'Kids in the Hall' gets third-season DVD

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - The sketch comedy series "The Kids in the Hall" took a few years to grow up, series co-star Kevin McDonald said.

"By the third season, the writing and the acting were at their peak," McDonald said. "We were doing so much of both that we were probably better than we had ever been. I don't think any class can teach you acting or writing better than actually doing both, day in and day out."

The show, which became a cult favorite for its edgy humor, starred Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson along with McDonald. Lorne Michaels ("Saturday Night Live" was the executive producer.

"The Kids in the Hall" grew out of club performances in Toronto and started airing on Canadian television in 1984 and in a different version on HBO. It was part of CBS' late-night lineup from 1992-95.

A four-disc DVD set containing the third season's 20 episodes is available online from A&E Home Video.

McDonald said his own creative perspective had started to change by season three.

"I was being influenced not as much by world events as just by working on a TV show," he said. "I started writing a lot of 'office politics' scenes. The scenes took place in accounting offices or banks but they were based on my experience working with the people who worked in our office."

"Even the "relationship" scenes I was writing were usually about an overworked husband trying to find time with his wife - this was my life," McDonald said.

http://www.kidsinthehall.com/kith/

Rollins: Celebrity Theatre (9/29/05)

Henry brought his soft-spoken, heartfelt pleadings to the Celebrity Theatre last night in Phoenix. His kind, gentle delivery touched on subjects ranging from Katrina to quotes from 'W' to the Trans-Siberian Railroad. As always, a great experience, better than his last show I saw at the Marquee Theatre. If you get a chance, check this out. For $20 you get 2.5 hours of sensitivity overload.

Talking Bob Dylan Blues

Barbican, London

Robin Denselow
Wednesday September 28, 2005
The Guardian

"It's great that we're doing this while he still walks the earth," announced Robyn Hitchcock, and that summed up this strange, unexpectedly emotional event. Tribute shows normally occur when an artist dies, but here was a packed Barbican honouring the fact that the most influential songwriter of his age has actually given an interview (albeit to his manager), and that this has allowed Martin Scorsese to construct his two remarkable biographies of Bob Dylan's early life for BBC TV's Arena.

It was just too bad that Part One was running while this show took place, for everyone in the audience ought to have watched it, after first reading Dylan's autobiography Chronicles, to get full value from what was taking place on stage. For here, live and in remarkably good form, were many of the characters who appear in the film and the book. The show was far too long (over four hours), but it was cleverly constructed, with readings from Chronicles introducing many of the performers.

Billy Bragg, who acted as MC, was preceded by Dylan's friendly words about himself ("I know that passage by heart," said Bragg). He was followed by Martin Carthy, who played The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll and gave a remarkable description of how he and Dylan chopped up a piano for firewood with a samurai sword in London during the cold winter of 1962. I trust that a blue plaque will now be erected outside 184 Haverstock Hill.

Then there were the Greenwich Village set. Liam Clancy mixed the Irish rebel songs that so influenced the young Dylan with stories about the legendary White Horse Tavern in New York, where they met, and then led a bizarre sing-along to Those Were the Days, which was written there. The best performance of the night came from the veteran gospel and blues singer Odetta, whom Dylan massively admired, and who makes a powerful appearance in the Arena film. Backed by a pianist, she now sat to sing her highly distinctive, soulful treatments of Tomorrow Is a Long Time and Mr Tambourine Man, transforming them into songs of her own. She was a hard act to follow, but Hitchcock provided a welcome reminder of Dylan's best recent work with a thoughtful Not Dark Yet, KT Tunstall and her band tackled songs from Blood on the Tracks and cabaret star Barb Jungr showed remarkable bravery with her quietly theatrical treatment of Like a Rolling Stone. Then there was Roy Harper, mysteriously following a fine version of Girl From the North Country with his homage to the Ashes, When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease. Absolutely nothing to do with Dylan, but a glorious song. I suspect that Bob would have approved.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/reviews/story/0,11712,1579616,00.html

Bezerker's October Mix from Hell

I just talked to Daniel (AKA Bezerker Dan). The October CDs are almost finalized and should be in the mail soon. I hope to see a review or two of this as well as the past few compilations on the blog.

http://www.swlink.net/~tudorose/imet.htm

Pixies - Sell Out 2004 Reunion Tour (Rhino)

Should seminal, era-defining bands ever reform? Would The Clash still be held with as much respect if they'd ever staged a big, one-off reunion gig? Is the reason that old Stone Roses and Smiths records still sound so thrilling down to the fact that we'll never hear them being played live again, year after year, in a big park in London? Really, is anyone that excited about the forthcoming return of Happy Mondays?

These questions flashed through everyone's mind when it was announced in 2004 that the Pixies were reforming. Make no mistake, this was the seminal, era-defining band of a generation. Nirvana may have sold more records, but it was Black Francis, Kim Deal, Joey Santiago and David Lovering who laid the foundations for their success.

So a reunion tour had the dangers of trampling over many fans memories - would they still sound as viscerally exciting, as intense, as plain bloody scary as they used to be? This DVD tells the story of the band's reunion tour and proves that any fears were groundless. Concentrating on the band's festival appearances through 2004, the main feature is the July gig at the Eurockeennes Festival in Belfort, France while the 'bonus performances' in the special features are almost a gig in themselves, being edited from seven different shows.

The French gig is the main attraction here and is the perfect illustration of just how good the Pixies are live. After a expertly edited montage of performances of Bone Machine, the proper show begins with the slowed down, 'UK Surf' version of Wave Of Mutilation. It may not be the chaotic rush of a start that many people would have imagined, but they sound note perfect.

Through 28 tracks, the band effortlessly show just why they were, and still are, so important. The raw, punky screech of Something About You, the twisted love song of Cactus and the anthemic Velouria, every single song here is a stone-cold classic. Even Subbacultucha, from the less celebrated Trompe Le Monde album can be reappraised here - has any other song in history contained a line as surreally wonderful as "I was looking handsome, she was looking like an erotic vulture"?

It's a performance full of great moments - the crowd performing the 'wee-woo' backing vocals on Where Is My Mind, Joey Santiago's incredible guitar solo on Vamos and, in what is still one of the coolest moments in rock history, Black Francis' drawl of "rock me, Joe" during Monkey Gone To Heaven.

The sound is magnificent throughout, and it's impossible to watch this without cranking up the volume. The picture quality is perfect as well, making it a much better proposition technically than the last Pixies DVD which showcased the 1988 gig at the Town & Country gig.

The bonus performances are taken from seven other festival gigs all around the world, including Scotland, Manchester, Japan and Boston. There's the option to watch these performances interspersed with some interesting interviews with the band's English tour manager Richard Jones and Myles Mangino, the Production Manager and Lighting Designer for the band. This also gives the opportunity to see some footage shot by the crew which reveals that Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights is required viewing on the tour bus!

Finally, there's also a multi-angle version of Monkey Gone To Heaven which will probably be played only once except for the most hardcore of fan. As a souvenir of one of the best bands in the world's reunion tour, this really can't be beaten and it whets the appetite for that long awaited studio album due out next year. Of course, it won't be as good as Surfer Rosa...surely?

