Mike Cross, this past Thursday in Nashville, NC.

Where did I say Janis Joplin only sang the blues? I didn't. In reference to Madonna, I said: "I've never heard Madonna sing a single note of rock n' roll music, much less belt out the blues." That in no way implies that Janis only sang the blues. In fact she was well versed in several musical forms but the blues were her forte. The fact remains I have never heard Madonna sing one note of rock n' roll, ever. I can think of lots of other songs that may be controversial but controversy alone doesn't make something "rock n' roll" and Papa Don't Preach is no exception. That song isn't rock n' roll, it's dance/club music, just like the majority of Madonna's recorded output. What rock n' roll artists has Madonna influenced? I can think of Sonic Youth namechecking her on one of their albums and Liz Phair (hardly a household name) mentioning her in one of her lyrics but that's it. Madonna's influence has been more on similar pop/dance music performers such as Britney Spears and the like, artists who don't have one ounce of rock n' roll in their blood. I understand why Grandmaster Flash was put in, because rap had an influence on rock n' roll and vice versa. I fail to see where Madonna has had any influence on rock n' roll at all. Pop/dance/R & B music maybe but not rock n' roll. No, I don't like the fact that a dance/pop music performer like Madonna is going to be inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame but it doesn't mean I have to start up my own. If she's so "rock n' roll" how come I've never heard her on a rock n' roll station, on the rock n' roll charts or seen her songs listed on any rock n' roll compilation, ever? I know why, because she is not rock n' roll. Never has been, never will be. Wenner and company are taking a great big shit on all that is rock n' roll by inducting someone like Madonna. If you think she's rock n' roll then prepare for the likes of Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and tons of other pop/dance music performers to be inducted in the years to come.

I'm no fan but what kind of music does John Mellencamp play if not "rock n' roll"? Leonard Cohen is not easily classified but if Dylan is in then Cohen should be as well.

Even if Neil were to come to NC on this tour I wouldn't be able to afford it, tix are far too expensive. On the other hand, his current setlists are among the best he's performed in years. As far as favorite records, I love Rust Never Sleeps. It's not only one of my favorite Neil Young albums but it's one of my favorite live albums of all time as well.

I haven't purchased the box set yet but I'd say it's very much worth it. I know around Christmas time last year Best Buy put several boxes (including the Hendrix one) on sale for around $30 so you might wanna keep your eye out for more specials. Either way, I'm sure it's a very worthy investment.

That's exactly what I'm talking about. I think it takes a hell of a songwriter to leave a song open to interpretation like that and Cooley is a very fine example. Glad to hear you're liking it. Their studio records are great but seeing them live is the real deal. Tour dates for 2008 were just announced but there's none for NC. Yet.

I don't think it's all that far but Mapblast/quest is your friend. Thanks to an older brother that turned me onto him back in the early 70s, I've been a fan ever since. Can't say I'm really into the whole Parrothead regalia thing but I do love the music. That's a cryin' shame. I hope to get down there for a visit soon but it's liable not to be until after the first of the year. When I do, I'll have to be sure to take a cruise down Salter Path/AB way. I love the album myself, definitely one of my faves by the DBTs but I oftentimes find myself skipping over Your Daddy Hates Me. It's a great song and can really hit home for anyone that's been through a similar situation but it can be a little too dirge-like for me on occasion. Cool. I hope you enjoy them. By the way, if you find yourselves really drawn to the Jason Isbell songs, he just released his long awaited solo album this year, Sirens of the Ditch. Unfortunately it meant he had to get kicked out of DBT before New West Records would release it.

A three day love fest of nothing but Grohl doing Zep covers. Just kidding. I honestly don't think anyone would have had anything to say about Grohl but they might now....

The vast majority of the the time The Beatles remain my favorite group of all time (notice, no "best") but sometimes it depends on what day of the week it is. I put the Who, Zep, the Stones, Dylan, Skynyrd and R.E.M. up there too.

Looks like there's going to be another Jonathan Demme directed Neil Young film:

Count me in as a huge fan of The Master of Space and Time.

