April 2008 Archives

Tickets for the R.E.M., Modest Mouse and The National tour go on sale on April 5th at 10am for almost all North American dates, including shows at Madison Square Garden (6/19) and Jones Beach (6/14).

A presale is happening for only fan club members, as well as shows in Los Angeles and Chicago........

Virgin Festival has announced its headliners for the Baltimore edition of this now global festival. God damn fucking Jack Johnson..........

VIRGIN FESTIVAL | BALTIMORE, MD | AUGUST 9 & 10
Foo Fighters * Jack Johnson * Kanye West * Nine Inch Nails * Stone Temple Pilots

VIRGIN FESTIVAL | TORONTO | SEPTEMBER 6 & 7
Foo Fighters * Oasis * Bloc Party * Spiritualized * Paul Weller * Stereophonics * Wintersleep * The Weakerthans * Pigeon Detectives * Constantines

V FESTIVAL | CHELMSFORD & STAFFORDSHIRE | AUGUST 16 & 17
Muse, The Verve, Kings of Leon, Stereophonics, Amy Winehouse, The Kooks, Max�mo Park, Lenny Kravitz, The Feeling, Alanis Morissette, Girls Aloud, The Futureheads and Squeeze, The Prodigy, Kaiser Chiefs, The Pigeon Detectives, The Zutons, Newton Faulkner, The View, The Hoosiers, Reverend and the Makers, Duffy, OneRepublic, Scouting for Girls, Amy Macdonald, Shed Seven, The Courteeners and The Rifles, Ian Brown, The Chemical Brothers, The Pogues, The Charlatans, Jamie T, Hot Chip, Travis, The Twang, Sugababes, David Jordan and Robyn.

V FESTIVAL AUSTRALIA | PERTH + MELBOURNE | APRIL 5 & 6
Smashing Pumpkins * Duran Duran * Queens of the Stone Age * Jesus & Mary Chain * Air * The Presets * Modest Mouse * Cut Copy * CSS * Hot Hot Heat * The Rakes * Robyn * Glass Candy * The Tough Alliance * Plug In City * Roisin Murphy * Flosstradamus

In another blow to Hillary's lost campaign, Barack Obama has officially won more delegates in Texas:

Obama picked up seven of nine outstanding delegates, giving him a total of 99 Texas delegates to the party's national convention this summer. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won the other two, giving her a total of 94 Texas delegates, according to an analysis of returns by The Associated Press

Considering Bill Clinton's "Do or Die in Texas" comments, does this mean that her campaign is now donzo? Maybe someone in the media should ask Bill.........

Give it up for Long Island for leading the eco-friendly revolution:

Three Long Island towns are requiring new homes to be built energy efficient. Beginning April 1 the building codes in Babylon, Brookhaven and Riverhead require compact fluorescent bulbs and multipaned windows as well as energy star appliances and extra insulation.

The laws apply to single-family homes and multifamily residences of four units or less.

Similar laws take effect in Oyster Bay and Hempstead in August and Huntington next January. Southampton has a measure in place that applies only to affordable housing.

Environmental advocates and the Long Island Power Authority say the laws will save homeowners money, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and tamp down the region's ever-growing energy demands.

In related news, U.S. Congressman Peter T. King is exploring running for Governor of New York State. Rep. King (Republican) has represented Suffolk and Nassau County for the last 16 years and spoke out against the eco-friendly plan.......

Jumping on the unnecessary reunion bandwagon are the New Kids on the Block! They'll bring back the step-by-step with a live outdoor performance in Rockefeller Center for NBC's Today show.

R.E.M. appeared on Today this morning......

R.E.M. - "Hollow Man"

R.E.M. - "Losing My Religion"

Stephen Malkmus has been making the rounds to promote his excellent new album. We told you appeared on Fox News and last night he played the Bowery, but this afternoon he was on NPR's Soundcheck and the other day, NPR All Songs Considered aired his 9:30 show live...

DOWNLOAD: American Music Club - "All The Lost Souls Welcome You To San Francisco"

AMERICAN MUSIC CLUB TOUR DATES
Wed 4/2/08, Independent, San Francisco, CA
Thu 4/3/08, Harlows, Sacramento, CA
Fri 4/4/08, Doug Fir, Portland, OR
Sat 4/5/08, Triple Door, Seattle, WA
Sun 4/6/08, Richards on Richards, Vancouver, BC
Wed 4/9/08, Aquarium, Fargo, ND
Thu 4/10/08, Turf Club, St Paul, MN
Fri 4/11/08, High Noon Saloon, Madison, WI
Sat 4/12/08, Schubas, Chicago, IL
Mon 4/14/08, Cafe Bourbon Street, Columbus, OH
Tue 4/15/08, The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA
Wed 4/16/08, Mohawk Place, Buffalo, NY
Thu 4/17/08, Lee's Palace, Toronto, ON
Fri 4/18/08, Divan Orange, Montreal, Qc
Mon 4/21/08, SPACE Gallery, Portland, ME
Tue 4/22/08, Harper's Ferry, Allston, MA
Wed 4/23/08, Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton, MA
Fri 4/25/08, Johnny Brendas, Philadelphia, PA
Sat 4/26/08, Williamsburg Music Hall, Brooklyn, NY
Sun 4/27/08, Mercury Lounge, New York, NY
Tue 4/29/08, Iota Cafe, Arlington, VA
Wed 4/30/08, The Arts Center, Carrboro, NC
Thu 5/1/08, The Earl, Atlanta, GA
Fri 5/2/08, The End, Nashville, TN
Sat 5/3/08, Hi Tone, Memphis, TN
Sun 5/4/08, Randy Bacon Gallery, Springfield, MO
Mon 5/5/08, Record Bar, Kansas City, MO
Tue 5/6/08, Vaudeville Mews, Des Moines, IA
Wed 5/7/08, Waiting Room, Omaha, NE
Fri 5/9/08, Larimer Lounge, Denver, CO
Sat 5/10/08, Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
Mon 5/12/08, Rhythm Room, Phoenix, AZ
Tue 5/13/08, Plush, Tucson, AZ
Thu 5/15/08 Belly Up, Solano Beach, Ca
Fri 5/16/08 The Echo, Los Angeles CA

The Justice Department declassified a damning 2003 81-page legal opinion that authorized military interrogators to use aggressive techniques to extract information from the terrorism suspects in their custody and exempted the President from any recourse.

The memo, which came directly from Sec. Rumsfeld's offices, said:

We conclude below that the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause is inapplicable to the conduct of interrogations of alien enemy combatants held outside the United States for two independent reasons. First, the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause does not apply to the President's conduct of a war. Second, even if the Fifth Amendment applied to the conduct of war, the Fifth Amendment does not apply extraterritorially to aliens who have no connection to the United States.

... A second constitutional provision that might be thought relevant to interrogations is the Eighth Amendment. The Eighth Amendment, however, applies solely to those persons upon whom criminal sanctions have been imposed. As the Supreme Court has explained, the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause "was designed to protect those convicted of crimes." ... The detention of enemy combatants can in no sense be deemed "punishment" for purposes of the Eighth Amendment. Unlike imprisonment pursuant to a criminal sanction,. the detention of enemy combatants involves no sentence judicially imposed or legislatively required and those detained will be released at the end of the conflict. Indeed, it has long been established that "'[c]aptivity [in wartime] is neither a punishment nor an act of vengeance,' but 'merely a temporary detention which is devoid of all penal character.'"

... As the Supreme Court has recognized, and as we will explain further below, the President enjoys complete discretion in the exercise of his Commander~in-Chief authority in conducting operations against hostile forces. Because both "[t]he executive power and the command of the military and naval forces is vested in the President," the Supreme Court has unanimously stated that it is "the President alone [] who is constitutionally invested with the entire charge of hostile operations."

... Even if these statutes were misconstrued to apply to persons acting at the direction of the President during the conduct of war, the Department of Justice could not enforce this law or any of the other criminal statutes applicable to the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction against federal officials acting pursuant to the President's constitutional authority to direct a war.

... As we have made clear in other opinions involving the war against al Qaeda, the Nation's right to self-defense has been triggered by the events of September 11. If a government defendant were to harm an enemy combatant during an interrogation in a manner that might arguably violate a criminal prohibition, he would be doing so in order to prevent further attacks on the United States by the al Qaeda terrorist network. In that case, we believe that he could argue that the executive branch's constitutional authority to protect the nation from attack justified his actions. This national and international version of the right to self-defense could supplement and bolster the government defendant's individual right.

Simply put, this means that our government approved and committed war crimes. This is about as un-American as it gets!

Not only should the President and his war-mongering friends be thrown in prison for approving this, but so should the entire congress - Democrats and Republicans - and members of the pentagon that allowed this to blindly happen.

What are the methods you may ask:

A resident of Germany who was imprisoned for two months at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan has told an interviewer that his interrogators hung him from a ceiling for five days and that several doctors periodically checked him before authorizing the torture to continue.

Murat Kurnaz said that shortly after his capture in Pakistan in fall 2001, the American interrogators insisted he admit to being an al-Qaeda operative and associate of 9/11 plotter Mohamed Atta. Kurnaz said when he said he did not know Atta or refused to talk, the interrogators punished him by hanging him by his arms to the rafters of a freezing aircraft hangar.

When the 19-year-old student was transferred to Guantanamo in January 2002, U.S. and German intelligence officials quickly confirmed that Kurnaz had no links to terrorist groups and had probably been seized by mistake, according to military records produced years later in court proceedings.

Tickets to Pearl Jam's two big shows at Madison Square Garden go on sale April 11th. Most other dates on the tour go on sale April 4th or 5th......

We love Rancid. Always have. Always will. We loved them when we saw them at the Limelight back in 1994 and we loved them when we saw them at B.B. Kings last year. They just write great punk songs and we'll definitely see them when they come around this summer.

They'll be going on a pretty big tour and will be playing five big nights at The Fillmore at Irving Plaza, which should be crazy fun.......

