Pitchfork

I'm tired of this fucking snow. I long for summer: reggae, outdoor concerts, and a kind doob or three. Feel me? Well, someone in England apparently does, as Jamaican music pioneer Lee "Scratch" Perry was named Artistic Director of London's 11th Meltdown Festival earlier in the week. Last year's event was curated by some geez named Ziggy or David or something and featured all sorts of former NME darlings, from Coldplay to Suede to Badly Drawn Boy to Supergrass to Fischerspooner, alongside legitimate (read "American") artists Television, Philip Glass, Low, Daniel Johnston, and Mercury Rev. Uh.... Fischerspooner are British, right? Well, they should be.

Scratch will pick up where Bowie left off and will join the ranks of other great Directors of the past decade, including Scott Walker (2000), Nick Cave (1999), Laurie Anderson (1997), and Elvis Costello (1995). Recent performers also include Tricky and Sparklehorse (2001), Radiohead and Blur (2000), Cornershop and Sonic Youth (1998), and Lou Reed (1997). Perry will soon announce the 2003 festival's full lineup, which will be accompanied by art exhibitions, multimedia presentations, films, dance performances, and other fun from June 10th to 29th in London's South Bank Centre. Sez Perry: "Hello folks, lovely peoples of 2003. I am looking far-word to this festivity. We will celebrate with the music-makers from all over the world. Melting down sweet songs and evil beats. Love from the Open Door." Sounds pretty hippie. Let's hope he has the good sense to keep Blues Traveler off the bill.