More on the Kevin Dubrow Death

The mystery surrounding the death of Quiet Riot singer Kevin Dubrow has intensified. According to Las Vegas Police, Dubrow had been dead for approximately six days before his body was discovered last Sunday. There is still no official cause of death.

Dubrow's fiancee was the last person to see him alive. She says the last she heard from him was a text message the Monday before he was discovered (i.e. the day he died). I don't want to get too into speculation, but if foul play was not involved, this may have been a suicide. It certainly appears that way, as Dubrow did not have a known drug problem.

R.I.P. Kevin DuBrow (1955-2007)

Kevin Dubrow, lead singer of 80's hair metal band Quiet Riot, died yesterday. His body was found by friends in his Las Vegas home. Quiet Riot's 1983 CD, Metal Health, was the first heavy metal album to reach #1 on the Billboard charts. Subsequent Quiet Riot albums failed to sell as many copies or have as much of an impact.

Though this is a sad moment for Dubrow's family and friends, it is not a huge loss for music. But since it is not nice to speak ill of the dead, I'll leave it at that. Maybe, if you have a few minutes, open up a beer and throw on "Cum On Feel The Noize."

Thurston Moore on the BBC

I have been a huge Sonic Youth since the first time I ever heard them back in 1990 while in college. I like pretty much all of their albums (except for maybe NYC Ghosts and Flowers, I've still not quite warmed up to that one). I have never really gotten that much out of the individual members' solo material or non-Sonic collaborations with other artists. Until now. The new solo album from Thurston Moore, Trees Outside the Academy, is fantastic. The songs are primarily acoustic; and they sound like some of Thurston's catchier Sonic tunes done in a much quieter setting. J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. plays lead guitar on a few of the songs, as well.

I found this interesting interview of Thurston conducted by the BBC, where he talks about the making of the new record.

Van Halen Adds Omaha To 2008 Tour!

Fuck yeah! I will finally be able to see the reunited Van Halen. It has just been announced that VH will be hitting Omaha's Qwest Center on February 4. 'Bout freakin' time. Tickets go on sale December 1.

Just a Cool KISS Video, That's All

Just found this great video of KISS backstage in Ames, Iowa in 1997. This is the raw, unedited footage of the interview, and then a small part of one song. For all the talk about Ace always being wasted, he seems pretty coherent in this interview.

Bob Mould Returns To Rock?

Reuters has a new interview with Bob Mould. He has been one of my favorites for going on 20 years. Like it says in the piece, many of his longtime fans (myself included) have not been digging the music he has been making lately. Bob became interested in electronica over 10 years ago, and its influence began slowly creeping into his music. His 2002 album, Modulate, was almost entirely electronic, and his collaborative DJ effort called Blow Off, was as well. I hated both of them. It seemed to me that while Bob was intensely interested in this style of music, he did not possess the same level of talent and artistic skill that he does for creating catchy guitar rock songs (his stock and trade for 27 years). I wonder if fans of electronica felt the same way.

Bob Mould's last album, 2005's Body of Song, was pretty good. He attempted to mix his electronic and organic styles. I liked about half of the album. Apparently, Bob has heard the complaints from his fans and has responded. In the interview below, he discusses his next album, and says that it is more organic. I guess we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, he has a new DVD coming out.

I posted about his new retrospective concert DVD a few months ago when I first heard about it. Now, it is on the verge of release. Circle of Friends features a concert from 2005, and during it, he performs songs from all eras of his career. Should be interesting.
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Rocker Bob Mould finds balance of rock and electro
(Reuters) For more than 25 years songwriter, performer, producer and DJ Bob Mould's sound has crossed hardcore punk, melodic guitar-based indie music and electronica, with fans coming and going along the way.

Now with his first DVD release and a new album on the way, he says he has struck a balance between his different styles and ended up in a pretty good place.

"Right now I think I have a fairly healthy blend of where I think I'm composing less in the electronic side and more on the organic side," Mould told Reuters in an interview.

