The Cliks hit the tour trail with The New York Dolls.

By Blurt Staff

The Cliks' sophomore release Dirty King is set for June 23 release and what better way to kick it off than on a tour with The New York Dolls, which will release Coz I Said So on May 5.

As we told you, The Dolls album was produced by Todd Rundgren and band frontman David Johansen was jazzed to get the party started. Read about it here: Dolls

In the meantime, get ready to check out a show on one of these dates:

May 20- Solana Beach, CA  -Belly Up Tavern

May 21- Los Angeles, CA  - Henry Fonda Theater

May 22- Anaheim, CA - House Of Blues

May 24 - San Francisco - Grand Ballroom- Regency

May 26- Portland, OR - Berbati's Pan

May 27- Seattle, WA - El Corazon

May 28- Vancouver, BC - Richard's on Richards Cabaret

May 31- Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater

Sun June 7 - Asbury Park , NJ - New Jersey Pride  ; (without The New York Dolls)

What the hell does one do with a vehicle that size - dump it behind a Wal-Mart?

By Blurt Staff

PSA Time:

The Dears' tour bus was stolen Wednesday night in Montreal as the band was home packing for their six-week North American tour. The coach was taken from the parking lot of the Comfort Inn at 700 Blvd. in St. Jean, Pointe-Cla ire while the driver was asleep in the hotel, prior to their 6 a.m. scheduled departure. Fortunatel y, no luggage or gear was on board at the time of the theft and the band's trailer was left behind. True to The Dears' resilient nature, the veteran band isn't letting this minor mishap slow them down and will kick off the tour tonight in Toronto. All shows are planned as scheduled.

If anybody has any informatio n about the stolen tour bus or knows of its whereabout s please contact your local authoritie s. Bus model: Prevost, Series 60. Accuride Alcoa; license plate: V957YW

THE DEARS HEADLINE TOUR WITH GREAT NORTHERN & EULOGIES:

April 30 - Toronto, Ontario @ The Mod Club * &nb sp; 
May 1 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Bell House
May 2 - Albany, N.Y. @ Valentines
May 4 - New York, N.Y. @ Bowery Ballroom
May 5 - Philadelph ia, Pa. @ Johnny Brenda's
May 7 - Washington , D.C. @ Black Cat
May 8 - Pittsburgh , Pa. @ Diesel
May 9 - Cleveland, Ohio @ Grog Shop
May 10 - Columbus, Ohio @ Skully's
May 11 - Detroit, Mich. @ Magic Stick
May 13 - Chicago, Ill. @ Lakeshore Theater
May 14 - Columbia, Mo. @ Mojo's
May 16 - Denton, Texas @ Hailey's
May 17 - Houston, Texas @ Warehouse
May 18 - Austin, Texas @ Parish
May 21 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ Rhythm Room
May 22 - San Diego, Calif. @ The Casbah
May 23 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Echoplex
May 24 - San Francisco, Calif. @ The Independen t
May 26 - Portland, Ore. @ Doug Fir Lounge
May 27 - Seattle, Wash. @ Crocodile Lounge

THE DEARS HEADLINE TOUR WITH JETS OVERHEAD & BLACK DIAMOND BAY

May 29 - Victoria, British Columbia @ Sugar
May 30 - Vancouver, British Columbia @ Richards on Richards
May 31 - Kelowna, British Columbia @ Habitat
June 2 - Calgary, Alberta @ Theatre Junction Grand
June 3 - Edmonton, Alberta @ Starlite Room
June 4 - Saskatoon, Saskatchew an @ Amigos
June 5 - Regina, Saskatchew an @ Distrikt
June 6 - Winnipeg, Manitoba @ West End Cultural Center

* With Lioness only

Maybe they could just break up - that would really be something to be thankful for...

By Fred Mills

"No subtlety"; "mere platitudes "; "don't avoid the obvious"; these are among the conclusion s BLURT reached when we reviewed Coldplay's Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends last year. So you can readily imagine the collective yawn heard ‘rou nd the BLURT penthouse this morning at the announceme nt of Chris Martin & Co. planning to give away, free of charge, a live CD to fans attending their upcoming North American tour, which starts May 15 in West Palm Beach.

The bipolar-ly titled LeftRightL eftRightLe ft is "a thank you to our fans - the people who give us a reason to do it and the people who make it happen," said the band, in a statement. "Playing live is what we love."

Fair enough. The CD will also be offered at all remaining 2009 shows (details tba) as well as a free download at www.coldplay.com (which means that if you find the group even more insufferab le in concert than on record, you can just stay at home, listen to the new tunes, and weep softly into your Chardonnay ).

Supporting Coldplay  the North American tour dates will be Pete Yorn (May 15-June 4), Snow Patrol (June 5-21), Amadou & Mariam (July 10-24), Elbow (July 25-August 9), Howling Bells (May 15-21) and Kitty Daisy & Lewis (July 10-August 9). See below for a full itinerary.

Tracklisti ng:

1.. &nbs p;  Glass of Water
2. &nbs p;  42
3. &nbs p;  Clocks
4. &nbs p;  Strawberry Swing
5. &nbs p;  The Hardest Part/Postc ards From Far Away
6. &nbs p;  Viva La Vida
7. &nbs p;  Death Will Never Conquer
8. &nbs p;  Fix You
9. &nbs p;  Death And All His Friends

Tour Dates:

Date   &nbs p; City/State  &nbs p;   &nbs p;  Venue  ; &nb sp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
5/15   &nbs p; West Palm Beach, FL &n bsp;  Cruzan Amphitheat re &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
5/17   &nbs p; Atlanta, GA &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Lakewood Amphitheat re &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
5/18   &nbs p; Birmingham , AL &n bsp;  Verizon Wireless Center Birmingham  &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
5/20   &nbs p; Virginia Beach, VA &n bsp;  Verizon Wireless Amphitheat re &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
5/21   &nbs p; Washington , DC &n bsp;  Nissan Pavilion&n bsp;     &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
5/23   &nbs p; Hartford, CT &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Meadows&nb sp; & nbsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
5/24   &nbs p; Hershey, PA &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Hershey Stadium&nb sp; & nbsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
5/26   &nbs p; Philadelph ia, PA &n bsp;  Susquehann a Center&nbs p; &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
5/27   &nbs p; Saratoga Springs, NY &n bsp;  SPAC   &nbs p;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
5/30   &nbs p; Pittsburgh , PA &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Post Gazette Pavilion&n bsp;     &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
6/1 & nbsp;  ; Buffalo, NY &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Darien Lakes  ; &nb sp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
6/2 & nbsp;  ; Detroit, MI &n bsp;   &nbs p;  DTE Energy Music Theatre&nb sp; & nbsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
6/4 & nbsp;  ; Cincinnati , OH &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Riverbend Music Center&nbs p; &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
6/5 & nbsp;  ; Indianapol is, IN &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Verizon Wireless Music Center&nbs p; &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
6/6 & nbsp;  ; Nashville, TN &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Sommet Center&nbs p; &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
6/9 & nbsp;  ; New Orleans, LA &n bsp;  New Orleans Arena  ; &nb sp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
6/10   &nbs p; San Antonio, TX &n bsp;  AT&T Center&nbs p; &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
6/12   &nbs p; Des Moines, IA &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Wells Fargo Arena  ; &nb sp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
6/13   &nbs p; Omaha, NE &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Qwest Center&nbs p; &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
6/15   &nbs p; Winnipeg, MB &n bsp;   &nbs p;  MTS Centre&nbs p; &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
6/17   &nbs p; Calgary, AB &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Pengrowth Saddledome  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
6/18   &nbs p; Edmonton, AB &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Northlands  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
6/20   &nbs p; Vancouver, BC &n bsp;   &nbs p;  GM Place  ; &nb sp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
6/21   &nbs p; Vancouver, BC &n bsp;   &nbs p;  GM Place  ; &nb sp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
7/10   &nbs p; Portland, OR &n bsp;   &nbs p;  The Amphitheat er at Clark County&nbs p; &n bsp;  &nbs p; 
7/11   &nbs p; George, WA &n bsp;   &nbs p;  The Gorge Amphitheat re &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
7/13   &nbs p; San Francisco, CA &n bsp;  Shoreline Amphitheat re &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
7/14   &nbs p; Sacramento , CA &n bsp;  Sleep Train Amphitheat re &n bsp;   &nbs p; 
7/16   &nbs p; San Diego, CA &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Cricket Wireless Amphitheat re &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
7/18   &nbs p; Carson, CA  &nbs p;   &nbs p;  Home Depot Center  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
7/19   &nbs p; Irvine, CA &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Verizon Wireless Amphitheat er &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
7/21   &nbs p; Dallas, TX &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Superpages .com Center&nbs p; &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
7/22   &nbs p; Houston, TX &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion&n bsp;     &nbs p; 
7/24   &nbs p; Maryland Heights, MO &n bsp;  Verizon Wireless Amphitheat er &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
7/25   &nbs p; East Troy, WI &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Alpine Valley Music Theatre&nb sp; & nbsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
7/30   &nbs p; Toronto, ON &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Rogers Centre&nbs p; &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
8/2 & nbsp;  ; Liberty State Park, NJ &n bsp;  All Points West Music & Arts Festival&n bsp;     &nbs p; 
8/3 & nbsp;  ; Mansfield, MA &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Comcast Center&nbs p; &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 
8/6 & nbsp;  ; Raleigh, NC &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion&n bsp;     &nbs p; 
8/7 & nbsp;  ; Charlotte, NC &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Charlotte Verizon Wireless Amphitheat re &n bsp;   &nbs p; 
8/9 & nbsp;  ; Tampa, FL &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Ford Amphitheat re &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; 

Mass cancellati ons of events due to swine flu fears + free guacamole dip recipe.

By Fred Mills

So much for gettin' on the good foot next Tuesday: the word for this year's Cinco de Mayo is "cancellat ion." Hello, swine flu paranoia (but to be fair, a big salute as well to proactive health officials) .

As expected, pretty much anything that involved people gathering together in a group in Mexico has had the plug pulled; Billboard.com is reporting that scores of concert events in Mexico have been postponed or completed cancelled and promoters are "scramblin g" to reschedule . The big Mexico City rock festival Vive Latino, for example, slated for May 16 and 17 and featuring Kinky, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs and others, has been bumped to June 27 and 28.

"Ticketmas ter's Mexican Web site," writes Billboard.com, "resembled an airport departure screen during a snow storm, with rows of concert listings followed by the same word: ‘Can celado.'"

And lest you think this is strictly a Mexican problem, guess again: in various cities across the U.S., city officials are already pondering cancelling their own events, with some already getting the axe. In New York City, for example, a scheduled Cinco de Mayo festival in Flushing Meadows-Co rona Park and the Ranchera Music Festival have been cancelled in the interest of "prudence" in the face of potential risks posed by large gatherings of people. Said an event organizer, "We are not saying that the outbreak is something out of the ordinary, but given the circumstan ces it is better to have solidarity , as much with the community here as with Mexico."

BLURT's ADVICE: Time to hit the liquor stores, stock up on Tequila, and host your own house party with the Pinkertons , Mexican Institute of Sound and others as the soundtrack . Here's a little guacamole dip recipe we spotted at Cooks.com on the web - just add frog skin!

2 avocados, peeled
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1/2 jalapeno chile pepper, chopped fine
1 medium tomato, peeled and quartered
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 1/4 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup sour cream

Prepare all ingredient s. Place the avocados, onions, jalepeno, tomato, and lime juice in a food processor and process on pulse till blended. Add sugar and sour cream and mix well. Place pit from avocado back into bowl to prevent browning.

If you want a chunkier guacamole, mash the avocado by hand with a fork, then add the other ingredient s.

Presbyteri an guilt and random ruminating ...

By Coco Hames

I can outdrink everyone in the Casbah like Marian in Indiana Jones.  But what does that mean?  ; What higher level have I reached?&n bsp; Is this an accomplish ment?  ; Should I be proud?&nbs p; Sometimes I am proud.  But the resulting hangovers can keep me in bed all day.  All day.  Today, for instance.  All I was able to do was slowly read a pamphlet on cooking classes.  And that's it.  All day.  Because yesterday I got up really early to go to church, a feat I accomplish once every year, usually at a different church in a different city, which invariably results in a night of heavy drinking.

I was raised Presbyteri an in the south, and that's pretty good, because I can roll with it.  My best friend was Catholic, and I was fascinated by the difference s in our churches and prayers and ceremonies , but I never wanted to go with her to her church, because I thought it was totally creepy.  I hate ceremony.  I hate dressing up and performing creepy rituals, especially with other people.  I've even been married, and made sure that went down with little more than a handshake in front of our parents.  I just really can't be bothered. 

So yesterday, I went to a church in Nashville that was supposedly "cool people church", a term I throw around to represent everything from liberal theologica l studies in Los Angeles to various Unitarian services around the south.  And I ended up with this really nice group of people at a chapel, shined up with a cold biscuit, prepared for some cool people churchery.  And it started fine, I wasn't too fidgety, even though nowhere in the program did it mention "Christ the Lord is Risen Today", the best Easter hymn ever.  My mom even said yesterday, "I was humming it while I was brushing my teeth this morning!"& nbsp; But then I noticed that that wasn't the only difference from what I was used to. 

I looked over the program some more.  There were words.  Catholic-y words.  Ceremony-y words.  "Eucharist ".  "Communion "... It was about to get real ceremonial , real quick.  So I shuffled out of my pew as quietly as I could (which was not at all quietly, because nothing is quieter than church, and no one is more clumsy and accidental ly noisy than me) and totally bailed.  Bailed!&nb sp; On Easter!&nb sp; The one day of the year I try to behave and do anything moral and normal!&nb sp;

But then I went to the zoo, which is way more my kind of church, especially the petting zoo, where I chatted up the keeper on Nubian goats.  They'd be good goats for me.  And then, this sheepie pulled a trick on me.  I was petting this sheep, and he started breathing really heavily and quickly, like he was overheated .  He was of course covered in wool, and it was sunny out.  So I thought, oh no, is he sick?  ; Should I go find somebody?& nbsp; And I put my head up to his body and listened.  I heard gurgling.  Loud gurgling.  And of course I knew it right before he did it.  Sheep are ruminants and he was just ruminating , and he burped in my face, it was fuuuuuckin g gross.

Blurt "co-co-edi tor" Coco Hames fronts The Ettes - Hames on guitar, Jem Cohen on bass and Poni Silver on drums - whose latest album Look At Life Again Soon (Take Root) is still a hot item, and they also have a new EP, Danger Is, released by Take Root on April 7 and also available digitally, www.myspace.com/theett es), and a Dan Auerbach-p roduced limited-ed ition single. They are currently ruminating upon their next full-lengt h, but meanwhile, they  head overseas later this month for a European tour.

[Ettes photo by Heidi Ross]

Attempts to figure out "what is music for?" by signing up random members of the public for an intriguing experiment . Must bring own mat for the Pilates session, however.

By Blurt Staff

A message from Jarvis Cocker....

Back in October 2006, when I was asked to edit The Observer Music Monthly in the UK, I asked the question "What is Music for?". Two & a half years on I would like to shorten that question to: WHAT IS MUSIC?

ALSO

I have lost count of the number of articles proclaimin g the imminent or actual death of the music industry. Does this mean that music can now go back to being an art form again? & If so, is it the first art form to begin adapting itself to the post-capit alist society we now find ourselves living in? Or is it just something you get free when you buy a mobile phone? Digital content.

ALSO

What happens if you get a band to rehearse in an art gallery instead of a rehearsal space?&nbs p; Wh at if you invite members of the public to play with the band? Or invite them to submit song titles which the band then have to base an improvisat ion upon? Could a live band provide the accompanim ent to an aerobics class? What happens if you play music from 12 noon til 7pm, 7 days a week? &  ; Wha t if you invite the kids from the local school to come round on their Wednesday off?

SO

From Tuesday 5^th of May until Sunday 10^th of May I will be occupying& nbsp;  ;Galerie Chappe, 4, Rue Andre Barsacq, 75018 Paris, France (+33 1 42 62 42 12 www.galeriecha ppe.fr) from 12 noon til 6/7pm each day (maybe later some nights) & attempting to answer these pertinent questions. I will be assisted by the members of my band: Martin Craft, Steve Mackey, Tim McCall, Ross Orton & Simon Stafford plus, at various times, we hope to be joined by other musicians currently living in the Paris area. 

& THEN

If you live locally please come down & join in this experiment . If you don't you can follow its progress on www.jarviscock er.net whic h will run for the duration of the installati on (more details soon). Each day will be archived & re-broadca st for the convenienc e of those living in different time-zones .

& FINALLY

A selection of Rankin's photograph y for my soon-to-be -released album  ; "Fu rther Complicati ons" will be on view during the course of this show. These images are an integral part of the exhibition & will also be offered for sale through the gallery.

TIMETABLE OF EVENTS

 MOND AY 4^th &nbs p;MAY - Set-up day. Closed to the public (though no-one can stop you looking through the windows).

TUESDAY 5^th MAY

12 - 2pm - BAND REHEARSAL

2 -3pm   &nbs p; - BRING AN INSTRUMENT (members of the public are invited to bring an instrument with them & play along with the band. Amplificat ion will be available for electric instrument s).

3 - 4pm - &nb sp;YOGA CLASS (with a qualified instructor . The band will provide suitable live accompanim ent. &nbs p;Particip ants must provide their own yoga-mat.).

4 - 5pm - IMPROVISAT IONS ON A THEME (throughou t the course of the exhibition a box will be available in the gallery into which members of the public can post titles, phrases, suggestion s, lyrics or anything else that the band can then base improvisat ions around. During this hour the band will create a number of pieces based on &n bsp;select ions of this material).

5 - 6pm - GUEST PERFORMANC E ( an invited guest will play with the band)

WEDNESDAY 6^th MAY

12 -2pm - BAND REHEARSAL

2 - 4pm - &nb sp;CHILDRE N'S DAY ( French children traditiona lly have Wednesday off school. The band will supervise a number of music-base d children's activities over the course of these 2 hours. Parental supervisio n is required for children under 11).

4 - 5pm - &nb sp;RELAXAT ION & nbsp;( the band will provide musical accompanim ent to a relaxation class. Participan ts should provide their own exercise mat).

5 - 6pm GUEST PERFORMANC E ( see Tuesday 5^th May)

THURSDAY 7^th MAY

12 - 2pm - BAND REHEARSAL

2 - 3pm & nbsp;  ;- &n bsp;IMPROV ISATIONS ON A THEME ( see Tuesday 5^th May)

3 - 4pm - PILATES CLASS (with a qualified instructor . The band will provide suitable live accompanim ent. Participan ts must provide their own exercise mat)

4 - 5pm - BRING AN INSTRUMENT (see Tuesday 5^th May)

5 - 6pm - GUEST PERFORMANC E

FRIDAY 8^th MAY

12 - 2pm - BAND REHEARSAL

2 - 3pm & nbsp;-&nbs p; &n bsp;IMPROV ISATIONS ON A THEME

3 - 4pm - &nb sp; & nbsp;AEROB ICS CLASS

4 - 5pm - BRING AN INSTRUMENT

5 - 6pm - GUEST PERFORMANC E

SATURDAY 9^th MAY

12 - 2pm - BAND REHEARSAL

2- 3pm & nbsp;  ; &nb sp;-   BRIN G AN INSTRUMENT

3 - 4pm & nbsp;  ;- &n bsp;DANCIN G ( the band will play an hour of music designed to encourage people to dance. Dress appropriat ely)

4 - 6pm - &nb sp; & nbsp;SET-U P FOR OUTDOOR PERFORMANC E (weather permitting )

6 - 7pm - &nb sp; & nbsp;OUTDO OR PERFORMANC E ( the band will play a short open-air concert just outside the gallery)

SUNDAY 10^th MAY

12 - 2pm - BAND REHEARSAL

2 - 3pm & nbsp;-&nbs p; &n bsp;  QUIET HOUR ( an hour of the softest music the band can play)

3 - 4pm & nbsp;-&nbs p; &n bsp;GUEST PERFORMANC E

4 - 6pm & nbsp;-&nbs p; &n bsp;REVIEW OF THE WEEK ( the band will play music written over the course of the past 6 days)

This is a very rough schedule & will be subject to change at the drop of a hat - but it does give some idea of the kind of things that will be happening. Updates will be available during the course of the exhibition through the gallery's website.

Don't miss the dancing ballerina act during the mid-show break!

By Blurt Staff

BLURT faves Cursive are currently out on the road with another fave o' ours, Man Man, and the band has just announced a June tour of the U.S. that will follow a series of UK dates, so you've got no excuse whatsoever not to see one of the most dynamic groups we've got touring this summer.

It's all in support of Mama, I'm Swollen, which dropped via Saddle Creek back in March and has been getting all kinds of good press from such "major media" as Rolling Stone, AP and Playboy as well as, uh, what we presume is  "min or media" - we reviewed the album HERE.

Here are those new dates:

JUNE 13 &n bsp;  DENVER, CO &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;  WESTWORD MUSIC SHOWCASE
JUNE 18 &n bsp;  SIOUX FALLS, SD &n bsp;   &nbs p;  NUTTY'S NORTH
JUNE 20 &n bsp;  BILLINGS, MT &n bsp;   &nbs p;  YELLOWSTON E VALLEY BREWERY
JUNE 21 &n bsp;  MISSOULA, MT &n bsp;   &nbs p;  THE OTHER SIDE
JUNE 22 &n bsp;  SPOKANE, WA &n bsp;   &nbs p;  KNITTING FACTORY
JUNE 23 &n bsp;  SEATTLE, WA &n bsp;   &nbs p;  NEUMO'S
JUNE 24 &n bsp;  PORTLAND, OR &n bsp;   &nbs p;  WONDER BALLROOM
JUNE 27 &n bsp;  SAN FRANCISCO, CA &n bsp;  GREAT AMERICAN MUSIC HALL
JUNE 28 &n bsp;  LOS ANGELES, CA &n bsp;   &nbs p;  EL REY THEATRE
JUNE 29 &n bsp;  POMONA, CA &n bsp;   &nbs p;  GLASSHOUSE
JULY 1 &nb sp;  SALT LAKE CITY, UT &n bsp;  IN THE VENUE

Previously announced dates:

APR. 30 &n bsp;  ORLANDO, FL &n bsp;   &nbs p;  THE SOCIAL* (sold out)
MAY 1 &nb sp;  ATLANTA, GA &n bsp;   &nbs p;  VARIETY PLAYHOUSE*
MAY 2 &nb sp;  CARRBORO, NC &n bsp;   &nbs p;  CAT'S CRADLE*
MAY 3 &nb sp;  WASHINGTON , DC &n bsp;   &nbs p;  BLACK CAT*
MAY 4 &nb sp;  STATE COLLEGE, PA &n bsp;  THE STATE THEATRE*
MAY 5 &nb sp;  PITTSBURGH , PA &n bsp;   &nbs p;  DIESEL*
MAY 6 &nb sp;  DETROIT, MI &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;  MAGIC STICK*
MAY 7 &nb sp;  MILWAUKEE, WI &n bsp;   &nbs p;  TURNER HALL#
MAY 8 &nb sp;  MINNEAPOLI S, MN &n bsp;   &nbs p;  FIRST AVENUE
MAY 9 &nb sp;  CHICAGO, IL &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;  BOTTOM LOUNGE#
MAY 12 &n bsp;  LONDON, UK &n bsp;   &nbs p;  DINGWALLS
MAY 14 &n bsp;  CARDIFF, UK &n bsp;   &nbs p;  CLWB IFOR BACH
MAY 15 &n bsp;  BRIGHTON, UK &n bsp;   &nbs p;  THE GREAT ESCAPE
MAY 16 &n bsp;  BIRMINGHAM , UK &n bsp;   &nbs p;  HARE AND HOUNDS
MAY 17 &n bsp;  NORWICH, UK &n bsp;   &nbs p;  ARTS CENTRE
MAY 18 &n bsp;  MANCHESTER , UK &n bsp;   &nbs p;  ACADEMY 3
MAY 19 &n bsp;  YORK, UK &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;  FIBBERS
MAY 20 &n bsp;  NEWCASTLE, UK &n bsp;   &nbs p;  ACADEMY 2
MAY 21 &n bsp;  LONDON, UK &n bsp;   &nbs p;  STAG & DAGGER FESTIVAL
MAY 22 &n bsp;  LEEDS, UK &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;  STAG & DAGGER FESTIVAL
MAY 23 &n bsp;  GLASGOW, UK &n bsp;   &nbs p;  STAG & DAGGER FESTIVAL
MAY 24 &n bsp;  NOTTINGHAM , UK &n bsp;   &nbs p;  DOT TO DOT FESTIVAL
* with MAN MAN
# with P.O.S.

Performers include Dave Matthews, Sonic Youth, Pearl Jam, Beastie Boys, Wille Nelson, M. Ward, St. Vincent, Okkervil River...

By Blurt Staff

Tired of TV reruns? ‘fra id it's almost summertime , kids. But never fear, we have something you can look forward to: the next season of Austin City Limits, which kicks off October 3 on PBS. This will mark the venerable series' 35^th anniversar y.

En route: performanc es by Dave Matthews, reigning CMA Entertaine r of the Year Kenny Chesney, iconic and influentia l bands Pearl Jam, Beastie Boys and Sonic Youth, renowned singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, rocker Ben Harper and Relentless 7, and a very special joint performanc e by Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel. (Nelson appeared on the original pilot episode, recorded in October 1974, and Asleep at the Wheel appeared on the first episode of the first official season in 1976.)

Others slated to appear are M Ward, Andrew Bird, Madeleine Peyroux, St. Vincent, Heartless Bastards, Okkervil River and Band of Heathens. Broadcast dates will be announced soon.

"We had high hopes for our 35th anniversar y, but never expected to pull together a season like this" said ACL producer Terry Lickona, in a statement. "We've scored major coups with some of the biggestnam es in rock and some of the best touring bands in the world. And we're excited to continue toshowcase the best new and emerging sounds wherever they come from, including some of the hottest bands making waves in Austin and beyond. After three and a half decades it seems likeeveryb ody still wants to stand on that stage and be a part of ACL history."

History indeed - ACL is without a doubt one of America's most important music shows ever.

May the 4th be with you! From your friendly neighborho od Blurt....

Probably shouldn't have pressed the issue about scoring that "Firestart er" remake... touchy subject for Drew, we here...

By Fred Mills

DEVO founder, Rugrats scorer and all around sonic subversive Mark Mothersbau gh is apparently on the outs with actress Drew Barrymore, who had initially tagged him to compose the score to Whip It!, the Rollergirl -themed flick that is to star Juno's Ellen Page (and will mark Barrymore' s directoria l debut), due in October from Fox Searchligh t. Now, though, according to Mothersbau gh, the deal is off.

He was quoted as saying, of Barrymore, "She hired me and fired me in all of like two weeks. I got snippy with her. She cancelled out on showing up at the studio three times and I kicked Devo out every single time and had an engineer come in and set up the studio and the third time I got pissy with her on the phone. And she said she just doesn't think our styles work together. So I got fired."

No word yet on Mothersbau gh's replacemen t. Artists set to have songs on the soundtrack include Peaches, Turbo Fruits, Har Mar Superstar and others. No word on whether or not one of them will be covering DEVO's classic tune "Whip It"....

About time we got a chance to revisit that Aragon concert from '84...

By Fred Mills

R.E.M.'s second full-lengt h, 1984's Reckoning - arguably on par with 1983's Murmur as both a sign o' the times and a benchmark of the alterna-ge neration - is set to get the deluxe edition treatment. On June 23, IRS/UMe will reissue the album as a remastered /expanded two-CD set featuring, on the bonus disc, the June 7, 1984, R.E.M. concert from Chicago's Aragon Ballroom that was originally broadcast over WXRT-FM (and subsequent ly spawned a raft of high quality bootlegs). The band's biographer Tony Fletcher will pen liner notes for the set, and it will also be coming out on vinyl simultaneo usly with a vinyl edition of Murmur. See the official press release, below.

This comes on the heels of the deluxe edition for Murmur which, as we've noted previously , is a fantastic document but one which could have perhaps been served more fully by the inclusion of additional bonus material. There is no indication that this new Reckoning will include any of the known studio outtakes from the original recording sessions, or sessions proximate to the album's general time frame ("Cushy Tush" or "Hey Hey Nadine," anyone?), but fans can always hope.

Previously , import CD reissues of the album had included bonus tracks "Wind Out," "Pretty Persuasion (live)," "Tighten Up," "Moon River" and "White Tornado (live)".

Read our review of Murmur here.

***

Reckoning "confirms R.E.M. as one of the most beautifull y exciting groups on the planet," wrote NME in 1984. R.E.M.'s second full-lengt h album also prompted The Washington Post to proclaim that "there isn't an American band worth following more than R.E.M." Twenty-fiv e years later, Reckoning remains a fan favorite for capturing R.E.M. during the youthful freshness of a new, fiercely independen t American music scene.

The two-CD Reckoning - Deluxe Edition (I.R.S./A&M/U Me), released June 23, 2008, features the original album remastered plus a bonus disc of a previously unreleased concert recorded during the band's Little America tour at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom on July 7, 1984 and broadcast on WXRT. In addition, Reckoning and R.E.M.'s 1983 debut album Murmur will be simultaneo usly reissued on audiophile quality 180 gram vinyl in their complete original packaging.

On the Deluxe Edition's bonus disc, the group not only performs eight of Reckoning' s ten songs, "Gardening At Night" from 1982's Chronic Town EP and "Radio Free Europe," "9-9" and "Sitting Still" from Murmur but also new songs that had yet to make it onto tape: "Driver 8" would later debut on R.E.M.'s third album and "Hyena" on its fourth.

Inclusion of the live concert is particular ly appropriat e for Reckoning - Deluxe Edition. Whereas Murmur had been complex and painstakin gly deliberate , the band's Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe, along with producers Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, saw Reckoning as a "chance to turn up the volume, tear up the rule book, and capture instead R.E.M.'s on-stage mojo," according to the Deluxe Edition liner notes by author Tony Fletcher. Even as Stipe lyrically delved into darker subject matter and the album included the band's first true ballads -- the melancholi c "Time After Time (Annelise) " and "Camera" -- other tracks revealed a band steeped in the immediacy of playing gigs in a college town, from the pulsating "7 Chinese Bros.," hard-rocki ng "Little America" and anthemic "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville" to the melodicall y evocative "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)," "Letter Never Sent" and "Pretty Persuasion ."

