Video exclusive unveiled at Blurt + review of the new live album.

By Fred Mills

It's officially James McMurtry day at Blurt (first 10 callers win an all-expenses paid trip to the Texas singer-songwriter's artistic aesthetic). Ergo, we've unveiled his new video from his new album Live in Europe, out today on Lightning Rod Records.

The vid is for "You'd a Thought (Leonard Cohen Must Die)" and it's a corker, as our British pals might say. Go here to check it out in our video kiosk.

Meanwhile, we've also got a review of the album just posted to the site this morning. Sez we:"it  offers the distinctive pleasures of a typical James McMurtry show, with his thousand and one guitars of perfect tone." Go here to read the review.

McMurtry, incidentally, is one of our most-viewed bloggers. If you haven't read his Blurt blog, Wasteland Bait & Tackle, you're missing out big time...

Employs Thom Yorke-approved "pay what you want" method for new release.

By Blurt Staff

Britain's Tilt, which consists of musicians that have collaborated with artists as diverse as KT Tunstall, Sugababes and Porcupine Tree release 'Long Gone' from their acclaimed debut EP, Million Dollar Wound as a 2-track digital single on October 12th 2009.

The nucleus of the band consists of Steve Vantsis, Dave Steward and Robin Boult. For the new song they are featuring vocals from guest singer Kaela Rowan, best known for her work with esteemed Scottish outfit Mouth Music. It shows a quieter, melancholic side to Tilt and has already received glowing reviews.

'Long Gone' is available exclusively as a pay-what-you-want download from the band's BandCamp site: http://tilt.bandcamp.com

More news on the band: www.milliondollarwound.co.uk

Take THAT, Radiohead! From his ‘80s debut LP with Skid Roper to more recent solo and Toadliquors offerings, and maybe even a Led Zep or Kenny Rogers tune to boot, it's all free-free-free.

By Fred Mills

Gadzooks! It's a freebie frenzy for twisted raconteur and BLURT hero Mojo Nixon, who is offering up nearly all of his back catalog in digital format - totally free. No charge. Nada. Zip. No strings attached. Not even a pay-what-you-want, tip-jar strategy.

It's all part of a timely, consumer-friendly promotion for his new album Whiskey Rebellion that was just released on Oct. 6, and it'll be running for roughly another two weeks.

That's right, root hogs, operators are standing by to take your call, er, mouse click, over at Mojo's Amazon.com store. That's where you can select from 147 DRM-free MP3s, or, if you are inclined to nab entire albums, you can download any or all of the titles listed below; there's also a handful of singles including covers of Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks" and the First Edition's "Just Dropped In to See What Condition My Condition Was In."

If you're not up on your Mojo Nixon, check out his Wikipedia page, pronto, pal, or head over to his official website. If you're on Sirius/XM radio, you've probably heard his daily weekday (4-8 pm) show on the Outlaw Country channel, or his weekly political talk show, "Lyin' Cocksuckers," that airs Thursdays at 8pm. Now sing along with us: " I saw Jesus At McDonald's at midnight/ Don Henley must die!"

With Skid Roper:

• Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper (1985)
• Get Out Of My Way! (1986)
• Frenzy (1986)
• Bo-Day-Shus!!! (1987)
• Root Hog or Die (1989)
• Unlimited Everything (1990)

Solo:

• Otis (1990)
• Mojo Nixon Live at The Casbah 12/28/2003 (2003)
• Whiskey Rebellion (2009)

With the Toadliquors:

• Whereabouts Unknown (1995)
• Gadzooks!!! The Homemade Bootleg (1997)

Collector's edition comes in a working guitar amp?!? WTF!!

By Blurt Staff

Backtracks is what's being billed as the  "ultimate AC/DC collector's experience," available Tuesday, November 10. We are all about ultimate collector's experiences. Here's the scoop:

Arriving in two distinctly different fan-friendly editions, Backtracks spans the length and breadth of AC/DC's career, bringing together rare songs, hard-to-find live performances and the long-awaited debut of "Family Jewels Disc 3," a DVD showcasing the group's music videos, live performances, and promotional clips from 1992-2009.  (The original double-disc "Family Jewels" was named 2005's "DVD of the Year" by the UK's Classic Rock magazine while the RIAA certified the collection 10x Platinum for sales in excess of 1 million copies in the US alone.)

