Music News & Notes

Here are a few stories I've come across recently that are worth mentioning:

• Yim Yames of My Morning Jacket is going to perform at the National Christmas Tree Lighting in Washington D.C. this year.  The event takes place on December 9th at 5pm.  You can watch it online at http://www.thenationaltree.org/. 
• Rolling Stone's most recent Countdown/List is called "Fifty Artists Pick Their Personal Top 10's".  Artists pick their Top 10 in various musical categories.  I'm usually not a big fan of Rolling Stone but it's interesting to get some insight into our favorite musicians minds. 
• Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam is embarking on a solo tour of Australia in March of 2011.  Although tempting, that's a little far for me to travel to see him.  I was able to catch one of his solo shows in Philadelphia back in 2009.  Those in attendance will definitely be in for a good show which is bound to include some Pearl Jam rarities, Into The Wild tracks, and great covers. 
• I saw a post recently over at The Midnight Cafe about Iron & Wine's new album.  It's titled "Kiss Each Other Clean" and is due out on January 25, 2011.  Their last album "The Shepard's Dog" was fantastic so I'm really looking forward to this one.