FN News Roundup: March 22, 2012

It's been quite a day in terms of album reissues, festival news, and movie castings that have been plucked from our dream journal. But pop this article up on your phone and go read it outside, it's like summer out there right now!

• At long last, shoegaze legends My Bloody Valentine will reissue their classic LPs Isn't Anything and Loveless along with four EPs' worth of material from 1988 to 1991 and unreleased / rare tracks. The countdown to May 7 is ON! (Slicing Up Eyeballs)


• Speaking of long-awaited reissues, David Bowie will be celebrating the 40th Anniversary of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars on June 5, with completely remastered tracks and an audio DVD with previously unreleased mixes (Consequence of Sound)


• INDEED. Michael K. Williams (Omar from The Wire) has officially signed on to play Ol' Dirty Bastard of the Wu-Tang Clan in an upcoming biopic about the late rapper's career and life. YES. TO. THIS. (Warming Glow)


• Happy 35th Anniversary to the B-52s! The band who taught us much about tin roofs rusting are playing four shows in the NYC area in July with Squeeze, plus a separate show in Englewood, NJ in early August (BrooklynVegan)


• I guess we can't complain about a lack of local festivals anymore. We've got another new one on July 28 & 29 called the Catalpa Festival with headliners including TV On The Radio & The Black Keys, along with Snoop Dogg performing Doggystyle in its entirety. Geanna expressly wanted that last part bolded (Pitchfork)

Contest: Win a pair of tickets to David Bowie + Elvis Presley's Birthday Bash @ LPR!

Ever wonder what it would be like to celebrate the birthdays of two iconic musicians in a Vegas-style three ring circus setting? If you answered yes, then you probably live a much more lavish life than I. But that also means you'll be thrilled to attend Le Poisson Rouge's party this Sunday (1/15) in honor of David Bowie and Elvis Presley's birthdays!

As per LPR's website:

Oh! You Pretty Things is proud to present a birthday bacchanalia for rock's two greatest capricorns Elvis Presley and David Bowie, This Ambitious Orchestra along with Michael T and the Vanities perform larger-than-life arrangements of hit songs from their catalogue with Formika and Queen V as your emcees for this Vegas- style three ring circus.

The spectacular stage show also features a tribute to the King by Eddie Clendening and the Blue Ribbon Boys from the Broadway hit "Million Dollar Quartet", plus an exciting cast of guest singers including Lady Circus, Hickry Hawkins, Corey Tut, Rob Roth, Saphin and many more, along with burlesque by The Flying Fox and Brewster while DJs Twig the Wonderkid, Rockin' Daddy-O, and James David spin rock n roll, rockabilly, and glam-rock all night.

Tickets are still available for $15 in advance and $20 day of. However, you can easily win a pair of tickets from Fucking Nostalgic! All you have to do is send an email to chris@fuckingnostalgic.com with "contest" in the subject and your first and last name in the body. Don't worry, your email will not be used for anything other than for entering this contest. A winner will be selected at random and notified by 1pm tomorrow.  Good luck!

Watch A "Lost" David Bowie Performance On Top Of The Pops From 1973

Wow, apparently it's a good week to unearth random cool stuff! SPIN reports that "new" (old) footage of the legendary David Bowie stopping by the classic UK music program Top Of The Pops in January of 1973 to perform his then-new single "The Jean Genie" has resurfaced on the Internet.

The performance aired only once on British television and was intended to be archived forever, but then the BBC wound up erasing the tape on which it was preserved in an effort to reuse tapes. Silly, silly BBC. Fortunately, the cameraman who shot the performance, John Henshall, made a personal copy for himself and submitted it to air on last night's Top Of The Pops Christmas Special so that we can all witness a performance that hasn't been seen publicly in nearly 40 years.

Check it out in all its Aladdin Sane goodness below! (It starts at the 20 second mark.)

iMeowww Presents... David Meowie

It's been a few weeks since we last heard from iMeowww, but I think it's safe to say it was worth the wait. Below, take a listen to "David Meowie," a take on David Bowie's infamously cheesy/amazing song, "Let's Dance." And if this is your first time hearing about iMeowww, you're not alone in your thoughts that this is absolutely mental. Enjoy!

David Meowie by Debzies

Mick Rock To Issue Exclusive David Bowie Box Set

If the subject matter of our posts has led you to believe that the full name of this blog is Fucking Nostalgic Vinyl Fans, we would totally understand - we love hearing about vinyl releases, and the cooler and more interesting the better. Which is why we're psyched to share news out of rock legend David Bowie's camp that iconic rock photographer Mick Rock - "The Man Who Shot The Seventies" and captured the most famous photos of Bowie as Ziggy Stardust - is curating a series of limited edition box sets focused on Bowie, Syd Barrett, Glam!, and Iggy Pop in conjunction with EMI and Loud Distribution.

David Bowie's set will feature an exclusive "Starman / Suffragette City" 7" single on translucent red heavyweight vinyl, along with a 128-page booklet packed with Mick's photos of Bowie from 1972 to 2002, including a previously unseen 2002 session. The full series will be limited to 5,000 copies and will be available beginning on September 26.

Check out Bowie's website for info on the other boxes and for upcoming purchasing info, and check after the jump for classic performances of both "Starman" and "Suffragette City."

Mixtape: Spring 2004

By Debbie Chou

I made a mix during my senior year at University of Hartford. This was before podcasts were around and iPods were still chunky. It was just my discman and me, roaming the campus everyday, with the CD of this mix on repeat and sometimes on shuffle. This was during my final semester so I had a lot on my mind—completing works for my composition recital, competing in the regional semi-finals with my a cappella group, asking myself if there is a future with this guy I was seeing, wondering what the fuck I was going to do after I graduate. Those were bittersweet times but it was my best semester.

I graduated, then I had to pack everything and take down the photos from my wall one last time. I had that room all to myself for the entire school year. Boy, if those walls could talk… Anyway, my family helped me pack. They knew I could be slow and inefficient sometimes so they were being a little pushy. The truth was I was dragging my feet because I was too sad. Our family friend drove up from Queens in his van and took my parents and myself to his house where my boxes and suitcases would be stored for the entire summer. I would then spend the next two months in Taipei before I returned to New York for my summer job. After that, Lori and I would go apartment hunting while we submitted our resumes to whoever was hiring. That was all I knew: the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. Ah, the unknown.

As we drove away from my dorm, I put my headphones on and listened to my mix once again. The opening track that gave me confidence and energy every morning now made me feel anxious and…well…FUCKING NOSTALGIC. Wow, four years go by so fast. I had great times there. Senior year rocked. Where am I going to live in New York City? What jobs can I get? What funds do I have? When am I going to see my boyfriend again? What can I do with my music? And so on. If only I could go back in time and tell myself that everything will be OK, but I think deep down I knew that already.

This is the exact order of the mix with fewer gaps. None of these songs were popular hits in 2004, so this is nostalgia within nostalgia. Yes, there are two U2 tracks. Yes, there are three songs by The Cure. Welcome to my life in West Hartford, Connecticut. I hope you enjoy this mix as much as I enjoyed my spring of 2004.