R.E.M. Name New Album

R.E.M, the elder statesmen of alt-rock, have finally decided on a name for their 14th studio LP.

It's going to be called Accelerate and you can pick it up in April.

Interview with Figurines

Danish band Figurines put out one of the best albums this year with When The Deer Wore Blue (Control Group).

Anchored by lush harmonies and dreamy psychedelic romps like "The Air We Breathe", the group had no trouble distinguishing themselves from the onslaught of foreign bands with a taste for all things Americana.

I chatted with the guys in a quiet (HA!) corner of Mercury Lounge post-soundcheck.

You can read it at kevchino.com.

Neimo @ Pianos - New York City

French band Neimo made a glam splash during CMJ.

They are currently taking a victory lap through the NYC music scene with several shows in the area.

Their music isn't the stuff of smokey jazz clubs and it won't conjure up a images of a peaceful stroll along the Seine either.

They play rock and roll with just enough of a strut and pout to separate themselves from the throngs of moody black-clad indie rockers.

NYC'ers have a few more chances to go "Oh la la" over the band:

December 15th - Luna Lounge - Brooklyn
December 19th - Pianos - NYC
December 22nd - The Annex - NYC
December 29th - Midway

Led Zeppelin - 2007 reunion

No, I didn't go. I'm holding out for a tour.

The show is over by now and reports are starting to trickle in from London. By tomorrow, I'm sure we'll be hit with a review from each and every ticketholder that attended so expect to get up early and start scrolling through 18,000 blog postings.

For now, here are the basics:

The band played a 16 song set:

'Good Times Bad Times'
'Ramble On'
'Black Dog'
'In My Time Of Dying'
'For Your Life'
'Trampled Under Foot'
'Nobody's Fault But Mine'
'No Quarter'
'Since I've Been Loving You'
'Dazed And Confused'
'Stairway To Heaven'
'The Song Remains The Same'
'Misty Mountain Hop'
'Kashmir'
'Whole Lotta Love'
'Rock And Roll


You can read the following on NME.com.

- Song By Song Blog

- Review.

Neimo - Ticket Give Away!

French music sensation Neimo (one of my personal favorites from CMJ)are in town to spread a little holiday cheer - rock and roll style!

And, they're going to help me help you get your "Ho Ho Ho!" on by slipping us some tickets to one of their upcoming gigs.

I have 2 pairs of tickets to give away to their December 12th show at Pianos.

The first two people to email me at RetroGirlNYC@aol.com with "Give Me Neimo Tix!" or something more creative in the subject line will get a pair!

If you don't manage to snag these tickets, we want you to get out and catch one of their other shows.

There's a whole bunch so NO EXCUSES!

Neimo in NYC:

Dec 5th - Pianos
Dec 8th - Arlene's Grocery
Dec 12th - Pianos
Dec 15th - Luna Lounge
Dec 19th - Pianos
Dec 22nd - Tiswas at the Annex
Dec 29th - Midway

And, just to get you even more hot and bothered - you can download a free mp3 of their song "Echoing Pixels" here and also, check out some video goodness!

"Hot Girl"

Broken Social Scene @ Webster Hall

A few (8 or so) members of BSS dropped by Webster Hall to play frontman Kevin Drew's new album Spirit If.

If you're not familiar with the "Broken Social Scene Presents" series how it works is that the members get to record an album of their own songs with members of BSS playing along. Kevin Drew is the first one out of the gate and next up will be Brendan Canning sometime early next year.

Now, if you've ever seen this Canadian collective in action then you know what an absolute joy fest they are. Kevin Drew described his group by saying, "We're not an ordinary band but we do try hard!".

Ordinary they are not - playing a 2 1/2 hour show that covered many of Drew's all over the musical map Spirit If songs and some BSS favorites as well.


Highlights:

1) Brendan Canning's split jumps and pogoing

2) Kevin Drew - "Come on . . . give me shit." "I want coats, bags!" The audience pelted him with coats, scarves, hats and he put them all on until he looked like a clothing monster who rose from the depths of the dressing room floor at an Urban Outfitters.

