Free Wilco EP! And (even more) shameless self-promotion!!

I'm sure this is old news to some of you (nearly six years old, to be exact), but, seeing as how I just found out about it, I felt it at least worth a mention: Wilco has a free six-song EP, "More Like the Moon" aka "Australian" aka "Bridge," up on its Web site as a free download. (Get the zip file here.) Apparently the songs were originally included with copies of the Australian version of "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot."

The tracks:

1. "Camera" [Alt. Vers.]
2. "Handshake Drugs" [Early Vers.]
3. "Woodgrain"
4. "A Magazine Called Sunset"
5. "Bob Dylan's 49th Beard"
6. "More Like the Moon"

For more information, or to get any of the three covers as a downloadable PDF, visit this link.

*******

In other news, here's what I've been up to at the Budge in the last couple days:

"CD Reviews: Clem Snide, Meredith Fierke and Kaspar Hauser" :: Albums enjoyed this week: Clem Snide’s “Hungry Bird,” Meredith Fierke’s “The Procession” and Kaspar Hauser’s “The Sons.” (Includes -- bonus! -- some interesting insight from Kaspar Hauser's main creative force, Chicagoan Thomas Comerford.)

"David Lindsay-Abaire Gets Some More Love from Duluth" :: Just weeks after “Rabbit Hole” closed at the Play Ground, Renegade Comedy Theatre is staging "Wonder of the World," another one of the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright’s works, down the street. An interview with director (and Renegade's artistic director) Katy Helbacka.

"West Duluth Mainstay Mr. D's Turns 30" :: When asked what he thought the keys to success are, Al Terwey, the bar and grill’s owner, responded with a big laugh and said, “Are there any right now?” Get to know the selfless "Norm of West Duluth."

Thus concludes THIS WEEK'S SHAMELESSLY ENHANCED BUDGETEER PLUG!

sys40 :: UNDERSTANDING A PERFECT ENGINE

After succumbing to the not-so-dreaded Netflix virus, my awesome mix tapes are back in heavy rotation. On a scale of nine to 10, how much did you miss us? And, please, honestly is not a virtue when it comes to answering that question....

1. Atmosphere - "One of a Kind"
What a classic intro: "I'm different because I respect my audience and I don't yell at them. And I'm special because I respect my audience." "Yeah!" "Shut the f--- up!"

2. Middle States - "In Charge"
I've said it before, but: Like Rich Mattson and Tony Derrick in our beloved Tisdales, Middle States frontman Wes Morden draws inspiration from all those classic records you’ve heard incessantly since you first started falling in love with music. As such, the Middle States formula is all at once refreshing and timeless-sounding. This is undeniable music. Guided by Voices fans should take notice.

3. Sam & Dave - "Hold On, I'm Comin'"
Yes, "Soul Man" was good, but this is the one for me. (On a related note, today's "moment of zen" can be found by taking a look at the artwork for this song's single. Loungin' on a cartoon turtle? Just awesome.)

4. Super Junky Monkey - "If"
Featuring members of Sick of It All, this raucous track was my introduction to the Japanese scene so many years.

5. Trio - "Hearts are Trump"
Words can't come close to expressing how great this song is, but I can say that, if you've enjoyed David Bowie's output over the last decade or so, you'll really dig this largely underappreciated gem from the "Da Da Da" folks.

6. Eels - "Rock Hard Times"
I feel bad for Obama, I do: His predecessor f------ broke the world!

7. The Boomtown Rats - "I Don't Like Mondays"
On a lighter note, this "Quadrophenia"-leaning track from 1979 is one of the best ever recorded. Soak it up.

8. Avenpitch - "Don't Come Cryin' to Me"
Besides nicking a line from Soul Asylum’s “April Fool,” this electropunk gem incorporates subtle melody nods to R.E.M.’s “Imitation of Life,” marking it with a level of familiarity that makes it this Minneapolis band's most accessible outing. (HINT: Avenpitch is very generous with its MP3s. Download a 10-track ZIP file here.)

9. Rivers Cuomo - "Don't Worry Baby" [Beach Boys cover]
If you've never read the booklet that accompanies "Alone II," I highly recommend it. You'll learn a lot about the (somewhat misunderstood) genius of the Weezer frontman.

