But not exactly the way you expected, or the way Neil planned...

By Blurt Staff

The knock on the door was from the mysterious midnight courier who delivers his illicit parcels under cloak of darkness. "Pssst," he hissed. "Here's the fifth of the Missing Six, or the first of the Doom Trilogy, take your pick..."

Sure enough: Time Fades Away, the legendary 1973 live album that Neil Young notoriously disavows, calling it his worst record ever. Never officially issued on CD per Young's wishes, it's long been the object of almost fetishistic scrutiny among Young fans, and for long-suffering collectors it eventually had to go the way of the bootleggers in order for it to enter the digital era.

It's now made its second or third appearance on an underground label, and it arrives on the heels of an unusually busy year for Young, release-wise - among them, his Archives box, a box collecting his first four, classic, solo albums, and the Dreamin' Man Live '92 album (the latter reviewed here).

Will this new iteration of Time Fades Away finally prod Young into returning to the drawing board and remastering it officially for CD? Only Young knows for sure, but meanwhile, we have the story of the creation of TFA and its tangled trajectory over the years. Go here to read the story and the review of the bootleg.

Latest album for Constellation the Canadian band's first with the new lineup.

By Blurt Staff

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra (SMZ) returns with its sixth full-length recording and first since the band's line-up change in summer 2008. Having shed three members and recruited a new drummer, the group officially dropped the "Tra-La-La Band' from its name, played a debut performance as a newly minted quintet at All Tomorrow's Parties in upstate NY, and embarked on an extensive European tour through the Fall of 2008. The new album is titled Kollaps Tradixionales and is due Feb. 16 from Constellation, which advises that "the band has lost none of its raw and frazzled anthemic power and continues to forge bold new ground in its search for a unique hybrid of punk, blues, psych, folk and modern orchestral idioms."

Anchored by the fried electric guitar and plangent voice of band leader Efrim Menuck (who previously co-founded Godspeed You! Black Emperor) SMZ continues to slide towards an expansive, loose and blues-inflected balladry - not so much the inexorably riffing blues shuffle of the title track from its previous effort, 13 Blues For Thirteen Moons, but a more languid waltz-time marking the smouldering dynamic arcs of the new album's opening track "There Is A Light" and gorgeous closer "'Piphany Rambler."

Whatever the blues influence, the slow burn of SMZ bears little relation to typical notions of musical seduction, relaxation, or hip-swinging satisfaction. What crackles here is much more precarious and anxious, driven by some of this decade's more devastating lyrical conjurings of the universal outsider and the antinomies born of 21st century western psychic oppression. As the lyrics to "There Is A Light" attest, these are no simple paeans to the human spirit, but songs of complex, desperate and thorny hope. The words to this song (and so many others too often misunderstood in the SMZ canon) should dispel the oft-repeated charge that Menuck is some sort of miserablist or glib pessimist.

And of course there is plenty going on here that ain't no blues at all, particularly the two middle sides of this double album. "Metal Bird" (as it has been known to fans from set lists over the past couple of years) has been a crowd favorite in concert in recent years, careening through a throbbing 7/4 template of intertwined ascending and descending lines, coalescing into unison melodies and pumping breakdowns. The sonic references are abundant - from Afrobeat to bouzouki music to hard bop to punk rock. The three phases of the album's title track on Side Three are indeed 'traditionals' of a sort, playing on tropes of American and Anglo-Saxon folk, marching song, sea shanty and hymnal. Together they make for perhaps the most overtly enchanting ("Kollapz"), tender ("Collapse") and terrifyingly rapturous ("Kollaps") music on the record.

Kollaps Tradixionales is available on standard CD (in a custom gatefold paperboard jacket) and limited-edition deluxe CD (which is packaged together with a 6"x9" 16-page perfect-bound art book and poster). The album also comes in a deluxe first pressing on double 10" vinyl, with the art book, a CD copy, and two different posters inside. The album is also available digitally.

