Music News & Notes

DARKTHRONE's 'A Blaze In The Northern Sky' Vinyl Reissue Due In December

Peaceville Records will issue DARKTHRONE's "A Blaze In The Northern Sky" album on 180g heavyweight vinyl with gatefold sleeve in December.

"A Blaze In The Northern Sky", DARKTHRONE's second album, was originally issued in 1992 and was without question the blueprint release for the black metal scene.

An album that defined the now ubiquitous phrase "true norwegian black metal," it was hailed on release as an album of true scene shifting greatness.

The album saw a whole new blacker-than-black DARKTHRONE, new names, new sound and highly visual black and white artwork. Fenriz claimed, "This is the new DARKTHRONE, the old DARKTHRONE is dead".

So great was the hunger and need for DARKTHRONE that it meant absolutely nothing to critics and fans alike that the band hardly ventured out to play live. On the contrary, this only added to the mystique of the band, and saw them, in the eyes of the fans as very much "keeping it real."

This vinyl edition of the album is limited to 1,000 numbered copies and is issued on 180g heavyweight vinyl in a gatefold sleeve which features new liner notes written by Nocturno Culto especially for this release.

The album will ship on December 7.

=======================

THEM CROOKED VULTURES' 'New Fang' Premiers On 'Rock Band' In Time For Debut Album

Harmonix and MTV Games today announced that THEM CROOKED VULTURES are premiering on Rock Band beginning next week with "New Fang", the single from the band's self-titled debut album. The song will be added to the Rock Band Music Store and LEGO Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and Wii.

"THEM CROOKED VULTURES are keenly aware of the different ways in which modern music fans digest new music and are therefore especially happy to be able to offer the first single from their self-titled debut up as a downloadable Rock Band game track on the same day the album goes on sale," stated THEM CROOKED VULTURES.

The debut self-titled album from THEM CROOKED VULTURES, comprised of Dave Grohl, Joshua Homme and John Paul Jones, will be released November 17 in the United States, the same day and date that "New Fang" will be available for Rock Band download on the Xbox 360. The band released the single as a free download for fans November 3 and has been streaming their full album on their web site, www.themcrookedvultures.com, since November 9. The band is touring the United States in November, and their December tour of the United Kingdom sold out in just 12 minutes.

THEM CROOKED VULTURES' "New Fang" will be available November 17 for the Xbox 360, November 24 for the Wii and December 3 for the PlayStation 3 in both the Rock Band Music Store and LEGO Rock Band Music Store.

=======================

GWAR: Deluxe Edition Of 'America Must Be Destroyed' Crammed With DVD


"America Must Be Destroyed", GWAR's 1992 opus, can now be purchased in a special edition digipak that's also crammed with a DVD that includes the seminal GWAR films "Tour De Scum" and "Phallus In Wonderland". Never before have they all been available in one package for you to get your clammy human hands on!

The "America Must Be Destroyed" special edition is available everywhere now while GWAR continues to pummel audiences across North America on their headlining tour!

"Let Us Slay", the new video from GWAR, was shot in Richmond, Virginia by director David Brodsky (SUICIDE SILENCE, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, WHITECHAPEL) and his MyGoodEye crew.

GWAR's new album, "Lust In Space", sold around 5,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 96 on The Billboard 200 chart.

=======================

Asian Man details upcoming Matt Skiba solo record

Asian Man Records has announced more details on the upcoming solo album from Alkaline Trio guitarist/vocalist Matt Skiba. The album will be called Demos and is slated for a February 16, 2010 release. The label is promising to post new songs once the record is mastered and also remarked:

"The new Matt Skiba album "Demos" is getting mastered this week. 15 brand new songs. All songs were recorded over the past 10 months by Mr. Skiba in various avenues. Whether in his bedroom or while traveling, Matt recorded these songs originally as demos, but the songs are perfect as is. We couldn't ask for more. Anybody who loves the Alkaline Trio without the glossed over production will be incredibly happy with this final product. We plan on releasing various colors of vinyl and will be taking pre-orders sometime in DECEMBER"

Skiba last released a split CD with Kevin Seconds in 2002. Meanwhile, his Trio bandmate Dan Andriano has been playing solo shows under the name The Emergency Room, and Alkaline Trio are slated to self-release their next full-length sometime in the future.

=======================

Missing Person's Singer Chargeed With Animal Cruelty

Dale Bozzio, lead singer for Missing Persons, has surrendered in Ossipee, New Hampshire to serve time on animal cruelty charges.

Last year, authorities found Bozzio's home filled with cats, both living and dead, while she was on tour. She was given the cruelty charges and sentenced to repay a $2,700 vet bill, spend 90 days in jail and serve 250 hours of community service.

=======================

U2 Fined For Loud Shows

U2 were a little too loud, even for Dublin. MCD, the promoters for the group's July concerts, were fined $53,000 by the city for twelve breeches of the city's noise ordinance over their three nights of performing. These were the same shows that created such a controversy with neighbors of the stadium over the late-night building and tearing down of the U2 set.

=======================

New Ringo LP?

The New York Examiner reported exclusively today that Ringo Starr will have a new album in January titled Y Not. The album is showing up on Amazon.com with a January 12 release but that is not official according to Ringo's press office.

This Date In Music History-November 14

Birthdays:

Sherri Payne - Supremes (1944)

Accordionist Buckwheat Zydeco (real name Stanley Dural) (1947)

James Young - Styx (1949)

Barry Brandt - Angel (1951)

Steven Bishop (1951)

Frankie Banali - Quiet Riot (1953)

Alec John Such - Bon Jovi (1956)

Nic Dalton - Lemonheads (1964)

Joe Simmons, a.k.a "Run" of Run-D.M.C. (1964)

Stuart Stapels - Tindersticks (1965)

Jeannette Jurado - Expose (1965)

Brian Yale - Matchbox 20 (1968)

Brendan Benson - Raconteurs (1970)

Douglas Payne - Travis (1972)

Travis Barker - Blink 182 (1975)


They Are Missed:

A member of John Mellencamp's band, keyboardist John Cascella, was found dead in his car in Indiana in 1992. Authorities suspected that Cascella had a heart attack while driving.

Born today in 1936, Freddie Garrity, vocals, Freddie & The Dreamers, (1965 #1 single "I'm Telling You Now"). Died on May 19, 2006.



Born on this day in 1938, Cornell Gunter, The Coasters, (1958 #1 single "Yakety Yak") Gunter was murdered on 26th February 1990.


History:

Leonard Bernstein made his debut with the New York Philhamonic in 1943 when he filled in for the ailing Bruno Walter prior to a nationally broadcast concert. Bernstein was 25 years old and was an assistant conductor at the time.

A re-issue of Bill Haley & the Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" debuts, again, on the U.K charts in 1955. It's only the second of the song's five chart appearances. Others follow in 1956, 1968 and 1974.

Jerry Lee Lewis cuts his first tracks, including his debut single "Crazy Arms," for Sun Records in Memphis in 1956. It was credited to Jerry Lee Lewis and His Pumping Piano.

In 1960, Billboard reports Elvis Presley's "It's Now or Never" becomes the fastest selling single in U.K. history. It sold 780,000 copies in the first week of release.

Ray Charles went to #1 on the US singles chart in 1960 with "Georgia On My Mind." His cover of this Hoagy Carmichael's 1930 standard, became the first of three #1 hits for the singer.

The Elvis Presley film "Blue Hawaii" premiered in 1961.

The Beatles played the final show of a 14 night run at the Star-Club, Hamburg, West Germany in 1962

The Supremes' "Come See about Me" entered the Hot 100 in 1964, where it will remain for 14 weeks, eventually becoming their third release in a row to reach #1.

The single "Daydream Believer" by the Monkeys, went gold in 1967.

In 1969, "Sugar Sugar" by The Archies was at #1 on the UK singles chart. The single became the longest running one hit wonder in the UK with eight week's at the top of the charts. It was the first #1 performed by cartoon characters. Ummm, they didn't really sing, it was the voice of Ron Dante and others. The single was also very big in the US, going to #1 for four weeks that same year. The song was written by the song writing team of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich (who also provided back up vocals). By the way, the cartoon characters names were Archie, Betty, Veronica, Reggie and the infamous Jughead.

Santana's "Black Magic Woman" was released in 1970.

'Gaucho,' Steely Dan's seventh album – and last new music that will usher from them for 20 years – was released in 1980. It yields a Top Ten single, "Hey Nineteen."

In 1987, Sonny & Cher appeared on Late Night with David Letterman and were prodded by Letterman into singing "I Got You Babe" on his show.



The soundtrack from the film 'Dirty Dancing' went to #1 on the US album chart in 1987.

In 1990, record producer Frank Farin fired Milli Vanilli singers Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan because they were insisting on singing on their new album. Yeh, that'll work.....

Also in 1990, the Who's Pete Townshend confessed his bisexuality to Newsweek. Says Pete, "I know how it feels to be a woman because I am a woman. And I won't be classified as just a man." Ewwwwwww....

Over 1,000 New Kids On The Block 'fans' were given medical treatment after a minor riot during a concert in Berlin, Germany in 1991.

Michael Jackson's controversial 11-minute "Black or White" video debuts on television in 1991. It is a teaser for 'Dangerous,' his third #1 album in a row and the source of seven more hit singles.

R. Kelly released his self-titled second album in 1995, featuring the singles "Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)" and "You Remind Me of Something." It topped the Billboard 200.


