Bruce Springsteen is giving away the first single from his forthcoming release on iTunes. You can also pre-order the album for only $8.99.

I’m listening to it right now. I likes it. I likes it a lot.

One of the purist channels I’ve ever seen, where everything he sang and played flowed straight down from heaven. Almost like one of those mystic Sufi guys with one finger pointing up and one finger down. That’s what it was like to listen to. And I had to leave just to preserve some kind of sanity or confidence in myself.

-Eric Clapton on Stevie Ray Vaughan who died in a helicopter crash on this day in 1990.

The Decemberists have announced a tour with a twist. The “Long and Short of It” tour will present the band in two formats in the same city over two consecutive nights. One night will feature longer, epic pieces and the second night, shorter, pop-driven tunes. According to the schedule, Columbus, O is as close as they get to Michigan. I might have to settle for watching them on Austin City Limits. If you haven’t seen their Web site, they certainly have one of the finest illustrators doing the graphics. Worth a look.

At first listen Donavon Frankenreiter’s “Recycled Recipes” seems harmless enough. He’s got a sort of slacker/ surfer style of guitar playing and singing that is easy enough on the ears… for a while.

Eventually though, it wears on you like a smoky voiced ant boring a hole through your soul.

Frankenreiter jackjohnsons his way through six covers that fail to measure up to the originals. His apathy toward the lyrics drags The Bands’ “It Makes No Difference” to a screeching halt. His version of Wilco’s “Theologians” is at best unnecessary and at worst a travesty unlike any the world has ever seen.

A laid back version of CCR’s “Fortunate Son” is the brief glimpse of promise in an otherwise unfortunate collection. That’s only because it reminds me nothing of the original, thus negating any visceral urge to vomit at his desecration of someone else’s hard work.

Does iTunes offer refunds?

I’m not sure if you heard, but Eddie Vedder doesn’t like the current administration. What I’m sure you haven’t heard is his disdain set to the melody of “The Wall.” That is, unless you were in the audience at Lollapalooza.

Fans who tuned in to the AT&T webcast of the show experienced technical, ahem, difficulties as the grunge troubador, through no doubt clenched teeth, urged, “George Bush, leave this world alone/ George Bush, find yourself another home.”

AT&T doesn’t understand why we are all so upset about this. It was an honest mistake. They swear.

Eddie Vedder will perform at this year’s Toronto Film Festival in support of “Body of War,” a documentary to which he contributed two songs. The doc, which was co-directed by Oprah’s dad, Phil Donahue, explores the life of a soldier paralyzed in Iraq.

Vedder also appears on the soundtrack of Sean Penn’s, “Into the Wild,” which will premiere at the festival, as well.

Something tells me Seattle’s favorite son might be off Bill O’Reilly’s Christmas card list.

Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks have reunited to create a followup to “Smile,” Entitled “That Lucky Old Sun (A Narrative). The full project is scheduled to be released on Sept. 10, but a sample song, “Midnight’s Another Day,” can be streamed from Brian’s site.

It’s true and it’s stupid. The last bastion for alternative playlists is being strangled. Don’t we have enough outlets for Justin Timberlake and Kelly Clarkson? There are some brave stalwarts taking up the cause, but they have a might battle ahead.

Read this article on Harp and weep (and maybe contact your representative).

A few things I ran across tonight while scanning through the music mags and sites:

- Elvis Costello will be joing Bob Dylan on the second leg of his U.S. tour. No Michigan dates were announced.

- Loreena McKennitt will be making a second appearance to the area this year at Detroit’s Fox Theatre on Oct. 16. Very talented lady, I saw her show in Ann Arbor this spring and highly recommend catching her live. She travels with an entourage of nine other musicians and their sound is hypnotic.

- No, no: the super-talented, but highly addicted, Amy Winehouse has canceled her North Amercian tour dates due to “exhaustion” which the British tabloids refer to as rehab. Pity, but maybe she can squeeze another song out of the experience.

- Joni Mitchell will release new music in the fall of this year. It’s titled “Shine” and will be on the Starbucks label; Hear Music. It’s said to be music of “an environmentally conscious” nature.

Good night, DJ.

Violent Femmes bassist, Brian Ritchie is suing lead singer Gordon Gano over royalties and credit for the band’s work.

According to the lawsuit the acrimony stems from the slightly queezy feeling we all got from those ill advised Wendy’s commercials from last year. You remember, the one with the two fish and the voice over. Yeah, bad idea, right?

I guess so.