Collaboration due on CD in January but partial download already available.

By Blurt Staff

Hot Chip want their fans to know that they are putting together "a little present" for them. It's part-Christmas gift and part post-Christmas, as it technically arrives next month, on January 27 via Astralwerks, but will be available initially via download starting this week. And it's pretty special: along for the ride will be the godfather of the experimental psych-prog world, Robert Wyatt, and kindred mischievous electronic spirits Geese to help out as well.

Long recognized as one of the pioneers of avant-jazz rock (as recently as this year by Domino Records in fact, who have just re released his back catalogue), from his beginnings as a member of Soft Machine and through his collaborations with Scritti Politti and Syd Barrett, Robert Wyatt brings his quietly magical touch to 3 songs personally chosen from Hot Chip's 2008 album "Made in the Dark". The result - as recorded at Gallery Studios earlier this year - are several mutations of songs that are described along lines "as delicate and whimsical as they are adventurous and distinctive," be it the quixotic cornet and jew's harp on "Made in the Dark", or Wyatt's singular vocals and whistling on "Whistle for Will", or the lush added effects and atypical arrangements on "We're Looking for a Lot of Love".

Meanwhile, Hot Chip collaborators Geese (aka Emma and Vince from The Elysian Quartet) also lent a hand, reworking the Wyatt- assisted "We're Looking..." while completely overhauling "One Pure Thought" from a straight-ahead floor shaker into something stranger, dreamier, but no less lovely. All in all, a deliciously unpredictable collaboration made in quirk-pop heaven.

Fans can already download 2 tracks from the EP on from HotChip.co.uk, thus providing, as the band puts it, "a stimulus that is musical and financial for us all."

Hot Chip, picked up their first Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording for the track "Ready For The Floor." The Annual Grammy Awards will be announced live on on Feb. 8 on CBS. The group has had feverish schedule this year which took in numerous side projects, solo records, countless dancefloor-igniting remixes, production duties and, of course relentless touring (which culminated in their triumphal homecoming shows at Brixton Academy in November).

CD TRACKLISTING:

1.      Made in the Dark (with Robert Wyatt)
2.      Whistle for Will (with Robert Wyatt)
3.      We're Looking for a Lot of Love (with Robert Wyatt and Geese)
4.      One Pure Thought (remixed by Geese)

Cancels shows due to an "arm injury."

By Fred Mills

Pete Doherty is in the news again, this time, according to a report at NME.com, that the troubled Babyshambles frontman canceled three nights of solo performances "at the 11^th hour, just before he was due on." They were to have taken place Dec. 20, 21 and 22 at the Rhythm Factory in London.

Doherty cited an unspecified arm injury as his reason for canceling. Gee, what could that be? Maybe he slammed his arm in a car door? His dealer broke it for non-payment? A friggin' needle broke off in a vein? The mind does wander in all matters Doherty....

The shows have been rescheduled for Jan. 8-10. UK oddsmakers are already lining up to take on the event....

New live album about to drop - and dig the amazing video, too.

By Blurt Staff

The Appalachian mountains may not seem a likely source of African-rooted music, but Toubab Krewe, of Asheville, North Carolina, blends West African rhythms with rock, creating a sound all its own and earning a devoted following at performances from Bonnaroo to the legendary Festival of the Desert in Essakane, Mali.

For proof, check out the surfin'-in-Africa styled 7-minute video, "Buncombe to Badala," below.

What the Village Voice calls the "futuristic, psychedelic, neo-griot frenzy" of Toubab Krewe's shows has now been captured on their second album, Live at the Orange Peel (recorded as Asheville venue the Orange Peel, natch, last year on Dec. 30 & 31) due from Upstream Records, distributed by ADA, on January 6.

The instrumental quintet's five members, childhood friends and long-term musical collaborators who joined up in 2005, have spent extended periods studying with musical luminaries in Mali, Ivory Coast, and Guinea and learning traditional instruments such as the kora (a 21-string harp) and the kamel ngoni (a lute). Their music also brings in the worlds of surf and zydeco in "a Dick Dale moves-to-Timbuktu experiment" (Boston Herald). The new album, produced by Grammy winner Steven Heller, features eight previously unreleased tracks, including collaborations with legendary spoken-word artist Umar Bin Hassan of The Last Poets and fiddler Rayna Gellert.

Meanwhile, the band commences the "Buncombe to Badala" tour next week, kicking off with a two-night end-of-year stand in Denver on Dec. 30 and 31. Full dates listed below.