Marilyn Manson's released "Holy Wood (In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death)" in 2000. The cover of the album was banned by several retail chains due to the cover art. The banning chains released an alternate cover. The cover depicts Manson on a crucifix.

Two high-profile hip-hop releases went head-to-head in 2003 as Jay-Z's valedictory "The Black Album" and 50 Cent's G-Unit debut "Beg for Mercy" land in stores simultaneously.

In 2004, the Rolling Stones were refused permission to pursue a claim against their former record company Decca for unpaid royalties through the courts. A High Court judge in London said the dispute would go to arbitration and not be decided in court. The dispute was over their "Forty Licks" compilation CD, which was released in 2002 and was the first collection to span their entire career.

A four-disc Sublime box set titled “Everything Under the Sun” was released in 2006. The career-spanning collection features music videos, live performances, a band interview, unreleased demos, live rarities, studio outtakes and remixes (including a mid-'90s mix by Snoop Dogg). The package comes 10 years after the death of Sublime frontman Brad Nowell from a drug overdose.

The Beatles have the most discs on a Top 100 list of all-time greatest albums that was chosen by Time magazine staff in 2006. Hip bunch, they are. The five Beatles albums are "Rubber Soul," "Revolver," "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "The White Album" and "Abbey Road." Bob Dylan's three albums are "Highway 61 Revisited," "Blonde On Blonde" and "Time Out of Mind." The Rolling Stones, David Bowie and U2 manage to place two albums each on the list.

Michael Fremer Review

I am very proud to continue our new feature (look for this every Friday), music reviews that are written by the senior contributing editor of Stereophile magazine- Michael Fremer. It has been a pleasure to speak with Michael and learn more about audio sound and equipment. In fact, his new DVD, "It's A Vinyl World, After All" has hit the shelves and is selling out very quickly. This is a must have for anybody who loves vinyl, it is a true masterpiece.

ALBUM REVIEW:

Santana (reissue) Lotus
Sony-Japan/Speakers Corner CBS 66 325/(81047/48/49) 3 180g LPs
Produced by: The New Santana BandEngineered by: Tomoo Suzuki
Mixed by: Tomoo Suzuki, Hideto Isoda
Mastered by: Maarten de Boer at UMG Berliner












Review by: Michael Fremer

Rare, desirable and expensive when first issued in 1973 as a triple LP set in Japan where it was recorded and available in America only as a hard to get import, Lotus didn’t make it to CD until the earl 1990s.

Speakers Corner has done an incredible job of reproducing the original triple gatefold psychedelic/pan-spiritual packaging and double full color posters that made this release such a physical treasure and more importantly, the Pallas pressing quality more than lives up to the original’s pristine sound and silent backgrounds. There’s a moment of silence at the beginning so perfectly quiet that you’ll wonder if your system has suddenly shut down.

However, in retrospect, the music doesn’t quite live up to the ambitiousness of the packaging. At least to me, but then I never was a huge Santana fan to begin with, so that’s just me.

The live setting allows Carlos Santana, who was in a jazz/spiritual musical phase at the time, to stretch out and take long extended solos that were more about speed and bombast than truly interesting musical ideas. He’s got the great Leon Thomas on vocals but the material doesn’t give Mr. Thomas the same latitude to produce the otherworldly yodels and other deeply involving pyrotechnics he delivered on Karma (Impulse A-9181) his astonishing collaboration with Pharoah Sanders (an album that contained the tune “The Creator Has a Master Plan” that I once parodied as “The Creator Has a Master Key”).

As you listen through the six sides of latino-rock, Santana’s ideas seem tame and limited compared to those of John McLaughlin and his Mahavishnu Orchestra that surely provided some of the inspiration for this version of Santana.

There’s lots of slinky, percussive latino-charged clanging and banging on Timbales and Congas and other fireworks that keep the Japanese crowd tuned in and in a rhythmic trance, but listening all these years later at home, you’re left with many stretches of clichéd jejune filler as the group covers hits like Peter Green’s “Black Magic Woman,” Gabor Szabo’s “Gypsy Queen,” Tito Puente’s “Oye Como Va,” and works by other composers.

Tom Coster’s bombastic Hammond Organ becomes fairly obtrusive after a while (or damned annoying depending upon your perspective and tolerance) and when Santana can’t think of anything to play he resorts to quoting Coltrane solos. A little of this goes a long way.

On the other hand, one can only imagine how the soaring sense of liberation that Santana’s feedback and reverb drenched speed-guitar produced, affected the regimented Japanese mindset of that era. Combine that with the exotic Latin rhythms and clanging percussion and you have a sound that must have flipped plenty of switches that day. Whether it still does now is a personal matter only you can decide.

The recording is excellent for a live set in a large venue. There’s a good deal of P.A. leakage, which is unavoidable but the engineering team has managed to keep it under control so it does more to suggest the enormity of the space than it does put the proceedings underwater, which often results from such recording conditions.

The sonics are never less than exciting, even when the music isn’t. If you’re a huge Santana fan generally, or a fan of this particular record specifically, don’t let me throw cold water on your flames: you won’t get a better sounding or packaged reissue of this 35+ year old classic and you can bet it won’t be around forever or for long for that matter. Take note as you disassemble the complex packaging or you'll have trouble putting it back together. It should come with re-assembly instructions!

SOURCE: http://www.musicangle.com Reprinted By Permission

Music News & Notes

Medeski Martin & Wood, Radiolarians: The Evolutionary Set (2009, Indirecto Records)

Keyboardist John Medeski, drummer Billy Martin, and bassist Chris Wood have been making strange and wonderful music together since the early 1990's. For those of you who who haven't been following Medeski, Martin & Wood for the past few years, Radiolarians: The Evolutionary Set a box set containing five CD's, a DVD and two vinyl LP's is your chance to catch up. For dedicated fans this is the highly anticipated culmination of their most creative, productive and ambitious project to date. Even fans who already have the previously released Radiolarians CD's will find enough new material in this set to make it highly desirable and it is sure to be on many holiday gift wish lists.

Over the past two years, rather than doing the common practice of touring to support a record release, Medeski, Martin & Wood sequestered themselves on brief writing retreats, performed only that new material on tour and recorded the material immediately after getting off the road. The band repeated this processes three times while touring in different regions of the US and South America producing the CD's Radiolarians I, II and III. The Radiolarians series is named after a type of single-celled organism, amoeboid protozoa that produce beautifully intricate mineral skeletons - drawings of which adorn the CD and LP jackets.

Radiolarians: The Evolutionary Set will release on November 24, 2009. The box set will include the complete CD's Radiolarians I, II and III plus previously unreleased bonus tracks. The set also includes Remixolarians is a 10 track remix CD featuring contributions from 9 different DJs and producers including Dan The Automator, DJ Spooky, DJ Logic, DJ Olive and Scott Harding. The fifth CD in the set is 70-minute live album with pivotal tracks from shows recorded during the Radiolarians tours in 2008 and 2009 that gives the listener a chance to hear the material as evolving works in progress and also be provided with extended improvisations.

To satisfy the vinyl fetish of audiophiles, Medeski Martin & Wood have selected recordings from the three Radiolarians albums to include on an exclusive special edition, double vinyl LP pressing.

==========================

MASTODON: 'Crack The Skye' Royal Edition Due In December

Atlanta progressive metallers MASTODON have set a December 15, 2009 release date for the new limited "Crack the Skye" royal edition featuring the official score.

The "royal edition" package includes the following:

* Full-length "Crack the Skye" album
* Full-length "Crack the Skye" score first time available on physical disc
* Housed in gold stamped foiled digibook with brand new gold and black "Crack the Skye" exclusive artwork and packaging designed by Paul Romano
* 6" x 6" exclusively designed lithograph unavailable anywhere else
* An instant download of the "Divinations" (Live at Xfm) and "Colony of Birchmen" (Live at Xfm)

"Crack The Skye" sold 41,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 11 on The Billboard 200 chart.

MASTODON fans responded with manic enthusiasm to the LP, snapping up every available copy of various limited-edition artifacts, including the deluxe tunnel book CD+DVD package, both color and double-disc 180gm gatefold vinyl pressings, plus a pair of CD single/T-shirt bundles.

==========================

SCORPIONS To Embark On Two-Year Tour In 2010

Veteran German hard rockers SCORPIONS will embark on a two-year world tour in 2010. An international press conference will be held in January to announce the details of the trek, which will include dates in Germany, USA, South America, Asia, Russia and other European countries.

SCORPIONS recently spent time at a studio in Hannover, Germany with Swedish producers Mikael "Nord" Andersson and Martin Hansen (the team behind THE RASMUS' "Dead Letters" CD) recording their new album for an early 2010 release.

"We are working on 12 songs at the moment," guitarist Mathias Jabs told Scorps News. "Great stuff. Definitely 'Scorpionized' in sound and attitude. More towards the early Eighties."

