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!

Compiled by Blurt Staff

206 digital, satellite and hi-def channels and nothin' on? Not likely. Here are BLURT's top music television picks of the day. The time is followed by the network/cable/satellite channel, then the name of the program and/or featured artist(s). All times are EST. For a comprehensive hour-by-hour listing, go to the VH1 Rock On TV site. Note that for certain channels, shows frequently repeat during the day on or subsequent days.

TIME (EST) / CHANNEL / PROGRAM / ARTIST(S)

9:00 AM Syndicated: The Ellen DeGeneres Show: Dolly Parton

11:30 AM NICK: Yo Gabba Gabba!: The Ting Tings , Biz Markie , Mark Mothersbaugh

1:30 PM FUSE: Loaded: Paramore

2:30 PM FUEL: The Daily Habit: Against Me!

2:30 PM MOJO: London Live!: James Morrison , The Rapture , Faithless , Brinkman

4:00 PM RAVE HD: The Dave Fanning Interview: Rod Stewart

4:30 PM RAVE HD:  The Dave Fanning Interview: Glloria Estefan

8:00 PM HBO: Real Time With Bill Maher: Will.I.Am

8:30 PM FUEL: Check 1, 2:  MGMT

10:00 PM RAVE HD: Later With Jools Holland: The Coral , Jack Penate , Rilo Kiley , John Dankworth , Cleo Laine , Basekou Kouyate

10:00 PM VH1C: Tommy (1975)

11:35 PM NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: My Morning Jacket

12:05 AM ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Nelly

12:35 AM NBC: Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Little Feat

12:40 AM HBO2: Flight of the Conchords: Mugged

1:35 AM NBC: Last Call with Carson Daly: Bo Burnham [who?]

No word yet on whether he's maintaining a wide stance about the matter....

By Fred Mills

Apparently distraught over his inability to be part of the 24-7 news cycle of late, pop singer George Michael got himself busted at a public toilet located in London's Hampstead Heath on Friday. While there has been no word yet regarding exactly why he was hanging around the London ‘loo - the imagination soars - the specific offense for which he was arrested was "suspicion of possessing class A and class C drugs."

The BBC news has been reporting that one of the drugs may have been crack cocaine. However, Michael was apparently only "cautioned" by the police.

Cautioned for what? To leave his dope at home whenever he gets the urge to go cruising? Michael, of course, is the most famous patron of public toilets in Beverly Hills, where he was arrested for "lewd conduct" in 1998.

More recently the singer pleaded guilty in 2007 to driving under the influence of drugs.

Michael, naturally, issued a statement to the public: "I want to apologise to my fans for screwing up again, and to promise them I'll sort myself out. And to say sorry to everybody else, just for boring them."

No, no, you're not boring us, George. That was Andrew Ridgely's job. You manage to keep us entertained even when you're not working.

Two Athens based titans to hit the road in November.

By Blurt Staff

On October 28^th, Orange Twin will release Vic Chesnutt's collaboration with Elephant 6 psychsters Elf Power, entitled Dark Developments.  The album has already drawn comparisons to Lou Reed, John Cale, late career Nick Lowe, and Raymond Carver.

Recorded over the course of a winter by Vic and Derek Almstead in Chesnutt's own attic studio, a label press release says that "Dark Developments revels in the intimate, home-recorded atmosphere you'd expect from an Athenian union like this."   Elf Josh Lott makes his final appearance on the album.  It has been called a "friction extant between Chesnutt's shadowy worldview and the inventive bounce and bray of Elf Power's euphonious intra-band chemistry"  

Vic Chesnutt and Elf Power finish up the weekend playing shows in Spain.    Elf Power then will return stateside for the Elephant 6 Holiday surprise tour before joining up with Vic again at the end of October.

Tour Dates:

Elf Power and Vic Chesnutt:

Sept 18 2008 - Auditorio Municipal Augusto Cabrito - Barreiro, Portugal
Sept 19 2008 - Auditorio Caixa Nova - Vigo, Spain
Sept 20 2008 - Sala Acapulco - Gijon, Spain

Elf Power , Holiday surprise Tour

Oct 9 2008 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 E6 Holiday Surprise Tour
Oct 11 2008 - New York, NY - Knitting Factory E6 Holiday Surprise Tour
Oct 12 2008 - Boston, MA - The Church E6 Holiday Surprise Tour
Oct 14 2008 - Portland, ME - Space Gallery E6 Holiday Surprise Tour
Oct 15 2008 - New Haven, CT - The Space E6 Holiday Surprise Tour
Oct 16 2008 - Purchase, NY - SUNY Purchase E6 Holiday Surprise Tour
Oct 17 2008 - Rochester, NY - The Bug Jar E6 Holiday Surprise Tour
Oct 18 2008 - Pittsburgh, PA - Brillobox E6 Holiday Surprise Tour
Oct 19 2008 - Columbus, OH - The Wexner Center E6 Holiday Surprise Tour
Oct 20 2008 - Pontiac, MI - Pike Room E6 Holiday Surprise Tour
Oct 21 2008 - Chicago, IL - The Bottom Lounge E6 Holiday Surprise Tour
Oct 22 2008 - Bloomington, IN - Cinemat E6 Holiday Surprise Tour
Oct 23 2008 - Lexington, KY - University if Kentucky E6 Holiday Surprise Tour

Elf Power with Vic Chesnutt, reprised:

Oct 29 2008 - Proud Larry's - Oxford, MS w/ Vic Chesnutt
Oct 30 2008 - One Eyed Jack's - New Orleans, LA w/ Vic Chesnutt
Nov 01 2008 - Club Dada - Dallas, TX w/ Vic Chesnutt
Nov 02 2008 - Rubber Gloves - Denton, TX w/ Vic Chesnutt
Nov 03 2008 - The Parish - Austin, TX w/ Vic Chesnutt
Nov 05 2008 - Santa Fe Brewing Company - Santa Fe, NM w/ Vic Chesnutt
Nov 07 2008 - Club Congress - Tucson, AZ w/ Vic Chesnutt
Nov 08 2008 - Modified - Phoenix, AZ w/ Vic Chesnutt
Nov 09 2008 - Casbah - San Diego, CA w/ Vic Chesnutt
Nov 10 2008 - Echoplex - Los Angeles, CA w/ Vic Chesnutt
Nov 11 2008 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA w/ Vic Chesnutt
Nov 12 2008 - Blue Lamp - Sacramento, CA w/ Vic Chesnutt
Nov 13 2008 - Sam Bond's Garage - Eugene, OR w/ Vic Chesnutt
Nov 15 2008 - Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR w/ Vic Chesnutt
Nov 16 2008 - Chop Suey - Seattle, WA w/ Vic Chesnutt
Nov 17 2008 - Neurolux - Boise, ID w/ Vic Chesnutt
Nov 18 2008 - Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, UT w/ Vic Chesnutt
Nov 19 2008 - Hi Dive - Denver, CO w/ Vic Chesnutt
Nov 21 2008 - Jackpot Saloon - Lawrence, KS w/ Vic Chesnutt

Vic Chesnutt live from some desk inside NPR:

www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91190732&ft=1&f=1039

Come to think of it, so would we.

By Fred Mills

Wow, just when you thought that brouhaha over the McSame-Van Palen campaign ripping off Heart's song "Barracuda" had died down, the Wilson sisters have decided to dive right back into the fray.

In an op-ed column titled "Cease and Desist, You Old Fart" that's signed jointly by Ann and Nancy Wilson, the Republican presidential hopeful gets a new asshole liberally ripped for him. "We tried to be civil," write the sisters. "God knows why we thought you'd listen to us, two strong, creative women - I guess we're all just ‘trollop-faced cunts' to you."

(The latter is a reference to a quote attributed to McSame from several years ago in which he was berating his wife Cindy for something dumb she did - unfortunately, reporters were present when the alleged quote was uttered.)

In that vein, Wilsons continue, "Speaking of Cindy, who can blame her for hitting the pills? We'd need a Demerol epidural to live through five minutes of her conjugal duties - you sloshing your saggy ass between her legs and chomping at her breasts with your little yellow teeth. We'd rather rim Meat Loaf. Seriously."

Wow, harsh.

Well, we at BLURT would rather rim Meat Loaf than see McSame and Palen take the White House, so....

Anyhow, there's lots more juicy stuff in the column. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view) - IT'S A FAKE! Published by Seattle alternative newsweekly The Stranger, it's the latest in a series of very clever hoaxes from the paper called "New Column!" Other recent entries include one by a "Sarah Palin" titled "I Got Drunk and Blew Three-Fourths of Van Halen" and "Is You Am Genius?"

Dang. Well, in this instance, fake news is way more interesting than real news. I mean, you can't sit around waiting for, I dunno, someone like George Michael to get busted in a men's bathroom or something, can ya?

Death Cab, Wilco, Cat Power, Jack Johnson, Smashing Pumpkins, ZZ Top and more set to play.

By Fred Mills

In a unique twist, over the weekend Neil and Pegi Young announced this year's Bridge Benefit roster of talent by releasing a video via the Bridge School's official website. Some of the kids at the school helped provide narration as images of selected performers flash on the screen, and a couple of them additionally appear on-screen. It's pretty touching - view it below.

Meanwhile, here's the lineup as it stands right now. ZZ Top and Smashing Pumpkins are the "special guests" for Saturday and Sunday nights, respectively. Details on ticket on-sale dates will be posted soon.

Saturday October 25th 2008:

Neil Young
Pegi Young
ZZ Top
Nora Jones
Jack Johnson
Death Cab for Cutie
Wilco
Cat Power
and special guests.

Sunday October 26th 2008:

Neil Young
Pegi Young
Smashing Pumpkins
Norah Jones
Jack Johnson
Death Cab for Cutie
Wilco
Cat Power
Josh Groban
and special guests.

Fall dates for Midwest and East Coast; West Coast will be early next year.

By Blurt Staff

Amy Ray is set to tour the Midwest and East Coast in October /November 2008 to support her latest solo release, Didn't It Feel Kinder.  She'll be joined by Brooklyn/Asheville NC folk-psych band Arizona for her Midwest dates and Brooklyn-based songwriter Jennifer O'Connor for her East Coast run.  Ray's core band will include Melissa York on drums and Kaia Wilson on guitar.

Her third solo release and her most ambitious to date, Didn't It Feel Kinder  finds Ray again trading in her acoustic guitar for a Les Paul, cranking her amp and reaffirming her position as one of the truest, most striking voices in contemporary music. 

For the first time in her solo career, Ray enlisted a producer.  Greg Griffith (The Butchies, Le Tigre, Loudspeaker, Vitapup), a fearless listener and multi-talented musician, worked with Ray to incorporate a variety of sounds and influences to create her unique and evolving voice throughout this record.  On the track "Bus Bus," a song inspired backstage at a UK Indigo Girls' gig as Ray listened to the bass and beats of the opening band throbbing through the club walls into her dressing room, she molds a danceable rhythm that is at once pop, punk rock and hip hop (aided by former Butchies and longtime Ray collaborators Kaia Wilson and Melissa York and Griffith).  Additional guests include guitarist Tomi Martin, half of Three5Human (and who has played with the likes of Madonna and TLC) and songwriter Brandi Carlile, as well as indie faves Arizona.

With 2001's Stag and 2004's Prom, Ray channeled her inner riot grrl and made two disarmingly personal, defiantly honest albums that tackled gender issues and sexual identity and established Ray's punk rock cred and DIY ethos.  It also proved Ray could rock with the best of them.  While Didn't It Feel Kinder is no less political or less catchy, Ray has written an album that reflects the rural nature of the recording process - late night drives between her home in rural Georgia and studios in Ashville, NC   and time spent in Greensboro, NC.  Lyrically, she tackles a culture obsessed by war, fame for the wrong reasons ("Who Sold the Gun," about the Virginia Tech killings), religious conservatism ("SLC Radio") and makes a plea for the listener to reach outside of their comfort zone and connect with their community.

Didn't It Feel Kinder is a thoughtful, political album and a call to reason by an artist who's intertwined activism and social consciousness into her music and remained fresh and relevant over a career spanning two decades.  Ray has a knack for tapping into the universal human experience and bringing an empathy and call for understanding to even her most confrontational material.

Ray says it best: "What ties the record together for me is this human yearning to be understood and the yearning to become empathetic with other people - how to love each other and be kind even when we're brutally angry."

Amy Ray Tour Dates:

SUN-10/19 Nashville, TN - 3rd & Lindsley (with Arizona)

MON-10/20 Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone Café (with Arizona)

TUES-10/21 St Louis, MO - Blueberry Hill (with Arizona)

THUR-10/23 Omaha, NE - Slowdown (with Arizona)

FRI-10/24 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line (with Arizona)

SAT-10/25 Ames, IA - Maintenance Shop (with Arizona)

SUN-10/26 Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon (with Arizona)

TUES-10/28 Champaign, IL-High Dive (with Arizona)

WED-10/29 Chicago, IL - the Metro (with Arizona)

FRI-10/31 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom (with Arizona)

SAT-11/1 Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Smalls Theater (with Arizona)

SUN-11/2 Buffalo, NY - Tralf Music Hall- (with Jennifer O'Connor)

TUES-11/4 Toronto, ONT - Mod Club (with Jennifer O'Connor)

WED-11/5 Burlington, VT - Higher Ground Ballroom (with Jennifer O'Connor)

FRI-11/7 Somerville, MA - Somerville Theatre (with Jennifer O'Connor)

SAT-11/8 Northampton, MA-Pearl Street Upstairs   (with tba)

MON-11/10-Toad's Place-New Haven, CT. (with tba)

WED-11/12 NY, NY - The Bowery (with tba)

THUR-11/13 Philadelphia, PA- (with tbd)

FRI-11/14 Washington, DC - 9:30pm Club (with tba)

SAT-11/15- Richmond, VA -Capital Alehouse   (with Jennifer O'Connor)

TUES-11/18- Va. Beach, VA-Jewish Mother (with Jennifer O'Connor)

WED-11/19- Cat's Cradle-Carrboro, NC (with Jennifer O'Connor)

FRI-11/21 Asheville, NC-The Orange Peel (with Jennifer O'Connor and Arizona)

SAT-11/22 Atlanta, GA-Variety Playhouse (with Jennifer O'Connor and The Holland Dutch)

And it's not even as lame as you'd expect it to be!

By Fred Mills

Diving right in, this year's nominees are:

Jeff Beck
Chic
Wanda Jackson
Little Anthony and the Imperials
Metallica
Run-D.M.C.
the Stooges
War
Bobby Womack

We're talking the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's 2009 Induction nominees, five of whom will get the nod in January after all the ballots are tallied. (Ballots are being sent out soon to the 500-odd Rock Hall voters.)

The Induction Ceremony will be held April 4 in Cleveland, and according to the Rock Hall's official website, for the first time tickets will be sold to the general public after initially being offered to Rock Hall members.

"A week long series of events will take place leading up to the ceremony to help celebrate its return to Cleveland," read a posting on the website. Recall that in years past the event had been held in New York and that it routinely came under fire for catering exclusively to elitist elements in the music industry (not to mention pricing tickets ridiculously high and even forcing nominees to pay for tickets it they wanted to bring along a family member or a date).

Incredibly, this they've got a solid list of potential inductees. Usually Rock Hall watchers are more impressed by how lame the list is overall than who's actually on it. About damn time.