Elvis Costello to Release New Album
"Son of Kojak Variety" shelved until further notice

On April 23rd, however, the man with two red shoes will release a new album, entitled When I Was Cruel, a record which the King himself has stated is "rowdier" and has "more rhythm" than his last couple efforts. The album features drummer Pete Thomas and keyboardist Steve Nieve of Costello's longtime backing band, the Attractions, which will mark the first time he has worked with them since, oh, 1996's All This Useless Beauty, which was the first time he'd worked with them since 1993's Brutal Youth, which, in turn, was the first time he'd worked with them since the 1980s. Other musicians performing on the album include Cracker bassist Davey Faragher and Jazz Passengers saxophonist Roy Nathanson.

In other Costello news, Rhino will continue their series of back-catalog, double-disc reissues on February 19th when they release expanded versions of 1978's This Year's Model (easily Costello's best), 1986's Blood and Chocolate, and 1994's Brutal Youth. Costello will also be playing several dates U.K. dates this January as part of the Concerts for a Landmine Free World. Other performers include Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, and Nanci Griffith. Old people are expected to attend. Will you be one of them?

1-13 Belfast - Waterfront Hall
1-14 Dublin - The Point
1-15 Glasgow - Clyde Auditorium
1-17 London - Hammersmith Apollo

Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/c/costello_elvis/my-aim-is-true.shtml
Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/c/costello_elvis/painted-from-memory.shtml
Elvis Costello: http://www.elviscostello.com/
Rhino Records: http://www.rhino.com

Big Country Lead Singer Found Dead

Stuart Adamson, the 43-year-old lead singer of the 80s Scottish pop/new-wave group Big Country, was found dead in Hawaii a few days ago in an apparent suicide. He was discovered by his manager, Ian Grant (also the founder of Track Records), after hanging himself in a hotel in Honolulu on Sunday.

Adamson had been living in Nashville most recently, but had gone missing a few weeks ago. He was born in Manchester, and formed his first band, the Skids, in the 1970s. Adamson's career with Big Country started in 1981, and culminated in the 1983 single "In a Big Country," which reached #17 on the Billboard pop charts. Adamson had since formed a new band called the Raphaels.

Big Country: http://www.bigcountry.co.uk
Track Records: http://www.nogard.com/Track/

Wicked Farley, Ivory Coaster Form Duo
Carl Everett shipped to Texas Rangers before possible band endorsement

After releasing their first seven-inch on Iron Compass Records (which includes a cover of the Pet Shop Boys' classic "What Have I Done to Deserve This?"), Boston's Certainly, Sir is prepared to release their full-length debut. Mugic, which hits the stands in February of 2002, consists of 11 brand-new, non-seven-inch tracks, and will be released by London's Spoilt Records, assuming no irritable mad cow gets his hooves on it first.

The two-piece, Casio-oriented conglomerate consists of Michael Brodeur (of Massachusetts' now-defunct the Wicked Farleys) and Klaus Hubben (bassist of emo-darlings the Ivory Coast). The new album was recorded in Hubben's Boston bedroom over the last two years, and rests someplace between a stripped-down version of the Farleys' regular output and a not-quite-as-funky-or-fully-orchestrated version of the Incredible Moses Leroy's 2001 release Electric Pocket Radio. The harmonies (and there are lots of them) are even, dare I say, sugary-sweet at times. And to think they actually want to be called Sir.

Tracklist:
01 Sweet Time
02 Hello
03 My Bad
04 Mercury
05 Hawaii
06 How You Been?
07 The Script
08 Th' Night
09 Wrong Song
10 F for Cake
11 The Vacant Lot of My Heart

Certainly, Sir: http://www.certainly-sir.com

Dag Nasty Has a Revelation
Shockingly does not involve changing the goddamn motherfucking bandname

Yeah, dawg! Old-as-shit D.C. hardcore stalwarts Dag Nasty have signed to Revelation Records. Apparently, the wheels were set into motion when the band contributed a song to the label's Disarming Violence compilation in 1999, spurring rumors that a new album might be in the works. And now, walkers and oxygen masks aside, Dag Nasty will be going into Inner Ear Studios with Don Zientara to record some new madness. Brian Baker and Doug Hansgen (Minor Threat) will be on board to produce, and the band will reportedly "continue their classic hardcore sound that has made their music timeless for so many years..." This presumably means no turntable involvement or guest appearances by Method Man.

