On November 24, legendary auction house Christie’s will be hosting an event that will feature memorabilia from a number of the influential punk, new wave and glam rock acts including Television, David Bowie, The Clash, Sex Pistols and The Ramones. The auction includes more than 120 records, photos and promotional pieces including a scrawled flyer for one of The Clash’s first shows and publicity photos signed by the Sex Pistols. The full lot is currently online.
Finally, for all you vinyl enthusiasts out there former BtN artist Nada Surf will release all five of its studio albums on vinyl for the first time via a limited edition box set. The set will also include the band’s first 7″ single, a full-color 24-page lyric and photo book, and download codes to MP3s of rare and out-of-print b-sides and bonus tracks, as well as to all the albums.
Australian hard-rockers AC/DC will release their latest studio effort, Black Ice, on October 20. The album - their first in over eight years - will be sold exclusively at Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and through the band’s website. The Aussie-rockers have also announced the North American leg of their Rock ‘N Roll Train tour - their first world tour since ‘01. The ferocious live act will kick off the 21-date tour on October 28, with a notable two-night stand at NYC’s Madison Square Garden.
If some balls out arena rock isn’t for you, than maybe one of these recently announced tour will be…
Finally, DIY indie-rockers Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have lined up a brief Tuesday night mid-Atlantic tour which kicks off on September 16. Alex Ounsworth & Co. will hit the stage for seven consecutive Tuesdays at extremely intimate venues in Philly, D.C., Baltimore and Pittsburgh - where the band will presumably be road testing some much-needed new material for their fans.
If you obsessively watched MTV anytime during the mid ‘90s there is a good chance you were familiar with Nada Surf and their quirky, spoken word-esque tome to dating and high school life: Popular.
You know, the one that kind of sounded like Weezer’s Sweater Song. Ringing a bell now? Well it was the kind of song that had many thinking they’d just be another one-hit wonder destined to be featured as the punch line on countless VH1 retro shows. Heck their own label even thought that, and dropped them because they didn’t think their follow-up album had another hit song like Popular.
End of story, right? Well not exactly. Nada Surf might have fallen off the collective mainstream music radar for a few years, but they were still hard at work crafting a new sound and recording. It was one of those records – 2003’s critically acclaimed Let Go - that my old roommate insisted I listen to. I instantly latched onto its lush, dreamy indie-pop, and it became the number one album I pushed on friends to make sure they heard too. Keep reading so I can convert you into a fan as well…
