For Those About To Rock

This Week, Nick Would Buy ... #95

AC/DC, Backtracks (Columbia)

Australia's kings of sleazy rock cobble together a box set of rarities spanning the group's entire career.

The standard edition is two discs and a DVD, Family Jewels 3. The first disc is studio cuts, cribbing some of the band's early, Australia-only cuts with Bon Scott, as well as "Big Gun" from the "Last Action Hero" soundtrack. Disc two is a collection of live cuts, spanning from 1977-2000. Family Jewels 3 culls videos from the Ballbreaker, Stiff Upper Lip and Black Ice records, picking up where other Family Jewels installments left off.

The set is also available in a deluxe edition (pictured), which houses all the aforementioned content with an additional disc of assorted live cuts and a bonus DVD from a 2003 gig in Munich, Germany, inside a working guitar amp.

If you're not a fan, this set seems unlikely to covert you, but for the converted and the diehards, this seems fairly essential.

The box is AC/DC's first box set since 1997's Bonfire.

If I Were Really Rich ...
— Tori Amos, Midwinter Graces (Universal Republic) | Seasonal record is the American songstress' 11th studio record and second this year.
— Jerry Garcia, The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 2: Let it Rock (Grateful Dead/WEA) | Captures a two-night stint in the '70s at Keystone Berkeley by the late Grateful Dead co-founder.

Also New This Week
— Anthrax, Among the Living (Island)
— Anthrax, Caught in a Mosh: BBC Live in Concert (Island)
— Asobi Seksu, Rewolf (Polyvinyl)
— Bon Jovi, The Circle (Island)
— Crooked I, Mr. Pigface Weapon Waist (Gracie)
— Brian Culbertson, Live From The Inside (Verve)
— Dashboard Confessional, Alter the Ending (UMG)
— Ray Davies, The Kinks Choral Collection (Decca)
— Echo and the Bunnymen, The Fountain (Ocean Tours)
— Melanie Fiona, The Bridge (UMG)
— Ella Fitzgerald, Twelve Nights in Hollywood [Box set] (Hip-O Select)
— Flyleaf, Memento Mori (A&M/Octone)
— Robyn Hitchcock, I Often Dream of Trains in New York (Yep Roc)
— Jackson 5, I Want You Back! Unreleased Masters (Motown)
— Wyclef Jean, From the Hut, To the Projects, To the Mansion (R.E.D.)
— Katatonia, Night is the New Day (Peaceville UK)
— The Killers, Live at the Royal Albert Hall (Island)
— King Crimson, In the Court of the Crimson King [Deluxe reissue] (Discipline Us)
— Jason Mraz, Jason Mraz's Beautiful Mess — Live on Earth (Atlantic)
— Kings of Leon, Live at the O2 London [DVD] (RCA)
— Heather Masse, Bird Song (Red House)
— Merzbow, 13 Japanese Birds, Vol. 11 (Important)
— Dolly Parton, Live From London (Dolly)
— Puscifer, "C" is for (Please Insert Sophomoric Genitalia Reference HERE) [Digital EP] (Puscifer)
— The Rolling Stones, Flashpoint [Reissue] (UME)
— The Rolling Stones, Live Licks [Reissue] (UME)
— The Rolling Stones, Love You Live [Reissue] (UME)
— The Rolling Stones, Still Life [Reissue] (UME)
— The Rolling Stones, Stripped [Reissue] (UME)
— Alejandro Sanz, Paraiso Express (WEA Int'l)
— Snow Patrol, Up to Now (Geffen)
— Soundtrack, 2012 (RCA)
— Britney Spears, The Singles Collection (Jive/Sony)
— Switchfoot, Hello Hurricane (Atlantic)
— Throwdown, Deathless (E1)
— Traum, Mad Dreamz (Masta Mix)
— The Tubes, Mondo Birthmark (Fuel 2000)
— Various artists, Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of Guns N' Roses (Baby Rock)
— Wale, Attention Deficit (Interscope/Allido)
— Within Temptation, An Acoustic Night at the Theatre [Import] (101)

This Week, Nick Would Buy ... #94

Julian Casablancas, Phrazes for the Young (Cult Records)

The Strokes' lead singer delivers his first solo platter, his first full-length studio effort of any kind since the New York garage rock revivalists 2006 effort First Impressions of Earth.

