Hey, it's me... I'm back!

The Grateful Dead "Dark Star" with Duane Allman. Fillmore East, New York, NY 2-11-70

I am Obsessed with the Grateful Dead's Spring '90 run, particularly the Atlanta shows

Kanye West Preps G.O.O.D. Music Album

MTV
Kanye West spent much of summer 2010 seeding the Internet with new music via his "G.O.O.D. Friday" track releases, previewing a number of the songs from his own My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album.

And on Wednesday, West announced that he's packaging up some of those goods for a proper release. "Goodmusic. The album. Spring 2012," he tweeted, providing just a tease of what's to come.

'Ye's label, Def Jam, confirmed the release as well in a tweet, hyping upcoming albums from Rick Ross, the Roots, Young Jeezy and Rihanna, though a spokesperson could not be reached at press time for further details on the disc.

The G.O.O.D. Music bench is deep, so it's possible the disc could contain tracks from Big Sean, Kid Kudi, CyHi Da Prynce, Mos Def, Common, Mr. Hudson, Pusha T and John Legend. It could also contain a few of the "Friday" tracks that did not make the cut on Fantasy, including "Chain Heavy" with Talib Kweli and Consequence; "Looking for Trouble" with Pusha, CyHi, Big Sean and J. Cole; "Christian Dior Denim Flow" with Kid Cudi, Pusha, John Legend, Lloyd Banks and Ryan Leslie; and "Take One for the Team" with Keri Hilson, Pusha and CyHi.

West recently took a stroll down to New York's Zuccotti Park to check out the action at the Occupy Wall Street demonstration, not long after wrapping up his Twisted world tour in September at Austin City Limits. But he won't be chilling for long, as he's slated to kick off the Throne Tour with Jay-Z on October 28 at Atlanta's Philips Arena. The tour is currently slated to run through a December 18 date at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

Radiohead to record King of Limbs follow-up in December

the guardian
Radiohead will return to the studio later this year to record the follow-up to The King of Limbs. After a handful of gigs in America, the band are also planning a tour next year – with an additional drummer.

Clive Deamer, who has played with Portishead, Jeff Beck and Hawkwind, is now a core component of Radiohead's touring team. He made his live debut with Phil Selway at Glastonbury this summer, but since joining the band in New York, Radiohead are planning their next tour based on his availability. For most of this year, one of Radiohead's managers explained, Deamer was on the road with Portishead. "He wasn't available," Chris Hufford told Rolling Stone magazine, "and it's why we couldn't go out on tour until next year."

It's not clear if Deamer will join the band in the studio. "We can get things together quite rapidly at the moment," Yorke said. They have planned recording sessions for December and January, and at least one song – Come to Your Senses – is nearly finished. "It's a five-minute rehearsal, but it has the essence of what we need," he said. "There are a few of those. It would be fun to have them ready when we go to play next year. I don't know how we would release them."

Yorke is also trying to finish his next solo album, Atoms for Peace. Although he recorded last year with his touring band, including Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea, Yorke and producer Nigel Godrich weren't satisfied with the results. "Some of it worked," Godrich said. "[But] we also went back to some of the electronic stuff … We're waiting for the lightning bolt to strike." Yorke added: "It's not good enough yet … [We] were excited about it for so long, then we kind of lost our way."

Yorke's first solo album, The Eraser, was released in 2006. Radiohead's first remix album was released earlier this week.

Adele Totally Nails It on the VMAs

Bumblefoot in 2011

So far this year guitar virtuoso Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal has been treating us with a track a month (three of which have been covers so far, original up next).

What have your opinions been? I'm really enjoying them, and find myself looking forward to mid-month for the next one. It's sparked a bit of interest for me in what so far has been a reasonably dull year for music (granted it's only May).

Jan 18 - Bernadette (The Four Tops)
Feb 22 - Strawberry Fields Forever (The Beatles)
Mar 22 - Invisible (Bumblefoot)
Apr 19 - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John)
May 17 - Father (Bumblefoot)

Bumblefoot on Amazon.com

Velvet Lindsay Lohan Revolver

AntiMusic
With the holiday coming up, it's a bit of a slow news day but a reader did send over a tip on a fun article about who should replace Scott Weiland in Velvet Revolver. The Chinese Democracy blog have come up with an interesting suggestion for a new singer for Velvet Revolver. Get this: Lindsay Lohan. If you care to read their reasoning, go here.

