Texas Psych - Psychedelic Music, 13th Floor Elevators, Golden Dawn, Red Crayola and more!: Crappy Psychedelica Yahoogroup

Texas Psych - Psychedelic Music, 13th Floor Elevators, Golden Dawn, Red Crayola and more!: Crappy Psychedelica Yahoogroup

As someone who is a member of the "psychedelica chat" room i must take offense at the way you have attempted to belittle and humiliate the members and the moderator. You as well as i and all members are guests and should abide by the rules presented. Did you ask permission to post a link to your site? Are you entitled to continually post links after you are told that it is not allowed? Why have you continued to post links when the moderator requested that you not do? I think that with all the 60's/70's messageboards/chat rooms on the internet there should be some sort of community where all of the fans of this type of music can get along rather than slagging each other off. I don't think you will win this argument by the tone of your post, you'll just come off as a "spoiled child" who doesn't get what he wants.
I hope that you'll understand that this was not the way to handle this situation.

JK

NYCD LIVES ... SORT OF

Rumors of our death have been greatly exaggerated -- by us. We'd like to think of NYCD as the Frances Farmer of the music industry. Let's look at the similarities.

We both started our careers with big dreams and stars in our eyes.
We quickly became the darlings of our respective industries.
Miss Farmer won an Oscar. NYCD was chosen "Best CD Store" by both New York magazine and the New York Press on three separate occasions.
We're both very outspoken.
The cool people "got" us.
The imbeciles were turned off by us.
We both had our careers unjustly and prematurely taken away from us.
We were both institutionalized, had lobotomies, and resumed our happy, if somewhat confused, lives.
We both had songs written about us by Nirvana.

THE INDUSTRY KILLED US, BUT WE WOULDN'T DIE!

Just because we don't have a physical location anymore, doesn't mean we're not still doing the CD thing. As in buying CDs (and DVDs) from you, selling CDs to you, and writing about CDs for you.

BUYING: Let us know what you've got and we will check them out! Write to HEYNYCD@aol.com for details.

SELLING: We can still order CDs for you and ship them right to your door. We're not taking credit cards anymore, but PayPal, checks/money orders and good old American greenbacks are still accepted. Email if you're interested.

WRITING: Miss the newsletter? Have no idea what new releases are available for your listening pleasure? Need a laugh or two? The status of weekly emails and our blog are still up in the air, but you can check out our weekly new release wrap-up (and other stuff besides) starting next week at the Huffington Post, a very fine website that has even more readers than our blog! About three million more, to be exact.

It's great to be sort of back, sort of. And as the great man once said, "Keep those cards and letters comin'."

Your friends,
Peter and Mark Lemongello

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS NYCD?

"If you don't go shopping, the terrorists win."

Rudolph Giuliani, 9/20/01

Hi Everyone,

In NYCD's world, the terrorists have won.

June 29th is our last day. We have tried and tried. To paraphrase Miss Tina Turner, "Ow! Stop it Ike!" (Oops, wrong quote) We've given it the best that we got. But, as with most dying animals, a shot in the head is the best remedy.

We want to thank all of you who have supported NYCD, both as a small retail outlet on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, right on through our attempt at the Internet. It was fun...early on.

But wait, there is some good news.

Both Tony and Sal would like to continue purchasing your CDs and DVDs. How and why, do you ask? Well...we will deal with your queries on a person to person basis. You have our e-mail addresses and our phone numbers. Use them. If you don't know how to reach us, email HEYNYCD@aol.com and maybe you'll find out.


Thank you all again. It's been a great ride.

We remain,
Completely Bitter About The Music Industry....uh..... we mean,

Sal Nunziato & Tony Sachs

NEWSLETTER '07 #22!

TONY HAS MIGRAINE: ALL LAME JOKES HIS FAULT

SAL HAS PULLED MUSCLE: DISTRACTS HIM FROM LAST WEEK'S RUPTURED CLAVICLE

MANY NEW RELEASES!

NEW YORK YANKEES, R.I.P.: SMUG METS FANS ALREADY GLOATING WITH 112 GAMES LEFT

PAUL McCARTNEY RELEASES BEST ALBUM EVER... IN 1970!

and now... YOUR ALPHABETICALLY LISTED NEW RELEASES!

THE AFGHAN WHIGS - UNBREAKABLE: A RETROSPECTIVE. It seems every time a Whigs or Whigs-related CD is released, we rave. We don't sell very many -- lots of skeptical readers out there. But here's the perfect place for you to start. An 18 track anthology (including two new ones, their first recordings together in almost a decade) featuring just about the same 18 tracks we would have put together ourselves. If you're not familiar with the band, imagine a ballsy rock n' roll band playing soul music. It really works. Just check out their brilliant cover of the Supremes' "Come See About Me."

