Jim Ward returns to Australia

Jim Ward - former member of At The Drive In and Sparta - will return to Australia in December for a round of solo shows in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. Jim was here earlier this year for the Soundwave festival.

When Jim Ward was a member of At the Drive In, he helped create some of that era's most gripping, cutting-edge and important music. After ATDI unfortunately broke up, he led Sparta to make music that placed the band only a few steps behind rock's cutting edge, with sleek post-hardcore. Now, as a budding solo artist and with his new project Sleepercar, Ward seems to have found his inspiration.

His music it ain't quite ATDI or Sparta either. It's a lot more subdued and chilled. In typical relaxed style, Ward is only bringing along his guitar and harmonica. He has just finished up touring with Sleepercar and says he needs a little break.

"I need a change of pace and a stretch after a long year on the road with Sleepercar," Jim says in a statement, "so I decided to end my year the way I started; by getting on a plane with my guitar and heading down to Australia to play some songs."

The team here at Music Universe loved At The Drive In and still love Sparta, so there's no doubt they'll be attending this gig.

Dates:
Dec 4th - Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne VIC
Dec 5th - Karova Lounge, Ballarat VIC
Dec 6th - Royal Melbourne Hall, Melbourne VIC
Dec 9th - Annandale Hotel, Sydney NSW
Dec 11th - Brass Monkey, Sydney NSW
Dec 12th - The New Hunter Valley Brewery, Maitland NSW
Dec 13th - Rosies Tavern, Brisbane QLD

The Streets set to play Playground Weekender 2009

Phew......it took a game of 'mercy' to try and squeeze this one out of the promoters.

Music Universe is happy they won the game and can now reveal that The Streets is the first headliner locked in for the one-and-only Playground Weekender.

After producing 3 albums already, there was talk that Mike Skinner of The Streets might be retiring, however listening to his fourth album 'Everything Is Borrowed', it seems he aint going anywhere soon. He is a lyrical master and puts on one of the best live shows going around. The Streets live band is also well-attuned to the Australian festival circuit, they've toured a number of times, so expect an antz-in-my-pants kind of party at Playground.

So what should one expect from Playground Weekender? Well, it is held at the picturesque Del Rio Resort on the Hawkesbury River, a true festival location. This year’s event hosted the likes of Maximo Park, Ian Brown, The Wombats and Kruder & Dorfmeister, so you can expect an equally mouth watering line-up in 2009.

Stay tuned to Music Universe for the first official line up announcement on Thursday 6 November.

Playground Weekender
Del Rio Riverside Resort, Wiseman’s Ferry, New South Wales
Fri 6, Sat 7 and Sun 8 Feb 2009

www.the-streets.co.uk
www.playgroundweekender.com.au

The Who to perform at the 2009 Melbourne Grand Prix

The legendary rock n rollers The Who will visit Australia in March next year, though their only scheduled performance is at the Melbourne Grand Prix. Also announced is a concert on March 21 at North Harbour Stadium, Auckland.

The press release states that the band's appearance will be "their only Melbourne show", and while there is nothing in the press release to suggest shows will be scheduled in other capital cities, Music Universe will be the first to inform you if there's any more news.

The Who last toured Australia back in 2004. The Who are Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle and Keith Moon. They were big during the 60's and 70's and are recognised as one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time. Their hit singles include 'I Can't Explain', 'My Generation', 'Substitute', 'The Kids Are Alright', 'Behind Blue Eyes', 'Baba O'Riley' and so many more.

Current ticketholders to the Melbourne Grand Prix have already secured their chance to see The Who, though a limited number of premium tickets will be available for an additional cost. The Melbourne Grand Prix prices are ridiculous, but if they don't announce any other dates, then it might be worth forking out the cash.

http://www.thewho.com/

Leonard Cohen tours Australia

Are you ready? For the first time in twenty four years (yes twenty four years!!), the fabled songwriter, poet, novelist and living legend, Leonard Cohen, is coming to Australia.

Since releasing 'The Songs of Leonard Cohen' in 1967, he has produced another eleven albums, numerous books of poetry and been a part of various doco's/movies. Recently, Cohen was inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with a speech by Lou Reed on March 10, 2008 for his status among the "highest and most influential echelon of songwriters". He has won a whole bunch of awards recognising his status in music history. Recurring themes in Cohen's work include love and sex, religion (Jewish), politics, psychological depression (he suffered from it and thought about suicide a lot) and obviously music itself. A new album is supposedly due out soon.

Oh yeah and Australia’s own master of story-telling, Paul Kelly, will be supporting.

You would be silly to miss these shows.

Saturday 24 January - Yarra Valley – Rochford Wines, a day on the green

Monday 26 January - Adelaide – Leconfield Wines, a day on the green

Wednesday 28 January - Sydney Entertainment Centre

Saturday 31 January - Hunter Valley – Bimbadgen Estate, a day on the green

Sunday 01 February - Bowral – Centennial Vineyards, a day on the green

Tuesday 03 February - Brisbane Entertainment Centre

Thursday 05 February - Melbourne – Rod Laver Arena

Saturday 07 February - Perth – Sandalford Wines, Swan Valley, an evening on the green

TICKETS ON SALE MONDAY 10TH NOVEMBER 9:00AM

www.leonardcohen.com

Led Zeppelin to tour without Plant

Oh god. Hopes for a monsterous world tour from a reunited Led Zeppelin have sort of been squashed. Well, not completely, but bassist John Paul Jones has confirmed that the band’s upcoming shows will still go ahead, but with a new singer standing in for Robert Plant.

There was a false flurry of excitement back in September when UK trashy newspaper The Sun reported that Plant “couldn’t face the thought of not being involved” in reunion plans. Oh yeah, that's coz The Sun is just so good at reporting the correct news. Anyway, Plant swiftly replied with a statement quashing the rumours. “It’s both frustrating and ridiculous for this story to continue to rear its head when all the musicians that surround the story are keen to get on with their individual projects and move forward.”

Jones has now told the UK's BBC Radio, that the remainder of Led Zeppelin is rehearsing with “a couple” of replacement frontmen.

“It’s got to be right. There’s no point in just finding another Robert,” Jones told the station. “You could get that out of a tribute band, but we don’t want to be our own tribute band. There would be a record and a tour, but everyone has to be on board.”

I hope this news coming outta the UK is as incorrect as The Sun is being a reputable source of information.

www.ledzeppelin.com

Muscles erases MySpace account

Indie-electro artist, Muscles, is taking a stand against the musical establishment by deleting his MySpace account and others could follow suit too.

The decision effective today (October 27) was prompted by the creation of MySpace Music, a joint venture between MySpace, EMI Music, SONY BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony ATV. The new player features ad-supported song streaming and the option of buying tunes online from Amazon's MP3 store.

“Until they make clear their fair deal for independent musicians … I cannot be apart of this money-driven trash community it has now become (as fun as it may be),” Muscles said in a release.

“It used to be about the music, but now all I see is pictures of Lindsay Lohan every time I login and it makes me sick in my stomach! She is an actor, a puppet, and personally I couldn't give a fuck about her personal life.

“MySpace began as an incredible social networking tool and fantastic resource for underground music, but now if independent musicians are shoved out of the new MySpace music deal, muscles as a musician will be leaving MySpace forever.”

Fans, don't despair, it doesn’t spell the end of Muscles’ online presence. He will still be online through several websites including musclesmusic.net, muscleswebshop.com and a new blog musclesmusicblog.com.

In other Muscles news, the singer has nearly finished the follow-up to his debut, 'Guns Babes Lemonade'.

Good for you Muscles. Good for you.

N*E*R*D announce Australian tour

Well aren't Future Entertainment on a roll this week. Just days after announcing NeverEverLand (which we're still licking our lips over), Future Entertainment have announced that Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo will bring their N*E*R*D live act to Australia in March 2009, for their first ever ‘major concert tour’.

Set to play shows in Sydney and Melbourne, N*E*R*D’s tour comes after a huge year in 2008 with the release of their third album 'Seeing Sounds'. Outside of N*E*R*D Williams and Hugo have a well established reputation as production outfit The Neptunes, having worked on all manner of chart smashing rap, RnB, pop and rock hits. Pharrell was once asked what N*E*R*D stood for and here's what he had to say..."What is N*E*R*D? N*E*R*D stands for No-one Ever Really Dies. The Neptunes are who we are and N*E*R*D is what we do. It's our life. N*E*R*D is just a basic belief, man. People's energies are made of their souls. When you die, that energy may disperse but it isn't destroyed" Ok Pharrell.

We at Music Universe have to get this off our chests though. N*E*R*D's first single off their latest recording is called 'Everyone Nose' and we believe it is without a doubt the worst song of the year. No diss to N*E*RD or their fans because most of their other music is sweet, but how can you make a song where the chorus's lyrics are "All the girls waiting in the line for the bathroom". Dumbest words, dumbest song, just plain dumb. Comment down below if you can think of any other 'dumb' songs you've heard before.

N*E*R*D tour dates:

Wed Mar 4th – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
Thu Mar 5th – Hisense Arena, Melbourne

http://www.n-e-r-d.com/

Solar Music Festival announces acts

Just announced is yet another festival for the summer – we dare someone to do them all!! The Solar Music Festival, held over three stages at the Mornington Racecourse on January 3rd, will boast an all Aussie line up that offers some of the finest rock, dance, hip hop and folk in the country.

Heading the festivities are of course The Presets. Joining them from the dance category will be fellow dance-chart toppers PNAU, Bang Gang front man Ajax, Miami Horror, Acid Jacks, John Course and TV Rock. We can already see the sweat on the dancefloors.

The rock contingent is headed up by local heroes Kisschasy, kicking off what promises to be a huge 2009 for the boys from the Peninsula. They’re in fine company with everyone’s favourite stalwarts You Am I. Trial Kennedy, Calling All Cars and COG round out the rock line-up. For the more blazed up punters there’s the much loved Josh Pyke, Lisa Mitchell, That One Guy and feel good blend of blues, roots, hip hop and reggae offered by The Beautiful Girls. Hip-hop also comes to the fore with the inclusion of the mighty Muph n Plutonic, Phrase and Snob Scrilla.

For more info head to http://www.solarfestival.com.au/

January 3rd - Mornington Racecourse, Victoria

NeverEverLand 10th anniversary Festival

Modular have done it again. Without a doubt, this is the best indie-electro festival lineup of the summer.

In celebration of their momentous 10th anniversary, Modular have quite possibly topped last year's lineup which included Daft Punk for their first ever Australian showing. They must be smiling.

Tell me you're not excited for this announcement...........well here we go..........direct from the mouths of Modular themselves....“So how do you even begin to attempt to follow up and surpass such an event? [Daft Punk]” the NeverEverLand press release reads. “Well, you don’t. But in 1998 Modular Recordings was born, a label that in the time since has gone on to become arguably the most influential Australian independent record label of the last 5000 years, one described by the NME as the “coolest label on the planet”. To celebrate 10 years of stayin alive, this years NeverEverLand festival is the official birthday party, with a swathe of the labels biggest and best acts of the last decade on show.”

With the tour marking such a significant milestone in the label’s existence it should come as no surprise that it features all of their biggest, best and brightest stars. Standing atop the tree you’ll find The Presets, fresh from scooping the pool at the ARIA Awards. They’ll be ably supported by nu-rave icons Klaxons and Melbourne’s masters of indie dance, Cut Copy. Not to be outdone, Modular have also invited along several acts that share a similar musical vision, including disco revivalists Hercules & Love Affair of the DFA label and Erland Oye’s new project Whitest Boy Alive. My god this is going to be a spectacle.

You want more? Ok, how about Ladyhawke, The Bumblebeez, Muscles, Van She, Tame Impala, Bang Gang DJs, Ajax, Lost Valentinos, Mission Control, Temper Trap, Canyons, Pepperoni, Andee Van Damage and the Bag Raiders. We ran out of kleenex tissues this morning for some of the staff members of Music Universe.

