i don't think franz ferdinand is just a vinyl release this week (?). i would say thats list worthy

have the springsteen tour dates been announced yet? i head the pittsburgh date goes on sale on monday

http://www.backstreets.com/tour.html

Springsteen so far announced DC, Virgina and Pitt....check it.

Add this one to the list:

Gary Louris & Mark Olson - Ready For The Flood

http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Flood-Mark-Olson/dp/B001L4O4RO/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1232992907&sr=8-1

first song on the Bruce album is fantastic.

my favorite release this week is the one tom yaps left on my tramp stamp early sunday morning.

Frusciante!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mickey rourke should win the fucking oscar. go see the wrestler.

alpinisms is only now being released on CD?! christ, with albums taking that long to release, no wonder the record industry is in the tank

I heard de/vision played last week. Did any of you go?

Big ups on the Freezepop mention. Are they the best band in music? I would doubt it. But are they the most fun band? Abso-damn-lutely.

Alpinisms has been out on cd for while, this'd be the vinyl release.

Next Sunday Bruce Springsteen will perform during halftime at the Super Bowl. Fans will fawn, the press will recite hosannas, the new album's sales will spike and tickets will fly. But will it be a success?

Back in '75, when Bruce appeared simultaneously on the covers of both "Time" and "Newsweek", it was seen as a disaster. Bruised by the perception of overhype, Springsteen retreated and didn't release another album until three years later. The dark, brooding "Darkness At The Edge Of Town", which many consider his best. "Darkness" may not have contained "Born To Run", it certainly didn't feature "Hungry Heart", but Bruce went back on the road and won fans over one by one, via his live shows. There was an intimate connection between Springsteen and his fans, that bonded them to him. Bruce became an icon. It took the mainstream another half decade to realize it, with "Born To Run", but in the world of rock, Bruce was a God, if not THE God. And isn't that all that matters?

Somehow we've equated ubiquity with success. Sure, I can understand wanting enough fans and fame to pay your bills and give up your day job, but if you're always swinging for the fences, playing to the press and the lowest common denominator, does this increase your cred, even your bank account on a long term basis?

Bruce has got a new album. It's been available online for weeks. It sounds terrible.

Literally. By time it's been compressed for radio and squeezed down further as files it bounces right off of you. It sounds lousy on satellite radio. It doesn't sound like music. You'd think the Boss would take a stand. If Tom Petty releases an audiophile EQ'ed CD, can't Bruce?

No. Because Bruce is so busy playing in the stadium, so worried about money, that music has become secondary.

This is a problem facing all recording artists, sound quality. But we usually count on the leaders to break ground. But not Springsteen.

Speaking of breaking ground, I'd like to tell you "Working On A Dream" tests limits, that it's a new Bruce. But it's Bob Dylan that does that. This new album sounds just like the same old guy. With the big band. It does not demand listening.

And then there's the press. Mostly fawning. I was reading an article by the editor of the "Guardian" in the "New York Review Of Books". He spoke of the press' responsibility. I can understand the financial community missing the mortgage crisis, but where were the writers?

Sucking at the tit. Trying to become famous themselves. Kissing the asses of the players. Like Maria Bartiromo, flying on Citigroup's private jet. The journalists are just like Springsteen. More concerned with the trappings than the essence. They need to write good things about the Boss so they can be friends with him. And his management. So they can get perks.

The only negative review I've read is by the usually sunny Ann Powers in the "Los Angeles Times" (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-springsteen26-2009jan26,0,5216648.story). She said "Working On A Dream" was an album of singles in an era where no one has a hit single. Funny how she knows the truth and Bruce doesn't. If you can't have a hit single, isn't now the time to make a statement?

And what kind of statement is selling in Wal-Mart? My company paid me a lot of money so they can do whatever they want to make their money back? What's next, commercial endorsements?

But this is not really about the Boss. This is about us. Our culture. If something generates revenue, one can't say anything negative about it. You can't criticize "Paul Blart: Mall Cop", it was number one two weeks in a row!

But weren't musicians supposed to be about more than money? Didn't they claim dollars didn't keep you warm at night? Who is spewing these falsehoods into their ears, making them scamp for every last buck?

Their handlers. Their labels, managers and agents. Used to be they got into the industry in order to be closer to the music. Now they're in it for the money. They saw Tommy Mottola make all that cash, they want theirs too. They want that rich and famous lifestyle.

So, just like with the financial crisis, we've got a business heading straight for a cliff and no one will blow the whistle. BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S MAKING TOO MUCH FUCKING MONEY!

But "Working On A Dream" won't even sell two million copies in the U.S. And everybody who goes to the gig wants to hear the old tunes. Just go and see. Try visiting a bathroom while Bruce plays a new number, you'll have to join the queue.

Used to be our musicians were leaders. Now they're sheep. And we're the poorer for it.

Coconut Records released Davy.

Wow, is that a joke, Bob Lefsetz?