Here are a few more shots I had laying around on my various hard drives. Happy New Year, y’all!

Here's your daily installment of the Year in Gig Pics. One more day to go, y'all, and then we're on to 2008:

More scenes from some of the biggest shows of 2007:

I've been going through some of my photos this week, and I noticed I've got a lot of cool shots I never shared with you guys. So keep checking in over the weekend and I'll be recapping some of the memorable sights of '07. Enjoy.

OK, I feel much better now, and I'm back to writing about stuff I liked this year. So, without further ado, here are ...

EJ's Best albums of 2007

1. “Back to Black” Amy Winehouse: The sounds of Motown updated for a new millennium. Winehouse is the most talented and refreshing soul singer to emerge in a while. Unfortunately, we now know she ain’t kiddin’ on that “Rehab” song. She’s the new Pete Doherty with weekly tabloid reminders of how much she needs to say “yes, yes, yes” to the whole detox thing. Here’s hoping she lives long enough to get her life together, let alone record another album.

Download: “Wake Up Alone,” “Love is a Losing Game,” “Rehab”

2. “In Rainbows” Radiohead: They got that techno bug out of their system for the most part, rooted through their vaults for some unfinished gems and ended up with their most focused effort since “OK Computer.” And what’s this? Thom Yorke forgoing dystopian angst long enough to – gasp – sing love songs? And not even the unrequited kind. The meds must be working.

Download: “Jigsaw Falling Into Place,” “House of Cards,” “All I Need” ("I'm an animal trapped in your hot car" ... I love that line.)

3. “Widow City” The Fiery Furnaces: Based on this album, siblings Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger – the brains behind the Fiery Furnaces - are good candidates for Ritalin. There’s something new every 30 seconds or so as tempo and style changes fly fast and furious. Blasts of fuzzy, ‘70s guitar rock relent to halcyon melody; cartoonish hip-hop is washed way by torrents of Sonic Youth-style noise rock. Think Mr. Bungle for context. And if anyone makes a movie based on the story line – a funny but disjointed plot involving zombie husbands, magical gurus and youth-restoring beer, as far as I can tell – I am so there.

Download: "Navy Nurse," "The Old Hag is Sleeping," "Automatic Husband"

4 “Armchair Apocrypha” Andrew Bird: Lush melodies, insightful lyrics and Bird’s considerable whistling skills make this one of the prettiest and most original rock records of 2007. This is a disc that will appeal to fans of Radiohead and Jeff Buckley alike.

Download: “Plasticities,” “Heretics,” “The Fiery Crash”

5. “I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead” El-P: With a little help from his homies in Nine Inch Nails, the Mars Volta and Cat Power, Def Jux label head Jaime Meline – aka El-Producto – brings us the best sci-fi hip-hop concept album since Detron’s “3030.” Quick, name three more sci-fi hip-hop concept albums.

Download: "Flyentology," "No Kings," "EMG"

6. “The Story” Brandi Carlile: Big congratulations are in order for Maple Valley’s Carlile and her twin collaborators, Tim and Phil Hanseroth, after a big, breakout year that saw them in heavy rotation on VH1. Carlile vocals are sweet and timeless in a way that recalls Patsy Cline on the ballads. And it breaks just the right when she takes it up to an anthemic roar on the title track.

Download: “Turpentine,” “Josephine,” “Have You Ever”

7. “Kala” M.I.A: Maya Arulpragasam pours heaping helpings of hip-hop, techno, disco, Bollywood film scores and even a bit of didgeridoo into the hippest and most adventurous dance album of 2007. And if she comes across as a female, British Chuck D as she sloganeers about “third world democracy.”

Download: “Paper Planes,” “Bamboo Banger,” “Mango Pickle Down River”

8. “Wincing the Night Away” The Shins: James Mercer and company take big risks here as they stray from the jangly pop that got them there in the first place for a dreamier approach. And while it took a spell for a few of the tracks to grow on me, “Phantom Limb” and “Sea Legs” were sublime from first listen.

Download: “Sea Legs,” “Phantom Limb” “Turn On Me”

9. “Year Zero” Nine Inch Nails: Trent Reznor skews a bit too far towards abrasive, industrial noise on some tracks. And there’s a disturbing moment at the beginning of “Capital G” where you think he’s about to cover Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel.” But our man remains at the top of his game for most of this dystopian odyssey, which chronicles man’s final days.

Dowload: “Survivalism,” Me, I’m Not,” “In This Twilight”

10. “The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams” Me’Shell Ndegeocello: You never know what you’ll get with the daring, talented and occasionally confounding Ndegeocello. Will it be artsy, hip-hop inflused R&B? A collection of dreary anti-love songs? A fusion jazz album with no lyrics? Her latest, genre-blurring effort is best described as phantasmagoric funk as Ndegeocello takes a spiritual journey through love, lust and religious fanaticism.

Download: “Headline,” “Article 3,” “Lovely, Lovely”

If there's anything more fun than rattling off your favorite albums and concerts at the end of the year, it's making fun of the songs that you absolutely HATE, HATE HATE! So along those lines I'm taking an informal survey of the most annoying and played out songs of '07. You know, the stuff that should be band for '08.

