Nick Cave and The Bad Mustache

It’s with great disappointment that I have to say that the Dig! Lazarus Dig! is just not working for me, neither is the cheesy mustache. Still … it’s Nick Cave and you don’t just dismiss a legend because of a greasy strip of hair living on his lip. Despite the album distaste, the feel of this album, the videos and his appearance point to the heavy possibility that he’ll be playing a lot of the older stuff live.

Case in point, the BBC has three videos plus an interview for your audio visual pleasure. One of them is a performance of Tupelo from The Firstborn is Dead. To tell you the truth, it makes me a little regretful that I passed on tickets for the show this year because the live show is amazing. It’s the kind of show you never want to end and when it’s over you stay around for every bit of encore. Sigh.

Dagnabbit

Okay, I give. I officially need to perform a fresh install of Wordpress to attempt to eliminate all of the issues the site is currently experiencing. It’s frustrating because I don’t really want to do it … but I suppose it will also be a little bit fun.

In other news, what the hell is going on with Nick Cave? He’s officially off the list. It’s just so weird (and I typically likeweird) that I can’t watch it all the way through. For the first time in his career, I’m starting to worry if he’s reaching a little too far. Love is fickle. I’ll reserve real judgement post purchase of the album.

It’s about time Portishead released a new album. Titled Third it will be released on April 28th. After having previewed the released track “Machine Gun”, I’m really excited.

Holy shite!! Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is playing The Intersection in Grand Rapids, MI. For those of you on the west side of the mitten, you MUST see this show. At first, I was all bent at the idea of seeing them in such a small club … but now I realize it’s um, a?Ǭ†little bigger and in a totally different spot than when I was in college. Damn. Go see this show. Really. To add insult to injury, there isn’t a Seattle show booked AND a couple of the west coast dates are being opened by Black Angels.That is one hell of a lineup … in fact, it’s a dream lineup. I feel so deprived.

I suppose I’ll just be content listening to both bands while re-installing Wordpress. Sigh.

Past Tense

It’s early folks. But, alas I’m on the erratic sleep program where you sleep until about 1-ish, sleep again, wake at 3am and then get up at 6am. And that’s not going to change anytime soon.

Cleaned the entire linen closet yesterday, which was no small feat. We have one of those closets that holds quite a bit but pretty much guarantees you’ll never ever see the things in the back again. I’m not sure, but there might be an entrance to Narnia in there. My life is exciting, no?

Picked up the new Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Baby 81 and I have to tell you it’s goooooooood. A perfect blend of all of their albums, it’s bluesy and dark and sexy in the way you always expect their music to be. Also, in hand is the new NIN and I have to say I’m enjoying that quite a bit as well. It’s a sort of return back to the first album, but in an evolutionary kind of way. If that seems an odd description, check it out. Lastly, picked up Grinderman which I’m not sure why they didn’t just call the new Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album because it feels like that’s what it really is.

Watched The Last King of Scotland which was absolutely brilliant. At first, it seemed bizarre to tell the story of actual events through a completely fictional character (Dr. Garrigan) but as the story moves on it’s a stroke of genius used to bring a perspective that may not have otherwise existed. It’s quite a creative stretch from Ghost Dog.

Stopped by the library to pick up a hold I had completely forgotten about and then end up reading it in an afternoon. The book, From Baghdad, With Love chronicles a Marine’s efforts to rescue a puppy and bring him home from Iraq. I know, I’m a sucker for dog books (yet, not so much that I could get through Marley And Me). It’s a short read and yes, about a dog, but still provided a snapshot into one soldier’s perspective on the war. And in between baby books, somehow I’ve picked up A People’s History of the United States after owning it for years but never cracking it open. Now I’m hooked.

Reinstalled Coppermine on this server and started to add photos back up. I had given Gallery2 a shot (especially since it was a one-click install from WP) but was fairly disappointed in pretty much everything about it.

And now, off in pursuit of coffee and perhaps a warm ginger biscuit from Cafe Besalu.

I ♥ BRMC

I ?¢‚Ñ¢¬• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Still one of the best shows I’ve ever seen amongst many others.

The new album is out May 1st, 2007 on RCA and is titled Baby 81. Sounds like their planning a US tour as I type. Track listing appears below.

