What Are You & Who Are You Doing? David Bowie, Live Lou Reed & More!

     I've always liked that line - it's a demented twist on the old cop show / movie question. As humorous as it may be, it sometimes seems appropriate (in an odd way... very odd) in the grand scheme of things. I'll respond to this in two parts; the latter statement first because that one is easy - it's none of your dang business. With that out of the way, I'll answer it from the blog / radio station's point of view. They are doing (and thus being) themselves. The station nor the blog is an imitation of anything else out there. It was never meant to be. It's going to exist and evolve in it's own way, in it's own time. I always like to hear comments or feedback about the two entities, but it doesn't mean changes will be made just because someone loves it or hates it.

     The "what are you" portion is an extension of that last thought and statement. I started 360 Degrees of Alternative because there wasn't anything out there like this. I have my own views of what "alternative music" is. I'm sure you do as well. If those planes mesh, then great. If not quite completely, that's still okay. We can still have the love for this genre of music and still agree to disagree. Bottom line - hopefully we all learn from each other, evolve in a positive way and can all co-exist peacefully. 

     I'm going to steal another old cliche here; is it me or has there been a lot of press and general hoopla with the timing of David Bowie's return to the music scene? I'll admit - with some of the latest PR pics floating around the internet lately, the first thing I noticed is that he looks... well... old. Yeah, the guy is 66 years old, but for the longest time he seemed to have had this Dick Clark anti-aging thing going on. Be that as it may, the BBC has agreed to air a documentary on his life, primarily focusing on certain years, namely 1971, 1975, 1977, 1980 and 1983. I think these time frames have a lot to do with how Bowie changed musically during those times. Another question that popped into my head was - where is the Ziggy Stardust years? It's quite possible that once Bowie "killed" that character, (which he has described in the past as quite egotistical and dangerous), that he wanted it buried for good. I can remember seeing him back in 1983 on his "Serious Moonlight" tour - he performed zero songs from that brief era. In any event, it should be an interesting documentary and I wish him all the best with his upcoming release "The Next Day".

     Since we're discussing icons in the alternative music world, I'm going to leave you with another video clip of one of rock's greatest artists - and not just in the punk / alternative world. Some even pose the question, without Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, would there be rock n roll as we know it today? I can't answer that, but I do agree that without Reed and company, who literally threw everything out the window when it came to conventional rock and roll - at a time when society was starting to throw conventionalism out as we knew it. In 1966, when the Beatles were singing "Yesterday", the VU was singing about heroin. This may seem like no big thing today, but 45+ years ago, it was cosmos moving! This clip is a more modern Lou Reed jamming out the classic "Sweet Jane". Enjoy!

     Until next time - peace out.

We're Back! Time To Flog The Blog!

     I'm trying to come to terms with a contradiction in Internet terms if you will - it's been over a year since my last blog entry; yet the 50+ blogs that we've shared have over 18,000 views. I'm in awe, both in a slightly negative as well as in a positive way. It's possible I've under estimated myself - just like many people under estimated punk back in the 70's (as far as influences go) as well as when grunge in the very early 90's wearing it's ripped jeans, ugly sneakers, and faded flannel shirts.

     I'm not going to get on some bullshit ego trip here, but as the saying goes, "looking back in hindsight is always 20/20", but as Dave Mustaine of Megadeath adds, "...and it's usually still a bit fuzzy". My current hindsight is that I should have kept going with the blog, regardless of what came onto my plate. Writing for me is actually a decent form of stress relief and I enjoy doing it. It has become obvious to me that other people like what I write about, or like my writing style, or something... who knows. But between the battle of royalty costs for the songs I play on 360 Degrees of Alternative to some personal issues that took me out of the game for about 6-8 months, the blog inadvertently took a back seat... and then got parked for way too long. For that, my friends, you have my sincerest apologies.

     However, positive changes have been made, progress is being seen, and we are moving forward once again. Please ignore the squeaks and rattles as we work out some of the kinks, but I am 110% confident that we'll get there - and in even better fashion.

     So - were just over 6 weeks into 2013 and where are we? Today being Valentine's Day, I was cruising through Rolling Stone's website and their home page story was about the 10 nastiest rock band breakup's in history. 360 Degrees plays 6 out of those 10 bands - in a way it doesn't really surprise me - but in another way, it bums me out. We're all human beings, we all have negative emotions, egos, and all that other fun shit we could really live without. There's also other killers like success - many bands like The Clash just couldn't handle it - as well as drug problems which put the final nail in the coffin for Smashing Pumpkins. But what hits home is some of the petty junk some of these bands experienced, sometimes at the hands of one or two people. If they could just get over themselves, things could have been much different. Case in point, The Pixies. This was a band who primarily rocked out in the mid to late 80's and were way ahead of their time. I'm a pretty big fan of this group. I admire front-man Black Francis and his artistic abilities. It's too bad he just couldn't get his head out of his ass. If he did, the band could have been huge. I had a chance to meet him in the late 90's and he was still bitter about Pixies fans loving bassist Kim Deal.

     Just a quick note here - I'm glad the Grammy's experienced their 2nd largest TV viewing ever. But a word to the media, whether it's print, web based, radio, whatever. It's over... move on. I'm tired of hearing if Jack White swore during the ceremonies or not.

     Another quick note - yes, we are aware that Fall Out Boy, Silversun Pickups, and Radiohead have either completed a new CD or are working on one. We are also aware that Oprah landed an interview with Beyonce, that Justin Bieber fans are all pissed off (Twitter it if you must), and Nicki Minaj is the new judge on American Idol. Guess what - aside from the 1st sentence, we can honestly say we truly don't care. Hate us if you want. Whatever.

      One more quick note - I promise. Did you hear about Beck's remake of the David Bowie classic "Sound and Vision"? From what I've seen & read, it's nine minutes of pure wow. To give you some idea of this, Beck did the tune with a 157 piece orchestra. He also had it filmed with 360 degree cameras and microphones. It gives new meaning to the term "being there". However, the best thing that came out of all this was beck's comment about the entire project - "...it was an experiment and an opportunity to try something completely irrational". Words to live by, people.

     I'm going to leave you with a taste of one of the new features that will become a regular part of the blog. I'm still sorting it out, but it's definitely coming together. Alternative on video.
This aspect has two goals - one is to make the blog more interactive. The second is to bring you cool stuff you've probably never seen before. This entry's piece of anti-high def is an old video of The Kingsmen doing their immortal song "Louie, Louie". Whether you agree with me or not, I consider that hit ground zero of alternative music. Why? Because it is distorted garage rock at it's primal infancy. The tune itself was three basic chords. No one could understand the lyrics. The song was inflamed in controversy and it pissed off parents nationwide. Alright, the band members were clean cut, but hey - we gotta start somewhere. This particular vid is a live broadcast from the TV show "Shindig". And guess what - you can actually understand the lyrics! Wonder never cease. Just click here to watch.

     Until next time, peace out & keep listening.

The Long Road Back, What October 2011 Might Be Famous For, and More!

How long is 5 months? You might say, "Well.. it's 5 months... duh". Or you could be sarcastic and say it's approximately 152 days (going from June to October), or 3,648 hours, or 218,880 minutes... and then we'd smack you upside your head. It can be a short period of time (like in the case of summer where it truly flies by), or a long, dragged out period where it seems the current situation never ends. Thus is the case of certain aspects of 360 Degrees of Alternative.

You may (or may not, but most of you did), noticed that the station was "not available to all listeners" on our host site Live365.com. This is because, for the last few months, we have been a VIP membership only station. Are we giving the middle finger to any and all non-paying listeners? Hardly. The music industry did that for us. Allow me to explain.

