George Michael Live at the Forum

Lest we forget, pop-aholic readers may wish to check out Assistant Editor Melanie Love's report from George Michael recent concert stop in LA for his first show there in 25 years. Did the crowd forgive this decidedly un"Faith"ful behavior? Find you for yourself.

Prince vs. Springsteen vs. Neil Young: Who's got the best backing band?

Nice job by Marc Hirsh of MSNBC today rating the best backing bands in the business. The J.B.'s (James Brown), The Attractions (Elvis Costello), the E Street Band (Bruce Springsteen), Crazy Horse (Neil Young) and The Revolution (Prince) are all worthy of consideration for the title. What's truly bizarre is how Hirsh managed to exclude two others who definitely belong in this category. No Heartbreakers (Tom Petty)? And sacrilege of sacrileges, he left out the only backing unit ever to have the nerve to call themselves simply The Band (Bob Dylan, and they lived up to the name)? Can't give this column more than a B with those two glaring exclusions...

Tuesday Roundup

Because we can (and because there's news worth noting):

• David Gilmour Live In Gdańsk is a double live album plus concert DVD to be released on September 16th on Columbia Records. The first solo live album from the Pink Floyd guitarist/vocalist captures the final performance of his critically acclaimed 2006 On An Island tour, held in front of 50,000 in the Gdansk shipyards. The double live album, produced by Gilmour and Phil Manzanera, features Gilmour's six-piece touring band accompanied for the one performance only by the 40-strong string section of the Polish Baltic Philharmonic, conducted by Zbigniew Preisner, orchestral arranger on the On An Island album. It is the first ever live recording with an orchestra of Pink Floyd’s "High Hopes" and "A Great Day For Freedom," the latter performed here as a one-off for this special Solidarity anniversary. The DVD features 113 minutes of concert footage plus a 36-minute documentary which includes Gilmour’s private meeting with former President Lech Walesa, chats with the band and crew, concert rehearsals and other extras.
  
  
• The Subways -- whose dynamic debut Young For Eternity was reviewed on the Vault two years ago -- are back with a new album. Their second disc for Sire Records is called All Of Nothing -- a fair representation of the trio's all-out approach -- and is scheduled for release on September 9. The 12-song album was recorded in Los Angeles with producer Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth) and promises a fresh blast of youthful energy.
  
  
• R&b icons Labelle -- Patti Labelle, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash -- will perform at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans on Saturday, July 5th at the Louisiana Superdome, leading up to the release of their first full-length studio album in more than 33 years on September 23. The Essence Music Festival show will be the first public concert by Labelle since January 1977 and will showcase a short set including the immortal "Lady Marmalade." The upcoming album will include tracks produced by Lenny Kravitz and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame production team Gamble & Huff. Kitchy-kitchy-kitchy-ya-ya!

The Soundtrack for Change: Obama's iPod

CNN Reports today the contents of Barack Obama’s iPod. Apparently Obama digs Dylan, The Stones, Stevie Wonder, and various jazz artists including Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and John Coltrane.

"I have pretty eclectic tastes," the Democratic presidential contender said in an interview to be published in Friday's issue of Rolling Stone.

Growing up in the '70s, Obama said, he listened to the Rolling Stones, Elton John and Earth, Wind & Fire. Stevie Wonder is his musical hero from the era. The Stones' "Gimme Shelter" tops his favorites from the band.

Asked about Rap, he confesses that despite his respect for the strides made my many artists in that genre, he has concerns for some of the content. "I am troubled sometimes by the misogyny and materialism of a lot of rap lyrics," he said, "but I think the genius of the art form has shifted the culture and helped to desegregate music."

No word yet on what John McCain is listening to.

CNN

Rolling Stone

Chris Cubeta covers Neil Young

Wowza. I'm not much of a download surfer, and I generally leave the MP3 blogging to the very best on the Web, Heather Browne, but looky looky what I found. One of the most exciting indie acts in the land, Chris Cubeta and the Liars Club, recently posted their cover of Neil Young's post-Kent State classic "Ohio" on their blog and it is absolutely SMOKING. It's a song that demands total commitment and CC & the LC bring it with authority. Not to be missed!

Metallica: Some Kind of Idiocy

As reported on CNet, Metallica recently invited selected music bloggers to sit with them in the studio for a preview of their upcoming album, playing six tracks.