"I think that the blend is a lot more acceptable to other people and I'm having a lot of fun with it."

As the co-singer and songwriter of thrash punk band Husker Du in the 1980s, the face and voice of 1990s alternative rock band Sugar, or through solo projects, 47-year-old Mould became synonymous with angst-ridden guitar rock and the alternative rock scene.

Mould's DVD, "Circle of Friends," documents a show from a 2005 tour at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC, where Mould revisited songs from all of his different recording incarnations with a full band.

The same band, featuring Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty, bassist Jason Narducy from Rockets Over Sweden and keyboardist Richard Morel, will also hit the road after Mould releases his new album, "District Line," in February.

Mould describes the album as having 10 songs, "a lot of guitars, some electronic embellishments," and one mainly electronic song.

His 2002 release, "Modulate," experimented with an electronic sound that caused some of Mould's rock fans to revolt so he has moved back to more guitar based music although not abandoning his electronic interests.

Mould's music has influenced a number of other bands and his sound can be heard in the melodic noise blend of Nirvana, speedy pop punk of Green Day, and punk melodic mix of the Foo Fighters, to name a few. It's a sound print Mould enjoys.

"I typically like it when I hear it because I can sort of tell where it came from and it's nice," he said.

Some bands mining his guitar sound may, however, have focused too much on image rather than the spirit of the song into which Mould wraps social as well as personal themes.

"There was a couple of years where there was sort of mall punk stuff, where I was like wow, you're really missing the point here," Mould said.

"Green Day is an amazing band, but it's sort of like the bands after them that wore the eyeliner and played fast and shopped at Hot Topic, that was more important than trying to sort of raise a social consciousness or trying to create something new."

Mould, meanwhile, continues to work at perfecting his songwriting.

"I learn more and I learn the craft better each time, and I'd like to think that every five or six songs I've written something that's a little bit better," he said.

My Rock n Roll Weekend?

As mentioned on Friday, I did go to Sokol Underground to see The Thermals play. In fact, I did more than just go to the show, I actually worked the door. Obviously, that means I was there for the entire show -- all three bands. The first band, a local called Thunder Power, was pretty good. Nice, indie pop. Nothing mind blowing, but they are still very new. The second band, Reporter, was a trio from Portland traveling with The Thermals. I wasn't really feeling their set. They weren't bad, just average. Which left only The Thermals to really "rock out" and make my night worthwhile. Did they? Well, yeah, pretty much. They played about an hour, and the set was quite rocking. Attendance was sort of mediocre at the show - maybe 100 or so people. Not horrible, but much lower than I was expecting. I didn't bring my laptop down to the show because I thought I'd be busier. Someone near me commented on the crowd by saying "This indie pop stuff is dead." Sadly, as far as concert attendance in Omaha is concerned, he may be right.

Saturday night, I hit the Trail of Dead show at Waiting Room. This time, I was not working. I got to the WR around 9:30 and luckily caught most of Virgasound's set. Solid, as usual. Why are those guys not a bigger local band? Makes no sense to me. Anyway, after chatting up some friends at the show, and having a few Bacardi and Diet Cokes, I was more than ready for TOD to take the stage. The ex-major label band from Texas played a very energetic, albeit short, set featuring mostly tunes from their last three albums. The crowd went apeshit for "Caterwaul" and for the set closer, "Another Morning Stoner." The main thing I took away from the show was that I didn't realize how often the band members switched instruments. It's always impressive when bands can pull that off.

Sunday was spent in my usual fashion - watching football (Packers are now 8-1) and making the play list for my show. Though I had a good show last night, I felt that a lot of my listeners were at the Meat Puppets concert, and not glued to their radios. I gave away tickets to see some crappy band called Straylight Run and only one person called in. One! WTF? I know the band blows, but c'mon, it's free.
I had a real tough time falling asleep after the radio show, so I watched last night's episode of Dexter. I know I keep saying this, but damn, Dexter is the best show on TV. I am really confused about what will happen this season. Dexter's sponsor for his non-existent drug addiction, Lila, has finally shown her dark side. After inadvertently causing the break-up of Dexter and Rita, she and Dex have become something of a couple. Dexter learned last week that he was able to "quiet" the voices in his head with more aggressive sex. Lila is a more than willing partner. Dexter was in the clear with Rita and the two could have gotten back together, but Dexter then admitted he had slept with Lila. It was a surprising move, and the resulting lack of normalcy in Dexter's life is taking its toll in other ways.

