In case you’ve been wondering whatever happened to good old Martin Zellar (and I have), here’s your answer:
http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/82301762.html

i discovered imeem.com last summer while desperately searching for a dashboard confessional cover of a weezer song (this one, if you’re interested) that i’d heard years before but wasn’t available through itunes. i expected it to be a hassle– only 30 second snippets, a cost for downloads, annoying pop-up ads, etc, but found nothing of the sort. true, you can only stream the songs (vs downloading), but that’s not unexpected. in addition, the site makes you register after a certain amount of free listens; however, to date i haven’t received one e-mail based off of that registration. (plus, when you register, you’re allowed to create custom playlists of your favorite songs.) from my experience, it’s just like real.com’s Rhapsody player, but without the pesky $14 charge.

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today’s challenge: name the top five bands you want to see play live before you croak. (or, play again, if you’ve already seen them.) the only rule is that the band must still be active today– as much as i’d love to see guns ‘n’ roses circa 1988, i don’t think that’s gonna happen. stupid buckethead. anyway, here goes (in reverse order):

5. Pearl Jam / Counting Crows (tie)
4. Cake
3. Weezer
2. Toad the Wet Sprocket
1. Better Than Ezra

how ’bout you?

for some reason, i’ve always been drawn towards live music. even before my days in the band (c’mon, it’s been a while since i mentioned that), i’ve loved the raw sound of a live performance, vs. the perfection that can be generated by studio recordings. it actually might have been this double-disc set that turned me on to live performances– from jim morrison’s extended scream in “backdoor man” to the extended organ solo in “moonlight drive,” i was suddenly aware of how cool a live take on a known song could be.

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Seeing as how I’ve actually purchased two CDs released this calendar year*, I figure the least I can do is write up a couple of quickie reviews for all y’all (shut up – I live in The South now). So skip on past the break if you’re interested in hearing about the Counting Crows’ Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings and/or The Black Crowes’ Warpaint.

*This is a lie in that I don’t really recall the last time I bought a physical CD. (I downloaded these two on iTunes.)
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