50 Tunng - Good Arrows 49 Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - 100 Days, 100 Nights 48 Oakley Hall - I'll Follow You 47 Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals 46 Manu Chao - La Radiolina 45 Bettye LaVette - The Scenes Of The Crime 44 Beirut - The Flying Club Cup 43 Explosions In The Sky - All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone 42 Mavis Staples - We'll Never Turn Back 41 Dr. Dog - We All Belong 40 Ian Hunter - Shrunken Heads 39 Patty Griffin - Children Running Through 38 Eleni Mandell - Miracle Of Five 37 Rufus Wainwright - Release The Stars 36 Bright Eyes - Cassadaga 35 Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam 34 Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger 33 St. Vincent - Marry Me 32 Kevin Drew - Spirit If... 31 Robert Wyatt - Comicopera 30 Grinderman - Grinderman 29 Kings Of Leon - Because Of The Times 28 Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - This Is Somewhere 27 of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? 26 Steve Earle - Washington Square Serenade 25 Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter - Like, Love, Lust And the Open Halls Of The Soul 24 M.I.A. - Kala 23 Bill Callahan - Woke On A Whaleheart 22 Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Living With The Living 21 The National - Boxer 20 Rilo Kiley - Under The Blacklight 19 Bruce Springsteen - Magic 18 Georgie James - Places 17 The Good, The Bad & The Queen - The Good, The Bad & The Queen 16 Wilco - Sky Blue Sky 15 The New Pornographers - Challengers 14 The Shins - Wincing The Night Away 13 Avett Brothers - Emotionalism 12 Devendra Banhart - Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon 11 The White Stripes - Icky Thump 10 Jason Isbell - Sirens Of The Ditch 09 Neil Young - Chrome Dreams II 08 Arcade Fire - Neon Bible 07 Radiohead - In Rainbows 06 Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 05 Feist - The Reminder 04 Future Clouds & Radar - Future Clouds & Radar 03 Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog 02 Band Of Horses - Cease To Begin 01 Okkervil River - The Stage Names

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/articl...t_id=1003678378 Supergrass Jonathan Cohen, N.Y. U.K. rock outfit Supergrass will release its new single, "Diamond Hoo Ha Man," Jan. 14 internationally on 7-inch vinyl. A live version of the cut can be downloaded from Supergrass.com. An as-yet-untitled new album, produced by Nick Launay, will arrive in March via Parlophone. The set is the follow-up to 2005's "Road to Rouen," which debuted at No. 9 on the U.K. album chart. Next month, Supergrass will return to live duty with a Dec. 9 appearance at XFM's Winter Wonderland at London's Brixton Academy, and a Dec. 20-21 stand at Oxford's Town Hall. During those dates, bassist Mick Quinn, who is recovering from a broken back suffered in a sleepwalking accident, will be replaced by Charly Coombes, the brother of Supergrass principals Gaz and Rob Coombes.

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/articl...t_id=1003678691 Greg Dulli Jonathan Cohen, N.Y. Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan have wrapped the debut album from their long-in-the-works Gutter Twins project. Due March 4 via Sub Pop, "Saturnalia" features guest appearances by Joseph Arthur, Martina Topley-Bird, Queens Of The Stone Age's Troy Van Leeuwen and the touring band from Dulli's Twilight Singers. The Gutter Twins concept has been alive since late 2003, and the first two songs the group wrote, "All Misery" and "The Body," are present on "Saturnalia." But the majority of the material was finished this year, often with Dulli in New Orleans and Lanegan in Los Angeles. "I'd send them to him and he'd mess around with them," Dulli tells Billboard.com of working with longtime friend Lanegan. "But whenever we were in the same room, that's when the lion's share of the material was realized, because we actually could work it out." Lanegan contributed two of his own songs to the project, "Who Will Lead Us" and "Bette Noir." Hooking up with Sub Pop was an easy decision for the artists, who were both signed to the label earlier in their careers (Lanegan with Screaming Trees, Dulli with Afghan Whigs). "It was the perfect situation," Dulli says. "The way it presented itself, it was sort of the classic offer you couldn't refuse." The Gutter Twins have lined up five shows for next year, beginning Feb. 14 in New York and including a March 1 set in San Francisco as part of the Noise Pop festival. "We'll see how the first round goes and that will dictate what we do from there on out," Dulli says. "I think we have an exciting show. We certainly have a lot of material that we could cull from and stretch the set. We're also very fond of interpretations." Here are the Gutter Twins' tour dates: Feb. 14: New York (Bowery Ballroom) Feb. 19: Paris (Maroquinerie) Feb. 21: London (Koko) Feb. 23: Amsterdam (Melkweg) March 1: San Francisco (Bimbo's; Noise Pop festival)

