Since when has the DECC had a train station?

Random Thoughts: What I learned from RS 1075

Because actually reading for yourself is no fun, here are the highlights from Rolling Stone No. 1075, which arrived in my mailbox yesterday (or so):

• While I don't have proof, I'm pretty sure that just looking at the cover (above) makes you a pedophile.
• That said, I'm old.
• The new Jack White group, the Dead Weather, is for real. (Let's pray it's not another Raconteurs....)
• On Page 13, Danny Clinch took what is most definitely the best concert photograph ever. As if getting Phish's three shows back from "retirement" for free didn't already provide for enough good vibrations!
• U2 has completely lost it. Seriously, have you seen "The Claw"? It's their new stage set, and it makes the PopMart tour's giant lemon almost look necessary.
  
• Oh, so Street Sweeper is Tom Morello and the Coup's Boots Riley. Guess I better listen to those two free tracks I downloaded from www.ninja2009.com. <- Get it? Nine Inch Nails and Jane's Addiction are touring together....
• Reminder: Prince's two new albums (and a third album from one of his "lady friends") will be available at Target (and only Target) on March 29 for the sweet, sweet low price of $11.98. (Also, while I don't remember the exact date, he'll be playing a three-night stand on "Leno" pretty soon.)
• "Study for Field of Dreams," which stars Michael Jackson and a whole bunch of kiddies, is the sickest piece of s--- painting I've ever seen in my life.
• I'm hateful.
• Rumor: There might be a Woodstock '09. Please, God, no!
• The Flaming Lips/Arcade Fire feud is so, so petty. This is why the Internet sucks, perpetuating crap like this. (And, yes, I realize the irony of my words....)
• As cheesy as it might be, the cover of the 9.6 million-selling "Ten" is pretty iconic now, 18 years later....
• To reiterate: I'm old.
• Limp Bizkit is reuniting this summer.
• Again: Please, God, no!
• PJ jump: I'm really excited to hear Brendan O'Brien's remixed version of "Ten." Should sound more '90s than '80s, apparently. -> Which is a very, very good thing.
• On the flipside, I'm scared to hear Chris Cornell's collaboration with Timbaland. I like both artists, but I like them when they're not together.
• I'll probably end up loving it.
• Quote of the day: "'Astral Weeks' was anti-pop and -rock," Van Morrison tells David Fricke. "I don't get the part about it being classic rock. I never got that."
• Worst song of all time? "I Love College" by Asher Roth. Just reading that artard's name fills me with rage.
• Some records I'm excited to hear: Wilco's new one (June-ish), Sonic Youth's "The Eternal" (June 9), the Flaming Lips' new one (July-ish) and OK Go's new one (August-ish).
• The first picture on Page 43 belongs on "To Catch a Predator"....
• Lil Wayne "the greatest rapper alive"? Come no, RS, don't fill me with more Asher Roth-level rage!
• The "Where the Wild Things Are" movie, with a little help from Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers, actually might not suck.
• iPod aside: Attic Lights' "Bring You Down" is still one of my favorite songs. You should look her up.
• A full-page ad for the new U2 record (rated a full five stars by RS, by the way) features a plug for RecordStoreDay.com. Very cool. Though I had to squint to read it....
• Another iPod aside: "Kim's Chords" is a great Sonic Youth song.
• Holy crap, Neko Case's new album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard charts! (Her last album peaked at No. 54!!)
  

