New Track

In case you haven’t heard, the formerly unsinkable airship of cash known as the music industry is currently crashing down from the heavens in a ball of flames, hurtling toward the Earth at supersonic speeds. In fact, at this point it’s only a matter of time before it smashes into terra firma with the impact of 10,000 atomic bombs, blowing a hole clear through North America, causing the seas to boil and sending clouds of black soot skyward, blotting out the sun and eventually ending life as we know it.

(More about Indie-Pop Band Stars Want You To Steal New LP — ‘If You Have The Guts’…)

On October 29, Virgin Records will reissue the Sex Pistols classic Never Mind the Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols on vinyl, according to Billboard.com. It comes packaged with a poster and the one-sided 7" for "Submission". The reissue is meant to deliver the LP to fans just as it was when it was originally released back on October 29, 1977. Hey, that was exactly 30 years ago! Clever, clever. As it was originally intended, your CD copy of Bollock
(More about Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s a Reissue…)

Said to be called "Candy Shop," the song appeared on putfile.com, but was removed following copyright issues. The track is a mix of dance, pop, and hip-hop and will appear on Madonna's forthcoming album, scheduled to be released in November.

"Candy Shop" is just one of several tracks she worked on with Timberlake and uber-producer Timbaland, both of whom have been writing and producing songs as well as adding vocals.

(More about Madonna-Justin Timberlake collaboration leaked (Yahoo! Music)…)

This Labor Day weekend Solar Sessions will set sail on a cruise around the Caribbean. Over the course of five nights (September 1 - 6), Solar Sessions and its patrons will head from Fort Lauderdale to Ocho Rios, Jamaica and George Town, Grand Cayman.

Taking place on the cruise liner Enchantment of the Seas the cruise will offer private events, exclusive port excursions, and pool side and beach front parties.

(More about 5 Nights At Sea With Markus Schulz And Noel Sanger…)

Finally! Nicole Richie wants to spill the beans about her summer in hiding. The skinny star will be interviewed by Diane Sawyer in segments that will appear next week on Good Morning America and 20/20. Hopefully Diane won’t go easy on Nicole, but in case she throws softballs at the starlet - “Nicole, the world is dying to know… How do you do your hair?” - here are some questions for the anchor to toss at the tiny mom-to-be: Is driving the wrong way on the highway fun?
(More about Nicole to Reveal All - or Nothing - in Interview…)

Foo Fighters have announced that they will make their comeback with new single ‘The Pretender’. The track will be the first to be taken from forthcoming album ‘Echoes, Silence, Patience And Grace’, which is due out in September. ‘The Pretender’ will be made available as a download from August 13, although its physical release is yet to be confirmed.
(More about Foo Fighters announce comeback single…)

For a singer who was primarily known in the Vanguard Era as an anti-war rabble-rouser (earning, for example, the satirical derision of curmudgeonly cartoonist Al Capp, who once did a "Li'l Abner" caricature of her as "Joanie Phonie"), the recorded output of Joan Baez was surprisingly gentile.

It wasn't 'til her fifth long-player that anything approaching a topical protest song appeared.

(More about CD Review: Vanguard Visionaries - Joan Baez…)

Chilean born thrash/speed metal bassist Tomás Enrique Araya Valparaíso is cool, humorous, self-effacing. He doesn’t sound like the kind of guy you’d expect fronting one of the most notorious, button-pushing metal acts ever founded. But that is exactly what he does.

(More about Interview: A Conversation with Slayer’s Tom Araya…)

There are certain songs you hear as you go through life, and time simply stands still.

For me, fortunate as I was to grow up in the musically rich, golden age of rock and roll in the sixties and seventies — there were more than a few such songs I heard during my adolescent years. "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," which signaled the arrival of The Beatles in 1964 was one of them.

(More about Music Review: The Raspberries - Live On Sunset Strip (Deluxe Version: 2CD With Bonus DVD)…)

This is it, everyone, the last Overlooked Alternatives new releases piece I'll be writing. No, I'm not going anywhere - it's the last because I'm shelving it for a new piece called "The Breakdown," premiering next week. The change is more in name only, as I'll continue to talk about the same stuff I always have, but I've decided that the "Overlooked Alternatives" moniker wasn't fitting anymore, and I felt a little limited by it and a bit self-conscious talking about decidedly unoverlooked and unalterative releases.
(More about Overlooked Alternatives: Trey Anastasio, Dave Douglas, Manic Street Preachers, Slayer…)