Epiphone Scroll Guitar

The eBay seller is listing this as an Epiphone Les Paul, but this Epiphone Scroll guitar dates back to the mid 1970s - long before Epiphone were resigned to becoming the Gibson equivalent of Fender's Squier brand.

For a 1970s guitar it has a couple of features not often seen on guitars of that era, i.e. a coil tap and a 24-fret neck. Check out some of the reviews on Harmony Central - people seem to really love these guitars, and reportedly - like the Les Paul - they are quite weighty.

I'm not 100% on this, but my guess is these guitars were Japanese-built, which is a good thing as Japanese guitars are often excellent and attention to detail is second to none.

There was also a bass model - last year I saw a girl band called Ipso Facto supporting Siouxsie Sioux, and the bassist was playing a black Epiphone Scroll - the first time I'd ever seen one in fact.

All in all, very nice!

From:: Guirzz.b

Rock Band Runs Into a Brick Wall

It’s only fitting that last night, I threw The Simpsons into my DVD player and watched “Itchy, Scratchy, and Poochie”, the episode satirizing the use of cheap gimmicks to extend the life of television shows.  After two installments of Rock Band, Electronic Arts is financially sagging behind Guitar Hero.  To counter, the franchise is throwing a block party.  I’ll do my best to pretend Harmonix wasn’t in on this, since Time Warner Media suits emerged from the craters of hell to announce it:

If you’ve worried about your youngsters being exposed to the evils of rock music, worry no longer: LEGO Rock Band is coming this holiday season on PS3, 360, Wii and DS to deliver us all from said evil. The game, currently being developed by TT Games and Harmonix, will use all the existing Rock Band and Guitar Hero peripherals.

The family-focused version of the game will allow you to customize your “minifigure avatars” along with your road crew and managers.

A question: Why does one license a child’s toy to sell a tween version of Rock Band?  Because on its own merits, a tween version of Rock Band would be lame.  Unless the Ninja Turtles are going to fight Shredder with the power of music, cross-marketing Rock Band with a child’s toy will not change that.

The PSP version is an unofficial sequel to Amplitude, fine.  The upcoming console iterations, LEGO and The Beatles, are inexcusable.  Rock Band was damn good at being Rock Band.  When I turn on my 360 and it doesn’t catch fire, my choice of rhythm game is a Harmonix game.  Guitar Hero II or Rock Band, either is good.  When Electronic Arts unveiled Rock Band, Activision became the copycat.  Activision had to counter-punch.  They scrambled to turn the next Guitar Hero into a four-man game.  They ported the franchise to every conceivable platform.  Now that the economics have changed, second place isn’t good enough for Electronic Arts.  With three upcoming releases not much different than an Aerosmith game, Activision looks like the company that has it right.  In a bizarre reversal, their business plan has been validated by the gameplay-first competitor.

And so far, Guitar Hero is the series that got the gimmick game right.  When a rhythm game’s quality rests heavily on how well the music plays, no guitar game gets better than what Metallica offers.  I don’t know much about The Beatles, and I never cared much for their music.  But when shill the same-old with a different coat of paint in a down market, it’d better play well.  I don’t know if it can do that, and I don’t think it will.

Guitar Hero: World Tour gets Motörhead DLC

The Major has let everybody know that you’re now able to get three new songs for Guitar Hero: World Tour from Xbox LIVE Marketplace, featuring the musical styling of classic metal band, Motörhead.

There’s only three of them, going for 160 MS Points a pop, but fans of the band will probably appreciate them:

• Love Me Like a Reptile
• Iron Fist
• Jail Bait

Ace! (of Spades.)

Motörhead hits Guitar Hero: World Tour

Three Motörhead tracks were just released for Guitar Hero: World Tour, according to this Major post.

Iron Fist, Jail Bait and Love Me Like a Reptile are all up on Live now. They’re 160 points each.

Rockin' into the Golden City

Courtesy Photo

Hard Rock Café unveiled costumes worn by music's biggest names this month.

A crystal-studded chandelier in the shape of a Gibson Les Paul guitar hangs from the ceiling. Jeans once worn by Elvis Presley share wall space with Johnny Cash's embroidered shirt, not far from John Lennon's cap and a guitar previously strummed by Bob Dylan. Showcased near an upstairs bar are Elton John's rhinestone sunglasses, Gwen Stefani's feathery Grammy garb and tuxedo trousers worn by Madonna in one of her outré performances.

Those are but a few of the offbeat treasures on hand at the Hard Rock Café, which opened the first weekend in April in the heart of Old Town. Founded in London in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton, the chain set up shop in Prague in the V.J. Rott building, a UNESCO World Heritage site on Malé náměstí. The three-story, 1,900-square-meter restaurant features three floors, two bars and, of course, an adjacent gift shop selling T-shirts, coffee mugs and shot glasses adorned with the ubiquitous Hard Rock logo in an assortment of sizes and colors.

Though business has reportedly been steady in the first weeks of operation, Hard Rock officials are promising a more rollicking kickoff with a grand opening bash April 29. While they have declined to confirm performance rumors ranging from an iconic '80s hair metal band to more contemporary pop stars, they say the event, as well as the restaurant's future in Prague, will not disappoint.

"Demographically, I think we appeal a little bit to everyone," says the restaurant's designer David Holle. "Music ties everything together in some way, and nearly everyone can relate something in their lives back to music. We're a bit of a quirky rock 'n' roll museum - where else besides the Hard Rock can you get that experience?"

The restaurant was initially scheduled to open in September 2008. But the opening was repeatedly postponed, reportedly by city building requirements for historic structures that delayed construction work.

