The Nuteuring Of Rock: Blame The Boomers

When Pete Townshend wrote "I hope I die before I get old", he meant it. When he and Who drummer Keith Moon destroyed their gear almost every night in a fury of feedback and chaos, it was more than just a publicity stunt, it was the very essence of rock and roll - pure reckless abandon.

So how is it that over the last 5 decades we've gone from hoping to burn out to today's ambitions of never getting off the launching pad? Rockers of old seemed to embody something that stood for more than the music they created or the guitars they destroyed. Mick Jagger stood for the working man, John Lennon for the disillusioned, Townshend for intellectuals, Kurt Cobain for cardigan sweaters and the Mr. Roger's fan club.

But what do musicians stand for today? It's so hard to gauge simply because of what it means to be famous in 2010. What do people look for in a song? Catchy melodies? Accessible lyrics? Whether who's singing the song is wearing the right clothes or has that look regardless of what that look is?

From loud cock rock bands like Nickelback, Staind, Godsmack and Disturbed, bland and soulless acts in the vein of The Black Eyed Peas, to auto tune pioneers including Lil' Wayne, T-Pain, Kesha and almost every other artist you hear on hit radio, music has for the most part lost its mojo. It's been a slow painful decay to the mighty forefathers of yesteryear to the puppy eyed sob stories of today.

But who is the blame for this modern trend? If things were supposed to mean so much so long ago, how did the current trend become the norm? Is it the "evil" corporations whose "wicked" money corrupted the meaning behind the music? Is it simply the new generation's knack for disdaining all things deemed "old", "stale" or archaic (big word huh?)?

No. It's the very people I was praising just a few paragraphs earlier. Rock's greatest stars let the whole movement down before many of today's bright eyed stars were even born. Sure The Who might have sang about dieing in the prime of youth, but just 15 years later they were writing songs about fucking that appealed to house wives. The Rolling Stones claimed to never get "Satisfaction" and made you have "Sympathy For The Devil", but by 1975 they claimed it was "Only Rock N' Roll" - but they liked it.

And it doesn't end there. Led Zeppelin - the most iconic hard rock band ever, share some of the blame. At the height of their fame, after four straight albums of exponential growth they caved into the young "glam arena rock" movement and released "Houses Of The Holy" where Robert Plant wailed how "The Song Remains The Same".  Right when rock needed to stray from stagnation - it's greatest icons let it down. The revolution would be called “punk”.

That's not to say that all the super stars let down the music. The Beatles are still held in such high esteem 40 years after their demise because they never made a giant misstep against what rock should be. Sure their "Magical Mystery Tour" movie might have sucked and so what if "Yellow Submarine" or "Piggies" is goofy? The attempt to progress what music in the modern world could be was earnest. Hell, even the band's break up album, Let It Be, made a statement to humanity as the title track is played on radio to this day. Perhaps the band's legacy has been preserved so well because they fell apart at the right time - and never got into a reunion tour sponsored by Pepsi.

Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana are lumped into the same basket but for different reasons. Death is what sustains legacies more so than any album or song a major figure can release. Hendrix and Cobain each died at the age of 27 with limited catalogs and scores of committed fans who would cry foul if any record label or business man tampered with their heroes.

But when it became the norm for greats to become has-beens, it in turn becomes the norm for startups to not give a shit. The once mighty bands who have morphed into wrinkled baby boomers let down rock and rocks greatest proponents. When they stopped caring so did everyone else.

That’s why Warped Tour makes so much money and why Taylor Swift’s existence is allowed. Rock has been dumbed down for dumb audiences. Sorry to sound like an elitist, purist or jack ass in general. I just see the potential that has been dormant for far too long in music. 

Thanks For Letting The Whole Team Down Classic Rockers!!!

More Nominees, Fewer Great Movies

I don't think it's just being farsighted to suggest that we haven't had a whole lot to celebrate at the Oscars in recent years. Infact, farsightedness might actually sharpen the point, if you consider looking back, say, five years, farsighted. For the record "Million Dollar Baby" won Best Picture. Also nominated were "Ray" "Finding Neverland" "The Aviator" and...eh hem "Sideways". You remember them all very vividly, I'm sure. Or...no? Yeah, me niether.

And this isn't because any of them were not good movies. Sideways was OK, I guess, if you can get all romantic about wine (which everyone in my theater seemed easily capable of doing), and the others looked decent, and I won't doubt legends like Scorsese or Eastwood, but...they're all gone, aren't they? When did you last catch "Finding Neverland" on television, for instance? When was the last time you needed to put in your copy "Million Dollar Baby"? Do you own a single one of these movies? Have you seen a single one more than once?

On the other hand, you haven't lost track of "The Shawshank Redemption" have you. Likewise, you've probably caught some of Forrest Gump on TV withint the past 6 months. You are no doubt aware of a movie called Pulp Fiction, and if you've got any taste at all you probably own it (something that forbids me from owning a copy of my own). All three of these films came out in 1994.

Of this year's nominees for Best Picture, two will remain culturally relevant, granted one of them remains a spectacle on 2D televisions (and yes, televisions will remain 2D unless we somehow get around the glasses part): Avatar and Up. And that's OK. Two culture anchors is actually pretty good for a year in movies, and not all of the nominees need to be USA feature presentation fodder, but with so many that dive right off the ledge of obscurity after awards time, do we really need ten nomination spots? We can hardly fill 5 as it is. In 2004, they nominated "Master and Commander". I want you to tell me one thing you recall about "Master and Commander". Russel Crowe's hair doesn't count.

Of course all movies deserve time to ripen in the common mind of society. It is indeed possible that, in 10 years, Master and Commander will begin being shown on Thanksgiving or something, and become an essential American classic (I said possible, not probable) but the fact is that 90% of them will not come anywhere close. They aren't great now. They won't be great later. "Up in The Air" does not deserve peak recognition in any case, and especially not because we didn't have three or four more notable films this year.

But then there are other movies that deserve, each year, a moment in the spotlight, if only for that moment. This year, a film called "An Education" came out that is supposed to be quite good. It was adapted for the screen by my personal favorite author and I can remember reading about the project on his blog before he had even been granted a pass to complete it. It was a modest, but sincere and skillfull motion picture, and it probably really is better than most of the other movies released this year. And it deserves to be recognized for that. It's just that Up in The Air really, really does not. I can't sort out to which I'm more commited. Perhaps I ought to.

By Dave Beauchene

Johnny Cash is iTunes 10 Billionth Song Sold

Today would have been Johnny Cash's 78th birthday,so when news broke yesterday that the Man in Black's "I Guess Things Happen That Way" became the iTunes music store's 10 billionth download there was cause for much celebration in the Cash Family.


His daughter, Rosanne, took to her Twitter page saying it was the perfect birthday present for her father.


Cash was also celebrated this week as his last American album, Ain't No Grave, was released on Tuesday. Click here for The Hanging Tree Review.


To commemorate Cash's life check out the video of my favorite Cash song, "Ballad Of John Henry's Hammer" below.

Gorillaz To Debut "Plastic Beach" Next Week, Release "Superfast Jellyfish"

Animated sensation Gorillaz will take to XFM radio in London Tuesday March 2nd to stream their third album Plastic Beach in its entirety. The playback will take place at Noon (about 7:00 a.m. EST stateside.)

The record hits U.S. stores March 9th and is the band's first offering of new tunes since 2005's Demon Days.

"Stylo", the current single featuring Mos Def and Bobby Womack, can be heard below. Other artists to be featured on Plastic Beach  include Snoop Dogg, Barry Gibb and Lou Reed.

With the album's stream, expect a review in the coming days. Click here for view XFM's homepage where you can listen to the whole album online when it airs.

UPDATE: The band have just released "Superfast Jellyfish" off their upcoming album. It features De La Soul, who also appeared in "Feel Good Inc.". Click here to hear it.

The Winter Olympics

It's that special time again - a time when the world sets aside their petty strife to come together in more or less completely ignoring the Winter Olympics. Except curling, of course. Anytime I happen to catch the Olympics in broadcast, I have invariably located 3 straight hours of grand-semi-finale curling competition. What curling is, basically, is the stupidest sport on the face of the planet earth.

See, one guy pushes off at the far end of an ice rink, frozen into a long, crouching pose. After gliding in suspended animation for no less than 25 minutes, he unleeshes the fury that is his athletic skill and gently releases a big rock with a handle. This is when a pair of ushers storm the rink with squeegeez and begin buffing the ever loving crap out of the ice in the path of the gliding handle-rock. After all, these are the Olympics, and the last thing that rock needs is a nick in the ice to trip him on his 40 yard journey toward a couple of rings painted under the ice. Once it lands, the officials come in to realize what a mistake they made going to Curling Officiation School all those 9 years.

The only other thing I've seen is the halfpipe. For those unfamiliar, the halfpipe is a special trail designed for snowboarders with a wild aversion to remaining on the ground. Points are awarded to the snowboarder who performs the most interesting mid-air spaz-attacks without landing teeth first back on the trail. Carrot Top is currently the best in the world as this particular event. Honestly, I had no idea he even snowboarded. That's the Olympics for you, I guess.

Carrot Top Celebrating The Gold

Though it must be recognized that, while the rest of the world tunes in to find that bob-sledding is no where as dramatic or funny as Cool Runnings made it seem, children everywhere are being inspired to one day reach for winter gold themselves. World-wide, they're heading out to learn to ski and snow-board and push rocks across their driveways while freinds squeegee like mad and parents are coming outside to explain how hockey is actually played.

What The Winter Olympics Look Like In My Head

By Dave Beauchene

26 Days...

Kanye West Debuts "Coldest Winter" Video

Over a year out from his last release, the somberly minimalistic auto tune affair, 808s & Heartbreak, Kanye West has released the official video for the album's closing track "Coldest Winter".

A bleak track to begin with, the video plays like a gothic version of No Doubt's "Simple Kind of Life" minus the wedding cakes and pink hair. Check it out below.

VIDEO : Kanye West - Coldest Winter - ThatHustle.com - Watch more Music Videos at Vodpod.

Review: Broken Bells - Self Titled

Danger Mouse knows how to take what would appear routine and morph it into something colorful, memorable and completely his own. First he mashed Jay-Z and The Beatles to illegal yet hypnotizing results, went on to tame Damon Albarn's always spectacular ambitions into Gorillaz's masterwork Demon Days, and rewarded The Black Keys, The Good The Bad & The Queen and Beck with surprisingly rich rewards. Yet his greatest claim to fame is turning Cee Lo Green of the Goodie Mob into the saddest soul man of a generation with Gnarls Barkley.

Danger Mouse, whose real name is Brian Burton, blends hip hop, soul, funk, pop and hints of psychedelic shimmers the way Kanye West is a master of ego. Everything he's ever touched bleeds authenticity and reeks of retro coolness. And the best part of it is that he makes it look so easy.

