There is a list of theaters and dates in the USA where the film ‘New York Doll’ will be screened from 28th October; just click on ‘Theaters and Screenings’ in the website www.newyorkdollmovie.com.

The production notes include information on Morrissey’s role to re-unite the New York Dolls for Meltdown which contributed to an amazingly glorious finale to the documentary. Here’s an excerpt:

“…the Dolls’ musical and style influences began fueling much of the up-and-coming punk and “hair metal” scenes of the early 1980’s. Bands as diverse as the Sex Pistols, Kiss, The Clash, Blondie and others borrowed the Dolls’ swagger and outrageous appearance. As former Smiths lead singer Morrissey puts it, “It seems to take the pop world thirty years to really understand a group or an artist” and few seemed to really understand or appreciate the New York Dolls.

In February 2004, Morrissey was named curator and artistic director of the 2004 Meltdown Festival in London. Amidst the flurry of his first hometown performance in seven years, and the release of a new album, Morrissey parlayed his administrative clout in an effort to reunite the Dolls.

A once obsessive follower of the band, and former president of its unofficial UK fan club, Morrissey quite clearly shared Arthur’s own dream. In his first statement concerning the festival, Morrissey said “…this is a privilege and I will rise to it. Curating Meltdown is a great opportunity for me to acknowledge some of the music and words that have excited me over the years.”’

Presumably “America is not the World” and this will go on general release afterwards. There’s a mailing list to join for updates.

Veteran Irish folk singer Christy Moore has recorded a version of the Moz track 'America Is Not The World' and re-named it 'America I Love You'. It features on Moore's new album 'Burning Times' which is now available. Moore first covered the track last year while on tour. His new album also feaures versions of Natalie Merchant's 'Motherland' and Bob Dylan's 'Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll, so it could be well worth checking out. Moore was also in attendance when Moz played the final date of his world tour in Dublin last December. Info on the album can be found here.

full story with other artists playlists here:
from the Independent online: My playlist: From Billy Bragg's busking tunes to Damon Albarn's world grooves

Over the past six months, Rough Guides has been putting together the Book of Playlists (published this week). The idea was simple: we commissioned, from a wide range of music writers, playlists covering different bands, artists and genres, plus quirky categories like great songs sung by drummers, or songs about cats and dogs (climaxing with the Cramps' " Does Your Pussy Do The Dog"), or - and I hold my hand up here - music discussed in Haruki Murakami novels. Each list was to have a maximum of 10 tracks, and include brief reviews of the featured songs.

CARL BARAT'S LIBERTINE RAVES
Carl Barat, founder of The Libertines, is soon to release his first solo album. Here's what he rates.

8. Big Mouth Strikes Again by The Smiths from Big Mouth Strikes Again.

From The Observer Music monthly

"Since leaving Take That, Williams has released eight albums. Judging by the audience reaction to his new material at the Astoria show, the ninth will satisfy his vast constituency of fans, but it also represents a maturation of his talents just as he looks backwards. With Stephen Duffy, formerly of the Lilac Time, he has fashioned a poppier update of the sound of his great heroes the Smiths. The echoes of Morrissey are all over the songs 'The Trouble With Me' and 'Your Gay Friend' and the shadows of drizzly bus shelters in the north west in the 1980s haunt the record - at times, you can actually sing Smiths songs over the top of the tunes ('Girlfriend in a Coma' fits perfectly with 'Spread Your Wings')."

Lone Star

I just bought one of these. I don't know if Morrissey has one, and I wonder what he would do with it if he did!