Burned By The Sun........

Coachella Set Times Up
Yeah, the LA Times has it, but you have to subscribe to the paper to see the arts coverage online. But, fear not, someone has posted it here.

I'm very relieved to see this. At first I thought Radiohead, Kraftwerk and Electric 6 were all playing at the very same time. And that Muse, the Thrills, and the Killers were all gonna be at the same time. That made me very angry.

Actually, I can see Radiohead, but I must choose between Kraftwerk and E6. And I can see Muse, see the Killers, and then catch part of the Thrills.

And I still can't believe Bright Eyes and Dizzee Rascal are at the exact same time.

Misc.

- I don't know if you guys have seen this or not, but there's a (non-torrent) Pixies bootleg (of their show in Minneapolis) here. It's definitely one of the better bootlegs I've heard lately.

- Here are some more Lollapalooza dates.

- Franz Ferdinand's frontman speaks out in favor of filesharing.

I gotta get out of here, but I wanted to mention:

Muse, May 5 @ Mayan Theater. Ticketmaster presale til 10pm. Password: DEVON. Regular onsale tomorrow morning.

BRMC, May 3 @ the Echo. Tickets on Ticketweb (they are listed as 'very special guests')
[thanks to Ambitious Outsiders]

Guess Who Wasn't Paying Attention?
I think everyone has seen the Coachella schedule but me. Thanks to everyone who emailed me and brought it to my attention.

Misc

- A new Beastie Boys track, "Ch-Check It Out" is available on the iTunes music store. Their entire back cataglogue is now on there as well. (Source: NME)

- CNN has an article about the new Loretta Lynn album. I've heard a few tracks so far and I'm loving them. I'll probably the album up next time I'm at Amoeba.

- Elliott Smith's last album, From the Basement on the Hill, is in the final mixing stages and should be released in the fall. (Source: Pitchfork)

- The Guardian talks to the Stills.

- When I got back from Coachella last year, I wrote myself some tips to remember for this year. Here are some of them:

-A friend is the most useless thing you can bring. Unless you have the exact same taste in music, you will split up. Even if you do have the exact same tast in music, you will probably lose them in the mosh pit anyway.

-If you do bring a friend, decide ahead of time where you will meet when the show is over. If someone is picking you up, pick a landmark and tell them you'll meet them there. It doesn't matter if you have cell phones, 'cause they don't work very well at the polo field.

-If camping, bring toilet paper and lots of quarters (did you really think those
showers were free?).

-Bring your own firewood, or pick some up at the local Ralph's (five dollars a bundle). The campsite will probably be out by the time you get there.

-The ATMs charge $3.50, in addition to any fees your bank will charge. You might wanna pick up some cash beforehand.

-The show must end at midnight. But the cops usually don't shut stuff down until 12:30. Keep this in mind if they're running late and the band you wanna see is headlining. Oh, and if the band gets onstage at 12:20 or so? Goldenvoice will not pay the fine. The band will not get to play.

-It's not a bad idea to stay in Indio on Sunday night. It takes around an hour to get onto the freeway. Also, local gas stations will likely be out of gas (this really happened). If you're leaving Sunday night, fill up before the show.

Lollapalooza Update
According to Pollstar, the first Lollapalooza date to go onsale is July 17-18 at Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre (outside of San Francisco). Here is the lineup (I figure it'll be pretty much the same in every city):

7/17
Morrissey, Sonic Youth, Modest Mouse, Le Tigre, BRMC, The Von Bondies, Broken Social Scene, The Walkmen, Wolf Eyes, Danger Mouse, the Datsuns, Bumblebeez 81, The Secret Machines, and more.

7/18
The String Cheese Incident, The Flaming Lips, Gomez, The Polyphonic Spree, The Thrills, The Coup, Sound Tribe Sector 9, Elbow, Wheat, and more.

Of course, Perry Farrell will be DJing on both days.

For this show, a general admission pass costs $29.50, a two day GA pass is $50, but an individual day reserved seating ticket is $49.50. We can probably expect similar prices at our local shows.

Meanwhile, Billboard also says that the Killers and Sahara Hotnights are on board, but it doesn't say what day they'll perform on.

First Wilco, Now This
People attending Coachella, guess what? Thom Yorke's been diagnosed with a severe throat infection! Radiohead had to pull their last show in Australia because a doctor said that if he was to sing in the next few days it could cause irreparable damage to his voice. He's been put on antibiotics in the hopes that he'll recover for Saturday. We'll see, but this doesn't look good.

Misc.
Billboard's got a bunch of stuff today:

- Pixies tour dates for the fall

- A chat with the Raveonettes about their upcoming album, to be recorded in late summer and released in early 2005.

- A news medley of the Coney Island Siren Fest lineup, more on the Guided By Voices breakup, and some news on the Detroit Music Awards (the White Stripes won 'outstanding national major label album' and 'outstanding national single').

I Wish It Would Snow
Yesterday my classic rock class (yes, I have this in addition to my Beatles class. Just in case you're wondering what the hell kind of college I go to, keep in mind that I'm in academic major limbo, and my hands are tied until I hear back from the school of music, who are taking their sweet time.) listened to "Stairway to Heaven" backwards. Unfortunately, we had to listen to it forwards first. I really don't like "Stairway". I think it's probably the most overrated song in rock. And the most overrated guitar solo, but I digress. So yeah, we were looking for Satanic messages. If you want to know what we found, you can look at this site, which has an audio excerpt forward and backward and tells you the 'hidden' lyrics.

