Tuesday, September 23, 2014

CRETIN STOMPERS "Adult Child" (Official Music Video)


Bob Dylan To Be Feted by Jack White, CSNY, Willie Nelson, and others


Bob Dylan Named 2015 MusiCares Person Of The Year

  • Photo: William Claxton
    Bob Dylan
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September 23, 2014 -- 4:00 am PDT

Ten-time GRAMMY winner Bob Dylan will be honored as the 2015 MusiCares Person of the Year on Friday, Feb. 6, 2015, two days prior to the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards.
Proceeds from the 25th annual benefit gala dinner and concert will provide essential support for MusiCares, which ensures that music people have a place to turn in times of financial, medical and personal need.
Performers at the tribute concert will include GRAMMY winners Beck; the Black Keys; Crosby, Stills & Nash; Norah Jones; Tom Jones; Los Lobos; John Mellencamp; Willie Nelson; Bonnie Raitt; Eddie Vedder; Jack White; and Neil Young; as well as singer/songwriter John Doe. Three-time GRAMMY-winning producer and recent Emmy winner Don Was will be the evening's musical director. Additional performers will be announced shortly.
"In celebrating the 25th anniversary of our MusiCares Person of the Year tribute, it is most fitting that we are honoring Bob Dylan, whose body of creative work has contributed to America's culture, as well as that of the entire world, in genuinely deep and lasting ways," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the MusiCares Foundation and The Recording Academy.
"Bob Dylan's songwriting ability is unmatched, and it will be an extraordinary evening to hear his work showcased by such a remarkable group of artists," said Bill Silva, Chair of the MusiCares Foundation Board.
The MusiCares Person of the Year tribute ceremony is one of the most prestigious events held during GRAMMY Week. The celebration culminates with the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015. The telecast will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

The Best Music in the World.... That You Haven't Heard Yet....

Lots of good new music coming out recently.... some of it most people have never heard of... yet...

Some new good stuff you really should know about:

The Orwells
The Vines
Paul Weller
Ty Segall
Foxygen
Bob Dylan & The Band - The Complete Basement Tapes
Lost on the River - Various Artists
Leonard Cohen
Robert Plant
Christopher Owens (ex-Girls)
Jeff The Brotherhood
Tweedy (A Wilco & Son)
Johnny Marr
The Growlers
Ex Hex
Jack White
Conor Oberst
Julian Casablancas
Neil Young

Many of these artists are also touring the U.S. currently, playing their new stuff, so try to catch them if you can...

The Orwells are a young band from Chicago with two albums out and currently touring. They have a lot of punk and heavy rock influence, and seem incredibly developed and have a wide variety of styles in their songs considering they are a "new" band... looking forward to seeing them soon...

The Vines have a great new album out, actually available as a double album, but apparently won't be touring anytime soon. We hadn't heard anything about them for a while, and the new material is a very strong come back, but... The Vines 2.0 is actually lead singer/guitarist/genius Craig Nicholls with a completely new rhythm section. Craig's well-documented personal problems (see: Google) appears to have contributed to the departure of the other original members, and mandated a decidedly low-key release of the new material - no interviews or touring to speak of. Here's hoping things improve, and these talented Aussies can grace these shores again...

Paul Weller, you've of course heard of, from The Jam, etc., but he has never achieved the god-like status in the U.S. that he has long enjoyed in the U.K. and elsewhere. He also has a new double album and it literally contains everything... but you'll never hear it in the U.S. unless you buy it...

Ty Segall, well you've definitely noticed him getting noticed, especially recently, but you know what? He totally deserves all this recognition... and go see him live for sure if you can... he is an amazing guitarist...

Foxygen got a lot of attention in the past year or so... but often for their off-stage antics rather than their performance, songwriting, or recording skills... Now they've got a new album and a new tour... We weren't sure they were going to stay together after Sam's ex aired their dirty laundry all over the Interweb... It seemed Sam was going to have to chose between his girlfriend and his musical partner... looks like he chose his musical partner, for better or worse for him, but, sorry to say, better for us, the listening public.

