TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2013 (GUARANTEED VAMPIRE WEEKEND-FREE!)

Yes, it's been a really long time since I've been here, updating No Expiration. I'm going to try to return more often in 2014.  You can read a lot of my stuff here at Radio.com, the site I work for (along with a number of websites for CBS owned classic rock, classic hits and Jack stations, along with Chicago's WXRT).

I'm planning on sharing my take on upcoming music events including the GRAMMYs and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as links to some of my interviews, videos and features.  But for now, I'm  returning with my take on the best albums of the year. 

Regarding the headline, I don't really have anything against Vampire Weekend, I am not that familiar with their music (although the few times I've heard their music, it hasn't really kept my attention). I think that they are a "zeitgeist" band - a band who, through a confluence of fans, critical acclaim and an intangible "x factor," are a band who everyone who works in music is expected to pay attention to, and expected to like. That's fine. I definitely like some artists who fall into that category. 

Anyway, I've been having a hard time coming up with an actual order for my favorite albums of the year. In recent years, I've had a handful of albums that rose to the top. In 2007, it was Ben Harper, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle, Mavis Staples and Robert Plant/Alison Krauss. In 2008, the Foxboro Hot Tubs. In 2009, Bob Dylan, the Cocktail Slippers, Rancid and Levon Helm. 2010, it was the Drive-By Truckers and Mavis Staples. 2011: Social Distortion and Foo Fighters. And last year, Bruce Springsteen's Wrecking Ball. 

This year, I have a number of albums that I've enjoyed, but no clear favorites. But I'll try to put them in some sort of order here. So, let's start already!

1. Ben Harper with Charlie Musselwhite - Get Up! Two generations of blues artists come together. The easiest thing in the world would have been to make this a covers album. Instead, Ben (and the guys from his current band) wrote a bunch of songs that should be blues standards in the years to come. I had the pleasure and honor of interviewing them when their album came out, and that was a huge thrill. Shortly after that, I saw them playing a show at Irving Plaza (way too small of a venue for them) and it was mind-blowingly great. Check out my review, with my wife's amazing photos, here. Anyway, I'm curious to see what Ben does next: I'd love to see him reunite with his old band, the Innocent Criminals, in 2014.

2. Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks This was one that I thought was really overlooked by music critics. But I realize that a white, angry guy forever connected to the '90s who looks like he could totally kick your ass isn't who critics get behind these days.  But whatever. This album was really innovative. Of course, Trent has to compete with his past, which definitely looms large. Pretty Hate Machine, Broken and The Downward Spiral were all game changers. I don't know that he has another earth shaking record in him like that again. And he isn't that guy anymore: he's married, he has kids, has greyhounds. And yet, I think he's still haunted by every artist who ever disappointed him: he doesn't want to get soft, get boring or sell out. And he doesn't. Not only was this a great album, but he supported it with a great tour: first he did the festival circuit (they pretty much blew everyone away, including Mrs. Carter, at Made In America) and then revamped the band, put together a new stage show and raised the game once again on his headlining tour. Check out my review of that, and (again) my wife's amazing photos, here. I should also mention that his album with How To Destroy Angels was great, and their concerts were amazing too. I can't wait to see what Trent does next.

3. Kanye West - Yeezus Ok, I'm with the critics on this one. And yes, I know he's a douche. I've already written about my first (and only) encounter with him, you can read about it here. Do I buy into any of his hype? No. The Wall Street Journal wrote a scathing retort to his complaints that the fashion world is preventing him from entering their world. I wouldn't look to him as a fashion icon anyway. But what he is great at is making records. Of course, sometimes he needs some help and that was the case here: Rick Rubin exec-produced this album, and I'm sure that was a big factor. But Kanye knows a great track when he produces it, and he knows who to collaborate with (he worked with Daft Punk on "Black Skinhead," a highlight of the album). And he's still a compelling MC. I even like "Bound 2" but let's not talk about the video.

4. Mavis Staples - One True Vine Mavis's second collaboration in a row with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy. I don't like this one as much as their last record, You Are Not Alone, but this is still pretty great. Once again, Tweedy wrote the best song on the album. Last time, it was the title track, this time it's "Every Step." As great as the songs that Tweedy writes for Wilco are, I think he saves his best songs for Mavis. Another highlight is the cover of Funkadelic's "Can You Get To That." Mavis is the rare artist who improves with age. I went to see her in concert at New York's City Winery, and it was one of the best shows I saw all year. It made you feel good to be alive.  Thank you Mavis.

5. Queens Of The Stone Age - Like Clockwork On one hand, I really like Josh Homme and all of his projects. On the other, I don't always go completely gaga for them as some others do. I really liked the Queens circa Songs For The Deaf, when they had three vocalists: Josh, bassist Nick Oliveri and Mark Lanegan. I thought that they sounded too "samey" once it was just Josh. And then I saw them at the Made In America festival. I thought they were great, and that the new songs were amazing, so I checked out the album, and really loved it. "I Sat By The Ocean" is one of my favorites. Josh got bonus points for calling Jay Z out after playing Made In America. I like some of Jay's stuff, but everyone else falls all over themselves trying to be his pal. Josh comes from a different era and a different school.

