You can now hear a snippet Mark Ronson's officially sanctioned soul-dance reworking of Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde classic "Most Likely You Go Your Way (and I'll Go Mine)." It's only about 45-seconds, but you get the gist of it pretty quickly: Cleaned-up Dylan vocals layered over a Stax-style rhythm section, some bouncy horns and even a high-pitched trumpet squawk that recalls the early '90s hip-hop of DJ Muggs (Cypress Hill, House of Pain). The sonic preview is to hype the forthcoming 3-disc best-of which promises to be the "definitive" greatest hits package (and, in addition to 50 classic Bob tracks, will include Ronson's redo). Dropping October 1, the deluxe box includes postcards, three cool mini vinyl sleeves and a 40 page booklet.

Pitchfork is reporting that Brighton, England's brightest pop/rock/hip-hop group the Go! Team are returning to the U.S in October for a short jaunt, including two dates in Southern California and a pair in NYC. Their sophomore album Proof of Youth (Sub Pop) hits stores in the U.S. on Sept. 11. Here are the dates:

10-13 - Chicago, IL - Double Door
10-15 - Seattle, WA - Neumos
10-17 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
10-19 - San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine
10-20 - Pomona, CA - Glass House
10-21 - Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex
10-25 - Boston, MA - Paradise
10-26 - Philadelphia, PA - TBA
10-27 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
10-28 - Brooklyn, NY - Studio B
10-30 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

Photo: Olivia Hemaratanatorn/Variety

eMusic, the second-biggest digital music retailer behind you-know-who, pacted with AT&T to open up its catalog to cell phone subscribers. The download service specializes in indie fare and offers some songs that aren't available on iTunes.

Users will be able to download five songs per month for $7.49. Every song downloaded can be transferred to a harddrive or iPod.

On the eve of "Appetite For Destruction's" 20th anniversary, we could be one step closer to a full-blown Guns N' Roses reunion. The Key Club in Hollywood hosted a semi-reunion Saturday when ex-drummer Steven Adler's newest band, Adler's Appetite, was joined onstage by former GnR members Duff McKagan (bass) and Izzy Stradlin (guitar) for two "Destruction" tunes, "Mr. Brownstone" and "Paradise City." It was the first time the three have played together live since 1990. Slash was reportedly in attendence, but did not perform with the group. Axl Rose, of course, was a no-show.

Harpist, singer and critical darling Joanna Newsom will be playing a handful of orchestra dates in the U.S. this fall, including one night at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in L.A., where she will be accompanied by 28 instrumentalists.

10-21 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater
11-04 - Grass Valley, CA - Music in the Mountains
11-09 - Los Angeles, CA - Walt Disney Concert Hall
11-17 - Atlanta, GA - Woodruff Arts Center Symphony Hall

Rock royalty/reality TV star Kelly Osbourne, daughter of Sharon and Ozzy, is set to star in the West End production of "Chicago" starting September 10, and running until October 27 at the Cambridge Theatre. Osbourne will play Mama Morton, the role essayed by Queen Latifah in the 2002 film version.

After doing this for the grand total of 25 days, it is time for a vacation. I'll be gone for two weeks but musically minded Dave Lewis will be comandeering the site. Unfortunately I'll miss "South Pacific" and the "Sgt. Pepper" re-creation at the Bowl, Bonds' 756th home run, an interesting Barolo tasting at Mozza Pizzeria and that Dead week on Sirius radio.
Heading to San Sebastian, Spain, where on July 30, 2002, Radiohead performed at Teatro Kursaal.  They played:

There There / Scatterbrain / Wolf at the Door / We Suck Young Blood / Myxomatosis / A Punch Up at a Wedding / Sit Down, Stand Up / I Might Be Wrong / Morning Bell / Lucky / Talk Show Host / My Iron Lung / Exit Music / Dollars and Cents / Pyramid Song / National Anthem / hunting bears / Idioteque / Everything In Its Right Place / Like Spinning Plates / Airbag / Climbing Up the Walls / Paranoid Android / Sail to the Moon / How to Disappear Completely

USA Today's Edna Gundersen, one of the best in this business of reporting-writing-critquing, got seven of the 10 "American Idol" finalists to explain their plans for the newspaper's "Idol" blog. What they don't seem to realize is that they were not as distinct as the class that came before them in which it was clear which direction six of them would take once the show ended. With the applause still ringing in the ears of the Season Six finalists, they don't seem to realize the real world is not quite sure exactly who Kimberley Locke is. And yet Chris Richardson sees himself as the fture of soulful rock.Oh these children.
Today they have visions of a roses and rainbows future, not the charts of recent musical revenue generated by Justin Guarini, Jasmine Trias and Corey Clark.

Jordin Sparks, who hopes to have an album in stores by Thanksgiving, said her effort is "kind of Kelly Clarkson’s pop edge meets Beyonce meets Carrie Underwood."
ANALYSIS: She is doing what she's told and singing the songs that have been chosen for her. There's no evidence that she has a unique style, but she feels she has a style that will elicit radio airplay.

Blake went to 19 Recordings with seven songs recorded and they apparently said "Cool, let’s do it."
ANALYSIS: There's no announcement yet from 19, so it's unclear if he is even signed. What he wants to do and what a label sees as his marketplace might be rather separate.

Melinda wants "to get the old school to team up with the new school" and record songs that are "funky, bluesy, soulsy.”
ANALYSIS: Paging the newly relaunched S-Curve Records. This is your gal.

Chris Richardson said he has written for Jordin, Blake and Phil. He says he's no Justin Timberfake, he's a faux Adam Levine.
ANALYSIS: Is there a demand for Maroon 5 wannabes?

Phil said he's moving to Nashville in the fall after his Navy term is up. He says he's singing at the Navy’s birthday celebration in October and he'll record a country album. "I’m not signed," he says.
ANALYSIS: Bonus points for honesty. He found his niche late in the season and that was in country ballads. He'll need someone with considerable ProTools experience as he rarely begins a tune smoothly and in key. 

Haley, who has a musical theater voice and look, shocked the blogosphere with her pronouncement she wants to make a country record.
ANALYSIS: Is a tribute a everybody's favorite '70s country tart Tanya Tucker unreasonable? How about a twangy mix of "Oklahoma!" and "Chicago"?   

Gina's demo is "kind of Evanescence meets Pink."
ANALYSIS: In other words, neo-Goth melodies with Goth-glam guitars, a throbbing beat, Goth-lite clothig and makeup with lyrics about un-Goth boys.

Chris Sligh is being chased by labels for his band's "pop/rock with some danceable stuff." He calls it "the Killers meets U2 meets Switchfoot."
ANALYSIS: When artists pile on the historic referneces like that one always has to wonder what element of the band do they mean? Since the Killers are the Cure meets the Smiths meets U2 meets Joy Divison minus joylessness and Switchfoot is  U2 meets "Nevermind" meets the Gin Blossoms and U2 is, well, U2, does he just mean lots of sonic layers, lots of energy, bold vocals and big drums?

Great Jones Cafe is one of my favorite places in Manhattan, to the point where no Gotham visit is complete without a stop there with my buddy Keith.
The Cajun Martini is staggeringly spicy; the beer is always cold; and the Louisiana-style food is pretty damn good. Jukebox is aces, too.
Plus one of the country's greatest CD/record stores, Downtown Music Gallery, is across the street.
Tonight (Friday, July 27) Nanette is behind the bar.

Tickets for Vegoose go on sale Saturday at the festval's website.
Current lineup for the Las Vegas fest at Sam Boyd Stadium & Star Nursery Field on Oct.  27  and 28 is:

Rage Against The Machine / Daft Punk / Iggy & the Stooges performing the album "Fun House" / Muse / The Shins / Cypress Hill / Queens of the Stone Age / Public Enemy / Michael Franti & Spearhead / Umphrey's McGee / Thievery Corporation / STS9 / Ghostface Killah & The Rhythm Roots Allstars / Blonde Redhead / Gogol Bordello / U.N.K.L.E. / Ghostland Observatory / Pharoah Monch / Battles

VEGOOSE AT NIGHT:
Thievery Corporation
Oct 26th
House of Blues

Umphrey's McGee
Oct 27th
House of Blues

Michael Franti & Spearhead
Oct 27
The Joint ­ Hard Rock

STS9
Oct 28
House of Blues

The Shins
Oct 28
The Joint ­ Hard Rock

The soundtrack to "The Song Remains The Same" is getting the deluxe reissue treatment, with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones overseeing the remixing and remastering of the original release. New version, being released Nov. 20, includes six songs that were not on the original release - "Black Dog," "Over The Hills And Far Away," "Misty Mountain Hop," "Since I've Been Loving You" and "The Ocean," and "Heartbreaker."
Cameron Crowe has penned the liner notes.
Warner Home Video will be issuing brand-new DVD editions of "The Song Remains The Same."  DVD will feature 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound, and more than 40 minutes of added bonus material, including never-before-released performance footage of "Over The Hills And Far Away" and "Celebration Day"; plus performances of "Misty Mountain Hop" and "The Ocean"; a 1976 BBC interview with Plant and Peter Grant; and vintage TV footage from the Drake Hotel robbery during the New York concert stand.
Clear the space on the shelves. It will be released as a Deluxe Edition DVD ($19.97 SRP); Deluxe Edition HD DVD and Blu-ray ($28.99 SRP each); and Limited Collector's Edition - a 2-disc set that includes collectible vintage T-shirt with original album artwork design, soundtrack CD, lobby cards, reproductions of original premiere invites, tour schedule, and more (price TBA).
Atlantic Records/Rhino Entertainment will also release a two-CD Led Zep compilation, "Mothership," on Nov. 13.

British boogie rockers Status Quo are doing what any band would do after playing the same riff for for 30 years: Head to Thailand and make a movie. Band, which has no credits on imdb beyond a few TV appearances, will star in Thai-set comedy caper “Care Factor Zero.”

