Monday Morning Newsletter (11-10-08)

The election is over but music and politics met again this week. George W. Bush Jr. appointed country singer Lee Greenwood chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA.) This is as apt a decision as appointing Charleton Heston as head of the Pentagon. Lee Greenwood's main claim to fame is writing the popular but schlocky "God Bless the U.S.A." Greenwood is scheduled to be sworn in Nov. 17.

Jack Bruce of Cream got wasted and unleashed some feisty words from the podium. The occasion was the Marshall Classic Rock & Roll Of Honor and Bruce was to accept the award for Classic Album for Cream’s Disraeli Gears. After “thank you,” Jack added “Fuck off, Zeppelin, you’re crap. You’ve always been crap and you’ll never be anything else. Cream is 10 times the band that Led Zeppelin is.” …But José likes to sit back when geezers talk smack.

Before Halloween Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz and Patrick Stump planned to set a Guinness World Record for record for most Interviews on radio in a 24 Hour Period. José can’t say if that’s a legitimate category or not. But they started at 3 a.m. PST on Halloween and continued until for 24 hours. The previous record was 57 stations in 24 hours. FOB complete 72 interviews. FOB has submitted documentation to Guinness and await formal certification that they are losers.

Chino Moreno recently confirmed that Deftones bassist Chi Cheng has been hospitalized following a serious car accident. Warner Bros. also confirmed his condition in a statement that said Cheng was in "serious but stable condition" Details are limited.

Jack White has had to cancel a few appointments due to injury. On tour with The Raconteurs vigorous head-banging inflamed a disc in his neck. Among the canceled events is his scheduled appearance at the MTV Europe Music Awards. José says rock more, dance less.

Rivers Cuomo is set to release another set of home demos this month. Alone II: The Home Recordings Of Rivers Cuomo is slated for release on November 25th. The Weezer-front man is rumored to have cut one song "Can't Stop Partying" with R&B producer Jermaine Dupri. José is entertaining the possibility this will be worse than the Red Album.

None other than Jermaine Jackson has announced a Jackson 5 reunion. At a TV industry function in Sydney, he told attending members of the press that “Janet, Michael, Marlon, Tito, Randy and the whole Jackson family is getting back together. He confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that the fam is already in the studio in preparation for a 2009 tour.

After a year of touring on a 7-inch, Narrows has finished recording their debut LP. The album yet untitled, was mastered by Matt Bayles. It’s due for an early 2009 release on Deathwish. The bands line up sports Ryan Frederiksen from These Arms Are Snakes, and Dave Verellen of Botch. José is pretty peeved that some n00b deleted their Wikipedia page.

Monday Morning Newsletter (03/24/08)

Do I need to say any more?

Puff Daddy has issued a statement denying the Los Angeles Times article connecting him to the 1994 murder of Tupac Shakur. It states that his employees were responsible for the shooting death of Shakur at a New York recording studio. He said “That’s wack. Everybody knows OJ did that shit.”

Lawyers for The Beatles sued Friday to prevent the distribution of the unreleased 1962 recordings of Ringo Starr's first performance with the group. John Lennon was reported to be spinning in his grave like a turkey on a spit over the horror of the world hearing Ringo at his worst.

Velvet Revolver is reportedly breaking up over internal disputes and personality issues. Scott Weiland spoke out from via his spokesperson in rehab. “Our current plan is to spend the next 10 years recording an album that will never see release.”

SPV has announced the signing of world-famous rock-icon Alice Cooper. The Hanover, Germany-based label has agreed in an amazingly detailed contract to cover the expenses for his guillotines, gallows, electric chairs, snakes, and fake blood. Was anyone else let down the first time they say him golfing?

Warner Brothers Records has announced that Madonna’s 11th studio album, Hard Candy, will be released April 28th. This follows her heretical induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on back on March 10th.

The first Jay Reatard 7-inch in their singles series for Matador Records will hit stores April 8th. The singles "See Saw" and “Screaming Hand" were recorded at Shattered Studios this past January. Jay would like his fans to know that they can stop calling label head Chris Lombardi at home. It’s creepy.

The new Raconteurs record, Consolers Of The Lonely, dropped early last Friday on iTunes. Was it an accident or part of Steve Jobs sinister plan to control the world? Stranded’s Rusty Elucidates.

Despite a violent van wreck on I-71 North in Ohio, the band Genghis Tron managed to avoid mortal injury. They were about 90 miles North of Columbus when the rear right wheel of their vehicle fell off sending them into a ditch at 60 miles per hour. Vocalist Mookie Singerman was quoted as saying “Dude, I feel like Cliff Burton, except not dead.”

Iconic West-coast punk rock band the Dead Kennedys are seeking a new front man after lead vocalist Jeff Penalty quit this past week. Penalty of course was filling in for Brandon Cruz who quit in 2003, who had taken over for the infamous Jello Biafra who gave them the finger in 2001. Ronnie James Dio is rumors to be in talks with the band.

New Raconteurs Album Next Week

A few days ago, I was reading a post on a message board I sometimes frequent from a person who works at a record store claiming there was a new Raconteurs album coming out today. No one really believed it, but then again with the way rather large artists have been dropping things out of the sky these days (Radiohead, NIN, etc.,) maybe Jack White had a trick up his sleeve. Did he really have the band finish their new album, go to Warner Bros., and demand it be released ASAP? Yes. Yes he did.

And with that, Jack White's other band will release their sophomore album, Consolers Of The Lonely, next Tuesday. What's special about this compared to the NIN and Radiohead releases, though, is that this isn't just a digital release, it's a normal release: it will be out via CD, vinyl, and as a digital download via iTunes from your friends at Third Man/Warner Bros. Wow. Mighty impressive I must say, now we just have to wait and see how impressive the record is when it lands.

Until then, there's always Pee Wee's cameo in this video: