FN News Roundup: March 12, 2011

Hi! Have some news.

• (Hopefully not former) Sonic Youth axeman and generally great guy Lee Ranaldo's new album, Between the Times and the Tides, is out next Tuesday (3/20), but you can stream all of its goodness right now over at Rolling Stone. (RS) 
• Legendary Minutemen bassist and also generally great guy Mike Watt is publishing a new memoir this May entitled On And Off Bass. He'll also be celebrating the release of this inevitably awesome book with two parties in NY and LA, the local version of which will take place on May 5 at Le Poisson Rouge and feature him & Dinosaur Jr.'s J. Mascis and Murph performing as Hellride East (Slicing Up Eyeballs)
• Go see Garbage on tour! No, that pun will never get old, but you really ought to see Shirley Manson and the gang when they roll through the East Coast and Canada. The tour will include a stop at Webster Hall on May 22, with ticket info coming soon. (Garbage)
• Remember The Hives? They're back, in Pog form! Or more accurately, with a new album called Les Hives dropping on June 5 - check out its leadoff single "Go Right Ahead." (Stereogum) 
• Those Battles remixes we've been talking about are coming out as a full-on Dross Glop LP on April 17 via Warp. You'll also want to check out Battles drummer John Stanier and Black Moth Super Rainbow throw down a DJ set this Friday at The American Museum of Natural History's Rose Center - grab a ticket! (BrooklynVegan)

Sentridoh's "Weed Forestin'" Reissue Available Starting Tomorrow, Stream It Now

About a month back, we very excitedly reported the news that Real FN Hero Lou Barlow (pictured with a sweet cat t-shirt) had confirmed that both of his major beloved bands, Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr., would have new albums out by the end of this year or the beginning of 2013. A month, a badass cruise, and several awesome tweets later, the Dino Jr. album is well underway, but as we look forward to more indie rock goodness out of Team Barlow we can look back on a critical piece of the bands' history that will be available in a new form tomorrow.

Sebadoh / Dino Jr. true believers are familiar with the long and weird history of Weed Forestin', the 1987 cassette-based album released under the Sentridoh moniker when Barlow was the kid pictured above. Weed's getting quite the kickass reissue treatment: starting tomorrow (Valentine's Day aww), you can grab a digital version of the album on Bandcamp for a mere $6 or buy it on limited-edition vinyl for $15, to be shipped by March 27. There will also be a deluxe LP edition available for preorder featuring Weed Forestin' in its entirety along with a cassette of Child of the Apocalypse - a newly-released collection of unreleased songs, early demos, and tape collages from the same era - AND a USB drive with uncompressed audio from both releases and a stop motion short film based on several of Weed's songs by London artist Darryl Walker that were last (not) seen on an unplayable VHS tape sent to Barlow over a decade ago.

Yeah it's a pretty huge project, and there are more formats available in which to pick it up listed on Bandcamp. You can also go ahead and stream all 23 tracks of Weed Forestin' below right now, as well as check out Walker's video for the classic "Brand New Love."

Who loves ya, babies? We do. (Cheers to The Backstage Rider for the tip!)


 

J. Mascis Has A Bobblehead Doll, Is Releasing A Dinosaur Jr. Live DVD, & Is On The Weezer Cruise

There are a ton of honors that can be bestowed on a heralded member of the rock community - induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, top rankings on Best Of lists, yadda yadda. But you know you've REALLY made your mark when someone makes a bobblehead doll version of you, which is exactly what happened to the White Wizard of Indie Rock, J. Mascis.

Aggronautix, the "Proprietors of Fine Throbbleheads" (whoa gross), have created a limited-edition bobblehead of the Dinosaur Jr. cofounder that will ship in April and is available for pre-order now, REAL DOLL HAIR and all. There will only be 1000 of these made, so show your love of all things Dino and pre-order one today.

While you've got your credit card out, head over to Amazon where according to Exclaim you can pre-order the new Dinosaur Jr. live DVD,  Bug Live At 9:30 Club: In The Hands Of The Fans. The concert film captures Dinosaur Jr.'s full live performance of their classic album Bug at Washington D.C.'s famed music club this past June, and will be available on February 21.

Finally, as we mentioned earlier, Mascis is spending the weekend rocking out on The Weezer Cruise and possibly road-testing some of that new Dino Jr. material off of the album that Lou Barlow said is on the way. We're in NYC stocking up on baked beans and shotgun shells due to this two-inch "snowstorm" we're having, but our awesome and hilarious friend The Backstage Rider is on board the Cruise and sharing some pretty classic behind-the-scenes news and photos - follow her on Twitter over here

Dinosaur Jr. Putting Out Limited 3-Album "Cassette Trilogy"

Dinosaur Jr. @ Terminal 5 - full review & more photos here!

Let's be very clear here: selling cassette tapes in 2011 is totally weird. I say that even as I link to our Etsy store, where we do in fact sell cassette tapes in 2011. That being said, though, cassette tapes from our favorite bands in this day and age are still weirdly awesome, and Dinosaur Jr. is apparently fully aware of that fact.

That's why they've just announced that they're releasing a new 3-album collection called the Cassette Trilogy, containing each album from the classic Dinosaur Jr. canon - Dinosaur, You're Living All Over Me, and Bug - on, you guessed it, cassette tapes, via Joyful Noise Recordings. The tapes will come packaged in a custom-built, screen-printed wooden box, and the set will be limited to 500 hand-numbered copies.

The collection will come out on December 13 and only cost $39, which will leave you with enough scratch to pick up a gently-used Walkman from eBay to play the tapes on. Have at it!

UPDATE: We've just learned that, in honor of the original You're Living All Over Me being packaged with the first Sebadoh cassette (Weed Forestin'), one in 10 of these new boxes will also come with a copy of Weed Forestin'! Very cool! And in a very psychic move (unless they saw our Walkman joke earlier... hi!), Joyful Noise is selling Coby cassette players for $20 along with the box sets. Thanks to The Backstage Rider for the tip!

Stream: J. Mascis -- "I've Been Thinking"

Check out more photos and a review of Dinosaur Jr.'s Terminal 5 set from over the summer!

We were all about Sebadoh's excellent Maxwell's and Music Hall of Williamsburg shows this weekend, and today we've got something cool to share from Lou Barlow's Dinosaur Jr. bandmate, J. Mascis. Sub Pop has announced that the alt-rock wizard will be releasing a 7" single next Tuesday (November 22) that will feature a cover of Edie Brickell's "Circle" on the A-Side, and - as a special B-side treat - a bonus track from Mascis' Several Shades of Why sessions called "I've Been Thinking," that was previously only available on the Japanese version of the album.

Give it a stream below and be sure to order the 7" over here.

Watch The Trailer For 1991: The Year Punk Broke

Whoa, posting something that's not a music video (technically)! Way way back, we mentioned that the seminal rock documentary, 1991: The Year Punk Broke, would finally see a DVD release in honor of its 20th anniversary. Now its stars, Sonic Youth, have put out a trailer less than a week in advance of the release on September 13th. Soak up the amazing performances and associated goofiness below, and preorder it over at Sonic Youth's store.

Just Announced: J. Mascis To Open For Band of Horses @ NYC's Hammerstein Ballroom Tomorrow (8/10)

Sometimes concert bills come together in weird, exciting ways, and the Village Voice has just tipped us off to a brand new prime example of this process. On the heels of the recent cancellation of the rest of Kings of Leon's entire US tour due to vocal issues and exhaustion, opening act Band of Horses opted to soldier on and set up as many new club dates as possible.

Turns out that Band of Horses pulled off some magic, as they've just announced that the new NYC show - taking place tomorrow night (August 10) at Hammerstein Ballroom - will feature the white-haired rock wizard J. Mascis as the solo opener! Tickets are still on sale, so hop on that if you missed out on Dinosaur Jr.'s recent show with OFF!, Fucked Up, and some douchebag who hopefully got pummeled by Henry Rollins after he threw his shoe at him.

Dinosaur Jr.’s first three albums being reissued on vinyl (yeah!)

