R.E.M. fans were devastated at the news that, after 31 years, the band decided to " call it a day".
Their final album will come out November 15, a 40 song retrospective that collects, for the first time ever, songs from R.E.M.'s entire back catalog, including the early years on IRS. A brand new song " We All Go Back to Where We Belong" will sent available October 18.   Â
The album " R.E. M. Part Lies, Part Heart. Part Truth, Part Garbage" is available for pre-order on Amazon. com.
Here's the line-up!
Disc 1:
Gardening At Night
Radio Free Europe
Talk About The Passion
Sitting Still
So. Central Rain
(Don't Go Back To) Rockville
Driver 8
Life And How To Live It
Begin The Begin
Fall On Me
Finest Worksong
It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
The One I Love
Stand
Pop Song 89
Get Up
Orange Crush
Losing My Religion
Country Feedback
Shiny Happy People
Disc 2:
The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite
Everybody Hurts
Man On The Moon
Nightswimming
What's The Frequency, Kenneth?
New Test Leper
Electrolite
At My Most Beautiful
The Great Beyond
Imitation Of Life
Bad Day
Leaving New York
Living Well Is The Best Revenge
Supernatural Superserious
ÃBerlin
Oh My Heart
Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter
A Month of Saturdays
We All Go Back To Where We Belong
Hallelujah
                Add another honor to the list  for Sir Paul McCartney. The legendary singer/songwriter will be honored as Grammy awardâs 2012 MusicCares Person of the Year. MusicCares is a program that ensures music people have a place to turn in times of financial, medical and personal need.
Sir Paul is being honored not just for his creative accomplishments, but also for his lifelong range of philanthropic activities said Neil Portnow, president of the MusicCares program .
Ever modest, McCartney had this to say: "I've been given a great gift -- a life making music -- and it's my privilege to try to make the world a better place by giving back," said McCartney. "For more than 20 years, MusicCares has helped so many music people in times of crisis -- whether with emergency financial assistance or access to addiction recovery resources -- and it is an honor to be recognized as the 2012 MusicCares Person of the Year."
Mccartney will be honored in February, 2 days before the 54th annual Grammy Award presentation. Â If you have the funds, thereâs a silent auction, with an exclusive selection of luxury items, VIP experiences and one-of-a-kind celebrity memorabilia for bidding guests. The reception and silent auction will be followed by a dinner, the award presentation and a star-studded tribute concert. Â Proceeds from the February 12 concert and auction will go to the MusicCares program.
Congratulations to Sir Paul  McCartney!
When I heard Amy Winehouse had died, I was very saddened. No, it did not come as a suprise, but it's still a loss nonetheless.
I rememberback in 2006 when I first heard " Rehab". My head kinda exploded from how great I thought that song was. No one could walk past my desk without me saying " Hey... you gotta hear this". When the full album arrived, I was so pleased to hear that Rehab wasn't a fluke.
Perhaps you only know her music from the few songs on the radio. Maybe you didn't know that she released an album in 2003 called " Frank", after Frank Sinatra. Did you know she was a jazz singer?
Check it out:
Before she met " the bad husband" and went down the the road to drugs, alcohol and tats, she looked like this:
Note how healthy and sweet she looked.
A of this morning, there was no word as to the cause of death. over the weekend I read stories that said it was bad Ecstacy. But People Magazine is saying there were no drugs hear her , and she was in bed when she died.
Whether it was a drug overdose, or just complications from destroying her body, 27 is just too young to die. Yes, she is not a part of the " 27 club", but I, for one, wished she'd have been in the "83 club."
Do you think we would have had an " Adele" if there hadn't been an Amy????
RIP Amy, and I leave you with one more song:
Unless you never turned on the radio in 2010, you couldn't have missed one EskimO's song Kandi. Have you ever wondered what " Kandi" has to do with the song?
It all started with Patsy Cline! Shortly before she died, she recorded a song called " He Called Me Baby".
In 2004, R& B singer Candi Staton covered the tune:
That's the female voice you hear in the One EskimO song.
And now you know.... the rest of the story.
You may already know that I got to host a Live from Studio M with Trey Anastasio during the period when we thought Phish had broken up for good, and Iâll get to that story later this week. But what you might not know is that I met him and Mike Gordon once before.
My BFF is NPR Weekend Edition host Liane Hansen. Every year we used to have a girls weekend in NYC. Sometimes I got us tickets to a show, sometimes she did. Several years before Phish had graduated from venues like the Barrymore to Alpine Valley, she did an interview with them. They told her they were fans of HER show as well, so when she asked to interview them again in the late 90âs they jumped at the chance.
Of course, we got tickets to see the show at Madison Square Garden. After the show, we got in line for a meet and greet so we could thank the guy from the Phish organization that got us the tickets. As we were waiting, a kid turned and asked us, âAre you the bandâs Moms?â Oh manâ¦LOL
Anyway, the next day we headed to the NPR studio in NYC for her interview. Trey and Mike showed up. First Trey shared a story that just happened. As he was getting out of the cab to come to the studio, a 14 year old boy recognized him and came running up to tell Trey that his mother had given him tickets to the show for his birthday and was SO excited to see him!!! Trey spent a few minutes  chatting with the boy. What a nice guy!
I canât remember much about the interview with Liane, but I remember sitting in the control room listening with THE BIGGEST grin on my face.
Oh yeah, the same grin I have in the photo we took afterwards!
As you probably know, Bruce Springsteen got his musical start playing in small clubs in Asbury Park NJ. One club whose name has become synonymous with Bruce is the Stone . Over the years there are always stories of Bruce just showing up and jumping on stage with the band. If I lived in Asbury Park, I think I'd be there all the time just in case...
