News wrap-up

First off, I'm sad to see the news about Danny Federici's passing. Danny was the keyboardist for the E-Street Band for 40 years. Honestly, I really don't know what the man looked like, but I know is contribution to the Boss' music will be sorely missed. Go to the Boss' website for some video of Danny in action.

The rest of the news I had was all stuff that you can find at rollingstone.com, so go there for some entertainment until I get some original thoughts to jot down. May you all have a wonderful weekend, and be sure to give your loved ones a hug and a kiss from me.

Pork and Beans

Weezer's new single is streaming in high quality at their website. Go check out the song that is gonna be blaring out of all your car stereos this summer!

Sight for sore eyes

It's about time these guys got back together.....

Photo by Charley Gallay/ Getty Images

Friday, June 6th - Roy Wilkins. Tickets go on sale this Saturday, April 12th.

Sick of Goodbyes

Here's a great song put out by a band called Sparklehorse back in the 90's. It can be found on their record titled Good Morning Spider. They have put out several albums that are all superb, and this song has spurred me to grab all their albums again (I probably sold them all in college to fund my cribbage habit).



Also, Rolling Stone has their Spring Music preview up on their site here. Loads of good stuff coming down the pipe, including Weezer, Neil Diamond, and Mötley Crüe. Kickstart my Heart indeed.

It's all going to go downhill from here

My wife was kind enough to locate my first gray hair for me the other morning. It was a huge strand that was sticking out of my melon like a sore thumb. So, on top of me losing my hair, it's now turning gray. Awesome!








In other news, the 1st track from Mudhoney's new record, The Lucky Ones, can be heard at this location. Check it out if you need to hear some good ol' Seattle grunge this morning. The new record hits stores on May 20th.




And finally, if this is true, I will be the happiest camper of them all.

Salute Your Solution

Superdrag in the studio

Yesssssssssss

From The Raconteur's site:

The Raconteurs are happy to announce that in one week's time their second album, entitled "Consolers of the Lonely", will be available EVERYWHERE Tuesday, March 25.

"Album" meaning: full length vinyl, CD and digital formats; and "everywhere" meaning: local mom and pop indie retailers, corporate superstores, supermarkets, iTunes, Amazon, the band's own website and any other location that could get the record up and going this quickly (some places couldn't move this fast, so they will join in as soon as they can).

It contains 14 new recordings and is being released globally on Third Man Records in conjunction with our marketing/distribution partners, XL Recordings and Warner Brothers Recordings.

With this release, The Raconteurs are forgoing the usual months of lead time for press and radio set up, as well as forgoing the all important "first week sales". We wanted to explore the idea of releasing an album everywhere at once and THEN marketing and promoting it thereafter. The Raconteurs would rather this release not be defined by its first week sales, pre-release promotion, or by someone defining it FOR YOU before you get to hear it.

Another purpose was to also allow people to have their own choice as to exactly which format they would like to hear the album in IMMEDIATELY, rather than having to wait for their favorite format to become available. The band are also not releasing any version of this record that contains bonus tracks.

The band also prefer that fans buy the album as a whole instead of breaking up the tracks, but until iTunes and other digital services allows bands to release their albums with the option of NOT breaking it up, it will be sold in that fashion on those particular sites. On the band's website however, the album will be sold in its entirety as an mp3 at 320kb bit rate. Also in Japan, fans will be able to download the record via their mobile phones, as that is how a majority of recorded music is consumed there.

The reason we are announcing this release one week ahead of time is because of retail pre-ordering and stocking, information about this album's imminent release was bound to come to light and could be confusing to fans.

Also in the event that the record leaks, we didn't want this method of release to be seen as a REACTION to such a leak. It's not. The actual worst thing about a leak is the usual poor sound quality, aking to watching a movie on a wristwatch instead of in a theater. Which for the album's creators is a bit of a letdown, it is completely up to the listener.

There will be a video up to on the internet for the first single, "Salute Your Solution", on the 25th as well, provided it gets edited in time. We just filmed it the other day!

We hope not to confuse anyone with too many options, or deny them the formats that they like best. The Raconteurs feel very strongly that music has worth and should be treated as such. Thank you for all those who respect music in this fashion, and thank you to our label partners for working with us to get this album to fans in as many formats as possible all at once.

Thank you, and we hope that you enjoy "Consolers of the Lonely".

Sincerely,
The Raconteurs

I'm very pumped that more and more bands are skipping the months and months of pre-promotion before an album is released and just getting their stuff in stores (Radiohead and NIN are a few current examples). Hopefully this is a trend that will continue.

Catchup

Saw the Foos and the Hives last week. Foos were reliable and consistent; Hives pretty much rocked my socks off. I think the $33 difference between the ticket prices may have something to do with it. Here are the reviews from the Strib from these shows - I'm too lazy to type out my own thoughts at the moment.

Foo Review
Hives Review

Nine Inch Nails has just released a new record this evening on the Internets. 36 instrumental tracks. You can get a download of the album for a measly 5 bucks. I've been trying to snag it, but the site is just getting pummeled at the moment. Anyways, you can check out some of the tracks at http://ghosts.nin.com/.

Weekend highlights

• Friday night - went to a fish fry with the folks, and then went home and ironed the drapes. Shel did all the ironing - I did all the taking down andre-hanging of the drapes. Pretty exciting stuff for a Friday night, huh?
  
• Got a body age assessment done at LifeTime Saturday morning. My body age is 33, and I'm a bit disappointed in the results. Now I've got a good set of goals to reach when it comes to getting physically fit. I'm hoping to get a heart rate monitor for workouts, and possibly signing up for a fitness class. I think that any investment you can put towards your health is a good investment in my book. Now I just need to make sure that I stay committed so that my wife thinks it's a good investment as well.
• Had Jen, Bill and Jimmy over for jerk chicken kabobs and risotto Saturday night - everything turned out delicious, and we got in a few rousing games of Guitar Hero in as well. The evening ended with a few drinks over at the neighbors (or did it????????).
• Got up at the non-rock & roll hour of 7:30 AM on Sunday morning to prepare for a church gig at 8:45. Got to church at 8, had a quick rehearsal, and proceeded to ROCK THE HOUSE! We were at the top of our game and did a pretty decent job. One of these days, I'll post the gig schedule so that my vast blog readership can come and see what all the fuss is about.
  
• Went cross country skiing for the 1st time yesterday out by Lake Minnewashta. 4 bucks for an hour of fun (and a few spills). I have what appears to be the imprint of part of a ski on my back, but we had a blast and look forward to doing it in the future.
• After skiing, it was off to Floyd's for some liquid refreshment and a few rousing games of bingo. We didn't win any games, but it was a good time nonetheless.
• Our day ended with a pizza dinner with Shel's mom, and an early bed time for everyone in the Heiland house. All in all, it was probably one of the best weekends we've had in a long time - lots of fun, and we got a few productive things done as well.

!!!!!!!!FOOS ON TV ALERT!!!!!!!!

The Foo Fighters will be playing on Letterman this Wednesday, February 20th. Set your Tivos!

On another note, there's this new band out there called The Gutter Twins. The band is primarily composed of 2 legendary singers - Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs, Twilight Singers) and Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age). These 2 gentlemen are displayed to the left of this post. They have an album called Saturnalia that is coming out on Sub Pop in a few weeks. The stuff I've heard from it has been pretty incredible. Their whole record is steaming at this site - check it out and be amazed. These guys will be playing the First Avenue mainroom on Saturday, March 8. If I can make it, I'll be there with bells on. For 11 bucks, how can you go wrong?

I've got a girl and she likes to shop

Been pretty swamped over the past few weeks and haven't had much time to update this thing. I hope everyone had a splendid Valentine's Day.

New update from The Raconteurs myspace page:

"The Raconteurs are currently finishing up their second album in nashville, tn.
They promise to release it as soon as they can."



They put out a fantastic 1st record, and I'm looking forward to their sophomore effort.

That's about all I have for today - maybe I'm make some more lengthy and intersting posts this weekend.

A taste of things to come

Here's a little preview of what you can expect at the Foo show coming up at the Target Center in a few weeks. This is what they've been opening up with on the current leg of the tour. Delicious...



Also, did you know that the Hives are playing First Ave the night after the Foos are in town? Quite the week of rock we have to warm us up next month.

Happy Friday

I don't have too much to say. Just glad the weekend is upon us. Here's a video for your viewing pleasure.

To be continued

As an addendum to my previous post, check out this sweet ass discussion about people's favorite memories from First Ave:

Also, the Hives are rocking First Ave the day after the Foos are in town. I'm so tempted to hit it up - $21 after fees. Soooooooooo tempting....can one person handle that much rock in 2 days?

Quick ramblings

Just got back from Scottsdale....quite the difference in weather, but it's good to be back home. Here's a few items for your perusal:

• The Foos have an official blog!
• Here's a cool story in the Strib about the behind the scenes magic that happens at First Ave.
  

Greetings from Tennessee

Fantastic news from superdrag.com!

Lastly, the rumors are true, it's official: Superdrag's original line-up will reconvene in the recording studio in February to begin work on our first new recording project together since 1998's "Head Trip In Every Key." I can't say much more about the songs themselves (apart from what's already been posted on our MySpace page which will be the only "official" taste of the new music until the record drops), but I will say that this HAS to be our best album, otherwise there's really no point, is there? We are wholly committed to breaking the Law of Physics that states, "REUNION ALBUMS, BY DEFINITION, MUST BE TERRIBLE." So we'll see how it goes! Personally, I am really excited about the way the new music is unfolding and I hope you will be too. I am really thankful to be working on new music with Brandon, Don and Tom this year.

My holiday gift to you.............

Enjoy the fruits of my labor today....a good 3+ hours tinkering around in the basement today has resulted in the following cover songs for you to enjoy. Listening to the playback, I've noticed that my voice sucks ass, but hopefully you can get past that and get a kick out of them anyways. I don't think you can actually download the songs at this point, so if you really want them, let me know. Happy Holidays!

Best of 2007

I hope my readership had a great holiday....I'm finally recovering from all of the running around we took part in. 5 holiday events in 4 days - insanity. I've got the day off today, and have boatloads of things to take care of, but I thought I'd start it off with my annual "Best Records of 2007" list. Here are my Top 10, in no particular order:

• Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris
• Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
• Radiohead - In Rainbows
• The White Stripes - Icky Thump
• John Davis - Arigato!
• Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace
• Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
• Frank Black - Bluefinger
• The Apples In Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder
• Bruce Springsteen with the Sessions Band - Live In Dublin

There it is kids. Let me know your favorites from this year in the comments section. I'll be sending you a special holiday present later today, so stay tuned!

Long Road to Ruin - alternate take

Just stumbled across this alternate shot of the new Foo video. Brought a smile to my face, and I don't even have any computer speakers!

Holy canoli, Batman!

Check out the new trailer for The Dark Knight right here! This movie is going to be so badass.