Arctic Monkeys to explore Hip Hop?

Arctic Monkeys may be getting further and further away from the hard-edged sound that made them so likable.

In an article in the Daily Mirror (“P. Diddy wants to turn the Arctic MonKeys into hip-hip artists”), drummer Matt Helders (above) — already a “good mate” with P. Diddy — remarked that doing a track together with the rap mogul would be considered.

“… it would be fun. … We speak to him at least three times a week. We are going to Miami in a few weeks and are going to be hanging out with him. He’s going to be teaching us the hip-hop ways.”

But what about your punky hard rock ways? Let’s get back to that!

Is This The End For The Who?

The Who’s Pete Townshend has told Rolling Stone magazine that The Who might be done since his tinnitus has returned. The Who had a busy year planned but Townshend states that the band cannot continue if his tinnitus remains a problem. He told Rolling Stone, “If my hearing is going to be a problem, we’re not delaying shows. We’re finished. I can’t really see any way around the issue.” 

Townshend will test an in-ear monitor when The Who perform Quadrophenia on March 30^th at London’s Royal Albert Hall as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust concerts. If the experiment fails, that performance will likely close the curtain on The Who’s career. The Who formed in the early 1960s in London and have been working on and off since their so-called “farewell tour” in 1982. 

For more on this story, see the articles from RollingStone.com, XFM London, and NME.com. 

In other Who-related news, Roger Daltrey told BBC 6 Music that he’d like to work with Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page. Daltrey said: 

“I’d love to do something, I’d love to do an album with Jimmy Page. He needs a singer to drive him. I’m a great blues singer.

“I don’t sing the blues with The Who, but that’s what I used to be before Townshend started writing. I used to be a great blues singer.” 

For more on this story, see the article from BBC 6 Music. 

Last week, Daltrey also did an interview with Geoff Lloyd of the UK radio station Absolute Radio. During the interview, Daltrey discussed The Who’s performance at the Super Bowl, Depeche Mode’s show at Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer Trust, the difficulty of organizing the Teenage Cancer Trust shows, Noel Gallagher’s first post-Oasis shows for the Teenage Cancer Trust, finally getting the Arctic Monkeys to play the Teenage Cancer Trust shows, The Who’s upcoming performance of Quadrophenia for the Teenage Caner Trust, his disgust with Twitter, and other subjects. Curiously, Daltrey did not address Townshend’s recurring hearing problems that may force an end to the band. To watch the interview, click below: 

Noel Gallagher To Play Two Solo Gigs For The Teenage Cancer Trust

Noel Gallagher will be playing his first solo shows since leaving Oasis when he takes the stage at London’s Royal Albert Hall on March 25^th and 26^th for the benefit of the UK charity Teenage Cancer Trust. 

Gallagher spoke about the shows with XFM London and said: 

“Ten years ago, I got a call from Roger [Daltrey] asking me to join him for the first-ever concert for the charity. 

“Since then, I’ve been honored to support this amazing charity. I’ve had some of the best nights I’ve ever had on a UK stage.”

Gallagher talks about the shows and other subjects in a recent interview that he did with ESPN in the UK, which you can watch below: 

 

Tickets for this year’s Teenage Cancer Trust shows went on sale on Friday, February 5^th. The full lineup for the shows is as follows:

Wednesday 17 February – Depeche Mode
Monday 22 March – Them Crooked Vultures
Tuesday 23 March – Comedy night: Jimmy Carr, Noel Fielding and Rhod Gilbert
Wednesday 24 March – Suede
Thursday 25 March – Noel Gallagher
Friday 26 March – Noel Gallagher
Saturday 27 March – Arctic Monkeys
Sunday 28 March – JLS
Monday 29 March – The Specials
Tuesday 30 March – The Who 

The Who will be performing their 1973 rock opera Quadrophenia in full at their Teenage Cancer Trust show. On the subject of the Teenage Cancer Trust shows, The Who’s lead singer, Roger Daltrey, who is the patron of the charity and organizes the yearly concerts, told BBC 6 Music: 

“When The Who first got together in 2000 to raise money for this brilliant charity, I had no idea we’d achieve so much from these shows. In the last ten years we’ve raised over £8.7 million, helping Teenage Cancer Trust to open nine more specialist cancer units for young people across the UK. 