RANCID TOUR DATES
June 10, 2008 Tucson, AZ Rialto Theatre
June 11, 2008 El Paso, TX Club 101
June 13, 2008 Austin, TX La Zona Rosa
June 14, 2008 Dallas, TX Granada Theater
June 15, 2008 Houston, TX Warehouse Live
June 18, 2008 Saint Petersburg, FL Jannus Landing
June 19, 2008 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Revolution
June 20, 2008 Orlando, FL House of Blues
June 21, 2008 Jacksonville, FL Plush
June 22, 2008 Atlanta, GA Masquerade
June 24, 2008 Myrtle Beach House of Blues
June 25, 2008 Jacksonville, NC Hooligans Music Hall
June 26, 2008 Fayetteville, NC Jesters
June 27, 2008 Nashville, TN Rocketown
June 28, 2008 Sauget, IL Pop's
June 29, 2008 Tulsa, OK Cain's
July 1, 2008 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theatre
July 2, 2008 Tempe, AZ Marquee Theatre
July 3, 2008 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
July 26, 2008 Denver, CO The Fillmore
July 27, 2008 Kansas City, MO The Beaumont
July 28, 2008 Minneapolis, MN The Myth
July 30, 2008 Chicago, IL House of Blues
July 31, 2008 Chicago, IL House of Blues
August 1, 2008 Pontiac, MI Clutch Cargo
August 2, 2008 Toronto, ONT Kool Haus
August 3, 2008 Toronto, ONT Kool Haus
August 5, 2008 Montreal, QUE Metropolis
August 6, 2008 Montreal, QUE Metropolis
August 8, 2008 Worcester, MA The Palladium
August 9, 2008 Providence, RI Lupo's
August 10, 2008 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
August 11, 2008 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
August 13, 2008 New York, NY Fillmore @ Irving
August 14, 2008 New York, NY Fillmore @ Irving
August 15, 2008 New York, NY Fillmore @ Irving
August 16, 2008 New York, NY Fillmore @ Irving
August 17, 2008 New York, NY Fillmore @ Irving

OG-turned-reality-star Snoop Dogg will be touring with 311 this summer. The only reason I really mention this summer amphitheatre package tour is that they're the first show announced show for the wonderful Keyspan Park in Coney Island. All tour dates after the jump.

On July 19th, the Siren Festival takes over Coney Island (one last time??).....

Sacha Baron Cohen's Br�no: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt may end up being brilliant:

Mike Walker of the National Enquirer reported the following story on the Howard Stern Show on Thursday: Ben Affleck called comedian friend Sarah Silverman after completing a sit-down interview about his "I'm f*cking Jimmy Kimmel" song with a person he was told was a "very famous openly gay fashion journalist". Ben called the interview "the weirdest sit-down he has ever had with a reporter" explaining that the interviewer's (whom he referred to as an "idiot") first question was "How Do You Like Nig*ers?" After a stunned silence, Silverman asked Affleck "Was this guy's name Bruno?" Then and only then did Affleck actually realize that the whole thing was a gag.

The movie is expected to hit theaters in October 2008.

Joanna Newsom returned to New York City for an invite-only show at the Hiro Ballroom to celebrate her Paper Magazine cover.

I wasn't at the show (I was watching my friends win the risotto Challenge, hosted by Billiardsburg and Not Eating Out in New York ), so here is Tom Hayes review (and above is his photo):

joanna newsom plays the worst show of her life at the hiro ballroom in NY tonight, april 2nd, 2008. But its not her fault...she sounded fine, but could barely be heard over the chatter of the "beautiful people (but ugly and shallow on the inside) party" via paper magazine and H&M. whatever. who am i to judge. i don't blame her for leaving after three songs though...

Last night, we joined some friends at a listening party for Santogold's excellent debut album and got some sweet gossip. It seems that Gnarls Barkley and Santogold are playing the Highline Ballroom in NYC on April 10th. Tickets are expected to go on sale Friday at noon........

The Tribeca Film Festival will be hosting some excellent live concerts during this years shindig. Some are for badge holders only, but a big one will be ticketed:

The Hold Steady, Regina Spektor, Nick Lowe and Ingrid Michaelson are among the artists set to perform during the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, Billboard.com can reveal. Sia, Joseph Arthur, Chris Thile and Rachael Yamagata are also scheduled to appear.

Patsavas, whose company has worked closely in selecting music for TV shows such as "The O.C." and "Gossip Girl," was asked to curate this year's "Breaking the Band" event on May 2 at New York's Webster Hall. The show features the Hold Steady, The Virgins, and Republic Tigers. Patsavas curated the event in 2006, with a lineup boasting Ben Gibbard, Nada Surf, Mates Of State and Ted Leo.

ASCAP will also continue its long-standing presence at Tribeca, hosting lounge sessions at the Canal Room. Lowe kicks off the series on April 29, followed through May 2 by Spektor, Thile, Michaelson, Sia, Joseph Arthur, Sondre Lerche and Augustana.

Tickets for "Breaking the Band" go on sale April 12 at the Tribeca Film Festival Box Office. The ASCAP Lounge is limited to festival badge-holders.

Morrissey has had many troubles for saying or doing things that could be construed as racist. Well, the singer is fighting recent allegations and, surprisingly, he's winning:

British singer Morrissey won an apology in court on Thursday from the publishers of Word Magazine over suggestions he was a racist and a hypocrite.

The former Smiths frontman, who was not in court to hear the statement, is also pursuing separate legal action against music magazine NME for an article it printed last year in which he discussed his views on immigration in Britain.

In court on Thursday, Morrissey's solicitor John Reid said that an article in the March 2008 edition of Word "could have been construed to suggest that Mr. Morrissey was a racist, held racist opinions or that (as the child of migrant parents) he was a hypocrite.

"The defendants never intended the article to have the meanings suggested above," he added.

"The defendants accept that it would be absurd to accuse Mr. Morrissey of being a racist or of espousing racist views. They equally accept that Mr. Morrissey is not a hypocrite."

Caroline Kean, representing Word publishers Development Hell, said the company offered its "sincere apologies."

Morrissey, 48, said he was "delighted" with the court's decision, and vowed to pursue his case against NME.

A much older looking Paul Simon kicked off the first of his three seperate residencies at the Brooklyn Academy of Music with his "The Capeman" series of shows.

The performance mixed oldies performed by the numerous guest musicians, including LIttle Anthony, with songs from Simon's failed musical, "The Capeman," from which Simon actually only sang one song! Weird.

Sadly, Hugh Masekela has cancelled his appearance as part of "Under African Skies". I was looking forward to seeing him........

Death Cab for Cutie and Ween have announced seperate shows at Williamsburg's McCarren Park Pool. A presale is now happening for Ween tickets and tickets go on sale April 9th at noon.

Tickets for Death Cab on April 4th at noon.......

McCarron Pool Brooklyn, New York
6/06/08 - M.I.A.+ Holy Fuck
6/10/08 - Death Cab For Cutie
7/25/08 - Ween

PSNYC favorites Supergrass will be coming to America to support the Foo Fighters on their summer tour.

Gaz and company will breakaway from that arena tour for some headlining club dates, including a July 30th show at Webster Hall in New York City and a July 12th show at the Avalon in Hollywood.

No tix info yet........

Numerous presales are happening for George Michael's U.S. tour, which includes two nights at Madison Square Garden. If you want to go to this show, even though cost as much as $254.50 (Editors note: How the fuck did you end up on that amount?!?), you might want to get those tickets now.

In 1988, George was keeping good company on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Chart.........

BILLBOARD HOT 5 SINGLES - 04/03/1988
5 Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine
4 Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up
3 George Harrison - Got My Mind Set On You
2 INXS - Need You Tonight
1 George Michael - Faith

On June 19th, 2001, Sub Pop released a little record by The Shins called Oh, Inverted World.

On March 26, 2008, Oh, Inverted World official was officially awarded a Gold Record, recognizing sales of 500,000 copies..........

The Peabody Awards have announced their 2007 winners and they include Bob Woodruff, WNYC's Brian Lehrer, BBC World News America, CNN Presents: God`s Warriors, NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, 30 Rock, Project Runway (Um, for real?) and The Colbert Report, amongst others.

The full list of winners (and what they won for) can be found here.

The Colbert Report earned Stephen Colbert his second Peabody Award. His first Peabody was from his won during his tenure at The Daily Show, where correspondent Jason Jones should win an award for his expose' on one of the Democratic Party's youngest superdelegates. Lord, help us..........

While the official Lollapalooza line-up won't be released until April 7th, Chicago Sun-Times' Jim DeRogatis is confirming appearances by the following bands:

Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine, The Raconteurs, Wilco, Kanye West, Gnarls Barkley, the Black Keys, Broken Social Scene, G. Love & Special Sauce, Blues Traveler, Mates of State, Bloc Party, Cat Power, Stephen Malkmus, Girl Talk, Kid Sister, Office, the Cool Kids, Battles, the Go! Team, Jamie Lidell and Grizzly Bear.

Not bad at all..........

Two of the three acts to play the ATP Don't Look Back day of the 2008 Pitchfork Music Festival have already been announced.

And while we think that Public Enemy performing It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back is going to be potentially great and Mission of Burma performing Vs. is going to be just okay (because it's not our favorite album by them), we do have some suggestions as to whom Pitchfork and All Tomorrow's Parties should get to be the third and final artist/album of the "Don't Look Back" day at the 2008 Pitchfork Festival

We put together two short list. The first is our possibly, maybe plausible list. The second is our totally outrageously impossible list. In the comments, let hear your suggestions.........