The current Dag Nasty lineup will be the same one that appeared on the Can I Say album: Dave Smally (DYS, All, Down by Law) singing the pain away, Brian Baker (Minor Threat, Bad Religion) guitaring the pain away, Colin Sears drumming the pain away, and Roger Marbury, umm, bassing the pain away. Look for the record sometime next year. Its timelessness isn't set to expire until 2003.

Dag Nasty: http://www.daghouse.com
Revelation Records: http://www.revelationrecords.com

White Stripes Tour Down Under
Aussies beware, brother-sister relations are a bit different in Michigan

In other White Stripes news, the band is preparing to flood the market with singles. First up is the 7" (or CD single, for those of us who are turntableless) of "Hotel Yorba," recorded-- where else-- at the Hotel Yorba in Detroit. The CD will also contain the "Hotel Yorba" video. In addition, the band plans to reissue the long out-of-print "Lafayette Blues" seven-inch and the "Let's Shake Hands" seven-inch. The "Lafayette Blues" re-release features a different sleeve from the original, so those of you who were cool enough to buy it pre-hype will still be able to prove you were there first.

01-18 Auckland, NZ - Ericcson Stadium
01-20 Gold Coast, AU - Gold Coast Parklands
01-26 Sydney, AU - Sydney RAS Showgrounds
01-28 Melbourne, AU - Melbourne Showgrounds
02-01 Adelaide, AU - Adelaide RA&HS Showgrounds
02-03 Perth, AU - Claremont Showgrounds

Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/w/white-stripes/white-blood-cells.shtml
White Stripes: http://www.whitestripes.com
Big Day Out Festival: http://www.bigdayout.com

Warp Records Starts Film Company
Vincent Gallo expected to star in gratuitous, over-hyped, self-indulgent and pretentious-as-fuck indie masterpiece. Again

Warp Records, home of such fine artists as Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, Autechre, Squarepusher, Plaid and self-proclaimed "renaissance man" Vincent Gallo, have dived head first into cinema, starting their own production company. The company has already received an award from NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) which they will be using to produce a series of short films. The first of them will be Spectral Musicians, directed by Aphex Twin and Björk director Chris Cunningam. It's projected to be released in March of 2002.

Warp Records: http://www.warprecords.com

Supersuckers to Release Live Album
Satan to make several down-home appearances

With the Christmas season just around the proverbial corner, there's no better time of year than right now for musicians and corporate labels around the world to hock their wares. With this obvious affirmation of the American economy, allow me to present Must've Been Live, a brand new collection of live tracks from balls-out country-punk (or "punktry") oldsters the Supersuckers. Must've Been Live, a play on the title of the Suckers country record, Must've Been High, is the second release from their new label, Mid-Fi. And although the album won't be in stores until March, fans have the opportunity to pre-order the new disc (of course) at supersuckers.com.

According to Eddie Spaghetti, lead vocalist and spokesman for Satan, the album has "tons of surprise guests and odd-ball covers. It's a ramblin', gamblin', good-time-drinkin', roadhouse rumblin', party-time country hoo-haw." Sounds like a Vegas smash in the making. Recorded in Dallas, Austin, and San Diego, Must've Been Live contains 19 tracks totaling almost 70 minutes of pure country rage. Even Santa could stand a good chaw every now and again.

Tracklist:
01 Dead in the Water
02 Good Livin'
03 Roamin' Round
04 Roadworn and Weary
05 The Captain
06 Hangin' Out with Me
07 Barricade
08 Drivin' Nails in My Coffin
09 Cowpoke
10 Don't Go Blue
11 Must've Been High
12 One Cigarette Away
13 Alabama, Louisiana or Maybe Tennessee
14 Hungover Together
15 Non-Addictive Marijuana
16 Bolton Speaks
17 Image of Me
18 Peace in the Valley
19 Blow You Away

Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/s/supersuckers/mustve-been-high.shtml
Supersuckers: http://www.supersuckers.com

Robert Walter's 20th Congress Book 500th Show
That's just a lot of shows right there

San Diego's Robert Walter's 20th Congress have booked their 500th show at Club Creation in Park City, Utah, on January 24th, 2002. That show comes towards the end of a month-long tour of the Mountain and Pacific time zones in support of their October release, There Goes the Neighborhood, on Premonition Records.

On this, their second album, Walter's funk/jazz-influenced piano and Hammond organ are joined by a backing band well-versed in soul and R&B: Harvey Mason on drums, Phil Upchurch (Curtis Mayfield, Jimmy Smith) on guitar, Red Holloway on tenor sax, Chuck Rainey (Aretha Franklin, King Curtis) on electric bass, and Chuck Prada on percussion. If you're nostalgic for that funky, groovy kind of jazz, this is where it's at.

