Shakespeare In The Alley

Oh.

He mentioned that in response to you saying he was never actually in the studio with Kanye, so the sarcasm's a bit unnecessary. Comparing anything in today's music world to the 50's and 60's is ridiculous. Things have changed. Just because an artist doesn't release at least one album a year doesn't mean they couldn't if the industry would allow it.

Arcade Fire won an Album of the Year Grammy, and they play and sell out venues like MSG. There isn't much further for a band to go, so I don't know what you do consider huge. Arcade Fire isn't huge for an "indie" band. They're huge, period. Point is, MMJ is getting bigger and bigger, so you can't say they blew the opportunity. By all indications, Jim is making exactly the music he wants to make, which isn't the same as the music he used to want to make. If he can do that while somehow getting bigger and bigger with each album, then good for him. Even if it is on the basis of their live reput

This is way wrong. They may not be making the music you want them to make, but saying they've fumbled the opportunity is false. The band has only gotten bigger and bigger since Z, which seems to be what Jim's wanted all along. Look at the venues they're playing now. They didn't blow a chance at being huge. They are huge.

As much as I hate linking to NME, b-side to the new single is here.

This is amazing.

Should be released this year. Gruff's mentioned it a few times, and two soundtrack songs have surfaced recently, with Pengwyn Pengwyn being the other.

That song is incredible. I'd been waiting to hear it again after I watched the movie, so I was very happy when it appeared out of nowhere last week. I'll vouch for the quality of SFA's b-side catalogue. Incredible stuff, and not just incredible for rejected songs. I'm seeing Gruff in DC on Friday. Extremely excited. I saw him solo (real solo, not solo with band) in January, but this will be a whole different deal.

Very awesome. ?uestlove always has the nicest drum sounds on the records he does, and this is no exception. I love the Roots' increased prominence as a backing band.

You sneak a peek?

I love stuff like this. Since U Been Gone is a very good song, and it doesn't need a "respected" musician to validate it, but it doesn't hurt either. Always nice to see a guy like Ted Leo diggin' songs like that.

A dozen or two Queens of the Stone Age songs

Great album. Definitely a 2011 highlight for me.

Blows my mind every time I see a list, no matter how long, of Beastie Boys lyrical references and where they come from. Those guys really know their stuff.

Well, yeah. I'm not expecting anyone at that show to rush out and buy In Utero, but it still doesn't bother me at all. Hearing someone you idolize cover a song is way different than hearing it on the radio, so it's not farfetched to say that that cover got a few people to start caring about Nirvana. Besides, if I was gonna be super sensitive about the way the Nirvana catalogue is handled I would have lost it when Kurt's journals were printed on Converse sneakers. I'm a huge Nirvana fan, for the record. But my only beef with Miley covering a Nirvana song is that she didn't pick a better one.

I have a hard time getting bothered at a crowd of young impressionable music fans hearing a Nirvana song, even if Miley Cyrus is singing it.

More interested in Bonerama.

My sister's 14. So no.

This album's good. What the hell, some rankings, because I revisited the entire discography the past week or so while I waited on my copy of Hot Sauce. Lots of fond memories, and they've held up. Except LTI. The absolute classics: Paul's Boutique Check Your Head Ill Communication The very good: To The Five Boroughs Hello Nasty The once good but poorly aged debut: Licensed To Ill Really enjoyable but obviously not to be ranked with the others: The Mix Up

All three of his solo records are really good, and stand up well against SFA's best. I'm not sure where Hotel Shampoo would rank, but it's probably #2. Definitely locked in as my AOTY right now.

Had you heard any Gruff before? He's incredible. The best out there right now. Hotel Shampoo isn't too much like any Furries album, but it's definitely on the mellow side. So I'd say Phantom Power or Mwng are most similar, but I'd recommend Phantom way before the terrific but all Welsh Mwng. Phantom might be my favorite, actually. Great album. Their discography is extraordinary though. Almost any fan will have a different favorite, and it could pretty much be any of their nine LPs.

Is there a leak out there that doesn't cut off midway through track 8?

There's a massive difference between airing out chops, which could happen, and 20 minute prog rock suites, which almost certainly won't.