Rusty Shackleford

The problem is, MusicToday's "shipping date" means the date they send it out their door, not the date it actually enters a shipping system. I bought some DBT stuff from there last month, and it arrived about 10 days after I got the email notice of shipping. They do some weird hybrid of US Mail and UPS that takes a really long time. You can track your order through the MusicToday website, but it's really vague. It'll get there eventually, but I wouldn't schedule a weekend watch party if I were you.

I have an Altec Lansing dock, which I see is around $80-100 on Amazon, depending on which supplier you buy from. I've had it a long time and it works fine. I use it at work, so I don't crank up the volume much, but at low/medium volume it sounds good. http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00017IX10

I'm guessing they'll come to Merriweather some time this summer, which would be my preference in the DC area, but that schedule is filling up too.

FYI: Fate is on special at Amazon today: $1.99 to download the whole album.

I don't hear any rumors, but the schedule doesn't look good right now unless they squeeze in a few dates between Bonnaroo and the west coast swing. I'd guess we're looking at mid-July at the earliest (I'm in DC), but I'm keeping hope alive.

Well, people pay to see movies they've never seen before, and movies are not cheap these days, but I take your point. I'm with you in theory, because it's good to try out music before buying it. Most bands stream several songs on their myspace pages (which is the only reason I ever go to myspace), so even though you're limited to the songs they choose, and your listening environment is limited to an internet-capable device, there are legal ways to listen before buying. I also listen to live shows from archive.org or DIME to see if I like a band before committing to a purchase, which isn't

My thoughts exactly. I can buy new CDs from Amazon prime, with free 2-day shipping and no sales tax, for the same price as a digital download. The only reason to use the iTunes store is to buy singles, but I don't really buy singles.

210, or "progressive." The average for all Americans (at least those who took the quiz) is apparently 209.5. I've long considered myself a moderate. Turns out I was right!

I still buy CDs, but I could see why they might be on the way out. I don't buy CDs at actual stores; I pretty much buy from amazon or artists' web sites, and those distributors are encouraging downloads as much as CDs. The world is increasingly separating into those who care about physical media (whether for sound quality, or artwork, or just security), and those who don't. Among the people who care about physical media, I wonder if the vinyl resurgence will make CDs (ironically) become obsolete. If you care enough about sound quality, artwork, etc. to want a physical copy, why not get a

1. Murmur 2. Reckoning 3. Automatic For the People 4. Lifes Rich Pageant 5. Fables of the Reconstruction 6. New Adventures in Hi-Fi 7. Chronic Town 8. Document 9. Out of Time 10. Green

There's a blog post on washingtonpost.com today that raises an interesting issue: whether it is ethical to keep digital copies of CDs that you sell or give away. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterfor...l?hpid=sec-tech My take is that it's generally okay to sell CDs after ripping the contents, but I can see the other side. In my view, there is an aftermarket for CDs that benefits artists, if not their record labels. I generally won't buy a new CD from someone I've never heard of (with some exceptions), but I'll pick up any old thing at a used CD shop if the price is right. For activ

What about takeout? I generally tip when I'm ordering takeout from a sit-down restaurant, because the waiter/bartender/maitre d is taking time to assemble the order. But I only tip about 10% on those. Where I really run into a dilemma is when I am picking up a pizza or something else at a cheap counter-only kind of place, and I pay with a credit card, because it has the tip line on it. If I were paying cash, I'd just pay cash, they'd give me change, and I'd either not tip or if there was a tip jar put change and maybe a bill or two in there. But with the tip line on the credit card slip,

These lists are stupid, because it's never clear who's been "rating" these songs, and why they have done so incorrectly. But I digress. So. Central Rain is a terrific song that also happens to be a terrific pop song. This guy seems annoyed that R.E.M. actually made something that might have gotten played on the radio back at a time when they didn't get played on the radio. Screw him. I agree (sort of) on Accelerate. It's okay, but pretty disposable. I do think it's better than their previous 2 records, which isn't saying much, but still. However, with the exception of Rolling Stone, w

On the original question, the Sports game that comes with the Wii is plenty entertaining for a while, so don't worry about getting a bunch of new games just yet if your kids will like sports. My son is 5 and doesn't have a great sense of timing just yet, so he doesn't like the sports games so much, except for bowling (which he loves). He plays games on the Wii Fit a lot, but that requires the purchase of the rather expensive balance board. I also hear great things about Mario Kart, although I haven't bought it yet.

This is the point. Journalists have gotten so cozy with their sources that they have forgotten why they have sources in the first place. Rather than use the sources to get information, which leads through investigation to other information, they just take what their sources say and pass it on as fact. Why? They don't want to insult, and therefore lose, their sources. After all, they rationalize, if I don't pass this source's story on, someone else will. But the whole point of journalism is to get at the real facts and tell the world what those facts are. Too many journalists seem to hav

The tribute show is up on DIME already: http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=240351

I pretty much always go solo. My wife doesn't like crowds or staying up late, so that pretty much rules out your average rock show. She doesn't mind that I go by myself, I don't mind going alone, she stays home with the kids so no need for a babysitter. That's what you call a win-win. Actually, we'll be going together to the non-Spinal Tap show in DC in May, which will be the first time we've gone to a concert together in 10 years.

This is in today's Wall Street Journal. Apparently some big-name acts have been selling their own tickets through the "secondary" market (i.e. scalping). I've always suspected as much, but it's nice to see proof: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123672740386088613.html This isn't the only thing they do, either. Some performers will insist on low sticker prices for their tickets but then take a cut of the service fees charged by Ticketmaster. This way they get to act like they care about their fans (offering low ticket prices) and publicly complain about Evil Ticketmaster while profiting

I don't know if this counts, but I went to the Tibetan Freedom Concert in DC in 1997 (?) to see R.E.M., Radiohead, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who were supposed to play the first day of a 2-day event. Lightning struck RFK stadium during Herbie Hancock's set, and they sent everybody home. I didn't have tickets for the 2nd day, so I missed the bands I wanted to see.

Modest Mouse was one of the openers for R.E.M. last summer, and I ended up wandering off to get some food during their set. High energy set, and the 2 drummers were kind of cool, but they really did nothing for me. And on the subject of R.E.M., I would agree with hardwood floor that the Monster tour in 1995 was their weakest. They played big arenas with bad sound, they "Monster-ized" everything they played with too many guitars and muddy sound, and they played setlists that (1) didn't vary much night to night, and (2) focused heavily on newer material. This was especially awkward because

That show was awesome. They played past 1 am, I didn't get home til almost 2, and I was still so wound up I couldn't sleep. If that was DBT minus one, I can't wait to see what a "full band" show is like.

It sounds like Patterson is out tonight as well. I'm going tonight--my first DBT show. I'm still hoping Patterson pulls a Willis Reed and shows up for the encore--I really want to hear Let There Be Rock--but I'll settle for an evening with Mr. Cooley.

Depending on how you define "important," I would argue that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band is the most important band in America. Certainly they get more hype and media coverage than any other American band. When Bruce talks, people listen. I'm not a big fan, personally, but his influence is undeniable.