Van Halen Sign to Interscope Records Contrary to reports, they will not be performing at the Grammy Nominations Concert

R.E.M. on their legacy (CNN) Michael Stipe: Why R.E.M. called it a day In a Salon exclusive, the R.E.M. singer explains the iconic band's ending and reflects on a near-peerless legacy

The Rolling Stones: that 50-year itch… As the Rolling Stones' pivotal 1978 album Some Girls is reissued, Messrs Jagger, Richards, Wood and Watts talk about sex, drugs and survival – and the chance of a celebration tour

I'm posting both covers because as you can tell from the one on the left, it advertises it as a comedy with quotes such as "Laugh out loud funny..." and "Violently funny" despite the fact that Lymelife is anything but a comedy. So much for truth in advertising. That's not to say I was let down by the movie because I wasn't, I just went in expecting a comedy (plus it was filed under Comedy at Blockbuster) and got a drama instead. There's nothing all that out of the ordinary here as it's a pretty typical coming of age story set in the 70s but there's more than a few twists and turns along the way to draw you in.

Yesterday was also the 14th anniversary of the release of BBC Sessions. For some reason, I can no longer cut and paste text here (only a sentence or two at a time) but here's a link to a nice write up on BBC Sessions from the All Things Music Plus page on Facebook.

In honor of Neil Young's 66th birthday today:

Thanks for the Wild Flag review, good stuff. Last night I saw Megafaun with Bowerbirds at Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw, NC. It's on old saw mill that sits on the banks of the Haw River (surprise, surprise). It's also probably just become my favorite venue in the area. Here's a clip of last night's encore: The Haw River Ballroom sits out in the middle of nowhere in the small town of Saxapahaw. It's about an hour drive from Raleigh but the remoteness of it was also a huge part of the appeal.

I loved this movie but find it hard to believe I'd never even heard of it until just recently. It's a bit of an emotional roller coaster but if you've never seen it, don't let that stop you from watching it. I have no problem saying it's amongst the best movies I have ever seen.

Megafaun w/ Bowerbirds at the Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw, NC tomorrow night. This is a new venue located way out in the country that has only hosted a few live events so far including Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Gillian Welch and the Love Language. I'm not exactly looking forward to the drive but I'm most definitely looking forward to the music and to checking out the venue.

Rolling Stones Plan London Jam Session

You're right, thanks for providing the correct one.

Stipe & Mills do an interview on Norwegian television.

I bought this back when it first came out (which has been quite some time ago) so I'm not sure if it's even still available on newsstands anywhere. Though it could probably be ordered directly from Mojo.

To give R.E.M.'s Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: 1982–2011 a spin (including the three previously unreleased songs) courtesy of NPR's First Listen series, click on the album cover below:

Hit a couple vinyl/CD shows in Raleigh and Carrboro today. Still no sign of a copy of a first pressing of R.E.M.'s "Radio Free Europe" 45 but I did finally track down something I've been looking for for a long time, David Lindley's Mr. Dave (his solo debut) on CD. Aside from the double sets (the Meters, the Neville Brothers, Bob Marley & the Wailers), I found most of the rest of these for around $2-3 a piece. The Cars' double CD collection was $5.

From the All Things Music page on Facebook: ON THIS DATE (41 YEARS AGO) November 5, 1970 - Led Zeppelin: “Immigrant Song” b/w "Hey Hey What Can I Do" (Atlantic 45-2777) 45 single is released. "Immigrant Song" is a song by Led Zeppelin, released as a single from their third album, Led Zeppelin III, on this date in 1970. "Immigrant Song" was written during Led Zeppelin's tour of Iceland, Bath and Germany in mid-1970. The opening date of this tour took place in Reykjavík, Iceland, which inspired Plant to write the song. As he explained: “We weren't being pompous ... We did come from the land of the ice and snow. We were guests of the Icelandic government on a cultural mission. We were invited to play a concert in Reykjavik and the day before we arrived all the civil servants went on strike and the gig was going to be cancelled. The university prepared a concert hall for us and it was phenomenal. The response from the kids was remarkable and we had a great time. 'Immigrant Song' was about that trip and it was the opening track on the album that was intended to be incredibly different.“ Just six days after Led Zeppelin's appearance in Reykjavik, the band performed the song for the first time on stage during the Bath Festival.

This movie is of the "you either love it or you hate it" variety, at least judging from the reviews for it at Amazon, most of which either give it one star or 5 stars with very few people taking the middle ground. Although I felt it had some shortcomings, I'd put myself into the love it category. If you are looking for summer blockbuster fare, you will not find it with The Tree of Life. This movie is very slow moving, it's long (139 minutes), has very little dialogue and no discernable plot. On the upside, it's those very factors that allow you to make up your own mind about what the movie is about. I found several aspects of it to be very profound and quite moving, the sort of film that will stay with me long after I've finished watching it. If any of these things pique your interest, I suggest having a look at the trailer: