I'm really looking forward to Patterson Hood's second solo album that's out later this month, the Austin City Limits CD/DVD in July and The Fine Print collection that's due this fall. The best thing though is a live Truckers show. Hopefully you'll get to one of those before too very long as well. I've only listened to it a couple of times through so far and haven't exactly been taken with it myself. I'm not so sure I'd put in the "grower" category but the Tex-Mex style is a bit of a different feel for him. One thing I was really looking forward to was the participation of Robert Hunter in the songwriting dept. but so far it's been hard to tell his stamp is on the songs at all.

CD/DVD Combo 1. Perfect Timing 2. Heathens 3. A Ghost To Most 4. The Righteous Path 5. I'm Sorry Huston 6. 3 Dimes Down 7. Puttin' People On The Moon 8. Space City 9. The Living Bubba 10. Zip City 11. 18 Wheels Of Love 12. Let There Be Rock 13. Marry Me

While I think it's very cool that Cheap Trick are doing this I do find $30 a bit steep.

I'm a fan of CSN, CSNY and Neil Young. I also like some of the solo stuff CSN have done in their solo careers as well as Buffalo Springfield, Manassas, the Byrds, etc. I guess what I love most about CSN are their vocal harmonies and the edge Neil brings to the table when they perform as CSNY. Fleet Foxes are often compared to CSN because of their harmonies. Above all, my favorite is probably Neil though. His records can be rather spotty but he's so damn prolific when he does release a good one, he can really knock it out of the ballpark.

Southern Culture on the Skids performing their own http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg_T6TJDtYY.

From Paste: PAUL MCCARTNEY, BOB DYLAN AND RINGO STARR PLAN COLLABORATION By Caroline Klibanoff A collaboration to end all collaborations? Probably not, but this one's awfully notable nonetheless. Sir Paul McCartney, his fellow ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, and Bob Dylan are joining forces to collaborate on new material. The three musicians—all of whom are in their late 60s—have shared stages before, but never created new music together like this. McCartney recently became interested in working with Dylan, and after Dylan reciprocated, the two decided to move forward with this project. Starr will play drums. This is the stuff music critics’ dreams are made of, and harkens back to the grandaddy of supergroups, the Traveling Wilburys, which consisted of Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne. Details are scant otherwise, but expect to hear more about this collaboration soon.

11 Worst Music Artists of the Aughts My Lovely Lady Lumps / Guest Contributor: George The new millennium has not been a good decade for music. With the mass corporate buyout of most local radio stations, the rise of the Emo movement, the death of rock and roll, Napster causing the outrage that it did, the decline of the music album, and the motherfucking Jonas Brothers appearing on the cover of the decrepit remains of Rolling Stone happening all in the same decade, it’s no wonder we endured such a musical holocaust such as the aughts. The worst part, however, was how much of a waste of potential the aughts were. Come the fuck on, people. America went through two wars, an economic collapse, the absolute worst president you can have and still live in a democracy, the absolute worst vice president ever, unlimited ability to distribute music, and this is the best we could do? Fucking pathetic, the 60s would be ashamed of us. But who were the absolute worst bands we put up with? Who were the groups and artists that brought music to its knees? Though everyone will have different opinions on what order they should be put in (especially with my last two), I think that this guide captures a fare job of the shit storm that the aughts gave us. In picking the selection, I had to go by some guidelines in order to be fair. For one, I had to automatically disqualify anyone who was a non-music related celebrity before making an album (Tyra Banks, Paris Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan would have topped this list otherwise) as well as disqualify anyone who rose to musical prominence before this decade (Creed, Poison, and The Backstreet Boys, though the worst of their decades, would be unfair to the competition) and for the sake of fairness, I’ve tried to limit the inclusion of studio bands (with one exception too bad to ignore). Bear in mind, to conduct research, I didn’t actually buy these albums, I didn’t even download them. I listened to the songs off Youtube with headphones, and threw away the headphones after I finished writing. Also, even though a new act could come out soon, I would really consider them more of a band of the next decade. And they would have to be truly abominable to claim a spot here. So here it is, the absolute worst “musicians” of the last tragic decade. God, I hope the teens are better. Click here to read the list.

Neil Young Don't Be Denied A resolutely private artist who seldom looks back, Neil Young has never before unfolded his career on camera. With unprecedented access to one of the world’s renowned music legends, American Masters presents Neil Young: Don’t Be Denied premiering nationally Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at 9 p.m. (ET) on PBS (check local listings). The film explores how Young’s unbending dedication to the muse has created an awe-inspiring body of work and bruised a few egos along the way. Watch a preview and read more about the special by clicking here.

Steve Earle performing Townes' Colorado Girl on Late Night with David Letterman from earlier this week.

If you haven't done so already you'd probably enjoy reading Jimmy Buffett's Outer Banks diaries from last fall that he posted in the Journal section of Margaritaville.com. I have lived and vacationed in the Southern Outer Banks region for years but still need to take that ferry trip to the Northern Outer Banks sometime in the near future. My latest camping recommendation: Mt. Mitchell State Park, NC I have hiked from the top of Mt. Mitchell to Black Mountain Campground at the base many times over the years. Always a very nice (and exhausting) hike.