IN THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY
Liz Phair performing Exile in Guyville
Tortoise performing Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Bonnie Prince Billy performing I See A Darkness
Nick Cave performing Murder Ballads
My Bloody Valentine performing Loveless
Kate Bush performing Hounds of Love
X performing Los Angeles
Wu-Tang Clan performing Enter The Wu-Tang
Lou Reed performing Mistrial
Matthew Sweet performing Girlfriend
Cat Power performing Moon Pix

NEVER ACTUALLY GOING TO HAPPEN
Tom Waits performing Rain Dogs
Afghan Whigs performing Gentlemen
Neutral Milk Hotel performing In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Guided by Voices performing Bee Thousand
Pavement performing Slanted & Enchanted
The Vaselines performing The Way of The Vaselines
Archers of Loaf performing Icky Mettle
R.E.M. performing Murmur
The Replacement performing Tim
Primal Scream performing Screamadellica
New Order performing Technique
The Make-Up performing Destination: Love - Live at Cold Rice
Black Flag performing Damaged
Weezer performing Pinkerton
Bruce Springsteen performing Nebraska with The Hold Steady and Arcade Fire

THe egomaniac is at it again, only this time, I think he may be right:

I can't take it anymore. I have 2 show you guys a model of the stage. This is not a regular show. I tell people, hey, this show is gonna be crazy and they say, "I bet it is!", BUT THEY HAVE NO IDEA! People expect me to come with innovative stuff... I'm sure a lot of people expect some neon, lower east side, post everybody dressing like the 80's stuff or maybe the light up jacket from the Grammies, perhaps the robot girl and light spectacle they saw on Youtube from the European run. My friends..... NONE OF THE ABOVE!!! AN ENTIRELY NEW DESIGNED SET!!! ROBOT DESIGNED BY ACCLAIMED ARTIST CHRISTIAN COLON, CREATURE'S BY THE LEGENDARY JIM HENSON'S CREATURE SHOP, LIGHTING BY MARTIN PHILLIPS AND JOHN McGUIRE RESPONSIBLE FOR LAST YEARS FESTIVAL ANNIHILATOR, DAFT PUNK'S PYRAMID, POSSIBLY THE GREATEST LIGHT SHOW OF ALL TIME!! THANKS 2 PAUL, THOMAS AND GUYMAN FOR THE HOOK UP. SIDEBAR, MY SET DOES NOT HAVE A PYRAMID IN IT OR ANYWAY FEEL LIKE A BITE OF DAFT'S SHOW. WE'VE GOT HOLOGRAMS SHOT BY HYPE WILLIAMS!!! SAM SPIELGAL, MIKE DEAN, JEFF BAXTER AND I HAVE SPENT A MONTH AND A HALF RE-ORCHESTRATING EVERY TRACK 2 FOLLOW A NARRATIVE. WE'VE LEARNED TO SURVIVE OFF OF 1 HOUR OF SLEEP A DAY!

Why the hell would a politically-minded artist like Kanye West perform at an event honoring Bruce Ratner? Maybe it's that they both have gigantic egos? Maybe they both think they own the world? Or maybe it's that nothing is really as important to either of them as money.

Sadly, Kanye West did perform on Thursday night at Brooklyn Museum's despicable tribute to Bruce Ratner. Outside the museum, a couple hundred people protested the $1,000-a-ticket event honoring the man who is trying to destroy Brooklyn. (pictures from The Kingston Lounge)..........

Wayne "Frosty Freeze" Frost, a hip-hop pioneer whose acrobatic performance with the legendary Rock Steady Crew in the 1983 movie "Flashdance" helped set off a worldwide breakdancing craze, has died. He was 44.

Frost got his start in 1978 with the Bronx-based Rock City Crew. In 1981, he became part of the Rock Steady Crew, joining such acclaimed breakdancers as Ken Swift and Lil Crazy Legs.

Frost's appearance with Rock Steady Crew in "Flashdance," "Wild Style," "Beat Street" and "Style Wars." He also appeared on the cover of the Village Voice in 1981.

A benefit was planned for April 11th at the Riverside Church to help Frost raise money for his health bills. While no official announcement has been made, it seems that the event will continue as a memorial service and tribute to the breakdancing pioneer.........

Those kooky Radioheadsters have started their own social networking site at W.A.S.T.E._CE NTR AL.CO M/.

The band has also started a site where they want you-yes, you! - to remix "Nude"

To celebrate this week�s single release (we still have those in England) Radiohead have broken up the song �Nude� into pieces for you to remix.

For those of you who enjoy this sort of thing, you can buy the separate components or �stems� (bass, voice, guitar, strings/FX and drums) and remix your own version of the song. You can do this by adding your own beats and instrumentation or just remixing the original parts. More information is at www.radioheadremix.com/information.

And the above clip is Radiohead performing "Anyone Can Play Guitar" at the MTV's Beach House in the Hamptons. Not quite as cool a band as they are these days. Hahahaha........

The first Raconteurs show at Terminal 5 instantly sold out and they just put a second show on sale for Saturday, May 31st at the same venue......

Matt & Kim + Team Robespierre
Pratt, Memorial Hall
Saturday, April 5, 2008
7:30pm - 10:30pm
Free pre-show or $1.00 at the door

Will I be the oldest person at this show? Probably...........

Our good friends at Music Snobbery at celebrating their third anniversary at Maxwells on April 10th. The show was to be headlined by The Teeth, but they broke up! So after 61 bands said "no" to headlining this party, Chris Music Snobbery is making offers to Moby, Death Cab and Arcade Fire to play the party...........

PS to Moby, Ben and Win: Chris is a really, really nice guy and his blog is really great. If you can, you really should take him up on his offer.......

After Jim DeRogatis leaked the line-up on Sunday, the Lollapalooza organizers held to their April 7th release date and made their official announcement. Here's the line-up:

LOLLAPALOOZA 2008
Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails, Kanye West, Wilco, the Raconteurs, Love and Rockets, Gnarls Barkley, Lupe Fiasco, Bloc Party, the Black Keys, Broken Social Scene, Flogging Molly, Mark Ronson, Cat Power, the National, G. Love & Special Sauce, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Explosions in the Sky, Brand New, Gogol Bordello, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Dierks Bentley, Okkervil River, Amadou & Mariam, Blues Traveler, John Butler Trio, Girl Talk, CSS, Battles, Jamie Lidell, Butch Walker, Mates of State, Spank Rock, Brazilian Girls, Chromeo, Duffy, the Kills, Rogue Wave, the Go! Team, Mason Jennings, the Gutter Twins, Yeasayer, Grizzly Bear, MGMT, The Weakerthans, Booka Shade, Santogold, Black Kids, Black Lips, Louis XIV, Dr. Dog, Nicole Atkins & the Sea, the Ting Tings, Kid Sister, Office, the Cool Kids, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Does it Offend You, Yeah?, the Whigs, Manchester Orchestra, Foals, Uffie, the Octopus Project, Cadence Weapon, Ferras, De Novo Dahl, Noah and the Whale, Margot & the Nuclear So and So�??s, K�??Naan, Serena Ryder, Newton Faulkner, Your Vegas, Eli "Paperboy"� Reed & the True Loves, Steel Train, Bang Camaro, the Blakes, Tally Hall, White Lies, Magic Wands, Electric Touch, Innerpartysystem, the Postelles, the Parlor Mob, Bald Eagle, Krista, Ha Ha Tonka, Witchcraft, We Go to 11, Sofia Talyi

They deserve each other:

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has exhibited interest in becoming John McCain's vice presidential running mate, a Republican strategist says.

Dan Senor revealed during Sunday's edition of ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" that Rice has been seeking support to be considered for the No. 2 spot on the Republican ticket this fall.

"Condi Rice has been actively, actually in recent weeks, campaigning for this," Senor said.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Midtown Congestion Plan failed and I couldn't be happier. While I am all for a smart congestion plan, I felt this plan was poorly put together and only punished middle-class and lower-class car owners.

If I had to suggest something, why punish people for driving cars. Instead, they should tax the hell out of car makers who want to sell non-hybrid cars in New York State.

More importantly, this Congestion Plan, which originated from President Bush's Transportation Department, ends up pushing mass transit away from being a federally funded organization and making it private organization............

Missy Elliot & Busta Rhymes will be playing a FREE show tomorrow night at Webster Hall.

Tickets to the 50th Grammy Celebration Tour presented by T-Mobile Sidekick are being given away at select T-Mobile stores in the city, including the stores at 1180 6th Ave in Manhattan and 2 Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn. All fans have to do is go to the store and fill out an entry form for a chance to win!

The 2008 Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival will be held August 30th to September 1st at Seattle's City Center.

This year's line-up will feature Beck, Stone Temple Pilots, Lucinda Williams, Neko Case, Ingrid Michaelson, Jakob Dylan, Del Tha Funky Homosapien, !!!, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Saul Williams, M. Ward, the Walkmen, Blitzen Trapper, John Vanderslice, Dan Deacon, Tim Finn, Bedouin Soundclash and Final Fantasy.

It's nice to see a featival line-up that doesn't look exactly like every other festival........

The alternative-wannabe's Stone Temple Pilots are reforming this summer and will be doing a 65-date North American tour. The closest the tour comes to New York City is the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey......