Broken Bells, a new project that features The Shin's James Mercer with vocal duties, continues the trend of excellence. New age glitter music with enough real world tone to keep everything in perspective, the band's self titled debut sails by with the greatest of ease. Danger Mouse creates an ambient atmosphere consisted of soulful organ, rattled electric guitars and straight forward beats where Mercer finds a place for his voice, akin to Ben Bridwell of Band Of Horses, to fill up the rest of the arrangement in an effortless manner.

The opening track "The High Road" begins like vintage Mouse. A stuttering synthesizer straight out of Nintendo whizzes into the stratosphere before being anchored by a melancholy lyric about the struggles of just making it by. "Come on and get the minimum," Mercer croons. "The high road is hard to find."

"Vaporize" is Mercer achieving the dream he's always wanted, yet still feeling shallow on the inside. "Where did it go? All that precious time?" He's a downer indeed but that's what the kid want these days. In a post Bush world things seem to still be in a flux. "I was lost then and I am lost now." That sums up the entire generation Mercer is singing too.

But that's where Danger Mouse comes in. He's here for the party, yet to be introspective as well. There's always enough ear candy for the indie kids to get their fill, and enough soul food for your feet that you can't help but nod your head or go on the dance floor. These are paranoid times and he recognizes that, so why not just admit your anxieties and forget about them with a warm groove?

Danger Mouse's presence also seems to do Mercer wonders as well. "The Ghost Inside" finds him exercising his falsetto and broadening his vocal capabilities in a way he's never done before. The Shins were always to content to chug along in Zac Braff land to mediocre results, but with Broken Bells Mercer seems to be having some fun - even if it doesn't want to let you think so.

Is this a pairing that anyone would have thought of other than Danger Mouse? Probably not. And that's exactly why it's appealing and succeeds. He's attracted to the unexpected and off beat. But unlike others who experiment simply for the sake of looking "different" Danger Mouse uses the best tools from all of music and applies them in moderation. The sum is greater than the individual parts. Have fun reading Plato while tapping your toes.

Grade: B

Bullet Points - Abbey Road, Lil Wayne, The New Pornographers

Last week EMI, the music company that owns Abbey Road studios, announced plans to sell off the legendary complex in order to pay off debts. It now looks as if the company has reversed its stance and will  now look for financial help through a third party.

A studio famous for housing The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Radiohead, Abbey Road has long been a sinking hole for EMI who wanted to completely upgrade the facility. When the news broke of their intention sell, many fans were outraged.

The studio was to be sold for upwards of 37 million dollars and  had many potential buyers including composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.

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Lil' Wayne recently had his prison sentencing delayed until next month in order to have dental surgery. It turns out Weezy might be in for a world of pain after the procedures he endured. According to TMZ, Wayne had eight consecutive root canals, worked on his grill, several tooth implants redone, more implants added and had the few real teeth he has left repaired. Nothing says gangsta like bad teeth and an addiction to cough syrup. 

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Canadian power pop kings The New Pornographers have released "Your Hands (Together) the first single from their upcoming album Together. You can hear it by clicking on the link. 

Coheed & Cambria Release New Track

New age prog metal pioneers Coheed & Cambria have released "The Broken" the first song from their upcoming album Year Of The Black Rainbow in stores April 13.

Every album the New Jersey band has ever made centered around a sci fi story which only front man Claudio Sanchez grasps. Rainbow will be a prequel set before the band's first album (2002's Second Stage Turbine Blade).

Track Listing is below as well as a stream for "The Broken"

1. One
2. The Broken - 3:55
3. Guns of Summer
4. Here We Are Juggernaut
5. Far
6. The Shattered Symphony
7. World of Lines
8. Made Out of Nothing
9. Pearl of the Stars
10. In the Flame of Error
11. When Skeletons Live
12. The Black Rainbow

Review: Johnny Cash - American VI: Ain't No Grave

Songs of remembrance, prophecies of doom and an unbending fearlessness to look death in the face. Such was the course for the entire American Recordings series by Johnny Cash and producer Rick Rubin. American VI: Ain't No Grave marks the final installment in the collection as well as the second posthumous album released since Cash's death in 2003 at the age of 71.

For the last decade of his life, Cash's image was refitted into the outlaw he was always supposed to be. His ever weakening baritone never lost its conviction or ability to speak right to the heart of humanity. Whether covering Depeche Mode, Soundgarden, Nine Inch Nails, gospel hymns or even reworking his own classic catalog, Cash preserved his legacy as the Man in Black in effortless fashion.

Recorded during his last session a few weeks before his passing, Cash seems ready to meet his maker. With the loss of his life long love June Carter only a few months earlier, music was the only force that kept him going. Though the macabre has always been in a fixture in any American album, Ain't No Grave is given a bit more authenticity than its predecessors.

"There is a train that's headed straight to heaven's gate." Cash croaks on "Redemption Day" a Sheryl Crow cover that trades the pop gloss of the original performance for a dry and dusty arrangement featuring hollow piano and rustic guitar.

But for the fate that awaited Cash, he leaves a parting message in the Kris Kristofferson penned "For The Good Times". "I know it's over... Let's just be glad we had some time to spend together." It's heart wrenching, may be a tad too calculated and beautiful in the most fragile way all at the same time.

