All in a day’s work for rugged men. Mike Rowe would be proud.

A fairly thorough survival guide for all you ‘roo rookies. Start planning for the madness now–get your time off, your gear, and your tickets asap.

Why can’t every year be as awesome as 1991?  Why you ask?   Just look at some of the all time great albums released that year:

1.  Guns ‘n Roses – Use Your Illusion I & II

2.  Nirvana – Nevermind

3.  RHCP – Blood Sugar Sex Magik

4.   Pearl Jam – Ten

5.  Soundgarden – Badmotorfinger

6.  Metallica – Black album

Can anyone find a year with 6 better albums?

I couldn’t decide how I felt about this new Wolfman flick. Though a very solid cast in Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, and Hugo Weaving, the trailer seemed pretty cheesey. Upon further research I found the release date has been pushed back three times, from February 13th of 2009 to April 3rd to November 6th to finally next Friday. A full year of set backs? I’ll pass. Will any of you go see it?

A good friend, Josh Walters of Leroy Townes and the Lonestars, sent me a cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Mr. Self Destruct” that he recorded on a whim.  He whipped up a nice slide show to accompany it and I’ve embedded it below.  I’ve had the privilege of performing music with Josh on a number of occasions and, in fact, he was my next door neighbor for a number of years.  I post the video here because I know a few members of the Minority who are big NIN fans and I found the cover to be quite haunting.

I think this is a good example of a cover worth recording.  If you’re familiar with the Trent Reznor’s original piece you’ll quickly notice how much of the cover was created out of whole cloth.  This approach to covers either works well or ends disastrously.  I enjoyed this.  Anyway, here’s props to childhood friendship:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypdcGEmJ-eE&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

I haven’t posted in a while so you’re probably all wondering what I’m reading these days.  I’m a few years late on this but Daniel J. Levitin’s “This Is Your Brain on Music” has been a page turner since I started it on Monday.  Its a must-read for any musician who, ya know, can actually read.  Levitin is a session guitarist turned neuroscientist who details how music engages our minds.  The book is wildly informative and, so far, has taught me a whole lot about timbre (rhymes with amber).  That’s actually a good gauge as to whether you should read the book.  If you like music and don’t know what timbre is then get your ass to the bookstore.

Finally, I feel I owe everyone an explanation for the reason my posts have been few and far between.  For art’s sake, I’ve cleverly hidden the explanation in the haiku found below.  Enjoy!

Some health insurance?

I have none.  But I might have

A staph infection.

No one is safe going to the rim while Lebron is on the court. Check out the King chase down O.J. Mayo in last night’s 105-89 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Another conformation for the 2010 ‘Roo Party – Flaming Lips will be there performing Dark Side of the Moon.

Lead singer Wayne Coyne, in a recent interview with Spinner Magazine, says “We’re gonna do [Darkside] at Bonnaroo at the midnight slot, the first night.”

Coyne adds that the band won’t just be playing covers. “”We do a Flaming Lips set then starting about 2:30 we do this ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ thing. In that sense, it’s perfect for that. It lets you play a little bit longer.”

Even though the Bonnaroo official unveiling is still a few days away, more and more of the lineup is coming out.

While Jay-Z, Dave Matthews Band and Kings of Leon are all widely expected, so are: Paul Simon, [newly-crowned] Grammy-award winning act Zac Brown Band and Bonnaroo vets My Morning Jacket.

Confirmations of these bands are now making their way around Bonnaroo circles and third-party web sites. If these quasi-confirmed additions are to believed, the 2010 ‘Roo party could be the biggest to date. And adding to the hype are the cancelations of Michigan’s Rothbury festival and Minnestoa’s 10,000 Lakes festival. More acts for us, eh?

With World Cup fever ratcheting up, it is easy to forget that the 2012 UEFA European Championships are about to announce the all-important group placements. This Sunday – Feb. 7 – organizers of the world’s second largest tournament will meet in Poland to announce the qualifying draws. In addition to Poland hosting the 2012 tournament, Ukraine will also be handling the task.

No need to mention how great of a tournament this is as many will remember the 2008 Championships when Spain narrowly defeated Germany 1-0 in the Final.

The group draw announcement comes four months before this year’s World Cup gets underway in South Africa.

Well, I hope none of you have any plans this upcoming Tuesday [Feb. 9th] – because the organizers of Bonnaroo have just made them for you. Starting in the morning, Bonnaroo officials will begin to release the lineup, one by one….

Headling rumors for this year’s festival include Jay-Z, Dave Matthews Band and Kings of Leon.