May 2008 Archives

For those obsessed with Law & Order. Via Ultragrrrl, who started a new live music blog called Almack's Dance Hall........

Meet the man the Republican party put up for a congressional seat.......

Tony Zirkle, who is seeking the Republican nomination in Indiana's 2nd District, stood in front of a painting of Hitler, next to people wearing swastika armbands and with a swastika flag in the background for the speech [celebrating the anniversary of Adolf Hitler's birth] to the American National Socialist Workers Party in Chicago on Sunday.

"I'll speak before any group that invites me," Zirkle said Monday. "I've spoken on an African-American radio station in Atlanta."

The RNC have yet to ask Tony ZIrkle to abandon his campaign. In fact, they seem to be quite happy with him.....

Eight years ago, Debbie Shank was stocking shelves for Wal-Mart and signed up for the companies health and benefits plan.

Shortly afterwards, Shank suffered severe brain damage after a traffic accident that robbed her of much of her short-term memory and left her in a wheelchair and living in a nursing home.

Thankfully, she had insurance through Wal-Mart.

Two years after the accident, Shank and her husband, Jim, were awarded about $1 million in a lawsuit against the trucking company involved in the crash. After legal fees were paid, $417,000 was placed in a trust to pay for Debbie Shank's long-term care.

And here's where things get fucked up.

After the lawsuit, Wal-Mart sued Shank for the $470,000 inmedical expenses that their company paid insurance to the family. Somehow, a court ruled that Wal-Mart can recoup what is left in the family's trust.

The Shanks didn't notice in the fine print of Wal-Mart's health plan policy that the company has the right to recoup medical expenses if an employee collects damages in a lawsuit.

Eight days after the ruling, Debbie's 18 year-old son died in combat while serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq.

The family now has no money to care for Debbie.

Debbie's husband, Jim, was forced to divorce her so that she could collect more money from medicare to pay for her costly medical bills. Jim was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Only after public outrage, mostly coming from Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Wal-Mart agreed to not collect the $400,000. That was a month ago and as of today, Wal-Mart has still not returned the money to the Shanks.

Show support for the Shanks at http://hope4shank.com/.......

The Tickets for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds at the WaMu Theatre go on sale Friday at 10am........

Tickets for The Butthole Surfers at Webster Hall on Tuesday, July 29th, go on sale on Friday at 10am.

The Butthole Surfers will also be part of The Paul Green School of Rock Music's three-day take over of Philadelphia. On June 27th, the Butthole Surfers will headline the Electric Factory. The other shows will feature Devo and The Hold Steady at Festival Pier on June 28th and Dropkick Murphys at Festival Pier on June 29th.........

Senator Obama is getting some big indie-rock support from Arcade Fire and Superchunk, two bands that have pumped some decent dollars into the North Carolina economy via Merge Recrods. Here's the info.......

CHANGE ROCKS: Early Vote Concerts with Arcade Fire and Superchunk

THURSDAY, MAY 1
Greensboro Coliseum Complex Pavilion Parking Lot
(Rain site: Pavilion)
1921 W Lee Street
Greensboro, NC
Gates open: 1:00 pm
For more information, call 336-332-0028 or visit www.nc.barackobama.com
Tickets are required. Tickets are free, but only one ticket may be picked up person. Space is limited and admission is on a first come, first serve basis. The show is for all ages.
RSVP FOR TICKETS HERE

FRIDAY, MAY 2
Carrboro Town Commons
301 W. Main Street
Carrboro, NC
Gates open: 1:00 pm
For more information, call 919-929-3460 or visit www.nc.barackobama.com
* Parking is very limited, so walking, biking, taking public transit or car-pooling to the show are encouraged.

A just released NBC News / Wall Street Journal poll shows that Barack Obama is winning with voters. He's at 46% while Hillary is at 43%.

The poll also shows that 32% are still saying Rev. Wright is a major concern, but 43% say that McCain's ties to Bush is a major concern.

And while those numbers have got MSNBC's Pat Robertson in a tizzy, they're nothing to how McCain must be feeling about a new poll from the conversative Arizona State U for Eight/KAET-TV, which shows the McCain trending under 50% in his home-state when up against Obama:

McCain (R) 47 Obama (D) 38

McCain (R) 53
Clinton (D) 37

The 2008 Comerica Cityfest will mark the 20th anniversary of the annual free music festival in Detroit.

Among the acts confirmed for this year are De La Soul, George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, Broken Social Scene, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Aly and AJ, The Zombies, Seun Kuti, King Britt of Digable Planets, Great Lakes Myth Society, The Hentchmen and a whole lot more acts to be announced shortly.......

Tickets are now on sale for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds at the WaMu Theatre..........

Tom hasn't played a proper New York City show in a long ass time. Hopefully, the forthcoming message will include an area date or seven.....

Tune in and view highlights from the press conference held by musician and iconoclast Tom Waits to announce his summer tour "Glitter and Doom" on Monday, May 5 at www.tomwaits.com beginning at 9am EST.

Yoko Ono’s new exhibit of artwork, “touch me,” is on display at Galerie Lelong (528 W. 26th St.) through May 31.

She's also involved in a new lawsuit:

John Lennon's wife Yoko Ono and a group of collectors agreed Wednesday to not release video footage of the late Beatle pending a Boston court ruling on who controls it, lawyers said.

Representatives of Ono and of World Wide Video, a group of collectors of Beatles memorabilia, met Wednesday to set a first date for their court battle over the footage, some of which shows Lennon smoking marijuana, writing songs and wondering if he should drug Richard Nixon.

"Both parties agreed not to show the film while the matter is before the court".

Yoko appeared on WNYC's The Leonard Lopate Show.........

Feist and Constantines just released a low-key cover of the Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton
smash hit "Islands In The Stream":

Its two weeks as Billboard Hot 100 number-one were preceded by "Total Eclipse of the Heart," performed by Bonnie Tyler, and followed by "All Night Long" by Lionel Richie.

You can buy the limited-edition single at the redesigned Insound or listen to the song over at RCRDLBL.......

Ministry played the first of their two "final" NYC shows at Irving Plaza last night (their final show is tonight) and you could tell why this is their final tour. Here's how one fan reviewed the show:

Nothing new under the sun my friends. Any negativity that has been voiced before applies to NYC night #1 too. The same BS (translates to BUSH SHIT) setlist, the same overall lameness and the same retardo-metal audience. The same pathetic and cliché first opener, the same sleeping pill for the second opener (the first 2 dillinger escape plan records (EP & CD), that’s what I would file under complex & skilled metal)…

Well, what can I say, I knew what was coming, so no reason to complain, right?!

The Ministry show itself was, like I said before, no different from any other of the recent gigs it seems. From the old songs only Thieves and Just One Fix sounded alright. So What was, hmmm, not the same without Connelly and NWO I never really liked. Plus B.Bell just didn’t seem right for the vocals part. The only good thing about the show was Tommy Victor on guitar. He added big time to the overall stage presence, plus he is a local which always helps in NYC.

Left before the cover songs, had already suffered enough for the night. Needless to say I won’t be going back today.

Good bye Ministry and FUCK OFF

Chapter closed.

Also, Burton Bell sang all the songs for both encores........

MINISTRY | IRVING PLAZA | MAY 1, 2008
Let's Go / The Dick Song / Watch Yourself / Life Is Good / The Last Sucker / N.O.W. / Waiting / Worthless / Wrong / Rio Grande Blood / Senor Peligro / LiesLiesLies / Khyber Pass // NWO // Just One Fix // Thieves /// Roadhouse Blues /// Just Got Paid /// Under My Thumb

Is Trent Reznor some kind of music blog addict?! Judging from his hand-picked opening act selections. The answer is yes. Opening for him on his summer tour will be Deerhunter, Crystal Castles, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, A Place To Bury Strangers and White Williams.

And rumors are flying that NIN will release a new album on May 5th through their websites, much the same way they sold Ghosts I-IV.........

NINE INCH NAILS TOUR DATES (W/ OPENERS)
26 jul 08 Seattle, WA Key Arena Crystal Castles
28 jul 08 Edmonton, ALB Rexall Place Crystal Castles
29 jul 08 Calgary, ALB Pengrowth Saddledome Crystal Castles
31 jul 08 Winnipeg, MAN MTS Centre Crystal Castles
2 Aug 08 Minneapolis, MN Target Center Crystal Castles
5 Aug 08 Toronto, ONT Air Canada Centre Deerhunter
7 Aug 08 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena Deerhunter
8 Aug 08 Worcester, MA DCU Center Deerhunter
12 Aug 08 Knoxville, TN Knoxville Civic Coliseum Deerhunter
13 Aug 08 Duluth, GA Gwinnett Arena Deerhunter
15 Aug 08 Oklahoma City, OK Ford Center A Place To Bury Strangers
16 Aug 08 Houston, TX Toyota Center A Place To Bury Strangers
18 Aug 08 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center A Place To Bury Strangers
20 Aug 08 St Louis, MO Scottrade Center A Place To Bury Strangers
22 Aug 08 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena Does It Offend You, Yeah?
23 Aug 08 Auburn Hills, MI Palace of Auburn Hills Does It Offend You, Yeah?
27 Aug 08 East Rutherford, NJ Izod Center Does It Offend You, Yeah?
29 Aug 08 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center Does It Offend You, Yeah?
31 Aug 08 Lexington, KY Rupp Arena White Williams
2 Sep 08 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheater Deerhunter
3 Sep 08 Salt Lake City, UT The E Center of West Valley Deerhunter
5 Sep 08 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena Deerhunter
6 Sep 08 Inglewood, CA The Forum Deerhunter

Tom Waits announced his Glitter & Doom Summer Tour. Once again, this tour goes nowhere near New York City. Here are the tour dates.........

TOM WAITS TOUR DATES
Tuesday, June 17, 2008 Phoenix, US - Orpheum
Wednesday, June 18, 2008 Phoenix, US - Orpheum
Friday, June 20, 2008 El Paso, US - Plaza Theatre
Sunday, June 22, 2008 Houston, US - Jones Hall
Monday, June 23, 2008 Dallas, US - Palladium
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 Tulsa, US - Brady Theatre
Thursday, June 26, 2008 St Louis, US - Fox Theatre
Saturday, June 28, 2008 Columbus, US - Ohio Theatre
Sunday, June 29, 2008 Knoxville, US - Civic Theatre
Tuesday, July 1, 2008 Jacksonville, US - Moran Theatre
Wednesday, July 2, 2008 Mobile, US - Saenger Theatre
Thursday, July 3, 2008 Birmingham, US - Alabama Theatre
Saturday, July 5, 2008 Atlanta, US - Fox Theatre

Trent Reznor has a very interesting way of saying "thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years - this one's on me." Well, thank you indeed.......

as a thank you to our fans for your continued support, we are giving away the new nine inch nails album one hundred percent free, exclusively via nin.com.

the music is available in a variety of formats including high-quality MP3, FLAC or M4A lossless at CD quality and even higher-than-CD quality 24/96 WAVE. your link will include all options - all free. all downloads include a PDF with artwork and credits.

for those of you interested in physical products, fear not. we plan to make a version of this release available on CD and vinyl in july. details coming soon.

1) 999,999
2) 1,000,000
3) letting you
4)discipline
5) echoplex
6) head down
7) lights in the sky
8) corona radiata
9) the four of us are dying
10) demon seed
length: 43:45

the slip is licensed under a creative commons attribution non-commercial share alike license.

we encourage you to
remix it
share it with your friends,
post it on your blog,
play it on your podcast,
give it to strangers,
etc.

©2008 NIN

www.nin.com

Celebrity Autobiography will be at the Triad Theater on Monday, May 5th and May 12th! Appearing on May 5th will be Rachel Dratch, Will Forte, Kristen Johnston, Richard Kind, Eugene Pack, Dayle Reyfel, Sherri Shepherd, Jason Sudeikis, Kristen Wiig and other special guests.

"Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words" The long running L.A. comedy sensation, as seen on Bravo-TV, finally comes to New York. Voted "Cool Night Out" in Rolling Stone Magazine and called "Hilarious" by In Style Magazine, this critically acclaimed show features film, stage and tv personalities performing excerpts from actual celebrity memoirs written by such authors as Elizabeth Taylor, Mr T, Tommy Lee and Sylvester Stallone. www.celebrityautobiography.com

I just read this messed up news story.......

Country music songwriter Richard Fagan has been accused of killing music publisher Gaetano T. Oteri in Nashville, police said.

Oteri is the father of "Saturday Night Live" alumnus Cheri Oteri and the two men were longtime friends and roommates, The (Nashville) Tennessean reported.

A police spokesman said the two men allegedly had been drinking and got into a fight Saturday night. Fagan allegedly slashed his friend with a pocket knife on the wrist, called another friend to come help and left their home. However, he was intelligible on the phone and no one came to check on Oteri, police said.

Later that night, Fagan was arrested for drunken driving and when he got out of jail Sunday afternoon, he called a friend to check on Oteri. It was that person who found Oteri dead, police said.

Fagan is known for penning a number of country's top songs, including John Michael Montgomery's "Be My Baby Tonight," The Tennessean said.

Radiohead and MTV have teamed to address the exploitation and slavery of children around the world. As part of MTV"s EXIT (End eXploitation and Trafficking) campaign, an effort to combat the horrendous practices of selling children into the sex or enforced labor industries, Radiohead helped produce a video for "All I Need" that will address this issue.

And Radiohead were listed at #83 on Time Magazine's 2008 TIME 100 List. Other entertainers on the list are Lorne Micheals, Miley Cyrus, Joel & Ethan Coen, Bruce Springsteen, Mariah Carey and Tyler Perry...........

No Age joined the short list of modern acts who have gotten in above a 9 rating by Pitchfork. The duo's Sub Pop debut, Nouns, got a 9.2:

Nouns is so cacophonous, so fertile, and so ripe with sound that parsing out the samples and effects and various layers of guitar is nearly impossible; besides, it's way more satisfying to just close your eyes and just enjoy it. Ultimately, it's part of No Age's allure that Nouns is so difficult to figure out, that it manages to be so big while coming from a place so small: All you'll know for sure is that you want to listen longer. Maybe forever.

Other acts in the 9ers Club include Hercules and Love Affair, Radiohead's In Radiobows, Animal Collective's Strawberry Jam, Jens Lekman's Night Falls Over Kortedala , Battles' Mirrored and LCD Soundsystem's Sound of Silver.

No Age headline the Bowery Ballroom on Tuesday night.

You can buy Nouns here.........

DOWNLOAD: No Age - "Eraser"

Hillary Clinton's one contest streak is over after Barack Obama won the Saturday primary in Guam.

Tuesday will see major primaries in North Carolina and Indiana, where 187 Democratic delegates are up for grabs. These delegates will be allotted on a proportional basis, so unless one candidate has some gigantic victory, which is not expected, the total pledged delegate margin shouldn't change all that much.

In related news, Hillary has sent out FIVE negative mailers (as opposed to ONE by Obama). Of course, the facts in all of Hillary's mailers are totally inaccurate (not to mention that she has a gun pointed at his head!), but you can check out her Annie Oakley act after the jump.........

Mr. Brownstone will be returning to the Bowery Ballroom for a "Shock And Awesome" July 4th show. Tickets are $20 and go on sale Tuesday, May 6th, at noon........

Radiohead celebrated Cinco De Mayo by kicking off their In Rainbows world tour at the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida. A strong setlist that is sure to change nightly, but surprisingly they didn't play "Paranoid Android" or "Karma Police" or anything off Pablo Honey............

RADIOHEAD | CRUZEN AMPHITHEATRE | WEST PALM BEACH, FL | 5-5-2008
all I Need / bodysnatchers / there there / reckoner / the gloaming / morning bell / nude / how to disappear completely / 15 step / weird fishes-arpeggi / idioteque / bulletproof / where I end and you begin / airbag / everything in its right place / the national anthem / videotape // optimistic // just // faust Arp (thom & jonny // exit music // bangers and mash /// house of cards /// street spirit

This is just horrible news:

YANGON, Myanmar - The cyclone death toll soared above 22,000 on Tuesday and more than 41,000 others were missing as foreign countries mobilized to rush in aid after the country's deadliest storm on record, state radio reported.

Up to 1 million people may be homeless after Cyclone Nargis hit the Southeast Asian nation, also known as Burma, early Saturday. Some villages have been almost totally eradicated and vast rice-growing areas are wiped out, the World Food Program said.

Doctors Without Borders are already on the scene. You can donate money here......

The Iraq War is now in its 62nd month and. April ended up being one the deadliest months of combat for American troops, with over 50 deaths.

While my disgust and outrage at our actions in Iraq, I am still even more schocked by the failure of this government to care for the troops.

The number of suicides among veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may exceed the combat death toll because of inadequate mental health care, the U.S. government's top psychiatric researcher said.

A Rand Corporation study published last month that found about 20 percent of returning U.S. soldiers have post- traumatic stress disorder or depression, and only half of them receive treatment. About 1.6 million U.S. troops have fought in the two wars since October 2001, the report said. About 4,560 soldiers had died in the conflicts as of today, the Defense Department reported on its Web site.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, known as PTSD, is the failure to cope after a major shock, such as an auto accident, a rape or combat, Insel said. PTSD may remain dormant for months or years before it surfaces, and in about 10 percent of cases people never recover, he said.

The psychiatric association reported last week that a survey of 191 military members and their spouses found 32 percent said their duty hurt their mental health, and six in 10 believed seeking treatment would damage their careers.

Read the full article here and be ashamed of your President..........

My Bloody Valentine have announced additional U.S. tour dates in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto and New York City.

After rocking ATP New York, for which more tickets have been released, they will head to New York City to play two nights at the Roseland Ballroom. Tickets are supposedly going on sale this Friday.

Also, the MBV-curated ATP New York has added Dinosaur Jr, Mercury Rev, Harmonia, Lilys and Growing......

MY BLOODY VALENTINE TOUR DATES
9/19-9/21 Monticello, NY - Kutshers Country Club - ATP New York
9/22 New York, NY - Roseland
9/23 New York, NY - Roseland
9/25 Toronto, Ontario - Ricoh
9/27 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
9/30 San Francisco, CA - The Concourse
10/1 Los Angeles, CA - Santa Monica Civic
10/2 Los Angeles, CA - Santa Monica Civic

The line-up for K-ROQ's annual Weenie Roast will include Metallica, The Offspring, The Raconteurs, Rise Against, Bad Religion, Pennywise, The Bravery, Scars on Broadway, Seether, Flogging Molly, Atreyu, MGMT, Flobots and Ludo. The show happens May 17th at The Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Los Angeles, California.........

Scientologist homeboy Beck Hanson is nearly finished with a new album, which will be released next month, and has started scheduling West Coast tour dates. When he is not playing festivals, he'll be touring with an assortment of opening acts including Cold War Kids, Spoon and MGMT.

Though neither his publicist nor his label would confirm any of it, MTV News has spoken to several individuals close to Beck, and they all tell us that he’s gearing up to release a brand new album in the very near future — think the next 4-6 weeks — through the Universal Music Group.

And that’s not all — we’ve also heard that said album will be produced by Danger Mouse and feature collaborations with a host of artists, including Cat Power.

BECK TOUR DATES
8/22/08 San Francisco, CA Golden Gate Park "Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival"
8/24/08 Portland, OR Les Schwab Amphitheatre w/ Cold War Kids
8/30/08 Seattle, WA Seattle Center "Bumbershoot Festival"
9/20/08 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl w/ Spoon + MGMT
9/27/08 Austin, TX Zilker Park "Austin City Limits Music Festival"

On Wednesday, May 7th, Neil Diamond will play a MySpace Secret Show at New York City's The Bitter End (149 Bleecker St) to promote his just-released Rick Rubin produced new album, Home Before Dark.

Doors are at 7pm. This show is 18 and up and admission is on a first come, first served basis.

After the jump, Will Ferrell does Neil Diamond......

In a race that really should have ended two months ago, the media has finally started saying the Democratic nominatee for President will be Senator Barack Obama.

This comes after his gigantic win in North Carolina, where Obama beat Senator Hillary Clinton by 233,497 votes. For reference, Clinton won Pennsylvania by 214,224 votes.

The networks just called Indiana for Senator Clinton, but it looks like she won't pick up any delegates and may still end up losing the popular vote after absentee ballots get counted.

Either way though, the media has finally started saying what most people have known for months: the Democratic race for President is over. Obama is the nomine.......

The initial line-up for the Village Voice Siren Festival has been announced:

STEPHEN MALKMUS AND THE JICKS, BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE, THE HELIO SEQUENCE, BEACH HOUSE, TIMES NEW VIKING,.JAGUAR LOVE, THE DODOS, ANNUALS, FILM SCHOOL, PARTS & LABOR, DRAGONS OF ZYNTH, THESE ARE POWERS and more to be announced!

The show takes place on Saturday, July 19th.........

Couldn't get out to Utah for the 2008 Sundance Film Festival? Fear not, the Sundance Institute at B.A.M. returns May 29th to June 9th. Among the screenings, is this one:

Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Sat, May 31 at 6:30pm*
Director: Sacha Gervasi
At fourteen, Toronto school friends Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner made a pact to rock together forever. Their band, Anvil, went on to influence a musical generation, including Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax—bands that would sell millions of records. But Anvil's career took a different path—straight to obscurity. Director Sacha Gervasi has concocted a wonderful and often hilarious account of Anvil's last-ditch quest for elusive fame and fortune. At its core, Anvil! The Story of Anvil is a timeless tale of survival and the unadulterated passion it takes to follow your dream, year after year. Anvil rocks—it has no other choice. NY Premiere!
***Following the screening of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival hit about their quest for rock legend stardom, the band Anvil brings their kinetic brand of heavy metal to BAMcafé for a rockin’ party. For more information on this concert, which is free and open to the public, go here.

Live Nation is about to cash in on their Madonna deal.

Ticket sale details will be announced Thursday, along with a presale through Live Nation's corporate sponsorship partner Citi. Fogel said that ticket prices will be "basically the same as they've been the past two tours," which means primarily in the $55-$350 range.

MADONNA "STICKY & SWEET" TOUR DATES (w/ on sale)
23-Aug Cardiff Millennium Stadium (on sale May 16)
26-Aug Nice Stade Charles Ehrmann (on sale May 16)
28-Aug Berlin Olympic Stadium (on sale May 21)
02-Sept Amsterdam Arena (on sale May 17)
04-Sept Dusseldorf LTU Arena (on sale May 21)
06-Sept Rome Olympic Stadium (on sale May 23)
09-Sept Frankfurt Commerzbank Arena (on sale May 21)
11-Sept London Wembley Stadium (on sale May 16)
20-Sept Paris Stade de France (on sale May 16)
03-Oct E. Rutherford Izod Center Mon. May 19
06-Oct New York City Madison Square Garden Mon. May 19
07-Oct New York City Madison Square Garden Mon. May 19
15-Oct Boston TD BankNorth Garden (on sale May 17)
18-Oct Toronto Air Canada Centre (on sale May 24)
22-Oct Montreal Bell Centre (on sale May 24)
26-Oct Chicago United Center (on sale May 17)
30-Oct Vancouver BC Place Stadium (on sale May 24)
01-Nov Oakland Oracle Arena (on sale June 1)
04-Nov San Diego Petco Park (on sale June 1)
06-Nov Los Angeles Dodger Stadium (on sale June 1)
08-Nov Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena (on sale May 31)
11-Nov Denver Pepsi Center (on sale May 31)
16-Nov Houston Minute Maid Park (on sale May 31)
19-Nov Philadelphia Wachovia Center (on sale June 2)
22-Nov Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall (on sale June 2)
24-Nov Atlanta Philips Arena (on sale May 31)
26-Nov Miami Dolphin Stadium (on sale May 31)

Two hundred people waited over twelve hours to get into Neil Diamond's seven song set at New York City's The Bitter End. He played a stripped down set and was in a really friendly mood, shaking hands and posing for pictures with just about everyone. The venue was even kind enough to put speakers outside the venue so those who couldn't get in could listen........

NEIL DIAMOND | THE BITTER END | MAY 7, 2008
Solitary Man / Don't Go There / Home Before Dark / Pretty Amazing Grace / Kentucky Woman / Cherry, Cherry / Sweet Caroline

HOLY FUCK!!!! Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band played a benefit show at the tiny Count Basie Theatre. The $1000+ tickets (with a limited number of $100 raffled off tickets) sold out immediately. This is Bruce at a small theater in New Jersey after all. The show was out of my price range. Now, I'm really sad I missed this show.

With the high ticket price, the E Street Band delivered what will definitely be considered a legendary show.

They started the show off with Bruce announcing "We're gonna start with Darkness, so we don't send you home suicidal!" They then all messed up the intro and immediate stopped. "We fucked it up already! I knew there was a reason why we didn't do this. Maybe we shouldn't do it!" Then the band kicked into "Badlands" and continued playing Darkness on the Edge of Town straight through!

They then took a break and came out and played Born To Run straight through!!!!

AND THEN, they came back to encore with "Kitty's Back" and "Rosalita". Amazing!!!

Unbelievable...........

