Monday Morning Newsletter (06/23/08)

Beck will release a new album on July 8th. Modern Guilt will be his first release on DGC since 2006. Producer Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton described the LP as a melding of hip-hop and punk folk like everyrthing else Beck every did. To Support the record Beck has already scheduled dates in the US and Europe.

This week Ted Nugent sold off a large share of his wild game trophies. The iconic guitarist is a well-known hunter and gun nut. What was not well known was that the Nuge had bagged a rhinoceros and a zebra both of which are for sale. The Nugent family is selling off the trophies to simplify a move to a more remote compound a little closer to scenic Waco, Texas. For the record Jose preferred his material with the Amboy Dukes.

Volcom Records will be releasing Totomoshi's new album, Milagrosa, July 8th. The Frisco-based metal act will be touring nationally in support of the album. For the record, Totimoshi was intended to be gibberish but in the Chinese language Hakka, the word means a constipation. This is only the second record on Volcom Jose has cared about in 8 years.

I know I promised not to write about Amy Winehouse but this is just classic. After smoking more crack than Richard Pryor, Winehouse has ruined her lungs. Her father, Mitch Winehouse, has stated that Amy has early stage emphysema and will have to wear an oxygen mask unless she gives up the crack pipe. At least she didn’t set herself on fire.

The experimental and existential band Negativland is releasing a new album, Thigmotactic, July 15th. Since the 1970s, Negativland has showered us in a series of self-indulgent, loops, cut-and-paste tributes to Dadaism and self-debasement. So Jose was surprised when he heard that Thigmotactic included actual songs. Mark Hosler, a founding member of Negativland, apparently was tired of banging on pots and pans.

The new Guns & Roses album leaked this week. Gag. Jose laughs every time that he sees that YouTube video of Axl getting pegged in the nards with a water bottle. Normally Jose will not approve of a crotch shot, but Axl is an exception.

Slipknot, the biggest band in Iowa is releasing their fourth opus All Hope Is Gone. The work is slated for an August release. The band previewed the album for 24 hours on their website this week. Already naughty bloggers have leaked the unmastered versions of the songs. Nine guys in red jumpsuits: if they weren’t wearing masks I’d think they were a pit crew.

The hip-hop duo Dalek has founded a new record label, Deadverse Recordings. They already have albums by Oddateee, and Laura Minor. In the near-term, Dalek plan to stay with Ipecac Records, but in the future, there is no telling what success will do to them.