Feb 16, 2002

Scottish Band's Long Awaited Release

We are almost two months into the year and no new albums even worth talking about - until now.

On April 1st 2002, Simple Minds will release "Cry", the long awaited follow up to 1998's Neapolis, a disappointment by Simple Minds' standards. In between, there was an album called "Our Secrets Are The Same", which was never released due to a major fuck up by EMI (and you wonder why EMI has become the corporate laughing stock of the music industry).

Last year, Simple Minds made the wise decision of dumping EMI in favor of Eagle Records, a smaller label. Anything can be better than EMI, who recently changed their name to Capital and Virgin. It will take a little more than a lame move like that to return EMI-Capital-Virgin to the industry powerhouse it once was.

Simple Minds has also announced European tour dates which can be accessed from their official site. The tour will include Simple Minds all-time greatest drummer, Mel Gaynor.

It is also extremely refreshing to see the band booking tours in smaller, more intimate venues. Due to cost cutting and poor equipment, most of the recent concerts in arenas and stadiums have sounded like horseshit.

One major complaint about the SimpleMinds.com site is that you have to sign up and keep entering your user name and password to access the site. This is not practical web design, since many visitors will avoid the process and leave the site. The information should be made available to everyone (members, as well as non-members) and easier to access.

Hard to believe that in just six short weeks we will have an album that we can purchase, listen to in its entirety and review. Let's hope the boys from Glasgow do not forget the vinyl lovers with this release. And let's also hope the sound quality of the vinyl is not inferior to the cd. A well known Irish band recently slipped us a lousy sounding vinyl for $28.00! But, of course, they would never put the money before the music.

David Bowie - New Label & Album

Alternative music trailblazer David Bowie will be releasing a new album later this year or early in 2003. This is Bowie's first release under his own label, ISO, since breaking away from, you guessed it, EMI. Bowie utilized an escape clause in his contract after EMI dropped the ball - AGAIN!

This is one album to keep an eye out for since it is Bowie's first work without some corporate suit and tie shmucks, who know jack shit about music, looking over his shoulder. These shmucks should consider finding jobs in other fields that they are better suited for, since the industry will undergo a radical transformation (this is just a fancy way of saying declining sales) over the next couple of years.

Bowie's effort will be a collaboration with Tony Visconte, who has produced twelve of David's albums through the years, including "Scary Monsters". We wish the boys luck on their mission to show the major labels how it's done.

For additional information, go to Bowies's official site.

Peter Gabriel: Dont' Give Up

According to this Billboard story, Peter Gabriel is working on his new album "Up". It has been ten long years since Gabriel's release of "Us", one of the multitude of reasons the quality of music has been horrid for the past decade.

According to the article, Gabriel has been working on "Up", for five years. Again, it is refreshing and rare to see an artist with integrity not rushing out a mediocre album which true fans have no problem leaving behind. Unlike some other Irish AlterNO Pop sellouts, Gabriel refuses to put the love of money in front of his music.

So (another one of Gabriel's albums from the '80s), after the parade of punks contaminating today's music scene, the only new releases worth taking a look at are being created by a few middle aged guys who have been in the industry for five decades. And from the sounds of it, Kerr, Bowie and Gabriel have retained their singing voices.

With some serious musicians on the horizon, it's about time that the produced-for-radio pop music rubbish gets deep sixed. As for all you sell out pop artists out there, make sure you take your fans with you when you evaporate. We sure as hell have no use for the mass of mindless twits who listen to your crap.

You can visit Peter Gabriel's official site here.

Sphinx
"There's Only 1 Alternative - Monopoly or Not"

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