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN | COUNT BASIE THEATRE | MAY 7, 2008
Badlands / Adam Raised a Cain / Something in the Night / Candy's Room / Racing in the Street / The Promised Land / Factory / Streets of Fire / Prove It All Night / Darkness on the Edge of Town // Thunder Road // Tenth Avenue Freeze-out (w/ horns) // Night // Backstreets // Born to Run // She's the One // Meeting Across the River (w/ Mark Pender) // Jungleland /// So Young and in Love (w/ horns) /// Kitty's Back (w/ horns) /// Rosalita (w/ horns) /// Raise Your Hand (w/ horns)

With absolutely no chance of ever becoming the Democratic nominee for President, Hillary Clinton has decided to not only keep her campaign going, but she is also getting even nastier than she's ever been:

Hillary Rodham Clinton vowed Wednesday to continue her quest for the Democratic nomination, arguing she would be the stronger nominee because she appeals to a wider coalition of voters — including whites who have not supported Barack Obama in recent contests.

At this point, with Obama the defacto nominee, Hillary is only trying to be a spoiler. She might as well be the next Joe Lieberman and just campaign with John McCain.

In the last 24 hours, four prominent superdelegates have switched from Clinton to Obama.The Washington Blade, one of the nation's most respected gay weeklies, which endorsed Clinton, says it's time for her to officially exit the race. Even Hillary's own top advisors have told her the race is over!

So anyway, bye Hillary. Don't let the door slam you on the ass.

In related news, which should have gotten much more coverage, Senator John McCain couldn't even get 80% of the vote in North Carolina or Indiana in the Republican primary. The Republican nominee isn't even running against anyone.........

The Vaselines are getting back together for two big shows, one of which will be Sup Pop's 20th Anniversary show. The other will be May 16th at Dunfermline, Scotland's Carnegie Hall as part of Tigerfest.

Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee will be jioned by various members of original band and a couple of members of Belle & Sebastian to really expand their sound. That should be pretty stellar.

Sub Pop's SP20 party has also added defunct French punks Les Thugs and Canadian alt-rockers Eric's Trip..............

This year's amazing Rock The Bells Tour (Tribe, Pharcyde, Nas, De La Soul, Method Man, Santogold, etc) will be coming to Jones Beach. I wish they kept it at Randalls Island. Tickets go on sale May 17th at 10am..........

Tickets for My Bloody Valentine's September 23rd show at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City will go on sale on Friday at 10am. Tickets cost $52 (and don't forget the additional $14 ticketmaster charge!)......

It only took Tina Turner nine years to un-retire. Her second-final tour is having a presale right now. The password is "HARPOANIT".

TINA TURNER TOUR DATES
October 1 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center
October 3 - Chicago, IL - United Center
October 6 - Chicago, IL - Allstate Arena
October 13 - Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center
October 14 - Anaheim, CA - Honda Center
October 19 - San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion
October 22 - Sacramento, CA - Arco Arena
October 24 - Phoenix, AZ - Jobing.com Arena
October 30 - Miami, FL - American Airlines Arena
November 2 - Fort Lauderdale - Bank Atlantic Center
November 5 - Orlando, FL - Amway Arena
November 9 - Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena
November 13 Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
November 16 - Boston, MA - TD Banknorth Garden
November 23 - Washington, DC - Verizon Center
November 26 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
December 3 - Uniondale, NY - Nassau Coliseum
December 8 - Montreal, QB - Bell Centre

Tickets for My Bloody Valentine at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City are now on sale. Interestingly, they are selling "Mezzanine" tickets for this show, which I've never seen them do before.........

This should be a bigger story:

The public relations executive whom Senator John McCain’s campaign had chosen to run the Republican National Convention this summer resigned his post on Saturday after a magazine reported that his firm had lobbied for the military junta that runs Myanmar.

The rulers of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, have been widely condemned for stymieing relief efforts after a cyclone ravaged the country’s coastal areas on May 3, killing thousands. The United States has denounced the Burmese government as one of the world’s most repressive, and Mr. McCain, Republican of Arizona, has long been critical of the government as well. During the campaign, he has called for Myanmar’s leaders to halt human rights abuses. .

If the cyclone never happened, and we all wish it didn't, McCain would never have fired this firm.........

The New York Times' Travel Section has deemed Denton the new Austin....

At last count, more than 100 bands were polishing their sound in the city’s dive bars, rooftop spaces and fraternity basements. Even the local record store, a converted opera house called Recycled, has a section devoted to Denton bands. The bin dividers read like a Lollapalooza T-shirt: Lift to Experience, Centro-matic, Jetscreamer, Vortexas, Robert Gomez, Stanton Meadowdale, Mom, Mandarin, and Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, to name just a few.

Not bad for a college town of 110,000, prompting more than a few music industry insiders to call Denton the next Austin.

Indeed, music seems to be ingrained in Denton’s roots. This unassuming town has given birth to musical acts ranging from the Grammy-winning polka band Brave Combo to the one-hit wonder Deep Blue Something (remember that “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” ditty from the 1990s?). In between are musicians as notable and diverse as Sly Stone, Don Henley, Meat Loaf, Pat Boone, Norah Jones and Roy Orbison.

Not that Denton is above riding Austin’s coattails. Since 2004, Dentonites have staged something called North by 35, or NX35 (the name refers to the highway linking Denton with Dallas), which showcases Denton-only music.

Read the full article here.......

Retarded political punks NOFX are hitting the East Coast in October. Tickets are now on sale.

NOFX's Fat Mike is one of the principle members of Punkvoter.org, which will be registering voters at all tour stops this summer and fall.......

NOFX TOUR DATES
October 15, 2008 New York, NY The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza
October 16, 2008 New York, NY The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza
October 17, 2008 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom
October 20, 2008 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero
October 21, 2008 Pittsburgh, PA Club Zoo
October 24, 2008 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live

The multi-genre artist Robert Rauschenberg has passed away. While art fans know him for him for his wildly diverse collections, music fans may know him as the guy who packaged the Talking Heads' Speaking in Tongues.....

While Hillary has been working super hard to be the spoiler of the 2008 Presidential race, it looks like former Congressman Bob Barr may end up being the new Ralph Nadar or Ross Perot.

Bob Barr, the former Republican Representative from Georgia, has officially tossed his hat into the ring and is expected to be the Libertarian Party nominee for President.

Barr is a very, very scary man. He was the author of the Defense of Marriage Act, which President Bill Clinton ended up signing, which states that only marriages that are between a man and a woman can be federally recognized. He's pro-gun, anti-abortion, hates the IRS, hates just about every government program, from welfare to public education. He also was the first to ask for impeachment hearing of Bill Clinton.

Of course, he's a disgusting hypocrite. It was discovered that he forced his wife to get an abortion and then spent many years cheating on her with numerous women. In 2003, Barr served on the defense team for white supremacist Chester Doles.

Anyway, Barr is running for President as a Libertarian. He's already polling at about 5%, which is directly eating away at McCain's base.

While the McSame camp is trying to marginalize Barr, the Republican candidate also has his hands full with Ron Paul, who is gearing up to lead a mutiny at the Convention in Minneapolis. Paul has been working over delagates who were pledged to Huckabee and Romney and plans on attacking McCain as a weak conservative.

Paul and Barr may end up being Obama's biggest supporters........

I don't know if Spiritualized have ever played the same venue twice in New York City. I can recall them playing the Apollo Theatre, the Riverside Church, Bowery Ballroom, Roseland and the Academy.

On July 27th, they'll return to New York to play Terminal 5. This is not an acoustic mainline show, so expect it to be wonderfully loud. Tickets go on sale Friday.at noon and cost $30.

Songs in A&E is really good. Not their best, but still very good.......

Andrew WK may not have had a hit since 2001, but he continues to party like it's well, 2001.

First, on May 15th, he'll be doing a solo performance a "Get Weird" event at the New Museum (235 Bowery NYC). Here's the pitch:

Experimental party starter Andrew WK makes a special solo appearance for May’s Get Weird event at the New Museum. On the heels of his explosive post-frat live shows across the globe, WK has been, of late, handling production duties for Lee “Scratch” Perry, lecturing at Yale, vibing with Will Oldham, spoofing the McLaughlin Group, and performing with avant-folkie Baby Dee and teen supergroup Hanson. We really have no idea what this performance will be like, but we know it will be awesome. And probably weird.

Get Weird is a monthly series of performances featuring experimental and freaky jams. Expect anything from dusted-off salsa to psychedelic harmonies, performed by unknown legends and young-gun mavericks. Get Weird takes place at the New Museum on the third Thursday of each month.

Then, on May 25th, Andy will be reading? Uh, here's this pitch:

Paul Frank has chosen Andrew W.K. to present their first-ever bedtime story, ONLY IN DREAMS, with a special children’s book reading in NYC. "Andrew’s dynamic and celebratory nature blends perfectly with the magical experience of the new book", says PF President Ryan Heuser. The event takes place on Sunday, May 25TH, 2008. FREE! 12:30 PM ’ONLY IN DREAMS’ book reading begins at McNally Robinson. 1:00 PM Autographs and Q&A. 2-4:00 PM. After party at The Paul Frank Store, New York. MCNALLY ROBINSON: 50 Prince St, New York, NY 10012 - (212) 274-1160. THE PAUL FRANK STORE NEW YORK: 195 Mulberry StNew York, NY 10012 - (212) 965-5079.

