Todd is God

Seems that after all the hype about the new album coming out 'in weeks', and maybe even this month, the New Todd album will not actually be released until 29th/30th September - that's 10 WEEKS away.

Houston Chronicle has a nice piece on Todd talking about the new album, making music (""Now I can lead a sort of normal life, get up in the morning and have breakfast and then go off to a room somewhere and work without me having to become the hermit of Mink Hollow, as it were."), 30 Rock and other things. He also gives some views on his productions: Bat Out of Hell , Meat Loaf (1977): "I thought it was a parody of Bruce Springsteen...I was just chuckling the whole time, and I'm still chuckling. I can't believe the world took it seriously" Skylarking , XTC (1986): "That's one that more people got to hear some than some of the others. Even though it was like pulling teeth, Skylarking is one of my favorite records" Love Junk , Pursuit of Happiness (1988): "There are a lot of bands I thought should be huge, and everybody who's heard them thinks the same thing. Pursuit of Happiness put on a great show and wrote the greatest pop ...

Just realised i had forgot to flag up the fact that 'Mad' the first track on the new Todd album is available to listen to over at the myspace site.

The Hold Steady - some of the UK reviews The Guardian (4/5) At times, the bloodlust in Craig Finn's growl gets too thirsty. But it's the album's closing lyric - "Man, we make our own movies" - that reveals the secret of this band's special powers. http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,2289926,00.html The Times (3/5) remain less convinced by THS - There is a truth that Finn and Co often hit the sauce but for me, the Scala gig last year was where the music suffered most not the Borderline, which was a fantastic gig. "Everything about the way they play - especially on the rickety uplift of Yeah Sapphire, Magazines and Sequestered in Memphis - invites you to see them as the E Street Band to Finn's Springsteen, so much so that it would be obtuse to resist. As with the E Street Band, instruments are identifiable, but only as the chunks in their dense sonic tiffin. That's the best thing about the Hold Steady." On Finn's talent ...