Boring Line On The Horizon

The tracklisting and (boring) album artwork for U2's No Line On The Horizon have been revealed. The band is apparently taking this horizon cliche thing a bit too literally, choosing to display a black and white photo of an actual horizon on the artwork. Maybe they consulted Mark Kozelek about plain album cover options? Who knows. As hard as it is to believe, the picture was taken by aclaimed Japanese artist/photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto. I guess this is better than a candid shot of the band members sitting on a bench or looking lost in an airport. No Line On The Horizon comes out on March 3rd.

Track Listing
1. No Line On The Horizon
2. Magnificent
3. Moment of Surrender
4. Unknown Caller
5. I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
6. Get On Your Boots
7. Stand Up Comedy
8. Fez – Being Born
9. White As Snow
10. Breathe
11. Cedars Of Lebanon

All About Soul

Back in September, the brains behind Oasis came up with a brilliant viral marketing strategy to promote Dig Out Your Soul. Before the album was even released, the songs were introduced to Subway street musicians all over New York. On September 12th, it was go time -- said musicians bombarded the subways with their own interpretations of the new Oasis tunes (most better than the original arrangements). MySpace was on board to promote the making of this project, and just released an 18-minute documentary which is actually a very interesting watch. Some of these faces are quite recognizable -- in fact I saw this guy Luke Ryan about an hour ago at the Grand Central shuttle stop.
Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul In The Streets

The Sun Also Sets

According to Billboard and other numerous sources, Ryan Adams is dissolving the Cardinals (for now) and taking an indefinite "hiatus" from music. Adams posted on his blog, "I am grateful for the time we have had and maybe someday we will have more stories to tell together." He went on to say, "I am however ready for quieter times as I think it is very evident I am struggling with some balance and hearing issues."

Whether it's health issues, a general disgust with his wavering reception, or just being burnt out from the scene, I have a feeling we are being Brett Farve'd here. The man needs music like we all need air to breathe -- he himself knows his lifeblood is music. I think it's a little too early to announce an indefinite retirement, especially when he's been so consistently prolific.

Maybe this time off (if it actually happens) will eventually spell out that elusive Whiskeytown reunion everyone's been anticipating. Or maybe Ryan actually thinks he will be a successful author. Who knows?

Collective Effort

I always said a little creativity would be the key to salvation for the music industry. Well, put another notch on the ol' victory post for the indies. Merriweather Post Pavillion, the new Animal Collective album that has been garnering critical praise across the map, was released this past week exclusively on vinyl (if you want the CD format, you'll have to wait until January 20th). Thanks to a series of organized listening parties thrown all over the country, the record (and yes I mean "record" literally) has created so much buzz that people everywhere reportedly swooped up these babies like hotcakes. So much so, that the word on the street is that this MPP will chart on the Billboard chart based on VINYL SALES ALONE! This is quite a feat for a major label artist, but for an indie this is simply unprecendented. I love it.

If there's one thing we've learned from this past election, grassroots campaigns WORK. Ok, I'll shut up now.

The Best Things In Life Are Free

Although I find it absurdly self-indulgent, I gotta hand it over to Kanye West (or his minions) for maintaining such an entertaining blog. I mean, the guy's got me hooked already -- at this point I check up daily. And let's just face it, Kanye woudln't be Kanye without a little hedonism here and there. Despite his tendencies, which include flashing lavish photos of incredibly hot women, state of the art gadgets, and/or homes you or I can never possibly dream of affording, he will as willingly throw up a decent MP3 or two (see last week's PB&J post).

Well today we got a treat. Sky High, the mixtape that was streaming for free on imeem a couple months back, can now be downloaded FREE via Kanye's blog. The collection includes stellar remixes from the likes of Diplo (from MIA/Santogold fame) and Stretch Armstrong. The best part: the collection includes songs that span West's four albums ouevre (including 808's).

Click HERE to download.

Back To Business (Time)

Although I am well-aware that this is the oldest news in the world, I can't leave this bit of info unmentioned. The first episode of the new Flight of the Conchords season is streaming at FunnyOrDie.com. The show officially premieres next Sunday, but we're kind enough to get a sneak preview. With the exception of Always Sunny, this is the funniest show on TV. After a two year hiatus, they're back. I implore you to watch this.

