Tuesday 5 July 2005

Depeche album title

Hot on the heels of their world tour press conference two weeks ago, Depeche Mode decided to use the US independence day holiday as perfect fodder to announce the name of the album they'll be touring.

"Playing The Angel" is set for a 17 October release on Mute. It will feature among its tracklisting the following songs: "Precious", "Sinner in Me", "Suffer Well", "John the Revelator", "Macrovision" (with Martin Gore on lead), "A Pain That I'm Used To", "I Want It All". Three of the album cuts will be written by frontman Dave Gahan.

The album is set to be preceeded by the single Precious in early October. This will be the band's first real single release (not counting Enjoy The Silence 04) since the EP-length Goodnight Lovers in 2001.

Friday 1 July 2005

Live 8 = musical depression

The Mirror published details today about the running order and song lists for tomorrow's Hyde Park Live 8 gig.

My initial reaction? Thank the maker I'm not going to be there.

Apart from the horrid line up (Velvet Revolver? C'mon, I'd rather see the Boomtown Rats), it just smacks endemic of the problems with the British music scene. I mean, HOW MANY acts playing in London are American this time around?

The icing on the poison cake, or the bruised cheek from the slap in the face is Mariah Carey performing. Eek. At least she'll give people about 20 minutes for loo break and food buying.

Thankfully Sir Bob has made reassurances that this isn't to be considered Live Aid 2, which is good because it could only sully the good name and memory of that event.

Link: The Mirror

New Saint Etienne DVD!

In other Saint Etienne news, their LONG awaited Finisterrefilm finally comes out on DVD on Monday (4 July).

This film, in an embryonic state, was trotted around during the tour for their Finisterre album back in 2002 as back drop films for the new songs. Clips were also used as videos for the album's singles.

The hour long film was then completed after the tour and shown in various cinematic venues like London's ICA.

Like vapourware, the promise of the release of the film has been in the air ever since, so three years on, it's finally coming out.

A bit hurrah all around!

In other other news, there's a new film in the works that the band is debuting at the Barbican in October. I've tentatively pencilled in a 2008 DVD release date for that.

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Massive Attack back again!

Side-Line.com are reporting that Massive Attack have buried that hatchet and are actually putting the finishing touches on a new album. Fans of the band will know that the members have been trying to bury the hatchet for years... in each other.

This will mark the first time in a long long while that the three main members of the revolving collective have appeared on album together. The band's last album, 100th Window, featured just two members from the band and was widely regarded as a solo album for Robert Del Naja.

Whether they can scale the heights of success that the Bristol scene brought them in the mid-90s will be interesting to see. It's just good to see that they're back.

New Saint Etienne single!

Hot on the heels on the "just inside the top 40" (aka scarping in at #36) success of their Side Streets single, Saint Etienne have apparently given given the go ahead from Sanctuary for a second single from the Tales From Turnpike House album.

As they put it on their official site: "Sanctuary have agreed that we can take another single from Tales From Turnpike House, with mixes. And other quality b-sides. Which will probably bankrupt them."

This is good news, as the Saint Etienne remix was sorely lacking from the last single, even though there were 4 b-sides.