Coming Up: Michael Stipe Photo Collection 'Even the Birds Gave Pause'
Order now from Amazon.
Details:
Before his wildly successful foray into music―as frontman of the 1990s international sensation R.E.M.―Michael Stipe was a visual arts student at the University of Georgia in Athens. After the band dissolved in 2011, Stipe returned to his first love: generating illustrations, photography and sculptures. His diaristic photographs are perhaps his best known works, and he has previously published three photobooks with Damiani that largely consisted of portraits.
In this fourth publication, portraiture once again takes focus. This time, however, Stipe articulates the form through a plethora of mediums: including plaster, concrete, rotocast plastics, bookmaking, ceramics, video and darkroom photographic printing. The book privileges process over product, displaying a series of works in progress that continue an exploration of contemporary portraiture, instinct and abstraction. Classical and conceptual forms create a cohesive whole from seemingly disparate elements, culminating in an inclusive and complete vision, in which the familiar and unfamiliar are granted equal grounding. The volume is published in conjunction with Stipe’s solo exhibition of his artwork at the ICA Milano, which opened in December 2023 and will be up through March 2024.
The New York City–based artist Michael Stipe (born 1960) studied photography and painting before leaving school upon the formation of R.E.M. The sensibility that he began to develop during his time as an art student transferred to the spectrum of his work for R.E.M., from art directing all graphic, video and stage designs, to writing, composing and performance, and his iconoclastic personal style.
Big Albums of May 1974: Sparks, Bowie, Olivia Newton-John and More
Important LPs, for one reason or another, from 50 years ago this month.
Click the links to order from Amazon.
Sparks - Kimono My House
This album was big breakthrough for this eccentric (to say the least) duo, which is still putting stuff out. Ron Russell Mael unleash their nothing-like-it blend of glam, prog, power opera on the unsuspecting, denim-clad world with the epic, classic "This Town issn't Big Enough for both of Us." The proto New Wave "Amateur Hour" reinforces how far ahead of their time they were.
New York Dolls - Too Much Too Soon
Critics and the music trades called this hard rock at the time, but we all know it was punk. David Johansson predicts Joe Strummer on opener "Babylon," while the campy cover of "Stranded in the Jungle" hints at Johansson's future Buster Poindexter incarnation. The funky protesting of "It's Too Late," takes from the Stones and points to the Sex Pistols.
David Bowie - Diamond Dogs
This is the bridge between between Ziggy Stardust and Young Americans, and not as strong as either. But it does see the return of producer/arranger Tony Visconti and includes the Bowie standard, "Rebel Rebel."
Olivia Newton-John - If You Love Me, Let Me Know
A collection cobbled for the U.S. and Canadian market, this one includes some of Olvia's early best, including the catchy, country-style title trackd, the sweet sappy "I Honestly Love You," the hippie-gospel "Free the People" and a nice cover of Brian Wilsons "God Only Knows." Looks like it's out of print.
Billy Preston - The Kids & Me
A strong collection from the singer and keyboard whiz. It includes the hit "Nothing from Nothing" and the original recording of his "You Are So Beautiful," later a big hit for Joe Cocker (and reputedly co-written by Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys). Moog freakout instrumentals "Struttin'," "St. Elmo" and "Creature Feature" bring the groove.
Ry Cooder - Paradise and Lunch
The stringed instrument specialist updates an array of old timey gospel, blues, country and ragtime tunes, including "Jesus on the Mainline. The reggae version of "It's All Over Now" isn't bad, either
Pop Culture Roundup: Jules Feiffer, Godzilla, Neil Gaiman
ITEM! Legendary cartoonist Jules Feiffer is releasing his first children's graphic novel at the youthful age of 95.
ITEM! Universal Japan is set to release the soundtracks of more than 20 Godzilla films in honor of the character's 70th anniverasary.
ITEM! Neil Gaiman is at work on an animated feature based on one of his stories.
Coming Up: 'Too Much Too Young, the 2 Tone Records Story: Rude Boys, Racism, and the Soundtrack of a Generation'
Out June 4. Pre-order now from Amazon.
Details:
The definitive and remarkable story of 2 Tone Records
"We lived in Britain, a country that had hugely benefited from immigration, but curiously had an innate antipathy to the ideas of multiculturalism and diversity. Daniel Rachel has managed to capture the essence of that contradiction in those Margaret Thatcher–governed years, with this comprehensive, cautionary but nonetheless celebratory saga of the 2 Tone label."