Although he would not confirm these rumors and declined to comment on overall construction costs, Holle says his team took painstaking care to preserve as much of the interior as possible, and to use local materials in the renovation.

In the meantime, online forums have been abuzz with grumblings about everything from the restaurant's prices to its takeover of a historic building, along with its general proximity to Old Town Square. But Hard Rock officials say they are certain the restaurant's appeal will extend beyond that of international tourists, including menu revisions made to suit local tastes.

"What you see in Rome and London, you'll definitely see here," says Calum MacPherson, regional vice president of European operations. "I absolutely love Czech goulash, and I'd love to see that incorporated onto the menu."

The 'little secret'

Locals and expats alike have been saddened by the recent loss of Koliba Restaurant, based in Roztoky, a village 6 kilometers northwest of Prague, which was destroyed by fire March 29. Situated near a series of popular trails, the restaurant had long been a favorite of hikers and cyclists, and was especially popular in the winter for its roaring fireplace, and its tree-canopied garden in summer.  

Though an investigation into the cause of the fire is still pending, for many of Koliba's most ardent patrons, it doesn't really matter. Already, heartfelt photo tributes to the restaurant have appeared on local blogs as well as on the popular social networking site Facebook.   

"Koliba was the kind of place we always enjoyed taking visitors to," American expat journalist Grant Podelco wrote on his local culture blog Gusto (gusto-blog.blogspot.com). "It felt like a secret, a slice of Prague that not everyone had a chance to enjoy - good food, including fish and meats grilled on an outdoor fire, and great beer in a bucolic setting."

Changes around town

Opening April 25 at Týn Square near Ungelt in Old Town is the Indian Jewel restaurant, owned by Savic Hotel Sanjeev Wadehra. The diverse menu promises spicy curries, tandoori specials and other Indian delicacies.

Venerable Žižkov nightspot Bukowski's Cocktail Bar is feeling the pinch of the economic crisis and has opted to go "recession chic" for the occasion by lowering its beer prices to a mere 7 Kč, or the average price of a Czech beer in 1992, every Sunday. Owner Glen Emery notes, "The bar will be full, but my beer barrels and bank account empty. That's what you call real socialism."

Just in time for its 15th anniversary, Jáma Restaurant and Sports Bar reopened at the start of April after a 17-day renovation which includes a brand-new floor.

The popular Web site Expatbread.com, where expats are able to order food products from abroad, has been re-branded as FoodUmiss.com. Co-founder Dominic Williams promises an expanded range of products, and plans to introduce weekend deliveries as part of the re-branding. 

Beach front Real Estate emerging on the market

Real Estate, a little-known band from New Jersey, may have a highly un-Google-able name, but thanks to free music on the Internet -- which has conceived and born life to more bands than record labels would ever be able to discover and promote -- Real Estate can be heard by aspiring part-time music journalists all the way out here in California. 

This quartet, who have opened for the likes of Titus Andronicus and Vivian Girls, have been amusingly referred to as "a sunsetting, less ethereal Galaxie 500, but before it gets too dark," by music blog Stereogum, which pegged them with their "Band to Watch" label. 

Accordingly, a free MP3 from the band's soon-to-be-released debut album was included on the site to prove the claim.

The track in question, called "Fake Blues," evokes all the right feelings of a lazy summer day on the shore of your favorite body of water -- even if the band may have written the song with the Jersey Shore in mind. 

A wistful guitar and timpani drumming weave around lead singer Martin Courtney's swooning vocal harmonies, effortlessly imitating the motions of a breaking swell. 

Of late, it was getting more difficult to find good guitar-centric bands with staying power that would resort to anything other than radio-friendly riffage. 

But thanks to that whole "music goes in cycles" thing, the airy melodies of '60s guitar pop are coming back to the forefront of indie music. 

Real Estate is not to be confused with The Beach Boys, however, as their sound is more noticeably reminiscent to the stoned, surf pop of Crystal Stilts.

For those curious enough, the band's first seven-inch is available for purchase on their MySpace page, www.myspace.com/letsrockthebeach, and it turns out to be quite the complementary package. 

Not only is the album pressed on swanky white vinyl, but it also includes a nonsensical little Sharpie-drawn illustration from the band on an accompanying burned disc of the record's three tracks. 

The album's A-side, "Suburban Beverage," basks in the sun with a rocking-chair bass line before tidal guitars wash in, shortly followed by cymbal crashes which echo far off into a vast, fuzzy recess that's as warm as the beach the band seems to be playing on. 

The continued over-use of ocean references to describe the record in this review can be justified by the image of a poignant beach landscape on the back of the single. But a track like the grandiose "Black Lake" is more highly emotive of the record's aquatic theme than anything illustrated through writing or pictures. 

Finally, "Old Folks" is a charming number with frolicking, full-on surf guitar licks and jangling drums led proudly by a zealous tambourine. 

"Fun in the sun" automatically, albeit begrudgingly, comes to mind, but, just like the summer, this track ends too soon. 

Thanks to the opportunistic power of the Internet, this band has generated some worthy buzz. You can look for their anticipated debut album later this year out on Underwater Peoples Records. 

Contact Aitor Zabalegui at (408) 551-1918 or azabalegui@scu.edu.

The day job

The applause is deafening as you throw down your guitar and walk off stage. High on adrenaline, you head to the dressing room and think: “This is it, I’ve made it, I’m a rock star!” Until 6am, that is, when your alarm goes off and you have to head off for a 10 hour shift packing frozen peas in Nuneaton.

That’s from a Tim Jonze column in the Guardian about musicians and their frequent need for a “real” job. One commenter insists that a musician should have a day job no matter how successful, just to stay in contact with what might be referred to as the real world.

