Steven Van Zandt (of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and The Sopranos) has laid hands on two swaggering CD collections due this coming Tuesday from his new Wicked Cool Record Co. imprint - near-religious extravaganzas that dust the weak and electrify the willing. Fueled by the playlists of his syndicated radio program Little Steven's Underground Garage, the 15 personally selected tracks on The Coolest Songs in the World: Vol. 1 are each monsters in their own right. Blasting off with cosmic power-poppers The Shazam, Cincinnati's favorite sons The Greenhornes, and the wigged-out frenzy of The Forty Fives, the CD also features the snarling Ellie Vie fronting The Charms from Boston, a Mooney Suzuki rouser from 2002, and the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's prophetic "Whatever Happened to My Rock & Roll." The sweaty, dangerous fun continues in CBGB OMFUG FOREVER, a tribute to the iconic, now-shuttered club with liner notes by Lenny Kaye. Sixteen tracks made the cut, with hits such as Blondie's "Hanging on the Telephone" from 1978 and The Damned's "New Rose" from 1977, along with a few rare songs including Japanese bonus tracks from Green Day and U2 (which covers The Ramones' "Beat on the Brat").
The spirit of self-described "punk-rock warlord" Joe Strummer played to rave reviews at Sundance in the documentary Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, and next week sees the release of the soundtrack CD from Sony's Legacy label. The 25 boom-box-friendly selections run a zesty range from the twisted come-hither of Elvis Presley's "Crawfish" to the MC5's uncensored, righteous "Kick Out the Jams," with many of these tracks introduced by disc jockey Strummer. Other highlights include a cool cover of "Rock the Casbah" by Rancid Taha, a live version of his own "I'm So Bored with the USA" with The Clash, tracks with his swan-song band The Mescaleros, and his early pub-rock smash of "Keys to Your Heart" with the 101ers. Packed with interviews from members of The Clash, Bono, Flea, Courtney Love, Martin Scorsese, and more, the Julien Temple-directed film should see theatric release this summer and DVD release in the fall.
Television Alert:
The Late Show with David Letterman gets nutty with The Kooks this evening; The Tonight Show with Jay Leno welcomes Nelly Furtado on Thursday and Miranda Lambert on Friday; Late Night with Conan O'Brien howls with Patrick Wolf this evening overnight; The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson hosts Dinosaur Jr. this evening overnight; Jimmy Kimmel Live boasts Alexa Ray Joel on Thursday overnight; The Henry Rollins Show on IFC features musical guest Chris Cornell this weekend; and Saturday Night Live's musical guest this weekend is Linkin Park.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, May 15:
... and like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change.
The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism (Ramseur) sixth album from these North Carolina hallelujah-and-hellfire country gentlemen
Balkan Beat Box - Nu Med (JDub) featuring a cool remix contest with Ableton Live 6 software
Before Their Eyes - Before Their Eyes (Rise) Christian hardcore from Findlay, Ohio, with guest Jeremy DePoyster of The Devil Wears Prada on one track
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Dandelion Gum (Graveface) acid-pop antics from bucolic Pennsylvania, featuring mind-benders such as "Spinning Cotton Candy in a Shack Made of Shingles"
Blacktop Mourning - No Regret (Tyrannosaurus Records) harmonic debut for the new boutique label formed by Adam Duritz of Counting Crows, who guests on four songs
Tim Buckley - My Fleeting House (MVD) lovely DVD collection of impossible-to-find television performances, including The Monkees from 1967, the BBC's Old Gray Whistle Test, and the Dutch Twien, with insightful interviews with author David Browne and bandmates Lee Underwood and Lee Beckett
Davis Coen - Ill Disposition (219 Records) smokin' slide guitar and funky, soulful country blues, featuring a cover of John Lee Hooker's "Mambo Chillun"
Dungen - Tio Bitar (Kemado) the title translates from Swedish to "10 pieces," available on both LP and CD
Ellul - Ellul (Sounds Are Active) trippy, soulful duality of experimental and acoustic work
Groovie Ghoulies - 99 Lives (Green Door)
Guided by Voices - Live from Austin TX (New West) double CD or DVD of their farewell tour performance on Austin City Limits
Howard Hewett - If Only (The Machine/Groove) all new featuring a bonus song with Billy Preston and Gerald Albright
The Horrors - Strange House (Stolen Transmission) snotty, theatric, old-school shadow punk from the UK - a must-find treat for fans of The Damned, The Cramps, and Bauhaus
Ian Hunter - Shrunken Heads (Yep Roc) all new from the face of Mott the Hoople, backed by drummer Steve Holly and bassist Graham Maby
Jefferson Airplane - Sweeping Up the Spotlight: Live at the Fillmore East 1969 (RCA Legacy) featuring liner notes by Jorma Kaukonen and a cover of Fred Neil's "The Other Side of This Life"
Amy LaVere - Anchors & Anvils (Archer/Thirty Tigers) captured perfectly by producer Jim Dickinson, my pick of the week is this second album from the stand-up bassist and vocal seductress with the classic country warmth and heartache of back-porch honey and biscuits, opening with the sly "Killing Him (Didn't Make Her Love Go Away)" and closing with a cover of Bob Dylan's "I'll Remember You"
Linkin Park - Minutes to Midnight (Warner Bros.)
Harry Manx & Kevin Breit - In Good We Trust (Stoney Plain) a guitarist's wet dream featuring the 20-stringed mohan veena from India, and a "cigar-box guitar" cover of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire"
Megadeth - United Abominations (Roadrunner) featuring cover art discovered through a deviantART contest
Maria Muldaur - Naughty, Bawdy, & Blue (Stoney Plain) with guest Bonnie Raitt on a cover of Sippie Wallace's "Separation Blues"
Nonloc - Between Hemispheres (Strange Attractors Audio House) shining solo album from multi-instrumentalist Mark Dwinell of Bright, hovering in the space of The Durutti Column, Robert Fripp, and kraut-rock fantasia
Dolores O'Riordan - Are You Listening? (Sanctuary) solo debut from The Cranberries vocalist
Ozma - Pasadena (About a Girl) punchy, catchy Southern California quintet, with guests Matthew Caws of Nada Surf and Rachel Haden of That Dog
The Alan Parsons Project - The Essential Alan Parsons Project (Arista Legacy) two-CD set
Plants - Photosynthesis (Strange Attractors Audio House) slowly creeping acid folk bridging old-time instruments and electronic treatments
The Remains - The Remains (Epic Legacy) expanded reissue from 1966, featuring the band's cover of Bo Diddley's "Diddy Wah Diddy"
The Saints - Imperious Delirium (Wildflower) domestic issue of this album from last year
The Saints - The Greatest Cowboy Movie Never Made (Wildflower) four-CD box set featuring the "lost" Paralytic Tonight, Dublin Tomorrow EP and a concert from 1981
Scorpions - Humanity: Hour 1 (BMG) with co-producer Desmond Child
UB40 - Live at Montreux 2002 (Eagle Rock) DVD featuring covers of Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" and Al Green's "Here I Am (Come & Take Me)"
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky (Nonesuch)
Wooden Wand - James & the Quiet (Ecstatic Peace) with guests Thurston Moore, Steve Shelly, and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth
