This week’s headlines on Slicing Up Eyeballs included a lot of big news about The Cure, plus items on The Mission, Erasure, Gary Numan, The Sisters of Mercy, R.E.M., Lou Reed (and Metallica) and The Jesus and Mary Chain, plus a new Bangles contest.
This week’s link round-up includes a podcast featuring vintage tape of John Peel interviewing the Pixies’ Black Francis, news of The Stone Roses’ upcoming biography, an interview with director Peter Care about the making of R.E.M.’s iconic ‘Drive’ video and a Q&A with Gary Numan about his new album ‘Dead Son Rising.’
Synthpop luminary Gary Numan this week released the first music video off his new album ‘Dead Son Rising,’ a moody, FX-laden clip to accompany first single “The Fall,” which can be viewed here. A free download of an edit of the track also is available.
This week’s new releases include new albums from Gary Numan (‘Dead Son Rising’) and Blondie (‘Panic of Girls’), plus reissue from the Art of Noise (‘Who’s Afraid of the Art of Noise’) and The Raincoats (‘Odyshape’), plus the first-ever DVD release of Sonic Youth’s ‘1991: The Year Punk Broke.’
Much has been made about the loss of album art in the download age, but pop-culture maven Matthew Chojnacki argues that even more endangered are the 7- and 12-inch single sleeves of the 1980s — ephemeral splashes of music history that he’s compiled in the new book ‘Put the Needle on the Record: The 1980s at 45 Revolutions Per Minute.’
Today we get another glimpse of synth pioneer Gary Numan’s upcoming album ‘Dead Son Rising’ thanks to The Quietus, which posted the track ‘Dead Sun Rising’ — and yes, that’s not a typo. Numan says, “I do appreciate that it’s a little bit confusing — I’m waiting for all the e-mails to come in saying ‘there’s a misprint on the album.'”
The latest installment in the The AV Club’s great Undercover series — in which bands drop in on the site’s Chicago offices and pick a song off a predetermined list to cover live in a very small room — features power-pop kings Sloan doing a number on Gary Numan’s 1979 classic ‘Cars.’
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 