upcoming...

A couple of solid albums have been out so far these first two months...there's Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite, there's Jim James' outstanding debut, and then there's the new Nick Cave & Bad Seeds, which just about blew my mind. Some big news today that has to be mentioned here: Trent Reznor officially announced the return of Nine Inch Nails, after a four-year hiatus [link], with new music and a tour. The National announced the release of their sixth album, slated for May. And Iggy Pop & The Stooges are back with a new one, Ready To Die -- this is significant because it marks the first time since 1973's Raw Power that James Williamson and Scott Asheton are back together with Iggy. Also somewhere along the horizon, we'll get Bob Dylan's long-awaited 10th volume of the Bootleg Series [link].

Meanwhile, there are several upcoming releases worth noting:

Old Yellow Moon - Rodney Crowell & Emmylou Harris (Feb 26)
Honky Tonk - Son Volt (Mar 5)
People, Hell & Angels - Jimi Hendrix (Mar 5)
Old Sock - Eric Clapton (Mar 12)
Sound City: Real To Reel - Dave Grohl & Friends (Mar 12)
Love For Levon - Various Artists (Mar 19)
Comedown Machine - The Strokes (Mar 26)
American Ride - Willie Nile (Apr 9)
Stories Don't End - Dawes (Apr 9)
The Low Highway - Steve Earle (Apr 16)
Mosquito - Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Apr 16)
Hubcap Music - Seasick Steve (Apr 29)
Wrote A Song For Everyone - John Fogerty (May 28)

And last but not least, The Next Day by David Bowie comes out two weeks from today. Expectations are riding high on this one.