Jackie & The Treehorns

Dick Cheney revealing Valerie Plame's secret identity. Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson's sex tape stolen from their personal safe. Radiohead's "Hail to the Thief" leaked online weeks before it's official release. And now, Jackie & The Treehorns newest album, "It's All About Me: A Tribute to Jackie", has it's Master CD stolen from the United States Postal Service and "leaked" online prematurely!

Yes folks, the rumors are true. The Jackie Master CD was in fact stolen (and later returned). Whoever the culprit's are they should know that they have committed a federal crime. Mail tampering is not a joke in this country! Jackie's vast legal team headed by Heshel Treehorn is hard at work with local authorities seeking out the guilty parties (Sean Parker? P Diddy? Django Treehorn?)

In the meantime, Jackie realizes there is no fighting the interweb and Facetunes of the world, so he has reluctantly agreed to allow a free digital release to occur weeks before the physical one.

"Look, we all know Jackie is a physical person. Jackie wants his music to touch people. He wants people to be touched by his music. And sometimes, Jackie himself wants to touch his fans. But Jackie cannot stop the internets, he cannot prevent digital felons from stealing and revealing his latest work." Jackie was quoted as saying before heading off to an undisclosed Paris hospital for his sixth rehab stint.

So it is with great excitement, reluctance, and ambivalence that we would like to present to you, the listener/fan/Jackie-obsessor, the brand new album by Jackie & The Treehorns entitled "It's All About Me: A Tribute to Jackie". Otherwise known on the street as "The Jackie Tribute Album."

Let's face it, if there is an artiste that deserves a tribute, it's Jackie!

"It's All About Me: A Tribute to Jackie" Track Listing:

1. How Much Does It Mean? by Buddy Revel & The 3 O'clock High
2. St*rf*cker by Treehorn & The Jackies
3. Slow by Clarice & The Lotion Baskets
4. Don't You Know...They Did It For Love by Ron Johnson & The Audio Consultants
5. One Man's Edge Is Another Man's Straight Line by Albert & The Swearengens
6. Built Up For Release by Kima & The Yellowtops
7. It's All About Me by Alabama & The Dick Ritchie Valens Quartet featuring Jackie
8. It's Only True by Jackie & The Apriles
9. No Blues by Jackie

Download the entire album for FREE here

The Worcester '98 Vids

Quite possibly the best Phish show I've ever seen in person.



More here.

Ravenna Woods

I can't stop listening to this song.

http://www.myspace.com/ravennawoods

Greyson Michael Chance - Paparazzi

Sixth-grader Greyson Michael Chance has captured more than 1M views on YouTube with his cover of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi," securing a spot on Ellen DeGeneres.

A Facebook site called We Are Your Fans, had more than 2,500 members and was growing by 100 people an hour.

This kid is a creative genius because he turned a song that wasn’t his and made it into a whole new creation. As the teacher said, "in my opinion, he just taught Lady Gaga a lesson."

http://www.kingsofar.com/

What a Great Game!

Patience a virtue to calmer Youkilis
First baseman comes up clutch with three extra-base hits

BOSTON -- Pedro Martinez took the ball, wound up and fired a high pitch toward the plate.

It was a scene that could repeat itself many times this summer.

Martinez, one of the most successful Red Sox pitchers of all time, threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park on Sunday in front of an appreciative and adoring partisan crowd. Dressed in his old No. 45 Red Sox jersey and a pair of gray dress pants, Martinez returned to the site of some of his greatest triumphs.
Martinez, in a ceremony that the Red Sox did not announce prior to the game, saluted the crowd and received a standing ovation as he walked from the Green Monster to the mound. Chants of "PED-RO! PED-RO!" rocked Fenway Park as he warmed up his right arm, went into his windup and delivered a pitch to his longtime catcher, Jason Varitek.

After the pitch, Martinez jogged over to Johnny Pesky, shaking Pesky's hand and spending several moments speaking with the Red Sox legend.

In a similar sentimental gesture last month, the Red Sox signed former All-Star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra to a one-day contract, allowing him to retire with the team.

Unlike Garciaparra, however, Martinez may not be done with baseball. Last season, he did not sign with the Phillies until July, making just nine regular-season starts and posting a 5-1 record. He pitched seven shutout innings against the Dodgers in the National League Division Series, before losing Games 2 and 6 of the World Series to the Yankees.

Later that month, Martinez's agent, Fernando Cuza, said that his client "absolutely" wanted to pitch again in 2010. Martinez did not speak to the media following his Fenway Park appearance, but it is certainly possible that he may sign with a big league team in the coming months.

To the game ...

The Yankees would take a lead and the Red Sox would peck away. That was how it kept going on Sunday night, and the most constant thing about that theme was Kevin Youkilis.

Boston's cleanup man produced a big hit all three times the Red Sox needed it. And each time, it was for extra bases. Just like that, Youkilis became the first Boston player since Carlton Fisk in 1973 to rope three extra-base hits in a season opener. This, on a night the Red Sox beat the Yankees, 9-7.

"He swung the bat so well tonight," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "At least we chipped away early so it gave us a chance, and when we do put up a three-spot, it means something."

It started with the Red Sox in a 2-0 hole on back-to-back homers by Jorge Posada and Curtis Granderson in the second. But it was Youkilis who started Boston's half of the second with a double off the Green Monster in left-center. It was the only hit the Sox had against CC Sabathia in the first four innings, and Youkilis wound up scoring on a sacrifice fly by Adrian Beltre.

With the Sox down, 5-2, in the bottom of the sixth, Youkilis brought life back to Fenway by smashing a line drive over the head of Yankees right fielder Nick Swisher for a two-run triple.

"I got the count to 3-0 and I had the green light to swing 3-0, but I just wanted to make sure to see [Sabathia] throw another pitch," Youkilis said. "I was telling myself to lay off some stuff inside, because my last at-bat, he threw me a pretty good pitch -- a cutter in. He threw a pitch out over the plate and I just tried to drive it the other way. I was just fortunate to get it by Swisher."

The Red Sox tied it later that inning, then fell behind by two runs in the top of the seventh.

Youk da man!

But they knotted it back up again on Dustin Pedroia's two-run rocket to left in the seventh. And Youkilis had one more big hit up his sleeve later in that inning, a two-out double that put him in position to move to third on a wild pitch and score on a passed ball for the go-ahead run.

"I felt good," Youkilis said. "I just tried to capitalize on pitches. I was very fortunate I wasn't behind in the count. That always helps. I just tried to calm myself down. I've been trying to do that a lot more. I'm still trying to learn a lot more from hitting. One thing I keep trying to work on is not being satisfied with any at-bats and trying to learn my swing and my approach and trying to calm myself down at the plate."

The simple fact was that the Yankees had no answers for Youkilis, and it likely cost them the game.

RedSox.com

God, Was That a Shit Decade or What?!

The "Naughties"

I hate to quantify the last decade as "the worst since ... x," because, frankly, the '80s had their fair share of problems, as did the '70s (Vietnam comes to mind), and the '30s weren't so hot either (don't get me started on 1140s ...)

But - the last 10 years really, really sucked.

We started with the millennium, and the Y2K bug. Not only did we kick the decade off with an expected, scheduled, Apocalypse, but it didn't even happen, setting the stage for 10 years of let-downs and anti-climaxes.

The worst of which was the 2000 election, where, after 2 long years of campaigning between Al Gore and George W. Bush (both candidates had been "shoe-ins" for their respective parties since around 1997 ... ugh), the nation went to bed on November 7, 2000 with no idea who had won.

What a disappointment!

All I wanted was for that damn election to be over. I'd waited months for mercy, and was denied for another month, with the official results, and George W. Bush's subsequent speech not arriving until December 13 ... over one month later!

The media totally "jumped the shark" that night (Nov 7), first calling the election for Gore, then Bush, then ?!WTF?!

September 11, 2001 was definitely the shittiest day of shitty, shit decade. 3,000 Americans died, and the rest of us suffered the mental scars of having such horrific scenes burned straight on to our retinas forever. To add insult to injury, the nation is still divided to this day over 9/11 with sad survivors bickering over who was to blame. I can't look.

This was also the decade that rock music finally died. Rest in Peace. I love hop-hop and pop music, but there really hasn't been a popular rock movement in this country since 1999.

The whole Bush presidency sucked. We've been embroiled in two endless invasions (Iraq, Afghanistan) for nearly 10 years now, and the infrastructure of the US has suffered immeasurably as a result.

