I didn't realize a hologram was a cartoon.

Two clips featuring Chris Brown from Bull Moose Records in Portland, Oregon showing a few of the releases that will be available for sale this Saturday for Record Store Day.

Drive-By Truckers w/ Megafaun at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC this Thursday. I'm looking very forwarding to seeing two of my favorite bands on the same bill.

Folding Lava - Kilauea, Hawaii (from Imgur)

Great compilation of performances from The Old Grey Whistle Test from over the years including ZZ Top, Skynyrd, Elvin Bishop, Tony Joe White, Charlie Daniels, the Marshall Tucker Band, Delaney & Bonnie (with Eric Clapton), Dickey Betts and others. http://youtu.be/BVV1S3SxgHM

All Things Music Plus ON THIS DATE (38 YEARS AGO) April 15, 1974 – Lynyrd Skynyrd Second Helping is released. # ALL THINGS MUSIC PLUS+ 5/5 # allmusic 5/5 # Rolling Stone (see original review below) Second Helping is an album by Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on this date in 1974. It was the band's second album, and featured its biggest hit single, "Sweet Home Alabama", an answer song to Neil Young's "Alabama" and "Southern Man". The song reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in August 1974. This was the first Lynyrd Skynyrd album to feature the band's trademark triple guitar attack. The album reached #12 on the Billboard album charts. It was certified Gold on 9/20/1974, Platinum and 2x Platinum on 7/21/1987 by the R.I.A.A. It was hard to believe that Lynyrd Skynyrd could possibly top its classic, near-perfect 1973 debut, Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd. However, the boys from Florida accomplished the near-impossible with their sophomore release one year later, Second Helping. It's hard to determine the better album of the two, but both proved to be a solid one-two punch that made Lynyrd Skynyrd one of the '70s' biggest (and unfortunately, most tragic) rock bands. Second Helping also helped define and create the Southern rock movement, as proven by such tracks as the classic anthem "Sweet Home Alabama" (which include the now-famous dig at Neil Young), the cautionary rocker "The Needle & the Spoon," and the biographical tale of "Workin' For MCA." With its fine writing and playing, and scores of hard-hitting Southern rock riffs and grooves, Second Helping assured Skynyrd's ascendancy to rock stardom and FM radio immortality. ORIGINAL ROLLING STONE REVIEW This group is frequently compared to the Allman Brothers but it lacks that band's sophistication and professionalism. If a song doesn't feel right to the Brothers, they work on it until it does; if it isn't right to Lynyrd Skynyrd, they are more likely to crank up their amps and blast their way through the bottleneck. They do, however, play a solid brand of Allman-influenced blues rock, drawing on gospel and other components of southern music as well. Second Helping is distinguished from their debut LP only by a certain mellowing out that indicates they may eventually acquire a level of savoirfaire to realize their many capabilities. ~ Gordon Fletcher (July 4, 1974) TRACKS: Side One "Sweet Home Alabama" (King, Rossington, R. Van Zant) – 4:43 "I Need You" (Ed King, Rossington, R. Van Zant) – 6:55 "Don't Ask Me No Questions" (Rossington, Van Zant) – 3:26 "Workin' for MCA" (Ed King, Ronnie Van Zant) – 4:49 Side Two "The Ballad of Curtis Loew" (Allen Collins, Ronnie Van Zant) – 4:51 "Swamp Music" (Ed King, Ronnie Van Zant) – 3:31 "The Needle and the Spoon" (Collins, Van Zant) – 3:53 "Call Me the Breeze" (J. J. Cale) – 5:09 1997 CD reissue bonus tracks "Don't Ask Me No Questions (Single Version)" (Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant) – 3:31 "Was I Right Or Wrong (Demo)" (Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant) – 5:33 "Take Your Time (Demo)" (Ronnie Van Zant, Ed King) – 7:29

Has this person responded to a single reply in any of the threads they've created yet? If not, I get the distinct impression they're just spamming the board.

Thank you.

Great article about photographer Jim Cummins from The New York Times. To read it, click here.

Taken somewhere in Scotland (from Imgur)

Every time I see this thread title I think of the Tex-Mex supergroup the Texas Tornadoes that included Doug Sahm, Freddy Fender, Flaco Jiménez and Augie Meyers.

For those that may have missed it, here's a link to an interview and live performance from Sound Opinions that aired earlier today.

