Boxer Rebellion on Letterman

England's The Boxer Rebellion made their US TV debut on Letterman last night. Take a look as to why they are all the rage by home!

The White Stripes Split

In a statement on Third Man Records website, The White Stripes have alerted the general public that they are breaking up. The dynamic and brilliant duo that was Jack and Meg White, have been on hiatus since 2008, with only reissues, live albums and b-sides surfacing on Jack White's Third Man Records, fans were eagerly anticipating a follow up to 2007's Icky Thump. This will come no more. The duo who were together for 13 years, said in a statement that:

"The reason is not due to artistic differences or lack of wanting to continue. Nor any health issues as both Meg and Jack are feeling fine and in good health. It is for a myriad of reasons, but mostly to preserve what is beautiful and special about the band and have it stay that way. Both Meg and Jack hope this decision isn't met with sorrow by their fans but that is is seen as a positive move done out of respect for the music that the band has created. It is also done with the utmost respect to those fans who've shared in those creations, with their feelings considered greatly."

The Stripes, who's final performance was on Conan O'Brien's series finale on Late Night with Conan O'Brien where they performed a stripped down version of "We Are Going To Be Friends," were looking to "start fresh" as Jack told Vanity Fair recently as he hinted that he and Meg would get back into the studio. Jack who has been working with his band's The Racountours, Dead Weather and producing and touring with Wanda Jackson and running his Third Man Records company has proven to be the busiest man in music this side of the Atlantic right behind Damon Albarn. Meg, who has battled mental health issues during the band's success has kept a low profile since the band's hiatus.

This band has meant so much to so many people around the world, including everyone who writes for this site. It is with great sadness to report that they are calling it quits, though Jack will release more unreleased material through Third Man Records, it will never be the same. We don't need anything unreleased, we just need them. Every once in a while a band comes around and stirs everything around them and helps define a generation, for this generation, for my generation, it was The White Stripes. They came during the height of the garage rock movement of the early Millennium and swept the rug out from everyone around them. They seized the moment in time and ran with it. Their basic style of drums, vocals, piano and guitar gave way for bands like The Black Keys, Blood Red Shoes, The Kills and various garage rock bands to exist with purpose and break the rules of conventional rock and roll style. The White Stripes came in with old school rules of rock and roll gimmicks of using just black, red and white to color the band as well as using the number 7 and 5 as a mysterious undertone that they kept from fans, they told the press they were brother and sister while they were actually married. They played tricks on us so basic and clever that we admired them for it. They gave us six glorious albums, one of which, 2003's Elephant was named our "League of Their Own" (the title was given before this site was created while I was hosting a radio show on WQAQ). They will be missed...

In the final part of their statement Jack and Meg said:

"The White Stripes do not belong to Meg and Jack anymore, The White Stripes belong to you now and you can do with it whatever you want. The beauty of art and music is that it can last forever if people want it to. Thank you for sharing this experience. Your involvement will never be lost on us and we are truly grateful."

The National Live on Letterman

Take a look as Richard Reed Perry of Arcade Fire backs up The National on guitar as they return to Letterman to play "Conversation 16."

Rising Artist - Dylan Fox & The Wave

The White Stripes may have come and gone but their legacy will be felt in every rock and roll duo that just uses drums, vocals and guitar. Band's such as The Black Keys, The Royal Chains, Blood Red Shoes and so on. One of those band's who's influence can be taken from anyone of those bands but they are making it all their own in their own unique style. For California duo and brothers, Dylan and Sean Fox who make up Dylan Fox and the Wave, the dynamic duo are taking garage rock mixing it with surf and fuzz and are showing the West Coast how to get down. They just released their EP, the Fuzz EP two months ago and are ready to make a big splash in your ears. They are one of those acts that even though there may just be two of them, they are making more than enough sound to fill a room and have it moving.

Peter Bjorn & John on Conan!

Sweden's favorite goofy rockers Peter Bjorn and John hit up Conan this week to perform two tracks off their forthcoming Gimme Some. Take a look at PB&J play "Second Chance" and "Dig a Little Deeper."

Underrated Classic - Radiohead "Amnesiac"

Eight months after Radiohead blew the minds off everyone in the music world with Kid A, they still had another card up their sleeve. In June of 2001 they released Amnesiac, an album which seems more like Kid A B-Sides than a full collective, yet whatever the songs maybe, it still is an impressive body of work. With Kid A having hardly any singles, Amnesiac was not that far behind, releasing only two songs "Pyramid Song" and "Knives Out," the tracks were anything other than radio friendly. The album at first seemed to just be for the die-hard fans and severe music lovers rather than the masses. I for one, hated the album when it was released, it took me nearly six years to fully understand its brilliance and what it has to offer. If these were children, Kid A would be the very popular and acclaimed older brother to Amnesiac's hidden, timid and subtle brilliance. The Oxford lads may have entered new territory with Kid A, but they were living in this new space with Amnesiac. Bending sounds, using loops and various production tricks to achieve a sound so fresh and original, Radiohead would be the only band that could craft anything like it. Still as it turns a decade old, Amnesiac is the forgotten record of the craft band's career.

Thursday Cover & Track Listing

On April 12, New Brunswick, NJ post-hardcore hero's Thursday will unleash their sixth album, No Devolución. The album will hear and see the band in a new sharp turn in both style and sound. Singer Geoff Rickly tells Spin "There are definitely going to be at least a few fans that are like, 'This isn't what I want from Thursday. Half the reason we picked the album title is because it means, in Spanish, 'no returns.' As in, 'No returns, cause if you buy it, you got it!'" The band who has not only taken their influence from hardcore bands like Black Flag, Minor Threat, Fugazi, Ink and Dagger has also taken their influence from The Cure, Joy Division, The Smiths, Jesus and Mary Chain - this album will focus more on those bands rather than the loud and aggressive influences. Take a look at the cover (above) and the track listing:
Fast to the End
No Answers
A Darker Forest
Sparks Against the Sun
Open Quotes
Past and Future Ruins
Magnets Caught in a Metal Heart
Empty Glass
A Gun in the First Act
Millimeter
Turnpike Divides
Stay True

Best Coast on Letterman

Best Coast dropped by East Coast and spread some West Coast love on Letterman. Take a Look!

Movie of the Month - Miracle at St. Anna

In a time when war films are always highly praised and are normally box office sensations, especially when done by world renowned directors and feature an all star cast. None have been more panned or dismissed and unfairly treated the way Spike Lee's 2008 World War II drama Miracle at St. Anna was. The film, which begins in present day shows a post office clerk shooting a customer and is arrested, after being questioned by police and detectives, his motives for the shooting are unveiled as we are sent back to 1944 Tuscany and see the Buffalo Soldiers 92nd Infantry division right on the front line. The Buffalo soldiers were America's segregated minority division of soldiers fighting for a country that would not allow them to integrate but was ok to fight for it's countries freedom. As we follow the members of the battalion they are sent on a mission to a small town in the mountains where they encounter a small boy who mute and the sole survivor of a massacre that happened in his town of St. Anna. As the German's are pressing in to the small town to take control of the region, we see the batallion become like family to the Italian villagers that are seeking protection. A beautiful and heartbreaking film told in three languages, Miracle at St. Anna is one of the most overlooked films of the last decade. On it's release it was trashed by critics, yet those that saw it in theaters could only think otherwise. With a great supporting cast that includes Dereck Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Miller, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Turturro and John Legazamo, Miracle at St. Anna is a film to reconsider and watch.

Live Review - The Hold Steady @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

It was back to basics for Brooklyn's finest in Brooklyn's finest. The Hold Steady returned to the stage that has become their home through the years, in their backyard at Music Hall of Williamsburg. The last time anyone from the boroughs and surrounding areas saw the band was at the upper west side venue, the iconic Beacon Theater. The seated venue was a different structure than what fans were used to, but it was still one hell of a show! Now, as the band is set to embark on a European tour, they warmed up and threw themselves a nice going away party - a sold out two night event at the popular club.
Taking the stage just after 10pm, singer Craig Finn got on stage and looked so excited as usual as the rest of the band was just ready to do work. Opening with the bombastic "Ask Her for Aderall," The Hold Steady would crash into a blitzkrieg set that would take them from one foot stomping, fan screaming, drunk slurring anthem to another. The bands songs seemed to be faster and shorter, Finn was not talking to audience the way he normally does. It some something different and very fast, where we seeing The Ramones? Or this generations incarnation of the legendary punks? After all, we have called The Hold Steady the best rock and roll band to come from the city that never sleeps since The Ramones. What it was, was that someone was missing, brand new keyboardist, Dan Neustadt, who replaced longtime keyboardist and backing vocalist Franz Nicolay was not on stage. Since these were warm up shows, perhaps they are not taking Dan across the pond with them. Who knows, but one thing was for sure, he was not missed. The band just ran through their catalogue as if it was the last time they were playing Brooklyn.
After being on stage for nearly an hour and 15 minutes in a set that included "Cattle and the Creeping Things," "Constructive Summer," "Stuck Between Stations," "Chips Ahoy," and "Sweet Part of the City," the boys retreated into the wings for a brief second to collect themselves. Coming back on stage, Finn would explain how it was eight years to the day that the first Hold Steady show took place and it was indeed at Music Hall of Williamsburg, as the band was amping themselves up to go away and tour, they were also celebrating nearly a decade of pure, fantastic rock and roll. Heaven knows where the next eight or ten years will take the band, all we can hope for is that they keep making the music they love and have it become the music we love.