Thu 27 Sep 2007
Bruce Springsteen’s Magic available (in Germany) September 28! World wide release on October2, 2007. Back on the road in a few days… Bruuuuuce!!!
Good album review by Harry Browne from CounterPunch:
Sinister Magic: Bruce Springsteen Comes Home … to Hell
Sun 2 Sep 2007
Five years into a national economic recovery, the share of Americans living in poverty finally dropped.
But Kalamazoo and Flint are among the nation’s most impoverished cities.
Kalamazoo’s poverty rate is among the highest in the nation and rising, according to new Census Bureau statistics, though its status as a college town is a factor. One in three Kalamazoo residents was living below the federal poverty line in 2006, according to figures released Tuesday.
Tue 28 Aug 2007
Bruuuuuce … and the E Street Band!
October 2 Hartford, CT
October 5 Philadelphia, PA
October 9-10 East Rutherford, NJ
October 14 Ottawa, ONT
October 15 Toronto, ONT
October 17-18 New York, NY
October 21 Chicago, IL
October 26 Oakland, CA
October 28 Los Angeles, CA
November 2 St Paul, MN
November 4 Cleveland, OH
November 5 Auburn Hills, MI
November 11 Washington, D.C.
November 14 Pittsburgh, PA
November 15 Albany, NY
November 18 Boston, MA
November 25 Madrid, SPAIN
November 26 Bilbao, SPAIN
November 28 Milan, ITALY
November 30 Arnhem, NETHERLANDS
December 2 Mannheim, GERMANY
December 4 Oslo, NORWAY
December 8 Copenhagen, DENMARK
December 10 Stockholm, SWEDEN
December 12 Antwerp, BELGIUM
December 13 Cologne, GERMANY
December 15 Belfast, IRELAND
December 17 Paris, FRANCE
December 19 London, UK
“I’ll be playing the rock music this time. In case anybody’s wondering.”
(Bruce Springsteen)
Sun 26 Aug 2007
Recommended for everyone interested in American music, its business, and politics. This documentary is awesome!
The cameras captured the infamous Dixie Chicks event (“We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.”) and its aftermath. The band suffered from radio boycott, personal insults and threats to their lives. Blind U.S. patriotism on the verge of the Iraq war in 2003 revealed how frail the right to freedom of speech is in America.
Besides, we get as close as one can get to the band on tour, in the studio, at home, and even in the labor room… Fascinating, funny, infuriating and emotional!
P.S. The Dixie Chicks defintely ARE the worst dressed girl group in the world! Whatever…
Fri 17 Aug 2007
from Shore Fire Media:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 16, 2007
Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Magic’ Set for October 2 Release on Columbia Records
‘Magic,’ Bruce Springsteen’s new studio recording and his first with the E Street Band in five years, is set for release by Columbia Records on October 2, 2007. Produced and mixed by Brendan O’Brien, the album features eleven new Springsteen songs and was recorded at Southern Tracks Recording Studio in Atlanta, GA.
‘Magic’ Song Titles:
1. Radio Nowhere
2. You’ll Be Comin’ Down
3. Livin’ in the Future
4. Your Own Worst Enemy
5. Gypsy Biker
6. Girls in Their Summer Clothes
7. I’ll Work for Your Love
8. Magic
9. Last to Die
10. Long Walk Home
11. Devil’s Arcade
‘Magic’ is the first new studio album by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band since 2002′s GRAMMY Award-winning, multi-platinum, number one album ‘The Rising’ (Columbia Records), which was also produced by O’Brien.
Bruce Springsteen’s longtime manager Jon Landau said, “‘Magic’ is a high energy rock CD. It’s light on its feet, incredibly well played by Bruce and the members of the E Street Band, and, as always, has plenty to say. It’s also immensely entertaining. ‘Magic’ is the third collaboration between Bruce and Brendan O’Brien and is a culmination of their very productive creative relationship.”
Magic in the press: Landau and O’Brien in the Rolling Stone
Wed 25 Jul 2007
from the Odyssey Youth Center newsletter Spring 2007:
Skillful listener makes a good facilitator
by Jill Wagner
Corinna Verdugo is modest about her role as an Odyssey Youth Center facilitator. When asked about the volunteer work she does twice a month on Thursday evenings, she hesitates and suggests perhaps she is a bit too shy for the job compared to other facilitators.
At 27, a bisexual woman originally from Sacramento, Calif., with a degree in philosophy and Chinese language from Kalamazoo College, Verdugo is just the sort of mentor that teenagers can look up to and learn from. She has lived in Michigan and Pennslyvania, California and Washington, and studied for a year in Beijing. Currently an employee at the Department of Social and Health Services, Verdugo has also worked at Spokane Mental Health. She volunteers on Saturdays to answer phones at First Call for Help, a crisis hotline where she often takes calls from regulars who just need to talk, who just need someone to listen.
