It's happening this weekend, with appearances by the Flaming Lips, St. Vincent, Brian Eno, Moby, TV On the Radio, Roedelius, Terry Riley, Passion Pit, Suicide, Tangerine Dream  and tons more.

By Fred Mills

Last year, Halloween weekend, the Asheville, NC, streets were alive with the sound of... Dr. Robert Moog, and his legions of disciples - not to mention several thousand fans, many of them bedecked out in their finest costumes. (Hey, who the heck was that dude in the bunny rabbit outfit that kept popping up in photos?) That would be Moogfest.

The BLURT staff was no exception, as we fanned out to catch as many Moogfest bands, workshops, panels and related events - the  Sunday afternoon free concert in the park was pretty awesome -  as possible. From our wrap-up of the 2010 event: "We were zipping back and forth all over the downtown area of Asheville for 2 ½ days and nights, plus change. We ran into old friends, made new ones, compared notes with fellow journalists, and even hoisted an ale or two with some of the artists who wound up next to us in venues, cheering on their peers. And the one consistent thread that emerged was exactly what MoogFest was intended to be all about: celebrating the wide-open, boundary-less spirit of musical diversity and exploration that Robert Moog pioneered.

"The folks behind MoogFest have apparently already begun sketching out next year's event - I'd reckon that makes it a success. Sure looked, felt and smelled like it."

So - it came true; next year's event is now this year's event. Moogfest 2011 happens this weekend, Oct. 28-30, and it's a whopper, as the lineup of acts, below, clearly reveals. (There's also a series of Moogfest related stories online at the local alternative weekly paper The Mountain Xpress as well as daily newspaper The Asheville Citizen-Times.)

Check that name at the very bottom of the lineup: Brian Eno's 77 Million Paintings "visual music" art installation is opening in Asheville during Moogfest weekend (at the YMI Cultural Center in downtown Asheville), and it's only the third time it has been displayed in the US, following openings in San Francisco and Los Angeles. (Previous exhibitions have been in Sydney, Milan and Venice.) What's more, Eno - no stranger to Moog and other analog synths, as the photo above might suggest - will also be on hand to present (separately) one of his "Illustrated Talks" on Saturday afternoon at Moogfest.

About 77 Million Paintings:  "Conceived by Eno as ‘visual music,' it is a constantly evolving sound and image-scape born from his exploration of light as an artistic medium and his interest in the aesthetic possibilities of generative software. Presented on a uniquely configured constellation of video monitors, 77 Million Paintings is a serene and beautiful work, slowly evolving and transforming in time such that no two instants are quite the same. It is art that encourages the viewer to slow down and enter a contemplative state, reflecting on the uniqueness of a passing moment that has almost certainly never existed before."

Last night (Oct. 27) the Eno installation was previewed for Moogfest guests and the press; following that was a press conference with the artist, who was alternately erudite, informative, thoughtful and just downright funny. We'll have more on Eno as well as thoughts on his lecture next week during our Moogfest wrapup.

***

Getting back to the music, this year the roster of venues had expanded considerably. In addition to the Asheville Civic Center Arena, the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium and the Orange Peel club (all of them with considerable audience capacity), there will also be shows held at the relatively intimate Diana Wortham Theatre and the Asheville Music Hall, along with selected performances happening at the Moogaplex and the Moog Store itself. And just to up the ante, they've taken over the parking lot of downtown hotel The Renaissance and dubbed the outdoor stage The Animoog Playground (that's where the Lips will be playing, for example). Here's hoping the weather holds up, as the latest forecast is calling for rain on Friday and then pretty chilly temperatures at night all weekend. (Hey, this IS October in the mountains.)

Speaking of the Moogaplex: that's where the panels and workshops will be held, and they were consistently interesting last year. Among the topics slated to be covered this time around: "Convergence: Software and Hardware Integration in the 21^st Century" (Friday); "Sound Design" (Saturday); Dan Deacon & Tara Busch's Moogerfooger Mayhem" (Saturday); "Journey to the center of the Theremin with Neon Indian, Dorit Chrysler and Albert Glinsky" (Sunday); "Sun Ra and Beyond: Exploring Rare Recordings from Bob's Archives" (Sunday - there was also a Sun Ra discussion in 2010 that was fascinating).