NeverEverLand tour dates:

Sat Dec 13 – Hordern Pavilion & Surrounds, Sydney
Sun Dec 14 – Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne
Sat Dec 20 – Riverstage, Brisbane
Sun Dec 21 – Members Equity Stadium, Perth

Tickets for NeverEverLand go onsale Friday November 7th.

www.nevereverland.com.au
www.modularpeople.com.au

One Hot BBQ announces Mos Def

New Years Day, Birrarung Marr, Melbourne, One Hot BBQ. Do yourselves a favour and cancel everything else planned. This is the only place to be this New Years.

The likes of Mos Def, Ladyhawke, The Herd, Boys Noize, The Galvatrons, Miami Horror, DJ Nu Mark (J5), Hot little Hands, Phrase and many many more will be serving up snags, steaks, beers and music.

Brought to you by Future Entertainment, the same guys who put on Global Gathering, Summerdayze and Future Music Festival, this festival collaborates different sytles of music including indie, hip hop, electro, funk, soul, dub-reggae and even minimal.

Mos Def is one of the most highly recognised hip-hop faces currently out there. His undeniably witty and intelligent charisma has pushed him and his music into the mainsteam market. He has worked with the like of Kanye West, A Tribe Called Quest, Massive Attack ,De La Soul, The Roots, Black Eyed Peas and so many more. His most recent collaboration was with Talib Kweli on 'Black Star', which some considered to be a masterpiece. He's also a recognised movie star and some might say a pop-culture idol. Anyway, you want to miss out on seeing him thats all.

So, there's a limited amount of space and therefore tickets (on sale for $79), so it's sure to be a sell out.

This could be the most mouth watering event of the summer.

http://www.hotbarbeque.com.au/
www.futureentertainment.com.au

Odyssey NYE 2009 party

Come NYE, Carrara Sports Complex is going to go off.

Odyssey 09 is set to explode for its highly-anticipated third event this New Years Eve. Spread across multiple stages, the Gold Coast event promises to be a show-stopper boasting the biggest superstar line-up yet. Carrara Sports Complex will be transformed into a music fortress, ensuring the event will be talked about long after the countdown to midnight is over.

The lineup includes Jet, Grinspoon, Eskimo Joe, The Butterfly Effect, Bliss n Eso, Evermore, Operator Please, Malente and more!!!

All drinks are included in the price of the ticket ($150) which is possibly a world first. Also ,the ticket guarantees entry into various nightclubs in the Gold Coast and Brisbane areas. For an extra $60 you get to feel like a VIP which gets you an intimate chill-out zone, private bar, private toilet and catering. Sounds like one heck of a deal!!!

December 31st - Carrara Sporting Complex, Brisbane, QLD

www.odysseynye.com.au

Meredith adds more acts to lineup

Violent Soho, The Scientists of Modern Music and Even are among the eight new acts to be added to the 2008 Meredith Music Festival, it was announced this morning. They will be joined by Pilooski, Kram, Dan Sultan, Mountains in The Sky and T Rek as the new additions to one of the best festivals on the Australian calender.

These fine acts will be joining the rest of the sweet sweet bands including MGMT, Holy Fuck, Tame Impala, Mountain Goats, The Ruby Suns, Little Red, Saul Williams, Regurgitator, The Datusuns, The Bronx, Muscles, Architecture in Helsinki and many many more.

Meredith Music Festival is on from the 12th - 14th of December at the Meredith Supernatural Ampitheatre, Victoria. It sold out a very long time ago, so congrats to those that have tickets and unlcuky to those that don't.

http://www.mmf.com.au/

For more info on Meredith go here
*Sorry just had to put up that photo of Violent Soho coz we laughed ourselves silly when we saw it.

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds tour Australia for 'Dig!!!, Lazarus, Dig!!!'

In case you weren't already aware, Nick Cave and his comrades - The Bad Seeds, have had an overwhelming success with their monumental fourteenth album, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! The critics have been nearly universal in their praise; with a score of 87 on the review-aggregating website Metacritic, 'Dig' is the fifth best-reviewed record of the year and has been nominated as Australian Album of the Year by the Triple J Awards. Nick also picked up an award for 'Best Male Solo' and they probably should've won the 'Album of The Year' award if it wasn't for the 'let's look like we're cool and with it' ARIA judges.

Let's not forget that they also picked up a MOJO Award already Best Album of 2008, beating out the likes of Radiohead and Robert Plant & Alison Kraus) and two Q Award nominations (Best Album and Best Live Act). Anyway, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are preparing for an Australian assault. Following an epic run through Europe and their first North American tour in almost six years, capped by an historic headline performance at the legendary Hollywood Bowl, the band now announces an exclusive and intimate tour. This will be followed by their headline appearances at, and curation of, several All Tomorrow’s Parties festival-style events.

January 6th - The Palace, Melbourne

January 14th - Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide

January 20th - Belvoir Valley Ampitheatre, Perth

*Don't forget about All Tomorrow's Parties festival too.

http://www.nickcaveandthebadseeds.com/

Chris Cheney talks 'Garage Rock'

The Living End recently won an ARIA award for 'Best Rock Album' and didn't they deserve it. 'White Noise' is TLE's 5th studio album and most consider their hardest, loudest and rockiest album so far. It kinda makes sense considering it was Brendan O'Brien who mixed and mastered the album. O'Brien had begun working with The Living End literally a day after completing AC/DC's 'Black Ice' album. 'White Noise' has already gone gold as well.

Photos of Chris's garage


Anyway, Chis Cheney, frontman of The Living End, was briefly interviewed by men's magazine FHM recently. Of course it had nothing to do with the new album, they actually just talked about his new garage. Cheney goes on to talk about getting messy on cognac with Kram (from Spiderbait), making Frangelico his new summer love, sharing a photo with the Rolling Stones and kicking Phil Jamieson (from Grinspoon) out after a heavy night. Seems like Chris is quite relaxed with everything at the moment and so he should be!!!

