more graph humor and song chart memes

OPETH frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt and PORCUPINE TREE vocalist Steve Wilson face off in a prog quiz conducted by Roadrunner Records. Check it out, it’s great. Questions about Rush, Jethro Tull, Genesis, King Crimson, Yes, Camel, Pink Floyd and more.
http://www.bravewords.com/news/91536

Roger Joseph Manning Jr.’s new album “Catnip Dynamite” is out in Japan. Import only from Amazon.com. There’s a good detailed review at that Amazon link.

Here are the tour dates for the upcoming Candlemass US tour (first tour of the US in 17 years):

May 19 - Springfield VA @ JAXX
May 20 - New York NY @ BB KING’s
May 22 - Sayreville NJ @ STARLAND BALLROOM
May 23 - Clevelan, OH @ PEABODY’s
May 24 - Chicago Mokene, IL @ THE PEARL ROOM
May 25 - Minneapolis MN @ STATION 4.
May 28 - Seattle WA, @ STUDIO 7
May 29 - Portland OR @ HAWTHORNE THEATER
May 30 - San Francisco CA @ SLIM’s
May 31 - San Marcos CA @ JUMPING TURTLE

June 1 - West Hollywood CA - WHISKU A-GO-GO
June 3 - Phoenix AZ – BRICKHOUSE
June 4 - Albuquerque NM – LAUNCHPAD
June 5 - San Antonio TX – SCOUT BAR
June 6 - Houston TX - SCOUT BAR
June 7 - Dallas-Fort Worth TX – RIDGELA THEATER

I ran across this photo of Moby on allmusic.com and thought that it looks like either Gordon is Moby’s long lost twin or Gordon just failed to let us in on his sideline as a techno legend.

As promised, I am here to let you know that The Afters new album, Never Going Back to OK is fantastic. Chalk full of poppy goodness, The Afters sophomore effort does not fail to disappoint. But rather than just tell you about it, why not just enjoy a bit your send. So here is the video for Myspace Girl.

Sorry it’s been so long. Work has been crazy. From here:

On the 4th October 2007 Porcupine Tree arrived for an in-store performance and signing session at Park Avenue CDs in Orlando, Florida, with 200 fans also in attendance. Although it was originally planned that the full band would play, lack of space dictated that it was only the 2 guitarists / singers Steven Wilson and John Wesley who delivered an impromptu performance, including many songs rarely (if ever) played by the band, making for a very special and intimate show. Fortunately this one-off performance was captured by a remote recording facility and the complete 8 song, 33 minute show is now being released in a mail order only CD, with a digipack sleeve created by photographer Lasse Hoile and designer Carl Glover. The CD will be available to pre-order soon from the PT Store, and is expected to ship in the week commencing 11th Feb.

Full track listing for the album is:

1. the sky moves sideways (4.02)
2. even less (3.27)
3. stars die (4.33)
4. waiting (3.52)
5. normal (4.52)
6. drown with me (4.09)
7. lazarus (4.29)
8. trains (4.04)

I can’t wait!!

My friend Karch recently reminded me of my love for a cappella music over on his site. Well, here’s a weird one… a cappella heavy metal group Van Canto has five vocalists and one drummer (who plays real drums, not a beatboxer). Peep this:

From their official site:

MANOWAR recorded both German and English versions of “Stille Nacht” - known to English speaking fans as the classic Christmas carol “Silent Night”- as a holiday gift to all of their loyal fans, the greatest fans in the world. The song was recorded in “Hell” and mixed by Ronald Prent of Galaxy Studios, Belgium.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of the true metal warriors from MANOWAR!

Go to their site to download. It’s surprisingly well done and faithful to the spirit of the song for at least the first two minutes. The last minute is where they kick in the Manowar power chords and power vocals. But even then, it’s nothing more dramatic or over-the-top than you’d hear from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. All in all, it’s worth a download and listen and it may even make it into your Christmas rotation. Check it out.

From here:

Kirk Hammet and Lars Ulrich were interviewed by San Francisco Examiner where they said We don’t want pretty good, we want excellent and Rick Rubin is getting us to try and achieve that. He’s very good at getting the essence of an artist out and bringing that back to the top again. It’s the ‘Master of Puppets’ mentality again. You need to prove the world that you’re good, you need to be hungry again.

….

As of Thanksgiving, the only hurdles left are overdubs and James Hetfield’s vocals. “That’s it,” says Ulrich. “We’re very alive and well.”