Although SCORPIONS' new CD is tentatively due in Europe in March, a U.S. release date has yet to be pinned down. "Azoff Management [which represents SCORPIONS] is currently working on the [record] deal," Jabs said. "Simultaneous release is up to the record companies

==========================

Fight Amp's "Manners & Praise" To Be Released On Vinyl This Winter


Brutal Panda Records is teaming up with Red Sun Industries to release NJ noise-rockers Fight Amp's newest full-length, "Manners & Praise," on limited pearl white vinyl this winter. "Manners & Praise" features thirteen brand new tracks and was recorded this past summer at The Jam Room with Philip Cope (Kylesa, Baroness). Vinyl mastering will take place at Prairie Cat Mastering for optimal sound quality, and each record comes packaged with an 11"x16" poster insert. The press will be strictly limited to 500 copies, and is available for pre-order at www.brutalpandarecords.com





==========================



DE PROFUNDIS: New Album Artwork Revealed

The cover artwork for "A Bleak Reflection", the sophomore album from the London, U.K.-based progressive extreme metal band DE PROFUNDIS, can be viewed below. According to guitarist Roman Subbotin, the artwork — by artist Darryll Jones — "came out being an extremely powerful and emotive addition to the music. Indeed, the artwork tells the story of the album — that's probably as close as I will ever come to saying that this is a concept album..."

"A Bleak Reflection" will be released in early 2010 and will come with a "very cool" 12-page booklet. The CD was produced by Fernando Pereira Lopes (MISANTHROPE, ORAKLE) and DE PROFUNDIS and was mixed at Russ Russell's Parlour Studios in July. Subbotin states, "[the new album] represents a significant moment for our musical evolution. We've all worked really hard and, in my humble opinion, achieved rather spectacular results."

==========================

Sgt. Pepper Available For Gaming


Rolling Stone reports that the entire Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band will be available as downloadable content for TB:RB starting November 17th. Sgt. Pepper’s title track, “With A Little Help From My Friends,” “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” “Getting Better,” and “Good Morning Good Morning” were previously included in the game’s original release, but the classic LP’s remaining eight tracks, including “A Day in the Life,” will hit Xbox 360s, PS3s and Wiis next week.









==========================

Bassist Dies

Some sad news to report, journeyman bassist Mark Smith, who has played with Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry, Van Morrison, Joe Cocker and George Michael among others, died back on November 2. His body was found in his apartment after he didn't show up for a show. No cause of death has been announced. Smith was 49.

==========================

Kinks and R.E.M. Back in Studio

The Kinks are back in the studio recording their first album of new music since 1993's Phobia. Ray Davies told Billboard that he's been working with Mick Avory, the original drummer for the group, and later members Jim Rodford and Ian Gibbons.

Davies said, "I've been in the studio with a couple of the Kinks, actually. "We've got four, five new songs...and I'm just sort of getting them motivated and seeing what they're playing like, because I haven't played with the Kinks for eight or nine years."

Also back in the studio is R.E.M., working on their followup to last year's Accelerate. They are once again working with producer Jacknife Lee who said they will use the same "live in the studio" process as used on the last album.

==========================

75-Track Elvis Presley Best Of Album Set For 2010 Release

To mark his 75th birthday...


A 75 track album of Elvis Presley's biggest UK hits is to be released to celebrate what would have been his 75th birthday in January. The three CD album 'Elvis 75' will comes out through Sony Music on January 4th, 2010, four days before The King's birthday.

The career-spanning collection features every hit from his breakthrough single 'Heartbreak Hotel' through to the 2002 Junkie XL remix of 'A Little Less Conversation'.






The full track-listing is as follows:

CD 1:
1. Heartbreak Hotel
2. Blue Suede Shoes
3. I Want You I Need You I Love You
4. Hound Dog
5. Blue Moon
6. Love Me Tender
7. Too Much
8. All Shook Up
9. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear
10. Paralysed
11. Party
12. Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do
13. Lawdy Miss Clawdy
14. Trying To Get To You
15. Jailhouse Rock
16. Don'
17. Wear My Ring Around Your Neck
18. Hard Headed Woman
19. King Creole
20. One Night
21. A Fool Such As I
22. A Big Hunk O' Love
23. Stuck On You
24. A Mess Of Blues
25. It’s Now Or Never

CD 2:
1. Are You Lonesome Tonight
2. Wooden Heart
3. Surrender (Torna Surriento)
4. Wild In The Country
5. (Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame
6. Rock A Hula Baby
7. Can't Help Falling In Love
8. Good Luck Charm
9. She's Not You
10. Return To Sender
11. One Broken Heart For Sale
12. (You're The) Devil In Disguise
13. Bossa Nova Baby
14. Kiss Me Quick
15. Viva Las Vegas
16. Kissin' Cousins
17. Such A Night
18. Ain't That Lovin' You Baby
19. Crying In The Chapel
20. Tell Me Why
21. Love Letters
22. All That I Am
23. Guitar Man
24. U.S. Male
25. If I Can Dream

CD 3:
1. In The Ghetto
2. Suspicious Minds
3. Don't Cry Daddy
4. The Wonder Of You
5. I've Lost You
6.You Don't Have To Say You Love Me
7. There Goes My Everything
8. Rags To Riches
9. I Just Can't Help Believing
10. Until It's Time For You To Go
11. An American Trilogy
12. Burning Love
13. Always On My Mind
14. Fool
15. My Boy
16. Promised Land
17. The Girl Of My Best Friend
18. Suspicion
19. Moody Blue
20. Way Down
21. My Way
22. It's Only Love / Beyond The Reef
23. A Little Less Conversation (JXL Remix)
24. Rubberneckin' (remix)
25. That's All Right

Music News & Notes

Beatles TV for Thanksgiving Eve

In 1962, an unknown group from Liverpool walked into Abbey Road Studios in London to record their debut single. Over the next eight years, they would create what many consider to be the greatest collection of studio recordings of the 20th century.

The Beatles On Record, a new documentary premiering on History on Wednesday, November 25 at 10pm, charts The Beatles' extraordinary recording journey from Please Please Me to the epic Abbey Road LP and reveals how they developed as musicians, matured as songwriters and created an enduring body of work that pushed the boundaries of studio recording, changing the course of musical history and popular culture. There will be additional airings of the special at later dates across A&E Television Networks (AETN).

Narrated entirely by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Sir George Martin, THE BEATLES ON RECORD features over 60 songs, rarely seen footage and images from The Beatles' archives along with never-before-heard outtakes of conversation from the original recording sessions.

The result is an intimate look at the creative process behind each of the band's Abbey Road Studios masterpieces. The documentary is directed by Bob Smeaton, who directed the landmark Beatles Anthology series and created mini-documentaries for The Beatles' recently released re-mastered albums on CD.

======================

Music Stats

Nielsen SoundScan sent over some info about vinyl and digital sales as well as news that Rihanna's digital sales record from last year has been broken by not just one, but 4 artists this year. Here is the breakdown from Nielsen SoundScan, followed by news of another big development.

VINYL: We are now over 2 million Vinyl Albums sold, breaking the previous record of 1.9 million (which was the total sold in all of 2008). 2008 YTD was 1.5 million.

DIGITAL: Four artists have broken Rihanna's Digital Tracks sales record (she sold 9.9million tracks in all of 2008) and three have surpassed 10 million in sales. -Michael Jackson - 11.3 million Total Digital Tracks YTD. -Lady Gaga - 11.1 million YTD -BEP - 10.3 million YTD -Taylor Swift - 9.98 million YTDNOTE: 1) Next week we will break the 2008 year-end digital album sales total of 65 million. We are at 63.9 million this week. 2) Next week will also be the week we break the 1 billion track sales mark. We are at 998.3 million this week.

But even bigger news came from Reuters on Wednesday, "The compilers of the Billboard 200, the benchmark pop albums chart in the United States, said on Wednesday they would dramatically overhaul the listing later this month to include catalog recordings as well as current releases."

What that means that the album chart will no longer be limited to albums released in the past 18 months, and this could dramatically alter the album charts as we know them and give us a REAL picture about which albums are selling in a given week.

======================

Ramones Book

New Ramones book entitled Ramones: Soundtrack Of Our Lives is the result of nearly 5 years worth of work. It is full of poignant stories that reflect what Joey Ramone (RIP 2001), Dee Dee Ramone (RIP 2002), Johnny Ramone (RIP 2004), as well as the rest of the Ramones family have impacted their fans worldwide.

Ramones: Soundtrack Of Our Lives has interviews and text written by 90 contributors and has 224 pages, and 295 photos/drawings. This book brings together the Ramones fa mily as never before, there are interviews by every surviving Ramones member: Ramones drummers (Tommy Ramone, Marky Ramone, and Richie Ramone), bassist CJ Ramone, and Johnny Ramone's wife Linda Cummings. The introduction is written by Tommy Ramone.

Reluctant to offer fans stories which have been relayed thousands of times before, author and Ramones webmaster Jari-Pekka Laitio-Ramone provides new information about the band. His focus is on the Ramones impact on the history of Rock N'Roll.

======================

Aerosmith Soap Opera

Joe Perry talked to Billboard earlier today and said that Steven Tyler "never said he was leaving the band" but that he want to take two years off to work on other projects. This isn't sitting well with Perry and, presumably, the other band members.

"Aerosmith wants to work. The band's been playing together for 40 years. It's a really powerful rock band, and I don't want to see it just go to waste and I don't think any of the other guys do, either. We're gonna work and we're gonna do something -- I'm not exactly sure what yet, but the band's too good to let it sit around. We're not going to wait for Steven."

======================

Tindersticks Announce New Album

The eighth album from noir-soul group Tindersticks is called Falling Down a Mountain, which sounds rather painful. The record will see release January 25 on 4AD in Europe and February 16 on Constellation in North America). It was recorded in France and Belgium and features a guest vocal from Canadian songstress Mary Margaret O'Hara.



======================

Rammstein Album Cover Banned From Display In Germany

Rammstein seem to be completely open to causing trouble and controversy with Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da, their recently released sixth studio album.

