Slipknot Release Date
Iowa rock band, Slipknot release special 10th anniversary edition of their debut album Slipknot . The band have maintained their original line up of 9 members since they formed in 1995, hence the special release date of 9th September 2009.
The album box-set will comprise of CD & DVD digipack with the original tracklisting along with previously unreleased material and new track “Purity”. The DVD will feature a film “Of The Sic: A Decade Come And Gone” directed by M. Shawn Crahan giving a peek into the surreal and complex time around the release of Slipknot’s debut album. It will also have director’s commentary, all three music videos released in support of the album, the live concert recorded at the Dynamo Open Air, 2000 and “other surprises”.
Collectors can choose between standard box set and a “super deluxe” box set version which will also contain T-shirt, patch, collectible cards, key chain, beanie and a note from vocalist Corey Taylor, boxed in a package resembling a safety deposit box.
Slipknot 10th Anniversary Edition is released on 9th September.
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Revo iBlik Radiostation
Revo has scored the hat trick with the iBlik RadioStation heralding in a new generation of digital radios; not only does it have the conventional FM and DAB tuners, it also has internet connection with wireless music streaming.
Called the ultimate “one box” radio device, its stylish interface accesses around 11,000 radio stations from around the globe, or you can listen to tracks stored on your PC or Mac connected to the local Wi-Fi or LAN network. There’s no complicated set up or software to load either; the radio is very light and easy to operate, measuring 19.7 x 8 x 47.2 inches.
Although the sound comes through a single speaker the quality has a clarity and resonance. With its black plastic body and Morse code patterning and minimalist hi-tech appearance, the Revo iBlik RadioStation has set the benchmark for internet radio for the foreseeable future.
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Placebo
One of the best bands you can see live, Placebo, are playing a series of concerts at LG Arena, Birmingham, O2, London, Spa Theatre and Royal Hall, Bridlington, GMEX Centre, Manchester and SECC, Glasgow.
The alt-rockers formed in 1994 and have sold over 10 million albums worldwide with a huge fan base across Europe, especially in France. They are well-known for challenging gender norms personified by the androgynous appearance of front man Brian Molko whose bisexuality is well documented. The band has been associated with glam rock to the extent of being described as a glam version of Nirvana.
Their first eponymous album was released in 1996 and remains the benchmark for all other releases, containing classics like Nancy Boy, Pure Morning and a remake of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill. It exemplifies a harder raw sound apparent before the band’s subsequent experimentation with synthesisers. The latest album Battle for the Sun released in 2009 sees the band in an incandescent phase and is the first to feature the new drummer Steve Forrest with heavier guitar riffs, string arrangements and some of the best Placebo recordings to date like Ashtray Heart, Julien and the single, For What It’s Worth.
Get ready for a legendary night of androgynous fashion and makeup, rough guitar riffs, emotional lyrics and plenty of interaction with the audience on the part of Molko.
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Editors
Tickets are on release for concerts to see the post-punk/indie band, Editors perform across the UK at venues in cities including Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle, Belfast and London.
Hailed as “The second biggest British band of the decade after the Arctic Monkeys,” by The Mail on Sunday, the Editors have carved a niche for themselves in the musical scene and look set to stay there for the foreseeable future.
With songs that are defined by dark, indie guitar rock, influenced by bands like The Strokes and Joy Division, their two studio albums have sold over a million copies worldwide. The runaway success of the platinum debut album The Back Room, with its overriding atmosphere of menace, was followed up by the equally successful An End Has a Start that went straight to number one in the UK charts, and focuses on themes of death but also on the positive power of redemption.
But don’t be misled; all is not doom and gloom at an Editors concert. The menace is still there but catchy guitar riffs are supplemented by a new textured sound like the choir added in the massively successful single; Smokers Outside Hospital Doors. In other songs, multiple sounds create a layered effect. Anthemic melodies intertwine with lean and raw riffs as the multi-talented Tom Smith, with his deep and immediately identifiable vocals, alternates between piano, vocals and guitar. The more bouncy and infectious songs like Bones will have the audience erupting while a dark, underlying tension only adds to the overall atmosphere of excitement. You’ve got to be there to see it happen.
