Todd is God

Retroblog has a fun interview with Michelle Rundgren about live in hawaii, todd, comedy, and the opportunity to rent the rundgren house and choose and item from Todd's wardrobe! Meanwhile it is US Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame time again, which means more moans and more folks lamenting Todd's continued absense from nominations. Fox News (sorry, but it is a good piece. I know I will probably go to hell all the same); The Cleveland Plain Dealer and Harp Magazine comment.

I have been living with the new Foo Fighters album this week (the week delay for Bruce and Steve helped a lot). It is another good record, but my usual disappointment is also present with any new FF record ... you hope it is going to be their classic, but they never really deliver and recently have been a bit flat. On the bright side, this record sees them reunited with producer Gil Norton who helmed what remains, for me, their best work "The Colour And The Shape" Thinks kick off in fine form, with 'Pretender' (a candidate for single of the year). Cut from the same cloth as 'Monkey Wrench' and 'All my Life', it quite frankly rocks. From that point onwards it is a mixed bag, that arguably never quite lives up to the promise of the opening track. This is not to say there isn't other fine stuff here: 'Summers End' is a cracking CSN / Bryds sounding tune, and 'Long road to Ruin' takes elements from that pedigree too. Acoustic Instrum...

A site that I often look at for IT/Internet news mentioned Todd this week. Arstechnica commenting on the final sessions of the Future of Music Policy Summit , said Pinky Gonzales, speaking for promotional service echomusic , pointed to Todd 'as a precedent for a possible patronage system to support music. Through the PatroNet system in the '90s, Rundgren had funded production of at least one CD through the financial contributions of more than 2,000 fans. Gonzales noted that this kind of model can especially work well for older bands on a "long tail" business model and can be combined with demographic tracking to help a band focus their appeal'.

I have to confess I have always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with the small purple one, but when he announced his 21 nights in London gigs at the O2, I knew I had to go. Playing in the round on a stage the shape of the squiggle (the same as at the Superbowl) Prince cast away gimics, strange shaped guitars (he was back with his trusty Telecaster), and the purples, and peaches (the man was in black and whites all night) and just played the music. Was he any good? Well, where I was sat - quite high up - the sound quality was not the best (the venue's acoustics are pretty poor, esp on louder numbers) I'd have to say he was pretty fucking good. Forget about the man on record, live he really does know his stuff. Also, I have no idea what 'IT' is, but Prince has got it. He has an energy and a presence on stage, so at odds with his off stage persona, that it is quite amazing. The set list was something like this: Let's Go Crazy 1999 I Feel For You Controversy /Hou...

The Las Vegas Review-Journal has a nice little interview with Todd, where he says his current solo gigs are "before I go off to sequester myself to record a new album." Also of note was his look back on his eclecticism: "I have a low threshold of boredom," Rundgren says. As a live performer, "I'm not long for any sort of gig that starts to turn into just a job. ... I'm not likely to do the same sort of presentation for more than 18 months or two years at a time before I have to dream up something else." And as a recording artist, "Even though I've had records that were commercially successful, I wasn't disciplined enough to follow 'em up with more of the same," he says with a laugh. Rundgren's 1972 opus "Something/Anything?" defined him as a singer-songwriter with a knack for timeless pop songs such as "I Saw the Light." But he immediately followed it with the disjointed and psychedelic "A Wizard, ...

The Rocky Mountain News has a 10 questions for Richard Thompson piece where the great man mentions that other great man, Mr R: Your Web site is amazing: Fans can buy exclusive music, hear free music, see videos, send you questions, etc. In one of the videos you call yourself a "folk rock dinosaur," but you're actually way ahead of the curve, don't you think? "I was quite late coming to it, to tell you the truth. Everyone had a Web site but me 10 years ago. Todd Rundgren was one of the pioneers, offering downloads. Every month he'd give you a new track. In a year you'd have 12 tracks and he'd send you the artwork. He was the first one who struck me as being really Internet savvy. I probably took some ideas from him."

According to Pitchfork    Hot Chip have a limited edition 12" due this month with "Shake a Fist"--  featuring  a sample of Todd - 'intro/sounds of the studio' from Something Anything .   Blogged with Flock

News and US tour dates here Blogged with Flock

My girlfriend's favourite song at the moment, and I have to admit it rocks.

