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
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.
Think about how many devices you have that access the Internet. Every day, more and more smart phones and net books get sold. Some cars now can access the Internet and more will be added. So what does this all mean? We're running out of addresses. No, not the ones you type in that start with www, but the actual address assigned to your device.
I'm sure you've seen these string of 4 numbers with periods after them. According to the American Registry for Internet Numbers, the system can only handle 4 Billion addresses and they expect these to run out in less than a year. YIKES!
But don't panic. They have researchers working on the problem . Let's just hope it's not the same people who attempted to cap the oil spew in the gulf.
What an awesome show Weed's has become. It started with a suburban mom, recently widowed trying to earn money by selling pot to her neighbors. After 5 seasons, the show has taken many dark turns, involving grow houses, Mexican drug lords and gun smuggling, leaving us with quite a cliff-hanger. I, for one, can't wait to see what happens next.
The promo for the new season shows great promise, using the song " Terrible Things" from April Smith and the Great Picture Show. Check it out:
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:
As Triple M Music Director, I'm always on the lookout for cool new bands. So please meet Mumford & Sons.
Although the band hails from London , they sound a bit like the US jam/rootsy scene and are HUGE in Australia. You might have caught them on Letterman or Craig Ferguson.
I was also excited to hear that they will appear on a soon to be released album of Ray Davies and Kinks cover songs.
Check them out with this official video of Little Lion Man.
There is a fascinating program on NBC this season called ' Who Do You Think You Are". Originally seen in Britain, the show follows famous people seeking to trace their ancestry by traveling to the places their ancestors lived.
The first episode was Sarah Jessica Parker who was able to trace her mother's side of the family all the way back to Salem Mass. at the time of the witch trials. Football star Emmitt Smith went to the very spot where his African ancestors were taken and put on slave ships to America.
Last week the show's producer Lisa Kudrow found the actual records the German's compiled which indicated the fate of her great-grandmother. I won't tell you any details because I hope you'll go to NBC's website and watch them for yourself.
This show made me so curious about my own family. Like Lisa Kudrow, my family can from Eastern Europe. My father's family is from Beltz, Romania and all I know from my mother's side is that my grandmother came from Russia. I can't trace my family tree back any further than grandparents and was heartened to see that Lisa Kudrow was able to get documentation.
The show is on Friday nights. I HIGHLY recommend you set your DVR for this one.
I live with a Cubs fan. A die-hard Cubs fan. You know who they are: they start the season with anticipation and hope and end with resignationand disappointment.
 One famous Cubs fan was the late Steve Goodman, who died of Leukemia in 1984 at age 36. You hear his " Go Cubs Go" during games. He also wrote "Lincoln Park Pirates " and " A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request" (see below).  Goodman loved the Cubs and loved Chicago, so it seems fitting that a public building be named in his honor.
Rep. Mike Quigley introduced a measure to have the Lakeview Post Office renamed for Goodman. He says the bill is supported by the entire Illinois congressional delegation, The Old Town School of Folk Music and fellow musicians, John Prine, and Corky Siegal.
If all goes well, a renaming ceremony can happen by late spring or early summer.
That makes me happy.
YAY! It's Survivor Season again. This one looks like it's going to be awesome, with the Heroes VS Villains theme.   They did something similar several seasons ago with the Fans VS Favorites, but this time I think it's going to get even more aggressive, since ALL of these players have seen each other's seasons and think they " know" one another.
Some of our favorites will be back... " Villian" Boston Rob, who left his wife Amber and young baby at home to see if THIS time, he can take it all. Joining Rahb will be Parvarti( She of skimpy bikini fame .Oh wait, that would be almost all of the women), Coach ( the man I loved to hate), JT with his homespun ways and, of course, Russell.
For the " Heroes," we have the awesomely awesome Cirie, gravedigger James, who can leave all his shirts home, thank you very much, and everyone's favorite pirate, Rupert.
I'm expecting lots of intense challenges and egos bursting out all over the place. Can Russell find all the hidden immunity idols with no clues again? Will Rupert get all offended and huffy if someone writes his name down? Will Jeff Probst keep his big mouth shut during challenges?
AHH, my Happy Thursdays are back.
I hope you were lucky enough to catch last week's Independent Lens program on PBS. It was a documentary about the Young @ Heart chorus, a group of senior citizens in Northampton Mass  who perform rock and roll songs. The film follows them as they learn several new songs for an upcoming concert.