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/articl...t_id=1003678509 Carlos Santana Gary Graff, Detroit After three successful albums of high-profile collaborations, Carlos Santana is preparing for a different endeavor for 2008. The guitarist and bandleader is teaming up with producer Bill Laswell for "The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost," a three-CD set Santana tells Billboard.com will reflect his myriad musical influences. "We still love (John) Coltrane and Bob Marley and Marvin Gaye," he says, "so that music is gonna get in there. And Paco de Lucia ... very Spanish." The base group for the recording will be a trio of Santana, his longtime keyboardist Chester "CT" Thompson and Narada Michael Walden on drums. He's also planning to incorporate guests such as Wayne Shorter, Pharoah Sanders, Kenny Garrett and others. "I have yet to do a trio band," Santana notes, "so this is my opportunity to do kind of like a Tony Williams trio thing. It's a trio with other colors; we're gonna bring other musicians in, singers and stuff like that." Santana hopes to have the album finished and out by next summer, but no firm release date is set. He recently recapped his career highlights with "Ultimate Santana," an Arista set that includes material from throughout his career and particularly focuses on his "Supernatural," "Shaman" and "All That I Am" albums. "It's kind of like a family reunion; all the songs are either sisters or brothers or children," Santana says of the collection. "All I can think of is God is very generous with an incredible, long life and a lot of opportunities for the music that I play and the musicians that I share it with. For me it's a positive. It's nothing but a win-win situation."

I imagine there's no Michael since he's not "rock n' roll".

With few exceptions practically every artist I've ever listed on my year end best of lists are "indie" but I'm going here by artists that record for independent labels, not "indie" as a classification of a musical style. I also narrow my year end best of lists down to 10, how do you know those artists that didn't make the cut aren't "indie" as you define it? I know of one very notable exception right off the top of my head (though I'm sure there's more) which is Nada Surf. Again, I'm not sure what any of this has to do with the topic of this thread, it's only more of your meaningless and self-serving nitpicking which grows increasingly tiresome with each one of your posts.

I'm not surprised to see Joe there at all. He knows there's money to be made whether or not Henley is a hypocrite. I just hope he sees fit to do more work with The James Gang during the Eagles' downtime, something he has already positively commented on.

Prior to Sammy, Patty Smyth of Scandal was under consideration for the lead singer slot in Van Halen. I can't help but wonder what direction they would have gone in with a female singer out front. As for Sammy, I don't think he was ever considered to be some sort of David Lee Roth type person onstage or was expected to somehow follow in Dave's footsteps as an over the top frontman in the same way Dave was. If anything, I gathered they (Ed and Alex particularly) had had enough of Dave's antics and fully expected to reign in that aspect of Van Halen by hiring someone like Hagar who had a history of being a dynamic frontman both in his solo career and with Montrose. If they were looking for "David Lee Roth, Jr." they went with the wrong guy. As for the Hagar era of Van Halen not compromising musically, I have to disagree there as they most certainly did and on nearly all fronts. With Hagar out front they gave in to the formulaic radio sound of the time and became known more for their ballads than their rockers, something which could never be said of DLR-era Van Halen.