6. Arctic Monkeys - AM I really thought all the critics would go crazy over this album. They've been hyping the Arctic Monkeys forever. In my mind, they're one of the few bands that the media go crazy over who actually deserve the hype.  I loved their debut album, 2006's Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, and everything since. But I think this might be their best album. It combines their tight songwriting, which has always been a hallmark of the group, but also adds a lot of the "weirdness" that Josh Homme brought to the group when he produced their 2009 album Humbug. Josh actually sings backing vocals on a couple of songs here, giving him presence on two of my top ten albums of the year. Way to go, Josh!

7. Elvis Costello and the Roots - Wise Up Ghost More proof that both Elvis and the Roots can tackle any kind of music. A lot of this album reminds me of the Specials.  Sometimes these kinds of combinations can come off a bit contrived, but you know that with this one, it was all about mutual admiration and respect. I would love to see them tour together: imagine what Elvis songs they would revisit if they had time to rework some of his classics.  (In my world, Black Thought would be part of the tour and they'd do a bunch of Roots classics as well, Elvis could play along on guitar). Anyway, I'd file this with Elvis's great collab with Allen Toussaint, and the Roots' album with John Legend.

8. Black Sabbath - 13 Like everyone else, I approached this with managed expectations. I mean, could they still make a classic? Well, time will tell, but this album seriously kicked ass. And, OK, it doesn't  quite live up to the first six Sabbath albums, but it's at least as good as Never Say Die! and is better than Technical Ecstasy.  I obviously have a lot of feelings about the band: as I tell everyone I've ever met, I wrote the liner notes to the Black Box, and a while back was interviewed by A&E for a Sabbath doc. I was not disappointed by this album (other than the fact that they couldn't get it together with Bill Ward to have a full reunion; that said, Brad Wilk did a great job on the album, and Tommy Clufetos was great live). A lot of credit is due to producer Rick Rubin (him again!) but also to Ozzy, Tony and Geezer for bringing their A+ game. Especially Tony, who was going through chemo at the time.

9. Walking Papers - Walking Papers A new band featuring Duff McKagan on Guns N Roses and Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees and Mad Season. It sounds like nothing Duff has done, it's really more like Barrett's bands. In fact, singer Jeff Angell sounds a bit like Mark Lanegan. It's definitely a hard rock album, but more of a dusty Tom Waits type blues vibe (not a Clapton blues vibe). I was fortunate enough to interview Duff and Jeff for a Radio.com New Music To Know (read it here) and they were super cool. But what really turned me on to them was seeing them live on the second stage at the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival (see my review and my wife's photos here). They were really great, and I bought their album right there, and then reached out to get an interview. This isn't a "side project," it's a great band, please be clear. I hope they tour in 2014, I want to see them again!

10. Valerie June - Pushin' Against A Stone I also interviewed her for Radio.com's New Music To Know (read it here). I heard about her because some of the songs were produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys (one of my favorite producers) and I think I'd read about her somewhere. I checked out her album and was blown away.  It would be great if she was a "zeitgeist" artist, but she's not going out of her way to enter the conversation for anything other than her amazing singing voice and her great songs. I think music lovers will be following her career for years to come.



So, there you have it. But ten isn't enough, here's a few other albums that I feel I have to add:

• Daft Punk Random Access Memories It has my favorite song of the year (yes, "Get Lucky") and it sees them turning their backs on the EDM scene they may or may not have created, eschewing samples and using all live musicians, including Nile Rodgers. 
• M.I.A. Matangi It has another of my favorite songs of the year ("Bring The Noize"). She's one of the most interesting artists today, consistently. 
• Alice In Chains The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here In which they prove that the "new" lineup, with singer/guitarist William DuVall is for real. One of the most underrated albums of the year. 
• Haim Days Are Gone Yeah, I'm with the critics on this one, too. I don't know how it's "indie" though, it sounds like '80s era Fleetwood Mac and Genesis, and I mean that as a compliment. Especially relative to what most indie rock sounds like these days. I saw them at Made In America and they were incredible. 
• Aaron Neville My True Story In which he revisits his doo-wop past, on a stripped down record produced by Don Was and Keith Richards. 
• Holly Williams The Highway The granddaughter of Hank, her artistry stands on its own. She's great. "Drinkin'" is devastating. 
• Lindi Ortega Tin Star I discovered her opening for Social Distortion, she was great. I wish the press would pay attention to her, she surely deserves it. Another artist who I covered for Radio.com's New Music To Know. A super cool chick as well. 
• Jason Isbell Southeastern The former Drive-By Trucker (who wrote my favorite DBT song, "Never Gonna Change") announced this album by saying it was the best thing he's ever done. Well, it is pretty freaking great. Check it out. 
• Lone Bellow Lone Bellow A great new band, when they sing together it's magic. Do yourself a favor and check them out. 
• Kacey Musgraves Same Trailer Different Park  Another time the critics are right. Her debut is excellent, she will get my vote for Best New Artist at the GRAMMYs. 
• Hanni El-Khatib Head In The Dirt Another Dan Auerbach production, it's great garage rock from L.A. 
• Sara Bareilles The Blessed Unrest I'm sorry to say that I only listened to this after it got a GRAMMY nomination, and well deserved. I interviewed a lot of music writers about her, all of whom were surprised, because she's not part of the zeitgeist, or the conversation. Which is all hte more reason to check this album out. 

