The Cincinnati Heritage Programs put together by the Cincinnati Museum Center have been going on for over 30 years now, taking locals and visitors to some of the Queen City's most important and/or interesting landmarks. The programs have included historical presentations and bus and walking tours to the various sites.

This year so far, the Cincinnati Heritage Programs have shown and told the stories of radio pioneer Powel Crosley, "Grand Old Theaters" and Cincy local TV legends. This Saturday, the Heritage programmers present "Subway Talk and Walk," a nighttime exploration of Cincinnati's incomplete subway tunnel project.

On May 18, from 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m., the Cincinnati Heritage Programs presents the first ever bus tour of various important (not just to the area, but to the world) musical landmarks.

Dubbed "When the Queen City was King of Recording," the tour focuses primarily on a pair of historic recording studios that churned out records that would change the face of music. The bus will visit the original site of King Records, which released seminal albums from the worlds of Country and R&B, a gateway to the birth of Rock & Roll. The bus will visit the old King location at 1540 Brewster Ave. in Evanston, where city officials, the Cincinnati USA Music Heritage Foundation (CUMHF), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and others helped have an historical marker installed in 2008 to commemorate King's contributions.

Here's James Brown's first single, recorded with his Famous Flames and released in 1956 through the King subsidiary, Federal Records:


The tour will also visit the former site of the E.T. Herzog Recording Company, at 811 Race St., downtown. In 2009, the CUMHF and others also lobbied successfully for a marker to placed at the site, which now houses the organization's headquarters. The Foundation has turned the floor the studio once stood into a museum dedicated to the space's history, hosting receptions and recording sessions and showcasing a few artifacts (like the piano Hank Williams played when he was in town to record songs that made him a legend, including "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry") and lots of old photos of the studio in action. The Music Heritage Foundation is currently hosting the photo exhibit, "Annie's Baby Had a Baby," which was part of the big, citywide Fotofocus photography showcase.



The tour ends with lunch and some live music at the Blue Wisp Jazz Club, a block from the Herzog stop.

The tour costs $60 (or $50 if you're a Museum Center member) and some spots are still open. But you'd better act fast. Deadline to register for the "When the Queen City was King of Recording" is tomorrow, May 7. Make a reservation by calling 513-287-7031. And click here for the Museum Center's rundown of great city tours and more. 

You can read a couple of stories from CityBeat about Herzog and King here and here (check our archives; we've written about them a lot).

Since this date only occurs every four years, there are fewer birthdays and notable happenings in the history books. But things have indeed occurred on Feb. 29 throughout time — even a few related to music. Here's a quick roundup:

• Buddy Holly's famous glasses were found at the Mason City Sheriff's office in Iowa, buried in old files. They also found Big Bopper's watch. Both items were believed to have been worn by the pair when they died together in a plane crash in 1959. Holly's glasses are on display at the Buddy Holly Center in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas.

• The Beatles' Sgt. Peppers wins Album of the Year at the 1968 Grammys.

• In 1996, musician/songwriter Wes Farrell, who wrote and co-wrote songs performed by The Beatles and The Animals, many hits by The Partridge Family and Ohio State anthem "Hang on Sloopy," died on this day in 1996 from cancer.

• Don't feel so bad, Sammy Hagar. Eric Clapton can't drive 55, either! The guitar god's license was suspended on this day in 2000 after he was busted speeding.

• Guitarist for Punk pioneers Social Distortion, Dennis Danell, died at the age of 36 on this day in 2000, reportedly from a brain aneurysm (though Mike Ness claims it was a heart problem).

And here's your song for today: a slanted Jazz freakout called "Leap Year Day" by Chicago Lounge music revivalists (they called it "Garage Jazz") The Coctails, taken from the group's Popcorn retrospective box set.



Born This Day: A few psychopaths were born today — like Richard "Night Stalker" Ramirez, Aileen Wuornos (played by Charlize Theron in the film Monster) and Tony Robbins (OK, maybe the motivational-speaking superstar's just a little weird) — but there have been a few musical types born on Leap Day as well.

Big Band Jazz superstar Jimmy Dorsey was born Leap Day, 1904.

Rap star Ja Rule — who released a new album yesterday — turns 36 today and will celebrate in a New York state prison, where he's serving time for gun possession charges (TMZ reports he will party in jail with special meals throughout the day — corn flakes, Jamaican "patties" and "turkey stew").

Chris Conley of Emo favorites Saves the Day was born Leap Day 1980.

Mark Foster, frontman for breakout stars Foster the People (if you haven't heard their hit "Pumped Up Kicks," please tell us where your bunker is located), was born today in 1984.

And poet, activist, spoken word star and inventive recording artist Saul Williams was a Leap Newborn on this day in 1972. In honor of Saul's 40th b-day, here's a video for a track off of his amazing Trent Renzor-produced album The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!

Today in history was not kind to some major Pop Culture icons. Today we lost the Master of Muppets, Jim Henson (in 1990), Andy Kaufman (1984) and lead "Untouchable" Eliot Ness (1957). On the musical tip, we lost masterful, hugely influential Hot Jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt (1953), Rat Pack singer/performer/actor Sammy Davis, Jr. (1990) and, just two years ago, Metal superstar Ronnie James Dio.

Fun fact: Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, which featured Dio on the mic after Ozzy left, was hugely inspired by Django; both had finger injuries that forced them to adapt — and redefine — their playing styles. Things didn't turn out too badly for either.

Rest in peace, all!







Click on for Born This Day featuring Jonathan Richman, Betty Carter, Janet Jackson and Liberace.

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On this day in 1964, The Beatles had the top five singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It's been said that it's an unrivaled feat that will likely never be duplicated but those sorts of records always seem to eventually be broken (especially in the the ever-evolving music biz). The kids on Glee will probably occupy the entire Top 20 this year sometime or Vanilla Ice will die and spark a massive revival, smashing any and all previous chart records.

Until then, here are those Beatles singles in their chart positions the week of April 4, 1964:

1) "Can't Buy Me Love"

2) "Twist and Shout"

3) "She Loves You"

4) "I Want to Hold Your Hand"

5) "Please Please Me"

The group had a remarkable 12 songs on the chart that week. The other songs in the Top 100 were "I Saw Her Standing There" (No. 31), "From Me To You" (No. 41), "Do You Want to Know a Secret" (No. 46), "All My Loving" (No. 58), "You Can't Do That" (No. 65), "Roll Over Beethoven" (No. 68) and "Thank You Girl" (No. 79).

The chart even contained two Beatles-inspired novelty ditties — "A Letter to The Beatles" by The Four Preps (No. 85) and The Carefrees' "We Love You Beatles" (No. 42).



(Stats from the Beatles Bible.)

Click on for Born This Day featuring Muddy Waters, Mike Starr, Curren$y and Jill Scott.

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Today is the 46th anniversary of one of the most memorable "heckles" in entertainment history. And the response was pretty classic, too.

In July of 1965, Bob Dylan shocked the audience at the Newport Folk Festival (where he was virtually a god after performing the previous two years) by performing "electric" and with his full band. Those who wanted to hear solo, acoustic Dylan booed as the group launched into "Maggie's Farm," though some in the audience cheered the bold move. He finished the set with a solo, acoustic encore. Lore has it that the boos were from those upset Dylan was playing electric, though his organist Al Kooper said it was because the sound sucked.

Still, Dylan would deal with such polarized reactions for the next year or so as he continued to rock electrically (the sound couldn't have been bad everywhere, right?) for part of his sets. On May 17, 1966, Dylan played the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England. As documented on bootlegs, film and the official release, The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert, which came out in 1998 (the "Royal Albert Hall" referring to the common misconception that the notorious show was in London), one disapproving fan shouted "Judas!" Dylan responded to the reference to the New Testament tale of Jesus betrayer Judas Iscariot by saying, "I don't believe you, you're a liar." The strange yet perfect response may have been a come-back to the "Judas" yelp, but some believe he was responding to another less audible heckle: "I'm never listening to you again, ever!" Which makes more sense. Sorta.

The young man who shouted the heckle broke his silence after three decades and did a few interviews, calling the moment "embarrassing" for himself. The man, Keith Butler, was also interviewed right after the concert, footage of which popped up in the Eat the Document documentary. The then 21-year-old told an interviewer, "Any pop group could produce better rubbish than that! It was a bloody disgrace! He's a traitor!"

