popwreckoning

Bonnaroo X has as announced its lineup with a little help from Conan O’Brien.

The festival is June 9-12, 2011 in Manchester, Tennessee.

As always, the festival is a diverse mix of electronica, jam bands, folk, rock, indie and rap. Among some of the biggest names playing the fest are Eminem, Arcade Fire, Lil Wayne, Widespread Panic, the Strokes, Girl Talk, Neil Young and more. Buffalo Springfield is even reuniting for the fest.

You can watch the lineup announcement video with Conan below or visit Bonnaroo.com for further details.

Having heard of Rooney about eight years ago or so (and being on their mailing list since then), I was intrigued to see them live for the first time. I was a little unsure of what to expect from them exactly, but since Rooney is currently on tour with Hanson to promote their newest release Eureka, I rightfully assumed it would be a fun show. And though the tour has only just started, they’ve already hit major cities such as Buffalo, NY and Philadelphia, PA.

The sold out Philadelphia show Sunday night was very entertaining. Though the majority of the fans were in attendance to see Hanson, Rooney, who happens to be very engaging, had the crowd singing right along with them. Lead singer, Robert Schwartzman, encouraged the crowd to clap along to the beat several times throughout the night. The band impressed me and had very good stage presence. They personalized the show by talking about the Phillies baseball game they attended earlier in the day, and about the storm that delayed the game, drenching the band in the process. At one point, Robert even threw his Phillies baseball cap out into the crowd.

Rooney’s music is very guitar based with the occasional keyboard used in their songs which of course keeps the energy level high throughout the night. They played songs from their newest release Eureka such as “Holding On” and “I Can’t Get Enough.” They even played a cover of “Rockin’ in the Free World” by Neil Young with Robert playing drums and Ned Brower, their drummer, singing lead. Their adaptation stayed true to Neil Young’s version of the song and the crowd seemed to really enjoy it. Overall, Rooney has very upbeat music that encourages the audience to sing and dance along. If you are looking for a good to pop show to see, don’t pass up the opportunity to see Rooney. You won’t be disappointed.

Villagers, the collective name of Irish folk singer/songwriter Conor O’Brien and his band, will be stopping by at several venues this month to promote their debut album, Becoming a Jackal (to be released on June 08 in America). The album was co-produced by O’Brien and Villagers guitarist Tommy McLaughlin. Last year the band supported Neil Young, one of their heroes, and this March they made their first appearances in America in New York and South by Southwest.

You can stream Becoming a Jackal in its entirely on NPR.

Tour Dates
Jun 16 – Knitting Factory / Brooklyn
Jun 17 – Union Hall / Brooklyn
Jun 19 – Armory Cafe Room / Boston
Jun 21 – DC9 / Washington, DC
Jun 22 – Side Chapel @ First Unitarian Church / Philadelphia
Jun 23 – Joe’s Pub / New York City

Villagers: website | myspace

It’s easy to overlook the classics—especially, when at the time of their release, they were never recognized as classics. Over the past ten years there has been a rediscovery of Neil Young’s post-Harvest albums. For whatever reason, Time Fades Away, On The Beach and Tonight’s the Night weren’t as well received as Young’s previous offerings (the re-release history may speak for itself: On the Beach was at least re-released in 2003, Time Fades Away and Tonight’s the Night have yet to receive a re-release. While these albums have become a part of the hipster vernacular they have yet to find a larger audience).

Certainly the material on these albums is darker; and it doesn’t get much darker then “Revolution Blues.” Written from the perspective of Charles Manson the song seemingly follows the mass murderer’s descent into madness, inherent paranoia and obsession with fame and guns. The closing lines of the track go as follows:

Well I hear the Laurel Canyon is full of famous stars/

But I hate them worse them lepers and I’ll kill them in their cars

While much of On the Beach is comprised of slower moving odes to despair, “Revolution Blues” is a march through anger—led by a sort of super group: David Crosby plays rhythm guitar, while Rick Danko and Levon Helm of the Band play bass and drums, respectively. Ben Keith joins in on slide guitar while Neil delivers one of the album’s stronger guitar performances.

The song is haunting in performance and nature but more than anything the song carries a dark sense of humor: suggesting the need to accept the facts and understand their origin.

Take a listen: .“Revolution Blues”