"Dustbowl Dance"

This is my favorite cut from Sigh No More, Mumford & Sons' breakout album from last year. I'm kicking myself because even after hearing all of the buzz these Brits and their album were getting, I still I put off giving them a listen until the end of the year and missed the opportunity to catch them when they rolled through DC. If you watched the Grammys a few weeks ago, you may have seen them lead the back-to-back-to-back set with the Avett Brothers and Bob Dylan (I thought M&S blew the others away). Here's to hoping they schedule some more dates over here when they do the festival circuit this summer.

Hooray Friday (a day late)!

- The soundtrack to the Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There (out Nov 21st) looks almost as intriguing as the film itself. 2 discs full of Dylan covers by artists such as Cat Power, Iron and Wine, Jeff Tweedy, Mark Lanegan, Stephen Malkmus, Jim James, and non other than John "F-ing" Doe? Count me in! I am fuel provides the tracklist and a taste of what's to come with a little ditty from Eddie Vedder and the Million Dollar Bashers before the Oct 30th album release.

- Same blog, different goodness. I am fuel also hooks us up with mix of favorites from EPs. I haven't given it a whirl yet, but with the likes of Wilco, Ambulance LTD, Bishop Allen, Iron and Wine, Oasis, The Black Keys and Pete Yorn getting some love, I definitely will.

- It seems like I'm always singing the praises of NPR and there's a reason for that. World Cup Cafe from WXPN has an interview and a 4-song studio performance of Iron and Wine's Sam Beam posted. Get after it!

Sorry for the shortness of this, but I'm hung-over..

Get your tour dates here

- Bob Dylan & Elvis Costello are teaming together for some dates this fall. I've saw Mr. Dylan and his band a few years ago and can't say I was too impressed. It instead made me wonder what it would have been like to be at one of his concerts back in the day. I've heard good and bad things about Elvis Costello, although I think he's playing solo during this tour.

- The Boss and the E Street band are heading out to support their upcoming release, Magic. I can wait to see what the ticket prices are for this. And I'm sure Ticketbastard isn't going to be shy with their service fees. Yeah that's right, I'm Mr. Brightside.

- Keeping with the ridiculously expensive tickets prices theme, Van Halen has kissed and made up with David Lee Roth and are planning mucho dates. I say planning, because you never know how long the love fest will last, especially with someone as annoying as DLR. Tickets have already gone on sale for some dates and some are already sold out.

- Okkervil River's new album, The Stage Names is getting mixed reviews. I'm still undecided, but am leaning towards some of their earlier efforts. Their tour starts tonight and runs till Dec.

- The Cure have postponed their tour till April/May 2008 because they haven't finished their new album. New dates TBA.

"All Along the Watchtower"

Last night, I was dropping some greenbacks on a few malted beverages and playing Golden Tee at a local watering hole when I heard Neil Young's version of "All Along the Watchtower." I started thinking about the Bob Dylan original and how many times it's been covered over the years - Hendrix, the Dead, Dave Matthews Band, hell even Prince gave it a go during last year's Super Bowl halftime show... I honestly don't think I've heard a version I didn't like so far and I like them all for different reasons (although DMB's take is my favorite, with the slow start that builds into a free-for-all frenzy). So I decided that I would do a little research this weekend... that is, if I remembered.

Well apparently my memory isn't as bad as I thought it was. It didn't take much surfing to uncover some more information. My first stop was to the trusty Wiki which provided a little history lesson (the lyrics "contain biblical and apocalyptic references") and a lengthy list of artists who covered it. I then came across what I first thought was a gold mine - a post on My Old Kentucky Blog, who covered this same topic in May (you mean I'm not the only one that comes up with these ideas??). Bonus! The post includes audio links for a handful of the covers... Damn! I can't get any of the links play.

I think the amazing thing about this song is the diversity of the artists that have covered it. The Dead played it 123 times... Dionysis Savvopoulos adapted the lyrics and sang it in Greek... B-Real of Cyprus Hill (I'd love to hear that version)... DMC of Run DMC (ditto)... rock, rap, new wave, folk, blues, even a string quartet - this song knows no boundaries in the music world. Makes you wonder if Bob Dylan knew that this song was going to be so popular on so many different levels when he wrote it almost 40 years ago?