Air Guitar and Rock Paper Scissors News

It's a feature-length documentary, but Air Guitar Nation could inspire people to buy those air-guitar t-shirts as well as an infomercial.

The United States was late to the air guitar championship party; as other countries' best air guitarists battled in the world championship, we sat on the sidelines. How embarrassing. Finally, the States really got in the game. Air Guitar Nation tells the story of that first year, and follows one American's quest to become the world champion.

The film won the audience awards at this year's Traverse City Film Festival and South by Southwest, and Variety called it "often hilarious".

Air Guitar Nation's broadcast is part of a new series of VH1 Rock Docs.

VH1 will begin showing most of the new documentaries early next year, with the exception of The Return of Courtney Love, which will first air December 16 at 9:00 PM. The documentary includes "unseen home movie footage of Cobain", and lots of Love talking about herself and Cobain.

The other programs in the series:

- A.K.A. Tommy Chong, which is about the drug paraphernalia sting operation that sent Tommy Chong to prison. It's won a slew of awards (audience awards, best documentary awards, jury award, and best feature) from the US Comedy Arts Festival, the Calgary Underground Film Festival, and the San Francisco Independent Film Festival.

- A two-part, two-hour film chronicling the burst of creative energy in 1977 that resulted in "the punk explosion". Also there was other music and sexual liberation and such.

- Bringing us to: A four-part, four-hour documentary on the sexual revolution. It's tentatively titled Sex: The Revolution!. Suggested alternative titles: Sex! The Revolution!, The Sexual Revolution!!, or Sex! Now That We Have Your Attention, Please Watch Our Four-Part, Four-Hour Documentary!.

In Rock Paper Scissors news, there's a new interview with RPS world champion Bob "the Rock" Cooper at the WOW Report. It's about 4:45 in, and I can reassure/disappoint you, there's nothing especially graphic in the clip, despite WOW's teaser. The clip is from thisisaknife, an English Internet program.

Cooper is campaigning for the title of BBC Sports Personality Of The Year, and has gained 500 signatures so far, according to the interview. Footage of his last few matches is up at YouTube, including the last round:



Elvis Costello - Watching The Detectives (available on My Aim Is True, which came out in 1977)

The Ramones - Sheena Is A Punk Rocker (available on Rocket to Russia, from 1977)

The B52's - Rock Lobster (available on The B52's, which is from 1979, but the group first recorded it in 1977)

Chia Musical Alarm Clocks, Stuffed Animals Available, Odd

Many aspects of the holidays are predictable, and not all are joyous, such as long lines, stale jokes about old fruitcakes, and the annual swarm of reporters to the malls on Christmas eve to ask shoppers, "Why did ya wait so long?"

Fortunately, the "pro" column is very long, and it includes the excitement surrounding the winter arrival of Chia products.

As I wavered on whether to begin a series on songs of the seven deadly sins, the discovery of intriguing new products in this year's Chia line made the decision easy.

Don't even pretend you don't love Chia pets. While for all of us, this year brings the usual disappointment at the lack of a Chia monkey, the latest crop includes some intriguing surprises.

New stuffed Chia Pet Cuddlies feature "soft huggable fur, and a spunky singing voice", which you hear when you press on the lil' guy's paw. There's a bear and a cub. *edited to note a kind (and funny) reader's correction: there's a puppy and a bear cub.* Fortunately, the Chia folks seem to have gone with a simulated Chia look instead of real Chia plants for the Cuddlies.

This year, every original Chia Pet includes a Limited Edition Musical Alarm Clock. Can you imagine being woken up by a Musical Chia Pet every morning? Yeah, me too, but the bear is kind of cute. And that Chia crocodile is very... interesting-looking. It was apparently introduced in 2004, but I don't recall seeing it before, so it's "new to me", as those NBC ads used to (annoyingly) say.

The Chia Heads have always struck me as a bit freaky. Now I think they're even more so in the winter of their lives. A fellow filmed the life and death of a Chia Homer, and his video is kind of sad:



A Chia-free gift guide is to come...

There is a slight connection between this post and the song, and it's also one of those good Heaven song covers I mentioned yesterday.

Lorraine - Heaven (Psychedelic Furs cover, from Q Covered - The Eighties)

Heaven vs. Hell: The Songfight

In a Heaven vs. Hell songfight, it's really no contest. More like a massacre. Heaven towers over hell when it comes to the quantity of songs it's inspired and the variety of those songs (for some reason, "hell songs" often have a metal/heavy sound and a rather negative outlook. Heaven songs are more eclectic.) Quality is subjective, but on the whole, I would think a non-metal fan would almost have to be more partial to heaven songs.

Besides the ones posted, there's also Garbage's "As Heaven Is Wide", the Pixies' "Monkey Gone to Heaven", The Cure's "Just Like Heaven", Fiction Factory's "(Feels Like) Heaven", Bryan Adams' "Heaven", and Wilco's "Airline to Heaven", to name but a few. Heaven songs also seem to inspire more cover versions than hell songs, and many of them are quite good.

Cake - Sheep Go to Heaven (available on Prolonging the Magic)

The Fray - Heaven Forbid (available on How to Save a Life)

Kristin Hersh - Heaven (available on Strange Angels)

The Long Blondes - Heaven Help The New Girl (available on Someone to Drive You Home)

Toad the Wet Sprocket - Little Heaven (available on In Light Syrup)

Elvis Costello - This Is Hell (available on Brutal Youth)

Curve - Hell Above Water (available on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - The Soundtrack)

Echo & The Bunnymen - Higher Hell (available on Porcupine)

R.E.M. - Burning Hell (available on Dead Letter Office)

Spinal Tap - Hell Hole (available on This Is Spinal Tap)

Musicians Who Paint

For some reason people who are creative don't tend to limit themselves to one medium. So it shouldn't be surprising that musicians are drawn to art (sorry).

At Grace Slick's Gallery 319 ("We hang art, you hang out"), several Ronnie Wood paintings are available. She also sells her own paintings, many of which feature a white rabbit.

David Bowie sells his own work through Bowieart, and shares the spotlight at his online gallery with "emerging artists", including many students. Bowieart features works both online and at exhibitions.

December 2 Cold War Kids are scheduled to play at the opening reception for an exhibition of bassist Matt Maust's artwork at The Orphanage Gallery in Silverlake. The pieces, "nostalgic for his love of classic album art" and largely inspired by time spent in non-English-speaking countries, will remain on display through January 4.

Natalie Merchant's website includes a virtual gallery of her paintings, including detail images of each.

Tori Amos is selling holiday cards, including hand-drawn "winter greeting cards", through her online store. One includes a squiggle that resembles a Christmas tree, but perhaps it's a Winter Tree. I know Amos does a great deal already for Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), but I'm surprised proceeds from the cards aren't going to them. So many non-profit organizations sell holiday cards to raise funds (Every year I order cards from the Children's Art Project at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center). RAINN sells a "contemporary greeting card set", but nothing for the holidays.

Before he became a Talking Head, David Byrne studied art, design, and photography, among other things. His career in those fields has flourished. He's not quite a musician who paints per se... but I took artistic license with the title of this piece.

