Tampa Calling

Conor Oberst, the young man who began his career writing about breaking up with actress girlfriends and late-night boozing via his alias Bright Eyes, recently told Rolling Stone that he was ready to put that part of his life to rest.

It’s true indie citizens. After one more album, which Oberst plans to record early in 2010, Bright Eyes will be no more. But fear not! Conor plans on keeping himself busy with other projects, including his Mystic Valley Band and this new super group, Monsters of Folk (pictured), which also features M. Ward, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, and producer Mike Mogis. Read the rest of this entry »

“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.

Vist CL’s main music site.

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I’ve come to terms recently that I like to be rushed when I write. I usually wait till the very last moment to start doing all my writing. Drafts? Pfft. Who needs those? I shoot from the hip. When my iPod plays the five songs that are to be used for an issue I immediately try to tie them all together in some kind of basic theme or idea.

Something to make it interesting and make you, the reader, keep reading. For this issue however, a lightning storm went off over my head. I guess it was only a matter of time considering the incessant rain we’ve been getting here in ol’ sunny Florida. Sunshine State my ass. Read the rest of this entry »

A while back I had heard vague and unsubstantiated rumors that Danger Mouse (one half of Gnarls Barkley) and Mark Linkous (Sparklehorse) were collaborating on an album. My first reaction was something near to a cliched Napolean Dynamite “YESSSSSSSS!” The project was to be called Dark Night Of The Soul. Read the rest of this entry »

Its official: Billy Corgan has lost his mind.  What once was a name of stature and notoriety in the music world, and our playlists, has become nothing more than dirt and tarnish.  Some of you may be familiar with the Smashing Pumpkins’ headmaster and his various eccentricities as of late. For those who are not, I’ll give a little recap… Read the rest of this entry »

Every other week I put my iPod on shuffle and write about the first five songs that come up. I’ve been doing this for a few months now and the response has been more than kind and appreciated. However, now that I’m blogging for Creative Loafing I feel the need to change the tiger’s stripes a little and have some audience participation. I will continue writing about the songs that come up on my iPod at the 5SIAR website (5songsinarow.blogspot.com), but I will also post a different and slightly condensed one here at Tampa Calling. This is where you come in.

I’d like to receive some 5 songs in a row from readers. Just put whatever music device you use on shuffle, then leave a comment with the songs that played. Feel free to bend the rules here and there as I’ve done for the new issue due to be posted Friday.  For example, I decided to pick the top five most played songs on my iPod instead of a random five. Every other week before I post a new 5SIAR, I will pick one user’s list of five songs to write about on Tampa Calling. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure it’s random. Every user name will be written on a piece of paper, stuck in a hat, and chosen at random. Eventually, as time goes on, I’ll offer a small prize to the person that is picked — maybe a gift certificate to a coffee shop or record store?

So get those iPods, Zunes, or whatever else you’re using on shuffle and give me five songs. Tell your friends. Tell your parents. Tell your exterminator.

Los Angeles Sludge-metal gods Big Business wear their name well. They  deliver a big, low-end, rumble-your-guts sound, and obviously mean business while doing it. That’s to be expected considering that bassist/singer Jared Warren and former Murder City Devil, drummer Coady Willis, are also members in a band called The Melvins. Maybe you’ve heard of them?

Having already gained notoriety for their 2007 LP Here Come The Waterworks, BB are set to release their new album Mind The Drift on Hydra-Head Records come May 12.  They have jumped the gun and set out on a North American tour in support of it that brings them to Czar in Ybor on April 30 and The Social in Orlando on May 1 along with opener Tweak Bird; another L.A. band that judging by their music could be mistaken for a Death From Above 1979 reincarnation.

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