Courtesy of NME.com, indisputable proof that Nicky Wire and his bandmates are fools:
Nicky Wire has confirmed that the new Manic Street Preachers album is well underway, and has revealed more about what it will sound like.
It seems the band's next album, their eighth, will have more of a rock sound than the 'elegiac pop' of 2004's 'Lifeblood'.
Speaking to NME.COM, Nicky Wire said: "James [Dean Bradfield] hates me for saying this, but it's sounding like 'The White Album' played by Guns n' Roses - pure melodies mixed with rock 'n' roll.
"A mix of 'Generation Terrorists' and 'Everything Must Go', that's what we're after."
Wire also commented on the band's previous few albums, dubbing the last few years "our wasteland period": "People have told me 'The Love Of Richard Nixon' sounded like the Pet Shop Boys, but you've got to have your wasteland period otherwise you end up regurgitating the same stuff.
"You've got to come back with something amazing and that's why this is such hard work."
Wire's solo album 'I Killed The Zeitgeist' is released on September 25.
29.8.06
BIRTHDAY BOY
Here Dan Hamill displays my birthday present to him, which he actually inspired though it was really inspired by 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN...anyhow...
28.8.06
Return Of The King
So my birthday began in tears as my beloved nephew was returned to the hands of his mother, who came down from Montreal this time to pick him up, thus giving Irene and I a travel free weekend to celebrate my 34th. I get so used to the little man being around, and we always have such tremendous plans for him, but sadly, time catches up. Last year, it felt like he was here much longer and I was working less, but nevertheless, hopefully the lad leaves his summer home here in NYC a happy boy and with fond memories of his uncle listening to the new Kasabian album nonstop which, by the time he was leaving, was singing along to (more on that this week). So we learned that the nephew still hates NIN, but loves the Kasabians. My other big accomplishment was Cameron's education in pro wrestling history, which impressed Dan Hamill and my father tremendously. Amazing.
Anyhow, the not travelling thing allowed some necessary R&R. Remember last year when I went to Japan and I told you about that super awesome tea maker in the hotel room? I guess I talked about that quite a bit as Irene and her mom tracked down one for my birthday! I think it might go into Brandt's house for now and then possibly into my office. We shall see, but it needs to be near me at all times. I also have been spending the downtime reading a book Irene gave me which is the first real biography (believe it or not) on Duran Duran. Because it's not official, it's mostly based on articles and third parties, but its still a sweet read. I'm at the point where Arcadia puts out their album, which you know was a favourite of mine. My nepehew came through like a champ and got his uncle (me) the rare mail away George Lucas in Stormtrooper disguise action figure!! WIN.
Devesatated that our little man (and his awesome dog) had to leave at 7:30am yesterday, Irene and I drowned our sorrows in caffiene and caught up on the last 4 weeks of ENTOURAGE, which rocked us with laughter and made the day seem so much easier. Then I started putting together my space battleship Yamato model ship while Irene served me tea. It's a good life. Suddenly, we had a lot of room in the apt and it was very quiet, but for a tired aunt and uncle, the ability to watch Ari Gold without worrying about an 8 year old hearing the F word a million times was refreshing.
Then we kept it silly ass classy at Delposto, which is the fancy ass Eye_Talian place on the west side that is all the buzz. Dan Hamill, man with connections, has a sister who is a pastry chef there, got us a res and we ate, drank and laughed like champs. I could live on Agnolotti forever. Plus, the Kidd in a sportsjacket? Really. Good times. I appreciate those who remembered with calls, texts, IM's, E-mails, posts, etc. Some of you even used several different methods to wish me a happy one. You are all nice people. Much nicer than I am, indeed.
Dan Hamill is 34 today. Praise him. He looks so fucking good its retarded. And his hair. Bless him. I got him a sweet present that I hope arrives in time.
We now resume regular programming.
