First ‘Best of’ Live Compilation Available on DVD & CD in Stores and Online November 17th

NEW YORK, NY — (MARKET WIRE) — 09/30/09 — 　Anthem Entertainment has announced the release of “WORKING MEN,” the first ‘best of’ live performance compilation from renowned rock trio Rush. 　Due in stores and online November 17th, the collection will be released on DVD in partnership with Rounder and on CD via Atlantic Records outside of Canada.

Culled from Anthem Entertainment and Zoe Vision’s three other Rush DVD releases — “Rush in Rio,” “R30″ & “Snakes & Arrows Live” — “WORKING MEN” features live recordings of the band’s greatest hits as well as one previously unreleased track, “One Little Victory” (see below track listing).

Rush — Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart — is without question one of the most inventive and compelling groups in rock history, equally famed for both its virtuoso musicianship and provocative songwriting. 　Just last year, a career-chronicling Rolling Stone feature praised the band for its continuing artistic vitality, noting that, “It’s true that Rush doesn’t mean today what it did in ’76 or even ’96. 　It may mean more.” The sentiment was echoed in subsequent pieces published earlier this year in Entertainment Weekly and Spin. 　Rush’s enduring pop culture relevance is perhaps best evidenced by a pair of high-profile appearances — a rare national television performance and interview on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” in 2008 (the band’s first TV appearance since 1975), and a pivotal role in the storyline of the hit comedy, “I Love You, Man.” Released this past spring, the band also made a memorable cameo in the film, which starred Paul Rudd and Jason Segal.

Since releasing their self-titled debut album in 1974, Rush has achieved worldwide sales exceeding 35 million units, including such acclaimed works as 1976′s “2112,” 1981′s “MOVING PICTURES,” 1996′s “TEST FOR ECHO,” and 2002′s “VAPOR TRAILS.” 　The band’s most recent studio collection, 2007′s “SNAKES & ARROWS,” made a triumphant debut on the Billboard 200 upon its initial release, entering the chart in the #3 spot. 　The album’s success marked Rush’s highest chart debut since 1993, as well as the group’s eleventh top ten album in the U.S.

For more information, please visit

www.rush.com.

Due in stores and available through digital retailers on Oct. 6, Built to Spill’s new album, There Is No Enemy, certainly doesn’t break any new ground for the Boise-based band. But then it doesn’t have to. A veteran group that hasn’t sacrificed an ounce of its autonomy since signing to a major label over a decade ago, Built to Spill has consistently released exquisite albums that defy Doug Martsch’s status as indie rock’s last guitar hero. Sure, the guy can play the hell out of his instrument, but that’s not all that Built to Spill is about. Evocative lyrics, tender vocals and superb musicianship all distinguish the group.

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Starting Thursday October 1st, David Bazan will be taking to the road in support of his recent Barsuk Records release Curse Your Branches, touring with a full band for the first time since the final Pedro The Lion show in October 2005.

In advance of the tour, Bazan created a limited-edition “I Helped Bazan Buy A Van” t-shirt to help find a replacement for his recently-retired longtime touring vehicle, spreading word of the shirt’s availability via his website, Facebook, and Twitter pages. The response was amazing, and in twelve days Bazan had sold enough shirts to fully pay for a tour van and trailer. You can see the new van (and pictures of the old one being towed away) at davidbazan.com.

Joining Bazan on tour will be: Eric Elbogen: guitar (Say Hi), Andy

Fitts: keyboards + guitar (Aqueduct), Casey Foubert: drums (Richard Swift, Sufjan Stevens), Blake Wescott: guitar (long-time Bazan collaborator).

Last time he was in Rock Island, IL, Bazan stopped by Daytrotter and recorded a few songs off of Curse Your Branches in their all-analog studio. The results of that day’s work can now be heard at daytrotter.com.

Known for his work with Pedro The Lion and Headphones, Curse Your Branches is David Bazan’s first full album release under his name, and is a masterwork by a modern American poet (Paste called him one of the “100 best living songwriters”) at the height of his powers. This record is the deepest and most explicit exploration of his struggles with faith and the Evangelical world in which he was raised to date, and a meditation on all things passed between the generations.