So far they've raised eyebrows with a box set that includes six dildos and handcuffs and a pretty raunchy video for a track dubbed "Pussy." But now, the German government has deemed the cover art for Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da too racy to be shown in stores because it depicts sado-masochism.

German retailers will not be able to display the album as of Wednesday (Nov. 11). After that, they won't be able to advertise it or show it in any way so anyone under the age of 18 can see it, according to Billboard.com.

The website reports Petra Meier, deputy president of the Federal Office For The Examination Of Media Harmful To Young People (Phew! That's a mouthful!) cited the album cover, which shows guitarist Richard Kruspe with a masked, nude lady on his knees, in the ruling. Meier also said the track "Ich Tue Dir Weh" ("I Want To Hurt You") was also problematic and promoted sado-masochism.

The German Federal Office For The Examination Of Media Harmful To Young People in Bonn, Germany also said "Pussy" was potentially problematic since it seemed to encourage young people to have unprotected sex. It wasn't part of the ruling against the album cover, though.

======================

Mnemic Reveal Album Cover Art

Danish modern metal heroes MNEMIC just revealed the artwork for their highly anticipated new album, Sons Of The System. MNEMIC will release the entire artwork/booklet etc. early next week in a digital flip book! Sons Of The System will be unleashed in January 2010

Mainman Mircea Gabriel Eftemie states: "Since late 2008 we started looking into artwork for the album, but it was not before we entered the studio in October, we actually found a solid idea. We wanted something simple, yet strong and something archetypal, for this release, and we wanted to do it the right way this time. On the last release we never had any artistic control over our artwork, we just hired a name, a company that worked for majors, where our visions never converged into what we really wanted. This time around we reached out to hundreds of designers only to find out that we could do it our selves and even better! The artwork portrays the "Sons Of The System" symbol. Its the symbol of the united, the symbol of the outcast, the symbol of the people in revolt of a greater evil. The real deal lies in the booklet artwork, which has been conceived by Rune Stigart and Me... more on that later."

======================

Man Jailed For Stabbing Guy Who Didn't Like AC/DC

A 37-year-old Winnipeg man has been sentenced to four years in jail and three years of probation after he stabbed a man who insulted AC/DC.

According to the Winnipeg Sun, James Ivison invited a 22-year-old man to his room at a Furby Street rooming house in October 2008. After they had a few beers, the man started insulting AC/DC, which Ivison was playing at the time. He then started questioning Ivison's sexual orientation.

Ivison responded by stabbing the victim, who had grabbed a frying pan, three times in the chest and two times in the stomach with a kitchen knife.

The 22-year-old victim was hospitalized in critical condition, but was discharged the next day because none of his major organs were damaged, according to the newspaper.

And how was your day?

Glee's Music Tops Charts DEBUT SOUNDTRACK IS #4 BEST SELLING ALBUM

GLEE: THE MUSIC, VOLUME 2 IN STORES DECEMBER 8

Glee's cultural stronghold continues to grow as the massively popular Fox comedy's first soundtrack soars to the top of album sales charts. Glee: The Music, Volume 1, which was released on November 3, has sold in excess of 113,000 units in its first week alone garnering an astounding #4 spot on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart. Prior to this physical release the music from Glee was only available for purchase digitally where it sold over 2.5 million single downloads, spawning a Gold single for the cast's version of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'." Glee: The Music, Volume 1 has been celebrated by critics for its originality and ability to take popular music and make it innovative and fresh. The New York Daily News proclaimed, "Glee's singers have a greater feel for what's brilliant about these songs than even their creator, or first interpreters, did." While NY Newsday went on to boast, "it re-imagines songs with grand, inventive new arrangements." And Associated Press noted, "the vocal performances are top notch." The talented cast met fans and signed copies of the soundtrack at four major in-store appearances in the New York and Los Angeles metropolitan areas last week allowing fans to get up close and personal. Each event went beyond capacity and the gracious cast stayed beyond the allotted time to meet all the fans who turned up.

And for fans who just can't get enough of Glee's high spirited music, Glee: The Music, Volume 2 hits stores on Tuesday December 8. This second volume features the casts take on such pop powerhouse tunes as Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You," Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors," Van Halen's "Jump" and a really special version of John Lennon's "Imagine" (See below for full track listing). Glee is infectious and the music is sure to bring joy, which is exactly why the Chicago Tribune exclaimed "Any TV show soundtrack that induces people of all ages to dance around the kitchen is doing something right."

The full track listing for "Glee: The Music, Volume 2" is as follows:

1."Proud Mary"
2."Endless Love"
3."I'll Stand By You"
4."Don't Stand So Close To Me / Young Girl"
5."Crush"
6."(You're) Having My Baby"
7."Lean On Me"
8."Don't Make Me Over"
9."Imagine"
10."True Colors"
11."Jump"
12."Smile" (cover of Lily Allen)
13."Smile" (cover of Charlie Chaplin)
14."And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"
15."Don't Rain On My Parade"
16."You Can't Always Get What You Want"
17."My Life Would Suck Without You"

This Date In Music History-November 12

Birthdays:

Pop machine Bob Crewe, responsible for the classic 1967 single "Music to Watch Girls By," was born in Newark, NJ in 1931. He also wrote and produced many of the Four Seasons' hits.

Terry Johnson - Flamingos (1935)

Ruby Nash Curtis - Ruby & the Romantics (1939)

Brian Hyland - "Itsy Bitsy Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" (1943)

John Maus - Walker Brothers (1943)

Booker T. Jones - Booker T and the MG's (1944)

Neil Young - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Buffalo Springfield (1945)



Donald Roeser - Blue Oyster Cult (1947)

Errol Brown - Hot Chocolate (1948)

Arthur Tavares - Tavares (1949)

Laurence Juber - Wings (1952)

Les McKeown - Bay City Rollers (1955)

David Ellefson - Megadeth (1964)

Tony Montana - Great White (1965)

R&B singer Omarion (1984)



They Are Missed:

The late Jo Stafford ("Suddenly There's A Valley") was born in 1920 (died July 16, 2008).

Mort Shuman, who provided the lyrics to hits like "Save the Last Dance for Me" and "Teenager in Love" as well as translating the work of Jacques Brel, was born in New York in 1936 (died January 2, 1991).

Billy Guy of the Coasters passed away in 2002.

Tony Thompson drummer with Chic died of cancer in 2003. Also worked with David Bowie, Madonna and appeared at Live Aid drumming with Led Zeppelin.

Mitch Mitchell, the British drummer with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, was found dead in his US hotel room in 2008 (age 61). Mitchell had been working with Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames when in 1966 he was invited to audition for a new band being formed to back Jimi Hendrix.


History:

The Abbey Road recording studio in London opened in 1931.

In 1955, Billboard published the results of its annual disc jockey poll. The most played R&B single was Johnny Ace's "Pledging My Love," most promising artist was Chuck Berry and the favorite R&B artist was Fats Domino. In the pop category, rock and roll was barely present. In fact, Elvis Presley was voted the most promising country & western artist.

"Jamboree," the first movie starring Jerry Lee Lewis, opened in Hollywood in 1957. Among those featured in the flick are Fats Domino [with whom Lewis shares top billing], Carl Perkins, Frankie Avalon, Slim Whitman and Connie Francis.

Shirley Ellis recorded "The Name Game" in 1964.

The Velvet Underground made their live debut in 1965 when they played at Summit High School, New Jersey. The band was paid $75 for the gig.

The Monkees debut album started a 13-week run at #1 on the US album chart in 1966, selling over 3 million copies in three months.

Johnny Rivers went to #1 on the US singles chart in 1966 with "Poor Side Of Town."

The Grateful Dead performed at a Hell's Angels dance held at San Francisco's Sokol Hall in 1966.

Hollywood's Sunset Strip riots on this date provided the inspiration for Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth."

Donovan's trippy cut "Mellow Yellow" was released in 1966.



Jerry Lee Lewis' career starts anew as a country artist in 1967. He recorded "To Make Love Sweeter for You" today. The song goes on to be his first country #1 since "Great Balls of Fire."

In 1968, UK book and record chain W.H. Smiths refused to display The Jimi Hendrix Experience album "Electric Ladyland" due to the naked girls featured on the sleeve. The album was then made available as two albums with changed artwork after the complaints.

The Doors made their last appearance in New Orleans in 1970. Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger and John Densmore later recall watching Jim Morrison lose "all his energy" as the show comes to a close.

The Sex Pistols went to #1 on the UK album chart in 1977 with their debut LP "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols," the punk group's only #1 album.

Jefferson Starship singer Marty Balin's rock opera "Rock Justice" opened a four-day run at San Francisco's Old Waldorf night club in 1979. Balin starred in and co-directed the musical, about a rock star who dreams he's on trial for not having a hit record.

Lionel Richie started a four week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1983 with "All Night Long," becoming Motown's biggest seller to date.

Madonna released her breakthrough album "Like A Virgin" in 1984 .

A bad day for Sly Stone in 1987. First he shows up over an hour late for his "comeback" concert in Los Angeles. When he gets there he was arrested for nonpayment of child support.

U2 started a six-week run at #1 on the US album chart in 1988 with "Rattle And Hum."

In 1999, British glam-rocker Gary Glitter was sentenced to four months in a UK jail after pleading guilty to charges of child pornography. In a separate trial hours earlier, Glitter was acquitted of sexually assaulting an underaged fan almost two decades before.