Meanwhile, there are to be all sorts of Moogfest-related happenings in and around the city. The Moogseum, for example, located in the same building as the Moogaplex, will display a portion of the late Dr. Moog's archives - books, gear, prototypes, and more. Then over at venerable indie store Harvest Records at noon on Saturday they will be hosting a special listening party for Brian Eno's new Panic of Looking EP that's slated to be released by Warp on Nov. 8, and attendees will be able to buy the record early. There will also be a pair of Moogfest-related in-store performance: today (Friday, 28^th) Stockholm's The Field will do a set at 3pm, while on Sunday The Drums will be doing a free gig at 4pm.

Visitors to Asheville are advised to follow a few Twitter feeds for updates and last minute (i.e., "secret") event announcements. Follow #Moogfest, as well as these accounts:

@Moogfest   

@MFSpaceman   

@MoogMusicInc

Also, text MOOG to 73378 if you want text updates throughout the weekend.

So... we're off. If you're in town, have fun, and if you're not, follow some of the happenings via the above Twitter feeds, the official Moogfest Facebook page, and even the BLURT Twitter for some random babblings from us over the weekend: @BlurtMagazine  

***

Some of our picks to click - and speaking of clicking, click on the links for the full hour-by-hour schedule for each day...

FRIDAY, OCT. 28:

Matthew Dear - Animoog Playground, 5:15

Austra - Orange Peel, 6:00

Beak> - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, 6:30

Atlas Sound - Orange Peel, 7:30

Tangerine Dream - TWA, 8:00

Mimi Goese & Ben Neill - Diana Wortham Theatre, 8:30

Holy Fuck - Civic Center Arena, 9:00

Chromeo - Animoog Playground, 9:30

Grimes - Asheville Music Hall, 10:30

Moby - Civic Center Arena, 10:30

Lunzproject - Dian Wortham Theatre, 11:30

Flying Lotus - TWA, 12:00

TV on the Radio - Civic Center Arena, 12:30

Anika - Orange Peel, 12:45

SATURDAY, OCT. 29:

Roedelius - Diana Wortham Theatre, 5:00 (read our Roedelius feature here)

Dan Deacon - Animoog Playground, 5:30

CANT - Orange Peel, 6:30

SBTRKT - Civic Center Arena, 6:30

Terry and Gyan Riley - TWA, 6:30

Twin Shadow - Orange Peel, 8:00

Adrian Below - Diana Wortham, 8:00

Flaming Lips - Animoog Playground, 8:30

Amon Tobin - Civic Center Arena, 10:15

Cloudland Canyon - Asheville Music Hall, 10:30

St. Vincent - TWA, 10:45

Suicide - Orange Peel, 11:30

Moon Duo - Asheville Music Hall, 12:00

Battles - TWA, 12:45

KODE9 - Orange Peel, 1:00

SUNDAY, OCT. 30:

Oneohtrix Point Never - Orange Peel, 5:00

Active Child - Civic Center Arena, 5:30

The Drums - TWA, 6:30

Fareed Haque & MathGames - Orange Peel, 6:30

Neon Indian - TWA, 8:00

Baths - Asheville Music Hall, 8:30

Special Disco Version feat. James Murphy & Pat Mahoney - Civic Center Arena, 8:30

Passion Pit - Animoog Playground, 9:00

Umphrey's McGee - TWA, 10:00

Ghostland Observatory - Civic Center Arena, 10:30

Gold Panda - Orange Peel, 11:30

Yet more versions of "Blue Jeans" and "Video Games"...

By Blurt Staff

The Lana Del Rey machine keeps a-rollin' this week. While fans and critics alike have posted mixed reviews of the Brooklyn songstress' prowess as a live performer - her actual singing earns kudos, but her stage presence/charisma apparently is fairly stiff/nonexistent - her "Video Games" single did top Billboard's singles chart, and she won a "Next Big Thing" trophy at the annual Q Awards in Britain.

And two more remixes have come down the pipeline, "Blue Jeans" by Odd Future's Syd the Kid (under his monicker The Internet), and "Video Games" by Jakwob & Etherwood. Check ‘em out, below - and go here if you want to listen to the original versions.

BLUE JEANS Odd Future's The Internet Remix by P5757575757575 VIDEO GAMES Jakwob & Etherwood Remix by P5757575757575

They're a modern stoneage family! Sorry, kids, ya gotta be over 17 to check ‘em out...

