Oct/090
Thursday Newsmix: Oasis dries up, plus new Animal Collective and more
We're so British, we invented the Jaffa Cake.
After Noel Gallagher left the band over a month ago, the fate of Britpop superstars Oasis has been, for the most part, up in the air. Today, in an interview with The Times UK, estranged brother Liam Gallagher laid all rumors and speculation to rest: Oasis is no more.
In that interview, Liam spelled out the fate of the band in no uncertain terms: “Oasis is no longer. I think we all know that. So that’s done.” Instead, the younger Gallagher will be entering into the fashion business with a new line of clothing, with any further projects involving the remaining band members to be decided. Meanwhile, Noel is most likely going it solo, though details on any such venture are slim to nil at the moment.
While the demise of such a prolific band does tug a bit at my heartstrings – Definitely Maybe and (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? having been, for better or worse, a major part of the soundtrack to my teenage years – the band has been mostly retreading well-worn ground for the past decade. The time was well past due to call it quits.
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My admiration for Animal Collective’s January release, Merriweather Post Pavillion, should be no secret by now. Hipster echo-chamber aside, MPP is a dynamic, exciting album packed to the brim not only with good musical ideas, but also a sense of melody and accessibility that the band’s earlier material lacked. So when the announcement of another album – slated for this year, too – comes out of nowhere, you must excuse me if I’m a little, er, excited.
Okay, that’s an understatement. This is going to be effing awesome.
The new album, to be titled Fall Be Kind, is slated to be released December 8 on Domino Records. We don’t really have any more info as of yet, but be sure to stay tuned as this exciting story develops.
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Are you the owner of some treasured piece of autographed Joy Division memorabilia? If so, you may want to check that certificate of authenticity. Ex-Joy Division and New Order bassist Peter Hook has admitted to forging the signature of the late Ian Curtis on various JD-related items, thus calling into question the value (both monetary and otherwise) of pretty much every such piece. I think I just heard Curtis roll over in his grave.
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The Beastie Boys‘ Adam “MCA” Yausch is apparently really into Eastern medicine. After having been diagnosed with cancer, Yausch stated in an update released via Rolling Stone, he traveled to Tibet on a retreat, converted (temporarily) to veganism, and attended a seminar by the Dalai Lama. Whatever helps him feel better, I suppose.
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So it looks like Radiohead might be cutting a new album after all. Jeez, make your mind up already, will you guys?
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After initially snubbing an offer to have the band immortalized in a Rock Band game, arena-rockers U2 have stated that they would “definitely… like to be” involved with such a project. Too bad it won’t be nearly as good as The Beatles’ iteration.
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In other music-game news, view the entire tracklist for the upcoming DJ Hero video game here.
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Preview The Flaming Lips’ upcoming album, Embryonic, over at NPR.
Oct/090
Monday Newsmix: Glenn Beck and Muse; plus Method Man and more
I want YOU!! ...to subscribe to MY conspiracy theories.
I’m of the opinion that conservative/libertarian “commentator” Glenn Beck is one of the craziest political voices in the United States, between his religion-based warmongering, thinly-veiled racism, and general tin-foil-hattery. But at least he likes Muse – albeit for the wrong reasons (he erroneously associates the band with libertarianism).
Oh, and he’s also a dirty rotten liar. But we already knew that.
Recently, on his Fox News show, Beck claimed that a spokesperson for Muse insisted that he stop plugging the group on his show. Only, that never happened, according to a representative for Beck’s company. He was just joking. Right.
Regrettably, Muse declined to comment on the situation, thereby ensuring that this story doesn’t go much further than it already has. Otherwise, people might actually realize that Beck and his ilk are “fair and balanced” only because they jury-rigged the scale.
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Wu-Tang member Method Man, along with brother-in-arms Redman, released what’s thus far my favorite hip-hop album of the year back in May. But apparently not enough people bought it, as Meth needed to, uh, supplement his income with unpaid tax money.
This morning, Meth turned himself in for evading over $32,000 in taxes – and that’s not including the attorneys’ fees or punitive damages that any self-respecting judge will saddle the famed emcee with. If convicted – and it looks like he will be, due to the whole “turning himself in” thing – he could face up to four years in the slammer as well.
Any chance of a jailbird-recorded Blackout 3, Methy ol’ pal?
