Snap, Crackle, Pop - The Daily Collegian's arts blog.

For Indie Folk experimentalists Akron/Family, change seems to be the expectation; the thread that moves them forward and even acts as a tool to shape their music. In the past couple of years they've lost a member, moved away from each other and toured in several incarnations.

This Tuesday, the band will be bringing their psychedelic folk lullabies and tribal chant freak outs to Site: B in Williamsport, PA.

While a town in rural Pennsylvania with a population of thirty thousand hours from any major city may not seem like an obvious tour stop for most national music acts, the show is actually a homecoming of sorts. Seth Olinsky, guitarist and singer for the band, grew up in the town and after living in New York City for seven years during which time he started the band, he returned to the town where he's been living the past two years.

The rest of the band, however, still lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

"We've been doing it for a while, always living in different places," Olinsky said. "The band started in New York and Ryan [Vanderhoof] moved to Michigan so we'd been spread out a bit. I'm thinking about moving out west a bit too."

The band manage to work and survive despite the distance.

"We send each other things and work on it that way," Olinsky said. "We use the internet."

After the completion of 2007's Love is Simple guitarist Ryan Vanderhoof left the group to live at a Buddhist Spiritual Center, another challenge that's helped define the band's direction. The group had for years built their music around a four person ensemble they decided to move ahead without replacing him.

"It was definitely pretty nerve racking at first but we're more confident now," said Olinsky. "It was a challenge at first but we've started using more samplers and keyboards and loops. It's become dynamic in its own way and in the past few months it's really fleshed out."

At first, however, the band employed some help while performing on the road.

"We didn't want to replace him. We went on tour with Ted Davis and Megafaun, who are a great band, and they played with us so we had a big band with seven people," he said.

For this tour the band is focusing on its three permanent members but may employ some help for a few songs.

"We're touring with a band from Denmark called Slaraffenland who have some horn players and we might ask them to play with us on a few songs," said Olinsky. "We're friends with them. It will be largely improve. We might tell them 'on this song do something like this here.'"

While Akron/family's records may seem like they be difficult to recreate live, Olinsky said the band accounts for that in their performance.

"None of it will be exactly like the record. Certain parts of the set are left open for improvisation, some nights more and some less," he said. "There are intros and transitions we play a little different every night so there's a lot of openness but not much is made up completely on the spot."

Tuesday's show isn't just a return to the town Olinsky grew up in, but to the music school he studied under. Site: B, a converted factory, runs under the Uptown Music Collective where Olinsky was one of the first students.

"Seth has been a point of contact, kind of an adviser for Site: B in terms of booking," said Jared Mondell, Site: B Program Director. "We're always talked about getting a show. A date fell through on their tour and he asked if we wanted the show and we jumped on it."

This isn't the first time Olinsky has returned to the school for a performance.

"There's a Rhys Catham piece for 100 guitars that we did with my old guitar teacher's students in Williamsport," Olinsky said. "It was the first time it was performed in America."

Akron/Family is performing Tuesday at Site: B, 618 Cemetery St. Williamsport, PA. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., show starts at 6 p.m. Tickets are $17 day of show, $15 advance.

--Kevin

Unlike sequels to blockbuster hits that go unnoticed in the ratings, Lollapalooza hardly disappoints with its Chicago sequel in Grant Park each and every year. There are drawbacks --the travel time, the obnoxious price for beer, the unrelenting rain and the Sahara-like heat -- but the third degree sunburn is more like a souvenir from one of the year's most enjoyable music events.

Ambition. That is what I think Lollapalooza goers are filled with upon arrival into the center of one of the greatest cities. What does ambition have to do with Lollapalooza one may ask? It starts once the highly anticipated performance schedule is released, everyone starts planning their three-day itinerary. Even those who have embarked upon this journey before have high hopes of making it to each and every stage at the allotted times. We soon find this is hardly the case.

Day 1: Mudapalooza

Perfect example is day one of the festival, with high hopes to attend the festival on time and hear Manchester Orchestra; our dreams were quickly shot down when the train into the city was abruptly stopped because an elderly woman broke her arm. I wish her well.

First day excitement was upon us and then.... it started to pour. After coming to terms with missing our destination we stocked up on the appropriate amount of batteries and caffeine.

We trekked forward; all that really mattered on this day was to be front and center for folk group Bon Iver, who performed one of only a handful of U.S. tour dates.

For those who don't know what being front and center entails, allow me to explain. Front and center means standing and hoping that the two bands prior to the performer you desire to see are halfway enjoyable because you will be there for two hours. Not only will you be standing, but you will be pushing and searching through the crowd for small holes where you can awkwardly push between people to get closer up.

Let's just hope you remembered to go to the bathroom or a kidney infection is coming your way.

After grooving a bit to the jazzy beats of Zap Mama we rushed forward in anticipation for Bon Iver. It started to pour harder. Pet peeve of 2009, Umbrellas. Since when were umbrellas rock and roll? Not only do they block the stage, but they create a downpour during a drizzle for anyone within a foot of the person holding them.

Needless to say it's cold and rainy at this point and not in the good let's chuck mud Woodstock-style either.

The soft croon of lead singer Justin Vernon's voice reminded us all of why it was okay that the man's leg behind us was soggy and sticking to our butt. The great thing about Bon Iver is that little needed to be said about him and although he moved with little energy his voice seemed to electrify the crowd.

It was time to break. It wasn't time to break on the schedule but The Virgins would just have to go on without us. Lollapalooza get's points for their food selection. Where else can you get funnel cakes, veggie burgers, Chinese food, and pizza all at once? Good thing they had Sweet Leaf Tea, there were many festival goers who used it as a perfect mixer to their properly checked and factory sealed "water".

After drying off a bit, Fleet Foxes began. Easily one of the best of the weekend, the crystal clear harmonies of the group on stage left the crowd in shock and awe. There are very few groups in existence who can harmonize at that level and to have the opportunity to hear it live was a true privilege.

We then sprinted over to Asher Roth... Okay, that was a lie.

A little late to Peter Bjorn and John we tried to squeeze forward and get a better ear to the stage. This did not sound like Peter Bjorn and John, our only reassurance of their presence on stage was a girl walking up and asking, "Have they played the whistle song yet?" The sound quality was poor and their musicianship sounded distorted. After they played the "whistle song" known as "Young Folks," it was as if someone yelled fire, because the crowd dispersed immediately after. We left with them, irritated that we missed the highly praised live performance of Of Montreal.

After pushing through mud puddles and sticky people, Andrew Bird's voice was recognized. He performed well and the audience responded accordingly but it wasn't anything worth noting. Many of the songs started off all too similar and eventually meshed into one.

After a day that started off musically enticing it was quickly going downhill. The night started to come upon us and fatigue was setting in. Getting a spot pretty far back, we had no desire to fight through anyone this late in the day. Then Kings of Leon started to play.

During any live performance a little separation between the album quality and the live show is expected. These guys set a new standard.

The quality was impeccable, proving that their sound was hardly processed. Standing in the middle of the city covered in mud and sweat, the group provided perfect sing-along's to a pretty good day.

Day 2: Jamapalooza

Day two started off right. The sun was shining, the temperature was just right and rain was nowhere in sight. We missed The Low Anthem, but nothing could alter our mood on this day. It eventually started with folk singer Joe Pug. It was a standard beginning to a long day, there were a few fans but the grass was mostly littered with those just stopping through.

Los Campesinos! played a large crowd and the group's energy was equal to that of its album. Jumping around and screaming into the microphone it was hard not to feed off their performance.

Breaking a bit early, we headed over to Lollapalooza's newest addition Perry's DJ stage where Animal Collective performed their DJ set. It was nothing compared to their usual quality but it was a fun departure.

Easily the most underestimated performance of the weekend; groovy girl performer Santigold most definitely needed a larger stage. The packed crowd displayed shameless dance moves and the group even brought crowd members on stage. It was a fantastic dance party.

Close by, we headed over to hear TV On The Radio. The group displayed great energy and definitely had the crowd engaged but I was highly disappointed in the way the music translated to a live performance.

It was now time to sit; the sun had started to take its toll. Planting a spot center stage we waited for a little over an hour to hear the Yeah Yeah Yeah's. Less than 10 people back from the stage, it was a huge difference from watching Kings of Leon from the large TV screen the night before.

Lead singer Karen O slowly emerged from backstage in a huge peacock suit and full body paint. Her every moment kept the audience on edge until she abruptly broke out in song.

The crowd went wild feeding off of her every move. After maybe one too many Corona's she forgot the words to one of the band's most popular hit "Maps."

The crowd responded forgivingly and the rest of the show went off without a hitch. She spoke with gratitude and really put on amazing performance, nothing short of what might have been the previously scheduled Beastie Boys in the same time slot.

We are left in disbelief that it's already the end of day two.

Day 3: Burnapalooza

It was probably a poor choice to venture out into the city after the buzz of day two because wakening up for day three was a task. It didn't help that the temperature was near the 100's. A little groggy, we embarked on the last day of our musical journey.

Poor Portugal. The Man. The sun had apparently taken its toll on audiences this day because the crowd response was weak compared to the hard driving rock the group was putting forth. After Portugal. The Man, we literally ran over to catch The Airborne Toxic Event's one hit song. It was what we intended it to be, a hit. The crowd naturally knew every word, and that was probably the only highlight of the entire performance.

At this point the heat is really taking its toll. Vendors are handing out free water, and the Chicago Fire Department has provided a stream of water for people to stand under. All hail the Chicago Fire Department -- that could not have come at a better time.

After a short nap in the nap garden that became most of the park we headed over to Vampire Weekend. It was fun and the few songs we stayed for were satisfying but nothing compared to what was up next.

Possibly the most fun of the entire festival, Passion Pit reignited the sun drained people of Lollapalooza. Despite the smaller stage, the band had the crowd jumping, chanting, and even crowd surfing.

The performance was a reminder of what shows should be and how audiences should respond.

Passion Pit drained what energy we had left. It was time to lie down... again. From a distance Cold War Kids sounded better than expected and part of me wanted to venture out but the sun said no. Within the same ear range as Snoop Dogg and Deerhunter the result was deafening and highly annoying to my already pounding head.

From a distance anyone could tell that Snoop Dogg definitely had the crowd going wild. It wasn't because it was musically profound, more so because...hey it's Snoop. The lead singer of Deerhunter was trying incredibly too hard to be a cynical frontman and his rants between songs were terrible, I was embarrassed for him.

Now came the dreaded decision of the weekend. To see Silversun Pickups or Band Of Horses. I did not understand why the organizers would play such harsh games with my heart but I came to a conclusion; I would watch half of each set. Silversun Pickups were nothing short of spectacular and when the time came to split between the two artists I couldn't pull myself away. Lead singer Brian Aubert's voice drew me in and he spoke in such a humble way it sent shivers through me. He asked the audience to look behind them, "This is a special festival," he said. He reminded us all of what we love so much about Lollapalooza -- being right there smack dab in the center of the city.

With 15 minutes left for Band of Horses I ran the mile through the park to the other end, only to stop once to check out the man illegally climbing in the Chicago's Buckingham Fountain. After arriving at Band Of Horses I had come to find that on the stage adjacent to this one Lou Reed arrived late and played nearly 30 minutes into Band of Horses' set time. Now if anyone has ever met a true Band of Horses fan they would know that these fans did not take this lightly. The crowd chanted obscenities at Lou Reed but he remained, Band of Horses was left with only 20 minutes of playing time.

Not only is the creator of Lollapalooza, Perry Ferrell also the front man to longtime band Janes Addiction who was set to perform following Band of Horses. The Horses asked the audience if they should stop when they were suppose to and naturally the fans wanted them to play on. Rebelliously playing simultaneously alongside Jane's Addiction the band put on a charged performance and fans left cheering and exhilarated. Rumor has it that Band of Horses won't be asked back.

The Killers ended the festival and although the performance was fun people were a little nutty from the sun and the long weekend. Some kids were stripping their clothes and dancing in circles. The stage show was great, with the words printed largely on the backdrop of the stage and lights beaming in all directions.

Brandon Flowers did get on one of his kicks with overly drawn out stories between songs but it was a fun end to an amazing weekend.

It's always a sad feeling-- that last train ride home, every joint hurts but given the chance we'd live it every day. $200 in gas and tolls, $170 for a ticket, $100 in over priced food and drinks, $300 unaccounted for, peeling the skin from your shoulder for three weeks just waiting for someone to ask where you got so burned so you can say Lollapalooza........priceless.

-- Alexandra Fletcher

During the year tickets can run about $40 for a seat at The State Theatre to see the world renowned cast that puts on Beatlemania. Ending State College's summer concert series, the cast performed free to a packed park.

Despite the apparent musicianship and remarkable ability to mimic one of history's most hailed bands, the show was just ..okay.

Maybe the lack of enthusiasm can be attributed to the fact that the crowd's demographic resembled that of the PTA, (Parent Teacher Association) aside from a few drunken college students and toddlers mixed in. A rock concert where everyone has arranged chairs side by side is no rock concert at all.

The cast did have the crowd singing along to a few favorites but no one was excited enough to leave their seats besides the few groups of moms with outdated dance moves. After a short intermission and a dress change the sun began to set and the night sparked a little more enthusiasm, but nothing to write home about.

All in all the show seemed like one last hoorah for parents and teachers of State College before next week when the streets will once again be filled with blue and white.

-- Alexandra Fletcher

So, it is pretty much my favorite time of the year in Happy Valley: daylong season. As the sun beats down on hundreds of Penn State students while they frolic on grassy lawns of apartment complexes and dorm quads alike, many will congregate to make the perfect party atmosphere. At many of these day parties, hosts may want to hire a live band to provide entertainment.

Being a lover of live music of any kind, I completely support this decision. However, I must say I encountered one problem with this over the weekend. On Saturday night I my mind was blown by local band North of Nittany while they played at a party at Sigma Chi fraternity. The fraternity featured multiple bands at their daylong party, but North of Nittany was by far the most talented. The first thing I have to give them amends for is making the drummer/lead vocalist set up work. When the front man of the band actually plays in the back, it can obviously be hard to keep things together, but North of Nittany had a solid set that a lot of partygoers took notice of. The second thing I commend the band for is something I would not have known if I hadn't spoken to them after. I assumed that North of Nittany, like most bar bands in State College, was only a cover band. Although I enjoyed many of their covers, especially when they ended their set with Champagne Supernova, I would have been rather more impressed with a few original tunes thrown in there. Then, imagine my surprise when the band played an encore with two original tunes that were on a whole different level than their cover songs. The originals more prominently featured the band's saxophonist, who provided both an integral and unique element of the band's sound. After the performance I asked the band why they had played so many cover songs. They said the members of the fraternity had told them they only wanted covers, and so the band was forced to throw together a whole set when they were used to playing original tunes.

To me, this is a travesty. Moral of the story: all you party throwers need to let the few original State College bands do their business, because most of them do it quite well. Also, the rest of us need to learn to open our ears to good music and appreciate it for what it is, even if we can't always sing along.

-- Beth Ann Downey

For those who forgot, Fastball's first album in five years - Little White Lies - drops tomorrow. When the band played with Nine Days at HUB Alumni Hall in late February, it included several songs from their then-unreleased album. The songs mixed well with the old tracks and sustained the show's melodic momentum. The band members, all now in their early 40s, had expectations for this record to be a comeback of sorts. The Texas alternative rock band gained acclaim in the late '90s for album All The Pain Money Can Buy but then struggled to stay afloat thereafter. Surprisingly, very few reviews have surfaced online. I listened it to a couple months ago and thought it was solid but innocuous. There aren't many surprises, but it further punctuates the band's catalog of catchy, accessible tunes. Not slacking off, not falling behind.

Hit up the band's MySpace for a few sample tracks.

Download: "The Malcontent (The Modern World)"

- Mark

So, various bands and record companies send CDs and other promotional material to the Daily Collegian office in the hopes of getting some publicity. Pretty much all of the music-related stuff goes to me, and I sift through it. Most of the time, it ranges from mundane to vaguely interesting.

Today was different. I got back from covering the Dinosaur Jr. show to find the new album from Pittsburgh-based experimental band Black Moth Super Rainbow, which has toured with The Flaming Lips. I hadn't heard anything by the band before, but I gave it a listen. I was immediately floored by the first track.

The record is called Eating Us, and the first track - "Born on a Day the Sun Didn't Rise" - is bliss in the form of vocoder and electric piano. The rest follows suit. I pretty regularly like things I listen to, but it's a lot less often that something stands out like this. Obviously, being from Pittsburgh myself, I already have a reason to be pulling for these guys. But the record is also whimsically addictive, in the same way the Lips are.

Unlike some experimental music, which is a pretty broad genre, Eating Us isn't annoying or intentionally dense. It's not hard to listen to. In fact, it's quite the opposite; the vibrant textures and organic feel of the music makes it seem pretty poppy for a band called Black Moth Super Rainbow that releases pink vinyl records with scratch 'n' sniff covers.

The band is known for its use of analog electronic instruments: vocoders, Fender Rhodes electric pianos, Mellotrons and an assortment of others, which probably contributes to the distinctly organic sound. No digital effects here.

I haven't heard any of BMSR's older albums, so this record may be a big step toward commercial viability; I have no way of knowing about that. It seems likely, since The Flaming Lips' producer, Dave Fridmann, worked on Eating Us. He has a knack for taking distinctly weird music and making it somehow palatable for the unwashed masses. Fridmann produced MGMT's debut last year, another record that really caught my ear. His involvement is also a big step for BMSR, since the members have previously been anti-traditional recording studio.