This week, Dexter's conflict with Sgt. Doakes came to a head in a major way. It is ironic that a serial killer like Dexter can work in a police station and none of the cops have any sort of clue about his true nature - except Doakes. Doakes was warned by the Lieutenant to leave Dexter alone, and to stop tailing him at night. He basically gave up on Dexter when he "caught" him in a recovery group. However, after learning that Dexter is not actually an addict (well, at least not a drug addict), Doakes' suspicions were increased. This week, Doakes began looking into the case of the murder of Dexter's mother. This news sent Dexter into a rage, and he decided to finally deal with Doakes.
At a crime scene, Dexter intentionally lied to Doakes about what the blood spatters represented. Doakes took the bait, and treated an innocent man like a criminal during an interrogation. Dexter then quietly slipped an accurate blood report onto Doakes' desk, and told the Lieutenant that Doakes was harassing an innocent man. He was reprimanded for the error. Later, in Dexter's lab, the two had their first serious confrontation. Dexter all but admitted that Doakes is right about him, but that he will never be able to do anything about it. He then gave him a head butt, and walked away. This prompted Doakes to run into the main police building and attack Dexter in front of all of his co-workers. Doakes was then put on leave, and had to turn in his badge and gun. Mission accomplished.

There was so much more in this episode (like the possible romance between Dexter's sister and FBI agent Lundee, Dexter sending the police a fake manifesto from the "Bay Harbor Butcher," or Lila's setting her house on fire), but I can't dissect every piece of this puzzle. All I know is that I wasn't sure how this season could top last season, yet it has. Dexter is worth the cost of Showtime.

I'm Going To The Thermals Tonight

There are two decent shows happening tonight in Omaha, but I am not really stressing over the decision as to which one to attend. I'm going to be seeing the Portland band The Thermals tonight at Sokol Underground. I don't know anything about the openers, but I will be there for them as well. I was going to stay in and save my energy for tomorrow night's ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead show at Waiting Room, but I have had a change in plans. The "other" show tonight, Do Make Say Think at Waiting Room sounds really cool, but since I can only be in one place at a time...

Here is a video of The Thermals from last year. Great tune, "A Pillar of Salt."

Sex Pistols Comeback Tour? Another One!?

For some reason, the music media seems to be buzzing about the latest reunion of legendary 70s punk band Sex Pistols. Why, I have no idea. Maybe it is because the media only viewed the Pistols as some sort of sensationalist joke back in the 70s and didn't realize the importance of their music. Or maybe it is because music "journalists" view punk rock as nostalgia, and the music media loves nostalgia. I don't know and I don't care. The Sex Pistols were a great band in 1977. They made a great album, Never Mind the Bollocks. But I'm sorry, seeing them as 50 year olds celebrating the 30th anniversary of their one actual album seems a little sad. I watched them on Jay Leno last week, and they seemed like just another band. Maybe it's just me, but part of what made the Pistols so special was that they did not stick around too long. They never got old. Well, until now...

Spoon! (and the New Pornographers)

If you forgot your iPod on your way to work - have no fear - NPR's 'All Songs Considered' has two great concerts on their Podcast and Web site: Spoon at the 9:30 Club and the New Pornographers at the 9:30 Club. The New Pornographers are worth the full listen, if not for Neko Case's vocals is their inability to play "The New Face of Zero and One":
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15681603

Wilco Adds Five New Songs To 'Sky Blue Sky'

Sometimes it doesn't pay to rush out and pick up the new album by your favorite band. Wilco has announced that it will be adding five bonus tracks to the European edition of its newest CD, Sky Blue Sky. The new tracks are three studio songs, and two live versions of songs from the album. Apparently, people who have already purchased the CD will be given a code to download the bonus tracks. Personally, this is pretty weak. I mean, I want the tracks. But now I either have to buy an overpriced import version of the CD, or just have digital versions of the tracks. C'mon, Wilco! Think ahead.