Well, that's pretty much it. Bring it, 2014!

WE WALK THE LINE: JOHNNY CASH TRIBUTE

This week, Sony Legacy released We Walk The Line: A Celebration Of The Music Of Johnny Cash. It's a live album of a concert recorded earlier this year in Austin, Texas.  An impressive group of singers joined an amazing house band to pay tribute to the songs that Johnny sang.  He didn't always write the songs he sang, but when the man took a tune on, it belonged to him.

My favorite performance on the album is Lucinda Williams doing Trent Reznor's Nine Inch Nails classic "Hurt," which Johnny covered on American IV: The Man Comes Around. But there are a lot of great performances here.  Jamey Johnson is kind of the perfect guy to sing Johnny songs: he does "Sunday Morning Coming Down" with Kris Kristofferson, which is great.   Buddy Miller's "Hey Porter" is great, as is the Carolina Chocolate Drops' "Jackson," Shooter Jennings' "Cocaine Blues" and Willie Nelson's "I Still Miss Someone."

The most moving part of the night might have been the cover of The Highwaymen's "Highwayman."  The Highwaymen were, of course, Cash, Willie, Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings.  So, this version featured Willie and Kristofferson, along with Jamey Johnson singing Johnny's part, and Shooter singing his dad's part.  I got chills listening.  Also, the arrangement is way cooler than the original from the album.

I have to give it up to the house band: Buddy Miller on guitar, Blue Note Records president Don Was on bass, Greg Leisz on slide guitar, Kenny Aronoff on drums and Ian McLagan on keyboards.  Mr. McLagan actually told me all about the show in a recent interview. He told me there'd probably be some kind of tour supporting it, with the house band and different singers in each city.  I hope that that's still on.  Hell, I don't care if they get any famous singers: just put Buddy Miller on the mic, that's good enough for me!

TRENT REZNOR'S "GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO" SCORE

Trent Reznor has always been great at combining music with visuals, from his disturbing Nine Inch Nails videos, to the soundtracks of Natural Born Killers and Lost Highway (he produced both), to last year's Oscar/Golden Globe winning score to The Social Network to this year's score to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

I know that Dragon was nominated for a Golden Globe the other night and lost to The Artist (a movie I want to see, although there is some controversy about that film's score), and I'm sure it will be nominated for an Oscar.

I loved Trent's score for The Social Network last year (by the way, I should mention that he works on his scores with Atticus Ross, they are also bandmates in How To Destroy Angels).  But Dragon is on a whole other level.  I haven't read the book, but when I do, I will be playing the score -- it really adds to the film, and is almost its own character.

I also loved that Trent had Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's cover Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" for the opening sequence of the film.  I thought that Trent didn't even like Zeppelin, but I'm glad he choose that song, it really works well.  I wonder if Trent (and Dragon/Social Network director David Finch) will work together on the sequel, The Girl Who Played With Fire. The film worked on every level: the music, the cinematography, the acting and of course the great Steig Larsson story. I'm looking forward to the next installment.

And I'm also looking forward to the new How To Destroy Angels album, supposedly due out this year. Trent has even said that he's considering doing more Nine Inch Nails music as well.

"(AHK-TOONG BAY-BI) COVERED" REVIEWED

There were so many great releases towards the end of 2011, so if you have missed this gem I'll give you a pass.  But it's time to catch up!  (Ahk-toong Bay-bi) Covered is a tribute to U2's classic Achtung Baby LP from 1991. The original is one of my favorite albums ever, so I was a bit worried about this... but the talent lineup on it is incredible.

By the way, this was originally available only in the UK, it came with an issue of Q magazine. In the US, you can download it at iTunes, with proceeds going towards Concern, an organization dedicated to working with the world's poorest people to improve their lives.

The album starts out with Nine Inch Nails covering "Zoo Station," which is surprising on several levels. One, I thought Trent Reznor was done with NIN.  I guess not?  Second, I thought he didn't like U2, although I guess if he liked any of their albums, it would be this one (when it came out, I thought it sounded like U2 were influenced by NIN's debut, 1989's Pretty Hate Machine). Third, NIN's versions is so different.  It's much more subtle, and a bit creepier than U2's.

Patti Smith, one of U2's biggest influences, honors them with her piano based cover of "Until The End Of The World." Accompanied by her sons on piano and guitar, and a bass player, it's much different and more sober, and maybe more sad, than the original.

