This could be a new obsession...

A friend just introduced me to a band called I Was a Cub Scout. Think Ben Gibbard (from Death Cab for Cutie) meets Torquil Campbell (singer for the band Stars), sung with a British accent. Damn this band is good. I must go google/wikipedia/itunes/myspace this new discovery now... more on I Was a Cub Scout in future posts I'm sure.
Happy Friday!

Check out this video from the band:

Reasons to join the Tide Pool...

This weekend I'll be taking a few lucky Tide Poolers to see the sold out Regina Spektor concert at Toad's Place... with a private meet and greet after the show! Have you signed up for the Tide Pool yet??? We're constantly giving away CDs, concert tickets and other cool things for our loyal listeners. Here's a sneak peek at a few giveaways we have coming up (for your eyes only).

Jack Johnson's new album, Sleep Through the Static
Shawn Mullins new album, Honeydew (win it before you can buy it in stores!)
Tickets to see comedian Martin Short
Gift certificates to your favorite local business' ...and lots more!

Join the Tide Pool here!

Last weekend I watched a documentary about the Pixies that came out a of couple of years ago. It's called Loud Quiet Loud and the cameras followed the band around on their sold out 2004 reunion tour (venues were selling out in 4 minutes!) Has anyone seen this? The film was great, but I couldn't help but notice that most of the members of the band have gone a little looney over the years (with the exception of guitarist Joey Santiago). Pixies have always been a band that people either love or hate (or people just don't know who they are). Fans got excited after the reunion tour because Frank Black illuded that Pixies would release a new album in the future. Unfortunately, just last month he told an interviewer, "The band did a successful reunion tour but that kinda fizzled out," before adding "They're not going to make a record." Bummer!! I've never been a big fan of Frank Black's solo stuff (although I was a big fan of bassist Kim Deal's band the Breeders). Just this morning, I read in the news that Frank Black has been collaborating with Modest Mouse singer/guitarist Isaac Brock and Larry Norman (a Christian artist who passed away on Sunday). The album will be released later this year apparently. It's crazy to think about how influential a band can be, even when they never break into the mainstream:

"No! That's just not right! The Pixies opening for us is like the Beatles opening for us. I won't allow it. There's no way we can follow the Pixies!" ~ Radiohead's Thom Yorke, after finding out the Pixies were going to play before them at Coachella.

"I was trying to write the ultimate pop song. I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies. I have to admit it (smiles). When I heard the Pixies for the first time, I connected with that band so heavily I should have been in that band - or at least in a Pixies cover band. We used their sense of dynamics, being soft and quiet and then loud and hard." ~Kurt Cobain

Here they are performing "Where is My Mind?" (the song that inspired the title of this blog) on their reunion tour:

Thoughts on Monday's music news headlines:
~After seeing Juno get nominated for 4 Oscars (including best picture), any lingering belief I had that the Oscar's might have an ounce of credibility was dismissed. However, no one can deny the fact that Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova's win for their song "Falling Slowly," was well deserved. And how about that performance and their acceptance speeches? I love them!
~Paul McCartney is back in the studio recording for a new album to be released this summer. Is anyone excited about this?
~There will be a new music festival in August called the Outside Lands Festival. They are expecting to sell 160,000 tickets (that's double the size of Bonnaroo!) The festival will be in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park and the headliners will be Radiohead, Jack Johnson and Tom Petty. I'm thinking this could be the biggest festival of the summer.
~Noel Gallagher (Oasis) is selling his holiday home because he hates James Blunt, who lives next door. Wondering if James will serenade Noel with a rendition of "Goodbye My Lover" as he's pulling out of the driveway. That song is almost as annoying as "Beautiful." Almost. Must stop writing about James Blunt before I start ranting...

I am really liking the new album from The Helio Sequence called Keep Your Eyes Ahead. I'm having a hard time explainging their sound to people. I guess it could be electronic-ambient-psychadelic-indie rock. Maybe. The band is Brandon Summers on vocals/guitar and Benjamin Weikel on keyboards/drums. I've found it to be good driving music.

