Enigmatic The The mastermind Matt Johnson continues to use his recently launched monthly web show “Radio Cineola” to treat fans to never-before-heard music, and this month is no different, with rough tracks from the unreleased Gun Sluts and 2 Blocks Below Canals albums making their debut.
The June edition of “Radio Cineola” — a 15-minute MP3 that can be purchased for about $4.40, or streamed for free in an abbreviated 10-minute version — features a visit from guitarist Eric Schermerhorn, who replaced Johnny Marr in The The and played on 1995’s Hanky Panky and 2000’s NakedSelf, as well as Gun Sluts and 2 Blocks Below Canal.
In the broadcast, Johnson notes that Gun Sluts and 2 Blocks Below Canal, along with NakedSelf, “formed my New York Trilogy.” While Gun Sluts, which was recorded between 1998 and 2001, appears in The The’s official discography — and was promoted with a limited-edition single of the album’s title track in 2000 — little, if anything, is known of 2 Blocks Below Canal (“Yes, yes another unreleased album,” Johnson says), which doesn’t appear in The The discographies, official or otherwise.
The new Radio Cineola episode finds Johnson chatting with Schermerhorn and playing rough mixes of the raucous “Justice 4 Jesus” off 2 Blocks Below Canal and the more subdued “Psychic Sauna” from Gun Sluts. He also throws in another verse from his forthcoming adaptation of John Tottenham’s book “The Inertia Variations,” as well as an alternate version of NakedSelf’s “GlobalEyes” featuring Lloyd Cole.
See tracklist for The The’s “Radio Cineola: June 2010” after the jump…
Tracklist: The The, “Radio Cineola: June 2010”
1. 51st State Cafe: Chat with Eric Schermerhorn
2. “Justice 4 Jesus” (rough mix from 2 Blocks Below Canal)
3. 51st State Cafe: Chat with Eric Schermerhorn
4. “Psychic Sauna” (rough mix from Gun Sluts)
5. “Verse 17” (The Inertia Variations)
6. “GlobalEyes” (Alternative Version, with Lloyd Cole, Dorit Chrysler, Brian Kelly)
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
- Matt Johnson’s The The releases ‘Tony: A Soundtrack,’ first new album in decade
- The The’s Matt Johnson debuts track from unreleased 1979 album ‘Spirits’
- The The’s Matt Johnson previews new music with debut ‘Radio Cineola’ broadcast
- Matt Johnson’s The The set to release ‘Tony’ film soundtrack album in January
