Idolator

Here is some more good news: The Kinks are getting this reunion thing into full swing, starting with a new album. Dave Davies is doing better after his stroke, and the band's taking it nice and slow. Quoth Ray Davies: "It depends if there's good music. We want good new music. I'd like to do it as a more collaborative thing than we used to do." Hmm. Cool, I guess. I admire the pragmatism, but let's stick to your 60s/early 70s definition of "good music" because the rest of the Kinks' oeuvre? Problematic. And, no, I will not seriously entertain any arguments about the 80s output being overlooked or misunderstood. This is the band that wrote "Big Sky" and "Waterloo Sunset" and "I Need You". They could have done so much better. More »

Come November, the UK charity War Child will release a new all-covers album, Heroes, as a way to raise funds for its efforts to protect children in conflict-ravaged areas around the globe. So far, the tracklisting is as such: Duffy covering "Live & Let Die"; Hot Chip re-recording Joy Division's "Transmission"; Beck taking on Bob Dylan's "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat"; the Kooks doing whatever it is they do to the Kinks' "Victoria"; and Rufus Wainwright constructing a medley from two songs off Brian Wilson's Smile. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Wainwright track is the one that piques my interest most; while Paul McCartney said that Duffy's version of the Wings track was "great—I was really impressed," I'm a bit, shall we say, skeptical. I get that she's cute and can rock a romper onstage, but how much longer must we all suffer through this "next Dusty" charade? (And who picked her to be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live this week, anyway? Is this season's musical theme "artists who don't sound that great live, but it's OK because our crummy sound tech prevents even the best bands from sounding any good at all, ever?") [Billboard]

The latest boomer musical staples to have reunion rumors swirling around them: The Kinks, who are reportedly bringing their original lineup—Ray Davies, Dave Davies, Mick Avory, and Pete Quaife—back together for the first time since Quaife quit the band in 1969. At least, that's what the UK tabloid the Mirror is claiming; the idea is that the Davies brothers and co. will tour around the release of their forthcoming box set Retrospective. No confirmations as of yet, but why not take this opportunity to watch this loving Lego re-creation of a 1965 performance of "All Day And All Of The Night" featuring the rumored-to-be-reuniting members? It's no Barbie-as-Karen Carpenter, but it sure is adorable. More »