While that record yielded "Juicebox," the band's highest-charting single to date in the UK, it was the first Strokes record not to achieve gold status in the United States. It's an opportunity for Casablancas to forge an identity separate from The Strokes.

While his primary group is on an unofficial hiatus, Casablancas has taken time to make this record, which includes work from Bright Eyes/Monsters of Folk multi-instrumentalist Mike Mogis.

The record is Casablancas' first solo record and his first for RCA imprint Cult Records.

If I Were Really Rich ...
— Gift of Gab, Escape 2 Mars (Cornerstone) | A member of the Quannum crew and a UC Davis graduate drops his first solo record since 2004's 4th Dimensional Rocketships Going Up.
— Nirvana, Live at Reading (Geffen) | Long considered one of Nirvana's finest shows, this long-bootlegged performance in England comes in both DVD and CD platforms.
— Weezer, Raditude (Geffen) | With a title suggested by none less than Dwight K. Schrute, Rivers Cuomo pens songs with Butch Walker and Jermaine Dupri on the group's seventh LP.

Also New This Week
— Amerie, In Love and War (Feenix Rising/Def Jam)
— The Almost, Monster Monster (Tooth & Nail)
— Bat for Lashes, Two Suns [Special edition] (Astralwerks)
— Bee Gees, Ultimate Bee Gees [2CD/1DVD] (Rhino)
— Andrea Bocelli, My Christmas (Philips)
— Steven Curtis Chapman, Beauty Will Rise (Sparrow)
— Citay, Remixes LP (Dead Oceans)
— Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Singles Collection [2CD/1DVD] (Fantasy)
— Epica, Design Your Universe (Nuclear Blast)
— Felix, You Are the One I Pick (Kranky)
— John Fogerty, Comin' Down the Road: The Concert at Royal Albert Hall [DVD] (Verve Forecast)
— Foo Fighters, Foo Fighters Greatest Hits (Roswell/RCA)
— Gov't Mule, By a Thread (Evil Teen)
— Kathy Griffin, Suckin' It for the Holidays (Music With a Twist)
— Guided by Voices, Suitcase 3: Up We Go Now (Guided By Voices Inc.)
— Half-Handed Cloud, Cut Me Down and Count My Rings (Asthmatic Kitty)
— Halford, Halford III: Winter Songs (Metal God)
— Jookabox, Dead Zone Boys (Asthmatic Kitty)
— Vera Lynn, We'll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn (Decca)
— Morrissey, Swords (Polydor)
— Neutral Milk Hotel, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea [Vinyl reissue] (Merge)
— Neutral Milk Hotel, On Avery Island [Vinyl reissue] (Merge)
— Nile, Those Whom the Gods Detest (Nuclear Blast)
— Nirvana, Bleach [20th anniversary deluxe edition remaster] (Sub Pop)
— REO Speedwagon, Not So Silent Night (Sony)
— The Rolling Stones, Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out [Deluxe edition box set] (ABKCO)
— Say Anything, Say Anything (RCA)
— Shadow Gallery, Digital Ghosts (Inside Out)
— Shwayze, Let it Beat (Geffen)
— Frank Sinatra, Sinatra [4CD/1DVD] (Rhino)
— Slayer, World Painted Blood (Sony)
— Soundtrack, Glee: The Music, Vol. 1 (Sony)
— Soundtrack, NCIS: The Official Soundtrack, Vol. 2 (CBS)
— Straight No Chaser, Christmas Cheers (Atlantic)
— Carrie Underwood, Play On (Sony)
— Various artists, Now That's What I Call Music, Vol. 32 (Sony Legacy)
— Various artists, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Live [DVD] (Time Life)
— Various artists, The Village: A Celebration of the Music of Greenwich Village (Roc-a-Fella)
— Hank Williams, Revealed [Box set] (Time Life)

This Week, Nick Would Buy ... #93

Devendra Banhart, What Will We Be (Warner Bros.)

Perhaps best known for being Natalie Portman's long-haired, unshaven, on-again/off-again boyfriend, What Will We Be marks the major label debut release from Houston-born freak folk rocker Devendra Banhart.

The conceit is that artists sell out when they go to a major label, but my hope is that Banhart continues to grow and Warner Bros. adding him to the artist roster is just the next step in a gradual development. His last, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon was a standout platter from 2007, including the overlooked gem "Seahorse."

Smokey was Banhart's seventh album. He's developed a strong underground following in the indie scene throughout the last decade, but pushing the quaver-voiced, English/Spanish-speaking, self-described "naturalismo" artist on a big-time label is still a bit of a gamble.

It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. What Will Be is Banhart's eighth album and his first for Warner Bros.

If I Were Really Rich ...
— Creed, Full Circle (Wind-up) | The first platter in eight years from reunited Florida rockers.
— Pyramids with Nadja, Pyramids with Nadja (Hydra Head) | Pyramids was a post-apocalyptic, atmospheric bit of weirdness that was one of last year's most intriguing outputs. This effort adds Toronto drone metal duo Nadja to the experiment.
— R.E.M., Live at The Olympia (Warner Bros.) | Double-disc, single-DVD package returns Georgia rockers to location where they recorded 2007's R.E.M. Live. Includes Vincent Moon's This is Not a Show companion film.
— Wolfmother, Cosmic Egg (Interscope) | Changes in lineup for the Grammy-winning group that spawned "Woman."

Also New This Week
— Atreyu, Congregation of the Damned (Hollywood)
— Danny Barnes, Pizza Box (ATO)
— Between the Buried and Me, The Great Misdirect (Victory)
— The Blind Boys of Alabama, Duets (Time Life Ent.)
— Mariah Carey, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel [Collectors edition box set] (Island)
— Cartel, Cycles (Wind-up)
— Editors, In This Light and on This Evening [Import] (101)
— Hollywood Undead, Desperate Measures (Octone)
— Fela Kuti, The Best of the Black President [Deluxe edition reissue] (R.E.D.)
— Michael Jackson, This Is It [2CD] (Sony)
— B.B. King, Freddie King, Albert King and Earl King, The Four Kings of Blues Guitar (Great American)
— Sean Lennon, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Undead (Chimera)
— Lightning Bolt, Earthly Delights (Load)
— Brian McKnight, Evolution of a Man (Koch)
— Merzbow, 13 Japanese Birds, Vol. 1 (Important)
— Morningwood, Diamonds and Studs (Morningwood)
— John Nolan, Height (Doghouse)
— Pelican, What We All Come to Need (Southern Lord)
— Pink Martini, Splendor in the Grass (Heinz)
— The Rocket Summer, You Gotta Believe [EP] (Island)
— Kenny Rogers, The Greatest Duets (Time Life Ent.)
— Rod Stewart, Soulbook (J)
— Stephen Stills, Live at Shepherd's Bush [CD/DVD] (Rhino)
— Sting, If on a Winter's Night (Deutsche Grammophon)
— The Swell Season, Strict Joy (Anti)
— Swollen Members, Armed to the Teeth (Suburban Noize)
— Tech N9ne, K.O.D. (Strange Music)
— Tegan and Sara, Sainthood (Sire/WEA)
— 3, Revisions (Metal Blade)
— U2, The Unforgettable Fire [Super deluxe edition reissue] (Mercury)
— W.A.S.P., Babylon [Import] (Demolition)
— Winger, Karma (Frontiers)
— "Weird Al" Yankovic, The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic [2CD] (Sony Legacy)

U2 Webcast

For U2 fans, tonight's gig at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena is going to be Web cast on YouTube.com. Though it's not the video service's first live Web Cast, it is the first to be unrestricted regionally, meaning any visitor to YouTube regardless of their location should be able to watch.

The sold-out gig will bring 96,000 to the Rose Bowl for their "U2 360° Tour," which is designed to make any place in a venue feel like the front row.

Picture this: The marriage of music and film

In the latest picture by Joel and Ethan Coen, "A Serious Man," Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody to Love" delivers a metaphorical punch.

I'll save all the juicy details for anyone interested in seeing it for themselves.

