Photo: Strauss/WireImage

Iggy Pop is the coolest motherfucker ever. Yesterday, he released a killer album called Preliminaires, and we rang him up at his pad down in the Cayman Islands.  

"Did you ever spend time in the real life smoking section in the airplane?" was the first thing he said to us. "It was cool, right? Whenever I see your little logo, I always remember how the ashtrays used to look."

We're flattered!

After melting faces on 2007's Stooges reunion album and tour, Iggy is heading in a completely different direction with Preliminaires, a collection of moody ballads. The disc is inspired by French writer Michel Houellebecq's The Possibility of Island. "I would describe it as a 'fucking good read,'" Iggy told us of the post-apocalyptic story of a man and his dog. "It was thought-provoking, it had soul, and it spoke to me."

In 2007, Pop was commissioned to write a few mellower songs for a documentary about Houellebecq. Working in solitude -- "I have a basic hatred of producers, products and being produced," he says -- Pop ended up with enough material for an entire record.

Iggy's a national hero in France, and he croons en francais on the standard "Les Feuilles Mortes" ("Autumn Leaves"). Says Iggy, "Finally, I can say, 'Thank God for that junior-high French class.'"

In other Pop news, Iggy has said the Stooges are talking about playing shows to celebrate the 1973 masterpiece, Raw Power. Founding guitarist Ron Asheton died in January, so the idea is contingent on the return of ex-strummer James Williamson. "We've been talking," Iggy says. "It would have to involve James."

Check out "King of the Dogs," off Preliminaires, below, and click the jump for our full interview with Pop.

Iggy Pop - "King of the Dogs"

(more...)

Photo: Loud/FilmMagic

So we're a little late to the party -- the record came out in April -- but we've seriously been digging Yonder is the Clock, the newest effort from mountain boys the Felice Brothers.

The Felice Brothers are made up of brothers Ian (vocals and guitar), James (accordion, piano, vocals) and Simone Felice (percussion, vocals) and family friends Christmas (bass) and Farley (fiddle). They've been playing music together for years, starting at backyard BBQs in upstate New York before moving to Brooklyn to try their hand at busking in the streets and subway stations.

The Bros have been a staple at folk and jam festivals over the past few years and are about to embark on an extensive tour across the country. "We're looking forward to heading out west, it's always fun," James Felice tells us. "Touring with my brothers and close friends, it's pretty laid back. Every now and then there's a moment of violence, but it's very few and far between. And now we have XM radio so we can listen to Yankee games while we're on the road."

Onstage, the Felice Brothers ar super-high energy. There's a story about the brothers playing at the 2008 Newport Folk Festival during a wicked thunderstorm. The power was cut, so the guys jumped off stage and played an impromptu acoustic gig in the mud with their fans. "That energy came about when we started playing in the streets and in the subways," James says. "We just had to be as loud and obnoxious as possible to get people's attention. To play in a dour sort of way, especially our music, would be ridiculous."

Check out two tracks below, "Penn Station," which James tells us he wrote about architect Louis Kahn, and "Run Chicken Run," which is "just a wacky, fucked up tune."

The Felice Brothers - "Penn Station"

The Felice Brothers - "Run Chicken Run"

Photo: Caulfied/WireImage(Dylan), Hill/FilmMagic(Coldplay), Sung-Jun/Getty(Strokes)

We are still recovering from our crazy Memorial Day weekend.

Photo: Mazur/WireImage

Green Day's eighth studio album, 21st Century Breakdown, has topped charts across the globe.

A few days ago we chatted with drummer Tre Cool about their crazy week in New York City, which included SNL with Will Ferrell, club gigs at Bowery Ballroom and Mercury Lounge, and their massive summer tour featuring opening acts Franz Ferdinand, the Rapture and Kaiser Chiefs. Check out the tour dates here. And there's even more Green Day Q&As here: Tre Cool, Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt.

On SNL:

"It was the last show of the season, so everybody came out. Will Ferrell was the host, Tom Hanks did one skit, Amy Poehler, Norm MacDonald and Anne Hathaway of all people! After we did the show, we waved bye and hugged each other, the credits rolled and it it cut to commercial. Then the producer said to us, 'Hey, if you guys want to jump on your equipment and play some more songs, we can make this a little show.' So we jumped on and played a couple more songs, and of course, here comes Will Ferrell with a freakin' cowbell, and we're doing "East Jesus Nowhere," which has some pretty complicated starts and stops, and he'd never heard it, so he was kind of a deer in headlights up there. It was great.

"At the afterparty, we were standing on the ice rink in Rockefeller Center where the ice usually is, and there was about an inch or so of water, and it was cool to see all these dudes in their new sneakers and chicks in their rad  $400 Manolo shoes just cruising around in two inches of water and not giving a fuck. There were people dancing and Will Ferrell showed up in a Gucci jumpsuit with gold chains and money rings and shit, and it was pretty wild."