Garbage, who opened for U2, makes their return to active duty with "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses?"  Like U2 during this era, Garbage wrestle with getting soul into the intersection of humans playing instruments and programmed computer music.  Few do it well, but U2 and Garbage both did. I look forward to hearing Garbage's comeback album.

Depeche Mode, a peer of U2's, picked the perfect song for themselves with "So Cruel." It's interesting to hear them cover something from this era, since Achtung Baby (and Zooropa and Pop) are the closest U2 came to Depeche Mode's electronic sound. I've always thought that this is one of U2's most underrated songs (if I remember correctly, it's the only song from the album they didn't play on the tour).  Depeche Mode really put their own spin on it.

Friend of U2 Gavin Friday takes one of my favorites, "The Fly," and makes it sound a bit sneakier.  It's a bit more electronic, and like NIN's "Zoo Station," mostly strips The Edge's badass riff from the song.  It almost sounds like he's covering a remix. It's very cool though.

One of my favorite artists, Jack White closes the album with a very emotional "Love Is Blindness," the closest thing to a blues song U2 has ever done.  The Edge wrote that one when he was going through a divorce, and sadly, Jack just went through one. He brings a lot of sorrow to the song,  it's the highlight of the album for me, and one of the best songs of 2011.

I don't love every song on the album, and of course you can just buy the songs you like, but because the money goes to a worthy cause, I downloaded the whole thing.

TRENT REZNOR'S FILM MUSIC

I was really excited that Trent Reznor and collaborator Atticus Ross won the Oscar for Best Film Score for David Fincher's The Social Network. Having seen the film again over the weekend, I can definitely say that the score is like an extra character in the film, much like Neil Young's score for Dead Man.

But it's not the first time Trent has done music for films, it's just that he usually compiles soundtracks.  The first time he did this was in 1994 for Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers soundtrack.  It featured an original Nine Inch Nails song, "Burn," which is rocking. The film plays like an incredible mix tape; it includes Leonard Cohen, L7, Bob Dylan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Peter Gabriel, Dr. Dre, Lard and Patsy Cline.

In 1997, he followed this up with the soundtrack to David Lynch's Lost Highway. More focused and less gothy, it featured a NIN classic, "The Perfect Drug." It also has one of the best Smashing Pumpkins songs, "Eye," and even a good Marilyn Manson song, "Apple Of Sodom." There's also songs by David Bowie, Lou Reed and there's some solo Trent music.

There's also two great Nine Inch Nails performances on non-Reznor soundtracks: He covered Joy Division's "Dead Souls" for The Crow in 1994, and there's also the little heard "Deep" from 2001's Lara Croft: Tomb Raider soundtrack.

MOVIE BREAK: OSCAR PREDICTIONS

So, I don't write too much about movies here, but since I've seen all ten films nominated for Best Picture, I thought I'd give this year's Oscars a post on No Expiration.  (Also, I'll be on SiriusXM OutQ's The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick talking with Larry and Keith Price about the Oscars tomorrow morning).

But I'll start with music. The one category where I really want someone to win is Best Score, which is a really tough category. I am definitely a fan of A.R. Rahman, who previously did really well at the Oscars with Slumdog Millionaire.  I love his score to 127 Hours. And Hans Zimmer is one of the greatest film scorers of all time, and the music in Inception was incredible. But my vote (if I were a voter) would go to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for The Social Network. They already won the Golden Globe for it.  I love the classic Hans Zimmer type score, and actually yesterday I watched Inception and Social Network back to back: I just think Trent's score did a bit more for Social Network than Hans' did for Inception.

Best Song, I go with A.R. Rahman's "If I Rise" from 127 Hours, which he co-wrote with Dido and her brother/Faithless bandmate Rollo Armstrong. I always like Randy Newman's songs, and he did a nice one for Toy Story 3, but I'm with Rahman on this one.

Here's my rundown of Best Picture nominees:

Black Swan: I didn't know that I'd be that interested in a film about ballet, but it was incredible. Darren Aronofsky is a master director at the top of his game.  Lots of hype over how much Natalie Portman prepared for the role of a ballerina, but what impressed me more was how she portrayed a woman slipping into madness.

The Fighter: really gripping film based on a true story about a boxer who had to weigh his career against his (dysfunctional) family ties. David O. Russell is a great director, and I think it's Mark Wahlberg's best role ever (I think he's kind of one-note in many of his movies, he showed more depth here). Great use of Boston music in this Beantown-based film, by the way.

Inception: Loved it, but it's not for everyone. Director Chistopher Nolan is one of the best there is. A real head trip of a film.

The Kids Are Alright: Wonderful smaller film. Loved everything about it. Except one thing: how did they not use The Who's song?

The King's Speech: The kind of movie the old-guard loves. Yeah, we make millions of dollars a year on exploitative, cynical, pandering, dumb movies.  But hey, sometimes we can get our "masterpiece theater" on and be all high culture!  Uplifting message! Historical! True story!  Helena Bonham Carter! My cynicism aside, it was a very good movie, but not one I'd vote for against the rest of these.

