How can you not love Flight of the Conchords?

Saturday, Jeff and I trekked to Atlanta to see R.E.M. in Atlanta.

Wow! They put on one hell of a show.

The National and Modest Mouse opened. The National was okay … their songs were pretty repetitive (in my opinion). Modest Mouse, on the other hand, really rocked. I had not ever heard them before but (based on the strength of that set they played) I am gonna have to get some of their albums.

The R.E.M. set was two hours of pure fantastic! I really like the video screen set up they had for their stage which was lots of live feeds from the stage. They played a good mix of old and new songs. Highlights for me were “Man-Sized Wreath,” “I’m Gonna DJ,” “The One I Love,” “Nightswimming” and “Elcotrolite” (with the sea of cellphone lights music break … it was cool).

#rematl

The new Cure single “Freakshow” (Mix 13) and companion track “All Kinds of Stuff” are now available. This is the second of four singles will hit stores over the next few months leading up to the September release of the new Cure album. Get thee to your favorite traditional or online retailer and get them … now!!!

“Freakshow” (Mix 13)
“All Kinds of Stuff”

The new Aimee Mann album “@#%&*! Smilers” came out yesterday. This release somehow snuck up on me. So, do like I am doing and get your ass out there and pick up a copy … ’cause Aimee Mann is the coolest.

Don’t forget that the new Cure single “The Only One” (Mix 13) and companion track “NY Trip” are now available. Get thee to your favorite traditional or online retailer and get them … now!!! That is all.

“The Only One” (Mix 13)
“NY Trip”

Whenever I here Miss Kittin‘s spectacular tune “Frank Sinatra” all I can think about is sleeping on BJ‘s kitchen floor and hanging out at his apartment. Good Memories!

I now have a ticket to see Nine Inch Nails live in Knoxville this coming August. Rock!

Holy Christmas!!! Trent Reznor is really outdoing himself this year. Just a few months ago he released “Ghosts: I-IV,” an ambitious set of instrumental tracks. Now he is letting us download the new Nine Inch Nails album “The Slip” … for FREE!

Thank you, Mr. Reznor. You’re my hero!

I am shocked that I made it this far in life without hearing Bjork’s song “Play Dead” from the 1993 movie “The Young Americans.” I know I will get slapped for saying this, but I do miss the more “pop” oriented sound Bjork had back in the day …

Bjork – Play Dead [5.83 MB]
(You can right click to download and save for later.)

New news about The Cure. The much anticipated album (called “13“) will be out on September 16th. Meanwhile four singles will hit stores over the next few months leading up to that September release date.

There will be 4 tracks released from the album in the lead up to its release in September – one a month for the next 4 months. A physical CD single and digital download will be made available simultaneously. The single versions are edits (each will have Mix 13 on the artwork) and not the album versions. None of the B sides will appear on the album. The B-Side on “The Only One” will be a song called “NY Trip.”

As a new semi-regular post, I am gonna write a wee bit about the introduction to and first song I heard from some of my favorite bands.

First up is Skinny Puppy.

Back in the golden days of High School education, my best friend, Roger, and I became quite fascinated with hearing Skinny Puppy. There was a senior who ran around all the time wearing a “Remission” T-Shirt which was what got us interested. One night while we were kicking around Asheville, Roger bought the only Skinny Puppy cassette that we could find. That cassette was of the album “Cleanse Fold and Manipulate.” We got back to my house and put the cassette in the player for a proper listen. I must say that I was totally stunned by what I heard. Roger decided that his mother would totally freak out if he brought such music into the house (she was pretty religious), so he gave the tape to me. I listened to it like crazy. My mother would poke her head into my room and just shake her head. She never did give me any grief about what I listened to.

So, for your listening pleasure, the first Skinny Puppy song I ever heard (right click to download and save for later):
Skinny Puppy: First Aid [6.17 MB]

The new Diamanda Galás album “Guilty, Guilty, Guilty” is now out in stores. You should check it ’cause it’s quite fantastic. I really want to see her live sometime. Maybe in August in New York City … maybe.