“Teenage Cancer Trust has come such a long way since our first gig and I’m extremely proud of this event. I’m forever inspired by the support I have received from the artists and members of the music and comedy industries.” 

For more on this story, see the articles from BBC 6 Music, XFM London, and NME.com. 

I had the very good fortune to attend two Teenage Cancer Trust shows at Royal Albert Hall during a 2004 trip to London. I saw The Who as well as an all-star show fronted by Jools Holland. Both shows were excellent. And the charity is a very worthwhile one, indeed. If you are reading this in the UK, please support the charity if you can. 

For additional information on the Teenage Cancer Trust, see http://www.teenagecancertrust.org/. 

If you will be in the London area during the show dates and would like to attend, you can purchase tickets on the Royal Albert Hall’s Web site at http://www.royalalberthall.com/.

BBC America’s The Inbetweeners Features Much Hilarity—And A Killer Soundtrack

Every now and then, a TV program comes along that just knocks your socks off and becomes, for you, must-see TV. For me, that show is The Inbetweeners on BBC America. It is easily the funniest thing that I’ve seen on TV in years. I’ve watched the first three episodes thus far, and they’ve all had me absolutely howling with laughter. 

The Inbetweeners focuses on a group of four friends at a comprehensive school (high school) in the suburbs outside of London. Will (Simon Bird) is new at the school, having previously been at an all-male private school. After Will’s parents divorce, he has to leave his posh school for the public school system. He becomes fast friends with Simon (Joe Thomas), Jay (James Buckley), and Neil (Blake Harrison). While it is a comedy, The Inbetweeners perfectly captures what it is like to be 16 years old and trying to figure out where you fit in. The dialogue, particularly the lines delivered by James Buckley’s Jay, is quite profane and is filled with sexual references and nasty put-downs. But it is hilarious as well as reflecting the way that young people speak to one another. Iain Morris and Damon Beasley, the show’s writers (who have also written for HBO’s The Flight of the Conchords), reportedly based most of the storylines of The Inbetweeners on things that actually happened to them in their youth. For their sake, I hope that neither of them ever projectile vomited onto the head of the younger brother of the girl they liked, as the Simon character does in the second episode to great comic effect. 

In addition to razor-sharp dialogue, The Inbetweeners also boasts a fantastic soundtrack filled with music by some of the hottest artists in the UK. Among the artists whose music has been featured on the show are Rihanna, Kate Nash, Arctic Monkeys, The Fratellis, The Libertines, and Mumm-Ra. The title sequence features the song “Gone Up In Flames” by Morning Runner. 

Marsha Shandur, the XFM London DJ, is the music consultant for The Inbetweeners. Writing in her blog last year, Marsha discussed that role:

 The actual process of choosing the music is an odd one and much harder than I’d anticipated. Essentially, it’s someone saying, “Here’s a scene. Now here’s every song that’s ever been written since the beginning of the history of time. Pick one!”, which feels a little like standing on the edge of a cliff. In the end I came up with a method: I went through the last few years’ ‘Best of the Year’ mailers, and then my flatmate’s iTunes, and noted any songs that might be appropriate (due to the fact that it’s a comedy, it immediately ruled out all my Fionn Regan/Laura Marling-type misery music). On bits of A5, I wrote down how each of those songs makes me feel. Then I watched the scene I needed to soundtrack, and wrote down how that made me feel. Then I searched through my scraps of paper looking for a match (“anticipatory and excited”, “anticipatory, but slightly doom laden”, “mild disaster and panic, with an edge of it being funny for others” -if you’ve ever read my mailer, you’ll know that’s pretty much the way I tend to describe music to myself). Then I would play the DVD with the scene on one computer, the song on another simultaneously, and see how it fit. Then I’d suggest between three and five songs for each scene. I’ve since met sync people who do this full time, and they all think I’m crazy for being so thorough. They say they just watch it and think of a couple of songs and email them through a list. I think it says more about my OCD tendencies, or perhaps just that I hate doing a job in a way that could have been done better (there’s the reason I’m so apologetic about the writing here…).