Music Industry to Artists: You Need To Work Harder

This is rich. The new president of EMI Music claims the problem with the music industry is that the artists don't work hard enough. He even said the following, "Some [artists] unfortunately simply focus on negotiating for the maximum advance." Hmmm, an artist looking to get the best deal for him or herself is a problem? Has anyone ever read a major label contract? The entire thing is a way for the label to make money at the expense of the artist. This guy is unbelievable.

EMI 'artists need to work harder'

(BBC) The new owner of the music group EMI has said some of its artists are not working hard enough and its labels will become more picky in future.

EMI was bought by Guy Hands' Terra Firma private equity house in August for £2.4bn.

In an internal memo obtained by the Financial Times, Mr Hands set out his plans for the future of EMI.

"Some [artists] unfortunately simply focus on negotiating for the maximum advance," he said.

Unlike the investment banking world that Mr Hands is more used to in which bonuses are linked to performance, advances are paid to artists regardless of the success of their albums - "advances which are often never repaid", the memo bemoaned.

Mr Hands said that eventually it would "be open to us to choose which artists we wish to work with and promote".

No specific artists were named in the memo and it added that "many spend huge amounts of time working with their label to promote, perfect and endorse their music".

Mr Hands also plans to find better ways to reward executives and encourage them to work together.

He blamed the current situation on "a compensation and management system put in place over the last 20 years which does not encourage the right behaviours or reward the right actions".

One of the low points for EMI came in 2001 when it paid £19m to get out of a contract with Mariah Carey, one album into a five album deal.

Ms Carey went on to have one of the top-selling albums of 2005 with EMI's rival, Universal.

Trail of Dead Dumps Interscope

Austin, Texas band ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead has dumped Interscope Records. Yes, you read that correctly. The band dumped the label. Five years or so ago, Trail of Dead made the jump to the major label, and it seemed like things were going fine. However, despite constant touring and critically acclaimed albums, TOD's record sales have been declining. So, the band decided to get rid of the big corporate label that was (apparently) holding them back. On their Interscope blog, band leader Conrad Keely let forth this comedic attack on his former employers:

So as has already been announced, ...Trail of Dead has once again made history, this time being the first band to drop Interscope. OK, we're not the first. Actually, Trent Reznor beat us to it. Let's just say we're the first rock band to do so... this year. Ever since label head Jimmy Iovine started dating the lead singer guy of the Pussycat Dolls it became impossible to get him on the phone, so that was a first bad sign. Then their idea of marketing became keeping it a secret that we'd released a record. The industry is in a strange place these days, and the only way they can make money is to sell urban pop music. Which is what I thought we were writing, but apparently I was wrong.

That's not saying the label didn't do great things for us. At the expense of a massive debt to them of half a million dollars, they really helped us to grow. They've taught us about the worthlessness of A&R people, how to yell at idiots running an art department, and how to shake hands with smiling retailers who have no idea who you are. And I love Jimmy Iovine for having worked with John Lennon and Phil Spector on the Rock and Roll sessions. I mean, that was thirty years ago, and the Rock and Roll sessions sound pretty bad over all, and John Lennon is now dead and Phil Spector has murdered people since then, but hey, that was really cool that Jimmy did that, thirty years ago, back then, and dated Stevie Nicks. He's had a great dating record, he just won't have the next TOD record.

The posting was taken down, but a cached version still exists. Here is a video of one of my favorite TOD songs, "Another Morning Stoner," from their 2002 Source, Tags and Codes CD. (h/t Stereogum)

The Eagles latest can only be purchased at Wal-Mart

...thank god.
At least I won't have to worry about this CD taking up valuable inventory space at Homer's. Plus, it'll be confined to a place where I know I will never visit.