Not only do I like this album, but also I'm one of the first to listen to it. I feel special because the album doesn't come out until late May. Hell, it hasn't even leaked yet. That means only the people who are supposed to hear this album have heard it. So, this is one of the first critical impressions of the record anywhere on the 'net, and it's positive.

- Andy

MEN AT WORK

OK, seriously -- "Land Down Under" is a brilliant song. All kitsch aside, there's a killer beat, a stellar flute part and adorably quirky lyrics about Australia: "He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich." So, check your pretension at the door and let this freakin' glorious song just envelop you. Also, the music video is excellently wonkish and absurdly literal. As Men at Work put it, "You better run; you better take cover."

EDIE BRICKELL AND NEW BOHEMIANS

On the complete other end of the pretentious spectrum is Edie Brickell's prelude-to-hipster ode to ... what, exactly? According to Edie, philosophy is "the talk on the cereal boxes" and religion is "the smile of a dog." She's not aware of too many things -- she knows what she knows, if you know what she means. There's no denying this is a perfect folk-rock concoction, just as there's no denying that Brickell totally deserves her one-hit wonder status. Embedding on this video is sadly disabled, but check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPs7-5feq-M

'Til next week,

- Alex Weisler

MOG, an online music service intended to help introduce people to new music, is holding a contest. Scion is sponsoring the contest, which challenges people to create a song from a large selection of samples using the site's online editing program called Blender. The five people who made the mixes that receive the most votes will win DigiDesign's ProTools 8, otherwise known as the software that sets the standard for digital music editing. Win this contest and you, too, could use ProTools to make awful music sound passable (ProTools is responsible for most of the studio magic that allows the removal of recorded mistakes - it's essentially the Photoshop of sound.)

The site also includes tutorials from some experienced electrohouse artists to help get aspiring composers started. Here's a fun one from Holy Ghost, recorded in the group's 8 x 10 Brooklyn studio. The editor provided by MOG is admittedly a little less advanced than Holy Ghost's expensive setup, but it's always fun to play DJ.

-- Andy

While I'm at posting things from Stereogum: Justice remixed the lead single from U2's No Line on the Horizon. It's definitely better than the original, which I apparently liked more than most people. Justice has a knack for the catchy hook. The only place to hear the single is at Stereogum

Check out the first 30 seconds especially and see if you can spot the Nine Inch Nails similarity that Stereogum points out.

- Andy

The Hold Steady, a band with a live show that's one of the best you can see today, has a new live album/DVD combination coming out on Tuesday. It's long overdue, considering how important the band's show is to its overall image. I'll admit I'm a recent convert. The first time I heard The Hold Steady a couple years ago, I made the ignorant "this guy's voice is annoying" snap judgment. But now, I think the band hasn't had a bad album, and the albums don't hold a candle to seeing them live, so I'm pretty excited about this. I couldn't have asked for anything more than the tour with Drive-By Truckers. But, I digress. Give The Hold Steady a try if you haven't yet.

Here's a clip from the DVD, courtesy of stereogum.com:

- Andy

Pretty much every day, I take a random stumble across the Internet, listening to music and reading about it. I kind of follow the connections that link various bands, albums and musical ideas. Today I was looking into Dinosaur Jr., the band that's coming to Lulu's on April 7, and found out some interesting stuff.

Honestly, I should know more about Dinosaur Jr. than I do, but I guess later is better than never. Through my "research," I found that bandleader J Mascis and bassist Lou Barlow got in some serious fights and Barlow was out of the band by the third album. He went on to pursue equally influential college rock band Sebadoh. The group reunited in 2005 and has a new album due out this summer. Anyway, it's cool that Dinosaur Jr. is coming to State College. Why didn't they headline Movin' On?

I spent some time listening to Dinosaur Jr.'s You're Living All Over Me and Sebadoh's III and Bakesale, all of which are good if you want to get a quick introduction into the way this band works.

- Andy

Members of the final band of the night, Spill Canvas, share what it's like to headline a college show.

Well...sort of. Members of White Tie Affair share their thoughts on the role of lead singers, tour buses and Lady Gaga.

I warmed up to The Spill Canvas as it got colder outside. Lead singer Nick Thomas was funny in a reserved kind of way. He thanked everyone who came to the show, regardless of the band they were there to see.

"The only thing that matters, the only thing that has ever mattered, is that you guys like music," Thomas said to the crowd.

Movin' On ended around 10:50 p.m., and despite pleas for an encore from the crowd, the show was over. It's the first time I've ever seen a show like this end without an encore, and 12 hours of music could've used an ending, but I guess the University has rules about the show ending by 11.

Until next year.

- Andy

First impression of The Spill Canvas: this band should not be the closing act. The music's fine, but Innerpartysystem and The White Tie Affair both had exciting shows that upstaged The Spill Canvas's.

- Andy

White Tie Affair went a little heavy on the Auto-Tune tonight, but the Kanye West and Lil' Wayne imitations were fun. The crowd sure seemed to appreciate them, along with lead singer Chris Wallace starting the tried and true "We are!" cheer.

Guitarist Sean-P told me when I interviewed him on Thursday that the band's name was originally "Horsedrawn Miscarriage," which he said was "very inappropriate." I have to agree.

-Andy

Chris and Patrick of the globe-trotting Innerpartysystem discuss causing seizures and chillin' at Movin' On back in the day.

White Tie Affair has incorporated one major element into their stage show: the gimick. Yes, every member of the band is wearing black. The only sight of white from stage comes from the guitarist's stark white pants. A fashion faux pas, especially before Memorial Day. Despite the misleading attire, the band has won over the crowd. Coming prepared with hundreds of glow sticks to give out usually creates a positive atmosphere. The crowd also had the chance to rave to a unique rap melody covered by the band. The lead singer sounded surprisingly close to Kanye on "Heartless," and displayed Lil' Wayne's signature dance moves during the cover of "Get Money." The crowd seemed to be receptive to the covers, as well as the band's originals.

- Beth Ann

Innerpartysystem probably doesn't play the kind of music I'd like to listen to at home, but their live show is definitely pretty cool. It was a little like a pop-screamo band filtered through Hot Fuss-era Killers, and the light show worked well with the music.

Lights!

-Andy

So when I checked out Innerpartysystem's MySpace page a while back I simply went, "Meh" but watching them and their flashy light show I'm actually a little impressed.

They do a great job blending electronica and pop-punk together and anyone who's at all interested in sample-based electronic music should at least check out some videos on Youtube. Their live show is really tight and they've got a lot of energy onstage, even though the Movin' On crowd wasn't moving around too much.

Still no rain! If nothing else I'm impressed by this fact alone.

-Rich

Socratic warmed to the State College crowd, although their fingers may not have. While they may not be as deep as their namesake, check out the interview anyway.

Innerpartysystem has turned the stage into its own personal techno club. You would think they were playing to an audience full of sweaty dancers at a rave instead of the freezing crowd present on the HUB lawn. The band seems to have provided its own strobe lights to jazz up the stage show. I have not heard one note from the keys that was not distorted to accompany the band's techno-fused rock sound. I'm thoroughly surprised there has not been some kind of mosh pit formed yet.

-- Beth Ann

The sun has set, the wind is still blowing, and it's getting cold. Skies are as clear as they've been all day. Looks like it's not going to rain, breaking the 15-year streak.

Innerpartysystem is taking forever to set up, but it looks like they have a cool light show.

- Andy

Kenny Vasoli, formerly of The Starting Line, discusses his new band PersonL and why the heck they have two drummers.

It's 6:49 p.m., its not raining, and the sun is out. Socratic played for a substantial crowd in comparison to earlier acts throughout the day. After the first song a girl from the crowd screamed, "Thank you," for reasons left unknown. After playing a few songs to a mildy energized crowd, turns out the lead singer is a Mets fan. He sent a shout out to someone in a Mets hat and recieved a large amount of disapproval from the crowd. "Boo you," he said. The band went on to play a Beatles cover.

"I really like the last Beatles cover they just did," Joseph Herbstritt(junior-bio engineering) said.

After the Beatles cover, the band thanked the crowd for singing along to The Who. Listeners are stil hanging in there despite the relentless winds. An another note, the 3 officers on the top of the hill are doing a great job.

-Allie

PersonL didn't seem to do much for the Movin' On crowd. Former Starting Line frontman Kenny Vasoli displayed his usual animated stage antics, but I'm guessing a lot of people have not heard the new songs from this new project. One group of girls near the front of the stage were trying to get into it, but were discouraged by the rest of the crowd's lack of enthusiasm.

"I felt like everyone was looking at me like I had five heads," Meg Ryan (junior- elementary education) said after PersonL's set.

People must be conserving energy for the set from The Spill Canvas.

--Beth Ann

Atlanta, GA based Laura Reed and Deep Pocket talk about their epic drive, connecting with the fans and how cold it is compared to the South:

The sun's out, the crowd is growing and the festival atmosphere is catching on, with bubble blowers and hula hoopers joining the hacky sackers scattered throughout the crowd. Still no rain, though the ground is a little muddy from yesterday. Person L, featuring Kenny Vasoli from The Starting Line, is on stage right now. The band has two percussionists, one with a full drum kit and the other with a snare/tom/cymbal combination. Interesting.

- Andy

Walter Kruhoeffer (junior-telecommunications) was lounging in his downtown apartment when he heard the soulful singing of Laura Reed, along with Deep Pocket. He headed to the HUB lawn and loved it. He said they were different from every other musical tune emanating from outside his window up until that point in the day.

"I'm a fan of funk and soul," Kruhoeffer said. "I really appreciate seeing this band." He said he will check them out online, possibly MySpace.

- Mark

Dog count: nine

Lollipop count: three

Laura Reed and Deep Pocket, a.k.a. Dreadlocks Enthusiasts Anonymous

Some festivalgoers got into Laura Reed's jammy tendencies, getting a hacky sack circle going on the lawn.

Some diligent Collegian reporters on the job.

- Andy

Marco Colasacco and Stephen Lemos of Someone Say Something talk about their new fans (hopefully) and their Movin' On '09 experience.

Laura Reed and the Deep Pocket took the stage about 20 minutes ago and they're proving to definitely be one of the more interesting acts of the day. They're playing a mix of blues, R&B and jazz and it's seeming to go over really well with the crowd.

What's even more impressive (or perhaps terribly dangerous) is that Laura Reed is performing while 5 months pregnant. Something intuitively tells me that can't be good, but if my mom told me she performed onstage while pregnant with me, I'd probably be pretty stoked.

It's been about 6 hours and no rain. Let's cross our fingers and hope it stays that way.

-Rich

Is that Forgetting Sarah Marshall star Russell Brand?

- Andy

They may be from Canada, but that doesn't keep The Sweet Mack from rocking out. Neither do border patrols or frozen fingers.

Back again. It's still bitter and cold. Someone Say Something had a lot of energy but the crowd wasn't too enthusiastic while attempting to keep warm. The lead singer showed us some dance moves and apparently there are sexier women in attendance than last year.

"I don't remember the girls being so sexy, you girls are fine," he said.

The band went on to cover "Bohemian Rhapsody."

"I thought it was good, but I was dissapointed he wasn't able to hit the high notes," Chris Lorenz (sophomore-architerctural engineering) said. Listeners continue to battle the weather.

-Allie

Tim Sussman, the lead singer of Someone Say Something, shared a physical resemblance to comedian Russell Brand and sporadically filmed the crowd with his camera as he performed, announced he was a Penn State alumni/dropout. He offered crude advice to the crowd: "Drink responsibly and often ... only if you're 21." Someone in the crowd was heard saying, "Lame." Songs like "Little Man" had relatively simple lyrics despite being quite melodic. It still did not captive the apathetic crowd. Someone say something interesting.

-Mark

So Long, Pluto had an electric violin/electric mandolin player, which is pretty cool.

12 hours is a long time, so it's always fun to find things to amuse ourselves. We're counting dogs on the lawn. Current count: seven.

The yellowish-green "Maxxed" energy lollipops from last year are back and just as gross-tasting as ever. I've going to see how many I can eat during the course of the day. Current count: one.

- Andy

Scranton natives and newcomers to the State College music scene, So Long, Pluto, share their thoughts on Movin' On:

Bands are still trucking on outside, and people are making the best of the cold by wrapping up in coats, hats and all their best January-weather clothing. Maybe this year the wind has replaced the normative rain.

So Long, Pluto just finished playing, and they introduced some interesting elements into their performance. The first aspect of the band that intrigued me was their violin, whose player doubled as an electric madolin player as well.

Guitarist and singer Chet Williams assurred the crowd that the band was "savin' the fast for last."

After a few slowish songs, the band rocked out a cover of The Killers' "All These Things That I've Done" that got some crowd members up and dancing.

At one point during the set, Williams pulled out an iPhone and took a picture of the crowd that cheered enthusiastically.

Another announcement came near the end when he said that seven or eight new songs would be released in May or June of this year.

Hopefully people will stick around throughout the rest of a day that bears no resemblance to April.

-Jenna

Atlas Soundtrack, the reggae/hip-hop/funk phenomena, thank the crowd for their enthusiastic response and discuss their set. Check out the coolness:

Hello again music lovers and cold weather haters. The bands are still trucking through the constant winds. The listeners are still bouncing around to the music of their favorite local bands and trying to keep warm. A few small children and dogs have made an appearance on the lawn. The sun is still fighting to stay out as people mingle in and out of the HUB for refuge from the cold. The bands are fully aware of the harsh winds during their performance, "My nose is running like no other," So Long, Pluto frontman said. The crowd is still hanging in there through the cold and the mud. If anyone has to use the bathroom and can't seem to make it to the HUB there are plenty of port-o-johns.

-Allie

Atlas Soundtrack played a song called "Body Heat" and encouraged the audience to squish together to keep warm, but that body heat wasn't enough for Julia Allen (freshman-photography).

Allen's friend gave her a blue sleeping bag to help keep her warm.

"I wish it wasn't so cold," Allen said. "It's chilly and windy. My hair's a mess."

Though she wasn't happy about the weather, she said she was enjoying the show and plans to stay no matter how cold it gets.

"I'm just going to get more clothes," she said.

-Erin

Chelsey Pagana and Vincent Paglione (a small fraction of Some Downtown Avenue) share their Movin' On experiences and plug their album.

After seeing the bands so far, I think the local acts are the most diverse, style-wise, of the Movin' On lineup. In comparison to the relatively similar styles of the national acts this year, the Battle of the Bands winners are all distinct. We ran a story with a few people complaining about the pop-punk domination of the festival, but I guess that's not entirely true. Atlas' Soundtrack, a hybrid of hip-hop, funk and reggae, just finished its set... So Long, Pluto is up next.

So, Atlas Soundtrack just finished their set. Gotta say I've only seen these guys twice (second time was today) and each time they started with a quiet crowd but by the time they finish, the crowd is on their side.

And what's even more surprising is that how well their music resonated considering it's a cold, windy day. Not everyone was dancing but a good handful of people were groovin' to the rock/hip-hop/reggae sounds of the Soundtrack.

As far as the event is going now, no real complaints. There's at least 100-150 people here and it seems the local bands brought their loyal fans so it's a respectable crowd. I only hope it continues when the non-local bands get on.

Keeping up with the Movin' On blog tradition, spotted about two dogs. Will keep my lookout though. Ok, I'm off to see So Long, Pluto's set.

-Rich

Here is your Movin' On weather update. The sun shone a little brighter at the bottom of the hill than the top of the HUB lawn during Some Downtown Avenue's set. The band couldn't help but be affected by the cold when they were just wearing sweatshirts. During their song "In Four Years" the crowd started to move their legs to the solo trumpet introduction, but I'm not sure if it was because they were moved by the music or trying to keep their limbs warm. The sun started to become a more constant occurance as sun glasses made their debut among audience members. During it's rendition of "Come on Eileen" the crowd started to move and get into it.

Atlas Soundtrack were up next, introduced by the bells of Old Main. "All original music here" said the band as they took the stage. They were the only band I heard so far to not mention the weather, probably because they came properly prepared with puffy jackets and fur hoods.

- Amanda, the weather reporter.

Listen to Acalasia discuss the challenges of playing in the cold and being a touring band.

Interviewed:

Krystal Shore - Vocals

Neil Deyarmin - Guitar

Stephen Wells - Bass

Ryan Sheehan - Guitar

Cory Aboud - Drums

Well, not exactly the most ideal weather for the 35th annual Movin' On, but totally worth braving the wind for. Some Downtown Avenue was upbeat and fun, with sweet covers that you couldn't help but sing along to. The wind did not stop the crowd from jammin' along. There's not any moshing yet, but who knows maybe later in the day. Its still early.

I especially enjoyed the fans who took it upon themselves to dance around in a circle and jam to "99 Red Balloons." I totally recommend that everyone come down right away, and experience the bands to come! Put your North Faces on and get ready for the fun! You won't regret it. I swear.

-Vanessa

Some Downtown Avenue fought through sickness and the breezy weather to play a relatively energetic set that included a number of familiar ska covers: "Come On Eileen," "99 Red Balloons" and "Sell Out." A couple people in the crowd were even skanking, but mostly the people just looked cold.

As for the weather, I guess the cold temperatures are a result of the fact that the show is quite a bit earlier in the month. I think I might rather have rain than wind, but that's just me. Hopefully it warms up a little as the day goes on.

- Andy

Hey Movin' On followers, so the first topic of conversation at Movin' On 2009 isn't the music, but the weather. As the first band, Acalasia, took the stage, the almost empty HUB lawn was lined with blown over trash cans from the fierce winds. Even the band recognized the chilly weather at this annual spring concert as the music coming out of the amps echoed against the White Building.