Yet something feels off about Ain't No Grave. At a scant 32 minutes these 10 songs seem like they belong in a box set or other Cash compilations. The album, constructed by Rubin, never seems to justify its existence. Sure the tunes presented are first rate, but after six albums of ominous foreboding the shtick has started to become a little too routine.

Perhaps the nicest, and indeed most sincere, track is the Hawaiian standard "Aloha Oe". Cash gently kisses this world goodbye with a warm smile. I suppose it's the best ending the entire American series deserves. For all the brooding heavy handedness and black and white album covers, a colorful farewell that leaves you rested and hopeful speaks to the true nature of Cash's entire life's work. Rest well sir.

Grade: B-

The Who's Future Uncertain

2010 was to be a busy year for The Who. Not only did the band appear at the Super Bowl Halftime Show two weeks ago, but they were scheduled for a new album, a few festival gigs and possibly another tour. However all those plans are in jeopardy as guitarist Pete Townshend's tinnitus has returned.

A condition Townshend has struggled with since the 1980s, tinnitus is a ringing of the ears brought on by a number of reasons. Townshend believes he suffers due to The Who's penchant for playing at ear shattering levels in the 1970s (they set the world record for loudest rock concert in 1975 - the decibel level was as loud as a jet liner 150 meters from the stage).

"If my hearing is going to be a problem, we're not delaying shows. We're finished. I can't really see any way around the issue." Townshend told Rolling Stone.

The only scheduled concert for The Who is March 30th in London where the band will perform their 1973 classic rock opera Quadrophenia in its entirety. Townshend will have an in-ear monitor that may help to prevent any more damage.

"It's a good test of Pete's hearing," vocalist Roger Daltrey said. "We won't know until we try."

Below is The Who's induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1990 where Townshend discusses his tinnitus.

Kevin Eubanks Ponders Future After Leno

When Jay Leno returns to The Tonight Show on March 1st, he may not have his trusty side kick, Tonight Show Band leader Keven Eubanks, for much longer.

Musical director for The Tonight Show from 1995-2009 as well as the failed Jay Leno Show, Eubanks has expressed interest in recording and touring as a solo act.

NBC has said he will return with Leno to his 11:30 time slot.

Eubanks wrote on his Twitter, "I'll still be around on the show, but less as of now. I'll tweet when a definite plan is set. "

Kurt Cobain Biopic Gears Up

An untitled Kurt Cobain movie, stalled since 2007, is under new management as Oren Moverman, director of "The Messenger", is in negotiations to rewrite the screenplay and direct the film for Universal Pictures.

The movie will cover Cobain's life, music and untimely death at the age of 27. Material will come from author Charles R. Cross' biography Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain."

This won't be the first time Cobain's life has been the subject of Hollywood glitz. "Last Days", a 2005 film directed by Gus Van Sant, was a fictional movie that drew parallels from the Nirvana front man's life.

Review: Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back

(you can stream the whole album here)

Peter Gabriel was always part of pop music, yet segregated as well. His knack for brooding melodies made him famous, but his taste for melancholy art rock always made him distant to his peers. While everyone else was living the glam rock dream in the 70s and 80s, he was off writing music about deranged war veterans and shocking monkeys.

First the vocalist of prog-era Genesis, then a moody solo rocker, Gabriel has stayed relatively quite over the last 20 years releasing only two albums in that time. Scratch My Back is his first LP since 2002 and is a collection of covers given a grand orchestral treatment. No rock stars allowed here. Just intellectuals who like their Lou Reed with a side of Chopin.

Sure 10 unoriginal songs set to violins and brass might signal that the creative well for Garbriel has dried up (it hasn't), but to him it's just another day at the office. His motto always seems to be "do the opposite of what feels natural". Why else put ambiguous lips on the cover of your record?

The artists covered by Gabriel are less extreme versions of himself. Neil Young, Paul Simon and Lou Reed reflect his individuality. Arcade Fire, Radiohead and Bon Iver share his compassion for grandiose intimacy. David Bowie, Magnetic Fields and the Talking Heads are more on the artistic side of his tastes while Randy Newman and Regina Spektor are simply content to write catchy yet meaningful tunes in the vein of Gabriel's own ambitions.

For an album of nothing but orchestral arrangements, Scratch My Back surprisingly succeeds in not becoming the bore you instantly expect it to be. All the tunes crawl by, but it serves to help Gabriel's warm raspy vocals squeeze every inch of passion out of the lyrics he's interpreting. Even though this is a cover's album, each song is linked by a common thread of insecurity, fear and wonderment (emotions he's a master of emoting).

"The Boy In The Bubble" (Paul Simon), "Flume" (Bon Iver) and "The Power of the Heart" (Lou Reed) are the stand out tracks. Whether it's ominous piano used in the most subtle way, crescendoing finales or just Gabriel flexing his well in tact 60 year old vocal chords, you can't help but feel a tingle of something authentic going on. Covers album shmovers album.

However, not all of his ideas and tributes go off without a hiccup. "My Body Is A Cage" (Arcade Fire) is given too grand of a treatment. Yes Arcade Fire themselves are not strangers of over the top indie tunes, but Gabriel tries to make the arrangement too prog. While the intro and outro hit their mark, the overly majestic middle leaves you exhausted.

"The Book of Love" (Magnetic Fields) looses it's original wit and dry humor, "Apres Moi" (Regina Spektor) is forgettable although momentarily inspired. By the last third of the record, you really start to feel Scratch My Back sinking under it's own weight - until the solid, if not re-energizing conclusion arrives.