David Bowie - Pablo Picasso (available on Reality, with cover art by David Bowie). Can't resist posting this... but I don't much care for it (though I love the original by The Modern Lovers). Hence a second Bowie song.

David Bowie - Here Today Gone Tomorrow (Live) (cover of Ohio Players' "Here Today And Gone Tomorrow", available on David Live: at the Tower Theatre Philadelphia)

Jefferson Airplane - Somebody To Love (available on The Best of Jefferson Airplane)

The Rolling Stones - Love Is Strong (available on Voodoo Lounge)

Cold War Kids - Harmony In Silver (available on the We Used To Vacation EP)

Natalie Merchant - Birds and Ships (available on the limited edition of Retrospective 1990-2005)

Tori Amos - Daisy Dead Petals (available on The Piano: A Collection)


David Byrne - Something Ain't Right (available on Uh-Oh)

Look-alike Videos

Absent a title like "Videos I Dislike", does adding a music video to a YouTube playlist imply you like the video?

What to do with all those pesky videos you dislike that were made for songs you like? An anti-playlist seems a bit cruel. Detailing the faults of such videos in a video log could grow tedious (and not much fun to read).

I wonder if my standards are growing higher, and my attention span shorter, as I watch more and more videos. We're lucky we can see so many older videos now. Why, they're practically antiques. It's hardly fair to judge older videos, or their directors or artists by modern standards.

As time goes by, and all of us age, we're exposed to more of all sorts of entertainment. Any new video (or movie, or what have you) is increasingly likely to remind us of something else we've already seen (or read, or heard).

Watching Danielle Dax's video for "Cat-House", from 1988, without audio (still no speakers; I can listen directly with headphones, but this was for science), another song popped into my head. I opened the video in another tab, and compared them. They aren't identical, but Stacey Q's 1986 "Two of Hearts" video sure looks similar.





This was the late 80s; how easy do we have to go on them for these videos? And why are videos that look like these two still being made?

Danielle Dax - Cat-House (Overnight Mix) (from the 12" "Cat-House" single)

Christmas Tunes and Dead Speakers

My computer speakers died today. We listened to a lot of quality entertainment together. Plus the songs on that CMJ CD, many of which I like, but which might be responsible for my speakers' death. It's not the grief typing. Grief can't type.

It would take more than a music-free computer to get me to shop on the weekend after Thanksgiving, so for now my computer stands silent. (Except that it hums a bit, but that's hardly the same thing, now is it?)

Fortunately, I still have some Christmas songs uploaded to FileDen that I haven't posted. Unfortunately, that bandwidth burned up days ago. Re-uploaded them elsewhere... and yeah, the irony of the first title isn't lost on me. Ho-ho-ho.

Copeland - Do You Hear What I Hear? (available on Maybe This Christmas Tree)

Ivy - Christmas Time Is Here (available on Maybe This Christmas Tree)

The Pretenders - 2000 Miles (available on Greatest Hits)

Jim Reeves - Blue Christmas (available on Twelve Songs Of Christmas. Posted this one already, but that was in May.)

CMJ New Music Monthly CD: Vol. 143

Lots of familiar tracks on the new compilation from CMJ New Music Monthly. Sandi Thorn's "I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)", in particular, is in danger of reaching a Clap Your Hands Say Yeah level of omnipresence if it appears on any more magazine CDs.

The Mew, David Ford, and Bright Eyes songs are all really good, but I hope to not see them on another compilation. (I also saw the same Mew song on another compilation on Wednesday.) My post-Thanksgiving-trip exhaustion is not a factor at all in my lack of patience with--Zzzzzzzzz.....

CMJ Vol. 143 Track Listing

1. Bright Eyes - I Will Be Grateful For This Day
2. Oasis - Acquiesce
3. Copeland - Control Freak
4. Mew - Special
5. The Comfies - Close To Me
6. Amos Lee - Shout Out Loud
7. Boys Like Girls - Hero-Heroine
8. A.G.A.S - Frozen
9. Sandi Thom - I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)
10. A Bad Think - Graveyard Song
11. The Rewinds - Ghostriders
12. Hammock - Raising Your Voice
13. Nicole Atkins - Neptune City
14. Terra Diablo - That Always Works
15. Delicate Noise - Clearly
16. David Ford - I Don't Care What You Call Me
17. Jay Wells - California

Happy Thanksgiving - Yet More Christmas Tunes

Happy Thanksgiving!

This trip has already been quite an adventure for me. I've learned a lot about America... and about myself.

One question remains. If you're out for Chinese food, and your dining companion doesn't want a fortune cookie, do both your fortunes apply to you, or just one? Actually in this case, it's "all" your fortunes, because we got three cookies. I saved two until later, and I don't know which might be "mine". One? Two? All? The only one that seems to require action on my part is "Pleasures await you at the seashore". Because I am not, strictly speaking", at the seashore. But if pleasures await me there, why, I shouldn't keep them waiting! It's rude. Also, hey, pleasures! Cool.

I totally gotta book. Songs:

Everything But The Girl - 25th December (available on Amplified Heart)

Ryan Adams - Hey Parker, It's Christmas (from KROQ's The Year They Recalled Santa Claus (As Told By Kevin & Bean). The 2003 CD from Los Angeles' KROQ morning show. I picked up a copy of the new one yesterday but have only listened to a bit so far, and didn't bring it on the trip)

Mew - Snowflake (available on A Triumph for Man. A winter song more than a Christmas song, as was the other Mew song I posted recently. Some people like a few winter/snow songs mixed in with Christmas songs; some don't. There is no right or wrong answer. Let's not fight about it. It's Thanksgiving.)

Paste Magazine CD: December 06/January 07

The cast of the forthcoming film For Your Consideration is on the cover of the December/January issue of Paste Magazine. A sampling of the mag's CD marks the end to the tyranny (and/or "peace and quiet", depending on your viewpoint) of No Music Day.

I'm leaving bright and early for my Thanksgiving trip. I will likely be able to post a few songs a day, but there's a chance I won't. So I'll say Happy Thanksgiving now. I hope everyone reading this will be able to spend the day with the people they wanted to spend it with - the most cherished people in their lives, and/or the people they rarely get to see and miss a lot. Wishing all of you a warm, happy, and safe Thanksgiving...

Track Listing For Paste Sampler CD No. 27:

1. The Born Again Floozies - I Used To Play The Euphonium
2. Bird & Bee - Again And Again
3. Switchfoot - Oh! Gravity
4. Ron Sexsmith - All In Good Time (such a feel-good song; available on Time Being)
5. Manchester Orchestra - Wolves At Night
6. Matt Mays & El Torpedo - Travellin'
7. Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars - Living Like A Refugee
8. Melissa Ferrick - Never Give Up
9. Matthew Ryan - And Never Look Back
10. eXIT cLOV - Violent Berries (good song, shame about the capitalization silliness with the group name; available on Respond Respond)
11. The Scourge Of The Sea - Waterwings (File under "sweeping and lovely"; available on Make Me Armored)
12. Paolo Nutini - New Shoes
13. Kevin Devine - Just Stay (I can picture a WB/The OC future for this song; available on Put Your Ghost To Rest)
14. The Comfies - Close To Me
15. Sojorn - Feel
16. Onethousand Pictures - Take My Everything
17. Joan Osborne - Who Divided
18. Yusuf (Formerly Cat Stevens) - Maybe There's A World
19. Hymns - It's A Shame
20. A Shoreline Dream - Saturday Morning (Radio Edit)

No Music Day

Bill Drummond, formerly of The KLF, has dubbed today No Music Day, declaring, in part, that:

- No hymns will be sung
- No records will be played on the radio
- iPods will be left at home
- Rock bands will not rock

London's Resonance104.4fm has joined the cause and pledged to play no music today. Instead they will air "spoken word, discussion, dialogue, silence, imagination - perhaps even peace and quiet."