Season 2, Episode 1 right here:

Season 2 Online Premiere - Flight of the Conchords (US Only) - watch more funny videos

Live From New York

Like last year's indie-rock newbies Vampire Weekend, the Fleet Foxes are getting the mainstream treatment. It has been confirmed that my favorite new band of 2008 will be playing SNL next week with Rosario Dawson hosting (January 17th). I predicted it -- there's no turning back for one of the most deserving bands. If they play "White Winter Hymnal" you'll see what I mean. Epic.

Hopes & Fears

The new year is upon us, which, in the music world usually means a couple of barren months before things start picking up again. Considering how January is usually the worst time of the year for new releases, you'll be hard pressed to find anything notable on the horizon (at least until next month). That being said, there's no better time to make a few predictions for the upcoming year. Then this time next year we can all look back about absurdly inaccurate I was. Here are a few obvious and not so obvious things that I'm seeing in my crystal ball:

2009 will be owned by U2. Any idiot could have told you this. U2's (oft delayed) first new album since 2004 finally has a firm release date -- March 3rd to be exact. Bono and crew will release New Line On The Horizon to much fanfare, and will will probably roll out a massive sold-out world tour, a new iPod line, and endless face time that will help the front man's cause to finally win that Nobel Peace Prize he's been eying for years. U2 is one of the few bands in the world that can actually be a boon to all facets of the music business these days. Industry suits are thanking their lucky stars that these guys will be back in the limelight this year.

Coldplay's album will be pushed up. Riding on the coattails of of their aforementioned Brian Eno-enhanced predecessors, Coldplay will be smart and not wait until the end of the year to release their follow-up to last year's now-controversial success Viva La Vida. They need to wash their hands of the recent Joe Satriani hoopla and start fresh with new material. That is, unless they "break up" for an eighth time.

Radiohead will be up to their same schemes. Rumor has it that the band is already finished with their follow-up to In Rainbows. Details are still sketchy, but if history is any indicator, Thom Yorke is going to outdo himself here. The album will be epic like Rainbows, and will probably drop on some idle Tuesday when we least expect it.

The Fleet Foxes will be no one trick pony. When I saw these guys in early October, they previewed material they had already written and it of course blew me away. I wouldn't be surprised if album number two saw a release date some time this summer. Why not keep a good thing going?

Noel Gallagher will release his first solo album. AND it will be better than anything that Oasis has released in over a decade. In the past eight or so years since Gallagher has shared the songwriting pen with his bandmates, Oasis' material has invariably sucked. Forgoing Liam, Gem, and Andy will only allow Noel to get out of the band mentality -- the first step to thinking outside the box and writing decent tunes once again.

The Gaslight Anthem will do me proud and hit it big. As predicted, the band has announced a headlining tour in bigger and better venues (playing Webster Hall in March). The greater blogosphere has finally begun to embrace these guys and even the dreaded hipster-zine Pitchfork Media has given The '59 Sound an unprecedented 8.6/10 review (even surpassing my initial review). It is impossible to not like this band, a pretty soon everyone will understand why.

The recently reunited Blur will be 2009's equivalent of The Verve. Sometimes all a band needs is time to release a stellar record. Blur hasn't played a show or written material together in five years, but this hardly means they're washed up. Damon Albarn and and Graham Coxon have made it abundantly clear that the chemistry is back and that they fully intend on getting back to work. Their recently announced show in London's Hyde Park sold out in two minutes, so there is evidently demand for England's second best Britpop band. Look for these guys to make the standard US Festival appearances too.

No Worries

After a much too long holiday break, I'm back in the figurative New York Groove. What better way to kick off the new year than with fresh music from one of my favorite Scandinavian bands that isn't Sigur Ros (if Iceland is even considered Scandinavian)?After last year's solo exploit, Peter Moren is back with comrades Bjorn and John. The trio has a new record coming out this year, and wanted to let Kanye West before anyone else. They gave permission to 'Ye to post the infectious number on his blog for free downloand. Although not official, we can safely assume that the song is called "Nothing To Worry About." It's only appropriate that West would take a liking to PB+J -- what we have sound's awfully similar to some of the experimentation on 808's & Heartbreak.

You can download the track for free right HERE.