It’s obvious that David Archuleta isn’t afraid of crowds and that he can sing a lot better than the majority of 18-year-olds on earth. But if a recent tour alongside tween superstar Demi Lovato was any indication, he could actually be the most average “American Idol” to date. Since becoming one of the program’s youngest finalists in history and earning the runner-up slot in 2008, he’s certainly hit a sales stride with a self-titled CD. However upon closer examination, there’s really nothing all that special about any of his songs or stage presence, let alone any hints of potential career longevity whatsoever. (more…)

It’s almost as if Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up) is out to prove something with his new film, Funny People. The two-and-a-half film includes cameos by countless comedians and, even though it includes the usual quotient of penis jokes, is way more serious than his other endeavors. The plot revolves around George Simmons (Adam Sandler) a movie star and comedian who’s just found out he has a life threatening disease. Since he realizes he doesn’t have much time left, he returns to stand-up, enlisting the talents of an aspiring stand-up named Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) whom he meets at the Improv one night.

(more…)

Trivia question for Dylan fans: who is the only musician, other than himself, that Bob Dylan has produced?

No, it is not The Band, nor is it Joan Baez. (more…)

If you missed out on their performance the first time, check it out this Saturday (8/1)!

7 WORLDS COLLIDE’S THE SUN CAME OUT TO BE RELEASED
SEPTEMBER 29 VIA SONY MUSICBAND FEATURES MEMBERS OF CROWDED HOUSE, RADIOHEAD, WILCO, THE SMITHS,
KT TUNSTALL AMONG MANY OTHERS

The first 7 Worlds Collide album, a collection of amazing musical
talents from across the globe in aid of Médecins Sans Frontières, was
a unique live performance experience, fusing the varied talents of a
stellar cast across a range of cover versions to create a series of
shows that culminated in the live album of the same name. Seven years
after that project, instigator Neil Finn has upped the ante with the
new 7 Worlds Collide project, The Sun Came Out, a double album of
original songs created and recorded by many of the original cast
alongside notable new additions in an intense three weeks in his
native New Zealand. This time the beneficiaries of this album will be
Oxfam, as well as music lovers worldwide.

Familiar faces from the original album abound, Johnny Marr, Ed O’Brien
and Phil Selway of Radiohead but this album, first and foremost
presents the listener with new songs rather than interpretations of
old favourites. The Sun Came Out also features a whole host of new
guest talents such as KT Tunstall and Wilco and heart stopping firsts,
including Phil Selway’s songwriting and vocal debut as well as dream
collaborations such as those between Johnny Marr and Wilco’s Jeff
Tweedy; and KT Tunstall and Neil Finn .

At the heart of the record is Neil Finn. His enthusiasm and drive
persuaded the likes of celebrated producer Jim Scott, Lisa Germano,
Johnny Marr and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Pat Sansone, John Stirratt and
Glenn Kotche (amongst others) to spend their Christmas holiday in New
Zealand and even interrupted KT Tunstall’s honeymoon in the process.

With families welcome, the studio became a constant whirl of
creativity and energy throughout the three weeks allocated to create
the record. Johnny Marr returned from a run on the beach with the
basis of ‘Too Blue’, where Jeff Tweedy was waiting to add his talents;
KT Tunstall stopped Neil retiring to his bed to complete ‘Hazel
Black’; a wandering Johnny Marr added a chorus melody to Liam Finn’s
‘Red Wine Bottle’; Ed O’Brien fashioned ‘Bodhisattva Blues’ from a
Tibetan chant.   In this atmosphere, anything was possible and Neil’s
wife Sharon found herself laying down her debut vocal on ‘Little By
Little’ whilst Phil Selway also took his vocal bow and unveiled a
hitherto unknown songwriting talent with his solo turn ‘The Ties That
Bind Us’ in one take.

From Neil’s original doubts over the idea, “I thought, what is this?
Is it just an ego thing,” came a double album of astounding
collaborations for the listener and amazing memories for all those
concerned in the recording.   At the center of it all stands Neil
Finn, too humble to take the glory himself, it is left to KT Tunstall
to give the credit due to the man who made this happen: “It’s Neil. It
all comes from him. There’s something about him that made everyone
open up creatively.”

Jeremy Hobbs, Director of Oxfam International said:  “7 Worlds Collide
is a great project. I hope The Sun Came Out is a huge success.  Not
just because it’s a unique musical experience but because each CD sold
will make a difference — raising money to fund Oxfam’s work to fight
poverty.”

The complete tracklisting and credits for the 2-CD set is below:

Disc 1

1. Too Blue – (Johnny Marr/Jeff Tweedy) – Johnny Marr and Neil Finn vocals
Elroy Finn & Glenn Kotche (drums), Phil Selway (percussion), John
Stirratt (stand-up bass), Johnny Marr & Ed O’Brien (guitars), Pat
Sansone (piano), Nile Marr & Neil Finn (acoustic guitars), and Lisa
Germano (violins)

2. You Never Know – (Jeff Tweedy) – Jeff vocals
Jeff Tweedy (acoustic & electric guitars), Glenn Kotche (drums), Pat
Sansone (acoustic 12 string guitar & piano), John Stirratt (bass),
Neil Finn (Wurlitzer piano, fuzz guitar), Liam Finn (additional fuzz
guitar), Nels Cline (electric/slide guitar), and Mikael Jorgensen
(organ/synth)

3. Little By Little – (Sharon Finn/Neil Finn) – Neil and Sharon vocals
Glenn Kotche (drums & percussion), Liam Finn (additional drums),
Sharon Finn (bass), and Neil Finn (guitars, Chamberlin, Jupiter 8,
marimba)

4. Learn To Crawl – (Ed O’Brien/Johnny Marr/Liam Finn/Neil Finn) -
Neil and Liam vocals
Glenn Kotche (drums), Ed O’Brien, Johnny Marr, Pat Sansone (acoustic
guitar arpeggio), Neil Finn (bass), Pat Sansone (background
harmonies), Jeff Tweedy (disembodied voice), and Lisa Germano (violin)

5. Black Silk Ribbon – (KT Tunstall/Bic Runga) – KT and Bic vocals
Luke Bullen (drums, thigh slap), KT Tunstall & Bic Runga (acoustic
guitars), Sebastian Steinberg (stand up & bowed bass), and Lisa
Germano (violin)

6. Girl, Make Your Own Mind Up – (Don McGlashan) – Don vocals
Don McGlashan (guitar), Glenn Kotche (drums), Ed O’Brien (electric
guitar atmosphere), John Stirratt (bass), Ivy Rossiter (backing
vocal), and Jeff Tweedy (electric guitar solo)

7. Run In The Dust – (Johnny Marr) – Johnny vocals
Phil Selway (drums), Sebastian Steinberg (bass), Johnny Marr (guitar),
Ed O’Brien (electric guitar), Pat Sansone (Hammond organ), Jeff Tweedy
(harmonica), Neil Finn, Lisa Germano, and Pat Sansone (harmonies)

8. Red Wine Bottle – (Liam Finn/Chris Garland/Johnny Marr) – Liam vocals
Glenn Kotche (drums), John Stirratt (bass), Liam Finn (acoustic
guitars, guitar loops and solo, Hammond mash), Neil Finn (Hammond
flourish), Johnny Marr (electric guitar), Eliza Jane Barnes & Cecilia
Herbert (harmonies)

9. The Ties That Bind Us – (Phil Selway) – Phil vocals
Phil Selway (acoustic guitar), Glenn Kotche (drums, percussion), Pat
Sansone (acoustic guitar, celeste), Sebastian Steinberg (standup &
bowed bass), Lisa Germano (violin & whisper), Don McGlashan (euphium,
flugelhorn), and Jeff Tweedy (additional arrangement)

10. Reptile – (Lisa Germano) – Lisa vocals
Lisa Germano (electric guitar, Theremin), Sebastian Steinberg (bass),
Spencer Tweedy (drums), Glenn Kotche (toys and robots drumming), Pat
Sansone (12 string guitar), Neil Finn (xylophone), Sonny Marr, Nile
Marr, Sam Tweedy, Jeff Tweedy, Louise Callaghan, Emma Scott, Pearl
McGlashan, mae Moreno, Sharon Finn, Julia Connolly, Sebastian
Steinberg, and Milla (humans & dogs singing background vocals)

11. Bodhisattva Blues – (Ed O’Brien/Liam Finn) – Ed and Neil Finn vocals
Ed O’Brien (electric guitar), Elroy Finn (drums), Liam Finn (guitar),
Neil Finn (Wurlizer piano, bass), Jeff Tweedy (guitar solo, vocal
response & scream), and Johnny Marr (guitar solo)

12. What Could Have Been – (Jeff Tweedy) – Jeff vocals
Glenn Kotche (drums, percussion), Jeff Tweedy (acoustic guitar), John
Stirratt (bass), Neil Finn (vibes, electric guitar, harmony), and Pat
Sansone (piano, Wurlitzer organ)

Disc 2

1. All Comedians Suffer – (Neil Finn) – Neil vocals
Glenn Kotche (drums), Neil Finn (electric guitar), Pat Sansone
(acoustic guitar), Liam Finn (bass, electric guitar, harmonies), and
Jeff Tweedy (chorus fuzz, electric guitar solo)

2. Duxton Blues – (Glenn Richards) – Glenn vocals
Glenn Richards (guitar), Liam Finn (drums, guitar & vocal loops),
Johnny Marr (electric guitar), Sebastian Steinberg (bass), Bic Runga &
Neil Finn (background vocals)

3. Hazel Black – (KT Tunstall/Neil Finn) – KT and Neil vocals
KT Tunstall (acoustic guitar, handclaps, background vocals), Luke
Bullen (drums, handclaps), John Stirratt (bass), Johnny Marr & Pat
Sansone (electric guitars), Neil Finn (piano, harmony), Glenn Kotche
(handclaps), Sonny Marr & Bic Runga (back-
ground vocals)

4. Riding The Wave – (Tim Finn) – Tim vocals
Tim Finn (piano), Elroy Finn (drums), Neil Finn (acoustic guitar,
slide guitar, harmony), Liam Finn (harmonies), Sebastian Steinberg
(bass), Johnny Marr (electric guitar), and Pat Sansone (Hammond organ)

5. The Witching Hour – (Phil Selway) – Phil vocals
Phil Selway (acoustic guitar), Bic Runga & KT Tunstall (background
vocals), Lisa Germano (violin), and Jeff Tweedy (Optigan organ, piano)

6. Over And Done – (John Stirratt) – John vocals
John Stirratt (guitar), Glenn Kotche (drums), Pat Sansone (bass,
piano), Don McGlashan (Euphonium, Flugelhorn), and Neil Finn & Pat
Sansone (harmonies)

7. A Change Of Heart – (Bic Runga/Dan Wilson) – Bic vocals
Bic Runga (acoustic guitar), Glenn Kotche (drums), John Stirratt
(bass), Neil Finn (piano), Pat Sansone (Hammond organ), and Don
McGlashan (humming)

8. Don’t Forget Me – (Pat Sansone) – Pat vocals
Pat Sansone (guitar), Glenn Kotche (drums), John Stirratt (bass), and
Johnny Marr (electric guitar)

9. Long Time Gone – (Don McGlashan) – Don vocals
Don McGlashan (guitar), Phil Selway (drums), Pat Sansone (bass), Ed
O’Brien (electric guitar), and Johnny Marr (12 string & 6 string
acoustic guitars, backing vocals)

10. The Cobbler – (Elroy Finn) – Elroy vocals
Elroy Finn (guitar), Lisa Germano (violin), and Sebastian Steinberg (bowed
bass)

11. 3 Worlds Collide – (Glenn Kotche/Phil Selway/Neil Baldock)
Glenn Kotche & Phil Selway (drums, percussion)

12. The Water – (Sebastian Steinberg) – Sebastian vocals
Sebastian Steinberg (guitars, bass), Neil Finn (piano), Glenn Kotche
(drums), and Johnny Marr (ghost guitar)

Produced by Jim Scott and Neil Finn, additional production Neil Baldock

About Oxfam America
Oxfam America is an international relief and development organization
that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice.
Together with individuals and local groups in more than 100 countries,
Oxfam saves lives, helps people overcome poverty, and fights for
social justice. We are an affiliate of Oxfam International.

www.oxfamamerica.org

Echo & The Bunnymen

New album : The Fountain　　 Release date:　 Oct 13 , 2009 All Points West Festival – Sunday, August 2!!!

US Tour Dates Being Confirmed – Ocean Rain In Its’ Entirety!!

Its been 4 years since we last had new music from Echo & The Bunnymen.

Which is not to say they haven’t been busy. In September 2008, the Bunnymen were invited to perform their 1985 orchestral-rock masterpiece, Ocean Rain at the Royal Albert Hall, with similar sell-out shows following shortly afterwards in New York at Radio City Music Hall and the massive new arena in their native Liverpool.

Reviews of the gigs oozed adjectives such as “euphoric” and “transcendental”, the romance and grandeur of songs like “The Killing Moon,” “Silver” and “Seven Seas” undimmed by the passing of time.

“There was a magic at those gigs that only the Bunnymen can conjure up,” ventures Ian McCulloch, the Bunnymen’s iconic frontman. “It was incredible.”

Returning to London this April, the group’s appearance at Koko’s as the centrepiece of the annual Camden Crawl saw hundreds left outside on the pavement, and the band are set to fly to New York again this weekend to play the massive “All Points West” Festival at New Jersey’s Liberty State Park along side Coldplay, MGMT, The Fleet Foxes, Artic Monkeys and the Beastie Boys.　　 Further, the band are now confirming additional North Amercian Ocean Rain tour dates　 — what we can currently tell you about is listed below!

All of this brings us to The Fountain, a feisty album of pulsating rock anthems and Bowie-ish pop.　 The Fountain was kick-started in 2007 when McCulloch began working on some new ideas with three London-based musicians. “I thought [Will Sergeant and I] needed to do stuff differently, but the result still sounded like the Bunnymen,”

McCullouch says. “What we got with “Think I Need It Too” and “Forgotten Fields,” I thought, ‘Yeah, this is how it should sound.’”

The album was pieced together over the next year, with Mac and Will working on tracks at their management’s Parr Street Studios in Liverpool.

The album’s widescreen, crystalline sound is the work of Scottishproducer John McLaughlin, whose credits may come as a surprise to some Bunnymen fans. “He’s done work with Busted and Five, who I loved!” smiles Mac. “He said the Bunnymen were his favorite thing of all time, but really I think it’s The Clash and Bruce Springsteen. I just became really good friends with him. I really want a big, solid undertow beneath the lyrics, not all jingly jangly like Siberia. I wanted someone I could trust to get the sound – when he heard me playing “The Idolness Of Gods” with just guitar, it made him cry. He gets why I write the way I do. There’s glory in it. Certain lyrics make you go, ‘Bloody hell.’ It’s the atmosphere I can evoke with the way I sing and write melody.

Preview tracks at

http://www.bunnymen.comTour dates – more being confirmed!!!

Even if Green Day’s just a punk band, there’s no denying the artistic bent to the band’s politically-charged anthems. Though the group will be bringing the best of its latest ruminations from 21st Century Breakdown to the touring trails this summer, each show will be flanked by some unconventional creative attractions. The group will literally set up a roving art gallery in each city this season, including several fan-derived works of various associations and inclinations. (more…)

LOS ANGELES, CA – July 28, 2009 — Europe may get them first, but the Pixies will tour the USA late this year.

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the release of their classic

1989 album Doolittle, the band – Black Francis, Kim Deal, Joey Santiago and David Lovering – will kick off the very special US “Doolittle Tour” at the Palladium in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 4. The U.S. tour will hit a total of nine cities, including three dates in New York City. Ticket prices and on-sale dates will vary city to city, but some tickets go on sale as early as this Saturday, August 1 and can be purchased at the venues’ box offices or online at

http://www.ticketmaster.com/ See below for full itinerary and on-sale information.

www.ainr.comDates and on sale info for the Pixies US “Doolittle Tour” are as follows:

Next to chipmunks, guinea pigs might just be the cutest rodent-like creatures in the world. That’s not lost on the creators of G-Force, an Alvin and the Chipmunks-like flick about a group of super sleuth guinea pigs that work for the FBI. The loveable little guys are on the verge of cracking open a major case for their supervisor Ben (Zach Galifianakis) when know-it-all boss (Will Arnett) shuts the operation down.

(more…)

Following on the heels of a triumphant appearance at last month’s Bonnaroo festival and the recent announcement　 of a Sunday September

13 headline slot at this year’s Monolith Festival, The Mars Volta has announced a full U.S. tour.

The tour will kick off August 29 at the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco followed by a two-night headline stand at the Hollywood Palladium following on August 30 and September 1. Tickets for the two Los Angeles shows went on sale this Saturday, July 25, as did tickets for confirmed dates in Phoenix and St. Louis. Tickets for the remaining shows will go on sale July 31 and August 1, as indicated below.

The tour begins in the wake of The Mars Volta’s fifth full length studio album, Octahedron, which was released June 23 by Warner Bros.

Records in the U.S., entering the Billboard chart at #12.

Octahedron’s bold expansion of The Mars Volta vision has resulted in appropriately enthusiastic critical response, ranging from THE NEW YORK TIMES declaring “The panache of the singing and the radiant complexity of the music… drive the album relentlessly forward. And it’s the subtle touches, no less than the sweeping ones, that leave an impression” to MAXIM simply hailing the Volta as “America’s freakiest big rock band.”

Further dates will be announced as they are confirmed. For a full listing of confirmed dates and on sale dates, see below. For an up to the minute rundown of The Mars Volta touring activity, see themarsvolta.com

THE MARS VOLTA FALL 2009 U.S. TOUR

August 29 – San Francisco CA – Outside Lands Festival * ON SALE NOW August 30 – Los Angeles CA – Palladium * ON SALE NOW September 1　 – Los Angeles CA – Palladium * ON SALE NOW September 2 – Santa Barbara CA – Santa Barbara Bowl * ON SALE AUGUST 1 September 4 – San Diego CA – Soma * ON SALE JULY 31 September 5 – Phoenix AZ – Dodge Theater　 * ON SALE NOW September 8 – St. Louis MO – The Pageant * ON SALE NOW September 10 – Minneapolis MN – First Avenue * ON SALE AUGUST 1 September 11 – Chicago IL – Congress Theater * ON SALE AUGUST 1 September 13 – Denver CO – Monolith Festival * ON SALE NOW September 16 – Dallas TX – Palladium * ON SALE JULY 31 September 17 – Houston TX – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater * ON SALE　 AUGUST 1 September 19 – San Antonio TX -　 Municipal Theater * ON SALE AUGUST 1