"Philadelphia" (Neil Young) and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" (Radiohead) help to further justify Gabriels thinking of a cover album, as well as his vision for contemporary art rock. These songs may not have the good natured warmth of a song like 1986's "Sledgehammer" or 2008's "Down To Earth", but who can complain when there are too many bright spots that shine over the blemishes.

Of course a covers album with an operatic atmosphere may not be the most commercially viable choice, and it certainly isn't something to pick you up from a nervous breakdown, but if you're in the mood to speculate on enlightened ideals and revolutionary thought, Scratch Your Back may be right up your alley. Besides, if you get too bored you can just press stop then go back to watching Family Guy. Giggidy.

Grade: B

Captain Planet's Il-Conceived Arch Enemy

On the wikipedia page for "Captain Planet" a cartoon which sort of entertained me as a kid with action packed adventures in environmentalism, an episode is described wherein Captin Planet meets his arch enemy, Captain pollution. The fight is going in Pollution's favor, it says, until Planet "realizes that his enemy is weakened by natural elements such as clean soil and lava."

Which is a lot like saying, if you were a super hero of some kind, that your only weakness is soy beans and toilets dropped from 30-storey windows. Cause, you know, the pit of molten lava just feet behind Captain Pollution was an arbitrary circumstance until the whole "Natural Elements" weakness occurred to our brilliant hero, Captain Planet. If you never watched the show, Planet was himself weakened by environmentally harmful substances... and hate (since they're pretty much the same things). But even on this token, how is lava the inverse, of say, radioactive waste? Then again, the creators of Captain Planet, foresighted as they were, probably weren't banking on their characters and plots being available to the general public 20 years later. Environmentalists...

By Dave Beauchene

Abbey Road Up For Sale

Happen to have $39-$47 million hidden somewhere? Then you may be able to purchase one of the most famous places in all of rock - Abbey Road Studios.

EMI, the music company who owns the historic recording venue, is hard up for cash and is putting the building up for sale in order to stay afloat in the midst of a recession that has further crippled the ever weakening music business.

Abbey Road is most famous for the music made there by The Beatles, as well as the band's final in 1969. Pink Floyd, Jeff Beck and Radiohead have also recorded there.

Knack Singer Dies At 57

Doug Fieger, guitarist and vocalist, of the new wave band The Knack, has passed away at the age of 57 after a long running battle with cancer.

While The Knack are famous for their 1979 song "My Sharona", the band's only hit, they still have a lasting influence that can be heard in bands like OK Go and Fountains of Wayne. Watch "My Sharona" below.

Review: Butch Walker and the Black Widows - I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart

(You Can Stream The Whole Album Below)

Butch Walker is so 1997 - but that isn't really a bad thing. First coming to fame as the singer of the Marvelous 3, Walker has spent the last eight years finding his niche in a world where big guitars and seamless melodies about working from 9 to 5 have been replaced by soft indie douche bags who moan about their feelings. Thanks Dashboard Confessional.

Walker is a dinosaur in the music world of 2010. He wants to be a journeyman rocker like Springsteen, Petty or even Eddie Vedder, and to a limited extent he is. This endears him to his fans and helps to make his inoffensive music all the more genuine. He travels down the road of innocent Americana and he wants you to come along for the ride.

I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart is the Georgia native's 6th record overall and his first released since turning 40. Age has been relatively good to Walker as every album he's ever made has been another baby step towards maturity and a great example of what post 2001 Weezer could have been. So what if he tends to play things safe? Why fix something that isn't broken?

His most concise album to date, I Liked It Better is helped by a low key approach. The epic ballads about sad girls and broken homes found in all of his previous records are absent. The same goes for the loud guitars and gritty vocal passages. This is a new Walker who flirts with old school rockabilly and honky tonk to solid - if not spectacular, results.

The album starts out with "Trash Day" which essentially sounds like a Magnetic Fields songs minus the Prozac. His suburban sentiments are still present as he muses on the flawed lives of Beverly Hills housewives and Nashville Jesus freaks. While he wishes that "things didn't happen that way" he also seems to content to let it roll of his back and move on. This is the closest Walker comes to party rock on the album. He may be pushing old fans away, but he's trying to push himself.

The only thing that seems to bother Walker is his love live - an important component for any rock star. One minute he claims "we don't have to be like the rest" to a faceless beauty ("Pretty Melody") then turns around and and begs for another woman to come home with him from a seedy bar ("Don't You Think Someone Should Take You Home"). Why Butch you sly dog.

"Canadian Tan" is probably the most grown up song he's yet made. "I have to fill up my lungs with smoke to get things off my chest" Walker sings on top of a rag time whiskey tune complete with a gospel arrangement and steel guitars. Anyone up for a baptism in suds?

The second half of the album floats on forgettable moments. Songs like "She Likes Hair Bands" and "House of Cards" come off as filler to appease the fans of old. "Days Months Years" sounds like the Brian Setzer Orchestra recording a twisted version of "Santa Baby". Walker begins to recycle ideas about getting wasted and croons about pissing in gas tanks. Now I know why they invented the skip button.

The final song "Be Good Until Then" is Walker preaching to his inner child. "It's OK to cry if you feel it coming on, it'll let you know you're human in the end." Walker's hangover has finally gone away and now he's off to watch Twilight movies with his girlfriend before he starts the party all over again.

Are the lyrics a bit cliche? Sure. Is there much to deviate I Like It Better from his past albums aside from a more relaxed atmosphere? Not really. Walker has, and most likely, always keep his ambitions in check with his limited genre. He may be traveling down the rock n roll highway looking for kicks and tricks, but at least the ride hasn't been very bumpy, just a little dull at times.

