Billy Preston, Beatles Collaborator, Dead at 59

Preston began his career as a pre-teen prodigy, earning a role in the 1958 W.C. Handy biopic St. Louis Blues, which also featured such luminaries as Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Mahalia Jackson, Cab Calloway, and Eartha Kitt.

He began his recording career a few years later, issuing his debut album, Sixteen Year Old Soul for Derby in 1963. Preston's more accomplished solo efforts included The Most Exciting Organ Ever [Vee-Jay, 1965], Billy Preston [Buddah, 1969], and the two albums he recorded for the Beatles' Apple label, That's the Way God Planned It (1969) and Encouraging Words (1970). After leaving Apple, Preston enjoyed his most successful period as a solo artist, releasing three top five singles--"Outa-Space", "Will It Go Round in Circles", and "Nothing From Nothing". The latter two songs went to No. 1.

Despite that success, Preston is, oddly, perhaps best known as a studio musician-- particularly because of his work with the Beatles. The organist performed on the Beatles' "White Album" and Abbey Road and was unofficially drafted into the group by former tourmate George Harrison-- alongside whom he eventually performed at the famed Concert for Bangladesh-- for the recording and filming of Let It Be. Preston's Beatles work can be heard most prominently on "Get Back", "I Want You (She's So Heavy)", and "Don't Let Me Down". Preston also performed studio work for artists such as Sly and the Family Stone, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Sam Cooke, and Eric Clapton.

Later in his life, Preston suffered several major indignities: being sentenced to a three-year jail term following a bail violation, performing on the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Stadium Arcadium, and, worst of all, performing as the title character in the abysmal film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

The Beatles: "Get Back" [featuring Billy Preston]

Cure Reissue Series Continues

A: Take away his credit card!

Q: How do you stop Rhino from reissuing Cure albums and causing you to max out your credit cards?

A: You don't!

Rhino Records has just announced the latest round of remastered Cure and Cure-related reissues, all dolled up in hyper-deluxe two-disc packages with fancy-schmancy booklets and more bonus demos than Robert Smith has had bad hair days.

The latest round-up arrives August 8 and includes Cure albums nos. five, six, and seven-- The Top (1984), The Head on the Door (1985), and Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me (1987)-- as well as 1983's Blue Sunshine, the lone record by the Glove, the side project of Smith and Siouxsie & the Banshees bassist Steve Severin. Mega-hits and fan favorites like "In Between Days", "Why Can't I Be You?", "Just Like Heaven", and "Close to Me" were spawned during this storied era in Cure history.

As you may recall, last year Rhino graced us with expanded, remastered reissues of Seventeen Seconds, Faith, and the much-loved Pornography. At this rate we can expect a d-lux remaster of that lukewarm 2004 self-titled record by 2008. Oh boy.

Tracklists:

The Top:

Disc 1:

01 Shake Dog Shake
02 Birdmad Girl
03 Wailing Wall
04 Give Me It
05 Dressing Up
06 The Caterpillar
07 Piggy in the Mirror
08 The Empty World
09 Bananafishbones
10 The Top

Disc 2 (Rarities):

01 You Stayed... (Robert Smith Home Demo)
02 Ariel (Robert Smith Home Demo)
03 A Hand Inside My Mouth (Studio Demo)
04 Sadacic (Robert Smith Studio Demo)
05 Shake Dog Shake (Studio Demo)
06 Piggy in the Mirror (Studio Demo)
07 Birdmad Girl (Studio Demo)
08 Give Me It (Studio Demo)
09 Throw Your Foot (Studio Demo)
10 Happy the Man (Studio Demo)
11 The Caterpillar (Studio Demo)
12 Dressing Up (Studio Alt. Mix)
13 Wailing Wall (Studio Alt. Mix)
14 The Empty World (Live Bootleg)
15 Bananafish Bones (Live Bootleg)
16 The Top (Live Bootleg)
17 Forever (Version) (Live Bootleg)