Thanks for posting, I wish we could watch that here in the U.S. I was just noticing the Mike Mills quote where he says Skynyrd "didn’t care about making a better world, they just wanted to party”. I know that in his pre-R.E.M. days Mills and drummer Bill Berry played in a number of Southern Rock bands out of Macon, GA so it would seem like he would be aware of their lyrics about gun control ("Saturday Night Special") and that they actively campaigned for Jimmy Carter back in the 70s by playing several benefit concerts with the Allmans, the Marshall Tucker Band and the Charlie Daniels Band. I've also seen footage of a very early version of Lynyrd Skynyrd where they're playing an Earth Day concert in Jacksonville, FL. I know their reputation was that of a party band but they also had other interests which were reflected not just in their songs but also in their actions. In their last days it's also a very well known fact that they had sobered up. I remember reading a quote from Ronnie Van Zant circa the Tour of the Survivors where he said, "this is the first time I've seen our audience in seven years".

Thanks for posting. When I first saw this earlier this week you had to have a subscription (or sign up for one) to read the article. Now, you don't.

It's actually been posted in the Led Zeppelin or Related on YouTube thread before but at 76 pages that would be more than a bit cumbersome to have to sift through to find the clip. As for posting in the proper place, since the interview was conducted in 1975, I'm pretty sure Plant was still in Led Zeppelin at the time.

Very cool of the Shakes to take their fellow Alabamians, Lee Bains III and the Glory Fires out on the road with them on their current tour. For those that aren't familiar with Lee, he is also in a band called The Dexateens. Matt Patton from that band is presently filling the bass spot on the current Drive-By Truckers tour. Looks like Alabama could be primed to be the next musical hotspot (again).

