The single most extravagant yearly event for music and live performances located in sunny Austin, Texas will host hundreds of bands and performers and attract thousandths of attendes.

As per usual WFNX will be the first to be there and to bring you the best and latest music.

Here is a link to an article by The Phoenix's own Michael Marotta, who will be going down to SXSW and covering all the action.

http://thephoenix.com/Boston/music/152497-six-to-watch-@-sxsw/

So hey Boston, here’s that large-scale music festival we’ve all been talking about... oh, pretty much for forever now: Newly-minted Crash Line Productions is teaming up with Bowery Presents for BOSTON CALLING, a two-day, 18-band music festival on City Hall Plaza this Memorial Day weekend. Let’s get right into the lineup, because it’s an indie rock monster:

:: Day 1: Saturday, May 25, 2013: Fun., the Shins, Marina & the Diamonds, Matt and Kim, Portugal. The Man, Cults, Ms Mr, St. Lucia, and Bad Rabbits.

:: Day 2: Sunday, May 26, 2013: The National, Of Monsters And Men, Young the Giant, Andrew Bird, the Dirty Projectors, Ra Ra Riot, the Walkmen, Youth Lagoon, and Caspian.

Well hot damn.

Tickets are $120 for a two-day pass, and go on-sale Friday, March 1 at 10 a.m. EST via bostoncalling.com, ticketmaster.com, and the Sinclair box office, located at 52 Church Street in Harvard Square, Cambridge.

It’s great to see Boston repped each day, first on Saturday with post-r&b upstarts Bad Rabbits, whose debut LP American Love drops a few weeks earlier on May 14, and then with Caspian establishing the Sunday morning religious service with an instrumental post-rock sermon.

But really, with a festival of this size, this is really about the headliners. And any festival lead by New York rock titans the National, who have a new record out later this year, and Fun., a band that took a comet ride from playing WFNX Disorientation in late 2011 to owning the Grammy’s a few weeks ago, is the real deal. Marina, Matt & Kim, Young the Giant, the Walkmen and the rest should help fill City Hall Plaza, which sources tell the Phoenix could accommodate nearly 20,000 concertgoers. 

Crash Line Productions, named after the New Jersey Devils’ bruising, mid-‘90s Stanley Cup-winning third line of Mike Peluso, Bobby Holik, and Randy McKay (I shit you not), was co-founded in the fall of 2012 by Brian Appel and Mike Snow, both formerly of the Phoenix Media Communications Group, who reached out to the National’s Aaron Dessner to help curate Boston Calling. Dessner has in the past developed England’s All Tomorrow’s Parties and founded New York’s Crossing Brooklyn Ferry festival. “We worked hard to pull together an exciting group of artists,” Dessner said in a press release.

According to the same release, there will be two performance stages, plus “a spacious beer garden, a food pavilion comprised of food trucks and local food vendors, and world-class lighting and design throughout the plaza.”

VIP ticketholders (priced at $325 a pop), can party at City Hall Courtyard: “a 25,000 square foot, second-floor Mezzanine offering prime views of the main stage as well as specially curated menus and luxurious amenities.”

“Boston is such a great city for music and arts, and the city’s appetite for live outdoor events only grows each year. We are fortunate to have some wonderful people contributing to this event, and we are excited to fill a void in the New England festival circuit. Our aim is to do nothing less than exceed ticketholders’ expectations,” Appel said in the presser.

Last month fiery Georgia art-rock trio CUSSES had their music video for “Don’t Give In” added to MTV rotation, a result of winning an MTVu Freshman Fan poll. It’s a sign of things to come for the no-wave/post-punk band outta Savannah, whose 2012 self-titled debut is a romper-ride of sinister sounds.

The latest in WFNX’s ongoing What’s F’n Next live series is proud to present CUSSES tonight at the Middle East in Cambridge with Sugar Bomb and Buttons + Mindy.

Grab a preview via the videos below, but we recommend you give their entire LP a listen via Spotify. In addition to the blitzing "The Wait Is Over," which we've added to rotation on WFNX, tracks like "Hey You," "Blood Everywhere," and "Worst Enemy" all have their own neo-punk flair and flavor. CUSSES have a pretty varied sound, but mostly recall the beautifully damaged early noise years of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They're probably already tired of the comparison.

Regardless, don't sleep tonight, catch CUSSES before they blow the eff up. Their wait is soon over.

Staff Spinz is a weekly spotlight on what we're listening to in the Phoenix newsroom...

