Employee Picks

Ryan:

* Willie Nelson--Remember Me, Volume #1

* Harry Nilsson--Son of Schmilsson 
* Donnie Evil--Holiday That!
*OST--Muppets 
*Jonathan Coulton--Artificial Heart
*Puppini Sisters--Hollywood



Chelsea:

*Ma/Duncan/Meyer/Thile --Goat Rodeo
*Foster The People--Torches 
* Arlo Guthrie's butt on the back cover of that one album that Chelsea and Klaralyn are really into

Doc:

* Imelda May--Mayhem
* Original Soundtrack—Treme 
* St. Vincent--Strange Mercy

* My Brightest Diamond--All Things Will Unwind

Donnie:

* Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper
* Gary Neuman--Best of...
* OST--Hedwig & the Angry Inch

Red:
*Touchers--Blood Bath

*J-Model Ford--Don't Get  out Talkin' It
*Hanni El Khatib--Will The Guns Come Out  

Tol:


* B.U.T.—I Love You But...
* Cedric Kreklow--Sol

* Mojo Nixon/Skid Roper--Get Out of My Way


Klarlyn--

*Rage Against the Machine--Evil Empire
*Beastie Boys--Hot Sauce Committee Part 2
*LCD Soundsystem--This is Happening


Bueno:

Nick Lowe--"The Old Magic"
Dessa "Castor the Twin" ("New live arrangments of Dessa's Best Work!")
Wild Flag "Wild Flag" (featuring members of Sleater-Kinney!)
Mister Heavenly--Mister Heavenly (featuring members of Modest Mouse, Man Man, Island, & The Shins!)
Chemical Brothers --"Hannah Soundtrack"

Rock News

--A hand-written and illustrated sign made by John Lennon for his and Yoko Ono's bed-in for peace has fetched more than $150,000 at auction. The sign, which read "BED PEACE" in black marker on cardboard, and featuring pen drawings of Lennon and Ono, was posted in the window directly behind the couple during their seven day "bed-in" at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal in May of 1969.

--Before Sunrise actress Julie Deply has signed on to direct a biopic about late Clash guitarist/vocalist Joe Strummer. The film, tentatively entitled "The Right Profile" (after the Clash song from the album London Calling) will focus on Strummer's self-imposed exile after disbanding The Clash in 1986, up to his sudden death from congenital heart failure in 2002.

--A group of musicians, including Lou Reed, Tom Morello (of Rage Against The Machine, Nightwatchman,) Amanda Palmer,  nd Jello Biafra have collaborate to help launch a new website, occupymusicians.com, in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement.  The site is designed to help musicians, producers, and songwriters to organize performances, and is a companion to the websites Occupy Writers, Occupy Filmmakers and Occupy Comics.

--Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit may have to become a barbershop quartet. At least, that is what Isbell recently posted on his Facebook.  The band's van, containing all their equipments, was recently stolen, in broad daylight, from outside their hotel in Dallas, Texas. The van was recovered a few miles away with the locks knocked off, but the equipment was gone. A list is being circulated with detail of the nearly $20,000 of stolen equipment, in the hopes that it will be identified when-and-if the equipment is sold; but Isbell "[doubts] it will happen." In the meantime the band has been forced to delay its current tour and work on replacing it's equipment. 

This Week In Rock History

1955—Elvis Presley signs Col. Tom Parker as his manager. Not a real colonel, Parker's previous "management" experience involved promoting his act Tom Parker and His Dancing Turkeys.

1965—Harrods department store closes its door for a full day to allow the Beatles do their Holiday shopping.

1966—Several thousand teenagers battle with Kansas City police after a James Brown concert is halted because of what officials call "obscene dances being performed on the stage."

1967—The band Strawberry Alarm Clock tops the chart with Incense and Peppermint.  The song was originally intended to be a B-side and was not even sung by a member of the band. The vocals on the recording were sung by Greg Mumford, a friend of the band who was hanging around the studio during recording.

1969—John Lennon returns the MBE Award (Members of the British Empire) awarded to the Beatles in 1965. The note attached to the returned medal reads "Your Majesty, I am returning this MBE in protest against Brittan's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam, and against Cold Turkey slipping down the charts." Though the Queen never publicly reacted to the medals return, we can only assume that "One was not amused."

1974--John Lennon joins Elton John on stage at Madison Square Garden, in New York. It would turn out to be Lennon's last concert performance. He would be gunned down outside his apartment six years later.