2005: Katrina sucked ass. Not only did Mother Nature kick our asses, but the governmental (local, state, federal, etc.) response to this crisis was the real tragedy. This was the saddest spectacle of all because a lot of the hardships of Katrina's aftermath (still on-going, by the way) could have easily been avoided. I'll never forget FEMA saying they didn't know there were people in Convention Center, when any one who had watched any CNN that week knew about it.

To be continued ...

The Best Songs and Artists of 2009

I asked my kids who/what they thought were the best songs and artists of the year - to get an unbiased opinion from the youth - and their answers were:

Best Song of 2009: "Stink-butt"
Best Artist of 2009: "Poop-Head"

I might be slightly out of touch with the youth of today, but I'm pretty sure these are not actual songs or band names.

Happy New Year.

Oh yeah - please refer to the coming year as "twenty-ten," not "two-thousand-ten."

Thanks.

Christmas (The Who)

Did you ever see the faces of the children
They get so excited.
Waking up on christmas morning
Hours before the winter suns ignited.
They believe in dreams and all they mean
Including heavens generosity.
Peeping round the door
to see what parcels are for free
In curiosity.



And Tommy doesn't know what day it is.
He doesn't know who Jesus was or what praying is.
How can he be saved?
From the eternal grave.

Surrounded by his friends he sits so silently,
And unaware of everything.
Playing poxy pin ball
picks his nose and smiles and
Pokes his tongue at everything.
I believe in love
but how can men who've never seen
Light be enlightened.
Only if he's cured
will his spirits future level ever heighten.

And Tommy doesn't know what day it is.
He doesn't know who Jesus was or what praying is.
How can he be saved?
From the eternal grave.

Christmas (Blues Traveler)

Comes the time for Christmas
And I really have to ask
If this is feeling merry
How much longer must it last?



I wish a one horse open sleigh
Would come carry me away
But I've been waiting here all day
And one just hasn't come my way

Now excuse me if I'm not being reverent
But I was hoping for a miracle to hold me, wash me
Save me from my righteous doubt as I watch helpless
And everybody sings

If it's Hanukkah or Kwanzaa
Solstice, harvest or December twenty-fifth
Peace on earth to everyone
And abundance to everyone you're with

Comes the time for Christmas
And as you raise your Yuletide flask
There's like this feeling that you carry
As if from every Christmas past

It's as if each year it grows
It's like you feel it in your toes
And on and on your carol goes
Harvesting love among your woes

I want to buy into the benevolence
And I was hoping for a miracle to hold me, wash me
Make me know what it's about
As the longing in me makes me want to sing

Noel or Navidad
Season celebration or just the end of the year
Christmas can mean anything
And I mean to keep its hope forever near

As if a cold and frozen soul is warm to love
By loves own hand
So goes the prayer if for a day peace on earth
And good will to man

At twenty below the winter storm it billows
But the fire is so warm inside
And the children while nestled in their pillows
Dream of St. Nicholas's ride

And how the next day they'll get up and they will play
In the still falling Christmas snow
And together we'll celebrate forever
In defiance of the winds that blow

My god in heaven now I feel like I'm seven
And the spirit calls to me as well
As if Christmas had made the winter warmer
Made a paradise from what was hell

As if a cold and frozen soul is warm to love
By loves own hand
So goes the prayer if for a day peace on earth
And good will to man ...

I wish a one horse open sleigh would come carry me away
And I'll keep waiting through next May
Until Christmas comes my way

(Words by John Popper. Music by John Popper and Trey Anastasio.)

New Zakk Wylde Interview From Ultimate Guitar

ultimateGuitar.com
There's a brief Velvet Revolver mention in the new Zakk Wylde interview that I thought I'd share.

It didn’t bother you that Ozzy was auditioning other guitar players and didn’t really say anything to you?

I mean with us there’s never any arguments; there’s no fights or nothing. It’s just, “What do you want to do, Steve?” It’s like, “Ahh, Zakk, I want to go jam with these guys now.”

It’s like with Slash and Scottie and all the guys and if they’re gonna stop doing Velvet Revolver for a while. And then Scott is going to do Stone Temple Pilots; Duff is gonna do Loaded; Slash is gonna do his solo thing; Matt’s gonna be jammin’ with the Cult again and then they’re gonna get back together. It’s just like no big deal.