By Blurt Staff

In the grand tradition of Frankie Stein & his Ghouls and The Deadly Ones, In The Red is releasing Thee Cormans' Halloween Record w/ Special Effects - a bonafide Halloween rock n' roll album. The first 200 copies are pressed on glow in the dark vinyl (download card included).

Southern Californian biker/surf instrumental combo Thee Cormans have been bashing out their brand of Davie Allan & The Arrows meets the Ventures on meth thrash for several years now. Theirs is a sound informed by scratched up 60's instrumental records, KBD punk records and exploitation B movies chock full of monsters, bikers and mayhem. What this group of weirdos does to the surf instrumental genre is very similar to what The Mummies did to Pacific Northwest 60's rock back in the 90's: they speed it up, drag it through the mud, pour a can of politically incorrect attitude over the top of it and call it a pie. In this case the pie is filled with rubber bats, plastic fangs and novelty shrunken heads.

Thee Cormans - "Open The Gates" by forcefieldpr

The label describes Halloween Record w/ Special Effects as "spine-chilling sounds guaranteed to make you shiver! Flesh-ripping guitar playing! Skull pulverizing drum beats! Gore-spattering bass lines! Spooky, hair-raising sound effects! The bloody horror of this record is positively sinister!"

Well, all right then!

In The Red adds, in an ominous note that may or may not be for real, "no one under 17 will be allowed to purchase this record without written permission from a parent or guardian." So just write your Uncle Blurt and we'll be glad to forge that note for ya.

Track hails from forthcoming Christmas Jam collection The Benefity Volume 4.

By Fred Mills

With news of the 23^rd annual Warren Haynes Christmas Jam still fresh - this year's installment, Dec. 10, features Gov't Mule, Phil Lesh & Friends, Los Lobos and a ton of other killer bands - Haynes' label Evil Teen has just announced the impending release of Warren Haynes Presents: The Benefit Volume 4.

 The 2-disc live benefit release drops Dec. 6 and features Gov't Mule, Bob Weir & Friends, John Hiatt & The Goners, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, moe. and more, recorded at the 14th annual Warren Haynes Christmas Jam in Asheville, NC on December 21, 2002. Yours truly was there and can personally testify to the potency of the evening - there were moments when the entire joint was levitating, like during Randolph & Haynes' duel during Slim Harpo's "Shake Your Hips," when moe. Was joined onstage by Bob Weir and during the Mule's extended version of signature track "Sco-Mule."

Proceeds from the album will Benefit the Asheville Chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Now let's listen to some Mule:

Worried Down With the Blues - Gov't Mule (The Benefit Concert Vol 4) by Warrenhaynes

Tracklisting:

1. Carolina In My Mind - Warren Haynes w/Don Lewis
2. 111 - Sons of Ralph
3. Nine Pound Hammer - Sons of Ralph w/Warren Haynes
4. The Kind Of Place - Jerry Joseph
5. Climb To Safety - Jerry Joseph w/Robert Randolph, Dave Schools & Matt Abts
6. Looking Out My Window - Robert Randolph & The Family Band
7. Shake Your Hips - Robert Randolph & The Family Band w/Warren Haynes & Danny Louis
8. Dark Star Jam > Mexico - moe.

9. Opium - moe. w/Warren Hayne

Disc 2:
1. Ride Along - John Hiatt & The Goners
2. Tiki Bar Is Open - John Hiatt & The Goners w/Jon Smith
3. Memphis In The Meantime - John Hiatt & The Goners w/Warren Haynes
4. Shakedown Street - Bob Weir & Friends
5. Truckin' - Bob Weir & Friends
6. The Other One - Bob Weir & Friends
7. Worried Down With The Blues - Gov't Mule w/Greg Rzab
8. Sco-Mule - Gov't Mule w/Greg Rzab, Dr. Dan Mattrazo, Jon Smith, Mike Barnes & DJ Logic
9. Simple Man - Gov't Mule w/Dave Schools, Artimus Pyle, Audley Freed, Mike Barnes & Rob Barraco

At Madison Square Garden on Oct. 25, the iconic New Wave group was on a creative roll.

Text/photos by David Chiu

Duran Duran's recent performance at New York's Madison Square Garden was a testament to the group's ongoing popularity and longevity since the self-titled debut album from 1981. Whereas some of their contemporaries from the early ‘80s have come and gone, Duran Duran have matured from their photogenic boy band years to being an influence in terms music, art and fashion. One can trace the band's impact on several of today's electronic pop and alternative rock acts such as Scissor Sisters.