The Head on the Door:

Disc 1:

01 In Between Days
02 Kyoto Song
03 The Blood
04 Six Different Ways
05 Push
06 The Baby Screams
07 Close to Me
08 A Night Like This
09 Screw
10 Sinking

Disc 2 (Rarities):

01 In Between Days (Robert Smith Home Demo)
02 Inwood (Robert Smith Home Demo)
03 Push (Robert Smith Home Demo)
04 Innsbruck (Robert Smith Home Demo)
05 Stop Dead (Studio Demo)
06 Mansolidgone (Studio Demo)
07 Screw (Studio Demo)
08 Lime Time (Studio Demo)
09 Kyoto Song (Studio Demo)
10 A Few Hours After This... (Studio Demo)
11 Six Different Ways (Studio Demo)
12 A Man Inside My Mouth (Studio Demo)
13 A Night Like This (Studio Demo)
14 The Exploding Boy (Studio Demo)
15 Close to Me (Studio Demo)
16 The Baby Screams (Live Bootleg)
17 The Blood (Live Bootleg)
18 Sinking (Live Bootleg)

Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me:

Disc 1:

01 The Kiss
02 Catch
03 If Only Tonight We Could Sleep
04 Why Can't I Be You?
05 How Beautiful You Are...
06 Snakepit
07 Hey You!
08 Just Like Heaven
09 All I Want
10 Hot Hot Hot!!!
11 One More Time
12 Like Cockatoos
13 Icing Sugar
14 The Perfect Girl
15 A Thousand Hours
16 Shiver and Shake
17 Fight

Disc 2 (Rarities):

01 The Kiss (Robert Smith Home Demo)
02 The Perfect Girl (Studio Demo)
03 Like Cockatoos (Studio Demo)
04 All I Want (Studio Demo)
05 Hot Hot Hot!!! (Studio Demo)
06 Shiver and Shake (Studio Demo)
07 If Only Tonight We Could Sleep (Studio Demo)
08 Just Like Heaven (Studio Demo)
09 Hey You! (Studio Demo)
10 A Thousand Hours (Studio Alt. Mix)
11 Icing Sugar (Studio Alt. Mix)
12 One More Time (Studio Alt. Mix)
13 How Beautiful You Are (Live Bootleg)
14 The Snakepit (Live Bootleg)
15 Catch (Live Bootleg)
16 Torture (Live Bootleg)
17 Fight (Live Bootleg)
18 Why Can't I Be You? (Live Bootleg)

The Glove: Blue Sunshine:

Disc 1:

01 Like an Animal
02 Looking Glass Girl
03 Sex-Eye-Make-Up
04 Mr. Alphabet Says
05 A Blues in Drag
06 Punish Me With Kisses
07 This Green City
08 Orgy
09 Perfect Murder
10 Relax

Bonus tracks:

11 The Man From Nowhere (Original Instrumental Mix)
12 Mouth to Mouth (Landray Vocal Mix)
13 Punish Me With Kisses (Mike Hedges Mix)
14 The Tightrope (Original Instrumental Mix)
15 Like an Animal (12" Club What Club? Mix)

Disc 2 (Rarities):

01 Like an Animal (Robert Smith Vocal Demo)
02 Looking Glass Girl (Robert Smith Vocal Demo)
03 Sex-Eye-Make-Up (Robert Smith Vocal Demo)
04 Mr. Alphabet Says (Alt. Robert Smith Vocal Demo)
05 A Blues in Drag (Alt. Robert Smith Vocal Demo)
06 Punish Me With Kisses (Robert Smith Vocal Demo)
07 This Green City (Robert Smith Vocal Demo)
08 Orgy (Robert Smith Vocal Demo)
09 Perfect Murder (Alt. Robert Smith Vocal Demo)
10 Relax (Alt. Robert Smith Vocal Demo)
11 The Man From Nowhere (Alt. Instrumental Mix)
12 Mouth to Mouth (Robert Smith Vocal Demo)
13 Opened the Box (A Waltz) (Robert Smith Vocal Demo)
14 The Tightrope (Almost Time) (Robert Smith Vocal Demo)
15 And All Around Us the Mermaids Sang (aka Torment)
16 Holiday 80 (Original Instrumental Mix)

If you are reading this here line down here, you, my friend, are a ridiculously devout Cure fan. My hat goes off to you.

Broadcast Rarities Collection Due in August

The collection will gather only previously-released material, but most (if not all) of the songs are on singles, EPs, and compilations that are out of print, including the first All Tomorrow's Parties comp ("DDL") from 2001 and the We Are Reasonable People compilation ("Hammer Without a Master") released way back in 1998. The rest of the selections come from singles and EPs like 1999's Echo's Answer EP, 2000's Extended Play EP, "Come On Let's Go" single, and Extended Play Two EP, and the 2003 Pendulum EP.

And while the duo carries on with their music-making (the next record is "in various stages of completion" according to Warp), the charmingly aloof voice of Trish Keenan has garnered the attention of the literary press. (But can you broadcast in print?) The London-based quarterly newspaper journal The High Horse published Keenan's short story "Life of a Dummy" and her poem "One Way to Look at a Dream" in their sixth issue, which came out in April. Since The High Horse is available only in England, does that make Keenan's writing another rarity?

Future Crayon:

01 Illumination
02 Still Feels Like Tears
03 Small Song IV
04 Where Youth and Laughter Go
05 One Hour Empire
06 Distant Call
07 Poem of Dead Song
08 Hammer Without a Master
09 Locusts
10 Chord Simple
11 Dave's Dream
12 DDL
13 Test Area
14 Unchanging Window/Chord Simple
15 A Man for Atlantis
16 Minus Two
17 Violent Playground
18 Belly Dance

Broadcast have a handful of UK dates scheduled in July:

07-19 Bristol, England - The Fleece
07-20 Manchester, England - TBA
07-21 London, England - Bush Hall
07-22 Birmingham, England - Supersonic Festival

My Morning Jacket Go Orchestral

When I was a kid, John Williams was the Boston Pops conductor, and R2-D2 and C3P0 would come out whenever they did the "Star Wars" theme. I'm not sure how tight My Morning Jacket are with the droid community, but I wouldn't put some equally fun and/or ridiculous shenanigans past them.

On June 28 and 29, the orchestra will repeat the feat, only those times it will be Aimee Mann leading the charge, not My Morning Jacket.

This Thursday, June 8, Jim James and crew will make an appearance on "The Late Show With David Letterman" alongside 13 members of the Boston Pops. For those in the Boston area, consider the Letterman spot a preview of what's heading your way later this June; for everyone else, consider this a huge tease of what you won't be getting.

Here's how the rest of MMJ's summer looks:

06-16 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Festival
06-21 Boston, MA - Boston Symphony Hall *
06-22 Boston, MA - Boston Symphony Hall *
06-30 Quincy, CA - High Sierra Festival

* with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra

Vashti Bunyan Schedules First-Ever American Tour

But the story doesn't end there. The reissued album found a new web-savvy audience, eventually leading to Bunyan's public re-emergence, collaborations with Animal Collective, Piano Magic, and Devendra Banhart, and eventually, 35 years after her debut, a sophomore album, 2005's gorgeous Lookaftering.

And now, the interweb is making magic happen yet again, as we bring to you the announcement of Vashti Bunyan's first-ever North American tour! After spending the summer hitting the European festival circuit, she'll kick off a brief trek on our shores with a show in Vancouver on September 1.

Bunyan will be accompanied on the road by Scottish musicians Jo Mango (piano, flute, kalimba, concertina) and Gareth Dickson (guitar) as well as Kevin Barker of Currituck County on guitar and a violinist and cellist who have yet to be determined.