BIG & RICH - BETWEEN RAISING HELL AND AMAZING GRACE. If gaudy costume jewelry was a country band, it would be Big & Rich. Not quite sure if they want to play twangy hillbilly music or AC/DC inspired heavy metal, so they do both, almost always at the same time, and it miraculously works. Kitchen-sink production too often takes away from the super-hooky melodies, but still, Big & Rich are a lot more fun than Bjork.

DAVID BOWIE - YOUNG AMERICANS (CD/DVD). This is the same one we've been talking about for months, with amazing Surround Sound, a complete video performance on Dick Cavett, and it's finally out in the States. Please reorder if you already did so many weeks ago!

JAMES BROWN - JAZZ. In addition to being Soul Brother #1, Mr. Dynamite, and the Hardest Working Man In Show Business, not to mention helping to invent funk, James Brown also found the time to play jazz. He wasn't the most talented instrumentalist in the business, but his jazz-oriented work definitely swings, and now the best of it is collected on one disc.

CHRIS CORNELL - CARRY ON. Chris' first solo album, the underrated Euphoria Morning, sounded more like Jeff Buckley than Soundgarden, and a lot of fans missed the boat on it. This one sounds more like Jeff Buckley fronting Audioslave, which somehow works. A great hard rock record that's got brains as well as balls. Includes a nifty cover of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean." (As opposed to Nana Mouskouri's "Billie Jean". You'd think we're getting paid by the word.)

DREAM THEATER - SYSTEMATIC CHAOS. We don't get this band, but thousands and thousands of loyal fans do. A band that makes Rush sound like Tim Hardin. Flashy, soulless guitar solos, spoken word passages, and songs that go on... and on... and on. Available as a CD or CD/DVD combo, which has the entire album remixed in 5.1 Surround Sound.

THE IDLE RACE - BACK TO THE STORY. Before ELO and before the Move, there was the Idle Race, Jeff Lynne's psych-pop band. Long out of print, this is a straight reissue of the two CD anthology, which is basically all their recorded work. If you're a fan of either of the aforementioned bands, this is a must.

MARILYN MANSON - EAT ME DRINK ME. If anyone cares, it comes out Tuesday. If you don't care, read on.

PAUL McCARTNEY - MEMORY ALMOST FULL. About 1972, people began to realize that the Beatles, who made some of the greatest music of all time when together, also had the ability to make some of the worst records since the invention of the cylinder as solo artists. So for every Band On The Run or All Things Must Pass, we got stuck with a Wild Life or Dark Horse. We dealt with it -- tried to ignore the lesser records, loved the good ones, and hoped against hope that they'd come to their senses and get back together.

Beginning in the early '80s, when we all found out the hard way that Beatles can get older and even die, and that a reunion was no longer possible, there arose a curious breed of music fan called Beatle Apologists. Their job was to find the minutes of brilliance or even competence amidst the forty minutes of dreck that made up most Beatle solo albums, and use them to justify the whole sorry mess.

It seems like a large percentage of Beatle apologists have become record reviewers over the years. That's why records like Off The Ground, Gone Troppo, and Stop And Smell The Roses (by Paul, George and Ringo, respectively) received respectful, even mildly encouraging reviews upon their release. The bar was set so low that all a Beatle had to do was put any sort of garbage on a piece of plastic to prove he hadn't joined John Lennon in the great beyond, and by golly, that was good enough for the apologists.

Along with Beatle apologists emerged a somewhat more cynical group, the Beatle realists. They loved the Beatles too, and dutifully bought all the solo records out of some strange sense of loyalty. The difference between the realists and the apologists was that the realists were able to hear just how bad most of these records were. Conversations between realists and apologists usually go something like this:

APOLOGIST: You know, there are a couple of really good songs on this new Ringo Starr CD.
REALIST: No. There aren't.

Just to clarify, we love Sir Paul. So much so that we are still listening to Memory Almost Full, looking for that hidden gem in this mess of an album. As of listen # 6, it's still dreck.

THE POLICE - THE POLICE. If the single disc hits compilation isn't enough Police for you, but the four CD box set is too much, and the five individual CDs take up too much shelf space, and you don't want to wait for the inevitable three CD compilation, then this two CD, 28 track compilation is for you, Goldilocks! All the great songs for $235 less than a ticket to see them live. Sounds like a bargain to us!

ELVIS PRESLEY - ELVIS AT THE MOVIES. Features previously unreleased sound bites of Elvis at his favorite Memphis movie theater, watching films with the Memphis Mafia. Our favorite moments include "Man, that Holly Golightly's somethin', ain't she, Red?" "Are those two taken? Thank ya ver' much," and "Man, that Charlton Heston's somethin', ain't she, Red?"

PRETENDERS - LEARNING TO CRAWL & GET CLOSE. The next two in the very cool Pretenders reissue series from Rhino Records originally came out in 1984 and '86, respectively. Now remastered for the very first time (and boy, did they need it), plus each one has a bonus disc of rare and unreleased live tracks and B-sides.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN WITH THE SESSIONS BAND - LIVE IN DUBLIN (CD/DVD). One of the best records of last year, followed by one of the best tours ever, captured on one of the best live records of this year. It was a shame to see him fail to sell out Madison Square Garden because he wasn't playing with the E Street Band, especially when this heartfelt, uplifting and boisterous show was one of the best we've ever seen. This collection features songs from We Shall Overcome as well as ten reworked classics from the Bruce catalog, including "Atlantic City," "Blinded By The Light," and the big band/swing version of "Open All Night." Get it!

MARTY STUART - COMPADRES: AN ANTHOLOGY OF DUETS. The great Marty Stuart singing with everyone from Johnny Cash and Steve Earle to B.B. King and Mavis Staples, all in one spot.

VARIOUS ARTISTS - ANCHORED IN LOVE: A TRIBUTE TO JUNE CARTER CASH. A tribute to the late, great and wonderful June Carter Cash, this features such top-drawer names as Elvis Costello, Willie Nelson, Rosanne Cash, Emmylou Harris, Carlene Carter, Sheryl Crow, and, of course, Billy Bob Thornton, all on newly recorded tunes.

PORTER WAGONER - THE WAGONMASTER. Country legend and Dolly Parton's onetime collaborator releases his first new album in years, produced by Marty Stuart. A musical biography of sorts, this record features Wagoner's storytelling through words and music, and it really is one of the best country records we've heard in a long time. Wagoner's voice has aged well.

TO ORDER ANY OF THESE "COMPACT DISCS," PLEASE CALL (212) 244-3460 OR EMAIL US!

SELL US YOUR DISCS! CALL OR EMAIL! WE PAY MONEY!

READ OUR BLOG! AND IF YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE READING OUR BLOG, READ US ON THE HUFFINGTON POST! AND READ OUR CAPSULE REVIEWS ON ERIC ALTERMAN'S BLOG, "ALTERCATIONS"!

UNTIL NEXT WEEK, WE LEAVE YOU WITH THIS:

2007 seems to be the year of reunions, with the Police, Genesis, Crowded House and Squeeze all taking to the road.

Thank you.

Your friends,
Sinead O'Connor and Jackie Coogan

NEWSLETTER '07 #21!

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND UPON US; NEW RELEASES ARE NOT

ENTERTAINING LISTS TO KEEP YOU ENTERTAINED!

COOL JERKS PLAY GIG, WILL USE MONEY TO RENT CABANA ON FIRE ISLAND FOR MEMORIAL DAY 2008

Let's get right to it, shall we? Because as you can see, the headlines are lame.

NEXT WEEK'S NEW RELEASES! (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER, ALTHOUGH IT MAY BE ALPHABETICAL BY ACCIDENT)

HERB ALPERT - RISE. Herb's 1979 comeback features the still-brilliant title track, with some other not-so-brilliant tracks that sound like anything from the chase scene from a Robert Urich TV special to background music for a David Copperfield plate-spinning extravaganza. If that's your sort of thing, then enjoy.

PERRY FARRELL'S SATELLITE PARTY - ULTRA PAYLOAD. There are few we find as annoying and repulsive as Perry Farrell. This could be his "Rhapsody In Blue" for all we know, but we'd still hate it, because Perry's an annoying Jewish rocker (we can get away with saying that because Sal is Jewish). Features some more annoying people, including Fergie, Flea, and the very dead but still annoying Jim Morrison.

R. KELLY - DOUBLE UP. We'll give this to him -- the man is popular. So who are we to judge such masterpieces as "Freaky In The Club" and "Pull Ya Hair"? For all we know, such great composers as Shostakovich and Carole Bayer-Sager also had bizarre liaisons with underage strumpets.

JOHNETTE NAPOLITANO - SCARRED. The legendary (yes, legendary) vocalist from the legendary (you heard us right, legendary) Concrete Blonde releases her long-awaited solo debut, and Sal is loving it. She's abandoned the Dracula-meets-Emiliano Zapata sounds that seemed to dominate the last two Concrete Blonde records for good ol' fashioned goodness in the guise of ballsy singer-songwriter fare. Also includes covers of Coldplay's "The Scientist" and a killer "All Tomorrow's Parties."