10. The Apples in Stereo - "Same Old Drag"
On a totally unrelated note, I'm totally excited about Amy Poehler's new show, "Parks and Recreation."I suppose, pretentiously speaking, this song's title and contrarily upbeat (and, ultimately, ELO-worthy) tunefulness is kind of a pitch-perfect match for a comedy about mundane small-town government. Yadig?

No?

Don't really blame you, I suppose.

11. The Byrds - "Nothing was Delivered" [Bob Dylan cover]
Simply speaking -- it's about time, right? -- this song is pure joy.

12. Elliott Smith - "Southern Belle"
Remember when this late great became a semi-household name after the success of "Good Will Hunting"? I'm glad he got that break.

13. Giant Sand - "Increment of Love"
After hearing this "Lost Highway"-worthy lurker, I'm a little upset I missed these guys opening up for Neko Case at the College of St. Scholastica here in Duluth. (HINT: Download "El Paso/Out on the Weekend" here.)

14. The Faint - "Paranoiattack"
While I kind of feel like the douche-y boyfriend in "United States of Tara" listening to this, I can't help it: I like it. A lot. (HINT: Be like me. Free MP3s here.)

15. Goldfrapp - "Twist" [Single Mix]
Perhaps what U2 was going for on "Pop," though no one else heard that album the way I did, I'm sure.

16. The Streets - "Don't Mug Yourself" [Mr. Figit Remix]
An improvement on the original, I must admit. (On a sidenote: Mr. Figit should hook up with Lady Sovereign. Would be fantastical.)

17. Cursive - "Dispenser"
For fans of Nothing Jive About Jupiter/reru/anything else Damon Kalar has had a hand in.

(HINT: Cursive's new album, "Mama, I'm Swollen," comes out early next month. Get your pre-order on at the Saddle Creek shop.)

(Bonus HINT: Saddle Creek's main Web site has a plethora of free Cursive downloads for your downloading-on-a-budget enjoyment.)

18. The M's - "Underground"
Like a psychedelic pennywheel, this imaginative tour de force requires a full spin or two for its true power to expose itself. But then, and only then, you're hooked for life. (p.s. Download two of this band's other tracks here.)

19. Grnd Ntl Brnds - "Comforting the Lonely"
This is the oral equivalent of the indefensible statement "Sometimes I wish I had a stalker." (Hey, I didn't write it!)

20. The Concretes - "Diana Ross"
Speaking of this former Supreme, I found myself enjoying her 1980 hit "I'm Coming Out" the other day. This is much more introspective than that pop bullet, but ... both are welcome in my house, I guess. (I really have no idea how to end that sentence....)

21. The Cardinal Sin - "A Clean Break"
Featuring members of Cadillac Blindside, Song of Zarathustra ("Science Science") and the Crush, this band that I thought came as if out of nowhere sure proved me wrong. Never heard of 'em? Download some free MP3s here. Fans of Submerge and Motion City Soundtrack will smile when they hear what's up.

22. Number One Cup - "She Plays the Numbers"
Gambling away the golden years? Oh, grandma.

23. "Team America" soundtrack - "America, F--- Yeah!"
Best "f--- yeah"? "Bed Bath & Beyond"!

Thus concludes your fortieth dose of SHAKE*YOUR*SHORES, the awesome mix tape series formerly known as "Don't Tell a Soul."

A&E FYI: 'Paul's Boutique' is back, pre-orders on BeastieBoys.com

BEASTIE BOYS PAUL'S BOUTIQUE
REMASTERED 20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION PRE-RELEASE AVAILABLE TODAY EXCLUSIVELY AT http://www.beastieboys.com
PHYSICAL RELEASE FEBRUARY 10
BEASTIE BOYS CONFIRMED TO APPEAR AT 2009 BONNAROO MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL

The first and most probably only hip hop record ever to be likened to Abbey Road, Dark Side Of The Moon and Pet Sounds, Beastie Boys' groundbreaking Paul's Boutique will celebrate its 20th birthday with a digitally remastered, visually expanded version. The 20th anniversary edition will finally see the landmark album released as its creators originally intended.

The Paul's Boutique 20th anniversary re-release will be available in a multitude of formats, the first being a digital download available exclusively as of today at http://www.beastieboys.com (which has been completely overhauled and re-designed to commemorate the re-release). The basic 320kbps digital download with 3D interactive digital artwork will be available immediately upon order.

