I never got a hint of "new wave" out of anything on In Through the Out Door, much less Carouselambra. Oh, and I love Hot Dog, as has already been mentioned it shows their love of rockabilly.

Doesn't the fact that they mention "heavy metal" in the lyrics to Trampled Underfoot alone make them heavy metal? Or what about this?

Humorous Neil Young-related anecdote from the blog of Lowell Todd: Neil Young "The Phone Is Broken"

I'm not sure what the policy is here now but for a site devoted to a band who built a huge part of their fanbase on "unofficial" live shows it seemed the discussion of those shows used to be frowned upon here. As long as no money is changing hands, I think trading concerts goes a long way towards establishing a fanbase for artists, especially these days. He probably missed it in the same way that so many so called "music writers" referred to this year's tour by The Dead as a "reunion" or even worse, called them "The Grateful Dead". I saw the same thing happen with the Page, Jones and Jason Bonham project. It was never going to be called Led Zeppelin but that's how the press referred to it. I call it not doing your research or a lame attempt at snagging headlines.

I saw the preview for Land of the Lost the other night during the coming attractions prior to Star Trek. Yet another Will Ferrell vehicle but it actually had a few good laughs. Maybe better it's getting the comic treatment than the producers going the serious sci-fi route. Then again, the show was also prime for parody. Speaking of which, here's the trailer.

I'm doing quite fine, thank you very much though.

It apparently has been done. As part of the vinyl craze some companies are rushing out product to capitalize on it. It reminds me of when CDs were new, some labels would record directly from vinyl just to have product on the shelves when everyone was replacing their vinyl collections with compact discs. Strange how things have come full circle and the industry are the very same weasels we've always known them to be.

I haven't heard it. I'm going to wait to listen to it when it comes out in June. By the way, apparently them putting it up on their website had everything to do with it leaking: Well, we made it nearly a month with copies of Wilco (the album) floating around out there before it leaked. Pretty impressive restraint in this day and age. But the inevitable happened last night. Since we know you're curious and probably have better things to do than scour the internet for a download (though we do understand the attraction of the illicit), we've posted a stream of the full album at http://wilcoworld.net/records/thealbum/ . Feel free to refer to it as "wilco (the stream)" if you must. We also have our usual guilt abatement plan for downloaders. If you have downloaded the record, we suggest you make a donation to one of the band's favorite charities, the Inspiration Corporation -- an organization we've supported in the past & who are doing great work in the city of Chicago. Information and donation button here: http://inspirationcorp.org/. That's all. Enjoy the stream. Tickets for summer shows, etc. http://wilcoworld.net/tours/ Note that we'll be holding a free online midnight screening of the "Ashes of American Flags" film this Friday night (at both midnight US Central time and again at midnight Pacific). So get the popcorn or whatever together and be sure to log on and tune in on Friday. Wilco HQ Too bad more artists don't take the same approach to internet leaks and downloading in general, not to even mention the industry's overreaction to it. If only they would learn to embrace it rather than regulating it or sweeping it under the rug maybe they'd fucking learn something.

My replies don't have anything to do with my like or dislike of Pink. My response has to do with the subject line of the thread referring to Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You as a Led Zeppelin "cover". That has everything to do with the topic of the thread. While you're policing whether I'm on topic or not, so does Retchin' Wilson singing a Heart song because it has also has do with someone singing a cover. And my reference to Otto's research into the history of Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You also has to do with the topic at hand. It should be required reading, especially for those that think the song is a Led Zeppelin original as well as fans of the song in general.

Peter Buck Talks New R.E.M. Album The legendary guitarist tells us about the demos he's recording in Portland. Photos by Vivian Johnson Recently, reports have been circulating that members of R.E.M. are in Portland, Oregon right now, working on new material with Decemberists/Laura Veirs producer Tucker Martine. Those reports, it turns out, are totally right. (Thanks to Joshua Ackerman, via Murmurs.com, for the initial tip.) R.E.M. don't usually record demos, but guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills are making an exception this time, laying down the skeletons of 14 songs that may or may not appear on the follow-up to last year's Accelerate. Accelerate producer Jacknife Lee, slated to produce the next LP, is also on hand. However, they're early enough in the recording process that frontman Michael Stipe hasn't yet heard what they're working on. Yesterday, we spoke with Buck about the new album and the state of his various side projects. After the jump, find our interview and a few photos of the band in the studio. Click here to read the interview.