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark “Metroland” [BMG/100% Records]
OMD’s 2010 comeback record History of Modern, the Wirral Peninsula new-wave band's first in 14 years, was hailed as a return to form for the ’80s electronic-pop crooners. But though Modern was entirely palatable and far from a disapointment, this month's new single “Metroland” is their finest effort since 1988’s “Dreaming,” retaining the new-romantic charm that made them the embodiment of a John Hughes soundtrack.

"Metroland" is seven-and-a-half minutes of circular, spiraling, minimal synthpop with a bottom-heavy beat that recalls their more avant garde early years. It's surprisingly good, and officially out March 25. OMD's new LP English Electric drops April 9, a few days before Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys take to the California desert for their Coachella debut. On July 15, OMD come to Boston for a gig at the Paradise, where they shined back in 2011. 

RELATED: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark create a newer wave, May 7, 2011

Re-file this one into Awesome Everything Alert. Boston's BAD RABBITS -- and we say they're ours because it feels like they'll rightfully be everyone's very soon -- last week dropped a second single for new LP American Love, picking up right where "We Can Roll" left off. The Valentine's-Day-appropriate "Fall In Love" is another slow-burning banger ballad, another top-shelf strike of modern R&B that's primed for global recognition. At the risk of sonically impregnating everyone that hears it, we've made it the Boston Accents Song of the Day today on WFNX.

American Love drops May 14, and the band just announced a 13-dat East Coast tour that runs the next few weeks, including a Norwegian cruise run with 311. There's no Boston date just yet, as the closest they come to home are the last two shows, Northampton and Providence, but we have a feeling the Rabbits will be announcing some other fantastic hometown news very soon.

In the meantime, let's just fall in love...

Feb. 21 @ Knitting Factory w/ World's Fair, Brooklyn, NY
Feb. 22 @ Deer Park Community Center, Deer Park, NY
Feb. 23 @ The Note, Chester, PA
Feb. 24 @ The Camel, Richmond, VA
Feb. 26 @ Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville, FL
Feb. 27 @ Local 662, St Petersburg, FL
Feb. 28 @ The Social, Orlando, FL
March 1 to March 5 @ Norwegian Pearl Cruise with 311, Miami, FL, US
March 6 @ The Masquerade - Purgatory, Atlanta, GA
March 7 @ Motorco Music Hall, Durham, NC
March 8 @ Ottobar, Baltimore, MD
March 9 @ Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton, MA
March 10 @ Simon's 677, Providence, RI

Last week, legendary bassist PETER HOOK dropped by the WFNX studio in Boston on February 7 to discuss his new book, "Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division," a few hours before his appearance at Brookline Booksmith. Naturally, having interviewed Hooky several times in the past, our conversation quickly shifted to his ongoing feud with New Order (figured we'd get it out of the way right at the top), as well the legacy of Ian Curtis, his former bands' enduring stature in music, and Joy Division's iconic 1979 debut record, Unknown Pleasures.

Hooky did not hold back in his hour-long session with me, and as usual, he was quite open and affable.

Here's the audio of our conversation, with the songs edited out. The complete playlist is posted after the embed jump, but note, we only got through about seven of the songs before our time was up, so we just let the rest of the planned playlist run uninterrupted.

Also check out my extended Q&A with Hooky for The Phoenix.

PETER HOOK DJ PLAYLIST @ WFNX 02.07.13

JOY DIVISION “Transmission”
NEW ORDER “Age of Consent”
JOY DIVISION "She's Lost Control"
SUPER WHITE ASSASSIN “Out In The Snow”
NEW ORDER “Leave Me Alone”
THE LIGHT “Disorder (Live At Goodwill)”
JOY DIVISION “Atmosphere”
THE LIGHT “New Dawn Fades”
THE LIGHT Pictures in my Mind”
SUPER WHITE ASSASSIN VS FREEBASS “Stalingrad”
JOY DIVISION “Love Will Tear Us Apart”
BUZZCOCKS “Ever Fallen In Love?”
SECTION 25 “Colour Movement Sex & Violence (Graeme Park Remix)”
NEW ORDER “Regret”
UNDERWORLD “Born Slippy”

They will be performing at The Sinclair on Tusday February 19th, earlier in the day they will be coming by the WFNX studio to talk about anything and everything.

Listen closely to win a pair of tickets to their sold out show at The Sinclair on February 19th.

The show. It must go on.

The blizzard named Nemo wasn't very emo this past weekend, forcing the postponement of WFNX's NOTHING FEELS GOOD pre-Valentine's Day soiree at Radio in Somerville. Thankfully, we've been able to keep a majority of the show intact and offer it up tonight, in a make-up date moment of serendipity, with a reduced cover and even more feelings than before.

