Jay Z‘s first single after coming out of retirement has been leaked online. His label is trying its hardest to stem the tide of leaking, but Show Me What You Got is already out there, and it’ll spread fast.
The single comes from his upcoming album Kingdom Come which is due out at the end of November, and will feature Dr Dre, The Neptunes, Kanye and Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
Minneapolis sultans Atmosphere have been nominated for an MTV Woodie award for Woodie Of The Year.
Now, underground hip hop never gets the credit it deserves [which is why its underground durrr] but Atmosphere are one of the hardest working acts out there, and they’ve been put up in the Woodie Of The Year award alongside Angels & Airwaves, Gym Class Heroes, Panic! At The Disco and The Academy Is… so do our Abjekt a favour and get onto voting for Atmosphere, he’ll love you forever.
Click here for the nominees.
Sheffield’s Milburn have just released their debut album Well Well Well and will be touring the country to promote and celebrate this event. Their third single, What You Could’ve Won is to be released on October 23rd. You can check out their live show at:
October:
12th – Wrexham Central Station
13th – Glasgow QMU
14th – London Brixton Academy (XFM Big Night Out)
16th – Leeds Cockpit
17th – Preston 53 Degrees
18th – Norwich Waterfront
19th – Bournemouth Old Fire Station
21st – Bristol Thekla
22nd – Reading Fez
23rd – Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
25th – Gloucester Guildhall
26th – Sheffield Octagon
27th – Manchester Academy 2
28th – Dublin Temple Bar
29th – Belfast, venue TBC
31st – Newcastle University
November:
1st – Stoke Sugamill
The ICA – London
6th October 2006
It’s one of those nights at the ICA where all of the crowd have beards, yeah, even the girls! To be honest i don’t get involved with all this bearded fashion malarkey but i guess good rock and roll has always brought fuzz to venues since time began, and tonight will be no different.
Comets on Fire came on stage to ‘Dogwood Rust‘, the opening track of their amazing new album ‘Avatar’ which has got to be one of the most impressive albums to drop all year so far. It twists and turns with its dirty charm as singer Ethan Miller leads the pack with his psychedelic guitar solo’s that could assault the likes of Mudhoney and Monster Magnet at their given best, and still not be picked up by the pigs.
The gig is now rocking with ‘Jaybird‘ and the stage so dark that we could pick up the voice of drummer Utrillo Belcher mentioning to bass wizard Ben Flashman that he “could probably get away with having a wank back here and no one would notice!”…(i heard ya Belcher!)
This track though is a killer tune and deserves it’s hefty praise as this juggernaut continues to roll over the audience song after song with the oozing class of ‘Antlers of the MIdnight Sun‘ and ‘Swallows Eye’ leaving people in a pool of bliss alongside Lucifers Memory also from Avatar that sees the Comets get traditional like Bubble Puppy on the crowds aching ears.
Did i mention it’s fucking loud in here?! These guys do not muck about when it comes down to treading on pedals and the band move around the stage like they were caught on fire from each goddam one as they drop ‘Pussyfoot the Duke‘, ‘Bee and the Cracking Egg’, ‘Whiskey River’ ‘Holly Teeth’ and the electric ‘Ice Age‘ to finish the show.
If you get a chance to see this Santa Cruz outfit live, then don’t miss them for anything, this show was one of the best of the year and maybe by the time they come back to visit blighty again, I will have some bum-fluff ready for them.
Zac
The Dresden Dolls have made a video with Panic! At The Disco, who are currently on tour with them in the States, for the download only single Backstabber.
The video sees both bands trying to off the other and Amanda Palmer of Dresden Dolls stated on MySpace:
Why not make a video with these guys? They’re here, they’re bored like we are, they’re hilarious. We aren’t making a ‘real’ video for our next single. ‘What’s more real than this?’ we keep asking. Nothing.”
The video can be seen on youtube which you can view by clicking here.
EMI India has recalled the Slayer album after the Catholic Secular Forum in Mumbai sent them a memo saying they took “strong exception” to the album’s artword which features “Christ with a missing eye and amputated arms” and also condemned the track Skeleton Christ with have insulting lryics.
The Marketing Manager for EMI India said “We met with the CSF and were apologetic while assuring them that all copies of the album would be pulled out. We have no plans of re-issuing it in any way.”
And The Cardinals
Shepherds Bush Empire
30.09.06
There are few people who can get away with wearing a balaclava and cookie monster t- shirt and still look unbelievably cool, but Ryan Adams is one of those rare people. You could dress the man in a bin liner and he’d still pull it off somehow. On the first night of a sold out two night stand in Shepherds Bush, Ryan Adams has bought back his Cardinals for a long awaited band tour. With Adams it’s always a little hit and miss, you wonder if he’ll turn up slurring his words, telling wonderful endless tales, tailing off songs on a whim, or whether he’ll turn up at all.