Jolana Disco Bass

Continuing our theme of cheesy guitars - and we've seen some beauties from Italy, Russia and the former Eastern Germany - I'd now like to present this Jolana Disco Bass which was made in the country formerly known as Czechoslovakia.

It dates to the early 1980s and it seems to be styled after Gibson's RD series.

Paul McCartney chased by 50 Miss USA finalists

Sir Paul McCartney was chased by 50 Miss USA finalists.

The throng of beauties - including Miss Michigan, Miss Nevada and Miss Connecticut - booked in for dinner at the 66-year-old rocker's hotel in Las Vegas on Saturday night (18.04.09) in the hope of meeting him.

A source said: "One girl heard Paul was in town and hunted him down. The girls were staying at Planet Hollywood, where the Miss USA contest was being staged, and discovered Paul's hotel was across the road. No one could stop them from looking for him, they were screeching with excitement."

The girls bombarded the former Beatle with love notes and flowers, sending them to his luxurious suite but Paul - who has been dating millionairess Nancy Shevell since November 2007 - wouldn't come out of his room.

The source added to Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper: "Paul declined as he probably felt Nancy wouldn't be so enthralled. A couple of the girls even ran a competition to see who would be the first to get a picture or autograph, but no one even managed that."

Great musical collaborations: Elton John and Bernie Taupin

The Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin

When I first started writing songs, it was a lonely proposition. That’s not to say I didn’t love it, it’s just that it was lonely. Once I started writing with others, a whole new world opened up.

The collaborative aspect of writing songs is a huge gift. It’s as wonderful as writing solo, only better. I’m lucky enough to live with my musical partner, and the opportunity to write together is an amazing experience. The difference between writing by myself and with him is subtle, but divine. When I write myself, I have only my instincts to depend on. When I write with him, the songs move in different directions. It’s fascinating and inspiring.

One of the most historic collaborations in rock history is that of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Elton wrote the music and Taupin the lyrics. Here’s an excerpt from Bernie Taupin’s biography on collaborating with Elton John and others:

By the time they worked together on the Tumbleweed album, which was released in 1970, Taupin and John had developed a style of collaboration in which Taupin worked alone, giving the lyrics to John who then developed the melodies. Taupin's writing habits have since changed; where once he simply sat down and wrote unaccompanied, he now finds using a guitar helpful in the creative process. He plays chords on the guitar as he writes the lyrics. It was a real first for Taupin after forming the Farm Dogs when the members sat around in a circle equipped with guitars, and worked out the music as a group.

Taupin has written lyrics for hundreds of songs, many of which Elton John has created melodies for and recorded. Some of their hit songs include "Your Song," "Daniel," "Rocket Man," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," and "Candle In The Wind." Their 1975 album, Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy, was autobiographical in nature: John was Captain Fantastic and Taupin was The Brown Dirt Cowboy. Taupin also released three solo albums during the 1970s and 1980s. He wrote lyrics for other artists too, including co-writing all ten songs on Alice Cooper's 1978 album From The Inside. Taupin wrote the lyrics for "We Built This City," recorded by Starship in 1985 and "These Dreams," recorded by Heart in 1986. He has also penned lyrics for Melissa Manchester, Rod Stewart, John Waite, and others.

Taupin's favorite songs with Elton John include "Sacrifice," 1989, and "The One," 1992. He also favors the original version of "Candle In The Wind," which was written as a tribute to Marilyn Monroe in 1973. Little did he know--as he told Gambaccini in the early 1970s, "I think {it's} the best song we've ever written.... I think ... it's going to be the best thing we've ever done"--the full magnitude of his words would carry some 20 years hence. Taupin reworked the lyrics at John's request in 1997. The new version of "Candle In The Wind" was performed as a tribute by John at Diana's funeral and would go on to become the largest selling single ever, with sales of 35 million copies. John donated his proceeds to Diana's Memorial Fund, which supports her favorite charities and is expected to raise over 160 million dollars.

If you’re used to writing alone, even if you’re satisfied with the results, I recommend you come out and test the waters of collaboration. You may be pleasantly surprised at the direction another writer can take you in.

Let's take it for a spin

It's all about my car," warbles Neil Young midway through Fork in the Road.

He's exaggerating -- but not by much. Young's 30somethingth album -- and his latest cut-on-the-fly concept disc -- was indeed inspired by his LincVolt, a '59 Continental convertible he had retooled into a fuel- efficient hybrid. Granted, there also are songs about the faltering economy, corporate bailouts and keeping hope alive. But mostly, it's about his car. Seriously.

Nothing wrong with that. After all, 90% of all great rock songs are about cars, money, sex or some combination thereof. And thankfully, this disc does not consist of odes to alternative propulsion technologies, drivetrain torque ratios or the pros and cons of hydrogen fuel cells. Nor is it a Living With War-style soapbox derby. So you can enjoy these 10 raw-boned, ramshackle blues-rockers without feeling guilty for not biking to work.

Having said all that -- and much as we admire and respect Young's restless commitment to following his muse, striking while the iron is hot and bashing out albums that are the musical equivalent of blog entries -- it would be nice if he made a disc that sounded like it took longer to write and record than it does to play.

And while we're at it, is it asking too much for him to take five minutes to sign off on that freaking Archives Vol. 1 box set before we're all dead? 

Seriously.

Here's a track-by-track listen to Fork in the Road:

When Worlds Collide 4:14

Young starts in first gear with this sluggish, stompy blues-rocker about "cruising down Route 66, where the guys and gals used to get their kicks."