Face it, you've been inside all weekend. Monday night is the new Saturday.

Due to the abrupt midweek re-scheduling, Unhappy Birthday are unable to perform, but frontman Luke O'Neil (The Good North, Vice Magazine, Put That Shit On The List) has graciously agreed to do a few acoustic Smiths + Morrissey tunes, joining Roger Lussier of Pretty & Nice and Yale, Massachusetts, who will become Dashboard Confessional, in grabbing an acoustic and serenading us with loving song. The Feel Defect, usually known as The Field Effect, will perform their set of '90s/2000s emo classics as planned. And since technology can never be stopped by nature, the night will still be soundtracked by the Phoenix's wicked-controversial Top 100 Emo Songs of All Time.

But wait, there's more -- we're dropping the cover to just $5, for your troubles. Nothing Feels Good? Blasphemy. 

Peter Hook is in a peculiar situation. The founding member and bassist of Joy Division and New Order is championing the legacy of the former while banished from the latter. Hook's 2006 fallout with New Order has dragged out in the press, in ongoing spats with Bernard Sumner and accusations that the remaining members of New Order have voted to reduce his band royalties to nothing. While New Order tour the world — this week releasing a rarities album, Lost Sirens, comprising sessions that included Hook circa 2003 — Hooky has been doing tours of his own, controversially performing the two iconic Joy Division albums in their entirety with his son and a new band, the Light.

He hits Boston this week to promote a new book, Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division (It Books), which details the band's early years in late-'70s Manchester and culminates with the suicide of iconic 23-year-old front man Ian Curtis in 1980.

Hooky will be co-hosting an hour with Michael Marotta live on WFNX.com today at 5pm EST, but a few weeks ago the WFNX music director caught up with him to discuss the "new" New Order, Curtis's legacy, and yeah, his latest book.

Michael Marotta: Hey Hooky, how's it going? Where are you at right now?

Peter Hook: I'm in Cheshire, England. Just outside Manchester.

How's the weather over there?

We just got two inches of snow. It's freezing, but the dog's been enjoying it.

My cat loves the snow, sometimes I take her out in it.

It freaks them out the first time

Indeed. But — congrats on the new book,Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division. I was a big fan ofThe Hacienda: How Not To Run a Club from a few years ago. So what inspired you to tackle the early stages of Joy Division, and get into the first record?

The confidence I got from doing the Hacienda book was the biggest thing. And then, unfortunately, it's a kind of weird one, but I read one too many books on Joy Division by people who weren't there, Mick Middles and Lindsay Reade. So I've got that dubious honor, and I thought, "aww this is crap," do you know what I mean? It sort of concentrated too much, in my mind, on the sort of cold industrial north, and the deification of Ian Curtis, and the mystification of Joy Division, and it really just made me feel that it was the right time to tell the story from the inside, and it was as simple as that.

Do you feel you're carrying the torch, so to speak, and telling the story that Ian can't tell, at this point?

That's an interesting thing, but you could say you're carrying the torch for the story Bernard [Sumner] and Stephen [Morris] won't tell. That's a difficult one, the thing is... I was reading an interview, probably your country, in America, last week, with Gillian [Gilbert], and she said that I've "spoken ill of the dead." She said she read my book, and that I've "spoken ill of the dead." And I thought: is she reading my book, or is she reading somebody else's? And it just shows you the effects that it can have on the people that were closes to us.

Ultimately, you do things for yourself, and the interesting thing is that when I was in New Order, before we split in 2006, I wouldn't have done this. But once we split up and I was on the outside, it did strike me as how we played down Joy Division so much, and I must admit, we made the success of New Order just by doing that, because we concentrated wholly on New Order. Never looked back, and just went forward; it worked for us in the new group. I did feel that we didn't grieve properly, and I think that's something that gets important to you as you get older.

When you're younger you just bury your head in beer, don't ya? But as you get older you realize there is a value and respect and courtesy to grieve, and I think that definitely I would not have told that story had I still been in New Order.

I almost feel that, reading back on things, as someone too young to have been there, it's as if you just didn't have time to properly grieve or digest what was going on in 1980. The band was reborn so quickly that you just took the next step and a new era materialized nearly instantly.

We certainly couldn't digest it, the shock, and it was the first death I ever had to deal with in my life, and luckily, by that point. So the thing is, you are correct, but we just hid our grief and threw ourselves into New Order, literally starting back the Monday after; the inquest, I think, was on the Thursday. So we really did get back into it and start New Order, and that did become our hiding place, if you like. The way we played it down was unbelievable, the fact that you never read any reviews of Closer, never bothered about "Love Will Tear Us Apart" 's chart placing. We literally did bury the whole thing lock, stock, and bound.

