One old song, one new one, two mesmerizing videos.

By Fred Mills

This week Brooklyn indie/dream-popsters (and BLURT faves) Beach Fossils unveiled a video for the brand new single "Shallow." It's a tour video "showing life on the road and how you have to make your own fun to stay sane," comprising footage assembled over the past 3 years and edited by frontman Dustin Payseur.

Beach Fossils - Shallow from Beach Fossils on Vimeo.

You can read our interview from last year with Payseur right here. He talks about the group's self-titled 2010 album and the 2011 mini-album followup What A Pleasure. Meanwhile, below is another video that we continue to enjoy, "Desert Sand," which was the hypnotic B-side to the 2010 single "Daydream." The quirky visuals were assembled by Payseur using frames from the seminal 1934 stop-motion film Duffy the Mascot - and dare we say it, the music is delightfully synched with the images. That's some Star Wars-styled cantina scene, eh?

Courtesy of the mighty Spinto Band...

By Fred Mills

The Spinto Band filmed a "Shit People Say"-esque clip, which you can view below and which is self-explanatory. Needless to say the Spintos will be a highlight of this year's SXSW. And if you are in Austin next week, feel free to drop by our four-day party and start accumulating your own memories suitable for filming next time around...

Big ballin' ‘n' prime pimpin' from the sultans of swag... one bad mutha sucka...

By Blurt Staff

Canada's Sadies are re-teaming with soul-funk godfather Andre Williams for Night and Day, set for release May 15 on Yep Roc. It's the result of sessions that began in 2008 at Key Club Studio in Detroit and captures Andre, then 70 years old, still using at the time, and recently released from jail, at his most raw, honest, and immediate. "No filter," as the label informs us.

On hand for the new record: Jon Spencer (who directed these sessions) and Matt Verta-Ray of Heavy Trash, Danny Kroha of Detroit's own gutter-blues superheroes, The Gories, Jon Langford, Sally Timms, Kelly Hogan, and of course The Sadies' long-time line-up of Dallas Good on guitars and keys, his brother Travis Good on guitars and fiddle, Mike Belitsky on drums, and Sean Dean on the bass. 

Check out the first single, "One Eyed Jack," above, or HERE.   Meanwhile, read our 2008 interview with Williams, "The Five Truths of Life," in which he offers choice advice, life-coach style.

Track Listing:

1. I Gotta Get Shortly Out Of Jail

2. America (You Say "A Change Is Gonna Come")

3. The Seventy Year Old

4. Your Old Lady

5. Bored

6. Mississippi & Joliet
7. I Thank God

8. Don't Take It

9. One-Eyed Jack

10. Hey Baby!

11. I'll Do Most Anything For You

12. That's My Desire

13. Me and My Dog

"Stunning psych-rock jams" indeed: new single from the Miami quintet drops March 12!

By Blurt Staff

Pretty stoked to unveil two new tracks from Miami's Lil Daggers - "Stray Chank" b/w "Snake Bird", which is in stores next week via the Smoky Carrot label out of the UK. It's the followup to last year's self-titled debut LP (on Limited Fanfare), 11 tracks worth of "reverb-drenched vocals, classic fuzz tones, sweeping organ and sonic landscapes," as the pundits have pointed out.

Trust us, this ain't yr average Miami combo.... Some fine tuneage to get your weekend started.

LIL DAGGERS - Stray Chank - pre-order now on iTunes by Smoky Carrot Records

LIL DAGGERS - Snake Bird - pre-order now on iTunes by Smoky Carrot Records

Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone was recently released by Cinema Guild. View trailer, below.

By John B. Moore

It's a sad reality when ska/pop bands like No Doubt or Reel Big Fish are better known than Fishbone, a band that helped create the genre. Lest you forget just how many obstacles have been put in front of this band, filmmakers Lev Anderson and Chris Metzler have managed to distil them all into Everyday Sunshine. And damn, there were a lot.

 Let's start with a group of teens living in a tough South Central Los Angeles neighborhood listening to punk when all of their peers were listening to, well, anything but punk rock. Once the group formed a band they had to convince club managers and eventually record labels that kids would listen to an all black group with a horn section playing a mix of funk, punk and classic ska. There was plenty of fallout along the way, but when they hit the stage, Fishbone created something amazing: a raucous party with unforgettable songs that managed to sound entirely original.

The most surprising thing about the doc is how the directors were able to cover so much ground in just 107 minutes- including the odd story of a founding member leaving the band after falling in with his father's cult and then being rescued (or kidnapped, depending on whose side you believe) by his former bandmates. Narrated by Laurence Fishburne, the movie includes plenty of interviews with those influenced by the band like Flea, Gwen Stefani, Ice-T and others.

Everyday Sunshine concludes with the band, still soldiering on, now loading and unloading their own equipment in tiny clubs and festivals across the globe without the backing of a big label. It's a harsh commentary on the fickle nature of fans and the music business, but that seems to be the last thing on the band's mind as they bash out "Party at Ground Zero" in front of a small, but enthusiastic crowd of diehards.    

By Popular Request is exactly that, 13 songs selected by fans for re-recording, and available by mail order at FairportConvention.com.

By Nancy Dunham

Fairport Convention has done what many might consider the impossible on its recent release By Popular Request: the bandmates refreshed the 13 fan-selected songs without adulterating them, taking the voted-upon selections and going into the studio with John Gale for re-recording. Think of the sonic facelift as more Christie Brinkley than Liza Minnelli - just enough to look natural but not over-the-top in any sense.

That's saying something when you consider that each of the songs on the album - including "Meet on the Ledge" and "Walk Awhile" - has been in the band's catalog for most of its 45-year history. That left the band facing the challenge of satisfying purists while not becoming, in co-founding member Simon Nicol's own words, its own tribute band.

Credit the band members' restraint (each is a celebrated artist in his own right) with their reverence for the group's past songwriters and players for exceeding expectations. Not only do the vocalists - notably co-lead singers Nicol and multi-instrumentalist Chris Leslie, the current incarnation's chief songwriter - sing with zeal but the instrumentation and arrangements add just enough new textures to air out some of the (let's just say mustiness) of a few of the tunes.

Consider one of most refreshed tracks on the album "Matty Groves": this bluegrass flavored version of the classic English folk song owes plenty to the spirited fiddle of virtuoso Ric Sanders and Leslie's sparkling banjo. The Richard Thompson-penned "Meet on the Ledge" is another Fairport standard that receives a welcome update by way of a slightly changed arrangement noticeably regarding fiddle and mandolin and a slightly more urgent tone in Nicol's lead vocals. Even the haunting "Crazy Man Michael" is improved upon notably with the addition of what must be whistles according to the album's liner notes.

By Popular Request shows why Fairport Convention continues to be a folk-rock pioneer. It's available exclusively via mail order at the band's official website.

Some kinda movie monster....

By Blurt Staff

Metallica announced today they have tapped award-winning director Nimród Antal to direct the upcoming Metallica 3D feature film project.  Charlotte Huggins (JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, JOURNEY 2:  THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND) will produce. 

The film will be a marriage of narrative and concert and will star the five members of Metallica:  James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo, and the fans.   It will begin shooting this August and will be released in the summer of 2013. 

"I've been a fan of Nimróds since his first Hungarian film, Kontroll, showed up at Cannes in 2004 and blew everybody away, said Metallica's Lars Ulrich.  "I've watched with excitement his career in Hollywood blossom over the last few years.  Within five minutes of meeting him I was addicted to his enthusiasm, his take on the creative process and his "thinking outside of the box" personality.  Let's get on with it!!!"

"Metallica has always been a huge part of my life, and it's an incredible opportunity when we get to work with our heroes," said Antal.  "We are going to harness the powerful and almighty energy of Metallica's live shows, inject a narrative into it, and shoot it in 3D to elevate the entire experience."

Antal is best known for writing and directing the Hungarian-language film KONTROLL (2003) that won several awards, including the Award of Youth at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and the Gold Hugo prize at the Chicago International Film Festival.  He also received a European Film Award Nomination for Best Director.  His credits include VACANCY starring Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson, and ARMORED starring Matt Dillon and Laurence Fishburne.  In 2010 he was hired by Robert Rodriguez to direct PREDATORS featuring Adrien Brody.

Due April 24 from MVD. Watch the trailer, below.

By Blurt Staff

In 1968, under a haze of publicity, The Beatles opened their collective door to all manner of musicians, writers, artists, film-makers, inventors, designers, freaks and more than a fair share of opportunist sharks. But, despite a hefty investment, little of substance was forthcoming from these assorted misfits outside of the music that emerged from one division of the potential empire; Apple Records. 

Even discounting those Apple platters that featured as artist the collective or individual names of the company's bosses, music that stands the test of time superbly was released under the stamp of this enterprise. Music which remains available still and both popular and exciting more than 40 years after the majority of it was produced. 

Strange Fruit- The Beatles' Apple Records is the story of a record label which came to exist under extraordinary circumstances, produced extraordinary records and was operated under extraordinary guidelines.  

Featuring new interviews with former label M.D. Tony Bramwell, members of Badfinger, The Iveys and Elephant's Memory, Jackie Lomax, Brute Force and David Peel, plus musician and Beatles expert Chris Ingham, author and journalist Mark Paytress and Apple biographer Stefan Granados. 

The film also includes archive footage of Apple artists and the organization for which they recorded as well as interviews from the vaults, location film, rare photographs and of course, the music upon which the label made its name. 

Latest installment in long-running UK series drops March 26. Includes such artists as Broadcast, Gold Panda, Toro Y Moi contrasting with old-timers like Blood Sweat & Tears, the Pop Group and the Lovin' Spoonful. And B&S serves up a Primitives cover to boot.

