The Ice Man Cometh

Six years after his last solo album, rapper/actor/filmmaker, Ice Cube, makes a kick-butt return to the charts with Laugh Now, Cry Later. The album was released by the Cube’s own Lench Mob Records on June 6th and debuted in this week’s Top 200 sales chart at number 4, the Hip Hop/R & B charts at number 2. Laugh Now, Cry Later sold 145,000 units in its first week, making it one of the highest first-week sales totals of any independent hip-hop artist release.

Laugh Now, Cry Later features 18 solid tracks with input by producers Scott Storch, Swizz Beatz and Lil’ Jon; and featuring guests Snoop Dogg and Dub C.

The chart-topping Scott Storch-produced track, “Why We Thugs,” was the first single off the album. The second single, “Go to Church,” was produced by Lil’ Jon and features Snoop Dogg.

Ice Cube has sold over 10 million albums to date. Laugh Now, Cry Later is Cube’s sixth album to bow in the top 10 tier of the album chart.

Keep On Rockin' Me

It’s been 30 years since the release of the Steve Miller Band’s seminal Fly Like An Eagle. To mark the date (and possibly because they’re hoping sales will be reflective of the band’s Greatest Hits 1974-78 which, with over 13 million copies sold, continues to be one of the biggest selling catalog pieces in the industry) Capitol Records is releasing Fly Like An Eagle, The 30th Anniversary Edition.

The deluxe set includes the original album in its entirety as well as demo recordings for the album’s major hits, a 5.1 surround sound mix of the album, plus a bonus DVD featuring an interview and recent concert performance by the Steve Miller Band filmed in September 2005 at Mountain View’s Shoreline Amphitheater. (Here's a bit of QuickTime video from Shoreline.)

"With the Surround Sound mix,” says Miller, “people will finally hear the album the way I originally intended it to be heard.” Miller notes that the album’s original recording was done for quadraphonic sound systems. The DVD also contains an exclusive interview with Miller on the making of the record.

On May 25th, The Steve Miller Band launched a tour in support of the album that will keep them on the road into November.

"We just love to play," says Miller. "This tour will be a blend of everything – we’ll do our greatest hits, some acoustic stuff and we’ll also be mixing in a lot of jazz and blues."

Fly Like An Eagle was originally released in May of 1976 and went on to produce three hit singles and sell more than four million copies. The 30th Anniversary Edition streets on June 27th.

Steve Miller Band – 2006 Tour Dates

5/25 Sonoma, CA Sonoma Jazz Plus, Field of Dreams Park
6/24 Murphys, CA Ironstone Amphitheatre
7/8 Muskegon, MI Muskegon Summer Celebration, Heritage Park
Landing
7/10 Lansing, MI Common Ground Festival, Adado Riverfront Park,
7/12 Walker, MN Moondance Jam 15, Hwy. 200 & Onigum Rd.
7/14 Costa Mesa, CA Orange County Fair & Expo, Pacific Amphitheatre
7/18 Highland Park, IL Ravinia Festival, Pavilion
7/21 Cheyenne, WY Cheyenne Frontier Days
7/22 Minot, ND North Dakota State Fair, Main Grandstand
8/3 Paso Robles, CA California Mid-State Fair
8/7 Sturgis, SD Rock’N The Rally, Glencoe Camp Resort
8/17 Danbury, CT Ives Concert Park
8/18 Augusta, ME Augusta Civic Center
8/19 Hyannis, MA Cape Code Melody Tent
8/20 Gilford, NH Meadowbrook Farm
8/23 Vienna, VA Wolf Trap/The Filene Center
8/25 & 26 Boston, MA Bank of America Pavilion
8/28 St. Paul, MN Minnesota State Fair
9/2 Kelseyville, CA Konocti Harbor
9/3 Salem, OR Oregon State Fair
9/16 Pierre, SD Vietnam Vet’s Festival
9/17 Hutchinson, KS Kansas State Fair
9/29 Selma, TX Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
9/30 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Pavilion
11/4 Phoenix, AZ Arizona State Fair

Additional dates to be announced.

