Headlines for December 22, 2009
By: Christina Ivanowich
Final Fantasy Gets a Name Change
In a pre-emptive move to avoid copyright infringement, one-man band Final Fantasy is getting re-named after its solo member, Owen Pallett. Pallett acknowledges that he named the band after the game series because his recording experience "was reminiscent of the hours and hours I had spent as an adolescent playing those epic JRPGs." His latest album, Heartland, is being released on January 12 to a larger market than he has ever been exposed to before, so Pallett decided to take this opportunity to make the change, saying; "I feel it is in my own best interests to definitively distinguish my music". It should also put an end to jokes about hit points and flying pirates...
Thom Yorke is Fighting Climate Change
Last week, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke crashed the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Posing as a journalist, Yorke has been posting some really gloomy blogs about his experience on the bands website; with statements like, "i think i may have had enough of cynicism, brinkmanship, face saving and posturing. have had enough of sitting in a crowd of journalists watching for anything that might happen waves on nothing.. so crazy . . this is all far too late. far too late". True, the news from the conference hasn't been as constructive as we might have hoped, so perhaps we should be grateful to Mr. Yorke for being the one honest enough to say we're all screwed.
Oasis is Back, Without Noel
Liam Gallagher evidently wasn't just blowing smoke when he said he had a new band in the works. Except, it's the exact same band, and Noel isn't allowed to play with them anymore. Dubbed Oasis 2.0 (at least for now), the rest of the group is working on a new album, which they hope to release by July 2010. And it's not just the name that isn't changing: in a recent interview, Liam said; "It ain't a new direction", "We're not making reggae music or rap music. It might have a bit more energy and be fresher. It's not going to be that different." For the first time Noel might actually come across as sympathetic, since the rest of Oasis seem to be getting along fine without him...
Flaming Lips' Dark Side Release Date
The Flaming Lips have finally given us a release date for their upcoming Pink Floyd cover album. The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs With Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing The Dark Side of the Moon will be released exclusively on iTunes from December 21-28, and will then get a wider release to other digital retailers. As announced a couple of weeks ago, The Lips and Friends will be performing the album at their annual New Years Eve show in Oklahoma City, so at least if you can't be there, you won't be completely left out.