1. Took Out a Loan
2. Berlin
3. Weapon of Choice
4. Window
5. Cold Wind
6. Not What You Wanted
7. 666 Conducer
8. All You Do Is Talk
9. Lien On Your Dreams
10. Need Some Air
11. Killing The Light
12. American X
13. Am I Only

March Madness

I’m conflicted. I’m ready to be rid of frozen temperatures, ice and snow. That’s right, I live in Seattle. But at the same time, I’m really not itching for the next months to pass to quickly. Then again, March is a month that promises to be a fantastic month for music. Oh the huge manatee.

Low releases Guns And Drums on Sub Pop and while I’ll miss Zack, I’m looking forward to another consistently good/great album from my favorite Minnesota trio.

Released in the mid 90’s, Gentle Creatures still tops the list of albums I’ll always come back to. The mix of the twangy, eerie and dark sounds and lyrics snagged me right from the start. Fast forward to Paula Frazer and her unique voice reuniting with Tarnation to release Now It’s Time on Birdman Records. Funny enough the album is properly under Paula Frazer and Tarnation. You can hear the title track at her MySpace page.

The Arcade Fire’s highly anticipated follow up release Neon Bible. KEXP’s been playing the single Black Mirror pretty regularly and it’s gooooood!

There’s a little rumor going around that BRMC should be releasing a new album in the Feb./Mar. It can’t come soon enough. If you’ve never seen this band live, YOU’RE MISSING OUT!

Other random March release bits: Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Living With The Living, LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver, The Ponys - Turn The Lights Out, The Stooges - The Weirdness (what?), Air - Pocket Symphony. Oh and let’s cheat a little into April with Blonde Redhead releasing 23, Angels of Light (you know, Michael Gira’s latest band) with We Are Him and Nick Cave’s latest collaboration with Warren Ellis and co. called Grinderman. I haven’t been all that thrilled about what I’ve heard so far (plus it gives Nick another reason to keep that cheesy giant moustache) but how can you go wrong with songs like No Pussy Blues? Who can’t relate to that?

The Ubiquitous Sunday Post - del.icio.usness

Another post should actually appear here. But it’s not quite ready. It needs to simmer in its own juices a bit before it’s ready to serve.

I heart del.icio.us.

Well, hello there

It’s nice to be back in the land of the e-living. The new year has been very busy and is moving much faster than previously anticipated. Let’s jump right in, shall we?

The other night, we ventured out to El Corazon for an all ages show in support of my friend Nate and his band The Audiobiography. The sound was horrible and it’s difficult to form any opinion when all you can hear are the drums. They looked like they knew what they were doing at least. We also stayed to hear the headliners The Listening, a fantastic band with a great moody sound and some seriously pretentious haircuts. Though they put out a Brit vibe, imagine my surprise to find they’re actually from Longview, WA. Unfortunately, their site doesn’t allow for audio clips, you can check them out on their My Space page.

The new Catpower release The Greatest is out now. And after seeing her many times standing alone (and sometimes looking quite traumatized), we were highly anticipating a tour with a full band. Alas, the tour has been cancelled. Rolling Stone reports that the cancellation was due to health issues.

Have you heard Gold Lion? It’s one track from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs forthcoming album Show Your Bones and it’s pretty damn good. It’s the kind of song you hope for from a band as good as the YYYs. Let’s hope that the tour includes Karen O. posing and jarring her way across the stage at the Showbox.

Black Rebel Motorcycle club at the Showbox in March. Who else could make me venture out on a Monday night?

Welcome back, I’ve missed you.

Year of the dog. Word.

KEXP And Music This Month

KEXP is a force to be reckoned with here in Seattle. They have the power of concentrated exposure. While they can claim fans from all over the world (and do on a huge pinned map in the DJ booth) their biggest influence lies here in the Seattle. I’ve scarcely been to a city where so many people not only listen to the same station, but actually like use it as a sign of compatibility with strangers. Their yearly events and regularly sponsored shows routinely sell out weeks in advance. I’ll admit to pulling strings to grab prized tickets to KEXP sponsored The Arcade Fire at Neumo’s last year. And to top it all off, the people that work at the station are a nice bunch of people.