More diamond days:

07-03 Malmo, Sweden - Accelerator Festival
07-05 Goteborg, Sweden - Accelerator Festival
07-06 Stockholm, Sweden - Accelerator Festival
07-07 Kristiansand, Norway - Quart Festival
08-04 Hereford, England - Big Chill
08-12 Leicester, England - Summer Sundae
09-01 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards
09-02 Portland, OR - Hollywood Theater (Halleluwah Arts Fest)
09-03 Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival
09-07 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
09-08 Los Angeles, CA - Getty Museum
09-09 Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
09-11 Chicago, IL - Lakeshore Theater
09-14 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
09-15 Boston, MA - Museum of Fine Arts
09-16 Shelburne Falls, MA - Memorial Hall Theater

Camera Obscura Tour UK, North America

I need all the dates I can get:

06-08 Leeds, England - Faversham
06-09 Manchester, England - Dry Bar
06-10 Hull, England - The Adelphi
06-11 London, England - Cargo
06-12 Norwich, England - Norwich Arts Centre
06-13 Essex, England - Colchester Arts Centre
06-15 Cardiff, Wales - Clwb Ifor Bach
06-16 Sheffield, England - Leadmill
06-17 Glasgow, Scotland - QMU
06-19 Aberdeen, Scotland - The Tunnels
07-04 Toronto, Ontario - Horseshoe Tavern
07-05 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa
07-06 Allston, MA - Great Scott *
07-07 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom *
07-08 Philadelphia, PA - North Star Bar *
07-09 Washington, DC - Black Cat *
07-11 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle *
07-12 Atlanta, GA - The Earl *
07-13 Memphis, TN - Hi Tone *
07-14 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Tea Room *
07-15 Austin, TX - Emo's *
07-17 Tucson, TN - Plush *
07-18 San Diego, CA - The Casbah *
07-19 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour *
07-20 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall *
07-22 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge *
07-23 Seattle, WA - Neumo's *
07-24 Vancouver, British Columbia - Plaza Club
07-27 Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theatre *
07-28 Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium *
07-29 Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop *
07-30 Newport, KY - Southgate House *

* with Georgie James

Massive Attack Mount Massive Tour

Being the cagey veterans they are, remaining attackers Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall are prepping for a hefty summer tour. The trek will cover mostly Europe (including places like Bratislava, where trip-hop is probably the latest thing, along with pogs and Alicia Silverstone), with the band ending its journey with U.S. stops at Austin City Limits and the Hollywood Bowl.

Watch them go Lowlands to Highlands to Zenith in barely a weekend!:

06-08 Salonika, Greece - Earth Theatre
06-09 Athens, Greece - Karaiskaki Stadium
06-11 Skopje, Macedonia - Skopje Fair Hall 1
06-13 Budapest, Hungary - P.Csarnock Open Air
06-14 Bratislava, Slovakia - Incheba
06-16 Vienna, Austria - Novarock
06-23 London, England - Wireless Festival
06-24 Leeds, England - Wireless Festival
06-30 St. Gallen, Switzerland - Open Air
07-02 Paris, France - Zenith
07-04 Montreux, Switzerland - Stravinski Hall
07-08 Lisbon, Portugal - Tejo
07-10 Oporto, Portugal - Coliseum
07-14 Barcelona, Spain - Summercase
07-15 Madrid, Spain - Summercase
07-17 Six-Fours, France - Beach Club
07-18 Vienne, France - Amphitheatre
07-21 Rome, Italy - Fiesta
07-22 Milan, Italy - Fillipaut
07-23 Antipes, France - Beach
07-30 Westonbirt, England - Arboretum
08-12 Osaka, Japan - Summersonic
08-13 Tokyo, Japan - Summersonic
08-16 Dussledorf, Germany - Phillipshalle
08-18 Hasselt, Belgium - Pukklepop
08-19 Dronten, Holland - Lowlands
08-20 Erfurt, Germany - Highlands
08-22 Munich, Germany - Zenith
08-23 Berlin, Germany - Arena
08-25 Copenhagen, Denmark - Forum
08-26 Hamburg, Germany - Docks
08-28 Paris, France - Olympia
08-29 Paris, France - La Cigale
08-30 Paris, France - Bataclan
09-01 Stradbally, Ireland - Electric Picnic
09-16 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival
09-24 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl *

* with TV on the Radio

But this ain't no ride off into the electro-doom sunset. As previously reported, Del Naja and producer/collaborator Neil Davidge have been hard at work on the next proper Massive Attack album, expected sometime in 2007. Titled Weather Underground, the upcoming album is currently being carved out in New York City with contributions from TV on the Radio and producer/multi-instrumentalist Dave Sitek.

Radio Birdman Return!

Normally such a long respite between records is intolerable (Chinese Democracy, anyone?), but seeing as how the Aussie sextet broke up in 1978 before their second album was even released, the delay seems understandable. Radio Birdman has gotten together and performed sporadically over the last decade, most notably at Australia's Big Day Out festivals in 1996 and 1997. In addition, Sub Pop stoked interest in Radio Birdman with the release of The Essential Radio Birdman: 1974-1978 in 2001.

Tracklist:

01 We've Come So Far (To Be Here Today)
02 You Just Make It Worse
03 Remorseless
04 Found Dead
05 Connected
06 Die Like April
07 Heyday
08 Subterfuge
09 If You Say Please
10 Hungry Cannibals
11 Locked Up
12 The Brotherhood Of Al Wazah
13 Zeno Beach

Long-time fans and first-time listeners have something else to look forward to as Radio Birdman launch their first tour of the U.S. later this summer. The trek stands at nine dates right now, but a few additional shows, including ones in New York City and Boston, are planned.

Cash money:

07-27 Byron Bay, Australia - Great Northern Hotel *
07-28 Brisbane, Australia - Arena *
07-29 Sydney, Australia - Metro Theatre *
08-02 Mornington Peninsula, Australia - Peninsula Lounge *
08-03 Barwon Heads, Australia - Barwon Heads Hotel *
08-04 Melbourne, Australia - Corner Hotel *
08-10 Canberra, Australia - ANU
08-11 Yallah, Australia - The Roadhouse
08-12 Newcastle, Australia - Leagues Club
08-16 Bicton, Australia - The Leopold Hotel
08-17 Dunsbrough, Australia - Three Bears Bar
08-18 Perth, Australia - Club Capitol
08-19 Adelaide, Australia - The Gov
08-28 Auckland, New Zealand - TBA
08-30 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern Theatre *
08-31 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
09-01 Seattle, WA - El Corazon
09-02 Chicago, IL - Double Door
09-03 Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre #
09-05 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
09-06 Washington DC - Black Cat
09-08 New York, NY - Irving Plaza
09-09 Cambridge, MA - Middle East
09-10 Philadelphia, PA ­ First Unitarian Church
09-14 Gothenburg, Sweden - Sticky Fingers
09-15 Helsinki, Finland - Tavastia
09-16 Athens, Greece - TBA
09-17 Thessaloniki, Greece - TBA
09-20 Munich, Germany - Kleine Elserhalle
09-21 Berlin, Germany - Kalkscheune
09-23 Solingen, Germany - Cobra Club
09-24 Tilburg, Holland - 013
09-26 Paris, France - La Maroquinerie
09-29 Milan, Italy - Rainbow Club
09-30 Cesena, Italy - Vidia Club

* with the Bellrays
# with Mudhoney, Dirtbombs, Easy Action

Dillinger Escape Plan Tour, Cover NIN, Timberlake

Life after Megadeth:

06-10 Fredericksburg, VA - KC's *
06-13 Montreal, Quebec - Le Medley ^#
06-15 Toronto, Ontario - Kool Haus ^#
06-16 London, Ontario - Centennial Hall ^#
06-18 Rochester, NY - Steel Music Hall
06-20 Boston, MA - Avalon Ballroom ^#
06-22 New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom ^#
06-23 New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom ^#
06-24 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory ^#
06-25 Washington, DC - Black Cat
06-26 Portsmouth, VA - NTelos Pavilion ^#
06-28 North Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues ^#
06-29 Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
06-30 St. Petersburg, FL - State Theatre
07-01 Orlando, FL - Back Booth
07-02 Tallahassee, FL - Beta Bar
07-05 Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theatre ^#
07-07 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre ^#
07-08 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre ^#
07-09 Minneapolis, MN - Quest Club ^#
07-11 Denver, CO - The Fillmore Auditorium ^#
07-12 Salt Lake City, UT - Salt Lake City Fairgrounds ^#
07-14 Tucson, AZ - Skrappy's %
07-15 Albuquerque, NM - Launch Pad %
07-17 San Antonio, TX - Sanctuary %
07-18 Houston, TX - Walter's On Washington %
07-19 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Tea Room %
07-20 Austin, TX - Emo's %
07-21 Fayetteville, AR - The Music Hall %
07-22 Des Moines, IA - House of Bricks %
07-23 Madison, WI - The Annex %
07-25 Lexington, KY - Art's Center
07-27 Joplin, MO - The Foundry %
07-28 Papillion, NE - The Rock %
07-29 Wichita, KS - Headway Skatepark %
07-30 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
07-31 Cleveland, OH - Agora Ballroom
08-03 Columbus, OH - PromoWest Pavilion +
08-04 Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Room at Murat Centre +
08-05 Pittsburgh, PA - Rex Theater
08-06 Saginaw, MI - Shooter's
08-07 Grand Rapids, MI - Orbit Room +
08-08 Toledo, OH - Headliner's +

* with Misery Index, From a Second Story Window, Cattle Decapitation, Animosity, Job for a Cowboy
^ with AFI
# with Nightmare of You
% with Dysrhythmia
+ with Coheed and Cambria

The Dillinger Escape Plan will also release an iTunes-exclusive EP entitled Plagiarism on June 13. The six-song package includes a new version of "Unretrofied" and a live take of "The Perfect Design", both from 2004's Miss Machine, as well as four covers: Nine Inch Nails' "Wish", Massive Attack's "Angel", Soundgarden's "Jesus Christ Pose", and, yes, Justin Timberlake's "Like I Love You". Since Irony Is a Dead Scene and all, we expect nothing less than a heartfelt, faithful rendition of this JT classic.

According to MTV.com, two Dillinger DVDs are in the pipeline, although no release dates have been set. One features older material and videos recorded prior to the release of Miss Machine; the other includes footage shot during the recording of said album and the subsequent terror-tour.

Also, DEP have apparently been beefing with Avenged Sevenfold recently. We're pro-beef in general, so we say keep it up, kids!

Molly Neuman of Bratmobile, Lookout! Starts New Label

"Simple Social Graces Discos is not about market share or marketing or competition or winning," Neuman said in a press release. "We are about love and friends and ruling." (Apparently, they're saving Angel, Music, and Baby for future campaigns.)

Today, Simple Social Graces released Haranna Hanne, the U.S. debut from Barcelona metal-punks Les Aus. Bandmates Arnau Sala and Mau Boada played in the now-defunct Omega Cinco, a, like, totally important Gold Standard Laboratories band that your sister, like, totally told you about five years ago.

Recently, you might have seen Les Aus opening for Ted Leo/Pharmacists. Not so coincidentally, Simple Social Graces will release Leo's next single, as well as albums from L.A.'s Fast Forward, and Madrid's Grabba Grabba Tape and Campamento Ñec Ñec.

Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover? Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.)