Widespread Panic to release "Live Wood LP" Record Store Day Exculsive

In celebration of Record Store Day, Widespread Panic is releasing “Live Wood” limited edition LP with select songs from the band’s 11-date, four-city “Wood Tour”.  This was Panic’s first-ever fully acoustic tour and also the final set of shows before the band's long-overdue hiatus for the remainder of 2012. These very special "Live Wood" LPs, pressed on 180g clear vinyl with numbered jackets, will be available at select indie record stores on April 21st, 2012. 

This Side: Blue Indian, Degenerate, Tall Boy

Other Side: Ballad of John and Yoko, Tail Dragger, Fishing, Many Rivers To Cross

Enjoy!

Find your local participating record store at www.recordstoreday.com

Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, Members of the Antibalas Family Join Dr. John on Jimmy Fallon

On Tuesday night, Dr. John celebrated the release of his new studio album Locked Down with an appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.


For the performance, Dr. John’s band included the album’s producer, Black Keys guitarist Dan Auerbach. Many of the musicians who appear on Locked Down appeared as well: drummer Max Weissenfeldt, Antibalas contributors/multi-instrumentalists Leon Michels and Nick Movshon, multi-instrumentalist Brian Olive and singers The McCrary Sisters. The ensemble performed one of  Locked Down’s standout tracks, “Revolution.”


As Fallon ‘s team joked, “This guy is the man. I mean there was a muppet based off of him for heaven’s sake. Watch!”

Rolling Stone: Neil Young Trademarks New Audio Format

Neil Young performs in Los Angeles
Christopher Polk/WireImage

 

By Patrick Flanary

April 3, 2012 3:35 PM ET

 

They might sound like great song titles, but "21st Century Record Player," "Earth Storage" and "Thanks for Listening" aren't new Neil Young tunes. They're trademarks that the rocker recently filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Rolling Stone has found, and they indicate that Young is developing a high-resolution audio alternative to the MP3 format.
According to the filed documents, Young applied for six trademarks last June: Ivanhoe, 21st Century Record Player, Earth Storage, Storage Shed, Thanks for Listening and SQS (Studio Quality Sound). Included in the filing is a description of the trademarks: "Online and retail store services featuring music and artistic performances; high resolution music downloadable from the internet; high resolutions discs featuring music and video; audio and video recording storage and playback." The address on file corresponds to that of Vapor Records, Young's label. (Young's representatives declined Rolling Stone's request for comment.)

Young faces about a year of paperwork before the government will register his trademarks. Last week, they were approved for publication in a public journal for 30 days, a step that allows competitors to challenge Young if they find his registration harmful. The journal is set to be published later this month; if the trademarks face no opposition or snags, Young must then file documents detailing how he intends to use the trademarks, which the government could register as early as the holidays, according to the filing schedule.
A press release issued last September by Penguin Group imprint Blue Rider Press, which is publishing Young's upcoming memoir, may have revealed the working title of Young's entire project. In addition to the memoir, says the release, "Young is also personally spearheading the development of Pono, a revolutionary new audio music system presenting the highest digital resolution possible, the studio quality sound that artists and producers heard when they created their original recordings. Young wants consumers to be able to take full advantage of Pono's cloud-based libraries of recordings by their favorite artists and, with Pono, enjoy a convenient music listening experience that is superior in sound quality to anything ever presented."
Such a service would allow music fans to download audio files that sound like the studio recordings of the past, as opposed to the über-compressed song files that are currently available at MP3 stores like iTunes and Amazon. (When reached for comment, a Penguin Group representative directed Rolling Stone back to Young's publicist.)
Young has a history of paying close attention to audio quality. His 1968 debut LP was one of the first albums to be mixed with the short-lived Haeco-CSG technology, which improved the sound of stereo albums played on mono equipment. Young has also been heavily involved with the remixing and remastering of his catalog for years.
In the last year, the rocker has also been increasingly vocal about his frustration with the sound quality of digital music. On January 31st, during an appearance at the D: Dive into Media conference in California, Young proposed that "some rich guy" should create "a modern-day iPod for the 21st Century" featuring studio-quality resolution. "When I started making records, we had a hundred percent of the sound," said Young. "And then you listen to it as an MP3 at the same volume – people leave the room. It hurts...It's not that digital is bad or inferior. It's that the way it's being used is not sufficient to transfer the depth of the art." According to Young, a typical download contains only five percent of the data that an original analog recording master offers, and the average studio-quality audio file requires roughly 30 minutes to download because of its uncompressed size.
Young also said that he met with Apple CEO Steve Jobs before his death last fall, and that the two discussed the possibility of developing a device similar to an iPod that could store roughly 30 studio-quality albums. "We were working on it," said Young. "Steve Jobs was a pioneer of digital music. But when he went home, he listened to vinyl. And you've gotta believe that if he'd lived long enough, he would eventually have done what I'm trying to do."