Destiny's Child started an eleven week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 2000 with "Independent Women Part 1." Taken from the group's third studio album, "Survivor," the song first appeared on the soundtrack to the 2000 film Charlie's Angels.

Also in 2000, R Kelly started a two week run at #1 on the US album chart with "TP- 2.Com."

In 2002, die-hard Beatles fans were enraged after Paul McCartney altered the song writing credits on his 'Back In The US 2002' album, changing them to McCartney and Lennon from Lennon and McCartney.

New Jersey radio station WCHR pulled all Jethro Tull music from its playlist in 2003 after flute-waving frontman Ian Anderson criticizes excessive displays of the American flag, arguing, "It's easy to confuse patriotism with nationalism."

Paul McCartney was the first musician to broadcast live music into space when a segment of his Anaheim show was beamed, via NASA, to the International Space Station 220 miles above the Earth in 2005.

In 2007, E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt launches a program to educate middle-school and high-school students about the history of Rock music. The Rock and Roll Forever Foundation partners with the National Association for Music Education and Scholastic publishers for Little Steven's Rock and Roll High School. "Our joint efforts will ensure that future generations will continue to be inspired, motivated and enlightened by the worldwide common ground communication of Rock & Roll," says Van Zandt.

In 2007, former Culture Club frontman, Boy George was charged with the false imprisonment of a 28-year-old man. Police said the offence was alleged to have taken place at the 47-year-old's home in Hackney, in London on 28 April of this year.

Creedence Clearwater Revival - The Singles Collection - Fantasy - 2 CDs + DVD

The band was a mainstay of AM radio from 1968 to 1972, was a popular stage act who barnstormed around the country and even performed at Woodstock.

Published on November 09, 2009

Creedence Clearwater Revival - The Singles Collection - Fantasy Fan-31752, CD 1: 49:47/CD 2: 49:55/DVD: 13:13 **** [Distr. by Concord Group]: (John Fogerty: vocals, guitar; Tom Fogerty: guitar; Stu Cook: bass; Doug Clifford: drums)

Creedence Clearwater Revival does not need any introduction since the band was a mainstay of AM radio from 1968 to 1972, was a popular stage act who barnstormed around the country and even performed at Woodstock, and are now ensconced as a large part of baby boomer classic rock. Look at online music stores or download web sites, check out the credits for many movie soundtracks or listen to what is often heard at malls and supermarkets and you will find CCR.

The past two years have been a bonanza for Fogerty/CCR fans. There are 40th anniversary remastered reissues of eight CCR albums. Creedence Clearwater Revival singer/guitarist/songwriter John Fogerty is continuing his successful solo career with a new country-rock covers project The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again. Fogerty's recent Royal Albert Hall concert was released on DVD, dubbed Comin' Down the Road. He also headlined a live PBS television special, "Live By Request," which used modern technology to allow Fogerty to take song requests from a worldwide audience during a two-hour show that featured numerous CCR favorites.

The appreciation proceeds with The Singles Collection, which has two discs of radio hits with attendant B-sides for a total of 30 tunes; a short DVD with four promotional videos; a poster of 45 RPM sleeve artwork; and a booklet with liner notes by former Rolling Stone editor Ben Fong-Torres. Ironically, though this is a singles set, the assemblage is geared toward long-time CCR aficionados and collectors. The reason is simple: these are the original mono recordings issued on 45 RPM singles - not the stereo mixes found on CCR albums - with some rarely heard B-sides. This music is great but these specific mixes won't sound better booming out of a high fidelity audio system. They probably work best blasting out of car speakers while tearing down the road.

Disc one kicks off with three tracks from CCR's self-titled 1968 debut. First is the bluesy "Porterville," with John Fogerty's stinging guitar lines and its British Invasion-ish B side, "Call It Pretending," a chugging sing-along. That's followed by the two-part rendition of Dale Hawkins' swamp rocker, "Suzie Q." The 8:30 album version is still the most preferred way to appreciate this long-form jam, but the two-sided rendering retains the riffing groove that proved more absorbing than most drawn-out hippie excursions from the same time frame. Another stellar interpretative translation is given to Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You," highlighted by bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford's vibrant, loose rhythmic drive and Fogerty's catchy guitar riffs. The subsequent B-side is the frequently overlooked "Walk on the Water," Fogerty's first foray at socially conscious writing. One listen to Fogerty's fuzzy guitar skirmishes makes one wonder why he is usually ignored as a distinguished guitar player.

Bruce Springsteen is quoted as saying Fogerty is a modern day Hank Williams. While that is a slight exaggeration, in the heyday of CCR, Fogerty wrote compelling verses with universal appeal that had a working-class sensibility. That viewpoint is plainly felt on bar-band epitaph "Lodi," about a singer who runs out of luck and ends up gigging at a small town road house. Fogerty's hallmark, though, was "Fortunate Son," a scathing indictment that revealed the disparity between poor young men who were shipped off to war and rich privileged sons who escaped the draft or got cozy National Guard postings. The alchemy for both lies in the fact they were and continue to be enormously liked whilst maintaining a pointed lyrical acumen.

Disc two mines more treasures such as "Lookin' Out My Back Door," "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" and an edited take of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," which demonstrates CCR's penchant for reworking classic soul and R'n'B into a primal-toned and seemingly spontaneous inspiration. While the single version pales in comparison to the 11-minute representation on Cosmo's Factory, it nevertheless has a relentlessly deep-pocketed groove that showcases a rhythmic verve.

However, serious CCR fans may be more interested in less common and unevenly regarded material such as Stu Cook's solid rocker "Door to Door" and Doug Clifford's country-rocker "Tearin' Up the Country," both on the amiable but dispensable release Mardi Gras, Creedence Clearwater Revival's final achievement. The two songs are not as horrible as once perceived, but are pedestrian in contrast to John Fogerty's work. Undeniably the rarest and strangest extra is the disc-ending, two-piece radio station promotional "45 Revolutions Per Minute," also included as a bonus on the 40th anniversary edition of Pendulum. Arranged as a one-joke amalgam of audio verité, DJ patter and interviews the two cuts now stand out as curious oddities from a long-gone era. Being the only stereo mixes, they also bounce around the speakers with a psychedelic giggle that isn't likely to be listened to more than once.

The 13-minute DVD is arguably the biggest draw for collectors and contains four promotional videos for "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "Bootleg" "I Put a Spell on You" and "Lookin' Out My Back Door." The video and audio are noticeably rudimentary and have not been digitally restored. Scratches and tears can be seen and the audio levels are not equalized between the videos. Nonetheless, they are historically intriguing and are an admirable addition because they could have been lost to time. One particularly diverting item is the psychedelicized video for "I Put a Spell on You," which obviously was intended to place the group as an element of the San Francisco scene, replete with appropriately dated light show visuals. Viewers also get the opportunity to see what John Fogerty looked like with a mustache.

Ben Fong-Torres' informative liner notes put Creedence Clearwater Revival into the context of the late sixties and early seventies radio environment. He remarks on how the foursome transcended being typecast as just a pop band or a rock group and garnered strong links to progressive, free-form FM radio as well as rigidly-programmed AM radio stations. There is also a 14"x14" color poster of scarce CCR 45 RPM record sleeve covers.

Those who want other collectible material should note Fantasy has a companion 45 RPM vinyl box set that has the same 15 CCR singles with reproductions of the original Fantasy label designs and housed in picture sleeves.

TrackList:
CD 1

1. Porterville
2. Call It Pretending
3. Suzie Q. (Pt. 1)
4. Suzie Q. (Pt. 2)
5. I Put a Spell on You
6. Walk on the Water
7. Proud Mary
8. Born on the Bayou
9. Bad Moon Rising
10. Lodi
11. Green River
12. Commotion
13. Fortunate Son
14. Down on the Corner
15. Travelin' Band
16. Who'll Stop the Rain

CD 2

1. Run Through the Jungle
2. Up Around the Bend
3. Long As I Can See the Light
4. Lookin' Out My Back Door
5. Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
6. Hey Tonight
7. Sweet Hitch-Hiker
8. Door to Door
9. Someday Never Comes
10. Tearin' Up the Country
11. I Heard It Through the Grapevine [single edit]
12. Good Golly, Miss Molly
13. Revolutions Per Minute (Part I)
14. Revolutions Per Minute (Part II)


DVD (Dolby D/Digital PCM; standard 4:3 format)

1. I Heard It Through the Grapevine
2. Bootleg
3. I Put a Spell on You
4. Lookin' Out My Back Door

-- Doug Simpson


Audiophile Audition Review

I want to thank John over at http://www.audaud.com/index.php for the exclusive rights to reprint this great review!

-------------------------------------------

Pre-Order This Set and All of Your CCR Music Here:
Creedence Clearwater Revival Vinyl Records

Be sure to add the code CVR at check out and receive a 5% discount- available exclusively from CollectingVinylRecords Blog!

Ask Mr. Music by Jerry Osborne

I am continuing our new feature: Ask "Mr. Music." Now in its 23rd year of syndication (1986-2008), Jerry Osborne's weekly Q&A feature will be a regular post every Wednesday from now on. Be sure to stop by Jerry's site (www.jerryosborne.com) for more Mr. Music archives, record price guides, anything Elvis, buy & sell collectibles, record appraisals and much more. I thank Jerry for allowing the reprints.


FOR THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 9, 2009


DEAR JERRY: A recent episode in the current season of “Dancing with the Stars” featured jitterbug routines.