But come to think of it, "Somebody to Love" is a musical linchpin in a few films: Haven't we all had nightmares about Jim Carrey's "Cable Guy" singing it?

It also features in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," a picture which hangs another key scene on a iconic Airplane standard, "White Rabbit."

That's the magical marriage of film and music.

Just the sound of a song can instantly call to mind a picture to which its been attached.

I could make a list five miles long of great links between the two, so I'll use only a handful to make my case:

• Stealers Wheel's "Stuck in the Middle With You," complete with the gruesome scene from "Reservoir Dogs."

• The final, painful moments of "The Graduate," wherein Dustin Hoffman and Katharine Ross' characters face an uncertain future together to Simon and Garfunkel's apropos "The Sound of Silence."

• Katrina and the Waves' "Walking on Sunshine" as Jack Black maniacally whirls around the record store like a spun top in "High Fidelity."

I've always been fascinated by moments like these and associative power of our minds when it comes to music and movies.

Of course, different pairings can mean different things.

To some, The Trashmen's "Surfin' Bird" is a reminder of Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket," in which camera operators wheel past lines of entrenched soldiers.

The younger among us probably recognize the tune for its nauseating repetition in the "Family Guy" episode when Peter Griffin secures a copy of the record and plays it. And plays it. And plays it. And plays it. And, in typical "Family Guy" fashion, where it's not enough to whip a dead horse, but its necessary to tar it, feather it, draw it, quarter it, stone it, shoot it, hang it and lethally inject it, he plays it a few dozen more times.

Beyond everybody knowing the bird is, in fact, the word, I'm not even talking about pieces composed specifically for a film, although those can be even more indelible. With just nine notes, I can make you think of Darth Vader, for example.

So why is the connective tissue between music and film so strong?

I think it's about the wonderful vehicle film gives music.

Tracks never come without visuals. It's part and parcel. If you buy a record, there's album art. It's part of a whole package about how the artist wants you to see and interpret his or her record. Go to a concert and there can be lights, pyrotechnics, video screens and more.

On the other hand, some operate with nothing more earnest than a stool and a microphone.

Music does not exist in a vacuum devoid of visual stimulation. It practically requires imagery.

Sight alone is a mighty power, so mixing the two together becomes intense.

It's a gift the Coen brothers know and employ frequently in their films. It's a pretty common trait for the directing duo to merge film and music. How choice is "The Man in Me" for the opening credits of "The Big Lebowski?" Or the prominent, life-saving role traditional folk song "Man of Constant Sorrow" plays in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"

When it's done well, as the Coen brothers know, the connection between film and music can be a lasting pairing you can never shake.

This Week, Nick Would Buy ... #92

The Roots' How I Got Over was scheduled for release today, but a tweet on ?uestlove's Twitter yesterday simply stated "how i got over: 2010." In light of that information ...

Flight of the Conchords, I Told You I Was Freaky (Sub Pop)

The second season of HBO's musical sitcom wasn't quite as hilarious as the first, but that didn't mean it wasn't humorous at all.

There were some great moments — namely the episode featuring Art Garfunkel — but musically, there were a few more misfires.

Sure, "Angels" was childish, but how unfair is it to criticize a song as juvenile and pointless in a catalog that includes songs about robots taking over the world 10 years ago ("Robots"), women checking out a man's nether regions ("Sugalumps"), and, of course, "David Bowie"?

This season included such choice nuggets as "Sugalumps," the Emmy-nominated "Carol Brown," and the funky lead single, "Hurt Feelings."

This platter culls cuts from the show's second season, many of which were already released in a single-of-the-week format via iTunes.

Freaky is the Conchords second studio album for Sub Pop.

If I Were Really Rich
— Rosanne Cash, The List (Manhattan) | The Man in Black's daughter teams up with The Boss, Elvis Costello, Rufus Wainwright and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy on a collection of country covers.
— Dark Meat, Truce Opium (Emergency Umbrella) | Twenty-plus member Georgia indie rock outfit issues its second LP.
— Julian Casablancas, Phrazes for the Young (RCA) | First solo slab from The Strokes leading man. (Coming 11/3)
— Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar, One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur (Atlantic) | Singers from Death Cab for Cutie and Son Volt/Uncle Tupelo make an unlikely pair for this first effort, a soundtrack to a film about Jack Kerouac's time in Big Sur.