Check out the downloads below. Also, for those who would like to save any of the downloads I place on this site, just right click and hit "save target as." Then you can save the file as an MP3 on your computer. Happy Friday!

:: Download "Everyone Knows Everyone" by the Helio Sequence here ::
:: Download "Blood Bleeds Blood" by the Helio Sequence here ::
:: Download "Keep Your Eyes Ahead" by the Helio Sequence here ::

Frances Bean Cobain (daughter of Kurt and Courtney) is in Harper's Bazaar magazine and the pictures are making me feel kinda old. Wasn't she just a baby a few years ago? My favorite part of the article:

She counts Michael Stipe as her godfather and still winces when she remembers the untimely death of a rabbit given to her by Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins. ("He's like, 'Promise it won't die,' and it did. And I was like, 'Oh, Billy, my bad.'")

So her parents are Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, her godfather is R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe and she's friends with Billy Corgan? This girl needs to join a rock band and start writing songs! There's something kind of endearing about her too. Like when asked what her ambitions are, she says, "I want to be sublimely happy ...I want to be able to live in a way that isn't too hectic. Calm. And I want those around me to be sublimely happy as well." You can read the full article here.

U2 have gone back into the studio to record a new album! I've been getting some emails about the new U2 song we've been playing here at the Tide... the song "Wave of Sorrow" is off of the recent re-issue of the band's Joshua Tree album. It's a never before released song that Bono recently went back into the studio to record vocals for. The band is going to be recording their follow up to How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois and no release date has been set yet.

Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has been using Boston's song "More Than a Feeling" throughout his campaign and Boston's Tom Scholz (songwriter) is peeved! Check out the letter to Huckabee below. And just for kicks... here's a picture of Mike Huckabee playing with Chuck Norris. I think they should release an album under the name HuckaChuck. I'd buy it!

Dear Gov. Huckabee:

It has come to my attention that your campaign’s use of my song More Than a Feeling and my band’s name BOSTON has resulted in a great deal of false information, which it now appears may exist permanently on the Internet.

While I’m flattered that you are fond of my song, I’m shocked that you would use it and the name BOSTON to promote yourself without my consent.

Your campaign’s use of More Than a Feeling, coupled with the representation of one of your supporters as a member “of BOSTON” clearly implies that the band BOSTON, and specifically one of its members, has endorsed your candidacy, neither of which is true.

I wrote and arranged More Than a Feeling, engineered and produced the recording, and actually played all the guitars on that BOSTON hit as well as most of BOSTON’s songs, not the person holding a guitar in your promotion who identified himself as being “of BOSTON.” Your claim that this was “the guy who originally did it” is a bit mystifying since he never played on that recording, nor has he been “of BOSTON” since he left my band over a quarter century ago, after performing with us for only three years.

BOSTON has never endorsed a political candidate, and with all due respect, would not start by endorsing a candidate who is the polar opposite of most everything BOSTON stands for. In fact, although I’m impressed you learned my bass guitar part on More Than a Feeling, I am an Obama supporter.

While this may seem like a little thing to you, BOSTON has been my life’s work. I hold the trademark to the name and my reputation is inexorably tied to it.

By using my song, and my band’s name BOSTON, you have taken something of mine and used it to promote ideas to which I am opposed. In other words, I think I’ve been ripped off, dude!

The unfortunate misconceptions caused by your campaign now live indefinitely on Internet news sites and blog archives.

As the “straight talk candidate,” I hope you will help undo the damage still being caused by this misleading use of BOSTON and More Than a Feeling.

Still evolving,
Tom Scholz for BOSTON

Happy Presidents Day!

Who is this girl we are hearing on the new MacBook Air computer commercial? Could she be the next Feist? Her name is Yael Naim and not only was she born in Paris and used to play shows with Wynton Marsalis' backing band in Tel Aviv, but she successfully covers Britney Spears' song, "Toxic" on her album and makes it sound all artsy and deep. Below is the video for Yael Naim's song, "New Soul," which you might already be familiar with.

