Might want to consider a new choice of headgear if he wants to be a playa, though.

By Fred Mills

During a slow news day yesterday in England, reporters at the NME, trolling for something, anything to write about, discovered that indiepop pet rock Lightspeed Champion had been blogging about how there might be some "romance in [the] air for him and one of the Pussycat Dolls." Apparently Mr. Champion (that's Dev Hynes to Ma and Pa Champion) heard through the grapevine that the Dolls' resident diva-in-waiting, Nicole Scherzinger, saw a L.S. video and declared him to be "real hot."

Well, that does indeed sound like cupid has been bowing a few arrows, now, doesn't it! Of course, Scherzinger might also view a stove with a kettle boiling on the top and determine it to be "real hot" as well, so one must be very, very careful when affairs of the heart are mixed up with basic language semantics. Scherzinger is currently dating a Formula One racing champ, Lewis Hamilton.

That blog entry:

I woke up.. My phone had a text..

"One of the pussycat dolls fancies you... jkz."

.... I replied straight away... "erm, what?!!?"

"Get on Ichat was the response".

"The dolls were on grims show... and there was a video question from you or some shit. Then after the video that nicole biatch asked who you were. So grim said and she said ‘he's real hot.'"

A week or so ago i had to give a question for them to answer on the uk music show "Sounds" presented by Grimshaw and Annie Mac... needless to say, this was a good way to wake up..

True story: BLURT caught Lightspeed Champion a couple of times at SXSW in Austin this past March (and enjoyed him). Sunday afternoon at the airport in Austin, we were having a quick meal with a female friend prior to departure, and across the food court was none other than the man himself, snacking with some acquaintances. He stood out, incidentally, because he was wearing one of his signature furry hats with the droopy ear flaps.

"There's Lightspeed Champion," we commented.

"Who?" she replied, and we pointed him out and gave a quick summary of his music and background.

"Oh!" she said, dissolving into laughter. "I saw him a few minutes ago walking around the terminal. I thought he was a retard since he had that ridiculous hat on indoors..."

Lightspeed Champion has been working on new material and will be touring America later this year.

This time you might want to resist the urge to beat the system, fanboys.

By Fred Mills

Nine Inch Nails mainman Trent Reznor has an offer that you can't refuse. Well, you can refuse it, but if you consider yourself a NIN fan you'd be a real putz to pass it up. Basically, he's soliciting fans' input via an easy-to-navigate online survey on a number of fronts - whether or not and how you've downloaded his recent albums Ghosts I-IV and The Slip, whether you've ever used P2P sites to get NIN material (don't worry, he's not gonna have you busted), if you've seen the band live and where you got tickets, what media outlets you regularly read/surf, your social networking preferences, etc.

And sure, these are all questions that will provide the Reznor camp with marketing gold (not to mention your email address).  But he's also going to give you something back, a free download of an exclusive live video, along with the possibility of something even cooler and more exclusive later on.

Below is Trent's missive, along with the link to the survey.

****

Hello everyone.

I'd like to thank everyone for a very successful year so far in the world of Nine Inch Nails. I'm enjoying my couple of weeks off between legs of our Lights In The Sky tour and got to thinking... "wouldn't it be fun to send out a survey to everyone that's shown interest in NIN?" Well, that's not exactly how it went, but regardless - here it is. As we've moved from the familiar world of record labels and BS into the unknown world of doing everything yourself, we've realized it would benefit us and our ability to interact with you if we knew more about what you want, what you like, what you look like naked, etc. I know it's a pain in the ass but we'd truly appreciate it if you'd take a minute and help us out. As an incentive, everyone who completes the survey will be able to download a video of live performance from this most recent tour (and I know what's going through your little minds right now: "I'll just grab this off a torrent site and not have to fill out the survey!!!" and guess what? You will be able to do just that and BEAT THE SYSTEM!!!! NIN=pwn3d!!!)

BUT

What if we were to select some of those that DO complete the survey and provide them with something really cool? I'm not saying we'll ever get around to it, but if we did maybe something like signed stuff, flying someone to a show somewhere in the world, a magic amulet that makes you invisible, a date with Jeordie White (condoms supplied of course), you know - something cool. See, you'd miss that opportunity AND be a cheater.

Do the right thing - help us out. You'll feel better.

Thank you and I've had too much caffeine this morning,

Trent

Visit here to take the survey:

https://www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=1049187

"Intimate" mini tour to run throughout November.

By Blurt Staff

With an October 21 release looming for Brett Dennen's new album Hope For The Hopeless (Dualtone Music Group/Downtown Music), the singer-songwriter has announced a mini-tour commencing Nov. 3 in the roll-up to a more extensive road trek early next year. This one's billed along "intimate" terms -a return to the smaller venues he began playing just five years ago. Tickets are already on sale via www.BrettDennen.net .

Meanwhile, fans can pre-order the album also through Dennen's site, and the first 200 fans to order will receive an autographed album and a chance to win a Martin acoustic guitar hand-painted by Brett.

Hope For The Hopeless' first single, "Make You Crazy," features Afro-Beat king Femi Kuti, and Dennen's label tags the album as an "increasingly electric take on Brett's narrative-rich songs and pop, folk, rock and Afro-Caribbean sounds." The album was recorded at the Village Recorder Studios in Los Angeles with multi-platinum producer John Alagia (John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band).

Brett Dennen Tour Dates:

November 3                                                Portland, OR                                                  Doug Fir

November 5                                                 Seattle, WA                                                  Triple Door

November 6                                        San Francisco, CA                                The Independent

November 7                                             Los Angeles, CA                                           Hotel Café

November 8                                             Los Angeles, CA                                           Hotel Café

November 10                                               Denver, CO                                           Walnut Room

November 11                                               Austin, TX                                The Continental Club

November 13                                               Chicago, IL                                                    Schubas

November 14                                            Annapolis, MD                                Ramshead Onstage

November 15                                           Philadelphia, PA                                              Tin Angel

November 16                                              Boston, MA                                                         Passim

November 18                                            New York, NY                                              Canal Room

And then God created... Memphis!

By Fred Mills

And there's no religious ritual worth observing more than attending the annual Goner Fest. This year's Memphian bacchanal - called Goner Fest V, it's been going since 2005, which if you do some quick math doesn't completely seem to add up, but what the hell -will be held at several downtown venues (primarily the Hi Tone), hosting bands this Thursday through Sunday (Sept. 25 - 28).

Among the must-see acts: the Sic Alps and Dan Melchior on Thursday, the Vivian Girls (currently featured in BLURT's September issue) and Monsieur Jeffrey Evans on Friday, Mouserocket and the Pierced Arrows on Saturday, Thomas Function on Sunday, and Jay Reatard in a special matinee on Saturday afternoon.

Lots more, however. For the complete Goner Fest schedule and more details, go HERE.

Tickets are still available, including the Golden Pass which, for 50 bucks, gets you in to everything "and special goodies," as the website sez. Hey, there's even a ping pong tourney on Wednesday to officially kick off the festivitie, so how cool is that!

Followup to popular Nude Remix Project.

By Blurt Staff

After the overwhelming response to the Nude Remix Project, Radiohead are giving fans the opportunity to remix "Reckoner", another track from the band's latest album "In Rainbows" at http://www.radioheadremix.com

To make remixing easy, the separate 'stems' (e.g., component parts of the song) from the song will be available to purchase on iTunes. The 'stems' available are bass, lead vocal, backing vocals, guitars, piano/strings and drums.  All six stems will be available to buy for the price of a single track.  Fans can mix them in any way they like, either by adding their own beats and instrumentation, or just remixing the original parts.