1976--The Band tape their farewell concert, The Last Waltz, at the Winterland's Ballroom in San Fransisco. The five hour set included performances from Ronnie Hawkins, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, Dr. John and others. A film of the concert was directed by Martin Scorsese and released the following year.

1976—Perhaps attempting to live up to his nickname "The Killer", Jerry Lee Lewis, is arrested after drunkenly brandishing a pistol at the gates of Graceland and demanding to see Elvis.

1983—The 14-plus minute video for Michael Jackson’s Thriller is premiered in LA. 

1991—Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury publicly announces that he has been diagnosed with the AIDS virus.  He passes away from AIDS-related pneumonia the following day.

Employee Picks

Ryan:

* Jerry Reed--Super Hits
* Southern Culture on the Skids--Zombified
* Tom Waits--Bad As Me
* Devo--Are We Not Men?


Chelsea:

*Ma/Duncan/Meyer/Thile --Goat Rodeo
*Kooks--Junk of the Heart
* Devil Makes Three--Stomp & Smash: Live

Doc:

* Imelda May--Mayhem
* Original Soundtrack—Treme 
* Jeff Bridges—Jeff Bridges
* My Brightest Diamond--All Things Will Unwind

Donnie:

* Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper
* Wreckless Erik--Hits, Miss, Rags & Tatters
* Leon Redbone--Champagne Charlie 

Red:
*Tom Waits--Bad as Me
*Joan Jett & the Blackhearts--Greatest Hits
*Hanni El Khatib--Will The Guns Come Out  

Tol:


* B.U.T.—I Love You But...
* Cedric Kreklow--Sol

* Cramps--Stay Sick

Klarlyn--

*U2--Joshua Tree
*Beastie Boys--Paul's Boutique
*Guns n' Roses--Appetite for Destruction


Bueno:

Nick Lowe--"The Old Magic"
Dessa "Castor the Twin" ("New live arrangments of Dessa's Best Work!")
Wild Flag "Wild Flag" (featuring members of Sleater-Kinney!)
Mister Heavenly--Mister Heavenly (featuring members of Modest Mouse, Man Man, Island, & The Shins!)
Chemical Brothers --"Hannah Soundtrack"

Rock History

1967—19-year old Arlo Guthrie, son of American folk music pioneer Woody Guthrie, releases the song Alice’s Restaurant. The single, which clocked in at over 18 minutes, told the mostly true story of his run-in with the New York draft board.

1968—The Los Angles based Americana band Pogo are forced to change their name following a lawsuit from comic strip creator Walt Kelly, whose comic strip Pogo debuted in 1941. The band settle on the similar sounding name Poco, and go on to have a number of hits on both the pop and country charts.  Worth noting is the release of their 2005 live album entitled “Bareback at Big Sky,” recorded in Bozeman at the home of Cactus’ friend Dave Goodwin, in front of a live audience of 100 Bozeman fans.

1970—The Killer, Jerry Lee Lewis, is granted a divorce from his wife/first cousin Myra Brown, after 13 years of marriage. Brown was only 13 years old when she and Lewis married; the marriage, and scandal that followed in its wake, essentially ended Lewis’ skyrocketing rock-&-roll career.

1973—A 19 year-old fan of The Who, Scot Halpin, got the thrill of a lifetime when he was recruited from the audience to replace an exhausted Keith Moon, who was suffering from jet lag. The young man lasted only three songs, when he also was too tired to continue.

1977—Joey Ramone, lead singer of The Ramones, receives 2^nd degree burns when a fog machine explodes on stage. Though he somehow managed to finish the concert, Ramone would spend the next three days hospitalized.

1983—Tom Evens, bassist of power-pop band Badfinger, commits suicide by hanging. Evens and the remaining members of Badfinger were embroiled in a financial dispute with the band’s management. Badfinger’s singer/guitarist Peter Hamm had hanged himself eight years earlier due to similar circumstances.

1990—Milli Vanilli producer Frank Farian admits to reporters that Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus never sang a note on the "Milli Vanilli" album. The duo eventually returned their Best New Artist Grammy.

1990—The Righteous Brother place both their original 1965 recording of the song “Unchained Melody” and a newly re-recorded version in the top 20, after the song is featured in the movie Ghost. The song was originally recorded in 1955 by Les Baker as the theme to the prison film Unchained.

2010—Officials in Dade County Florida have announced that the sheriff’s department is looking into officially pardoning former Doors lead singer Jim Morrison for his 1969 indecent exposure arrest. Morrison was convicted of exposing himself on a Miami stage in 1969 and ordered to serve 6 month in jail and pay a $500 fine. The verdict was in the process of being appealed when Morrison died of a heart attack in 1971.  Not surprisingly, Morrison has not commented on the pardon.

Rock News

--Rapper mega-star Jay-Z has recently come under fire for selling t-shirts with the phrase “Occupy All Streets” on them, in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement, but then keeping all the money raised. Supporters and organizers of the Occupy Wall Street movement claim that the sale were misleading, tacitly implying funds would go to the movement, while instead the money raised from the sales will remain with Jay-Z. Angry protesters have labeled Jay-Z a “bloodsucker” for, what it feels, is money-making on the backs of the protesters. However, Jay-Z's close friend Russell Simmons came to Jay-Z's defense saying “What's wrong with selling goodness? There's nothing wrong with it. Jay-Z didn't make a T-shirt with 'F**k the Bums on the Street.' He wrote a T-shirt 'Occupy All Streets' - I'm happy, it furthers the movement, it inspires the movement."

--Courtney Love, of the band Hole, went on a tirade during a performance in Brazil after an audience member held up a poster depicting her late husband Kurt Cobain. Love stormed off stage after telling the audience “"I don't need to see a picture of Kurt, asshole, and I'm going to have you fucking removed if you keep throwing that up, I'm not Kurt – I have to live with his shit, his ghost, his kid every day. Throwing that up is stupid and rude and I'll beat the f*&k out of you if you do it again." Love refused to return to the stage until her guitarist, Micko Larson, convinced the audience to chant “the Foo Fighers are gay,” a slam aimed at Foo Fighter front man, and former Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl.

--Pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath are reuniting for their first album with original vocalist, Ozzy Osbourne, since 1978's “Never Say Die!” The new album is set to be produced by former Def Jam producer Rick Rubins, and supported with a large scale, world tour.

New Releases

December 6th
Black Keys, Roots, Amy Winehouse, Gary Numan, Dead Milkmen, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Elvis Costello (live)

December 13th
Deep Purple (re-release,) Rammstein, Naughty By Nature, Josh Ritter (live,) Snoop Dog 

Rock News

-- 1990's smooth rap legend, Heavy D, or the group Heavy D and The Boyz, died suddenly on Tuesday. Heavy D, born Dwight Arringston Myers, took a cover of the O'Jay's song “Now That We've Found Love (What Are We Going To Do)” onto the charts in 1991, he also rapped on Janet Jackson's 1990 hit “Alright“ and the 1991 Michael Jackson hit “Jam.” No cause of death has been determined. He was 44.

--Teen pop sensation, Justin Bieber, has agreed to take a paternity test following last week's allegations that he fathered a child with a 20 year old woman. Mariah Yeater claimed that her 3-months old child was fathered by the singer after a rendezvous backstage at an LA concert nearly a year ago. After first strongly denying any involvement with Yeater, and refusing to take a paternity test, Bieber has agreed to take the test as soon as he returns to the US from his current world tour. Matthew Hiltzik, Bieber's representative said they would "vigorously pursue all available legal remedies to protect Justin.” If Bieber is shown to be the child's father, the mother, Mariah Yeater may face charges of statutory rape, since Bieber would have been only 16 at the time the child was conceived.

--Dr. Conrad Murray, the doctor recently convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson, has been put on a suicide watch. Murray was found guilty of causing the death by being reckless in his treatment of Jackson. Murray could face up to four years in prison for Jackson's death in 2009.

--Fans in Detroit are up in arms about an upcoming Thanksgiving football game between the hometown Lions and rivals, defending Super Bowl champs, the Green Bay Packers. While fans are excited for the game, a controversy has sprung up concerning half-time performers Nickelback. A petition has been started urging promoters of the game to replace Nickelback with another, unspecified, act. According to the petition, which has gathered over 47,000 signatures in the Detroit area, “Detroit is home to so many great musicians [why] choose Nickelback?...This is completely unfair to those of us who purchased tickets to the game. At least the people watching at home can mute their TVs. The Lions ought to think about their fans before choosing such an awful band to play at halftime.”

--GWAR guitarist Cory Smoot, better known by his stage persona Flattus Maximus, was found dead on Thursday as the band prepared to cross the Canadian border. Smoot joined the band in 2002, replacing former Flattus Maximus Zach Blair. GWAR have decided to continue with their world tour, stating “[Cory] would want us to go on and would be pissed if we didn’t.”

This Week In Rock History

1966—John Lennon meets artist Yoko Ono at the Indica art Gallery in London. Despite Lennon already being married, he and Ono become inseparable, remaining together until Lennon's assassination in 1980.

1966—Scottish folk singer Donovan releases the song “Mellow Yellow.” The song, which would reach #2 on the US pop charts, came about after Donovan suffered a severe case of jaundice in earlier in the year causing his skin to turn a pale yellow color.

1972—A little over a year after The Allman Brother's Band lost Duane Allman in a motorcycle accident, their bassist, 24 year old Berry Oakley was killed when his motorcycle hit a bus, just three blocks away from the site that claimed Duane. At first, Oakley seemed all right, but died twenty minutes after being brought to the hospital.

1974—An impostor posing as Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore borrowed a Porsche in Iowa City and wrecked it, having already conned food and shelter out of several Deep Purple fans. He was later arrested and charged. The real Ritchie Blackmore was playing a concert in San Francisco at the time.

1987—Just like he did in his prime, Sly Stone, shows up over an hour late for his "comeback" concert in Los Angeles. When he finally arrives, he is arrested for non-payment of child support.

2002—Elton John receives Lasik eye surgery, making useless his reported 4000+ pairs of prescription glasses.

2007—47-year-old Boy George was charged by British Police with falsely imprisoning 28-year-old Auden Karlsen, who had gone to the musician's flat as a photo model.

Employee Picks

Ryan:

* Jerry Reed--Super Hits
* Southern Culture on the Skids--Zombified
* Tom Waits--Bad As Me
* Devo--Are We Not Men?


Chelsea:

*Ma/Duncan/Meyer/Thile --Goat Rodeo
*Kooks--Junk of the Heart
*Devil Makes Three--Stomp & Smash: Live

Doc:

* Imelda May--Mayhem
* Original Soundtrack—Treme 
* Jeff Bridges—Jeff Bridges
* My Brightest Diamond--All Things Will Unwind

Donnie:

* Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper
* Wreckless Erik--Hits, Miss, Rags & Tatters
* Leon Redbone--Champagne Charlie 

Red:
*Tom Waits--Bad as Me
*Joan Jett & the Blackhearts--Greatest Hits
*Hanni El Khatib--Will The Guns Come Out  

Tol:


* B.U.T.—I Love You But...
* Cedric Kreklow--Sol

* Cramps--Stay Sick

Klarlyn--

*U2--Joshua Tree
*Beastie Boys--Paul's Boutique
*Guns n' Roses--Appetite for Destruction


Bueno:

Nick Lowe--"The Old Magic"
Dessa "Castor the Twin" ("New live arrangments of Dessa's Best Work!")
Wild Flag "Wild Flag" (featuring members of Sleater-Kinney!)
Mister Heavenly--Mister Heavenly (featuring members of Modest Mouse, Man Man, Island, & The Shins!)
Chemical Brothers --"Hannah Soundtrack"

New Releases

NEW RELEASES AVAILABLE AT

CACTUS RECORDS

10/25/11

Aiden, Casual, Circus Devils (Robert Pollard), Kelly Clarkson, Coldplay, Dead to Me, Deer Tick, Dirty Projectors + Bjork, DJ Cam, DJ/rupture, Thomas Dolby, Drake, El Rego (Daptone), Everlast, Flogging Molly (Dlx), Garrison Keillor, Toby Keith, Goapele, honeyhoney, Dntel, JC Brooks & Uptown Sound, Jedi Mind Tricks, Chris Joss, Justice, Yo-Yo Ma/Stuart Duncan/Edgar Meyer/Chris Thile, MF Doom (Dlx Re-issue), Raleigh Moncrief, Montgomery Gentry, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Peggy Sue, Phantogram (ep), Popa Chubby, John Prine, Roots Manuva, She & Him (Xmas), Paul Simon (re-issues), Star F*&#ing Hipsters, Chip Taylor, Tom Waits, Scott Weiland (xmas), Brian Wilson (kids), Bill Wyman, (VA) Brdige School Benefit, more!

