By Blurt Staff

Mmm... glom that groovy pic of Jenny Lewis! That and much more can be yours absolutely free for the viewing (and downloading).

We've put the finishing touches on the third issue (September 2008) of the Blurt digi-mag and it's a corker. In addition to our cover story on Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis there are in-depth features on the Dresden Dolls' Amanda Palmer, New Orleans musical legend Bobby Charles, comedian Lewis Black, ex-Hella drummer Zach Hill, funk/soul icon Isaac Hayes (a special remembrance penned by former Stax Records studio engineer Terry Manning) and French electronica mavericks Daft Punk. We've also got coverage of Dead Confederate, Damien Jurado, Ben Folds, Tindersticks, Rachael Yamagata and loads more, plus the usual slew of CD, book and DVD reviews. In the latter section we shine the spotlight in particular on the brilliant new release from the Cold War Kids, Loyalty to Loyalty, and the brilliant old release from Johnny Cash,  At Folsom Prison: Legacy Edition; a new biography on Sly Stone, I Want to Take You Higher; and the Julian Schnabel-directed film Lou Reed's Berlin.

Speaking of Amanda Palmer: we've also got behind-the-scenes footage of her photo shoot and a special video interview to go with our magazine article. And dotting the issue are plenty of embedded MP3s from artists featured in the issue, all for your one-stop reading/listening pleasure. You can read BLURT #3 on the web or download it as individual pages or in its entirely in printer-friendly PDF form.

Just click on the magazine image on the right side of our homepage and follow the instructions....

Band relocates annual year-end NYC residency as well.

By Blurt Staff

"It's not one of those groups that can make a change overnight."

That's Warren Haynes, in a statement released this morning. The Gov't Mule frontman is explaining the arrival of new Mule bassist Jorgen Carlsson. He replaces Andy Hess, on board since 2003.

When founding bassist Allen Woody passed away in 2000, Haynes continues, "We were faced with the daunting task of replacing a one-of-a-kind musician, which I'm sure was challenging for Andy, who did a wonderful job and brought his own personality into the music. Jorgen's style is somewhere between Woody's and Andy's. He brings some of Woody's aggressive spirit back although he is very much his own man." Carlsson was born in Sweden and has been active as a session musician and studio owner since arriving in the US in 1991.

Founded by Haynes, Woody, and drummer Matt Abts in 1994 as a power-trio, Hess was eventually brought in to fill Woody's shoes after the bassist's death in 2000. Later, keyboardist Danny Louis joined as a full-time member in 2003. With Hess leaving to pursue other opportunities, Haynes sees the addition of Jorgen as connecting the past and future of Gov't Mule: "Having worked with Jorgen over the last several months, we are very excited to explore some new directions while at the same time going back a little closer to our roots."

In more Mule news:

On September 16th, Gov't Mule will release the double live DVD The Tale of Two Cities, which spans the entire preceding era of the band with Andy Hess on bass. It is composed of two complete shows filmed the first date of the fall 2004 Deja Voodoo tour and the last date of the winter 2006 High and Mighty tour.

Gov't Mule's Kinder Revolution fall tour begins on October 30 and runs through November 22nd, and includes performances on Halloween at the Orpheum Theater in Boston, two night stands at the Pantages Theater in Minneapolis and the Fillmore in San Francisco, shows at the Tower Theatre in Philadelphia, the Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford, CT, and more. Following the tour, Gov't Mule will, for the seventh year in a row, celebrate the new year with a series of performances in New York City: two acoustic shows on December 27th and 28th at the Angel Orensanz Center in the Lower East Side, then two electric shows at the Hammerstein Ballroom on December 30th and 31st, with the New Years' Eve show featuring the traditional three sets.

The group traditionally does a stand at NYC's Beacon Theatre at year's end, but due to the on-going renovations at the Beacon the events had to be temporarily relocated. According to the Mule camp, "Much consideration was taken into choosing these venues. The band has always wanted to play Angel Orensanz, a former temple which is a visually and acoustically superb room, and jumped at doing so when the opportunity presented itself. The Hammerstein Ballroom, with its extremely accessible location as well as its mixture of seated balconies (both reserved and general admission) as well as its expansive open floor, will appeal to all of our fans needs. With its location in midtown Manhattan, and its close proximity to public transportation to New Jersey, as well as the Long Island Railroad and Metro North, it is one of the more convenient venues in New York City to reach."

