On the Talk Shows this Week

• Jimmy Kimmel Live - Nick Lowe - (October 3).
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno - Annie Lennox - (October 5)

Punk Rock Preschool

I thought this was fairly amusing...

Lost and Found Video - The Judybats

The Judybats, formed in 1988 in Knoxville, Tennessee, released four albums in the early '90s, split up in 1995, and briefly reformed in 1999. Not surprisingly, info is fairly hard to find, but you can click here for a good (if not completely up-to-date) band update at Copacetic Zine.

This is the title track from the band's 1990 debut album, Native Son.

Judybats Links:
Bio at All Music Guide
The Judybats at MySpace
Joe's Judybats Fan Page
Heiskell - Vocalist Jeff Heiskell's current project, on MySpace.

New Mullet on Monday - Missing Persons

Back in the early '80s, it was hard to decide who had the prettiest hair -- Dale Bozzio, or the male members of Missing Persons.

Destination Unknown

This Los Angeles band was active from 1980-1986, and the three founding members, Dale and Terry Bozzio and Warren Cuccurullo reformed the band very briefly in 2001.

Vocalist Dale Bozzio has, for years, been touring with her band under the name Missing Persons, or more recently, as Missing Persons featuring Dale Bozzio. She has recorded a solo album called New Wave Sessions, set to be released by Cleopatra Records on October 23. According to the unofficial Missing Persons website, "She has no current plans to tour. She is also considering a move to Boston, get her real estate license back and work with a couple of friends from back in the day. She has some demos on her site & some fanmade Riot In English mixes as well for everyone to enjoy."

Drummer Terry Bozzio, who has been involved in a number of projects (solo and otherwise) over the years, played with the band Korn on it's untitled 8th studio album, released this summer.

Guitarist Warren Cuccurullo, who played with Duran Duran from 1986-2001, currently has his own band, and is also involved in a number of projects. After Andy Taylor left Duran Duran again last year, many emails were apparently received asking whether or not Cuccurullo would rejoin the band, or if he was asked; his response was posted on the Nooze section of his website: "We'd have to go back in the studio, see if we have the old magic of the ellen von unwerth years, record our unencumbered, dd-produced follow up to last day on earth...long live duran duran... just keep listening, don't mind the drama... w.SEe." Another (undated) entry on Cuccurullo's website says an album called Playing In Tongues, in which he collaborated with Terry Bozzio, is in production. It is said that every so often, Cuccurullo would appear, unannounced, with Dale Bozzio's band, when they played in Southern California.

Missing Persons Links:
Missing Persons Fan Site
Warren Currurullo Official Website
Dale Bozzio Fan Site
Terry Bozzio Official Website
Patrick O'Hearn (bassist) Official Website
Liquid Mind, a project of keyboard player Chuck Wild.

On the Talk Shows (show) this Week

• Late Night with Conan O'Brien - Bjork (September 27).
  

Briefly...

• The big story this week was of another Sex Pistols reunion. Via Spin, Johnny Rotten and fellow original members Steve Jones, Paul Cook, and Glen Matlock will be playing a one-off show on November 8 in London, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Never Mind the Bullocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. Meantime, Rotten badmouthed The Ramones and The Clash, among others (and praised Journey?) in a Spin feature on 1977 - The Year Punk Exploded. Rotten also likened the Police to "soggy old dead carcasses" in an interview with Virgin Radio (via NME).
  

• Former Ramones drummer Richard Reinhardt (Richie Ramone) is suing Wal Mart and Apple, among others. Pitchfork has the story.

• Rolling Stone has shots of Bono in Across the Universe, a Beatles-inspired movie that opened wide yesterday.
  

• NME has your Paul Weller related news here and here.
  

• NME also has U.S. tour dates for The Lemonheads as well as October dates with Evan Dando supporting The Jesus and Mary Chain.
  

• Bad Brains is kicking off a short tour tonight in San Diego. More on that at Pitchfork.

• Free screenings of the movie Control will be happening all over the UK on September 26. Click here to read the details on the Joy Division MySpace blog.

• Ian Astbury talked to Billboard about The Cult's forthcoming album, Beyond Good and Evil, set for release on October 2.

