Photos by Matt Ziegler The nutty Welshmen in Super Furry Animals headed to Brooklyn on Friday night for the second stop on their North American tour in support of latest album Hey Venus!. The crowd at the Music Hall of Williamsburg let down their guard long enough to act as silly as the guys on stage; maybe they were just happy that the band let them pick the set list? Canadian crazies Holy Fuck opened, giving the Furrys a run for their money in the wackiness department. The Holy Super Furry Fuckin’ Animals trek continues tomorrow night in North Carolina. The bands part ways in mid-February, with Super Furry Animals picking up Times New Viking and Holy Fuck joining forces with A Place to Bury Strangers. SUPER FURRY ANIMALS HOLY FUCK SUPER FURRY ANIMALS HOLY FUCK Super Furry Animals: 01-29 Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle *% 01-30 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse *% 01-31 New Orleans, LA - The Republic *% 02-01 Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre *% 02-02 Austin, TX - Emo’s * 02-05 Tucson, AZ - Club Congress * 02-06 Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up * 02-08 Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex * 02-09 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall * 02-11 Portland, OR - Doug Fir * 02-12 Seattle, WA - Neumos * 02-15 Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theatre #! 02-16 Chicago, IL - Metro #! 02-17 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick #! 02-18 Buffalo, NY - Tralf Music Hall #! 02-20 Toronto, Ontario - Mod Club #! 02-21 Montreal, Quebec - Cabaret Music Hall #! 02-22 Ithaca, NY - Cornell University # 02-23 Boston, NY - The Paradise # 02-24 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom # 02-25 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom # 08-16 Brecon Beacons, Wales - Green Man Festival * with Holy Fuck % with the Fiery Furnaces # with Times New Viking ! with Jeffrey Lewis Holy Fuck: 02-04 El Paso, TX - Zepplins Pub 02-16 Guadalajara, Mexico - MX Beat Soundfest 2008 02-17 Chicago, IL - Schubas Tavern * 02-18 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Club * 02-19 Fargo, ND - The Aquarium * 02-20 Winnipeg, Manitoba - Parkway Theatre * 02-21 Regina, Saskatchewan - The Exchange * 02-22 Edmonton, Alberta - The Starlite Room * 02-23 Calgary, Alberta - The Hi Fi Club * 02-25 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richards on Richards * 02-29 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill * 03-06 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge * 03-07 Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge * 03-08 Kansas City, MO - The Record Bar * 03-09 Omaha, NE - Waiting Room * 03-10 St. Louis, MO - The Bluebird * 03-11 Oklahoma City, OK - The Conservatory * 03-17 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn * 03-20 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s * 03-21 Cambridge, MA - Middle East Upstairs * 03-22 New York, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg * * with A Place to Bury Strangers

The Simon & Garfunkel live album originally due last September via Columbia/Legacy has been revived as a Starbucks exclusive, beginning March 11. A release to traditional retail is expected in the fall. As previously reported, “Live 1969″ is drawn from previously unreleased recordings from Simon & Garfunkel’s November 1969 U.S. tour, which turned out to be the duo’s last for more than a decade. The shows were taped with the intention of releasing a live album to follow up the January 1970 release of “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” but that project never materialized until now. The album includes early live versions of songs from “Bridge,” including “Why Don’t You Write Me,” “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright” and a spine-tingling rendition of the title track. Also featured are classic such as “Homeward Bound,” “Scarborough Fair/Canticle” and “The Boxer,” plus a cover of the Gene Autry-popularized “That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine.” In related news, the Brooklyn Academy of Music is putting together three distinct Simon tribute concerts this spring under the banner “Love in Hard Times: The Music of Paul Simon.” The artist will appear at each. First up is an April 1-6 performance of “Songs From the Capeman,” Simon’s ill-fated 1998 Broadway musical, at the Harvey Theatre. Guests include Little Anthony and the Imperials, Oscar Hernandez and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Claudette Sierra, Obie Bermudez and Ray de la Paz. “Under African Skies,” running April 9-13 at Howard Gilman Opera House, will explore Simon’s globe-trotting music from “Graceland” and “The Rhythm of the Saints” with help from David Byrne, Hugh Masekela, Cyro Baptista, Milton Nascimento and Luciana Souza. Grizzly Bear, the Roches and Olu Dara are on board for “American Tunes” on April 23-27 at the Gilman Opera House, which will find Simon performing his most well-known material. Here is the track list for “Live 1969″: “Homeward Bound” (11/15/69, Long Beach, Calif.)”At the Zoo” (11/27/69, New York)”The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)” (11/8/69, Carbondale, Ill.)”Song for the Asking” (11/15/69, Long Beach, Calif.)”Scarborough Fair/Canticle” (11/28/69, New York)”Mrs. Robinson” (11/8/69, Carbondale, Ill.)”The Boxer” (11/15/69, Long Beach, Calif.)”Why Don’t You Write Me” (11/15/69, Long Beach, Calif.)”So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright” (11/8/69, Carbondale, Ill.)”That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine” (11/15/69, Long Beach, Calif.)”Bridge Over Troubled Water” (11/28/69, New York)”The Sound of Silence” (11/8/69, Carbondale, Ill.)”I Am a Rock” (11/8/69, Carbondale, Ill.)”Old Friends/Bookends Theme” (11/1/69, Toledo, Ohio)”Leaves That Are Green” (11/31/69, Detroit)”Kathy’s Song” (date unknown, St. Louis)

