Jakob Dylan’s wandering off into solo territory (6 years/2 solo albums) has been going on so long, you never thought The Wallflowers would reunite. But this just in from Rolling Stone:

Jakob says “I’ve got new songs and we’ve all been talking. We’ve been trying to carve that time out for a while.” Dylan adds that he’s been a bit weary of touring as a solo act. “I can’t do what I do in the Wallflowers without them. I miss it. I’m happy to put the acoustic guitar down. That was something I wanted to do, but I never planned on hitting the road and just being the guy with a guitar out there. That never has been exciting to me. I came up loving bands and I want to be in one.”

After seeing solo Jake at Mountain Music Fest last year, I think we can all agree that while lovely, he’s right that he can’t do what he did with The Wallflowers…ROCK! Let’s hear it for this reunion!

to the new Metallica/Lou Reed collaboration, “No, no, no, no, no…”

Pitchfork gave the album a simialarly scathing review:

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15996-lou-reed-metallica/

But you don’t even have to bother reading it. Just check out Puss when his owner previews the platter. Just a word of warning, the more you watch, the more Lulu you have to listen to!!

Get your tickets for Flo & Co December 8th at WAMU. They’re going fast!
 http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0F0047…

and all I got was this photo signed by the band.

The Last Letter Game was rolling when the band visited The Lounge on Monday so I didn’t get to see a note of their performance. I’m guessing you didn’t either! We can remedy that:

And then I got Frayed!

If you live in Seattle the chances of you being a hipster are 73% higher than the rest of the United States (except Brooklyn, natch). If you are in a band, live on Capital Hill, or have a beard, the chances are even greater. But how do you know for sure?

Follow this simple flow chart to find out!

What a relief, I am NOT a hipster : )

…his alma mater, actually. The guitar god visited kids at Mission High for the first time in decades. He looked sharp in an all white ensemble, jammed with the guitar club, and got the teenage girls to dance. Bet that hasn’t happened in a while ; )

I kid. It’s actually very cool.  And Carlos came with a great message, saying: “The best is not ahead. The best is right now,” Santana said to students. “Enjoy it. Don’t hurt anyone. And live with supreme integrity.”

Check out this great little video of his visit, and while you’re there, admire that drummers hair!

Bank of America said Tuesday it’s axing its plan to charge a $5 fee for customers who use their debit cards to make purchases.

In September, the bank announced that it would begin charging most customers the monthly fee early next year.

But after widespread customer revolt and announcements by several of its rivals that they won’t charge similar debit-card fees, Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) backpedaled on its plan. Customers who use their debit cards will no longer incur the fee starting in January.

“We have listened to our customers very closely over the last few weeks and recognize their concern with our proposed debit usage fee,” said David Darnell, Bank of America’s co-chief operating officer. “Our customers’ voices are most important to us. As a result, we are not currently charging the fee and will not be moving forward with any additional plans to do so.”

Back to Shawn now…keep up the pressure, people. And keep your $5 in your pants!

I was cold so I walked up to a friendly looking home and was greeted by a really sweet couple who invited me in and offered me candy:

While I waited they kept squeezing my fingers, calling me boney, and feeding me candy. I had to pry myself away. As I walked back toward my car, I followed the strains of some haunting music where I discovered:

These corpses rocked hard, told jokes, and generally entertained throngs of kids with a whole show that was even projected on a big screen for the whole neighborhood to see. They were kind of like The Gorillaz of the dead band set.

Not a bad place to be locked out of your car after all. Thank you Triple A for coming to my rescue. I was home 1/2 hour later! Inside, Charlie and I were met by the ghost of Joey Ramone. That’s my kind of haunting. I’m not sure what kind of spell got cast on The WGD while she was trapped in the car, but she just doesn’t seem like her old self!

Right now beyond the door of the studio, The Fray are playing a live set in The Music Lounge. If like me, you are not in the audience, you can hear one song at 3:15 today and watch some sweet video tomorrow once we get it all dolled up.

U2 – Blow Your House Down (Previously Unreleased) – _646943

Did you miss me?

In May, the Decemberists posted a note on their website warning fans their “since-the-very-beginning accordion and keyboard player and all-around rad person” would be missing spring and summer tour dates to receive treatment, noting she had fortunately caught the disease in its early stages. “There are still a few unknowns out there concerning my cancer, but I am thinking positive and hope to be back on the road soon,” Conlee wrote at the time.

According to the latest news on the band’s website, it looks like Conlee may be hitting the road as soon as early November: “John, Chris, Jenny, and Nate will be joining forces with Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey to form the King Charles Trio, the backing band for John Wesley Harding‘s upcoming November tour.” The site lists date starting November 5 in San Francisco and wrapping November 20 in New Jersey.

The Decemberists’ new collection of B-sides, Long Live The King, is due November 1, and their performance on Austin City Limits, which features cameos by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, is scheduled to air tomorrow.

Don’t let the quaint rendering fool you. Seattle’s own car-mageddon starts tonight. I live in West Seattle. I’m taking all next week off to avoid the commute. (Great news for you: Tami is filling in for me!)

To ad insult to injury, if you’re planning to take a cab to the airport during the closure be aware that the $32 flat rate from downtown Seattle has also been demolished until the viaduct reopens, to compensate for expected traffic delays. That means you get to wait in traffic with the meter running, yay! Expect a $40+ ride to Sea-Tac, and slow, slow rides.

But there’s one interesting solution to come out of this vehicular mess: Private car service Uber will offer its chauffeured luxury sedans for half off during the viaduct closure. Just download the Uber app and use the promo codes “FUBAR” or “VIADUCT.” Ha ha FUBAR…that’s awesome!!

You have to respect a company that sees the inherent hilarity in the situation (fubar? ha!).And it’s a cool service, too. You summon the swank taxi via text, it comes in minutes, a friendly driver (in a cap? I can’t remember, but I like to think so) hands you a water bottle, and off you go in the quiet, clean, cushy sedan. Your credit card is automatically charged and tip included. And until Halloween, it’s all for 50 percent less.

Jack White, Patti Smith, The Killers and Snow Patrol are just some of the big acts who have contributed to a unique cover of U2’s Achtung Baby.

Britan’s Q Magazine have compiled the album called Ahk-toong Bay-bi Covered to celebrate their 25th anniversary.

Other artists involved are Depeche Mode, Garbage, Gavin Friday and Glasvegas.

Here’s a little audio sneak peak from the Q editor who put the disc together (with musical highlights!)

.
Here’s the tracklisting in full:

Nine Inch Nails – Zoo Station
U2 (Jacques Lu Cont Mix) – Even Better Than The Real Thing
Damien Rice – One
Patti Smith – Until The End Of The World
Garbage – Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
Depeche Mode – So Cruel
Snow Patrol – Mysterious Ways
The Fray – Trying To Throw Your Arms Around The World
Gavin Friday – The Fly
The Killers – Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
Glasvegas – Acrobat
Jack White – Love Is Blindness.

Side note: not sure why the dude on the acoustic guitar stands up like he’s doing something special; it’s the mouth artist who’s killing it!!

I hear Ken has nipple piercings!

Most cranberries do not get better with age. But these Cranberries have aged very gently!

They are back!  ‘Roses’ is the forthcoming sixth studio album by The Cranberries, coming in Feb2011. Produced by Stephen Street and recorded in May 2011 in Toronto and London, this will be the band’s first studio release in ten years!

So their appearance has ripened a bit. How about their sound?

The Cranberries — Show Me The Way

Wow! I find this song…wait for it…tasty!

These pups are total canine crusaders.

Everyone knows dogs need jobs to stimulate their brains. And if dog unemployment is as high as human unemployment; well that’s a lot of bored angry dogs.

And dogs are loyal.

Who can say that about their broker? : )

I love how chill everyone is. No tranq gun, or Sarah Palin and her riffle; I mean that dude didn’t even wear gloves. Alaska, you’re macho and I dig that about you!