I'll even kick it off with the Shop Boyz "Party Like a Rockstar." What? That's all it takes to parlay in 2007? Mumbling a bunch of cliches over a generic beat? It's this year's "Who Let the Dogs Out?" And I move that it henceforth and forever more be banned from every club, radio station and car stereo in Puget Sound. If I have to hear that track or see that video one more time, I will personally show at the next Shop Boyz concert and pelt them with full cans of Rockstar (TM) until they are unconscious.

Oh no! Now it's stuck in my head again! Raaaaarrrrggggghhh! HULK SMASH!!!

[Editor's disclaimer: Our legal representation has advised us to point out that EJ is joking and not prone to actual violent outbursts (we think.) And furthermore, we do not suggest that anyone else assault the Shop Boyz, their friends, relatives and acquaintances. Stop the violence. That is all.]

Anyway, there it is. Who else wants to vent?

OK, I went through that 50 albums, 50 artists list I posted the other day and narrowed it down to my 10 favorite songs for 2007. Well, more like 11. Those Shins songs are equally awesome, and I tend to play them back to back, anyway. So, without further ado, here they are:

1. (tie) “Sea Legs” and “Phantom Limb” The Shins: Portland’s indie-pop heroes take chances on their third album and come up with the two dreamiest tracks of their career.

2. “Wake Up Alone” Amy Winehouse: Pain and yearning ooze from Winehouse’s vocals on this spellbinding soul number.

3. “Young Folks” Peter Bjorn and John: This song has hooks for days, most notably whistling that gets in your head and hangs around like Thanksgiving leftovers.

4. “Turpentine” Brandi Carlile: The Maple Valley singer-songwriter delivers a heartbreaker that’ll make you yearn for long lost friends.

5. “Plasticities” Andrew Bird: Lush melodies with great, existential lyrics. And Peter Bjorn and John aren’t the only indie rockers that have mad whistling skills.

6. “In This Twilight” Nine Inch Nails: Soothing riffs wash over ugly mechanical rhythms and digital shrieks as Trent Reznor contemplates man’s final hours. (This fan video is kinda cool until you recognize the movie clips he's ripping off.)

7. “Hard Back (Industry)” Dizzee Rascal: Britain’s fiercest MC lays out a blueprint for hip-hop prosperity over a beat that’s hard as granite.

8. “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” Radiohead: There are shades of “Paranoid Android” without the dystopian angst.

9. “Poison Dart” The Bug feat. Warrior Queen: You’ll need a lyric sheet to decipher Warrior Queen’s thick, Caribbean patois. But there’s no doubt. This dub step track is a monster.

10. “Paper Planes” M.I.A.: Maya Arulpragasam spits sing-song rhymes over gun blasts and an ethereal Clash sample; gangsta rap for the third world.

This year, I didn’t break ‘em, down by individual performances as in the past. Otherwise, Sasquatch would have accounted for the bulk of my top 5.

1. Stevie Wonder (Aug. 31, Chateau Ste Michele, Woodinville): The living legend hadn’t played the Seattle market for more than two decades, and it felt like seeing the Beatles must have. I literally got goose bumps during “Living for the City.” But seeing Burberry-clad yuppies shaking their money makers with the wild abandon of Soul Train dancers was a bit weird, though.

2. Sasquatch Festival (May 26 to 28, Gorge Amphitheatre, George): The Beastie Boys and Bjork would have vied for top performance in a Wonder-less year. The Arcade Fire’s set was quite a rush, too, especially during a life-affirming sing-along to “Wake Up.” But one of the most enduring images for me was seeing Seattle singer-songwriter Jesse Sykes strum her way through melancholy numbers from her moving, new album “Like, Love, Lust & the Open Halls of the Soul” as blustery winds whipped through her raven-black tresses.

3. Chris Cornell (Oct. 3, Paramount Theatre, Seattle): Recently liberated from Audioslavery, Cornell was free to serve up the heaping helping of grunge goodness that his fans have been craving all these years. “Outshined” and “Jesus Christ Pose” were chock full of stoner metal goodness, while “Seasons” was the prettiest ballad I heard all year. His solo stuff wasn’t bad, either. But about that Soundgarden reunion tour; exactly why hasn’t that happened, again?

4. The Roots (Feb. 3, The Showbox, Seattle): I already knew to expect a few curves from hip-hop’s greatest live band, a group that’s thrown covers of Guns N’ Roses and Nirvana into its set in the past. But I wasn’t prepared me for a weird but ultimately satisfying arrangement of Bob Dylan’s “Master of War” that featured guitar, drums and tuba, and guitarist Kirk Douglas (yes, that’s his name) singing lead. A mid-set tribute to the late, great James Brown was just icing on the cake.

5. Bumbershoot 2007 (Sept. 1 to 3, Seattle Center): The Wu-Tang Clan showed up something like 80 deep on the main stage. But the real action was on the smaller stages where Andrew Bird , Lyrics Born and the Diesel Truckers stood out, among others. And the recently reunited Seaweed rocked Experience Music Project.

