Todd is God

Tidal launched or (re)launched yesterday - here's  my take on my other blog, and here's a reason why you might want to, at least, trial it for a month: According to NME "there are playlists curated by Arcade Fire, Jay Z, Beyoncé and Coldplay, plus a preview of Todd Rundgren’s new collaboration with Lindstrøm and Emil Nikolaisen." maybe a reason to sign up for the free month and then cancel. There is a press release too with more on the album  “It’s almost like a train ride, going through little towns, big cities and rural fields, giant thresholds over great valleys, through mountain tunnels and things like that. The only way I can characterize it is like this journey, and it’s of such a character that it doesn’t have the typical linearity to it.” - TR In other news the latest issue of Q Magazine does NOT have a review of the new Todd album (unless it was well hidden) .

Black Sabbath: Symptom of the Universe Mick Wall St. Martin’s Press Pub Date : Apr 14 2015 This book seems to have originally come out back in 2013, so I’m not totally sure if this is just a re-issue or just a new version? Not sure. Anyway. Growing up in the midlands during the 1970’s and early 80’s it was impossible not to be aware of Black Sabbath. My first exposure to them was through my brother who owned their first few albums. It was initially a bit too bleak for my then young ears, and it wasn’t until  Paranoid  that I saw anything to like –  WarPigs, Iron Man  and  NIB  would then quickly become favourites. However, if I’m honest my first real ‘love’ in Sabbath terms was when Ronnie James Dio joined the band, and Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules came out. I loved both of these records. It was only later that I really stated to get into the original Ozzy period more earnestly and diligently. I came to this book knowing some of the story ...

UK Music mag Mojo reviews the new album 'Global' giving it just two stars and comments "Rundgren remains unpredictable, Impressively so, but he is better than this." Meanwhile Todd tell's Billboard (who have a stream of the track Rise) where the album was coming from lyrically:- "Most of my albums have been insular and about self-examination, and this is a little more about the collective and the issues that face everybody. I wanted to make a record that was sort of simultaneously like a cheerleading record but at the same time not letting anyone forget that we have issues that can only be addressed collectively."

Apr 26, 2015, 7:30 p.m. ET   Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park - Hard Rock Live, Northfield, OH https://screen.yahoo.com/live/event/todd-rundgren Promoted with a great clip of Black Maria 

Toro Y Moi releases What For?  this week an album the record's press release describes as . “The music is influenced by bands like Big Star, Talking Heads, Tim Maia, Todd Rundgren, but it doesn’t quite sound like any of them in particular. And it isn’t trying to. It has that special something that Chaz imbues in every Toro Y Moi album, his personal filter on the world he experiences”