Christmas sure has a lot of songs, but 4th of July not so many. This one by Soundgarden is a fantastic slab of total sludge that's buried toward the end of their classic album Superunknown, and I always skip ahead to it.
"Fourth of July" by X is another great one.
What will you be spinning at your BBQs this weekend?
Nice guys don't always finish last, and Dave Grohl is living proof.
Foo Fighters, one of the only rock acts to consistently deliver gimmick-free platinum records, has become such a welcome staple of rock radio (and my iPod) that I sometimes forget that Grohl was once in another band that was, you know, kind of awesome.
Tomorrow, the happiest man in rock and roll (and the three luckiest, his bandmates) will be playing at the doggone WHITE HOUSE.
The Foo Fighters will take a short break from their extended hiatus when they play a very special Fourth of July party this Saturday — at the White House! Rolling Stone has learned that the band will perform a short set as part of the annual festivities on the South Lawn, which has an unblemished view of the capital’s elaborate fireworks display. Earlier this week, President Obama invited staffers and their immediate families to the official First Family celebration; and it should be noted that back in January, it was many of those same staffers who campaigned for the Arcade Fire to play their much-deserved victory ball on inauguration night.
Will we see a picture of Dave flashing a toothy grin with the President? I hope so.
Here's a great old MTV News clip of another great band playing at the White House during the Clinton years.
I'm with Howie: Green Day's new album, 21st Century Breakdown, is yet another great piece of songwriting. I'm astonished that at the very least it equals American Idiot, which I thought would be an impossible album to top.
They're kicking off their national tour Friday night in Seattle at Key Arena. I still haven't wrangled a pass yet, but I'm hoping to figure out a way to get in and report back. In the meantime, I wanted to run this live version of "Viva La Gloria" as a kind of warmup.
CNN obtained video of Michael Jackson and his dancers rehearsing in LA at the Staples Center for his London residency on June 23rd, a mere two days before his death. It's mesmerizing and haunting, to say the lest.
I'm about to pull a Bill Frist, and it may be the energy of "They Don't Care About Us", one of his best songs, but as Consequence of Sound noted, this does add a degree of credibility to the idea that there was reason to believe he was in good health shortly before his passing.
(h/t to Blabbermouth for the heads up.)
Neil Peart of Rush, legendary for being a great drummer and an all around nice guy, is adding a new section to his website -- about cooking. "Bubba's Bar and Grill" opens soon. Peart tells us:
“I have learned a few things about preparing good simple food that might be worth sharing. In this space I will assemble and present some of that lore, along with some simple recipes, because it seems a shame that other Bubbas (of any gender and ethnicity) should have to suffer the foolishness of my youth — I was in my forties before I learned to cook anything more complicated than soft-boiled eggs.”
Visit Bubba’s Bar ’n’ Grill, where you will learn about “The One Hour Rule,” “The Queen’s Portion,” and why Bubba says, “If you want to impress a woman, bake her a pie.”
Perhaps we'll preview some selections on a new section here at C+L, the Early Evening Dinner Club.
Find out more about Neil's recipes for things other than a ten minute drum solo here.
This tune has always been one of my favorite top 40 songs. This live video from 1985 was shot during the band's first show in NYC and really showcases singer Aimee Mann's amazing voice. Her sound and look was truly unique and refreshing.
What's your favorite Top 40 song? What's the worst Top 40 song ever? This song gets my vote for the worst.
According to Blabbermouth, Josh Homme, frontman of Queens of the Stone Age, is said to be collaborating with rock legend Dave Grohl and Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones. Homme's wife Brody Dalle commented on the project, saying that she is "not at liberty to talk about it, but i think [the project] is pretty f*cking amazing. Just beats and sounds like you've never heard before."
While this is a trio of absolutely epic proportions, remember that none of them are strangers to each other in the least. Grohl played drums on Queens of the Stone Age's breakout album, Songs For The Deaf, and John Paul Jones conducted an orchestra for Foo Fighters' performance of "The Pretender" at the Grammys.
In any case, this is definitely a project to keep an eye on, since there is almost zero chance of this being anything less than spectacular, and Grohl and Homme have a reputation for being great collaborators.