―Pauline Black, singer of The Selecter
"Daniel Rachel has managed to talk to all the significant players and the story he tells is one that shines a light on the challenges of mixing pop with politics. This feels like the definitive story of 2 Tone. Masterful."
―Billy Bragg
In 1979, 2 Tone Records exploded into the consciousness of music lovers in Britain, the US, and beyond, as albums by The Specials, The Selecter, Madness, The English Beat, and The Bodysnatchers burst onto the charts and a youth movement was born. 2 Tone was Black and white: a multiracial force of British and Caribbean musicians singing about social issues, racism, class, and gender struggles. It spoke of injustices in society and fought against right-wing extremism.
The music of 2 Tone was exuberant: white youth learning to dance to the infectious rhythm of ska and reggae crossed with a punk attitude created an original hybrid. The idea of 2 Tone was born in Coventry, England, and masterminded by a middle-class art student, Jerry Dammers, who envisioned an English Motown. Borrowing £700, the label's first record featured "Gangsters" by The Specials, backed by an instrumental track by the as-yet-unformed Selecter. Within two months, the single reached number six on the UK music charts. Dammers went on to sign Madness, The English Beat, and The Bodysnatchers as a glut of successive hits propelled 2 Tone artists onto Top of the Pops and into the hearts and minds of a generation.
As excitement grew in the United States, 2 Tone bands began crossing the Atlantic to perform for American audiences. Soon, however, infighting among the bands and the pressures of running a label caused 2 Tone to bow to the inevitable weight of expectation and recrimination.
Still, under the auspices of Jerry Dammers, 2 Tone entered a new phase. Perhaps not as commercially successful as its 1979–1981 incarnation, the label nevertheless continued to thrive for another four years, releasing a string of fresh signings and a stunning end-piece finale in the activist hit song "(Free) Nelson Mandela."
Told in three parts, Too Much Too Young is the definitive story of a label that for a brief, bright burning moment shaped British, American, and world culture.
Hot Trax '74: See/Hear Songs by Paper Lace, Rick Derringer, the Crusaders and More
New songs on the charts 50 years ago this week.
Picture Sleeve Parade
Much-Bootlegged Paul McCartney and Wings Album 'One-Hand Clapping' Set for Official Release June 14
From the official news release:
The wait is over: With the June 14 release of One Hand Clapping, one of the most bootlegged live albums in musical history will finally receive a proper release. In August 1974, when Band on the Run was enjoying a seven-week consecutive #1 stint at the top of the UK album charts, Paul McCartney and Wings headed to Abbey Road Studios for the filming of a video documentary and possible live studio album – One Hand Clapping. Despite overwhelming demand for newly recorded material from the biggest band in the world at that time, One Hand Clapping was never officially released.
Filmed and recorded over four days and directed by David Litchfield, the release of One Hand Clapping is a historic moment for Paul McCartney fans. Over the years, various parts of One Hand Clapping have been bootlegged with varying degrees of success. Some of the material has also appeared on official McCartney releases. However, the June 14 release, which features the original artwork designed for the project, including a TV sales brochure for the unreleased film at the time, is the first time the audio for the film—plus several additional songs recorded off-camera--have been officially issued.
One Hand Clapping showcased Wings‘ new line-up, fresh off their return from Nashville, where they recorded the classic single Junior’s Farm. Following the sudden departure of Denny Seiwell and Henry McCullough the previous year on the eve of recording the Wings masterpiece Band on the Run, Paul, Linda, and Denny Laine were now joined by guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton. Additionally joining the band in the studio were orchestral arranger Del Newman and saxophonist Howie Casey, who had previously played with Paul in Hamburg and would go on to join the Wings touring band.
Opening with an instrumental jam that would become the One Hand Clapping theme song, the album features live-in-studio renditions of Wings mega-hits “Live and Let Die,” “Band on the Run,” “Jet,” “My Love,” “Hi, Hi, Hi,” “Junior’s Farm,” Paul’s much loved solo song “Maybe I’m Amazed,” reworked extracts of Beatles’ classics “Let It Be,” “The Long and Winding Road” and “Lady Madonna,” the Moody Blues hit “Go Now” with Denny Laine singing, and a Paul solo piano version of the Harry Akst/Benny Davis Tin Pan Alley classic “Baby Face.”
