1963 Rolling Stones Rice Krispies Commercial

In October 1963, with only one single ("Come On") to their name, Brian, Mick and Keith recorded a very young mod jingle for Rice Krispies. The result is too good to be true, but it is...

You're A Big Boy Now

Today All the Young Mod Soldiers turns one. My deepest thanks to everyone who has ever visited and (hopefully) enjoyed the site. Please do not be shy in letting me know how it might be improved (aside from posting more often, which is obvious).

In the interest of complete transparency, here's where we stand after one year:

43,911 unique visitors

38,759 first time visitors

5,152 returning visitors

The site now consistently draws approximately 200-400 unique vistors a day.

More good stuff to come. I promise.

For Those Who Have The Means

Yes. Yes. Finally some new shows to get excited about.

First, we have The Kooks at Northsix on 6/01. Hard to believe this is the only venue they will be playing in New York, but so far this is all that has been announced. Needless to say, selected tracks from their debut album are in heavy rotation at Casa Hugo.

Second, we have The Concretes at Bowery Ballroom on 5/08. Same venue they played a year and a half ago. That was a great show, and this one undoubtedly will be no less fantastic. I love the new single, and can't wait to listen to the whole album, hopefully this weekend.

Also note that Aberfeldy has been added to the White Rose Movement show at Mercury Lounge on 3/27.

Other good things to consider...

3/17-18 Stereolab at Town Hall
3/18 Craig Wedren (Shudder to Think) instore at Sound Fix
3/20 Annie at Mercury Lounge
3/20 The Go! Team at Bowery Ballroom
3/21 The Zutons at Mercury Lounge
3/21 The Rakes at Bowery Ballroom
3/21 The Brakes instore at Virgin Megastore Union Square (2pm)
3/21 The Brakes at Sin-e
3/21 Mates of State instore at Virgin Megastore Union Square (7pm)
3/21 Magnet at Living Room
3/22 Camera Obscura at Knitting Factory
3/22 Jose Gonzalez at Joe's Pub
3/22 The Go! Team at Northsix
3/23 Richard Hawley at Sin-e
3/23 Amusement Parks on Fire at Mercury Lounge
3/24 Billy Bragg at Society for Ethical Culture
3/24 The Books & Jose Gonzalez at Bowery Ballroom
3/24-25 Mystery Jets at Mercury Lounge
3/24-26 Ray Davies at Irving Plaza
3/25 Kelley Stoltz instore performance at Sound Fix (4pm)
3/25 The Arctic Monkeys at Webster Hall
3/26 Ted Leo & The Pharmacists at Knitting Factory
3/26-27 Stellastarr* at Bowery Ballroom
3/27 Jose Gonzalez instore at Other Music (8pm)
3/27 Aberfeldy & White Rose Movement at Mercury Lounge
3/27 Th' Faith Healers at Northsix
3/28 New York Dolls at CBGB
3/28 Snow Patrol at Bowery Ballroom
3/28 The Magic Numbers at Webster Hall
3/28 The Editors & Stellastarr* at Warsaw
3/28 (members of) Gomez at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe
3/29 Richard Ashcroft at Webster Hall
3/30 dEUS at Bowery Ballroom
3/30 The Editors at Webster Hall
3/30 I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness at Mercury Lounge
3/31 I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness at Northsix
3/31 Nine Black Alps at Bowery Ballroom
3/31-4/01 Flaming Lips at Webster Hall
4/01 Pretenders at Irving Plaza
4/01 Hard-Fi at Warsaw
4/01 South at Southpaw
4/01 The Orb at Avalon
4/02-06 Gorillaz at Apollo Theater
4/04-05 Art Brut at Bowery Ballroom
4/04-05 The Stills at Mercury Lounge
4/06 Sondre Lerche at Bowery Ballroom
4/07 South instore at Virgin Megastore Union Square
4/07 South at Bowery Ballroom
4/07 Arab Strap at Southpaw
4/09-10 Voxtrot at Mercury Lounge
4/11 Wolfmother at Bowery Ballroom
4/12 Art Brut at Southpaw
4/12 Mates of State at Bowery Ballroom
4/13-14 Franz Ferdinand & Death Cab for Cutie at Hammerstein
4/14-15 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at Bowery Ballroom
4/17 Cloud Cult at Knitting Factory
4/18 Calexico instore at Virgin Megastore Union Square
4/22 Dresden Dolls instore at Virgin Megastore Union Square
4/20 Robert Pollard & Richard Davies at Irving Plaza
4/21 Nouvelle Vague at Irving Plaza
4/27 Adam Green at Bowery Ballroom
5/03-05 Built to Spill & Camper Van Beethoven at Irving Plaza
5/05 Evan Dando at Southpaw
5/08 The Concretes at Bowery Ballroom
5/19 Erasure (acoustic) at Society for Ethical Culture
6/01 The Kooks at Northsix
6/25 Feist at Central Park Summerstage
7/02 Jose Gonzalez & Seu Jorge at Central Park Summerstage
7/21 Jens Lekman at (tba)