Perhaps one needs to use their "imagination" to figure out how "peace and quiet" differs from "silence".

This morning, their broadcast included a reading from a book about disc jockey Dewey Phillips.

There's a wealth of evidence of the cognitive benefits of music. Yet there's apparently a delicate balance. As Oliver Sacks wrote, "there seems to be in us a peculiar sensitivity to music, a sensitivity that can all too easily slip out of control, become excessive, become a susceptibility or a vulnerability. Too-muchness lies continually in wait, whether this takes the form of 'earworms', musical hallucinations, swoons and trances, or music-induced seizures. This is the other side of the otherwise wonderful power of music."

Music is rather amazing. Drummond's idea is an interesting one. I'm not sure of his motives, but take anything away for a chunk of time and you get a different perspective about it. I was very dismissive of the idea when I first heard about it, but if viewed as an opportunity to take a step back and think about music in different ways, it's more intriguing.

Still, this morning when I went looking for music-free YouTube clips to post here, I soon found myself watching music videos and concert clips instead.

I did get back on track though. A couple music-free clips:

A look at U.C.Irvine's class on the history of punk rock:



Anderson Cooper's reaction to Coca-Cola Blâk:



Back to music tomorrow, possibly right at midnight!

Bah 2! More Christmas Songs

A few Christmas songs:

Trembling Blue Stars - Christmas & Train-Trips & Things (from the Shinkansen Christmas EP)

Mew - Snow Brigade (from Frengers)

Squirrel Nut Zippers - Winter Weather (from Christmas with a Kick)

Kurt Elling - Cool Yule (from Christmas with a Kick)

Uncut's Top Albums Of 2006

There's over a month left in 2006, but the year's over as far as Uncut is concerned. They've drafted their year-end best albums lists, one for the Albums Of The Year and another for the Reissues Of The Year.

As always with these lists, there's much to discuss (where is the love for Lloyd Cole, to name just one?). Two of their very favorite albums are by artists whose music I can barely tolerate (Comets On Fire, Joanna Newsom). I think Scritti Politti and Thom Yorke's albums are overrated, both likely in part due to affection for the artists.

There are props for plenty of quality albums, of course (such as Just Like The Fambly Cat by the late, great Grandaddy). These lists are fun both to agree and quibble with, and they are also good for picking up a few new music ideas. Hopefully the praise for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah will inspire a few people to check them out. Those kids deserve a chance.

Uncut's Top 50 Albums Of The Year:

1. Bob Dylan - Modern Times (Uncut: "'I wrote these songs in a hypnotic state. These songs are in my genes, and I couldn't stop them comin' out,' Dylan told Rolling Stone, as the buzz around his first new album in five years reached a critical mass. Modern Times sounded like an effortless masterpiece: blues, jazz, folk and primitive rock 'n' roll inhaled over many decades, then exhaled in beautiful and charismatic, subtly adjusted forms. At once playful and apocalyptic, the album saw Dylan swagger to the top of the US charts for the first time in 30 years, clutching Harry Smith's folk-song anthology in one fist and the Old Testament in the other.")

2. Scritti Politti - White Bread Black Beer
3. Comets On Fire - Avatar
4. Joanna Newsom - Ys
5. Neil Young - Living With War
6. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (Uncut erroneously refers to them as "The Arctic Monkeys". Perhaps they don't know really know the fuck Arctic Monkeys are.)
7. Midlake - The Trials Of Van Occupanther (see yesterday's post)
8. Hot Chip - The Warning
9. Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche (see yesterday's post)
10. Thom Yorke - The Eraser
11. Flaming Lips - At War With The Mystics
12. Bonnie "Prince" Billy - The Letting Go
13. Lindsey Buckingham - Under The Skin ("spacey, slightly disorienting acoustic ballads that addressed the tensions of art and family life with mature skill and experimentation.")

Lindsey Buckingham - Cast Away Dreams

14. Cat Power - The Greatest ("Chan Marshall might have an erratic live reputation, but her albums are reliably excellent. The Greatest, her seventh, privileged the soulful aspects of her art, finally shaking off her lo-fi reputation by hiring a crack team of Memphis session guys to put discreet muscle on her fragile beauties. Marshall's charm intact, her music was imbued with a new focus and accessibility.")

15. Brightback Morning Light- Brightback Morning Light
16. The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers
17. Ali Faka Touré - Savane ("melodies that were mantric, celebratory and deeply poignant.")

Ali Farka Touré - Beto

18. CSS - Cansei De Ser Sexy
19. Beck - The Information
20. Burial - Burial
21. Vetiver - To Find Me Gone
22. Espers - Espers II ("a dense, intense excursion into eldritch folk." See yesterday's post)
23. Ghostface Killah - Fishcale
24. Howlin' Rain- Howlin' Rain
25. Scott Walker - The Drift
26. TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain
27. Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass
28. Tom Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers And Bastards
29. Oakley Hall - Second Guessing
30. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
31. Mastodon - Blood Mountain
32. Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways
33. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
34. Grandaddy - Just Like The Fambly Cat
35. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
36. Scissor Sisters - Ta-Dah
37. Outkast - Idlewild
38. Lily Allen - Alright, Still
39. Lambchop - Damaged ("Kurt Wagner turned even further inwards for his eighth and most intimate album. Damaged found the gifted Nashvillian musing on mortality and the consolation of everyday trivia as he recovered from a cancer scare, while his band - far from country now - loitered empathetically, adding colour with the subtlest of gestures.")

Lambchop - Crackers

40. Joan As Police Woman - Real Life (see yesterday's post)
41. Jenny Lewis With The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat
42. Donald Fagen- Morph The Cat
43. Bruce Springsteen - We Shall Overcome
44. Kasabian - Empire ("Designated as heirs to the ladrock throne by the Gallagher brothers, Leicester's Kasabian are a lot more interesting than their blokey, self-aggrandizing reputation suggests.")

Kasabian - Sun Rise Light Flies

45. The Walkmen - A Hundred Miles Off
46. Band Of Horses - Everything All The Time (see yesterday's post)
47. Gnarls Barkley- St. Elsewhere
48. Muse - Black Holes & Revelations
49. Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
50. Drive-By Truckers - A Blessing And A Curse

Uncut's 20 Top Reissues:

1. Various Artists - Forever Changing: The Golden Age Of Elektra ("Over five CDs and an encyclopaedic book, Forever Changing made a persuasive case for Elektra, between the mid-'60s and the mid-'70s, being the finest record label of all time. Elektra's biggest stars - Love, The Doors, Tim Buckley, The Stooges - were all represented with key tracks, but it was the forgotten footsoldiers who encapsulated the stable's amazing strength in depth. The Crabby Appleton revival started here!")