Some of the songs played to accompany the jitterbugging contestants were big hits of the past. I recall hearing Eddie Cochran's “C'mon Everybody”; Louis Prima's “Jump, Jive an' Wail”; and Louis Jordan's “Choo Choo Ch'Boogie,” not one of which was by the artist who made it famous.

Danceable as these are, what struck me is the complete lack of a song with jitterbug in the title.

You can bet if the Twist were the theme, “The Twist”; “Let's Twist Again”; “The Peppermint Twist”; “Twistin' the Night Away,” and the like, would be heard.

Other than George Michael's song in the 1980s, I can't even think of one noteworthy hit with “jitterbug” in the title.

Is that it, or are there more?
—Morgan Huff, Elkhorn, Wisc.


DEAR MORGAN: Mmmm. There may be more, depending on your definition of “noteworthy hit” and other fine points. Also, there may not be any.

The Wham! (George Michael and Andrew Ridgley) tune you reference does begin with “jitterbug” repeated four times; however, the actual title is “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” (Columbia 04552).

This huge hit reached No. 1 in November of '84, but with its non-jitter title is disqualified.

In 1963, after four Top 40 dance hits — “Bristol Stomp”; “Do the New Continental”; “Bristol Twistin' Annie”; and “Hully Gully Baby” — the Dovells released “The Jitterbug” (Parkway 855).

The title is right, but how noteworthy can a recording be that failed to even make the Top 80?

“The Jitterbug Waltz” (Bluebird 11518), a 1942 R&B Top 10 record by Fats Waller, did not make the Pop charts, and, more importantly is indeed a waltz.

Then there is Cab Calloway's 1934 “Jitter Bug,” which has even less than “The Jitterbug Waltz” to do with the style of dance that raised your question in the first place.

As evidenced by the first verse, the jitter bug in this song is a person who is a freestyle and imaginative drinker; one with a case of the jitters:

“If you'd like to be a jitter bug, first thing you must do is get a jug. Put whiskey, wine and gin within, and shake it all up and then begin. Grab a cup and start to toss. You are drinking jitter sauce. Don't you worry, you just mug, and then you'll be a jitter bug.”

Too much alcohol here for dancing … don't think we can count that one.

Still, hundreds of jitterbug recordings do exist and most have that word as part of their title. Yet by not being hits familiar to the masses, you won't hear them played on any of the televised dancing shows. Probably not on the radio either.

Jitterbug was once a catch-all name for several different dances, most notably the Lindy Hop. However, in more recent years all of those styles gather together under the “swing dance” umbrella.


IZ ZAT SO? Indeed a monster hit, “The Monster Mash” (Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers) is such a part of pop culture that questions, er, make that answers, about it even appear on “Jeopardy.”

Issued at the same time in 1962, but virtually unknown is “The Monster Twist” (Tyron A-Saurus).

That's not the only dance you've never done. Here are 20 other pre-Disco records with wacky titles about dances you probably don't remember:

“The Clyde” (Annette); “Zig-Zaggin'” (Capitols); “Do the Pug” (Don Covay); “Do the Screw” (Crystals); “The Crumble” (Diamonds); “The Munch” (Diamonds); “The Alligator Boogaloo” (Lou Donaldson); “The Beatle Bebop” (Frenchy and the Chessmen); “The Potato Peeler” (Bobby Gregg); “The U.T.” (Harry M. and the Marvels); “The Worm” (Jimmy McGriff); “The Hootch” (Pixies Three); “The Funky Donkey” (Pretty Prudie); “Ringo's Jerk” (Ron Ringo); “The Wamboo” (Del Shannon); “Doin' the Ronde” (Shirelles); “The Frog” (Sir Frog and the Toads); “Okeefenokee Two-Step” (Larry Verne); “The Centipede” (Lew Williams); and “The Kickapoo” (Jackie Wilson).

Jerry Osborne answers as many questions as possible through this column. Write Jerry at Box 255, Port Townsend, WA 98368, e-mail: jpo@olympus.net, or visit his Web site: www.jerryosborne.com. All values quoted in this column are for near-mint condition.

Copyright 2009 Osbourne Enterprises- Reprinted By Permission

Music News & Notes

Dave Grohl formed new band on 'blind date'

Dave Grohl formed his latest band through a musical 'blind date'.

The Foo Fighters singer got the other members of supergroup Them Crooked Vultures – Queens Of The Stone Age guitarist Josh Homme and Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones - to meet him at a medieval banquet to see if they could work together.

He said: 'It was weird, the blind date, but I was aware of Josh’s music obviously – I couldn’t imagine it not working.'

Former Nirvana drummer Dave organised the meet up at Medieval Times - a themed night in the US with lots of meat and a jousting show – for his birthday.

Josh added the setting was perfect, as it meant they could all relax.

He quipped: 'What was good about Medieval Times was that there was no risk of pretension. It broke the ice. With a lance.'

John recently admitted he was happy that plans for his former band to reunite permanently – without singer Robert Plant - fell through as it meant he could work with Them Crooked Vultures.

He said: "Jimmy Page and I rehearsed a bit with Jason Bonham and we couldn't really agree on singers and that fell by the wayside. Then this came along and to be honest, I'm really happy."

======================

Ruthless Records to release Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's Greatest Hits on vinyl records

Tomica Wright’s Ruthless Records is preparing to release Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s Greatest Hits double-disc album on vinyl records. These vinyl records are scheduled to come out separately on November 24, 2009.

Ruthless originally released Greatest Hits on November 16, 2004. Many fans were disappointed, and rightfully so, because the greatest hits did not feature some of Bone’s major hits. In November 2005, Ruthless released another version of the album titled Greatest Hits: Chopped & Screwed, which angered fans even more. These upcoming vinyl records continue the tale of Greatest Hits, featuring the same tracklist as disc 1 and 2.

======================

Neil Young's MusiCare's Line-Up

Neil Young's MusiCare's Person of the Year Gala looks like it's going to have a pretty spectacular lineup. At the top of the list is the first public performance in a couple of years for the Red Hot Chili Peppers as they bring their hiatus to an end. Also performing are Crosby, Stills and Nash, Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, Wilco, Jackson Browne, kd lang, Norah Jones, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, Ozomatli, Josh Groban and Everest. The event is January 31 during the Grammy weekend.

======================

STEVEN TYLER: 'There Is Absolutely No Validity To Rumor That AEROSMITH Is Breaking Up'

Tyler joined THE JOE PERRY PROJECT — the band led by Perry — on stage yesterday at the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza in New York City to perform the AEROSMITH classic "Walk This Way". "I just want New York to know, I am not leaving AEROSMITH," Tyler said to a relieved crowd. "Joe Perry, you are a man of many colors. But I, motherfucker, am the rainbow!"



======================

Bad Religion to start pre-production on next album

Faster Louder is reporting that Bad Religion is ready to begin pre-production on their next album. The magazine spoke to drummer Brooks Wackerman who explained:

Brett and Greg have already started work on some new material. I’m yet to hear any of their ideas but when we get back from Australia and New Zealand we’re going to start pre-production on the next record. It’s just a matter of getting the songs together and making the best record we can. But in 2010 we’re definitely releasing a new album.

The band last released New Maps of Hell [Deluxe Edition] [CD/DVD] in 2008.

======================

Warhol Jackson Portrait Sold

A "Thriller"-era silk-screened portrait of Michael Jackson created by Andy Warhol has sold for $812,500 to an anonymous collector.

The artwork sold at Christie's in New York City Tuesday evening. Christie's estimated that the portrait would sell for $500,000.

The 1984 portrait depicts a smiling Jackson in a jacket with squiggles of red and yellow in his hair.

The auction house says the seller is an anonymous private collector based in New York who bought the image from the Andy Warhol Foundation in the 1990s. It did not say who bought the artwork

Vinyl Records: Music by students, for students

By Alex Gray

CHAPEL HILL -- The national record industry is undergoing big changes because of digitalization. But Vinyl Records, a nonprofit, student-run record label for student bands at UNC Chapel Hill, is coming on strong.

Vinyl Records, an official UNC student organization, operates out of a donated room in Hill Hall.

Student volunteers run it, providing services including music production and engineering; graphic design; event-booking, development and promotion; and fundraising.

In summer 2007, Allen Mask, now a senior journalism major and a music and entrepreneurship double-minor, developed the idea for Vinyl while studying at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

"What if we had a record label for students, and supported by students, to help create some kind of mechanism for student acts to get their music out?" Mask asked rhetorically. "You would have a 360-degree learning experience for everyone."

An enthusiastic Mask presented his idea to Jeff Dorenfeld, Berklee professor and former manager of Ozzy Osbourne, the famous rock singer. Dorenfeld laughed and called Mask's idea utopian.

But when Mask returned to UNC in fall 2007, he started to make Vinyl a reality.

Mask knew it would not be easy, so he contacted a friend at UNC, Tripp Gobble, to help.

"He (Mask) sent me a Facebook message shortly before school started that said, 'Big plans, hope you're down,'" Gobble said. Gobble, now a senior environmental studies major, wondered what Mask had in mind. When he found out, he liked the idea.

So over the next two years, Mask and Gobble wrote an official business plan, applied for several grants and pitched ideas to UNC staff and students.

"That was two years of blood, sweat and tears to get this thing going," Mask said.

The work paid off. In May 2008, Vinyl received a $25,000 grant from the Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative Innovations Fund, sponsored by the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise. The entrepreneurial fund, launched in 2004, helps creative entrepreneurships get going.