A band commentating on our times, the Editors are compelling and essential listening and must be seen live to appreciate their enormous depth and subtlety.
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Guitar Hero World Tour
Thwarted rock stars now have the chance to strum the air guitar to their heart’s content in the ultimate music game, Guitar Hero World Tour.
Players can use guitar shaped controllers to simulate the playing of rock music. An additional feature is the drum and microphone controllers allowing percussion and vocal possibilities as well as the original guitar, meaning that up to four would-be musicians can play at the same time. The idea is to hold down the correct fret buttons on the touch sensitive instruments or coloured drum head as the respective notes scroll across the screen … not an easy task, believe us.
Rave reviews have been received about the improved quality of the instrument controllers and a new customization feature whereby it’s possible to choose clothes, change facial and body structure and add tattoos and accessories to create your very own rock god.
The drum kit is pretty authentic too with three drum pads and two raised cymbals. A music studio means that you can compose digital music which you can later perform to a worldwide audience – if you’ve got the bottle – the Battle of the Bands game allows eight players to challenge each other to achieve global musical domination. On the other hand, if you’re feeling less brave, a set list of recordings from guitar greats like Van Halen, Linkin Park and the Eagles provides over 85 tracks for rocking the night away with downloadable singles and tracks.
Logitech 102 Digital Pen
At last, the compromise for people who refuse to bid the good old fashioned pen goodbye!
Suitable for scribes, minute takers, poets, reporters, train-spotters, in fact just anyone who ever needs to write anything down; the Logitech 102 digital pen could be the answer to many peoples’ prayers.
Based on the same technology as the Nokia and Sony Ericsson digital pens, the Logitech l02’s quality surpasses anything achieved by its rivals with every flick of the pen accurately transcribed, capturing notes or drawings via a tiny camera that stores up to 40 pages at a time.
The pen enables you to translate your notes directly on to software applications with back up, enabling you to synchronize emails, appointments and tasks immediately. It requires special digital paper supplied by Anoto, some of which carries special instructions once connected to your PC. If you fill in the email address on the main jotter pad in the appropriate section and click the box marked email, the note automatically appears in your email application and hey presto, your handwriting has been miraculously converted to keyboard text.
The package also includes handwriting recognition and powerful battery charge. Comfortable to use with a neat docking cradle, the Logitech l02 pen should drastically reduce the amount of time you spend on paperwork freeing up time for you to spend on the more creative tasks like writing.
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Paul Potts
Winner of Britain’s Got Talent in 2007, Paul Potts is out on tour to promote his second album Passione, and is appearing at various venues across the UK.
Long before Susan Boyle came on the scene, the cuddly tenor’s well-documented story has inspired people everywhere, converting many to classical music who wouldn’t normally listen to anything outside the pop genre.
Paul was the victim of bullying at his school in Kingswood, Bristol and took solace in his singing – his first operatic performance was in a karaoke competition in 1999 when he was dressed as Luciano Pavarotti. A win on the Michael Barrymore quiz show My Kind of Music enabled him to pay for singing lessons in Italy and he subsequently starred in amateur productions, when he became a dedicated performer, once refusing to undergo surgery for an adrenal tumour rather than abandon his role in Aida.
After a bike accident left him with a broken collarbone in 2003, Paul thought his operatic career was over until four years later, he plucked up the courage to compete in Britain’s Got Talent. Although he almost didn’t send the application off because of a lack of confidence, he wowed Simon Cowell with his audition and received a standing ovation at his performance singing Puccini’s Nessun Dorma in front of 2,000 people.
The rest is history. His first appearance on Britain’s Got Talent became the fourth most viewed YouTube in the UK up until April 2009. Since then he has performed in glittering concerts at prestigious venues all over the world and won an array of international awards. Singing a mix of operatic arias, pop, carols and songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber, his soulfully sad, warm voice moves many emotionally. Perhaps part of his appeal is in his personal history and his vulnerability – he holds nothing back of himself and we can identify with his hopes, dreams, setbacks, fear and determination to achieve the ultimate success.
“I’ve just always sung” explains Paul, “That’s always been something I’ve done. My voice has been my best friend. When other things have gotten me down, my voice has always been there.”
