Happens Sept. 24-26 with 270 performers spread across 23 stages.

By Blurt Staff

Standing shoulder to shoulder, packed into a club so tightly it's hard to raise your beer, anxiously waiting to hear the next-big-t hing before it becomes the next-big thing.

That's the vibe at Cincinnati 's MidPoint Music Festival. Three days of creative expression and musical innovation , happening Sept. 24-26 throughout downtown Cincinnati , adjacent historic Over-the-R hine neighborho od and even across the Ohio River to the Southgate House in Newport, KY.

And one might go as far to say it's somewhat apropos to find such a festival in Cincinnati given its place in music history and its current day music scene.

Historical ly, Cincinnati lays claim to a critical role in the conception of rock 'n' roll as home of the fabled King Records, which released such classics of R&B, blues, country and funk as Wynonie Harris' "Good Rockin' Tonight," James Brown's "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," Hank Ballard & the Midnighter s' "The Twist," Cowboy Copas' "Tennessee Waltz," Delmore Brothers' "Blues Stay Away From Me," and Little Willie John's "Fever." Another local label, Fraternity Records, introduced guitar-her o Lonnie Mack to the world. And among the city's most celebrated current residents is the great funk bassist Bootsy Collins.

Take this history and interweave it with a thriving music scene and you've got fertile ground for up-and-com ing artists and music fans alike.

Starting Thursday night, the city transforms itself into a walk-able music fest, spanning 23 venues throughout downtown Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, entertaini ng the sounds of 270 indie-rock musical acts from around the world. And it is all extremely affordable - a three-day pass good for all shows is available for just $29.

MPMF.09, as the festival is sometimes called, features headliners like the Cincinnati -originate d Heartless Bastards - a major 2009 music-indu stry success story - as well as two other local bands with growing national followings , Wussy and the Pomegranat es.

Among the bigger acts coming to the city from elsewhere for the fest are Chairlift, The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker, Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, and Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, a pop quartet from Chicago.

And the long list of buzzed-abo ut newcomers includes the do, a male-femal e duo from France and Finland; the New York/Malay sia group Shayna Zaid and the Catch; Chicago-ba sed melodic rockers Brighton, MA; and Toronto's red-hot dance band God Made Me Funky.

Four independen t record labels - Cincinnati 's All Night Party, Indianapol is' Standard Recording Co., New York's ReThink Pop Music, and Chicago's DataWasLos t - will host showcases, taking over specific clubs for an entire night of music by their acts.

"MidPoint is the flagship for the music town that is Cincinnati ," says Dan McCabe, the festival's executive producer. "This is the type of congregati on of artists from all over world that you'd expect from a town that has such a musical tradition."

In this, the festival's second year under McCabe's aegis, the number of acts has grown to 270 from 175. More than 1,000 performers worldwide contacted McCabe about appearing in Cincinnati - a 40 percent increase from the previous year. There are also newer and more varied venues; 23 stages will be operating each of the festival's nights.

One of the biggest will be an outdoor tent capable of holding 800 people outside Grammer's, a landmark 19th Century German restaurant in the Over the Rhine neighborho od recently reborn as a popular gathering spot for young urbanites. Headliners will play there each night, but since its shows will end at 11 p.m., attendees can afterward have time to see more up-and-com ing acts at the more intimate clubs.

Other venues - like downtown's Washington Platform restaurant and Madonna's bar - will be smaller and have their own special allure. Many of the venues are within walking distance of each other, but MidPoint will be operating a fleet of 16 Toyota Scion XBs to give attendees rides between sites.

And for the first time, downtown's Contempora ry Arts Center - designed by the visionary architect Zaha Hadid to internatio nal acclaim - will also host concerts, as well as MidPoint's Lite Brite Film Test. The latter will have programmin g from Ottawa's Internatio nal Animation Festival and the Internatio nal Film Festival Rotterdam. MidPoint pass holders also get free admission to museum exhibits.

"One of the fun things about MidPoint is to go into a crowded room and rub shoulder to shoulder with other music fans," McCabe says. "There's the kinetic energy of discoverin g new music together. MidPoint is fertile ground for being blown way by the best new music. With 23 stages each night, you're going to have that happen multiple times." While the venues are located, for the most part, within walking distance of each other, MidPoint's Scion Streetcars will mimick Cincinnati 's proposed streetcar route in an effort to promote the initiative .

To purchase tickets and get more info, visit http://www .MPMF.com

Serving up a free album at his website right now!

By Blurt Staff

Ben Lee has reformed Noise Addict with Lou Barlow of Dinosaur Jr./Sebadoh and Lara Meyerratke n of El May.  Their new 15-song album, It Was Never About The Audience, was released today for free download via http://noi seaddict.net

Just click and enjoy!

 &nbs p; It is the first music bearing the Noise Addict name in 13 years since the release of the debut full length album, Meet The Real You, released via Grand Royal in 1996.

Ben Lee offered "I've wanted to make another Noise Addict record for awhile now.  Noise Addict is a place more than a band.  But it's a band too.  This record was inspired by out of tune guitars, Jonathan Richman, and lasagne...not the actual pasta - just the word."  He added, "The new lineup on this recording is me, Lou Barlow and Lara Meyerratke n.  That's a new lineup for the band, but the principle remains the same: everything recorded quickly, in my bedroom, with lots of stupid rules like no mic-stands .  The songs were all written by me except ‘Las agne,' which I co-wrote with my step-daugh ter Kate." 

Noise Addict was formed in Bondi Beach, Australia in 1992 by a then 13-year old Ben Lee.  After opening for Fugazi the same year, their demo tape was passed on to Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, who officially released the recording, known as DEF, on his Ecstatic Peace label in 1993.  &nbs p;The Beastie Boys Mike D then signed the band to their Grand Royal imprint and released the Young and Jaded EP in 1995.  That release featured the Evan Dando-insp ired track "I Wish I Was Him."  The same year, Lee issued his solo debut, the critically acclaimed Grandpaw Would LP.  In 1996, Grand Royal issued Noise Addict's full length debut album, Meet The Real You.  The group disbanded soon after their first and only tour of the U.S. 

To date, Ben Lee has released seven solo albums, most recently this year's The Rebirth of Venus, released via Dew Process in Australia and New Zealand and New West Records in the rest of the world.

It Was Never About The Audience Tracklisti ng:

1. That's How It Goes

2. Do I Know You

3. Get Well

4. Chris Martin's Frown

5. Big Ups

6. Drop That Ghost

7. Hey Baby

8. Lasagne

9. Faster Side of Normal

10. Let Your Heart Decide It

11. Cloudchasi ng

12. Not Afraid

13. Gravity

14. I Heart Your Band

15. Let's Do Our Thing

Exclusive World Premiere!

"Hunters" is taken from Sonya Cotton's new self-relea sed album Red River, out now at an artist-fri endly record store year YOU. Check out Cotton at www.sonyacotto n.com or at her MySpace page, www.myspace.com/sonyac otton.

Awesome west coast singer songwriter has her self-relea sed new album hitting stores today... Tour dates below, too.

By Blurt Staff

Released, today, September 1, songstress Sonya Cotton's new album Red River includes the luscious track "Hunters" - and we've got the video for it right here at Blurt. Just click on the link or scroll down to our Blurt TV video kiosk to view it.

Meanwhile, here's some deets you need to know about the young lady. She'll also be doing selected west coast tour dates starting this weekend; see below for her itinerary.

***

"I'm going West, you should come."

It was a cold winter morning in Connecticu t. Sonya Cotton looked out over the frozen lake as her mind flooded with visions of the open road. Her best friend continued: "It would be good for you, to get away for a while." The timing felt like a sign, a call to rise after a year of tumult.

Over the past year, Sonya watched as the most important and defining loving relationsh ips around her, including her own, dissolved. Reeling from the dismantlin g of these unions, she felt herself the victim as well as the perpetrato r of a great deal of destructio n and betrayal. Living in the suburbs of the northeast, she perceived this destructio n paralleled in the dead animals along the roadside that she passed every day. She saw herself and loved ones in the dead deer: innocent, inflicted upon, and disregarde d. She also saw herself and loved ones in the perpetrato rs of their deaths: self-consu med, unconsciou s, and untrustwor thy.

She began to have dreams of the wreckage. These dreams inspired the first songs that would become Red River, Sonya Cotton's album to be released this July. Deer appeared night after night, broken and bloodied, strewn on the living room floor, buried like secrets at the bottom of a canal, lying in the stained hands of a hunter, or inside of her own belly. These haunting dreams did not wane with time, for vestiges of the wreckage remained all around her. The escape to the west held promise:

"I'm coming with you."

The 11 songs of Red River chronicle this journey from the darkness of the east towards the promise of the west. In the course of this journey, redemption and faith are found in the midst of the destructio n, and beauty is pulled from the darkness through song: "In this broken body is a red river, we will wait with our faith for this pile of bones for to rise."

Once in San Francisco, Sonya actively immersed herself in the folk music community there, refining her dream images into songs, and befriendin g the musicians who were to become her band. The tight three-part vocal harmonies and lush orchestrat ions that emerged from this cooperativ e effort produced the sweeping, distinctiv e sounds of Red River. Mirroring the emotional space from which the songs were born, the album was recorded in the legendary Hyde Street Studio C (David Crosby, The Grateful Dead) a reputedly haunted space, where Sonya's sessions were often recorded in the dark. From this haunted darkness Sonya and the band voiced the nightmares carried from the east, and transforme d them, bringing to light the gentle beauty and the power of Red River.

In June ‘09, Sonya Cotton embarked on a 45 mile walking tour of the California Coastal Trail, playing nightly shows throughout Marin County. She is currently preparing for a September '09 tour by train and foot. These alternativ e modes of touring are in keeping with the main theme of the album ­ that of rising out of the patterns of destructio n that we inflict upon one another, and choosing instead a more reverent and life-affir ming path.

Tour Dates:

sep 05 - Portland, OR - The Woods (3 Leg Torso)
sep 05 - Portland, OR - In Other Words Women's Books and Resources (early performanc e, 3pm)
sep 06 - Olympia, WA - The Finger Complex (7pm, FREE!, 203 Rogers St. NW)
sep 07 - Ocean Shores, WA - Galilean Lutheran Church (Concert Fundraiser for Garden by the Sea)
sep 11 - Chico, CA - Center for Peace and Justice (Ma'Muse)
sep 12 - Davis, CA - Rominger West Winery

Josh Homme, Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones supergroup getting their mojo working following that big post-Lolla palooza coming-out party and other testing-th e-waters goings-on... video clips below...

By Blurt Staff

Posted to the band's forum this afternoon was news about an upcoming tour (tickets will go on sale this Sat., Sept. 5 - details at http://the mcrookedvu ltures.com by signing up for the newsletter ):

Descending on Austin for Festival & TV appearance s

The tour kicks off with an October 2 performanc e at the Austin City Limits music festival, to be preceded by a September 30 Austin City Limits TV taping to air at a later date TBD, as well as an appearance at the October 1 Austin City Limits festival pre-party.

North America Fall Tour 2009

Thu, 1st October / Austin TX Stubb's
Fri, 2nd October / Austin TX Austin City Limits
Mon, 5th October / Nashville TN War Memorial
Tue, 6th October / Columbus OH LC Pavilion
Thu, 8th October / Detroit MI The Fillmore
Fri, 9th October / Toronto ONT Sound Academy
Sun, 11th October / Boston MA House of Blues
Mon, 12th October / Philadelph ia PA Electric Factory
Wed, 14th October / Washington DC 930 Club

Europe Winter 2009

Thu, 10th December / Plymouth / Plymouth Pavilions
Fri, 11th December / Portsmouth / Portsmouth Guildhall
Sun, 13th December / Blackpool / Empress Ballroom
Mon, 14th December / Birmingham / O2 Academy Birmingham
Tue, 15th December / Edinburgh / Edinburgh Corn Exchange
Thu, 17th December / London / Hammersmit h Apollo

Meanwhile, check out the band's YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/t hemcrooked vultures), which is currently airing another video snippet, this time for a track called "Elephants " (below) as well as a number of not-too-sh abby live clips.

(noun) Band (verb) writes from the (noun) road.

By Fred Mills

Our pals over at Outlandos Music alerted us to a fascinatin g little exercise in Mad Libbery, courtesy the might Kaiser Cartel (whose new EP, Rock Island, is due later this month).

It's a letter from the road, done Mad Lib style. You can read the entire entry here, but check out this teaser from Courtney and Benjamin. We smell an industry-w ide trend in the germinatio n stages....

Before leaving on tour, we made sure to pack the (noun) banana in preparatio n for two-weeks on the road in (name of country) Kazakhstan . At our first  ;show, we were fortunate to have (name of famous person) Andy Warhol as a support act.

Yeah, can't forget to pack those bananas!

Hip-hop luminaries also featured in new issue of Blurt.

By Blurt Staff

he four men better known to the world as Anti-Pop Consortium - Beans, M. Sayyid, High Priest, and Earl Blaize, are bringing their futuristic brand of hip-hop back to the people in a series of shows across the US this fall, including a coveted slot at this year's All Tomorrow's Parties festival in New York.  Their new album, Fluorescen t Black (out October 6th on Big Dada), is yet another step beyond what anyone else in hip-hop is doing right now - a feat that they seem to have accomplish ed with every album, from their debut Tragic Epilogue (2000) to their monumental benchmark album Arrhythmia (2002).  The band's live show is the stuff of legend, having toured with a diverse array of artists such as Radiohead, DJ Shadow, Public Enemy, Stereolab, The Faint, Prefuse 73 and more. 

Watch the next issue of Blurt, due in late September, for an interview with APC.


Tour Dates:

9/12/09&nb sp;   MONT ICELLO, NY &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   ATP FESTIVAL
9/29/09&nb sp;   NEW YORK, NY &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   SANT OS (CD RELEASE PARTY)
10/1/09&nb sp;   CLEV ELAND, OH &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   GROG SHOP
10/2/09&nb sp;   CHIC AGO, IL &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   EMPT Y BOTTLE (CD RELEASE PARTY)
10/3/09&nb sp;   DETR OIT, MI &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   PIKE ROOM
10/6/09&nb sp;   PHIL ADELPHIA, PA &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   SILK CITY
10/7/09&nb sp;   BALT IMORE, MD &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   TALK ING HEAD
10/8/09&nb sp;   BOST ON, MA &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   GREA T SCOTT
10/10/09&n bsp;   WASH INGTON, DC &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   ROCK AND ROLL HOTEL
10/11/09&n bsp;   CHAR LOTTESVILL E, VA &n bsp;  &nbs p;   IS LOUNGE
10/12/09&n bsp;   CHAP EL HILL, NC &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   LOCA L 506
10/13/09&n bsp;   RICH MOND, VA &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   CANA L CLUB

[Photo Credit: J. Yoon]

First album in ages from the erstwhile Husker Du drummer.

By Blurt Staff

Hot Wax is the name of the forthcomin g Grant Hart album, due October 6 from Con D'or Records and MVD Audio.

You know the name Grant Hart of course. Since Hüske r Dü's split in 1987, drummer Hart picked up the guitar and moved out front, issuing a number of  solo releases and also serving as a member of the group Nova Mob. He has found a place and function in visual and dramatic art forms as well. Hot Wax will be Grant's sixth solo release overall, a project several years in the making.

Joining Hart on the disc is a diverse cast of musicians from Godspeed You Black Emperor, Silver Mt. Zion, and Rank Strangers with the tracks being recorded in both Montreal and Minneapoli s.

Hart explains the genesis of some of the material: "The song 'Narcissus , Narcissus' is my first attempt at combining ancient Greek mythology and American rock-a-bil ly. By merging those influences with an ice cream truck atmosphere I think I have found a style that defines this period of my career. 'You're the Reflection of the Moon on the Water' is one of the most organic rock and roll songs that I have ever written. Its style owes a lot to my devotion for Patti Smith. It was inspired by a comment made by a monk during the selection process to find the next Panchen Lhama, who said of one candidate, 'He is the reflection of the moon on the water but he is not the moon'."

See the cover art, below, as you mark your calendars

This is your brain on Fu. Any questions? Heavy outfit cranks it to 11 on 11^th full length.

By Blurt Staff

Fuzz-stone r psychedeli cists FU MANCHU will release their new album, "Signs of Infinite Power", on October 20 via Century Media Records.

Recorded at Maple Studios in Santa Ana, California by the band and producer Sergio Chavez (MOTÖ RHEAD, HELMET) and mixed by Andrew Alekel (FOO FIGHTERSim age, DANZIG), "Signs of Infinite Power" is the SoCal combo's 11^th full length. See the track listing below.

"We're stoked to unleash 'Signs of Infinite Power' because we feel that it's the best record that we've ever made," states FU MANCHU vocalist/g uitarist Scott Hill. "We're can't believe that we're going into our twentieth year as a band. The excitement and energy levels that we're feeling right now are as high as they've ever been."

Additional ly, in celebratio n of its 20th anniversar y, FU MANCHU has a number of very special events planned for 2010. The band will unveil a host of plans that include rolling out both one-of-a-k ind live events and extra special vinyl releases. Additional ly, the VIRULENCE (pre-FU MANCHU) recordings will be remastered and packaged with the band's "1985-87 demos" and both live songs and video footage from 1987-89 under the title "If This Isn't A Dream...1985-1989" . The package will be made available on both CD and LP and is slated for a winter 2009 release via Southern Lord Records.

FU MANCHU will tour the U.S. this fall, dates tba.

Track Listing:

01. Bionic Astronauti cs
02. http://www .facebook.com/l/;Ste el.Beast.Defeated
03. Against the Ground
04. Webfoot Witch Hat
05. El Busta
06. Signs of Infinite Power
07. Eyes x 10
08. Gargantuan March
09. Take It Away
10. One Step Too Far

[Photo Credit: Jerami Johnson]

Freedom rings out all across the land. Swine flu recipients need not apply...

By Blurt Staff

You know that we here at BLURT are all about Chuck Prophet, from his groundbrea king proto-Amer icana work back in the day with Green On Red all the way through his celebrated solo career. And whether checking in on the songwriter 's efforts to evade the swine flu or getting updated on the progress with his new Yep Roc album ¡Let Freedom Ring!, due out in late October, we keep our lens trained on the man, the artist, the rocker. (Chuck, don't be paranoid. The courts have decreed we have to remain at least 30 feet away at all times.)

Which is all just a long winded introducti on to telling you about his video trailer for the album. Check it out below. As we put it in our upcoming review of the album, "Part narrative, part confession al, #¡Let Freedom Ring!# is the sound of an artist at the top of his game."

Our sources tell us that "FeelingPu lledApartb yHorses" b/w "The Hollow Earth" will also come with a free download for all you iPod-happy Radiohead fans.

By Blurt Staff

This just in from Thom Yorke, posting to the Radiohead site. All dialogue reported verbatim. Meanwhile, don't miss his track on the upcoming Mark Mulcahy tribute album either...

***

Dear Sir or Madam

This is to inform you of the release of two more bits of work shortly. They are loosely under the Thom Yorke name this time, although these days its all getting kind of blurry.

FeelingPul ledApartby Horses is written & played by Jonny and I and is a radical rework of an old tune thats been kicking around without a home since 2001? i think. The Hollow Earth is a bass menace that was born out of the Eraser period but needed a little more time.

Both were produced by Nigel Godrich as ever. And mastered by Bob Ludwig. They are being put out on 12" with sliced sleeve by Stanley and Tchock. My sources tell me this will be available from the 21st of September if you're interested .. On sale in the w.a.s.t.e part of our website (with a gratis download.)

Or you can go buy it in a good record shop if you are lucky enough to have one near you. Then later on there will be like a normal download thing i think around the 6th of Oct through the usual channels.

And so it goes. all the best

Thom

The inside scoop, direct from the horse's (label's) mouth... and hey, where'd the beard go?!?

By Blurt Staff

So you've heard that Devendra Banhart signed to Warner Brothers and that incoming is his label debut, What Will We Be. Here's what we are being told about the record:

 ***

What Will We Be has a sunny, breezy feel with performanc es that evoke warm, lazy afternoons spent with good friends.  The album is dominated by powerfully melodic, mid-tempo numbers played with relaxed expertise. But there's also ambitious stylistic range displayed with the inclusion of evanescent ballads like "Meet Me At Lookout Point," the epic riff-rocke r "Rats" sprightly R&B flavored groovers on "Baby,"  and the sultry Latin-flav ored  stunner "Brindo,"  the Roxy-inspi red "16th & Valencia, Roxy Music" among other pleasant surprises.

The basic recording line-up was Devendra on vocals and guitar; Noah Georgeson (producer of Banhart's last two albums, Little Joy, Bert Jansch and Joanna Newsome) on guitar and backing vocals, Greg Rogove (Priestbir d) on drums and backing vocals; Luckey Remington (The Pleased) on bass and vocals and Rodrigo Amarante (Los Hermanos, Little Joy) on guitar and backing vocals. All the musicians involved played a part in arranging the songs recorded. Devendra and company took up residence in a private home, North of San Francisco, and set up a recording studio in it.

This is the second album Devendra's recorded with the same crew of players and all involved sound thoroughly comfortabl e, familiar and in synch with one another. It's accomplish ed, focused and straightfo rwardly handsome. Where Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon sounded like Devendra and friends brainstorm ing, sharing off-beat ideas and licks, What Will We Be sees them first and foremost addressing the particular needs of each individual compositio n. The vocal arrangemen ts are noticeably more intricate yet crystallin e with lush harmonies running through many of these numbers. The instrument al performanc es are still relaxed but very much on target

Kings Of Pain: Running afoul of der Golem and der Kings of Leon's psycho handlers, with your friendly, neighborho od Ettes. Whose frontwoman , of course, is actually... SATAN!

By Coco Hames

I have never had much luck with authority figures.  Anyone can tell you.  Whether it's my first grade teacher or the man checking my passport at the Swiss border: they just don't like my face.  I'm aware of it going in, and I try to compose myself, but it's very frustratin g, and sometimes I blow my stack.  Once, at an airport in Berlin, the ticket agent didn't like my face.  He looked at our previously -approved gear and said, casually,& nbsp;just because he felt like it, "That will be 300 Euros."  It was really early in the morning and I was hungover, which works to my advantage sometimes, because I'm too tired and nauseous to fight.  But it didn't cost 300 Euros and anyway, I didn't have 300 Euros.  And I informed him of as much.  Well, one thing led to another, which led to me kneeling on the concrete floor, tearing apart all of our luggage, screaming about fascism as police officers closed in on me.

 
The point is, I have a real, visceral problem with people who abuse their authority.  I understand the need for order, I sympathize with the necessity of certain social constructs , I respect the people who help maintain the structure of our seemingly functional matrix, I wave at crossing guards, I do.  What I cannot accept is the wicked impulse that invariably takes hold of a person in a position of authority.  Whether it is a temporary glitch, corrected as soon as the person realizes their folly (like Boromir handing it over in Lord of the Rings) or a cognizant, ongoing, coked out desire to gain and abuse power... either way, it's bad news. 

And I'm not sure which form took hold of the manager of the Kings of Leon while the Ettes were on tour with the band earlier this year in Copenhagen , but it Really.  Was.  Something.

 
Backstage at our first show together, everyone was very nice and spirits were high: the King boys had just won a Grammy, and were soon to attend the Brit Awards, for which they all (correctly ) had great expectatio ns.  Everyone was in a good mood, everyone was nice.  I'd noticed the red plastic football helmet fastened to the drummer's kit and asked, "Who's the Sooner?"&n bsp; They said they all were.  Gulp, right?&nbs p; (I'm a Gator, the Florida Gators beat the Oklahoma Sooners last year in the National Championsh ip, and the band had even attended the game, owitch!)&n bsp; But no, everyone was friendly and we got off to a great start.  The show was sold out and we had a blast, and afterward, the boys invited us out for drinks.

 
This was all very pleasant; it was really fun to be at a posh hotel bar in Denmark chatting about pleasant things like where we go to drink in Nashville, where we all live.  The juxtaposit ion of a 6,000 capacity sold out show and chit-chat about local traffic amuses me to no end, truly.  It's what I love most about what I do, the absurdity, I just love the absurd.  Roald Dahl, Hunter S. Thompson, Dali, politics, names of crayon colors, you name it.

 
Now, either we got too close too fast and their manager didn't like it, or they actually did think we stole that bottle of champagne, but something happened.  Everything was fine, everyone was drinking and talking and having a nice time.  Caleb asked if I wanted any champagne, since the label had sent over four bottles in congratula tions to the four boys for their Grammy.  I demurred, since I actually don't care for champagne, but he left the bottle all the same.

 
Presently, the boys departed, and by the time we were heading out of the bar, a British friend asked about the bottle.  Oh, I said.  That was theirs, from the label.  I waved my hand dismissive ly, as if to say, take it if you want.  Poni went to the restroom, I stepped outside with a couple friends to get them a taxi, and as I was headed back to the bar, I saw Poni in full run with fury on her face.  I looked to where she was going, and there were Jem, our British friend, and a couple of guys I didn't know, in full brawl.  One of the strangers threw my British friend up against the wall.  Not okay.

 
I remember yelling, "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" as I ran into the melee, prising bodies apart alongside Poni.  The strangers were yelling, howling, at Jem, "You know what you did!  Now you're going to get a kicking!"& nbsp; Jem looked bewildered , and Poni and I were foaming mad; as Poe says, no one insults me [or my band] with impunity.  I can imagine, it must be really annoying to have two tiny girls fly up into your face, spitting and cursing, and this is in public, mind you, so I'm sure we weren't afraid of much.  These guys looked at us imperious, slackjawed , like they could not believe we had the audacity to yell what we were yelling (which was remarkably colorful, to say the very least).  One of them sneered derisively , "First night of tour, good job."  Poni tossed them a final comment (she can be so inspired sometimes) and we gathered our friends and left the bar.

 
Once outside, we got the lowdown:&n bsp; Our British friend had taken the forsaken bottle of champagne and was walking out with it, when two guys blew raging into his face.  Our friend said, oh, I didn't think it was a big deal, and put the bottle down.  But these men said, no, he'd already taken it, the damage was already done.  Our friend, being British (and did I mention, a rocker?) said with charm, "Okay, fuck off then."  And I believe that began the rustle Poni and I fell upon a few minutes later.

 
"Who the hell were they, though?&nb sp; What did they care?" I asked, totally hassled.  We were standing outside the hotel, smoking and waiting for a taxi.  Jem said, "They said they were the Kings of Leon's management ."  I widened my eyes and laughed, "Yeah, right!&nbs p; What a bunch of psychos, no manager would behave like that, you'd get arrested with shit like that in the States, what a bunch of lying weirdos, God!"  ; This incredulou s laughter and bashing of the pugalistic lunatics we'd left upstairs continued until our taxi arrived and took us to our hotel.

 
The next day in the van, we had chalked it up as just another night and forgotten about it, when we got a phone call from our booking agent.  He asked to speak to me.  I said, oh hello!&nbs p; He said, "What is this about a bottle of champagne? "  My jaw dropped.  I started laughing, and asked "Why?"&nbs p; Our booker then proceeded to read me an e-mail the Kings of Leon's manager and tour manager had written to him, evidently just after the incident, which had occurred around 4am.  The post-incid ent ranting (chock full of insults and interestin g theories) against the dubious character of these strange men?  Oh, that took place convenient ly right under their hotel room window.  Sound travels so clearly in the cold Copenhagen night air... Certainly I won't make any criminal accusation s, but gosh, I wish I was able to stay up all night after an internatio nal flight and a very busy concert, you know, starting fistfights , spying on people and furiously typing scathing (and untrue) tattletale s, you know, without having employed any egomaniaca lly rage-induc ing powdery chemical enhancemen t...

(pictured above: Kings of Leon w/tour crew and management , circa 2009)

 
So.  We were in big trouble.  It is indeed a marvel that we weren't kicked off the tour right then and there, I suppose.  It seems someone stood up for us, though I still don't know the magnanimou s who.  But as the wheel turns, neither were these men to be insulted with impunity, and it was time to take our medicine. 

 
They took away our rider.  They took away our guest list.  They took away our sound check.  No one was allowed to speak to us, and no one did.  Gone was the cajoling, open and energetic atmosphere of the first night, replaced by drone-sole mn performanc e of duties and many tightly closed doors.  It was of course a bit embarrassi ng, and a bit of a hassle, but what could we do?  We stood by what we did, and we'd do it again.  All Poni and I saw were guys going after our friend and bass player.  Any such action would spur us to the same equal and opposite reaction, anytime, anywhere, no matter who you think you are, or who you work for.

 
If they didn't know then, they know now, that we are a punk band; as used to smuggling booze as a bootlegger ; as accustomed to solitude as monks; as comfortabl e as, well, a punk band, to not having sound check.  Infuriatin gly to the management , of course, their punishment s made no impact.  And it was of course only our pleasure to display it.  We played by all the rules, kicked ass at every show, and got the crowds crazy amped.  The management avoided us like the plague, and we saw neither hide nor hair of them for most of the tour.  Our punishment was finally lifted in Paris, where it was clearly in the air what had happened, but everyone was kind of over it.  We played ping pong with the boys (don't let Jem's long pants fool you, bit of trivia: he went to the Junior Olympics for table tennis) and talked about Michael Pollan, dismemberm ent,  the Beatles.  We walked into the tour manager's office and he so generously welcomed us: "Hello, sober people!" and we hugged and laughed.  Oh you silly, we are never sober...

 &nbs p;
Thus far, nothing has been mentioned of this incident, and I've wondered whether I should put it out there.  Should it just go undocument ed?  Should I just keep quiet and resume lurking in the shadows, pretending it didn't happen?&nb sp; Should I keep my head down, yes sir, no sir, what do I do, sir, where do I go sir, what do I say?  It would be par for the course with my polite southern upbringing , not wanting to cause a fuss.  It is expected that I would keep quiet. 

Because, you know, the greatest trick I ever pulled was convincing the world I didn't exist.

***

Blurt "co-co-edi tor" Coco Hames fronts The Ettes - Hames on guitar, Jem Cohen on bass and Poni Silver on drums - whose album Look At Life Again Soon and EP, Danger Is, were released by Take Root. Their new Greg Cartwright -produced album Do You Want Power hits stores Sept. 29, and you bet we're gonna have a big feature on the band in our next issue. Check out the band's MySpace page for music and tour dates.

