Tune News

I'm feeling crappy today--laid low by a chorizo con heuvo burrito from last night--and I'm having trouble concentrating on my latest writing assignment researching camping water filters. (Jesus! do you know what's in our water!?!?! I'm never drinking it again.) So I thought I'd run down some recent news from the world of music.

There's certainly some growing buzz about the yet-to-be-released Neil Young album (I've received several emails from friends pointing me to it in the last couple of days). As FotF J-Co noted to me:

Ad-Rov and I have been wondering for a while if anyone in the pop/rock/folk was
going to get off their ass and resurrect some 60's-style protest music.
Looks like we'll have to keep relying on the ones who did it in the first
place...

Damn straight. Loved last year's Prairie Wind, but I could use some classic, angry Neil. Here's the skinny on it from Billboard:

Veteran rocker Neil Young has recorded a protest album featuring an anti-Iraq war track with "a holy vow to never kill again" and a song titled "Let's Impeach the President." The 10-track set, "Living with War," was recorded this month by a "power trio" -- electric guitar, bass and drums -- plus trumpet and a 100 voices

[...]

In a message crawl along the bottom of his Web site, Young drew parallels to two of the leading protest singers of the 1960s, saying of his new record: "I think it is a metal version of Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan ... metal folk protest?"

However, I'd forgotten this tidbit:

"Living with War" appears to bring Young full circle from a more pro-Bush administration stance he took in the months following the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Not long after recording the song "Let's Roll," a tribute to passengers who apparently fought back against hijackers on doomed United Airlines Flight 93 over Pennsylvania, Young came out publicly in support of the U.S. Patriot Act.

The Living with War album section of Neil's site is still rather spare, but it does have lyrics tickers from two of the songs.

Speaking of anti-Bush artists, the Dixie Chicks have a new album coming out, and they've got a "defiant" single out and available at the iTunes Music Store now. You can also listen or watch the video for the song for free at the Dixie Chicks site, but I just pulled the trigger on it at iTMS--I want to support artists who take a stand, plus it's a good tune.

Speaking of country music, the longer Mrs. F and I hang out together, the more she influences my musical tastes. Case in point, my last three in-store CD purchases have all been of the genre I once used to call "chuckwagon": the reissue of Johnny Cash's classic Folsom Prison live album, Willie Nelson's swinging new You Don't Know Me: Songs of Cindy Walker, and the classic Willie & Family Live (love that "Whiskey River").

And I'm getting excited about some other upcoming releases. Billboard is reporting that the Magic Numbers (who are stopping through for a second swing through Seattle this weekend at the Croc) are going to be working on new material this summer here in the US, with a view to releasing in the UK this fall.

The band has a host of cuts ready to roll, including the Motown-styled "Boy" and "You've Never Had It," which was named on a tour stop in Seattle. "I just said to the crowd, 'This is a new song and we don't have a name for it,'" Stodart recalls. "They shouted loads of silly names and this girl shouted 'You Never Had It' and we thought that was pretty cool, so she'll be credited."

Hey - I was there at that show! I'm very tempted to try to make this Sunday's show, since the first one was so delightful, but we'll see how things go.

Also from Billboard, news that the somber, country-like Mojave 3 have completed their new album, which will be released in June. Can't believe it's been three years since their last one.

Alright, that's all for now -- off to a nap.

[UPDATE - Friday, noon] Neil's now got a blog with updates on the album.