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/inde...-at-tiny-la-gig Tom Morello gave an early Christmas present to the 100-plus fans packed into Hollywood’s Hotel Café last night. As a send-off for his final gig of the year as the Nightwatchman, the Rage Against the Machine guitarist assembled an eclectic group of music legends that jammed on inspired covers and collaborations for more than four hours. Morello’s weekly appearances at the cozy venue serve as an opportunity to raise money and awareness for his social-action foundation Axis of Justice, which provides aid to the homeless and hungry. The evening began in the normal fashion with Morello playing a handful of acoustic songs. His small set complete, Morello recounted a story about a man with a great voice at a Woody Guthrie tribute. The man turned out to be Academy Award-winning actor Tim Robbins, who then climbed onstage and proved he was worthy of Morello’s praise with a solid, albeit lyrically altered rendition of Phil Oates’s classic protest tune “State of Mississippi” and the Christmas staple “Silent Night.” Serj Tankian, who along with Morello co-founded Axis of Justice, next appeared at the piano for two songs, then Switchfoot’s John Foreman, rising songwriter Elijah Woods and Richard Patrick of Filter. It didn’t seem realistic when Morello took the microphone at this point and joked that the evening was just getting started, but two and half hours later it was clear he had been dead serious. Moments later Perry Farrell brought his Satellite Party onstage with Morello accompanying on electric guitar to play two songs before closing with spot-on version of “Jane Says.” The evening then slipped into high gear when Morello introduced Alice in Chains which entailed Jerry Cantrell and new singer Will Duvall. The two played a brilliant version of “Nutshell” that was a deft replication of their MTV Unplugged performance and followed with a cover of the Who’s “Squeeze Box.” Most of the crowd, already stoked about the incredible lineup, had assumed the Alice in Chains duo was the finale, until Mick Mars of Mötley Crüe slowly emerged to join Morello, Foreman and the assembled house band for “Dr. Feelgood” and “Girls, Girls, Girls.” It was borderline excessive when Slash appeared onstage to help Morello and Cantrell rip through the AC/DC classic “Jailbreak.” The evening pressed on with more jamming and a late appearance by Wayne Kramer of MC5 who led the now-supersized group in a spirited version of “Kick Out the Jams.” Almost an hour past midnight Morello called the entire night’s lineup back to the stage and introduced Woodie Gutherie’s definitive American anthem “This Land Is Your Land.” Morello, ever articulate and thoughtful, implored the audience to heed Gutherie’s poignant lyrics and “grab the wheel of history to reclaim your land.” Each verse was sung by a different star with Tim Robbins and Farrell leading and Slash providing intermittent hillbilly-inspired solos. The ensemble rocked out to the revised ballad for more than ten minutes before Morello thanked his gracious guests and the adoring audience for providing an unforgettable night of music. Richard L. Dewey

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22259465/?GT1=10645 ROXBURY, Conn. - Karaoke can be scary, but threatening? A school custodian's impromptu after-hours karaoke performance prompted a police response when a teacher thought she was being threatened over the loudspeaker. State police say the teacher at Booth Free School barricaded herself inside a classroom Wednesday when she mistook someone singing a Guns N' Roses song over the public address system for a threat. She was working after hours and thought no one else was in the building. Then she heard someone say over the loudspeaker that she was going to die. Six troopers and three police dogs showed up and found three teenagers, one of them a custodian at the school, who had been playing with the public address system. Police say one of them sang "Welcome to the Jungle" into the microphone. The song contains the lyrics "You're in the jungle baby; you're gonna die." The teenagers were cuffed for about 15 minutes while police investigated. They didn't realize anyone else was in the school at the time. No charges will be filed, said state police Sgt. Brian Ness.

I'm not sure what time the games are usually over but I do know that there's an opening band at the Pour House that night and Patty Hurst Shifter usually doesn't go on until late. And, they almost always play right up 'til closing time. Yep, they do a lot of Buffett covers and have pretty much staked their reputation on that. I'm a pretty big Buffett fan myself but mainly of the early stuff. To their credit, Scearce and Ketner are much more than a Buffett cover band as they have three albums of original material. Some of it is in the Buffett vein but a great deal of it is not. You can check 'em out here: http://www.scearceandketner.com As for Salter Path, it's been several months since I've been down that way but I have seen the ads for the condos that are being developed down there. I know of tons of friends that always attended their shows locally but could never quite get into their records. That all changed with Decoration Day. I think the addition of Jason Isbell as a guitarist/vocalist/songwriter (he penned Outfit as well as the title track) helped make the Truckers' sound more accessible. And yes, it is a very dark record but during the time of it's making, the band was just coming off the recording of Southern Rock Opera and were going through their fair share of divorces and personal strife. I recommend Southern Rock Opera but if you feel yourself drawn more towards Jason's songs, I recommend the next one after Decoration Day, The Dirty South. As I mentioned above, it is a very dark album at times, as is a lot of their work. It's not that they're not happy, they just choose to shine a light on subjects you don't see as the topics of songs very often. Cool that you like Loaded Gun In the Closet as Cooley is one of my favorite songwriters in the band. He also has such a unique way with words that you can sometimes interpret his tunes in at least two or three different ways, all of which make perfect sense.

