This past February 20th was Kurt Cobain’s 40th birthday.  We

caught up with Kurt on a recent Saturday morning as he watched

daughter Frances Bean’s soccer game.

 

Dad: Kurt, a lot of people never expected you to live to be 40

years old – how does it feel?

KC: I feel great, better than I have in years, really.  Sure, I’ve got a

few gray hairs and have put on a few pounds, but I can still play!

Dad: Well, there’s no doubt about that, the new music is stunning –

when did you take up the lute?

KC: Well after I heard Sting’s "Songs From the Labyrinth" that collection of 16th century ballads, I thought – "Why let him have all the fun? – I can play a friggin’ Lute!" But it is actually harder than it looks, mainly because of the tights and frilly shirts you

have to wear in order to get the authentic feel.   Lucky for me, Courtney is an amazing Lute player and she taught me a lot of tricks.

Dad: You are a Renaissance man!

KC: (Laughs) Well, Elizabethan really. (Yells) "Frances – get back

on defense! Run!"  Yes, a Renaissance man, a soccer Dad, married 15 years to the same great gal – it’s not the same crazy rock and roll lifestyle… but I like it.

Dad: That reminds me – where are the twins today?

KC: Courtney has ’em at Gymboree.  We’re all going to Chuck E.

Cheese after the game – some 4 year old’s Birthday party – I dig

that giant rat they have there.

 

Dad: Speaking of giant rats, when you played HFS-tival in 1999

and sang that year’s HUGE anthem "Y2K WTF?" – well, the

memory of  65,000 people chanting along "Y2K, Y2K,  Y2K  What

the F***?"  will be with me forever.

KC: That was a highlight for me as well, and that episode with

the giant rat in the dressing room – all is forgiven.

Dad: Thanks Kurt. So, at the end of the set that night when Krist

Novaselic threw his bass in the air and it hit him on the head *–

again – was that when you decided to make a change?

KC: Well that was the 5th time Krist had done that – he could

barely speak anymore his brain was so scrambled so yeah, that’s

when Jaco Pastorius joined the band and we went all Jazz-Fusion

for a couple years.

Dad: I do miss the old thundering Nirvana sound, rolling around a

stadium…

Kurt: Well, you won’t have to miss it much longer. The rumors are

true. Krist is feeling better now – Jaco is working on a spoken

word poetry thing with Jim Morrison and the old band has been

recording together for 3 months. The new album is out on June

19th and then we hit the road. We’ll be on tour from July well into

next year.  It’s the massive world-wide stadium tour I always

thought I would never do. But that was then, now it’s a damn

good excuse to get out of the house! 

Dad: Wow – that is huge news!

KC: The other surprise is Dave Grohl plays some guitar and sings on

the new CD.

Dad: What??? No way!  Dave Sings?

KC: Yeah – Who knew?  He’s been so shy about it. But turns out he

has, like, 145 songs he recorded at home – he might release them

as solo projects – "Foo Fungus" or something – I forget what he

calls it.

Dad: Amazing.  So, are you spending most of your time in the

Seattle area again?

KC: Yup.  We sold the houseboat to Johnny Depp and moved back

from France last fall – I have a place on Lake Washington right next

door to Hendrix.  We hang out a bit – you know, Bar-B-Q and shit.

He’s doing another collaboration with Sun Ra this summer – guy

never slows down – this will be his 100th album!

Dad: It’s tough to keep up with Jimi – I do read his blog. Speaking

of writing, that children’s book you did – "Whatever" – is my

daughter’s favorite!

KC: Aww it always makes me feel great to hear that. Tell her I said

"Nevermind!"

________________

* Watch the video clip from the MTV Video Music Awards 1992 – at

4:09 Novoselic tosses his bass in the air and misses the catch.

The other day Chelsea introduced me to a funny song called "I Must Be Emo (EmoKid) Download I_Must_Be_Emo.mp3   and I had to go dig up "Punk Rock Girl" by the Dead Milkmen to do my "It’s all been done before" lesson once again. I was reminded in that song of the greatness of Mojo Nixon, with this lovely lyrical couplet.

"We went to a shopping mall
And laughed at all the shoppers
And security guards trailed us to a record shop
We asked for Mojo Nixon
They said he don’t work here
We said if you don’t got Mojo Nixon then your store could use some fixin."

Ahhh, they really don’t write ’em like that anymore.

And they also don’t make videos as fresh funny free-wheeling and joyous as this one either.

I have been listening to an advance copy of the new Wilco recording "Sky Blue Sky" for several weeks now.  Once again, I am completely enthralled.  While the official release date is May 15th, the album has already been heard by tens of thousands of fans worldwide largely via their own website where the full release has been streaming for free for the past few weeks.

Listen here now

This band gets it. Free access and leaked copies are not killing this band – or their record label. They know that the internet is their friend. When the CD version is released in a few days it will be among one of the biggest sellers that week – possibly the biggest seller – and a lot of that is due to this widespread early exposure.  I know how good this recording is – and it is VERY GOOD, one of the most complete, fully realized albums I have heard in a long time.

This track has been posted in a lot of places and now you can get it here. This song is "What Light", back in the day it would have been called the single, now it’s a free sample. Take One.

Download 11_what_light.mp3

Well, we hit on a couple of our predictions, but honestly, none of our most sincere wishes.  So, you will recall headliners for Day 1 August 4th are The Police and The Beastie Boys, while on the Sunday August 5th bill we will have The Smashing Pumpkins and Velvet Revolver.  Here’s most of the rest of…

The ones we got right

Interpol – Yes, I was tipped off on this one.

Fountains of Wayne – OK, This one too.

Amy Winehouse – The more I hear the more I like. "Rehab" is great. Sounds like 1965 soul.

LCD Soundsystem –  Looking forward to this one, because, indeed Daft Punk is playing at my house. Really!

Modest Mouse – My biggest hit, with Johnny Marr (Smiths) in the band now, this is one not to be missed.

The Ones That are coming that are exciting surprises (for me anyway)

Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals – A great artist that I have never seen before, an excellent addition the the Saturday line-up.

Peter Bjorn and John – I was looking for Bjork, we got Bjorn. That’s the way it Bgoes.  These Swedes have given one of the great quotes of the year. When a reporter asked why they sing in English and not Swedish, the response was " English is the language of Rock and Roll. If Lou Reed starts singing in Swedish, then we will too."

Spoon – You can become familiar with Spoon by watching and listening to the recent Will Farrel movie "Stranger than Fiction". They have several songs on the soundtrack.

Cheap Trick – While I doubt that "At Pimlico" will have as big an impact as "At Budokan" did back in 1979, this should be a fun one.

In Addition to appearances by:

311, Bad Brains, Matisyahu, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Wu Tang Clan, Chris Cornell, Incubus, and more – all details on the very nicely done website .

My lineup was much better.

While the Festival organizers have not made any new announcements a few acts have shown up on Pollstar.com, including one of my predictions, Amy Winehouse. If you have not heard her great song "Rehab"  then stop everything and watch this clip from Letterman.

Speaking of Rehab…

Also added to the Sunday lineup is a big surprise – I did not see this one coming at all – Velvet Revolver. That would be Slash, Duff McKagen and Matt Sorum from Guns and Roses with Scott Wieland from Stone Temple Pilots. They will annoy the neighbors on Sunday night.

Three other acts are also on Pollstar, including the Fratellis – who I heard yesterday for the first time and 2 acts I have neither heard nor heard of, Paolo Nutini and Booka Shade. They are all on for Saturday.

More news soon!

The 2007 edition of the Virgin Festival was announced last week. It’s 2 days this year August 4th and 5th back at Pimlico Racetrack – an easy stroll for Dad!

So far they have announced only three acts:   The Police – The Smashing Pumpkins and The Beastie Boys. So we are off to a great start.

But this is 2 Full Days of Music. Last year there were 15 bands plus DJs in the Dance tent – so 2 days will mean perhaps as many as 30 acts. The ticket prices, on sale dates and additional line-up will be announced "in a few weeks" 

But Dad has the Inside Scoop Now!

OK, so I am making educated guesses and in some cases out and out wishes.  Let’s see how well I do. We’ll review my picks when the real list comes out. I didn’t do an NCAA bracket pool this year – so this will be my own personal “Final Four”

1. The Arcade Fire – A perfect addition. One of the hottest bands out there, they are on tour Through the summer – The date is open on Pollstar and I have my fingers crossed.

2. Jesus and Mary Chain – They are playing various Festivals this summer. They have recently re-united and according to the promoter Seth Hurwitz of I.M.P. This year’s Virgin Festival will "Give the kids a chance to see bands they never had a chance to see".

3. Which brings us to Sonic Youth.  They are lined up for several Festivals worldwide including Coachella and will still be on tour – In LA on July 20th they are doing a special performance of their finest work Daydream Nation Come on feel the noise art rock…

4. The White Stripes –  Jack White’s side project "The Raconteurs" played last year and the Stripes have a new CD coming out soon and they have numerous Festivals already on their schedule including Bonnaroo.