- John Murphy

Track Listing

Eurockeennes Festival:
1. Bone Machine (Intro)
2. Wave Of Mutilation (UK Surf)
3. In Heaven
4. Something Against You
5. River Euphrates
6. U-Mass
7. Bone Machine
8. Cactus
9. Ed Is Dead
10. I Bleed
11. Monkey Gone To Heaven
12. Hey
13. Levitate Me
14. Subbacultcha
15. Dead
16. Gouge Away
17. Velouria
18. Mr Grieves
19. Crackity Jones
20. Broken Face
21. Isla De Encanta
22. Tame
23. Here Comes Your Man
24. The Holiday Song
25. Where Is My Mind?
26. Vamos
27. Wave Of Mutilation
28. Gigantic

Bonus Performances:

1. Caribou (Coachella)
2. Here Comes Your Man (Move Festival)
3. Debaser (T In The Park)
4. Gigantic (Coachella)
5. U-Mass (Lowell, Mass)
6. Crackity Jones (Fuji Rock)
7. Nimrod's Son (Fuji Rock)
8. Subbacultcha (Austin)
9. Vamos (Austin)
10. No 13 Baby (Lowell)
11. Planet Of Sound (Voodoo)
12. Is She Weird? (Lowell)
13. Into The White (Coachella)
14. Where Is My Mind? (Move)
15. Monkey Gone To Heaven (Move)

Guntarski's Rotation (9/27/05)

My ADD must be kicking in as I needed a new rotation after one day this week:





Grant Lee Hitchcock - 10/16/00 (Disc 1)
Chickasaw Mudd Puppies - White Dirt
Billy Bragg - Worker's Playtime
Lemonheads - Hate Your Friends
Jack Logan - Bulk (Disc 1)

Forgotten Band of the Day: Chickasaw Mudd Puppies

This was the official bio that accompanied the White Dirt EP. It was 3 sheets, printed on paper that looked like burlap (matching the album cover)

BAND: Chickasaw Mudd Puppies, a duo from Athens, Georgia

MEMBERS: Ben Reynolds (guitar) and Brant Slay (vocals, harmonica, stomp-board, other homemade percussion).

EP TITLE: White Dirt is a native medicine, as southern as the Mudd Puppies' music, made from kaolin, a type of clay found in Kaopectate and also used in ceramics.

PRODUCERS: Michael Stipe of R.E.M. and John Keane.

INFLUENCES: "We're both really passionate about Chess records: Bo Diddley, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters," says Reynolds. "Another big influence is the Lomax's prison songs. Our music has a tinge of blues, but it's not our intention to do straight blues. It's an amalgamation: blues, country, and rockabilly, plus Skynrd and Ted Nugent, maybe a few other bands-from-hell we used to like." "I've been more influenced by the old porch musicians of the south," adds Slay. "There's also a heavier side beyond the blues, a visual approach, like Tom Waits, where we create characters and a set for people to become a part of." You'll also hear a weird sense of humor underneath the swampwater vocals of "Mclntosh" and the Dr.-Seuss-meets-Blue Velvet lyrics of "Sailor Beat The Blood Out." Could the band's thorny riffs and irregular, frenzied approach to the blues also have been inspired by Captain Beefheart? "I'm not really familiar with him," says Reynolds.

HISTORY: "I had no musical talent at all and still don't, really," says Slay. "I'd never played an instrument at all." Rarely has a band been formed with less musical expertise. After a friend gave him a sack of harmonicas, Brant taught himself to play the harp. Reynolds played bass in high school bands, but hadn't played since then. The two were more active in visual arts: Reynolds, a photographer, made limited pressings of books with original prints, while Slay studied sculpture and did installation work.

EARLY SHOWS: "We'd have juke parties at my house in Athens," says Slay. "People'd come over and I'd dress my house up strange: old window panes, dried plants, wheat, old straw, car hoods, rusty objects. It added to the visual imagery of our music." A percussionist who later left the band played an empty popcorn bucket with nails driven into it ("for a snare-drum effect," Slay explains), plus a stovepipe, a log, sheet metal and various tins. "We did our five songs, three times each," he says. "The beer lured people to come hear us play.

PUBLIC SHOWS: "We never had any intention of doing anything except play at Brant's house," says Reynolds. Then they had an offer to play in a local club, and to make themselves more comfortable, they brought their stage; decorations with them. "Club owners usually say 'WOW!' Then they ask, 'Are you going to clean this up?'"says Reynolds. The stage show has evolved over time: "Quilts, that's our newest thing," says Slay.

BAND NAME: Don't be shy, everyone asks. While driving to New Orleans for a working vacation, their car broke down near the Chickasaw River in Alabama. "Two flat tires. At four a.m. in a deep bayou fog," says Reynolds. At least that's the story this week.

FUTURE PLANS: Releasing a full-length album produced by Michael Stipe and blues legend Willie Dixon, author of classic songs for Wluddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter and Bo Diddley. "When we first met Willie, we didn't do much talking because we were so nervous," says Reynolds. "He's a great guy and he made us feel real comfortable real quick. We weren't sure he would be apt to experiment with our music. But like Michael, he was really experimental."

RECEPTION: "Most of the crowds that aren't familiar with us stand back for the first three songs going 'What the hell?' Then they just get into the music,"' says Reynolds. "I know we've done a really good show when I can hardly breathe afterwards and my guitar's bloody." "We were surprised that people dance to this," adds Slay. "We didn't realize it would be such a dance music thing. But I guess you really can't help yourself, ifs got a pretty good upbeat feel to it."

Guntarski's Heavy Rotation (9/26/05)

The Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me
The Smiths - Best...I
The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
Ben Folds - Indianapolis (3/3/02)
R.E.M. - Fables of the Reconstruction

Anything's possible at Bern's weekend shows

By J. MARK DUDICK
Daily News correspondent

Published: September 24, 2005
Last Modified: September 24, 2005 at 08:46 PM

Eons before Nazi stormtroopers twisted and perverted the symbol toward their evil purposes, the swastika stood for health, wealth and happiness. After more than 60 years, Dan Bern, a Jew of Lithuanian descent, is restoring the ancient symbol to its original intent.

In "The Swastika Song," he sings of a white one to give to his bride, a black one his uncle dyed, a green one for football (a Notre Dame sign) and a pink one signaling gay pride.

And the chorus goes something like this:

"Well it stands for John, Paul, George and Ringo/ stands for Groucho, Harpo, Zeppo and Chico/ looks like four sevens, which is 28/ which is half of Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak/ My little swastika/ my little swastika/ you can do what you want/ but I'm taking it back/ it's not your anymore/ It's mine now."

As any of Bern's avid Anchorage fans know, this sensitive and disturbing issue isn't the first or his last undertaking. Other irreverent tunes ranging from sports to terrorists grapple with "music to beat Bush by," a new messiah, high-school shootings, Pete Rose and Tiger Woods, the Oklahoma bombing, Marilyn Monroe, alien abduction, chick singers and the "Talkin' Al Kida Blues."

In a recent phone interview from his home in New Mexico, Bern -- in his usual reedy, doleful lion voice -- said to expect the unexpected for his shows at Snow Goose Theatre this weekend. After several years of nonstop touring, the singer-songwriter took off a chunk of time to let his mind and body heal.

Next, Bern quickly touted his opening act, Hamell on Trial. Both performers have opened for Ani DiFranco, and Hamell wowed a small Anchorage crowd earlier this year.

"He'll come out with great intensity," Bern said. "He's not like anything an audience has seen before."

Indeed, Blender magazine gushed: "Hamell hasn't lost his knack for describing true crime and evoking existential outrage … no folk-punk or anti-punk plays harder or louder."

Added Bern: "I'd leave my couch to go see him."

It's also on that couch that he's written a pile of new songs, which he'll try out in Anchorage and later in November take into the recording studio. That scenario makes predicting a set list kind of difficult, he warned.

"That's why I'm coming up there."

The writing part's no problem. Sure, it's a solitary, individual endeavor full of pitfalls and strange self-revelations, Bern said.

"I used to think I was happiest when I wrote. But that's not true. I mostly write when I'm unhappy."

And he could come up with 10 songs a day just from perusing the newspaper. But eventually quantity yields to quality, and he'll question the timelessness of his work and the risks involved.

