The Pet Shop Boys are gearing up for next week’s release of their 11th studio album, Elysium, by streaming the full record for fans on The Guardian’s website and performing a 30-minute live set at 9 p.m. CET (3 p.m. EDT in the U.S.) on Wednesday in Berlin that will be streamed live on the web at ElectronicBeats.net.
This month’s Auto Reverse mixtape includes brand-new music from Bob Mould, Pet Shop Boys and Kate Bush, plus some beloved older tunes by the likes of Wire, The House of Love, The Stranglers, Game Theory, That Petrol Emotion, Ramones, Electrafixtion, Sonic Youth and The The.
Last night at Seattle’s Bumbershoot festival, The Vaselines capped off their very short run of U.S. dates by inviting former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic on stage to play accordion on the Scottish indie-pop band’s 1987 classic “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam,” a performance you can watch here via Guerrilla Candy.
‘Love This Giant’ — the 2-years-in-the-making album by former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne and singer-songwriter/guitar ace Annie Clark, better known as St. Vincent — arrives in stores one week from today, but you can get an early listen to the full record courtesy of NPR.
This week’s new releases include ‘Silver Age,’ the first new album in three years from Bob Mould, plus the ‘Spirit of Talk Talk tribute album, featuring Depeche Mode’s Alan Wilder and members of The Arcade Fire and Grandaddy, and ‘Fac. Dance 02,’ a compilation of 12-inch cuts from the Factory Records catalog.
As we wait for the release of the delayed “US Generation” documentary — not to mention next week’s English Beat CD/DVD combo Live at the US Festival — it’s worth marking today’s 30th anniversary of the first of two giant multi-day US Festivals, envisioned by their organizer, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, as “Woodstock West.”
Welcome to the Week in Rock, where we round up all of the headlines posted on this site over the past week. This edition includes items about The Sugarcubes, Ian McCulloch, Tom Tom Club, The The, Laibach, Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran, Yazoo, Edwyn Collins, Morrissey, Bob Mould, The Smiths and more.
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 