ROBERT POLLARD - CRICKETS. It's been at least two weeks since Robert Pollard put out a new record, so the fans are getting antsy. Features the usual drums made out of aluminum foil, amps running on C batteries, and vocals sung through a bullhorn. Low-fi and lovin' it!

SAL'S PICK OF THE WEEK! (WHICH TONY HASN'T HEARD YET)

RICHARD THOMPSON - SWEET WARRIOR. Truth be told, Richard Thompson releases records almost as quickly as Robert Pollard. The difference is that Sal loves Richard Thompson and hates Robert Pollard. Nonetheless, this new full-on electric record doesn't stray far from anything Richard's done before -- and that's a good thing. Smart lyrics, great hooks, and some of the greatest guitar playing you'll hear this side of Ace Frehley (you know that's a joke, right?).

NOT THAT WE'RE FORCING YOU, BUT WE'D LOVE IT IF YOU ORDERED SEVERAL OF THESE FINE, NAY ESSENTIAL, COMPACT DISC RELEASES. YOU MAY DO SO BY CALLING (212) 244-3460 OR, IF YOU HAVE A COMPUTER, EMAILING US.

and now, for your reading pleasure...

TEN SONGS THAT PISS US OFF!

Before we get to the list, we should mention that these are by no means our ten least favorite songs, or what we think are the ten worst songs ever recorded. No, these are songs that, when we hear them, stick in our craws like a sesame seed gets stuck in a dental bridge. The songs that, half an hour after we hear them, still leave us muttering to themselves "How could somebody have not pointed out how annoying this song/line/word/verse/chorus is? Why must we be tormented like this?!" The fact that just about all these songs were big hits, and thus inescapable on the radio and/or MTV, also adds to the pissing-us-off factor.

10. MY LOVE - Paul McCartney & Wings. It's hard to believe that a mere four years before this was recorded, Paul was working on Abbey Road. But it's the lyrics -- the chorus, specifically -- that really puts it over the top for us. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa," Paul meaningfully intones, "whoa whoa whoa whoa. My love does it good." We don't think he ever would have had the guts to play it for Lennon had the Beatles still been a going concern in '73. The guitar solo isn't bad. We still hate the song. (Actually, "we" means Tony. Sal thinks it's very good, especially the guitar solo, which he thinks not only isn't "isn't bad," but is excellent.)

9. THE BEST- Tina Turner. Tina Turner had a much-deserved comeback in the 80's. We all read about her terrible life with Ike, and we embraced her every move after her not-bad remake of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" topped the charts. Unfortunately, the downhill slide began with the atrocious "We Don't Need Another Hero," from a Mad Max movie. (Why was that a hit?) But, the nadir of Miss Turner's existence is "The Best." (Actually, the nadir of her existence was probably getting beaten by Ike. But you know what we mean.) "You're simply the best/better than all the rest/better than anyone...." Uh..."better than you two over there/ and uh....better than that woman with with the baby stroller....and uh....better than all the rest...oh, said that already." We get it. It IS called "The Best," for Pete's sake. Oh, the irony.

8. I DON'T WANT TO WAIT - Paula Cole. This one pisses us off for one line, pretty much: "Say a little prayer for I." What the hell is that? Since Paula Cole's not a Rasta, we can only conclude that she was too lazy to come up with a line that rhymed with "Say a little prayer for ME." "Damn, what the hell rhymes with 'me'? Ahhh, screw it -- 'Say a little prayer for I.' " The fact that this song was not only a monster hit, staying on the charts for a full year, but also became the opening theme for Dawson's Creek, means that we still hear it every now and then ten years after the fact, which leads us to conclude that the gods hate us. N.B. Tony once saw Paula eating lunch in the West Village, and seriously contemplated dumping his chicken salad on her head.

7. ALMOST BLUE- Elvis Costello. A great song from a great songwriter and one of our all time faves. Period. So, why does it piss us off? One word: "this." Where is it? In the line, "Flirting with THIS disaster became me." The phrase is "flirting with disaster," not "this disaster." It is a speed bump in an otherwise beautiful attempt at a modern day standard. Costello is clever. "Do I step on the brakes to get out of her clutches," from "New Amsterdam. BRILLIANT! But it is not necessary to be cute everytime. We all know that Elvis Costello is no flash in "this" pan, so, maybe we'll let him slide. Still, very cringe-making.