I have never said I don't like "indie" but I will agree it's one of those terms that's not easily defined. Since you're the resident "indie snob" I figured you would at least have something to offer in regards to the accuracy of the article.

http://www.thewvsr.com/ugliest.htm

Even though I'm more a fan of the Roth years than the Hagar years I think it does matter. As for who "fitted" (sic) them best, that is a matter of opinion. I think both are great frontmen but Dave's image is the one most fans associate them with since that's where the roots of Van Halen lie, in the Dave years. Prior to bringing Hagar into the fold they were already beginning to alter their sound to fit commercial radio, thus the introduction of keyboards into their sound and their biggest success yet with Jump. By naming Hagar as their new lead singer they only continued to follow this direction by making keyboards a more prominent fixture of their sound and by penning more songs with "love" in the title. Without Hagar they may have very well slipped into obscurity. Instead, with the streamlining of their sound, they enjoyed the biggest success they had enjoyed so far in their careers. The real travesty right now is that Edward Van Halen won't put his childishness aside long enough to allow Michael Anthony back into the band.

I think it's kind of strange that a band so outspoken about corporate greed has signed a deal with Wal-Mart for distribution of their new album. As for the Eagles themselves, I like some of their stuff but over the last decade or so they have really started to rub me the wrong way (particularly Henley), especially in the area of ticket pricing. Before they mounted their Hell Freezes Over Tour no artists were charging the outrageous amount of money they were for tickets. Ever since then most every band under the sun has reunited and charged that much (and more) for tickets. It also has not gone unnoticed that this Eagles reunion tour was supposed to be a one shot deal, thus Henley justifying the high ticket costs. Well, last I checked the Hell Freezes Over Tour has lasted over 10 years. In all fairness they should now lower ticket costs, especially since it appears they are back together. Think that's really gonna happen? Not really but it just goes to show how greedy they actually are. In all honesty I'd much rather see Walsh solo or with the reformed version of The James Gang.

Thoughts on David Enloe from local writer Rick Cornell as posted to the blog section of local publication The Independent: http://www.indyweekblogs.com/scan/tip-o-th...enloe-1956-2007 NC Rock Star: David Enloe, 1956-2007 In the early ’90s—and by many accounts, in years prior—David Enloe and the rest of the Woods owned the Brewery, and they owned Saturday night. Over the next couple of days much will be written about David, who passed away early Tuesday from complications related to liver disease, by those who played alongside him and loved him like a brother. Not having the privilege of knowing David, my perspective comes from out in the crowd. The Woods were this transplant’s first favorite North Carolina band. Their sound was a Southern-accented mix of Stones, Faces, and more Stones, with a hints of Minneapolis (it’s not for nothing that their It’s Like This was released on Twin/Tone). Sealing the deal, they covered “Can’t Hardly Wait.” My initial exposure to the Woods came courtesy of a whole bunch of those Brewery shows, and I’d eventually follow them to Chapel Hill’s La Terrazza, a coffee shop on Main Street in Carrboro, that big-ass Mexican restaurant in Cary with the patio stage, and other places that also no longer exist. The Woods guys truly shared the stage; everybody wrote and sang. Still, the spotlight seemed to favor David. He was the most charismatic, the most rock-star. Finding myself behind him and some friends waiting in line for a show at Raleigh’s Rialto one evening, I marveled as he held court by, among other things, doing a Homey the Clown routine–it being the heyday of “In Living Color” and all. I remember thinking to myself, “He’s even a natural frontguy on the sidewalk.” It’s not completely true that I didn’t know David. I got to meet him a couple years back when the Woods visited my WXDU radio program before a reunion show at Cat’s Cradle. At that station, he commented on an article he’d just read about the Avett Brothers. Turns out that I wrote the article, and when I made a lame joke about it, David was gracious enough to offer a genuine chuckle. Then he and Terry Anderson, Jack Cornell, and Jamie Hoover gathered around one microphone and sang a few Woods songs, and it was suddenly 1990. Wish a tape had been running.

Perhaps but it did bring them the biggest success of their career.

When they chose Hagar it was never their intention for him to become a DLR clone so none of what you're saying makes any sense. That said, I prefer the David Lee Roth years myself. I also like some of what they did with Hagar. Unfortunately with Hagar in the lineup they also got much closer to a commercial rock sound that came too close to that of Journey for my liking on more than one occasion.