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/neil-young-trademarks-new-audio-format-20120403#ixzz1r5n7zMu7

Further evidence on why Jack White is the coolest man on earth

Jack White is many things-talented, a pioneer, creative, one of the greatest guitar players to come along in quite some time, and last but certainly not least, unique.   He's the type of guy that leaves an impression, and don’t just take my word for it, just ask one of the few lucky people who received his latest single "Freedom at 21".

From his soon-to-be-released debut solo album, Blunderbuss, the latest Jack White single was given to fans in the most unique and innovative way possible. Jack had the single “attached to helium balloons and launched from his Third Man Record headquarters in Nashville on April 1st, 2012.”  This was not an April Fool’s day prank, either.

Third Man Records states that the release was:

“Envisioned as an experiment exploring non-traditional forms of record distribution and a way to get records in the hands of people who don't visit record shops, the label was sure to use biodegradable latex balloons and all-natural twine in the process.  Accompanying the balloons were custom postcards with instructions for the finders to submit photos, discovery location and the date on which the record was found, all of which will be viewable on the map below.”

“Holy balloons, Batman.”  Not only is this a unique way to market an album that I seriously doubt needs any publicity stunt to create buzz about,  but all of Jack White’s diehard fans will be foaming at the mouth to get their hands on this rare and limited edition single. For more information about the launch, and to see whether or not your town was lucky enough to have those balloons fall into, check out the Third Man Records website.

Regardless of Third Man Records estimates that only a hundred balloons will be discovered out of a thousand, the buzz around Blunderbuss, dropping in stores April 24th, could not be any bigger...

-Will Fisher, The Showbiz Kids

The Wheel Keeps Spinning For Elvis Costello

When the special limited edition version of Elvis Costello's Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook was released just before Christmas last year, Costello did something rather odd: He asked people not to buy it.


Costello was apparently none too pleased with the CD/DVD/ vinyl box set's hefty price tag, which was more than $300 in Canada, and he took to his website to tell his fans what he thought.


The price tag, he wrote, was "either a misprint or a satire."


"If you should really want to buy something special for your loved one at this time of seasonal giving, we can wholeheartedly recommend Ambassador Of Jazz - a cute little imitation suitcase, covered in travel stickers and embossed with the name 'Satchmo' but more importantly containing TEN re-mastered albums by one of the most beautiful and loving revolutionaries who ever lived - Louis Armstrong."


Costello also wholeheartedly recommended fans wait for the retail version of the live album, recorded during a two-night stand at the Wiltern in Los Angeles in May 2011, to be released before making a purchase - that is if you hadn't acquired it through "unconventional means," he added.


Now that said version is slated to hit store shelves (digital or otherwise) today, Costello still stands by his rather sardonic attack on the pricing of what was meant to be a fan-oriented package. "What I couldn't accept was the pricing of this deluxe edition," Costello said in a phone interview. "I think the record business was the most fun when it had some sense of panache, and you occasionally did things without worrying about the cost of them because they got people jazzed up. Obviously, these are different times and I haven't really appreciated that. So I had a difference of opinion. It had nothing to do with the music, of course."


