Omar K

I heard this amazing sound while shopping at Amoeba the other day. Blaring over the loudspeakers was something that sounded like Siouxsie And The Banshees circa Juju being played in the middle of a noisy, bustling middle-eastern market. There were synths, sharp-edged guitars, female vocals, lots of eastern instruments, and a hot beat. I was transfixed!

Needless to say, I quickly made for the information counter to find out that I was listening to The Basta, the first EP from LA-based husband and wife duo Rainbow Arabia. I bought the EP on the spot and can't stop listening to it. It reminds me a bit of M.I.A. or Santogold (as it would) but it seems to have a bit more of a punk edge to it that I like. A lot.

I have since learned that they're recording their first album for release in Spring '09, so I'm looking forward to that. They were also recently featured on Perfect As Cats, one of the Cure tributes I wrote about last March. I'm going to have to hunt this down because hearing them cover "Six Different Ways" (from The Cure's eastern-tinged The Head On The Door) could be very cool indeed.

The folks at Amoeba followed this up with...ZZ Top. Ugh.

Listen:

Rainbow Arabia - Omar K

Missing In Action

<-- That is where I have been for the past couple of weeks. Glorious New York. I was physically there for 11 days and the rest of the time I was either preparing to go, or wishing I was back. I was in NY to see friends but also managed to catch a couple of shows.

While browsing around MySpace before my trip, I happened to see that Mahogany had a show scheduled while I was going to be in NY. What luck! They never make it to the west coast. Andrew and co. were playing at the Music Hall of Williamsburg as part of NYC Popfest so of course I had to check it out. The band played a short set of songs new and old including one of my personal favorites, "Supervitesse." It was glorious noise.

While I was there, I ran into Michael Grace from the beloved, defunct My Favorite. I'd had many beers by the time I went up to him and introduced myself by saying "I really, really miss your band." He was very gracious and told me that his new band The Secret History has an EP coming out in the fall. I'll definitely be on the lookout for that.

My trip was ostensibly scheduled around The Cure's final show of this tour at Radio City Music Hall. The venue was cool and the band were good but I think there's a possibility I saw one or two too many shows (a total of four) on this tour. The core set of hits was basically the same each night, and I never really need to hear "Love Song" or "Just Like Heaven" again. Having said that, they pulled out some really old and rare stuff that I love so I can't complain.

Now that I'm back I'll be posting regularly again. A lot happened while I was gone and I'll probably write about some of it. Too much e-mail to sift through, but I'll get to it!

The Only One

Surprise! There are only ten days left until the new Cure single comes out. It's called "The Only One" and will be released on May 13. The band will then put out another single on the 13th of each month until September 13 when...their 13th album (title TBD) is released. I sense a theme.

The singles will be available on CD, 7" and digital download and rumour has it that "The Only One" will come with a collector's box to hold all four singles. Here's a rundown on the singles so far:

May 13
A. The Only One
B. NY Trip

June 13
A. Freakshow
B. All Kinds Of Stuff

July 13
TBD

August 13
TBD

I'll be seeing The Cure four times in the coming months and have amazing seats for all of them:

5/21 Denver Red Rocks Amphitheatre 13th row
5/23 Salt Lake City E Center 9th row
6/1 Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium 5th row
6/21 New York Radio City Music Hall 8th row

The Cure's website is streaming a clip of "The Only One." Check it out. I think it sounds pretty Wish-era. That's not a complaint.

UPDATE - The word from the man himself on the rumored collector's box: "ANYONE THAT OFFERS OR CLAIMS ANY KIND OF "SPECIAL" VERSION OF THE FIRST SINGLE - WITH A BOX OR A FREE HOLIDAY OR WHATEVER - IS EITHER LYING OR STUPID OR BOTH." So there you have it. No collector's box.

It's Friday:

Blonde Redhead, Dandys To Cover The Cure?

Pitchfork posted a news item today about a Cure tribute record that's in the works. I'm not usually that excited by tribute records because they're often full of really uninspired covers. This one has me intrigued, though, due to the presence of a couple of favorite bands.

Blonde Redhead (who made one of my favorite records of 2007) are set to cover "The Funeral Party". They seem like they would be perfectly suited to covering The Cure. I'm glad they didn't choose an obvious track to cover (i.e. a huge single like "The Lovecats").

The Dandy Warhols are tackling "Primary" (another great song choice). I'd guess they're quite capable based on their great cover of The Cult's classic "She Sells Sanctuary".

Sounds like I'll have to wait to hear this as it's not scheduled to be released until late 2008/early 2009. In the meantime, the new Cure album is set to be released June 3rd while Earth To The Dandy Warhols is rumored to be released before the summer.

I'll be seeing The Cure in Denver, Salt Lake City, and New York this summer. I guess you could say I'm a fan.

Here's the Dandy Warhols covering The Cult. It's from a charity record, so I didn't feel right making this available for download. Stream away, and if you like it, buy it!