06 Jun 2001

Marley gets new life on remasters

By John James
• This Tuesday, Island Records re-issues five classic Bob Marley & The Wailers albums from the 1970s as part of its upgraded-CD-remastering program. All five albums - Catch a Fire, Burnin', Live, Natty Dread, and Rastaman Vibration - feature bonus tracks, complete lyrics, original packaging restoration, and 24-bit digital technology.
22 May 2001

Classics Get a Tropical Makeover

By John James
• Canada's Madacy Group has just launched the new "Reggae Rocks" cover series with the release of The Tide Is High: A Tribute To Rock 'n' Roll. The disc is the first of a planned six-CD series that captures the world's greatest reggae bands and artists tipping their hats to a wide range of pop-rock standards.
15 May 2001

XTC Takes Listeners Inside the Music

By John James
• Fans of the delightfully bright pop of XTC should start practicing their "sick day cough" and get ready to huddle up to the stereo for repeated listening of this Tuesday's release of Homegrown, a 20-track collection of demos, song sketches, and alternative takes from last year's Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) sessions.
08 May 2001

Single Paves the Way for Radiohead Album, Tour

By John James
• Lots of tasty singles are bubbling over from the U.K. this month, forward glimpses of things to come with Air's "Radio Number 1" 12-inch and CD five-inch single from their forthcoming full length 10,000 Hz Legend, due May 29.
01 May 2001

Album, Book Keep Navarro Busy

By John James
• Guitarist Dave Navarro is keeping busy with rumors of a Jane's Addiction reunion buzzing about, his new solo album Trust No One due in June, and his debut entry into the publishing world. The Capitol Records album features a cover of the Velvet Underground's "Venus in Furs" and special guests Jon Brion, Matt Chamberlin, and Red Hot Chili Pepper's drummer Chad Smith.
24 Apr 2001

Music Icons Wax Philosophic in New Book

By John James
• For more than 20 years the good folks at San Francisco's RE/Search Publications have documented all things freaky, sexual, and of intellectual interest to followers of alternative pop culture with their coffee-table tomes on body modification, independent fanzines, angry women, and incredibly strange music and film.
17 Apr 2001

If It Pissed Off Agnew, It Must Be Good

By John James
• It was banned by the Nixon administration, sampled by the Beastie Boys and A Tribe Called Quest, and recently pulled in more than $100 on the rare-record market. If this piques your interest, then look out for this Tuesday's reissue of Eugene McDaniels' Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse by the good eggs at Label M.
10 Apr 2001

Label Readies Retrospective of Plundering Composer

By John James
• The Canadian indie label Fony Records has just released a two-CD retrospective of one of alternative art-rock's seminal architects, John Oswald, the original sampling poltergeist and plunderphonician. Oswald's 25-year history as a composer, audio agitator, and media deconstructionist rose highest above the radar when he produced his legendary Plunderphonics experiment in the early 1980s.
03 Apr 2001

DJ Smash Finds the Recipe for Jazzy Hip Hop

By John James
• This Tuesday the Blue Note label furthers its commitment to jazz-flavored hip hop with the new DJ Smash album Phonography: A Blue Note Mix. This fantastic new collaborative puts Smash Hunter in the chef's seat, concocting a groovy streetwise cake in 14 intriguing slices.
27 Mar 2001

Napster Survives Despite Rulings

By John James
• As the record industry watches Napster weave and bob through another round of legal rulings, the bottom line is that once the file-sharing cat's out of the bag, there's no way to stuff the screeching, clawing beast back in.

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