I interviewed T Bone Burnett as part of a piece on Inside Llewyn Davis, the new Coen Brothers film, which ran in the issue of Uncut on sale in December. What was originally meant to be a brisk 10 minute chat about working with the Coens and the film's soundtrack evolved into a much longer conversation, the bulk of which, inevitably, I couldn't work into the feature. So I thought I'd post it here for anyone interested in reading T Bone's thoughts on the evolution of folk music, the music he was listening to when he was growing up, and of course his experiences working with the Coens. Other topics under discussion included the American Civil War, George Clooney and Bob Dylan...
After Lou Reed died on October 27 last year we began discussing how best we could commemorate the man and his tremendous body of work. The natural solution presented itself in the form of an Ultimate Music Guide.
Twelve years after he was pulling pints in a pub in London Bridge, Brian Burton is perhaps busier than ever – he has a new Broken Bells album out on Monday (January 13), he’s been working with U2 and is rumoured to be producing the next Black Keys record. It’s been a whirlwind decade for the writer and producer better known as Danger Mouse: after making his name by daring to cross-breed The Beatles with Jay-Z, he’s gone on to work with everyone from Damon Albarn to David Lynch.
You are, I guess, never finished with Neil Young. A few weeks ago, as we were wrapping up an Uncut Ultimate Music Guide special dedicated to him, the news came through that Young was moving on again. Just as we thought we’d put together a comprehensive survey of all his recorded work, another Archives Performance Series release crept onto the schedules.
There are many revelations in Morrissey’s Autobiography, but perhaps the most unexpected arrives on page 194. “While in Denver,” writes Morrissey, “Johnny [Marr] and I attend a concert by A-ha, whom we have met previously and whom we quite like.”
Pixies are back with new material and a world tour – but back in August 2006’s issue (Take 111), our forum of Uncut readers and famous fans were interrogating Frank Black about pissing off the band, his relationship with Kim Deal and why he went into therapy. Words: Nick Hasted
Everyone knows the mythical image of The Man In Black. But the truth about Johnny Cash was a whole lot more complicated. A “folk hero for the world”, and a humble man who struggled with addiction for his entire life. In this archive feature from Uncut’s February 2009 issue (Take 141), we present a revelatory new portrait of Cash’s life. We talk to many of the people who knew him best – the children, the bandmates, the managers, the peers – and discover the unexpurgated truth about this titan of American music. “He survived,” says his one-time son-in-law, “what Elvis didn’t…” Words: Alastair McKay
Arcade Fire have revealed that their forthcoming new album will be a double LP.
Pre-orders for the Reflektor album have opened up for the double album at Arcadefire.com, with the website stating that early orders will come with first access to ticket sales for special shows as well as the band's forthcoming world tour. The album artwork - which features a sculpture by Auguste Rodin, from the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice - has also been confirmed.
Neil Young has confirmed that Pono - his audio service which will provide listeners with downloads of high-resolution songs made to sound like their initial recordings - will finally launch next year.
In a post on his Facebook page yesterday [September 5], Young wrote, "I’m very happy to bring you some good news. All of us at Team PONO have been focused on getting everything right for our early 2014 launch of Pono.