20 Books Every Man Must Read

From Playboy.com (I don't think they are in any particular order):

• James Ellroy: American Tabloid
• Cormac McCarthy: Blood Meridian
• Franz Kafka: The Complete Stories
• Michael Herr: Dispatched
• George Orwell: Down and Out in Paris and London
• Junot Díaz: Drown
• Frederick Exley: A Fan's Notes
• Nicholson Baker: The Fermata
• Norman Mailer: The Fight
• David Mamet: Glengarry Glen Ross
• William Shakespeare: Hamlet
• Hunter S. Thompson: Hell's Angels
• Ralph Ellison: Invisible Man
• Denis Johnson: Jesus' Son
• Raymond Chandler: The Long Goodbye
• Miles Davis: Miles: The Autobiography
• George Saunders: Pastoralia
• Joseph Campbell: The Power of Myth
• Philip Roth: Sabbath's Theater
• Ernest Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises

"there is solid underlying rationale at work here: In each of these writings
something wonderful was created from a subject that could have come off as
downright bleak. There are plenty of guy reads about war, sex and sports, but
only a handful that transcend those topics. These are books that help a man
discover and define his own masculinity. "

I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that I haven't even heard of many of these... even more so that I've read exactly zero. The closest I've come was Blood Meridian... unfortunately, I just wasn't in the mood to concentrate so I never got into it. I'll give it another go this summer.

They're baaaack...

Okay, he's back. As in Andrew Stockdale with not two, but three new band members (nothing confirmed as of yet). I'll be honest, I wasn't holding my breath when 66.67% of the band rolled out last year. But he kept true to his word and there's a brand new song to prove it. Download "Back Round" for free on their website. I'm a believer.

This week's late night TV lineup

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

• Wednesday - Les Claypool

Late Show w/David Letterman

• Monday - Adele
• Wednesday - Ray LaMontagne

Late Late Show w/Craig Ferguson

• Wednesday - Ra Ra Riot

Late Night w/Jimmy Fallon

• Monday - Glasvegas
• Tuesday - Gomez
• Thursady- Dr. Dog
• Friday - Cold War Kids

Peter Bjorn and John - Living Things

Stream it on their MySpace page prior to the March 31st release. For some reason, I just want to break out into the chorus of the song below when I listen to "It Don't Move Me." Solid!

This week's late night TV lineup

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

• Friday - Lil' Wayne

Tonight Show w/Jay Leno

• Tuesday - PJ Harvey & John Parish

Late Night w/Jimmy Fallon

• Monday - Morrissey

Last Call w/Carson Daly

• Friday - Ben Harper & Relentless7

Late Show w/David Letterman

• Monday - BLock Party
• Tuesday - White Lies

Late Late Show w/Craig Ferguson

• Wednesday - Ra Ra Riot
• Friday - The Damned

SXSW performances on NPR

NPR archived various performances from this year's SXSW Festival, to include Blitzen Trapper, The Heartless Bastards, and The Decemberists - who premiered their upcoming release, The Hazards of Love (Mar 24th) in its entirety. Stream them here at your leisure.

Celebración De La Ciudad Natal - April 18th

MMJ is releasing an EP in both CD and limited edition double 10″ vinyl to coincide with Record Store Day on April 18th. Excerpt from mymorningjacket.com (where you can also find a nifty video and list of stores that will carry the EP):

hello friends. we are proud to announce and release a lil live ep that was recorded right in our very own hometown of louisville, ky. a few songs were taken from our in-store appearance at our beloved and fabled record haven “ear-x-tacy” and a few of them were taken from our concert at the fabled “waterfront park.” see if you can guess which is from which. we are excited to make this a special release that you can only get at your favorite local independent record store, as now more than ever we all need to take the time to celebrate what our favorite local record stores and businesses mean to us - the value of community/human to human non- internet related physical and spiritual contact and supporting the hardworking people in your community who strive everyday to keep it unique and keep it local.

This week's late night TV lineup

Late Show w/David Letterman

• Tuesday - Bell X1
• Wednesday - Modest Mouse

Late Late Show w/Craig Ferguson

• Friday - Conor Oberst

Tonight Show w/Jay Leno

• Tuesday - The Soundtrack of Our Lives

Late Night w/Jimmy Fallon

• Wednesday - Vampire Weekend

Last Call w/Carson Daly

• Monday - Adele
• Wednesday - Kid Cudi
• Thursday - Iglu & Hartly
• Friday - The Duke Spirit

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

• Wednesday - MSTRKRFT
• Thursday - The Duke Spirit

New tracks

• Silversun Pickups, "Panic Switch," Swoon (Apr 14th)
• St. Vincent, "The Strangers," Actor (May 5th), Ultra8201
• Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, "Statues," from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon via Product Shop NYC

The Hold Steady - A Positive Rage

Lack of time and internet access has prohibited me from putting together a Hooray Friday post for a few weeks now. So I've decided to catch where catch can (I think that's how the saying goes) and post crap as I find it instead of trying to lump it all together on Fridays.