Tracklist:
01 2% Body Fat
02 Bread and Water
03 There Goes the Neighborhood
04 Wade in the Water
05 The Tease
06 4:00 Wash Up
07 Corner Store
08 Bakery Blues
09 Swap Meet
10 My Babe
11 Luck

December & January tour dates:
12-21 Belly Up Tavern - Solana Beach, CA (with KDTU)
12-22 Belly Up Tavern - Solana Beach, CA (with KDTU)
12-31 Elbo Room - San Francisco, CA
01-10 Nita's Hideaway - Tempe, AZ
01-11 Bar B - Santa Fe, NM
01-12 Double Diamond - Aspen, CO
01-13 Sherpa & Yeti's - Breckenridge, CO
01-15 Wild Creek - Winter Park, CO
01-16 Levelz - Steamboat Springs, CO
01-17 8150 - Vail, CO
01-18 Fox Theater - Boulder, CO
01-19 Bluebird Theater - Denver, CO
01-20 Starlight Lounge - Fort Collins, CO
01-22 Mangy Moose - Teton Village, WY
01-23 Whiskey Jacques - Sun Valley, ID
01-24 Club Creation - Park City, UT (#500!)
01-25 Zephyr Club - Salt Lake City, UT
01-26 Zephyr Club - Salt Lake City, UT
01-27 Knotty Pine - Victor, ID
01-28 Zebra Cocktail Lounge - Bozeman, MT
01-29 Blue Heron - Missoula, MT
01-31 Rainbow Cafe - Seattle, WA

Robert Walter's 20th Congress: http://www.20thcongress.com/
Premonition Records: http://www.premonitionandmusic.com

Godspeed Finish New LP, Tour Europe
Screwdriver not allowed on plane

No title or release date has been announced for the new album, but it's expected to see the light of day sometime around the spring of 2002. In the meantime, you can always pick up the new album by the Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band's Born into Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward, which was released through Constellation Records in October and features several of Godspeed's founding members. And let's not forget the also-GYBE-related Set Fire to Flames' Sings Reign Rebuilder, which just came out on Alien8.

Finally, for those of you that just so happen to be in Europe, Godspeed have announced dates for an extensive tour of that place you live. The three-month, 48-date tour kicks off in Paris, finishes in Amsterdam, and hits a whole bunch of cities we've barely heard of and probably wouldn't be able to find without a really good tour guide.

01-22 Paris, France - Léchangeur
01-23 Nantes, France - Olympic
01-24 Poitiers, France - Comfort Modern
01-25 Bordeaux, France - C.A.T.
01-26 St. Sebastian, Spain - TBA
01-29 Lisbon, Portugal - Garage
01-30 Madrid, Spain - Arena
02-01 Valencia, Spain - Roxy
02-02 Barcelona, Spain - Apollo
02-03 Marseille, France - TBA
02-05 Lyon, France - Le Pezner
02-06 Geneva, Switzerland - L'usine
02-07 Zurich, Switzerland - Rote Fabrik
02-08 Athens, Greece - Gargarin
02-09 Thessaloniki, Greece - Mylos
02-12 Milano, Italy - Tunnel
02-13 Bologna, Italy - Link
02-14 Ljubljana, Slovenia - TBA
02-15 Zagreb, Croatia - TBA
02-16 Vienna, Austria - Wuk
02-17 Budapest, Hungary - TBA
02-19 Prague, Czech Republic - TBA
03-13 Reykjavik, Iceland - TBA
03-14 Reykjavik, Iceland - TBA
03-16 Brighton, England - Corn Exchange Hall
03-20 Birmingham, England - TBA
03-22 Dublin, Ireland - Olympia
03-23 Belfast, Ireland - The Empire
03-24 Glasgow, Scotland - Q13
03-26 Bradford, England - St. George Hall
03-27 Newcastle, England - TBA
03-30 Gotenberg, Sweden - Trädgärn
03-31 Oslo, Norway - John Dee
04-02 Stockholm, Sweden - Sädra Teatren
04-03 Malmä, Sweden - K.B. (kulturbolaget)
04-04 Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega
04-05 Aarhus, Denmark - Voxhall
04-06 Hamburg, Germany - Kampnagel
04-07 Berlin, Germany - Volksbähne
04-09 Dresden, Germany - TBA
04-10 Mänchen, Germany - Feierwerk
04-11 Stuttgart, Germany - Manufaktur
04-12 Tilburg, Germany - 013
04-13 Käln, Germany - Gebäude 9
04-15 Frankfurt, Germany - Mousonturm
04-16 Luxembourg - Kulturfabrik
04-17 Brussels, Belgium - AB Club
04-18 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso

Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/g/godspeed-you-black-emperor/lift-your-skinny-fists.shtml
Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/s/silver-mt-zion/born-into-trouble.shtml
Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/s/set-fire-to-flames/sings-reign-rebuilder.shtml
Godspeed You Black Emperor!: http://brainwashed.com/godspeed
Constellation: http://www.cstrecords.com

Betty Blowtorch Frontwoman Killed

Bianca Halstead, also known as Bianca Butthole, the lead singer and bassist of the L.A.-based rock band Betty Blowtorch, was killed in a car crash early Saturday morning. The band had played a Friday night show at a New Orleans club called Howlin' Wolf as part of their tour with Nashville Pussy. Bianca was the only passenger in a Corvette being driven by a man named William MacAllister. The car was reported to be traveling in excess of 100 mph when it went out of control on Interstate 10 somewhere outside of New Orleans and slammed into oncoming traffic. The driver was taken to a local hospital. Police believe that alcohol and speed were factors in the accident.

Betty Blowtorch, who recorded for Foodchain Records, suffered some internal problems on this tour when Bianca's two band mates quit the band in the middle of the tour. Replacement members were found, however, and Betty soldiered on. The band had an appearance in the film Bubble Boy last summer and were awarded Best Punk/Hardcore Band of 2000 by the L.A. Weekly. They formed in 1998, with Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses producing their debut EP entitled Get Off.

Betty Blowtorch: http://www.bettyblowtorch.com
Foodchain Records: http://www.foodchainrecords.com

Parasol Releases Second Christmas Album
Kwanzaa LP pushed back indefinitely

Tired of generic Mannheim Steamroller-style Christmas music? A part of my cerebellum was steamrolled into irreparable retardation because of the Haker family evil Christmas album rotation. Parasol's second holiday CD, Stuck in the Chimney sounds promising if holiday music doesn't make you want to blow your brains out. The CD contains a collection of Parasol artists who want to spread the joy into your homes and motor vehicles via original Christmas tunes and covers of all the old traditional classics. In the meantime, I'll be working on creative ways for my mom's Steamroller collection to have an "accident" before heading home this year.

01 The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Jingle Hell (Stuck in the Chimney)
02 The Green Pajamas - O Holy Night
03 White Town - December
04 Neilson Hubbard - Merry Christmas (Wherever You May Be)
05 Absinthe Blind - Silent Night
06 Fonda - Last Christmas (Windows Media)
07 Sukilove - X-mas for Aliens
08 George Usher Group - Christmas in the Lion's Den
09 Jenifer Jackson - Blue Christmas
10 Erik Voeks - Cruel Tide
11 Doleful Lions - Jesus Christ
12 Vitesse - Ice & Ribbons
13 Friends Of Sound - I Don't Want Presents
11 John Hoeffleur feat. Rebecca Rury & Steve Ucherek - Christmas @ Friedrich's
12 Toothpaste 2000 - 7-Eleven Christmas
13 Joe Algeri - Computer Xmas

Parasol Records: http://www.parasol.com

Dunlavy Doubles in Size
Fat is always funny

Houston's low-profile solo psych project Dunlavy continues to expand despite a small fanbase and a lack of concern for current trends. The band recently issued two follow-ups to their fourth album, John Merkel Is a Miracle, almost simultaneously on two different labels. The albums are The Alison Effect (on Australian space-rock label Camera Obscura) and King of All He Surveys (on Houston's long-standing micro-label Fleece Records). The latter features the introduction of guitarist/vocalist John Cramer to the proceedings.

The inclusion of John Cramer in the Dunlavy family is a low-key reunion. Scott Grimm, the man who was Dunlavy, shared guitar duties with Cramer in the obscure Texas noise-psych unit the Mike Gunn. The Mike Gunn also included Tom Carter of the DIY duo Charalambides. While Charalambides has represented the more "out" side of the Mike Gunn equation, Dunlavy has been a more riff-rock experience. They explore the areas between Hendrix propulsion, Sabbath drag, and sunburned garage punk. If these points of reference are too classic rock for your tastes, think pre-sellout Butthole Surfers doing post-Krautrock instrumentals with an ear for forceful symmetrical precision over absurdist cosmic slop.

Camera Obscura Records: http://www.cameraobscura.com.au
Fleece Records: http://soundexchangehouston.com/fleece/index.html

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