So, it’s good news & bad news again, both related to CD release dates now.

The bad news first, this time: Billboard has announced that Interscope will be dumping more Guns ‘n’ Roses on us in late November when, after fourteen years and $13,000,000, Chinese Democracy becomes available, exclusively at Best Buy. Bad as it sound, there are two things I’m looking forward to: (1) the best possible review being “It’s an okay album but it really wasn’t worth the wait,” and (2) my free Dr. Pepper. Aside from that, I’m fine if we never post another word about it.

The good news involves the incomparable MC Frontalot’s new album Final Boss, which is released on November 4, but if you preorder it now, as I did, you can download it immediately and listen to it all the time until your physical copy is delivered unto you. Really, there isn’t a reason not to, unless you don’t like Front and are not interested in his new collection of recorded songs.

I’ve been enjoying it a lot, though. The beats are even tighter and more varied than last year’s Secrets from the Future, which could sound a little same-y in places. “Wallflowers”, the first single, and “Tongue-Clucking Grammarian” both have a dancefloor groove designed to get you hopping (”Wallflowers” even gives you instructions on how to dance the “Margaret Thatcher”). “Shame of Otaku” features a very chilled beat, like AM radio lounge meets G-Funk, and a Japanese hook. “Canadia” makes a fat beat out of “Oh Canada” and features Jesse Dangerously and Wordburglar rebutting Front’s accusation that Canadia is unpatriotic. At this point I will stop going song by song and encourage you to do it yourself.

MC Frontalot Official | On Myspace | On Facebook | On Twitter

So, there’s good news and bad news.

Bad new first: after a two year hiatus, during which he directed a pair of feature films, rap-rock uber-turd Fred Durst is starting to sound like he’s getting the band back together.

Good for him, right?  I really expect this to go over like a lead air raid vehicle, especially since Wes Borland isn’t likely to rejoin (Wes and I both, separately, came to the conclusion that Limp Bizkit is a terrible band after we heard 2000’s Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water).  So, some time in the future, we may have more Limp Bizkit forced upon us.  For his part, Wes Borland has started playing guitar for Marilyn Manson.

The good news is: New Rademacher record!!  The ERA ep came out on Tuesday and I’m still an internet-less putz (I’m writing from work right now).  They had this to say:

We are really, really, really excited to let you know that we have a new record for sale!!! We recorded it last spring and it is called ERA.  It is a little spooky, a little fun.  There is some ukelele on it and vocoders and loud guitars.

I’m really freaking excited, too.  I just need a chance to listen to it.  You lucky Internet persons, however, can do so now!!  You can buy it on iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody and more!!   There’s links to loads of reviews of it here, I can only tell you I love the band and hope you trust my judgment.

An interesting thing has come to my attention regarding my band, Birds Without, playing at the Avalon on Saturday.  It was an exciting prospect from the beginning, playing at a venue where I’d actually been to see a band I’d actually heard of before (I saw Love You Long Time, Dave also saw Eisley there, but I missed that one) and having people in the crowd who didn’t ride there with somebody playing that night, but it just got more exciting.  Turns out the show will be taped and available on ComCast’s On Demand Presents Band Wagon LIVE.  This is copy/pasted from the Avalon website:

ComCasts On Demand Presents Band Wagon LIVE. They will be filming live tonight at this show! Come show your local music support tonight on ComCast!

Tickets are ten bucks, doors at 6:30, show at 7:00.  The lineup will be Going Second, Uncomfortable Silence, Birds Without, The Desert, and our friends in Arienette, with whom we’ve played a few times.
I’m really excited to play this show, guys.  We’ve got a few new songs* that we’ve worked out, Dave got a drum kit, so this will be his first show on that instead of the bongos, and we haven’t played in a few weeks, I’m getting the itch (or maybe it’s just this Mountain Dew I had for breakfast).

Anyhow, come out and support us and Arienette and these other fine bands.  You can even do it without going to the Avalon (3605 South State Street)!  You can watch us at home (at least that’s my understanding of how On Demand works, I’m simple in the ways of cable and satellite teevee).

*”New” here meaning new to me.  Ned put a band together so he could play some of his newer, more experimental songs live, and then Dave (Ned’s brother) and Mick (who went to high school with Ned and played bass for him occasionally back then) got Ned interested in all these old songs he wrote in high school.  We’re working on rounding out the set, and even with all this old material, we’ve written one song since the band formed as such.

My two favourite piano-based pop singers, Ben Folds and Regina Spektor, will be performing together on tonight’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien.  The song, “You Don’t Know Me”, is the first single from Ben’s album Way To Normal, which came out on Tuesday.  When I saw Ben back in June, he played a fair number of songs from the new record and I’m really excited for it (yeah, I haven’t heard it yet, even though it’s up in its entirety on his MySpace page, once I get Internets at home I’ll be a much better informed blogger).  Somebody make sure to upload that one to YouTube so I can watch it later (I don’t have TV at home, either).

You Don’t Know Me by Ben Folds & Regina Spektor (MP3)

On Monday, keyboardist Richard Wright became the second founding member of Pink Floyd to pass away, following Syd Barrett’s passing in July of 2006.  Though most people think of either the troubled Syd Barrett, or Roger Waters and David Gilmour, who’s fueding lead to the band’s ultimate demise, but Wright’s keyboards were a major part of what defined Pink Floyd’s sound, and the part that I’m personally most able to get lost in.  So, in Wright’s memory, I’m including “Astonomy Domine” from the debut album Piper at the Gates of Dawn because Wright shared lead vocals with Barrett, and “The Great Gig In the Sky” from Dark Side of the Moon, because it was composed solely by Wright, and is also one of my favourite all time Pink Floyd songs.  Enjoy them.

The Cure released the first single from their upcoming (and as-yet untitled) thirteenth studio album today, with at least three more to accompany it. A song will be released on the 13th of every month leading up to the release of the 13th album on the 13th day of the 13th month September. 13 13 13. Robert Smith is making sure this album gets the attention that 2004’s The Cure didn’t by making a big to do about things. Which I appreciate.

The new single sounds like a Cure single, which I guess is the best we can hope for. Seems like every album after Wish in ‘92 is increasingly ignored, but Robert Smith is very excited about this one. It’s a double album, and he’s arranged to have it sold at a regular album price because it’s a decent thing to do. And because he likes the album. And because people aren’t about to pay double album prices ever again. Sound fair? Tune in next month for the next single, “Freak Show.”

Bonus Thingy!! I’m also including and MP3 for the song “The 13th” because I think it’s funny that they’ve already used that title so it can’t get mixed into this current rush of 13.

 The Cure - The Only One [3:57m]: Play in Popup | Download (2166)
 The Cure - The 13th [4:20m]: Play in Popup | Download