Nice observation but that's not what the article is about.

How many of them have you actually heard?

Place your vote here.

From The Los Angeles Times Internet-savvy world traveler M.I.A. leads a new wave of music. Guillaume Baptiste / AFP/Getty Images As pop music wrestles again with the divisive issues of gender and race, don't overlook the cross-cultural standouts. By Ann Powers, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer The debate over how racial identity is expressed in popular music is a crucial one; one might even say that pop itself is a debate over how race is expressed. A new round of this always-necessary conversation is unfurling, causing heated discussion among avid music fans. It started in October, when New Yorker critic Sasha Frere-Jones published an essay lamenting the lack of African American influence in indie rock. Carl Wilson countered in Slate, suggesting that class, not race, is the dividing point. Now David Brooks has written a New York Times op-ed piece, based around a conversation with E Street Band guitarist Steve Van Zandt, blaming technologically driven social fragmentation for isolating musicians, causing historical amnesia and resulting in music that "stinks." These pundits raise many valid and troubling points. It's tempting to just join in, starting by gently noting the irony of three well-published, white, upper-middle class men leading an argument about race and class. Then there's gender: Frere-Jones' description of his musical ideal as "miscegenation" -- a word choice he's said was deliberate and appropriate -- raises serious issues about sexual violence and racial objectification that stretch all the way back to slavery and can't just be put aside in the paragraph or two they've been granted in this debate. But first, a practical intervention. Frere-Jones has claimed that what's happening right now doesn't negate the historical arc he's described. That's fair. But his piece is being read in the present tense, when in fact indie rock right now, like pop in general, is strikingly hybridized. This cross-fertilization is one of the most positive aspects of pop today. It's been renewed by a love of dancing, cross-cultural collaborations forged on the Web, and the ever-growing diversity of fans themselves. Here are several artists, among the many, who are making it happen. (In addition to Ann Powers, the following contributions are from staff writers Richard Cromelin, Randy Lewis, Todd Martens, Margaret Wappler, August Brown and Charlie Amter.) M.I.A. Living the complexities of race and gender, women in hip-hop always occupy multiple positions. Internet-savvy world traveler M.I.A. leads a new wave. She's the most political of a bunch that includes Philly upstart Santogold and Kanye protégé Kid Sister, but simply by existing, these ladies redefine the game. (A.P.) Devendra Banhart. He's typecast as the driving force of an international psychedelic folk scene, but the many songs he's written and recorded en español are a reminder that he's half Venezuelan (thanks, mom!) and spent most of his preteen years in Caracas. And his latest album includes clear homages to some of his favorite African-rooted music, such as doo-wop, Jamaican mento and bluebeat, and even some Jackson 5-style Motown. (R.C.) Ozomatli. You need look no further than East L.A. to find a thoroughly invigorating band that fuses rock with Latin, Caribbean, funk and soul. Ozomatli has practically become the house band at the Hollywood Bowl, and it's been common during the group's opening slots for high-powered headliners to see tens of thousands of people hearing the group for the first time getting caught up in its irresistible fusion. (R.L.) Gogol Bordello. This New York-based band recasts the music of the Roma people within a kitchen-sink blend of rock, ska, reggae and more that they call "gypsy punk." With Israeli, Russian and Roma members, Gogol Bordello's music reflects the immigrant experience as it's unfolded from Ellis Island to the outer boroughs and suburbs of today's America. (A.P.) Rodrigo y Gabriela. Not officially an indie-rock act, but what could be more independent than playing heavy metal infused with Latin rhythms on acoustic guitars. The Mexican couple, together since their teens, did their apprenticeship busking in Dublin, Ireland, where they're still based. Now, they're packing in crowds who scream in wonder at their Metallica covers and originals inspired by every guitar tradition on Earth. (A.P.) Beck. Indie big brother Beck paved the way for goofy style-rappers Gray Kid and the