Video of the "Judas" moment was discovered and featured in the biographical documentary film, No Direction Home. Go to the 56-second mark of the clip to hear it.



Born This Day: Musical movers and shakers sharing a May 17 birthday include original bass singer for The Spinners, Pervis Jackson (1938); eclectic Blues legend Taj Mahal (1942); drummer for Prog heroes King Crimson and Yes, Bill Bruford (1949); Irish New Age goddess Enya (1961); keyboardist/songwriter for Phish, Page McConnell (1963); hunky New Kids of the Block star Jordan Knight (1970); former Stoner Rock pioneer with Kyuss turned Hard Rock star with Queens of the Stone Age, Josh Homme (1973); original vocalist for Florida Metalcore band Underoath and current frontman for "Southern Metal" crew Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, Dallas Taylor (1980); and Nine Inch Nails founder Trent Reznor (1965).

Reznor — an Ohio native — was awarded the ASCAP Golden Note Award last month for his work in music over the past 25 years. Presumably not including his time with the early ’80s Cleveland Synth Pop acts Exotic Birds (which opened for Culture Club!) and Slam Bamboo, which sounds nearly identical to Howard Jones.

Pretty fun stuff, actually. The haircuts … not so much.

On this day in 2005, two young musicians died well before their time.

After reportedly battling a bipolar disorder and drug addiction, SoCal Punk drummer Derrick Plourde — who had played with bands like The Ataris, Lagwagon (the band that gave him his start), The Mad Caddies and others — killed himself with a gun. He was 33.

Lagwagon's seventh studio album, Resolve, released later in 2005, was inspired by and dedicated to Plourde. The album became Lagwagon's first to break the Billboard 200, notching a peak position of 172. Here's the single (used on a Tony Hawk video game soundtrack … as Plourde would have wanted?), "Heartbreaking Music."



Also today in 2005, Hideaki Sekiguchi of the Japanese Garage Punk trio Guitar Wolf (known simply as Billy or Bass Wolf) had a fatal heart attack in Tokyo, just after completing a successful tour of America. Sekiguchi was 38 and left behind a wife and two kids. Guitar Wolf — which has put out albums on indie labels like Matador and Narnack in the States — carried on with a new bassist and has released three albums since Sekiguchi's death.

Here's Guitar Wolf's "UFO Romantics" from the band's album of the same name (Sekiguchi's last with the group):

Born This Day: Musical movers and shakers sharing a March 30 birthday include legendary Blues singer/harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson (1914); drummer/poet/songwriter with The Moody Blues, Graeme Edge (1941); drummer for The Surfaris and Love, Ken Forssi (1943); revered Rock/Blues guitarist Eric Clapton (1945); singer/songwriter ("Fast Car") Tracy Chapman (1964); schmaltzy Canadian chanteuse Celine Dion (1968); singer/songwriter Norah Jones (1979) and onetime Rap star MC Hammer (1962).

While Hammer (born Stanley Burrell) did much to popularize Hip Hop, becoming one of its first superstars, he remains one of Pop music's greatest punching bags. Some might say it was his money issues; many had a hard time feeling sympathy as they saw or read about some of the gaudy "luxury items" Hammer had to give up. But, mostly, Hammer was a victim of his music (and videos) just not standing the test of time even slightly.

Spin magazine recently ran its list of The 30 Biggest Punching Bags in History and somehow, despite his running partner Vanilla Ice coming in at No. 6, Hammer was nowhere to be found (nor was, miraculously, fellow birthday celebrator Celine Dion). Click here to read Spin's rundown, here to read it without having to click to the next page 400 times or just look below for the straight-up list. I say take Duran Duran or Lawrence Welk (?!) off and put Hammer in. Justice for Hammer!

1 Milli Vanilli
2 Limp Bizkit
3 Kenny G
4 Creed
5 Insane Clown Posse
6 Vanilla Ice
7 Emerson, Lake & Palmer
8 Matchbox 20
9 Pat Boone
10 Yoko Ono
11 Nickelback
12 Michael Bolton
13 Journey
14 Billy Ray Cyrus
15 Puff Daddy
16 Winger
17 Barry Manilow
18 KC and the Sunshine Band
19 Lawrence Welk
20 The Osmonds
21 Duran Duran
22 Christopher Cross
23 Smash Mouth
24 Black Eyed Peas
25 Lana Del Rey
26 Candlebox
27 John Mayer
28 New Kids on the Block
29 Phil Collins
30 The Monkees

And here's the "full version" of one of Hammer's greatest hits (he had to drag down James Brown with him?). Happy 50th, Stanley! No gasface for you this year, you loveable ol' pants wrangler.