Unfortunately, it doesn't have the lyric "But she wants to be sure", because when played backwards, you can very clearly hear "I wish it would snow".

Also: "Revolution 9" really does say "Turn me on, dead man" if you play it backwards (the "Number 9" part, that is). And on Andy Williams' rendition of "Silent Night", the lyric "sleep in heavenly peace" is the very same backwards. That was freaky.

Beck, Kool Keith, Hybrid For Coachella?
Well, the folks at this blog say that they heard that all three are confirmed from reliable sources. They're supposed to be surprise guests. I think I saw this over the weekend but didn't pay much attention to it. Until I got an email today from someone who tried posting about this information on the official Coachella message board. Twice. Only to have it immediately deleted. Sure, it could just be a rumor, but with all the other crap that people post, why delete only this?

It's pretty funny, if you think about it. I can just see some panicked board administrator frantically deleting posts to try to keep the lid on this one.

Mp3

"Ouija Board, Ouija Board"- Morrissey
Hey, I just noticed that he actually says "ouija" correctly. Most people say it "wee-jee", but it's really "wee-ja", because "ouija" is a combination of 'yes' in French and German. Anyway, this is probably my favorite Morrissey solo song. We hear a musical intro that kind of sounds like Kraftwerk (that's how the song fades out too) and Morrissey tells a story about trying to contact a dead friend. I love the way he sings "the table is rumbling/ the glass is moving/ no, I was NOT pushing that time.." 'Cause as anyone who's ever gotten one of those things to work knows, it ALWAYS seems like the other person is moving it.

"Make Me Mad"- Dulcie Younger and The Silencers
I picked up this free magazine when I saw Kill Bill, and it came with a CD. Normally, free compilation CDs suck, but I always take them because, hey, you never know, you might find one good song on there. So here's the one good song. It's a rockabilly style number with cool lyrics ("i'm gonna pounce like a tiger/ roar like a lion/ howl at the moon/ and send you cryin'") sung by a sweet, sassy (yeah, I know, 'sassy' is a stupid word, but I don't know what else to say) female vocal.

"You Can't Be The Rolling Stones. You've Gotta Quit While You're Relatively Handsome"
Guided By Voices is calling it quits. Their final album, Half Smiles of the Decomposed will be released on Aug. 24, and the final show will be on New Year's Eve in New York. I'm a little surprised at the big deal being made of this, because I always thought GBV was Bob Pollard anyway, and I doubt he's planning to go anywhere. But anyway, it's worth checking them out live before the breakup.

For 10 Minutes I Almost Wasn't Going to Go to Coachella
I saw this report from the NME about what tickets are fetching on eBay, and I thought it said that you could get $700 for A weekend pass, not TWO weekend passes. So I thought, "Holy crap! You mean to tell me I could make $530??" Now, normally I would never, ever scalp. Scalping is evil. But jeez, if someone is dumb enough to pay $700....and I owe my parents a shitload of money...

But then I realized that sum was for two passes. I'd only make an extra $180. That's not worth it! So I'm still going.

Misc.

- The Guardian has a great article on Nick Drake, as well as the Streets.

- Why the hell would they bring back the Partridge Family?

- A bunch of stuff on The Cure. Interpol and the Rapture have signed on for the band's summer trek, and Hot Hot Heat are rumored to be in negotiations. I think I heard somewhere that Mogwai is also signed on, but don't quote me on that.

I've been really lucky with shows lately. But tonight's show reminded me that purchasing tickets for a performance is a total crapshoot. Especially when there's more than one date in your town.

So, Elefant opened. I was not particularly impressed. I'm sure some of you would love it if I called bullshit on all the NYC hipsters/ music press that says they're so great. However, I'm not like that. In that I don't entirely dismiss a band after one lackluster performance.

I only entirely dismiss bands after one terrible performance.

I kid, I kid. Anyone can have a bad night. So a band has to bore or piss me off twice before I go telling everyone that the people who say they're amazing are savagely deluded (which I am not above doing).

The set wasn't atrocious or anything. In fact, the band started to work up some momentum with "Misfit". Unfortunately, that was the second to last song.

It's also worth noting the following: Yes, the lead singer is good looking. However, good looks do not automatically make someone magnetic/ riveting/ a sex god/ whatever else this guy has been called. He might have the potential to become a great performer one day. Maybe he was tired, maybe he was nervous, but, as of right now, it appears that day has not yet arrived.

Morrissey is different. When he so much as walks out onstage, you can't help but laugh and think "Oh. my. god. This guy is a fucking star!" He's a great performer, largely due to an incredible amount of charisma (a charisma that, as far as I know, is unmatched). And a pretty good sense of humor.

For example, he walked out onstage with some lilacs. But he wasn't holding them in his hand. The stem was tucked up under his belt buckle. So, uh, basically, it looked like he had a flower penis. It was totally absurd, but at the same time impressive, because I sure as hell can't think of anyone else who could get away with that.