I had Diane to thank for spotting this one. It was the final night of 4 multiband nights at the International Student's Union or 299/Club Fandango. Six band divided over 2 stages in the small linked venue. Room One Stage: Electric Soft Parade Misty's Big Adventure The Kissaway Trail Room Two Stage Absentee Eugene McGuiness Tim Ten Yen We missed Tim Ten Yen, but arrived about a third of the way through The Kissaway Trial 's set. And very entertaining they were too. Must confess this bunch of Danes were new to me. Having now listened to some of their recorded stuff, they rock a bit more as a live act, but if Bloc Party and  the Wannadies work for you then worth checking out. The same cannot be said for Eugene McGuinness , a singer songwriter with a nice turn of lyrics but still a set of weak songs. Back in Room One, we had a band that are sort of one part Beafheart, one part Blockheads, with a sprinkling of Arthur Brown. Yes folks, Misty's Big Adventure are are strange e...

What is avant pop? Paul Grimstad takes a look and finds a space for a Mr R   Blogged with Flock

Bebe Buell and Todd Rundgren    Britney's comeback single   Blogged with Flock

Another Hold Steady gig, another venue, another great night (although perhaps Craig and I should have drank a bit less - it effected him less on stage mind you!). Anyway. Things were different this time around, with the band moving away from the 'ok, let's just play all of BAGIA and a few other songs' approach that they took with the Borderline and Sheps Bush gigs earlier in the year - although I think opening with Hot Soft Light instead of Stuck Between Stations was a mistake (for me anyway). Having spoke to a few people the set list seemed to be something like this: - Hot Soft Light Banging Camp Chips Ahoy Stuck Between Stations Cattle and the Creeping Things Massive Nights Party Pit You Can Make Him Like You Stevie Nix I kind of get hazzy around this point and came back to reality with Your Little Hoodrat Friend Southtown Girls How A Resurrection Really Feels [I think Chill out Tent got another airing in my 'blind' patch] The Encore consited of ? another failing ...

Camden Electric Ballroom tomorrow night ... we had some massive nights ....

Whilst it is not officially out until 25 September, the new Weakerthans album is out there and yes I did go get it (although I do also have it on pre-order in hard-copy CD from Amazon). Four years since the band's third - and best album - Reconstruction Site , so the new album has been a long time coming. Thankfully, I can tell you, it is worth the wait. True, it is not as good a RS, but it is still pretty damn good, and John Samson's lyrics continue to amuse and challenge - not many albums where Curling (one of the few sports us Scots are any good at) and Ice Hockey both get songs ( Tournament of Hearts , and Elegy for Gump Worsley ); that you get songs from the perspective of a Bus Driver ( Civil Twilight ) and a Cat ( Virtute the Cat Explains Her Departure ). The latter a fine companion piece to Plea From A Cat Named Virtute from the RS album. What's more Civil Twilight, Sun in an Empty Room and (current single) Night Windows could all be hits [ok, so not likely in t...

The Guardian has a link to a free download of 'Radio Nowhere' a track off the new Bruce Springsteen album Magic due out in October. I agree with one review that describes it as a Zevon-esq guitar based rocker. Quality. Now, to try and get tickets for Dec19th gig in London ... Blogged with Flock

Interview with Robert Schwartzman from the band Rooney in Filter Magazine There are a whole bunch of reunion tours going on right now…do you have a favorite? I love Duran Duran. I don’t know if they’re out right now, but I know they were out a year ago. I’d love to see The New Cars. Oh yeah…with Todd Rundgren. Yeah, Todd Rundgren singing. Awesome. He’s one of my favorite fucking artists. John Fields, who made our record, is the hugest Todd Rundgren fan. I mean SCARY huge. Knows everything.

You know that feeling when everyone is talking about the new hot thing and how great it is, and you hear it and go ...er, nope, don't get it? (any band Pete Doherty's ever been in for example). I have been having that feeling again these past few weeks about Kate Nash . Some clever lyrics but the whole mockney singing/talking thing is just annoying. Also, I hate anyone on principle who can make me start warming to Lily Allen. It's just not right, so stop it.

Didn't know until read this today that Todd covered Thelonious Monk's Four in One back in 1984 on the album "That's the Way I Feel Now: A Tribute to Thelonious Monk"

As usual I thought it was time to pick the 10 albums that have tickled my fancy most thus far in 2007. How many have the staying power to still be there come the end of the year? - Who knows. The following are in no order, but I must confess that The Grinderman and NIN albums are probably the two that have most impressed me thus far. 1. Grinderman - Grinderman: This really shouldn't be this good, and this enjoyable 2. Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero: Bit flat for me live, but this may just be Trent's best outing. 3. Mary Chapin Carpenter - The Calling: I had believed that MCC's best days were well and truly behind her, but this album has pleasingly proved me wrong. 4. Ryan Adams -  Lost Highway: Not his best, but his second best is better than most people's best. 5. Queens of the Stoneage - Era Vulgaris: I Just like it. 6. Jesse Malin - Glitter in the Gutter 7. Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full: Obviously drinking Starbuck's Coffee has done the trick. 8. McQueen ...