Grade: B-

Review: Angels And Airwaves - Love

Growing up was never going to be an easy thing for Blink-182's Tom DeLonge to handle. This California brat was always comfortable in his tattooed skin and never thought twice about singing "It would be nice to have a blowjob from your mom." Yet life post 9/11 has been a constant up hill battle to come to terms with his inner punk urchin yet fulfill his desire to emulate The Cure (ie: mature).

First there was Box Car Racer, a now defunct band that only served the purpose to make money off of Blink b-sides. You mean you can play octave chords on an acoustic guitar? Impressive. Then there was 2003's Blink-182, perhaps the closest DeLonge ever came to balancing his punk roots and his budding knack for genuine songwriting - but then Blink called it quits leaving DeLonge holding the bag.

Enter Angels & Airwaves - his long running experiment in electro pop goodness and U2 sensibilities. Gone are the patented hollowed out octave chords (sort of) and upbeat drums fills of DeLonge's past. AVA's songs are built around swirling synth loops, echoing guitar licks, sing along choruses all topped off with three concept albums that follow a loose story line that only DeLonge understands.

Love is being offered as a free download from the band's website. It comes digitally wrapped in that "new age media" smell which is designed to make you think this album somehow deviates from the band's previous efforts. While there are glimpses of solid attempts at making something passable, Love continues AVA's legacy of self aware muddled emo pop.

DeLonge's nasaly tone is given a make over with more bottom added to his voice. While his intention is make him sound like the 34 year old that he is, the results come off like a congested 18 year old singing to his prom date. Just picture Bono or Robert Smith with H1N1 and you'll get what I'm saying.

Almost every song on the album is built from the same blueprint. Opening synth patterns lift the music for a floating effect. Drums, another synth or an Edge-tastic guitar riff keep building the song up and up until DeLonge takes it over with lyrics about flying, dreaming or dreaming of flying. It's the Hot Topic equivalent of John Mayer. Music for metal heads who want to speculate on the pathos of the human condition.

The album opens with instrumental "Et Ducit Mundum Per Luce" which is Latin for "I Don't Know What This Means, But I Think It Sounds Cool". "The Flight Of Apollo" sounds like the band's best song at times, but then it goes on for another 5 minutes and uses the lyrics "predator shark". Almost 3/4 of Love is too boring and too bland to ever hope to sink in and be memorable. Just because you write songs that average a 5 minute running time doesn't mean you've grown up - it means you're probably trying too hard.

And that's always been the problem with this band. DeLonge's ambition sinks his efforts from the get go. Bigger doesn't always equal better. It only adds up to over cooked ideas and medium rare musical slush. Nothing ever grabs your attention - it slowly puts you to sleep. AVA will be playing nursing homes for Generation Y

But in all fairness there are some modest surprises to be found. "Clever Love" succeeds thanks to it's straight forward approach. DeLonge skips the extended intro and goes straight for the most honest attempt for affection he's written since Blink. "Hallucination" is one of the heavier guitar songs which helps to set it apart from the rest of this exercise in pointless emo brooding.

He wants so badly to write the next Disintegration, Joshua Tree or even the next Bleed American, but instead of focusing on just one plan of attack, DeLonge has tried to cover too many bases with too little material. It's not like this album is terrible, it's just a snooze fest.

The biggest problem with Love, and indeed all of DeLonge's music, is that it deals too much with generalities. He always does enough to just scratch the surface and leaves the rest alone. Blink-182 could get away with that. After all the TRL crowd didn't really think too much about their favorite tunes. But if you want to grow up and show that you're more than just a bunch of tattoos and power chords, you have to be willing to go the extra mile. At least Blink is back together right?

Grade: C

John Mayer Apologizes For Racial Slur

John Mayer has taken to his twitter page to apologize for using offensive racial slurs in a "raw" interview with Playboy which finds Mayer discussing his sex life (surprise) and telling everyone about the preferences of his penis.

Mayer talks openly about his past with Jessica Simpson as well as why he doesn't court black women ("My dick is sort of like a white supremacist.") However Mayer made the ultimate no-no when he said "Someone asked me the other day, 'What does it feel like now to have a 'hood pass'? and by the way, it's sort of a contradiction in terms, because if you really had a 'hood pass, you could call it a n****r pass"

On twitter he wrote: "Re: using the 'N word' in an interview. I am sorry that I used the word. And it's such a shame that I did because the point I was trying to make was in the exact opposite spirit of the word itself."

He later continued: "It was arrogant of me to think I could intellectualize using it, because I realize that there's no intellectualizing a word that is so emotionally charged."

The interview will appear in the February edition of Playboy. Read The Hanging Tree review for his latest album Battle Studies here.

"New" Johnny Cash Song Leaked

The title track for Johnny Cash's final record, American VI: Ain't No Grave, has been released on the Man in Black's official MySpace page (listen to it below).

The song is vintage new age Cash. His broken baritone ruggedly fits in with the sparse production helmed by Rick Rubin. "Ain't no grave can hold my body down" he sings on top of swamp stomp blues guitar and ominous piano.

The track is one of the last recorded by Cash before his death in 2003 at the age of 71. Ain't No Grave is in stores February 23.

Lil Wayne Sentencing Delayed

While his prison sentence for weapons charges was set to take place yesterday, Lil Wayne was given a month long reprieve due to necessary dental surgery. Weezy's lawyers say he must undergo an unnamed procedure before his year long sentence. Wayne will reappear in court on March 2nd in New York City.