 To read Marsha’s full blog piece, click here. 

For a full list of the music played in the series, click here and then click the individual episode links. 

The first two series of The Inbetweeners have aired on the digital channel E4 in the UK. A feature film with the characters from the show is being developed. BBC America is currently screening the first series. The first three episodes have been shown so far, and they are available to watch anytime on BBC America On Demand. All three of the episodes are stellar.

 Unfortunately, BBC America censors the program. The F-bombs and certain other terms get bleeped out. It’s annoying because the bleeps sometimes bleed over and obscure other dialogue. I think that censoring the show is absurd. They even censor the versions on BBC America On Demand that don’t have commercials (so there are no sponsors to “offend”). I don’t get that at all. Perhaps they did so in hopes that fans of the show will buy the DVDs in the future to get the uncensored versions. 

New episodes of The Inbetweeners are currently airing on BBC America on Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. Eastern.

For more on The Inbetweeners, go to:
http://www.e4.com/inbetweeners/
http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/392/index.jsp

The Strokes “Is This It” Voted Album of the Decade in New Issue of NME

The NME issue coming out tomorrow will reveal the albums listed as the rock albums of the decade. The Strokes 2001 “Is This It” will be called out as number one.

But Is It? Great album, for sure. It should be in the top ten. But number one? And The Strokes weren’t nearly as successful with their releases after that. At least a band like Arctic Monkeys (also listed) somewhat kept up the pace after 2006′s “Whatever People Say I am, That’s What I’m Not.”

Here’s just the top 50, voted in by “a panel of musicians, producers, writers and record label bosses.” (Remember the British Press influence here!)

This is it:

1. The Strokes – ‘Is This It’
2. The Libertines – ‘Up The Bracket’
3. Primal Scream – ‘XTRMNTR’
4. Arctic Monkeys – ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – ‘Fever To Tell’
6. PJ Harvey – ‘Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea’
7. Arcade Fire – ‘Funeral’
8. Interpol – ‘Turn On The Bright Lights’
9. The Streets – ‘Original Pirate Material’
10. Radiohead – ‘In Rainbows’
11. At The Drive In – ‘Relationship Of Command’
12. LCD Soundsystem – ‘Sound Of Silver’
13. The Shins – ‘Wincing The Night Away’
14. Radiohead – ‘Kid A’
15. Queens Of The Stone Age – ‘Songs For The Deaf’
16. The Streets – ‘A Grand Don’t Come For Free’
17. Sufjan Stevens – ‘Illinois’
18. The White Stripes – ‘Elephant’
19. The White Stripes – ‘White Blood Cells’
20. Blur – ‘Think Tank’
21. The Coral – ‘The Coral’
22. Jay-Z – ‘The Blueprint’
23. Klaxons – ‘Myths Of The Near Future’
24. The Libertines – ‘The Libertines’
25. The Rapture – ‘Echoes’
26. Dizzee Rascal – ‘Boy in Da Corner’
27. Amy Winehouse – ‘Back To Black’
28. Johnny Cash – ‘The Man Comes Around’
29. Super Furry Animals – ‘Rings Around The World’
30. Elbow – ‘Asleep In The Back’
31. Bright Eyes – ‘I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning’
32. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – ‘Show Your Bones’
33. Arcade Fire – ‘Neon Bible’
34. Grandaddy – ‘The Sophtware Slump’
35. Babyshambles – ‘Down In Albion’
36. Spirtualized – ‘Let it Come Down’
37. The Knife – ‘Silent Shout’
38. Bloc Party – ‘Silent Alarm’
39. Crystal Castles – ‘Crystal Castles’
40. Ryan Adams – ‘Gold’
41. Wild Beasts – ‘Two Dancers’
42. Vampire Weekend – ‘Vampire Weekend’
43. Wilco – ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’
44. Outkast – ‘Speakerboxxx/The Love Below’
45. Avalanches – ‘Since I Left You’
46. The Delgados – ‘The Great Eastern’
47. Brendan Benson – ‘Lapalco’
48. The Walkmen – ‘Bows and Arrows’
49. Muse – ‘Absolution’
50. MIA – ‘Arular’

Hey, what about The Flaming Lips’ 2002 “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots”??? Surely, that’s better than “Think Tank”!