Nickelodeon will premiere a live-acton music series titled "Yo Gabba Gabba" on Aug. 20 that, obviously, seems mighty close to "Gabba Gabba Hey," the rallying cry of the Ramones in the '70s.
The similarities are remarkable.
The Ramones got out their "Gabba Gabba" message by having a guy hold up a sign amid a crowd of oddballs. So does Nick.
Nick says their "Gabba" will provide "simple life lessons." The Ramones, too, provided simple life lessons, including beating on brats, getting a girlfriend and sniffing glue.
Nick's "Gabba," their press release reads, has "an original beat-driven soundtrack." Is there anything more beat driven than the 1-2-3-4 count of the Ramones?
Nick has a hiphop "legend" in Biz Markie in a recurring role. Dee Dee Ramone once made a rap album.
Bands that will appear on Nickelodeon include the Aquabats, the Aggrolites, the Shins and the Postmarks.  Once again, the Ramones stand out as true originals.

This year's Grammy Awards have a new major contender: will.i.am.
The first solo album from the Black Eyed Peas mastermind, "Songs About Girls," will be released  Sept. 25. That release date, as we have noted, is the last Tuesday before the cut-off for Grammy eligibility.
The first single, “I Got It From My Mama,” is being released  to Top 40 and Rhythm Crossover radio  this week. 
Will described the album to Rolling Stone as “Boy meets girl.  Boy gets girl.  Boy goes to strip club.  Boy gets caught cheating.  Girl leaves.  Boy and girl somehow get back together.”
The album has only one special guest: Snoop Dogg, who is featured on “Donque.”
Will explains: “I didn’t want to come out and say, ‘Hey, I’m a producer and here are all my friends.’I wanted to be my own man and do my own thing and really try out some ideas that have been bubbling in my head.”

Sirius will air a sneak preview of its Grateful Dead Channel Aug. 1-9 on channel 17.
The Grateful Dead Channel will feature studio, live and unreleased concert recordings, plus new commentary from  Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh and Bob Kreutzmann. Archival interviews from Jerry Garcia will also be part of the mix.
Channel 17 is titled Jam-On, Sirius’ home for jam bands. Regular programming resumes Aug. 10.  There is no date set yet for the launch of the Grateful Dead Channel though it will occur this summer.

When the company that owns Billboard purchased Radio & Records, the airplay tracking company MediaBase had nowhere to print its charts. Billboard closed its Radio Monitor, and R&R began using the Nielsen data that Billboard also uses. MediaBase has been running an ad in USA Today touting its genre by genre playlists and now Music Connection will be carrying the airplay charts on its website.

  The John Mellencamp-Stephen King "play with music" received some workshop performances last week in New York, which appear to have led to the securing of some seed money for a production.
"The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County" involves two bickering brothers and their father who visit a cabin where the father's brothers had killed each other. The dead brothers' ghosts are part of the story as well.
Mellencamp also paid a visit to  Comedy Central’s "Colbert Report," where things got out of hand and Stephen Colbert challenged Mellencamp to a fight.
“That New York trip last week was very productive," Mellencamp said upon his return to Indiana. "The play went well and so did the visit to 'The Colbert Report.'  I got to work with two guys named Stephen and nobody got hurt ... but it was touch and go with one of them.”
Mellencamp returns to New York on Sept. 9 for  Farm Aid 2007: A Homegrown Festival on Randall’s Island.

Coldplay is informing its fans via its website that its next album will have the flavors of South America and Spain.
Band is recording in Barcelona going from church to church and setting up wherever they can - at the altar, between some pews. The quartet had visited Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico earlier this year.
"The sights, sounds and flavors of Latin America and Spain have definitely been infused into this album," the band writes. "The effect is subtle but important."
The BBC reported the story first.
Chris Martin had noted his fascination with Buenos Aires ina  February post on the site.

ON SALE THURSDAY
Guster, Avalon, Sept. 15

ON SALE FRIDAY
Sinead O’Connor, Orpheum Theater, Sept. 18
Fifth annual Art Laboe Show starring Amanda Perez, Blue Magic, Honey Cone, Barbara Lynn, Temprees,  Al Wilson,
Hyundai Pavilion at Glen Helen, Sept. 8
Of Montreal / Grand Buffet / MGMT, Avalon, Nov. 9 

ON SALE SATURDAY
Aly & AJ, House Of Blues, Sept. 8
Jaguares, House Of Blues,  Sept. 20 and 21
Muse / Juliette & the Licks, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Sept. 21
Young Jeezy, House Of Blues, Oct. 1 and 3

Opening week sales for Suzanne Vega's fine new album "Beauty & Crime" were indeed criminal: 6,000. Disc debuted at No. 129. Here's a show she played 20 years ago - Aug. 6, 1987 - at the Warfield Theater:

Tom's Diner / Straight Lines / Small Blue Thing / Cracking / Ironbound>Fancy Poultry / Luka / The Queen and the Soldier / Knight Moves / Calypso / Undertow / Solitude Standing / Language / Left of Center / Neighborhood Girls / Marlene on the Wall / Night Vision / In the Eye

With a band that boasted Jaco Pastorius, Pat Metheny, Don Alias and Michael Brecker, Joni Mitchell offered this show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Aug. 5, 1979. (Mitchell's return to recording will be released Sept. 25 on Hear Music).

Big Yellow Taxi  / Just Like This Train / In France They Kiss On Main Street / Coyote / Edith and the Kingpin / Free Man In Paris / Goodbye Porkpie Hat / Jaco's Solo / Dry Cleaners From Des Moines / Amelia / Pat's Solo / Hejira / Don's Solo / Dreamland / Black Crow / Furry Sings the Blues / God Must Be A Boogie Man / Raised On Robbery / Shadows and Light / The Last Time I Saw Richard / Why Do Fools Fall In Love? / Woodstock

Patrick Goldstein's Tuesday column was killed by the Los Angeles Times, though LAObserved.com snagged a copy, and in it Goldstein suggested that the Times follow the lead of the U.K. Mail on Sunday, which recently included copies of the new Prince CD in its Sunday edition. Circulation hit 2.9 million.
His argument is rock solid: Newspapers need to attract readers; so called "heritage" artists are looking for new ways to get music into the hands of consumers; partnerships would help save the paper from compromises such as front-page ads.
But what he proposes is getting music from "heritage" artists, or presumably ones he likes: Elvis Costello, Beck, Ryan Adams, Ry Cooder, Lucinda Williams and Steve Earle. His mistake? Prince was a superstar and remains a person of interest to millions. On top of that, he is an intelligent free agent willing to turn his back on the old-fashioned machine.
What Goldstein doesn't appear to realize is that all but one of the artists he lists, Earle, have comfortable deals with major labels. Recording costs are picked up, they get artistic freedom and they have a marketing partner in the label. Unlike Prince, none of them were ever superstars.
In Los Angeles, an empire built on hype, the albums that the L.A. Times should be including
in Sunday editions need to have mainstream appeal and a marketing tie-in. The hip factor is not necessarily who is on the disc, just the existence of free entertainment.
Disney should be on the horn with the Times suggesting a "High School Musical 2" sampler or a single from Hillary Duff; producers and performers from a small film like "Once," which has built an audience slowly, should be looking into what it can do to drive more soundtrack sales and box office.
Newspapers have to supply something that a good percentage of its readers might want; that means "American Idol" finalists,superstars of the past and the kid that your kids watch on TV.Katharine McPhee, Mick Jagger and Raven - Sunday could be made for you.
Prince got his CD in the paper to coincide with him playing 21 days in a newly christened venue. It's about keeping his name out there. Finding another artist of his stature willing and capable of going that route will be tough.
If Elton John moved his Red Piano show from Las Vegas to another city, a giveaway would be smart. Cheap Trick is playing the Hollywood Bowl and pretending to be the Beatles so why not reacquaint people with their catalog? And wouldn't it be marvelous if Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic created a send-off disc when he departs the podium next year? Talk about an item that would have people talking across the country and Europe.
The guy that would be the best fit, considering the demographic of current newspaper readers, is reportedly checking out his recording options. James Taylor - who has not signed with Starbucks' Hear Music. A new album from JT. Free. That would be a coup.

Forty years ago this week, while the nation was dealing with race riots and their aftermath, Variety was touting the hot singles being released that week. The list: Eric Burdon & the Animals’ “San Franciscan Nights,” Frank Sinatra’s “The Word We Knew,” Beach Boys’ “Heroes and Villains,” the Byrds’ “Lady Friend,” the Youngbloods’ “Get Together,” Traffic’s “Paper Sun,” Jackie Wilson’s “(You’re Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” and Otis Redding’s “Glory of Love.” Takes your breath away. It’s a reminder there are no slates of releases like that anymore.
On a positive note, though, Variety has resumed reviewing albums after decades of sticking to concerts. Reviews of albums by Nicole Atkins, Corey Harris, U.N.K.L.E. and others are found on the Variety music page.

While we're not quite sure what remains unreleased, Amaru Entertainment and Afeni Shakur, co-administrator of the Tupac Shakur Estate, have asked the court to block Death Row Records and R. Todd Neilson from including Tupac Shakur's unreleased tracks, compositions or sound recordings in the auction of Death Row Records.
  The complaint was filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles on July 20.
The injunction sought to restrain the sale of certain assets belonging to the Tupac Estate which are being touted as part of the Death Row Records bankruptcy assets.  With closed bidding ending July 24, lawyers for the Tupac Estate sought full disclosure by the Bankruptcy Trustee's counsel that the unreleased master recordings in question were not part of the sale. Lawyers for the estate say  recordings should have been turned over to the Tupac Shakur Estate in 1997, pursuant to a settlement agreement reached with Death Row Records.
At the time of his death, Tupac had recorded approximately 152 unreleased songs. Since his death in September 1996, Death Row has created nine albums, including "The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory," from the vaults. By our calculations that's about 125 songs, which means the last 30 or so must be true bottom of the barrel.

