NARAS DISSES SPRINGSTEEN AGAIN

OK, I'm going to sound like a middle aged New Jerseyite here, but for the second year in a row, the Grammy nominations have dissed Bruce Springsteen big time. There were some really good nominations: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss' Raising Sand did really well, and the nominations will likely expose even more people to a classic album. And all the nominations for R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan will no doubt expose her to new fans, regardless of whether or not she wins anything (I downloaded two of her songs on iTunes tonight and liked them a lot). I am glad to see Adele do so well (I was shocked that she got more nominations than Duffy). I won't even complain about Lil' Wayne getting more nominations than anyone else - he isn't for me (although "Swagga Like Us," featuring Wayne, Kanye West, Jay-Z and T.I. is probably the best hip-hop song of the year, even I can admit that).

But "Girls In Their Summer Clothes" is a classic. I like Sara Barielles' "Love Song," but it is really that good? Is Jason Mraz's song "I'm Yours"? Who decides this stuff? Both were nominated for Song of the Year. "Girls..." is also an incredible production. But apparently not as good as Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love." "Girls..." did get two nominations in the rock category. I also felt that Al Green's Lay It Down should have gotten more nominations than it did, and in the top three categories (all of his were in R&B).

Ah well, Bruce will be fine, so will the Reverend Al. And I'm glad for Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, they have my vote in every category they're nominated in.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN : "MY LUCKY DAY"

I have to admit, I'm not loving the first single/title track from Bruce Springsteen's new album, Working On A Dream. However, I do really like the second single, "My Lucky Day," which is available this week as a download exclusively from Amazon (next week it will be on iTunes). 

There's a less hyped new Bruce recording out there as well: a cover of Harry Chapin's "Remember When The Music" from the Serve3 compilation, which benefits World Hunger Year. 

In other Bruce news, I bought Tom Jones' cover of Bruce's "The Hitter" from Tom's new 24 Hours album (the original is from Devils & Dust). I'm not a Tom Jones fanatic (I do respect him though) but he did a great job on it. It's epic, not kitchy.  You should check it out. 

U2: NO TO RUBIN, YES TO ENO/LANOIS

Earlier this year, I wondered if U2 were going to be working with Rick Rubin, after he produced two tracks with them for their greatest hits album two years ago. Well, The Edge tells the best music magazine in the world - Mojo - that they ditched the tracks that they worked on with RR, and this album is totally a Brian Eno/Daniel Lanois deal. No band has mattered as much for as long as U2 -- I for one bet that they stay relevant with the new album. 

ELTON JOHN'S TANTRUMS AND TIARAS: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT IS OUT ON DVD

I've never actually seen the Elton John documentary, Tantrums and Tiaras, and as a fan, I wasn't sure I wanted to.  But I'm going to give it a try. I have no illusions about what Elton is like - he's a diva. It doesn't take away from the amazing music he's produced, or the incredible charitable work he's done over the decades. 

Meanwhile, Elton is planning another co-headlining tour with Billy Joel.  I went to that the first time they did it, like 14 years ago, and it was pretty great. Also, NME reports that Mark Ronson is producing Elton's next album.  That has the potential for greatness. I'd heard that he wanted to do an album of collaborations with hip-hop artists, which would probably be embarrassing.

2009 WILL BE "SPECIAL"

Another potential reunion I've been following, other than The Faces and The Kinks is that of The Specials.  Well, the band has booked a few dates according to NME, and singer Terry Hall is onboard. Alas, keyboardist/leader Jerry Dammers isn't (yet).

LIVING COLOUR WORKING ON THE CHAIR IN THE DOORWAY

I'm glad to hear that the great Living Colour is working on the follow up to their reunion album, CollidOscope, which I thought was a really good album that didn't get its due. They are actually having a contest with fans -- they want a fan to create the album art. Find out more at their MySpace page. They also have a new live album recorded at CBGB in 2005 on their reunion tour, and also a live DVD recorded in Paris (also from the reunion era). It's weird how critics fell over themselves praising Living Colour back in the day, and now they sort of don't pay them the respect that they are due. I think they were one of the top bands of the '80s/'90s "alternative rock" era, although they weren't contrarian enough to think of themselves that way. They were as comfortable playing with Bad Brains as they were with The Rolling Stones, and that was one of the great things about them. 

THE FACES: IT'S ON!

Well, it looks like The Faces reunion is closer to being a reality. Rolling Stone interviewed Ron Wood who said that the surviving members of the band - Ron, Rod Stewart, keyboardist Ian McLagan and drummer Kenny Jones - rehearsed last week and "sounded great." (They used Rod's bassist Conrad Korsch, not Tetsu Yamauchi, who originally replaced the late Ronnie Lane when he quit the band). Wood mentioned that a number of bass players offered to sit in, including Flea. No matter who is on bass, this promises to be an awesome tour, as long as Rod Stewart can still sing rock and roll (and remember how to be cool).