We're going to make this a short post tonight. Why? Well, Christmas is beginning to jumpstart 'round here in OC and there are some things that are too much fun to miss. One is the tree-lighting ceremony at South Coast Plaza. And I always like attending those and so...

Still, the news is slow and I suspect will be for the rest of the year. But, we will put stuff up as we get them so there shouldn't be too many empty posts. Me, I always enjoy seeing stuff that are hinted at for the next year. I just wish that there would be more reissues, and more good music like the recent Bad Lieutenant album (from the dust of New Order). Let's just keep our fingers crossed.

2010 should be a different kind of year as we continue to watch music shift and change due to consumer habits. Streaming is beginning to get a foothold. in a constantly moving world, we no longer have the time to put on an LP or CD and sit back to enjoy it. Radio has gone so far off base that we cannot get a bearing on any other kind of music other than the genre-specific stuff spilling from the station we choose to listen to (or in many of our cases, we HAVE to listen to. It's strange, the new times we live in. DDs probably have a shorter life-span than CDs had. But that's something we'll see in the future as we get to it.

Ohhh, to have the those early years of Rock all over again.

Our writer/editor of As The Disc Spins returns from a much needed sabbatical with a new installment that features Dylan classics. You should check out this new As The Disc Spins. In it he reviews New Morning, Before the Flood, The Basement Tapes, and Dylan & The Dead, as well as single set reviews of Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series Vol 8 - Rare and Unreleased 1989-2006, and Dylan. Welcome back, Lindsey Planer. As a reminder, all of Lindsey's As The Disc Spins articles can be accessed at the menu selection - As The Disc Spins.

I have a music-related app idea that I'm fleshing out but, surprise, I can't code for it. If anyone out there can write iPhone/iPod apps, and would like to do a collaboration for a 50/50 revenue split, let me know.

RoadRunner Records will release two albums in the beginning of 2010 that include Love is Gone by Dommin (planned for February 2), and Time to Burn by Taking Dawn (planned for January 26). They are initially slated for CD and DD.

Nonesuch Records will release Realism by The Magnetic Fields on January 26. I suggest a click-through to their MySpace page to get a sample of their sound and music. New millennium stuff, to be sure, but I think you might like this.

Oglio Entertainment has scheduled Edendale from BigBang for January 19 in CD, DD, and LP.

Eagle Rock will release a BD (Blu-ray) version of Pictures - Live at Montreux 2009 for Status Quo, planned for January 19.

DD titles have sprung up for The Costello Show: Live at Hollywood High, an ongoing Elvis Costello Live series, and an addition to the upcoming January 5 splash of Rarities Edition series with Ace of Spades by Motorhead.

Fantasy Records will release St Patricio from Chieftains on March 9.

Downtown Records will release Behave Yourself from Cold War Kids on both CD, LP, and DD formats, scheduling for January 19.

Concord Records will release an as-yet-untitled album from David Benoit on March 16.

Vagrant Records will release End Times by The Eels on January 19.

I'm halfway tempted to not announce the upcoming Ringo Starr album, Y Not (January 12- Hip-O Records) due to his 'leave me alone' spiel last year. I don't know...things like that just get under my skin a little. I'm all for privacy and such, really I am. But Ringo chose to enter the Rock star life and, well, people like to communicate with their heroes, simple as that. And now he wants folks to buy his new album... (it's just me and my opinion. If "stars' don't like being interacted with by fans, then get out of the business. We'll forget you easy enough. And I'm not talking about intrusive paparazzi or stalkers). I mention this album for fans.