I don't think I'll ever get the whole "rock n' roll is the Devil's music" thing. Especially since everyone knows there's no rock n' roll in Hell.

Couple of other things I'd like to throw into the suggestion box: 1) How come I can edit some posts of mine and some I can't? 2) When I click on go to first unread post on a thread I've never even read before I'm taken to the last page of the thread. On all of the other boards I belong to, when you click on first unread post it actually takes you to the first post in the thread you haven't read yet.

For some reason I'm unable to edit my post above to add this, the artwork for Murmur and Reckoning:

I still don't own any of her records but I first heard of Irma Thomas thanks to this line from Jimmy Buffett's song Saxophones: I cut my teeth on gumbo rock Benny Spellman and Doctor John Sweet Irma Thomas and "Frogman" Henry Use to boogie woogie all night long Speaking of Hittin' On Nothing, I'm not sure if you're familiar with it but Southern Culture On the Skids do a pretty cool version of it on their album Liquored Up and Lacquered Down.

No offense taken but I don't really look at it as a "battle". I consider it common courtesy to at least look for a previously existing thread before creating an entirely new one. The search feature as well as the Forum Guidelines are there for a reason.

As I recently mentioned in another thread, this isn't Elvis' first foray into country music nor is it the first time he's worked with T-Bone Burnett. In 1981 he released Almost Blue, an album of country covers that was recorded in Nashville. It's since been re-released twice (1994 on Rykodisc, 2004 on Rhino). T-Bone Burnett produced and played on King of America (1986) and Spike (1989). Prior to that (1985) he and Elvis worked together on a single called "The People's Limousine" which they released as The Coward Brothers. Elvis has also worked with George Jones, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams and many others from the country music world over the years. So, while some may accuse him of jumping on the Raising Sand bandwagon they'd be wrong. Elvis was at this sort of thing long before Plant and Krauss. Hell, he's even been known to cover the Grateful Dead at his concerts (and on record). Perhaps the most unlikely Deadhead I could ever think of but I found out it was true myself when I picked up a copy of the Grateful Dead tribute album Deadicated years ago which includes Elvis' cover of Ship of Fools.

I remember Right By You back when it was first released but apparently it wasn't enough to pique my interest (although I do have a promotional 45 of the Neil song from the record). Too bad it's only available in MP3 format these days.

Ted Nugent at the CMT Awards? Surely the end is near. As for Elvis, I hate I missed his recent show here but even trying to find a deal on Craigslist at the last minute didn't work out for me. Maybe next time.

I don't "follow" Bret either but I do follow music, that's how I heard about his country record. I haven't heard any of Bon Jovi's newer material so I have no idea what it sounds like. I'm just saying I believe a great deal of today's country music has more in common with rock n' roll than country and not in a good way. In regards to Def Leppard, I haven't been able to find anything about them doing a tour with Taylor Swift but they apparently taped an episode of CMT's Crossroads with her. Is it "selling out" for a rock artist to suddenly record something aimed at the country crowd? I don't know but it certainly seems out of character for a band like Def Leppard to have Tim McGraw as a guest vocalist on their newest album. I recently saw an interview Tavis Smiley did with Jewel on his talk show. They discussed her latest album being marketed to country radio. She explained it like this. Back in the 90s, when the "Modern Rock" format was still fairly new they were the format that was more open to artists being experimental. In 2009, the format that is apparently more open to change is country. She said the style of her new album isn't all that different than what she's always sounded like but these days her sound fits in more comfortably on country radio. All I know is, when I hear most of what is considered "country" these days (referring to commercial country music radio) it sounds more like "arena rock" or "hair metal" than what I consider to be country music.

Posters that knowingly start duplicate threads and then proceed to act as though they've done nothing wrong. Or worse yet, tell you to "get a life". It's somewhat understandable when someone new to the board does it as they're just getting their feet wet but when someone that's been here for a long while does it, it's obvious they're doing it just to get a rise out of others. Better yet, maybe they should actually read the Forum Guidelines they agreed to when they signed up here which aren't very hard to follow at all: Remember to post in the correct forum and look for existing threads before posting a new one.

Exactly. I know of plenty of friends who don't have long hair, don't do drugs, don't wear t-shirts and jeans, etc. that are definitely hippies. It's more about ideals than any sort of outward appearance and the trappings forced on that segment of society that have been thrust upon them by the media. Same here. I was born in 1962 but I am who I am today because of my older brothers and sister, my parents and all of their friends.