“I did not have a heart attack. No. I went to the hospital, they pushed my stomach, I farted, then they sent me home.” Raw and spontaneous as always, Bobby Brown had a handful of MTV News staff members smiling when he came in for an interview Thursday. Unprompted, he was doing the “running man” and cracking jokes, and before he left the building, he yelled down the hall to me, “I’m doing a country album! Yeah, I’m doing country now!” No one in the MTV newsroom could believe it. Then again, it is Bobby Brown, so anything is possible. Brown seems to really be taking his latest television endeavor to heart. He’s one of seven celebrities to hook up with Big & Rich’s John Rich for the Country Music Television reality show “Gone Country.” The contestants, including Sisqo, Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider and Julio Iglesias Jr., are competing to be the next big country star. “My dad was a big country-music fan, but I felt it was something I could conquer,” said Brown, who can tell you stories about hanging out in Nashville “every other weekend.” “I’ve been through R&B and rap, television, movies. It just brings it all together, country music.” During the taping, all seven contestants lived in the same house — and in a couple of episodes, we see Brown’s sleepwalking problem. One night while sleepwalking, he mistook a part of his bedroom for the bathroom, and let’s just say he marked his territory. Housemate Maureen McCormick (a.k.a. Marcia Brady) came in and tried to wake him up, but slipped and fell on the, uh, wet floor. Guess she should have watched her “Every Little Step.” “We clicked the whole show,” Brown said. “[Maureen] is a very sweet lady. Being in a house with six other people, I knew their stuff, their material. I’ve never lived with that many people in one house. [I was] trying to fit in with them, not cause no conflicts with anybody. It was a lot of fun. Me and Sisqo had our moment, but a thing happened when we was drinking. It all turned out to be fine.” Brown said he’s already come up with a country song called “The Man.” No word yet on when it will be recorded or released. “It’s a pretty nice ballad,” the Boston native said. “[It talks about] everything I’ve been through in my life.” Brown also said that R&B and country have obvious similarities in that you have to get really personal with the songwriting. He describes his country sound as “Bobby Brown-ish with a little twang to it.” The Brown Bomber is already playfully contemplating his next genre endeavor: “Maybe I’ll tackle Latin music next, but for now, it’s country.” He plans on putting out that R&B/country hybrid LP, The Masterpiece, by the middle of the year, and he also plans to release a traditional R&B album at some point. Brown has a big year ahead of him, with 2008 marking the 20th anniversary of his biggest album, Don’t Be Cruel, and the 25th anniversary of New Edition’s debut. Both will be celebrated in grandiose fashion. All six members of New Edition are going on tour together, tentatively starting this summer.

Led Zeppelin will not play together again until at least September, according to the band’s guitarist Jimmy Page. Speaking in Tokyo this morning (January 28th), Page said that Robert Plant’s touring commitments with Alison Krauss were currently the frontman’s main priority. "I can assure you the amount of work that we put into the O2 (concert), for ourselves rehearsing and the staging of it, was probably what you put into a world tour," Page told Reuters. "Robert Plant also had a parallel project running and he’s really busy with that project, certainly until September, so I can’t give you any news." Reminiscing about the concert, which saw over 1 million people register for just 9000 pairs of tickets, the guitarist described the experience as “exhilarating” and “fantastic”. “Every week was a week to look forward to, we did the show and it was great,” he added.

