Torr

Out in the U.S. on Tuesday

Here's the notable stuff that's out in the U.S. on Tues April 29th...

South - You Are Here [Album stream. 4th album from London 4-piece.]

Portishead - Third [Their first album since 1997.]

Your Vegas - A Town And Two Cities [Vid. Debut from LA-based band who are originally from Leeds.]

Joy Division - The Best Of [Stream. 2nd CD is 8 tracks recorded at two separate Peel Sessions in 1979.]

Echo & The Bunnymen - Breaking the Back of Love [Live album from 2005 at Shepherds Bush Empire.]

Tony Visconti: The Autobiography - Bowie, Bolan and the Brooklyn Boy [Forward by Morrissey]

Duran Duran Tour Kicks Off Tonight

As much as Red Carpet Massacre is just not doing it for me, I still can't resist catching Duran Duran whenever they come to town. I wish Andy wouldn't have left the band last year, so that they could have released the guitar oriented album instead of going back into the studio with Timbaland/Timberlake. But oh well, as one of the first bands I ever saw live (Wedding Album tour @ Starplex in Dallas, 1993), they'll always remain my favorite band to have come out of the New Romantic-era.

A look at a few recent setlists shows a nice mixture of new and old ("New Religion"! "Hold Back The Rain"!) And fingers crossed that they play this mid-show "electro set":

Last Chance On The Stairway / All She Wants / Leatherette (The Normal cover) / I Don't Want Your Love / Skin Trade / Tempted

Duran Duran U.S. tour dates: (tix)

Apr 29 - General Motors Place - Vancouver, BC
Apr 30 - WaMu Theater - Seattle, WA
May 2 - Sleep Train Pavilion - Concord, CA
May 3 - Santa Barbara Bowl - Santa Barbara, CA
May 4 - Nokia Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
May 6 - Dodge Theatre - Phoenix, AZ
May 8 - Valley View - San Diego, CA
May 9 - The Joint - Las Vegas, NV
May 10 - The Joint - Las Vegas, NV
May 12 - Wells Fargo Theatre - Denver, CO
May 14 - Rosemont Theatre - Chicago, IL
May 15 - Masonic Temple Theatre - Detroit, MI
May 16 - Summit City - Whitesburg, KY
May 17 - Chastain Park Amphitheater - Atlanta, GA
May 18 - UCF Arena - Orlando, FL
May 19 - Mizner Park Amphitheatre - Boca Raton, FL
May 21 - Koka Booth Amphitheatre - Raleigh, NC
May 22 - Mann Center for the Performing Arts - Philadelphia, PA
May 24 - Atlantis - Paradise Island (Bahamas)
May 27 - Merriweather Post Pavilion - Columbia, MD
May 28 - Agganis Arena - Boston, MA
May 30 - Central Park Summerstage - New York City, NY
May 31 - Central Park Summerstage - New York City, NY

UK Chart Report

Here's the notable stuff that entered the UK charts on Sun April 27th...

Albums:

• #1 The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement

Indie-label album chart:

• nothing of interest

Singles:

• #40 The Wombats - "Backfire At The Disco" [Vid. 4th single from their debut album.]

Indie-label singles chart:

• #14 iLiKETRAiNS - "We Go Hunting" [Vid. 7"-only 2nd single from their 2nd album.]

These singles, sadly, did not chart:

• Cajun Dance Party - "Race" [Vid. 7"-only single from their debut album.]
• Pacific - "Hot Lips" [Vid. 7"-only 1st single from their debut album.]
• The Envy Corps - "Story Problems" [Vid. 7"-only single from their debut album.]
• Speedmarket Avenue - "Way Better Now" [Vid. 7"-only 1st single from their debut album.]
• Duels - "Regeneration" [Vid. 7"-only 1st single from their 2nd album.]

Out in the UK on Monday

Here's the notable stuff that's out in the UK on Mon April 28th...

Albums:

Cajun Dance Party - Colourful Life [Debut from London 5-piece.]

The Envy Corps - Dwell [Debut from Ames 4-piece.]

Duels - Barbarians Move In [2nd album from Leeds 4-piece.]

Singles:

Delays - "Hooray" [Vid. Fabulous 1st single from their 3rd album.]

One Night Only - "It's About Time" [Vid. 3rd single from their debut album.]

The Winchell Riots - "Histories" [Vid. Debut from ex-Fell City Girl singer-guitarist.]

Hush The Many - "Revolve" [Vid. Debut from male-female London 6-piece.]

U.S. SoundScan Chart Report

Here's the notable stuff that entered (or moved up) on the U.S. Billboard SoundScan charts the week of Wed April 23rd...

Billboard 200:

• #41 The Kooks - Konk [13,335]
• #107 M83 - Saturdays=Youth [6,319]
• #167 Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours [Up by 34%. 10,832 to-date.]

Heatseekers chart (artists who've never had a release in the top 100 of the big chart):

• #11 Ours - Mercy [3,303]
• #45 Brian Jonestown Massacre - My Bloody Underground [1,756]
• #84 Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight [937]
• #130 Rogue Wave - Asleep at Heaven's Gate [Up by 62%. 32,384 to-date.]

Let me know if there are any recent releases you'd like me to look-up.

