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It's it-- Faith No More.

The press release to Rolling Stone is riddled with question marks and fond looks back on a lengthy career. Everything's legit-- after an 11 break that strains the term "hiatus" to its very breaking point, the genre-crossing metal band Faith No More has announced that they will, after ad nauseum harping from their devoted fan base, reunite in 2009.

But guess what? Their reunion tour (for which solid dates have yet to be announced) is Europe only. It's a pretty perplexing move, especially given Mike Patton's continued stateside success under various aliases (Lovage, Tomahawk, Mr. Bungle and so on).

So, while fans across the pond will surely be throwing their berets and kaiser helmets skyward, we Americans must dolefully hold our caps in hand and content ourselves with bootlegged YouTube footage.

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Friday, Feb. 20:
-- Blitzen Trapper play First Avenue
"Originally scheduled to play the Cedar, Blitzen Trapper instead performed at the First Avenue Mainroom. Though you could tell the audience was rooting for the band, the show was not without its problems."

Monday, Feb. 23:
-- Romantica, Kid Dakota debut new material at the Cedar
"Romantica picked up the pace with their more upbeat, rollicking Americana songs, and kept the momentum up for an astonishing 19-song set, including 8 new songs."
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The God Damn Doo Wop Band, courtesy of their Myspace page.

Before you even ask-- yes, a band called Idle Hands has recorded there.

30 bands might seem like a big chaw to chew. But when you've been recording bands for five years strong, and you work your rear off to become a name that musicians in the wary local community will trust, getting 30 bands under your flag is a snap.

Tomorrow at the 400 Bar, a full day of music begins at noon on the dot, and will unspool far into the bar close hours. The robust line-up  of bands, each of whom have recorded at the Devil's Workshop, includes acts like Rope Trick, The Dirty Hits, The God Damn Doo Wop Band, and Cortez the Killer. Which is to say the Devil's Workshop covers a lot of ground in its ambitious stride.

It's a hell of a birthday party to be sure, and Chad Weis from Devil's Workshop spoke with Gimme Noise about what it means to be a part of a music community, and about the collaborative, not competitive, atmosphere within it.

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I'm seriously over this whole "recession" thing.

People are losing their jobs and no one is doing much to help them find new ones. I know the government is trying to handle problem long-term, but what about today? Who's going to help people earn money and support themselves right now? I think I have an idea.

That's right; once again it looks like it's up to me and the internet to save the world (much like we did back in '98 when that asteroid was coming towards earth and the government sent me, the internet, Bruce Willis and Aerosmith into outer space to blow it up. Yeah, that was us. You're welcome).

This past week I scoured the web, looking for ways you can earn some fast cash for providing a service that will never take a dive because of the economy. No, I'm not saying that you should start a Bacon Brothers cover band and tour the country (because I already have and we are amazing. Don't try to compete). I'm talking about a little website called Sellyoursextape.com. Time to fix the economy.

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pictured: The Alan Parsons Project (cf. H. J. Simpson); photograph by andyc20050

So, 1977: it's the year that critics everywhere officially and finally christened punk the savior of rock music and the default counterculture for anyone who even considered rebelling against something, which means that maybe it is not the most hospitable environment for the man who engineered Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon to record a concept record. Yet Parsons' I Robot -- a carefully-constructed, studio-shiny concept album about the nature of being and consciousness in relation to the polarized relationship between nature and civilization, as interpreted through the poetry of William Blake robots -- did pretty well for itself. Sure, most critics of the time thought it was schlock, but tracks from this album have been sampled by both Divine Styler (the title track in "Make It Plain") and DJ Shadow ("Nucleus" in "What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt. 1"), so there: I have just proven it is a good album. Now, on to the clip.More >>

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 27

Turf Club

Dillinger Four
Killer Dreamer
Pretty Boy Thorson and the Falling Angels
The Sinks

21+. 9:00 P.M. $6.00. Turf Club, 1601 University Avenue, Saint Paul; 651.647.0486.

7th Street Entry

Muja Messiah
Kanser
Kristoff Krane
Roc da Situation
Trama
Saint Paul Slim
Immortal
Half Pints

18+. 9:00 P.M. $6.00 advance/ $8.00 door. 7th Street Entry, 701 1st Ave. South, Minneapolis; 612.338.8388.

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Twin Cities News:
-- Cecil Otter has a new video out for "1999."
-- Muja Messiah recently stopped by the B96 studios for an interview and a freestyle session with Peter Parker.
-- Solid Gold checks in from their UK tour.
-- Brooklyn Vegan has photo coverage of Tapes 'n Tapes' NYC show, while Blah & Order recaps the band's Pittsburgh date.
-- Rift interviews Charlie Parr.
-- Hey economy... sit on it: new record store coming to NE.
-- M.anifest shares a preview of "How I Used To Be" from his upcoming album.
-- Consequence of Sound reviews P.O.S.' Never Better.
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