Fuel Line 3:31

"Fill 'er up!" yelps Young over a swampy backdrop that crosses a snaky juke-joint melody with southern gospel backup vocals. Not bad, but pretty one-dimensional.

Just Singing a Song 3:32

This is more like it: A slowburning, Crazy Horse-style plodder peppered with searing guitar solos. The chorus -- "just singing a song won't change the world" -- is a bit hokey, but still, not bad.

Johnny Magic 4:18

This crunchy, punchy rocker is about the mechanic who converted Young's hot-rod Lincoln. Thanks to some surf-rock vocals that echo the "Johnny Rotten" refrain from My My, Hey Hey, it's not as irritating as you'd think.

Cough Up the Bucks 4:38

The music toggles between scratchy-guitar funk and twangy country-rock, while Young and co. croon "Where did all the money go?" and he rasps "Cough up the bucks!" Weird, in a good way.

Get Behind the Wheel 3:08

The tune is a fairly standard blues-rock shuffle. But the lyrics borrow from Tom Waits' Get Behind the Mule -- and update them for contemporary car culture.

Off the Road 3:22

The disc's first ballad finds Young crooning in a quavering voice about keeping your eyes on the road when the end is in sight. Short and bittersweet.

Hit the Road 3:36

"She looks so beautiful with her top down," sings Young over a lazily funky backbeat flecked with slinky guitars. If you think he's singing about a woman, you haven't been paying attention.

Light a Candle 3:01

Young borrows that proverb about lighting a single candle instead of cursing the darkness for this mellow, gently glowing bit of acoustic-guitar country-folk. Ben Keith adds shimmery slide.

Fork in the Road 5:47

Young cruises into the sunset with some bouncy John Lee Hooker boogie-rock -- laced with curmudgeonly lyrics about his pot belly and tanking record sales.

What other critics say

Highlights of reviews of Neil Young's Fork in the Road:

Edna Gundersen, Gannett News Service: Young's ongoing LincVolt project to convert his cherished 1959 Lincoln Continental into a zero-emission electric hybrid fuels this concept album's lambasting of the crippled car industry and poisonous global economy. On the title track, he sneers that bailouts benefit "all those creeps watching tickers on TV." Fork bristles with urgency, shambolic rust-free garage rock and Young's familiar mix of mischievous humour and peeved whine. Download: Johnny Magic, Just Singing a Song

Scott Bauer, AP: "I'm a big rock star," Young drolly sings over a thumping blues beat on the title track, the best song on the record. "My sales have tanked, but I still got you. Thanks!" It's a very funny song. How could it not be when Young starts it off by talking about his pot belly? Funny, yes. But just because it's funny doesn't mean it can stand alongside Young's best work, or that it will stand the test of time. That's the problem with topical records such as Fork in the Road . . . The album takes on the issues of the day much like 2006's Living With War did, but only in a kinder, gentler way.

Day in the Crazy Life of a Guitar Tech (Chimaira Music As A Weapon Tour Blog) - A Top Story This Week

Day in the Crazy Life of a Guitar Tech (Chimaira Music As A Weapon Tour Blog) was a top story for this week. Here it is again: (antiMusic) Chimaira are currently out on the road on the Music As A Weapon Tour. The band wants to keep antiMusic readers up to date on all the happenings on the tour and will bechecking in with a tour diary. Today we have a very special and fun entry from guitar tech extraordinaire Greg "Grizz" Middleton. You gotta read this one! Here is Greg:

It is 17 days into this tour [Music As A Weapon] and the party ball has begun to roll. The snowball effect is alive and well. Every aspect of every day is getting more and more intense. The parties are getting bigger, the nights are going longer, and the karaoke machine is turned all the way up!!! A few days ago was the first appearance of the karaoke party. It was put on by the nice people in the production busses. Tons of music, food, and Natural Light???? All it took was me commenting on the fact that the last time I drank Natural Light, I was shotgunning them at the age of 16 behind the wall that wraps around flax pond. Moments later 2 cases lay dead on the 

Morris Plains judge fines UFO hoaxsters and sentences them to park-rec service

by George!Joe Rudy and Chris Russo confer with their lawyers outside Morris Plains municipal court, where they received fines and community service for their UFO hoax.

UFO hoaxsters Joe Rudy and Chris Russo were fined $250 apiece and each sentenced to perform 50 hours of community service with the Hanover recreation department by Morris Plains Municipal Judge Michael Carlucci today.

The judge said he would have been more lenient if the men were 17. But they are in their late 20s, and the regional alarm over their balloon-flares--meant to poke fun at UFO believers--tied up area 911 lines, he said.

Last week, Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi noted potential danger to aviation around Morristown Airport. Kelly Lavery of the Prosecutor's Office signed off on this afternoon's deal, in which Joe, of Chester, and Chris, of Morris Plains, each agreed to plea guilty to creating a disturbance.

The hoaxsters, who posted videos of their nighttime escapades online, along with an elaborate explanation of their mission, declined to comment after the brief hearing.

Joe's lawyer, his older brother Robert Rudy III, expressed some brotherly understanding after the sentencing.

Robert described his kid brother as a smart person, a good basketball player, and a talented musician who can "play every Beatles song" on guitar and piano.

"They didn't injure anybody," Robert said. "They were trying to enlighten people about UFOs. I guess they had to go through all this to prove their point."

Others from the UFO community were not impressed, however.

On his blog, Ken Randle, author of "The Abduction Enigma," said Morris County authorities saw through the hoax from the start, and added that media coverage, while extensive, was mostly restrained.

"I just don't see how they made any sort of statement about the gullibility of people," Randle wrote. "There were lights in the sky, they did move along and they did, eventually, disappear. No one talked of a spacecraft, except in the context that these lights were UFOs. So what did they prove?"