11/02/11

Black Milk, Justin Bieber (Xmas), Bush, The Decemberists (ep), Florence + the Machine, Frank Sinatra (B.O.), Insane Clown Posse, Justin Bieber, Lou Reed & Metallica (Loutallica), Megadeth, Mike Patton, Susan Boyle, U2 (re-issue), more!

Rock News

*A new album of unreleased tracks from late soul singer Amy Winehouse is set to be released on December 5th, just in time for Christmas. The album, titled Amy Winehouse Lioness: Hidden Treasures, is made up of cover songs, demos, and tracks recorded for, but not included on, her debut album Frank released in 2003. For every album sold 1 British Pound ($1.59) will be donated to the Amy Winehouse Foundation, a charity set up in the singer’s honor to help support or care for young people with problems. Some fans have expressed anger at the release, complaining that the charity donation is too small, and that the release of material previously considered unsuitable, especially so close to Christmas, is simply an attempt to cash in on the singers recent death at the age of 27.

*Death Cab For Cutie front man Ben Gibbard and his wife of two years, Zooey Deschanel has split according to their representative. The couple were introduced by their mutual manager and married in September of 2008. "It was mutual and amicable," a source told Us Weekly, "There was no third party involved."

*Grammy Award winning Rapper and actress Queen Latifah has singed a deal with Sony Pictures Television to host a new daytime talk show starting in 2013. The show is being co-produced by Latifah, alongside fellow rapper/actor Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett- Smith. Latifah previously hosted the talk show the Queen Latifah Show for two seasons from 1999-2001.

*Teen pop sensation Justin Beiber has been hit with a paternity suit. According to a report in Star magazine the seventeen year old Beiber is being listed as the father of a son born to Mariah Yeater of California. Yeater claims she and Beiber had a fling backstage after a Los Angeles concert earlier this year resulting in her pregnancy. Beiber's representatives called the allegations “malicious, defamatory and demonstrably false” stating they would ...”vigorously pursue all available legal remedies to defend and protect Justin against these allegations."

*Funk pioneer Sly Stone has entered rehab. The “Everyday People” singer, who has fallen on hard times, recently revealing that he was been living in his van for the past few years, is set to enter rehab for 90 days to help deal with decades of alcohol and drug abuse.

This Week In Rock History

1954— Billboard Magazine places Elvis Presley at #8 on their list of promising "Hillbilly" singers.

1955—Country artist “Tennessee” Ernie Ford releases his signature tune “Sixteen Tons.” The single would go on to become the biggest selling record of the 1950s.

1959—Due to the fact that he is currently serving with the US Army in Germany, Elvis Presley is left without a record on the Billboard charts for the first time in five years.

1961—The single “Big Bad John” reaches #1 on both the country and rock-and-roll charts. The song's writer and singer, Jimmy Dean, was not only a successful musician, but also worked as an actor, writer, television host (of both The Jimmy Dean Show, as well as guest hosting the Tonight show on several occasions), and, most famously, founder of the sausage company that still bears his name.

1962—The song “He's A Rebel” is number one on the Billboard charts. The song is credited to The Crystals, however it is actually performed by a another girl group known as The Blossoms. Phil Spector had recorded the song, and released it under the Crystals moniker to capitalize on the fact that they already had two songs in the the top ten.

1967—The Bee Gees' Robin Gibb survives a train wreck near London, England that killed 49 others.

1970—Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas marries actor Dennis Hopper. The marriage would last eight days.

1972—New York Dolls drummer Billy Murcia drowns after his girlfriend, in an attempt to wake him up, pours coffee down Murcia's throat as his lies passed out from a cocktail of alcohol and drugs.

1973—Phil Kaufman, former manager of alt-country singer Gram Parsons, is fined $300 for stealing Parson's body from the Los Angles airport. Kaufman, along with members of Parson's band The Flying Burrito Brothers stole the body, drove it out into the desert, and set it on fire in order to fulfill Parson's wish to be cremated.

1977—Ozzy Osbourne leaves Black Sabbath only to rejoin a few weeks later. In the intervening weeks former Savoy Brown singer Dave Walker would be brought in as the new singer, only to be let go upon Ozzy's return. (Dave currently resides in Virginia City).

1987—Dire Straights' album“Brothers In Arms,” originally released in 1985, becomes the UK's best selling album of all time when it passes the three-million mark. As of 2010, it remains the UK's largest selling, now topping over 30-million copies sold.