Tampa Calling

For its July issue, Spin is pulling out all the stops celebrating the silver anniversary of Prince’s landmark Purple Rain, and count me as among those who are stoked. Spin will have a comprehensive oral history of the album and film. Prince and Morris Day declined to be interviewed, but that’s no surprise.

As a bonus, Spin is offering a free downloadable tribute album, titled Purplish Rain, that features nine bands doing song-for-song covers of the Purple Rain’s tracks. The biggest coup was recruiting Apollonia, the one-time Prince protege who starred in the film, to sing a cover of “When Doves Cry” that she cut with Greg Dulli and his band the Twilight Singers.

Check out more details.

A weekly bulletin on musical guests playing late night TV; set your TIVOs or DVRs if you’ve got an early bedtime.

The Late Show with David Letterman, CBS
Wednesday, May 27: The Dead (rerun, April 23)
Thursday, May 28: The Killers (May 11)
Friday, May 29: Wynton Marsalis (May 13)

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC
Tuesday, May 26: Dwight Yoakam
Wednesday, May 27: Sarah McLachlan
Thursday, May 28: Prince
Friday, May 29: James Taylor

Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, CBS
Friday, May 29: Erin McCarley (rerun, April 20)

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, NBC
Tuesday, May 26: Keane
Wednesday, May 27: The-Dream
Thursday, May 28: Rodney Atkins

(Video of Tori Amos and the rest of the schedule on Leno after the jump)
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A dear friend of mine is in the midst of the arduous, exhilerating, terrifying and liberating process of coming out. She recently wrote to me about the central role certain music has played in helping her to interpret and cope with her whirlwind emotions. I’ve combined her suggestions with a few of my own favorites to create a soundtrack that is guaranteed to make anyone’s coming out possible, bearable and even totally awesome.

Prince, Cream: I’ve chosen this raunchy classic primarily for the obvious reason, but also for its subtext of affirmation and empowerment: “Do your dance / Why should you wait any longer? / Take your chance / It can only make you stronger.” So true.

Bruce Springsteen, Rosalita (Come Out Tonight): I don’t think Bruce knew he was writing the following lines for me and gay people everywhere, but we should still thank him for them: “Closets are for hangers. Winners use the door / So use it, Rosie, that’s what its there for!” Although set in a fairly cliche heterosexual context, this song is all about sexual defiance, transgression and freedom. It resonates with queer audiences in a profound way.

Ani DiFranco, Shameless: This spunky jam about a clandestine same-sex love affair was critical in my own coming out journey. Ani communicates the experience of being closeted in characteristically clunky couplets like “We’re in a room without a door and I am sure without a doubt / They’re gonna wanna know how we got in here and they’re gonna wanna know how we plan to get out.” Check out a rousing performance (complete with a full-throttle audience sing-along) after the jump.

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Prince
Lotusflow3r (NPG)
The good news is that Lotusflow3r is the best Prince album since 2004’s Musicology. It’s his most guitar- and rock-oriented in years — perhaps ever — and includes a few songs that deserve consideration for the upper echelon of the Prince canon.

The not-so-good news is that Lotusflow3r is inconsistent and acts as a general reminder that Prince’s genius appears to be a spasmodic proposition. Lotusflow3er, part of a three-CD set sold at retail through an exclusive agreement with Target, is further proof that we’re not likely to get anything like a masterpiece from the mercurial artist again.

Let’s quickly dispense with Lotusflow3r’s sidekicks: Prince’s MPLSound is a collection of mostly brainless dance-funk, only partially redeemed by a couple of seductive soul ballads. Elixer, a Prince-produced disc by the latest of his ingénues, Bria Valente, is destined for the dustbin of R&B divas.

It’s worth noting that the three-disc package costs just $12 at Target, so if Lotusflow3r is the only one worth spending time with, it’s not exactly a rip-off.

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A weekly bulletin on musical guests playing the five-nights-a-week late night talk shows (and SNL); set your TIVOs or DVRs, if you haven’t already seen them…

The Late Show with David Letterman, CBS
Monday, April 6: Razorlight (original air date 03/11)
Tuesday, April 7: Cursive (03/13)
Wednesday, April 8: Bell X1 (03/17)
Friday, April 10: U2 (03/05)

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC
Monday, April 6: Raul Malo (03/11)
Tuesday, April 7: Prince (03/27)
Wednesday, April 8: Prince (03/25)
Thursday, April 9: Naturally 7 (03/18)
Friday, April 10: PJ Harvey and John Parish (03/24)

Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, CBS
Monday, April 6: M. Ward (03/06)

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, NBC
Monday, April 6: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (03/04)
Wednesday, April 8: The Virgins (03/11)
Thursday, April 9: Gabriella Cilmi (03/24)
Friday, April 10: Trace Adkins (03/13) Read the rest of this entry »

A weekly bulletin on musical guests playing the five-nights-a-week late night talk shows (and SNL); set your TIVOs or DVRs.

The Late Show with David Letterman, CBS
Monday, March 23: Bloc Party (pictured)
Tuesday, March 24: White Lies
Wednesday, March 25: Jesse Harris with Norah Jones
Thursday, March 26: U2 (rerun, March 6)
Friday, March 27: Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt (rerun, Feb. 4)

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC
Monday, March 23: Playing For Change
Tuesday, March 24: PJ Harvey and John Parish
Wednesday, March 25: Prince
Thursday, March 26: Prince
Friday, March 27: Prince Read the rest of this entry »

Prince may not be willing to be a “slave” to record labels, but he is OK to work with Target to exclusively retail his next three CDs. In an innovative marketing move, he’ll offer a three-album bundle for $11.99. Available March 29, the three-fer will include Prince’s guitar-oriented Lotusflow3r and funky-leaning MPLSound, along with Elixir, the debut by his latest protege, Bria Valente.

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