There is indeed little to complain about when it comes to The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook.


On the album, Costello and his band the Imposters - keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Davey Faragher and drummer Pete Thomas - revive the spirit of a concert that was conceived 25 years prior at the Beverly Theatre in L.A., which proved to be one of the last shining moments for Costello's band the Attractions featuring bassist Bruce Thomas.


The concert, which makes its Canadian debut at the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver on April 10, stars a giant "wheel of fortune" contraption - featuring a number of song titles, names and "open" topics - that fans are invited on stage to spin.


The original Beverly Theatre concert featured special appearances by the Bangles, who returned for the Wiltern show to sing Tear Off Your Head (It's A Doll Revolution), and Tom Waits. "I didn't really think of it as an anniversary of that first time," Costello said of the May 2011 performances documented in the live album, which have since lead to a long Spinning Songbook tour. "We did it then and we're doing it now and I don't think the two things are really connected because when I first came up with it, it was part of a five-night presentation with different bands and solo shows, and one frivolous night the show was run this way.


"Obviously, 25 years later there's so much more material to consider that the reason for doing it is perhaps different: It gives us a way to put all those songs in play, from the most recently written to the oldest, and let them fight it out."


That means songs from Costello's latest album National Ransom are now duking it out against classics like Allison, Radio Radio and (What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love and Understanding, as well as a selection of covers Costello has a soft spot for.


The whole thing is presented like a colourful cabaret game show complete with assistant hostess and go-go cage. The show can jump from an upbeat number to a solo acoustic ballad without notice, but Costello said he ensured all the songs on the "spinning songbook" were ones he enjoyed doing.


"It makes for a really unique show," Costello said. "The fact that people are involved not just in selecting it but that they are persuaded to go into the go-go cage - you see people who can dance and people who really shouldn't but are having a great time nonetheless. I really don't think we could ask for more from an evening."


The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook show also allowed Costello to resuscitate alter ego host Napoleon Dynamite, which he created for 1986's Blood and Chocolate and he initially brought to life at the Beverly Theatre show 25 years ago. (Costello's character, evidently, predates the 2004 indie geek movie of the same name, with which it has no connection.) "You have to be a different sort of character to cajole and flatter people who come up on stage," he said. "It's a slightly schizophrenic existence but it's enjoyable. You can get away with saying the most outrageous things to people."


Costello laughed. "From night to night the show is different. Any one recording of this particular presentation would be radically different than the next. That DVD and CD is a snapshot of it, but of course we went on and had all sorts of adventures throughout the last year. We didn't anticipate doing this fifth run of dates with the wheel. People have really loved it."


By Francois Marchand, Vancouver Sun


Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Wheel+keeps+turning+Elvis+Costello/6401901/story.html#ixzz1qy34riAy

On the road for vinyl-New Orleans

A recent trip to New Orleans allowed me the pleasure of stopping in at the Louisiana Music Factory. It had a great selection of vinyl ranging from the classic pop and rock through jazz. As you will read on their site they are very true to New Orleans music and the old standards.  So many album covers are very interesting and you've probably never seen before.        

The vibe and layout to the store is just as you could imagine the perfect record store to be.  There are rows of records upstairs,music and jazz posters on the wall,local conversation and buzz of music and local entertainment going on. In fact they were filming an episode of Treme for the upcoming season right outside.

Music is in everything in New Orleans and a great place to stop as well is the Preservation Hall. It was established in 1961 to preserve New Orleans jazz.  Many artists ranging from the unusual My Morning Jacket to the traditional jazz and brass bands play there regularly. Its a small intimate space and the audience sits on the floor while a typically non-amplified band plays.