When I originally set up this station almost 2 years ago, I made it so anyone - paying or not - could listen along. If you were a non-paying listener, you just had to stomach some occasional commercials. To offer this service, I pay royalty fees on all the songs I play. Back then, they were very nominal, so it was no big deal. Everything was pretty hunky-dory until last May. At that time, the music industry announced that royalty fees would be increased through such services because profits are way down. At first, I didn't think too much of it, because I've heard this crap before. At worst, I thought, the fees would increase a little... and I mean very little. Well, they did... sort of.

When you think of an increase of 3 cents, many times you wouldn't bat an eyelash. However, when you add multiplication to the equation, that's when things got dicey. My royalties went up 3 cents per song... per month. I currently have over 4,200 songs in the stations current playlist. You can do the math. Needless to say, my monthly expenses to operate the station skyrocketed overnight. We didn't want to cut the station off at the gonads, so we went "private" for a while until we could sort things out. It looks like they're may be a light at the end of the tunnel.

We are hoping by January 1st 2012, we will return to the "all type of listener" access. We will once again be free-form or free-based, or whatever you want to call it. We still have listeners adding us as their favorites and the support emails are still being received. And for this, we thank you.

The blog has been no exception. It has been truly absent over the past 5 months. Between my regular job, working with the station, and a few other distractions this summer (including the process of finding new digs), the blog really took a back seat. Check that... more like moved to the trunk... and stuffed in a suitcase. Well, let's unpack and air it out!


The 2nd tag line is in reference to the people and events that have passed on this month. I was talking with a friend of mine and he mentioned that October is a rite of passage of sorts from summer to winter where many things in nature die... but this month, so far, is getting ridiculous.

By now, everyone is aware of the passing of Steve Jobs who helped revolutionized how we listen to music, work with computers, enjoyed movies, you name it. He will be missed. It's also old news that R.E.M. is done after 31 years. The latest issue of Rolling Stone has a big interview on this, so you can check out all the dirt there. I must admit, the band was spot on by saying, "... we don't hate each other, we haven't run out on creativity, we're just... done." It reminds me of what Johnny Rotten, former front man for the Sex Pistols once said in an interview; "We knew (the Pistols) were done. So we just stopped. It's the easiest thing in the world. People won't understand, and that's their problem. If you don't want to be a rock star anymore, just stop being one."

I was also glancing at some music news that took place over the past week. This seems to be the month for ending things in one form or another;
- Jani Lane, the current lead singer of Warrant dies of alcohol poisoning.
- RCA announces it will pull the plug on Arista, Jive & J Records.
- Ex Weezer bassist Mickey Welsh died in a Chicago hotel room.
- The Academy Is... calls it quits after 9 years & 3 albums.
- The Monkees cancel the remainder of their 45th anniversary tour.

... and this is just in the past few days! Jeez!!


However, there were also some highlights -
- My Chemical Romance's guitarist Frank Iero designs a guitar that will be sold for charity.
- Smashing Pumpkins finally kick off their tour in L.A. - and kick ass.
- Red Hot Chili Peppers will headline for MTV's Europe Music Awards.
- Jane's Addiction rocks late night TV

... and this was just in the past few days! Cool!!


That's about it for now. We'll keep you posted with more updates when we get closer to our target date. Until then, keep listening & thanks again for the support. We'll still be here for you!

Peace out,
Dave

What's Old Is New Again... and Vis-Versa!

Some very interesting tidbits came down the alternative pike lately, so if you haven't heard some of the dish, pull up a chair & get ready for the musical buffet! First off, if you haven't had a chance to check out 360 Degrees of Alternative lately, you should give us a serious listen. We've added even more songs from the 60's to today... and I mean literally today. We're talking classics to cutting edge to the top hits on the Alternative Rock charts. It's all here!

