Hold Steady now... new music is on the way

The Hold Steady return with more gut-wrenching, hope-inspiring, Springsteen-flavored, uber-poetic rock and roll, as the entire new album Heaven Is Whenever streams on NPR.

(With thanks to DV alumna Julia Skochko for the tip.)

Type O Negative Singer Peter Steele Dies At 48

Bassist and lead vocalist Peter Steele of doom metal outfit Type O Negative died of an apparent heart attack yesterday, he was 48. The burly 6'7" frontman was known for his deep, sonorous voice and macabre lyrics. Hailing from Brooklyn, NY, Steele was a founding member and the principal songwriter during the band's 20-year career.

Type O Negative found great success in the '90s on the strength of their unique sound and Steele's knack for picking the most unlikely cover songs, including Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" and Seals & Crofts' "Summer Breeze." Steele had spent the earlier part of this decade dealing with drug and legal problems, but a new album in 2007 and well-received tours put the band on an upswing, and a new album had been planned. His bandmates report he "had been enjoying a long period of sobriety and improved health."

I had the pleasure of seeing Peter and the band perform on two occasions, and his unique and original presence in the world of music will be sorely missed.

Artist Spotlight: Linda Ronstadt

Her band became the Eagles, her boyfriend became a presidential candidate, and later in her career, she herself became a singer of traditional Spanish songs. But what Linda Ronstadt will always be remembered for is crossing over from country to the pop charts with a series of classic mid-70s singles. This week, Staff Writer David Bowling turns the clock back and shines our Artist Spotlight on five albums from Linda Ronstadt's very successful 70s run. Check it out...

Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse: An Appreciation

Another musical voice silenced, another moment to reflect.

I wasn't personally acquainted with the music of Mark Linkous or his musical alter ego Sparklehorse -- but I was definitely moved by Assistant Editor Melanie Love's appreciation of his life's work.

R.I.P.

Alex Chilton remembered

I've never owned an album by either Alex Chilton or his ironically named group Big Star, but I was sad nonetheless to hear that he passed away the other day at 59. Not because I was a fan of his, but because I was a fan of so many other groups who proudly declared themselves his musical disciples.

From the Gin Blossoms to the Posies to R.E.M., any power-pop/guitars-and-harmonies band worth its salt in the last 30 years cited Big Star and Alex Chilton as major influences. The Replacements -- another group that many bands I like cite as an influence, even though I don't care for them -- even recorded a song called, simply, "Alex Chilton." Whether you were a fan or not, you can't deny that the man's passing is a major loss to an entire generation of musicians who followed in his rhyming, chiming, guitar-rich footsteps. R.I.P. Alex.

OK Go says bye bye bye to EMI

But wait, OK Go fans -- there's more. Not content with having issued possibly the coolest music video in the history of the universe, nor with eloquently laying out the imminent demise of the bygone-era recording industry on the op-ed page of the New York Times, OK Go has taken a really bold step.

They quit. Not music, silly, and especially not the music videos which have evolved into such an integral part of their artistic identity -- no, they quit their label. Buh bye, EMI, nice knowing you.

Don't worry too much about the boys, though. In addition to their viral videos, fabuliciously different new album, and upcoming tour, in the next month they'll be appearing on Carson Daly (4/16), David Letterman (4/28), Steven Colbert (4/29), and Jimmies Kimmel (4/1) and Fallon (5/4).

Label? Who needs a label?

P.S. Love the very low-key, polite, and classy-in-a-silk-screened-dogs-playing-poker-sort-of-way "onwards and upwards" video on their site as well.

Best. Music. Video. Ever. (Since their last one, anyway)

The boys from OK Go have done it again. Watch first, then check out the equally cool backstory.

The Live Album Lives

Of all the retrospectives we've ever done, one of the hardest to schedule out was the Concert Classics retro from November 2008. There were just so many worthy albums to consider, and so many different ways of approaching the whole thing. I mean, a number of the greatest acts ever to walk the stage (I'm thinking especially of the Beatles and Led Zeppelin) never put out a live album that lived up to the exhilaration of seeing them in concert. And some of the best live albums in rock history were released by bands whose studio work (and success) never quite matched up to the sheer power they were capable of delivering on stage.

In the latter camp falls one of the last albums to be trimmed off of our Nov. '08 schedule, one that arguably should have made the cut -- UFO's 1978 classic Strangers In The Night. I'm not out to settle the argument here... but I did finally finish the review.

Artist Spotlight: Gloria Estefan

After five and a half years, we recently put our monthly artist retrospectives on hiatus. But the desire to cover multiple albums by a single artist never went away, and so we're now pleased to launch a new twist on an old idea. Our new occasional "Artist Spotlight" feature will offer our writers the platform to cover three to five albums at a time by the artist of their choice, with the reviews running sequentially. First up is Mark Millan, with four reviews this week of the artist he playfully refers to as his "Miami vice" -- the one and only Gloria Estefan. Join us!