"This next song is called 'My Last Night,' or it might be 'My Last Morning' because it is so cold," said Krystal Shore, who is the vocalist for Acalasia. She warms her hands in between choruses as the entire band can't help but smirk at the amplified wind being picked up through the microphone.

As their set continues to the next song where they would normally encourage the crowd to wave their hands in the air, Shore didn't ask people to expose their appendages.

"Huddle closer and get warmer," Shore said. "Screw the hand thing."

The second to last song brought a glimmer of hope as the sun shone down for a brief second and the wind stopped long enough for me to write that down in my notebook.

-Amanda

The wind has hardly let up and and slowly but surely the nearly barren field is starting to fill up. Along with listeners, the sun has decided to show its face every so often. After Acalasia invited us to stay warm in their tour bus, Some Downtown Avenue started to set up. "If you can't hear, we are all a little sick right now," frontman Chris Rizzo said through a strained voice.The mood of the band started to lift the spirits of the frozen crowd as people began to bounce around a bit. "Dance your faces off," the female vocalist shouted to the crowd. The ensemble had a small fan club with one girl clad in a pink tee shirt that said "SDA number one fan."

-Allie

Blog Note: This used to be housed on my non-Collegian blog, but like migratory birds, spring brings change. And so, the Venues:Music blog will now be the home of Twofer Tuesday, a weekly series in which I direct you all to two songs I'm digging right now.

JOSH RITTER

For a non-superfan, Josh Ritter's Saturday night show at the State Theatre was a bit of a letdown. I only knew three songs - "Angels on Her Shoulders," "Snow is Gone," and "Kathleen" - and just one was played. Hyped up on ... something, Ritter was kind of a smiley mess, too reliant on lame sight-gag jokes. I'm glad I loved his opener -- Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers -- so much, because otherwise it would have been a wasted $23. All that being said, though, I fell head over heels in love with Ritter's "Harrisburg," a lovely, mellow song off one of his earliest albums. It's got an old sort of quaintness to it, like you're just discovering some antique classic for the very first time. Check it out for yourself:

PAULINE

I love songs sung in foreign languages. I'm a sucker for terrible French pop, Israeli reggae, Italian techno, freakin' weird Scandinavian folk ditties. Parisian-born chanteuse Pauline falls into that first category; she's like a totally sweet, charming French version of Colbie Caillat or Sara Bareilles. "Allo Le Monde" is pleasant folk-pop, but it also packs a protest punch, shaming the world for basically ignoring scores of natural disasters that take place in countries other than our own. I first heard this song in Israel last summer, and it's stuck with me rather tremendously. What do you lot think of it?

See you next week. :)

- Alex Weisler

Kudos to HypeLG.com for posting this great video that shows just how
out of touch the McDonalds staff in Paris are when it comes to
Pharrell's hunger for McDonalds. Apparently, Pharrell wanted a Quarter
Pounder so bad, he resorted to singing and dancing in hopes that the
Mickey D's would open up a bit early for the man with the mad beats.

For all you angst-lovers out there, the hype around New Found Glory's new release called Not Without a Fight is that it returns to the band's former punk rock glory and shies away from the softer side of previous releases like Catalyst and Coming Home. This album supposedly shows that they are "back to their roots" after a long hiatus from which fans were not quite sure they would ever come back. So I'm reading all of these reviews and I'm thinking about how there must be something wrong with me because I actually liked Coming Home. I mean, does everyone think if Jordan's not screaming and spitting into the microphone (for all of you who don't know, this is definitely what he does live), that it's not the real NFG? Can't punk rockers show their sensitive side at times too? No one had a problem with Blink's "I Miss You."

I mean sure I love the old stuff from Self-Titled and Sticks and Stones, but when you listen to a song like "Boulders" off of Coming Home, with its slow, steady guitar lines and choir vocal breakdown, how can you not give them credit for doing something different? When you think about hearing an album for the first time, songs like that are the ones that are going to stick out right away. For me, nothing really sticks out yet on Not Without a Fight. I'm not saying I like it or dislike it, it's just I usually appreciate an album with more depth over one with more drum-beating and more lyrics that make you want to start a riot or break up with your girlfriend (or boyfriend).

-- Beth Ann

There's something that's been bothering me about some of the reviews of Neko Case's recent album, Middle Cyclone (also reviewed in today's Collegian). The album's last track, "Marais La Nuit," is 32 minutes of a field recording Case made on her property. It's a cacophony of summer peepers - swamp frogs - singing uninterrupted for a good half hour. The problem is that I've read at least three different reviews of the album that refer to sounds of the track as "the chirping of crickets." Those ain't crickets. That the review on PopMatters makes this mistake annoys me the most, because it also gave the album (which is very good) a 5/10. Please, reviewers, get your facts straight.

- Andy

Jack White has unveiled yet another "side project" band. Already a member of musical heavyweights The White Stripes and The Raconteurs, White's new band is named The Dead Weather. The announcement of the band accompanied the grand opening of White's Third Man Records in Nashville.

The Dead Weather is a supergroup of sorts, featuring members from other bands: Alison Mosshart (The Kills) sings, Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age) plays guitar, and Jack Lawrence (most recently The Raconteurs) plays bass. Perhaps most interesting is White's role in the band: he plays the drums. "Tonight was the first time I played drums on stage since I was a teenager," White told The New York Times.
-Andy

We sat down with Trevor Moore and Zach Cregger of "The Whitest Kids U' Know" at the Nittany Lion Inn last week. The guys were in State College to promote their upcoming movie Miss March, about a teenager (Cregger) who wakes up after being in a coma for four years to find that his virginal high school girlfriend has become a Playboy playmate. He and his sex-obsessed best friend (Moore) take a road trip to the Playboy Mansion to confront Miss March.

Check out Cregger and Moore's thoughts on monkeys, Hugh Hefner, college and ex-girlfriends, among other things.

Q: Are you guys enjoying Penn State?
A: Moore: We haven't left this building. We got in at two or three in the morning and then went to sleep. But we're gonna go out in a little bit.

Q: How did you come up with the idea for this movie?
A: Creeger: Originally actually somebody wrote the script with us in mind and gave it to FOX and then FOX gave it to us and asked us if we would rewrite it. So we rewrote it completely from scratch. Just trying to basically take something in the road trip genre but make it something that we would enjoy and that someone who likes our show might enjoy.

Q: How do you think it compares to your show?
A: Creeger: I think there's some similarities in tone. I think we tried to push the envelope in a few places. It definitely tackles some darker things in the movie. There's some really dark materials. but it also has a childish energy to it which I think gives it a sweetness as well.
Moore: It's three times as long.

Q: You wrote it. You starred in it. You directed it. What was that like?
A: Moore: That's kind of how we've been doing things so far. Everyone on the show writes that show and then Zach and I will direct it. It was a bigger version of that. It was a little more pressure because this is the first movie that we've done. You're playing around with more money, and there's also more stuff to keep on top of. It's like playing a video game and then getting to the next level. It's a little harder, but you kind of know what you're doing because of the last level.

Q: What was it like being at the Playboy mansion and meeting Hugh Hefner?
A: Moore: It was cool. I mean we didn't really get to enjoy it. It's not like we were there on a night where there's a party or anything. We were more focused on getting our day done on time. But it's cool. The grounds are very nice. He has a pit full of monkeys. You can give them grapes and they'll eat out of your hand. It's a pretty cool place.

Q: Did you get to talk to Hugh Hefner much?
A: Cregger: He was on set for maybe about two hours. We spoke with him mostly about monkeys. He's a really, really nice guy. He was very sweet and very patient with us.
Moore: It was cool that he took it really seriously. He came to the set and knew all his lines. He was awesome. That was kinda cool that here's a guy that's 80 some years old, doesn't need to do this movie. He's doing well without it and he just kind of did it as a favor to us.

Q: Have you ever lost track of an ex and then found out they were doing something crazy?
A: Cregger: Well sort of. At our age, we're both 28 now, you lose track of your exes and you Facebook them or something and they're married with kids. And it's like 'Jesus Christ.' To me that's very crazy. It's weird when someone that you've dated has two kids.
Moore: There's a girl I dated that I found out through other friends that she's a stripper now. And I thought 'ughhh.'
Cregger: Like, 'dammit, I should still be dating her.'

Q: Do you think you would freak out if you saw an ex in Playboy?
A: Cregger: No. I wouldn't. I don't think I'd be running around bragging about it.
Moore: Yeah. I think I'd be bragging about it. I think I'd think of it as funny more than anything, honestly.

Q: Who has inspired you comedy-wise?
A: Cregger: Well Monty Python for the troupe, everyone would probably agree is the primary influence. For me personally Adam Sandler influenced me a lot when I was in junior high. Like Billy Madison and his albums that he made back then were really influential on me. Something can be kind of dirty and for kids but not for kids at all. That's what a lot of Adam Sandler stuff was like.
Moore: Letterman was something I was really into growing up.

Q: How long have you been touring for this?
A: Cregger: Three weeks. We've got three weeks to go.
Moore: It's all been colleges.

Q: Why do you think college students will enjoy the movie?
A: Moore: The comedy audience by and large is people in their teens and twenties. If you do college right, you can make it last for like eight years, so that will pretty much take you until you're 26.

Q: What was college like for you guys?
A: Cregger: It was pretty crazy. We lived in a pretty rowdy dorm. I was inebriated for most of the time. I was either in class or f***ed up somehow. It was fun. I didn't learn anything, but college for me was worth it because I got to meet these guys and do something cool that came out of it.
Moore: College in New York is different than college other places. There's not a real community feeling. It's not like you have a lawn or Frat Row or something like that. You have an equal amount of friends that don't go to your school as do go to your school. It's just being young and getting wasted in a big city.

Q: Are your friends excited about your success?
A: Cregger: Of course. My friends are excited, definitely. It's kind of interesting how the trailer's getting out there and I'm starting to hear from a lot of friends I haven't heard from in a very long time. That's kind of an interesting side effect of this. But it's cool, I'm happy to talk to them.
Moore: I haven't told any of my friends about the movie yet. I'm gonna Twitter everybody.

Q: Do you guys get recognized often?
A: Moore: Yeah, not all the time, but pretty frequently, which is pretty surprising. Our show's in deep cable but I think people see it online. I get people coming up and doing the slowjerk.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkgMbU-we1o
Q: At you?
A: Moore: Yeah. the first couple times it was like 'What? Oh that's me.'

Q: So you're just flattered by it now?
A: Moore: Yeah.

Q: When you're on tours like this, how is your everyday life different than it normally is? It is usually much more relaxed?
A: Cregger: Yeah--laughs. Touring is a crazy lifestyle. You get up in a new city every day and you do press ad interviews and things like that and a screening. And we're also touring with the other Whitest Kids. We generally do a live show every night. It's pretty much go, go, go. And then it's back on the bus to a new city to do it all over again. Which is cool. Luckily we all get along and it's fun.
Moore: There are no similarities between tour life and my real life.
Cregger: My real life not on tour is sitting in my apartment playing video games and doing nothing except getting drunk at night.

Q: Do you miss that right now?
A: Moore: We still get drunk at night. That's my rock.
Cregger: Yeah, the drinking will never go away.

Miss March opens today.

-Erin

Apparently, Miley Cyrus is a Radiohead fan.

The "Hannah Montana" star had a dressing room near Thom Yorke and company at the Grammys. When she tried to use her own star power to set up a meeting, Radiohead declined. Cyrus threw a temper tantrum and vowed to "ruin" the band. The day a corporate creation like Miley Cyrus can ruin Radiohead is the day the American music officially dies.

- Andy

If you're bored over the break and trolling iTunes sounds like a better alternative to watching daytime television, be sure to check out the newest installment of the Punk Goes series, which drops on March 10th. Punk Goes Pop 2 is the latest release on this series by Fearless Records, which also includes such compilations as Punk Goes Crunk, Punk Goes '80s and Punk Goes Acoustic. Punk Goes Pop 2 features such popular rock, punk, and screamo bands as Silverstein covering "Apologize" by One Republic and Mayday Parade putting their own unique spin on "When I Grow Up" by Pussycat Dolls. Even if you're not into punk, these variations of popular radio hits provide, if nothing else, an unparalleled form of musical entertainment. The album allows listeners to bask in the irony of the long-haired members of Attack Attack!, some of whom could be mistaken for girls, singing "I Kissed A Girl," as well as listeners getting a laugh out of hearing any self-respecting punk band singing a Miley Cyrus song. Check out the album's Myspace for links to where you can listen to the entire album streaming, or pre-order the album and have the opportunity to receive and free copy of Punk Goes Pop 1.

-- Beth Ann

If you are:

A. A State College resident

B. Under 21 years of age

C. Not into paying cover charges

D. Not living under a cultural rock and enjoy live music from time to time

Then have no fear, Hot Topic is here to provide you with your acoustic fill of free performances from local and big label artists. Just a simple car or bus ride down to the Nittany Mall can provide you with early evening entertainment that will end early enough for you to study afterward.

These Hot Topic sponsored concerts include past performances from national band Sing it Loud, as well as multiple local artists. Events to look forward to in the future can be found here, and will even include a release party for the Twilight DVD on March 21.

I just recently experienced my first acoustic set in the store, and I was blown away by how the intimate setting enhanced the one-man-with-a-guitar performance by local artist, Joel Dobbins. To experience it for yourself, you can check out the video taken at the performance under the multimedia of the Collegian Web site, or you could head out the mall for the next acoustic set.

-- Beth Ann

http://www.blink182reunion.com/

Blink- 182 is reunited, and it feels so good.

Well at least for me, a 19-year-old college student who still mainly listens to the pop-punk genre that usually pertains to screaming, crying high school girls who are too cool for the Jonas Brothers. I remember being one of these girls, but I was ridiculed by my friends for straying towards the alt rock section of Best Buy instead of buying the newest installment of Britney's discography. My first encounter with blink-182 came when I stayed up passed my bedtime on night in grade school watching a documentary about blink on MTV. It gave an inside look into the production of their self-titled album, which was the last before the big break-up. I remember Tom and Mark talking about the process of writing the lyrics for the major single from that album, "Feeling This." They said they each went into separate rooms where one wrote the verses and one wrote the chorus, and ironically, they both ended up writing about sex. My 12-year-old self was fascinated. I guess I'm glad that I took an interest in bands who actually wrote their own music at such a young age. I bought this album, and was made fun of by my grade school cheerleader friends for being "gothic." I perservered through the ridicule, and went on to buy Catalyst from New Found Glory and Hangover You Don't Deserve from Bowling for Soup. Pretty soon, those same friends who had made fun of me were accompanying me to shows at the Electric Factory and letting me burn their SoCo cds. One actually even introduced me to Boxcar Racer. From then on I was hooked, and now I interview punk bands every other week for Punk Nights and the Brewery, and I love every minute of it.

The members of blink released a message to the public that stated they were "picking up where they left off and then some," including recording a new album. So I hope all critics saying the summer 2009 tour is just a gimmick can be silenced when blink-182 gives us a whole new batch of tracks to add to their list of iconic anthems. If and when this new album comes out, I hope there are a few more 12-year-old girls who reach for it in the record store and share the same experiences I have had as a fan of this.

-- Beth Ann

There've been plenty of Valentine's Day playlists compiled in the past, and it's hard to try to improve on the formula. Instead, this mix tries to mine the pop music catalog for examples of more offbeat romance, which turns out to be a surprisingly common theme. Even Eric Clapton's "Layla" was a musical love letter to his best friend George Harrison's current wife... and that's a tame example. Some of these might not be appropriate for the easily offended.

"867-5309/Jenny" - Tommy Tutone: This 1982 hit is a famous example of slight perversion in pop lyrics, with lead singer Tommy Heath proclaiming his love for a girl whose number he found written, ostensibly, in a bathroom stall.

"Necromancer" - Gnarls Barkley: You might be able to tell from the pun in this song's title what it's about (nec-romancer, get it?) but its twist ending redeems it slightly from the extremely taboo subject matter.

"How Dare You Call This Love" - The Darkness: Songs about jailbait have been disturbingly prevalent in pop music, from The Beatles' "I Saw Here Standing There" to The Police's "Don't Stand So Close To Me." This song, by defunct British group The Darkness, sounds like a standard love song until the line "I can't wait for the day when you finally turn 16" gives it away.

"Stacy's Mom" - Fountains of Wayne: This novelty hit is essentially the opposite of the previous song and should be self-explanatory.

"Little Ghost" - The White Stripes: Jack White's written several songs about unrequited love for the late Rita Hayworth, so lyrics in which he wines and dines a phantom don't come as a surprise.

"Double Team" - Tenacious D: This song suggests the possibilities of a ménage à trois with the members of joke rock duo Tenacious D. What girl could resist?

"If You're Into It" - Flight of the Conchords: The dudes in Flight of the Conchords are another comedy duo possibly interested in a threesome, but they're a lot more polite about it.

"I'm in Love With My Car" - Queen: Freddie Mercury wrote quite a few famous songs about love, but drummer Roger Taylor's contribution to 1975's seminal A Night at the Opera album is by far the most offbeat example in Queen's catalog.

"Big Bottom" - Spinal Tap: "Tush," "My Humps" and "Fat Bottomed Girls" are perhaps more well-known odes to the derriere, but the bone-headed double entendres in this anthem by fake hard rock group Spinal Tap help it rise to the top.

-Andy

To share a little of my love for French music, here's a new one by Malajube. A late bloomer, I fell in love with Trompe L'oiel last year, and I just found this, which is off the new album, Labyrinthes. I suggest you take a listen. It's always quality and fun from these French Canadians.