Supportive listening is one of the greatest gifts a place like Odyssey can offer to youths who may struggle to be heard at home or in school. Verdugo’s skills and desire to listen, no doubt, touch the kids more than she gives herself credit for. Life experiences also help Verdugo identify with Odyssey youth in ways that other volunteers may not be able to relate. Female youth will sometimes start dating a guy, Verdugo explained, and the backlash from other Odyssey kids can be tough to handle. As a bisexual woman, Verdugo understands what the girls may be feeling and can help them accept themselves without focusing on other people’s opinions.
She’s been a facilitator for a year, but was first introduced to Odyssey Youth Center about three years ago by her brother. Verdugo organized Odyssey’s 2006 Valentine’s Dance for LGBT youth and their friends. With her parents, brother and girlfriend in Spokane, Verdugo figures she is here to stay. What she likes about the city is an all new sense of security being here brings to her life. “When I was growing up I never really felt as safe as I do here,” she said.
Fri 13 Jul 2007
Great news from K2 via Greasy Lake:
About as certain as we can get at this point: The new album has been recorded with members of the ESB already having contributed. Additional tracks are being recorded with and without the ESB. As can best be described at this point is the album is a cross between TOL and The Rising with some “rock” songs and a number of songs pared down. Having trouble describing the sound, but a lot of production is being used wth the versions already recorded. Different versions of each song are being recorded (with and without members of the ESB) and the final versions of about half the album have not been settled on. It was agreed to go ahead with announcing a new recording since it is fully anticipated the final recording phases will go very quickly. The good news is a flurry of recording will be ongoing over the next few weeks with August to be the month of final production, etc. Although a given, the album will have a least 10 songs with a goal of about 13 being projected.
What is interesting is the most definitive and positive news relates to the tour, which will be the last for the entire ESB. Rehearsals for the tour are once again scheduled for AP around Labor Day. Look for the tour to kick off on or about 10/02/2007 in New York with a quick swing around the country until the end of November. All of the major cities, to include LA, DC, Philly, Boston, Chicago, etc. will be covered. The month of December will include a quick tour of Europe, about 10 shows or so. January and part of February look to be time off with a full world tour to begin in full effect during the Spring of 2008 (Feb/March) with outdoor arena shows scheduled for the summer of 2008. The U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia, will all be on the schedule. Bottom line is that we are now entering the final stages in preparation for the final ESB world tour. Stay tuned.
Mon 9 Jul 2007
New Album Out on New West Records, In Stores September 25th
New York, NY. After an extremely rare three year break from recording, Grammy® Award winner Steve Earle is back, with Washington Square Serenade, an album of new music out September 25th, his first for New West Records. The longtime Nashville (via Texas) resident, Earle has called New York City home for the past year and this will be his first release produced in the city. Recorded at New York’s legendary Electric Lady Studios, the introspective album, inspired by NYC, is Earle’s first produced by John King of The Dust Brothers (Beck, The Rolling Stones, Beastie Boys). A deluxe CD/DVD version will be available with bonus artwork, plus an exclusive documentary about the inspiration behind “Washington Square Serenade,” including a walking tour of Greenwich Village with Steve and noted journalist Mark Jacobson (New York Magazine). The album will also be available as a Limited Edition 180 gram vinyl record.
Sun 24 Jun 2007
Last night, I’ve finally went to my first Patti Smith concert, and definitely my best concert in 2007!
What a voice — so much power and anger: the strong and rough rock ‘n’ roll instrument, as well the dark, shaman like chanting Patti. Great cover versions from her new album, and her own thirty year old punk music. Not a bit embarrassing, ’cause you see that Patti Smith still feels what she sings. And how she does that: like a true teenage rock ‘n’ roll nigger! Fucking awesome… The band around Lenny “Ich bin ein Garage Rocker” Kaye was in great shape, Patti had a lot of fun, never lost contact to the audience (she’s just such a nice sixty year old girl), played a long set, blended her stories into songs like only The Boss can (had to mention him here), she probably even was responsible for the beautiful rainbow… Oh, it’s such a perfect day…
P.S. Had to be great evening, since already Anna Ternheim was a beautiful opener. I missed her twice in Berlin, so I was really happy to see her. And what a sight! And again, what a voice — totally different from Patti’s, if Patti Smith is a dark angel, Anna Ternheim is pure light. But then, her voice also sounds so sad, it really hurts…
Mon 11 Jun 2007
Von Ullrich Fichtner
Viele Hobbyköche verwandeln ihre Küchen in hochgerüstete Reviere. Schmeckt ihr Essen deshalb besser?
Das Zubehör für das richtige Leben im falschen kann ein kleiner Flambierbrenner sein (für die Crème brûlée) oder ein “Spaghetti-Tester” von C. Hugo Pott (fürs al dente). Manche brauchen Rüttelpulte für ihre Champagnerflaschen, manche haben französische Korkenzieher für 269 Euro das Stück, manche hobeln sich ihre San-Daniele-Schinken-Scheibchen auf hauseigenen Maschinen aus Gussstahl, die über 4000 Euro kosten und geschätzt 4000 Kilogramm wiegen. Manche drehen völlig durch.