Lou Reed :: Street Hassle (Digital Reissue)

Among the latest batch of albums seeing a digital-only reissue is Lou Reed's 1978 full-length, Street Hassle. Granted, no one is going to arm wrestle the point that this is Reed's finest album, but it certainly warrants a listen, and contains one absolute, bona-fide Lou Reed classic - the title-track - "Street Hassle."

Most recently the tune resurfaced within the pop culture zeitgeist as part of become a member or log in.

R.E.M. :: Wrangling In The Monster


Athens, GA:
Earlier this Fall, R.E.M. were at work on their next, as of yet untitled, album in a 19th century Athens chapel that had been carefully converted into a makeshift studio. Those familiar with R.E.M./Athens lore will note this apparent return-to-roots approach...but sorry, no Bill Berry.

The news of R.E.M. again gearing up for another studio release has coincidently coincided with my recent (re)appreciation of the band's 1994 LP, Monster. I can't get enough of it.

Coming off the heels of two relatively quiet and acoustic based albums (Out of Time, Automatic For The People), Monster, their ninth full-length, was touted as a "return to rock" -- in fact, I believe I said as much in the review I penned my freshman year of college in the school's newspaper.

Besides the music itself, this re-kindled interest in Monster is in part due to my relationship with it over the last decade and a half. For shortly after praising it in print, I turned vehemently against both it, and the band's inflated image. Suddenly Stipe and company had, in my eyes, lost it. This sentiment lasted for a number of years. **(Granted, this was my freshman year of college, twelve hours from home, and I was eagerly consuming a vast amount of varied/disparate music. As a Georgia native, growing up not 60 miles form Athens, R.E.M.'s familiarity was in retrospect a strike against them. Ridiculous, I know).

When I first revisited the album a couple of months ago my initial reaction was that Monster may have been ahead of its time. But not so fast, perhaps it was just ahead of my time. Maybe, in '94, I wasn't ready for this new, evolved, R.E.M.; and to be honest, if not for a friend swearing by New Adventures In Hi-Fi a few years after its original release, I may have never picked up post-Autuomatic era R.E.M. again.

Not surprisingly, this drastic re-appraisal of Monster has me wondering what the last three albums (Up, Reveal, Around The Sun) were like - I have heard none of them, and, upon their release, blew them of on spec. Heard them? Have and opinion? Hit me up in the comments.

Elsewhere: As previously mentioned, Pop Songs 07 is a music blog dedicated to chronicling every R.E.M. song ever recorded.

Download:
MP3: R.E.M. :: Strange Currencies
MP3: R.E.M. :: Tongue
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Amazon: R.E.M. - Monster

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R.E.M. :: Strange Currencies - 1994

www.remhq.com ++ www.murmurs.com

+ Download your digital music througheMusic's 25 Free MP3 offer.
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Additional Monster Era Videos After The Jump

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I’m Not There :: A Soundtrack

AD contributor, J. Neas, weighs in on the recent companion soundtrack to filmmaker Todd Hayne's new, and loose, Dylan biopic, "I'm Not There."

Tribute albums are always tricky; Bob Dylan tributes even more so. When you set out to cover someone with as distinctive a voice - lyrically, vocally and musically - it's guaranteed to be a mixed . . .

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The Broken West :: Two New Tracks

Last week, our pals The Broken West gave us two new, and unreleased, tracks that were recorded last month during their visit to the WOXY studios. According to Ross Flournoy, the first track, "Perfect Games" can be expected to make an appearance on the band's next LP (Merge 2008). The second track is a cover of Tegan & Sara's ace single "Back In Your Head" -- shit be "catchy . . .

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Aquarium Drunkard Presents :: The Whigs

November 13th, Aquarium Drunkard proudly presents The Whigs, live at Spaceland, along with Wild Sweet Orange, and L.A.'s own Le Switch. Come find out why The Whigs have been our favorite Athens, GA export the past two years running. New album drops January 2008 on ATO records.

Live here in L.A . . .

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Now Podcasting :: Episode 37

Welcome to Episode 37 of the podcast edition of The Aquarium Drunkard Show; airing live every Wednesday 2-4 p.m. PST at the Little Radio studios in downtown L.A.

Don't call it a comeback! Boom - yes, the Aquarium Drunkard podcast series is back. Yes, its been absent a couple of months, but for good reason. The Little Radio servers crashed, therefore none of the . . .

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SIRIUS Satellite Radio :: Aquarium Drunkard Show

Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS, channel 26 Left Of Center, can now be heard twice, every Friday - Noon EST and then an encore broadcast at Midnight EST. Below is this week’s playlist.

SIRIUS 22: Peter Sarstedt - Where Do You Go To (My Lovely) ++ Linda Serbu - If You Rescue Me (acapella) ++ The Velvet Underground - Who Loves The Sun ++ Clem Snide . . .

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Oakley Hall :: I’ll Follow You

Oakley Hall have been building a sound rooted in disparate elements since their inception. When you're founded by a key (and founding) member of one of the more forward thinking rock acts of the '00s (Oneida), you're bound to have something interesting going on. But when you're mixing those elements with country and Southern rock, you also risk tripping a time or two along the way. Fortunately, it has so . . .

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AD Presents :: A Family Show (Sunday)

Le Switch principal, and vocalist, Aaron Kyle teams up with various family members for a night at The Echo, here on Sunset, in Echo Park. Come on out Sunday evening, and get yer down home family-jam on.

Download:
MP3: Le Switch :: Pristine ((live sirius session)
MP3: Le Switch :: Crazy (live sirius session . . .

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Will Oldham :: Joya

Drunkard favorite Will Oldham has been tinkering around the lo-fi and alt-country scenes for the better part of two decades. Still, you almost forget his vast contributions given his multiple incarnations (Bonnie Billy, Palace Music, Palace Brothers, Palace Songs) and roving collaborations (Jason Molina, Tortoise, to name a few). But to call his musical harvest prolific would be an understatement.

In the Southern . . .

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Off The Record :: Stanton Moore (New Orleans, LA)

Off The Record is a recurring, feature here on the Drunkard, that marries two of my greatest interests; music and travel. Having a locals perspective when visiting a new locale is the difference between experiencing it through the lens of a tourist and of that of a native.

Off The Record gathers some of my favorite artists, asks them to reflect on their city of residence, and choose a handful of places they could not live without, be them bookstores, bars, restaurants or vistas.

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This week, while in New Orleans for

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Françoise Hardy :: Comment Te Dire Adieu?

The hipster fascination with French pop is no secret. Ostensibly, it's because Serge Gainsbourg, Sylvie Vartan, Jane Birkin, et al, were turning out good songs. But what we see when looking at the artists themselves is something deeper. The idea of "hip" has many definitions, but its most sought-after form is one immersed in the world of art and culture. In that context, the become a member or log in.

SIRIUS Satellite Radio :: Aquarium Drunkard Show

Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS, channel 26 Left Of Center, can now be heard twice, every Friday - Noon EST and then an encore broadcast at Midnight EST. Below is this week’s playlist.

SIRIUS 21: Pavement - Grounded ++ Galaxie 500 - Ceremony (New Order cover) ++ The Velvet Underground - Venus In Furs ++ Pink Mountaintops - I (Fuck) Mountains ++ TV On The Radio - Dreams ++ Vetiver . . .

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Back To New Orleans :: Voodoo Fest 2007

Team Drunkard is heading out to New Orleans, our 'spiritual' musical home, to check out this year's Voodoo Fest -- if you are going, be sure to shoot us a comment and tell us who you plan on seeing; oh, and obviously we wanna hear what late-late shows you're planning on hitting up. After New Orleans, it's into the rental car to begin research in rural Mississippi on . . .

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