On a seperate note, tune in this Saturday night for a live performance from one of my new favorite artists, Thao. She will be performing a few songs during my "Amy Goes Nuts!" show, which starts at 9pm.

Happy Valentine's Day! The download below is from the band, American Music Club. The song can be found on their new album, "The Golden Age," which will be in stores on Feb.19. If you like the sound of this band, check out lead singer Mark Eitzel's solo stuff. He's worked with members of R.E.M., Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo. And another fun fact... Mark Eitzel was born in my hometown of Walnut Creek, CA (actually, that is just a fun fact for me because I can't think of any musician off the top of my head that was born there.) American Music Club's new album will be their ninth release and to give you an idea of what it sounds like, Merge Records describes it as, "a collection of smoky songs with a generous helping of heartache."

::Download "All the Lost Souls Welcome You To San Francisco" by American Music Club here ::

Actress Scarlett Johansson will be releasing a Tom Waits cover album. Last summer at Coachella she jumped on stage with the Jesus & Mary Chain, so perhaps that inspired her to pursue a career in music. Here is the track listing from the album, which will be released on May 20:

Anywhere I Lay My Head

01 "Fawn" (Alice)

02 "Town With No Cheer" (Swordfish Trombones)

03 "Falling Down" (Big Time)

04 "Anywhere I Lay My Head" (Rain Dogs)

05 "Fannin' Street" (Orphans)

06 "Song for Jo" (original)

07 "Green Grass" (Real Gone)

08 "I Wish I Was in New Orleans" (Small Change)

09 "I Don't Want To Grow Up" (Bone Machine)

10 "No One Knows I'm Gone" (Alice)

11 "Who Are You?" (Bone Machine)

And here is a picture of her performing with the Jesus & Mary Chain. Is she wearing a MuuMuu? (and is that how you spell MuuMuu?)

The Grammys are a sham!

Why the heck didn't Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova win at the Grammys on Sunday night? Because the Grammys are a sham I say! If you haven't seen the movie "Once" yet, go Netflix it now! It was by far my favorite movie from last year. And how about Herbie Hancock winning album of the year? Pretty cool! And one last thought... Kanye West is an arrogant a-hole.

This weekend (Sunday) Alanis Morrisette, Matchbox 20 and Mute Math will be doing a show together at the Norfolk Scope Arena. The lineup might seem a little mismatched, but hopefully it will introduce Alanis and Matchbox 20 fans to the greatest live band out there. I've said it before and I'll say it again--Mute Math rocks!

YAAAAAY!!!! Check this out. Guest appearance by Elvis Costello, M Ward, Chris Robinson and Jonathan Rice? It doesn't get much better than that! Too cool.

Don't forget about tonight's concert at the Kimball Theatre with Dar Williams... be there!

New R.E.M. today!

Wow, two blog posts in one day? What's the occasion? Just wanted to give you a heads up that I will be premiering a brand spankin' new R.E.M. song today at 5pm! The song is from their forthcoming album, Accelerate (in stores April 1.) They'll also be hitting the road with Modest Mouse and the National in support of the new album. Sweet!
Now, back to your regularly scheduled program...

Bonnaroo Lineup announced!

The Bonnaroo 2008 lineup was announced in the wee hours of the morning today. I think that this could quite possibly be the best lineup ever for Bonnaroo! My favorite holiday is only 4 months away--yippeeee!!! And of course, stay tuned to 92.3 The Tide for details on our annual "What Would You Do for Bonnaroo?" contest!