And finally, Andy is opening a club called Santos' Party House. Here's the pitch:

Santos' Party House has prepared their downstairs space for a series of nightly pre-opening parties. Now you can come dance. The upstairs will be open soon.

Santos' Party House is located at 100 Lafayette Street, one block south of Canal Street, Manhattan, New York City.

Santos' Party House is a two-level, 8000 sq. foot venue, centrally located in the downtown New York City, straddling Chinatown and Tribeca.

Focused on blurring the lines between music and art culture, the venue is designed to function as a concert hall, dance club, and lounge.

Featuring a top-notch, global lineup of weekly residents and one-off events, Santos' Party House has been built from the ground up to rival any venue in the world.

And that's enough about Andrew WK until the fall.........

The show of the fall?

Following some ATP performances, Built to Spill will perform their near-perfect Perfect From Now On at Terminal 5 on September 25th and 26th.

As if that wasn't enough, Dinosaur Jr. AND the Meat Puppets will be opening up the show. No word if they will each also perform one of their full classic albums.

Tickets are a cheap (for this) prices $32 and go on sale Thursday at noon.

Tilly and the Wall's third studio album will be called O. It will be released on June 17, 2008 through Team Love Records. They've lined up two New York City shows, one at the Bowery and one at Music Hall of Williamsburg.......

DOWNLOAD: Tilly & The Wall - “Cacophony”

TILLY & THE WALL TOUR DATES
Jul 4 2008 Richard on Richards Vancouver, British Columbia
Jul 5 2008 Neumo’s Seattle, Washington
Jul 8 2008 Great American Music Hall San Fransisco, California
Jul 10 2008 Echoplex Los Angeles, California
Jul 11 2008 EpiCenter San Diego, California
Jul 12 2008 Modified Phoenix, Arizona
Jul 13 2008 Club Congress Tucson, Arizona
Jul 16 2008 Granada Dallas, Texas
Jul 17 2008 Emo’s Austin, Texas
Jul 19 2008 One Eyed Jack’s New Orleans, Louisiana
Jul 22 2008 Social Orlando, Florida
Jul 23 2008 Jackrabbits Jacksonville, Florida
Jul 24 2008 Variety Playhouse Atlanta, Georgia
Jul 25 2008 Cat’s Cradle Carrboro, North Carolina
Jul 26 2008 Black Cat Washington DC, Washington DC
Jul 27 2008 First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jul 29 2008 Music Hall of Williamsburg Brooklyn, New York
Jul 30 2008 Bowery Ballroom New York City, New York
Jul 31 2008 Paradise Boston, Massachusetts
Aug 2 2008 Mod Club Toronto, Ontario
Aug 3 2008 Hartwood Acres Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
Aug 6 2008 Abbey Pub Chicago, Illinois
Aug 7 2008 Sokol Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska

The trio-now-duo We Are Scientists (apparently one of them was more into Mathmatics) have a new album to promote and will play two New York City shows, a hometown show on July 31st at the Music Hall of Williamsburg and August 1st at the Bowery Ballroom.

Their new album is Brain Thrust Mastery. "Chick Lit" is the first single and video......

The wonderful Laura Marling was kind enough to take some time away from touring with Adam Green to hang with Team PSNYC at Serious Business Recording Studio in Soho, where we recording an amazing five-song session and interview for this week's Sirius Blog Radio. (A special thanks to Travis Harrison for producing the session)

The session and interview will air on Channel 26 on Thursday at noon and midnight.

Laura will return to New York City to headline a show at the Mercury Lounge on June 18th. See her before she wins the Mercury Prize and plays much, much bigger venues......

DOWNLOAD: Laura Marling - "I'm A Fly"

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart's John Oliver will be two doing two excellent events at New York's UCB Theatre.

On Wednesday, May 21st at 7pm, Oliver will tape a full stand-up performance of "Political Monster" for BBC Radio 4 series. Tickets are $10.

On Thursday, May 22nd, Oliver will be a guest on The Dave Hill Explosion with Guided By Voices' Doug Gillard. Those tickets are $5..........

Bumpershine tipped us off to this. We knew that Park Slope's Union Hall was being targeted by the police and some locals with "an allergy to noise," but did it really warrrent members of Community Board 6 of the City of New York, to vote 6 to 2 in favor of a, “motion that denies Union Hall a renewal [of its liquor license] unless the business’ owners sign a contract stipulating that they will take measures to ameliorate noise, such as stopping the sale of alcohol after midnight"?!?!?!?!

Tonight is big Community Board meeting. You should show up. Here's the scoop:

Community Board 6's advisory board lead by Lou Sones (the owner of Brazen Head) is taking action against Union Hall of Park Slope. They are recommending the removal of their liquor license based on a group of about 5 people from Union street, with no facts generated to prove any violations. I repeat... THEY ARE TRYING TO TAKE AWAY UNION HALL'S LIQUOR LICENSE WITHOUT A SINGLE VIOLATION! If this is allowed it could set a chain-reaction through the night life scene. If they can deny the renewal of a liquor license for an establishment with no violations they will be able to close down anyone they like.

DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN!

The General Board will be meeting on this and other matters at the address and time listed bellow. Show up in numbers with signs stating your support for Union Hall and Brooklyn Nightlife. The press will be there and we have to put the pressure on.

Wednesday, May 14, 6:30PM
Borough Hall
Court Room
209 Joralemon St
Brooklyn, NY

The ultra-conservative Mississippi Congressional District 1 held a special election for their open congressional seat and they elected Travis Childers, the Democratic candidate!

This is the third seat the Republicans have lost in the House of Representatives this year! Not a good sign for things to come.

And on a related news, Hillary "Graceful Exit" Clinton won a meaningless West Virginia primary, while Barack "The Nominee" Obama picked up two more superdelegates this morning. In the last week, Obama has picked up thirty superdelegates, eighteen of whom were previously pledged to Hillary.........

New York Magazine's next NYxNY event will be Indie Rock Trivia Night hosted by Zach Galifianakis, with a live performance from Les Savy Fav. The event is May 21st at the HighLine Ballroom.

Tickets are $25 and now on sale.

We got two FREE sets of tickets to give away. Answer the following five questions correctly (or at least three right if these turn out to be really hard) and email the answers to productshopnyc@gmail.com with the subject "INDIE ROCK TRIVIA CONTEST".

1. What legendary indie rock group reunited to open up for U2 on their Zooropa Tour?
2. What surprise name did The Strokes use when they last performed a surprise show at the Mercury Lounge?
3. What was the name of the band Beck played bass in when he lived in New York City?
4. Blonde Redhead take their name from a song by this group.
5. Maxwell Demon is the persona of Brian Slade in the movie Velvet Goldmine. In real life, Maxwell Demon was a band that featured which famous glam rocker?

It's been quite some time since we had anything to write about Beirut, but we're always happy to post about them.

Well, Beirut just announced a show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Sunday, May 16th. Stars Like Fleas will open. Tickets are $20 and now on sale.........

Senator John McCain always files seperate taxes than his third wife, the extremely wealthy Cindy McCain. Well, John's wife has been under lots of pressure to release her tax statements for the year 2007. The same way every single other family that has ever run for President has.

Cinday says she'll never publicly release her taxes. Today, the Associated Press may have shown why? Apparently, she has millions of dollars invested in Sudanese companies that continue to fund the genocide.

Cindy McCain, whose husband has been a critic of the violence in Sudan, sold off more than $2 million in mutual funds whose holdings include companies that do business in the African nation.

The sale on Wednesday came after The Associated Press questioned the investments in light of calls by John McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee, for international financial sanctions against the Sudanese leadership.

On Wednesday, Rogers said: "Senator and Mrs. McCain remain committed to doing everything possible to end the genocide in Darfur."

For the McCains, the Sudan-related investments are among scores of different investments listed in his financial disclosure documents. Cindy McCain is heiress to a Phoenix-based beer distributing company whose fortune is in the $100 million range.

Sen. McCain is regularly ranked among the richest lawmakers in Congress.

Classy family.......

The still running Senator Hillary Clinton got two black eyes today.

First, NARAL Pro-Choice America endorsed Senator Barack Obama, Then John Edwards endorsed Obama..........

