· No Depression, the magazine that began defining a sound without a home in 1995, has laid its heart out on its sleeve in its first CD, entitled No Depression: What It Sounds Like, Volume One. Call it what you want - Adult Acoustic Alternative, nu-country, or hayseed roots rock - the magazine has championed great music that doesn't quite fit the traditional rock or country radio formats and lifestyles.
And that's okay, as this alternative-country movement bends knee at the alter of great song and not the cookie-cutter fringe and gloss of the mainstream machine. While none of the thirteen tracks on the album are exclusive to the project, the collection is a perfect dip into this watering trough of lonesome pine melody, rejected love and pedal steel guitar - an American sound that causes one to stop and take a deep breath of the good stuff in life. The magazine has been a sanctuary for those artists who refuse to compromise integrity and vision for a room at the inn, but who cares - the party's a whole lot better in the barn. Perfect for a late Saturday night snort or Sunday morning hangover, these songs by Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Neko Case, Alejandro Escovedo, Robbie Fulks and Kelly Willis, and more are pure manna for the soul. One track sheds light on the magazine's namesake - The Carter Family's "No Depression in Heaven" from 1936. Look for this highly recommended project on the Dualtone Records imprint next week.
· Fans of The Kinks can play band stalker from the comfort of their favorite reading spot, as Backbeat Books has just released All Day and All of the Night, a day-by-day "diary" from 1961 to 1996. Exhaustively researched by author Doug Hinman, the 350 pages track the band's formation, TV and radio broadcasts, recording strife, worldwide tours, and their string of single and album releases. Scattered with nice black & white photography and truckloads of trivia, the book pulls passages from all the great rock magazines of the day, giving the journey a nice "you were there" quality. The Backbeat imprint also issues a biography of The White Stripes this week, entitled Sweethearts of the Blues, by Denise Sullivan. Packed with color and black & white photography, rare record cover art, and confessional interviews, the tidy 176 pages reveal the influences that bore the band, smashing the raw sweat of blues music with minimalist full bore rawk. The story of Jack and Meg White's upbringing couldn't be more different, and Sullivan poses their Detroit homeland as an incendiary chemistry beaker ready to explode again musically with the right spark.
Television Alert:
The Late Show with David Letterman welcomes Sting this evening; Late Night with Conan O'Brien hosts Cee-Lo on Thursday overnight, Norah Jones on Monday overnight, and Sarah McLachlan on Tuesday overnight; The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn features jazz vocalist Diane Schuur on Thursday overnight; Last Call with Carson Daly gets comfy with The Von Bondies this evening overnight, and Big Head Todd & The Monsters on Thursday overnight; Jimmy Kimmel Live boasts Rooney on Thursday overnight; and Saturday Night Live's musical guest this weekend is Norah Jones.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, March 9:
... and like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change
40 Watt Domain - Short Wave (Gaki) sonic surf smoke punk from Los Angeles
60 Channels - Covert Movements (SupaCrucial / New Line) known for her score to the film Boiler Room, this is new music from the electronic artist The Angel, with guest vocalists Navigator of the Freestylers and Angie Hart of Frente
The Black Heart Procession - Tropics of Love (Touch & Go) DVD
The Black Heart Procession & Solbakken - In the Fishtank (Touch & Go)
Black Sabbath - Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath (Rhino) eight-CD box set with bonus DVD
Blonde Redhead - Misery Is a Butterfly (4AD / Beggars Banquet)
The Blue Dogs - Halos and Good Buys (Black River) The Bobbyteens - Cruisin' For a Brusin' (Estrus) BR549 - Tangled in the Pines (Dualtone) with new guitarist Chris Scruggs and bassist Geoff Firebaugh
Brides of Destruction - Here Come the Brides (Sanctuary) new from Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns and Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue
Cordero - Somos Cordero (Daemon) infectious second album from this bi-lingual indie rock outfit led by Ani Cordero, blending alternative and Latin rhythms into a cool, mysterious soundtrack for the mind
Dead Kennedys - Life From The Deaf Club 1979 (Manifesto) recorded live in San Francisco, featuring a disco version of "Kill the Poor" and covers of The Honeycombs' "Have I the Right" and the Beatles' "Back In the USSR"
DJ Revolution - Wake Up Show Mix Archives Volume 3 and 4 (On the Corner) new turntable workouts from the host of the nationally syndicated radio show
DJ Spooky vs. Twilight Circus - Riddim Clash (Play Records) new collaboration between That Subliminal Kid and the Dub Sound System
Dose Hermanos - Bright Shadows (Gaff Music) new from Grateful Dead keyboardists Tom Constanten and Bob Bralove
The Fenians - Every Day's a Hooley (Mizen Head) new fusion of Irish traditional folk and rock
Frost - Raise Your Fist To Metal (Sanctuary / Noise) new from the former Savatage / Seven Witches guitarist, with guests Mike Duda of W.A.S.P., Johnny Dee of Doro, and Billy Childs of Britny Fox
Great Big Sea - Something Beautiful (Zoe / Rounder) featuring a cover of Runrig's "Pride of Summer"
Hafler Trio - How To Slice a Loaf of Bread (Phonometrography)
Jucifer - War Bird (Velocette) seven-track CD EP
Judas Priest - Metalogy (Sony Legacy) four-CD box set wrapped in leather and metal studs
Kid Kilowatt - Guitar Method 1996-1999 (Hydra Head) featuring members of Cave In and Converge
Sondre Lerche - Two Way Monologue (Astralwerks)
Robert Lockwood, Jr. - The Legend Live (M.C. Records) still the master of 12-string blues at the age of 89
Mary Lou Lord - Baby Blue (Rubric) highly anticipated new album featuring two songs co-written with Nick Saloman of Bevis Frond, and covers of Pink Floyd's "Fearless" and Badfinger's title track
Melissa Manchester - When I Look Down That Road (Koch) with guest Keb' Mo
The Marlboro Chorus - Entangled (Future Appletree) terrific six-song EP that reminds me of an acoustic Dinosaur Jr.
Wynton Marsalis - The Magic Hour (Blue Note) with guests Bobby McFerrin and Diane Reeves
Mobb Deep - Amerika's Nightmare (Violator / Jive)
Abra Moore - Everything Changed (Koch) new from the Poi Dog Pondering member
Now It's Overhead - Fall Back Open (Saddle Creek) with guests Michael Stipe of R.E.M. and Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes
Graham Parker - Your Country (Bloodshot)
Plant Life - The Return of Jack Splash (Counterflow) new funk explorations from the Animal Pharm member
Iggy Pop - Sister Midnight (Anarchy Music) recorded live in Cleveland on March 21, 1977 Jules Shear - Sayin' Hello To the Folks (Valley) collection of lesser-known songs by James Brown, Todd Rundgren, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and more
Squarepusher - Ultravisitor (Warp)
Josh Todd - You Made Me (TODD Entertainment) new from the former Buckcherry singer
The Tubes - White Punks On Dope (Acadia) remastered reissue from 1975
TV On the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (Touch & Go)
various artists - If Only You Were Lonely (Peace Frog)
various artists - The Q People: A Tribute To NRBQ (Spirithouse) with contributions by Steve Earle, Ron Sexsmith, Bonnie Raitt, Mike Mills of R.E.M., and Los Lobos
The Wildhearts - Riff After Riff (Gearhead) with cover art by Dirty Donny
· Fans of The Kinks can play band stalker from the comfort of their favorite reading spot, as Backbeat Books has just released All Day and All of the Night, a day-by-day "diary" from 1961 to 1996. Exhaustively researched by author Doug Hinman, the 350 pages track the band's formation, TV and radio broadcasts, recording strife, worldwide tours, and their string of single and album releases. Scattered with nice black & white photography and truckloads of trivia, the book pulls passages from all the great rock magazines of the day, giving the journey a nice "you were there" quality. The Backbeat imprint also issues a biography of The White Stripes this week, entitled Sweethearts of the Blues, by Denise Sullivan. Packed with color and black & white photography, rare record cover art, and confessional interviews, the tidy 176 pages reveal the influences that bore the band, smashing the raw sweat of blues music with minimalist full bore rawk. The story of Jack and Meg White's upbringing couldn't be more different, and Sullivan poses their Detroit homeland as an incendiary chemistry beaker ready to explode again musically with the right spark.
