The first tidbit I wanted to cover was the breaking news that the Cars are reuniting. There was rumblings of this back in July, but it was just "...well, we're thinking about it..." sort of thing. Now, apparently it's official. There will be an album, but as for a tour at this point - that still needs to be hammered out. The Cars' engineer Paul Orofino confirmed that the band - Ric Ocasek, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes, and drummer David Robinson -have been recording in a studio in Millbrook, New York. No word as of yet who would be handling bass guitar duties as founding bassist Benjamin Orr died of cancer in 2000. As stated above, the band is "strongly considering" touring, but they have not yet nailed down dates.
I was on the road this week and I was listening to some "early" White Stripes while in the car, if there is such a thing. I later came across an article which stated that a copy of the 7" single "Lafayette Blues" which the White Stripes recorded back in 1998 sold for over $18,000... and they say there's no money in music. The unique thing about this particular album was it was one of only 15 copies with a hand-painted cover done by Jack White and Italy Records honcho Dave Buick. The single originally went for only $6 when they were sold at the Stripes' concert at Detroit's Gold Dollar 12 years ago.
More new stuff on the horizon! According to a press release, Billy Corgan and the Smashing Pumpkins will release Teargarden by Kaleidyscore Vol.II: The Solstice Bare, the second EP in Corgan's planned 44-song, 11-EP project, on November 23rd. Yes, this release will also be a limited edition CD like the last one.
U2 is also in the new release spotlight, but in spades! Despite Bono's emergency back surgery earlier this year, the band is currently working on three (no typo here) three new albums. First up is a collaboration with Gnarls Barkley mastermind and production whiz Danger Mouse. The wait for that album might not be too long. Earlier this month, U2's manager Paul McGuinness told the Irish Times that he expected the band's next album to drop in early 2011, before the next leg of the group's U.S. tour, which begins in May.
On a sad note, Ari Up — co-founder of the iconic British punk band the Slits — died October 20, according to the Sex Pistols' John Lydon. Ari Up, who was born Arianna Forster, succumbed to a "serious illness," according to Lydon, who is married to Up's mother. She was only 48.
For those who are unfamiliar with the singer, Up formed the band The Slits with drummer Palmolive when she was only 14 years old in 1976. The group would go on to become one of the most pioneering female punk groups, laying the groundwork for the '90s riot grrrl movement and inspiring everyone from Bjork and Courtney Love to Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney. The Slits' sound was wild and experimental - a mixture of reggae grooves and spiky punk guitars -and earned them fans from bands like the Clash, who took the Slits on the road for their 1977 White Riot Tour. When the group finally made it to vinyl by 1979, again they made headlines with their debut release "Cut" - but it was more for the album cover art instead of the music which featured the band posing naked. RIP Ari...
Finally, I received an email from a listener asking what does the song "Daughter" by Pearl Jam mean? I replied with a web link giving them the answer, (you'll just have to look it up yourself :-p), but I also found some cool trivia about that album as well. Did you know that the album was originally going to be called "5 Against 1", but then the band changed it to just "Pearl Jam" and then to "VS". Apparently, there are a handful of copies out there with the "Pearl Jam" title, before it was changed to "VS".
That's about it for now... whew! Until next time, keep listening.
Peace out,
Dave
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