@ZackTeibloom Yesterday’s Bonnaroo announcement was a nightmare. Even if you don’t run a music blog. First they put it in the hands of the artist, so you had to have a dozen tabs open to see when Dave Matthews was going to put up a video or if @wearephoenix would tweet about it. It was exhausting. It was unnecessary. It made us spend the day on MySpace. Gross. We can do better than that.

Here’s what I’m proposing: A one-hour prime time announcement for each of the major destination festivals with live bands and video montages. You’re intrigued, aren’t you? Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore Ellen makes her debut tonight as the replacement to Paula Abdul. NPH filled in admirably, but most of the celebrity judges were forgettable. Like the celebrity judges, the auditions were mostly forgettable. Last season I could tell you I wanted to root for Danny Gokey from the get go. There is nobody that stands out like that for me this season. Hopefully Hollywood will show us some contenders. Ellen’s debut has me excited for one thing. Crowd shots of Portia De Rossi. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom The 2010 Bonnaroo line-up unveiling was an exhausting mess, but we’re finally looking at a legit line-up. It’s a bit of a cross between Coachella and Jazz Fest with a few strong additions late in the night, it went from a big disappointment to a must-attend even if you hit Coachella and Jazz Fest. It’s amazing what adding a couple Jack’s (White and Black), Stevie, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Cliff will do. I’ve gone from a whiny “I’m not going” to “I must be there” and all it took was a nap. Let’s see what changed my mind and give this line-up the full attention it needs. Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore Tonight’s auditions have been labeled the best of the rest. That’s saying one of two things. The first option is they had an extra night in the schedule so they mustered up the not as spectacular or funny auditions for one more episode. That, or the rest of the the cities weren’t important enough for their own episodes or didn’t have enough talent. I’m not sure which one is the better. It doesn’t even say in the info whether any of the celebrity judges make an appearance. I’m looking forward to Hollywood. That’s when the cream starts to rise to the top. I’ll pick my horses then. Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore Another Tuesday night, another round of American Idol Auditions. Tonight they are in Denver, which serves to remind me of one contestant that will not be there. Eric Blumenfeld, of the Kinetix, had decided he would try out for American Idol this season, after catching a decent part of the tail end of last season. Alas, contractual obligations left him ineligible to try out. I know. Sad story. Speaking of tragedies, Posh Spice herself is returning as a guest judge. She added almost nothing in her first round of judging. So little, in fact, they must have thought she needed two appearances just to make an impact. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom For those sick of fake Bonnaroo line-ups, we have a real new batch of SXSW 2010 bands. And they’re pretty damn good. Of the 55 new bands, I’ve seen 6 and have rave reviews for all of them. Balkan Beat Box used to fly in from Israel just to headline the under-appreciated Lotus festival in Bloomington, In. and they’re a force with a mix of gypsy punk and hip hop. Yeah, be excited for that one. !!! is deserving of all the exclamation points, Les Savy Fav tore you a new one when he was here for Fun Fun Fun and you can expect more of the same from their bulbous front man. Miike Snow put out one of the best albums of last year and their live show matches the album. We saw hometown heroes, Spoon last week and it’s never too soon for more. Read the rest of this entry »

Third Man Vault posted details on The Dead Weather’s upcoming 11-date two week tour in late April, continuing into May. Pre-sale is currently only available for Third Man Vault members, which I’m happy to say I am. Here in Austin, we’ll be saying goodbye to April showers and bringing in May flowers with a month-ending show at Stubbs. Personally, I hope it pours that night. The Dead Weather will be coming back to Austin after their incredible ACL show last year with a new album to promote. No title or tracks have been leaked yet, but Vault members will soon be treated to vinyl pressings of tracks they’re working on. Full line-up of Dead Weather Spring tour dates after the jump. This is one show I’ll be buying a ticket for. See ya at Stubbs, Austin. See ya soon, Jack White.

Update: I bought two tickets this morning and they came out to about $33 each w/ shipping and fees. Read the rest of this entry »