Scheduled for a 9pm start, Adams saunters onto stage only 15 minutes late, a wry grin to the crowds and he’s off. ‘Please Do Not Let Me Go’ is hauntingly beautiful; the break to Adam’s voice catches the emotions. “I think my B string went to Burger King.” he shrugs as he retunes his guitar before a stunning, drawn out version of ‘Magnolia Mountain’ . Charming and unfairly talented, Adams has a certain charisma that no one really comes close to. We’re used to hearing his little tales on stage, but tonight the usual bottle of red wine is replaced by a red bull, and the usual cigarette hanging from him lips is absent.
‘Beautiful Sorta’ is just that, beautiful but with the ever present edge. Then it’s on with the balaclavas, for reasons..well I never quite caught the reason, but suddenly The Cardinals looks like 3 members of the IRA, apart from bassist Chris Feinstein who seems to have lucked out and gets stuck wearing a spaceman’s helmet, which he seems to have difficulty breathing in.
“Now its time for me to talk so you shut the fuck up or I’ll come down and sort you out”. Adams whips back to a heckler, “Or maybe I’ll just get someone to sort you out FOR me…” he adds grinning. And then he’s off on a tangent, the witty self-effacing artist we know and love. This time he’s singing the praises of McVities Cookies and their sleep inducing properties. He rambles for just a minute and then sighs “Now all the reviews are gonna be ‘ Oooh he talks too much’ “, which is met by pleas to just keep talking.
But the Adams we see tonight is very much more together than the swaying dreamer we saw a few months back, the sound is tight, maybe the months spent producing Willie Nelson’s new album have drummed some seriousness into him. The set is one hour, forty five minutes long without break, and there are plenty of new tracks showcased tonight, which unfortunately means less of our old favourites.
Tracks roll seamlessly into one another, an almost self indulgent jam on the stage. However despite the lack of old material, ‘Dear Chicago’ is beautifully put together and ‘Bartering Line’ is given an airing, a wonderfully angst driven and angry track. To top off the night it’s ‘The End’ which blends into a sublime rendition of an embellished ‘I See Monsters’.
Tonight Ryan Adams comes across as a professional, but it’s reassuring to see that the joker, the charmer, is still there, just underneath the surface. Whilst the music aficionados will rave that his performance when sober and controlled is a critical success, with Ryan Adams it’s the entire package which makes him such an enigmatic performer, and whilst it’s inspiring to see him so together, he doesn’t seem to be so happy-go-lucky as usual, and you can but hope he never loses that bohemian charm that inspires such a loyal following.
For further information check out www.ryan-adams.com
The Enemy have been selected to perform on two big tours as the support act. They will begin by supporting The Paddingtons and then follow it up with a support slot for The Futureheads. The dates are below:
The Paddingtons – October:
26th – Newcastle Northumbria Uni
27th – Aberdeen Moshulu
28th – Edinburgh Liquid Rooms
30th – Manchester Academy 2
31st – Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall
November:
1st – Bristol Anson Rooms
2nd – Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
4th – Hull Welly Club
5th – Preston 53 Degrees
6th – Nottingham Rescue Rooms
9th – London ULU
12th – Swansea University
The Futureheads – November:
25th – Preston 53 Degrees
26th – Glasgow ABC
27th – Sheffield Leadmill
29th – Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall
30th – Warwick University
December:
1st – Falmouth Princess Pavillion
3rd – Portsmouth Pyramids
4th – Cambridge Junction
5th – London Astoria
20th – Newcastle Academy
The Lemonheads have released their first single from their first album in ten years. The single, Become The Enemy, which is out today [October 9th] is being supported by a UK tour at the following dates:
October:
9th – Leeds, Met University
10th – Oxford, Brookes University
11th – Cambridge, Junction
12th – Liverpool, Carling Academy
14th – Coventry, Coliseum
15th – Nottingham, Rock City
16th – Manchester Academy 2
17th – Glasgow ABC
21st – Bristol Academy
22nd – Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall
The Isle of Wight’s The Bees will be returning to the touring scene in November, before the release of their new album, Octopus, in early 2007. They recently finished a Scottish tour and now they will hit the rest of the UK.
November:
18th – Cardiff CF10
19th – Bristol Thekla
20th – Brighton Concorde 2
21st – Southsea Pier
22nd – London KCLSU
26th – Stoke Sugarmill
27th – Glasgow Oran Mor
28th – Hull The Welly Club
29th – Manchester Club Academy
www.myspace.com/thebeesofficial
The Bees will spend New Years Eve down under where they will play for their Australian fans for the first time.