2. Various Artists - Tropicalia: A Brazilian Revolution In Sound
3. Karen Dalton - It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best
4. The Byrds - There Is A Season
5. Jesus And Mary Chain - Psychocandy
6. Gram Parsons - The Complete Reprise Sessions
7. The Triffids - Born Sandy Devotional
8. Various Artists - Anthems In Eden
9. REM - And I Feel Fine: The Best Of The IRS Years 1982-1987
10. John Cale - Paris 1919
11. Pulp - Different Class
12. David Byrne and Brian Eno - My Life In The Bush If Ghosts
13. Dead Moon - Echoes Of The Past
14. Lambchop - I Hope You're Sitting Down
15. Broadcast - A Future's Crayon
16. Wire - Pink Flag

17. Denim - Back In Denim ("a deeply serious meditation on growing up in Birmingham with the Osmonds on the radio, a passionate reassesment of glam and novelty pop whose significance is only now being fully appreciated.")

18. Faust - Faust IV
19. David Crosby - Voyage
20. The Cure - The Head On The Door

Uncut Magazine: Best Of 2006 CD

Bob Dylan, crowned Uncut's Man of the Year, glowers from the cover of their December issue, possibly distressed at missing out on another title, like Sexiest Man Alive or Man of Peace.

Maybe he covets the Uncut Hero of the Year title, which went to Neil Young. Still, neither Young nor Uncut Woman of the Year Cat Power snagged the cover. That's strictly a Man of the Year benefit, baby!

Of course, it doesn't hurt that he's the one Uncut accompanied on tour for five nights last October, giving them an On the Road with Dylan feature. Their coverage includes copies of the setlists, a list of the ten most-played songs of his 1988-Oct 2006 Never Ending Tour (#1 is "All Along The Watchtower"), an interview with Dave Grohl about opening for Dylan, and a brief look at the former and current members of his band. (There are also online gig blogs)

2006's Hero and Woman of the Year are also interviewed in this issue, and Young even merits a mention on the cover. No room for a mention of Cat Power, though there was room to plug this issue's content featuring Arctic Monkeys, Jack White, Bruce Springsteen, Russell Brand, Jack Black, Flaming Lips, Julian Cope, The Kooks, Mark E. Smith, The Who, and Rod Stewart (His "true confessions" include this nugget: "Yeah... I'm partial to a blonde". My true confessions include this nugget: "Yeah... I don't care who Rod Stewart is partial to, but I don't want to hear or read about it.")

More on this issue's contents, such as their Top 50 Albums Of 2006 list, later. For now, a heavily annotated look at their Best Of 2006 CD.

Uncut: Best Of 2006 Track Listing:

1. Arctic Monkeys - Who The Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys?
2. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Upon This Tidal Wave Of Young Blood (yes, this is actually on yet another compilation. I think we deserve a different song too)
3. Joan As Police Woman - The Ride (available on Real Life) Mellow, jazzy pop.
4. Drive-By Truckers - Wednesday
5. Sufjan Stevens - Adlai Stevenson (available on The Avalanche) A really good song, but for now every time I see Stevens' name I think "Get Behind Me, Santa!". I love that title, and it's a terrific song too.
6. Midlake - Head Home (available on The Tales Of Van Occupanther) It's a Midlake song, and therefore it's "epic", "emotional", "heavy on the piano", and "goes on too long for my tastes". I do quite like this song, though.
7. Jenny Lewis With The Watson Twins - Rise Up With Fists! (looking forward to her leaving The Watson Twins, and hopefully country music behind, and returning to Rilo Kiley)
8. Scritti Politti - The Boom Boom Bap (their album disappointed me)
9. Band Of Horses - The Great Salt Lake (available on Everything All The Time) Lovely song though it feels slightly underwritten... the lyrics could be a bit stronger.
10. Hot Chip - No Fit State
11. Ali Farka Touré - Ledi Coumbe
12. Cat Power - Lived in Bars (Liked her album, which I figure people have heard by now...)
13. Espers - Moon Occults The Sun (available on Espers II). Forget what I said about the Midlake song being too long. It's all groovy, man.
14. The Flaming Lips - The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song
15. Joanna Newsom - Cosmia (People seem to react strongly to her voice, either positively or negatively. I'm not a fan)

The 100 Best-Selling Albums in The U.K.

The Official UK Charts Company has compiled a list of the 100 best-selling albums in the U.K., and The Beatles aren't on top.

Queen's 1981 Greatest Hits has sold 5,407,587 copies, putting it well ahead of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which has shifted 4,803,29 units. Oasis' are right behind their idols with (What's The Story) Morning Glory, which has sold 4,304,504 copies. Dire Straits' Brothers In Arms and Abba's Gold round out the top 5.

Queen has one other album on the list, another greatest hits album at number 7. The Beatles have two other albums on the top 100. Unsurprisingly, the list is chock-full of best-of and greatest hits albums.

Perhaps more surprisingly, if you don't have your finger on the pulse of the UK pop music scene, is the impressive showing by Robbie Williams: he has six albums in the top 100 (30, 49, 51, 58, 60 and 61). He's released 10 albums altogether, and the last two (released this year and in 2005) seem certain to make the top 100 as well.

Only two albums by Madonna made the list (The Immaculate Collection and True Blue). R.E.M. also managed two slots, with Automatic For The People and Out Of Time. Michael Jackson topped them with three (Bad, Thriller, and Dangerous), but he's still no Robbie Williams.

This is apparently the first time a top 100-selling albums list has been compiled. The list has so many recent albums, what would it have looked like five years ago? Or ten years ago?

So many questions... like... what, exactly is The Colour Of Celine Dion's Love? She said it's her manager/husband which is helpful to a degree, but is "the colour of her love" supposed to represent him, or, more likely, is it a Celine-centric concept? Does it symbolize either his feelings for her or something about their epic love story together? I need more to go on before I can visualize the right color. Wouldn't want to imagine the color of her love as umber when it's really ochre.

Three Celine Dion albums notwithstanding, there's a lot to be said for this list. Some very deserving artists are nowhere to be seen, and it's a bit sad that some of their lightweight counterparts have sold so many albums. Still, there are good artists selling a huge number of albums in the UK, and that's reassuring. Moby and Travis are on the list. David Gray's White Ladder is at #20 (granted, that's more pleasing if you don't notice James Blunt right above him). Stereophonics is a good band, and if you're shopping for a pop star, you could do a lot worse than Robbie Williams... This is especially true if you're from the U.K., given his propensity to use words like "plummy" in his lyrics. That may confuse Americans while making the U.K. love him more.

In the UK, on Saturday the 18th, VH1 will air Nation's Favourite Album, a special on the top albums list.

