There's a good handful of Bruce songs I like and this is one of them. If ever I make the Springsteen plunge in all likelihood the Tunnel of Love album will be my first purchase. Either that or Nebraska, which always comes highly recommended. Speaking of Thunder Road being "epic" I'd have to put Jungleland in that category as well. I recall hearing both while laying in the bed listening to the radio late at night and marvelling at the Phil Spector-esque wall of sound even if the guy out front's voice got on my nerves. They were like mini-rock operas back then.

I happened upon the AC/DC album laying in the parking lot of a supermarket while traveling yesterday and figured it fair game. It's in pretty good shape except the title track skips.

I agree. I don't see why anyone would need their differences explained because I honestly don't see how anyone could get the sound of the three confused. I could name way more than 4 but here's 4 just for starters: R.E.M. Drive-By Truckers Wilco Ryan Adams and the Cardinals

This AllMusic writeup on the Black Box says that not only have all the discs in the collection been remastered but that all of Sabbath's albums have been remastered at one point. Not sure about the bonus tracks though. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&s...jvfyxqwaldhe~T1

$250 a ticket is far too much to see anybody, including Bruce.

From the R.E.M. FAQ: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/music/rem-faq/part1 o A4. "Doesn't R.E.M. stand for 'rapid eye movement'?" In the scientific field of sleep research, the acronym r.e.m. indeed stands for "rapid eye movement," and refers to the stage of sleep in which, among other things, dreaming occurs. But, in the case of the band, no, it doesn't. The story related by Peter Buck on the band's early 1983 Late Night with David Letterman appearance is that they picked it out of the dictionary (not all dictionaries include scientific terms like "r.e.m.," so don't be disappointed if you don't find it) and they liked it because it was so ambiguous. From It Crawled from the South: "'We sat up one night,' says Michael, 'and we just got completely drunk and rolled around the floor. We had all this chalk, and we took every name anyone could think of and we wrote it on the wall in the living room. When morning rolled around, we pointed and erased, and it was between R.E.M. and Negro Eyes, and we thought *that* probably wouldn't go over too well outside our immediate circle of friends!'" (p. 24).

These are all to the best of my memory and may not be totally accurate but they're at least close. First 45: Chuck Berry "My Ding-a-ling" b/w "Johnny B. Goode" First album: Alice Cooper Killer First cassette: Almost impossible to recall, although I did buy pre-recorded cassettes the vast majority of my collection is homemade mix tapes. One of my first mixtapes for my car when I turned 16 was one of those 120 minute Scotch brand with ZZ Top's Fandango, Aerosmith's Rocks and maybe some Cheap Trick (Heaven Tonight?) on it. I'm pretty sure I still have it somewhere. First CD: R.E.M. Green and The Best of the New Riders of the Purple Sage I got these for Christmas in 1989 along with my first ever CD player. First Download: I've been the recipient of many of these though I've never actually purchased or downloaded one myself.

Just some random ticket prices from over the years off the top of my head: Derringer/Foghat/The Outlaws Mid to late 70s, it was either $6.50 or $7.50 a ticket R.E.M. with Let's Active 1986 - $17.50 An older brother was sorting through old concert tix a few years ago and found one for the Grateful Dead for 1980 (I think, it was early 80s at least), the price? 10 whopping bucks. I think the most I've ever paid for a ticket (besides festivals) is $90 for the Police. I've paid up to $80 see R.E.M. on their last tour but thanks to the fanclub one pair of those was in the front row in Atlanta.

I don't know about "best" but I have favorites. Of those Chet Atkins would have to be right up there.

It's alright, I've never been much of a fan either but as a few of us explained in another thread, I at least respect his talent. For the most part I've just never been able to get past his voice even though I'm a Dylan fan. Go figure.