127 Hours: Amazing movie, and I'll never watch it again! Danny Boyle is another unbelievable director, and James Franco, one of the best young actors out there. And A.R. Rahman's music is its own character.

The Social Network: some have said that it will age quickly and not well.  I don't know about that. David Fincher, another one of the greats, took what could have been a dull story, and made a thrilling movie. And Trent Reznor's music it its own character.  I think a lot of young voters may vote for this - but there's more older voters, so I bet King's Speech wins.

Toy Story 3: just a wonderful film.  Everything worked, and this is one people be watching as long as they are watching movies. It easily wins Best Animated Film, don't think it wins Best Picture.

True Grit: great western. The Coen Brothers are back in No Country For Old Men mode, after last year's really really boring Oscar nominated A Serious Man. A brutal, badass film. Jeff Bridges was incredible, and so was Hailee Steinfeld. Someone asked me how could possibly be in a western, but he did well.

Winter's Bone: has the least amount of hype, no stars, and I bet 75% of people watching the Oscars tonight haven't even heard of it.  Hopefully that changes.  It's a phenomenal film, and the star, Jennifer Lawrence was incredible.

If I were a voter, I'd probably be deciding between Winter's Bone, Social Network and The Kids Are Alright, but I think The King's Speech will probably win.

Best Actor: Javier Bardem from Bituful (which I've also seen), Jeff Bridges from True Grit, Jesse Eisenberg from Social Network, Colin Firth from King's Speech and Oscar co-host and 127 Hours co-star James Franco are nominated. I have no idea how I'd vote for this one, they were all incredible, but I bet Firth wins.

Best Actress: Annette Benning from The Kids Are Alright, Winter's Bone's Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Portman are nominated along with Nicole Kidman from Rabbit Hole and  Michelle Williams from Blue Valentine (I haven't seen the latter two). I predict Benning wins, and she would deserve it, although I also loved Portman and Lawrence.

Best Supporting Actor: The Fighter's Christian Bale, Winter's Bone's John Hawkes (who I'd never heard of), Mark Ruffalo from The Kids Are Alright, Geoffrey Rush from The King's Speech and Jeremy Renner from The Town. I really liked Ruffalo, but I'd probably eliminate him, but I don't know how I'd vote for the other four.  As for my prediction, I think Rush will win, but Bale could take it.

Best Supporting Actress: this is the only easy category for me, I'd go for Hailee Steinfeld from True Grit, other than the fact that she was really the star of the film and should be up for Best Lead Actress.  The Fighter's Melissa Leo and Amy Adams were both really intense. I like Helena Bonham Carter too - I haven't seen the other film, Animal Kingdom, whose Jacki Weaver was nominated.

Best Director: don't think I could even decide here, it's a bunch of my favorite directors all at the top of their respective games: Black Swan's Darren Aronofsky, The Fighter's David O. Russell, The Social Network's David Fincher and True Grit's Coen Brothers.  The King's Speech's Tom Hooper is also nominated. I have no idea who will win this one.

I've only seen two of the Best Documentary features.  I liked the well-hyped Exit Through The Gift shop, not least because it skewers "cool."  It shows how easily hipsters are duped. That said, I hope Restrepo wins, it is a doc about what American soldiers go through in the Middle East.

Adapted screenplay is 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit and Winter's Bone. And original screenplay: The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The King's Speech and Another Year (which I want to see).  I think Social Network and King's Speech win, respectively. I'd probably vote for Social Network and The Kids Are All Right.

As I said, I'll be talking about the Oscars tomorrow on The Morning Jolt; I'll also be tweeting a bit tonight at @noexpiration.

TODAY ON OUTQ: ROCK, FROM PUNK TO INDIE

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning at 9 am (ish), I go on the SIRIUS XM Channel OutQ, on The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick and talk about music. Normally, I write about what I'll be talking about the night before: however, last night I was rocked by The Dead Weather who played Prospect Park in Brooklyn.  Review coming soon!  Anyway, today, I'll be talking about a number of different rock bands.  One of the most anticipated albums of the year, Gaslight Anthem's very important third album, American Slang - they've recently gone from playing clubs to larger halls (they are playing Radio City Music Hall in the fall). Another of the most anticipated albums of the year, Arcade Fire's very important third album, The Suburbs, has the indie fans going crazy.  I'm not going crazy for it, but they are one of the only bands that the indie set has hyped in the past few years that I like - and unlike most of those bands, Arcade Fire will have a career (they are playing two nights at Madison Square Garden later this year!!). Trent Reznor's new post-Nine Inch Nails project is How To Destroy Angels, and they just released their debut EP.  I like it, but it sounds a bit like NIN with a different singer.

I'm also talking about the recent album by punk rockers Against Me!, new music by The Smashing Pumpkins (which is basically Billy Corgan and whoever he hires), and one of my least favorite '90s bands, Stone Temple Pilots.