OK, I can hear you chomping at the bit... what's up with the title. Well, first off, The Cure played last Tuesday night at Australia's Sydney Opera House as part of the Vivid Festival - and it brought out its most passionate fans. Rumor has it that one couple paid $3000 apiece for front-row seats. We're also talking teased hair, grown-up Goths in black clothes everywhere, the works... and these people were in their 40's and 50's. The Cure did an epic performance of its first three albums -- Three Imaginary Boys, Seventeen Seconds and Faith -- Reports stated it was the best kind of (Addams) family reunion... at 2000-people strong. Seriously though, it was noted as a "triumphant, three-and-a-half-hour set that was tight, efficient and high on nostalgia without lingering on what once was".

This just in - According to Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day are writing music for their 21st Century Breakdown follow-up, and they've already laid down a "ton" of new songs. "The direction is fresh and hi energy," Armstrong posted on Twitter. "Feels great…Me, Mike [Dirnt], Tré [Cool], and Jason [White, touring guitarist] are collaborating and having the best time playing music. And that's not bullshit!"

Here's a match made in heaven; After winning an Oscar for their score to The Social Network, Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor and songwriting partner Atticus Ross are now tackling the soundtrack for David Fincher's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, an adaptation of Stieg Larsson's bestselling book. The movie is not due out until Christmas, but a trailer has leaked — and it features Reznor and Ross teaming up with Yeah Yeah Yeah's Karen O for a hot cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song." I do believe the song has also leaked onto You Tube as well.

File this one under either "Been there, done that - will repeat again" category. After a one-week stint, Amy Winehouse has checked out of a London rehab and is set to embark on a summer European tour. Winehouse's rep did not disclose why the singer was seeking treatment. Alright, let's try this one... who cares.

Lastly, here's another shot of "What's old is new again"... With a comeback album slated to be released later this year, pop-punk vets Blink-182 will hit the road for a mammoth summer tour — and they've enlisted plenty of A-list help for the 40-date trek, which kicks off August 5 in Holmdel, NJ, and wraps up on October 15 in San Diego, CA. My Chemical Romance will join Blink-182 for the entire string of dates, while Rancid, Manchester Orchestra, and Matt and Kim will sign on for select stops.

Unfortunately, that's about all the time I have for right now. This post was short but hopefully sweet. We'll catch you next time. Until then keep listening!

Peace Out,
Dave

CBGB's Movie, Lifebeat, Pearl Jam's B-Day Bash, and More!

To quote the immortal band Motorhead; "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something animal!" That, right there my friends, sums everything up right there in regards to this entry with the blog.

When I first read the news about a CBGB's movie, my first thought was "Hasn't someone done this already?" I mean, there have been numerous books written and released over the years (all of which are somewhat difficult to find for some odd reason), special programming on various cable channels, and some "pseudo" documentaries. But this release should be quite different from the rest. Lisa Kristal, the daughter of New York's iconic punk club and its late owner Hilly Kristal, will be co-producing a new movie tentatively titled CBGB that's slated to begin production this fall. The movie will look at the punk mecca's '70s heyday, where Talking Heads, the Ramones, Television, Patti Smith and countless others got their start. Yours truly hopes it will feature a full scope of features - from concert footage to interviews to God knows what else!

This next tidbit seemed to mushroom out of nowhere and is the buzz of the internet as well as eBay. Coldplay, Depeche Mode, Keith Richards, Mark Ronson, Panic! at the Disco, and other artists have teamed up with designer Ben Sherman for an auction to benefit Lifebeat, which raises awareness about HIV/AIDS. The artists will auction off signed guitar picks along with a personal note about where the pick was used and a personal photo; the items will be housed in a collector's frame. The auction lasts from May 29 through June 19 on eBay.

From the "Milking it to the nth degree" department, we have Pearl Jam and the finally released details of their 20th anniversary birthday bash, after months of anticipation. The band will host and headline a Labor Day weekend festival at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin with special guests the Strokes, Queens of the Stone Age, Mudhoney, Joseph Arthur, Liam Finn, Glen Hansard and John Doe of X. Tickets for the event will go on sale May 23rd for fan club members and June 4th for the general public. Pearl Jam have pledged to donate $2 from each ticket to their Vitalogy Foundation, which grants funds to nonprofit organizations selected by members of the band.