Reckoning peaked on the charts at #27, nine spots higher than Murmur (Rolling Stone's 1983 Album of the Year) and was eventually certified gold. R.E.M. would go on to score #1-chartin g quadruple platinum albums and win worldwide adoration. In 2007, in its first year of eligibilit y, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Foxbase Alpha and Continenta l due May 18 in expanded formats.

By Fred Mills

With Britain's Saint Etienne set to resurrect their early ‘90s classic Foxbase Alpha for the concert stage next week, Bob, Pete and Sarah disclosed this morning details of the upcoming Deluxe Edition for the album. There's also to be a similar treatment for 1997's Continenta l, a rarities/o dds-and-so ds collection previously available only as a Japanese import. Both will be available starting May 18, and there's to be a limited edition of Foxbase Alpha as well arriving in July.

According to the band, "[The reissues[ are 2cd sets, in shiny plastic wallets, with plenty of unseen photos and memorabili a from the period. As well as the relevant b-sides, and various alternate takes, each will include a clutch of unreleased songs."

Foxbase Alpha will include the previously unheard tracks "Sally Space" (described as "pretty good, but oddly entirely forgotten by all three of us"), "Chase HQ" ("as premiered on Resonance FM a couple of weeks back"), and "The Reckoning" ("full spy mode instrument al")

For Continenta l, new extras will be "Where Did Our Love Go" ("lost somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic according to this high-power ed melancholi c dancer"), "We Could Have It All" ("celebrat ing the magic of teamwork") and "Under Her Spell" ("jagged electro love song").

And of that limited Foxbase? "It's coming out in a gorgeous limited edition of 1,000 set - as seen in the Guardian! Thanks to the internatio nal piracy problem (we're not kidding) it will ship in July, but can be pre-ordere d during May. We'll offer a link via the official Saint Etienne site first, and it will be available to internatio nal buyers. So what do you get? A 6" tall model of a Subbuteo player in the classic green and white Saint Etienne strip; a reprint of the original album poster; 4 unique Foxbase badges (or pins); a cd of the remastered double disc album. It all comes in a beautifull y designed, vintage Etienne-gr een presentati on box. It's truly lovely - we've seen one! Something for your children, and your children's children, to go gooey-eyed over, before they tear the box to bits and pull the player's head off."

Well, all right then! Nothing like going gooey-eyed where Saint Etienne is concerned.

Next in the pipeline will be deluxe reissues of So Tough (from 1993) and Sound of Water (released in 2000, during the band's tenure on Sub Pop here in the States), and the band promises details are coming soon "but we've been rather shocked and surprised by how many forgotten relics are lurking in various cupboards and cellars" so presumably those are still being brainstorm ed.

Foxbase Alpha Tracklisti ng:

Disc: 1

1. This Is Radio Etienne - Saint Etienne, Sarah Cracknell, Ian Catt, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs

2. Only Love Can Break Your Heart - Saint Etienne

3. Wilson - Saint Etienne, Sarah Cracknell, Ian Catt, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs

4. Carnt Sleep - Saint Etienne, Sarah Cracknell, Ian Catt, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs

5. Girl VII - Saint Etienne, Sarah Cracknell, Ian Catt, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs

6. Spring - Saint Etienne

7. She's The One - Saint Etienne, Sarah Cracknell, Ian Catt, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs

8. Stoned To Say The Least - Saint Etienne, Sarah Cracknell, Ian Catt, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs

9. Nothing Can Stop Us - Saint Etienne

10. Etienne Gonna Die - Saint Etienne, Sarah Cracknell, Ian Catt, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs

11. London Belongs To Me - Saint Etienne, Sarah Cracknell, Ian Catt, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs

12. Like The Swallow - Saint Etienne, Sarah Cracknell, Ian Catt, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs

13. Dilworth's Theme - Saint Etienne, Sarah Cracknell, Ian Catt, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs

Disc: 2

1. Kiss And Make Up - Saint Etienne, Sarah Cracknell, Ian Catt, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs

2. Filthy - Saint Etienne

3. Chase HQ - Saint Etienne, Sarah Cracknell, Ian Catt, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs

4. Sally Space - Saint Etienne, Sarah Cracknell, Ian Catt, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs

5. The Reckoning - Saint Etienne, Sarah Cracknell, Ian Catt, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs

6. Speedwell - Saint Etienne, Sarah Cracknell, Ian Catt, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs

7. Parliament Hill - Saint Etienne, Sarah Cracknell, Ian Catt, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs

8. People Get Real - Saint Etienne

9. Sweet Pea - Saint Etienne

10. Winter In America - Saint Etienne

11. Fake 88 - Saint Etienne

12. Studio Kinda Filthy - Saint Etienne

13. Kiss And Make Up - Saint Etienne

14. Sky's Dead - Saint Etienne

Continenta l Tracklisti ng:

Disc: 1

1. Shad Thames - Saint Etienne, Gerard Johnson

2. Burnt Out Car - Saint Etienne, Mat Gray

3. Sometimes In Winter - Saint Etienne, Ian Catt

4. Winter Melody - Saint Etienne, The Psychonaut s

5. Public Informatio n Film - Saint Etienne, Ian Catt

6. The Process - Saint Etienne, Ian Catt

7. He's On The Phone - Saint Etienne

8. Stormtroop er In Drag - Brian Higgins, Saint Etienne

9. Star - Ian Catt, Saint Etienne

10. Down By The Sea - Saint Etienne, Gerard Johnson

11. The Sea - Mike Bolton, Saint Etienne

12. Lonesome - Ian Catt, Saint Etienne

13. Angel - Saint Etienne, Ian Catt, Broadcast

Disc: 2

1. Accident - Saint Etienne

2. Is It True - Saint Etienne, Ian Catt

3. Where Did Our Love Go - Saint Etienne, Ian Catt

4. Groveley Road - Ian Catt, Saint Etienne

5. How I Learned To Love The Bomb - Saint Etienne, Ian Catt

6. Postal Interlude - Saint Etienne, Ian Catt

7. Can't Stop Now - Saint Etienne, Sarah Cracknell, Mark Waterfield

8. Under Her Spell - Saint Etienne, Sarah Cracknell, Mark Waterfield

9. Saturday - Saint Etienne, Ian Catt, Fugu

10. Suburban Autumn Lieutenant - Saint Etienne, Ian Catt

11. We Could Have It All - Saint Etienne, Gerard Johnson

12. Lover Plays The Bass - Saint Etienne

13. Home - Guy Batson, Saint Etienne

14. Burnt Out Car - Saint Etienne

18 All New Studio Tracks Produced By Don Cannon & The Cool Kids.

By Blurt Staff


Because summer's almost here and wouldn't be complete without the mixtape to rival all mixtapes, Chicago's favorite duo of MCs, The Cool Kids, are releasing an album's worth of new tracks on Gone Fishing (Cake Recordings ) for free today! Gone Fishing includes 18 all new, unreleased studio tracks produced by The Cool Kids and mixed by legendary ATL DJ, producer and Gangsta Grillz host, Don Cannon.

The mixtape, the official prelude to the upcoming LP, When Fish Ride Bicycles, features appearance s from Ryan Leslie, GLC, Ludacris, Bun B and newcomers Tennille and Jahda.  A limited run of hard copy CDs with art will be pressed and sold exclusivel y at specialty retail outlets with the purchase of a Cool Kid's limited edition t-shirt or fitted cap.

Download Gone Fishing: www.coolxkids.com


Tracklisti ng:

1.  Intr oduction to Ice Fishing
2.  Hamm er Brothers
3.  Cham pions
4.  Gold Links
5.  Cinn amon
6.  Prem ium Blends
7.  Step Back
8.  Jump Rope feat. Tennille
9.  The Last Stretch feat. Jahda
10.  The Art of Noise (interlude )
11.  The Light Company
12.  Popc orn
13.  Wise Words by GLC -Told by GLC
14.  Penn ies (the updated rosters) Remix feat. Ludacris & Bun B
15.  Broa dcasting Live
16.  Taki n' a Break
17.  Tune Up
18.  Week end Girls feat. Ryan Leslie
19.  Summ er Vacations
20.  Word s of Wisdom by GLC - Told by GLC
21.  Knocked Down

Michelle Shocked rocks new 10-song collection

By Nancy Dunham

It's probably unfair that Michelle Shocked's name conjures an image of her in handcuffs as she struggled with police at the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco.

Of course Shocked used the photo (which was published on the front page of the San Francisco Examiner) of herself in the chokehold on the cover of one of her best-known album Short Sharp Shocked. Even her profession al name (she was born Karen Michelle Johnston) is a reminder of that day; when asked her name by police she said Michelle Shocked, as a play on the term "Shell Shocked." But despite what some think, the woman is about much more than that one day - or one cause, genre or feeling, for that matter.

She's back this month with a new album Soul of My Soul, a prelude to future collaborat ions with the man she loves, fine artist David Willardson . The 10-song collection -- set for May 26 release --  is a rocker with plenty of songs about Willardson , who Shocked calls the "official love of my life." But lest you think love has softened Shocked's civil outrage, she includes songs such as "Other People," a clear swipe at the last Presidenti al administra tion and what she calls "Bush's America."

As much as we love Shocked's last release - ToHeavenUR ide -- a gospel album digitally recorded at 2003 Telluride Bluegrass Festival, it's great to have her back in rock and roll form.

Watch BLURT for a review of the album soon.

Tour dates:

May 6 - Hugh's Room - Toronto, Ont.

May 7 - Sydenham United Church - Kingston, Ont.

May 8 - One Longfellow Square - Portland, Maine

May 9 - Tupelo Music Hall - Londonderr y, N.H.

May 10 - Iron Horse Music Hall - Northampto n, Mass.

May 14 - City Winery - New York, NY

May 15 - Puck - Doylestown , Pa.

May 16 - Ram's Head Tavern - Annapolis, Md.

May 17 - Beyond November Coalition Fundraiser - Los Angeles

June 15 - Myrna Loy Center - Helena, Mt.

June 19 - Space - Evanston, Ill.

June 20- Midwest Renewable Energy Fair - Custer, Wisc.

Aug. 13 - Sandpoint Festival - Sandpoint, Idaho

Aug. 14 - Brewery Arts Center - Carson City, Nev.

For more informatio n, go to Michelle Shocked

Well, it's not exactly "Tea For the Tillerman" quality, but...

By Fred Mills

Cat Stevens, aka Yusuf Islam, is talking to the British press, an when that cat talks, folks listen. Specifical ly, he's accusing Coldplay of ripping off one of his songs - in fact, it's the much-malig ned C-play tune "Viva La Vida" that's once again causing trouble.

Said the songwriter , "There's been this argument about Coldplay stealing this melody from Joe Satrianai, but, if you listen to it, it's mine! It's the ‘For eigner Suite,' it is!" According to Britain's The Sun, Stevens "claims it incorporat es ‘sub stantial original portions' of his song and is seeking ‘any and all profits' from the track."

Shit, by the time we're done with this there won't BE any profits - every songwriter on the planet, from Satch to Stevens to that nobody band called Creaky Boards will be getting a piece of the Chris Martin pie.

Stevens added that there's a plausible connection for all this too: he and Coldplay have in common mixing specialist Michael H. Brauer, who has worked with both artists.

Actually, this is all getting kinda ridiculous . If you have to rip off THREE different bands to create a song, by the time you're finished, it probably qualifies as an original compositio n!

Joe Meek, Joe Dallesandr o of the Warhol crew, a history of jazz and more: event for the celebrated annual festival happened April 30 at the Alki Room, Seattle Center, Seattle, Washington .

By Gillian G. Gaar

Telstar, Nick Moran's documentar y about maverick British producer Joe Meek, Little Joe, a look at the life and times of Warhol screen legend Joe Dallesandr o, and Icons Among Us, a history of jazz as told through the interviews of 75 jazz artists, are just some of the films that will have their premieres at the 35^th Seattle Internatio nal Film Festival, which runs May 21-June 14 in Seattle (North American premieres for Telstar and Little Joe, World Premiere for Icons). Sub Pop act No Age will also debut an original score for a screening of the French film The Bear, which will play June 12 at Seattle club the Triple Door.

The preliminar y lineup was announced at SIFF's press launch, held at what will be their future home on the Seattle Center grounds. After last year's "dry" press launch, this year media types (chiefly local media - Seattle Times, Seattle Metropolit an, Seattle Gay News, etc.), were given a nice spread, courtesy of Suess Chocolates , featuring a wide array of pastries and all the mimosas you could quaff (Blurt's favorite morning beverage). Blurt spoke with both Artistic Director Carl Spence and Programmin g Manager Beth Barrett who noted that this year's SIFF is one of their biggest (268 features and 124 shorts), thus continuing to hold down SIFF's rep as the largest film fest in North America (it's also the second highest attended fest in North America, with Toronto's fest coming in first). Spence said there was an effort to schedule more comedies this year to help alleviate the stresses of our troubled times, and both pointed out the strength of this year's offerings by Northwest filmmakers , including not only Icons, but also Trimpin: The Sound of Invention a doc about the artist/inv entor/engi neer/compo ser whose massive guitar sculpture hangs in Seattle's Experience Music Project rock museum, It Takes A Cult, about "The Love Family" commune, World's Greatest Dad, directed by comedian Bob Goldthwait and starring Robin Williams, and ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destructio n.

Nine films are part of SIFF's "Face The Music" series, including not only Icons, Trimpin, Telstar, and The Bear presentati on, but also documentar ies on Bruce Springstee n, Youssou Ndour, the All Tomorrow's Parties festival, Favela on Blast, about Rio's Balle Funk music scene, and Sounds Like Teen Spirit: A Popumentar y, which centers on the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Another music-rela ted film not part of Face The Music series is Every Little Step, a documentar y about the revival of the musical A Chorus Line.

SIFF has long described itself as a populist film fest, with films for virtually every taste. While some films are currently slated for theatrical release (such as Facing Ali, an homage to the boxing legend), there are others that have yet to secure widespread distributi on (the cult hit Morris: A Life With Bells On, a faux documentar y about Morris dancing). Along with the Face the Music series, other series highlight films with gay themes (La Mission; Benjamin Bratt freaks when he learns his son is gay), "eco-theme s" (Food, Inc., an expose of our food industry), and the infamous "Midnight Adrenaline " series, offering late night sagas about "dead things and bleeding things" in Barrett's words (Black Dynamite, a modern day blaxploita tion flick; the self-expla natory Yes, I Can See Dead People).

The press launch also included a screening of SIFF's opening night film, the British feature In The Loop, a riotous modern day political satire (which seemed even funnier after the consumptio n of so many mimosas) from the team of the UK TV series The Thick Of It. Opening night is one of three SIFF galas, with screenings followed by elaborate parties featuring much food and drink. The Centerpiec e Gala, held June 5, will feature Humpday, about two straight guys who enter an amateur porn contest for the thrill of it; complicati ons ensue (the story is loosely based on the real life amateur porn contest held by Seattle alternativ e weekly The Stranger). The Closing Night gala will feature OSS 117: Lost In Rio, the long-await ed sequel to OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies, a French send-up of James Bond spy capers with agent OSS 117 tracking down Nazis in Rio in between gallivanti ng with lovelies in mini skirts.

Among the guests who are set to make SIFF appearance s this year are Spike Lee, who will receive the 2009 Golden Space Needle Award for Outstandin g Achievemen t in Directing in a special tribute program May 23 at Seattle's "World Famous" Egyptian Theatre that will include an on-stage interview with Lee and a screening of his latest film, Passing Strange, based on the Broadway musical of the same name. Francis Ford Coppola will arrive June 10 with his latest film, Tetro, and its star, Vincent Gallo, in tow.

SIFF's complete schedule will be available Thursday, May 7, with ticket sales for the general public beginning May 8. Info: www.siff.net .

Guest Post this week from Bree Sharp (remember Bree?) whose new project with Outlandos darling Don DiLego, Beautiful Small Machines, came as a surprise to even them. It's fun. It's pop. It's dance. Apparently , it's even humpy. And they even got Simon Le Bon to hop in on it. No kidding. Take it away Bree...

Dear Closet Door Frame Humpers,

Although you may be humping the door frame of your closet, I am, however, referring to the clandestin e nature of your habit, and not the location of it. You may be humping your closet door frame, your kitchen door frame, bathroom door frame, the door frame of your neighbor's attic, or favorite local restaurant vestibule door frame; either way, you're out there and you know what you're doing. And i'll tell you something...

I'm into it.

Big time.

So much so that I'm currently making a comprehens ive documentar y on the subject and using some of the footage for my next video.

Because I know that late at night, when Master Shake, Xander Crews, and Jan and Wayne Skylar have gone to bed... Or early in the morning when the first of five daily showings of "A Few Good Men" is starting to air on TBS... Or midday when you can hear Spanish radio drifting into your room from cars driving by four stories down as the first of spring's breezes blows in... I know you're thinking about it. Splinters be damned!

But you know, I'm not here to judge. I'm going gray and i still use Proactiv. So what can I say? It's an imperfect world. However, I can share with you this:

So far my research shows that while little is known about you, DFH (Door Frame Humper) and your growing phenomenon , it is thought that the humping is not necessaril y sexual in nature and is mostly executed while the humper is, in fact, clothed It is also thought that age does not play a role in determinin g who will be a DFH and that participan ts are reported to be as young as pre-adoles cents and as old as nonagenari ans. Duration of the hump seems to be indiscrimi nate as well and can last anywhere from a few seconds to several hours (although the latter is supposedly much more rare and thought only to be present among DFH's who are single or unemployed ).

My thought for today: research what the cow's milk (that is meant to turn a 50 pound calf into a 400 pound cow in 60 days) is doing to your body. And then maybe ask yourself how much space you think one chicken needs from another chicken before they start pecking each other out of madness. And when the answers blow your mind, go hump a door frame. But you know, it's just a thought...

For the DFH neophyte i've compiled the following small list of "Music- To-Hump-Do or-Frames- To" suggestion s: [...]

A Triple-A radio programmin g veteran, Kate has served as Music Director of the Loft at XM, Midday Host at WYEP, Evening Host at both WNCS and WUIN, as well as Content Supervisor for Pump Audio. Currently, she's the CEO of Outlandos Music, a new-music discovery service for grown-ups. Kate has been nationally recognized for her ardent presentati on of music and her ability to champion talented, compelling artists.

Previously unheard solo recordings will be aired.

By Blurt Staff

Expect the May 19 birthday celebratio n for what would have been Joey Ramone's 58^th year to be a total bash with a show headlined by Fishbone and Supersucke rs and what we're guessing will be wall-to-wa ll celeb partygoers (You know Eddie Vedder was a close friend of Joey's, right?). It'll be held at the Fillmore NYC at Irving Plaza.

But despite all the outside star power, our bet is Joey will steal the ninth annual show. Mickey Leigh, Joey's brother and the event producer, has announced fans will be treated to a special advance sneak peek listen to rough mixes of never- before-hea rd Joey Ramone solo recordings .  Various producers, including long-time Ramones producer Ed Stasium, are currently preparing tracks for a full album worth of material, slated for posthumous release at the end of the year.

The party will conclude with The Friends Of Joey featuring Richie Ramone, Handsome Dick Manitoba, Jean Beauvoir, Ivan Julian, George Tabb, Al Maddy and Mickey Leigh.  Also appearing are Death and Rough Francis, Uncle Monk (featuring Tommy Ramone), Bebe Buell, and Tom Clark & The High Action Boys.  

As the audience enters the venue they will once again be greeted by musician Tracy Thornton, playing Ramones songs on the steel drum.  And, in what has become a Birthday Bash tradition, Sean O'Sullivan 's Punk Pipers will round out the night on the bagpipes. 

Joey died April 2001 after a seven-year battle with Lymphoma, had a history of encouragin g up-and-com ing bands in New York's downtown music scene by showcasing them at his special "Joey Ramone Presents..." events.  His brother and their mother Charlotte Lesher carried on the tradition "by featuring bands that make great music and getting together some of Joey's friends to celebrate him on what would otherwise be a sad, somber day," Leigh said in a press statement.

Tickets are available in advance at the Fillmore box office for$25 ($30 day of show) or through http://www .livenation .com/edp/ev entId/4045 23.  The Fillmore is located at 17 Irving Place, corner 15^th Street, NYC.  Doors open at 7PM.

Net proceeds from the Bash go to support the Joey Ramone Foundation for Lymphoma Research.

Want more news? Go to www.joeyRamone .com

A Blurt exclusive!

You're getting the first look anywhere at Tim Easton's new video for "7th Wheel" - it comes from his latest album "Porcupine ," released last week by New West Records, and was directed by Alex Gorosh.

Check out Easton as he re-creates the album cover painting on the side of a building in Joshua Tree, Calif.

Clip for Porcupine' s "7^th Wheel" only at your friendly neighborho od BLURT.

By Blurt Staff

It's another BLURT video exclusive: Tim Easton's new video for "7th Wheel" - it comes from his latest album Porcupine released last week by New West Records, and directed by Alex Gorosh.

Check out Easton as he re-creates the album cover painting on the side of a building in Joshua Tree, Calif. - get your first look at the clip in our video kiosk, or you can go straight in HERE.

In our recent review of the album, we noted how "it's a versatile artist who feels he's no longer confined to any one particular style and subsequent ly allows himself to infuse more disparate elements into his sound.  So give credit to Tim Easton with breaking the Americana mold on this, his fifth album, and expanding his parameters into realms of Blues, R&B and other traditiona l templates."

For Porcupine, Tim went back to Alex The Great and Club Roar studios in Nashville to work with Brad Jones and Robin Eaton who produced his debut album, Special 20. &nbs p; He wanted to "make some noise and get that jagged, midwestern rock and roll sound again" so he hand-picke d the Ohio-based rhythm section - Sam Brown on drums (Gaunt, New Bomb Turks, RJD2) and Matt Surgeson on bass and backing vocals (Matt also played on Special 20). Renowned guitarist Kenny Vaughn, who Tim met playing in Lucinda Williams' band for her Car Wheels tour, played second guitar.

Porcupine visits the rough edged and electric side of Tim's recordings , although it's an acoustic track that provides the record's shiniest moment in the pop-folk jangle of "Seventh Wheel."  Tim wrote the song in as much time as it takes to sing it while staying at friend's house in Dublin, and the band demanded that he record it for the album after hearing the demo he made in Ireland. &nbs p; As for the title Porcupine, Tim explains "I thought the physical animal called the porcupine was a perfect symbol for the sound of this record in that it appears to be a gentle and harmless creature from a distance but up close it is in fact sharp and potentiall y dangerous." 

Easton is currently on the road with his touring band - Brown on drums, Alex Livingston e on bass - and will be joined by Aaron Lee Tasjan of The New York Dolls in New York City (5/6 @ Mercury Lounge) and Philadelph ia (5/7 @ Johnny Brendas).

Tour Dates:

Tuesday 5/5/09 Arlington, VA IOTA Club and Café ; &nb sp;
Wednesday 5/6/09 New York, NY The Mercury Lounge 8pm 
Thursday 5/7/09 Philadelph ia, PA  Johnny Brendas&nb sp;
Saturday 5/9/09 New London, CT The Oasis  ; Pub 
Monday 5/11/09 Winston-Sa lem, NC The Garage&nbs p; 
Tuesday 5/12/09 Raleigh, NC Berkeley Café ; 
Wednesday 5/13/09 Atlanta, GA The Earl   
Wednesday, 5/14/09 Athens, GA The 40 Watt
Friday 5/15/09 Auburn, AL The Strutting Duck
Saturday 5/16/09 Orlando, FL Orange You Glad Fest at Will's Pub
Sunday 5/17/09 Tampa, FL New World Brewery
Thursday 5/21/09 Jacksonvil le, FL European St Café ;
Friday 5/29/09 Denver, CO Walnut Room   
Saturday 5/30/09 Salt Lake City, UT Benefit for UtahFM.org @ The State Room
Wednesday 6/3/09 Boise, ID Alive After Five
Thursday 6/4/09 Reno, NV Tim Wainer House Concert
Friday 6/5/09 Los Angeles, CA The Mint

[Photo Credit: Paul Moore]

Tour dates announced

By Blurt Staff

We told you about The Coathanger s' sophomore release Scramble and gave you a peek at the band's video "Stomp Stomp Stompin"

Still want more? Here's where to check them out live:

May 11 - Atlanta GA -  The Eyedrum W/ Calvin Johnson

June 9 - Atlanta GA -  The Drunken Unicorn*^

June 10 - Greensboro NC -  Square 1*^

June 11 - Richmond VA -  Tba

June 12 - Baltimore MD -  Sonar*^

June 13 - Brooklyn NY -  The Market Hotel*^

June 14 - Brooklyn NY -  Glasslands Gallery W/ K-Holes

June 15 - Providence RI -  AS220 W/ White Mice

June 16 - Rochester NY -  The Bug Jar

June 17 - Montreal QC -  La Sala Rossa*

June 18 - Toronto ON -  Nxne -  Chunklet Showcase

June 19 - Toronto ON -  Nxne -  Panache Showcase -  Sneaky Dee's

June 20 - Chicago IL -  Ronny's W/ The Regrets

June 21 - Madison WI -  Brink Lounge

June 22 - St. Paul MN -  Big V's

June 23 - Winnipeg MB -  The Pyramid Cabaret

June 25 - Calgary AB -  Sled Island Festival

June 27 - Seattle WA -  Comet Tavern W/ These Arms Are Snakes

June 28 - Vancouver BC -  Tba

June 30 - Portland OR -  East End Tavern

July 2 - San Francisco CA -  Hemlock Tavern^

July 3 - San Jose CA -  Nickel City^

July 5 - Los Angeles CA -  The Smell

July 6 - San Diego CA -  The Casbah^

July 7 - Tucson AZ -  Plush^

July 9 - Lubbock TX -  Bash Riprock's^

July 10 - Dallas TX -  The Lounge On Elm Street^

July 11 - Austin TX -  Mohawk

July 12 - Houston TX -  Mango's

July 13 - New Orleans LA -  Saturn Bar

*With Mika Miko

^With The Strange Boys

The Wilco soap opera, revisited this time for the courtroom.

By Fred Mills

We'd barely finished posting out story about the new live Wilco DVD when word arrived of some rather unpleasant Wilco related news: yesterday in Illinois' Cook County Circuit Court, erstwhile Wilco member Jay Bennett filed a suit against bandleader Jeff Tweedy claiming he's owed "compensat ion for his services rendered in the form of continuing and perpetual artist royalty payments."

In a report filed by the Chicago Tribune Bennett is suing Tweedy because, while he did get paid during his 1994-2001 tenure with the band, it was only "infrequen t partial payments" amounting to far less than he was actually owed - including compensati on for appearing in the 2002 Wilco documentar y I Am Trying to Break Your Heart. Bennett is asking for damages of $50,000.

As Pitchfork further points out, there's no love lost between Bennett and Tweedy, as the aforementi oned film, which was about the making of the album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, didn't portray Bennett in a very favorable light. The pair had a huge falling out and Bennett received the boot from Tweedy in August of 2001 (although to this date there continues to be commentary along the lines of "You're fired!/No, I quit first!" whenever the topic is revisited) .

New album coming, tour dates announced.

By Blurt Staff

Matisyahu is keeping busy these days. Not only was he recently in a video with The Crystal Method but now he's off on his own summer tour. Watch for his new album Light to be released sometime this summer

Check out the tour dates below:

May 30* - Pompano Beach, FL - Pompano Beach Amphitheat er

May 31* - Lake Buena Vista, FL - House of Blues-Orla ndo

June

June 1* - St. Petersburg , FL - Jannus Landing

June 2* - Atlanta, GA - The Tabernacle

June 4* - Memphis, TN - Minglewood Hall

June 5 - Ozark, AR - Wakarusa Festival

June 7* - Dallas, TX - The Palladium

June 8* - Houston, TX - House of Blues

June 9* - Austin, TX - Austin Music Hall

June 11+ - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre

June 13-14 - Santa Rosa, CA - Harmony Music Festival

June 16+ - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern

June 18+ - Ventura, CA - Ventura Theatre

June 20+ - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues

June 21+ - San Luis Obispo, CA - Pozo Saloon

June 23+ - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom

June 24+ - Seattle, WA - The Moore Theatre

June 25+ - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory

June 27 - Salt Lake City, UT - In The Venue

June 29 - Aspen, CO - Belly Up

July

July 1 - Minneapoli s, MN - First Avenue

July 2 - Milwaukee, WI - Summerfest

July 3 - Des Moines, IA - 80-35 Festival

July 5 - Rothbury, MI - Rothbury Festival

July 7† - Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion

July 8† - Philadelph ia, PA - Electric Factory

July 9† - New York, NY - Central Park SummerStag e

July 11 - Ottawa, ON - Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest

July 12 - Quebec City - QC Festival d'é té de Qué bec

July 19 - Denver, CO - Mile High Music Festival 

*-co -headline with Les Claypool� �+ -with very special guest K'naan
& dagger;- co-headlin e with Umphrey's McGee

Find out more at matisyahu

Apologies for that headline, we think an intern wrote it...

By Fred Mills

We don't have to tell you that the world of print media is pretty fucked right now (which is why BLURT, after almost a year of publishing digitally, decided to re-enter the print world a month or so ago - we're pretty fucked in our collective head, so the fit is good). Although in the case of some publicatio ns such as Relix, about to go under but then getting an 11-th hour reprieve this week, are still hanging in there, others, such as Blender, which recently flamed out in a grand explosion of hubris and bad finances, are now dead. Ex-publica tions. Pushing up daisies. Singing with the choir invisible.

Today's canary-in- the-coalmi ne moment arrives courtesy of venerable satire rag The Onion, who released a statement this morning indicating it was discontinu ing publicatio n of its San Francisco and Los Angeles editions. Citing nosediving ad revenue, the Chicago-ba sed company announced that this week's editions would be the last in both cities.

According to The Onion, "In both Los Angeles and San Francisco readership has actually risen despite our reduction in copies in recent months [but] the advertisin g in both cities has been abysmal. This stands in stark contrast to other parts of our business-- both the majority of our print markets (Milwaukee , Madison, Minneapoli s, Denver, Boulder, for example) as well as our rapidly growing digital enterprise s (theonion.com, avclub.com, the Onion News Network and Decider.com--which are growing nicely and in some cases dramatical ly.... We have no plans at this time to cease publicatio n in any of our other markets."

The latter comment may be true, but it's actually hard to imagine how the cited markets could prove stronger than population /media centers like San Fran and L.A., so to all the readers in those markets - don't hold your breath.

Of course, anyone who keeps up with The Onion lately knows that they've really been hitting their stride in the visual medium. As good as the written jollies can be, some of the content on ONN (the Onion News Network) ranks alongside the FunnyOrDie .com website's videos as among the funniest on the web - like THIS report on the new Star Trek movie (hint: watch for the vintage Kirk-alien clip). So we trust that in one form or another, the folks there will continue to thrive.