-Jill

It's been three years since I experienced the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival for the only time in my life thus far .
Radiohead headlined, naming their show one of their all-time favorites and filming it for an upcoming DVD; My Morning Jacket put on a three-hour late-night extravaganza with covers of The Who, The Band, and The Rolling Stone; and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers pulled out hit after hit, as well as Stevie Nicks, for tens of thousands of half-bored hippies.
And after several heat-related dizzy spells, a smorgasbord of disappointing sets and sound problems, swarms of dirty folks roaming around in various states of undress, and over $50 spent on corn dogs, there's a chance I may be getting roped back into making the 12-hour trek to Manchester, Tenn. and back.
The 2009 line-up was leaked late Monday night on TV on the Radio's MySpace and it may be the best-looking one yet, especially after last year's crummy mish-mash of headliners, Pearl Jam, Metallica and Jack Johnson, which I legitimately thought was a joke at first.
The list of artists covers every pivotal point in my musical life; the 8th-grader (Phish, Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails, Snoop Dogg, Galactic, Ben Harper), the senior in high school (Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Andrew Bird, The Decemberists, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists) and my current self (David Byrne, Elvis Costello solo, TV on the Radio, Of Montreal, Animal Collective, St. Vincent, Grizzly Bear).
Yes, I used to be a pretty devout Phish fan in the day, and I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't enjoy seeing the reunited group once (or twice) more. Besides, where else does anyone expect to find Raphael Saadiq, Merle Haggard and Kevin Barnes together in one weekend?
Tickets are in the $220-250 range, so I'll have to mull this over a bit more, but visit www.bonnaroo.com to see the entire list of artists and decide for yourself.

-Kyle

Ok, I have to give a shout out to one of my favorite hometown bands. Great American Soundtrack was started just over a year ago, but they have already made a lot of headway in the Philly music scene. Not only can the group boast about the starting of their own "street team," but they can also add to their repertoire sharing the stage with Valencia, Mae, and The Morning Light. Below is a video of the band playing their single "Lines."

I mean, what kind of girl doesn't love a pop rock song that begins with the line, "Hey girl, don't you look beautiful." Vocals from front man Kurt Cain-Walther are intricate but soothing, and the look on his face is priceless when he hears the crowd singing back the lyrics to his song in the video of their show at the Trocadero in Philly. This song has been playing as the background noise to my studying all week. If you're looking for something a little more relaxing, also be sure to check out their cover of "Red Red Wine" originally sung by Neil Diamond, which is also featured on the band's MySpace page. It will have you thinking of the beach instead of the ten degree weather in State College. Look out for their new album entitled People You Know, which will be coming out sometime next month.

-- Beth Ann

Being a disappointed Eagles fan, I only had invested interest in three things last night during the Super Bowl.

1. The one second Miller High Life Commercial
2. The hour-long Office episode that immediately followed

And, of course, the super duper halftime show starring Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street band. Bruce not only rocked the asses off everyone in the arena, but he also provided a few hilarious moments which I have listed for your convenience:

1. Bruce commanding viewers to "STEP BACK FROM THE GUACAMOLE DIP" and "PUT THE CHICKEN FINGERS DOWN!" (0:45)
2. Bruce sliding into a cameraman, thus giving the impression that he was indeed humping all of us watching at home. (3:42)
3. The exchange between Bruce and Steve during "Glory Days":
"WHAT TIME IS IT STEVE?"
"IT'S BOSSTIME!"

Hell yes, that all happened. Check it out now before Youtube removes the videos!

Part 1: "Tenth Avenue Freezeout"

Part 2: "Born to Run," "Working on a Dream," "Glory Days"

-Rich

So-called "supergroups" have long been a sort of double-edged sword for the music industry. For every Cream, CSNY or Traveling Wilburys, there have been a dozen flameouts and false starts. A supergroup generally takes the most creative, volatile personalities from several different bands and puts them in the same room together. Considering how often bands experience infighting over "creative differences," it's no surprise that supergroups never last too long.

Still, the idea of several amazing artists coming together tends to make music fans salivate. Jimi Hendrix was rumored to have been planning recording sessions with Miles Davis before his death. Wouldn't that have been cool? Led Zeppelin was even originally planned to be a supergroup, a collaboration between ex-Yardbirds guitarist Jimmy Page, The Who members Keith Moon and John Entwistle, and vocalists Donovan, Steve Winwood and Steve Mariott.

Anyway, there's a new so-called supergroup with an album in the works. Featuring members of Gomez, Phantom Planet and Maroon 5, Operation Aloha doesn't sound quite as super as the aforementioned groups. Even so, they spent a month recording in Hawaii, possibly choosing the relaxing climate in order to defuse any possible ego clashing. The album drops May 12. I don't know if I can wait that long. I'm thinking about cryogenically freezing myself until May .

- Andy

Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, who's been all about artistic integrity and complaining about how music fans don't listen to entire albums, has written a song exclusively for a Hyundai commercial to be aired during the Super Bowl. Spin thinks it's great. I'm not convinced. Think I'll stick with Springsteen's halftime performance.

- Andy

If all of you indie fans out there haven't yet heard about it, I am proud to be the first to announce to you the formation of one of the cutest unions within the genre to date. My gushing is in reference the engagement of Ben Gibbard, guitarist and lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie, and Zooey Deschanel, who along with dressing like an elf and frequenting bad horror movies, is also one half of the duo She & Him.

Now, I take it upon myself as the only female music reporter to inform Collegian readers about such happenings, and from these female instincts also come forth a few welling questions. Will Deschanel be following her chubby, goofy rocker fiancé on his newly announced spring tour set to hit Japan, Australia, and the U.S.? Will Gibbard "possess her heart" long enough to see this engagement out to the altar of indie bliss? Anyone who wants to know the answers as much as I do will consider heading out to the Philly suburb of Upper Darby to seek out Deschanel in the crowd at Death Cab's only tour stop in PA at the Tower Theatre on April 7th.Even if you're still not sure of your position on the mixed reviews of Narrow Stairs, which the band will undoubtedly be promoting, let the opening acts of the Cold War Kids and Ra Ra Riot be another incentive to head to the show.

-- Beth Ann

Scientists have discovered that babies can follow a rhythm. According to the study, rocking out is innate and unique to humans, with music being closely related to how young children learn about the world. I guess it's only a matter of time until infant rock bands start popping up.

I'd also wager that there are at least a few babies on the planet who are better at the guitar than Lil' Wayne, who now fancies himself a rock star. The first track from his foray into rap-rock ("Prom Queen") leaked last weekend, and it's worse than it sounds. The guitar parts on the studio version were obviously not recorded by Weezy himself -- he's hard-pressed to even hold a guitar properly -- though ex-Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland or someone with equally mundane axe chops could easily have contributed the track's hackneyed riffing. Wayne adds some Auto-Tuned moaning and the recipe for an awful song is complete.

The whole "either this is a joke, or he's completely lost his marbles" thing seems to be en vogue these days, too. It was big news when Joaquin Phoenix, formerly known for his superb acting in movies like Walk the Line, decided to leave Hollywood to pursue a music career. Now, he appears to be trying to fill the void Lil' Wayne intends to leave in the hip-hop world. As Rolling Stone notes, he looks more like Jim Morrison than a rapper. Here's hoping for Phoenix's sake, and the world's, that he's just kidding.

- Andy

Last fall, Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National assembled quite the roster of artists to come together and lay down exclusive tracks for a benefit compilation titled Dark Was The Night: Yo La Tengo, David Byrne, Grizzly Bear, The Arcade Fire, Kevin Drew, Sufjan Stevens, The National itself, and a whole slew of others.

Profits go towards the Red Hot Organization, a charity aimed at AIDS relief and awareness, so even though the two-disc album can be found online in the usual places, try to order it when it comes out on Feb. 17, or at least donate a bit. Since it's all obviously for a good cause, I won't flat-out pan any of the contributions, but here's a bit of a run-through the track list so you know which songs to hunt down and which to leave be.

-"Cello Song," a Nick Drake song performed by The Books and Jose Gonzalez, is easily one of the top three on here, and probably still would be on concept alone.

-Contrary to previous predictions of mine, it seems as if Bon Iver has broadened his musical palette quite a bit on "Brackett, WI." I'm not nearly as crazy about For Emma, Forever Ago as many folks I know, but this song at least locked me into giving his next album a good listen.

-Boy, I forgot how much I love The National. "So Far Around The Bend" might be the catchiest song they've put out yet. The backwards guitars, strings, and horns layered throughout have me counting down the days to some sort of album announcement from these guys. Unfortunately, I've been hearing 2010.

-I don't know what Sufjan Stevens has been smoking, but I still haven't figured out his aim in recording "You Are The Blood." It's bizarre as hell, even for him. (That 50 states idea is starting to sound pretty hilarious in hindsight.)

-Spoon and The Arcade Fire kick off the second disc, and they both blow it. It sounds like only half of the members of each band could be assembled to re-record an outtake from their previous albums. The latter group's track, "Lenin," is borderline unlistenable.

-Yo La Tengo's "Gentle Hour" is probably the second disc's highlight, and serves as a sweet reminder that the Hoboken trio still sounds better than most of the rookies working here.

-A Cat Power rendition of "Amazing Grace" wasn't really necessary, but I guess it's nice. Same goes for the Conor Oberst/Gillian Welch collaboration on the previously released "Lua".

Tracks by Grizzly Bear, Riceboy Sleeps, Dave Sitek and Kevin Drew are also worth tracking down, though nothing too groundbreaking. Full information can be found here: http://www.4ad.com/news/dark-was-the-ni/

-Kyle

To save you the time it would take to search for excellent things on youtube:

-Jill

Rolling Stone gave Bruce Springsteen's new album, Working on a Dream, a five star review. I know he's The Boss and all, but I listened to the album and I'm not convinced it's quite that good, considering how few perfect scores the magazine has doled out over the past decade (approximately 15). Rolling Stone also gave 5 stars to Springsteen's 2002 release, The Rising, so maybe RS reviewers have a soft spot in their hearts for Bruce. Check the Arts in Review section on Friday for the Collegian review of the album, which may or may not be as kind. Also, NPR is streaming the entire album for free, so you can decide for yourself.

- Andy

A few months ago, Joaquin Phoenix announced he was retiring from acting so he could focus on a rap career.
Over the weekend, Phoenix was filmed rapping in Las Vegas, supposedly as part of a documentary Casey Affleck is making about Phoenix's transition from actor to rapper, according to Entertainment Weekly. A less talented filmmaker caught the bearded Phoenix spitting rhymes in this video:

Let's hope this is just research for Walk the Line 2: Straight Outta Nashville, the story of Johnny Cash's lost hip-hop years.

-Erin

I feel the need comment on how appropriate the occasion of Aretha Franklin performing at the inauguration of President Obama truly was. He is the first African American to be sworn into the oval office, she is the first women to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was elected as the best man to lead us out of nation crisis, she was voted the best singer of all time by Rolling Stone. And even though the 66-year-old's voice wavered slightly on notes that she could once sing with ease, she still let freedom ring with her rendition of "My Country Tis of Thee." There was no better way to mark such a historic occasion than with the performance of this epic songstress.

-- Beth Ann

When he takes the stage at the Beacon Theater in New York City on Feb. 19, it will be Canadian songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen's first show on American soil in 15 years.

This absence is unfortunate, but what is profoundly more unfortunate is the 74-year-old's relative obscurity among the younger, college-age crowd. It wouldn't be too much of a leap to say that the only song they know of Cohen's is "Hallelujah," which was popularized in a breathtaking extended take by Jeff Buckley on 1994 album Grace and later by Rufus Wainwright, Damien Rice and a whole slew of others.

Beyond that, some older music fans would probably be familiar with "Suzanne," "Bird on a Wire," and "Chelsea Hotel No. 2" (concerning a sexual rendezvous with Janis Joplin), but even these songs were popularized by artists like Judy Collins, Tori Amos and Joe Cocker. He has never had "hit singles," his voice is unremarkable, and he considers himself more of a poet than musician.

That said, he currently sits atop my list of favorite artists. In the years he has left, he will likely never gain the recognition and appreciation that has been heaped upon Bob Dylan, Neil Young, etc., but the least I can do for now is recommend a fraction of his work to you.

Choosing an album to start out with is tricky, but your best bet would be to start from the beginning, 1967's Songs of Leonard Cohen, which features unbelievably well-written songs like "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye" and "Suzanne." As someone who dabbles in poetry and lyric-writing every now and then, verses like the second one in "Suzanne" never cease to blow my mind:

"And Jesus was a sailor when he walked upon the water,
And he spent a long time watching from his lonely wooden tower,
And when he knew for certain only drowning men could see him,
He said all men will be sailors then until the sea shall free them.
But he himself was broken long before the sky would open,
Forsaken, almost human, he sank beneath your wisdom like a stone.
And you want to travel with him,and you want to travel blind,
And you think maybe you'll trust him, for hes touched your perfect body with his mind."

From there, a personal favorite of mine is the darker Songs of Love and Hate from 1971. Themes of suicide and marital affairs are wrapped in dense string arrangements and Cohen's unique style of acoustic finger-picking. "Famous Blue Raincoat" and "Dress Rehearsal Rag" would be the ones
to preview this masterpiece.

I could ramble on and on about every line from every verse of every album, but I'll provide with you several more songs absolutely worth tracking down for the picky listeners: "Tonight Will Be Fine," "Take This Longing," "Hotel Chelsea No. 2," "You Know Who I Am," "So Long Marianne," and "Memories." The latter is featured on 1977's Death of a Ladies' Man, an album concerning sex and excess with production that sounds like both; Phil Spector's grating "wall-of-sound" horns, strings and overproduced rhythm sections compliment Cohen's tales oddly. Not really an easy listen, but it has aged better than most thought it would.

Though some of today's bands (The Walkmen, The National, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Antony, etc.) have either covered Cohen's songs or have shown obvious signs of his influence, his music needs to be shared to the fullest extent. Some sort of full US tour is expected from Cohen, so keep your eyes open for dates and on-sale times if you're a fan, new or old.

-Kyle

Quick observations about the pre-inauguration festivities in D.C. Bruce Springsteen played "The Rising" with a full chorus behind him, and it sounded a little ragged. He looked like he was freezing up there. Even so, gotta hand it to him for being able to even move his fingers, let alone play the guitar.

The event featured a lot of collaborations. Bettye LaVette and Jon Bon Jovi dueted on Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come," and James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, John Legend and Jennifer Nettles all took the stage together. Taylor was playing a Line 6 Variax, an electric guitar that can sound like an acoustic guitar, which is pretty awesome.

- Andy

So, earlier this morning, according to the AP, Boy George was sentenced to 15 months in jail.

ca of altpress.com

Now, not that I was ever a big Boy George fan, cause I was not, but I still think it's a tad sad when old stars get themselves into trouble.

George has been sentenced after being convicted of falsely imprisoning a male escort by handcuffing him to a wall, according to the AP. George's lawyer said both involved were acting like "drug-crazed idiots" according to the AP's article.

I don't know, all this screams to me is DRUGS ARE BAD!

*It also makes me think of the line in Love Actually when Bill Nighy says, "Don't do drugs, kids -- become a pop star and they give them to you for free."

-Jill

I suppose it would be appropriate to have the first music blog entry of 2009 be about what is, might be and will be in store for music fans this year.

Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion, will be officially released this coming Inauguration Day, likely causing indie-rock nerds who rode the Obama train hard last year to declare Tuesday the pinnacle of their lives thus far. Since it has already been declared the best piece of art since the Mona Lisa by many Internetists, and my upcoming review of it in Friday's Collegian insists that they aren't hyperbolizing as much as one would think, for now I will just say you should obtain it however you can.

Likely overlooked because of the massive shadow cast by Pavilion, Andrew Bird's Noble Beast is solid but not extraordinary. Considering the immense size of Bird's talent in singing, whistling, songwriting, and playing guitar and violin, I had been hoping that he would take more than baby steps while growing between albums, but his newfound appreciation for country/folk is more than welcome in these ears.

Iran (featuring TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone) and Phosphorescent also have very listenable 2009 albums on the way that will also get overlooked, with the latter being a set of obscure Willie Nelson covers. My rather unhealthy obsession with Pride aside, I'm expecting Phosphorescent to blow up by the time the proper follow-up is released, hopefully by year's end. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and The Bird and The Bee, despite the pains of having rotten band names, are also two you'll be hearing more about this year.

Wilco has a new album scheduled for sometime in the spring, and while Sky Blue Sky was pleasant enough, I hope they're over the 70s dad-rock thing. Don't get me wrong, I love The Band, Neil Young and sometimes even Steely Dan, but putting out this type of music with masters like guitarist Nels Cline and drummer Glenn Kotche in stow is like hiring Paul Krugman to teach supply and demand to high schoolers. Supposedly the band is back to exploring the studio space more, which, coupled with matured songwriting, should only mean good things.

The long-awaited third, and presumably final, album by Dr. Dre, Detox, has been promised for years now. I've been embarrassing myself rapping every word of "Forgot About Dre" and "The Next Episode" at parties from middle school to the present day, so I'd say he's about due. The untimely recent death of his 20-year-old son has probably pushed it back even more, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this ever comes out at all.

Magnolia Electric Co., St. Vincent, Midlake, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and Swan Lake will all be putting out albums as well. I'm expecting big things out of St. Vincent's follow-up to Marry Me, and expecting the rest to be good enough without being noteworthy.