Dame Vera Lynn Tops The British Album Chart At Age 92

In Pink Floyd’s song “Vera” from the band’s landmark 1979 album The Wall, Roger Waters poses the question, “Does anyone remember Vera Lynn?” The answer to Waters’ query is apparently a resounding yes, as the 92-year-old Dame Vera Lynn (pictured above) became the oldest artist ever to top the UK album chart. Dame Vera’s best-of album We’ll Meet Again – The Very Best of Vera Lynn came close to knocking Arctic Monkeys’ Humbug album off the top of the chart recently. This time, the “Sweetheart of the Forces,” as she was known during the Second World War, staved off challenges from The Beatles’ remastered CDs to stand alone atop the album chart. Prior to Dame Vera’s chart victory, Bob Dylan had been the oldest artist to top the UK album chart.

Dame Vera’s album began its climb up the album chart during the recent 70th anniversary of the start of World War II. After receiving the news of her unlikely placement in the album chart, Dame Vera issued a statement that read:

“I am extremely surprised and delighted, and a big thank you to all my fans for putting me there.”

On the subject of Dame Vera topping The Beatles on the chart, Gennaro Castaldo, spokesman for UK music retailer HMV, told The Times of London:

“It’s a really lovely surprise, that nobody could have imagined a few weeks ago, and it’s ironic that it’s taken one revered British icon to block the historic return of another to the top of the charts.”

According to NME.com, the current top ten UK albums are:

1. Vera Lynn – We’ll Meet Again – The Very Best Of
2. Jamie T – Kings & Queens
3. David Guetta – One Love
4. Arctic Monkeys – Humbug
5. The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
6. The Beatles – Abbey Road
7. Kings Of Leon – Only By The Night
8. The Cribs – Ignore The Ignorant
9. The Beatles – Revolver
10. The Beatles – Rubber Soul

For more on this story, see the articles from The Times of London and NME.com. 

To mark the 7oth anniversary of the Second World War, Dame Vera recently sat for an interview with Andrew Castle of the ITV morning show GMTV. Dame Vera talked about how she heard that Britain was at war, the origin of her “Sweetheart of the Forces” title, and her thoughts on the current overseas conflicts involving Britain. She asked, sadly, “For what purpose are our boys being killed?” At the end of the interview, Dame Vera even sang a bit of her hit song “We’ll Meet Again” at the end of the interview. It was a great interview and well worth watching. You can see it by clicking below:

92-Year-Old Dame Vera Lynn Battles Arctic Monkeys For Top Spot On British Album Charts

In what has to be one of the most bizarre stories of the year in the UK music scene, there is a chance that 92-year-old Dame Vera Lynn’s album, We’ll Meet Again — The Very Best of Vera Lynn, could knock Arctic Monkeys’ Humbug off the top of the UK album charts. Dame Vera (pictured above in the 1940s) is already the oldest living artist to have a Top 20 album in the UK. The recent 70th anniversary of the start of the Second World War in Europe gave Dame Vera’s album a big boost in the charts. Dame Vera was the best-known British female vocalist of the World War II era and was held in very high esteem by the British troops that were fighting abroad. Dame Vera’s hits during the war included “We’ll Meet Again” and “The White Cliffs of Dover.”

On her battle for the top spot on the UK album charts with Sheffield’s Arctic Monkeys, who are almost seven decades her junior, Dame Vera told The Times of London:

“It’s rather exciting, isn’t it? All I can say is that there are customers out there who like that kind of song and maybe there’s not enough of that caliber on the market these days. I can’t think of anyone in modern music I listen to … Singers seem to have faded away.”

