SLOAN's limited edition Bootleg vinyl #2

Sloan have been fans of seedy bootleg vinyl LPs from the 1970s/1980s since they were teenagers and released their own last fall called 'Is That All I Get? Winnipeg 1993'. The reception was so great that they've decided to do it again. On Tuesday June 12th 500 limited copies of 'Back In Blue: Ltd. Edtion Sloan Bootleg #2 will be made available from the band's website. Each purchase also comes with a digital version and four bonus tracks not on the blue vinyl LP.

Cousin Oliver vs. Starchild - It's KISS-ception!

What happens when 1970s child star Robbie Rist pays homage to 1970s douchechild Paul Stanley? I said...What happens when 1970s child star Robbie Rist pays homage to 1970s douchechild Paul Stanley??? WHAT?! I can't HEAR YOU! This pop culture meta has now created a rip in the space/time continuum. The only cure would be a recreation of Gene Simmon's "Mr. Make Believe" by Kirk Cameron.

Auto-Tuning Mr. Rogers

First there was Auto-Tune The News, then there was Auto-Tune Tom Cruise's Talent in Rock of Ages....and now...Auto-Tune Mr. Rogers. PBS, who holds the rights to the long-running children's show have commissioned Symphony of Science's John Boswell to create a song out of Fred Rogers' most prosaic monologues. "Garden of Your Mind" just might find its way onto iTunes.

41,000 historic photos re-emerge at New York Public Library

From the New York Times:
Roy Stryker, founder of the Farm Security Administration’s photography project, was determined to compile a visual encyclopedia of the United States in the 1930s and ’40s and preserve it for future generations.

So, while photographers like Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans and Russell Lee crisscrossed the country, Mr. Stryker was sending boxes of prints to Ramona Javitz, the director of the New York Public Library Picture Collection, to make sure there was a repository other than the National Archives.

But the 41,000 prints that Mr. Stryker had sent to Ms. Javitz languished and were largely forgotten. Read more

Herb Reed of The Platters dies at 83

Herb Reed, the last surviving original member of 1950s vocal group the Platters who sang on hits like "Only You" and "The Great Pretender," has died. He was 83. Reed died on Monday in a Boston area hospice after a period of declining health that included chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, manager Fred Balboni said. Read more

Power Pop tribute to "The Who Sell Out"

Better late than liver we always say. Keith Klingensmith's Futureman Records scuttled a tribute album to the classic Who album 'The Who Sell Out' twelve years ago but in a world where the digital domain gives old ideas a new half-life, 'The New Sell Out' has finally seen the light of day. $7.00 gets you an unbelievable 26 tracks by the likes of power pop acts The Shazam, Chris Von Sneidern, Brendan Benson, Myracle Brah, Willie Wisely, Splitsville, The Gripweeds and Canadian acts The Flashing Lights and Zumpano. The set even includes remakes of the faux commercial breaks as well - including 'Heinz Baked Beans' by The Andersons (featuring Robbie Rist). Dig it here

Goodbye to the voice of GUMBY

Dick Beals, the voice of stop-motion animated character Gumby and Speedy Alka-Seltzer in mid-20th century television commercials for the pain remedy, has died. He was 85. Read more