Cool Kids but on some of his albums, his cultural mash-ups produce some uncomfortable moments. Who doesn't cringe when the white Scientologist adopts the cholo accent? But if not for him, most hipsters wouldn't have Os Mutantes or Caetano Veloso on their iPods. (M.W.) Zoë/Kinky. Pop's "Latin explosions" have come and gone, but bands like Zoë and Kinky, from Mexico City, point to a different future. Zoë takes cues from Brit-pop bands such as the Stone Roses; Kinky's house beats, rock guitars and jubilant brass meld into a pan-cultural party-starter. Both bands sing in Spanish, play stadiums in Latin America -- and remain obscure to Anglo audiences stateside. But let's be real: U.S. audiences are growing more Latin every day. (A.B.) Bloc Party. Brit-pop-obsessed Americans' latest favorite band looks more like modern London than the all-white lineups of '90s-bred bands such as Oasis or Pulp. Led by Kele Okereke, a Liverpool-born offspring of Nigerian parents, the multicultural band has fans from all over the musical spectrum, though its sound is distinctly alternative rock. (C.A.) Lily Allen. The sounds Allen embraced on her debut album, "Alright, Still," were so unexpected that this young petite singer caught the music world by surprise. She employs a coolly delicate hip-hop sensibility and takes her rhythmic cues from U.K. ska bands such as the Specials. There's a relaxed, almost lounge-like flow to her music, but a drum 'n' bass influence is always around the corner. (T.M.) Calexico. Joey Burns, John Convertino and an ever-shifting band of friends straddle not only the U.S.-Mexico border but lots of other ones too. Their sunbaked rock is like wandering into a small desert town's thrift store -- lots of bright curios, old surfboards and everything covered in dust. On any of the group's six albums, Calexico mixes Mariachi, fado, surf and Esquivel-style space-age dynamics. (M.W.) Spoon. It's hard to picture a band that could be any whiter than Spoon -- a pasty indie rock quartet from Austin, Tex. Known for minimal guitar parts and the slashing vocals of Britt Daniel, Spoon discovered a groove on its last two albums. When Daniel titles a song "Black Like Me," he's talking about his soul, and soul bleeds through its current sound. (T.M.) CSS. These wild Brazilian kids know that the best kind of party music is made with everything but the kitchen sink -- and even that you should probably rip off the wall and throw in too. On Cansei De Ser Sexy's debut album, they frolic through disco, metal and art-rock, applying layers of trash and sleaze, dropping in bits of Portuguese and references to Paris Hilton. One of the leading lights of the indie dance movement. (M.W.) Fall Out Boy. When Fall Out Boy let Jay-Z open the group's 2007 album "Infinity on High," the move smacked of a bid by the former underground emo act to conquer Top 40. It probably was, but these suburban pop-punk kids have a hip-hop affection that runs deeper than their business smarts. The single "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" had a rhythm that bounced like a Timbaland song, and the act turned to R&B superstar Babyface to produce two songs on "Infinity." (T.M.) Björk. With her cupid-bow lips and big marble eyes, Björk looks like a manga character, one who delights in kicking down genre and cultural walls. In her long, sparkling career, the Icelander has co-written a song for Madonna, collaborated with Timbaland, Matmos, a Japanese string octet and an all-female Icelandic choir. (M.W.) Burial. There are no reliable photographs of the human being behind Burial, the reclusive UK dubstep producer who barely gives interviews and has yet to reveal any specifics of race, sex or the possibility that Burial is a fictional character. Yet Burial's music, a hazily minimalist blend of dub reggae, robotic pitch- shifted soul, slowed-down jungle and ambient static, perfectly encapsulates a modern Lon- don where different anxious races, classes and cultures are thrust together amid the post-industrial rust and rain. (A.B.) Apollo Heights. There may be no stereotypically whiter genre of music than shoegaze. The very name implies staring at expensive effects pedals through art-damaged haircuts instead of, you know, dancing. But the line between My Bloody Valentine and race-mixing English rave culture is a thin one, and self-described "soulgazers" Apollo Heights blurs it completely. Consisting of five black men and one black woman, Apollo Heights pairs the gang-falsetto vocals of TV on the Radio with the trebly crunch of Ride or Slowdive. (A.B.)

