Sure, we’ve got Coachella and Bonnaroo and all those great American festivals over here. England’s got Glastonbury and Bestival, etc. Australia’s got its share of great fests, as well, and Splendour in the Grass is one of the best. Last year saw the Pixies, The Strokes, and Mumford and Sons atop a massive lineup, and this year looks to be equally epic.

Coldplay, Kanye West and Jane’s Addiction will headline the 11th incarnation of the three day festivities at Woodfordia in Queensland. Seventy-nine other acts are under them, and the names are just as exciting. The Hives, the reunited Pulp, The Living End, The Mars Volta, The Kills, Pnau, and Regina Spektor are all on the bill.

Glasvegas, Modest Mouse, The Middle East, Mogwai, DJ Shadow, and Kaiser Chiefs will also be in attendance, as will James Blake, The Vines, Noah and the Whale, and Thievery Corporation. Further acts include Cut Copy, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears (featuring The Relatives), Foster The People, Friendly Fires, Gomez, and Does It Offend You, Yeah?.

Want more? Warpaint, Fitz and the Tantrums, Young The Giant, Bliss N Eso, The Grates, Kele, Elbow and Eskimo Joe add to the mix. There’s also Devendra Banhart and The Grogs, Children Collide, Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanega, Blue Juice and Marques Toliver. The impressive list is just too long to jam in here, so check out our Festival Outlook page for the complete lineup.

Tickets for the July 29th-31st event range from AUD$401.50 to AUD$525.60 (that’s about $421.55 to $551.83 USD. Plus, ya know, travel expenses), depending on your method of purchase and if you choose their carbon offset option. For more information, check the festival’s website.

But honestly, there hasn’t been an energized rock-stomper Hives anthem since “Die, All Right!” or “Main Offender” or “Hate To Say I Told You So” or, really, anything off of Veni Vidi Vicious. (Okay, and “Walk Idiot Walk” was pretty great.) Their latest, a three-song digital/7” EP of covers called Tarred and Feathered, doesn’t change that.

Primarily, this EP serves as an introduction to three obscure songs from different bands in early punk history. There’s a song called “Nasty Secretary” by New York punk rockers Joy Ryder and Avis Davis; “Early Morning Wake Up Call” by Australian New Wavers Flash And The Pan; and then there’s “Civilization’s Dying” by the Zero Boys. Got those names and song titles? Okay, now look them up on YouTube, because after you hear the originals, there’s very little reason to dive into the Hives’ versions.

It’s a ballsy thing to make a covers EP, especially when the source material is so obscure. In order to pull it off, you have to really add your own flavor to the songs. With Almqvist at the helm, that’s not so hard, right? He’s got that high-pitched shriek and the teasingly pouty face. And this is the chance for them to put a definitive Hives spin on those old punk and hardcore thrashers.

Unfortunately, with “Civilization’s Dying” and “Nasty Secretary”, The Hives’ sound never becomes apparent. They’re quick, by the books, note-for-note, and less interesting versions of the originals with better production quality. The Zero Boys cover, in particular, pales in comparison– it loses the jagged edge of the original. Yeah, it’s great that The Hives are introducing people to such a legendary hardcore band, but it’s tricky turf to tread when you’re not going to bite nearly as hard.

But they aren’t all forgettable two-minute covers. The cover of “Early Morning Wake Up Call” offers total redemption– they take a dated New Wave tune and really crank the fuzz. They replace a typically ‘80s synth with a shredding guitar line. Really, The Hives should do an all New Wave covers record, because this is the most exciting moment on the whole thing. They really put their own stamp on it by taking the liberty to pick up the tempo and give it some punk distortion. And Almqvist’s lower register on this song really brings out that Jagger pout that he’s become so famous for.

Putting the original versions of the songs aside, Tarred and Feathered is a fine, if forgettable, set of rock songs. But this is only going to be considered an essential piece of discography to Hives lifers and super fans. It’s nice that The Hives wanted to make a 7” homage to some of their idols, but really, aside from the Flash And The Pan tune, it’s another set of songs that stand in the shadow of their 2000 hyper-success.

According to NME, the newest game will feature some of the heaviest rockers in the music world, including AFI, DragonForce, Drowning Pool, Foo Fighters, KISS, Metallica, Slipknot, Slayer,  The Rolling Stones, and many others. Not to mention, there’ll be slightly less intense acts to rock with, like Muse, Queen, and Silversun Pickups. And somehow Foreigner and Night Ranger made it to the final list, which you can peep below. Speaking of KISS, the developers also created a storyline mode that’s narrated by KISS’ own Gene Simmons. So, expect lots of bad sexual innuendos, gamers.

Stay tuned for more news, including any more big name additions. Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock hits shelves on September 28th.