Random Thoughts: What I learned from Paste 49

In an effort to curb the mounting stack of magazines around the flat (...), I've decided to bring back the "What I Learned" column. Here are some nuggets I plucked from the 49th issue of Paste (December '08/January '09):

• This isn't so much new information as a reaffirmation of beliefs formerly held: "cover model" Zooey Deschanel is as cute as a button. (She's posing with Him, aka M. Ward.)
• If you fly American Airlines -- Who has money for vacations during a recession, right? -- you can listen to Paste-selected tunes by plugging into your armrest. Weird partnership....
• Paste subscribes can go digital (sampler and all) come February. That's good to know, considering I just bought my brother a subscription and re-upped myself.
• The Mountain Goats, Sloan and the Weakerthans will all be playing one of those rock 'n' roll cruises in February. Hosted by Barenaked Ladies ... eww.
• Good idea for the holidays: If you have just a couple of bucks left on a gift card, mail it to GiftCardGiver.com and they'll donate the remainder to charities like Habitat for Humanity. -> Think of the children!
• Hip-OSelect.com has some really sweet Motown T-shirts. Vintage-looking!
• Coming Jan. 27, 2009: "Ready for the Flood," Gary Louris and Mark Olson's first post-Jayhawks album. <- Sweet.
• "All of Us in Our Night," by Athens band Modern Skirts, was co-produced by R.E.M.'s Mike Mills (of course) and Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven's David Lowery. That's pretty impressive!
• Paste's pick for best album of 2008 was She & Him's "Volume One." (Hence the cover.) It's up there on my list too.
  
• Of their picks for best film of '08, I've seen exactly none. Yay for me! What, no "Pineapple Express"?
  
• Their pick for best show? "Battlestar Galactica" = dorks. (Just kidding, I just got done playing "Halo 3.")
• Speaking of games, they gave the nod to "Fallout 3." I haven't played that one, but I have No. 6 and No. 7 ("Grand Theft Auto IV" and "Rock Band 2") -- so I'm doing a little better than I did with the movies....
• How cool is Paste? Facing ads from CCR and Of Montreal, that's how cool.
• You can get 25 free music downloads (and one free audiobook) from eMusic.com, one of my favorite sites, by visiting www.emusic.com/pastemag.
• If you ask me, Paste's Digital VIP subscription seems like a pretty good deal.
• Have you seen what Merge is up to with "Score!"? It's a 14-disc set, with each one curated by people like R.E.M.'s Peter Buck and comedian Zach Galifianakis -- kind of like our very own Homegrown comps.
• Former Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan has another collaboration album out. But this time, instead of Greg Dulli (together they are the Gutter Twins), it's Belle & Sebastian's Isobel Campbell. Sounds interesting.
• Jesse Malin has covered the Hold Steady on his new(ish) album, "On Your Sleeve." Again, interesting.
• Stephen Kellogg and Glen Phillips are both on a new compilation, "New Arrivals, Vol. 3," which benefits the National Eating Disorders Association.
  
• Here's one for my coworker Matt: In the humorous article "Gazing Into the Crystal 8 Ball," writer Paul J. Williams predicts that, on Aug. 3, 2009, Liam Gallagher will protest the presence of brother and Oasis bandmate Noel Gallagher at Glastonbury Festival. Nice!
  

BONUS EDUCATION: Issue 49's New-Music Sampler

• RosieThomas' "Why Can't it Be Christmastime All Year" is a decent enough holiday song; part Flaming Lips, part Amy Grant....
• Other songs to consider seeking out: The Steps' "Dagger," The Deep Vibration's "Oklahoma City Woman Blues (Veracruz)," Denison Witmer's Fleetwood Mac-esque "Life Before Aesthetics," Anathallo's Format-conjuring "The River," the Whispertown 2000's does-it-better-than-Lucinda "Old Times," LoveKrafty's "Just Go On," the Great Unknown's "I'm Not Listening" (something I'm pretty sure Charlie Parr or Marc Gartman would dig), Modern Skirts' "Soft Pedals" (it's growing on me) and Dear and the Headlights' "I'm Not Crying, You're Not Crying, Are You?"
• Ones to avoid: Ani's new one, "Smiling Underneath," and Lovedrug's "Blood Like." Just awful, both of 'em.

In case you forgot... / Life as I know it (is over) / 'Hey, You Kids!'

Guess who's 150 this year?! (p.s. I recently caved in and bought "Rock Band," so you probably won't be seeing a lot of me on here for ... a very, very long time. *No tears, OK?*) (p.p.s. I still miss the Impossibles.)