LoC: Black Clouds > Restless Wind
May 3, 1999 might not be an important date to many of you, but it is to me. On this day, Oklahoma saw some of the worst tornadoes known to man. Along with my family and friends, I survived. But not everyone was so lucky…
The following day I traveled from Oklahoma City to Tulsa to catch a show of the String Cheese Incident and Gov’t Mule co-headline tour. Along I-44, I saw more destruction than I had ever witnessed — with the exception of the Federal Building. An entire outlet mall was demolished along with gas stations, homes, and everything else that was in the way of the F5 that struck that day.
Wind has an awesome power. I think we can all agree on that. My grandfather once told me a joke that goes something like this:
Question: Why is it so windy in Oklahoma?
Answer: Because Texas blows and Kansas sucks.
If you don’t get it, then you either know nothing about geograpy, or Big 12 sports. (Side note: I’m a OSU Cowboys fan, big props to the Pokes for almost handing it to the Sooners yet again — better luck next year!)
READ ON for more of Land of Confusion – Black Clouds > Restless Wind…
Televised Tune: On The Tube This Weekend
Earlier this year rock veterans ZZ Top put out a fantastic DVD featuring footage shot in their home state of Texas during their 2007 world tour. ZZ Top Lie From Texas contains all of the blues-rock favorites you love including La Grange, I’m Bad I’m Nationwide, Pearl Necklace and 14 others. Friday [all times Eastern]: […]
John Paul Jones & Sonic Youth Collaboration
Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones is to perform with Sonic Youth to honour the 90th birthday of choreographer Merce Cunningham. Jones and Sonic Youth are set to collaborate on a work composed by mixed-media sound composer Takehisa Kosugi at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music next April, reports The Guardian. The show, called ‘Merce Cunningham […]
The Glide 20: Our Top Albums of 2008
Do records even matter anymore? The whole concept of listening to an album from beginning to end – a continuous journey ala Dark Side of the Moon or London Calling? Yup, despite the decline in physical sales and the current climate – both brick and mortar and digital – for some the album is still an art-form to be fully digested, and 2008 had a ton of main courses. It’s always easier to hear a few seconds of a track on MySpace or download a few tracks from iTunes, but these records deserve to be listened to from beginning to end – one, two, three or dozens of times.
State Radio Announces 2009 Tour Dates
Punk rock reggae trio STATE RADIO have announced an early 2009 US tour that kicks off on January 14 in Tucson, AZ and wraps on February 21 in Providence, RI. The socio-politically conscious band has been on the road since early 2008 supporting their sophomore studio album Year Of The Crow (Ruff Shod/February 08), which […]
Joe Satriani Sues Coldplay For Plagiarism
Rock guitarist Joe Satriani has sued British band Coldplay, accusing the Grammy-nominated stars of plagiarizing one of his songs.Satriani’s copyright infringement suit, filed yesterday (Dec. 4) in Los Angeles federal court, claims the Coldplay song "Viva La Vida" incorporates "substantial original portions" of his 2004 instrumental "If I Could Fly."The 52-year-old guitar virtuoso is seeking […]
The B List: 10 Best Archival Releases of ’08
We’ve reached December which means it’s time for every website, blog and music fan to start putting together their best of lists including us. Each week in December, I’ll present a new B List featuring my favorites of the year. Here’s a list of my ten favorite live archival releases of 2008…
10. Widespread Panic – Carbondale 2000
Release Date – 06/10/2008
Highlights – Jack, Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys, Chilly Water
The Skinny – Widespread Panic finally opens up their vault to release a fantastic show featuring the late Mikey Houser.
Where You Can Sample This Disc – Imeem
READ ON for the Top Nine Live Archival Releases of 2008 featuring albums from Ween, Frank Zappa, The Clash, Neil Young and much more…
Kermit + LCD Soundsystem = Masterpiece
This could be my favorite viral video of the month… [youtube]fXFfcubPYEE[/youtube] [Directed by Simon Owens, HT – MBV]
Pullin’ ‘Tubes: Remembering Frank Zappa
Today marks the anniversary of Frank Zappa’s death in 1993 and the music industry hasn’t been the same since. We would love to hear what Frank would’ve thought about Napster and the download revolution, but he was taken from us after succumbing to prostate cancer. There’s still so much interest in FZ’s music as fans […]
Bloggy Goodness: R.I.P. Odetta
We are a couple of days late on this, but we wanted to report on the passing of music and civil rights legend Odetta, of heart disease at age 77. Dubbed “The Voice of Civil Rights Movement” and “The Queen Of American Folk Music” by Martin Luther King, Jr., she help to inspire a generation […]