Posts by Ace Cowboy

It’s been a long fucking week here at HT HQ — longer than the last note in A Day in the Life — so let’s head into the weekend on the fun side of rock ‘n roll. Buffalo’s Armcannon calls itself a glorified video game cover band, playing intricately arranged versions of nostalgic themes. But […]

It turns out Prince is not suing his fans: “…[Prince] is simply looking to provide Prince fans with exclusive music and images entirely free of charge, and bypassing unofficial and unauthorised phoney fan sites that exploit both consumers and artists.” Still, it was fun to see an artist fuck over his fans that royally, even if the whole wispy mustachioed episode now seems to be a big understanding.

The festival’s website says “Tough shit, honkey,” mas o menos. Originally called for today, the initial artist announcement for the expanded Big Cypress shindig will be unveiled some time…well, whenever the fuck ever.

But some of our friends attended last night’s tribute concert to Bob Dylan, celebrating Todd Haynes upcoming biopic. Apparently Cat Power no-showed the Beacon bill, but My Morning Jacket, Calexico, The Roots, Yo La Tengo, Lee Ranaldo and many others showed up to put on, well, a mediocre performance. Reports from our sources have been […]

It means no worries, brahhh: “Lion King audiences at the Minskoff have been sniffing the sweet scent of marijuana. It turns out the pot-head fans of former Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, who’s doing a nine-day stint at the Nokia Theater next door, were lighting up. ‘The smoke was so thick it was seeping through […]

If someone would have told me a month ago that the biggest album sales controversy in the music industry during the first week of November 2007 would involve Britney Spears and The Eagles, I’d probably punch them in the testicles and/or tits. Yet, somehow, that’s exactly what’s happening this week. Billboard today announced a major […]

Explain yourselves, you thieving punters, right nobs and tosspots: “Some 62 percent of the people who downloaded ‘In Rainbows’ in a four-week period last month opted not to pay the British alt-rockers a cent. But the remaining 38 percent voluntarily paid an average of $6, according to the study by comScore Inc.”

The Hidden Track staff last night headed to the Anthology Film Archives to attend the New York premiere of Les Claypool’s directorial debut, a mockumentary send-up of the jamband scene surrounded a fictional band called Electric Apricot. The film’s at once an improvisational comedy in the Christopher Guest mold and a true-to-life character study that […]

So the Writers Guild of America walked off the job for the first time in nearly two decades, leaving a gaping hole in this nation’s nightly programming. Gone for now are The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and the other late-night romps, leaving a gaping hole in HT’s Televised Tune department as well. Fuckers. The […]

Warren Haynes’ 19th Annual X-Mas Jam hits Ashevegas, NC in about six weeks, and the hardest workin’ dressed-down man in the music business finally dropped the lineup on us. Bring your AARP discount cards: Outside of Grace Potter, it ain’t a young lineup, boasting Jackson Browne, Peter Frampton, Col. Bruce Hampton, Gen. Bruce Hornsby and more…read on for the initial list of performers.

So the undefeated Patriots eked out a victory over the now-defeated Colts, and we’ll be hearing an assload on ESPN tonight about Boston’s current sports dominance. But if we’re gonna have to hear about fucking Boston all night, at least let’s listen to some kickass Boston as well. So as we check out the top […]

Back before mostly everyone besides executives for the major sports leagues grew tired of Robert Randolph, the frontman put aside his Family Band in favor of a short-lived project that garnered nothing but insanely positive reviews. Joined by Chris Chew, Cody and Luther Dickinson and the awesome John Medeski, The Word instantly became one of […]

As the title of this post implies, this one’s all over the board — another theme-less, seamless bundle of mismatched tunes from the home hard drive. It’s got everything except the tie that binds: jazz, funk, soul, roots, bluegrass, folk and even a splash of punkish pop. The first track comes straight from the newly released Harlem Experiment, the third volume from Ropeadope‘s acclaimed “Experiment” series. We’ll provide a quick taste, but the album really is a must-buy.