Is there lingering guilt over that?

I think the guilt came back, by doing the book. I sort of convinced myself that Ian had gotten ill toward the end of Joy Division. Of course when I did the timeline, I realized that he got ill right at the start, which didn't make me feel good right off the bat. So I think that was something that I changed to make the guilt more palatable, shall we say. But yeah there always is guilt, I think suicide has that effect. I've lost a few friends to suicide over the years, and the guilt always stays with you. You always think "Oh why didn't I phone him more," or "Why didn't I see him more," and things like that. So the guilt always stays with you.

With the falling out with New Order, which has now been going on six, seven years, and doing your thing on your own, are you more proud of your Joy Division legacy than New Order's?

Haha, that's an interesting one, that one. The thing is that over the past year, I've been very, shall we say, ashamed of everything that New Order have ever done. Because of the battle, which has been absolutely ridiculous and sometimes I do hate myself from playing my part in it. But the only thing that made it again palatable was listening to the music on [new rarities New Order record] Lost Sirens. I listen to it and think, "Oh my god, some of these tracks are great." And my first thought was, "Why did we leave them off the LP?" And then my second thought, was, "Well we did do a lot of very good things together." And it made me feel better about the whole past 33 years than I have over the past year to be honest.

I'm equally proud of both, and I think that by playing Movement and Power, Corruption and Lies as I did last week; being very, very happy with the way it turned out. The boys did me really proud, and it was nice to get the songs back. The past year something had been taken from me, and without my consent, shall we say. So it was nice to play the songs and feel it coming back to you a little bit.

Can you envision any reconciliation with Bernard Sumner?

Well, no. I was reading his latest interview which I found to be absolutely disgusting, in Spinner, which I'm doing a big answer to at the moment, because he's so wrong, there's so many mistakes in there, and its absolutely insulting. In a way I suppose I should be flattered that I'm still worthy of such attention. Where really he's got his fame back, he's got his group back, he's doing supposedly exactly what he wants to do. And you know, I was reading a paragraph where he says how great and how happy everyone is backstage, intimating that it was only me that ruined everything. Which I thought was hilarious! And it reminded me of those interviews that actors do, when they sit on the couch, and go "What's it like working on Peyton Place" or whatever? – "Oh we're just one big happy family!" And then you sit there thinking what a bunch of shit.

You can't stand each other, you know! I thought that was so ridiculous. We're grown men, 57 as he is now. To act like that is pathetic. And I hate myself for playing up to it. But we're all just human.

Do you look at them now, touring, and say "That's not New Order! Those are my basslines!" I mean, they've got a guy from Marion up there, for fuck's sake.

I'm in a sort of funny position anyway, in that my son plays my bass lines in my Joy Division celebration, and [ringer Tom Chapman] plays my bass lines in the New Order celebration. So again, I should be flattered, and the only one who wants to play it, which is me, doesn't get to play in either! It's bloody ridiculous!

But no, to my mind they will never be New Order. They are as much New Order as we are Joy Division, and the fact that Bernard refuses to admit it, which is that it's just [former band] Bad Lieutenant with Gillian, is the thing that I find very. . . . You know, there's an image that I'm trying to stop them, which is not true. The only thing that I'm fighting is the business side that they granted me without my knowledge or consent.

You were telling me about it last time you were in Boston, how they all met to recalculate all the two bands' royalties, and voted you a very minor percentage of everything. . . .

And they still refuse to acknowledge that I'm worth any more, and I don't know . . . you do have to fight, don't you? You do have to fight.

Well it's your legacy!

It's such an insult, but again, I guess I should be flattered that even a year on, they've entered into these slagging matches, which amaze me.

Are you tired of these questions, what you think of New Order?

We are tied together, forever, and in a funny way all of us have to admit that, and maybe once you admit that, you can sit down and say, "Well, we don't want to do this," "You want to do that," "We don't want you to do that, lets sort it out." Once you are a little grown up about it, then I'm sure everything will become easier, but at the moment, there seems to be no sensible person. I guess you have to say Bernard and I are very much alike, very stubborn, very emotional, passionate, and when you do get two people fighting like that I suppose everyone gets on in their own way.

