You can call these people crazy all you want. All we know here at the IRT is that this is by far the most fitting tribute we have seen yet to the late Michael Jackson. Nobody can show love like Harlem!
Thanks to djdnyc on You Tube for posting these 27 or so video snippets of people singing and dancing in front of the legendary Apollo, the place where Michael and his brothers first got their big break in the soul game. Check it all out on his channel.
If Part 25 doesn't bring a tear to your eye, you don't deserve to hear Michael Jackson. -Ed.
A music legend. A tragic figure. An American icon. What more can we say? For better or for worse, Michael Jackson will be missed.
I'll never forget the impact that Thriller had on my young existence in 1983. I had just moved Upstate with my father from Long Island, and quickly made friends with some of the kids who lived in the Village Gardens condominiums where Dad called home back then. All these kids would listen to was Michael's 1982 breakthrough masterpiece, and I was quick to fall prey to those unbelievably funky grooves Quincy Jones had thrown down for the gloved one. The minute Eddie Van Halen's dropped that immortal riff on "Beat It", I was hooked. Then you had "PYT", "Human Nature", "Thriller", "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"...Then he dropped another bomb with Bad and clobbered us with even more smashes--"Dirty Diana", "Man in the Mirror", "Smooth Criminal", "The Way You Make Me Feel" and, of course, that unforgettable title track with the video so lovingly pariodied by Weird Al Yankovic and immortalized in the Martin Scorsese-directed long-form video shot on location in NYC.
Sure, Michael later on in life was one weird bastard who had some major skeletons in his closet that certainly left many of us who grew up on Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad second guessing our allegiance to his throne as the King of Pop. But the news of his death still peirces the heart of that nine-year-old boy this writer once was 27 years ago, the one who tried so valiantly to mimic Jackson's iconic moonwalk to impress the pretty girls sitting by the diving boards at the Ulster County pool.
Many people watching the coverage of Michael's sudden death at UCLA Hospital of an apparent cardiac arrest at the all-too-young age of 50 tonight are no doubt conflicted by their awe of the boy who grew up before our very eyes and provided us with so much hot music spanning nearly 40 years and the disgust of the misunderstood man branded a chimp lover, a child molester and a plastic surgery disaster on the world stage.
But regardless of where you stand in your opinion of Mr. Jackson, you know damn well that when his music comes out of those speakers, you're the same dancin' fool you were when you first heard the King of Pop.
Rest in peace, Michael. -Ed.
Michael Jackson at the Motown 25 Special:
"Smooth Criminal"
Jackson 5 on the Carol Burnett Show:
Michael live with his brothers on The Jacksons' 1984 Victory Tour:
"She's Out of My Life"
Jarvis Cocker taking the piss out of Michael Jackson's performance of "Earth Song" at the 1996 BRIT Awards:
Thanks to my boy Tim at Stupefaction for hipping IRT to this upcoming documentary on the gentrification of the Lower East Side. Watching this beautiful, culturally enriched neighborhood get put on the Endangered list is one of the most heartbreaking things I've had to endure in all my 36 years as a New Yorker. It's tough to see the same place that, ten years ago, hell even five years ago, you could walk along a street like Rivington, Ludlow or Norfolk and be able to catch a cool show, buy a record and eat a Spanish-style chicken leg for no more than $20 covering the entire night lose its flavor as more and more rich, entitlist assholes flood the neighborhoods. The more we see legendary venues like CBGB, Tonic, Collective Unconcious and Sin-E continue to close down in order to make way for big blue condominiums, trendy clubs and haughty, super expensive eateries, the we will see a major portion of Manhattan's history descend faster and faster into the realms of extinction. Very sad, indeed.-Ed.
