The Return Of Pinkerton

Although it was widely regarded as a commercial and critical flop upon its initial release, Pinkerton has been fondly remembered, in recent years, as two things: one of the foundations for the modern emo sound and the last great/memorable album featuring frontman Rivers Cuomo's openly honest and brilliantly catchy songwriting. I prefer to think of it as one of the best albums of the 90's and, well, to a degree, the latter thing I said earlier (Weezer ("The Green Album") is pretty catchy and the last cohesive Weezer album in my mind). Fourteen years later, Pinkerton is finally getting the respect it always deserved with a special edition, double-disc, 26-track collection featuring the album, b-sides and 16 unreleased tracks from live and studio sessions. The collection is due November 2 and if, for some reason, you do not own this or think "Beverly Hills" is the greatest song ever, you owe it to yourself to purchase this for your ears, heart and music collection. A tracklist can be found after the jump.

In Case You Missed It: Primus on Jimmy Kimmel Live

Primus stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live to promote their Oddity Faire Tour as well as to perform Frizzle Fry's "Pudding Time" and Sailing the Seas of Cheese's "Tommy the Cat." Check out the videos after the jump.

Interview: Slug of Atmosphere

Since the mid-90's, Minneapolis has risen to the top of the hip hop underground. One of the biggest acts leading the way has been Atmosphere. With the combination of Ant's creative and ever-evolving production techniques and Slug's emotional narratives of his journeys and abilities to craft compelling stories into rhymes, Atmosphere has continued impress fans and critics with each release. It was with great honor that I was able to speak with Slug about the group's current tour (To All My Friends), their current double EP collection (To All My Friends, Blood Makes the Blade Holy) and their upcoming show in Chicago. If you haven't yet, definitely, pick up the new EP collection and see Atmosphere in a town nearest you. This interview took place on September 23, 2010. Thanks to Clayton at Biz 3 for setting everything up.

John Legend And The Roots Wake Up YouTube Tonight

To celebrate the release of Wake Up!, John Legends and the Roots will performing a special, free concert tonight on YouTube. The concert is directed by Spike Lee and will be featured as part of the Unstaged series sponsored by American Express. The concert begins tonight at 8 p.m. CST/6 p.m. PST on John Legend's VEVO channel. Check out a trailer for the concert after the jump.

In Case You Missed It: Toadies on WGN Midday News

Toadies stopped by Chicago's WGN Midday News to perform "Waterfall" from their recently released album, Feeler, and promote their show tonight at Double Door. Get tickets for the show here and check out their performance after the jump.

Ok Go...Now With Dogs!

In addition to making awesome power pop, Ok Go makes great videos. For their last album, Oh No, their videos included backyard dance routines, camouflaged wallpaper visuals and treadmills. For the quartet's recent album, Of the Blue Colour of the Sky, videos have featured marching bands, Rube Goldberg machines, sped up editing and, in the case of "WTF," items from dollar stores and colorful imagery. The newest video and single for "White Knuckles" features the band performing a nicely choreographed routine with a group of dogs, who undoubtedly steal the show. Check out the video after the jump as it is definitely an amazing video and after that, click here to find out more about the ASPCA and how you can help prevent animal cruelty.

One Hit Wonder Or One Hit Blunder

Today's Subject: "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred

At some point in the early 90's, the world of pop music became model obsessed. No longer were musicians just dating models or adding them to videos for eye candy, they became the videos. Two George Michael videos ("Freedon '90," "Too Funky") starred models, En Vogue became models ("Free Your Mind") and RuPaul sang about them ("Supermodel"). It was Right Said Fred, however, who made models too sexy for things. They might even be too sexy for inclusion in this feature.

Postcard! (September 2010)

Side A

01. Mesopotamia by Black Light Burns

02. Australia by The Shins

03. Norway by Beach House

04. Impossible Germany by Wilco

05. Barcelona by The Rentals

06. Mexico by Cake

Side B

01. Stranger in Moscow by Michael Jackson

02. Warsaw by Joy Division

03. One Night in Spain... by Human Waste Project

04. Road to Madrid by Seam

05. A Song for Europe by Roxy Music

06. Back in the U.S.A by MC5

Kele/Does It Offend You, Yeah? (Double Door - September 11, 2010)

In a weekend where Chicago is having their first Sónar festival, it only seemed fitting for Double Door to become a psuedo nightclub filled with hot, sweaty men and women dancing and bouncing around to the varied dance rhythms performed on the stage. With rhythms ranging from headliner Kele's retro 80's electro-funk groove to the skittish dance-punk stomp of U.K.'s Does It Offend You, Yeah? and the loud boom of Innerpartysystem, there was more than one reason to dance.

25 Albums of the Last 20 Years

I recently came across a blog called Electronic Cerebrectomy, to which I recommend a viewing, and found a post from July of the blogger's 25 favorite albums over the last 20 years. The list is a very excellent list filled some very interesting choices and, most importantly, a nod to Tenacious D. The post made me think about what I consider my most important 25 albums of the last 20 years and here they are.

Fan Filmed, Radiohead Approved

Somehow, I just made it seem like Radiohead was selling a breakfast cereal. One day in the future, perhaps, but for now, they have a band approved, fan filmed concert available for download/viewing across a variety of different formats. Shot at a performance last year in Prague, Live in Praha features the fan filmed footage from various angles and positions. Radiohead approved the fan collaborator by donating the audio masters of the concert to this production which makes it even more impressive. Click here to get your copy of the performance and check out a few clips after the jump.

Sónar Invades Chicago

Looking for a little bit of visual, aural and cultural stimulation this weekend? Better yet, looking to enjoy these sights and sounds for free. Then, Sónar Chicago (beginning today) is the answer to your weekend dilemma.

Album Rating System

Since the beginning of this blog, one suggestion that has constantly been brought up is that there needs to be rating system of album reviews (and that there should be more album reviews). This is a suggestion that I have agreed with but never got around to implementing. That was the case until now. I thought long and hard about what would truly explain how much an album truly rocks and realized that there is only thing that can truly explain this on a scale from one to five.

Listen To New Albums From Of Montreal And Weezer

New releases from Of Montreal and Weezer are due in stores next week but instead of waiting until then to listen to them, you can hear both albums now. False Priest, the new album from Of Montreal, can be found at NPR. Weezer's Epitaph debut, Hurley, can be heard on the band's Myspace page. Tracklistings for both albums can be found after the jump.

New Tour, New Double EP For Atmosphere

Atmosphere are hitting the road this fall, full band in tow, for the For All My Friends tour featuring labelmates Blueprint, Grieves & Budo and DJ Rare Groove. The 22-city tour begins September 8 in Madison, WI and wraps up in Chicago, IL on October 7. Check it out in a city nearest you as well as meet Atmosphere at one of their five meet and greets. Just in time for the tour, Atmosphere has a brand new, double EP coming out on September 7.  To All My Friends, Blood Makes the Blade Holy: The Atmosphere EPs will be sold digitally through iTunes and Amazon as well as on CD and vinyl through Rhymesayers and on their tour. A tracklist, tour dates and the new track, "Freefallin'," can be found after the jump.

Queen Of The Stone Age's Self-Titled Debut Sees Reissue

Fresh off the reissue of Queens of the Stone Age's stellar sophomore album, Rated R, QOTSA's long out-of-print, self-titled debut will also see a reissue this fall through Rekords Rekords/Ipecac. The album will be reissued with three extra tracks that were originally cut from the album. Queens of the Stone Age will first see a release on November 26 in a 180-gram, double gatefold, colored vinyl edition followed by a CD edition on December 7.

Video Graveyard

Many times I have often wondered what it would have been like if Wendy O. Williams and Gallagher had a child together. Okay, maybe not but if I did, I imagine the child would look something like this video by Art of Noise. Come on, it is a weird little punk girl ordering a bunch of weird older guys in suits to destroy saxophones and pianos with circular saws and sledgehammers. What about this does not scream Plasmatics in suspenders and smashing watermelons. Now, that I think about it, they should have placed a watermelon inside the piano and smashed it.

A September To Remember To Buy Music

This September sees frontmen going solo (Brandon Flowers (The Killers), Sully Erna (Godsmack)), Weezer going independent, several artists' influential albums receiving huge reissues (Miles Davis, David Bowie, Pantera) as well as influential artists releasing live albums (Megadeth, Leonard Cohen). In addition to this, there are also new releases from Jukebox the Ghost, Stone Sour, Linkin Park, Grinderman, Chromeo, Nellie McKay and John Legend & The Roots. There are plenty of choices for your ears this month.