Shifting to the book and its subjects, it was really fascinating to read about your first records, and what went on to shape the sound and feel of Unknown Pleasures, and I think it was in theJoy Division documentary where Factory Records owner Tony Wilson said punk was all about "fuck you," whereas post-punk declared, "We're fucked." Was it this perfect storm of what was going on socially, politically, economically in late-'70s Manchester that really led to this sound that has now lasted more than 30 years?

There's nobody more surprised than me the fact that how much Joy Division is an inspiration still, and it's a great compliment to the chemistry between the four of us, I have to say, musically. Whether it comes down to being on an independent label or on a major label, whether you had a great manager or a bad manager, thing is it still comes down to the songs. And it's the songs — the fact that the four of us had the skill to write them is the thing that lasted, and [producer] Martin Hannett really did put the icing on the cake, you have to say.

But it is an odd thing, first of all when we started making music with Ian, our dream was to get out. And here I am, 35 years later, quite happily still here. So I do get indulged, by coming to travel everywhere, but you still find that Manchester, for all its bleakness that you wanted to escape from in 1977, still has a hold over you, that nowhere else in the world does.

And it's a global phenomenon. There's a romanticism, people growing up in America, elsewhere, have for Manchester culture and music.

Manchester does hold such an unusual place, like in America you have Seattle, and New York, and these places that were influential at a time. And Manchester does seem to have held it longer than any city — please correct me if I'm wrong — in the world. The people of Manchester are what helped shape it and what helped make it last, and I must admit that I'm very proud to be an ambassador for Manchester, and to travel around, I'm very proud of our heritage, and what we achieved.

It always used to make me laugh when Bernard would say, "Oh you're so melancholy." As if it was a fault, and I thought, "Oh you don't cry at sad films?" I am mightily proud and when I finished the book there was still a sense of guilt over Ian and losing a great friend and colleague, someone you'd grown so close to and so quickly, because you were so passionate and enthusiastic about the same things. The book sort of closed a chapter, but it did make me an expert, I must admit [laughs] by playing the music, on all things Joy Division.

These characters: Martin Hannett, Tony Wilson, Ian Curtis, Joy Division manager Rob Gretton; there are almost mythological figures to those who weren't there. I mean, where would Ian Curtis fit in here in 2013, were he alive today?

That's is one question I would love to know the answer to more than anything, because toward the end of the book it was one thing I started to realize: what a great life I have because of Joy Division. And the eternal frustration would be someone like Ian, who helped you so much, and has become such an icon, since his death, is not here to enjoy the stupid things like walking a dog in the snow in the park, taking your kids for a walk, driving your car, speeding down the motorway. Things like that we all take for granted because we're alive, and you know you live with every day.

I have a picture of Tony on my desk, and every morning I sit down at my desk and go, "This is all your fault!" [laughs] And you know what? He always smiles in the picture. Rob Gretton is such a huge character, and when I think when Rob came to manage us, he was the same age as my son is now. He was 23, and my son is the same age as I was when I was in Joy Division at this time, it's a bit freaky.

But when you think that Rob Gretton stormed into our lives, came into our rehearsal room and said "Alright I'm managing you now, we're gonna sort this out" -- and we looked at him like he was the authority figure. But he was such a huge character, and Tony Wilson and Martin Hannett. And it makes you think that music today is lacking these figures, people like that, whose first raison d'etre isn't money, it's about pride, and about belief and enthusiasm for music.

You know Tony Wilson's great regret, as he was dying from his illness, was he said, "You know I wish I had bothered about the money more." But he just wasn't that interested. There were so many other things about what we were doing that interested him, business was the last. If you didn't get on with Tony, you had to at least respect what he created and what he accomplished in his career. . . His outlook on life was all about life, and he didn't let things like money or success spoil what he believed in. And I think that was the most refreshing thing as a member of the group — that you weren't on that treadmill that artists do get on when they sign normal record deals with normal record companies.

The previous few trips to America have been performing Joy Division albums, but now you're touring a book. How do you prepare mentally for a book tour as opposed to playing live?

The nice thing is that I am able to recognize that it's all part of the same thing and talking to people and identifying with them. The great thing about writing the book is that people do come across and tell you how important that timeline you had written was to their lives. The Hacienda in particular, 16 years people went there; got married, had children, got divorced, and then their children started going, and it was quite humbling and quite awe inspiring what a huge part you played in people's lives. And it's the same thing about doing the book. It's all about inspiration.

