Yeah, that was a letdown...

You've all been dutifully watching as I've gotten a bit excited about seeing the Police reunion tour, so I thought I'd give you an update. (Yeah, I know this is riveting stuff -- do I watch paint dry or read Music Gluttons, but there's a point here, so bear with me...)

I got my Police presale code from Best Buy Reward Zone yesterday morning, and then I waited for 10:00 am this morning to buy my presale tickets (and if any of my 10:00 class is reading this, yes, this is why I was 3 minutes late to class this morning).

I refreshed the Ticketmaster page until "Find Tickets" became available, then clicked the link, searched for 2 tickets and plugged in my presale code. It cranked for a couple of minutes, then told me "No tickets are available."

What? You have got to be frickin' kidding me! You mean I'm in the Ticketmaster site with a presale code two minutes after the presale has begun and there are no tickets available? What a frickin' ripoff...

So, in the immortal words of N.W.A.:
Fuck the Police!

I'll spend my cash somewhere else... grrr....

Dallas Police update

Best Buy Reward Zone has Dallas presale codes available, and the Ticketmaster presale starts tomorrow at 10 am. I looked at the presale for another show, and ticket prices ranged from $50 - $225 each, along with some sort of package deal...

Police tour...

Okay, yeah, you got me... I'm a bit geeked about the upcoming Police tour. I've been looking forward to something like this for a while, because I never got to see them in the 80s.

So I was pretty excited when I saw the Dallas tour date in Star Time this morning. For those who care, the Police will be playing the American Airlines Center in Dallas on June 26.

I've found two ways to get presale tickets so far, so if you wait for the general Ticketbastard onsale date, you're probably going to have a row ZZZ seat. Bring a hankie along for those nosebleeds...

One way to get on the presale wagon is to be a Best Buy Reward Zone member as of Feb. 1. I've got that covered, so that makes me happy... If you're a Reward Zone member, keep checking out the Reward Zone website for presale info.

If you're not part of that happy family, you can join the Police fan club at thePoliceTour.com. They are also promising a fan club premium of some sort, so presale + premium = $100 (the cost of the membership, bleargh...)

Not sure how much tickets are going to be, so that might quell my enthusiasm a bit, but we'll see...

But the really interesting part is that the Police are headlining Bonnaroo this summer, along with an amazing list of musicians (and a couple of comedians at the end): The Police • Tool • Widespread Panic • The White Stripes • Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals • Wilco • The Flaming Lips • MANU CHAO Radio Bemba Sound System • The String Cheese Incident • Franz Ferdinand • Bob Weir & Ratdog • Damien Rice • Ween • Gov't Mule • Ziggy Marley • The Decemberists • Kings of Leon • Michael Franti & Spearhead • Wolfmother • Regina Spektor • The Black Keys • Galactic • DJ Shadow • Gillian Welch • Spoon • Keller Williams (WMD'S) • Sasha & John Digweed • STS9 • Old Crow Medicine Show • The Hold Steady • Lily Allen • North Mississippi Allstars • Fountains Of Wayne • Hot Tuna • Feist • Hot Chip • John Butler Trio • Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys • Aesop Rock • The Richard Thompson Band • Dierks Bentley • James Blood Ulmer • Xavier Rudd • Gogol Bordello • Junior Brown • Tortoise • T-Bone Burnett • Mavis Staples • Clutch • Cold War Kids • Dr. Dog • Paolo Nutini • Brazilian Girls • RX Bandits • The Nightwatchman • The Slip • Girl Talk • Railroad Earth • Martha Wainwright • Rodrigo y Gabriela • Annuals • Tea Leaf Green • Sam Roberts Band • Elvis Perkins in Dearland • Charlie Louvin • Sonya Kitchell • Mute Math • Apollo Sunshine • Uncle Earl • The National • The Little Ones • Black Angels • Ryan Shaw • Lewis Black & Friends • Dave Attell • David Cross •

In honor of...

I'm not a very grouchy person. I like Valentine's Day. I like love, so in turn, I like a good mix of love songs. But, I like them light and fun. It's a personality thing, I suppose.

On the other hand, love does sometimes end, so it's best to have a couple songs handy in case it does.

So, in honor of Valentine's Day, as well as my newest blog, Mild Mixtapes, I've compiled two mixtapes:

First: Love sure is swell and junk!
I think a love mix should be pretty universal. It's pretty hip to pull out little-known tracks, but the best love songs are so universal they always sound fresh...