6. WHO WILL SAVE YOUR SOUL - Jewel. Back in the mid '90s, it seemed like Jewel could do no right, cranking out one horrific, annoying single after another -- all of which stormed the VH-1 playlists and the Hot 100. But her first was the worst. "Who Will Save Your Soul" features Jewel folkily crooning, growling like a blueswoman (albeit a white blueswoman from Alaska), and cooing like a six-year-old, all within the twelve seconds or so of the insufferable chorus. Preachy lyric plus annoying singing plus dull melody equals pissed off Tony & Sal.

5. CROCODILE ROCK - Elton John. Elton's vast output has its merits, of course But damn, this song pisses us off. We assume it was intended as a '50s rock and roll pastiche, but it removes all the passion and excitement that characterized the music and leaves in all the lame crap, like the sub-Frankie Valli chorus. It's like an episode of Happy Days set to music, but not the good early episodes. This is like one of those later episodes from 1980, where everyone has the blow-dried disco haircuts even though it's supposed to be 1962, and whenever Chachi walks on the set all the girls scream and applaud for about four minutes. That's what this song is like.

4. EVERYBODY HURTS - R.E.M. R.E.M. is one of our very favorite bands. Tony is even a member of the fan club. But oh lordy, does this song piss us off. On what's otherwise one of the best albums of the '90s (Automatic For The People), Michael Stipe whines and screeches his way through a trite self-help lyric and a shopworn melody. Stipe is an excellent frontman, but he should never, never try to make like a soul singer. Would you want to hear Solomon Burke singing about legumes or Cyrus Vance? Didn't think so.

3. UNDER THE BRIDGE- Red Hot Chili Peppers. For four albums, the Chili Peppers rocked and funked and kicked our butts with their unique brand of James Brown-meets-Funkadelic-at-a-hardcore punk party in the Cali Valley. Did they sell any records? Not really. But they finally hit the big time with their Number 2 single, "Under The Bridge," a clumsily written confessional of lead singer Anthony Kiedis's drug days. How it managed to be so successful with such insipid lyrics and the now legendary off-key caterwauling of Kiedis — a trait that went unnoticed when the band did what they did best, which wasn't playing ballads — is beyond us.

2. DIRTY LAUNDRY--Don Henley. How do we hate this song? Let us count the ways. "KICK'EM WHEN THEY'RE UP! KICK'EM WHEN THEY'RE DOWN! KICK'EM WHEN THEY'RE UP! KICK'EM ALL AROUND!" Let's start with that. Then throw in the super-cheesy 80's production that's so dated it makes a Rudy Vallee 78 sound more current, and of course, Henley's delivery of the line, "Bubble-headed bleach-blonde," and what you have is a musical ipecac.

and the #1 song that pisses us off...

1. ZOMBIE - The Cranberries. Sinead O'Connor's first two records weren't so amazing that we needed a replacement when she decided to give up music and become a lesbian Rasta nun. But Dolores O'Riordan felt different, and her irritating brogue was heard on the radio and in department stores throughout the mid '90s. We still can't decide what's more annoying, the chorus ("In yer heee-eead! In yer heee-eee-eee-eead! Zah-ham-beh! Zah-ham-beh! Zah-ham-beh!") or the fact that it appealed to everyone from age 6 to 65. What's wrong with you people?!

HONORABLE MENTION FOR SONG WE LIKE THAT STILL PISSES US OFF FOR REASONS WHICH HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SONG ITSELF:

I GOT YOU (I FEEL GOOD) - James Brown. This one is obviously a great song, but it pisses us off because for a while in the '80s, it was used in the trailer for every lame comedy film that Hollywood spewed out. So, almost 20 years later, we can't hear it without also hearing a voiceover in our heads saying "He's a rich stockbroker with a thing for race cars. She's a sexy mechanic with a filthy mouth. Judge Reinhold and Shelley Long star in..."

NEXT WEEK:

New releases from BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, CHRIS CORNELL, BIG $ RICH, and that stinker from PAUL McCARTNEY!

And mark your calendars -- our next holiday list, which will come out the week of Flag Day, will be our ten favorite songs with the word "spatula" in the lyrics. Future holiday lists will include Tony's ten favorite songs to listen to while eating dumplings, our ten favorite records by major league umpires, and 25 reasons why we need another nail salon on the Upper West Side.

And finally...

If you're staying in the city this weekend, cherishing all that parking space and getting a seat at Isabella's, start the night right by catching Sal's fantastic new band, THE COOL JERKS, featuring Sal doing what he does best! And what's that, you may ask? You gotta show up to find out! But it definitely involves bacon. (Hey, when the rest of the Cool Jerks write a newsletter, they can call it their band.) TONIGHT AT AN BEAL BOCHT!