The tour stop in New York this past Tuesday seemed appropriate as the group - singer Simone Le Bon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor -- is currently on a creative roll. Duran Duran's recent album, All You Need is Now, is probably their strongest album in years as its sound recalls the group's first three albums - Duran Duran, Rio and Seven and the Ragged Tiger - for its arty electronic music, while it still retains Duran Duran's pop and dance sensibilities.

And because the music from All You Need is Now is a throwback to Duran Duran's early past, the new songs ("All You Need is Now," "Leave a Light On," and "Blame and the Machines") fit perfectly with the familiar hits during their Garden show, with stylish imagery and graphics projected on screens behind the band. Thus, one didn't feel impatient or exasperated when Duran Duran launched into a song from All You Need is Now - whereas perhaps for other acts breaking in a new song, it would have been tempting to say, "Get to the hit!"

Of course, the cheers from the audience, which was a cross section of both young and old fans, grew a bit louder when they recognized their favorites: the rollicking "Is There Something I Should Know"; the pulsating "Hungry Like the Wolf"; the moving ballad "Ordinary World": and the funky "Notorious." Other hits included from Duran Duran's glory period were "The Reflex," "A View to a Kill," and "The Wild Boys."

The band also delved deep in their catalog with the aggressive rocker "Careless Memories," from the Duran Duran album, and the jazzy instrumental "Tiger Tiger," from Seven and the Ragged Tiger. The show closed with a performance of "Rio" with the famous Patrick Nagel album cover art shown in the background.

The New York show was also special because of two guest appearances. Ana Matronic from Scissor Sisters reprised her rap singing from the recent album for the very disco-influenced "Safe (In the Heat of the Moment)." Then later, Mark Ronson, the producer who's helmed All You Need is Now, performed with the band on "Girl Panic!", another fine track from the recent album.

As for the band members, they've lost none of their touch as far as their musicianship is concerned:  Nick Rhodes' keyboard work is so integral to the Duran Duran sound as is John Taylor's groove-inspired bass work; Roger Taylor's solid drumming - especially when one thinks about his hiatus from the mid ‘80s to the early ‘00s - is what this band needed; and Simon Le Bon's vocals sounds ageless.

If their Madison Square Garden performance and the recent album are any indications, Duran Duran still maintain the stylish exuberance and electricity that fans have come to expect from them for these many years.

Set List:

Before the Rain

Planet Earth

A View to a Kill

All You Need is Now

Blame the Machines

Come Undone

Safe (In the Heat of the Moment) (with Ana Matronic)

The Reflex

The Man Who Stole a Leopard

Girl Panic! (with Mark Ronson)

Is There Something I Should Know

Tiger Tiger

Careless Memories

Leave a Light On

Ordinary World

Notorious

Hungry Like the Wolf

(Reach Up For The) Sunrise

Encore:

The Wild Boys

Rio

Is this what we've been waiting for over the past 30 years...?

By Blurt Staff

Bluewater Productions has announced plans to tell John Lennon's story as part of Bluewater Comics "Orbit" series. Orbit: John Lennon will hit comic book stores in Dec. 2011 in time for the anniversary of his passing.

"No one could begin to estimate the contribution the Beatles have had on our world," said Darren G. Davis, president of Bluewater Comics. "And John Lennon is the perfect choice for our 'Orbit' series. He was so much more than just a rock star, because he used his stardom to make the world a better place."

Comic book writer Marc Shapiro (Selena Gomez: The Graphic Novel, Female Force: Cher) said he painstakingly worked to capture the essence of Lennon's story. "I approached writing Fame: John Lennon as an exploration of a life full of potential and promise that was, sadly, cut short," said Shapiro. "We all know the importance of John Lennon as part of The Beatles. But I felt it was more important to concentrate on his post Beatles' life and career, both good and bad, so that readers would get the clearest possible idea about who he was as a creative entity, husband and father."

However, Shapiro takes the next step and explores "what might have been" in the 32-page comic book.

No word on exactly what that means yet, however, so be very, very afraid...

Subjects of Bluewater's "Orbit" have included Keith Richards, Stephen King, and Howard Stern.  Also launched this week are Kindle versions of the biography comic books of Steve Jobs, Selena Gomez, Anne Rice and more.

Let's Twist again, like we did last summer, y'all.