This song is just absolute power pop perfection. The Records never captured the charm/power/hook balance that they did on 1978's "Starry Eyes" but with a song like this, who needs others? Here's a live version that doesn't sound as good but it way more fun to look at.
A new ALICE IN CHAINS track entitled "A Looking In View" is now available for purchase via iTunes and Amazon. Two short teasers for the song's accompaying video clip can be viewed below. Meanwhile, sources tell The Pulse of Radio that an official radio single called "Check My Brain" will head to rock stations in mid-August.
ALICE IN CHAINS' first collection of all-new studio material in 14 years, "Black Gives Way To Blue", is set for release on September 29 through EMI Music's Virgin Records label. The disc will feature the recording debut with the group of singer William DuVall, who first got behind the mic for the band's 2006 reunion tour after original vocalist Layne Staley died in 2002.
I have to say, I'm impressed. A new Alice in Chains record without Layne Staley's vocals raised a lot of eyebrows, and new singer William DuVall brings the right amount of tribute and originality to the table. It also can't be said enough how much guitarist Jerry Cantrell's background vocals are part of the Alice in Chains sound, not unlike Michael Anthony in Van Halen, who allowed them to switch singers with (relative) impunity over the years.
Wichita, KS is home to the greatest rock and roll dive bar in the whole country, and Split Lip Rayfield, America's finest alt-bluegrass band. The band suffered a brutal blow in 2007 when founding guitarist Kirk Rundstrom in 2007 succumbed to esophageal cancer. This was one of his final performances.
Every Monday night, C&L's Late Nite Music Club will feature an act from every state, alphabetically by state, as part of LNMC's 50 State Strategy. Know a band or artist that you think is the best in their state? Email suggestions to latenitemusicclub [at] gmail.com. Next week: Kentucky. Will we get bluegrass two weeks in a row?
Michael Derderian, the owner of the Staion nightclub that caught fire during a Great White concert in 2003 killing one hundred people, has been released early for good behavior. He was originally due out in the Fall.
Derderian spent three years in prison after pleading no contest to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter. The nightclub fire was caused by pyrotechnics gone wrong.
In an emailed statement, Derderian said that, "Although my incarceration has ended, remembering the loss of life and pain from family members and survivors is something that will never leave me. The magnitude of what happened cannot be measured in words."
Since Hoagy Carmichael wrote the tune in 1927 (lyrics added by Mitchell Parrish in 1929) this song has been recorded 1,800 times! I won't claim that I've heard even 1/10th of those recordings, but from those I have heard, Pops Armstrong's version is my favorite.
What are your favorite standards or covers? Don't be afraid to go outside the jazz world.
Did you know this Cyndi Lauper hit was written by Philly native Essra Mohawk? Now you can listen to her version. Essra has released 10 highly acclaimed albums including "Primordial Lovers" that Rolling Stone called "one of the 25 best of all time." Essra's songs have also been covered by The Shangri-Las, Vanilla Fudge, McFadden & Whitehead, Keb Mo', Bob Weir, Rita Coolidge, Eria Fachin, Lorrie Morgan and Annie Haslam.
Overlooked yesterday- due to the media coverage of the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett- was the passing of Sky Saxon, the bassist and lead singer of the psychedelic garage rock icons The Seeds.. Not quite a one-hit-wonder (along with Pushin' Too Hard, the band also scored a minor hit with Can't Seem To Make You Mine), the band was once touted by American blues great Muddy Waters as, "America's own Rolling Stones." The original band fell apart shortly after their early successes, but Saxon continued fronting different incarnations of the band for revival tours into this decade. Godspeed to one of the great names in rock 'n' roll.
Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, performer of the best-selling album of all time, and perhaps the best dancer of his entire generation, is dead at 50.
Videos above show The Jackson 5 on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1970, and at Madison Square Garden in 2001.
When I had you to myself
I didn't want you around
Those pretty faces always made you stand out in a crowd
But someone picked you from the bunch
One glance was all it took
Now it's much too late for me to take a second look
Oh baby give me one more chance
To show you that I love you
Won't you please let me
Back in your heart
Oh darlin' I was blind to let you go
But now since I see you in His arms
I want you back