If you haven't got you hands on a copy of 'White Noise' - do yourselves a favour and buy it from a store or steal it from a mate or pay a couple of dollars to download it. Your life will be happier.

Chrish Cheney Interview with FHM


www.thelivingend.com

Jurassic 5 to re-release debut EP

Well it's about time these guys were in the news again. Jurassic 5 are set to release a reissue of their sublime 1997 debut album and it will feature an assortment of extra features.

The newly issued ‘J5 Deluxe Re-issue’ will feature the original album as well as a bonus disc with 15 rare songs and a DVD with never-seen-before footage of the band’s first-ever world tour.

The DVD portion of the release features ‘The Jurassic Period’ documentary directed by Jason Goldwatch, and is accompanied by a 30-minute live performance ‘Jurassic 5 at Brixton Academy’ as well as the ‘Concrete Schoolyard’ music video.

The album has been out of print since 2004 due to contractual disputes, and will be released November 11 via Decon.

J5 split in March after nearly 15 years together. After their debut EP, they went on to produce one of the finest hip-hop albums of the 21st century - 'Quality Control'. It's an album that every human being on earth should have in their collection and will be known as one of the greats.

After this massive debut album, it all went down hill. They couldn't produce the same quality goods with 'Power in Numbers' and then DJ Cut Chemist left the group. This was probably the nail in the coffin. Their final hoorah was the album 'Feedback' which was a sad note to end on. Nevertheless, J5 will be rememebered for their wiked party beats, Charlie 2na's voice and their sick lyrics.

www.jurassic5.com

James Murphy goes "classic rock"

It seems LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy has been hard at work on something kinda different. With disco on the back-burner for the moment, he’s putting together a “classic rock record”.

Murphy told BBC’s 6Music he is working on the album with his long-time offsider Pat Mahoney, plus former members of folk-rock tearaways Hockey Night – Scott Wells and Paul Spranglers. Apparently Mr Murphy will be on the bass guitar.

There were also hints the project will call on the talents of members of Hercules and Love Affair. This seems like it could be quite intriguing. Expect to hear something in the new year sometime.

http://www.lcdsoundsystem.com/

Bliss n Eso win ARIA for 'Flying Colours'

We feel like giving a huge high five to the boys of Bliss n Eso. They won the ARIA award for 'Best Urban Release' last night and it was a huge surprise. Bliss n Eso and their team from Illusive including Matt Gudinski and Adam Jankie have had an awesome 2008.

They released 'Flying Colours' ealier this year and it is just ssensational. We here especially like the song "Eye of The Storm" which has the epic sounds of Angus and Julia Stone throughout song.

www.blissneso.com

Eagles of Death Metal release 'Heart On'

Eagles Of Death Metal have released their third album 'Heart On', produced by guitarist Josh Homme.

Main players of Eagles, Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme are essentially a comedy act, sending up and celebrating that late 70's genre - scuzz rock. On their third album, the duo are as danceable as ever, but much of the fun is in the lyrics, which revel in AM-rock-radio tropes — sleazy tales of tight pants and loose women. The song titles tell the story: "Prissy Prancin'," "I'm Your Torpedo" and "High Voltage"

Recently, Jesse Hughes was asked about a future Australian tour......."Oh absolutely. We've been actually talking last week about how when and where we're gonna start. We'd like to go form Tassie to Perth and everything in between."

Sweeeeeet.

http://www.eaglesofdeathmetal.com/

Scars On Broadway cancel Soundwave festival

Scars On Broadway have announced they won't make it out for next year's Soundwave festival as planned. The writing was sorta on the wall when earlier this month Scars on Broadway cancelled the remaining dates on their US tour.

In fact the band have cancelled all live shows scheduled over the next few months, with guitarist and songwriter Daron Malakian saying on their myspace he has personal things going on that require his undivided attention.

Soundwave organisers have said that more bands are due to be added to the line-up in coming weeks. It's already pretty massive bill with healiners like Nine In Nails, Alice In Chains, Funeral For a Friend and Less Than Jake.

http://www.scarsonbroadway.com/

Bob Evans to release 'Good Night Bull Creek' next April

Bob Evans (aka Kevin Mitchell from Jebediah) has just recorded his third album. It seems it might be significantly different to his first two.

"By the time the beginning of this year rolled around and I was looking at going in to the studio I was kind of sick of singer songwriters. And I started getting really paranoid. Like every time I saw a guy with an acoustic guitar singing his heart out I just thought shit that's me!"

When asked about 'Good Night Bull Creek', Mitchell had this to say about the heavier sounds that might appear. "I played a lot of electric guitar. Every time the tender guy came out I just stepped on the distortion and went shut up!"

Bob Evans will play a bunch of shows in around the country in November.

'Good Night Bull Creek' is due next April.

http://www.bobevans.com.au/

The Presets own the ARIA Awards 2008

Last night, the 2008 ARIA Awards were dominated by the ever so wonderful Presets and Gabriella Cilmi. Now, because we only talk about good music at Music Universe, we will not be mentioning Mz 17 year old Gabriella Cilmi won 6 awards and is from Dandenong, Victoria. Let's talk about The Presets. The Sydney duo took home several of the evening’s most prestigious awards, including ‘Best Group’, ‘Best Dance Release’ and ‘Album of the Year’. The Presets didn't have a perfect night, they did miss out on 'Single of the Year'.

In terms of live performances, The Living End kicked things off with 'White Noise' and white confetti, Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes (The Presets) were also responsible for the ceremony’s most electric performance with a typically high-energy rendition of their anthem 'My People', complete with over-the-top theatrics, a handful of mysterious Zebra dancers and a whole lotta lasers.

Elsewhere, The Living End scored the 'Best Rock Album' honours with their latest 'White Noise', while the formidable Nick Cave was named 'Best Male Artist' for the second time. The Panics picked up 'Best Adult Contemporary Album' for 'Cruel Guards', an album we’re not convinced the band would classify Adult Contemporary. Whilst last year's stars Powderfinger and Silverchair jointly claimed 'Best Music DVD' with their concert film 'Across the Great Divide'.