3) Special Guests!! - Emily Haines came out for a few songs including an incredible live rant of "Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl". Hello, sing-along!!!

Led Zeppelin's "Mothership" Lands!

It's in stores today available in a 2 CD set or a Limited Edition 2 CD/1DVD set.

The packaging is annoying as hell - you can't get the CDS/DVD out without getting fingerprints all over them but the music - well the song remains the same - pure rock and roll bliss!

Track Listing for the Limited Edition (cause you really should splurge on this one!)

Disc 1: CD


1. Good Times Bad Times
2. Communication Breakdown
3. Dazed and Confused
4. Babe I'm Gonna Leave Yous
5. Whole Lotta Love
6. Ramble On
7. Heartbreaker
8. Immigrant Song
9. Since I've Been Loving You
10. Rock and Roll
11. Black Dog
12. When The Levee Breaks
13. Stairway to Heaven

Disc 2: CD

1. Song Remains The Same
2. Over The Hills And Far Away
3. D'Yer Maker
4. No Quarter
5. Trampled Under Foot
6. Houses Of The Holy
7. Kashmir
8. Nobody's Fault But Mine
9. Achilles Last Stand
10. In The Evening
11. All My Love


Disc 3: DVD

1. We're Gonna Groove
2. I Can't Quit You Babe
3. Dazed & Confused
4. White Summer
5. What Is & What Should Never Be
6. Moby Dick
7. Whole Lotta Love
8. Communication Breakdown
9. Bring It on Home
10. Immigrant Song
11. Black Dog
12. Misty Mountain Hop
13. The Ocean
14. Coming To California
15. In My Time 0f Dying
16. Stairway to Heaven
17. Rock and Roll
18. Nobody's Fault But Mine
19. Kashmir
20. Whole Lotta Love

The Eagles Soar Over Spears! It's Not Funny Y'all!

EEEEeeeekkkk!!! EEEEEeeekk!!!

That's the sound of Britney Spears watching an eagle (call him Don, Glen, Joe or Tim) fly off with not only her wig of the day but that coveted #1 spot on the old Billboard charts.

Hey, let's give the Britster a little bit of credit.

Reviews for her album Blackout weren't bad. In fact, they were kind of good!

Crazy ain't it y'all!

But then those rumblings started that the Eagles new album, Long Road Out of Eden, their first to feature all new material in 28 years, was actually selling at double the rate.

Our favorite wreck of a poptart still looked golden for that #1 spot on the charts though because the Eagles' CD was only available at Walmart and single retailers weren't counted by Billboard.

But then a last minute deal was struck (wouldn't wanna ruffle any feathers) - Walmart agreed to report their sales figures and the Eagles soared right up the Billboard's charts, perching nice and pretty at #1.

Numbers:

Eagles - Long Road Out of Eden - 711,000 copies sold
Britney Spears - Blackout - 290,000 copies sold

I've had my issues with the Eagles before (enough of the Farewell Tours!) but damn . . . . good job boys!

For those of us lucky enough to not have a Walmart nearby (Yeah, NYC!) Long Road Out of Eden is also available directly from the Eagles website.

New Panda Bear Video - "Comfy In Nautica"

Here's a little Panda Bear to help you through the day after Halloween.

Warning!!!

It's just as sweet as all that candy you gorged on last night so consume at your own risk . . .

Interview with Vashti Bunyan

Singer/songwriter Vashti Bunyan will be enjoying some more late-career success when her new collection of singles and demos, Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind drops on November 13th.

I dialed up the incredilby warm and gracious Vashti at home this past weekend for a chat about her memories of Andrew Loog Oldham, recording a Rolling Stones song and what she likes best about this younger generation of artists.

Click over to kevchino.com and enjoy!

Feist Gets Unplugged

Feist (she of the new iPod nano) has gone unplugged for VH1.

You can watch acoustic performances of "1,2,3,4", "I Feel It All" and "My Moon, My Man" here.