A few days ago, I was driving to San Diego Taco and I heard "Life in the Fast Lane" on Z-92. My knuckles started to whiten. My blood was a bit hotter than it was when I was listening to Radiohead's latest. For some reason, The Eagles are just one of those bands that I instinctively hate - for no apparent reason. Sort of like Dane Cook.

Maybe it just brings back memories when I was growing up and seeing my hopped-up, long-haired cousins working on their beat-up cars on the Fourth of July and hearing them tell my five-year-old ass to "scram" when I was trying to see what they were working on.

Or it could just be that the Eagles represent the worst stereotypes of classic rock.

Resident liberal Don Henley justified the exclusive Wal-Mart deal by saying Wal-Mart is doing good with the environment and Wal-Mart isn't any more evil than a record label. I dunno, when it comes to locking in illegal entrants after hours, driving down wages in already blighted areas of rural America and elbowing out competition, RCA has nothing on Wal-Mart.

UPDATE by Dave Splash: Apparently, the right wingers at News Busters are flaming mad at The Eagles new album because they mention global warming, and "Not a word about Islamofascists trying to blow us all up, though. Nothing about bin Laddenists cutting off people’s heads, women being stoned, young girls being murdered with 'honor killings,' or homosexuals being summarily executed from our pals the Eagles! I guess they have forgotten about 9/11 and our enemies in radical Islam like so many of their ilk." Maybe I misjudged The Eagles. I mean, if the wingnuts get this upset about them, maybe there is something to that bland background music!

Former Ramones Manager Murdered

(Herald Sun) Linda Stein, real estate agent to the stars and a pioneer in New York's punk music scene, has been found beaten to death in her Manhattan apartment.

Her body was discovered by her daughter Mandy, lying in a pool of blood on her living room floor.

Yesterday the city medical examiner's office ruled the grisly death a homicide.

"She died of blunt impact injuries to the head and neck," the official report said.

Ms Stein was one of the city's top power brokers, known for a star-studded client list that included names such as Steven Spielberg, Michael Douglas, Angelina Jolie, hip-hop mogul Damon Dash and designer Calvin Klein.

She rose to prominence in the 1970s as the manager of legendary punk rock band the Ramones.

She broke into the real estate business with the sale of a home to Madonna. She met the pop star through her ex-husband, Seymour Stein, the record producer who discovered the material girl.

Her tough sales style reportedly made her the model for the fictional real estate broker in the movie Wall Street.

"She was an icon in the business, and lived for the business," said Dottie Herman, the CEO Prudential Douglas Elliman realty, where Ms Stein worked.

"She was quirky, but brilliant and driven. They don't make them like Linda theses days."

Police were probing the horrifying attack yesterday, and could reveal no suspects.

Sources said Mandy Stein was visiting from her home in Los Angeles when she entered the apartment with a friend and found her mother face down on the living room floor, fully dressed. No murder weapon has been recovered and there were no signs of forced entry.

After Mandy Stein called 911, paramedics arrived and pronounced her mother dead at the scene.

Her death has left her friends and business associates stunned.

"Who would want to kill Linda Stein?" asked a shocked Howard Lorber, chairman of Prudential Douglas Elliman.

Ms Stein had been battling cancer on and off for 12 years, but she had become very active again recently in the real estate game.

She was known by her pals as a tough-as-nails "Yiddishe mama". In a 1991 New York magazine profile, Ms Stein was described as "diminutive, brassy and caustic (with) a face as expressive as her truck driver's mouth".

"She wants desperately to be in the thick of things," one pal told the magazine.

Another said: "Her nerve is beyond anything. You can't help but admire her."

In addition to daughter Mandy, Ms Stein is survived by daughter Samantha Stein-Wells, her father, Ira Adler, her sister, Arlene Adler, nephews Mark and David, and three-year-old granddaughter Dora Wells.