• Pitchfork featured a review of Thurston Moore's latest solo effort, Trees Outside the Academy.

• David Bowie has contributed $10,000 to the defense fund for the Jena Six. NME has the story.

• Check out this story on at Billboard for the scoop on David Byrne's latest project.
  

• Bjork fans can check out some excellent tour photos, courtesy of Pitchfork.

• Michael Stipe recently told Sirius Radio that the last ten years have been tough for R.E.M. Rolling Stone has the story.

A little rambling...

First off, I just wanted to share the horror: Watching The Weather Channel a few days ago, the music playing under the Local on the 8s (accurate and dependable), was an elevator music version of Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths. I think this is the first time I've ever heard an elevator version of an '80s alternative tune. I have, in the past, been surprised to hear bad instrumental versions of such songs as Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall, and Led Zeppelin's What is and What Should Never Be (talk about the irony).

Are there any elevator music related horrors you've experienced? I'd love to see some comments on that.

I just also wanted to mention that things are busy, and getting busier around the Classic Alternative Blog home base, and so, having built up a pretty good body of work this last three months, I am giving myself permission to cut back on posting. Many thanks to those of you who check the blog regularly -- please keep checking. I do intend to post at least four times per week -- the regular stuff, and I'm always keeping an eye on the music news, so I'll let you know if something big happens -- eventually Morrissey et al will need the money and a Smiths reunion tour will happen, right?

Thanks,
mel

Lost and Found Video - The Polecats

The Polecats, part of the early '80s rockabilly revival scene, enjoyed some success in their native England.

Make A Circuit With Me -- probably the band's best-known song on this side of the pond -- arguably more pop than rockabilly.

The Polecats have continued to play and make albums off-and-on, and, with three of the original members still on board, toured as recently as last month.

A Couple of Polecats links:
Official Website
All Music Guide Entry

New Mullet on Monday - INXS

By the time INXS's 1984 album The Swing came out, Michael Hutchence (who could have pulled off just about any haircut) was not the only band member to sport a mullet.

Here's I Send A Message - chosen not only for the mullets, but because it is the song most likely to get you robot dancing -- a must on a Monday. There's even a little robot in the video to give you inspiration.

INXS Links:
The Official INXS Website
The Official Michael Hutchence Website (maintained by his family)
Michael Hutchence Memorial Website (also maintained by his family)

Peter Hook would do anything to honor Tony Wilson...

...including playing with New Order again. Yes, Hook is blogging again, addressing new rumors circulating re: the status of New Order. Via his daughter, Hook wrote:

In a conversation with Oliver Wilson about a tribute gig for his father, he asked me what the chances were of getting New Order to perform. I said, "Seeing as we have just split up, pretty slim.", he then said to me "If I could get the others to agree, would you do it?", I said "In honour of your father, I'd do anything."

This means I would sell the popcorn, take the tickets, sweep up after, play bass in New Order/Joy Division/Crawling Chaos.

Hook also blogged recently about the new Joy Division documentary. Link here to read more.

Speaking of Joy Division, billboard.com reported last week that the Joy Division albums will be reissued by Rhino, each with an "extra disc of rare live material." The CDs, along with the soundtrack for Control, will be issued on October 30. Click here for the full story, which includes track lists of the bonus discs.

Also, the Control website has been updated - new content and a nice, super-widescreen trailer to view.

Caterwaul

A request has been received for an update on the Phoenix band Caterwaul, who released a trio of albums in the late '80s/early '90s. A fourth album, Killer Fish, recorded in 1991, was shelved and finally saw the light of day in 1996. Information is pretty hard to come by, but here's what I've got:

Betsy Martin (vocals, mandolin) went on to form the band Purr Machine with Kevin Kipnis, formerly with the band Kommunity FK (who, by the way, are back together, sans Kipnis). Purr Machine has recorded three albums, the most recent of which, Starry, was released in March of this year.

Caterwaul Drummer Kevin Pinnt is now involved with a band called Drumatic.