One Hand Clapping will be released in multiple formats, including an online exclusive 2LP + 7” package featuring an exclusive vinyl single of previously unreleased solo performances recorded on the final day of the sessions in the backyard of Abbey Road studios. These include the unreleased track “Blackpool,” The Beatles’ iconic “Blackbird,” Wings B-side “Country Dreamer,” and cover versions of Eddie Cochran’s “Twenty Flight Rock” (the first song Paul played to John Lennon when they met in 1957) and Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue” and “I’m Gonna Love You Too.”
One Hand Clapping serves as a celebration of the enduring legacy of Paul McCartney and Wings. It captured a moment when Wings had found and defined their signature sound – just as Paul had shaped popular culture the decade before with The Beatles, he was doing it once again in the 70s with Wings. This recording gives an insight into the inner workings of the band as they work and play together in the studio. It also underscores Paul’s incredible talent as a live performer: Fifty years on, Paul is still performing many of these songs in packed stadiums across the world.
One Hand Clapping Online Exclusive 2LP + 7 - Available only at the official Paul McCartney site.
Tracklist
Disc 1
A1. One Hand Clapping 02:15
One Hand Clapping 2LP - Order from Amazon
A1. One Hand Clapping 02:15
A2. Jet 03:59
A3. Soily 03:55
A4. C Moon/Little Woman Love 03:19
A5. Maybe I’m Amazed 04:52
A6. My Love 04:15
B1. Bluebird 03:27
B2. Let’s Love 01:09
B3. All of You 02:04
B4. I’ll Give You a Ring 02:03
B5. Band on the Run 05:20
B6. Live and Let Die 03:26
B7. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five 05:50
B8. Baby Face 01:56
Disc 2
C1. Let Me Roll It 04:28
C2. Blue Moon of Kentucky 03:05
C3. Power Cut 01:33
C4. Love My Baby 01:13
C5. Let It Be 01:02
C6. The Long and Winding Road/Lady Madonna 02:10
D1. Junior’s Farm 04:17
D2. Sally G 03:28
D3. Tomorrow 02:12
D4. Go Now 03:35
D5. Wild Life 04:30
D6. Hi, Hi, Hi 03:57
Disc 3 7"
E1. Blackpool 01:43
E2. Blackbird 02:27
E3. Country Dreamer 02:17
F1. Twenty Flight Rock 02:08
F2. Peggy Sue 01:24
F3. I’m Gonna Love You Too 01:10
Tracklist
Disc 1
A1. One Hand Clapping 02:15
One Hand Clapping 2CD - Order from Amazon
Disc 1
A1. One Hand Clapping 02:15
A2. Jet 03:59
A3. Soily 03:55
A4. C Moon/Little Woman Love 03:19
A5. Maybe I’m Amazed 04:52
A6. My Love 04:15
B1. Bluebird 03:27
B2. Let’s Love 01:09
B3. All of You 02:04
B4. I’ll Give You a Ring 02:03
B5. Band on the Run 05:20
B6. Live and Let Die 03:26
B7. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five 05:50
B8. Baby Face 01:56
Disc 2
C1. Let Me Roll It 04:28
C2. Blue Moon of Kentucky 03:05
C3. Power Cut 01:33
C4. Love My Baby 01:13
C5. Let It Be 01:02
C6. The Long and Winding Road/Lady Madonna 02:10
D1. Junior’s Farm 04:17
D2. Sally G 03:28
D3. Tomorrow 02:12
D4. Go Now 03:35
D5. Wild Life 04:30
D6. Hi, Hi, Hi 03:57
One Hand Clapping 2CD - Order from Amazon
Tracklist
Disc 1
1. One Hand Clapping 02:15
2. Jet 03:59
3. Soily 03:55
4. C Moon/Little Woman Love 03:19
5. Maybe I’m Amazed 04:52
6. My Love 04:15
7. Bluebird 03:27
8. Let’s Love 01:09
9. All of You 02:04
10. I’ll Give You a Ring 02:03
11. Band on the Run 05:20
12. Live and Let Die 03:26
13. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five 05:50
14. Baby Face 01:56
Disc 2
1. Let Me Roll It 04:28
2. Blue Moon of Kentucky 03:05
3. Power Cut 01:33
4. Love My Baby 01:13
5. Let It Be 01:02
6. The Long and Winding Road/Lady Madonna 02:10
7. Junior’s Farm 04:17
8. Sally G 03:28
9. Tomorrow 02:12
10. Go Now 03:35
11. Wild Life 04:30
12. Hi, Hi, Hi 03:57
1. One Hand Clapping 02:15
2. Jet 03:59
3. Soily 03:55
4. C Moon/Little Woman Love 03:19
5. Maybe I’m Amazed 04:52
6. My Love 04:15
7. Bluebird 03:27
8. Let’s Love 01:09
9. All of You 02:04
10. I’ll Give You a Ring 02:03
11. Band on the Run 05:20
12. Live and Let Die 03:26
13. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five 05:50
14. Baby Face 01:56
Disc 2
1. Let Me Roll It 04:28
2. Blue Moon of Kentucky 03:05
3. Power Cut 01:33
4. Love My Baby 01:13
5. Let It Be 01:02
6. The Long and Winding Road/Lady Madonna 02:10
7. Junior’s Farm 04:17
8. Sally G 03:28
9. Tomorrow 02:12
10. Go Now 03:35
11. Wild Life 04:30
12. Hi, Hi, Hi 03:57
Coming Up: 'Spider-Man by Michelinie & Bagley Omnibus Vol. 1'
Out June 11. Pre-order now from Amazon.