NATIVITY IN BLACK: CLASSIC TRIBUTES

In honor of tonight's Black Sabbath documentary airing on The Biography Channel, I wanted to do something Sabbath-centric, like a list of my favorite Sabbath songs. But I can't whittle it down to ten or twenty.  But it did get me thinking about how I first experienced the band.

I started listening to music, like a lot of other kids, with classic rock radio (and like lots of people, got bored with it quick and soon stuck with my own tapes).  But I am pretty sure that's where I first heard songs like "Paranoid," "Iron Man" and "War Pigs." Or maybe it was MTV's "Closet Classics" or even "Headbanger's Ball." I really heard a lot of the songs for the first time on Ozzy Osbourne's live album, Speak Of The Devil, which features all Sabbath tunes. And also Black Sabbath's Live Evil, released at almost the same time, which featured Ronnie James Dio on vocals (that album featured Dio singing his songs, as well as a few Ozzy tunes). At the time I didn't get why Ozzy and Sabbath had the same songs on their albums.  There was no internet to look this stuff up on! To make things more confusing, soon there was another new Black Sabbath album, Born Again, with a different singer! But as I got more into metal, I learned about the band's different eras (and by then Glenn Hughes was the singer!). 

I picked up the greatest hits album, We Sold Our Souls For Rock And Roll, and loved it, then got Paranoid.  I caught up and realized what an awesome band they were. But the tribute album Nativity In Black, released in 1994, really re-ignited my interest in the band, and made me listen more closely to some of the songs. That may not be a hip thing to admit, but it's true.  The same was true for me when I listened to the live recording of the Bob Dylan 30th anniversary tribute concert. I don't remember if NIB got good reviews, and I've read some bad ones of the Dylan tribute concert. But the fact was, both of those tributes made me re-examine each artist.  

Anyway, Nativity In Black was pretty great, and had a lot of happening bands of that moment.  The first single was Biohazard's cover of "After Forever," which has gone on to become maybe my favorite Sabbath song. That song made the collection for me, although today the rap-metal does sound a bit dated.  But it also had White Zombie's re-imagining of "Children Of The Grave," Corrosion Of Conformity's "Lord Of This World," and my other highlight of the album, Sepultura's "Symptom Of The Universe." It also had previously released covers: Faith No More's live version of "War Pigs," which I liked, but I didn't feel like it belonged, because Mike Patton was clearly making fun of the song (I felt the same way about Type O Negative's "Black Sabbath"). It also had 1000 Homo DJs' version of "Supernaut" (the "DJs" were Al Jourgensen of Ministry and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails). The whole album got me to go back and listen to the original versions of "After Forever," "Children Of The Grave," "Lord Of This World," "Symptom Of The Universe" and "Supernaut" and appreciate them even more.  I think that's the job of a tribute album! 

A couple of years later, they went back to the well for Nativity In Black II. It didn't have as big of an impact on me, but again, some cool versions of the songs made me listen more closely to the originals: Pantera's "Electric Funeral," Slayer's "Hand Of Doom," Soulfly's "Under The Sun" (another one of my favorite Sabbath songs) and Monster Magnet's "Into The Void." 

I hope that they do a third: it may not have any bands that I like, but I think that every generation of hard rock kids need to know where their music started.  Long live Black Sabbath! 

RUSH - BEYOND THE LIGHTED STAGE... AMAZING

I really enjoy watching documentaries about music, but if there's one band who really needed to have a documentary, it's Rush. Their story is rarely told, because the gatekeepers of music media hate them.

Also, you rarely hear big name musicians talking about how awesome Rush is, and here you get Trent Reznor, Jack Black of Tenacious D, Billy Corgan, Kirk Hammett, Gene Simmons, Tim Commerford of Rage Against The Machine, Les Claypool, Danny Carey of Tool, Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters and Zakk Wylde among others, talking about how great they are. Even a guy from Death Cab For Cutie!

And I don't think I've ever seen an interview with Neal Peart. Ever!

On the other hand, other than the unimaginable tragedy that Peart endured some years back (documented in his book Ghostrider), the band hasn't had too much controversy or drama, so I was kind of wondering if their story would really make a great documentary.  Yes it does.

Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage came out on DVD this week, and I watched it tonight.

It does a great job of telling their story - how children of immigrants Geddy Lee (son of concentration camp survivors) and Alex Lifeson came together in school and formed a lifelong friendship and this awesome band. And how they had the confidence to do what they wanted to do, and not let the record label or trends or even fans dictate their direction. There's lots of amazing footage: a young Alex Lifeson at the dinner table telling his parents he wants to drop out of school and become a musician and early footage of the performing with original drummer John Rutsey.  There's also interviews with Geddy's mom, Alex's mom, and Neal's parents, plus lots of other people around the band and interviews with all three guys that are actually revealing. Absolute essential viewing for any Rush fan, but I've heard that even non-fans enjoy the doc.

A friend and former boss of mine who does a blog on rock docs wrote about it here: he mentions that he used to like the band and then moved on because of punk. I never did that, even as I got into punk and what was known as "alternative," and neither did many of the artists interviewed for this film. One of the creators of South Park was interviewed, and comments that even rock critics who hated them for years have to give the band their props these days.  And if they don't, "then they're just being old dicks." Amen brother.