By Fred Mills

It's a concept that ain't a concept: a person dancing in a rock video! We're in the middle that new oral history of MTV, so this one, uh, definitely clicks with us.

It's the Black Keys, doing "Lonely Boy," the first single from the forthcoming Danger Mouse album El Camino, due Dec. 6 on Nonesuch.

"Lonely Boy" will also be a 12" release for the upcoming Black Friday sale at indie shops courtesy Record Store Day...

Light In The Attic launches new imprint for ‘90s reissues, Modern Classics Recordings.

By Fred Mills

Unless your bag is something like, I dunno, Journey or Rihanna, you know the name Light In The Attic: just like the man on the TV says, you can trust your car to the man who wears the star, or in this case, you can trust your musical edification to the label with the dangling lightbulb. Pretty much anything that comes down the pipeline from the esteemed musicologists and archivists at LITA clicks with us at BLURT. (Case in point: the recent anthology of South Korean rocker Shin Joong Hyun, or those awesome reissues from Rodriguez.)

So now comes word that the label is branching out with a new imprint, Modern Classics Recordings, with a focus more on the semi-recent past, e.g., the Nineties. (Raise your hand if you read that sickening piece in USA Today this week about ‘90s nostalgia.) First up: Mercury Rev's 1998 album Deserter's Songs, to be followed by the 1993 classic by Morphine, Cure For Pain. Each will be pressed up on 180-gram vinyl - the first time either has been reissued on LP - boasting remastered sound  and deluxe gatefold packaging featuring new liner notes and interviews with the protagonists. A download card will be included as well, and in the case of the Mercury Rev platter, 100 random copies will contain an autographed photo of Grasshopper and Jonathan Donohue.

Here's what LITA co-owner Matt Sullivan had to say about the new label: The selections are "from our personal stash, as they came out. An era of those shiny, futuristic things called CDs and whatever bands were actually putting out vinyl in the '90s. I was born in '76 and we've never reissued much past that. These were the days of Reagan and the contras, sipping Everclear from cola war bottles between the Bushes, bouncing off our parent's walls to classics like Straight Outta Compton and Nevermind!"

He adds, "The goal with these elegant reissues via Modern Classics is to provide the same attention to detail that Light In The Attic has become known for, while having the artist involved in their re-release through extrapolative liner notes, helping to curate their unique historical importance and creative exceptionality, albums which snared the overflowing creativity of the zeitgeist in which they were released, and influenced the best semi-pop music for years to come."

Full details at the LITA website.

Contest ends Monday, Oct. 31, so don't delay.

By Blurt Staff

Rolling Stones fans, heads-up! We have a very special item to give away. You can win a copy of the newly released DVD from the Rolling Stones 4 Ed Sullivan Shows, a two-disc set containing the Sullivan performances from May 2, 1965; Feb. 13, 1966; Sept. 11, 1966; and Jan 15, 1967. (These are the full broadcasts, by the way.)

Read more details of the release elsewhere on the BLURT site.

What an amazing item. All you have to do is this: whoever is the biggest fan and "shares' this link with the most friends or gets the most "likes" to their post and gets the most friends to sign up to "like" this at our Facebook page will win the DVD. (Once you are at our Facebook page, scroll down until you spot the Stones DVD image pictured above.)

We will compile all three to see who wins. Contest ends Oct 31st. Get your friends to support you and why you should win this DVD...

Deerhunter's Bradford Cox returns in his solo guise with Parallax, out Nov. 8 on 4AD.

By Jhoni Jackson

As the original outlet for Deerhunter's Bradford Cox, Atlas Sound has always leaned toward the strange, fuzzy and abstract. But Cox sings a decidedly different tune on Parallax, making the title - which relates to a shift in perspective that makes background objects appear to move slower than those at the forefront - incredibly suiting.

Atlas Sound - Terra Incognita by stopshakehoneygo

The album is elaborately layered, lush and melodic, an obviously far stretch from the four volumes of Bedroom Databank recordings Cox released online. And though Cox found a more accessible sound on 2009's Logos, the LP has more in common with Halcyon Digest, Deerhunter's most recent offering. Though Cox maintains his signature subtle desolation, he's more self-assured than ever this time. Gentle introspection - instead of the outright melancholy he often exudes-paired with sway-worthy melodies make Parallax the most listenable Atlas Sound album to date.

Maybe that's not what Cox intended, but pushing the avant-garde wallowing into the background this time around is a surprising, lovely relief.