Mask attributes Vinyl's funding success to the business plan.

"We ran it as a startup," Mask said. "Not a student organization but a business."

On a yearly budget of $7,500, Vinyl can produce three albums, operate the studio, maintain its Web site and do all the other tasks needed to run the business. Student government cannot give money for manufacturing albums and merchandise but provides fund-raising loans to support such activities. Sale of merchandise, typically at concerts, also goes toward operating costs, Gobble said.

Vinyl began buying equipment for its own studio, paying for its artists to record in other studios and recruiting new bands.

"We had already signed three bands when we got the grant," Gobble said. "With the money, we were able to get them moving along recording."

Vinyl has a community focus. All artists must apply and provide an audio sample. Gobble and Mask choose who gets to audition. Artists who pass auditions are featured in a battle-of-the-bands concert such as "September Showdown" and "February Faceoff." Students vote for their favorite band, and the winner gets signed.

Nasir Abbas, a senior communications studies major, is a member of Lake Inferior, one of Vinyl's artists.

"We were signed last fall after the September Showdown," Abbas said. Vinyl "allowed us to do a lot of things we wanted to do as a band."

"This past summer we did an East Coast tour they booked for us," Abbas said. "We got to play a couple nights in New York City, which was awesome. That's pretty much everything I wanted to do."

Vinyl "did not have everything installed in the studio yet," Abbas said, "so they paid for us to record in a studio in Raleigh." Lake Inferior's new album, an energetic indie-rock work, will be released Thursday.

Since Lake Inferior's recording, Vinyl has constructed its own studio in room 25, Hill Hall.

SOURCE: http://www.heraldsun.com

New Music Releases – November 10, 2009

Lots of great stuff this week including the Pixies Minotaur (Deluxe Edition) (17-disc box set), pre-orders for the Miles Davis The Complete Columbia Album Collection, AC/DC ‘s Backtracks (2CD & DVD box set), Billie Holiday’s The Complete Commodore and Decca Masters (3-CD box set), Ella Fitzgerald’s Twelve Nights in Hollywood (remastered 4-CD box set) and R.E.M. ‘s Live At The Olympia (4-LP 2-CD DVD limited edition).

Look for new music by 50 Cent, Bon Jovi, Tori Amos, Switchfoot, Wilco, Rickie Lee Jones, Dashboard Confessional, Snow Patrol, Robbie Williams, Robyn Hitchcock and Michelle Branch (just to name a few). Additionally, there are some awesome reissues including: King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King (remastered with bonus disc), Echo & The Bunnymen - Live at the Royal Albert Hall, Grant Lee Phillips, the Yardbirds, Stephen Stills and Porcupine Tree. Also look for remastered Rolling Stones albums, a release from Jerry Garcia, Jackson 5 - I Want You Back! Unreleased Masters and music from the 2012 Soundtrack.

Buy New Vinyl Here!

50 Cent - Before I Self Destruct
AC/DC - Backtracks (2CD & DVD box set)
Anne Hills - Points of View
Apse - Climb Up
Asobi Seksu - Rewolf (vinyl)
Bad Lieutenant - Never Cry Another Tear
Bellwether - Seven And Six
Ben Frost - By the Throat (vinyl)
Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions
Big Kenny - The Quiet Times of a Rock and Roll Farm Boy
Bill Frisell - Good Dog, Happy Man (2-LP vinyl & CD)
Billie Holiday - The Complete Commodore and Decca Masters (3-CD box set)
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Live (live CD/DVD)
Bobby Birdman - New Moods (vinyl)
Bon Jovi - The Circle
Brant Bjork - Somera Sol (reissue)
Brazos - Phosphorescent Blues (vinyl)
Britney Spears - Britney Spears The Singles Collection
Caroline Herring - Golden Apples of the Sun
Cave In - EP
Chris Robinson - Chris Robinson and His Many Hand Band
Cindytalk - The Crackle of My Soul
Cobra Skulls - American Rubicon (vinyl)
Cribs - Ignore the Ignorant
D. Boon - D. Boon and Friends (reissue)
Dashboard Confessional - Alter the Ending (2-CDs) (vinyl)
Dead Meadow - David Peel Sessions
Detroit Cobras - The Original Recordings (reissue)
Devendra Banhart - What Will We Be (2-LP vinyl with bonus tracks)
DJ Rupture & Matt Shadetek - Solar Life Raft
Echo & The Bunnymen - Live at the Royal Albert Hall (reissue)
Echo & the Bunnymen - The Fountain
Ella Fitzgerald - Twelve Nights in Hollywood (remastered 4-CD box set)
Flyleaf - Memento Mori
Fray - The Fray
Fun - Aim and Ignite (vinyl)
Gabriel Yared - Amelia (soundtrack)
Gary Myrick - Language (reissue with bonus tracks)
Gary Myrick - Living in a Movie (reissue with bonus tracks)
Githead - Landing
Grant Lee Phillips - Ladies' Love Oracle (reissue)
Heather Masse - Bird Song
Hurricane Bells - Tonight Is the Ghost
Hyperstory - Hyperstory
J. Tillman - Year in the Kingdom (vinyl)
Jackson 5 - I Want You Back! Unreleased Masters
Jamie Cullum - The Pursuit
Jason Mraz - Jason Mraz's Beautiful Mess - Live On Earth (CD & DVD)
Javelin - Javelin (vinyl)
Jerry Garcia - The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 2 Let It Rock
Katatonia - Night Is the New Day
Kevn Kinney's S.T.A.R. - Comin' Round Again (reissue)
Killers - Live at the Royal Albert Hall CD/DVD
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King (remastered with bonus disc)
King Diamond - House of God (remastered)
King Diamond - Voodoo (remastered)
Lady Dottie And The Diamonds - Lady Dottie And The Diamonds (reissue)
Ladytron - Light & Magic (reissue)
Les Paul - The Inventor Great Guitar Instrumentals
Lissie - Why You Running EP
Little Girls - Concepts
Loch Lomond - Night Bats
Lupe Fiasco - Super Fiasco Bros
Luther Dickinson - Onward and Upward
Madison Violet - No Fool for Trying
Manu Chao - Baionarena (2-CD & DVD)
Melody Gardot - My One And Only Thrill (with bonus tracks)
Merzbow - 13 Japanese Birds Volume Eleven
Michelle Branch - Everything Comes and Goes
Midnight Masses - Rapture Ready, I Gazed at the Body
Miles Davis - The Complete Columbia Album Collection
Mr.Gnome - Heave Yer Skeleton
Nada Surf - Karmic EP (reissue with bonus tracks)
Nadja - Thaumogenesis (vinyl)
Neal Morse - So Many Roads
Nebula / Lowrider - Nebula / Lowrider Double EP (reissue)
New Monuments - New Monuments (vinyl)
Ola Podrida - Belly of the Lion
Omar Rodriguez Lopez - Xenophanes
Pants Yell! - Received Pronunciation (vinyl)
Pete Seeger - Live in 65
Philip Glass - Glass A Madrigal Opera
Pieta Brown - Shimmer
Pixies - Minotaur (Deluxe Edition) (17-disc box set)
Porcupine Tree - Up the Downstair (reissue)
Puscifier - C Is For (Please Insert Sophomoric Genitalia Reference Here)
Queen - Absolute Greatest (remastered)
R.E.M. - Live At The Olympia (4-LP 2-CD DVD limited edition)
Radian - Chimeric (vinyl)
Ray Davies - The Kinks Choral Collection
Rickie Lee Jones - Balm in Gilead
Robbie Williams - Reality Killed The Video Star
Robin Crutchfield - The Hidden Folk
Robyn Hitchcock - I Often Dream of Trains in New York (CD & DVD)
Rolling Stones - Flashpoint (remastered)
Rolling Stones - Live Licks (remastered)
Rolling Stones - Love You Live (remastered)
Rolling Stones - Still Life (remastered)
Rolling Stones - Stripped (remastered)
Saudade - Lookouts' Journal
Shirley Bassey - Performance
Sleep Whale - Houseboat
Snow Patrol - Up To Now
Stan Ridgway - Barbeque Babylon (reissue)
Stan Ridgway - Blood (Mark Ryden Piece) (reissue)
Stephen Stills - Stephen Stills (vinyl reissue)
Sunset - Gold Dissolves to Gray (vinyl)
Switchfoot - Hello Hurricane
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Higher Than the Stars EP (vinyl)
Tori Amos - Midwinter Graces (CD & DVD)
Tubes - Mondo Birthmark
Various Artists - 2012 Soundtrack
Various Artists - Ghana Special Modern High Life, Afro-Sounds & Ghanaian Blues, 1968-81
Various Artists - Pirate Radio (soundtrack)
Various Artists - Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of Guns N' Roses
Various artists - Saint Etienne Presents Songs for The Dog & Duck
Various Artists - Thai Beat A Go-Go, Vol. 1 (vinyl reissue)
Various Artists - The Harmonic Series A Compilation of Music Works in Just Intonation
Wale - Attention Deficit (vinyl)
Wilco - Being There (2-LP vinyl & CD)
Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture Vol. 2- Enter the Dubstep
Wyclef Jean - From The Hut To The Projects To The Mansion [EP]
Yardbirds - Roger the Engineer (vinyl reissue)

Music News & Notes

Tom Petty Superhighway Tour & The Live Anthology

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers have launched The Superhighway Tour, a first of its kind online-only music experience that delivers 24 of the 48 tracks from the forthcoming Live Anthology as high-quality digital downloads and on-demand streams in advance of the Live Anthology's release. "Ticketholders" will receive an insider's view of those 24 tracks, through archived memorabilia reproduced on the site, new band commentary, classic reviews, and curated content from the Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers vaults. Fans will also be able to share their photos and stories from their favorite Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers shows. Then on the album's November 24 release, ticketholders will receive the remaining 24 tracks on The Live Anthology, thereby completing the digital album.

Access to the Superhighway Tour will be available to fans that purchase "tickets" from Ticketmaster.com or through the Superhighway Tour box office. Tickets for the entire 8-week Superhighway Tour are on sale now through Ticketmaster.com and TomPettySuperHighwayTour.com. The price of a Superhighway Tour ticket includes all 48 The Live Anthology digital tracks plus the 8-week online experience for $24.98 without any additional service fees. Downloads will be available in 256kbps MP3 or FLAC formats - fan's choice.

A FREE PREVIEW of the SuperHighway Tour is now available at www.tompettysuperhighwaytour.com and includes a FREE DOWNLOAD of a track from the 1981 run of shows at Los Angeles' Forum.

In other news:

The week of November 22nd Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers and Reprise Records will release The Live Anthology, a multiple-disc set of recordings drawn from thirty years of live performances. The collection brings together material from 1978-2007 culled from hundreds of hours of live concert recordings covering every era of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' tours and represents the best tracks as chosen by producers Tom Petty, Mike Campbell and Ryan Ulyate.

The release of The Live Anthology comes on the heels of two sold out tours, the Grammy winning documentary Runnin' Down A Dream (directed by Peter Bogdanovich), and a headline performance at the Super Bowl XLII halftime show. Now, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - one of rock and roll's greatest touring bands - will mark their unparalleled string of success with the release of this landmark collection of live recordings that is unlike anything previously available - the band's story told through the music alone.

The producers made no fixes or overdubs, letting the newly mixed original recordings showcase the invention, spontaneity, craft, and the musicianship that has made Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers among the most celebrated live performers of their time. Along with powerful interpretations of their own classic hits and originals, The Live Anthology features the band tackling some of their best-loved cover material, from classics to obscure beauties to unexpected adaptations. The theme from Goldfinger, the Zombies' "I Want You Back Again," the Grateful Dead's "Friend of the Devil," early Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well," Booker T. and the MGs' "Green Onions," James Brown's "Good, Good Lovin'" and many more. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers travel wide, paying their musical debts through song and showing just how confidently the band moves across genres and over time.

The Live Anthology will come in multiple configurations featuring artwork and packing by renowned contemporary artist Shepard Fairey (www.studionumberone.com, www.obeygiant.com). Included in the multiple configurations are, a 5CD collector's deluxe box set available only at Best Buy that will include a first-of-its-kind audio-only Blu-ray disc, a four CD set of 48 tracks, a 48 track digital album, a seven LP vinyl box set of 51 tracks and the entirely unique Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers Superhighway Tour (www.tompettysuperhighwaytour.com). The collector's deluxe package will be in Best Buy stores on November 22nd. All other configurations will be in stores and available online on November 24th.

========================================

Thrice Announce "Beggars" Vinyl Release

Thrice announces that the vinyl edition of their latest studio album, "Beggars" (Vagrant), will be available beginning December 15, 2009. The limited edition pressing of 2000 numbered pieces will include a full album download card and an autographed 24-page booklet with exclusive liner notes written by the band. The vinyl will be available in a variety of colors, each limited to 500 copies or fewer.

========================================

THE JOE PERRY PROJECT: More Tour Dates Announced

AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry's solo band, dubbed THE JOE PERRY PROJECT, has scheduled the following dates:

Nov. 10 - The Fillmore at Irving Plaza - New York, NY
Nov. 11 - Starland Ballroom - Sayreville, NJ
Nov. 13 - Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom - Hampton Beach, NH
Nov. 14 - House of Blues - Boston, MA
Nov. 15 - Northern Lights - Clifton Park, NY
Nov. 18 - House of Blues - Chicago, IL
Nov. 19 - The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor - Windsor, ON
Nov. 21 - Fantasy Springs Resort Casino - Indio, CA
Nov. 23 - House of Blues - Anaheim, CA
Nov. 24 - House of Blues (Sunset Strip) - West Hollywood, CA
Nov. 25 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA
Nov. 27 - Mesa Arts Center - Mesa, AZ
Nov. 28 - House of Blues - Las Vegas, NV
Dec. 02 - House of Blues - Orlando, FL
Dec. 09 - Toads Place - New Haven, CT
Dec. 11 - The Chance Theater - Poughkeepsie, NY

Perry's fifth solo album, "Have Guitar, Will Travel", was released on October 6 via Roman Records. The hard driving, ten-song, in your face, collection features Perry's trademark rock and blues ferocity, as well as the CD's first single, the blazing "We've Got A Long Way To Go". Recorded this past spring at the BoneYard, Perry's state-of-the-art home studio, where AEROSMITH's "Honkin' On Bobo" and "Just Push Play" were recorded, "Have Guitar, Will Travel" is entirely written and produced by Perry.

Still as scorching hot on guitar as he is preternaturally cool in his persona, "Have Guitar, Will Travel" is a departure for Perry in that the CD was conceived as a band recording. From start to finish it took only forty-seven days to complete. "Making this record in such a short period of time gave us a chance to capture an energy and flow that was very different from the last record," said Perry. "The way the players came together at a time when I had the music and lyrics in my head ready to go was pure synchronicity. The last record rocked, but this one rocks and then some. I'm really proud of it."

"We've Got A Long Way To Go", the CDs first single, showcases the voice of a young German singer known as Hagen, found completely by chance on YouTube by Joe's wife Billie. "I first called him from Cleveland when I went to perform at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame jam with Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Ron Wood, Flea and METALLICA," said Perry. "It took several minutes to convince him that it wasn't a prank call, but a true invitation to audition to sing on the CD." Hagen mans the microphone for five tracks, while Perry sings lead on four. The remaining tenth song is an instrumental entitled "Wooden Ships".



========================================

QUEEN Drummer Talks About Possible Collaboration With ADAM LAMBERT

In a November 6 interview on the "BBC Breakfast" show, QUEEN drummer Roger Taylor talked about the possibility of a future collaboration with "American Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert. "We did play in the finale of 'American Idol' with the two final guys, one of whom is . . . Adam," he said. "He didn't actually win, he only got 49 million votes, I think, but he is one of the most phenomenal singers and I think at some point in the future we’d love to — Brian [May, guitar] and I — would like to do something with him maybe. It may happen — we might do something with him in the future. He is phenomenally talented. He has one of the greatest voices I've ever heard."

According to ContactMusic.com, Lambert dismissed rumors he will front QUEEN as he wants to carve out a career in his own right. He said, "They've never actually offered me anything. They expressed interest in working together, but just said they'd like to have a meaningful conversation, and that's it. It could have meant they wanted me to come to dinner with them, it could have meant they wanted to talk about the meaning of life.

"I don't know if joining the band permanently is in the cards for me right now. They're legends; I'm just the new kid on the block."

May told Rolling Stone magazine about Lambert, "There wasn't really a quiet moment to talk, but (Roger Taylor, QUEEN drummer) and I are definitely hoping to have a meaningful conversation with him at some point. It's not like we, as QUEEN, would rush into coalescing with another singer just like that. It isn't that easy. But I'd certainly like to work with Adam. That is one amazing instrument he has there."

Gene Simmons, who along with KISS performed with Lambert on their 1975 classic "Rock And Roll All Nite" was less impressed by Lambert, saying, "Respectfully, I don't think Adam is a rock singer. He sounds much more convincing singing ballads and Broadway shows. His voice doesn't seem to have a 'rock quality.' But, I'm sure he's going to do just fine."

========================================

U2's Spider-Man Musical Still Expected To Open In 2010

The musical adaption of Spider-Man, which includes music by U2, is still expected to open in 2010 despite funding fears. Producers and financial supporters met on Friday and are understood to have secured full financial backing for the project.

The big-budget production had been due to open next February at the Hilton Theater in New York City. But work on the musical was halted earlier this year in order to control cash flow issues, reports Variety.

It is now thought that the musical won't open until at least next April. Meanwhile, Reeve Carney, star of forthcoming movie The Tempest, has been cast as lead character Peter Parker. He joins a cast which already includes Alan Cumming and Evan Rachel Wood.

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark includes lyrics and music written by U2 singer Bono and guitarist The Edge.

========================================

Blackheart Records Xmas compilation, "A Blackheart Christmas"


A Blackheart Christmas is now available to pre-order on vinyl (and available now on CD and MP3) from Joan Jett's Blackheart Records. This includes tracks by Cute Lepers, Girl In A Coma, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Thommy Price featuring Nefertiti Bones, Kenny Laguna, The Dollyrots, and The Vacancies.

1. Blue Christmas - Girl In A Coma
2. The Elf Song - The Vacancies
3. Santa Baby - The Dollyrots
4. Little Drummer Boy - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
5. Christmas is the Time to Say I Love You - The Cute Lepers
6. Father Christmas - The Vacancies
7. I'll Be Home For Christmas - Girl In A Coma
8. Winter Wonderland - Thommy Price, feat. Neferitti Jones
9. Home For Christmas - Kenny Laguna
10. All I Ever Want (Under the Christmas Tree) - The Cute Lepers
11. Silent Night - The Blackhearts featuring special guests