And at one point someone threw a red shirt onstage. Morrissey picked it up, looked it over, and then looked at the label. He shook his head and threw it back into the crowd, so I guess either a) the designer label wasn't good enough or b) it was the wrong size. His facial expression seemed to imply the first.

Now for the important part, the music. "Everyday Is Like Sunday" sounded great, but "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" seemed rather flat and uninspired. "Irish Blood, English Heart" is excellent live, but instead of playing the stellar "I Like You" he played another new song that wasn't very good. For every two great moments there was another moment that didn't sound quite right.

And also, what the hell is up with cheering whenever someone on a stage takes their shirt off? There are two reasons why this should not happen. First, we are not preteens at a fucking Backstreet Boys concert. Second, why applaud someone for doing something that anyone can do?

Anyway, even though I've never seen Morrissey before, I got a sense that it wasn't really his best. I later asked my friend who went Thursday how the two shows compared. He said that Thursday was better and that Morrissey was much less coked up then than he was tonight (see? Drugs are bad). I'll have to take his word on the coke thing because I can't tell when people are on it.

What's crazy though, is that Morrissey's off-night is better than the vast majority of bands' good nights. Maybe it's because he has enough presence to compensate for some musical problems. Actually, that's exactly what it is.

I should probably have thought of some kind of solid ending, but I'm so tired I can't see straight. So that's the end of that.

[Edit: My mom read this and thought I had a miserable time. I don't want to give that impression. I had a great time. Hell, I even enjoyed waiting in line for eight hours for the doors, 'cause everyone I talked to was really cool. It's just that after seeing Morrissey perform, it's clear that seeing him at his very best would be totally fucking awesome. Wouldn't you rather see totally fucking awesome instead of really, really good? I would. That is the nature of my discontent.]

More Additions to Lollapalooza
And those additions are the Thrills and Wolf Eyes.

I enjoyed this quote by Thrills vocalist Conor Deasy:

"We had an offer to [join] the No Doubt/Blink 182 thing [in] big arenas that fit many people," he said. "But I still have visions of the frat boy teenager kind of guys throwing beer bottles at us.

Wolf Eyes was added at the behest of Thurston Moore.

More on that Andrew W.K. TV Show
It's going to be called "Your Friend, Andrew W.K." and he's going to give advice and stuff.

"MTV2 asked me what I wanted it to be about and I said, 'The show shouldn't be about ME, it should be about US', and that's the way it works," W.K. says in a statement. "People can write to me and I get to go and visit them at their houses and hang out and try to answer their questions!"

Just A Good Piece of Writing
Yeah, we're all sick of hearing about Courtney Love. And we all know that Rolling Stone sucks. But you should still check out this article. It's a fair and compelling read. It's not often that I read something and think, "Wow, that's good writing. Wish I could do that." It will make you laugh:

"Jack White, you're worthy of my pussy," she declares later.

and it will make you really sad:

I continue digging and come across a letter written posthumously to Kurt Cobain, catching him up on what's been happening on planet Earth. It is a beautiful, sad letter.

Well, I'm off to get in line for Morrissey now. I just heard that Elefant, another band I've been dying to see, is opening tonight (and tomorrow night, if you're going then). I'll have a review up tonight, or tomorrow.

My friend just got back from Night 1 of Morrissey at the Wiltern. He gave me the following review:

ONE FUCKING WORD:

INCREDIBLE

He also said that the Killers were really good, and he's not really a fan of their recorded material. I hope they open tomorrow night too, 'cause I have no clue right now who is.

After hearing that, how the hell am I supposed to be able to sleep? I'm so fucking excited. I'm meeting my friend (he got the 5-show-pass) tomorrow at 11 a.m., because we are hellbent on being in the front row. If you drive by the Wiltern tomorrow and see a bunch of dorks waiting in line, be sure to point and laugh, 'cause I'm one of them.

This Is Great
You know how a little while ago I told you there were a couple of White Stripes biographies coming out, and that they would probably be half-assed hack jobs? Well, Detroit's Metro Times has a review of them. The review was written by Jack's nephew (and Dirtbombs drummer), Ben Blackwell. I think you can see where this is going.

Yikes
Justin Hawkins of the Darkness is getting throat surgery to correct an acid reflux problem. There's not supposed to be any permanent damage, but still. It's throat surgery. On a lead singer. Who is known for his very unique voice.

Misc.

- The Cure will be inducted to the RockWalk of Fame on April 30 (8pm). If you have no clue what that is, the Guitar Center in Hollywood has a paved entrance way that has handprints of rock stars, kinda like Grauman's does with movie stars.

- Fans rioted at a Libertines show last night. Police were called and thousands of dollars of damage was done to the venue. Starting a riot was just about the only thing that this band hasn't done.

Headlines to Make You Cringe

"Jailed Rapper close to 3M Deal"

But HE'S IN JAIL! Actually, I clicked the link, and it's about P Diddy's friend who's serving 10 years for that nightclub shooting incident. Why would you give so much money to someone who can't start recording for a few years? And when the incident they're serving time for will be long forgotten? And can this guy even rap?

"Phair To Anchor 'Chicks With Attitude' Tour"

Good god. That sounds like something the SPICE GIRLS would headline, and only immature 11-year-olds would attend. Seriously. Worst name for a tour. Ever.

Sissies
Shane McGowan was attacked in a London pub by two guys with a metal bar. His cheekbone was fractured and he was taken to a nearby hospital but didn't stay for treatment.