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NPR reports that a collaboration is in the works between David Byrne and Norman Cook, otherwise known as Fatboy Slim. The duo’s planned album, to be entitled Here Lies Love, will be based upon the life of former Filipino First Lady Imelda Marcos, and will feature over 20 guest vocalists, including Cyndi Lauper, Santigold, and Tori friggin’ Amos. Hell. Yes.
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In completely silly news, reggae artist Major Mackerel claims that some guy in New York City slashed him up with a two-foot-long sword. A strange story – and even stranger if it somehow turns out to be true.
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View the tracklisting for the Foo Fighters’ upcoming Greatest Hits album here. Not a bad list, though woefully lacking in tracks from their excellent debut album.
Sep/090
Wednesday Newsmix: Lil’ Wayne & Weezer; plus DJ AM and more
The most wedgie-able man in modern rock.
If you needed any more proof that Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo is a huge dork, then look no further than this news-bite. While speaking to MTV about his band’s forthcoming album, Raditude, Cuomo detailed how he got emcee Lil’ Wayne to “do a rap” on a track entitled, “Can’t Stop Partying.” Without directly coming out and saying that he knows absolutely nothing about hip-hop, Cuomo related that, “Any other rapper would’ve just done, ‘Yay, we’re partying! Let’s drink and have fun,’ but [Wayne] gave it the edge I was looking for.”
And the train-wreck doesn’t stop there. Cuomo continues: “It sounds so dark, like he was gonna get shot or something when he walks out of the studio.” [emphasis mine]
At first, I wasn’t sure whether the singer-songwriter sounded more like my eighty-year-old grandmother or a nerdy white guy with horn-rimmed glasses. But then I remembered that he is a nerdy white guy with horn-rimmed glasses, so I guess his almost total ignorance of an entire genre of music is justified. Sort of.
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Back on August 28, Adam Goldstein – known usually by his stage name, DJ AM – was found dead in his Manhattan apartment. Since then, rumors have circulated concerning Goldstein’s drug use and the possibility that the prolific club DJ died of an overdose. Yesterday, according to official police reports, those rumors have been confirmed.
According to those reports, Goldstein was found with a crack pipe and an array of prescription drugs nearby – most of which he had ingested to some degree. In addition to cocaine, he had taken, among other things, OxyContin, Vicodin, Ativan, and Klonopin before his death. As with other such cases, the combination of a cocktail of narcotics and a powerful stimulant likely put a terrible strain on his heart.
At the risk of sounding too preachy: Please be careful with drugs, guys and gals. All too often, “a little too much” can mean your last.
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In lighter news, drummer Frankie Rose has – unsurprisingly – left yet another band. After drumming for Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls, and – lately – Crystal Stilts, all in the span of a couple of years, Rose has departed the Stilts to form a new band, Frankie and the Outs. The five-piece, all-girl band will make their live debut November 7 at Brooklyn’s Woodser venue, with Rose herself taking up guitar and vocals.
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In line with their myriad previous grabs at nanny-statism, the European Union has announced plans to introduce a bill requiring manufacturers of MP3 players and other similar devices to keep the volume down. Amidst concerns about hearing damage due to loud personal music players, the EU will include in the bill a provision to limit such players to a maximum volume level of 89 decibels. While it’s completely reasonable to request that people keep their headphones turned down, isn’t this a little… you know… excessive?
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Stream Kurt Vile’s forthcoming album, Childish Prodigy, for free thanks to Pop Headwound.
Sep/090
Tueday Newsmix: Danger Mouse breaks bells; Jacko breaks records
Here he comes to save the day! And make some kickin' rad music.
Been wondering what multi-instrumentalist/producer Brian Burton, AKA Danger Mouse, is up to lately? You’re definitely not alone. As one of the busiest men in modern music, Burton always seems to be at work on one project or another, all of which tend toward competent at worst and ground-breaking at best. Take now, for example: a scant few months after the “non-release-release” of his collaboration with Sparklehorse, the mouse is back – and in good company.
Broken Bells is the (tentative) name of the new collaboration between Burton and James Mercer, the creative force behind indie rockers The Shins. Unlike Dark Night of the Soul, however, both parties are in this one for the long haul: the duo plan to release their debut album next year via Columbia Records, and they already have plans extending beyond that album. There’s no further details on the collaboration yet, but that’s a helluva lot of musical talent concentrated in two individuals.
Has Burton finally settled on a project that’ll extend beyond the two album mark? Does this mean that The Shins are on hiatus? Probably not on both counts, but either way, this one just shot up near the top of my “most anticipated of ‘10″ list.
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Even after his death, Michael Jackson continues to sell tickets. Thousands upon thousands of ‘em. Tickets for showings of the documentary This Is It, comprising footage of the last few months of the late pop star’s life, went on sale this past Sunday – and shattered records for advance ticket sales. In North America alone, Reuters estimates, hundreds of screenings for the documentary have sold out completely. Elsewhere, in Japan alone, advance sales made more than $1 million.
Frankly, I don’t know why people are so eager to see footage of creepy caucasian post-facial-surgery Jacko, as opposed to young suave Jacko, but maybe that’s just me. I just hope that this documentary lives up to the hype.
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In other new-band news, Thom Yorke of Radiohead announced late yesterday that he’s heading a new supergroup. His fellow partners-in-crime will be Flea (yes, that Flea), producer Nigel Godrich, session drummer Joey Waronker, and Brazilian musician Mauro Refusco. I’m no fan of Yorke’s, but with that lineup I’d go see them live anyway.
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Apparently, after nearly three dozen shows in Europe and America, U2 still have yet to make a profit off of their “360″ world tour. According to reports, the band needs to front about $750,000 per show. What a waste.
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Wondering when the next Sufjan Stevens album will hit? According to the man himself, it won’t be coming any time soon, as he “no longer [has] a deep desire to share [his] music with anyone.” Sigh.
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Yet another Omar Rodriguez-Lopez album, titled Xenophanes, will drop November 10th via his own independent record label.
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Preview Karen O’s Where the Wild Things Are movie soundtrack for free over at Stereogum.
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NPR is streaming the upcoming Roseanne Cash covers album, The List, via their Exclusive First Listen feature.
Sep/090
Monday Newsmix: Battle of the indie douches; plus Portishead and more
Don't you want to punch this guy, too?
When two relatively minor but abrasive personalities in the indie rock “community” duke it out, it seems that it’s always bound to generate at least a few rounds of whining and passive-aggressive jabs. So transpired the events of the past weekend, featuring emo-haired Wavves singer Nathan Williams in one corner and loudmouthed Black Lips bassist Jared Swilley in the other. This past Friday, after the two bands played separate shows in Brooklyn, the pair of musicians converged at Daddy’s bar in Williamsburg. Soon, the meeting became a confrontation, from which Jared walked away “bloody.” (Nathan was apparently unharmed.)
Now, the two parties involved have released conflicting stories as to what exactly happened. Nathan claims that Jared was “looking for a fight” and that the latter’s girlfriend was “spitting in the face of all [his] friends.” Jared claims that Nathan wasn’t involved (referring to him multiple times as [insert well-known slur for a homosexual person that I won't repeat here]), and that Wavves’ tour manager clobbered him over the head with a glass bottle.
Me? I don’t care what the truth is. All I want to know is when these two colossal jerkasses will shut the hell up and start acting like adults.
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After releasing last year’s critically acclaimed and universally beloved Third, Bristol trip-hop trio Portishead could have rested on their laurels for another ten years and let fans yearn for a follow-up. Thank Jebus they aren’t going to do so. NME reports that the band, consisting of singer Beth Gibbons and multi-instrumentalists Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley, are hard at work on new material – even though they aren’t signed to a record label.
According to the article, the band is currently “weighing up options” concerning how to release this new material – a strong hint that it won’t come in your typical album format. But, heck, it’s a new Portishead album – they could print it on friggin’ eight-track tapes for all I care and I’d still grab it day one, along with – I’d imagine – about a million other fans.
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R.I.P. Lucy O’Donnell, the “girl with kaleidoscope eyes” who inspired The Beatles’ classic tune, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”
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Industrial pioneers Throbbing Gristle have announced the release of “GRISTLEISM,” an industrial music generator that operates on two AA batteries. Looks like a neat little experiment, though I don’t know who would buy it.
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Stream Air’s latest album, Love 2, for free via the band’s website.
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Alt-rockers The Cranberries have announced their reunion tour, complete with dates.
Sep/090
Thursday Newsmix: E Street goes bye-bye, Billy Corgan says hello
Janey said it was time to go, So we closed our eyes and said goodbye to Gypsy Angel Row. Felt so right, Together we moved like spirits in the night.