Soon after I spoke to Lou Barlow on the phone back in May, he tweeted that he couldn’t find his vinyl copy of Dinosaur Jr.’s third album Bug, the album Dino was playing in its entirety for their most recent tour. Subsequently, Lou had to buy his own album on iTunes. But luckily he’ll be able to buy a fresh copy of Bug as well as Dinosaur’s debut Dinosaur and You’re Living All Over Me on glorious vinyl on October 4.

Though the albums were initially released on SST and Homestead, Jagjaguwar (the band’s current label) will handle the reissues of all three albums making absolutely no changes or additions to their tracklisting. I’ve personally taken note of the fact that the only Dinosaur Jr. vinyl I’ve seen in record stores are their post-reunion albums, so I’m happy knowing that I’ll be able to pick up this trifecta of awesome vinyl in the very near future.

Though you can't preorder any of the albums quite yet, we'll keep you posted as to when you can. In the meantime why don’t you check out our review and photos of when Dinosaur Jr. played New York City in June? Yep.

Henry Rollins, inspiration to many

Well this is surely an interesting and thoroughly fascinating read. Henry Rollins, known to many as the iconic frontman of Black Flag and arguably to more as that crazy guy with all the tattoos on IFC, celebrated his 50th birthday back in February. As a birthday gift to Henry, a collection of letters from his fans, who have been inspired by all that Rollins has come to represent over the years, were sent to him as an electronic document. Now you can read those letters.

Over the next couple of months, It's Not Just Pie In The Sky will be revealing each letter, one post at a time, everyday. As the website states, “this collective was inspired by Henry Rollins and his candid and well documented journey of freedom.” Some posts are artistic portraits of the man himself, others are extremely personal confessions about parental abuse and overcoming cancer. The overriding theme however, is that Henry Rollins means so much more to many fans than just his music.

In other Rollins news, according to Reuters, the man will soon be hosting “Animal Underworld” for National Geographic’s Nat Geo Wild. The show, which “looks at people who collect, eat and revere exotic and not-so-exotic animals” will begin as a three-episode run. Rollins and exotic animals. Sounds awesome.

Also need to mention that you can catch Henry Rollins here in New York City on June 23rd, where he'll be interviewing Dinosaur Jr. live on stage at Terminal 5. Dinosaur Jr. will be playing Bug in its entirety. Tickets, for some godforsaken reason, are still on sale.

Interview: Lou Barlow (Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr., Folk Implosion)

Lou Barlow with Sebadoh @ Bowery Ballroom in April (more here)

By the time J Mascis retired the Dinosaur Jr. name in 1997, few music fans would have guessed that one day you'd be able to catch them on the road again, let alone with original bassist and co-founder Lou Barlow. Now six years deep into the reunion of original members Mascis, Murph and Barlow, Dinosaur Jr. have released two critically acclaimed albums, Beyond and Farm, and are about to embark on a tour performing their third album Bug in its entirety (tickets are still on sale for the 6/23 NYC date). Henry Rollins will also interview the band onstage as part of the show.

Barlow's other band Sebadoh recently finished an East coast tour in April in support of the upcoming Bakesale reissue (which you can preorder here), a deluxe edition of the classic album that will be released on June 14th on Sub Pop. In September, Sebadoh will head to Australia for the first time in twelve years for a few performances. I had the chance to talk to Lou over the phone on Monday about the upcoming Dinosaur Jr. tour, new Sebadoh material, and the awesomeness of the Jesus & Mary Chain's Psychocandy.

1991: The Year Punk Broke finally getting DVD release

According to Slicing Up Eyeballs, the incendiary documentary of Sonic Youth's 1991 European tour will finally be getting a DVD release in honor of its 20th anniversary. The film, which also features performances by Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr., the Ramones and Babes in Toyland, will contain commentary by Sonic Youth's own Thurston Moore and director David Markey.

The most intriguing feature of the 20th anniversary release however is the addition of 42 minute bonus film, (The Is Known As) The Blues Scale, which will showcase loads of performances by both Sonic Youth and Nirvana. 1991: The Year Punk Broke will be released on DVD this fall. Check out some videos from the film below.

