Hardcore troubadour Steve Earle has returned with I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive, a T-Bone Burnett-produced album which Earle is calling his "most country" in years, which is appropriate as it takes its name from an old Hank Williams song. With Burnett at the helm and Earle's recent streak of Grammy wins, one can almost sense the folks at the Grammys prepping a Best Country Album award but it is more likely that Earle will be nominated again...

Artist: Sebadoh Venue: Lee’s Palace – Toronto, Ontario, Canada Date: April 6, 2011 Which prominent 90’s band was first to tour one of their classic records? Sonic Youth did some scattered shows playing Daydream Nation; Slint toured their seminal record Spiderland in 2007; The Pixies who haven’t recorded a record in fifteen years seem to have been touring old material non-stop for the past six years. So, who did it first? Who knows! But Sebadoh jumped on the bandwagon to...

In the single greatest, most bizarre news story to break all day, Hanson – yes, the MmmBop-ping band of brothers – have taken a page from the likes of Tom Jones and Paul Anka and are currently in the process of putting together an album comprised of metal covers. That would be shocking enough for some, but what Hanson is doing goes one step further – for this forthcoming album, Hanson is focusing its attention on covering the work of...

On Blood Pressures, The Kills have picked up exactly where they left off on 2008's Midnight Boom, creating tight pop songs hidden beneath layers of dirty digital magic. It's an album that feels like it is out to get you – that wants to cut you and is intent on raising your "blood pressure" – but its' malice is also contrasted with danceable beats and poppy hooks that create a wonderfully narcissistic experience. I will admit that with singer Alison...

After weeks of stormy weather listening to moody ambient post-rock and grumbly down-tuned and down-tempo sludge – immersing myself in the gloom of winter and its' commensurate musings – this southern California boy needed some sunlight. Ask and thou shall receive! The signs of life are returning; people are out and about, lawnmowers are blaring, birds chirping, my neighbors have their windows open for the first time in months and, best of all, Protest The Hero is blaring through my...

It might sound trite or opportunistic (in retrospect), but sometimes the music business might have to wait for the world to be ready for a new sound or idea. Such is not a regular occurrence (most recently, Streetlight Manifesto reportedly had to wait two years for the first installment of their 99 Songs Of Revolution series of full-length albums to see release), but the justification for occasions like that is simple; sometimes, a label may need to wait until it...

How ya doin' ya little junkie so-an'-so you? I'm feelin' pretty good about myself today, me. Other than artfully dodgin' the authorities on a coupla “business ventures” over da weekend, I still managed ta lift a fat bag o'SWAG for yer pleasure. Like I said las' week – wit' tourin' season startin' up an' lots o' bands packin' up ta get outta town, there's lots o' stuff gettin' left behind fer me ta pick up an' give to ya. A...

After twenty-two years spent in the modern rock trenches, the members of Sebadoh would have either gone crazy long ago or simply thrown in the towel out of complete frustration were they not able to make the best of a complicated situation. For over two decades now, the band has rolled with every imaginable punch and their current tour (the band's first in four years) has proven to be no exception; the series of dates was originally scheduled to happen...

It's unlikely that anyone could possibly have known what to expect from Britney Spears after the world class calamity the singer embarked upon a couple of years ago. If you were in a coma or only recently emerged a self-imposed media blackout (those are pretty much the only ways you'd have missed it), Spears divorced, had a breakdown, released Circus (the closest to an anti-commercial album that a pop queen could release – as songs like “If You Seek Amy”...

To be honest, I did not come into this album prepared to enjoy it; I was ready to tear it apart. I was prepared for generic, used-up guitar riffs straining to achieve the heaviness of their hard rock brethren. I expected some mainstream, radio-friendly, pseudo-country hard rock, a sound that probably should have died along with the sales of underground Y2K bunkers. I expected the classic major label practice of stuffing the best songs into the first third of the...