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Bits & Pieces
Bowie, NIN 1995 Tour On-Stage Collaboration Videos Surface
08.04.10
Director and editor David Williams hooked up online music fans with a serious blast from the past this summer by posting professionally shot videos of David Bowie and the Nine Inch Nails from their co-headlining tour in 1995. During that tour, a nightly collaboration between the two musical acts would follow a NIN solo set, and precede a Bowie solo set, although these collabs undoubtedly stole the show every time. Two months after being uploaded, the clips have started to pick up steam after being reposted by The NIN Hotline. The must-see of the bunch is Trent Reznor and Bowie splitting vocals on an awesome rendition of Hurt, which you can watch along with three more tour videos here.

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Bowie Bonus Bonanza: Station to Station Reissue
07.19.10
A new EMI reissue of David Bowie’s iconic Station to Station to be released this fall will offer fans the choice between two packages from Bowie heaven: the special edition and (I kid you not) super deluxe limited edition. EMI seriously knows the meaning of bonus, as other than the 1976 original album the latter package will include a two-part live album, a singles EP, a 24-page booklet with never-before-seen photos, a poster, two badges, press photos and a slew of replicas of concert tickets, fan club membership cards and the like. If you’re a real fan of the psychedelic Englishman, calling this reissue a ‘must-have’ probably doesn’t even do it justice. Mark Sept. 28th down on your calendars and circle it like ten times.

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PJ Harvey Designs Francis Ford Coppola’s Magazine
04.23.10
Word on the street is that famed director Francis Ford Coppola has asked for PJ Harvey’s hand in acting as guest designer for his quarterly called Zoetrope: All-Story. The magazine showcases art, short fiction and one-act plays, and a press release indicates that the summer issue will feature “previously unseen artwork, sculpture and drawings”, of Harvey’s. Past guest designers for Coppola’s Zoetrope: All-Story have included Tom Waits, Will Oldham, David Bowie, David Byrne and Lou Reed.

