Happy Thanksgiving, Friends!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Mixtape Muse is incredibly thankful for music and you, the readers and supporters of this site. Thank you so much.

Only seems appropriate...

A Note for Those Waiting On A Post, Waiting to Hear Back On A Submission

Just a quick note to those who've sent in a submission and have yet to hear back (to clarify, this is not in regards to press releases from PR firms). My inbox is a mess and, working full-time, I do not get an adequate amount of time to sift through everything promptly. Even if it's been a while, I've probably not had a chance to review your submission. Key points I'm trying to make:

After A Busy Day, I'm Off to See This Live...

Today was a busy day, and it did not leave an adequate amount of time to draw up a post. I actually just got home from work, but I have to rush right back out the door. I am off to see one of my favorite bands live for the very first time. Here's an old performance they did back in the '90s on some Australian TV program.

This is rock 'n' roll.

To Put the Comma/Period on the Inside of the Quotation Marks...or Not

".","

When it comes to titles, Americans place the punctuation mark on the inside and the Brits place the punctuation mark on the outside. It's always interesting to see both methods used in the U.S. For example, Pitchfork follows the British practice and Rolling Stone follows the American practice. I honestly can't decide which one to follow, or whether or not one is more appropriate over the other. Anyone want to throw their two cents in here?

Apologies for using this music space as a place to vent my punctuation frustration, but blogs are all about expressing things -- yeah.

Posts for Today

Like many music bloggers, or simply bloggers in general, this blog is not something I am able to devote all my time to. I was trying to get another album review up today, but right now is one of those times where I just can't keep up with everything. Check back tomorrow, and have a great Tuesday.

Surprise! Paul Westerberg Releases New EP Today

Oh, that Paul Westerberg. The former Replacement's leader released a new six-song EP today entitled PW & The Ghost Gloves Cat Wing Joy Boys. The sound is like that of last year's surprise album/track 49:00. Right now, the EP is available at Amazon in MP3 or CD format. Rejoice for new Westerberg!

PW & The Ghost Gloves Cat Wing Joy Boys Tracklisting:
1) Ghost On The Canvas
2) Drop Them Gloves
3) Good As The Cat
4) Love On The Wing
5) Gimmie Little Joy
6) Dangerous Boys

Live Nation Introduces Club Passport

Sure there's that whole Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger thing that is going down which would equal trouble for the independent market, but I have to admit this is an interesting concept. Live Nation's Club Passport is just what the image above says it is: pay $49.99 and gain access to shows without buying a ticket. Of course, the catch is 1) you won't get in to a show if it's sold out (i.e. no guaranteed access) and 2) the deal is only applicable to venues that Live Nation owns:

VENUE - CITY
Avalon - Los Angeles, CA
Bogart's - Cincinatti, OH
Egyptian Room at the Murat Theatre - Indianapolis, IN
The Fillmore Auditorium - Denver, CO
The Fillmore Charlotte - Charlotte, NC
The Fillmore Miami Beach - Miami Beach, FL
The Fillmore NY at Irving Plaza - New York, NY
The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA
The Fillmore Detroit - Detroit, MI
Gramercy Theatre - New York, NY
Hollywood Palladium - Hollywood, CA
House of Blues Anaheim - Anaheim, CA
House of Blues Boston - Boston, MA
House of Blues Chicago - Chicago, IL
House of Blues Cleveland - Cleveland, OH
House of Blues Dallas - Dallas, TX
House of Blues Houston - Houston, TX
House of Blues Las Vegas - Las Vegas, NV
House of Blues Sunset Strip - West Hollywood, CA
House of Blues Myrtle Beach - North Myrtle Beach, SC
House of Blues New Orleans - New Orleans, LA
House of Blues Orlando - Lake Buena Vista, FL
House of Blues San Diego - San Diego, CA
Tabernacle - Atlanta, GA
Theatre of Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA
The Wiltern - Los Angeles, CA

The deal lasts until the end of year. So to take Sir Mix-A-Lot's lyrics out of context: "jump on it!"

For more information and to purchase Club Passport head to Live Nation's website.

Minus the Bear Venue Changes for Fall Tour

As announced below, Minus the Bear is heading out on a fall tour in support of their forthcoming album out in early 2010. Some venue changes have been announced for the tour which can be found below.

November 7th is now at Las Palmas Events Center in McAllen, TX
November 22nd is now at People's Court in Boise, ID

Quinn Break: May 19th - June 9th

Hello, all. I (Quinn) will be abroad in Slovenia/Croatia for the next three weeks until June 9th. I might get internet access at some point, but I certainly won't be able to update the blog until after I return. However, keep an eye out for new posts from Simon.

When I return, I will be on summer break so I will have much more time to devote to the blog. Please stay tuned. Thank you for visiting and for the continued support.

