A Live Downward Spiral

At last night's stop on the Wave Goodbye tour, Nine Inch Nails performed the 1994 classic, The Downward Spiral in its entirety. That means to there's no telling what audiences will witness as the band embarks on this farewell tour. This Friday night, I will be attending one of these performances and will be sure to post a piece on the show this weekend.

Two Suns (Special Edition)

On September 9, Bat For Lashes' sophomore release Two Suns will be reissued as a double CD/DVD set. According to the press release, the new edition will include live tracks, covers of songs by The Cure and Kings Of Leon and a 48 minute DVD shot at various places to provide some insight to the album's recording.

Britney Spears: Travelling Companion, Navigator & Friend

Britney Spears. While Kevin Federline and attacking cars with umbrellas may have been your undoing, that seems normal compared to the insanity you unveiled onto the public with your 2003 classic, Crossroads. In short, Crossroads is a clichéd road trip movie but as a whole, the film teaches us about self discovery, trust, learning to laugh and love and, most importantly, finding comfort in friendship after not sleeping with the Mac guy and being raised by Dan Ackroyd. More important than that, the film was written by the creator of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. Alright, maybe that's not as important, it just makes it funnier.

Video Graveyard

Call me foolish or call me insane but, this weekend, I plan on watching two of the classiest cinematic achievements of all time, back to back. These films are Street Fighter and Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li. It is from Street Fighter that we were given the genius video for this edition of Video Graveyard entitled "Straight To My Feet" and is performed by Hammer and Deion Sanders.

Yes, that Deion Sanders.

Weezer, Where Did The Love Go?

I'm not quite sure where it all fell apart for Weezer. Some where between Maladroit and Make Believe, the band stopped caring about the music and except for a song here and there, Rivers Cuomo stopped caring about writing personal lyrics. They cared enough to release the enjoyably, disjointed Weezer (The Red Album) but even that is a far cry from their earlier output or even their comeback album, Weezer (The Green Album). Now, they've falling further into a musical abyss by titling the new album, Raditude. Based off of the first single ("(If You Are Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To") and the two new songs debuted at a South Korean concert ("I'm Your Daddy" and "The Girl Got Hot"), Raditude will probably be the most disappointing release of the year...period.

Bleach (20th Anniversary Edition)

That's right, Nirvana's debut turns 20 this year and Sub Pop wants to celebrate it with a reissue filled with a remastered version of the album and live performances.

Les Paul (1915–2009)

Les Paul. His contributions to music definitively shaped the sounds and bands we've grown to love and continue loving each day. The name means first class and top of the line as does the man himself as well as the guitar bearing his name. In a industry where there are very few active living legends, Paul did what he loved until the end, inspiring many musicians along the way.

Might As Well Jump...On This Deal

If you've pre-ordered or plan on pre-ordering Guitar Hero 5, Activision has a little incentive for you...a free, advance copy of Guitar Hero: Van Halen.

Them Crooked Vultures (Metro - August 10, 2009)

Three words: Them Crooked Vultures. Five additional words: are the greatest band ever. On August 10, the Metro was sold out, the house lights went down, the audence screamed and Them Crooked Vultures made their debut. To call it the greatest debut ever is like calling Kareem Abdul-Jabbar a mere center or Bruce Lee a simple martial artist. To call it promising would severely downplay the talent of the band's members and the songs that spanned their 77 minute debut.

Interview: Hollywood Holt

Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting with Hollywood Holt to discuss Adult Swim, his first performance at Lollapalooza, mopeds, tattoos and why he's quickly becoming one of the hottest up and coming rappers. Thanks to Hollywood Holt for being such an awesome interview and thanks to his publicity team for for the interview.

You're In The Matrix, Charlie Brown (August 2009)

You're In The Matrix, Charlie Brown (August 2009)

Side One
1. Your Funeral, My Trial by Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
2. The Wooden Song by Butthole Surfers
3. Super Stupid by Funkadelic
4. Trying To Grow A Chin by Frank Zappa
5. Gutless by Hole
6. Taking People by Cat Power
7. Everything Must Go by Manic Street Preachers
8. Heinz Baked Beans by Petra Haden

Side Two
9. Iron Maiden by Ghostface Killah
10. O Green World by Gorillaz
11. My Shadow In Vain by Tubeway Army
12. Desert Search For Techno Allah by Mr. Bungle
13. Pussywillow by The Coathangers
14. Let It Down by George Harrison
15. Mista Mista by The Fugees

Assjack - Assjack

No one saw this coming not even Doc Brown and his DeLorean but this week sees the first official release of Hank Williams III's Hellbilly/Metal band, Assjack, and it's about time.

Since their inception, Assjack has been relegated to being no more than a concert staple for the second half Hank III's sets with the occasional bootleg release. Those who either stayed for the sets or heard the bootlegs were treated to the polar opposite of the country fueled numbers that made up his recordings as well as the titled legacy. The music was raw and furious with slight hints of country in the recordings and as time went on the songs started leaning more toward metal which is where we're at now and it is awesome.

Sorry About The Chat

To anyone looking forward to last night's chat. There were a few other things to finish and work on. The chat will be rescheduled to next week and after the jump, find out how you can join in next week's chat.

Talk To Hightower And Jones

Beginning this Wednesday, join me for weekly chats on music as well as various pop culture related things. The chats will be through Google. Feel free to come through, meet new people, discuss music and promote your band or shows.

New Pearl Jam Album On Rock Band

That's right. According to various sources, Pearl Jam's new release, Backspacer, will be released on Rock Band upon its release date. The Target exclusive release can be purchased for the game by buying a deluxe edition of the album at Target which includes download codes for the album or purchasing the album as DLC on Rock Band.