Tracklisting:

1. There Is A Light
2. I Built Myself A Metal Bird
3. I Fed My Metal Bird The Wings Of Other Metal Birds

4. Kollapz Tradixional (Thee Olde Dirty Flag)

5. Collapse Traditional (For Darling)6. Kollpas Tradicional (Bray 3 Dynamos)

7. 'Piphany Rambler

The band has posted a new song, entitled "Kollaps Tradicional (Bury 3 Dynamos)," which appears on their newly launched website, located here:  http://www.tra-la-la-band.com/

Frank Black, Bobby McFerrin, Bob Mould, Gaslight Anthem, Matt Nathanson, Sondre Lerche, The Postelles, Warren Haynes & Govt. Mule, Living Colour, Robyn Hitchcock, The Smithereens and Mose Allison among the first announced that will play the concert.

By Blurt Staff

Ya gotta hand it to Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of the Who - they are busy mofos of late. It wasn't all that long ago that they got to hang with former President George W. Bush, and coming soon is The Who's halftime appearance at the Super Bowl.

Earlier this year they released a deluxe 2CD edition of their classic Who Sell Out, and word has it that they're about to issue yet another greatest hits-styled iteration of their back catalog.

Now word arrives that the Who and their music is to be honored at Carnegie Hall next March as part of a series of annual tribute concerts produced by Michael Dorf to benefit music education programs for underprivileged youth. Dorf announced yesterday the first artists confirmed to play the special tribute concert to take place March 2 celebrating the anthemic, insurgent music of The Who.

The initial group of artists honoring the group's unparalleled repertoire include: Frank Black (of the Pixies), Bobby McFerrin, Bob Mould (of Husker Du), Gaslight Anthem, Matt Nathanson, Sondre Lerche, The Postelles, Warren Haynes & Govt. Mule, Living Colour, Robyn Hitchcock, The Smithereens and Mose Allison (author of The Who hit "Young Man Blues"). As many as ten more artists will be added to the line-up in the coming weeks.

This will be the sixth concert in a series to raise crucially needed funds benefiting music education programs for underprivileged youth. Previous sold-out concerts presented by Dorf have honored the music of such timeless artists as Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and R.E.M. 100% of the net proceeds from the March 2 concert will be given to six music education non-profits: The American Symphony Orchestra Music Notes, Church Street School of Music, Young Audiences , Music Unites All-Youth Choir, The Pinwheel Project, and FIKS (Fixing Instruments for Kids in Schools).

"I grew up listening to The Who," said Dorf, "and while the artists we're bringing together to honor them are incredibly diverse, they share a certain authenticity that has also defined music of The Who. This series has produced some unforgettable moments - including seeing Bruce Springsteen and REM make surprise appearances at their own tributes - and I expect the Who night to be one of the most memorable shows yet."

Fans will have a number of ticket options for The Who tribute concert, including a VIP package that guarantees the best seats in the house plus an after-party hosted by City Winery (155 Varick St. New York, NY) to be attended by all the performing artists.

For tickets, plus more information on the concert and the organizations is will benefit go to: http://www.carnegiewho.com

Blurt's Celebrity Heat Index rules....

By Blurt Staff

For the inaugural installment of the official BLURT Celebrity Heat Index we have a hotter-than-hot item, or items: it's Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan and actress/arm candy Jessica Simpson.

That's right. According to PopSugar.com, which to be honest just regurgitates a lot of shit from the tabs and celebrity rags (in this instance, OK!), "Jess is smitten with none other than Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan after meeting him at a party. She's already referred to him on Twitter two times, so they're clearly in some form of contact. He's single after a recent dalliance with Tila Tequila, and Jess is obviously a free agent following her breakup from Tony Romo."

Wow. We feel strangely... unclean after copying and pasting that quote.