The California Supreme Court will issue its same-gender marriage ruling tomorrow at 10am Pacific time. More from the Chronicle:

More than four years after San Francisco defied state marriage laws by allowing nearly 4,000 same-sex couples to wed at City Hall, the state Supreme Court is set to decide Thursday whether gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry in California.

But the decision, due at 10 a.m., may not be the last word. Conservative religious organizations have submitted more than 1.1 million signatures for an initiative that would amend the state Constitution to outlaw same-sex marriage. If at least 694,354 signatures are found to be valid, a tally that is due by mid-June, the measure would go before the voters in November and could override a court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage.

Always in Presidential election year..........

Seperation of Chuch and State? Maybe if you're a heathen! It's been no secret that numerous public schools in the bible belt and beyond already "teach" the bible, but now a Democrat State Representative is pushing for an actual bill that would make studying the New Testament mandatory law.

A proposal that would allow the state Department of Education to develop a curriculum for the academic study of the Bible in public schools has passed the House.

The legislation sponsored by Rep. Mark Maddox, a Dresden Democrat, was approved 93-3 on Tuesday. The companion bill unanimously passed the Senate last week.

Both chambers must now work out differences in the legislation before it heads to the governor for his consideration.

The bill would require school districts to teach the course with an approved textbook in a manner consistent with the state and federal constitutions.

The legislation prohibits the use of any religious test or association when assigning teachers for Bible courses.

For the record, when Rep Maddox appeared on MSNBC this morning and was asked if this class would include other religious bibles like the Old Testament or the Koran or the Book of Mormon, he laughed and said those weren't American traditions..........

Hercules & Love Affair will play their first US live show on Saturday, May 17th at Studio B in Brooklyn, NY. This will be the first chance to see their eagerly anticipated self-titled debut album, out June 24 on Mute/DFA, performed live.

The live show includes a horn section (James Hillard and Jim Stanton of Horsemeat Disco), Andy manning keyboards, drum machines and providing backing vocals, Kim Ann and Nomi on lead vocals, live drums, live bass and even more keyboards.

This special event will also include DJ sets by DFA’s T & T (Tim Goldsworthy and Tim Sweeney), James and James from the UK’s Horsemeat Disco, and Hercules and Love Affair’s own Andy Butler and Kim Ann Foxman.

It's programming like this that makes me so happy to be on Sirius Satellite Radio.....

SIRIUS Satellite Radio announced that Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Lou Reed will host his own weekly show exclusively on SIRIUS. Lou Reed’s New York Shuffle will premiere on SIRIUS Disorder channel 70 this Saturday, May 17th at 6 pm ET.

SIRIUS listeners can expect to hear the most eclectic mix of music found anywhere on Lou Reed’s New York Shuffle— running the gamut from jazz to vintage rock, and everything in-between. Reed will co-host the show with music producer Hal Willner, who recently collaborated with Reed on the concert film Berlin.

Lou Reed said, “For years, I’ve always been a fan of eclectic radio, such as FM radio in the past when you could hear stations play widely divergent music, ranging from rock to country to jazz to opera. I loved the days when DJs who did their own programming set the bar high. I learned from these DJs and it’s a delight, with my friend Hal Willner, to do this type of radio today on SIRIUS. We will try to bring SIRIUS’ listeners audio from all parts of the world that covers the whole musical spectrum.”

Lou Reed’s New York Shuffle will air on SIRIUS Disorder, Saturdays at 6 pm and rebroadcast Sundays at 12 noon and Mondays at 4:00 pm (all times Eastern).

It's amazing when any party crew can last longer than two years in New York City, which is one of the reasons we're so pleased that tonight the folks from GBH are celebrating their shocking 10th anniversary.

Tonight, GBH will take over Webster Hall for an awesome party featuing MSTRKRFT, James Murphy, Does It Offend You, Yeah? DJ Set, Grandmaster Flash, LA Riots, Alex English and Dances with White Girls Figo DJ Set.

While most GBH events are free, this major shindig costs $15, which still ain't bad........

Hot Chip have announced their third U.S. tour in support of Made In The Dark. Presale begins on May 20 at 10am. The presale password: readyforthefloor..........

HOT CHIP TOUR DATES
09.21.08 - Los Angeles, CA (Wiltern)
09.22.08 - Los Angeles, CA (Wiltern)
09.23.08 - Tucson, AZ (Rialto Theater)
09.25.08 - Dallas, TX (Palladium Ballroom)
09.26.08 - Austin, TX (Austin City Limits)
09.28.08 - Chicago, IL (Metro)
09.29.08 - Chicago, IL (Metro)
09.30.08 - Toronto, ON (Koolhaus)
10.01.08 - Montreal, QC (Metropolis)
10.03.08 - New York, NY (Terminal 5)
10.04.08 - New York, NY (Terminal 5)
10.05.08 - Philadelphia, PA (The Trocadero)
10.07.08 - Baltimore, MD (Rams Head Live)
10.08.08 - Washington, DC (9:30 Club)
10.09.08 - Atlanta, GA (Variety Playhouse)

In a major victory for basic human rights, the California Supreme Court found it unconstitutional to ban gay marriages. The California Supreme Court's seven justices, five of whom were appointed by Republicans, votes 4-3 in favor of legalizing gay marriages.

This whole case started in 2004 when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom issued a directive to the San Francisco city-county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Newsom is a true American hero and should be applauded for his awesome work on this issue.

I find the coverage of this news pretty sad, as most pundits immediately 1) say this will help Republicans in the November elections and 2) focus on how radical right-wing activists are working to overturn the ruling. Why does the media feel the need to make this a negative story when it should be an extremely positive one?

And on a very happy note, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi announced their engagement today.

On a disappointing note, both Obama and Clinton put out statements saying they respect the courts ruling and will continue to fight for civil unions. Note that they didn't say gay marriages. On the other hand, McCain still hasn't said anything on the issue.........

The Smoking Section is celebrating Bob Dylan's 67th Birthday with a big party at Rehab on Friday, May 23rd. Tickets are $10, with no advance tickets.

The line-up for this event features The Street Legal Six, Adam Green, The Pierces, The Hymns, Tracy Bonham, Nikolai Fraiture of the Strokes, Antony Ellis of The Five O'Clock Heroes, Russell Simins and members of the Mooney Suzuki and Albert Hammond Jr.'s band.

On a related note, I'm Not There is now out on DVD.

On a somewhat related note, The Strokes' Julian Casablancas is recording a single for Converse with Santogold......

In a weird vision of where the In Rainbows tour setlists may be heading, Radiohead have been rehearsing a cover of “The Rip” off Portishead's Third , as well as a cover of The Kinks song “You Really Got Me.”

How sick would it be to see them perform either of those songs live.......

It was a nice surprise to open up the New York Times Sunday Magazine and see a gigantic feature story on St. Vincent, Final Fantasy and Panda Bear. The piece, by John Wray, is all about one person bands.

Owen Pallett — known to his fans as the singer, songwriter, violinist, pianist, bassist, harpsichordist, engineer and everything else that makes up the indie-rock one-man band Final Fantasy — was trying to play his violin through five amplifiers at once. Effects pedals, instrument cables, patch cords and microphone stands took up most of the space, radiating out from the laptop and sound card that Pallett was fussing over, and an ominous hum filled the room. The amps were arranged in a loose semicircle, vaguely reminiscent of Stonehenge: Pallett spent the day before writing a computer program to coordinate the various outputs, and the impression he made now was less that of an up-and-coming rock star than of a crackpot inventor, à la Nikola Tesla, sequestered in his workshop.

Read the full article here........

Social Distortion's Mike Ness is out on a solo tour and his second night at Jersey's Stone Pony was pretty ridiculous. He was joined by probably Social Distortian's most famous fan, Bruce Springsteen, for a sick four song encore.

Springsteen, Ness and his backing band played "'Misery Loves Company," the song they did together on Mike's 1999 solo CD, Cheating at Solitaire. They then played a country version of "Ball and Chain," followed by "If You Leave Before Me" and then finishing things up with a cover of "I Fought the Law."

Sick........

With a new album due this fall from David Byrne & Brian Eno, a big fall tour is in the works:.

David Byrne's booking agent at William Morris Agency, Mark Geiger, has been soliciting offers from a number of different promoters around the United States for Byrne/Eno live shows, promising the set list will consist of at least 40% Eno-era Talking Heads material.

The first show, which is being billed as DAVID BYRNE: THE SONGS OF BYRNE & ENO, will take place at the Chastain Park Amphitheatre in Atlanta, Georgia on September 20th. Tickets will be $55.50, $45.50 or $40.50........

