CLICK AND SEE the improbable 1972 reunion of Lou Reed, John Cale and Nico at a club called Le Bataclan in Paris. Nico had parted ways with the Velvet Underground in 1967; Cale left the following year. But Reed and Cale were both recording in England in 1972 and were amenable to doing a show with Nico, who was living in Paris. Reed and Cale play “Heroin.” Nico joins them for “Femme Fatale.” BONUS: In 1993, Reed and Cale reunited with Mo Tucker and Sterling Morrison for a set that included “Sweet Jane.” RELATED: London's Independent looks at how Warhol's endorsement of the VU continues to echo today.
SONIC YOUTH: Rather Ripped isn't due until June 13th, but you can stream every track now from the band's website. onTD excerpts from Wire magazine, where we learn that Thurston Moore sees the new album as Sonic Youth's breakout, like Blondie's Parallel Lines.
ELVIS COSTELLO and DIANA KRALL expecting a child? (2nd item.) It will take more evidence to convince me.
THE 25 BEST MUSIC WEBSITES, according to Entertainment Weekly. And Stereogum is gloating over Pitchfork.
PERE UBU frontman David Thomas apparently made some rather questionable comments about rock and authenticity at the Experience Music Project Pop Conference
Seattle.
ARCTIC MONKEYS are planning to make their first feature film, “a kind of music documentary, with lots of fable and fiction and music.”
LOVE WILL TEAR US APART… AGAIN: And again. And again. 19 times over. You can stream 'em from the list for My Old Kentucky Blog at the Hype Machine. Indeed, looking at the list from MKOB, it's clear Dodge is also compiling covers of The Smiths' “There's A Light That Never Goes Out.” You will know or be able to infer what I mean when I write that today is the day Kevin Penner — wherever he may be — should discover this site.
M.I.A.: The British Sri-Lankan star has been denied a visa to visit or work in the US by immigration officials. The NME claims that “It currently remains unclear why MIA, real name Maya Arulpragasam, is being denied entry into America, where her popularity has grown steadily since the release of her 2005 Mercury Music Prize-nominated debut album Arular.” Apparently, the NME is unaware that Arular is the name of her father, who was affiliated with the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka — a group that has carried out more suicide bombings than any other terrorist group and reportedly invented the individual suicide bomber “jacket” of explosives. M.I.A. uses the Tiger symbols and praises the LTTE and the PLO in her music. And she sees herself as a spokesperson. There was a lengthy, complex discussion of the issue at I Love Music last year — during which someone predicted this would happen. So why the NME is clueless about it is a mystery.
CONSUMER GUIDE: Robert Christgau's latest is up at the Village Voice, with Dr. John, Fats Domino and Neil Young among the pick hits.
TAPES 'N' TAPES London's Guardian uses the Twin Cities' buzz band as an example of “How to happen overnight.” You can stream four tracks from The Loon via MySpace.
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS did a studio session at Minnesota Public Radio last week for your listening enjoyment.
CAMERA OBSCURA and LLOYD COLE: At Chromewaves, Frank notes that the first single from Camera Obscura's upcoming album is called “Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken,” an answer song to the wonderful Lloyd Cole & The Commotions number, “Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?” Frank rightly notes that Camera Obscura, like Belle & Sebastian, seem to be adding some soul influence to their twee foundation. Frank has other CO links posted also.
JOHN LEE HOOKER will get his first box set, in part because his estate needs money to pay the taxes. Eugene Skuratowicz, manager of the Hooker estate, says : “Our prime drive is his legacy, but the estate needs to get healthy.”
PETE DOHERTY UPDATE: Rough Trade are denying reports in British papers that they've dropped the troubled singer's band Babyshambles due to his wretched behavior. Rather, the label's contract with him had come to a natural end. Which is more likely than Doherty himself coming to a natural end.
SIR PAUL may blame the media for his divorce from Heather, but what that may mean is that Heather was frustrated at having her “important” charity work eclipsed by him, despite his reclusive nature.
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: The Da Vinci Code proved critic-proof, raking in 77 million bucks domestically and 224 million wolrdwide — the second-biggest debut ever at the global box office. However, its internal multiplier is around 2.6, raising the possibility of a big drop-off next weekend. Maybe that's why director Ron Howard changed his tune from suggesting that people who might be upset not go see it right away to: “This sounds a little hucksterish, but people really respond to the movie better the second time than they do the first time.” Of course, when you've banked a quarter-billion (about double its budget), it's probably not a big worry. Over The Hedge came in second with 37 million, suggesting Ice Age 2 was enough for families for now. Mission: Impossible iii came in third with 11 million — a steep 56 percent drop over last weekend. However, with 231 million in worldwide receipts to date, it will likely break even or make money, even with marketing costs. But it seems like Hanks has the B.O. bragging rights now.
TOM-KAT UPDATE: Cruise has banned his adopted kids from watching TV and playing computer games. Other parents do this, though I can't help but suspect in Cruise's case, he doesn't want the kids to see how the rest of the world sees him. For example, heading into emeritus status at 60 Minutes, Mike Wallace slams Cruise for campaigning against anti-depressants and psychiatry, insisting he has no idea what he's talking about.
