TOMORROW ON OUTQ: THE LADIES OF LILITH FAIR

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning I am a guest on the SIRIUS XM channel OutQ's show The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick at 9 am ET. Each week I talk about new records, or new releases or archival material, or sometimes just a specific theme.

Tomorrow I'm talking about some of the artists who are on the Lilith Fair tour.  The tour has gotten some bad publicity lately, as some of the shows have been cancelled due to (of course) poor ticket sales.  Lots of tours are having problems this summer though. Back in the '90s, critics always seemed to have it in for the tour, I remember hearing that it was "too white."  I went to the tour all three years, and I'd seen Missy Elliott, Mya, Tracy Chapman and Morcheeba on the tour - that's just off the top of my mind. I think that critics just don't like Sarah McLachlan, who headlines the tour.  She's a bit too earnest for a lot of people, I can understand that. Also, she has a huge following, which she did on her own without being too commercial - but without help from the music press, which I think may rankle some writers. Anyway, Sarah has a new album, Laws Of Illusion. I wrote about the new single, "Loving You Is Easy" a while back, I dig the song. I like the album, I don't love it.  I guess with Sarah, I compare everything to Fumbling Towards Ecstacy, and I haven't liked anything she's done as much as that album.

Next week Sheryl Crow releases her next album, 100 Miles From Memphis. I've always liked Sheryl Crow, but I haven't been super-into her last two albums.  I've heard one song from the new album, "Summer Day," which I think is incredible. She's really showing off her soul influences, as opposed to a modern country-adult contemporary sound.  At least on this song.  I actually just heard her cover of Citizen Cope's "Sideways" (featuring Cope on backing vocals) which was really great. I'm definitely looking forward to this album.

Heart has a new album, Red Velvet Car, coming out next month, but for now they have a new EP, WTF, and I'll be playing the title track. Heart are badass ladies and don't really get their due. I don't totally love this new song, but their catalog speaks for itself. Ann Wilson is an incredible rock and roll singer, and Nancy Wilson is a very underrated guitarist. I'm curious to hear the album.


We're also going to talk about a bunch of other artists on this summer's Lilith Fair festival: Corinne Bailey Rae, The Bangles, Court Yard Hounds, Janelle Monae, The Indigo Girls and Mary J Blige, among others.

I HEART HEART

The other night I was watching the RNC convention and after watching their presidential candidate (the one they passed over for the nomination a few years back in favor of a alcoholic draft dodger) speak, I heard Heart's classic song "Barracuda" being played in the arena.

It was likely a reference to the party's new celebrity, Governor Mooseburger, who was nicknamed "barracuda" in high school. 

Anyway, when I heard the song, I thought, "Ann and Nancy Wilson aren't going to like that...." 

They sure didn't! In fact, they even put out a press release to express their displeasure. Nancy also emailed Entertainment Weekly to say that the republican ticket "in NO WAY" represents them as American women. Big props to the sisters Wilson! 

Not that republicans are the only politicians to use music without asking (although they have a proud tradition of doing so, starting with reagan's misuse of Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The U.S.A."). Barack Obama surprisingly used "Only In America" by a country duo named Brooks & Dunn.  bush II used it a few years ago and had the duo's endorsement. Although the songwriter is a progressive guy, oddly enough. Read more about the song here.