Last year the Rockin’ 1000 hit the headlines when they gathered together in a field outside Cesena in Italy, to play a huge group version of the Foo Fighters Learning to Fly. It was an impassioned gesture to get the band to come and play in this small town in the Emilia-Romagna province of Italy […]
Mark Kozelek (Red House Painters, and subsequently Sun Kill Moon) has put a cover of the Waylon Jennings’ track Amanda online. The cover, a collaboration with Low’s Mimi Parker and Will Oldham, is one of the tracks from his upcoming covers Album Mark Kozelek Sings Favorites, due out on Caldo Verde Records on May 27th. Amanda was […]
Machinehead’s Rob Flynn has opened a much needed and public discussion on racism in the metal community, calling out ex-Pantera front man Phil Anselmo for his chant of ‘White Pride’
Ireland’s biggest and best cult band The Frames celebrate their 25th anniversary with a string of live shows, an album of collected songs, and – most importantly for long time fans – a new song ‘none but i The Frames have always had a hesitant and wary approach to ‘hit songs’, despite having penned quite […]
James Joyce‘s hugely influential short story collection Dubliners was published in 1914, and there are lots of publications / events and even apps to celebrate the centenary. One very exciting project is Dubliners 100. The new Irish literary publishers Tramp Press (founded by Sarah Davis-Goff* and Lisa Coen) invited a number of respected Irish writers […]
Bruce Springsteen tipped his hat to local girl Lorde, when he played an unaccompanied acoustic folk version of her worldwide hit Royals during his show at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium (1st of March 2013).
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter divides opinion at the Monkeys, but she gets full marks for using her position and profile to contribute a meaningful, simple and eloquent stance on gender equality in the just published Shriver Report. The report, called A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink, published in partnership with the Center for American Progress, […]
Iron and Wine, Calexico, Kathleen Edwards, and the indefatigable Glen Hansard perform a truly beautiful festive cover version of The Pogues classic The Fairytale of New York, live on the Jimmy Fallon show. Don’t let the fact that they beeped out ‘Faggot’ from the tune, or Edwards ‘my aawse’ delivery put you off. It’s a […]
Songwriter David Gray has announced a special Irish tour, focussing on small venues, in part to return to his roots [Gray first found an audience in Ireland, before his massive hit album White Ladder] and in part to try out new material from his next album. While the tour has been announced – in a […]
Billy Bragg‘s debut album, Life’s a Riot with Spy vs Spy, gets the anniversary re-issue treatment this month. Cooking Vinyl release a remastered version of the original album and live recordings from Bragg’s London Union Chapel show in June 2013. The album comes out as a CD, housed in a snazzy replica vinyl card sleeve, […]