There's a chance Radiohead, The National, The Kinks, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Yo La Tengo, Leonard Cohen and Sonic Youth will all be putting music in some form in 2009, but I'll say four out of six will actually happen and three of those will be worth mentioning come Deccember.

I'm sure that Ryan Adams and The Hold Steady will put out something because they always do. I don't really want to talk about new releases by Dave Matthews Band, U2, The Decemberists and Guster, but my money is on each band overstating how much they've changed since their last album and each will feature at least one awkward reference to politics or current events.

I'm sure my radar is different than many, as I have glazed over some big releases on the horizon, but there's something to chew on for the time being. Maybe it'll give you something to get your hopes up about.

- Kyle

Goin' country is apparently the thing to do these days.

First, it was Jessica Simpson, which, honestly, we all kind of expected. Then, Sebastian Bach of heavy metal band Skid Row won CMT's Gone Country 2 and released his own country single. Most recently, even Oscar-winning actor Kevin Costner has proclaimed his passion for country music and has released a country album.

While these celebrities have surely given their best efforts in this enormously popular music genre, they pale in comparison to my favorite celebrity-gone-country: Darius Rucker, former lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish.

Rucker's distinctive pipes have once again taken over the radio waves -- except this time, he's singing, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" instead of the over-played "Time" or "Let Her Cry" (my personal favorite of the mainstream hits).

Even more noteworthy, Rucker is the first black singer to have a No. 1 country song since 1983, according to CMT.com.

Rucker is truly a shining star in a crowd of wannabe country crooners. Watch the music video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa7ot4R_-Qo), and maybe you'll see what I mean. If nothing else, you can let that soulful South Carolina voice take you back to 1994...

-Stephanie

So this video of Justice's "Phantom" is entertaining for two reasons...

1. 1 Just seeing the crazy French duo reminds me of the video for "D.A.N.C.E.", which I love to an irrational level.
and
2. 2 It reminds me of Techtonik, which can be seen here in a Yelle video. While it's definitely a wild and absurd form of dance, no one can deny it's fascinating. And to actually see people bust out with this is always fun. I for one think it'd be pretty sweet if Penn State should start a TechTonik revolution (give it 35 years).

There's a video somewhere that teaches you how to do it. I recommend trying to learn. I mean really, go ahead...lord knows you'd be an instant hit on the dance floor -- people probably wouldn't be able to decide whether to send you to Broadway or the zoo -- but I'd vote Broadway, and if nothing else, it'd be a show.

for real, though, it's cool. Check it out!

-Jill

The two guys in MGMT, Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden, have already built a reputation for quirky antics and catchy electronic pop. For anyone who hasn't been introduced to their calculated insanity, this Thanksgiving appearance on French television should get you up to speed.

There's nothing like a talented, rich, popular singer to make the rest of us feel worthless.

Add in a mane of curly blond hair and a No. 1 album, and the level of self-esteem continues to dip.

Eighteen-year-old Taylor Swift has had a slew of radio-friendly country/pop songs that have been ridiculously overplayed on radio stations nationwide. I admittedly liked her tunes when they were first released, but after months and months of hearing "Tim McGraw" played repeatedly on my local country radio station, I was forced to switch off her bubbly tracks as soon as they began. After boycotting her music for a while, though, it seems fresh and appealing once more.

Swift released her sophomore album, "Fearless," on Nov. 11. The album includes 13 songs all penned by Swift, and it has already sold 592,000 copies, according to Billboard. This is the highest female debut of the year -- quite a feat for a girl who hails from Wyomissing, Pa. Keep an eye on this one.

If you enjoy country, check out her latest song, "Love Story" while you're wallowing in self-pity for your own lack of talent. People are already speculating that she wrote it about Joe Jonas. Give me a break.

-- Stephanie

Finally a talk show host who knows what he's talking about! Elvis Costello is certified and dignified. Wednesday marks the premiere of "Spectacle," a new music-themed talk show on Sundance Channel hosted by Costello. Basically it's a musician's version of "Inside the Actor's Studio" without James Lipton's endless list of mundane questions.

The guest line-up for the upcoming season includes Elton John, Lou Reed, Jenny Lewis (who teamed up with Costello for a track on Acid Tongue), The Police, She & Him and Rufus Wainwright. Each episode opens with Costello and his band performing a song. Following the interview, Costello and the guest come together for a duet.

While other channels focus too much on the tabloid-y side of celebrities' lives, Sundance Channel has got it right. Shows like "Iconoclasts" and "Live from Abbey Road" offer viewers an introspective glimpse at the creative process and the development of one's vision from its earliest stages. Here, seeing legends and colleagues chat for a leisurely hour is just as informative and fun.

-- Mark

This was one of the most fun things I've seen in a while!

Check it out

Happy Turkey week,
Jill

I'm definitely impulsive when it comes to spending money on music. I for one can't go into certain stores unless I know that it's financially possible to make a purchase. However, there's something irrationally fascinating about how much people will spend on not only music, but on music memorabilia. Par example, Rolling Stone released an article about the most expensive/ rarest music artifacts. The top one, selling for $945,000 (an amount inconceivable to me) was The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Drum Cover. The list is insane... like what does one actually do with Slash's top hat? I don't know, but I think I would love to own Madonna's cone bra...or Elton John's piano. I'm going to start saving my pennies.

-Jill

The Beatles song you were never intended to hear came into the spotlight this week.

Paul McCartney waited 41 years to announce that he plans to release the 1967 track"Carnival of Light" to the public. These 14 minutes of unadulterated experimentation was recorded at Abbey Road studios and the Beatles feared the mainstream.
While recording in a late '60s daze, McCartney, just completely out of his mind, reportedly said: "Just wander round all of the stuff and bang it, shout, play it. It doesn't need to make any sense." The improvised piece includes distorted guitar, organ sounds, gargling and shouts of "Barcelona!" and "Are you all right?" from McCartney and John Lennon.

The band played the recording for an audience only one time -- at an electronic music festival in London.

When compiling songs for the comprehensive Anthology in the early '90s, McCartney's bandmates refused including the mystery song.

Why deny us this treasure from the beginning? It's not like we ever doubted the Beatles' spirit for experimenting. The next step for the jovial Beatle: acquiring permission from Ringo Starr and the widows of Lennon and Harrison. I wish him luck.

-- Mark

Blitzen Trapper, out of Portland, was featured in Rolling Stone recently, and I decided to take a listen. I'm glad I did. The band is signed to Sub Pop records and is hailed as the new face of the Oregon sound, along with Fleet Foxes. 2008's Furr is an eclectic mix of styles, to say the least, but there's an earthy element that ties it all together with a lot of acoustic guitar and folky harmonizing. "Not Your Lover" is a piano-and-harmonica ballad that could be an outtake from Neil Young's desperate 1975 album Tonight's the Night.

"Furr," the title track from the album, sounds like Rubber Soul-era Beatles or perhaps Simon and Garfunkel. That's a pretty good thing, by the way.

-- Andy

I'm not sure exactly why it's happening now, but this past week has been crazy as far as concerts are concerned.

The State Theatre alone has hosted The Hold Steady/Drive-By Truckers, the Derek Trucks Band, Blue Öyster Cult and Wolf Parade in the span from Nov. 5 to Nov. 13. In fact, the Theatre is hosting two separate shows simultaneously tomorrow, with Punch Brothers playing in the main theater and an acoustic show hosted by The Asylum in the attic. The bands playing the attic show are The Menzingers, The Tweeds and Rob, Lately and the Tiny Heart Band.

Roustabout! differed from its tradition of hosting only one band yesterday, when both Baby Aspirin and The Safes played at Bar Bleu for this week's edition. The Wolf Parade show tonight is also sponsored by Roustabout! and features special guest The Listening Party. Cherry Darling continues to reliably host shows, including a show featuring The States this past Tuesday at the Brewery. As for the future, Cherry Darling is sponsoring an acoustic appearance by Misfits lead singer Michale Graves at SoZo on Saturday. SoZo will also be hosting a show tomorrow featuring headliner Clarity, as well as one on Nov. 17 with Nightmare of You.

There doesn't appear to be any particular reason why so many shows are happening at the same time, but it only means good news for music fans in State College. The bands the State Theatre has been hosting are genuinely a big deal. Everybody knows Blue Öyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," critics love The Hold Steady and Drive-By Truckers, and Derek Trucks is the lead guitarist from The Allman Brothers Band. And to see why Wolf Parade is a big deal, read reporter Adam Clair's analysis of the process that went into the band's booking at the Theatre.

-- Andy

There's a reason Bob Dylan's Tell Tale Signs: Bootleg Series Vol. 8, which came out last month, is the second highest-rated recent release on Metacritic.com - it's fantastic. This collection of rare and released songs, from between 1989 (Oh Mercy) and 2006 (Modern Times), makes for a superb 137-minute listen not solely for the avid fan.

Musicians wish their B-sides tasted this good.

The strongest track is "Someday Baby," an alternative version of the Modern Times song. Bearing little resemblance to the intensely ambitious blues original, this is one takes a slower, subtler approach.

He also includes stand-alone tracks that fit in smoothly on a compilation like this instead of one particular album. Some songs like "Series of Dreams" and "Most of the Time" might have not needed to be re-recorded, but their inclusion strengthens the album regardless.

On top of that, the packaging is also sleek and professional. The booklet, which contains a photo album-esque look at Dylan at all ages, explains the origins of each song. Session musician Jim Dickinson complained that by omitting "Red River Shore" from Time Out of Mind, they cut the best song. The moving, emotional lament is more at home as a part of Bootleg.

-- Mark

So, on this beautiful sunshine-filled day, I can't but help but look ahead in the music world and smile at the fact there's a bunch of releases coming soon that I have extremely high hopes for!
To name a few:

Gnarles Barkley Nov. 11

So, yeah. Though I'm not like uber crazy about Gnarles Barkley, I know tons of people are, so I have a feeling Who's going to Save My Soul is going to be a well-received EP. Plus, the video for , "Mystery Men" looks pretty neat.

Guns N' Roses Nov. 23

So, if you didn't know already, you can check out the count down until Chinese Democracy and get a little preview of the album. With the sweet title and 15 years since The Spaghetti Incident?, I think this one is going to be pretty kick ass.

The Killers Nov. 25

Now I loved Sawdust. I can't say Sam's Town did that much for me. Although, I'm always going to love "When you Were Young." But when it comes to Day & Age, I have high hopes. The new single, "Human" sounds pretty catchy:
"Pay my respects to grace and virtue
Send my condolences to good
Give my regards to soul and romance,
They always did the best they could"

I'm pumped.

-- Jill

Blogger's listen of the day: "Tape Song" by The Kills.

Drive-By Truckers and The Hold Steady rocked the State Theatre last night. It was a great show and putting these two bands on the same bill was ingenious. Though they have different backgrounds (THS is from Brooklyn and DBT is from Athens, Georgia), both bands approach music with the same working-class mentality. They both write songs about regular people doing regular things, and both emphasize storytelling in their songs. In fact, these are probably the two smartest "bar bands" in the world right now. Read the full review here.

As for last night's show, both The Hold Steady and Drive-By Truckers drew heavily from their most recent albums (Stay Positive and Brighter Than Creation's Dark, respectively). Considering Brighter was 19 tracks long, the Truckers could've made a set out of that album alone. Both bands played about 90 minutes, and members of each band came out onstage for some of the other band's set. Since the bands are co-headlining the tour, they've been alternating opener and closer roles. DBT opened and THS closed for this particular date. Here's the full set list from the show:

Drive-By Truckers:

"Hell No I Ain't Happy"

"Self Destructive Zones"

"(Something's Got To) Give Pretty Soon"

"Sounds Better in the Song"

"That Man I Shot"

"3 Dimes Down"

"Putting People on the Moon"

"Marry Me"

"Tales Facing Up"

"Ghost to Most"

"Righteous Path"

"I'm Sorry Huston"

"Women Without Whiskey"

"Sink Hole"

"Carl Perkins' Cadillac" w/ Tad Kubler from The Hold Steady

"Let There Be Rock" w/ Tad Kubler from The Hold Steady

"Lookout Mountain" w/ Tad Kubler from The Hold Steady

The Hold Steady:

"Positive Jam"

"Stay Positive"

"Constructive Summer"

"Multitude of Casualties"

"Hot Soft Light"

"Stuck Between Stations"

"Don't Let Me Explode"

"One For Cutters"

"Cheyenne Sunrise"

"Stevie Nix"

"Sequestered in Memphis"

"The Swish"

"Your Little Hoodrat Friend"

"Navy Sheets"

"Chips Ahoy"

"Joke About Jamaica"

"Lord, I'm Discouraged"

"Slapped Actress"

Encore:

"Sweet Payne"

"Burnin' for You" (Blue Öyster Cult cover) w/ Patterson Hood, John Neff and Jay Gonzalez from Drive-By Truckers

"Look Out Cleveland" (The Band cover) w/ Patterson Hood, John Neff and Jay Gonzalez from Drive-By Truckers

"How A Resurrection Really Feels"

- Andy

I have had a breakthrough and that discovery has come in the form of Pandora.com. Some of you may know about this wondrous Web site already, but for me this is a recent finding. Pandora is music site that allows you to either type in a song name, artist, or genre and Pandora radio will play you songs that are similar to your entry.

Their tag line? "A new kind of radio that only plays the music you like." The best part is that you can find hundreds of artist that play your kind of music. If you have an eclectic taste, like me, you can have multiple stations for you to choice from. One day of listening to Pandora resulted in over a 100 new songs on my iPod. Everyone should check this website out because the radio is coming back people! You should not be stuck in the dull shuffle of your iTunes, expand your horizons and check out the sounds of people you haven't heard of yet. When they do make it big you can actually say you started the bandwagon.

While I was at McLanahan's today, waiting in line for my tuna salad sub (I didn't know they put celery in tuna salad. Gross), I heard one of the most memorable if not best songs from 1998 come over the speakers.

Therefore, the song for the first installment of Super-Fantastic Tuesday Song is K-Ci and Jo-Jo's "All My Life." What? You honestly don't like this song? C'mon, man, lighten up. How can you not just explode with emotion at 1:55 when Jo-Jo belts out, "I really / LOVE YOU!"

Even the video gets me, too. Look at the poor guy at 2:22. He looks so damn happy to get that...uh...whatever, that food is. Wait, is that Bradley Cooper from Wedding Crashers? IS HE THE BUM? I think it is, holy crap.

Well, anyway, come back here same time next week for the Super-Fantastic Tuesday Song. Maybe next time it'll be here earlier than 5:30. Don't get your hopes up, though.

-- Rich

Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson played a surprisingly satisfying show on Halloween at the Bryce Jordan Center. They sang on all the songs, though a few were solo with the other singing harmony. Here's the set list, with a guess at who was singing lead on each.

"Sweet Dreams"/"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" - both

"Why Haven't I Heart From You" - Reba McEntire

"Walk Away" - Kelly Clarkson

"The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" - Reba McEntire

"Behind These Hazel Eyes" - Kelly Clarkson

"Fear of Being Alone" - Reba McEntire

"Beautiful Disaster" - Kelly Clarkson

"Why Not Tonight" - Reba McEntire

"Stuff Like That There" - Kelly Clarkson

"Miss Independent" - Kelly Clarkson

"The Greatest Man I Never Knew" - Reba McEntire

"Cathy's Clown" - Reba McEntire

"Up to the Mountain" - Kelly Clarkson

"How Blue" - Kelly Clarkson

"One Promise Too Late" - Reba McEntire

"Be Still" - Kelly Clarkson

"Love Revival" - Reba McEntire

"Never Again" - Kelly Clarkson

"And Still" - Reba McEntire

"Breakaway" - Kelly Clarkson

"Does He Love You" - both

"Is There Life Out There" - Reba McEntire

"I'm a Survivor" - Reba McEntire

"A Moment Like This" - Kelly Clarkson

Encore:

"Since U Been Gone" - Kelly Clarkson

"Because of You" - Kelly Clarkson

"Fancy" - Reba McEntire

- Andy

The life and music of Johnny Cash has had a profound effect and influence on a diverse array of musicians, writers, convicts, etc. In the case of actor Joaquin Phoenix, it inadvertently led him to quit his day job.

He recently announced to Extra (of all media outlets) that he is quitting movies at the age of 34 and plans to focus exclusively on his music career.

Phoenix, who has a knack for playing troubled characters, rose up from the acting ranks around the time of the 1995 satire To Die For and captured the public's eye for his memorable portrayal of Cash in the 2005 biopic Walk the Line. He recorded the soundtrack for the Cash film and even won a Grammy Award for his work on it.

Phoenix recently wrapped his final cinematic foray, Two Lovers, a romantic drama with Gwyneth Paltrow, but his next project is an album with Tim Burgess of the British alternative rock band The Charlatans.

Despite having directed music videos for half a dozen indie rock artists, his music slate is thin, so this could be considered a big shock.

He pulled off the role of Cash so smoothly that I think it should be easy transition, but he will certainly be missed as he is one of H-wood's finer actors to rise up over the past decade or so. If he channels some of the internal dysfunction and insecurity of his characters into his music, he has a lot of potential.

--Mark

One of my friends goes to Messiah College in Grantham, Pa. She recently told me that she heard a countdown on a local radio station. The topic was "the scariest songs of all time," obviously tailored to the Halloween holiday. Since I fancy myself somewhat of a '90s pop music aficionado, she figured I would be interested in the top three songs: the Spice Girls' "Wannabe," Hanson's "MMMBop," and Aqua's "Barbie Girl."
Upon hearing that these were the selected songs, I was admittedly a little surprised. I was certainly expecting a collection more akin to Andrew Steadman's Halloween mix tape. However, as I pondered the song selections, they began to make more sense...especially after I viewed the "Wannabe" video on YouTube.