From NME.com: Pic: Richard Johnson Pixies played a surprise show in London last night (June 15) in the intimate Village Underground venue in Shoreditch. Frank Black and co performed at an exhibition showcasing artwork from their forthcoming box set, 'Minotaur' – playing a 13-song set including classics 'Monkey Gone To Heaven', 'Gigantic' and 'Wave Of Mutilation'. Although rumours had circulated that the four-piece were set to play live, it wasn't confirmed until around 9pm (BST), when a black shroud near the back of the venue fell to reveal the band with their instruments. The set was rapturously-received – despite bassist Kim Deal fluffing a note midway through the set – with Black joking that she "always gets kicked off 'Rock Band'" when she plays Pixies songs on the computer game. They were watched by fans including Klaxons' Jamie Reynolds and James Righton, former Libertines man Carl Barat and his ex-Dirty Pretty Things bandmate Anthony Rossomando, The Horrors frontman Faris Badwan and My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields. Pixies played: 'Where Is My Mind?' 'Hey' 'No. 13 Baby' 'Monkey Gone To Heaven' 'U-Mass' 'Debaser' 'Tame' 'Gigantic' 'Into The White' 'Planet Of Sound' 'Dig For Fire' 'Bone Machine' 'Wave Of Mutilation (UK Surf)'

I know of lots of folks I consider to be hippies who you won't find living on communes or at Dead or Phish concerts. They're still just as subversive as they ever were, if not more so. They exist on the fringe of society just as they always have but they may not fit the stereotype people seem to have of hippies.

Very good though the ArtsCenter could have stood to have turned on the A/C. The opener, Joe Pug, was also very good. His vocal mannerisms at times reminded me of Dylan but not in a bad way. He had a style of performing that was very much all his own.

It still concerns the same topic. There was no need for an entire new thread about it.

I care because there's already one thread devoted to the topic.

Steve Earle with Joe Pug last Wednesday at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro. The Kinksmen, a Kinks cover band at Slim's in Raleigh this past Saturday.

Here's the setlist from Steve Earle's show in Carrboro last week. The Townes songs are marked with asterisks. Swede, please let me know if I missed any. Steve Earle Carrboro Arts Centre 10 June 2009 Start: 9:28 1. Where I Lead Me* 2. Colorado Girl* 3. Rex's Blues* 4. Ft. Worth Blues 5. Pancho & Lefty* 6. Brand New Companion* 7. Tom Ames' Prayer 8. My Old Friend The Blues 9. Someday 10. Taneytown 11. Goodbye 12. Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold* 13. Marie* 14. City of Immigrants 15. Dixieland 16. Rich Man's War 17. The Mountain 18. Sparkle & Shine 19. Lungs* 20. To Live Is To Fly* Encore 21. Hometown Blues 22. Tennessee Blues 23. Copperhead Road

I still hold tight to many of the ideals that were instilled in me early on by my older siblings (I'm the youngest of six) and my parents. I grew up to be me thanks to them. I may not have chosen the easy path but I feel like I definitely chose the right one.

Which reminds me of that scene from the Imagine documentary where Lennon invites the homeless fan into his house for something to eat. Perhaps it was a more innocent time then but it's still strange to see considering how John Lennon went out. It also reminds me of the time that guy stabbed George Harrison in his own home in '99.

I totally forgot to mention that a few of my trips to Athens revolved around meeting up with some friends from the Murmurs website. I have also done a few roadtrips to R.E.M. shows that involved meeting up with friends from that site. To those that may visit there's an Athens Music History tour conducted by Paul Butchart from the band the Side Effects who used to open for R.E.M. back in their early club days. You can read more about Paul and the Athens Music History Tour here as well as see a clip from the tour. Last year my trip to Athens was centered around AthFest, attending a R.E.M. show in Atlanta and hanging out with friends from Murmurs and some friends of mine that are fans of the Drive-By Truckers (who also happen to hail from Athens). I'd love to say I'm making the trip to Athfest this year but it's just not in the cards this time around.

I love Janis too but I have to be in the mood to listen to her. To me, it was all about raw emotion with her and how she went about expressing it on stage. When it comes to vocal range there are others I'd put ahead of her but as far as stage presence, I don't think there's any.

The only Townes records I have are also Live At Old Quarter, Together at the Bluebird Cafe: Steve Earle, Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark and For the Sake of the Song (vinyl). I have no problem recommending any of those to you but they only scratch the surface. If you ever get around to watching Be Here To Love Me (which you can watch online for free here with commercials) you'll find that Guy Clark makes several appearances throughout the movie. That only stands to reason as he and Townes were very dear friends but Guy's music is also well worth seeking out. He was so close to Townes he's included one of his songs on every single album he's ever released. On that subject, the Heartworn Highways documentary (with Townes, Guy, Steve Earle, David Allan Coe, Steve Young, Charlie Daniels and others) is also very highly recommended. When it was finally released on DVD a few years back a soundtrack was also put out. Click on the photo below for a link to the Heartworn Highways trailer.

I'm curious as to why there's a need for another thread on the same topic when one already exists here?

I don't really see anything the matter with it. Years ago Rolling Stone ran a piece on rock n' roll landmarks in the U.S. that was supposed to be like a suggested tour fans could take. As a Beatles fan I would love to visit Liverpool. I'm sure there's plenty of other sites to see and I would definitely take them in but the whole Beatles thing would be the draw for me. Being the big R.E.M. fan that I am, I have been to Athens, GA a number of times now. Being from the South, I get the feel of their music just from being a resident but I also found it very cool to visit the places I'd only read about such as the church where they first performed and lived (which is now just a steeple), the train trestle from the back of Murmur, Wuxtry Records, the 40 Watt Club, etc.