The staff at Music Universe are happy that Sam Sparro won nothing despite his 5 nominations, but are sad that cute brother sister duo Angus and Julia Stone weren't recognised for their outstanding sounds.

www.thepresets.com

Guns n Roses 'Chinese Democracy' tracklist, album cover and date released

Well, it's looking more and more likely that it's safe to say that 'Chinese Democracy' is going to be released.

Best Buy- the store, as you may recall, which landed the exclusive rights to the Interscope release of Guns N' Roses 'it's about time' album has released the album's cover and tracklisting on their website. Well, one version of it, anyway; there's a mention on the site of alternative art, though that hasn't been posted as yet. As for that cover? It's a sepia-tone image of a bicycle, with a big basket on it. Turn it up!!! NOT. Sounds like it could be the most boring album cover of the decade. The Best Buy page also notes that the album drops on Tuesday, November 25.

Chinese Democracy:

01 Chinese Democracy
02 Scraped
03 Shackler's Revenge
04 Street of Dreams
05 If the World
06 Better
07 This I Love
08 There Was a Time
09 Riad N' the Bedovins
10 Sorry
11 I.R.S.
12 Catcher
13 Madagascar
14 Prostitute

http://www.gunsnroses.com/

Chinese Democracy album cover - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9111016&st=chinese+democracy&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1925065

Metallica to tour Australia in January??

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With their ‘Death Magnetic’ tour set to kick off on 21 October, Metallica have been talking up their bigger-than-ever live show. Drummer Lars Ulrich revealed the set-lists will draw heavily from the new album.

“These new songs are a lot of fun to play,” Ulrich said. “Traditionally I think we’ve been a little conservative when we’ve started off with two songs, three songs [from Death Magnetic ]. We’re going to hit the ground running here. We’re probably gonna learn all of them and play, I hope, at least five a night and probably rotate ‘em so we get a lot of new songs in. That’s one thing I’m definite about.”

There are also grand plans on the production side of things, too. ”[It’ll be] a completely different thing than what we’ve done before,” enthused the stick-man. ”[There’s] a big-ass fuckin’ lighting rig above us, and there’s some pretty cool stuff up there. There’ll be some shit that turns on and off and some shit that blows up … the usual stuff.”

Usual for Metallica, maybe…

Rumours are circulating around the offices suggesting Metallica will be visiting us as early as January 2009.

Imagine.

http://www.metallica.com/

Franz Ferdinand announce sideshows and 'Tonight' tracklist

Hot off the press is that Franz Ferdinand will be touring Australia on the back of their festival appearances.



They will be joined on tour by The Cribs. The UK alt-rock heroes are visiting Australia to promote new album 'Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever' – and they’re bringing Johnny Marr with them! The young and fresh act Red Riders will be warming the stage at both dates.



Franz Ferdinand plan on releasing their latest album 'Tonight' come January 26th, so one should expect to hear a lot of new stuff at their show.

Full tracklist:
01 Ulysses
02 Turn It On
03 No You Girls Never Know
04 Twilight Omens
05 Send Him Away
06 Live Alone
07 Bite Hard
08 What She Came For
09 Can't Stop Feeling
10 Lucid Dreams
11 Dream Again
12 Katherine Kiss Me

Australian sideshows (don't foget the Falls, Southbound and Sunset festivals too!!):

January 5th - The Palace, Melbourne
January 6th - Enmore Theatre, Sydney



Tickets on sale October 29th through ticketek.com.au



http://www.franzferdinand.co.uk/



*In other news, King of Leon were meant to be headlining Big Day Out with Neil Young and Arctic Monkeys, but negotiations fell through and will be shortly announcing their own tour. Expect arenas to be the venues they play at considering how 'Stadium Rock' they've become.

The Black Keys, Gomez and Dr Dog team up for a tour extravaganza

They're back yet again. This summer, the banging blues duo The Black Keys are jumping around Australia, this time with Gomez and Dr Dog. This salvating triple-bill, with each of the bands out here for New Years Eve festivals, is going to be one hell of a show. What a line-up Love Police and Billions have put together.

The Black Keys were last here in June, when they left sold-out venues reeling from a heavy dose of rock ‘n roll. Gomez, too, are no strangers to our shores, having visited us eight times (apparently one of the band members has a house here). Nevertheless, with a show like theirs, they are always welcome to our neck of the woods.

Let's not forget that a part of this stellar touring party is Philidelphia five-piece Dr Dog, who can deliver one hell of a show off the back of their 2008 release, 'Fate'.

We can’t wait to see if they can get all 3 together on the stage for an uber cool medley.

Tickets are on sale now.

Monday 29 December – Fremantle Arts Centre (With DR DOG and Abbe May)
Tuesday, 30 December – HQ, Adelaide (With DR DOG)
Saturday 3 January – Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta (With DR DOG)
Sunday 4 January – Lake Kawana Community Centre (With DR DOG)
Monday 5 January – The Arena, Brisbane (With GOMEZ and DR DOG)
Wednesday 7 January – Coffs Ex Services Club, Coffs Harbour (With ASH GRUNWALD)
Thursday 8 January – Panthers, Newcastle (With GOMEZ and DR DOG)
Friday 9 January – Big Top Luna Park, Sydney (With GOMEZ, ASH GRUNWALD and DR DOG)
Saturday 10 January – Waves, Wollongong (With GOMEZ, ASH GRUNWALD and DR DOG)
Sunday 11 January – The Palais Theatre, Melbourne (With GOMEZ and DR DOG)

http://www.theblackkeys.com/

http://www.gomez.com/

http://www.drdogmusic.com/

Santogold's Australian tour

Santogold, the somewhat sister to M.I.A., is coming down under to play a couple of festivals and sideshows.

It’s not too often that big hype is lived up to. In the case of Santogold aka Santi White, it’s lived up to and well beyond. After bursting on to the airwaves, Santogold features production from the very elite (Switch, Diplo, Freq Nasty, XXXChange, Spank Rock) and sees her delve effortlessly into dub, hip-hop and soul whilst still paying homage to her punk-rock roots. From the mesmerizing 'L.E.S Artistes' to the catchy 'You'll Find A Way' to the rastafarian 'Shove It' and the in-your-face 'Creator', we can see why there is such excitement at the knowledge that she's coming to play in Australia.

January 5th - Billboards, Melbourne

January 6th - The Forum, Sydney

*Santogold will be performing at Falls Festival over NYE.

Tickets on sale October 16th from ticketek and moshtix. ($58)

www.myspace.com/santogold

My Morning Jacket announce two sideshows for tour

My Morning Jacket are going to be busy when they come to Australia in January 2009. Not only will they be a part of the Big Day Out contingent and supporting the one and only Neil Young, but they will also be performing a couple of sideshows.

Unfortunately only Melbourne and Sydney will be privvy to seeing these guys in a more intimate setting. Nevertheless, if you are from one of those cities, or can make it down from somewhere else, do what you can to get there! My Morning Jacket are one of the best live bands playing the scene at the moment. Add to it that their latest album is one of their finer masterpieces, you can imagine how hot these tickets will be.

My Morning Jacket will be playing:

January 22nd - The Metro, Sydney
January 27th - Billboards, Melbourne

*They will also be appearing at every Big Day Out (incl. Auckland) and supporting Neil Young in Melbourne and Sydney too.

Tickets are on sale now through Love Police and are $49.50.

www.mymorningjacket.com

http://shop.lovepolice.com.au/lovepolicetours.products/tickets/mymorningjacket

St Jerome's Laneway Festival announce first round of acts

Music Universe are excited to be bringing you this news. St Jerome's Laneway Festival has announced its first round of acts and all we can say is WOW.

They have made the festival a bit earlier this time, coming off the back of the Big Day Out fest. So, for all Big Day Out rumour mills flying around - you can now discount a couple of top nothc bands coz they will be at St Jeromes instead. Those at St Jeromes that cannot be missed will be The Hold Steady, Girl Talk, Four Tet, Tame Impala, No Age, The Temper Trap and the one and only Holly Throsby.

So, once again the management of St Jeromes has done it again and set up what is sure to be known as one of the not-to-be-missed festivals of the year!

St Jerome’s Laneway Festival 2009
GIRL TALK, STEREOLAB, ARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI, THE HOLD STEADY, THE DRONES, CUT OFF YOUR HANDS, FOUR TET, TAME IMPALA, EL GUINCHO, JAY REATARD, BURAKA SOM SISTEMA DJ/MC SET, THE TEMPER TRAP, NO AGE, JOHN STEEL SINGERS, CANYONS, PIVOT, PORT O’BRIEN, HOLLY THROSBY, BORN RUFFIANS, MOUNTAINS IN THE SKY, TIM FITE, STILL FLYIN, DAEDELUS…plus more to be announced

Saturday, 31 January 2009 BRISBANE Alexandria St off St Paul’s Terrace, Fortitude Valley
Sunday, 1 February 2009 MELBOURNE Lonsdale St, Caledonian Lane and Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne
Friday, 6 February 2009 PERTH Perth Cultural Centre, Northbridge
Saturday, 7 February 2009 ADELAIDE Fowler’s Live, Northern Terrace
Sunday, 8 February 2009 SYDNEY The Basement, Macquarie Park & Reiby Place, Circular Quay

Onsale: Monday, 27 October 2008
Online Booking: http://www.moshtix.com.au

Phone Booking: 1300 GET TIX (438 849)

And all Moshtix outlets nationwide

http://www.lanewayfestival.com.au/

Franz Ferdinand name 3rd album 'Tonight'

Franz Ferdinand have named their third album ‘Tonight’.

Making the revelation at a show a few nights ago, the band also previewed six new songs during the intimate show, including opener ‘Bite Hard’, ‘Turn It On’ and ‘Katherine, Kiss Me’. Other new tracks were performed included ‘Ulysses’ and ‘What She Came For’, which is the rumoured lead single from ‘Tonight’. The new material went down a storm with the capacity crowd.

The new album is called ‘Tonight’ because it’s “music of the night” Kapranos stated after the show. “It's music of the night, so it seems like the most appropriate title. It suggests a performance too” he said. “I can picture a marquee outside a theatre saying 'Tonight: Franz Ferdinand', there's a sense of anticipation. It's music for the dancefloor, your bedroom as you psyche yourself up to go out, a stranger's bedsit coming down an hour before dawn.”

The Dan Carey-produced album was completed just last week and is the follow-up to 2005’s ‘You Could Have It So Much Better’.

Franz Ferdinand setlist looked something like this:

‘Bite Hard’

‘Michael’

‘Tell Her Tonight’

‘Turn It On’

‘Matinee’

‘Send Him Away’

‘The Fallen’

‘Katherine, Kiss Me’

‘Take Me Out’

‘Ulysses’

‘40”

’‘What She Came For’

‘Outsiders’

'This Fire’

Franz Ferdinand will be playing at the Falls Festival this Australian summer.

http://www.franzferdinand.co.uk/

Vig to produce Green Day's new album

Butch Vig has been tapped as the producer of the next Green Day album.

Vig is the founder of the band Garbage and was the producer of Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ and Smashing Pumpkins ‘Siamese Dream’.

This will be the first Green Day album since ‘American Idiot’. However last year they did release an album under the name Foxboro Hot Tubs. Vig’s last production was The Subways ‘All or Nothing’.

Music Universe hears that while the Green Day album is not scheduled until 2009, there may be a single before the end of this year.

Keep updated by subscribing to Music Universe on the sidebar either via email or rss feed.

www.greenday.com

Crowded House announce intimate tour

Coming off a successful worldwide tour, Crowded House returns home in December for only three intimate shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart.