You're not the only one. I was a mere 20 years old when this one came out... All Things Music Plus ON THIS DATE (29 YEARS AGO) April 13, 1983 – R.E.M. Murmur is released. # ALL THINGS MUSIC PLUS+ 4.5/5 # allmusic 5/5 Murmur is the debut album by R.E.M., released on this date in 1983 on I.R.S. Records. The record reached number 36 on the Billboard album chart. A re-recorded version of "Radio Free Europe" was the album's lead single and reached number 78 on the Billboard singles chart that year. Despite the acclaim awarded the album, by the end of 1983 Murmur had only sold about 200,000 copies, which I.R.S.'s Jay Boberg felt was below expectations. Murmur was eventually certified gold (500,000 units shipped) by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1991. In 1989, it was rated number eight on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s. In 2003, the TV network VH1 named Murmur the 92nd greatest album of all time. Murmur drew critical acclaim upon its release for its sound, defined by singer Michael Stipe's cryptic lyrics, guitarist Peter Buck's jangly guitar style, and bassist Mike Mills' melodic basslines. R.E.M. started recording its debut album in December 1982. I.R.S. paired R.E.M. with producer Stephen Hague, who had a higher profile than the band's previous producer Mitch Easter. Hague's emphasis on technical perfection did not suit the band; the producer made the group perform multiple takes of the song "Catapult", which demoralized drummer Bill Berry. Also, Hague took the completed track to Synchro Sound studios in Boston and added keyboard parts to the track without the band's permission and to their dismay. Unsatisfied, the band members asked the label to let them record with Easter. I.R.S. agreed to a "tryout" session, allowing the band to travel to North Carolina and record the song "Pilgrimage" with Easter and producing partner Don Dixon. After hearing the track, I.R.S. permitted the group to record the album with Dixon and Easter. R.E.M. entered Reflection Studios in Charlotte, North Carolina in January 1983 to begin recording sessions with Easter and Dixon. Much of the band's material for the album had been tested on preceding tours. Because of its bad experience with Hague, the band recorded the album via a process of negation, refusing to incorporate rock music clichés such as guitar solos or then-popular synthesizers, in order to give its music a timeless feel. Berry in particular was resistant to "odd" musical suggestions, insisting that his drums be recorded in a drummer's booth, a practice that was antiquated at the time. Dixon and Easter took a hands-off approach to much of the recording process. The pair would only fix up a vocal track or ask singer Michael Stipe to re-record a vocal if it was very substandard REVIEW by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, allmusic Leaving behind the garagey jangle pop of their first recordings, R.E.M. developed a strangely subdued variation of their trademark sound for their full-length debut album, Murmur. Heightening the enigmatic tendencies of Chronic Town by de-emphasizing the backbeat and accentuating the ambience of the ringing guitar, R.E.M. created a distinctive sound for the album -- one that sounds eerily timeless. Even though it is firmly in the tradition of American folk-rock, post-punk, and garage rock, Murmur sounds as if it appeared out of nowhere, without any ties to the past, present, or future. Part of the distinctiveness lies in the atmospheric production, which exudes a detached sense of mystery, but it also comes from the remarkably accomplished songwriting. The songs on Murmur sound as if they've existed forever, yet they subvert folk and pop conventions by taking unpredictable twists and turns into melodic, evocative territory, whether it's the measured riffs of "Pilgrimage," the melancholic "Talk About the Passion," or the winding guitars and pianos of "Perfect Circle." R.E.M. may have made albums as good as Murmur in the years following its release, but they never again made anything that sounded quite like it. [As far as deluxe editions go, Universal's 2008 expansion of R.E.M.'s 1983 debut Murmur leans toward the skimpy: it may spill over to two CDs, but the only bonus material is a live show recorded at Larry's Hideway in Toronto, just three months after the album's release. There was enough room on the first disc to add both the early Hib-Tone single of "Radio Free Europe" and their first EP, Chronic Town, plus assorted stray tracks; much of this material has shown up on various releases over the years -- the bulk being reissued on 1987's clearinghouse Dead Letter Office, which also had Chronic Town on the CD, but the Hib-Tone single has popped up on Eponymous and the rarities disc, 2006's And I Feel Fine -- so most R.E.M. fans have this in their collection, which is necessary as it's not here. Any lingering resentment over this missing music should be soothed by the live show on the second disc, which captures the band in full flight. This release constitutes the first official release of an early R.E.M. concert (there are bootlegs containing a slightly longer set but this is close enough to qualify as a full show) and it's a welcome addition to their catalog as it crackles with an energy that is missing from the hazy, ethereal Murmur. R.E.M. barrel through the bulk of the album -- only "Moral Kiosk" and "Shaking Through" are absent -- plus a chunk of Chronic Town, throwing in a cover of "There She Goes Again" and early versions of Reckoning's "Harborcoat," "7 Chinese Bros.," and "Just a Touch," which didn't surface until 1986's Lifes Rich Pageant. This wasn't a showcase night for R.E.M., it was just another gig on the tour, and that's the great thing about it: the band isn't self-conscious, they're just tearing through their songs, rocking harder than they did on any of their studio albums. It's direct and a little raw -- with microphone feedback on occasion -- in a way that none of their early albums are, and that's what makes it worthy of a special edition, even if it's hard not to wish that first disc had just a few extra cuts as well. TRACKS: All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe, except where noted Side one "Radio Free Europe" – 4:06 "Pilgrimage" – 4:30 "Laughing" – 3:57 "Talk About the Passion" – 3:23 "Moral Kiosk" – 3:31 "Perfect Circle" – 3:29 Side two "Catapult" – 3:55 "Sitting Still" – 3:17 "9-9" – 3:03 "Shaking Through" – 4:30 "We Walk" – 3:02 "West of the Fields" (Berry, Buck, Mills, Stipe, and Neil Bogan) – 3:17 1992 The IRS Vintage Years edition bonus tracks "There She Goes Again" (Lou Reed) – 2:48 "9-9" (Live in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, July 13, 1984) – 3:04 "Gardening at Night" (Live in Boston) – 3:47 "Catapult" (Live in Seattle, Washington, United States, June 27, 1984) – 4:03 2008 Deluxe Edition bonus disc (Live at Larry's Hideaway) "Laughing" – 3:51 "Pilgrimage" – 4:08 "There She Goes Again" (Reed) – 2:43 "Seven Chinese Brothers" – 4:15 "Talk About the Passion" – 3:02 "Sitting Still" – 4:11 "Harborcoat" – 3:45 "Catapult" – 3:51 "Gardening at Night" – 3:33 "9-9" – 3:16 "Just a Touch" – 2:27 "West of the Fields" (Berry, Buck, Mills, Stipe, and Bogan) – 3:06 "Radio Free Europe" – 4:57 "We Walk" – 2:55 "1,000,000" – 3:05 "Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars)" – 3:58

Looks like Rod has dropped out as well. Rod Stewart Too Sick to Attend Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction

Just heard about this guy earlier this week when some of my friends caught his show at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC. In fact, they're still raving about it. It's pretty easy to hear why...

I heard this fella put on a hell of a show the other night at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC. Hate I missed it... http://youtu.be/c8jCu-PHGEQ

Mad Magazine is still around of course but this clip about their collection of Fold-In's is still worth a look see.