"“Last night, I fell in love with my job and Hotel Indigo-Athens all over again. Guests at the hotel made an impromptu decision to get married here at the hotel before heading to 40 Watt for the Drive By Truckers show."
Welcome to Rough Trade Shops: "DON'T FORGET TO PURCHASE THEIR NEW ALBUM 'GO-GO BOOTS' WITH EXCLUSIVE BONUS DISC FROM 11TH FEBRUARY AT ROUGH TRADE EAST AND COLLECT YOUR WRISTBAND AT THE SAME TIME, ANY REMAINING WRISTBANDS WILL BE GIVEN OUT 1 HOUR PRIOR TO THE STAGE TIME, FIRST-COME-FIRST-SERVED BASIS.........ONE PER PERSON
"Although the songs on the album are steeped in Southern rock tradition, the different flavorings likely aren't surprising when one considers Isbell's rich taste in music.
'I really like the Ting Tings,' he said. 'They are fun. I'm not crazy about [a lot of] hip-hop these days. I lot of hip-hop artists are not as creative as they were in the past. They are piling on guest appearances. MIA is doing some cool stuff, though, and Kid Cudi is a talented guy.'"
Albums Patterson Hood 1. Bloodkin - Baby They Told Us We Would Rise Again On the surface, no frills, meat and potatoes rock (and damn proud of it) but a closer listen reveals the finest songwriting all year as this 24-year-old band sings the horrifying tale of their trip back from the abyss and sees it through to a joyous life-affirming conclusion. It's like that Leaving Las Vegas movie with a happy ending - unbelievable if weren't true. Such well-treaded territory would suck if not for the magnificence of its execution. 'Wild Rhododendrons' is the finest songwriting I've seen all year, and 'The Viper' and 'Heavy With Child' are just as good. Meanwhile 'Easter Eggs' is the best song of man love I've ever heard (including 'Bobby Jean' and 'Angie')."
"Patterson Hood - Drive-By Truckers - Best of Decade List
1. The Glands - The Glands Patterson Hood by Susan J. Weiand My favorite album of the decade and also my all time favorite album ever to come out of Athens, GA. It came out in 2000 and is still growing on me nearly a decade later. Unfortunately it came out on Capricorn in the waning days of their attempt at resurgence and virtually no one outside of Athens heard it, but of those who have there is a cult of us who feel exactly like I do about it. They never released a follow up and Ross now manages a record store in town. A truly timeless masterpiece that gets better with every listen (and I've listened to it weekly for over nine years now)."
"So what does Ray Charles’s Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music have to do with the Drive-By Truckers’ Southern Rock Opera (2001), you might ask?"
"Picking the right ones wasn't such a difficult task, the band tells Spinner. 'It's pretty obvious, really,' guitarist/singer Mike Cooley says. 'It usually is. At some point, you start finding the corner pieces and the ones with the straight edges first.'"
"JASON ISBELL & THE 400 UNIT Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit [Lightning Rod] The former Drive-By Trucker loads his second solo record with a wealth of songwriting gems. No song will ever use the phrase “rolled-up $20 bill” in a lyric any better than “Cigarettes And Wine.”
MAPLEWOOD Yeti Boombox [Tapete] The album title pretty much says it all. Brooklyn boys make good. Harmonies and guitar glitter.
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS The Fine Print (A Collection Of Oddities And Rarities 2003-2008) [New West] The best way to fulfill a recording contract you’ll ever hear. Seems like some of these should have made a record somewhere along the way."
"“She smelled like cigarettes and wine.” I know that girl, you know that girl– hell, we all know that girl. Well, probably not the exact girl, but we’ve all known a few, and even more so, we all know the feeling he’s singing about. Even if you couldn’t understand English, you’d know exactly what is going on in this song.
If for some reason you don’t own the album, get it here."
"Was there a moment when you were younger where you heard a pop song and the format of that really clicked for you?
Oh yeah. I don’t know what artist in particular but a lot of that probably came from ‘80s radio for me: Prince, Crowded House, Until Tuesday and a lot of those bands they were playing on the radio then—Colin Hay from Men at Work. That kind of stuff really appealed to me when I was really young and first started to write. I loved how those songs all fit together."
"Embedded Tour Stop Special with White Rabbits, Black Lips, Jason Isbell, Fucked Up & Amazing Baby. Premieres December 31 at 10pm EST.
Got big plans for NYE? Catch Embedded on New Year’s Day or over the weekend, too!
Here’s when to turn on the TV:
Thursday night: 12/31 starting at 7pm EST/4pm PST, then again starting at 12 midnight EST/9pm PST. Friday afternoon: 1/1 starting at 4pm EST/1pm PST Saturday morning: 1/2 starting at 10am EST/7am PST Sunday afternoon: 1/3 starting at 5pm EST/2pm EST
And, of course, once they’ve aired you’ll be able to watch all 15 Tour Stops at current.com/tourstop, plus our channels on Hulu, YouTube and MySpace."
"Chesnutt's very real ensnarement in the insurance system lends an uncomfortable yet deeply compelling undertone to his lyrical attempts to make peace with illness, his paraplegism and death. Chesnutt doesn't hold out too much hope for whatever healthcare bill makes it through the Senate, either -- 'What will pass will be weak, the powers that be will be happy and the insurance companies will be thrilled,' he believes. Those facts only remind a listener that the small braveries of an album like 'At the Cut' can, if not offer solutions, at least be a bit of comfort and companionship. Or solace that Chesnutt doesn't have to figure out even bigger problems, like how to fix California's ailing economy.
'You guys are the most screwed of all,' he said, laughing."
"After a few more words, it all clicked. A woman who knew Chanin and worked at the Chicago fashion boutique Ikram had contacted Rogers, who was looking for a designer to make a tree skirt for the White House's Blue Room. Rogers asked Chanin, founder of the Florence-based fashion and lifestyle company Alabama Chanin. She said yes."
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Music
A really marvelous night for a moondance, apparently.