Pre-Orders also open today at beastieboys.com for the February 10 release of the following configurations:

Deluxe Digital Download
Digital album download in choice of format (320kbps MP3, FLAC, Apple Lossless), 5 Beasties music videos, video commentary, 3D interactive digital album art

CD + Digital Download
8 panel ecopack CD + Digital Download

Vinyl + Digital Download
8 panel, 180g vinyl + Digital Download

T-Shirt Combos
Limited edition Paul's Boutique t-shirt with wraparound album art. Available with Deluxe Digital, CD, or Vinyl combo.

20th Anniversary Commemorative Pack
Includes Digital Deluxe, CD, Vinyl, T-shirt, and an 8 foot wide poster of the album art as it was originally intended to be enjoyed.

The Paul's Boutique reissue features no additional music, though a track-by-track audio commentary by the band detailing the making of the record will be available with every configuration.

Released in July 1989 to critical raves and commercial indifference, Paul's Boutique quietly spent a decade amassing sales in proportion to its reviews, ultimately selling over two million copies. More recently, Paul's Boutique's unprecedented multi-sampled musical density and brain-teasing lyrical complexity have earned the record all-time greatest accolades from the likes of TIME, THE SOURCE, ROLLING STONE, Q, PITCHFORK and many more, while classic tracks "Shake Your Rump," "Egg Man" and "Hello Brooklyn" continue to keep the crowd moving at Beastie Boys live shows.

Finally, Beastie Boys have signed on as a headliner for the 2009 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, TN. It will be the band's first ever appearance at Bonnaroo.

~Information courtesy Nasty Little Man PR

sElf returns with "HELLGLASS"!

"The most evil glass you could possibly imagine." Funny stuff.

The column to end a career, an opera singer from the North Shore and $$$!

If you seek out/download one song this week, make it Rose Hill Drive's "Altar Junkie."

It's "Boulder-strong."

Word.

"What I Consider Fun, Natural Fun" :: A random column dedicated to, among other things, doomsday 2012, Netflix/Xbox 360's awesome new way of letting you rot away your life, a few words on the recession/lowered expectations, Amazon.com's "grocery store" and how awesome physical albums are.

"Nathan Herfindahl: Have Voice, Will Travel" :: Nathan Herfindahl’s obsession with opera has taken him all the way around the world and back. The University of Minnesota Duluth graduate recently returned from Beijing, where he performed alongside legendary tenor Plácido Domingo. (An interview with the Silver Bay native.)

"MCCU CEO: Your Money's Safe with Credit Unions" :: We’ve always heard that community banks are safer than their “big brothers,” but now the Minnesota Department of Commerce is saying that a handful of the 429 state-chartered banks and credit unions in the state that it regulates are at risk of possible failure. To get an insider’s perspective on this development, we (I) talked to Tammy Heikkinen, president and CEO of Members Cooperative Credit Union.

"CD Reviews: Avenpitch, Middle States and Drew Danburry" :: I teased this last time, but, what the hey, I sure do love my record reviews. DuluthBudgeteer.com exclusive!

Thus concludes THIS WEEK'S SHAMELESS BUDGETEER PLUG. (Thanks, I like to write.)

p.s. My dollar-store sour straws are rock hard.

Today's Moment of Zen: The 'No S---, Sherlock' award goes to...

Newsflash: "People often use bongs to smoke marijuana." (Thanks, CNN!)

sys39 :: UP ALL NIGHT PAYING PEOPLE TO KISS

"When you chase music for money, God walks out of the room." —Quincy Jones

1. Turbo Nemesis - "Turbo vs. Buckethead, Pt. 1"
Kind of menacing, I must admit.

2. Song of Zarathustra - "Science Science"
This fiery hardcore march is the backbone of P.O.S.'s explosive “Yeah Right (Science, Science),” which I always felt was the standout track on his 2006 album “Audition.”

p.s. This year it's "The Basics (Alright)."

3. Avenpitch - "Pregnant Pause"
“Cast Off,” the group’s third — which I reviewed for ye olde Budgeteer — opens triumphantly with this, a static-drenched assault with enough synthy goodness to remind us all just how missed God Lives Underwater really is. Also recommended for fans of Star Casino's "Stroll Around the World" (from "Lumines II") and/or Geezer's amazing second album, "Black Science."

4. Duran Duran - "Notorious"
With this being sampled so liberally in commercials for the Notorious B.I.G. biopic of the same name, how could I resist?