Photos: Sebadoh @ Bowery Ballroom

Sebadoh @ Bowery Ballroom - April 10, 2011
Photos: Chris

Classic lo-fi band Sebadoh played the Bowery Ballroom twice this past weekend, and I probably would have gone to both shows had I not been at the Dead Milkmen's crazy show on Saturday night. Either way, I got a full dose of nostalgia in this weekend; Lou Barlow, Jason Loewenstein and latest addition Bob D'Amico did not disappoint on Sunday night (4/10). Though the show probably would have been shorter had Barlow not spent most of his time dissing New York City (though I'm sure it was tongue-in-cheek) we still got a set full of hits, including Bakesale's "Not Too Amused" & "Magnet's Coil", as well as an excellent rendition of III's "The Freed Pig". It was the last show of Sebadoh's tour, and Barlow mentioned we'd probably not see them again until the end of the year, but promised new material when that time comes around.

Barlow will however be in town again when he plays with Dinosaur Jr. at Terminal 5 on 6/23. Henry Rollins will be interviewing the band on stage, which is sure to be an awkward and hilarious affair. Tickets are still on sale. Full set of photos of Sebadoh's Sunday show at Bowery Ballroom are below!

Review: J Mascis - Several Shades of Why (Sub Pop)

J Mascis Several Shades of Why [Sub Pop; 2011]

Though Several Shades of Why is being billed as J Mascis’s “first solo acoustic” album, Dinosaur Jr. devotees know that every album from 1991’s Green Mind and on were practically J Mascis solo albums anyway. Dinosaur’s drummer Murph was reportedly so furious with Mascis’s micro-managing of his drum parts, Mascis ended up playing most of those parts himself. But let’s forget about all that animosity, as it is apparently behind them (Dinosaur Jr. are still around, and are as amazing as ever). Several Shades of Why is a beautiful album, featuring Mascis at his most personal, his voice rarely getting above his distinct moan that you can’t help but wonder why he hasn’t done something like this sooner. And although this is an acoustic album, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t rock. Songs like “Very Nervous and Love” and “Where Are You” showcase the legendary guitarist’s soloing skills as good as any Dinosaur classic, not to mention his songwriting talent has clearly not even peaked. The chord progression of a song like “Is It Done” would come off clichéd if it weren’t for Mascis’s heartbreaking lyrics that compliment it. If Mascis’s awkward off-stage personality and antics made you question his sincerity as a person, just give Several Shades of Why a listen to remind you that oddballs are just as human as anyone.

Official video for single "Not Enough" below...

Dinosaur Jr. to perform Bug in its entirety

Dinosaur Jr. will be performing their classic 1988 SST release Bug in its entirety at Terminal 5 on 6/23. Openers are listed as being Fucked Up and OFF! plus Henry Rollins will interview Dinosaur Jr. live. I don’t know what to make of the interview portion (J Mascis is notoriously a weirdo during interviews), but this is one amazing lineup and sure to be a fucking nostalgic show. Tickets go on sale Friday, 4/8 at 12pm, and they are $30 advance/$35 day of show.

I caught frontman J Mascis perform a fantastic solo set at SXSW in March, full set of photos can be found here.

Welcome

Hello -

I fervently follow and admire new music, yet when a veteran band like Mission of Burma releases a new album, I can't help but admit that it blows 99% of what I listen to out of the water. Hence "Fucking Nostalgic." Because I'll always be fucking nostalgic about what shaped my musical tastes, and I'm sure many avid music listeners will say the same. There is a stigma attached to "reunion" tours that they are about nothing but cashing in. But as Polvo, Mudhoney, Wire and Dinosaur Jr. have taught me, truly innovative and original bands cease to hang up their creativity with age.

Stay tuned for live concert photos/reviews, interviews, weekly vinyl mixtapes, essays, and in depth album reviews from music's past.

J Mascis @ Swan Dive (BrooklynVegan SXSW Day Party) 3/19/11. More here.