The acclaimed rapper has been busy preparing for life outside the spotlight. Word is he's been busy shooting as many as 10 music videos and making as many guest appearances as he could before his sentence was handed down.

Wayne's latest album Rebirth is in stores now and sold 176,000 units its debut week. Read The Hanging Tree review here.

The White Stripes Take On The Air Force

The White Stripes claim that a recruitment commercial for the Air Force that ran during the Super Bowl contained an unauthorized version of their song "Fell In Love With A Girl". The band is now threatening "strong action" to stop the ad from running.

The ad in question has been removed from the Air Force's web site as well as YouTube. I would post it if I could find it but it is no where to be found at the moment. Rolling Stone described the commercial.

From RollingStone.com: A comparison of the White Blood Cells single and the Air Force Reserve commercial reveals that the music is nearly exactly the same, with Jack White's guitar riffs firmly intact and another guitar replicating the cadence of the original vocal medley. The commercial initially seems like an X Games ad until three fighter jets fly into frame in its final seconds.

Third Man Records, Stripes front man Jack White's label, issued the following statement on its website regarding the fiasco.

"We believe our song was re-recorded and used without permission of the White Stripes, our publishers, label or management.

The White Stripes take strong insult and objection to the Air Force Reserve presenting this advertisement with the implication that we licensed one of our songs to encourage recruitment during a war that we do not support.

The White Stripes support this nation's military, at home and during times when our country needs and depends on them. We simply don't want to be a cog in the wheel of the current conflict, and hope for a safe and speedy return home for our troops.

We have not licensed this song to to Air Force Reserve and plan to take strong action to stop the ad containing this music."

You can watch the video for "Fell In Love With A Girl Below".

Performances From The Weekend

This weekend was a weekend for great televised rock performances. Below is Them Crooked Vultures from Saturday Night Live and The Who's turn at Super Bowl XLIV.

Them Crooked Vultures - Mind Eraser, No Chaser

Them Crooked Vultures - New Fang

American Idol: Or Why I Believe Most People Want To Be Euthanized

Perhaps The Greatest Testament To The Power Of Human Initiative

American Idol has jumped head first into its 9th season as American's once again become complacent with their own boredom. Watching musical, or any any talent based competition, on television is the high school show choir equivalent of watching the World Series of Poker, the National Spelling Bee, or paint drying.

Idol has never presented anything new to the American populace yet season after wretchedly dull season this show wraps itself in that cool new car smell. Can't you feel the drama and the anticipation pulsate through your very being every January when you know the search for the next great One-Hit-Wonder will begin? It's a huge money making scam that runs on replaceable parts.

This is what baffles me most about the long running success of Simon Cowell's brainchild: If American Idol went off the air today, what would be its legacy? Yes it has given birth to 3 passable stars that seem to have justified their existence in Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Jordin Sparks. But take a closer look at the show's track record and you discover just how mundane and unimportant is truly is.

The voters have elected 8 singers over the years who are supposed to encompass everything that the masses want in a pop star. However over half of the winners have been relegated to obscurity. Time for a quick game of "Where Are They Now?"

• Ruben Studdard was America's favorite stunt double for the giant boulder that tumbles after Harrison Ford in Raiders Of The Lost Ark. In 2003 he vaulted to fame based off his smooth R&B voice and his southern charm. Then he released his craptastic single "Sorry For 2004", put out 2 more records to the attention of no one - now he's got a greatest hits album coming out. Career over.
• Fantasia Barrino looked like she was going to be the next breakout star from the series. Her first album sold 1.8 million copies. But in a true testament to the fickleness of American Idol fans, her second record barely sold 500,000 units. Sure she didn't fall on her face - but can you name me 5 of her songs?
• Taylor Hicks was the man, and if you didn't think so his hit men dubbed "the soul patrol" would beat you mercilessly. But that was while he was on the show. Ever since he's faded into obscurity. His latest album debuted at a whimpering 56 on the Billboard charts and sold only 9,000 copies its first week.
• David Cook sold a million copies of his first record, but I bet you didn't know that before reading this.
• Kris Allen beat Mr. Flamboyant, Adam Lambert, and went on to sell only 250,000 copies of his first album, one of the lowest debuts for any American Idol winner.

Those are just the winners. However American Idol seems to be more famous for the rejects that appear on the competition. William Hung and General Larry Platt are the epitome of 15 minute fame. Hung became everyone's favorite tone deaf Mandarin while Platt became everyone's ambiguously gay former general. Yes both were funny and entertaining for all the wrong reasons, but at the same time these two are perhaps more famous than many (if not all) of the former winners I just listed.

And what about the other contestants that achieved fame for not winning? Chris Daughtry, Adam Lambert, Clay Aiken have all gone on and achieved fame and fortune - but their music is just as contrived, bland and mediocre as those who have won. Just because you make radio friendly cock rock or dentist office music doesn't mean you're good - it means you're a puppet on a string.

And who can forget the great judges? A British guy with a penchant for wearing t-shirts that show the exact shape and size of his nipples paired brilliantly with a coke head and a guy who used to play for Journey - these are the ones trusted with helping to select the next great American song bird? Paula Abdul brought the show unwanted scandal when she slept with one of the contestants - who's now in jail by the way.

