XL Recordings

The curious perfection of Ron Asheton's guitar playing did not lie in his technical agility, but somehow in its flaws; a blemished, blistered kind of playing that bewildered some and inspired many.

Asheton, who has died suddenly of a suspected heart attack aged 60, was a former accordian player and Beatles obsessive who would go on to be co-songwriter and founder member of the Stooges, along with his brother Scott on drums, bassist Dave Alexander and inimitable frontman Iggy Pop. Borne of Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the late 1960s they were a band fired up by the sound of the Stones, and Harry Partch, and Ravi Shankar, by Gregorian chants and the drone of the car plants, and Hendrix, the Who and MC5. They lived together, crashed about in basements in a muddle of marijuana and Farfisa keyboards, made a din and soon took to the stage.

When the Stooges signed to Elektra in 1968, it was on the strength of their live shows, which not only incorporated vacuum cleaners, peanut butter, genitalia and thrashing limbs, but showcased their half-jammed, half-growled songs of exhilaration, rebellion, boredom and the thumping desire to escape. As Lester Bangs put it "[they] carry a strong element of sickness in their music, a crazed quaking uncertainty and errant foolishness that effectively mirrors the absurdity and desperation of the times, but I believe that they also carry a strong element of cure, of post-derangement sanity."

It was Asheton who gave the...

Read More

Har Mar Superstar and former Moldy Peaches man Adam Green have teamed up with Los Angeles-based band Flowers Of Doom for a new Christmas song.

Peaches is set to play a one-off gig for an end-of-year party in London.

Here's a game we can all play at home. All you need is a an internet connection, the iTunes software and a little imagination (a puerile one, at that). Go to the search tool in the top right hand corner and start typing in swear words, any that come into your head. Try "shit" and see what comes up. I was immediately drawn to the touching Shit On You by D12 featuring Eminem. But if you look closely you'll see that the moral guardians at iTunes have decided that the word "shit" should be written as "sh*t" so as not to offend any delicate minds that might read it and think ... well ... what exactly? That rappers use naughty words and may or may not indulge in aspects of scatology? I was mortified to find that Fuck Her Gently by Tenacious D now reads F**k Her Gently, or that Radio 2 favourites Scissor Sisters now have a song called T**s On The Radio.

So, what's this mild form of censorship all about? The strangest thing about it is that they're not actually stopping you from listening to the songs, but merely from having your mind scarred by seeing the words in print. So, F**k The Pain Away by Peaches is OK to listen to but not to read. Bizarrely, it seems to only relate to song names and album titles but not band names, so the poetic-sounding Anal Cunt and...

Read More

Peaches is working on a new album, and has enlisted Simian Mobile Disco and Digitalism to help out.

Sex-obsessed electro-queen Peaches has revealed she's collaborating with Simian Mobile Disco and Digitalism for her forthcoming fifth album.

"The Mighty Boosh" is a British sitcom about a mod, a somewhat insufferable intellectual type, their oafish boss, and all the wacky fun they have together. It's the collective name of the troupe behind the television show as well. And now, somehow, it is also a music and comedy festival, taking place July 5 at the Hop Farm in Kent, England.

In the midst of all the mirth-making from the Boosh and the comedians they've collected on the festival's "The Velvet Onion" stage, there's music galore, too. Mend your split sides with DJ sets from Jarvis Cocker and Peaches, plus some regular old live ruckus from the Charlatans UK, the Kills, Gary Numan, Har Mar Superstar, White Denim, Robots in Disguise, and Polar Bear.

Soulwax tend to tangle up our minds in the web of different names they've given their various incarnations. But let's get it straight: Soulwax is the full-band collective formed around the DJ duo 2ManyDJs, and Radio Soulwax is the blanket name for the variety show-esque touring concept they've had for the last three years.

It's the latter that is featured in Part of the Weekend Never Dies, a documentary/live film examining the Radio Soulwax touring experience and co-directed by the band and Saam Farahmand. Farahmand filmed over 120 shows for the movie, and UK residents will get to take pieces of those shows home on DVD beginning August 25 thanks to PIAS Recordings. Along with the Soulwax road trip and live clips, the DVD also features behind-the-scenes guest appearances from LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy and Nancy Whang, Justice, Klaxons, Peaches, Erol Alkan, Busy P, and Tiga, among others.

The Soulwax hootenanny continues through the coming weeks as various configurations play shows all over Europe. [MORE...]

As do Sunn O))), Klaxons, Primal Scream, Lydia Lunch, Peaches

Catch phrases like "way ahead of their time" and "blazing their own trail" don't really cut it-- Suicide were in their own sonic world entirely for most of the 1970s. It took folks a while to catch on, but catch on they did, and nowadays Alan Vega and Martin Rev are widely revered for their influence on punk, no wave, post-punk, noise, synth pop, and all manner of musical explorations that emerged in their wake.

But don't take my word for it. Just ask Liars, Spiritualized, Grinderman, Sunn O))) (with Pansonic), Klaxons, Primal Scream, Lydia Lunch, Peaches, Julian Cope, Vincent Gallo, or Bruce freaking Springsteen, all of whom contribute Suicide covers to an upcoming EP series from UK imprint Blast First (Petite).

In celebration of Alan Vega's 70th birthday (!), Blast First (Petite) kicks off the series on July 28 with a 10" vinyl/digital offering featuring the Boss' take on "Dream Baby Dream", a Suicide live track, and a cover of "Mr. Ray" from Ms. Shilpa Ray of NYC's Beat the Devil. Eleven more EPs will follow, one each month, boasting covers from the likes of the aforementioned along with the Horrors, Effi Briest, No Bra, HTRK, Nik Void (aka ex-Kaito lady Nikki Colk), Xvectors, S.C.U.M., and Justin K. Broadrick's former Head of David bandmate Stephen Burroughs.

Each EP will take the example set by the Bruce one,...

Read More