Newcombe and his shifting band of acolytes in the Brian Jonestown Massacre have been steadily and stealthily releasing records that that are revered and reviled in equal measure. As one of music’s more outspoken characters, Newcombe cares not for public opinion, nor would he have it any other way. Taking time out from a lengthy world tour, Newcombe spoke with us about his life in Berlin, thoughts on U.S. culture and cynical Hollywood sharks.
JV:The title of your latest LP, ‘Aufheben’, is a word that has multiple meanings. It can be used to mean ‘to lift’ or ‘to abolish’ among others. What meaning did you have in mind when choosing it to represent your music?
AN:I love the concept of destroying something to preserve it. I read a book once about a Sufi institution of learning…maybe it was in Iran hundreds of years ago. At some point a new ruler decided that Sufi art and teaching were against more conservative Islam, so mobs of angry orthodox people were going from village to town to attack and destroy these schools of learning and art and purge these mystical sects. The master of one school, upon learning of a mob heading in their direction, ordered his students to grab all of the texts and art they had created in the compound and take it out to the street and burn it; all of the rugs and tapestries etc. A student…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of August 07, 2012. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
10 Years – Minus The Machine (Pale Horse Records)
The American Scene – Safe For Now (Pure Noise) Antibalas – Antibalas (Daptone)
Antony and the Johnsons – Cut The World (Secretly Canadian)
Bilocate – Summoning The Bygones (Aural Music)
Certain People I Know – Certain People I Know (Count Your Lucky Stars)
Colt Ford – Declaration Of Independence (Average Joe’s Entertainment)
David Archuleta – Begin. (Highway Records)
Digital Summer – Breaking Point (Victim Entertainment)
Fergus & Geronimo – Funk Was The State Of Affairs (Hardly Art)
Gatherer – Postcards (Glass Nail)
Janka Nabay and the Bubu Gang – En Yay Sah (Luaka Bop)
Lianne La Havas – Is Your Love Big Enough? (Nonesmuch)
Mala – Cuba Electronic/Calle F (Brownswood Recordings)
Niki & The Dove – Instinct (Sub Pop)
Redd Kross – Researching The Blues (Merge Records)
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damm Band – Between The Ditches (Side One Dummy)
Rob Zombie – Mondo Sex Head (Geffen Records)
Sixpence None The Richer – Lost In Transition (Sixpence)
The Snips – Highs Of Low (Rival Party Records)
So Many Wizards – Warm Nothing (Frenchkiss)
Stagnant Pools – Temporary Room (Polyvinyl)
Sweetheart – XOXOX (Porterhouse)
Sweet Valley – Stay Calm (Fool’s Gold Records)
Thelem & Killawatt – Dualism/Saturn’s Colour (Osiris Music)
Tidelands – We’ve Got A Map (Redgummy Records)
Turbonegro –…
It would be easy to sit here and spout off a few facts about Anthony Sly in honor of his passing, but after all is said and done that would be useless. For what he left us in his 41 years deserves more than just the script notes of a life lived. His heart and emotion resonated with thousands in a way that was more akin to a family member even though we never truly knew him or even met him outside chance run ins or through quick conversations at shows. Tony Sly took the adolescent soul of pop punk and channeled it through a lens of understanding clarity well beyond his years. It was a gift. He sharpened and refined this skill further when he embarked on a solo career that offered a more fitting medium to work with given his ever maturing, but still so youthfully rooted, outlook.
In a time when musician’s obituaries are running like a constant news ticker through the internet, I, like most people, am slightly disconnected from the news when it breaks. It’s saddening but only for a moment, until some new stimuli pops up on my screen calling away the focus of my attention deprived brain, but when I read a single 140 word millisecond long tweet about the passing of Tony Sly it made me stop what I was doing in a stunned silence. It felt like I had lost a family member even though I had only met the man…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 31, 2012. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
The Alchemist – Russian Roulette (Decon Inc.)
Anchor And Braille – The Quiet Life (Tooth & Nail)
ASC and Sam KDC – Cold Spot/Kaleidoscope (Auxiliary)
Audio – Fall Back/Rust (Renegade Hardware)
The Black Swans – Occasion For Song (Misra Records)
A Bullet For Pretty Boy – Red Medic (Red Int/Red Ink)
Blur – Blur 21: The Box (Virgin Records)
Close To Home – Momentum (Razor & Tie)
Cold Blank – The Agenda (Burn The Fire Records)
D.O.A. – We Come In Peace (Sudden Death)
Darqwan – To The Fly (Texture Records)
Domo Genesis – No Idols (Odd Future Recordings)
Everyone Dies In Utah – +//- (Polarities) (Tragic Hero Records)
Evoken – Atra Mors (Profound Lore)
Erik Gundel – A Home To Keep You (Mecca Lecca Recording Co.)