Seger to Release New Album

Detroit rocker Bob Seger will release his first studio album in 11 years, according to Reuters. Capitol Records will release Face the Promise on September 12. We can expect to see a single from that album, "Wait For Me," in early July. Says Reuters:

Seger produced the new album, which was recorded in Detroit and Nashville. He is still making final decisions on songs and sequence, but the album is likely to include the title track, which he calls a "big, storming rocker," and a duet with Kid Rock on Vince Gill's Merle Haggard tribute, "Real Mean Bottle."

Seger's last studio album, 1995's It's A Mystery, mostly underwhelmed his fans. Seger himself referred to it as his "garage album," but it may have been a side of the artist fans weren't prepared to welcome. Even Seger's hometown rag, The Detroit Free Press, said It's A Mystery "is an often plastic affair, crammed with drum machines, synthesizers, tepid lyrics and vocal melodrama..." Though bad reviews weren't universal, the album certainly didn't do as well as earlier Seger efforts.

For everything about Bob Seger (except, at the time of this writing, word of this new album) check the well run fan site, The Seger File.

The Poseidon Adventure and Towering Inferno

Contributing editor Tony Buchsbaum writes that missing either The Poseidon Adventure or Towering Inferno on DVD would be a real (ahem) disaster.

See Buchsbaum's review for Blue Coupe here.

All Barry, All the Time

Specialty radio stations are not a new idea. There are all news stations, stations that play a single type of music exclusively -- classic rock, urban, country, soft rock, classical, et al -- others that specialize in talk radio. But KXPZ, 99.5 FM in Las Cruces, New Mexico has a new spin on their dial. All Barry Manilow. All the time. I'm not making this up.

In case you're thinking there might be a dearth of material for KXPZ -- Barry 99 -- to work with, you'd be wrong. The longtime popper and ex-jingle writer ("Like A Good Neighbor, State Farm is There," and "I Am Stuck on Band-Aid and Band-Aid Is Stuck on Me" were two of his early hits) has put out 44 albums over a career that spans well over 30 years. Manilow -- whose recent musical career is starting to look a lot like that of fellow septuagenarianian rocker Rod Stewart (they're even kinda starting to look alike) -- has delivered albums that satisfy every part of his fanbase. Recent releases have included The Greatest Songs of the Fifties (2006), Ultimate Manilow (2002), The Essential Barry Manilow (2005), and so many permutations on the "live" theme that the mind boggles. It reels.

And what of naysayers who suggest this is all a big attempt for KXPZ -- a former Christian station -- to get attention? And that, just maybe, before very long, the little station that would will go to some other format, some new flavor of the week? It's even been suggested that this whole bold and glorious move might just be a lame attempt to gain publicity. It's possible, after all, that the naysayers are right. But, if they are, it's working.

Zoiks! The Day of the Beast

Gosh: where do I find this stuff? This time, it's from the good folks at Ed Rants (I guess, more accurately, that would be from Ed himself) who points out that June 6, 2006 was a very special day.

And, sure: I could make up some funny stuff to say here, but Ed already did a great job when summing up the wild and wacky stuff that might happen on June 6, 2006:

Three sixes will line up magically upon the calendar. What are you going to do? Unless you plan on placing yourself in deep hibernation, you may never see such a calendar combination again! Sure, you can take the easy route and see The Omen remake. But I contend that the real and the hardcore will follow the instructions. Skip work and listen to Slayer!

OK: so here's the truth. Personally, I truly would rather listen to Slayer than see the new Omen movie (c'mon: Julia Styles as mom?) and I really, really am no kind of Slayer fan. (Is there even still such a thing as a Slayer fan?)

When he's not pointing us at National Day of Slayer, Ed is better known as a welcome contributor to January Magazine and the devious mind behind The Bat Segundo Show, "A podcast in tenebrous standing. Starring Jorge, Bat Segundo and the Young, Roving Correspondent. Features lengthy interviews with contemporary authors." Ed manages to blend silly and insightful quite artfully. And, obviously, I'm a fan.

Blue Coupe Gets Bloggy With It

After considerable thought, the editors of Blue Coupe magazine have decided that the publication will be best served by a blog format.Your comments on the change will be appreciated.