Robyn Hitchcock, Elvis Costello, and Nick Lowe April 9th, 2009 in NYC.

According to an article that appeared today at billboard.com, Robyn Hitchcock will be a featured guest on The Decemberists‘ forthcoming Hazards Of Love album.

What this means is that The Decemberists are now at critical mass. Their next album (the one after HOL) must feature The Smiths (and that means all four original members — none of this Mike Love-is-The-Beach-Boys shit) or they will tank.

Also, Prince must be featured on an iTunes-only bonus track, and he needs to say at least one swear word in it. Or something naughty.

So high…..the bar….unnnnngggghhhh.

p.s. This probably shatters my dreams of that Colin Meloy Sings Robyn Hitchcock EP, unless RH himself sings backups on it or something…

Here, then, is my list of favorite albums of 2008. I’ll say right off the bat that I only listened to about 80-90 releases this year, whereas in the few years before that I was at the 120+ mark. Out of those 80-90 that I listened to (and by LISTEN, I mean LISTEN FROM START TO FINISH SEVERAL TIMES), here are the ones that caught my ear and became a part of my year:

11. Sons & Daughters - This Gift
10. The Breeders - Mountain Battles
09. R.E.M. - Accelerate
08. Rachel Taylor Brown - Half Hours With The Lower Creatures
07. TV On The Radio - Dear Science
06. Kathleen Edwards - Asking For Flowers
05. Deerhoof - Offend Maggie
04. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
03. Kaki King - Dreaming Of Revenge
02. Cat Power - Jukebox

and

01. Kelley Stoltz - Circular Sounds

Here’s the first bit of information to trickle down regarding The Decemberists‘ upcoming album “The Hazards Of Love”.

And here’s a pullquote:

It’s very different from The Decemberists’ 2006 major-label debut, The Crane Wife: Producer Tucker Martine is piecing together 16 or so segments into a continuous, hour-long narrative suite that riffs on folk-song archetypes.

And here’s one more, this one about the overall sound of the album:

Musically, Hazards of Love is The Decemberists’ full-on classic-rock move, with Meloy and guitarist Chris Funk’s pretty Zep-style fingerpicking punctuated by crushing stoner-metal lurches. They’re joined by guest vocalists including Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark, who sings the knockout “Margaret in the Taiga,” and My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden.

Thanks to Rolling Stone for the article.

If you’re still jonesing for more info on the upcoming D’s disc, here’s last month’s Paste article, where Colin pegs the album’s sound as “mossy and evil”. Hey wasn’t that the name of a Robyn Hitchcock album?

According to the Paste article, The Hazards Of Love is due “sometime in April”.

There’s been alot of talk this past year about “MF Doom Is Dead”, about fake Dooms taking the stage, and about Doomposter. When you like an artist that wears a mask, you’ve got to be prepared for an avalanche of fiction and misdirection. My plan is to watch this video and wait him out. “Doomposter” supposedly drops this year. Come back, Doom.

featuring a quote or two from Talkdemonic:
Bands On The Run — From High Gas Prices

(written by Luciana Lopez; appeared in The Oregonian in June)

As mayor of mixmeamolotov.com, I’m declaring that today is officially Bernstein Day! Go out and celebrate: take the day off from work and go do something you’ve never done before. Ride your bike to a neighboring state, make a movie, write a song, do some fingerpainting, learn to play backgammon. And don’t fear the haters along the way, because deep down inside everyone loves to boo.

And European fans, get your boos and heckles ready. And stick some new batteries in your recording equipment. Dan Bern is headed your way:

20 Sep — La Casa Encendida — Madrid, Spain
22 Sep — Costello Club — Madrid, Spain
28 Sep — Roepaen — Ottersum, Holland
30 Sep — In The Woods — Lage Vuursche
02 Oct — Kroller-Muller Museum — Otterloo
03 Oct — WVHEDW — Amsterdam
04 Oct — Take Root Festival — Groningen
07 Oct — Q-Bus — Leiden
11 Oct — Cultureel Centrum — Meise

And finally, I have some music to help you celebrate the first annual Bernstein Day! These are some favorite tracks from shows I’ve been listening to lately. I hope you enjoy them!

Dan Bern - Asterisk Nation (live) : don’t say BOO, say KBOO! Dan played this song live on radio program “The Dharma Wheel” on 16 Nov 2006 and was captured by me from KBOO’s audio stream. Dan played at the Doug Fir Lounge later that night. Some clips from that show can be found on YouTube.

Dan Bern - Year By Year Home Run Totals Of Barry Bonds (live): recorded 27 Nov 2008 at The Crepe Place in Santa Cruz, CA. First of two nights at the Crepe Place. Great show, you can find this entire show at the Live Music Archive.

Dan Bern - 2014 (live): recorded 28 Nov 2008 at The Crepe Place in Santa Cruz, California. This show is also available from the Live Music Archive.

Dan Bern - Royal Jelly (partial) (live): from a show at 12 Galaxies in San Francisco, CA on 16 Apr 2008. Dan Bern covers a classic Dewey Cox song. I think this counts as a rarity!

Dan Bern - Luke The Drifter (live): recorded 16 Apr 2008 at the 12 Galaxies club in San Francisco, CA. I think this song is quickly becoming a fan favorite. I put it right up there with “Blue Highway” in my list of favorite recent songs.

Okay, everybody go do everything! See you later…..

I had a dream last night that my mom wrote me a $43,000 check. At least that’s what the note said. When I looked at the check itself, it had so much writing on it (basically it was the “memo line” on steroids - my mom had written notes about where the money came from and how she wanted me to spend it) that you couldn’t even make out an amount.

Singer/Songwriter Jill Sobule, on the other hand, has $82,557 worth of actual real money that fans have given her to make her new album. I missed my chance to contribute (as The Weepies would say, “this is not your year”), but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been curious about the proceedings.

True to expectations, Jill has written about the first two days of recording. It will be a treat for anyone who wants a “fly on the wall” view of a recording session in general. But Jill is…..so Jill! She includes a quick video where she takes us on a search for Dolly Parton, looks upon a hallway of American Idol stars with no clue as to who any of them are (which is totally refreshing), and ends with her getting busted for filming by the IdolSecurityGuard.

Don Was is producing this new album from Jill, and if last year’s “San Francisco” single is any indication, I think it is going to sound amazing. Look for it, and don’t just read this post about her post, go read the original!

Jill Sobule - Mom
The Weepies - This Is Not Your Year