So here is where we stand - 8 seasons, 8 winners, 5 no bodies, 3 proven stars, 3 highly fashionable yet incredibly pilled out judges, countless You Tube moments and a too many facepalms to count. I propose that American Idol only serves to fill the empty void left by Uncle Sam's unwillingness to give in and allow for legal euthanization. Because why else would people want to sit and watch programming this mind numbingly awful? Because this is America and we're used to it I suppose.

Kurt Cobain's Daughter To Make Music Debut

Frances Bean Cobain is to make her career music debut in what is perhaps one of the strangest combinations of collected musical talent in recent memory.

Cobain, Andrew WK, Weird Al Yankovic and Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance will all perform on a song called "My Space" which will be featured on the titled debut for the band Evelyn Evelyn - a side project featuring Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls.

The album will be released March 30.

The 17 year old Cobain was recently in the news in December when her crack whore of a mother, Courtney Love, lost custody of her due to "financial reasons". Cobain is now in the care of Kurt's mother Wendy O'Connor.

The Who Play Press Conference

The Who took to the stage for their press conference leading up to their Super Bowl Halftime performance this Sunday.

Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend used only their acoustic guitars to play stripped down versions of "Behind Blue Eyes" and "Pinball Wizard". Watch below.

Michael Jackson Doctor To Be Arraigned

The Associated Press is reporting that Dr. Conrad Murray, the last person to see Michael Jackson alive, is to be arrested on Friday and brought up on charges of involuntary manslaughter according to an unnamed source close to the investigation.

Murray, who has been practicing medicine in Houston, flew to Los Angeles last weekend and is said to be working with his team of defense attorneys.

Police have been investigating since Jackson's death last June. The toxicology report revealed the singer had a host of drugs present in his system at the time of his death including Propofol, Xanax and Methadone among others.

Murray has always maintained his innocence in the case even releasing a video stating his case. You can see it below.

You can read a more detailed report at Billboard.com

Award Shows Are Stupid

Rhinestones and Fro-Hawks - A Winning Combination Huh?

It's taken me a while, but I've finally sorted it out. Awards shows are stupid. Not in every aspect, not in every nomination or award, but on the whole they cannot be trusted. The case that convinced me? This year's Grammy Awards, and for two prime reasons. Number one: The Black Eyed Peas were nominated for Album of The Year. Number two: Taylor Swift won Album of The Year.

Take a moment and consider that term: Album Of The Year.

While it must be considerate of, say, cultural relevance in that a collection of songs may dominate a year of popular music, surely there is also an implication of musical quality. I am not one to discern this quality, most often, but I am never the less definitively clear about the following: The Black Eyed Peas are terrible. No, they are. Horrible. Their music is relentlessly tuneless, insipid, and idiotic. Their gimmick is that four elaborately dressed people stand side by side on stage dancing both independently and poorly while shouting awful, repetitive lyrics about nothing. They took Dick Dale's Miserlou (aka, The Pulp Fiction Theme) and simply added themselves going "PUMP it!...PUMP it!" on certain beats. They are terrible. Terrible, terrible, terrible. Terrible.

And their album The End was nominated for Album of The Year. I don't care if every track occupied the number one spot for the entire length of the CD's release - if major cities renamed themselves after group members; no amount of cultural relevance can make up for music as crappy as what the Black Eyed Peas have created for years. This is not my opinion against what may very well be yours; so much of what I dislike I am content to simply dislike. The Black Eyed Peas suck at making music. Millions of people on this earth are better at it, none of whom will ever be included in an Album of The Year nomination.

But there is at least some manner of distinction between the Black Eyed Peas and their insanely superior contemporaries. I know that Taylor Swift has not written her songs for me or men of my demographic, and I'm not out to take shots at her for not being more like Bob Dylan. Her success makes sense to me and I am fine with her existence within popular music. It's just that I've heard her songs for decades. I have. I heard them when they were called "Kiss Me" and "Torn" and...I can't even remember the myriad tunes by sweet young women that sound Just Like what Taylor Swift is creating now. Her songs are agreeable, and surely better than I could create, but bland and obvious and corny. And perennial.

Did the Album of The Year have to go to my favorite band? Absolutely not. I could, first and foremost, not care much less about the Grammies, but the mere fact that music's big night for awards crowned a pop CD as politely blithe as Taylor Swift's "Fearless" as best for the whole year is...striking. It's stupid. It strains for conceivability. It makes the whole industry seem cockeyed and disoriented. Either 2009 was not a good year for music, or the Grammies have a screw loose.

And awards shows do this year after year after year, and yet we never stop watching them or believing their hype. Lets try a thought experiment: How well do you remember the film "Shakespeare In Love?" I am going to guess that if you can recall the movie at all, your recollections are likely mild at best, that you have not watched it in years and have no plans to bring this streak to an end. And yet Shakespeare In Love won best picture in 98' over "Saving Private Ryan". You remember that movie a little better, don't you? Everyone does. Its a better, more important movie.

The thing is that it seems these academies and...whichever collections of informed critical minds, have a great way of over estimating their current subjectivity, of vaulting what is planely so, such as the Black Eyed Peas creating bad music, and attempting to uncover a less obvious perception of art in current supply. Yes! We're giving best picture to a film about Shakespeare's inspiration in the form of a comedic romance...OVER a World War 2 movie! A really, really good World War Two movie by a great director! Wrap your brains around THAT, viewing public!

Lets try another thought experiment: When I say the following, what is the first thing that comes to mind?

Milli Vanilli.

Admit it: Grammy Winners was not top of the list.

By Dave Beauchene