Also New This Week
— Assemblage 23, Compass (Metropolis)
— Bauhaus, In the Flat Field [Deluxe] (Beggar's Banquet)
— Bauhaus, Mask [Deluxe] (Beggar's Banquet)
— Kate Baldwin, Let's See What Happens (PS Classics)
— Basshunter, Basshunter (Ultra)
— Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, The Audacity of Hype (Alternative Tentacles)
— Bomshel, Fight Like a Girl (Curb)
— Peter Bradley Adams, Traces (Sarathan)
— Sam Bush, Circles Around Me (Sugarhill)
— Liz Callaway, Passage of Time (P.S. Classics)
— The Carpenters, 40/40 (A&M)
— Terri Clark, The Long Way Home (Capitol)
— Leonard Cohen, Live at the Isle of Wight [CD/DVD] (Sony Legacy)
— Converge, Axe to Fall (Epitaph)
— The Cult, Love [Deluxe edition] (Beggars Banquet)
— DJ Tiësto, Kaleidoscope (Ultra)
— Doveman, The Conformist (Brassland)
— Electric Six, Kill (Metropolis)
— Elvis Perkins in Dearland, The Doomsday EP (XL)
— Flo and Eddie, New York "Times" (Manifesto)
— Florence and the Machine, Lungs (Island)
— Fu Manchu, Signs of Infinite Power (Century Media)
— F--- Buttons, Tarot Sport (ATP)
— Get Back Guinozzi!, Carpet Madness (FatCat)
— Jethro Tull, Live at Madison Square Garden (Chrysalis)
— King Crimson, Red [Reissue] (Discipline)
— Kings of Convenience, Declaration of Dependence (Virgin)
— Kutless, It is Well (Bec/EMD)
— Lyle Lovett, Natural Forces (Universal Nashville)
— Rebecca Luker, Greenwich Time (P.S. Classics)
— Tim McGraw, Southern Voice (Curb)
— Loreena McKennitt, A Mediterranean Odyssey [2CD] (Quinlan Road)
— Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Summer of Fear (Saddle Creek)
— Coco Montoya, The Essential Coco Montoya (Blind Pig)
— Old Canes, Feral Harmonic (Saddle Creek)
— Sandi Patty, Christmas Live [CD/DVD] (13Star)
— The Pixies, Minotaur [Limited edition box set] (Artist in Residence)
— Rakim, 7th Seal (SMC)
— Rammstein, Liebe ist für alle da (Vagrant)
— Royce da 5'9", Street Hop (M.I.C., One)
— Russian Circles, Geneva (Suicide Squeeze)
— Scar Symmetry, Dark Matter Dimensions (Nuclear Blast)
— Timothy B. Schmit, Expando (Lost Highway)
— Shrinebuilder, Shrinebuilder (Neurot)
— Snow Patrol, Late Night Tales (Azuli)
— Spiral Stairs, The Real Feel (Matador)
— Sufjan Stevens, The BQE [CD/DVD] (Asthmatic Kitty)
— Various artists, Michael Jackson: The Remix Suite (Motown)
— The Whispers, Thankful (Kingdom)

This Week, Nick Would Buy ... #91

The Flaming Lips, Embryonic (Warner Bros.)

Oklahoma City's most famous psychedelic rock act unleashes its first double album, the ambitious Embryonic.

Their first studio record since 2006's At War With the Mystics and first work since last year's Christmas on Mars film/soundtrack project finds the Lips treading the familiar spacey rock they've favored since 1999's The Soft Bulletin. It's a formula that has made the band more successful than ever.

The late-career change in direction goes hand-in-hand with a long-standing Lips tradition, which is being creatively ambitious. Although Embryonic's 70 minutes of music could easily fit all on one disc — and much like Ryan Adams' Cold Roses or Wilco's Being There, I wonder why this is done — for the Lips, it's perfectly in keeping with their drive. They try things like a film/soundtrack about the first birth on Mars or 1997's Zaireeka, which is a four-CD package in which the quartet of platters are made to be played simultaneously.