I went to see Led Zeppelin about two weeks before I went to see the Sex Pistols, and I didn't look at Led Zeppelin and think "I could do that!" But I looked at the Sex Pistols and thought "I could do that!" So if one person reads my book and goes, "I can do that, I could have a go of that," then to me it's all worthwhile because to me Rob Gretton and Tony always used to say: "You should always try to give something back. Manchester made you, you need to help Manchester." And that's part of the reason why I did the club to save the Factory building, because I was so annoyed when the Hacienda building went [converted into condominiums]. You can keep things going, you can put on band nights, using the legacy, all to help the future.

You also once told me that this book is all part of larger vision, and you will tour all the New Order albums. Is this book another step in that plan? Will there be a book on Closer, Movement, Power Corruption and Lies? Or maybe just a tell-all on New Order?

There is going to be a New Order book, and in my mind I've started it. And I wasn't going to do it, because the great thing is that it isn't sullied by what we can say. Joy Division were not sullied by sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Unfortunately New Order were. The New Order book will be a very different book.

To be honest, if they haven't done what they done to me at the start I wouldn't have written it, because I don't think any of us are going to come out of it shiny, the way people came out of the Joy Division book. Shall we say, the New Order one will certainly show the darker side of all our natures.

And it'll have another heartbreaking ending.

It will have a heartbreaking ending as well.

>> MICHAEL@PHX.COM

PETER HOOK :: Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard St, Brookline :: February 7 @ 7 pm :: 617.566.6660 or brooklinebooksmith.com :: Porter Square Books, 25 White St, Cambridge :: February 8 @ 7pm :: Free :: 617.491.2220 or portersquarebooks.com

Due to the cold-hearted reality of alphabetization, WESTLAND was the thirteenth and final band listed in the Phoenix's recent Class of 2013. But if you've listened to Boston Accents on WFNX at all since January, it's clear that the Massachusetts pop-rock band is at the top of our lists. Tonight Westland hits the Middle East in Cambridge for their official Intimacy Without Intricacy, a sterling EP of hook-laden pop jams that already feature two of our favorite tracks of the year in "Steady Now" and "Jack & Coke." (The latter inspired some heavy drinking when Westland frontman Aaron Bonus was in the WFNX studio a few weeks ago.

Here's what we wrote in the Class of 2013 feature last month, and check out the videos for the two aforementioned singles after the text jump....

WESTLAND :: BOSTON
Already veterans of the Vans Warped Tour and with more than 400 live shows under their collective white belt since 2009, Westland are taking their tireless work ethic and applying it to national domination in 2013. This month's Intimacy Without Intricacy is an ambitious pop-rock firecracker of a record, led by the anthemic stadium synth-rock of "Steady Now" and the epic balladry of "Jack & Coke." Frontman Aaron Bonus is an engaging personality, sharing personal tales of love and loss in Westland's lyrics, all while hell-bent on rocking the fuck out. WFNX presents Westland's record-release party February 7 at the Middle East in Cambridge.

Legendary bassist Peter Hook will be in the WFNX studio on Thursday February 7 to discuss his new book, "Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division."

Hooky will take to the airwaves with WFNX's Michael Marotta, spinning Manchester classics, talking shit, and getting the latest in his ongoing saga against his former band, New Order. For a quick primer, check out Marotta's extended Q&A with Hook in this week's Boston Phoenix. 

After the radio gig, Hook will be doing interviews and readings for his book at Brookline Booksmith, then hit up Porter Square Books in Cambridge on Friday. 

PETER HOOK

IN CONVERSATION WITH AUTHOR SCOTT HEIM
THU 2.7.13
BROOKLINE BOOKSMITH
279 HARVARD AVE, BROOKLINE
617.566.6660
7PM/ALL AGES/FREE
@BOOKSMITHTWEETS
BROOKLINEBOOKSMITH.COM

IN CONVERSATION WITH NPR MUSIC CRITIC TIM REILY
FRI 2.8.13
PORTER SQUARE BOOKS
25 WHITE STREET, CAMBRIDGE
617.491.2220
7PM/ALL AGES/FREE
@PORTERSQBOOKS
PORTERSQUAREBOOKS.COM

Staff Spins: What We're listening to at the Phoenix...

CHARLI XCX “You (Ha Ha Ha)” [Atlantic/Asylum] “Because we used to be the cool kids/You were old school/I was on the new shit” confidently offers the artist born as Charlotte Aitchison on throbbing new single “You (Ha Ha Ha),” the first entry for Best New Jam of 2013. The eventual UK dance queen penned last year’s smash “I Love It” for Icona Pop (she don't care!), and now enters mainstream domain with this sultry banger, complete with Gold Panda sample from a joint with the same name ("You").

