Modern Rock

Oct. 13, 2004

Train keeps a rollin’
Train are set to release their first concert album, which they’ve titled Alive At Last, on Columbia Records this fall. Recorded earlier this year in Birmingham, Alabama, the album is pretty much a best-of collection of Train’s hits as performed live; put to tape by Brett Eliason, the disc will include live versions of Train faves “Meet Virginia,” “Drops of Jupiter,” and “Calling All Angels” plus the previously unreleased tune “Landmine” and a cover of The Faces’ song “Stay With Me.” A new studio track called “New Sensation” and Train’s contribution to the Spiderman 2 soundtrack, “Ordinary,” are also included on the Alive At Last album, which will hit stores on November 2...

Jet, who were recently dubbed “the most successful Australian act of the 21st Century” now that their Get Born album has sold over 2.5 million copies, are celebrating the occasion with two DVDs that they’ll release next month. Australian fans will be offered the long form DVD Right Right Right, while U.S. fans will be able to purchase the abbreviated Family Style disc. The longer DVD will include Jet’s “Take It Or Leave It” documentary plus live footage from their Melbourne show and world tour; the shorter DVD will feature concert footage of Jet shot earlier this year in London. Fans of either country can, of course, get the other disc as an import – both will be out in stores in November, and, in the meantime, you can listen for Jet’s next single, “Get Me Outta Here,” which is outta here – er, out, that is – this week...

There’s no stopping The Rolling Stones - Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have reportedly been working on songs for the band’s next studio album, and there’s good news for Stones drummer Charlie Watts, who is said to be out of the woods regarding his recent illness. Although there aren’t specific dates being given for the Stones’ next album or any accompanying tour dates, Jagger said at a recent press conference that he expects the new album to be in the works fairly soon, and he does expect that they’ll follow it up with a schedule of live shows. A couple of other Stones releases are on deck, as well – their double CD live album, which will be out in November, and the DVD version of The Rolling Stones’ Rock and Roll Circus, which is out this week...
Former Smashing Pumpkin Billy Corgan has finally wrapped work on his solo debut album, which was produced by Corgan himself along with Ben Harris of the band Nitzer Ebb. Featuring 15 tracks, the album, which is currently in the mixing stages, is slated for a spring release. Corgan has also been busy doing some non-song writing; he’s just released Blinking With Fists, his first book of poetry, and has begun work on his first novel, which he already has a publishing deal for...

MINI BUZZ:
Speaking of solo debuts, No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani will make her solo TV debut as the opening act for the American Music Awards, set to air on ABC TV on November 14; Stefani’s debut solo album, Love, Angel, Music, Baby will hit stores on November 23...
Aussie songstress Kylie Minogue, whose success in the U.S. has been limited to date, has nevertheless had enough UK and Australian smash hits to result in her releasing a double-CD retrospective already; titled Ultimate Kylie the disc will hit stores on Nov 23, and will include Kylie’s collaborations with Robbie Williams, Nick Cave, and Jason Donovan...

Star Trek captain William Shatner has chosen October 5 to beam down Has Been, a new album of his music featuring guest musicians Aimee Mann, Ben Folds, Joe Jackson, and Henry Rollins...
Late Night-er Conan O’Brien, long known for breaking alt-pop, modern rock, and indie bands on his talk show, has been passed the Tonight Show baton by the more-mainstream Jay Leno, which means O’Brien will take over the 11:30 Tonight Show slot when Leno steps down in 2009...
Hey, Strokes fans! Wanna snag a brand new Strokes single a month before it’s set to hit stores? Well, you can – and you can do a good deed, while you’re at it – just head over to the War Child Charity website at www.warchildmusic.com, fork over 99 pence (about $1.75), and you’ll be able to download the Strokes’ live cover of The Clash’s song “Clampdown,” which is set to be the B-side for their upcoming third single, “The End Has No End” – all proceeds go to War Child...
And out this week ON CD: Brian Eno’s Another Green World... Action’s Action... Citizen Cope’s The Clarence Greenwood Recordings... Fission’s Crater... Gov’t Mule’s Deja Voodoo... and Elvis Costello’s The Delivery Man... ON DVD: Tom Dowd and the Language of Music... The Who: Live in Boston... Procol Harum: Live at the Union Chapel... and the documentary Fly Jefferson Airplane…and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.

Questions, comments, rants, raves about this column or your fave artists? Send ‘em to Kristi at expressmodernrock@hotmail.com!