My only gripe: there were great extras, but I would have loved to see the full interviews with Reznor, Claypool, et all. The interviews with other artists was the best part of the recent Stones In Exile doc.  Maybe on the deluxe edition!

TODAY'S NEWS: TRENT, RHCP, DIO, WATERS, MASSIVE ATTACK AND MORE

So, as I've mentioned, No Expiration is now on Twitter! I'll be posting all sorts of news and using the blog as more of a place to recommend stuff.

Here's what I tweeted about today, in case you missed it. Trent Reznor's new group is called How To Destroy Angels, and an update to my tweet: you can download their song "A Drowning," at Amazon.

I also link to stories about Massive Attack's upcoming tour, Roger Waters' upcoming tour, Heaven & Hell cancelling their tour due to Ronnie James Dio's health, a comic book about Henry Rollins and Glenn Danzig and more.

Follow me on twitter!

TRENT REZNOR: WHAT'S HE DOING IN THERE?

Trent Reznor has been posting photos at nin.com and today he tweeted this photo with the message "last day of the session!"  Nine Inch Nails has been put to bed, maybe this is his first real solo effort. I don't know who those two guys are. Of course, that's Trent in the back. Trent Reznor has a lot of currency with me, I have total respect for the guy. I would be willing to buy a Trent record without even having heard it. Plus, I'm happy to support a fellow greyhound person (I don't like saying "owner").

BEST OF THE 00's: TRENT REZNOR

I remember reading an interview with Trent Reznor in about 2000 where he pointed out that Nine Inch Nails' The Fragile album debuted at #1 and falling sharply from that slot the following week was viewed as a failure, but Radiohead's Kid A doing pretty much the same was seen as an artistic triumph, because such an uncompromising album reached #1. He had a point. There's been a weird bias against Trent in the past decade, I think he's often been seen as "of the '90s" and given the fact that he had his commercial peak during that decade doesn't help the perception. And, as a fan, I'll admit that his '90s albums were always different than what came before: Pretty Hate Machine (actually released in 1989, but which became one of the most influential albums of the '90s), the Broken EP (1992) and of course 1994's The Downward Spiral. I don't think the albums that he has done since then have had the same "quantum leap" vibe to them, but they have always been really great. I think rock critics are more comfortable with the likes of Radiohead (and Animal Collective, and Pavement) than a more aggressive and ambitious band like Nine Inch Nails.

The first half of the decade was not too eventful for Trent, apparently he was battling demons on a number of fronts: drugs and a former manager. But in 2005, he returned with a really underrated album, With Teeth. The leadoff track, "All The Love In The World," actually sounded like it was heralding another totally new sound, but even though that wasn't the case, the album still had some classics, especially "The Hand That Feeds," which was one of the first glimpses of the anti-Bush direction Trent soon went in. Musically, Rick Rubin helped Trent out with the album (although he wasn't the producer) and Dave Grohl contributed live drums to lots of the songs.

In 2007, Year Zero was preceeded with an alternate reality game that Trent orchestrated with a technology company... and without the help of his record label.  At the point, started becoming as innovative as a buiness guy (for lack of a better term) as he was with his music. He knew that record labels as we knew them were circling the drain, he wasn't sorry to see them go, but he wasn't going down with them. He actually deserves the same credit that a Radiohead, or Aimee Mann or Jeff Tweedy deserve for creating their own path. Anyway, Year Zero was a great album, and may yet be developed into a TV show or film or something else.

In 2008, he started charting that course with Ghosts I-IV, a double album of all instrumentals. Not my favorite album, but super interesting how he did it. The pricing varied from free (you could download the first nine tracks, free of charge) to $350 for the most deluxe version (which sold out of its 2500 run in one day). Some felt that the Ghosts thing was a cop-out, since the lower sales for the album were a given, since instrumental albums don't generally sell that well anway. Later that year, he released another album, The Slip (this one a more "conventional" NIN album). Which was written, recorded and released within three weeks (and offered as a free download). The tour for the album was one of the most elaborate and intense (and poorly-attended - the upper level of the Izod Center was totally barren) that I have ever seen.

I was glad that Trent said that he would retire Nine Inch Nails this year. Trent has recently said on nin.com that there's some unreleased NIN music coming out in 2010, and some music that isn't Nine Inch Nails.  I think he has a lot of great music left in him, and I'm sure he will still perform NIN songs if he feels like it. But it seems like a great time for his next evolution, and I can't wait to see how that manifests itself.

More Best Of The '00s: Bob Dylan
Willie Nelson
Aimee Mann
Jeff Tweedy
David Johansen
Levon Helm
The Beatles
Jim James
U2
Steve Earle
Ben Harper
Alicia Keys
Norah Jones

TRENT REZNOR AND JOSH GROBAN ON THE SAME ALBUM?

