If You're True

Still high from seeing Bob Mould last night (see below), I give you a song. This is called "If You're True" and its an outtake from what is still Mould's best solo album, "Workbook". I've always loved the tune and still can't believe it was left off the record. Enjoy.

Bob Mould-If You're True (1989 Outtake)

A Good Idea

So I had a rare night out last night and I couldn't have spent it any better. I went with some great friends to the hilariously titled Shank Hall in Milwaukee to see one of my musical heroes; Bob Mould. I have worshiped at the alter of Bob ever since hearing Husker Du's 1987 opus, "Warehouse:Stories and Songs". That album remains one of my all time favorites and I have followed Mould's career ever since.

Touring on the heals of the fantastic new release "District Line", Mould appeared with a killer four piece band that my ears are still ringing from. The show opened with an electrifying one-two blast of the first 2 tracks from Sugar's "Copper Blue". Going into the show, I would have been thrilled to hear any songs from that album, but Mould treated us to 4 of them throughout the night. The show featured a great mix of tracks from his solo discs, Sugar, and a seven song Husker Du explosion at the end (including Divide and Conquer, Celebrated Summer, Chartered Trips, Could You Be the One, Makes No Sense at All, and Hardly Getting Over It). But this was no nostalgia show. The five tracks played from the new CD sounded perfectly in place with Mould's best work, and that includes the Husker Du material. What stuck me most is how passionate Mould sounds after all these years. He was screaming those Husker Du songs as if the wounds that spawned them still hurt like hell. Go see him if you have the chance!

Listen to six new tracks here.

Bob Mould 2008 Tour Dates:
03/07/08 Chicago, IL @ Metro
03/08/08 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
03/09/08 Hamilton, ON @ Casbah
03/10/08 Toronto, ON @ Mod Club Theatre
03/12/08 Boston, MA @ The Paradise
03/13/08 New York, NY @ The Fillmore at Irving Plaza
03/14/08 Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
03/15/08 Washington DC @ 9:30 Club
03/17/08 Charlotte, NC @ The Visulite Theatre
03/18/08 Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
03/20/08 Austin, TX @ Antone's
03/22/08 Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
03/24/08 San Diego, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
03/25/08 Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theater
03/26/08 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
03/28/08 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
03/29/08 Seattle, WA @ Neumos
03/30/08 Vancouver, BC @ Richards on Richards

Where Have I Been?

Every once and a while an established band comes into your world and you think, "how have I never heard of these guys before"? Today I had that thought while listening to the excellent new CD by the Drive By Truckers.

That is not to say I haven't been reading about the Drive By Truckers since they released their supposed 2001 double CD masterpiece, "The Southern Rock Opera". That disc topped many year-end lists, but something about the descriptions of the music and their name kept me away. What a shame for me! After cranking their brilliant 2008 release "Brighter Than Creation's Dark" a few times now, I am on a mission to seek out the rest of their material.

Their sounds is roots-based rock along the lines of "Exile on Main Street" Rolling Stones so if twang ain't your thing, you may want to stay away. The band's main appeal to me is that they have three unique singer-songwriters in Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley, and new member Shonna Tucker, so the tunes all sound varied. Lyrically, each song feels like I am living a snapshot of Southern characters who are dealing with the typical issues of life (death, love, war, religion, crystal meth). But however heavy the lyrical content may get, the songs never sound heavy handed or depressing. These guys can rock your socks off or rock you to sleep depending on the tune and the lyrics are all top notch. If I am not the only one left who hasn't heard them, do yourselves a favor and give the new songs a listen over at their MySpace page. You'll be glad you did.
http://www.myspace.com/drivebytruckers

Also, check out this killer 3 hour show from 2006 archived on the NPR website.

In Town

OK, I'm back from the warm sunny skies of Florida to the cold grey weather of Wisconsin. When the plane came out of the clouds in Wisconsin giving us all a landscape of total grey and white, all the passengers let out a collective groan. It was quite comical. It does feel good to be home despite the weather. Ocala, Florida is this bizarre mix of "Golden Girls" meets "Boyz in the Hood" with a Nascar chaser. I felt like a total fish out of water. At least I know how to handle the white-bread world of Wisconsin, as bland as it tends to be.