The UK's 100 Best-selling Albums:

1 Queen - Greatest Hits (5,407,587 copies sold)

2 The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (4,811,996)

3 Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory (4,314,715)

4 Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms (3,956,704)

5 Abba - Gold: Greatest Hits (3,943,950)

6 Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon (3781993)

7 Queen - Greatest Hits II (3,644,619)

8 Michael Jackson - Thriller (3,578,107)

9 Michael Jackson - Bad (3554301)

10 Madonna - The Immaculate Collection (3,402,160)

11 Simply Red - Stars (3,361,115)

12 Shania Twain - Come On Over (3344280)

13 Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (3,135,844)

14 Verve - Urban Hymns (3,054,374)

15 Dido - No Angel (3002194)

16 Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water (3,001,062)

17 Corrs - Talk On Corners (2944547)

18 Spice Girls - Spice (2,920,669)

19 James Blunt - Back To Bedlam (2,895,874)

20 David Gray - White Ladder (2851429)

21 Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell (2,837,285)

22 Dido - Life For Rent (2,789,719)

23 Phil Collins - But Seriously (2737932)

24 The Beatles - 1 (2,690,318)

25 Travis - The Man Who (2,669,825)

26 U2 - The Joshua Tree (2665553)

27 Abba - Greatest Hits (2,598,576)

28 Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells (2,575,099)

29 Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head (2,574,249)

30 Robbie Williams - I've Been Expecting You (2,556,042)

31 Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill (2,551,238)

32 Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters (2,535,983)

33 Bob Marley & The Wailers - Legend (2520486)

34 Keane - Hopes And Fears (2,498,950)

35 Jeff Wayne's Musical Version - War Of The Worlds (2,452,236)

36 The Sound Of Music Original Soundtrack (2,438,695)

37 Dirty Dancing Original Soundtrack (2435109)

38 George Michael - Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best Of George Michael (2,408,810)

39 Grease Original Soundtrack (2,373,621)

40 Norah Jones - Come Away With Me (2369847)

41 Coldplay - X & Y (2,345,126)

42 Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman (2,342,506)

43 Robson & Jerome - Robson & Jerome (2,336,086)

44 Fleetwood Mac - Tango In The Night (2,333,819)

45 Coldplay - Parachutes (2,324,783)

46 R.E.M. - Automatic For The People (2,270,332)

R.E.M. - Try Not to Breathe (available on Automatic For The People)

47 Whitney Houston - Whitney (2237603)

48 Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP (2,233,158)

49 Robbie Williams - Swing When You're Winning (2205028)

50 Paul Simon - Graceland (2,203,381)

51 Robbie Williams - Sing When You're Winning (2182097)

52 Saturday Night Fever Original Soundtrack (2,151,142)

53 The Bodyguard Original Soundtrack (2138030)

54 Elton John - The Very Best Of Elton John (2,134,524)

55 Tina Turner - Simply The Best (2,121,000)

56 Kylie Minogue - Kylie (2105698)

57 Celine Dion - Falling Into You (2,093,363)

58 Robbie Williams - Life Thru A Lens (2,074,860)

Robbie Williams - Lazy Days (available on Life Thru A Lens)

59 Eurythmics - Greatest Hits (2055996)

60 Robbie Williams - Escapology (2037380)

61 Robbie Williams - Greatest Hits (1,998,668)

62 Celine Dion - Let's Talk About Love (1,984,152)

63 Michael Jackson - Dangerous (1983954)

64 Madonna - True Blue (1,961,164)

65 Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction (1945240)

66 Phil Collins - No Jacket Required (1,934,912)

67 The Beatles - Abbey Road (1,925,783)

68 Simply Red - A New Flame (1923366)

69 Red Hot Chili Peppers - By The Way (1,915,008)

70 Lionel Richie - Can't Slow Down (1,891,896)

71 Maroon 5 - Songs About Jane (1,868,548)

72 Bon Jovi - Cross Road: The Best Of Bon Jovi (1,867,427)

73 Christina Aguilera - Stripped (1,850,852)

74 Simon & Garfunkel - Greatest Hits (1,840,454)

77 The Beautiful South - Carry On Up The Charts: The Best Of The Beautiful South (1,828,890)

76 Moby - Play (1,819,938)

77 Celine Dion - The Colour Of My Love (1,816,915)

78 Craig David - Born To Do It (1,816,781)

79 Texas - The Greatest Hits (1,809,480)

80 Nirvana - Nevermind (1,807,142)

81 South Pacific Original Soundtrack (1,803,681)

82 Justin Timberlake - Justified (1,802,172)

83 Green Day - American Idiot (1,800,144)

84 Oasis - Be Here Now (1,799,784)

85 Lionel Richie - Back To Front (1,793,978)

86 R.E.M. - Out Of Time (1,786,954)

87 Katie Melua - Call Off The Search (1,780,817)

88 Kaiser Chiefs - Employment (1,772,936)

89 Boyzone - By Request(1,770,728)

90 Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell II (1,745,974)

91 Oasis - Definitely Maybe (1,740,386)

92 Stereophonics - Just Enough Education To Perform (1,731,863)

93 Trent D'Arby - Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby (1,721,685)

94 Pink - Missundaztood (1,712,173)

95 Avril Lavigne - Let Go (1,711,088)

96 Stereophonics - Performance And Cocktails (1,710,522)

Stereophonics - Pick A Part That's New (Acoustic Version) (an acoustic version of a track from Performance And Cocktails, not on the album. From one of the "Pick A Part That's New" singles.)

97 George Michael - Older (1,708,555)

98 Blondie - Parallel Lines (1,694,353)

99 Kylie Minogue - Fever (1,682,387)

100 Jason Donovan - 10 Good Reasons (1,680,651)

The Tragically Hip Opening For The Who

The Tragically Hip is already set to play nearly two dozen concerts in Canada next January and February, and now they're adding America to their touring schedule.

Via their website, the group announced, "We are both honoured and really excited to be playing a handful of shows supporting The Who in America."

The only show revealed so far is a rare Californian gig in San Diego March 1st. Tickets go on sale November 18th, and prices range from $55.00-180.00. The Who Platinum Members can already buy tickets. A Platinum membership costs $59.99 and includes other amenities such as an exclusive DVD containing backstage tour footage,"chats with special guests", and "Private Message Boards and chat".

It's unfortunate The Hip isn't touring the U.S. on their own (they're playing a New Year's Eve show in Chicago, but that's not a full-fledged tour... or in L.A.) Great group and Gord Downie is such a wonderful lyricist.

"Chancellor" from his first solo album, Coke Machine Glow, features unusual metaphors and imagery to spark a touching and beautiful effect. And it features these impossibly perfect lines:

I'm discovering uses for you I thought I'd never find
I could have made Chancellor without you on my mind

Gord Downie - Chancellor (available on Coke Machine Glow)

More excellent writing:

You said memories compress, even northern lights
With nothing to wreck, you don't have to work the darkside
- "Oh Honey"

The Tragically Hip - Oh Honey (available on the Men with Brooms soundtrack)

The Tragically Hip's video for their current single, "In View"....

Guthrie/Foxx May Or May Not Be Done With Album Soon

Belgian website Sideline reports of significant progress in a project between former Ultravox singer John Foxx and ex-Cocteau Twin Robin Guthrie.

The headline claims "Cocteau Twins member finishes collaboration with John Foxx" while the item states that "Guthrie is close to finishing a collaboration with Foxx."

The site includes an apparent present-day quote ("Foxx has this to say") which triggered my Spidey-sense.

It wasn't unusual to not find the news at Foxx or Guthrie's official site, but the news wasn't anywhere else, which was less expected and confirmation would have been good since the article seemed "off". Particularly if something seems off, it's good to poke further (unless the something involves electricity).

Some searching around turned up the source of the quote: it's from an October 12th 2005 post on Foxx's official website. Foxx had that to say, over a year ago. As of October 18th, 2006, Guthrie wrote that his "primary purpose" is "mixing tracks" for his upcoming Harold Budd album.

Last week, Foxx and collaborator Louis Gordon released From Trash, their fourth album together.

John Foxx's tour dates with Louis Gordon:

Nov. 24 - Manchester - Academy 3

Nov. 25 - Coventry - Coventry Colosseum

Nov. 26 - London - 93 Feet East

Nov. 28 - Amsterdam - Paradiso 65 (Foxx writes that it is his understanding that tickets for the July 19 show will be honored for this rescheduled show).

Nov. 30 - Rome - Rashomon Club

Dec. 1 - Milan - Transilvania Live

Dec. 2 - Scandiano, Italy - Club Corallo (show location changed from Gate 52 in Verona)

Dec. 3 - Basel, Switzerland - Kaserne

John Foxx - Systems of Romance (available on The Garden)

Ultravox - Dancing With Tears In My Eyes (available on Lament)

Cocteau Twins - Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops (12-inch version) (available on The Spangle Maker EP)

Too Early For Christmas Songs? Bah!

This Santa Claus fellow is married. He is very, very old. He is a father figure, and not even in a George Michael "Father Figure" video sense.

Anyway, I don't think a strong attraction of any kind is responsible for the "screw me Santa!" Christmas song. It seems the real attraction is to the double-entendre, with poor old Santa a mere prop. The lazy songwriter wants someone to toss slutty Christmas-themed double-entendres at, and jolly Old St. Nick seems like the most convenient guy. He's always around at Christmas, and who else can you say that about? The reindeer perhaps, but that's going a step too far for most mainstream songwriters (this is not a bad thing. Also, reindeer tend to stay on the roof, which makes them less convenient targets for seduction attempts.)

"Shimmy Down the Chimney (Fill Up My Stocking)" was released in 2004 though Alison Krauss wrote it with her brother back in 1988. Aging the lyrics didn't improve them, but Krauss' voice remains lovely and strong... even when trying to woo Santa Claus.

Spotting the first Christmas tree lot of the season this evening has inspired the first Christmas songs post of the year 'round here. Sure, the lot still contained pumpkins. It's the spirit that matters, darn it. My Christmas shopping has begun, I have been listening to Christmas songs, and it feels like time to post some.

A few lumps of coal for the naughty boys and girls, and a few treats. Those who don't celebrate Christmas, or just plain dislike it, might like one of these.

All links save one are via Fileden (thanks, Drew); any feedback about it welcome.

Edited: to note that I uploaded the songs again, this time to SendSpace. Would like to keep the links alive longer, and the (regular account) Fileden bandwidth limit is just too low for us (liked them other than that).

Alison Krauss - Shimmy Down the Chimney (Fill Up My Stocking) (available on Shimmy Down the Chimney: A Country Christmas.

Joy Electric - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (available on The Magic of Christmas)

Cocteau Twins - Frosty The Snowman (available on the Snow EP)

Oscar the Grouch - I Hate Christmas (available on A Sesame Street Christmas For the holdouts)

Celine Dion - Blue Christmas (available on These Are Special Times)

Twisted Sister - Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow (available on A Twisted Christmas. Actually pretty good.)

Al Hirt and Ann-Margaret - Baby, It's Cold Outside (available on Traditional Christmas - Volume 2)

The Partridge Family - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (available on A Partridge Family Christmas)

T-shirt Turns Air Guitarists Into Musicians

Scientists at the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization have invented the Wearable Instrument Shirt, a long-sleeved t-shirt that turns an air guitarist's strumming into real music.

Sensors embedded within the shirt (or "WIS") allow the capture of every note, good or bad. They're connected to a wireless communications device and converted into sound with the help of software.

The cost of the WIS? Five thousand dollars. No, really, Dr. Richard Helner, the head of the research team that invented the musical garment (and a member of a band called madhouse) expects to charge about two hundred dollars (Australian), because he says that's the starting price of a typical guitar. That's $152.45 in the U.S., £80.19 in the U.K., $173.62 for Canadians, or 189.70 Swiss Francs.

As much fun as this gizmo could provide, Helner points out its potential beyond the musical arena. "Intelligent clothing" could allow people to use computers without needing a mouse (particularly useful for people who are disabled). It could also prove useful in injury rehabilitation. Indeed, Helner says he got the idea for the virtual air guitar after seeing work on a knee sleeve to help injured athletes.

The CSIRO website has a few demonstration videos, including one with a brief interview with Helner. (The use of wacky video effects is most unfortunate) A few of the videos (including the interview clip) are also at YouTube:



This guy is the world champion air guitarist. Anyone who gives him one of these shirts at some future Christmas or birthday is a villain. His moves are not meant to be converted into MP3s. Please, think of the children. And in a sense, aren't we all children?

Eating, Drinking Allowed In Libraries; Hell Now At "Sweater-Weather" Temperature

The Los Angeles Times, never one to overstate current events, reports that "a gastronomic and cultural revolution" is afoot in American college and university libraries.

In a bid to convince students to "chill" at the school library instead of at a cool hangout like Starbucks, some universities are putting Starbucks cafes right in their libraries. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right? If this doesn't get the kids to learn, perhaps they could try making books out of delicious cookies to trick the kids into reading them! Naturally, the cookies would be made by the Starbucks corporation.

Even many of the rebellious libraries without a Starbucks (at least not yet) are allowing consumption of beverages and food... except around rare books.

Marje Schuetze-Coburn, the dean of libraries at USC (a Starbucks-enhanced school) calls this "the Borders, Barnes & Noble model."

Maybe libraries are just afraid that with a bit of patience, you can learn anything from Google. If all kids need is the Interweb, maybe they don't need a fancy college education either...

Starbucks long ago reached the stage where new ones were opening in the restrooms of existing Starbucks. They're in hospitals, libraries, airports... are they in funeral homes? Is anyplace sacred? There might well be Starbucks in the lobby of Folgers headquarters. It's like a virus. A flavored virus that lies about the meaning of "large".

Green Day - At the Library (available on 1039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours)

Tahiti 80 - Open Book (available on Wallpaper for the Soul)

Old 97's - Book of Poems (available on Satellite Rides)

Rock Paper Scissors Champions Battle This Weekend

This weekend in Toronto, fierce battles rage, as rock, paper, and scissors face off in an epic battle for supremacy in the International World RPS Championships. Along with luck, these powerful icons are forced to rely on the brainpower and hand-eye coordination of Joe or Jane Sixpack, as their weapons are, in effect, forged from human flesh, with nary a pixel in sight.

