinyl release this past August.

Or maybe the trip's allure came from the chance to pal around with chunky Toronto combo Holy Fuck and the Widow-making Fiery Furnaces, who each join the Super Furries on a smattering of their dates. Or, perhaps, these guys know something about New Jersey in mid-January that we don't. No matter what's on their minds, prepare to get yours blown at any one of the dates listed below the jump. [MORE...]

Witch, RTX, Turbonegro Kickstart Volcom Singles Club
Plus: Earthless, Dark Meat

The extreme-sports-friendly Volcom Entertainment label has chosen vinyl purists as its next target of endearment. Starting next year, the label will launch a subscription-based series of six split seven-inches per year, released every other month.

The name of the series is the Volcom Ent. Vinyl Club (VEVC), and the first seven-inch, featuring Turbonegro and Year Long Disaster, will ship in February. The other 10 contributors to the 2008 series are RTX, Dark Meat, Earthless, Birds of Avalon, Monotonix, Red Fang, Totimoshi, Tweak Bird, Valient Thorr, and Witch (featuring J Mascis on drums).

As a bonus, subscribers will get three free seven-inches, one each from Riverboat Gamblers, Totimoshi, and Year Long Disaster, plus a Volcom Entertainment slipmat. VEVC subscription details may be found here.

Daniel Lanois Unveils Sixth Solo Album, Film

After reading today's review of The Joshua Tree: Deluxe Edition, perhaps you're revisiting the album (which is celebrating its 20th anniversary). And perhaps you want to catch up with one of the producers who accompanied U2 as "the band finally took a moment to ponder the wide-open American spaces it had been traveling through for years." Well, Brian Eno is likely off producing the new Coldplay record, so why not cozy up to Daniel Lanois, who is planning the release of his sixth solo album?

Titled Here Is What Is and billed as the soundtrack to an accompanying documentary of the same name, the album finds Lanois teaming with jazz drummer Brian Blade and pianist Garth Hudson (of the Band). According to a press release, Here Is also features "philosophical interludes and inspiring conversations with Brian Eno taken from the film."

Both the record and the documentary will come out March 18 on CD and DVD respectively (the former via Redeye Distribution), but Lanois is giving the album a digital release via his own Red Floor Records on December 15. The download comes in high-quality waveform (.wav) format and, thankfully for the iPod generation, also regular mp3 format.

Of the documentary, which will make its U.S. premiere at SXSW in March, Lanois says, "The film is a camera following me around over the course of a year, in and out of recording studios documenting once and for all the way it really happens." Adam Vollick and Adam Samuels aided Lanois in the directing.

And finally, back to U2. Lanois is currently in the studio with the band working on the follow-up to 2004's How to Dismantle an Atom Bomb. [MORE...]

Rare Book Room Comp (Ft. Avey Tare, Deerhunter, Silver Jews) Release Details Announced

Back in January, we reported about a compilation put together by Nicolas Vernhes, owner of Brooklyn's Rare Book Room Studio. The disc would mark the inaugural release from Vernhes' Rare Book Room Records, and it would gather brand new tracks recorded at the studio. Way back when, the disc had no proper title, release date, or even a fully confirmed tracklist. But today, friends, it has all three.

The set, now titled Living Bridge, has ballooned into a two-disc monster, with Deerhunter, the Naysayer (not to be confused with Yeasayer), Lia Ices, John Wolfington, and Doldrums added to a stellar lineup that already included the likes of Avey Tare, Silver Jews, Black Dice, Blood on the Wall, Fischerspooner, and Enon.

Other than the Silver Jews' "Self Ignition", which popped up on a UK single once upon a time, each and every song on Living Bridge was recorded specifically for the compilation.

Living Bridge emerges February 26. Future Rare Book Room Records releases include albums from compilation contributors Lia Ices and Palms. [MORE...]

Un-T.V. Eye: December 3-9, 2007

Once again: strike, reruns, blah blah blah. But hey, Ghostface is on Fuse tomorrow!

Monday, December 3:

NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Animal Collective (rerun)

Tuesday, December 4:

FUSE: The Sauce: Ghostface Killah
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Kings of Leon (rerun)

Thursday, December 6:

FUEL TV: The Daily Habit: These Arms Are Snakes

Saturday, December 8:

Fox: Fearless Music TV: Metric, Athlete

Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover? Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.)