My review of the new TSOOL record, Origins Vol. 1, is online at the Pamphlet.

Sadly, Origins Vol. 1 is not as good as Behind the Music, the record that made a career for Sweden’s The Soundtrack of Our Lives (TSOOL). The formula that made that record so compelling is still very much in evidence here: big riffs culled from classic rock songs, big vocals, and Big Rock production. The songs on Origins overflow with sounds that evoke familiar classic rock tunes without ever sounding derivative. Indeed, they often sound far more interesting than the source material. But where Behind the Music was consistently interesting and exciting from start to finish, Origins runs out of gas midway through and never recovers…

To see the rest of the review, please visit the Pamphlet.

I played two shows with Ed Burch and an ad-hoc band of local luminaries at the Hideout this past weekend. The repertoire was culled exclusively from the sometimes charming, sometimes bizarre world of the song poem. (more…)

RockAndRollConfidential.com has an amazing collection of bad press kit photos that they call the Hall of Douchebags. It’s a remarkably extensive collection of over 750 photos with smartass captions.

It’s got pictures of goofy emo boys, mulleted country bands, poseurs in ridiculous makeup, and a whole mess of brick walls. Check it out: The Hall of Douchebags

Tony Nuccio just sent me the cover art for our CD, and it looks great. We asked Tony to capture the spirit of an old Folkways LP, and I think he got it right. (more…)

Given that three fifths of Tangleweed are current or former hockey players (Billy, Kip, and Scott), we thought you would enjoy this collision of music and hockey in the form of correspondence with the band Five for Fighting.

It comes from my friend Carl ‘R’ Knorr, who heard the extraordinarily whimpy song ‘Superman’ played at a Cleveland Lumberjacks hockey game. He was astonished to learn that the perpetrators of this apalling work of musical wussery were a band named for the most beloved penalty in hockey: Five for Fighting. Carl, fine American that he is, fired off an email to the band demanding to an explanation. But then something happened that he really didn’t expect. They wrote him back.

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The original lineup of Dinosaur Jr. has reunited for their first shows in fifteen years. They’re scheduled to play two dates in the Chicago area:

Fri July 22 The Eagles Club Milwaukee, WI
Sun July 24 Lollapalooza Chicago, IL

They’re touring to support the reissue of their first three records (Dinosaur, You’re Living All Over Me, and Bug), which were rereleased last month on Merge. The first record hasn’t aged gracefully, but You’re Living All Over Me and Bug sound absolutely amazing.

Tickets go on sale April 26 at www.dinosaurjr.com

We’ll be playing an intimate front room show at Chicago’s Hideout on Monday, April 18th. We’re filling in for our friend Ed Burch for the evening.

The Hideout is a working class neighborhood bar that’s built a national reputation for booking great music. The beer is cheap ($2 PBR), the folks are nice, and the bar stools are comfortable. Front room shows are are chance to hear unamplified music in a fun and informal setting. Music will start around 9ish.

We got our start playing at an independent coffee house in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood, so we’re happy to help support independent coffee shops whenever we can. There’s a new site that will help you find the nearest independent alternative to a Starbucks franchise: Starbucks Delocator. It’s a user-edited site, so you can add your favorite places to the Starbucks Delocator to help spread the word.

Via NPR and BoingBoing.