Toubab Krewe is:

Teal Brown - Drums
Drew Heller - Guitar
Justin Perkins - Kamel Ngoni, Kora, Guitar
David Pransky - Bass
Luke Quaranta - Percussion

Toubab Krewe - 'Live At The Orange Peel' Track Listing:

1). Autorail
2). Lamine's Tune
3). Roy Forester
4). Kaira
5). 51 Ft Ladder
6). Maliba
7). Moose
8). Buncombe To Badala

Tour Dates:

Dec 30 - Denver, CO - Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom (New Year's Revival w/ Panjea & Kyle Hollingsworth)
Dec 31 - Denver, CO - Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom (New Year's Revival w/ Panjea & Kyle Hollingsworth)
Jan 08 - New York, NY - S.O.B.'s ('Live At The Orange Peel' Record Release Show w/ Jar-e)
Jan 17 - Athens, GA - Georgia Theatre
Jan 20 - Vienna, VA - Jammin Java
Jan 21 - Charlottesville, VA - Gravity Lounge
Jan 23 - Virginia Beach, VA - Jewish Mother
Jan 24 - Richmond, VA - Capital Ale House Downtown Music Hall
Feb 6 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
Feb 7 - Charlotte, NC - Neighborhood Theatre
Feb 14 - Atlanta, GA - Smiths Old Bar

Toubab Krewe on the web:

www.toubabkrewe.com
www.myspace.com/toubabkrewe
www.ilike.com/artist/Toubab+Krewe
http://www.vimeo.com/user891020

Compiled by Blurt Staff

206 digital, satellite and hi-def channels and nothin' on? Not likely. Here are BLURT's top music television picks of the day. The time is followed by the network/cable/satellite channel, then the name of the program and/or featured artist(s). All times are EST.

TIME (EST) / CHANNEL / PROGRAM / ARTIST(S)

Saturday, December 20:

10:00 VH1 Classic: Soundstage: Fleetwood Mac

1:00 Rave HD: Kaiser Chiefs Live at the Trabendo

1:00 HDNet: Derek Trucks Band - Songlines Live in Chicago

2:00 Biography: Gangsta Girls

2:30 & 11:00: Fuse: Fall Out Boy Live From Chicago Theatre

6:00 Sundance: Live From Abbey Road: Panic at the Disco, David Gray, Suzanne Vega

6:00 Rave HD: Later With Jools Holland: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Keane, Thom Yorke, Bellowhead, Be Good Tanyas, The Klaxons

7:00 Rave HD: Hall & Oates

9:00 PBS: Austin City Limits: Bloc Party, Ghostland Observatory

11:00 Rave HD: Soundstage) Joss Stone

11:oo PBS: Tavis Smiley: Al Jarreau

11:00 VH1 Classic: That Metal Show: Ace Frehley

11:30 NBC: Saturday Night Live: Josh Brolin, Adele

2:00 MTV2: Headbangers Ball

Sunday December 21:

12:30 Biography: Jack Nicholson

1:00 Fuse: Top 40 of 2008

1:30 Rave HD: Dave Fanning interview: Iggy Pop

2:00 HDNet: Deacon Blue - live at Cornbury Festival

2:00 Sundance: Spectacle: Elvis Costello With...: Bill Clinton

2:00 MTV2: 50 Cent: The Money and the Power

2:55 HDNet: Melissa Etheridge HD Rock Live

3:00 Rave HD: From the Basement: White Stripes, Neil Hannon, Shins

4:20 HDNet: Doobie Brothers - Live at Wolf Trap

7:00 VH1 Classic: Def Leppard "Hysteria"

8:00 HDNet: Kenny G - An Evening of Rhythm and Romance

9:00 VH1 Classic: David Bowie Ziggy Stardust

10:00 Rave HD: Beautiful Noise: British Sea Power

***

COMING DEC. 28 On HDNet: Robyn Hitchcock - Live at the Cornbury Festival

Compiled by Blurt Staff

206 digital, satellite and hi-def channels and nothin' on? Not likely. Here are BLURT's top music television picks of the day. The time is followed by the network/cable/satellite channel, then the name of the program and/or featured artist(s). All times are EST.

TIME (EST) / CHANNEL / PROGRAM / ARTIST(S)

8:00 Rave HD: Beautiful Noise: Ted Leon & the Pharmacists

9:00 Syndicated: Ellen Degeneres: Carmen Electra, Pussycat Dolls

9:00 Syndicated: Bonnie Hunt: Melissa Etheridge, Lucy Lawless

11:00 VH1 Classic: Prince - Paisley Park

12:30 Sundance: True History of the Traveling Wilburys

3:00 Rave HD: Keane - Live at the O2

5:00 VH1 Classic: Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

8:00 Rave HD: Dave Fanning Interview: Slash

9:00 Sundance: Live From Abbey Road - Panic at the Disco, David Gray, Suzanne Vega

10:00 Sundance: Sigur Ros "Heima"

10:00 Rave HD: Beautiful Noise: My Morning Jacket

11:00 VH1 Classic: Soundstage: Fleetwood Mac

11:35 CBS: David Letterman: Leona Lewis

11:35 NBC: Jay Leno: Melissa Etheridge

12:05 ABC: Jimmy Kimmel: Fall Out Boy

1:35 NBC: Carson Daly: GAvin DeGraw

2:00 Sundance: Live From Abbey Road - Panic at the Disco, David Gray, Suzanne Vega

BLURT heroine ‘n' heroes close out the year with their first live release.

By Blurt Staff

Grace Potter and The Nocturnals are set to release their first-ever live recording, Live From Skowhegan, arriving fro Ragged Company/Hollywood Records on Dec. 23 at all digital retailers. Culled from a concert given at the Skowhegan Opera House in Skowhegan, Maine, on June 27 of this year, the EP finds the band performing two new songs, "I Can't See Through" and "Sugar" as well as four favorites from their two previous studio albums: "Ragged Company," "Stop The Bus," "Apologies" and "Ah Mary."

Based in Burlington, VT, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals have made a name for themselves as one of New England's most popular bands, so it was only fitting they record a debut live EP in their home region. The Skowhegan concert came as part of a yearlong headlining tour that took the band all over the country promoting 2007's This is Somewhere.

You may recall that a little ol' magazine called Harp named it one of the 50 Best Albums of 2007 and additionally featured Potter in some provocative photo spreads in the magazine's subsequent political issue....

Potter and the Nocturnals will wrap up 2008 with a three-night New Year's stand at the Higher Ground Ballroom in Burlington Dec. 28, 29 and 31. Happy new year from your friends at BLURT, Grace and gang!

He is still the Lizard King - he can do anything.

By Blurt Staff

Does the world need yet another Doors biographical treatment? Wolf Films/Strange Pictures, in association with Rhino Entertainment, apparently thinks so, and despite the existence of numerous Doors films - concert docs, video clips anthologies, and of course the Oliver Stone biopic - When You're Strange gets bragging rights as the "first feature documentary" about the band.

It will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 17 at 9 p.m., with additional screenings throughout the week (see schedule below). According to Rhino, Award-winning writer-director Tom DiCillo's film "uncovers historic, previously unseen footage from the illustrious rock quartet and provides new insight into the revolutionary impact of their music and legacy. Using footage shot between their formation in 1966 and Jim Morrison's death in 1971, it follows the band from the corridors of UCLA's film school, where Manzarek and Morrison met and began writing songs, to the stages of sold-out arenas. Rare cinéma vérité footage offers an intimate glimpse into their musical collaboration ­ and their offstage lives."

 The film of course takes its title from a Doors song of the same name.

"The Doors' music is the rock equivalent to film. It has great drama, sex, poetry, and mystery. Their music is for all those who've ever felt the cool chill of isolation and oddness in themselves; which in effect is all of us," says filmmaker DiCillo, in a statement.

Adds producer Dick Wolf, "Remember the phrase 'If you remember the '60s, you weren't there?' In '66 I was a sophomore in college. I don't remember that, but I do remember the first time I heard The Doors that year. I'm still listening 42 years later and so is my 15-year old son. The Doors will be remembered, and listened to, as long as people have ears."

 
The soundtrack to the film featuring classic studio and live tracks from The Doors, will also be released in Summer 2009 from Rhino.

 
 

 
PUBLIC SCREENING SCHEDULE AT SUNDANCE:

Sat. Jan 17 at 9:00 PM - Temple Theatre, Park City ­ (Premiere Screening)
Sun. Jan 18 at 2:30 PM - Holiday Village Cinema III, Park City
Tue. Jan 20 at 6:00 PM - Broadway Centre Cinemas VI, SLC
Wed. Jan 21 at 9:00 AM - Temple Theatre, Park City
Fri. Jan 23 at 6:15 PM - Holiday Village Cinema IV, Park City

 
PRESS & INDUSTRY SCREENING

Sun. Jan 18 at 9:45 PM ­ Yarrow 1, Park City

New album due Feb. 17. What the hell is up with that baby, Moz?

By Blurt Staff

Morrissey's "Years of Refusal" arrives in the US February 17 on Attack/Lost Highway. It will be Morrissey's first studio album since 2006's UK #1 "Ringleader of the Tormentors". In February, Morrissey will begin the US leg of his world tour that includes rare intimate club dates. Tickets for some of the dates go on sale TODAY, Dec. 19, at Ticketbastard.

The late Jerry Finn, who previously worked on 2004's critical and commercial smash "You Are the Quarry", produced "Years of Refusal" which is the last album he worked on. The single "I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris", which Morrissey debuted during his sold out 2007 world tour, will precede the album. Long time band members Boz Boorer, Jesse Tobias, Matt Walker, and Solomon Walker play on the album, which also features a contribution from Jeff Beck on the track "Black Cloud".

Years of Refusal Tracklist

1.    Something Is Squeezing My Skull
2.    Mama Lay Softly On The Riverbed
3.    Black Cloud
4.    I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
5.    All You Need Is Me
6.    When Last I Spoke to Carol
7.    That's How People Grow Up
8.    One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell
9.    It's Not Your Birthday Anymore
10.     You Were Good In Your Time
11.     Sorry Doesn't Help
12.     I'm OK By Myself




Morrissey US Dates

2/28      Boca Raton, FL        Mizner Park
3/1        Orlando, FL            Hard Rock live
3/3        Jacksonville, FL       Florida Theater
3/4        St. Petersburg, FL    Jannus Landing
3/6        Myrtle Beach. SC     House of Blues
3/7        Atlanta, GA             Variety Playhouse
3/9        Asheville, NC          Orange Peel
3/11       Durham, NC           Durham Performing Arts Center
3/13       Richmond, VA         The National
3/14       Washington, DC      Warner Theater
3/16       Montclair, NJ          Wellmont Theater
3/17       Pittsburgh, PA        Carnegie Music Hall
3/19       Buffalo, NY            University of Buffalo Center       
                                        for the Arts
3/21       New York, NY        Bowery Ballroom
3/22       Philadelphia, PA     Acadmy of Music
3/25       New York, NY        Webster Hall
3/26       New York, NY        Carnegie Hall
3/28       Mashantucket, CT   Foxwoods
3/29       Boston, MA            House of Blues
3/31       Ann Arbor, MI        Michigan Theater
4/1        Columbus, OH        Palace Theater
4/3        Milwaukee, WI       Eagles Ballroom
4/4        Chicago, IL           Aragon Ballroom
4/6        Minneapolis, MN    State Theater
4/7        Kansas City, MO    Midland Theater
4/8        St. Louis, MO        Pageant Theater
4/10       Dallas, TX           Palladium Ballroom
4/11       Houston, TX        Jesse H. Jones Hall
4/12       Austin, TX           Bass Concert Hall
4/14       El Paso, TX          Chavez Theater
4/15       Albuquerque, NM   Sunshine Theater

Hey - just in time for Saint Paddy's day!

Billboard.com is reporting that the new U2 album, No Line on the Horizon, is due to hit stores March 3 via Interscope. It was produced by Eno, Daniel Lanois and Steve Lillywhite and has had a somewhat protracted gestation - including an incident where some of the tracks were leaked to the web via YouTube - since it was originally due this year before Christmas.

Bono stated earlier this year on the group's website, "I'm always the one who underestimates how easy it is to simply 'put out the songs now.' If it was just up to me they'd be out already!, But early next year people will be able to start hearing what we've been doing. We want 2009 to be our year, so we're going to start making an impression very early on."

Speaking to Billboard, label chief Jimmy Iovine commented, "I met with the guys in U2, and they say to me, 'You know what? This album needs two more songs, and it will be exactly what we have in mind.' I go there and I listen, and I agreed with them. It's a great record, but it deserves the time. Labels need to work with artists to help them achieve their best work, not to jam records out that are half-baked or three-quarters baked."

Now THAT sounds like some of the best advice we've heard all year. Does that mean we can return all those three-quarters albums the major labels have been dumping on us for the past five years and get our money back?

Funky track surfaces for one day then, apparently, disappears.

By Fred Mills

Rollingstone.com is reporting on a track called "There Will Never B Another 1 Like Me" from Prince that surface last night on a website called Mplsound (www.mplsound.com). The six-minute track is described as a "return to the funk, similar to that fan-baiting "PFUnk" that popped up last year and the Black Album, but without the weird vocals."

According to the report the aforementioned website displays a "full screen of eye-hurting purple" while the song streams. However, as of this writing it's only displaying a black screen, with no sound whatsoever, so it appears that His Purpleness has already taking the track down. Might be worth checking it out from time to time, however.

Meanwhile, earlier this week Prince previewed three other tracks over L.A. FM station Indie 103: a cover of "Crimson & Clover" plus a "laid back guitar joint" called "Colorized Mind" and a track of "more guitar virtuosity" called "Wall of Berlin." Prince is reportedly done with his next album and in the process of finding a home for it. According to a spokesman at the radio station, Prince "wants nothing to do with record labels, so he's meeting with people to figure out how to operate at his level without a record label."

Er, indie artists all over the planet are doing that already, Mr. Nelson. No reason you can't join the party.