Downloadable Preview Tracks from Sharon Lang

Enjoy two free downloads from Sharon Lang's recent album release, "Lovers and Thieves." Sharon is an indie artist from Nashville who apparently led an "acid-rap" band called The Janissary before her foray into this delicate, simple approach. I like it, see what you think.

Sharon Lang
"Hedonist" (mp3)
from "Lovers and Thieves"
(Per Capita Records)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
More On This Album


Sharon Lang
"Gypsy Sluggards" (mp3)
from "Lovers and Thieves"
(Per Capita Records)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
More On This Album

Jackson Browne, Republicans Settle Lawsuit

Jackson Browne, Republicans settle lawsuit
By ANTHONY McCARTNEY, AP Entertainment Writer
From Yahoo

LOS ANGELES – Jackson Browne has settled a lawsuit and received an apology from Sen. John McCain and the Republican Party over use of his song "Running on Empty" during last year's presidential campaign.

The settlement announced Tuesday includes a pledge by the GOP not to use any musicians' work without proper permission in future campaigns, a statement that Browne said he hoped would benefit other artists.

Browne sued McCain and the Republican National Committee and the Ohio Republican Party last year over use of "Running on Empty" in a Web ad mocking Democrat Barack Obama's proposed energy policies.

McCain's loss in November didn't end the lawsuit, which had been slated for trial early next year. Formal settlement papers have yet to be filed with the court.

"This settlement is really a great affirmation of what I believed my rights to be, and all writers' rights to be," Browne said in an interview with The Associated Press. "One would hope that a presidential candidate would not only know the law but respect it. It was a matter of bringing that issue to bear."

Financial details of the settlement were not announced.

McCain didn't know about the ad, which was created by the Ohio Republican Party and removed after Browne complained, said the statement, attributed to McCain and the state and national parties.

"We apologize that a portion of the Jackson Browne song 'Running on Empty' was used without permission," the statement said.

Browne said he hoped the lawsuit and its successful resolution would have an impact on future political campaigns by putting an end to cavalier attitudes about artists' copyrights.

"I would hope that they would think twice about taking someone's song without permission and understand that the law was put to the test and our rights prevailed," he said.

McCain's campaign ran afoul of several musicians during his presidential run, including the Foo Fighters, Heart and John Mellencamp. Obama wasn't immune either — soul legend Sam Moore asked his campaign to stop using "Soul Man."

Browne released "Running on Empty" — the song and an album by the same name — in 1977. According to the lawsuit, the album has sold more than 7 million copies.

The lawsuit said Browne was concerned that use of his music would cause people to conclude that he was endorsing McCain, even though the 60-year-old singer-songwriter is a self-described liberal and contributed to Obama's campaign.

It remains a concern for Browne.

"Thousands of people come to an event or they see it on TV and they see John Mellencamp's song being used or Ann and Nancy Wilson's song being used and they assume a kind of solidarity and a kind of endorsement that simply does not exist," Browne said.

"Hopefully it will just go to illustrate there is a legal remedy for this."

Browne and his attorney both said they expect the settlement, apology and McCain and the parties' high profiles to prevent some future problems.

"The educational significance cannot be understated," said Browne's attorney, Lawrence Iser, a partner in the entertainment litigation firm Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert.

"People like Jackson have the right to license the use of their songs for political campaigns, or to choose not to," Iser said. He noted that even though the ad using Browne's song played on the Internet, copyright law doesn't differentiate between those and other broadcasts.

Browne said the typical remedy to misuse of one's music is to file a copyright infringement lawsuit, but that not all musicians can afford that. He brought his lawsuit, he said, to help protect the next generation of artists.

"If you don't uphold the law that allows people to make a living from this, the result is you won't have people able to do this work," Browne said.

TraceInvader's Austin Music Picks for the Week

Monday, July 20th:
Hole in the Wall: Paul Minor, Beth Lee, Speakeasy
Momo's: Clay McClinton, Josh Grider, Wisebird, Brian Pounds, Sean Faires
Red Eyed Fly: The Nouns, LeBaron Fairchild, Smiling Knights
Waterloo Records in-store: Telegraph Canyon (5pm)

Tuesday, July 21st:
Cactus Cafe: Sarah Peacock, Alyse Black, Aly Tadros
Emo's: the Tastydactyls, Zlam Dunk, Cast Spells, So Many Dynamos
Hole in the Wall: Drunk Armstrong, Muchos Backflips!, Clyde & Clem's Whiskey Business
Jo's on 2nd: Matt the Electrician
Mohawk: the Fever Dreams, Thing One, Watching the Moon, Yourself & the Air
Saxon Pub: Waylon Payne, Sahara Smith, Chris Brecht, Mystic Knights of the Sea
Stubb's: Sad Accordions, Jessica Lea Mayfield

