Bob Dylan's Christmas Album

Is that Stalin?

Richard Jay : Today

I got an email a little while ago about an artist by the name of Richard Jay, over in the UK. Jay has got that smoothed out electro pop sound, like Hellogoodbye's "Here (In Your Arms)," but more so. Honestly, I get my fair share of these types of emails, but what gave me pause was that this kid is 16 years old and he's not half bad.

There are two songs on his MySpace, but I'm taking a look specifically at "Today," with all its little blips and buzzes. Jay's vocals have a chilled entrancing quality that ebbs throughout the song. The backing is pretty standard for the genre, but there's a lot of potential there and it's always nice to hear that someone so young is not just sitting around playing video games all afternoon. That sentiment comes through in the song itself too, "Gonna go my own way, gonna get out today, yeah." Over all, definitely worth taking a listen. Jay is apparently signed to Curtain Call Records, no word on what he's currently working on-- I bet it'll be pretty cool, though... and all blippy and buzzy.

The Beatles on the Cover Rolling Stone

Brace yourselves, folks. Rolling Stone has yet another untold angle on the Beatles breakup story. Honestly, will people ever stop rehashing this? Unlikely. This time around, some guy named Mikal Gilmore has the inside scoop.

TMI reserves the right to be highly skeptical. I don't know who he is, I don't know where they found him-- I'm just grateful that it's not another Jonas Brothers tribute.

This is the cover.

Dramatic, no?

Well, I guess the only thing to do is wait until the issue hits stands. Should be... interesting?

NAMM Museum of Making Music

I've been in the process of moving and jet-setting to the Golden State (bourgeois, no?) for about a week now, so I haven't had a chance to post anything. For now, I thought I'd share this little bit that happened while I was at the NAMM Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, Ca.

There were these two little kids-- siblings, maybe 7 and 9 years old-- who apparently frequent this museum with their mother on a regular basis. In the section devoted to the 60s, the little boy was pushing the buttons that pull up clips of artists on the television monitor when he pushed one in particular and exclaimed happily, "Eric Clapton!"

If a kid that young knows who the heck Eric Clapton is, and trust me, I could tell he knew exactly who Eric Clapton is, maybe we can breathe a little easier.

Anywho, the museum was pretty cool, tracing the way people make music starting in the late 1800s. Tons of old instruments-- a few I'd never seen before, even. The folks working there were really nice and really talkative. If you're ever in the area, definitely check it out. They were in the process of installing an exhibit on the Moog synthesizer. Wish I'd seen that, but the exhibit they had on going electric was pretty sweet.


On a related note, Les Paul died Thursday while I was away. Really sad stuff. Dude was 94.

News Round-Up!

It seems as though there have been quite a few interesting music news bits lately. Here's a quick overview.

- Reportedly, Bob Dylan is planning on releasing a Christmas album. Because you really want to hear Dylan rasping his way through "Up on the Rooftop." Not too many more details so far. We'll keep you posted.

- Mika has released the specs regarding his sophomore album. Name: The Boy Who Knew Too Much. Release Date: September, 22 (U.S.). Track Number: 12. City of Production: Los Angeles. First Single: We Are Golden. Level of Excitement at TMI: High.

- As if Ryan Gosling couldn't get any better, dude's got a band. Dead Man's Bones will release their self-titled debut album on October 6. According to NME, the band describes their musical inspiration as "Disney haunted mansion, doo wop and 60s girl groups." Maybe he should just stick to acting.

- Radiohead released a new song this week, entitled "Harry Patch (In Memory of). I felt very non-British. Harry Patch is (was) an actual person, in fact he was the last survivor of World War I. (Yeah, Patch was 111 years old.) He died on July 25th and Radiohead released the song the day before his funeral. Thom Yorke talked about the need for future generations to be reminded of the atrocities that accompanies war.

- But then, Radiohead came out and said not to expect any full albums for a while. EPs, singles and one-offs? Yes. LPs? They're just not feelin' it. We're confused?

- Jack White debuted a solo single called "Fly Farm Blues." [insert generic Jack White grumbling].

- Heath Ledger's Modest Mouse video for "King Rat" premiered. Haven't seen it yet, but apparently it has "save the whales" undertones. Score.

- The Shins' drummer Jesse Sandoval didn't leave the group because of an "aesthetic decision." He was fired. Well, alrighty then.

Phew, that's all I've got for now. Stay tuned, kids.

Their Hearts Were Full of Spring to Release LP

Yesterday afternoon I decided to check in with one of my favorite obscure bands, Their Hearts Were Full of Spring, via MySpace visit. Much to my surprise, THWFOS is set to release their first full length album, How I Wasted My Youth, on Aug. 10th-- just a few days from now. It looks like they've got the entire album streaming on their MySpace, including that handful of songs from last summer when I first found them. Yep, those are on the album too.

Aside from the album release itself, the band is holding a contest where folks can remix St. Cecilia and win a spot on the B side of their next single. Mmmm... viral marketing. Mostly anything you want to know regarding what they're cooking up, you can find on their blog.

Apparently the album can be purchased from Marketstall Records. No idea if that applies internationally. It is available to pre-order from Amazon for $18.99.

Check out the track listing below.

01. Take Your Own Good Advice
02. A Question of Trust
03. In the Future Everything Will be Made of Light
04. New Favourite Band
05. Interlude
06. Record Breaker
07. Fire Eyes
08. I Saw The Lights Go Out
09. A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away
10. St. Cecilia
11. All my troubles stemmed from there
12. My Big Test
13. The End


Look for a full review sometime soon.