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock Tracklist:
01. AFI – Dancing Through Sunday
02. Anthrax – Indians
03. Avenged Sevenfold – Bat Country
04. Black Sabbath – Children Of The Grave
05. Buzzcocks – What Do I Get?
06. Children Of Bodom – If You Want Peace… Prepare For War
07. The Cure – Fascination Street
08. Def Leppard – Pour Some Sugar On Me (Live)
09. Dethklok – Bloodlines
10. Dire Straits – Money For Nothing
11. DragonForce – Fury Of The Storm
12. Drowning Pool – Bodies
13. Fall Out Boy – Dance, Dance
14. Foo Fighters – No Way Back
15. Foreigner – Feels Like The First Time
16. The Hives – Tick Tick Boom
17. Jane’s Addiction – Been Caught Stealing
18. Jethro Tull – Aqualung
19. KISS – Love Gun
20. Linkin Park – Bleed It Out
21. Megadeth – Sudden Death
22. Metallica & Ozzy Osbourne – Paranoid (Live)
23. Muse – Uprising
24. My Chemical Romance – I’m Not Okay (I Promise)
25. Night Ranger – (You Can Still) Rock In America
26. Nine Inch Nails – Wish
27. The Offspring – Self Esteem
28. Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
29. Rammstein – Waidmanns Heil
30. The Rolling Stones – Stray Cat Blues
31. Silversun Pickups – There’s No Secrets This Year
32. Slayer – Chemical Warfare
33. Slipknot – Psychosocial
34. Stone Temple Pilots – Interstate Love Song
35. ZZ Top – Sharp Dressed Man (Live)

This first original gem from the MacGruber soundtrack is done by none other than Ms. Kristin Wiig, co-starring in the movie. The song “Champion”, sung by Wiig’s character Vicki St. Elmo, has its tongue firmly planted in its cheek along with most of the soundtrack. (LIYL the idea of Karen O singing Dio-esque lyrics from a bean bag chair, produced by your friend who just got into Garage Band). Stream it now over at Stereogum.

Also singing with Wiig is Scotland’s own Lightspeed Champion on the track “Rock My Body”. In addition to several other original tracks, we will also be blessed with the dulcet tones of Toto, as they battle for the award for most ironic song with Mr. Mister, Quarterflash, and Michael Bolton. And so as not to be considered in the Grammy category for Best Comedy Album, The Black Keys, and The Hives also have guest spots.

If this whole thing seems to be hanging together by chewing gum, a bobby pin, and a piece of chalk to you, don’t worry: It’s exactly what MacGruber would want.

MacGruber: Original Soundtrack (via Relativity) will be released May 18th. The movie is in theaters everywhere May 21st.

MacGruber: Original Soundtrack Tracklist:
01. Corbread Compton & The Silverlake Choir – “MacGruber’s Theme”
02. The Black Keys – “Heavy Soul”
03. Toto – “Rosanna”
04. Gerry Rafferty – “Baker Street”
05. The Hives – “Tick Tick Boom”
06. Emerson, Lake & Powell – “Touch N’ Go”
07. Eddie Money – “Take Me Home Tonight”
08. Quarterflash – “Harden My Heart”
09. Kristen Wiig – “A Perfect Number”
10. Mr. Mister – “Broken Wings”
11. Robbie Dupree – “Steal Away”
12. Kristen Wiig (Feat. MacGruber & Lightspeed Champion) – “Rock My Body”
13. Michael Bolton – “Love Is A Wonderful Thing”
14. Matthew Compton – “The MacGruber Suite”
15. Kristen Wiig – “Champion”

P.S. Take a gander at MacGruber’s Twitter feed for some good chuckles. Note who he exclusively follows.

But of course, being the awesome magazine that is, Paste is offering an incentive, beyond its continued publishing, for those who contribute. Donors are being promised access to “rare and exclusive” tracks from the likes of The Decemberists, Neko Case, She & Him, The Hives, Bob Mould and plenty more.

As longtime fans, Consequence of Sound would like to wish Paste the very best, and would urge our readers, if they have a couple bucks lying around, to help the folks over there out a little bit.

After their release of the somewhat disappointing Tyrannosaurus Hives (commercially, selling a below than expected 550,000 total albums and musically, a bit flat) in 2005, The Hives were looking for their 2007 fourth LP to be a smashing success. And though the album of The Black and White Album was still low in sales, the band delivered an extremely solid rock album. The album is powerful with explosive melodies and powerful beats mixed with a garage rock-like sound. Highlights include “Square One Here I Come” and “Hey Little World”.

The Black and White Album information

Buy the album on Amazon.com

Listen to a stream

Check Out:
“Tick Tick Boom”
“T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S.”

Check out the rest of CoS’ Top 50 Albums of 2007…