There's a strong whiff of desperation associated with EMI/Capitol's instant Radiohead cash-in scheme. Of course, Thom & Co. left the major behind for the release of In Rainbows, but they can't stop Capitol from pimping out their back catalogue in every way imaginable. There was that garish, pointless CD boxed set, the Best Of disc, the plethora of LP vinyl reissues. Not to mention the Thom Yorke novelty dollar bill, the I Heart Jonny Greenwood pin, and that bumper sticker of a Radiohead bear standing on an ice flow. (Ok , technically those last three are just random 'Head memorabilia we found on eBay, but we wouldn't be surprised if Capitol started selling action-grip Phil Selway figurines very soon.)

Now, the jilted label is taking advantage of insane fan loyalty with a limited edition series of 12" singles that attempt to recreate 12 of the band's original CD singles, according to At Ease. The records will come out on April 21, but you can pre-order them at Insound right now. Though there's no previously unreleased material involved in this round of vinyl reissues, 1992's rare Drill EP -- featuring early versions of "You", "Thinking About You", and "Prove Yourself"-- will be re-released. The other 11 singles to undergo the CD-to-LP treatment: Creep, My Iron Lung, Just, Fake Plastic Trees, High and Dry, Street Spirit [fade out], Paranoid Android, Karma Police, No Surprises, Pyramid Song, There There, and 2+2=5. No word yet on which/whether B-sides will be included. Major labels recycling, the yuppies networking, the panic, the vomit, etc.

Posted by Ryan Dombal on January 12, 2009 at 4:30 p.m.

Tags: Beef, Radiohead, Single

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Last September, Pitchfork reported that Astralwerks would be releasing Heroes, a benefit compilation for War Child, a charity that helps kids stranded in war zones across the world. Heroes has a pretty simple and great concept: Music legends pick the songs of theirs they want to hear covered and the younger artists they want to have cover their songs. Alas, the compilation didn't make it out on its planned November 25 release date. Astralwerks will now release it on February 24, and from the looks of things, it'll be well worth your good-cause money. Not everything on this tracklist looks great. The world, for instance, probably did not need more evidence of Iggy Pop's near-inexplicable love of Peaches. And Elbow covering U2? Yerg. Bored already. Also Leonard Cohen picked his own kid WTF. But the Hold Steady doing "Atlantic City"? Hot Chip doing "Transmission"? TV on the Radio doing "'Heroes'"? I mean, fuck. How could those not be awesome?

Here's the tracklist:

01 Beck: "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" (Bob Dylan cover)
02 The Kooks: "Victoria" (Kinks cover)
03 The Hold Steady: "Atlantic City" (Bruce Springsteen cover)
04 Hot Chip: "Transmission" (Joy Division cover)
05 Lily Allen ft. Mick Jones: "Straight to Hell" (Clash cover)
06 Yeah Yeah Yeahs: "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" (Ramones cover)
07 Franz Ferdinand: "Call Me" (Blondie cover)
08 Duffy: "Live and Let Die" (Paul McCartney cover)
09 Estelle: "Superstition" (Stevie Wonder cover)
10 Rufus Wainwright: "Wonderful / Song for Children" (Brian Wilson covers)
11 Scissor Sisters: "Do the Strand" (Roxy Music cover)
12 Peaches: "Search and Destroy" (The Stooges cover)
13 Adam Cohen: "Take This Waltz" (Leonard Cohen cover)
14 Elbow: "Running to Stand Still" (U2 cover)
15 The Like: "You Belong to Me" (Elvis Costello cover)
16 TV on the Radio: "'Heroes'" (David Bowie cover)

Posted by Tom Breihan on January 12, 2009 at 4:10 p.m.

Tags: Beck, Benefit, compilation, Franz Ferdinand, Heroes, Hot Chip, Lily Allen, The Hold Steady, TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

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As someone whose souvenir Bill Clinton 1992 Inauguration periscope is still collecting dust in his parents' basement, I know exactly what happens when you attend an inaugural parade: You stand outside in the freezing cold for hours and then maybe you get to see the incoming President's arm waving outside his car's window.

On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. Since this will be the first inauguration in at least twelve years for a President that people actually like, next week the already maddening streets of our nation's capital are going to be absolutely jammed with people. And if you're going to brave that throng, you may as well party while you're doing it. Fortunately, a whole mess of musicians will be in town to help facilitate that partying. And now we'll get to see how cool Barack Obama really is by checking on which shows he comes to and then judging him based on his musical tastes! That's what we do around here, after all.

First off, there's a big opening shindig going down January 18 at the Lincoln Memorial, which will be free, open to the public, and broadcast on HBO, according to Billboard.com. The star-studded lineup features (deep breath) Bruce Springsteen, Bono, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Shakira, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, John Legend, and many, many more.

Next, the shows going down on January 19, Inauguration Eve:

-- The Beastie Boys will rock the barfily-named "Hey, America Feels Kinda Cool Again" Inaugural Gala at the venerable 9:30 Club, alongside (ew) Sheryl Crow and Citizen Cope.