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS TOUR DATES
Columbus, OH Rock On The Range Festival (May 17)
Camden, NJ Tweeter Center The Waterfront (18)
Cleveland, OH State Theatre Playhouse Square (20)
Chicago, IL Charter One Pavillion (22)
Indianapolis, IN Indianapolis Motor Speedway (23)
Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Casino (26)
Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center (31)
Mansfield, MA Tweeter Center For The Performing Arts (June 1)
Detroit, MI Fillmore Detroit (3)
St. Paul, MN Roy Wilkens Auditorium (6)
Kansas City, KS Rock Fest Liberty Memorial Park (7)
Maryland Heights, MO Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (8)
West Valley City, UT E Center (11)
Las Vegas, NV The Pearl (12, 14)
Calgary V Festival (21)
Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl (24)
Tucson, AZ Anselmo Valencia Amphitheatre (25)
San Antonio, TX AT&T Center (27)
The Woodlands, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (28)
Grand Prairie, TX Nokia Theatre Grand Prairie (29)
Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre (July 2)
Milwaukee, WI Summerfest Marcus Amphitheatre (4)
Quebec City, Quebec Summer Festival Planes |Of Abraham (10)
North York, ONT Edge Fest Downsview Park (12)
Canandaigua, NY Constellation Performing Arts Center (15)
Green Bay, WI Oneida Casino (17)
Mt Pleasant, MI Soaring Eagle Casino (18)
Cadott, WI Chippewa Valley Music Festival (19)
Berkeley, CA Greek Theatre (25)
Paso Robles, CA Mid California State Fair (26)
San Diego, CA Concerts on the Green Qualcomm Stadium (27)
Bethlehem, PA Muzikfest (August 8)
Atlantic City, NJ The Borgata (9)
Baltimore, MD V Festival Pimlico Race Track (10)
Charlotte, SC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (17)
Orlando, FL UCF Arena (19)
Hollywood, FL Hard Rock Live Seminole Hard Rock Casino (20)
Tampa, FL Ford Amphitheatre (22)
Alpharetta, GA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Encore Park (23)
Vancouver GM Place (30)
Seattle, WA Bumbershoot Festival Memorial Stadium (31)

During Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's two sold out shows at Anaheim's Honda Center, Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello joined Bruce for "The Ghost of Tom Joad," which Rage famously covered..........

DOWNLOAD: Portastic - "Growin' Up"

APRIL 7, 2008 | HONDA CENTER | ANAHEIM, CA
Light of Day / Radio Nowhere / Lonesome Day / Gypsy Biker / Murder Incorporated / Magic / Trapped / Reason to Believe / Because the Night / She's the One / Livin' in the Future / The Promised Land / Working on the Highway / The Ghost of Tom Joad (w/ Tom Morello) / Devil's Arcade / The Rising / Last to Die / Long Walk Home / Badlands / Out in the Street // Girls in Their Summer Clothes // Rosalita // Born to Run // Ramrod // American Land

APRIL 8, 2008 | HONDA CENTER | ANAHEIM, CA
Thunder Road / Radio Nowhere / Lonesome Day / Gypsy Biker / Murder Incorporated / Magic / Atlantic City / Candy's Room / Reason to Believe / Prove It All Night / Because the Night / She's the One / Livin' in the Future / The Promised Land / Brilliant Disguise / The Ghost of Tom Joad (w/ Tom Morello) / Last to Die / Long Walk Home / Badlands / Out in the Street // Meeting Across the River // Jungleland // Born to Run // Dancing in the Dark // American Land

Rude Boy Alert, The Specials are reforming.

The Specials have confirmed they have reformed the band with all seven original members.

Vocalist, Neville Staple told BBC 6 Music that the band have begun rehearsing and there is a possibility of a UK tour later this year.

"A couple of months ago we [all] started talking," he said. "We had to talk first to see if we could get on, but we got past the talking stage. Then we said, 'Okay, let�s see what we're like in a room together rehearsing with instruments'."

Lead singer, Terry Hall, said that no dates had been officially set but the band were hoping to be ready to tour in the autumn.

�Well we�re still trying to put dates together, but hopefully September/October time. We need to spend the Summer rehearsing� I think it�s taken me 30 years to realise we could do it really well,� said Hall.

Staples added: �We're just seeing how it goes. You don't wanna go out there as some old geriatrics � not me. What we've got to do is make sure the music at least is right.�

"So if it works, we'll do it. If not, well. I'm sorry lads and girls. But we're trying."

It's official:

Prince has joined this year's line-up for the ninth COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, CA (Friday, April 25, Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27) as the headliner for the second night of the critically acclaimed festival.

It's amazing how one major headliner can change the entire atmosphere of a festival...........

A presale is now happening for Pearl Jam's East Coast tour. The password is "gardenofstone".

In related news, Ted Leo + Pharmascists will be playing a "secret" warm-up show at Maxwells before joining the Pearl Jam arena tour at Madison Square Garden. They are playing under the name Bloomfield Vegan and tickets are now on sale........

Z100's annual Zootopia concert, which has featured everyone from Greeny Day and Hole to Weezer and Kanye West, has announced ther line-up for their 2008 shindig at the iZod Center on May 17th.

This year's performers include Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers and a reunited New Kids on the Block. Hahahaha. Also on the bill are One Republic, Jordin Sparks, Simple Plan, Sara Bareilles, Gavin DeGraw and Ferras.

Tickets go on sale Friday, April 11th, at 4pm and cost anywhere from $30 to $285, but that's nothing compared to what most parents would be willing to pay to get their kids into this show.

Rancid have announced the opening acts for their five-night residency at Irving Plaza and they do not dissapoint:

AUG 13: Rancid w/ Sick of it All, Bloodclot
AUG 14: Rancid w/ Theo & The Skycrapers, Westbound Train
AUG 15: Rancid w/ Big D and the Kids Table, Capital Radio
AUG 16: Rancid w/ Murphy's Law, Shiragirl
AUG 17: Rancid w/ Madball, Bomb the Music Industry

Tickets go on sale on Saturday at 10am........

One of my favorite things about summer is seeing what oldies/has-beens decide to go on a package tour of amphitheatres. So far, quite a few of these tours have been announced. Which one do you think is the best summer package tour:

>>Steve Miller Band / Joe Cocker
>>Maroon 5 / Counting Crows / Sara Bareilles
>>The Allman Brothers Band / Bob Weir & RatDog
>>Journey / Heart / Cheap Trick
>>Poison / Dokken / Sebastian Bach
>>Jethro Tull / Peter Frampton
>>The Regeneration Tour: A Flock Of Seagulls, ABC, Belinda Carlisle, Naked Eyes, The Human League
>>Chicago / Doobie Brothers
>>The Police / Elvis Costello
>>Bell Biv DeVoe / Big Daddy Kane / Doug E. Fresh / M.C. Lyte / Slick Rick
>>Boston / Styx
>>Boyz II Men / Morris Day & The Time
>>B.B. King / Willie Nelson

Am I missing any..........

Day tickets for Saturday and Sunday at Coachella are now completely sold out! Shockingly, tickets for the Jack Johnson headlined Friday are still available.

While ebay and craigslist tickets for Sunday are going for face value, but since Prince was announced as Saturday's headliner, making the Prince-Portishead-Kraftwerk headlining package, ticket demand has skyrocketed. The $90 day tickets are now going for roughly $200.

Still, nothing is as hard a ticket to get as seeing a nazi youth in a baseball stadium.......

It is being reported that Prince is getting paid $4.8 million to perform at Coachella!

For that kind of money, you'd think the promoters would have wanted to announce this more than 15 days before the festival.

By comparison, in 2005 Goldenvoice offered The Smiths $5 million to reunite......

So Tapes 'N Tapes' second album, Walk It Off, was reviewed today by the tastemakers at Pitchfork. The 5.9 review goes like this:

There's probably a fascinating scholarly paper, or at least a feel-good Oprah episode, to be mined about the four smart, quirky Minnesota boys in Tapes 'n Tapes and their internet-fueled success. After hearing Walk It Off, though, I don't care to pursue it. Like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, a band whose career appears equally shackled to the blogosphere's mercurial whims, it's tempting to romanticize TnT's rags-to-riches story. Yet on their follow-up Some Loud Thunder, CYHSY didn't just bristle in the limelight, they actively thumbed their nose at it with risky stylistic forays and stubborn hooks. That ending doesn't fit TnT follow-up Walk It Off, a blissfully directionless album guilty not of audacity but utter innocuity.

So obviously the reviewer, Adam Moerder, was in a blogger bashing mood. Most people that I've talked to that stayed with The Loon after all the initial over-hype, which Pitchfork helped fuel with it's 8.3 review and coverage of their every move, actually find Walk It Off to be a much tighter and better album. Most people who loved Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's debut album found Some Loud Thunder to be a piece of shit.

For his part, Moerder seems to hate most records he's assigned to review, including a few of this year's best albums like The Big Sleep's Sleep Forever (5.3), Black Mountain's In The Future (7.4) or The Forms' (6.6), all of which were graded way below what they should have received. Hit bitter reviews, even for the rare record he does like, forget to actually review the music and that's why I can't stand his review of Walk It Off. If he ignored the post-hype backlash jealousy, he probably would have heard an excellent album.......

For fans of The Howard Stern Show, Thursday's broadcast was pretty bonkers. It seems that the shows 300lbs sidekick, Artie Lange, went a bit crazy on his assistant, Teddy, and started a fight.

While the show is off next week, it is still unclear if Artie will be returning to the show when it comes back on April 21st.

Listen to Artie's meltdown after the jump........

Craig Ferguson, who had Del tha Funkee Homosapien on last night, had a big coup last week. His CBS "Late Late Show" averaged more viewers than NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien". Considering that Conan is now losing to Craig and Jay Leno is still beating David Letterman, do you think NBC is regretting their decision to fire Leno for Conan?

I'm going to the entire review after the jump as not to spoil it for anyone who might be going to see the show this weekend...........

Madonna will be playing a mini-show at the Roseland Ballroom on April 30th to promote her upcoming album, Hard Candy.

Tickets will be avaiable only at the venue box office. On sale information will be announced shortly, but it's expected to be the day before the show.

This inimate show will likely be similiar to the mini-show she did at the Roseland to promote Music and the mini-show she did at Coachella to promote Confessions on the Dance Floor. So expect to only see her only perform five or six songs........

No major loss to the line-up, but the Allman Brothers Band have cancelled their Bonnaroo appearance. In related news, the festival will make a major announcemtn on April 17th:

We regret to inform you that the cancellation of the Allman Brothers Band�s spring performances, including their run at the Beacon Theater in New York City, has been expanded to include the Bonnaroo Music Festival.

IN THE MEANTIME, STAY TUNED FOR AN EXCITING BONNAROO ANNOUNCMENT COMING YOUR WAY THIS THURSDAY, APRIL 17�

Let the Led Zeppelin rumors begin...again...........

