The Alternative Nation News Report 03.01.09: The Rushed Edition

Posted by Taylor Martin on 03.01.2009

Faith No More FINALLY confirms reunion, Fabolous has way too much weed on his tour bus, Steven Page leaves the Barenaked Ladies, where will Max Weinberg be this summer, DLC of the Week, and the Best Albums of 1994. Epic.



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Hot damn, I've been busy this week. Nothing like doing your entire column in one day. Keeps me on my toes.

Although, I usually write most of my column in one day so I don't really see how that's keeping me on my toes.

I just realized I'm arguing with myself.

NEWS TIME!!

News N' Stuff

Okay, so first Faith No More were going to get back together (according to unconfirmed reports), then they weren't going to get back together (according to bassist Billy Gould) and now a reunion has been confirmed by the band themselves. Here's what they had to say in the official statement:

"During the entire ten years that have passed since our decision to break up we've experienced constant rumors and requests from fans and promoters alike. What's changed is that this year, for the first time, we've all decided to sit down together and talk about it. And what we've discovered is that time has afforded us enough distance to look back on our years together through a clearer lens and made us realize that through all the hard work, the music still sounds good, and we are beginning to appreciate the fact that we might have actually done something right and so with this we've decided to hold our collective breaths and jump off this cliff.... Back, god forbid, into the monkey cage!!!"

Holy crap, this is so awesome. My goal of seeing my top three bands is looking more and more likely to be completed (I've already seen Tool and Radiohead) so this is great news for me. However, the statement did not say anything about tour dates, but most sources say that they will be making the European summer festival rounds.


Max Weinberg is facing quite a dilemma. The E Street Band Drummer and Max Weinberg 7 leader is torn between Bruce Springsteen's summer tour and the debut of The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien. The Boss' tour kicks off in Europe on June 2nd, two days before the premiere. Weinberg has not missed a show with Springsteen since he joined the band in 1974.


Quickies!

- Arkansas police found 500 pounds of marijuana on Fabolous' tour bus. He was not on the bus at the time of the bust and the two men who were arrested said that it belonged to the rapper. He has not been charged as of this writing.

- Steven Page, a founding member of Barenaked Ladies announced that he has left the band to pursue other interests. And by other interests, I'm assuming cocaine.

DLC of the Week

Rock Band:

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
"Love Struck Baby"
"Pride and Joy"
"Texas Flood"
"Tell Me"
"Testify"
"Rude Mood"
"Mary Had a Little Lamb"
"Dirty Pool"
"I'm Cryin'"
"Lenny"

For those keeping score at home, yes, that is Texas Flood in its entirety. Which is awesome. Highly recommended.

No Doubt
"New"

A fitting title, seeing as how this is a new song.


Guitar Hero:

The following tracks are a part of the European Track Pack 3:

Vanilla Sky
"Break it Out"

Vanilla Sky are an Italian pop-punk band. They kind of remind me of old (like, "Hit or Miss" era) New Found Glory. Mildly recommended.

The Rasmus
"In the Shadows"

This is probably the most recognized band in the pack. The Rasmus are pretty gay, so this is not recommended.

Les Rita Mitsouko
"C'est Comme ça"

An interesting song to say the least. I think I'll recommend this.


The Greatest Albums of My Life

The Best Albums of 1994

Honorable Mentions: Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral, Oasis - Definitely Maybe, Pantera - Far Beyond Driven, Alice In Chains - Jar of Flies, Stone Temple Pilots - Purple, Green Day - Dookie, Soundgarden - Superunknown, Beastie Boys - Ill Communication, Sonic Youth - Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star, Toadies - Rubberneck, Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary

3. Pearl Jam - Vitalogy: When this album came out, Pearl Jam was arguably the biggest band in the world. Their last album, Vs., shattered first-week sales records and would eventually sell seven million copies. The band would write and record the songs that would make up Vitalogy during the Vs. Tour and was reportedly finished with the album by early 1994. But Vs. had only been out for a few months at that time so the album was delayed until November. When it was finally released, it became the second-fastest selling album in history, after, of course, the band's own Vs.. More experimental and diverse than their previous works, Vitalogy was a major turning point for the band. Critics had dismissed them as nothing more but corporate cash-ins on the grunge craze, but this album (and the band's boycott of Ticketmaster) established them as a major creative force that was not confined to grunge or alternative. While Ten is my favorite PJ album, Vitalogy is their most important and most complete album and is a major reason why they have outlasted most (if not all) of their contemporaries.

Recommended tracks: "Corduroy", "Spin the Black Circle", "Tremor Christ", "Not For You"




2. Jeff Buckley - Grace: Grace was Jeff Buckley's only complete studio album, but what an album it is. And if there was any musician who was taken from us entirely too soon, it was, more than Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, or even Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Buckley. After playing in several clubs in Lower Manhattan and garnering fans like Chris Cornell, The Edge, and Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, Buckley headed into the studio in late 1993. There were seven original songs on the album and three covers, including a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". Sales for Grace were slow at first, but was a critical favorite, most citing the guitar work and impressive vocal range of Buckley. However, he would never reap the full benefits of having such a critically acclaimed album. On May 29, 1997, while swimming in the Wolf River in Memphis, Jeff Buckley drowned. His death ended a life and a career that was just getting started. But while he was here, he treated us to one of the best albums of the 90s, an album that will surely go on to be thought of as one of the all-time greats.

Recommended tracks: "Hallelujah", "Eternal Life", "Grace", "Corpus Christi Carol"



1. Weezer - Weezer (Blue): Words cannot describe how much I love this album, but damnit, I'll try. Weezer was formed in 1992 and were soon signed to Geffen Records. Produced by Ric Ocasek (lead singer of The Cars) Weezer was released on May 10th without any single support. The label wanted to see if the album would sell without any single support but when a Seattle DJ started playing "Undone – The Sweater Song". A video was made and the rest is history. All I'm going to say is that if you haven't heard this album, you should. Albums like this don't come along every day.

Recommended tracks: "Say It Ain't So", "Buddy Holly", "Only In Dreams", "Surf Wax America"




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Be back next week. Stay cool.

Bye forever.