BY ANN DONAHUE I3 LJZZ ROCK BY CORTNEY HARDING » >COME DANCING? The Kinks are writing songs for a potential reunion album, frontman Flying High Ray Davies told BBC Andrew Bird Soars To New Heights News. "We've started a With Fat Possum Set little bit of this and that," Dido Paints he said. "But it is too early New Sonic For almost eight years, Andrew Matthew Johnson says. "We're to judge the quality. It Bird bounced around depends if there's good Landscape the mar- going to have this in more stores music. We want good new On `Safe Trip gins of indie rock, selling be- than we ever had Andrew in be- music. I'd like to do it as a Home' tween 15,000 and 25,000 copies fore. We're even getting into Tar- more collaborative thing of albums on Rykodisc and get with this record." than we used to do." The Righteous Babe. It seemed un- Bird chose to sign with Fat group was last active in likely that he'd ever find a big- Possum because of that ambi- 1996; guitarist Dave ger audience. tion. "I've had other labels in the Davies had a stroke in That all changed with his past line up excuses as to why 2004 but has since 2007 Fat Possum debut "Arm- we weren't selling many copies," recovered. chair Apocrypha," which sold al- Bird says. "Fat Possum ap- » >ALL NIGHT most as many units in its first proached me, and I saw imme- LONG week (11,000) as his second solo diately that they knew their stuff Lionel Richie has Akon and album, "Oh! The Grandeur," has and were very savvy. It seemed Ne -Yo in his corner on his in nine years (14,000). "Arm- like an odd fit at first, because new studio album, "Just chair" is now past the 100,000 most of their catalog is country Go," due Feb.17 via Island. Dido counts herselflucky. She has two homes: ation of user-generated short films inspired by mark, according to Nielsen and blues stuff, but it proved to First single "Good one in Los Angeles and one in London. And songs on the new album. SoundScan, while 2005's Right- be the right decision." Morning," produced by the by "homes," she doesn't necessarily mean The site, youtube.com /safetriphome, en- eous Babe swan song "Andrew "Noble Beast" is by far the Movement, is at urban AC houses -she means places where she feels courages amateur cineastes to showcase their Bird & the Mysterious Produc- most accessible of Bird's efforts, now. Akon and Ne -Yo comfortable and creative. work and for Dido fans to respond to those tion of Eggs" is at 80,000. with some songs sounding like share writing credits with "London is still home -but I feel real love videos. "Because she is a global artist, we Fat Possum will try keep Richie on the follow -up to to they could fit right in on a triple for Los Angeles," she says. a 2006's "Coming Home," "It's city built on reached out to different directors in different the momentum going with A radio playlist. "Anonanimal," which has sold 444,000 people having an imagination." parts of the world and asked them to create "Noble Beast," due Jan. 27. which will be released as the copies in the United Sitting at the dining room table at a house films based on what their concept of `home' "We've doubled everything soundtrack to a stop- motion States, according to in L.A.'s Laurel Canyon, Dido says that in the might be," Dido's manager Peter Leak says. In from what we did on the last video by Lisa Barcy, is a simple, Nielsen SoundScan. five years since her last album, "Life for Rent," some cases, there are literal travelogues of a record," label president lilting pop song, while "Natural Among the other she spent time reconnecting with family and hometown; others are esoteric depictions of contributors are friends -and gaining confidence to explore what the filmmaker finds comforting. Christopher "Tricky" new kinds of music. As for touring of the nonvirtual kind, Dido Stewart, Stargate, Johnta That search, with the assistance of produc- is planning listening parties in London and Austin and the -Dream. ers Jon Brion and Dido's brother, Rollo Arm- L.A. before street date, but she hasn't yet com- PULSE » >MIX AND MATCH strong, lead to "Safe Trip Home," due Nov. 18 mitted to a full schedule of roadwork. "It's EDITED BY TOM FERGUSON Pharrell Williams, Of from RCA. While the songwriting is classic been something that has been important to Montreal, Deerhoof, David Dido, with haunting, personal lyrics about life's her, that this record is presented to her fans » >HELLVILLE, EMI Spain marketing direc- Banner and Paul bittersweet turns, the musical accompaniments first," says Aaron Borns, RCA Music Group SPAIN tor Juana Romero calls the Oakenfold are among the are unusual, featuring everything from Swiss