Crowded House will be headlining Homebake in Sydney, but the chance to see them up close and personal is a rare one. With a distinguished back catalogue and last year’s 'Time On Earth', Crowded House have a lot to work with in their live show. They could easily sell out venues three times this size, so you’ll have to be quick to secure a ticket.

Tickets on sale Wednesday 22 October.

Saturday 29 November – Tolosa Park, Hobart (supported by Josh Pyke)
Tuesday 2 December – The Forum, Melbourne
Thursday 4 December – Enmore Theatre, Sydney

http://www.crowdedhouse.com/

Lykke Li announces mini Australian tour

Swedish mistress Lykke Li, is bringing her sweet pop songs to Falls Festival, but she won’t be leaving our shores without a little mini eastern australia tour.

The 22-year-old arrived on the scene with her debut album 'Youth Novels', a seductively appetising record.

Lykke Li has admitted to never expecting to achieve recognition outside of her native Sweden. Incorrect!

Lykke Li plays two Falls Festival/Southbound sideshows in Melbourne and Sydney.

Sunday 4 January – Prince Bandroom, Melbourne
Monday 5 January – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

http://www.lykkeli.com/

Emiliana Torrini to tour Australia

On the back of her recently released gorgeous new album 'Me And Armini', Icelandic songstress Emiliana Torrini will make a four-stop tour of Australia.

Emilana will mesmerise audiences with her beautiful, melancholy harmonies. Make sure you are at one of her concerts to witness this amazing artist live at one of her shows scheduled this November.

You can see Emiliana Torrini perform at the following venues.

Tickets on sale Thursday 9 November.

Sunday November 16 – Powerhouse Theatre, Brisbane
Monday November 17 – Metro Theatre, Sydney
Tuesday November 18 – Forum Theatre, Melbourne
Thursday November 20 – Fly By Night (seated), Perth

http://www.emilianatorrini.com/

Homebake announce more acts

The Homebake festival sold out in 'record time' when tickets went on sale in August, possibly due to the (again) reformed presence of Crowded House and other nationally hyped artists such as Sneaky Sound System and Cut Copy.

So for all those that have tickets, or for those that are hiding in the boots of cars without a ticket, here are some more acts that will be joining the festivities.

The new additions:

End of Fashion

N'Fa

Children Collide

Die!Die!Die!

Violent Soho

Subaudible Hum

Mercy Arms

Numbers Radio

Grafton Primary

The E.L.F

Hamish Mac Leod

The Holidays

78 Saab

www.homebake.com.au

Morrissey to tour Australia this January?

A Morrissey fan site called 'True To You' has announced that the ex -Smiths frontman is going to be heading to Australia in January 2009.

Now is this true you ask? You be the judge.

Well, the webzine posted the news on the 2nd October and it simply states, “Morrissey will play his first concerts of 2009 in New Zealand. January shows are booked in Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland and Dunedin. From here, Morrissey will travel to Australia where concerts are booked in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide”.

Rumours have gone off the hook since the announcement with some suggesting The Sydney Music festival will be one, others thinking that Nick Cave will announce him for the All Tomorrow's Parties festival.

If this is a prank, it's a very silly, dagger-to-the-heart joke.

www.true-to-you.net

www.morrissey-solo.com

Fleet Foxes announce mini Australian tour

Fleet Foxes, this year's most talked about band and producers one of the best debut albums in a while, is coming to Australia for Falls Festival and they are also playing some sideshows for those that like the intimate setting.

The Seattle quintet band on the one and only Subpop label, plays in grand, heartfelt folk-pop, to which some have described as baroque harmonic pop jams. Compared to the likes of The Beach Boys, Band of Horses and Animal Collective, the band’s music is rich with multi-part harmonies, making for truly distinctive listening.

This is going to be a highly anticipated gig so get your tickets asap!

Friday January 2 – Prince of Wales, Melbourne
Saturday January 3 – The Metro Theatre, Sydney
Sunday January 4 – The Tivoli, Brisbane

Tickets on sale October 17th.

www.myspace.com/fleetfoxes

SoKo is coming to tour Australia

Coming to town for a couple of festivals including the Falls Festival, cute French songstress SoKo will also be getting intimate in Sydney and Melbourne.

She only has an EP out to date ('Not Sokute') but the 21-year-old is currently at Bear Studios in Seattle recording her debut album. Her sweet songs should translate winningly to some fairytale sounds, so don’t miss out!

Interestingly, the Melbourne date is part of a ‘mini-festival’ at the Corner Hotel on New Years Day (stay tuned for more details on that).

SoKo tour dates:
Monday 29 December – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

Thursday 1 January – Corner Hotel, Melbourne (doors open 2pm)

www.sokomusic.com

The Dodos to play sideshows this January

The Dodos - one of the most hyped bands of 2008 - will play sideshows whilst they are here for the Falls Festival.

The San Francisan psychadelic-folk two-piece will set down at Brisbane's The Zoo and Melbourne's Northcote Social Club, with tickets for each show available now from the venues. No shows have been announced for Sydney at this point.

The group's both internationally and nationally critically acclaimed debut album 'Visiter' is available now.

Jan 2nd - The Zoo, Brisbane

Jan 6th - Northcote Social Club, Melbourne

http://www.dodosmusic.net/

Underworld to play Bondi beach this NYE!

Underworld, Eric Prydz and The Presets have been announced to play this New Years Eve party on Bondi Beach, Sydney. Named the 'Shore Thing Party', the event is sure to please anyone ready to get their haviana's off! Without a doubt this crazy party will sell out so be sure to get your hands on some tickets when they are released on Friday 10th October.

More acts are set to be announced soon and we will reel them off as soon as we find out.

Did anyone witness 'Born Slippy' in the Boiler room at 1998's Big Day Out? One of those never forget moments.

Ahhhhhhhhh.............

http://www.underworldlive.com/

Dirty Pretty Things split

Yep, it's official, Dirty Pretty things have split up.