I love the Spice Girls. I have always loved the Spice Girls. However, there is something about this video that is particularly horrifying. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it may have something to do with Geri Halliwell's ugly platform shoes. Maybe it's the excessive usage of the nonsensical term, "zigga-zig-ah." Maybe it's the fact that Victoria Beckham did, indeed, make millions of dollars by strutting around in a little black dress ("Sporty Spice" Melanie C carried the majority of the tunes, in case you didn't know). Maybe it's the fact that this is really one of the stupidest songs ever written, yet it's also counted as one of my favorite songs.

Without even resorting to a Scary Spice reference, I think it's clear that the radio station way out there in Grantham knows its stuff. Who needs creepy, clichéd scary tunes when you've got cheesy pop songs?

-Stephanie

Anyone who's watched TV after 11 p.m. has probably come across Cartoon Network's Adult Swim program at some point. For those who haven't: it's a collection of cartoon programs for the over-18 crowd. Some of the stuff they show is pretty eccentric, which is refreshing considering the kind of crap that's usually on television.

Anyway, Adult Swim's projects extend beyond TV shows. The people at Adult Swim have released several records in the past few years, all of them far from the mainstream but many of them good. For example, DJ Danger Mouse and MF Doom teamed up for an album in conjunction with Adult Swim, which resulted in 2005's The Mouse and the Mask.

The most recent Adult Swim release is African Swim, to promote the new video game Far Cry 2. It's a compilation of South African hip-hop artists, since the game's set in Africa. The artists on the album are all from South Africa's burgeoning hip-hop scene. It's actually less exotic than it sounds. Most of the tracks could even pass for American hip-hop, until you notice several of the artists don't rap in English. That aside, the stuff that's here is decidedly different from the pop-rap you'll hear on the radio. And, since it's a compilation, there's lots of variety. Add to that the fact that the album's completely free to download, and you've got yourself a great deal. Head to www.adultswim.com to check it out, or listen to it here.

- Andy

When artists from awful groups go solo, it usually gives me a glimpse of hope. It's kind of like, maybe this it it!

However, when artists from bands that are thriving split off and do something on their own, it always rubs me a little funny. It's like, why, when you're already successful do you feel the need to ditch your group? If I was in a band, I'd be insulted. Well, that's not true. It's better to say I'd be insulted unless I really felt that member was being overshadowed by the rest of us.

Either way, TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe is now an active memeber in an "on the side" project.

And while this solo release, a 7" picture disc, looks pretty sweet, I can't get myself that excited. I wish I could.

Maybe I just can't help but think of things like when Chris Wella made a solo album (bah), or even (excuse me for bringing this up) when Gerry from the Spice Girls decided to pursue the dream on her own.

I don't know, I'm trying to be optimistic, I really am. I know this is just a minor side project, and TV on the Radio is still going to continue doing sweet things.

Who knows, I guess I should focus on what happened to JT after N'SYNC, or John Lennon, or Paul Simon, or Elvis Costello.

For now, I'm just going to listen to Dear Science on vinyl and think happy thoughts.

-Jill

Woah Woah! In case your Halloween party lasts all night, here are some more tunes to check out:

* Robert Rodriguez, "Planet Terror Main Theme"
* Alice Cooper: "Feed My Frankenstein," "Welcome To My Nightmare"
* Rob Zombie: "Living Dead Girl"
* Gnarls Barkley: "Necromancer"
* Marlyn Manson: "Organ Grinder," "Dope Hat," "I Put a Spell on You"
* The Zombies: "Time of the Season," etc.
* Nightwish: "Phantom of the Opera"
* Angelo Badalamenti: "Mulholland Drive," "Dark Mood Woods," etc.
* Bernard Hermann: "Twisted Nerve," etc.
* Dethklok: "Briefcase Full of Guts"
* Iced Earth: Horror Show
* Michael Jackson: "Thriller"
* Charles Manson: "Devil Man"
* Pink Floyd: "Lucifer Sam," "The Trial"
* Slayer: "Reign in Blood," etc.
* Dave Matthews Band: "Halloween"
* Dave Matthews: "Gravedigger"
* The Misfits: "Halloween"
* The Dead Kennedys: "Halloween"
* Siouxsie and the Banshees: "Halloween"
* Matt Pond PA: "Halloween"
* King Diamond: "Halloween"
* Sonic Youth: "Halloween"
* Charlie Daniels Band: "Devil Went Down to Georgia"
* Panic at the Disco: "This Is Halloween"
* Blue Oyster Cult: "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"
* Mudhoney: "Halloween"
* The Eagles: "Witchy Woman"
* The Who: "Fiddle About," "Boris the Spider"
* The Beatles: "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite"
* Warren Zevon: "Werewolves of London"
* Ryan Adams: "Cobwebs," "Halloween Head"
* No Doubt: "Spiderwebs"
* Bloc Party: "Hunting for Witches"
* Iron Maiden: "Phantom of the Opera," "Fear of the Dark"
* Nine Inch Nails: "Dead Souls"
* The Polecats: "Gravedigger Rock"
* 13 Cats: "Hell Bop"
* The Meteors: "Wolfjob," "King Vlad," "Corpse Grinder"
* Van Halen: "Running With the Devil"
* The Rolling Stones: "Sympathy for the Devil"
* Ray Parker Jr.: "Ghostbusters"
* The Specials: "Ghost Town"
* The Allman Brothers Band: "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed"
* The Cure: "Lullaby"
* It's a Beautiful Day: "Girl With No Eyes"
* Edgar Winter: "Frankenstein"
* TV on the Radio: "Wolf Like Me"
* Sufjan Stevens: "They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From The Dead!! Ahhhh!"
* Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti: "Howling at the Moon"
* Vampire Weekend
* Talking Heads: "Psycho Killer"
* Tilly and the Wall: "Night of the Living Dead"
* The Shins: "Phantom Limb"
* Gorillaz: "Dracula," "Fire Coming From a Monkey's Head"
* The Pixies: "Wave of Mutilation," "Bone Machine"
* Wolf Parade: "Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts"
* Neutral Milk Hotel: "Ghost"
* The Moldy Peaches: "NYC's Like a Graveyard"
* Modest Mouse: "Dig Your Graves," "Bury Me With It"
* Le Tigre: "After Dark"
* Justice: "Phantom, Parts I and II"
* Phantom Planet
* Echo and the Bunnymen: "Killing Moon"
* David Bowie: Scary Monsters
* Bob Dylan: "Tombstone Blues"
* Antsy Pants: "Vampire"
* Cocorosie: "Werewolf"
* Cut Copy: "So Haunted"
* Danger Doom: "The Mask"
* Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: "I'm a Ghost"
* The White Stripes: "Little Ghost"
* My Chemical Romance: "Cemetery Drive"
* Jethro Tull: "The Witch's Promise"
* Cranberries: "Zombie"
* Alan Parsons Project: "The Raven"

Toccata and Fugue in D Minor - J.S. Bach

-compiled by Andrew Steadman

So, as disappointing as it was that everywhere I went when I was in France, Rihanna was playing, I did discover one group that I shamelessly fell in love with: TTC .

They remind me of a mix between JT and some godawful but somehow still fun boy band. Check 'em out. I love the guy who looks like Drew Carey.

The lyrics of the chorus translate to "working" in bed ... oh the French, you've got to love them!

- Jill

About a week ago, a mysterious item appeared on Amazon.com -- a treat scheduled to be arriving a couple days before Thanksgiving and a couple days after Chinese Democracy. Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo, an 11-month follow-up to the Weezer frontman's solo project, is due in stores November 25.

Cuomo and his posse have had a rocky career since they creatively peaked 12 years ago with Pinkerton, although part of the blame should be ascribed to stubborn record producer Rick Rubin.

Cuomo may be further alienating himself from his core audience, but at least he's had a prolific year. The experimental Weezer (The Red Album), which dropped in June, saw the band members mixing up their instruments and Cuomo attempting to go falsetto and perform a rap in the same song.

Last December, Cuomo released an introspective home demo LP, Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo. It was rough around the edges, like most solo demo projects, but it was the closest he had come to the awesomeness of his band's '90s work in quite some time.

Considering Cuomo has been all over the place lately touring, talking to fans via YouTube and recording with his band, fans should be excited for a solo follow-up so soon. Come on, it's got to be better than Weezer (The Red Album).

Another Weezer news bit: Spike Jonze, responsible for the genius music video and visual staple of the '90s, "Buddy Holly," will direct the music video for Weezer's next single, "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)."

- Mark

The year was 1979. Ozzy Osbourne had been booted from the band he'd taken to fame and fortune, Black Sabbath, for his erratic behavior and massive appetite for hard drugs. Ozzy didn't know where to turn next, but his wife, Sharon, helped him put together a new band featuring drummer Lee Kerslake, bassist Bob Daisley and guitar prodigy Randy Rhoads.

The resulting album, featuring songs by Daisley and Rhoads, was released in 1980 in England and 1981 in the United States. It was called Blizzard of Ozz.
Since then, Blizzard of Ozz has become one of the most revered metal records of all time, and it deserves the acclaim it received. In particular, Rhoads, formerly of Quiet Riot, was an extremely gifted guitarist. His training in classical theory helped him create a groundbreaking electric guitar technique that would make this album.

Ozzy's voice was never especially impressive. He didn't even write the songs; he only has a writing credit on one track, the simplistic "No Bone Movies." Ozzy rose above the rest of the pack through a mixture of guts and eccentricity. As a result, Ozzy's personality understandably got the most attention, but on Blizzard of Ozz, Randy's talent provided the foundation.

The record finds Ozzy evolving beyond what he'd done with Sabbath. The songs stray from the blues that had always been at the base of Sabbath's music, branching out into far more complex scales for the arrangements and laying the groundwork for the heavy metal of the 1980s.

"Crazy Train," a showcase for Rhoads' guitar prowess, became Ozzy's signature song. The subject matter, mental illness, had been familiar to Ozzy's fans since Sabbath's Paranoid several years prior, but this song was something different. Where Sabbath's Tony Iommi specialized in sludgy riffing and plodding tempos, necessitated by the fact that he was missing part of a finger on his fret hand, Rhoads was a speed demon. His solo breaks throughout the song are the definition of shredding. "Crazy Train" is reason enough to buy the album.

Ozzy's sensitive side, which hadn't really made an appearance before, comes to the surface on "Goodbye to Romance." It's an unexpectedly melodic ballad, with Ozzy lamenting his past failures over a chord progression lifted from Pachelbel's "Canon in D," more evidence of Rhoads' classical background.

The next song, "Dee," is Rhoads by himself on acoustic guitar. Though only 50 seconds long, the touching ode to Rhoads' mother makes the guitarist's stylistic versatility easily apparent. After the controversial "Suicide Solution," Ozzy delves into his other lyrical mainstay, the occult, on "Mr. Crowley." The synth intro is very '80s but menacing all the same, Ozzy's demented howl is at its best, and Rhoads tops himself once again on the solos.

Ozzy would go on to have a successful solo career, but Rhoads tragically died in 1982, his musical legacy unfinished. Blizzard of Ozz remains his most enduring contribution to recorded music, and it does him justice.

Download: "Crazy Train," "Mr. Crowley," "Goodbye to Romance"

-- Andrew

MySpace has a video channel called MySpace Transmissions that hosts videos of live performances by current bands. It's updated every so often, and the most recent band to be featured is The Cold War Kids.

I wasn't a huge fan of the Kids' most recent album, Loyalty to Loyalty, but seeing the band perform some of the new material in a cool looking practice room gives an interestingly different perspective. Most of all, it made me want to go to wherever they recorded this and hang out and jam.

The sparse, live instrumentation of the songs also makes them a good listen. For those unfamiliar, the group has a bluesy indie kind of sound, a little like The Black Keys. For this little performance, guitarist Jonnie Russell plays a hollowbody acoustic-electric so immersed in echo and reverb that it sounds like he's strumming at the other end of a very long hallway. Of the five song set, one ("Coffee Spoon") was previously unreleased, which gives fans a good reason to check this out.

The dudes in the band also do a little interview and explain their recording process, their lyrics, where they're from, and so on.

Cold War Kids "Coffee Spoon" from MySpace Transmission

Album of the moment - 12:51 a.m., Wednesday

Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue

I've been meaning to write about this record for a while now. It's the second solo release by Rilo Kiley frontwoman Jenny Lewis. Her first was Rabbit Fur Coat, with the Watson Twins, in 2006.

Rilo Kiley fans might be disappointed with this album, as they were with Rabbit Fur Coat. In fact, I know they are. I've talked to a few.

The reason for the disappointment is that these two records find Jenny embracing American roots music rather than the hip indie style that she practices with Rilo Kiley. Acid Tongue is all about folk, blues and (gasp!) country. It definitely has a little twang and a bit of affected Southern accent. And so, if you're expecting Rilo Kiley, you may be surprised, but this is a great album all the same. It's like Rabbit Fur Coat, but better.

The title track is a good example of how well this little change of pace really works. It's a sweet country ballad, mostly just Jenny with an acoustic guitar and some extra voices to sing the harmonies on the chorus. Her voice is beautiful, and the song strolls along like a leisurely lesson in good songwriting.

The lyrics also explain the meaning behind the album's title: "Cause I've been down to Dixie and dropped acid on my tongue/Tripped upon the land 'till enough was enough." Upon closer inspection of the album's cover, I realized that it's a sheet of blotter acid with a little picture of Jenny Lewis on each hit. Guess she's not as innocent as she sounds.

There's more to this album than slow country songs, of course. "The Next Messiah" is a near nine minutes of rocking, stomping blues. It's practically a mini rock opera, with several different movements that eventually make their way back to a common musical motif.

"See Fernando" is another standout rocker, while "Carpetbaggers" sounds a little like something you might hear in a honky tonk somewhere in the Midwest. Elvis Costello repays Lewis for her guest appearance on his most recent album, Momofuku, by contributing to the song. No offense to Mr. Costello, but here Lewis outclasses him easily. The man's a legend, but after hearing an album's worth of Lewis's smooth-as-butter singing, Costello's impression of a constipated Tom Petty on the second verse is rather jarring. He calms down a little after that, and while I'm not convinced his appearance is completely necessary, the song is still ultra-catchy.

Lewis's voice leaps throughout the album from sugary on songs like "Black Sand" and "Trying My Best to Love You" to downright raunchy on "Jack Killed Mom." It's all very satisfying. Acid Tongue comes highly recommended. It might not be Rilo Kiley, but it also might be better.

Download: "Carpetbaggers," "Acid Tongue"

-- Andrew

As I frantically skip from radio station to radio station, searching for something that will satiate my craving for legitimate pop music, I realize something: this just isn't 2000 anymore, and the pop music I once loved has been replaced with Rihanna, Flo Rida, and...commercials.

To understand my strife, perhaps I need to explain my history with this hallowed genre of music. Using my hard-earned $5 per week allowance, I bought my first CD in 1999: the Backstreet Boys' Millennium. That started a boy band binge that carried me through middle school, high school and beyond. I loved them all: LFO, 98 Degrees, O-Town, and, yes, good old BSB.

However, I loved *NSYNC most of all. The madness started in sixth grade, when "Bye Bye Bye" hit the radio waves and overtook even the girls most resistant to the boy band craze. I distinctly remember singing "Bye Bye Bye" during music classes on Friday afternoons as my teacher's "special treat" to the class. Two girls in my reading class permanently had "I love Lance" written on their hands in purple gel pen. Not one to miss out on the big fads, I bought an *NSYNC t-shirt, subscribed to J-14, and taped the first of many *NSYNC posters on my wall.

My best friend and I regularly searched for new *NSYNC facts, excitedly sharing them with each other during lunchtime at school. My parents joke today that we never had a family dinner during those years without a conversation about Justin, JC, Joey, Chris, or Lance. The members of *NSYNC practically became honorary members of the family.

Looking back, those times were some of the most exhilarating years of my life -- of course, I'm only 20, but trust me, those years were especially thrilling. After reading this blog post, sure, it seems really creepy that I thought it was fun to memorize Joey Fatone's date of birth (and still remember it, to this day).

However, I can't discount how I felt back then, when it felt like I was a member of a secret club with my fellow teenage girls. We all liked those same five guys, idealizing them and crushing on them -- and ultimately using them as a distraction until we had to face the real world, which was certainly not so fairy tale-like.

Today's 11-year-old girls have Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers and High School Musical. In keeping with my last post on this blog, I'll pass judgment on these musical acts. See, the real problem doesn't even lie with these singers; it's more about the format of our popular culture.

In a world where technology is pervasive, the whole notion of being a "fan" has been lessened, and the radio has been relegated to a last resort form of entertainment. Today's adolescents don't have to call radio stations to get their requests in for Cyrus' "7 Things"; they already have the song stored on their iPods. When concert tickets go on sale, they don't have to pace around Giant Eagle on Saturday mornings, waiting for the Ticketmaster desk to open. With a few simple clicks on Ticketmaster.com, the coveted tickets are automatically reserved for them.

These days, that wonderful feeling I got while being an *NSYNC fan has practically become fodder for history books, and that sought-after sense of community is nonexistent.

Luckily, I still have the same best friend and enough *NSYNC memorabilia to carry me through this dark period. But those 11-year-olds are on their own.

-Stephanie

When I heard Amy Winehouse was backing out of recording the theme for Quantum of Solace, I was disappointed. I don't care about her personal problems, her questionable judgment, her affinity for crack, or her penchant for abusive relationships. She's got a great voice and she made soul music popular (and relevant) again. She would've been a great choice for the new Bond theme, a chance to salvage it from the travesty that was Madonna's "Die Another Day."

My disappointment didn't last long. I discovered Jack White and Alicia Keys would be recording the song instead.

White and Keys are two of the most talented and soulful musicians in modern popular music. Now that I've realized this collaboration was possible, I only wonder why I hadn't been hoping for a Jack and Alicia collaboration for years.
Even better: the two deliver on their promise.

Jack not only performs the song, titled "Another Way to Die." He also wrote it. As a result, it has the hallmarks of a Jack White song. It opens with dirty, overdriven guitar, and the lyrics are lilting, a bit like "The Denial Twist." But this is no White Stripes tune. It also features Keys' piano and a Bond-appropriate horn section. Jack's guitar and Alicia's voice duel in a call-and-response solo section around the three-minute mark.
The end product is a song that sounds like a traditional 007 theme and something completely new at the same time. The song rises in a crescendo as it progresses, beginning with fairly reserved traded verses by Keys and White and ending with Keys belting with abandon, and that's perfect for a song that will play during the opening credits. The horns and strings are key in giving the song that Bond element, but the melody and lyrics are also spot on.

There have been complaints with the song, most notably the claim that it doesn't sound enough like a Bond theme to be a Bond theme. I disagree. I think it fits perfectly into the Bond tradition, and it certainly sounds more appropriate than "Die Another Day."

Decide for yourself:

- Andrew

Aside from the abundant number of drug law violations at the Bryce Jordan Center Monday night, a good time was had by many at Change Rocks, the venue's red, white, blue and tie-dye benefit concert. Below are the respective set lists, courtesy of ratdog.org, for each performance. It is worthwhile to dissect the origins of the studio versions of songs that made the cut, some of which have endured hundreds of live renditions over the course of two to four decades. The reprise of the Dead's "Playing in the Band," a song that amassed a fan following via its recurring pop-ins in live sets, helped to give Monday's show a circular quality.

Allman Brothers Band albums worth acquiring: The Allman Brothers Band, At Fillmore East, Eat a Peach
Grateful Dead albums worth acquiring: American Beauty, Blues for Allah

The Allman Brothers Band:
Revival - Idlewild South, 1970
Statesboro Blues - originally written by Blind Willie McTell, re-recorded by Allmans in 1971 on At Fillmore East
Who's Been Talkin' - cover of Howlin' Wolf
Midnight Rider - Idlewild South, 1970
One Way Out - Eat a Peach, 1972
And It Stoned Me - cover of Van Morrison
Dreams - The Allman Brothers Band, 1969
Don't Think Twice, It's Alright (feat. Susan Tedeschi, wife of Derek Trucks) - alternative version of the Bob Dylan song
Anyday - cover of Derek and the Dominos
Melissa - Eat a Peach, 1972
Trouble No More - The Allman Brothers Band, 1969
Ain't Wasting Time No More - Eat a Peach, 1972
Jessica - Brothers and Sisters, 1973

Encore:
Whipping Post - The Allman Brothers Band, 1969

The Grateful Dead:

Truckin' - American Beauty, 1970
U.S. Blues - Grateful Dead from the Mars Hotel, 1974
Help on the Way - Blues for Allah, 1975
Slipknot! - Blues for Allah, 1975
Franklin's Tower - Blues for Allah, 1975
Playing in the Band - The Grateful Dead live double album, 1971
Dark Star - 1968 single
St. Stephen - Aoxomoxoa, 1969
Unbroken Chain - Grateful Dead from the Mars Hotel, 1974
The Other One - Anthem of the Sun, 1968
Throwing Stones - In the Dark, 1987
Playing in the Band reprise

Encore:
Touch of Grey - In the Dark, 1987
Not Fade Away - cover of Buddy Holly

- Mark

So, last night, Andrew Steadman, one of the music reporters went to the Hanson concert.

Now, let's be serious for a minute. A guy, Hanson. I was a bit skeptical about how this whole thing was going to pan out. Don't get me wrong, every single one of our reporters does a good job of remaining objective, especially in the music beat.

Still, I was pleasantly surprised.

The review was good, and from the sounds of it, the concert was good, too.

I don't know, maybe I'm just still in shock that Hanson still exists, and even more shocked the brothers decided to visit State College on their tour.

Keep walking, boys! And to the rest of you, keep reading our reviews!
-Jill

It's time to write about something that's been nagging me lately, keeping me up at night and generally affecting my quality of life.

No, it's not poverty or the upcoming election. It's not about what the new name of the Sports Café will be. While all of these issues are certainly of great public concern, my problem is different.

It's about the music snobbery running rampant through campus, instigated by the tunes emitting from everyone's ear buds.

Oh, you know that you're guilty of it. Maybe it's an eye roll or look of disgust when a friend mentions that he really, really likes Matchbox Twenty. Maybe it's those fake gagging sounds you made after learning that the next big show at the Bryce Jordan Center is Kelly Clarkson.

Either way, it's wrong. And believe me, I speak from experience. Scroll through my iTunes, and you'll find promising subjects for myriad musical jokes. Take the H's, for example. Hootie & the Blowfish and Hilary Duff are all well-represented. The P's bring new horrors: The Partridge Family and Play, among numerous others. And when you finally spot the names Little Big Town, Dierks Bentley or George Strait, you'll realize the worst of it. On top of all my other shameful musical interests, I commit the biggest musical felony of all time. I listen to -- and enjoy -- country music!

This is not to say that all of my music would be deemed socially unacceptable; in fact, I'm sure that somewhere in that collection of 4,500+ songs, there is something that is semi-tolerable to most people.

However, that's the whole point of the argument. Who's to say what's right and what's wrong, what's grooving and what's grievous?

Seriously, though, you like your music, and I'll like mine. There's no need to criticize someone's penchant for Clay Aiken (Well, maybe if it's Clay Aiken...). I'm currently taking a class in media law, where we're learning about the marketplace of ideas theory. Basically, the theory says that the more ideas brought into the public sphere, the better. Can we not apply this scholarly theory to our music selections as well?

In the end, perhaps it is beneficial to remind everyone of what both the Black Eyed Peas and Hanson (both represented in my music collection, thank you very much) each expound upon in their respective hit songs: "Where's the love?" There's no need to hate. There's plenty of music to go around, and we should all be free to enjoy our favorite tunes without fear of public attack.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I hear a wonderfully cheesy S Club 7 song starting on my iTunes...

Yours in deleterious ditties,

Stephanie

So, in spirit of these tours for a cause...Obama seems to be the leading influence these days. Word on the street (or on Pitchfork) is that now, groups such as the Beastie Boys, Vampire Weekend and even the Black Keys are joining for concerts either supporting Obama or supporting the Democratic party. I think it's ridiculous how active so many members of the music industry are getting over politics. Vietnam had protests, we have concerts.

And how about The Foo Fighters getting mad that McCain has been using "My Hero" without permission. You know, I bet there are many musicians out there who support McCain... just not the Foo Fighters.

Wrap your mind around this for a second.

This Sunday, Hanson comes to the State Theatre.

I know, I know, this is great news. Unfortunately, Hanson fans who don't have tickets are out of luck. The show's been sold out for a while now. Sorry.
On a brighter note, you'll still have a chance to participate in the walk for charity Hanson will be holding that day.

The walk, which is in conjunction with Hanson's "Walk Around the World Tour," will raise awareness for TOMS Shoes, a charity that delivers shoes to needy children in Africa. For each walker who participates, Hanson donates a dollar.

This is a great idea. Who better to convince people to get involved than famous people in bands? Granted, Hanson isn't the huge cultural icon it once was. But the show did sell out, so someone still cares.

If you're not sold on the idea, maybe this'll work: the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers Band are coming to the Bryce Jordan Center on Monday to support Barack Obama's campaign.

Bruce Springsteen held a similar concert to raise awareness for Obama's campaign a few days ago in Philadelphia. MTV's Rock the Vote campaign came to State College with a concert featuring Locksley, Hymns and the Bullet Parade. Bands get the word out in a way that no one else can.

Also, like Obama or not, the Grateful Dead are a pretty big deal. When a band supports a cause, people listen. This is the first time since 2004 these four original members have performed together, and they're doing it in State College.

On that note, people who've complained that the Grateful Dead shouldn't get involved in Obama's campaign are kidding themselves. The Dead were a huge part of the counterculture movement during Vietnam. The remaining members are original hippies.

It's more natural for these guys to get involved in a political movement than almost anyone else. Has anyone asked Ted Nugent to hold a concert for McCain? I'd go to that too.

It remains to be seen how much bands actually help the causes they stand for, but it's certainly nice to see bands exercising their considerable influence for a good cause.

- Andrew

Album of the Moment - 6:02 p.m., Thursday

Van Morrison - Astral Weeks

I was heading downtown to take advantage of free downtown parking Thursdays, and as I was driving, my car stereo was blasting the folk-rock classic Astral Weeks. Sunset was nearing and there was a cool gentle breeze. The man's music is considered ideal for embarking on a spiritual quest, curing late-night writer's block or babymaking. Maybe driving, but that's more of a personal preference.

When it was first released in the fall of 1968, the critics liked it and the public didn't get it. However, it lingered in the public's subconscious for 30-plus years and it finally achieved gold in 2001.

The soulful Irishman, known officially as George Ivan Morrison OBE, is still as prolific as ever, knocking out a new album every one to two years. Over the course of his career, his music has wandered all over the place, into garage rock, into R&B and occasionally the Celtic corner. Astral Weeks though is one of a kind.

The album is going to be revived next month, as Morrison plans to play it in full, from "Astral Weeks" to "Slim Slow Rider," at Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on two nights, according to Pitchfork Media.

My experience of Morrison had been summed up by the Moondance album and his Greatest Hits for quite some time. My friend recommended I give Astral Weeks a listen and I did, but it didn't stick. About a year later, I put it on again and it hasn't yet left the stereo.

The songs are devoid of clear-cut hooks, most tracks run long and are irresolute, but they pack a raw emotional sincerity rarely done this pristinely. The album is definitely free form, like a scat or poetic jam uninhibited by structure.

Astral Weeks is so personal and reflective like Van is encased in a bubble that is invisible to the outside world. It is more mature and introspective then the also-excellent Moondance, which bounces with popping stand-alone songs.

The sum is greater than its parts, whereas Moondance's parts are arguably greater than its sum. A song such as "Sweet Thing," the fastest and shiniest of the lot, is delicately beautiful.

Critical praise has placed it at the top of the Van Morrison concert repertoire and a comfortable seat at #19 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time.

Van Morrison's Astral Weeks is an atmospheric, melodic treat and it's also a pleasant way to adjust yourself for the fall climate. There's something about this album that keeps people coming back after 30 years and wanting more. I suggest you find it out for yourself.

-- Mark

Every band has at least one song that will get a big reaction from the crowd. It doesn't matter how many amazing songs a band has recorded, the radio hits will always be the ones people are waiting to hear, and those hits will almost always be played at the end of the set.

A few bands transcend this problem. The Beatles or the Rolling Stones, for example, have enough instantly recognizable songs to vary the encore from night to night. Even so, when you're touring 200 cities in 250 days, things are probably going to get repetitious. I saw Bob Dylan play Pittsburgh in August and the final song of the set was "Like a Rolling Stone." He has to be tired of playing it.

And so, I'm forced to feel a bit sorry for working-class touring bands. There are quite a few bands that have had just one reasonably well-known hit. These bands are the ones that have to endure crowds full of people only familiar with that one song.

In a way, it's better than having no hit songs. People are coming to the show, the money's coming in and more hits are bound to come along sooner or later. Unfortunately, the music-listening public is fickle. The chances of scoring one recognizable song are pretty low, let alone the chances of it happening twice.

So bands like the Ataris, Augustana and Phantom Planet are forced to wade through show after show of audience members shouting "Boys of Summer!" or "Boston!" or "That song from The O.C.!" at every possible chance they get.

There are certainly more bands cursed with this albatross than the three I named, but I picked these specifically because they've recently played at Penn State.

Phantom Planet played at Movin' On in 2007. A good number of people complained that the group wasn't nearly high profile enough to be the headliner at the show, but I didn't have any real problem with the choice. Sure, there are hundreds of bands I'd probably have preferred, but I do enjoy Planet's albums from time to time.

Phantom Planet, tragically, recorded the song that went on to become the theme song ("California") for Fox's hit series The O.C. Movin' On is free and open to all students, so most of the people in attendance were familiar only with "California" despite the band's varied catalog of songs. The crowd took to shouting the song's title and variations thereof ("Play that one song from that show!") for the group's entire set.

Heckling the band you're watching is like kicking your disobedient dog. Things aren't going to get better. If you want to guarantee yourself a bad concert experience, work as hard as you can to destroy the band's self-confidence. You're sure to be rewarded.

The Ataris might have it the worst of all. This is a band with several quality records and a following that has an appreciation for many of those songs. Yet, when the Ataris recorded a cover of Don Henley's "Boys of Summer" and the record company forced the group to include the song on So Long, Astoria, everything changed. The Ataris practically became a household name, yet the only song anyone knew wasn't even originally by the band.

Kris Roe, the band's principle songwriter, got to see his own work overshadowed night after night by a cover song. Though the band has tried at times to avoid playing the song, it's what the fans want to hear. So when the Ataris stopped in State College last Sunday, "Boys of Summer" came too.

The next time you see a show, remember: there's no need to shout that one song's name every 30 seconds. It'll be there.

- Andrew

Album of the Moment - 3:39 a.m., Monday

The Verve's Forth is expansive and drowning in the same grandiose beauty that made "Bittersweet Symphony" such a powerful song. It's perfect for the middle of the night. Listen to it with headphones to get the full effect.
Lead singer Richard Ashcroft's vocals float on clouds of echo, panning from ear to ear and making full use of the freedom of stereo. Records like this make me wish quadraphonic sound (four channels of sound instead of stereo's two) hadn't faded into obscurity. I want to immerse myself in the music, close my eyes, relax, and drift down stream. Of course, quadraphonic headphones would require two more ears than I possess.

Take some time to ponder the possibility of people with four ears while you wade through the eight minute "Noise Epic," a song with the most bluntly true title I have ever encountered. By the end, the band actually starts to put up a racket, punctuating the last few blissful seconds with Ashcroft's repeated "Wake up, wake up, wake up!" floating back and forth between the left and right channels. Not yet, Richard. Not yet.
To be honest, in that same vein, I may never have seen more well-chosen album art. This record actually sounds like it looks. The music fits the peaceful, sedate above-the-clouds picture impeccably. There's even a song called "Valium Skies," featuring Ashcroft's voice booming across the expansive cloudbanks. It all becomes clear.

Anyone who expected this album to rock hard like the Verve's Britpop contemporaries Oasis will be disappointed. This is ponderous, symphonic music. "Mover," a bonus track, is the only song on the album that dips below the four-minute mark. These are serious songs, taking their time to unfold the aural tapestry the Verve has created. They lap on the edges of your consciousness like waves on the shores of a lake bathed in summer twilight. On "Columbo," the vocals almost resemble monks chanting from somewhere deep inside a vast, cavernous Gothic cathedral.

This isn't a classic album like the Verve's last release, Urban Hymns, and critics won't rate it nearly as well. But if you're looking for something that sounds a little like four in the morning on a weekday, Forth hits the spot.

- Andrew

New Orleans has endured a lot.

The city that birthed the United States' first completely original musical style (jazz) and contributed immensely to another (rock 'n' roll) is still struggling to recover from multiple natural disasters within the space of just a few years.

The city's massive musical legacy seemed to have decayed a little with the hurricanes' destruction of some of the city's historic musical neighborhoods. Jazz music may have been born in New Orleans, but it looked like it might die there as well.

But Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews might have something to say about that.

Shorty toured with Lenny Kravitz in 2005. He was a featured member of the singer's horn section on the tour. He shared a stage with U2 and Green Day at the Superdome's reopening in 2006.

It should be obvious at this point that Trombone Shorty is no old-fashioned jazz cat. He plays the trombone and learned his trade in New Orleans, so he's certainly familiar with his city's musical traditions. But one must only listen to his rendition of AC/DC's "Back in Black" to realize he's doing things a little differently.

Shorty is an up-and-coming artist who takes tried and true musical styles and makes them current. He takes New Orleans jazz and melds it with James Brown funk and contemporary hip-hop. He's also a multi-instrumentalist, despite his nickname.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Trombone Shorty is that he was born in 1986. This is just the beginning of Shorty's career. Jazz hasn't been a young man's music for quite some time now, but the youthful exuberance of Shorty's work could easily appeal to a wider audience.

Shorty's coming to the State Theatre on Sunday. If you want to see the revitalization of American music, this show might be a good place to start. This kid might very well signal that his city's luck is changing. With a new generation of musicians with an appreciation for New Orleans' rich history, the delta region has no reason to worry.

Vinyl records are better than CDs.

Perhaps it's unreasonable to make such a bold claim about a comparison that's been debated for years and is technically unprovable. But hey, music is all about emotion, right? I'm going to let my heart make this decision.

And so, if you think CDs are better than records, you're wrong.

I admit that CDs obviously have a lot of things going for them. I personally own hundreds of CDs, and there's a reason why CDs quickly dethroned vinyl records as the most popular medium for recorded music. You can't pop a record into the car stereo and you don't have to carefully brush the dust off a CD every time you play it. Many people will even claim CDs have superior sound quality: the clarity of digital versus the distortion of low-tech analog.

These are people who have never experienced the magic of vinyl.

When Elvis Presley walked into Sun Records on that fateful day in 1953, he didn't burn a CD for his mother. He cut an acetate. Ditto for Johnny Cash. The history of great recorded music is carved into grooves on platters of vinyl. If that isn't reason enough to pick record albums over the usurpers, I don't know what is.

There's more, if you remain unconvinced. Records also sound better than CDs, and it goes beyond quality. CDs might have better sound quality or clarity, but there's something to be said for warmth. Played through a proper stereo, a CD sounds cold and clinical when compared to the living, vibrant tone of a record.

It's a lot harder to take care of records, so the slightest scratch on the surface of an album can result in a permanent "pop" sound. However, these imperfections only help to endear the record to its owner in a way CDs can never understand. And there's nothing in the world like the sound of the needle dropping down on the edge of a record.

Records are bigger than CDs, which decreases their portability but greatly increases their potential to be individual works of art. Often, a large amount of work goes into crafting a cover for an album, so why shrink it down so much you need a magnifying glass to see it? With records, album art is large and powerful. See Jackson Browne's Late for the Sky, my personal favorite album cover, for an example.

I've been in houses with framed album covers on the walls. I've never, on the other hand, seen a framed CD cover. The effect simply isn't the same.

The music on albums needed to be divided into sides due to the length restrictions of the vinyl record. Old albums were arranged with that in mind, so the last track on side 1 is often intended as a kind of first-half finale. Track arrangement was an art unto itself. Now, with CDs, all of that artistry is lost. CDs just plow ahead, forcing you to listen to the whole album at once, without the pleasing intermission of flipping the record.

This probably isn't the last time I'll be singing the praises of real record albums. New bands still releases record albums, and the number is on the rise. Traditionalists like the White Stripes are all about releasing albums on vinyl. There's a recent trend of bands offering a free digital download of the entire album with the purchase of their record, which is a win-win situation. You get the record, and you can still put the album on your iPod. Perfect.

Old albums are being reissued on vinyl as well. With any luck, records will rise up and save the crumbling music industry that CDs have so successfully crippled. Also, I know from experience: CDs make great drink coasters.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back my turntable.

There's been a recent trend in the music business that needs to be addressed.

Long-idle bands have been coming back and releasing albums, and it seems like it's all happening at the same time. Is there something about 2008 that made bands think, "It's time to dust off the leather pants?" Despite how appealing that sounds, the results were a mixed bag. Some bands that needed new albums finally delivered, while others made unwelcome reappearances reminiscent of villains in horror movie sequels.

For fans of some groups, the reunion trend is good news. The Verve, the Britpop band that released the smash "Bittersweet Symphony" and then promptly crumpled under the weight of the lawsuits that accompanied it, left plenty of unfinished business behind. It's taken 11 years for the group to try to deliver on the promise of Urban Hymns, but it needed to be done. The jury's still out on whether the album is worthy of its predecessor. If anything, at least the new album provided me with some assurance that the guys in the band weren't bankrupted and left homeless by their many legal battles, which is what I'd assumed when they dropped off the map.

It would have been better for a few other groups to leave music to the youngsters. New Kids on the Block comes to mind. This was a group that was in the right place at the right time. That is to say, the musical climate of the early '90s was what gave the Kids a chance to be relevant. So this year, when Donnie Wahlberg and company decided to give it another go with The Block, they ended up just sounding exactly like what they are: a mediocre boy band 20 years past its prime. The album was putrid. This is exhibit A in the argument for preventing one-shot throwaway groups from attempting to grab another 30 seconds in the spotlight.

Meanwhile, fans have been waiting for bands like Pink Floyd to reappear for as long as those bands have been gone. Why is New Kids on the Block allowed to release another album while Roger Waters and David Gilmour still feud? Some dream reunions did come to pass, though. The Police cashed in magnificently on years of anticipation this summer with a mega-successful tour, but Sting and company skimped on the new music. AC/DC and Metallica both have new albums coming out this fall, but neither band was technically broken up.

In closing, if Axl Rose was waiting for a sign from above, something that would let him know the time was right to release Chinese Democracy, maybe this is it. The album would fit in nicely with 2008's wave of new releases by old groups. The mythical album's release date has become something of a joke, akin to "when pigs fly": "Will Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Elvis Presley form the supergroup I've always wished for? Yeah, on the same day Chinese Democracy comes out." Even the album's title seems like a nod to its own unlikely release. But Axl, this might be your last chance. Who knows how soon this trend will end?

After all, no matter how bad it is, Chinese Democracy still has to be better than The Block.

-- Andrew

As Raekwon took the stage, the crowd erupted. Chants of "WU! TANG! WU! TANG!" filled the air, even though the crowd was getting drenched.

"F*** the rain!" Raekwon said.

That line pretty much summed up the crowd's attitude. A handful of the audience left when the rain came down too heavy, but the crowd, which was the biggest of the night, remained intact throughout most of the Chef's performance.

The crowd reacted favorably to some of the older Wu-Tang hits like "Protect Ya Neck" and "C.R.E.A.M." but were a bit more quiet for some of his lesser-known solo material, which dated back to his 1995 debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.

Regardless, Raekwon was very energetic and brought his A-game to the table. No other Wu-Tang members were present and the songs were shortened, but the crowd didn't seem to mind.

Raekwon even suggested that Penn State students smoke a blunt with our "principal." Graham Spanier could not be reached for comment.

As the last song played, the rain began to intensify, making it even more unbearable. Raekwon thanked the crowd immensely and left in a hurry, as did the crowd.

Unfortunately, the day has come to an abrupt halt due to the weather. It's been a crazy day, but fun nonetheless.

Word is bond.
-Rich

With the headliner yet to perform, Movin' On 2008 has been officially canceled due to threatening weather conditions, the event's assistant director said.
Jared Newman, Movin' On assistant director, said the ongoing downpour caused generators to stop working and created hazardous conditions for an outdoor concert.
Say Anything, the main headliner, will not be performing, Newman said.
Rapper Raekwon was the final act that managed to perform. Toward the end of his set, however, the rain picked up.
Side stage act Automatic Loveletter was scheduled to play between Raekwon and Say Anything, but the band was deterred from playing by the rain. Lead singer Juliet Simms performed acoustically for fans under the main tent.

-Rich and Adam

Raekwon just ended his set, and apparently the side stage is flooded so Automatic Loveletter will now take the mainstage.

However, if the thunder and lightning continues another delay may happen. After Automatic Loveletter there will be a quick set change and, assuming the lightning and thunder holds off, Say Anything will take the stage for an hour set.

If the lightning and thunder does cause more delays further changes may be made.

We'll keep you posted while trying to stay dry -- the latter of which may be a pretty difficult feat.

- Adam

The Movin' On gods didn't take kindly to Vedera frontwoman Kristen May's scolding of fans who moved to get their spots in front of the main stage. The sky opened up two separate times during Vedera's set, driving even the loyal to cover and proving that the Movin' On weather has the final say in how many people watch any act.

All kidding aside, May's voice was pleasing, the band's mellow cover of the Beatles' "Oh! Darling" was satisfyingly true to the original and I had no complaint with the music. The downpour brought on by Vedera continues into Raekwon's set.

- Andy

Despite rainfall of varying degrees and the sporadic thunderclap here and there, Raekwon fans are out in droves to hear the long-awaited set. Cash, after all (and not the weather), rules everything around [them]. The weather has yet to derail the show since it restarted around 7 p.m.

- Adam

You know what Kristen May, frontwoman of Vedera? Your music will never be as important as it is in your head.

Allow me to explain.

When students are lining up in front of the main stage to get a spot for Raekwon, that doesn't mean they don't like your music...it means they want a to get a good spot when Raekwon goes on.

It doesn't mean you have to act so condescending. Just because you haven't reached the status Raekwon has as an artist doesn't mean you belittle fans who are waiting out in rain to see someone.

"I appreciate YOU guys," May said as she pointed to the fans who were ONLY in front of the side stage.

Are you joking? I would expect a member of a somewhat-established band to be appreciative and open-minded of other genres of music, at least. But when she strummed her strings and mockingly sang, "Rap, rap, rap!" you lost all credibility.

And as far as your music goes? Rainier Maria was cool for like a second.

Word is bond.
-Rich

Last week, I had a phone interview with Jake Turner, Say Anything's guitarist, which you can (re-)read here.

Anyway, I thought it went well, but today Turner said his brother was buying a vespa and he was trying to park the car and all sorts of stuff was going on while he was talking to me. "I was out of my mind," he said.

So today we had take two, in person, with nothing else going on around us.

_____

Q: How was being on Conan [O'Brien] last night? You said you were looking forward to it last time we spoke - how did it go?
A: It was great. I think sound guys, when we play on television, always get scared of us, because we have so many members in our band, and a lot of people that mix the sound don't know what the song sounds like. No matter if you're sitting there telling them what to turn up and what to turn down, they won't turn something up because they think it might distort something else, but overall I thought it sounded really good. We watched it last night. I felt the guitars could have been louder, but that's just me being a guitar player. They mix it almost to be like a pop song. Like, the vocals were really loud, the bass and the drums were pretty loud, but overall I thought it turned out as good as it was going to turn out. After we played, we were like, "Yeah, we nailed it." I felt good about it.

Q: When did you guys get into State College?
A: We actually got in last night, around 3. We watched ourselves on Conan as we were driving here. It was a great show. Tina Fey was on it, Fred Willard. They were really nice. And we talked to Conan for a little bit. Conan was great. He talked to my brother about his guitar for like, an hour straight, talking about cool it was and everything. [Conan] has like, a seafoam Stratocaster. This is what he does: when he's rehearsing, he just sits down at his desk and jams. He's got this little Fender amp, and he just jams.

Q: Is he any good?
A: No, he's really good. I was like, "Whoa." I didn't know he could play guitar.

Q: What time did you get to the show today?
A: Around 2. I watched the Blue Method. They were cool. Musicianship-wise, they weren't really my style, but they were having a good time. And Another Found Self was really nice. They actually played with us before.

Q: I've actually seen you guys a few times before, but not in a few years, and certainly not since In Defense of the Genre came out. How have you guys changed as performers in the last few years?
A: Life is pretty much the same. We're the same people. We have more songs, but other than that, we play pretty much the same show. Of course, on our headlining tour we were trying to add stuff, like we had a backdrop and stuff. But we're still the same guys on stage.

Q: From what I know, Max [Bemis, singer/guitarist/songwriter] writes and plays almost all of the guitar parts on the albums, but live, he only sings. Why doesn't he play guitar on stage?
A: The thing with Max playing guitar live, and he would tell you this himself, but he has a hard time playing guitar live. Even when we play "Walk Through Hell" and stuff, he's concentrating on entertaining. The guitar was like a barrier to him. When he had a guitar in front of him, he couldn't reach out into the crowd and make the one-on-one contact. Jeff and Parker and I, he'll teach us guitar parts, and we'll sit down for hours and perfect it. We learn to play like Max. You have to become someone to produce it live, and we strive to play it as close to how Max plays it on the record. It was more or less Max was thinking about the interaction and he couldn't think about the guitar part. He wants to put a show on. He loves to play guitar, he's an amazing guitar player and he writes amazing guitar parts, but live, it just takes away from his show, he said.

Q: Is that tough, to sort of be a part of a band, but still be asked to emulate someone else instead of having your own input and style in the music?
A: I was in the studio when he was doing guitar for the last album for two weeks, and I would put my two words in every once in a while. He knew what he wanted, but I was just kind of talking guitar with him here and there. Overall, he just knows what he wants. I love the way Max writes. Of course he always gives me the really hard stuff, but I like it. If I don't play it right, he's going to scream at me and give me the evil eye, so I have to play it perfect for him. For the new record, he wants everybody to be involved whether we're playing guitar or not.

Q: This is probably a question for Max, but maybe you can answer it. I heard rumblings about him working with--
A: Chris Conley (singer/guitarist, Saves the Day). Yeah. Max, Chris, Dave (Soloway, Saves the Day bassist) and Coby (Say Anything drummer) actually wrote a whole record together. They recorded it. I don't know if it's been mastered yet.

Q: Have you heard it?
A: Yeah.

Q: What does it sound like?
A: It's really weird. It sounds like if Say Anything and Saves the Day had a baby. Max kind of wrote songs where they're simple compared to Say Anything songs. There's two guitars, bass and drums, and Max and Chris going back and forth on vocals. If you like Saves the Day and you like Say Anything, you'll like it.

- Adam

As the sun came out over the HUB lawn, Sports continued where they left off but with some new additions. A handful of female Movin' On volunteers were brought on stage as dancers to complement the fresh beats that Nick Hook and Glue were pumpin' out.

Unfortunately, Daryl Palumbo (frontman for Head Automatica and Glassjaw) was not in attendance even though he had a hand in the project from day one.

The next surprise came when Sports introduced two rappers, Yak Ballz and a rapper from the Weathermen. While not many students seemed familiar with the duo's songs, they displayed a lot of energy and got some of the crowd moving. They had exceptional delivery time from what I could gather.

Besides, you can't go wrong with a name like Yak Ballz. C'mon!

Word is bond.
-Rich

Movin' On is back on. Sports has picked up where it left off before the rain, and while the crowd isn't quite as big as it was before the delay, it's getting close. I just sat down with Say Anything guitarist Jake Turner (again) and he spoke about the band's experience last night on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, the band's live show, and Max Bemis's new project. We'll have that up as soon as it's transcribed.

- Adam

The rain has almost completely subsided and the thunderstorm warning is over. The stage is being set up once more, and the show is expected to resume in 15-20 minutes (that is, by 7 p.m. at the latest). The delay will have been approximately an hour and a half.

As reported earlier, each band will play a shortened set to make up for lost time until 9:30 p.m., when Say Anything will take the stage and play for a full hour and a half. The sky is still a bit gloomy and the ground is muddy at best (with legit puddles at worst), but the show will go on and everyone will play.

- Adam

The Movin' On crew is starting to set up the stage again (albeit slowly and hopefully).

Once the show gets going again (and we'll let you know when it does), each of the bands will play abbreviated sets until 9:30, when Say Anything will go on as scheduled, Assistant Director Jared Newman said.

- Adam

So I'm basically sitting here hoping the rain will subside while watching MTV U with no sound, which defeats the whole purpose of having it constantly playing to begin with.

The video was by Wyclef Jean featuring Paul Simon. Paul Simon! I wish I could actually hear the music. Whoever decide to constantly play MTV U on mute on campus is not the brightest crayon in the box. Everyone is sitting inside the HUB, and by everyone I mean the handful of people who want to see Say Anything.

The rain is letting up a little bit, so I hope that things start up again. I really want to see Raekwon, but it has been raining lions and wolves outside (not cats and dogs, this rain is too intense to be equated with domestic animals). All I can do is try to remain hopeful while the dark clouds loom over the sky, like in Wizard of Oz.

- Alexa

An update on this rain delay (and unfortunately, unlike most rain delays, it won't feature highlights from the 1993 World Series):

Basically, it remains to be seen where the show will pick up when this rain has subsided. Depending on how long the delay lasts, the show will either pick up in the middle of Sports' set (where it left off), or it will start from the point in the show as dictated by the original schedule. Assistant Director of Movin' On Jared Newman said he expects the rain to stop shortly, and he is waiting on a call from University Administration on whether Movin' On has clearance to run past the original curfew of 11 p.m. The Movin' On committee does not yet have a backup plan for if the rain does not stop in the near future.

-Adam

Hey, remember that nice weather we keep talking about? It's kind of gone now. Due to impending thunderstorms (actually, due to the lightning that would accompany it), Movin' On has been temporarily delayed.

All patrons were asked to lave the HUB lawn, and the music has been stopped. Movin' On Assistant Director Jared Newman said the situation was "extremely temporary" and the show would resume after the weather had cleared. Movin' On can roll through the rain, but lightning doesn't really mix well with the tons of electrical equipment.

Check back for regular updates of the situation, including when the festival will continue and from where it will pick up.

The Blue Method put on quite a show to say the least. Besides melting the crowd's face with their groovy funk/rock/blues fusion, the saxophonist even busted out the melody to Wu-Tang Clan's "Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nothin' ta F*** Wit."

I got a chance to to speak with Mike Patriarca, guitarist for the Blue Method, after the band left the stage. Patriarca was more than happy with his band's performance.

"We thought it was fantastic," Patriarca said. "The weather was great. The crowd was awesome, they all hung out and jammed and danced and everything. It was fantastic."

Patriarca also said that this performance enabled the Method's music to reach a new audience: the under-21 crowd.

"I think there's a lot of people that aren't 21 that don't get a chance to come see us when we play the clubs up here. I think it definitely helped us get some [new fans] who are 18 to 21," he said.

What's up next for the band? Well judging by the Wu-Tang nod during their set, the band plans to catch some of Raekwon's act before the Method heads out on the road for their next show. Patriarca is even hoping to have a rap battle with the Chef.

"I wanna battle Raekwon in a rap-off," he said. "I wanna be the newest member of the Wu-Tang Clan."

Step 1: Start saying, "Word is bond," whenever you can.

Word is bond.
-Rich

Two things have just happened: Another Found Self took the stage, and the crowd thinned out dramatically. It's not our place to say if this is causation or merely correlation, but I will say this: the most engaging element of their performance (for me, at least) is that the band's bassist looks exactly like my roommate, only about eight inches shorter. It's like watching a miniaturized version of one of my friends rock out, and it's wildly amusing.

In other news, the most recent AccuWeather forecast has the rain holding off until much, much later (like tomorrow later). At the very least, we're nearly halfway through the day and I've felt a grand total of five raindrops, which is already a substantial improvement over last year.

-Adam