By now most people have heard about Willie Nelson and his bandmates getting busted for possession after their tour bus was stopped for a "routine commercial inspection" last week. I don't think there is anyone in the world who would be surprised that Willie Nelson got caught with his favorite herb. What is surprising about the story is that having a pound and a half of pot is only a misdemeanor! You could explain it with the old "everything is bigger in Texas" line, except that they got stopped in [...]
Tommorrow night, the New Orleans Saints will play in the Superdome for the first time since August 26, 2005, three days before Katrina landed in New Orleans. Regardless of whether or not you're a football fan, this is a huge event. After the damage sustained by the hurricane and its use as a shelter in the days after the storm, many people thought the Superdome would have to be torn down. Instead, a massive cleanup and rebuilding effort has brought the building back to life in just under 13 months, in time for the Saints to [...]
I like The Killers , but Brandon Flowers in an idiot. I don't mind his bravado; it's kind of refreshing to see a rock star who actually acts like one. I thought his war of words with labelmates The Bravery was a cute throwback to the classic Oasis vs Blur rivalry of the mid-90s. But in this week's Entertainment Weekly , he really shoves his foot way up inside his mouth... "People make fun of Born in the U.S.A. and [his] look, but I [...]
To celebrate Portastatic's show in Nashville this Wednesday, today's monday morning b-side is Mac McCaughan's acoustic take of the Magnetic Field's "Josephine." Recorded in true lo-fi fashion on 4-track cassette, it was released in 1994 on Portastatic's second single Naked Pilseners , which is now out of print. Those curious to hear the Magnetic Field's original version can find it on their debut album Distant Plastic Trees . Portastatic - "Josephine" (mp3) [...]
Last weekend I got tickets to see Lindsey Buckingham at the Ryman Auditorium on October 7, and I'm more than a little excited. I've been a huge fan of Buckingham-era Fleetwood Mac ever since the video for "Tusk" was in heavy rotation in the early days of MTV. Although the guy is a fantastic singer, songwriter and guitar player, his greatest strength is as a producer and arranger. Stripped of his brilliant production, Christine McVie's tunes would just be pretty pop songs, and Stevie Nicks would probably still be working as a waitress. But with Buckingham's [...]
I wasn't going to post anything about what today is. This is a music blog, and you can find a thousand other blogs with people's feelings on the anniversary. So I'm not going to talk about what I was doing or how I felt five years ago. I'm going to tell another story. The first time I went to New York City was at the end of December in 1994. I figured ringing in the New Year in Times Square was something that everyone needs to [...]
For today's monday morning b-side, we have Richard Ashcroft's solo acoustic demo of The Verve classic "The Drugs Don't Work," from 1997 single of the same name. It's always interesting to hear a demo and see where a song started, and how it changed between its initial creation and the finished product. That's especially true for this, a standout track from one of the great albums of the 90s. Most of the main elements are there, though the lyrics did some evolving between this and the album version. [...]
I'm pretty sure that Guided By Voices was the band that finally cured me of being a music completist. As I mentioned earlier , I used to be a fanatical about buying up every single, compilation album, or soundtrack that any of my favorite artists used to appear on. Solo albums? You bet. Import EPs? Lay 'em on me. It was an expensive habit, and one that was bound to end sometime. I gave it the old college try with GBV, I really [...]
Duraluxe is another band that I discovered when my band played with them this summer. I hit up their myspace profile before the show, and I must have listened to "The Ones You Trust" about a hundred times. They play quasi-psychedelic pop, kinda like a more upbeat Sparklehorse, or maybe The Dandy Warhols. Duraluxe - "The Ones You Trust" (mp3) Duraluxe - "Hit So Hard" (mp3) [...]
Aww, fall... cooler temperatures, football season, the colors of the leaves, girls in sweaters... autumn is definitely my favorite time of year. So in honor of the unofficial end of summer, I present the inaugural monday morning b-side... The Church - "Autumn Soon" (mp3) This song was the b-side of The Church 's 1983 "Electric Lash" single, and was later included on the 2-CD singles collecton Hindsight [...]
I love traditions and rituals. My group of friends used met every Saturday for lunch at a mexican restaurant for four years before I moved to Las Vegas. I start off every workday by listening to Frank Sinatra. I have so many holiday oriented traditions that I couldnt possibly list them all here. I'm also a huge fan of b-sides. I used to spend a small fortune buying up every CD single, 12 inch EP and 45 that any of my favorite artists put out. The [...]
Whenever my band has a gig, I always check out the other bands online if I havent already heard them. It's nice to be able to describe them to my friends, and if nothing else, it gives me a conversation starter when I meet the bands before the show. Tuesday night we played at the 5 Spot in East Nashville with Cars Can Be Blue , a two-piece, boy/girl, guitar and drums combo from Athens, GA. I listened to the four songs they've got up on their myspace page , and they were all kinda cute funny pop [...]
Last month I lost the only car I ever loved... or more accurately, the only car that ever loved me back. Saturns are great, but unfortunately they dont stand a chance when sandwiched between two Jeep Cherokees. The lasting legacy of the accident, other than learning that physical therapy really really sucks, is that for the for the first time in my life I have a car with a CD player. I know...
Venus Hum - The Colors In The Wheel Venus Hum celebrated the release of their third full length album with a show Friday nite at the Mercy Lounge here in Nashville. For a band where two-thirds of the members are trapped behind banks of synthesizers, computers, and other miscellaneous electronic gadgetry, I'm always amazed at how good their shows are. Part of that is due to making up for their lack of ability to move with an always impressive visual [...]
There is a scene in High Fidelity (the book) where Rob realizes that he no longer knows all the bands that are playing in the London clubs (its the beginning of chapter 22; page 300 if you have the first edition hardcover). When I first read the book ten years ago, that scene didn't really stand out to me. I was in my mid-twenties and still at the height of my music geek-dom. I read Melody Maker and NME every week. Buying CD's was an almost daily activity. If one of my favorite bands was playing a show anywhere within [...]
Sunday afternoon I went to Grimey's for the for the Lambchop in-store and brunch... free music and quiche and mimosas... hurray! It was fantastic. And tasty. And hot. But most of all it was crowded. Grimey's isnt that big of a place, and I went from one end of the store to the other and halfway back again before I found the friend I was meeting. I think half of Nashville was there, and then [...]
The Church, with Rob Dickinson Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA Sunday, August 6, 2006 The Church has been my favorite band pretty much since the day I bought Starfish my senior year of high school. I remember driving home from Cat's Records in Brentwood, popping the cassette into the stereo, and the chiming guitar intro of "Destination" filling up the car. From that moment on I was hooked. My love for delay-soaked guitar found absolute perfection [...]
Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways I'm not sure an album has ever hit me the way this one has. I've been incredibly affected by individual songs, and I've had albums that could change my mood over the course of 45-ish minutes, but listening to this for the first time was different. It grabbed me from the very first song, and I literally could not move until it was over. It is that powerful. Even if he werent basically [...]
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Check Out: d’Eon – “Transparency pt. II”
the Weekender ::: New music from Catcall // the National // Summer Camp
KNIFE PARTY – RAGE VALLEY EP