On Club Shows:

"We rocked Bowery Ballroom really fucking hard. That place, that's holy ground, man. That's a holy place. All of the cool bands that have gone through there, all the kickass shows, all the carrying on that has come as a result of that place's existence.

"Webster Hall is pretty awesome, too. Both places felt like they were going to cave in. We actually have footage of Webster Hall -- the ceiling is buckling and nearly collapsing. It was moving like a foot up and down. It was basically a giant wooden trampoline with a thousand people jumping up and down.

"Oh man, and we feed off of that fun and energy, especially now that the album's out. It seems like most of the kids know the words. Billie can stick his arm out into the audience with a microphone and they'll sing the lyrics for him."

On the Tour:

"We'll be going at it full force starting in Seattle in July.  We wanted to get supporting bands that we actually like. The first leg of the tour is the Bravery. I've bought two Bravery records, and I'm a fan of that band so we suggested them and they were available. They'll be with us for two weeks. Then we've got Franz Ferdinand, who's going to come for another two weeks another band that we really like. If I was a concertgoer and I got to see Franz and then Green Day, I'd need a new pair of panties. And then we have the Kaiser Chiefs. It's debatable who's better of those two bands. They both kick ass in their own special way. It's a real treat!

"It's tough competition, but we always step it up. We're not worried, we'll play after anybody. We're Green Day, dude."

McLovins - "Purple Trees" [Video:Eric Helton/Alex Tirpack; Editing by Eric Helton]

A few months ago we told you about the McLovins -- a trio of Connecticut kids who have managed to harness the musical ferocity of Trey Anastasio, Les Claypool and Stewart Copeland before being able to legally drive a car.

The McLovins are drummer Jake Huffman, 16, bassist Jason Ott, 15, and guitarist Jeff Howard, 14. Don't let their age fool you though, these kids wail. In fact, we were so impressed we invited them (and their parents, of course) to S.S. headquarters to hang out and play a few tunes for us. 

Jake and Jeff met at a jazz camp in Connecticut last summer. A week later they hooked up with Jason and they've been jamming ever since, starting with Phish and Meters covers before writing originals. "We're definitely influenced by a lot of jam bands," Jake says. "But my primary focus had always been jazz. Moving from jazz to rock, well, jam-rock seems to be a nice transition."

Jeff, though, has a soft spot for metal. "I was into a lot of heavy guitar shredding, metal, that sort of thing," he says. "It's influenced me a lot. But jamming is just so much fun."

Check out "Purple Trees" above, and click the jump for "Din" and "Guillotine Machine" -- all original tunes. Also, Look for a McLovins album this summer, and make sure you catch them at the Gathering of the Vibes festival or at one of their upcoming gigs. 

UPDATE: LOVIN' the McLovins? Send an email telling us why. The best entry gets an autographed Rolling Stone t-shirt AND an McLovins t-shirt too! 

(more...)

Photo: Strauss/WireImage

Yesterday we rang up our drinking buddy Kid Rock at the adult amusement park he calls home, near Detroit. We called to congratulate Rock for selling out all 35,000 seats of Comerica Park -- home of the Detroit Tigers -- in less than thirty minutes! Tickets went so fast for the July 17th hometown show that they added another night. “We try to do a lot of stuff to make it so everybody can come out,” he says. “The most important thing is keeping tickets right. Not to get greedy.” Those gigs are part of a huge Summer tour of the U.S.    

(more...)

On Tuesday night we were watching the Mets game, dreaming about when we'd make our first trip out to their new CitiField stadium in Queens, when we got a text from the Strokes' Julian Casablancas -- a fellow Met lover -- inviting us to Wednesday's series-opener against the Phillies.

We are getting pretty psyched up for DylanFest '09. It's two weeks from today!

Rehearsals have been amazing, and we hope to see y'all there. (Yes, the show's sold out, but stay tuned to the S.S. for a chance to score some tix.)

And for the third DylanFest in a row, we'll be serenaded by the lovely and talented duo, the Pierces.

Please check out their awesome new video for "Turn On Billie," below.

We love them very much. 

Elvis Perkins In Dearland - "Shampoo" 

[Video: Pete Maiden/Eric Helton; Editing by Pete Maiden]

We were beyond stoked to have folk singer Elvis Perkins and his band, Dearland, swing by S.S. headquarters to play us a killer version of "Shampoo" from their March release, Elvis Perkins In Dearland. The album is truly amazing.

Behind Perkins is Brigham Brough on bass, Wyndham Boylan-Garnett on harmonium and Nick Kinsey on drums.

Elvis Perkins in Dearland (as they are known) are currently on tour, so if you like what you hear, make sure you check out their tour dates and ticket info here. Also, they'll be playing the Newport Folk Festival 50 in Rhode Island this August alongside acts such as Pete Seeger, Fleet Foxes, Arlo Guthrie, Deer Tick, Tom Morello and more.  

Ben Harper & Relentless 7 - "Shimmer & Shine" [Video: Pete Maiden/Tim Tregonig; Editing by Pete Maiden]

(more...)