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CD Reviews
Free Energy – Stuck On Nothing
03.20.10
The newest band to vie for summertime supremacy, Free Energy’s debut album Stuck On Nothing, is as sugary as they come. (more…)
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Outcry Over BBC Plans to Cut its 6Music Online Radio Station
03.03.10
In this time of corporate belt tightening, even institutions such as the BBC are feeling the pinch. At a press conference given yesterday, BBC Director-General Mark Thompson announced details of a ‘cost-cutting plan’ snappily entitled Putting Quality First, which proposes the closure of its 6Music service and the Asian culture station – the Asian Network, as well as cutting funding for certain of the BBC’s websites. For those not in the know, 6Music, launched in 2002, is the main source of left-field music for the BBC’s listeners not at home in the more mainstream climes of the popular Radio 1. It has garnered quite a loyal following in its eight year existence, and in reaction to the news of its possible demise, some famous names have made their displeasure known. (more…)
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Subject of Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain Revealed?
02.26.10
Here’s some classic rock cryptology for you. Ever since Carly Simon penned 70s rock classic You’re So Vain, the singer claimed the song’s subject to be a “composite” of men she had met early in the decade, rather than a single person. Later, she dropped a further clue, saying that the true subject of the song had the letters A, E and R in their name. Looking at a selection of names from the 1970s era, WARrEn Beatty and Mick JAggER would both fit. But, to coincide with the re-release of the song, Simon has revealed that if you play the new of the song version backwards, the name of the character in question would be revealed. This is where UK tabloid The Sun steps in. The paper got a hold of the new song, played it backwards, and concluded that the name that could be heard was ‘David’. David Bowie and David Crosby were other possible from the era, but were eliminated due to the first lacking the necessary “E” and Bowie having never been linked to Simon in any way. The British paper is suggesting that the David in question is David Geffen, the head of Elektra Records – the label that released You’re So Vain – due to a disagreement the two had at the time of its release. There remains one problem. Where’s the “R” in “David Geffen”? Well, Geffen’s full name is “DAvid LawRence GEffen.” Mystery solved? Maybe…
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CD Reviews
Peter Gabriel – Scratch My Back
02.21.10
Who says doing covers is cheap? Who says making a whole album of covers is ludicrous? Well, certainly not Peter Gabriel who has embarked on an interesting song-swapping project with twelve other artists and bands with his new album, Scratch My Back. (more…)
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CD Reviews
The Hotrats – Turn Ons
01.30.10
Turn Ons is the aptly titled debut album of The Hotrats, a passion project by members of Britpop trio Supergrass and famed producer Nigel Godrich. (more…)
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David Bowie Tribute Album in the Works
01.08.10
The 80s return as a May release on Manimal Vinyl is slated for a forthcoming David Bowie tribute album. Summer rumors spouted the possibility that Radiohead would be part of the Bowie covers, and although the boys won’t be involved, the roster boasts quite the interesting string of talent. Duran Duran appears to take on Boys Keep Swinging, Carla Bruni tackles Absolute Beginners and Devendra Banhart’s Megapuss explore Sound And Vision in Spanish! The album will drop in the form of a CD, a limited edition double-LP, and a digital download expected to sport bonus tracks. Look for the currently untitled album’s release in May with the project’s proceeds set to be donated to the War Child foundation.
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Big Name Rockers Go Lego?
10.30.09
Among the list of seasoned rockers to join the upcoming Lego Rock Band stands Blur, David Bowie and Iggy Pop. Let’s all pause for a moment to envision Iggy Pop as a Lego character… Set for release in 2010 the computer game will feature rockers in the form of Lego men/women tearing up the stage to a myriad of classic and contemporary jams, although an official date has not been released, buzz suggests a mid-year rearing to be expected.
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Clash, Blur, Bowie, Rolling Stones Album Covers Enshrined as Postage Stamps
10.16.09
My dream has long been to send a fan letter, through the old fashioned postal service, to David Bowie. The only thing that has stopped me is that that no stamp has ever been able to properly convey my appreciation of him as an artist. Until now. Postage stamp collector site Norvic Philatelics has broken the news that ten classic album covers will be immortalized as UK postage stamps this January. Now I can tell David Bowie how much I respect his work, and my letter will arrive with the cover of The Rise and Fall Of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars affixed to the envelope. I’m sure he will love it. The other nine album covers poised to take the leap into postage are: Pink Floyd’s The Division Bell, Coldplay’s A Rush of Blood to the Head, Blur’s Parklife, New Order’s Power, Corruption & Lies, the Rolling Stones’ Let It Bleed, Primal Scream’s Screamadelica, Led Zeppelin’s IV, Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, and The Clash’s London Calling. Come January 7^th all will be available through the British Post.
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David Bowie Get’s A Spider Named After Him?
09.08.09
You know you’ve hit the big time when… A rare species of yellow spider has been recently named after you. That’s correct, German spider expert Peter Jaeger has named this arachnid based on David Bowie and his 1976 rock opus The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, dubbing the creepy crawler Heteropoda davidbowie. The spider aficionado commented that naming spiders after well known figures is an effective tool in making more people aware of the ever depleting habitats of these rare creatures. No word from Bowie on his feelings towards the naming… But c’mon… There are worse things to be connected to than a bad ass rare spider. Hmm… I wonder how many ‘Bowie webs’ will be sold as decor for Halloween.
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Rare Photos Of The Beatles, David Bowie & The Rolling Stones
09.02.09
Slated to go on display late 2009 Beatles to Bowie: the 60s exposed photo exhibition will boast rare photos from gargantuan acts the likes of The Beatles, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, The Kinks, The Who and Cliff Richard… just to name a “few”. The exhibit will run from October 15th 2009 to January 24th 2010 at London’s National Portrait Gallery. Organizers have said that more than 100 of the selected photos have never been publicly viewed.
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CD Reviews
Scott Weiland – “Happy” in Galoshes
11.29.08
$Scott Weiland - \$

Clean, alive and singing, the 41-year-old Scott Weiland is back with his most recent release “Happy” in Galoshes. (more…)
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