DAVID BAZAN ON TOUR:

October:

w. Say Hi

1 – San Francisco, CA – Independent

2 – Costa Mesa, CA – Detroit Bar

3 – San Diego, CA – Casbah

4 – Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour

5 – Tucson, AZ – Solar Culture

7 – Austin, TX – Mohawk

8 – Denton, TX – Dan’s Silverleaf

9 – Memphis, TN – Hi-Tone Café

10 – Murray, KY – Lovett Auditorium / Murray State

11 – Birmingham, AL – Bottletree

13 – Orlando, FL – The Social

14 – Atlanta, GA – Drunken Unicorn

15 – Chapel Hill, NC – Cat’s Cradle

16 – Washington, DC – Black Cat

17 – Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie

18 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom

20 – Cambridge, MA – TT the Bear’s

21 – Montreal, QC – Il Motore

22 – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace

23 – Pontiac, MI – Pike Room

24 – Chicago, IL – Schuba’s

25 – Champaign, IL – Highdive

27 – Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon

28 – Minneapolis, MN – Turf Club

29 – Iowa City, IA – The Picador

30 – Lawrence, KS – Jackpot Saloon

31 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown

November:

1 – Denver, CO – Hi Dive

2 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court

5 – Vancouver, BC – Media Club

6 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios

7 – Seattle, WA – Neumos

Whether it be releasing albums on labels including Definitive Jux, XL, Fondle ‘Em, Eastern Conference, or now his own label, RJ’s Electrical Connections, producing music by Diverse, Acelayone, and Dice Raw, remixing artists including Massive Attack, Mos Def, Fallout Boy, Cannibal Ox, Booker T, Polyphonic Spree, or releasing albums as Soul Position, RJD2 (aka RJ or Ramble Krohn) has been remarkably inventive and productive in creating music throughout his ten year career. And of course, this doesn’t include the work RJ has done for various television shows, including CSI, and Mad Men (for which he won his first award, ASCAP’s Best TV Theme), films, including Wimbledon and Freedomland, and commercials for brands including Saturn, ESPN, Lion’s Gate, Levi’s, Nike, and more. Throughout this constant influx of studio work, RJ has toured the world and traversed the continental US yearly, most recently with a full band. No matter the outlet throughout this decade, the goal for RJD2 has always been the same – to make a piece of music that is going to hopefully rearrange one’s brain, or at least provide some relief from real life for a moment or two. With his newest album, The Colossus, RJD2 manages to do it once again, perpetually looking forward with a clear reverence for the past.

The Colossus is RJD2’s fourth album, and the first he’ll release on his own label. In addition to re-acquiring the master recordings of his Definitive Jux catalog in its entirety and re-releasing them, this new label marks a huge step for RJ as being completely independent and working on his own terms, artistically and business-wise. 

As RJ’s last album, The Third Hand, was his first truly solo album, with no guest performances whatsoever and very little sampling, he decided to move in the opposite direction on The Colossus and create an album that is as collaborative as possible, while also being an “overview” of all the different types of working approaches RJ has used over the years. Some songs are strictly sample-based; some are live; some songs are completely instrumental while others are vocal songs, some featuring guest vocalists, with RJ taking on the duty in others; he brought a few rappers on board, as well. It was all tracked at the same time and in the same place, which gives the album a cohesive feel, but it also manages to retain the diversity throughout that has become a trademark for RJD2. The Colossus features Phonte Coleman (Little Brother, Foreign Exchange), Kenna (Star Trak, VA Beach), Aaron Livingston (The Roots’ Guns Are Drawn), Columbus MC’s The Catalyst, Illogic, NP, and a slew of instrumentalists. Additionally, it marks RJ’s debut behind the drum kit.

The Colossus, out January 19, 2010 on RJ’s Electrical Connections, is RJD2’s most sonically lush and varied record he’s ever created. It is a kaleidoscopic look forward, as well as back.

Tracklisting:

01. Let There Be Horns

02. Games You Can Win (Featuring Kenna)

03. Giant Squid

04. Salud 2

05. The Glow

06. A Spaceship For Now

07. The Shining Path (Featuring Phonte Coleman)

08. Crumbs Off The Table (Featuring Aaron Livingston)

09. A Son’s Cycle (Featuring The Catalyst, Illogic, and NP)

10. Tin Flower (Featuring Heather Fortune)

11. Small Plans

12. Gypsy Caravan

13. The Stranger

14. Walk With Me

It’s a “Holiday” in the land of Madonna lovers and at Renaissance Records in Killeen, TX thanks to her Celebration (Warner Bros.) retrospective hitting both CD and DVD. Contrary to popular belief, this marks Madge’s first ever career spanning collection in either context, ranging from her early dance club days to the slick commercial pop of the new title track on this compilation. The audio installments are offered as single or double disc affairs (though just one disc omits many of her staples), while the visual edition is by far the most comprehensive, tracing 47 short clips, some of which were never before released on DVD. (more…)

