YOU SHOULD SING SOLO (THAT NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU)

Sorry, that's just a joke my dad used to say. Speaking of solo, after Audioslave release their 3rd disc this September, Chris Cornell is planning on releasing his 2nd solo album. Which reminds me: what the hell happened to Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil? Did he quit music and become an accountant or something? Can we get him to record some songs with Chris? This has to happen.

Bob Dylan also has a new solo album coming out entitled Modern Times, his 145th. Kris pointed me to a website called Second Hand Songs, a handy website that helps you find out how many times a song has been covered, and/or find out the original songwriter. On the "Most Covered Authors" list, Lennon and McCartney are #1 and #2, with Zimmy being #3 and Hank "Not Ready For Some Football" Williams, Sr. #4. I got a little confused after that when I saw Douglas Colvin, Jeffrey Hyman, and John Cummings at #5, #6, and #7, until I realized that's Dee Dee, Joey, and Johnny Ramone, respectively, of The Ramones. Oh, sure, of course. And Kris' favorite Jacques Brel is #24, one notch higher than David Bowie, coffee achiever, mover and shaker.

I'm going to admit something to you: I've never really liked Paul Simon. Sure, Simon & Garfunkel were great (Bookends is still a fantastic album), and Kodachrome is okay, but I also thought Paul's solo stuff was always a bit cloying and self-indulgent (like Beatle Paul), especially Graceland. Yeah I know, it's a universally loved album, but if I hear "You Can Call Me Al" one more time, you can call me a maniac because I'm going to go on a killing spree. However, I was struck by his new song, "How Can You Live in the Northeast?" I couldn't believe it was him, because it was straightforward, brooding and simple, and curiously devoid of a roomful of South African chanting singers. Okay, maybe I'm being hard on him. Good song.

The Killers new song, When You Were Young, sounds like a trainwreck; it's just not very catchy, his voice is grating after about 30 seconds, and the song just dies right in the middle. I predict they're going to have a tough sophomore slump with Sam's Town (isn't that a warehouse club, like CostCo?).

Oh, and Interpol almost broke up, they don't run a MySpace site, and Carlos D (bassist, keyboard arrangements) almost joined Trail of Dead (he's quoted as saying: "I needed something more musical, something that didn't sound exactly like a modern day, well-produced Joy Division rip-off") . . . but never mind because none of that happened. They're happy and living in NYC (or moving to NJ?), and working on their 3rd album.