2008 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival Confirmed Artists:
Pearl Jam - Metallica - Jack Johnson - Kanye West - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Phil Lesh & Friends - My Morning Jacket - The Allman Brothers Band - The Raconteurs - Willie Nelson - Death Cab for Cutie - B.B. King - Sigur Ros - Levon Helm and the Ramble on the Road - Ben Folds - O.A.R. - The Bluegrass Allstars Feat. Luke Bulla, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Bryan Sutton - M.I.A. - Umphrey's McGee - Iron & Wine - Yonder Mountain String Band - Swell Season - Talib Kweli - Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi’s Soul Stew Revival - Gogol Bordello - Broken Social Scene - Robert Randolph’s Revival - Rilo Kiley - Mastodon - Lupe Fiasco - Against Me! - Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings - Pat Green - Ozomatli - Tegan & Sara - Solomon Burke - Drive-By Truckers - The Avett Brothers - Israel Vibration - Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet featuring Bela Fleck - Phil Lesh - Larry Campbell - Jackie Greene - Aimee Mann - Ladytron - The Fiery Furnaces - Orchestra Baobab - Ghostland Observatory - Jose Gonzalez - Dark Star Orchestra - Minus the Bear - Donavon Frankenreiter - Lez Zeppelin - State Radio - Battles - Jakob Dylan - Two Gallants - The Sword - Vampire Weekend - Little Feat - Nicole Atkins - The Felice Brothers - Mason Jennings - MGMT - The Lee Boys - Black Kids - Serena Ryder - Steel Train - Grupo Fantasma - Back Door Slam
Bonnaroo Comedy:
Bonnaroo Late Night Chat About with David Cross - Janeane Garofalo - Zach Galifianakis - Jim Norton - Brian Posehn - Mike Birbiglia - John Mulaney - Michelle Buteau
More acts will be announced in the coming weeks!
Tickets for the 2008 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival go on sale Saturday, February 16th, 2008 at 12:00 PM EST through www.bonnaroo.com

Barsuk Records has been the home of some of my favorite bands--Death Cab for Cutie, Nada Surf, Rilo Kiley and John Vanderslice. I just received in the mail, the new album from Barsuk's What Made Milwaukee Famous and I've already listened to it twice today, all the way through... that never happens. If I get past 2 songs on an album, on any given work day, that's pretty darn good. I think this band might be the next Death Cab for Cutie (I'll give them a couple more records to work up to that status though.) The band's new album, What Doesn't Kill Us, will be in stores March 4. Some favorites on the album: "Self-Destruct" (great lyrics and great dynamic build up that will make you long to see them live) and the song "The Other Side" (the lyrics might be a little kitchy, but they're memorable and relatable.) Below is a song for you to check out from the band. Enjoy!

:: Download "Resistance St." by What Made Milwaukee Famous here ::

The Secret Life of David Ryan

I found out that Ryan Adams has a YouTube site and has been posting films under the name HORION74. Talk about some low budget film making! Still, if you're a big Ryan Adams fan, it's worth checking out. If you search through his videos, you'll find one of him performing a new song (I think) called "Like Yesterday". And who knew Ryan Adams was such a big fan of fashion week?? He is candid in his description of himself, which makes me like him more after everything I've read about him being such an arse. The films include songs and dialogue, as well as short movies that will leave you scratching your head (like this one). I'm guessing it will be a while before the first Oscar nomination for Cardinal Films Inc.

Next Thursday, February 7, is our concert with Dar Williams at the Kimball Theatre here in Williamsburg. A special treat has been added to the bill for that night.... opening act, The Cleftomaniacs! They are an amazing A Cappella group from William & Mary and they'll be singing your favorite Tide tunes. Ever wondered what the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Green Day would sound like A Cappella? Then come check out the show!

Two group members, Peter and Beth, stopped by the Tide studios today to talk about the group and the upcoming show, so tune in all next week to hear clips from their interview. If you want to check out some of their songs, visit the "CDs and Music" link on their website.

Here are the deets for next week's Dar Williams show:
DAR WILLIAMS w/ opening act the CLEFTOMANIACS
Date: Thurs., February 7
Where: The Kimball Theatre, Williamsburg (Merchant's Square)
Doors: 7:30pm
Show: 8pm
Price: $30
Tickets available at http://www.tideradio.com/ and the Kimball Theatre box office.

We hope to see you there! For pictures from our last concert with Marc Cohn concert, click here.