Here's where having a punk rock legacy and record label come in handy: Jello Biafra , bitter ex- Dead Kennedys frontman, is having a two day celebration for his 50th birthday where he will be unveiling his as-yet-to-be-named new band. In addition, he'll be singing with The Melvins and probably having a blast. If any readers are based in the San Fransisco area, tickets aren't bad. The rest of us are shit-out-of-luck. Here are the line-ups for two nights of Jello birthday celebration: June 16th — (Great American Music Hall, San Francisco) Jello Biafra with the Melvins Jello Biafra's unnamed band Drunk Injuns Los Olvidados The Melvins June 17th — (Great American Music Hall, San Francisco) Jello Biafra with the Melvins Jello Biafra's unnamed band Triclops! Akimbo The Melvins More information can be found at The Great American Music Hall 's website and of course Alternative Tentacles . Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

"Bob Digi, yeah you know who is he " - The RZA as Bobby Digital I'll admit that when I picked up The RZA 's first 'bout of alter-ego narcissism, I bought into the concept. It didn't seem outlandish to assume that an artist would want to maybe express another side of his personality while sparing his already established identity. Plus, as with any Wu-Tang affiliate, schizophrenia is to be expected. Bobby Digital In Stereo , while not quite reaching the creative and innovative heights RZA had been known to produce, was still a somewhat ballsy jaunt into the shaky and uncertain world of the blink-and-you'll-miss-it Hip-Hop avant. His follow-up, Digital Bullet , while boasting a couple of exceptional tracks, ("Brooklyn Babies" for instance), mostly showed that the concept was largely unnecessary and lacked substance. In 2003, when RZA released Birth Of A Prince under his Christian rap alias, I thought "Digi" was done for, (allegations...

More than once, I’ve discussed the “backburner:” that unfortunate and expanding place where all my music essentials and wants seem to stay and collect dust as the constant rotation of new releases sucks up most of my music-related income. With the ease of a button, it’s easy to keep track of this list via Amazon Dot Com , though I do have a few obscure albums listed in my music library . But, because it’s so easy, the list has become impossibly long. I know I’ll have to edit at some point, but I’m not sure what to remove. So, in the interest of maybe cutting down the list a bit, I’d like some opinions about whether or not my intended purchases are actually worthwhile. Here’s this week’s top 10 Must Have’s: 10). Going all DIO on your asses: Dio — Holy Diver Black Sabbath — Heaven And Hell , The Mob Rules I’m counting this as one, just because it’s a thematic trio of Ronnie James . My sudden interest in Dio-era Sabbath , ( I have all the Ozzy stuff )...

Children of the 80s could easily have been dubbed "The Cassette Generation." I don't really remember when the "tape" bug sunk its fangs into my consciousness, but I do remember being ridiculously excited when I got my first tape deck. It was a small cassette recorder with a mic port and an FM/AM radio. I'll say I was maybe 10 years old, and heavily into The Monkees at this point. I was also listening to a ton of oldies' radio, inspired by a deep love for Stand By Me and the surge of 50s nostalgia going on at the time. My first tapes were recorded from my Dad's extensive collection of vinyl and from FM radio. Already showing signs of perfectionism regarding these tapes I was slaving over, radio DJs became my enemy. They would constantly break into banter during the last 10 seconds of every track I was recording, leaving me no choice but to abruptly stop the recording. It was around this time where I was learning how to make cuts and I would ...

A couple releases: Panther 14 Kt. God Kill Rock Stars Released: 2.19.08 Rating: 8.25 out of 10 14 Kt. God is strange in an understated sort of way. A multifaceted mixture of psych and funk, instrumentalist, Charlie Salas-Humara , and drummer, Joe Kelly , seem ponderous at even their most direct and loud, sort of like they’re unsure about everything they’re doing. At times, 14 Kt. God feels like it emerged unrehearsed during an impromptu jam session, as if every decision, every sound, every choice was made on the spot. But that doesn’t tarnish the album’s vitality and the fact that there are some really awesome ideas at play here. Starting things off with the mid-tempo funk of “Puerto Rican Jukebox,” and then following that with the Middle-Eastern nuances of “Her Past Are The Trees,” Panther establish a willingness to go anywhere and do anything. They introduce some odd mathematical progressive twists with “Decision, Decision,” “Worn Moments” and “Beautiful Condo,” get laid back...

It's not just anybody that can turn one of the most recognizable video game jingles into a progressive masterpiece. See more funny videos at CollegeHumor My compliments to Andrea Vadrucci . Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Tom Waits discusses his upcoming Glitter & Doom tour: It would be ridiculously brilliant if he was touring in support of Scarlett Johansson 's cover album . Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Dub Trio Another Sound Is Dying Ipecac Recordings Released: 1.29.08 Rating: 9.25 out of 10 A couple years ago while Tower Records was in the midst of crumbling to oblivion, I picked up a discounted copy of New Heavy by Brooklyn-based, Dub Trio . Learning of them through their involvement with Mike Patton ’s pop-experiment, Peeping Tom , (their collaborative “We’re Not Alone” was remixed for this record), New Heavy left a fairly indelible impression on me, an impression that immediately led me to pick-up their previous record, Exploring The Dangers Of . Aside from its somewhat obvious owing to the punk/reggae pathos that defines the mighty Bad Brains , New Heavy was also alive with the possible expansion of what could easily be called “limited.” It had the spirit of Lee Perry and an influx of Bill Laswell experimentation. But, most importantly, it rocked. Upon first listen I could visualize the glassed corneas of frat house inhabitants suddenly shatter while their smoke...