I hit on this piece of news in my last post - The Cars and their comeback album and tour. As many of you remember... well, maybe not many of you, it was 23 years ago... when the group called it quits back in 1988, any talk of a reunion was flatly discouraged. Of course, that's all in the past. Last week saw the release of a new studio album, Move Like This, and a reunion tour that unexpectedly bridges the band's New Wave past with a fresh batch of songs in the present. On the second date of their U.S. tour last Thursday night (5/12), the Cars performed to a packed room at the Hollywood Palladium, opening amid icy waves of synth, electric guitar and Ocasek's unhurried growl on "Let the Good Times Roll," the first track off the Boston act's 1978 debut. We always talk about how, in many cases, change is good. According to reports however, the band looked much as it did the last time we saw them, except for the significant absence of bassist Benjamin Orr, lead singer of such hits as "Just What I Needed" and "Candy-O," who died in 2000 of pancreatic cancer. The surviving quartet lined up together as equals at the front of the stage, with Ocasek calmly plucking his guitar in a black jacket and shades. This is a good thing indeed...

I've been seeing more & more of this... especially recently. The latest buzzword in rock n' roll is "memoir". In this month alone, we've had three reports of major artists either releasing or had press releases about the future release of their work. Steven Tyler has been all over the media plane with his new book, but adding to the mix is Pete Townsend (who's book will hit the shelves during the Fall of 2012) and the forth-coming release of Scott Weiland's memoir entitled, "Not Dead and Not For Sale". I read some excerpts from it on-line - like most memoir's, it should be an interesting read.

I'm going to close out this session with some more history. We received some cool feedback and emails regarding the last batch of cool tidbits we highlighted, so here's another round.

1975 - May was a big month that year, but you would've never known it at the time. Blondie seems to be so close to finally making it big, when more setbacks occur. Drummer Billy O'Connor leaves the group to go to law school but is replaced by the talented Clem Burke. Bass player Fred Smith quits to fill Richard Hell's void in Television. They eventually get down to a three piece band due to the fact that their two back-up singers quit because they feel the band is finished. They still cut some demos including one song, (actually a comedy number), called "The Disco Song", which would resurface in 1979 as "Heart Of Glass" and would be a world-wide hit.

At the same time, a bizarre band from Cleveland called The Electric Eels release their "anti-music" indie single containing their now influential cut "Agitated" (which we feature on 360 Degrees). The band features Nick Knox on drums who would later join The Cramps. The single is raw and distorted and is in reality one of the first true punk records ever. Although they've been together for three years, they're music could easily include a piece of sheet metal and a sledgehammer - it's that crude and obnoxious. They describe their concerts as "art terrorism". They also wear ripped t-shirts with rude slogans on them and safety pins.

1977 - The Police release their debut single on Illegal Records. Although Sting would become the focal point of the band in years to come - at this point, it's all drummer Stewart Copeland. He started the band, wrote both songs ("Fall Out" & "Nothing Achieving"), arranged the recording session, started the label with his brother Miles Copeland, and did the artwork for the single!

1980 - There's a new band out of Basildon England. The trio consists of school friends Vince Clarke, Andy Fletcher, and Martin Gore. While they start out with mostly guitars, within a few weeks they switch over to more synthesizers. Some of the names they are considering; Airport Coffee, The Glow Worms, and the Lemon Peels. They finally decide on Depeche Mode.

That's about for now. Until next time, keep listening!
Peace out,
Dave

The Ramones, Unlikely Cover Songs, Pearl Jam, As Well As Some History - Come On In, Take A Seat & Enjoy!

I have to admit - some of the latest news in the world of alternative has finally gotten mixed up a bit... and that's a good thing. For a while, all the news seemed to be about new releases, upcoming tours & concerts, and more of the same old blah, blah, blah. Don't get me wrong - I'm diggin' on the new releases and other cool tidbits, but it seemed we just had a steady diet of it for weeks.