Imagine my surprise at the cover of The Seattle Weekly this morning. The Expensive Expansion of KEXP, the headline read. Immediately, my guess was that this all tied in with the recent announcement that KEXP was abandoning the Olympia/Tacoma KXOT frequency they had purchased back in early 2004. The article details the internal opposition of the acquisition, the fallout from a bad business decision and a $20,000 raise for the executive director, Tom Mara. Considering the record setting pledge drives they run three times a year, I imagine I was not the only person surprised by a lack of funds. The article suggests that the offloading the KXOT signal has resolved most of the stations problems. For the sake of radio listeners everywhere, let’s hope thats the truth.

In other news … Thank goodness Bloodshot Records had the sense to sign Detroit (well Detroit-ish) band Deadstring Brothers. The debut release on the label releases February 21 and word is that it’s amazing. We ran into Kurt the last time we were in Royal Oak and it sounded like things were going well. They had been doing a fair bit of touring in Europe and it sounded as if they had a nice following. I don’t mean that in a “we’re big in Gien” kind of way. If you’re into the sound of so-called Americana and a sound that displays its influences proudly, mark your calendar to pick up Starving Winter Report.

Speaking of Americana, Cat Power releases The Greatest on January 24th. It’s been three years since her last album You Are Free and honestly I was hoping for a more fleshed out sound for the next go round. The two tracks being played on the aforementioned KEXP were still minimal instrumentation but this time enough for a warm sound. Chan’s distinctive voice always sounds as if she’s just finished crying and managed to output emotion onto a CD. I should also clarify when I said “speaking of Americana” I was sort of kidding, but not really. Cat Power’s music to me is soulful and Americana in a different kind of way.

There’s actually lots more, but my machine has been tempermental since the last update to OS X which leaves no time at all to talk about the new Kate Bush titled Aerial, or new Richie Hawtin. Do people still listen to “techno” anymore? I kid. Who doesn’t love the electronica?

Need More Music

Having survived a busy Thanksgiving weekend, I’ve managed to uphold a personal tradition … getting sick at the tail end of days off. Still, before the sickness I was able to pick up the latest release Cinder from The Dirty Three. With a whopping 19 tracks (featuring the likes of Sally Timm and Chan Marshall) I’m looking forward to a head to tail listen.

In addition, I also picked up a couple of used gems. Charlatans UK Between The 10th and 11th (one I had and lost) and Cranes latest release Particles and Waves which contained a companion DVD of four live songs recorded in London. This album is nice. It’s a horrible word to use to describe someone’s blood, sweat and tears but that was my first impression. Well, and that Jim should leave the vocals to Allison.

Hope your Thanksgiving was pleasant.

Writing, Hunting, Listening, Trying

Writing | Started my first attempt at participating in National Novel Writing Month. With a goal of 1700 words a day to meet the 50,000 word requirement, I certainly have my work cut out for me. As with so many things, this was inspired by the ever creative Sharyn. The idea for me is to crank out the words rather than worry so much about writing a fantastic novel. As Mark once said to me, it’s not necessarily the quality of my everyday writing but the fact that I do it.

Hunting | Money isn’t everything. It certainly keeps the house and dogs going, but I’ve long passed the point where I’m willing to sell my soul for a huge paycheck. Although word has come from most people I know that the job market is horrid, things have been moving along. Lest I jinx myself, I’ll just say that I have been interviewing and hope to have some good news in my future.

Listening | Fiona Apple’s latest (and long awaited) album Extraordinary Machine is phenomenal … amazing even. It rises above just the typical indie pop, sad-girl, singer songwriter stuff that she could have easily melded in to.

Trying | Trying out CopyWrite in the search for an easier way to organize and write. Word, Appleworks and other word processing programs seem to do just that … process the words. They’ve always failed as uninspiring and cumbersome in the area of recording ideas. I tried Ulysses awhile back, but at $120.00 the price seems a bit steep. If CopyWrite does what it promises, it’s a bargain at $29.99.

Website As A Sticky Note

Items I must have.

• Supergrass Road To Rouen release date: September 27
• Dandy Warhols Odditorium or Warlords of Mars release date: September 13
• Richard Hawley Coles Corner release date: September 6
• Kanye West Late Registration out now!!
• M83 M83 release date: September 6 (the first album which had not been released domestically previously)

I know there’s more, but I can’t seem to think of it right now. See, this is why I need to make lists.

Weather Or Not

Sunday afternoon we headed out for our first ever ZooTunes concert at the Woodland Park Zoo. Each year they host nine or so concerts with 100% of the proceeds benefitting the animals there. Although the weather forecast called for evening showers, we arrived to sunny skies and loads of people sprawled out on blankets. While enjoying a small picnic, we watched Laura Veirs (boring) and chatted with friends while waiting for Ms. Neko Case to take the stage.

Mark swore this would be a defining show for him. If she didn’t come out with a full band, it would be over. After a five year relationship and seven shows, he was calling it quits. Okay, so these weren’t his exact words. Thankfully, she came out with a band (but still sans drums) including her usual man on guitar, Jon Rauhouse (looking quite fit and healthy I might add). She opened with Favorite and led right into standards like Set Out Running, Twist The Knife and onto With Bees and Deep Red Bells from the Blacklisted album. She previewed new songs, including one I didn’t catch the name of (but is based on a story her grandmother told her). Fittingly, as she kicked off her lovely cover of Bob Dylan’s Buckets of Rain, the drops started to fall. She cheered the audience for staying through the rain with Maybe Sparrow (she introduced it as a sunny song about birds). And stay we did, until the rain literally started to pour in buckets. Eventually, we had to give up as well.

It’s always a treat both to see and hear Neko, so it was a bit disappointing to have to cut the show short. Ahh, next time. And maybe even with a drummer!

Mid Day Music Siesta

Hit the lovely Triple Door this afternoon for a 5 song set from The New Pornographers. Sporting Sonic Boom t-shirts (from a midnight live in-store the night before) and sans Ms. Neko Case, they made us forget that it was essentially one in the afternoon. The new album Twin Cinema hit stores today and you can bet I’ll be heading out later to pick it up. Highlights were Jackie, Dressed In Cobras with Kurt Dahle banging the hell out of those drums and singing vocals. A call for requests resulted in Jackie from the first album Mass Romantic. As if they need to be linked to, Pitchfork has a pretty dang accurate review.

The setlist:

Twin Cinema
Use It
It’s Only Divine Right
The Bleeding Heart Show
Jackie, Dressed In Cobras
The Bones Of An Idol
Star Bodies (the nerve!)
The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism
Sing Me Spanish Techno

Child’s Play

Well, certainly the number of posts has diminished. We (the royal we, that is) haven’t even managed to make the usually punctual Ubiquitous Posts. There are loads of excellent excuses, the best one being that we are working on a new site. Yes, you may sigh and ask, “Weren’t you doing that last year?” You’re sharp as a tack, you.

Ahem.

For those with babes, it’s nice to see that there are people out there making interesting music just for you. They Might Be Giants offer Bed! Bed! Bed!, a collection of songs (accompanied by a nicely illustrated book) that are recorded in a specific order to wind things down as the record progresses. I suppose the idea is that by the time the last song plays, your little darlings will be happily asleep. Now, I’ve witnessed some of your children firsthand and am doubtful. There’s also the very upcoming (that was a grammatical compromise) release from Eenie Meenie Records titled Dimension Mix. It’s a tribute to the music of Bruce Haack and Esther Nelson. If you aren’t familiar (and I certainly wasn’t), the duo formed Dimension 5 in 1963 to put out children’s records with a goal of combining unique unusually imaginative, sometimes robotic, and slightly insane (but in a good way) music and lyrics.

If that’s too overwhelming, how about a Louis book from metaphrog complete with a CD full of music from Hey + Múm? Check out the animation on the website, it’s almost like spacerok lite for babies.

Now, my friend’s baby was quite partial to The Hidden Cameras and while it’s easy to see why some of their bouncy chorus tunes might appeal to kids, um … you might want to limit it to kids that can’t speak or comprehend words yet. Tee-hee.

We now conclude with our regular programming.

Music for the Masses

Having broken up with KEXP for their overuse of the Puss Rock™, I’ve been indulging in summer nostalgia with WOXY Vintage. Playlists include songs like The Cure’s Harold and Joe, Dead Can Dance’s The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove, My Bloody Valentine’s Only Shallow and Siouxsie & the Banshees‘ Cities in Dust. Ahh the good old days. When new wave was not dark or cold and modern rock was still modern.

Picked up The Knitters The Modern Sounds of The Knitters and was happy to find it as good as expected. After a whopping 20 years, they’re back with new material and a little old as well (Steppenwolf’s Born To Be Wild and restyled versions of a few X songs). I’ve never been a huge X fan, not for dislike, but due to lack of familiarity. That’s all about to change. I love that. Music that’s been around for ages and although you might be late to the party, it’s a whole different way to discover it. While others may have worn it to the bone, lamenting new material and the glory days … you are just at the beginning.