If you missed Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s world tour this year, then you may need to wait a while longer for your next opportunity. A lot longer. Late yesterday, E Street guitarist Steve Van Zandt revealed that the band will be going on hiatus – perhaps indefinitely.
“[It could be] one year, year and a half, two years off,” Van Zandt stated, later adding, “You never know. This could be our last tour.”
If true, this announcement would mark the possible end of a band that’s been touring together on and off for nearly four decades. But don’t despair too much: after all, the last hiatus lasted “only” four years. I suspect Van Zandt’s just being dramatic.
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The Smashing Pumpkins (now just frontman Billy Corgan and a collection of random dinks) have had a turbulent history, with members coming and going, a full break-up and reformation, a critically panned comeback album, and Corgan’s frequently offensive antics backing it all. This time, however, Corgan aims to get it right for the first time since 2000’s criminally underrated Machina: The Machines of God.
Yesterday, in a long blog post, Corgan outlined the concept for his next album, to be titled Teargarden by Kaleidyscope (a name obviously meant to reference the trippy-quirky-emo name of 1995’s Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness). The album – actually a collection of 11 4-track EPs – will “[harken] back to the original psychedelic roots of [the band]: atmospheric, melodic, heavy, and pretty.” Sounds good to me, but what makes it even better is that all 44 songs will be released for free.
Thank you for listening to your fans for once, Billy. Now please don’t screw this one up.
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NEWSBITES
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R.I.P. Mary Travers, folk singer and one-third of influential ’60s folksters Peter, Paul, and Mary.
Jay-Z is set to break the record previously held by Elvis Presley for the most number-one albums in America for a solo artist. Frankly, I can think of few modern recording artists more deserving. Good show, Jay.
Activision CEO Dan Rosensweig acts like a complete jackass in regards to Courtney Love’s objections over the use of her ex-husband Kurt Cobain’s image in Guitar Hero 5.
Timbaland’s upcoming album, Shock Value 2, will contain a song inspired by teen-vampire-schlock novel Twilight, as well as a guest appearance by, among others, Paramore. The only shock value here is Timby’s shockingly bad taste.
Embryonic, the new album by The Flaming Lips, is streaming over at The Colbert Nation website. It’s in a smallish box on the left hand of the screen.
Spiritualized is set to re-release their amazing 1997 album, Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, on November 16. Premium editions will include bonus CDs with nearly three dozen outtakes, demos, and remixes.
Sep/090
Wednesday Newsmix: Pavement reunion, Obama disses Kanye, and more
Hey, it could be worse - they could be named, "Asphalt."
Have you been dreaming for ten years about a Pavement reunion? Well, today, your dream has come true. According to “reliable sources” over at BrooklynVegan, your dream is about to come true. Stephen Malkmus and company – the original lineup from the band’s 1999 breakup – will come together next year for a series of shows at New York City’s Central Park Summerstage, which is sure to be swamped by twentysomething hipsters who grew up with the influential alt-rock band’s music. There’s also the possibility of a tour, but as with the Blur fiasco this year, I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Unless those “reliable sources” turn out to be bunk, I’d look out for an official announcement sometime in the next month or so. Otherwise, no dice. But at the very least, this rumor might be worth cutting your hair for.
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You know you’re in deep when the leader of the free world takes time out from his busy schedule to talk a bit of smack about you. So it is with our beloved Kanye, who caught flak from President Barack Obama yesterday over Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards fiasco. In an interview with a CNBC reporter, President Obama stated that he thought the interruption was “inappropriate,” and that Mr. West was “a jackass” for interrupting country star Taylor Swift’s speech.
“[Swift] seems like a perfectly nice person,” Obama stated, while subsequently wondering, “what’s [West] doing up there?”
In a way, I wish political figures would comment more on pop culture. God knows we could use a few cooler clowns in the media circus.
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NEWSBITES
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The Beatles may become the best-selling artist of the ’00s if they outsell Eminem (32 million albums) by the end of the year. They’re currently about 4 million short, but with the new re-releases and the Christmas season still yet to come…
Remember that Joe Satriani lawsuit against Coldplay? It’s been dismissed from court. So much ado about nothing.
Deerhunter, the noise/shoegaze project of multi-instrumentalist Bradford Cox, is – sadly – on hiatus. Er, until the next album, anyway. I guess.