"People like John Lennon and Ray Charles wrote from the inside of their hearts. We all feel. The challenge for a songwriter is to tap into those feelings."

But some songs are timeless and might not grab folks the first time. And some songs might sound better with a full band. Until they're played in front of a crowd, something in the process isn't complete, Bern said.

"You have to play it to find out how it feels."

The new tunes veer into uncharted territory because for the last five years -- especially since 9/11 -- Bern has preached politics in what he calls "positive, uplifting ways."

"The election seemed like such a necessary opportunity, I put all other songs on the back burner."

As mentioned, one EP, "My Country II" (2004), featured music to help defeat President George W. Bush's run for re-election. To that extent, Bern chronicled overheard conversations at gas stations, in diners and at concerts, and he felt optimistic that the right candidate would win. Now, soldiers are dying in war and people are drowning because government officials botch hurricane-disaster relief. What's happening is clear as day, Bern said.

"Those guys in Washington, they're the evilest politicians to ever get elected."

During the incessant touring, Bern also wrote a novel, "Quitting Science" (2004), under the pseudonym of Cunliffe Merriwether. The book extends Bern's sometimes raunchy 5- to 8-minute storytelling to a 319-page picaresque romp. He wrote it in order to survive. What else can you do on the road while cooped up in a van for days and months on end, Bern explained.

Like most of his creative musings -- onstage or in print -- the result proved more than he anticipated.

"It took me by surprise. I only started out to write a short story."

Freelancer J. Mark Dudick lives and writes in Anchorage.

Athens, Ga.'s rock history draws tourists, stumps preservationists

By DOUG GROSS, Associated Press
September 25, 2005

ATHENS, Ga. — The rusty, tin roof is still standing, but not much else remains of the so-called Love Shack, made famous by the B-52s' 1980s pop music hit.

There's just a steeple left from the church where one of the world's biggest bands, R.E.M., once lived, recorded and threw rollicking all-night parties.

Other landmarks in a town some say still boasts the world's highest per-capita number of rock musicians are long gone or threatened by projects ranging from new apartment complexes to extra parking spaces for college football tailgaters.

Still, the tourists flock to Athens to see them.

Every year visitors from as far away as Japan arrive in this college town of about 100,000, looking for their own slice of the scene that has launched R.E.M., the B-52s, Widespread Panic and hundreds, if not thousands, of other bands.

"We get people who come take pictures of the steeple or take small rocks from the base of it," said Bob Sleppy, director of the nonprofit music resource center Nuci's Space. "There are people who go to the cemetery still to see (former B-52s guitarist) Ricky Wilson's grave. There were people who went to Allen's (a defunct diner mentioned in the B-52s "Deadbeat Club") to eat a greasy cheeseburger just to say they were there."

At the Athens Welcome Center, officials say at least 10 percent of the 1,100 visitors who stop in each month are in town strictly because of the music scene. They estimate thousands more music tourists visit on their own and others who arrive to live, work or attend the University of Georgia first heard about the town through its rock legacy.

"We had two women from Germany in here last week and one of them said, 'The reason we've come to Athens is because of R.E.M.,'" said George Granade, who has volunteered at the welcome center since he retired in 1998.

IF YOU GO

ATHENS (GA.) MUSIC LANDMARKS: The Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau offers an itinerary for a self-guided tour of local music landmarks online at www.visitathensga.com/music—tour.cfm, or call (800) 653-0603 for help in planning a trip.
ATHENS MUSIC: www.athensmusic.net.

ATHFEST: Festival scheduled for June 22-25, 2006; www.athfest.com or (706) 548-1973.

40 WATT CLUB: 285 W. Washington St.; www.40watt.com or (706) 549-7871. Previous locations at 171 College Ave., 100 College Ave., 382 E. Broad St., and 256 W. Clayton St.

LOVE SHACK: Cabin that inspired the B-52s song burned down but was located off Jefferson River Road.

NUCI'S SPACE: 396 Oconee St.; www.nuci.org or (706) 227-1515.

ST. MARY'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH: 394 Oconee St. Only the steeple remains of this church building where R.E.M. lived, practiced and played.

RICKY WILSON GRAVESITE: Oconee Hills Cemetery.

WEAVER D's DELICIOUS FINE FOODS: 1016 E. Broad St., (706) 353-7797. Open Monday-Saturday, 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. The restaurant's "Automatic For the People" slogan became the title of an R.E.M. album.

WUXTRY RECORDS: 197 E. Clayton St., (706) 369-9428. Music memorabilia on display. Open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.


But some locals fear the landmarks of a music scene that exploded into the consciousness of the nation and world in the 1980s are disappearing.

Visitors can still eat at Weaver D's Delicious Fine Foods, the soul food eatery with the "Automatic For the People" slogan that inspired the name of a 1992 R.E.M. album. They can check out bands at the famous 40 Watt Club — albeit in its sixth location since it opened in 1978 — and take a walking tour of spots where seminal acts such as Pylon, Love Tractor and Guadalcanal Diary once performed.

The years haven't been kind to other spots.

In December, fire gutted a five-room cabin on the outskirts of town where the B-52s' Kate Pierson once lived, and which is considered the inspiration for the group's Top 40 hit "Love Shack."

"The Church," where R.E.M. lived, recorded and appeared in the 1986 documentary "Athens, Ga.: Inside/Out," was torn down in 1990 to make way for condominiums. The steeple is all that remains of the old St. Mary's Episcopal Church. It's beginning to crumble and owners of the Steeplechase Condominiums have found no takers willing to adopt the landmark, with its liability concerns and thousands of dollars in needed repairs.

"There's a real sense of urgency," said Jeff Montgomery, co-owner of athensmusic.net and a member of the government-backed Athens Music History Project. "That thing is starting to show its age."

After years of haggling, the Athens-Clarke County government bought a historic railroad trestle pictured on the cover of R.E.M.'s 1983 album "Murmur." They plan to incorporate it into a series of bike and hiking trails, but some supporters feel Tailgate Junction, a parking area being built nearby for Georgia Bulldog football fans, threatens the site's appeal and the integrity of the old trestle.

In a town where they say you can't swing a guitar without hitting a musician, plenty of individuals and groups are taking their own small cracks at preserving and promoting Athens' rock history.

Sleppy, the Nuci's Space director, heads the Athens Music Preservation Society, which seeks to archive obscure and hard-to-find recordings of the town's music scene. AthFest, an annual summer music and arts festival, frequently features historic exhibits and early plans have been made for a "Walk of Fame," with plaques noting sites significant to the town's rock history.

But few of the groups have coordinated their efforts and none have the big money backing for projects such as an official rock history museum, which has been discussed for years.

"It sort of ebbs and flows," Montgomery said of the Athens Music History Project. "We're a little bit dormant now."

He says the group has talked about an official repository for music memorabilia, but the discussions have never gotten far. "That's something that's always on the back burner that we'd like to see down the road, but right now it's not extremely tenable for us to do," Montgomery said.

The closest the town has now is an annex at Wuxtry Records — a downtown landmark in its own right since 1976 — which owner Dan Wall has dubbed the Athens Music Museum.

The modest space, which Wall opens several days a week, features rare albums and CDs, posters promoting classic Athens music shows and other items, such as copies of the first T-shirts ever made for R.E.M. and the B-52s.

"It started out as just a little showcase of Athens music," Wall said. "That case multiplied and multiplied until we couldn't keep up with it and became so overflowing we had to get an entire building for it."

Tourism officials in Athens say the benefits of music tourism are clear. Folks who flock to town pay for hotel rooms, meals, cocktails and souvenirs. But they say the prospects of getting government money to restore old sites or build new ones seem slim.

"There's a disconnect between music heritage and the history of the community," said Art Jackson, executive director of the Athens Downtown Development Authority. "It falls through the cracks."