I know a lot of people that say they don't like "country" but their idea of it may be completely different than mine. For instance, a fan once walked up to Jerry Jeff Walker (most famous for writing Mr. BoJangles, a hit for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and others) and said, "I don't like country music but I like your country music". That's the thing with me, I've never cared much for the slick and polished version of country (past or present) but I do like Waylon, Willie, David Allan Coe, Guy Clark, Steve Earle, Gram Parsons, Pure Praire League, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Commander Cody, Uncle Tupelo, Whiskeytown, the Gourds, the Old 97s and other artists that usually don't stand a chance at commercial radio airplay. Way back when the more progressive side of country was called "country rock", in the 80s it was called "cowpunk", from the 90s to the present it's gone under a variety of names from "alt.country" to "Y'allternative". Some strongly resembles the stone cold variety of old school country that also doesn't stand a chance on today's commercial country radio (just ask Loretta Lynn, George Jones or Merle Haggard), some draws from punk rock, bluegrass, folk, old timey, zydeco, and rock n' roll. One of my favorite alt.country bands is the Drive-By Truckers but live they don't always sound very country (despite the presence of a pedal steel), in concert they come closer to sounding like an in your face rock n' roll band.

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/articl...t_id=1003702021 R.E.M. Rocks Hard On New 'Accelerate' R.E.M. Jonathan Cohen, N.Y. After two consecutive albums dominated by mid-tempo fare, R.E.M. gets back to its stripped-down, fast-paced rock roots on "Accelerate," due April 1 via Warner Bros. The 11-track set, which gets in and out in a lightning-quick 34 minutes and change, is led by the single "Supernatural Superserious." Opener "Living Well's the Best Revenge" sets the tone, with a prominent lead guitar figure from Peter Buck, thumping, melodic bass lines and backing vocals from Mike Mills and a rapid stream of lyrics from frontman Michael Stipe. The track almost seems like a musical cousin to "Just a Touch" from 1986's "Life's Rich Pageant." The up-tempo approach extends to "Supernatural Superserious," a video for which was shot earlier this week on Manhattan's Lower East Side. "You realize your fantasies are dressed up in travesties / enjoy yourself with no regrets," Stipe instructs on the track, which should hit radio sometime next month. Elsewhere, "Hollow Man" begins as a piano ballad but quickly morphs into a revved-up chorus, while "Horse To Water" is a noisy, angular rocker with the unmistakable stamp of R.E.M.'s pre-major label days. Among the slower departures are "Houston," which is vaguely reminiscent of the vintage "Swan Swan H," and the politically charged "Until the Day Is Done" ("The verdict is dire / the country's in ruins," Stipe sings). A number of the "Accelerate" tracks were premiered last summer during "working rehearsal" shows in Dublin. The album was produced by Jacknife Lee, best known for his work with Snow Patrol and U2. Here is the track list for "Accelerate": "Living Well's the Best Revenge" "Mansized Wreath" "Supernatural Superserious" "Hollow Man" "Houston" "Accelerate" "Until the Day Is Done" "Mr. Richards" "Sing for the Submarine" "Horse To Water" "I'm Gonna DJ" --------------------------------------- Supernatural Superserious single artwork --------------------------------------- Making of the video for the Supernatural Superserious single:

I'd say the song you mentioned that he cut with the First Edition was actually rock n' roll. As for his "country" stuff, the majority of that was referred to as "cosmopolitian" country back in the day. In other words it was stripped of most of what made it country to start with then drenched with strings to make it acceptable to big city folk.

If only I could find the one with the Beavis and Butthead commentary (which I know I've posted here before).

Hendrix' version is actually a cover, it was originally done by a band called The Leaves. While it's clear it's definitely not a Hendrix original, there does seem to be some dispute over the authorship of the original version: http://www.tsimon.com/heyjoe.htm

I don't have that album but it is where I first heard of Beth. I do have her Daybreaker album though. Highly recommended. I think that Ryan Adams fellow even provides background vocals on at least a song or two.

Jason solo is a whole other ball o' wax than he was with the Truckers but if you like some flat out rockers and tunes steeped in that "Muscle Shoals sound" you'll love Isbell's solo record. Like the Truckers, his live show is where it's at.

I can't offer an opinion just yet as I'm only through Side One but I can say right off that it's much better than I was expecting so far. I should be able give a more thorough review by the end of the weekend once I've had a chance to listen all the way through.

I don't know that they ever had any huge hits but most likely you've heard Chilton fronting the Box Tops on The Letter and if you've ever seen any early episodes of That 70s Show, a version of Big Star's In the Street was used as the theme song.

Wolfmother were mentioned in the post just prior to yours.

Hearing some of the A Ghost Is Born songs live really made me appreciate them much more than on the studio record. Wilco were a little shakey the last time I saw them (it was the opening night of their tour, btw) but the show I saw the year before was totally off the fucking hook, one of the best live shows I've seen in years by anybody.

Kiss has a song called Feel? I was a pretty big fan back in my teen years (at least up to the solo albums) but I can't say I recall a song by that name. I don't know for sure but I'm think the term "pop" in that context may have first been coined with Nick Lowe's use of it in the title of his album Pure Pop For Now People. Which makes me realize I still haven't gotten around to picking up any Rockpile records.

It was because so many of my favorite bands (the 'Mats, R.E.M., Slobberbone/The Drams, Wilco) constantly cited Big Star as an influence that I finally sought some of their records. So far, all I own is the two-fer #1 Record/Radio City. I gave them both repeated listens but never did get it. It's only been recently that I've come to appreciate them more, I'm not sure why. For one thing I think it may be hard to put albums like those in their proper context so many years after the fact. They may have a certain timeless quality but I feel I might appreciate them more if I had listened back when they were new. Of course back then the only thing I knew of Alex Chilton was his tenure in the Box Tops and the oft-played single "The Letter" (which Joe Cocker covered). I'm also tickled to death when I run across anybody on these boards that knows what "pop" means in the context of a group like Big Star. It is so hard to penetrate so many people's preconceived notions of it's meaning as a shortened version of "popular music", especially when the two crisscross as in much of the work of The Beatles and other bands. It's really hard to get past some people's notion of "pop" as some kind of dirty word in a musical sense. Pop doesn't always mean the crap that's clogging up the top of the charts.

It's funny to see the vinyl thing happen in reverse. Over the years I've tried not to duplicate my vinyl collection on CD but in the case of some of my favorite artists it was damn near unavoidable. To this day I still purchase new and used vinyl even though my record player has been in storage since the late 90s. One day we shall be reunited.

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/articl...t_id=1003701480 Dennis Wilson Jonathan Cohen, N.Y. Late Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson's cult classic 1977 solo album, "Pacific Ocean Blue," will be released May 13 in an expanded edition by Caribou/Epic/Legacy. The project has been out of print for more than 15 years due to copyright disputes. Billboard.com has learned that "Pacific Ocean Blue" will be available in a two-CD edition as well as a vinyl version via Sundazed. Disc one of the reissue will include the original 12-track album plus previously unreleased bonus songs which are still being sorted through by label archivists. Hardcore fans will be delighted with the contents of the second disc, which will make available for the first time songs intended for "Bambu," Wilson's never-released follow-up to "Pacific Ocean Blue." Liner notes for the album are being penned by Beach Boys scholars such as David Leaf, Jon Stebbins, Ben Edmonds and David Beard, and the package will feature photographs by Wilson's close friend, Jan & Dean's Dean Torrence. "Pacific Ocean Blue" was the first solo album from a Beach Boys member, and featured Wilson in songwriting collaborations with his brother Carl as well as Beach Boys frontman Mike Love. The unreleased tracks on the new edition were mixed by Wilson's original engineer, John Hanlon, with "Pacific Ocean Blue" co-writer/producer Gregg Jakobson and Caribou Records owner Jim Guercio. Wilson drowned on Dec. 28, 1983, in Marina Del Rey, Calif., after struggling with drug addiction for several years.