I was in Florida taking care of a loved one. Because of that, I was able to watch a lot of movies and bad TV. The highlight of my viewing was most definitely watching Woody Allen's 1989 masterpiece "Crimes and Misdemeanors". I have long been a big fan of Allen's work and I know I saw the film back when it was first released, but I don't remember it leaving much of an impression on me. The thing is, I was only 19 years old in 1989 and not mentally ready for the themes Woody explores during the movie. Those themes would be; fidelity, importance of family, religion, murder, consequences of actions, good over evil, nostalgia, and love. These are familiar themes to any fan of Allen's films, but as far as I'm concerned this film explores them better than any of his others. This is one of Allen's draumadies, so it is hilarious in parts but the drama is what really hooked me in.

The plot is sort of separated into two segments, with Woody at the center of one and the amazing Martin Landau at the center of the other. I will not give away any plot points, but I have to say that I was more emotional during the final 2 minutes of this film than any I can remember. Woody always tends to be a "glass half empty" kind of guy but this movie explores how people can get that way. More importantly, he touches on the potential light at the end of the tunnel that we all use to see each day through. Perhaps it was my circumstance last week with facing my Dad's mortality, but this movie pushed all the right buttons for me and really made me question how and why we live our lives the way we do. If you have never seen it, go to your local library now and check it out. It may actually change your life.

I Can't Stand it!!

Well I couldn't take it anymore....

This week I am in the bizarre "Twin Peeks"-like town of Ocala, Florida staying somewhere without a computer. As I type this to you, I am sitting in the public library catching up on my web surfing. I feel much better now, thank you. After the third day of no Internet access, I began to twitch and get dizzy. I haven't been addicted to many things in my life, but apparently I am now full blown Internet addict. Wow, that felt good to get out of my system. "My name is David Connell and I am addicted to the Internets". Anyway, you don't come here to read my personal BS. You want some pop culture content right? Since my library access has a countdown clock expiring in 15 minutes, I have to type fast!

Without access to a computer lately I don't have much to report, but I did have a nice surprise waiting for me when I checked my email today. The fine folks at Wilco HQ have sent a message saying that not only is tonight's Wilco show being streamed on NPR.org, but the best band in the land will be appearing on Saturday Night Live this week. Having been a Wilco fan since the beginning, I am not sure how I feel about this. This week will be hosted by the rising star Ellen Page(Juno), so I would imagine the show will have good ratings. I guess if it gets one more person to realize how great Wilco is, then more power to them. The selfish side of me misses the days when I would rant about this great band called Wilco and people would have no clue who I was talking about. Part of growing up is learning to share. I guess we now have to share Wilco too. I can live with that...

See you soon when I get back to the frozen tundra of Wisconsin. Until then, greetings from Florida.

See you soon....

So this week I will be out of town with no access to the Internet. That alone is a totally frightening thought for me. Like, what the hell am I going to do frightening! I figure it can only be a good thing not to stare at a computer for a week, no? Maybe I will actually finish the "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" book I have been reading for about a year. Well, I promise I will keep posting when I get back so please keep checking in for my rants. In the meantime, I leave you with some great things to watch. Enjoy!

This is from the film "Festival Express", which documents a 1970 train tour through Canada which included The Band, The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Buddy Guy among others. You think they partied?! Oh to be a fly on the wall but this is close. Watch a VERY messed up Rick Danko, Janis Joplin, and Jerry Garcia with friends have a blast singing the classic "Ain't no More Cain".


This is a very hairy My Morning Jacket blowing the doors off of the Conan O"Brien set. I resisted getting into this band until I saw this performance. Just a total wow TV performance. Below it is a very dapper performance from Letterman kicking it with The Boston Pops.




This is one of my favorite performances of all time. I still get goosebumps and I've seen it over 100 times. Sinead O'Conner live performing "Troy from 1987.


Another one of my all time favorites. David Bowie and Sonic Youth performing "I'm Afraid of Americans" during his 50'Th B-day concert.


As if there was any doubt, here is proof that The Clash were one of the best bands of all time.

The bus came by and I got on......

Everyone remembers their first time. Their one true love. Well, this post is about the first time I ever heard The Grateful Dead. Corny as this post may seem, their music changed my life. Let me start by saying that since that fateful day, I have not gone more than a week or two without listening to their music in some fashion. Jerry and the boys opened up for me a whole different way of listening to music and their music was instrumental in opening my mind to the likes of Ornette Coleman, Johnny Cash, Howling Wolf. and Bill Monroe.

I can't remember the first time I heard most of my favorite artists; The Beatles, The Stones, Dylan, Husker Du, or Bowie but I sure remember the sheer joy of hearing The Dead sing "Box of Rain" for the first time. Unlike most kids with cool older siblings, this only child did not hear a note of Grateful Dead music until 1987; my freshman year in college. I can honestly say that as much of a music fan as I thought I was, I didn't even know The Grateful Dead existed. They were never played on radio stations and none of my friends seem to be into that world. All the more shocking considering my parents were progressive music listeners whose collection contained everything from Ritchie Havens to Captain Beefheart. Years later my mom told me she thought only bikers listened to The Dead. Classic!

Anyway, back to 1987...

So I'm hanging out in my new-found hippie friend's smoky dorm room. While staring at his wall of Dead tapes, I reveal to him that I have never heard The Dead. This blew his mind (it didn't take much) and he asked where I was from. I told him Chicago. So he gets right up, goes to the wall of tapes, and pulls out 04-10-1987-UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL-Set II.

SET TWO
Iko Iko, Looks Like Rain, Box Of Rain, He's Gone>Drums > Space > The Other One > Black Peter > Around And Around > Turn On Your Lovelight
Encore It's All Over Now, Baby Blue

From the moment I heard Jerry Garcia's joyful guitar and the crowd reaction when the he gives the first "HEY NOW" in "Iko Iko"; I was hooked for life. The music just seemed to be everything I was searching for but never knew. Happy, sad, progressive, beautiful, angry, classic sounds all rolled into one unique package. I sat there for the next 90 minutes with a huge grin in my face feeling I'd just discovered the key to divine joy and enlightenment. From that moment on, I saw them live whenever I got the chance (40 + shows) until the sad, final show on 7-9-1995. I'm sure some of those stories are to come in future posts.

I now own thousands of shows on video, hard drive, CD, and cassette; but my copy of 4-10-1987 is still the crown jewel in the collection. I would say it is the perfect show to initiate any virgin to The Dead's music. It isn't one of their far-out jammy shows by any means. It has an amazing amount of band/crowd energy and is one of those nights where the band and crowd seemed to be completely in sync. A bonus is the playing is top notch throughout. It's the kind of Dead show that kept people coming back any chance they could. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have and just maybe it will change someone's life like it changed mine....

Some Highlights from Set 2:
Iko Iko: The shear joy you can hear in the audience during this tune is unlike anything I'd ever heard before.
Looks Like Rain: Jerry's mournful guitar lines are just heartbreaking along side Bob Weir's passionate singing.
Box Of Rain: Hearing them sing the "A Box of Rain will ease the pain and love will see you through" part is still spine tingling for me.
He's Gone: "Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile!
The Other One: Phil's thunderous bass and Garcia's propelling guitar riffs rock as hard and any heavy metal band. Dig the interplay between keyboardist Brent Midland and Jerry Garcia before the first verse.
Black Peter: Jerry sings the hell out of one of my favorites. If this doesn't get you then you have no soul.
Turn On Your Lovelight: The joy is simply contagious.
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue: Hearing Jerry sing Dylan is always a treat. The perfect end to a perfect set.