To prove he's not taking himself too seriously, Joe Rudy walked an observer to his car after the hearing, opened the trunk, and fished out...

...a green plastic alien, which he proceeded to inflate with vigor.

Stay tuned for video.

by George!Chris Russo and his lawyer, Patrick Sages, at Morris Plains Municipal Court after sentencing in UFO case.

by George!Joe Rudy with his lawyer, brother Robert Rudy III, after Morris Plains Municipal Judge Michael Carlucci fined Joe $250 and sentenced him to 50 hours of community service for a UFO hoax.

Katy Perry larger than life

'I feel, like, 110 percent of everything in life," Katy Perry proclaimed on Sunday night during her sold-out show at the Theater of Living Arts. That declaration came by way of introducing "Mannequin," a song from her 2008 hit album One of the Boys that she described as being about "wanting to strangle a boy out of a coma."

Indeed, the Hello Katy tour that brought Perry to the Philadelphia area for the third time, but her first as a headliner, backed up her mathematical claim with a performance that was determinedly over the top.

"I keep coming back, and it's not because of that damn bell," she told her audience of mostly teens, 'tweens and their moms. "It's because of you."

The TLA is a far smaller venue than Perry presumably could have played. The 24-year-old pastor's daughter's debut album went double platinum and spawned a string of slightly naughty Top 10 radio and ringtone hits, including "Ur So Gay," "Hot N Cold" and the ubiquitous "I Kissed a Girl." And at the TLA, everything was a little outsized.

That went for the giant blue-eyed kitten - "Kitty Purry," named after the singer's cat - that loomed to Perry's left, and the bigger-than-beach-balls blow-up fruit that cluttered the stage. A forlorn inflatable banana lay on the ground in front of the drum kit, looking more like a banana slug.

The ginormous prop in the shape of a tube of lipstick did get put to use, however, in the titillating "cherry ChapStick" product-placement line in "I Kissed a Girl." Perry accurately described her hit as "the most overplayed song of 2008" as she closed out the efficiently paced 75-minute show with the most ardently sung audience sing-along in a night full of them.

Unfortunately, Perry's preference for the grand gesture also extends to her music. She doesn't sing so much as shout, bouncing up and down in a skin-tight leopard skin minidress (before changing into a low-cut feline catsuit, complete with tail and pussy-cat ears). She and her white-suited four-piece band, looking like wannabe Tom Wolfes, bashed out her hits with an unfailingly heavy hand, amping up the rock-guitar quotient of her snappy pop tunes.

Even when she dismissed the band for an acoustic "Thinking of You," she did a poor job of modulating her voice or diminishing the volume of her delivery for emotional effect. The show was in a small venue, but there was nothing intimate about it.

Some of Perry's hits are simply too catchy to resist - well, "Hot N Cold" is, anyway. But while she's sometimes witty, she's never subtle - "I hope you hang yourself with your H&M scarf" is how "Ur So Gay" kicks off, with a follow-up rhyme that can't be printed in these demure pages.

It came as no surprise, then, when she announced that her favorite band in the world was the always-melodramatic Queen. Perry doesn't have a smidgen of Freddy Mercury's style, however, not to mention his vocal chops. But for her first encore she energetically covered "Don't Stop Me Now" as if she had no intention of letting anything stand in her way, before finally playing the overplayed song that the guy next to me - screaming out "I kissed a girl and I liked it and I wished it was you, Katy!" - so desperately wanted to hear.

It Hugs Back - Inside Your Guitar

Right. Ahem. *opens press release* Kent foursome It Hugs Back have been "making their soft-centered dream pop back in early 2006". They also "switch between joyous pop-punk delight and delicate melancholia in a heartbeat". And last but by no means least, they "melt layers of fuzzy vocals and guitars into their reassuring blend of endearing shoegaze and heart-on-sleeves vulnerability". Bless.

If you hadn't already noticed by now, It Hugs Back are a Very Nice Band. Incredibly, wonderfully lovely. Jaw-droppingly earnest. They post blogs about cheering themselves up after bad gigs by buying new organs. They love Christmas. They toured with Lowgold, for Chrissakes. It's not that any of these things are bad at all - in fact, there is an innocent, wide-eyed beauty about It Hugs Back that is rather refreshing. But we just thought you should know, in case you were expecting a spot ofDananananaykroyd-style fight pop. (Although they did, remarkably, support Holy Fuck on a recent European tour - we'd have loved to have seen their blog on that jaunt.)

Drawing their influences from the fuzziness of My Bloody Valentine's more-blissed out moments, Wilco's lush experimentalism and a spot of Brendan Benson's low-fi slacker power pop, It Hugs Back have been snapped up by 4AD, and with good reason. While Inside Your Guitar is a slightly messy, unfocussed record by a band still maturing into their sound, but one that hints at great things to come.

Take record opener Q, for example. Not many debutant British pop acts would have the out-and-out balls to open their account with a slow, feedback drenched love song that echoes long-forgotten American indie act Wheat, but IHB pull it off with aplomb. Imagine a 'nice' version of Wilco's I Am Trying To Break Your Heart and you'll not be far off.

There are those that will call IHB unbearably twee, and with their penchant for jaunty keyboard melodies and completely indecipherable lyrics about (and this is a bit of a stab in the dark here) young love and heartbreak. With this, and their frankly horribly saccharine name, there is a hint of Belle And Sebastian without the ironic winks. But IHB have got a good pop head on their shoulders, and more bite than you'd expect.