I hope the other games don't mock rock, paper, and scissors at game conventions. I can almost hear their taunts now, echoing down the hallway of a Ramada Inn, "Which is it, Rock Paper Scissors or Roshambo? And Roshambo sounds vaguely like a delicious food rather than a cool game likely to delight teenagers for several generations!" Kids can be so cruel.

Nevertheless, there's real money, albeit real Canadian money, at stake this weekend, with the champion taking home $7,000 Canadian dollars (at the moment, the equivalent of $6,186.75 U.S. dollars, £3,235.92 in the U.K., 727,561.98 Yen in Japan, or 4,811.22 Euros in... Euroland, is it? Euro Disney? Euro Disney, I think) The second prize winner gets $1,500 Canadian bucks and the opportunity to forever play back in their mind that one last move that cost them glory and $5,500 Canadian dollars. The third prize winner gets $500, which ought to just about cover the poutine they and their travel companion ate during the trip.

Today, Rosemary Harper of St. Catharines in Ontario bested 63 also-rans to win the world RPS street competition. Along with $1,000 Canuck bucks, she earned the chance to compete in the world RPS championships alongside RPS champions, some of whom may be wearing Mexican wrestling masks, dressed from head-to-toe in tinfoil, or wearing some other form of disguise or wacky get-up.

May the best eccentric win. It will probably be the one who best remembers that everyone "Everybody expects you to choose 'rock'."

This World RPS Society promotional video provides a taste of the championship:



(MP3s are all SendSpace links... feedback on file hosting options is welcome as long as EZArchive is not suggested...)

Architecture in Helsinki - Scissor Paper Rock (available on Fingers Crossed. No typo on the song title, really. Ani DiFranco has a song called "Rock Paper Scissors" with pretty vocals and good lyrics but I find it too discordant)

Ella Fitzgerald - Rock It For Me (available on Essential Ella Fitzgerald: The Definitive Collection 1936-1953. Twisted Sister is too obvious, and the same goes for "We Will Rock You". I can't find my copy of Flood, or I would have gone for "Everybody Wants A Rock".)

Talking Heads - Paper (available on Fear of Music)

City and Colour - Save Your Scissors (available on Sometimes)

Alan Parsons Project - Games People Play (available on Anthology)

Petula Clark - Games People Play (available on The Pye Anthology)

Dubious Survey Predicts CDs Will Die In 5 Years

A new survey of 16-24 year-olds found 60% predicting the CD will die out in the next 5 years. It's a dramatic conclusion, but is it one we should snicker at, or believe? Like any other study, this one needs to be scrutinized more closely before we know whether the results are credible.

The survey was sponsored by a mobile phone company, and, as NME notes in their article about the study, it was compiled by a former NME writer. They did not, however, mention that the company sells songs through an online music store. The Times did mention mobile-downloading but they should have done more. They need not write a headline like "Company that sells music downloads predicts CDs will die" but they should put a pretty bright light on the sponsorship.

It's far from unusual for companies to have a financial interest in the outcome of a study they're sponsoring. People just have a right to know such information, and it looks shady when it's hidden. The whole study was likely done for publicity purposes, which is certainly allowed, though it's not a form of advertising I much like.

The company was very upfront with information about its online store in their press release, and helpfully included quotes from their Marketing Director, who tells us "For today's music consumers, nothing less than music on demand, 24/7, will do."

Only 16-24-year-olds were included in the survey (The Times mentioned this; NME referred to "under 24-year-olds"). People of other ages buy CDs. 2006's 16 year-olds don't necessarily have great ability to predict the purchasing habits of 2011's 25 year-olds, let alone baby boomers. Those hippie flower kids still buy plenty of CDs, and there's no reason to suspect they will stop in 5 years. The Man wants them not to buy CDs, and that's reason enough to convince me they'll keep buying them.

The so-called "music geek" CD-buying niche is there as well, aided by the trend to add extra material with CDs such as Beck's stickers to make your own CD cover with The Information, Sufjan Stevens' short story, essays, and other material in the forthcoming Songs for Christmas, or bonus DVDs included with many albums.

There's lots of evidence of the decline of CD sales, but this survey seems heavily slanted. Records are still around. I don't see the CD dying in a mere 5 years.

The Gothic Archies - Things Are Not What They Appear (available on The Tragic Treasury: Songs from a Series of Unfortunate Events).

Sparks - I Predict (available on New Wave Hits of the 80's: Just Can't Get Enough, Vol. 9)

Garbage Plans New Single, Greatest Hits

Sometimes divorced couples remarry, occasionally networks bring back programs they put on ice (congrats Studio- 80, is it? No, that's Star 80. Sorry, never seen the show. But congrats!)

And sometimes when a band like Garbage says they're "on indefinite hiatus" they really might return... at least long enough to record a new single.

Sound Generator reports that Garbage will release a single March 5 (at least in the UK), followed by Absolute Garbage, a greatest hits album, on March 19th.

The site also has what they call a "full" track listing for Absolute Garbage, and writes that based on a "glance" of it, they "believe" the new track won't be included on the album.

Both chronologically and as a cute joke, "It's All Over But the Crying" makes sense as the last track... unless the band's hiatus has ended, which it apparently has.

It's possible the single will be on the album but wasn't included on the track listing because it doesn't have a title yet, or the band isn't ready to reveal the title. Announcing the single is another publicity opportunity, and holding back a nugget of information amps up fans' curiosity. What's the title? Will it be a cover?

Sound Generator does note rumors of a new album in "late 2007" and it's also possible the single won't appear on the compilation because it's being saved for a forthcoming disc. Still... there has long been a steady drumbeat of Garbage rumors... talk of all sorts of things that haven't happened, from Shirley Manson recording a solo album to the band breaking up.

Hey, they didn't break up. "Indefinite hiatus". Completely different.

update, 11/10: The new single is untitled and will indeed be on Absolute Garbage.

Absolute Garbage Track Listing:

1. Vow
2. Queer
3. Only Happy When It Rains
4. Stupid Girl
5. Milk
6. #1 Crush
7. Push It
8. I Think I'm Paranoid
9. Special
10. When I Grow Up
11. You Look So Fine
12. The World Is Not Enough
13. Cherry Lips
14. Shut Your Mouth
15. Why Do You Love Me
16. Bleed Like Me
17. It's All Over But The Crying
18. new track, currently untitled

More Garbage:

Garbage - Subhuman (depending on where you live, you may have seen it on a single, a B-side, or an album)

Garbage - You Look So Fine (Fun Lovin' Criminals version) (available on some versions of the "You Look So Fine" single)

The String Quartet - Only Happy When It Rains (available on The String Quartet Tribute to Garbage)

Prince Given Nod by UK Music Hall of Fame

The U.K. Music Hall of Fame has revealed that Prince will be inducted into this year's class. Those previously revealed as members of the 2006 Class are James Brown, Bon Jovi, Dusty Springfield, Rod Stewart, Brian Wilson, and Led Zeppelin.

Beatles producer Sir George Martin will receive an honorary membership.