Said bloggers then blogged what they heard, as bloggers will. Most of the comments were positive based on readers who had a chance to actually read the comments prior to…

… Metallica’s camp ordering all the blogs removed under threat of legal action. Some claims about the music being “rough mixes” were given as an excuse.

The "DUH" factor just went through the roof. If they aren't ready, don't invite anyone to listen.

Shortly thereafter, the band “sort of apologized,” fingering the band's PR firm as the culprit.

First the Napster debacle, then they become the last-band-standing to be drug kicking and screaming into iTunes. Is this a by-product of the band's well-established dislike for the Internet, digital media and anything that doesn’t provide a bricks-and-mortar originated royalty check? Can someone explain the benefit of prohibiting positive reviews?

The blogs were eventually restored, you can read them here: Kerrang, Metal Hammer, The Quietus.

Jeff's Quick Picks -- Elton John

Elton John
Tumbleweed Connection [Deluxe Edition]

I decided to cheat this week with my Quick Picks; instead of a song I’d like to highlight an album. A Deluxe Edition, to be exact. Last week, there were two reissues of two classic Elton John albums released, his self titled work and it’s sequel, Tumbleweed Connection. My choices were limited to one or the other, and in the end Jeff left Best Buy with a tumbleweed in hand.

Tumbleweed Connection ranks quite high on the list of the great Elton John albums; in my book it alternates in the top spot with Captain Fantastic. Thus, I was quite curious to listen to alternate takes/new material from a truly classic album. The results were pleasing enough, although not hugely enlightening.

“There Goes A Well-Known Gun” is presented in a completely different fashion; foreshadow of Captain Fantastic with it’s country rock vibe. I love the original, but this version has it’s moments. “Sisters Of The Cross” is the only 100% new song contained on the album, but it’s intriguing enough to make one ponder what could have been. John demonstrates his amazing command of performance on just a piano once more; in that he is at the top of the heap.

The Deluxe Edition concludes with 4 songs lifted from an unreleased series of BBC Sessions, and are well worth the time to listen to. These are songs that would not be performed live for decades in some cases, and here John and his band infuse them a raw energy of an act trying to make it big (“Ballad Of A Well-Known Gun” and “Burn Down The Mission” in particular).

This is one of Elton’s best albums, and in this format it has received a fresh update with enough bonus material to provide some perspective. For a Deluxe Edition, that is all one can ask for.

PR: The Mother of Invention

British rockers The Get Out Clause, needing a video to promote themselves but lacking funds, ingeniously performed in front of some of the 1000s of government controlled closed circuit surveillance cameras all over Manchester, and then requested copies of the videos under a public information disclosure statute.

"We wanted to produce something that looked good and that wasn't too expensive to do," guitarist Tony Churnside said. "We hit upon the idea of going into Manchester and setting up in front of cameras we knew would be filming”.

Cleverly splicing clips from many locations, they managed to create a pretty decent video, and purely by accident, an interesting look at the state of Big Brotherism and who’s watching who, and where.

The music "industry": race to the bottom

A musician friend recently passed on a pitch he’d received from an industry contact. It went like this:

BANDS AND ARTISTS FROM ALL GENRES (but primarily Alt Rock bands or Hip Hop groups) are sought after by a Film/TV Production company currently casting for a new Reality TV show airing on a popular cable network… They're looking for a band/group that has talent and potential, but is struggling with one or more members in terms of moving forward with their career. It could be that a member has an addiction problem, or a less serious (but annoying) responsibility problem, a gambling issue, or an inability to cooperate with the rest of the band in one way or another. The scenarios could be vast, but they really want a band with personality who's not afraid to "show their dirt" to the TV audience. They will be open to using the band's songs on the show, granted that the quality is there. There will be on camera/live performance opportunities, in addition to full promotion of the band and their music.

My friend and I commiserated briefly about what it meant about the state of both our culture and the music industry that artists were being bribed with free promotion to turn their most painful and/or embarrassing moments of personal failure into entertainment for the masses. The word “disturbing” came up frequently in our conversation.

Then I received a pitch from someone obviously affiliated with the same show:

I am a producer for a new reality show featuring promising bands on the **** Network.

This show is a great opportunity for some up and coming bands to get some excellent exposure! Most bands have internal conflicts of some sort that they would like to rectify. This show will help the band work on a problem it has been facing once and for all.

We are currently trying to spread the word about this opportunity and are accepting applicants from all music genres. It would be great if we could post a banner that mentions our casting call your subscribers… I’d love to be able to reach all the artists on your site as this is a great opportunity for them to showcase their music and get attention, on television.

My response:

Sorry ***** – nothing personal – but the premise of your show is offensive to me both as a music lover and as a human being. I don’t care how much “exposure” a band gets out of it, exploiting people’s pain for ratings is just plain wrong.

Discuss.

Alton Kelley 1940 - 2008

Legendary artist Alton Kelley created a graphic style that rocked the world beginning in the psychedelic Sixties. His concert posters, logo designs, LP album covers, and fine art have forevermore defined that time. Kelley, born June 17, 1940, passed away peacefully at home June 1st of complications from a long illness.

He is survived by the true love of his life, Marguerite Trousdale Kelley. He also leaves his mother Annie, sister Kathy, and beloved children Patty, Yossarian, and China, and beautiful grandchildren Life and Lacoda.

Through his mind-expanding creativity and over several decades, Kelley gave rock music new colors, shapes, and themes expressing the optimism and enthusiasm of young people around the globe. His graphics defined youth culture as much as the music itself-in effect his art was a break-through collaboration with musicians and bands such as the Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix. As Joel Selvin, rock critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, put it, "Kelley and Mouse drew the first face on rock music."

Kelley and his life-long collaborator Stanley Mouse are best known for their posters for "San Francisco style" dance-concerts at the Fillmore Auditorium, Winterland arena, the Fillmore West, the Avalon Ballroom, and a host of other Bay Area theaters and amphitheaters. They also created world-renowned posters and album covers for the Grateful Dead, Journey, Steve Miller, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, and others.

The two artists historically worked as a team, in their words "riffing off each other's giggle." They joyfully appropriated from historic sources, in one instance re-working an obscure nineteenth-century etching to create their iconic Grateful Dead "skeleton and roses" design. They combined vibrant Sixties color with French poster-making joi de vivre enthusiasm, and their own adapted technique, to generate compelling pieces often issued on a weekly basis, ultimately dazzling millions worldwide. Thus, they changed advertising art forever, as their posters were key examples of what became one of the most important art movements of the latter part of the twentieth century.

When Kelley (a native of Maine) met Mouse (a native of Detroit, MI) in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district in late 1965 (the "Haight" was the epicenter of the hippie movement, culminating in the "Summer of Love" in 1967), they instantly recognized they were kindred spirits in what Mouse describes as "one of the juiciest scenes of all time." Their concert posters, commissioned by Fillmore promoter Bill Graham and Graham's rival, the Avalon's Family Dog collective, were eagerly snapped up by bands and fans alike.

In the decades since, Mouse and Kelley's classics have established even greater popularity, rivaling the interest long shown by collectors of French turn-of-the-century Belle Epoque art made famous by Toulouse-Lautrec and others.

"There is one word for Alton Kelley's lifelong contribution, and that is 'iconic.'" said Dell Furano, CEO of Signatures Network. "Kelley's artwork, designs, posters, album covers, tour logos set a standard of inspired creativity that has remained as influential as the great San Francisco Rock Scene of the 60's, 70's and 80's."

[Thanks to Jennifer Gross of Evolutionary Media Group for sending in this press release. And R.I.P. Alton.]

Radiohead v. Prince

The Purple One is at it again, and this time the absurd lengths to which the man continues to go to punish his own fans has sparked a dispute with none other than Radiohead. It seems that The Artist Formerly Known As Rational performed a Radiohead song ("Creep") at the recent Coachella Music Festival. Video of which performance someone promptly YouTubed (duh), which video was promptly taken down after Symbol-dude sicced his unholy army of attorneys on them. Ironically, this also blocked Radiohead themselves from seeing the clip, prompting frontman Thom Yorke to reply "Well, tell him to unblock it. It's our ... song."

The return of Journey

I still can't completely explain why I'm so jazzed about the return of a band I was never a huge fan of in the first place. But certainly the fact that they found their new singer on YouTube -- and he's both from the other side of the world and phenomenally good -- has something to do with it. Check out the footage from today's performance on the Ellen Degeneres Show below. At the end she says "Unbelievable!" and it's hard to argue.

The good, the bad, the independent

The music world is like the Wild West nowadays. The old rules about making it in the business -- write singles, get the big label's attention, sign and sell lots of albums -- is out the window. The new model is still taking shape, and the only thing we know for sure is it's wide open.

The upside is that a lot of terrific artists who might have labored in obscurity making af few bucks a night playing bars are now laboring in semi-obscurity making a few more bucks a night by selling downloads and merch online in between playing bars.