F
Anyhow, the not travelling thing allowed some necessary R&R. Remember last year when I went to Japan and I told you about that super awesome tea maker in the hotel room? I guess I talked about that quite a bit as Irene and her mom tracked down one for my birthday! I think it might go into Brandt's house for now and then possibly into my office. We shall see, but it needs to be near me at all times. I also have been spending the downtime reading a book Irene gave me which is the first real biography (believe it or not) on Duran Duran. Because it's not official, it's mostly based on articles and third parties, but its still a sweet read. I'm at the point where Arcadia puts out their album, which you know was a favourite of mine. My nepehew came through like a champ and got his uncle (me) the rare mail away George Lucas in Stormtrooper disguise action figure!! WIN.
Devesatated that our little man (and his awesome dog) had to leave at 7:30am yesterday, Irene and I drowned our sorrows in caffiene and caught up on the last 4 weeks of ENTOURAGE, which rocked us with laughter and made the day seem so much easier. Then I started putting together my space battleship Yamato model ship while Irene served me tea. It's a good life. Suddenly, we had a lot of room in the apt and it was very quiet, but for a tired aunt and uncle, the ability to watch Ari Gold without worrying about an 8 year old hearing the F word a million times was refreshing.
Then we kept it silly ass classy at Delposto, which is the fancy ass Eye_Talian place on the west side that is all the buzz. Dan Hamill, man with connections, has a sister who is a pastry chef there, got us a res and we ate, drank and laughed like champs. I could live on Agnolotti forever. Plus, the Kidd in a sportsjacket? Really. Good times. I appreciate those who remembered with calls, texts, IM's, E-mails, posts, etc. Some of you even used several different methods to wish me a happy one. You are all nice people. Much nicer than I am, indeed.
Dan Hamill is 34 today. Praise him. He looks so fucking good its retarded. And his hair. Bless him. I got him a sweet present that I hope arrives in time.
We now resume regular programming.
F
27.8.06
Happy birthday you fat cunt!
When you turn 50 we can celebrate the completion of the hypefactor album.
18.8.06
Variety, shaping young lives since 1998!
There's nothing more rewarding than sitting with #1 nephew as he takes you through the weekend box office. I have never been more proud to hear how much TALLADEGA NIGHTS made and how many screens its playing on. Bless.
17.8.06
The Life and Times of Sha Sha Shay
Uncle Mode is fun as always. We've been rocking the video games, the comics, and the movies (TALLADEGA NIGHTS was particularly funny with Ali G as Ash's gay older French brother). In the meantime, my nephew has been living the life:
He got a sneak preview of the HF album, which you can tell he loved:
Then he had a few drinks with my folks:
And then he and and his aunt were attacked my Spongebob, which went over very well (special thanks to Evan for getting us into the THQ event!):
All in a month's work, kids.
He got a sneak preview of the HF album, which you can tell he loved:
Then he had a few drinks with my folks:
And then he and and his aunt were attacked my Spongebob, which went over very well (special thanks to Evan for getting us into the THQ event!):
All in a month's work, kids.
15.8.06
11.8.06
10.8.06
"That's the first famous person I ever met...actually the third"
This is the very nice man that my nephew and I met this morning while shopping for tea. He had a good laugh when my nephew said to me very loudly "DO YOU KNOW WHO THIS GUY IS?" David is in good spirits, looked healthy, and gave us a nice hello and quick chat.
What a cool surprise!
7.8.06
5.8.06
SOME FRESH GIGS...
Ok, right to it. I've seen three gigs lately that I want to tell you about:
EDITORS: Once again, Editors popped up here, this time at Irving for what might be their last leg of their US tour. I had one too many sips of Sochu before walking over to the gig, but the crew was good, the vibe was good and goddammit, these guys have yet again progressed leaps and bounds since the last time we saw them at Webster. In fact, this was miles better than the Webster gig and almost as good as the Rothko gig where we first saw them. This time they brought their full light show and a newfound confidence that seemed to grow as the evening progressed. They effortlessly delivered a fast and furious set that included a wealth of B-sides and new tracks. As I have said many times before, Editors live is an amazing experience, and one you wouldn't believe just from hearing the CD, which is much colder and distant than the live show, which is warm and powerful. They really draw you in and keep you there for the duration of the set. Excellent, and I believe they recorded this gig for something, so hopefully it will surface soon.
MUSE: As I mentioned probably last time I saw them at Webster Hall, Muse is mostly Irene's band. I hear them, I like it, I listen to it, and then I don't go back to it for like a year. The new album BLACK HOLES AND REVELATIONS is their best, but it lacks the killer singles that the previous album had (i.e TIME IS RUNNING OUT). However, thanks to Mattagement, tickets were obtained and off we were to Hammerstien, which was probably the best place to see them. Why? Because these guys are not some club band. They are the epic arena/stadium shit and they need the space to allow the scope of their sound and vision to be felt. Within the first minute of the first song, I could completely get why these guys are able to sell out three nights at Wembley this Christmas. The are the huge. The stage set, the lights, the video and the sound are pure 3D 70mm Cinemascope and the ballroom fucking SHOOK. A great setlist that combined the best of the new album along carefully and properly placed hits kept the show sharp and focused.
FRESCO: About six months ago, Brandt, in an attempt to track down some earlier albums by Leandro Fresco (Cerati's keyboardist/programmer/collaborator) he actually came into contact with Fresco himself, who was nice enough to burn copies of the earlier albums for Brandt. They stayed in touch, B told him all about HF (of course) and Fresco and B had a very sorta loose plan to hook up whenever the Cerati tour hit NYC. Well wouldn't you know it, Fresco kept his promise and spur of the moment B and I were at the posh Roosevelt Hotel having drinks with the guy. What a sweet dude with a super knowledge of music and tastes similar to our own. We talked for ours about everything from the Stone Roses to Duran Duran and he gave us the inside scoop on working with Cerati, which was cool in itself. Fresco knows his shit, is a good guy and we were totally pumped after meeting him. He now has some HF, which hopfully he will enjoy and try to collaborate with us on. An awesome musician and meeting him is totally one of the highlights of 06.
CERATI: The next day, after a fine uptown brunch with Danny, Lurch and B, we walked over to the Central Park Summerstage to check out some live Cerati. Fresco had warned us this would be an abbreviated set, which I was pissed off about, cause seeing Cerati is usually an epic 2 hour plus encounter, but this time, because it was a free gig in the park, we weren't going to be so lucky. Happily, the heatwave had started to break and we consumed beer at a rapid rate. We got a comfortable spot with a good view and waited in anticpation as the man arrived. And there he was, cool as fuck as always and ready to bring it. And he did, though not to the levels of genius we had seem him reach previously. The new songs, of which we are not all in love wit, were much more enjoyable live, because they were designed to be played live. The band, as always, was tight, the energy was up and Fresco himself brought a lot of the tunes, even with the cowbell. The thing with Cerati is that live he is never bad, he's just great or really fucking great. And today, he was great, especially when playing previous solo material or Soda Stereo stuff (he might have been played a song from his 80's era side project Friccion). I'm always happy to see Cerati, and would love to see him more. And even though it was a free gig outdoors, I would rather have paid money to see him at a proper concert venue with his full live show because I know that is where he thrives. Fresco later called B and told him the band were miserable after the gig as they felt it sucked, but I don't agree.
Anyway, I am exhausted. Someone is having an 8th birthday this week and we had a "fake" birthday celebration for the young man in Stewart Manor yesterday that was just a fun day of high energy, great food, and some sweet presents. Lucky boy!
F
EDITORS: Once again, Editors popped up here, this time at Irving for what might be their last leg of their US tour. I had one too many sips of Sochu before walking over to the gig, but the crew was good, the vibe was good and goddammit, these guys have yet again progressed leaps and bounds since the last time we saw them at Webster. In fact, this was miles better than the Webster gig and almost as good as the Rothko gig where we first saw them. This time they brought their full light show and a newfound confidence that seemed to grow as the evening progressed. They effortlessly delivered a fast and furious set that included a wealth of B-sides and new tracks. As I have said many times before, Editors live is an amazing experience, and one you wouldn't believe just from hearing the CD, which is much colder and distant than the live show, which is warm and powerful. They really draw you in and keep you there for the duration of the set. Excellent, and I believe they recorded this gig for something, so hopefully it will surface soon.