This pisses me off. Not just because I like the Pogues. Fighting is stupid, but if you have to do it, a word of advice: only sissies use metal pipes, baseball bats, etc. If you're gonna try to kick someone's ass, do it on your own merits.

Practical Knowledge Comes and Goes, But Useless Trivia is Forever
Random rock trivia. This one is kinda creepy:

"Last Kiss", a teenage death song recorded by J. Frank Wilson and The Cavaliers was based on a true-life tale. Sixteen-year-old Jeanette Clark was out on a date in Barnesville, Georgia on December 22, 1962, the Saturday before Christmas. She was with a group of friends in a '54 Chevrolet. Her friend, J.L. Hancock, also sixteen, was driving the car in heavy traffic and while traveling on Highway 341, collided with a logging truck. Jeanette, the driver and another teenager were killed, and two other teens in the car were seriously injured. The song reached number two on the U.S. chart in the late summer of 1964. Ironically, J. Frank Wilson was injured and Sonley Roush, the producer of "Last Kiss" was killed in a head-on car crash in Lima, Ohio in October of the same year.

Misc.
Another Pitchfork parody.

(U.S.) Festival News

Coachella:

- As expected, the first day of Coachella is sold out, and the 2-day passes are long gone. Hopefully, if you're driving in from Maine or flying out here from Europe, you already got your tickets.

- Also, the movie tent is actually gonna screen some good stuff this year. The movie Bodysong, which I know absolutely nothing about except for the fact that Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood wrote the score, and the acclaimed Dandy Warhols/ Brian Jonestown Massacre documentary Dig! will be shown. Probably at the very same time as a band we want to see.

- Finally, some bands have received word of the time/ location of their set, and are passing it on. A member of Cursive posted on the Saddle Creek board that Cursive is playing at 5:45 on the second stage, and Bright Eyes will immediately follow.

Lollapalooza:

- PJ Harvey and Le Tigre have been added to the bill. Maybe I'm just being picky, but the way all these articles are worded annoys me. They say stuff like "the ladies are representing!", as if it's weird for women to be on a rock tour.

Morrissey, Flaming Lips, Sonic Youth, String Cheese Incident, Modest Mouse, Polyphonic Spree, Gomez and BRMC were already on the bill. The tour kicks off July 14-15 in Auburn, Washington.

Mp3's of the Week

"TV Party"- Black Flag
I think this is the best song ever written about watching television. Henry Rollins' voice drips with sarcasm as he and what sounds like a chorus of linebackers (although it's just the other guys in the band) sing lyrics like, "we've got nothin' better to do/ than watch TV and have a couple of brews/ don't talk about anything else/ we don't wanna know!/ we're gonna kick it/ to our favorite shows!" It's either a scathing attack on couch potatoes or the greatest frat boy anthem of all time. I think it's the former.

"Motor City Is Burning"- The MC5
These guys have been in the news quite a bit, and I think that they're a band that a lot of people have heard of, but never actually heard. So here's a track off their first album, which was recorded live at the (now abandoned and crumbling) Grande Ballroom in Detroit.
The song simmers and swaggers while a throaty, bluesy howl recounts the events of the Detroit riots. The guitar solos are cool as well. Basically, it sounds like the work of a band that called for "dope, revolution and fucking in the streets".

"We Built This City": Worst Song Ever
At least that's the conclusion Blender came to when compiling the worst singles of all time. I can't say I disagree. "Achy Breaky Heart", "Everybody Have Fun Tonight", "Rollin'" and "Ice Ice Baby" round out the top five. But at least my friends and I had some fun with "Rollin'", mostly because of Crazy J's hilarious Fred Durst impersonation.

Although, on the other hand, I don't get the inclusion of "The End" or "Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da" and "Sound of Silence". I mean, "The End" and "Sound of Silence" are genius, and while "Ob-a-di..." can certainly be grating, especially if you're in a bad mood, it hardly seems like one of the very worst singles of all time. Especially when Blender, for some strange reason, kept "Macarena" and "Who Let the Dogs Out" off the list.

New York Dolls Rumors Fleshed Out
So, the Boston Globe reports that the New York Dolls are reuniting for Morrissey's Meltdown Festival, with original members David Johansen, Sylvain Sylvain, and Arthur Kane being joined by G'n'R alum Izzy Stradlin on guitar and Libertines drummer Gary Powell. For more on this, as well as a brief explanation of who the Dolls are and why they're important, click here.

Franz Ferdinand Take Over the Guardian's Arts Section
And the result is some interesting articles, notably ones on rock star self-destruction and mythology in rock. Also, we learn that frontman Alex Kapranos had a music teacher who claimed he had no feel for music.

Kurt Cobain's Life: The After-School Special
Okay, it sounded bad enough that the WB bought the rights to Charles Cross' Cobain biography Heavier Than Heaven, and plans to turn it into a TV movie. The WB? Great. Who's going to play Cobain? James Van Der Beek? But then I read this part:

It's grim stuff for a network that stocks such clean-cut fare as "Everwood" and "Smallville", but Jamieson hopes to give the film a cautionary tone, with a public service announcement on the dangers of depression possibly following the film. "We can do this right without seeming preachy," she said.

