Some landmark happenings in the music world have sprinkled the MXDWN site this week, making for quite an interesting and pivotal time for music.
First, though, Australian rockers Jet, best known for their fiery single “Are You Gonna Be My Girl,” announced their split this week after eleven years of making music together. Their 2003 LP Get Born earned the group international attention, and broke the record for the highest selling debut album in Australia.
They’ve toured worldwide and have sold over 6 million records, topping charts in Rolling Stone Magazine and having their singles featured in movies, commercials and video games. After the success of their LP, Jet continued writing and producing quality music up until their final release in 2009, Shaka Rock. Despite the devastating break up of such a great rock group, all members will continue their musical careers with different projects.
Goldenvoice, the company that organizes, supports and promotes the hugely popular Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, now owns quite a large chunk of land surrounding the festival grounds. They’ve purchased 280 acres of land in Indio that directly surrounds what becomes the Coachella festival grounds each year. The purchase will surely add ease to the preparation and conduction of the enormous festival each year.
In a recent chat with Billboard, Goldenvoice president Paul Tollet said that the purchase of land would “help us put in some infrastructure so we don’t have to keep coming back and doing the same things each year.”
Ultimately, the couple hundred acres now owned by Goldenvoice will do wonders for their hosting capabilities of a festival that amplifies each year.
In celebration of Talk Talk’s 30th anniversary, we can expect a tribute album and oddly enough, a book. The British synth-pop group has been out of the limelight for a while, but this anniversary release will surely reignite the flame for fans. According to Pitchfork, both the album and release are expected to have a good amount of contributions from renowned artists.
Both the book and the album will be titled Spirit of Talk Talk. The book is a limited edition, released by way of Talk Talk’s art creator James Marsh. It will contain all the artwork he’s created for the band, as well as handwritten lyrics and book and album contributions from members of bands such as Arcade Fire, Weezer, Pink Floyd and Shearwater. The tribute album is out May 28th.
Jack White continues to make giant strides in the music world, this week with the announcement of his creation of the first ever 3RPM record. This record plays at only 3 revolutions per minutes, and settings to accommodate such a record no longer exist for record players.
White’s 3RPM features all of the Blue Series singles, although the sound is hard to make out due to how quickly the record plays. White’s Nashville-based Third Man Records gave away the 3RPM record as a freebie, and it was then sold on EBay.
A free download is now available of comedian/beat-boxer Reggie Watts’ inventive movie score to Legend, starring Tom Cruise and directed by Ridley Scott. Watts reportedly created the entire hour and a half long soundtrack on the spot, using a looping device, synthesizers and a whole lot of reverb. The layers upon layers of Watts’ voice encompass various genres, from parody-esque to ethereal.
Unplugging In Brief:
Jet Has Broken Up – Australian rockers Jet have broken up after eleven years of great writing and huge hits that had a huge impact on rock fans not only in the U.S. but worldwide.
Goldenvoice Buys 280 Acres of Land Around the Site of the Coachella Festival – Goldenvoice, Coachella organizers and supporters, purchased a couple hundred acres of land around the festival site to establish a permanent infrastructure.
Talk Talk’s 30th Anniversary Celebrated with Tribute Album and Book – In light of Talk Talk’s monumental 30th anniversary, not only is a collaborative tribute album to be released, but also a limited edition book containing artwork and handwritten lyrics.
Jack White’s Third Man Records Releases a 3 RPM Record That Includes The Label’s Entire Blue Series Singles – Mr. White may have a solo album about to drop and an upcoming tour, but he still manages to find time to press his Blues Series singles onto a record that spins at 3RPM.
Reggie Watts Releases Free Download of Score to Classic Movie Legend – This beat-boxer/comedian proves his improvisational talents with his recent and sporadic creation of a score to Ridley Scott’s Legend.