6. Queens of the Stone Age (Dec. 18, Paramount Theatre): The most consistently awesome band of the last decade didn’t disappoint with a set that showcased stripped down sounds from this year’s “Era Vulgaris.” I was especially happy that they included “You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire” in their set, a song that had been shelved for a while since the departure of the band’s lead screamer, Nick Oliveri.

7. M.I.A. (Nov. 15, Roseland Theatre, Portland): I was out of town for the Seattle show, but made a point to catch M.I.A. down in Stumptown. You never know when pop provocateur Maya Arulpragasam, the group’s leader, will be denied her next U.S. work visa, the downfall of several U.S. shows already. And from the booming bass of opener “Bamboo Banger” to a death defying leap into the balcony for “Bucky Done Gun,” M.I.A. put on one hell of a show.

8. The Hold Steady, Art Brut (Nov. 4, University of Washington HUB Ballroom): My most embarrassing omission from my best albums omission of 2006 list was the Hold Steady’s “Boys & Girls in America.” But I’ve loved these guys since I got on board last spring. And the sterile venue aside, they lived up to the hype. The best part: They treated fans to two new songs, “Magazines” and “Joke about Jamaica.”

9. Justin Timberlake (Sept. 8, Tacoma Dome): There have been several contenders for the title of King of Pop since Michael Jackson went all bat-crap crazy on us. And if this show wasn’t proof of who the frontrunner is, I don’t know what would be. As an added bonus, he performed that song from "Saturday Night Live." You know, the one.

10. Devo (Sept. 21, Puyallup Fair & Events Center): Did Devo sell out by playing the fair, or did it fit in with their master plan of exposing “de-evolution” in all its forms? Maybe a little bit of both:

“How many people tonight think that de-evolution is real?” lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh inquired at one point. “You don’t have to look far for the evidence.”

“Gut Feeling” and “Jocko Homo” were highlights. And Mothersbaugh donned that creepy Booji Boy outfit for “Beautiful World,” pausing to acknowledge the aroma of krusty pups wafting over the crowd.- “that’s good American cooking,” he said, in falsetto - before he reached into his pants and hurling what seemed like hundreds of super balls into the crowd.

According to unconfirmed rumor, band members reportedly dropped in for an after party at the Varsity Grill but were largely ignored by fans that apparently didn’t recognize them, sans energy domes. Funny.

Coming soon: Best albums.

Fife's Fabulous Firwood will be back up and running by Jan. 11, according to a press release the club e-mailed to me this afternoon. The club was shut down earlier this month for health code violations.

The release also took issue with a story The News Tribune ran on Dec. 14, reprinted below:

Fife police may be getting some relief for one of their biggest headaches - the Fabulous Firwood roadhouse.

The 10,000-square-foot club at 8014 Valley Ave. E. was shuttered Wednesday for health violations related to its septic system. The 84-year-old institution is well known to local officers, said Fife Police Chief Brad Blackburn. He didn't have the number of calls for service, but said it's the most in the city. Around 700 patrons come and go on a weekend night. And cars park haphazardly along the shoulder of busy Valley Avenue.

"It's pretty much sucking all our resources on Fridays and Saturdays," Blackburn said. Officers frequently respond to fights, drunken driving complaints and other problems there, he said.

The club's general manager, Hyon Kil, said Wednesday that engineers were working on the septic issue and that he expected to be back open some time Wednesday night. But the bar did not open and remained closed Thursday, Blackburn said.

State Liquor Control Board officials said the bar was cited in November for serving alcohol to an intoxicated patron and given a written warning for disorderly conduct. The club also was cited in October last year for allowing a minor inside. The violations are not enough for the board to go after the club's license, spokesman Brian Smith said.

"We're in full compliance," Kil said. "We love cooperating in any possible way. We have a very good relationship with the Liquor Control Board."

Due to the health complaint, the club's city business license was suspended and code inspectors will be examining the facility in coming days, Blackburn said. He said health officials told him the facility could be closed for up to a month.

Kil said the issue was a burst pipe and that he expected the club to be back up and running by next weekend.

"That's optimistic," said Steve Merek, public health manager with the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.

"The article leads you to believe we have served a minor," reads the release. "That is incorrect. The security staff actually caught the minor prior to purchasing and consuming an actual drink and one more citation: when a patron was discovered to be over served just last month."

As that reality set in that the Croc is, indeed, toast, I came across this on Chop Suey's site:

"UNSCREW THE CROCODILE EMPLOYEES BENEFIT SHOW" with members of Fleet Foxes, Peter Parker, Siberian, Pale Pacific, J.Tillman, Damien Jurado, Pleasureboaters and many more!

Come down, hear some songs, share a story, get a chance to say goodbye...

$ TBA

7pm doors // 21+

Rolling Stone’s 100 best songs of 2007 list list lost all credibility the moment they included Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend.” What? Have they not heard Mickey? Or the Rubinoos “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend,” two songs Avril clearly ripped off – allegedly? This is a travesty!

So I thought I’d come up with my own list and ask for some of your favorite songs. But I thought I’d do something a little different from a straightforward best songs list, which would feature multiple entries from all of my top albums, anyway. Boring. Instead, I mentally filed through all the tracks I liked this year to come up with …

50 essential downloads from 50 artists for 2007 (in no particular order)

1. “Sea Legs” The Shins
2. “Wake Up Alone” Amy Winehouse
3. “Hard Back (Industry)” Dizzee Rascal
4. “Plasticities” Andrew Bird
5. “Paper Planes” M.I.A.
6. “Yeah, I Love You” Earl Greyhound
7. “Poison Dart” The Bug feat. Warrior Queen (a sick dub plate, hard to find in the U.S.; try the Ninja Tune site.)
8. “Umbrella” Rihanna
9. “9 Samurai” Kode 9 & the Space Ape
10. “Make It Witchu” (new “Era Vulgaris” version) Queens of the Stone Age
11. “The Old Hag Is Sleeping” The Fiery Furnaces
12. “Gasolina” Bonde Do Role
13. “Tasmanian Pain Coaster” El-P feat. The Mars Volta
14. “Central Booking” John Vanderslice
15. “Young Folks” Peter Bjorn and John
16. “Believe E.S.P.” Deerfhoof
17. ”Scale” Interpol
18. “The Good, the Bad & the Queen” The Good, the Bad & the Queen
19. “Peggy Lee” Kristin Hersh
20. “Paragraphs Relentless” Dalek
21. “Turpentine” Brandi Carlile
22. “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” Radiohead
23. “Me, I’m Not” Nine Inch Nails
24. “Hard Sun” Eddie Vedder
25. “Headline” Me’Shell Ndegeocello
26. “LDN” Lily Allen
27. “Fire It Up” Modest Mouse
28. “Genesis” Justice
29. “You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do What You’re Told)” The White Stripes
30. “Teenagers” My Chemical Romance
31. “Hilo” Antibalas
32. “You Me and the Devil Makes Three” Marilyn Manson
33. “No Cars Go” Arcade Fire
34. “Myth Takes” !!!
35. “What Goes Around … Comes Around” Justin Timberlake
36. “They Don’t Know” Anthony Hamilton
37. “It’s Me, Bitches” Swizz Beats
38. “Down at McDonaldz” Electric Six (Hilarious! Think “Flight of the Conchords”)
39. “Song for Clay (Disappear Here)” Bloc Party
40. “The Air Is Thin” Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter
41. “The Revolution (Will Not Be Televised on Channel U)” Klashnekoff
42. “Sister Rosetta (Capture the Spirit)” Noisettes
43. “Give It to Me” Timbaland feat. Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake
44. “1234” Feist
45. “Luxury of Infancy” Omar Rodriguez-Lopez feat. Cedric Bixler Zavala (yeah, basically a Mars Volta song)
46. “The Game” Common
47. “Timebomb” Beck
48. “Innocence” Bjork
49. “The Underdog” Spoon
50. “Radio Nowhere” Bruce Springsteen (sounding kinda Pearl Jammy)

Here's that set list I promised, with a couple of amendments. They didn't play "I Think I Lost My Headache." And they came back for an encore that included "You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire" and an epic version of "Song for the Deaf." Scroll down to my previous post for pics and a more detailed report. Or if you were there and you wanna chime in, leave a comment.

“I’ve always wanted to play in this place – always,” declared Queens of the Stone Age leader Josh Homme during the early portion of his band’s set Tuesday night at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre. Homme lived in Seattle for a while in the ‘90s and must have attended his share of shows at the venerable old theater. And on Tuesday, Homme and company commemorated this kinda sorta homecoming by demolishing the Paramount with a titanic blast of good old fashioned RAWK! (Stops typing momentarily to raise devil horn salute.)

I’ve seen the Queens five or six times, and those guys never disappoint. The latest configuration of Homme’s supporting cast includes Troy Van Leeuwen, Joey Castillo, Dean Fertita and Michael Shuman. And on Tuesday, those guys seemed like the last true rock stars, Gen-X throwbacks at a time when the cool kids prefer the arty stylings of Sufjan Stevens over a good, Sabbathy riff. (No offense to Sufjan, who I actually like, but what’s up with Gen Next?) Queens delivered the goods, from the opening notes of "Regular John" to an encore that included the rarely performed "You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire." My only disappointments were that they didn't do “Everybody Knows That You’re Insane” (sadly left off the set list for something like the fourth tour in a row) and “I Think I Lost My Headache” (listed, but apparently omitted at the last second. And speaking of the set list, check back later and I’ll figure out what happened to my jpeg of said list. Heh, hope I didn't accidentally delete it.)

In contrast, I was lukewarm when it came to opening act Jaguar Love. That’s the new Portland-based indie super group composed of former members of Seattle bands the Blood Brothers and Pretty Girls Make Graves. All of the above are shining example of bands that hipster seem to drool over nowadays, but that I don’t quite get. Sigh, must be getting old.

