Superchunk

New song. Free download...

http://www.spin.com/reviews/superchunk-leaves-gutter-merge

God, I love(d) Superchunk.

Jay Bennett

In case you didn't know former Wilco sideman Jay Bennett died last weekend. Here's a wrap-up featuring a link to a free download. No cause of death yet as far as i know. Well I love Summerteeth and Bennett had a big hand in that. I know I like Wilco better when Bennett was in the mix than before or after. If you haven't seen the Wilco documentary I recommend it. It's about the trials and tribulations the band went thru while making Yankee Foxtrot Hotel and shows a lot of backstage, let's say, confrontation b/t Jeff Tweedy and Bennett. The doc features a version of Summerteeth's My Darlin' sung by Bennett. It's terrific. You can hear it on Bennett's myspace page.

The Beastie Boys

On Jimmy Fallon. NEWSFLASH!! They are O L D ! !

http://www.nbc.com/late-night-with-jimmy-fallon/video/episodes/?vid=1111135#vid=1111135

The interview starts at about 14:30 and the performance starts at about 19:30.

Starclub

Does anyone else remember this song from the early nineties? I find myself humming this from time to time. It's not big enough to even garner a youtube link. I love the harmonies and the 'days of the week' lyrics. I remember this song was played over the opening credits of the movie "The Crush" w/90's ingenue Alicia Silverstone.



http://www.singingfool.com/Title.aspx?publishedid=504232

Is Rock Dead?

As I was reading this article, I got more and more angry...

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/05/20/van.zandt.save.rock/index.html

Van Zandt says, "Nobody's buying records... because they suck!" Totally untrue. Nobody's buying records because they can get them for free. And, even if he believes that all or most or many records suck, wtf!!! He is in a position to help to change that. And, he's been in that position for years. When posed the question, or when given the chance, he should be a promoter of good music; not the trasher of all rock music.

Laziness. Laziness from Van Zandt. Laziness from CNN.

The better angle would be something like... Here are 5 great rock bands that you've never heard of... Ten or twenty years ago, they'd have been the household names... The Pearl Jams, the Rolling Stones, the Nirvanas, etc... Now they go unheard... Why?

I don't listen to every highly-touted new band anymore. And I no longer have time to dig around and discover unknown rock gems. But, I am positive that these great rock artists still exist. And, I'm certain that a new one starts up each week, and will continue to do so for a long, long time.

Awesome rock music is not dead. It is not dying. It does not need saving. But, if we expect those artists to be household names, rock music (and music in general) needs a new way to generate money.

Coldplay, Ash

Couple of quick hitters. You can download a copy of a live album from Coldplay. They are handing out a physical copy at their shows this summer (so I'll have both).

About a year ago I heard about Ash doing this. Now it has come to pass. An interesting experiment, I guess only time will tell if it pays off and others follow. Not many have followed the Radiohead/NIN ploy of giving away albums, so who knows how this will do. You can download single #1 for free at their website.

Dark Night of the Soul

I don't think I'll have to sell this to hard. Here's a list of the contributors on this Danger Mouse/Sparklehorse collaboration:

James Mercer of The Shins, The Flaming Lips, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, Frank Black of the Pixies, Iggy Pop, Nina Persson of The Cardigans, Suzanne Vega, Vic Chesnutt, David Lynch, and Scott Spillane of Neutral Milk Hotel and The Gerbils.

The album is called Dark Night of the Soul. I love when the 'guest vocalist' thing is pulled off well and that definitely is the case here. It's not hard to do on tribute albums, but more difficult to do w/original material. Off the top of my head this is right up there w/Unkle's "Psyence Fiction". I need to listen on headphones instead of my crappy computer speakers. After reading the article it's best to listen while it's still streaming and available.

Bonus: Spinner has full, new streaming releases every week. This week they have the new Jason Lytle of Grandaddy amongst others.

The Beatles

Duh, right? I know. But check out this guy's opinions. Some are right on, others are debatable. I stayed up way too late one work night reading and reading and reading.

http://magazine.jamsbio.com/2009/01/05/playing-the-beatles-backwards-the-ultimate-countdown/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=ad&utm_campaign=facebook-beatles

How could this blog thing start with anyone other than the Beatles. It just wouldn't be right.