Forget about Chinese Democracy. Glassjaw is back!

Listen closely, be patient (General surgeon's warning: not for faint of heart!)

Screw Santa, Richmond VA's finest absurdists are coming to town.

The Hot Seats (formerly Special Ed & The Shortbus) recently returned from a month in Scotland and England, bringing their snazzy melding of bluegrass/old time/rag time/and bizarre Vaudevillian antics to the old world.

Now that they're back, they're planning to quest out on a new US tour, which will include a stop in Phoenixville Dec. 27 at the good ol' Steel City Coffeehouse.

Check the comments for further details.

There can be trillions of visionary and innovative musicians, but a songwriter will never write a great song unless he or she has felt what it's like to lose everything. Kinda the way a girl scout can't whip up a good glass of lemonade without lemons.

If anyone's rapped with unabashed heart in the hip-hop genre these past few years, it's Kanye West. After three impressive and well-received albums, there is no arguing that he is a visionary not just in his genre but in today's dry popular music climate. But has he written any GREAT songs? Not really, not Sam Cooke or Stevie Wonder great.

But things change quickly. Since last year's "Graduation," Kanye's been through a tumultuous break up with his ex-fiance, and also lost his beloved mother, whom died abruptly a year ago. And thus, his latest musical outing isn't informed by his heart, but by all this heartbreak he's lived in this short burst of time. And as sad as that all is, it's truly made for Kanye's greatest work yet.

Steeped in digital auto tune crooning and icy beats (it's got some glowing dance beats too which fit right into the mix), 808's & Heartbreak is as far away from hip-hop as hip-hop can get. It's more like Daft Punk covering Nina Simone's "Lady In Satin," and that is no exaggeration. The melding of techno, soul, and hip hop here is as smooth and exciting as when Ray Charles first married the sounds of gospel and blues to the world of rock n' roll, thus creating R&B.

I'm not saying Kanye's created anything super new with this album. Nor am I saying it's the album of the year. But Kanye's done something different, something raw, something honest, and something from the soul. More importantly, it's something that no one else in hip hop would ever have the guts to do. In that respect, Kanye is quite possibly this age's finest musical pioneer.

Chances are that Kanye's next album will be back to business with more straight forward hip hop, and that's why this album is all the more great. It's not just a glimpse into Kanye's darkest hour, it's also his finest, truest bid to be great. Every song he writes from now on will be coming from a whole other place.

Guns N' Roses are one of those bands that you either:
A: HATE.
B: Love AND hate. (Considering their name, not all that ironic)

And since Axl finally (FINALLY!) ponied up his 14 years-in-the-making magnum opus, Chinese Democracy, there's all kinds of love and hate beaming around the Scene & Heard offices this week. So what say we shine the ol' Top Five Tuesday light on the new album in proper Guns N' Roses fashion, shall we?

Top 5 reasons why Chinese Democracy sucks
5. Axl Rose.
4. As grandiose as this album tries to be, the long-standing jokes about the album are bigger. You're not buying an album anymore, you're buying a hyper-marketed piece of the pop culture mountain, which Dr. Pepper, Guitar Hero and Best Buy have been more than happy to fan the flames of.
3. Remember when you had your hopes so impossibly high for The Matrix sequels, and then were completely let down? Multiply that feeling times 743. Industrial Rock Axl=Flying Superman Neo.
2. This record would have blown the world away 10 years ago. Now it just blows.
1. Okay, it's not that bad of a record, but Axl... really? You spent 14 years on this? Sorry bucko, too much, too late.

Keeping that in mind, here's..
The Top 5 reasons why Chinese Democracy is a (dare I say) brilliant record.
5. Axl Rose.
4. Doing just fine without Slash & Straddlin, thank you very much.
3. The scathing title track is already banned in China. Now that's rock n' roll.
2. "If The World" is one of the sweetest songs I've ever heard. Industrial funk blues? Who knew Axl had that in him? The song alone is worth the album.
1. Listening to a Guns N' Roses album used to be like staring at the sun through sunglasses. Listening to this is like staring at the sun through a telescope.