By Blurt Staff

Belle and Sebastian return to the mixtape well for a second Late Night Tales, the 27th in the esteemed compilation series. The band most most recently released Belle And Sebastian Write About Love in 2010 and the current lineup is founder Stuart Murdoch, Stevie Jackson, Chris Geddes, Richard Colburn, Sarah Martin, Mick Cooke and Bobby Kildea.

Their scene-straddling 2006 contribution to the series included pure pop, 60s psych, 70s rock, West Coast harmonies, beat groups, folk balladering, punk, indie, girl groups and bossanova. This new 2012 selection delves deeper into their shared influences and inspirations, along with a subtle nod to digging for rare sampled beats: not a characteristic usually associated with B&S.

On the album: World-wise psychedelic breaks thread the mix together; significantly so with two tracks from Broadcast bookending a first half that includes late 60s dreamers The Wonder Who? and Joe Pass, father of Ethio-jazz Mulatu Astatke, harpist Dorothy Ashby and the 21st century beats of Gold Panda.

Next, following a mid-section detour through dissonant post-punk and deep jazz courtesy of The Pop Group and Stan Tracey Quartet, recent releases from fellow Scots Remember Remember and South Carolina's Toro Y Moi rub shoulders with Ce´cile's 2002 Cure referencing riddim ‘Rude Bwoy Thug Life' and Blood, Sweat & Tears classic version of ‘Spinning Wheel'.

For the obligatory Late Night Tales cover version, Belle and Sebastian have chosen The Primitive's 1988 pop-punk classic ‘Crash', recreated in the band's own inimitable style. Two beautiful records close the mix: Steve Parks haunting soul vocal ‘Still Thinking Of You' and an excerpt of the calm improvisation ‘On The Other Ocean' from David Behrman's 1977 experimental album. As ever, the trip concludes with our bedtime story with the third part of Paul Morley's ‘Lost For Words'.

The album is due out March 26 on the Late Night Tales label.

Tracklisting:

Broadcast - Ominous Cloud

The Wonder Who? - Watch The Flowers Grow

Joe Pass - A Time For Us

Mulatu Astatke - Yekermo Sew (A Man Of Experience And Wisdom)

Milton Nascimento & Lo� Borges - Tudo Que Voce� Podia Ser

Marie Lafore�t - Et Si Je t'aime

Bonnie Dobson - Bird Of Space

Dorothy Ashby - Soul Vibrations

McDonald And Giles - Tomorrow's People

Gold Panda - Quitters Raga

Broadcast - Chord Simple

The Pop Group - Savage Sea

Stan Tracey Quartet - Starless And Bible Black

The Lovin Spoonful - Darlin Be Home Soon

Belle And Sebastian - Crash

Roland Vincent - L.S.D. Partie

Toro Y Moi - Still Sound

Ce'cile - Rude Bwoy Thug Life

Remember Remember - Scottish Widows

Trees - Streets Of Derry

Blood, Sweat & Tears - Spinning Wheel

Pete Shelley - Homosapien (Dub)

Steve Parks - Still Thinking Of You

David Behrman - On The Other Ocean

Paul Morley - Lost For Words

Check out video teaser for title track and single, below.

By Blurt Staff

Genre-mashing DJ and producer Diplo will drop the "Express Yourself" single on his label Mad Decent March 13th, with full EP following in May. The six-track recording from the man who makes up one half of the bombastic duo, Major Lazer, is a product of the artist's fearless endeavors of exploring and unearthing new music from around the world. The EP's title track, which also serves as its first single, marks Diplo's first foray into the maddening beats and booty-popping sound of New Orleans Bounce. The single, 'Express Yourself' is a collaboration between Diplo and Nicky Da B, the newest star of the Bounce scene and protégé of genre impresarios Big Freedia and Katey Red.  The release will also include a new b-side "No Problem" featuring Flinch and Kay. 

Check out the teaser video for 'Express Yourself' below.  The official video is coming March 13th and is directed by KarmaloopTV's @LILINTERNET, Shomi Patwary and styled by @LILGOVERNMENT for Karmaloop.com. 

2012 has proven to be a particularly busy year for Diplo and it's just begun. In addition to working on the Express Yourself  EP, he was honored with a Grammy nomination for his work on Chris Brown's "Look At Me Now", has a column with Vanity Fair, was recently featured on the cover of Billboard and  produced the single 'Climax' for Grammy-winning artist Usher. Staying true to his role as a man of many hats, Diplo is also planning for the April release of 128 Beats Per Minute, a book that chronicles the cultures and multifaceted musical scenes of the many places where the he has traveled. 

TRACKLISTING:

1. Express Yourself feat. Nicky Da B

2. No Problem feat. Flinch & Kay

3. Move Around feat. Elephant Man & GTA

4. Butters Theme feat. Billy The Gent & Long Jawns

5. Set It Off feat. Lazerdisk Party Sex

6. Barely Standing feat. Datsik & Sabi