Recently in Music Category

The Lehigh Valley News has an interview with Alex that covers work on the new album and memories of making Moving Pictures. An excerpt:

Lifeson says the band has six songs pretty much ready to go and three others almost done. The group plans to write at least a couple of additional songs after the tour. At this point, the CD is shaping up to be a musically varied work.

"There is the epic song, 'Clockwork Angels,' which is really taking shape. It's a multi-parted piece, very dynamic," Lifeson says. "Then there's some stuff that's very melodic and on the softer side, on acoustic, with a strong melody. So there's great diversity there. Honestly, I can't wait until we start really working on these songs. We've sort of got them to the stage where Geddy and I were happy with the arrangements and then Neil kind of comes in and starts working on his drum arrangements, and they go from there. So they're sort of in that pre-drum stage right now, and it's great to see them come to life."

Really looking forward to this!

From a new press release issued yesterday:

The first release from Clockwork Angels, Caravan, will be released on June 1, 2010, along with the album track BU2B (which I'm guessing is an instrumental).

Rush's 20th studio album will be released some time in 2011.

More information:

Both "Caravan" and "BU2B" will also be offered as a special Limited Edition CD single, available to fans through the band's official website as well as through various pre-sale tour packages. For full details, please visit Rush's official website at www.Rush.com.

Two covers of Baba O'Riley. First was seen over on Wil Wheaton's site, the second in the comments at Slashdot.

Think Geek cover, using their products:

The other is by Blue Man Group. Check the great percussion instruments.

There are times when I just can't get enough of The Sundays. Wish they'd do something new.

Here's Where the Story Ends:

Goodbye:

Cry:

I'd embed more, but Universal doesn't allow embedding of official videos for some insane reason.

The band's been on hiatus since 1997—the singer and her husnand the guitarist are raising their two kids.

OK, it wasn't really fame, just a concert review from 1994 that Adam and I posted to Echoes, the Pink Floyd mailing list, back in 1994. Adam's reposted it on the Brain Damage site.

The other day I decided to become more of a Yes completist and pick up their first two albums: 1969's Yes and 1970's Time and Word. A little poking around online and I cam up with the following prices:

• Buy and download the mp3 versions: at Amazon each album was $9.99, same price at the iTunes store.
• By the CD used at ebay: each was going for around $5, plus $3 in shipping.
• Buy the darnned things new: Amazon had each of them for $6.97. I wasn't about to try to find both of these pretty obscure titles at Target or Best Buy or Borders.

Who knew buying the physical product and having it shipped would be the cheapest? OK, I did cheat a little and bought a book at Amazon (Michael Palin's Diaries 1969-1979 The Python Years) to qualify for free shipping, but still.

Decent article on the renewed popularity of Rush over at the Chicago Tribune's site today.

Indeed, Alex Lifeson, Rush's guitarist, said he has noticed that fans who grew up with Rush seem "a little more detail-oriented in their professional lives." He said, in middle age, they seem disproportionately made up of engineers, chemists, economists and businessmen.

"Just yesterday I got an e-mail from an astronaut," Lifeson said. "A guy up in the space station. He brought a copy of our last album with him into space. I mean, this is amazing. You know how many Rush fans there are within NASA? A lot. I'll leave it at that. And I'm not just talking about the guys out in the field. Our fans are inside, close to the big programs. They run everything."

Today's birthdays: Shirley Bassey, Elvis Presley, David Bowie, and Graham Chapman. Has anyone created a mash-up of all of these? I'd listen to that.