No, you can't. Public service announcements are preachy AND pathetic. While you're at it, why not remind us all that drugs are bad?

I hate TV.

"If I hadn't found rock and roll ... I dunno .... armed robbery?"
That great quote is from MC5 singer Rob Tyner in a documentary called The MC5: A True Testimonial, that the Guardian says kicks ass but may never see a wide release. It sounds great:

After all the grainy, shaky early footage of the band in musical excelsis, one clip suddenly appears out of nowhere, in focus, with bright, undeteriorated colour. Just as you start to marvel at its clarity, a subtitle appears on screen: "US Government Surveillance Footage," and one is utterly chilled.

You can fling 95% of all other rockumentaries into the furnace - if we can just get to keep this one.

And since I love rock documentaries, I'll probaby try to check out this one Metallica movie. If you live in Boston, Chicago, LA, or NYC you can get a screening pass here for free. But it's a focus group thing, so you have to be between the ages of 18 and 34.

Misc.
- Hmm. As everyone knows, the only good thing about American Idol is the auditions. So the WB decided to have a show with not only auditions, but they only let the worst (and most delusional, I suppose) singers through. This could be great or this could suck.

- "Rock Around the Clock" is NOT the first rock song. The Guardian searches for the true beginning of rock and roll.

- The continuing popularity of At the Drive-In never fails to amaze me. People never believe me when I say this, but I saw them play live (their first show on the Rage tour), and they were terrible! I mean, yeah, they were energetic, but it seemed like they put more effort into picking out their clothes and poofing their hair and jumping off amplifiers than they put into sounding decent. And they walked out onstage and said "We're from fuckin' Texas!" Seriously, who says "We're from fuckin' ____"? After the show, I told people that you could have taken random, non-musicians out of the audience and gave them instruments and told them to jam, and the results would have been ten times better. I still stand by this statement.

Also, I was not the only person who thought this, as everyone else in the audience was booing. And then one of the singers got all pissed and started calling random people in the mosh pit "date rapists". Crybaby. After the show, kids started buying their CDs just to break them. I've never seen people so pissed off at a band.

What's funny is that when Relationship of Command came out, it was only $6 at Best Buy, so I bought it just to see how bad it would be. But it's actually good! Well, not phenomenal, but good. I just don't understand what happened live...or those magazines that proclaimed them the next Nirvana (which I always got a good laugh out of).

Oh well, anyway, if you missed out on seeing them in concert, uh, don't worry about it too much. Or at all.

That's my idea of At the Drive-In nostalgia, but you might have a different one. If that's the case, you'll be pleased to know that an anthology will be released with unreleased material, covers, videos, etc.

What??
How the hell do you burn through Kurt Cobain's money and end up in debt? Well, according to Reuters, that's what Courtney Love managed to do, with a business associate saying she owes around $4 million. She told Blender magazine:

"I found out that our dog walker was making $100,000. One person put a BMW on my credit card."

Well, there's a lesson we all can learn from this: walk your own fucking dog! And keep your credit cards to yourself!

The Mooney Suzuki Make Excuses For Working With the Matrix
Frontman Sammy James Jr. tells Billboard:

"We wanted to make a record that sounded like the Beach boys, the 5th Dimension and Phil Spector. The Matrix felt to us like the current incarnation of that L.A. pop tradition, so we moved to L.A. to make an unabashedly pop, bright and ornate Hollywood rock'n'roll record."

The album, titled Alive and Amplified, should be out August 10.

Another Lollapalooza Addition?
The Killers are considering joining the tour, based partly on the fact that Morrissey is gonna be there.

"We were iffy about it before, but now we're kind of push[ing] for it. That was my main deal when I was younger...I just listened to a lot of Morrissey. [I] got into [David] Bowie and the Beatles and stuff later."

Also, we get a release date for their album. June 22.

Misc
- BRMC split from Virgin

- Wilco cancels all April U.S. tour dates. And Coachella. Bummer.

- The LA Weekly talks to Quentin Tarantino. I am so psyched for Vol. 2. I may go see it tonight at midnight, but on the other hand, bus service is atrocious after 9 pm, and some girl just got raped last week a few blocks from my apartment.

I need a car.

Oh, also, I meant to do this a few days ago, but if anyone has a spare Darkness ticket for Saturday's or Sunday's show at the Henry Fonda and wants to sell it for face value or face value + Ticketbastard fees, let me know.

-- Morrissey talks to the NME for the first time in 12 years, you can read it here.

-- Interpol's next album should be out in September or so. Tracks recorded so far include "NARC" and "Length of Love".

-- A report on that first Pixies gig in Minneapolis, including a setlist.

-- "If there are any more questions in that vein, what songs are about or what titles are about ... I don't explain these things."

VH1 talks to Modest Mouse (and the above policy reminds me of another musician writers love to interview: Lou Reed)

--That's when he stepped over the line. He said that classic rock was crap, and he asked me why I'd want to listen to a bunch of dead white guys. I was like, now hold on. Last time I checked, REO was alive and well and still bringing the rock. He said he had to admit that REO had one good song, but that they couldn't just play "Riding The Storm Out" over and over again. That's when things got ugly.

I think that quote made my morning. The Onion's resident stoner also provides some valuable road trip advice, which I will definitely keep in mind for my own road trip next month.