U2's "Joshua Tree" Turns 20!

We interrupt the flow of CMJ coverage for this important newsflash:

OMG! I'm old!

I bought "The Joshua Tree" when it originally came out in 1987. Okay, my Mom had to buy it for me - thanks Mom!

Now, 20 years later U2 are getting ready to celebrate the mega album that brought us monster hits like "With Or Without You", "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For".

We all know how Bono and the guys work. They don't do things in small ways so on November 20th, our favorite Dubliners are releasing the remasterd disc in not one but FOUR different formats:

1 - regular old CD with liner notes, lyrics and some unseen photos by Anton Corbijn

2 - a double 12 inch gatefold for all you vinylphiles

3 - deluxe edition with an extra CD full of b-sides and demos from the original recording sessions.

4- limited edition box set with 2 cds + a DVD featuring the Joshua Tree Live Tour at the Hippodrome in Paris and a nice little hardbound booklet.

I think I'll take what's behind Door #4, please!

Operator Please @ Mercury Lounge - NYC

Top Five Reasons to Love Australia

#5 - Rain Main says Qantas never crashed

#4 - Kangaroos and koala bears are cute

#3 - Men at Work's "Down Under"

#2 - Wolves (namely Wolfmother and Wolf & Cub)

#1 - OPERATOR PLEASE


The spunky pop-friendly five-piece Operator Please danced their way into the hearts of NYC last night with their spot on rock style and fireball songs.

They even conquered my post-CMJ sleepiness!

The band is from the Gold Coast in Australia and they like lots of things from kitties to cheese. We think that's reason enough to make our hearts skip a beat but wait, there's more!!

They have the look!

Bass player Ashley rocked the skinny black jeans and shiny shoes, while singer/guitarist Amandah looked prim enough in a black jumper and lacy white button down but, when she turned around, there was a rip in her black stockings.

I don't kow if it was on purpose or not, but it was perfect. If it was an accidental tear, please from now on, hire a roadie soley as a stockings ripper!!

Their set was full of catchy two-three minute thrashers that will make you smile while you're banging your head.

Operator Please are headed to Los Angeles next for a stop at the Knitting Factory.

Come back soon . . . we miss you already!

Here's the vid for one of their singles. It's called "Leave it Alone".

Now play nice kids!! :)))



Pics . . .

The Wallflowers @ Highline Ballroom - NYC

The Wallflowers are out on a mini-tour and stopped by Highline Ballroom on Monday night.

Last time they hit the road, the guys skipped NYC proper but they made up for it last night, playing for an all over the place crowd - the usual music kids looking like 70s throwbacks, the wallstreet guys in collared shirts, vests and horn-rimmed glasses who looked like they'd rather be calculating something and the requisite Bob Dylan fans who came out to support Dylan fils.

Yes, frontman Jakob Dylan obviously spent some time listening to Dad's records but I have a sneaking suspcision that his favorite was/is Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. They play the same kind of American rock that's steeped in Southern folklore, wistful melancholy and radio-friendly road rock.

Frontman Jakob Dylan said at one point that he was in the mood for "the quieter songs" which had people pleading and screaming for "One Headlight". Umm . . . not exactly a quiet song.

Still, the band was in a playful mood as they offered up gem after gem - my favorite being "6th Avenue Heartache".

They played a long encore set (3 or 4 songs - I can't remember exactly I still have lingering CMJ fatigue) but when the house lights went up "One Headlight" had NOT been played.

Part of me admires a band who has the guts to stare down a crowd and not play their big hit but the other part of me whines "but that's a really good song".

Oh, well - that's what Mr. iPod is for!

I headed back to my train with "One Headlight" on repeat.

NYC kids, you have another chance to catch them - October 25th @ The Beacon.

Rodrigo y Gabriela @ Roseland Ballroom - CMJ

Rodrigo y Gabriela were one of the must-see CMJ gigs so I headed over to the cavern that is Roseland Ballroom early in the night.