Hits magazine is reporting that James Taylor will be the next artist signed to Starbucks’ Hear Music label.
Starbucks will be announcing its second signing on Wednesday.
The company, which had partnered with other labels to release albums by Ray Charles, Herbie Hancock and others, became a standalone unit with Paul McCartney's "Memory Almost Full."That album has sold 450,000 copies since it was released on June 5.
Taylor most recently recorded for Columbia. A number of pundits have suggested that free agent Joni Mitchell might also  join the label.

Pollstar reports a scam artist attempted to convince a Texas club owner that he could deliver former Runaway Lita Ford, at a basement price, for a concert. Figuring the price was too low, he investigated and learned she has  retired. There was no word on whether the scammer is booking Kari Krome, too.

Guest vocalists for the Beatles bonanza at the Hollywood Bowl on Aug. 10 and 11. Before Cheap Trick performs of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" in its entirety, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra will trot out other Fab Four faves with Cheap Trick as the house band. With the orchestra, Ian Ball of Gomez will sing "Strawberry Fields Forever," Rob Laufer, who once played George in "Beatlemania" and participated in an earlier Beatles-George Martin tribute concert at the Bowl, will sing "Norwegian Wood"; and Joan Osborne will do "The Long And Winding Road." Aimee Mann will do "Blackbird." Orchestra will also perform "Magical Mystery Tour," "Eleanor Rigby" and "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End." An Indian instrumental ensemble will perform George Harrison's "Within You Without you."

Variety.com colleague Dave Lewis was thrilled by Sonic Youth's show at the Greek and then equally impressed by their KXLU fund-raiser on Saturday morning. His report:

Sonic Youth closed out Toyota's traveling Free Yr Radio live series (each show benefiting a different local indie radio station) by rocking the preppy right out of the Santa Monica Urban Outfitters.
Transformed into an intimate, club-like setting, the retail store made a fine location for the noise-poppers to tear through a handful of songs, stretching from their early days ("The World Looks Red") to their most popular period ("Bull in the Heather") to their latest effort "Rather Ripped."
Bassist/vocalist Kim Gordon stoked the crowd with her energetic dancing, and Thurston Moore was engaging and comical talking about the store's location on the Third Street Promenade. Like their Friday performance, Lee Ranaldo seemed to be enjoying himself the most, and his huge smiles contrasted with his brutal guitar work. Their brief performance paired nicely with their long Friday night set, at which they played "Daydream Nation" straight through. (They ignored music from that disc at Urban Outfitters).
The show benefited Santa Monica College's radio station KXLU, and while fully sponsored by the Toyota Yaris and Urban Outfitters, the event  felt like  one of the station's myriad other fundraisers. 200 or so lucky fans got to attend the gig, with DJ DNTEL of  The Postal Service opening with an eclectic set that was largely ignored by the impatient crowd. It didn't help matters that he was on the side of the stage, out of sight for most of the audience.

Click here to read Variety's review of Sonic Youth's Friday night show at the Greek Theater.

Kelly Clarkson has posted a message on the front page of her Website "to set the record straight.
"I want my band, my advisors, those close to me and my record label to be one big, tightly knit family," she writes.
"A lot has been made in the press about my relationship with Clive (Davis). Much of this has been blown way out of proportion and taken out of context. Contrary to recent characterizations in the press, I'm well aware that Clive is one of the great record men of all time. He has been a key advisor and has been an important force in my success to date. He has also given me respect by releasing my new album when he was not obligated to do so. I really regret how this has turned out and I apologize to those whom I have done disservice. I would never intentionally hurt anyone."

Comedy Central roasted Flavor Flav, the Public Enemy timekeeper turned reality TV star, on Sunday night with a handful of comics he had never met, a former paramour and a pair of rap artists. As Jeff Ross asked: "How do you embarrass a crackhead with a viking helmet?"
Naturally, the bulk of the jokes involved sexual practices and appetites. Jokes about Flav focused on his dark complexion, his height and offspring (seven kids from six women, or so it seemed). More time was spent abusing the other members of the dais than Flav and Snoop Dogg's insults, which followed his considerable consumption of cognac, are actually repeatable.

The old rule of the music biz used to be that record sales drive concert sales, and vice versa.
But it’s tough these days to find an act that can deliver robust album sales and move concert tickets.
Apart from Justin Timberlake — whose “FutureSex/LoveSounds” is the seventh highest selling album of the year (998,000 copies) and whose tour is No. 2 on the concert chart ($42.3 million gross) — few acts placed prominently on both mid-year tallies.
Concert promoters will say it’s nothing new, but for more than a decade they’ve fretted about the paucity of artists  with staying power as arena or even stadium acts.

When the inventive and genre-busting guitarist Nels Cline is not playing with Jeff Tweedy and pals, he leads his instrumental band the Nels Cline Singers. Cline has a gem of a new album, "Draw Breath," on Cryptogramophone, a worthy successor to his album of interpretations of Andrew Hill compositions. He does his thing on this video. Cline also has an mp3 page. 

