Posts by Ace Cowboy

News broke this weekend that Beyoncé will play Etta James in the upcoming film, Cadillac Records, an exploration of Chicago in the 1950s. The obvious jokes about their respective weights and looks aside, I couldn’t really care less about the casting decision. I just hope it pays her well so she doesn’t have to hock […]

The theft-endorsing version of Napster’s gone. The white-collar pigs shut down OiNK, presumably for good. Fuck, it’s a bad time to be a music freeloader. But all that [supposedly] changes today. Qtrax, a five-year-old startup that claims to have struck deals with three of the big four record labels, will begin offering free and unlimited […]

Ringo Starr recently kicked off his hometown Liverpool’s year as the European Capital of Culture with a live performance of Liverpool 8 in front of 20,000 people. Coincidentally, this week I booked a nine-day trip to England and Amsterdam for next month that’ll take me to the Capital to see Liverpool host Inter Milan in […]

We’ve been closely following the New Jersey Festival Turf War between the promoters of Coachella (All Points West) and ACL/Lollapalooza (Vineland). Well, it appears Vineland folks have blinked. Our favorite scenesterscribe Mike Greenhaus reports that “co-producers Festival Republic and C3 Presents have decided to step back and launch Vineland in 2009.” We guess they ain’t […]

Seriously, if you don’t enjoy this week’s installment of the Friday Mix Tape, I’ll be reporting you to the authorities on suspicion of Communism and/or terrorism. Just try me, motherbitches. Try to stream this 46-minute masterpiece and not enjoy it. Like my failing English, it’s just unpossible. We start you off with the unheralded geniuses […]

It’s official, so get ready for The Neville Brothers, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffett, Tim McGraw, Santana, Sheryl Crow, Widespread Panic, Dr. John, Al Green, Diana Krall, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, The Raconteurs, Irma Thomas and thousands more. So The Raconteurs land on two festival bills in the span of a week — be careful, Young Jack, don’t step all over Franti/Keller Festival Territory.

Make sure to check out last year’s full JazzFest gallery from our man Danfun, and read on after the jump for the full release…ahhh, full release.

Fantastic news for fans of that lovely brooding baritone emanating from the mouth of Leonard Cohen. The legendary Québécois songwriter “will tour with his band in Canada and the U.S. in May and in Europe in the summer, according to leonardcohenforum.com. Details will be announced in February.” Fucking awesome, considering I was like 14 the […]

One of our loyal readers sent in this video and message, and because we’re in full Jessie Spano On Caffeine Pills Mode (there’s never any time!), we thought we’d just copy off his paper. So take it away Frank: “This video brought me great joy and thought I’d share. It makes me want to stand […]

Take it from famed New York Metropolitan Ed Kranepool and watch this short video as to the true origin of the band’s moniker. Our confidential informant Jesse Jarnow passed that clip along to us with the footnote: “What’s more amazing, is that the video was shot on the softball field in Hoboken, right by the […]

It’s been a good long while since we’ve gone rummaging through the Internet’s greatest bargain bin: the SugarMegs archives. So while my plate remains full with tasks related my daytime salaried position (read: piss off, freeloaders!), hopefully I can trust you fine folks to play quietly in the corner until things subside. The five gems […]

Your actual, personal experience at the modern music and/or arts festival rarely centers around the headliners. But when you look at an initial artist announcement, it’s difficult to draw your attention to anyone but the biggest names on the page. Keeping that in view, Coachella‘s lineup at first glance looks somewhat suspect, with only three […]

Day One of this year’s Austin City Limits festival brought me to the WaMu tent for about a half-hour of the first Belizean band to every play the event. I’d never heard of Andy Palacio & the Garifuna Collective before that day, but I left the tent with a profound respect for this musician, his […]

It’s a big day for football fans, with two Sunday Specials occupying the afternoon and evening airwaves. So pick up some Tostitos and the corresponding Pace Picante, call your friends and cram five people on a four-person couch, hire a midget stripper to serve everyone Gimlets and prepare yourself for some old-fashioned slobberknockers. I think […]

I’m dropping down a guarantee right here and now. I am Broadway Joe in a long fur coat on the eve of Super Bowl III. I am Mark Messier before a do-or-die Game 6 in New Jersey. I am George Foreman and you are searching for a low-cost muffler. And here’s my guarantee: You will […]

Record company executives and the RIAA for far too long have turned a blind eye to the pandemic that’s been tearing apart the integrity of the music industry. Album sales have dwindled and increasing ticket prices have seen many live performances scantily attended, leaving many musicians to secretly take matters into their own hands. You […]

Some kindly folks have alerted us to some fantastic videos over the past 24 hours, and they’re definitely worth your time. Check ’em after the jump…

Fire up the back room at Satriale’s Pork Store: We jokingly discussed increasingly confirmed East Coast Coachella‘s menacing impact on the definitely confirmed Vineland festival. But the New York Times this morning advanced the story, casually mentioning that both New Jersey festivals are tentatively scheduled for the weekend of August 8th – 10th. Is it […]

Radiohead tonight will debut many of the songs off In Rainbows in front of a live audience on London’s Brick Lane. Fans have been queuing up outside the intimate venue — Rough Trade East — for the free show, waiting for their chance to be among the first people to witness the new material in […]

It may only be one night, but we’d like to welcome back the band that every blogger is required by law to fellate virtually because they’re that damn good. Off the road for far too long, My Morning Jacket just announced its return to New York for what looks like a one-night engagement at Radio […]

Pre-Ed Sullivan even: “Fifteen previously unreleased Beatles tracks recorded live in 1962 have been acquired by Fuego Entertainment, a production company which plans to release them in conjunction with the Echo Vista Group. The new tracks mark the first time the classic Beatles lineup was captured live on tape, shortly after Ringo Starr replaced Pete […]