Before and after, I was on the lookout for Seattle rock royalty since Queens shows tend to be good for a sighting or two. And lo and behold, who do I spy on the way out? Why, it’s Death Cab for Cutie’s Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr chewing the fat with one of the sound and light guys. And later in the lobby I ran into renowned rock poster and comic artist Justin Hampton, whose profile was bolstered a few years back after he designed a killer series of posters for Queens a few years back. Hampton tells me that he, too, is joining great Seattle’s indie rock exodus and moving to Portland.

Anyway, enough of that jibba jabba. Here’s some of what you missed last night.

Various sources, including Seattle rock blog Three Imaginary Girls, have reported that the Crocodile Cafe abruptly shut down over the weekend. Those of you who routinely make the half-hour trip north to catch shows in Seattle know the Croc as a pillar of the regional rock scene, having hosted concerts by the likes of Nirvana, Modest Mouse and Death Cab for Cutie since it opened in 1991.

I got no answer when I called the Croc today, but I'll post more once I'm able to dig up something.

Spinal Tap. The Blues Brothers. Dethklok. To that list of great fake TV and movie bands we now add Dewey Cox, the subject of the new faux biopic "Walk Hard." And recently I caught up with singer-songwriter Dan Bern, who wrote or co-wrote several of the tracks you'll see John C. Reilly sing at your local cineplex beginning this Friday.

Dan Bern on writing for Dewey Cox

And while were' at it, let's pay tribute to a few of the fake bands that have paved the way for our man Dewey.:

On Friday night, you may have noticed a bunch of Santas, all filled with the holiday spirit (or just spirits in some cases) yelling holiday greetings at you from a big yellow bus cruising the Tacoma Mall parking lot or otherwise wreaking havoc at your neighborhood watering hole. What was that about?

Well, that was the first ever Tacoma Santarchy, a historic event that looked something like this. Ho ho ho! Merry Christmahannukwanzaamas!

Queens of the Stone Age is among the most consistently awesome bands of the last decade. So needless to say, I'm pretty excited about their show next Tuesday at Seattle's Paramount Theatre. And I was equally excited to get a shot at the band's leader, Josh Homme, yesterday.

Too bad I had technical difficulties during the early part of our conversation (read: I'm an idiot and didn't have my recorder right setting, something I thankfully noticed three minutes into it.) That's when Homme talked about living in Seattle in the '90s, where his bro still lives. And when asked what stood out most about his time in the Northwest, for the record, Homme declared, "Best late night food ever." So that big, redheaded guy you saw sitting at the counter at Five Points one drunken, early morning about a decade ago? That might've been our man Josh.

But click on the links below to hear the stuff I did manage to get on tape. Then check our site for a more official writeup Monday or Tuesday.

Part One: Paying tribute to Amy Winehouse (The band has been adding snippets of her song "Rehab" to "Feel Good Hit of the Summer")

Part Two: The spirit behind "Desert Sessions"

Part Three: How "Lullabies to Paralyze" freed his band to do "Era Vulgaris"

Part Four: Working with the Strokes' Julian Casablancas on the new album

Part Five: Band chemistry and the latest live shows

… then you’ll want to check out a 42-minute podcast that the dynamic radio duo recorded for the Christmas in the Northwest Web site. The podcast - which features show regulars Roy Otis, Officer Lee Groinman and others - will be in rotation with songs from the first 10 “Christmas in the Northwest” CDs, today through Sunday. Proceeds from the CDs benefit Children's Hospital every year.

Robin Erickson and John Maynard were, of course, staples of Northwest radio for more than two decades on KQBZ-FM (100.7, currently KKWF-FM, the Wolf), KISW-FM (99.9), KZOK-FM (102.5) and the defunct KXRX-FM. But new management abruptly took them off of the Buzz in 2005 and their popular comedy variety show has not aired since.

“The guys who hired us left,” Maynard recalled when I called him yesterday. “We were inherited (and) we were working with contracts. … They wanted us out.”

Maynard also filled me in on what he and Erickson have been up to recently. He has done occasional work with KPLU. With Erickson, he recently organized a charity golf tournament to benefit City of Hope. And he’s done promotional work for Bastyr University that has him in the early stages of organizing a CD of artists that have recorded at the college (the likes of Dave Matthews.)

Erickson divides her time between Seattle and Montana, Maynard said, and she's done freelance production work and voice-overs these last two years.

So what are the odds the pair will be back on Seattle’s airwaves any time soon? Not good, according to Maynard.

“I don’t think it’s gonna happen for a variety of reasons,” Maynard said, citing their contracts as the biggest barrier. “They would have to pay a couple of older prima donnas … and pay them a lot of money.”

Oh well. Maynard has at least enjoyed not having to get up at 4 a.m. But he doesn't rule out the possibility that a deal could get done to pull him back into the game. "There could be a message on my phone right now," he said.

I'm a huge Nine Inch Nails fan and couldn't wait to hear how Saul Williams, Bill Laswell and a handful of other folks had chopped up and rearranged the tracks from Nails' last album on the new "Y34RZ3ROR3M1X3D" CD. I'm partial to what Williams and the Faint did with "Survivalism" and "Meet Your Master" respectively.

