Mumford & Sons Ready To Conquer The U.S.

The Night Owl has been championing Mumford & Sons for quite some time now, and has been delighted with the breakthrough of their debut album, Sigh No More, in the States. Now, on the eve of a sold-out 21-date tour in the U.S., the English folk-rockers are making a splash once again with two significant musical developments.

The first is the band's duet with Ray Davies for the latter's upcoming collaborative tribute album (to be released 1 November) chocked full of the music of The Kinks. Before departing and crossing the Atlantic, Mumford & Sons stopped by Later with Jools Holland to perform the medley "Days"/"This Time Tomorrow" with Davies.



The other significant bit of news is that the band has recorded a 4-song EP under the alias The Wedding Band. It is being released as a limited edition especially for the tour, so watch for your chance to buy. In the meantime, one of the songs contained therein, "Thumper", has leaked on to the net for your listening pleasure.

Tribute (In Memoriam): Pete Quaife

Peter Alexander Greenlaw "Pete" Quaife, a founding member of The Kinks who played bass with the band until 1969, died on 23 June at age 66 in Herlev, Denmark of kidney failure.

Growing up in North London, Quaife was a schoolmate of Ray Davies and his brother, Dave. They began playing rock and roll together in 1961. Along with the Davies brothers and drummer Mick Avery, The Kinks formed in 1963. Within a year they hit #1 on the UK charts with the unforgettable "You've Really Got Me," a frenzied rock record that would prove an influence to countless bands to the present day. Numerous hits followed, no small feat when considering the competition at the time: most prominent of which were The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who.

Pete Quaife left The Kinks in 1969 and worked as a graphic artist. He rejoined the band for a concert in Canada in 1981 as well as its induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

In his appearance at Glastonbury 2010 this past weekend, Ray Davies emotionally dedicated "Waterloo Sunset" and "Days" to his former band mate. You can watch the performance here.

News From The Fun House

The class of 2010 for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been announced. New inductees include The Stooges (that's Iggy Pop reading the - finally! - good news, above), Genesis, The Hollies, Jimmy Cliff and ABBA. But where are Darlene Love and Laura Nyro?

Mojo reports that Sly Stone has signed a new record deal. We'll believe it when we hear it. In the meantime, there are previews up on the web about a new documentary on the enigmatic artist that is set to premiere in 2010.

Best reviewed album of the decade? Best reviewed pop act? Metacritic lets you in on the answers.

TNOP is looking forward to the US release of Mumford & Sons' debut record, Sigh No More, in February. The Times of London provides a profile of the English band strongly influenced by Americana. Catch them on their current tour in the States or sample their single "Little Lion Man."

Can't say we go digging around in the News of the World too often, but their recent talk with Kinks-man Ray Davies proved fruitful: he's trying to gently coax brother Dave into the music arena again and is also working in the studio with Bruce Springsteen. And word is Julian Temple is directing a film of the brothers' rise to fame in the 1960s.

The xx performs a short set in The Current Studios of Minnesota Public Radio.

Issue 65 of The Fader is now available via free download. Special guest editors: Animal Collective.

We wrote in these pages previously about The History Channel special The People Speak. It premiered the other night and TNOP highly recommends a view. One of the highlights was Bob Dylan (acoustic guitar), Ry Cooder (electric guitar) and Van Dyke Parks (piano) performing Woody Guthrie's "Do Re Mi." TwentyFourBit gives us a look and listen.

That's it from the news desk for now. Go celebrate their induction by enjoying Iggy & The Stooges' "Search & Destroy" at MAXIMUM VOLUME. The video is from a 2008 performance in Montreal, and man, they still bring it, especially the late guitarist Ron Asheton.