I have to confess that I’ve become a bit of the Twitter-holic.  Someone sent me an invitation to join Twitter and, like all of the times before, I thought to myself that this is just another way for me to be pre-occupied and I can do without that.  But then I saw a Twitter feed.  Tiny, bite-sized pieces of communication.  I thought that I’d investigate further and before you knew it, I saw MORE use for it than the uses of MySpace and Facebook.  I signed up and tried a few feeds but I was confused and unskilled.  However, I joined a few feeds and saw the very real use of it and refined my account to make it easier to be found. 

On Wednesday, I received my usual blast of email press releases.  I took a few and thought that I would send the release news out on Twitter, almost as fast as I received them.  And then a curious thing began to happen.  I began to pick up followers.  Very soon I began to fully realize the power of such a tool.  MusicTAP now Twitters.  And you should too.  Here’s what you’ll get from me.  As soon as I get an interesting press release, I’m going to send it out over the Twitter network.  If you have this turned on for your cell phone (it really shines here), you’re going to get immediate news even before I post it, IF I even post it, to the TAP site.  And so MusicTAP’s Twitter feed becomes a valuable access point because of the potential news that will go out on the feeds.

I’m going to post the ability for you to sign up for MusicTAP Twitter feeds (see below).  If you’re willing to receive these feeds as text on your cell phone, you’ll get news as fast as I send them out.  I even played around with including cover shots and it worked brilliantly.  Needless to say, I love Twitter.  I’ve a feeling that you might like it a lot too.  TAPStuff isn’t the only thing that you can get on this.  The NYTimes broadcasts news as it happens as do many other news outlets.  This is even true of bands, labels, etc.  And yes, you’ll be quite addicted in no time.

I certainly understand if you choose not to sign up.  Damn newfangled internet ideas; it just gets to be too much.  But Twitter is a little different from the rest as you don’t need to develop a page.  You just sign up, and follow who or what you want.  You can access it via the PC (easy enough) but you can also go the extra mile and have all selected feeds (you can choose which to have sent) head immediately to your cell.  I hope that you sign up and follow MusicTAP.  I think that you’ll find the benefit to be a good one. Head on over to Twitter. From the widget found below, you can read our updates, sign-up with Twitter, or, if you already have a Twitter account, you can click follow.

Most of all, have fun with it.  If you’re already signed up on Twitter, then be sure to follow us and we’ll make it worth your while.

Unrelated to music, I know, but it is a sad day today with the passing of Norm Van Lier, known to Bulls fans as Stormin' Norman. He thrilled my HS years when he played as a Bulls guard along with Jerry Sloan (come back, Jerry...finish your years out as a coach with the Bulls), Tom Boerwinkle, Bob Love, Chet Walker, Rick Adelman, and the rest of that great crew. He will be missed greatly!

We have a few more reviews for you today that include a new review by Mark Squirek of the latest JD Souther album, If The World Was You . I’ve added my thoughts within a Various Artists review of Lift Every Voice.  This album celebrates the African American contributions to music over two CDs and is a good introduction.

Our next post is on Monday and will be our last for a few posts that includes March 6, 9, 11, and 13.  We’ll be back on Monday, March16 with a full post.  However, I’ll be Twittering constantly during this period so be sure to not miss ANY of those irreplaceable ‘mini-posts’ from the road.
See you on Monday with the new ‘Best of Band Album Poll’ for Jethro Tull.  It will be tallied up in our usual fun fashion when we return on March 16.

Enjoy the next few days. But before we go, we want to give you a chance to enjoy a few links from the upcoming Rhino reissue, Unplugged...and Seated (Collector's Edition) from Rod Stewart. It is scheduled for March 10.

Rod Stewart - Unplugged...And Seated
Collector's Edition
Listening Party

-- Videos --

Stay With Me
This STILL gives me chills - even this version

Hot Legs

My infatuation with the NYC band, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart has yielded a 3 CD giveaway of that debut by their label, Slumberland Records.  Not only are we pleased with Slumberland for their willingness to spread a little of that greatness around, but we’re excited that at least three lucky winners of today’s contest is going to be getting a CD copy of the band’s debut release.  We’re going to let the contest run through the week and will announce the winners on March 2, which is next Monday.

As always, we make it simple.  Just click the album cover below to enter and provide pertinent info (which will NOT be made public in any way).  I will randomly pick three to award the discs to.  But do me a favour.  Read my review of the album.  Visit their MySpace/Facebook pages.  There are even several free downloadable MP3s ("Come Saturday" / "Everything With You") to be found at their original site.  If you find that you’re intrigued, then submit your name and address for a chance to win a free copy of the album.  But if you find that the band is not to your liking, increase the chances for someone else by not submitting your name.