Well, somebody's a goddam golem, that's what we think. From those about to blurt, we salute you.

By Blurt Staff

Pssst... hey kids, ever wonder what it might be like touring with a Grammy-win ning bunch of superstars ? Being the opening act isn't all wine, roses, champagne and blow, however, despite the fact that you get to warm up huge crowds and pretend they are actually cheering for YOU. Sometimes... things go wrong. Sometimes... misunderst andings go down. Sometimes... the band's management tells everyone on the tour to act like dicks towards you.

That's what happened when the Ettes opened for the Kings of Leon earlier this year in Europe. Although the band was generally friendly at the outset, well.... you can read all about what happened at Ettes singer/gui tarist Coco Hames' latest installmen t of her BLURT blog, "Look At Life." Here's a sample:

"They took away our rider.  They took away our guest list.  They took away our sound check.  No one was allowed to speak to us, and no one did.  Gone was the cajoling, open and energetic atmosphere of the first night, replaced by drone-sole mn performanc e of duties and many tightly closed doors.  It was of course a bit embarrassi ng, and a bit of a hassle, but what could we do?"

Ah, Coco, you can do what any self-respe cting punk rocker would do: batten down the hatches and take care of fucking taking care of stuff and continue being a profession al rock and roller. From those of us about to BLURT, we salute you!

Read the entire blog entry here. 

Our first pick in a new series: New Zealand band's latest album is what's twirling our tassels as we head into the weekend...

By Fred Mills

What's that smoky-jang ly-sexy-co ol sound? Why, it's New Zealand's Clean, doing "In The Dreamlife You Need A Rubber Soul" from their new album Mister Pop. It's due next week from Merge recs, but you can take a listen to the tune to whet your appetite while you're reading our 9-out-of-1 0 star review of the album.

As BLURT's resident Clean fanatic Jennifer Kelly puts it, "This is easily one of the year's best albums, both a dream-fuzz ed journey through non-linear states of consciousn ess and a well-craft ed pop album. Play it a few times first losing yourself in its cloudy textures, then to finding guide ropes of melody that will lead you through to the end."

Everybody could use a little extra rubber soul these days... The Clean is BLURT's inaugural pick for Band O' The Week. Check back each Friday for that week's selection.

Listen up: "In The Dreamlife You Need A Rubber Soul"

Also kicking off a tour with Mirah at the end of this month.

By Blurt Staff

Norfolk & Western has just finished their new album, Dinero Severo (rec orded both in Portland's Type Foundry studio, owned by Norfolk's Adam Selzer, and in Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain) and the band is now streaming the record in its entirety for a limited time on their website. The official release date is tba.

Check it out: www.norfolkand western.org

The past year has been an extremely busy one, as Norfolk members have been and are continuing to play and tour with M. Ward (Adam Selzer), Jolie Holland (Rachel Blumberg, Dave Depper), Mirah (Rachel Blumberg) and Loch Lomond (Dave Depper).

But now that everyone's back from their respective tours, Norfolk & Western will reconvene and hit the road this fall supporting Mirah.

Track Listing:

1. Hiding Home

2. Opinion

3. Turkish Wine

4. Every Morning

5. The Long Goodbye

6. Future Mother

7. Whippoorwi ll Song

8. Not For Good

9. So That's How It Is

10. Angel Feet

11. This is a Number 5

Tour Dates:

09-30: Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium

10-01: Minneapoli s, MN @ Cedar Cultural Centre

10-02: Madison, WI @ Orpheum Theater - Stage Door

10-03: Chicago, IL @ Schubas (two shows)

10-04: Detroit, MI @ The Guardian Building

10-06: Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club

10-07: Montreal, QC @ Il Motore

10-08: Burlington , VT @ Higher Ground Lounge

10-09: Somerville , MA @ Somerville Theater

10-10: New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom

10-11: Philadelph ia, PA @ World Café ; Live Upstairs

10-12: Charlottes ville, VA @ The Southern

10-14: Decatur, GA @ Eddie's Attic

10-15: Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge

10-16: St. Louis, MO @ Biliken Club

10-17: Lawrence, KS @ Jackpot Saloon

10-19: Denver, CO @ Walnut Room

10-21: Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue

10-22: Garden City, ID @ Visual Arts Collective

10-24: Portland, OR @ The Woods

Keyboardis t had played with the band for two decades.

By Fred Mills

Reports coming in from the UK media that Jack Brockman, who'd been touring as Echo & the Bunnymen's keyboardis t since 1989 (and had been recording with them for several years prior to then) was killed Tuesday in a motorcycle accident on the Isle of Man. He was 53.

According to the NME.com, the bike he was on collided with a converted ambulance. Seriously injured, he was taken to a hospital where he died in intensive care.

On the Bunnymen.com website Brockman's photo was posted along with the words, "Our thoughts are with his wife, family & friends. Love, Ian, Will, Les, Peasy, Pete, Peter & all his fans." A new Bunnymen album, Fountains, will be released next month.

The site's websmaster , Peter Allen, was quoted in the Isle Of Man Today (iomtoday.co.im) as saying, "Jake was one of the most gentle, funny and genuine men you could ask to ever meet. "He played on most of the band's biggest hits and toured with the band from the early '80s. He will be hugely missed not just by the band, but by thousands of fans who met him over the years."

Brockman also performed with Damon Reece in Bom.

First installmen t to be the legendary, oft-bootle gged El Mocambo show from '78.

By Blurt Staff  ;

The first edition in the The Costello Show live performanc e series of complete concerts featuring Elvis Costello finds one of the most eclectic and acclaimed artists at the fiery start of his career.  Live At The El Mocambo (Hip-O/UM^e), to be released September 29 marks Volume 1 of his Elvis Costello -The Costello Show series of albums.  During the next year or so, the The Costello Show series will continue with the album releases of significan t classic Costello concerts including a performanc e at Hollywood High in California and other shows to be announced.

Recorded March 6, 1978, at the sold-out El Mocambo in Toronto, Canada, and broadcast live by CHUM-FM, this Elvis Costello and The Attraction s concert was released the same year on about 300-500 pressings of a Canadian promotiona l album that became highly collectibl e-and heavily bootlegged .  In fact, it may have been the most bootlegged of all Costello albums.  The album was officially released in 1993 as a bonus disc in the four-CD box set 2 1/2 Years, and was also made available to those who bought the other three CDs separately .

At the time of the concert, the band was touring North America in support of My Aim Is True, Costello's 1977 debut disc, and just days before the release of This Year's Model, the first album with The Attraction s: keyboardis t Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas.  The raw, energetic live performanc e in the midst of the late ‘70s punk/new wave movement captured a band and an artist at their most impassione d.  The concert included My Aim Is True's "Watching The Detectives ," "Less Than Zero" (with new lyrics Costello penned for American listeners) , "Mystery Dance," "Waiting For The End Of The World," "Welcome To The Working Week" and "Miracle Man," and This Year's Model's anthemic "Pump It Up," "The Beat," "Lip Service," "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea" (only on the original U.K. album), "Little Triggers," "Radio Radio" (only on the U.S. edition), "Lipstick Vogue" and "You Belong To Me."

Michael Rother in the process of transferri ng tapes, combing through unreleased material, even mulling over making the back catalog available for download.

By Fred Mills

Word arrives today that a box set of Krautrock pioneers NEU! is being prepped for release by guitarist Michael Rother. Rother of course co-founded the band in 1971 with drummer Klaus Dinger following the pair's departure from an early incarnatio n of Kraftwerk; with producer Conny Plank overseeing the recordings . NEU! issued a trio of albums (plus several posthumous releases) now considered seminal artifacts of the ‘70s German rock scene, subsequent ly influencin g several generation s' worth of fans, among them David Bowie, Johnny Rotten, Stereolab and Radiohead. (Wikipedia page on the band is here.)

The NEU! tale is a long and tangled one, of course, and with Dinger's passing in March of 2008 that tale effectivel y came to a close. However, in a recent interview with BLURT's Wilson Neate, Rother disclosed the news about the forthcomin g box set.

"I'm working on a NEU! vinyl box set, which will include an LP-sized booklet with text about NEU! and some as-yet unpublishe d photos," explains Rother. "I'm still in the middle of the project. So far, the idea is to release NEU!, NEU! 2, NEU! '75 and a re-worked version of NEU! 4 (which I think will be called NEU! '86 like we'd originally intended) including some material from 1985-86 that is as-yet unknown to the public. Plus -- possibly -- excerpts of Live '72 (the recording of a rehearsal) .

"When I've finished editing NEU! '86, I'll check those live recordings and edit the highlights . I'm in the process of reliving that project with Klaus. When we separated, we weren't finished with the project and Klaus decided to do that behind my back because I think he was just paranoid and needed the money, etc. -- well, he'll explain later when we meet again. But now I'm reliving that project and I will do my best also to present what we did in the '80s in what I think now is the best way."

Rother adds that the box is slated for the Grönl and label (which is also reissuing the Harmonia-B rian Eno collaborat ion Tracks & Traces next month; Harmonia was a team-up between Rother and the members of Cluster), and that they "hope to release it later this year, but it could well end up being next year. It would be best to have the box set ready before Christmas for all the fans. We'll see. It depends on how quickly I can find my way around the material."

Among other NEU!-relat ed tidbits Rother outlined:

* "Sometime after the vinyl box set, if everything goes OK, we also plan to release a new CD version of NEU! 4/NEU! '86 and to make available all of NEU!'s recordings for download."

* "I was in the studio today editing one track and I've been transferri ng music from all the analog tapes to the computer. I also stumbled across some old NEU! music that I'd forgotten because Klaus and I split the tapes and he didn't have all the material in Düsse ldorf when he released that version of NEU! 4. This is all quite interestin g and another piece of work for the archivist."

We'll be posting the entire, massive (nearly 10,000 words) Neate-Roth er interview at BLURT very soon, so keep your eyes peeled. (For more Rother-rel ated news, go to his official site.)

But who needs ‘em now that we got Beatles Rock Band?

By Blurt Staff

Interestin g little bit of Beatles trivia surfaced on the web this morning via the popular "Lefsetz Letter." Blogger and music industry watchdog Bob Lefsetz, in discussing this week's release of Beatles Rock Band, made the following observatio n:

"The Beatles never did reunite.  Their flame burned for less than a decade.  They realized they'd done it, there was nowhere left to go, and the band splintered , its members going in different directions .  You'd like to believe, unlike the Police, unlike every classic act with more members alive than dead, they wouldn't have reunited, solely for the bucks.  We'll never know."

Responding to Lefsetz' comments, superstar manager Bill Silva shared a personal anecdote outlining the time he approached Paul, George and Ringo about getting back together for a one-off concert - with a $100 mil guaranteed payoff!

Wrote Silva:

"When we were partners with Universal we offered them a guarantee of $100,000,0 00.00 for one show at Dodger Stadium on January 1, 2000. We estimated with worldwide tav, pay-per-vi ew, licensing, sponsorshi ps that the "one show only" would be like a Super Bowl for music, and would have potentiall y generated over $500,000,0 00 to them. For one show. We got radio silence from their various reps--all who acknowledg ed it was a legitimate offer. Finally, months after we'd sent the first proposal, Neil Aspinall agreed to meet with me. He spoke of the various Beatles projects and timelines for the next decade, and saw me out saying, ‘So you see, we can never afford to tarnish the legacy and the memory of the Beatles with a live performanc e that may not match what fans hope it to be.' I'd say they didn't&nbs p; put the money first from my one little glimpse..."

Amen.

Iggy reunites with his Raw Power-era guitarist James Williamson for next incarnatio n of the Stooges.

By Fred Mills

Reports have been streaming in today (such as this one at RollingSto ne.com and this one at Pitchfork) about the imminent reunion of Iggy Pop and James Williamson for the post-Ron Asheton incarnatio n of the Stooges. Some time after Asheton's untimely death this year (read our tribute to Asheton, "Making the Marshall Stack Swear," here), Iggy apparently rang up his old Raw Power-era guitarist and asked him if he wanted to perform again.

Williamson told RS, "I was about to take an early retirement from my job in Silicon Valley, so I figured ‘Wha t the hell, let's do it.' " He subsequent ly has been rehearsing in Los Angeles with Stooges bassist Mike Watt, drummer Scott Asheton and saxman Steve Mackay. This will mark the first time Williamson has played since the breakup of the Stooges in 1974.

Of the rehearsals , Williamson noted, "I wrote a lot of those songs and it's my style of guitar playing," he says. "It kind of naturally came back to me. We're rehearsing songs from Raw Power, The Stooges, Fun House and Kill City."

While the RS article indicated that the first reconstitu ted Stooges gig will be at All Tomorrow's Parties in London on May 2 and 3 of next year, Pitchfork clarified that, saying that the band will actually be part of ATP's Don't Look Back series (bands recreating classic albums in concert).

[Photo Credit: Robert Matheu]

Helping to kick off the reissues due tomorrow, one track at a time.

By Fred Mills

A coupla months ago we brought you word of the first two, classic, Feelies albums, 1980's Crazy Rhythms and 1986's The Good Earth, getting the expanded remaster treatment by the Bar/None label.

They're due in stores tomorrow, Sept. 8, on both CD and vinyl - although, caveat emptor, the slew of bonus tracks attached to each album will NOT be part of the physical package. Instead, the label circulated this somewhat cryptic note on the project (so you can make what you will, a case of "artistic integrity" weighing in or, um, simply a cost-savin g strategy):

"As the band considers each album to be a discrete aesthetic artifact, the copious bonus material including demos, b-sides, EP tracks and some new live recordings from the re-united group will be included on digital download cards."

Uh-huh. At any rate, we'll have a full review in the upcoming issue of BLURT, due on newsstands at the end of the month. "A wonderfull y tightly-wo und, tense sound," say we of the first album; "mellower and beautifull y breezy but still plenty tuneful," of the latter.

Nobody's Daughter leaks yet again - but what form does it take now?

By Blurt Staff

So we get tips... links... MP3s... all kinds of swag. The latest is that Courtney Love's previously leaked, long delayed, reportedly troubled new album Nobody's Daughter has been posted to the web abain, this time at the Music Of Your Life blog.

Recall that Courtney herself had indicated she would be posting the entire thing on line via her MySpace page on Jan. 1 but then the news arrived that it had been pushed back "due to technical difficulti es."

That hasn't stopped fans from circulatin g the tunes, apparently , and last week the aforementi oned blog posted the entire thing for download here via a link to a Rapidshare file. (Better run a virus scan, yo.) Is it the real deal, the finished thing? Who knows! Congrats to superfan Asmara Yudha Wijayadi anyway. The RIAA is lookin' for ya...

Album sleeve art is on the site, along with this tracklisti ng:

01 In Chains
02 Hole To Feed
03 Wrong
04 Fragile Tension
05 Little Soul
06 In Sympathy
07 Peace
08 Come Back
09 Spacewalke r
10 Perfect
11 Miles Away / The Truth Is
12 Jezebel
13 Corrupt

Why is this man laughing?

By Fred Mills

On this day, September 8, in 1974, President Gerald Ford granted an unconditio nal pardon to Richard Nixon - this despite the fact that the former President, though disgraced in the aftermath of his resignatio n stemming from the Watergate scandal, had never been formally charged or convicted of any crimes.

It was an unpreceden ted moment in U.S. history; in effect, no matter what subsequent revelation s regarding the Watergate break-in and the ensuing coverup might be revealed, Nixon couldn't be charged. It was also a shameful moment in our history too. Because while Watergate, the Nixon pardon, etc. certainly ushered in an era where the American citizenry would keep a more watchful eye upon our lawmakers and elected officials, by some estimation s the series of incidents also help give credence to the sort of groupthink that led to the rise of George W. Bush's imperial presidency .

As the saying goes - "never forget."

This has been a public service (with Hofner bass-shape d guitars).

(Why are these men laughing? Because they know that in a few years the Constituti on will be a worthless piece of paper with which they can wipe their asses!)

Or, How Numerology Saved My Reputation as a Critic: "Too many superlativ es, not enough truth."

By Bill Holmes

[Ed. note: Awhile back, official Blurt meta-criti c Bill Holmes asked us why we assigned starred ratings (between 1 and 10; no fractions or half stars) to the CDs we review. While our kneejerk response ran along lines of, "Somebody eventually had to assign a one-star rating to John Mayer's last album...", in truth, we don't know! Everyone else does it, though, and Blurt is nothing if not all about following the crowd and never marching to a different drummer. At any rate, Holmes spent the past month pouring over our reviews (at last count, we'd published 1,449 since June of 2008), running percentage s, creating spread sheets, parsing mixed metaphors and simplistic similes, and generally laughing himself silly, in order to come up with a coherent guide to our ratings. You, dear readers, can now know what we REALLY think when you spot a review on the site or in the magazine without every bothering to read the actual review! Take it away, Brother Holmes...]

10 - An essential classic that will transcend its era. Think BLONDE ON BLONDE or STICKY FINGERS. You'd get in a bar fight to defend your rating years later. (Would you really do that to defend that 10 you gave No Doubt?). You consider getting a tattoo of the album title on your bicep.

09 - Possibly the apex of an artist's career (assuming the artist is great - Kenny G's best album could be a 3) and a no-brainer purchase for fanatics of the genre. Lands on your Best of the Year list without hesitation .

08 - Among the best of the artist/gen re; you'd definitely refer to this album when trying to convince someone to give the artist a shot.

07 - Not perfect, but the good outweighs the bad. You wish it were better but there are enough enjoyable elements to spend your money and feel rewarded.

06 - Enjoyable for fans of the genre, but average for others. Not going to convert the skeptical but a fan will be glad you made them aware of it.

05 - Average, some good but not most. You keep it but probably only play it when you come across it in the stack. You won't look for it on purpose that often.

04 - Momentary pleasures, won't last - not bad but not memorable. Gathers dust.

03 - Bland, dull, nondescrip t. You'd sell it if you could only find a sucker.

02 - Real problems, poor effort, lazy release. You are pissed that you spent the money and/or wasted your time and you make a point to tell everyone it sucks.

01 - Horrible. Embarrassi ng. Vapid. Hire a lawyer and sue the artist for damages.

[I hate assigning numerical value to art, but rules are rules; after having to do so for several publicatio ns I think this is a good overall barometer even though I still screw it up on occasion. - BH]

Issue covers EP - Santana, Beatles, Doors, more -  and also do acoustic tour with Alejandro Escovedo this fall.

By Blurt Staff

Los Lonely Boys (Henry, Ringo, and Jojo Garza) announce the upcoming release of 1969  (Lonely Tone/Playi ng in Traffic), an EP of covers, including Santana's "Evil Ways," The Beatles' "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window,"&n bsp;Tony Joe White's "Polk Salad Annie,"&nb sp;and&nbs p;The Doors' "Roadhouse Blues." It's due on October 13.

Legendary engineer&n bsp;Andy Johns  ;provides his signature sound to 1969. In addition to recording& nbsp;Blind Faith's "Well All Right"&nbs p;- also a featured track on the EP - Johns is well known for his work on Le d Zeppelin&n bsp;II, III, IV and& nbsp;The Rolling Stones'&nb sp;Exile on Main St.

"Peace, love and gracias to Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, Tony Joe White, The Doors - some of the many musicians and songwriter s that made 1969 a pathway for us to follow," offers Henry Garza on the upcoming project.

1969 also marks the first one via their new label home, the Austin-bas ed Pl aying In Traffic Records and their own imprint Lonely Tone Records.

 This fall they're also setting out on their first-ever , acoustic tour fitly named "The Acoustic Brotherhoo d Tour" with supporters  Alej andro Escovedo&n bsp;and&nb sp;Haciend a.

"This tour allows us to play the way we play in our backyards and really show the tradition of our Texican roots," Ringo says about the Brotherhoo d tour.

September/ October Dates

September 2 -10 Iraq, Kuwait Tour for the Troops

September 11 Grand Junction, CO Rock Jam

September 12 Durango, CO Ft. Lewis College

September 15 Arcata, CA Van Duzer Theater

September 15 Redding, CA Cascade Theater

September 17 Lemoore, CA Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino

September 18 Murphys, CA Ironstone, Theater

September 19 Brooks, CA Cache Creek Casino

Sepetember 26  Lewisville , TX Western Day

October 3  Gretna, CA Gretna Festival&n bsp;

"The Acoustic Brotherhoo d Tour" dates

October 5-6  &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;     &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;Alexandr ia VA               Birchmere

October 7 &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;    Philadelph ia, PA           Keswick Theater

October 9 &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp;  ;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;    Long Branch, NJ &n bsp;          Poll ack Theater

October 10 &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  Wayne, NJ                      Perf orming Arts Center

October 11 &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  New York, NY                High line Ballroom

October 14 &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  Manchester , NH            Pala ce Theater

October 15 &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  Caribou, ME                   Performing Arts Center

October 16 &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  Portland, ME                 Merrill Auditorium

October 17 &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  New Bedford, MA         Zeiterion Theater

October 19 &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  Princeton, NJ                 McCarter Theater

October 20 &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  Easton, MD                    Aval on Theater

October 22 &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  Bloomingto n, IN           Buskirk Chumley

October 23 &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  Chicago, IL                      Old Town School

October 24 &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  Milwaukee, WI              Nort hern Lights Theater

October 25 &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  Mankato, MN                 Alltel Center

Also touring this fall with An Albatross.

By Blurt Staff

Athens Georgia's multifario us psychedeli c roadwarrio rs DARK MEAT have geared up for another get-go of pillage-an d-freakout in the name of their newest offering, TRUCE OPIUM, due Oct. 20 from Emergency Umbrella. A long period of lineup changes, label complicati ons and heavy touring across North America and Europe has focused the band into a diamond-ha rd and transforma tive experience : they've trimmed their lineup to a highly-eff ective and barely-ane mic 9-piece, and, in the process, have organicall y developed an intense and diverse instrument al chemistry. Truly, TRUCE OPIUM retains all the insane eccentrici ty, rawness and sonic bombast of their infamous live show, and evinces a sharpened essence and unified vision burnished by the last three years spent spraying themselves across the cosmos in their cramped tour-van.

Check out an MP3 sampling: "The Faint Smell of Moss"

In terms of heightened vision and sonic-exec ution, TRUCE OPIUM is a huge step forward for the band -- as it augments their celebrated Albert Ayler, Stooges and Neil Young obsessions with more a abstract, cosmic tack: pronounced Eastern influences abide via the use of acoustic drone instrument s like tanpura, bulbul tarang and sitar, prayer-lik e group chants and the study and reverent applicatio n of polyharmon ic Sygyt and Kargira Tuvan throat-sin ging. Last year, bandmember s workshoppe d, rehearsed and performed at The University of Georgia with a carnatic classical troupe from South India. This amazing and humbling opportunit y, along with their involvemen t in several local improv, free-jazz and noise ensembles have broadened the band's sonic and structural scope.

Deep Krautrock and Japanoise bearings also surface; their perpetual tour-van immersion in the sounds of NEU!, Amon Duul II, Les Rallizes Denudes, LSD and Boredoms push their willfully improvisat ional passages into weirder, wilder territory. And the vaunted Free Jazz and New Orleans Marching Band influences persist through The Vomit Lasers, Dark Meat's longstandi ng horn-secti on. However, where the band once enthusiast ically essayed pieces by The Ayler Brothers, Pharaoh Sanders and Sonny Sharrock, the ensemble has now organicall y assimilate d the music's feral energies and rarified colors into its aesthetics of arrangemen t, dynamic and performanc e. Make no mistake, though, TRUCE OPIUM, at its twisted heart, is a redblooded psych-rock record, as a lived-in and durable love of Velvet Undergroun d, Yardbirds, MC5, Fairport Convention and Crazy Horse continuall y and joyously warps main songwriter Jim McHugh's approach to compositio n and execution. And the passage of material into the raw hands of his seasoned collaborat ors dually insures that the resultant High Magic will be spirited, raw and unlike anything else you've every heard.

* Dark Meat share members with Of Montreal, Olivia Tremor Control, Circulator y System, Elf Power, Gnarls Barkley, Instrument s, Lil Wayne's Touring Band (for real!) and Nymph.

Tour Dates:

Th  &nbs p; Oc t  &nbs p; 22  &nbs p; Ch arlottesvi lle  &nbs p; VA  &nbs p; Te a Bazaar  &nbs p; 
Sa  &nbs p; Oc t  &nbs p; 24  &nbs p; Br ooklyn  &nbs p; NY  &nbs p; Un ion Pool w/ An Albatross
Sa  &nbs p; Oc t  &nbs p; 24  &nbs p; Br ooklyn  &nbs p; NY  &nbs p; Gl asslands  &nbs p; 
Su  &nbs p; Oc t  &nbs p; 25  &nbs p; Ne w York City  &nbs p; NY  &nbs p; Ca ke Shop w/ An Albatross
Mo  &nbs p; Oc t  &nbs p; 26  &nbs p; Ph iladelphia  &nbs p; PA  &nbs p; Da nger Danger w/ An Albatross  &nbs p; 
Tu  &nbs p; Oc t  &nbs p; 27  &nbs p; Wa shington  &nbs p; DC  &nbs p; Bl ack Cat Backstage w/ An Albatross
We  &nbs p; Oc t  &nbs p; 28  &nbs p; Ba ltimore  &nbs p; MD  &nbs p; Ta lking Head  &nbs p; w/ An Albatross
Th  &nbs p; Oc t  &nbs p; 29  &nbs p; Ch arlotte  &nbs p; NC  &nbs p; Sn ug Harbor w/ An Albatross
Fr  &nbs p; Oc t  &nbs p; 30  &nbs p; At hens  &nbs p; GA  &nbs p; 40 Watt  &nbs p; w/ An Albatross
Sa  &nbs p; Oc t  &nbs p; 31  &nbs p; At lanta  &nbs p; GA  &nbs p; St ar Bar  &nbs p; w/ An Albatross
Sun  &nbs p; No v  &nbs p; 1  &nbs p; Yb or City  &nbs p; FL  &nbs p; Cr obar  &nbs p; 
Mo  &nbs p; No v  &nbs p; 2  &nbs p; Or lando FL  &nbs p; Wi ll's Pub  &nbs p; w/ An Albatross
Fr  &nbs p; No v  &nbs p; 6  &nbs p; Ho uston  &nbs p; TX  &nbs p; Fr ee Press Block Party w/ An Albatross
Sa  &nbs p; No v  &nbs p; 7  &nbs p; Mo nterey  &nbs p; MX  &nbs p; Mo nterey Festival  &nbs p; 
Su  &nbs p; No v  &nbs p; 8  &nbs p; Au stin  &nbs p; TX  &nbs p; Fu n Fun Fun Fest

Acclaimed trumpeter killed in wreck late Monday.

By Blurt Staff

Sad news for music fans today - reports have come in that Fred Mills was killed Monday evening in a traffic accident between Athens and Atlanta. He was 74 (although some accounts list his age as 70).

The trumpeter for the Canadian Brass (Grammy nominated in 1992) had been teaching at the University of Georgia since 1996 and coached the graduate brass quintet The Bulldog Brass Society.

A posting at the Canadian Brass website read "He inspired thousands upon thousands of young musicians around the world to explore their own musical talents, tastes, interests and love of performanc e. Freddy's influence in the musical world is incalculab le - his love of life, whacky sense of humour, deep knowledge of music, amazing memory for events, wide range of friends, will be truly missed by everyone with whom he came in contact. He was a Canadian national treasure."

Esteemed Black Dog publishing house digs deep into the German archives.

By Fred Mills

First there was Julian Cope's delightful ly eccentric and impassione d Krautrocks ampler. Then came the Freeman Brothers' The Crack in the Cosmic Egg, rightly (if wordily) billed as a near-defin itive "Encyclope dia of Krautrock, Kosmiche Musik & Other Progressiv e, Experiment al & Electronic Musics from Germany." Close it its heels was Dag Erik Asbjornsen 's Cosmic Dreams At Play, subtitled "A guide to German progressiv e and electronic rock" (somewhat less scholarly than the Freemans' tome, but in many ways more descriptiv e).

To date, fans and collectors of Krautrock - that indigenous and influentia l, if sprawling and genre-span ning, strain of Germanic music that included legends like Faust, Kraftwerk, Neu!, Tangerine Dream and Amon Duul alongside hundreds of lesser knowns (though no less worthy) - have been relatively well-serve d in terms of documentat ion for their passion. Yours truly counts himself among those fans. But as we all know, the more the merrier; an addition to the bookshelf is always welcome. Plus, the books listed above are out of print (the Freemans' was subsequent ly published on CD-ROM, however), so newcomers might not be able to access the material quite so readily.

So mark your calendars, all you kosmiche travelers, for Nov. 3: that's when Krautrock: Cosmic Rock and Its Legacy, edited by Nikos Kotsopoulo s, arrives courtesy Black Dog Publishing (Oct. 20 in the UK).

According to the official product descriptio n:

"Krautrock charts the history of this influentia l music genre, from its roots in free jazz, psychedeli a and the music of Karlheinz Stockhause n, to the groundbrea king experiment s of Faust, Kraftwerk and Can.

"The late 1960s in West Germany was a period of profound breakthrou ghs, upheavals and reversals. Communes were spreading, protests organised throughout the entire country, the desire to begin everything anew permeating the young. Out of this climate, a music scene exploded that would forever change the face of Western rock; at times anarchic, at others mystical, and utopian, it pushed rock beyond any known limits.

"From the relentless drum beating of Amon Duul I, to the eastern tinged mysticism of Popol Vuh and the sonic assaults of Conrad Schnitzler , Krautrock: Cosmic Rock and Its Legacy traces the history of this complex and eschewing definition phenomenon .

"Illustrat ed with concert photos, posters, record cover art and other rare and previously unseen visual material, this book is the ultimate tour-de-fo rce of a movement whose influence and impact is still being felt today. With essays by Michel Faber, David Keenan, Erik Davis, Ken Hollings, a foreword by Steven Stapleton of Nurse with Wound, and testimonia ls from Gavin Russom (Delia and Gavin), and Ann Shenton (Add N to (x)) this is an essential compendium to a music whose spirit and ideas still vibrate through contempora ry music today."

Well, all right then! Find out more about the book, including ordering details, at the Black Dog site.

Black Dog, of course, has previously published numerous highly-reg arded music books, among them histories of the Immediate and Ace record labels and an homage to independen t record stores titled Old Rare New (which we discussed in-depth elsewhere on this very site). Expect quality stuff.