Details:
Fan-favorite writer David Michelinie teams with an artistic legend-in-the-making for an amazing run! Following in the huge footsteps of Todd McFarlane and Erik Larsen, Mark Bagley came out swinging - and established himself as one of the finest pencilers to ever draw Spider-Man's adventures!
From the wall-crawler's daunting rematch with the Tri-Sentinel - this time without Captain Universe powers - to the savage debut of the psychopathic symbiote Carnage and the Invasion of the Spider-Slayers, these are some of the most spectacular Spidey tales of all…and they culminate with the shocking return of Peter Parker's parents, and a status-quo shattering Spider-Man vs. Venom fight as only Bagley can draw it!
Collecting AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1963) #351-375 and AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL (1964) #25-26 - plus material from SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #11-12, WEB OF SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #7-8 and NEW WARRIORS ANNUAL #2.
Coming Up: Robyn Hitchock's Memoir '1967: How I Got There and Why I Never Left'
Out Order now from Amazon.
Details:
“A bright, nostalgic look at the exhilaration of 1967, this book―illustrated throughout with Hitchcock’s surreal sketches―will appeal to not only the author’s many fans but also anyone interested in the music and culture from the golden age of psychedelia. Wistfully reflective reading.” ―Kirkus Reviews
“Memoirists rarely begin their work with a stroke of genuine inspiration, and Robyn Hitchcock’s ingenious idea to limit his account of his life to the titular year gives this sharp, funny, finely written book an unusually keen, wistful intensity without sacrificing its sense of the breathtaking sweep of time. I absolutely adored every line of 1967 and every moment I spent reading it.” ―Michael Chabon, author of Telegraph Avenue
1967: HOW I GOT THERE AND WHY I NEVER LEFT explores how that pivotal slice of time tastes to a bright, obsessive-compulsive boy who is shipped off to a hothouse academic boarding school as he reaches the age of thirteen―just as Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited starts to bite, and the Beatles’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band explodes.
When he arrives in January 1966, Robyn Hitchcock is still a boy pining for the comforts of home and his family’s loving au pair, Teresa. By December 1967, he’s mutated into a 6’2? tall rabid Bob Dylan fan, whose two ambitions in life are to get really high and fly to Nashville.
In between―as the hippie revolution blossoms in the world outside―Hitchcock adjusts to the hierarchical, homoerotic world of Winchester, threading a path through teachers with arrested development, some oafish peers, and a sullen old maid―a very English freak show. On the way he befriends a cadre of bat-winged teenage prodigies and meets their local guru, the young Brian Eno.
At the end of 1967, all the ingredients are in place that will make Robyn Hitchcock a songwriter for life. But then again, does 1967 ever really end?
New Music Releases: St. Vincent, George Harrison, Neil Young, Parliament, More
Our picks this week. Click the links to order from Amazon.
Pop Culture Roundup: Lollapalooza, Doctor Who, Lord of the Rings
ITEM! A documentary about the long-running Lollapalooza music festival debuts May 21 on Paramount+.
ITEM! David Tennant has been "guiding therapist father figure" to new Doctor Who Ncuti Gatwa.
ITEM! The "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy returns to select movie screens this June.
ITEM! A look at Hellboy creator Mike Mignola's new comic book universe.
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