And although it has a mere four songs (how do you say … EP), I don’t seem to tire of Wolf Parade’s self-titled teeny tiny release with a big, big sound. Along with many others, I am expecting great things of their first fill length release on Sub Pop on September 27th. Montreal is the new black.

Speaking of new bands, Radio 1’s unsigned bands section has given a bit of airplay and prominent spot on the website to My Luminaries single Mad Dog. Their site prominently displays a quote from NME,”Prepare to be punch drunk with the future hits of Rock & Roll, My Luminaries. And soon to be yours.” I’m not sure I agree, but I’m looking forward to seeing what they come up with in the future. The several songs they have for download on the site are each quite different and I’m not sure whether they are catchy or too pop-py. If anything they are all over the board, but I’m not above sticking with a band to see where they’re going to go.

Something I’m certain of is that if I learned anything from Dig!, it was that Brian Jonestown Massacre was putting out great music regardless of any psychotic episodes. Okay, perhaps psychotic is exaggerating, but pretty f#$&ing crazy. The music is psychadelic, mesmerizing and charged, but not in a nostalgic way … in a completely sincere way that doesn’t turn hokey. Not one bit. Much of their music is available for a big fat zip download on their site. Check it out. Please. I’m asking nicely.

And from the Detroit front, a band that doesn’t begin with ‘the’ or want to revive good old rock and roll. There was a whole space of time in the 90s chocked full of shimmering guitars, layered vocals and angelic voices. Lush, Curve (and even little known bands like Lulabox) took this sound to places we all loved to go. Bringing the sound back is a band called Ether Aura, just on the cusp of releasing their debut album on Gaia Project Records titled Crash. Set against precise drum beats and shimmering swirling guitars, the vocals are layered to create an ethereal sound. Check out their site for a couple songs from the forthcoming album (they have promised me the site will be redesigned soon). And if you can’t seem to get enough, visit their My Space page to listen to a third. Not to jump forward, but I am looking forward to what lies in the future for this band.

This just in … I can’t decide if je deteste où j’aime Stellastar

Worst Song Lyrics Ever

Blogcritic names the Top 10 Worst Song Lyrics … Ever. While I think this is certainly a formidable list, as Stereogum points out, no list would be complete without one or two (or all) R. Kelly songs? With such memorable and romantic lyrics like:

You remind me of my jeep, I want to ride it
Something like my sound, I wanna pump it
Girl you look just like my cars, I wanna wax it
And something like my bank account
I wanna spend it, baby

There’s nothing more romantic than comparing your woman to inanimate objects.

And what about that Rob Thomas guy with such inspiring lyrics as:

This is it now
Everybody get down
This is all I can take
This is how a heart breaks
You take a hit now you feel it break down
Make you stay wide awake
This is how a heart breaks

Can someone tell me what the hell this guy is talking about? I first heard this song during the NBA finals. Apparently, some bright light decided this was the song to whip everyone into a basketball frenzy. This song is just bad.

But not this bad. I’ll leave you with, quite possibly, one of the worst songs in the history of the human language (I’m not exaggerating … well, maybe, a little). What a coincidence with all this smoothing up in ya going on that the band’s name was (because I’m assuming this band is no longer around) the Bullet Boys. Does that mean bullet as in ‘quick as a’?

I know you really want to move me
You know I like to see you try
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again
You’re not not trapped if you don’t let me in

Looks like you’re the hard kind
I ain’t got that kind of time

Oh I send shivers

Smooth up in ya
Smooth up in ya
(In ya)

You say I’m never gonna break ya
But we won’t know until we try
So now’s the time to make up your mind
I’ll never ever be the one woman kind

Don’t let your lovin’ go to waste
All it takes is just one date

Oh I send shivers

Smooth up in ya
Smooth up in ya
(Smooth up in ya)

Smooth up in ya
(I wanna go, I wanna go)
Smooth up in ya
(Right now, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah)

Oh oh oh
I wanna go
I wanna
I wanna go

Oh yeah yeah yeah, don’t let your lovin’ go to waste
Oh honey child, I’m gonna give you a taste

Whoa I send shivers

Smooth up in ya
Smooth up in ya
(Smooth up in ya)

Have a nice day.