Dame Vera admitted to The Times that she had never heard of Arctic Monkeys before, saying:

“I’ve never listened to them. They’re not actually monkeys? I didn’t think they were. I’m afraid I don’t listen to music very much. When I’m at home I watch television. I like archaeological programs, like Time Team.”

I love the fact that Dame Vera asked, “They’re not actually monkeys?” That is really funny.

Having lived through the horrors of the Second World War, Dame Vera has very strong views on Britain’s current military involvement in Afghanistan. She told The Times:

 “I’m very sorry that it’s still going on. I don’t think the soldiers get enough support. You hear about the terrible condition they are fighting in — somebody should do something about it and give them what they need. It’s not like we don’t have the money.”

Blunt, but true.

To read more about this story, see the article from today’s edition of The Times of London.

Dame Vera Lynn received her DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1975. The award is, basically, the female version of knighthood.

Arctic Monkeys Discuss Their Humbug Album On XFM London

This past Tuesday, August 25th, Alex Turner and Matt Helders of Arctic Monkeys stopped by the Leicester Square studios of XFM London for a track-by-track discussion of their new Humbug album with XFM London DJ John Kennedy. The discussion aired on Kennedy’s Xposure program. The interview is now up on the XFM London Web site. You can hear it by clicking here and then clicking the individual audio links on the page. The music from the album is not included in the Web site version of the interview due to rights restrictions.

Last night, Arctic Monkeys headlined the Brixton Academy in London. Supporting Arctic Monkeys at the show were the new supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, which feature Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age, and Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters. Homme produced part of Arctic Monkeys’ Humbug album. To read a very positive review of the Brixton Academy show, see The Times of London’s Web site.

Powerline A.D.’s Patrick Prince has reviewed Arctic Monkeys’ Humbug album. You can read the review here.

My review of Arctic Monkeys’ August 3rd show at The HighLine Ballroom in New York City can be read here.

The Humbug album was released earlier this week and is available for purchase in the United States, the UK, and elsewhere.

P Diddy Tells Twitter Followers to Buy the New Arctic Monkeys CD

Ah Bah, Humbug!

P Diddy did a tweet telling people to go out and buy the new Arctic Monkeys CD “Humbug.”

NME caught the Diddy tweet:

“Go get the Arctic Monkeys‘ new album ‘Humbug’!!!!!!” he wrote, adding his online catchphrase. “Let’s go!!!!!”

Actually, those unfamiliar with Arctic Monkeys should buy their debut album “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not.”

Humbug is good but not great, like the first release. The first one was close to a masterpiece.

P Diddy is close friends with AM’s drummer Matt Helders and a big fan.

Last time I saw P Diddy he was “moshing” it up, right in the crowd, up-front, at a NYC Arctic Monkeys gig. I had to respect him for that one, even if he did have a 300 lb body guard by his side.

And laugh if you will at P Diddy and his tweets. He does have 1,819,849 followers. And that’s nothing to laugh at.

Review Of Arctic Monkeys’ Stellar NYC Gig At The HighLine Ballroom Is Now Online

My review of the Arctic Monkeys’ great performance this past Monday night, August 3rd, at The HighLine Ballroom in New York City is now online on the main Powerline A.D. site. You can read the review here.

The Arctic Monkeys sounded heavier this time out than they did on the previous tours that I’ve seen. They seem to be heading in a different direction with their new Humbug album. The album hasn’t been released yet, so the crowd at the show definitely favored the more familiar songs from their first two albums.

P. Diddy was at the show, and he was in the middle of the moshing crowd when the band played “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor.”

To watch the video for “Crying Lightning,” the first single from the Arctic Monkeys’ Humbug album, click below:

To watch a video about the making of the “Crying Lightning” video, click below:

For additional information on the Arctic Monkeys, go to:
http://www.arcticmonkeys.com/
http://www.myspace.com/arcticmonkeys