Ambient artist, musician (Roxy Music), and music producer (U2, Talking Heads) Brian Eno has released “77 Million Paintings,” a DVD version of an art installation that is currently on the traveling exhibition circuit. The press release states that “Paintings” is the continued evolution of Eno’s exploration into light as an artist’s medium and the aesthetic possibilities of “generative software.” Which really means that you can turn your TV screen into a piece of multimedia art by popping this platter into your player.

The DVD is a recreation of the exhibit whereby Eno included 20 years worth of scanned images and paintings that morph into 77 million different visual combinations backed by a soundtrack of ambient music and audio snippets. It’s a bargain at $40 and besides it will give you and your TV an alternative to “Night Court” reruns when insomnia strikes.

What sounds like a mash-up of the Grateful Dead and “Brother Where Art Thou?”
The answer is Railroad Earth, the new acoustic jamband that’s as hot as a summer breeze will be tearing up festivals in 2007.
Click player below to hear a sample. It will make you want to quit your job and take up fiddle-playing.

Online: www.railroadearth.com

The 30th Ann Arbor Folk Festival will take place this weekend at Hill Auditorium with MC Jeff Daniels and Headliners John Prine and Rufus Wainwright.

Go to The Ark’s web site for further details.

The Apples in Stereo’s lead singer and driving creative force, Robert Schneider, has invented a new musical scale.

I’m not nearly smart enough to explain it, but if you’d like to hear it, head over to yeproc.com and go to The Apples in Stereo’s page to hear samples from the group’s yet to be released CD, New Magnetic Wonder.

The Enhanced CD features a brief video of Schneider explaining his scale and how it differs from scales we are used to hearing. It has something to do Pythagoras and real vs. imaginary numbers. He calls it a “Non-Pythagorean Musical Scale.”

The end result of Schneider’s revelation is perhaps the group’s finest work to date. New Magnetic Wonder mixes short musical interludes and a host of uplifting pop gems in a way that is pleasing to the mind, body, and soul.

New Magnetic Wonder will be released on February 6th by Simian/ Yep Roc Records.

Canadian indie rock darlings, Sloan, will be performing at St Andrew’s Hall tomorrow night. Doors are at 8 and the opening act goes on at 9. Tickets are still available and $19 at the door.

Sloan is (or are if you’re from Canada) a four piece rock ensemble formed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in the early 90’s. The group saw moderate success in the US with the single, “Underwhelmed,” from it’s 1992 debut LP entitled, “Smeared.”

The multi-demonsional quartet has released 8 LP’s in total to go along with an earlier EP, a live album (1999’s 2-disc “4 Nights at the Palais Royale”) and a greatest hits collection in 2006.

Sloan’s latest, “Never Hear the End of It” was released January 9th in America on Yep Roc records.

The group’s sophomore release, “Twice Removed,” is widely regarded as the group’s best, and, while it helped end their relationship with DGC, it endeared them to fans in their native Canada who hail  it as the greatest Canadian album of its generation.

In the early 90’s the group started it’s own record label, Murder Records. The label featured such acts as Eric’s Trip and Thrush Hermit who would later find US labels and some radio play. The venture was more artistic than financial and loose binds were often broken when bands were discovered by more established labels.

Although never fully embraced by America as a whole, Sloan has many dedicated fans in the states. Detroit and the surrounding areas hold a large portion of those fans. Radio play on Windsor/ Detroit’s 89X has certainly helped the cause.

Handwritten lyrics by the late George Harrison fetches $300,000 and a grocery list from Lennon sells for a measly $1,400 at an auction of rock memorabilia in Scottsdale, AZ. Imagine that!

Sent in by Vicki Price.

Here’s a fun challenge for the serious music fan in your home. There are 54 album covers and you need to give both the artist and the album’s name. It helps if you saved enough brain cells to remember the seventies. Hint: If you don’t know who Wishbone Ash is, you might want to steer clear of this quiz.

On the Web: Planet Rock Album Quiz

Thanks to Rob Gorczyca for passing this along.

Go see Leo Kottke in concert at MCCC’s La-Z-Boy Center on Friday, February 16. The tickets are a bargain at $20. Kotke plays acoustic guitarist like no one else. I’m not sure if it’s folk, jazz or blues, but it sure sounds good. His finger-picking style is amazing and his banter is witty. He’s been around for 30 years playing the folk and college circuit and we’re fortunate to have him here. Whether appearing on Prairie Home Companion or making the jam-band circuit with bassist Mike Gordon of Phish, his performances are always a treat. Except when he sings.

It’s a guaranteed good night out. Reserve your seat now.

Legendary Jefferson Airplane guitarist, Jorma Kaukonen will make a rare solo appearance at Ann Arbor’s Ark on Wednesday, Feb. 28. Once the Airplane was grounded in the ’70s Kaukonen and Jack Cassidy (the Airplane’s bassist) formed Hot Tuna performing electric and acoustic blues.

Kaukonen has since started the Fur Peace Ranch in southeast Ohio which is sort of a rustic guitar camp where students can learn from the stars. Recently he has begun to carve out a new solo career performing country roots music from the likes of Jimmie Rogers and Washington Phillips. No matter what he plays, his finger-picking is always a delight to experience in person.

Well, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction is over and Iggy and the Stooges got the short end of the stick. Not that the Ronettes, R.E. M., Grandmaster Flash, Patti Smith and Van Halen aren’t deserving (well, I’m not so sure about Van Halen). It’s just that an argument could be made that the Stooges (along with another great Detroit band, the MC5) affected the course of music by jump-starting the punk rock movement by several years.

It was 1969 when the Iggy and the Asheton brothers released their self-titled album “The Stooges” This was the same year that everyone was focusing on peace, love and understanding fomented by Woodstock. The airwaves were filled with hippies and psychedelia. While Crosby, Stills and Nash were crooning about “love the one your with,” Iggy was growling out “now I wanna be your dog.” How’s that for foresight? How’s that for credibility? Ten years later, David Crosby would be reduced to a fat gun-carrying addict, while Iggy was triumphantly touring Europe (well, perhaps Iggy was a skinny, gun-toting addict, but no matter). Whose songs best stand the test of time? And who the heck are the 600 judges that voted this year? Retired execs from K-Tel Records?

It really doesn’t matter. They get another shot next year (and the year after that, if necessary). Besides at this point the Hall is probably running out of candidates anyway. I only hope that they don’t get beaten out by Toto or we’ll have to resurrect Lester Bangs and storm Cleveland.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s rant about the Dave Clark Five.

On the Web: Iggy Pop & the Stooges