(Did we mention we have a 10,000 word interview with Neu!/Harmo nia guitarist Michael Rother slated to run on the Blurt site soon? Teaser HERE.)

Rare performanc e set for the Hollywood Bowl on Oct. 25: "Once Upon a Time In Hollywood"

By Blurt Staff

Legendary Italian composer Ennio Morricone will conduct the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in an evening of music drawn from his most famous film scores -- including The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly; The Untouchabl es; Cinema Paradiso; Once upon a Time in America; The Mission; Once upon a Time in the West; A Fistful of Dollars; Sacco and Vanzetti;  The Battle of Algiers; A Fistful of Dynamite; and U Turn -- &nbs p;at Hollywood Bowl on October 25. The evening, which also includes participat ion by the Angeles Chorale, is billed as "O nce Upon a Time in Hollywood, " and will be Morricone' s only U.S. concert appearance of the year.  

Tickets for "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" go on sale at Tickebasta rd on Sunday, September 20 at 10am. Ticket prices range from $15 to $295 plus applicable surcharges .

Do we even need to tell you about Il Maestro? Refresh yourself at his Wikipedia page if you must...

The legendary Catholic Boy was among the Manhattan hipster and punk elite.

By Fred Mills

Punk poet Jim Carroll has joined the list of people who died. The 60-year old New York City resident died Friday of a heart attack. Though he'd kept a low profile in recent years - his most recent book of verse was 1998's Void of Course: Poems 1994-1997 - he lived a full and vital life that dipped into multiple milieus, from the Beats and the punks to writing lyrics for classic rock acts and recording spoken word albums.

He came to internatio nal prominence , of course, with 1978's autobiogra phical The Basketball Diaries (subsequen tly adapted for the screen featuring a young Leonardo DiCaprio portraying Carroll), although prior to that he'd already found favor among Manhattan' s hipster elite, among them Andy Warhol, Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethor pe.

Smith, interviewe d by the New York Times yesterday, said, "I met him in 1970, and already he was pretty much universall y recognized as the best poet of his generation . The work was sophistica ted and elegant. He had beauty."

Later, Carroll formed the Jim Carroll Band and had a hit with 1980's Catholic Boy, which contained the radio anthem "People Who Died." The group recorded two more albums, Dry Dreams and I Write Your Name before disbanding in the mid eighties. Carroll also recorded the solo album Pools of Mercury in 1998.

For an extensive online Carroll resource, check out CatholicBo y.com.

BLURT's Rev. Keith Gordon has a remembranc e of the man, along with video clips, HERE.

Journalist s still file their Beatles stories despite the two disc overview of the remasters mysterious ly retaining its original shrinkwrap ...

By Fred Mills

Apple's iPod may have killed the CD star, but that breed of human known as the record collector will never be extinct. Ample proof surfaced anew starting a couple of weeks ago: that's when the other Apple, in conjunctio n with EMI, sent out a two-CD, gatefold sleeve promotiona l teaser for the Beatles stereo remasters, which officially arrived in stores today, 9-9-09 (duh).

Smartly titled The Beatles 09.09.09 Sampler, it contains 32 songs culled from the entire Beatles back catalog and was circulated primarily (though not exclusivel y) to journalist s working on stories about the remasters. There's nothing on there not included on the Beatles albums proper - but that doesn't mean it's not highly collectibl e. For starters, anything Beatles related has intrinsic value among fans and collectors (allow me to tell you about my promotiona l poster for the Beatles 1 album I have hanging on my wall, the one displaying all the rare foreign Fab Four 45 and EP picture sleeves, and how much one collector offered me for it; I declined).

Plus, since those 32 songs do not appear in this particular configurat ion anywhere else (it's not a clone of Past Masters), as a promotiona l-only item it automatica lly becomes an object of desire. The entire package, including discs, is pictured below:

eBay apparently agrees, for within days of 09.09.09 Sampler arriving in mailboxes, listings for the set started popping up at the auction site (and no doubt others, such as GEMM). Checking eBay this morning, there were 15 listings with the keywords "beatles 09.09.09 sampler," and no doubt there are more up there using variations of that title.

The current price range, by bid for active auctions, is a broad one, as low as $22.47 and as high as $88.00; there's also one copy displaying a "But It Now" price for $149.00. And while that may seem ridiculous ly high to those of you still saying to yourselves , "Yeah, but there's no new music on the damn thing!", well... it appears the marketplac e has spoken.

If you check "Completed Listings" for the sampler, that becomes immediatel y obvious: while a couple of copies went for around 50 and 60 bucks w/Buy It Now, it's been regularly changing hands for $99-$165 in auctions. (One seller apparently had five copies and each went for $125. Nice work if you can get it.) An auction that ended this morning generated 16 bids before closing at $147.59; for another one, from last night, a furious 22-bid round ensued, with the winning bidder ponying up for $123.45. One currently active listing set to end in about 5 hours has 6 bids with a top bid of $88 and it's sure to skyrocket shortly.

Er, that rumbling sound you hear in the distance? It's the sound of journalist s, having read this news item, now stampeding to their computers, Beatles promo in hand, and logging on to eBay.

What we're wanting to know, however, is this: if every hack out there is flogging the CD at auction sites, how the hell are they writing their stories? From memory, one supposes...

Incidental ly, here's the sampler's track listing if anyone is interested . Happy flogging ‘n' shopping!

Disc One 

1. I Saw Her Standing There (from Please Please Me)

2. I Wanna Be Your Man (from With The Beatles)

3. Thí s Boy (from Past Masters Disc One)

4. Things We Said Today (from A Hard Day's Night)

5. Eight Days A Week (from Beatles For Sale)

6. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away (from Help!)

7. If I Needed Someone (from Rubber Soul)

8. Rain (from Past Masters Disc Two)

9. Here, There And Everywhere (from Revolver)

10. Bein g For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! (from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely&nbs p;Hearts Club Band) 11. The Fool On The Hill (from Magical Mystery Tour)

12. Glass Onion (from The Beatles Disc  One)

13. Mother Nature's Son (from The Beatles Disc Two)

14. Hey Bulldog (from Yellow Submarine)

15. Something (from Abbey Road)

16. Two Of Us (from Let It Be)

Disc two

1. Please Please Me (from Please&nbs p;Please Me)

2. All My Loving (from With The B eatles)

3. If I Feel (A Ha rd Day's Night)

4. Honey Don't  ;(from Beatles&nb sp;For Sale)

5. I'm Down (from Past Masters Disc One)

6. I Need You (from Help!)

7. Day Tripper (from Past Masters Disc  Two)

8. Drive My Car (from Rubber Soul)

9. And Y our Bird Can S ing (from Revolver)

10. She's Leaving Home  (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)

11. I Am The W alrus (from  ;Magical Mystery Tour)

12. Back In The U.S.S.R (from The Beatles Disc One)

13. Long, Long, Long (from The B eatles Disc Two)

14. All T ogether Now (from Yellow Submarine)

15. Come  Together (from Abbey Road)

16. I've Got A Fee ling  (from Let It Be)

Finally that intense gaze and tattooed torso is paying off!

By Blurt Staff

As Pitchfork puts it - "the role the man was born to play." They're talking about erstwhile Black Flag frontman Henry Rollins, who apparently has joined the cast of FX's Sons of Anarchy series. His involvemen t was previously reported, but last night was the first time fans got a glimpse.

The Season Two premiere featured Rollins as a "rich white supremacis t villain," tattoos and all. He's slated to appear in 8 episodes. He recently talked to M&C about his involvemen t.

Pitchfork was also kind enough to post the Season Two Trailer, which contains a shot of Rollins. Meanwhile, we're calling our cable company to have ‘em sign us up for FX!

 &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; Osama Dick Dale-Rock & Roll History's Missing link

Excerpt from the upcoming book, "The Porky From New Yorky's Guide to Weight Loss and Positive Mental Health.

THE PORKY STAPLE- THE BOWL OF BEANS

 &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp; Ingredient s

1 &nb sp; & nbsp;  ; &nb sp; & nbsp; . &nbs p; One 15.5 oz can of light or dark red kidney beans
2 &nb sp;  a teaspoonfu l or nice dollop of curry powder
3. &nbs p;  4 packets of duck sauce(from a Chinese take out restaurant )
4. &nbs p;  4 packets of spicy mustard(as above from a Chinese takeout)
5. &nbs p;  a healthy dollop of catch-up
6. &nbs p;  a light sprinkling of pepper  
Directions :

1. &nbs p;  Stra in a can of beans in a colander and then put it in a microwavea ble bowl
2. &nbs p;  ad all of the above ingredient s and mix it up
3. &nbs p;  micr owave for 2 minutes
4. &nbs p;  take out of microwave
5. &nbs p;  drin k two large glasses of water
6. &nbs p;  take bowl and sit down in front of TV watching a moderately interestin g thriller or drama


A Porky as I explained earlier in the book is a person who feels a strong sense of entitlemen t. This entitlemen t is not one of an arrogant nature-but is the reflection of the internal torture a porky feels as he daily tries to grab his 15 minutes of fame(he wants more) or spends at least 15 hours a day thinking about it. In my particular case I had spent 20 years trying to recapture my radio glory of yesteryear failing miserably but trying at least mentally every day to get back there. It was at this time my dear friend, world-reno wned rock critic Mark Jenkins suggested I try to get a job at XM radio.  I talked to the Program director, at the time a fellow named Dave Logan-and in his best am style-he said," show me your stuff. Just the challenge a "Porky wants to hear," the year was 2002-a turbulent time in America with terrorism on everyone's mind. Well to make the long story short-I had by chance known Osama Bin Laden's younger brother(Ka mal) who was a fellow student in the Foreign Service School at Georgetown (this was the early 70's). Without going into to much detail I managed to hook him up with this "hot blonde" in exchange for surrenderi ng his apartment on "W Place" in Glover Park. His date was a success--- we remained in touch over the years and I thought-I can get an interview with Osama-this will certainly get me a show on XM Radio!! Dave Logan told me it sucked(typ ical radio douchebag) -the FBI visited me and I almost spent a few summers at Guantanamo Bay. But this Porky soldiers on-Now for the first time ever-liste n to this amazing interview and

(Hear the audio version here)

discover the answer to one of Rock Music's many mysteries! !

Osama:&nbs p; Hahlo, Hahlo (Middle Eastern accent)

(Engineer) Bruce:&nbs p; I don't think we can wait.....

Steven: Okay, okay (pause) okay, okay

Osama:&nbs p; Whom am I speaking? Identify yourself, Infidel.

Steven:&nb sp; (laughing) Today we have a very exciting show.  After a long and hard negotiatio n through several third parties, we have lined up an interview with ...

Osama:&nbs p; Hahlooo?

Bruce:&nbs p; Here he is Steve, here he is.

Steven:&nb sp; We have lined up an interview with the FBI's most wanted, Osama bin Laden.  In our pre -negotiati ons, we were surprised and amazed to find out the real grievances he has with the American people.  Uh...is that you, Mr. bin Laden?  

Osama:&nbs p; Yes!

Steven:&nb sp; Mr. bin Laden, I am delighted and a bit stunned...

Osama:&nbs p; To whom am I speaking? (suspiciou s)

Steven:&nb sp; My name is Steven, Mr. bin Laden.  I am a friend of uh Mr. Farley who is a friend of the uh grandson of the uh Saudi Arabian Prime Minister. (fumbling to make something up.)  But let me say, Mr. bin Laden.  I am delighted and a bit stunned.  The whole world thought that the Middle Eastern radio and television station Al Jazerra would be the one to get to interview you.  Instead you have given this worldwide exclusive to us.  Can you tell me why?  Why are we so lucky?

Steven:&nb sp; Are you there? Are you there?

Osama:&nbs p; Hahlo?  

Steven: (laughing) Are you there Mr. bin Laden?

Osama: One moment please. (talking to someone in the background ) Kamal!

Steven: Okay.  (talking to audience) Apparently it sounds like we are in touch with a cave in Afghanista n.  We are making landmark history here.  

Osama: (heard talking to his brother Kamal in background .)  Listen carefully. I want the following doughnuts.  (with an urgent tone in his voice giving a command) I want to get a dozen.  I want two jelly. I want to get two chocolate iced.  Some of the  Bavarian cream, and I want another one....I think they are maple flavored, and the others are iced all over with the things on top. (thinking for the English word.)  

Osama:&nbs p; "Sprinkles ."  Lots of sprinkles.  Please.

Steven:&nb sp; It sounds like we do have a transmissi on.  It sounds like we've made a connection , based on this recording; it's got to be in a cave somewhere.  It's just got to be in a cave.

Osama:&nbs p; (drawling his voice in politeness )  You have to excuse me.  I am under a lot of stress.  It gives me an appetite.

Steven: But again, Mr. bin Laden. Sahib.  Tell us why you chose to come to our network here, at the XM Network, when you could have gone anywhere else?  ; Why did you come to us instead of Al Jazerra?&n bsp; That is the big question?

Osama: Well.  There are several reasons.  My relationsh ip with Al Jazerra , like everyone else, soured because at the last interview I did for them, they did not live up to their commitment to provide me with:  ; three cases of Perrier, 15 bowls of M&M's, (red and yellow only,) 2,000 pounds of Bulgarian caviar and enough shish kabob to feed the 200 men, and you ask for five white women dressed as American police women for the entertainm ent.

Steven:&nb sp; (stunned) Excuse me?  White women dressed up as police women?

Osama:&nbs p; (solemn)&n bsp; As Muslims we must be fully covered.  However, my men need some entertainm ent, and the decadent entertainm ent is what you in the West specialize in.

Steven:&nb sp; Okay.  Okay.  I can understand that.  I see.  Why did you consent to be interviewe d by the XM Network when you were being seriously pursued by ABC, CNN, MSNBC and CBS?

Osama:&nbs p; I wonder if you have any idea, how hard it is to get fair representa tion in your Western media.  This is a serious choice I must make to get my word out.  I was slightly partial to CNN as I have great admiration for Paula Zahn, but the Infidels who run CNN would not give to my demands.  I was hoping she would interview me in a swimsuit.  However, I did choose XM because it has some admirable qualities.  First up, I am aware that your show has played music from all over the world, and you have played the songs I have written.  Many times.  Particular ly, my world wide smash "Miserlou."  Secondly, your station has the greatest representa tion of all kinds of music with a good selection of world beat sounds, and what the world does not know is that I am first a musician and great songwriter , not a freedom fighter or a terrorist.  I am misunderst ood.  I am misreprese nted in your media.

Steven:&nb sp; Yes.  Hello.  We are still here with you.  Please go ahead.  I  (sound of machine gun fire.)  We can still hear you. (more gunfire)&n bsp; Sahib Osama.  Mr. bin Laden. Okay.  

Bruce: We've got him back.

Osama:&nbs p; After a long, long negotiatio ns with your crafty CEO there,&nbs p; Hugh Panero, we worked out a deal in which I give him a new round of financing, (to the tune of 30 million I might add,)  ; for which I have promised my own station called bin Laden Network.  24-hours of Koran readings, belly dance music, Turkish bouzouki music, Arabic music and environmen tal sounds. &nbs p; (gunfire in the background .)  You know I just love the sound of cows mooing in the morning.  Of course, the many tunes I have written, especially my greatest hit "Miserlou, " stolen by that Infidel,&n bsp; second rate bouzouki player, third rate surf guitar player, Dick Dale.  

Steven:&nb sp; Dick Dale?  ; Can you tell me about Dick Dale?  ; Tell me about your relationsh ip with Dick Dale.

Osama: (laughing) Oh don't worry.  I can tell you about Dick Dale. Listen.  Well get to that story in a minute.  Ah.  Further.  My poor friend, my good friend, Hugh, also promised me five female interns of my choice and remote broadcasti ng.  I can't very well come to the United States, now can I?  (gunfire and beeping.)

Steven:&nb sp; Are you there? (beeping)& nbsp; Engineer?& nbsp; How are we doing there?&nbs p; By the way, this show is being orchestrat ed by Bruce, the engineer here, well known in music circ....

Bruce:&nbs p; The transmissi on seems to be getting faulty...Uh...

Steven:&nb sp; See if you can bring him in.

Bruce:&nbs p; There's some interferen ce from some "a" wire stuff.

Osama:&nbs p; Who is this Bruce person?  

Steven:&nb sp; He is just the engineer Osama.  He's an engineer.  That's all.

Osama:&nbs p; Is he CIA operative?  

Steven:&nb sp; No.  No.  He's a technician .  He's here to...

Osama:&nbs p; He's clean-shav en, I'll bet.  

Steven: (laughing) He's here to see this interview goes well.  Please move on.  Talk.  Tell us what your thoughts are.

Osama:&nbs p; I don't want you to forget that you promised me 1,000 pounds of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, flown to my hide out in Hindu Kush Mountains every three...uh...did I say Hindu Kush Mountains?   I meant to say Kandahar (drawling word out.  Kandooooha aar.)  

Steven:&nb sp; Kandahar. Okay.  So.  Osama.  You don't mind if I call you Osama, do you?  Is that all right?  

Osama:&nbs p; That's all right, under the circumstan ces.  

Steven:&nb sp; (more gunfire in the background ) &nb sp; So what's the story with Dick Dale?

Osama:&nbs p; You don't know our customs and our way of addressing ,  so it's all right.  I will bear with it to get my story out.  

Steven:&nb sp; Tell me your relationsh ip, or the story with Dick Dale.

Osama:&nbs p; (gunfire)& nbsp; Well you're not going to leave it alone, are you?  But in the mid-sixtie s, Dick Dale and the Del Tones were on a Mid-East tour of the Hilton and Interconti nental Hotels and my band, bin Laden's Lamb were the house band in the Phoenica Hotel in Beirut where, when this American Infidel, Dick Dale,  ; got the gig and there we were, promptly told that we would be the opening act and lost our status.  You can imagine that a Muslim man, like myself, with loss of pride. This was a hard pill to swallow.  In any case, I befriended Dick and showed him around the red light district and turned him on to the Turkish delights, chars or, as you say in America, "hashish."  It was on a night with the full moon.  We took our camels and we went to the desert.  We imbibed some chars, and I played him a beautiful song I had written about my camel, "Serti."  Dick told me that night (gunfire in background ) it was the most beautiful song he had ever heard (gunfire)& nbsp; He was like a brother.  Then he left and went back to the States and betrayed me.  The rest is history.  "Miserlou" is my song.  The West must know.  It's not a question of money.  It's a question of pride!

Cue to song "Miserlou" sung in Arabic.

Steven:&nb sp; ....and of course, when Pulp Fiction came out....(cue to Dick Dale's intro of "Miserlou.")

Osama:&nbs p; Very funny. (angry)&nb sp; I am not amused.  You're laughing, but to me it is like a spear through my heart.  I remember when that film came out.  A prime example of your Western decadence.  I had to see it three times just to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me.  And when I left the theatre....I was so angry.  I was boiling.  You dissed me.  And when I saw your battleship in the harbor?&nb sp; I commanded that one of my boat's ram into it.  ("Miserlou " still playing.)

Steven:&nb sp; Let me ask  you another question, Osama.  Since I see that it's a particular ly sore point for you...

Osama:&nbs p; It's more than a sore point.

Steven:&nb sp; I realize that, so I was thinking we'd move on to another question.  Tell me. The Jews.  Why do you hate the Jews, Osama?

Osama:&nbs p; I don't hate the Jews.  Some of my best friends are Jews.  There are a very funny people.  They keep a little humor.  They..uh...we need that here in the desert wasteland of the Middle East.  As a matter of fact, at my wedding, to my sixteenth wife, Henny Youngman was the entertainm ent.  I loved that guy.  We spent many hours laughing.  He almost convinced me to have a circumcisi on.  Can you believe that?  ; (incredulo usly)  

Steven:&nb sp; Quite something.

Osama:&nbs p; In fact.  His big joke.  His main line, "Take my wife," is now part of the Muslim dialect.  It's a great joke we have together when rich Muslims with many wives get together, over some chars, and drink a little too much Turkish coffee, we say to each "Take my wives...PLEASE."  

Steven:&nb sp; You claim in this Al Qaeda press release that we received,& nbsp; that many of your other musical ideas were stolen, Osama.  Can you give me a further example?

Osama:&nbs p; I can tell you more stories of injustice than the 1,001 Nights.  But there was a time in the early eighties when your superstar, Prince, or whatever that Infidel calls himself now, looked me up.  Of course he came to Osama.  I am known as royalty in the pop world of the Middle East.  I offered him a cultural tour of the Pyramids and the many mosques we have.  But all this man wanted was to hunt for women.  He said to me, "How can you tell what they look like, all covered up?"  I told him, "We go by the ankles. We "read" the ankles. And.  By the "walk."  I told him the most sensual women of the Middle East are the Egyptian women.  Whenever we see a hot babe walking by in a burka, we say, "She walks like an Egyptian."  So what does he do?  He writes a hit song, and he gives me no credit.  I call for a fatwa on him.  

Steven:&nb sp; I can see, Osama, that there is definitely   a lot of bitterness you have, and that apparently if what you say is true, you deserve a certain amount of retributio n.  

Osama:&nbs p; I wonder if you have any idea?  ; But listen, I've got to get going here.  The old clock on the wall says "it's time to go."  

Steven:&nb sp; Osama, I'd like to thank you for (gunfire) spending this time with the XM Network and giving this exclusive interview and uh letting us know (gunfire) exactly what does fuel the fires.  I can hear some gunfire in the background .  What is that, Osama?

Osama:&nbs p; That's the cue to get out of town.  They hunt me like an animal (gunfire)& nbsp; But never will they catch me.  I've got to go now, but I'll tell you, (yelling) I NEED MORE BEN & JERRYS.  AND THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON OF THE SOPRANOS.  (gunfire followed by loud explosion)

Cue to Who singing "I Can See For Miles."

John Lydon reforms Public Image Limited minus, uh, the band. Vintage vid clips below.

By Fred Mills

Let's be honest: Public Image Limited was a pretty great band, from the signature Pistolian clang of the "Public Image" single and the groundbrea king Metal Box album to that memorable lip-synchi ng appearance on "American Bandstand" (see clip, below) and the group's latterday intersecti on with Bill Laswell. Founder John Lydon put the group on the shelf in 1992, however, in order to become a profession al celebrity (those ads for Country Life butter were awesome; see clip below).

Media reports this week inform us that Lydon is reassembli ng PiL for a 5-date string of concerts in England in December. Apparently for Lydon the parrot, er, band, wasn't dead, merely sleeping: "We'll see where we can go," Lydon told London's Guardian. "Some things may be quite similar, some may not."

A few things that will not include the musicians: there's no Keith Levene or Jah Wobble or Martin Atkins, who formed the core of the band when it was at its most creative an influentia l. Instead, Lu Edmonds will be on guitar, Bruce Smith on bass, and Scott Firth will fill in on keyboards, additional guitars and whatnot.

It's too early, of course, to determine if audiences will feel they've been cheated. Bets are, however, that Lydon will walk away with a sweet payday.

PiL on American Bandstand 1980:

Lydon shilling for Country Life:

Looks like it's gonna be mad stampede to all the torrent sites. Meanwhile, prices for the boxes skyrocket on eBay.

By Fred Mills

Amid all the media hoopla over the Beatles remastered reissues and the correspond ing stereo and mono box sets (the latter a strictly limited edition), someone apparently forgot to tell retailers to stock up, because word is that the stock is, er, out. eBay sellers (see below) responded accordingl y, of course.

While Billboard.biz, in their report on initial sales ("Strong Global Demand For Beatles Reissues") , somewhat euphemisti cally noted that "supplies of the box sets may be an issue" in various countries, the hard truth is that if you didn't preorder your box, particular ly the mono set, you just may be out of luck, at least for an unspecifie d period of time.

Music blogger Bob Lefsetz already observed in last night's entry that there were "ongoing complaints that you couldn't even get Beatle product, that it was sold out everywhere ." Indeed, the most reliable indicator of product availabili ty (in the U.S. at least) is Amazon.com, and as of mid afternoon yesterday, neither box was available. The stereo box, which had its price down from the $259 suggested retail to a sweet spot of $179, is currently showing a shipping delay of 2 to 4 weeks, while the mono box, priced at $229, down from $298, says 3 to 6 weeks. (Hint to fans: go ahead and back order the boxes asap from Amazon to lock in those prices, and request the free shipping option as well.) There's a pretty fascinatin g forum at the Amazon.com devoted to discussing just the mono box, incidental ly, including comments about availabili ty and non-availa bility at Amazon and elsewhere. Beatlesnew s.com is also publishing some lively commentary at their site.

Other online retailers are showing similar scenarios: Wal-Mart shows the stereo is out, and the mono isn't even listed; ditto Borders; Best Buy says the stereo is backordere d, and the mono listing was removed yesterday afternoon; places like CD Universe are not even listing the boxes.

Barnes & Noble is actually showing both boxes as being available, albeit with no discountin g unless you're a member: stereo box $259 (members $233), mono box $298 (members $269). Of course, if you've ever ordered online from B&N you know that you sometimes don't even find out that your purchase is on backorder until the final checkout procedure!

Do a search at Target.com and you'll get this message: We could not find exact matches for "The Beatles Stereo Box Set"; We could not find exact matches for "The Beatles Mono Box Set".

So what's an out-of-luc k fan to do? Why, track down the booty via illicit download methods, natch! INeedFile.com, a RapidShare file search service, for example, is showing some options... Admittedly , not quite the same as holding he artifact, reading the liners, etc, but hey...

Or you could simply make a deposit in your PayPal account and hit eBay. A quick check of currently active listings for the mono box (most of them touting, in ALL CAPS, some variation of "SOLD OUT EVERYWHERE ") shows 151 sales, with starting bids in the rather astonishin g range of $230 to $750, the Buy It Now option generally ranging from $350 to $450. That's quite a markup for less than 24 hours. (The stereo box was obviously in less demand, as you can get a copy with Buy It Now for in the neighborho od of $250.)

Ain't capitalism grand? To those who think that American turned into a socialist society the day Obama got elected, we say feh! Business as usual in the good ol' U.S. of A.

Releases his debut in November; tour follows.

By Blurt Staff

Curtis Harvey, best known for his work with/as Rex and Pullman, will release his first solo album titled Box Of Stones November 3 on Fat Cat Records.

While Box Of Stones marks a departure from Harvey's previous work, his gift for melody and use of detailed instrument ation remains. An intensely personal collection , Box Of Stones allows Harvey to explore affinities for John Fahey, Dust Bowl protest songs, and traditiona l song structures , while retaining the interest in textural sonics that marked his previous projects.

Recorded in the small studio in Harvey's basement, Box Of Stones' immediacy owes much to his immersive process, with Harvey playing everything and often recording the vocals in only one take; for percussion , Harvey says, he used "whatever happened to be [around] at the time: bottles, pencils, pots and pans, an old snare and bass drum." For "Seen," Harvey recorded the audience at a live show at Brooklyn's Union Pool as they accompanie d him on the chorus.

Though Harvey's recorded output has been minimal since Pullman's 2001 album Viewfinder - consisting of the sole release by the Curtis Harvey Trio, a cover of "Changes" for 2005 Black Sabbath cover compilatio n Everything Comes And Goes and a Pullman song for Thrill Jockey's 2007 anniversar y compilatio n - Harvey explains that he's never stopped recording or writing music, despite the break from making records.

Harvey will be touring the east coast/midw est for two weeks in December, and plans a full US run for spring 2010.

You lookin' at me? Tramps like these, baby, they were born to run...

By Blurt Staff

This year's Kennedy Center Honors should prove interestin g: Bruce Springstee n and Robert De Niro, along with Mel Brooks, Dave Brubeck and opera's Grace Bumbry, are the 32^nd edition's honorees. They'll appear December 6 at the White House then be whisked over to the Kennedy Center to receive their kudos (CBS will air the ceremony Dec. 29). And yes, they'll be jostling for table space with President and Michelle Obama.

In a statement issued yesterday by the Kennedy Center:

"This year, the Kennedy Center celebrates five extraordin ary individual s whose unique and abundant artistry has contribute d significan tly to the cultural life of our nation and the world. With his hilarious movies and musicals, Mel Brooks has created comedic gems that will keep us laughing for years to come. Dave Brubeck's genius has dazzled us for six decades and has helped to define an American art form. Grace Bumbry helped to break the color barrier on her way to one of the most illustriou s operatic careers in the 20th century. One of America's greatest cinematic actors, Robert De Niro has demonstrat ed a legendary commitment to his characters and has co-founded one of the world's major film festivals. With his gritty and honest songs that speak to the everyman, Bruce Springstee n has always had his finger on the pulse of America."

Behind that sweet smile lurks... the mind of someone who can't thumb their Blackberry !

By Blurt Staff

This just in from the "sometimes we write the news, sometimes the news just writes itself" dept.:

Activision is responding to queries regarding the usage of Kurt Cobain's likeness in Guitar Hero 5 with the following statement& nbsp;"Guit ar Hero secured the necessary licensing rights from the Cobain estate in a written agreement signed by Courtney Love to use Kurt Cobain's likeness as a fully playable character in Guitar Hero® 5."

Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl, the two surviving members of Nirvana, have no say whatsoever in the usage of Kurt Cobain's likeness. 

All this may be Greek to you unless you've kept up with Courtney Love's eternally fascinatin g, keyboard-c hallenged Twitter postings of late in which she claimed publicly that she had not approved the usage of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain's likeness in Guitar Hero 5. Furthermor e, she's ben telling anyone who'll listen that she is planning on siccing her lawyers on Activision . Oh, and something about wanting Grohl to get ass-raped. Meanwhile, journalist Everett True waded into this minefield as well... who can keep up with all this stuff?!?

Anyhow, sounds like Activision may have the, er, upper hand, assuming they can produce the written agreement they say they have in court. Or merely to one of Love's lawyers, who then will presumably send Love on her way and bank their fee. Memo to self: folks who holler the loudest about launching lawsuits are the ones most likely not to have firm legal footing.

Kurt Cobain/Gui tar Hero trailer below. We're not sure why anyone wants to get all hot and bothered about this. There's no issue of artistic integrity here, or about being true to a late artist's intentions , or any of that blather - IT'S A FUCKING VIDEO GAME, FOR CHRISSAKES , GET OVER IT!!!

New album of original material features plenty of star cameos, and more.

By Blurt Staff

Last year we ran a feature on Doveman (that's Thomas Bartlett to his ma and pa) and his groundbrea king 2008 reimaginin g" of the Footloose soundtrack . Kevin Bacon was mighty proud... Keyboardis t Bartlett has also worked with the likes of The National, Antony, Bebel Gilberto, The Swell Season/The Frames and Martha Wainwright , and he's a pretty in-demand session cat.

Now comes word that he's returning to his Doveman persona for a new album, The Conformist , due Oct. 20 from the Brassland label. He'll be backed by members of The National along with longtime collaborat ors Nico Muhly and Sam Amidon.

The details, courtesy Brassland:

Doveman is the project through which Bartlett steps forward as a songwriter and front man, and on The Conformist , produced by Grammy Award winner Patrick Dillett (David Byrne, Caetano Veloso, Mary J. Blige), Bartlett is heard singing in his unique voice throughout , in addition to playing multiple instrument s. Though Bartlett is classicall y trained and technicall y proficient ‹he dropped out of high school to study in London with Maria Curcio--th e album¹ ;s eleven tracks are mostly straightfo rward pop-rock songs; much of their richness lies in the atmospheri c soundscape in which Bartlett situates his compositio ns. He performs the music with a core band that includes The National members Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner and Bryan Devendorf; Nico Muhly; longtime Doveman member Sam Amidon; and a string section. The Conformist also features a number of surprising guest vocal performanc es, with turns by Martha Wainwright , Matt Berninger (The National) and Norah Jones, among others.

The Conformist is Bartlett&s up1;s first collection of original material since 2007's With My Left Hand I Raise the Dead. Fall-winte r tour dates will be announced soon.

Track Listing

1. Breathing Out

2. The Best Thing

3. Memorize

4. Hurricane

5. Aftermath

6. From Silence

7. The Cat Awoke

8. Angel¹ ;s Share

9. The Burgundy Stain

10. Tigers

11. Castles

Half the battle of achieving anything is knowing when you need help (and let me save you a couple of hundred bucks in therapy here, you ALWAYS need help... think public radio model: "we're all in this together/I can't do it without you"). The hard part for some, then, is asking for it.

Obviously, shamelessn ess = a plus, i.e., just the simple act of asking is not for the tame-at-he art. SOL if that isn't your bag; you're going to need to acquire some assertive chops pronto. Because (say it together with me people) when you don't ask, the answer is always no.

But asking isn't even the hard part. First, you have to have people to ask. You have to have fans.

Whether it's your mom (or mine), your friends, your coworkers --- I don't care --- everyone has fans [...]

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.

Singer/son gwriter Seth Glier goes all sustainabl e and shit on his latest tour.

999,999 privacy advocates (and Elvis fans) can't be wrong...

By Fred Mills

Millions of Internet users have recently been flooded by requests from strangers to sign up for the UNYK address book program; yours truly has been receiving them at the rate of 4 or 5 per week, and the frequency has been increasing . See below for a sample that arrived today.

Though the service is described as one that establishe d "private address books" the UNYK privacy policy and security has been coming under scrutiny of late. It's time to strike back, luddites: return to a simpler time, when a pencil and a scrap of paper stuffed into the wallet made for a perfectly acceptable address book and phone number listing!

***

Hi,

On 8/28/2009 5:10:07 AM, you were invited to join John or Jane Doe's UNYK address book so he/she would always have access to your contact info and you to his/hers.

To accept his/her request, Click here [link removed - ed.]


UNYK is a smart and simple way to manage your contacts so you never lose anyone's contact informatio n again.

No more worrying about your contacts' info. From now on, let them do it for you. By changing their informatio n in UNYK.com, you address book will be automatica lly updated. By changing your informatio n in UNYK.com, their address book will be automatica lly updated.

It's so simple and it's free... Already 10 million users.

Love rants on Twitter until she finally passes out. Meanwhile, two former Nirvana members express disappoint ment in Guitar Hero 5.

By Fred Mills

In the aftermath of yesterday' s verbal tussle between Nirvana's Dave Grohl & Krist Novoselic and Kurt Cobain's widow Courtney Love - video game maker Activision had to step in after Love wigged out over Guitar Hero 5 and make a statement indicating that Love had formally granted the use of Cobain's likeness for the game, and Grohl & Novoselic confirmed that they "have no say whatsoever " in the usage of his likeness - La Love took to the Twitter airwaves in earnest, firing blustering , 140-charac ter volley after volley that numbered into the hundreds until she finally settled down (presumabl y to catch some shut-eye after tweeting for nearly 24 hours straight) around midnight EST.

Among Love's bon tweets semi-relev ant to the Activision thing (you have to wade through a ton of crap to ferret this stuff out, as there are multiple tweets about mortgage fraud, the Madoff case, conspiracy theories regarding people trying to get her money, and more):

now any smart musician knows you never EVER sell publishing whatsoever , but weitman who oozes so much charm for such a tiny fella

convinced me to do so, Activision has made thier press release, we shall make ours and we shall seek acyive damages against these fuckers

in fact i have atumbl account since your all tooo lazy to go to usserach or people finders if i have the energy i will twitpic this and take

it to tumblr, cos the bottom line @betsybrea kdown is that the two fuckers kurt dumoed are raping him and the lawyers are raping him

and they dont give a fuck about frances or wendy or kim infact kims house was repossesse d out of spite in 05 where the fuck was your outrage

And, uh, this one, that we can't quite figure out:

dont allow the roadrunner records site to interpret our tweets as itsthe most sexist dump on the net, im the daily#cunt everyd

Anyhow, Grohl and Novoselic finally issued their own official statement yesterday (not via Twitter, incidental ly, and not in subliterat e 140-charac ter meth bursts). Wisely, they did not address Love's rantings; rather, they expressed their disappoint ment and frustratio n over the way the Guitar Hero 5 game portrayed their late bandmate (the Cobain character can be unlocked so he plays songs not his, such as Bon Jovi's. While the notion of the duo finding potential common ground with Courtney Love is faintly ludicrous (she did, after all, suggest Grohl should be ass raped), at least they come out and make their statements and then move on. It's not like they can do anything about the GH5 situation anyway.

That statement:

This is a statement regarding Nirvana, Guitar Hero and the likeness of the late Kurt Cobain.

We want people to know that we are dismayed and very disappoint ed in the way a facsimile of Kurt is used in the Guitar Hero game.  The name and likeness of Kurt Cobain are the sole property of his estate - we have no control whatsoever in that area.

While we were aware of Kurt's image being used with two Nirvana songs, we didn't know players have the ability to unlock the character. This feature allows the character to be used with any kind of song the player wants. &nbs p; We urge Activision to do the right thing in "re-lockin g" Kurt's character so that this won't continue in the future.

It's hard to watch an image of Kurt pantomimin g other artists' music alongside cartoon characters .  Kurt Cobain wrote songs that hold a lot of meaning to people all over the world.  We feel he deserves better.

Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl

Establishe s Pax Am label w/first in a series of digital singles. Shipping today, in fact. Make it real!

By Blurt Staff

Ryan Adams announced the release date of the flagship digital single from his own newly reanimated Pax Am label today: "Lost And Found"/"Go Ahead And Rain" is available for pre-order now at http://sto re.ryanada.ms and is the first in a series of $1.49 digital singles, the revenues from which will support the http://rya nada.ms site and keep FOGGY TV broadcasti ng.

Adams issued the following statement regarding the debut of the Pax Am label:

Thanks for making Pax Am the number one Ryan Adams merch site online. We would hunt anyone else down though.

 Did you have a rad summer? Good. If you said no, never worry, Pax Am is here. We are gonna fill your fall and winter up with vinyl, digital singles, and t shirts you don't need.
 

 Stay tuned for videos, free tracks, and our digi-singl es.  Subscriber s get first dibs on rare vinyl.

 
 Reme mber, purchasing the buck 49 singles is a way to keep FOGGY TV on the air, but it is not necessary to view the weekly content.

 
 This is my label and my internet disco dream.

 
 Make it real you jerks.

 
 Wors hip me.

So Tough and Sound of Water already available; Fox Base Beta due soon.

By Blurt Staff

About a week and a half ago Saint Etienne fans began receiving their expanded/r emastered "Deluxe Editions" of the band's So Tough and Sound of Water (see full details, below) - they came on the heels of the two-disc versions, issued a few months ago, of Fox Base Alpha and Continenta l, all part of a year-long overhaul of the group's back catalog.

Then this morning, SE acolytes opened their email to receive even more good news: a limited/nu mbered and remixed version of FBA, titled Fox Base Beta, is en route, with pre-orders available through the fan club starting September 21. Here's the complete communiqu& eacute; from the band:

Journey through the past, part 5.

Rumours have been flying left right and centre, but we can finally confirm that disco dynamo Richard X has taken Foxbase Alpha and re-arrange d it into a brand new beast called FOXBASE BETA. Using the original masters, adding cellos, electrix, choirs, and the spirit of Brian Cant he has created something really special - spruced-up yet reverentia l, it is essentiall y a 2009 up-date of Foxbase Alpha, given a shot of vodka and a loving caress. We're chuffed. It feels unnervingl y like jumping into a Tardis.

FOXBASE BETA will be issued, via the fan club, as a limited, numbered 2CD set of 3,000 copies, which will also include FOXBASE EXTRA, three unreleased recordings from the original album sessions: a just discovered coda to Girl VII (we'd forgotten it existed), a summery instrument al called Richard III, and the first, very different, take of Kiss And Make Up, which was the very first Saint Etienne recording. We cut it one afternoon in January 1990, and then Only Love Can Break Your Heart in the evening! It was all so simple then. These tracks won't be available anywhere else.

There will also be a 'directors ' commentary ' on the bonus disc. Informativ e, yes. Pithy, quite possibly.

An un-numbere d, single disc edition will be available at gigs and through Rough Trade. It will also be available for digital download (with the commentary but without the bonus tracks).

For club promo, a 4-track 12" is currently at the pressing plant, including extended Foxbase Beta version of Only Love Can Break Your Heart (plus instrument al mix), the FBB version of Girl VII (grrrreat) , and Gothenburg 's Balearic princes Air France's mix of Spring. We'll have 200 copies of this available through the fan club. As soon as we have them we'll let you know.

Foxbase Beta will be available to pre-order on Monday 21st of September. More details next week.

England in the World Cup finals, 3 Of A Kind's Babycakes playing on my hi-fi, Foxbase Beta finally put to bed. Late summer, early autumn, and all is good.

love

Bob xx

Meanwhile, about the two albums mentioned above...

So Tough, SE's 2^nd album, originally arrived in 1993. For the Deluxe Edition, the album has been completely remastered and expanded to a second disc of 17 bonus tracks of rarities, b-sides and unreleased tracks, including aover version of Teenage Fanclub's Everything Flows. packaging includes a 24 page booklet featuring extensive sleevenote s.

Tracklisti ng:

Disc 1 - Side 1

1. Mario's Cafe
2. Railway Jam
3. Date With Spelman
4. Calico
5. Avenue
6. You're In A Bad Way
7. Memo To Pricey
8. Hobart Paving
9. Leafhound
10. Clock Milk
11. Conchita Martinez
12. No Rainbows For Me
13. Here Comes Clown Feet
14. Junk The Morgue
15. Chicken Soup

Disc 2 - Side 1

1. Everything Flows
2. Railway Jam Vocal Version
3. Who Do You Think You Are
4. Some Place Else
5. Duke Duvet
6. Paper
7. Johnny In The Echo Cafe
8. Archway People
9. California Snow Story
10. Join Our Club
11. Everlastin g
12. Snowplough Instrument al
13. Rainy Day Women
14. Peterloo Instrument al
15. I'm Too Sexy
16. Stranger In Paradise
17. Hobart Paving Van Dyke Parks Version

Then 2000's Sound of Water, their fifth, featured production by High Llamas' Sean O'Hagan and To Rocco Rot. The remastered edition adds a second disc of 17 bonus tracks of rarities, b-sides and unreleased tracks plus a 24 page booklet featuring extensive sleevenote s.

Tracklisti ng:

Disc 1 - Side 1

1. Late Morning
2. Heart Failed (In The Back Of A Taxi)
3. Sycamore
4. Don't Back Down
5. Just A Little Overcome
6. Boy Is Crying
7. Aspects Of Lambert
8. Downey CA.
9. How We Used To Live
10. The Place At Dawn

Disc 2 - Side 1

1. Roseneck
2. Northweste rn
3. Red Setter
4. Blofeld Buildings
5. Bar Conscience
6. Shoot Out The Lights
7. Thank You
8. Chaos At The Gym
9. Tony Jacket
10. Garage For Gunther
11. Ivyhouse
12. 52 Pilot
13. We're In The City
14. Artieripp
15. Sadie's Anniversar y
16. Half Timbered
17. Empty Shop

Our second  pick in a new series: Brazilian band's latest album is what's twirling our tassels as we head into the weekend...

By Fred Mills

Brazil's Os Mutantes recently signed to Anti- Records, and the first fruits of the partnershi p arrived this week. The new album is pretty amazing - you can read the review HERE.

As BLURT's worldbeat expert Mark Jenkins puts it, "Haih or Amortecedo r reclaims the anything-g oes form known as ‘Tro picalia': Indian raga yields to pop-folk crooning, boss nova mates with acid-rock and tunes that echo 1930s big-band styles sound both authentic and fresh."

Os Mutantes is BLURT's second official Band O' The Week. (Last week was The Clean.) Check back each Friday for that week's selection.

Check out the band's MySpace page for song samples.

Third studio album (and fourth release overall) set to drop Nov. 10.

By Blurt Staff

Githead - Colin Newman (of Wire), Malka Spigel and Max Franken (of Minimal Compact), Robin Rimbaud (Scanner) - will be releasing their new album Landing on Nov. 10. Their third full length, it's to appear courtesy their own Swim label. Watch BLURT in the very near future for an in-depth interview with Newman about the project.

The band started in 2004, initially to play as a one-off at the Swim record label's 10th anniversar y event at the ICA. It soon became obvious that there was a natural and rare chemistry that could enable real organic developmen t over time. A solid base was fashioned with the band's 2004 debut, the ‘sel f titling' EP Headgit. Written, recorded and mixed in fervent, whirlwind fashion, all in Swim's London studio, the band used Headgit as a platform on which to build. Its signature hypnotic motorik combined with a fresh, almost raw approach resulted in a set of exciting tracks, some of which remain stage favorites.

The following year, Githead's debut album Profile brought a bigger, lusher sound, with richer songwritin g, and several songs that were taken on the road during the band's first European tour. As Githead developed as a live entity, the importance of recording live with the whole band became paramount. 2006 saw Githead move to augment Swim's small studio with Rotterdam' s Metropolis 22 studio for recording endeavors. Employing classic ‘old skool' recording techniques and songwritin g craft, Art Pop was born, and subsequent ly well received on its 2007 release. More European live dates followed and the band made its North American debut in Canada in June 2009.

The combinatio n of Githead's growing power as a live band, and the developmen t of work in Swim's studio and during trips to Rotterdam, has led to Landing. On the record, all the familiar components of Githead's distinctiv e idiom remain in place -- Newman and Rimbaud's minimalist guitar patterns, their supremely catchy melodic sense, Spigel's propulsive bass rumble, Franken's solid, steady drive -- but Landing broadens the band's vocabulary considerab ly. Adding depth, texture and shading, Landing's ten tracks are somehow simultaneo usly harder, edgier, more expansive, more organic, more hypnotic.

Crucially, though, while Githead might now be speaking a more sophistica ted, nuanced language, they never once lose touch with their essential pop sensibilit y. It's this unique balance of convention and subtle experiment ation that's always distinguis hed Githead from so many others attempting to plow the same adventurou s avant-pop furrow.

Track Listing:

1. Faster

2. Take Off

3. Before Tomorrow

4. Landing

5. Ride

6. Over The Limit

7. Lightswimm er

8. From My Perspectiv e

9. Displaceme nt & Time

10. Transmissi on Tower

Everybody needs to collect something.

By Fred Mill

Sometimes a picture is worth more than a zillion words...

In which we pay tribute to our favorite all-time magazine, Girl Watcher. All the way from 1959, in fact, a different time, a different universe in fact; pre-Mad Men, even. Glom those gams at VintageGir lwatchers.com, kids, and get tips on how to start your "collectio n" - but don't let your parents catch you peekin'!

But what the heck is "the kitten type"?

Everyone drinks the purple Kool-Aid... attempts at raising the spirit of Jim Jones, however, yield mixed results...

By Blurt Staff

A picture is worth a zillion words...

On Friday night (09.11) as part of Camper Van Beethoven' s show during their 5th annual CAMPOUT music festival near Joshua Tree, CA (which they co-headlin ed with David Lowery's other band Cracker), the band requested that their fans (or, as the case may be, "followers ") all wear white to their performanc e. When they arrived at the show Lowery was there serving grape Kool-Aid when they walked in. The photo above was shot just after their performanc e that night (Front row - 3rd from left: Victor Krummenach er, Frank Funaro. Second row: Jonathan Segel, David Lowery, Greg Lisher). 

(Photo credit: Brad Jones)

 &nbs p; &n bsp; Capitalism is dying, boy. It's dying of its own internal contradict ions.[He was, after all, a Wall Street financier, so I listened carefully.] You think the revolution 's gonna take five years. It's gonna take fifty! So keep your head down and hang in for the long haul, because I'll tell you something. The sons of bitches running things don't give a shit about their children or their grandchild ren, and they certainly don't give a shit about you! They've paid their dues, and they want to get out with theirs! They're gonna sell off everything that's not nailed down to the highest bidder. Don't get crushed when it topples down. Take care of yourself and your family. If you can make a difference , do it, but there are huge forces at work here, and they have to play themselves out according to their own design, not yours. Watch yourself.  &nbs p;  
 
 &nbs p; &n bsp;    Wall Street Financier, Morris Cohon, to his son, Peter Coyote---W inter of 1969/1970

 &nbs p; &n bsp; The above passage is from Peter Coyote's excellent memoir, "Sleeping Where I Fall". In the next sentence, Coyote adds,
 &nbs p; 
 &nbs p; &n bsp; As far as I can determine, everything he prophesied has come true.

 &nbs p; Sure enough, last year, 2008, balls out free market capitalism stepped on its dick and fell on its ass. We had lived a fantasy for nearly thirty years. In the interest of short term gain, Reagan peeled back New Deal banking regulation s designed to avert thirties style crashes, Clinton peeled them back some more. The elder Bush knew Reaganomic s was folly, he called it "Voodoo Economics" when he ran against Reagan, but by the time he got in, there was no stopping the allure of the fantasy. To step out in front of it would have been political suicide, so he didn't try. Greed was seen as a good thing, markets were deemed to be infallible . We failed to see Enron's implosion as the  microcosm for the global economy that it proved to be. Suddenly we witnessed an economic crash, the scale of which us forty somethings had been raised to believe we would never see. We had always been told we were safe now, the daddies were in charge, and they had learned from the Great Depression , they had put in safeguards . . .

Oops, they took the safeguards out, too cumbersome and restrictiv e of the free market.

 &nbs p; &n bsp; Yet we cling to the notion of capitalism as if it were the only thing that keeps us American.  We still demonize any form of Socialism. Long ago, the term Socialism was, in our country, linked to Soviet Communism, which was reciprocal ly linked to the devil. It's very easy for the right to get their base stirred up, because the buzzwords have been in place for nearly a century. All that mean little parrot, Phil Gramm, ever had to do was start squawking the words "Socialize d Medicine! Socialized Medicine!" , then throw in a dash of Harry and Louise and the Clinton Health Bill's threat to the private insurer and pharmaceut ical corporatio n dominated status quo was over and done with.

 &nbs p; &n bsp; My paternal grandfathe r railed against the prospect of Socialized Medicine and always hated Lyndon Johnson, but he took his Medicare just like everybody else. Socialized Medicine is ok as long as we call it something else, like "Medicare" . Johnson was for sure a genius, folks. Yes, he was also crooked, but he got some good things done.

 &nbs p;  I personally , have no problem with Socialized Medicine, even when called by its proper name. To me, Socialized Medicine means the lady that checks me in at the hospital doesn't first ask me how I intend to pay for services rendered, but rather asks me, "Where does it hurt?" I know people who have had such an experience , people who live in countries that we now call Socialist, places like Britain and France, NATO allied nations who stood with us against the "Evil Empire" during the cold war, nations that were considered to be part of the free world then, Socialist attitudes toward medicine notwithsta nding. True, citizens of France do pay high taxes, but they get something in return, universal free health care. Our tax money mostly goes to the military, half of it anyway. We Americans don't want our government all up in our business, so rather than pay for government health care, we prefer to pay private insurers who do everything in their power to keep from honoring claims, to keep from actually providing the care that our insurance dollars are supposed to guarantee to those few of us to whom they actually grant policies.  I don't have insurance. My insurance company was bought out by another. The new parent company staggered the premium schedule and I missed a payment while on the road with my band. I came home to find I was uninsured. That particular insurance company was lame anyway, so I didn't much care, but I dicked around and didn't get aggressive about finding a new insurer until after I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. Sure, you can argue that in this environmen t, my predicamen t is my own fault. Fair enough, I did know the rules here. But I have friends who are much worse off than I, friends for whom "this environmen t" is poisonous. One has a child with a bone disease. He had insurance, but his insurer was allowed to go bankrupt, leaving my friend's child uninsured with a serious pre existing condition. Texas High Risk Pool is his only option, ten thousand dollar deductible , I believe. My friend's experience is just one of many examples that illustrate the pure immorality of our healthcare for profit system.

 &nbs p; &n bsp; Healthcare for profit capitalize s on illness. To profit on drugs and surgeries one must have a steady supply of sick people. We have some very sick people among us and we seem hell bent on keeping them sick. Every time I go to the supermarke t, I see fat people, and I don't just mean regular old fat, I mean grossly obese. Many are diabetic amputees in electric wheelchair s. Soft drinks seem to be a popular item with them. I don't remember seeing such people when I was a child, when I pretty much lived on Dr. Peppers, which were then sweetened with cane sugar, rather than the high fructose corn syrup used to sweeten nearly everything today, a sweetener that our bodies just don't know how to handle. I don't know if the corn lobby is in cahoots with the makers of those electric wheelchair s, but I would say the times are good for both. I make my living driving across the country, occasional ly stopping at Walmart for fresh socks. I see obese people in the Walmart and miles and miles of nothing but corn from eastern Nebraska to eastern Ohio, one big cornfield. Correlatio n does not imply cause, but one does notice.

 &nbs p; &n bsp; I don't understand the preoccupat ion, fanciful or not, of the angry white people at the town hall meetings, with the notion that the government might tell them which doctor they can see. Even if the fear mongers were right this time and the government really was going to dictate to us our choice of doctors, so what? If  I could see a reasonably competent doctor for free, I'd be perfectly glad to see the doctor of my government 's choice. Most of us can't really choose our doctors anyway. If we don't want to pay out of pocket, then we must find a doctor who takes our insurance. And as for the  "death panels" hysteria, we already have death panels. We call them private insurers. Insurers decide who gets coverage and who does not, in effect, who lives or dies, and they base their decisions on potential profit.  And in the arena of potential profit, white people still tend to fare better that the rest.

 &nbs p; &n bsp; I believe that our chief objection to any form of socialism is, and has always been, rooted in racism. Thirty years ago, the specter of the Cadillac driving black welfare mother was the A-Number One bogeyman for the angry white man against socialism crowd. The notion that that same Cadillac driving black woman might receive federal dollars to pay for an abortion would really get the bibles thumping(f unny how fathers are always left out of the abortion equation. No one blames the irresponsi ble male who knocked up the Cadillac driving black welfare mother. And the same people who want to ban abortion don't seem to favor open discussion of contracept ion. weird).

 &nbs p; &n bsp; Now, it seems that the illegal alien has eclipsed the black welfare mom as bogeyman du jour. Our bigots have progressed . Fearing a backlash of political correctnes s(and subsequent loss of funding), they no longer engage in unabashed racism. Now they cloak their racism in nationalis m, the second string motivator of the paranoid moron masses, easily spun as patriotism , a supposedly more noble virtue. But what sort of illegal aliens do they fear?

 &nbs p; &n bsp; I once employed an illegal alien, a tour manager from New Zealand, white fella. Once, while traveling East along interstate 10 back in the pre-Homela nd Security days, we came to a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint . When the man in the green uniform asked if everyone in the van was a U.S. citizen, the tour manager simply answered, "Sure mate". The man in the green uniform was eyeing our San Antonio born and raised Hispanic bass player rather suspicious ly and didn't seem to notice the tour manager's Kiwi/Aussi e accent. He eyed the bass player for a second or two longer and then waved us on.

 &nbs p; &n bsp; I don't think the town hall hooligans are worried about Kiwi tour managers receiving health care on their dime. When they say "illegal aliens" they mean "brown people".

 &nbs p;  Why would it be such a terrible thing for a brown person from another country to receive free healthcare here in the U.S.? My current bass player was recently treated for a bad flu while touring in Germany. I think the doctor visit cost about twenty-fiv e dollars and they didn't mind that he wasn't a German citizen or that he didn't pay German taxes. He was sick, so they tried to help him.
 &nbs p; &n bsp; 

We don't seem to have any trouble finding the money to fly planes halfway across the world to drop bombs on brown people. That gets pretty expensive you know. I'd be willing to bet that socialized medicine is cheaper than war. Maybe Iraqi oil revenue could pay for our healthcare , just like it paid for the invasion of Iraq . . . &nbs p; right, it didn't pay for the invasion, our great grandchild ren will have to do that, but when Rumsfeld put forth that wonderful piece of fiction, did any future town hall storming, bible thumping, constituti on waving pissed off red faced white guy question Rummy's logic? Nope

 &nbs p; &n bsp; Europeans can be racists too. They don't necessaril y like it that the dark skinned natives of their former colonies came home to them when the great colonial empires collapsed, but they grant them citizenshi p and extend to them the requisite benefits of citizenshi p while occasional ly grousing about the dilution of their national character. They have their extreme nationalis t factions and lunatic fringes, but they recognize them as such and for the most part behave sensibly. They're not afraid of big government , because to them, government s are service organizati ons designed to aid the people. And when they don't like their government s, they throw them out. Remember W's "coalition of the willing"? It consisted& nbsp; mostly of our troops, a good many British, a few Aussies and Italians, and a hundred or so Spaniards. The Spaniards all went home after their people caught their government in a lie. Bombs had gone off in the Madrid Metro. At the behest of our government , the Spanish government blamed the bombing on ETA, the Basque separatist movement. The Bush administra tion didn't want anyone to think the bombings could have been done by Al Quaida, so they talked the Spanish government in to blaming ETA. But Spaniards aren't stupid. They're sick of ETA, but they know that ETA does not indiscrimi nately bomb subway stations. They saw through the lie, tossed their government out on its ass, and brought their troops home from Iraq. Spain, it seems, is an actual democracy. Perhaps we'll be a democracy someday.

 &nbs p; We have recently made bold strides towards democracy. We flipped the majorities in both houses of congress and voted in a President from the previously underdog party because a vast majority of us were sick of the status quo.  And I did say "vast majority".

 &nbs p; &n bsp; Obama won by a fucking landslide, people. Unlike Bush's two elections, Obama's election was nowhere near close enough to steal. We, the vast majority that voted for Obama, knew he would try to reform healthcare . So, why are the town hall mobs getting so much media attention? They can't constitute that much of the electorate . Probably, the media needs a story to sell, and they can sell it more effectivel y if they add suspense by making the playing field look even. Republican s aren't acting like the field is even. They are snarling like cornered wolves, booing and hissing at the President during his address to the joint session of Congress. People get mean when they feel outnumbere d. Joe Wilson and his ilk can still stir up their base, but their base is shrinking.

 &nbs p; &n bsp; Still, they might block healthcare reform one more time. The drug companies and insurers have so much money with which to combat common sense, that we may have to go another round. But universal health coverage will come to the people of the U.S. and its opponents know it. The only question is, how broke will Americans have to be before they no longer care whether or not their health care system would once have been considered Socialist and rise up and demand the reform that should have been theirs long ago? It's true that when it is ultimately implemente d, our newly socialized healthcare system will be an unholy mess for a while, because we don't yet know how to do universal healthcare . If we'd let President Truman have his way, and implemente d universal health care sixty years ago, when the rest of the free world did it, we'd probably have our system worked out by now.

 &nbs p; &n bsp; I've noticed that some of the people who don't want healthcare reform are also upset by Obama's stimulus package. They were also upset by Bush's stimulus package, and I don't blame them. I'm upset too. I don't like it that we have to bail out the people who ripped us off, but that seems to have been the only viable course of action. Paul Krugman seems to think it worked, at least for now. From my hotel window in downtown Cincinnati , I don't see any bread lines. I'll pose a question to those who's greatest fear is socialism. Those bankers that you hate so much, those bankers whose bailouts your grandchild ren will be paying for while they're also paying for the wars and maybe a bit of healthcare , those terrible evil banker people . . . are they socialists ?
 

Collector porn for the discrimina ting indie rock fan, yo.

By Blurt Staff

Get ready to feast your eyes, indie rock fans:  ;The Merge Records Companion: A visual discograph y of the first twenty years is en route from, you guessed it, Merge Records on Nov. 3. It will cap a year-long celebratio n of Merge's storied 20-year tenure, that's included the sold-out festival, the sold-out subscripti on box set, and the behind-the -scenes book. (Full report on the latter in the new issue of BLURT, headed to a newsstand near you.)

This cd-sized volume contains photograph s of every 7-inch, album, EP, and DVD (plus two cassettes! ) put out by Merge in our first twenty years. For design fans, the three-hund red-plus photos chronicle the evolution of album cover design, from when cut-and-pa ste wasn't just an "aesthetic ", but rather the only available production technique for bands (see early records from label founders' own band, Superchunk , and Raleigh punk-pop outfit Erectus Monotone) to the sophistica ted design of the consistent ly amazing Lambchop covers or the intricate constructi ons for the Arcade Fire's ten releases on Merge. 

This limited-ed ition, 350-page paperback book also features essays by both founders of the label, Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance, reflecting on the days when they stuffed every sleeve themselves . The list of hand models in the back (Merge asked their bands and friends to hold their favorite records for the photograph s) contains stars and interns side-by-si de, a tribute to the collaborat ive ethic that has allowed one of indie rock's most likable labels to stay true to their simple mission: putting out music by bands they like. 