Sonic Youth toured Europe in early 1989 in support of "Daydream Nation," the album they are playing in full this year in Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Chicago, Berkeley and several cities in Europe and the U.K. On March 23, 1989 at the Kilburn National Ballroom in London,  Sonic Youth's set featured six songs from "Daydream":
 
Brother James / The Wonder / Hyperstation / Eric's Trip / Candle / Kissability / The Sprawl / Cross the Breeze / Teenage Riot / Hey Joni / White Kross / Expressway to Yr Skull / Silver Rocket / I Wanna Be Your Dog

Bruce Springsteen and Pete Seeger have recorded the folk classic "Hobo's Lullaby" for "Give US Your Poor," a multi-artist CD devoted to fighting homelessness.Appleseed Recordings will release the disc Sept. 25.
All but two of the tracks ("Here and Now" by Mark Erelli and "1,000 Miles Away" by Jewel) are exclusives.Several of the artists collaborated with currently or previously homeless musicians.
The other tracks: "Land of 10,000 Homeless - Minnesota" – audio documentary set to music; "Show Me the Way" – Jon Bon Jovi & Mighty Sam McClain; "Baby Don't Let Me Go Homeless" – Keb Mo & Eagle Park Slim; "There Is No Good Reason" – Natalie Merchant & Friends; "So Lonely" – Sonya Kitchell; "Becky's Tune" – Michelle Shocked and Michael Sullivan; "Walking the Dog" – Bonnie Raitt & Weepin' Willie Robinson; "My Name Is Not 'Those People'" (spoken, with music) – Danny Glover; "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" – Madeleine Peyroux; "Portable Man" – Del Goldfarb & John Sebastian; "Boll Weevil" – Dan Zanes & Kyla Middleton; "Ink Falling (Father Outside)" – Buffalo Tom; "Stranger Blues" – Sweet Honey in the Rock; "Impossible Boulevard" (spoken excerpt, with music) – Tim Robbins; "Feels Like Home" – Mario Frangoulis; "When We Left Minneapolis (spoken, with music)" – Danny Glover.

Three albums by three superb soul singers have release dates. J Records will release Alicia Keys "As I Am" on Nov. 6. Van Hunt's four track EP "The Popular Machine" will be released digitally on Aug. 7; Blue Note will release his full-length disc "Popular" on Jan. 15. And Angie Stone's "The Art Of Love And War," her first for Stax, will hit retail on Oct. 16.
Hunt says he shut out all media during the making of the album except for a little talk radio and some Franz Liszt. Judging by his song titles, though, he appears to have at least read the backs of Prince albums. Some of the cuts: "ur personal army," "there's never a g'time 2 say g'bye," "ur a monster, parts 1 & 2."
  Stone recorded her album at Marvin’s Room, Marvin Gaye’s former studio on Sunset Boulevard. She co-produced and wrote nearly the entire album. Betty Wright duets with her on one track.
Producers on Keys' album, which is still being recorded, include Kerry Brothers, Linda Perry, Mark Batson, Jack Splash, Harold Lilly and Marsha Ambrosia (from Floetry).  Alicia describes the overall sound of the album as "Rock 'n Soul - Janis Joplin meets Aretha Franklin."

Lucinda Williams is joining the trend of devoting a concert to a single album, except that she has loaded up pratically the entire catalog.
Williams will play five nights at L.A.'s El Rey and follow it up with five in New York, two at Irving Plaza and  three shows at Manhattan’s Town Hall
Each show will be dedicated to a single album followed by a set of music from her latest disc "West."
The albums she'll be performing are: her 1988 self-titled disc, "Sweet Old World," "Car Wheels On A Gravel Road," "Essence" and "World Without Tears."
Williams will perform the albums in reverse chronological order; first night in each city, therefore, gets "World Without Tears."
Williams will play the El Rey Sept. 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10; Irving Plaza on Sept. 29 and 30, and Town Hall on Oct. 2, 3 and 4. Tickets for the shows go on sale Saturday.

Everybody sing: The weather is terrible! There are too many drunk Iowans! Rex Grossman sucks!
International artists Tellervo Kalleinen (Finland) and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen (Germany) are extending an invitation to all Chicagoans to complain about any topic they like and to sing their complaints out loud with fellow complainers.
People may submit complaints and register to participate by visiting Smog Veil Records online at SmogVeil.com or by emailing complaintschoir@yahoo.com. All of the participants, along with Chicago-based musician and conductor Jeremy Jacobsen, will write the song together.  This process will be realized in a workshop consisting of five rehearsals (Oct.16-­Nov. 2).
The premiere performance will take place at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art on Nov.3.
The first Complaints Choir performance took place in Birmingham, England two years ago and since then Complaints Choirs have sung in  Helsinki, Hamburg and St. Petersburg.
Smog Veil Records, in collaboration with the artists and the Danish production company Fine & Mellow are working on a documentary film of the project which will debut in 2009.