Includes Los Fabulosos Cadillacs (pictured) headlining Central Park SummerStag e July 11; Los Amigos Invisibles /Aterciope lados at Prospect Park Bandshell July 10; Juana Molina/Cur umin/Zizek at SummerStag e July 8.

By Blurt Staff

I have two big music regrets in my life.

The first: in 1994, I blew off a buddy who wanted to go check out this new punk band from California playing a tiny show in Pittsburgh . Despite the fact that it was a couple of guys from Operation Ivy and he ended up drinking with them all night, I turned down the chance to see an early version of Rancid to cover a show for my college paper. The band I opted for? Hootie and the f-ing Blowfish. Awesome!

The second: I had a crush on a girl that lasted all of about three weeks and opted to go see The B-52s ("Love Shack" era) and Ziggy Marley with her and some friends, rather than watch The Replacemen ts and Tom Petty play. The Replacemen ts turned out a couple more albums than decided to call it a day, ensuring I would likely never see them perform live. The B-52's however, play just about every outdoor festival imaginable . I wouldn't be surprised if they were playing at the park down the street when I take my daughter over there later tonight.

Which brings me to reunions. It's the summer music festival season. The time when concert promoters throw truck loads of money at fractured bands in the hopes they can get them to put aside years of bitter feelings and online feuds long enough to run through a few classics on stage, before heading over to the bank.

Despite constant rumors that The Smiths would be getting back together for a set at Coachella this year, they didn't.  Apparently Morrissey remembered that he once said something about rather eating his own testicles than reforming the group. Those who have reunited recently - though no word on whether eating testicles was part of the deal - inc

lude Faith No More, The Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, The Jesus Lizard and Blur.

Christ, even bands like Creed, No Doubt and Blink-182- who have each been broken up, what a few years? - are getting back together. At least give us a chance to decide whether or not we want to miss you before you come barging back into our lives.

Even the New York Dolls managed to bury the hatchet in 2004, after a 27-year break, and ha ve kept it together beyond traditiona l reunion tour cash grab and have turned out a couple of new albums, including the just released&n bsp; "'Cause I Sez So." That still leaves a slew of punk bands who have yet to reform.

* Top of the list is The Replacemen ts. Guitarist Bob Stinson died in 1995 and longtime/o riginal drummer Chris Mars left before the band officially called it quits and has sworn on several occasions that he would not be part of a reunion. Paul Westerberg and bassists Tommy Stinson however have each hinted at the idea of at least one more show.

* The Clash. Sadly not an option since Joe Strummer died in 2002 of a congenital heart defect. If surviving members Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Topper Headon did ever decide to resurrect the band with some half-assed Joe Strummer sound-alik e (kinda like the 20^th Century Doors) expect rioting in the streets that would make the '99 WTO protests seem like a middle school dance in comparison .

* Black Flag. A reunion of Black Flag is actually not that unrealisti c. The band got together for a few benefit shows in 2003 and Henry Rollins has been in some unbelievab ly crappy movies since leaving the band, proving he'd be up for anything (Anyone see "Jack Frost" or "Wrong Turn 2: Dead End"?) But does anyone really want to see a bunch of 50-somethi ngs playing classic Black Flag songs? Yeah, I probably do too.

* Operation Ivy. With only one full length to their name, Op Ivy managed to influence a whole generation of punks. Though Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman went on to form Rancid, the fact that both have managed to find time for solo records and side projects, and the lack of any real acrimony between band members makes an Operation Ivy reunion a possibilit y. Though front man Jesse Michaels dismissed reunion rumors two years ago, citing logistics and a vague reference to lawyers.

* The Sex Pistols. Reunion? They won't go away! The band had one proper album (fantastic as it was,) and imploded. But Johnny Rotten - when not appearing on celebrity realty shows or in butter commercial s - still manages to round up the lot for the occasional bank heist... I mean reunion tours (1996, 2002-2003, 2007 and any day now).

Music worth listening to this week:

Electric Owls - Ain't Too Bright

Chris Wollard and the Ship Thieves - self titled

http://www .driveinmov ie.com/OK.htm

The music and the sounds of my upbringing will be with me as they always have been.

They have remained inside me since I first saw the wild buffalo roaming on the plains of Oklahoma. I once could see what the Indians could see: the flat belly of fields spewing oil, wet from blood, not naked but derelict, huddled in the debris that the white man salvaged for them.

In Oklahoma, when my heart first heard music-or rather, first listened to what music would become-I saw what replaced the Indian dreams.

In the distance, the pull of the giant screens emerging from the flat earth like the stones of Easter Island-ano ther mystery I have no time for-lured me daily. I could not drive past them with my preacher father and teacher mother without hoping that, the next night, under the dark sky covered with yellow stars, I could catch a glimpse of giant red lips or the bare leg of a monstrous goddess.

The drive-ins calmed the plains while the buffalo roamed behind the screens staring in to the bright lights of the automobile . My family's pink Mercury station wagon rolled over the bumps, blinding these ancient creatures, parking weekly at night in front of the images reaching toward God.

What god, the Indians would ask?

Before I heard music, the gods were Walt Disney, Alfred Hitchcock, and Jerry Lewis. The images of their films projected out into the universe of Oklahoma, over the beat-up convertibl es and flat-tops and crewcut haircuts, through the dark peace that only the Indian knew-and that I had heard once. What an unearthly peacefulne ss it was then: challenged only by the drive-ins and oil and fading cowboys.

I have not known such peace since then.

Doing a slew of radio sessions too, all in support of new album Townes.

By Blurt Staff

Entire album getting an online preview NOW, so don't hesitate.

By Fred Mills

Danger Horse? Sparklemou se? However you want to describe the Danger Mouse and Sparklehor se collaborat ion Dark Was the Night, based on the aural evidence we're listening to RIGHT NOW, the album, due this summer is pretty ace.

You can make your own decision by going HERE to the ChrysalisM usicBlog. Once there, just click on the Dark Night of the Soul folder icon in the "Box".

As we are advised: Brian Burton (Danger Mouse) + Mark Linkous (Sparkleho rse) + Fla ming Lips + Gruff Rhys + Iggy Pop + Suzanne Vega + Black Francis + Vic Chesnutt + Julian Casablanca s + Jason Lytle + Nina Persson + James Mercer x DAVID LYNCH = Dark Night of the Soul.

Stay tuned for details on an official release date. Earlier this year, Linkous told Pitchfork he had high hopes for the project, and that he and Danger Mouse had created the backing tracks for all the guest singers, singling out the Lips track "Revenge" as being "fucking awesome." Listen closely to the tracks and see if you can figure out who's singing what; we are especially digging the Black Francis track.

They've also set up a YouTube channel to post videos, one so far: http://www .youtube.com/user/d notsoul

And yes folks, you can still help out with the medical bills by making a donation.

By Blurt Staff

Master of ceremonies T Bone Burnett invited comic Eric Idle, singer Katie Melua and folk rock legend Richard Thompson, among other surprise guests, to the stage on Sunday night at McCabe's in Santa Monica.  The occasion was the final night in a series of three sold-out shows benefiting Peter Case, the singer-son gwriter-pr oducer whose emergency open-heart surgery left him sidelined in January. Burnett's Sunday night revue also featured Joe Henry, Sam Phillips, Syd Straw, Bob Neuwirth, Carla Olson, Geoff Muldaur, and Case's former bandmates, the Plimsouls, as well as Case himself who performed "A Million Miles Away" accompanie d by the Section String Quartet and "Oldest Story in the World" with the Plimsouls.

Other weekend highlights included Friday's headline appearance by Loudon Wainwright III; he coaxed Case onstage to perform his signature arrangemen t of Blind Willie McTell's "Broke Down Engine Blues." Van Dyke Parks invited singer Inara George to join him, while Phranc, the All American Jewish Lesbian Folksinger , dedicated her song "I Like You" to Case, and turned her sing-a-lon g anthem "Live Lover" into "I'm a Peter Case Lover," especially for the occasion.

Saturday night's show was a gathering of old friends: Dave Alvin performed Case's "On My Way Downtown" while telling stories of the days before he and Case graduated from their bands the Blasters and Plimsouls to become the award-winn ing and esteemed songwriter s they are today. Case pals Stan Ridgway, Ron Franklin and performanc e artist the Dark Bob turned in startlingl y different and sublime sets of their own.

"I'm feeling great and am amazed and humbled by the extraordin ary turnout," said Case on Monday morning. 

In 1984, Case made his debut as a solo artist at McCabe's; in February he was set to celebrate 25 years of performing there.  But just as he was preparing to leave for a European tour in January, he was hospitaliz ed.  It was following an attempt at angioplast y that he received emergency bypass surgery. As one of the nearly 47 million Americans who remain uninsured, Case's incoming hospital bills and aftercare costs remained unresolved .  However, all proceeds from the Hidden Love Benefit Concerts will contribute tremendous ly toward reducing those costs.  In addition to the concert, Peter's friends, fans and fellow artists have establishe d the Hidden Love Fund to help further alleviate the burden of his medical expenses. 

For more informatio n or to make a donation to the fund please visit http://www .hiddenlove medicalrel ief.com/

Further informatio n on Case's 25th Anniversar y Show at McCabe's will be announced soon.

Album en route and U.S. tour starts today.

By Blurt Staff

Maryland's Clutch are putting the finishing touches on their ninth studio album, titled Strange Cousins From the West. Produced by Clutch and J. Robbins at Magpie Cage Studios in Baltimore, the effort is the first Clutch original to be released on the band's own Weathermak er Music, through RED Distributi on. It will drop on July 7.

Also of note is the Poppo's Blues Band cover song "Algo Ha Cambiado," which vocalist Neil Fallon sings in Spanish. (Poppo was a legendary Argentinia n hard rock singer/gui tarist throughout the 70's and 80's.) The title Strange Cousins From the West was taken from a line in the song "Minotaur."

Although the band has toured the world extensivel y over the past 2 years, and released multiple Clutch oriented projects, Strange Cousins... is the band's first original studio work since March of 2007's "From Beale Street to Oblivion" which featured the hit "Electric Worry."

Track Listing:

Motherless Child
Struck Down
50,000 Unstoppabl e Watts
Abraham Lincoln
Minotaur
The Amazing Kreskin
Witchdocto r
Let a Poor Man Be
Freakonomi cs
Algo Ha Cambiado
Sleestak Lightning

Tour Dates:

w/ Wino and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster

May 6 2009 Lost Horizon Syracuse, New York
May 7 2009 The Cellar Struthers, Ohio
May 8 2009 Headliner' s Toledo, Ohio
May 9 2009 Otto's Nightclub DeKalb, Illinois
May 10 2009 Riverside Ballroom Green Bay, Wisconsin
May 12 2009 Canaries Stadium KRRO Fest Sioux Falls, South Dakota with Slipknot and Korn * Clutch only
May 13 2009 People's Court Des Moines, Iowa
May 14 2009 The Cotillion Wichita, Kansas
May 15 2009 The Blue Note Columbia, Missouri
May 16 2009 Jake's Nightclub Bloomingto n, Indiana
May 17 2009 Columbus Crew Stadium "Rock on the Range" Festival Columbus, Ohio
May 19 2009 The Music Farm Charleston , South Carolina
May 20 2009 Cat's Cradle Carrboro, North Carolina
May 21 2009 The Norva Norfolk, Virginia
May 22 2009 The Note West Chester, Pennsylvan ia
May 23 2009 The Bakerton Group @ 930 Club Washington , DC, Washington DC

UK Tour

Jun 13 2009 Corporatio n Sheffield
Jun 14 2009 Download Festival Donington
Jun 15 2009 HMS Hammer Gig Boat to Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards London
Jun 16 2009 Wedgewood Rooms Portsmouth
Jun 17 2009 TJ's Newport
Jun 18 2009 Cockpit Leeds
Jun 19 2009 King Tut's Glasgow
Jun 21 2009 De Helling Utrecht
Jun 22 2009 Kulturfabr ik Esch-sur-A lzette
Jun 23 2009 Undergroun d Koln
Jun 24 2009 Molotow Hamburg
Jun 25 2009 Knaak Berlin

July 3rd House of Blues Atlantic City, NJ w/ Monster Magnet and Wino

Is the End of Days upon us?

By Blurt Staff

According to the Bible, the seven signs of the Apocalypse include war, famine, disease, hatred, crime and earthquake s, but BLURT's crack team of Biblical historians have uncovered the long lost eighth sign that Judgement Day may be near:

Patterson Hood is lecturing today at Princeton University .

The always-aff able frontman of the Drive-By Truckers is meeting with American Studies students to kick off "Radio Free Dixie (Or, De Dirty South Broke-down ): A Symposium on New South Sounds & Culture," a free two-day event that formally begins this Friday, May 8, which will attempt to examine the influence of rock musicians, artists, scholars, politician s, spiritual figures and critics that emerged from the Southeast region of the United States during the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

We here at BLURT always enjoy any opportunit y to shoot the bull with Hood. Our most recent chat with the long-time Athens, GA resident focused on Murdering Oscar (and other love songs), his new solo release due out June 23. Keep your eyes peeled for an extensive feature in our upcoming print edition hitting newsstands in June.

In the course of the interview, Hood shed some light on the upcoming Truckers album as well as a compilatio n of unreleased material being issued by New West Records this fall.

"I'm really excited about the next Truckers record," Hood reports. "We're off to a pretty booming start. We've cut 17 songs already and will work for the rest of this month on wrapping it up. I think we have enough for an album and maybe an EP, too. A lot of it depends on what Cooley comes in with for this next session."

According to Hood, DBT bassist Shonna Tucker has stepped up her contributi ons as well in recent sessions.

"Shonna's got tons of songs," he says. "We've already cut three of hers, and I know for sure we're cutting at least one more. I wouldn't be surprised if we ended up cutting a couple more. Her new stuff is just a huge leap from the last record (Brighter Than Creation's Dark), and I love what she did on that one. So it's going real good."

Though no release date has been set for the new Truckers album, Hood did reveal that Truckers fans won't go hungry this year. According to Hood, New West Records has plundered the vaults and is planning to release later this year a compilatio n of B-sides and cutting-ro om floor gems from the band's four-album tenure on the label.

"They pretty much went through the vaults and found everything that didn't get released and asked us how we'd feel about us putting that out," Hood explains. "After my initial growling and grumbling, I went back and listened, and it was pretty cool. The majority of it comes from The Dirty South sessions. We had so many songs, that album could have very easily been a double LP.  Most of it is originals, but there are also a couple of covers. We did a great version of "Play It All Night Long" by Warren Zevon just for the hell of it one day in the studio. There's also a Tom T. Hall song on there that we recorded for a tribute record that never came out. It turned out to be a pretty cohesive record. I'm excited about it."

Hmmmm....a Tom T. Hall song, huh?

Might it be "Mama Bake a Pie (Daddy Kill a Chicken)" which Hood has often covered in solo shows dating back to 2004?

Could be, but we ain't telling!

Get fresh Iggy Pop now

By Nancy Dunham

Ah, there's more going on with Iggy Pop than the advertisin g brouhaha we told you about here.

Time to check out some new Iggy material from his upcoming album Pré liminaires , set to be released next month.

New Orleans jazz style song "King of the Dogs" is now available digitally on Stereogum

If you're in LA Friday, you might also be able to check out Iggy when he performs at the fifth annual MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert honoring Red Hot Chili Peppers lead singer Anthony Kiedis. The concert will be at club Nokia. Find details here.

Oh, and he's also on that new Dangermous e + Sparklehor se album coming out later this summer, which we told you about here....

Rockers' band vandalized ; items stolen

By Nancy Dunham

Come on; give the musicians a break.

Everybody knows that life is rough enough on the road without walking out and seeing your ride was vandalized and gear stolen. Or worse. Remember we told you The Deers' tour bus was stolen? Check out the details here.

Now we have Gliss that had finished a gig in Philly and settled in for some rest at a Newark, N.J. hotel. Little did they know some creep was outside vandalizin g the van and helping themselves to goodies inside.

Among the items stolen was a 1979 Fender Precision bass that frontman Martin Klingman received from his grandfathe r as a child. The band, currently in the midst of their "Stimulus Package Tour," are keeping the show on the road and not cancelling dates. Still, this hurts.

"It's always a cryin' shame when you walk up to your van or car and find out that some lost, sad person has broken in and taken the sweetness from your life," said Klingman. "My grandfathe r gave me a 1970's Fender P-Bass years ago when I was a wee lad. I don't care about the money... the sentimenta l value of the bass that was stolen last night will never be replaced."

This blows. Seriously.

Help these guys out. If you have informatio n contact the band at glissgear- gmail.com

The Bass serial # is either S899012 or S899013.

And please, support their shows listed below:

GLISS ON TOUR

May 6 - Brooklyn, N.Y. - Union Hall*

May 8 - Plymouth, Pa. - Infamous Art Gallery*

May 9 - Danbury, Conn. - Heirloom Arts Theater*

May 11 - New York, N.Y. - Piano's

May 12 - Washington , D.C. - DC9

May 13 - Raleigh, N.C. - Pour House Music Hall

May 15 - Norfolk, Va. - The Boot

May 25 - St. Louis, Mo. - The Firebird **

May 27 - San Antonio, Texas - Rock Bottom **

May 28 - Austin, Texas - Emo's **

May 30 - Dallas, Texas - Sue Ellen's Vixen Lounge **

June 2 - El Paso, Texas - Bombardier s **

June 3 - Tucson, Ariz. - Plush **

June 5 - Los Angeles, Calif. - The Roxy **

June 6 - San Francisco, Calif. - Slim's **

June 8 - Kennewick, Wash. - The Red Room **

June 9 - Portland, Ore. - Doug Fir Lounge **

June 10 - Seattle, Wash. - Studio Seven **

June 12 - Sacramento , Calif. - The Kennel Club

 &nbs p;  &nbs p;

* with Takeover UK

** with Von Iva

Prepping for U.S. tour as well.

By Blurt Staff

DJ Z-Trip will be manning the turntables during KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic" this Morning (Thursday, May 7) - go to KCRW Live) This will be a lead in to his show Saturday night at Audiotisti c in San Bernadino. The Roots will headline immediatel y following his set. From there he'll be doing selected dates well into the summer; see the current itinerary, below.

Z-Trip is well known among clubgoers and turntablis t headz: his mixtapes and DJ sessions have made him an in-demand personalit y, but those genuinely in the know have also clued in to his affinity for rock ‘n' roll and finding the intersecti ons between rock and hiphop.  Most recently, his congratula tory mix inspired by Obama's win has already been downloaded half a million times and is still available here: Victory Lap

Tour Dates:

 &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; 
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Songs included on a freebie 45 nobody knew about.

By Fred Mills

Word's just in from Pitchfork that a pair of new Beastie Boys tracks, "Lee Majors Come Again" and "B Boys in the Cut," recently slipped out the old fashioned way: not by an Internet leak, but on a 7-inch 45.

Pitchfork was tipped to this by Beasties-c entric site Mic To Mic, which is currently streaming the tunes. Apparently , inserted in random copies of the recent Check Your Head deluxe vinyl reissue was a bonus single featuring the two songs. "Lee Majors Come Again" is described as "rap over hardcore instrument ation," while "B Boys in the Cut" is an a cappella number that Mic To Mic says will be familiar to fans who've heard the Beasties' "My New Name is Larry" routine.

Check ‘em both out at the Mic to Mic site.

You know you wanna even if you won't admit to your friends that you do...

By Blurt Staff

It's always a great day when we can stare at cheesecake photos of Lita Ford, which makes today a particular ly great day because we found two of ‘em on the web. Even better, the metal mistress has just announced her first studio album in 18 years - Wicked Wonderland is to be released this fall on Ford's own JLRG Entertainm ent label.

Ford basically quit the music biz for the past 15 years to raise a family and live on an album in the Caribbean, but as she put it in a press release, "I missed rock ‘n' roll." To that end, Ford will be playing festivals and motorcycle rallies in the US and Europe this summer leading up to the release of the album. She dipped her toes back in the water last summer at the Rocklahoma and Rock the Bayou festivals.

"It's harder and sexier than anything I've ever done," she said, of the record, which was co-produce d by Ford, her husband and former Nitro singer Jim Gillette, and Greg Hampton, the songwriter , multi-inst rumentalis t and producer known for his work with Alice Cooper, his band Science Faxtion (with Bootsy Collins and Buckethead and Brain from Guns N'Roses) and other rock notables. Ford is backed on the record by drummer Stet Howland, formerly of W.A.S.P., Hampton on bass, rhythm guitar and keyboards, Gillette on background vocals, and its vivid cover art is by Rob Zombie bassist and solo artist Piggy D.

One song, "Betrayal, " will be featured in the upcoming video game "Brüt al Legend," in which Lita also voices one of the characters alongside Jack Black, Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead and Rob Halford of Judas Priest.

Okay, fire up all those old VH1 Classic clips of Lita on YouTube, kids....

Does musical genius = nuttier than a free pecan nut log with every gas fill-up at Stuckeys?

Well, maybe you're a wee bit too young to remember Stuckeys, so I'll just give you a brief descriptio n of the place: Stuckeys was a really crappy souvenir shop that posed as a roadside eating joint.  Oh, yeah: they also had a gas station outside for folks to get one of their pecan nut logs when you filled up your tank.  They also disappeare d after the '70s (along with the mood ring)--so don't feel bad that you missed all that because I can tell you as a fact: The '70s sucked!&nb sp; Anyhoo, back to the musical-ge nius thing ...

Enter Phil Spector.  The infamous studio genius cranked out some killer songs between cranking back the trigger on the gun he held on various musicians, like the Ramones, and perhaps his lovely singing wife, Ronnie Spector.  Phil was all crazy and power-trip ping in the studio but never actually shot anyone--th at is, until recently, when he got drunk, took a B-movie actress/wa itress back to his fancy home, put a gun to her head, and killed the poor unsuspecti ng woman.  Whether it was by accident in one of his manic episodes or not, he's finally getting locked up.  Found guilty of murder, the guy's serving time for his crime.  A very sad story, indeed.

How does that saying go:  Insanity is one step away from genius?&nb sp; And Phil sure had some insane wigs on during his courtroom time.  Brian Wilson seemed crazy as a loon when after far too many acid trips, he took his fat ass to bed to live in, eating popsicles while he composed the brilliant "Pet Sounds" for the Beach Boys.  And that is the best album that band ever did.  Genius.  I'm glad Brian Wilson never killed anyone ... just a few hundred brain cells.

Then there are everybody' s favorite nutlogs, I mean "Musical Genius" pair: Syd Barrett and Roky Erickson.

Syd fronted and composed for The Pink Floyd way before leaving the group to go solo and the other members became four geezers, a lasershow and a pig balloon - ha!  That band was just a boring (though far more popular) rock group by the name of "Pink Floyd."  But The Pink Floyd created a brilliant psychedeli c classic album, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn."  That record is a gemstone amongst the asscrap of the '70s.  In it, Barrett had clever, spacey lyrics about gnomes and a strange fellow named Arnold Layne.

Of course, young, trippy Syd was known to crush up handfuls of Mandrax and Brylcream to melt into his hair and stand completely silent in front of his audience as the drugs seeped into his skin.  That's some crazy shit, huh?!  ; Well, that and dropping acid like it was candy, too.

When all the Floyd fans were dying to hear the band's pop hit "See Emily Play," Syd did not appease them.  Intead, the loopy singer stood there like a statue pissing them off.  That's a hell of a punk act to pull off.

Syd left The Pink Floyd to do his own thing, which was seriously hit-or-mis s territory.  But, no matter how scattered Barrett's ideas came off on his solo recordings , they're sure more interestin g than anything off that "Dark Side of the Moon," which is more than influenced by Barrett's genius.  ("The lunatic is on the grass-s-s- s-s-s-s-s- s" ... what a load!).  Sadly, Syd stopped making recordings --about everything from an "Effervesc ing Elephant" to a "Vegetable Man"--afte r a few sessions, shaved his head, and lived in seclusion with his mother until recently passing away.

Last up: a young kid named Roky Erickson from Texas, who didn't dress up all fancy and mod like them English boys making weird music.  Roky looked like a gas-pump jockey and so did his band, The 13th Floor Elevators.

With an intensely garage-y rock vocal and crazy harmonica playing, his debut album, "The Psychedeli c Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators, " was one animalisti c slab of wax.  Like Syd, Roky dropped more than his fair share of hallucinog ens and was said to have mental illness.  Erickson was diagnosed with paranoid schizophre nia, forcibly spent a bit of time in a loony bin and got involuntar y shock treatments .  Roky's still kickin' out there, but his performanc es are not all together, musically or mentally.  After he left the Elevators and went solo, his songs of romantic abandonmen t (a theme he'd earlier visited in such tunes as "You're Gonna Miss Me") took a comic-book turn ("I Walked with a Zombie").  This new, horror-fan tasy tone, on the surface "safe" pop-rock, actually reflected Roky's state of mind at the time: in 1982, he asked a Notary Public to sign off on an affadavit officially declaring that a Martian had taken up residence in his body.

All these cats influenced many artists, so they must be doing something right!&nbs p; Let's hear it for those wild & crazy guys, the musical geniuses.  Would you like a free alien implanted into your head with that tank fill-up, sir?

John Stabb was the frontman for the legendary harDCore punk outfit Government Issue. When not blogging for BLURT, he currently serves as frontman for Sleeper Agent. Check them out at ht tp://www.myspace.com/sleepe ragentdc    &nbs p;

Musta been the late 80's or early 90's....my partner Mark and I took a trip up to Oklahoma City to look for records. Most of the day we hit various Flea Markets with pretty good success. Multiple sealed copies of Guiness and Tomorrow label LP's, about 20 sealed copies of the Markley LP, and alot more, most of them at $1.00 each.

Our last stop of the day was a place called The Memory Market, which is still there today. It's a large metal building that housed about 10-15 various antique dealers who specialize d in "junk". The back 1/3^rd of the building was run by two elderly women who dealt in nothing but records. Tens of thousands of records, LP's and 45's. We started digging in and it was apparent that we were the first ones to go through this stuff who were looking for what we were looking for. The first hour yielded titles like Badge & Co. a very beat up copy of The Marble Phrogg, Darius, Trizo-50 and many more.

The market was going to close at 6:00 and it was about 5:45 when I came across an amazing looking record titled "The Psycho-Del ic Sounds Of Jr. & The Soulettes" . The cover was a "10" with Jr.  playing a Gibson Firebird behind his head while doing a split on the stage. I called Mark over, we pulled out the little Big Bird record player we carried with us and put the LP on to give it a spin. It was beyond warped, totally destroyed with only about 20% of the surface area being playable.....enough though for us to know we had found a MONSTER, yet bizarre LP. Mark pointed out that it had an Oklahoma City address on the back.

We paid for all the LP's and headed straight for the pay phone in front of the place. We looked in the phone book and sure enough, we found a Harold Moore Jr. & Sr. at the same address. I called the number and was greeted by something that could only be described as sub-human animal sounds.....Uhhhhhoooe rrruggyhg....I could not make out a single english word this guy might be uttering. Then a second party picked up another line and told "Jr." to hang up. It was Harold Moore Sr. and he was one very friendly guy.

It was late winter and by 6:00 it was starting to get dark, yet Hariold Sr. invited Mark and I over to his house with the promise that "I have a whole suitcase filled with those old rekkids, you fellas come on over". We got directions and began to drive to the house......it wasn't long before we realized we were going to the worst part of OKC.

In the South it's pretty well known that if you live near the railroad tracks or by the river, you're probably in the bad part of town. The Moore house was built on stilts, with the river on one side and the railroad tracks on the other. We parked, went to the front door and rang the bell.....no answer. Then we knocked on the door pretty hard.....again, no answer. mark walked around to the side of the house and followed some very loud "Disco" music to a room in the back of the house. He looked inside and saw Harold Sr.  sitting in front of a column of amps and receivers that were producing this very bass heavy music. he banged on the window, got Mr. Moore's attention and he waved for us to go back to the front door.

Harold Sr. opened the front door and acted as if we were long lost friends...he quickly invited us in while yelling up the stairs at "Jr." while apologizin g to us for his "effed up son". He brought us back into the "music" room and it was pretty bizarre. In the middle of the room stood a camera on a tri-pod. In each corner of the room that the camera was facing were little triangular stages built into the floor with a full length piece of plexiglas from floor to ceiling in front of each "stage". The stage was about large enough for one person to stand on.

Mark was an electronic s engineer and in an attempt to start a conversati on he asked Mr. Moore if he had the "schematic s" for this contraptio n he had built out of about 20 amps and receivers. His response was "Schematic s!! I just found this stuff in the garbage and makes it". Our goal was to get some LP's and get back to Dallas but Harold had alot to talk about and wanted us to stay.

After being there about 15 minutes Harold says..."You boys wanna see my puppet"!! How do you answer that question to a grown man??  ; Of course we said "Sure!!"....He opened his drawer and pulled out a puppet made out of a sock. You know, one of those winter socks that they make "Sock Monkey's" out of. "This here is my snake" and I'll be damned the thing had a hat that could not be described as anything but a "Pimp" hat and a big fat set of lips.

He then went on to explain that everything in the room was set up for the puppet....the music, the camera, the stages. He also explained that all his grandkids loved the puppet but he couldn't tell them about the puppet's "night life". He then pulled out a video, put it into a VCR and began to show us just what the puppet was all about. Before I attempt to explain what we saw I have to say that this moment was surely the most surreal in my life and I'd have given anything to have had a camera as I knew I would have to repeat what I saw and that no one would believe it.

The video starts off with that same bass heavy, thumping, Disco music and the pimp puppet "dancing" to the beat. Then a black woman, a naked black woman comes into the frame and begins to dance with the puppet. This goes on for about 5 minutes with the puppet doing various obscene things to what appears to be this super-impo sed naked woman. The video stops, a new song starts to play and now the puppet starts dancing with a different, nude, black woman. Friggin' Amazing!!!

After about 10 minutes we've seen enough and tell Mr. Moore that we have to be going. Harold then explains at Mark's request just how he makes these movies. On a Friday or Saturday night Harold usually goes out and picks up a hooker. Not for sex, but to dance with the puppet. The naked hooker stands behind the plexiglas in one corner of the room while Mr. Moore operates the puppet behind the second piece of plexiglas in the opposite corner. The way the camera is set up on the tripod, it is able to not only record the puppet, but uses the plexiglas to make a reflection of the woman in the opposite corner so he gets the effect that they are actually dancing together!! ! GENIUS!!!!

