Stream New Small Black, “King of Animals,” Which Is So Good That It Makes Up For the Fact that the Rest of My News Write Up Will Be Meaningless, Full of Fluff; Read My Review of the EP, Consider Them As Contenders For Best Debut of the Year [Stereogum]
Singer Songwriter Dean Johnson Takes Lyrics George Harrison Wrote About Not Getting Along With John Lennon and Turns It Into His Own Song, Possibly Unaware That He is Not a Former Beatle, and Has No Perspective on What Song Might Mean; Listen to It! [NME]
Chris Brown’s New Album Cover Is Some Awful Amalgamation Between the Poster For Resident Evil Apocalypse and Eek! The Cat; Meanwhile, News Day Slow – Let the Obscure Pop Culture References Begin [Idolator]
The Pixies to Play Conan – If Read 15 Years Ago, One Could Mistake That For an Episode of Conan The Barbarian, Where Pixies Are Up To Usual Trickery, General Wackiness [Prefix]
Download a New Them Crooked Vultures Song, “Mind Eraser, No Chaser,” Which is Good, But Not as Good as the Band Mind Eraser [Pitchfork]
Black Sabbath Guitarist Tony Iommi Is Recovering Well After Having Stem-Cell Treatment in His Joints; Elsewhere (Specifically, In the Future), a Fully Cyborg Version of Iommi Begins the Robotic Takeover [NME]
Stream Basement Jaxx’s Zephyr EP, Which Is Super, Super Boring, and Begins With an Extremely Long Introduction in Which They Say Basement Jaxx 50 to 60 Times [Stereogum]
compiled by Max Sebela
August 23, 2009
Beatles’ Yellow Submarine to Undergo 3-D Remake
VIRTUAL JUNGLE
This week, Variety reported that Disney intends to remake The Beatles’ 1968 animated movie Yellow Submarine as a 3-D film with Robert Zemeckis as director. The release is currently scheduled to take place during the London Olympics in summer 2012.
Disney and Zemeckis are still in talks with lawyers over the use of 16 Beatles’ songs for the movie. Disney is trying to secure the rights to songs such as “All You Need Is Love,” “Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds,” and “All Together Now,” among others.
Zemeckis is a no-brainer choice to head up the film, considering his past 3D work includes Beowulf, The Polar Express, and, although not yet released, A Christmas Carol. Zemeckis has always been at the forefront of movie technology, and his recent trademark technique includes filming actors and props before re-imaging them into 3-D animation.
In the original movie, The Beatles’ involvement was limited to the live-action final scene and the use of their songs. They reportedly agreed to the movie partly to fulfill their movie contract, with actors actually providing voices for the animated Beatles.
The use or sale of Beatles’ songs has traditionally been a difficult achievement, but The Beatles: Rock Band and re-mastered Beatles albums are set to come out in September. Disney may be one of the lucky few to also acquire access to their music.
by Ben Benson
August 14, 2009
Yoko Ono: Give Rock Band A Chance
TOP DOG
Yoko Ono, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison’s widow and son endorse the finished version of “The Beatles: Rock Band,” a video game for XBOX 360, Playstation 3, and Wii.
However, the endorsement did not come without a heavy price. According to NME.com, Ono stormed game designers Harmonix’s offices and demanded the final scene of the game – the Beatles’ 1969 gig atop London’s Apple Building – look windier. Initially Ono had little input into the game, and many geeky game designers are huffing that Ono’s meddling is too late. Alex Rigopulos, CEO of Harmonix, cried, “She really held our feet to the fire.”
Although the Internet is rife with Yoko Ono jokes (oh, what can she break up next?), there is at least one cyber denizen defending Ono, and taking a pot shot at the suits. “Well, she was there, you sad MTV fuckers! Get a real guitar,” commented “Evokoder” on the NME.com site.
In other news, Ono and son Julian Lennon wore snappy hats and glasses to Da Silvano restaurant in Greenwich Village a couple days ago.
by Thomas Wilk
The Commodores Reunite With Lionel Richie At Essence Fest [Billboard]
Former Manager of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, Allen Klein Passes Away [NME]
“California Family Claims to See Michael Jackson’s Face in Tree” — No Joke Can Make That Headline Funnier [CBS13]
Foo Fighters Debut New Song At Obama’s USO 4th of July Party…Obama Pleased, But Really Wanted to Hear Grohl Cover “Tiny Dancer” [Spin]
Twilight Sad Tour U.S. With Frightened Rabbit – Fans Work Hard on Their Scottish Accents for Sing Alongs [Tripwire]
Radiohead Manager Brian Message Launches Polyphonic Records; Allows Artists to Keep Copyrights [NME]
Jack White Sets Up Subscription Service Through His Record Label; Cryptically Called “The Vault” [Spin]
Dinosaur Jr.’s/Sebadoh’s Lou Barlow to Release Goodnight Unknown October 6 [Pitchfork]
Listen to New Air Track, “Do the Joy” Now! It’s Robotic! Hypnotic! Dreamy! It Sounds Exactly Like Air! [Prefix]
Oasis’ Noel Gallagher Really Loves Drugs [Prefix]
compiled by Max Sebela
Beastie Boys’ Eighth Studio Album, Hot Sauce, Drops Sept. 15 [Billboard]
Bjork Streams Album of Alternate Live Takes on NPR, Screens Film at SVA Tonight [Tripwire]
Opening Cinematic from “The Beatles: Rock Band” Game Revealed [Rolling Stone]
Black Lips and King Khan & BBQ Show Team Up as Almighty Defenders; Album Out In September [Prefix]
Old Folks Trash Wilco and Praise Yo La Tengo’s “Humpin’ Music” [Pitchfork]
Honey Hush! (And Check Out the Lineup for the Coney Island Rockabilly Festival) [Brooklyn Vegan]
Hey You Record Collectors, Pavement Vinyl Reissue Out Today [Tiny Mix Tapes]
Hey You Digital Collectors, Factory Records Digital Box Set Released on iTunes [Pitchfork]
Who’s The Boss? Ticketmaster or Bruce Springsteen? [Prefix]
Former Wilco Member Jay Bennett Died of Overdose [Rolling Stone]
compiled by Erin Sheehy