It’s like Genesis – there’s Mike and the Mechanics and Phil is doing his solo thing and the keyboard player is doing movie soundtracks. And then it’s like, “Let’s get back together and do a fuckin’ album.”

I love Ozz and Sharon; Sharon is like my mother. Barbara Ann [Zakk’s wife] still hangs out with Sharon all the time. They go to Dancing With the Stars to see Kelly and all that shit. They hang out and have lunch and just chill and have a good time.

I always told everybody when the day would come when Ozz would say, “I don’t feel like doin’ this shit no more.” What are you supposed to do? But you better figure somethin’ out. You know what I mean?

I know that this is just Zakk running his mouth, and is by no means official, but it makes sense to me. I've been saying this all along that there will eventually be a Velvet Revolver reunion (say in 2014) with Scott Weiland.

We'll see.

Phish Festival 8 Stuff

OFFICIAL FESTIVAL 8 PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Friday, October 30th, 2009

Set 1

Party Time
Chalk Dust Torture
The Moma Dance
NICU
Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan
Stash
I Didn't Know
Poor Heart
Cavern
Beauty Of A Broken Heart
Ocelot
Time Turns Elastic


Set 2

Punch You in the Eye >
Down With Disease >
Prince Caspian >
Wolfman's Brother >
Piper >
Joy
David Bowie
Harry Hood
Golgi Apparatus
Character Zero

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

3:00PM – Set 1
7:30PM – The Halloween Set
10:00PM – Set 3

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

12:00PM – Acoustic Set
5:30PM – Set 2
8:30PM – Set 3

If you are interested in EVERYTHING related to Phish's Halloween weekend Festival 8 in Indio, California, you MUST visit Jamtopia's Festival 8 Cover Album Teaser page and Jamtopia's Festival 8 Recap page. Webmaster Todd Levy has outdone himself and everything you could want to know about the gig is there on those 2 pages. I could never do justice to this event here, so head over to Jamtopia and check out the exhaustive and "seemingly authoritative" updates from the man himself.

Last night Phish played a six song soundcheck which you can download below.

Here's the setlist ...

1. Festival 8 Soundcheck Jam
2. Undermind >
3. Devil With A Blue Dress On Jam
4. Starship Trooper Jam
5. Gone (Phish debut, played by Classic TAB in Brooklyn)
6. Liquid Time (off Party Time, with MGMT's 'Kids' and 'Lengthwise' teases)


Download Festival 8 Soundcheck SBD

Also check out PhishTwit for real-time Twitter updates on Festival 8.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, there are 8 albums left. Phish will play one of these in their entirety tomorrow:

1. David Bowie | Hunky Dory
2. Genesis | The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
3. Jimi Hendrix | Electric Ladyland
4. King Crimson | Larks' Tongues In Aspic
5. MGMT | Oracular Spectacular
6. Prince | Purple Rain
7. Radiohead | Kid A
8. Rolling Stones | Exile on Main Street

Thanks again to Jamptopia.

Red Hot Chili Peppers Working on New Album

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are back in the studio as of October 12, 2009. Their next album should be released sometime in 2010, according to Chad Smith.

An excerpt from his interview with SPIN follows ...




What's the status of the new album? You guys have been off for a long time now.
We're going to get together and start writing songs in October.

Is anything already written?
No. We've jammed a few times. I've played with Flea a few times. But I've been gone since April doing the Chickenfoot thing. So in October, we'll start from scratch. The four of us will get in a room and just start playing. That's how it's always worked before. That method hasn't failed us yet.

Do you know who'll be producing the new album?
It's not at the point where we're thinking about that yet. But Rick Rubin's been our producer forever. We love him and he's great. I assume that we'll use him again. But picking a producer is still far off down the road.

Any ideas on when we can expect to hear new music from you guys?
Sometime in 2010 seems realistic. That's what we're shooting for, but it takes a while to get the machinery going with something as big as the Chili Peppers.

Twenty Years Ago Today

The Last East Coast Dead Show of the 1980s ...

10.26.89 Miami

Set I

Foolish Heart
Little Red Rooster
Stagger Lee
Me And My Uncle >
Big River
Brown Eyed Women
Victim Or The Crime >
Don't Ease

Set II

Estimated Prophet >
Blow Away
Dark Star >
Drums >
Space >
Wheel >
All Along The Watchtower >
Stella Blue >
Not Fade Away

And We Bid You Good Night