-- Also on Monday night, Jay-Z will perform at the Warner Theatre. And since Jay and the Beasties will be in different places, there's not much chance of Jay and Mike D reprising that awkward meet-up from Fade to Black with Obama playing the Rick Rubin role.

-- As previously reported, the Chicago venue the Hideout and political organization Interchange will present the Big Shoulders Ball at the Black Cat with Ted Leo and Chicago indie-rock types like Andrew Bird, Tortoise, and the Waco Brothers.

-- Russell Simmons, T.I., Young Jeezy, and LL Cool J will form like Voltron to host the Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball at the Harman Center for the Arts.

And then, on the big night itself:

-- Elvis Costello, Sting, and Sam Moore will perform at the Creative Coalition's ball, according to BBC News.

-- Anti-Flag, probably the last band anyone would've expected to play any sort of inaugural ball, will play something called Demand in DC at the Black Cat with Darkest Hour and United Nations.

-- Baltimore club heroes Blaqstarr and Scottie B will be at the Rock and Roll Hotel for the People's Inaugural Ball. (That same staggeringly classy venue will also host the Inaugural Brawl, a Jell-O wrestling thing, the next night.)

-- DC's own Wale will headline a day-long bands/comedians/drinking party presented by Brightest Young Things at Bohemian Caverns, also featuring Team Robespierre.

Posted by Tom Breihan on January 12, 2009 at 3:35 p.m.

Tags: Beastie Boys, Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z

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-- Boston post-punk legends Mission of Burma have just released the Rhapsody Originals EP, a five-song live EP that they recorded last October in Brooklyn. As that title would imply, it's up for sale or rent exclusively at Rhapsody. The band also has a few live dates coming up. On January 24, they'll play a benefit for Arts at the Armory at the Somerville Theater in Somerville, Massachusetts, and the next night they'll be at the SPACE Gallery in Portland, Maine. Tinnitus: It's not the end!

-- Damon Albarn will debut the first new Gorillaz songs in forever on the UK's Radio 1 this Wednesday. He'll be on between 7 and 9 p.m., London time, so someone please do that math for us and tell us when to listen because we are dumb. The Gorillaz MySpace page also offers this little tidbit: "It has also been hotly rumoured that Murdoc Niccals himself will make a special appearance." If you've been wondering what a cartoon ape might sound like if he was talking on the radio, now's your chance to find out.

-- The Pipettes, the British throwback girl-group who completely overhauled their lineup Destiny's Child-style last year, have been working on their sophomore album, which will actually be the first album for most of the people in the group. They've been in the studio with veteran new-wave producer Martin Rushent, the guy who produced the Human League's Dare. Not everyone in the UK is trying to make Motown records, apparently.

-- Low-tech Seattle bleep crew Truckasauras will head out on a quick West Coast tour later this month. Unless we're lucky, they will probably not crush any cars.

Posted by Tom Breihan on January 12, 2009 at 1:30 p.m.

Tags: ep, Gorillaz, Mission of Burma, The Pipettes, Tour, Truckasaurus

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Live music on T.V. this week:

Tuesday, January 13:

NBC: The Tonight Show With Jay Leno: John Legend
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: the Submarines

Wednesday, January 14:

SUNDANCE: Spectacle: Elvis Costello With...: Rufus Wainwright

Thursday, January 15:

CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Glasvegas
NBC: The Tonight Show With Jay Leno: Mutemath

Friday, January 16:

CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: the Airborne Toxic Event
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live!: Delta Spirit

Saturday, January 17:

NBC: Saturday Night Live: Fleet Foxes
PBS: Austin City Limits: Foo Fighters
FOX: Fearless Music TV: The Ark, Dengue Fever, Juno Reactor

Posted by Amy Phillips on January 12, 2009 at 12:55 p.m.

Tags: TV

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Bono is a bullshitter's bullshitter. With that Irish purr and penchant for turning every lowly phrase into a melodramatic...pause...fest, he could turn a trip to the podiatrist into an epic tale of love and loss. And his first column for The New York Times is Bono qua Bono as it connects Frank Sinatra's "My Way" to the aura of being and living and all that. The piece is as blustery as you'd think but it's arguably more considered and enjoyable than U2's generally embarrassing last album.

The Times is offering the column as text and as audio read by the man himself. Here's a tip: Go for the audio. Delivered in his jazzbo-by-way-of-Dublin style, overstuffed lines like "malt joy and ginger despair are all in the queue to be served on this, the quarter-of-a-millennium mark since Arthur Guinness first put velvety blackness in a pint glass" sound less show-offy and more blissfully buzzed. It's easy to make fun of Bono, but there's a reason why his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame speeches are always amazing. The guy knows how to spin his yarns. Expect about a half dozen more Times columns from the singer throughout 2009, according to The Guardian.

When he's not waxing lyrical about the Chairman of the Board, Bono is still saving the world and leading U2 to unprecedented stadium glories. The band's new album, No Line on the Horizon, is set for release March 3 on Interscope, and they will play new single "Get on Your Boots" at the BRIT Awards February 17. Rumor has it the track will hit radio later this week.

Posted by Ryan Dombal on January 12, 2009 at noon

Tags: Commentary, U2

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