Yeah, that type of news is still out there and I'm going to leave it alone on this entry. If you really need to know, Goggle it... that info is everywhere.

About a week ago, we celebrated a true milestone. Back on April 29th, we noted the 35th anniversary (sorry 'bout that) of the release of the Ramones 1st album. Whether you liked it or not, it changed the world of music - period. While the album only peaked at #111 on the Billboard charts, the influences it created are still being felt today. Released at a time when rock 'n roll was truly a bullshit leisure industry for the most part, it not only threw the punk movement into high gear, both here and abroad, but brought back the true DIY mentality and attitude that was flushed out of the industry by 1970.

I also had a chance to "revisit" a DVD I hadn't seen in a while; "Ramones: Raw". Clocking in at 5 hours worth of material, it's not something you sit through in one sitting, even if you're a die-hard Ramones fan. The only bummer about this DVD is, that while it slogs through a bunch of very cool band history and concerts, it starts at 1979. The early years are missing. Someone needs to release an "early years only" Ramones documentary. Still, it is still a cool DVD. The parts that feature the band receiving their lifetime achievment award, and the dedication of Joey Ramone Place in NYC is almost worth it alone. Maybe Cameron Crowe will do it...

Speaking of which, that leads me to this next bit I stumbled across. It seems for their 20th anniversary (which is this year), Pearl Jam are throwing one hell of a party: They've rolled out deluxe reissues of Vs. and Vitalogy. Their pal, director Cameron Crowe, is also digging through hours of video footage to compile a documentary that traces the band's entire history, which is due to hit theaters in September.

While thinking about what to write about for this entry, it seems I've been doing quite a bit of stumbling... and this next one is no exception. Found this story on Rolling Stone. It's called "The 12 Most Unlikely Covers of "Smells Like Teen Spirit". No biggie you think? Well, what if I told you the cover versions were done by artists ranging from Miley Cyrus to Paul Anka? It has some cool pics as well as links to videos via You Tube. Click here to check it out. You've been warned...

Getting back to the anniversary thing, we celebrated another one of sorts. Hard to believe, but it's been 25 years since we first heard the Beastie Boys scream over the airwaves and through stereo speakers, much to the dismay of parents everywhere. Remember back in 1986, when they released their debut Licensed to Ill? That album that proved three white kids from New York could deliver hip-hop as hot and groundbreaking as Run-D.M.C. or Public Enemy. It was also the first hip-hop album to hit No. 1 on the charts. Since then, Mike D, Ad-Rock, and MCA have become one of the genre's most consistent acts — even when they were experimenting with organ-driven funk on Ill Communication or opting not to rhyme at all on The Mix-Up.

We're going to wrap things up a bit here with something we haven't touched on in a while... some history. We've always said here at 360 Degrees that you need to respect the past in order to appreciate the present.
- 1959; Ian McCulloch lead singer of Echo and the Bunnymen is born.

- 1983; the 1000th edition of Top of the Pops broadcast on BBC TV. This show was the equivalent to American Bandstand and featured many now-famous groups and artists. The show, for a while, even featured "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" by The Who as it's opening theme.

- 1973; David Bowie's Aladdin Sane LP was #1 in the UK.

- 1974; A big milestone on this day - Television & The Stilettoes (Blondie in less than 2 years) are on a double bill at CBGB's. This is the first gig of many where Television would be a "regular" every Sunday night. An ad in Soho Weekly News noted that Television would be "the next big break-through group" coming out of New York.

- 1978; another milestone. The B-52's release their debut single on their own label. The two songs on the 45 single are Rock Lobster and 52 Girls. Both songs are primitive versions far different than what would show up on their debut album. The bands contact address at that time (and on the back of the 45 sleeve) is the El Dorado Restaurant... that's where singer Fred Schneider works.