I had never heard of this group, although they have been doing this for 25 years, touring all over the world. As I watched, I was reminded of my Dad, who loved to sing and had a wonderful personality.
There were so many parts of the film that moved me to tears of joy, then tears of sadness, as 2 members of their group die the week of their concert.
I would love for you to spend some time and watch these videos, and I know you will be as moved as I was. We start with the trailer:
Two performances were especially moving. The first, a trip to a minimum security prison where, among other songs, they brought the crowd to tears with their version of "Forever Young". I can't embed the video because they won't allow it, but I can certainly give you the link.
One of the men who died before the concert was to do a duet, which turned into a solo. I promise you, you will never listen to Coldplay's "Fix You" in the same way ever again.
And finally, to leave you will some joy... The Young @ Heart Chorus covers the Ramones!
Do try to catch this when it airs again, which I'm SURE it will.
Admit it, you really want a Snuggie this year, don't you! Last year, I made the mistake of snarking on the Snuggie commercial in Tim's earshot and low and behold, for Christmas I got my Snuggie. ( let's not talk about how he accidentally ordered 4 of them).
This year they are coming out in different patterns, even a Tie Dye Snuggie. But NOTHING can beat a Weezer Snuggie! Get yours TODAY!
I hate waking up, log on and reading sad news like the death of Soupy Sales. Would there have been a PeeWee Herman without Soupy Sales? Could we have been ready for a Saturday Night Live if we hadn't grown up with this show? Was a pie in the face ever NOT funny?
Soupy's show never treated kids like simpletons ( no offense Barney), but the humor was basic, clever and sometimes totally silly. He challenged us to keep up with him but never lose that sense of wonder.
I was very lucky to see his stage show in the mid 60's and it's a memory that will last forever.
If you never saw Soupy here are a couple of videos that I think you will enjoy.
The rock world lost another unsung hero when NRBQ's original guitarist Steve Ferguson died recently.
Â
If you're not familiar with NRBQ, you've been missing out on one of the best bar bands ever! Their live shows are wild, energetic and legendary. In fact, on a Simpson's episode where Homer and the guys stop in at a dive of a bar NRBQ was the band on stage.
Originally from Louisville Kentuck, he and Terry Adadms formed the band, but left in 1971 when Al Anderson replaced him.
 When I worked on the radio in Hartford CT, they came around so often they  were practically the house band ! NRBQ stands for New Rhythm and Blues Quartet, but although their live shows were awesome, they didn't sell many records,leading fans to lament that NRBQ stood for No Records Bought in Quantity.
But those who DID, knew they had something special. One of my favorite albums was their second album,recorded while Steve was still with them with rock and roll pioneer Carl Perkins.
  Steve's version of Flat Foot Flewzy is not to be missed. In fact, here it is!
They Might be Giants are coming back to Madison this Sunday at 4 PM for a sold out family friendly show at the Barrymore Theater. You remember TMBG for Birdhouse in Your Soul and the theme song to Malcom in the Middle, but your KIDS might know them for their albums "Here come the ABC's" and "Here Come the 123's".
Their latest album tackles the world of science with " Here Comes Science" a CD & DVD. One of the songs is " Meet the Elements".
This song led me to remember the FIRST song I ever heard dedicated to the Periodic Table, from Math professor/ songwriter Tom Lehrer.
I just read that Mary Travers of Peter Paul and Mary died. I can hardy remember a time where that amazing trio's music was not a part of my life.
The first concert I ever saw was Peter Paul and Mary in 1963. My family was on vacation in Washington DC and PP&M were performing in the nightcub. My sister and I were much too young to go into the club, but they let us stand in the doorway for a few songs. Their voices were magical and I will always have the image of Mary Travers, long straight blonde hair flowing as she threw her head back to sing.
OK, I tried to avoid it. I am terrible at writing to people. I am almost as bad in replying. I always have good intentions and keep the email " save as unread" to remind me to write back. And after an embarrassing length of time, I delete it, feeling terrible about procrastinating too long.Â
So it is with great trepidation, I entered the world of Facebook.
(IÂ think I'm just a little jealous of all the attention Jonathan and Kitty are getting. )
So come be my friend, but please be patient with me.
Tomorrow is Go Red for Women Day, a day set aside to increase awereness of women's risk for heart disease. You might think this is only a concern for older women, but you can have a heart attack at almost any age! In fact, coronary heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States with 233,000 dying each year.
Some risk factors are unavoidable, like age, race and family hoistory, but you CAN control other aspects of your life.
High Blood Pressure...make sure you are checked regularily
Smoking... smokers are 2-4 times more likely to develop heart disease.
High cholesterol...Another important number to know and control Â
Physical activity... you know you need to move more...
Overweight...excess body fat, particularily around your waist makes you more likely to develop heart disease
Tooth decay... yes, tooth decay bacteria can enter your bloodstream, so make sure you visit your dentist
So on Friday, wear red to show your support to help fight coronary heart disease
Learn more by visiting the American Heart Association's website.  click here!
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we're being warned of a malicious computer virus disguised as a Valentine's Day card.Â
This one is for real.
Subject lines have been used such as Short and Sweet, Me and You, In Your Arms or With All My Love. A link in the message sends you to a webpage with 12 heart images, asking you to click for your card. If you click it will download programs called love.exe or you.exe. What you GET is a Trogan Horse called w32/waledac.c learn more here
Bottom line? Don't click on ANYTHING you don't trust 100%.
As the year winds down, people tend to make lists. Now, Iâm not much of a list maker, but here are some artists I fell in love with this year, each for their own reason.
We start with a group that tickled me to no end, Vampire Weekend. They join Barenaked Ladies and They Might be Giantsâ in what I call âGeek Rockâ. They didnât want to come in and record a Studio M with me, but dropped in for a visit on my show. They were nice and the show, even though they didnât even come on stage until after 11 PM, was a great time.
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We now move to emerging artist Eric Hutchinson. He DID come in for a Studio M, but I was on the air and missed it. I went to the show at the Majestic not really knowing much about him, and was totally captivated by his great piano playing and easy demeanor. His sweater vest was kinda cute as well. Apparently I was not the only new âHutch-headâ because his album Sounds Like This is selling like hotcakes.
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Another emerging artist I like a lot is Meiko. Raised in a log cabin in a little town in Georgia, Meiko is witty, writes clever songs and is an all around nice person. Her studio M was awesome and I hope she comes back to Madison soon.
Â
We wind up todayâs list with a guy who got a standing ovation at the Barrymore when he opened for Susan Tedeschi, James Hunter. I totally LOVE 60âs soul music and James takes it, runs with it and makes it his own. He came in for a Studio M and I was SOOOO nervous and fan-girl gushy, but he was funny and made me feel right at home. LOVE this guy!
Sometimes things work out better than you except them to. Last Thursday morning I brought in a couple of songs to play on my visit with Jonathan and Kitty, just like I always do. We usually donât get many phone calls from listeners ( although I wish you would call more often). But when I played the Milwaukee blues band âAltered Five, I got phone calls and emails from people  really digging the song. They have a unique niche. They cover classic rock songs as blues songs. As they said on their My Space page, itâs as if Muddy Waters covered the Rolling Stones, rather than the other way around. I even heard from the guitar player in the band, who said friends called and told them I played their album. Someone even emailed me to let me know they will be appearing at the Hody Bar in Middleton this Friday night.
Here they are covering the Doobie Bros. âLong Train Runningâ
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I'm not sure why Pete Yorn decided to name his new music project after a European cave dwelling aquatic salamander, but if he stops by to play us some songs in Studio M, we'll have to ask him.
The Olms is a collaboration between Pete Yorn and...
Today's song was written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary. It was inspired by the 1957 novel Doctor Zhivago. No one was inspired by the song this morning. It was rejected by almost all the listeners.
Today is World Goth Day, a day to celebrate the post-punk, anti-establishment, dark clothes-wearing subculture.
I'm pretty sure I was a Goth for at least for little while, for two reasons.
1) I almost hardly ever wear pastels.
2) I used to...
Hello to all from Nfusion. Another round of challenges has moved beyond us all. Congrats to those of us lucky enough to have survived to this point. Sad to see the others eliminated as they were all very creative and talented. Good Bye to our new friends...
This morning it seemed like just about everyone was in the mood for some Funky Cold Medina...except Kitty. This ridiculous song made it all the way to number 3 in 1989. Jonathan says any song that references advertising dogs from the 80's has got...
Madison's summer music festival season kicks off this weekend with Brat Fest at Willow Island, where there are more bands than you can shake a bratwurst at! Check out the Brat Fest website to plan your itinerary.
Next up is the Marquette...
John Fogerty is making the talk show rounds this week, stopping in to see David Letterman Tuesday and Wednesday, and the ladies of "The View" on Thursday.
