Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga by Spoon

The Austin band serves up their latest album hoping fans go ga ga over it. [Rock, Indie]

Published: 2007-07-09 Provider: Metacritic

The Raconteurs, Bob Dylan Highlight New American Music Union in Pittsburgh

Even before he took the stage to close out the inaugural New American Music Union festival, Bob Dylan cast an exceptionally large shadow over the proceedings. The fest, organized by American Eagle and presented around the corner from their corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh, featured an eclectic lineup whose musical DNA could all be traced back to the most American of genres: the blues. It was in the Roots’ hard-times funk and the Black Keys’ garage noise on Saturday night and in the barroom soul of Spoon, the space-hop of Gnarls Barkley and the muscular arena thump of the Raconteurs on Sunday. Dylan provided the first-person account of the early blues — a generation-bridging link to the past. Saturday’s highlights included Spoon’s set, where Britt Daniel crooned and spat over his band’s horn-soaked grooves on “You Got Yr Cherry Bomb,” “Don’t Make Me a Target” and the always-excellent “I Turn My Camera On.” The Raconteurs’ extended jams on “Rich Kid Blues,” “Blue Veins” and “Top Yourself” were big enough to fill stadiums, and Jack White bellowed and strutted like a truly killer frontman. Dylan focused mostly on more recent material but dropped in stripped-down variations of some of his classics like “Tangled Up in Blue” and the festival-closing “Like a Rolling Stone.” Rarely picking up a guitar (he mostly played keys) and constantly making jokes to himself, Dylan proved that he’s the best kind of old bluesman: a knowing outlaw with a never-ending bag of tricks. [Photo: Getty]

Published: 2008-08-11 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Festivals

The Stage Names by Okkervil River

The fourth studio album from the Austin, Texas-based band mixes it up with the help of Jim Eno of Spoon. [Indie, Rock]

Published: 2007-08-08 Provider: Metacritic

Anthony Kiedis on Chili Peppers Hiatus: “We Were Emotionally and Mentally Zapped”

With the announcement that he is curating the New American Music Festival (which features Bob Dylan, the Raconteurs, the Roots and Spoon, among others), Rock Daily caught up with Anthony Kiedis to talk about the state of his band, his thoughts on business and what exactly a curator does. “It’s not as easy as it sounded, like so many things,” says Kiedis. “Kind of like when a friend proposed that I write a book. I was like, ‘Sure, I’ll write a book.’ A year and a half later, it’s like, ‘What have I agreed to?’” Click here for the rest of the interview. • Q&A: Anthony Kiedis on New American Music Festival, Red Hot Chili Peppers [Photo: Getty]

Published: 2008-05-20 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

Bob Dylan, The Raconteurs, The Roots Headline New Festival

Add another multi-day music event to your summer schedule, as Bob Dylan, the Raconteurs, the Roots, Gnarls Barkley and Spoon will headline the inaugural New American Music Festival on August 8 & 9 at SouthSide Works in Pittsburgh, PA. The festival is sponsored by American Eagle Outfitters and curated by Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Rounding out the lineup will be fifteen bands from various colleges across the country who will compete in a competition, with the winner receiving recording time in a Los Angeles studio. Tickets go on sale Friday and cost a mere $25 for students. Follow the jump for the full lineup. The New American Music Festival Bob Dylan and His Band The Raconteurs Gnarls Barkley The Roots Spoon The Black Keys Black Mountain The Duke Spirit NASA Tiny Masters of Today College Bands Bears (Kent State University) Flying Machines (The New School) Gospel Gossip (Carleton College) Magic Bullets (University of California Berkley) Math the Band (University of Massachusetts Dartmouth) My Dear Disco (University of Michigan) Nothing Unexpected (Robert Morris University) The Black Fortys (University of Southern Illinois) The Company Kang (Whitman College) The Delicious (Indiana University) The Depreciation Guild (New York University) The Elizabethan Report (Brigham Young University) The French Horn Rebellion (Northwestern University) The Royal Bangs (University of Tennessee) The Steps (University of Texas Austin)