For those who missed him at the HighLine Ballroom, Paul McCartney is planning a fall tour:

Paul McCartney is making preparations to visit North America, UK and Australia as part of his world tour this autumn.

McCartney reportedly has an entire album worth of new material for the tour. His representatives are currently negotiating with various promoters around the world to finalise the details.

Donald Rumsfeld, America's worst defense secretary since Robert McNamara, has inked a multi-million dollar book deal with Penguin.

In somewhat related news, Rumsfeld's partner-in-war-crime's Alberto Gonzales, the disgraced Attorney General, can't find a new job.

Gonzales, the former attorney general who was forced to resign last year, has been unable to interest law firms in adding his name to their roster, Washington lawyers and his associates said in recent interviews.

He has, through friends, put out inquiries, they said, and has not found any takers. What makes Gonzales's case extraordinary is that former attorneys general, the government's chief lawyer, are typically highly sought.

The greatest impediment to Gonzales's being offered the kind of high-paying job being snagged these days by lesser Justice Department officials, many lawyers agree, is his performance during his last few months in office. In that period, he was openly criticized by lawmakers, accused of being untruthful in his sworn testimony.

With tickets already on sale for the 2008 Austin City Limits Festival, it's now time to announce who is actually going to be performing. One of the great things about this particular event is that their line-up is usually one of the most diverse of any festival and this year is no exception. It also marks the return of a solo Jenny Lewis. Anyway, here's the line-up:

ACL FESTIVAL | SEPTEMBER 26 - 28, 2008
Foo Fighters * Robert Plant & Alison Krauss * Manu Chao * David Byrne * Beck * John Fogerty * The Raconteurs * Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band * Swell Season * The Mars Volta * Gnarls Barkley * N.E.R.D. * Erykah Badu * Hot Chip * Tegan & Sara * Iron & Wine * G. Love & Special Sauce * Band of Horses * Spiritualized * Silversun Pickups * Gogol Bordello * Neko Case * Against Me! * Duffy * Jakob Dylan & The Gold Mountain Rebels * Okkervil River * Slightly Stoopid * Flyleaf * Stars * Del the Funky Homosapien * MGMT * Jenny Lewis * M. Ward * Yeasayer * White Denim * Scott Biram * Eli �Paperboy� Reed & The True Loves * Bavu Blakes & The Extra Plairs * Band of Heathens * Vampire Weekend * CSS * Jose Gonzalez * Man Man * Jamie Lindell * Colour Revolt * Shooter Jennings * Yeasayer * Octopus Project * M Ward * Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings * Drive-By Truckers * Patty Griffin * Black Keys * and Many More

On September September 23, 2008, Bob Dylan will publish his second book. Sadly, the book is not the second part to his masterful first memoir, Chronicles: Volume One.

Rather, the new book is for children. The book is called Forever Young and will be published by Ginee Seo Books, a division of Simon & Schuster. The 40 page picture book is illustrated by award-winning artist Paul Rogers and is aimed at children aged three and over.

Chornicles: Volume Two is rumored to be coming out in November of 2008......

In the past two days, the E Street Band has been kicking Texas' ass. While California got Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, Texas has gotten guest appearances by Joe Ely, Alejandro Escovedo and New Jersey's lesser-son Jon Bon Jovi, who joined Bruce for a rousing version of "Glory Days."

And look at these setlists! They just keep getting better and better..........

April 13 | Dallas, TX | American Airlines Center
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out / Radio Nowhere / Lonesome Day / Gypsy Biker / Magic / Trapped / Reason to Believe / Prove It All Night / Because the Night / She's the One / Livin' in the Future / The Promised Land / Girls in Their Summer Clothes / Independence Day / Devil's Arcade / The Rising / Last to Die / Long Walk Home / Badlands // Meeting Across the River // Jungleland // Born to Run // Glory Days (with Jon Bon Jovi) // Dancing in the Dark // American Land

April 14 | Houston, TX | Toyota Center
Cadillac Ranch / Radio Nowhere / Lonesome Day / Atlantic City / Magic / Because the Night / Candy's Room / She's the One / Out in the Street / Livin' in the Future / The Promised Land / Girls in Their Summer Clothes / The E Street Shuffle / Terry's Song / Devil's Arcade / The Rising / Last to Die / Long Walk Home / Badlands / Thunder Road // Always a Friend (w/ Alejandro Escovedo) // All Just to Get to You (w/ Joe Ely) // Rosalita // Born to Run // Tenth Avenue Freeze-out // American Land

Killing Joke has gone through numerous line-ups since unofficially disbanding twenty years ago. Now, the original and seminal line-up of Jeffrey "Jaz" Coleman, Kevin "Geordie" Walker, Martin "Youth" Glover and "Big" Paul Ferguson are getting back together for a major world tour.

They have two nights scheduled for The Fillmore at Irving Plaza...........

KILLING JOKE TOUR DATES
September 11 - (JP) Tokyo, Duo
September 12 - (JP) Tokyo, Duo
September 16 - (ES) Madrid, Heineken
September 18 - (ES) Barcelona, Apollo
September 19 - (IT) Milan, Rolling Stone
September 20 - (IT) Milan, Rolling Stone
September 24 - (DE) Berlin, Columbia Hall
September 25 - (DE) Berlin, Columbia Hall
September 26 - (FR) Paris, Trabendo
September 27 - (FR) Paris, Trabendo
September 29 - (BE) Brussels, AB Club
September 30 - (BE) Brussels, AB Club
October 03 - (UK) London, The Forum
October 04 - (UK) London, The Forum
October 09 - (US) Los Angeles, House Of Blues
October 11 - (US) New York, Filmore East / Ex Lrving Plaza
October 12 - (US) New York, Filmore East / Ex Lrving Plaza

Motley Crue are rumored to be following U2, Madonna and Jay-Z into a 360-deal with Live Nation. The hair-metal-reality-television stars supposedly signed a three-album, three-tour deal woth as much as $100 million.

The Crue will be releasing their new single, the horrible "Saints of Los Angeles," from their forthcoming album, The Dirt, as a playable track for the popular game Rock Band. The song will be available for $0.99 on the Xbox Live Marketplace starting April 15th and on the PlayStation Store starting April 17th. You can hear the song at Spinner.

Next week, Motley Crue is expected to announce "Cruefest" - not to be confused with VInce Neil's CruiseCrue - in which Motley Crue will headline a package tour that includes other acts like Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Sixx: A.M. and Trapt. All tour dates (Jones Beach) are after the jump.

Bruce Springsteen endorsed Senator Barack Obama for President, an endorsement that may actually help him with working-class white voters in Philadelphia. Here's what the boss wrote on his website this morning:

Dear Friends and Fans:

LIke most of you, I've been following the campaign and I have now seen and heard enough to know where I stand. Senator Obama, in my view, is head and shoulders above the rest.

He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next President. He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that's interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where "...nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone."

At the moment, critics have tried to diminish Senator Obama through the exaggeration of certain of his comments and relationships. While these matters are worthy of some discussion, they have been ripped out of the context and fabric of the man's life and vision, so well described in his excellent book, Dreams From My Father, often in order to distract us from discussing the real issues: war and peace, the fight for economic and racial justice, reaffirming our Constitution, and the protection and enhancement of our environment.

After the terrible damage done over the past eight years, a great American reclamation project needs to be undertaken. I believe that Senator Obama is the best candidate to lead that project and to lead us into the 21st Century with a renewed sense of moral purpose and of ourselves as Americans.

Over here on E Street, we're proud to support Obama for President.

Bruce Springsteen

Joe Lieberman is the new Zel Miller

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), the Democratic Party�s 2000 vice presidential nominee, is leaving open the possibility of giving a keynote address on behalf of Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) at the Republican National Convention in September.

�If Sen. McCain, who I support so strongly, asked me to do it, if he thinks it will help him, I will,� Lieberman said in a brief interview.

I'm obviously happy that Lieberman still caucuses with Democrats in the Senate, as he swore he would to his constituants, but seriously, Lieberman is NOT a Democrat at all. It should be a party proirity to strip him of his chairmanships and his Senate seat......

The Raconteurs kicked off their tour in Nashville on Tuesday. The show was originally supposed to be at the Mercy Lounge but was moved to the larger Cannery Ballroom.

They did not play "Five on the Five," which may be my favorite song from Consolers of the Lonely. (Below photo by Indie Rock Lance).

Also, Jack White is on the cover of this month's issue of Rolling Stone with Mick and Keef, all of whom appear in Shine A Light. And...um...cough...Jack seems..uh...a bit too excited.....

THE RACONTEURS | CANNERY BALLROOM | 4-14-2008
Consoler / Hold Up / Understand / Top Yourself / Old Enough / Yellow Sun / Blue Veins / Level / Attention / Hands / Salute / Steady / Switch / Carolina Drama // Many Shades // Rich Kid / Broken Boy

Last night, Lou Reed was the special guest on the forthcoming Sundance Channel Show, Spectacle: Elvis Costello With.... The show was taped at NBC's studio 8H, home to Saturday Night Live, and it was a complete nightmare for ticket holders.

I want to start off by saying that I have never attended a more disorganized event and I've been on set for numerous television and film productions as well as attending more chaotic concerts. The producers of this program, Rocket Pictures and Prospero Pictures, kept ticket holders waiting on line for three hours. Then, roughly a half-hour into taping, with people trapped outside the studio doors, an innocent NBC page was dispatched to tell the crowd that they would not be getting into this very special event.

The NBC page went on to say that Rocket Pictures, Propero Pictures and Gotham Casting were extremely unprofessional and scared to actually tell the ticket holders themselves that they had completely fucked up.

Later, I found out that the studio audience was not even full! They still enough seats to accommodate at least half, if not all, of the people stuck on line.

So, now that we know not to ever trust anyone associated with Rocket Pictures, Propero Pictures and Gotham Casting, we should mention that the taping was pretty spectacular.

