When I was at Reprise Nick Cave was a cherished and credible artist who didn't make the company a great deal of money but who helped define the label and attract other credible artists, some of whom did make the company a great deal of money. Soon after I retired, they dropped Nick. I was really excited this morning when someone at Mute in the U.K. sent me an advance copy of his new album, Dig, Lazarus, Dig. The first thing I thought of was sharing it with the LNMC. I listened all day and it blows me away. I might as well start with the first track, which is also the title track. Do you have a favorite post-Birthday Party Nick Cave song?

Next Tuesday Buddy Guy will be releasing his new album, Skin Deep and if the title track and the tracks available on his website are any indication, this one's a winner. The album was produced by Tom Hambridge and includes guest appearances by Eric Clapton, Susan Tedeschi, Robert Randolph and Derek Trucks (featured on this song). This guy could sit back on his laurels, and enjoy his Grammy Awards and Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame status and being constantly referred to as an influence, and innovator and a pioneer. Instead, he's rockin' the house all over again, not because he needs the money but because he has something to share. Thank God! Although he's always associated with the West Side Chicago blues sound, he was raised in the South. "Skin Deep" deals with racism like few others songs have:

“I used to play with this boy, ride horses, down close to where I was born,” he says. “Then when we were 13, his parents made us stop. They used to say you had black blood or white blood, but we’d get a flashlight and hold it up to our skin and we’d just see red blood. That’s what I mean by ‘skin deep.’” (He and that childhood friend recently reunited, backstage at one of Buddy’s shows in Louisiana.)

My pal Chris and I started a small indie record company on a lark. We had exactly zero money but we used our charm to get suppliers to extend us credit and the first record we put out was a 3 song 7" EP by San Francisco punk phenomena, The Nuns. This video was made somewhat later with a somewhat different line-up, but you can still get the idea. And from working this, I went to working Madonna!

Happy Birthday to Senator Feingold and Eddie Money.

Take Me Home Tonight from The Best of Eddie Money

Baby Hold On from The Best of Eddie Money

(blogged by Howie Klein)

Tomorrow, there are a lot of birthdays to celebrate: Ariel Sharon, Lee Atwater, Ralph Nader, Elizabeth Taylor, and Chelsea Clinton not to mention rockers Steve Harley, Eddie Gray (of Tommy James & Shondells), Paul Humphreys (OMD), Josh Groban, Adrian Smith (of Iron Maiden) and... Journey's guitarist Neal Schon.

I used to live in San Francisco; I was a dj there. And did I hate Journey! And I was kind of outspoken about it on the air sometimes always. I'm sure they were happy when I moved away to L.A.

So one day I'm sitting in my office at Reprise, going over some boring paperwork and 4 faces appear in my door. "Can we sing you a song?" (Before 9/11 anyone could just wander in, more or less.) "Sure," I said, happy to put down the paperwork. They sang me a Journey song. I loved it. I signed them on the spot and we made a record-- two, actually, one in English and one in Spanish-- and I probably helped put some money in Neal Schon's pocket. I bet he didn't like this version; the little girls sure did. This is Nu Flavor, in their Crooks and Liars debut.

For tonight's contest, look at the list of birthday celebrants. Tell us a rock'n'roll story about two non-musicians on the list and win a 2-disc set THE ESSENTIAL HERBIE HANCOCK (21 tracks spanning a brilliant 40 year career). Send to: downwithtyranny@aol.com

I had featured him along with Stan Kenton's band in the CLLN Music Club...He has just passed away

Jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson, known for his soaring high notes and for his recording of "Gonna Fly Now," a hit version of the theme from the "Rocky" movies, has died. He was 78....read on

I saw a twin bill of Maynard Ferguson and Buddy Rich's big bands in Madison Square Garden back in the late '70's. That was a great experience for a young sax player trying to learn as much as he could about jazz. John Seery writes a nice piece about Maynard being a wonderful educator:

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