2008

This week I’d like to discuss something that is very near and dear to my heart – our United States soldiers. No matter what your stance is on the current state of the conflict in Iraq or elsewhere in the world, the individuals that fight to maintain and uphold our rights and liberties are some of the bravest, most courageous people you will ever meet.

The new HBO series John Adams has, to a degree, helped remind me of how and why our country was founded in the first place. Last month we reached, for a lack of a better term, a milestone of 4,000 casualties in the war in Iraq. All of these individuals have their own stories and they all need to be told. The one I want to bring your attention this week is the story of Marine Cpl. Matthew D. Conley.

Matthew Conley died at the age of 21 in Iraq. He was a father, a husband, a son and a soldier. He also went to high school in Greenhill, Alabama with Jason Isbell. Jason Isbell is one of my favorite songwriters today. He was once a member of Drive-By Truckers, but now has his own band. After Conley died, Isbell wrote a song that was a tribute to this fallen hero. The song, aptly titled Dress Blues, uses vivid imagery to tell the story of Matthew’s funeral.

Read on for the conclusion of this week’s Land of Confusion…

After nearly 20 years the holy grail of electric basses, Jaco Pastorius’ Bass of Doom, turned up in New York City recently. Bass Player Magazine’s Chris Jisi got to play

Maybe because we’ve been reporting about the endless stream of festival announcements we let this slip by, but I was totally unaware that their was even such a thing as

The lineup for the Jammys came out today, and it looks really good to us: Page McConnell, Booker T. Jones, String Cheese Incident’s Kyle Hollingsworth, James Carter, The Fab Faux,

Since the beginning of time, classic productions for both television and cinema provided some monumental music performances. While we often go on and on about the bands and the music, we sometimes forget to pay homage to the venues where the magic happens. Well here’s our chance.

Today, we’re taking an inside look at the Ten Greatest Fictional Music Venues Ever. The competition is fierce, but we think we got a pretty accurate list. So without further ado, let’s take a walk down memory lane:

10. Pikestreet – My So-Called Life

While the thought of spending an evening with Jordan Catalano’s band, The Frozen Embryos, as they butcher the Ramones’ I Wanna Be Sedated makes most people need a Rolaids, they do get some decent acts at Pikestreet, such as Buffalo Tom. Really, the best part about Pikestreet is you can hang out with Rayanne and rap about her beloved Cosmic Charlie closer at Palo Alto in 1971 or the Stagger Lee the Dead played in episode five, which she nearly missed when Angela scalped their tickets just for a chance to talk to Jordan Catalano. Luckily, “Rusty ran into this guy he knew from Vietnam who was in a wheelchair and had an extra ticket. He had a sexy upper bod, too.” And Rayanne let Angela have it for not miracling anyone.

Read on for nine more fabulous fictitious music venues…

I’m trying to find the best way to ease into this one, but I barely have words to describe Galactic’s video for Hustle Up. It’s one of the most frighteningly

To celebrate the 2008 Jammys nomination for eMusic Download of the Year, The Disco Biscuits are now releasing the Tractorbeam show from the Chameleon Club in Lancaster, PA on June