Trent Reznor Developing HBO Miniseries Based On His Work

In 2007 Trent Reznor released NIN's sixth studio album called "Year Zero', a concept album based on a daydream he had about the end of the world. Being a NIN fan I really liked the album a lot at the time but never fully got into the message it was apparently sending, I'm more of a music guy than a message guy. Then today on http://www.spinmag.com/ I read that he is developing a mini-series for HBO based on the album which to me sounds pretty cool. He is currently working with 'Pulp Fiction' producer Lawrence Bender and writer Daniel Knauf (Carnivale, a trippy HBO series that lasted only one season) on early treatments but so far things are moving very slow. So I wouldn't expect to see this on TV for another year or so but that just means that they are taking their time with it and that's a good thing.

New Music On The Scene 9/27/20: Soundgarden Returns!

Man I wish this was a new album with all new music, but sadly it isn't. Soundgarden returns from the dead to release this double-album of classics with 'Black Rain', an unreleased song from the 'Badmotorfinger' sessions back in the early 90's. This of course is a re-introduction to the masses to see if it's worthwhile that they continue making music which of course I hope they do. This isn't like the Alice In Chains redux with a new lead singer because Layne Staley killed himself with years of heroine abuse. No, this is the same band with all the same members, but I'm not buying until it's new stuff, I already own most of this.

This is Deerhunter's new record, 'Halcyon Digest', and let me just say it's some of the coolest shit I have heard in a long time. These guys have been on my radar now for awhile but I have yet to pull the trigger, but this will certainly make me spend the money this time.

Ok everyone knows 'The Middle', Jimmy Eat World's big hit from way back in 2001 (wow it's been that long), but these boys from Phoenix haven't released anything of significance since then. I'm not saying that their new record 'Invented' is, haven't even listened to it yet, but I am just hoping that their one big hit from way back when is not all that they are remembered for.

One of the most underrated singers of our time, Seal (or Mr. Klum as he is probably better known as) returns with his 6th studio album. Back in 1990 Seal came on to the scene with his debut album (Seal) and one of the most unique, soulful voices in music, and I was right there from the beginning. Right from the moment MTV played his first hit 'Crazy' I was hooked. He looked cool and sounded cool, but for the most part never got the credit for how good he was. Yes of course everyone remembers 'Kiss From A Rose,' his mega hit song from the 'Batman Forever' soundtrack (a pretty awful movie btw) but other than that what else is there? A lot of freakin' great music actually. Give the man some respect.

MGMT Says They Will Have Less Leeway On Next Record

For MGMT success lead to more musical freedom but not necessarily to more success, and that is what their label is thinking after less than stellar sales of their sophmore effort, 'Congratulations.' Certainly much hyped and mostly well reviewed, the album was greeted with lots of confusion by fans due to its departure from the toe-tapping, knee slapping hits of their first record. Clearly the boys wanted to show that they were more than one trick ponies and wanted to put out a more artsy record that they had full control over. Well that ain't happening next time. The band clearly admits that they felt a lot of anxiety over their second record and this may have lead to the lackluster sales. So they will succumb to the demands of their label to try and replicate the success of their first record, let's just hope it's not a carbon copy. No date has been set as to when it will be released.  

New Music For The Week Of 9/20-9/26/10

Carlos Santana has done it again...I suppose. This time out Carlos chose to cover, what he calls, The Greatest Guitar Classics Of All Time with his usual band of all-star singers. It's certainly debatatable at best but there are a few standouts in this collection. Track four guest India.Arie ads a sultry, soulful voice to 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps.' Track nine offers up a new and improved version of Van Halen's 'Dance The Night Away', while Joe Cocker does justice to Jimi Hendrix's 'Little Wing.' For the most part the rest of the songs sound a bit over produced and weren't very appealing to me. Maybe it's time to cut the cord with Rob Thomas...please?

Certainly one of my guilty pleasures, Serj Tankian's second solo album 'Imperfect Harmonies' has hit the shelves and I am looking forward to a full listen. I honestly was not a fan of System of a Down, his former band, but there's something really intriguing about this guy and they way his voice sounds...even if the music's a little heavy at times.

Do I like Maroon 5? Yes. Will I listen to this album? Yes. Will I buy this album? Probably not. I don't really see the point in buying any of their music since it will be forced down my throat at every turn, but there is still something redeeming about them that makes me listen to it nonetheless. I think the word I am looking for is 'Snappy', their music is snappy. 