Manufactured in an exclusive run limited to 50,000 pieces, the deluxe collector's edition of Backtracks includes a CD of studio rarities, two CDs of live rarities, the "Family Jewels Disc 3" DVD, the "Live at the Circus Krone" DVD, a front-row immersion in the band's scorching 2003 club show in Munich, Germany, and a 12" long-playing album, struck in 180 gram vinyl, of hard-to-find studio tracks.  The limited edition Backtracks includes a five-disc media carrier to house and transport the set's three CDs and two DVDs.

In addition the deluxe collector's edition comes with a 164 page coffee table book and an Original Memorabilia Reproductions Envelope containing an astounding array of facsimiles including the "I DO IT FOR AC/DC" button (the band's very first tour merch), the 1976 "Lock Up Your Daughters" tour flyer, the Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap recording track sheet, a 2' x 3' 1977 Let There Be Rock European Tour poster, a Bon Scott parrot tattoo replica, an AC/DC logo guitar pick, an Australian Money Talks dollar, three b&w fine art lithographs of never-before-seen photos of the band in the Alberts Studio in 1977 and more.

The AC/DC deluxe collector's edition of Backtracks comes housed in a fully operational AC/DC guitar amplifier.  The limited and numbered deluxe collector's edition of Backtracks will be available direct-to-consumers exclusively through the website www.acdcbacktracks.com with full details on pre-ordering going live on the site on Tuesday, September 29.

The three-disc standard version of Backtracks distills the electrifying essence of the deluxe set into one CD of studio rarities, one CD of hard-to-find live tracks, and the indispensable "Family Jewels Disc 3" DVD.

AC/DC

BACKTRACKS: COLLECTOR'S EDITION DELUXE BOX SET

CD1 [STUDIO RARITIES]

1. High Voltage (Original Australian Full Edit)

2. Stick Around

3. Love Song

4. It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘N' Roll) (Original Australian Full Edit)

5. Rocker (Original Australian Full Edit)

6. Fling Thing

7. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Original Australian Full Edit)

8. Ain't No Fun (Waiting Around To Be A Millionaire) (Original Australian Full Edit)

9. R.I.P. (Rock In Peace)

10. Carry Me Home

11. Crabsody In Blue

12. Cold Hearted Man

13. Who Made Who - 12" extended mix

14. Snake Eye

15. Borrowed Time

16. Down On The Borderline

17. Big Gun

18. Cyberspace

CDs 2-3 [LIVE B-SIDES]

CD 2

1. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Sydney Festival 1/30/77)

2. Dog Eat Dog (Apollo 4/30/78)

3. Live Wire (Hammersmith Odeon 11/2/79)

4. Shot Down In Flames (Hammersmith Odeon 11/2/79)

5. Back In Black (Landover, MD 12/21/81)

6. T.N.T. (Landover, MD 12/21/81)

7. Let There Be Rock (Landover, MD 12/21/81)

8. Guns For Hire (Detroit, MI 11/18/83)

9. Sin City (Detroit, MI 11/18/83)

10. Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution (Detroit, MI 11/18/83)

11. This House Is On Fire (Detroit, MI 11/18/83)

12. You Shook Me All Night Long (Detroit, MI 11/18/83)

13. Jailbreak (Dallas, TX 10/12/85)

14. Shoot To Thrill (Donington Park, 8/17/91)

15. Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be (Donington Park 8/17/91)

CD 3

1. High Voltage (Donington Park 8/17/91)

2. Hells Bells (Donington Park 8/17/91)

3. Whole Lotta Rosie (Donington Park 8/17/91)

4. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Donington Park 8/17/91)