On this date in 2004, modern "jam band" kings Phish announced on their website that they would be breaking up after a short summer tour. The group's "final" tour included a seven-song set on the Ed Sullivan Theater marquee for a swarm of fans on the street and a final show in Coventry, Ver., that attracted around 65,000 fans. That final show would have drawn more but the deluge of rain had organizers concerned that the stage would sink and cars were cut off from entering the site at one point, causing thousands of fans to leave their vehicles on the side of the road and walk to the grounds, Woodstock style.

Maybe God sent the rain because he's a huge Phish fan? What was he going to hippie dance to in heaven?!

In 2006, guitarist Trey Anastasio was pulled over and arrested for suspicion of drug possession (including hydrocodone, Percocet and Xanax), driving on a suspended license and driving under the influence. Though he had continued to be active musically, perhaps that was a "devil makes work for idle hands" kind of thing.

In 2009, the four band members decided that it was time to bring Phish back from the dead. Anastasio told The New York Times that it was because of the recession. Not that the members needed money — they wanted to provide an escape for fans hurting from the tough economic climate.

"For people in hard times, we can play long shows of pure physical pleasure,” he said. “They come to dance and forget their troubles. It’s like a service commitment.”

Alas, all concerts since the comeback have not been free.

This summer, Phish plays Riverbend on June 22. They're also a headlining act at Bonnaroo, coming up June 7-10. CityBeat is helping Phish fans who want to escape their money woes AND not spend lots of money doing it. Click here to sign up for a chance to win tickets to Phish's Riverbend show and here for a chance to score Bonnaroo tickets.

Here's the band performing "Maze" almost a year ago in New Jersey.



Born This Day: Musical movers and shakers sharing a May 25 birthday include Country music singer/songwriter Tom T. Hall (1936); American singer and songwriter; Country singer Jessi Colter (1943), frontman for German Metal giants The Scorpions, Klaus Meine (1948); Jamaican Reggae singer Sugar Minott (1956); still rocking former frontman for The Jam and Style Council, Paul Weller (1958); too-quiet-these-days Soul/Hip Hop genius Lauryn Hill (1975); guitarist for Pop/Rock band The Fray, Joe King (1980); and legendary lyricist Hal David (1921).

The best concert venue in Washington, D.C., may well be the White House. Hal David was recently honored there as part of a tribute concert to him and songwriting partner Burt Bacharach.

The pair was the latest recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. (David could not attend because he's recovering from a stroke; his wife gracefully and graciously accepted on his behalf.) The first winner of the prize — honoring great Americans' contributions to the world songbook — was Paul Simon in 2007. Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney have also received it. And received tribute concerts at the Prez's pad.

Obama's White House has also feted Motown, Country, Blues, Broadway and music from the Civil Rights movement; each celebratory concert was filmed and aired on PBS as part of its In Performance at the White House series.

"This is a pair that combined, like the Gershwins did, a very gifted lyricist (David) and a very gifted composer (Bacharach)," the librarian of Congress James H. Billington, told the Washington Post. "It's taken so long for a major national prize like this to be conferred on them, so we're very happy about it."

Bacharach & David's greatest hits include modern standards like "Do You Know The Way To San Jose," "What The World Needs Now Is Love," "Alfie," "I Just Don't Know What Do To With Myself," "I Say A Little Prayer," "Walk on By," "The Look Of Love" and "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head." The White House tribute — filmed in early May and aired this past Monday night on PBS — featured performances by Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, Diana Krall, Lyle Lovett, Arturo Sandoval, Michael Feinstein and, um, comedian Mike Myers (he cast Bacharach in Austin Powers and, at the White House, did a funny version of "What's New Pussycat?").

Watch (or skim through) the whole broadcast below:

Watch Burt Bacharach and Hal David: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize on PBS. See more from In Performance at The White House.

On this date in 1967, Floridian Psychedelic Folk band Pearls Before Swine (a precursor to contemporary so-called "Freak Folk") began the three-day sessions for its debut album, One Nation Underground. The album would become a moderate success, selling nearly a quarter of a million copies.

One of the album's tracks, "(Oh Dear) Miss Morse," was the source of some controversy. The subversive chorus of the weird little song (essentially a banjo riff with some organ blips) consists of vocalist/songwriter Tom Rapp (and that organ) "singing" in Morse code the letters "F," "U," "C" and "K" (Dit Dit Dah Dit/Dit Dit Dah/Dah Dit Dah Dit/Dah Dit Dah).

And they would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for some meddling kids! Famous New York DJ Murray the K was busted after playing the song on the air when a few smarty-pants Boy Scouts reportedly recognized the code and called in to complain about the veiled obscenity (or maybe brag that they figured it out).

It's not the only song to feature secret Morse code messaging. Mike Oldfield's album Amarok (featuring, essentially, one hour-long track) came towards the end of his contract with Virgin Records in 1990. Oldfield sent a little note to his boss on the album; towards the end, there's a Morse code message that spells out "Fuck Off RB," referring to Virgin label chief Richard Branson.

The Rush song "YYZ" from the 1981 album Moving Pictures also features Morse coding, in a pretty ingenious manner. Drummer Neil Pert's rhythm on the song is based on Morse for "YYZ." The letters weren't especially controversial, though — they were simply the code for Toronto's airport (Rush is from the area).

Other instances of Morse code in popular music: Roger Waters' album Radio KAOS features several Morse messages; Kraftwerk used it throughout their 1975 track "Radioactivity" (it simply spells out the title); and The Clash's "London Calling" has choppy guitar feedback at the end of the song that spells out "S.O.S."

Here's the Pearls Before Swing tune. NSFW (if you work for a former Boy Scout or telegraph expert).



Born This Day: Musical movers and shakers sharing a May 7 birthday include late drummer for influential Rock bands New York Dolls and Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, Jerry Nolan (1946); Disco diva ("Don't Leave Me This Way"), singer/songwriter and actress Thelma Houston (1946); masterful German Boogie Woogie pianist Axel Zwingenberger (1955); Motorhead guitarist Phil Campbell (1961); Swedish one-hit-wonder, son of Jazz legend Don Cherry and half-brother to Neneh Cherry, Eagle-Eye Cherry (1971); drummer for British Pop/Rock stars Arctic Monkeys, Matt Helders (1986); and British singer Martina Topley-Bird (1975).

Topley-Bird is probably best known as a crucial part of Trip Hop pioneer Tricky's early (and biggest) success as vocalist on his classic album, 1995's Maxinquaye. The album made Tricky a Pop star, something that he admittedly was not prepared for and which drove him a little nuts. He recently told U.K.'s The Guardian that, going into the album's release, "I thought I'd be an underground artist. I had no idea it was going to do that and I was not ready for it." He says he spent much of the rest of his career trying to become more of a cult artist than a superstar. And he succeeded.

Topley-Bird parted ways with Tricky in 1998 and has made a trio of solo album (and worked with Gorillaz and Massive Attack). But late last month, she rejoined Tricky in England to perform Maxinquaye in its entirety. Well, that was the plan, anyway. Tricky reportedly disappeared during parts of the performances, which didn't exactly live up the "play the full album" billing. In a review of the performance in Manchester, ClashMusic.com wrote that the Tricky concert ultimately became "the Martina Topley-Bird show, with the singer providing the only reliable musical seam throughout, in contrast to an erratic and seemingly disengaged Tricky."

Here's Martina Topley-Bird's "Anything" from her acclaimed debut solo album, Quixotic.

Scott Preston and his excellent local music web mag Cincy Groove are presenting a benefit concert at Southgate House Revival tonight to help keep a spotlight on the Cincinnati area’s outrageously rich musical history and influence. The 9 p.m. show will raise funds for the Cincinnati USA Music Heritage Foundation, a non-profit that has done great work drawing attention to Cincinnati’s impact on popular music by promoting and hosting numerous creative events to honor historical moments like Hank Williams’ Cincy recording sessions and the immeasurable impact of King Records.

To become a member of the CUMHF's supporters group The Funky Drummer Society and read more about their mission to expose and celebrate Cincy's important place in music history, visit the Foundation's official website here or on Facebook here.

Tickets for tonight's benefit show are $10 for those 21-and-up; it's $12 for those 18-20. Music will take place on all three of the recently opened venue's stages. Below is the lineup of performances. Click each artist's name for audio samples and more.

Lounge
9:15 - 9:55: Bri Love
10:15 - 10:55: Hank Becker (of The Rubber Knife Gang)
11:15 - 11:55: Terminal Union
12:15 - 12:55 : Andyman Hopkins

Revival Room
9 - 9:40: The Young Heirlooms
10:00 - 10:40: Shiny Old Soul
11:00 - 11:40: The Stories
12:00 - 12:40: SOUSE
1:00 - 1:40: Sassy Molasses

Sanctuary Room
9:00 - 9:40: Shoot Out The Lights
10:00 - 10:50: Kelly Thomas with Arlo McKinley & Lonesome Sound
11:10 - 12:10: The Cincy Brass
12:30 - 1:40: The Cliftones

Kelly Thomas, Arlo McKinley and Lonesome Sound will be doing an all-Hank Williams set tonight in honor of Hank's ties to Cincy through his historic recording sessions at Herzog Studios. Thomas and McKinley recorded a version of "Lost Highway" at the old Herzog space earlier this year and filmed the proceedings. The song and footage became the centerpiece of Thomas' first in a series of short films featuring her favorite songs and local musicians called Sacred Harp Sessions. A new video and song will be released monthly for the Sessions; Thomas recently unveiled Episode 2 featuring Ricky Nye and the tune "Come On In My Kitchen." Click here to check it out; below is Episode 1, in honor of Cincinnati's music heritage and tonight's concert.

On this date in 1942 — months away from Christmas 1941 and Christmas 1942 — classic crooner Bing Crosby recorded what remains the best-selling single of all time, "White Christmas."  Crosby first performed Irving Berlin's classic for radio on Christmas Day, 1941. On May 29, 1942, Crosby reportedly recorded the song — with the John Scott Trotter Orchestra and Ken Darby Singers — in 18 minutes. It was released on July 30 that year as part of a collection of platters from the film Holiday Inn. The song caught on and hit the top of the charts in October of ’42, where it stayed through Christmas. The single was re-released and hit the chart-tops again in ’45 and ’46.

The single has sold over 50 million copies worldwide. The closest runner-up in the all-time biggest selling singles race is Elton John's tribute to Princess Diana, the re-recording of his "Candle in the Wind" from 1997, which has sold around 33 million.

That original version is not the one we hear endlessly to this day around the holiday season. After the original master recording was damaged, Crosby and the same crew of musicians re-recorded "White Christmas." That's the version you know/love today. Here's the original version of "White Christmas." Happy holidays!



Born This Day: Musical movers and shakers sharing a May 29 birthday include keyboardist and founder of progressive German "Kraut Rock" kings Can, Irmin Schmidt (1937); Jackson sibling and singer Rebbie Jackson (1950); former New Wave pioneer-turned-legendary-film composer Danny Elfman (1953); Jackson sibling and Playboy model (and singer?) La Toya Jackson (1956); singer for British Metal band Wolfsbane and temporary Iron Maiden vocalist Blaze Bayley (1963); former Oasis guitarist/songwriter/occasional singer Noel Gallagher (1967); bassist for modern British Rock legends The Verve, Simon Jones (1972); singer/dancer with Pop group Spice Girls, Melanie "Mel B" Brown (1975); co-founder of Hard Rock hitmakers Papa Roach, David Buckner (1976); and frontman for Swedish Garage Rock superstars The Hives, Howlin' Pelle Almqvist (1978).

With his ceaseless energy and hilarious, sometimes nonsensical between-song bantering, Almqvist is the reason Spin magazine once called The Hives "the best live band in the world." (The mag also called him one of the "50 Greatest Frontmen of All Time.")

The Swedes have a new album due out a week from today (June 5) called Lex Hives. According to a press release, the title comes from "the ancient Roman practice of enacting a system or body of laws and accepting them as a standard. Thus, the 12 songs on Lex Hives make up the holy laws after which all life from now on must be lived." Obey!

Here's a video clip of the band performing the new album's first single, "Go Right Ahead." Click here for a preview stream of the full album courtesy of The Guardian.