Lastly if you haven't heard Ray Charles "One Mint Julep" that went to #8 on the pop charts in 1961 this would be a good way to round out our brief music tour of New Orleans.

Mike Smith,The Showbiz Kids

On the turntable this Sunday...Big Thing

Big Thing is the fifth album by Duran Duran, released worldwide in 1988. It reached #15 in the UK and #24 in the US.

In 1988, the musical climate was changing, veering to a more dance-based groove. Duran Duran were known primarily as an early '80s new wave synth-pop act, and the band was sitting at a career crossroads; Big Thing was their stab at maintaining mainstream popularity.

A CD reissue (with one bonus track) was released in 1994. The album is was reissued as a three disc boxset on September 27, 2010.

Turning to more synth- and bass-heavy grooves than their previous efforts, Big Thing was seen by many as the band's "house music" album. Tracks like the first single "I Don't Want Your Love", the title track, and the album's second single "All She Wants Is" cemented the band's more aggressive dance angle.

The band decided to stylise how they spell their name, shortening it to the single word "Duranduran".

To get the new music played without preconceived 'teeny bopper band' notions of Duranduran, the band sent an edited three minute version of album tracks "The Edge Of America" and "Lake Shore Driving" to radio stations, known as "Official Bootleg: The LSD Edit". The promo was credited to "The Krush Brothers", which the band also used in a few surprise live dates.

Dance music and stylist respellings aside, Big Thing was an album of contrasts. While the general feel was a response to the burgeoning house music and rave scene, a number of tracks on the album harked back to the band's more lush arrangements. Tracks like "Land", "Palomino" and the single "Do You Believe In Shame?" had more in common with "Save A Prayer" or "The Seventh Stranger" than withChicago house.

The album also contains two short pieces entitled "Interlude One" and "Flute Interlude" which were more experimental in nature than anything the band had done before. The band would repeat the use of these "interludes" on future albums with "Shotgun" appearing onDuran Duran (1993), "Fragment" and "Kiss Goodbye" on Pop Trash (2000), and "Return to Now" and "A Diamond in the Mind" on All You Need is Now (2011).

While the album and the first two singles did quite well in the charts, the relative failure of the third single "Do You Believe In Shame?" (it reached #30 in the UK) killed off any chance for a fourth single from the album. A house version of "Drug" which had been recorded with producer Marshall Jefferson in April 1989 was tentatively slated as that single.

A brief legal challenge surrounded the close resemblance of the melody of "Shame" to that of the Dale Hawkins classic "Suzie Q" (more famously covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival). It was judged that there was no intentional plagiarism in this case.

The album was eventually reissued with the original Daniel Abraham mix of "Drug" added as a bonus track, previously released as a b-side to the "Do You Believe In Shame?" single.

Guitarist Warren Cuccurullo had begun working with Duran Duran in the middle of the recording of the previous album Notorious (1986), after the acrimonious departure of former guitarist Andy Taylor. While he was still not a full band member, nor a true songwriting partner, Big Thing was the first full album with which Cuccurullo was involved. His contributions can be felt all over the record, from the "lead vamp guitar" on "All She Wants Is" to the crazed guitar solo on album closer "Lake Shore Driving".

Contrary to popular belief, Chester Kamen plays guitar on "I Don't Want Your Love" (although it's Cuccurullo who appears in the video).

At the end of the global Electric Theatre Tour promoting Big Thing in 1989, Warren Cuccurullo became a full-time member of the band along with drummer Sterling Campbell. Campbell would stay for one more album, 1990's Liberty, while Cuccurullo would remain with the band until 2001.

For the first time in their career the band members decided to write personal dedication notes on the album sleeve thus thanking the late Alex Sadkin who had been killed in a car crash in late 1987, the late Andy Warhol, who had died in early 1987 and David Miles, a childhood friend of Le Bon's who died of an illegal drug cigarette during the album's creation.