Still, those devoted to preserving the town's musical past remain optimistic.

"We all have a very strong desire to not forget the past," Sleppy said. "We understand that change happens, but to just disregard the past is something we all want to make sure doesn't happen."

Rape Me: Lost Nirvana Tracks To Be Released On New Rarities Album

Posted by stereoboard on September 24, 2005 at 04:19:51 PM

Three long lost Nirvana tracks will be released later this year on a new rarities album.

The three unreleased tracks are 'Spank Thru' (Faecal Matter), 'Sappy' (Endino-produced demo) and 'Come As You Are' (boombox).

Courtney Love, the widow of Kurt Cobain, and his teenage daughter Frances Bean personally selected the songs for the rarities album, 'Sliver', which is set for release on October 31st.

Peter Asher, who manages Courtney Love, told Rolling Stone: "Courtney and I involve Frances in Nirvana / Kurt decisions whenever we can. She's very perceptive and has cool ideas."

The 22-track CD will feature demo versions of hits and material from the iconic grunge band's 'With The Lights Out' box set, which was released last year.

Tracklisting for 'Sliver' is as follows:

Spank Thru (Faecal Matter)
Heartbreaker (first Nirvana show)
Mrs. Butterworth (band demo)
Floyd The Barber (live)
Clean Up Before She Comes (home demo)
About A Girl (home demo)
Sappy (Endino-produced demo)
Blandest (Endino-produced demo)
Ain't It A Shame (The Jury)
Lithium (KAOS/Calvin Johnson)
Opinion (KAOS/Calvin Johnson)
Sliver (home demo)
Smells Like Teen Spirit (boombox)
Come As You Are (boombox)
Old Age (Nevermind outtake)
Oh the Guilt (Touch and Go single)
Rape Me (solo acoustic)
Rape Me (band demo)
Heart Shaped Box (Rio demo)
Do Re Mi (home demo w/ Pat Smear)
You Know You're Right (solo acoustic)
All Apologies (solo acoustic)

Rock star goes downhill after being 'dumped'

By Pete Paphides and Joanna Bale

PETE DOHERTY, the drug-addicted rock star said to have been dumped by Kate Moss in an attempt to clean up her image, is in a rapid decline as he drowns his sorrows, according to friends. Plumbing new depths in rock and roll excess, he disgusted many fans when he vomited on stage in Greenock, near Glasgow, on Wednesday night after swigging vodka as he performed his second sell-out gig of a British tour. The 26-year-old Babyshambles frontman also spat and swore, hurled a microphone stand and threw orange juice over photographers.

Friends say that they barely recognise the talented musician and songwriter whose behaviour has become increasingly bizarre in recent weeks due to his on-off romance with the model.

On Thursday night, after a gig in Aberdeen, he began swearing and spraying beer at photographers while stripped to the waist and tried to push his way through fans to attack them.

Last Saturday he caused havoc on an easyJet flight back from a trip to Ibiza by abusing fellow passengers and even trying to light a cigarette. Friends eventually succeeded in calming him down. During the trip, he allegedly smashed up a villa, causing £50,000 damage, and went on 24-hour binges.

Friends say that his break-up with Moss may be the last straw for him as he struggles to live up to his glory days as the Libertines frontman.

If Babyshambles’ recent single Fuck Forever is anything to go by, Doherty might have made his decision a long time ago. Equating death with glory, the song firmly pins its creator’s colours to the mast of Rimbaudian excess at a time when his only remaining friends seem happy to join him for this final chaotic ride. Even the NME which, last year, deemed him the “coolest man in rock” ha s muted its coverage of Doherty. Babyshambles’ debut album was originally pencilled in for a summer release.

With the sessions having failed to yield enough releasable material, questions over Doherty’s ability to produce songs that live up to his reputation have merely magnified.

Fitzroy Simpson, 23, who has known Doherty since the early days of the Libertines said: “The thing about Babyshambles is that they’re not very good. His voice is beginning to go, and that last single [Fuck Forever] was a bit embarrassing.”

In any other profession, Doherty would have long since worn out the patience of even the most forbearing employer. But in rock’n’roll, where the ability to talk a good song can sometimes obscure the ability to perform, it’s not quite so straightforward.

Doherty’s transformation from indie-poet to walking car crash has been under way for a while now. On Babyshambles’ website, fans argue the moral whys and wherefores of that now familiar concert chant, “We love Pete! We love Pete”.

The subtext is clear. The more wasted he gets, the more a section of his fanbase loves it.

Should we sympathise with the singer at the centre of it all? Inasmuch as Doherty seems to have fallen prey to his own naivety, perhaps we should. Turning up for his disastrous Live 8 appearance in July, he looked like a man besotted by his own myth, posing and pouting in front of the same tabloid photographers that he has recently taken to attacking. He continues to drink (and, occasionally, perform) at the Boogaloo Bar in Highgate, North London, even though paparazzi perpetually lie in wait.

To fans, the gradual evaporation of the Doherty they remember is too sad to be a part of. One follower tells a story about a friend whose sister was a mentally and physically handicapped Libertines fan. Unannounced, the singer turned up at her house and played an impromptu show. “What people liked about him was the fact that he wouldn’t do things like the average rock star.”

White Stripes succeed with what shouldn't work

By Timothy Finn
Of The Kansas City Star

KANSAS CITY, Mo. | How do you explain what seems so inexplicable — the success of the White Stripes?

Steven Van Zandt chooses one word and then issues a disclaimer: ''It's a phenomenon,'' said Van Zandt, who hosts a syndicated radio show when he's not playing guitar in the E Street Band or pretending to be a gangster in ''The Sopranos.''

''Unfortunately you can't use them as an example of anything other than they're a part of this contemporary garage-rock movement.''

Well, sort of. The White Stripes did emerge several years ago when other bands were reviving and recycling certain sounds of the 1960s.

But the Stripes' sound was something completely different. In fact, their take on American blues has much more in common with '70s British rock bands, especially Led Zeppelin, than with any of the ''neo-Nuggets'' bands.

But the Stripes aren't Led Zeppelin either; if they were, they might get played a lot on classic-rock radio instead of only the indie/alternative stations that love them so.

Listen to their latest single, ''Blue Orchid,'' next to Zeppelin's ''Black Dog'' and you get the feeling John Bonham could eat Jack White for lunch and then pick his teeth with Meg.

Zeppelin was an epic rock band overstocked with virtuosos and egos. The Stripes are something else. In a recent New Yorker review, critic Sasha Frere-Jones called the Stripes' newest record a ''Led Zeppelin album without the pleasure principle.''

True enough, but it's not really pertinent. The Stripes are a phenomenon for reasons that have little to do with who they sound like or don't sound like or which eras they draw their sound from. Some of those reasons make perfect sense, and most concern Jack White, who is arguably the biggest young rock star on the planet and the closest thing we've come to Kurt Cobain in 10 years.

Why? Chalk it up to a guitar virtuosity in the league of Jimmy Page's, a personae that mixes charisma and machismo, a singing voice that gives mainstream music the finger, an unwillingness to stand still and deliver merely what's expected of him, an absorption in several forms of vintage American music, and the ability to contrive a mystique about his band that somehow falls well short of pretense and self-indulgence.

If the Stripes' success is indeed a phenomenon, it's one built on two primary components: music and myth — lots of black magic and a few white lies.

Meg White gets lots of love in the music media, but she gets some heavy grief, too, mostly because she isn't in Jack's league when it comes to being a musician or vocalist.

In her review of ''Get Behind Me Satan,'' critic Frere-Jones affords her no apology or slack: ''Meg White may be his muse, best friend or soul mate, and she exudes a steady and positive energy on stage, but she is a lousy drummer and only a passable singer.'' She then goes on to wonder why Jack White doesn't replace her with a certain jazz-trained musician who has played with Lenny Kravitz.