Van Halen "Take Your Whiskey Home" Black Sabbath "The Wizard" ZZ Top "Thunderbird" Black Crowes "My Morning Song" The Gourds "Trampled By the Sun" Grateful Dead "U.S. Blues" Drive-By Truckers "Zip City" Bob Marley & the Wailers "Babylon System" The Yayhoos "For Cryin' Out Loud" Olympic Ass Kickin' Team "Gityoassuptheroad" R.E.M. "Pretty Persuasion" AC/DC "Shot Down In Flames" Emmylou Harris "Ooh, Las Vegas"

He was also a huge influence on guitarist Rick Miller of Southern Culture on the Skids. Thankfully they got to play together before Link died. A few years back, as part of the NC Music Exhibit at one of the local museums, Rick lent his guitar for display that was signed by NC native Mr. Wray. In addition to Link's signature, the guitar was also covered with chicken grease from many a Southern Culture On the Skids show where fried chicken, banana puddin' and watermelon are passed out to the audience (and oftentimes tossed back onstage).

Billboard has confirmed the Target story.

Like here for instance?

Yeah, it is odd they were able to tour with other singers (as well as other personnel) in the past under the name of Black Sabbath but there was seemingly no problem with it.

PEARL JAM'S "FIXER" TO DEBUT IN TARGET AD? On Thursday night, Pearl Jam played a secret gig at the Showbox in Seattle. According to various online reports, the performance was attended by 300 paid extras who signed up for a concert shoot by a mystery act. And while NDAs were signed and cellphones were banned, the secret reason for the show came out via blogs and Twitter: the famously anti-corporate rock band was licensing brand new song "The Fixer" to a Target commercial, directed by their old bud Cameron Crowe. Or at least that's what some attendees claimed on blog posts ... that have now been mysteriously deleted? Click here to read the rest of the article.

Ozzy Osbourne Suing Tony Iommi For Black Sabbath Name Photo: Walter/WireImage Lawyers representing Ozzy Osbourne have filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office against the heavy metal icon’s Black Sabbath bandmate, Tony Iommi, claiming the man responsible for some of the genre’s most memorable riffs illegally assumed sole ownership of the Black Sabbath name. (Update: read Ozzy’s full statement on the suit here.) According to the New York Post, Osbourne’s suit seeks a 50 percent stake in the “Black Sabbath” trademark. Furthermore, the filing claims Osbourne is entitled to a portion of the profits Iommi has generated through use of the band name, and suggests it was Osbourne’s “signature lead vocals” that helped propel the band’s “extraordinary success.” The suit also points out that Sabbath’s popularity took a nosedive during Ozzy’s absence during 1980 and 1996, when former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio took over behind the mike stand. Click here to read the remainder of the article.

That's just his username, I don't see anything in there where he said Floyd could have learned from Jethro Tull.

I think it's really hard to go wrong with most any of his albums but there is a bit of a discernable difference in the pre & post-prison eras of his music. I'm a fan of it all but find I tend to enjoy the post-prison stuff a good deal more. Strange thing is, a lot of folks seem to think he dropped off the planet after Copperhead Road while the truth is, he continues to make good music to this day. I think a lot of that has to do with Classic Rock radio not playing anything past that album. He also got off to a rough and rocky start with Country music radio which led to him being blacklisted. Some of my recommendations: First album he released after he got out of prison. MTV Unplugged was all the rage at the time and this is sort of his answer (or more accurately, fuck you) to that. I think it's some of his very best work, especially the cover of Jimmy Cliff's Many Rivers To Cross with Emmylou Harris chiming in on harmony vocals. One of the many things I adore about this record is it's diversity. There's everything here from bluegrass to punk rock and most everything in between. It also features some damn fine songwriting.

I feel your pain on the broken CD but I must say in 30 years of owning them, I've never had a single one break. Good luck in your search for another copy, even if someone is kind enough to burn one for you. I can also relate to the discontinued/out of print thing. It seems to happen more and more these days, especially with newer albums. I guess if they don't sell well or if there's some type of financial trouble at the record label they can go out of print pretty quickly.

Probably because they're no longer looking for a singer. When they were looking for a singer, Jones said they didn't want a Plant soundalike. Then again, I've never heard Logan sing so I'm not sure how much he sounds like his Dad.

I think so. The music scene here actually goes back quite a ways which you can read about on this blog. Growing up and living most of my life in more rural areas of the state I didn't always have access to so much great live local music so I feel very fortunate to be in the Triangle area (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) these days. Previously I always found myself having to travel a pretty fair distance to hear music whether it be a local artist, national touring acts or up and coming artists. Now, I'm right in the center of it.

I think that's just as true today as it's ever been, it's not just confined to artists from the past. Today, when I hear a new artist I may not know who it is simply because I'm not familiar with their music but then again that's always been true of any artist I'm new to whether it be the present or 30 years ago. I just don't think the sameness thing is anything new. Any time an artist has been successful, there's tons more waiting in the wings chomping at the bit to capitalize on that same sound. And for some that would be an insult but in AC/DC's case it may well be the ultimate compliment. What they do, they do well.

Since my first post in this thread wasn't necessarily centered around musical moments I'll try to list some of those this time. Grateful Dead Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh, NC July 10th, 1990 All afternoon a thunderstorm had been looming. It struck while the Dead were in the middle of Promised Land which caused the power to go out. Once the storm had cleared they started back up at the exact point in the song where the power failure had occurred. Guadalcanal Diary Duke University, Durham, NC Spring 1989 Another power outage, this one at night. Once the power was restored the bright white houselights came up and Guadalcanal kicked into their song Litany (Life Goes On) which begins with the refrain "I...I see light".