’ long-awaited Chinese Democracy album on Geffen/ Interscope finally has a release date. The album will hit all Best Buy stores, where it is an exclusive, on the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving, Nov. 23, giving it a full seven days on sale before entering the chart on Dec. 2. Best Buy’s sales week runs from Sunday through Saturday night. (10/8p)HITS Daily Double
Here's the latest Chinese Democracy rumor to set the interweb on fire:
"From what I am hearing now, Chinese Democracy is still a three disc set, consisting of the following:
a) a CD containing the new material
b) a CD or DVD (not sure which) with live performances
c) a DVD of behind the scenes footage
so techinically, yeah, it's three discs, but only one with new music
and all signs point to November 25th"
I've been reluctant to pass this rumor along - because it's just that, a rumor, - but with Chinese Democracy news so scarce I figured I'd at least mention it.
It certainly would be nice to have a 3 disc set - and a DVD of behind the scenes footage would be massive.
"The true, ongoing, behind-the-scenes triumphs and casualties are much more complicated than any negative speculation that the media or otherwise has managed to hit upon."
It's not a traditional album - so don't expect traditional marketing. If you're giving up on 2008 because there's less than 8 weeks until Black Friday - then you're suffering from a lack of imagination.
March 18, 2008:The Raconteurs announce the March 25 release date of Consolers of the Lonely, their second disc.
"We wanted to get this record to fans, the press, radio, etc., all at the EXACT SAME TIME so that no one has an upper hand on anyone else regarding it's availability, reception or perception. We wanted to explore the idea of releasing an album everywhere at once and THEN marketing and promoting it thereafter. The Raconteurs would rather this release not be defined by its first week sales, pre-release promotion or by someone defining it FOR YOU before you get to hear it."
So - I don't know when Chinese Democracy is coming out, but there's no law that says they have to announce it 2 months ahead of time. I wouldn't be surprised if they don't say BOO until 1 or 2 weeks before they pull the trigger.
I'll say that again for added emphasis:
I wouldn't be surprised if they don't say BOO until 1 or 2 weeks before they pull the trigger.
Anyway, it's been a slow news week.
Joe Bosso has a well-written piece here about "Shackler's Revenge" that made me chuckle.
"Given all that, Shackler's Revenge in 2008 sounds like it probably should have been released by somebody - certainly not Guns N' Roses, or Axl Rose, or even Izzy - back in 1994. The meat of the track is something of Pro Tools-ed amalgam of Nine Inch Nails meets early Nu Metal rumblings. It might have made for a decent Marilyn Manson album cut back in the day, but as the first "new" music from the GN'R brand in umpteen many years, gee, what are we to say? 'Thanks?'"
The Guys over at Talking Metal have a new podcast where they claim that the BEST BUY / November 25 release date rumor is absolutely true. They say "it's official - but it won't be announced by BEST BUY." That makes sense - I think that after 14 years of trials and tribulations, Axl Rose really deserves the privilege of dropping the bomb himself.
Sometimes I think that GN'R just like to wait for the media to calm down before they make an announcement, just so they can keep the buzz going for as long as possible ...
In a stunning reversal of their long-stated reluctance to take it, members of heavy-metal band Twisted Sister announced Monday that, after 24 years of fervent refusal, they are now willing to take it.
"I acknowledge that we promised not to take it anymore, but things change. The world is a different place today, and with that in mind, we would like to go on record as saying that, starting right now, we are going to take it," read a statement released by the band's lead singer, Dee Snider.
"To clarify, we would still prefer not to take it, but as of now, taking it is an option that we would be open to. That is all." Bassist Mark "the Animal" Mendoza also stated that, in regards to what he wants to do with his life, he no longer solely wants to rock, but would instead prefer doing other things, such as raising a family and working as a claims adjuster in Rye, NY.
As has been previously reported in The Sentinel, parents have been meeting with selectmen to voice their support for the Belchertown Skate Park. At a couple of meetings, a few "skate park kids" arrived with their parents to show their support for their favorite park.
The parents deserve credit for ultimately volunteering for a new Skate Park Committee that have already succeeded in getting the park re-opened, but I am more impressed with the fact that the skate park kids were donning Iron Maiden T-shirts at the meetings with selectmen. I was a big Maiden fan at their age. A Maiden poster is the only surviving poster left on my bedroom wall at mom's house.
A couple of weeks ago I commented on the "idiocracy" on MTV these days. The skate park kids demonstrated to me that hope is not totally lost among today's youth. The fact that kids today are still listening to Maiden brought me a glimmer of hope. The fact that a long-haired-teenaged-boy in a black Iron Maiden T-shirt spoke up for what he thought was right also brought me a glimmer of hope. I am willing to bet that I may be the first to see hope in Iron Maiden-T-shirt-wearing-teens.
Many people have not heard of Iron Maiden and many may be afraid of an uncertain "element" that a skate park could attract due to the scary Iron Maiden T-shirts some of them wear. It's perfectly understandable to be concerned by anyone wearing an Iron Maiden T-shirt, as they are scary. However, Maiden is just a British heavy metal band and they were huge in the 1980s. Golfers may be interested to know that this band's drummer is a friend of Nick Faldo and was hanging out at this year's Ryder Cup tournament. They actually talked about it on the Golf Channel.