Wednesday, July 22nd:
The Amsterdam: Paula Nelson, Kittinger
Antone's: Girl Guitar, Vallejo
Beauty Bar: Men
Beerland: Upper Echelon, Izzy Cox, Pitch Black Jungle, Lost Knobs
Continental Club: Stone River Boys, Jon Dee Graham, Freedy Johnston
Creekside Lounge: The Somethin' Ain't Rights, Introverb, Beautiful Supermachines, Framing Strangers
Emo's: Rebel 3 District, Highperbowlee, By Them I Mean Us, One-Step Program
Hole in the Wall: Reverse X-Rays, School Police
Lucky Lounge: Purple Rain theme show w/ Krush Groove
Mohawk: Anchor in the Valley, Ghostbeard, Minorcan
Momo's: Joanna Barbera, Suzanna Choffel (solo), Jess Klein, Jack Valen
Nomad: Jazz Happy Hour w/ Sarah Walter Sharp
Saxon Pub: Garrett LeBeau, Paul Wesley, Monte Montgomery, Steven Ray Will
Scholz Garten: Will Taylor & Strings Attached

Thursday, July 23rd:
Antone's: Jonathan Tyler, the Northern Lights, the Mother Truckers
Continental Club: Ruby Dee & the Snakehandlers, The Motions, Slowtrain, Moonlight Towers
Flipnotics: Troy Campbell, Ben Mallott, Clay Fain, Graham Wilkinson, Chris Brecht
Hole in the Wall: Corinne Rose, Minor Mishap Marching Band, Electric Mountain Rotten Apple Gang
Long Center: Catalyst 8 Presents The Most Interesting DJ in the World Party
The Madison: Mista Swift, Graham Wilkinson
Mohawk: Frank Smith, Crooks, Western Ghost House, Caleb Coy
Momo's: Suzanne Sherwin, Deadman, All Left Out, Margo Valiente, Fluoxetine
The Scoot Inn: The Doolins, Horse Opera, Dave Insley's Careless Smokers, Charlie Hurtin' & the Hecklers
Victory Grill: Souled Out with Tje Austin, Akina Adderley and the Vintage Playboys

Friday, July 24th:
Cactus Cafe: Barbara K, Terry Allen
End of an Ear: Tiny Vipers
Threadgill's: Drunk Armstrong, White Ghost Shivers
Trailer Space Records & Events Center: Damage Pants, Followed by Static (6pm)

Saturday, July 25th:
Beauty Bar: Woven Bones, Pterodactyl
Lambert's: Golden Arm Trio, Benko
Long Center: Tori Amos
Travis County Expo Center: Heatwave Car Show w/ Trae, Mike Jones, Ice Cube
Trophy's: The Focus Group, Dark Water Hymnal, the Distant Seconds, Big Rock Candy Mountain

Sunday, July 26th:
Momo's: Africa2Africa Lineup w/ Akina Adderley & the Vintage Playboys, Tandoorifinger, Paul Banks & the Carousels, Kalu James, and John Pointer
Saxon Pub: Milkdrive, "Scrappy" Jud Newcomb, Bobby Whitlock & CoCo Carmel

Wilco Keyspan Park Review

Wilco, Feist, Yo La Tengo Bring Indie Rock Nirvana To Coney Island
from Billboard
July 14, 2009 11:00 AM ET
Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

Wilco drafted a slew of high-profile guests for its Monday night (July 13) show at Keyspan Park near New York's Coney Island, collaborating with Feist, Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste and Yo La Tengo during the encore of the performance.

Opening act Yo La Tengo joined Wilco for a raucous run through the noise rock epic "Spiders (Kidsmoke)," while Feist and Droste joined in on percussion on "Hoodoo Voodoo" to close the evening.

Earlier, Feist dueted with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy on "You and I," which they will reprise tonight on "The Late Show With David Letterman."

Feist remained on stage to sing on "California Stars," and was joined by Droste for that cut as well as "You Never Know," from Wilco's brand new album "Wilco (the Album)." Tweedy also led the sold-out crowd in a rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."

The show spanned Wilco's 16-year canon, blending newer tracks like "Impossible Germany" and "Bull Black Nova" with fan requests such as "I'm Always in Love" and "Can't Stand It."

"Wilco (the Album)" was released on June 30 and sold 99,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 4, a career best.

