The line-up for Bonnaroo 2010 was announced last week via their Myspace page, where one act was announced every five minutes. Bonnaroo has always produced extraordinary line-ups and this year’s is no different. The periodic artist announcements were like one fire bomb after the other. There’s something for everyone:
The indie hipster set – The xx, Phoenix, LCD Soundsystem, The Avett Brothers, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
The lesbos: Tori Amos, Brandi Carlile, Ingrid Michaelson
Boring people: Norah Jones
People stuck in the 90’s: Dave Matthews Band, Blues Traveler
Dirty hippies: Thievery Corporation
People who have really good taste in music: Stevie Wonder, The Dead Weather, The Black Keys
People who like dead babies and fake vomit: GWAR
And then there’s one act in particular that might make me drop my “no camping for life” rule: Daryl Hall and Chromeo. I have no idea what this is all about and I have no idea why mother fucking John Oates was left out of this great collaboration, but I love Hall and Oates more than my own mother. Sprinkle in a little Chromeo and you’ve got this (fast forward to the 3:47 mark for “No Can Do”):
This also falls into the category of, “People who are stuck in the 80’s” and I’m damn proud of it. This might just have me gathering up my camping supplies and hitchhiking down to good old Tennessee come June.
Tickets are on sale right now and you can view the complete line-up here.
-Felicia
Traditionally, the only bad thing about a breakthrough band having a banner year from a critically acclaimed debut, such as Japandroids‘ Post-Nothing in 2009, is that in the following year we either have to look forward to A) a rushed sophomore effort or B) incessant touring. This usually means we either have to be disappointed by a new record and not get to see them live for a while or wait at least an additional year for them to release something worthwhile while we go see them in concert a couple more times. Brilliantly, the Canadian duo in question has cheated Father Time by touring nonstop AND releasing a series of 7 inches throughout 2010 as they hop from city to city. No word yet on how many or how often, but each with contain an A-side original track and a B-side cover. And judging by the first in the series, featuring the aggressive “Art Czars” and their take on Big Black’s “Racer X”, proves that this series might be yet another reason why I should bite the bullet and buy a turntable.
-Chris Polley
Peter Gabriel is releasing a new album on March 2nd (U.S. release) titled Scratch My Back. The album is completely comprised of cover songs from various artists using a full orchestral backing. Gabriel asked the artists whose songs he covered to cover one of his songs for a future album titled I’ll Scratch Yours.
Covers included on this album include Bon Iver’s “Flume,” Arcade Fire’s “My Body is a Cage,” David Bowie’s “Heroes” and Radiohead’s “Street Spirit (Fade Out).” If you sign up on Gabriel’s website you can gain access to a free download of the “Flume” cover. That’s some pretty heavy company for Mr. Justin Vernon of Wisconsin, whose music was introduced to Gabriel by his daughter. This is very much well deserved!
The Guardian also has a preview of the full album, and here is the “Flume” track:
Other than John Mayer making a complete tool-box out of himself (though, admittedly, he did have a pretty good comeback when some idiot asked him if he would go to rehab: “They don’t make rehab centers for being an a-hole.” Seriously, dude can be funny, but he needs to cut out the drama), it’s been a decent week for big-name guitarists. Eric Clapton has released the details about 2010’s Crossroads Guitar Festival, which features a line-up with the likes of B.B. King, Jeff Beck, the aforementioned tool-box, ZZ Top, and for some reason Sheryl Crow. So, basically, Clapton, King, and a bunch of people for whom life in the music biz has not been particularly great in this last decade. Elsewhere, Guns ‘n Roses, despite my disbelief that Axl Rose is still alive, played a surprise New York City gig on the stage where CBGB’s used to be. This means that yet another out-of-work guitarist has been employed. Guns ‘n Roses should be getting stimulus money for their job creation. And no roundup of big-named guitarist news would be complete without Carlos Santana. No, he didn’t finally release Santana DVX Champagne (any day now, Carlos), but he did take part in the “We Are the World” remake. Which is good news for him because, regardless of how crassly unbearable the song is (even compared to the original, and that’s saying a lot), it’s a step up from doing literally nothing and cashing in residual checks from “Smooth.”
As widely reported last week, Google’s Blogger deactivated a handful of mp3 blogs, because they were in violation of the site’s terms of service. At first, it appeared a rather sudden and drastic move by Blogger, but the company has responded to the incident with a decent explanation. In short, Blogger says that if you violate the DCMA guidelines repeatedly and do not respond to these complaints, your blog will be 86′d. Considering the large amount of mp3 blogs still using Blogger as their host, the crackdown could have a large effect on the online music community. While many of the more trafficked mp3 blogs host their own files, the new precedent set by the recent Blogger raid could lead to a contraction of the nebulous network of free mp3 files hosted by an endless amount of personal blogs. Is the golden age of a free-flowing river of mp3s at our fingertips coming to an end? Probably not, but it is clear that Google is starting to take more notice of careless bloggers who repeatedly violate the DCMA. Not the end of the world, but the game has definitely changed. Blogger’s official response: http://buzz.blogger.com/2010/02/quick-note-about-music-blog-removals.html
-Daniel Wipert
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Chris – I’ve been stuck on two tracks by bands that I wish I could see in concert but I know I can’t. It’s agonizing. First is JJ, a band that’s so wussy adult contempo that it ends up coming off as edgy, and their beautiful soft-pop number “From Africa to Málaga”. Can’t go see them because their April show in Minneapolis opening for The xx is sold out. Harumph. Then there’s “Mouthful of Diamonds” by Phantogram, who are in town next Thursday, but I won’t be able to witness their blissed-out synth-pop because I’ll be at the Atlas Sound show on the same night. Oh merciless gods of indie rock, why must you torment me?
Dan – French Horn Rebellion, “Up All Night”
Refuges from the Milwaukee suburbs create dance-pop so carefree and playful that it destroys all attempts at irony. Finally, the dragon of hipsterdom is vanquished. Just dance and forget about it.
The Radio Dept., “Heaven’s on Fire”
Nothing beats an anti-capitalist tirade, especially when it’s followed by a beautiful and subtle pop gem. This little ditty recalls radio songs from the mid-90’s (think Six Pence, Duncan Sheik, Sundays).
Christian – Well, I know this probably isn’t the best venue, but I can’t keep it in: I got engaged over the weekend! So this week, I’d like to dedicate two songs of inexplicable personal significance to my future wife, whom I love maybe a little too much.