For those that care, Bruce Springsteen's new single 'We Take Care of Our Own' is being released tomorrow. Guess he's embracing the modern era by getting it out there before its leaked. He should release the record at the same time.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bruce-springsteen-releasing-new-s...

According to Springsteen's manager, Jon Landau, the new record continues the recent downward spiral in Bruce's recording career but that "he has to put something out to please the suits and generate interest in a tour with a band that barely feature on the record". Ah no, he doesn't say that. He says it extends and deepens the vision in Bruce's work and that it "rocks and is very fresh". Let's see.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bruce-springsteen-returns-with-wi...

The one thing it doesn't sound like is an E Street Band record. Which, after Working on a Dream, might not be a bad thing.

Anyway, hurrah if you're interested and forget I said anything if you think he's a denim wearing, lefty chancer who hasn't written a decent song since 1978.

It's Friday and I have a few bob to spend on iTunes but don't know what to spend it on..

So, simple question - what's the best new thing you've heard lately?

Apart from the SIlver Seas which is flashing away on this screen as I type. Something else!

Any good suggestions out there? The winner earns a hearty thank you!

It's not the words.. And it's not the music either.. It's the hand gestures and the walking.

I read this earlier on a Bob Dylan fansite. I'm not reposting it here to have a go at the original writer (who clearly knows his stuff) at all but to highlight the lengths we'll go to justify less than great performances from our favourite artists.

Anyway this chap posits that the point of going to see Bob Dylan in 2011 isn't to hear the songs (those legendary 'reinterpretations' that have been knocking around for years), or the music or any of that old stuff but to see whether Bob is holding his fists to his chest or stretching his vowels just that little bit further.

http://bobdylanencyclopedia.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-dylan-concert-expec...

Lke I say, I'm not attacking the chap at all - I think we've (and I include myself in that) all had to be creative in our defence of Bob's performances over the years but the argument that people go to see Dylan to take in his walking and eye movements is a new one to me..

What next? "Oh Dylan was awesome last night - at one point he even blinked!"

Any thoughts?

So, in the footsteps of Paul Simon, now U2 are getting in on the "invite a fan onstage to play with the band" act.

Last night, at the end of a gig in Nashville, the When Love Comes to Town hitmakers invited a blind fan onstage to perform "All I Want Is You". It's actually rather sweet. And, afterwards, Bono gave him his guitar.

Nice.

It's my girlfriend's birthday this weekend and she's begun to make vague noises about being mildly interested in going to see Take That in Dublin on Saturday night. I've used all my man skills and am interpreting her comments to mean: "I want to go to see Take That in Dublin this Saturday". There's tickets available and the stadium is about a 10 minute walk from the house.

Despite my ambivalence towards much of their oeuvre, I should take her, shouldn't I? Should I?

I mean, she's been to see Springsteen three times with me since we met despite similar misgivings on her part. Actually, before we'd met she had only ever walked out of one concert - a Bruce gig that she got comps for in 1999. Given her willingness to indulge my interests, it's only right that I repay her, isn't it?

As a matter of interest, has anyone else seen them in the last couple of weeks? I know it'll be full of screaming girls (women?) but it's not going to be like a Westlife gig, is it? I'd do anything for her but I wouldn't do that!

I know that it's frowned upon (rightly so, IMHO) to discuss other music magazines on this forum but I was wondering if anyone could recommend a decent food magazine to me. I've tried delicious and bon appetit but neither of them really do it for me. I've heard good things about Saveur but I've never actually seen a copy so don't know what to make of that.

I think I remember Fraser discussing a quarterly magazine here some time ago but I'm jiggered if I can remember it or find it on a search.

Anybody come across a decent food mag that they'd recommend?

Cheers in advance.

Or does he?

Bob Dylan has apparently written this note on his website addressing the recent China controversy. Sadly he doesn't mention The Word but another monthly music mag gets a withering nod.

Who knows if it's real or not but the last paragraph raised a chuckle. Time to start our Bob books!

http://www.bobdylan.com/news/my-fans-and-followers

I don’t know if there’s any fans of Little Steven’s Underground Garage show around here but I’m sure someone would be interested in listening to the last couple of episodes. As the show is celebrating its 9th anniversary, Steve Van Zandt has recorded three special shows with his old friend (and employer) Bruce Springsteen.

The show is essentially the two of them sitting around with a laptop full of music and a guitar (because Bruce Springsteen clearly goes nowhere without a guitar!) talking about there influences and favourite records. There's even an interesting (although hardly surprising) segment where Springsteen demonstrates how he ripped off/paid tribute to the intro to 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood' for his own 'Badlands'.

It’s thoroughly entertaining and quite refreshing to hear the Boss talking about himself in a way that sounds like it hasn’t been prepared and nuanced for yet another one of those ‘rare exclusive' interviews that he does every six months. And the music is mostly all great.

Anyway, two of the shows are up on Little Steen’s site and the 3rd will be available early next week.

http://undergroundgarage.com/shows-479-470/show-471-the-bruce-and-stevie...

Hope it finds some welcome listeners around here. If listening to two old duffers sitting around talking about the old days is your thing, then you’ll love this!