In The News 9/24/10, Or At Least What I Care About

If you don't know, now you know...that's Death Cab For Cutie in the flesh and news on the street is that they are in the studio working on their 7th record. Right now they say they are taking their sweet time with the songs and are estimating that it will be out sometime early next year...woo hoo!

Also in the news....Phil Selway of Radiohead has said that the band is heading back into the studio soon and that it's possible that they are going to trash what they already have recorded and start all over. Very interesting indeed. Most likely they will alter what they have but there is no telling when it will hit my ears.

A Perfect Circle have reformed (They never actually broke up) and are planning a five city tour of Phoenix, LA, Vegas, San Fran and Seattle (Why not NY, I don't know) to happen later this year. This is really exciting news since we have not heard from them since 2004, let's just hope this leads to some new music. They will be appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live on October 27th, so don't miss it.

Low and behold another band that hasn't been heard from in a while, Cake will be releasing their first new music in 6 years with the album 'Showroom of Compassion' that will be available 1/11/11. Recently Apple has been using one of their old songs, Short Skirt, Long Jacket, to promote the new version of the Nano iPod so it seems like the perfect time for them to return.

Not A Surprise, The Wheels Are Falling Off STP's Bus Already

Scott Weiland is a total disaster. So it should come as no surprise that the band has put a halt to their current tour to 'take a break' and get their shit (insert lead singers name) together. Recently Mr. Weiland has been noticeably drunk or high, what have you, on stage and has even been rambling on about nothing during the shows which has caused concern especially since he is supposed to be a recovering addict. Early on in the already infamous tour, STP was being accused, or Scott I should say, of lip syncing or running a recorded track of himself...he even fell off the stage in an Ohio show and somehow he didn't miss a word. Whether they deny it or not this band really needs to call it quits, there is no way they can keep it together or at least there is no way Scott Weiland will ever change.   

Music Pictures And Notes 9/20/10

Congratulations to Eddie Vedder on his marriage this past weekend but even cooler than that was Tim Robbins being his best man. Grunge lives!

I just thought that this was a really cool picture. The original Lennon's with the second incarnation. I wonder what they were talking about...hmmmm.

As far as I'm concerned, a match made in heaven. What if they really hooked up? Instead of sex you think they would just beat each other up? Sounds hot. I think she'd probably kick his ass however.

Sacha Baron Cohen To Play Freddy Mercury

Very exciting news out of movieland...Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) will be portraying Freddy Mercury, the former Queen lead singer who died of AIDS in 1991, in a movie about his life. The picture will apparenlty focus on the beginnings of the band and run through their incredible performance at Live Aid 1985, but not touch on his final years when he succumbed to the dreaded desease. I guess I can live with that. Here's the link to the Rolling Stone story if you want to read it, http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/17386/205562

Rolling Stone Names The 25 Best Record Stores...At Least What's Left Of Them

That's PREX right there...or Princeton Record Exchange, one of my favorite records stores in the whole world and I say treasure it while you can. It's a dying breed and is the kind of place where you really discover music. It is sad to imagine that entire generations of people will never really know what that experience feels like. You know because it's so much easier to just sit on your ass and look at a computer screen...now that's real discovery! I'm sorry but buying your cd's at Walmart or Best Buy don't count either. Before I go into some sob story about how music is no longer as personal as it once was I will just say that you should check out this link, http://www.rollingstone.com/music/photos/28431/201795, and see the 25 best record stores in the country as far as Rolling Stone Magazine sees it. And me as well.

Music Released This Past Week Thats On My Radar Or Already On My iPod

Of Montreal's False Priest happened upon record stores and computer screens this week to, so far, rave reviews. This is what I have come to expect from this outfit from Atlanta, Ga or should I say this is what I expect from Kevin Barnes, the mastermind of the band. Fantastic electronic, disco, funk and psychadelic grooves explode into your ears for a truly unique experience every single listen. It also doesn't hurt that my new favorite artist, Janelle Monae, guests on the album as Kevin Barnes guested on her last album. I was also very intrigued to find out the Mr. Barnes has an interesting side project called Blikk Fang in which he collaborates with Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT. Tap on this link to hear a couple of their demos, http://www.purevolume.com/blikkfang. I think it rocks, seriously dude.

Also hitting your neighborhood spin shop is the new record, Lisbon, from the New York band The Walkmen. The Walkmen have been putting out solid records now for the last decade or so even if they can't shake some of the U2 comparissons, which I think are overblown, so they like U2, big whoop. I really felt that their last record was a true stepping stone as they seem to be coming to an important point in the bands musical career. Gotta go run out and pick it up soon cause 30 seconds on iTunes ain't cutting it.