Top 10 Worst Song Lyrics… Ever… {Blogcritic}
Trapped In The Closet {Stereogum}

Post #343 or Working the Categories

Just call me Jack of all trades (we’ll just skip the second part of that phrase).

Sonica: Last weeks KCRW Music Exchange played a bit from a band called Test Icicles, described by their engineer as “the Arcade Fire meets Slayer”. S’right, that’s what I said. Due to release a neon green 7″ titled Boa vs Python on August 1st on Domino Records, the song Boa vs Python is well … give it a listen yourself. The full song is available for play from their site. Although the comparison seems a strange one, I can see why the Arcade Fire came up as a description. The pitch of the music has a vehement fervor that seems genuine and is paired with a sort of controlled insanity.

Visual Delights: In movie news, there are about a million alternates to the ’summer blockbuster’ out there. 9 Songs tops the list of movies I will definitely be seeing. Garnering controversy because of a real sex scene (bravo!), the film opens here in Seattle on August 19th and in major cities elsewhere throughout the summer. Check out their site for more information. Or, if you’re one of those must-read-the-review first types, Salon has a formidable one. It’s got to be better than The Island. Word is that movie is bad, even for Michael Bay.

Techcentric: The official name (or re-name, if you prefer) of Longhorn is now Vista. Excuse me while I’m slightly nauseated. Do you think these people are happy? Or what about these people? Is it true? Well, Engadget says so. But just so you know, if they jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge … I wouldn’t. Well, not right away. Baa.

Sushi for the Mind: If you haven’t yet read The Historian from Elizabeth Kostova, please do. The historical novel was 10 years in the making and crafted from a single memory of her father reading stories of Dracula to her as a child. How do I know? She told me so at a reading she gave on Monday at my favorite bookstore, Elliott Bay Book Co.. It’s hard to conceive of a work of fiction based on Vlad Tsepesh and the mythos surrounding him without falling into the horror see also: vampires category. But, believe me when I say, this book is about the relationship between a father and a daughter, rich landscapes and a love of researching history.

On the heels of this book, I burned through the latest Harry Potter. All I can say is, wow. And now, on to Legends from Robert Littell. I don’t normally go for spy/espionage type novels, but it was picked through a book club and I’m always willing to give new books a try. The opening chapter was a bit horrifying, but that has certainly never stopped me before (see: Exquisite Corpse from Poppy Z. Brite).

And that’s that.

Ubiquitous Sunday Post

I should really think about renaming this site Ubiquitous Sunday Post.

What a tranquil morning it is. Perfect weather for a bit of introspection, a large glass of water and some PHP practice. The only interruption is the tiny whimper from Penny as she searches the house for where Mark and Primo might be. Alas, steep hikes are not for little dogs who start to look miserable two miles in. Post PHP practice, I will be headed to Ballard armed with european home magazines, Harry Potter and my shopping bag for some cafe time and then on to the farmer’s market. A must-stop will be Sonic Boom to peruse the listening stations and perhaps even pick up a new CD (or four).

The KEXP BBQ is this afternoon with United States of Electronica, Smoosh, Crooked Finger and a secret headliner performing. I have been sworn to secrecy NOT to reveal the secret band, so I’ll just say that the folks at KEXP are definitely continuing to earn a reputation with it. Other secret bands have turned out to be: Interpol, Aqualung and Low. If you’re in Seattle and heading over, a little birdie told me there might be a handful of tickets still available at the door. Otherwise, you’re out of luck.

Have a lovely Sunday!

Dirty Music News!!

This just in from our Ballard correspondent. Er, ahem, Mark. The Dirty Three are hard at work to release their seventh studio album this fall. Titled Cinder, it features actual vocals. Yes, you heard me right, vocals. But never fear, it’s only two tracks with Chan Marshall and Sally Timms lending vocals to the violin drenched instrumentals. I suppose that makes them … non-instrumentals? I’ll just be waiting anxiously for October 11th. The tracklisting is available, but who the heck cares? Bring on the music.

Breaking Up With The Cure

As always, thanks to Chain of Flowers, an ever reliable resource for Cure junkies. They announce that Roger and Perry have left The Cure (what about all the festival dates they just booked?). There are links there to statements from both as well as the swirling press angle on all of it.

::Sniff::