Gov't Mule Tour Dates:

Thurs 10.30 Flynn Theatre Burlington, VT
Fri 10.31 Orpheum Theatre Boston, MA
Sat 11.01 Smith Opera House Geneva, NY
Sun 11.02 Carnegie Music Hall Homestead, PA
Wed 11.05 Rams Head Live Baltimore, MD
Thurs 11.06 Madison Theatre Covington, KY
Fri 11.07 Tower Theatre Philadelphia, PA
Sat 11.08 Chevrolet Theatre Wallingford, CT
Sun 11.09 Calvin Theater Northampton, MA
Tue 11.11 Royal Oak Theatre Royal Oak, MI
Wed 11.12 The Venue Hammond, IN
Thurs 11.13 The Rave Milwaukee, WI
Fri 11.14 Pantages Minneapolis, MN
Sat 11.15 Pantages Minneapolis, MN
Sun 11.16 Harrahs Voodoo Kansas City, MO
Wed 11.19 The Orpheum Flagstaff, AZ
Thurs 11.20 House of Blues Anaheim, CA
Fri 11.21 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA
Sat 11.22 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA
Sun 12.27 Angel Orensanz New York, NY
Mon 12.28 Angel Orensanz New York, NY
Wed 12.30 Hammerstein Ballroom New York, NY
Thurs 12.31 Hammerstein Ballroom New York, NY

[Photo Credit: Jay Blakesberg]

Bad Seeds kick off American tour in the meantime.

By Blurt Staff

Nick Cave on scoring film soundtracks:

"It's exciting. It's easy in the sense that it's hugely enjoyable, but it's complex. It's hugely enjoyable to make your own records because you go in, you write something, it's cool and you like it and you put it out as a record. There's no financiers or producers who then have to listen to it and decide whether they like it or not, do you know what I mean?

"The whole film business, everything is done by committee, it would seem. So what you feel about what you've created is highly irrelevant in the process of making a film. You hand something in and the worth of it is judged by people you've never even seen, so it's mentally frustrating in that way, but at times it's hugely enjoyable because the kind of agony of original creation, of having to think of the actual idea and the theme and what you're going to write about and all that kind of stuff, which is really very difficult, the toughest part of songwriting for me, is not there. You're simply supplied everything by what's on the screen."

That's Cave speaking to the Los Angeles Times in a lengthy article published today. Cave and the Bad Seeds are about to kick off their U.S. tour tonight in San Diego, of course. But what's perhaps even more interesting is that Cave and cohort Warren Ellis have been working on the music for The Road, the forthcoming film of Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name due to arrive in theaters Nov. 26.

Directed by John Hillcoat (who previously helmed 2005's The Proposition that Cave also worked on), The Road stars Viggo Mortensen. The plot summary is described by IMDB.com thusly:

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and, when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing: just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food--and each other.

Sounds like Cave country to us! For the full synopsis, go HERE.

Some of Cave's best work has been in film - the aforementioned Proposition, certainly, and his and Ellis' score for 2007's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. And longtime Cave watchers will cast their memories all he way back to 1988's obscure Ghosts... of the Civil Dead, plus 1996's To Have and to Hold, both done with members of the Bad Seeds.

With the imminent release of The Road we can finally forgive him for that contribution to the Batman Forever soundtrack....

No, that's not one of the Black Kids in the photo above...

By Fred Mills

For our latest installment in the BlurtTube Flashback series (translation: we were nosing around on YouTube and found some cool music video clips and we don't have anything better to do at the moment) we bring you one of the stranger artifacts to surface. Two of ‘em, in fact - kinda the same, but kinda not. It's called "Zilch." Guess who did the original music?

Don't worry about the hurricanes, the Wall Street crashes, the Sarah barracudas...

By Fred Mills

We'll keep thing simple: When the mighty Chip Taylor set out to record the title track from his latest album New Songs of Freedom he sure hit the goddam nail on the head about the current woeful state of the union. Among the tune's key lines:

Don't worry about the straddle of the right-wing radical just heed the
speed of the vulture
Don't cross the border for political order and upset the balance of culture
Just keep your eyes on the ozone and the price of oil
Don't worry about the stock market, let it fall
The warming of the seas, and the hybrid cars
Was there ever an ocean up there on Mars
Oh, the new song of freedom, just let it go--it'll get there on its' own

And if you can't hang with that, check out the video clip for the song, posted below. It's one of the most moving videos we've seen in a long, long time.

Then get off your ass and go register to vote if you haven't already. There's a lot at stake this year. But you knew that, right?

This ain't your mother's sweet little Partridge...

By Fred Mills

At BLURT we are all about giving musicians their due - current, former, lapsed, dead, even those not even yet born. (Remember: a riff begins at the moment of conception.)

Sometimes, though, it all gets a bit too much. You've kept track of erstwhile Partridge Family member Danny Bonaduce, right? The radio shows, the boxing matches, the strippers, the meltdowns... Well, the dude has clearly, finally gone over the edge, as evidenced by what we came upon this morning nosing around MySpace for band photos we could steal for the Blurt site.

"Hi, Danny Bonaduce here," read the ad-box teaser. "Want to earn and extra $1,700 - $7,900 from home this month?"

Why yes - yes, we do! Glad you asked, Dan!

The ad provides a web address for  IncomeWithDanny.com (it doesn't seem to be working, however) and goes on to say, "If you've ever wished it was YOUR TURN to escape "the rat race" and align with a respected company that's creating 5 & 6 figure income earners - every year - like clockwork, then pay close attention to what you're about to discover..."

Of course, you'll have to fill out a webform and provide your name, phone and address in order to click-through to the following page, so at that point we decided that we're happy enough being part of the rat race. Truth be told, you'd have to be fucking nuts to go along with these sorts of schemes - what, stuffing envelopes? Separating brown M&Ms from little piles? Inseminating gerbils? Working spam bots?

And Bonaduce has lost his mind if he thinks anyone's gonna get sucked into his little celebrity black hole... Christ. Where's Susan Dey when we need her?

 It was kinda cool hearing that abrasive Bonaduce voice play while looking at the ad, however.

Sexploitation horror flick features blood, boobs, and a killer cover of "Bang a Gong"

By Blurt Staff

AL Jourhgensen just can't take a break.  Now that Ministry has wrapped up its farewell "C U La TouR," Jourgensen will concentrating on the release of the "Wicked Lake" soundtrack, set to arrive in stores on November 24, 2008 in conjunction with the film's October 7 DVD release.

For those who are wondering, "Wicked Lake" is a new horror film directed by Zach Passero and written by Adam Rockoff.  The film follows four seductive women as they coyly tease the locals and are eventually held hostage and terrorized in their cabin by several of the sex-crazed and sadistic locals they toyed with before.

See below for the awesome trailer! Lotsa nudity, blood, etc.

While "Wicked Lake" is Jourgensen's debut scoring for a feature film, it's not his first foray into soundtracks.  He wrote and performed tracks for Steven Spielberg's "Artificial Intelligence: AI" (2001), Paul Verhoeven's "RoboCop" (1987) and "The Matrix" (1999).

The soundtrack offers 15 tracks, mostly from artists on Jourgensen's 13th Planet's label.  The song list includes Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Prong, Ascension of The Watchers, and False Icons. One gem is a previously unreleased Ministry track, "Cuz U R Next," one of the last songs written by the late Paul Raven with Jourgensen.  Also on the soundtrack is a brand new Revolting Cocks track called "Hookerbot3000."

Jourgensen and the cast of "Wicked Lake" will be making an in-store appearance at Hollywood's Virgin Megastore on September 25 to publicize the film.

The complete track list:

"Evading"

Ascension of The Watchers

"Residual Presence"

Ascension of the Watchers

"Experiment in Terror"

Laika & the Cosmonauts

"10 Million Ways to Die"

Revolting Cocks

"Hookerbot3000"

Revolting Cocks

"Bang A Gong"

Ministry & Co-Conspirators

"Radar Love"

Ministry & Co-Conspirators

"Decay"

False Icons

"Cuz U R Next"

Ministry

"Can't Stop the Bleeding"

Prong

"No Justice"

Prong

"Combustion"

Meshuggah

"As I Destruct"

Threat Signal

"Nobody Knows What Killer Looks Like"

Hemlock

"Khyber Pass [Wicked Instrumental]"

Ministry

Let's paint the White House black this year, people.

By Fred Mills

Time is about to run out on your chance to vote in the latest BLURT poll. We told you: To hell with red/blue states - in the BLURT party, we let YOU pick the candidate and the veep!

And cast your ballots you have - with the ticket of Michael Stipe/Patti Smith currently just one vote ahead of the Jello Biafra/Mojo Nixon ticket. See the stats as they stand below.

We're personally chagrined that the George Clinton/Flavor Flav ticket hasn't proven more popular - are you saying you don't want another Clinton in the White House?

Even porn star Mary Carey and her running mate Courtney Love is beating the funk/hip-hopsters at this point, leaving those bastions of conservatism, Brooks & Dunn, angling to come in last in a dead tie with Clinton/Flav. But hey, like we said, YOU get to pick the candidates.

Just look for the BLURT poll running in the left-hand margin of our home. Like Mary Carey herself says, "Don't be a boob - get out and exercise your rights as an American citizen!"

George Clinton & Flavor Flav (1)        3%

Michael Stipe & Patti Smith (10)        27%

Jello Biafra & Mojo Nixon (9)            24%

Ted Nugent & Sammy Hagar (2)        5%

Brooks & Dunn (1)                             3%

Warren Haynes & Grace Potter (4)     11%

Kinky Friedman & Krist Novoselic (5)  14%

Little Richard & Little Steven (3)           8%

Mary Carey & Courtney Love (2)         5%

Sammy Hagar calls for change in new song/video.

By Randy Harward

Sammy Hagar’s donations to George W. Bush and California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R) evidently—and insistence that he doesn’t mind that McCain used his Van Halen song “Right Now” at the RNC—don’t indicate he’s a true redhead. The title track to his new album Cosmic Universal Fashion (Roadrunner/Loud & Proud) was an online collaboration between Hagar and an Iraqi musician name Steven Lost. The video calls for ideologues from all sides to remove heads from heinie-holes and enact real change.

The clip picks up where VH’s “Right Now” video left off—in fact, it’s the same concept, and they admit as much at the beginning. “In 1992, 4 minutes and 18 seconds caught the world’s attention in a universal fashion,” flashes onscreen before a patchwork of images and “right now” statements lament the state of the world. The war and the current administration are ostensibly taken to task over the faltering economy, exorbitant fuel prices, health care, global warming, world hunger, American gluttony, rockstar politicians/political rockstars, fear-mongering and godlessness (although he appears to be non-denominational, showing pictures of Ganesha, Buddha and Christ). True to his partyin’ motherfuckerness, Hagar also bemoans spammers and the fact that strippers can’t retire on tips. (Oh, and he covers the Beastie Boys’ “Fight For Your Right To Party” on the album.)

Really, though, Hagar calls for everybody to pull their heads out and get serious about the country’s direction instead of continuing the red-blue slap fight. “We are light years ahead of where we thought we’d be in 1992, yet there will always be issues that continue to need our attention,” Hagar says in a press release. “With the upcoming election, global and national issues are at the forefront of everyone’s minds. “Cosmic Universal Fashion” is not about supporting left or right, blue or red, but rather an attempt to appeal to people on a personal level to get involved.”

This notwithstanding, it’s interesting to note that Dubya gets spanked twice, perhaps thrice, in the clip. When the song complains about presidential scandals, Bill Clinton is shown, then we see Bush shaking hands with Tony Blair. In another spot, a picture of the lame duck, lame-ass president is accompanied by a statement says he’s more an entertainer than politician. And Hagar and ex-VH bass player Michael Anthony stand arms folded to these words: “Right now it’s time to finish what you started.” We assume these pertain to the Iraq War as well as Hagar’s “do something” theme.

And mind you, the Red Rocker has never claimed to be overly Republican, citing a brand-conscious desire to be outwardly non-partisan. As he told USA Today last month, “I can't take the stage and preach to people, because unfortunately there will always be folks out there who'll say, ‘Oh, he thinks that, then I'll never go to his club again.’ So I just do what I do, and hope I don't insult anyone.

            “We're at a crossroads, for sure. If we don't make the right changes, right now, we'll have an even bigger depression and more wars. The best thing we can all do is not wait until the government does things, but instead just get involved in our own communities to help those around us.”

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)

8:00 AM TVONE: Tom Joyner Sky Show:  The O'Jays

11:00 AM FUSE: Loaded: Eminem

1:30 PM Sundance: Saving Jazz w/Irvin Mayfield , Tony Bennett , Wynton Marsalis , Kermit Ruffins , Ellis Marsalis , Irma Thomas

2:30 PM Sundance: Let's Rock Again! Joe Strummer , Mescaleros , The Clash

4:30 PM GSN: Family Feud: Village People vs. Disco Divas w/A Taste of Honey ,  Thelma Houston , Freda Payne , Village People , The Weather Girls

7:00 PM Ovation:  Profile: John Cale

8:00 PM RAVE HD: Soundstage:  Counting Crows and Shelby Lynne

12:00 AM RAVE HD: Later With Jools Holland: Green Day , Elvis Costello , Robbie Williams , Estelle , Nellie McKay , Jools Holland

12:05 AM ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Tokio Hotel

12:35 AM NBC: Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Marc Broussard

12:37 AM CBS: The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: The Ting Tings

1:00 AM VH1C: Behind The Music: Pantera