UNTIL NEXT WEEK, WE LEAVE YOU WITH THIS:

All you Met fans, don't get cocky. It's early.

Your friends,
Art Shamsky & Ed Charles

NEWSLETTER '07 #20!

ONLY 19 MORE DAYS UNTIL NEW McCARTNEY STINKER!

SQUEEZE, CROWDED HOUSE REUNITE FOR SUMMER TOUR; QUARTERFLASH & COCK ROBIN CONTINUE RUN AT THE NEVELE

MANY NEW RELEASES!

EXCLUSIVE! 1ST PICTURES OF JERRY FALWELL, ADOLF HITLER & TY COBB IN HELL!

and now... THE NEWSLETTER!

THE BRAVERY - SUN AND THE MOON. Our press release said that the Bravery spent a whole eight months working on their second album. We remember a time when it took Don Henley eight months to properly mic the castanets on "Hotel California." These boys made a name for themselves with their not-bad debut, and this record will either get them back on top or get them on the bill with Quarterflash and Cock Robin at the Nevele.

JEFF BUCKLEY - SO REAL. A 14 track best-of featuring songs from all 1 1/2 of his albums, plus live tracks from his three live records and alternate takes from his two posthumously released outtakes records, AND a brand new outtake which is a cover of the Smiths' "I Know It's Over!" We look forward to Sony's Essential Jeff Buckley CD, due out sometime next year, which will feature these same tracks, less one outtake. Barrel scrapers rejoice!

TONY'S PICK OF THE WEEK (THAT HE HASN'T HEARD YET)!

ROBERT DRASNIN - VOODOO II. In the late '50s, Drasnin made one of the greatest exotica albums of all time, "Voodoo!" Martin Denny and Les Baxter never made a better album in the genre, and that's the truth. Now, almost 50 years later, Drasnin has finally made the sequel. And no, I haven't heard it yet, but apparently he did it right. No Pro Tools, no synthesized conch shells, just real people recording real instruments on analog tape. This should be a winner. (Sal: "And I'm not allowed to listen to the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Fine...")

ERASURE - LIGHT AT THE END OF THE WORLD. Moderate-to-wildly successful pop duo release their ninth (or possibly 16th) record of dated, soulless synth-pop. (Note to all of Tony's Asian friends: Sorry, Sal made me write that.)

SAL'S PICK OF THE WEEK (WHICH HE HAS HEARD)!

FICTION PLANE - LEFT SIDE OF THE BRAIN. Their debut release, "Everything Will Never Be OK," was one of my faves of the year in 2003. This exciting new band, let by Joe Sumner, the son of legendary English professor (and future hell-dweller) Gordon Sumner (that's Sting for you laymen), has all the excitement the Police left behind when Sting took up faux-jazz, an all-yogurt diet, and sex with plants. High-energy rock n' roll reminiscent of early Police, with smart lyrics and super-catchy melodies. They're opening for the Police on their $250-a-ticket tour, so get there early and get your money's worth!

MAROON 5 - IT WON'T BE SOON BEFORE LONG. More songs that will make you want to smack that guy in the face, along the lines of "She weeeeeeeeeeeellllllllll, be luuuuuuhhh-uhhhved."

THE NATIONAL - BOXER. The only thing more offensive than a Republican saying global warming doesn't exist because it's 50 degrees out today is referring to the National as "the greatest rock n' roll band since the E Street Band." This band has sold out the Bowery Ballroom for, like, 97 nights based on a handful of OK records. What's with the hype, people? Just stop it.

JOAN OSBORNE - BREAKFAST IN BED. One of the best voices in music today still has not reached her potential. Her all-covers record, "How Sweet It Is," could have been the one to show off Osborne's killer pipes. Unfortunately, the safe production turned a great idea into an OK album. She's trying her hand at it again with this new release of'70s soul covers, featuring a killer band that includes Ivan Neville and Tracy Wormworth (whose fine bass playing was a standout on the Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping" single). We love Joan enough to give her a fourth second chance.

OZZY OSBOURNE - BLACK RAIN. "Euuuuhhhh, zzhhhuuughh wittthhhha bloody hard rock fgmihhiilll... Zack Wylde guitars... firwenaggkkklll... Kelly, pudddown those bloody pills.... grhhheennndwuvvv...."

HEY, DO YOU LIKE JAZZ? SO DO WE! HERE ARE SOME NEW RELEASES!