If she's serious about that proposal, then she seems to have missed a point about this band and how it seduces its ever-growing fan base. Jack White may be the brightest guitar star of his generation, but the Stripes are about something other than his hellacious riffs and their songs, which, if broken down into music components, aren't all that brilliant or dynamic. Even one of their best and most popular songs, ''Seven Nation Army,'' is built around a rugged, shotgun-shack frame, then embellished with vocal histrionics and heavy guitar decor and plenty of attitude.

Or take ''My Doorbell'' from the new album, a song widely described as one of the Stripes' catchiest — as pop, even, as something Paul McCartney would write. It does have a simple pop bounce to it, like a jingle in an air-freshener commercial or the theme to a TV show, but its melody is primitive and unimaginative.

As a lyricist, White is in a category of his own — as wry, witty and clever as he can be tragic, sarcastic and romantic. As a melodist and a song craftsman, though, he is several bus stops shy of Tin Pan Alley. But none of that is exactly the point either. ''Doorbell'' is significant because it is both surprising and contrary, mostly because it features White on piano, not electric guitar. In fact, he spends most of ''Satan'' playing something other than the instrument that has made him famous, including the marimba. Imagine Eddie trying to pull that off on a Van Halen album.

The fascination arises from other, more superficial facets: the strict red/white/black fashions (in clothes and stage sets); the disparate women in Jack's real and fictional lives (Meg, Holly Golightly, Loretta Lynn, Renee Zellweger and now his supermodel wife); the refusal to do many interviews; and certain little lies and myths, including the joke that Jack sustains and fans continue to go along with — that Meg (his ex-wife) is his sister.

''Satan'' also separates itself from the other Stripes albums, especially its predecessor, the Grammy-winning ''Elephant,'' by playing games with something other than the most primitive form of black American music, the Delta blues. ''Little Ghost'' is a country-blues ditty that bounces and sways like a wagon on two broken wheels; and ''I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet)'' is an austere and creaky piano ballad that borrows its lyric theme from the Hank Williams tradition (and most of its title from a well-known Dwight Yoakam ballad); and then there's the spooky ''The Nurse,'' Jack's debut on the marimba — the one instrument, his up-to-date resume now declares, he didn't teach himself how to play.

Meg's sloppiness as a drummer and her weaknesses as a singer burnish Jack's idealized version of the truth: that music is about immediacy, about capturing a live moment, not about perfecting it with lots of formal lessons and theory, recording it laboriously and then airbrushing it with expensive technology. Jack is a do-it-yourself/indie rocker at heart, so he wants his music to sound homemade and unprocessed.

In the end, the Stripes demonstrate on ''Satan'' that they can swim without a few vital organs and limbs: without Jack's infernal guitar on every cut, without a strict diet of deranged rock blues, without a drummer who knows her meters and can handle her fills. Conversely they proved the one thing they can't survive without is each other. They need Meg's novelty as much as they do Jack's talent and magnetism and knack for choreographing and constructing his band's image. Next to her, he seems larger, more heroic, more in command and more humane. With a jazz-schooled drummer behind him, they'd sound tighter and cleaner and better technically, but they'd be something completely different and much less interesting. And therein lies the phenomenon.

It's the End of the World (Alternative Version)

Not quite as good as the original:

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The Long Winters at Stinkweeds!!!

I will buy you a beer! The fabulous Long Winters from Seattle are in town next Wednesday (the 28th) to play a free show for us at the Tempe store. It's their only Phoenix show this time around! They record for indie label Barsuk, home of Death Cab For Cutie, John Vanderslice and Nada Surf, and Death Cab’s Chris Walla plays on their records, but that doesn’t quite nail down their sound. It might be power pop a la New Pornographers, but there’s some Flaming Lips in there, too. Suffice it to say that if you like tuneful songcraft with catchy melodies that aren’t too obvious or overly sugary, you’ll love The Long Winters. We’ll also have exclusive stock on their yet-to-be-released new EP Ultimatum, which isn’t out until October, so you can get one early and get it signed by the band!

Seriously, they played at Modified last year and it was one of the best shows I have ever seen there. And no, I am not exaggerating! I am serious about the beer, too...if you are old enough there will be a free beer for you. This show is really important to us, so come on down and help us enjoy it. It's at 7PM and it's free...

http://www.thelongwinters.com/

Guntarski's Heavy Rotation

I've been offsite training for the past two weeks so my rotation has been limited. I have been treating any passengers in my Nissan-mobile to the musical stylings of Dan Bern.

Billy Bragg - Futbol Athems

17 September 2005

By Billy Bragg (from the Mirror UK)

WATCHING the crowd in Trafalgar Square celebrating the Ashes win, I couldn't help but be amazed at how quickly the flag of St George has replaced the Union Jack in the affections of England fans.

A generation ago, England games looked a lot like Last Night of the Proms, with the red, white and blue firmly to the fore. Now, it seems, the English have begun to remember who they are.

I believe this trend began during Euro 96, when England were drawn in the same group as their Scottish neighbours.

When the Scots came to Wembley, England fans were suddenly made aware that, no matter how attached to it they felt, the Union Jack wasn't actually their flag. It belonged to the British.

Faced with this dilemma, they remembered England had its own flag, the flag of St George, which has now replaced the Union Jack at all English sporting events.

This didn't happen because someone in power decided it should. The fans, realising the Union Jack no longer represented them as England supporters, made the change.

Now we've reclaimed our own flag, isn't it time we had our own national anthem? Isn't God Save the Queen the musical equivalent of the Union Jack?

When England played Wales in Cardiff recently, I felt a bit envious of the Welsh who sang their own national anthem.

I'VE no idea what the words of Hen Wlad fy Nhadau actually mean, but I know what they say: They say "We're Welsh. We love our country. It's called Wales."

By contrast, the sight of the England team singing the British national anthem suggests we aren't really sure who we are, that maybe we're not yet mature enough to be trusted with our own anthem.

Now the Ashes series has drawn attention to the one song capable of doing the job - William Blake's Jerusalem.

You only had to see the tens of thousands of England fans singing it with the victorious men's - and women's - cricket teams in Trafalgar Square to make the case for adoption.

But Jerusalem has so much more going for it. Firstly, and this is a no-brainer, it mentions the name of our country whereas God Save The Queen, Rule Britannia, Land of Hope and Glory, and Swing Low, Sweet Chariot don't.

Secondly, Jerusalem is rich with sporting metaphors. The opening line, "And did those feet in ancient time" immediately conjures up memories of Bobby Moore, Martin Johnson and WG Grace leading England out on to the pitch.

Doesn't "the countenance divine" make you think of Kelly Holmes' face as she crossed the finishing line to win gold at the Athens Olympics?

And couldn't Beckham and his millionaire buddies have done with a few of those "arrows of desire" against Northern Ireland last week?

Jerusalem would also make a great anthem for England because it's a song about idealism.

While the Scottish anthem, Flower of Scotland, goes on about beating the English 600 years ago, Jerusalem talks of the future, of fighting for something yet to be achieved "till we have built Jerusalem in England's green and pleasant land".

SOME detractors have sarcastically asked why should we want to built a Middle Eastern city in England. Duh! Blake isn't talking literally. Again, he is using mystical imagery.

His metaphorical Jerusalem is an aspiration, an ideal we should aim for as a nation, be it in sport or in society as a whole. "I shall not cease from mental fight, nor shall my sword sleep in my hand", the closing lines are actually saying, until we have achieved this glorious aim in England's green and pleasant land.

After all, Hubert Parryoriginally set Blake's poem to music for a a rally in support of the Votes for Women campaign in 1918. The Women's Institute adopted it later.