5. Highway To Hell (Moscow 9/28/91)

6. Back In Black (Moscow 9/28/91)

7. For Those About To Rock (We Salute You) (Moscow 9/28/91)

8. Ballbreaker (Madrid 7/10/96)

9. Hard As A Rock (Madrid 7/10/96)

10. Dog Eat Dog (Madrid 7/10/96)

11. Hail Caesar (Madrid 7/10/96)

12. Whole Lotta Rosie (Madrid 7/10/96)

13. You Shook Me All Night Long (Madrid 7/10/96)

14. Safe In New York City (Phoenix, AZ 9/13/2000)

LP

SIDE A

Stick Around

Love Song

Fling Thing

R.I.P. (Rock In Peace)

Carry Me Home

Crabsody In Blue

SIDE B

Cold Hearted Man

Snake Eye

Borrowed Time

Down On The Borderline

Big Gun

Cyberspace

DVD 1 "Family Jewels Disc Three"

VIDEOS

Big Gun

Hard As A Rock

Hail Caesar

Cover You In Oil

Stiff Upper Lip

Satellite Blues

Safe In New York City

Rock N Roll Train

Anything Goes

BONUS VIDEOS

Jailbreak

It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘N' Roll)

Highway To Hell

You Shook Me All Night Long

Guns For Hire

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (LIVE Album Promo)

Highway To Hell (LIVE Album Promo)

BONUS FEATURES

The Making Of Hard As A Rock

The Making Of Rock N Roll Train

DVD 2 "Live At The Circus Krone"

Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be

Back In Black

Stiff Upper Lip

Shoot to Thrill

Thunderstruck

Rock N Roll Damnation

What's Next To The Moon

Hard As A Rock

Bad Boy Boogie

The Jack

If You Want Blood (You've Got It)

Hells Bells

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Rock N Roll Ain't Noise Pollution

T.N.T.  

Let There Be Rock

Highway To Hell

For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

Whole Lotta Rosie

AC/DC

BACKTRACKS: STANDARD EDITION

CD 1 [STUDIO RARITIES]

1. Stick Around

2. Love Song

3. Fling Thing

4. R.I.P. (Rock In Peace)

5. Carry Me Home

6. Crabsody In Blue

7. Cold Hearted Man

8. Snake Eye

9. Borrowed Time

10. Down On The Borderline

11. Big Gun

12. Cyberspace

CD 2 [LIVE RARITIES]

1. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Sydney Festival 1/30/77)

2. Dog Eat Dog (Apollo 4/30/78)

3. Live Wire (Hammersmith Odeon 11/2/79)

4. Shot Down In Flames (Hammersmith Odeon 11/2/79)

5. Back In Black (Landover, MD 12/21/81)

6. T.N.T. (Landover, MD 12/21/81)

7. Let There Be Rock (Landover, MD 12/21/81)

8. Guns For Hire (Detroit, MI 11/18/83)

9. Sin City (Detroit, MI 11/18/83)

10. Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution (Detroit, MI 11/18/83)

11. This House Is On Fire (Detroit, MI 11/18/83)

12. You Shook Me All Night Long (Detroit, MI 11/18/83)

13. Jailbreak (Dallas, TX 10/12/85)

14. Highway To Hell (Moscow 9/28/91)

15. For Those About To Rock (We Salute You) (Moscow 9/28/91)

16. Safe In New York City (Phoenix, AZ 9/13/2000)

DVD "Family Jewels Disc Three"

VIDEOS

Big Gun

Hard As A Rock

Hail Caesar

Cover You In Oil

Stiff Upper Lip

Satellite Blues

Safe In New York City

Rock N Roll Train

Anything Goes

BONUS VIDEOS

Jailbreak

It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘N' Roll)

Highway To Hell  

You Shook Me All Night Long  

Guns For Hire

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (LIVE Album Promo)

Highway To Hell (LIVE Album Promo)

BONUS FEATURES

The Making Of Hard As A Rock

The Making Of Rock N Roll Train

Fridays in November confirmed for L.A. residency.

By Blurt Staff

The solo debut album from Julian Casablancas, Phrazes for the Young, will be released November 3 on Cult Records/RCA (Rough Trade in the U.K.). In support of the release, Casablancas will perform a special series of shows every Friday night in November in Los Angeles.