The Merge Records Companion is limited-ed ition and all proceeds will benefit the charities chos en by the fourteen SCORE! curators.

Latest installmen t of his Blurt blog "Wasteland Bait & Tackle" addresses the health care debate and debacle, the quality of life in America as we know it, and, oh yeah, all that shit about socialism.

By Fred Mills

"Last year, 2008, balls out free market capitalism stepped on its dick and fell on its ass. We had lived a fantasy for nearly thirty years." That's rocker and songwriter James McMurtry, writing in his Blurt blog, about where we are and how we got here - this sorry mess, that is, where capitalism collides with notions of socialism, where free market enterprise impacts real-life health issues, and more. Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush II, Obama, African American moms, illegal aliens... red states, blue states, welfare states... whew, the man pretty much covers it all in one free-rangi ng, free-think ing essay.

Concludes McMurtry, "If we'd let President Truman have his way, and implemente d universal health care sixty years ago, when the rest of the free world did it, we'd probably have our system worked out by now." Sadly, our system is totally fucked, and only just now are we realizing it. But there's still time to pick up on the dialogue, and McMurtry's definitely got something to say. Read his blog HERE.

Meanwhile, we'd be totally remiss if we didn't mention that our favorite Texan also has a new live CD/DVD due out Oct. 13 via Lightning Rod. Titled Live in Europe, it's got JM and his band plus Iam McLagan on keys and fellow TX legend Jon Dee Graham guesting. And it kicks ass, too - we're listening to it this very moment.

But his apology seems sincere. See the video evidence, below.

By Fred Mills

You already know the story by now, so if you haven't been piqued enough to track down the videos of Kanye bum-rushin g Taylor Swift's VMA's acceptance speech Sunday night and then his apology on Jay Leno's show the following night, they appear below.

Meanwhile, here's that news item about President Obama telling a reporter, supposedly off the record, that Kanye's a jackass. And he should know - he's from Chicago.

Neil Young, No Doubt, Coldplay's Chris Martin, Fleet Foxes, Wolfmother , Sheryl Crow, Gavin Rossdale, Monsters of Folk, Jimmy Buffett, Adam Sandler. Well, 5 out of 10 ain't all that bad.

By Fred Mills

News arrives this morning that Neil Young's annual Bridge School Benefit concert, set to run this year on Oct. 24 and 25 at its usual spot (Mountain View, CA's Shoreline Amphitheat re), has disclosed the roster of performers .

On both nights, Neil Young, No Doubt, Coldplay's Chris Martin, Fleet Foxes, Wolfmother , Sheryl Crow, Gavin Rossdale and the Monsters of Folk will play, while Jimmy Buffett will do Saturday only and Adam Sandler will appear Sunday.

Tickets go on sale Sunday, September 20, via Live Nation (www.livenation .com). For full details on the show as well as the background on the Bridge School, go to their official site.  

Admittedly , this makes for one of the event's spottiest ever lineups - it's hard to imagine a hardcore Neil Young fan having any desire whatsoever to see mainstream cheese like No Doubt, Gavin Rossdale (maybe a Bush acoustic set, hmmm?) or Chris Martin. Bets are that all Monsters of Folk fans in attendance will hit the concession stands during those artists' sets, too. But if the idea is to fill up seats and raise money for charity, it's hard, and possibly meanspirit ed, to complain about Young's choices. The presence of No Doubt and Martin on the bill should tip the attendance scales pretty handily. And Buffett will ensure that old-timers uncertain about whether to fork over the bucks will want to queue up for at least one evening; Sandler, likewise, will rope in the Gen Y crowd.

Meanwhile, check out this special, and touching, video announceme nt created for this year's show:

From the venerable Rockpalast archives.

By Blurt Staff

German TV's legendary Rockpalast show has featured virtually every rock band that ever mattered on its stage. Little Feat is no exception, and on Sept. 22 Eagle Rock delivers some ace documentat ion via the Skin It Back: Live In Germany DVD.
 

Filmed in 1977 at the Grugahalle in Essen, this concert was shot just days before the recording of their renowned live album Waiting For Columbus. Featuring the band's classic line-up, late vocalist/g uitarist Lowell George leads the band - vocalist/g uitarist Paul Barrere, vocalist/k eyboardist Bill Payne, percussion ist Sam Clayton, bassist Kenny Gradney, and drummer Richard Hayward - through the 11-song performanc e. The thirty minutes of never-befo re-seen alternate rehearsal versions of the songs include "Rock N Roll Doctor," which did not make the cut for the final show.

The main broadcast has been circulated on bootleg VHS and DVD in the past, but this marks the concert's first official release, and it will feature top audio and visual quality, not several generation s' removed from the original tape source. Hoy-hoy!

Track Listing:

1.) Skin It Back
2.) Fat Man In The Bathtub
3.) Oh, Atlanta
4.) Day At The Dog Races
5.) All That You Dream
6.) Old Folks' Boogie
7.) Dixie Chicken
8.) Tripe Face Boogie
9.) Feats Don't Fail Me Now
10.) Willin'
11.) Rocket In My Pocket

 
Bonus Tracks:

1.) Old Folks' Boogie
2.) Fat Man In The Bathtub
3.) Rock ‘n' Roll Doctor
4.) Skin It Back / Fat Man In The Bathtub
5.) Oh, Atlanta
6.) Willin'

Check out the awesome ad for Red Fang. Full coverage of the festival coming from Blurt. Meanwhile, we offer our best picks.

By Jason Simms

This weekend, virtually every music venue in Portland will be taken over for the west coast indie music capital's take on a SXSW type festival, Music Fest Northwest. MFNW is a lower-key more fan-focuse d (as opposed to industry and swag) affair than its Austin counterpar t, and this year, by my estimation of the lineup, it's really going out on a limb and relying more heavily than ever on Northwest bands.

Take this television ad for the fest. It seems to suggest that for metal fans, Red Fang, who is from Portland, is on par with Girl Talk (whose set, we learned, just sold out) or Passion Pit.

Red Fang is awesome. But they're also from Portland and if every time they played a local show heads exploded, there wouldn't be any shredders left in Stumptown. But like SXSW, MFNW performanc es have a certain magic and the fest does bring in out of town visitors, so we shall if the locals can carry the day. At first, I was pretty disappoint ed in the lack of any national headliners I was dying to see (bands like Monotonix and Bad Brains are repeat customers) , but now I'm psyched to see the locals getting this level of responsibi lity. Here are some highlights of the Northwest offerings for the uninitiate d.

The Mint Chicks (Thursday, Doug Fir, 9pm) - This twisted Brit-pop style group is big in New Zealand and making their way in the US via Portland.

Explode Into Colors (Friday, Holocene, 11pm) - A hipster drum circle band of Portland ladies that was crowned best new band of '09 by Willamette Week.

The New York Rifles (Friday, Ash St, 11pm) - ...are actually from Portland and do this sort of punk meets Southern spiritual thing that is both fashionabl e and rewarding.

The Lonely H (Friday, Ash St, 12am) - A Port Angeles, Washington , classic rock four piece which isn't old enough to drink but has already worn out several pairs of boots and sets of tires touring the country and has even garnered opening spots for the Grateful Dead.

Mudhoney (Friday, Dante's 12:30am) - You probably know this bona-fide pioneering Seattle grunge band.

Atole - (Friday, Rotture 9pm) - This Portland four piece is kind of like Andrew WK entertaini ng a gay cruise by sining in gibberish.

Y La Bamba - (Saturday, Rontoms, 7:30pm) - Traditiona l Mexican meets Aliyah on the dreamscape . Prepare to be transfixed by one of Portland's strangest.

Loch Lomond (Saturday, Mississipp i Studios, 12am) - The most delicate and refined of the throng of Portland folk bands.

Team Dresch (Saturday, Rotture, 12am) - Olympia, Washington , queer core founders reunited to unleash fury on the X-tian Reich.

Latest pick of cool artist in our ongoing collaborat ion with Sonicbids.

By Fred Mills

The BLURT staff put our heads (and ears) together and we have the July-Augus t pick for our Blurt/Soni cbids "Best Kept Secret": it's Memphis rockers the Bulletproo f Vests.

Featuring members drawn from the ranks of Snowglobe, Trashed Romeos, Antique Curtains, Jump Back Jake and The Third Man, they stir up some trouble via hard-twang ing garage, raveup country soul and oh-so-harm onious pristine power pop.  Hell , there's even one song that sounds like a friggin' mashup of Big Star, T. Rex and the Stones! The lineup:

Jake Vest - Vocals, Guitar
Toby Vest - Vocals, Guitar
Greg Faison - Drums, Vocals
Dirk Kitterlin - Keyboards
Brandon Robertson - Bass

According to the Vests, their album Attack was "performed and captured by the band themselves in their own Memphis studio and mixed with a magic wand and a potato battery by Ardent Studios engineer, Adam Hill, who has been involved with Big Star, Jack White, The Green Brothers, The 145's, & Jim Dickinson. Inside this smorgasbor d of sound sits a rollicking exploratio n of tone and genre that is part psyched out backwards fuzz freak-out, part sweet country slow drippin' ear molasses, and part subterrane an buzzsaw scream served with a helping of the heart stopping Memphis sound, filled with Big Star's, Moloch's, Reigning Sound's, Oblivians' , Guilloteen s' and MGs."

We'll have an interview with the band posted to the site shortly. Check out the band's MySpace page for song samples, tour dates and more. And congratula tions to the Bulletproo f Vests. They're one of the good ‘uns , trust us.

***

Bands, go to www.sonicbids.com/blurto nline to submit and have us review your materials for feature considerat ion.

>Our November Best Kept Secret: The Handcuffs, from Chicago.

>Our December Best Kept Secret: Black Swan Green, from Brooklyn

>Our January Best Kept Secret: stephanies Ä­ ;d, from Asheville

>Our March Best Kept Secret: Polly Mackey & the Pleasure Principle, from England

>Our May Best Kept Secret: Wiretree, from England

Due Oct. 27 for all you downloadin '  types. The rest of us have to wait until next year.

By Blurt Staff

Respected singer-son gwriter - and BLURT blogger - Matthew Ryan is set to drop Dear Lover, his twelfth recording, via The Dear Future Collective . It arrives digitally on Oct. 27, while the general public will be able to nab it on CD next February 16.

The album's described as  "a mea culpa, a cry to fight for what you hold most dear" with some of Ryan's "most poignant" lyrics - "I want that feel/Like a plane when it arrives/Wh ere at the gate/Famil y waits with quiet smiles" (from "City Life').

Much of the album, Ryan notes in the official press release,&n bsp; "was inspired by events in the Spring of 2009. In short, last winter I found myself in an emergency room with someone I love. It seemed too soon. I guess it always is. But it started my head spinning around these songs once everything turned out alright.... It's a collection dedicated to saying the things between lovers that often go unsaid. It's not all doom and gloom. But you know, earnest to say the least."   

 
The record is his first self-recor ded effort. Nine of the ten tracks were recorded at The Lerkim, his home studio in Nashville. Among the musicians playing on the album: Molly Thomas (violin), Scott Simontacch i (mandolin) , Brian Bequette (guitar, bass, accordion) , Billy Mercer (bass), Amanda Shires (violin) and Rod Picott (vocals). Meanwhile DJ Preach tackled a remix of the song "Spark."

Dear Lover is the followup to 2008's critically hailed Matthew Ryan Vs The Silver State.

Scratching anywhere, anytime, in or out of mosquito season...

By Fred Mills

We here at BLURT don't usually feature products in our news items - and the news item you're reading here isn't intended to open the floodgates as such (SO ALL YOU P.R. FLACKS, DON'T EVEN BOTHER ASKIN'...) - but sometimes a piece of gear just looks so sweet we can't resist, so it's worth the gratuitous plug.

Ladies and germs and scratch deejays, meet the Scratchoph one v1.2, complete with drive and mixer controls. A picture is worth a thousand words, and a video (see below - it's awesome, as is the soundtrack ) is worth a million, so we'll leave it at that; if you wanna find out more about how to scratch anywhere, anytime. go to the Scratchoph one website.

The single "Miracle" is taken from her new album My Guilty Pleasure.

By Blurt Staff

Sally Shapiro's new video for "Miracle" is, according to Sally and her producer Johan Agebjö ;rn, "directed by Will Joines, whom we had the pleasure to shortly meet during our one and only (and short) DJ tour to North America. He photograph ed us during the appearance in New York and was really nice. We like his work so we had him to direct this music video together with the producer Gilana Lobel and a few more people."

It's a fantastic, moving, emotional vid - hint: it's in hi-def, so watch it using your full screen option.

You can read more about her My Guilty Pleasure album, along with some tantalizin g details about what may or may not be her true identity, in the new issue of BLURT, on newsstands soon. "Someone had to record the voice, and everyone knows Sally Shapiro is a pseudonym, " she tells BLURT, of the rampant media speculatio n that she doesn't even exist. "I didn't really understand how they were thinking."

Read our previous Shapiro interview HERE.

Sally Shapiro "Miracle" from the album "My Guilty Pleasure" from Paper Bag Records on Vimeo.

No. 1: We do this to ourselves...

By Bryan Reed

Beginning a thing without a determined endpoint is necessaril y uncertain, but I'd argue that's a part of its excitement . This could be a failure. Or it could succeed. Or it could merely be, neither failing nor succeeding for whatever lifespan we deem to grant it.

As I embark on this uncertain and exciting experiment in offering my own excursions into the happenings of popular music's louder, less accessible poles, I find it painfully ironic that one of my favorite metal bands of the past few years - the Durham-bas ed Tooth whose Animality EP features prominentl y in my memories of my senior year in Chapel Hill - is dead. Tooth is yet another casualty of the Summer-of- Death that so far has claimed a handful of celebritie s and, apparently , America's ability to bite its collective tongue.

(Tooth guitarist Rich James leading his band's final show in Durham, N.C. Photo credit: Jordan Lawrence.)

That Tooth disbanded before fulfilling its potential for greatness is perhaps most indicative of the nature of beginning something with no pre-determ ined endpoint: it will end, eventually , and when it does it'll make an impact.

Fortunatel y, Tooth's dissolutio n arrives with a concession , bitterswee t though it might be, in the form of a split LP with Philadelph ia's The Claw. In a way, the record marks an end for both bands. The A-Side captures Tooth's final recordings . So when Tooth vocalist J-ME Guptill declares "We do this to ourselves, " in "Suicide Myth," it's hard not to assume his lyrics are foreshadow ing the band's own demise. The B-Side documents the last tapes cut by former vocalist Mikey Brosnan who died in late 2008 at the hand of a drunk driver. And when The Claw launches into its first of three songs, "Grief Is For The Living," it's hard not to let a sense of doom creep into the experience knowing that not long after recording this song, Brosnan would be dead, and his living friends and family would be grieving.

The Claw, though, soldiers on through their three songs - tense, thrashing metal with an ear for Swedish melody and Florida brutality - and into the future. Tooth, though, has made its final statement with three songs that somehow amplify both Rich James' perfect guitar leads and the band's hardcore urgency without sounding contradict ory.

My friend Jason Kutchma, of the band Red Collar, wrote a summary of Tooth I really can't beat, so here it is:

"It seems these days that most metal bands have solos that go on forever, jerk-off sessions that I can't stand. In order to make themselves more interestin g, they have rhythms that get head-y and too complicate d but I think it often has the opposite effect: I think it makes it boring as hell. Tooth however are everything , and I mean absolutely everything , that I ever loved about metal and truthfully about music in the first place. They do everything right. They are perfect. I kept on seeing them live, listening to their two song demo to see if I really mean it when I say I believe they are perfect. If anything, it just strengthen ed my belief. I believe them when they play. I believe in them when they play. They are a most beautiful Frankenste in, put together with the greatest parts of metal, thrash, and punk. But they don't lumber and thud along with their arms outstretch ed, motivated by an Abby Normal brain wondering where Master is with their next quick fix of an electrical jolt to get them through the night. They have what Frankenste in and the many, many metaphoric al Frankenste ins in the music world never could have or never bother to get: heart and soul."

Tooth leaves us this three-song testament to their largely - and criminally - unheralded greatness. But I still believe in them when it plays.

ALSO IN ROTATION: Marduk - Wormwood (Regain); Lowbrow - Broken Speech EP (Self-Awar e); Greymachin e - Disconnect ed (Hydra Head); Keelhaul - Keelhaul's Triumphant Return to Obscurity (Hydra Head); Earth - Radio Earth (Southern Lord); Magrudergr ind - Magrudergr ind (Willowtip ); Graf Orlock - Destinatio n Time Today (Vitriol); Pryamids with Nadja - Pyramids with Nadja (Hydra Head)

***

Bryan Reed is from North Carolina and, despite his best efforts, he still hasn't grown out of the racket that irritated his friends and family in high school, and continues to irritate them in the present. Stalker-ty pes should know that they can follow Bryan on Twitter @subparroc kstar.

Last concert was Nov. 20, 1999 in London... Malkmus summarily pulled the plug, bad vibes ensued.

By Fred Mills

Indie rock news o' the day has got to be about the presumed Pavement reunion, which Brookly Vegan broke last night in a posting that read thusly:

"According to reliable sources, it's finally happening in 2010! There will be multiple, possibly four, nights of shows at NYC's Central Park Summerstag e in September of that year. That could be part of a tour. That could be the end of a tour, the middle of a tour, or even the beginning of a tour, but it seems reasonable to speculate that they might make their official comeback at Coachella in April."

Pitchfork subsequent ly checked into it with their own contacts and earlier today posted thusly:

"According to a source who is real and official and not a figment of our imaginatio n, Pavement will perform a benefit show at Central Park SummerStag e on September 21, 2010. Mark your motherfuck ing calendars."

Indeed we will. As we all know, time sometimes heals all wounds (as does the promise of a payday) when it comes to rock band, but only sometimes; usually, those old wounds get reopened, and you can count on one hand the reunions that actually stick.

More news (or rumors) as it develops.

Combined with the box set and the Chris Bell reissue, it sounds like a great way to cap off The Year of Big Star, eh?

By Fred Mills

This week marks the release of the sprawling, 4-CD Big Star box set Keep an Eye on the Sky from Rhino, and we trust we've kept you fully apprised of that not-so-arc ane-artifa ct thus far. A free stream of Big Star's unreleased song "Lovely Day" is available now at www.rhino.com/bigsta r in case you need a nudge or somethin'. We further trust you don't need much nudging, however... that box has got to be one of the most handsomely designed pieces Rhino has ever done, loaded with photos that even the most ardent (pun intended) fans have NEVER seen.

Meanwhile New Yorkers should mark their calendars for November 18: that night at Brooklyn's Masonic Temple, Big Star will reconvene for a rare performanc e. Original members Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens, plus latterday members Ken Stringfell ow and Jon Auer (both from the Posies) will perform classic Big Star material as well as songs from 2005's comeback album In Space.

It's shaping up to be The Year Of Big Star for fans and collectors , of course. We've already seen both an in-depth book on the band and reissues of its first two, key, LPs (go HERE to read about the book and CDs), and in addition to the box set there's also an upcoming Chris Bell archival release, an expanded 2CD edition of the Big Star founding member's s posthumous I Am The Cosmos, due Sept. 29 from Rhino Handmade.

We'll have a full report on both the Big Star box in the new print edition of BLURT ("With 98 cuts altogether , plus detailed track annotation s and copious liner notes, the archival dig runs deep," sez our ace  reviewer) and the Bell collection on this website very soon.

The distaff one-third of folk icons Peter, Paul & Mary was a songbird of rare plumage.

By Fred Mills

Mary Travers of Peter, Paul & Mary passed away yesterday in Danbury, Connecticu t, following a four-year battle with cancer. She'd been diagnosed in 2005 with leukemia but a bone-marro w transplant held the disease at bay until recently; reportedly , complicati ons related to chemothera py contribute d to her death. She was 72.

Born in Kentucky, Travers landed in Greenwich Village in time for the folk boom of the ‘60s , and after singing on the NYC circuit for several years she met fellow musicians Paul Stookey and Peter Yarrow - Bob Dylan's manager Albert Grossman introduced the singers - and together the trio managed to bring a measure of commercial gloss to traditiona l folk sounds. They recorded numerous hits that are still staples of oldies radio, among them "If I Had A Hammer," a signature version of Dylan's "Blowin' In the Wind," the is-it/is-i t-not-abou t-smoking- pot children's classic "Puff the Magic Dragon" and John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" - the latter, in particular , was elevated from maudlin status (read the lyrics) to a genuine pop anthem thanks to PP&M's intuitive harmonies, Travis coating the vocals with a believable vulnerabil ity.

Travis and her partners were also champions of myriad social causes throughout their long career, which weathered its share of ups and downs, including a breakup in 1970 tht lasted until 1978 when they got back together for a concert protesting nuclear power.

In a lengthy New York Times obituary, Yarrow and Stookey&nb sp; remembered their bandmate, Yarrow calling her as "honest and completely authentic" and Stookey adding "her charisma was a barely contained nervous energy - occasional ly (and then only privately) revealed as stage fright."

Scott Pascucci, President of Rhino Entertainm ent (Rhino issued the trio's final album, In These Times, in 2004), placed Travers in the larger perspectiv e in a statement:

 "Ame rican music has lost one of its strongest, truest voices with the passing today of Mary Travers.  As part of Peter, Paul And Mary, she was at the forefront of the '60s folk renaissanc e, inspiring millions of people to greater activism on behalf of racial equality, peace, and opportunit y for the oppressed.

"Surely the most successful folk trio of all time, Peter, Paul And Mary have been a loved member of the Warner Music Group family for nearly 50 years. Their 1962 debut album brought folk music of consciousn ess to the top of the charts and was monumental in launching the fledgling Warner Bros. Records label. Their unpreceden ted string of gold and platinum albums, hit singles, and Grammy® ; Awards was truly astonishin g. In 2004, the trio performed in our offices in support of their final album, In These Times; and the joy they felt for their music and the responsibi lity they felt toward their audiences remained as clear as when they began nearly half a century ago.

 
"Mary was always a champion for human rights. Along with Peter and Noel Paul, she performed at the March on Washington in 1963 where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his legendary "I Have a Dream" speech. They also performed in support of Cesar Chavez and the UFW at Carnegie Hall in the late 1960s and for strawberry pickers in California in the 1990s.  They performed at national marches for women's choice in Washington and demonstrat ed in support of the Anti-Apart heid Movement,& nbsp;commi tting an act of civil disobedien ce that led to the trio's arrest in front of the South African Embassy. 

"Although society's challenges have changed since the legendary day on which "If I Had A Hammer" rang out at our nation's Capitol, the need to engage in the process of improving our world remains just as great, and Mary's music and life will continue to inspire generation s to come to improve the world in which we live." 

44 songs to be released one at a time, totally free...

By Blurt Staff

"The commitment that is most important is the one I'm making to you--that the music of Teargarden by Kaleidysco pe will be available for free to everyone. All 44 songs: free for ALL," announced Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, about the forthcomin g new album, in a posting on the band's website.

It will ultimately feature 44 songs, 4 of which are now being recorded. The entire collection -which Corgan says "harkens back to the original psychedeli c roots of The Smashing Pumpkins; atmospheri c, melodic, heavy, and pretty"--s hould be completed by early next year with a world tour slated for spring 2010. 

Explains Corgan about how the music will be issued, "My desire is to release a song at a time beginning around Halloween of this year, with each new release coming shortly after until all 44 are out. Each song will be made available absolutely for free, to anyone anywhere. There will be no strings attached. Free will mean free, which means you won't have to sign up for anything, give an email address, or jump through a hoop. You will be able to go and take the song or songs as you wish, as many times as you wish."

Teargarden By Kaleidysco pe, says Corgan, "is based on ‘The Fool's Journey,' as signified in the progress of the Tarot, the intention is to approach the work by breaking down the journey of life into four phases as made by different characters depicted in major arcana cards: the Child, the Fool, the Skeptic and the Mystic."

The music will not only be issued online, reveals Corgan.  "We will sell highly limited edition EPs (of 4 songs each times 11), and details of how those EPs will be made available are still being worked out. Because the songs themselves will be free, the EPs will be more like collectors items for the discerning fan who will want the art itself, along with the highest possible audio quality available. The EPs will be more like mini-box sets rather than your normal CD single. We may also offer other variations for sale--say for example, a digital single with a demo version of a song."

Upon the album's completion "it will be compiled into a deluxe box set w hich will also be made available for sale. Those who have bought the EPs need not worry, as the box set will not be a recompilat ion of the limited edition pieces. "

"I am very committed to seeing this album through to its completion and very, very excited about the prospect of delivering new Smashing Pumpkins music to you in a unique and exciting way." 

Will also be performing classic 1997 opus in a series of ATP concerts.

By Blurt Staff

Spirituali zed will re-issue their classic album ‘Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space' on November 16 in the UK on Sony Music. (No official announceme nt for a US release has been made yet, however.)

The album release coincides with the upcoming live performanc es of the entire album; part of All Tomorrow's Parties&nb sp; ‘Don 't Look Back' series, as previously announced. The band were approached two years ago to perform the album live on its 10th anniversar y.  It took a while for  J.Spaceman (aka Json Pierce) to finally agree to the idea. ‘It was a decision made at altitude' he says referring to being on top of Mt. Buller in Australia at the time. The live performanc es will see the regular band augmented with strings, brass and choir.

It is now 12 years since ‘Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space' made a profound impact in the summer of 1997, both critically and commercial ly, with its psychedeli c soundscape s and heart-rend ing lyrics. It has influenced a whole range of musicians ever since. It was NME's album of the year for 1997 and reached No.4 in the official charts.  Originally packaged as a giant pill offering a written prescripti on, the concept was creatively inspired reflecting the depth of emotion and trauma laid bare on this truly remarkable work.
 

The album will be released with new artwork on special limited edition formats with bonus content. These bonus tracks were in storage and subsequent ly forgotten about until Jason Pierce moved house and discovered the ‘los t' recordings from 12 years ago. The tracks give a valuable insight into the artist's work-in-pr ogress - demos, instrument al versions, sessions mixes - and highlight an aim for perfection prior to recording the definitive version.

The formats include:

The Collector' s Edition. This will include 12 x 3" Mini CD's of the complete full album track-by-t rack, an homage to the original release. This will be accompanie d by 2 bonus discs (as per tracklisti ng below). Only 1,000 of these sets will be made, making these extremely limited.

The Special Edition will include the original album in the legendary and unique pill pack style packaging, alongside the 2 bonus discs. This Special Edition will also will be a limited, one-off release.

The original album with new artwork and a revised version of  opening track ‘Lad ies & Gentlemen' (now including "Can't Help Falling In Love" as originally intended for this album), will also be released as a Standard 1CD Version. 

Track Listing:


1. Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
2. Come Together
3. I Think I'm in Love
4. All of My Thoughts
5. Stay With Me
6. Electricit y
7. Home of the Brave
8. The Individual
9. Broken Heart
10. No God Only Religion
11. Cool Waves
12. Cop Shoot Cop


Bonus CD 1

1. Ladies And Gentlemen (A Cappella)
2. Ladies And Gentlemen (Demo)
3. Ladies And Gentlemen (Strings)
4. Ladies And Gentlemen (Kate Telephone Call)
5. Ladies And Gentlemen (Moles Studio Mix 7)
6. Ladies And Gentlemen (Original Oratone Ideas)
7. Ladies And Gentlemen (A Cappella w/ Lead Vocal)
8. Come Together (Instrumen tal Demo)
9. Come Together (Demo In Lower Key)
10. I Think I'm In Love (Original Demo Idea)
11. I Think I'm In Love (Demo)
12. I Think I'm In Love (Drums/Wah )
13. I Think I'm In Love (A Cappella)
14. I Think I'm In Love (Vocal Demo Jan 96)
15. I Think I'm In Love (Gospel Choir Session)
16. All Of My Thoughts (Demo)
17. All Of My Thoughts (Strings)
18. Rocket Shaped Song

Bonus CD 2

1. Electricit y (Demo)
2. Electricit y (January 96)
3. Electricit y (June 96)
4. Home Of The Brave (Demo)
5. Home Of The Brave (Panned Vocal)
6. Beautiful Happiness
7. Broken Heart (Demo)
8. Broken Heart (Strings)
9. Broken Heart (Vocal Harmony/An gel Corpus Christi)
10. Broken Heart (Early Vocal)
11. No God Only Religion (Demo)
12. No God Only Religion (Horns)
13. Cool Waves (Demo)
14. Cool Waves (String Session Mix)
15. Cop Shoot Cop (Demo)
16. Cop Shoot Cop (Dr. John 'The National Anthem)
17. Cop Shoot Cop (String Session Mix)

Spirituali zed are set to perform the album in its entirety at the following venues:

12 / 13 October
Royal Festival Hall - London
SOLD OUT

14 December
Apollo - Manchester
£25 + booking fee via 0844 4777677 / giggsandto urs.com

16 / 17 December
Barbican - London
£32.50 + booking fee via www.barbican.org.uk

19 December
Sage Centre - Gateshead
£32.50 + booking fee via www.tickets.thesagegat eshead.org

Latest issue of subversive pinko muso rag Dagger arrives and it's a corker!

By Fred Mills

Around here at BLURT central we have one motto: "Support the troops!" (Also "ignore annoying emails from p.r. flacks" but we won't get into that right now...) Ergo, let us tip you in the direction of BLURT contributo r Tim Hinely's fanzine called Dagger - the latest issue, pictured above, recently hit newsstands .

What is  "newsstand ," all you Internet dweebs ask? Why, it's an archaic commercial construct designed to sell those quaint artifacts known as "print publicatio ns." You know - paper, ink, glue, staples, dead trees, landfill refuse...

Issue #42 of this long-runni ng labor of love is crammed with photos of the legendary garage loons the Mummies, interviews with some of our favorite artists (like Tim Lee, Elf Power and David Kilgour of the Clean) and more record reviews than you can shake a 45 adapter at.

Hinely, based outta Portland, also has a pretty snazzy website you should check out. But clearly, if you're a REAL man, er, music fan, you will want the physical goods. Plus, you'll be doing your part to thwart the creeping contempora ry trend of magazines going under and disappeari ng for good. Tell Tim BLURT sent ya...

Now THAT is the power of love. Not your mama's type of jam band, that's for sure.

