The Tuesday News

This is Joe from IA again. It's Tuesday and these are the music news items that enticed me today...

- Let's start off with some news on one of my favorite bands... As many of you may have previously heard, The Cure is about to release their 13th studio album in October. It turns out that it is going to be a double disc. Robert Smith says that he he is making the record that he wants and that "it isn't a commercial concern" for him. There will probably be 2 versions, but he is going to offer the double album that he mixed for the same price as the single disc that the label wants to release. To ease concerns about the record sounding like crap, he also mentioned that he dug 3 old demos from the 80's out of his archives and recorded them for this record. Finally, he said that while they will be playing some new material on their fall tour, the set will still feature mostly the classic songs. I think that is the best news of all.

- Today it became official. Morrissey cancelled 4 of the previously postponed East Coast shows. It goes without saying that his sold out Baltimore show was among the casualties. The official statement said that the club was not available during the time that he needed it, but if you look at the rescheduled dates and Rams Head Live's calendar, you'll see that the club is free on 7/22. Sounds like a spurn to me.

- To provide further proof that Barrett and I run poor man's music blogs, Stereogum had the resources to commission an exclusive tribute album for the 10 year Anniversary of Radiohead's OK Computer. It features covers of all of the album’s tracks by bands such as Cold War Kids and Vampire Weekend. While I go searching for a sugar daddy, check out the exclusive release here.

- In our ever changing world of digital music, the following story was inevitable. Indie rock label Arts & Crafts, decided to make the new Stars album In Our Bedroom After War available for digital download today, mere days after it was completed. The final mix was just delivered on July 6. In a bold move, the label decided to jump the gun and make the album availble legally, before it leaked. The official release date was set for September 25 and you can still buy physical copies on that date.

- Smashing Pumpkins have their big show at 9:30 Club tonight. The $30 show has seen tickets being scalped for asking prices well over $800 a piece! Considering how many different versions are being offered of their new CD and that the tickets in question were posted just 40 minutes after they went on sale, I'm very likely to believe that the outrageous scalper in question is none other than Billy Corgan. I mean this whole "reunion" is about money, right?

- Kings Of Leon are having a very public argument that is starting to cause people to believe that their demise is not very far off. Now for the kicker, the fight is over drummer Nathan Followill getting engaged. His loving brother and band mate Caleb responded to the news with the following loving words: "If he doesn't get a pre-nuptial agreement, he's an idiot. Me and him have a lot invested in each other. We started this band. We bought land and houses together. We've been best friends since we were little biddy boys. I don't want him to make mistakes. We have friends in bands who are married and their songs start being watered-down because they're all about the same girl." It sounds to me like Caleb killed too many brain cells to realize that his brother is just the drummer and that he is the lyricist!

Alright, that does it for today. I'll leave you to ponder the following question. How much would you pay to see the 2007 version of Smashing Pumpkins?