Wilco's full set list:

"Wilco the Song"
"I Am Trying To Break Your Heart"
"A Shot in the Arm"
"At Least That's What You Said"
"Bull Black Nova"
"I Am Your Face"
"One Wing"
"Handshake Drugs"
"Deeper Down"
"Impossible Germany"
"Jesus Etc."
"Sonny Feeling"
"I'm Always In Love"
"Can't Stand It"
"Hate It Here"
"Walken"
"I'm the Man Who Loves You"
"Hummingbird"

Encore 1:
"Heavy Metal Drummer"
"You and I"
"California Stars"
"You Never Know"
"Misunderstood"
"Spiders (Kidsmoke)"

Encore 2:
"The Late Greats"
"Hoodoo Voodoo"

Austin Music Picks for the Week

Monday, July 6th:
Austin Moose Lodge No 1735: Spiked Punch, Roman Candles (7pm)
Club 1808: Spiked Punch, Roman Candles, Prince Rama, the Silver Pines
Jovita's: Chris Jamison, Loose Leaves
Ming's Cafe: Brad Houser, Eldridge Goins, Craig Marshall
Mohawk: Drew Smith, Kacy Crowley, the Lennings, Lovely Houses
Saxon Pub: Matt the Electrician, Bob Schneider, Jeff Plankenhorn, the Twalls
vino vino: Ephraim Owens

Tuesday, July 7th:
Antone's: Marcia Ball, Pinetop Perkins (for Pinetop's 96th birthday.. see him while you still can!)
Barton Springs: Save Our Springs Benefit w/ Atash
Beerland: Prince Rama, Silent Land Time Machine, Palit, the Silver Pines
Continental Club: Toni Price, La Tampiquena
Emo's: Loser Life, Talbot Tagora, Abe Vigoda
Mohawk: Legs Against Arms, Tyler Jordan, Colin Herring
Saxon Pub: Waylon Payne, Walter Tragert, Ashley Raines, Slow Down Lady
Stubb's: Elizabeth & the Catapult, Greg Laswell
Waterloo Records: Sarah Jarosz (5pm in-store)

Wednesday, July 8th:
Antone's: Sarah Peacock, Aly Tadros, Alyse Black
Beauty Bar: All in the Golden Afternoon, Golden Animals
Beerland: The Texreys, Howlies, the Golden Boys
Continental Club: Kevin Welch (6:30pm), Jon Dee Graham (10pm)
Momo's: Joanna Barbera, Suzanna Choffel, Dan Dyer, Jess Klein, Rosemary's Garden
Stubb's: Brian Wright, Joe Firstman

Thursday, July 9th:
Cactus Cafe: David Wingo, Balmorhea
Emo's: Shed Alfred, Dawes, Deer Tick
Flipnotics: Lincoln Durham, Ben Ballott, Noelle Hampton, Forest Sun, Dustin Welch
Lucky Lounge: Ian McLagan & the Bump Band, OJ & the Broncos
The Madison: Mista Swift, Graham Wilkinson
Momo's: Chris Jamison, Deadman, Matt McCloskey, Hunter Thompson Singleton, Thanks for the Warning
The Parish: Fellow Citizens, Bright Light Social Hour, the Soldier Thread, the Story Of
Stubb's: Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, Trail of Dead, Spoon, Quasi
Triple Crown: George Kinney & the Cedar Creekers, Sarah Peacock, Alyse Black, Aly Tadros
Waterloo in-store: Deer Tick (5pm)

Friday, July 10th:
Antone's: Robert Cray Band
Stubb's: Low, Dale Watson, Spoon
The Scoot Inn: Double Barrel Soundsystem, Proper Villain Soundsystem, Hit the Floor Sound System, the Bandulus
Travis County Expo Center: Jim Jones

Saturday, July 11th:
Antone's: Arc Angels
Continental Club Gallery: Denny Freeman w/ Jimmie Vaughan
Frank Erwin Center: Jamie Foxx
Hanover's: The Weathermen
Stubb's: The Strange Boys, Atlas Sound, Spoon

Sunday, July 12th:
Antone's: Natalie Zoe Benefit w/ Candiland, Malford Milligan, Les & the Funk Mob, Neckbone, LZ Love, Blues Mafia, Joel Guzman & Sarah Fox, T Bird & the Breaks
Iguana Grill: Van Wilks
Mohawk: The Winter Sounds
The Parlor: Skate Deck Art Show w/ The Altars, Riverboat Gamblers
Saxon Pub: Milkdrive, "Scrappy" Jud Newcomb, Bobby Whitlock & CoCo Carmel