Don’t miss out on the chance to see this performer with an amazing voice and an amazing history.
The Levellers
To the uninitiated, The Levellers are more influential than most people realise. It would come as a surprise to many to discover that they have had more gold and platinum selling albums than any other UK band in the 1990s. This is in some part due to the tendency of the musical press to ignore them, stemming from acrimonious exchanges in the early days of the band’s history.
With a six man, multi-instrumental line-up The Levellers excel in genres of alternative rock and folk-punk with fiercely outspoken lyrics. Beloved by students and travellers of the 90s, the band’s inspiration comes from politics, cultural and social issues. They even founded their own festival, Beautiful Days, in Escot Park, Devon after becoming disillusioned with the commercial character of many UK festivals.
They are nevertheless, veteran festival performers, especially at Glastonbury, where their appearance on the Pyramid Stage in 1994 attracted one of the biggest audiences ever and was featured on a video of Glastonbury’s finest moments. In later years the band repeated this success setting stage records for Glastonbury again and again.
Their album successes include Levelling The Land in 1991, described as an underground classic, featuring the anthemic single One Way. An eponymous album Levellers was another huge hit reaching 2 in the album charts spawning the single This Garden. Other iconic tracks include 100 Years of Solitude which lists everything the Levellers hate, including the NME. The 2008 album Letters from the Underground was The Leveller’s 8th studio album and represents a return to top form, harking back to the “golden days” of the 90s. You may hear singles like 100 Years, 15 Years and Last Man Alive – grab those tickets now!
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The Proclaimers
They’re back on that road and walking, the Proclaimers are playing a series of concerts in support of their studio album Notes & Rhymes and previously released single Love Can Move Mountains.
The bespectacled brothers, Craig and Charlie Reid have synthesised Scottish folk, new wave and punk with political awareness and memorable lyrics.
Born in Leith, the twin brother were influenced by early rock’n’roll and punk and formed The Proclaimers in 1983. In January 1987 their appearance on The Tube when they performed Letter from America, a story about Scottish emigration, propelled them into stardom. They were voted NME Readers’ Best New Band. A follow up album, Sunshine on Leith spawned two iconic singles I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) and the anthemic title track, later inspiring an eponymous musical by Stephen Greenhorn that follows the plight of two soldiers returning from Afghanistan.
Matt Lucas writes of the brother’s music; “I find it hard to put into words quite how the music of The Proclaimers makes me feel. It makes me laugh. It makes me cry. It just makes me generally euphoric … Sunshine on Leith says more to me about my life and the way I feel than anything Morrissey or Cobain ever wrote.”
It’s impossible to follow a comment like that. Find out for yourself exactly how moving The Proclaimers can be.
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Jimmy Carr
Tickets have been released for Jimmy Carr’s Rapier Wit tour following on from his stint at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
The dark master of satire, described by the Guardian as “A comedy hero for our times”, was born in Isleworth, London. The son of Irish parents, he debuted on television as the presenter of the Channel 4 series, Your Face Or Mine? Although the show bombed, the chubby faced presenter with his ad lib remarks was thought to be the best thing about it.
In 2003, he won the Royal Television Society Award for the best on screen newcomer in 2003. In between television appearances he became a beloved figure at the Edinburgh festival, drawing huge audiences. Other claims to fame involve being a frequent host of the 100 shows for Channel 4 and even film roles in movies including Confetti, Alien Autopsy and Stormbreaker.
A prolific writer who has written for Bo’Selecta and Meet Ricky Gervais, his outrageous banter with the politician Ann Widdecombe during Have I Got News For You prompted her to state categorically that she would never appear on the programme again, which didn’t appear to upset him unduly.
Jimmy Carr has become a household name following appearances on shows like Never Mind the Buzzcocks, 8 Out of 10 Cats and Have I Got News for You. He is also famous for achieving the slowest time in the celebrity test track lap on Top Gear when he was described by The Stig as “the worst driver we’ve ever had.”
His new show, Rapier Wit has been billed as “not for the faint hearted” and described by Jimmy as “rude, crude and offensive – but those aren’t the only reasons why you’ll enjoy it.”
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