Lou talking more candidly than he ever may have about his music career with Elvis Costello for an extended period of time. Elvis then joined Lou for "Set The Twilight Reeling" and "Perfect Day". Elvis then played a solo version of the Velvet Underground's "Beginning To See The Light". Then Lou finished up doing a solo version of "Femme Fatale".

After the jump is Elvis Costello and Lou Reed performing "Set The Twilight Reeling" for French Television.

The mighty Soulwax will be returning to New York City on August 6th. Oddly, they won't be performing at Studio B this time around, rather they're booked to play The Fillmore at Irving Plaza. Tickets are $25 and now on sale.

As of now, this is their only announced U.S. show.

FYI, best show of 2006 was Soulwax and The Klaxons at Studio B......

That was possibly the worst televised debate I have ever watched! Seriously, you have Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in Pennsylvania to debate a couple days before a primary and ABC decided to spend the first 48 minutes on absolutely nothing!!! NOTHING!!!

For the first 48 minutes of the debate, George Stephanopoulos and Charlie Gibson only asked questions that only belonged on shlock programs like Hannity & Colmes or The O'Reilly Factor. They asked about Obama's patriotism? If Hillary thought Obama could beat McCain?! If Hillary was a liar?!? Asking how "would you use George W. Bush in your administration?"!??!?!

It was 48 minutes before Iraq was even mentioned!!! The economy and oil only got about five minutes each, which is about seven minutes less than George spent questioning them both on Reverend Wright. There was absolutely no questions about China, torture, Russia or the Sudan.

The clear winner of this debate? McCain..........

The Seattle Times reviews the opening night of Kanye West's Glow In The Dark tour:

It was a magnificent, thrilling, uplifting, sensory experience, unlike any other pop concert before it. West has rethought the whole idea of live performance, from the staging to the lighting to the overall message.

West was the only inhabitant of this lonely planet, the only person on stage during his 90-minute set. A 10-member group of musicians and singers were in a pit well below him, all of them in black to make them even more obscure.

The huge, very tall set was like the uneven surface of another world. West first appeared lying on an elevated plaform, which eventually became like a spaceship, moving up, down and sideways, with smoke and flashing lights. An enormous video screen created the look and feel of space travel and otherworldly landscapes.

Sorry for the crap videos, but security was supposedly extra tight at the venue....

KANYE WEST | KEY ARENA | SEATTLE, WA | APRIL 16, 2008
Good Morning / I Wonder / heard em say (remix) / Through The Wire / Champion / Get Em High / Skit / Diamonds / Can't Tell Me Nothing / Flashing Lights / Drunk and Hot Girls / Spaceship / All falls down / Skit / Gold Digger / Good Life / Jesus Walks / Hey Mama // Stronger // Homecoming // Touch The Sky

Weezer has posted "Pork & Beans," the first single from their third self-titled album, dubbed The Red Album. You can hear the song here....

Original E Street Bander Danny Federici has passed away. He has not been able to participate on the second leg of the Magic tour because of his health, but did make one final appearance with the band on March 20, 2008 at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Federici played with Springsteen in his pre-E Street Band band, Steel Mill. You may know him as the person who plays a majority of those killer piano riffs on "Thunder Road" and "Incident on 57th Street" or the accordian solo on "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)."

"Danny and I worked together for 40 years - he was the most wonderfully fluid keyboard player and a pure natural musician. I loved him very much...we grew up together." �Bruce Springsteen

Danny Federici, for 40 years the E Street Band's organist and keyboard player, died this afternoon, April 17, 2008 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City after a three year battle with melanoma.

The Federici family and the E Street family request that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund. A web site for the Fund is being established and we'll post its link when it is on line.

Bruce Springsteen's concerts scheduled for Friday in Ft. Lauderdale and Saturday in Orlando performance are being postponed. Replacement dates will be announced shortly.

Morgan Spurlock, the person behind Super Size Me, goes on the hunt for the most elusive criminal in Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden?

Or you can check out the YouTube sensation's of The Walter Salvo House, which is the eldery housing community that gets its seniors together to sing the music of The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Coldplay, Rolling Stones and numerous other rock n' roll superstars. The heartwarming and hysterical documentary should have a great cult life on dvd.

Most fascinating though is Ben Stein's documentary, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. In this documentary, the actor / game show host / Republican speach writer for Richard Nixon and Gerald Fold attempts to make the case for the intelligent design movement. At the end, does he realize he's absolutely wrong? Hmmm.......

Young@Heart

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden?

Our lovely friends at The Music Slut will be getting slutty tonight, April 18th, at 205 Club on the Lower East Side. The After The Jump crew are one of the sponsors for this shindig.. Here's the info:

205 Club, 205 Chrystie St @ Stanton

9pm Marxwall
10pm Alan Astor
dj Brad Walsh!

It's an electronic dance extravaganza!

And to celebrate these amazing groups being, well, amazing, we are giving away pairs of tickets to see The Long Blondes, The Teenagers and The Cave Singers at the party in addition to gift bags filled with all sorts of goodies!

This is a 21+ event.

Cost: $5

The television show Heroes has scored one of the best looking soundstracks in recent memories. The line-up of unreleased material is pretty stellar and the scored the coup of getting the first new Jesus & Mary Chain material since Munki. Surprisingly, this soundtrack was released on March 18th. I can't believe I haven't realized it until now!

Check this out:

HEROES SOUNDTRACK
1. Heroes Title - Wendy & Lisa
2. Fire and Regeneration - Wendy & Lisa (*new release)
3. He's Frank - Brighton Port Authority featuring Iggy Pop (*new release)
4. All For Swinging You Around - New Pornographers
5. Glad It's Over - Wilco (*new release)
6. Weightless - Nada Surf (new release)
7. Nine In The Afternoon - Panic! At The Disco (new release)
8. Chills - My Morning Jacket (*Unreleased)
9. Natural Selection - Wendy & Lisa
10. ABoneCroneDrone 3 - Shelia Chandra
11. Not Now But Soon - Imogen Heap (*Unreleased)
12. Jealously Rides With Me - Death Cab For Cutie (*Unreleased)
13. All Things Must Pass - The Jesus and Mary Chain (*Unreleased)
14. Homecoming - Wendy & Lisa
15. Man In The Long Black Coat - Bob Dylan
16. Maya's Theme - Yerba Buena (*Unreleased)
17. Keeping My Composure - The Chemical Brothers featuring Spank Rock (*new release)
18. Heroes - David Bowie

While the not-band-approved release of the two-disc Radiohead: The Best Of seems a gigantic waste of money, the accompanying DVD actually looks worth owning. Although, I think they should have called this product 21 Television Commercials. Check out the tracklisting for the DVD:

RADIOHEAD: THE BEST OF (DVD)
1. Creep (directed by Brett Turnbull)
2. Anyone Can Play Guitar (directed by Dwight Clarke)
3. Pop Is Dead (directed by Dwight Clarke)
4. Stop Whispering (directed by Jeff Plansker)
5. My Iron Lung (directed by Brett Turnbull)
6. High and Dry (UK version) (directed by David Mould)
7. High and Dry (US version) (directed by Paul Cunningham)
8. Fake Plastic Trees (directed by Jake Scott)
9. Just (directed by Jamie Thraves)
10. Street Spirit (Fade Out) (directed by Jonathan Glazer)
11. Paranoid Android (directed by Magnus Carlsson)
12. Karma Police (directed by Jonathan Glazer)
13. No Surprises (directed by Grant Gee)
14. Pyramid Song (directed by Shynola)
15. Knives Out (directed by Michel Gondry)
16. I Might Be Wrong (directed by Sophie Muller)
17. Push Pulk / Spinning Plates (directed by Johnny Hardstaff)
18. There There (directed by Chris Hopewell)
19. Go To Sleep (directed by Alex Rutterford)
20. Sit Down Stand Up (directed by Ed Holdsworth)
21. 2+2=5 (Live at Belfort Festival) (directed by Fabien Raymond)

In a few short months, it will be Summer and that means the second annual After the Jump Fest! Bigger, better with even more acts and surprise guests, this year the festival takes place along side the city wide music event, Make Music New York (which itself is a part of the worldwide music phenomenon that takes place in 300 cities in 108 countries) on the first day of Summer, June 21st.

After the Jump Fest is the effort of 20 New York City music bloggers whose goal is to help new artists gain exposure while raising money for struggling school music programs. This year, After the Jump is teaming up with The Music Hall of Williamsburg and Galapagos Art Space for a festival stretching from noon until last call. In the next few months, After the Jump blogs will be making more announcements about the festival including new artists and pre-parties. Stay tuned and in the mean time, check out AftertheJumpFest.com for information on our past events and mark your calendars! It's going to be a doozy.

AFTER THE JUMP IS ORGANIZED BY:
themusicslut . batteringroom . disconap . earfarm . ryspace . irockiroll . merryswankster . softcommunication . theunderratedblog . sitdownstandup . watercoolergossip . bumpershine . themodernage . productshopnyc . subinev . punkphoto . poptartssucktoasted . stereoactivenyc . jinners

For press opportunities such as interviews with the organizers or bands, please contact publicity@afterthejumpfest.com
For sponsorship and all requests, contact producer Jennifer Kellas: jkellas@afterthejumpfest.com

The festival will take place over three days, June 20, 21and 22 in various venues across Philadelphia. POPPED! kicks off with iconic rapper Slick Rick and his full band on Friday June 20th at the historic Trocadero Theater. The Troc is centrally located in the chinatown district. Saturday will feature the likes of indie darlings Vampire Weekend, gypsy punks Gogol Bordello, indie-pop duo Mates of State, and more performing on an outdoor stage in a festival style-setting on the campus of Drexel University. Sunday will be take place at World Caf Live located in University City. Two stages of music will feature counter-culture genius singer/songwriter Daniel Johnston with The Capital Years, ODeath, and many others.

Tickets available at Ticketmaster.com and charge by phone at 215-336-2000. For more information go to poppedphiladelphia.org

FRIDAY, JUNE 20
Popped! Kickoff Party Featuring DJ Steve Bloodbath * White Ts & White Belts * Special Performance by Slick Rick with full band!