Devoid of the jingoism that makes so many good tunes from that time sound dreadfully dated, Jerusalem's radical roots make it relevant to everyone in modern England. So how can we make it a glorious national anthem for England?

Well, the cricket fans have given us a rousing start. And on Monday night at the West Ham versus Aston Villa Premiership clash at Upton Park, football fans spontaneously sang it to mark the Ashes win.

Let's keep that going. Rugby fans should dispense with the embarrassing renditions of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot - originally sung ironically after a black player scored a hat-trick of tries, let's not forget - and adopt Jerusalem too.

As for God Save The Queen, let's sing that when Her Majesty is actually present, or when a Great Britain team is representing us all. It's a very special song for those occasions when we - the Scots, the Welsh, the Northern Irish and the English - are all on the same side.

When we are supporting England, we should sing our own song. We were the only team at the last World Cup without its own national anthem.

It's time that changed. And Blake's Jerusalem fits the bill.

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen?
And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark Satanic Mills?
Bring me my Bow of burning gold:
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire.
I shall not cease from Mental Fight
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green & pleasant Land.

New Folds Release

On the heels of his second solo LP Songs for Silverman, released last spring, Ben Folds has put out a 28-track album of live and studio recordings, including speaking tracks in which he explains the origins of his music and his background as a musician. The album was made in conjunction with iTunes, and has been made available exclusively through the iTunes online music store.

iTunes Originals - Ben Folds features a variety of new recordings from different periods in the 39-year-old artist's musical career, ranging from "Philosophy," the second track off Ben Folds Five's self-titled first album, to "Landed," the hit single off of Songs for Silverman. There are eight new recordings in total, in addition to eight reproduced recordings from previous albums.

While the new recordings are intriguing to Folds fans who are bored of listening to the same versions of their favorite songs, very few of them offer anything new to the listener. For the most part, the recordings contain the same melodies, harmonies, and tempos as their previous incarnations (although the songs from Folds' days with Five have noticeably cleaner harmony parts).

The most notable exceptions to this rule are "Philosophy" and "Bastard." "Philosophy," known for its wild altro in which Folds manically quotes Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" before attempting to splinter the keys with his fists, is lengthened to include an extended altro in which Folds also plays several rapid bars in a blues scale before ending with a frenzied adaptation of "Chopsticks."

Though the new ending is fun, the rest of the song is perceptibly less energetic than the Ben Folds Five recording. This seems to fit in with a trend in Folds' music, which, since he began his solo career, has sacrificed intemperate, rough-edged energy for a smoother, more refined sound.

"Bastard" features an updated bridge characterized by elaborate vocal harmonies, a revision that Folds incorporated into live shows during his tour last summer.

But the draw of this album is not the music. While Folds' lyrics have always been extraordinarily honest and conversational, iTunes Originals' speaking tracks give the listener the opportunity to hear Folds talk candidly about his childhood, his introduction to music, and the people and events in his life that inspired his most poignant compositions, unconfined by the poetic limits of lyricism.

At the beginning of the album, Folds talks about his first incidences of exposure to music.

"There was no live music...no musical instruments in my house as a kid," he says. His family's first piano was acquired incidentally by Folds' father, to whom it was bartered as payment for a remodeling job his client could not afford.

This type of compensation was not uncommon for Folds' dad, who did much of his work in the poorer, predominantly African-American parts of town, where his clients, many of them fans of R&B, often paid him in vinyl albums. Young Ben was the beneficiary of these exchanges, accumulating a formidable collection of R&B albums, including those by Ike and Tina Turner, Otis Redding, and Sly and the Family Stone.

Folds attributes his understanding of music as a celebratory art to his early R&B influences.

Noticeable throughout his entire body of work has been Folds' tendency to paint lyrical portraits of made-up people. With regard to this motif of character-based songs, he describes it on one of the iTunes Originals tracks as a way to "write about yourself without being emotionally lewd." A pleasant, simpler recording of his song "Alice Childress" follows this explanation.

As any Folds fan would expect, the most candid speaking track, entitled "A Really Tough Year," provides an in-depth discussion of the background for his band's first pop hit, "Brick." While it is common knowledge among Folds fans that the song is about an abortion, it is fascinating to hear Folds explain exactly how literally the lyrics reflect the reality of the subject matter. The most poignant moment of the track is when Folds recalls his parents walking into a pawn shop and seeing him trying to sell the cassette player his whole family had collaborated to buy him as a Christmas gift. Folds needed the money to pay for his girlfriend's procedure.

While iTunes Originals - Ben Folds offers very little in the way of musical novelty, it is essential to the collection of any Folds enthusiast, and useful to anyone who wants to know the underpinnings of his music.

Welcome to Ralph's World

It's doubtful that Ralph Covert's old pop/rock band the Bad Examples could have sold out Chicago's 8,000-seat Ravinia in its heyday. But in Covert's second life as a children's music performer, Ralph's World filled the place recently, and he's going to play an even bigger show in New York City soon.

It seems both kids and parents are attracted to the rock 'n' roll chops, goofy lyrics and sunny demeanor of a Ralph's World show. Covert and crew will be at the Barrymore Theatre, 2090 Atwood Ave. at 11 a.m. Saturday to play songs off the new "Green Gorilla Monster and Me" CD. Tickets are $15.50 for parents and $10.50 for children 10 and under, available through the Barrymore and its outlets, by calling 241-8633, and visiting www.barrymorelive.com.

Guntarski's Heavy Rotation

Love Pickle - September Compilations
Ben Folds Five - Ben Folds Five
Ben Folds Five - Whatever and Ever Amen
Ralph's World - Happy Lemons
Ralph's World - At the Bottom of the Sea

TENACIOUS D AND FRIENDS CONCERT FOR KATRINA RELIEF 9/22

Tenacious D and friends will perform on September 22nd at The Wiltern LG in Los Angeles, CA as part of a Concert For Katrina Relief. All net proceeds go to The American Red Cross.
Tickets go on-sale Friday at noon.
Line up and ticket details follow:

Concert For Katrina Relief
September 22nd
The Wiltern LG

Line-up:
Tenacious D and friends
Fiona Apple
Dave Grohl
Josh Homme with Jesse Hughes
David Cross
Sarah Silverman
And special guests

All net proceeds go to The American Red Cross.
Tickets on-sale Friday, September 16, at noon.
Tickets available through avalonattractions.com, ticketmaster.com, all ticketmaster outlets, The Wiltern LG box office, and charge by phone at: (213) 480-3232, (714) 740-2000 and (805) 583-8700

Get More On The D:
TenaciousD.com

Jello Biafra and the Melvins: Sieg Howdy!

Starting off album #2 with a heavier-than-life version of the Alice Cooper cult classic, “Halo of Flies,” an intricate tune that alternately slithers and crushes, the band then proceed to treat us to a completely different extended take of their tune “The Lighter Side of Global Terrorism” (Jello’s Hawkwind influence showed through when he asked the Melvins to create a take on the song similar to their cover of “Youth of America” by The Wipers). With the first two harrowing tracks clocking in at over fifteen minutes –this is not what you’d expect from a Jello record – steering into a more Melvinoid direction, but remaining distinctly separate from anything easily definable – far from a mishmash or outtakes collection, even the Jelvins were surprised at how well Sieg Howdy! flowed as an album.

Through the course of the album the band (yes, they sound like a proper band, not a “project!”) erupts with colors of its respective players in turns. Biafra’s spleen-venting rants “Voted off the Island” and “Those Dumb Punk Kids (Will Buy Anything)” are amongst his most acerbic (not to mention insightful!), and the Melvins’ cathartic drum and guitar workouts pummel brilliantly through “Lessons in What Not to Become” and the septic all bass-chug of Kevin Rutmanis (making his final appearance on vinyl with the Melvins on this album) and Buzzo that anchors “Wholly Buy Bull.”

