So So Indie: Wilco Makes A Licensing Deal With Volkswagen

Wilco have brokered a deal with Volkswagen to use songs from the band's new album, Sky Blue Sky in car commercials. The first song will be "The Thanks I Get."

I'm sure Jeff Tweedy and the boys are getting quite a few thanks (read: $$$) from the German carmaker. Forgive me for being so cliche and decrying the whole "selling out" issue, but what is it with so-called indie bands selling their wares to become muzak and commercials? I know there's a lot of cash involved, and if I were the artist, yeah, I'd probably go for it. I just hope the indie scenesters aren't too far gone to understand that this move is decidedly un-indie. Wilco is not an indie band, folks. They are major, both in label and in marketing value. Same with Of Montreal and all the other bands you think are so pure and wholesome.

Wilco Announce New Album

Thanks to Jeff Tweedy spilling the beans at a show in Nashville, we now know the next Wilco album will be called Sky Blue Sky and will release on May 15.

Jeff Tweedy's solo tour continues:
01-19 Tulsa, OK - Cain's Ballroom
01-20 Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
01-21 Marfa, TX - Liberty Hall
01-23 Austin, TX - Hogg Auditorium at University of Texas
01-24 Austin, TX - Hogg Auditorium at University of Texas
01-26 New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
01-27 Birmingham, AL - Alabama Theatre
01-29 Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
01-30 Knoxville, TN - Bijou Theatre
01-31 Charlottesville, VA - Paramount Theater

Jeff Tweedy Rolls Solo in 2007; Bill Gates Has Nose Hair, Hates DRM

Jeff Tweedy, frontman for alt-country band Wilco, has announced some solo tour dates for January 2007:
16 - Memphis, TN - Germantown Performing Arts Center
17 - Nashville, TN - James K. Polk Theater
19 - Tulsa, OK - Cain's Ballroom
20 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
21 - Marfa, TX - Liberty Hall
23 - Austin, TX - Hogg Auditorium
26 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
29 - Atlanta, GA - The Tabernacle
30 - Knoxville, TN - Bijou Theatre
31 - Charlottesville, VA - The Paramount Theatre

You can bet there will be more dates announced, so stay posted. So far, the closest to Baltimore/DC is the Charlottesville show, but from what we see in those dates, they are in the south, so Jeff could very well be working his way up the east coast in February.


Holy crap, Bill Gates! Take 10 bucks and buy a nose hair trimmer! While we wait for BG to touch up, he's been hating on digital rights management (DRM), the software that allows the MP3s you download to be compatible only with one media player, or preventing you from sharing. Bill suggests you just "buy a CD and rip it. You are legal then." I like that idea. Until DRM disappears and I can listen to the music I paid for on any MP3 player I please, I'll stick with CDs. Source: TechCrunch

Heed The Changing Face Of Entertainment Media, And Go See Wilco But Don't Get Punched; Puscifer Podcast

As the New York Times reports, young adults aren't listening to the radio because there is just cooler stuff to listen to out there. Why listen to the same station play the same 25 songs ten times each per day, when you can plug your MP3 player in and listen to what you want to hear? Or web radio, where you can skip songs that suck or that you are tired of hearing? According to the article, "Listening hours have dropped almost 21 percent for 18- to 24-year-olds in the last 10 years[.]"
Also note the (as-yet) unregulated NetTV world, including the always-fabulous Tom Green, who can get away with much more online than he could on TV. It's all going digital, and according to the LA Times, NBC knows, because they are laying off "about 1%" of their workforce due to weak TV numbers. All the big entertainment names are acknowledging the lure of digital, including video games, the internet, and iPods.



And go see Wilco tonight at the 9:30 Club, or stream it on NPR, but don't let Jeff Tweedy punch you in the face.

And one more thing. I love metal. But this black metal video makes me feel dirty. And somehow, I think my soul has been tainted.

Maynard James Keenan fans out there: the Puscifer podcast (XML link) has one of those deep cuts, from the KISS tribute CD "Kiss My Ass", where Maynard sings with a group called Shandi's Addiction (a one-time project with Tom Morello from Audioslave on guitar), along with other hard-to-find tracks. Check it out.