Creation Studios

This seems nice, although I have no idea what the average rates are for professional recording studios, this is about $500 a day(w/engineer). I'm guessing that it was started by Alan McGee, since he was the founder of Creation Records. He's listed as a client.
Looks like they've got a lot of nice gear/instruments/amps/etc. too, although compared to a four track tape deck in your bedroom, anything seems pretty nice.

10 Worst Celebrity Albums

Actually, I wouldn't say "worst" in the case of the ones by Charlton Heston and Samuel L. Jackson--those are totally awesome. Click.

Gimme Some Truth

I received a copy of the latest John Lennon "best of" collection, Working Class Hero(buy it), as a Christmas gift. It's actually one of the best of those types of retrospectives that I've seen, a double cd that includes about half the tracks from each of what I consider his three best albums(Plastic Ono Band, Imagine, and Double Fantasy), plus a lot more--including all his stand-alone singles such as "Cold Turkey". There's also a live version of "Come Together" and his home demo recording of "Real Love".

Anyway, listening to "Gimme Some Truth", I thought that song seemed just as relevant today as it was when he wrote it. Hell, I suppose it's just as likely that he'd be wiretapped or spied upon today as it was during the Nixon/Hoover era.

But instead of posting the Lennon original, I thought I'd provide a link to Sam Phillips' cover version, from one of my favorite albums of the '90s--produced by her husband, the also great T-Bone Burnett.

Sam Phillips--"Gimme Some Truth"

Remember this is for review purposes only, please support the artists if you like what you hear.

"Slutabulous"

Well, Valentine's Day has come and gone, but I just happened to come across this list of the most slutty songs and thought it was kind of funny. Some of my old favorites are on there, such as Liz Phair and Heather Nova(not sure if the author realizes that she didn't write "I Have the Touch", or that some of her own songs actually have much more suggestive lyrics), and of course--Prince.

More Prince

The video for Prince's guitar solo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" can be found here.

Please fasten your seat belts and keep your arms inside the vehicle.

Payola

Wish I could say that this surprises me.

ABC News has learned the focus of a two-year long payola investigation by the New York attorney general is turning to the nation's nine largest radio conglomerates.

Attorney General Eliot Spitzer says evidence he has gathered clearly shows some of the radio conglomerates have participated in the illegal practice of accepting payments from record companies and middlemen for guaranteed air play for certain songs.

"The behavior has been unethical, improper, illegal and a sanction of some severity clearly should be imposed," Spitzer told ABC News chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross.

Spitzer and music industry officials told "Primetime" that millions of dollars in payments, gifts and trips are exchanged each year to get music stations to add songs to their weekly play lists.

Spitzer says record company documents obtained in the investigation of Sony Music and Warner, both who have settled with the attorney general, reveal payments for songs that became major hits, including Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Real" and John Mayer's "Daughters."

I'm definitely not surprised that they had to pay in order to make hits out of those two songs.

Damn!

Stereogum has an mp3 of Prince's latest performance on Saturday Night Live. I love it.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is a guitar player.

The hour approacheth...

...C'mon, just one more game!

The next Elvis...

Many songwriters over the years have been compared to Elvis Costello due to their great lyrical abilities, but I've never thought the comparison was so apt as it is with Thea Gilmore. The poetry just seems to pour out of her, and combined with a lot of very melodic and catchy tunes, I'm surprised that she's not getting more attention. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places, but with all of the other "next big things" coming from the U.K., here's one that's really worthy of such praise.

She's certainly not some flash in the pan, she's already released several albums, and I don't think she's even twenty-five yet. Like with EC's early work, I like almost every song, but here's one called "Benzedrine"(from Rules for Jokers) . It's got a great little cello part, and I always like cello. Click the link for the download--

Thea Gilmore--"Benzedrine"

and what the heck, one of my favorites from her most recent album Avalanche--

Thea Gilmore--"Heads Will Roll"