You know what the trick is? Forget the love and hate. Pull yourself away from everything you think you know about this album. Forget how much money it cost to make, how long it took to make, how many jokes VH1 and Rolling Stone mag made about it over the years. Forget that it's "Chinese Democracy." Forget that it's a Guns N' Roses album, because it isn't. Just crank the volume up and let it be what it is.

It's a special record. Not because of it's pop culture significance, but because with it, Axl is attempting to do the same thing with heavy rock that Mozart did with classical music. Of course, Mozart was ridiculously and brilliantly prolific, while Rose spent 1/3 of Mozart's lifespan writing this grandiose record, so screw Axl. He's just a pompous metal head with a terrible dread job. (Like I said, folks. Love and hate.)

And you thought the X-Games were off the wall? Check out today's YouTube clip. It will knock your pants off.

You won't find many words in Trevor Gordon Hall's esoteric guitar scapes, but there is a lot to say right now about his upcoming record, "Finding My Way."

For the past 2 years or so, Trev's been beaming at shows and in person about all the new music coming out of him and over the excitement of working with Grammy Award winners Joe and Phil Nicolo on the album (they've worked with a laundry list of greats, from the Stones to James Taylor to The Police to Bob Dylan).

And now you can see why. Get your first taste of the new album at his Myspace, where he's posted 4 new songs, including his stirring take on The Beatles' "Come Together."

Hall has also announced that he's signed with Revel Music to release the effort, and they've been shopping it around for proper distribution. National touring is likely, but stay tuned for details on the local CD release party in the coming months, as it will surely be a must-go-to.

More info at Trev's Myspace.

Yesterday's election has significance for you--no matter what type of American you are. If you are old enough to have lived through civil rights--or had parents who lived through the Civil War--you see firsthand the cultural significance of what's happened here. But us, the younger and more naive (we had it sooo easy, right? The internet and didn't have to walk uphill to school) generation, we see this as the first person in politics to stand up and make us believe in our country. In the end, maybe he'll make a few messes like Bush, but for now, he's brought us together--not pried us apart.

And so for that, we're giving you some free music to celebrate freedom. These are songs in celebration of what's happened here. If any of the following songs run for president some day, I'll vote for 'em.

Mixtape For Obama (click on song title link for MP3)

1. Ben Sollee - A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke cover)
-Last night Obama totally and appropriately quoted this. No better song for the moment.
Buy / Myspace

2. U2 - Pride (In The Name of Love)
-This one's for Martin Luther King Jr. , who is no doubt smiling where he is right now. And as for U2, this was the song that marked a change for them.
Buy / Myspace

3. Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running
-This song from early 2007 is a call for the sort of thing that happened yesterday.
Buy / Myspace

4. The Beatles - I've Got A Feeling
-The band that celebrated this type of thing best deserves a spot, right? I think Lennon would be proud.
Buy / Myspace

5. Howard Huntsberry - Your Love Keeps Lifting Me (Higher & Higher)
-This Jackie Wilson cover comes from Ghostbusters 2--that being the movie where the Statue of Liberty marches through New York City to thwart the evil domination plot of a demon ghost. Relevant? You decide.
Buy

6. Eva Cassidy - People Get Ready (Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions cover)
-A beautiful cover of one of my all time favorite songs, and now it has context. All aboard the Obama train!
Buy / Myspace

7. Oasis - Keep The Dream Alive
-They might be from Britain, but they write great music for this sort of event.
Buy / Myspace

8. Kelly Clarkson with Jeff Beck - Up To The Mountain (Patty Griffin cover)
-I swear, I have just one Kelly Clarkson song in my iTunes...and this is it. Beck's guitar and her voice are so excellent together. As you can see with this Patty Griffin cover, lots of great music has been written about the dream of Martin Luther King, and now Obama is bringing these songs to life.
Myspace

9. Bruce Springsteen & The Sessions Band - We Shall Overcome
-After all the support Bruce voiced for Barack, it'd be sacrilege to not include him on this mix.
Buy / Myspace

10. Kevin Michael - We All Want The Same Thing (feat Lupe Fiasco)
-This young neo soul hip hopper from Philly has a bright future. And this song is about everything that's just happened.
Buy / Myspace

11. Robbie Robb - In Time
-I posted this song when The Phils won the World Series too. It's the perfect song for a hopeful future, for celebrating, for believing. And yes, it IS from the Bill & Ted Soundtrack.
Buy

Got any favorite America songs yourself? Share 'em in the comments.