Back Down sounds, spectacularly, like Teenage Fanclubcovering songs from Loveless, while Now+Again could have waltzed onto Broken Social Scene's poppiest record, You Forget it in People. While the band wear their influnces on thier sleeves, they're rarely derivative.

All the fuzziness does get a little samey towards the end of the album, and even some 'rawk' interludes can't save Look Out from melting into the admittedly beguiling background. But this is a confident debut by a band that can only keep on improving. Maybe "reassuring" and "endearing" really is the new rock n' roll.

Eddie & The Robbers at the Hard Rock Cafe KL

Yes, that race today was dynamite. At least I thought so, as you can see in myMalaysian Grand Prix race report.

But as regular readers of this blog know, I like to look at all sorts of stuff surrounding F1 race weekends that often have very little to do with what happens on track. And my visit to the Hard Rock Cafe on Saturday evening is a case in point. I’d heard that Eddie Jordan, the former owner of the Jordan Formula One team - now in its latest guise as the Force India team - would be playing his drums with his band Eddie & The Robbers at the Hard Rock Cafe in Kuala Lumpur. So I decided to go and check it out.

Eddie always tried to run his team like a rock and roll team - whatever that meant. And I guess to some degree he succeeded. But he sure succeeded on Saturday night in making his rock and roll band move like a winning F1 car. I mean, this was a cool evening. I recognized no one from within the Formula One paddock, and that was also cool. I’d expected the place to be swarming with the regular media people, team people, maybe team owners, etc. No sign of them. But the couple hundred or more people seemed mostly to be real F1 fans from around the world and obviously regular Hard Rock Cafe habitués from Kuala Lumpur. Oh, yes, and the Ambassador of Ireland to Malaysia, Eugene Hutchinson.

But now on to the band: I went expecting nothing in particular. I’d vaguely heard the band at Spa last year as I drove out of the circuit too tired to stop and listen. But here in KL I was more than thrilled. These guys were amazing, and I soon figured out why. (In fact, I’ve recorded some of their set and I will put up a snippet here on the blog sometime soon.) They ran through about half of their own material and half cover songs - at least, that’s what Eddie said they’d do, although I never tried to count it up. I particularly enjoyed the David Bowie stuff, and the Bob Dylan - “Like a Rolling Stone” - and “I Put a Spell on You,” of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. I enjoyed some of their own stuff too. Actually, enjoyed it all.

Slowly the picture began to develop also just why it was so good. I’ve never been a good judge of drummers if they don’t do solos, but Eddie sounded fine. The real surprises came with the other band members - but then again, this is Eddie Jordan and F1, there should not be any surprises. Eddie was a great, dynamic charismatic guy communicating to the audience and getting them down on the dance floor and that kind of thing.

But the musicians… I’m getting there… I ended up having a few beers with them after their act and discovered the most amazing assortment of guys traveling around with Eddie. Indeed, they’ll be doing a few more gigs with him at the Grands Prix, although maybe not all of them. In any case, The Robbers last night consisted of Felim Gormley, the saxophone player from that amazing 1991 Irish film called The Commitments. And he has also played with the Irish Wind Ensemble, the Irish Youth Jazz Orchestra, The CBS Late Show Orchestra, Prince, Brian Adams, Billy Joel, Ronnie Wood, James Brown, Elton John and Rod Stewart. And he’s still the most down to earth guy you could imagine. But maybe that had to do with Saturday night also being his 40th birthday….

On lead guitar was Matt Exelby, who sang the Bob Dylan song superbly, and who has played in many bands including a post-Queen band of the Queen band member Roger Taylor in 1998-99. On bass was a guy named Peter Noone, who was NOT a Herman’s Hermit, but who also played with Roger Taylor and copious other places. And on keyboards was the multi-facetedJonathan Perkins of the band Miss World, but who has also worked with a massive number of legends including, Little Richard, Mick Jagger, George Harrison, Timothy Leary, Roger McGuinn, Glen Matlock, Bob Geldoff, Roger, ehem,Taylor and Daryl Hall and John Oates.

Fortunately I knew none of this when I met these Robbers, or I might have been a little intimidated. But the mix was explosive, and I hope to see them again at another race. Worth checking out.

Academy of Country Music Awards rehearsals: Reba, Miranda, Carrie

Greetings from Vegas, Mixers, and the Academy of Country Music Awards! I know what you're saying: Hey, doesn't that show happen in the fall? No. That is the CMAs. Not to be confused with the CMTs. Or CBS, the network on which these awards air. Also, please do not make the mistake of confusing this with AIG. These are the ACMs, they air Sunday night on the Tiffany Network, and your host for the eleventh year running is one Ms. Reba McEntire. Based on the list of performers I've seen -- Kenny, Trace, Rascal Flatts, Keith, George, Tim and Faith, Sugarland, and the three ladies I'm here to observe today -- it seems you will get more than your recommended daily allowance of big-ticket Nashville action if you choose to tune in. And yes, I will be using first names almost exclusively all weekend.

I originally intended to live-blog rehearsals from inside the arena, but my plan was foiled by lack of interwebs. Now I am sitting deep in the bowels of the MGM Grand Casino And Place To Sleep, stealing wireless and a chair from the Dick Clark Productions office, and putting this up in chunks. I think it'll be just as good. Here is what you get if you follow me after the jump (this list to be updated as exciting things happen): An interview with Reba herself! Miranda Lambert on her new single, "Dead Flowers!" Carrie Underwood's dress! And a live chat with country star Jack Ingram!

