• More excellent DVD viewing can be found in the latest release from Eagle Rock's "Classic Albums" series, this time peeling back the curtain of Nirvana's Nevermind. From the original Smart Studio sessions of "Lithium" to a track-by-track analysis of the entire album, the story is told by drummer Dave Grohl, bassist Krist Novoselic (looking very mature), and producer Butch Vig. Other insights from Genesis P-Orridge of Throbbing Gristle, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, and Sub Pop and Geffen Records personnel are fascinating as well, as is a look back at the making of the album cover, featuring the very same naked kid, now a teenager.
• In the "show-biz" tradition of Big Daddy, Richard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine, and Morris Day & The Time, a new live CD is due this Tuesday from The Dan Band, daring to three-part-harmonize to ABBA's "Fernando" and Toni Basil's "Mickey." Best known for its potty-mouth version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" from the film Old School and as being the bar-mitzvah band in Starsky & Hutch, this is kooky, serious business with no shame for the 1980s. Chuggin' through hip covers of hits such as "No Scrubs," "Flashdance," and "Tom' s Diner," this vocal trio is a new breed of boy band, like a zany, high-energy, off-Broadway karaoke night from hell. And I rather like it - scampy, campy, and everything American Idol could aspire to be. Two bonus tracks on the Side One Dummy Records release aren't meant for Grandma's ears - "I Wanna Rock You Hard This Christmas" and a studio version of the profanity-laced aforementioned Bonnie Tyler hit.
Television Alert:
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno welcomes Velvet Revolver on Thursday and Breaking Benjamin on Friday; Late Night with Conan O'Brien hosts Moby this evening overnight and Duran Duran on Tuesday overnight; Last Call with Carson Daly boasts Tori Amos on Thursday overnight; Jimmy Kimmel Live features Lisa Marie Presley this evening overnight and Dizzee Rascal on Friday overnight; Austin City Limits presents Modest Mouse and Guided by Voices this weekend; and Saturday Night Live's musical guest this weekend is Green Day.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, April 12:
... and like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change
American Hi-Fi - Hearts on Parade (Maverick)
Annie - "Heartbeat" (Big Beat/Atlantic) featuring re-mixes by Maurice Fulton and Royksopp
The Bills - Let Em Run (Red House) Juno-nominated Canadian roots music, cleverly mixing Celtic jazz, classical passages, and down-home bluegrass charm
The Blue Van - The Art of Rolling (TVT) rolling in waves of Kinks-inspired splendor, this British R&B-infused foursome has been jamming together since the sixth grade in their native Sweden
Toni Braxton - Unbreak My Heart: The Remix Collection (La Face) with re-mixes by David Morales and Junior Vasquez
Mariah Carey - The Emancipation of Mimi (Def Jam/Island) with guests Nelly and Twista
Emperor X - Central Hug/Friendarmy/Fractal Dunes (Disco Mariscos) quirky songs built on vintage electronics
Eyeball Skeleton - #1 (My Pal God) collecting four previous seven-inch singles on one CD, this is Maryland garage rock made up of an eight-year-old, a 10-year-old, and their dad
Ad Frank - The World's Best Ex-Boyfriend (Stop, Pop & Roll) terrific, creepy-cool paranoid crooner-pop that conjures up David Bowie, ABC, and Queen
Garbage - Bleed Like Me (Interscope) produced by John King of the Dust Brothers, this long-awaited new album features guests Dave Grohl and Marilyn Manson
Goldie Lookin' Chain - Greatest Hits (Record Collection) from Newport, Wales, this eight-piece band toured last year with The Darkness and Snow Patrol
Guided by Voices - Forever Since Breakfast (Fading Captain) limited-edition colored-vinyl LP re-issue of the group's debut album from 1986
Madison Park vs. Lenny B - "More Than This" (Basic Lux) CD EP with four mixes of the Roxy Music cover
Maktub - Say What You Mean (Velour) follow-up to the group's critically acclaimed debut Khronus
Mel C - Beautiful Intentions (Reg Girl/EMI) solo debut from the former Sporty Spice
Millencolin - Kingwood (Burning Heart/Epitaph)
Marcus Miller - Silver Rain (Koch) with guests Macy Gray, Gerald Albright, and Eric Clapton, and covers of Prince's "Girls & Boys," Johnny Winter's "Frankenstein," and Jimi Hendrix's "Power of Soul"
Mudvayne - Lost & Found (No Name/Epic) available on regular CD and enhanced DualDisc with bonus videos and photo gallery
The National - Alligator (Beggars Banquet) excellent label debut of this Brooklyn-via-Cincinnati quintet, confessing sins into the dark in the vein of Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen
Of Montreal - The Sunlandic Twins (Polyvinyl) also available in a gatefold vinyl package with a bonus etched 12-inch
Willie Nelson - Songs for Tsunami Relief: Austin to South Asia (Lost Highway) recorded this past January in Austin, Texas, this CD and DVD features Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks, Patti Griffin, Alejandro Escovedo, Jon Dee Graham, and Spoon
The Perishers - Let There Be Morning (Nettwerk) stateside debut from Sweden
Robert Pollard - "Zoom" (Fading Captain) new seven-inch single from the Guided by Voices visionary
Amy Ray - Prom (Daemon) second solo album from the Indigo Girls co-founder, with guests Kate Schellenbach of Luscious Jackson, Donna Dresch of Team Dresch, and Michelle Malone
The Rosebuds - Unwind (Merge) CD EP from Raleigh, North Carolina
Slipknot - Volume 3: The Subliminal Verses (Roadrunner) two-CD deluxe edition
Starflyer 59 - Talking Voice Vs. Singing Voice (Tooth & Nail) dreamy shoe-gazing pop
Supersystem - Always Never Again (Touch & Go) formerly known as El Guapo
VCR - VCR (Side One Dummy) for a band with multiple keyboardists and no guitars, this EP rocks hard with nervous convulsion and herky-jerky hypnotism
Martha Wainwright - Martha Wainwright (Rounder)
Wednesday 13 - Transylvania 90210: Songs of Death, Dying, & the Dead (Roadrunner) new from the Murderdolls frontman