the fyrehaus

• Coral, Supergrass to headline Summer Sundae Weekender, August 8-10 in Leicester along with Simian Mobile Disco, Lightspeed Champion, and Whitest Boy Alive. [DS]
• The Streets, Supergrass, Groove Armada, and Young Knives will be at the Wakestock Festival in North Wales and Oxfordshire. [NME]
• If you go get this week’s NME, you can get a cd of wacky covers including Kate Nash doing The Cribs’ “Men’s Needs”, Manic Street Preachers doing “Umbrella”, Does It Offend You Yeah doing “Whip It!”, and My Chemical Romance doing “Song 2″. And send me a copy. [NME]
• REM’s gig at the Royal Albert Hall will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2. [NME]

• Blur drummer Dave Rowntree to stand for election to Parliament for Labour, for the Cities of London and Westminster seat. [DS]
• Prince needs hip replacement surgery. [DS]
• The Prodigy, Panic at the Disco, and Stereophonics have all been added to the Oxegen festival this summer, July 11-13 in County Kildare. [NME]
• Winehouse to get her own lines of fashion and makeup. Hell, I’d buy her eyeliner, that stuff lasts for DAYS. [NME]
• Spiritualized and Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. lined up for Dot to Dot Festival in Nottingham, May 24 - 25. The 1990s and Caribou are the only other bands on that list I recognize, and I will refrain from making a crass, American joke about Robin Hood. [NME]
• The Von Bondies have completed their 3rd album, ‘Love Hate and then There’s You’ set for summer release. They also completed a 4-track EP entitled ‘We Are Kamikazes Aimed Straight For Your Heart’ which is available from their MySpace now. [NME]

Damon Albarn says Blur won’t reunite because the rest of the band hates him.

The singer admitted that he met up with all the band recently, but insists he won’t reform the group because he doesn’t “need the money”.

“I had dinner with the guys recently and it was a laugh but there’s no way they want to work with me again - they all hate me,” he told The Sun.

Also, his label wanted him to work with Lily Allen, but that didn’t go over so well.

He told The Sun: “The record label thought it would be a good idea. She came down to my studio and she said normally she would just sit around and listen to a musician and come up with some ideas.

“I jumped on the piano and played some mad stuff and she just looked at me - it didn’t exactly go well. She’s a really talented kid but it was a bad idea.”

I can’t believe I just said that.

NME reports unsubstantiated rumors (that are probably false, but oh so delicious) that Blur and Oasis are not only no longer fighting, but the Gallagher brothers and Damon Albarn are joining forces with Alex James to make a special cheese for next year’s Brits.

The tabloid’s ’source’ also reveals that the Gallagher brothers have long been fans of cheese.

Apparently, the two gangs are creating an extra-strong Stilton, which will be offered as a dessert at the awards ceremony next month.

Perhaps they could call it ‘Brie Here Now’…but with both lots currently very busy with musical projects we doubt very much a Blur and Oasis reunion through cheese will come about, but still it’s a lovely thought, isn’t it?

ETA: The Guardian chimes in with some ripe puns:

“If only Blur and Oasis had cracked open the Babybels in the Nineties, Britpop’s biggest feud might never have happened.”

Fair point, no? We too have often thought: “Give cheese a chance”, so we’re pleased that Alex James, once of Blur and now a dairy entrepreneur, has decided to put his new farming skills to good use and end his band’s long-running (or entirely made-up) feud with Oasis by joining forces on a limited-edition Stilton.

“Elegantly wasted Alex has invited the Mancunian monobrows and All-Bran to his Cotswolds cheese factory to start work on the smelly olive branch, which they will call A Country Roll (With It).”

Continuing my bogarting of The Music Slut, apparently there may be a Britpop edition of The Weakest Link. Potential cannon fodder include: Noel and Liam Gallagher, Damon Albarn, Alex James, Jarvis Cocker, Elastica’s Justine Frischmann, Manic Street Preachers’ James Dean Bradfield & Suede’s Brett Anderson.

I have never been more thankful for YouTube.

I love a well-made documentary, especially the kind broken up into convenient 45 minute bites. So I’ve watched a few “history of rock” things on MTV and VH1 before. But the BBC/VH1 Classic “Seven Ages of Rock” was really fascinating, especially because it’s unapologetically British in point-of-view. They certainly don’t ignore the American scene, but it is really only important in its relation to and influence on the British scene, all leading up to the apotheosis that is contemporary British Indie Rock, cockily titled, “What the World is Waiting For.”

In case you were wondering the ages are:

1. The Birth of Rock: The Who, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix (the BBC didn’t pay for worldwide rights to the Hendrix footage, so he’s largely missing from the VH1 cut)
2. Art Rock: Pink Floyd, The Velvet Underground, David Bowie
3. Stadium Rock: Led Zepplin, Queen, Kiss, Springsteen, U2
4. Heavy Metal: Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Motley Crue, Metallica
5. Punk Rock: Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Television, Patti Smith, The Clash
6. American Alternative: Nirvana, REM, Black Flag (Actually, more like, the story of Kurt Cobain and some other guys. But really interesting.)
7. British Indie: The Smiths, Oasis, Blur, Stone Roses, The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand

I’m still trying to figure out how this story is missing Factory Records, other than a passing reference to dropping E at the Hacienda, though I suppose one could argue that is the story of Tony Wilson, and not any of the bands or the music. It’s a very linear story they’re trying to tell, so if you don’t quite fit in to the story, I guess they cut you. I’ve also confirmed yet again that I like punk, and generally hate metal. (Except for Master of Puppets and Enter, Sandman? Metallica can leave me alone.)

I’m terribly happy that there was a disparaging remark about Coldplay, whom I hate. For Sarah’s reference, the interviews with Damon Albarn and Alex Kapranos (and Dave Grohl, for that matter) are totally adorable, and Noel Gallagher comes off like a prat. A very rich prat.

You can go to VH1 Classic to see video footage of all the bands, including some that got left out, and keep your Tivos peeled for the reairing.