Still waiting for: Babyshambles, Duels, and Dirty Pretty Things. Where art thou, oh great booking god in the sky?

DJ Shandi

Anyone else watch the season debut of America's Next Top Model last night? Is it just me, or do the girls get uglier every season? At least they did not kick off the Brigitte Bardot clone in the first episode, though I'm sure that's coming next week. Tyra hates pretty blonde girls.

Much more interesting than the ANTM debut is the news that former cast member Shandi Sullivan, the "services clerk" from Kansas City, is now the resident Monday night DJ at New York's Pianos, spinning "80's tunes." The party gets started every Monday at 8pm, and is free.

Before you get too excited, keep in mind this is the same Shandi whose profile lists her "Favorite Music" as "No Favorite."

Pete: "I Love Kate 4 Eva"

On Wednesday, Pete Doherty was told at Thames Magistrates Court that he was making "positive progress" in his fight against drug addiction.

This morning, a mere 24 hours later, Doherty was back at Thames Magistrates Court facing seven new counts of possessing controlled drugs, including heroin and crack cocaine.

Fashionably late as always, Pete arrived (in a gold Jaguar, no less) two hours after the hearing was set to begin. On the window of the car, Pete scrawled (backwards; so talented!) "I love Kate 4 eva," beneath which he added "QPR," in tribute to his favourite football team, Queens Park Rangers (retro QPR shirts available here).

Inside the courthouse, dressed in a blue military jacket and his trademark trilby, Pete was silent other than to confirm that his address is at Laburnum Street in east London (stalkers take note).

The case was adjourned until March 23, and Pete was released on unconditional bail.

As a tribute to Pete's never dying love for Kate, below is the very touching For Lovers video:

Seen Your Video

For your viewing pleasure...

Babyshambles performing Albion at the NME Awards:




Babyshambles music video for Albion:




Dirty Pretty Things performing Deadwood at the NME Awards:




Dirty Pretty Things music video for Bang Bang You're Dead:




Arctic Monkeys music video for When the Sun Goes Down:

Free Shows Aplenty

Sick of paying money from your hard-earned dole cheques to see bands play live? Me too. That's why I love in-stores. They really are the best of all worlds: they start early, involve no crappy opening bands, take place in intimate spaces, and cost nothing.

In New York, there are three primary record stores that host quality in-store performances: Virgin Megastore Union Square, Other Music and Sound Fix. Other Music seems to have become a little lazy when it comes to in-store bookings, but Virgin and Sound Fix are more than making up the difference. Here's what's scheduled at both:

Virgin Megastore Union Square

3/10 - Grand National (6pm)
3/21 - The Brakes (2pm)
3/21 - Mates of State (7pm)
4/07 - South (tba)
4/18 - Calexico (tba)
4/22 - Dresden Dolls (tba)

(By the way, does anyone have a good quality MP3 of Dresden Dolls' version of Two-Headed Boy? If so, I would be grateful if you would email it to me. Many thanks.)

Sound Fix

3/12 - Mi and L'au (2pm)
3/12 - Film School (4pm)
3/26 - Kelly Stoltz (4pm)

Another great place to see shows, though rarely for free, is the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe. They have two big shows coming up this month:

3/10 - Sondre Lerche (7:30pm) ($25)
3/28 - Ben, Ian and Tom from Gomez (8pm) ($25)

Does This Man Look "Punk Rock" To You?

There are a lot of phrases I might use to describe Preston from the Ordinary Boys ("Pretty Boy", "Unable to Play More Than Two Chords of Any Song When Given a Guitar on Celebrity Big Brother", "That Poor Idiot Who Broke Up With His Fiancee to Date Chantelle, One of the Least Attractive Women I Have Ever Seen"), but "Punk Rock" is not one of them. Yet, despite his shenanigans in the Celebrity Big Brother house and his now regular appearances in the glossy tabloids, Preston still sees himself as a punk rocker at heart. Indeed, so much so that he has felt the need to repeatedly make the point in practically every interview he has given since finishing fourth on the programme.

Consider the following selection of recent Preston quips:

"We've always had this punk rock attitude and going on Big Brother was me thinking let's do something outrageous and take a big risk."

"We're always going to be a punk rock band."

"When we plug in and turn up to 11, it's still going to be punk rock."

Bit sensitive on this point, eh Preston?

To further prove he's still down with the kids, Preston is also said to be making a guest appearance in an upcoming new video from The Streets. Apparently he and Mike Skinner recently met and hit it off like the proverbial house on fire.

Finally, Preston is looking ahead to the next Ordinary Boys album. Given his insistence that the band will always be "punk rock", you might be expecting something along the lines of Never Mind the Bollocks or Sandinista!, but alas you would be mistaken. Instead, says Preston, the band's main inspiration for album three will be The Kinks country/folk classic Muswell Hillbillies.

Now that's what I call turning it up to 11.

For Those Who Have The Means

3/03 Belle & Sebastian instore signing at Virgin Megastore Union Square (5:30pm)
3/04 Man Man instore performance at Sound Fix (8pm)
3/06 Serena Maneesh at Bowery Ballroom
3/07 The Subways at Bowery Ballroom
3/08 The Wedding Present at Bowery Ballroom
3/09 Eagle*Seagull at Pianos
3/10 BATTLE at Mercury Lounge
3/11 Eagle*Seagull at The Hook
3/11 Cloud Room at Mercury Lounge
3/13 Isobel Campbell at Joe's Pub
3/13 BATTLE at Rothko
3/13 Guillemots at Mercury Lounge
3/14 Gemma Hayes at Mercury Lounge (7pm)
3/15 Isobel Campbell at Southpaw
3/17-18 Stereolab at Town Hall
3/20 Annie at Mercury Lounge
3/20 The Go! Team at Bowery Ballroom
3/21 The Zutons at Mercury Lounge
3/21 The Rakes at Bowery Ballroom
3/21 Magnet at Living Room
3/22 Camera Obscura at Knitting Factory
3/23 Richard Hawley at Sin-e
3/23 Amusement Parks on Fire at Mercury Lounge
3/24 Billy Bragg at Society for Ethical Culture
3/24 The Books & Jose Gonzalez at Bowery Ballroom
3/24-25 Mystery Jets at Mercury Lounge
3/24-26 Ray Davies at Irving Plaza
3/25 Kelley Stoltz instore performance at Sound Fix (4pm)
3/25 The Arctic Monkeys at Webster Hall
3/26 Ted Leo & The Pharmacists at Knitting Factory
3/26-27 Stellastarr* at Bowery Ballroom
3/27 White Rose Movement at Mercury Lounge
3/27 Th' Faith Healers at Northsix
3/28 Snow Patrol at Bowery Ballroom
3/28 The Magic Numbers at Webster Hall
3/28 The Editors & Stellastarr* at Warsaw
3/29 Richard Ashcroft at Webster Hall
3/30 dEUS at Bowery Ballroom
3/30 The Editors at Webster Hall
3/30 I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness at Mercury Lounge
3/31 I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness at Northsix
3/31 Nine Black Alps at Bowery Ballroom
3/31-4/01 Flaming Lips at Webster Hall
4/01 Pretenders at Irving Plaza
4/01 Hard-Fi at Warsaw
4/01 South at Southpaw
4/01 The Orb at Avalon
4/02-06 Gorillaz at Apollo Theater
4/04-05 Art Brut at Bowery Ballroom
4/04-05 The Stills at Mercury Lounge
4/06 Sondre Lerche at Bowery Ballroom
4/07 South at Bowery Ballroom
4/07 Arab Strap at Southpaw
4/09-10 Voxtrot at Mercury Lounge
4/11 Wolfmother at Bowery Ballroom
4/12 Art Brut at Southpaw
4/12 Mates of State at Bowery Ballroom
4/13-14 Franz Ferdinand & Death Cab for Cutie at Hammerstein
4/14-15 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at Bowery Ballroom
4/17 Cloud Cult at Knitting Factory
4/20 Robert Pollard & Richard Davies at Irving Plaza
4/21 Nouvelle Vague at Irving Plaza
5/03-05 Built to Spill & Camper Van Beethoven at Irving Plaza
5/19 Erasure (acoustic) at Society for Ethical Culture
7/2 Seu Jorge at Central Park Summerstage