But the coolest part new album - for hands on music fans, at least - is the data CD. Nails' Trent Reznor is among a growing number of artists that give fans tools for coming up with their own mixes (see also: Beastie Boys, Moby.) And the second disc that comes with the new remix album is chock full of sample kits and presets that you can load into Garage Band, or whatever sequencer you have handy, and go wild with.

"Me, I'm Not" is may favorite track from the "Year Zero" disc, so that's the first kit I dragged onto my iMac's desktop. And if you click the link below, you can hear what I came up with after about an hour of tinkering around in Ableton Live.

Rock pioneer Ike Turner died today, a man whose musical legacy was often overshadowed by tales of how he reportedly terrorized ex-wife Tina Turner. Find one of many obits here. And below is my last interview with the man back in 2001. He claimed he wasn't the woman beater portrayed in the film "What's Love Got to Do With It," but did cop to a bit of philandering and drug abuse. You be the judge. And if I can find the tape from the interview, I'll have to post some clips:

Ike Turner is a man haunted by his past.

The rhythm and blues pioneer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee might enjoy the living-legend status reserved for the likes of B.B. King or John Lee Hooker if his notoriety did not so overshadow his musical accomplishments.

He admits he did wrong during his marriage to Tina Turner, but he insists he's not the the abusive monster depicted in the 1993 film about her life, "What's Love Got to Do With It?"

Now, he says, he's found peace and identity despite his dark past and tarnished image.

Friday night at the Experience Music Project, he will perform songs from his first album in years, "Here and Now" - a title that aptly captures his reluctance to revisit his past.

"It's just a great, great feeling," he said this week of returning to the stage. "I just hate that I wasted so much of my life, man - with drugs and hiding. ... I just wasted 15 years of my life afraid to be myself."

Turner will be hailed as a rock pioneer at EMP, which is showcasing artists from Turner's old label, Sun Records, a company virtually synonymous with rock 'n' roll. EMP's series "The Dawn of Rock: The Sun Records Legacy" has featured concerts, movies and speakers (including Sun Records founder Sam Phillips) about the music and artists of the legendary Memphis label.

Many cite 1951's "Rocket 88" as the first rock 'n' roll recording. Credited to the group's sax player, Jackie Brentson, the song was a hit for his band, The Kings of Rhythm. Turner also had hits in the '60s and '70s with "River Deep, Mountain High," "Nutbush City Limits" and a remake of Credence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary."

But his musical legacy is often overshadowed by his reputation as a wife beater and drug addict, as actor Larry Fishburne portrays in the film.

"The movie was an outright lie," Turner says. Among other things, the film - based on Tina Turner's 1986 autobiography "I, Tina," co-written by MTV's Kurt Loder - depicts Turner as cheating on, verbally abusing, punching and raping his ex-wife.

"They took what she (Tina) said and took it completely out of context," Turner said. "All that stuff about me beating Tina - this is an outright lie. We had our ups and downs like other people."

He claims he was not as violent as depicted in the film, though the story of his wife's 1976 escape from his abuse is well-documented, and he insists he never raped her.

"As you know, in all movies they have to have a villain and they have to have a star," he said. "So they made the villain out of me. If I was dead, it would be OK for them to do that, but ... I still have a living to make.

"The only mistake that I made was I signed a contract with Walt Disney thinking that I was signing a contract for somebody to take my place in a movie," he said. "That was back when I was doing drugs and I only found out when I got clean and sober that it was a contract where they could portray me any way they wanted to and I couldn't sue them. ...The mistake of my life was to sign that contract, because had I not signed that contract I could be a trillionaire by now."

Finally he cut off talk of his past.

"That's old news, man," he said. "There's nothing that you could talk to me about that the public hasn't talked about or read as far as Ike and Tina is concerned. ... In other words, we had our arguments, but I don't compromise what I do on stage."

Many aspects of that past are well-known, including Ike's 18-month jail sentence on cocaine-related charges from 1989 to 1991. In a 1992 Variety interview, he claimed to have spent $11 million on cocaine before kicking the habit in prison.

He said he's remained sober since he went to jail. "I've been clean since '89. I don't even smoke cigarettes."

But his sobriety didn't help fend off his insecurities as an artist.

"I was always afraid of rejection. I guess that's why I didn't continue to go on after Tina and I broke up. ... I didn't know if I'd be accepted."

It seems he has found a new audience and new acceptance with his new album, which delves into the early sounds of R&B. It also gives Turner, known more as a guitarist, a chance to showcase his piano skills.

"Piano is really my instrument," he said. "Now, man, I'm really proud of what I'm doing. ... I got very, very good writeups and it really surprises me because I didn't know how I was going to be accepted."

Turner hints that Eddie Murphy or Eddie Griffin may portray him in a movie about his life, based on his autobiography "Taking Back My Name."

