BOWIE BLACK STAR

A new album is coming in January from David Bowie! The project was announced in Dec with this first single and video for the title track, Black Star. The record will be available in a variety of formats with bonus lithographs. More info at David's site here. Enjoy!

 

FRANZ WRIGHT R.I.P.

Pulitzer Prize-winnig poet, Franz Wright, passed away this week. He was the son of James Wright, who won the Pulitzer for poetry in 1972. Franz wrote bluntly about addiction and illness, and his recent collaboration with composer/musician David Sylvian (of Japan fame) captured a raw, human quality that managed, like an Uta Barth photograph, to find beauty in the small observations of the body and mind from moment to moment. Wright won the Pulitzer in 2004. He was working on a new book at the time of his death. Learn more about Franz Wright at the Washington Post, Poetry Foundation, David Sylvian, Below: preview of There's a Light That Enters Houses With no Other House in Sight by Franz Wright and David Sylvian, with contributions by Christian Fennesz and John Tilbury. The album is available at Amazon here. Album website here. 

KRAFTWERK TOUR 2015

Kraftwerk has announced a Fall 2015 tour in North America!

09-16 Edmonton, Alberta - Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium


09-17 Calgary, Alberta - Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium


09-19 Portland, OR - Keller Auditorium


09-23 Denver, CO - Ellie Caulkins Opera House


09-25 Austin, TX - Bass Concert Hall


09-27 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium


09-29 Miami, FL - Olympia Theater at Gusman Center


10-02 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory


10-03 Boston, MA - Wang Theatre


10-05 Detroit, MI - Masonic Temple Theatre


10-07 Minneapolis, MN - Northrop


10-09 Kansas City, MO - Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland

LAURIE ANDERSON LIVE IDEAS

Laurie Anderson is curating the 2015 Live Ideas festival in NYC. Events are scheduled to start on Wednesday April 15th with performances and work by Anderson, Julian Schnabel, Pauline Oliveros, Chris Marker, and John Zorn. Readers on the west coast can see Laurie Anderson during her four-night run at SF Jazz in May (info here). NYC Live Ideas info here. 

LA OPERA SINGS MARIO BAVA

The LA Opera will be performing Mario Bava's 1961 film Hercules VS Vampires (Hercules in the Haunted World) this month. In an interesting twist to live-movie accompaniment  the opera cast will be singing the dialog! Bava's cult-classic is an operatic, gaudy vision that I think will translate beautifully to this form of presentation. If you think it might be strange to hear Christopher Lee's dialog sung, remember he was dubbed by another actor for the English-language cut of the film anyway! Don't miss it if you are in the LA area. More info here. 

NEW BOWIE PRODUCTION

David Bowie and Enda Walsh have created a new production of The Man Who Fell to Earth for the New York Theatre Workshop. Inspired by the original novel by Walter Tevis (David Bowie starred in the 1976 film adaptation), Mr. Bowie has also written new music as well as new arrangements of previously recorded tunes for the production. More info here.

ENO: MY SQUELCHY LIFE

Brian Eno's rare unreleased My Squelchy Life finally gets an official vinyl edition! Pressed as a double 12" album, the record will be available on Record Store Day April 18th, 2015. From the Press Release: "First time on vinyl for legendary ‘lost’ Brian Eno album My Squelchy Life. Originally slated for release on Warner Bros in September 1991 and pulled from the schedules at the last moment, in subsequent years it has been heavily bootlegged and entered the lexicon of Eno myth. In 2014 it received an official release as the bonus disc to the expanded All Saints edition of follow-up album Nerve Net. For this exclusive Record Store Day edition it is presented in a deluxe gatefold vinyl edition, including an additional track from the same recording session, “Rapid Eye”, that has never been heard before."

MCCARTNEY: HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

Inspired by his grandkids' passion for video games, Paul McCartney recently collaborated on a new soundtrack to Destiny. The project included a new single called Hope For the Future, which the ex-Beatle recorded at Abbey Road Studios with Giles Martin. The promo video has gathered mixed reactions from fans, but I think it's visually interesting. Paul appears as a holographic image, looking dapper in a slim Nehru jacket. Destiny is a science fiction shooting game, so the pairing with McCartney may seem odd in terms of personal values. But the lyrics really focus on imagery about reaching out to the future, discovery, and bringing light to darkness. It sounds to me like he embraced the hope that embodies space travel- especially for someone who grew up during the space race. As a creative recording project (which he did for free!), Hope For the Future delivers a majestic tune with stunning vocals. I love it! Check it out below and see what you think. The Sci-Fi element reminds me a bit of the robot-like Silly Love Songs sequence in his film, Give My Regards to Broadstreet. Enjoy!

HARDCORE DEVO LIVE

A new film of Devo performing their early material will be screened at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood on January 17th, followed by a discussion with the director, co-producer, and Devo members Mark Mothersbaugh, Gerald Casale, and Bob Mothersbaugh! The movie and soundtrack will see a wide release on Blu-ray/DVD and CD/LP on February 10th. Press release: "DEVO was among the most thought-provoking bands to emerge in the aftermath of punk, but before hits like "Whip It," DEVO worked in the basements and garages of Akron, Ohio, to make raw, unfiltered music that the group called "Hardcore DEVO." In the summer of 2014, DEVO did 10 shows performing these seminal pre-fame songs, created between 1974 and 1977 and rarely played since then. Shot at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California, this exciting concert film captures these groundbreaking artists performing the songs that started it all, interwoven with interviews revealing the history of the band." Ticket info here. Blu-ray on Amazon here. Images: Mothersbaugh and Casale in their early hardcore performance-art glory; Blu-ray cover design.

JOHN LENNON ART BOOK

New Release: Fans of John Lennon and The Beatles may be interested in a new book called John Lennon: The Collected Artwork. Compiled by Scott Gutterman, writer and director of the Neu Gallery, and Yoko Ono, the project features familiar and obscure visual works by Lennon that include early childhood cartoons, illustrations, lithographs, and experimental images. Much of Lennon's work has been over-saturated, particularly the cover image, but the book will include twenty-five pieces that have never been published before. Clocking in at 204 pages, The Collected Artwork will be published by Insight Editions on Dec 23rd (US date). From Amazon: "Over the course of John Lennon’s career, his work as an artist expressed the societal themes that touched his life. Until now, little of this work has been seen in one place. For the first time, John Lennon: The Collected Artwork offers a captivating history of Lennon’s visionary art, from his early childhood to his untimely death in 1980. Lennon’s artwork predated his success with the Beatles and remained a passion throughout his years as a music legend. During his lifetime, he produced numerous series of sketches and lithographs, which were published starting in the early 1960s. Often surreal and composed through a method of free association, his drawings from this period were widely considered some of the finest interpretive artworks of the era. In 1969, Lennon began exhibiting selected drawings from a series entitled Bag One. This array was wildly popular and frequently censored due to its overt eroticism. His peace-themed sketches were elevated through their use in antiwar movements, beginning in the 1970s and continuing to the present day. Capturing his emotional, political, and imaginative energy, this lavishly produced collection serves as a timeless record of John Lennon’s creative spirit." AmazonUK link here.