The boys formed in 2005 and completed two full-length albums, 'Waterloo to Anywhere' and 'Romance at Short Notice'. Carl Barat, Didz Hammond, Gary Powell and Anthony Rossomando – announced the break-up of the band yesterday.

Frontman, and former Libertine, Carl Barat explained that the members of the band would be pursuing new musical projects, but emphasised the fact that it would not involve The Libertines.

"It is with some sadness we announce the farewell of the Dirty Pretty Things" the statement read. "It's been a glorious three years which we all would gladly live out again, but it is time for us to try new things.

"We are reluctant to give up touring but will give the last waltz everything. We have and are determined to go out as we came in, after which we all have other ventures to be getting on with and splendid future plans.

"Heartfelt thanks to all who made it what it was, much love and we'll see you on the road."

The band's 11-date UK tour, set to kick off in Glasgow on Saturday (October 4), will still go ahead and seeems to appear to be their farewell tour

Glasgow ABC (October 4)
Edinburgh Old Picture House (5)
Manchester Academy 2 (7)
Leeds Metropolitan University (8)
Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall (9)
Keele University (11)
Cambridge Junction (12)
Norwich UEA (13)
London Roundhouse (14)
Oxford Carling Academy (16)
Southampton Guildhall (18)

www.dirtyprettythingsband.com

Good Vibrations announce lineup

This summer is becoming absolutely unbelievable. Good Vibrations is getting in the mix of things by announcing a sweet list of talent. It’s not just about dance artists, either, with some fine representation from the hip hop, funk and pop camps.

Fatboy Slim, the one and only party DJ, is coming down after a long time outta the Australian touring scene. The Presets will again prove their crossover clout in a headline spot. One of the world’s greatest hip hop band The Roots make for a more-than-welcome addition, boasting a live show that’s truly the stuff of legend. With tongue firmly in cheek, electro-pop dudes Chromeo will also be soaking up the sun, current worldwide sensation Sam Sparro and drum ‘n bass powerhouse Roni Size Reprazent (for the first time since 2001).

Full line-up:

Fatboy Slim
The Presets
The Roots
Deadmau5
Sam Sparro
Roni Size Reprazent
Chromeo
Stanton Warriors
The Potbelleez
Kid Kenobi & MC Shureshock
Micky Slim
Yelle
Wale
The Cuban Brothers
Rico Tubbs
Mike Relm
Hosted by Supernatural
Plus many more to come!

Tour dates:

Sat Feb 14 – Sydney, Centennial Park
Sun Feb 15 – Melbourne, The Nursery – Flemington Racecourse
Sat Feb 21 – Gold Coast, Parklands Showgrounds
Sun Feb 22 – Perth, Heirisson Island

www.goodvibrationsfestival.com.au

The Cinematic Orchestra are coming to Australia in January 2009

With an immersive live show to match its landmark albums, The Cinematic Orchestra is sweeping onto our shores in January 2009.

The UK collective, headed by composer Jason Swinscoe, traverses jazz, soul, funk and electronica in its wide-ranging compositions. Its line-up is malleable, with various vocalists and instrumentalists weighing in on each record. They have teamed up with the likes of Fontella Bass, Lou Rhodes and even Patrick Watson in the past. Over countless tours, TCO has finessed its performances to a point that no two are the same.

Expect unbelievableness. Also, if you can get your hands on the album 'Ma Fluer', do so now!

Only one Australian show has been confirmed so far, at Melbourne’s Palais Theatre on Tuesday 20 January. Sydney and Adelaide shows are still to come, so watch this space.

www.cinematicorchestra.com

All Tomorrow's Parties announces lineup

All Tomorrow’s Parties will make its Australian debut in January 2009 and the first acts have been revealed.

In addition to the already announced headliner and curator Nick Cave (who’ll be bringing his Bad Seeds), a host of agenda-setting talent will be gracing ATP. Cave’s discerning ear has led him to recruit Brisbane stalwarts The Saints, masters of expansive psych-rock Spiritualized, blues maverick James Blood Ulmer, experimental noisemakers Fuck Buttons and The Go-Betweens troubadour Robert Forster.

VICTORIA Friday 9 & Saturday 10 January, Mt Buller
All Tomorrow’s Parties will be setting up camp at the picturesque Mount Buller Alpine Resort, only a short road-trip away from Melbourne. It stretches over a full weekend, taking in three stages and over 30 bands. Of ATP’s three Australian stop-offs, this one is the true ‘festival’. On sale now.
Victoria line-up: NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS, THE SAINTS, SPIRITUALIZED, FUCK BUTTONS, HARMONIA, THE NECKS, LAUGHING CLOWNS, ROBERT FORSTER, JAMES BLOOD ULMER, M GIRA, PRIMITIVE CALCULATORS, AFRIRAMPO, SILVER APPLES, BRIDEZILLA, ROWLAND S. HOWARD, THE STABS

SYDNEY Saturday 17 & Sunday 18 January, Cockatoo Island
All those with fingers crossed for Cockatoo Island, your wishes have been heeded. The peerless heritage site in Sydney Harbour will host ATP in conjunction with Sydney Festival. The one-day program will debut on 17 January, then repeat on 18 January. On sale 10 November.
Sydney line-up: NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS, THE SAINTS, SPIRITUALIZED, ROBERT FORSTER, SILVER APPLES, M GIRA, FUCK BUTTONS, JAMES BLOOD ULMER, AFRIRAMPO, HARMONIA, BRIDEZILLA, THE NECKS, LAUGHING CLOWNS

BRISBANE Monday 12 - Friday 16 January, Brisbane Powerhouse and Riverstage
Brisbane will be treated to a series of “one night stands” between 12 and 16 January at the Brisbane Powerhouse. Full line-ups are yet to be finalised, but Fuck Buttons, Afrirampo and Harmonia are already locked in. Just as exciting is news that ATP will stage an afternoon/evening mini-festival at Brisbane Riverstage featuring Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Spiritualized, Robert Forster, James Blood Ulmer and others. On sale 13 October.

http://www.atpfestival.com/