Bertis Downs is an old friend of mine; he's also R.E.M.'s manager and a Crooks and Liars LNMC fan. He sent me a cool, FUN video last week. The backstory is here. And the contest is for an autographed copy of Peter Clothier's fantastic new book, The Real Bush Diaries. I'll give 3 books away for the best list of R.E.M. covers-- in other words, your favorite R.E.M. songs performed by other artists. Entries to downwithtyranny@aol.com

(guest blogged by Howie)

So I asked myself, driftglass, how do you feel when you cruise the cornucopial (Cornucopriapistic? Cornucopulatory? Because those just doesn't sound quite right.) plenty that the good people at Crooks and Liars lay out every single day?

Well...like I'm a guest at the biggest, throbbin'est party on the block. Something classy. With beverages laid out. Candy. Spices. Maybe tricolored pastas even.

And, lil' blogger, is there perhaps some kind of song that would capture that sensibility? Turns out, hey, there is!

Ween -- "(The Best Time At) Your Party"

Guest blogged by Driftglass [Howie Klein is on vacation].

Happy Halloween from everyone at Crooks and Liars and our Late Night Music Club. Roky Erickson is touring now, not an everyday occurrence. Try to see him live if you can; he is something else! He used to be leader of Austin's 13th Floor Elevators (the Texas Grateful Dead) but I first met him when he recorded an album, The Evil One released by my label in San Francisco. "Don't Shake Me Lucifer" is one of my favorite songs he ever wrote and a real rocked out tune for any night:

You have a favorite Halloween song?

(guest blogged by Howie Klein)
Last night some exceptionally great bands were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. My two favorites were Patti Smith and R.E.M.

I've had a lot of favorite R.E.M. songs since I first got turned on to their music by my friend and fellow KUSF dj Denise Sullivan in 1982. But the first time I really listened to "Everybody Hurts" it was because someone came running into a meeting at Warner Bros, kind of hysterical, yelling that he was holding the best video he'd ever seen. He played it. I loved it too-- but not as much as I loved the song. I was just floored. I can never get enough of its power, intensity and shear humanity.

Take a look and take a listen and join everyone here at Crooks and Liars World Headquarters in congratulating R.E.M. on a well deserved honor-- and on a career that has brought so much beauty into a world that needs beauty so badly.

Tonight's contest is simple. Send us a paragraph about anything you want-- but using the titles of your 10 favorite R.E.M. songs in the body. Send the enties to downwithtyranny@aol.com and then keep your fingers crossed that you win the XL-R.E.M. hoodie and the DVD, When the Light Is Mine: The Best of the IRS Years.

(guest blogged by Howie Klein)

Jimi Hendrix was long gone by the time I became president of Reprise Records. Coincidentally, though, as a college concert chairman I had booked the Jimi Hendrix Experience for their first appearance in the U.S. The last time I ran into him was in a small seaside town outside of Essaouira, my favorite spot in Morocco, in 1969. Soon after that, I met another revolutionary artist who has changed the course of pop music: Patti Smith.

And last week I got to hear Patti's next album, TWELVE, a collection of a dozen covers that have meant a lot to her-- and to many of us. The album starts with a brilliant and sensual rendition of Jimi's "Are You Experienced?" (informed by lots of Beatles). Patti's album is amazing and I'll try to get an advance for Crooks and Liars.

Meanwhile, here's the original:

So tonight's contest: without having heard a note of it, review Patti Smith's new album. Send your entry to downwithtyranny@aol.com and if yours is the best review, we'll send you the mindblowing 15 CD boxset-- BOB DYLAN REVISITED, 15 classic albums by a master who influenced the work of both Patti and Jimi.

(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

Dangerous Muse is an Electro Pop Duo from NYC which has been making a stir in the underground scene. Seymour Stein, the guy who found Madonna, The Smiths, Depeche Mode, The Ramones and countless other cultural icons, discovered Dangerous Muse and helped them get out their first single, "The Rejection"-- which shot directly to #2 on iTunes' Dance Chart. The video went to #1 on the MTV Logo Channel's "Click List." Today the singer, Mike Furey and Tom Napack, gave Crooks and Liars an exclusive clip that demonstrates their support for equal rights in the GLBT community.

Download | play -QT (37 seconds)

Crooks and Liars contest (today only): Be one of the first 5 to name every Republicrook in the clip and win an Indigo Girls "Rarities" CD. Send your answer to downwithtyranny@aol.com (guest blogged by Howie Klein)

Last Wednesday we had a little contest asking people which cover version of an R.E.M. song they liked best. Crooks and Liars got an e-mail from R.E.M. World Headquarters in Athens telling us that the favorite songs by other bands they themselves have covered are Lou Reed's "Femme Fatale," "Strange" by Wire and Pylon's "Crazy," as seen here, live in Warsaw.

Tonight's contest requires a list of the 10 best independently-released rock albums of all times. Send your entry to downwithtyranny@aol.com
The winner gets a whole box of independently released CDs-- like 25 or 30 of 'em, however many I can stuff in.