(Amsterdam, NL) - If Francois K was to be described, the label of musical visionary would suit him best. He is one of those few first generation DJ’s, as he took on DJ’ing in the early seventies, gigging in legendary venues such as Paradise Garage, Studio 54, The Loft and Better Days. His passion and talent has furthermore lead him to jobs that many a DJ would dream of. He has been mixing an album for Kraftwerk and has conducted production work for acclaimed artists such as U2, Mick Jagger, Diana Ross, The Cure, The Smiths, The Pet Shop Boys, and many others. We could go on for hours on what this guy has meant for dance music, but more important is the fact that he is now about to release a new 3xCD mix album on Ministry, entitled Masterpiece. Masterpiece embodies three CD’s featuring a very wide array of musical styles and artists. The CD’s each feature their own theme, but this can only be drawn up after listening. CD 1 opens with a sound-scape by Francois K himself. Crystal Wind is basically a long thick synthesizer wave supported by little claps and hats that guide the listener into a futuristic house-infected sound. Dubfire’s Ribcage, one of the biggest club tracks of the last months, proves to be a solid opener with its jacking beats and hypnotizing synthesizers, and its played to its full extend. Ricardo Villalobos’ remix of Shackleton’s Blood On My Hands sees the Chilean minimal pioneer moving towards a very basic house sound with sinister vocals and an atmosphere alike. Francois K then moves back to a more uptempo and club-minded sound with tracks by Dim and the irresistible synth-driven house monster Noiser by Audion. Martin Buttrich and Cobblestone Jazz take care of some extraordinary techno/minimal-hybrids with two outstanding contributions, while Rino Cerrone kicks in with a full-speed techno beats entitled Frame. The percussion element on this hot track is amazing, and adds even more power to an already impressive mix. It is quite intriguing to hear how Francois K seems to switch from minimal to techno and back to house again. The mixing’s inventive so far, and the choice of records is considered extremely well.

Hey Chris Brown, what do you think you’re doing dating Rihanna? Sure, she’s hot and all, but we thought you were totally into your much-older manager! Have you forgotten all about that sexy, totally inappropriate love affair? We loved the X-Rated you! But now you’ve been spotted taking your crush Rihanna on a cutesy date to a New Jersey restaurant after a recent performance. It’s just so predticable, so tame, so G-Rated. At least spice it up by dating someone a little less wholesome. Britney Spears is single, older and totally f*ckin’ crazy! Or what about starting up a long-distance love affair with Foxy Brown while she’s in jail? That’s the Chris Brown we want to know.

In today’s world of rap, the formula that once was adherded to by all those involved in the genre has been thrown totally out the window. The old guard of the Golden Age emcees has been sanctimoniously dumped, in favor of the new gunslingers. The young bucks of the rap game sneer loudly, showing disrespect to their musical elders with every repetitive hook they come up with. To make matters worse, many of the newbies of Hip-Hop show no interest in sitting in history class and learning more about their culture. Some of today’s superstars have gone as far as saying they refuse to listen to their older peers or their body of work. While they occupy the stage now, the real question is if these rookie rappers can stand the test of time and become a true legend in the game. You see, in Hip-Hop, you really are only as good as your last record. It is very hard to get people to remember you, let alone a song you record in the past. It takes a real emcee to hold die hard Hip-Hop fans interest. That’s why there are only a handful of emcees that we include in the greatest of all time categories. I wish some of the new jacks were with me last weekend when I stepped into the legendary rock venue, The Roxy. You see, I was there for a live presentation of Hip-Hop history, being put on by the Teacher himself, The Blastmaster KRS-One.Los Angeles is a busy town, so busy that on any given Friday, there are probably 4 rap groups of major interest, playing somewhere in the SoCal region. This was true last week as I turned down invitations to other venues, and headed out to Hollywood. While the other venues had quality performers, nothing compared to hearing KRS-One do his thing! Watching KRS-One live is like going to the gym, because by the time you leave the show, you will be drenched in sweat, and tired from all the jumping around and cheering. Last week was no exception either. After the opening acts finished up their set, and Los Angeles favorite Ahmad Jamal got done with his incredible set, it was time to take it back to the essence. KRS One was in the building.KRS ripped through his lengthy catalog of Hip-Hop hits, as the crowd went totally ape-shit and let him know he was loved in LA. As I have friends in high places, I managed to find my way to the reserved tables and cop a squat. I was told that the table was for KRS One and his friends, but I could sit there until someone came up and wanted the seats. I imagined myself kicked back with Kris at his table, as the party onlookers swarmed the table, asking themselves “Whose the dread sitting with KRS?” I would never see that dream realized, but I was just as surprised when I was told to move from the table for KRS-One’s guests. The show was already on, and I was standing up, pumping my fist and yelling to the music, so I didn’t mind moving. It didn’t hurt that the guest in question was Cypress Hill front man B-Real. While I did manage to make a little small talk with him over the boom bap, I refrained from asking him if he still talked to Carmen Electra, or asking him to pass the funky Kush joint he was pulling on. As much as I wanted to have a story of the time I got high with B-Real, I was too involved watching the show and didn’t want to piss him off. We stood next to each other for most of the night, until KRS went into “Get Yourself Up,” and I hit the floor in my patented B-Boy slam dance and lost control for about 3 minutes.  What can I say, that song goes way hard!! After about an hour of pure Hip-Hop and a freestyle session with the emcees in the crowd, KRS exited stage left, and I hit the front door, a little tired, a little tipsy and full of Hip-Hop!Oh yeah, he signed my hat too, although all you can make out of it is a K.KRS One on Hannity KRS Interview 50 Cent interviews KRS One & Marley Marl about The Bridge Is Over  

