Here's something that has bothered me for some time.  With your help, perhaps I can put this one to rest.  Basically (and this won't apply to those of you who thinks that there isn't a downside), I'm trying to figure just when The Rolling Stones lost their relevancy, new music-wise.  Did we fall out of love with them?  Did they fall out of touch, unable to write for a new generation?  Or did we just get tired of their new stuff (but thankful for their old stuff)?

I recently picked up all of the current releases of the UMe Remasters (Sticky Fingers, Black and Blue, It's Only Rock 'n Roll, and Goats Head Soup), and was amazed at just how good that music is compared with albums like A Bigger Bang, Dirty Work, Voodoo Lounge, and <insert yours here>.  Which brings up my age old question that I have asked for at least a decade if not longer...when did the Stones become musically irrelevant?

This time I'm going to enlist your help in this matter.  Maybe we'll tackle this on an album by album basis and, along the way, find the spot where they lost footing.  I'll watch the first batch of incoming emails on this subject and then decide if we have something going here.  If we do, I'll ask that we comment on each album in their career, one at a time and then we'll figure it out as we go.  But if there is a general consensus on this, then we'll just go with the thoughts.  But judging by how you readers like to discuss things, I'm betting that we do a real cool, album-by-album discussion that might last for a month.  Which would be a blast...I think. 

I know that some of  you will be appalled that we even think that The Rolling Stones have lost anything at all, that every album they make is special.  That's OK.  If the Stones do that for you, you're blessed!!  But some of us old folks just have to have something to bitch about and this happens to be my subject for the moment and one that I think quite a few of you share with me.  And if this is fun, just imagine the fun we'd have in evaluating the Beatles, Grand Funk Railroad, Led Zeppelin, Rush, and a bunch of other bands.  I'm looking forward to this because, hey...a lot of us need to resolve these things before we get too old.  Right?

Beginning today, tell me what you think.  If you believe that the Stones have lost their way, or if we've lost our way, let me know.  If you have a specific downturn point in mind, tell me.  Comment on this and evaluate.  We'll all benefit from this open discussion.  With The Rolling Stones being one of my all time favourites, their lack of strong continuation certainly bothers me most.  Send your thoughts and stuff to The Rolling Stones Discussion Project.

We have a new set of album covers from our recently launched Great Album Covers Poll. You can still vote for your favourites here and get them posted so that the rest of us can enjoy them. Here's the next list:

• Oh this is a good one! Some of my favorite include:
  
  Santana- Lotus (insane cover that folds out like 10 times!)
  
  Neil Young- On the Beach
  
  Funkadelic- Maggot Brain
  
  Curtis Mayfield- There's No Place Like America Today
  
  Parliament- Motor Booty Affair
  
  Rolling Stones- Sticky Fingers
  
  King Crimson- In the Wake of Poseidon 
  
  David Bowie- Low
  
  That's good for now... I could go all day! - Alex P

Sadly, there is so little to report that it's not even worth the effort. We'll leave what we have and hope that it grows to a nice size by the end of the US Memorial Day holiday, which we'll observe. Which also means that our next post will be on May 27. We really hope that you are enjoying our very popular Album Covers feature and that you'll also take part in our new discussion project. On Wednesday, we'll lauch our Greatest Line from a Song Poll, which should be a load of fun as well. In the meantime, scan our Twitter widget below to catch up on the titles that we have announced over the last few days. See? It isn't all bad. Continue to vote for our Best Album Covers if you'd like to participate.

Reviews are coming up on Wednesday including one for the upcoming Johnny Winter Anthology aw well as the currently available Dan Pound ambient album, Esoterica.

Nettwerk Records will release the debut of fun., which will be called Aim and Ignite. It is planned for release on August 25.

Silent Majority Group, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, will release Mind Control by Tantric, scheduling for July 21.

Jagjaguwar Records (label home of Black Mountain) will release the second album in a planned recorded trilogy by Oneida. The 3CD album is called Rated O and is the middle issue for the trilogy called Thank Your Parents. It is scheduled for July 7 in the US and July 13 in the UK.

Zöe Records/Rounder Records will release the debut solo album from Delore O'Riordan of The Cranberries called No Baggage. No Baggage is scheduled for release on August 25.

The upcoming 311 album, Uplifter, will arrive with several formats in tow. The standard CD will be issued as well as an LP, a Deluxe Version on DD (Digital Download), and a standard DD. It is scheduled for June 2 by Volcano Records.

Columbia Records will release BlackSummer'sNight by Maxwell in both standard CD and a Deluxe Edition CD/DVD set. These are slated for July 7.

Sony Classical will assemble a 'best of' for John Williams called Greatest Hits. This collection will be made available on June 23.

Nonesuch Records will release Day Trip/Tokyo Day Trip by Pat Metheny on a 3LP (180g) set with 2 bonus CDs included. The set will be issued on June 30.

Hip-O Select will release a time-frame collection for Emitt Rhodes called The Emitt Rhodes Recordings (1969-1973). It is scheduled be be ready on July 14 in both CD and DD forms.

Eagle Rock Entertainment will release Living With the Past for Jethro Tull in separately available CD and DVD form on July 14.

Nine tracks of pure Alt/Country with its music on the introspective side.  This self-released album is heavy on the pedal steel with plenty of violin, organ, accordion, and cello added to create an indie album of Americana Pop accentuated by 'pull at your heart' achiness.  The album's brightens up wonderfully with the catchy  “I Drove All Night.”  Stuff from your hard-luck bars. ***

This Brooklyn band has created some exciting music that is exciting to hear in every way. With a string of self-released albums and EPs, they have already made a mark in the heart of New York City. What's best is that they have made ALL of their music freely available, downloadable from their site. If you feel the band's music is worth money, they have a way that you can pay for their music. We invite you to click through to their website and to their MySpace and Facebook pages to get a fill of their music. Recently, Dead Heart Bloom had an awesome song ("New Messiah" - one for the iPod, believe me AND a FREE download) featured on Terminator: The Sarah Connors Chronicles.