Casablancas wrote and orchestrated every musical detail on the album from poly-rhythmic drum beats to harmonizing guitar solos. Highlights include the first single, "11th Dimension," already getting critical huzzahs along the line of "catchier than the Strokes," which is... interesting!

The record was written and recorded over the last 18 months with studio work completed in Los Angeles, New York City and Nebraska. The project was produced by Jason Lader with additional production by Mike Mogis.

Track listing:

1.      "Out of the Blue"
2.      "Left & Right in the Dark"
3.      "11th Dimension"
4.      "4 Chords of the Apocalypse"
5.      "Ludlow St."
6.      "River of Brakelights"
7.      "Glass"
8.      "Tourist"  

Album trailer, interviews, news, etc.: www.juliancasablancas.com

A stream of "11th Dimension" can be heard at his MySpace page: www.myspace.com/juliancasablancas

Limited edition tour-only CD, kinky USB wristbands, digital downloads, etc. etc. etc.... oh yeah, they're touring, too...

By Blurt Staff

The Pixies, currently about half-way through their sold-out European "Doolittle Tour," are recording their shows in London (October 6-9), Amsterdam (October 13), Brussels (October 14) and Paris (October 15-16), and then making a collectors/limited edition CD of those shows available.  Only 1000 copies of each collectors edition CD set will be made, and fans can purchase them beginning about 10-minutes after the end of the shows, or by going to http://pixieslive.sandbag.uk.com  The CDs are priced at £15.00.

In addition, 500 custom USB wristbands, priced at £20.00, will be available at the "Doolittle" shows as well as online.  The wristbands will include that night's show plus the added bonus of the five videos created specifically for the "Doolittle Tour" and featured as part of the show's live production.  

Both the CD and USB wristbands can be shipped worldwide, and can also be purchased as a digital download.

Fans and audiophiles will be particularly excited as the audio is mixed and mastered "on-the-fly" utilizing a full multi-track setup combined with microphones strategically placed in the audience to capture a true "live" feel.

The Pixies' "Doolittle Tour" is in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the release of their classic 1989 album, Doolittle, and the band is preforming all of the album's songs and its related B-sides.  Doolittle was the band's third album and includes classics such as "Debaser," "Wave of Mutilation," "Here Comes Your Man," "Hey," and "Gouge Away."

The tour, which kicked off October 1 with two sold-out nights in Dublin, has received rave notices - five-star reviews in the [London] Times, the Guardian, and the Independent, which also said, "...no band has pulled off a one-album show as triumphantly as the Pixies did here with a 20th anniversary performance of their 1989 masterpiece Doolittle...a show that was a lesson in how a legendary band can reunite and actually enhance its status and its dignity."

For more information on how to purchase the Pixies' limited edition CDs and USBs, visit
http://pixieslive.sandbag.uk.com

Remaining dates for the European leg of the Pixies' "Doolittle Tour" are as follows:

OCTOBER

 9 Brixton Academy, London England

11 Jahrhunderhalle, Frankfurt, Germany

13 Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam, Holland

14 Forest National, Brussels, Belgium

15 Zenith, Paris, France  

16 Zenith, Paris, France

The Pixies kick off the U.S. leg of their "Doolittle Tour" with three dates at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.  That itinerary is as follows:

NOVEMBER

4 The Palladium, Los Angeles, CA

5 The Palladium, Los Angeles, CA 

6 The Palladium, Los  Angeles, CA

8 Fox Theater, Oakland, CA 

9 Fox Theater, Oakland, CA 

10 Fox Theatre, Oakland, CA

12 Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA 

13 Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA 

14 Hult Center, Eugene, OR

16 The Fillmore, Denver, CO 

17 The Fillmore, Denver, CO

20 Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL

21 Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL 

23  Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY

24 Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY 

25 Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY  (early show and late show)

27 Wang Center, Boston, MA 

28 Wang Center, Boston, MA 

30 Constitution Hall, Washington, D.C. 

DECEMBER

1 Constitution Hall, Washington, D.C. 

Webcast of the group's show at the 9:30 Club starts at 9:30 pm.