This was buried deep within a press release about the band's latest Grammy nod. The quote is from one Tom Araya:

Right after the New Year, Slayer plans to start working on new material for their eleventh studio album, intended for a 2008 release, and will tour the world to support it. "I'm excited to see where the new music will go, how it's going to sound, what the total writing and recording experience will be like. I'm sure it will be like the one for 'Christ Illusion' - great!"

I was just listening to The Killers' remake of Joy Division's "Shadowplay" – you know, giving it one more chance. But it gets more repulsive with successive spin. Coincidentally, I'd been obsessively listening to original version – all icy and apocalyptic – since the reissue of "Unknown Pleasures" came out a few weeks ago. Then along comes the Killers' video on MTV. And they somehow made the frickin' song sound perky, like something that belongs in a Gap ad. Perky, fer Chrissakes! And while I don't otherwise have much of a problem with the Killers (aside from wondering what the big deal is), hearing them cover Joy Division is like hearing Good Charlotte take a stab at "Raining Blood" or the Black Eyed Peas doing "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos." It's utter blasphemy which cannot go unpunished!!! Are you with me, people?

This announcement arrived in my inbox this morning:

SEATTLE, WA – December 6, 2007 - Alex Kochan, Vice President of AEG Live’s regional operations in the Northwest, announced today that AEG Live is purchasing the Showbox concert clubs and hiring longtime venue operators Jeff Steichen and Chad Queirolo as General Manager and Talent Buyer/Manager, respectively. ...

“We are starting a new chapter in the history of Seattle’s live music scene,” said Jeff Steichen, Showbox General Manager for both venues. “AEG Live shares our vision and is as committed to the fans as we are.”

AEG Live is the country's second biggest concert promoter behind Live Nation. The company books shows at Seattle's WaMu Theater and Qwest Field and the Puyallup Fair, among other regional venues.

Jay-Z's "American Gangster" tops Blender's best albums list. Paste is going with the National's "Boxer" to top its list. "Untrue" by British dubstep act Burial tops Metacritic.com's list (which often has little, if anything, to do with what the average person actually listens to.) And that all goes to remind me that I need to quick slackin' finalize my '07 picks. Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks.

In case you didn't read today's front page, you knuckleheads hanging outside of Jazzbones, Hell's Kitchen and Masa need to keep it down. So say cranky neighbors whose complaints have lead the city to contemplate its first comprehensive noise ordinance. Could this mean trouble for the clubs on the Sixth Ave strip?

Rolling Stone has posted a gallery of photos from the Led Zeppelin reunion show. Check 'em out, and then listen to my feeble attempts to squeeze details out of drummer Jason Bonham late last year.

The 2008 Puyallup Spring Fair will take place from April 17 to 20 at the Puyallup Fair & Events Center, organizers announced yesterday. Next year's KMPS Showcase will feature up-and-coming country artists, Ashton Shepherd at 7:30 p.m. on April 18. Read more here.

A few more scenes from Jingle Bell Bash 2007. (For more of what went down last night at the Tacoma Dome, click here.)

The Jingle Bell Bash – the annual holiday gala that KBKS-FM (Kiss, 99.9) puts on every December -- wound down a couple of hours ago at the Tacoma Dome. This year's pop showcase featured Timbaland (the guy who produced something like 80 percent of the hits the radio last year); Bothell's “American Idol” runner up, Blake Lewis; the Jonas Brothers; Sean Kingston; Colbie Caillat; One Republic and more. So of course I showed up with notebook and camera in hand.

And by the way, forget what I wrote in yesterday's Van Halen review about not messing with David Lee Roth because of his possible martial arts skills. Don't mess with Timbaland, yo! While you can tell the guy pumps iron in the videos. But you don't realize just how big that brotha is till you see him in person. I'm talking WWE/NFL big. No, make that "you could paint him green and he could play the Hulk without CGI" big. Sweet sassy molassy!

But I digress. Here are a few scenes you missed unless you were among the 9,000-plus that turned out for the occasion. Check back later and I’ll try to post some more non-Timbaland shots before I get too drowsy:

This afternoon, I paid the Supersuckers' Rontrose Heathman a visit at Satellite Coffee, his new java joint located upstairs from Super Nova Tattoo across from Wright Park on Division. And he gave me some cool news.

Heathman is the lone Supersucker that makes his home in Tacoma. And local fans already know his band is playing Hell's Kitchen tomorrow with support from T-town's Top Heavy Crush. But the news is that the Supersuckers plan to unveil a couple of new tunes tomorrow. The band recently finished a new as yet untitled disc, which is currently in the mixing stages.

But I'll let Rontrose elaborate. Click the links below to hear what he had to say about ...

... new songs that might wind up in the set list ...

... and the skinny on his new coffee joint. I got a lesson on "fair trade" vs. "direct trade" here. (Hey, what do I know about coffee? I'm from Kentucky. Most people drank Folgers, if anything, when I was growing up.)

For the record, I’m not nearly as nostalgic about pre-Sammy Hagar Van Halen as most of the screaming, fist pumping fans that filled KeyArena Monday night. (Or for Van Hagar, for that matter.)

Typical fan filing into the show: Whoooooooooooo!!! Eddie! Eddie!