That's a lot of great shows. Is no one else excited about that Richard Hawley show? I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere.

The bad news is, despite all three bands playing at SXSW, it appears that Duels, the Kooks and the Harrisons will not be playing in New York as part of their trip to the States. Criminal.

Ted Leo At The Hook

Last night was my first taste of The Hook, Brooklyn's latest foray into the world of indie rock venues. The event was the first show anywhere this year by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. I've been a big fan of Ted's since the release of the first Chisel album, but somehow this show was the first time I've been able to see him live. I was not disappointed, either with Ted or the venue.

For those who have not been, The Hook is sort of a cross between Mercury Lounge and Northsix in terms of size and layout. To its credit, the space felt both spacious and intimate despite the fact that the show was sold out and packed.

As for Ted, my first impression was how utterly unpretentious he is. I can't remember the last time the front person of a well-known band came out on the stage 20 minutes before the show starts to set up his own equipment. No roadie, no guitar tech, just Ted.


Another nice touch were the handwritten setlists for each of the band members, which Ted had personally written out on the back of the band's Rider for the show. It amazes me how many young bands have someone type up and photocopy their setlists for them, eliminating all the spontaneity and creativity that comes with a last-minute scribbled list of songs on whatever scrap of paper happens to be handy. Such setlists are very sadly becoming a dying art form.

The show itself was beset with sound problems, but Ted was in top form, sweating profusely and dancing around with his guitar like a teenager rocking out to the first Clash album in front of his bedroom mirror.


A mere four songs into the set, during Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?, Ted's guitar hero antics resulted in a huge gash in his pants running from his thigh to his crotch, which left little to the imagination.


That led to a short break and some judicious application of duct tape, but the show was quickly back in full swing with a rousing rendition of Me & Mia. There were a couple of new songs sprinkled in, but the set was mostly filled with the hits, including an extended set of impromptu encores. No fun covers, unfortunately. (Speaking of which, if anyone has a good quality version of Ted doing Dancing in the Dark, would you mind sending it to me? I would be extremely grateful.)

Joy Division Film Casting Pictures

You've probably already heard that casting has begun for the film about Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, which is called "Control", and will be the debut feature from music video director Anton Corbijn (U2). You may not, however, have been able to find pictures of the relatively unknown cast. We hereby oblige.

Ian Curtis is to be played by newcomer Sam Riley, who does bear an uncanny resemblance, as seen below:


Ian's French lover, Annik Honore, will be played by German actress Alexandra Maria Lara, who is a serious stunner:


The part of Ian's widow, Deborah Curtis, will be played by Oscar-nominated actress Samantha Morton.