We've been hot on the trail of Charli XCX since last year, when Phoenix writer Daniel Brockman caught her in a church at SXSW in March before following up again before her gig at Brighton Music Hall in July.

But we were admittedly a bit nervous that Charli had shot her proverbial pop load for the Swedish electro gals -- who, let's face it, haven't had a single nearly as good as "I Love It" before or since. But Miss XCX delivers here with a vengeance in a furious storm of samples, ha's, and synths, reminding us that we fucked it up in ways soft-serve bullshit like Mumford & Sons could never dare.

Oh, and she manhandles a mean uzi in the music video, posted below, while giving us the most sexually intimidating stare since Marina Lambrini Diamandis flashed bright-eyed bulbs our way a few months back.

Speaking of -- in the next few months Charli XCX will hit the road with the aforementioned Marina & the Diamonds here in the US (sadly, no Boston date yet; dafq?), as well as pop royalty Ellie Goulding in the UK.

That means one thing: watch spark light > calmly step away > watch her go boom.

Seriously, this song is fucking insane. And we just added it to heavy rotation on WFNX.  

Are you an alligator? Cuz we're a mama-papa coming for you. Since the Patriots shit the bed two weeks ago, there wasn't any good reason to get excited for this weekend... until now. WFNX goes all-in on the Thin White Duke for our first ever SUPER BOWIE WEEKEND, a two-day broadcasting affair with more hits than Ray Lewis. Without the murder rap. 

:: LISTEN LIVE :: WFNX.COM ::

Super Bowie Weekend kicks off Saturday morning at 9am and runs through late Sunday night, around the time when it's safe to go outside and start planning for the Pats' draft. It's all Bowie, all weekend long, spanning the man decades-long reign over rock (but nothing from <i>Earthling</i>, don't sweat), culminating in our own "Big Game" between the vaunted Tin Machine and the heavily-favored Spiders from Mars, led by star QB Ziggy Stardust, complete with insightful game commentary from legendary broadcaster Jean Genie and on-field reports from WFNX's own DJ 3001. We've already told Joe Namath to stay away from our innocent robot-child. Also don't miss the exclusive Bowie Mashup Halftime Spectacular. It might not have kittens, but it'll be better than Beyonce. 

As a special warm-up party to this weekend's festivities, Boston Accents will host the official pre-game event today at 5pm, welcoming Gene Dante & the Future Starlets, the Daily Pravda, and Parlour Bells to the WFNX studio to play special Bowie sets live in-house, spin their own glam-bam-thank-you-ma'am space-shot anthems, and discuss the influence the man born as Davy Jones has over our city. To celebrate it all, Pravda released a special free mini-EP to mark the occasion.

So tune in to WFNX today at 5pm and then all weekend long as Super Bowie Weekend takes over the town... and beyond.

There will be games, there will be challenges met and hearts broken, but with David Bowie providing the soundtrack.

I got the chance to hang out with Walk The Moon last Thursday before their show at the Paradise. We talked about facepaint, going to college with Anna Sun, the Ohio music scene, filming the "Tightrope" video, playing festivals, and more, and then they blew away a sold out room that night. Listen to the full interview here:

The band comprised of Sam Fryer (vocals, guitar),Chilli Jesson (vocals, bass),Pete Mayhew (keyboards),Will Doyle (drums), was more than excited to be touring the U.S for the first time ever.

Earlier in the day they visited the WFNX studio for a chat on everything music, band history and strange local news.

Although the crowd was understandably tame because of the lack of officially released material, the band was more than happy to deliver songs no one had really heard before with all the youth, energy, defiance, excitement, camaraderie and just plain joy that is so desperately missing from most bands nowadays.

The high point of the show came during "Last of The Summer Wine" when lead singer/bassist Chilli graciously asked for the crowd to raise and shake their hands in unison to a rising cymbal crash, you could see the pleasure and surprise in his eyes when damn near everybody did as told.

The two front men were very reminiscent of The Libertines own two front men, falling in to each other in a playful yet musically focused manner, while Pete Mayhew's synth/organ lines gave the music an unexpected spiritual uplift, and Will Doyle's drumming was as powerful and driving as it was loud.

Although one might think a new band with few realeased songs would save their best for last, "Last Of The Summer Wine" was placed in the middle of the set, and Palma Violets somehow managed to outshine themselves song after song, each one being better than the last one.

The New Highway Hymnal now a tight 3-piece band opened for Palma Violets and delivered their brand of psychedelic, doomy and slightly gothic garage rock with icy intensity, finishing in grand fashion making a hot mess of distortion, feedback and reverb.