SATURDAY, JUNE 21
Vampire Weekend * Mates of State * Gogol Bordello * Dan Deacon * Crystal Castles * Mr. Lif * Hoots & Hellmouth * The Ting Tings

SATURDAY, JUNE 22
Daniel Johnston with The Capital Years * ODeath * Gildon Works * Takka Takka * Sam Champion * Cheers Elephant * Plus more TBA!

As you likely know, Wilco will be rocking McCarren Park Pool on August 13th. A pre-sale begins Wednesday, April 23rd, at 10am. Public on sale begins Friday, April 25th, at 10am.........

WILCO TOUR DATES
APR-30 ROCHESTER, MN MAYO CIVIC CENTER
MAY-01 FARGO, ND FARGO CIVIC AUDITORIUM
MAY-02 WINNIPEG, MB BURTON CUMMINGS THEATRE
MAY-04 BOZEMAN, MT EMERSON CULTURAL CENTER
MAY-05 MISSOULA, MT ADAMS CENTER
MAY-07 GRAND JUNCTION, CO AVALON THEATER
MAY-08 COLORADO SPRINGS, CO PIKES PEAK CENTER
MAY-09 ALBUQUERQUE, NM POPEJOY HALL
MAY-11 AUSTIN, TX STUBB'S
MAY-12 AUSTIN, TX STUBB'S
MAY-14 LAWRENCE, KS 10TH & NEW HAMPSHIRE
MAY-15 ST. LOUIS, MO THE PAGEANT
MAY-16 ST. LOUIS, MO THE PAGEANT
MAY-17 ST. LOUIS, MO THE PAGEANT
JUL-25 FAIRBANKS, AK THE BLUE LOON
JUL-26 ANCHORAGE, AK THE MOOSE'S TOOTH
AUG 01-03 CHICAGO, IL LOLLAPALOOZA
AUG-04 INDIANAPOLIS, IN WHITE RIVER STATE PARK
AUG-07 CHARLESTON, SC NORTH CHARLESTON PAC
AUG-08 CARY, NC KOKA BOOTH AMPHITHEATRE
AUG-10 WILMINGTON, DE GRAND OPERA HOUSE
AUG-12 LENOX, MA TANGLEWOOD
AUG-13 BROOKLYN, NY MCCARREN POOL
AUG-23 BEND, OR LES SCHWAB AMPHITHEATER
AUG-24 SAN FRANCISCO, CA OUTSIDE LANDS FESTIVAL
AUG 29-31 COUNTY LAOIS, IRELAND ELECTRIC PICNIC

The Metal Masters Tour will feature Judas Priest, Heaven And Hell, Motorhead and Testament. Here are the dates...........

METAL MASTERS TOUR
August 6 - Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
August 7 - Bristow, VA @ Nissan Pavilion
August 9 - Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
August 10 - Wantagh, NY @ Nikon at Jones Beach
August 13 - Toronto, ON @ Molson Amphitheatre
August 16 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Post Gazette Pavilion
August 18 - Detroit, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
August 19 - Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
August 22 - Dallas, TX @ Superpages.com Amphitheatre
August 23 - Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
August 24 - San Antonio, TX @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
August 27 - Albuquerque, NM @ Journal Pavilion
August 28 - Phoenix, AZ @ Cricket Pavilion
August 30 - San Bernardino, CA @ Glen Helen Pavilion
August 31 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre

On April 11th, Bill Maher made the following remarks on his HBO show, Real Time:

Whenever you combine a secretive compound, religion and weirdos in pioneer outfits, there�s going to be some child-fucking going on. In fact, whenever a cult leader sets himself up as �God�s infallible wing man� here on earth, lock away the kids.

Which is why I�d like to tip off law enforcement to an even larger child-abusing religious cult. Its leader also has a compound. And this guy not only operates outside the bounds of the law, but he used to be a Nazi and he wears funny hats.

That�s right. The Pope is coming to America this week, and, ladies, he�s single! [laughter] Now, I know what you�re thinking: �Bill, you can�t be saying that the Catholic Church is no better than this creepy Texas cult! For one thing, altar boys can�t even get pregnant.�

But, really, what tripped up the �little cult on the prairie��[laughter]�was that they only abused hundreds of kids, not thousands all over the world. Cults get raided. Religions get parades. How does the Catholic Church get away with all of their buggery? VOLUME, VOLUME, VOLUME!

If you have a few hundred followers and you let some of them molest children, they call you a cult leader. If you have a billion, they call you �Pope.�

It�s like if you can�t pay your mortgage, you�re a deadbeat, but if you can�t pay a million mortgages, you�re Bear Stearns, and we bail you out. And that�s who the Catholic Church is, the Bear Stearns of organized pedophilia. Too big to fail.

When the � when the current Pope was in his previous Vatican job as John Paul�s Dick Cheney�he wrote a letter instructing every Catholic bishop to keep the sex abuse of minors secret until the statute of limitations ran out. And that�s the Church�s attitude: �We�re here, we�re queer, get used to it.�

Which is fine. Far be it from me to criticize religion. But, just remember one thing: if the Pope was, instead of a religious figure, merely the CEO of a nationwide chain of daycare centers where thousands of employees had been caught molesting kids and then covering it up, he�d be arrested faster than you can say, �Who wants to touch Mister Wiggle?�

Shockingly, the Catholic League was up in arms about this (Maher's comments, not the pedophilia) and started a full-frontal attack on HBO, in attempt to get Bill Maher fired. This past weekend, he responded:

And I bring this up because last week I got into some trouble with the Catholic League � not the first time with the Catholic League--how many Catholic League members? Not my biggest fans � because I said in our little essay ending the show, I said, �The Pope� � and I looked at it again; I looked at the words carefully � �used to be a Nazi.�

Okay, now, first of all, it was a joke. Okay, we�re in a comedic context. I said he �used to be a Nazi and he wears funny hats, and, ladies, he�s single.� [laughter] So, right away, we�re in the context of a joke. Okay, and �used to.� Now, but, you know what? You got me, okay. The Pope was not a Nazi. When he was a teenager, he was in the Hitler Youth. Which meant that he said the oath directly to Hitler and not to the Nazis. Which is sort of worse. Okay.

But, wait a second. The thing that argues for their side of this is that, you know what, he was coerced into that. He was a teenager. I wouldn�t blame any teen � he was a fourteen-year-old kid in Nazi Germany. Of course he�s going to do what they tell him to do.

So, on that score, you know what, my Catholic friends, I will never make the �Pope is a Nazi� joke again. Because, you�re technically right, okay, and also because it distracts from the main point. And the main point I was making was that if the Pope, instead of a religious figure, was the CEO of a chain of nationwide daycare centers who had thousands of employees who had been caught molesting children and then covering it up, he would have been in jail.

The set times for Coachella have been posted and who knew that Sean Penn is performing at Coachella on Sunday? Weird..........

COACHELLA CONFLICTS
Kraftwerk vs M.I.A. vs Animal Collective
The Raconteurs vs Aphex Twins
The Verve vs Sharon Jones & Dap Kings vs Spank Rock
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks vs Kate Nash
My Morning Jackets vs Love & Rockets
Breeders vs. Jens Lekman
Portishead vs Flogging Molly
Perry Farrell vs Annuals
Fatboy Slim vs Black Lips

Full set times after the jump.........

It has been announced that Fox News anchor turned White House press secretary Tony Snow will join CNN as a conservative commentator beginning today. Is that any stranger than the Mayor of New York City attempting to buy the New York Times?!

Anyway, it's today is the Pennsylvania Democratic Primary, so in honor of ABC News, let's just cut to some political humor..........

President Bush Appears On "Deal Or No Deal"
.

Jon Stewart Interviews President Bush (Will Ferrell)

Eugene Mirman's Pennsylvania Primary Report

Clinton, Obama and McCain Appear on WWE's Smackdown

Fake Obama Wrestles Fake Clinton on WWE's Smackdown

I wonder if Steve Nash and Jason Kidd are comfortable or even aware of the not-so-suttle homoerotic nature of this ad, made even more obvious with the "I don't wanna be your friend / I just wanna be your lover" lyrics to "House of Cards. Watch it here........

As we posted earlier, the Coachella line-up shows two Sunday performances by "Sean Penn," both of which are on Sunday. The first is in the small Gobi Tent from 2:10 to 2:40. The other is on the Main Coachella Stage from 6:45 to 7:00pm, immediately before My Morning Jacket.

It is strongly rumored that "Sean Penn" is actually Eddie Vedder, who will be performing with both his good friend Sean Penn, as he did in Los Angeles, and his other good friends My Morning Jacket, as he did at last year's Lollapalooza........

All Tommorow's Parties will finally be bringing their indietastic festival to New York State. The ATP NEW YORK 2008 will take place Kutshers Country Club in Monticello, New York (the Catskills!) from September 19th through the 21st. Tickets will go on sale Friday, April 25th via.ATPFestival.com.

Here's the line-up:

MY BLOODY VALENTINE * MOGWAI * POLVO * FUCK BUTTONS * AUTOLUX * THE DRONES * LOW * WOODEN SHJIPS * EDAN WITH GUEST DAGHA * THEE SILVER MOUNT ZION ORCHESTRA * BUILT TO SPILL PERFORMING PERFECT FROM NOW ON IN * MEAT PUPPETS PERFORMING MEAT PUPPETS II * TORTOISE PERFORMING MILLIONS NOW LIVING WILL NEVER DIE * THURSTON MOORE PERFORMING PSYCHIC HEARTS * SHELLAC

Cue Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes' "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life".........

Senator Hillary Clinton won another primary that doesn't get her any closer to being the Democratic nominee for President.

So while Obama and Clinton continue to suck money from just about every regional-level Democratic campaign, the race will continue to at least May 6th, but who are we kidding, these two are taking it to the convention.......

Finally, some word on a possible new Strokes record. Oddly, this update comes from the least vocal stroke, Nikolia........