Television Alert:
The Late Show with David Letterman welcomes Sting this evening; Late Night with Conan O'Brien hosts Cee-Lo on Thursday overnight, Norah Jones on Monday overnight, and Sarah McLachlan on Tuesday overnight; The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn features jazz vocalist Diane Schuur on Thursday overnight; Last Call with Carson Daly gets comfy with The Von Bondies this evening overnight, and Big Head Todd & The Monsters on Thursday overnight; Jimmy Kimmel Live boasts Rooney on Thursday overnight; and Saturday Night Live's musical guest this weekend is Norah Jones.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, March 9:
... and like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change
40 Watt Domain - Short Wave (Gaki) sonic surf smoke punk from Los Angeles
60 Channels - Covert Movements (SupaCrucial / New Line) known for her score to the film Boiler Room, this is new music from the electronic artist The Angel, with guest vocalists Navigator of the Freestylers and Angie Hart of Frente
The Black Heart Procession - Tropics of Love (Touch & Go) DVD
The Black Heart Procession & Solbakken - In the Fishtank (Touch & Go)
Black Sabbath - Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath (Rhino) eight-CD box set with bonus DVD
Blonde Redhead - Misery Is a Butterfly (4AD / Beggars Banquet)
The Blue Dogs - Halos and Good Buys (Black River) The Bobbyteens - Cruisin' For a Brusin' (Estrus) BR549 - Tangled in the Pines (Dualtone) with new guitarist Chris Scruggs and bassist Geoff Firebaugh
Brides of Destruction - Here Come the Brides (Sanctuary) new from Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns and Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue
Cordero - Somos Cordero (Daemon) infectious second album from this bi-lingual indie rock outfit led by Ani Cordero, blending alternative and Latin rhythms into a cool, mysterious soundtrack for the mind
Dead Kennedys - Life From The Deaf Club 1979 (Manifesto) recorded live in San Francisco, featuring a disco version of "Kill the Poor" and covers of The Honeycombs' "Have I the Right" and the Beatles' "Back In the USSR"
DJ Revolution - Wake Up Show Mix Archives Volume 3 and 4 (On the Corner) new turntable workouts from the host of the nationally syndicated radio show
DJ Spooky vs. Twilight Circus - Riddim Clash (Play Records) new collaboration between That Subliminal Kid and the Dub Sound System
Dose Hermanos - Bright Shadows (Gaff Music) new from Grateful Dead keyboardists Tom Constanten and Bob Bralove
The Fenians - Every Day's a Hooley (Mizen Head) new fusion of Irish traditional folk and rock
Frost - Raise Your Fist To Metal (Sanctuary / Noise) new from the former Savatage / Seven Witches guitarist, with guests Mike Duda of W.A.S.P., Johnny Dee of Doro, and Billy Childs of Britny Fox
Great Big Sea - Something Beautiful (Zoe / Rounder) featuring a cover of Runrig's "Pride of Summer"
Hafler Trio - How To Slice a Loaf of Bread (Phonometrography)
Jucifer - War Bird (Velocette) seven-track CD EP
Judas Priest - Metalogy (Sony Legacy) four-CD box set wrapped in leather and metal studs
Kid Kilowatt - Guitar Method 1996-1999 (Hydra Head) featuring members of Cave In and Converge
Sondre Lerche - Two Way Monologue (Astralwerks)
Robert Lockwood, Jr. - The Legend Live (M.C. Records) still the master of 12-string blues at the age of 89
Mary Lou Lord - Baby Blue (Rubric) highly anticipated new album featuring two songs co-written with Nick Saloman of Bevis Frond, and covers of Pink Floyd's "Fearless" and Badfinger's title track
Melissa Manchester - When I Look Down That Road (Koch) with guest Keb' Mo
The Marlboro Chorus - Entangled (Future Appletree) terrific six-song EP that reminds me of an acoustic Dinosaur Jr.
Wynton Marsalis - The Magic Hour (Blue Note) with guests Bobby McFerrin and Diane Reeves
Mobb Deep - Amerika's Nightmare (Violator / Jive)
Abra Moore - Everything Changed (Koch) new from the Poi Dog Pondering member
Now It's Overhead - Fall Back Open (Saddle Creek) with guests Michael Stipe of R.E.M. and Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes
Graham Parker - Your Country (Bloodshot)
Plant Life - The Return of Jack Splash (Counterflow) new funk explorations from the Animal Pharm member
Iggy Pop - Sister Midnight (Anarchy Music) recorded live in Cleveland on March 21, 1977 Jules Shear - Sayin' Hello To the Folks (Valley) collection of lesser-known songs by James Brown, Todd Rundgren, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and more
Squarepusher - Ultravisitor (Warp)
Josh Todd - You Made Me (TODD Entertainment) new from the former Buckcherry singer
The Tubes - White Punks On Dope (Acadia) remastered reissue from 1975
TV On the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (Touch & Go)
various artists - If Only You Were Lonely (Peace Frog)
various artists - The Q People: A Tribute To NRBQ (Spirithouse) with contributions by Steve Earle, Ron Sexsmith, Bonnie Raitt, Mike Mills of R.E.M., and Los Lobos
The Wildhearts - Riff After Riff (Gearhead) with cover art by Dirty Donny