All in all the below freezing temperature (the coldest day in two years by the way) could not contain the Rock & Roll that was graciously given by both bands.

Hopefully they will indulge us on their short but explosive history and regale us with tales only British men can muster up. We will also be spinning songs by them so don't miss out!

Palma Violets will release their debut album "180" on 25th February 2013 on Rough Trade Records.

The London four-piece formed last year and up until recently have had minimum online presence and no songs recorded, instead preferring for people to come and experience their raucous live shows at their Lambeth studio 180.

The album is named after this building, which also features on the cover.

This year Palma Violets have toured with Alabama Shakes and Savages, appeared on Jools Holland and been nominated for the BBC Sound of 2013 Poll.

Palma Violets will be playing The Middle East upstairs this Tuesday the 22nd with DJ Carbo.

Here is the official video for their single "Best of Friends" (Righteous tune!!).

As a little appetizer here is Nirvana's first ever TV appearance on the legendary UK television show "The Word".

"Where's Fugazi when we need Fugazi?" 

That's exactly the kind of idealistic cri de coeur you'd expect to hear from one half of JAPANDROIDS. We've been championing Vancouver's finest duo forevs, but it wasn't until their last swing through town at the Paradise that we got drummer David Prowse to come hang out at the WFNX.com studios for a guest-DJ spot. What transpired was part what-we're-listening to (Titus Andronicus, Swearin', King Tuff) but more of a musical philosphy delivered in the form of a playlist. Below, watch as Prowse and the Phoenix's own Liz Pelly talk about the band's influences, including the Replacements, the Clash, and -- yes -- Fugazi. Bonus tracks: below, two songs Japandroids are hyped on that can't be found on YouTube. The full playlist is embedded below, but if you want to jump around you can browse the list on the WFNX.com YouTube channel. 

And here's the bonus rounds:

It's your last chance to hear the full DROPKICK MURPHYS record-release set from Tuesday -- when they celebrated their new Signed and Sealed in Blood by blasting through an hour-long set from McGreevys on Boylston Street. WFNX.com was there to capture the spectacle -- free show by Murphys live at their own bar? Mayhem! -- and tonight at 6 pm they'll be streaming the set in its entirety. 

We also had a film crew on the scene recording the madness for posterity. Below, we're debuting three more videos from the session. (ICYMI: Yesterday we debuted the live videos for "The Boys Are Back" and "Rose Tattoo.")

LISTEN NOW: WFNX.com

Shipping Up To Boston: 

End of the Night:

The Gang's All Here:

And earlier that day WFNX Presents The MFA Acoustic Sessions Featuring the Vaccines!

http://wfnx.com/contests/mfasessions_vaccines

Enter to win a chance to attend a very intimate and private performance featuring the Vaccines in an MFA Gallery on January 29th.  Winners will be notified via email with performance details.

Tickets are not available for purchase and you can only win to get in!

Check out the new video for the new single, "I Always Knew" (One of my favorites off the new record), and an oldie from one of their first TV performances.

Here's a fast-action head's up fit for a fun-filled Friday: volcanic Welsh rock trio THE JOY FORMIDABLE will be dropping by WFNX.com this afternoon to hang out, spin some tunes, talk about their new record Wolf's Law -- out January 22 here in the states via Atlantic Records -- and perform a stripped-down set live in our studios. Afternoon host Sabrina will be holding court with the crew, who should arrive around 1pm EST. We've told Ritzy, Matt and Rhydian that they could stay as long as they want. 

And we've already sent a memo to the Phoenix sales department, which shares a few walls with the WFNX on-air studio, about possible noise intrusion. It's going to get messy. But TGIF, right?

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Check out one of the first singles from Wolf's Law, "This Ladder Is Ours," up above, as well as some clips from 2011 crashed our Sapporo House at Coachella and performed at Diso '11 at the Lansdowne Pub.

The boys are back in town. 

The day after dropping their biggest album to date, Signed and Sealed in Blood -- expected to debut in the top 5 on the Billboard chart -- Boston's fifth major sports team, DROPKICK MURPHYS, opened up their hometown watering hole, McGreevys, to the public for an hour-long singalong. Among those in the house: All Souls author Michael Patrick MacDonald, who profiled the band for last week's Boston Phoenix cover story.

If you couldn't get in, we've got the next best thing: we'll be rolling out exclusive video from the show all this week, and WFNX.com will rebroadcast the gig in its entirety tonight and tomorrow at 6 pm. 

Here's the first two videos from that show: "The Boys Are Back" and "Rose Tattoo":

The Boys Are Back: 

Rose Tattoo: