I.Want.To.Go.To.There

In no particular order...

The Stone Roses, The Postal Service, New Order, Band of Horses, Blur, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, Of Monsters and Men, Social Distortion, Grizzly Bear, Smith Westerns, Stars, Metric, Beach House, Local Natives, Sigur Ros, Modest Mouse, Lou Reed, Beach House, Moby, Violent Femmes, DIIV

Are you fucking kidding me?!

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The Past Was Yours But The Future's Mine

"The Stone Roses are pleased to announce that they have signed a record contract with Universal Music in London and with Columbia Records in New York."

Ok then, saw this one coming. Let's hope the third coming is better than that second one.

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I Don't Care Where You've Been

So it's true: absence does make the heart grow fonder. After years of staying as far away from each other as possible, the original members of The Stone Roses have officially announced they are reuniting! Of course so far it's only for a few live performances, but if they can capture half the magic as they did on their debut album, I'd love to hear it. Their self-titled album is one of the most important soundtracks to my coming of age as I'm sure it is for countless others. Second Coming however was far from it, perhaps proving lightning only strikes the same place once.

Brushing the Hands of Time Away

Are The La's reuniting? Lee Mavers, the seemingly conflicted genius behind the pure pop joy of The La's, played a live show in Manchester for the first time in two years tonight. Preceding the show, The La's popped up on Facebook, Twitter, and a new form of communication called the World Wide Web. Cutting edge those La's.

Who knows. Just like The Stone Roses, The La's blew everybody away with their incredible debut album. Unlike The Stone Roses, The La's failed to ever release an inferior sophomore album. Maybe status quo is ok for some bands.

I Don't Have to Sell My Soul

It seems appropriate on a day I wear my Dr. Martens I would happen to come across a video and MP3 of The Raveonettes covering The Stone Roses' I Wanna Be Adored. This very faithful cover version is in honor of the iconic footwear maker's 50th Anniversary. Enjoy.



MP3: The Raveonettes - I Wanna Be Adored (Stone Roses' cover, via Dr. Martens)

Isn't It Funny How You Shine?

I still can't believe it's been 20 years since the Stone Roses emerged as the most over-hyped band out of the UK since, well, you know ... Herman's Hermits. Thankfully the Stone Roses mostly lived up to that hype with their fantastic debut album, which is much revered to Toopoppydom. It was one of the only albums I've ever bought based on the cover artwork and a sticker description alone. What a payoff! Too bad the same accolades can't be applied to their ill-advised and disappointing Second Coming, despite its brief moments of brilliance.

We live in a commercial world so the best way to mark the occasion is to treat yourself to a remastered version of the album released today. Unfortunately the ultra limited edition collector's box set has already sold out. Check eBay. Plenty of other choice versions to choose from:

Digital Album (Amazon.com, iTunes)
CD (Amazon.com)
Deluxe Album - 2 CDs, 1 DVD (Amazon.com, iTunes)

Brushing the Hands of Time Away

The La's to return?

With Pete Doherty and Babyshambles?

No no no. Leave the La's alone and start fresh. The album is a classic and the mythology around it makes is that much more interesting. First Stone Roses and now the La's? Leave it.

I Don't Care Where You've Been or What You Plan To Do

This is one of those rumors that I'm not sure I want to come true. One of those British tabloids is reporting the Stone Roses are planning a reunion tour this summer in support of a boxset rerelease of their self-titled debut, which easily ranks as a top-ten favorite around here.

Look, the Second Coming was hardly worthy of the title and nearly tarnished the legacy they left. But the debut was special. As Pitchfork notes, it "simultaneously gathers the disparate strands of UK rock in the 80s and predicts the Britpop of the 90s." Indeed, it's one for the ages. With that said, let it be. A reunion tour would be nothing but a money grab at worst and a nostalgic trip at best. Take a cue from The La's and keep it simple and cryptic.

Wow, twenty years though? Hell.

UPDATE: Ian Brown says no way. He's a bit important to the proceedings.

Stuck Inside These Four Walls

Been a long time since I've played Guitar Hero III - the only edition I own. Always a blast, but once you play and perfect the tunes (Even Flow, My Name Is Jonas, When You Were Young,) it's time for new ones! Activision revealed the tracklist for the game coming out 10/26 last week (link to pdf press release.) Here are my top ten tunes I'm most excited to play:

1. Wings - Band on the Run
2. Eagles - Hotel California
3. R.E.M. - The One I Love
4. Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way
5. Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way
6. Guess Who - American Woman
7. Stone Roses - Love Spreads
8. Oasis - Some Might Say
9. Nirvana - About a Girl (Unplugged)
10. Coldplay - Shiver

Considering I've played air guitar to most if not all these tunes at one or more times in my life, it will be rewarding to put those skills to good use.

Burst Into Heaven

It's a story that we read about way too often: Brilliant Flash-in-the-Pan Band Reunites Only to Disappoint! Thankfully, it looks pretty unlikely we'll see that happening with the Stone Roses.

Speaking to BBC News, Mani explained: "I spoke to John and Reni about it a few years ago and they said they'd love to do it at some point in time, but Ian Brown seems dead set against it.

In this case, it's for the best. Their absolutely brilliant self-titled debut opened up my music mind in high school. Yet by the time their second album was finally released, it never quite stoked their flame again (and I really really wanted it to.) We're better off remembering the Stone Roses much like we remember the La's.