MICHAEL BRECKER - PILGRIMAGE. The late great legend's final album features the all-star band of Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Brad Mehldau, John Patitucci, and Jack DeJohnette. We have not heard it yet, but honestly, how could you say anything bad about Michael Brecker?

BILL CHARLAP TRIO - LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD. Charlap, with his Washington rhythm section, doing what they do best at the legendary Village nightclub. We have not heard it yet, but honestly, how could you say anything bad about Michael Brecker?

CHICK COREA & BELA FLECK - ENCHANTMENT. Chick & Fleck (and the Knicks and the Hawks and the Bucks -- first person to email us with the reference gets a copy of the CD!) combine for their first ever collaboration. We have not heard it yet, but how can you say anything bad about Willis Reed?

VICTOR GOINES - LOVE DANCE. A dear friend of Wynton Marsalis, but we won't hold that against him, because he's one of the great sax players in the jazz game. This new release features the same quartet that was on his last brilliant record, "New Adventures" (Peter Martin, Reuben Rogers and Gregory Hutchinson).

ABBEY LINCOLN - ABBEY SINGS ABBEY. Jazz legend's new record has a unique sound that features guitar virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist (not to mention Bob Dylan's occasional right hand man) Larry Campbell running the show. Miss Lincoln may not be for everyone, but her voice is still sounding remarkably vibrant.

ORDER ONE! ORDER TWO! AWW, HECK, ORDER 'EM ALL! EMAIL US OR CALL (212) 244-3460!

ONE MORE THING ABOUT THIS NEW McCARTNEY CD...

OK, we know the guy wrote "Yesterday," "For No One," "Maybe I'm Amazed," and "Hey Jude." For those songs alone, Pauly should get a pass. But let's not forget, he also wrote "Biker Like An Icon," "Frozen Jap," and "Mumbo," as well as the lyric "And I acted like a dustbin lid." This new record makes the aforementioned crap sound like Gershwin. If there is one review in any of the popular rags that gives MEMORY ALMOST FULL anything but 1 1/2 stars, you'll be hearing from our lawyers. (Actually, we don't have any lawyers. You'll be hearing from our uncles.) McCartney must be stopped! Sir George Martin, please make that phone call. You're the only one who can intervene.

CHECK OUR NEW POST ON THE HUFFINGTON POST!

HEY! DO YOU LIKE STEELY DAN?

Sal has ONE AWESOME SEAT for Monday night's show (5/21), Row A, in the loge, on the aisle. He'd like face value but he'll accept reasonable offers. EMAIL OR CALL!

UNTIL NEXT WEEK, WE LEAVE YOU WITH THIS:

We're sorry if we offended anyone with our Jerry Falwell joke. We meant no disrespect. He was a good man.*

Your friends,
The Brothers Glib

*No he wasn't.

NEWSLETTER '07 #19!

"HI HONEY, I'M HOME!" SAL RETURNS FROM NEW ORLEANS; MENTIONS OF LOUNGE MUSIC AND DUMPLINGS CONSPICUOUSLY ABSENT FROM NEWSLETTER

PAUL McCARTNEY RELEASES NEW BAD ALBUM; RINGO GAINING GROUND IN "BEST BEATLE WHO'S NOT DEAD" COMPETITION

NEW GOOD MUSIC COMING OUT NEXT WEEK! (NONE OF WHICH IS THE NEW McCARTNEY RECORD)

and now... NEXT WEEK'S NEW RELEASES!

GENESIS - 1976-1982 (BOX SET). There is so much to love and hate about Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, and the rest of this pretentious gang of Brits. Pros include Selling England By The Pound, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, Phil Collins' drumming, Peter Gabriel's reverse Mohawk, Tony Banks' impish grin, and "Paperlate." Cons: Phil Collins post-1982, Peter Gabriel's fascination with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mike Rutherford and his Mechanics, and Phil Collins post-1982 -- so horrendous we had to mention it twice.

As for this box set, it's a brilliant idea. Take the five best post-Gabriel records, give them new stereo mixes, 5.1 Surround Sound, and rare videos, slap 'em in a box with a bonus disc of rarities, and Bob's yer uncle. But the British version, which is identical musically, presses the discs on the best audio format around, SACD Hybrids, while here in the States, we can only listen to our 5.1 Surround mixes on DVD-Audios. That would be fine, if we could afford the British version, which is twice the price. But even if we could afford it, the DVDs wouldn't play unless you had an all-region player. Thanks, Rhino! For years we've been calling you the gold standard of reissue labels, but you blew it this time.

GUIDED BY VOICES - LIVE FROM AUSTIN, TX. A 2004 set recorded for Austin City Limits on their farewell tour. GBV records are few and far between, so you should snap this up!

