Ah, I hadn't considered the "not playing near me" aspect, and that makes my enthusiasm and dark-lord-ish paw-waving insensitive. Sorry. :( But I hope there's an album as well. Hope hope hope. I'd heard there was (on the same odd UK website that announced the tour), but I haven't been able to find a confirmation at 4AD or on DCD's website, so I don't know. Poop.

I am up late, doing the most important preparation before a trip - the selection of the music. A task make infinitely easier since I got an iPod, but still, I am on the iTunes store, buying more music.

This is freaky - you know how the iTunes store has playlists? They have this section called "iTunes Essentials" which are lists of "essential" songs by a certain artists or in a certain genre. I am in the "'80s College Rock" playlist, and the part called "The Basics" there are 24 songs, all of which I own. The next part is called "The Next step," and I own all but one or two of those songs. The final part is "Deep Cuts," where I finally see some songs and artists I'm not familiar with.

Reminds me of the one year when the Villege Voice "Paz and Jop" results were released - I happened to own all of the top five albums, and none of the remaining 45.

Speaking of DCD, I just saw this press release:

March 1st, marks a very special new release from City Canyons Records - Peter Ulrich's ENTER THE MYSTERIUM. But beware: Once you cross into this realm, you many never be able to return to the world as you knew it. Prepare to be taken on a journey through a mixture of sounds including world music, ethnic music, art pop, dream pop, ancient and medieval music, new age and dark wave.

Prior to ENTER THE MYSTERIUM, Ulrich was perhaps best known for his long-time collaboration with the legendary Dead Can Dance, the fabulously creative band of the eighties that explored new frontiers of music. Ulrich joined the group in 1983 and appeared on albums like Garden of Arcane Delights, Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun and Spiritchaser, and was a touring member of the group until 1990. He also collaborated on Ivo Watts-Russell's This Mortal Coil project, contributing the song "At First, And Then" to Filigree And Shadow, and also played on the legendary label 4AD with labelmates Michael Brook and the Wolfgang Press as an incidental percussionist. Ulrich's Pathways & Dawns, released on Projekt Records in 1999, featured former Dead Can Dance bandmate Brendan Perry as a producer and arranger. Delighted reviewers of Pathways & Dawns compared Ulrich's work to medieval madrigals, baroque exotica, Todd Rundgren and Brian Eno all in the same sentence, a tribute to the infinite variety of Ulrich's music.

ENTER THE MYSTERIUM is similarly diverse but with brilliant pop influences that should cause it, while losing none of its stunning originality, to appeal to a broader audience. MYSTERIUM features words and music by Ulrich, vocals by Ulrich and Ulrich playing both traditional instruments and a selection of exotic instruments from all over the world. Ulrich's music in MYSTERIUM music recalls "Dead Can Dance" but has an exotic flavor of its own, blending seamlessly an array of musical genres into a lush tapestry of sound and sensation.

But to understand this unique sound, you must enter Ulrich's world of light and shadow, a world of black and white magic, a world haunting, mysterious, sometimes frightening but in the end uplifting--a world powerfully mapped out in Ulrich's new album.

As an added treat, particularly for those who have tired of the pabulum that passes for music on commercial radio, the release of ENTER THE MYSTERIUM coincides with the reuniting of Dead Can Dance for a world tour this spring. Surely the rebirth of creative, risk-taking new music will be as refreshing and warming to music-lovers' hearts as that first spring flower poking through the frost.

You can visit City Canyons Records online at [link] You can also check out a few tracks from the album online at: [link] and >[link]

---

Oh. Oh my

I knew this board would be the death of me.

shakes fist

Why do you throw information at me that tempts me to SPEND MONEY?!

sobs

Then I shouldn't mention the limited edition recordings of concerts on their European tour:

[link]

That site also has recordings of the last Pixies tour too.

Angus! This seems like the best place to flag your attention. They are praising and extolling your virutes over here:

[link]

A few posts down afterwards Nilly nillys choice Angusisms.

Damn

from jackenraptured at hotmail dot com

Dear All,

Simeon from Silver Apples emailed to give the sad news that Danny Taylor, Silver Apple's original drummer passed away last Thursday night (10th March) in New York. Danny had been rushed to hospital that night but could not be revived. There are no further details at present.

Danny has a son, who until only a few years ago never knew his father's amazing past and his contribution as one half of the legendary New York duo who were pioneers of a destinct and original electronic and experimental sound that even today is still revered by fans from all over the world.

If anyone would like to send condolences, please email them to me and I will forward them on accordingly.

Please forward this news onto whomever you think would like to be informed.

Many Thanks

Jack

Enraptured

That sucks. I was listening to Silver Apples/Contact only yesterday.

Cocteaus Bottle Comeback

[link]

Now playing: Yarbrough and Peoples, "Don't Stop the Music."

Reviving fond memories of college freshmanhood.