Welcome to the Week in Rock, where we round up all of the headlines posted on this site over the past week. This week featured posts about the Pixies, The Wedding Present, Tears For Fears, Camper Van Beethoven and more — plus The Smiths topped the Slicing Up Eyeballs Top 100 Albums of 1986 poll.
The Pixies have been rehearsing for their upcoming tour with new bassist Kim Shattuck of The Muffs in Los Angeles this past week, so perhaps it’s no surprise the band headed out last night for a last-minute, surprise warm-up show at the Echo — where the band debuted six of their new songs.
The Wedding Present will embark on an extensive reissue campaign later this years as Edsel Records re-releases much of David Gedge and Co.’s ’80s and ’90s output — five albums, two compilations and an EP — in expanded multi-disc sets crammed with as-yet-unspecified bonus material in both audio and video form.
For this week’s “120 Minutes” Rewind, we head back to 1988 for this “120 X-Ray” spotlighting what Kurt Loder refers to as “the biggest cult band in the land”: Camper Van Beethoven. This segment was filmed in Miami Beach, Fla., while the band was on tour in support of Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart.
Tears For Fears this week teased their upcoming 30th anniversary box set dedicated to landmark debut album The Hurting by sharing one of the tracks that will appear on the four-disc set: the original 12-inch mix of “Pale Shelter,” which the band notes “was a hit in NY clubs and the UK dance charts.”
For this week’s this installment of Vintage Video, we travel all the way back to 1978, when things apparently still were filmed in black and white, and the Talking Heads were still a herky-jerky four-piece yet to discover world music and on-stage guest musicians.
While the Big Audio Dynamite reunion didn’t result in any new recordings, frontman Mick Jones has re-teamed with that band’s rhythm section — drummer Greg Roberts and bassist Leo “E-Z Kill” Williams — to lend guitar and backing vocals to new single “Too Late,” from the duo’s band Dreadzone.
Q&A: Daniel Ash on Love and Rockets’ reunion, his new band — and figuring out how to play “So Alive” 
Q&A: Chris Frantz talks Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club and new book ‘Remain in Love’ 
Q&A: Steve Wynn on The Dream Syndicate’s first new album in nearly 30 years 
Q&A: Bauhaus’ David J on his ‘accidental’ concept album ‘Not Long For This World’ 
Q&A: Peter Murphy on ‘Ninth,’ Bauhaus’ break-up, reuniting Dalis Car 
Q&A: Joey Santiago on Pixies’ ‘Doolittle’ tour, possible ‘Surfer Rosa’ shows, new album talk 
Q&A: Prefab Sprout’s Paddy McAloon on new album, changing the world with music 
Q&A: Peter Hook talks ‘Unknown Pleasures’ tour, re-recording Joy Division 