Brian Wilson, James Morrison, and Wolfmother will perform during the ceremony. Patti LaBelle will also perform, as is required by US and UK Hall of Fame Bylaws.

London's Alexandra Palace ('A Palace for the People' - no, that doesn't mean you're allowed to crash the ceremony and sit next to Bon Jovi) hosts the glamorous event on November 14. It will be aired on tape delay on BBC Radio 2 to allow time to censor any unglamorous language found unacceptable for public broadcast. The Hall of Fameapalooza airs two nights later in the UK on Channel 4 and in the States on November 25 on VH1.

Prince, Brian Wilson, Rod Stewart... please let there be a group jam, and please let people like Patti LaBelle stay out of it. It's nothing against people not being honored that night. We just don't need their voices interfering or overwhelming the magical purity of a combination like Prince/Brian Wilson/Rod Stewart.

Prince - Escape (available on The Hits/The B-Sides)

I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten (available on Dusty: The Very Best Of Dusty Springfield)

The Smithereens Meet The Beatles

The Smithereens have rerecorded The Beatles' Meet The Beatles! and plan to release their version, the tribute album Meet The Smithereens! on the anniversary of the original album's release, in January 2007. Meet The Beatles! was the group's second album, but the first released in the States.

Beatles promoter Sid Bernstein (who brought the group to the U.S.) and several other Beatles experts contribute to the disc's liner notes.

No word on the release of a single from Meet The Smithereens!.

The Tracklisting:

1. I Want to Hold Your Hand
2. I Saw Her Standing There
3. This Boy
4. It Won't Be Long
5. All I've Got To Do
6. All My Lovin'
7. Don't Bother Me
8. Little Child
9. 'Till There Was You
10. Hold Me Tight
11. I Wanna Be Your Man
12. Not A Second Time

The Smithereens Tour Dates:

11/10 - Augusta, GA - Imperial Theatre
11/25 - Farmingdale, NY - Crazy Donkey
11/28 - Mashantucket, CT - Foxwoods Casino
11/29 - Mashantucket, CT - Foxwoods Casino

1/11 - Annapolis, MD - Rams Head On Stage
1/12 - Falls Church, VA - State Theatre
1/13 - New York, NY - B.B. King's Blues Club

Smithereens - Groovy Tuesday (available on Especially for You)

Top Five Bowie Songs (At the Moment)

Inspired both by the announcement that most of David Bowie's albums will be reissued next year and my recent inner turmoil when asked to name some favorite songs by the Thin White Duke, I've compiled a list of my Top Five Bowie Songs (At the Moment).

Bowie's albums will be re-released in three groups; no word on any bonuses other than deluxe liner notes. Their UK release dates are January 16, February 20, and March 12. The first group includes Aladdin Sane, Hunky Dory, The Man Who Sold The World, Pin-Ups, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, and Space Oddity.

My Top Five David Bowie Songs (At The Moment):

1. "Oh! You Pretty Things" (from Hunky Dory, 1971)

2. "Rebel Rebel" (from Diamond Dogs, 1974)

3. "Ashes to Ashes" (from Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), 1980)

4. "Loving the Alien" (from Tonight, 1984)

5. "This Is Not America" (from the soundtrack to The Falcon and the Snowman, 1985)

"Rebel Rebel" was the easiest call. Throw in "Oh! You Pretty Things!" and apparently Bowie's "screw you Mom and Dad!" oeuvre really resonates with me. But I prefer to think of both songs as embodying the brash, reckless spirit of rock.

I remember singing along to "Rebel Rebel" as a kid; I think the melody held as much appeal as its naughtiness (exceedingly mild by today's standards). I also remember watching the "Ashes to Ashes" video, very interested in the costumes and the symbolism.

Bowie's strong fascination with space and aliens (and the concept of "the other", another kind of alien) figures heavily in the list, so make of that what you will.

And alienation, whether caused by addiction ("Ashes to Ashes") or by the divisiveness of organized religion and religious warfare ("Loving the Alien") is another common theme among the songs, but alienation and rebelliousness are a common theme in rock.

While I struggled a bit in choosing the last song, I don't much care for some of Bowie's most popular songs, like "Heroes", and so never considered them. I don't find "Heroes" nearly as interesting as some of his other songs, especially after the first 500 times I heard it (i.e. it's been overplayed).

I left collaborations off the list, but for fun, I'll single out one I hate and one I love.

The hated one: "Dancing in the Streets", a cover demolished by Bowie and Mick Jagger. As if the song wasn't horrible enough, they made an intensely cheesy video to accompany it. In it both come off like very bad lounge singers convinced this is their big break. Yes, Mick. I'm ready for a brand new beat. So please make this song stop and bring on new singers.


The one I love: Bowie remade his own song, "Hallo Spaceboy" with The Pet Shop Boys, to much better effect:

Mixmag - Heroes of Dance Music

For their "Heroes Of Dance Music" cover story, Mixmag asked over fifty people -- band members, DJs, producers, and fans -- to name the artist who most "inspired them", explain the reasoning behind the selection, and recommend a good starting point with their "hero".

It's not surprising that some names, such as Kraftwerk, pop up more than once. Sometimes there's consensus about the "best" starting point, more often there isn't. Slam chooses The Man Machine, which they dub "Kraftwerk at their best", while New Order's Peter Hook picks "Autobahn", which he calls "big, beautiful, hypnotic music". He recommends starting there, moving on to Radio Activity next, "and you'll never look back."

New Order, in turn, is the choice of The Chemical Brothers' Tom Rowlands. "We were lucky," Rowlands says, "when we started out it was becoming easier to do anything you wanted with sound. But they had to make it up as they went along." He says "you can hear what's going to happen in electronic music taking shape" on "Everything's Gone Green", his pick for where to begin with New Order.

New Order - Everything's Gone Green (7" Version) (available on Singles)

Steve Angello of Size Records picks Daft Punk as his dance music heroes. "Their first album, Homework, made me realise that there could be so much more to electronic music. They took it to a different level." He tells Mixmag, "Every track is pure genius."

Daft Punk - Phoenix (available on Homework)

Simon Franks of Audio Bullys is one of the artists who calls The Prodigy his dance music heroes. He tells the story of his first festival, which he wasn't enjoying, until The Prodigy took the stage, in the last slot. Franks says, "When 'Breathe' came on and the lights went off, I got tingles up the back of my neck and I thought, 'this is what it's all about.'"

The Prodigy - Breathe (available on Their Law: Singles 1990-2005)

Mylo tells the story of going on and on to a journalist about "what a legend" he thought Laurent Garnier is. When he stopped, the man said Garnier had just told him that he didn't like him. Mylo says, "I thought that was great, so I'm nominating him as my hero." He also called one of his SJ sets "hypnotising" and said he "chooses material which is emotive, and some of which could risk sounding cheesy in other context... He also made one of the funniest videos in dance music, for "Flashback." The apparently good-natured Mylo recommends starting with the compilation Retrospective.

Laurent Garnier - Flashback (Video Mix) (available on Retrospective 1994-2006)

The "Flashback" video is indeed pretty funny, especially the ending:



Longer explanations and picks by many more artists in Mixmag.