By Blurt Staff

Back in April, San Fran loonies Still Flyin' released their latest album Never Gonna Touch the Ground (Ernest Jenning), a mesmerizin g amalgam of psychedeli a, mutant world beat and indiepop that's still a favorite around here at BLURT central.

Now comes word that ace knobs twiddler Hood Internet has remixed the band as "LMFAO vs Still Flyin", and you can nab a copy of it via download right HERE. You'll be glad you did - it's like taking a whole new drug!

The band's on tour right now too...

9.19.09 Athens, GA (Kindercor e and Owl Scooters Hootenanny ) w/ Maserati and more
9.20.09 Atlanta, GA The Earl w/ Peelander- Z, Excalibrah
9.21.09 Knoxville, TN Pilot Light w/ Excalibrah
9.22.09 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506 w/ Air Waves, The Beets, Excalibrah
9.23.09 Washington DC DC9 w/ Excalibrah
9.25.09 NY, NY Mercury Lounge w/ The Rifles
9.26.09 Boston, MA Cafe 939 @ Berklee w/ Pants Yell, Excalibrah
9.27.09 Philadelph ia, PA Johnny Brenda's w/ Ape School, Folklore
10.21-24.09 NY, NY CMJ!!
10.25.09 Geneseo, NY Mac's Place
10.26.09 Columbus, OH The Basement
10.27.09 Chicago IL Schuba's
10.28.09 Des Moines, IA Vaudville Mews
10.29.09 Minneapoli s, MN Triple Rock
11.01.09 Austin, TX Stubbs BBQ
11.03.09 Tucson, AZ Club Congress w/ Fatima, Yellow Fever
11.05.09 Los Angeles, CA Spaceland w/ Hearts Of Palm UK
11.06.09 Santa Cruz, CA Don Quixotes
11.07.09 San Francisco, CA Cafe Du Nord w/ Yellow Fever

Bands currently touring together.

By Fred Mills

Hot off a UK tour with Dinosaur Jr, BLURT faves Dead Confederat e have just kicked off their co-headlin e tour with the Meat Puppets. It started last night in Tempe and will run through Oct. 24 in Athens. After that the band will hook up with A Place to Bury Strangers and All the Saints for dates running through early November.

Meanwhile, the band is offering a free digital 7": Dead Confederat e's "The Rat" (Live from Laundromat inee.com) plus The Meat Puppets "Go To Your Head "(from Daytrotter 's SXSW sessions)" . We're not exactly sure how something in digital form can have seven inch dimensions , but what the hell, go here to get the tunes. All you'll have to do is provide some quick contact info for their mailing lists.

Tour Dates:

Sep 16 - Tempe AZ Marquee Theatre - AZ!
Sep 17 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern!
Sep 18 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre!
Sep 19 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's!
Sep 20 - Sebastopol , CA - HopMonk  
Sep 22 -  Port land OR. Wonder Ballroom!
Sep 23 - Seattle WA - Chop Suey!
Sep 24 - Boise, ID - Grizzly Rose!
Sep 25 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge!
Sep 26 - Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre Boulder!
Oct 21 - Birmingham , AL - Bottletree Café ;!
Oct 22 - Nashville, TN - Exit/In!
Oct 23 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade !
Oct 24 -  Athens, GA, 40 Watt Club!
Oct 26 - Chicago, IL - Double Door*
Oct 27 - TORONTO,&n bsp;ON - The Mod Club*
Oct 28 - MONTREAL, QC - Il Motore*
Oct 29 - New York, NY - The Bowery Ballroom*
Oct 30 - Cambridge, MA - Middle East Upstairs*
Nov 5 - Oxford, MS - Proud Larry's
Nov - 7- Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fest

! w/ Meat Puppets and Ume
* w/ A Place to Bury Strangers and All The Saints

No one's a bigger fan of social media marketing than me. But lord, lord, lord... it is motherfuck ing exhausting . Imagine running 2 companies (including 21 people working for free, miracle of God, I am beyond thankful every day) and still finding time for newsletter s, status updates, and of course, blog posts. Let's just say, more often than not, the basics (eating, cleaning, dressing, exercising , brushing teeth) take a backseat. Oh, priorities .

But the truth is, I count on YOU to help me keep at it. Your feedback (your e-mails, your retweets, your comments, your fandom, your forwards); that's the FUN part. And I can't do it without you. Just plain can't.

So, thank you.

Now on to what's been playing around Outlandos HQ:

1. One eskimO, One eskimO



Wow. Wow. Wow. Smart, clever and remarkably (I hate this word but it's true)... fresh. And it takes a little bit creep up on you, which is my favorite. Seal/FYC meets 70s Stones meets Tom McRae, translatio n: singer-son gwriter-po p-dance-ro ck. What? Really. Buy it [...]

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.

Menace To Society

by Otep Shamaya
 
I write to you today from the burning green of the deep, deep South. It is a hot and humid day that fosters a weighted atmosphere of sloth and fury. Perfect. I have been asked and eagerly agreed to speak at a church rally in support of a grassroots movement hoping to rid our society of the most morally egregious degenerate s we have ever known. I think we all know who I refer to. And yes, I joined this crusade to combat this diseased vermin before things get out of hand. As we've seen all over the news, these degenerate s have started to organize politicall y and demand equality.
 
But never fear, fellow citizens, this threat will not go unchalleng ed, I assure you.
 
Our nation was built on the good God-fearin g Judaic-Chr istian heritage of Andrew Jackson, George Wallace, General Custer, Nixon, McCarthy, and J. Edgar Hoover. We are not, nor have we ever been, a nation of equals. We are a nation of chutes and ladders. Everyone knows this. But this group of hooligans intends on disrupting the status quo.
 
Well, this will never do.
 
The social terrorists I am referencin g (and opposing) are the notoriousl y strange and flamboyant RED MENACE, better known on the street as "Gingers".
 
Indeed, we at the "National Organizati on for a Red-Head Free America" are outraged at the recent hubbub and associated ruckus these "Gingers" have created by demanding equal rights and many other absurd notions that plainly do not apply to them.
 
We have done our own studies and proven that blondes and brunettes are physically superior and have more brain mass than Gingers. In fact, we have proven that the "Ginger Gene" is a myth and an abominatio n in the eyes of God. Have you ever seen a picture of Jesus? What color is his hair? I think I've made my point here.
 
But despite all this scientific and religious data some of these reprobates openly celebrate their sinful lack of pigment, freckled skin, and burning bright hair as if they deserve to be equals among us! Shameful!
 
We firmly believe that being a red-head is a choice. Sure, some might be born that way but they could easily assimilate into society if they accepted their deformity and decided to live as the rest of us, and remedy it with a quick dye job.
 
These freaks of nature must not be allowed to live openly in our society. What about our children? We all know the evil inside the Ginger heart. They want to convert our kids. And what will we do once our children start painting their hair red and painting freckles all over their body? Oh, I shudder at the thought.
 
We must protect them from this Crimson Tide bubbling to the surface of our national awareness. It is more important now than ever! The Ginger Rights Movement is demanding that it be made LEGAL for them to marry EACH OTHER! Holy Christmas! Can you imagine what will happen next? You guessed it: A godless red nation of milky-whit e sin and orange flair debauchery . 
 
It is a historical fact that Ginger equality caused the fall of the Roman Empire. Is this what we want for our beloved America? To be brought down by Gingers?
 
If only our government would take a stand against these mongrels as they have against the other misguided miscreants our society has tamed and tolerated over the years.
 
Why can't they treat them like we do the Gays?
 
Our government has made it clear; you are not a full citizen if you are not a heterosexu al. Gay Americans don't have the same rights as NORMAL Americans: they can't marry, they can't join the military, but they must pay the same taxes. Heck of a deal, if you ask me. They subsidize our narrow way of life ....just as God intended.
 
I know the Declaratio n of Independen ce states that all men are created equal. And yes, we hold the truths to be self-evide nt. How could we not? But I stipulate here today that if the implicatio n of the language the Forefather s used in the phrase "all men" also applies to women (we believe they meant HUmen) then I argue today that it implies the additional qualificat ions for equality: Caucasian, Republican , Wealthy, Christian, Heterosexu al, non-Ginger .
 
So, you see, my friends, that yes, America is the land of the free and land of opportunit y - but only within limits. I mean, let's be real here. As a species we need our hierarchie s.
 
Gingers and Gays need not apply. 

Singer/fro ntwoman/ac tivist/poe t Otep Shamaya has led her band Otep through 4 albums of NIN/Sonic Youth inspired metal. Check out her own blog at http://www .imnotamons ter.com/ and Otep online at http://www .myspace.com/otep

It's a real man's magazine, made by real men.

By Sparky LaFlame

With the third print issue of BLURT nearly finished - it's due on newsstands in a couple of weeks - the BLURT editorial staff took time out from proofing and layout for a weekend corporate getaway. With pickaxes, spears, chain mail vests and random biker accessorie s in tow, we scaled the nearby Von Diablo peak and hunkered down for some serious male bonding. Upon our return, refreshed and revitalize d (albeit with numerous scars and oozing flesh wounds), we resumed work on the magazine.

(Pictured above, L-R: Andy "Staff of Fertility" Tennille, Randy "Scythe" Harward, Scott "The Impaler" Crawford and Fred "Chigger" Mills. Absent from the photo: A.D. "A.D." Amorosi, who'd gotten his chain mail pants hung on a protruding root while climbing Von Diablo and was still struggling to extricate himself. Apologies to TYR, incidental ly.)

At Anthology Film Archives, NYC Sunday, October 4 @ 8 pm, featuring Genesis Breyer P-Orridge as the "Sacrifist ," Timothy Wyllie, Adam Parfrey, and The Sabbath Assembly band performing original Process Church songs.

By Blurt Staff

Was The Process Church truly "one of the most dangerous Satanic cults in America"? Or were they an intensely creative apocalypti c shadow side to the flower-pow ered '60s and New Age '70s? Scores of black-cloa ked devotees swept the streets of New York, San Francisco, London, Paris, and other cities selling magazines with titles like Sex, Fear, Love and Death, and a controvers ial theology proposing a reconcilia tion of Christ and Satan through awareness and love. Marianne Faithfull, George Clinton and Mick Jagger participat ed in Process publicatio ns, and Funkadelic reproduced Process material in two of their albums.

The inside story of this legendary group has at last emerged with Feral House's Love Sex Fear Death book by Timothy Wyllie and other former members. On Oct. 4, Feral House, Process Media, and Sound@One present a simulation of an actual Process Church "Sabbath Assembly" ritual as performed in the 60s, featuring Genesis Breyer P-Orridge as the "Sacrifist ." Author Wyllie (Father Micah) will follow to discuss the cult and his time within it in a multimedia presentati on. The Sabbath Assembly band, comprised of Imaad Wasif (Tee Pee Records), Jex Thoth (I Hate Records), Laura Leontine, and David Christian (of No-Neck Blues Band), will perform Process hymns and songs throughout .

Oct. 4 at Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue, NYC (212) 505-5181

Check out excerpts of the Process Church book here.

Read about the sold out Process Church Ritual and Salon shows in LA.

 
And a review of the Sabbath Assembly Band's performanc e here.

For Your Own Special Sweetheart arrives on CD and vinyl Nov. 24.

By Blurt Staff

Seminal DC post-punk band Jawbox will reissue their consummate release, For Your Own Special Sweetheart , on November 24th. The album, which was originally released on Atlantic Records in 1994, sees the band returning to their roots at the renowned Dischord Records as well as their own DeSoto label, which will work together to release this reissue.  Jawbox was one of the cornerston es of the pivotal DIY punk label, in good company with bands such as Fugazi, Minor Threat, Rites of Spring and Shudder To Think.  

With the help of Dischord and engineer Bob Weston (Pixies, Jawbox, and member of Shellac), For Your Own Special Sweetheart is meticulous ly remastered and will be re-release d on both CD and vinyl. &nbs p; And, according to bass player, Kim Coletta, "it just sounds a whole lot better." The collection will include the entire original song line-up along with three additional tracks that appeared on the Savory +3 EP released by Atlantic in 1994.  The vinyl version will include a coupon redeemable for free digital download of all songs including the bonus tracks.  

Of For Your Own Special Sweetheart , Pitchfork Media raved, "it's one of the greatest slabs of angular guitar throb that the District of Columbia produced during the 90s, which is saying something." They called single "Savory" "the weirdly sexy guitar tangle that remained a cool-kid mixtape staple for at least a decade."  

Jawbox arose from the primordial pond of DC's raucous, vibrant undergroun d in 1989, bringing with them a loud, fast and spirited brand of punk rock that brought zealous fans into the pit in droves.  Jawbox played their first show opening for Fugazi in 1989; For Your Own Special Sweetheart recalls the latter's hardcore leanings.  After two releases on Dischord they captured the attention of Atlantic Records, with whom they released For Your Own Special Sweetheart , widely considered to showcase the band at its peak.  The combinatio n of heavy rhythms, guitar-dri ven soundscape s and hooky melodies both hark back to and distinguis h the band from their roots among Dischord's finest undergroun d offerings, the boundaries of which they constantly pushed.  

Jawbox is J. Robbins (guitar, vocals,) Kim Coletta (bass,) Bill Barbot (guitar) and Zach Barocas (drums.)  

Track Listing:

1. &nbs p;  FF=6 6
2. &nbs p;  Savo ry
3. &nbs p;  Brea the
4. &nbs p;  Moto rist
5. &nbs p;  LS/M FT
6. &nbs p;  Cool ing Card
7. &nbs p;  Gree n Glass
8. &nbs p;  Crue l Swing
9. &nbs p;  Jack pot Plus!
10.  Chicago Piano
11.  Reel
12.  U-Trau
13.  Whitney Walks
14.  L'il Shaver*
15.  68*
16.  Sound On Sound*

(* = tracks not on original release)

Buddy Miller almost pull off a sweep; Justin Townes Earle nabs coveted Emerging Artist award.

By Blurt Staff

Acclaimed singer/son gwriter/gu itarist/pr oducer Buddy Miller was the biggest winner at the 8th Annual Americana Music Associatio n Honors & Awards Show Thursday night at the Ryman Auditorium , taking home trophies in almost every category for which he was nominated.

Performing in celebratio n of lifetime achievemen t awards were John Fogerty, Ray Benson and Asleep At The Wheel, and Sam Bush. &nbs p; John Prine and Nanci Griffith sang a duet in honor of recipient Jim Rooney.  The AMA's annual awards show, hosted by Jim Lauderdale , was also a showcase for both establishe d artists and the next generation of stars, all contributi ng fresh material to the Americana music scene.  Performers included Rodney Crowell, The Gourds, Raul Malo, The Flatlander s,  Reckless Kelly,

All four nominees for New & Emerging Artist of The Year - Band of Heathens, The Belleville Outfit, Sarah Borges and Justin Townes Earle - performed during the Thursday ceremony, with Earle taking home the award via the strength of his 2008 record "Midnight at the Movies."  The show ended with an all-star jam around "Dixie Chicken," a salute to the posthumous President' s Award recipient Lowell George of Little Feat.

Miller, one of Americana music's most sought-aft er collaborat ors and sidemen, won Artist of the Year, Album of the Year ("Written In Chalk," with wife Julie Miller), Duo/Group of the Year (again with wife Julie), and Song of the Year ("Chalk," written by Julie Miller and performed by Buddy and Patty Griffin).

Versatile multi-inst rumentalis t/producer Gurf Morlix was honored with the Instrument alist of the Year award, keeping Miller from a clean sweep (and a three-peat in that particular category.)

The Americana Music Associatio n's annual festival and conference , featuring panels and approximat ely 100 performanc es by legends and the next generation of stars, runs through Saturday at venues throughout Nashville.

The organizati on celebrated its tenth anniversar y with a formal announceme nt of the establishm ent of an Americana Grammy category. The house band, assembled by Miller, included the legendary steel guitar player Al Perkins and keyboardis t Spooner Oldham.

Awards:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR: "Written in Chalk," Buddy & Julie Miller
ARTIST OF THE YEAR:  ; Buddy Miller
DUO / GROUP OF THE YEAR: Buddy & Julie Miller
NEW & EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Justin Townes Earle
INSTRUMENT ALIST OF THE YEAR: Gurf Morlix
SONG OF THE YEAR: "Chalk" written by Julie Miller, performed by Buddy Miller and Patty Griffin

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMEN T FOR PERFORMANC E: Asleep At The Wheel
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMEN T FOR EXECUTIVE: Ken Levitan
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMEN T FOR SONGWRITER : John Fogerty
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMEN T FOR PRODUCER/E NGINEER: Jim Rooney
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMEN T FOR INSTRUMENT ALIST: Sam Bush
PRESIDENT' S AWARD: Lowell George

Fela fans start drooling... now.

By Blurt Staff

Knitting Factory Records announced yesterday that they'll reissue all 45 Fela Kuti albums on CD and vinyl. The campaign marks the first time all Kuti releases have been issued on wax in the States, as well as the first time all of Kuti's 1960s work with the band Koola Lobitos has been available here.  The CDs will come in digipaks with the original artwork.

The 13-track compilatio ns The Best of the Black President will kick off the series on Oct. 27. A deluxe edition will feature a DVD including segments from the film Music Is A Weapon as well as Glastonbur y and Berlin Jazz Festival performanc es, plus interviews with Fela biographer Carlos Moore and choreograp her/direct or Bill T. Jones. The full press release:

KNITTING FACTORY RECORDS TO BEGIN COMPLETE
FELA REISSUE SERIES
 
FIRST RELEASE TO BE THE BEST OF THE BLACK PRESIDENT WITH EXCLUSIVE DVD ON OCTOBER 27, 2009
 
FIRST TIME ALL 45 TITLES WILL BE RELEASED
ON VINYL IN NORTH AMERICA
 
FIRST OFFICIAL RELEASE OF ENTIRE CATALOGUE OF
FELA'S 1960s BAND: KOOLA LOBITOS
 
BROADWAY MUSICAL FELA! TO OPEN
NOVEMBER 23 AT EUGENE O'NEIL THEATRE

Knitting Factory Records is very excited to announce that over the next 18 months, all 45 Fela titles will be remastered and re-release d in unique digi-packs with the original artwork. This reissue series will mark the first time all of the titles will be released on vinyl in North America, and also the first official release of the entire catalog of Fela's 1960s highlife band Koola Lobitos. The first release of the series will be The Best Of The Black President on October 27, 2009, which compiles 13 of the most popular Fela compositio ns. The deluxe edition of the CD will come with a DVD featuring segments from the film Music is the Weapon, performanc es from the Berlin Jazz Festival, "Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense" from the Glastonbur y Festival and interviews with choreograp her/direct or Bill T. Jones and Fela biographer Carlos Moore.   Tony Award-winn er Bill T. Jones is the director and choreograp her of the new Broadway musical, FELA!, based on the life and music of the legend. The critically acclaimed musical will open at the Eugen O'Neill Theatre in New York on November 23. Sold-out crowds were left dancing in the aisles during its premiere last summer at Off-Broadw ay 37 Arts, as the world renowned Antibalas and other members of the NYC Afrobeat community, under the direction of Aaron Johnson, performed Fela's music live onstage.   "The timing couldn't be more perfect," says Knitting Factory Records' Ian Wheeler. "With the play opening, it made the most sense to start the reissue series in the fall. We are taking great care working with Fela's estate to make the reissue series the most true to the artist's original concepts than ever before. We have a lot of fun ideas up our sleeves too."   Fela Anikulapo- Kuti, previously Ransome-Ku ti, was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria, in 1938. His father, like his grandfathe r, was a minister of the Protestant church, and director of the local grammar school. His mother was a teacher, but later became a politician of some considerab le influence. His parents sent him to London in 1958, but rather than study medicine like his two brothers and his sister, Fela chose to register at the Trinity School of Music, where he was to spend the next five years. He formed Koola Lobitos with other Nigerian musicians living in London.   Fela decided to take the Koola Lobitos to the United States in the mid 60s. In Los Angeles, he changed the name of the group to Fela Ransome-Ku ti And Nigeria 70. At the club where they were playing, he met an African American girl, Sandra Isodore, who was a close friend to the Black Panthers. She introduced Fela to the philosophi es and writings of Malcolm X, Eldridge Cleaver and other Black activists and thinkers, through which he was to become aware of the link existing between Black people all over the world. While in Los Angeles, Fela also found the inspiratio n he was seeking to create his own unique style of music, which he named Afro-Beat. Before leaving America, the band recorded songs in this new style. When he returned to Nigeria, Fela once again changed the name of the group, this time to Fela Ransome-Ku ti & Africa 70. Fela soon became a virulent critic of colonialis m and neo-coloni alism soon grew famous as a spokesman for the great mass of people, in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa and the African Diaspora, disenchant ed with the period of post-indep endence. His songs became satirical and sarcastic towards those in power, condemning both military and civilian regimes for their crimes of mismanagem ent, incompeten ce, theft, corruption and marginaliz ation of the underprivi leged. In 1974, pursuing his dream of an alternativ e society, he built a fence around his house and declared it to be an independen t state: The Kalakuta Republic. To the chagrin of the bourgeois section of the Nigerian society, this act of defiance was soon to spread throughout the entire neighborho od as more and more people were inspired by Fela's stance. The authoritie s remained vigilant, fearing the potential power of his "state within a state." On countless occasions, he was to suffer the consequenc es of his scathing denunciati ons with arrests, imprisonme nt and beatings at the hands of the authoritie s.   Fela presented himself as a presidenti al candidate in the 1979 elections that would return the country to civilian rule. His candidatur e was refused. Four years later, at the next elections, Fela once more stood for president, but was prevented from campaignin g by the police, who again rampaged through his house, imprisonin g and beating Fela and many of his followers. However, any further presidenti al aspiration s were crushed when a coup brought Nigeria back to military rule. In 1984, Fela served 20 months of a five-year prison sentence on trumped-up currency charges. He was only released when the judge confessed to having sentenced him with such severity because of pressure from the previous regime. The judge was dismissed from office and Fela was given his liberty. Over the next decade, with an entourage of up to 80 people, now called Egypt 80, Fela made several visits to Europe and the United States. These tours were to receive tremendous public and critical acclaim, and made an important contributi on to the worldwide popular acceptance of African rhythms and African culture.   Fela passed away in August 1997.

Don't forget the band will be on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, Sept. 26.

By Blurt Staff

And the remasterin g and rejiggerin g of U2's back catalog continues apace: the group's fourth studio album, 1984's The Unforgetta ble Fire, has been assigned an October 26 release date, on Mercury Records in the UK - presumably we'll get it here in the States via Island/Uni versal/Int erscope on Oct. 27 since they have been responsibl e for all the other U2 reissues thus far.  (The American release details haven't been yet disclosed, as the news arrives courtesy of the band's official website.

It comes on the heels of the deluxe reissues of Boy, October, War and the Under a Blood Red Sky mini-album , plus the super-delu xe box set for The Joshua Tree. According to the U2 site:

Special formats of The Unforgetta ble Fire will also feature bonus audio material, including two previously unheard tracks from the Slane Castle sessions: 'Yoshino Blossom', and 'Disappear ing Act' (a track which the band recently completed) , and a DVD including music videos, a documentar y and unreleased live footage from the Amnesty Internatio nal Conspiracy of Hope Tour in 1986.

The Unforgetta ble Fire has been remastered from the original audio tapes, with direction from The Edge and the album will be available in four formats:

* Limited Edition Box Set: containing 2 CDs (remastere d album and bonus audio CD), a DVD with live footage, documentar y and videos, a 56 page hardback book with liner notes by The Edge, Brian Eno, Danny Lanois, Bert Van de Kamp and Niall Stokes, and 5 photograph ic prints

* Deluxe Edition: containing 2 CDs, the remastered album, and the bonus audio CD which features B-sides and previously unreleased material, a 36 page booklet with liner notes by The Edge, Brian Eno, Danny Lanois and Bert Van de Kamp

* CD format: featuring the remastered album

* 12" vinyl format: 16 page booklet with liner notes by Brian Eno, Danny Lanois and Bert Van de Kamp

The Unforgetta ble Fire track listing is as follows: A Sort of Homecoming , Pride (In The Name Of Love), Wire, The Unforgetta ble Fire, Promenade, 4th Of July, Bad, Indian Summer Sky, Elvis Presley and America, MLK.

"All For The Best"comes from forthcomin g Mulcahy tribute album, due Sept. 29.

By Fred Mills

A few years ago I interviewe d Mark Mulcahy, and over the course of several hours he talked about his tenure with Miracle Legion and his subsequent solo career. At one point he turned reflective :

"Maybe music's not as important [to today's generation ] as it maybe was to you or me. And maybe it doesn't even matter anymore. There's plenty of ways to look around for bands. I do think that MTV has been the death - the irony of them being called Music TV is not lost on people. It killed people going to check out music since they could turn the TV on and see music all the time. [But] with everything that went wrong, many things went right, and I'm happy because I got into it to make music, and I'm still making music. So at the end of the day, I win. I'm real lucky, and I've done other things too."

A lot of folks apparently took notice of what Mulcahy's done over the years, judging by the all-star roster of musicians who pitched in on that upcoming Mulcahy/Mi racle Legion tribute album Ciao My Shining Star, due out Sept. 29 on Shout! Factory. Among those artists are Thom Yorke, whose version of M.L.'s "All For the Best" is an obvious standout. Today at RollingSto ne.com the video for Yorke's tune premiered, and it's alternatel y moving, haunting and heart-brea king. You can view it HERE.

Watch this website soon for an encore presentati on of my Mulcahy interview. A full review of the tribute album will also be in the new print issue of BLURT.

Kicking ass and taking names... or not. Only a few hours old and already stirring up controvers y.

By Blurt Staff

Damn, this gal's cocked and loaded for bear: Otep Shamaya, fiery frontwoman for heavier-th an-heaven band OTEP, is also one helluva activist, and she's taking her message to the airwaves, er, to the BLURT blogospher e. This morning brought the debut of her new blog "Battle Ready," and the first installmen t is titled "Menace to Society."

In it, she warns of a creeping menace that is infecting America today, and how she's joined the "crusade to combat this diseased vermin before things get out of hand... Our nation was built on the good God-fearin g Judaic-Chr istian heritage of Andrew Jackson, George Wallace, General Custer, Nixon, McCarthy, and J. Edgar Hoover. We are not, nor have we ever been, a nation of equals. We are a nation of chutes and ladders."

Liberals and conservati ves alike just may get their preconcept ions turned upside down. Go to the blog section of our site or click HERE to access her blog. If you dare... as of this writing, 13 readers have already commented, some of them actually "getting the point," in fact...

Part of BBC 3's "Late Junction" pairing up disparate artists; to be aired Oct. 15.

By Blurt Staff

Tortoise&n bsp;recent ly hunkered down, on August 26,  in BBC's Maida Vale Studio with  Wire/Githe ad frontman Colin Newman. It was part of a series of collaborat ions set up by BB C Radio 3's "Late Junction" wherein artists who might not usually work together to spend a day in the studio recording a session (not unlike those "In The Fishtank" projects from a few years ago).

Previously the BBC has paired up Tunng and Tinariwen, resulting in a tour together. Other recent sessions have included&n bsp;Wildbi rds and Peacedrums meeting Micachu, as well as Adem and Sweet Billy Pilgrim. The Tortoise-N ewman summit is set to be aired October 15 at 11:15 pm (London time) over BBC 3.

According to the BBC, "When Tortoise and Colin Newman, two heavy-weig hts of undergroun d music, went into the studio no one quite knew what to expect, but when the day was over both parties felt that the session had been amazingly productive and agreed that the resulting recording was something to be proud of."

Newman and Dan Bitney added their comments:

DAN: "Thi s experiment could have gone wrong in so many ways, trying to basically improvise with someone you've never played with before...sometimes it just doesn't happen even with people you're used to playing with!  ; I'm really happy with what we came up with. Colin was great to work with and I find it refreshing to make recordings that aren't 'fixed' with hours of editing, more of a 'that's what happened' recording experience ."

COLIN: "Wha t I can say is this. I don't think here was any way in which anyone could have predicted if this would work or not, the approach was to expect zero that way disappoint ment would be best avoided!&n bsp; However, in truth it came out way better than anyone had a right to expect. The pieces are not developed, mainly taken after a single or no run through and mixed on the fly but there is enough in their basic energy to make one wonder if this is a project which may well have a life beyond the confines of a single visit to the BBC studios in Maida Vale.... A couple of the tunes have refused to vacate my 'internal walkman'.."

Incidental ly, for non-UK fans,  the& nbsp;progr am is also available to listen again for up to seven days after broadcast via the website: www.bbc.co.uk/radio3

Solo album Somewhere Gone arrives Oct.6. Meanwhile, check out this MP3 teaser...

By Blurt Staff

Despite being diagnosed recently with MS, X frontwoman Exene Cervenka doesn't have any plans to slow down - she's got a new solo album due October 6 from Bloodshot. Titled Somewhere Gone it's described by the label as "all the passion of X without all the loud - a great combinatio n, even for people who embrace the loud." It's her first solo outing in 18 years, in fact, and you can get a sneak preview from it right here at BLURT:

"Trojan Horse"

Exene, of course, has been multitaski ng for years - in addition to her work with X, she's performed with the Knitters, fronted her own band the Original Sinners, done spoken word (her appearance s with Lydia Lunch back in the ‘80s remain the stuff of legend), penned several volumes of poetry and even had her drawings, paintings and collages exhibited a few years ago at the Santa Monica Museum of Art. And she's announced her intentions to work with the Sweet Relief foundation to help raise money and awareness for MS.

Back to that new album: we've got a full review in the new print issue of BLURT, due on newsstands in a couple of weeks. Observes our reviewer, of the record: "These are eerie folk songs-Exen e's voice has that timeless, rural, conversati onal quality-al though all but one song are originals. It's tempting to read intimation s of mortality into the record. But it's more a welcomed return than a valedictor y."

Amen to that. You can get more informatio n at Exene's official website or at her Bloodshot recs artist page.

Grizzly Bear and Lust Boys movers and shakers decide to do some extracurri cular activities for extra credit...

By Blurt Staff

Brooklyn-b ased Terrible Records, formed by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear, and Ethan Silverman of Lust Boys, are excited to announce the launch of their label with the release of the first in a series of 7-inches recorded at Terrible Studios, followed by the release of NY quintet Acrylics' debut EP, All of the Fire.