3:23 p.m. Reba is on stage in front of me. She looks great. When does she ever not? Even in jeans and a sweater, she is a classier broad than I am. If doing this show's gotten old for her, I can't tell, and her run-thru of "Strange" is right on point, three straight times. After she finishes the song, a female announcer's voice says, "Ladies and gentlemen, Dierks Bentley and Darius Rucker." A tall man in glasses and a short auburn-haired woman emerge. They are neither Dierks nor Darius, I'm pretty sure.

3:34 Despite the fact that we're inside a glamorous Vegas casino, it basically looks like the Grammys in here, if the Grammys were hosted in a municipal hockey arena. The floor seating is comprised of folding chairs that are the same frightful teal as the outside of the building. The stage area, on the other hand, looks great, very high-tech in that way that is specific to televised awards shows. There's even a video screen on the ceiling. I never before took much time to look at the ACM award statuette itself, but there are two giant ones flanking the stage, and at that size it's obvious: They're shaped like cowboy hats. Kinda cool. Also, much like at the Grammys, there is a big wall that will open and close throughout the show so they can set up the performers in private and then reveal them in all their splendor to the audience. Unlike at the Grammys, this wall is shiny and white, instead of shiny and black. This is probably because country music is the music of Jesus.

3:41 Reba is being interviewed by a stream of media outlets -- hopefully we'll be one of them soon. One TV journalist walks past me up the aisle after his and says, "She's such a pro."

3:52 Someone is aggressively checking a drum kit on stage, which I have decided is one of the worst sounds in the entire world.

4:00 Get a second to sit down with Reba amidst brain-jiggling snare pops. It's her 11th time hosting the show, and I ask her if it's changed. "Drastically," she says. "When we started, I wouldn’t change clothes four or five times." We talk about all her co-hosts over the years: Randy Travis, Randy Owen, Hank Jr. I ask if it’s better to host alone (more control?) and she says no. "It’s more fun to have people with you." Today's rehearsal of "Strange" was the first time she'd done it with a full band, but after all this time, she said, she can tell when a song is working. "You feel it," she smiled. "They asked if I wanted to do it again, and I said, 'Nope. Three times is good.'" Though she was hesitant to pick a favorite in the Entertainer Race -- "I want to see them all win. They've done a wonderful job all year in front of our fans -- she did tell me one surprise thing about the telecast. Well -- it's really more of a surprise for her. "They told me, 'Okay, you’ll come off stage, and change clothes, and then you need to be over here on the other side of the stage in five minutes.' I said, 'That might be a problem.'" Are we headed towards a Reba McEntire wardrobe malfunction? Stay tuned!

4:17 They are rehearsing LeAnn Rimes' humanitarian award presentation. The woman doing the fake speech is very sincere about it. She tells a story about how the importance of kindness was handed down to her from her grandmother and mom, then thanks the Home Depot and God.

4:30 Meal break. Up next: Miranda!

5:30 I am glad to see that Miranda Lambert still has that mohawked bass player in her band. That guy rules.

5:45 The band has finished their individual sound checks, and is now running through the song with a blond boy who kind of looks like Gerard Way on vocals. He is giving a performance that rivals the Not-LeAnn Rimes lady in terms of commitment. I am a pretty big Miranda fan, but this is not a song I’ve ever heard; if I had to guess its name, I would say "Dead Flowers." Now I am concerned about what other things I don't know. Like who this blond boy is. I guess he's in her band, though what would be really awesome is if Miranda travels with a male stand-in.

5:48 Miranda takes the stage, hugs her bemohawked bass player. Starts into the song. Blond boy is indeed a band member, and yeah, this has to be called "Dead Flowers." It is not the Stones song, I do know that much. As I listen to her run it through -- I love that bratty edge that comes into her voice at the end of lines sometimes -- I do a little googling and come up dry. Start looking around for her publicist.

5:56 There seems to be some discussion about whether Miranda will do this song with or without the guitar. I vote with, even though she’s not playing it much. Looks cooler. And -- ooh! Part of the giant white wall actually descends from the ceiling! Only thing that came down from the sky at the Grammys was Katy Perry.

6:06 Run-through number three. No guitar. What will she decide on for the telecast? Stay tuned!

6:10 Well, now we know why she wanted to take the guitar off: It was just holding her back! For a rehearsal, this girl is putting a remarkable amount of angst into this song, and she ends with her hand upraised and all her hair in her face. Oh, Miranda. How I love your rage. I vote no guitar!

6:18 Every time Miranda finishes singing, the female announcer says, "Once again, please welcome Rascal Flatts," and I become breathless with anticipation, even though I know it’s not really going to be them.

6:33 Miranda says "Dead Flowers" -- which as far as I can tell comes down to the heartbroken protagonist now considering their life/love a waste, much like the titular subjects -- wasn't inspired by a specific event or person, just an image. "I got some flowers for Valentine's Day, and I had to leave town. So I threw them in the yard, and when I got home I saw them laying there and thought it was so sad," she said. "I just connected to it." The song came together fast, and she threw it into her recording sessions at the last minute; her nerves are pretty high in terms of debuting it on the telecast, but she has faith in her band to pull her through. (PS: That blond boy's name is Chris Kline, and he's usually her keyboard player.) But maybe the jitters about the performance are a good thing, because they're totally keeping her from thinking too much about winning any awards. "It's anyone’s game," she said of her Top Female Vocalist race (she's also up for Single Record of the Year, for "Gunpowder and Lead"), and says whoever wins will do the ladies proud. "I think the females have the power these days." Right on, yo!

6:57 We are awaiting Carrie Underwood, and I am doing so with special excitement, because I have been told that she's rehearsing in the dress she'll wear on the telecast. Here at the exclusive rehearsal for (one of) country music's (two) biggest night(s), Carrie's dress is so far the only thing that's off the record. I wonder if every single one of the 100+ people who are now in this room (some of whom are toting full cups of what looks to be straight bourbon) plan on keeping the details of said dress to themselves, or if I'm just a sucker. Also, this had better be some Cher-style next-level clothing she's got on.