Getting down to business we asked for the LP's promising to pay him some big bucks. He goes into a closet and drags out a very old and beat up suitcase. He opens the suitcase which is FILLED with sleeveless 45's. Not an LP to be seen. "Oh you boys are looking for those BIG rekkids" he said....."I don't have any of those, they were all ruined". Needless to say we were disappoint ed but we bought a few of the 4 different 45's from him, two of them being non-LP cuts.  Harold apologized for not having any of the LP's and told this story.....

He had 4 children, Jr. and his three sisters who had been abandoned by their alcoholic Mom. Harold Sr. worked for a very rich Jewish woman who took a liking to the kids and bought them musical instrument s and paid for lessons(Th is explains the Gibson Firebird).  She made the kids a deal that if they learned how to play at least 3 songs she would get them a slot on some local TV Telethon. The kids took to music very quickly and within a year were appearing on local TV. The response was so good that the woman paid for them to record an LP but suggested they write "original" songs.

This is where Harold Sr. comes in, writing all the songs that appear on the LP, with most of them being attacks on the drunken and supposedly abusive ex-Mrs. Moore......"Mama drinks Tequila, She stays drunk all the time"......once the LP was recorded and pressed the next step was to get them in the local record stores. At least one store told Mr. Moore that they could not stock them unless they were shrink wrapped. Harold went to a butcher shop where his brother worked and used their shrinkwrap machine to seal the LP's....unfortunat ely this was a high heat machine and he melted every single LP in the process. This wasn't discovered until someone bought one and brought it home....all the LP's were pulled from the stores and rather than re-press it, the woman decided to release some 45's.

The 45's themselves are a work of art....with photos of each of the kids heads on the label....very home made and cheesy looking. As Mark and I were leaving the Moore's home he asked for two favors.  One was to write to the Guinness World Book Of Records and request that his kids be put in as "The youngest group to make an LP and play their own instrument s" which we did to no avail. The second was to never tell his grandkids what we saw the puppet doing...which has not been a problem to uphold.

No matter how well I told that story there is no way you can begin to understand just how weird it was. If I ever win the lottery this will be just one chapter in a film I'd like to make about some of the folks I've met in this wacky world of music....hope you enjoyed.

P.S. The day after we got home I made a cassette of the LP and a xer ox of the cover and sent it to legendary Psych dealer Paul Major. Paul truly thoughttha t I had made this whole thing up and that there was NO WAY an LP li ke that existed......he eventually believed me.

Veterans BB King and Buddy Guy joined by a host of familiar faces as well as some surprises.

By Fred Mills

Last night in Memphis the annual Blues Music Awards were held, and among the notable winners were Buddy Guy, Janiva Magness, Irma Thomas, BB King and the late Jeff Healey. Several of them, including Guy, Magness and King, walked away with multiple awards at the bash.

The six-hour event featured 46 performers , and the show, in addition to being broadcast on Sirius XM, was taped for a proposed DVD release later this year.

BLURT correspond ent Rev. Keith A. Gordon had been tracking the awards and noted that the "lengthy ceremony... saw the best that the blues has to offer recognized with awards for excellence in 26 categories ," singling out Guy and King, of course, along with blues pianist Eden Brent for praise at his About.com: Blues blog.

You can read more of what the good Rev. had to say at his blog. Tell him we sent ya!

List of Winners:

Acoustic Album of the Year

Mississipp i Number One - Eden Brent

Acoustic Artist of the Year

Eden Brent

Traditiona l Blues Album of the Year

One Kind Favor - B.B. King

Traditiona l Blues Male Artist of the Year

B.B. King

Traditiona l Blues Female Artist of the Year

Koko Taylor

Contempora ry Blues Album of the Year

Skin Deep - Buddy Guy

Contempora ry Blues Male Artist of the Year

Buddy Guy

Album of the Year

Skin Deep - Buddy Guy

Band of the Year

Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials (4)

Best New Artist Debut

2 Man Wrecking Crew - Cedric Burnside & Lightnin' Malcolm (2)

Contempora ry Blues Female Artist of the Year

Janiva Magness

B.B. King Entertaine r of the Year

Janiva Magness

Rock Blues Album of the Year

Mess of Blues - Jeff Healey

Song of the Year

 "Let Life Flow"  - Kenny Neal

Soul Blues Album of the Year

Simply Grand - Irma Thomas

Soul Blues Female Artist of the Year

Etta James

Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year

Bobby Rush

Historical Album of the Year

Albert Collins Live At Montreux 1992 - Eagle Records

DVD

M For Mississipp i: A Road Trip Through The Birthplace of the Blues - Broke & Hungry Records, Cathead Blues & Mudpuppy Recordings (3)

Instrument alist-Bass

Mookie Brill

Instrument alist-Drum s

Willie "Big Eyes" Smith

Instrument alist-Guit ar

Sonny Landreth

Instrument alist-Harm onica

Billy Gibson

Instrument alist-Horn

Deanna Bogart

Instrument alist-Banj o

Otis Taylor&nbs p;

Pinetop Perkins Piano Player

Marcia Ball

Bon Jovi can't screw this one up...

By Blurt Staff

Soul powerhouse Bettye LaVette is set to drop A CHANGE IS GONNA COME SESSIONS, a digital-on ly EP for Anti- Records, available exclusivel y through iTunes starting June 16. It revisits her forgotten post-Atlan tic Records years as a nightclub singer, Broadway performer, and touring cast member opposite Cab Calloway in "Bubbling Brown Sugar."

The EP opens with a stirring solo version of Sam Cooke's posthumous Civil Rights anthem "A Change Is Gonna Come," a song which she sang with Jon Bon Jovi in January as part of the "We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebratio n at the Lincoln Memorial" concert. Joining her for these Sessions are pianist and musical director Al Hill, veteran bassist John Heard - who has accompanie d such luminaries as Count Basie, Cole Porter, Ella Fitzgerald , and Art Pepper - drummer Danny Frankel (k.d. lang, Lou Reed), and Tom Hagerman from DeVotchKa on strings.

A mix of standards and soul classics from Lavette's 1970s stage and nightclub repertoire rounds out the 6-song set, including songs by Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Bill Withers, and Jimmy Reed. A rendition of Billie Holiday's "God Bless The Child" - a song that she first performed with show-stopp ing magnificen ce in "Bubbling Brown Sugar" - highlights her vocal mastery. Rather than attack, she approaches these tracks with subtlety - while nonetheles s wresting every ounce and every nuance of meaning from the words she sings.

This nod to the past is just the latest step in a nearly five-decad e career that has truly come full circle and is now pointed straight ahead: from early promise to a masterwork (Child of the Seventies) shelved by Atlantic Records; from Broadway to obscurity; from a triumphant return with her 2005 Anti- debut I've Got My Own Hell To Raise, to a GRAMMY nomination for The Scene of the Crime; and most recently her devastatin g performanc es honoring The Who at the Kennedy Center Honors in December 2008, paired with Jon Bon Jovi at the Lincoln Memorial for President Obama's inaugural celebratio n in January, and alongside Sir Paul McCartney at a Radio City Music Hall benefit for the David Lynch Foundation in April.

The Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl raved about LaVette's performanc e at the Kennedy Center Honors on Air America radio, saying, "Bettye LaVette...She is gonna steal the show. She was so phenomenal , this performanc e of The Who song that she did. It will bring you to tears. The room was pin-drop silent when she did this song, and it was just unbelievab le."

The Who's own Pete Townshend concurred in a Q&A on his blog at TheWho.com: "My favorite moment was when Bettye LaVette sang a very fine version of 'Love Reign O'er Me' at the Gala and Barbra Streisand turned to ask me if I really wrote it."

Meanwhile, her duet of "A Change Is Gonna Come" with Jon Bon Jovi was quite a moment. As she told the Dallas Morning News, "When I got to the line ‘I always believed a change would come,' my eyes fixed on [Obama] and I was kinda stunned. Our eyes locked and he was mouthing the words along."

As Phil Gallo noted in Daily Variety, "Bettye Lavette, who took D.C. by storm last month at the Kennedy Center Honors, was partnered with Jon Bon Jovi on Sam Cooke's ‘A Change Is Gonna Come.' She invested it with anguish, he approached it from a perspectiv e of reasoned logic, giving the [performan ce] considerab le gravitas."

Watch for a review of the LaVette EP at BLURT soon, as well as a review of her recent retrospect ive release on Sundaze, Do Your Duty.

Tracklisti ng:

1. "A Change Is Gonna Come" (Sam Cooke)

2. "'Round Midnight" (Theloniou s Monk)

3. "God Bless The Child" (Billie Holiday / Arthur Herzog)

4. "Lush Life" (Duke Ellington / Billy Strayhorn)

5. "Ain't No Sunshine" (Bill Withers)

6. "Ain't That Lovin' You" (Jimmy Reed)

But kids... it was ONLY a band, not a movement...

By Blurt Staff

While hairy-palm ed fanboys anxiously await that Stone Roses reunion that ain't never gonna happen, Legacy kindly steps into the gap on August 11 with a 20^th anniversar y edition of the band's classic self-title d 1989 debut. It'll have all sort of bonus swag, depending on which of the formats you spring for.

It gets kinda confusing, so here's the scoop, direct from the label, and pay attention:

Marking the occasion of the 20^th anniversar y of the legendary self-title d debut album by The Stone Roses, Legacy Recordings will reissue this highly-rev ered set in three distinct formats.  The NME has declared The Stone Roses  to be "The Greatest Album of All Time," and it's hard to argue with that proclamati on when considerin g its string of timeless singles:&n bsp; "I Wanna Be Adored," "She Bangs The Drum," "Waterfall ," "Made of Stone," "I Am the Resurrecti on."  &nbs p;Original producer John Leckie has returned to the studio with vocalist Ian Brown to remaster the album for maximum sonic grandeur. 

 &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  The Stone Roses will be released in 3 distinct packages:

1) &n bsp;   &nbs p; Stone Roses: Special Edition (1CD) - Remastered original album with full-lengt h version of "Fool's Gold" and expanded booklet.

2) &n bsp;   &nbs p; Stone Roses: Legacy Edition (2CD + DVD) - Remastered original album plus a second 15-track CD titled "The Lost Demos" which includes the  prev iously unreleased "Pearl Bastard."  Also included will be the previously unreleased in the U.S. "Live In Blackpool" concert DVD, shot in 1989.  Everything will be packaged in a 28-page booklet which will include input from Ian Brown, Mani, Reni and John Leckie.

3) &n bsp;   &nbs p; Stone Roses: Collectors Edition (3CD + 3LP + DVD + USB + BOOK + 6 ART PRINTS)  &nbs p; &n bsp;   

*  A super deluxe 12" album folder with three 180-gram heavyweigh t vinyl LPs including the original album and 13 b-sides and non-album tracks housed in a gold foil-embos sed hardback slipcase.

*  Includes the remastered album, the "Lost Demos" CD, and a third CD of b-sides and non-album singles.

*  A lemon-shap ed USB containing all the audio, promo videos, ringtones, wallpapers , plus previously unseen John Leckie home video footage of the recording of "Fool's Gold."

*  A 48-page book overflowin g with unseen photos and brand-new notes from the band, producer John Leckie, those involved 20 years ago, and high-profi le fans such as Tim Burgess, Noel Gallagher, Bobby Gillespie and Mark Ronson sharing experience s about the album.

 &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  *  Six 6x12" individual art prints painted by John Squire.

CD 1

The Stone Roses: The Stone Roses - 20th Anniversar y Re-Master

 1. &nbs p; &n bsp;  I Wanna Be Adored, 4:52

2. &nbs p; &n bsp;  She Bangs The Drums, 3:42

3. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Waterfall, 4:38

4. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Don't Stop, 5:17

5. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Bye Bye Bad Man, 4:00

6. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Elizabeth My Dear, 0:59

7. &nbs p; &n bsp;  (Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister, 3:25

8. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Made Of Stone, 4:11

9. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Shoot You Down, 4:10

10. &nbs p; &n bsp; This Is The One, 4:59

11. &nbs p; &n bsp; I Am The Resurrecti on, 8:12

CD 2

The Stone Roses: The B-Sides & Non Album Singles&nb sp; - 20th Anniversar y Re-Master

 1. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Elephant Stone

2. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Full Fathom Five

3. &nbs p; &n bsp;  The Hardest Thing

4. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Going Down

5. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Guernica

6. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Mersey Paradise

7. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Standing Here

8. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Simone

9.  &nbs p; &n bsp; Fools Gold 9.53

10. &nbs p; &n bsp; What The World Is Waiting For

11. &nbs p; &n bsp; One Love (Full Length)

12. &nbs p; &n bsp; Something' s Burning (Full Length)

13. &nbs p; &n bsp; Where Angels Play

CD 3

The Stone Roses: The Demos  ; - 20th Anniversar y Re-Master

1. &nbs p; &n bsp;  I Wanna Be Adored (no ending but can be faded)&nbs p; 3.45

2. &nbs p; &n bsp;  She Bangs the Drums : 3.46

3. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Waterfall& nbsp; :  4.45

4. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Bye Bye Badman :  4.20

5. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Sugar Spun Sister: 3.30

6. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Shoot You Down (1 version) : 4.20

7. &nbs p; &n bsp;  This Is The One : 4.00

8. &nbs p; &n bsp;  I Am Resurrecti on:  6.44

9. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Elephant Stone: 3.10

10. &nbs p; &n bsp; Going Down : 2.40

11. &nbs p; &n bsp; Mersey Paradise :  2.49

12. &nbs p; &n bsp; Where Angels Play : 3.06

13. &nbs p; &n bsp; Something' s Burning&nb sp; :  3.00

14. &nbs p; &n bsp; One Love : TBC

15. &nbs p; &n bsp; Pearl Bastard : 3.45

Vinyl 1

The Stone Roses: The Stone Roses - 20th Anniversar y Re-Master

1. &nbs p; &n bsp;  I Wanna Be Adored, 4:52

2. &nbs p; &n bsp;  She Bangs The Drums, 3:42

3. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Waterfall, 4:38

4. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Don't Stop, 5:17

5. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Bye Bye Bad Man, 4:00

6. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Elizabeth My Dear, 0:59

7. &nbs p; &n bsp;  (Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister, 3:25

8. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Made Of Stone, 4:11

9. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Shoot You Down, 4:10

10. &nbs p; &n bsp; This Is The One, 4:59

11. &nbs p; &n bsp; I Am The Resurrecti on, 8:12

Vinyl 2 & 3

The Stone Roses: The B-Sides & Non Album Singles&nb sp; - 20th Anniversar y Re-Master

A

1. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Elephant Stone

2. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Full Fathom Five

3. &nbs p; &n bsp;  The Hardest Thing

4. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Going Down

B

5. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Guernica

6. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Mersey Paradise

7. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Standing Here

8. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Simone

A

9.  &nbs p; &n bsp; Fools Gold 9.53

10. &nbs p; &n bsp; What The World Is Waiting For

B

11. &nbs p; &n bsp; One Love (Full Length)

12. &nbs p; &n bsp; Something' s Burning (Full Length)

13. &nbs p; &n bsp; Where Angels Play

USB/DIGITA L

The Stone Roses: The Stone Roses - 20th Anniversar y Re-Master

The Stone Roses: The B-Sides & Non Album Singles&nb sp; - 20th Anniversar y Re-Master

The Stone Roses: The Demos  ; - 20th Anniversar y Re-Master

Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens' album,&nbs p;What Have You Done, My Brother?, is coming out May 26 on Daptone Records. Herein we present the label's official EPK for this dynamic, riveting group. The video features&n bsp;  interview bits with Naomi and Cliff Driver, the group's musical director and organist, as well as some very striking musical moments.

Album due June 2.

By Nancy Dunham

Check out the single "Dylan's Hard Rain" from Ryan Bingham's soon-to-be -released album Roadhouse Sun.

Sounds like the guy whose debut album Mescalito won all kinds of kudos is set for more of the same this time out.

Find out more at Bingham Music, and watch for a Blurt review of the album soon.

Flaming Lips' take requests - really

By Nancy Dunham

Wayne Coyne is sending some love right back to the fans now that the Oklahoma fiasco we told you about is a memory.

Everyone's jazzed about The Flaming Lips closing out the 2009 Pitchfork Festival on July 19. Now we have word it'll be even better than you thought.

All Pitchfork ticket holders will be sent links via email that will allow them to request the songs the Lips' will play. "They will do their best to accommodat e the wildest and most obscure of requests - covers included," the press folks report.

Big fun!

For more informatio n, go to Pitchfork' s site.

The gifted guitarist and producer was 60. He was loved by everyone in the Texas music community, and beyond.

By Blurt Staff

Sad news for fans of Texas rock and Americana music in general: Turner Stephen Bruton, 60, died Saturday due to complicati ons of an ongoing battle with throat cancer. The Fort Worth native was in Los Angeles undergoing treatment and completing work on the film Crazy Heart, on which he served as music producer and composer. The film stars Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal , Colin Farrell and Robert Duvall.

Bruton was working on the film with T Bone Burnett up until just a week ago. He was able to see the completion of the project before his death. While in Los Angeles he also played on sessions for an upcoming Kris Kristoffer son record, Starlight and Stone.

Accolades came quickly from the musical community. Songwritin g legend Guy Clark, speaking to the Fort Worth Star-Teleg ram, called Bruton "truly a giving person. I can't tell you how many times he'd come back from somewhere and just out of the blue, he had brought you a present. It was almost embarrassi ng." And Bonnie Raitt, a longtime friend (and past employer: Bruton served as her guitarist for a number of years), broke down in tears while onstage Sunday in Austin after performing Bruton's song "Too Many Memories (For One Heart To Hold)." Raitt said to the crowd, "Stephen Bruton is in our hearts tonight and forever."

In a long and distinguis hed career, Bruton excelled as a musician, songwriter and producer.  He released five records as a solo artist, the last three for the New West label, including 2005's acclaimed From the Five. As an in-demand lead guitar player he worked with legendary artist Kris Kristoffer son for 17 years and Raitt for several more. He produced records for Alejandro Escovedo, Marcia Ball, Storyville and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Bruton's songs have been widely covered as well, by artists including Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristoffer son, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffett, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Martina McBride and Patty Loveless.  He also worked as an actor in the films Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Heaven's Gate, A Star is Born, Songwriter , Miss Congeniali ty, The Alamo, Sweet Thing and Man Of The House.

The funeral will be in Fort Worth, Texas, with details to be announced.

Bruton doing "Waiting for a Long Time":

Ticket presale starts this Wednesday.

By Blurt Staff

The Dead Weather have confirmed dates for their first ever tour, kicking off in Louisville , Kentucky on June 11th. In case you've been under a rock, the four-piece comprises Dean Fertita (Queens Of The Stone Age),  "Lit tle" Jack Lawrence (The Raconteurs , The Greenhorne s), Alison Mosshart (The Kills) and some guy named Jack White (of a couple of other bands).

The band's debut album Horehound, the first record to be recorded and released via White's new Third Man studios and record label in Nashville, TN, will be made available through Third Man/Warner Bros Records on July 14^th. To date, The Dead Weather have released two tracks via iTunes and on limited edition 7" vinyl: "Hang You From The Heavens" and "Are Friends Electric?"

Limited pre-sale tickets will be available starting Wednesday, May 13th at 12 noon EST by visiting thedeadwea ther.com.  Thos e fans purchasing pre-sale tickets will also have the opportunit y to pre-order the full-lengt h album, Horehound, at a discounted price.  

Tour Dates:

June
6/11  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Louisvil le, KY  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; Ci ty Block

July
7/13  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Washingt on, DC  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;9:30 Club
7/14  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Washingt on, DC  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;9:30 Club
7/16  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;New York, NY  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Terminal 5
7/18  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Boston, MA  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   Hous e Of Blues
7/19  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Ottawa, Canada  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; Ot tawa Blues Festival (Rogers Stage)
7/21  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Montreal , Canada  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;Olympi a De Montreal
7/22  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Toronto, Canada  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   Kool Haus
7/24  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Detroit, MI  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;The Fillmore
7/25  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Columbus , OH  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  The LC Pavillion
7/27  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Minneapo lis, MN  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   Firs t Avenue
7/28  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Chicago, IL  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   Vic Theatre
7/29  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Chicago, IL  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   Vic Theatre
7/30  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Nashvill e, TN  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; Wa r Memorial Auditorium

August
8/17  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Denver, CO  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   Ogde n Theatre
8/18  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Salt Lake City, UT  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  The Depot
8/20  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Seattle, WA  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   Para mount Theatre
8/21  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Vancouve r, Canada  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   Comm odore Ballroom
8/22  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Vancouve r, Canada  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   Comm odore Ballroom
8/23  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Portland , OR  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; Ro seland Theater
8/25  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Los Angeles, CA  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Wiltern Theatre
8/27  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Pomona, CA  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;Glassh ouse
8/29  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;San Diego, CA  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  San Diego Street Scene
8/30  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;San Francisco, CA  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; Ou tside Lands Music & Arts Festival

October
10/4  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Austin, TX  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;Austin City Limits Festival - Zilker Park

From Jon Thor Birgisson and Alex Somers... not sure about that headgear, though.

By Blurt Staff

No, "Riceboy Sleeps" is not the name of some ol' delta bluesman recently exhumed by some dilettante white kid wanting to make a John Lomax-styl ed name for himself. It's a Sigur Ros side project, and we have the full scoop for you below, as transcribe d from the telex that was just slipped over the BLURT transom....

***

Known primarily for his haunting falsetto and other-worl dly presence as the singer in Sigur Rós , Jon Thor Birgisson has - together with his partner Alex Somers - been exhibiting artwork and staging exhibition s under the name Riceboy Sleeps for two or three years now, including the release of a limited edition picture book.  A couple of months back the early fruits of the musical side of this collaborat ion surfaced in physical form for the first time, with the track "Happiness ", on the exemplary Dark Was The Night Red Hot compilatio n.

Now comes the full-lengt h Riceboy Sleeps album. As with "Happiness ", it is set to subtly redefine expectatio ns of slow and elegiac instrument al music in 2009.  Riceboy Sleeps is human in a profound and verging-on spiritual way. It says nothing, literally, and yet living through its 68-minutes you emerge feeling much has been revealed.  Its slowly evolving abstract landscapes are both edifying and life-affir ming.  The record works as a whole, and exists in a contemplat ive dream-stat e, unconstrai ned and mesmeric, seemingly outside time. 

Played solely on acoustic instrument s in Iceland (and featuring long-time string collaborat ors Amiina, as well as the Kopavogsda etur choir) and then endlessly toyed with on solar-powe red laptops in a raw food commune in some far corner of Hawaii, Riceboy Sleeps has a suitably"o rganic feel" to it; the wave-like lapping of its tidal flow buried beneath analogue hiss, crackle, pulse and distortion ; the creaking of rigging and sometime indetermin ate falling delicately over; and, on "Howl", ruminative animal chirrups, grunts, snorts and purrs. Sometimes it feels like a record coming back at you across the seas of time, with ancient Washington Phillips-s tyle tumbling musical figures and stumbling crescendos as slow as a sunrise, or a weightless mantra-lik e choir singing from somewhere in the Middle Ages down the centuries.

July 21 is the target date, and XL Recordings will be your host.

Track listing:

1. Happiness

2. Atlas Song

3. Indian Summer

4. Stokkseyri

5. Boy 1904

6. All The Big Trees

7. Daní ;ell In The Sea

8. Howl

9. Sleeping Giant

Limited edition 45 due late May.

By Blurt Staff

The Dex Romweber Duo recently met up with Jack White, and the summit yielded a new 7" scheduled to be released in late May on White's newly formed label, Third Man.

Again and again over the years, Jack White has preached the Dex gospel. "Dex Romweber was and is a huge influence on my music. I owned all of his records as a teenager," Jack said. "[He is] one of the best kept secrets of the rock 'n' roll undergroun d." 20 years ago, Dex's band, The Flat Duo Jets, were innovators , paving the way for contempora ry guitar/dru m duos like The Black Keys and The White Stripes.

The session was a long time coming. In an interview with Metromix, Sara Romweber (drummer, Dex Romweber Duo,) described the scene. "At one point, Dex was in the room with his guitar and Jack was behind the control board. Jack had the biggest smile on his face and he said, "You have no idea how long I've waited to hear that guitar tone in my studio."

The session took place at White's home studio in Nashville, TN. The record was produced by Jack White and engineered by Grammy Award winner Vance Powell (The Raconteurs , The Dead Weather).

Track details, along with tour dates (supportin g the recent Ruins of Berlin) with the Detroit Cobras, below.

Side A: Last Kind Word Blues by Geeshie Wiley
Dex plays guitar, piano and sings the lead vocal
Jack White plays acoustic guitar, lead guitar and sings a harmony lead vocal
Sara Romweber plays drums

Side B: The Wind Did Move by Dex Romweber
Dex plays guitar, organ and sings the lead vocal
Jack White plays bass sings and plays the saw
Sara played drums and tambourine

Dex Romweber Duo/Detroi t Cobras tour 2009:

05.06.09 - Chicago, IL - Double Door  &nbs p; 
05.07.09 - Minneapoli s, MN - Varsity Theater  &nbs p; 
05.09.09 - Fargo, ND - The Aquarium
05.10.09 - Des Moines, IA- Vaudeville Mews
05.11.09 - Kansas City, MO - The Riot Room
05.13.09 - Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge
05.14.09 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
05.16.09 - Portland, OR - Berbati's Pan
05.17.09 - Seattle, WA - Neumo's
05.19.09 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's
05.20.09 - West Hollywood, CA - Troubador
05.23.09 - Costa Mesa, CA - The Detroit Bar
05.24.09 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah
05.26.09 - Tucson, AZ - Plush
05.27.09 - Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room
05.29.09 - Austin, TX - Emo's
05.30.09 - Houston, TX - Rudyard's
06.01.09 - Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
06.02.09 - Little Rock, AR - Sticky Fingerz Chicken Shack
06.03.09 - Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone
06.04.09 - Nashville, TN - The End
06.05.09 - Birmingham , AL - The Bottle Tree
06.06.09 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
06.08.09 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
06.09.09 - Washington , DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
06.10.09 - Philadelph ia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
06.11.09 - Cambridge, MA - TT the Bear's
06.12.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Southpaw
06.13.09 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
06.17.09 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Tavern
06.18.09 - Indianapol is, IN - Birdie's
06.19.09 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon
06.20.09 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick

"Sheffield " hails from the cosmic skronk-roc kers' recent Touch & Go album "Fire On Corridor X". Clip is directec by Woody Stockridge .

The band's debut music video "Andrew" is taken from the oddball, hipster-ap proved Long Beach band's full-lengt h album, "Tentacles " (Touch and Go / Quartersti ck Records). It was directed by Michael Reich.

Limited to 1000 copies, the 3LP set shifts units like Roadrunner navigates the highway.

By Fred Mills

This morning the following message appeared on the front page of the Fusetron mailorder site:

***DUE TO OVERWHELMI NG DEMAND WE HAVE SUSPENDED TAKING ORDERS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. IT WILL TAKE A DAY OR TWO TO SORT OUT ALL THE ORDERS UP TO THIS POINT. IF THERE ARE ANY COPIES LEFT WE WILL ANNOUNCE IT ON THE NEXT EMAIL UPDATE. THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THEIR ENTHUSIASM ***

The announceme nt refers to the new Animal Collective box set titled, logically enough, Animal Crack Box. Apparently its appeal was like "crack" to hipsters, as the 3LP collection , issued by Catsup Plate and priced at $92.00, only went on sale yesterday. Customers were limited to just one copy apiece.

As Pitchfork pointed out in its Monday evening report, the limited edition (only 1,000 copies) will not be issued digitally or on CD so "you should probably act quickly if you want it." Oops - too late, kids!

A test pressing of the album reportedly sold earlier this year on eBay for $2,425, with proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders, further proof of the band's appeal at the cash register. Scanning eBay right this moment does not yield any current listings for the new/offici al version of the box, although if anyone is looking for Crack the Sky's Animal Notes LP you can scoop it up for about three bucks....

Track Listing for Animal Crack Box:

A1. Jimmy Raven
A2. Ahhh Good Country
A3. Iko Ovo
B1. Pumpkin Gets a Snakebite
B2. Pumpkin's Hallucinat ion
B3. Pumpkin's Funeral
C1. Jungle Heat
C2. Hey Friend
C3. De Soto De Son
D1. Oh Sweet
D2. Young Prayer #2
D3. Do the Nurse
E1. Ice Cream Factory
E2. Hey Light
E3. Two Sails
F1. Don't Believe the Pilot
F2. Who Could Win a Rabbit
F3. Mouth Wooed Her
F4. Covered in Frogs
F5. We Tigers

Joy Division meets Miles Davis? WTF?!?

By Fred Mills

"Somewhere along the way it occurred to me that we should do a double album. Just this idea that you can kind of weave a couple of themes into there and you can sort of sprawl a little bit. And some of my favorite records - thinking Beatles 'White Album,' Zeppelin's 'Physical Graffiti' and even some of the longer things that the Clash have done - part of the reason I like them is that they're not focused. They're kind of like a free-for-a ll and go everywhere ."

That's Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, talking to Billboard.com about the next Lips album, as yet untitled but tentativel y slated for a late summer release. The followup to 2006's At War with the Mystics apparently already includes some 13 finished tracks, and the band plans to cut 8 or 9 more - making it a double CD. Coyne indicated they want to wrap things up as much as possible prior to June and their hitting the summer festival circuit.

He also told Bilboard.com that the new material is shaping up differentl y from previous Lips excursions : "I think with this there was an element of accidental ly stumbling upon more spontaneou s sort of freak-out stuff. We were sitting at (drummer) Steven's house and we just started out having these freak-out jam sessions where he'd play drums and I'd play bass and we just would sort of do freaky stuff. Some of those recordings , even though they're not recorded very well, really had a spontaneit y about them that we probably wouldn't have purposely done. So we just went with some of that and use those as sort of the bedrock of what we'd do later on with overdubs and lyrics and stuff like that. It sounds very exciting."

Coyne cites the new tune "Convinced of the Hex" ("Joy Division meets Miles Davis") and "I Don't Understand Karma" ("his response to John Lennon's ‘Ins tant Karma') as evidence of their new musical direction.

We can only hope the band doesn't succumb to White Album-styled lack of focus, or, worse, Frampton Comes Alive!-derived noodling. Let's think Tommy, perhaps, or thinking about that Miles ref, how about Bitches Brew?

Meanwhile, read our recent interview with Coyne about the recent Teeshirtga te and the Oklahoma state song flap HERE.

Happening July 1 in Seattle and featuring a who's-who of Americana.

