Mainly Rock

They don’t eat bananas…

found via Spreeblick 

So the Jesus and Mary Chain have not only reunited for some shows:

"The reunion is not necessarily about any nostalgia trip," frontman Jim Reid told Uncut. "There will be a new record, otherwise there wouldn’t be any point to reforming." (SPIN.com)

I wonder what that will be like… After all those years.

But I’m already sure to buy it, anyway 

It’s a black thong and a white sweatshirt, but there is no doubt that it must be the same person… 
 

You can see the original on Google maps.

Found via BoingBoing 

I got Shellac’s new album, Excellent Italian Greyhound, today, in vinyl, of course.

I’m listening to it for the first time, as I type, but so far I can already say it meets expectations…

When unpacking the album, I discovered a CD in the packaging which contains the album, in addition to the high quality vinyl. It’s not mentioned on the cover anywhere and there’s no label on the CD, so it’s a really pleasant surprise. Most of all it provides a hassle free (and legal) way to have the album on the ipod.

There is no real reason, not to buy the vinyl version, even if you don’t have a turntable, as you get the CD anyway and you get to enjoy the wonderful artwork in the original size…

Today is Sgt. Pepper’s day, and anyone reading music-blogs knows that Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released 40 years ago today.

It’s quite common to say that this is the greatest pop-record ever recorded (and I do agree), but for me it’s simply the first pop-album I’ve ever heard. In fact, my parents were never interested in pop-music, and all of their records were classical. The one exception was Sgt. Pepper’s which some trendy friend of theirs gave them as a gift, probably about the time it was released.

 I don’t actually remember how I first came across the record in my parent’s collection, it must have  been about 30 years ago. I do remember that there were still the card board cut-outs, which I thought were great. In a strange way the album appealed to me, in particular the songs that were telling stories like the title track (musical), She’s leaving home (sad), Mr Kite (funny) or When I’m 64 (science fiction). I also remember thinking that Within You, Without You was unbearable, but it didn’t matter, because it was the first track of Side two, and you could simply skip it after when putting the needle down after turning the disc (vinyl ruled/rules).

It’s amazing how time has passed since and I still enjoy listening to the same vinyl record today, bringing back tons of memories. But it’s also strange to think that I discovered pop-music through the greatest record of all time, and have bought hundreds of records since, that aren’t quite as great…

So Apple has started selling DRM free tracks (iTunes Plus). It’s not actually mp3′s, but Apple’s own m4a-format. DRM-free means you can copy them as much as you like to any device/computer and listen to them. Just like you can take a CD and listen to it in any CD-player. Progress!?!

But the story does not end her. Some smart people have had a closer look at those files :

Such is the situation with Apple’s new DRM-free music: songs sold without DRM still have a user’s full name and account e-mail embedded in them, which means that dropping that new DRM-free song on your favorite P2P network could come back to bite you.

Besides any potential privacy aspects, I believe that this is actually quite a smart move, and even more so because people can convert the files into mp3′s without the personal information, taking into account an acceptable loss of sound quality. If you’re really concerned about sound quality, you should buy vinyls or CD’s anyway.

 Found via Stereogum

 Ok, you’ve heard about MP3s on vinyl, but now it’s CDs on a turntable…

I don’t think it’s meant to have any practical use, but it’s a nice idea…

More pictures can be found here

Found via engadget 

Yesterday I went to see Wilco at the Bataclan. It was totally amazing, and it’s hard to imagine how it could have been any better.

Of course, the music is neither punk-rock nor particularly dance-able, but 1h45 of great songs, amazing musicianship (as in singing, drumming and guitar playing) and real emotions are all I ask for.

I am, of course, biased, as I am a long time Wilco fan, but after the show, even G says:

"Mais, je dois avouer que Jeff Tweedy est sans doute l’un des plus grand songwriters US de ces 10 dernières ann es" (I must admit that Jeff Tweedy is, without doubt, one of the greatest US songwriters of the last 10 years)

One question remains: How come that Wilco still is such an insider affair in France? Even yesterday the Bataclan  would have probably been half empty, if there had not been so many Americans.

I have never been ashamed to admit liking The Police a lot. Their  Live! album is always on my Ipod. So when I heard the news of them reforming, I was initially excited by the idea of getting to see them play live, considering that I was too young to go to one of their shows at the time.

But of course they are playing stadiums, and the idea of a paying 100€ to see a band in a football stadium  just does not appeal to me.

This (German) article basically says that their show in Vancouver was great and that they are not just cashing in on their past glory…

 It almost makes me regret my decision, but in reality I don’t even like seeing football matches in the Stade de France…

 ..he either has the same T-Shirt twice or wears the same one every day

Zone Libre
Originally uploaded by -Orgasmatron-.