SecretCast

• M.I.A., “Bamboo Banga”
• Flobots, “Handlebars”
• Foxboro Hot Tubs, “Alligator”
• Jason Mraz, “The Dynamo of Volition”
• The Mighty Lemon Drops, “Inside Out”

(Via MetaFilter.)

Here’s the AP’s obit:

LONDON - Tony Wilson, a music impresario credited with guiding a crop of bands from industrial England to the international stage, died Friday. He was 57.

Wilson promoted a host of influential musicians from his native city of Manchester in northern England, including Joy Division, New Order and the Happy Mondays.

He died from complications of kidney cancer, the city’s Christie Hospital said.

Wilson’s influence on the city, and on British music, is documented in the 2002 movie “24 Hour Party People,” which charts the rise — and eventual fall — of Wilson’s empire, which included Factory Records and the Hacienda nightclub.

Manchester-born and Cambridge-educated, Wilson’s record label and nightclub were credited with making the city Britain’s most vibrant music center through the 1980s and 1990s, spawning bands including the Smiths, the Stone Roses and Oasis.

Though Factory Records and the Hacienda closed down in the 1990s, Wilson remained a passionate advocate for his city, presenting a radio show for the local British Broadcasting Corp. station.

“He was a true free spirit and a passionate advocate for Manchester — the city, its people and, of course, its music,” the BBC said in a statement.

Found this on the Pixies Myspace blog:

I’m writing to tell you about a new BBC documentary series that features a section about the Pixies and interviews with Charles Thompson and Kim Deal.

I’m a TV producer/director on the BBC’s landmark ‘Seven Ages of Rock’ music documentary series. The film I made about American Alternative Rock is being broadcast on Saturday 23rd June and looks at the contrasting fates of Nirvana and REM and the music and influence of the Pixies. The film also includes interviews with Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic from Nirvana, Michael Stipe and Mike Mills from R.E.M., Henry Rollins from Black Flag and producers Scott Litt, Jack Endino and Butch Vig.

The Pixies section features Charles Thompson explaining the ‘quiet/loud’ sound through the song ‘Gouge Away’ and Kim Deal talking about the simplicity of her bass playing and her contribution to ‘Where Is My Mind?’

You might also be interested to know that Dave Grohl from Nirvana talks very candidly in the programme about just how big an influence the Pixies had on the song ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’!

I’d be grateful if you could mention the programme on your website so Pixies fans in the UK can tune in! The programme will also be shown later this summer in America on VH1.

The Seven Ages of Rock – Programme 6

‘Left of the Dial: American Alternative Rock’

BBC 2, Saturday 23rd June, 9.30pm

BBC 1, Sunday 24th June, 11.00pm

The series website also includes two short films about the Pixies featuring material that didn’t make it into the TV series, including Charles and Kim on ‘Here Comes Your Man.’

Visit: bbc.co.uk/sevenages
Best wishes,
Robert Murphy

(Via Lifehacker.)

(Via digg.)

BMG Music (owned by Bertelsmann), had been subject of a class action lawsuit by one Eric Stelk:

The Action was filed on August 20, 2004. The complaint alleges that Defendant engaged in deceptive, misleading, and unfair marketing and sales practices in regard to its shipping and handling charges and its advertised cost to consumers of its CDs and cassettes.

Recently BMGM began sending out emails to those who signed up to be a part of said lawsuit. You are now entitled to purchase CDs from BMGM for an 80% discount with free shipping and handling. In other words, participating in this by purchasing music at a loss for them, you’re now giving up your valuable updated personal information, which makes the results of this class action a win for them after all.

link

(Via MetaFilter.)

Flexidisks were quite cool, I must say.

There was once a time when Tony Wilson used to be just the head of Factory Records, maybe even a former television personality. What moron at NME decided to link him as a Joy Division “collaborator“?