The hottest rumor I've heard in awhile is that Pinhead Gunpowder is doing a mini-tour of California next month. I can't get a confirmation anywhere but I'm hearing Berkeley, L.A., Orange County and maybe San Diego. They play so infrequently that when they do play, people fly in from all over the world. We first covered them here at the LNMC in May of 2006 and again last July-- a cover of Joni Mitchell's classic "Big Yellow Taxi." What a version!!

They have a hot new song, "Life During Wartime," their own composition, not the Talking Heads one. The acoustic version kicks ass but here's the rocked out one that sounds a lot like... you know who. You do, right?

I met the Grammy winning flutist---Rhonda Larson with great anticipation in August 2003 at The National Flute Convention in Las Vegas. Larson's got an incredible sound and an awesome technique, but she has this spiritual quality in her music that really drew me to her playing. Rhonda played for years with the Paul Winter Consort and then left to take her own path. Nestor Torres introduced me to her during the convention, but I was a fan long before I met her---and she's as sweet as her sound. She gave me permission to post some of her music on the LNMC to my delight. Check out her website for sheet music and other cool stuff.

Download | play "Movin' On," is a solo flute piece that I've spent many hours working on. (Mac users--click on the download button and the music will play.)

"Larson journeyed to South Africa as a musical ambassador for the United States to perform for the Parliament of the World’s Religions, sharing the stage with such luminaries as Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama.

Her two solo records are "Free as a Bird and "Distant Mirrors."

Harold Dee Allen, my wife's grandfather, served in the Navy in Okinawa during WWII. He was one of the strongest and greatest men I've ever known, and this was his favorite song. Here's to 'Sailorman' and all of the brave others who have sacrificed for this country.

Out In the Streets from Triologie: The Best of Trio

This German minimalist combo wasn't well known in the US during the period when they recorded (1980-85), but their song Da Da Da caught American ears when used in a 1997 commercial for Volkswagen.

Usually reliant only on a single guitar, tiny drum kit and a Casio VL-1- and three chords- to create their sound, Out In the Streets stretches a bit, including a bass, organ and accordion. It's a simple song, but one that's stuck in my head since I first heard it back in the early '80's. I'd be remiss if I failed to warn you: as the third verse comes up, watch out for the American subtitles.

Talking Heads were an arty party new wave band, right? Yeah, but they did an incredible song about civil insurrection in the U.S. long before Bush and Cheney legitimized the concept. "Life During Wartime" was originally a song from the 1979 release Fear of Music but 4 years later, after Talking Heads became a favorite of Dead Heads everywhere, it came out as a live single from Stop Making Sense.

Holst wrote The Planets during the height of World War I and nowhere does the impact of that calamitous event show itself more powerfully than in "Mars, The Bringer of War." The entire suite is probably the most popular classical music ever written by an English composer. Holst was a devotee of astrology (not astronomy particularly) and Nicholas Meyer, director of Star Trek VI, was apparently a devotee of Holst's.

I'm A Man

This is C&L's 500th music post! Give a listen to our past music selections and enjoy...

Get well soon, Bo:

Bo Diddley suffered a heart attack during a medical check-up in a Florida hospital and is now in stable condition, his spokeswoman said today (August 28).

The 78-year-old rock pioneer felt ill during his checkup at North Florida Regional Medical Center, and was transferred to the emergency room where the heart attack occurred.

He then underwent a surgical procedure to help the blood flow to his heart, reports Reuters.

This band was huge during the Fusion/Rock and Roll days of the '70's.

"Romantic Warrior"

Hey Bo Diddley which can be found on His Best:The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection .

Four days after suffering a stroke, Bo Diddley walked around the intensive-care unit at Creighton University Medical Center, and doctors were encouraged that the singer-songwriter-guitarist would be able to perform again, his manager said.
The 78-year-old Diddley told his audience that he wasn't feeling well during a show in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Saturday night. Diddley's manager, Margo Lewis, said she had the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer taken to the hospital by ambulance when he appeared disoriented at the Omaha airport on Sunday. Read more...