popwreckoning

Alan Wilder used to be the keyboardist of ’80s synthpop legends Depeche Mode. (You may recall a little tune called “Enjoy the Silence”? It was Wilder who turned Martin Gore‘s demo into a dance track and one of the most commercially successful songs in the band’s history. Certainly one of my favorites.) These days Wilder is recording under the name Recoil, writing and producing less pop, more experimental music than was “allowed” in his Depeche days. The results are trippy and haunting, in a good way. Catch Wilder live on the dates below.

Tour Dates
Oct 16 – Trees / Dallas (with Joe Richardson and Christopher Anton of Information Society)
Oct 18 – Triple Door / Seattle
Oct 19 – Aladdin Theatre / Portland, OR
Oct 21 – Mezzanine / San Francisco, CA
Oct 22 – El Rey / Los Angeles, CA
Oct 23 – Anthology / San Diego, CA
Oct 24 – Galaxy Theater / Santa Ana, CA (with Martin Gore DJing)
Oct 26 – Metro / Chicago (with Gary Numan)
Oct 27 – Opera House / Toronto
Oct 28 – Club Soda / Montreal
Oct 29 – This Ain’t Hollywood / Hamilton
Oct 31 – Bourbon Street / Baltimore
Nov 01 – Highline Ballroom / New York City

Recoil: website | myspace

White Lies, the dark London post-punk band that was #2 on the BBC Sound of 2009 poll, have announced on their official website that their second album will be released on January 17, 2011 in the UK. Time will tell if this yet-to-be-named sophomore album will fare as well as their 2009 debut album, To Lose My Life…, which reached #1 on the UK albums chart.

According to NME, the album was produced by Alan Moulder, who over the years has worked with famed bands such as Depeche Mode, Them Crooked Vultures, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Song titles include “Holy Ghost,” “The Power and the Glory,” “Bigger Than Us,” “Is Love?,” “Streetlights,” and “Come Down.”

The band recently previewed songs from the new album at V Festival in August.

White Lies: website | myspace | @ Black Cat | @ Lollapalooza Day 1 | White Lies to Tour North America, Support Kings of Leon

Photo: Mary Chang

You might best remember Nada Surf for becoming popular in the 90s for their tune “Popular,” but since that song they’ve released album after album of well-crafted and witty material (I’m quite partial to “Blankest Year” and often have used it as my personal anthem.)

The band is taking a break from writing their own tunes and have prepared a covers album, If I Had a Hi-Fi. Covers include Kate Bush, Depeche Mode and the Go-Betweens.

To support the release of the covers album, the band is kicking off a headlining tour with a three night stay in New York on March 25. Each night they’ll perform one of their albums in its entirety. On the 25th they’ll play Let Go, the 26th will be the The Weight Is a Gift and the 27th will be Lucky. Each night will also include songs from the covers album, fan favorites and other b-sides.

If I Had a Hi-Fi will be available on the band’s tour before it hits stores.

Tickets for the tour are available here.

Tour Dates:
March 25 – Bowery Ballroom / New York, NY (Let Go)
March 26 – Bell House / Brooklyn, NY (The Weight is a Gift)
March 27 – Music Hall of Williamsburg / Brooklyn, NY (Lucky)
March 29 – Lee’s Palace / Toronto, ON
March 30 – Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour / Montreal, QC
March 31 – Pearl Street / Northampton, MA
April 01 – First Unitarian Church / Philadelphia, PA
April 02 – 9:30 Club / Washington, DC
April 03 – Paradise Rock Club / Boston, MA
April 13 – ICA / London, UK
April 15 – Printemps de Bourges Festival / France
April 17 – Strasbourg Artefact Festival / France
April 18 – Tivoli De Helling / Utrecht, Holland
April 19 – Botanique / Brussels, Belgium
April 20 – Gloria / Cologne, Germany
April 21 – D! Club / Lausanne, Switzerland
April 23 – Abart / Zurich, Switzerland
April 24 – WUK / Vienna, Austria
April 25 – Lucerna Music Bar / Prague, Czech Republic
April 26 – Lido / Berlin, Germany
April 27 – Knust / Hamburg, Germany
April 28 – Trabendo / Paris, France
April 29 – Joy Eslava / Madrid, Spain
April 30 – Estrella Levante SOS 4.8 Festival / Murcia, Spain
May 01 – Villagarcia de arosa / Galicia, Spain
May 15 – Long’l'rock Festival / Longirod, Switzerland
May 24 – Belly Up Tavern / Solana Beach, CA
May 25 – Troubadour / West Hollywood, CA
May 27 – Great American Music Hall / San Francisco, CA
May 29 – Wonder Ballroom / Portland, OR

Do you remember when…

Lloyd Dobler lifts a boombox over his head beneath his love Diane Court’s window, pouring his heart out through Peter Gabriel’s timeless hit:

“In your eyes
The light the heat
In your eyes
I am complete
In your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
In your eyes
The resolution of all the fruitless searches…”

Experience the iconic film scene all over again (or even for the first time) when Say Anything 20th Anniversary Edition arrives on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on November 3. Starring John Cusack, Ione Skye and John Mahoney, and with an eclectic soundtrack featuring the classic “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel as well as “Cult of Personality” by Living Colour, “Taste the Pain” by Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Stripped” by Depeche Mode and more, it is a must-have for movie and music lovers alike!

Say Anything 20th Anniversary Edition: amazon