5. CSS - "Music is My Hot Hot Sex"
Disturbing, but true.

6. Portastatic - "Some Small History"
Starts off like a KoRn song, but the similarities end there ... as you might expect.

7. Drew Danburry - "Postponing Alaska, Pt. 2"
This magical number is the artist’s definitive statement. Like the time it takes a car on the horizon to finally reach you when you’re driving down the Dakotas, it seems to defy the rules of time and space in its arrival. It kind of meanders into your consciousness. It should be an unsettling experience, but it’s not … it’s glorious. (Read more from my review of "This Could Mean Trouble, You Don't Speak for the Club" here.)

8. Son Volt - "Windfall"
This selection was inspired by my conversation with the righteous dudes in AM rubin, aka the most eclectic father-son band ever. Thanks for reminding me of this gorgeous number.

9. Leane Perius - "You Can Tell"
Since all I seem to be doing tonight is pimping out old stories of mine, here's one of my favorite quotes from my Leane Perius feature: “I’ve had so many bad experiences with people saying they would play with me and then flaking out, especially in Boston,” she said of her Northeastern University days (prior to earning her master’s degree in rhetoric and composition there, she studied at the University of Minnesota Morris). “I had three guys where it got to some point in our musical relationship, they either wanted to date me, and that’s why they were wanting to play with me, or they were just noncommittal musically.”

10. Soundgarden - "Head Down"
While I haven't "officially" thought of my all-time favorite albums in a couple years, "Superunknown" would definitely be in the top 10.

11. Riddle of Steel - "Baby Bird"
R.I.P. But at least we still have Cars & Trucks, eh?

12. Cartman - "Dude, check it out, 'Time Cop' on DVD!" [MP3]
From one of my favorite episodes, "Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes."

13. BS 2000 - "It Feels like ?!@#?!"
I know I feature this addictive little gem way too much, but, for me, this is right up there with anything Adrock has done with the Beasties.

14. The Tallest Man on Earth - "The Sparrow and the Medicine"
Thanks to George Kaplan, aka St. Paul's pre-eminent folk rabble-rouser with a "North by Northwest"-inspired stage name, for introducing me to this guy, aka Sweden's Bob Dylan. In turn, I tried to turn Charlie Parr onto his sound. Joint tour, perhaps? (I'm a dreamer, I know.)

15. Adam Green - "Rich Kids"
Who's your favorite half of the Moldy Peaches? I'm torn, but Green is inching up there.

16. Bunny Clogs - "Song for Powderhorn"
The unforgettable Cliff Eberhardt-meets-Prince sweeps of this track make it a winner, and, bonus, Adam Levy (probably best known for his work in the Honeydogs and, to a lesser extent, Hookers $ Blow) recorded it to support Minneapolis’ V.O.I.C.E. Music Saves Lives program for low-income youth ... and sell millions of copies of his Bunny Clogs album, of course.

17. Funeral Party - "Carwars"
Nicking the intro to "Changes" is one thing, but channeling Rod Stewart circa "Blondes Have More Fun" and converting that disco-banging goodness into an irresistible dance number? That's just awesome.

18. Bush Tetras - "Mister Love Song"
I got my first taste of this firecracker back in February of '97, on one of those handy-dandy CMJ discs. Thanks, New Music Monthly!

19. Guided by Voices - "Smothered in Hugs"
Back to AM rubin, this is one the group covers often. Well worth the price of admission.

20. Chad VanGaalen - "Willow Tree" [MP3]
Like "Waco: The Rules of Engagement," this one'll leave you a little misty-eyed.

21. Barbie Bangkok - "Don't Catch No Light"
Not since Fleetwood Mac has a band so totally transformed its sound in a few short years. (Wait, wait, I can explain....)

22. Kaspar Hauser - "MacBeth II" [MP3]
Do you smell album of the year? True, 2009 has just begun, but the potential candidates are quickly stacking up.

23. Mr. Lif - "Obama"
Good song, though I thought Lif would've had a little more "hope" this early in the game.

24. Obie Trice - "Invasion" [MP3]
Not usually my cup of tea, but, then again, you really can't deny DJ Muggs' production prowess.

25. Turbo Nemesis - "Turbo vs. Buckethead, Pt. 2"
Take its counterpart, crank up the "menacing" and you have this terrifying little track.

Thus concludes your thirty-ninth dose of SHAKE*YOUR*SHORES, the amazing mix tape series formerly known as "Don't Tell a Soul."