• It’s Just Begun: The Harlem Experiment — The Harlem Experiment
• Caledonia: Rick Danko & Levon Helm — 1/28/83 Portland, OR
• Jealous Guy: Donnie Hathaway — Donnie Hathaway Live
• Frankenstein: Marcus Miller — Silver Rain
• Cold Rain & Snow: Peter Rowan & Tony Rice — Quartet
• Roads: Reid Genauer — 7/6/02 Gathering of the Vibes
• Teddy Picker: Arctic Monkeys — Favourite Worst Nightmare

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS WEEK’S FRIDAY MIX TAPE

The fresh-faced target of Phil Lesh’s adoration will drag his part-time boss onto the Conan program — it’s a good thing they tape before the early-bird special: “I’m having a fantastic time playing with Phil Lesh & Friends. We’re in New York City right now doing 10 shows at the Nokia Theater. On November 7th, I will be performing a new song from my next record on the Conan O’Brien show. The Phil & Friends band have been kind enough to do the show with me…”

There’s been a shitstorm of public comment concerning Sasha Frere-Jones’ New Yorker piece about the lack of black influence among the current crop of indie bands. Say what you will about the merits of the article — okay, we’ll say it: far from flawless — but we’d bet you’ll see an overcompensation on the part […]

HT Contributor Eliot Glazer has tremendously terrible taste in music. But he makes everything sound so damn appealing, so we allow him this soapbox…

I had never been much of a Family Guy fan. I found the humor too easy and not silly enough to actually be smart. That is, until I witnessed this clip on the television. Apparently, the writers of Family Guy face the same non-existential crisis I do: Is Randy Newman retarded or brilliant?

I’m pretty sure he’s just schizophrenic, suffering from maintaining two separate personalities. There’s Randall, the husky-voiced composer who writes and performs melodically expansive ruminations that have always labeled him the self-effacing philosopher that can be found waxing intellectual in a nearby dark corner (see: You Can Leave Your Hat On, Political Science, and God’s Song).

Then there’s Randy, the middle-aged dude whose quirky, fun canon of kid-friendly work equate to your goofy uncle’s deepest belly laugh (see: Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear and every song from the Pixar soundtrack library…ever).

When the “Randy” from the Family Guy clip pronounces “first” as “foist” before literally narrating what his eyes see (“left foot, right foot…”), I’m led to believe that the guy has somehow cheated his way into the larger pantheon of American music. Because that’s exactly what he is: a legendary American musician who has been showered in awards and accolades throughout his entire career, and not without witnessing other coveted musicians paying their respects by covering his tunes. But is it a sham? Read on to find out more about the true Randy…

Construction (In the Name of U2): “They plan to build Ireland’s tallest tower in Dublin and revamp their city centre hotel – to ensure their legacy lives on long after the music stops. Bono and The Edge have unveiled plans to redevelop the Clarence Hotel on the city’s historic quays, which they bought in 1992.”

Warriooooors…come out and play-ayyyy. And by ‘Warriors’ I mean ‘Commenters,’ but Commenters would be a ridiculously shitty name for a hardcore street gang, even if they had the coolest jackets and/or get-up on the block. Seriously, though, we didn’t see a noticeable decline in readership yesterday, but someone must’ve turned down the volume. Where’d everyone […]

You know when you see a precocious band comprised of young musicians with chops, and all you want to do is grab them by their fresh faces and beg them to stay true to this moment for the rest of their careers? That’s how I felt when I caught Back Door Slam‘s rippin’ blues set […]

You don’t know how closely Hidden Track came to running a name-your-own-price promotion after Radiohead announced its own unique marketing plan. But then we realized that not only are we already an entity gratis, nobody’d pay a dime to read stuff ‘n nonsense from one guy with a strange nom de plume and one Jew-sounding dude. In any event, Paste Magazine is giving it a go…read on below.