Links:
Caterwaul on MySpace
Caterwaul's Website
Caterwaul on the Ectophiles' Guide
Purr Machine on MySpace
Purr Machine's page at garageband.com

Lost and Found Video - Propaganda

Until now, the only thing I really knew about the German band Propaganda is that one of their songs was on a tape I had of Salt Lake City radio station KCGL (The Modern Music Experience), circa 1985. The band was active from 1982-1990, and reunited, in various forms, in 1998 and again in 2005. You can read a fairly comprehensive account of the band's history on Wikipedia, which included associations with Trevor Horn, Simple Minds, Depeche Mode's Martin Gore, and Howard Jones.

Duel

Propaganda Links:
Propaganda on MySpace (Fan Run)
p-fan.de - A Fan-Run Site

More Briefs...

A few items came down the pike today...

• Rolling stone has a photo gallery from the movie Control. Meanwhile, NME carried a story stating that director Anton Corbijn will be answering questions after a screening of the movie in London next month.
  

• NME reports that an expanded version of Paul Weller's 1993 album Wild Wood is in the works.
  

• The Crowded House website news section advised that live recordings of all their concerts are available in various formats for purchase online. Quick availability after each show is promised. Ordering information can be found at crowdedhouselive.com.
  

• An article on the Joe Strummer documentary The Future is Unwritten was featured on asahi.com.
  

New Mullet on Monday - The Psychedelic Furs

Classic Alternative Blog favorite The Psychedelic Furs was once quite the bemulleted band -- particularly around the 1987 release of Midnight to Midnight.

After spending nearly all of the '90s apart, the Furs reunited in 2000, and have been actively performing, having just finished up the Rockin' the Colonies Tour with The Fixx and The Alarm. The current line-up features original members Richard and Tim Butler, John Ashton (who joined the band in 1979), Frank Ferrer (Love Spit Love), Amanda Kramer (The Information Society, World Party, Golden Palominos), and Mars Williams. Richard Butler released a solo album last year.

Here's a video from their pre-mullet days - Sister Europe, from their 1980 self-titled album.

Psychedelic Furs Links:
Burned Down Days - An actively updated fan site.
Richard Butler on MySpace
The Psychedelic Furs on MySpace

On the Talk Shows this Week

• Late Night with Conan O'Brien - Bad Religion (September 10)
  
• The Late Show with David Letterman - Suzanne Vega (September 11)
  
• Jimmy Kimmel Live - Modest Mouse (September 12).
  

Briefly...

• This entry in the Joy Division MySpace blog features a brief review of the documentary Joy Division, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival yesterday. Another blog entry features a review of Control.

• Word is that Peter Hook's new band Freebass is working on an album. Check out the story on Pitchfork.
  

• A seven-date arena tour has been announced by Madness. The shows will take place in the UK in December. The band is promising to give audiences a preview of it's next studio album, set for release in early 2008. Read the details at NME.

• The Adam Ant MySpace blog has a few lines of the epilogue of the paperback edition of Stand & Deliver, The Autobiography, which is set for release on September 11.

• Pitchfork featured a review of Siouxie's new solo album, Mantaray.

• Alison Moyet's blog has an amusing post on labels -- no, not record labels.
  

• A lengthy interview with Dave Wakeling is featured on the P.E.O.M. website. Among the topics, touring with the current incarnation of INXS, playing at Birmingham Symphony Hall, and the history of the English Beat.
  

• The Courier News ran a feature on Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens. Additionally, the band will be joining The English Beat and The Alarm September 15 at MusicFest '07 in Cranford, NJ.
  

• Mike Peters of The Alarm, Slim Jim Phantom of Stray Cats, Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze, and Cy Curnin of The Fixx will be among those embarking on Everest Rocks, a 14 day trek and acoustic concert at the base camp of Mt. Everest, with a grand finale concert in Kathmandu. The event, to benefit The Nepal Cancer Relief Society, will happen next month, and will be featured in a documentary. Read more about it at lovehopestrength.com.

• According to NME, the Pet Shop Boys have canceled an upcoming concert at the Hollywood Bowl. The show, which was to have happened later this month, was the band's only US performance scheduled for this fall.
  

• NME also talked to Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan about his upcoming solo album.
  

• Bjork has recorded a new live album -- no word yet on when it will be released. Live dates have also been announced in Canada, the US, Mexico, and South America. Details are at Pitchfork.
  

Overloaded

It has been a busy week -- I apologize for the gaps in postings. Today I will be occupied with the eighth birthday of my beautiful baby boy, but will be back on Saturday with a few news items. Until then, here's a piece of TV that would be all but lost if not for YouTube. A Hüsker Dü, performance and interview on the Joan Rivers Show, circa, I'm guessing, 1987. Joan Rivers and Hüsker Dü -- boggles the mind, doesn't it?

This is Could You Be The One, or as Joan said, You Could Be The One.

Paul Westerberg Private Show

From the newsletter of Man Without Ties, a Paul Westerberg fan site:

Paul will be playing a private show at First Avenue in Minneapolis on Sunday, September 23. Yes, less than a month away!

The show is part of "The Craft" concert series, co-sponsored by Miller and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It will be hosted by Warren Zanes (of The Del Fuegos and now working with the HOF) and the concept has been described as "a mash-up of an unplugged performance and an Inside the Actors Studio discussion".

So that's the amazing news, now here's the only catch: This is a private show and you can only win tickets, you can't buy them. Cities 97, a Mpls radio station, is doing the ticket giveaways and you visit the link below to enter online:

www.cities97.com

Also, for those of us who aren't lucky enough to go to the show, a small consolation: it will be filmed and available online at a later date. You can check the News page and the Message Board for more info on the show as it becomes available.

Man Without Ties News Page
Message Board

To get psyched for this show, take a look at Paul's fantastic performance of "It's A Wonderful Lie" on Jools Holland show in 1999. Hooray for YouTube:

The winners of those tickets will indeed be fortunate. Thanks to Kathy for keeping the fans informed.

Lost and Found Video - Let's Active

A few months ago, many Let's Active videos could be found on the internet. Now it's down to one, and the audio/video synch is pretty bad, but what a great song...

This is Waters Part, from the 1984 album Cypress.

And as a bonus, here's snippet from a Canadian TV show featuring Let's Active, which includes nearly all of the Every Word Means No video. If you have a three-year-old girl, you may want to call her over -- mine was quite enamored with the puppies!

Check this previous blog post for recent info on Mitch Easter.

New Mullet on Monday - Alphaville

Marian Gold, lead singer of Alphaville, didn't have your traditional mullet -- it was more of a party in front and back, making me wonder if this German band was worthy of inclusion -- then I noticed keyboardist Martin Lister, and the deal was sealed.

Here is the completely '80s video for Do You Want to Dance With Me?

Alphaville (Gold and band) is still performing. You can catch up at Moonbase, the official Alphaville website.

On the Talk Shows this Week

• Late Night with Conan O'Brien - Dinosaur Jr. - (September 5).
• The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson - the Goo Goo Dolls - (September 6).

Briefly...

• Sonic Youth will be covering the Bob Dylan tune I'm Not There for an upcoming film of the same title. Click here for the story on nme.com.
  

• Spring 2008 will bring a new R.E.M. album. Mike Mills told billboard.com about what work there is left to do. When asked about the direction of the new album, Mills said that he and the rest of the band have "...made an agreement we weren't going to say what it is or not because we don't want to have expectations out there in any direction. But, of course, you can go on YouTube and listen to some of the Dublin shows and get a pretty good idea of where we're going."

• Daniel Lanois has revealed that a new U2 album is "...kind of making itself.” Lanois, a frequent producer of U2's albums, was invited, along with Brian Eno, to assist as a writer on the new project, slated for release next year. One of the writing/recording sessions will be featured in a Lanios-produced documentary, Here Is What Is, which will debut at the Toronto International Film Festival next week. You can read more at rollingstone.com.

• PJ Harvey is planning shows in L.A. and New York this October, check pitchfork.com for the story.

• The Pogues are planning a Christmas gift for the UK -- their fifth year of festive December shows. Find the schedule at nme.com.

• According to spin.com, Rhino Records will release a DVD of various live performances of The Ramones. It's Alive 1974-1996 is slated to hit the shelves on October 2.

• For the first time since 1983, The Police will be playing Wembley Arena. The full list of UK dates is available on nme.com.