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Having spent some time in New Orleans over the years, I'm always happy to review a new album from one of the local legends, especially one who mixes blues, jazz and soul into his own special sound. Walter "Wolfman" Washington has kept a low profile in the last decade - partially due to Hurricane Katrina - but he's back with a vengeance via his new release, Doin' The Funky Thing, on the Zoho Records label.
(More about Music Review: Walter “Wolfman” Washington - Doin’ The Funky Thing…)

“The Sound of Young America” was the slogan that Berry Gordy ascribed to the music coming out of his recording studios in Detroit, but Motown Records also proved a phenomenon. The caliber of songwriters, producers, musicians, and performers that assembled under Motown’s banner in the late ‘50s and throughout the ‘60s and early ‘70s rank among the most successful and creatively sophisticated of the twentieth century.
(More about Music Review: Various Artists - The Motown Collection (10 CD/1 DVD Set)…)

Soul legend James Brown will always be known as the “Hardest Working Man in Show Business.” But keep your eye on one guitar virtuoso's itinerary over the next few years and you’ll find yourself asking if he isn’t the hardest working man on six strings.

(More about Interview: Guitar Virtuoso Alex Skolnick of Testament…)

It's summertime, and no band says good times, hot babes, and cool rays quite like Motley Crue, right? Currently out pillaging the countryside on their Cruefest tour, the original bad boys of the Sunset Strip are also back this week with Saints of Los Angeles, their first new album in eight years.

(More about New Album Releases 06/24/08: Motley Crue, Ry Cooder, Sigur Ros, Three 6 Mafia, RZA/Bobby Digital, Babyshambles, Anthony David, Jessie Baylin, Watermelon Slim & More…)

In 1977, Joel’s fourth and best album replaced Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water as Columbia Records’ all-time top-seller, establishing Joel as a titan of adult contemporary В­ America’s answer to Elton John. The Stranger also launched Joel’s longterm collaboration with producer Phil Ramone, who distilled the Piano Man’s music to its essence, a hook-packed blend of AM-radio pop-rock and Broadway schmaltz.
(More about Billy Joel - The Stranger (30th anniversary deluxe edition)…)

The fusion of genres is an art form. Reliant entirely on the inventiveness of music journalists and fans with too much time on their hands, genre fusion is a wordsmith’s orgiastic feast. With no moderation and very few rules, words are created that help sum up the various changes in the nuances of music. The official name for this fusion of two words is portmanteau.

For our purposes, we’ll use one such portmanteau to describe ferocious Alaskan group 36 Crazyfists: metalcore.

(More about Music Review: 36 Crazyfists - The Tide and Its Takers…)

The movie, "All Together Now," shows Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr working with Yoko Ono, George Harrison's widow Olivia and The Beatles' producer Sir George Martin to remix their music for the 21st century with the Las Vegas stage production of "Love." "I wanted to tell this story about these people who are myths. They're mythic characters," said the film's Canadian director, Adrian Wills.
(More about Film shows Beatles “reunited” for Las Vegas show (Reuters)…)

The journey into music videos has moved into its sixth week. Has everyone been counting along?

This week continues my compiling of videos and various musical related tid-bits for your viewing pleasure. Some will be brand spanking new, while others will just be things that I like. I am not great with the timeliness yet, but I hope you’ve been enjoying these video collections and actually desire more.

The majority of the videos will fall in the metal realm, as that is where my primary musical interests lie.

(More about Music Media: Warbringer, Keep of Kalessin, Nevermore, Lordi, Slipknot, Warrant, Laaz Rockit, Sevendust, Mushroomhead…)

Physical release date revealed, too Just a few short days ago, we got Gregg "Girl Talk" Gillis on the phone for a little chat about his new album, Feed the Animals. He had finished the follow-up to 2006’s Night Ripper early last week, had it mastered over the weekend, and expected to deliver it to the Illegal Art website through a pay-what-you-please policy "Wednesday or Thursday." Well, it’s Thursday, and Girl Talk’s Feed the Animals is available to download now.
(More about Girl Talk’s Feed the Animals Available Now!…)

Mongrel, the supergroup formed by Babyshambles’ Drew McConnell, Reverend And The Makers’ Jon McClure and former Arctic Monkey Andy Nicholson are set to play a gig on a carnival float tomorrow (June 21). The group will perform without Nicholson at Love Music Hate Racism’s carnival parade through central London. McConnell and McClure, joined by British-Iraqi rapper LowKey, are set to play on the back of a mobile float complete with sound system.
(More about Babyshambles and The Rev supergroup announce gig tomorrow (June 21)…)