Gaelic Storm – Chicken Boxer (Lost Again Records)
Gaza – No Absolutes In Human Suffering [Digital] (Black Market Activities)
Gloriana – A Thousand Miles Left Behind (Emblem)
Ice Choir – Afar (Underwater Peoples)
Jackyl – Best In Show (Mighty Loud)
Jesse Harris – Sub Rosa (Dangerbird)
Joshua Radin – Underwater (Mom & Pop Music)
Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions, Vol. 2 (S-Curve Records)
Junk Culture – Wild Quiet (Illegal Art)
Korpiklaani – Manala (Nuclear Blast International)
L.P. – Into The Wild (Warner Bros.)
La Coka Nostra – Masters Of The Dark…
Nomadism is the singer/songwriter project of Jeet Mukerji, whose music blends tense electronics and guitars with a dark reason reminiscent of Different Class-era Pulp. Harbouring a slight post-punk lilt and closing with the brilliant “Romance and Violence”, this Soundcloud set is a thoroughly compelling twenty-five minutes of songcraft.
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 24, 2012. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
Ancients – Star Showers on the Euphrates (PID) The Antlers – Undersea (ANTI Records) – SowingSeason
Blood Red Shoes – In Time To Voices (Cooperative Music)
Blu & Exile – Maybe One Day [EP] (Dirty Science/Fat Beats)
Constants – Pasiflora (The Mylene Sheath)
Cooly G – Playin Time (Hyperdub)
Damu The Fudgemunk – Redef Remixes (Redefinition Records) Dark Time Sunshine – ANX (Fake Four Inc.) – Sobhi Youssef
The Dirty Panties – I Am A Robot (SquidHat Records)
Distance – A Result Of Sound/Deserted (Chestplate)
DjRum – Watermark/The Darkest Hour Is Just Before Dawn (2nd Drop Records)
Eternal Summers – Correct Behavior (Kanine Records)
Family Band – Grace & Lies (No Quarter)
Fang Island – Major (Sargent House)
Foals – Tapes (!K7)
Forever Came Calling – Contender (Pure Noise Ent.)
The Full Steam – Yours Truly (The Full Steam) The Gaslight Anthem – Handwritten (Mercury) – Adam Knott
GZA – Liquid Swords: The Chess Box Set (Get On Down)
Jack Sparrow – Afraid Of Me (Deep Medi) Jennifer Lopez – Dance Again: The Hits (Epic) – Irving Tan Zhi Mian
Laetitia Sadier – Silencio (Drag City)
Lawrence Arabia – The Sparrow (Bella Union)
Love And Theft – Love And Theft (Sony Nashville/RCA)
Micachu & the Shapes – Never (Rough…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 17, 2012. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
Alberta Cross – Songs of Patience (Ato Records)
Angus Stone – Broken Brights (Nettwerk Records) Baroness – Yellow & Green (Relapse) – Eli Kleman
The Be Good Tanyas – A Collection (2000-2012) (Nettwerk Records)
Believe You Me – Up From Here [EP] (Believe You Me)
Belle Histoire – Dreamers (Invogue Records)
Bermuda – The Wandering (Mediaskare)
Boys Like Girls – Crazy World [EP] (Columbia)
Bury Tomorrow – The Union Of Crowns (Nuclear Blast America)
Capital Lights – Rhythm N Moves (Tooth & Nail)
Chasing Morgan – Battlescars [EP] (Chasing Morgan)
Citizen Cope – One Lovely Day (Rainwater Recordings) The Contortionist – Intrinsic (Entertainment One Music)
Conveyor – Conveyor (papergardenrecords)
Cosmo Jarvis – Think Bigger (The End Records)
The Drowning Men – All Of The Unknown (Borstal Beat Records)
Elton vs Pnau – Good Morning To The Night (Casablanca)
Enabler – All Hail The Void (Southern Lord Records/Halo Of Flies)
Exotic Animal Petting Zoo – Tree Of Tongues (Mediaskare)
The Farm Inc. – The Farm Inc. (Warner Bros.)
The Fixx – Beautiful Friction (Kirtland Records)
For The Fallen Dreams – Wasted Youth (Red Int/Red Ink) Frank Ocean – Channel Orange (Def Jam) – Sobhi Youssef
Gatekeeper – Exo (Hippos In Tanks)
Hans Zimmer – The Dark Knight Rises: Original Motion Picture…
We are also still accepting applications for anyone interested in becoming a Contributing Reviewer for this site. To submit your applications (and to read the submission guidelines), head here.
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 10, 2012. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
Aesop Rock – Skelethon (Rhymesayers)
Alaska/Oranges – The Summer I Joined The Harlem Globetrotters [Split/EP] (Yespleaserecords)
Beak> – >> (Invada)
Brendan James – Hope In Transition (Rock Ridge Music)
Bury Tomorrow – The Union Of Crowns (Nuclear Blast America)
Clare and the Reasons – KR-51 (Frog Stand Records)
Communist Daughter – Lions & Lamb [EP] (Grain Belt Records)
Dan Le Sac – Space Between The Words (Sunday Best)
Delicate Steve – Positive Force (Luaka Bop) Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan (Domino) – SowingSeason
Duran Duran – A Diamond in the Mind [DVD] (Eagle Rock Entertainment)
The Early November – In Currents (Rise Records)
Eleni Mandell – I Can See the Future (Yep Roc Records)
Erika Forster – Erika Forster [EP] (Cascine)
Erika Spring – Erika Spring [EP](Cascine)
Glass Cloud – The Royal Thousand (Equal Vision Records)
Glocca Morra – Just Married (Kind Of Like Records)
The Grates – Secret Rituals (AIS)
Hank Williams Jr. – Old School… New Rules (Warner Bros.)
Holograms – Holograms (Captured Tracks) House Of Heroes – Cold Hard Want (Gotee Records) – DaveyBoy
House Vs Hurricane – Crooked Teeth…
We are now down to our final week for the Sputnikmusic Linkin Park contest. One lucky winner will receive a CD copy of LIVING THINGS signed by the band, a pair of Rob Bourdon signature Vater drumsticks, a Linkin Park t-shirt and band stickers & buttons! Also included is a one year membership to the official Linkin Park fan club: LP Underground. Members receive early entrance to Linkin Park shows, chances for Meet & Greets, access to concert pre-sale tickets and best seats, exclusive music, live video chats with band members and much more. So, go here for more details.
We are also still accepting applications for anyone interested in becoming a Contributing Reviewer for this site. To submit your applications (and to read the submission guidelines), head here.
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 03, 2012. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
Abandon All Ships – Infamous (Rise Records)
Asia – XXX (Frontier Records)
The Blasters – Fun On Saturday Night (Rip Cat Records)
The Cheats – Pussyfootin! (Dismanic Distribution)
Chris Brown – Fortune (RCA)
Chrome Waves – Chrome Waves (Gravedancer Records)
Cicso Adler – Aloha (Bananabeat Records)
Delain – We Are The Others (Sensory Records)
Drop The Lime – Enter The Night (Ultra Records)
Easter Island – Frightened (Easter Island)
The Envy – Deception (Simmons Records)
Flo Rida – Wild Ones (Atlantic)
Foxes – Warrior (Sony Music)
Gideon – Milestone (Facedown Records)
Gold…
When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie… Balotelli. Mad Mario has finally shown up at Euro 2012, and with a tired Spanish side stumbling past Portugal in the semis, the scandal-hit Italians are in the unlikely position of once again (after 1982 and 2006) facing the prospect of winning one of football’s two biggest prizes against the backdrop of widespread corruption in the domestic game. Vicente Del Bosque, on the other hand, is stubbornly sticking to his 4-6-0 system, overlooking both the best (Torres) and form (Llorente) strikers in Europe.
I really can’t be bothered adding music to this, since both countries are kind of crap at it, so here are links to Nick Butler’s pieces on the respective countries’ musical histories from the last World Cup:
It’s been an agonising two days, but finally international football is back with the first of the two semi-finals: an all-Iberian affair between El Furia Roja (Spain) and the Not So Furia Roja (Portugal). Will today be the day we finally get to see Ronaldo cry? By which I mean it’s been a couple of months since the last time. Or will today be the day we get to see Xavi… no probably not… will today be the day we see Inies… will today be the day we get to see Sergio Busquets cry like the enormo-jawed bitch that he is? Probably not, but maybe he’ll break a nail or an arm.
Spain: Dark Moor – ‘Swan Lake’
Dark Moor are far from the best symphonic power metal band on the go, but in terms of sheer what-the-fuckery it’s hard to beat the eight-minute epic ‘Swan Lake,’ which appears to be based on Tchiakovsky’s ballet and the Russian influence can be heard right down to the bizarre lack of articles in the chorus: “Her soul will be swan until she feels the love of nobleman.” All in all, it’s good to see somebody still clings to some standard of medieval Russian romance. I bet Andrey “I’d ban women from driving” Arshavin loves this shit.
-v-
Portugal: Extreme – ‘He Man Woman Hater’
Of all the countries featured in the series thus far, Portugal has probably been the most problematic (with the possible exception of the Czech…
Sputnikmusic is currently holding a Linkin Park contest. One lucky winner will receive a CD copy of LIVING THINGS signed by the band, a pair of Rob Bourdon signature Vater drumsticks, a Linkin Park t-shirt and band stickers & buttons! Also included is a one year membership to the official Linkin Park fan club: LP Underground. Members receive early entrance to Linkin Park shows, chances for Meet & Greets, access to concert pre-sale tickets and best seats, exclusive music, live video chats with band members and much more. So, go here for more details.
We are also still accepting applications for anyone interested in becoming a Contributing Reviewer for this site. To submit your applications (and to read the submission guidelines), head here.
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of June 26, 2012. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
16Volt – LetDownCrush [Reissue] (Metropolis Records)
As The Sky Awaits – Rebirth
Beachwood Sparks – The Tarnished Gold (Sub Pop)
Blues Traveler – Suzie Cracks The Whip (429 Records)
Bondo do Role – Tropicalbacanal (Mad Decent)
Bright Light Bright Light – Make Me Believe In Hope (Self Raising Records)
Casey Abrams – Casey Abrams (Concord Music)
Cesium_137 – Science and Sound (Metropolis Records)
Chris Cagle – Back In The Saddle (Bigger Picture Group)
The Cinematic Orchestra – In Motion # 1 (Ninja Tune)
The Daredevil Christopher Wright – The Nature of Things (FILE UNDER MUSIC)
Davidson Hart…
We’ve already witnessed the devastation footballers can wreak upon music, and there are arguably no two nations that have done more to mesh the two art forms than Italy and England. Italy at least have a legacy as practitioners of the beautiful game, of catenaccio, Paolo Rossi and Guiseppe Meazza. England have the 442 and Andy Carroll. Let the games begin!
It would be remiss and frankly quite rude to talk about Italian music without at least once mentioning Giorgio Moroder, one of the architects of disco and one of the greatest electronic and non-electronic musicians of all time. He also wrote the song from Top Gun. More importantly, he’s written countless theme tunes for Olympics and World Cups, including this tune from Italia ’90 which, while far from his best composition, is nevertheless about football and features some nifty prehistoric computer graphics. It was either this or Zucchero.
-v-
England: The Farm – ‘All Together Now’
It says a lot about the hysteria that grips England each time a major finals rolls around that the entire nation ricochets wildly between almost morbid pessimism and deranged optimism before their inevitable elimination in the quarter finals having bored their way through the group stages and the odd second-round tie against a depleted Latin American minnow. So it’s funny the same sense of random scrutiny isn’t turned to the songs that soundtrack these events, such as New Order’s excruciatingly…
After a small enforced absence, the Euro 2012 blog is back with easily the pick of the quarter finals where, half an hour in, we’ve already seen the failure of the “holy shit, how the fuck do we stop Iniesta?!” formation for the third time in as many games. As I am watching this match in my house, it is only fitting that today’s blog should feature house music, a style France is renowned for and Spain isn’t, the same way Spain is renowened for beautiful, flowing football and France is renowned for beautiful, flowing handball.
Spain: John Talabot – ‘Missing You’
I interviewed Barcelona DJ John Talabot a couple of weeks ago (it’s a short one, not worth posting) and he stressed how he’s never actually listened to a full house album at home – except maybe for Daft Punk – so with his debut record Fin he set out to make the kind of house record non-dance music fans can listen. By and large, he succeeded. He also told me how he came to Ireland for a festival last summer and didn’t bother bringing a jacket. The mad Spanish fucker.
-v-
France: Stardust – ‘The Music Sounds Better With You’
Everybody knows Daft Punk, and anybody who doesn’t isn’t worth talking to, but fewer will be aware of Thomas Bangalter’s brief late 90s side-project, Stardust, who had a big hit in 1998 with the classic ‘Music Sounds Better With You.’ That’s more or less…
Sputnikmusic is currently holding a Linkin Park contest. One lucky winner will receive a CD copy of LIVING THINGS signed by the band, a pair of Rob Bourdon signature Vater drumsticks, a Linkin Park t-shirt and band stickers & buttons! Also included is a one year membership to the official Linkin Park fan club: LP Underground. Members receive early entrance to Linkin Park shows, chances for Meet & Greets, access to concert pre-sale tickets and best seats, exclusive music, live video chats with band members and much more. So, go here for more details.
We are also still accepting applications for anyone interested in becoming a Contributing Reviewer for this site. To submit your applications (and to read the submission guidelines), head here.
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of June 19, 2012. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
Ashanti – Braveheart (Entertainment One Music)
Beat Connection – The Palace Garden (Moshi Moshi/Tender Age)
Blood On The Dance Floor – Evolution (Dark Fantasy Records)
Broadway – Gentlemen’s Brawl (Uprising Records)
Can – The Lost Tapes (Mute)
Chantal Claret – The One, The Only (The End Records)
Chelsea Grin – Evolve (Razor & Tie/RSM)
Christian Loffler – A Forest (Ki Records)
Delta Rae – Carry the Fire (Sire / Wea)
Del the Funky Homosapien and Parallel Thought – Attractive Sin (Parallel Thought Ltd)
Devin Townsend – By A Thread: Live In London 2011 [CD/DVD] (Inside Out – EMI) …
