Friday, September 28, 2007

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominations


Industry peeps have turned in their ballots for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions and here are our nominees for the class of 2008:

Drum roll . . .

Madonna
John Mellencamp
Beastie Boys
Donna Summer
Chic
Dave Clark Five
Leonard Cohen
Afrika Bambaataa
The Ventures

Madonna - She's in on her first nomination. Done deal!

Mellencamp has been on the ballot before but he'll probably make it this time - car commercials and Farm Aid have to work in his favor.

Cohen is loved in industry circles.

I have a soft spot for The Ventures - not that that matters to anyone important - but it should :))

Chic and Dave Clark Five are endlessley on the ballot but never make the final cut and I'm not sure they will this time either.

Beastie Boys will liven up the show so they may get in on that factor alone.

Donna Summer - sure, why not . . .

Afrika - I'm not too familiar with and I'm feeling very ashamed of myself . .

Only 5 will actually be inducted at the ceremony which is scheduled for March 10, 2008 at the Waldorf Astoria in NYC.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Scorsese to Helm George Harrison Docu


He's taken on The Band (The Last Waltz), Bob Dylan (No Direction Home) and the Rolling Stones (Shine a Light) but now Martin Scorsese (that's Marty to us here in the 212/646/718 etc.) is set to direct a docu on the life of quiet Beatle George.

The project has been sanctioned by Harrison's widow Olivia so I guess that means we'll get lots of things with the "never before seen" tag attached.

I have to admit that I went through a love affair with all the Beatles at different times in my life.

Ringo - little kid (I loved the song "Yellow Submarine"!)
Paul - teenage years
John - art school

But, I have to say that George wins the title of my forever favorite Beatle which means that I'll be waiting VERY impatiently for this one to get made.

Hurry up Marty!!!

In other George news, I'm reading "Wonderful Tonight" by Patti Boyd (wife to Harrison and also Eric Clapton). She was behind George's "Something" and Eric's "Layla" and "Wonderful Tonight".

It's a good picture of the swinging 60s in London without being salacious or tacky when it comes to dealing with the men in her life.

Little more George . . .

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Debbie Harry Teaches Punk Pre-School

This is why we love Debbie Harry!

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Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Starry-Eyed Festival @ The Yard


On Sunday, the Starry-Eyed Festival was held at a wonderful "venue" called the Yard. It's basically a large backyard seated on the banks of the Gowanus Canal in the Carroll Gardens section of Brooklyn.

It's got a great vibe - trees to sit under, folding chairs, musicians playing barefoot, little kids running around and last, but never least to me - barbeque!

The Festival was held as a benefit for Star Island Corporation, a non-profit out of Portsmouth, NH. The organization is hoping to raise funds to pay for the upkeep of a Victorian Hotel they maintain on the island - a place that once served the likes of Henry David Thoreau and Blackbeard - aargh, matey!

Taking the stage early in the day was a brand new (he'll be 18 in a few days) singer/songwriter Barrett Lindgren. He may still be a puppy on the music scene but the kid's got a lot of talent and we'll probably be hearing more of his folky tunes in the near future.

Next up was ex-Cibo Matto frontwoman Miho Hatori who sang a mixture of electro-pop and Japanese folk tunes. She also shared some history with us. After World War II, Japan imported a lot of South American folk music to raise the spirits of the bombed to hell and back nation. They then took these famous folk songs, namely Brazil's "Paraiba" and added original Japanese lyrics.

It works! No word on what Brazil thought.

Unfortunately I had to leave early, but I hear from kevchino.com that Budos Band killed it and them some.

Congrats to everyone on putting this together!



Friday, September 21, 2007

TV Alert - Editors on Jay Leno Tonight!


One of our favorite UK bands Editors will be singing for Mr. Leno on the Tonight Show - tonight, Friday, September 21st @ 11:30 p.m./10:30 p.m. central on NBC.

Don't miss it!

The guys are supporting their super fine sophomore disc "An End Has A Start".

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Bob Dylan - Your Own Personal Messenger?


Want Mr. Dylan to shout out whatever you want shouted out?

No problem!

Remember the part in the film "Don't Look Back" when Dylan is standing in an alley flinging the lyrics to "Subterranean Homesick Blues" on cue cards?

Those cards can now be your own personal billboard.

Simply go to dylanmessaging.com.

That's right, the voice of his generation can now be voicing whatever you want. You just type your message into the boxes/cards and you can send them out through cyberspace to as many people as you want.

It doesn't look like it costs anything.

Now the big question: Why is Dylan doing this?

To promote his new 3-Disc set called "Dylan" a career spanning collection with extra goodies like postcards (does anyone ever really send those?) to a 40 page booklet and replicas of the original vinyl artwork.

It's out October 1st.

The internet geek in me thinks this is totally cool while the music purist in me is rearing her ugly head and shrieking about signs of the apocalypse.

What do you think?