Up next: a roundup of all the Tiger Woods Twitter jokes we've had the misfortune to read over the past couple of weeks. Current fave: "Whats the difference between Santa and Tiger? A: Santa stops after 3 "Ho's"!  :-D

Sixth album finds him inking a deal with Fat Possum.

By Blurt Staff

Erstwhile Moldy Peaches better half Adam Green will release his sixth studio album Minor Love next February in the U.S. via Fat Possum - it's the followup to last year's Sixes & Sevens and is already notching critical kudos overseas (British magazine Artrocker recently described Minor Love as his "best work to date").

 
Minor Love reveals a more serious side of this prolific, truly original New York artist.  Already recognized for his irreverent, idiosyncratic, charming, and sometimes-controversial songwriting (The New York Times called him "clever and ruthless" in reviewing his previous record, Sixes & Sevens), the new album spotlights Green's talent with 14 folk-rock songs reminiscent of the '60s and '70s that redefine him as an artist.  His warm baritone recalls Lou Reed or Leonard Cohen, and Green infuses the songs with a keen sense of tenderness and melancholic humor, making Minor Love his most personal, cohesive, and accomplished album, from the ruefully ruminative opener "Breaking Locks" to the grooving, velvety "Buddy Bradley," the '70s glam stomp of "What Makes Him Act So Bad" to the haunting "Cigarette Burns Forever" and "Boss Inside."

Recorded in Los Angeles, CA, in late spring with producer and friend Noah Georgeson (Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newson, Little Joy), Green plays the majority of the instruments on Minor Love himself.  Guest players include Rodrigo Amarante of Little Joy on guitar and Georgeson on bass.

 
Green has released five albums over the past seven years: Sixes & Sevens (Rough Trade, 2008), Jacket Full Of Danger (Rough Trade, 2006), Gemstones (Rough Trade, 2005), Friends Of Mine (Rough Trade, 2003), and Garfield (Rough Trade, 2002).
 

Track listing:
 

1. Breaking Locks

2. Give Them A Token

3. Buddy Bradley

4. Goblin

5. Bathing Birds

6. What Makes Him Act So Bad

7. Stadium Soul

8. Cigarette Burns Forever

9. Boss Inside

10. Castles and Tassels

11. Oh Shucks

12. Don't Call Me Uncle

13. Lockout

14. You Blacken My Stay

 
Green is set to open for The Cribs on part of their January U.S. tour dates, and will also then travel to the UK and Europe on his own headlining tour.  Full itinerary below.
 

Adam Green tour dates:
 
JAN. 13         CHICAGO, IL                    LINCOLN HALL*
JAN. 14         FERNDALE, MI                  THE MAGIC BAG*
JAN. 15         TORONTO, ONT                PHOENIX CONCERT THEATRE*
JAN. 16         NEW YORK, NY                 THE FILLMORE AT IRVING PLAZA*
JAN. 17         BOSTON, MA                    PARADISE ROCK CLUB*
JAN. 19         WASHINGTON, DC            9:30 CLUB*
JAN. 20         ATLANTA, GA                    THE EARL*
JAN. 22         DALLAS, TX                      GRANADA THEATRE*
JAN. 23         AUSTIN, TX                      THE PARISH*
JAN. 26         DUBLIN, IE                       ACADEMY
JAN. 27         BELFAST, GB                     SPEAKEASY
JAN. 29         GLASGOW, GB                  STEREO
JAN. 30         NEWCASTLE, GB               ACADEMY 2
JAN. 31         LEEDS, GB                        COCKPIT
FEB. 1           MANCHESTER, GB             CLUB ACADEMY
FEB. 3           CAMBRIDGE, GB               JUNCTION
FEB. 4           LONDON, GB                    ELECTRIC BALLROOM
FEB. 5           BIRMINGHAM, GB             ACADEMY 2
FEB. 6           BRIGHTON, GB                 CONCORDE 2
FEB. 8           LILLE, FR                         AERONEF
FEB. 9           BRUSSELS, BE                  AB BOX
FEB. 10         AMSTERDAM, NL               PARADISO (Upstairs)
FEB. 11         AMSTERDAM, NL               PARADISO (Upstairs)
FEB. 13         STOCKHOLM, SE               STRAND
FEB. 14         OSLO, NO                         PARKEATREAT
FEB. 15         GOTHENBERG, SE             PARKEN
FEB. 16         COPENHAGEN, DK             LOPPEN
FEB. 18         HAMBURG, DE                   UEBEL & GEFANRLICH
FEB. 19         COLOGNE, DE                   GLORIA
FEB. 20         BERLIN, DE                       POSTBANHOF
FEB. 22         VIENNA, AT                       ARENA
FEB. 23         MUNICH, DE                      FREIHEIZ
FEB. 24         ZURICH, CH                      MASCOTTE
FEB. 25         LAUSANNE, CH                  DOCKS
FEB. 27         BOLOGNA, IT                    COVO
FEB. 28         MILAN, IT                         MAGNOLIA
MAR. 2          BARCELONA, ES                RAZZMATAZZ
MAR. 3          MADRID, ES                      TBA
MAR. 4          LISBON, PT                       SANTIAGO ALQUIMISTA
MAR. 6          MARSEILLE, FR                  LE POSTE A GALENE
MAR. 8          PARIS, FR                         L'ALHAMBRA
* with The Cribs

Untamed, uncensored, unfiltered and, here, unedited... Avril Lavigne's a bitch, yo, according to the Everybody Was In The French Resistance... NOW!

By Blurt Staff

Art Brut's Eddie Argos just dropped by the virtual office with the below communiqué in which he, er, does some serious dishing - on Avril, Jacko, U2, Dylan and Kanye West, among several. Naturally he's pluggin' something, and it just happens to be his side project Everybody Was In The French Resistance... NOW! (featuring Argos and Dyan Valdes from The Blood Arm), whose debut album Fixin' The Charts, Volume One arrives Feb. 16 on Cooking Vinyl. It's a concept album, and wotta concept: the songs, as you will read below, are reactions to other, considerably more famous, songs.

Fixin' the Charts:

01 Creeque Allies

02 G.I.R.L.F.R.E.N (You Know I've Got A)

03 (I'm So) Waldo P Emerson Jones

04 The Scarborough Affaire

05 Billie's Genes

06 Think Twice (It's Not Alright)

07 Hey It's Jimmy Mack

08 He's a "Rebel"

09 Coal Digger

10 My Way (Is Not Always the Best Way)

11 Superglue

12 Walk Alone

Take it away, Mr. Argos....

***

By Eddie Argos

Avril Lavigne is a bitch. When she's not gloating about her totally undeserved success or berating and sneering at young mothers, she is attempting to steal men from loving happy relationships.

 
Do not worry. Everybody Was In The French Resistance....Now have the "motherfucking princess" in their réticule.
 

Everybody Was In The French Resistance...Now are correcting the mistakes of pop songs past. So far they have defended the belittled blue-collar worker from Kanye West's "Gold Digger," told Gerry and the Pacemakers that in fact it is okay to walk alone, dumped the manipulative Martha Reeves on behalf of poor Jimmy Mack and have taken the misguided instructions of a 17th century ballad to its logical conclusion.

 
THEY ARE FIXING THE CHARTS.

 
And unlike U2, they actually recorded their album in Joshua Tree (and didn't just get their photograph taken next to one).
 

Everybody Was In The French Resistance... Now is Eddie Argos from Art Brut and Dyan Valdés from The Blood Arm.

 
Tracklisting :

1. Creeque Allies

Response to "Creeque Alley" by the Mamas and the Papas

"Creeque Alley" by the Mamas and the Papas is the story of the late sixties West Coast folk scene and the formation of their own band in the midst of it. "Creeque Allies" is the story of the early forties French resistance scene and the formation of the freedom fighters who eventually drove the Nazis out of France.

 2. G.I.R.L.F.R.E.N (You Know I've Got A)

Response to "Girlfriend" made famous by Avril Lavigne

Pop songs have traditionally been "boy meets girl," "girl meets boy," "boy/girl overcome a problem," or "boy/girl break up" - in the last decade or so, there has been an alarming new archetype in pop songwriting: "girl steals other girl's boyfriend." This is a divisive message to send to young girls everywhere, and songs like "Girlfriend" (see also "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift) only teach young women that they can derive more worth and status from stealing each others' boyfriends than they can from realizing their own achievements.

3. (I'm So) Waldo P. Emerson Jones

Response to "Waldo P. Emerson Jones" made famous by the Archies

The Archies can't figure out Waldo P. Emerson Jones, a new character on the block who impresses all of their girlfriends and generally shows everyone up. The Everybody Was In The French Resistance ... Now! version tells Waldo's side - he was a little-known "nerd" at their school who spent the summer reinventing himself and came back with added confidence, a new haircut and a much cooler name (Waldo P. Emerson Jones is clearly not the name his mother gave him).

4. The Scarborough Affaire

Response to "Scarborough Fair," traditional

The singer of the 17th-century ballad "Scarborough Fair" instructs the listener to locate his former lover and charge her with a series of impossible tasks. The Everybody Was In The French Resistance...Now response takes his unreasonable demands to their logical conclusion.

5. Billie's Genes

Response to "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson

The kid is your son.

6. Think Twice (It's Not Alright)

Response to "Don't Think Twice It's Alright" by Bob Dylan

Breaking up is hard. Not everyone can be as tough as Bob Dylan, who claims that he needs to "travel on" when his lover wastes his "precious time." Everybody Was In The French Resistance ... Now! have read between the lines, and have rewritten the song based on how Bob Dylan most likely actually felt when he bid "fare thee well."

7. Hey! It's Jimmy Mack

Response to "Jimmy Mack" made famous by Martha Reeves and the Vendellas

Jimmy Mack heard Martha's song. So he's never coming back.

8. He's a "Rebel"

Response to "He's A Rebel" made famous by the Crystals

The Crystals sang a love song to "dangerous" men. Everybody Was In The French Resistance ... Now! opened up the conversation to other men, who see through the "rebel" schtick and argue that it's all just an act.

9. Coal Digger

Response to "Gold Digger" by Kanye West

Kanye West patronizes the chip-shop janitor who is working his way towards cooking the fries. Everybody Was In The French Resistance ... Now! know that the janitor is just working to make ends meet until he gets his shit together and releases a hit record.

10. My Way (Is Not Always the Best Way)

Response to "My Way" made famous by Frank Sinatra

Paul Anka admires a selfish man's death-bed declaration that living his life according to his own convictions and desires alone is enough. Everybody Was In The French Resistance ... Now! think that one should take others' opinions into consideration.

11. Superglue

Response to "Vaseline" by Elastica

If Elastica had used superglue instead of vaseline (or for that matter, heroin) maybe they would have stuck together.

12. Walk Alone

Response to "You'll Never Walk Alone" made famous by Gerry and the Pacemakers

Gerry and the Pacemakers (and all of Liverpool) are terrified of being alone.  Everybody Was In The French Resistance... Now are comfortable with their own company.

 
Fixin' the Charts, Volume One (COOKCD512) is a companion piece to all of these pop songs, but can be appreciated as a work in its own right.  Pop music transmits all of our culture's most valued ideals from one generation to the next; let's make sure we get it right. Vive le Resistance!

Apparently planning to rock ‘n' roll all night and party every day at their new label...

By Blurt Staff

ATO Records has signed the Drive-By Truckers and their label debut (and tenth overall), The Big To-Do, will be released March 16. The Big To-Do features thirteen new tracks from the Drive-By Truckers and was produced by their long time producer, David Barbe (Sugar, Bettye LaVette). "It's very much a rock album," says Patterson Hood of the Trucker's upcoming release. "Very melodic and more rocking than anything we've done since disc 2 of Southern Rock Opera."

The inspiration for The Big To-Do came to the band during their time on the road. "We've often set our songs and albums in different periods of time, but this one finds us directly in our present. Riding all through the highways of America (and Europe) trying to make sense of a very different world than the one we grew up in," says Hood. "I don't write a lot of songs on the road, but I did more than usual on this album and many more were inspired by or set there, either in a literal sense or something I witnessed or heard about while I was out there."

Hood and Mike Cooley continue to be the chief songwriters of the group, continuing a musical partnership that has lasted over twenty-three years. Bassist, Shonna Tucker, flexes her songwriting muscles once again by contributing two original songs to the album. Brad Morgan (drums), John Neff (guitar/pedal steel) and Jay Gonzalez  (keyboards) round out the current Drive-By Truckers lineup.

The Truckers will be hitting the road at the beginning of the new year. A full tour supporting The Big To-Do will be announced in early 2010.

Track Listing:

1. Daddy Learned to Fly
2. The Fourth Night of My Drinking
3. Birthday Boy
4. Drag the Lake Charlie
5. The Wig He Made Her Wear
6. You Got Another
7. This Fucking Job
8. Get Downtown
9. After the Scene Dies
10. (It's Gonna Be) I Told You So
11. Santa Fe
12. The Flying Wallendas
13. Eyes Like Glue
14. Girls Who Smoke (Bonus track - vinyl only)

Drive-By Truckers on tour:

1/28 Huntsville, AL  Crossroads Music Hall
1/29 Mobile, AL        Soul Kitchen
1/30 Tuscaloosa, AL  Jupiter Bar & Grill
2/11 Greenville, SC   Handlebar
2/12 Raleigh, NC       Lincoln Theatre
2/13 Raleigh, NC       Lincoln Theatre
2/14 Knoxville, TN    Bijou Theatre
2/25 Charlotte, NC     Neighborhood Theatre
2/26 Charlottesville, VA  Jefferson Theatre
2/27 Charlottesville, VA  Jefferson Theatre

Photo taken by Erika Goldring on Halloween at Voodoo Fest in New Orleans 2009.

LtoR: Jay Gonzalez, Brad Morgan, Patterson Hood, Shonna Tucker, Mike Cooley, John Neff

Are YOU battle ready, punk? Huh? Well, ARE YOU?!?

By Blurt Staff

In which metal mistress Otep Shamaya, frontwoman of OTEP, serves up the latest steamy, salacious, satirical, scatological and otherwise surreal installment of her BLURT blog "Battle Ready." A sample:

The "disco" was actually a private sex club for the wealthy elite. Reed and Pervis flashed their Platinum VIP cards and we were ushered in. The place was a dive. They paid for freedom and secrecy - not luxury.

The music was a deafening mix of techno-trash and German trance. The stench of cigarettes, cheap cologne, latex, old lube, and assorted bodily fluids was equally overwhelming.

This was definitely NOT my scene.

I tried to get Jonah's attention but Cassandra suddenly dropped her skirt (no panties) and jumped on top of the bar. A crowd collapsed around her, staring wildly at her mature meat-curtains slapping and clapping to the rhythm of the music. I expected her husband to object, but Reed was busy making out with a black transvestite in the back of the club.

Pervis and Jonah plopped down at a booth and started slamming back Jaeger-bombs while Eustace gave a handjob to a Limbaugh look-a-like.

I commandeered an adjoining table to survey this insane circus from a safe setting. The waitress brought me a bottle of tequila infused with scorpion venom. Perfect. I wanted swift amnesia.

Reed sidled up next to me and said, "So sport, wanna play?" I punched him in the dick and he slid to the floor. I roared, "Game over. Fuck. Off."

Read the entire "Wish You Were Here" chapter of Shamaya's Battle Ready blog here. Don't forget to click on the "leave comment" button at the end so you can see what her legions of fans have to say - her last entry generated hundreds of gobsmacked reactions.

OTEP's latest album is Smash the Control Machine (Victory Records). Check out the band on the web:

http://www.myspace.com/otep

http://l3gi0n.ning.com/

Live at Lime with Tom Morello features a pair of iconoclastic cover tunes. Check the Morello-Rollins video interview too.

By Blurt Staff

To coincide with International Human Rights Day today, December 10, LimeWire Store releases Live at Lime with Tom Morello, available only at LimeWire Store. Morello - Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, The Nightwatchman -performs two covers: "Human," originally released by The Killers in 2008, and "Joe Hill," a classic folk song based on a poem written by Alfred Hayes in 1925 about Swedish-American labor activist Joe Hill. In keeping with his dedication to human rights, all net proceeds from Live at Lime with Tom Morello will go to Amnesty International, an organization Morello supports.

Live at Lime with Tom Morello was recorded and mixed at Galt Line Music in Los Angeles by Eric Robinson and produced by Marshall Altman. Tom Morello performs guitar, harmonica, and vocals on "Joe Hill" and "Human." "Human" also features David Gibbs on guitar and Eric Robinson on piano.

An accompanying video interview (see below) features musician, artist and activist Henry Rollins in an exclusive conversation with Morello. Taped on the day of the recording, the interview features Rollins and Morello in the studio discussing a wide range of issues including Morello's involvement with Amnesty International, activism in music, and President Obama.

"It's not every day you get to assemble such a high-caliber group of folks and produce something as cool and meaningful as this Amnesty benefit," said Tom Monday, LimeWire's Director of Partner Relations. "Morello really walks the walk-he speaks his mind and supports causes close to his heart. We're beyond excited to be working with him. And having Henry Rollins participate is absolute gravy."

Karen Scott, Amnesty International's Music for Human Rights Program Manager, said: "The people at LimeWire Store have been a pleasure to work with and everyone involved put their heart and soul into this project. Both Tom Morello and Henry Rollins are dedicated activists and supporters of Amnesty International and the fight for Human Rights. You can really hear and feel their passion both in the music and in the interview."

Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on December 10. The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on December 10, 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the first global enunciation of human rights.

Only thing more enticing would be catfight photos of Bettie Page and Edie Sedgwick....

By Blurt Staff

Save your pity - Scarlett Johansson doesn't need it (and certainly doesn't want it). No matter that the gal can't sing her way out of a Zip-lok bag, as evidenced by that jaw-droppingly atrocious 2008Tom Waits tribute, Anywhere I Lay My Head, which barely mustered a "4" out of 10 stars in the BLURT review. Fair or not, on the basis of that collection of sonic howlers we didn't even bother to consider the recently released Break Up, her collaboration/canoodle with Pete Yorn, for coverage here at BLURT (although, in all fairness, Yorn's presence probably helped smooth out SJ's rough edges).

But anyhow, she's a successful actress for whom music as a second language isn't necessarily a requisite to entrée in rarified circles. Plus, she makes for one helluva cover gal. Just check the January 2010 issue of Harper's Bazaar - the UK edition -  in which she appears in a faux-animal print getup on the cover looking soft-focused and with a pouty come-hither look. She was interviewed for the magazine by none other than Bono, who knows a thing or two about actresses and models.

The good folks at The Lipstick Diaries blog have posted the magazine cover and some of the interior images which, we have to admit, are borderline cheesecake shots - one of ‘em appears above. Go here for the entire gallery and see what you think.

The commentary is appropriately breathless, too. Writes TLD:

She has everything! She's talented, she's up to date in the fashion world, she sings, she looks like she has great character, and she is also doing some charity work with Bono from U2 in Africa.

We can't possibly top that...