TOMORROW ON OUTQ: 120 MINUTES, REDUX

I recently posted about the return of the 120 Minutes franchise to MTV.  Tomorrow on The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick, I'll be talking about the return of the show, as well as some of the artists who used to appear on the show who have new music out. Radiohead's King Of Limbs, PJ Harvey's Let England Shake,  R.E.M.'s Collapse Into Now, former Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft's United Nations Of Sound and The Twilight Singers' Dynamite Steps (the band is led by former Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli). I may also get to The Kills, the band featuring Alison Mosshart from The Dead Weather, who weren't around for the 120 Minutes era, but were recently featured on the newly launched 120 Seconds.

RICHARD ASHCROFT - "ARE YOU READY?"

I haven't had time to listen to former Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft's new solo record, United Nations of Sound yet.  But I did have the great privilege to film a recent solo acoustic performance that he did at the SiriusXM studios.  Here are two songs.  First, the first single from the album, "Are You Ready?"



Next, Richard's version of The Verve's classic "Space and Time" from their best album, Urban Hymns.



Dude still has it.

IT WAS NICE WHILE IT LASTED: THE VERVE BREAK UP (AGAIN)

The Guardian reports that The Verve has broken up. It was nice while it lasted, and I'm glad I got a chance to see them in concert, they were great.

THIS WEEK ON OUTQ: MATTHEW SWEET, JOAN OSBORNE, THE VERVE AND JULIANA HATFIELD

I'm excited to be returning to the OutQ In The Morning Show With Larry Flick after two weeks off - first for Larry/Cynthia/Keith's vacation, and then for mine. This week, I want to talk about a few artists who were big for a while in the '90s, and then, for whatever reason, the media got tired of talking about them.

First off is Matthew Sweet, one of my favorite singer/songwriters. In the past few years, he has released a duets album with Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles (Under The Covers Vol. 1), released an album with a one-off group The Thorns (which also included solo artists Pete Droge and Shawn Mullins) and quietly released two solo albums, Kimi Ga Suki and Living Things. His new album is Sunshine Lies: I've downloaded the title track, which I like but don't yet love. (I pre-ordered the album, and it hasn't come in the mail yet!) Matthew's '90s albums Girlfriend, Altered Beast and 100% Fun are three of my favorite albums, but I don't think his albums since then have been quite as solid.

I've loved Joan Osborne since the first moment I heard "St. Teresa," the lead track from her Relish album. It took her a long time to follow it up, and by then, the world had moved on. The press were already calling her a one-hit wonder. But the follow-up, Righteous Love, was a really good album. After that she did a covers album called How Sweet It Is which was wonderful but unsurprisingly ignored. Since then she's done a sort of country-ish album Pretty Little Stranger which had lots of great songs, another soul music album Breakfast in Bed, and now she's released Little Wild One. I don't like this one as much as her recent albums yet, but I'm only starting to listen to it.

I saw The Verve on their reunion tour earlier this year, and was knocked out by how great they were. I like their new single "Love Is Noise" from their reunion album Forth, and I'm looking forward to hearing the rest of the album.

I got really into Juliana Hatfield in the '90s when she released Become What You Are. But I didn't like the followup, and kind of lost track of her since then. But I heard her new song, "This Lonely Love," and really like it.

Actually the two things that I like best that are new this week are by B.B. King and Motorhead, but I'll have to write about them later on.

THE VERVE IN 2007 - NOTHING BITTERSWEET ABOUT IT

Last night, I caught The Verve at the Wamu Theater at Madison Square Garden. Great show. The Verve isn't a band that I have a, like, religious attachment to - but I can see why other people would. And I've always admired them, and loved their final album, 1997's Urban Hymns. "The Rolling People," "The Drugs Don't Work" "Sonnet" and especially "Lucky Man" are just classics.

It was great to finally see them, and they did a great show. They played every song that I wanted to hear. Of course, they played some of the earlier stuff, which made me want to check it out. I do have 1995's A Northern Soul, but nothing else. They also played a new song which I liked - but the audience seemed to have checked out for that one. Which struck me as odd: the indie/alternative scene in the '80s and '90s, like the punk scene of the '70s, seemed to shun nostaligia. Here's a band that is trying not just to reunite, but also reactivate as a band, and people didn't seem too interested. Well, I liked their new song, I hope their album lives up to the band's legacy.

THE RETURN OF THE VERVE

I remember a couple of years back, The Verve was booked to play Madison Square Garden. I think I wanted to go, and then the show got cancelled. The band broke up.

So, I was glad when the British press started reporting that the band was getting back together. After I saw them on the Coachella lineup, I was hoping for some NY dates, and it turns out, they will in fact be playing here.

“Bittersweet Symphony” was such a monster hit, but that whole Urban Hymns album is a classic. I liked some of their earlier stuff, but although they split up prematurely, at least they went out on a classic. I’ve read that they’re doing a new album, some of which has apparently leaked. I’ll be curious to hear this album. I liked some of frontman Richard Ashcroft’s solo music, but I didn’t think it approached the heights of Urban Hymns.

ROGER WATERS TO CO-HEADLINE COACHELLA

I'm not a marketing executive, but it seems weird how major brands with lots of credibility with specific fanbases seem willing to compromise their brands.

Bonnaroo, which started as a very inclusive jam band festival, last year featured Tool and The White Stripes as headliners. The year before it was Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Radiohead. I remember years ago, the H.O.R.D.E festival did a similar thing. After years of having predominatly bands from the jam band scene with some other artists that sort of made sense, they did a tour that featured Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Primus, Beck, Ben Folds Five and a few other bands that didn't have a real connection to the scene. I myself loved that bill... but to fans, "H.O.R.D.E" didn't mean anything anymore.

Likewise, after catering to the "alternative rock" crowd, Lollapalooza went "off message" by having Metallica headline. I thought it was a great tour, but after that, "Lollapalooza" lost it's meaning. So, I don't understand how Coachella hasn't learned from that. This year, Jack Johnson and Roger Waters are two of the headliners. Waters, as he did last summer, will be performing Dark Side Of The Moon. I wonder how it will go. On one hand, I think people have good enough taste to be respectful of this masterpiece, even though it is one of the best selling albums of all time, and hardly "alternative" (although it's as creative as any album you'd care to mention). Also, Coachella often promts artists to do something for the "first" time - they were behind the Pixies, Stooges and Jesus & Mary Chain reunions, which led to full on tours. If they got Roger to do Dark Side for the first time, that'd be one thing. But he's been doing it on tour for well over a year.

Anyway, there seems to be less excitement about the festival's lineup than usual. But there are some pretty cool artists: other than Rog, there's The Verve (who recently reunited), The Breeders, Madness, The Raconteurs and... Dwight Yoakam.