About Scene & Heard's Mixtape For Obama
Sure, you can argue for or against the messy messes made during W. Bush's 8 year residency of the White House--the wars, the economy, the policies, gas prices, foreign relations, America's financial future, yadda yadda yadda.

Here at Scene & Heard HQ, we're too occupied with pictures of Natalie Portman and the new Kings of Leon album to really get bogged down with that.

But now that the age of Obama has dawned, I realized W. is why I had become so complacent in politics and faith in my country. John Mayer's "Waiting on the World To Change" sums that idea up better, but whether you believe W's work in the White House was good or bad, you must see the canyon he created between young America and old America. Idealistic and realistic. Proud and scared. Bottom and top. White and black. We were the un-united States of America for so long now--and I think a movie like The Dark Knight illustrates that rather poetically (and comic-bookly, if there's such a word).

And that's why Obama is special--because he got us paying attention again (like Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight!). Not because of what he says he will do or can do. But because he got us to put down the beer pong for a moment to hear what he had to say on the television. He got us out to the polls--in remarkable numbers. He inspired us to think about the America that we learned about in elementary school--the Lincolns, the Jeffersons, the Roosevelts, the Kennedys--and to believe that that America can still exist.

He saw that rift and said--let's bridge it.

But more importantly, he's illustrated that any building in democracy and America begins with us, the people--not a president.

That is what I want in a leader. I don't care if he's pro-life or pro-choice. I don't care if he's Republican or Democrat. I don't care if he's experienced or unexperienced. Black or white. None of that crossed my mind when I voted yesterday. I just want to be inspired to be better. I want to hear someone ring liberty's bell, even if it's cracked down the side.

There's lots of so exciting I think I wanna jig around the office news coming out of the Burning Bridget Cleary camp today.

Namely, they've finally laid the pipes for their highly anticipated new CD--Everything is Alright. And after 9 months of writing & recording it--it's safe to say it's their baby. The album, which is sure to be ripe with cheer, will be out just in time for the holidays. They also announced a fresh batch of upcoming holiday shows including their CD Release Party & Holiday Show Extravaganza on Dec 13 at the ol' Steel City Coffeehouse.

Check the comments to see their full-on statement and slate of upcoming shows for the full deal.

Well here we are, election eve. The respective campaigns would have you believe this is the most important choice America has had to make since democracy's inception. Which means you got a lot riding on your back when you are forced to choose Obama or McCain at the polls tomorrow. So for those who are split down the middle, there is only one fair way to settle this.

A dual!

But we can't have them handle this the way Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton did. We have to do this right.

A break dance dual! Who's the better man? You decide.

As promised, I began writing my novel yesterday to kick off NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month), and the overarching theme of it is about the quest for "the perfect song." I have an idea of what I'm going to play around with, but I'm curious--what makes up YOUR perfect song. What are the ingredients? What does a song need to have? What does it need to do to people? Should it bang and crash, or be soft and lucid? Are lyrics as important as melody and music? Does it need lyrics? What emotions should it stir up in you? Lonliness? Togetherness? Love? Hurt? Soul? Pain? Struggle? Success?

And with that in mind, do you think it's remotely possible for one song to affect every single person? Is there something primal than can be written into a song that can blow any mind, blast open any barrier? Or are people too different and polarized at this point in history to ever possibly be brought together on the same sonic plain, if only for 2 minutes and thirty-eight seconds by a song?

Sound off in the comments about your favorite songs, or what a song needs to be perfect.