Everybody loves free downloads, and for those who regularly read Hear/Say, what could be better than your chance to score our very own widget for the website of your choice? Just go to www.hearsay.cc/widget.html, do a couple quick clicks and it’s all yours! Need more convincing? In fact, here are five reasons why you can’t live without it: (more…)

Zac Crain might begin Black Tooth Grin: The High Life, Good Times, and Tragic End of “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott with the end, but don’t hold that against Crain, a senior editor at Dallas’ D Magazine. Crain opens Black Tooth with an account of the guitarist’s death (he was shot while performing at a metal club in Columbus, Ohio). Normally, you don’t give away the end of your story before it’s begun. But Abbott’s death was so sudden and bizarre, it was well-covered in the media when it happened. So it’s almost appropriate to address Abbott’s death in the introduction. Of course, Crain provides the typical bio information in the chapters that follow. He goes back to Abbott’s childhood, writing extensively about his father Jerry, a songwriter who ran a small studio their Arlington, Texas hometown.

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It’s been quite a year for Nashville emo rockers Paramore. The band spent the summer playing for capacity crowds as the opening act for No Doubt. It saw its 2007 album, Riot! sell some two million albums worldwide and get a Grammy nod. (The 2008 live album The Final Riot! sold remarkably well, too). The band persevered even as rumors suggested it was about to split because the guys couldn’t take the fact that fiery front woman Hayley Williams got most of the attention. And yet, the band doesn’t miss a beat on brand new eyes, its new album due in stores on Tuesday.

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As an artist who has always ensured his b-sides are of as outstanding quality as his singles and album tracks, SWORDS features some of Morrissey’s finest material. 12 songs are collaborations with guitarist Alain Whyte, the rest co-written with guitarists Boz Boorer and Jesse Tobias, and former keyboardist Michael Farrell. In keeping with the three remarkable studio albums covered in his period – 2004’s You Are The Quarry, 2006’s Ringleader Of The Tormentors and Years Of Refusal – the music is powerful and adventurous. The richness and expression of Morrissey’s voice has never been greater. With unmatchable style, wit and insight, truths beneath the surface are laid bare. There are moments of personal reflection; “Munich Air Disaster 1958,” for example, is a heartrending lament for the Manchester United players who died in the infamous plane crash, and for those who were left behind. The live cover version of David Bowie’s 1973 song “Drive-In Saturday” reveals a little more of Morrissey’s own teenage self, with its lyrics of amorous confusion modified to rhapsodize over The New York Dolls rather than the Rolling Stones.  Chrissie Hynde makes a rare appearance, singing backing vocals on “Shame is the Name.”

The album was compiled by Morrissey who is surely in the rudest of creative health. They’re subtly assembled and sequenced –the feeling of approaching extinction in the beautiful “The Never-Played Symphonies” followed by a promise of a reunion in the afterlife on “Sweetie-Pie.” As Morrissey said of the Tour Of Refusal in March, “all of our answers will be in our songs.”

Initial quantities of SWORDS will come with a bonus disc featuring eight superb live performances recorded in Warsaw in July this year. This will include songs from Morrissey’s last two albums and 1994’s Vauxhall And I, plus The Smiths’ “You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby,” first heard on the group’s 1986 b-side collection The World Won’t Listen. In October and November Morrissey and his band will also tour the UK and Europe, with new American dates scheduled for later in the year.

SWORDS will be released in the UK on October 26th and November 3rd in the US.

SWORDS Tracklist:

 Good Looking Man About Town
Don’t Make Fun Of Daddy’s Voice
If You Don’t Like Me, Don’t Look At Me
Ganglord
My Dearest Love
The Never-Played Symphonies
Sweetie-Pie
Christian Dior
Shame Is The Name
Munich Air Disaster 1958
I Knew I Was Next
It’s Hard To Walk Tall When You’re Small
Teenage Dad On His Estate
Children In Pieces
Friday Mourning
My Life Is A Succession Of People Saying Goodbye
Drive-In Saturday
Because Of My Poor Education

Limited edition bonus disc:

Black Cloud�
I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris
I Just Want To See The Boy Happy
Why Don’t You Find Out For Yourself
One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell
You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby
Life Is A Pigsty
I’m OK By Myself

 SWORDS Tour Dates:

11/29: Seattle, WA @ Paramount
11/30: Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre
12/2: Oakland, CA @ Paramount
12/4: Indio, CA @ Fantasy Springs
12/5: Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint
12/7: Pomona, CA @ Fox Theatre
12/8: San Diego, CA @ Copley Symphony Hall
12/10: Los Angeles, CA @ Gibson Amphitheatre
12/11: Ventura, CA @ Ventura Theatre