Alex Skolnick (formerly a guitarist for metal band Testament) opened for the guitar duo. He's embraced jazz now and fronts a thump thumping band called the Alex Skolnick trio.

He still appreciates some good thrashing metal though and has been a friend to and big time supporter of Rod y Gab.

By the time the guitar duo took their seats on stage, the place was packed and roaring.

The music was as electric as ever. Despite some guitar problems (Rodrigo vamped and asked if the crowd wanted to sing that "London Bridge" song),they still thrashed the hell out of their strings and beat the percussion out on the wooden body of their axes.

The crowd sang along to their cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" - pure magic!!

Now, the other great thing about these two are they have the dirtiest mouths - especailly Gab.

She's such a sweet looking thing but the f-word is obviously her favorite curse word - everything was f-in' something. Love it!!

Thank you to Rodrigo y Gabriela for another f-ingly brillant show!!!

Oh, and one more scoop - RyG are headed overseas to finish up their European dates and then it's back to the studio to thrash out album number 2.

I'll be waiting - VERY impatiently!!









Alex Skolnick added some thrashing licks . . .

Mute Math @ The Fillmore Irving Plaza - CMJ

Pogo me happy because Mute Math were in the house last night!

I decided to hit the balcony of the Fillmore for their gig instead of the floor for a couple of reasons:

1) I'm short
2) I like oxygen

It didn't matter though if you were up above, down below or on the street outside, MM's elctro rock gloriousness was going to catch you and shake you happy no matter where you were!

CMJ gives you plenty of opportunities to get out there and support those brand new baby bands but sometimes, I just need a headliner!!

Mute Math is out on tour, heading south and then west.

You know what to do . . . :)))))

Grindcity @ Avalon - CMJ

Philadelphia's Grindcity played as part of an Unsigned Artists showcase at Avalon on Wednesday.

All I have to say to that is WHAT????

Somebody SIGN this band!!

They're hip hop in the sense that they have an MC but Grindcity is all about the groove - and they keep it loose and funky.

They've got it all - performance chops, fired up songs and slow R&B burners.

Avalon was crowded early in the night so there MUST have been an A&R person out there somewhere that will be smart enough to take these guys off the unsigned market!

The Teenage Prayers @ Arlene's Grocery - CMJ

New York's the Teenage Prayers played early in the night but they had a decent-sized crowed inching near the stage and craning their necks for a better view.

This is the second time I've seen the guys and they keep on impressing!

If you want to get your solid red, white and blue American rock on - check this band out!

Neimo @ Arlene's Grocery - CMJ

Black and pink 80s tees, skinny black jeans slashed across the knee, white pointy shoes and thrashing - be still my glam-loving heart!

Neimo is the most delicious thing (musically - at least) to come out of France in a long long time. In other words - they make me want to bang a gong!

T-Rex's Marc Bolan may be gone but his style and sass live on in bands like this one.

Lead singer Bruno Joe Dallesandro doesn't mind (to say the least) dozens of flash bulbs going off in his face and he wiggles and rolls on stage with the best of them!

If all of the CMJ gigs turn out to be as much over-the-top fun as this one, we're all in for a VERY good Marathon!

Happy CMJ 2007!

It's here - CMJ 2007!

Go pick up your badges, buy those tickets and hit the streets running . . .

I'll see you in the middle of a mosh pit somewhere!

There's a good cheat sheet (full disclosure - I wrote most of it) to must-see shows on the news section of kevchino.com. Just scroll down.

Shout Out Louds - Interview

I sat down with Bebban Stenborg, keyboard player for Sweden's Shout Out Louds.

We talked about her singing lead, Elvis and making a video on a ship.

You can read it @ kevchino.com.

They have a new album out called Our Ill Wills that will make your ears oh so happy!

SOL are also great live so if you haven't seen them, NYC-area kids have another shot. They'll be back in our hood for 3 gigs in late October.

October 25th - Bowery Ballroom - NY, NY
October 26th - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY
October 27th - Maxwells - Hoboken, NJ