Beck, the anti-medicine scientologist, has premiered the song "Chemtrails" from his untitled next album on www.Beck.com and his MySpace page. I'd post the single but I'm almost more scared of Web Sherrif as a I am of Scientologists these days. The song is pretty good on first listen, a bit reminscent of a Mutations track............

This is just tragic:

China raised the number of dead or missing from a devastating earthquake to more than 70,000 on Tuesday, as rescuers found another survivor eight days after the huge tremor hit.

A government statement said the number killed had now topped 40,000, and state news agency Xinhua reported that a further 32,000 were missing.

Authorities had previously said they expected the final death toll to exceed 50,000. More than 247,000 were injured.

But could it have been avoided? While no one could have stopped the earth from quaking, there were warnings that were ignored that could have saved lives:

The same night of Sichuan's May 12 earthquake, Chinese scientist Li Shihui revealed on his blog that Chinese seismologist Geng Qingguo accurately predicted the quake and warned authorities about the disaster in late April. According to Li, Geng's report was ignored by Chinese authorities.

The Vaselines, who played their first reunion show in Scotland and are schedule to headline the Sub Pop 20th Anniversary Festival on July 12th, have added two tri-state area shows. They'll play Maxwells on July 9th and Southpaw on July 10th. Tickets for both shows go on sale Wednesday..........

The Hold Steady have posted "Sequestered In Memphis" from Stay Positive on their MySpace page. You can also download the song through one of these sites. It rocks.....

THE HOLD STEADY TOUR DATES
Jun 8 2008 8:00P Devore Stadium Field - Southwestern College Chula Vista, California
Jun 27 2008 8:00P Rams Head Live Baltimore, Maryland
Jun 28 2008 12:00P Festival Pier - The Paul Green School of Rock Music Festival w/Devo Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jun 29 2008 8:00P McCarren Pool - JELLYNYC’s Pool Parties (FREE) Brooklyn, New York
Jul 6 2008 8:00P O2 Wireless Festival - Hyde Park London, UK
Jul 8 2008 8:00P Liverpool Summer Pops - Echo Area Liverpool, UK
Jul 10 2008 7:00P The Irish Centre Leeds
Jul 11 2008 7:00P Carling Academy 2 Newcastle
Jul 12 2008 8:00P T In The Park Kinross, Scotland
Jul 17 2008 8:00P Beachland Ballroom Cleveland, Ohio
Jul 18 2008 8:00P Crofoot Ballroom Pontiac, Michigan
Jul 19 2008 5:00P Pitchfork Music Festival @ Union Park Chicago, Illinois
Jul 21 2008 8:00P Majestic Theatre Madison, Wisconsin
Jul 22 2008 8:00P First Avenue Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jul 23 2008 8:00P Fargo Theatre Fargo, North Dakota
Jul 26 2008 8:00P Capitol Hill Block Party Seattle, Washington
Jul 27 2008 8:00P Crystal Ballroom Portland, Oregon
Jul 29 2008 8:00P Mezzanine San Francisco, California
Jul 30 2008 8:00P Avalon Los Angeles, California
Aug 2 2008 8:00P Rialto Theatre Tucson, Arizona
Aug 3 2008 8:00P Club 101 El Paso, Texas
Aug 5 2008 8:00P Palladium Ballroom Dallas, Texas
Aug 6 2008 8:00P La Zona Rosa Austin, Texas
Aug 8 2008 8:00P Proud Larry’s Oxford, Mississippi
Aug 9 2008 8:00P 40 Watt Athens, Georgia
Aug 10 2008 8:00P The Pour House Charleston, South Carolina
Aug 12 2008 8:00P Cat’s Cradle Carrborro, North Carolina
Aug 13 2008 8:00P The Norva Norfolk, Virginia

Tonight, May 20th, Sam Champion, The Jealous Girlfriends and Sam Cohen of Apollo Sunshine will be playing the rock music at Williamsburg's Union Pool.

In related news, Sam Champion's long delayed sophomore album, Heavenly Bender, will finally be released this summer through North Street Records. It's about fucking time that record came out. For the record, it's fucking killer.

Suggested song for Sam Champion to cover, Electric Mayhem's "Can You Picture That?"........

Liz Phair will be performing Exile In Guyville at the Hiro Ballroom on Wednesday, June 25th, which is the day after she is releasing the 15th anniversary edition of her classic debut album. Tickets are $25 and on sale today at noon.

Anyone remember when Liz played a solo electric show at Town Hall back in 1993? She was out promoting Exile and, honestly, she looked scared shitless on that stage. She's since become a pretty fantastic live performer.......

Senator Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy has been diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor, which doctors say caused his doubel seizure earlier this week.

A malignant glioma — the diagnosis doctors gave Sen. Edward M. Kennedy — is the worst kind of brain cancer. Malignant gliomas strike almost 9,000 Americans a year. Survival statistics are grim — few live three years and for the worst subtype, half die within a year.

Ted is the youngest brother of the late President John F. Kennedy and the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy. He is the second longest serving Senator (I'm personally for term limits for Senators).

On a side note, every woman who I've spoken to about Kennedy, while they give him well wishes, they have all brought up the Chappaquiddick incident. Will that be Kennedy's legacy?

So it's kind of like how fans call Weezer's debut album The Blue Album?

Rapper Nas has ditched his controversial plan to call his new album "N*gger."

"It's important to me that this album gets to the fans," Nas said in a statement, referring to likely problems promoting and distributing the album.

"The people will always know what the real title of this album is and what to call it."

The untitled project will be released July 1 via Def Jam.

Last year, Nas announced the original title in response to the stir caused by former CBS radio host Don Imus' comments toward the Rutgers women's basketball team. But he recently told MTV that he was being pressured to change the title.

His last album, 2006's "Hip-Hop Is Dead," has sold 757,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Isn't it about time for Matt & Kim to put out a new record? The dynamic duo will be heading out on a June U.S. tour.

In July and August, they'll do some dates opening for CSS and The Go Team!, which should be a crazy fun show......

MATT & KIM TOUR DATES
Thursday June 12 DETROIT MI @ Majestic Theatre
Saturday June 14th SEATTLE WA @Neumo’s
Tuesday June 17th BALTIMORE MD @Scarey Studios
Wednesday June 18th WASHINGTON DC @The Black Cat
Thursday June 19th WINSTON-SALEM NC@The Werehouse
Friday June 20th ROSWELL GA @ WhirlyBall Atlanta
Sunday June 22nd GAINESVILLE FL @ The Atlantic
Monday June 23rd TAMPA FL @Transitions Art Gallery
Wednesday June 25th BATON ROUGE LA @ The Spanish Moon
Friday June 27th AUSTIN TX @ The Mohawk
Saturday June 28th FT. WORTH TX @1919 Hemphill
Monday June 30th LOS ANGELES CA @ King King
Wednesday July 2nd ATLANTA GA @ Drunken Unicorn
Thursday July 3rd CHICAGO IL @ The Hideout
Friday July 4th PHILADELPHIA PA @ The Barbary
Saturday July 5th BROOKLYN NY @ TBA
Sunday July 13th BROOKLYN NY @ TBA

CSS + THE GO TEAM! + MATT & KIM TOUR DATES
Wedneday July 30th Minneapolis MI @ First Avenue
Thursday July 31st MILWAUKEE WI @ Turner Hall
Tuesday August 5th TORONTO CANADA @ Kool Haus
Saturday August 9th WORCESTER MA @ Palladium
Sunday August 10th ATLANTIC CITY NJ @ House of Blues

Regina Spektor has a new song called "The Call", for the Christian-parable The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. You can grab the song at AM.FM.PM.

On June 1st, Regina will be sharing the stage with the gang from Sesame Street for Irsrael's 60th anniversary celebration at the National Mall in Washington DC.

REGINA SPEKTOR TOUR DATES
May 31 2008 6:00P Bank of America Pavilion / True Colors Tour Boston, Massachusetts
Jun 1 2008 12:00P The National Mall free concert/ Israel@60: A Capital Celebration Washington, Washington DC
Jun 3 2008 7:00P Radio City Music Hall / True Colors Tour New York, New York
Jun 7 2008 6:30P Dar Constitution Hall / True Colors Tour Washington, Washington DC
Aug 23 2008 12:00P Outside Lands Festival / Golden Gate Park San Francisco, California

Just a rumor........

Led Zeppelin will reportedly play four shows in Toronto this summer at the Skydome/Rogers Centre stadium this August. A "reliable source" tells MuchMusic that the dates will be announced shortly. No other shows will be announced, and the band apparently will not tour in the U.S., according to the report.

Manchester United bested Chelsea by two points for the Premier League title.

Today, the two rivals meet again in Moscow for the Champions League final. The game happens at 2pm on ESPN2 and Sirius Radio..........

MySpace's 150th Secret Show featuring Gnarls Barkley will take place at Irving Plaza on June 8th.........

Sometime before becoming a reforming hitman in Grosse Point Blank, Cusack was just a hitman, which is what he plays in War Inc, a new film that he stars in and cowrote. Looks pretty good. It starts Friday at the Angelika in New York City.

War Inc. is partly inspired by Naomi Klein's article "Baghdad Year Zero"......

Last night, New York Magazine hosted it's "Indie Rock Trivia" party with and Les Savy Fav. I went in expected retard hard questions that went something like, "What is the name of the studio where the Halo Benders recorded their frist single?"

Instead, we got questions like, "What Columbia University band just appeared on Saturday Night Live?" The question were relatively easy, except for the retarded final round that was called "Kanye or Ney," where you had to figure out if a lyric was by Kanye or not, which isn't really indie but was a dig at host Zach Galifianakis, who did a Kanye video.

I wanted to name our team "Zach Galificantpronouncethisfuckingname" or "Zach Condon Got Fat & Married," but instead we ended being "The Shmashmortions" (taken from Knocked Up), which was all Halified's doing. Anyway, Team Smashmotions was made up of Halified, Product Shop NYC and Stereogum.

At the end of the night, low and behold, the bloggers proved they are champions! We won! First place! We got all but one question right (and I'm positive it was from the Kanye round). Halified gave the most ungracious victory speech and we got booed by the audience, who likely had no idea that we were a group of bloggers. Ha.

So yeah, not the best questions, but Zach and Les Savy were highly entertaining. Nice to see them dance in their underwear together.........


and our cash money winners jackpot.....

This weekend, Republican Presidential nominee Senator John McCain will meet with three possible Vice Presidents: Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, Gov. Piyush "Bobby" Jindal of Louisiana, and Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts.

Romney, brings a lot of money to the table, but won't exactly help McCain win over hardcore conservatives.

Crist has successfully used the Defense of Marriage Act to keep Gay Marriages illegal in Florida, even though he is highly-rumored to be a closeted homosexual himself. I don't think the Republicans want another Larry Craig on their Presidential ticket and enough people seem willing to come out and speak about him.

And Jindal, well honestly, I just don't think McCain would pick an Indian-American named Piyush Jindal, even if Rush LImbaugh does describe him as "the next Ronald Reagan," which actually may be the kind of pandering that McCain needs to boost his appeal with the far-right. Jindal is against abortion, even in cases of rape or incest. He's against stem-cell research. He supports the teaching of intelligent design in public schools.

Why doesn't McCain just pick his best buddy, Senator Joe Lieberman......

I know that Sonic Youth have been promoting Hits Are for Squares as a celebrity-curated compilation for Starbucks, but let's be honest, it's a Sonic Youth Greatest Hits album. That's it. I don't care if it's Mike D who selects "100%" or Radiohead picks "Kool Thing," the fact is this is a very nicely packaged Greatest Hits record.

But Greatest Hits records are not punk rock, but then again, neither is putting out a Best Of through Starbucks. Just go buy all their albums. They're worth it.

Sonic Youth play Battery Park on July 4th with The Feelies. It's a free show.......

HITS ARE FOR SQUARES TRACKLIST
01 Bull in the Heather [selected by Catherine Keener]
02 Sugar Kane [selected by Beck]
03 100% [selected by Mike D]
04 Kool Thing [selected by Radiohead]
05 Disappearer [selected by Portia de Rossi]
06 Stones [selected by Allison Anders]
07 Tuff Gnarl [selected by Dave Eggers and Mike Watt]
08 Teenage Riot [selected Eddie Vedder]
09 Shadow of a Doubt [selected by Michelle Williams]
10 Rain on Tin [selected by Flea]
11 Tom Violence [selected by Gus Van Sant]
12 Mary-Christ [selected by David Cross]
13 World Looks Red [selected by Chloë Sevigny]
14 Expressway to Yr Skull [selected by the Flaming Lips]
15 Slow Revolution [New Track]

The Democrats once again show that they really support the troops. Today, Senator Jim Webb's G.I. Bill will be voted on. The bill is a much-needed update of one of country's most significant and important promise to our soldiers. Under the old G.I. Bill, the money given to soldiers for education doesn't even pay for a year of college:

Ever since the G.I.’s came home from World War II, it has been the nation’s policy to reward war veterans with college education. Now, a bipartisan proposal to expand that benefit significantly for today’s veterans has encountered a new complication: the military still needs its fighting men and women in uniform, not in classrooms.

With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan far from over, President Bush is threatening to veto a bill that would pay tuition and other expenses at a four-year public university for anyone who has served in the military for at least three years since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. A main reason is the fear that it would hasten an exodus from the ranks.

The legislation, the biggest expansion of the G.I. Bill in a quarter century, has attracted broad bipartisan support, passing the House this month with a veto-proof majority. In the Senate, it has 58 sponsors, 11 of them Republicans.

UPDATE: The bill passed 70-26......

And rather than use tax money to continue that continues to fund America's Occupation of Iraq, the bill will be paid for through a tax increase on the wealthy

The version adopted by her House colleagues in a 256 to 166 vote would be funded through a surtax of half a percentage point on wealthy Americans' incomes above $500,000, or $1 million for couples.

For the record, the amount that the rich will be taxed to fund this is equal to less than half of what the rich recieved from their Bush Tax Rebate.
McCain, who is voting against the bill to help soldiers, once again supports President Bush on his plan to deny American troops the promised education that they deserve.

McCain Voted Against $19 Billion for Military Hospitals. In February 2006, McCain voted against a Senate amendment that would have provided for at least $19 billion for these military health facilities, paid for by eliminating tax cuts for the wealthiest earners. [Senate Roll Call Vote 7 (http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00007 ), 2/2/06].

McCain Voted Against Amendment to Provide $2.8 Billion For Veterans Medical Care.

McCain Voted Against 2005 Amendment to Provide Guaranteed Funding Stream for Veterans' Health Care.

McCain Voted Against Establishing $1 Billion Trust Fund to Provide Improvements to Military and Veterans Health Facilities.

McCain Voted Against Adding $1.5 billion to Veterans Medical Services in FY 2007 by Closing Corporate Tax Loopholes.

McCain Voted Against Mandatory Funding of $6.9 Billion in FY 2007 and $104 Billion Over Five Years for Veterans' Health Care.

Mates of State played an early show yesterday at Mercury Lounge to show off some of their new tracks from Re-Arrange Us. The band's size has doubled for this album with two new members, who happen to be brothers, backing up Kori and Jason with a wide range of instruments: violin, cello, guitar, metallophone, shaker, and even a trumpet on one song. The new mates were not a part of every song nor were they really necessary on some of the ones they were, but their added instruments and sound helped to fill the stage and the room. Mates of States did not play a full set but they promised to be back soon for a proper headlining show.

The Edge's Music Care's Charity has organized an insanely wicked auction of music memorabilia that I can't afford. If anyone does want to get me something, here's what I'm looking at. I'm willing to put my share of the winnings from Indie Rock Trivia towards any of these goods........

Edge worn "U" & "2" Ring from Achtung, Baby LP Cover

Kurt Cobain's Jacket, Worn On Stage During "MTV's New Years Eve" Concert

Ramones First Album Original Reel Tapes

Other items I'd love you to buy me:
Bruce Springsteen Handwritten Lyrics To "Night"
Bob Dylan Handwritten Setlist
Miles Davis Played and Signed Trumpet
Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" MTV VMA Statue
John Lennon Signed Self Portrait
Johnny Cash Owned & Played Guitar

Senator Hillary Clinton's dead and desperate Presidential bid hit a new low this weekend when Hillary gave this reason to stay in the race:

My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California.

A couple this: 1) Her husband actually was the parties unofficial nominee in March of 1992 and passed the delegate magic number when he was unopposed in June. 2) RFK's President bid started in April of '68. And 3) Her poorly worded statement makes it seem liks she's hoping that someone kills Barack Obama.

So after getting tons of shit about this, she spent the weekend on damage control, never actually apologizing for her fairly disturbing comments. In fact, it turns out that she even referenced Bobby Kennedy's assissination in March as a reason to stay in the race.

To try and explain her comments, she wrote an op-ed for the New York Daily News:

I made clear that I was - and that I thought the urgency to end the 2008 primary process was unprecedented. I pointed out, as I have before, that both my husband's primary campaign, and Sen. Robert Kennedy's, had continued into June.

Almost immediately, some took my comments entirely out of context and interpreted them to mean something completely different - and completely unthinkable.

Maybe it help her credibility if she but her own statements in context.......