QUICK NOTES

I caught most of Decades Rock Live: Elvis Costello & Friends, and came to the conclusion that the old man can still rock. Backed by the Imposters (keyboardist Steve Nieve/drummer Pete Thomas from the original Attractions, and bassist Davey Faragher, formerly of Cracker), and joined by special guests Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, Fiona Apple, and Death Cab for Cutie, he effectively blew away the previous VH1 Classic shows in this series (the others I've seen some of featured Heart and Cyndi Lauper). Billie Joe and Declan teamed up for excellent renditions of "Alison", "Good Riddance", "No Action", "Radio Radio", "Pump It Up", and everyone joined in for "What's So Funny 'Bout (Peace, Love, and Understanding)" and "You've Really Got A Hold On Me" (The Miracles). Excellent stuff.

The next James Bond movie, "Casino Royale", will have its theme song sung by Chris Cornell. That's a shocker.

I guess the poor review of Nacho Libre and lackluster business of King Kong sent Jack Black back to his roots, as he has reunited with Kyle Gass to make a Tenacious D movie, entitled The Pick of Destiny. The website is pretty damn stupid, so let's hope the movie is funnier. Meat Loaf plays his dad, and Dio plays himself, while Ben Stiller and Tim Robbins make cameos, so it has potential.

I watched about 5 minutes of "Rock Star: Supernova" last week, and I'm already done with it. Gee, I've always wanted to know what Radiohead's "My Iron Lung" would sound like if Thom Yorke was replaced by Melissa Etheredge! No, not really. Blech.

Speaking of, Thom Yorke's "The Eraser" is out, and as far as I know no one has sat down and listened to this entire album from start to finish AND LIVED TO TELL ABOUT IT. Listening to more than 5 tracks in a row of this depressing blip-fest, and you're ready to slit your wrists.

The Pixies have decided not to record another album together, although they're having "fun" touring (I guess).

AOL Music lets you listen to full new release CDs in their entirety here.

Box set/bonus disc CD releases are usually superfluous and cater only to the überfan. However, R.E.M. got it right with their upcoming compilation And I Feel Fine . . . The IRS Years (1982-1987), which collects the best songs from the band's most prolific and creative period, including a few live songs and rare cuts. There are several other collections out there, but this the only one you will ever need to own (unless you're fond of "Out of Time" or "Automatic for the People"). It appears that you can buy it in both single disc and 2 disc collector formats (9/12/06), and it's remastered using the new EnLoudenator 5000 technique, making it 33% louder than your old CD! A companion DVD ("When The Light Is Mine") will also be released, collecting a bunch of their early non-lip synching videos and live performances. Meanwhile, check out these early Letterman appearances from 1983.

Seminal sad synthpoppers Depeche Mode, on the other hand, have re-released their three most crucial albums, Violator (1990), Music for the Masses (1987), and Speak & Spell (1981 debut), with a couple of "who cares?" B-sides and a "you'll probably only watch it once" documentary. Another bad move: why did Rhino (domestic) remove the SACD 5.1 layer that the Mute (import) hybrid CDs included? Meh. I don't see any need to (re) purchase these. The grabbing hands grab all they can, indeed.

Closing note: "The First Cut is the Deepest" proves that Sheryl Crow knows absolutely NOTHING about golf.