- 1981; We save the weirdest for last. The Dead Kennedy's are barely on vinyl for 2 years, and are already having problems getting their songs released... even on their own label! Their new single Too Drunk To Fuck is running into roadblocks in England due to the title. Many people never knew that the DK's actually own two record labels - Alternative Tentacles is here in the US. Cherry Red Records is their label in the UK. The band thought this would save hassles in regards to worldwide distribution. Oh well...
They have to get the single pressed in France, presumably where they have no problem with the title or can't read it. With that solved, they run into another snag - their overseas distributor Rough Trade wants to hear the single BEFORE they will send it out! I guess the F word was can be too controversial, but not politics...

Until next time, keep listening. We added more than 30 songs this week, so let us know what you think... and thanks!

Peace out,
Dave

April Was A Month Of Change, Passings, Additions, and More!

Hard to believe it's been almost a month since the last blog. Time flies when you have no free time... having fun has nothing to do with it sometimes! Between work, some freelance writing & their deadlines, and a few other things tossed into the mix, I realized this morning the absence of blog entries for April.

Moving forward, a bunch of stuff has come down the pike recently. Some of this may be old news to some, but we hope other tidbits are more timely and entertaining -

The big news this past week, is that we lost another punk rock pioneer; the 2nd one in less than 6 months and another female singer to boot (remember Ari Up passed away not that long ago). Poly Styrene, the frontwoman for the classic punk rock band X Ray Spex, died at the age of 53. Styrene, whose real name was Marianne Elliot-Said, had been battling both breast and spinal cancer for a few years. Inspired by an early Sex Pistols gig, Styrene formed the X Ray Spex when she was 18 with her friend Laura Logic, who was also the groups 1st saxophone player. The band went on to record a string of five singles – including the enduring punk anthem "Oh Bondage Up Yours!" – and one highly influential full-length album, Germ Free Adolescents, before breaking up in 1979. There has been a number of articles on-line about her passing, so if you want to glean more info about her, it's there. Bottom line here though is we lost another great artist too soon.

This was also a month of anniversaries... sort of. The finishing touches were finalized for Lollapalooza's 20th birthday or anniversary, depending on how you look at it. The festival will take place this summer with a three-day event at Chicago's Grant Park on August 5-7th with headliners Eminem, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Muse and My Morning Jacket. The bill will also include artists such as the Cars, Ween, Cold War Kids, and Big Audio Dynamite.

April was also a month of changes. On the personal front, I finally had to update the website complete with the latest video of "Rope" by Foo Fighters. Click here to check it out as well as the website.
Another big change of sorts is going on with U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. No, he's not leaving the band, but he is going to trade in his drumsticks for a bit and try his hand at acting as well as producing. Mullen will make his first foray into acting in Man on the Train. The Irish-Canadian movie, also starring Donald Sutherland, is set to debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Mullen will play a mysterious stranger who arrives in a small town with plans to rob a bank. He is also one of the film's co-producers.

The past 30 days has also seen a re-emergence of sorts. Hardcore punk icons Fugazi is putting the finishing touches on a huge concert archive. The bands been, more or less, on hiatus for about 10 years, but the veteran D.C. punks are in the homestretch of archiving every single live show from their 15-year career, which will be available online for fans. Yeah, you read that right - every single live show... 15 years worth! Wow! Frontman Ian MacKaye says the group is deep in the process of converting "thousands" of live recordings from DAT and cassette tapes to digital files. I found this news a little ironic, because last week I finished watching their self-released DVD "Instrument". While it's not for everyone, it is a good documentary. Very gritty, quite raw, but very insightful. One of the highlights is the free concert they did in front of the White House! if you ever have a chance to check it out, do so. Click here to watch an older video of their classic "Waiting Room".

Lastly, I'd like to wish Kate Pierson of the B-52's a happy 63rd birthday! If you ever met her, or just looking at her, you'd never know! She's still very young at heart. When she's not working with the other members of Georgia's best known punk band (aside from R.E.M.) she's busily running her own restaurant!

That's about it for now, until next time, (hopefully less than 28 days), keep listening!
Peace out,
Dave