Of course, the cherry on top is Jello and the lads ripping through a new, updated version of “Kalifornia Über Alles” – as sung by the Gropenführer himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger! With Jello’s unmistakable wit and even more distinctive punk-rock croon fully intact, it’s a breath of fresh air to hear a live Jello classic sound the way it was intended to for a change!

The album’s remaining remixed tracks serve to deepen the impression that what has been created throughout the course of this collaboration is the work of a band - A band whose songs have enough depth to remain interesting in new and sonic environs. Dalek’s chilling reworking of “Dawn of the Locusts” brings the song into a completely different light, and Al Jourgensen’s (Ministry) take on “Enchanted Thoughtfist” is so cold and almost new-wave-y that it works brilliantly. The tone of the track reaches waaay back into the Ministry back catalog, surprising even Al himself! Then the fresh new tag-team Deaf Nephews (Dale Crover and Toshi, the album’s engineer) reshape “Caped Crusader” into a disturbing cartoon version of itself to round out the record. The fact that these songs are open to this kind of interpretation, and that these interpretations work so well is a testament to the quality with which they were crafted in the first place.

Once again, the band is joined by Adam Jones from Tool on guitar for over half the tracks, and this time around, the stunning artwork is provided by none other than Camille Rose Garcia! 27 minutes of new and never before heard Jello Biafra and the Melvins and 17 minutes of remixed weirdness from the group’s friends has created a record that surpasses its predecessor in sheer sonic audacity and is an extremely satisfying listen in its own right. Whether you missed the boat the first time around, or you couldn’t get enough of Never Breathe What You Can’t See, it’s time to stand up, put your right hand over your heart, extend that middle finger, and say it loud – say it proud – SEIG HOWDY!

(1) Halo of Flies
(2) The Lighter Side of Global Terrorism (extended version)
(3) Lessons in What Not to Become
(4) Those Dumb Punk Kids (Will Buy Anything)
(5) Wholly Buy Bull
(6) Voted Off the Island
(7) Kaliförnia Über Alles (live)
(8) Dawn of the Locusts (March of the Locusts Deadhorse remix by Dälek)
(9) Enchanted Thoughtfist (Enchanted Al remix)
(10) Caped Crusader (Subway gas/Hello Kitty mix)

Love Pickle's Mix is in the House

I arrived home today from an extremely meeting-happy work schedule to find an envelope from Beech Grove, IN. Love Pickle has set the bar high with his September mix containing not only a CD of fantastic orginals but also a covers CD. I'm just about through the first CD. Standout tracks for me include Who Got My Natural Comb? by Ted Hawkins and Condi Condi by Steve Earle.

I can't wait to give the covers CD a spin. I have Andrew, Daniel and Manny's CDs. I'll bring them to work with the exception of Manny. That bastard has moved to fucking Hawaii. Once I get his address, I'll forward it on.

Great compilation, Steve, thanks. I'm looking forward to Emmet's August mix and Daniel's forthcoming October collection.

"W" Visits The Big Easy

Breaking News

Coming Soon to a Cave Near You!!!

Goth's founding fathers return to the stage for their first tour since 1998, reuniting with the same intense, haunting style that made Bauhaus one of the most popular groups of its era.

Mesa Amphitheatre on 11/30/05. Go to Ticketmaster to be raped over the coals so you can see this great show.

The Fab Faux

They were on Stern today and sounded incredible.

The Fab Faux are without a doubt the most musically satisfying Beatles tribute band on the scene today. Boasting the high visibility of TV star/musicians Will Lee from The Late Show with David Letterman and Jimmy Vivino from Late Night with Conan O'Brien; five strong lead vocalists (including Rich Pagano, Frank Agnello, Jack Petruzzelli) and a commitment to the accurate reproduction of The Beatles' repertoire; this is the band to see if you want to know what it might have been like if The Beatles toured behind their later albums (with a healthy portion of the early guitar-based stuff that most tribute bands play.) Imagine hearing complex material like "Strawberry Fields Forever", "I Am the Walrus", and "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite", performed in complete part-perfect renditions; or such harmony-driven songs as "Because", "Nowhere Man", and "Paperback Writer", reproduced not only note-for-note, but with extra vocalists available to achieve a double-tracked effect!
Since their formation in the spring of '98, the Fab Faux have created a buzz among Beatles fans in the New York City area; packing The Bowery Ballroom, Webster Hall, Irving Plaza, The Bottom Line, and The China Club with high energy shows; for an audience liberally sprinkled with fellow musicians, celebrities, and fans alike.

Apparently, people have taken notice, as the group was featured in a full-length profile on CNN that was broadcast all over the world on several of that network's programs; and participated in a CD of original material by Beatles tribute bands, recorded in London at Abbey Road Studios! Since August '99, the group has performed multiple times in Liverpool, England, where they play three shows each year for that city's annual Beatle Week festivities, including outdoor concerts for over 35,000 people on the Apple-sponsored Yellow Submarine and Let It Be stages.

So, for Beatles fans (and music fans), the choice is clear: If you want to hear songs recreated that were written, arranged, and performed with a genius and talent sadly missing from today's music scene; if you're too young to remember what all the fuss was about; or if you just want to see one of the best live rock bands performing today, look no further than The Fab Faux....

http://www.thefabfaux.com/

September Compilation

The September CD has been completed. Love Pickle will be sending it out later this week.

Guntarski's Heavy Rotation (week of 9/5/05)

Tom Waits - Small Change
Sublime - 40 Oz. To Freedom
Robyn Hitchcock - A Star For Bram
Various Artists - Tom Jones' July 2005 Compilation
Ray Condo & His Ricochets - Swing Brother Swing

Sean Penn: Humanitarian or Asshead

This artical seems like an outtake from Team America. Why the fuck does Sean Penn need a camera man when he is on a rescue mission? To make this post about the music, the soundtrack to Team America ruled!

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,16494464%5E1702,00.html

Songs For Silverman Review

Songs For Silverman
Ben Folds
Music from Sony
Release date: 26 April, 2005

Ben Folds really should be a poster child. The problem is, you'd need to show him in action.

There's no two ways about it. Folds looks like -- and probably is -- a piano nerd. If you see him perform live, though, you want to look at your kids and say, "That's why you should stick with the piano lessons!" Many people wouldn't imagine this smallish, bespectacled man playing so dynamically that it is like, as someone I know described it, "heavy metal piano."

Fortunately for us, Folds is more than just a talented pianist. He is equally adept at the too rare talent of songwriting. On Songs for Silverman, heavy metal piano gives way to a slightly more constrained set of songs that still point up his talents. Some of that constraint makes this one of those CDs that may not grab you on first listen, revealing nuances with each subsequent one.

About half the songs deal with the pains and joys of relationships in a variety of settings and from different viewpoints. Folds can be biting at times. For example, in "Give Judy My Notice," which initially appeared on one of three EPs Folds released via the Internet while working on Songs for Silverman, he says, "But Judy/I won't be your bitch anymore/And follow you around." Folds is not solely sharp-tongued, singing touchingly of his daughter on "Gracie." Equally heartfelt is "Late," an homage to singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, who committed suicide in 2003 at age 34:

Elliott, man, you played a fine guitar
And some dirty basketball
The songs you wrote
Got me through a lot
Just wanna tell you that
But it's too late
It's too late

Just as Folds uses vignettes of real life to examine the personal, he does the same in looking at broader subjects. For example, "Jesusland" touches on the contradictions of America's pride in its Christian ethics. Taking us through an American landscape with the "McMansions on a hill," Folds writes:

Town to town
Broadcast to each house they drop your name
But no one knows your face
Billboards quoting things you never said
You hang your head and pray
For Jesusland

And, as he did on his prior solo studio release, Rockin' the Suburbs (which had the misfortune of being released on September 11, 2001), Folds makes his listeners aware of the passage of time. In "Bastard," the opening cut, he reminds that "pretty soon you'll be an old bastard too."

