2007

Friends, there is love on the planet, and thy name is Herbie. The jazz master is like a slice of fresh picked orange in your mouth, a burst of sunshine in your ears. But let’s not waste words or sense-based descriptors; let’s get straight to the music.

Here we have the beginning of a 1993 set by the Herbie Hancock Trio, featuring Josh Littleton on bass and the amazing Gene Jackson on the kit, music that dares you not to smile. The opening track, I Love You, is a long, fluid, sparkling stream of music that flows right into a strutting Cantaloupe Island. Check out the drum solo about 10 minutes into the first tune, not to mention, of course, the piano that is simply everywhere. Unreal. This week’s edition closes with a stunning Maiden Voyage. No talking; just listen to it.

And as a bonus, another shade of Herbie’s genius: a short, four-song Head Hunters set from 1974. Everything from the super slick Butterfly opener to the jazzy jungle jam of a Chameleon closer drips with the funk. Enjoy!

• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD STORMY HERBIE FROM 1993
• CLICK HERE FOR THE BONUS 1974 FOUR-SONG SET

Ever since Justin Timberlake revealed Janet Jackson’s Nubian Nipple at Super Bowl XXXVIII, the NFL seems to exclusively tab classic rockers to perform during halftime at the Super Bowl as to not repeat that Awakening of Areola. The recent tradition continues, and the NFL yesterday officially announced that Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers got the gig at Super Bowl XLII on February 3rd in Phoenix.

Petty grew up in football crazy Gainesville, so we’re pretty sure he’s been to a big game or two. No word yet on whether Petty will dedicate Even The Losers to our woeful Jets, who finally played a good game yesterday. What else we got?

• The Disco Biscuits announce their first ever European tour
• Band of Horses plans a big world tour for next year
• Steven Van Zandt unveils a class about the history of rock music
• Revisiting the site of Otis Redding’s death forty years later
• Billy Joel takes a shot at the war with the release of Christmas in Fallujuh
• Saranac officially announces their deal with moe.
• Tea Leaf Green finally confirms their four-night New Years’ run
• Neddy lists the shows of the week
• Feel bad about downloading music illegally? Here’s your chance to atone

Finally, congratulations to Ryan Montbleau, Club D’elf and Martin Sexton for winning big at the Boston Music Awards…we enjoy all three.

Remember when 70,000 people showed up to an inaugural Bonnaroo for a lineup consisting exclusively of jambands and improvisatory musicians? The crowd hasn’t grown much in number since then, but the festival’s stature and credibility have increased tremendously. At this point you’d have to consider this camping behemoth one of the more preeminent festivals in the world.

And it’s possible that 2008 will continue to see to ‘Roo cement its reputation. The blogs and message boards are abuzz today after the Digital Media Wire passed on a rumor that Led Zeppelin and Metallica have just signed on to play Bonnaroo ’08. This wouldn’t be the first appearance of a member of Led Zeppelin at Bonnaroo — last year bassist John Paul Jones participated in the SuperJam at the festival and sat in with Uncle Earl and Gillian Welch on a few tunes.

If true, can you even imagine how much money Superfly and AC Entertainment had to have thrown at Zeppelin’s management to convince them to sign? Considering Bonnaroo grossed $17 million last year, we’re thinkin’ a million dollars isn’t out of the question. We don’t envy the competition: This summer’s festival season is sure to be intense with Lollapalooza, Coachella, Bonnaroo and the newly announced Vineland Festival all attempting to outdo each other. For now this is just a rumor, but it sure is fun to think about the possibilities.

I’d call this a full weekend, with bright spots abound. I watched two friends enter the eternal bond of matrimony then walk back down the aisle to the sounds of

It tears us up every time we hear him drawl that Southern drawl, and we’ll have that opportunity once again: Levon Helm returns to New York’s Beacon Theatre on March

Get ready for more makeshift, mediocre, misguided Fillmores: The Wall Street Journal today published a fine feature on the world’s largest concert promoter, and it appears the current business model just ain’t generating enough capital for Live Nation. The company will now attempt to morph into a record label, memorabilia dispenser and employer of seasonal workers. Let’s see whose identity they can steal for those new growth drivers. Read on for the full story…

Kudos to the good people at Farm Aid for the best turnaround this side of Bonnie Tyler. HD Net will feature highlights from September’s concert this Sunday at 6PM (as