senior VP of marketing and Dido's domestic At 41, Spanish rock singer album "a big -time return to disparate names joining hand bells to strings and woodwinds. product manager. Enrique Bunbury happily -if the pure `frontier rock' sound. forces the Maroon 5 for "She's made the best record she's made of Inevitably she will hit the road, says Lon- perhaps less than modestly Bunbury is a front -line star in remix album "Call & her career so far, and I think she's totally grown don -based Nigel Hassler at Helter Skelter, who -regards himself as "a Spain and Latin America; Response," due Dec. 9 via as a musician, as a songwriter and as a per- books the singer globally outside North Amer- Spanish Neil Young or Van everybody agrees this is his A &M /Octone. Also former," Sony BMG U.K. chairman Ged Do- ica. "On her last tour she played mainly pres- Morrison, still making fan- best solo contributing new versions album yet." herty says. are Swizz Beatz, Mark tigious open -air venues -amphitheaters, tastic albums." Bunbury's publishing is Ronson, the Roots' Ahmir Dido's sound has evolved on lengthy, re- castles and stately homes -plus a run of arena However, unlike those role handled by Servidor de " ?uestlove" Thompson, verb -laden tracks like "Northern Skies" and shows," Hassler says. The arena shows ranged models, Bunbury is still a reg- Nadie /Clipper's. Booked by Cut Copy, Just Blaze and "Let's Do the Things We Normally Do," which up to 15,000 in capacity, while U.K. dates also ular feature at the top of Madrid -basedRock& Chicken, Tiesto, among others. show a Brian Eno influence. But it won't come included summer headline slots at the twin V Spain's charts. His new album, a Spanish tour that started across as jarring to a massive fan base that Festivals in Chelmsford and Weston Park, "Hellville De Luxe" (EMI Music in early September runs >TALK IS CHEAP » snapped up 4.2 million U.S. copies of 1999's Staffordshire. Spain), went to No. 1 on the through Dec. 12. As it prepares to "No Angel" and 2.1 million of 2003's "Life for Outside the United Kingdom, France is one Media Control chart one week -Howell Llewellyn remember its Rent," according to Nielsen SoundScan. of her strongest territories in terms of sales after its Oct. 7 release. breakthrough with the Dido's U.K. sales numbers are downright and touring, Hassler says, recalling a "truly Bunbury was the leader of upcoming "Live at astonishing. "No Angel," which was Budokan: 30th originally magical" 2004 show at the ancient Roman am- Spanish rock band Heroes Del Anniversary" boxed set, released in 2001 in the United Kingdom, was phitheater Nimes Arena in front of a sold -out Silencio, which broke up more Cheap Trick is also the biggest -selling album of that year, accord- crowd of 12,000. Hassler also reports "a lot of than a decade ago but re- preparing to release its ing to labels body the BPI, and now totals 3 mil- demand" for Dido to visit markets outside Eu- formed for a 10 -date sold -out next studio album, which lion albums sold, according to the Official rope where she has yet to tour extensively, in- tour of Spain and Latin Amer- guitarist Rick Nielsen says Charts Co. It's the No. 2 album of the decade cluding Australia, China, South Africa and ica last year. The shows pro- is already completed - so far in the United Kingdom, behind James Southeast Asia. duced the CD /DVD "Tour although a label, title or Blunt's "Back to Bedlam" at 3.2 million. "Life Of course, you can take the girl out of Lon- 2007" (EMI Televisa). release date haven't yet for Rent" was the top -selling U.K. album of don, but you can't take London out of the girl. "Hellville" is Bunbury's been set. "In a way it's like 2003; sales stand at 2.8 million, according to "I drank an enormous amount of Guinness dur- fifth solo album but his first in `The Who Sells Out.' We the OCC. ing the course years. don't have commercials, of the album," she says. "We had four "With `Hellville,' " but the songs all flow right How to reach this global fan base? The times a Guinness tap in the studio inside of a kegera- he says, "I wanted to get away into one another," he says. have changed in Dido's favor; this is her first tor. It is a food group, in my opinion." from the cliché that Bun - album release since the Internet conquered bury [solo] is like cabaret, Reporting by Jonathan the music industry. As such, RCA is develop- Additional reporting by Tom Ferguson in and Bunbury with Heroes is Life in Hellville: ENRIQUE BUNBURY Cohen. ing a social networking site based on the cre- London. rock'n'roll."

38 BILLBOARD NOVEMBER 15, 2008

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