Some of you probably know that last week was the 50th anniversary of Bob Dylan's arrival in New York. The Village Voice have been celebrating the event over the last few days and asked Todd Snider to write a piece about Dylan's stature as an artist and his reputation among songwriters. It's a wonderful piece and contains several nuggets about Snider's friends' encounters with the Wiggle Wiggle hitmaker.

Snider has never met Dylan and muses on what he would say to him if he ever had the opportunity. I'm not sure I'd know where to start if it happened to me. Would you? Have you?!

Anyway, here's the piece. Enjoy!

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2011/01/todd_snider_dylan.php

Bruce Springsteen was on Jimmy Fallon's show last night. Looks like he was game for a laugh.

So Mich Jagger pens a response to Keith's book and sends it off to Bill Wyman. Only problem is it goes to Bill Wyman, the journalist, and not the other Bill.

Anybody think this is genuine? It's rather entertaining one way or the other.

http://www.slate.com/id/2273611

Ok - this is a strange request but hopefully the massive can help.

I'm going to France with my girlfriend at the end of August for a fortnight. We're taking the car over on the ferry to Cherbourg and will stay near Bordeaux for 7 or 8 days. However we don't know what to do, or where to go with the rest of the time. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for nice regions or places to visit.

In the past we've spent quite a bit of time around Bordeaux and the South West and we've also visited Il de Ré, which was wonderful, but this time around we can't settle on a preferred region to visit. I'd really appreciate if any of you could point me in the right direction.

We're more interested in quiet places as opposed to cities. Nice food, good wine etc, interesting things to see. Although that could be anywhere in France, couldn't it? That's kinda the problem - there's so much good stuff to do that it's difficult to settle on any

I'd love to hear your suggestions.

Merci beaucoup!

Josh Ritter is in the middle of a small Irish tour at the moment and popped into Tower Records last night for a solo acoustic set. He was supposed to do it last week but it was rescheduled on account of the volcano disruption for last night instead.

After the gig, he set himself up in the corner of the shop and people queued to have their cds signed. I've been to a few of these things and usually the act sits at a desk and signs away, occasionally looking up for a picture or glancing towards their handler for a sign that the van has arrived. Last night, as far as I could see, Ritter was on his own and by the time I left he'd been signing (and standing) for over two hours. He greeted everyone with a big hug and gave them as long as they wanted to chat, take pictures and get things signed. He even seemed interested in answering his fans' questions and related with them in a way I'd never seen at a signing before. I know there's nothing remarkable about somebody asking people where they're from, what they do and how they know each other but it must be unusual for a rock star to do it for several hours on his night off when he could surely be doing anything else.

Anyway, he may not be to everyone's taste but I think he deserves credit for engaging with his audience. I'm sure he's already forgotten about everyone he met last night but, at the same time, I imagine they'll be telling their friends about it today and, the next time he comes to town, a lot of them will go along to have a look.

So not only is he nice, but he's smart too! Well done that man.

And for those who are interested, npr are streaming his new record at the moment.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126173168

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1241915/Van-Morrison-Gigi-L...

I'm not interested in any of this Van Morrison baby nonsense (well I'm a little interested but I'm pretending I'm not really interested) but I'm a little shocked by this picture on the Daily Mail's website, Am I wrong or does this look nothing like Van Morrison at all? It looks a little like Eddie Large crossed with I don't know what.. Seriously, has anyone seen Van lately? What's he done to himself?

And I don't have to point out the Pete Burns comparison with Gigi, do I?

I went down to the Village on Wexford Street the other night to catch the Dublin date on the Light of Day tour - a brief European tour featuring a bunch of American songwriters to raise money for Parkinson's research. The acts performing - Joe D'Urso, Jesse Malin, Marah and Willie Nile took turns to sing, with the others adding occasional vocal or guitar support.

The pubs and clubs of Dublin were packed on Saturday night but I'd say there wasn't much more than 100 people in the room for the gig. It was a pretty sad affair. Still the performers all put on a decent show and seemed to be in good form throughout. I don't really know much about Joe D'Urso but I've heard some of Jesse Malin's records and he makes a decent noise. I can say much the same for Marah too but the undoubted star of the night was Willie Nile.

I remember a few years ago one of his songs was on a Word cd and David Hepworth gave his record, Streets of New York, a glowing review but I only got around to buying it about 6 months ago. It's fantastic. It really is. And - better still - all the other songs he played the other night that weren't on that record were even better. He even played a new song that (obviously) nobody knew but by the end we were singing along as though we'd been listening to it for years.. I'd never seen that before. I mean, the others were fine but Willie Nile was head and shoulders above them.

At the end, they all came out and signed records and talked to us and really couldn't have been any nicer but I went away feeling that it's a shame that somebody as talented as Willie Nile is playing sets to an almost empty room and selling his records in person when, really, he should be filling big rooms and counting his cash. This morning I was looking at a clip of him singing Higher and Higher with his pal Bruce Springsteen in front of 20,000 people in Buffalo last month. I wonder does he ever wish it was him instead.

Perhaps he wouldn't have it any other way.

Anyway - if you get the change next time to see him, I thoroughly recommend it.