Published: 2008-05-15 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

Tour Tracker: Modest Mouse, Spoon and Built To Spill

Modest Mouse set dates for a headlining trek after holding down opening duties on R.E.M.’s tour, Spoon schedule a few more shows and Built To Spill promise to play the entirety of Perfect From Now On for two of their eight dates. Each band’s complete itinerary awaits after the jump. Modest Mouse June 23 - Miami, FL @ Fillmore Miami Beach June 24 - Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live June 25 - St Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Theater June 26 - Myrtle Beach, SC @ House of Blues June 28 - Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa June 29 - Charlottesville, VA @ Charlottesville Pavilion June 30 - Rostraver, PA @ Ice Garden July 1 - St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant July 2 - Cincinnati, OH @ Bogarts July 4 - Rothbury, MI @ Rothbury Festival Spoon May 3 - Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up June 13 - Troutdale, OR @ Edgefield Amphitheater July 15 - Brooklyn, NY @ Prospect Park July 19 - Denver, CO @ Mile High Festival July 20 - Chicago, IL @ Music Festival September 20 - Hollywood, CA @ Hollywood Bowl September 22 - San Francisco, CA @ Fillmore Theatre September 23 – San Francisco, CA @ Fillmore Theatre September 24 - San Francisco, CA @ Fillmore Theatre Built To Spill May 23 - Bend, OR @ Les Schwab Amphitheater May 24 - Garden City, ID @ Visual Arts Center May 26 - George, WA @ Sasquatch Festival June 6 - Lawrence, KS @ Wakarusa Festival June 7 - Minneapolis, MN @ ShamRock Fest July 3 - Quincy, CA @ High Sierra Festival September 12 - Pioneertown, CA @ Peggy & Harriet’s September 19 - Monticello, NY @ ATP Festival

Published: 2008-05-06 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, On Tour

Rock Daily’s New Year’s Eve Rock Guide: All the Essential U.S. Shows, Plus TV Specials

With the ball set to drop in less than seventy-two hours, Rock Daily has the comprehensive list of all the best concerts and must-see rock TV going on New Year’s Eve across the country. Whether it’s Nas in Los Angeles or Radiohead Webcasting via Al Gore’s channel, here’s our New Year’s Rockin’ Guide, conveniently organized by city: Concerts: New York Patti Smith @ Bowery Ballroom Velvet Revolver @ Hammerstein Ballroom Slick Rick, Kudu, Moby (DJ set), Holy Ghost (DJ set) @ Studio B Earl Greyhound, The Big Sleep @ Mercury Lounge moe. @ Radio City Music Hall Gov’t Mule @ Beacon Theatre Les Savy Fav @ Bowery Ballroom Mr. Brownstone @ Music Hall of Williamsburg Gogol Bordello @ Terminal 5 Nellie McKay @ Joe’s Pub Los Angeles Chris Brown @ Crash Mansion Nas, Salt-N-Pepa @ House of Blues Bloc Party (DJ set), The Rapture (DJ set), Talib Kweli @ Roosevelt Hotel Justice (DJ set), Peaches, 2 Live Crew, A-Trak @ HARD New Year’s Eve Music Festival Rufus Wainwright, Belinda Carlisle @ Walt Disney Concert Hall MSTRKRFT, Z-Trip, Lazaro Casanova, LA Riots, Franki Chan @ Giant Maximus Fest at 826 Francisco St Atlanta Band of Horses @ The Earl Black Lips @ Drunken Unicorn Derek Trucks, The North Mississippi All-Stars @ Fox Theatre Widespread Panic @ Phillips Arena Atlantic City Elvis Costello & The Samples @ House of Blues Boston Soulive @ Paradise Rock Club Chicago Spoon, The Sea and Cake @ Metro Umphrey’s McGee @ The Aragon Black Kids @ Empty Bottle Cleveland Rusted Root @ House of Blues Dallas The Old 97’s @ Longhorn Ballroom Detroit Cherry Poppin’ Daddies @ MGM Grand Detroit Casino Las Vegas Kanye West @ The Pearl Backstreet Boys @ Body English The Bangles, The Doobie Brothers @ The Fremont Street Experience Goo Goo Dolls @ House of Blues 3 Doors Down @ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Miami R. Kelly, Keyshia Cole, J. Holiday @ American Airlines Arena New Orleans Buddy Guy @ House of Blues Oklahoma City The

Published: 2008-01-02 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

Arcade Fire, Spoon Nab Plug Nominations, Lupe Fiasco Raps as a Cheeseburger on Concept LP, Slash Plays “Sweet Child” for First Time in Decade

The Plug Awards, indie rock’s Grammys, will take place on March 6th, 2008, at New York’s Terminal Five. Battles and Of Montreal lead nominations with six apiece, including the much-coveted Album of the Year. Arcade Fire and Justice each nabbed five nods, and Band of Horses, the National, Panda Bear, Spoon and (kind of unfairly) Radiohead are also up for various awards. The My Bloody Valentine reunion machine is working double time, with the long-dormant band already announcing a trio of concert dates in the U.K. for June/July 2008. For those already checking if JetBlue flies to Heathrow Airport, MBV is also in talks to play next year’s Coachella. Lupe Fiasco will tackle the concept album on his second full-length, December 18th’s The Cool. The album will feature songs from the perspective of multiple characters (including a cheeseburger on “Gotta Eat”) that focus on the darker side of urban living. Snoop Dogg and Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump guest. The Game has redacted his crazy courthouse claims that he’d be willing to babysit Britney Spears‘ kids in exchange for some Brit lovin’. Now, The Game has issued new crazy courthouse claims stating he’s no longer infatuated with the pop star. Although our list of demands for this year’s Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp went unfulfilled, Slash did use the occasion to play “Sweet Child O’ Mine” for the first time in over a decade. Slash described the moment as “very surreal.” We describe the moment as almost worth the camp’s $9,499 tuition.

Published: 2007-11-16 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Afternoon News Roundup

Mark Ronson on New Projects and At the Drive-In: Video Interview and Radiohead Cover Footage

Mark Ronson (of Bob Dylan remix and Amy Winehouse-producing fame) and his band hit New York’s Webster Hall Friday night with a crew of special guests that included Breaking Artist Santogold. Rock Daily cornered the British musician in his dressing room to get the latest on his upcoming projects and a window into his recording process. Click above to check out the interview, plus footage of Phantom Planet’s Alex Greenwald joining the band during soundcheck for a warm-up of their cover of Radiohead’s “Just.” And keep reading for our Six-Pack Interview with Ronson, where he reveals bands he’d like to cover next (the unlikely list includes At the Drive-In). What’s the most rock-star thing you’ve ever done? I know I did something really rock-star the other day, but I can’t remember what it was. Probably drugs. Who’s the most famous person you’ve ever met? Unfortunately George W. Bush, at the White House What’s on your current playlist? Richard Swift, I’m still listening to the Arcade Fire record because it’s amazing, and I like The Pipettes. When will it be time to retire? When I’m 52. What was your favorite album when you were fourteen? Appetite for Destruction. If you had to cover another song right now, what would it be? There’s good songs all the time, but I kind of wanted to do “Down In It” by Nine Inch Nails, from their first record. I like that song “Don’t You Evah” by Spoon. I wanted to do an At the Drive-In song too, but their stuff is so proggy and complicated, but I do love their first record.

Published: 2007-10-09 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

AT&T Vows No Censorship During Webcasts of Austin City Limits; Plus Full ACL Broadcast Schedule

After enduring serious flak for cutting out pieces of Pearl Jam’s Lollapalooza performance — the pieces during which the band criticized President Bush — on AT&T’s Blue Room Webcast, the company has decided to loosen up, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. “AT&T’s Blue Room has adopted a new policy with respect to live Webcasted performances, and that is that we’re not going to do any audio editing for any reason,” said AT&T spokeswoman Tiffany O’Brien Nels. “We’re letting it rip, as the saying goes. We do reserve the right to edit the video feed, but we will only do that either through camera angles or video blackouts for excessive sexual content — nudity or simulated sex acts. Because the site is not eighteen and over and we do believe we still have some obligation to the younger audience, you will now see strong viewer discretion messaging before and during the Webcast.” Yesterday the company issued a press release announcing they’ll be Webcasting from the Austin City Limits festival today through Sunday. We got our hands on their full Blue Room schedule, which includes MIA, Arctic Monkeys, Paolo Nutini, Joss Stone, Spoon, Regina Spektor and Bloc Party. Check out the full Webcast lineup after the jump. And stay tuned to Rock Daily for full ACL fest coverage, including video, photos and a wrap-up report. Friday 12:30-1:30 Asleep at the Wheel 1:30-2:30 Heartless Bastards 2:30-3:30 Pete Yorn 3:30-4:30 Joseph Arthur & The Lonely Astronauts 4:30-5:30 Jesse Malin 5:30-6:30 M.I.A. 6:30-7:30 Spoon 7:30-8:15 Kaiser Chiefs 8:15-9:15 Joss Stone 9:15-10:15 TBA Saturday 12:30-1:30 Sound Team 1:30-2:30 Dax Riggs 2:30-3:30 Augustana 3:30-4:30 Raul Malo 4:30-5:30 Blue October 5:30-6:30 Andrew Bird 6:30-7:30 Stephen Marley 8:30-9:30 Paolo Nutini 9:30-10:30 Arctic Monkeys Sunday 12:45-1:30 Willy Mason 1:30-2:30 The National 2:30-3:30 Robert Earl Keen 3:30-4:30 DeVotchKa 5:30-6:30 Regina Spektor 6:30-7:30 Ben Kweller 7:30-7:45 Nicole Atkins

Published: 2007-09-15 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Festivals

Peachy Keen: Willie Nelson and a Brief History of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream

Oh happy day! Ben & Jerry are presenting us with a whole new flavor to drool over. Yes folks, today marks the street date for Willie Nelson’s Country Peach Cobbler (peach ice cream with cinnamon sugar shortbread pieces). With the new creation, Willie joins the ranks of progressive pop culture icons Jerry Garcia, Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Wavy Gravy and, most recently, Stephen Colbert, all of whom have been awarded their very own tailor-made ice cream flavors. The question on hardcore ice cream enthusiasts’ minds (besides “where’s a spoon?”) is: Do Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield (the founding fathers of the Vermont-based ice cream empire) actually decide who’s worthy of a flavor themselves? And perhaps more importantly, who determines that Jerry Garcia’s namesake batch consists of cherries and fudge flakes while Wavy Gravy’s concoction is caramel, cashew and Brazil nut ice cream? When you think of Trey Anastasio, is chocolate ice cream with “gooey” marshmallow, caramel and fudge really what comes to mind? We took it upon ourselves to find out the answers to these probing questions so that you could spend less time pondering them and more time eating Peach Cobbler while rocking out to “I Gotta Get Drunk.” We talked to Sean Greenwood, a spokesperson at Ben & Jerry’s corporate offices in South Burlington, Vermont, who told us that artists are deemed flavor-worthy on the basis of their humanitarian efforts. The more do-good, environment-friendly, help-the-kids-in-Africa stuff you have on your resume, the better the chance that the folks at B&J will consider you for your very own ice cream. According to Greenwood, Ben’s and Jerry’s personal musical tastes have nothing to do with it. So banish those visions of the burly guys concocting ice cream flavors while listening intently to their iPods. Greenwood tells us that tasty collaborations have come about in all sorts o

Published: 2007-03-19 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: General

Spoon's 'Ga Ga Ga,' Polished and Pure

Spoon's Britt Daniel has always exuded a sly confidence. The frontman of the veteran indie-rock band from Austin is even, dare we say, cool -- quite a rarity in a genre where awkward schlubs like the Decemberists' Colin Meloy and the Shins' James Mercer become stars. On Spoon's sixth album, "Ga Ga...

Published: 2007-07-10 Provider: Washington Post