Fans who purchase the 'stems' from iTunes during the first two weeks they're available, will be sent an access code to a GarageBand file ready to open in GarageBand or Logic. However, you don't need GarageBand to do a remix, the stems are available in the DRM-free iTunes Plus format and compatible with several music software platforms.

Finished mixes can be uploaded to http://www.radioheadremix.com  where the public will listen and vote for their favourite. Fans can also create a widget allowing votes from their own website, Facebook or MySpace page to be counted as 'mix votes' back on www.radioheadremix.com .

A number of mixes have already been posted to the site. Currently the most popular one is by a gentleman or entity going by the name of Sebastien Project.

[Image lifted from Pitchfork, just because we thought they did a cool job on it!]

Remained a force to be reckoned with up until the very end.

By Rev Keith Gordon

[Note: the following appears courtesy author Gordon and About.com's "Guide to Blues."]

Rhythm & blues giant Napoleon "Nappy" Brown died on Saturday, September 20th, 2008 after suffering a long illness.

The big-voiced blues music and R&B star was hospitalized in New Jersey on June 1st after he suffered from overwhelming weakness at the beginning of his set at the annual Crawfish Festival, and he was unable to perform. At first it was thought that the singer was suffering from extreme dehydration, but other medical issues surfaced, resulting in Brown spending nearly four months in the hospital before his death.

The medical setback came at a bad time for the singer, who had been enjoying a recent career resurgence in the wake of his Blues Music Award twice-nominated album Long Time Coming, released in 2007 by Blind Pig Records, and his subsequent knock-down performance at the BMA show. Because of Brown's illness, however, his summer tour dates - including a number of festival appearances - had to be cancelled.

Brown enjoyed a lengthy and moderately successful career in music that stretched from the late-1940s to the present day. Originally a gospel singer, Brown made the jump into R&B in 1954 at the insistence of his label and would go on to deliver a series of hit songs through the end of the decade. Brown's unique style mixed blues, soul, and a bit of rock & roll to create an energetic and crowd-pleasing sound, and Elvis Presley is said to be among those who admired Brown's vocals and performance style.

After spending most of the 1960s and '70s out of the musical spotlight, Brown came roaring back in 1984 with the blues-oriented album Tore Up, recorded with guitarist Tinsley Ellis and his band the Heartfixers. Albums would follow for labels like Blacktop, Ichiban and JSP, culminating in Long Time Coming, the acclaimed "comeback" album which cemented Brown's longstanding reputation as a soulful blues shouter.

Brown remained a popular draw on the festival circuit through the years, and he continued to perform until his hospitalization. Like so many modern-era blues artists, Brown was a musical force to be reckoned with even in the twilight of his career.

By Blurt Staff

Check out the exclusive pics we've got of My Morning Jacket performing last Friday night, Sept. 19, at the Greek in Berkeley. The images were snapped by ace shutterbug Christopher Wilson - you can view more of his work at www.christopherwilsonphoto.com.

By Blurt Staff

BLURT would like to extend our congratulations to all at the Americana Music Association. Levon Helm and Alison Krauss & Robert Plant were among the winners at Thursday's 7th Annual Honors & Awards show put on by the AMA at Nashville's Historic Ryman  Auditorium. Appearing at the festivities to pick up two awards for
their critically-acclaimed "Raising Sand" Krauss and Plant won Album of the Year and Duo/Group of the Year.

Awards were given out in six member voted categories:

Album of the Year: Alison Krauss & Robert Plant/Raising Sand
Artist of the Year: Levon Helm
Duo/Group of the Year: Alison Krauss & Robert Plant
Instrumentalist of the Year: Buddy Miller
New Emerging Artist of the Year: Mike Farris
Song of the Year: "She Left Me for Jesus" by Hayes Carll and Brian Keane

Additional Lifetime Achievement Honors were given to:

Spirit of Americana Free Speech in Music - Joan Baez
Lifetime Achievement / Songwriting - John Hiatt
Jack Emerson Lifetime Achievement / Executive - Terry Lickona
Lifetime Achievement / Performance - Jason & The Scorchers
Presidents Award - Jerry Garcia
Lifetime Achievement / Instrumentalist - Larry Campbell
Trailblazer / Nanci Griffith
Lifetime Achievement / Producer / Engineer - Tony Brown

The three hour program was hosted by two-time Americana Honors & Awards and Grammy recipient Jim Lauderdale. Award winner Buddy Miller also returned as the band leader. Other special guests included Ryan Bingham and Joe Ely, The Sam Bush Band, Kane, Welch and Kaplan, The SteelDrivers, Tift Merritt, Chris Thile and Edgar Meyer, Justin Townes Earle, James McMurtry, Miller and Robert Plant, and Steve Earle and
Alison Moorer.

The event was broadcast live on XM Satellite Radio and amazon.com. BBC 2 Radio will also broadcast the show at a later date.

With the clip for “Another World,” Antony relies on interpretive dance.

By Blurt Staff

Antony and the Johnsons first teased fans with an abstract 1:22 clip of “Another World,” the title track of their forthcoming EP, released October 7 on Secretly Canadian. That Colin Whitaker-lensed video was simply flowers in and out of focus—an appropriately spare visual to accompany Antony's longing, plaintive song. The actual video is all about interpretive dance around a painting. In a way, just as bare bones, only longer... and nonetheless apropos of something. That is, it's artsy-fartsy, makes you sleepy, but still communicates the hypnotic sadness Antony conveys with his song and his Leonard Cohen-Boy George warble.

Here's the official word on the song: On "Another World", Antony lists things he treasures about the natural world, and expresses that he will miss them; the result is hypnotic and affecting, with the accompanying video reflecting the song’s theme.

The five-song Another World is a stopgap between Antony’s Mercury Prize-winning 2005 album I Am A Bird Now and the follow-up, The Crying Light, due in January. Among the EP tracks are “Shake That Devil,” called “part exorcism and part Shangri-La [in which] Antony calls out perpetrators and banishes them one-by-one.” Two more songs, “Crackagen” and “Sing For Me” are described as “pastoral and surreal,” while “Hope Mountain” closes the EP in epic fashion as “an episodic narrative set after a flood; people gather on a mountainside to witness a girl walking on the water.”

Another World tracklist:

1. Another World

2. Crackagen

3. Shake That Devil

4. Sing For Me

5. Hope Mountain

Antony and the Johnsons on Tour:

10/14   Walt Disney Concert Hall        Los Angeles, CA

10/16   Apollo Theatre                         New York, NY

10/30   The Barbican                            London, ENG

10/31   The Barbican                            London, ENG

Musicians and artists donate exclusive MP3s and artwork to support Obama.

By Blurt Staff

When Jack Dolgen (Maricopa, Sam Champion) met Barack Obama, he told him “You’ve been running, I’ve been recording.” The song he referenced, “Daytime,” is about unity, and will be the first song released on BarackRock.org, a website created by Dolgen’s IWroteYouASong.org, which aims to trade art for political action.

According to the press release, “BarackRock.org uses music and design to bring people from around the world together under one banner and channel their energy into a unified force. BarackRock.org is an ever-expanding archive of free, exclusive MP3s, each with its own individual art, meant to build funds, excitement and action for the Obama campaign.”

Dolgen and designer Andrew Ackermann were inspired to ask their friends in the music and design worlds to contribute their work to the cause. BarackRock.org is the first campaign, and will feature daily contributions from Maricopa, Jens Lekman, Sam Champion, Antibalas, Via Audio, Northern State, Frank Bango, Sono Oto, Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears, The Jealous Girlfriends, and “many, many more!” The effort will continue until Election Day.

The statement closes thusly: “The political change we're working towards won't come by itself. The more downloads we get, the larger our impact can be, so spread the word! These are unreleased tracks and demos, only available here, and only available now, so plug in your headphones and make a difference.”

Have at ‘em, folks!