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20071128/D8T6OFE00.html By KWANG-TAE KIM SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - An exploding cell phone battery is suspected by police in the death of a South Korean worker Wednesday, though the phone's manufacturer said it was highly unlikely. The man, identified only by his family name Suh, was found dead at his workplace in a quarry Wednesday morning and his mobile phone battery was melted in his shirt pocket, a police official in Cheongwon told The Associated Press. "We presume that the cell phone battery exploded," the police official said on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still under way. Kim Hoon, a doctor who examined the body, agreed. "He sustained an injury that is similar to a burn in the left chest and his ribs and spine were broken," Yonhap news agency quoted Kim as saying. "It is presumed that pressure caused by the explosion damaged his heart and lungs, leading to his death." Kim was not immediately available for comment. Police said the phone was made by South Korea's LG Electronics Inc., the world's fifth-biggest handset maker. An LG official confirmed its product was involved in the accident but said the company would not comment directly on the incident because the cause was not confirmed. However, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to company policy, said such a fatal explosion would be virtually impossible.

From Uncut RONNIE WOOD WORKING WITH THE FACES AGAIN Rolling Stone admits they are working on a project for 2008 Ronnie Wood took part in a brief Q+A session prior to a screening of his concert film, The First Barbarians: Live From Kilburn last night (November 23). During one answer, he admitted he was working on a Faces-related project. The Rolling Stone said: “I’m looking through about 5,000 hours of Faces footage. Stuff we shot on hand-held cameras, us messing around. It’s hopefully getting a release next year.” Wood’s comments add to speculation that the Faces might reform in 2008. There are already plans to release re-mastered editions of the band’s four studio albums, and UNCUT believes the surviving former members – Wood, Rod Stewart, keyboard player Ian MacLagan and drummer Kenny Jones – have recently been in negotiations to reform for live dates in 2008. The First Barbarians: Live From Kilburn is a concert film, a mix of colour and black and white footage, was shot in London in 1974 around the time Wood released his solo record, I’ve Got My Own Album To Do. The line up featured Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards on guitar alongside Ian MacLagan, session bassist Willie Weeks and Sly And The Family Stone drummer Andy Newark. Rod Stewart contributed backing vocals. The footage comes from Wood’s own archives and has been re-mastered by his son, Jesse. Wood, who earlier in the day had been signing copies of his autobiography Ronnie, spoke fondly of the concert and his relationship with Keith and Rod. On the subject of Keith’s rather dismal set of teeth, he joked: “Look at his railings. They look like a row of condemned buildings!” “Rod said to me about five minutes before we were going on stage: ‘You’re not going to sing, are you?’ I said: ‘It’s a bit late to start worrying about that now…’” The hour-long film is released as part of a CD/DVD package of The Last Barbarians” Live From Kilburn on Wood’s own label, Wooden. For more musings from Ronnie Wood at last night's screening, click here for the The View From here UNCUT blog. http://www.ronniewood.com

