From what I understand, there are digital files available now with a higher bit rate which exceed the sound quality of vinyl. For instance, the deluxe edition of Steve Earle's last album, I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive came with a DVD that gives you access to those files. More and more artists are doing this but not enough to make it the industry standard (which it should be). The casual music consumer could care less about sound quality, that's why mp3's are the dominant format. One thing Page could do would be to include a download code card with the vinyl that gives fans access to files in a variety of formats from mp3's to the high bit-rate files I previously mentioned. More and more artists who release albums on vinyl are doing this as well but I'm guessing Page is trying to combat piracy by making it a bit more difficult to share by releasing this album (and the Death Wish II soundtrack) on vinyl only. Like I said, I'm sure someone will rip it to mp3 but still, I like the message he's sending. More and more artists should do vinyl only releases.

Vinyl can also be ripped to a digital format. I'm glad to see him doing this myself. It's like a huge fuck you to downloads. I'm behind that 100%. By the way, I don't find downloads (or downloading) to be all that bad, especially if they're made available as high resolution (lossless) files. It's the proliferation of mp3's only that I'm not in favor of. Peter Buck of R.E.M. also has plans to release an album on vinyl only. I'm sure fans will find a way to pass the vinyl rip around the same way folks have with the Death Wish II soundtrack. I'm sure the same will hold true of Lucifer Rising. Just be thankful that he's not releasing it on reel-to-reel (as the Shins have done with their latest album), 8-track (as Cheap Trick did with The Latest) or cassette as several bands too numerous to mention have been doing recently. If this causes even one fan to have to invest in a turntable Page will have accomplished a very outstanding deed. The resurgence of vinyl has been happening for a reason. Or, as Shelby Lynne has been quoted as saying, "you can't roll a joint on an iPod".

I'd rather see him release stuff on vinyl (old or new) than as downloads on his website, especially if those downloads were mp3's only.

In honor of Jerry Jeff Walker who turns 70 today.

Rolling Stones Announce Career-Spanning Documentary All-Star Roster Honors the Rolling Stones at Carnegie Hall Charity Show

I'm just glad it's all a memory now. I grew up in eastern NC so it wasn't like it was a way of life I wasn't used to but I am so glad I don't live there anymore. BTW, in case you're interested in checking it out, here's a link that covers Kerouac's ties to the area.

Cletus Spuckler

Thanks for posting this. I haven't seen it in a while but I've always enjoyed Folkways on WUNC. This particular segment was shot in Tarboro, NC where I lived for a while (about one year too long). It's not a bad place or anything, just not a whole lot goes on there so I could see where it might give someone the blues. Part of my survival technique was taking solace in the fact that when Jack Kerouac lived in nearby Rocky Mount, he would disappear into the woods for long periods of time only to emerge with another book. I remember watching this piece when I was living in Tarboro and getting a huge kick out of Higgs' comment about Speed, NC being "a slow town with a fast name".

Currently celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of his debut record, Marshall Crenshaw and band on Letterman circa '82:

There's lots of great artists on tour these days but not all of them are playing arenas and stadiums. Just because a particular artist is popular on the club or theatre circuit doesn't mean they aren't worthy of attention. I've seen my fair share of large shows and they have their place but I've come to prefer the intimacy of the smaller venues. Ticket costs are far less exorbitant (as are refreshments), plus you get to see some of your favorite performers up close and personal. You're just not going to get that kind of experience at the enormodomes. Meanwhile, a couple of nights ago in Manchester, NH.... The incident above reminds me of my first Van Halen concert at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, NC back in '79 when Dave called out someone who threw a stack of NCSU cups at the stage, which ended up hitting Dave in the head. He threatened to drag the "motherfucker" up there and whip his ass as well as stating very clearly that if the cup throwing continued, Van Halen would stop performing. Thankfully, no one else threw any more cups at the stage after that.

Perhaps you missed the opening line of the article which very clearly states that it's "Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin". Here's a link to the article.

Read the article here. The article also links to an interview with Scott McCaughey (the source of the Buck solo album news) who reveals plans for the release of a new Young Fresh Fellows album. In other Peter Buck news, he and his former R.E.M. bandmate Mike Mills will be performing in Austin this week during SXSW as part of the tribute to Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers album. In addition to that, they'll also be part of Alejandro Escovedo's backing band during his performance at the Continental Club which unofficially closes out SXSW on Sunday. More info on that here.

Tim Easton has a great song that touches on this very topic called "Jesus, Protect Me From Your Followers".

From what I understand, it is. According to this Wiki entry (which someone here was kind enough to point out to me recently), apparently Kerouac wanted to make a film out of it as far back as '57. That was news to me. I hope the filmmakers do it justice as well, making a movie out of On the Road is a lot to live up to.

I would definitely consider Pure Prairie League to be "alt.country", it was just before someone came up with that name. I guess in those days they were referred to as "country-rock", definitely a predecessor to alt.country.

Here's the trailer: http://youtu.be/N9vsE0llyBM

Aerosmith: Livin' On the Edge (from 60 Minutes)

Even though I'm not a fan of some of them, I wouldn't call any of those bands "losers" myself. Sure, I'm tired of Classic Rock radio but just because some programmer thinks it's a good idea to play "Free Bird", "Stairway To Heaven" and "Smoke On the Water" 9000 times a day, it doesn't mean I think any less of those bands. When my local rock station quit playing new music sometime in the early to mid-90s I pretty much gave up on local radio. However, it wasn't until sometime around 2004 that I began subscribing to XM. Unfortunately they have started to water down channels like Deep Tracks in order to reach more listeners. Someone forgot that the reason most of us subscribed in the first place was to have an alternative to Classic Rock radio. Now they have Jim Ladd playing the same shit that drove me away from terrestrial radio to start with. Considering Ladd is lauded as an icon of album radio it seems like he would bring more to the table than the same shit any of us can hear on Classic Rock radio 24/7. Perhaps he didn't get the memo.

Ryan Adams: Losering, A Story of Whiskeytown a new book written by David Menconi, music writer for the Raleigh, NC News and Observer is due for publication on September 5th. For many years, whether it was in the N & O or in the pages of magazines such as No Depression, I always thought Menconi did an outstanding job of chronicling the life of Ryan Adams so I'm looking very forward to reading his book. I know next to nothing about it aside from the title and the day it's coming out so I have no idea of how much (if any) input Ryan himself had in the writing of it.

According to the Dylan fan site BobDylanIsis.com, Dylan's at work on a new record. New Dylan Album In The Works