He's promoting his new album, "Wrote a Song For Everyone" which comes out next Tuesday...
It's a miracle that both Jonathan and KItty wanted to hear Barry Manilow this morning. They were not alone. Plenty of Fanilow's called in to vote yes. One caller claimed to have seen Manilow in concert 25 times!
I'm not sure why Pete Yorn decided to name his new music project after a European cave dwelling aquatic salamander, but if he stops by to play us some songs in Studio M, we'll have to ask him.
The Olms is a collaboration between Pete Yorn and...
Today's song was written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary. It was inspired by the 1957 novel Doctor Zhivago. No one was inspired by the song this morning. It was rejected by almost all the listeners.
Today is World Goth Day, a day to celebrate the post-punk, anti-establishment, dark clothes-wearing subculture.
I'm pretty sure I was a Goth for at least for little while, for two reasons.
1) I almost hardly ever wear pastels.
2) I used to...
Hello to all from Nfusion. Another round of challenges has moved beyond us all. Congrats to those of us lucky enough to have survived to this point. Sad to see the others eliminated as they were all very creative and talented. Good Bye to our new friends...
This morning it seemed like just about everyone was in the mood for some Funky Cold Medina...except Kitty. This ridiculous song made it all the way to number 3 in 1989. Jonathan says any song that references advertising dogs from the 80's has got...
Madison's summer music festival season kicks off this weekend with Brat Fest at Willow Island, where there are more bands than you can shake a bratwurst at! Check out the Brat Fest website to plan your itinerary.
Next up is the Marquette...
John Fogerty is making the talk show rounds this week, stopping in to see David Letterman Tuesday and Wednesday, and the ladies of "The View" on Thursday.
He's promoting his new album, "Wrote a Song For Everyone" which comes out next Tuesday...
It's a miracle that both Jonathan and KItty wanted to hear Barry Manilow this morning. They were not alone. Plenty of Fanilow's called in to vote yes. One caller claimed to have seen Manilow in concert 25 times!
   They did something similar several seasons ago with the Fans VS Favorites, but this time I think it's going to get even more aggressive, since ALL of these players have seen each other's seasons and think they " know" one another.
Some of our favorites will be back... " Villian" Boston Rob, who left his wife Amber and young baby at home to see if THIS time, he can take it all. Joining Rahb will be Parvarti( She of skimpy bikini fame .Oh wait, that would be almost all of the women), Coach ( the man I loved to hate), JT with his homespun ways and, of course, Russell. 
For the " Heroes," we have the awesomely awesome Cirie, gravedigger James, who can leave all his shirts home, thank you very much, and everyone's favorite pirate, Rupert. 
I'm expecting lots of intense challenges and egos bursting out all over the place. Can Russell find all the hidden immunity idols with no clues again? Will Rupert get all offended and huffy if someone writes his name down? Will Jeff Probst keep his big mouth shut during challenges?
AHH, my Happy Thursdays are back.
I had never heard of this group, although they have been doing this for 25 years, touring all over the world. As I watched, I was reminded of my Dad, who loved to sing and had a wonderful personality.
There were so many parts of the film that moved me to tears of joy, then tears of sadness, as 2 members of their group die the week of their concert.
I would love for you to spend some time and watch these videos, and I know you will be as moved as I was. We start with the trailer:
Two performances were especially moving. The first, a trip to a minimum security prison where, among other songs, they brought the crowd to tears with their version of "Forever Young". I can't embed the video because they won't allow it, but I can certainly give you 
The rock world lost another unsung hero when NRBQ's original guitarist Steve Ferguson died recently.
Â
If you're not familiar with NRBQ, you've been missing out on one of the best bar bands ever! Their live shows are wild, energetic and legendary. In fact, on a Simpson's episode where Homer and the guys stop in at a dive of a bar NRBQ was the band on stage.
Originally from Louisville Kentuck, he and Terry Adadms formed the band, but left in 1971 when Al Anderson replaced him.
 When I worked on the radio in Hartford CT, they came around so often they  were practically the house band ! NRBQ stands for New Rhythm and Blues Quartet, but although their live shows were awesome, they didn't sell many records,leading fans to lament that NRBQ stood for No Records Bought in Quantity.
But those who DID, knew they had something special. One of my favorite albums was their second album,recorded while Steve was still with them with rock and roll pioneer Carl Perkins.
  Steve's version of Flat Foot Flewzy is not to be missed. In fact, here it is!