South Korean scientists say they have cloned cats whose genes have been altered so that they glow in the dark - taking advantage of a technological twist that could someday be used to make more dramatic genetic changes in all sorts of creatures. Click here to read more: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/200....aspx?GT1=10645

I once saw one of those History of Rock n' Roll specials who's last chapter included rap as part of the "future of rock". As has been discussed here countless times rock has influenced rap and vice versa but I don't see it as extension of rock n' roll by any means, it's a genre of music unto itself. Same thing with Madonna, the music she makes very clearly remains in the dance/pop/r & b realm and doesn't come close to "rock n' roll". If Madonna is going to be inducted as a rock n' roll artist we may as well prepare ourselves now for the inevitable day when Britney Spears is inducted. She is one of very many dance/pop stars I can say has without a doubt been influenced by Madonna. I could say that about very few (if any) rock n' roll artists. Basically what is happening is Jann Wenner and company are taking a huge fucking shit on what was once known as "rock n' roll". What's worse is the amount of times actual rock n' roll artists such as Skynyrd and Sabbath were denied induction yet Madonna gets in during her first year of eligibility. I don't think she should even be eligibile to start with but that fact that she's been inducted while many other far more deserving artists still wait in the wings is a fucking travesty beyond reproach. I blame it on the further corporatization of the music business over the years where it has gotten to the point where it's all pretty much controlled by the same entities: Time/Warner, Rolling Stone, Viacom (which also owns MTV, VH1 & CMT) and everybody's favorite whipping boy, Clear Channel/Live Nation. It's all become so homogenized where someone like Jann Wenner and his gang of assmonkeys can get away with inducting a pop diva like Madonna into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. To me, that's extremely fucked up and not representative of rock n' roll in the least little bit.

I've heard it and wouldn't consider it rock n' roll. Even if by some stretch of the imagination I did consider it rock n' roll, one song does not a rock n' roll artist make. You have to remember this is the woman that massacred Stairway on national television, not to mention the butcher job she performed on Don McClean's American Pie. She should have her eligibilty revoked just for that. The woman wouldn't know "rock n' roll" if it jumped up and bit her on the ass. Just look at who she signed to her Maverick label: Candlebox. Hell, she doesn't even know good watered down grunge when she hears it.

Janis Joplin in the same breath as Madonna? The hell you say. I've never heard Madonna sing a single note of rock n' roll music, much less belt out the blues. She's a vapid dance/pop performer at best and doesn't even remotely figure as a rock n' roll artist. Never has. Never will. Except for maybe in Jann Wenner's fucked up world.

I don't think any one decade of music matters any more than the other as each has had it's own contributers to the evolution of rock n' roll, the 80s included. I see the 80s get knocked a lot on this board but there was lot of very good music in that decade. Sometimes when people look back to the 70s all they remember is the disco era. With the 80s it's MTV synth pop and hair metal. As someone that grew up during those time periods I can say those types of music were mere blips on my radar, if even that. The 70s (and even earlier) gave birth to punk which in turn gave birth to New Wave/Post Punk in the 80s. There was also a blues revival in the 80s as well as an explosion of roots oriented music like there hasn't been before or since. Personally, I wouldn't discount the 80s so easily.

