How Can There Be So Many Currents In Such A Little Puddle?

I feel the title for today's blog is pretty fitting. Over the past week, we've seen and read, good news, not so good news, and downright ugly news... never mind the wave of new music that was promised for the Spring. On that note, let's stop the lally-gagging and get right to it.

Arcade Fire and their latest release Suburbs won big... no make that REALLY big at Canada's Juno Awards ceremony Saturday night (3/26) in Toronto. The scooped up kudos for Best Album of the Year, Group Of The Year, Best Alternative Album Of The Year, and Songwriter Of The Year. Congrats, guys!

Mark your calendar for this next one - April 16th or more commonly known as Record Store Day. To honor this occasion, the Beastie Boys, Beck, Bat for Lashes, Jack White, as well as other artists will all release 7-inch vinyl singles. The Beasties' will be submitting the track, "Make Some Noise", which is from the trio's long-awaited album Hot Sauce Committee Pt 2.

I hit on this release last week - and for good reason. Songs For Japan can be found on iTunes for only $9.99 and it contains 38 songs all done by well known artists. Regardless that it's quite the mix of genre's, the cool thing is that all - and we mean all - the money goes to Japan for earthquake relief efforts. Click here for more details and the complete song / artist list.

Moving onward or in this case downward, Lou Reed's manager Tom Sarig was arrested following allegations he threatened to kill a consultant over a financial dispute. Sarig was charged with aggravated harassment after making threats to a consultant who sought back payment of $11,500 for helping Reed find a personal assistant. Guys, guys, guys... I hate to say it, but that's what contracts and lawyers are for. Jeez...

If that wasn't bad enough, it seems that the SWSX festival had numerous problems this year and was a miracle that the whole thing didn't go down in flames. Rumor has it, that several groups were dropped from the roster, which did wonders for relations... not! But adding insult to injury (no pun intended here) was Ben "Weasel" Foster, frontman for the Screeching Weasels. According to reports (and the cell phone video posted on You Tube), he had a meltdown on stage during the bands gig on March 18th. Apparently, Foster railed against the media and even punched two female fans, one of whom allegedly threw ice in his face. As a result, Foster's backing band has called it quits, calling his actions "shameful", "embarrassing", and "...does not represent the band members' view points or moral compasses", according to a statement in Punk News. Foster also released a statement prior to that apologizing for the incident and his behavior.

Finally, let's wrap things up by taking a look at some upcoming releases that really look promising... and that's a good thing;
- The Kills "Blood Pressures" due out on April 5th - A band named the Kills is probably not going to be especially shy or demure, but still: Few groups these days make as good on the rawness and romance embedded deep within rock'n'roll.
- The Ravonettes "Rave In The Grave" due out on April 5th - There's reverb and then there's the jacked up, thick as hell, reverb that makes up this band.
- Foo Fighters "Wasted Light" due out April 12th - this band gets better every year. This album is no exception. It's not even officially out yet, but is getting rave reviews.
- Gorillaz "The Fall" due out April 19th - There are very few cartoon bands that have ever counted as bands first and cartoons second, but one of more impressive aspects of Gorillaz is you don't necessarily have to choose. What makes this release more important is the fact that it's more than the result of what Damon Albarn says was "just me and an iPad really mucking about."
- My Morning Jacket "Circuital" due out May 31st - This band has changed A LOT since their inception 10 years ago by going well beyond golden southern rock and into a different realm where such a time-tested sound is refracted into the future.

That's about the time I have for now. Thanks again for all the support and patience with our recent upgrades so we can make the station that much better. Keep the comments, suggestions and emails coming... it is appreciated!

Peace out,
Dave