By Fred Mills

It's the inaugural No Depression festival, and if you don't know what the words "No Depression " refer to then you've clearly been imprisoned in an Iranian jail for a good while. Don't despair though: upon your release, you can head over to Seattle on Saturday, July 1, where Iron & Wine and Gillian Welch are heading up the all-day event hosted by, you guessed it, the good folks at No Depression magazine (visit the venerable Americana magazine on the web these days at NoDepressi on.com).

The full lineup: Gillian Welch, Iron & Wine, Patterson Hood & the Screwtopia ns, Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter, Justin Townes Earle, Jessica Lea Mayfield, a Seattle roots-musi c all-star revue, and Zee Avi.

It'll take place at Marymoor Park in Redmond, Wash., near Seattle. Tickets are priced at $45 and they go on sale this Friday, May 15, via Ticketbast ard or by phone at 206-628-08 88. For more details, go HERE.

Nocturnals will also be touring all summer leading up to a fall release for the album.

By Blurt Staff

BLURT faves Grace Potter and the Nocturnals have recently been in Village Recorder in West L.A. working on their third album. Helming the project: none other than T Bone Burnett you may have heard of the guy). They're shooting for a fall release from the band's label, Hollywood Records.

"T Bone's a legend but also a genuinely effervesce nt personalit y, which is what I look for in anybody, especially a producer," said Potter, in a statement, who explained that Burnett's name has been at the top of the band's wish list since it formed in 2002. "We've been putting out feelers for a while," she says. "In the end, it was Bob Cavallo [Chairman of the Disney Music Group] who called him and said, ‘T Bone, you owe me 25 bucks.'  He was referring to a golf match they'd had like 20 years ago. How funny is that?" Soon thereafter , Burnett, Cavallo and Potter got together for breakfast. "They both have such spectacula r histories, and for the first 45 minutes they just traded stories. I thought it would just be a ‘get ting to know you' meeting, but at the end, T Bone said, ‘Let 's go make a record.'"

Potter and Burnett have been sifting through the raft of material the band has amassed since 2007's This Is Somewhere (there's also been the live EP Live In Skowhegan, reviewed by BLURT). Potter indicated the new songs ranged from "feel-good to salty Americana to swaggering soul with a backbeat. T Bone put the project in cinematic terms. He told me, ‘You and your voice and your songs are the movie; I'm just gonna score the movie.' Since then we've been riffing back and forth: I'll shoot a song demo to him on MP3, and he'll get me notes back within a few hours. He has a really interestin g sense of the big picture, but has an acute sense of subtle detail. It's such a huge relief to find a producer of T Bone's caliber we can totally put our trust in, not just because of the records he's made, but because of the person he is. Now it's happening, and we're excited and ready!"

In between recording and mixing the new album, Grace Potter and The Nocturnals will be on the road (including a stop at Bonnaroo) previewing songs from their upcoming album.

Tour dates:

May 16 &n bsp;   &nbs p; Dana Point, CA &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; Doheny Blues Fest   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;  (headline Renaissanc e stage)

May 17 &n bsp;   &nbs p; Birmingham , AL &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; Alys Stephens Center&nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  **Grace Potter solo

May 28 &n bsp;   &nbs p; Baltimore, MD &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp; 8 X 10   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp; *headlinin g

May 29 &n bsp;   &nbs p; Millvale, PA &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; Mr. Small's&nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ;  *headlinin g

May 30 &n bsp;   &nbs p; Lexington, KY &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  The Dame   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  *headlinin g

June 4 &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; Enterprise , AL &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  BamaJam&nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp;  (Alternati ve Stage)

June 5 &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; Live Oaks, FL &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  Wannee Festival&n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp; (Mushroom Stage)

June 6 &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; Savannah, GA &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Livewire Music Hall   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; *headlinin g

June 8 &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; Isle of Palms, SC &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;    The Windjammer  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  *headlinin g

June 11 &n bsp;   &nbs p; Knoxville, TN &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  Sundown in the City   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  *headlinin g

June 12 &n bsp;   &nbs p; Manchester , TN &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; Bonnarroo Music Festival&n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;

June 20 &n bsp;   &nbs p; Millville, NJ &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Southern Shore Music Festival&n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp; (Carmel Green Stage)

June 21 &n bsp;   &nbs p; Croton on Hudson, NY &n bsp;   &nbs p; Great Hudson River Festival&n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;

June 25 &n bsp;   &nbs p; Albany, NY &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Alive At Five   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;    *headlinin g

June 27 &n bsp;   &nbs p; Fort Smith, AK &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp; Riverfront Park   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;

June 28 &n bsp;   &nbs p; Fort Smith, AK &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp; Neumeier's Rib Room   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;  *headlinin g

July 3 &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp;  Telluride, CO &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  Red, White & Blues  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ;  *headlinin g

July 5 &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp;  Rothbury, MI &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;    Rothbury&n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  (Sherwood Court Stage)

July 17 &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Alta, Wyoming&nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; Grand Targhee Americanan Festival&n bsp;

July 18 &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Park City, UT &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  Mountain Town Stages&nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;  *headlinin g

July 24 &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Floyd, VA &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  Floyd Festival&n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;  (headline Main Stage)

July 26 &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Bridgeport , CT &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Gathering of the Vibes  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; (Main Stage)

Sept. 5 &nb sp; & nbsp;  ;  New Orleans, LA &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  Project 30-90  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;

[Photo Credit: James Minchin III]

Musicians, film stars, moguls, activists all come together.

By Blurt Staff

I don't mind stealing bread
From the mouths of decadence
But I can't feed on the powerless
When my cup's already overfilled
But it's on the table
The fire is cooking
And they're farming babies
While the slaves are working
The blood is on the table
And their mouths

Are choking
But I'm growing hungry

(-from "Hunger Strike," Temple of the Dog)

Joining activist-a ctress Mia Farrow and Virgin Group Founder and Chairman Sir Richard Branson is Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman on the Darfur Fast For Life project. They are all fasting and only taking water for three days in order to raise awareness of the humanitari an crisis currently taking place in Darfur, as well as to encourage long-term U.S. Government actions to bring lasting peace to the people of Sudan. Also taking part: U.S. Representa tive Donald Payne who is Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommitt ee on Africa and Global Health and works tirelessly to end the suffering in Darfur.

Expressing his outrage at the situation in Darfur, Foreman said, in a statement, "Can it be possible that right now, two and a half million people are waking up in camps and refugee camps having been driven from their homes by violent means? Under the same sun, could it be true that almost half a million people have died of starvation , violence, and disease over the past six years in Darfur? Is this true?!  And if this is true, why has the media remained almost completely silent on the issue? Why has our government maintained it's current stance of inaction?"

Foreman follows Actress-Ac tivist Mia Farrow and Virgin CEO and Founder Sir Richard Branson and others in sharing their experience s through video and blog posts at http://www .fastdarfur .org .

The Darfur Fast for Life: We are leaders, activists and citizens around the world who fast in solidarity with the people of Darfur because they do not have a choice. We fast as a personal expression of outrage at a world that has allowed the suffering of millions of innocent people. We fast because as we simply watched, Darfur's defenseles s people were forced into wretched camps where today they are facing starvation and disease. We fast because those in positions of authority who know what is right and just, could and should do more to alleviate their suffering and bring peace, protection , and justice to the people of Sudan.

We fast for Darfur's courageous people -because we yearn for a world where human rights are respected and a life of dignity is the legacy for every man, woman and child.

Don't try this at home, kids. It's illegal in most states... not the codependen t relationsh ip part, the knives.

By Fred Mills

A short film for Bob Dylan's "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" - from the new album Together Through Life, natch -  was shot by AFI and Sundance Film Festival award winning director Nash Edgerton. It stars Amanda Aardsma and Joel Stoffer.

Spoiler alert: blood, knives and more than a little guy-on-gal , gal-on-guy violence ahead. Not to mention a happy ending!

The video will make its broadcast premiere tonight (May 12) at 10:15pm this evening on the IFC Channel, and can additional ly be seen at IFC.com starting today through Thursday May 14.

Check it out: http://www .ifc.com/dylan

Meanwhile, read what BLURT had to say about the album HERE.

New EP features covers, exclusive live and acoustic recordings

By Blurt Staff

The Cab has a new EP ready for June 16 release. What Happens in Vegas features all kinds of covers, exclusive live and acoustic recordings and a remix of "Take My Hand" which features Cassadee Pope of Hey Monday.

The band's also on the road with a new tour. Check out the dates below and get more informatio n at The Cab

JUNE

18      Tucs on, AZ                      Club Congress

19      West Hollywood, CA          The Roxy

20      Anah eim, CA                    Chai n Reaction

21      San Francisco, CA             Café ; du Nord

23      Seat tle, WA                      Chop Suey

24      Port land, OR                    Hawt horne Theatre

25      Bois e, ID                          The Venue

26      Salt Lake City, UT             Kilby Court

27      Denv er, CO                      Marq uis Theater

28      Omah a, NE                      Soko l Undergroun d

30      Minn eapolis, MN               Triple Rock

JULY

1        Milw aukee, WI                  Summ erfest

2        Chic ago, IL                      Subt erranean

5        Colu mbus, OH                  The Basement

7        Clev eland Heights, OH       Grog Shop

8        Gran d Rapids, IA              Inte rsection

9        Pont iac, MI                       iLounge

10      Mill vale, PA                      Mr. Smalls Theatre

11      Buff alo, NY                      Moha wk Place

12      Alba ny, NY                      Vale ntine's

14      Sout h Hackensack , NJ       School Of Rock

15      New York, NY                  High line Ballroom

16      Foxb oro, MA                    Show case Live

17      Hart ford, CT                     Webster Undergroun d

18      Phil adelphia, PA               North Star Bar

19      Alls ton, MA                      Harp ers Ferry

21      Farm ingdale, NY               Crazy Donkey

22      Lanc aster, PA                   Chameleon

23      Bloo mington, IN               Rhino's

24      Whea ton, IL                     Dupage County Fair

25      Cinc innati, OH                  20th Century Theatre

26      Loui sville, KY                    Head liners Music Hall

28      Wash ington, DC                9:30 Club

29      Rale igh, NC                      The Brewery

30      Atla nta, GA                      The Masquerade

31      Orla ndo, FL                      The Social

AUGUST

1        Fort Lauderdale , FL           Culture Room

2        Tamp a, FL                       Orpheum

4        Hous ton, TX                     Warehouse Live

5        Aust in, TX                        Emo' s Alternativ e Lounge

6        Dall as, TX                        Pont iac Garage @ House of Blues

7        Albu querque, NM              Laun chpad

8        Temp e, AZ                       The Clubhouse

9        Las Vegas, NV                  Hous e of Blues

More of that sweet Italo-disc o-meets-Sw edish-pop stuff.

By Blurt Staff

Paper Bag Records have unveiled a sneak peek at the new Sally Shapiro single, "Miracle." It's the initial followup to last year's acclaimed Disco Romance and will be available commercial ly via Paper Bag on June 16, with a new full-lengt h slated to hit this fall.

"Miracle" is written and produced by Johan Agebjö ;rn and Roger Gunnarsson , and includes a remix by up-and-com ing Bulgarian producer Bogdan Irkük . Sally will soon reveal the details for the sophomore release, which will include collaborat ions with German nu-disco producer Tensnake and Swedish italo disco duo Cloetta Paris.

Sally Shapiro's music is a blend of 80s-inspir ed italo disco and twee indie pop - melancholi c yet hopeful, sweet yet danceable. The name "Sally Shapiro" is both referring to the Swedish duo, consisting of the producer Johan Agebjö ;rn and an anonymous singer, as well as the pseudonym of the singer itself.

Sally Shapiro - "Miracle"

Dear Lameass Tweeps (self included),

You narcissist ic bores. 140 characters or less (you'd think the limit would force creativity ) and still the mundane prevails:

@lefsetz: Passing through Mohave

@oprah: Headed to Maya's for dinner

@outlandos music: Star Trek here we come!

#YAWN.

But still, we keep at it... a challenge, a game of sorts: can one be consistent ly compelling in so few words?

Just in case any of us presumed self-indul gent thought pollution was limited to the young & hip... Nielsen's recent poll has 49% of Twits 35+ equally bedazzled by the truncated screen and it's willy-nill y, up-to-the- minute broadcast ennui. Fascinatin g. Wisdom still doesn't necessaril y come with age nor, apparently , with short, concise language (a.k.a. less vs. more).

A Triple-A radio programmin g veteran, Kate has served as Music Director of the Loft at XM, Midday Host at WYEP, Evening Host at both WNCS and WUIN, as well as Content Supervisor for Pump Audio. Currently, she's the CEO of Outlandos Music, a new-music discovery service for grown-ups. Kate has been nationally recognized for her ardent presentati on of music and her ability to champion talented, compelling artists.

Tour kicks off in July and will run for a month.

By Blurt Staff

Tori Amos has announced her "Sinful Attraction Tour" in support of her forthcomin g Abnormally Attracted to Sin.  The tour will launch this July in Seattle, with dates across the US. The singer/son gwriter will release her Universal Republic debut album on May 19, 2009.

Worth noting: A DVD of correspond ing ‘vis ualettes' for each track will accompany the deluxe version of the album. These interlocki ng episodic films bring to life the narrative arc of the album.  The footage was captured over the past year and shot with a noir twist in HD and Super 8. 

Watch BLURT for a review of the album soon....

Go to www.toriamos.com for on-sale informatio n.

TOUR DATES:

07/10: Seattle, WA @ WaMu Theater
07/11: Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
07/13: Oakland, CA @ Paramount Theatre
07/14: Oakland, CA @ Paramount Theatre
07/16: San Diego, CA @ Humphrey's
07/17: Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
07/18: Phoenix, AZ @ Dodge Theatre
07/20: Salt Lake City, UT @ Abravenal Hall
07/21: Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre
07/23: Kansas City, MO @ Starlight Theatre
07/24: Grand Prairie, TX @ Nokia Theatre
07/25: Austin, TX @ The Long Center for the Performing Arts
07/27: Atlanta, GA @ Chastain Park Amphitheat re
07/28: Orlando, FL @ Bob Carr Performing Arts Center
07/29: Miami Beach, FL @ The Fillmore Miami Beach @ The Jackie Gleason Theater
07/31: Durham, NC @ Durham Performing Arts Center
08/01: Washington , DC @ DAR Constituti on Hall
08/03: Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
08/04: Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theatre
08/05: Minneapoli s, MN @ State Theatre
08/07: Indianapol is, IN @ Murat Theatre
08/08: Detroit, MI @ Detroit Opera House
08/10: Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
08/11: Montreal, QC @ St. Denis Theatre,
08/13: New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall,
08/15: Upper Darby, PA @ Tower Theatre
08/17: Boston, MA @ Bank of America Pavilion

Available for your discretion ary listening right this very moment...

By Fred Mills

Bloggers ‘n' boozers are all a-twitter (term used loosely and literally) over the apparent leaking yesterday of the new Wilco album, sensibly titled Wilco (The Album) and due June 30 from Nonesuch. Never mind that Wilco is considered a major band and that leaks are considered commonplac e for major (and minor) artists these days - so much so, that often the bands themselves , typically lower-tier groups trying to drum up some publicity by creating a fake controvers y, do the leaking. All the web chatter appears to be centered around the whole notion of "I found it first!" "No, I found it first!" as well as endless speculatio n over who exactly did the initial leaking.

For example, one hyperventi lating blogger at Riverfront Times.com, in a squeaky rant titled "At What Point Did Wilco (The Album) become Wilco (The Leak)?, expressed shock and awe, writing in a manner that suggests she's just discovered the whole "leak" phenomenon . "The way these illicit copies spread across the Internet is fascinatin g -- like a series of dominoes falling," the blogger gasps. "When you look at a Twitter feed full of Wilco fans, you can really visualize the psychology and reality behind something like a big CD leaking early. Plus, by morning, news of the leak is going to hit blogs and mainstream media, more people are going to look for the album -- and the c ycle will perpetuate itself even faster."

Yeah, duh.

She also queried rather speciously , "Something I've always wondered about leaks of big albums: They tend to happen at night, Why is this? Also, I'm dying to know where this leak originated , because labels increasing ly have a tight grip on highly anticipate d albums, and don't release promos at all to press for review. How did this even get out so ea rly?"

Well, we can answer that pretty handily for you, as did one apparently sane and sober person also did in the response postings to the Riverfront Time.com item: advance press copies of Wilco (The Album) started arriving in mailboxes over the weekend and early this week, which may or may not mean a journalist is the source of the leak. Possibly a thieving mailman, maybe Jay Bennett, maybe even the band itself. We dunno. Who cares! (It is a FANTASTIC album by the way.)

At any rate, in what may be a direct response to last night's leak, Wilco (The Band) is now streaming the entire album at their website. Our recommenda tion is to take off that blogging cap (it's pinching your pointy little heads), go to the Wilco site, crank up the volume, and just sit back and enjoy the next hour or so, unencumber ed by naught but some solid rock ‘n' roll.

And hey, what's up with that George Harrison/" My Sweet Lord" riff in "You Never Know"?

Bringing their Sun Gangs to the States.

By Blurt Staff

The Veils are headed to the U.S. and Canada in July, touring in support of their recently released Rough Trade album, Sun Gangs. They'll be playing with Secretly Canadian's Foreign Born for most of the dates, except for Los Angeles where they'll be headlining their own show at Spaceland. See tour dates below.

The Veils - Finn Andrews, (vocals, guitar, piano, New Zealand) Sophia Burn, (bass, New Zealand) Dan Raishbrook (guitar, odd noise, England) and Henning Dietz (drums, Germany) - have been steadily developing as a band, and the Graham Sutton-pro duced Sun Gangs is already amassing a fair share of critical kudos. Why, just the other day, BLURT,&nbs p; in a nine-out-o f-ten-star s review, cited its "gorgeous" qualities, its "majesty" and its "richly detailed images."

Tour Dates:

Thu, 7/9 - Vancouver BC - Media Club

Fri, 7/10 - Seattle WA - Chop Suey

Sat, 7/11 - Portland OR - Mississipp i Studios

Mon, 7/13 - San Francisco CA - Bottom of the Hill

Wed, 7/15 - Los Angeles CA - Spaceland

Fri, 7/17 - Tucson AZ - Plush

Sun, 7/19 - Austin TX - Mohawk

Mon, 7/20 - Norman OK - Opolis

Wed, 7/22 - Minneapoli s MN - 7th Street Entry

Thu, 7/23 - Chicago IL - Empty Bottle

Fri, 7/24 - Cleveland OH - Beachland Ballroom&n bsp;

Sat, 7/25 - Pontiac MI - Pike Room @ the Crofoot

Mon, 7/27 - Toronto ON - Horseshoe Tavern

Tue, 7/28 - Montreal QC - La Sala Rossa

Wed, 7/29  - Boston MA - TT The Bear's

Thu, 7/30 - New York NY - Mercury Lounge

Fri, 7/31 - Philadelph ia PA - Johnny Brenda's

Sat, 8/1 - Washington DC - Rock & Roll Hotel

Mon, 8/3 - Brooklyn NY - The Bell House

The old queen bitch finally sees his in-demand episode released.

By Blurt Staff

Many artists have appeared on "VH1 Storytelle rs" - and quite a few, notably Tom Waits, have never had their segments re-aired or made commercial ly available (luckily we taped the show and it remains a cherished part of our video collection ; it's also been bootlegged ). David Bowie was another, and his August 23, 1999, episode is remembered by fans as a highlight of VH1's acclaimed performanc e series. 

On July 14, Virgin/EMI will release David Bowie: VH1 Storytelle rs on CD/DVD and for digital audio purchase from all major digital service providers. The CD/DVD features audio and video for Bowie's televised performanc e of eight songs, plus bonus video of four performanc es taped during his "Storytell ers" session, but not aired in the show's original broadcast.  The digital audio release also includes the eight originally televised songs and the four bonus performanc es.

To date, more than 60 episodes of "VH1 Storytelle rs" have aired on VH1. "We were used to dealing with legendary musicians, " says "VH1 Storytelle rs" Executive Producer, Bill Flanagan, in his liner notes essay for the new Bowie release.  "Still, landing David Bowie was more than a big booking. There's no way to say this without being corny: it was an honor. Bowie has a unique place in rock & roll. He is not only one of the most influentia l musicians of the era, he does nothing unless he is fully committed. He never phones it in."

Flanagan continues, "Bowie's ‘Sto rytellers' was a unique theatrical event, a sort of off-Broadw ay ‘Eve ning with the Artist' in which a great songwriter used bits and pieces from his life and career to show us all the roads leading up to a single moment, a complement to his current album but also a performanc e strong enough to stand on its own: a compelling introducti on to David Bowie for the uninitiate d and a fresh experience for the long time fan."

David Bowie: VH1 Storytelle rs (CD/DVD)

CD

1. Life On Mars?

2. Rebel Rebel [truncated ]

3. Thursday's Child

4. Can't Help Thinking About Me

5. China Girl

6. Seven

7. Drive-In Saturday

8. Word On A Wing

DVD

1. Life On Mars?

2. Rebel Rebel [truncated ]

3. Thursday's Child

4. Can't Help Thinking About Me

5. China Girl

6. Seven

7. Drive-In Saturday

8. Word On A Wing

Bonus Video Performanc es

9. Survive

10. I Can't Read

11. Always Crashing In The Same Car

12. If I'm Dreaming My Life

David Bowie: VH1 Storytelle rs (Digital Audio)

1. Life On Mars?

2. Rebel Rebel [truncated ]

3. Thursday's Child

4. Can't Help Thinking About Me

5. China Girl

6. Seven

7. Drive-In Saturday

8. Word On A Wing

Bonus Audio Performanc es

9. Survive

10. I Can't Read

11. Always Crashing In The Same Car

12. If I'm Dreaming My Life

Raw and sassy as Wanda Jackson in her prime. Boy howdy!

By Fred Mills

The band that is rockin' the BLURT boogie van right now? Thanks for askin'! That would be Murfreesbo ro, Tenn., distaff rockers Those Darlins, whose new, self-title d album arrives on July 7. Imagine the Ramones if they were chicks, had a healthy appreciati on for twang, Americana and even some bluegrass, and sang about getting drunk all the time instead of sniffing glue and you've just about got it.

As we put it in our forthcomin g review of Those Darlins, "They crank a sound as raw and sassy as Wanda Jackson in her prime.  These three 20-somethi ng ladies - Kelley, Jessi and Nikki Darlin' - hitch down-home gospel harmonies to uptempo punk beats, honky tonk guitar riffs to acerbic lyrics."

Well, all right then. We are all about ascerbic lyrics!

The group will also be touring starting, uh, LAST NIGHT, including selected dates with partners-i n-chaos the Dexateens and a showstoppe r CD release party in Nashville towards the end of June with none other than the Black Lips (speaking of chaos).

If you haven't been following what we're saying, we suggest you hotfoot it over to the band's MySpace page (www.myspace.com/darlin s) and check out some of the tunes, pics and other details....

Tracklisti ng:

1--Red Light Love
2--Wild One
3--Mama's Heart
4--Hung Up On Me
5--The Whole Damn Thing
6--Who's That Knockin' At My Window
7--Glass To You
8--Snaggle Tooth Mama
9--Cannonb all Blues
10--222
11--Dui Or Die
12--Keep My Skillet Good And Greasy

TOUR DATES:

MAY.
12 - Washington , DC @ Rock N Roll Hotel+
13 - Charlottes ville, VA @ IS Venue+
19 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop+
20 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas+
21 - Newport, KY @ The Parlour+
22 - Lexington, KY @ The Dame+
23 - Knoxville, TN @ Barley's Tap Room+

JUNE.
11: Manchester , TN @ Bonnaroo (8:30PM)
19: Bristol, VA @ Border Bash
20: Asheville, NC @ BOBO Gallery
25: Atlanta @ Drunken Unicorn
26: Athens, GA @ AthFest
27: Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge*

* w/the Black Lips
+ w/The Features & The Dexateens

"We've dug a little hole and we have to fill it": magazine launches online Paste-a-th on to raise money to continue operating.

By Fred Mills

With consumer anger over bank and car industry bailouts still simmering, Georgia-ba sed Paste magazine, apparently reeling from a steep decline in advertisin g sales and in danger of shutting down as a result, did the most logical thing it could do in the current economic climate: it asked for a bailout.

In an open letter posted to the Paste website yesterday, the seven-year -old magazine appealed to readers for cash donations (non-deduc tible, incidental ly) for as little as $1 and as much as $100. "Every little bit helps," said the latter, "and you can be a part of continuing our efforts to help you find signs of life in music, film and culture. If $1 (yes, one dollar) came in from everyone on our e-mail lists (or $10 from 10% or $100 from 1%), we'll reach our goal and emerge from this recession as a stronger magazine and website."

That goal, incidental ly, was confirmed by Paste Editor-in- Chief Josh Jackson (in an interview yesterday with the Atlanta Journal-Co nstitution ), to be in "the low six figures," so you can do the math: if every one of the magazine's estimated 205,000 readers coughs up a buck, they'll net over two hundred thousand dollars. That's not just Decatur chicken feed.

"We have been trying to cut costs but apparently not fast enough," Jackson told the AJ-C. "We're at the point where we have to go to the readers for a little help. We hope it will be a one-time thing... We feel like even in the current ad climate we can break even for a while but we haven't for some months. We've dug a little hole and we have to fill it."

Also as part of "The Campaign To Save Paste" (a donations page has been set up at the Paste website), the magazine has rounded up a slew of "rare and exclusive" MP3s from artists - among them, Decemberis ts, Neko Case, She & Him, Of Montreal, Bob Mould, Shawn Mullins, Avett Brothers and the Cowboy Junkies - that will be offered to donating readers as a thank-you. (Earlier this week, sources tell BLURT, the magazine had been approachin g scores of record labels and requesting that they have their artists donate free MP3s for the cause.) Various other giveaways and promotions are planned, including autographe d posters from REM and Band of Horses.

As word starting getting out about the Paste situation, response from bloggers and various media watchers ranged from the "vaguely sympatheti c" to the somewhat "snarkily gleeful" (some folks just like dancing on graves, one supposes). Atlanta blog DriveAFast erCar.com characteri zed the magazine's status as "on its last legs, trying to scrounge up" money, additional ly publishing a tip from an anonymous source reportedly close to the magazine indicating that  Past e staff members were taking a 20% pay cut. (Jackson confirmed to the AJ-C that the 15-member staff was indeed taking a cut, but wouldn't indicate how much.) DriveAFast erCar.com subsequent ly was forced to backpedal a bit in regards to the tone of its postings, taking pains to point out that its intention was not to mock or belittle Paste.

Meanwhile, everyone's favorite reliable source of pop culture info, Gawker.com, characteri zed Paste as "not long for this world" in its announceme nt of the news. And over at Idolator.com, in a lengthy screed titled "Paste Throws A Hail Mary Pass," a number of valid points regarding the situation were raised, among them: (1) it confirms "suspicion s that the economic crunch-not to mention the music industry's hard times-has adversely affected yet another music-rela ted media outlet"; (2) that "losing a mass-distr ibuted voice for music discussion and discovery is always a scary thing"; and (3) that when Paste launched its mimic-the- Radiohead- pay-what-y ou-like-mo del for reader subscripti ons a couple of years ago, perhaps it should have thought out the gimmick a bit more fully (for example, offering PDF subscripti ons as part of a tiered subscripti on policy rather than simply letting some folks pay, say, a buck for a sub to the print magazine).

All this provides food for thought, particular ly the part about potentiall y losing another print outlet. Trust me - we at BLURT know of what we speak, having gone through our own shuttering of a magazine (we used to be Harp, in case you didn't know, and the magazine closed up a year ago en route to bankruptcy ). So it will be interestin g to see how all this plays out and whether the Paste plea will yield the necessary funds to remain solvent or if readers, mindful of their own economic woes and reluctant to support an entity that has steadily shrunk in size even as it moved significan tly away from its original mission of covering independen t music, will shrug a collective "eh" in a vote of no-confide nce.

***

CODA: None of this comes as any great surprise to folks who have been watching the magazine business, of course. And rumors of Paste's troubles were swirling as far back as March at SXSW in Austin where on four separate occasions I talked to an attendee who'd been writing for Paste and was having trouble getting paid. One of those four - a very prominent national writer with decades of journalism experience , incidental ly - told me flat out, "As of the last issue I wrote for, they owe me [xxxxxx], and I'm not the only one. Writers are always the first to get stiffed, and that's usually the first sign of a magazine that's going down, don't you think?"

As if in answer to the aforementi oned complaint, yesterday Paste Editor-in- Chief Jackson sent out a letter to the magazine's contributo rs - you can read the entire letter posted at Gawker.com - in which he disclosed, in general, their financial woes, outlined the donation campaign, and pledged to make good (or to attempt to make good) on outstandin g invoices. For anyone who's ever worked at a magazine, either in an editorial capacity or simply as a freelance contributo r, much of this rings true, unfortunat ely.

"I know you're all very aware of the financial troubles Paste has been in," Jackson wrote, "as many of you are still owed money for articles you wrote, illustrati ons you drew or photograph s you took several months ago." Noting that in order to maintain operations Paste has to remain up-to-date on printer and U.S. Post Office bills, Jackson cited a number of cost-cutti ng measures they'd implemente d, including "getting rid of the CD that accompanie s Paste, cutting out most all of our travel, taking across-the -board paycuts, shrinking the page count and assigning less freelance work."

Asking for "patience" on the part of the contributo rs, Jackson concluded, "Our hope is that we'll raise enough to catch all of you up to current. Short of that, we'll be catching you up as much as we can. We've hated falling further and further behind with the people who've made Paste what it is, and we know most of you rely on freelance work for your living. We can't thank you enough for your patience... We look greatly forward to the days where Paste is growing in pages (and assignment s) and is once again known for always paying folks on time."

By Fred "Tru" Mills

Infinite, the pre-fame 1996 debut album by Eminem, is available now as a free download. It's long been out of print, but fans can now access is at 50 Cent's website, ThisIs50, where not so coincident ally his buddy Em also maintains a blog.

It's also probably not a coincidenc e that the new Eminem record Relapse is out next Tuesday.

The '96 album, originally issued by Web Entertainm ent, included Eminem's D-12 bandmates Kon Artis, Eye-Kyu and Proof (now deceased).

New album en route in August from Yep Roc.

By Blurt Staff

2 Tone/Secon d Wave ska invasionis ts Madness have waited nearly a decade to offer the world new songs. On August 18^th Yep Roc Records offers the answer, The Liberty of Norton Folgate.

Formed in the fertile undergroun d of 1976 London (along with contempora ries The Specials), Madness is a seven man musical army hell bent on capturing the colorful influences of the people and cultures of their beloved city. Their dedication to the exploratio n of musical London as well as countless UK top ten singles/al bums have garnered the band household name status in Britain, making the album one of the most anticipate d releases of the year in their home country.

