am/fm

(NB: There are bad words in this song. Also, it may cause you to spontaneously get freaky, now.)

(via)

By Ed Condran
Special to amNewYork

Here's a classic

President Bush ends the war in Iraq. The Chicago Cubs wins the World Series. Guns N’ Roses, aka Axl Rose, finally decides to release “Chinese Democracy.”

Each of those are things that most thought were unlikely to occur in this lifetime.
But shockingly enough, the latter will occur Sunday, which is extra strange since albums traditionally are released on Tuesdays. But the move almost makes sense for Rose since the enigmatic frontman is unlike any other rocker.

Continue reading "Guns N' Roses 'Chinese Democracy' - Stop the presses, it's really coming out this time" »

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In the biggest music news of this millennium, Guns 'n' Roses' long awaited "Chinese Democracy" will actually hit shelves on Sunday, after many, many delays -- work on the album started in 1994. But, if you just can't wait any longer, the album is streaming in full on MySpace.

It definitely already sounds dated, but it's also ... dare I say it ... good. Chuck Klosterman says so much more eloquently over at the A.V. Club.

By eh

NPR is currently streaming an album by an obscure young artist calling himself The Fireman. Go give it a listen.

Does that voice sound familiar? It should.

Find out who it is after the jump.

Continue reading "The Fireman" »

By Ed Condran
Special to amNewYork
• Tom Morello is at The FIllmore New York at Irving Plaza on Friday. 9pm, $25.

Tom Morello has been plenty busy in 2008. His reunited band, Rage Against the Machine, embarked on a world tour while the Harvard alum with a political science degree — with honors, of course — performed and stumped for President-elect Barack Obama. Now he’s back with his other project, The Nightwatchman, and a new album, “The Fabled City.”

amNewYork spoke to the iconic guitarist

Continue reading "Tom Morello still all the rage" »

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I love these kids' interpretation of "Dirty Work."

Today, on The Onion's main page: Donald Fagen defends Steely Dan to Friends.

And then, on the non-fiction AV Club side, the staff writers discuss which albums they spend the most time arguing about. First up, Keith Phipps: "Any album by Steely Dan." A debate rages in the comments, with more people coming out in favor of the Dan than not.

More fuel for my theory: People who love music, love Steely Dan. Even if they won't admit it.

By eh

Almost a year ago, I listened to Sia's debut album on the Starbucks label, "Some People Have Real Problems." At the time I hated it. I said something snotty, like, "We already have one KT Tunstall."

And I take it all back. There have been several times that her album has popped up on random on the old iTunes, and I've said to myself, "I like this. Who is this?"

It's still not my favorite album ever, but I find it quite pleasant, and I think she has a nice voice. Almost like a less funky Alice Smith. (Oh, and listen to Alice Smith always. That's an opinion I'll stick by.)

By eh

Rihanna's video premieres tonight on MTV. I'm not sure why that's significant, as the video is already online (see above), but kudos to MTV for getting back to the music. (And enough with premiering videos on 20/20, etc.)

The video itself is not super exciting: mostly languid shots of static people looking wistful, but I guess it matches the tone of the song.

Thanks!

By Ryan Chatelain
• Bob Schneider will be performing at Bowery Ballroom on Saturday. 8pm, Sold out.

“Believe me, I would love to be as popular as possible,” says singer-songwriter Bob Schneider.

While the Austin, Texas, musician has developed a nationwide cult following and flirted with big-time success (his video “Captain Kirk” cracked VH1’s rotation in 2004), Schneider believes he might be more famous if he settled on a uniform sound or delivered only songs from the heart.

Continue reading "Bob Schneider does it his way" »

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Stereogum has a new video up for Army Navy's "My Thin Sides," featuring Human Giant's Paul Scheer.

The video is pretty funny, and the song is catchy, too.

I recently picked up "Things The Grandchildren Should Know" by Mark Oliver Everett, aka E of the alt-rock band The Eels. E had a pretty interesting life - his dad, for instance, was Hugh Everett III who was a physicist who proposed the Many-Worlds interpretation of quantum physics. If you want to know what that is, you'd better click on the link cause I can't explain it.

Anyway, E's book is a memoir which follows his life that is filled with tragedy. For example, and this is pretty well documented, The Eel's second album, "Electro-Shock Blues" was written after his sister committed suicide, some of his friends died and his mother was diagnosed with cancer. This is not your typical rock autobiography.

Continued after the jump.

Continue reading "The Eels video review or an investigation into the mind of Mark Oliver Everett" »

By Ed Condran
Special to amNewYork
• Nicole Atkins is at Bowery Ballroom Friday. 8pm, $16.

Even though Nicole Atkins moved out of New York City in 2007 after living in Brooklyn for seven years, the sensual singer-songwriter still has an affinity for the city.

“I still love New York,” Atkins says. “I come back often.”

Continue reading "Nicole Atkins in a New Jersey state of mind" »

Elephant 6 member Julian Koster is taking his holiday cheer on the road.

(You can't see it so well, but he's playing the saw.)

The musician is going on a standard tour, but just to spice things up, he's also going caroling at people's houses while he's in town. Koster is in NYC Dec. 13-14.

Press release, which includes details on how to get Koster and friends to come to your house, after the jump.

Continue reading "Julian Koster goes caroling, orThe Christmas rush is starting" »

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(via)

The baby from Nirvana's "Nevermind" cover is now 17 (jeez, was it that long ago?), but he just can't get enough of that pool. Just recently, Spencer Elden recreated the photo, this time wearing shorts. "It remains unclear as to why Elden decided to shoot this new photo," reports MTV news.

Well, why the heck not? See the original here.

By Robert Spuhler
Special to amNewYork
•Big Daddy Kane is at B.B. King Blues Club on Friday. 8pm, $30.

Tired of the same five producers recording every song on hip-hop radio? Tired of rappers with the same flows talking about the same topics?

Big Daddy Kane feels your pain.

Continue reading "Big Daddy Kane celebrates 20 years of hip-hop stardom" »

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(via Boing Boing)

The team called Walter Robot produced Gnarls Barkley's latest music video, a B-side to the single release of "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" called "Mystery Man." It features a self-doubting superman-type rendered in paper cutout-style animation, and follows in a long line of inventive and fun GB videos. (Also, there's an official video of GB doing a cover of Radiohead's "Reckoner" up on the YouTube.)

By eh

A few weeks ago, I posted about the abundance of "Womanizer" remixes, and here's one more to add to the list. The Hood Internet mixes Spears' track with The Department of Eagles' "No One Does It Like You." It's pretty cool.