Rolling Stone has a nice interview with Geddy & Alex as well as some recent concert footage from Madison Square Garden that you can watch here.

Just as I was leaving to meet a friend for a boat trip last weekend "Thick As A Brick" started on XM's Deep Tracks channel. They didn't just play the edited version of the title song either, they played all of side one. That's one of the many very cool things about XM. Album radio used to play it a lot back in the day too but very rarely did you hear entire album sides unless it was late at night. The even cooler thing was, it was part of a theme set they were doing on concept albums. It was preceded by "S.F. Sorrow" by the Pretty Things which I had never heard before.

Wouldn't Satan be allowed here?

From the bargain bin at Borders because one can never have enough books of poster art.

I have them booked for a backyard bbq.

Iron Maiden shirts have become the cool one to wear, previously it was the Ramones. Nothing against Iron Maiden being included but for some it's more about the fashion statement than actually listening to the music.

The Fleetwood Mac album mentioned here (Rumors) is one of those records that's been split into two slabs of vinyl that are meant to be played at 45 rpm:

Funny how that site is called Real Rock News yet in the very first sentence they refer to Page as "her".

I made it right up to the scene where he slips and gets trapped by the rock. Then I promptly ejected it from my DVD player. No can watch.

Why Rap is what's wrong with music now, Exhibit A:

..and it wouldn't be the first time, nor will it be the last.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgfnCTp3p7U&feature=related

More on the upcoming Gourds record from the Houston Press Lonesome Onry & Mean blog: Gourds Drummer Lives The Dream At Levon Helm's Studio By William Michael Smith John Carrico ​Hanging out with the Band's legendary drummer Levon Helm would be a dream for almost any other timekeeper. The Gourds have just returned to Austin from two weeks of recording at Helm's studio in Woodstock, N.Y, where drummer Keith Langford got to live the dream. The untitled album, the follow-up to last year's Haymaker!, is now being mixed and wlll be released in mid-September. Lonesome, Onry and Mean caught up with Langford as he waited outside his son's school. To read the interview with Keith click here.

"Life and How To Live It", a new interview with Stipe from American Airways magazine. Click on the image below to read the interview.

I defend rap only because it's a valid genre of music. Yes, it's influenced other forms of music and vice versa, it's what happens with all kinds of music not just rap. Sometimes it results in absolute crap such as Limp Bizkit but in other instances you get some really creative stuff such as Portishead or Rage Against the Machine.

I love packaging. I especially love it that current bands such as the Drive-By Truckers (though they're far from the only ones) still invest a great deal of time and money in album artwork. In fact, Wes Freed, the guy that does all of their artwork also does individual posters for every concert they do. Thanks to folks like them, it's a very vital part of the music listening experience that's being kept alive. As Shelby Lynne said, "you can't roll a joint on an iPod". Gatefold for Ryan Adams & the Cardinals' Cold Roses album.

There was that cover of "Disco Duck"...

The Record Store Day site is premiering the new live in studio (Hansa) version of "Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter" which you can watch here.

The debut album from Mount Moriah (which is due out tomorrow) is streaming here if'n anyone wants to give it a listen.