This time the lucky ones were those who came to see Alejandro Escovedo, a friend of the Boss.
For those of  us who missed it, here's a taste of Beast of Burden.
Saturday night John Hiatt came back to the Barrymore Theater. He always puts on a great show, whether he's solo like last time, or with a 3 piece combo like the one he had on Saturday. If you've ever seen Hiatt in person, you how much fun it is.
This week you would have had even MORE fun if you were lucky enough to pay attention to the opening act, John Sieger from Milwaukee.
I got a chance to meet this songwriter before his set and was totally charmed by his dry wit and self deprecating humor. When he strummed a few chords backstage, I was taken by the pure sound of the guitar and was stoked to hear his short set. But from my seat at the rear of the theater, I couldn't hardly hear him due to all the talking around me. Well, I thought, this IS the next to last row and at least there are tons of people pushed up against the stage that were listening to John Sieger and HAD to be enjoying themselves.
Much to my dismay, I spoke with him after his set and he said people up against the stage were chattering away with their friends and not listening to him at all. This really bugs me. I wish people would show respect to the opening acts. Many times they have been personally invited by the headliner. Sometimes, it's a band's first appearance in Madison and we should welcome them warmly.I have been to many shows where the opening act was so good, I didn't care if the headliners even came out! Â Remember, at one time John Hiatt was someone's opening act.
So, for those of you who were there and missed him, this is John Sieger, a very good friend of Public radio's Michael Feldman, with whom he's written an album of songs together.
Enjoy:
How can you not love a band that names itself after a drumlin?
Madison's Bascom Hill, named after the hill on campus which once was the site of 1008Â Pink Flamingo's are on the brink of national success.
Originally from Kenosha, this band formed over 12 years ago, but cut their musical teeth here in Madison where they are now based. If you are a long time fan, you'd have recognized their songs on America's Top Model, Cheerleader nation, MTV's real World, Rock Rules and a whole bunch more.
They've got a new album out called Bascom Hill is out and available for download!
Check out this really cool video for their wong " My World ( Sucks to be You)"
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, it is another gorgeous Monday, fit for another great show at the Crystal Corner tonight.
Through locking ourselves in the barn on Irish Lane, tossing some ideas around, as well as a few choice beverages to...
Hey everybody, we were thrown for a loop by the twist this week, but were able to make one of our "oldie but a goldie" songs fit the mold.
We have a few songs that we have played consistently over the years, and we are very happy that we will be...
We just received word of what this weeks twist is, and...oh boy. We need to take our "signature song" and cut it to only 2:30 without going over. Amberstein does not simply play 2:30 versions of our songs...so this could be interesting.
Last...
In 1984, Rockwell rose to number 2 for 3 weeks in 1984 with "Somebody's Watching Me." The backup singer for the song was Michael Jackson. How did Rockwell get Jackson to help him? Well, Rockwell's real name is Kennedy William Gordy and he...
Have you heard the song "Rumble and Sway" yet on Triple M?
The singer sounds like a raspy blues dude who's definitely been around the block a few times....but surprisingly, Jamie N. Commons is only 23 years old!
He was born in England, but...
Last week, I decided I would try one new, healthy food a week, and asked my facebook friends to make some suggestions.
The first thing I tried was mango. I'm sure I've had other mango flavored things, and mango as part of something else, but...
There's only one thing that might be worse than the Neil Diamond/Barbra Streisand duet "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." And that's Jonathan Suttin doing his best crooning...doing both parts. Most unpleasant.
A lot of people liked this song...
Artist: Alchemilla
Hail From: Boston
Song: 'The Wheel'
Album: Diamonds From The Penny Arcade
Sounds Like: Hole, Pearl Jam
In Their Words: "Alchemilla had been trying to write a ballad for a little while but it wasn't happening. There...
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, it is another gorgeous Monday, fit for another great show at the Crystal Corner tonight.
Through locking ourselves in the barn on Irish Lane, tossing some ideas around, as well as a few choice beverages to...
Hey everybody, we were thrown for a loop by the twist this week, but were able to make one of our "oldie but a goldie" songs fit the mold.
We have a few songs that we have played consistently over the years, and we are very happy that we will be...
We just received word of what this weeks twist is, and...oh boy. We need to take our "signature song" and cut it to only 2:30 without going over. Amberstein does not simply play 2:30 versions of our songs...so this could be interesting.
Last...
In 1984, Rockwell rose to number 2 for 3 weeks in 1984 with "Somebody's Watching Me." The backup singer for the song was Michael Jackson. How did Rockwell get Jackson to help him? Well, Rockwell's real name is Kennedy William Gordy and he...
Have you heard the song "Rumble and Sway" yet on Triple M?
The singer sounds like a raspy blues dude who's definitely been around the block a few times....but surprisingly, Jamie N. Commons is only 23 years old!
He was born in England, but...
Last week, I decided I would try one new, healthy food a week, and asked my facebook friends to make some suggestions.
The first thing I tried was mango. I'm sure I've had other mango flavored things, and mango as part of something else, but...
There's only one thing that might be worse than the Neil Diamond/Barbra Streisand duet "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." And that's Jonathan Suttin doing his best crooning...doing both parts. Most unpleasant.
A lot of people liked this song...
Artist: Alchemilla
Hail From: Boston
Song: 'The Wheel'
Album: Diamonds From The Penny Arcade
Sounds Like: Hole, Pearl Jam
In Their Words: "Alchemilla had been trying to write a ballad for a little while but it wasn't happening. There...