-- "I'd go to pop concerts and then go on and on about lip-synching, but it doesn't matter to a young audience," he says. "I began to think I'm not serving anyone by pointing that out, because no one seems to care."

How old is too old to be a music critic?

-- You can download three tracks from Sonic Youth's upcoming Nurse here.

-- On a side note, the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was pretty good, though I still prefer Adaptation.

Injury Report

- Muse frontman Matthew Bellamy smashed his face into his guitar at the band's show in Atlanta Friday night, ending the gig early so he could get stitches. Last night's show in Philly was cancelled, but tomorrow's show in New York is still on, and hopefully the rest of the dates are too. I'm really looking forward to seeing them at Coachella.

"There was blood everywhere. It was like a zombie movie or something!"
- Dolf De Datsun fell while filming the band's new video, "Blacken My Thumb", split his head open and had to have stitches. The above quote was from the band's spokesperson. The article also talks about the band's new album.

Misc.

- BRMC and Gomez officially join Morrissey, Sonic Youth, Flaming Lips, Modest Mouse, the Polyphonic Spree and the String Cheese Incident on the Lollapalooza lineup.

- Finally, some word on the new Hot Hot Heat album. No release date yet, just the following:
So far we've already written and recorded fourteen songs for the demos. Our goal is to write about twenty, record sixteen and then put the best thirteen on the record. It's getting hard to decide now though because it seems that each song is better than the last. We've been locked away five days a week in this studio and we're really starting to be able to hear what the record is going to sound like.

- Stylus counts down the Top Ten Solos in rock.

-Tracklisting for that Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds video collection

- Who's dumber? Britney or Jessica Simpson? We will soon know. This is gonna be a close one.

This Week's Mp3's

"I Found a Reason" (demo)- The Velvet Underground

Most of the time, it's downright worthless to listen to demos. They're just inferior drafts of the final product. However, the Velvet Underground's demos are interesting to listen to, because they're so very different from the final versions of the songs, and some of them are good songs in their own right. Like this one. The final version is a beautiful, wispy ballad on the Loaded album, but the original is countryish, almost Dylan-esque.

"Windfall" (Live at the Blind Pig 10/21/95)- Son Volt

Actually, I like this live version of the song better than the studio version, which I find a little too clean and glossy. This is a great driving song, and the lo-fi makes it easier to imagine it's coming in on a car radio, or being played on the jukebox in a country bar. And I think this take just captures the spirit of the song better.

- More on the new Beastie Boys album

- In case you missed it the first time I posted them, here are the upcoming Franz Ferdinand US dates. And, as I did the first time, I highly recommend going to see them.

- The Who are going on tour.

- Tiny Mix Tapes has news on new Elvis Costello reissues, Pernice Brothers dates, and dates for the MC5 reunion shows (the Detroit one is 6/10 at the Majestic)

- One of the better Jay-Z mashups, The Slack Album (with Pavement's Slanted and Enchanted)

(link via Largehearted Boy)

- The Sun lists 50 great moments in rock.

- Another Kurt Cobain murder conspiracy book.

"Despite Massive Discouragement, I Remain Myself."
The Guardian talks to Morrissey. Some interesting quotes:

"I think if I was shot in the middle of the street tomorrow a lot of people would be quite unhappy. I think I'd be a prime candidate for canonisation."

At first it seems perverse that the poetic voice of drizzle-damp England would choose the eternal sunshine of Los Angeles, but it is a good place not to belong because nobody belongs in Los Angeles, a city with neither heart nor history. "I don't think anybody feels at home there," he agrees. "Everybody has come from somewhere else and belongs somewhere else, and quite rightly so."

"You can constantly develop when you're by yourself. You don't when you're with someone else. You put your own feelings on hold and you end up doing things like driving to supermarkets and waiting outside shops - ludicrous things like that. It really doesn't do."

Reporter: "I suspect Morrissey likes his own company because he considers himself the only person who's halfway good enough."

"I think if you're remotely intelligent you can't help being depressed. It's a positive thing to be. It means that you're not a crashing bore. I mean, you don't get support groups for rugby players, do you?"

Bootlegs
- Grandaddy Live Shows

- Elliott Smith, Live at the Black Cat 4/17/98

- Modest Mouse at the Bowery Ballroom

-Tracklisting for the new Beastie Boys album, which, you're not going to believe this, criticizes George Bush.

-Marianne Faithfull is playing the devil in a show created by William Burroughs and Tom Waits.

-The LA Weekly talks to the Darkness:

"What we're interested in is becoming medieval," says Dan. "I've always wanted to do a double album, where one disc is the Darkness rocking as you know it, and the other is medieval folk-rock. I mean, 'Black Shuck' [Permission To Land's opening track] is one of our [lyrically] medieval songs, and we've just recorded a new one, 'Curse of the Tollund Man,' for the B-side of our new single in Britain." Dan also insists they'll don period garb when performing these tunes.

-Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst starts new record label, plans to put releases on website for free downloading. "We want you to take all the time you need before deciding whether or not to spend your dosh," says a note on the site.

Why can't more labels do that? Or even just stream albums like Wilco is doing? People would probably be a lot less hesitant to spend $15 on an album if they knew that all the songs were good.

(link via Donewaiting)

-Also from the LA Weekly: An interesting piece about studio musicians.

-Producer of Bleach says, "Kurt was a total sweetheart." I somehow doubt that anyone would say, "That guy was such a jerk!", even if he was one.

"I'm Constantly Writing My Speech To My Grandkids About How I Wasted My Life."
The Onion AV Club talks to Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse.

Also from The Onion:

Frank Zappa Fan Thinks You Just Haven't Heard The Right Album
NEDERLAND, CO--In spite of your insistence that you are not into Frank Zappa, avid fan Roger Von Lee believes that you would change your mind if you heard the right album. "You're prejudiced, because the only Zappa you know is 'Valley Girl' and 'Don't Eat The Yellow Snow,'" Von Lee told you Tuesday. "Seriously, you need to check out Hot Rats or Absolutely Free. Zappa and the Mothers were at their peak, and Zappa's jazz-rock fusion experiments predate Bitches Brew. That'll totally convince you that Zappa's the shit." Von Lee added that if those two don't get under your skin, he can recommend another 15 to 20 albums that will for sure.

In Case You Haven't Already Heard
You can stream the new Wilco album, A Ghost Is Born, here. It's sounding pretty good so far.

Brad Pitt is Cool!
Not only was he in one of my favorite movies (Fight Club), but he's also into the music of Nick Drake, and will be narrating a documentary on him for BBC Radio 2.

Hey Drummer Geeks!
Neil Peart got a new drum kit!

Did Hell Freeze Over?
The Tigers are 2-0?

Rilo Kiley Jumps to Major Label
A while back I posted something from Hits Daily Double that said the group had gotten new, big time managers, and speculated the group might leave Saddle Creek. Well, Lazy-i is reporting that an EMI label (possibly Capitol or Virgin) will be putting out the band's next record.

(link via Chromewaves)

"I Would Be Hesitant To Say It's Awful Or Wonderful. It's Just Strange."
A New York DJ totally summed up my thoughts in this article about Bob Dylan appearing in a Victoria's Secret commercial. While it is strange, using "Love Sick" for those ads is definitely better than, say, using "The Times They Are A Changin" in a bank commercial, which actually happened back in 1996.

I also love the line where it says, "The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer quickly agreed, although no one's quite sure why."

Um. Let's see. He was offered a few million dollars, a trip to Venice and the chance to hang out with supermodels. I don't know too many dudes who would turn that down.

Pixies Dates
Billboard's got some dates up for the band's fall tour:

Sept. 4: Bend, Ore. (Les Schwab Ampitheatre)
Sept. 6: Seattle (Bumbershoot Festival)
Sept. 18: Austin, Texas (Austin City Limits)
Oct. 14: Atlanta (Fox Theatre)
Nov. 11: Minneapolis (Wilkins Auditorium)
Nov. 13: Chicago (Aragon Ballroom)
Nov. 24: Toronto (Arrow Hall)

Sacrilege?
That's what I wondered when I saw that Pink is going to play Janis Joplin in Penelope Spheeris' tentatively titled The Gospel According to Janis. On the other hand, I'm not really surprised. A friend of mine was dragged to one of her shows a few years back, and she told me that there are times when she really does sound like Janis (I think she even did a Janis cover, but don't quote me on that).

I figure, what the hell? At least it's not Britney or Christina.

Like She Needs It
J. Lo's mom won $2.4 million playing the slots in Atlantic City.

Tweedy Update
Someone was kind enough to email me the Tribune article so I wouldn't have to register. Here it is:

Wilco singer Jeff Tweedy canceled a European promotional trip for the band's
new album last week to check himself into a Chicago rehab clinic.

Tweedy has had a long history of migraines, and has unsuccessfully battled them
with prescription painkillers. In response to the rehab stint, Wilco's Nonesuch
label has postponed release of the band's fifth album, "A Ghost is Born," by two
weeks, to June 22.

The band, recently expanded to a sextet, was to begin a brief tour April 21 in
Missouri and ending June 1 at the Coachella Festival in California, but a Wilco
spokesman said a decision won't be made until this week about whether those
dates will be fulfilled.

Mp3's
At last, they have arrived. I'm gonna keep the tribute thing going, but instead of depressing Nirvana songs, it's funny Nirvana songs.

"Smells Like Teen Spirit"
Like I would post anything so obvious. No way. This is a live version of the song, and instead of the guitar solo we hear Flea (from the Red Hot Chili Peppers) on trumpet. Really. I think it's from a rock festival in South America.

"Do You Love Me"
This was a track the band recorded for a Kiss tribute album. It's funny enough to hear Kurt sing the line "You really like my limousine", but the end of the song devolves into Krist babbling something in the background while Kurt plays some loser shamelessly hitting on some woman, finally yelling, "No, where you going? I'm not ugly!"

"Beans and Wine"
This song is on crack, seriously. I know it was based on Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums. I also know you will scare the hell out of your roommates if you play this song when they're in the room.

Yet Another Nirvana Tribute
Yes, as every news outlet on the face of the earth is reporting, today is the 10th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's suicide. A lot of folks are recalling where they were and how they felt when they heard about his death, so I guess I'll do the same.

The first time I ever heard the name 'Kurt Cobain' was when I heard that he was dead. I had no idea who he was or why everyone was talking about him. I went home and asked my mom. She replied (and I quote), "He was some stupid junkie who killed himself."