http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/796627.html By David Menconi, Staff Writer RALEIGH - The weekend before Thanksgiving, Susan Trent looked at everyone gathered in her husband’s room at Capital Nursing and Rehabilitation. The crowd included notables from three decades of local music history — bands including Arrogance, Superchunk, The Right Profile and The Woods. “It looks like the Brewery in here,” Trent told her husband, David Enloe. The venerable music club on Hillsborough Street would have been a fitting gathering spot for this bunch. Enloe, the Woods/Fabulous Knobs guitarist, died early Tuesday morning of complications from liver disease, his wife and friends said. He was hospitalized for six weeks this fall, attracting a steady stream of visitors up until the end, some from far away. Bob Davis is on the road working for R&B singer R. Kelly nowadays. But 25 years ago, Davis was the Woods’ one-man road crew. So he rented a car in Washington, D.C., to drive down for a visit. Davis made it Monday night, just in time. “A whole family of musicians has show up over the past two weeks, to hug him or hold his hand,” said Terry Anderson, Enloe’s lifelong friend and bandmate. “Guys who were really influenced by David. It’s been kinda refreshing to see how much he meant to people. Everybody loved him and how talented he was, how great his songs were, how fun he was to hang around. It’s been cathartic.” Enloe and Anderson were both born on Christmas Day 1956 in the same hospital in Southern Pines. They met over music, playing recorders in a fourth-grade class at Raleigh’s Powell Elementary. By high school, Enloe and Anderson were jamming together and wishing they had a bass player. By the late ‘70s, they had hooked up with bassist Jack Cornell to form the core of the Fabulous Knobs — one of the most dynamic bands in the Triangle, thanks to lead singer Debra DeMilo. Numerous younger musicians in town found Enloe and the Knobs inspirational. Jeff Hart remembered a version the Knobs did of Smokey Robinson’s 1981 hit “Being With You,” set to the tune from the Rolling Stones’ “Beast of Burden.” “He was definitely my guitar hero, the first guy I ever paid close attention to,” said Hart, leader of the Hanks and other local bands. “He was a very fluid guitar player, very sharp technically. Visually, he was just what you would imagine as a rock star — so cool in how he looked, dressed, played. I Know I wasn’t the only guitar player who bought a Telecaster because of him.” After the Fabulous Knobs dissolved in 1984, Enloe, Anderson and Cornell joined up with Dan Baird to form the Woodpeckers. Then Baird left to rejoin his old band, the Georgia Satellites, so the Woodpeckers continued on as the Woods. The Satellites had a hit single with a cover of the Anderson-penned Woodpeckers song “Battleship Chains” in 1987, the same year the Woods released their debut album, “It’s Like This.” But that would be the band’s only album. The Woods had some success as backup band for Marti Jones and Don Dixon (who both recorded Enloe songs for their albums). On their own, however, the band members had one frustrating record-label near-miss after another. The Woods finally called it quits in 1993, although they’ve continued playing together in other bands. Enloe lived for a time in Los Angeles and worked with blues-rock singer Sass Jordan. Then he lived in Minneapolis for six years with Trent, his third wife, who he first met 20 years earlier when she was tending bar at Cat’s Cradle. “I’ve known David forever, always had a crush on him,” Trent said. “Me and all the girls. That hair, you kiddin’ me? He was gorgeous! He was a Southerner through and through. We always called each other ‘Robbins’ and ‘Fuquay,’ because he was from Robbins and I’m from Fuquay-Varina. At the Bottom Line in New York one night, I was walking through in my cool black clothes with my hair messed up like we did in the ‘80s. And I hear from across the way, ‘Fuquay!’ ‘Oh my God, Robbins, you totally blew my cool!’” Unfortunately, Enloe had ongoing health issues. He never could stop drinking, even when his life depended on it. That led to his separation from Trent earlier this year. Enloe moved back to Raleigh in the spring, around the time his mother died. He was writing songs again and wanted to get another band going in Raleigh, but he fell ill before that could happen. “David was a classic, good-lookin’, hard-drinkin’, funny guy,” said Dixon. “But there was an underlying sadness, like a lot of funny guys. There was an unfulfilled something in there that you could feel. I think that’s what drove him not to take better care of himself.” Enloe’s death comes at a particularly trying time for Anderson, whose father is recovering from heart surgery. But Anderson’s annual birthday-party show is still set to happen Christmas night at the Pour House. Since that would have been Enloe’s 51st birthday, too, it’s sure to be an emotional night. “It will definitely be bittersweet,” said Cornell. “I really wish David could’ve made it to his birthday. Not that he could’ve been at the show, and he was so miserable at the end I wouldn’t wish more of that on him. But it would’ve been nice. It will be both happy and sad for us, especially Terry. But yeah, we’re gonna play.” Enloe’s survivors include two brothers, Mark and Steve Enloe. Funeral arrangements are still pending at Kennedy Funeral Home in Robbins.