Radiohead drummer Phil Selway is currently recording a new solo album, thought to be a collaboration between himself and certain unnamed members of Wilco. Good stuff – at least it should be.
Enigmatic emcee DOOM is set to release a new compilation album, entitled Unexpected Guests, on October 27. The new disc will include appearances by Talib Kwei, Cound Bass D, J Dilla, and more.
Vampire Weekend have revealed the tracklist, cover art, name (Contra), and release date (January 12, 2010) of their sophomore album.
Aug/091
Thursday Newsmix: Giant robot Michael Jackson; Music Industry on death watch; and more
Jackson super hyper mega Thriller missile powers activate ha ha!
Michael Jackson was undoubtedly a giant of the pop genre – he didn’t earn the title “King of Pop” in a vacuum, after all. But what if Jacko were actually a giant – as in, a fifty foot tall one? It may sound like something out of some bad Internet science-fiction fanfic (or maybe an episode of Metalocalypse), but at one time Jackson’s fashion designer, Andre Van Pier, in collaboration with a couple of partners-in-crime, had planned to build a gigantic robotic hotel that would roam across the Nevada desert shooting “laser-beam-looking lights” from its eyes. The entire thing was intended as an elaborate advertisement for Jacko’s 50-show Las vegas residency. Over-the-top? Sure, but you have to admit that it would’ve been cool as hell.
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In industry news, The New York Times has officially predicted the death of the music industry in as little as a decade’s time. In a column by op-ed writer Charles Blow (warning: requires registration), the paper proclaimed that the record labels “could be decimated before Madonna’s 60th birthday.” Ah, how I love good news. Well, except for the Madonna tidbit, anyway; hard to believe that she’ll be a sexagenarian in so little time. But times change, I suppose, and as I’ve been saying all along, it’s high time that the industry adapted to the new market… or just perished.
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Ryan Adams is a really talented dude. In addition to making some sweet music with Whiskeytown and The Cardinals, he’s also a published fiction writer and – surprisingly – a painter. In fact, he’s so good at that last one that the folks behind the Morrison Hotel Gallery in New York have named him their official artist-in-residence. His exhibit of paintings and collages will debut at that gallery on September 23, so if you’re in the area, definitely pay them a visit. Either way, it seems that all Ryan needs to do to become a true renaissance man is star in a movie or three and maybe invent something.
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Finally, in reunion news today, news leaked that garage-rockers The Libertines are to reform at some point in the foreseeable future – possibly without vocalist/guitarist Carl Barat. In an interview, Barat’s former partner-in-crime Pete Doherty had this to say about the feud between the two musicians: “I wouldn’t really want to [reform without Barat], but you’ve got to pay the bills.” Hey, whatever you’ve got to do to survive in this recession, right? (And besides, Doherty was always the more talented of the two.) Keep checking back for further news on this impending reunion event.
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Aug/090
Wednesday Newsmix: Kanye’s escapades, Pete Wentz on nude pics, Alice & Elton, and more
Real men wear pink sweatshirts.
To start off with today, here’s the buzz on everybody’s favorite loudmouthed emcee. (Well, at the very least he must be somebody’s favorite, somewhere. Maybe.) Buzz on the ‘net is that Kanye’s girlfriend, former model and exotic dancer Amber Rose, may be carrying his child. Okay, perhaps that’s a bit of a stretch, but gossip website MediaTakeOut.com is reporting that Rose suddenly gave up alcohol and cigarettes – a hefty burden for a woman who must be attenting the most happening parties in the biz. So is there a good reason? I don’t know, but God help any child raised by that couple.
Oh, and in other news, Kanye and director Spike Jonze recently collaborated on a bizarre short film entitled, “We Were Once a Fairytale.” In case you’re interested, the film is set for release on September 8 via iTunes. In the meantime, you can read a brief summary of the film here. It sounds, err, interesting. I think.
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In other musician-celeb news, Fall Out Boy frontman Pete Wentz spoke up yesterday on MTV News in response to two recent scandals involving leaked nude photographs. In the interview, Wentz – who dealt with his own such scandal in 2006 – had this to say to High School Musical actress Vanessa Hudgens and Twilight star Ashley Greene: “Don’t sit out there and make a big deal. Let it go away.”
Pretty sound advice if you ask me; the more one harps on an issue like that, the more the tabloids and gossip outlets will bark up your front door. But I think he missed one crucial piece of advice: No matter who you are, just don’t take nude photos in the first place!
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Ever since Alice in Chains announced their reunion – minus, of course, the late Layne Staley – the Internet has been abuzz about how the seminal grunge band were just trying to make a quick buck off of their former glory. And if anything confirms it, it’s this: none other than Sir Elton John will appear on the reformed group’s upcoming album.
Now, I love Elton’s (early, less poppy) material as much as the next guy, but let’s be honest here: AiC pre-Layne would never collaborate with him, and I can’t see the result being anything more than a bunch of post-grunge cheese. Why can’t we just leave AiC, and the bittersweet memories thereof, buried with Layne?
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Are you one of the many Morrissey fans out there salivating over the two 7″ singles boxsets recently announced by EMI for a fall release? Well, you may want to rethink your purchase, as the man himself has released a statement telling people not to buy them. Apparently Morrissey had no hand in the production of the boxsets, and furthermore, he won’t be receiving a dime from their sales. it’s a pretty awful situation, and – in this blogger’s humble opinion – just one more reason why the major labels need to die out, and fast.
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Speaking of dying out, in a move that came as a surprise to exactly no one, British alt-rockers The Verve announced earlier today that they have parted ways – for the third time. After a falling-out with vocalist Rich Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe and bassist Simon Jones have formed a new band, known as The Black Ships. No word on what the other bandmates are doing yet, but I hope it’s something good.
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In the daily “reunion rumor” news, it seems that bassist Gary Mounfield (aka Mani), formerly of The Stone Roses, has released a statement asking the feuding members of that pioneering alt-rock band to “kiss and make up.” It probably won’t result in any actual reunion, but it’s fun to think about, eh?
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Aug/090
Weekend Newsmix: R.I.P. Mike Seeger; Bob Dylan; Radiohead and more
Now strumming a banjo up in the clouds...
Happy Monday, all! In case you’re wondering where the weekly Album Roundup has gone, I’ve officially moved it back to Tuesday. (Mondays here in the ShowClix offices are far too hectic for me to commit the time that I need to get those posts done on time.) But on the bright side, this means that you’re not waiting three days for news bites anymore!
But on that note, let’s see the major events that happened over the weekend…
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Folk singer Mike Seeger, half-brother of Pete Seeger, passed away late last Friday of cancer. He was incredibly influential in the 1960s folk scene, even having been described by none other than Bob Dylan as one of his primary influences. R.I.P., dude.
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Speaking of Bob Dylan, the influential genre-bending singer-songwriter announced that he’ll be releasing a Christmas album this year. The album, which will include many Yuletide standards, will feature David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, among others. And here I thought the Christmas album had officially died with Elvis?
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Holding out hope for a new Radiohead LP in the next year or so? Well, I wouldn’t hold your breath. In a recent interview, frontman Thom Yorke stated that he hates the album format, and that we can expect the band’s new material to trickle in via a series of EPs instead. One thing’s for sure, though: Either way, people will buy the new releases like they were chocolate-plated gold.
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Rapper Jay-Z has been in the news a lot recently, what with everyone hyping his upcoming album to hell and back. But over the weekend, the paparazzi captured him in a highly unusual situation: hanging out with none other than Oprah Winfrey. What could the duo be up to? I don’t know, but I really hope that it doesn’t involve Oprah singing on Jay’s upcoming record.
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Chicago’s annual Lollapalooza music festival went off without a hitch… well, mostly. Friday afternoon, paramedics had to rush a man suffering cardiac arrest from the festival ground to a nearby hospital, where he died of cardiac arrest. Another soul lost to rock ‘n’ roll…
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In other death-related news, it seems that the Kiwi musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords might be no more. Apparently there’s been talk of a new season, but nothing’s finalized yet: the project could literally die with a whimper. Too bad, too, as there’s precious few quality “musicomedy” acts out there right now. Where’s the next Spinal Tap when you need them?
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Finally, anyone remember that Spider-Man musical that was supposed to be written by Bono and The Edge? Well, it’s been halted due to running out of funds. Good thing, too: this endeavor had “flop” written all over it. Now the boys in U2 can get back to doing what they always do: crafting good, quality, non-gimmicky mus- …oh, wait.
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