The downside is, the market is flooded. Here at the Vault, we get a ton of independent discs in the mail every week, and while we love to discover new artists and feature independent music whenever we can, honestly, about 75% of what comes in is seriously flawed in one way or another. It's an act that doesn't have a voice or style of its own or anything original to say or an exciting or engaging way of saying it, or even a reasonably professional recording. It's self-indulgent, it's amateurish, and sometimes it's just plain bad.

That said, my last three published reviews have all been of terrific, lovingly crafted work by artists who are either self-releasing or on a small indie label. So please, ignore the glut of marginal material and enjoy these three indie gems:

• Fractures by Last Charge Of The Light Horse. Like a ten-years-after sequel to Springsteen's Tunnel Of Love; a superbly crafted song cycle about troubled relationships and the daily search for hope and redemption.
  
  
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• Time Travel Made Easy by Spiraling. Fountains Of Wayne meet H.G. Wells in this brilliantly executed concept album full of clever riffs, retro synths and singalong choruses.
  
  
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• Today by Mike Zito. Simply the best electric blues album I've heard in a long time, full of Stevie Ray Vaughan grit mixed with John Mayer melodicism and John Hiatt self-awareness.
  
  
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  Enjoy!
  

Jeff's Quick Picks -- Rooney

"I Should've Been After You"
Rooney
Calling The World

Retro-rock has been one of the driving forces behind popular music for a few years now; I might argue it began with the garage rock revival of the early 00's, but that's just a personal opinion. Point is, a great deal of bands these days seek to emulate the sound/style of their elders. Some do this better than others.

I couldn't tell you much about Rooney as a band, apparently they have a decent reputation and I believe one of the members is the brother of a member of the band Phantom Planet. Their pop/rock sensibilities are impeccable however, and that shines through on "I Should've Been After You."

This track contains elements of Queen, Genesis, with a dash of Boston to boot. It is quite the summer song, oozing charisma and energy from every pore. This track really hearkens back to the days when bands used to actually release singles, and that in turn meant something to the consumer. This is a song meant to be spinning on a turntable somewhere during 1976. Perfect example of a song to download for a dollar; more than worth it.

Jeff's Quick Picks -- Paul Simon

"Pigs, Sheep and Wolves"
Paul Simon
You're The One

This quirky number comes to the masses from Simon's 2000 disc You're The One. After a decade that saw no traditional release from Rhymin' Simon, he saw fit to return to his roots...in a matter of speaking.

One can definitely hear the influences of the South African/World music that Simon has utilized throughout his career; but it has lost some of it's charm and uniqueness. Still, the production/musicianship is ten times better than anything you would hear on Top 20 radio.

No, this song loses points on performance of Simon himself. Lyrically, the allegory between Pigs, Sheep, and Wolves and mankind has been made before (In fact I think there's been an album dedicated to it....). Simon's odd vocals don't help matters much; to be frank it sounds as if he decided to lazily toss these off at 9 at night when he was bored and tired. He does this now and then, the worst example being his vocals on "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" from the Simon & Garfunkel live record Old Friends.

Paul Simon has a decidedly hit or miss solo career; this particular song qualifies as a miss.

Chris Cubeta and The Liars Club Prep for June Residency at Manhattan’s The Living Room

Daily Vault faves Chris Cubeta and The Liars Club, who too-modestly call themselves "an Americana rock band from Brooklyn," will begin a prestigious, month-long residency at New York City's The Living Room on June 2. The Liars Club will appear every Monday in June at 10 PM. All five Monday night shows are -- get this -- FREE with a one-drink minimum per set. That's an unbeatable bargain for an artist who's earned straight "A"s from the Vault and delivered this reviewer's favorite indie releases of both 2006 *and* 2007.

The Liars Club has been making noise in and out of New York over the last year. Last summer, they embarked on a seven-city East Coast tour that included stops in Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Richmond, Raleigh, Wilmington and Nashville. The band has opened for singer-songwriter Gary Jules (“Mad World,” Donnie Darko soundtrack) and Cubeta has performed solo on two occasions in support of former Pushstars lead singer Chris Trapper. In December, Cubeta released the spectacular Change EP to a packed crowd at The Living Room. The band has also drawn big crowds at some of the city’s most lively rooms including Rockwood Music Hall, Pianos, Crash Mansion, The Bitter End and Trash.

This is the first-ever residency for The Liars Club at The Living Room. Sets will include special guests and promotions. The Living Room is at 154 Ludlow between Stanton and Rivington in the heart of Manhattan’s Lower East Side (take the J or F to Delancey -- phone number is 212-533-7235). For more information, contact band manager Danny Lanzetta at 914-475-8070 or at dlanzetta[at]galuminumfoil.com.

Most of all -- if you can possibly help it, don't miss these shows. If I lived within a thousand miles of NYC, you can bet I wouldn't.

"Jeff's Quick Picks"

“San Francisco Mabel Joy”
Kenny Rogers
The Gambler

And the inaugural song to break in “Jeff’s Quick Picks” is……Kenny Rogers? What were the odds in Vegas on that one? Well, I promised to be indiscriminate, and indiscriminate I shall be!

The Gambler is one of Roger’s most famous albums, if not his most famous. It provided him with a platform to launch a few crossover tunes from the country charts to the pop charts, and “San Francisco Mabel Joy” is a good example. While the refrain and vocal twangs scream country, the orchestral overdubs and reggae-tinged guitar sound much more contemporary.

While there are other songs on The Gambler that have reached the status of classics and were much bigger hits, “San Francisco Mabel Joy” has the feeling of being that 3rd or 4th single to mop things up from one record to the next. Definitely a keeper from a great album.

The Daily Shuffle...

It can be quite a challenge picking music to listen to when your music library is as vast as mine. I’m not trying to gloat or show off, but it’s the truth. Tell me that you have not walked into a video rental store, or the grocery store, and been presented with so many options that you can’t even begin to pick where to start.

When such a time arrives, I tend to crawl up in the fetal position and suck my thumb for a few hours. However, with my music collection, I have the option of one of the most glorious aspects of the CD/MP3 age: SHUFFLE!!

Instead of spending my time debating the merits of listening to Close To The Edge over Kill’em All, I can let my iPod choose for me. One click, and I’m reveling in the entire breadth and scope of my library. What song is my iPod going to deliver? I have no idea, and that’s the beauty of the whole process.

Over time, I’ve come to realize that when I shuffle things up, I am often introduced/reintroduced to songs I had no memory of owning, or even listening to. Therein lies the thrill of listening to music, in a method that was once the sole domination of radio, but now accessible to any consumer.

Our focus here at the Vault are albums, and rightfully so. However, God bless this blog of ours, for it allows a certain degree of latitude and freedom in covering content. We don’t often get the chance to highlight a new song that we heard on the radio, or saw in a commercial, or had a friend tell us about.

So, with an incredibly small amount of fanfare, I introduce “Jeff’s Quick Picks,” whereupon I’ll hit on a few tunes I come across while shuffling. Whether it’s an album cut from a record I know very well to a track that I will swear up and down to never having listened to, rest assured that not even I know what is coming up next.

Now serving: free lunch

Apparently, Trent Reznor has never heard of the famous economics maxim which states "There is no such thing as a free lunch." Today, Reznor announced that the latest NIN album was available to the fans 100% free,

This announcement comes two months after Reznor released Ghosts I-IV, a 36 track instrumental album in every format known to man. In the span of a week, Reznor sold roughly a million dollars' worth of digital downloads, lighting the internet on fire with his bold new delivery model.

As many have surmised, with the actions of NIN, Radiohead, and Coldplay, there is a paradigm shift occurring within the music industry. The old way of walking down to the local record store to pick up the latest released from Bread is going the way of the dinosaur. How much one laments the loss of such a process is growing more and more dependent on the age of individual.

Of course, it's going to be some time before this is preferred delivery model of music; the bands that are utilizing this system have huge, established fanbases. They have made it big, and can afford to take losses when announcing and delivering released of this nature. Your fledgling, indie band trying to make it big simply cannot afford to the same. At least, at the present time...

Oh Piggy, where art thou?

The iconical and infamous inflatable pig that was originally inflated to support Pink Floyd’s Animals tour back in 1977, was sent aloft this past weekend during the Coachella music festival out in the California desert. Waters has retained ownership of the pig and deployed it periodically for the past 30 years.

For reasons unknown, the pig broke loose of its moorings and drifted off into the sky, to be found the next morning in tatters in suburban La Quinta about 10 miles away. Festival organizers offered a $10,000 reward for its return, which was gratefully split between the two families whose yards were festooned with the shredded remains.

The reasons for the pig's attempted escape are unclear. However, he had been plastered with pro-Obama slogans for the festival, and some speculate it was headed for nearby Arizona, home of Senator John McCain.