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/beat/index.p...p;tb=1&pb=1 More on David Enloe If you ever find yourself stuck in a convalescent-type situation, pray that you have a friend as good as Terry Anderson. That's him on the right, in a long-ago picture with his rock/roll brother-in-arms David Enloe -- who passed away Tuesday from liver failure after being laid up for six weeks. Anderson and his other longtime bandmate, Jack Cornell, spent as much time as they could keeping Enloe company during that time. They also put out the call to friends and family to come hang out with him while they could. Wednesday's paper has a story recounting this, and also Enloe/Anderson/Cornell's shared past in Fabulous Knobs and The Woods. In the course of talking to people who knew Enloe, I got plenty of quotes I couldn't fit into the story. Click through to see further remembrances from various folks (including Don Dixon). "I almost hate to say this, but I always thought of the Woods and Knobs and all those bands as David's bands. Just like the perception of Cream was that it was Eric Clapton's band. David was just such a fine guitar player, so those bands seemed like his, through the prism of looking at his guitar expertise." -- Jeff Hart "I don't think any of those guys got what they deserved, but so few people do. That's not the exception. There are millions of talented people who don't ever quite get enough, but that's just the way it is. There are only a few slots and it takes a lot of luck. The other thing is, being famous or successful can be even worse -- he might've died sooner. Fame is horrible, a true killer, and very few people are suited to it. "He truly was a great guy, and he was GOOD. A really great player. And he was fun to be on tour with. With Marti (Jones) in Europe one time, he stole her 8mm movie camera and took a bunch of shots of boy's crotches in their underwear dancing around. 'You, uh, had a lot of fun on this tour, I see,' I told her when we got that film developed. You can't have enough of that on the road." -- Don Dixon "They had the triangle by the tail. Full-blown rock assault, with David, Keith, Jack and Terry jacking up the audience behind Debra Demilo's Jagger-ish swagger. They brought so many different musical influences to the table. Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Rolling Stones, Patsy Cline... Their shows were beer-drenched, sweaty tributes to rock and roll." -- Dick Hodgin "David's style was pretty wonderful. He did this thing where he used a pick and also his fingers to pull at the strings at the same time, like a banjo. So he had this cool percussive rhythmic thing that was really unique. When I first met David and Terry (Anderson), that's what struck me, the odd way he played... "The Woods played South By Southwest one year in what looked like a bombed-out building, this giant room, and we were big stars that night. 'Battleship Chains' was out and we launched into that right when the PA blew up. I remember the three of us screaming it unamplified, and the crowd screaming along with us. A memorably bizarre moment." -- Jack Cornell "David and I have been playing together ever since junior high. In high school, we jammed along and wished we had a bass player. We put an ad up when we got to college and Jack answered it -- although his handwriting was so bad we thought it said 'Jade Cordero.' But Jack knew Debra (DeMilo) and the four of us had it goin' on. We were a bit outrageous and could pass for punks. Debra would shove the mike down her pants and run around, do crazy stuff. But we were playing industrial-strength soul, like Aretha Franklin. Eventually we started writing our own songs and putting out our own records... "David was self-destructive, there was always a party around him. I've been looking through old pictures, and he's holding a beer in just about every one. After a while, it catches up with you. He tried to kill it, whatever it was, with alcohol and that just didn't work." -- Terry Anderson Comments, Pingbacks: Comment from: Marti Jones [Visitor] I still cannot get through a day without some sort of Woods reference coming out of my mouth. Touring with them was a privilege. I could barely sing at night because I laughed all day long. The combination of those three boys was just amazing. David's absence will be difficult. Big loss for all of us, but to Terry and Jack especially. The bond between longtime bandmates is like nothing else. Keep on playin', boys... We love you.

David Enloe, Jack Cornell & Tim Lee can be seen in this clip backing Marti Jones (aka Mrs. Don Dixon) on a cover of a song by NC's the db's: YouTube Description Marti Jones does a super-cover of the dB's "Neverland" from St. Louis in 1986. Check out Tim Lee's (of the Windbreakers) great guitar solo towards the end of the song (he's the one playing the light blue guitar).

I'm curious to know why so many at this site attribute the so-called "death of rock n' roll" to something that happened in the 80s. To my ears, it is one of the most musically vibrant decades on record.