Embryonic is the Lips 12th studio album and ninth for Warner Bros.

Catch the Lips in action this Sunday at the Treasure Island Music Festival in San Francisco.

If I Were Really Rich
— Bob Dylan, Christmas in the Heart (Columbia) | Holiday record and 34th studio album from rock legend raises money for Feeding America.
— Soundtrack, The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Chop Shop/Atlantic) | Death Cab for Cutie, Radiohead's Thom Yorke, The Killers, Bon Iver, and San Francisco's Black Rebel Motorcycle Club highlight a strong lineup to the soundtrack for the vampire serial film sequel.

Also New This Week
— Gregg Allman, The Solo Years, 1973-1997: One More Silver Dollar (Raven)
— David Archuleta, Christmas From the Heart (Jive)
— Joan Baez, How Sweet the Sound [CD/DVD] (Razor & Tie)
— Bowling for Soup, Sorry for Partyin' (Jive)
— Jack Bruce & Robin Trower, Seven Moons Live (Ruf)
— Dead by Sunrise, Out of Ashes (WEA/Reprise)
— Del the Funky Homosapien and Tame One, Parallel Uni-Verse (Gold Dust)
— Neil Diamond, A Cherry, Cherry Christmas (Columbia)
— Echo and the Bunnymen, The Fountain (Ocean Rain) (Coming 11/10)
— Linda Eder, Soundtrack (Verve)
— Five for Fighting, Slice (Sony)
— Aretha Franklin, This Christmas (Rhino)
— John Gorka, So Dark You See (Red House)
— Grant Lee Phillips, Little Moon (Yep Roc)
— Hall & Oates, Do What You Want, Be What You Are: The Music of Daryl Hall & John Oates [Box set] (Sony Legacy)
— J Dilla, Dillanthology 3 (Rapster)
— Jackson 5, Ultimate Christmas Collection (Motown)
— Kansas, There's No Place Like Home (StarCity)
— King Diamond, The Graveyard [Reissue] (Metal Blade)
— King Diamond, The Spider's Lullabye [Reissue] (Metal Blade)
— Los Lonely Boys, 1969 [EP] (R.E.D.)
— Lynch Mob, Smoke & Mirrors (Self)
— Manheim Steamroller, Christmas: 25th Anniversary Collection (American Gramaphone)
— Barry Manilow, In the Swing of Christmas (Arista)
— Nellie McKay, Normal As Blueberry Pie: A Tribute to Doris Day (Verve)
— James McMurtry, Live in Europe [CD/DVD] (Lightning Rod)
— Daniel O'Donnell, Peace in the Valley (DPTV)
— Linda Ronstadt, Hand Sown ... Home Grown/Silk Purse [Reissue] (Raven)
— Brian Setzer Orchestra, Songs From Lonely Avenue (Surfdog)
— Sugarland, Gold and Green (UMG Nashville)
— Tinariwen, Imidiwan: Companions (World Village)
— Warpaint, Exquisite Corpse [EP] (Manimal Vinyl)
— Andy Williams, Moon River: The Very Best of Andy Williams (Sony Legacy)

Show time: Bob Dylan at Greek Theater, 10.11.09

BERKELEY — Bob Dylan's career is in league with the Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot and el Chupacabra.

He's that rare, elusive beast in rock 'n' roll — a performer who's latter career is nearly as vital and important as its beginning.

About how many musicians, particularly those still lingering from the 1960s and '70s, can that be said?

On a cool night, Dylan finished a two-night stand at the Cal campus by plucking a setlist exclusively from the two greatest periods in his career: the first decade and the last 11 years.

That meant "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" from this year's Together Through Life boogied next to a rearranged "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again." The groovy blues of "High Water (For Charley Patton)" from 2001 preceded a full-band arrangement of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" from 1963.

Whether it was blues or straight-ahead rock, Dylan's band, which features blues guitarist Charlie Sexton for the first time since 2002, was dexterous and complementary.

Dylan was more relaxed and ambitious than on 2006's Modern Times tour, when he was stationery at the keyboard for the entire night.

He still makes little to no attempt to engage the audience, although this time he did split his time between center stage and his keyboard nest.

One of his trips to the front was a rousing "Ballad of a Thin Man," which closed the main set. His voice is little more than a struggling croak at 68, but there's something great about hearing him seethe "something is happening but you don't know what it is, do you, Mister Jones?" at any age.

Additionally, Dylan strapped on a guitar for "High Water" and traded licks with Sexton. The "Love and Theft" cut has sharpened and focused in its live performances, and with Sexton there to egg Dylan on, their interplay was dazzling.

One highlight was another new cut, "Forgetful Heart," on which Dylan's band switched to an acoustic arrangement, including upright bass and a violin.

The spooky arrangement piqued with the lighting, which projected from the front of the stage at Dylan's feet. Projected against the black curtain backdrop was Dylan's 20-foot tall shadow, a large, looming, silhouette with a pork pie hat settled atop.

That symbol — the darkness suggesting mortality from a man who's lucky to have made it this long and is now nearer the end than the beginning, of his legacy as one of the greatest musicians of all time, of the foreboding sense of the song they were playing — was nearly as captivating as the song. Nearly.

He may not sound like he did in his 20s and he may not play his songs the same way, but Dylan's last hurrah is every bit as rich and satisfying.

Camera phone photo by Nick DeCicco

Bad 'Moon' Rising

I've had my stake and garlic at the ready for everything "Twilight"-related.

Perhaps I've been too quick to judge.

When Radiohead's "These Are My Twisted Words" appeared in August, it was suspected it was recorded for the "New Moon" soundtrack, which, naturally, made me go, "What? Really? Seriously? No, stop kidding. This isn't funny. Stop it! I mean it! Really? Damn."

After reading the tracklist recently unveiled, not only was it not a joke, it was bolstered by such indie heavyweights as Grizzly Bear, Bon Iver and Sea Wolf, as well as Death Cab for Cutie and The Killers.

And Radiohead's Thom Yorke.

Really?

This makes me wonder if I should sink my teeth into the series. Perhaps I've underestimated "Twilight."

Whoa!

Hold up!

Hold your horses, Mr. Bond. I'm not going that far!

Guess I lost track of my senses there for a moment.

I'm gonna watch "Twilight?" Yeah, right!

Pigs will fly, a black man will be elected president and win the Nobel Peace Prize, and Bob Dylan will release a Christmas album!

Actually, now that I mention it ...

A Christmas album? Oy vey

Must we really start with the holiday music in October?

Seriously?

Can't we limit that dreck to the period between Black Friday and a week before New Year's Eve?

It's October. We haven't even gotten to Columbus Day or Halloween yet.

On Tuesday, Bob Dylan drops his 34th record, Christmas in the Heart, a collection of holiday songs.

Really?

Dylan? A Christmas album? What's next — Cradle of Filth's collection of Jessica Simpson covers?

Hey, wait a second. Isn't Dylan Jewish?

Or was raised Jewish and then recorded a few records about being a born-again Christian and then ... uh, well ... who knows what he is now? The dude's a chameleon in just about every way one can mean it.

Call me Ebenezer Scrooge or the Grinch all you want, but holiday albums and Christmas songs are the bottom of the artistic barrel.

I'd say it's as bad as novelty music, but, actually, I find novelty songs at least have their kitsch originality. "Barbie Girl," "Because I Got High" and "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" are silly and relatively pointless, but they serve a purpose and have their kitsch originality.

Dylan doesn't need to resort to novelty schlock. He's Bob Dylan. The dude is a living musical legend. He is doing it for charity, which makes me seem like a Scrooge for deriding it.

But Christmas in the Heart could be Christmas in July for all I care.

I love Dylan. I like his distinct voice, which at this age sounds like a rusty piece of sheet metal that was backed over repeatedly by an 18-wheeler then left out in the rain, but I can think of other singers I'd rather hear croak out "Winter Wonderland."

I'm trying really hard to reserve judgment until I hear it, and, as you can read, I'm failing mightily.

At least he's doing it for charity. The proceeds benefit Feeding America and a few other international charities which help feed people in need.

So I guess I shouldn't care what religion he is or was, cos that's a mitzvah either way.