From their Publicity Crew, Nasty Little Man: BEASTIE BOYS
HOT SAUCE COMMITTEE PART 1 OUT SEPTEMBER 15
ILL COMMUNICATION & HELLO NASTY TO COMPLETE DELUXE REISSUE SERIES
INTIMATE AUGUST 6 CHICAGO SHOW TO PRECEDE LOLLAPALOOZA APPEARANCE
SEPTEMBER 24 HOLLYWOOD BOWL SHOW SOLD OUT
Summer Festival Domination Begun With Bonnaroo To Continue Through All Points West, Lollapalooza, Outside Lands and more
New York NY -- June 23, 2009 -- The title, release date and complete track listing for Beastie Boys' eighth studio album have been confirmed: Hot Sauce Committee Part 1 will be released September 15 by Capitol in multiple configurations including a 5.1 surround mix and will consist of the following compositions:
1. Tadlock's Glasses
2. B-Boys In The Cut
3. Make Some Noise
4. Nonstop Disco Powerpack
5. OK
6. Too Many Rappers (featuring NAS)
7. Say It
8. The Bill Harper Collection
9. Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win (featuring Santigold)
10. Long Burn The Fire
11. Bundt Cake
12. Funky Donkey
13. Lee Majors Come Again
14. Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament
15. Pop Your Balloon
16. Crazy Ass Shit
17. Here's A Little Something For Ya
The first Beastie Boys headline date confirmed to follow the album's release, the band's debut stand at the famed Hollywood Bowl, has sold out. Further dates will be announced as they are confirmed.
Meanwhile, Beastie Boys recently began a summer festival mission with a set at the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester TN that blew the crowd of 70,000-plus out of their Birkenstocks and caused devil sticks to spontaneously combust. The performance featured an appearance by Nas who joined the Boys for the live debut of the new record's "Too Many Rappers," as well as a rare appearance from Country Mike for an acoustic rendition of "Heart Attack Man."
The mission will continue throughout the summer and will include upcoming appearances at the All Points West and Lollapalooza festivals, the latter of which will be preceded by a just-announced intimate Beastie Boys show at the Congress in Chicago on Thursday, August 6.
Finally, the last installment of the deluxe, remastered, expanded and altogether awesome Beastie Boys catalogue reissues will be dropping in advance of the new record: the band's multi-platinum 1998 opus Hello Nasty will be given the 2-CD/vinyl box set/multi-format treatment beginning with an August 17 pre-order/digital release and will hit stores August 25. Preceded by the universal smash "Intergalactic," Hello Nasty crashed into the #1 spots of charts worldwide upon its July 1998 release, with first week sales of nearly 700,000 in the U.S. alone. Buoyed by the launch of the 360 in the round tour, Hello Nasty would yield B Boys classics "Body Movin'," "Three MCs and One DJ," "Remote Control," "Super Disco Breakin'" and more, win two Grammys, see the band presented with an MTV Video Vanguard lifetime achievement award, and ultimately sell some 7 million copies worldwide.
As previously announced, pre-orders for the expanded, remastered multi-format Ill Communication will begin July 6, with a physical release of July 14.
For a complete list of deluxe reissue configurations, as well as upcoming Beastie Boys festival and headline appearances, check Beastieboys.com.
Beastie Boys feat. Nas "Too Many Rappers" Live at Bonnaroo:
A sad day for film geeks and nostalgic Paul Simon fans alike...
The digital world has once again killed one of the iconic objects of the 20th Century as Kodak film announced its discontinuation of its fabled Kodachrome film after 74 years due to poor sales and expensive production.
Here is the notice from Kodak themselves:
KODACHROME Discontinuation Notice
KODACHROME 64 Film / KR
KODACHROME Discontinuation:
Eastman Kodak Company announced on June 22, 2009 that it will discontinue sales of KODACHROME Color Film this year, concluding its 74-year run as a photography icon. Sales of KODACHROME, which became the world's first commercially successful color film in 1935, have declined dramatically in recent years as photographers turned to other films or digital capture. Today, KODACHROME represents just a fraction of one percent of Kodak's total sales of still-picture films.
Despite all its outstanding features, KODACHROME involves a highly complex development process that led photographers to experiment with and adopt newer KODAK films that deliver outstanding color images through a simpler workflow.
Although KODACHROME has very distinct characteristics and no film will give the exact same results, current users are encouraged to try other Kodak films. Kodak continues to bring innovative new film products to market, having released seven new professional films -- over the last three years alone.
Digital film might have taken you away from us, Kodachrome, but they will never give us the nice bright colors you offered to us for so many generations.
Fan-made video of Paul Simon's "Kodachrome" on YouTube:
Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band covering "Kodachrome":
Found out about this yesterday from departing Long Island Press Editor-in-Chief Robbie Wolliver. Sad news indeed. The IMAC at Huntington Theater had so many great concerts, and I never got a chance to make it out to a one, regrettably enough. Hopefully these guys will find another abandoned theater on Long Island to take over soon.
Here is the message from the IMAC's owners that was posted on their Web site.
IMAC leaves the Huntington Theater
First, Kathie, our staff, Cleo and I want to thank the many patrons who have enjoyed so many of their favorite artists at the IMAC Theater over the years.
An old, decaying building with too many flaws to continue to manage, exponentially raising costs and declining support have brought us to the conclusion that it is time to move out of the building that have been renting for 26 years and pursue a new mission.
IMAC has been a pioneering organization since its inception 36 years ago when we became one of the 13 original Media Art Centers. Our mission was to establish a professional video production facility to serve Artists, non-profit organizations and independent producers from Long Island in an attempt to facilitate a whole new range of television productions that never existed before.
In 1983, IMAC was the first on Long Island to turn an abandoned theater into a non-profit performing arts center whose mission was to present a wide range of music not normally found on Long Island. In the last few years, a number of townships have revitalized their abandoned theater “eye-sores” into successful venues and a number of universities are regularly presenting programming echoing the IMAC model. Now the music and artists that we first brought to Long Island can be found at many of the new venues and we feel we are not pioneering any longer.
IMAC has decided to broaden its mission and return to its pioneering roots in a number of ways. One of our new directions will involve using electronic media to better connect audiences with venues in ways that will help increase revenues to venues and connect patrons to venues in new and easy ways. Additionally, IMAC will be available for a wide variety of arts consulting projects.
Huntington has been revered as a cultural Mecca for well over two hundred years. It’s obvious that a world class town like Huntington, being the “Little Apple”, needs a world class theater. Toward that end IMAC and the Huntington Town Supervisor, Frank Petrone will explore the possibilities of bringing back a state of the art performing arts center to Huntington.
Please stay in touch. Visit our site from time to time to see what’s going on and feel free to email us at info@imactheater.org.
Musically yours,
Michael, Kathie, Cleo and the staff
David Grisman playing at the IMAC with Jefferson Starship 4-18-09:
Here is Sonic Youth's best video since "Bull In The Heather" for the first single off their amazing new album The Eternal. Youth Destroys Hipster Fascism!
Faith No More's reunion tour officially kicked off this past weekend at London's Brixton Academy on June 10, 2009, the same venue where they recorded their infamous 1990 live album/video/DVD You Fat Bastards.
Here is a review of the show from Rollingstone.com as well as a download link to the show's Web cast, courtesy of T.U.B.E.:
Rolling Stone Live Review with Set List:
Faith No More Roar Back to Life at London Reunion Show
6/11/09, 11:42 am EST
Review by Dan Cohn
Last night at London’s jam-packed Brixton Academy a slice of metal history was revisited, and a new chapter began. Mike Patton, Roddy Bottum, Billy Gould, Mike “Puffy” Bordin and Album of the Year-era guitarist Jon Hudson (stepping in once again for Jim Martin) returned to the stage after 11 years as Faith No More.
In front of a David Lynch-inspired red draped backdrop, the quintet emerged in Zoot Suits (Patton’s peach, Bottum’s appropriately pink, Gould’s cream and Hudson in blue — only Puffy was let off the hook behind his kit in standard attire), and wedding-like buttonhole carnations, playing an unlikely but appropriate tune: Peaches & Herb’s soul classic “Reunited.” When Patton and Bottom finished their duet, there were genuine smiles from the stage of both relief and pleasure.
From the start Patton the auteur commanded the stage, and it became clear that his post-FNM musical adventures have added new dimensions to the band’s songs. Patton, in slicked-back hair, switched between easy listening and screams with ease, and his stage mannerisms swung from Messiah-like iconography during “I Started A Joke” to crazed epileptic tantrums in “The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies,” and he wasn’t afraid to play the role of refined classic ’50s gentleman. Chants of “you fat bastard” elicited the response, “You say it now and it’s true!” while patting his (clearly not) big stomach. “How about something fat with a ‘ph’?” he began before the swish of “Evidence” began.
The volume was loud and the crowd response deafening, and while the set wasn’t faultless — the sturdy “Jizzlobber” went slightly wobbly at the end — the quintet avoided an obvious nostalgic greatest-hits set. A gracious “Easy” arrived early on, and the sonic battery began in earnest with an explosive “Surprise! You’re Dead,” anchored by Bordin and Gould’s spotless rhythms. Patton’s love of noise experimentation took center stage during a “Cuckoo For Caca” that was so overwhelming, it left ears nearly bleeding.
With a humble “It’s been very nice to see you, thank you and good night,” Faith No More made their exit, returning with Vangelis’ “Chariots Of Fire” and “Stripsearch” for the first of two encores. They capped the night with “I Started A Joke” and left for good after “Pristina.” It was a mix that accentuated the band’s glorious eccentricity: Faith No More were always left-field, yet inadvertently created some awesome songs with mass appeal. Last night was about a band rediscovering their special chemistry, and proving good music only improves with age.
Set List:
“Reunited” (Peaches & Herb cover) “The Real Thing” “From Out of Nowhere” “Land of Sunshine” “Caffeine” “Evidence” “Chinese Arithmetic” “Surprise! You’re Dead!” “Easy” “Last Cup of Sorrow” “Midlife Crisis” “Cuckoo For Caca” “The Gentle Art of Making Enemies” “RV” “King For a Day” “Malpractice” “Jizzlobber” “Be Aggressive” “Epic” “Mark Bowen”
Encore 1 “Chariots of Fire”/”Stripsearch” “Just A Man”
I was always somewhat adverse to the whole Rock Band/Guitar Hero phenomena. Until now. This looks just too good and makes me very happy my mother-in-law got Michele a Wii for Christmas last year. -Ed.
Lou Reed might have scoffed at the notion of the Velvet Underground playing Woodstock back in 1969. However, on August 15, 1998, NYC's most legendary curmudgeon finally arrived at Yasgur's Farm for the A Day In The Garden festival, a weekend-long concert held at the original Woodstock concert site that also featured the likes of Pete Townshend, Stevie Nicks, Joni Mitchell, Richie Havens, Donovan, Don Henley, Ten Years After, Ziggy Marley and a bunch of crappy mid-to-late 90s alternative rock acts like Third Eye Blind and Dishwalla.
Me and my boy Booker T. Arcane rolled up there for the Saturday show, mainly to see Lou. And he did not disappoint. Flanked by his classic New York album line-up of guitarist Mike Rathke, bassist Fernando Saunders and drummer Tony "Thunder" Smith, Lou delivered a killer set loaded with some of his great late-period material from such overlooked classics as 1984's New Sensations and 1996's phenomenal Set The Twilight Reeling, his latest album at the time.
It certainly was a little odd seeing such a dark soul like Lou Reed at 1 PM, but nevertheless it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. Thanks to whoever posted this amazing soundboard of the show on Guitars 101, which I have cut and pasted to share with you all. -Ed.
Lou Reed - 1998-08-15 - Bethel, NY (SBD) Lou Reed 1998-08-15 "A Day In The Garden" Festival Max Yasgur's Farm Bethel New York USA
soundboard
101 Dorita 102 Sweet Jane 103 Egg Cream 104 Set The Twilight Reeling 105 Vicious 106 Perfect Day 107 Street Hassle 108 Hooky Wooky 109 Kicks 110 Hang On To Your Emotions 111 Into The Divine
201 Future Farmers Of America 202 New Sensations 203 Satellite Of Love 204 Dirty Boulevard 205 Riptide 206 The Original Rapper 207 Pale Blue Eyes
On August 25, 2009, the Tompkins Square label will release Tim Buckley - Live at the Folklore Center, NYC - March 6, 1967
The unreleased recording was captured by folk impresario Izzy Young at his famed Folklore Center located at 321 Sixth Avenue in New York City, which served as a nexus for up-and-coming singer-songwriters during the folk boom of the late '60s. The entire night's concert, performed in front of about 35 people, is presented in its original running order of 16 songs, six of which are Tim Buckley compositions that have never appeared on any studio or live album. The CD package includes an unpublished interview with Buckley conducted by Izzy Young on March 17 & 18, 1967, along with new notes from Young. The album was produced for release by Tompkins Square label's Josh Rosenthal in cooperation with Buckley's Estate, and mastered from the original tapes by Grammy-winning engineers Steve Rosenthal, Warren Russell-Smith and Jamie Howarth.
Tim Buckley (1947-1975) was among the most adventurous and influential singer-songwriters of the '60's and '70's, releasing nine studio albums in his career. Buckley's music continues to deeply inspire new fans and artists with each passing year. Live at the Folklore Center, the earliest live recording among seven others commercially available, showcases Buckley in an intimate, solo acoustic setting, highlighting his magical guitar playing and soaring vocal style.
Track Listing 1. SONG FOR JAINIE 2. I NEVER ASKED TO BE YOUR MOUNTAIN 3. WINGS 4. PHANTASMAGORIA IN TWO 5. JUST PLEASE LEAVE ME* 6. DOLPHINS 7. I CAN'T SEE YOU 8. TROUBADOUR 9. AREN'T YOU THE GIRL 10. WHAT DO YOU DO (HE NEVER SAW YOU)* 11. NO MAN CAN FIND THE WAR 12. CARNIVAL SONG 13. CRIPPLES CRY* 14. IF THE RAIN COMES* 15. COUNTRY BOY* 16. I CAN'T LEAVE YOU LOVING ME * (* indicates previously unreleased Tim Buckley composition, unavailable on any studio or live album)
Tim Buckley Performing "Wings" at Izzy Young's Folklore Center, January 1967:
The best thing about Yo La Tengo is their element of surprise.
It's like you go on your morning troll through the music news sites and all of a sudden--bam!--news of a new YLT album just appears out of nowhere.
Hence the release of Popular Songs, due out September 8.
Here's some spiel from the Matador Records blog in regards to the trio's latest, their first since 2006's I'm Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass: The new Yo La Tengo CD/2XLP/digital album Popular Songs (OLE 856-1,2) could be the bravest musical statement to date in a career full of ‘em. Recorded in Hoboken and Nashville in early 2009 with longtime associate Roger Mountenot, ‘Popular Songs’ finds the trio of Georgia Hubley, Ira Kaplan and James McNew at the height of their creative powers, fashioning an epic work that’s cooly confident as it is wildly adventurous.
Even for longtime followers of Yo La Tengo, the stylistic range encompassed on Popular Songs is startling ; the band aren’t merely conversant with rock & pop subgenres stretching into the double digits, but their unselfconscious mastery of such is simply uncanny. Without absolving you of the sacred responsibility of listening to this album from start to finish (with no commercial interruptions!) , we can say with full confidence there are portions of ‘Popular Songs’ where a cursory needle drop reveals a band that doesn’t sound instantly like Yo La Tengo — or at least how you recognized them prior to now. In the words of Mike Wolf, “Yo La Tengo is not afraid. They walk confidently forward, into the unknown, hand in hand. And 12 (or 14) albums in, they may just be hitting their stride.”
The album's first single, "Periodically Triple or Double", which comes off like Turtle Soup-era Turtles covering Booker T. and the MG's "Hip Hug Her" (albeit with a little more oomph), is available for download here.
Look for Yo La Tengo on the road this summer in support of Wilco.
Ira and Georgia covering "Teenager In Love" in Georgia's apartment circa 1988:
Nearly 44 years after the Beatles performed the first concert held at New York’s historic Shea Stadium, Paul McCartney is set to christen the new home of the New York Mets – the Citi Field stadium in Queens, New York – with concerts on July 17 and July 18, it was announced today.
The two-night stand at Citi Field will mark McCartney’s first U.S. shows since his headline-grabbing, 2.5 hour set at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in May. Back in the summer of 1965, The Beatles famously broke in the Mets’ original home of Shea Stadium with a concert attended by over 55,000 fans, and in July of 2008, Sir Paul made a surprise appearance at Billy Joel's "Last Play at Shea" concert, the final show at the stadium before its closing in September.
"I am really excited about playing Citi Field," said McCartney in a statement. "The Beatles were the first to play at Shea Stadium and along with Billy Joel, I was the last to sing at the old Shea. So to be the first to play this stadium is incredible. I am really looking forward to a buzzing show."
Tickets for McCartney’s two-night stand, which is set to take place rain or shine, will be available June 15 at 10:00 a.m. ET at 507tixx.com and 718-507-TIXX.
Last night, Conan O'Brien debuted as the fifth host of the most legendary late-night talk show in the history of television, and KILLED IT. It was a little sad to not hear his old Late Night announcer Joel Godard's booming voice kick off the broadcast as he did for 17 years at the 12:30 slot, but at the same time it's great to see good old Andy Richter back in the mix as well. I predict a long run for Conan on The Tonight Show. And, if last night's show gave us any indication of things to come, expect nothing but the best from the man who has kept us laughing for nearly two decades now.
Here is Pearl Jam's phenomenal performance of their new song, "Get Some", off their forthcoming album Backspacer, from last night's debut episode, the whole of which you can watch below as well.
Overall, the first ep was a real goodie, with guest and longtime Conan buddy Will Ferrell, who appeared on the final Late Night with Conan O'Brien as well in his George W. Bush get-up and an show opener for the ages, which saw O'Brien run cross-country from New York to Los Angeles after he forgot he had to move to L.A. in order to host The Tonight Show. In addition to being a great bit, soundtracked by one of the greatest rock songs of all time--that being Cheap Trick's "Surrender", of course--it was also one hell of a tribute to this beautiful country of ours.
We'll miss you here in New York, Conan, but we couldn't be happier to see you in the Hollywood spotlight. Johnny Carson would be very proud.
For more information on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, click here.
Or, if you prefer to watch the whole premiere of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, check it out here:
76-year-old Yoko Ono continues her boomin' granny ways by reuniting her legendary joint venture with John Lennon, The Plastic Ono Band, and releasing a four-song EP entitled Don't Stop Me! exclusively on iTunes with a full-length LP, Between My Head and the Sky, due out this coming September.
The sessions happened at NYC’s Sear Sound, the same studio that used to house the old Hit Factory, where Double Fantasy was recorded. Sean Lennon both produced and acted as musical leader for a group evenly divided between Japanese avant pop musicians, and downtown Manhattan improvisers. In the Japanese contingent is Yuka Honda of Cibo Matto, plus the current group led by Keigo “Cornelius” Oyamada, which includes Yuko Araki and Hirotaka Shimmy Shimizu. Cornelius and Ms. Ono performed together in Tokyo in January, and Yoko was so happy with the result she invited them over to record. In the Manhattan improv camp we find Shahzad Ismaily (guitar, bass, percussion), Erik Friedlander (cello), Michael Leonhart (trumpet, vibes), Daniel Carter (reeds) and Indigo Street (guitar) -- a singularly gifted group of instrumentalists.
As Sean says, “Yoko unleashed a deluge of new songs, writing about 16 songs in six days. The most prolific day peaking out at six songs written and tracked in an afternoon. The recording session was like a tornado of inspiration. Some of the best lyrics on the record Yoko actually 'freestyled' as if she were a lyrical divining rod.”
DON’T STOP ME! Tracklisting The Sun Is Down! (Cornelius Mix) Ask The Elephant! Feel The Sand CALLING
The Plastic Ono Band will be playing the Meltdown Festival at the Royal Festival Hall in London with special guests Ornette Coleman, Antony Hegarty & Mark Ronson.
No word on whether or not original POB bassist Klaus Voormann will be participating in this reunion at press time, or whether the outcome of this current variation of the group will be as amazing as the original one, who produced such envelope-pushing classics as Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band and Fly.
Plastic Ono Band with John Lennon at Toronto Rock Festival, 1969