So I’d been hearing about these Bobaflex guys for awhile, right? I didn’t know anything about them or what they sounded like, though. I finally came across a vague description of them being sort of stoneriffic, so I decided to check them out and it turned out to be one of those rare blind purchases that I didn’t regret at all. I brought home Tales From Dirt Town, put it in the old 5-disc changer, and happily went along with my evening. After awhile, it occurred to me that I hadn’t yet heard anything that I didn’t like. Now how often does THAT happen? We’re not talking one or two songs surrounded by duds. We’re talking one seriously solid album, here. Unheard of.Maybe I wasn’t hearing it right. I listened again, and again… and then again  in the car all the next day. I started singing along and bouncing to the groove. And I decided that Tales From Dirt Town has made itself, at a very visceral level, one of the all-around best hard rock albums I’ve heard since Priestess’ Hello Master.I’ll be the first to admit that vocals make or break a band for me, and in Bobaflex’s case, the vocals are a great example of the kind of melodic but angry qualities in a metal singer that make me wet myself. Sometimes verging on growls, sometimes sliding into a scream that recalls Avenged Sevenfold’s M. Shadows, passion abounds in the constant lyrical battle of “help me” vs. “screw you.” The only info I could find on the vocals states that two band members share duties, which explains things. Fortunately, both are well-suited to the task and don’t disappoint, even one slips into a slight faux-British accent at times.And these songs, dude? They have character. They have swagger and soul set to a crunchy guitar and some top-notch riffage. They’re pissed off (and rightly so. These guys have had nothing but uphill battles; they’re well-deserving of their anger). They’re heartfelt, and they’re frantic. High-energy headbangers like “Sellout” and “Goodbye” keep the album moving along at a fast clip, invigorating what could‘ve been flat songwriting with unexpected harmonies and Tom Morello-esque guitar sounds, while relatively ballad-y tunes like “I Still Believe” and “Home” mix things up a little. Speaking of “Home:” Bob Seger’s quintessential “touring is hard” song, “Turn the Page,” has nothing on Bobaflex’s little ditty about crowds who don’t care and getting fed up with life on the road. It captures the desperation of a band struggling to get above the radar with unusually self-aware aplomb, and still manages to throw a little nod to Seger in there with a particularly mournful, arena-inspired guitar lick.If you have even a passing interest in straight-up rock infused with a little West Virginia bravado, then you won’t curse me for getting you to buy this album. No, it’s not perfect; it’s about 3 songs too long, and one of the slower songs (“Satisfied”) is pretty damn mediocre. On the whole, though, it’s well worth a listen. And then another, and another…

Brother Ali guests with live performance There must be something in the water up there in Minnesota, something that encourages the dispensing of artistic wisdom in public forum. That, or Atmosphere MC Slug just likes to talk. Not even five months after he regaled Twin Cities area residents as part of the Making Music series, Slug will once again school his fellow Land of 10,000 Lakers, this time as part of Minnesota Public Radio station The Current’s Fakebook series. And this time it’s looking like Slug may learn quite a few lessons as well, from one of hip-hop’s elder statesmen. Joining Slug and host Mary Lucia for the April 19 conversation is none other than Public Enemy’s Chuck D, a man we could all, in fact, stand to learn a lot from. Also appearing: Brother Ali, in the midst of his "The Truth Is Here" tour, who will perform songs throughout the evening. A limited number of tickets are available for the event, which pops off at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. Those who cannot attend can of course tune in to The Current– and hey, while you’re at it, why not check out archived streams of past Fakebook happenings featuring such fine folks as Tapes ‘n Tapes, Bound Stems, Amy Sedaris, and Chuck Klosterman? Finally, don’t forget Slug and Atmosphere’s primary piece of advice, headed your way April 22: When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold.

Billy Bragg joined Kate Nash onstage at her gig in Australia today (January 23). The singer was playing the Oxford Art Factory in Sydney, and spoke to NME.COM straight after she got offstage. “Billy Bragg came on stage and we all played ‘A New England’,” she announced. “We were like hanging out and he was like ‘Do you want to get together and do something at the Big Day Out?’ and I was like ‘Yeah!’ - it was amazing.” Nash and Bragg have performed together once before at the Union Chapel in north London. The singer also hinted that further collaborations could be on the cards, saying: “It would be a privilege to do something on record. It would be amazing. I would be absolutely up for it.” The Shockwaves NME Awards 2008 are coming soon – and it’s time to have your say. Vote now by heading to NME.COM/awardsvote and you could win VIP tickets to the ceremony, which takes place in London on February 28.