Happy Birthday

Look out world -- The Daily Vault is a teenager.

Yes, it was 13 years ago today, on January 13, 1997, that DV Founder Christopher Thelen switched the virtual lights on and started cranking out a daily stream of reviews that has yet to cease. Chris' inaugural review of ex-Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones' solo disc Fire And Gasoline set the tone and form for 13 years of in-depth examinations of music that delves into the history of the artists and the album, placing the music firmly in context.

We could go on, but we'd really rather not, because when you get down to it, it's always been about the same thing -- the music. And so, let's get back to it.

Lists, Lists, Lists: Best Of 2009

The holidays are a time for listmaking of all sorts, including our personal favorite -- lists of the best musical offerings of the year. The Vault's annual "Best Of" feature this time out offers lists from Sarah Curristan, Melanie Love, Sean McCarthy, Mark Millan and yours truly. For added fun, check out the contrasting views of albums like Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion, which one writer named album of the year whilst another was busy trashing it with her "Emperor's New Clothes Award"!

All aboard the Big Big Train

British prog-rockers Big Big Train return this week with The Underfall Yard, a classic Genesis-Yes-Floyd smashup that adds brass and strings to half of the band's most moving set of songs to date. Building out from BBT's founding core of Greg Spawton (guitar, keys, songwriting) and Andy Poole (bass, production), new lead vocalist David Longdon -- who nearly succeeded Phil Collins at the mike for Genesis in 1996 -- is a terrific addition, as are extended guest shots by Nick D'Virgilio (Spock's Beard) and Dave Gregory (XTC). Other prog luminaries on the scene include Jem Godfrey (Frost*) and Francis Dunnery (It Bites), making this a virtual all-star affair. That said, there's not a wasted moment here; The Underfall Yard is an amazing, moving, truly impressive piece of work, and a sure thing for my upcoming Best of 2009 column.

Old And Wise.

Yesterday, Eric Woolfson, the lead vocalist and lyricist of the Alan Parsons Project, died at age 64.

For anyone with even a passing familiarity with my musical tastes and my ten years of reviews on the Daily Vault, this is obviously a huge, earth-shattering, sad and painful time for me. The first album I ever bought was the Project's Turn Of A Friendly Card.

It's been 24 hours or more, and I still haven't fully comprehended my feelings about it. I feel old. I feel worn. I feel like more and more of my childhood is slipping beyond that big grey veil -- the veil that I get closer to every day. And, frankly, I don't like it.

What I'm clinging to now is a line from Woolfson's post-Project work, the musical Poe. This is a video of Steve Balsamo singing Eric's song "Immortal":



There's the lines, at the end:"If you remember me... I am immortal."

What is remembered, lives.

Top 100 Albums of the 2000s

A hundred albums spanning a full decade, summed up in just five weeks... that's the gist of Sean McCarthy's Top 100 of the 2000s, a feature that hit its much-anticipated apex just yesterday when we posted Sean's capsule reviews of numbers 20 through one. Who made the top 20 for 2000-2009? Read 'em and weep (or cheer, as the case may be).

John Mayer's Battle Studies

Oh, John Mayer... we remember when your only goal seemed to be becoming a heartthrob with your breathy-voiced sweet nothings. Then you got a little more serious and we all took notice... then you studied up on the blues, gave us your best shot and knocked one out of the park... then you released an impressive live album... and now you're back to crooning about heartbreak. Some would call it coming full circle; others would call it two steps forward, one step back. Readers, we'll let you decide...

The Santas, They Are a Changin'

Loathe though we might normally be to recommend anything in any way associated with Rolling Stone (is there a sadder story arc in the world of music than starting out as the voice of the fan and ending up as the voice of the industry?), one particular teaser that crossed our desk recently was just too amusing to pass up. Let's face it -- they had us at "Bob Dylan in a Santa hat..."

1,000 true fans = a career in music?

The peripatetic Ariel Hyatt of Ariel Publicity recently spotlighted a fascinating piece by technology blogger Kevin Kelly -- now 18 months old but relevant as ever -- in which he argues that all the DIY musician needs to establish a viable career as an independent musical act is to cultivate 1,000 true fans. Agree or disagree, Kelly's piece makes for fascinating reading for anyone interested in exploring what the still-emerging new music business paradigm means for artists in the trenches.

Album of the Year

It's a little early for 2009 list-making, and it's just one writer's opinion. But from this writer's perspective, the long-awaited new album from Switchfoot is more than just a straight "A" -- Hello Hurricane is nothing less than the album of the year. If you want to know the reasons why... read on.

Top 100 of the 2000s

Today on the Vault we kick off a new feature from Sean McCarthy, spotlighting the top 100 albums of the decade. Don't miss Sean's look at #s 100 through 81.

The '70s roll on

A relatively well-researched and reasonably respectful piece on the many '70s acts still finding an audience on the road appeared n MSNBC.com yesterday -- it's worth a read for any fan of the era.