Regardless of what you think of metal as a genre or Eddie, the mascot that adorns their album covers, posters and T-shirts, one cannot deny the complexity of their compositions or the intellect of their lyrics. Their repertoire spans a wide compilation of themes. These include educational themes like history with songs like, "Alexander the Great". They also cover literature with the epic "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner"; mythology with "The Flight of Icarus"; and even the Bible with, "Revelations", which the lead singer once cleverly joked was about opening a pair of curtains. "The eyes of the Nile will open and you'll see." You'll see that despite the scary T-shirts, the skate park kids may be the best and brightest Belchertown has to offer.
Although I was never one to skateboard, my friends and I did listen to Maiden and ride our. bicycles. We rode them everywhere. I couldn't imagine being 13 and being picked up by the police for riding my bike. Even with a skate park, is it really the general assumption that they can only ride and skate in the small footprint offered at the skate park?
When my office was in the center of Belchertown I saw a kid jump a curb as I would have done. I told him that he needed to try it again because I didn't think he hit the curb at an optimum angle. He was more impressed with the fact that I wasn't yelling at him to leave the premises than my knowledge of jumping curbs. "Was I really contributing to the delinquency of a minor? Since it was after hours, what is the harm if a kid gets some exercise and fresh air instead of being glued to a television?
Thankfully, the Maiden fans took care of business and did their part to get the skate Park re-opened. They showed that there is not any "idiocracy" among the metal heads!
In his latest missive, Bob Lefsetz implores his readers to check out Michael hedges cover of "Like a Rolling Stone."
He says,
"And here's where I give you instruction. From a dead man. Who never really made it. Whose legend has not grown since his passing, but has only contracted. But he's a star in my pantheon. I'll still be playing HIS covers long after [James Taylor's] lame renditions of famous tracks evaporate from my memory bank.
I'm speaking, of course, of Michael Hedges.
You've got to hear his cover of Peter Gabriel's "Come Talk To Me". He covered everything from "I'm Into Something Good" to "Holiday" to "If I Needed Someone". But the absolute best is "Like A Rolling Stone". The supposedly uncoverable Bob Dylan classic. Hedges wrings new meaning from the song, he slows it down and makes it three dimensional. He implores us, he asks us...HOW DOES IT FEEL? To be on your own. Like a complete unknown."
Well of course I headed straight over to YouTube to check it out.
I haven't thought about Michael Hedges in years - in fact I didn't even know that he'd died (Michael's car skid off a cliff in 1997). But I'm grateful to Bob for reminding me of him. In the Summer of 1991, I listened to Hedges' Grammy-nominated-album, Taproot every single day. I can't recommend this album enough, but it occurs to me that I've never even listened to any of his other records. For all I know, Taproot is his worst album (but I doubt it). BAM Magazine had this to say about it,
"Conceived as an autobiographical myth told in music, Taproot offers twelve pixyish instrumental journeys, with often ingenious arrangements, pristine instrumentation and pleasing melodies."
The closing track is the lone vocal on the album, e.e. cummings' "I Carry Your Heart."
The one thing I really disagree with Bob Lefsetz about though is that "Like a Rolling Stone" is an "uncoverable classic." I would never have described it that way.
I remember hearing 10 seconds of the Hendrix version on a PBS documentary and immediately running out to the record store and purchasing Jimi at Monterey. Without a doubt, that performance was a landmark in Rock History - a cover that easily rivals the original.
Much less famous than Jimi's cover but still totally cool is the Other Bob's take on the tune.
Finally, I've embedded the "Judas" performance from the Royal Albert Hall in 1966. This clip is taken from the No Direction Home DVD - this is the closing sequence of the documentary.
I'll never get tired of this song. Lyrically, it's a time-capsule of the 1960s/70s Rock 'n' Roll coming-of-age experience. I think that everyone can relate to feeling lost and alone - even if they aren't homeless drug addicts like the character in this stanza,
You said you'd never compromise With the mystery tramp, but now you realize He's not selling any alibis As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes And ask him do you want to make a deal?
How does it feel?
I saw Sandra Bullock on David Letterman one night, and she described how she had recently gotten into boxing at her local "celebrity gym." Her trainer paired her up with Bob Dylan, and all she could think of while they were trading blows to the face was ... "How does it feel?"
Phish returns to the stage for three concerts at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia on March 6, 7 and 8, 2009.
A limited number of tickets are available directly through Phish Tickets' online ticketing system at http://phish.portals.musictoday.com/ . The ticketing request period is currently underway and will end on Wednesday, October 8th at 11:59AM EST.
Tickets go on sale to the public on Saturday, October 18th at 10 AM EST and may be purchased online at http://ticketmaster.com or by phone at 757.671.8100, 757.872.8100 or 804.262.8100. Tickets will not be available at the venue box office and there is a two-ticket limit per show.
The band intends to announce additional touring in 2009 early next year.
