Just wanted to give you a
little reminder that Tweet's debut album Southern
Hummingbird is in stores now, and, as befits the
album's title, it's been flying off the shelves.
Just to keep you up to date on the amazing press
she's getting, People magazine said, "Tweet is
clearly her own chick. She has a Southern
earthiness, accented by direct lyrics and an
affecting acoustic guitar that she plays on
several ballads. Mixing R&B, folk, blues & gospel,
the music is soulful enough to be served with
collard greens and corn bread." Amen. http://www.tweetmusic.com
A
QUICK WORD ON TREY ANASTASIO
Guitar
world magazine asked a few Elektra stars what
songs they'd want to be remembered for and they 'fessed
up in a hurry. Says Dimebag Darrell from Texas
legends Pantera. "'F****** Hostile" from Vulgar
Display Of Power. Philip (Anselmo) got it right
lyrically and we got it perfectly right musically.
So I believe if somebody heard this song 500
million years from now, they'd go 'G***** these
m***********s knew what they were talking about
and sure had their jamming skills down. Plus I
think people will always be hostile which is
another reason I went with this one." Good point.
Good point. Kirk Hammet from Metallica also
weighed in: "Motorbreath" (from Kill 'Em All)
because it has the breakneck tempo we were so fond
of in our early days. And unlike the songs we
wrote later, 'Motorbreath' is under four minutes
long." 
And speaking of Pantera and Mr.
Anselmo, the new Down album (Down II) is out and
snagging rave reviews. What was originally thought
of as a metal-tinged dream side project has
morphed into one of the most talked about releases
of the year. Fellow Down-ers Phil and Pepper
Keenan are most proud of the fact that the album
recalls - in mood and feel - some of rock's
vintage moments. Says Pepper: "We're not
necessarily trying to be Zeppelin or Sabbath but
more so the way they thought, because back then
they were the uncharted territory. Now, for the
first time we all sat around and talked about it
and said 'man, this band is 100% Down right now.
There is nobody else out there doing what we're
doing.'" That's what happens when you record in
the deep, dark bowels of Louisiana. 
Boston teen dreams Code 5 have
dropped their debut album The Secret's Out and are
starting to turn the heads of those precocious
teenaged girls out there. Of course, when you are
a teen group with visions of super stardom in your
head, you don't always have time for the little
things other teenagers wish for – or do you? Says
Code 5-er Dave: "Touring and everything keeps us
pretty busy. I won't be able to go to the prom and
other things like that." Other things like what?
"I haven't been able to get my driver's license,"
says 16 year-old Jamahl. "I can't even get my
permit yet." If only there were some 16 year-old
beauty queens out there with the keys to their
dads' Benz. Girls – call Boston – quick! And give
these guys a ride to your prom. 
One of the tunes on Down's new
album Down II is called "New Orleans Is A Dying
Whore," one of the less ambiguous song titles
we've ever heard. But we think the band means that
in kind of a loving way -- don't forget the band's
first album was called NOLA, short for "New
Orleans, Louisiana." Here's Down vocalist Philip
Anselmo with a little explanation:
April 8, 1978: Andrew Gold
isn't exactly a household name... but you all know
his music, or at least one song anyway. After
spending the early 1970s as one of the west
coast's most sought-after session musicians and
arrangers for artists like Linda Ronstadt, James
Taylor, Carly Simon and Loudon Wainwright III, it
was probably inevitable that he would sign to
Elektra/Asylum, home of many of the west coast's
biggest pop artists. His third album, 1978's All
This And Heaven Too, featured the hit single
"Thank You For Being A Friend," a sweet 'n sunny
slice of pop which only managed to reach #25 on
the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. But seven
years later, the song arose to enjoy the kind of
success most chart-toppers only dream
about--becoming the theme to a hit network TV
series, in this case the smash NBC sitcom, The
Golden Girls. Now that the series can be seen in
syndication pretty much constantly, Andrew Gold's
pop nugget probably gets more airtime than
"Stairway To Heaven." 
Natalie Merchant - Motherland
(in stores now)