People like Greil Marcus have been singing the obscure praises of Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes for some time now... it was the time between the motorcycle crash and Dylan's return to public life, when he was mostly relaxing in the Woodstock, New York area, recuperating, raising his family, and jamming with The Band. Now a 6-CD (what???!?!?!?!?!) collection is being released with different versions of the songs we've heard and several others no one has ever heard... Can't wait!.... Dylan also has a new album coming out soon and is touring the U.S....

Meanwhile, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Marcus Mumford (of Mumford), Rhiannon Giddens, Elvis Costello, and Taylor from Dawes will release Lost on the River, based on unfinished Basement Tape-era lyrics and song snippets by Dylan.

Leonard Cohen is turning 80 and releasing a new album and continuing to tour...

(to be continued...)

Friday, September 19, 2014

"Rolling Stone" Leonard Cohen article


Leonard Cohen on Longevity, Money, Poetry and Sandwiches

"I was always like a bear in a honey tree, just trying to get something without getting stung to death"

Leonard Cohen performs in Australia.
Graham Denholm/WireImage
Leonard Cohen performs live in 2013. The Canadian icon talks about his songwriting secrets in a new Q&A.
BY  | 
Leonard Cohen is our leading poet of love, wisdom, and sorrow – and according to the lyrics of Nirvana's "Pennyroyal Tea," the guiding spirit in Kurt Cobain's afterworld. We sat down with the singer-songwriter on the occasion of his 13th studio album, Popular Problems, in a formal dining room at the Canadian consulate in Los Angeles (he primarily lives in L.A. and mostly recorded the album in his home studio, but he hails from Montreal). He discussed producer Patrick Leonard ("It was an unusually fraternal collaboration"), his fedora ("I've got about 20 of these") and the aging process ("My high jump is definitely degraded"). Cohen turns 80 on Sunday, and Popular Problems will be released two days after that.
RELATEDLeonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen Offers Rare Peek Into His Writing Process
When you finish something like this record, are you proud of it?
It's the done-ness of it that I really like. It nourishes me. Some guys don't know how to open a door.

What are the pros and cons of working at home?
I don't know if there are any cons. It's very nice to go into your backyard and climb up into your studio. We had some good mics there, and both Pat and I had our keyboards, so we were able to flesh out these songs.

Patrick said that part of the process of working together was stripping out any excesses or fripperies.
Yes, both in the music and in the lyric. We were both, I think, quite compassionately savage about our vision. Pat, because he has such an abundance of musical ideas, he'll sometimes overproduce. But he's quite aware of that. So sometimes we'll just say we don't need a chorus here, we don't need horns here, you know, we need to break it down here. And same with the lyric: If something's obscure or just on the wrong side of accessible, then Pat will mention that and I'll happily redirect.

How do you know when a song's working?
You can pretty well tell. We play it for select people, like my daughter – there's a few people who aren't afraid to tell you that it isn't working. We had another song on the album, which was called "Happens to the Heart," which will be on the next album. It's a very good lyric, a very good tune, but we didn't nail it. So we didn't put each other on about it – not for more than a week or two. "You know, this song really doesn't make it." "Thank God you said that, Pat, because I can't stand it."

Has your approach to making music has changed over the decades?
I never had an approach. I was always like a bear in a honey tree, just trying to get something without getting stung to death.

Is financial necessity is good or bad for art?
I think it levels the ground. I never had huge amounts of money when I was young. I had huge amounts of fame, and I always had the sense of labor and recompense. I always said I don't want to work for pay, but I want to get paid for my song. Financial necessity of course arose in a very acute manner a few years ago. [His then-manager stole over $5 million from his retirement account.] I thought I had a little bread, enough to get by. I found I didn't – for which I'm very grateful because it spurred a lot of activity.

I was curious about a lyric on "Nevermind," "There's truth that lives and there's truth that dies."
"There's truth that lives and truth that dies. I don't know which, so never mind. There is no need that this survive, there's truth that lives and truth that dies." It's one of those phrases that resonates in some corner of the heart. And I don't think it serves us well to explain it or to analyze it or to interpret it. It sounded right to me. There are certain truths that are in a dormant stage that you can't always locate or be nourished by. But they're there.

