Daily Loaf

Four albums and an EP in seven years. The legacy of the Pixies‘ amazing initial run from 1986 to 1993 acts as the gorilla in the room whenever any Pixies members work on other projects. People often ask questions about new Pixies material, and last year I wrote about bassist Kim Deal’s theory:

“I think it gets talked about whenever Charles [Thompson, aka Frank Black] has any release, which is often. I have a feeling that’s when he talks about it more than anything. Because him and Joe [Santiago, guitarist] haven’t gotten together to write any songs, so I think it’s kind of something to bring up whenever he needs press. That’s the only time I hear about it. I have no idea, dude.”

One year and one Doolittle 20th anniversary tour later, the Pixies mainman has a new solo album to promote — NonStopErotik out March 30 — and old questions to answer.

Billboard reports: Read the rest of this entry »

I called ‘bullshit’ when Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh re-formed Sublime with an unknown frontman, 21-year-old Rome Ramirez. So did the family, heirs and estate of their deceased original mainman, Bradley Nowell. It didn’t take long until a judge weighed in on the family’s side. Now, it seems a compromise has been reached!

Sublime will return! Sort of. Read the rest of this entry »

* The reunited Stone Temple Pilots (who still owe Tampa a show, by the way) spent the last few months working on a new album. They’re breaking to tour but will return to the studio afterwards to shoot for a spring/summer 2010 release.

Simply recording and releasing a new STP album may not be all that simple, and not just because Scott Weiland is a troublemaker. Atlantic Records sued Weiland and drummer Eric Kretz in 2008, asserting that half of STP is still under contract. The band’s other half, the DeLeo brothers, were released in 2003. STP can’t put out new music until this legal matter is settled.

* Morrissey collapsed on-stage one song into a Swindon, England concert last weekend (at least he made that one song count – “This Charming Man”), and spent the night hospitalized. While Moz has canceled many shows over the past few years due to various health issues, he vows to continue his current tour.

*Speaking of Morrissey, Pitchfork talked to Johnny Marr about joining The Cribs and dared to bring up his relationship with Morrissey and the likelihood of The Smiths reuniting:

Pitchfork: You said in a recent interview that you and Morrissey aren’t feuding, and that you email with each other. Is that true? (Hold your breath for Marr’s response after the jump!) Read the rest of this entry »

I’m only 28, but it makes me feel old to find out bands like Alice In Chains (below) and Sublime (right) – which enjoyed their heyday when I was a teenager – have reunited. Back then, I clearly remember not giving a shit when various pop-culture purveyors made a big deal about reconciliations of groups like  The Eagles, Page & Plant, and KISS. I was too young to have lost a favorite band to a nasty breakup. Since then I’ve witnessed bands I love (Iron Maiden and Pixies to name a few) reunite in the best possible way – with their core lineups and legacies mostly intact.

Alice In Chains and Sublime are among the biggest alt-rock bands to come out of the 1990s. Both sold millions of albums and lost a frontman to drugs (not necessarily in that order). Both bands have recently re-formed with new singers. Alice In Chains is even set to drop a new record at the end of the month.

These two bands have so much in common – including this very passionate debate: are their reunions bullshit? (Video after the jump) Read the rest of this entry »

If my September wasn’t already booked up, there is no doubt I’d drive up to Atlanta for Goodie Mob’s Sept. 19 reunion show. Hopefully a new album will follow.

Faith No More announced their reunion earlier this year. Mike Patton? Check. Virtuoso guitarist Jim Martin? Afraid not. Turns out it’s the Album of the Year lineup. Adding to my disappointment, Faith No More has yet to play a single concert on American soil.

Rolling Stone caught up with former frontman Chuck Mosley as he promotes his debut solo LP – the awesomely-titled Will Rap Over Hard Rock For Food (out now). Mosley says he was actually invited to Europe to duet with Mike Patton, but passport trouble interfered. Mosley also not only laments Jim Martin’s absence, but thinks the band should have never fired Martin.

I thought [firing Martin] was as big if not bigger a mistake than getting rid of me – just because he had a lot of pull with the big part of their crowd at the time. And he was ‘the personality,’ y’know? There was something people could identify to. After Jim, they were going through a string of different guitar players, and I couldn’t name one of them. That Jagger/Richards, Plant/Page thing was gone.”

Video of Faith No More covering Peaches & Herb’s “Reunited”, plus more news after the jump! Read the rest of this entry »

Courtney Love is nuts. (Newsflash, right?) Years of drug abuse will do that to a person. She uses the Internet predominantly to bicker with Ryan Adams and wonder aloud, “What happened to all that Nirvana money!?”

Sometimes, she covers both topics simultaneously! She either hasn’t quite grasped or doesn’t give a shit about Twitter’s 140-character limit, opting instead for stream-of-consciousness commentary and storytelling sometimes interrupted mid-word. And she’s still close pals with lone original Smashing Pumpkin Billy Corgan.

Love has worked intermittently on her second solo album Nobody’s Daughter over the past three years. Because of various false starts and Internet leaks, the disc is three producers and four studios deep. Now it seems Nobody’s Daughter won’t even be a Courtney Love solo album. Courtney has taken a page from Corgan’s playbook and resurrected a dormant, yet familiar name.

Hole.

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“There were a lot of people crying,” says Blur bassist Alex James describing the crowd’s reaction to their first show in nine years at the East Anglian Railway Museum in Essex on June 13. This museum is coincidentally where Blur played their first show back in 1988.

The Britpop laureates played a two-hour set including a lot of their more popular songs such as “Girls & Boys,” “Song 2,” and personal favorite of mine, “Parklife.”

Not only are the boys back to playing shows all this summer, but also may be delivering the masses a new album in the future. According to a BBC interview the band is not commenting on the definite confirmation of new material, but they are jamming and getting along. I guess that’s as good as we can all hope for at the moment. My question is: When are we going to see a new Gorillaz album? I’m looking at you, Damon Albarn!

Video after the jump.

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Music contributor Joel Weiss issued this lively splash of music news:

The mid-90’s Britpop feud between Oasis and Blur has become the stuff of legend. Noel Gallagher once famously hoped Blur frontman Damon Albarn would “catch AIDS and die” (he since recanted, blaming drugs for the outburst).  Surprisingly, he’s 100% behind the current Blur reunion: “I’m right into the Blur reunion, ’cause it’ll finish off the Kaiser Chiefs and put them to bed. There’s nothing worse than a shit Blur. And at least the original shit Blur are back to finish off all these other shit Blurs. I’m bang into the Blur reunion.”

From an old reunion to a possible new one: Nine Inch Nails‘ Trent Reznor no longer thinks very highly about former friend and collaborator Marilyn Manson.  Reznor calls Manson “a malicious guy and will step on anybody’s face to succeed and cross any line of decency … Seeing him now, drugs and alcohol now rule his life and he’s become a dopey clown. He used to be the smartest guy in the room.  And as a fan of his talents, I hope he gets his shit together.”

Lots of news on the Flaming Lips, The Cult, STP, Moz, and more after the jump!

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