Monday, September 17, 2007

Across the Universe (a.k.a The Beatles Musical)



In the 2 hour and 11 minute film Across the Universe, 33 Beatles tunes are sung by characters called Jude, Lucy, Sadie, Prudence, Max and Jojo among others.

It's a psychedelic,(at times annoying, at times spectacular) romp through the 1960s. Most of it is set in New York - a few of Sadie's concert scenes were even shot at Webster Hall.

Some of it is over the top and needs to go (cough - the whole "Mr. Kite sequence) but there's lots to love like Prudence's entrance - "she came in through the bathroom window". How else?

This tale about a boy named Jude, who falls for a pretty blonde named Lucy might not be for everyone but if you allow yourself to turn on, tune in and drop out - you might start to dig it.

I loved it!!

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Redefine Magainze on the Newsstands!


It's a proud moment for those of us who write for, edit, design and last but never least - READ Redefine Magazine!

We've grown the issue from a teeny-tiny print give away to an on the newsstands "FOR SALE" force to be reckoned with!

The fall issue of Redefine is available now (I wrote the cover story so if you hate it, you can leave me nasty comments) and it includes the best of music, art, culture and stuff that your mom would just call "weird".

The magazine is available for purchase on-line at redefinemag.com and also at bookstores in Canada and a few outlets on the west coast, as well!

In New York City, you can pick it up at the following: (FYI - they're stocking it with the art magazines which is a little strange but we'll take it anyway!)

- Universal News - 11 W. 14th St.

- Universal News - 234 W. 42nd St.

- Universal News - 977 8th Ave.

- Universal News - 50 W. 23rd St. (I have it on good authority that they're sold out here - hmmm . . .)

Congrats to all but especially to Ms. Vivian Hua (Editor-in-Chief) for keeping us all in line and moving forward!

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

"Icky" News For White Stripes Fans


The "thump" of the "Icky" has been silenced . . . at least for awhile.

In a posting on their website, Jack White revealed that sister/ex-wife Meg is suffering from "acute anxiety" and has been ordered off the road.

The cancelled shows are:

Albuquerque, NM
Austin, TX
Dan Diego, CA
Inglewood, CA
Berkeley, CA

UPDATE: THE ENTIRE TOUR!

Monday, September 10, 2007

Splurge - Releases for September 11, 2007

Finally, Tuesdays are getting exciting again!

Decent amount of stuff to scoop up . . .

On your mark, get set, SPLURGE!!!!!

Ani DiFranco : Canon - Righteous Babe

Animal Collective : Strawberry Jam - Domino

Ann Wilson : Hope & Glory - Zoe Records

Elvis Costello : My Aim is True - Hippo Records

Figurines : When the Deer Wore Blue - The Control Group

Go! Team : Proof of Youth - Sub Pop

Hot Hot Heat : Happiness, Ltd. - Sire Records

Oakley Hall : I'll Follow You - Merge Records

Shout Out Louds : Our Ill Wills - Merge

Q&A - Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene


I chatted with BSS front man Kevin Drew on his swing through NYC.

Besides his fabulous new disc Spirit If . . . there was also talk of grilled cheese and Broken Social Scene dodge ball!

Take a break from pretending to work and read it - kevchino.com.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Q&A with Spectrum


Pete "Sonic Boom", late of Spacemen 3 and currently of Spectrum, took the time to answer some questions before he kicked off his latest tour at Brooklyn's After the Jump Fest.

Get the scoop on the upcoming Spectrum album and why Kember couldn't call it quits after the break-up of Spacemen 3.

It's right here at 'Sup Magazine.

Deerhunter @ South Street Seaport



Deer is in season!

We have The Dears, Loney, Dear, Deerhoof and That Deer Band but it was the electro jam outfit Deerhunter that scored a spot at the closing gig of this year's Seaport Music Festival.

We hated to see those sweet Friday night concerts disappear but as the Byrds sang . . . "Turn, turn, turn . . .

Anyway, Deerhunter, opening for Battles, kicked off the beginning of the end with some strong tunes.

The Atlanta, GA guys have a few more U.S. dates before heading overseas.

Catch 'em if you can!





Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Klaxons Win Mercury Music Prize!


Congrats to Klaxons!!

The U.K. band took home the prize for their album "Myths of the Near Future".

More at NME.com.

Clare Burson @ The Living Room


Americana singer Clare Burson's music has a sultry feel steeped in old traditions and the new folk movement.

Burson and her band stopped by the Living Room to celebrate the release of her raw heart-tugger of an album called "Thieves". It's a keeper!

Hear Me = myspace.com/clareburson

See Me = September 18th @ Joe's Pub - Tix / November 2nd @ Webster Hall

Monday, September 3, 2007

Rick Rubin - New York Times



Before you all head to Dinosaur Jr. / Dr. Dog at Webster Hall tonight, here's a little (HA!) weekend read for you.


The New York Times Magazine did a long feature on Rick Rubin.

Is he the modern day Mr. Miyagi to the music business's Daniel-san?

Who knows but he's working with The Gossip!