If you have missed the last As The Disc Spins (updated), check it out here.

To access the previous site and catch up, click here.

Rhino Records has announced that they will release some pretty awesome Jane's Addiction rarities in a 3CD/1DVD Boxed Set called A Cabinet of Curiosities. It will be an incredible collection of demos and live music that will become an essential to any Jane's Addiction library. It is scheduled to be released on April 21. The other Jane's Addiction news is the upcoming reissue of 180g vinyl LP for the band's first two albums, Nothing's Shocking (1988), and Ritual De La Habitual (1990). The LPs are scheduled for April 18.

For fans of All American Rejects, and Plain White Ts, Tooth & Nail will release Dear Diary by FM Static.  This album will be released on April 7.

The next X: Christian Rock Hits! 2009 Various Artists series is planned for release on April 7.  This album will collect more than eleven CMG tracks.  This will be released by BEC Recordings.

EMI’s CCM Group will release a string of The Ultimate Collection series titles for several artists that include DC Talk; Jump 5; Audio Adrenaline; Newsboys; Nichole Nordeman; and ZOEgirl.  All of these collections are planned for April 7.

Capitol Records will release Sounds of the Universe from Depeche Mode, scheduling for April 21.  More info to follow.

Capitol will also release Lady Love by Letoya Luckett on May 19.

Mark Mallman of "Do You Feel Like Breaking Up" fame is giving away his 'best of' collection called Loneliness in America: 1998-2008. The 10-track digital download will contain that song and is a great bargain. You can get the album from his site at or just click here for the download. His new album (which has quite a story behind it) will be released in the Spring of 2009 (hey that's almost here).

Virgin Records has announced their release of White Lies for Dark Times by Ben Harper and the Relentless 7, planned for May 5.

Gary Wright of Dreamweaver fame has digitally released two new albums. One is the ambient collection full-length called Waiting to Catch the Light, while the other is an instrumental EP that musically recalls the "Dreamweaver" and "Love is Alive." In fact, there is a remixed HipHop/R&B version of "Love is Alive" that Gary worked on with his son, Dorian. The EP is called The Light of A Million Suns. Both titles, while available now via Digital Download, will also be made available on CD in the near future.

Blue Note Records will issue Folk Art from Joe Lovano on May 5.

Doghouse Records will be releasing a very Limited expanded Edition LP (500 copies only) pressed on white vinyl of Fate's Got a Driver (1996) by Chamberlain. It is planned to reissued on April 21 and will contain 5 bonus tracks.

Mute Records will be reissuing the first four classic Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds albums (From Here to Eternity (1984); First Born is Dead (1985); Kicking Against the Pricks (1986); Your Funeral…My Trial (1986)) on April 7 in highly collectible 2-disc Deluxe Editions.  Each album will not only be re-mastered but will also be re-mixed in 5.1 Surround, the second disc being a DVD.   The discs will also contain B-sides from their singles as well as extensive liners notes found in the expanded booklets.  I’m assuming the remixed 5.1 Surround will be in Dolby Digital but I don’t really know as of yet.  We’ll get back to you on this as time gets closer.

Caroline Records will release the new album by The Trews called No Time for Later.  This album is currently planned for release on April 7.  This Canadian band is recommended for fans of Daughtry, Black Crowes, and Foo Fighters, as the saying goes.

Duff McKagen’s Loaded, who has released an introductory EP last year, will release the band’s full-length called Sick.  This 13-track album is being released by Century Media and is expected for April 7.

Libera, the boy choir, will get a 2CD ‘best of’ released on April 7 called Eternal.  The 2 discs will house 32 songs total with 5 previously unreleased tunes (3 of them brand new tracks, while two have never before been released on CD).  This is being released by EMI Classics.

Geffen Records will release a DVD for The Who called Maximum R&B Live.  It is planned for April 7.

Sony Classical presents the Various Artists 2CD collection of African-American artists, celebrated for their contributions to music on the Carnegie Hall event. While this collection does very little justice to the overall impact (you'd need an expansive Box for that), it does provide a nice sampling of what we have come to know as essentials. Lift Every Voice does a nice job in providing a peak into the music of African Americans.

The new album by one pf the world's largest band, U2, is being physically released on March 3 in various forms including a magazine. While the incarnations of the album's release might be a bit of overkill, especially when you consider the extraordinary costs of a few of those issues, they do represent a bit of a collectible side for those that are collectors. No Line on the Horizon is a 'shaken' album of of historical U2 and new U2. To be sure, you'll get what you want from this one.