A Shock to the New Muse Album

• Muse has announced that their much anticipated new album will be released worldwide on July 3rd, while those in North America will have to wait a little longer. Drummer Dominic Howard has been quoted as saying that "the diversity of the album and some of the directions we've discovered and gone for might shock (our fans) in some way".
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• Sub Pop artist The Shins were originally expecting to get their third album on the record store shelves this summer. However, the timeline for release has now changed for the yet to be titled album. You can hopefully see signs of it in October 2006.
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• Seattle's own Pretty Girls Make Graves will be hitting the road starting April 26th in Portland, Oregon to begin promoting their new album "Elan Vital". It will be available starting April 11th (April 3rd for those in Europe). Giant Drag and various other guests will be supporting the quintet across the United States. There has yet to be an announcement if they will make a trip north of the boarder to Canada on the same tour. Their first single off the album called "The Nocturnal House" can be heard on the Matador Records website - :: here ::

Cash For Cadillac

• Even those who are not big fans of country music, must will admit that the legendary Johnny Cash was an exception. He captured the ears of people around the world and yes, even those who did not enjoy stereo typical country music. Some of these fans will be in Palm Beach, Florida tomorrow for a once in a lifetime opportunity. On March 31, 2006 a 1975 Cadillac Fleetwood, which was once owned by Johnny Cash, will be auctioned off. Its in great shape and you won't find this in your local Autotrader magazine.
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• The latest OK GO album "Oh No" is Tops in America this week (the Yeah Yeah Yeahs new album "Show Your Bones" was next on the list). They even took some time out of their touring schedule for an interview in "Emmit's Top Ten Questions for Damian Kulash"
  
• Happy Birthday to the woman that brought us "Fast Cars" - Tracy Chapman. Born in Cleveland, Ohio on this day in 1964, Tracy has had a productive career releasing seven studio albums since 1988. Her latest album entitled "Where You Live" has been in stores since September 13, 2005. This summer you might catch her in a city near you during her tour which starts on June 13th in Bristol, England.

Yeah Yeah Show Your Bones

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs from New York released their second Interscope Records album (third full CD), "Show Your Bones" today in North America (Release yesterday in the UK). Singer Karen O discribes the album name as "what happens when you put your finger in a light socket".

:: PopMatters (March 27, 2006) - "It's almost too good an album to be true." :: Pitchfork (March 27, 2006) - "...the album sounds guarded, with very little danger and too few moments of real urgency." :: The Village Voice (March 26, 2006) - "The Yeahs have circled back, in some ways, to their beginnings..." :: Rolling Stone (March 20, 2006) - "This album is, above all, a textural triumph, a quantum bounce..." :: The Observer (March 19, 2006) - "...is testament to the wisdom of waiting until you're good and ready." .

Scotlands pride and joy Franz Ferdinand has announced that they will be giving their fans a free copy of their next released single "Swallow Smile". Don't get too excited at this point as the free single is only for those in the Franz Ferdinand fan club as a special thanks for all their support. :: more ::

DJ Shadow fans should be preparing themselves for something "very different" from his next album. You can get a taste of his next release by previewing the track '3 Freaks' off the DJShadow website. Sometimes change is good. :: more ::

Happy Birthday to Perry Farrell, the frontman for the rock bands Psi-com, Jane's Addiction and Porno for Pyros. He was born born under the surname Bernstein in NewYork City on this date in 1959 (making him 47 years old). Along with band mates Ted Gardener and Marc Geiger he created the Lollapalooza festival as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction - it was a successful travelling festival until 1997. I personal had the pleasure to enjoy the festival in 1994 and 1995 in Toronto (Barrie) and will remember it forever (or until I lose my mind).

Save the Seals!!

Neko Case will be taping an episode of a new TV series called Beautiful Noise in Toronto on Monday April 3rd at the Berkeley Church and you can be a part of it. Could this be a new television series where Neko meets Neil Diamond? :: more :: Happy 45th Birthday to Rupert Greenall (photo) of The Fixx. After twenty-three albums the group is still playing strong and touring like a fresh teenage band straight out of the basement of their parents suburban home. Next stop, the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando, FL on March 30th. :: more ::

Embrace will be recording the official England World Cup song "World At Your Feet". They beat out bands such as Kaiser Chiefs to obtain the rights to record the track. This could prove to be a big stepping stone for Embrace, following in the foot steps of bands like New Order and The Spice Girls who have previously ventured down this same path. :: more ::

Morrissey fans across Canada just received or will soon receive a big disappointment in their latest fan club news letter. According to this official website(www.morrisseymusic.com) he will not be visiting Canada on his latest world tour. This is in protest of Canada's "barbaric slaughter of over 325,000 baby seals" :: more ::

Welcome to Spot the Music

As the red ribbon is cut and the doors open to the Spot the Music blog site the intention is to open with a bang. Go big or get off the blog idea? If that is the objective on day 1 then I would have to open where my journey began, about 25 years ago. Finding a small pin on the street as a young adolescent I thought I found pure treasure and I secured as such in my secret shoe box under my bed. As the days past and the seasons changed I ultimately forgot all about that little treasure buried in my room.

Years later I rediscovered my hidden treasure and found it to be just as much of a gift the second time around. During the time between sightings I started my trip down the music path with an obsession for one band - U2. I still remember purchasing The Joshua Tree cassette tape when I was only 11 years old in 1987 and playing it over and over again in my walkman until all the printing on the tape was erased. To this day I still truly believe that this was the best album my ears have ever had the pleasure of listening to and was the spark to my avid music interest.

This is where we attempt to make this point into a something worthwhile rather then a personal blog about my musical journey through life. Today has me referencing to the U2 album The Joshua Tree because it was 19 years ago to this very day that they stopped traffic in Los Angeles when they were shooting a performance on top of an office building for the video Where the Streets Have No Name (track 1 on the album). The simple concept of a band playing on top of an office building is nothing new or very exciting to keep the eye of the common video watching but when you do it without a permit in download Los Angeles it makes for an interesting situation. At least it was a big step up from a typical band playing their song in a studio one a very limited budget.

I still catch myself looking at the pin from time to time wondering if it was fate that it came into my possession. That pin, was a pin I discovered in 1981 for the U2 album Boy - one of the most influential early albums for many of the bands you hear today.