When you're writing a song, are you aware that you're tapping into something that you may not have a conscious handle on?
Well, I think that sometimes when you're in ninth gear, or when you're really skiing down the slope – you're right on top of the snow, you don't want to go any deeper. As someone said, you learn to stop bravely at the surface. If you hear something that really resonates, you just fold your hands in gratitude and try to incorporate it into the song. Sometimes those obscurities are just bullshit and they have to be excised; they have to be ruthlessly removed even if they sound good. Because they produce a disconnect in the song that every listener feels unconsciously. If you feel somebody's trying to put you on, you really feel it.

Do you write much poetry that isn't suitable for lyrics?
Oh, yeah. And sometimes I think, "What the hell am I doing? It doesn't mean anything, it's deeply irrelevant. Not just to everybody else but to myself." But what else are you going to do? Everything else has gone away. Most of the things that I've liked to do, for one reason or another, it's often inappropriate to do them.

At age 80, are there things you can't do that you used to be able to?
There's a lot of things that you can do that you couldn't do when you were younger. You depend on a certain resilience that is not yours to command, but which is present. And if you can sense this resilience or sense this capacity to continue, it means a lot more at this age than it did when I was 30, when I took it for granted.

What are you good at that has nothing to do with music?
I can make a couple of good sandwiches: tuna salad and chopped egg salad. And Greek bean soup. I was a cook for my old Zen master for many years. So there were two or three dishes that he liked, you know. Teriyaki salmon, a few things. I wouldn't call myself a good cook by any means. My son is a very good cook. My curries are not bad.

Do you write songs faster or slower than you used to?
There's always a group of songs that I'm working at. Some of them are 10 years old, and some of them are just a few weeks old. I'm always trying to adjust these songs to some position where I can bring them to completion. There's a few songs that I would like to finish before I die. One in particular, it's a lovely melody that I can't find any words for. I've been trying for a good 15 years. I've tried many, many versions. And God willing, maybe something will happen.

After you're gone, what would you want people to remember about you?
I never give that much thought. Some people care about their work lasting forever – I have little interest in it. You probably know that great story about Bob Hope. His wife came to him and said, "There's two plots available at Forest Lawn. One looks at some beautiful cypress trees, one looks over the valley. Which do you think you'd prefer?" He said, "Surprise me." That's the way I feel about posterity and how I'm remembered. Surprise me.









Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/leonard-cohen-on-longevity-money-poetry-and-sandwiches-20140919#ixzz3DnXKk8e4
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Jeff The Brotherhood Cover The Pixies' "Gouge Away"

http://www.spin.com/articles/jeff-the-brotherhood-gouge-away-pixies-cover/

from Spin:


JEFF the Brotherhood Scuzzy Up the Pixies' 'Gouge Away' for Covers EP

'Dig the Classics' also features songs by Beck, My Bloody Valentine, Teenage Fanclub, and more

Jeff the Brotherhood 'Gouge Away' Pixies Cover 'Dig the Classics' EP
JEFF the Brotherhood's Jamin and Jake Orrall and some sweet wood paneling PHOTO BY JO MCCAUGHEY
Dan ReillyWRITTEN BY
Dan Reilly
While putting the finishing touches on the follow-up to 2012's excellent Hypnotic Nights LP, JEFF the Brotherhood devoted some time for a fun litte EP called Dig the Classics, which features covers of some of their favorite songs. The Nashville duo of brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall recorded renditions of My Bloody Valentine's "Come in Alone," Teenage Fanclub's "Mad Dog 20/20," Beck's "Totally Confused," and the Pixies' "Gouge Away," which you can hear for the first time below. In standard JEFF fashion, the Orralls strip the Doolittle classic down and scuzzify it with some grimy guitar work underneath Jake's languid vocals. Dig the Classics is due out September 30 via Warner, and JEFF the Brotherhood are on the road through October with Music Band and Diarrhea Planet supporting. 

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Modest Mouse 2014 Shows

09-17 El Paso, TX - El Paso County Coliseum 
09-19 Monterrey, Mexico - Hellow Festival 
09-23 Pioneertown, CA - Pappy & Harriets
09-24 Paso Robles, CA - Vina Robles Amphitheatre
09-26 San Francisco, CA  - The Masonic
09-28 Portland, OR - Project Pabst @ Zidell Yards 
11-08 Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fun Fest