Some quality releases already this year (details at Metro D and NPR) and definitely some that I'm looking forward to: Doves, Neil Young, Silversun Pickups, Iron & Wine ... and this group of characters, set to release A Positive Rage on April 7th. Good choice for the album title too - as it pretty much sums up them in concert. Thanks to I am fuel and Stereogum for the K.

Radiohead news?

[Reax Magazine]

I'm all about fueling the rumor fire... if only the world hinged on my every move/word.

This week's late night TV lineup

Last Call w/Carson Daly

• Wednesday - M83
• Thursday - Delta Spirit

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

• Thursday - Pendulum

Late Show w/David Letterman

• Tuesday - Razorlight
• Wednesday - An Horse
• Friday - Cursive

This week's late night TV lineup

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

• Wednesday - Oren Lavie

Late Late Show w/Craig Ferguson

• Thursday - Andrew Bird
• Friday - M.Ward

Last Call w/Carson Daly

• Thursday - Robert Francis
• Friday - NASA

Hooray Friday (a few days late)!

- New music:

• Elvis Perkins, "Send My Fond Regards to Lonelyville," Elvis Perkins in Dearland (Mar 10th), Aquarium Drunkard
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Heads Will Roll," It's Blitz (Apr 14th), Ultra 8201

- A second from AD... Wilco's Jeff Tweedy covers Neil Young's "The Losing End" in 2006.

- And the trifecta... this one a blast from 1974 past. Check out a radio session with Tom Waits that includes interview clips and songs.

This week's late night TV lineup

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

• Wednesday - Living Things

Tonight Show w/Jay Leno

• Tuesday - The Black Crowes
• Wednesday - Conor Oberst
• Friday - Gaslight Anthem

Late Late Show w/Craig Ferguson

• Tuesday - Adele
• Wednesday - Glasvegas
• Friday - The Knux

Hooray Friday!

- Check out Shearwater perform four songs as part of NPR's Tiny Desk Concert series. Last year's Rook got a lot of high praise, but not from this guy... just couldn't get into them.

- From another concert series, this one over at P-fork. the Hold Steady performs four diddies on Don't Look Down.

- I thought I had figured out our newly installed DVR, but woke up last Sunday AM to find that SNL hadn't recorded (stupid technology). Initially, I was bummed because I wanted to see TV on the Radio perform... especially since they dissed DC in their first set of tour dates. I later saw on quite a few sites/blogs that they sounded like dung, apparently due to SNLs union fetish. Then the world got a little better when I caught their interview/performance later in the week on The Colbert Report. And then the coup de grace... another round of tour dates, this time with DC getting some love. Ahhhh.

- Listen to Antony and the Johnsons perform three songs on MPR's The Current.

Sportsmanship isn't lost

You don't have to be a sports fan for this story to tug at the old heartstrings....

Yahoo Sports: Rivals High

This week's late night TV lineup

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

• Wednesday - K'Naan
• Thursday - Anya Marina

Tonight Show w/Jay Leno

• Tuesday - Andrew Bird
• Wednesday - Lisa Hannigan

Late Night w/Conan O'Brien

• Monday - thenewno2

Late Show w/David Letterman

• Monday - Willie Nelson w/Asleep at the Wheel
• Tuesday - M. Ward
• Wednesday - Antony & the Johnsons

Late Late Show w/Craig Ferguson

• Friday - The Knux

Hooray Friday!

- Miss Radiohead and the USC Marching Band at the Grammys or just want to see it again? MOKB has the hook up.

- Wanna be depressed? Well then take a gander at the amount of greenbacks that the top musicians made in '08. While looking at this list, a few things:

• How can the Jonas Brothers rake in $62 million? Even if 12 year old girls think they're the bees knees, they don't have much talent. Jealous? You bet your sweet bippy I am.
• $242 million?? I can't even fathom that amount of money. Oh wait, I forgot how much Madonna concert tickets cost.
• I don't want to ever hear any of these characters complaining about the hardships of the music business or life on the road.
• The Jonas Bros??? Seriously??

Thanks to Brooklyn Vegan for the swift kick in the nuts.

- TV on the Radio's been getting a lot of love over the past few weeks, appearing on SNL and the Colbert Report just to name a few. Check out their interview (begins after 2nd line break) and performance (3rd line break) on the Colbert Report website. I'm still waiting for their DC dates to be announced...

This week's late night TV lineup

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

• Tuesday - The Little Ones
• Thursday - Miksha
• Friday - Rusty Truck

Tonight Show w/ Jay Leno

• Monday - Duffy

Late Night w/ Conan O'Brien

• Monday - Brett Dennen
• Friday - Dan Auerbach (of the Black Keys)

Last Call w/Carson Palmer

• Monday - T.I.
• Tuesday - Adele
• Wednesday - Blind Pilot
• Thursday - The Sounds

Late Show w/David Letterman

• Monday - The Von Bondies
• Tuesday - Heartless Bastards

Late Late Show w/Craig Ferguson

• Monday - Adele