A message from Patterson Hood Y'ALL: As we approach these danged Holidays, we're all busy as can be trying to tie up all of the loose ends from 2007 as we move forward into 2008. DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS - BRIGHTER THAN CREATION'S DARK As everyone by now knows, New West Records will be releasing our new album on Jan. 22 (Jan. 21 in Europe). It is 19 songs and over 75 minutes on one CD (2 Vinyl Albums) and we are confident as to it being our best album yet. Today we're adding two new songs to our MySpace page; you can hear The Righteous Path and I'm Sorry Huston as well as A Ghost To Most . THE HOME FRONT WORLD TOUR 2008. We are pleased to announce dates for the first two legs of THE HOME FRONT WORLD TOUR 2008. The tour, which will be previewed in Athens GA on Jan. 10-13 begins in Anaheim CA on Feb. 11th. The Feb. dates will be supported by The Felice Brothers. I haven't seen them live, but their songs on myspace are fantastic and my friends who have seen them have raved about how great they are. The first two shows (Anaheim and LA on the 12th) will also feature support by our dear friends THE NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALL STARS. Anyone who's ever seen them can vouch for them being one of the finest bands in the land. Support for the second leg (March) hasn't been announced yet so stay tuned. Mon Feb 11 - Anaheim CA - HOUSE OF BLUES w/North Mississippi Allstars, The Felice Brothers Tue Feb 12 - Los Angeles - CA - AVALON w/North Mississippi Allstars, The Felice Brothers Wed Feb 13 - San Francisco CA - MEZZANINE w/ The Felice Brothers Fri Feb 15 - Portland OR - ROSELAND - w/ The Felice Brothers Sat Feb 16 - Seattle WA - SHOWBOX w/ The Felice Brothers Sun Feb 17 - Seattle WA - SHOWBOX - w/ The Felice Brothers Tue Feb 19 - Boise ID - BIG EASY CONCERT HOUSE - w/ The Felice Brothers Wed Feb 20 - Salt Lake City UT - THE PALADIUM w/ The Felice Brothers Thu Feb 21 - Aspen CO - BELLY UP w/ The Felice Brothers Fri Feb 22 - Denver CO - OGDEN THEATRE w/ The Felice Brothers Sat Feb 23 - Boulder CO - FOX THEATRE w/ The Felice Brothers Mon Feb 25 - Omaha NE - SLOWDOWN w/ The Felice Brothers Tue Feb 26 - Columbia MO - BLUE NOTE w/ The Felice Brothers Wed Feb 27 - Urbana IL - CANOPY CLUB w/ The Felice Brothers Thu Feb 28 - Milwaukee WI - PABST THEATRE w/ The Felice Brothers Fri Feb 29 - St. Louis MO - PAGEANT w/ The Felice Brothers Sat Mar 01 - Louisville KY - HEADLINERS MUSIC HALL w/ The Felice Brothers Fri Mar 14 - Memphis TN - MINGLEWOOD HALL Sat Mar 15 - Nashville TN - CANNERY BALLROOM Sun Mar 16 - Newport - KY - SOUTHGATE HOUSE Tue Mar 18 - Millvale PA - MR SMALLS THEATRE Wed Mar 19 - Toronto ONT - OPERA HOUSE Thu Mar 20 - Montreal QUE - CABARET MUSIC HALL Fri Mar 21 - Northampton MA - PEARL STREET Sat Mar 22 - Boston MA - PARADISE ROCK CLUB Tue Mar 25 - New Haven CT - TOADS PLACE Wed Mar 26 - New York NY - TERMINAL 5 Thu Mar 27 - Philadelphia PA - THE FILLMORE @ THE TLA Fri Mar 28 - Richmond VA - THE NATIONAL Sat Mar 29 - Asheville NC - ORANGE PEEL GRAMMY NOMINATION for BETTYE LAVETTE ALBUM Congrats to Bettye for being nominated for Best Contemporary Blues Album at this upcoming years' Grammy Awards. We are proud to be a part of that fine album and wish her luck and hopefully a victory party will be forthcoming. Congrats also for Bettye being nominated for 3 BLUES MUSIC AWARDS (Formerly the WC Handy Award) including a nomination for Best Album. DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS - BRIGHTER THAN CREATION'S DARK EP will be available at iTunes and all other DSP's (Rhapsody, Yahoo Music, MSN/Zune) on Tuesday 12/18. Tracks for this EP are: TWO DAUGHTERS AND A BEAUTIFUL WIFE, 3 DIMES DOWN, THE RIGHTEOUS PATH, and THE PURGATORY LINE. If you buy any track from the EP at iTunes, it will be credited to the purchase of the full album (this is called the Complete My Album program). EUROPEAN TOUR POSTPONED (for now) We are very displeased and disappointed to announce that due to circumstances beyond our control, we are having to postpone our European Tour. As a band that prides itself on almost never canceling shows (less than 10 in 22 years with over 1200 shows played in the last eleven) we take these things very seriously. We do however plan to reschedule and perform in Europe later in the year. We are sincerely sorry for any inconvenience that this might have caused and will do everything in our power to make this up to all of you as soon as humanly possible. We can't wait to bring the new show and new songs over there. We hope to be rescheduling dates for Holland, Belgium, Spain and The UK in the very near future. NUCI'S SPACE BENEFIT / BRIGHTER THAN CREATION'S DARK played Live in its entirety Finally a reminder that we will be playing the new album in its entirety LIVE at The Fabulous 40 Watt Club in Athens GA on Jan. 10, 2008. We are doing this as part of our annual benefit for NUCI'S SPACE Music Resource Center. The bill will also feature performances by Don Chambers and GOAT and Bo Beddingfield and The Wydelles. Tickets are on sale now, but going fast. FINALLY: We want to thank everyone for their support this past year. 2007 was a busy crazy year (and to think it was supposed to be our year of taking it easy). The Dirt Undcerneath Tour was successful beyond all our best hopes and thanks to each and everyone of you for making this one of our best years ever. HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON AND MAY 2008 BE YOUR BEST YEAR YET. See You At The Really Big Loud Rock Show. Patterson Hood and the Drive-By Truckers Family

The link is in the subject line but this will take you directly to the list: http://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_forgotalb.html

I have no idea what the "greatest" albums in my collection are but I do have some favorites I can listen to from beginning to end without skipping any songs.

1984? Yeah, it's got a few decent cuts but it's by far their weakest DLR era record. I like everything up through Women and Children First then things start to get iffy. Enter Sammy Hagar and they turn into a power ballad heavy band in the manner of Journey.