I really dig this classic albums live trend. Some really worthy bands have gotten some much deserved attention because of this simple idea.

With that said, the great Echo & The Bunnymen will perform Ocean Rain, with a full orchestra, at Radio City New York on October 1, 2008.

Bunnymen.com has a pre sale set to begin April 25th at 9am EDT. General on sale is a week later.......

Devo have announced some 2008 tour dates. They will play Brooklyn's McCarren Park Pool on June 26th with Tom Tom Club and Dan Deacon. Tickets are $52 and on (pre)sale now.

Devo's June 28th show at Philadelphia's Festival Pier will feature The Hold Steady and Paul Green School of Rock All-Stars...........

DEVO TOUR DATES 2008
MAY 30: Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound @Parc del Forum
JUNE 3: Paris, France - Villette Sonique @ Parc de la Villette
JUNE 26: Brooklyn, NY @ McCarren Park Pool
JUNE 27: Boston, MA @ Bank Of Amer. Pavilion
JUNE 28: Philadelphia, PA - Festival Pier @ Penn's Landing
AUG 9: Osaka, Japan - Summersonic Festival @ Maishima
AUG 10: Tokyo, Japan - Summersonic Festival @ Marine Stadium

The Black Crowes will be taking Warpaint on the road for their "Euphoria of Bust" tour. This insanely long venture will take them all accross North America. On most of the early dates, the band will be joined by Grace Potter & The Nocturnals. On most ot the later dates, Howlin Rain will open.

The Crowes have always gone the extra mile when performing in New York City and this 90-city tour is no exception. The band will be playing four area show, two will be electric shows at the Hammerstein and the other two will be acoustic shows at Town Hall. Ticket for all the New York City shows go on sale April 26th at 10am.........

BLACK CROWES TOUR DATESFri-Jun-27 Hershey, PA Hershey Stadium w/ DMB
Sat-Jun-28 Hampton Beach, NH Hampton Beach Casino
Sun-Jun-29 Hampton Beach, NH Hampton Beach Casino
Tue-Jul-01 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore
Wed-Jul-02 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore
Thu-Jul-03 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore
Sat-Jul-05 Charlottesville, VA Charlottesville Pavilion
Sun-Jul-06 Jim Thorpe, PA Penn's Peak
Tue-Jul-08 Montreal, Quebec Metropolis
Thu-Jul-10 Ottawa, Ontario Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest
Fri-Jul-11 Sarnia, ONT Sarnia Bayfest Festival
Sat-Jul-12 Toronto, Ontario Massey Hall
Tue-Jul-15 Winnipeg, Manitoba Burton Cummings Theater
Thu-Jul-17 Edmonton, Alberta North Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
Fri-Jul-18 Calgary, Alberta Jack Singer Theater
Sun-Jul-20 Denver, CO Mile High Music Festival
Tue-Jul-22 Kansas City, MO Voodoo Lounge @ Harrah's
Wed-Jul-23 Tulsa, OK Cain's Ballroom
Sat-Jul-26 Elizabeth, IN The Shoe @ Ceasar's Indiana
Tue-Jul-29 Cleveland, OH House of Blues
Wed-Jul-30 Cleveland, OH House of Blues
Fri-Aug-01 Bridgeport, CT Gathering of the Vibes
Sat-Aug-02 Newport, RI Newport Folk Festival
Sun-Aug-03 Vienna, VA Filene Center @ Wolf Trap
Tue-Aug-05 Pittsburgh, PA Byham Theater
Wed-Aug-06 Covington, KY The Madison Theater
Fri-Aug-08 Columbus, OH The LC Amphitheater
Sat-Aug-09 East Troy, WI Alpine Valley Music Theater w/DMB
Sun-Aug-10 East Troy, WI Alpine Valley Music Theater w/DMB
Thu-Aug-14 Fayetteville, AR Arkansas Music Pavilion
Fri-Aug-15 Council Bluffs, IA Stir Cove @ Harrah's Casino
Sun-Aug-17 Jackson Hole, WY Jackson Hole Jazz & Heritage Festival
Fri-Aug-29 Milwaukee, WI 105th Harley Davidson Celebration
Wed-Sep-03 Victoria, BC Royal Theater
Thu-Sep-04 Vancouver, BC The Orpheum Theater
Fri-Sep-05 Portland, OR Edgefield Concert Park
Sun-Sep-07 Jacksonville, OR Britt Festival
Mon-Sep-08 Puyallup, WA Western Washington Fair
Wed-Sep-10 Arcata, CA Van Duzer Theater
Fri-Sep-12 Santa Rosa, CA Wells Fargo Center
Sat-Sep-13 Las Vegas, NV The Joint
Tue-Sep-16 Mesa, AZ Ikeda Theatre (Mesa Arts Center)
Wed-Sep-17 Los Angeles, CA The Greek Theater
Fri-Sep-19 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara County Bowl
Sun-Oct-05 Alpharetta, GA Verizon Wireless Amph
Tue-Oct-07 Richmond, VA The National
Wed-Oct-08 Richmond, VA The National
Fri-Oct-10 Atlantic City, NJ The Borgata
Sat-Oct-11 Albany, NY The Palace Theater
Sun-Oct-12 Northampton, MA Calvin Theater
Tue-Oct-14 Providence, RI Lupo's
Fri-Oct-17 Boston, MA Boston Opera House
Sat-Oct-18 Buffalo, NY The Town Ballroom
Mon-Oct-20 Burlington, VT Higher Ground
Tue-Oct-21 Burlington, VT Higher Ground
Mon-Oct-27 New York, NY Hammerstein Ballroom
Tue-Oct-28 New York, NY Hammerstein Ballroom
Mon-Nov-03 New York, NY Town Hall **Acoustic**
Tue-Nov-04 New York, NY Town Hall Theater **Acoustic**
Thu-Nov-06 Charlotte, NC Neighborhood Theater
Fri-Nov-07 Charlotte, NC Neighborhood Theater
Sat-Nov-08 Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theater
Mon-Nov-10 Clearwater, FL Ruth Eckerd Hall
Tue-Nov-11 Orlando, FL House of Blues
Wed-Nov-12 Miami Beach, FL Jackie Gleason Theater
Sat-Nov-15 Birmingham, AL Alabama Theater
Sun-Nov-16 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
Tue-Nov-18 New Orleans, LA House of Blues
Mon-Dec-15 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
Tue-Dec-16 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
Thu-Dec-18 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
Fri-Dec-19 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
Sat-Dec-20 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore

The 2008 Rock The Bells tour continues to be a must-see summer show. This year's line-up features two sick reunions, A Tribe Called Quest and The Pharcyde (with Fatlip?), as well as an amazing undercard of Mos Def, Nas, De La Soul and on and on.

Pre-sale tickets will be available May 14th - 16th via www.guerillaunion.com, and then to the general public on May 17th. Exclusive LA pre-sale starts on May 7th-9th with on-sale to follow May 10th.

ROCK THE BELLS 2008
A Tribe Called Quest * Mos Def * Nas * The Pharcyde * De La Soul * Rakim * Method Man * Raekwon * Ghostface * Immortal Technique * Dead Prez * Murs * Spank Rock * Kid Sister * Santogold * The Cool Kids * Jay Electronica * B.O.B. * Kidz In The Hall * Wale * Amanda Blank * Flosstradomus * B Real * Supernatural * Scratch * And More TBA

ROCK THE BELLS 2008 TOUR DATES
Sat 7/19 - Chicago, IL
Sun 7/20 - Toronto, ON
Sat 7/26 - Boston, MA
Sun 7/27 - New York, NY
Sat 8/2 - Miami, FL
Sun 8/3 - Philadelphia, PA
Sat 8/9 - Los Angeles, CA
Sat 8/16 - San Francisco, CA
Sat 8/23 - Denver, CO
Sat 8/30 - Vancouver, BC

Nine Inch Nails recorded, mixed and uploaded a new song onto their website less than 24-hours after it was completed. For those who found the all instrumental Ghosts I-IV not their style, they'll be glad to hear that "Discipline" is a classic nin jam.

In keeping with their non-traditional releases, "Discipline" is available for free. You can also download various stems for remixing.

Rumor has it that they will have a new album out by this summer and it will be released in a very similiar manner to Ghosts I-IV .....

Why I can't stand Hillary:

"I'm very proud that as of today, I have received more votes by the people who have voted than anybody else, and I am proud of that," Clinton said at a rally in Indianapolis. "It's a very close race, but if you count, as I count, the 2.3 million people who voted in Michigan and Florida, then we are going to build on that."

Where is Howard Dean? As the party leader, it's his job to stop Hillary from saying lies like this. The race is over. She lost. All she is doing at this point is hurting the Democratic candidate and helping John McCain.........

Jarvis Cocker will be taking his "Black Magic" back to New York City. Speaking of black magic:

Police in Congo have arrested 13 suspected sorcerers accused of using black magic to steal or shrink men's penises after a wave of panic and attempted lynchings triggered by the alleged witchcraft.

Reports of so-called penis snatching are not uncommon in West Africa, where belief in traditional religions and witchcraft remains widespread, and where ritual killings to obtain blood or body parts still occur.

Jarvis play the Music Hall of WIlliamsburg on July 21st and Terminal 5 on July 22nd. Tickets for both shows go on sale Friday, April 25th, at noon......

DOWNLOAD: Jarvis Cocker - "Black Magic"

Nine days after their last performance, six days after the passing of Danny Federici, and just two days after the funeral service, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played their second emotionally charged show in Florida.

At their two Florida shows, the audiences where treated to some very special setlist additions in honor of Danny, including "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?", "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)", "Growin' Up", "Atlantic City", "Brilliant Disguise", "Lost in the Flood", "Racing in the Street", "Out on the Streets" and "I'll Fly Away".

To add to the very special feel of these two shows, Roger McGuinn joined The E Street Band last night in Orlanda to play two classic Byrd's turnes, "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and "Mr. Tambourine Man."...........