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| Photo: Justin Broadbent |
There aren’t a ton of details available yet, but what I can tell you is that Metric are returning with a new studio album. Synthetica is the follow-up to 2009′s Fantasies and it comes out on June 12th.
I’m sure tour dates, singles, and more will be inundating us over the next few months. I for one look forward to the deluge.
While the world waits for new music from Fiona Apple, the singer has confirmed via her Facebook fan page a short, six-date East Coast run after her planned SXSW showcase.
With any luck, the tour will run in tandem with her new album, her first since 2005’s remarkable Extraordinary Machine. The East coast dates are sure to have those out West shaking their fists, but with any luck this is only the tip of Miss Apple’s touring plans.
The sale goes to the public at noon on Friday. We’re also told that an AMEX sale is happening on Wednesday at noon. Get the dates after the jump.
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The inaugural Governors Ball was a massive hit. Featuring Girl Talk, Pretty Lights, Empire of the Sun, Big Boi, Neon Indian, Das Racist, Miami Horror and Mac Miller to name a few, the one day festival with no overlapping sets was a great summer addition. The Governors Ball is back, moving to the larger Randall’s Island and featuring a fantastic lineup.
Governors Ball has expanded to two days and will take place on June 23rd and 24th. On June 23rd, Passion Pit will headline The Governors ball and will be supported by Duck Sauce, Chromeo, Special Disco Version, Atmosphere, Major Lazer, Santigold, Big Gigantic, Penguin Prison, Walk the Moon, Art Vs. Science, K. Flay and Nobody Beats the Drum.
On June 24th, Beck will headline The Governors Ball and will feature Modest Mouse, Explosions in the Sky, Devandra Banhart, Cage the Elephant, Built to Spill, Cults, Phantogram, Freelance Whales, Alberta Cross, The Jezabels and Turf War. Another band has yet to be announced for June 24th.
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Blur will perform a special gig in London’s Hyde Park this summer to mark the end of the 2012 London Olympics, the band have revealed on Facebook.
Blur will be joined on the impressive bill by The Specials and the recently reunited New Order on Sunday, August 12th. The concert has been organised by BT London Live, who are curating a series of events to celebrate the end of this year’s Olympic Games. Writing on Facebook, Blur have remarked:
“We’re rowing in.. going for gold.. grabbing the baton.. for the high jump.. No, hang on, is that right? Fact is, Blur have accepted the invite to headline the Olympics’ Closing Ceremony Celebration Concert in Hyde Park on 12th August.”
To be in with a chance of attending the show, fans are being asked to pre-register at btlondonlive.com/tickets for more information, with tickets being made available from this coming Friday, February 24th, at 9am.
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James Murphy hasn’t been sitting around idling away since the dissolution of LCD Soundsystem. In fact, he’s been doing quite the opposite. Whether it’s working with Gorillaz and Andre 3000 on a Converse promotion, getting documentary films about his last show accepted to Sundance, or producing sessions with Klaxons and Holy Ghost!, Murphy has managed to keep himself busy. Well, the latest reports hint at a partnership that may be even more impressive (if not as commercially viable) as the Converse pairings as Murphy is said to be producing sessions with indie icons, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Whitney Houston’s albums have had a big resurgence in sales since her passing on Saturday and it has meant a windfall for Sony. An even bigger windfall than would have been expected.
In England, the price of two of Houston’s albums on iTunes shot up from 25% to 60% after her death. Her Ultimate Collection went from $7.85 to $12.50 while The Greatest Hits jumped from $12.50 to $15.67.
The jumps caused a huge outcry on the net over Sony’s gouging of the fans during a time of mourning, forcing the company to make an official statement; however, they didn’t admit to an intentional scheme. Instead, they simply said:
Whitney Houston product was mistakenly mispriced on the U.K. iTunes store on Sunday. When discovered, the mistake was immediately corrected. We apologize for any offense caused.
Two executives of Sony talked “off-the-record” to the New York Times, telling them that it was a mistake by an employee in Britain and that the company hadn’t ordered the increase.
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File this under awesome. German electronic music pioneers, Kraftwerk, have announced that they’ll set up shop at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City for an eight-night residency in April. Even better, they’re planning to feature one of their studio albums during each night’s performance, alongside plenty of visuals that are bound to be phenomenal.
Here’s the blurb from the MoMa site:
Over eight consecutive nights, MoMA presents a chronological exploration of the sonic and visual experiments of Kraftwerk with a live presentation of their complete repertoire in the Museum’s Marron Atrium. Each evening consists of a live performance and 3-D visualization of one of Kraftwerk’s studio albums—Autobahn (1974), Radio-Activity (1975), Trans-Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978), Computer World (1981), Techno Pop (1986), The Mix (1991), and Tour de France (2003)—in the order of their release. Kraftwerk will follow each evening’s album performance with additional compositions from their catalog, all adapted specifically for this exhibition. This reinterpretation showcases Kraftwerk’s historical contributions to and contemporary influence on global sound and image culture.
The residency starts on Tuesday, April 10th with a performance of the band’s 1974 debut Autobahn. Prior to the residency, Kraftwerk will also appear at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami, FL in March.
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The Beach Boys announced in December that they were reuniting for their 50-Year anniversary. Today, they’ve unveiled tour dates! Check them out after the jump.
Kid Cudi and Dot Da Genius’ duo project WZRD is shaping up to be a prolific one. The duo are expected to drop their debut, self-titled full-length on February 28th. We’ve already previewed a couple of songs from the album – “Teleport 2 Me, Jamie” and “Brake”. The album isn’t even out yet, but that hasn’t slowed Cudi down; at Monday night’s album listening party in Hollywood, the MC announced a new 5-track EP that is supposed to come out later this Spring/Summer.
“We are doing an EP already and it’s going to be coming out in a couple months,” Cudi told the crowd. “We just can’t stop making records. I made a new record the other day that’s really, really, really phenomenal. So we’re gonna put out this five-track EP just to fuckin’ put out some jams.” While Dot added, “The EP is gonna be great. Expect greatness.”
Are you ready, world? I know I’m already bracing myself. Sample some of the greatness after the jump.
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The “classic” Guns n Roses line-up, including former members Slash, Duff MacKagan and Steven Adler, will all attend the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame’s induction ceremony in April, but have not yet discussed whether they will perform together live, according to the band’s long-time keyboardist Dizzy Reed.
“I know that all the original band is going to be there,” Reed told Billboard. “I don’t know exactly what’s going to go down. It’s one of those things I’m sure will all come together and be really cool.”
“Honestly, we haven’t spoken about it,” Reed added on the possibility of a live performance. “I don’t know when or why or how to bring it up. It’s not an every day sort of thing. So we haven’t really talked about it, but I’m sure we’ll have to at some point.”
Guns n Roses will join the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame at a ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio on April 14th along with The Faces/Small Faces, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Beastie Boys.
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