Most known in the U.S. for their still ubiquitous #7 Billboard hit ‘Our House,' the band has sustained cult status here in the States. It has been a decade since their album Wonderful  (199 9) [The all-covers album The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1 was released in 2005].

Described by the band as an "audio guide to the greatest city on earth" and Madness' unique take on the concept album, The Liberty of Norton Folgate moves between elements of burlesque jazz, rock, ska and even polka combining for an effortless lesson in pop song craft.

An area outside the city walls of the old city of London, Norton Folgate was one of several original ‘lib erties' independen t of the bureaucrac y of the main city government .  Foun ding member Graham McPherson (aka Suggs) describes the area as, "a refuge for actors, writers, thinkers, louts, lowlifes and libertines - outsiders and troublemak ers all. Sounds like our kind of place does it not?!" Suggs continues, "We'd been kicking around the idea of a concept album about London for a while. We wanted to get the x-ray camera out and shoot down through the crust, past the bullets and bones, the clay pipes and stones, to try and get to the soul of the place. We're all dancing in the moonlight, were all on borrowed ground."

The spirit of the place that would later become Whitechape l, the hunting ground of Jack the Ripper, stalks this album... be very, very afraid!

London bookies taking bets as to how long it will be before MP3s hit the web.

By Fred Mills

Remember last week when we told you about that stream of the new Danger Mouse/Spar klehorse album Dark Night of the Soul? The one featuring guests like David Lynch (providing "visuals," such as THESE), Iggy Pop, the Flaming Lips, Black Francis and others? It was streaming at the Chrysalis Music Blog and fans were indeed flocking to the stream.

Turns out Chrysalis wasn't supposed to be streaming it at all! Oops! Or so they say - it could have been a hype-boost ing p.r. stunt - as there's now a message at the blog saying that the album is no longer available to stream here... We regret that we inadverten tly did so. It won't happen again."

Never fear, gentle readers. Just hop over to the NPR Music site, where the album is now streaming in an official capacity. There's also a descriptio n from an NPR staffer of the record along with some background informatio n, including these details:

"The songs were written by Danger Mouse and Sparklehor se, though the myriad singers featured on each track also had a big hand in composing and producing the work. The album will be packaged with a book of photos taken by David Lynch. Can this get any better? I've listened to the album all the way through at least a dozen times, and can confirm that Dark Night of the Soul delivers in every way you'd hope for. It's beautiful but haunting, surreal and dark, but sometimes comical and affecting, with ear-poppin g, multilayer ed production work. It just gets more mesmerizin g with every listen."

NPR adds that the album isn't due out until July (actual label TBA), and the album/book package will be a limited edition of 5,000. There's also an indication that "for now, no legal downloadab le version of the album will be offered."

Operative term "legal download": copies of the album went out to the press last week, and in light of that Wilco album leak Tuesday, which most likely was the result of some eager-beav er journalist uploading his advance, one imagines that any project involving Danger Mouse will hit the web soon enough too.

What's more, they want to record a new album as well...

By Blurt Staff

Proof that if you WANT to remember the ‘80s , you probably weren't there arrives today with news that archetypal ‘80s pop outfit Kajagoogoo has gotten back together and will be touring for the first time in a quarter century. They got together for a brief spell in 2004 for that atrocious VH1 program "Bands Reunited" (anybody who saw the classic Flock of Seagulls segment, raise your hands) and then sane head prevailed and they put the beast to rest a second time.

Britain's Mirror is reporting, however, that the fiftysomet hings mullet farmers, fronted by fey vocalist Limahl (real name: Christophe r Hamill) will be touring Britain this fall starting in mid September (dates at Kajagoogoo .com).

"It's good to be back, Limahl told the Mirror. "Back then, we didn't have time to enjoy things. But now we're older and a bit wiser, so we can enjoy it a lot more. [And] We'll go back in the studio and record some new stuff."

Oof. You have been warned, punters. Okay, everybody sing along together... "too shy-shy...."

[Kajagoogoo then, above, and now, below]

Stuck in Mexico with those surgical mask blues again...

By Blurt Staff

Chuck Prophet mentioned to friends and Fellow Travelers early this year that he intended to make a "political album for non-politi cal people," To this end he went, "a couple thousand feet above Denver to see what I can see." Recording high up in Mexico City things went a little...well, shall we say, haywire.

Amid the pandemic paranoia and 6.4 earthquake s Prophet soldiered on, wrapping up an album and dealing with the indignity of having to wear a blue surgical mask just to fit in.

Power outages come and go and hard drives have sizzled but Prophet calls the work, "far better than I had even hoped for." Early listens say he might be right - he's gone for a live-in-th e-studio feel rather than the more mannered and layered feel of his last couple of outings.

"What were you doing when the plague came and the world cracked in two? I was in Mexico City eating little tacos on a picnic table and trying to count the green Beetle taxi cabs. It's a funny world -- Weird and then some."

The as yet untitled album will be out this fall on Yep Roc Records.

Follow the whole fiasco on Twitter... http://twi tter.com/ChuckP rophet .

[Photo Credit: Francisco Miranda]

Clues features former members of Arcade Fire and Unicorns; their self-title d album comes out May 19 on Constellat ion.

Shot on Super 8 by experiment al filmmaker Karl Lemieux (an active member of the Double Negative Collective ), "Haarp" was created when Clues were out flying kites in bitter winter deep freeze as part of the artwork session for their debut album (photos from the kite flying expedition appear throughout the record packaging) . Karl's footage was then edited by Brendan and Ben from Clues. The kites themselves were designed and printed by local silkscreen luminary Leyla Majeri.

"Summertim e Clothes" features three extra remixes too.

By Blurt Staff

Too bad about that sold-out Animal Collective box set but fans can console themselves as the band is out on tour RIGHT NOW - see tour dates, below. Manwhile, "Summertim e Clothes", the second single taken from Animal Collective 's universall y acclaimed LP, Merriweath er Post Pavilion, will be available July 7th in North America on 12" and digitally. "Summertim e Clothes" is a deliriousl y warm and instantly infectious track.  Remixes are courtesy of Hyperdub's elusive and spooky beatmaker, Zomby, LA's ‘Amb assador of Boogie Funk' Dam-Funk, and South London breakbeat and dubstep producer, LD.

Animal Collective recently gave a performanc e of the song on the David Letterman show. The band was joined by Brooklyn dance troupe FLEX who will also be featured in the forthcomin g Danny Perez directed video. Check out the Letterman performanc e here:

http://www .youtube.com/watch? v=ehLEHxvl 9rA

Tracklisti ng for the single:

A1 - Summertime Clothes (Album Version)

A2 - Summertime Clothes (Dam-Funk Remix)

B1 - Summertime Clothes (Leon Day AKA L.D Remix)

B2 - Summertime Clothes (Zomby's Analog Lego Mix)

Tour Dates:

05.15: Montreal, PQ - Metropolis

05.16: Toronto, ON - Sound Academy

05.18: Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Hall

05.19: Minneapoli s, MN - First Avenue

05.24: Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom

05.25: Portland, OR - Roseland Theater

05.26: Oakland, CA - Fox Theatre

05.27: Big Sur, CA - Henry Miller Memorial Library

05.29: Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern

05.30: Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues

05.31: Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater

06.01: Albuquerqu e, MN - Sunshine Theater

06.02: Boulder, CO - Boulder Theatre

06.04: Dallas, TX - House Of Blues

06.05: Austin, TX - Stubbs

06.06: Oxford, MS - The Library

06.08: St. Petersburg , FL - State Theatre

06.09: Fort Lauderdale , FL - Culture Room

06.10: Orlando, FL - Club Firestone

06.12: Manchester , TN - Bonnaroo Music Festival

08.14: Brooklyn, NY - Prospect Park Bandshell

08.15: Brooklyn, NY - Prospect Park Bandshell

09.12: Monticello , NY - ATP

July album will be accompanie d by a tour.

By Blurt Staff

Hometapes is will be releasing Durham, NC, combo Megafaun's second album Gather, Form & Fly on July 21^st. It's billed as "a monument to a band that hundreds have experience d on stages, under trees, in galleries, on floors, in headphones , and through radios-wit h-the-wind ows-down over the past three years....  a record that is an ode to death, love, musical history (from blues to musique-co ncré ;te), community, tradition, and experiment ation. In all, it's an ode to the listener."

Want a free taste? Check it out: Megafaun -- "The Fade"

Based in Durham, North Carolina, Megafaun was built by brothers Brad and Phil Cook and fellow Eau Claire, Wisconsin native Joe Westerlund . The trio, plus longtime friend Justin Vernon (a.k.a. Bon Iver), made the cross country move together from WI to NC as the band DeYarmond Edison, ultimately splitting in 2006. Megafaun was born from those ashes and proceeded to record the remarkable album Bury the Square in 2007. The band found a home on the road, additional ly collaborat ing with friends (they also joined Akron/Fami ly and Dreyblatt as backing band).

Brad, Phil, and Joe have been playing in bands together since 1997, after meeting at jazz camp in Wisconsin as teenagers. With the end of DeYarmond Edison, says Phil, "Brad and I left our primary instrument s behind and picked up secondary ones. We booked a seven day tour without having written any songs." "We've become song writers collective ly and individual ly through the birth of this band," adds Joe, "and Gather, Form & Fly marks a huge growth and change in our thinking about time and song form."

Track List:

1. Bella Marie
2. Kaufman's Ballad
3. The Fade
4. Impression s of the Past

5. Worried Mind

6. The Process

7. Solid Ground

8. Darkest Hour

9. Gather, Form and Fly

10. Columns

11. The Longesty Day

12. Guns

13. Tides

Megafaun will also embark on an extensive tour in support of Gather, Form & Fly with Bowerbirds beginning in July:

07/06/09 - Washington , DC - Black Cat
07/07/09 - Philadelph ia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
07/10/09 - Providence , RI - Club Hell
07/11/09 - Northampto n, MA - Iron Horse Music Hall
07/12/09 - Cambridge, MA - TT The Bear's Place
07/13/09 - Montreal QC, Canada - La Sala Rossa
07/14/09 - Toronto ON, Canada - Sneaky Dees
07/15/09 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Tavern
07/16/09 - Pontiac, MI - The Pike Room at The Crofoot
07/17/09 - Indianapol is, IN - Vollrath Tavern
07/20/09 - Iowa City, IA - The Mill
07/21/09 - Minneapoli s, MN - 7th St. Entry
07/22/09 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown
07/26/09 - Denver, CO - Hi Dive
07/27/09 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
07/29/09 - Vancouver BC, Canada - The Biltmore Cabaret
07/30/09 - Seattle, WA - Triple Door
07/31/09 - Anacortes, WA - Department of Safety
08/01/09 - Portland, OR - Mississipp i Studios
08/03/09 - San Francisco, CA - Cafe du Nord
08/04/09 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
08/05/09 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
08/06/09 - Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room
08/10/09 - Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
08/12/09 - Denton, TX - Hailey's
08/13/09 - Austin, TX - The Mohawk
08/14/09 - Houston, TX - Walter's On Washington
08/15/09 - New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks
08/16/09 - Birmingham , AL - The Bottletree
08/17/09 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl

So track it down by whatever means necessary, kids!

By Fred Mills

Remember yesterday when we told you about that stream of the new Danger Mouse/Spar klehorse album Dark Night of the Soul? The one featuring guests like David Lynch (providing "visuals," such as THESE), Iggy Pop, the Flaming Lips, Black Francis and others? It was streaming at NPR Music and fans were indeed flocking to the stream.

However, if you've visited the NPR site today to check out the album, you will also have encountere d this little addition to the informatio n provided: "The album was initially going to be released with a book of photos by director David Lynch in July. But a dispute with EMI records may delay or kill the project."

Well, that's exactly what's happening. Despite the fact that the album is still streaming at NPR (don't hold your breath on that folks), and that advance CDRs of the album have already been sent out to the press (we're lookin' at ours right now... shiny.... Ooh... silvery.... Nice....), according to a report filed late yesterday by TheTripwir e.com, there's a dispute between EMI and Danger Mouse that for the moment has left the project in limbo. Or at least the musical portion of it.

See, the limited-ed ition package was to include, obviously, the DM/SH album along with a book containing David Lynch photos. Now, however, the way things stand is that it the book will be accompanie d by a blank CDR.

Tripwire reports that according to a spokespers on for Danger Mouse, the package will "come with a blank, recordable CD-R. All copies will be clearly labeled: ‘For Legal Reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will.' Due to an ongoing dispute with EMI, Danger Mouse is unable to release the recorded music for Dark Night Of The Soul without fear of being sued by EMI. Danger Mouse remains hugely proud of Dark Night Of The Soul and hopes that people lucky enough to hear the music, by whatever means, are as excited by it as he is."

What's interestin g is that thus far, there hadn't even been a label announced for the project; not even the Danger Mouse p.r. team knew. So the whole deal about EMI stepping in is bound to raise plenty of speculatio n about the reasons behind the aforementi oned "ongoing dispute."

One thing's for sure: given the fact that press copies are in circulatio n both in CDR and MP3 form, nobody's going to be able to prevent people from being able to hear the album. As Danger Mouse himself put it in the statement above - by whatever means.

Oh, and watch for a BLURT review of the album soon anyway...

Pink duets with Ellen DeGeneres (really) and talks about tour.

By Nancy Dunham

April Fool's is over and we are not making this up - Pink went on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, did a duet with her, and also talked about her upcoming tour and God knows what else - Check out Pink here

We love Ellen, obviously, and Pink but they're just two people you never expected to see together (Madonna and Gwyneth).

Anyway, Pink's funhouse tour is coming to the U.S. Check out dates below:

9/15/09  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;Seattl e, WA @ WAMU Theatre

9/17/09  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion

9/18/09  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center (on sale 5/16 @ 12noon)

9/20/09  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; Gl endale, AZ @ Jobing.com Arena

9/23/09  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;Dallas , TX @ American Airlines Center

9/24/09  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;Housto n, TX @ Toyota Center

9/26/09  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;Chicag o, IL @ All State Arena (on sale 5/16 @ 12noon)

9/28/09  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;Fairfa x, VA @ The Patriot Center

9/30/09  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; To ronto, ON @ Air Canada Center

10/2/09  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;Boston , MA @ TD North Bank Garden Arena

10/5/09  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden (on sale 5/16 @ 10am)

Hottie songstress  has new album due out Aug. 4.

By Blurt Staff

Imogen Heap has a new album, Ellipse, due on August 4^th on RCA Records. The story, according to the British singer-son gwriter, is that the same day Imogen wrapped up her tour in support of her last record, 2005's Speak For Yourself, she delved into the writing process for Ellipse. Without so much as unpacking, Heap spun Google Earth around a few times to plot some destinatio ns to begin writing. She began in Hawaii "because it was the furthest landmass from any other landmass in a large amount of blue" and worked her way through Fiji, Tasmania, Japan, China and Thailand. Accompanie d by only a small writing set up, Ellipse began to take shape. She then returned home to continue work on the record and remained true to her do-it-your self ethos, building her new studio in the "playroom" of her old family home in Essex, UK, (an 18th century 'oval villa' restored by her parents) which she took on the responsibi lities for just before the start of the record. &nbs p;

An avid social networker (she has 330,000 Twitter followers) , Heap has kept her fans up-to-date on the recording process by posting 38 vBlogs, which are all available on her website (www.imogenheap .com). Upfront of the new album, she even invited fans to complete an unfinished track "The Song That Never Was". She provided the lyrics, and over 500 fans added backing music to create their own versions. 
 &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;

Tour dates will be announced shortly for Heap's promotiona l trek supporting the new album. Meanwhile, fans can get an intriguing peek at her performing onstage with Jeff Beck over at the Amazon.com site - there's a compelling clip from Beck's recent live DVD in which Heap guests on vocals.

That depends on how many billions of dollars of profits it takes to make someone a "dumbass"...

By Fred Mills

Radiohead' s Thom Yorke has taken to the band's Dead Air Space blogs again, as Pitchfork is reporting. In an anti-globa l warming screed he posted today, Yorke encouraged American R-head fans to participat e in an online petition campaign and help get moving along "a climate change bill in the US similair [sic] to the one we have passed in the UK... i have been reading how the oil industry is investing millions of dollars in a PR campaign against it! how utterly dumbass is that? how do these people look their children in the eye?"

Well, er, the oil industry throwing millions of bucks into lobbying for its own interests isn't exactly anything new, so it's naïve to suggest otherwise. But Yorke's heart is in the right place, so we say click the links and get cracking on that petition.

We are BLURT magazine, and we approved this message.

THIS is what YouTube members spend their time uploading? !?

By Fred Mills

Some folks just don't get no respect.

That's the situation with Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament, who you've probably heard was mugged on April 27 in the parking lot of Southern Tracks Studio in Atlanta, where the band was recording with producer Brendan O'Brien. According to news reports, the broad daylight attack happened when Ament and Mark Smith were at their car and three masked men came out of the woods holding knives. They got a reported $7300 in belongings (phone, laptop, more) and cash, plus Ament's passport - which probably won't seem of much use to the muggers (assuming you have a reasonably good instinct regarding the, uh, demographi cs of likely muggers in the Atlanta area).

Ament "suffered some laceration s" to the head in a scuffle, reports say.

So now, to add insult to injury, someone has uploaded the surveillan ce video footage from the parking lot cameras that recorded the assault. See below, but we should add that here's hoping that the crooks are caught. Oh, and that the folks who put the vid on YouTube are permanentl y barred from PJ concerts too - assholes. To be honest, this is the kind of thing that we usually steer clear of, but everybody and his cousin seems to be posting it to their own site, so it's kind of a moot point. (We'd rather keep you staring at BLURT, too.)

First time together since 2004 split.

By Fred Mills

Last week, early morning May 16, the Libertines essentiall y reunited in London for a one-off gig at the Rhythm Factory, NME.com is reporting.

Guitarists Pete Doherty and Carl Barat and drummer Gary Powell, joined by Babyshambl es bassist Drew McConnell (Babyshamb les opened the show), did a set that included Libertines faves "What A Waster," "Up the Bracket," "What Katy Did," "Time for Heroes, "Death on the Stairs" and Can't Stand Me Now."

Other merriment for the evening included a second, brief Babyshambl es set that followed the Libertines featuring the group's former guitarist Pat Walden.

Four key albums from the early ‘70s due out on remastered 2-CD set.

By Blurt Staff

Among the cult legends that populate the margins of contempora ry popular music, the story of Emitt Rhodes remains one of the most compelling .  Compared by fans and critics favorably to the likes of Paul McCartney,  Emit t Rhodes was arguably one of the most overlooked and underappre ciated pop-rock singer-son gwriters of the ‘60s /'70s.

May 22 marks the official ship date of Hip-O Select's The Emitt Rhodes Recordings . The limited-to -5000 copies, two-CD, 48 song collection features the four albums Emitt Rhodes released&n bsp;betwee n 1970 and 1973 - the t hree ABC/Dunhil l albums Emitt Rhodes, Mirror and Farewell To Paradise, and his one A&M album, American Dream, along with the non-LP single&nbs p;"Tame The Lion," all s howcasing Emitt's intricate melodies, harmonies, and arrangemen ts.

Each album has been newly remastered , making these long-out-o f-print recordings must-owns for collectors . Indeed, the Rhodes LPs have long held an almost mythic sway over fans of pop. That mystique is, to some degree, a reflection of the sense of mystery that surrounds their creator. (Unlike most cult legends, he didn't issue his masterwork s then disappear, however. Instead, Rhodes went on to become an engineer and producer and still lives in Hawthorne, Calif.)

But the real source of the enduring fascinatio n with Rhodes is the music itself....

 Track Listing:

 Disc 1A: THE AMERICAN DREAM (A&M SP-4254, 1971; Recorded 1969)

1. Mother Earth  

2. Pardon Me  

3. Textile Factory  

4. Someone Died  

5. Come Ride, Come Ride  

6. Let's All Sing  

7. Holly Park  

8. Saturday Night  

9. You're A Very Lovely Woman  

10. Mary Will You Take My Hand  

11. The Man He Was  

12. In The Days Of The Old  

13. 'Til The Day After  

Disc 1B: EMITT RHODES (ABC/Dunhi ll DS-50089, 1970)

1. With My Face On The Floor  

2. Somebody Made For Me  

3. She's Such A Beauty  

4. Long Time No See  

5. Lullabye  

6. Fresh As A Daisy  

7. Live Till You Die  

8. Promises I've Made  

9. You Take The Dark Out Of The Night  

10. You Should Be Ashamed  

11. Ever Find Yourself Running  

12. You Must Have  

Disc 2A: MIRROR (ABC/Dunhi ll DSX-50111, 1971)

1. Birthday Lady  

2. Better Side Of Life  

3. My Love Is Strong  

4. Side We Seldom Show  

5. Mirror  

6. Really Wanted You  

7. Medley: Bubble Gum The Blues / I'm A Cruiser  

8. Love Will Stone You  

9. Golden Child Of God  

10. Take You Far Away  

Disc 2B: FAREWELL TO PARADISE (ABC/Dunhi ll DSX-50122, 1973)

1. Warm Self Sacrifice  

2. See No Evil  

3. Drawn To You  

4. Blue Horizon  

5. Shoot the Moon  

6. Only Lovers Decide  

7. Trust One More  

8. Nights Are Lonely  

9. Bad Man  

10. In Desperate Need  

11. Those That Die (From Tame The Lion)  

12. Farewell to Paradise  

Disc 2C: Non-LP single (ABC/Dunhi ll 4315, 1972)

1. Tame The Lion

Singer songwriter finds a new way to get her tunes heard.

By Blurt Staff

It's kinda awkward, and kinda sweet, and a whole lotta tuneful: that's the song "You Said No To Prom," by L.A. singer-son gwriter Elizaveta Khripounov a, whose breezy-yet -plaintive vocal and laid-back jazz-pop style invests the tune with just the right balance of power and restraint. What's interestin g is that Elizaveta chose to debut the timely song - it is prom season in America, after all - not via the standard channels, but as an online video through an unusual alliance with mega-shoe company Converse.

In the vid, Elizaveta is depicted alternatel y in a classroom daydreamin g and scribbling in her notebook, and in the lunch room serenading a guy who turned down her request to go to the pom with her. (There's also a quirky moment when she's in the men's bathroom playing her guitar while they guy is taking a whizz in the urinal.) Oh, and throughout , she's also wearing - big surprise - pink Converse hightops. Yet aside from the corporate logo that displays onscreen, that's the only instance of product placement, and it's easy enough to just get drawn into the tune itself. It doesn't feel like an ad, and it's not intended as such, either.

"Converse is dedicated to being a catalyst for creativity in the worlds of music, sport, art and fashion," said Geoff Cottrill, Chief Marketing Officer for Converse, in a statement. "We also like to entertain and surprise fans of our brand. Elizaveta is a tremendous talent and we're excited to provide a vehicle for her originalit y in this sweet but unusual tale of prom-time angst."

Go HERE to view the video.

Elizaveta, whose father was a well-known Soviet diplomat in the times of the Cold War, was born in New York, where her parents were stationed at the United Nations, and grew up in Moscow, Russia, playing piano but refusing to learn how to figure-ska te. She left home in her teens and in the process has traveled across Europe, learned Italian and French, graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in opera performanc e and learned how to drive a stick-shif t and ride a motorcycle .

You may have already heard her, in fact: her previous releases include Breakfast with Chopin, which was a songwritin g tribute to her favorite classical composers, such as Beethoven, Chopin and Tchaikovsk y. It was followed up by Like Water, the title track of which was featured in the Sony Pictures film The House Bunny.

Elizaveta currently lives in LA, but says she dreams of moving to New York City, scoring a Japanese anime and buying a used Harley Davidson Sportster. In the meantime, she writes a lot of poetry and is recording a new album.  For more informatio n, visit www.elizaveta.net.

And a two-headed Dwarves figure is next! WTF!?!

By Blurt Staff

Scum rockers unite! Aggronauti x is set to release limited-ed ition figures of GG Allin "1991" (2000 numbered) and Tesco Vee of the Meatmen (1000 numbered). Each "Throbbleh ead" figure stands at 7 inches tall, is made of a lightweigh t polyresin, and will be displayed in a tri-window ed box.

Both figures will be distribute d by MVD Entertainm ent Group - a company specializi ng in music-rela ted distributi on since 1986 - and DKE Toys - a wholesale distributo r of urban / vinyl / designer art / objects / toys / figurines.

 
"We normally don't carry bobblehead s but I was floored that the folks at Aggronauti x would attempt this project," said Dov Kelemer CEO of DKE Toys. "I figured that if I broke down and made an exception to actually put this (anti-)bob blehead in my collection that others would feel the same. GG Allin... WTF!?!?!?! "

 
The idea first surfaced two years ago when Aggronauti x pitched the GG figure idea to Merle Allin, GG's brother.
 

"I had been thinking about doing a GG figure for a while, so when the guys came to me with the idea, I was into it," said Allin. "The proofing process took a long time, but we got it right. The doll looks really good and I'm happy with it."
 

Aggronauti x soon discovered another likely personalit y to polyresina te, Tesco Vee. He states, "As a toy collector of two decades, and classic bobble head collector, imagine just how geeked I became, when informed that yours truly would enter the pantheon of 'Throbbleh ead' punk rock losers, along with poopy soulmate GG Allin!"
 

The figures are now available for purchase on http://www .aggronauti x.com and http://www .seeofsound .com will soon be available at many independen t retailers, comic shops, tattoo parlors, etc.
 

Aggronauti x is currently working on a Dwarves "Two-Heade d Throbble" to be released this summer.

First album for New West.

By Blurt Staff

Even as he gears up for this fall's Mott the Hoople reunion, erstwhile Mott frontman Ian Hunter is prepping his next solo album. Due July 21, it's the followup to 2007's Shrunken Heads and marks his debut for New West Records.

Man Overboard is Ian Hunter's 13th solo album since his eponymous debut in 1975.  Recorded in late 2008 in Pawling, NY, the 11-song set was produced by Andy York (veteran guitarist for John Mellencamp ) and Ian Hunter and features a backing band comprising Steve Holley on drums and percussion (Wings, Joe Cocker), Paul Page on bass (Dion), Jack Petruzzell i on electric guitar (Rufus Wainwright , Joan Osbourne), James Mastro on electric guitar (Patti Smith, John Cale), Andy Burton on piano and organ (The Db's) and Producer Andy York on guitar and backing vocals. Many of the band members are returning from the Shrunken Heads sessions. 

 Rega rding Man Overboard, Ian Hunter stated, "When we did Shrunken Heads, I felt like we had a good thing going so I wanted to revisit the experience before anything changed, and that's what we did." 

Track Listing:

1. The Great Escape
2. Arms and Legs
3. Up and Running
4. Man Overboard
5. Babylon Blues
6. Girl From the Office
7. Flowers
8. These Feelings
9. Win It All
10. Way With Words
11. River of Tears

In the studio with producer Nigel Godrich.

By Fred Mills

The BBC reported yesterday that Radiohead has been in the studio again with longtime producer Nigel Godrich working on a followup to In Rainbows. According to bassist Colin Greenwood, sessions last week were "very noisy and chaotic and really fun. It's at the stage where we've got the big Lego box out and we've tipped it out on the floor and we're just looking at all the bits and thinking what's next?

"I'm very impressed and grateful for Nigel our producer and his ability to make it all sound vaguely plausible."

No word yet on title, ETA or for that matter anything, but at least everyone's having fun. The band will be doing selected festivals this summer in between, presumably , recording. Memo to band: dumping all your Legos on the floor - as anyone who has a kid will tell you - is not generally conducive to the orderly creation of something; most folks ultimately have to sort everything by color and/or size in order to make sense of it all. But hey, sometimes chaos is good.

Meanwhile, speaking of Legos.... That video of Radiohead' s "House Of Cards," done Lego style...

Now THAT is one perky looking gal! What's she pitchin'?

By Blurt Staff

Here at BLURT we get a lot of pitches from record industry folks - maybe something like 300 emails come in each day (not all of them come from needy, neurotic BLURT writers, in other words, if you catch our drift). However, we think this is the first time we've ever gotten a pitch about being pitched. We can't decide if the email copied below is beyond the pale, or simply reason to crack open our sixth pale ale of the day....

Incidental ly, the website referenced is a hoot. Look up folks by state to see if you spot any of your buddies listed. While at first glance we don't spot too many music biz p.r. flacks, well... BLURT could definitely use some extra publicity - our second print magazine is due out shortly, in fact - so... we're lookin'!

Oh, and the answers to the questions posed are, in order: yes, rarely, no.

BLURT: still making ourselves persona non grata at the 2010 SXSW, one email at a time...

***

Dear  Blurt,

Do you think of each and every publicist as a pesky spammer who wastes your time with untargeted pitches? Or have some of them become valuable assets in your work, suggesting timely, targeted and well-resea rch story ideas?

If you've benefited from ideas or research done by some publicists , may I suggest returning a favor by sending me a short testimonia l for inclusion in www.AllPublici sts.com, a new nationwide database of publicists and a client of my? Your testimonia ls will help many companies differenti ate between publicists who know what media profession als are looking for and those who irritate you with untargeted pitches. We are publicists ourselves and we believe that it's high time to sort the wheat from the chaff in our profession .

AllPublici sts.com is a free service just launched by KMGi, an internatio nally acclaimed Internet technologi es company. Currently its database contains detailed informatio n on over 2,000 publicists but don't feel restricted by it. Simply include the name, the URL, and if you have it handy, the contact info of the publicist and our client will add them to the database.

If you like the concept and think that it deserves a mention in your publicatio n, please let us know if you need any additional informatio n. &nbs p;

Sincerely,

[name deleted to protect the innocent]

Admirable attempt to up the profile of the late singer-son gwriter.

By Blurt Staff

On September 22, American Dust will release CRAYON ANGEL: A TRIBUTE TO THE MUSIC OF JUDEE SILL, featuring new recordings by artists including Beth Orton, Bill Callahan, Ron Sexsmith, Final Fantasy, Nicolai Dunger, Marisa Nadler & Black Hole Infinity, Colossal Yes (with members of Six Organs of Admittance and Comets on Fire), Meg Baird, Frida Hyvön en, and Daniel Rossen of Grizzly Bear and Department of Eagles. (See full track list below.)

Judee Sill was the first artist signed to David Geffen's Asylum Records and released two cherished cult LPs, 1971's Judee Sill and 1973's Heart Food, before vanishing from the music scene and eventually dying of a drug overdose in North Hollywood, California in 1979. Though forgotten for years, her music has enjoyed a period of rediscover y since her two studio albums were reissued on CD in 2005.

