regarding the Bouncing Souls' 20th anniversary.

The Bouncing Souls finished their song-a-month project today with the digital release of "Never Say Die/When You're Young." The song, along with the previous two entries in the series, will be collected with a bonus track on a seven-inch come Dec. 15. That, in turn, will be last of four vinyl entries in the project. The 12 songs, without the vinyl bonus tracks, will be released on a CD entitled Ghosts on the Boardwalk sometime in January.

It's been a fun year for Souls fans. We got new songs every month, some swell anniversary shows, and a weird/funny variety show special. Which reminds me - when is that going to get a DVD release?

regarding Ted Leo's new album

Check out Pitchfork.com for a free download of "Even Heroes Have to Die," off of Ted Leo and The Pharmacists' upcoming The Brutalist Bricks. The band's Matador debut drops March 9 (2010, the future!). The song's solid. It's not Leo's best work, but it's still Ted freaking Leo. That guy wrote Hearts of Oak but somehow has no ego about it whatsoever. I wish I could say I was going to hit up his show at the First Unitarian Church Dec. 2, but fate has conspired against me. By which I mean I've got training at my new place of employment, Whole Foods Market.

regarding Bruce Springsteen covering Joe Strummer.

As previously blogged, Bruce Springsteen made his first Glastonbury Festival appearance this year. He opted to open with a cover of Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros' "Coma Girl." It's the first Mescaleros song I truly fell in love with, prompting me to explore Joe's post-Clash catalogue. I'm still doing that - I need to find a copy of the "Coma Girl" picture disc b/w a cover of Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop" STAT. For the time being, though, I'm going to enjoy this little gift from Springsteen, another songwriter and rocker who's shaped my life time and again. The recording consists of just Bruce on acoustic guitar and harmonica with accompaniment by saxophonist Clarence "Big Man" Clemons. The pair strips away the song's bravado a bit, but it's a solid interpretation, although I wish the harmonica came into play sooner. Still, though, it's Springsteen, one of the best rock and/or roll performers, playing one of the best songs by Strummer, one of the best punkers of all time.

I think I'm going to put on Global A Go-Go and enjoy some "ragga, bhangra, two-step tanga, mini-cab radio, music on the go" mixed with "Brit-pop, hip-hop, Lindy hop, Gaelic Heavy Metal fans, fighting in the road."

Also, seriously, did you click this link yet? Get into it!

...a series of tubes: NEW MOUNTAIN GOATS EP SUCKAZ!..

The Mountain Goats, the greatest band to ever grace my face, have a new EP out called Satanic Messiah. It's one of the two new vinyls offered on the group's tour with Kaki King, but you can check it out now online, courtesty of MG mastermind John Darnielle himself. Donate whatever you want (make it $6.66!), or get it fo' free. Once my credit card is clear, you can bet I'll be donatin' (and eagerly hoping for a physical copy).

...a series of tubes: BK n Jawbreaker

-OK, so you know how I wrote like 30 seconds ago about how much I like Adam Pfahler? Well I just found out he's in a new band called A Black Light. Click the link for demos. CLICK FOR THEM!! I'm halfway through the first song, "One Last Swing," and honestly I'm too excited to properly review it.

-I recently scored a copy of Ben Kweller's self-released EP Freak Out, It's... Ben Kweller. Shit's been out of print for like eight years, so I was glad to finally get my hands on a physical copy via eBay. And of course, less than a week after Freak Out came to my house, I found Willfully Obscure, a blog offering free downloads of both Freak Out and an earlier EP called Bromeo, which I didn't even know existed. Obviously, I'm only passing this along because the albums are no longer commercially available. Now go out and buy Sha Sha!

...a series of tubes #5

Welp, folks. Ol' JTP is temping at an office job, which means less time to write and even less time to be on time, so I'm just going to throw up content whenevs, which in the case of finding online goodies, makes sense anyways.

Anyhoozle, The Rentals, they of Weezer spin-off and "Friends of P." fame, released their first new song in over a year. "Colorado," an online compilation track, is available for streaming over on the band's MySpace site. Allegedly, you can download it somewhere, but that somewhere ain't offerin' it just yet. That's a dang shame, since "Colorado" is a fun lil fuzzy ditty about driving West through the great American expanse, searching for a sense of newness and vigor. Or something.

In all seriousness, though, The Rentals need more hype, because they write way catchier songs than anything going on in mainstream pop right now.

...a Series of Tubes #4

Hey kids, stop illegally downloading the new Dillinger Four album and check out some totes legal shit. Here's a poop-ton of stuff to check out:

-Spin is offering "Atomic Hells," the first single off the new Secret Machines album, fo' free fo' one week. And of course, be sure to check out "Dreaming of Dreaming," a free, non-album cut that rocks butts. AND AND... AND... you can stream a couple other tracks from the band's eponymous thirdskie record at their street team's Web site.

-Ben Folds is streaming his new album Way to Normal on his MySpace. I'm kinda iffy on the single, so hopefully this'll change my mind before shit drops 9/30.

-Do you like to emote? My close associate Soupy del Soup is giving away the cream de la awesome from his old band, The Premier, via his blog.

-Don't get an office job! Not a download, but it's still free.

... A Series of Tubes #3

"Stay informed, stay alive - resist and survive."

Ted Leo, fine lover of all things Irish folk and/or Elvis Costello, recorded a charity EP to raise awareness and/or funds to fight police violence in Minnesota, specifically regarding how cops handled protesters during the Republican National Convention. Click the link to check it out. It's not too pricey, and the accompanying liner notes are pretty cool too. Also, it's friggin' Ted Leo, so it's definitely one of the cooler ways to smash the fascist pigs right in their stupid faces.

...A Series of Tubes #2

The Mountain Goats and Kaki King are touring together this fall, and to commemorate the occasion(s), they recorded an EP. One of the tracks, "Thank You Mario but our Princess Is in Another Castle," is available for free online right now. I love The Mountain Goats. I love Kaki King. I love this song.

...A Series of Tubes #1

Here's a stab at another regular feature: Music-related curiosities from the Internets. Ideally, I'd like to do this once a week, on Wednesdays, but we'll see how long I can keep this up. First up is PJ Harvey and Bjork covering The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction."


The video is from some European awards show from the mid-90s. PJ dominates the track with her trademark sour blues guitar and vocals, but Bjork's backing vocals add a little more to the track. Each singer has her own style, with PJ's voice strong and direct, while Bjork's is, scientifically speaking, kinda crazy and pixie-like. She tends to jump around and waver and use more grit when she needs to, whereas PJ's notes are more traditional, albeit totally awesome. I'm not the biggest Stones fan, although I do love Hot Rocks, but I really dig the way these two musicians put a new, mellower spin on a rock and/or roll staple.

Oh, and here's the mp3 if you really, really dig it.