By Blurt Staff

Dinosaur Jr continue their promotion of their latest album at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC tonight (Thursday, Oct. 8). NPR Music will be webcasting the show live via www.npr.org/music (it will later be archived at the site). It's part of the broadcast system's "Live in Concert" series.

Dinosaur Jr. begins its 9:30 appearance at approximately 9:30 PM ET and it can be heard in its entirety here.

The original line-up of the Massachusetts group that helped define indie and alternative rock in the late 1980s and early '90s reunited and hit the road soon after issuing re-mastered versions of their first three albums. Two new albums later, it's as if J Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph never abandoned the freak scene. This tour supports their new album, Farm, released this spring to rave reviews thanks to its return to the earlier, heavy style that made Dinosaur Jr. an alt-rock cult favorite.

Lou Barlow and the Missingmen will open the show doing material from Barlow's new Goodbye Unknown album and they'll be part of the broadcast as well.

How about some 2 piece slide blues whiskey fantasy? How about that? How? Here!

By Blurt Staff

Brooklyn noismongers Bottle Up & Go are doing a special show tonight (Oct. 8) at Brooklyn's Southpaw venue - also on the bill will be Drummer (featuring the Black Keys' Patrick Carney) and the Royal Bangs. Show starts at 8:30, so don't tarry.

According to BU&G's MySpace page their key influence is "Leadbelly" and they sound like "2 piece Slide Blues Whiskey Fantasy," which goes down just fine with us! Ergo, we are giving away tickets to tonight's show.

Just go to the BLURT contest page to enter in the ticket drawing - don't worry, all we need is your contact information, social security number and the time of day you are generally not at home... okay, kidding about some of that...

Hey-ho, go see Bottle Up & Go.

They still love records... vinyl... artwork... CDs, too.

By Blurt Staff

Despite Thom Yorke being widely quoted recently as saying that Radiohead "can't possibly dive into" the making of another full-length again ("It'll kill us"), guitarist Ed O'Brien is now saying that Yorke's declaration is probably premature.

Ateaseweb.com is reporting that O'Brien has been talking to UK media and indicates that winter recording sessions are being planned for a projected 2010 release. "WE WILL BE MAKING AN ALBUM!" said O'Brien, adding, "We're going into the studio in winter. It's always miserable! Are we at the whim of the seasons? We are! When you're in a studio in the countryside, the music you make is definitely affected by what season it is."

Well, all right then!

"And we all like vinyl," continued O'Brien. "That's not going to go away. I still like CDs as well. I got the Speech Debelle CD the other day - I nearly downloaded it from iTunes but I thought, ‘No. I want the physical thing.'"

So do we, Ed, so do we. Please tell all the record labels and p.r. flacks who insist on sending us downloads and streams of new releases that we're still fans and collectors and want to be able to review the physical thing...

Mark your calendars for Dec. 12... ticket and lineup details still to come.

By Fred Mills

With the release of the new Gov't Mule album By A Thread (Evil Teen) just around the corner - it's due Oct. 27 - word arrives this morning of additional Mule-related news: the date of the annual Warren Haynes Christmas Jam.

The 2009 installment of this star-laden benefit (for Habitat For Humanity) concert will be held at the Asheville (NC) Civic Center on December 12 - most likely there will also be the traditional pre-Jam jam the previous night at the Orange Peel club. The lineup for this year and on-sale date for tickets have not been announced yet, however, so watch this space for details.

The Asheville Citizen-Times is further reporting that in honor of the Haynes Jam a special "official beer" has been created by local brewers Asheville Brewing. Called "Christmas Jam White," it's a wheat beer described as "made in the Belgian wit style with a hint of orange and coriander in the taste."

Well, all right then!

"It's one of the most important beers that we've made," brewer Mike Rangel told the newspaper. "We had to make a great beer because this is a great event."

Boy howdy to that.

To read our 2008 interview with Haynes in which he discusses the history of the Christmas Jam and talks about the '08 edition which was a two-night 20^th anniversary blowout, go to "20 Years of Xmas Jams."