7:06 Carrie's backing track plays, tipping me off to the fact that she's doing "I Told You So." This disappoints me. I just saw her do this on Idol. With Randy Travis. So. You know.

7:14 Jack Ingram is now rehearsing his own teleprompter copy, with a stand-in by his side. He’s been lurking around the arena all day -- actually interviewed Reba right after I did -- and I think if Jack Ingram is spending his day doing the exact same things as me, something is off.

7:19 Carrie and the dress need to go on soon, because my computer is running out of batteries.

7:30 To kill time, I am now interviewing Jack Ingram.
EW: Hi Jack. Why are you here?
JI: They're grooming me.
EW: For what?
JI: I don’t know. Reba's job.
EW: Would you want Reba's job?
JI: I would certainly take over if she decided to stop down.
EW: How would you do it differently?
JI: I would not wear dresses. And I'd have prettier shoes.
EW: What are you working on?
JI: I have a new record coming out this summer, called Big Dreams and High Hopes. It started with my speech last year at the ACMs. Oh the synergy. But it's the way I feel about a lot of what's going on in my career. That's what you have to have. And that's all you have to have.
EW: Do you miss kicking around the small clubs in Texas?
JI: No. Cause I still get to. That's the thing about Texas. Willie Nelson still plays the same clubs he played in 1975, and I have every intention of going from stadiums to clubs. [He looks at what I just typed.] And you can put "and back to stadiums" in parentheses. I didn't mean the clubs as an end destination.
EW: Who do you like for Entertainer of the Year?
JI: Has anybody unseated Kenny as the king of stadiums yet? I don't have a dog in the fight, so whatever. I think Kenny will probably win.
EW: Okay. This interview is over, because there's a dress that I can't talk about on stage.

7:37 The dress, it should be noted, is well worth the secrecy.

7:45 Carrie is now dressed in a yellow-striped top and blue jeans -- which I assume are fair game -- and is using her pipes of steel to wail away on the poor Randy Travis song. She is actually pulling back on the verses, closing her eyes and singing intently into her bedazzled microphone, and even though I really do not much care for her version of this hit-that-defined-my-lonesome-teenage-years, she does, as usual, sound damn good.

7:48 Carrie's first run-thru ends, as does my day at rehearsal. Tomorrow: Sugarland! Tim and Faith! Keith! Maybe even a little guy named King George! Stay tuned!

Prince's new 'Lotusflow3r' is funky, then clunky

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As the father of two young daughters, I naturally spend great chunks of time thinking about Prince. Not because he might someday date my girls or because he's roughly their height. No, I ponder the Purple One because he once bragged about needing only two hours of sleep per night. He shuns shut-eye and writes When Doves Cry. I miss sleep and inadvertently diaper my kid's head. A subtle distinction, but a telling one.

My point, if it's not incredibly clear by now, is that Prince is a wee freak of nature. There aren't many minutes in the day when the Minneapolis mite isn't making music, the midnight hour included. And this super­heroic sleeplessness leads us perfectly to his new incredibly ambitious, altogether odd album — or albums. The three-disc Lotusflow3r, available exclusively at Target for $11.98, sounds as if it were recorded in one long REM-free night, a sexy first-take spin through distinct parts of the 50-year-old's paisley psyche.

Prince's three-headed experiment is not without its bumps; an entire disc is dedicated to new protege Bria Valente, with Prince producing, playing, drooling, etc. And all three discs could use some xxxtra booty-bumping bass. But with the exception of Bria, the three-pronged package makes for good make-out music … and, if you're feelin' lucky, maybe a little bit more, too.

The album breakdown goes like this: There's the funky, boot-knocking MPLSound, a nine-track disc of synth-frisky funk and Rick James squirm. Prince can rip this stuff out in a hurry, and he probably did. But it's still tasty, especially the crazy-kinky double entendre of Chocolate Box and straight groover Dance 4 Me. If you wanna slow-jam with your lovah, try U're Gonna C Me, which reminds me of his sprawling Scandalous on 1989's Batman soundtrack. For a dude who has seen more thighs than Colonel Sanders, Prince has always played the unsure lover well, and here he's either wounded or woozy from love. MPLSound loses velocity late in the game, but it's the comp's strongest disc.

Much more organic — jazzy time-changes, Hendrixian guitar moans, lyrics that long to inspire rather than seduce — is the 12-track Lotusflow3r. From the grinding rock squelch of Boom to a cover of Crimson and Clover made with the same ingredients in Purple Rain, the disc is one steady guitar jam, Prince proving that he picks as well as parties. Much of it plays like self-indulgent noodling (Love Like Jazz is unintended elevator music), but the hard-nosed Dreamer puts Prince firmly in Electric Lady Land, reminding us that he bows to Jimi just as well as he does to James Brown.

MPLSound and Lotusflow3r are huge improvements over Prince's 2007 output, the execrable Planet Earth. As for the final disc, well, it's a "bonus" at best, a drink coaster at worst. Called Elixer, it's the quiet-storm debut of Prince's newest vanity project (or, for that matter, Apollonia project). There's nothing particularly interesting about Bria Valente; she sounds like Janet Jackson, but without the nasty or the Jackson. Prince himself writes, produces, drops in guitar solos. But compared to the rest of the disc, Elixer is a parking brake on a good time. Then again, at the very least, Bria Valente will help me sleep at night. And Lord knows I could use some.