Tompkins Square has already issued two gorgeous collections of instrumental guitar music - volumes 1 and 2 of "Imaginational Anthem - which only adds to the anticipation for the company's 3-CD Box Set “PEOPLE TAKE WARNING! Murder Ballads & Songs of Disaster 1913-1938.”
Disc will be released on Sept. 25, perfect timing for it to become this year's "Lost Sounds: Blacks And The Birth Of The Recording Industry 1891-1922." That album won the Grammy for historical album; Sept. 25 is the last Tuesday before the Grammy eligibility deadline.
"People Take Warning" features 70 recordings from the likes of Charley Patton, Ernest Stoneman, Furry Lewis, Charlie Poole and Uncle Dave Macon, plus a forward by Tom Waits.
Set is produced by Christopher King, who won a Grammy for the beyond brilliant "Screamin' And Hollerin' the Blues - The Worlds Of Charley Patton," and Henry “Hank” Sapoznik.
Some of the music has already been posted on the official Website.

An interesting program is on next week's Hollywood Bowl calendar.

Cedric the Entertainer will host the Jazz at the Movies program at the Hollywood Bowl on July 25.
Bassist Christian McBride, the Creative Chair for Jazz at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is  music director for the evening; arranger and composer Vince Mendoza will lead a jazz orchestra performs along with clips.
Herbie Hancock's great score for "Death Wish" is on the bill as are the scores for "Anatomy of a Murder," "The Pink Panther," "Blazing Saddles," "The Blues Brothers," "Catch Me If You Can," "Mo' Better Blues," "Elevator to the Gallows,"  "Ocean's Eleven," "Austin Powers" and some  James Bond pics.
Trumpeter Wallace Roney will perform on "Elevator To the Gallows" and "Death Wish," and singer-pianist Jamie Cullum will perrform "Trouble Man."

Concerts go in sale this week in Los Angeles:

ON SALE THURSDAY
Brand New / Thrice,  Wiltern, Nov. 3, 4 And 5

ON SALE FRIDAY

Of Montreal / Grand Buffet Management, Avalon, Nov. 8

ON SALE  SATURDAY

Mandy Moore & Paula Cole, House of Blues,  Aug. 23

Screamfest 2007 Featuring T.I., Yung Joc, T-Pain And Lloyd, Sept. 1 & 2

Common, Wiltern, Sept. 7

Scorpions, Gibson Amphitheatre, Sept. 15

Peter Bjorn & John /  The Clientele, The Wiltern, Sept. 17

Michael McDonald / Patti Austin / Marc Antoine / Poncho Sanchez, Greek Theatre, Sept. 28

India.Arie / Ottmar Liebert / Philippe Saisse Trio, Greek Theatre, Sept. 29

They Might Be Giants,  Avalon, Oct. 3

Zucchero, House of Blues,  Oct. 15

The Cure, Santa Barbara Bowl, Oct. 11

Maroon 5 / The Hives / Phantom Planet, Staples Center Nov. 8

There will be no Sanjaya wigs or fauxhawks for sale on the current "American Idol" tour. But for 10 bucks, the fan who forgets to make a sign before leaving the house can get equipped with paper and markers at the show.
The "paper fan marker set" is one of 34 items that Brothers Entertainment Merchandising is offering on the current "Idol" tour. It stops Monday at Staples Center.
Highest -priced item is a $50 blue zip hoodie with the words "07 American Idols Live" printed over the image of a guitar. (Do any of the 10 finalists in the show even play?)
Five dollars will get you an 8X10, a magnet or a glowstick, but fans of Haley Scarnato and Chris Sligh may be disappointed when they find no T-shirts honoring their personal Idols. Only Jordin and Blake are on the T's being sold.

Against Me! sold one-sixth the number of albums that Interpol sold in the week ended Sunday, but in the list of indie bands making the leap to major label debut from the indie sector, the discs were one and two.
Against Me!'s "New Wave" sold 12,000 copies to debut at No. 57, according to Nielsen SoundScan.It is the Florida band's first album for Sire, part of Warner Music, and their fifth album overall. Fronted by  Tom Gabel, Against Me! made a splash in 2002 with folk punk album "Reinventing Axl Rose" on the No Idea label. Three albums on Fat Wreck Chords followed.
Butch Vig produced the new album, which boasts a much cleaner sound than the other discs, even as Gabel rails against fame and music scenes. His take on protest songs, "White People for Peace," has a cool video.

In honor of this evening's Stax at 50 concert at the Hollywood Bowl, let's turn the clock back to June 8, 1968, when Booker T. & the MG's played this set at Winterland in San Francisco:

Never My Love / (Sweet, Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone / I Don;t Mind / Knock on Wood / Booker-loo / Hey Joe / Green Onions / Hip Hug-Her / Born Under a Bad Sign / Overall Junction / The Sky is Crying

The Mark-Almond Band, led by a couple of guys who played in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers on the landmark "Turning Point" album, had one of those underground FM single hits, "The City." It was one of those wild fusiony blends of jazz and folk and prog-rock that some of us couldn't get enough of, back in the early '70s. In a 1978 Philly concert, they fused it with a snippet of Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind" - and then played the song for half an hour. 30 minutes. One song. Lotsa flute. Wolfgang's Vault has the evidence.