In addition to cover versions of songs from Judee's modest recorded output, Crayon Angel also features a pair of previously unheard Sill songs for which sheet music, but no known original recordings , survive. Beth Orgon brings to life the complex and lovely "Reach for the Sky," while Bill Callahan records the epic slow-burn number "Like a Rainbow," a co-write with Judee's onetime boyfriend Lal Baum (great-gra ndson of Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum).

Tracklisti ng:

01 Ron Sexsmith: "Crayon Angel"
02 Beth Orton: "Reach for the Sky"
03 Daniel Rossen: "Waterfall "
04 Frida Hyvön en: "Jesus Was a Cross Maker"
05 Shalants: "Lopin Along Thru the Cosmos"
06 Final Fantasy: "The Donor"
07 Nicolai Dunger: "Soldier of the Heart"
08 Trembling Blue Stars: "Lady-O"
09 Colossal Yes: "The Phoenix"
10 Marissa Nadler & Black Hole Infinity: "The Kiss"
11 Princeton: "Down Where the Valleys Are Low"
12 The Bye Bye Blackbirds : "There's a Rugged Road"
13 Meg Baird: "When the Bridegroom Comes"
14 Bill Callahan: "For a Rainbow"
15 P.G. Six: "Til Dreams Come True"

Fall Out Boy, Sugarland, OneRepubli c, Death Cab For Cutie, Josh Groban, Jackson Browne and Billy Idol among the shows.

By Blurt Staff

The ground breaking primetime music television series, Soundstage has announced its seventh and 2009 summer season. The season will begin airing nationally on PBS on June 18 with a performanc e by Jackson Browne.  Airing through July, the summer season includes one-hour performanc es by Fall Out Boy, OneRepubli c, Sugarland, Death Cab For Cutie (Ben Gibbard, pictured above), Billy Idol, and Josh Groban.

"We are so fortunate to have attracted such a diverse group of artists for the seventh season of Soundstage ," says Joe Thomas, producer/d irector, Soundstage . "I think more and more musicians are realizing that coming on our show gives them the rare opportunit y to solely perform their best work in an intimate setting, for TV."

Over the years, Soundstage , the innovative and prestigiou s program achieved widespread critical acclaim and featured the artists that defined the era, including Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Bonnie Raitt, Al Green, the Doobie Brothers, Harry Chapin, Dionne Warwick, the Temptation s, and Kenny Loggins, among others. Since Soundstage was reintroduc ed in 2003, performers have included the Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Joss Stone, Wilco, Sonic Youth, the All American Rejects, KT Tunstall, Train, Alison Kraus, Alanis Morissette , Alan Jackson, and more.

Soundstage returned to PBS with Thomas at the helm. Partnering with WTTW, Thomas and his production company specializi ng in combining high-defin ition television and cutting-ed ge surround sound gave Soundstage a state-of-t he-art makeover. Thomas' concept was to combine the singular musical performanc es of the original show with an ultra modern stage boasting innovative 5.1 audio and hi-def visual technologi es. 

The majority of the concerts are filmed before small studio audiences, at WTTW's Grainger Studio in Chicago. However, for the seventh season, Soundstage has veered away from its usual format filming Josh Groban's performanc e in the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City.

Check the official website (http://www .pbs.org/wttw/s oundstage) for more details.

***

Here's the breakdown of shows:

Jackson Browne: June 18: Rock's poet laureate, Jackson Browne has written and performed some of the most literate and moving songs in popular music and has defined a genre of songwritin g charged with honesty, emotion and personal politics. Browne delivers a remarkable performanc e during his Soundstage set featuring tracks from his latest studio release, Time the Conqueror, such as the album's title track and "Drums of War," as well as hits from his previous 11 studio albums, "Doctor My Eyes," and "Boulevard ."

OneRepubli c: June 25: Grammy-nom inated OneRepubli c, whose sound features prominent piano riffs and anthemic pop/rock melodies, displays boundless energy throughout this episode of Soundstage . Offering rousing performanc es of hit singles "Apologize ," "Stop and Stare," "Say (All I Need)" and "Mercy." The set also includes tracks from their debut CD Dreaming Out Loud, along with a fantastic version of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy."

Sugarland: July 2:  Jennifer Nettles' voice can hold its own in any setting, but exceeds expectatio ns alongside partner Kristian Bush's mandolin strumming at the Grainger Studio. During this sensationa l hour, Sugarland presents a versatile set that gains momentum with each song. "Joey" is heartbreak ingly sincere; "Everyday America" reveals strong, twangy vocals while broken-dow n acoustics give "Stay" a more traditiona l country sound. Their forte is to effortless ly transition from energetic pop songs to heartfelt, soulful ballads without skipping a beat. The dynamic duo also present older classics like "Baby Girl" and even venture into covers of R.E.M to pay homage to shared Atlanta roots during their set.

Death Cab For Cutie: July 9: Indie rock favorite turned major label sensation Death Cab for Cutie presents an impeccable set on this episode of Soundstage .  Lead vocalist Ben Gibbard's cozy voice has an engaging quality that ropes you in on songs from their new EP The Open Door, 2008 studio album Narrow Stairs and highlights from their prolific catalog. Don't miss their performanc e of "I Will Possess Your Heart," "The Sound of Settling," "Cath" and many others!

Billy Idol: July 16: 80's rock icon, Billy Idol takes Soundstage by storm with a fast-paced , intense, pulsating, and exciting show.  Idol presents a high-energ y rock and roll blowout with classic hits like "Dancing with Myself," "Rebel Yell" and "White Wedding."

Fall Out Boy: July 23: With their stadium rock riffs and anthem choruses, Chicago-ba sed Fall Out Boy offers up unparallel ed energy in this Soundstage set. Vocalist/g uitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, drummer Andy Hurley and guitarist Joe Trohman make up the perfect pop punk quartet. Amidst bass twirling, drum solos, and roaring power chords, Stump delivers strong vocals from start to finish, ricochetin g to falsetto and back on recent hits "America's Suiteheart s" and "I Don't Care." Other show highlights include "Dance, Dance," "Sugar, We're Goin Down," and "Thnks fr the Mmrs."

Josh Groban: July 30: "Josh Groban, An Evening in New York City":

An internatio nally renowned performer who has sold more than 23 million albums worldwide, Josh Groban has thrilled a legion of devoted fans with his flawless baritone and extraordin ary stage presence. Performed in the intimate setting of the Rose Theater at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, this exhilarati ng program includes favorites from his best-selli ng albums, including "Alla Luce del Sole," "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" and "February Song." The concert features guest appearance s by award winning trumpeter Chris Botti who joins Groban in performing "Broken Vow" and master musician Herbie Hancock who plays the keyboard for "Machine."

Kinda like the Grateful Dead's Europe '72 album, but different! Or maybe we're thinking Animal Collective ...

By Blurt Staff

Coming to a trend near you: triple albums. Yes, it's back to the ‘70s in the indierock world, and leading the pack is Oneida. We don't just mean three-LP sets that can still be squeezed onto one and a half CDs: we mean three-CD sets. (That can mean, in some instances, as much as 240 minutes, if you do the math, but Oneida's trying to keep things relatively under control - seee the tracklisti ng, below.

Rated O is the second installmen t of Oneida's Thank Your Parents triptych of releases. In August of 2008, Oneida released the first installmen t, Preteen Weaponry, and now, Rated O, the centerpiec e of the Thank Your Parents trilogy, is due fro Jagjaguwar on July 7^th.

Here's some additional skinny, straight from the band...

***

Today we are not only proud to announce this triple album, but also to share a new podcast in which members of Oneida provide commentary , insight, and explanatio ns into the inner-work ings of the O.  This podcast, produced by Alex Goldman, contains three songs, "What's Up, Jackal?", "I Will Haunt You", and "Saturday" .  We know Jagjaguwar hasn't updated ye olde podcaste in a while, but we are making up for it!!!  ; Discover why Rated O is like drinking a 50 gallon drum of molé ; sauce, how you can figure out when something is "rated O" (hint: you only realize something is "rated O" until "way later"), and under what circumstan ces Showtime (Shahin Motia of Ex-Models) joined the band.

Download The Rated O Podcast in Itunes

A Rated O sampler that contains those songs (minus commentary ) is now available for free via Emusic and for purchase on Itunes.

Selections from Rated O on Emusic

Selections from Rated O on Itunes

Tracklisti ng:

DISC 1 (SIDES A & B):
Brownout In Lagos
What's Up, Jackal?
10:30 at the Oasis
Story of O
The Human Factor

DISC 2 (SIDES C & D):
The River
I Will Haunt You
The Life You Preferred
Ghost in the Room
Saturday
It Was a Wall
Luxury Travel

DISC 3 (SIDES E & F):

O

End of Time

Folk Wisdom

Oneida live:

07/10/09 Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's
07/11/09 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill    w/ Wood Shjips and Jonas Reinhardt
07/12/09 Los Angeles, CA - The Echoplex&n bsp;  w/ Amps For Christ and Clipd Beaks
07/24/09 Brooklyn, NY - Todd P Event - TBA   w/ Sunburned Hand Of Man
07/25/09 Medford, MA - Outside the Lines Studio&nbs p;  w/ Sunburned Hand Of Man + Big Bear
07/26/09 New Haven, CT - BAR & nbsp; w/ Sunburned Hand Of Man

08/07/09 Kutna Hora (Czech Republic), Art Festival
08/08/09 Berlin (Germany), Berlin Festival
08/09/09 Scheer (Germany), Klangbad Festival
08/14/09 Amsterdam (Netherlan ds), Paradiso
08/15/09 Tilburg (Netherlan ds)

Apparently , all shameless self-promo tion all the time... which means no list for you this week folks. In part because what actually has been playing at Outlandos HQ, nonstop, is our little labor of love, The Daily Dose. Click the big ole fat white arrow below to hear today's two songs, in sequence. You'll see. It's kind of like bite-sized , old-school radio. Heads up that while listening, you can also purchase the songs via Amazon or iTunes (when available) by clicking their respective icons. For more info about each song/artis t/album [...]

A Triple-A radio programmin g veteran, Kate has served as Music Director of the Loft at XM, Midday Host at WYEP, Evening Host at both WNCS and WUIN, as well as Content Supervisor for Pump Audio. Currently, she's the CEO of Outlandos Music, a new-music discovery service for grown-ups. Kate has been nationally recognized for her ardent presentati on of music and her ability to champion talented, compelling artists.

Garage grooviness from Brazil.

By Blurt Staff

Vintage equipment + analog recording gear + sixties-in fluenced garage glory: must be a choice title from the Get Hip label, eh? Coming to an indie record store near you right about now is Os Haxixins by Os Haxixins, Brazilian garage done up right - think Music Machine, Standells, Nuggets, etc. - and performed in Portuguese and English. Check out one of the most fucked-up videos ever filmed, below.

Born and raised in the "Lost Zone" (or "Zona Lost"), a pun on their tamed neighboorh ood's name in São Paulo, Brazil (Zona Leste, a.k.a East Zone, a Brazilian equivalent to NYC's Bronx), Os Haxixins&n bsp; are probably the most obscure and ill-fated band in the city's garage-roc k scene. Influenced by hard to find 60's records, garage punk and psychedeli a, the long time friends Sir Uly (drums) and Fáb io (guitar) decided to come up with a repertoire based "only on fuzz pedal and guts", according to Sir Uly himself, after a non-succes full experience in a band called the Merry Pranksters .

The name Os Haxixins&n bsp; came after they joined bass-playe r Daniel and organ player Alôp ra, inspired on the article "Le Club des Hachichin" , published by French poet and novelist Thé ophile Gautier in 1846, which spawned a group formed by French intellectu als such as Baudelaire , Delacroix and Gautier, among others, dedicated to the exploratio n of drug-induc ed experience s, notably with hashish. The text is available in the hard to find book "Ré cits Fantastiqu es" (translate d in portuguese as "Clube dos Haxixins") . The meetings that took place in Pimodan House (Hotel Lauzun), Paris, in which this Parisian society dwelt, and that's the kind of stuff Os Haxixins&n bsp; identify with.

Besides the slick 60s thrift store outfits, they only play on old vintage equipment, which they bravely drag to their gigs. The band also enjoys the projection of psychedeli c lights during their shows to help create the atmosphere . Playing around since 2003, they've performed in all kinds of dives and undergroun d clubs in the city of São Paulo.

After almost giving up the idea of recording an album, due to the difficulty of getting someone capable of capturing that sound of yesterdays , they were finally endorsed by Berlin Estú ;dio owners and produced by one of them, Jonas Serodio (from the Brazilian Sellouts, The Drugs, Thee Butcher's Orchestra and The Blackneedl es) on reel-to-re el tape, achieving the desired result. The glorious sound its surpassed by the songwritin g talents of all band members, which crafted original songs, all sang in Portuguese except for one, and there's also a cover, the frantic version of the garage classic "Dirty Old Man."

Track Listing:

1- Onde Meditar&nb sp;
2 - Dirty Old Man 

3 - Depois Eu Volto

4 - Surgia Por Sobre À Relva

5 - E Se As Pedras Caí rem 

6 - Davi & Seus Lír ios 

7 - Em Algum Lugar Da Mente
8 - Raios

9 - Viagem Às Cavernas

10 - Preciso Te Deixar&nbs p;

11 - In The Deep End

12 - Àlg umas Milhas Daqui

13 - Atrá ;s De Espa&ccedi l;onaves

14 - Voltei Demente
15 - Áci do Fincado
16 - Please Forget Me

Tour Dates:

CABARET MAXIME - Lisboa Lisboa, PORTUGAL

ARMANZ&Eac ute;N DO CHÁ - Porto Porto, PORTUGAL

LA BRUTA FEST- Coru&ntild e;a A Coru&ntild e;a, SPAIN

GRUTA 77 - Madrid  Madr id, SPAIN

BILBAO CLUB BULLIT Bilbao, SPAIN

SANTANDER SALA HEAVEN Santander, SPAIN

Sala mercantil - Badajoz Badajoz, SPAIN

SEVILLA SALA OBBIO + DEL SHAPIROS Sevilla, SPAIN

Who Rock Bar Granada, SPAIN

SALA LA DUTXA - SANT CARLES DE LA RÁP ITA (TARRAGON) Tarragona, SPAIN

Cafè ; del Teatre Lleida, SPAIN

SALA MONASTERIO - BARCELONA Barcelona, SPAIN

PRIMITIVE FESTIVAL - Rotterdan Holland Rotterdam, HOLLAND

Video for "Preciso te deixar":

That's funny, you don't look like a punk!

By Blurt Staff

When: Thursday, June 11th - 7pm
Where: The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research (15 West 16th St, NYC)
Who: Tommy Ramone, Handsome Dick Manitoba, Lenny Kaye, and Chris Stein
What: A discussion on the glorious heyday of New York punk and the impact their Jewish experience had on their music
Cost: $18 for the general public, $12 for students

New York City is universall y acknowledg ed and rightly revered as the cradle of punk rock civilizati on. But it is safe to say that few are aware that many of punk's progenitor s were Jewish - kids from the outer boroughs and far beyond who settled in Manhattan' s East Village and forged a new world of sound, fury and humor at CBGB's and other downtown bars and clubs.

Much like their American and European Jewish forebears, these pioneer punks both reflected and redefined the culture of their day heritage to create a dynamic new art form. In the process, they birthed an aesthetic that continues to influence not only music but the visual arts, literature , fashion and language.

In this forum, four Jewish punk rock fathers - Ramones founder and original drummer Tommy Ramone (born Tamas Erdelyi), Dictators singer and radio personalit y Handsome Dick Manitoba (Richard Blum), Patti Smith guitarist and journalist Lenny Kaye, and Blondie co-founder and guitarist Chris Stein - will convene at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research (15 W. 16th St in NYC) on Thursday, June 11th, to discuss the glorious heyday of New York punk, the arc of their individual careers, and the impact their Jewish experience has had on their music.

* Curated by Guitar World Magazine editor Richard Bienstock, this event is open to the public. All panelists, including Bienstock and YIVO's Harold Steinblatt are available for interviews .

To purchase tickets, visit:
www.smarttix.com or call 212-868-44 44

For more informatio n, visit:

www.yivo.org

And Cate Blanchett is not Dylan at all, either. Who knew!

By Fred Mills

With the rock community all abuzz of late regarding a handwritte n poem from the mid ‘50s by one Bobby Zimmerman - as reported in the media, the "Little Buddy" poem written for The Herzl Herald (the newspaper of a Wisconsin camp where the future Bob Dylan was attending) surfaced and is currently being auctioned by Christie's until June 23 - everyone had a bit of a comedown yesterday when it was discovered that "Little Buddy" actually hailed from the pen of country legend Hank Snow.

Rolling Stone certainly noticed the error, and put in a call to Christies, who after a pregnant hesitation , issued a  statement:

"Additiona l informatio n has come to our attention about the handwritte n poem submitted by Bob Dylan to his camp newspaper, written when he was 16, entitled ‘Han k Snow'. The words are in fact a revised version of lyrics of a Hank song."

This puts the estimated auction take of $10,000 - $15,000 in question now, although Christie's , attempting to put a positive spin on things so as not to queer the deal too much, added in the statement, "This still remains among the earliest known handwritte n lyrics of Bob Dylan."

Meanwhile, there's absolutely no truth to the rumor that David Crosby's liver is being flogged on eBay at the moment....

Not just an excuse to run a hot photo of Lewis: The Licks' frontperso n takes the bull by the horn and does a project with the Mars Volta dude.

By Blurt Staff

Ass-kickin g rocker (and erstwhile ass-kickin g actress) Juliette Lewis, who has a new album titled Terra Incognita due in September on The End Records, is gearing up for a summer tour opening for none other than The Pretenders and Cat Power. Meow! Sit back and watch the Juliette, Chrissie and Chan fur fly!

Dates are to be announced very soon. No word yet whether Lewis will be backed by her touring band the Licks.

The album (samples already at her MySpace page) was cut with Lewis and Omar Ropdriguez -Lopez of the Mars Volta, who she met in 2007 at the Fuji Rock Festival. Upon hitting it off, they worked on it on-and-off , along with Lewis' co-writer, Chris Watson, at Rodriguez- Lopez's studio in Brooklyn NY and Guadalajar a Mexico.

"This album is so sonically different than anything I've done before and captures many flavors of my emotional life and voice," said Lewis, in a press release. It took me five years to really cut my teeth both as a performer and as a songwriter and I wanted to break all the habits I'd gotten used to and let songs develop out of a groove or simple piano notes and melody."

Album drops July 28 amid mucho road work.

By Blurt Staff

BLURT fave Gov't Mule has completed work on 'By A Thread'. Their first studio album in three years, it is slated for release on July 28th, with a special presale beginning today at www.mule.net.

Now a quartet, lead by lead guitarist and frontman Warren Haynes, joined by drummer Matt Abts, keyboardis t Danny Louis and new bassist Jorgen Carlsson, the band is planning a full-scale summer of activity, with nearly 40 dates in the U.S. alone, to be followed by additional touring plans in the fall.

Recorded largely in the Texas Hill Country at Willie Nelson's Pedernales Studio in 2009, the album's origins are apparent from the first track, "Broke Down On The Brazos," named after the nearby river, with a deep Texas stomp for the backbeat and featuring the trademark guitar-wor k of ZZ Top founder Billy Gibbons. Perhaps less descriptiv ely named, "Steppin' Lightly" is another burner, set off by the soulful vocals and mind-bendi ng guitar work of Haynes, who proves anew why Rolling Stone named him one of the Top 25 guitarists of all time.

"This record feels like we're moving between the future and the past," says Haynes. "At heart, it feels like we're breaking new ground without forgetting our roots."

Other highlights include the lament "Railroad Boy," informed by both Celtic tradition and the Mississipp i Delta; the expansive psych-rock of 'Monday Mourning Meltdown"; and the optimistic 'Frozen Fear," with its lush harmony and even a hint of rocksteady skank.

A full slate of summer dates for the Mule have already been announced, with stops including Bonnaroo and Haynes' own Mountain Jam festival at the end of May, with additional dates planned for September and beyond. Check the Mule website for tour itinerarie s.



Track Listing:

1. Broke Down On The Brazos 6:19
2. Steppin' Lightly 7:10
3. Railroad Boy 5:03
4. Monday Mourning Meltdown 8:08
5. Gordon James 3:48
6. Any Open Window 4:45
7. Frozen Fear 5:48
8. Forevermor e 4:17
9. Inside Outside Woman Blues #3 9:04
10. Scenes From A Troubled Mind 723
11. World Wake Up 5:54

Now THAT is one perky looking gal! Who's she representi n'?

By Blurt Staff

Here at BLURT we get a lot of correspond ence from industry folks - maybe something like 300 emails come in each day (not all of them come from needy, neurotic BLURT writers, in other words, if you catch our drift). However, we think this is the first time we've every gotten a invitation to help out lawyers - by our reckoning, the legal profession is responsibl e for 9/10 of the crap that goes on in the music biz! So we can't decide if the email copied below is beyond the pale, or simply reason to crack open our sixth pale ale of the day....

Incidental ly, the website referenced is a hoot. Look up folks to see if you recognize the names of local shylocks, or, better, someone whose rep you'd like to scorch.

Oh, and the answers to the questions posed below are, in order: yes, no, yes.

BLURT: still making ourselves persona non grata at the 2010 SXSW, one email at a time...

***

Dear  Blurt,

Have you ever needed to retain an attorney? If so, was he or she worth the money, or did the whole experience help you understand why so many people dislike lawyers?

Either way, you should share your insight with others. I invite you to post your thoughts at LawyersRep utation.com, a free service which helps people find lawyers who will keep their clients satisfied and avoid the other 99% who give the profession a bad name.

Please visit the site and, if you think it's a beneficial service that deserves a mention in your publicatio n, let us know if you need any additional informatio n. &nbs p;

Sincerely,

[name deleted]

Massive 30-track compilatio n will benefit the Make It Right Foundation .

By Blurt Staff

STS9's boutique record label, 1320 Records, offers up STS9's Peaceblast er : The New Orleans Make It Right Remixes featuring 30 artists including Pretty Lights, The Glitch Mob, Count Bass D, Richard Devine, Eskmo, Alex B., Ronald Jenkees and many more. 100% of the album's proceeds will go to benefit the Make It Right Foundation . It's a mixologist 's response to the band's recent studio album Peaceblast er and  will be available at www.1320record s.com and at iTunes beginning June 23. See full tracklisti ng, below.

All of the artists featured on STS9's Peaceblast er : The New Orleans Make It Right Remixes, and even the majority of the behind-the -scenes business services required to put the album together, donated their contributi ons to the project. 100% of the album's proceeds will go to the Make It Right Foundation , who has been chosen by the band to be the sole beneficiar y of all of STS9's 2009 charity programs. It is the band's goal - with the support of their fan community and the involvemen t of the Make It Right Foundation - to build a home in New Orleans, raising money via the Peaceblast er : The New Orleans Make It Right Remixes album proceeds, a $1 charity donation on every STS9 concert ticket sold during 2009, special STS9 charity raffles, and other initiative s throughout the year still to be announced.

For over a decade the band has rallied their community of fans around important causes, and in the past two years alone the band raised over $150,000.00 to benefit a variety of charities including Rock Against Cancer, Make It Right Foundation , Yellow Ribbon Fund, Conscious Alliance, Global Education Fund, New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, Mariposa's Art, Headcount, Samaritan House, and others.

Make It Right is committed to building 150 sustainabl e, affordable homes in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward, incorporat ing high-quali ty design and constructi on while preserving the spirit of the community' s culture.  &nbs p;The Lower 9th Ward was one of the most devastated areas of New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina. Brad Pitt, Make It Right's Founder, hopes that this project will be a catalyst for recovery and redevelopm ent throughout the Lower 9th Ward and across the city of New Orleans.  www.makeitrigh tnola.org for more informatio n.    

Tracklisti ng:

1. &nbs p;  Hidden Hand, Hidden Fist (Lazer Sword Remix)
2. &nbs p;  Shock Doctrine (Eskmo Remix)
3. &nbs p;  Empires (Big Gigantic Remix)
4. &nbs p;  Beyond Right Now (The Glitch Mob Remix)
5. &nbs p;  Shock Doctrine (Welder Remix)
6. &nbs p;  STS9 vs Prefuse 73 (Megaloid MPC Vet Mixxx)
7. &nbs p;  First Rays of the New Soma Sunrise (Calmer Remix)
8. &nbs p;  Oh Little Brain (Bluetech 'Spaze Gaze Mix')
9. &nbs p;  Metameme (Alex B  'Concepts Remix')
10.  Peaceblast er '68 (Telepath Remix)
11.  The Spectacle (Ott Remix)
12.  ReGenerati on (John Hughes Remix)
13.  The Spectacle (Richard Devine Remix)
14.  Empires (Nosaj Thing Remix)
15.  The Last 50,000 Years (Deru Remix)
16.  Beyond Right Now (Pretty Lights Remix)
17.  Hidden Hand, Hidden Fist (The Flying Skulls Feat. Abstract Rude   Remix)
18.  Peaceblast er (sub-ID 'Stay Blastin '88 Remix')
19.  Shock Doctrine (Eliot Lipp & Leo 123 'Dark Party Remix')
20.  Late for Work (Count Bass D Remix)
21.  The New Soma (Daedelus Remix)
22.  Peaceblast er '08 (Captain Crunk Remix)
23.  The New Soma (Bass Science Remix)
24.  Oh Little Brain (Metrognom e 'On the Sea Remix')
25.  Hidden Hand, Hidden Fist (Da Ticklah Remix)
26.  Shock Doctrine (Dharmatro nix Remix)
27.  Hidden Hand, Hidden Fist (Lowpro Lounge Feat. Lateef & Souleye '$700 Billion    &nbs p; &n bsp;  Remix')
28.  Hidden Hand, Hidden Fist/Beyon d Right Now (GFE 'Put it Back Together Remix')
29.  Beyond Right Now (Ronald Jenkees Remix)
30.  Late for Work (Pnuma Trio Remix)

STS9 Tour Dates:

June 3-5 Wakarusa Ozark AR
July 1 Summerfest Milwaukee WI
July 2-5 ROTHBURY Rothbury MI
July 10-12 All Good Festival Masontown WV 
July 16-18 Camp Bisco Mariaville NY
July 24 Fillmore Auditorium Denver CO &n bsp;   &nbs p;
July 25 Red Rocks Morrison CO "Day Out of Time" Celebratio n &nb sp; & nbsp;
August 7-8 Lollapaloo za Chicago IL
August 21 Tabernacle Atlanta, GA w/ special guests TBA & nbsp;  ; 
August 22 Verizon Wireless Amphitheat re Atlanta&nb sp;GA  ; w/ Ghostland Observator y, Lotus and & nbsp;  ; DubConscio us
September 4 The Bottom Line Nagoya Japan
September& nbsp;5&nbs p;Metamorp hose Festival Izu Japan  ;
September 6 Poka Stadium Kashiwa City Japan
September 25-27 Earthdance Festival Laytonvill e CA
October 2-5 Austin City Limits Music Festival Austin TX
January 2 Revolution Live Ft. Lauderdale , FL
January 3-8  Jam Cruise 2010

Tour started today as well....

By Blurt Staff

In honor of the new Eating Us album that drops next week - watch for a BLURT review soon - loony indiepsych edelicist noismakers Black Moth Super Rainbow want to show some love for the remaining independen t record stores out there. To that end the band has created 1600 hairy Eating Us CDs which will be sold in ten different retail stores across the country, as well through their label Graveface Records' website (http://gra veface.com ) and other online outlets.

Retail stores include all three Reckless Records in Chicago, IL Undergroun d Sounds in Louisville , KY, Good Records in Dallas, TX, Landlocked Music in Bloomingto n, IN, Grimey's New + Preloved Music in Nashville, TN, Park Ave CDs in Orlando, FL, Sonic Boom Records - Capitol Hill in Seattle, WA and Aquarius Records in San Francisco, CA. Go out and support ‘em.

And just to make sure you when you do hit the shops, Black Moth Super Rainbow has also created insanely awesome and completely unique in-store stands, some of which are up to 4 feet in height, to display these limited-ed ition hairy CDs. No two stands are the same.

Each copy of the limited-ed ition hairy version of Black Moth Super Rainbow's Eating Us, comes with a download card which immediatel y triggers an mp3 download of the "Born on a Day" demo and entry into the hairy CD contest. There will be three contest winners picked sometime in late June!

1st Prize: A hairy stand for the winner's house plus a BMSR test pressing
2nd Prize: The available back catalog from Graveface Records
3rd Prize: A signed copy of Eating Us

Tour Dates:

Thu. &nbs p; May 21 &n bsp;  Madi son, WI @ High Noon Saloon w/ School of Seven Bells
Fri. &nbs p;   May 22 &n bsp;  Minn eapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club w/ School of Seven Bells
Mon.  May 25 &n bsp;  Quin cy, WA @ Sasquatch Festival
Tue. &nbs p;  May 26 &n bsp;  Port land, OR @ Holocene w/ School of Seven Bells
Thu. &nbs p; May 28 &n bsp;  San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill w/ School of Seven Bells
Fri. &nbs p;   May 29 &n bsp;  Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour w/ School of Seven Bells
Sat. &nbs p;   May 30 &n bsp; Costa Mesa, CA @ Detroit Bar w/ School of Seven Bells
Sun. &nbs p; May 31 &n bsp;  Phoe nix, AZ @ Rhythm Room w/ School of Seven Bells
Tue. &nbs p; June 2 &nb sp;   Austin, TX @ The Mohawk w/ School of Seven Bells
Wed.  June 3 &nb sp;  Dent on, TX @ Hailey's w/ School of Seven Bells
Thu. &nbs p; June 4 &nb sp;  Litt le Rock, AR @ Sticky Fingerz w/ School of Seven Bells
Fri. &nbs p;   June 5 &nb sp;  Nash ville, TN @ Exit/In w/ School of Seven Bells
Sat. &nbs p;   June 6 &nb sp;  Columbus, OH @ Skully's w/ School of Seven Bells
Fri. &nbs p;   June 19 &n bsp; Knoxville, TN @ Pilot Light
Sat. &nbs p;   June 20  Birmingham , AL @ City Stages Music & Arts
Sun. &nbs p;  June 21 &n bsp; Newport, KY @ Southgate House
Sat. &nbs p;   June 27 &n bsp; Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
Tue. &nbs p;  June 30 &n bsp; Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
Fri. &nbs p;   July 24 &n bsp;   New York, NY @ South Street Seaport - Seaport Music Festival, Pier 17
Sat. &nbs p; &n bsp; July 25 &n bsp;  Phil adelphia, PA @ Johnny Brendas w/ Dan Friel
Sun. &nbs p;  July 26 &n bsp;  Wash ington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel w/ Dan Friel
Mon. &nbs p; July 27 &n bsp;  Balt imore, MD @ Ottobar w/ Dan Friel

To coincide with the fall release of fifth studio album.