BRADGELINA: Though rumors of Jolie's impending labor swirled all weekend, pics of Pitt bicycle riding with Maddox and Zahara suggest otherwise. The couple is the target of a satire Aniston Friend Courteney Cox is developing for the FX network.
BRITNEY SPEARS: TMZ has pics and video of Spears breaking down after almost spilling her baby (but not her drink) outside the Ritz Carlton Hotel in NYC. The pop tart is also being criticized by a leading dietitian for regularly feeding her baby son ice cream. Also, people are noticing that Spears has hardly seen Spenderline. since revealing she was pregnant again.
MADONNA admits she married Guy Ritchie for the wrong reasons. But that not wearing the wedding ring is nothing to worry about. Move along.
DENISE & HEATHER & RICHIE & CHARLIE: An angry young woman who claims she met Sheen online supports Richards' bombshell claims: “We dated for about a month. He's such a (bleep)ing perv. He would ask me to dress up, like, in pigtails and schoolgirl outfits. I don't think he's like a pedophile, but he's definitely into really young girls. You know like 18, 19. I don't doubt that everything his wife is saying now is true…”
NICOLAS CAGE has bought an island in the Bahamas.
TYRA BANKS: At Slate, J.E. Dahl implies she's a racist, but I don't think that holds up. Anti-Southern, maybe.
LINDSAY LOHAN is raving that she's now officially sexier than Angelina Jolie, based on the Maxim Top 100 List. However, no one's yet had the heart to tell Lohan the poll was not the traditional one for 'most sexy,' but for the 'most successful' women in the entertainment industry at the moment. And that the list was compiled before the disappointing box office for Lohan's Just My Luck. Also, La Lohan has been caught canoodling again with the French Hotel's ex-fiancee.
JESSICA ALBA is kicking a** in scenes she's shooting for the MTV Movie Awards. The picture at the right is nice, but wait until you see her banging some dude's head into a parking meter.
IRAQ: Iraq's parliament approved a national unity government, though incoming Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was unable to make a final decision about the defense minister, interior minister, and minister for national security. Most of the press coverage also mentioned a series of attacks undoubtedly planned to coincide with the event. At ITM, Mohammed offers his own take. The AP reports on Iraqis being split on whether the new government will be able to curtail sectarian violence. Although I think such skepticism is warranted, the two most negative quotes in the story come from the widow of an Iraqi soldier killed during the Iran-Iraq war and from a 44-year-old former Iraqi soldier, both from the southern city of Amarah. This suggests they are Sunnis. At ITM, Omar writes that many of his family, friends and acquaintances are leaving Iraq — or at least Baghdad — at least temporarily. Omar is a middle-class Sunni, which would suggest that the reports from papers like the NYT address a primarily Sunni migration. The NYT didn't report on the at least 1.2 million returnees to Iraq, natch. Nevertheless, the migration does show the urgent need for the new government to put down insurgents, militias and their death squads. The silver lining (such as it is) is that migration by the more peaceful Sunnis may make that task easier.
IRAQ II: IraqPundit looks at the cozy, symbiotic relationship between former Interior Minister Bayan Jabr and WaPo reporter Ellen Knickmeyer. Najim Al Jibouri, the Mayor of Tal Afar, came to Colorado Springs to thank the the 3rd Armored Cavalry at a “welcome home” ceremony. Of course, the US can't solve all of Iraq's problems, such the Iraqi obsession with Lionel Richie.
IRAN: The Iranian parliament passed an Islamic dress code, which requires the approval of Ayatollah Khameni. The good news is that early reports that the law would require the country’s Jews and other religious minorities to wear colored badges turned out to be false, though the idea apparently had been floated (and Iran did this well before the Nazis). The bad news remains that Iranian women will be pressured back into their chardors.
OUR FRIENDS, THE SAUDIS: As bad as the Islamic dress code in Iran is, the contents of supposedly cleaned up schoolbooks in Saudi Arabia remain at least as odious.
SQUIRRELS with vintage cameras. Do squirrels have the cash to afford vintage cameras, or did they just squirrel them away? Please stop me… now.
BEARS RETURN TO GERMANY for the first time in 170 years. And they're looking for revenge. Just kidding about that last bit. I hope.
WHERE'S YOUR MESSIAH NOW? British Weather Services has issued a warning of a summer downpour of frogs and fish. No, really.
FROGS: Speaking of which, frog jockeys faced off Sunday in the Calaveras County Fair and Frog Jump Jubilee, an annual gathering in California's gold country that honors Mark Twain's famed fable, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.”
CAT-SNATCHERS sentenced to community service for taking Mr. Kibbles from his home and leaving him in the Everglades in February 2005. Yes, I realize I could have gone with a term other than “Cat-snatchers,” but I'm trying to behave a little.
DEER ATTACKS remain a danger at Southern Illinois University. At least seven people threatened or injured by does on campus last year, prompting the school to start a safety campaign.