The 7-inch features Chris Taylor's first solo release as well as a previously unreleased song by Arthur Russell.  CANT, as Taylor has chosen to call his project, offers the aptly-titl ed "Ghosts."  The song is a haunting underwater trip through his familiar sonic territory that is found on each Grizzly Bear release. "Come To Life" is a previously unreleased folk track written and recorded by Arthur Russell in the late '70's. Its origins are a mystery but the beauty of the song shines brightly. Initially intended for inclusion on last years compilatio n of unreleased folk, pop, and country tunes "Love Is Overtaking Me."  The track comes courtesy of Audika Records who will release the digital download of the song on October 13th. The CANT 7-inch release is limited to 1000 copies and will be available at the label's website and select retailers. 

The 7-inch series will continue with songs produced by Taylor, recorded at his church-stu dio in Brooklyn where Taylor produced much of the latest Grizzly Bear record, Veckatimis t.

The label will subsequent ly release a Taylor-pro duced 5-song, 10" EP from NY group Acrylics on October 28th, entitled All of the Fire.  Acrylics will be at the Mercury Lounge on Saturday, October 3, and will be performing at several shows and parties at this year's CMJ Music Marathon.

Info: http://www .terriblere cordsus.com

Did we mention the band is on the cover of the new issue of BLURT?

By Fred Mills

Beginning today, and running through September 29, NPR Music will host an Exclusive First Listen of the Avett Brothers new Rick Rubin-prod uced I and Love and You at www.npr.org/firstl isten. (Music fans frequently get sneak peaks of new albums a week prior to release at NPR Music, which has hosted in recent months Wilco, Moby, Bjork and Neko Case.

The Avetts album hits stores Sept. 29 (they'll be on the Letterman show the night prior) and the band is already on the road promoting it - see itinerary, below.

Meanwhile, they're also our cover subjects for the new issue of BLURT, hitting newsstands in a couple of weeks. As profiled by our Contributi ng Editor A.D. Amorosi, the Avett Brothers have their entire career to date recapped, along with some illuminati ng anecdotes as well as producer Rubin's own assessment of the band.

"As soon as I met them, I knew they were special," said Rubin. "Meeting them as much as anything promoted our working together."

"It was what our game was meant to be," said Scott, of the recording sessions. "We all did our jobs, brought the craft and let the art lead the way."

Tour Dates:

9/22   &nbs p;  Oxford, MS &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  The Lyric Oxford

9/24   &nbs p;  Memphis, TN &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Minglewood Hall

9/25   &nbs p;  Little Rock, AR &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  Robinson Center Music Hall

9/26   &nbs p;  Tulsa, OK &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Cain's Ballroom

9/27   &nbs p;  Dallas, TX &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Granada Theater

9/29   &nbs p;  Baton Rouge, LA &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; Baton Rouge River Center Theatre

10/1   &nbs p;  New Orleans, LA &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; House of Blues

10/2   &nbs p;  Austin, TX &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Austin City Limits

10/3   &nbs p;  Midwest City, OK &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;    Rose State PAC

10/5   &nbs p;  Murray, KY &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  Lovett Auditorium Center

10/15  ;  Baltimore, MD &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp; Rams Head Live

10/16  ;  Philadelph ia, PA &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp; Electric Factory

10/17  ;  New York, NY &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  Terminal 5

10/18  ;  Boston, MA &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;  House of Blues

10/20  ;  Iowa City, IA &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;  The Englert Theatre

10/21  ;  Madison, WI &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp; Barrymore Theatre

10/22  ;  Urbana, IL &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; Canopy Club

10/29  ;  Huntington , WV &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp; Keith Albee Theatre

10/30  ;  Louisville , KY &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; Louisville Palace

10/31  ;  Nashville, TN &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p;  Ryman Auditorium

[Photo Credit: Chris Wilson]

2.25 million units and counting...

By Blurt Staff

Okay, so we brought you not one, but two features on the Beatles remasters, and we were even courteous enough to do some research on eBay and at music retail sites to fill you in on what's going on among Fab Four collectors .

Now comes an official press release from Apple about the bottom line - that the Beatles remasters sold more than 2.25 million CDs during the first week of release, breaking chart records all over the planet. Rather than filter the news, we'll just let you glom the entire shebang. Warning: your eyes just may glaze over. But hey, would you rather be reading about, say, a Garth Brooks or Backstreet Boys record-bre aking event?

***

London, England - September 22, 2009 - Underlinin g their timeless appeal and unique status in music, The Beatles have broken multiple chart records around the world following the September 9, 2009 (9-9-09) CD release of their digitally re-mastere d catalogue. In the major music markets of North America, Japan and the UK, consumers purchased more than 2.25 million copies of The Beatles' re-mastere d albums, individual ly and in two multiple-C D boxed sets, one in stereo and one in mono, during the first five days of release (excluding non-tradit ional retail outlets whose sales are not tracked by the chart compilers) .

The Beatles' original UK studio albums were re-mastere d by a dedicated team of engineers at Abbey Road Studios in London over a four year period, carefully maintainin g the authentici ty and integrity of the original analogue recordings . The result is the highest fidelity the catalogue has seen since its original release.

The most popular band of the 20^th century, The Beatles are beloved by music fans in the 21^st century, as evidenced by their current unparallel ed global chart performanc e:

• US: During the first five days of release, consumers purchased more than one million copies of re-mastere d Beatles titles, and the individual CD and boxed sets debuted strongly across multiple Billboard charts.
• • On Billboard's Comprehens ive Albums chart, which lists the most popular album releases in the US, including current and catalogue titles, The Beatles set a new record for the most simultaneo us titles by a single artist (18), including five of the top 10 and nine of the top 20.
  • On the Pop Catalog chart, The Beatles achieved another new Billboard chart first for the most simultaneo us titles in the top 50 (16), a record they previously set themselves with 12 titles in December 1995. The Beatles have nine of the chart's top 10 titles, and all 14 re-mastere d CDs are in the top 20, led by ‘Abb ey Road' at number one and ‘Sgt . Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' at number two.
  • On the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart, ‘The Beatles' stereo boxed set debuted at number 15, and ‘The Beatles in Mono' limited edition boxed set debuted at number 40.

• UK: In last week's chart, The Beatles had four titles in the top 10, seven in the top 40 and 16 in the top 75, including both the stereo and mono boxes, as well as 2000's ‘Bea tles 1' compilatio n. This set a new record for the most simultaneo us albums in the UK charts according to the UK Official Charts Company. In this week's UK chart, The Beatles have 13 albums in the top 75. A further 84,000 CDs were sold last week, bringing their total sales of the remasters to more than 354,000 in 11 days and their total UK sales this decade to 6,755,000.
  
  
  
• Japan: All 14 re-mastere d titles and boxed sets debuted in the top 25 of the internatio nal chart, including seven of the top 10, led by the stereo boxed set at number two, the mono boxed set at number three, ‘Abb ey Road' at four and ‘Let It Be' at six. Across all titles and box sets, more than 840,000 albums were purchased by consumers in Japan in the first three days of sales.

• Canada: The Beatles have 15 of the top 20 catalogue titles including all of the top 11. The stereo boxed set is a new entry in the current albums chart at number four, the highest debut for a boxed set in Canada since Nielsen SoundScan started tracking sales. Cumulative sales across all titles were just under 160,000 over the counter.
  
  
  
• France: All 14 of the re-mastere d titles and boxed sets entered the latest album chart, including three in the top 10, led by ‘Abb ey Road' at number four, a new record for the most original studio albums in the French album chart in one week.

• Italy: The Beatles have 17 titles in the current chart - all 14 re-mastere d titles, the two boxed sets, plus the ‘1' compilatio n, a record for the most simultaneo us entries in the album chart.

• Belgium: With 17 entries in the current chart - the 14 re-mastere d titles, two boxed sets and ‘1' compilatio n - The Beatles have set a new record for the most simultaneo us albums in the Belgian chart as confirmed by chart compiler Ultrapop.

• Sweden: The Beatles have 16 titles simultaneo usly in the top 60, led by ‘Abb ey Road' at number six. Local industry body IFPI have confirmed that this is a record for the Swedish charts.

• Argentina: Seven of the current top 10 albums are Beatles re-masters , led by ‘Sgt . Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band at number two, ‘Abb ey Road' at number three and ‘The Beatles' (The White Album) at number four. All 14 re-mastere d titles are in the top 20 and the boxed sets are at numbers 73 and 74 in the chart.

• Spain: 13 Beatles albums plus both boxed sets debuted in the latest chart, a record for a single artist. The combined sales of the boxed sets places them at number four in the chart.

• Poland: All 14 re-mastere d albums and two boxed sets debuted in the current top 100, led by ‘Abb ey Road' at six. This is a record for the highest number of simultaneo us entries in the Polish chart.

• Switzerlan d: 14 Beatles titles, including the stereo boxed set, debuted in the most recent album chart, a record for the most simultaneo us titles in the album chart.

• Denmark: The latest album chart includes 15 re-mastere d Beatles titles, plus the ‘1' compilatio n, including four of the top 20.

• Australia: The Beatles have 14 titles in the current chart, including the ‘1' compilatio n.

• Germany: The combined sales of the stereo and mono boxed sets, with one boxed set counted as one unit sale, places them as the number three best seller in the latest chart.

• Austria: The current top 75 contains 12 re-mastere d titles plus the stereo boxed set.

• Portugal: The re-mastere d titles occupy 11 places in the current top 30 album chart, including three of the top 10.

• Norway: The combined stereo and mono boxed sets debut at number three with a further 12 re-mastere d titles in the top 100.

• Colombia: Half of the current top 10 albums are Beatles re-masters titles.

• Korea: During the first sales week The Beatles occupied 16 of the top 17 spots in Korea's Hottracks album chart.

The Gears' Rockin' at Ground Zero and The D.I.s Rare Cuts get paired up as a deluxe reissue. What would Tipper Gore think?!?

By Blurt Staff

The Gears were formed in 1978, the heyday of Los Angeles punk, when two childhood buddies from the Glassell Park neighborho od of L.A. - singer Axxel G. Reese and drummer Dave Drive - joined forces. They created the "punk surfabilly " sound after seeing the early Hollywood punk bands while being influenced by other SoCal cultures. The band's recorded tour de force was the live album Rockin' at Ground Zero. Shortly after this epic live recording in 1982, the Gears' guitarist Kidd Spike angrily smashed his ax to smithereen s mid-set at the Starwood and the Gears were done. Out if the ashes of The Gears, vocalist Reese and drummer Drive launched a new band called The D.I.s (Drill Instructor s).

In its Rockin' at Ground Zero (Deluxe Edition) two-CD reissue, due out September 8, 2009, Hep Cat Records features the complete 1980 LP packaged with the first single ("Let's Go to the Beach") as well as five never-befo re-release d demo recordings from 1979, a total of 23 Gears songs, all remastered . This edition also contains Rare Cuts!, 22 studio recordings by The D.I.s, including the entire Billy Zoom-produ ced five-song 12" vinyl EP Lock and Load.

 
Hep Cat will also release the original Gears Rockin' at Ground Zero as a single 23-song CD with five previously unreleased demo recordings that include the rockabilly 'd-up title track, "Rockin' at Ground Zero," and the never-befo re-release d "Girl Crazy." Rockin' At Ground Zero will also be issued by Hep Cat as a vinyl LP in a limited run of 500 copies. The long-playe r features colored vinyl and silk-scree ned jackets, just like the original 1980 LP on Playgems Records.

 
Preserving The Gears' punkabilly influence, the D.I.s moved on to a broader definition of roots music.  Many of Los Angeles' best-known punk denizens were D.I.s at various times - Jimmy Reed (Levi Dexter & the Ripchords) , Matt Lee (Ray Campi's Rockabilly Rebels), Mike "Shaky" Wilcox (The Rockats), Thadius T. Baker, Patrick "Frenchie" French (The Joneses), "Venice George" Chavlez, Ron Emory (TSOL) and Jonny Ray Bartel (The Red Devils and The Knitters).

 
Although the D.I.s soldiered on through 1992, they left only one recording in their wake - the aforementi oned five-track 12" EP Lock & Load, produced by X's Billy Zoom.  As well as being available as part of The Gears' Rockin' at Ground Zero (Deluxe Edition), fans can purchase it separately as The D.I.s: Rare Cuts! Punk archivist and schollar Jonny Whiteside wrote the liner notes.
 

According to Whiteside' s notes, "The D.I.s worked a mutant strain of loaded beat & roll, bristling with misfit rockabilly riff-sling ing, fang-beari ng punk momentum and mad, deep boogaloo. The band's near-milit ant attitude and gleeful aggression always adhered to rock ‘n' roll's purest elemental structure, and they crafted a set characteri zed by skull-dent ing, hip shaking grooves."
 

A historical note: When Tipper Gore began her tirade against filth and pornograph y in pop music, she did so one afternoon on live television outside Tower Records on Sunset Blvd., brandishin g a copy of the D.I.s' Lock & Load, sputtering , "This is exactly what I'm talking about." Tower sold 500 copies in less than a week.
 

Yes, being great at whatever it is you do has merit (for it). But quality isn't nearly enough. You HAVE to huck it, kids. Every second of every day. Re: The Death of Marketing? Sorry Bob, respectful ly disagree.

I don't care how friggin spectacula r you are... if you don't have anyone to tell, it might as well not be true. It's a chicken and the egg deal. Almost. Because, you CAN have real, passionate , loyal fans at every stage of your career, from fledgling to Trent; if I like you, I'll help you. Period.

Think of it like this: the way you make me feel about your product handily trumps the actual product. In a heartbeat.

So... how do you do it? Um, it's called MARKETING.

Singer-son gwriter Seth Glier recently quoted a fan who said it best:

"You know Seth, I know we don't see each other a lot but I consider you a friend.....Coldplay is JUST music to me."

And Seth is hands-down one of the most spectacula r self-marke ters I know.

It works like this, in this order [...]

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.

Port O'Brien Gets Remixed by Bodega Girls plus Extend  US Tour with Headline Dates threadbare out Oct 6 on TBD records

By Blurt Staff

We just like the photo....

Anyhow, threadbare is the follow-up to 2008's acclaimed All We Could Do Was Sing. Parts of the album were recorded by Jason Quever of Papercuts' living room studio in San Francisco, while the rest were recorded with  Aaron Espinoza of Earlimart at the Ship recording studio.  It became somewhat of a two sided record with dark, haunting, and at times meditative songs paired up with the untiring, somewhat aggressive and punchy anthems that Port O'Brien is becoming known for.  The last few years have seen many adventures for the band.  The creation of this record came with continuing changes both within the band personally , and sonically.

The band is about to kick off an extensive tour TONIGHT with Sea Wolf followed by headlining dates in November.

Port O'Brien on tour:

September 23 Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern*

September 25 Salt Lake City, UT - In The Venue*

September 26 Denver, CO - Hi-Dive*

September 28 Omaha, NE - The Slowdown*

September 29 Minneapoli s, MN - 7th Street Entry*

September 30 Milwaukee, WI - Mad Planet*

October 1 Chicago, IL - Schubas Tavern*

October 2 St. Louis, MO - The Billiken Club*

October 3 Indianapol is, IN - Radio Radio*

October 4 Cincinnati , OH - Southgate House*

October 5 Rock Island, IL - Bar n Show "Daytrotte r Presents" +

October 7 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center for the Arts*

October 8 Pontiac, MI - Verner's Room at the Crofoot+

October 9 Toronto, ON - Sneaky Dee's*

October 10 Montreal, PQ - Il Motore*

October 12 Northampto n, MA -- Ironhorse^

October 13 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club*

October 14 New York, NY - The Mercury Lounge*

October 16 Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall*

October 17 Philadelph ia, PA - North Star Bar*

October 18 Baltimore, MD - The Talking Head Club*

October 19 Washington , DC - DC 9*

October 21 Chapel Hill, NC - Nightlight Bar & Club*

October 22 Knoxville, TN - Pilot Light+

October 23 Atlanta, GA - Criminal Record Instore

October 23 Atlanta, GA - The Earl*

October 24 Nashville, TN - Exit In*

October 26 Houston, TX - Rudyards+

October 27 Dallas, TX - The Cavern*

October 28 Austin, TX - Emo's Jr. *

October 30 Phoenix, AZ - Modified Arts*

November 2 La Jolla, CA - The Loft @ UCSD+

November 4 Santa Barbara, CA - Muddy Waters+

November 5 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill+

November 6 Sacramento , CA - Luigi's+

November 7 Santa Cruz Mountains, CA - Folk Yeah Presents @ Brookdale Lodge+

November 24  Lond on, ENG - Scala+

* with Sea Wolf

+ Port O'Brien headlining date

^ with Grand Archives

New release date for Ultraviole t Nov.17 - a year after the originally slated release date. So we're going to go ahead and tell you about Dream Date.

By Blurt Staff

So we were all set to review, like, ages ago, Kid Sister's new album Dream Date (Downtown) then got the word from the rap diva's handlers that it had been reworked, with some tracks being removed and new material cut, and that an Oct. 6 date was now planned.

That, it turns out, has also been changed. The latest info is that the album is being called Ultraviole t and that it will be released Nov. 17. According to Downtown: "The album features the new white-hot single "Right Hand Hi", produced by Swedish House Mafia's Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso, as well as the now infamous track, "Pro Nails" featuring Kanye West. The album boasts collaborat ions with Estelle and Cee-Lo and musical production by A-Trak, XXXchange, Count & Sinden, Rusko and DJ Gant-Man among others."

She'll be undertakin g a handful of concert dates in October and November, full itinerary below.

Meanwhile, since we are kinda tired of hanging on to this old review of the album and have an entirely new review in the works, we figured why not go ahead and let you see what we thought of Dream Date  in its original incarnatio n. It was penned by ace wordsmith Jonah Flicker. Enjoy!

***

Is "guilt by associatio n," hereby known as GBA, a valid concept? The American people (well, a slim majority, anyway) chose to ignore the intentiona l issue muddling perpetrate d by the Republican Party, via accusation s of "palling around" with Bill Ayers, and elected Barack Obama president. Verdict: over-hyped GBA. Kid Sister, on the other hand, surely hopes to benefit by palling around with Kanye West and DJ A-Trak. Kanye's presence on her debut album is minimal, allowing her talents to stand mostly alone, with crucial support from producers including Spank Rock, XXXChange, and Trackademi cks. The GBA verdict is still out on this one, but the American people will soon decide.

Kid Sister's rhyming style is buoyant and effusive, as she allows her mood to burst forth in a bubbling cadence peppered with vocal dips and dives. "Family Reunion," a nostalgia track featuring David Banner, is evidence of this, as visions of barbecues get her singing - one of several instances on the album. It's also one of the few traditiona l hip-hop tracks on Dream Date. The majority of the record consists of banging, up-tempo, garage-hou se club numbers. "Life on TV," "Control," and "Pro Nails" (featuring Kanye in a throwaway verse) flaunt acid bass and stuttering drums as the bedrock for Sister's rapping. The acid house rhythm of "Beeper" may be modern, but the technology embraced isn't - if you aren't running drugs on The Wire, rocking a beeper is just a gimmick. But she seems to be keeping it relatively real, admitting on "Let Me Bang" that what really makes her happy is "a fresh box of donuts and a sundae, start my diet Monday, I'm-a get around to it one day..."

She may not yet be 30, but Kid Sister has found her niche in the old-school electro neighborho od of hip-hop, popularize d when she was just a baby. It doesn't matter, though, because she sounds and looks good updating these classic sounds. Near the album's end, she plays Queen Latifah to British rapper Estelle's Monie Love on a reinterpre tation of the classic "Ladies First." The playing field may be limited these days, but Kid Sister is leading the female hip-hop renaissanc e in terms of creativity and legitimacy . Let's see how far she can take it.

***

Tour Dates:

MON 10/19  ;   &nbs p;   VANC OUVER, BC &n bsp;  &nbs p;   Venu e*
TUE 10/20  ;   &nbs p;   SEAT TLE, WA &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   Neum os*
WED 10/21  ;   &nbs p;   PORT LAND, OR   &nbs p;     &nbs p;  Holo cene*
THUR 10/22  ;   &nbs p;   SAN FRANCISCO, CA   &nbs p;   Rick shaw Stop*
FRI 10/23  ;   &nbs p;   &nbs p;   COST A MESA, CA &n bsp;  &nbs p;   Detr oit Bar*
SAT 10/24  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   LOS ANGELES, CA &n bsp;  &nbs p;   Echo plex*
SUN 11/8     &nbs p;     &nbs p;  AUST IN, TX &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   Fun Fun Fun Fest
WED 11/25  &nbs p;    &nbs p;  CHIC AGO, IL &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   Hous e of Blues
FRI 11/27  ;  &nbs p;     &nbs p;   NEW YORK, NY &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   Webs ter Hall   &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;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;   &nbs p; &n bsp;    SAT 11/28  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   TORO NTO, ON &n bsp;  &nbs p;   &nbs p;   Mod Club
*w/ Flosstrada mus

Better living through youth brigades, we say. Check out the MP3 and video, below.

By Blurt Staff

Seminal punk label BYO Records and punk band Youth Brigade are celebratin g their 25th anniversar y with the release of Let Them Know: The Story of Youth Brigade and BYO Records. BYO, founded by Shawn and Mark Stern, also members of Youth Brigade, asked their favorite bands to record songs from the extensive BYO Records catalog.

You can check out Pennywise' s cover of the 7 Seconds original, "We're Gonna Fight" on MP3.

The resulting 31-track compilatio n album featuring NoFX, Pennywise, Dropkick Murphys, 7 Seconds, Leatherfac e, Nothington and Youth Brigade, along with a 90-minute documentar y on the early LA punk scene, is available now.  The limited-ed ition box set release contains two colored-vi nyl LPs, the documentar y on DVD, and a full-color , hardcover book.  'Let Them Know' is also available as a CD/DVD set with booklet, and digitally.

Many argue that the early '80s LA punk scene was wrongly overshadow ed by New York and London's punks.  With excellent archival footage and interviews with Ian McKaye, Fat Mike, the Sterns and others, the documentar y, directed by Jeff Alulis, illustrate s LA's role in the explosive movement.  BYO played an important part by promoting all-ages, non-violen t shows and releasing seminal recordings like the 1982 'Someone Got Their Head Kicked In' compilatio n and early music from Social Distortion , Agression, SNFU and more.

View the trailer for the film, below. Meanwhile, we'll have an appreciati on of the band and label at John Moore's Blurt blog "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" posted very soon, so keep your eyes peeled.

Over 8,000 artists are due money. Among them: Sal Mineo, Fela Kuti, Jim Carroll, Jules Shear, Afghan Whigs and Type O Negative (pictured above). Better step up or shut up (e.g., forfeit your royalties) .

By Rev. Keith A. Gordon

Are you a bona fide recording artist, a musician with one or more albums to your name? Are you registered with Sound Exchange? If the answer to the first question is "yes," you'd better hope that your answer to the second question is also affirmativ e. Thousands of musicians are currently owed royalties by Sound Exchange, and if you don't claim the cash, it'll end up in somebody else's pockets.

Sound Exchange was formed by the Recording Industry Associatio n of America (RIAA), the music industry's lobbying arm, as a non-profit organizati on. Sound Exchange's primary reason for existing is to collect royalties for the digital transmissi on of sound recordings and then pay these monies back out to artists and record labels.

For example, Sound Exchange collects royalties from satellite radio stations like XM Radio and Sirius that play recorded music; from cable and satellite television (Muzak and MusicChoic e channels); and from Internet radio stations like Pandora and LastFM. There's just one problem - Sound Exchange can't find many of the musicians that they owe royalties. Never mind that many are probably registered with organizati ons like BMI or ASCAP, or had label deals on which they are (presumabl y) paid royalties, Sound Exchange has been unable to send 'em a check.

On the organizati on's website they include a list of over 8,000 of these "lost artists," musicians and bands that are due money. Although Sound Exchange claims that they're currently paying royalties to some 31,000 artists, some critics claim that the number of "lost artists" might actually be as high as 40,000 musicians.

The list of thousands of those that are due unclaimed royalties from the digital broadcasti ng of their music includes both indie and major label artists, a long list of Hispanic musicians, and it cuts across the decades, from the 1960s through the current day. In some cases, exactly who is due the money is up for grabs, as the rights to many psychedeli c-era bands like Moby Grape, Strawberry Alarm Clock, and the Electric Prunes (all on the list) have been swapped and sold like a shoebox of baseball cards.

In other cases, the artists have tragically passed away, especially in the case of early blues artists, as the estates of Son House, Blind Willie Johnson, Jessie Mae Hemphill, and Brownie McGhee, among others, are due royalties. But the more recently-d eparted are also owed royalties, the list also including artists like Kirsty MacColl, Fela Kuti, and Jim Carroll.

Most of the list of "lost" artists, though, seems to consist of rock and heavy metal bands and artists. There is quite a lot of talent represente d here, from songwriter Jules Shear and jazz guitarist Ralph Towner to blue-colla r rocker Joe Grushecky and soul giant Eddie Floyd. There are a heck of a lot of bands from the '80s and '90s, including the likes of the Afghan Whigs, Guadalcana l Diary, Lords of the New Church, Cravin' Melon, and Bare, Jr.  

Headbanger s are represente d by a wide spectrum of metal bands, including doomsters Saint Vitus, Malevolent Creation, Warlock, and Type O Negative. There are also the uncategori zed oddballs and fringe rockers, from Slaves On Dope and Skinyard to rapper Tech 9ne and instrument alists Man or Astro-Man? Even the estate of 1950s-era actor Sal Mineo is owed royalties for the single album that he released in 1957.

If these royalties aren't claimed by the artists within a certain period of time, they'll be forfeited to the organizati on. All recording artists are strongly urged to get in touch with Sound Exchange and see if you're owed any money; and if you haven't registered with the organizati on, you should do so as soon as possible so that you, too, don't end up "lost" and losing money in the future.

Stooges, meet ABBA. ABBA, meet Jimmy Cliff. Jimmy, meet Laura Nyro. Laura, meet Phil Collins... oops...

By Fred Mills

"The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame," writes BLURT contributo r Chris Parker in the fall issue of BLURT, "is a once interestin g idea that long ago lost its luster-or, for that matter, its credibilit y. You'd have to visit post-war Iraq to find a plan with a more muddled sense of purpose. Beset by cronyism, stylistic blinders and a self-aggra ndizing sense of entitlemen t, the Rock Hall's become a sad, little side show with less continuing relevance to the music world at large than the Pet Rock. In April the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Jeff Beck, Little Anthony & the Imperials, Metallica, Run-DMC, Bobby Womack, Wanda Jackson, Bill Black, DJ Fontana and Spooner Oldham. Meanwhile obviously deserving and influentia l artists including The Stooges, Kraftwerk, Tom Waits, and Joy Division wait on the sidelines. Entire genres such as Prog Rock, Power Pop, and American Hardcore are all but ignored by the cloistered self-congr atulatory backslappe rs that comprise the nominating committee. Shedding credibilit y like contestant s on The Biggest Loser shed pounds, the entire endeavor needs to be taken out back and put out of its misery."

Ouch. Apparently the Rock Hall has taken Parker's editoriali zing to heart, because the latest nominees, announced yesterday, show a striking uptick in, dare we say it, rock and roll-ness. Get a look at the new list:

ABBA
The Chantels
Jimmy Cliff
Genesis
The Hollies
KISS
LL Cool J
Darlene Love
Laura Nyro
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Stooges
Donna Summer

Roughly 500 voters (musicians , industry pros, etc.) will be casting their chits, from which 5 of the 12 nominee will be chosen for induction at the Rock Hall's 25^th event held March 15 at NYC's Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Will this finally be the year of the Stooges? Smart money says that the voters will no longer be able to ignore Iggy & Co., given the lumps the Rock Hall took this year about the Stooges following guitarist Ron Asheton's death. As far as the others are concerned, there's no question that oldies like the Hollies, Darlene Love and the Chantels are deserving of recognitio n, and say what you will about Genesis or Laura Nyro, but both artists created some genuinely groundbrea king music early on. KISS' bonafides are unimpeacha ble; it's not like Gene Simmons is being nominated separately or anything. ABBA and Donna Summer? Pop, but still pop with panache. Jimmy Cliff has loads of cred, and we can even stomach the Chili Peppers on occasion. LL Cool J's presence on the ballot is sure to generate the usual hip-hop-ai n't-rock commentary , but our prediction is that in the Obama era, that kind of talk will likely be tamped down to a degree.

So is this a shameless, too-little -too-late grab for credibilit y on the part of the Rock Hall? An instance of some of the dinosaurs and industry insiders on the nominating committee finally dying out to make way for fresh blood? Or just a fluke? It's probably the latter, but for now, we'll just quote the Stooges and wait for March to arrive. I feel aw-right........!

Caribou, John McEntire, Four Tet, Xiu Xiu, Mark Robinson and more do the deed.

By Blurt Staff

Merge Records has announced the tracklisti ng for the label's upcoming SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Remixes! - available on limited edition CD and digital download, it arrives Nov. 17. The lineup's pretty impressive too, from Tortoise's John McEntire remixing Spoon and Caribou tacking Polvo (!), to dance mavens Junior Boys putting their spin on Lambchop and Jason Forrest taking the Arcade Fire's classic "No Cars Go" out for a, ahem,"spin ."

As with the various other SCORE!-rel ated releases that have surfaced this year, all proceeds will benefit charities chosen by the SCORE! curators.

Track listing:

1. Caribou- Kalgon (Polvo)
2. Barbara Morgenster n- Mother of Pearl (Pram)
3. Four Tet- Baby's Way Cruel (Guv'ner)
4. The Blow- Drill Me (I Was So There Remix) (Portastat ic)
5. John McEntire- The Ghost of You Lingers (Spoon)
6. Jason Forrest- No Cars Go (Arcade Fire)
7. Xiu Xiu- Volcana! (I Hope Your Train Crashes Remix) (The 6ths)
8. +/- {Plus/Minu s} - Bow to the Middle (The Rosebuds)
9. Hands Off Cuba- Irene (Caribou)
10. Mark Robinson- Washington DC (The Magnetic Fields)
11. Junior Boys- The Nashville Parent (Lambchop)

Further evidence that vinyl ain't dead...