MUSE: As I mentioned probably last time I saw them at Webster Hall, Muse is mostly Irene's band. I hear them, I like it, I listen to it, and then I don't go back to it for like a year. The new album BLACK HOLES AND REVELATIONS is their best, but it lacks the killer singles that the previous album had (i.e TIME IS RUNNING OUT). However, thanks to Mattagement, tickets were obtained and off we were to Hammerstien, which was probably the best place to see them. Why? Because these guys are not some club band. They are the epic arena/stadium shit and they need the space to allow the scope of their sound and vision to be felt. Within the first minute of the first song, I could completely get why these guys are able to sell out three nights at Wembley this Christmas. The are the huge. The stage set, the lights, the video and the sound are pure 3D 70mm Cinemascope and the ballroom fucking SHOOK. A great setlist that combined the best of the new album along carefully and properly placed hits kept the show sharp and focused.
FRESCO: About six months ago, Brandt, in an attempt to track down some earlier albums by Leandro Fresco (Cerati's keyboardist/programmer/collaborator) he actually came into contact with Fresco himself, who was nice enough to burn copies of the earlier albums for Brandt. They stayed in touch, B told him all about HF (of course) and Fresco and B had a very sorta loose plan to hook up whenever the Cerati tour hit NYC. Well wouldn't you know it, Fresco kept his promise and spur of the moment B and I were at the posh Roosevelt Hotel having drinks with the guy. What a sweet dude with a super knowledge of music and tastes similar to our own. We talked for ours about everything from the Stone Roses to Duran Duran and he gave us the inside scoop on working with Cerati, which was cool in itself. Fresco knows his shit, is a good guy and we were totally pumped after meeting him. He now has some HF, which hopfully he will enjoy and try to collaborate with us on. An awesome musician and meeting him is totally one of the highlights of 06.
CERATI: The next day, after a fine uptown brunch with Danny, Lurch and B, we walked over to the Central Park Summerstage to check out some live Cerati. Fresco had warned us this would be an abbreviated set, which I was pissed off about, cause seeing Cerati is usually an epic 2 hour plus encounter, but this time, because it was a free gig in the park, we weren't going to be so lucky. Happily, the heatwave had started to break and we consumed beer at a rapid rate. We got a comfortable spot with a good view and waited in anticpation as the man arrived. And there he was, cool as fuck as always and ready to bring it. And he did, though not to the levels of genius we had seem him reach previously. The new songs, of which we are not all in love wit, were much more enjoyable live, because they were designed to be played live. The band, as always, was tight, the energy was up and Fresco himself brought a lot of the tunes, even with the cowbell. The thing with Cerati is that live he is never bad, he's just great or really fucking great. And today, he was great, especially when playing previous solo material or Soda Stereo stuff (he might have been played a song from his 80's era side project Friccion). I'm always happy to see Cerati, and would love to see him more. And even though it was a free gig outdoors, I would rather have paid money to see him at a proper concert venue with his full live show because I know that is where he thrives. Fresco later called B and told him the band were miserable after the gig as they felt it sucked, but I don't agree.
Anyway, I am exhausted. Someone is having an 8th birthday this week and we had a "fake" birthday celebration for the young man in Stewart Manor yesterday that was just a fun day of high energy, great food, and some sweet presents. Lucky boy!
F
4.8.06
Protege
And suddenly, the most anticipated movie of 2007 arrives in the form of Hong Kong's 3 best actors as drug lords:
QUEENS...
...In Chicago.
And then six Long Island boys got robbed at gunpoint. Hopefully Danny will blog about it, but I mean really, after rolling around the world with the MOGpac for years, you get punked out in your own country? And not even at a Dulli gig? (Pitchfork Festival? That doesn't help). At least save your dignity by smoking on the airplane again just to get arrested. And no, Paul is not MOGpac. The Kidd told me so.