Now I have already had The Drums as being released prior on this blog but that was only in digital form. On Tuesday the physical cd dropped into stores and officially became it's release date. It's really good, check it out.

There was also another significant release that happened this week but I am not at liberty to mention it even if I did give it a listen and it didn't actually sound bad at all. However there are moments when ones principals have to outweigh their addictions, in this case music being mine, where one has to simple say enough is enough. Fool me once, shame on you...fool me twice, shame on me. What do I do when they fooled me three times? I still can't believe they named their album after a clothing company...p.s. it's Weezer

Thom Yorke Plays A New Radiohead Tune 'Give Up The Ghost'

Ok the audio ain't all that great but anytime there's a chance to hear new Radiohead material it's certainly worth a listen. I am sure by the time it's recorded for the new album it'll probably sound a bit different...did I just say album? Oh man I can't wait for a new Radiohead album! It will also be interesting to see how Radiohead markets the album this time out, whether they simply go the traditional route or give it away for the pay-what-you-will as they did for 'In Rainbows,' thru their website.

What To Make Of B.o.B.? Covers Vampire Weekend And MGMT With Janelle Monae

B.o.B, Janelle Monae
Tags:

B.o.B, MTV Music

 
This is pretty interesting and I especially like that a so-called Hip Hop artist or rapper is covering some rock tunes and showing his love of music.

Sometimes I Hate Being Right...

The MTV VMA's Were On Last Night...What A Bore!

Oh and that 'Meat Dress' was something special too. I don't know, the VMA's just aren't the important watch that they used to be, at least not for anyone over 25. Is that what's it's become? Poor production values, terrible hosts, sloppy performances...it's a recurring theme. The last few years have been incredibly inconsistent as far as the show has gone and it's completely lost it's 'event' or 'must-see' feel. Maybe it's just a bigger picture issue with the music industry in general. Lackluster record sales and low turn-outs at a lot of the summer concerts have given more indication that music is in trouble. But to me I feel like it's the music MTV tends to promote, the throwaway-no-heart-trash that has a group of tweeting loving followers who have no real connection to the music. Now I am not being judgemental, I am just stating that there are different types of music fans. The ones that MTV caters too and the ones who will follow a band no matter what direction they go. MTV basically ignores these people, which I believe is the category I fall into. I fully understand that there needs to be a bit of poppy trash in order for their to be some real artsy music to appreciate, but where was the real music at the MTV VMA's? Where was M.I.A.? Where was Arcade Fire or Gorillaz? How about Interpol promoting their just released album? My feeling is that at this point why would these types of bands or performers make any time for the VMA's when the station that produces it doesn't support them? The show always used to feature new and interesting artists or performances of an edgy band that you just had to see.....Florence and the Machines? Huh? Last night felt like the first ever VMA's back in 1985, (and yes if you are wondering I watched that night as well) like a show that was put together on the fly with no real prepearation, disjointed and uneven. The performances were less than stellar and all of it jammed into just over 2 hours, I mean the pre-show was a damn hour long. By the way what ever happened to Heavy Metal, Hard Rock and Alternative music? As far as MTV is concerned they no longer exist. Wait a minute...didn't Linkin Park perform you say? Sure they did just not at the actual awards, they were banished to the Griffith Observatory so none of their fans would be at the actual show and take away precious seats from lots of Justin Bieber loving 14 years olds. Oh well there's always the MTV Europe VMA's.

Music That's On My Mind 9/8/10

The new self-titled album from New York City's Interpol. This is the fourth release from one of my favorite bands and so far it's right on par with their previous records, so no letdown for all us fans.

An intriguing dvd release for all the Beatles fans. The entire four episodes of the Ed Sullivan Show in which the Beatles performed, commercials and all. It's a real treat to see how music was presented to the public back in the 60's, not to mention all the other acts and in seeing Ed Sullivan himself and not just as a caricature.

Finally I got a chance to listen to this record! This is the solo debut from Phil Selway, the drummer from Radiohead and I must say I am completely impressed. Who knew he could write songs and sing? Some have even said it's better than Thom Yoke's solo record...well I think they are both great but are two different listens. Of course being a huge Radiohead fan I am a bit biased, seriously though check it out!

Oh Rivers, Why?! Why?! Please Stop That Dancing!

Actually the song isn't that bad, I kind of like it. However this is further indication of just how bad things have gotten for our good ole' friends of Weezer, especially bandmate numero uno, Rivers Cuomo. Seriously dude why on earth did you have to try and dance in this video, rather embarrassing I must say. The question you should ask yourself Rivers is...would Dave Grohl ever sell himself out like this? Don't think so.

A Very Special Night Out On The Town

"Hey sweetheart, what do you say we head out for a drive on the strip tonight?"
"That sounds great dear, is there any particular reason."
"Well I sure thought it would be nice to celebrate the fact that we are newlyweds, plus my new movie 'Takers' being a success and the fact that I have been out of jail now for almost 8 months and am still on probation for illegal gun possession, that's all."
"Oh that sounds so nice, just the two of us out on the town together."
"Yeah and we'll take Maybach out to Sunset Boulevard, drive around and stuff."
"Hey honey why don't you go get the car and pull it around front, I just need to freshen up a bit, then I'll grab the weed and the ecstacy to make it extra special."
"Perfect baby."
"Oh but wait honey what about the Police, maybe we should stay in and celebrate."
"Don't worry sweetie, I'll drive real careful, they won't even notice us."
"You're the best."
"Ditto."

Later that night:
"License and registration please."
"Sure officer no problem."
"What's that I smell? Have you been smoking marijuana tonight sir?"
Uh-oh.....

Another Gnarls Barkley Album On The Way? Cee-Lo Says Yes.

Here is a link to a great interview Rolling Stone has with Cee-Lo primarily talking about his new solo record and the smash hit "Fuck You." http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/17386/198422. He also goes on to say that he will definitely make one more Gnarls Barkley record (yeah!) and that his relationship with Danger Mouse is love/hate, but they talk almost everyday. Please head on over and check it out.

Kings Of Leon Talk "Radioactive" The New Single

You don't get to hear too much of the new song but I thought this was a nice insight into their new music. I am of course very interested in hearing the new stuff and the new album, "Come Around Sundown" which debuts in mid October. KOL's music is certainly changing and evolving which can be a scary prospect when you are a true fan. I honestly don't believe these guys will ever do a Weezer though. Ha!

Apple Announcements and Coldplay Debuts A New Song

Yesterday Apple announced a few new things. A new logo for iTunes...ho hum. New iPods...hmmm, not bad. A new version of iTunes that shows album cover art right in your library. Then of course there was the announcement for Ping, Apple's new social music networking site that works thru iTunes. It seems pretty interesting and I might even give it a try at some point. However the most interesting part of the day was when Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, announced that Chris Martin would be singing for all the folks in attendance. After singing 'Yellow' and 'Viva La Vida', Martin played a new song called 'Wedding Bells' which I have below for you to watch. Maybe this is some insight into some new music heading our way, let's just hope it's better than the last one...

Cee-Lo Says "Fuck You" In His New Video

Check out this great new tune from Cee-Lo of Gnarls Barkley and Goodie Mob fame. Definitely has that great vibe of the first Gnarls Barkley record whether you like the swearing or not because he drops the F-Bomb plenty. Rumor has it that there is a new version called "Forget You" in production that will go out to the masses. I say boo to that, we all need a little more "Fuck You" in our lives.

Still Rotten After All These Years

It was announced today that the Sex Pistols have collaborted with a French Perfume company to create a fragrance with the bands name on it....huh, what? That sounds completely ridiculous. Also apparently in the works is a soap bar aptly titled 'Never Mind The Bullocks' that will come out sometime later this year. I can't imagine any of these products smelling any good, I mean it is the Sex Pistols after all. The one word that comes to mind of course would be 'Rotten', and that's exactly what I would expect from John (Johnny Rotten) Lydon, the former lead singer of the band. Recently Mr. Lydon was quoted as saying that no one has any talent anymore and that a lot of people owe him a lot of credit (he meant money) for inspiring them. He particularly picked on Gorillaz referring to Damon Albarns creation as 'Manufactured'. What he was really getting at, and I think these new products speak to that, is that he is looking to get paid after all these years and feels that a lot of artists have stolen from him and probably should have paid for his permission. He did go on to say that he was a bit tense and grumpy because he was about to go on stage, which he said he does to psyche himself up, and he toned down the usual negativity after that. This to me is just one really weird collaboration on a product that I never imagined the Sex Pistols being involved in...

Robyn (?) Covers Bjork's Hyperballad At Award Show

This just happens to be one of my all time favorite songs and I was intrigued to hear what this cover would sound like even if I had never before heard of Robyn. The performance was recorded at an awards ceremony in which Bjork was to receive an award and she was sitting right in front to hear someone else interpret her material. Bjork still does it better.