Hehehehe. I just ordered the Live Aid DVD.

So, we're listening to an album called "Alternative to Love" by Brendan Benson, which is going to be released next week (BF is reviewing it). It's really really good. Poppy but musically layered with terrific lyrics. Turns out this guy is working on a duo album with Jack White and his last album was a big critical fave. His third album and he plays the kind of music I love. Who knew?

Who knew?

I played a song from the new one just last week!

Jon B. is the bitchin'est!

Sweet. I just got an email from Glenn Morrow, head of Bar None Records, and erstwhile member of The Individuals. He thanked me for my piece in the book on The Individuals.

So, we're listening to an album called "Alternative to Love" by Brendan Benson...Who knew?

I played a song from the new one just last week!

And a song of his was featured on the OC tonight.

There's a review of Jonathan Lethem's new book

I really liked the excerpt in the last issue of the New Yorker but not enough to get such a thin book in hardback. (Speaking of those smartypant writer guys - even better is this week's Atlantic article by David Foster Wallace on conservative talk radio. Want to eat that man's brains, I do.)

And on the subject of magazines and conservatives, somehow I got an anonymous gift subscription to Blender recently and through it I read about the recent Flaming Lips cover of the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army". Coyne re-wrote the lyrics and I guess it's supposed to be anti-Bush. The lyrics sound a little 2001 (Florida, Colin Powell, Ashcroft), but I've only listened to it once. Between that and the new Bright Eyes freebie on iTunes, "When the President Talks to God," looks like the red-state born and bred singers (Coyne is from Oklahoma, Oberst is from Nebraska) are all pissed and stuff.

Finally, wishing much nap-ma to your baby, hayden.

etf: my redundant-ass self

[link]

mp3 blog entirely devoted to versions of Staggerlee.

I was gonna say that Nick Cave's version has got to have the most profanity in it, but then:

The last version was sent in by Joshua Guthman of Molinillo and its a dirty dirty toast version of the ballad, that rivals the Nick Cave version in blood shed and vulgarity.

Must check that out....

So I finally watched my 5 Minutes To Live DVD compilation of rare music videos (Lost & Found V. 4).

At one point it goes from "Memo To Turner" in the movie Performance, to Scott Walker singing "Matilda" to a live, in-studio performance of "Shadowplay" by Joy Division. It's also got a clip from the famous Cramps performance at the Napa State Mental Institution, Bridget Bardot doing "Contact" (visible but third gen. I also have a pristine copy of from the BB compilation I snagged), Liberace, The Screamers, Beatles (doing "Help" on some TV show), early 70s Black Sabbath doing "NIB" and early Pink Floyd doing "Interstellar Overdrive."

This may only be of interest to Dana and me, but Tracy Grammer has a new CD out, comprised almost entirely of songs by Dave Carter that were unrecorded at the time of his death. The album release date isn't until late April, but if you order through Tracy's website, they'll ship it to you early.

My copy just arrived a couple of days ago, and I have been listening to it on repeat. It's excellent, more reminiscent of Drum Hat Buddha than either of Dave & Tracy's other albums, I think. It's odd to hear these songs without Dave, even though several of them I never heard them perform together. But it just doesn't seem right that he shouldn't be singing and playing along with her. Tracy is a wonderful performer in her own right, but it's still taking me a little while to get used to hearing her without him. Still, it's a beautiful album. Any of you who are fans of theirs, definitely check it out.