5. Kaiser Chiefs – Just a hunch…

6. Interpol – Playing the Toronto version of V-Fest. Let’s also add Fountains of Wayne to this line – I have heard from VERY RELIABLE sources that both of these bands are in, all the others are my own guesses, honest! 

7. Bjork is also playing in Toronto – that we be fun. We get so few Icelandic Princesses in Baltimore in August.

8. LCD Sound-system – This is an interesting group Electronica that Rocks.  "Daft Punk is Playing at My House"  was too cool and the new one "North American Scum" is funny too. They are NOT British – "We’re from North America!" However, they are playing several British Festivals.

9. Nine Inch Nails – Why the hell not?

10. Gogol Bordello – Start Wearing Purple! They are on the bill at Reading, Leeds and Coachella – why not V-Fest?

11. Arctic Monkeys – Bigger than the Beatles? Not Yet, they need to play Pimlico first!

12. Kings of Leon – These rocking brothers have a new release and are looking to break big.

13. Lily Allen – on the bill at V-Fest in LDN.  How about in BMD?

14. The Proclaimers – Hmmm, on the V-Fest bill in UK – Many kids never saw them. Could be a nice early in the day act.

15. The Kooks would fit right tin…

16. Happy Mondays – on the bill at V-Fest UK would be GREAT to see them here, bit of a long shot.  Rent or Buy the DVD 24 Hour Party People. 24 Hour Party People

17. Thievery Corporation – a fave from last year – Bring them back!

18. Wilco – The new CD Sky Blue Sky  is brilliant  – not out officially until May 15, Bonnaroo is only US date so far …

19. Patti Smith – Hey I’m one of those kids who never got to see her.

20. Beck – Playing V-Fest in Australia in April – No US dates or other festivals announced.  A long shot but a wish.

21. Modest Mouse – Skipping this area on the current tour….

22. Iggy Pop and The Stooges – Yet another big reunion band that all us kids never got to see. I did see Iggy at an HFS-Tival, but it wasn’t The Stooges. Still rocked.

23. Foo Fighters – Dave’s a DC guy and they ARE on the bill for V-Fest UK…

24. Damien Rice – On the mellower side, but selling a lot of tickets in mid sized halls and playing the UK Festivals.

25. Rage Against the Machine – Another Reunion act that would be a strong addition.

26. Amy Winehouse – All sorts of Buzz building around her, seems like a likely fit.

27. Echo and the Bunnymen – I just like saying the name…

28. Muse – another big buzz band. They are HUGE in UK Playing 2 nights at Wembley Stadium in June…

29. The Hold Steady – From the Ottobar to the Festival a HUGE leap they can do it!

30. Clay Aiken – Just Kidding – He’s already booked for the Greek Theater in LA that  weekend…

That’s Enough – Who’s on your list – add a comment!

We no longer hear so much about the "New Dylans" coming along. It turned out the old Dylan was just fine, thank you very much.  If you happen to be one who has not yet listened to "Modern Times", Dylan’s brilliant recording from last year – well, as soon as you are done here – go buy it.

Dad’s Guarantee – Money Back if not delighted.

But, we aren’t here today to praise Bob, but to discuss the Springsteen-esque phenomenon.  Numerous recent releases have been widely regarded as being "Springsteen-esque", including Sam’s Town by The Killers. On the song "When You Were Young" they go as far as to mimic the step down to build up and explode from the middle of "Born to Run". They stop just short of yelling "One Two Thee Four!" but I am sure they were tempted… 

Then we have The Hold Steady. "Boys and Girls in America"  which sounds like the Boss if he went on a 3 month bender and showed up wild-eyed and unshaven with a notebook full of visions – threw it at the band and said "Here – find some derelict to sing this stuff – I need a nap."  But trust me here – this is a good thing. 

Which brings me to The Arcade Fire’s brilliant "Neon Bible".  This album is so freakin huge that it can’t be fully felt on an ipod, or in a car, or on tiny home speakers – You need HUGE Speakers and a Big Room – Klipsch Horns in a Church would be about right.  Then spread a futon on the floor and alternate between sitting pinned to your seat, jumping up and punching the air with your fist  and falling flat on your back rolling in the cathartic waves of sonic bliss.   If Klipsch horns, a church and a futon are not readily available – just make do with what you have and pretend.  But I think you’ll get the idea. 

The Perfect Stereo system for "Neon Bible" and Beethoven’s 9th…