Side One:
Next To You - Police
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy - Buckinghams
Save The Last Dance For Me - Ben E. King
Higher & Higher - Jackie WIlson
I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend - Ramones
I Hear A Symphony - Diana Ross & The Supremes

Side Two:
Night And Day - Fred Astaire
You've Really Got A Hold On Me - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
Baby, It's You - The Beatles
With A Girl Like You - Troggs
I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever) - Stevie Wonder
Let's Stay Together - Al Green
God Only Knows - Beach Boys

Next: Love Sucks!
This mix can be a little more personal, since let's face it, you'll probably be the only one who listens to it (Except of course the friends you force to listen along). Here's mine:

Side One:
Only Love Can Break Your Heart - Neil Young
Pictures Of You - Cure
Train In Vain - Clash
Come Pick Me Up - Ryan Adams
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry - Hank Williams
Hello Walls - Faron Young

Side Two:
He Stopped Loving Her Today - George Jones
Simple Twist Of Fate - Bob Dylan
Trapeze Swinger - Iron & Wine
Why I Cry - Magnetic Fields
Walkin' To New Orleans - Fats Domino
Country Mile - Camera Obscura

If there are any Pete & Pete fans out there, you'll remember that Artie left to Why I Cry. Probably the saddest break-up I've ever watched.

Back From Tyler...

With a new phone. Bless technology's rapid climb forward, and my willingness to put up with last week's model...

Let's talk Dallas venues. As I reported in the Star-Telegram last week, the Gypsy Tea Room will be closing her doors March 31. Don't look for my sad eulogy. I hated the place.

But where now? Do shows head to Fort Worth, or to existing Dallas venues like the Grenada Theater? There aren't many small clubs left over there these days, What's left? What's on the horizon?

I'll be posting my thoughts shortly...

New SXSW Schedule

It's out there, and it's fairly impressive. Mountain Goats, Junior Boys and The Stooges - It's a handful of great music.

If you are into outsider music, both Daniel Johnston and Jandek are playing.

Check it out at www.sxsw.com

Setting Ozzy Free

Ozzfest will be free this summer... Interesting...

Looks like it will be sponsor city, that's for sure. But hey, if you don't mind enduring some advertising to go to a concert, it's pretty cool. After all, we have to tolerate advertising at some of the concerts we pay to see...

The American music business and its ineptitude...

This is old news, but in an interview with Playboy Magazine (probably why I missed it) last month, American Idol's something-or-other Simon Cowell (Giving him a title would make it appear that I care) said that Bob Dylan's music bored him to tears, and that the old folk troubador would never make it on "American Idol."

Okay, so there's enough absurdity in that quote that I really don't feel I even need to comment on it. If you're reading this blog, chances are you also thought Clay Aiken's "Invisible" was the creepiest song this side of the Partidge Family. So, I'm not even going to waste my breath on why Dylan is superior to anything on Idol. It's like putting the '86 Mets up against the '92 Mets. Sorry, baseball season is approaching... The '92 Mets were awful.

Even more troubling are Cowell's comments about Kelly Clarkson, who is referred to as a "young Aretha Franklin." Now, I like Kelly Clarkson alright, she worked at the same Borders I did, albeit years before, and her more rocky-pop songs are tolerable, even if "Since U Been Gone" did steal a riff from the Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Maps."

Aretha Franklin was a completely developed piano player at the age of five.


Kelly Clarkson likes to bowl at the Euless Main Event.

I rest my case.

My Name is Prince...

USA Today gave Prince's Superbowl halftime performance an A, but I'm grading on a curve. In my eyes (and ears), the 2005 Paul McCartney performance is top of the heap. Mac's performance had good energy, and the set list served as a potent reminder of who he was and why he was prestigious enough to be there.

Yeah, Prince did have a tougher time, what with the weather and all, but why did he have to resort to covers? That makes no sense whatsoever... He could have banged out hit after hit after hit, and still stayed within the family-friendly decency guidelines. In other words, he wouldn't have needed to resort to Darling Nikki, and dry-hump the stage.

Yeah, the stage was remarkable and the band and the twins were great. Even the music itself was good, but my qualms are about the setlist. Prince is not one of those musicians that has had one hit album to draw from, and has to spend the rest of the night throwing out covers to fill time. He's got the back catalog to draw from, and it's full of hits. Use the massive promotional power of the Superbowl to remind people that you can kick major ass with your music...

Future Superbowl performers (because we know they're all reading Music Gluttons, right?) should study the McCartney performance for tips on how to do a Super halftime.

Grading since JBE (Jackson Breast Exposure):
Paul McCartney: A
Rolling Stones: B
Prince: B