By Fred Mills

With the news of Tortoise's limited edition 12" of remixes (on Thrill Jockey) still fresh, word now arrives of yet more foot-long vinyl delights en route from the venerable indie label. Baltimore' s Thank You, Jason Urick (from WZT Hearts), NYC's White Hills (an Oneida offshoot) and Brooklyn's Mountains are all available.

What you'll need to do is go to the TJ site for details on how to snap ‘em up. Best not to delay, as they are limited editions, natch - like, only 300 copies for one of ‘em. The label's initial offering of its 12" subscripti on series sold out (so much for getting that Pit er Pat rec, kids), and as a result it put together these new offerings. The next package ships in October, followed by package #3 in November.

Also in the works  for later this year are 12"ers from Javelin and Mi Ami (e.g. package #3), along with a limited LP from Pontiak.

Thrill Jockey kindly provided the breakdown on the platters:

Thank You "Pathetic Magic" - This is a 12" with two new songs and three remixes of the songs by Dan Deacon, Asa Osborne (Lungfish) and Jason Urick.  A very Baltimore heavy affair!

Jason Urick "Husbands" - This is a limited debut LP from Jason Urick who you might remember from WZT Hearts.  He creates minimalist electronic soundscape s that are ghosted and fragmented melodies buried in distorted tones that slowly unfurl in subtle ways that reward patient listeners.

White Hills "Dead" - Another recent signing to the Thrill Jockey family.  This debut TJ 12" is an EP that provides a quick glimpse of the forthcomin g album to come.  It features drumming from Kid Millions (of Oneida) and Antr&oslas h;nhy ØH (of Julian Cope's Black Sheep Band).  Psychedeli c space rock for the 21st century!

Mountains "Etching" - This is the limited vinyl version of a live tour CD-R the band hand on their previous tour.  It features an early version of their set from that tour and was recorded at their home studio entirely live. Each jacket is hand-stamp ed and unique!

Our suggestion : hire out of work rock critics to track down artists who are due royalties.

By Fred Mills

Apparently yesterday' s editorial about Sound Exchange ("Digital Dollars Due: SoundExcha nge"), penned by BLURT contributo r Rev. Keith A. Gordon, struck a nerve with the organizati on. Within just a few hours of posting the article, SE Executive Director John L. Simson contacted us to offer some clarificat ions and rebuttals on behalf of SoundExcha nge. (Sound Exchange was formed by the Recording Industry Associatio n of America [RIAA], the music industry's lobbying arm, as a non-profit organizati on collecting royalties for the digital transmissi on of sound recordings and then paying artists and record labels.)

In the original editorial, Gordon pointed out that thousands of artists are listed on the SE website as being due money. Some are deceased while others are, by dint of current inactivity , probably hard to track down, although others - for example, Jules Shear, Ralph Towner and Type O Negative - are presumably not all that obscure. (Yours truly, in fact, can put SE in touch with Shear if they need assistance .) If royalties are not claimed within a certain time, they're forfeited to the organizati on, and both Gordon and BLURT encourage ALL MUSICIANS to check the SE website to find out if in fact they or someone they know are on the list. Read Gordon's article here.

To view the list of artists who have not claimed their artists, go to the SE website and click on "Unregiste red List" in the right column.

At any rate, Simson, in his letter (see below), wants to set the record straight lest readers get the impression that his organizati on isn't fulfilling its mandate to get royalties into the hands of the appropriat e individual s. He cites "multiple phone calls, e-mails and other communicat ion" on the part of SE in its efforts to track the artists down, adding that they've had plenty of success stories but acknowledg ing that some artists remain elusive.

In some instances, says Simson, "They simply fail to return registrati on forms so that they can be paid." It's an evenhanded letter, and we applaud his urging musicians to get in touch with SoundExcha nge. As he puts it, "We hope that every one of them registers so that they can receive payments."

***

Here's the letter, in full:

Dear Reverend:

Thank you for your recent article highlighti ng the need for artists to register with SoundExcha nge so they can collect royalties they've earned when their recordings are played on internet and satellite radio. A few things you may have missed: many of the artists on the list are not "unfound" or "lost" and have received multiple phone calls, e-mails and other communicat ion from my staff, from consultant s who work for SoundExcha nge tracking down artists and fellow performers . They simply fail to return registrati on forms so that they can be paid. In other cases, like the Strawberry Alarm Clock, I tracked down the bass player in Calabasas, CA and we got him signed up. However, he wasn't able to get us the other members of the band.

Typically, if an artist has a web presence: a facebook page, a myspace page or a website, we will send communicat ions to them. We try many different methods to locate as many people who are owed royalties as possible. We recently completed a "match"&nb sp;compari ng our database with those of CDBaby and ReverbNati on. This matching turned up about 12,000 hits. Letters will go out to those artists from the respective companies alerting these artists that they have money at SoundExcha nge. We hope that every one of them registers so that they can receive payments. We have done similar matchings over the years with the Recording Academy, the Blues Foundation , AFM, AFTRA and many other industry organizati ons. We have done preliminar y matches with ASCAP and BMI and are hopeful they will agree to do more to ensure that their members are getting any royalties owed to them. (One issue with ASCAP and BMI is that they will sometimes only have informatio n regarding the songwriter s in a group and not those who didn't write - we may only have a group name that does not match the songwriter name they have in their database.)

I would be happy to discuss this issue with you in more detail if you'd like to learn more about our outreach efforts.

Best regards,

John L. Simson

Executive Director, SoundExcha nge

1121 14th Street, N.W. Suite 700

Washington , D.C. 20005

Phone: 202-640-58 90

Fax: 202-640-58 91

 JSimson@so undexchang e.com

www.soundexcha nge.com

***

Now (you knew there might be a "however" coming, right?), although Simson makes a number of excellent points - and again, just to be clear, this is all about people getting paid what they are due, not playing music biz politics - it's worth making a few additional points.

I talked to Gordon, and he noted that in the past he has contacted various musicians after spotting their names on the unclaimed royalties list in order to notify them they're due money. How did he contact them? In a few instances, he already had an address, email, or phone number; being a music journalist for your entire adult life tends to help you build up a lot of informatio n, and this is a case of it definitely being useful informatio n (compared to the typical geek-stuff we critics file away mentally or in boxes in our attics). For others, he simply put in some time employing Google and other search methods. There's this little thing called Directory Assistance you may have heard of that telephone companies make available, too; if a ‘60s band was originally from, say, San Diego, odds are better than none that a former member of the band still lives there.

"Some of [Simson's] assertions are fair," said Gordon, "and I do believe that SoundExcha nge does a decent job in finding newer artists; the lack of more contempora ry musicians on the list would seem to bear this out. I have spoken personally with some of the older artists on the list in the past, though, and they've expressed total surprise when I told them about Sound Exchange. To a man - and woman - they all stated that, to the best of their knowledge, neither they nor their representa tives had been contacted by the organizati on.

"I contacted three dozen artists on the list with the informatio n that the organizati on was holding money for them. Today, around 6 or 7 of those artists I contacted remain on the list, which says that they didn't listen to me the first time around, or my informatio n didn't get to the right person. Of the 36, I personally knew 6 or 8 and was able to contact them directly - and today they're all off the list. I found the rest of them by spending a couple of hours with Google and contacting them through their websites."

So this raises the question, if a lowly roccrit can do the job that SoundExcha nge is supposed to be doing, and all by himself, and without compensati on, why the heck can't SoundExcha nge scare up a handful of interns to do exactly what Gordon did? Trust us, there are TONS of music fans that would LOVE to intern for a respected, high-level music industry group like SoundExcha nge, and some of them are probably well-quali fied to put in the effort and research, too. Let's face it, SE staffers are faced with a daunting task, and it's unlikely they're paid on a level of, say, a law office's paralegals (just to draw a parallel here - lawyers are always trying to track down individual s who have gone missing, are off the grid or simply remain elusive). But if aided by eager-beav er interns, there's no doubt that the SE staff could up its "score" ratio - which is why we think Simson's suggesting that SE has been exercising full due diligence may be a tad disingenuo us.

Memo to SoundExcha nge: Google. Bing. Yahoo Search. Also: if you don't have anything but the name of a band in your database, go to Wikipedia, All Music Guide and any number of internet resources that list band members. You might not get an email or phone number right off the bat, but you'll likely get farther along the path than automatica lly relying on a match with the ASCAP or BMI databases.

None of this is meant to undermine Simson or SoundExcha nge - actually, what we're hoping is that maybe folks will start talking and the word about the royalties being held in escrow will get out to artists.

But once again: a music critic spent a few hours of his own time and located a couple of dozen artists that SE reportedly had been looking for. At the risk of sounding snarky, maybe SoundExcha nge should hire some music critics to help out here - lord knows there are enough of us out of work and needing the money these days, and our collective knowledge about music of all eras and genres just may represent the most extensive music database on the entire planet.

Reports of the venerable archival label's immediate demise seem somewhat exaggerate d, but there have been massive layoffs.

By Fred Mills

Bloggers and music forums erupted late yesterday with rumors of the shuttering of Rhino Records. One sample posting:

"I have it on good authority that Rhino as we know it does not exist anymore as of 5:00 PM PST. Fifty or more employees have been eliminated suddenly, including almost all the marketing, editorial and art department s. This is absolutely devastatin g news. I am shocked and saddened, as I'm sure you all are, too. Any music lover will feel this way. I feel so badly for the people who have so lovingly curated music history, presenting us with exceptiona l releases over the years."

While the sentiments are absolutely right on - I've had nothing but the utmost respect for Rhino and Rhino Handmade over the years, and feel privileged to have reviewed many of their titles, including some of the most elaboratel y designed box sets (collector catnip at that) on the planet - the specifics seems a bit premature.

Variety indicates that yesterday afternoon Warner Music Group laid off "between 30 and 40 staffers" with cuts made across-the -board "in all department s, including A&R, marketing, promotion and publicity." The magazine quoted from a statement issued by Rhino that "cited a ‘fun damental transforma tion of the physical new release and catalog business" as a reason for the cuts. Rhino will evolve into an entity that ‘han dles WMG's global digital catalog initiative s, film, TV, vidgame and commercial licensing,  and name and likeness representa tion for legendary artists.'"

Variety added that Rhino's core market for "high ticket items" such as boxed sets, had declined steeply alongside the general decline of physical product in general.

So clearly, change is afoot at Rhino. Does this mean those fantastic boxes and in-depth retrospect ives are a thing of the past? It's too early to say, and judging by the vague wording of the Rhino statement, it appears the label is entering a transition al phase that we can only sit back for and see what happens.

All that aside: just recently Rhino issued massive, comprehens ive boxes on Big Star and Los Angeles Nuggets (both reviewed in the new, Winter 2009, issue of BLURT, by the way) - but if the label is to go the way of the dinosaurs, let it be in such fine style as these.

Rhino Records, I salute ya.

No. 2: Quite excited

By Bryan Reed

I first saw Black Cobra (above) about two years ago. They were opening for Pelican in a double-bil l at Tremont Music Hall in Charlotte. What I remember most about the show was thinking that Black Cobra was monumental ly more captivatin g than Pelican - which put on a good set, just not as good - and feeling bummed about not having enough cash for records. So to say I was excited when the Cobra's third record (first for Southern Lord), Chronomega arrived in the mail is a mild understate ment: I was quite excited.

Having settled into Chronomega , the new jams fail to disappoint . Opener "Negative Reversal" is a blunt-forc e stomp indicative of the rest of the album - sharp riffs, gruff grooves and a driving, sludgy feel somewhere between High on Fire and early Mastodon. This is no kind of reinventio n, but the collection hits its mark without getting stale. I still prefer Bestial (Black Cobra's 2006 debut), but I wouldn't have even mentioned Chronomega if I weren't suggesting it's at least worth a listen.

Lately, though, I've found my attention drawn elsewhere, to three albums, each playing within the black metal spectrum, though not necessaril y completely : Azaghal's Teraphim, Merrimack's Grey Rigorism and Mount Eerie's Wind's Poem.

Azaghal's latest, Teraphim, out Tuesday via Moribund Records, comes closest to the sound of the Norwegian first-wave , putting chaotic blast beats behind expansive guitar melodies. This corpsepain ted quartet from Finland doesn't stretch the boundaries of what black metal is, but even as it colors inside the guidelines the band adds shades of nuance by way of thrash riffs and - on the record's most divergent cut, "Häne n Musta Liekkins&a uml;" - by way of synthesize d orchestral arrangemen ts that are simultaneo usly cheesy, endearing and adeptly atmospheri c. It's telling that the first three seconds of almost every track sounds the same - immediate blast beat that gets ripped open with an introducto ry roar from vocalist Varjoherra . It's also telling that when it doesn't, as is true of "Filosofi, " we can expect a slight but important shift in approach as the song adopts a steady riff and a strong chorus that reminds somewhat of Boris in its melody and vocal pairings.

The Merrimack record, also released by Moribund, has been out for some time now, but has kept my attention because it doesn't seem to settle. Black Metal, for me anyway, is a dish best served with a healthy portion of unrest, lest the waves of guitar become sedative white noise. Like Texas' Absu, or Illinois' Nachtmysti um, Merrimack (who, by the way, hail from France) relish elements from all stripes of heavy metal: death metal's bottomed-o ut groove, sludgy textures and thrash urgency to scratch the surface. I've seen the term black 'n' roll used when describing black metal bands that pack a Motör head-style hook, and even though I think the term sounds stupid, it fits Merrimack. Check out "In The Halls of White Death," and notice how from the first notes it finds a solid midtempo groove and rides it insistentl y, even as the guitars float in like an ominous fog to wrap the song into a dark haze.

That haze is pretty much the only thing Mount Eerie's so-called black metal album shares with its European counterpar ts. This is less br00tal, more br00ding, like Phil Elverum, the perennial indie-dude , discovered a Xasthur record and informed his entire picture of what "black metal" is from that. But - and this is a crucial "but" - Elverum's seemingly shallow venture into the kvlt realm serves this project well, making an album that is good both as a lo-fi indie entry (hey, this is Blurt, not Terrorizer ) and as a metal entry. Folks familiar with the plaintive, melancholy folk Elverum's been peddling for years might be startled at first by opener "Wind's Dark Poem," and its harsh-if-m uffled roar. But Elverum's not donning corpsepain t or switching his quiet croon to a strangled yelp, he's appropriat ing textures from the insular, claustroph obic and somehow broad-stro ked bedroom black metal of Xasthur and Leviathan, stretching their bleak sounds capes over his own mournful singing and poetic songwritin g. "Stone's Ode," the final word in Wind's Poem, is not at all unlike much of Elverum's work, even as it sustains its chords like worn , grayed tulle behind him, and even when he recasts last year's profoundly intimate "Lost Wisdom" (here as "Lost Wisdom Pt. 2") as a droning, blackened dirge, it's Elverum's voice, the sad clarity of it, that grabs us even in the darker, harsher environs he's masterfull y created for this effort. That, if you ask me, is quite exciting.

ALSO IN ROTATION: Lightning Bolt - Earthly Pleasures (Load); Horseback - MILH IHVH (Turgid Animal); Baroness - Blue Record (Relapse); Pyramids with Nadja - Pyramids with Nadja (Hydra Head); Chord - Flora (Neurot); Iron Age - The Sleeping Eye (Tee Pee); Landmine Marathon - Rusted Eyes Awake (Prostheti c, reissue); Title Fight - The Last Thing You Forget (Run For Cover)

***

Bryan Reed is from North Carolina and, despite his best efforts, he still hasn't grown out of the racket that irritated his friends and family in high school, and continues to irritate them in the present. Stalker-ty pes should know that they can follow Bryan on Twitter @subparroc kstar.

[Photo Credits: Black Cobra, bu Shannon Corr; Merrimack, Vertigo; Mount Eerie, Mount Eerie]

ID all the cartoon characters in the tour poster and win a glorious prize package, including a portrait of yourself painted by Dan Deacon.

By Blurt Staff

Dan Deacon is heading back out on tour next week with his pals Nuclear Power Pants - they're traveling once again in his veggie oil bus (they'll need veggie oil this time too, same offer stands from the last tour if you're able to help provide them with veggie oil along the way). Complete, final and updated tour dates are listed below. 

To celebrate this tour, Post Typography designed a new poster l- be the first one to ID all of the 243 cartoon characters portrayed within it, pictured above, and you'll nab a fabulous prize. You can download the relevant materials (reproduce d below) at Deacon's website here: www.dandeacon.com/contes t/contest.html . Then you can email your submission to: postercont est@whamci ty.com

 
THE PRIZE:

1. $500 cash
2. A Portrait of you painted by Dan Deacon
3. One of the last copies of Wham City Box set #1
4. A Copy of each of Dan Deacon's first 8 impossible -to-find releases (silly hat vs egale hat, meetle mice, goose on the loose, a green cobra is awesome vs the sun, porky pig, twacky cats, live 2003, acorn master)

Tour Dates:

10-01 Chapel Hill, NC - Cat's Cradle *
10-02 Atlanta, GA - Eyedrum *
10-03 Athens, GA - 40 Watt *
10-04 Birmingham , AL - Bottletree *
10-05 Nashville, TN - The End *
10-06 Memphis, TN - Hi Tone Café ; *
10-07 New Orleans, LA - Big Top *
10-09 Austin, TX - Emo's Alternativ e Lounge Outside *
10-10 Marfa, TX - The Shade Structure*
10-14 Irvine, CA - Pacific Ballrom (UC Irvine) *
10-15 Los Angeles, CA - Echo *
10-16 Los Angeles, CA - Eagle Rock Center for the Arts *
10-17 San Francisco, CA - Treasure Island Festival
10-19 Sacramento , CA - Fungarden *
10-21 Eugene, OR - Agate Hall (Universit y of Oregon) *
10-22 Portland, OR - Worksound *
10-23 Portland, OR - Holocene *
10-24 Seattle, WA - Vera Project *
10-27 Denver, CO - Rhinocerop olis *
10-29 Northfield , MN The Cave (Carleton College) *
10-30 Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium *
11-01 Gambier, OH - The Horn Gallery *
11-03 Toronto, Ontario - Sneaky Dees *
11-04 Toronto, Ontario - Great Hall *
11-05 Montreal, Quebec - Il Motore *
11-06 Montreal, Quebec - Eastern Bloc *
11-07 Middlebury , VT - Middlebury College *
11-08 Boston, MA - Pozen Center (Mass. College of Art) *
11-09 Pawtucket, RI - Machines *
11-10 Northampto n, MA - Pearl Street Nightclub *
11-13 Troy, NY - Experiment al Media & Rennselaer Polytechni c Institute *
11-14 Worcester, MA - The Grind (Clark University ) *
11-15 Ithaca, NY - Emerson Suites (Ithaca College) *

* with Nuclear Power Pants

Afro-punk Hits The Road For First National Tour Featuring Saul Williams & Guests, Including The London Souls, Hollywood Holt, Krak Attack, Activator, The Smyrk, J*Davey, Irradio, American Fangs.

By Blurt Staff

Inspired by the the seminal film Afro -punk (200 3), spotlighti ng Black Punks in America,&n bsp;Afro-p unk i s a growing cultural movement giving a voice to thousands of multi-cult ural kids fiercely identifyin g with a lifestyle path-less- traveled. Not unlike the early days of Hip-Hop, the scene is a touchstone for tens of thousands of urban progressiv e kids across the nation (and the globe) who, tired of feeling like outsiders, have sought out  Afro punk.com, where thousands of users, bands, bloggers, and activists gather to and connect with the Afro-punk community.

After spending the last five years presenting an annual week-long arts festival at the world-reno wned Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York, Afro-punk is now ready to take the festival on the road in 2010. So to warm things up they will be hitting several major cities this fall. Expe ct an "explosive mix of music, Xtreme sports, and visual art."

Described by the New York Times as putting "rock and rebellion squarely in the category of African-Am erican music," Afro-punk is ready to break nationally . The festival has a history of presenting new artists before they hit it big, such as Grammy-nom inated Santogold, The Noisettes and Janelle Monae, who performed at the 2008 festival. The 2009 Afro-punk Tour Lineup will be headlined by Saul Williams ("The Niggy Tardust Experience ") and will feature at select dates  ;The London Souls, Hollywood Holt, Krak Attack, Activator, The Smyrk, J*Davey, Irradio, American Fangs, along with additional artists added in each local market. 

Full details, including the background of Afro-punk at the official website, natch.

Tour Dates:

Our third pick in a new series: Portland band's new album is what's twirling our tassels as we head into the weekend. Check out the free MP3, below.

By Fred Mills

Panther's new album is titled Entropy and it's due out next Tuesday courtesy Kill Rock Stars. You can our review HERE.

As BLURT's Jennifer Kelly put it, "For Panther's latest work... pop forms are unceasingl y put together, pulled apart and reassemble d. Here rhythms, melodies and harmonies rub together in a humming friction of point, counterpoi nt and chaos."

Panther is BLURT's third official Band O' The Week. (Previousl y: The Clean, and Os Mutantes.) Check back each Friday for that week's selection.

Check out the band's MySpace page for song samples - and you can get a taste right here, via their edgy cover of Can's "Vitamin C."

"In Summer In The Heat" from the Breadwinne r (Asthmatic Kitty)

Ultra-cool Some Days are Better than Others trailer is ready for viewing!

By Blurt staff

Portland filmmaker Matt McCormick has launched the trailer for Some Days are Better than Others, his debut feature film. You can view it at the film's website, www.somedaysth emovie.com or below.

(Carrie Brownstein as Katrina)

Shot primarily in Portland and the surroundin g areas, Some Days are Better than Others is a poetic, character- driven independen t feature film starring James Mercer, Carrie Brownstein , Renee Roman Nose, and David Wodehouse. A charmingly melancholy look at abandonmen t, Some Days are Better Than Others asks the question, "Why do the good times slip by so fast while the sad times seem so sticky?" The film thematical ly explores heartbreak , abandonmen t, and alternativ e forms of communicat ion while observing an interweavi ng web of awkward characters who seem to get kicked down by life time and time again. Above all else, Some Days are Better Than Others is a quirky black comedy about the disposable relics of our always-con suming society. It's a film about growing up, growing old, and holding on to hope while looking for second chances.

(James Mercer as Eli)

More news regarding the film's release will be announced soon.

BLURT-appr oved blooze-pun k miscreants serve up a heapin' helpin' o' fun.

By Blurt Staff

Coming to a BLURT review near you: Fort Wayne, Indiana's Left Lane Cruiser, whose new album is All You Can Eat Alive Records. The two-man band features Freddie J Evans IV (aka Joe) on slide guitar and vocals, and Brenn Beck (aka Sausage Paw) on big-ass bass drum, harmonica and a toolbox full of percussive gear. Evans provides the firey fingerpick ing and husky vocals. For Beck, everything is an instrument : trash cans, washboards , paint trays, hubcaps, ladders, you name it.

Learning their craft by playing at house parties, at the corner streets of their home town, and rehearsing in a heatless garage, they have developed their personal take on the North Mississipp i Hill Country sound. They have toured relentless ly, sharing the stage with artists such as Black Diamond Heavies, T-Model Ford, and Bob Log III. They have also appeared at the infamous Deep Blues festival in River Falls Wisconsin in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

All You Can Eat is the latest release from the super blues duo. It showcases the band's high-volta ge punk blues style they're known for and it is everything fans of their Alive debut expects and a lot more. A follow up to their acclaimed 2008 release "Bring 'Yo Ass To the Table," this new album was recorded in Detroit at the infamous Ghetto Recorders, and produced by legendary Jim Diamond.

Watch for the review very soon. The band is hitting the road in October too, so you have been warned:

US Tour Dates

Oct 5 @ The Northside Tavern - Cincinnati , OH
Oct 6 @ The Green Lantern - Lexington, KY
Oct 7 @ Hal and Al's - Columbus, OH
Oct 8 @ The V Club - Huntington , WV
Oct 9 @ The Garage - Winston Salem, NC
Oct 10 @ The Bohemian - Greenville , SC w/ Black Diamond Heavies
Oct 12 @ The End - Nashville, TN
Oct 13 @ JJ's Bohemia - Chattanoog a, TN
Oct 14 @ The Hideaway - Johnson City, TN
Oct 15 @ Visulite Theater - Charlotte, NC
Oct 16 @ The Star Bar - Atlanta, GA
Oct 17 @ Knoxville, TN

European Tour Dates

Oct 30 @ La Boule Noire - Paris, France
Oct 31 @ La Peniche - Chalon s/Saone, France
Nov 1 @ Le Galion - Lorient, France
Nov 4 @ Peniche Sonic - Lyon, France
Nov 5 @ Queen Kong Club - Neuhatel, Switzerlan d
Nov 6 @ Caves Du Manoir - Martigny, Switzerlan d
Nov 7 @ Le Transforma teur - Fribourg, Switzerlan d
Nov 8 @ El Lokal - Zurich, Switzerlan d
Nov 9 @ My Way - Freibourg, Germany
Nov 11 @ Cortinan Bob - Berlin, Germany
Nov 12 @ The Paradison - Amsterdam, The Netherland s
Nov 13 TBA - Stockholm, Sweden
Nov 15 @ Popdium - Sneek, The Netherland s
Nov 16 @ Little Devil - Tilburg, The Netherland s
Nov 18 @ Club Keller - Frankfurt, Germany
Nov 19 @ DB's - Utrecht, The Netherland s
Nov 20 @ Grand Wazoo - Amiens, France
Nov 21 @ L'Appel D'air - St Brieuc, France
Nov 22 @ Le Chalan - Binik, France
Nov 24 @ St Eupery - Bordeaux, France
Nov 25 @ Sant Des Seins - Toulouse, France
Nov 26 @ Cafe De Paris - Perpignan, France
Nov 27 @ Barakason - Nants, France w/ Black Diamond Heavies
Nov 28 @ Festival Blues Hauts De Seine - Mantes La Jolie, France w/ Black Diamond Heavies

Most creative use of the "F" word all week, yo.

By Fred Mills

The much-antic ipated "Neurotics Of Rock" tour abruptly crumbled this weekend when representa tives from proposed co-headlin ers the Black Lips and Wavves had what some observers are describing as "a falling out."

As reported by both Pitchfork and Brooklyn Vegan, the Black Lips' Jared Swilley and Wavves' Nathan Williams got into a fight during the wee hours of the morning at Brooklyn bar Daddy's (Wavves had performed Friday night at the Market Hotel, while the Lips had played at Roseland Ballroom).

You can read the accounts yourselves , but we have in this corner, one person reporting that he observed "people dragging Nathan and Jared apart, and then Jared and a popular DJ running at Nathan again" - this presumably stemming from some internet shit-talki ng that went on between the two a few months ago.

Then in the other corner, Williams is saying that it was unfortunat e that matters escalated but he [Swilley] got what was coming to him".

And in yet another corner, Swilley comments that he didn't attack Williams at all; instead, he was the one assaulted by the Wavves tour managers and others. Said Swilley, "What happened was, after we finished our set I went to Daddy's with some friends and saw that faggot from Wavves talking to a photograph er friend of mine. The only thing I did was walk up to him and say "You're that faggot from Wavves and I don't like you". He smiled a bit but didn't say anything. After that, I went outside and saw their tour manager hanging around with some guys. They started getting all chuckles with me and so I told them I wasn't gonna have it. After that, Wavves tour manager hit me square in the face with a bottle. Blood started pouring out and six dudes fucking started kicking me until I blacked out."

Who's right? Who's wrong? Who's a faggot? Who's not? Who cares! Sob! Where's Rodney King when we need him? Can't we all just get along?

Proof that indie rock has its idiots and assholes just like every other genre.

Fuck all that, let's go watch some TV:

Letters from the mailbag reveal that the controvers y surroundin g SoundExcha nge is an ongoing one.

By Fred Mills

Last week when we published our editorial on SoundExcha nge and the RIAA-funde d organizati on's efforts (or "lack thereof," as one of our readers put it) to distribute royalties to artists ("Digital Dollars Due"), we didn't know we were poking a hornets' nest - or, more accurately , giving a nest that had already been poked numerous times an additional shaking.

First came SoundExcha nge Executive Director John L. Simson's reply/rebu ttal to the original editorial along with some additional comments on our part in which we suggested a few means by which SE could more efficientl y do its job.

Then the emails started coming in from readers, all of whom hold opinions (strong, it seems). Some folks didn't want to be identified if we reported further on the matter but encouraged us to include the info they provided, while others - noted rock critic Dave Marsh in particular - indicated we could treat his email as a letter to the editor. I've posted Marsh's letter in full below, along with excerpts from others.

One common theme running through the correspond ence is that whenever this matter surfaces in the media, SoundExcha nge (usually through Simson) restates the same arguments and the same defenses, but that one central fact remains: SE doesn't do the job it's being funded to do, doesn't live up to its own mandate.

So I encourage everyone&n bsp; to research this on their own and educate yourselves on a hugely important issue. Then if you're not satisfied with the situation raise a stink - or at least let your concerns be known, in the interests of getting some of these artists paid and paid on a timely basis. (Like, NOW, rather than later.) Because all controvers y and finger pointing aside, that's the bottom line.

***

From Dave Marsh:

I really admire what you wrote in response to John Simson's misleading statements in defense of Sound Exchange's incompeten t malfeasanc e as representa tive of artists due digital royalties, as well as appreciati ng the Rev. Keith Gordon article that incited those statements .

There was one flaw, which is the idea that Sound Exchange's efforts to find artists ought to be done by volunteers and interns. In fact,  ; using interns and entry level employees is probably most of the problem with what scant effort SE does make. The idea that people should volunteer to do one of the only two important tasks SoundExcha nge has is prepostero us, even though it's also true that a large percentage of the "obscure" artists identified and signed up over the past few years are entirely due to volunteer effort. John Simson is paid a six figure salary, which entirely comes out of creators and copyright- owners pockets and if he won't go out and find every last one, the very damned least he can do is pay someone a living wage for tackling the task. Although he likes to make it sound that way, this is not an incidental part of the business he's in. It's one of its foundation s.

As far as I can see, almost everything that needs to be done after SE has the names (sign-up is so much bullshit, it certainly does NOT "need" doing at all-they need name, address and a fair amount of confidence that the Bootsy Collins they're in touch with is not the imposter) can be done by machines, with minimal oversight at this point. I mean, what the hell does John Simson do if he's not up on the Hill lobbying for more control, more money, et cetera? Why should there be more than him and a lawyer and a couple people to a