Blog: Merchants Of Rock

In 1993, Tom Petty released his Greatest Hits album featuring 16 of his most well known tunes and 2 new ones - a cover of Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air" and the (rightfully) presumptive hit "Mary Jane's Last Dance".  The album went on to sell over fifteen million copies and become the definitive Tom Petty recording. The upsides to such a smash success are obvious - more money than you can count, your music is everywhere, parents have a concise collection to pass to their kids and thus your legacy lives forever, your concerts are one big [...]

There’s been a movement within people who are roughly my age to dismiss Van Halen’s music entirely. I drove four hours to see them with David Lee Roth in Greensboro North Carolina last spring, and my reaction to their reformation and tour was nothing short of “This is going to be awesome!” Much to my surprise, this emphatic reaction prompted most of my friends to basically say (or at least think) “you’re an idiot.” From what I’ve gathered their sentiment basically declares Van Halen was a “party band”(bad) who was the template for 80’s hair metal(worse). Their lyrics were simple, [...]

Last month's passing of Jason Molina, the man behind Songs Ohia and Magnolia Electric Company was an incredibly sad moment for the indie rock community.  One small shred of positive light has been the exposure of his music to a large audience that he never had the opportunity to reach when he was alive.  The latest such exposure is the national television debut of one of Jason's songs by way of the Band of Horses.  In addition to dusting off one of their own classics "The General Specific", BOH used the national stage to pay tribute to their friend and [...]

Despite being a band for going on 30 years now, my personal exposure to Yo La Tengo has actually been quite limited.  Here's what I do know. -  Based on my three years of high school spanish, I think that their band name means something to the effect of "I have", with some sort of feminine quality to it. -  Their seminal album I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One was a constant staple in my buddy's car in high school. - "From a Motel 63, "Our Way to Fall", and [...]

When Jeff Mangum rose from his self imposed obscurity during Occupy Wall Street, few predicted it would result in a full blown Neutral Milk Hotel reunion. While the aforementioned "full blown" depiction is up for debate, the fact remains that the band has announced their first dates since 1998. While rumors of a full slate of international dates are in the air, we have at least five confirmed NMH dates on the books. 10-22 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club 10-23 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club 10-25 Asheville, NC - Thomas [...]

Looks like the dream team of Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy will continue their collaboration on Staples new album entitled, One True Vine.  The album will be released on June 25th and feature Funkadelic and Low cover songs, as well as original tunes written specifically for the legendary soul singer by Tweedy and Nick Lowe.  Get a taste of the album with Staples' cover of Funkadelic's "Can You Get To That" below. The post Mavis Staples New Album & Song appeared first on [...]

The National's new album Trouble Will Find Me is due out May 20th but they have released the first single "Demons." The new tune stays with the sound we have come to know a love from The National and will certainly satisfy fans while peeking interest for their new release. Check it out below. The post The National New Album & Song appeared first on Merchants of Rock .

We are back in action, hoping to avoid a sophomore slump in this week's MOR Talkin' Tunes podcast.  This week's podcast features Curt, Heather, and our long-form writer extraordaire Kevin Cenedella fresh off his new piece on Pink Floyd.  Check it out streaming below, or find us in the Itunes Podcast store. The post Podcast Ep 2 - Us and Them appeared first on Merchants of Rock .

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asdfadsf The post Test Pod appeared first on Merchants of Rock .

Welcome to the first edition of the Merchants of Rock "Talkin' Tunes" Podcast. We are pretty pumped to introduce this new feature to the site, we have high hopes. While you will most likely have to wait until episode 9 or so before we start landing interviews with Paul McCartney, we think we've turned in a pretty good inaugural episode. This episode features our founders, Curt, Matt, and Heather discussing the current state of rock and roll, rock criticism, and the so called indie "blogosphere". Give us a spin while you are in the car [...]

Macca's second solo album, Ram was panned left and right upon it's release, but time has done nothing but add to the albums charm. Recorded at Paul's home studio, this track like many others on the album has a certain ramshackle sincerity that furthers the albums appeal. The post "Heart of the Country" - Paul Mccartney (1971) appeared first on Merchants of Rock .

Is that Thom Yorke? No it's the opening track of the debut album from the Radiohead doppelgangers known as Muse. You have to remember though when this record came out Radiohead had abandoned the guitar-driven rock songs in favor of making robot music. The post "Sunburn" - Muse (1999) appeared first on Merchants of Rock .