And then six Long Island boys got robbed at gunpoint. Hopefully Danny will blog about it, but I mean really, after rolling around the world with the MOGpac for years, you get punked out in your own country? And not even at a Dulli gig? (Pitchfork Festival? That doesn't help). At least save your dignity by smoking on the airplane again just to get arrested. And no, Paul is not MOGpac. The Kidd told me so.
3.8.06
Heat Wave
As many of you know, it's hot as fuck, so bear with me if I am not the witty fucker you know.
We went down to VA Beach to retrieve small nephew, who is a foot taller, and as funny as ever. He has retained much wrestling knowledge and has now been introduced to ECW (I was banned from taking him to Hammerstein for the tapings on Tuesday). However we both agree that CM Punk, and not Johnny Metro, is the future of the business, though I think Cam likes Punk because he does a mean bulldog, a move similar to the ones he delivers to the former God of War Dan Hamill.
Anyway, I went sweet tea crazy in VA and drank it like I meant it. I'm an addict, I admit that here. I also love Chick Fillet, which I'm glad is only in the south because I would ruin it and eat it every day. Anyhow, the highlight and a shout out to Danny and Mohtashemi on this one, was finding the original OREO CREAM PIES down there in a supermarket.
I'm not messing with you, this was the pie served at Burger King in the early to mid 90's that we would feast on almost daily in our lazy days. They also had the Hershey pies currently being served at BK, but this was the original and classic and my nephew and I ate these like champs. I pray we can find them up here.
Meanwhile, we are back in NY, hot as hell, so we are indoors quite a bit. We only leave the apt for work, food, or comics (which is nothing new I guess). Grandma is here, which is always good as she has yet to visit us here in NY. So the young man is getting a lot of Grandma time and we are now preparing for his birthday celebrations.
I've been to a few gigs recently and will do a separate post about them. In the meantime, I just set up an animated series based on the adventures of AVY PODBOY, seen here after we closed the deal...
F
We went down to VA Beach to retrieve small nephew, who is a foot taller, and as funny as ever. He has retained much wrestling knowledge and has now been introduced to ECW (I was banned from taking him to Hammerstein for the tapings on Tuesday). However we both agree that CM Punk, and not Johnny Metro, is the future of the business, though I think Cam likes Punk because he does a mean bulldog, a move similar to the ones he delivers to the former God of War Dan Hamill.
Anyway, I went sweet tea crazy in VA and drank it like I meant it. I'm an addict, I admit that here. I also love Chick Fillet, which I'm glad is only in the south because I would ruin it and eat it every day. Anyhow, the highlight and a shout out to Danny and Mohtashemi on this one, was finding the original OREO CREAM PIES down there in a supermarket.
I'm not messing with you, this was the pie served at Burger King in the early to mid 90's that we would feast on almost daily in our lazy days. They also had the Hershey pies currently being served at BK, but this was the original and classic and my nephew and I ate these like champs. I pray we can find them up here.
Meanwhile, we are back in NY, hot as hell, so we are indoors quite a bit. We only leave the apt for work, food, or comics (which is nothing new I guess). Grandma is here, which is always good as she has yet to visit us here in NY. So the young man is getting a lot of Grandma time and we are now preparing for his birthday celebrations.
I've been to a few gigs recently and will do a separate post about them. In the meantime, I just set up an animated series based on the adventures of AVY PODBOY, seen here after we closed the deal...
F
2.8.06
Tales Of Baltica 9
I'm really glad I never became a movie star, because some people call this a scandal, I call this post Ass Cobra gig: (from www.wwtdd.com): Mel Gibson began slamming himself against the interior of the car and yelling, "You mother fucker. I'm going to fuck you."
FYI: Baltika 9 Strong light beer brewed from selected ingredients according to the newest technology, its a unique combination of the strength of the beverage and the lightness of drinking. This beer is brewed for you.
FYI: Baltika 9 Strong light beer brewed from selected ingredients according to the newest technology, its a unique combination of the strength of the beverage and the lightness of drinking. This beer is brewed for you.