Thirty-one years after she started performing, Siouxsie Sioux has finally prepped a solo album.
Decca will release on Oct. 2 "Mantaray," Siouxsie's  first solo recording  without  the  Banshees  or  the Creatures.
Steve Evans (Robert  Plant)  and Charlie  Jones have produced the disc, a flack reports, to showcase "Siouxsie's iconic vocals ...  in a  newly  expansive sound."

The tracklisting:

1. Into a Swan
2. About to Happen
3. Here Comes that Day
4. Loveless
5. If it Doesn't Kill You
6. One Mile Below
7. Drone Zone
8. Sea of Tranquility
9. They Follow You
10. Heaven and Alchemy

Darius Rucker has undergone three surgeries to clear a staph infection in his left knee which has further delayed Hootie & the Blowfish's summer tour.
Shows booked for July and early August have been rescheduled.
Not being rescheduled are shows in Roslyn, Wash., Jacksonville, Oregon, Ventura and Turlock, Calif.
Hootie & the Blowfish will still perform three songs Friday on CBS’s "The Early Show."

On a monthly basis, the RIAA likes to tout the number of singles, albums and ringtones that have hit gold and platinum status. Songs like “Buy U A Drank,” which has shipped – a term that gets mighty vague in the digital age – 2 million copies.
But beyond the awards given to Justin Timberlake, Rascal Flatts and T-Pain, there are those mastertones from the catalogs being rewarded with plaques on the wall. June’s oldies that kept phones and cash registers rigning were:
Platinum: "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye and “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi  Lauper.
The Gold winners are: AC/DC's  “Thunderstruck,” “Highway To Hell,” “You Shook Me All Night Long” and “Hell's Bells”;Charlie Daniels Band’s “The Devil Went Down To Georgia”; Henry Mancini’s “Pink Panther Theme”; Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and the instrumental version – sorry Dave Bickler - of Survivor’s “Eye Of The Tiger.”

The first night (July 15) of the Smashing Pumpkins' residency at the Fillmore in San Francisco:

United States / Doomsday Clock / Bleeding the Orchid / Blue Skies Bring Tears / Starla / Today / Bullet with Butterfly Wings / Hummer / Lucky 13 / Heavy Metal Machine / Tonight Tonight / For God and Country / Rotten Apples / If All Goes Wrong / The Leaving Lament / To Sheila / Glass + The Ghost Children / Tarantula / Starz / Zero / Disarm / Untitled / That's the Way (My Love Is) / Neverlost / Drown / Silverfuck / Gossamer

Today - July 17, 2007 - marks the 40th anniversary of the death of John Coltrane. The tenor saxophonist who affected jazz on a level parallel to the effect the Beatles had on pop music, his legacy continues to grows for a handful of reasons. No 1: Listeners finally get it. It has taken box sets, tribute concerts, McCoy Tyner's testifying and arrangements for big bands for it all to set in - the passion this man transferred from his lips and lungs into sound remains untouched - there was no one better before and no one has come close to touching his legacy since. And for novices, the simple way to assess his music is in chronological order; it all becomes crystal clear if one hears "A Love Supreme" later rather than sooner.
Clearly he was the last giant figure in the music's history: no jazz players have approached his depth as a composer, innovator and performer. The most recent raiding of the vaults has produced "My Favorite Things: Coltrane at Newport," a 1965 concert that was released two weeks ago.
A roundup of today's Coltrane offerings on the Web: Bret Primack has a documentary on the relationship between Coltrane and Sonny Rollins; Newsday has a piece on Coltrane's New York home and a classic video; one 1965 performance of "Naima" is on YouTube; and details are set for the 30th John Coltrane Memorial Concert, which will take place in September in Boston. Sadly, JohnColtrane.com has not been updated for some time.
P.S. It was the critic Ira Gitler who coined the phrase "Sheets of Sound" to describe Trane's style. he came up with the term in late 1958 after Coltrane had left Miles Davis band and was about to embark on of the greatest journeys in the history of American music.

Former Mercury Prize winners Arctic Monkeys and Dizzee Rascal have made a return to the Mercury Prize Shortlist, a collection of a dozen albums competing to be named the U.K.'s best.
Along with recent discs from those two acts, Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" is considered a front-runner for the prize. Rascal was nominated for "Maths + English"; Arctic Monkeys are up for "Favourite Worst Nightmare."
The list is largely bands that have yet to make any sort of mark in the U.S. Nominees are Bat for Lashes' "Fur and Gold" ; Fionn Regan's "The End of History" ; New Young Pony Club's "Fantastic Playroom" ; Klaxons' "Myths of the Near Future" ; the Young Knives' "Voices of Animals and Men"; Maps' "We Can Create"; the View's "Hats Off to the Buskers" ; Jamie T's "Panic Prevention"; and Basquiat Strings' "Basquiat Strings with Seb Rochford."
The winner will be announced Sept. 4.
Now in its 15th year, the Mercury Prize has become a significant prize for U.K. acts, helping boost sales at home and abroad.