I'm not sure. It also sucks when it says the sound has been disabled. Why not just take down the entire video? In any event, the video was for Erykah Badu's Honey in case you want to search for it on other sites. Vinyl isn't what I primarily listen to but I don't confine my searches just to the local indie store but since they're the only one in town that's where I'm most likely to find newer titles. There are also several stores that stock used vinyl and CDs so it's also fun to hit those since you never know what you might find. Same thing for yard sales and estate sales.

Drive-By Truckers on NPR's Mountain Stage The Drive-By Truckers performance on NPR's Mountain Stage will be airing during the weekend of May 15-17. A list of stations that broadcast Mountain Stage can be found here: http://www.mountainstage.org/mtnstagebroadcast.aspx The following week their individual set will be posted at http://www.npr.org/mountainstage and archived for continued access.

Freeing a Mentor From His Mythology Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times Steve Earle, above in Greenwich Village, has a new album of songs by his mentor Townes Van Zandt. By ANTHONY DeCURTIS WOODSTOCK, N.Y. SINCE he released his first album in 1968, and especially since his death in 1997, the country songwriter Townes Van Zandt has been a prototypical cult figure. Though his songs have been recorded by the likes of Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson and the Cowboy Junkies, Van Zandt never sold many records himself, and he battled addiction and depression for decades. His songs, at once lyrical and unsentimental, depicted love, and life itself, as experiences to be enjoyed free from all (inevitably disappointed) expectations. In the world of alternative country and beyond, to announce yourself as one of Van Zandt’s fans helps establish your critical discernment — and, by implication, indicts an undiscerning public that allowed a genius to die essentially unknown. The singer-songwriter Steve Earle is having none of that. Something of a cult figure himself, he was Van Zandt’s protégé and remains one of his most ardent champions. But he is not interested in sustaining the myth of Van Zandt as a beautiful loser. “When somebody’s as good as Townes Van Zandt was and more people don’t know about it, it’s Townes’s fault,” Mr. Earle said at his home here. “For whatever reasons, he shot himself in the foot every damn chance he got.” Click here to read the rest of the article.

John Paul Jones was just on TV performing with Sara Watkins (formerly of Nickel Creek). He also recently played in NYC with Sonic Youth. Plant is working on the followup to Raising Sand and also recently played with his Strange Sensation bandmate Justin Adams. I read here that Jason Bonham is doing a reunion thing with his former bandmates in Airrace. Page recently appeared at the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame ceremonies playing with Jeff Beck as well as the all star finale. Sounds like they're all playing music to me.

Not at all. Why start a new thread when it's this one that referred to Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You as a cover.

Was it really that embarrassing?

This video gives a huge nod to the vinyl experience as well.

Like actual conversations, threads oftentimes veer off of the original topic and lead to the discussion of other things. In this instance Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You is referred to as a "cover" in the subject title. To the contrary, just a few posts back someone tried to make the case that Led Zeppelin brought new lyrics as well as a new musical arrangement to the original composition. While that may be the case, I was merely making the point that that doesn't change the fact that it is still a cover.

Yeah, while I think it's a cool thing that Best Buy will be expanding their vinyl selection, I'll still be making my vinyl purchases at the local indie store.

My family also had a couple of those early huge ass Sears models. If I remember correctly there was a disclaimer in the instructions warning against standing directly in front of the microwave while it was in operation. I'm sure those sort of safety concerns have come a long way since then. A friend of mine did find out the hard way that it's not at all cool to put a watermelon in a compactor (another "new" item my folks purchased around the same time as the microwaves).

If none of the members of Led Zeppelin had a hand in writing the original composition (musical, lyrical or otherwise), it's still a cover. Did they make it their own? No doubt but Johnny Cash did the same thing with Trent Reznor's Hurt, that doesn't change the fact that it's still a cover.

I don't think anyone is saying they weren't influential to other artists that supposedly are "metal", they're just saying Led Zeppelin weren't metal themselves. Which begs the question, of the artists that supposedly are metal, tons of them have also done power ballads, does that take them out of the running? It's even been said Stairway To Heaven is the prototypical power ballad.

According to the Discography and Tour Dates sections of their website, The Fine Print (A Collection of Oddities & Rarities 2003-2008) is due this fall and the full length edition of their recent appearance on Austin City Limits will be out on DVD in July. As rumor has it the The Fine Print will be their last release on New West.

I don't care at all for Retchin' Wilson but when she was on VH1 Honors for Heart it showed her true calling may actually be rock n' roll. Then again, most of what is popular on "country" music radio these days is little more than thinly disguised rock and Southern rock from the 70s (though it's extremely poorly executed).

Hula hoops have actually never gone out of fashion, just go to nearly any "jamband" friendly concert and you'll see 'em everywhere.