Me: Eh, I kinda liked “Panama” back in the day. It won't be too annoying.

But between Eddie Van Halen’s jaw-dropping guitar heroics and singer David Lee Roth’s easy charm, I got swept up in Halenmania last night. The sorta reunited original lineup (also drummer Alex Van Halen and Eddie’s kid, Wolfgang, replacing Michael Anthony on bass) was on top of its game for two rock solid hours. (Granted, there was plenty of cheese involved, i.e.. “Atomic Punks,” the kitschy rock equivalent to “The Warriors.” I’m just sayin’.)

Roth waving a big, red banner from atop a raised platform that took up the back portion of the stage as the party got properly started with Van Halen’s remake of Kinks classic “You Really Got Me.” (Click here for the full set list.) The singer ascended a winding platform that jutted into the crowd, encircling maybe a hundred fans in the really pricey “golden circle” seats.

He was dressed in a burnt yellow, rhinestone encrusted jacket early on, which he traded for white and blue later -- and of course shed a few songs in to show off his impressive for his age six-pack. And, yes, the old guy can still do a few of those high snap kicks he’s a known for. I counted maybe six during the show. Granted, I’m guessing Diamond Dave is slathered in Ben Gay as I write this.

Not to be upstaged, Eddie Van Halen went shirtless and looked pretty fit for a guy who’s past the half century mark, too. Plus, he jumped around a bit as if to show us that hip replacement he famously had a few years back hadn’t slowed him down too much.

Roth and the Van Halen brothers have famously feuded for more than two decades. But their rapport with one another was noticeably good Monday night (with Wolfgang really holding his own, too.)

Granted, many a dysfunctional band has faked it for the sake of making a few million more. And Roth – the consummate showman – can paint on that manic, car salesman grin he sported all show at will. But the Van Halen guys’ enthusiasm for sharing the same stage again and honoring their legacy was palpable. And by “Runnin’ With the Devil” – one of many anthems that had fans pumping their fists and belting out the hooks – the veteran outfit was obviously on fire.

Mid-set highlights included a fiery delivery of “Somebody Get Me a Doctor,” featuring a bluesy breakdown from Eddie and a few lines from Cream’s “Born Under a Bad Sign.” The synth enhanced “I’ll Wait” thrilled, as did frantic early MTV hit “Hot for Teacher,” with Roth declaring, “I heard you missed us. We’re baaack!” to cheers; and a heart pumping solo from Alex.

Roth started “Ice Cream Man” alone, introducing it with a rambling but somewhat entertaining story about how he’d hang with one of his buddies, an actual ice cream man, in the early ‘70s, and how they’d toss out all the goodies to make room for their beer in the truck. Lots of pot smoking was also apparently involved. (Say it ain't so!)

Van Halen followed with “Panama,” which went well even as Roth blurted out, “I forgot the f----- words!” The other guys smoothly recovered, and thousands of enthusiastic fans helped sing the rest of the hit.

Eddie Van Halen -- easily one of the most influential shredders of the rock era -- was then left alone for an awe-inspiring solo. His still nimble fingers were projected onto a giant video screen where fans could see them pecking the strings, as if he were typing snippets of Van Halen hits. He produced a symphony of sound, also employing some spacey effects.

The quartet took a bow with a rockin' delivery of “Ain’t ‘Talkin’ Bout Love.” And everyone pretty much knew what had to be next. Roth was waving that red flag again to when the band came back to the rustic synth instrumental, “1984.” And that was, of course, just the cue for Van Halen’s breakthrough hit, “Jump.”

The finale was about as over the top as could be expected, with an obligatory confetti shower and Roth toting around a giant, inflatable microphone for some reason. Most impressively, he twirled his mike stand furiously at one point, like a kung fu action hero fighting off hordes of imaginary ninja.

Diamond Dave seems like a nice, peace loving guy. But between that and a few martial arts moves he’d showed off earlier, I don’t know if you wanna mess with him. You know, unless you're Kid Rock or Jack White or something.

Here it is, kids. Tonight's set list. I think they're playing the same set in every city, actually. More later ...

Van Halen
KeyArena
Dec. 3, 2007

You Really Got Me
I'm the One
Runnin' With the Devil
Romeo Delight (with lyrics added from the Who's "Magic Bus")
Somebody Get Me A Doctor
Beautiful Girls
Dance the Night Away
Atomic Punk
Everybody Wants Some
So This Is Love?
Mean Street
(Oh) Pretty Woman
Alex Van Halen drum solo
Unchained
I'll Wait
And the Cradle Will Rock
Hot for Teacher
Little Dreamer
Little Guitars
Jamie's Cryin'
Ice Cream Man
Panama
Eddie Van Halen guitar solo medley
Ain't Talkin''Bout Love

Encore:
1984 (intro)
Jump

Well, guess there was no real point to that Van Halen survey I took last week since David Lee Roth is the only one of the group's lead singers to get any love from Bring the Noise readers. So, it's unanimous. You all think David Lee Roth is the greatest, and that Sammy Hagar and Gary Cherone are irrelevant. And we'll see if the guy still has it tonight at the show.