Archive: 2008

Cover records seem to be catching on these days–just take a look at what Cat Power is doing. But for Allison Moorer, her new album, Mockingbird, is a little different. It features one original song written by Moorer (the title track), and 11 covers–all of which were written by female singer-songwriters. It’s an organized and beautiful project to honor the voices that have shaped Moorer’s career, and it delivers with seductive and passionate visions.

Ben Folds has announced a late winter/spring tour that will involve a series of headlining dates on college campuses. Earlier this month,  Folds announced that he would perform with his hometown Nashville Symphony later this year, helping to open the orchestra’s 2008-2009 season during a Sept. 7 special event. Tour Dates February 200829 – West […]

The Stone Temple Pilots reunion will touch down for the first time at the Rock on the Range festival, to be held May 17-18 at Columbus, Ohio’s Columbus Crew Stadium. Other acts confirmed for the AEG Live-steered event, which is expanding this year to two days, include Kid Rock, Disturbed, 3 Doors Down, Staind, Papa […]

Whether playing banjos and steel guitars or loud electric guitars, Band of Horses proved that the only type of song they can’t play is a bad one.

On July 4th weekend 2008, ROTHBURY emerges as a new American celebration. For this next generation of the rock and roll music festival, ROTHBURY sets forth as a huge party with a purpose. Hosted at the one-of-a-kind Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury, Michigan, the unique festival site offers trails, forests, fields, lakes and beach fronts, […]

The Police will take one more victory lap through North America on their massively successful reunion tour before calling it quits for good, sources close to the tour tell Billboard.com. The Police — Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland — will play another 30-odd dates in May and July in North America, with 15 previously […]

A host of rare live Clash performance clips will be found on "The Clash Live: Revolution Rock," due on DVD April 15 via Epic/Legacy. PBS will broadcast excerpts from the film in early March, Billboard.com can reveal. Among the highlights are 1977 performances of "Capital Radio" and "What’s My Name" for Granada TV, "Guns of […]

David Bowie has lent his voice to the forthcoming debut album by Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson. Bowie provides vocals on two songs on the record – ‘Fannin’ Street’ and ‘Falling Down’. The album, entitled ‘Anywhere I Lay My Head’, features ten Tom Waits covers. It is set for release in the USA in May. Billboard […]

The Mars Volta have announced a new run of  April dates behind the band’s latest studio effort, "The Bedlam in Goliath."  So far, 7 dates have been planned kicking off April 1st at House of Blues in Orlando, FL and concluding April 21 in St. Paul, MN. Tour Dates April 20081 – Orlando, FL – […]

In our relentless pursuit of giving you the goods we figured we’d check in and see what some other people have going on… IGN rattles off the Top 10 Albums That Every Music Snob Name Checks Stereogum waxes poetic on the influence of Neutral Milk Hotel’s seminal 10-year-old album In The Aeroplane Over The Sea […]

We’ve finally got some confirmed dates for the first leg of Radiohead’s upcoming North American tour, as well as a list of cities they will hit on the second leg. The most anticipated tour of 2008 starts with a two-week Amphitheater run in West Palm Beach on May 5. Thom Yorke and the boys return […]

Scanning through the endless list of super groups, jam bands, hip hop acts and comedians slated to perform at this summer’s Bonnaroo, one act jumped off the page for me: the Bluegrass All Stars (Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Luke Bulla, and Bryan Sutton). Upon first glance, it’s probably easy to overlook this as this group as a highlight given that they join forces in so many shapes and sizes every summer.

The thing is though, this is a complete performance of the best and brightest musicians, and they have a whole show to play together. The bluegrass fest thing is usually snippets of collaboration involving standards and covers, but rarely do we see a cohesive setlist. With this show, we’re getting a more organized affair that might just go down history with Strength in Numbers or the New Grass Revival…

Instead of just sitting here slobbering, I’d rather just highlight some of the endless flexibility that is joining forces here. Read on for a diverse concoction of the collaborations to which the different members of the Bluegrass All Stars have contributed…

If you obsessively watched MTV anytime during the mid ‘90s there is a good chance you were familiar with Nada Surf and their quirky, spoken word-esque tome to dating and high school life: Popular.

You know, the one that kind of sounded like Weezer’s Sweater Song. Ringing a bell now? Well it was the kind of song that had many thinking they’d just be another one-hit wonder destined to be featured as the punch line on countless VH1 retro shows. Heck their own label even thought that, and dropped them because they didn’t think their follow-up album had another hit song like Popular.

End of story, right? Well not exactly. Nada Surf might have fallen off the collective mainstream music radar for a few years, but they were still hard at work crafting a new sound and recording. It was one of those records – 2003’s critically acclaimed Let Go – that my old roommate insisted I listen to. I instantly latched onto its lush, dreamy indie-pop, and it became the number one album I pushed on friends to make sure they heard too. Keep reading so I can convert you into a fan as well…

Photos by David Oppenheimer of Maceo Parker at the Orange Peel in Asheville, NC on 2/10/08.

Though they thrive on stage, the members of New Monsoon also know how to put together reliable studio albums, as evidenced by Hydrophonic (2001) and The Sound (2005). On V, they continue to demonstrate a fine ear for balanced, precise playing, creating a bright blend of sunny California rock, down-home, dirty blues and jazzy, world-music rhythms.

The Brakes, a Philadelphia-based band intent on staking a claim to the lineage of American rock and roll music, have signed with HYENA Records. They’ll release their debut full-length album, Tale Of Two Cities, on May 6th. The 12-track collection was recorded live during a dual city residency in the spring of 2007. The band […]

KEXP, Seattle’s listener-supported radio station, and Radio New York 91.5 FM, the city’s public radio station, announced today that they are joining forces to create Radio Liberation, an unprecedented partnership dedicated to listeners and independent music. Beginning on March 24, 2008, Radio Liberation will air KEXP-produced programming Monday through Friday on Radio New York 91.5 […]

Sonic Youth is preparing to write a brand new album, which the band aim to release early next year. The band performed two songs songs ‘Jams Run Free’ and ‘Cool Thing’ during the Marc Jacobs runway show at the Armory on Lexington Ave on Friday night, and speaking after the show, Thurston Moore said they’re […]

The Sasquatch! Music Festival has announced its dates for 2008. The annual event, which will take place at the Gorge Amphitheatre along the canyons of the Columbia River in Washington State, has expanded to three days for the first time this year. It will take place Memorial Day weekend, May 24-26. The festival’s complete lineup […]

In recent years, the tale of Blind Melon has taken a dramatic turn – from an abrupt and tragic end, to a rebirth and reconnection with their legion of fans. No matter how you slice it, the group was responsible for some of the most memorable and pure-sounding rock music of the ‘90s. And with […]