Save the chit-chat, let’s just jump right into the links: An Aquarium Drunkard posts a great piece and a slew of downloads from the Exile On Main Street sessions Bruce Hornsby
Not that I’m into velvet rope culture, but I was lucky enough to stroll the black carpet at the Beacon Theater premiere of the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line last November. The stars arrived and the girls dialed girlfriends to deliver reports on celebrity style. I left the theater that night admiring the acting’s obvious superiority over a somewhat mediocre script, but I still couldn’t shake the notion that nobody could truly nail the Man in Black.
I was a bit of a Cash late-bloomer. Sure, I’d always known the hits, but not until the summer in the year of our lord 2000 did Johnny ever provide the musical backdrop for such a protracted period of time for me. All summer long Cash’s ruggedly pained vocals serenaded our perpetual season of darts. He’d shout “Hey, Porter” when I’d hit double 20 or lament the time he took a shot of cocaine and shot his woman down after a just-missed-19 single three.
But the first time I heard his live performance at San Quentin, I got pretty geeked up. Part of me wanted to take a double shot of the manliest, dirtiest whiskey in the bar, smash a glass bottle on the table and stab the guy yappin’ at my lady right in the groin. Then I remembered I was a sheltered weakling from Lawn Gisland and my sudden confidence turned to envy of this man’s complete coolness.
I mention all this nonsense as a quasi-preface to this particular bit of town crying: A new, remastered two-CD, one-DVD Johnny Cash: At San Quentin set will be released to the masses later this month, and we’re offering a free copy to one lucky reader of this post. That’s right, one of youse can win the three-disc package as part of our first ever Everybody Wins When I Plug Something And In Return They Offer Me Free Shit To Give Away contest.
Some blogs pick winners at random and some like to throw out trivia, but I’d like to subjectively choose a commenter that deserves it based on their response to this question: If you were locked away in a pound-me-in-the-ass state prison for the rest of your living days, what individual musician or band would you least want swinging by the clink to provide a glimmer of hope to you and your fellow inmates? And like we’re back in grade school, explain your reasoning and show your work.
Respond early, respond often — the contest ends at midnight next Sunday evening, and a winner will be announced Monday, November 13th at a signing ceremony in the White House Roosevelt Room with oversized balloons and a bunch of fancy pens. Remember to leave an e-mail address at the bottom of your comment, and make sure to check back and see if you win the fuckin’ thing.
Read on after the jump for some samples from the release and a full track and band listing from this legendary follow-up to At Folsom Prison…
One of Nashville’s favorite sons, Bobby Bare Jr. has done it again. Pulling a who’s who of indie rock and roll together, the Young Criminal’s Starvation League churned out a bright album with The Longest Meow. Eleven musicians including Jim James, Patrick Hallahan, Carl Broemel all of My Morning Jacket, crafted the eleven track album in just eleven hours at Nashville’s Ocean Way Studios.
Autumn is in full-force right now as the days are quickly getting shorter and colder. But before the bustling of the holiday season arrives, take a minute to catch up on some tunes from the last couple of months. Sweden is in this fall as several bands from this country have peaked through into the States. The Shins make a return to form, and some new artists on the verge will appease. So, drink some cider and bundle up–it’s time to give your i-Pod some fuel.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are back with a new album in January. Just ten months after wowing the alt.indie world with their eponymous debut, the Philadelphia quintet have completed
Just days after wrapping a nationwide tour, The Hold Steady has announced another round of concerts for November and December. The Brooklyn-by-way-of-Minneapolis quintet released a new album, Boys And Girls In
In a message posted on their website, The String Cheese Incident have announced that flat-picker and band founder Bill Nershi will be leaving the band. After summer 2007, Billy Nershi
Warning: If you want your asses blown out, read this post… I’m not sure if New Line Cinema’s behind this leaked tease or whether it’s unauthorized sneakiness, but the first
This may have been the longest week ever…am I right? Well, Friday is finally here, and we’ve got our regular batch of end-week leftovers to keep you entertained: Relix gets Page Six fever with
Here’s a cool clip of the Killer Bs — Bobby, Billy and Brent — ransacking a piano in some hotel lobby. I always thought Brent slept out back in the alley, but I guess