NO Show Tonight: 4/16/09

Technical difficulties. You can't do a radio show via the internet if you can't connect to the server. Oh, no.

Next week.
Next week.

Oh, April Fools' Day

A few hours ago it was April Fools' Day. It's not a "holiday" that I happen to like. I can't say why exactly, it's just not something I've ever been particularly fond of. My friend got everyone today when he told us he had chopped off all his hair. He's abroad in England, so we had no real reason not to believe him (totally forgot what the day was). He's got long, long black hair -- the kind of hair that says "yeah, I headbang." I thought maybe this was the year he might have actually gone for it, but no. You got us, Asa. You got us well.

From all of the April Fools' Day stuff I happened to hear about, I'd say my favorite was Bjork announcing she had joined Led Zeppelin as their new vocalist. Think about it...no really. Can you imagine say, the breakdown of "Whole Lotta Love" with Bjork doing her thing over it? Yeah, wild indeed. I'm not afraid to admit, I almost believed it when I saw the headline. Consider the possibilities Mr. Jones, Mr. Page, and Mr. Bonham.

Anyone hear about that new Nine Inch Nails record? It's got Justin Timberlake on it and it was produced by Timberland! Yeah, that's not actually happening, but you caught the subtle jab at Chris Cornell's recent Timbaland-produced outing, right? Oh, but if it were real, if only...just look at Strobe Light's tracklist:

1. intro skit
   
2. everybody's doing it (featuring chris martin, jay-z AND bono)
   
3. black t-shirt
   
4. pussygrinder (featuring sheryl crow)
   
5. coffin on the dancefloor
   
6. this rhythm is infected
   
7. slide to the dark side
   
8. even closer (featuring justin timberlake and maynard james keenan)
   
9. on the list (she's not)
   
10. clap trap crack slap
    
11. laid, paid and played (featuring fergie of the black eyed peas and al jourgensen)
    
12. feel like being dead again
    
13. still hurts (featuring alicia keys)
    
14. outro skit

AbsolutePunk's news post that the latest Plain White T's album had gone diamond, putting the band in the ranks of The Beatles and The Eagles was pretty hilarious, too.

Being a Musician, Recording Music

Anyone who actually follows this blog and actually knows me is aware of the fact that, ideally, I would make a living being a full-time musician after school. It's a lofty goal considering where I'm at in life and what I've managed to accomplish in my nine years of making music. Plus, let's face it, the internet may have provided a place for anyone and everyone to have their music heard but it's also made it more difficult to get out there, as well. Anyone from a person with zero talent to a person with a great deal of talent can find a way to have their work heard which is exactly why the internet can also end up being an obstacle. There is so much music to sift through anymore -- I guess that's where MP3/music blogs come in.

Anyways, I'm posting tonight to explain a few things. The reason Mixtape Muse doesn't constantly have new posts and what not is because, more or less, I find it increasingly difficult to find a balance between writing music and writing about music. So much time can be spent on either. Of course, it's also challenging to balance the aforementioned with school and two jobs. I could see myself going down one of two paths in life: musician or music critic/journalist. Then again, I could do both, too, but I'd rather place my focus on one or the other.

Do not mistake any of this for complaining. I simply just wanted to take a moment to A) thank everyone who visits and who supports the blog and B) say that I'm working on trying to have a new post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday -- at least that's been my goal for the longest time. Please, I cannot say this or stress this enough...if you have anything you would like to see on the blog OR the radio show (technology permitting -- every Thursday from 7-8PM/EST @ http://www.goucher-radio.net/ or iTunes Radio) please e-mail me or "tweet" at me.

New posts will come in time. I just finished recording an E.P., so I'm feeling pretty accomplished in that realm. Now, time to tackle this whole music journalism thing.

How Did I Spend My Christmas Eve?

My birthday was a few weeks back...okay, last week. A week beforehand, a good friend of mine gave me an early birthday present. I guess at some point in the past I had professed my love for the film High Fidelity. To my surprise, my friend remembered all of this and presented me with a copy of it on DVD for my birthday. How awesome!

There is so much to say about this film. It connects with me on a certain level -- the whole music/relationship/love connection and all. I placed it in my top five favorite films of all-time after seeing it for the second time (the same viewing that inspired this post). After receiving it for my birthday, I started to feel as though it might be the number one in my top five. Having just watched it again, I going to have to go with my gut on this one and put it at number one. (Haha...top 5s and going with your gut. So very Rob Gordon and not so very Rob Gordon)

I'm not even going to try and be all hip and witty, writing something for the film. I'm just going to type this: JUST WATCH IT.

What's that...you haven't seen it?
Oh, you really need to see it then.

What's that...you've already seen it?
Oh, you really need to see it again.

Merry (insert your holiday here).

In the next few days (before 2009, I swear):
-a review of The Golden Hands Before God...'s extended-player Here
-my top 10 albums and songs of 2008

Thanks, Asa.