IAN HUNTER - SHRUNKEN HEADS. The older this Hoople gets, the better he sounds. The followup to "Rant," one of the strongest records in Hunter's career, is just as strong. With lots of help from Jeff "Will Someone Hold My Hair Back?" Tweedy, Shrunken Heads sounds like Bob Dylan fronting "Exile"-era Stones. You can't get much better than that.

LINKIN PARK - MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT. The press release we're reading claims that this is the most anticipated release of the year. It is? Wait, what year is this again?

MOBY GRAPE - LISTEN MY FRIENDS: THE BEST OF MOBY GRAPE. All of you who purchased the long out-of-print and bad sounding Vintage collection can now trade it in to us and get a newly packaged and newly remastered 20 track anthology from the legendary San Francisco band.

TONY'S PICK OF THE WEEK (AND SAL'S ONE LOUNGE MUSIC ALLOWANCE)!

PINK MARTINI - HEY EUGENE! I really wanted to dislike this record. Just because you can speak twelve languages doesn't mean you have to record a song in each of them. And thanks to China Forbes and her multilingual skills, she has made Pink Martini a bit more gimmicky than they deserve to be. But the band is too good to be dismissed as a bunch of globehopping lounge lizards. They can take any style of music and play the crap out of it. And watch out -- the title track, which has been a live favorite for years, is a hit single waiting to happen.

VARIOUS ARTISTS - A REGGAE TRIBUTE TO THE POLICE. This is probably as lame as you think it is. It's $11.98 in 49 states, but $250 in New York City.

JOE STRUMMER - FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN. The soundtrack to the film about the late rock legend features early unreleased Clash classics, as well as tracks by Bob Dylan, the Ramones, and Elvis Presley.

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT - RELEASE THE STARS. We can't think of an artist who has had such strong feelings from both sides of the fence about his career. You either absolutely love the guy, or hate the guy. We love the guy (and when we say "we," we mean Sal). The powerful new release is exactly what you want from Wainwright -- heartbreaking, baroque pop, monster production that harkens back to the great '70s records of Queen and Elton John, intelligent and often demanding lyrics, and melodies to die for. We know those of you who hate him (and when we say "we," we mean Sal) can't hear any of this. But that's OK, because we hate Ben Folds just as much. (And when we say "we," we mean Sal and Tony.)

WILCO - SKY BLUE SKY. It's just too easy to tear this band apart. Hitting their peak with their modern masterpiece Summerteeth in 1999, the band then became alt-country's version of Radiohead. They abandoned "the song" and embraced "the sound," which is textured twaddle. BUT... they're back! Much closer to Summerteeth and their sophomore release Being There, Sky Blue Sky regains some of the magic that was lost on their last two self-indulgent releases. Comes both as a CD or a deluxe edition which also features a DVD with a 48 minute film about the recording of the record.

YOU CAN ORDER ANY OF THESE, AS WELL AS THE DOLORES O'RIORDAN SOLO RECORD (SHE'S THE VOICE BEHIND ONE OF THE MOST ANNOYING SONGS OF ALL TIME, THE CRANBERRIES' "ZOMBIE". ZAH-HAM-BEH! ZAH-HAM-BEH! ZAH-HAM-BEH!) BY EMAILING US OR CALLING (212) 244-3460!

TRADE IN YOUR OLD CDs & DVDs FOR CASH OR SHINY STORE CREDIT! EMAIL OR CALL FOR MORE DETAILS!

AS WE WERE SAYING ABOUT MACCA...

The best way to describe MEMORY ALMOST FULL, the new release from the not-so-cute-anymore former Beatle, is what we like to call "The Keith Richards Phenomenon." Remember when you saw a picture of Keith Richards in 1977? You thought to yourself, "Man, this guy looks terrible!" Then, you saw a picture of Keith in 1987, and he looked so much worse that it made the 1977 picture look like a Cary Grant headshot in comparison. Now, you see a picture of him from 2007, and that 1987 picture, where he looked like death warmed over, suddenly makes him look like Frankie Avalon. So basically, Memory Almost Full is Keith Richards, while "Vanilla Sky" is Frankie Avalon.

UNTIL NEXT WEEK, WE LEAVE YOU WITH THIS:

If anyone's wondering why nothing has been written about Sal's trip to New Orleans, his days at JazzFest, the food he ate, the people he met, and the all-around joy of being in the Crescent City, it's because he made a deal with Tony. Sal won't talk about his trip to New Orleans if Tony stops playing Nat King Cole's Cole Español in the office every day.

Your friends,
Beef and Duke Ellington