Strange but true: Neil Young has (quietly) just released the fourth volume of songs from The Bridge School benefit series that he has been hosting for two decades. The Bridge School is a non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure that individuals with severe speech and physical impairments achieve full participation in their communities through the use of augmentative & alternative means of communication and assistive technology applications and through the development, implementation and dissemination of innovative life-long educational strategies. Every year, Neil Young hosts an acoustic concert with a diverse lineup to help raise funds for the school. Over the past few years, he's been releasing iTunes collections of songs from the concerts. Volume 4 which just came out, includes two solo tracks by Trent Renzor (versions of Nine Inch Nails' "Fragile" and "Hurt"). It also includes one of John Mellencamp's greatest songs, "Jackie Brown," Norah Jones' cover of Wilco's "Jesus, Etc." and two tracks by Tom Waits with The Kronos Quartet. Oh, and Josh Groban. A duet with Neil on "Harvest Moon" (oddly, it's Neil's only appearance on this volume). Some great music and a great cause. Here is a link to the complete tracklist.

TRENT REZNOR IS SERIOUS ABOUT THIS RETIREMENT THING

I'm sure some people doubt that Trent Reznor was serious about retiring Nine Inch Nails, but nin.com announced that lots of NIN stuff is on the auction block at ebay, and they are selling lots of merchandise from the band's recent tours. I have no doubt that Trent will continue to make music, but not under the "Nine Inch Nails" name. I look at this like when David Bowie ditched his "Ziggy Stardust" persona. Maybe Trent should have done it earlier. On the other hand, the NIN shows this summer were awesome.

TRENT REZNOR TO PRODUCE GARY NUMAN TRACKS

Gary Numan told The Quietus that he is going to be working with Trent Reznor on some new songs. I could see Trent doing this kind of thing more in the future. Read the interview here.

TRENT REZNOR ON CHRIS CORNELL

So, earlier this year, Trent Reznor was really critical of Chris Cornell's Scream album, which was produced by Timabland. It bummed me out a bit, because I am a huge fan of both artists (Trent and Chris, that is, although Timba has definitely created some songs that I enjoy). And I like some of the songs on Scream, although, admittedly, it doesn't hold up to Chris' greatest moments with Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, or even Audioslave and some of his better solo stuff from the past. In a new interview, Trent elaborated on his comments. He said that when Nine Inch Nails were on Interscope, the same label that Cornell is on, and that label head Jimmy Iovine always was trying to get him to record with Timbaland or Pharell, or whoever was the hot producer of the moment - just to get him on the radio. "I think that when somebody who is respected like he is goes that route, it sends the message that it's OK to give up any kind of core values you had to be the fashion of the moment. I don't think that's OK." I respect that, even though Trent himself has done a remix for Puff Daddy, and wanted to work with Dr. Dre at one point (Dre mixed a song on The Fragile). Read the whole interview here.

I doubt Trent would be impressed that Chris just announced a partnership with Virgin Airlines, who will play Scream on their flights.

WHY TRENT LEFT TWITTER

It's pretty exciting when artists - not their publicists, their keepers or their paid bloggers/tweeters, but the actual artists themselves - engage with fans online. Unfortunately, on the internet, a lot of worthless jerks have an opportunity to be obnoxious (and be noticed), and sometimes they can poison the pool.

Trent Reznor has made great use of Twitter, but sadly, he recently deleted his account. Here, he explains why. You really can't blame him, but it's a bummer anyway.

TRENT'S LAST TWEET

I'm kind of surprised over how upset Trent Reznor gets over negative comments online, he should know that it's par for the course. But after recently announcing that he was quitting Twitter, he announced info about the final Nine Inch Nails shows (which I wasn't able to get tickets for, they sold out too fast!) via Twitter. But now he's deleted his account. One of his last tweets mentioned that he was having discussions with Grant and Kristan Morrison. Grant Morrison is one of the greatest comic book writers ever - he brought a real counter-culture and underground sensibility to mainstream comics, notably with Animal Man. But he even wrote stuff like Superman and did an incredible job. I wonder what they are working on? Year Zero, maybe?

TRENT REZNOR'S ADVICE TO UPCOMING ARTISTS

I've often marveled at how Trent Reznor has been cutting his own path in the music business since leaving Interscope Records. There are very few artists as innovative as Trent artistically, or business-wise. He just posted some advice for upcoming musicians on a forum at nin.com, check it out.

TRENT REZNOR ANNOUNCES NINE INCH NAILS' LAST U.S. SHOWS (FOR REAL!)

The summer tour with Jane's Addiction was supposed to be Nine Inch Nails' final U.S. dates (actually Bonaroo was supposed to be the last one) but Trent Reznor has decided that the last shows shouldn't be (a) shows with short settimes due to co-headlining and (b) shows in daylight. So he has just announced some final club shows in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago on nin.com. Of course, one of Trent's biggest influences is David Bowie, who has "retired" a few times.

I presume that he isn't retiring Nine Inch Nails to reunite with The Exotic Birds. Check out this 1985 TV interview!