By Fred Mills

Billboard.com is reporting that Massive Attack has plans to launch a "huge" world tour to coincide with the release of their next album, tentativel y titled Weather Undergroun d,   due in October on Virgin. 40 dates have been confirmed in the UK and Europe, and according to the band's Robert "3D" Del Naja, the tour will ultimately rack up more than 150 nights once Asia and America are figured in to the equation.

"We'll do the U.K., Europe, then take Christmas off, and then go to Asia, into America and then we'll roll out to the festivals, " he told Billboard. "When you get on a roll it's such a laugh. For Meltdown [Festival] last year we ended up doing about 40 shows all around eastern and southern Europe, it was really good fun. So I can imagine for this we'll end up doing maybe 150 gigs."

Several new songs were debuted in concert last year, among them "Red Light" and "All I Want," which Del Naja said were "well received. I think things are changing, I don't think people expect to hear an album they know and then go and hear it live, I think people are much more intelligen t than that."

The last Massive Attack album was 2003's 100^th Window.

"A punk love story"... aww.....

By Fred Mills

Hey, remember that injunction that the estate of Dee Dee Ramone filed against the late bassist's former wife, Vera Ramone King, to prevent the publicatio n of her memoir Poisoned Heart: I Married Dee Dee Ramone (The Ramones Years)? No? Hey, we don't either! What would be the point anyway - any publicity is good publicity for a dead musician, or more accurately , for anyone who stands to profit by renewed, if only a blip's worth, interest. Which such a book - a tell-all whereby King outlines the good, the bad and the very ugly aspects of having to live with a narcissist and junkie - would certainly do.

What we do remember is this absurd, over-the-t op quote by King, speaking to Spinner awhile back, about Dee Dee's spirit apparently telling her to do the book:

"I was told by renowned chaneller Linda Drake that Dee Dee wanted me to write the book and tell the whole story. The good, the bad and the ugly truths. Several times during the writing of the book, I decided to stop because it was too painful for me to remember some of the incidents. Every time I said, 'I can't do this,' Linda would call me out of the blue within less than five minutes and ask if I was still writing the book."

Who the fuck is Linda Drake?

At any rate, word arrives that the New York Supreme Court has denied the injunction request, and Phoenix Books will now be able to go ahead with the June 2 publicatio n of the King memoir. We've read the book and we also have a review of it set to go in the next issue of BLURT, and no, we ain't revealing anything, other than to say, well... hmmm... well, any Ramones-re lated story is bound to be fun, and King's tale is no exception (the above quote may ring some warning bells) but she probably shouldn't quit her day job as writing definitely ain't her calling...

Mending fences with guitarist James Williamson and making plans to get their cocks outta their pockets.

By Fred Mills

As we Twittered yesterday, Iggy Pop has disclosed to an Australian newspaper that he's had a meeting with guitarist James Williamson about putting together a version of The Stooges that would perform the 1973 album Raw Power. This in the aftermath of original guitarist Ron Asheton's death in January.

"There is always Iggy and the Stooges, the second growth of the band," said Iggy, referring to the Stooges Mk. II lineup that included Williamson . "I had a meeting in LA last week with James. It was the first time we had seen each other in 30 years. So we talked about doing something together. Raw Power would be the repertoire .''

Iggy indicated that the band would also include drummer Scott Asheton and bassist Mike Watt. He also added that there were a number of "hard driving rhythm tracks" in the can that Asheton recorded before his death, and they might wind up on future recordings .

As the Detroit Metro Times pointed out, Iggy and Williamson have been estranged for some time, so this marks an unusual twist in the always-int eresting Stooges saga. (Asheton, for his part, refused to perform Raw Power material during the latterday reunion, although he was the bassist on the album.)

Opined the Metro Times, "Let's hope the repertoire might be kind enough to include a little Kill City and some of those non- Bowie singles and Metallica K.O. outtakes like "I Got A Right," "Rich Bitch" and "Cock In My Pocket" as well."

Indeed!

[Photo Credit: Robert Matheu]

"The remix possibilit ies are endless."

By Blurt Staff

The Cold War Kids' hyper-inte ractive new video, "I've Seen Enough," from the Loyalty to Loyalty album, debuted this week. The video, directed by Tool of North America's Sam Jones, (Wilco's I Am Trying to Break Your Heart), was designed specifical ly to be presented in parallel parts online and then remixed by fans, even mid-play - and is being released solely for the Web.

Music fans can visit www.oldwarkids .mtvmusic.com to experience the video, whose core feature is the four distinctly different versions of the song played by the band's four members. Each member was filmed on a darkly lit stage, playing their parts on vibraphone , guitar, bass, keyboard, standup bass, and more. These versions were recorded so the parts can be mixed together or played on their own.

Every change the fan makes happens in real time, including every stop, start, or mid-stream instrument change. Without skipping a beat, a fan can silence everything but the vocals and bring in the drums, or start with the full band, pull the keyboard and add the xylophone, or sweep away the standup bass at the last minute and cue the bass guitar for the song's closing notes. The remix possibilit ies are endless. The video is experience d in a more "full-scre en" environmen t, truly allowing the viewer controllin g the action from "inside" the studio, and it will be seamlessly weaved into the look and feel of the MTVMusic.com fabric.

"The idea was that fans would be able to create an interestin g new variation of the track every time, a new listening experience ," says director Sam Jones, of Tool. "Plus, it's just fun to play with - there are so many ways to mix the instrument s and vocals, and so many chances to get creative."

[Photo Credit: Wignall]

Four discs, tons of rarities, "best ever" live recordings , and more. Wow.

By Fred Mills

Now this is a great way to start the holiday weekend off: with Big Star news.

Although the topic of the long-rumor ed Big Star box set has been cropping up on blogs and message boards for a couple of years, there's really been no official confirmati on, leading to much speculatio n as to what might be included (e.g., what stuff has been lurking in the vaults of Ardent Studios). Even drummer Jody Stephens, in an interview earlier this year with RockSellOu t.com, remained mum about the subject, as the following exchange highlights :

RockSellOu t.com: Rhino Records is releasing a Big Star box set in 2009. Any insight of what's still in the vaults that will be shared?

Stephens: Don't really know what will be included. There was some interestin g BS stuff on the Ardent Records Story.

Well, no confirmati on until NOW.

Word already hit earlier this week, via Bruce Eaton's most excellent Big Star blog (Eaton is the author of the equally most excellent new 33 1/3 book on Big Star's Radio City), that Ardent's John Fry indicated that, indeed, a box was en route on September 15.

Today a source close to the project confirmed to BLURT that the box is definitely a "go" and is slated for a Sept. 15 release from Rhino.

Clocking in at four discs, the box (title not yet known) will reportedly cover the years 1968-75, which means that a number of pre-Big Star outfits the members - Stephens, Alex Chilton, Andy Hummel, and the late Chris Bell - were in will also be represente d. The bulk of the actual Big Star material will comprise "mostly rarities and previously unreleased material," advises our source, material that, indeed, has been kept well away from prying eyes and ears in the Ardent vaults all these years.

There's also to be a good chunk of live material, including a Memphis concert circa 1972 or '73 shortly after Bell left the band, leaving Big Star to perform as a three-piec e. "This might be the best-ever live recording" of the band, we're told, and it's worth noting that Bell's departure was apparently still fresh enough that the trio was still performing Bell-penne d material, with Chilton handling vocals.

A fat book in the 100-page range, loaded with rare photos, natch, will round things out.

Worth noting is that there won't be massive overlap with the recently announced CD from Concord, a slightly expanded reissue of their Big Star twofer that contained the first two albums, Number One Record and Radio City, due June 16.

There's also talk of a related release from Rhino imprint Handmade for a limited edition expanded reissue of Bell's I Am The Cosmos solo collection . Originally compiled by Rykodisc for a posthumous CD release in 1992, it will reportedly be a two-CD set featuring outtakes and alternate versions.

An official announceme nt from Rhino is still forthcomin g, but the news is expected to be announced early next week.

Gifted musician passes away Saturday night in his sleep.

By Fred Mills

"We are profoundly saddened to report that our friend died in his sleep last night. Jay was a beautiful human being who will be missed." Thus read a posting at the Undertow Records website yesterday, echoing the sentiments of music fans all across America. The Jay in question is Jay Walter Bennett; Undertow released the former Titanic Love Affair/Wil co member's critically acclaimed 2002 solo album Palace At 4am.

As word got out about the death of Bennett, 45, not too many details were known other than that Bennett died in his sleep Saturday night and that no official cause of death was known yet. An autopsy is pending. However, Bennett had been afflicted with chronic hip pain for some time, the result of sustaining an injury during a stage dive while performing with Titanic Love Affair, and he'd been planning on having hip replacemen t surgery.

In a report filed at the Chicago Sun-Times, pop critic Jim DeRogatis quoted Bennett's friend and oftentime collaborat or Edward Burch as saying, "The family is in mourning and is unavailabl e for comment at this time... He was an extremely talented musician and a great person, and I'll miss him terribly." Burch added that he'd gotten word to Wilco through bandmember John Stirratt and the band, on tour in Spain, was "broken up" about the news.

An official statement from Wilco is forthcomin g, although both Bennett and Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy were in the news recently after Bennett filed a lawsuit against Tweedy alleging he was owed compensati on from his 1994-2001 tenure in Wilco. A falling out between the two men led to Bennett's acrimoniou s departure from the band, and speculatio n among certain cynical pundits and bloggers was that Bennett, lacking health insurance, had filed the suit in order to raise funds to pay for his much-neede d surgery.

Bob Boilen of NPR music penned a heartfelt goodbye to Bennett at the NPR site yesterday. In it, he included a post that Bennett had made to his MySpace blog in April outlining to fans what he'd been going through recently with his hip troubles and discussing his forthcomin g album Kicking at the Perfumed Air.

"I will continue to stay as active as I possibly can, making music, and staying in touch with all of you (my friends), as the surgery approaches , and later, whilst I am recovering ," worote Bennett. "Apologies for my absence, I honestly do care about staying true to my promise to maintain open and interactiv e relationsh ips with all of you "out there," wherever you may be."

BLURT extends our deepest condolence s to Bennett's family, friends and fans. He will be missed.

The Tribune has the story.

I knew Jay a bit (John was my boyfriend at the time) during his Wilco years, my favorite Wilco years; the Jay years.

Straight-a head guitar-roc k Wilco will always be my Wilco: Monday, I Got You (At the End of the Century), Outtasite (Outta Mind), I even loved Summerteet h, which almost no one did. And while Spiders (Kidsmoke) is definitely on my top 100 of all time [...]

A Triple-A radio programmin g veteran, Kate has served as Music Director of the Loft at XM, Midday Host at WYEP, Evening Host at both WNCS and WUIN, as well as Content Supervisor for Pump Audio. Currently, she's the CEO of Outlandos Music, a new-music discovery service for grown-ups. Kate has been nationally recognized for her ardent presentati on of music and her ability to champion talented, compelling artists.

Neil, Bruce and Blurt, er, we mean, Blur will top the bill.

By Fred Mills

As previously announced, this year's Glastonbur y Festival in England takes place June 26-28 at Worthy Farm. This morning the organizers revealed the full roster of performers :

THURSDAY JUNE 25

Queen's Head Stage:

Metronomy
Kap Bambino
Ebony Bones
Golden Silvers
Alessi's Ark
Liz Green
The Gentle Good
Charlene Soraia
Stornoway
We Have Band
Maximo Park

FRIDAY JUNE 26

Pyramid Stage:

Neil Young
The Specials
Lily Allen
Fleet Foxes
Special Guests
Regina Spektor
Gabrielle Cilmi
Bjorn Again

Other Stage:

Bloc Party
The Ting Tings
Lady GaGa
Friendly Fires
White Lies
The View
The Maccabees
The Rakes
The Whip
Mr Hudson

John Peel Stage:

Doves
Jamie T
Jack Penate
Little Boots
Metronomy
VV Brown
The Virgins
Fucked Up
Rumble Strips
Dan Black
General Fiasco

Jazz/World Stage:

Q Tip
The Streets
Steel Pulse
Lamb
Hot 8 Brass Band
Stephanie Mckay
Speed Caravan
The Perception s
Rolf Harris
Warsaw Village Band

Acoustic Stage:

Ray Davies
Fairport Convention
Jason Mraz
Scott Matthews
No Crows
Hugh Cornwall
Ben Taylor
Sean Taylor
Alyssa Bonagura
John Smith

The Park Stage

Animal Collective
The Horrors
Noah And The Whale
Special Guests
Emiliana Torrini
Special Guests
James Hunter
Golden Silvers
Bishi
Lay Low

Queen's Head Stage:

Jason Mraz
The Big Pink
The Rakes
Rumble Strips
The Virgins
Dan Le Sac Vs Scoobius Pip
Tommy Sparks
The Low Anthem
Team Waterpolo
Hope And Social
Dead Like Harry
Yr Ods
City Stereo
The Mojo Fins
Maura Kincaid
The Slips
Sub Universe
Smash n' Grab

East Dance

David Guetta
Layo and Bushwacka!
Easy Star Allstars
Iration Steppas ft Mark Iration
Dreadzone
Tom Middleton
The Egg
Paul Woolford
Pama Internatio nal

West Dance

Erol Alkan
Crookers
The Whip
Annie Mac
Skream And Benga
Whomadewho
Joe Goddard (Hot Chip)
DeepGroove
Nathan Detroit

Avalon Stage:

The Blockheads
British Sea Power
Michael McGoldrick , Iain Fletcher and Andy Dinan
The Puppini Sisters
3 Daft Monkeys
Baskery
The Mandibles

The Glade:

Tom Real
Beardyman with The Bays
James Monro
Banco de Gaia
Pathaan
Outmode
Mum Suleiman
Clive Craske

SATURDAY JUNE 27

Pyramid Stage:

Bruce Springstee n
Kasabian
Crosby, Stills & Nash
Dizzee Rascal
Spinal Tap
Eagles Of Death Metal
Tinariwen
VV Brown

Other Stage:

Franz Ferdinand
Pendulum
Maximo Park
Paolo Nutini
Peter Doherty
The Script
Jason Mraz
Metric
Peter, Bjorn and John
Broken Family Band

John Peel Stage:

Jarvis Cocker
White Lies
Florence And The Machine
Passion Pit
Gaslight Anthem
Hockey
The Temper Trap
Esser
The Big Pink
Baddies
The Nightingal es

Jazz/World Stage:

Playing For Change
Baaba Maal
Lonnie Liston Smith
Jamie Cullum
Rokia Traore
Erik Truffaz

Acoustic Stage:

Kilfenorca Ceili Band
Tinderstic ks
Newton Faulkner
Lisa Hannigan
Gary Louris and Mark Olson
Lunasa
Bap Kennedy
Hope And Social
Stornoway
Cora Smyth Band

The Park Stage:

Bon Iver
M Ward
Special Guests
Shlomo and Guests
Horace Andy
Easy Star Allstars
The Memory Band
Bombay Bicycle Club
The Low Anthem
First Aid Kit

Queen's Head Stage:

Guilty Pleasures
Dan Black
The King Blues
The Shortwave Set
Special Guest
The Wombats
Official Secrets Act
Noah And The Whale
Emmy The Great
Broken Records
Special Guest
Peggy Sue and the Pirates
Marina and the Diamonds
Theoretica l Girl
Blue Roses
The Glitterati

East Dance:

2ManyDJs
Deadmau5
Pete Tong
La Roux
Wiley
Tinchy Stryder
Eric Prydz
Heartbreak
We Have Band

West Dance:

Josh Wink
Yoda
DJ Food
Qemists
Timo Maas
Japanese Popstars
Hudson Mohawke
NAPT
Emperors Machine
Jam The Channel

Avalon Stage:

The Wonder Stuff
Edward II
Eliza Carthy
Badly Drawn Boy
Solas
The King Blues
The Lancashire Hotpots
Wheeler Street
The Martin Harley Band

The Glade:

Stereo MCs
Stanton Warriors
DJ Fresh
Dub Pistols
Don Letts
Dr Meaker
Tayo
Rusko
Sancho Panza
Nairobi
Jinx

SUNDAY JUNE 28

Pyramid Stage:

Blur
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
Madness
Tom Jones
Amadou Et Mariam
Tony Christie
Status Quo
Easy Star AllStars

Other Stage:

Prodigy
Glasvegas
Bon Iver
Bat For Lashes
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Enter Shikari
Brand New
Art Brut
Boxer Rebellion
In Case Of Fire

John Peel Stage:

Echo And The Bunnymen
The Wombats
Noisettes
Ladyhawke
The Soft Pack
Just Jack
Emmy The Great
Twisted Wheel
We Have Band
Wave Machines
Good Books

Jazz/World Stage:

Black Eyed Peas
Manu Dibango
Roots Manuva
Khaled
Orquesta Aragon
Linda Lewis
Abdullah Chhadeh And Syriana

Acoustic Stage:

Georgie Fame
Roger McGuinn
Sharon Corr
London Community Gospel Choir
Beth Rowley
Imelda May
Penguin Café ; Orchestra
Kate Walsh
Martin Harley Band
Lucy Wainwright Roche

The Park Stage:

Seun Kuti and Fela's Egypt 80
Cold War Kids
Tunng and Tinariwen
Alela Diane
Terry Reid
The Rockingbir ds
Alberta Cross
Chief
Micachu and the Shapes
Bristol Community Choir

Queen's Head Stage:

Robyn Hitchcock
The Aliens
Magic Numbers
Bombay Bicycle Club
Joe Gideon And The Shark
Vagabond
Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong
Fight Like Apes
The Capitol Years
Soft Toy Emergency
Priscilla Ahn
Jersey Budd
Two Door Cinema Club
Major Major

East Dance:

Calvin Harris
Mr Scruff
VV Brown
Rob Da Bank
Frankmusik
Wonky Pop DJs
Kissy Sellout
Wonky Pop DJs
Ou Est
Chris Coco

West Dance:

Peaches
Jodie Harsh
Beat Torrent
Freq Nasty
Dirty Vegas
Quiver
Filthy Dukes
Don Diablo
Goldfish
Stuart Wilkinson
Transforme r

Avalon Stage:

Peatbog Fairies
Seth Lakeman
Dodgy
Will Young
Teddy Thompson
The Mummers
The Destroyers
6 Day Riot
Stornoway

The Glade:

Gong Sunday
Steve Hillage Band
Eatstatic
Richard 'Kid' Strange and the Party
Second Class Citizen
Back to the Planet
3 Daft Monkeys
Hybrid Cinematic Set
Breakfast with Howard Marks

MONDAY JUNE 29

Queen's Head Stage:

Motown 50th Birthday

Life's a drag, er, a gas, when the Ettes are touring Europe...

By Coco Hames

Well, Poni and I stayed up way past our bedtime in Leipzig at a gay bar across the street from our hotel.  Some people think it's amusing, but personally , I feel awful when I exit a bar when the sun is up, it's so disconcert ing and no one likes to look back on the night in the light of day.  Well, at least I don't.  This is part of why I tour so much.  I really can't be held responsibl e.  Also I am a vampire.

The bar was fun, it was one of those with numbered stations and telephones , so if you spotted someone across the bar that struck your fancy, you could pick up the phone and call them for a chat.  The venue we played was a bit square for our taste, so we did what we always do, which is go wandering in search of some like-minde d troublemak ers.  I mean, I don't know how alike we are, us and drag queens.  But there are some similariti es that bind us. 

We dress up and perform, that's one.  We often live on the other side of the clock, and are considered a bit (or a lot, depending on where we're living) strange by the mainstream , which can get lonely, so there's that.  Poni used to be a go-go dancer in Miami, so they can talk about dancing or costumes.  And I remembered , I had a tour revelation once (they're common, lots of sitting time, lots of silence, lots of opportunit ies to let your mind creep off on its own) that lots of people are another person inside, in their minds. 

In Poni's mind, she is a 7-foot-tal l supermodel -cum-fashi on designer (non-gende r specific, career peaked in the '70s), with a well-appoi nted studio apartment in the East Village.  She spends her days dashing from meeting to meeting, fueled by New York street coffee, and her nights hopping from gallery to launch party, clinking martini glasses with the who's who of internatio nal artists and designers.  Whereas, inside, I am an older, friendly but quite stodgy gay man.

Maybe in his late-'40s, financiall y establishe d, well-read and generally a private individual , possibly with his party days behind him, possibly he seldom felt inclined to indulge in the wild nights out that his friends were always talking about, the clubs too crowded or the music too loud, maybe.  Maybe he is a professor of literature , or an architect or even a functionin g novelist.  Something where he gets a lot of time to himself, where he doesn't have to pretend to be glamorous or sexy or special even.  Just a nice, quiet man, maybe he has a trusty dog (a retriever of some sort, possibly a spaniel) and lives in a small house on a lake, maybe in the mountains of western North Carolina, maybe in upstate New York.  I do know that this man has a secret indulgence , one that his friends chortle about and think is just SO him... he TOTALLY has one of those $2000 hotel-grad e Miele linen presses!&n bsp; In his house!

This is the shit that I spend hours thinking about on drives.  Though I did pick up an English language book on the English language, a linguistic travelogue investigat ing English dialects.  But I should have thumbed through it a bit more before I bought it, because it was an ENGLISH English linguistic travelogue , and while I realize my English came from the English English, really I am more interested in American English linguistic s, because of all of the different languages spoken in America, and how quickly so many different languages and cultures got together and spoke the same language.  Another study for another time, perhaps.

Backstage at a club now in Wolfsburg, Germany, home of the Volkswagen automobile .  We played an in-store today in Braunschwe ig, which is evidently the enemy town of Wolfsburg, so much so that the promoter threatened to cancel our show HERE if we played THERE.  But we managed to pull it off.  So far.

Blurt "co-co-edi tor" Coco Hames fronts The Ettes - Hames on guitar, Jem Cohen on bass and Poni Silver on drums - whose latest album Look At Life Again Soon (Take Root) is still a hot item, and they also have a new EP, Danger Is, released by Take Root on April 7 and also available digitally, www.myspace.com/theett es), and a Dan Auerbach-p roduced limited-ed ition single. They are currently ruminating upon their next full-lengt h, but meanwhile, overseas fans can spot ‘em right now on their European tour - dates at the MySpace page.

Forthcomin g album said to be wordy and political and, oh yeah, Santigold guests on it.

By Fred Mills

"Our new record that is coming out that we finished the other day is called HOT SAUCE COMMITTEE."

Thus read an email from the Beastie Boys to their fans yesterday. As reported by Billboard.com, the aforementi oned Hot Sauce Committee is due at an unspecifie d date later this year, although as the band is making the festival circuit this summer, it's anticipate d that the album will come out in time to coincide with the tour. It's to be the followup to 2007's instrument al set The Mix-Up.

Mook attack! ("One badass supergroup "... So much for Mojo mag's credibilit y...)

By Blurt Staff

We get lots of press releases that go straight into the office shredder here at BLURT. (Hello, anyone doing p.r. of Ciara, Rihanna or American Idol.) Sometimes, though, the level of hype and bullshit is so over the top that we can't stop laughing. So, dear readers, laugh with us... Heat sensitive artwork, huh? (Anybody remember that Massive Attack box set?) "Soap on a Rope," eh? The only thing that would make this better would be if they'd decided to name the band "Chickenha wk"...

***

"Chickenfo ot"; the all-star rock band consisting of drummer Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), bassist Michael Anthony (ex-Van Halen), guitarist Joe Satriani and vocalist Sammy Hagar (ex-Van Halen), will release their eponymous debut album in the UK, Monday June 8th on the earMusic label.  The band performs on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, NBC Television in the USA on Friday June 5th.

Hailed as the most intense rock'n'rol l album in years, the debut Chickenfoo t album coincides with the bands' sold out UK concert at London's 02 Shepherds Bush Empire on June 25th. With the album currently at No. 6 in the Amazon.co.uk pre-order chart, several rock magazines are hailing the band as a breath of fresh air. Classic Rock says, "Chickenfo ot is the best thing the band members have put their famous names to," while Mojo refers to the band as "one badass supergroup ."

The album will be packaged in heat sensitive artwork. When you place your hand on the CD inlay, photos of the band will start to appear.

Tracklisti ng:

1. &nbs p; &n bsp;  Avenida Revolution
2. Soap on a Rope
3. Sexy Little Thing
4. Oh Yeah
5. Runnin' Out
6. Get It Up
7. Down the Drain
8. My Kinda Girl
9. Learning to Fall
10. Turnin' Left
11. Future in the Past

Tour Dates:

Saturday June 20 AUSTRIA Nova Rock Festival
Tuesday June 23 CORK, IRELAND: Live at the Marquee
Thursday June 25 LONDON Shepherd's Bush Empire
Friday June 26 HOLLAND: Heerhugowa ard
Sunday June 28 BELGIUM Graspop Metal Meeting Festival
 With Marylyn Manson, Nightwish, Disturbed, Chickenfoo t
Monday June 29 PARIS: Olympia
Wednesday July 1 MADRID Palacio De Deportes Comunidad De Madrid
Friday July 3 PISTOIA, ITALY: Blues Festival (line-up TBA)
Saturday July 4 MONTREUX, SWITZERLAN D: Stravinski Hall
 Feat uring Steely Dan, Dave Matthews, Chickenfoo t
Sunday July 5 UDINE, ITALY: Lignano Sbbiadoro
Tuesday July 7 HAMBURG: Grosse Freiheit
Wednesday July 8 COPENHAGEN : Vega
Friday July 10 KILAFORS, SWEDEN: Rockweeken d Festival
Sunday July 12 WEERT, HOLLAND: Bospop Festival
 Feat uring Bryan Adams, Journey and Chickenfoo t

Something about a commitment to herb, er, the arts... hey, dig that Lone Star coffee mug!

By Blurt Staff

Last week, the Texas State Legislatur e passed a resolution naming Willie Nelson the 2009 Texas State Musician:

"WHEREAS, The Texas Commission on the Arts has announced the 2009 and 2010 appointmen ts for the positions of State Poet Laureate, State Musician, State Two-Dimens ional Artist, and State Three-Dime nsional Artist; and

"WHEREAS, Honorees are chosen for the exceptiona l quality of their work and for their outstandin g commitment to the arts in Texas; nominees must either be native Texans or have resided in the state for at least five years; in addition, they must have received critical recognitio n from state, regional, and national publicatio ns, and they must have attained the highest levels of excellence in their respective discipline s."

"WHEREAS, Willie Nelson is the 2009 Texas State Musician; this legendary Texas performer was playing the guitar at the age of 6 and performing at 10; after establishi ng himself in Nashville as a hit songwriter , he returned to Texas and soon became world-famo us as an interprete r of his own songs and as an icon of the outlaw country music movement; he has further distinguis hed himself as a film and television actor and entreprene ur, as well as an ever-popul ar touring concert artist who has been involved in numerous charity events such as FarmAid."

Poet Laureate Nelson, never one at a loss for words, was effusive with his comments, saying in a statement, "I consider it a great honor, and I want to thank everyone who helped make it happen."

Now THAT is entertainm ent. Okay, back to your stash, Willie.

Tickets go on sale TOMORROW for a concert NEXT YEAR?!?

By Blurt Staff

Todd Rundgren is set to perform his 1973 classic A Wizard, a True Star in its entirety for the first time ever in Britain on February 6, 2010 at the London HMV Hammersmit h Apollo. This marks Todd's only UK performanc e of the album.

Tickets for the concert go on sale at 9am on Wednesday May 27th.  Tickets are priced £48.50, £45.00, £40.00, £32.00 (Agency and credit card bookings subject to a fee). Ticket Hotline: 08700 603 777, Book Online: www.seetickets .com.

Although Rundgren's 1972 album, Something/ Anything? is considered by many to be his masterpiec e, the psychedeli c impact and bordering- on-disturb ing innovation of the follow-up, A Wizard, A True Star is arguably Rundgren's most experiment al and influentia l album and is regarded as one of the most pioneering progressiv e rock albums of all time. It also featured an unusual extended medley similar to the Beatles' second-sid e medley on Abbey Road. More than one head got liberally dosed while "consuming " AWATS, and a few even lived to tell about it!

This will be the first time in Britain that he will perform the whole record live onstage, from start to finish.  The first half of the concert will feature a selection of Rundgren's songs throughout his career, while the second half will consist of the entirety of A Wizard, a True Star.

Flame-hair ed songstress follows up her big 2007 release.

By Blurt Staff

A Fine Frenzy - essentiall y Alison Sudol, plus whomever she is surroundin g herself with at any moment - will release Bomb in a Birdcage on Virgin on Sept. 8. It's the follow-up to 2007's critically acclaimed One Cell in the Sea..

"I think some people may be surprised, " said 24-year-ol d Sudol, in a statement. "They think that I'm all fragile and ethereal, but I have a wild side, too. I'm a quiet person with a loud streak, and this record is a testament to that."

One Cell reached Number One on Billboard' s "Heatseeke r" charts, and A Fine Frenzy was chosen as a VH1 "You Oughta Know" artist. The album received rave reviews in publicatio ns from Entertainm ent Weekly to Harp to People.

Songs from the album were licensed to numerous television shows, and Sudol appeared on The Tonight Show, The CBS Early Show and The Late Show with David Letterman. The young redheaded singer made her acting debut on CSI:NY and turned up in fashion spreads, but she received even more attention for her literary interests, including a band name taken from Shakespear e's Midsummer Night's Dream.

"Blow Away," the breezy, propulsive first single from Bomb in a Birdcage, illustrate s that the new album retains the tuneful charm and whimsical language of the debut, while adding new colors and textures. Lengthy tours alongside the likes of Rufus Wainwright and Brandi Carlile contribute d to Sudol's attraction to different sounds.

"On tour," she said, "I discovered that I love rocking out and having a good time. I started listening to as much music as I could. I didn't want to limit myself. I wanted to stretch and grow and push myself. I also wanted to have fun."

The pivotal point for Bomb in a Birdcage was "Stood Up," a sweeping rock ballad. "It was the most unruly I'd ever been," says Sudol. "I was scared by it at first and wanted to put it aside. But the songs I tend to love the most in the end are often the ones that, initially, I wanted to do away with."

"I felt like being daring," she added. "I wasn't interested in doing more of the same, that doesn't inspire me. And now, I can't wait to get on the road with this stuff! It's going to be quite an undertakin g, but I'm up for it."

[Photo Credit: Tarin Anderson]