Kraftwerk Announce Massive Eight-Disc Box Set, Reissue Series

(swiped from Pitchfork Media)

Kraftwerk, the German legends that pretty much invented electronic pop music as we know it, are due to reissue eight of their albums in a massive box set called 12345678: The Catalogue. Five of the albums will also be reissued as individual titles.

The box is due October 6 in the U.S. from EMI. That's the cover art above. It'll feature the following discs: 1974's Autobahn, 1975's Radio-Activity, 1977's stone classic Trans-Europe Express, 1978's The Man Machine, 1981's Computer World, 1986's Techno Pop, the 1991 remix comp The Mix, and 2003's Tour De France. (The band's first three albums are not included.)

We can argue about those last three LPs all day, but the first five are total pantheon material, huge influences on everyone from David Bowie to Afrika Bambaataa to Daft Punk to basically anybody that ever made dance music in the past four decades. Kraftwerk have remastered these albums themselves, so they should sound great.

Licensing issues prevent EMI from reissuing Computer World, Techno Pop, or The Mix in the U.S. as individual titles. So if you want those, you'll have to spring for the full box. The other five albums will be available on CD, vinyl, or digital download. The box set will be available on CD only.

Beasties Reissue Campaign Continues With Check Your Head

(swiped from Pitchfork Media)

Last month's 10.0 Paul's Boutique reissue made a lot of sense considering it was the album's 20th anniversary and all. But the upcoming tricked-out revamp of Check Your Head isn't quite as traditionally timely-- it's been, er, 17 years since the Beastie Boys' return-to-instruments funk fest hit Tower Records locations across the country.

This seemingly hasty, multi-tiered release-- expanded digital editions out March 30, expanded CD and vinyl editions out April 7, super duper expanded vinyl edition out soon after that-- continues Capitol/EMI's apparent 2009 business strategy, i.e., re-release everything they ever put out in any and all ways possible (see: all those Radiohead repackagings coming your way). They already redid last year's Coldplay album. I'm shocked they haven't gotten around to a Katy Perry reboot-- what are you guys waiting for?

The death of the compact disc (and, you know, the notion of paying for music in general) is sorta depressing, but it brings us this reissue, which should at least satiate those annoying Check Your Head=Best Beasties Album die-hards for a few months. Check Your Head isn't Paul's Boutique, but it still holds up well-- a vintage "Arsenio Hall Show" performance of "So What'cha Want" currently streaming on the trio's site reiterates a fact current high schoolers may not be aware of: these dudes were mean on the microphone. Very mean. Super mean. Especially Ad-Rock.

Some details on the Check Your Head relaunch: The crown jewel of this campaign is a limited edition quadruple 180 gram LP version with a "fabric-wrapped hardcover coffee table book case," according to a press release. They're calling it the "ultra-deluxe" version and it will cost a lot of money. For those of us not profiting from AIG bonuses, there's the standard double vinyl, digital download and double CD versions, each featuring a host of B-sides. A deluxe digital edition offers videos and video commentary, too.

All of these new products put the Beastie Boys in an odd position between reliving the past and trying to stay present, especially since they're due to release their first (real) album in five years this fall. They'll attempt to strike a balance when they hit Bonnaroo June 12 and headline the Hollywood Bowl for the first time September 24.

Industry Rule #4080 in full effect - Radiohead frontman takes aim at EMI chief

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Radiohead has hit out at the chief of its former label after a news report claimed the rock band rejected a 3 million pound ($5.95 million) advance for its new album and demanded the rights to some of its older albums.

According to the report, published last Friday by The Times of London, Radiohead's demands to EMI Group chairman Guy Hands totaled more than 10 million pounds ($19.8 million).

In addition to the advance, the Times said the band also wanted a 3 million pound international marketing budget for the album, "In Rainbows," while the reversion of the rights to its previous two albums would have cost EMI 4 million pounds ($7.9 million) in future earnings.

The paper quoted an EMI spokesman as saying, "Radiohead were demanding an extraordinary amount of money and we did not believe that our other artists should have to subsidize their gains."

It also quoted the band's manager, Bryce Edge, as saying, "We were not seeking a big advance payment, or a guaranteed marketing spend as discussions never got that far."

The band's "extremely upset" frontman, Thom Yorke, took to the band's Web site on Monday to deny that it wanted "a load of cash" from EMI.

"What we wanted was some control over our work and how it was used in the future by them. That seemed reasonable to us, as we cared about it a great deal," Yorke wrote. He said Hands was not interested. "So, neither were we. We made the sign of the cross and walked away. Sadly."

Radiohead went on to release "In Rainbows," on the Web several months ago, and allowed fans to pay whatever they wanted to download it. Physical versions of the album were released in stores this week.

Directing his anger at Hands, Yorke added: "To be digging up such bull----, or more politely airing yer dirty laundry in public, seems a very strange way for the head of an international record label to be proceeding."

Representatives for EMI in London and New York were not available to comment Tuesday.

Hands' buyout firm Terra Firma Capital Partners agreed to buy EMI in May for 2.4 billion pounds ($4.8 billion). The financier has warned artists they could be dropped if they do not work hard enough for the company.