I didn't understand why everyone was so upset about the death of 'some junkie'. Until we had to give class presentations about the life of a historical figure. My good friend, of course, chose Kurt. I didn't really pay too much attention to what she said though, because a tape of Nirvana's music was playing in the background. I thought, "You know, this stuff is actually pretty good."

Of course, after that I became totally obsessed with Nirvana. I even started listening to this weird thing I had in my room called 'a radio' for the first time (before Nirvana, it was just some thing with a clock that made irritating noises when I had to get up for school). I can still remember my friend and me playing air guitar in my room while listening to "Smells Like Teen Spirit". One of those days, I thought, "Hey, wouldn't it be cool if I got a real guitar?"

And so I did.

Also, I eventually read Michael Azerrad's Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana. I loved it. My favorite thing about the book is how little he actually narrates. He ties certain ideas together and keeps the story moving, but for the most part, the band's history is told by the band and the people who knew them.

I think that's how rock bios should be. How rock writing should be.

Of course, I didn't really know or care what rock writing was before, but you can bet I took an interest in it after reading that book.

I guess it seems a little indulgent to write all the above, but I feel like I should, because, well, this blog wouldn't exist if it wasn't for Nirvana. Maybe I would have eventually developed an interest in modern music if I had never heard them, but I'd be light years behind where I am now.


Misc
- Alan McGee signs a deal with Universal subsidiary Mercury records, who will release albums by his latest signings. McGee is known for heading up the Creation label, which released albums by My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream, and the Jesus and Mary Chain. His latest label, Poptones, released the Hives' breakthrough Your New Favorite Band.

- Oh look! Another Jay-Z remix! This time, with Prince.

- So, as you can see on the left sidebar, I've totally been digging the music of Dengue Fever lately (it's great retro pop music with a lead vocalist who sings in Khymer). I just found out they're playing at the El Rey on the 15th. You can even win tickets here.

- Whoa. My friend just IM'd me this link that has entertaining quotes from the Strokes show at the Universal Ampitheatre (Sadly, I was not present, but it's okay because I'm going to see them at a much smaller venue in Pittsburgh next month. This is because big venues piss me off. Don't worry, I'm not driving there from LA, I'm only driving from Detroit and my friend and I are hitting Cedar Point on the way back. Woo!). Anyway, I'm a little skeptical about some of these quotes, but they're funny nonetheless (especially the one about subs). I'll let you know if this kind of craziness happens in Pittsburgh.

What's Going On Here?
Okay, so... I think it was Friday that I saw an article in Paste Magazine that said Jeff Tweedy had gone into a rehab clinic for an addiction to painkillers (which resulted from frequent migraines). Then, I looked back at the article the next day, and the mention of him checking into rehab was gone. So I figured that it was a rumor. Or maybe I hallucinated the part about him going to rehab in the first place.

Now, people are saying that it's in the Chicago Tribune, and the article supposedly says that the band's upcoming tour dates (including Coachella!) may be in jeopardy.

Okay, the headline is on the Tribune's homepage, but to read the article you have to register. So I guess it is true, then.

More news, mp3s later, I gotta go pick up the new Muse album to review for the school paper.

Guess Who Completely Forgot About Daylight Savings Time!
Yeah, that would be me. Since I don't want to be insanely late to class, today's news update (I did a quick look at my usual sites, there's nothing earth-shattering) and mp3s will have to wait until this afternoon.

- The Guardian talks to Andy Partridge of XTC about his new record company (started with "the explicit intention of not being evil"), a recent drunken performance of "Hey Joe", and 1960s psychedelic bands.

- The Velvet Underground's Live at Max's Kansas City will get a re-release in June that actually includes the whole show.

- The Darkness' Justin Hawkins gets a street in the band's hometown and a baby giraffe named after him. Well, the street will probably be called Hawkins Close or Hawkins Way, so you could say it's named after him and his brother, who, in case you didn't know, is the band's guitarist. Anyway, I love the comments he made in reaction to the giraffe:

In a way...we, The Darkness, are all newborn calves taking our first stumbling steps into the world of celebrity, and I am delighted that the people and the animals of East Anglia are all right behind us

- Sick of hearing about the Pixies yet? If not, VH1 has a short talk with Joey Santiago about the reunion.

Hey, this is cool. The Pixies are going to have CDs of every performance on their upcoming tour available for purchase immediately after the show. 1,000 CDs will be pressed per show, with the exception of Coachella (2,000). You can pre-order your copy at the DiscLive site, only 500 preorders will be accepted per gig. Otherwise, you can just buy a voucher before the show.

The Museum of Hoaxes lists the Top 100 April Fool's Hoaxes of All Time.

My personal favorite is this one.

I Hope This Is An April Fool's Joke
The NME is saying that the release of the new Wilco album will be delayed. Maybe it's just for the UK (the street date has been pushed to June 21).

Bootlegs!
- Assorted White Stripes Shows (including a show from back in 1998 at what I think is a street fair in Detroit)

- Assorted Bob Dylan live tracks, rarities

- Garbage doing cover songs of the Beatles, Kylie Minogue, etc. Also has a cover of the Angelfish song that got Shirley the gig in Garbage (she explains the whole thing to the audience).