Out in the U.S. on Tuesday

Just one good thing out in the U.S. on Tuesday April 21st, so not excuse not to buy it!

Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid [4th album from Manchester 5-piece. It's only $7.99 @ Best Buy.]

The 1st radio-single in the U.S. (instead of "Grounds For Divorce") is "One Day Like This".

The album includes Guy Garvey's first-ever duet as Richard Hawley sings with him on "The Fix".

Elbow's North American tour dates:

• 4/25 New York, NY - Virgin Megastore [12:30pm]
• 4/26 New York, NY - Webster Hall [w/ Jesca Hoop]
• 4/27 Washington, DC - Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
• 4/29 Chicago, IL - Park West [w/ The Watson Twins]
• 4/30 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line [w/ The Watson Twins]
• 5/2 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater [w/ Air Traffic]
• 5/3 Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot [w/ Air Traffic]
• 5/5 Seattle, WA - Showbox at The Market [w/ Air Traffic]
• 5/6 Vancouver, BC - St Andrew's Wesley Church [w/ Air Traffic]
• 5/8 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's 365 [w/ Air Traffic]
• 5/9 Los Angeles, CA - Avalon [w/ Air Traffic]

In related news, Guy's contributes backing vocals to one track ("The Vanishing Of Maria Schneider") on the new album from dEUS.

UK Chart Report

Here's the notable stuff that entered the UK charts on Sun April 20th...

Albums:

• #1 The Kooks - Konk

Indie-label album chart:

• #23 Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
  I Am Kloot - Play Moolah Rouge did not chart.

Singles:

• #9 The Last Shadow Puppets - "The Age Of The Understatement" [Vid. Their debut album is out this week.]

Indie-label singles chart:

• #14 ILiKETRAiNS - "We Go Hunting" [Vid. 2nd single from their 2nd album.]

These singles, sadly, did not chart:

• The School - "All I Wanna Do" [Vid. 7"-only debut from female-fronted Cardiff 7-piece.]
• Clocks - "Old Radio Valve" [Vid. 2nd single from Epsom 4-piece.]

Out in the UK on Monday

Here's the notable stuff that's out in the UK on Mon April 21st...

Albums:

The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement [Debut from Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys) & Miles Kane (The Rascals).]

Singles:

Pacific - "Hot Lips" [Vid. 1st single from their debut album.]

Cajun Dance Party - "Race" [Vid. Their debut album is out next week.]

The Wombats - "Backfire At The Disco" [Vid. 4th single from their debut album.]

Duels - "Regeneration" [Vid. 1st single from their 2nd album.]

Pete & The Pirates - "She Doesn't Belong To Me" [Vid. 3rd single from their debut album.]

The Envy Corps - "Story Problems" [Vid. Their debut album is out next week.]

ILiKETRAiNS - "We Go Hunting" [Vid. 2nd single from their 2nd album.]

Speedmarket Avenue - "Way Better Now" [Vid. 1st single from their debut album.]

U.S. SoundScan Report

Here's the notable stuff that entered (or moved up) on the U.S. Billboard SoundScan charts the week of Wed April 16th...

Billboard 200:

• #116 Tapes 'N Tapes - Walk It Off [5,905]

Heatseekers chart (artists who've never had a release in the top 100 of the big chart):

• #12 Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours [Up 48%. 6,712 to-date]
• #13 Colin Meloy - Sings Live! [2,897]
• #28 Foals - Antidotes [Up by 100%. 5,364 to-date.]
• #39 Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Pershing [1,625]
• #46 Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant EP [Up by 800%. 2,485 to-date.]
• #55 The Duke Spirit - Neptune [Up by 735%. 3,165 to-date.]
• #66 Clinic - Do It! [1,202]
• #87 Air Traffic - Fractured Life [Up by 8%. 4,836 to-date.]

These releases did not chart:

• Peter Moren - The Last Tycoon
• Jim Noir - self-titled
• Wye Oak - If Children

Let me know if there are any current releases you'd like me to look up for ya.

Say Hello To The Pope - James Dean Bradfield

I bear nothing but contempt and ill-will towards the pope (or any other religious leader for that matter), but on what other day would I have an excuse to post this song from James Dean Bradfield's superb solo album The Great Western?

• James Dean Bradfield - "Say Hello To The Pope" [mp3]

In 2000 the pope (Joseph Ratzinger) attacked Rock and Roll as "the expression of elemental passions" and described some rock concerts as becoming "a form of worship ... in opposition to Christian worship."

Other moronic views:

Benedict, in his most recent book, indicated that evolution as a scientific theory could not be definitively proven.

In the spring of 2005 Ratzinger opposed a referendum in Italy, which aimed at liberalising a restrictive law about artificial insemination and embryonic stem cell research.

In 1987, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a document suggesting that education on the use of condoms could be an acceptable part of an anti-AIDS program. In response, Ratzinger stated that such an approach "would result in at least the facilitation of evil".

"Allowing children to be adopted by persons living in such [gay] unions would actually mean doing violence to these children, in the sense that their condition of dependency would be used to place them in an environment that is not conducive to their full human development."

During the 2004 presidential campaign, Ratzinger stated that voters would be "cooperating in evil" if they voted for a political candidate precisely because of the candidate’s permissive stand on legalized abortion or euthanasia.