Presented largely in trio format, Folds backs up his lyricism with his fully intact musical and tune crafting skills. The standard edition of Songs for Silverman comes in the Dual Disc format, a CD on one side and DVD on the other. While some have reported problems with this format, it does provide the benefit of a DVD with the music in 5.1 Surround Sound and a 25-minute documentary that gives glimpses of the making of the album, the artist's personality and his live performances. A special edition is also available that has an audio CD, a booklet and a separate 40-minute DVD.

If Songs for Silverman has problems, it is that it lacks some of the range and power of the absolutely tremendous Suburbs and his live performances. You could also be critical that "Give Judy My Notice" is the only tune making the transition from the EPs to this commercial release. Anyone familiar with the EPs likely could select songs from them (e.g., "There's Always Someone Cooler Than You") they prefer over a couple of the selections here (e.g., "Sentimental Guy" or "Prison Food"). That, however, does not change the fact Folds again displays the voices and emotion -- love, hate, humor, tenderness, sarcasm -- that make him one of America's finer and more versatile modern pop songwriters.

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Atom Films

This is a great site for movie shorts. http://www.atomfilms.com/af/content/atom_1295

Labor Day Heavy Rotation

Love and Rockets - Express
Beck - Odelay
The Committements - Soundtrack
John Prine - Great Days
R.E.M. - Dead Letter Office

Smells Like Paul Anka

From Stinkweeds Records. Paul Anka encourages you to enter this contest to win a trip to see him perform in Atlantic City in October. That’s right, he’s giving us round trip airfare for two, two tickets and two nights at the fabulous Borgata Hotel. While you’re scratching your head, thinking, PAUL ANKA!! What the hell? Check out his new record, ROCK SWINGS, an album that’s swings so hard it rocks. Paul’s version of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” will be the hit of this summer’s Bar Mitzvah parties.” For more details, go to www.thealliancerocks.com/promos/anka/

Interview: Henry Rollins

"Those who saddle themselves with the title of writer are in for a life of agony, whether they are good or not."

Henry Rollins fronted Black Flag from 1981 until 1986, and is a storyteller, author, actor and poet. He runs the publishing company 2.13.61, on which he has released over nine of his spoken word albums. Aside from publishing his own work, 2.13.61 is dedicated to publishing work by Joe Cole, Alan Vega, Nick Zedd, Nick Cave, and Michael Gira. Rollins is a passionate human rights activist and free-jazz fan. Virgin Books have recently re-published Black Coffee Blues.

What are you working on at the moment?
I am finishing a book called Roomanitarian. I am about 8 weeks from being done. I am working on it about 6 days a week now.

Do you listen to music as you write? If so, what?
A lot of writing I do is on planes and buses and on streets but when I am in a hotel room or off the road, I often listen to music. Usually a long playlist I have made on i-tunes of songs I know so I can hear them but not hear them. Sometimes when I am in proof or edit mode, I do better work without music. As far as the kind of music, usually vocal music but I have written a lot of stuff to Coltrane and Ayler.

Who are your favourite heroes in fiction?
Thomas Wolfe's Eugene Gant, Selby's Harry, Kafka's K. I don't read the amount of fiction I used to so I am a little rusty as to who I like in that area. I do keep coming back to Wolfe's second book Of Time and the River and Gant's maturing and dealing with the adult world as a young adult. I think I will read and re-read Wolfe for a long time. Same with F. Scott.

And villains?
All the villians I am currently reading about are real villians. Bush, Cheney, Stalin.

What are you reading in bed?
Re-reading Bulgakov's Master and Margarita, finishing up Steve Coll's Ghost Wars, reading a few pages of Velemir Khlebnikov's poetry a night and re-reading Malcom Cowley's very fine Exile's Return. I have Thorstein Veblen's The Theory of the Leisure Class lined up to start in on as well.

Are you are re-reader?
Absolutely. A lot of times the true greatness of a book is found in the re-read I think. Especially if you really like the writer, you can zero in on the mastery of the sentence, the character development. I re-read F. Scott Fitzgerald all the time.

Which literary character do you most identify with?
Wolfe's Eugene Gant.

One book you wish you had written, and why.
I wish I had written Ryszard Kapuscinski's Imperium. I greatly admire his clarity, his point of view. I have read all his work and am amazed at what he's been through and how he fields all that insane information. He is to me, a brilliant mind.

Which painting, or other piece of art, best describes you?
At least twenty of Francis Bacon's paintings.

Best cure for writer's block?
Never assume you're a writer. Just spend time writing or spend time not writing. There is no block if you're not a writer. You can just be a person with a pen who finds his or herself near some paper now and then. Those who saddle themselves with the title of writer are in for a life of agony, whether they are good or not.

Jojo and Harland Sanders

To tag on to Emmet and TJ's posts. Here is a list of concerts I can recall as well as an obviously manipulated photo of Jojo shortly after the the Colonol's death.

Bands I've seen: R.E.M., Social Distortion, The Replacements, Jonathan Richman, Morphine, Cheryl Crow, Ben Folds, Ben Folds Five, The Psychedelic Furs, Tom Jones, Ronnie Milsap, The Lupins, The Something Brothers, Rick Springfield, The Bad Examples, Eleventh Dream Day, Love & Rockets, The Bubbleman, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Billy Bragg, Black 47, Beck, Ray Condo, Mathew Sweet, Black Crows, Blues Traveler, Neil Young, Beastie Boys, Elvis Costello, New Order, PIL, Sugarcubes, Sex Pistols, Camper Van Beethoven, EMF, Connells, Dreams So Real, B-52s, Robyn Hitchcock, Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians, John Wesley Harding, Cure, Lemonheads, The Might Lemon Drops, Sarah MacLaughlin, Lenny Kravitz, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers,Lyle Lovett, Sting, Liz Phair, Dave Mathews Band, Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Smithereens, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Spinal Tap, Poi Dog Pondering, They Might Be Giants, Urge Overkill, Violent Femmes, The Frogs, View, White Stripes, Tori Amos, Ramones, Red Hot Chile Peppers, Georgia Satellites, Outfield, Starship, INXS, Del Feugos, The Bodeans, Morrissey, Guns & Roses,The Presidents of the United States of America, Radiohead, The Outfield, Starship, The Strokes, Cheap Trick, Ziggy Marley, etc...

Patrial List

Of Bands I've Seen:

AC/DC, Aerosmith, Al Yankovic, Anthrax, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Billy Joel, Black Sabbath, Bob Dylan, Boston, Cinderella, David Lee Roth, Debbie Gibson, Def Leppard, Dokken, Eric Clapton, Extreme, Frehley's Comet, Green Day, INXS, Iron Maiden, Jane's Addiction, John Cougar Mellencamp, Judas Priest, Kingdom Come, Kiss, Korn, Lenny Kravitz, Megadeth, Metallica, Michael Schenker Group, Motley Crue, Mudvayne, Pantera, Physical Graffiti, Poison, Queens of the Stone Age, Queensryche, Rush, Slash's Snakepit, Slaughter, Slipknot, Steve Morse, Stryper, Ted Nugent, Tesla, The Atomic Punks, The Beach Boys, The Black Crowes, The Cure, The Dead Milkmen, The Firm, The Rolling Stones, The Scorpions, The Who, TNT, U2, Van Halen, Warrant, White Lion, Whitesnake

I am sure there are more...