With the list of musicians taking a stand against Arizona’s recently passed controversial immigration law SB 1070 by participating in The Sound Strike growing, two of the more vocal opponents of this controversial legislation will team up for a benefit concert to take place in L.A. On July 23, Rage Against The Machine, who are no strangers to these type things, will join up with Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band to play the Hollywood Palladium.

Proceeds from the benefit show along with donations made directly to the organization are expected to exceed over $300,000 which will “provide much needed resources to community organizations, student groups, legal defense funds and assist activists targeting key voting districts for voter registration” against the law that is set to go into effect on July 29.

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• Emmet Malloy working on a Nick Drake doc, book & tribute album
• Cover Alert: Passion Pit tackle The Smashing Pumpkins
• Peter Sarsgaard to play bluegrass icon Bill Monroe in new biopic
• Download This: AD’s L’Adventure Television tribute
• Prog-rockers Rush are being sued over a canceled concert

Finally, in what seems like a step towards The Beatles material finally getting a digital release, EMI Music will be reissuing 15 albums from the Fab Four’s label Apple Records this October. Of the albums that will be remastered and released on both CD and for the first time ever as digital downloads will be James Taylor’s self-titled debut, four albums from Badfinger, two from Billy Preston as well as more obscure material from likes of John Tavener, Doris Troy, Mary Hopkin and the Modern Jazz Quartet.

[Published:03/29/07] Life on the road is tough, so it’s no surprise that many songwriters have used the concept of home as a theme throughout their songs. If I were living with 10 other dudes in a small van, I’d be homesick too. The word ‘home’ may conjure up different images to different people, but it seems the connection is a feeling of security and safety.

In the first six months of this column we’ve tried to focus squarely on the music. But today, this B List takes a look at the lyrics as we check out the 20 best songs about home (in no particular order). As usual, we did our best to find a YouTube video or audio clip to illustrate the songs listed:

1. Sing Me Back Home – Merle Haggard: This death-row tale was written in the late ’60s. As you see in the video, Merle used to play this song at a quick tempo, while the Grateful Dead slowed it down to a funeral dirge in their version. I favor the Dead’s version — nobody was better at emoting that sad soulful feeling like JerBear.

“Sing me back home with a song I used to hear”

2. Home Sweet Home – Motley Crue: Leave it to Motley Crue to write a tearjerker that can be classified as kickass. The number one Hair Metal Power Ballad returns to the B List due to its heartfelt lyrics by Nikki Sixx. I guess between shots of adrenaline and pussy, Sixx got a bit homesick.

“I had to run away high So I wouldn’t come home low”

3. Can’t Find My Way Home – Blind Faith: Blind Faith’s gift to the world is possibly the best song ever written about home. Pre MTV Unplugged Eric Clapton rarely picked up an acoustic. But on the version of Can’t Find May Way Home from Blind Faith’s eponoymous album, Clapton delivers one of his most beautiful performances of his career. To me, Can’t Find My Way Home is about being caught up in the excesses of life so much so that you lose vision of what’s important.

If this was an ordered list I’d have to say this song would probably be number one. My friend Hadley hit the nail on the head when he said “If there is a more hauntingly beautiful tune than this, either the standard acoustic version or the electric one, then I’ve never heard it.”

“And I’m wasted and I can’t find my way home”

Read on for the 17 remaining tunes on this week’s B List…

There hasn’t been much to cheer for if you’ve been a fan of the New York Knickerbockers over the last decade or so. While the once mighty franchise has struggled, there is now a reason to watch them – for the beginning of their on Friday night games on MSG at least – as they will feature a new song and video from Robert Randolph & The Family Band. The song, called Get There, features personalized lyrics about New York and the Knicks from Randolph who’s been a lifelong fan of the team. While we’re not too sure how good the Knicks will fare, we’ll put our money down that the song will be a lot better than Go New York, Go New York Go.

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• Wilco’s loft featured in the new issue of Loft Life magazine
• Cover Alert: The Low Anthem tackles Bob Dylan
• Knitting Factory to take over booking Greenpoint’s Warsaw
• Roger Daltrey claims The Who is getting the Rock Band treatment
• New Peter Gabriel album to feature a diverse selection of covers

Finally, while everything was coming up The Beatles this September – between the long awaited remasters and video game – the Fab Four’s catalog was still missing from digital retailers. Well, in a step that might signify that they will soon be headed in that direction Apple Corps. and EMI will release a limited edition USB drive featuring the entire Beatles in Stereo remastered set as 320 Kbps MP3s on December 8th. All 14 albums and 13 “mini-documentaries” will be included on the 16GB USB drive, which will be shaped like the iconic Apple logo with “The Beatles” written on it with only 30,000 of them to be produced. Very cool concept.

Craig Finn, the always engaging front man for The Hold Steady, has earned a reputation for his clever, witty and wordy story songs he’s crafted across his band’s four must-listen albums. Finn’s next project will take things a step further as he will team up Late Show writer Tom Ruprecht to adapt Chuck Klosterman’s 2001 memoir Fargo Rock City : A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota into a feature length film. The duo, who are currently looking for financing for the project, “plan to include specific portions of the book while also broadening its appeal”. We look forward to watching it.

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• Cover Alert: Harper Simon tackles Nick Drake
• Bradley Nowell’s estate may sue over the use of the name Sublime
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• Them Crooked Vultures debut finally gets a release date

Finally, when record dealer John Tefteller was contacted by the widow of a former Capitol Records executive to look at some vintage vinyl little did he know he was about to stumble upon one of the rarest rock records.

Amongst the collection was a sealed copy of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. This was no ordinary version of the band’s psychedelic masterpiece as this copy featured faces of the record label’s executives instead of the usual collage of famous and friendly faces.  After consulting with noted Beatles collector Stan “The Beatleman” Panenka it was determined that there many have only been about 100 copies ever made, and none have turned up in over 10 years. Quite a score for Tefteller.

We haven’t really talked much about the much hyped Beatles remasters around these parts (maybe it’s because we haven’t gotten around to plunking our hard earned cash on any of them just yet), but by all accounts both the stereo and mono versions are everything you’d expect and more.

While there was no such thing as Sound Scan during the band’s heyday, the Fab Four sold over 2.25 million copies of their recent upgrades in the first five days of their release. The band also managed an impressive record of charting 16 albums in Billboard’s Top 50, along with breaking records for the most simultaneous titles in the top-selling charts by a single artist.

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• Spinner’s Twisted Tales features psych-folk singer Judee Sill
• Carrie Brownstein and James Mercer star in a new movie
• Peal Jam’s latest album becomes their first #1 in 13 years

Finally, at their recent stop at San Francisco’s famed Fillmore Bon Iver front man Justin Vernon dropped some disheartening news on the audience. Vernon & Co., who have been touring relentlessly over the last couple of years behind their highly acclaimed full-length For Emma, Forever Ago and recent EP Blood Bank, will be going on a hiatus when their tour wraps with a hometown show of sorts at Milwaukee’s Riverside Theatre on October 11. Vernon’s latest project, Volcano Choir, which songs predate his Bon Iver work,  just released their debut album Unmap earlier this week.

The Beatles – Revolution (Live)

Each Sunday in August, starting this Sunday, a group of talented musicians led by virtuosic guitarist Tim Palmieri will perform the entire Beatles catalog in alphabetical order at Daniel Street in Milford, CT. The idea came from a jam Palmieri and mandolin wiz Sean Miller had back in 2006 on Dear Prudence. Sean was teaching Tim the tune when the two musicians came up with the concept of covering every Beatles song that was recorded alphabetically from A to Z and successfully completed the task a few weeks later.

Tim and Sean had such a good time – and the shows were so enthusiastically received by fans – that they decided to keep the project going.

For the upcoming shows the pair will be joined by Breakfast drummer Adrian Tramontano and former Breakfast bassist Ron Spears. The Beatles A-Z, as the quartet are known, also plan to cover Beatles tracks that never made it onto an album like the McCartney-written Badfinger classic Come and Get It and George Harrison’s Not Guilty. For a sample of what you can expect at these shows here’s a clip of Good Morning, Good Morning recorded during their last shows in February…

Tickets are available for $7 in advance and for $10 the day of the show.

Nearly 44 years after The Beatles played the first concert at Shea Stadium, Yankee fan and bass player – Sir Paul McCartney – will break in Citi Field, the new home of the NY Mets, with two concerts this summer.

Macca will take the stage at Citi Field for a pair of shows on July 17 and 18. Tickets will go on sale June 15 at 10 a.m. ET exclusively at 507TIXX.com and the Mets’ ticket-charge line – 718-507-TIXX. McCartney has been on my short list of acts I’ve yet to catch live, so see you in Queens this summer!

There is certainly plenty to read up about in regards to this week’s selection, The Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows. From the origin of the title to the revolutionary vocal recording techniques to the LSD inspired lyrics, the whole thing is quite interesting. Also of note is that while it is the closing track on the album, TNK was the first song recorded for Revolver.

My favorite quote regarding the recording comes from legendary engineer Geoff Emerick. Sometimes I forget just how much The Beatles revolutionized the recording process as we know it…

It meant actually breaking into the circuitry. I remember the surprise on our faces when the voice came out of the speaker. It was just one of sheer amazement. After that they wanted everything shoved through the Leslie: pianos, guitars, drums, vocals, you name it!

Checking on last week, Grace Potter finished in first and Built To Spill came in second with another big chunk of votes in the Cortez The Killer Cover Wars. Checking in on two week’s ago, moe. and Umphrey’s are still battling it out over Can’t You Hear Me Knocking without a clear winner.

801: Technically, 801 titled this track TNK when they first released it in 1976. The lineup for 801 is: Phil Manzanera (guitar), Brian Eno (keyboards), Bill MacCormick (bass), Simon Phillips (drums), Francis Monkman (keyboards), Lloyd Watson (slide guitar). This shit is bad-ass. Source: 801 Live

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READ ON for the rest of this week’s Cover Wars contestants…

There have been plenty of songs written about nearly every member of the Animal Kingdom, but have you ever noticed that monkeys get an inordinate amount of love? Some of the greatest songs in the history of rock involve primates. Often it’s symbolic as it is in Aerosmith’s Monkey on My Back, which is a song Steven Tyler and Joe Perry wrote about drug addiction.

This week’s B List takes a look at the ten best songs involving monkeys…

10. Theme From The Monkees – The Monkees

The four leads in an NBC sitcom entitled The Monkees were introduced to the world in 1966 through a theme song written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. Mickey Dolenz was the only one of the four Monkees to actually perform on the track.

9. Proudest Monkey – Dave Matthews Band

Proudest Monkey came out of an impromptu jam the band played as a soundcheck for a gig at Williams College in 1993. The song went through many changes before it was recorded for 1996′s Crash. After being shelved for a number of years, Proudest Monkey has gotten plenty of love from Dave and the band in 2006 and 2008.

8. Monkey Wrench – Foo Fighters

Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters avoided the sophomore slump in a big way with the release of The Colour and The Shape in 1997. Among the gems on the classic album is the anthemic My Hero, Dave Letterman’s favorite song – Everlong and this quick and catchy rocker that still gets tons of airplay on rock radio 12 years later.

READ ON for the seven best songs regarding monkeys…

After years of waiting and suffering through sub par version of their albums on CD, the entire Beatles catalog will finally get remastered. All 12 albums, plus two new Beatles box set collections, will hit stores on September 9 – the same day as The Beatles: Rock Band video game arrives.

(Photo Courtesy Of: © Apple Corps Ltd, 2009)

READ ON for the full details of what’s sure to be a historic day…

When the names Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr both appeared on the bill for the last night’s Change Begins Within benefit at Radio City Music Hall those who had plunked down money for the all-star bill – that included Ben Harper, MMJ’s Jim James, Eddie Vedder, Donovan and Sheryl Crow – were hoping that the former band mates would share the stage together for a tune or two. While the stellar night seemed to included a number of musical highlights, it wasn’t until almost the very end of the night during McCartney’s hit-laden set that that moment that everyone had anticipated finally happened when McCartney brought out Starr out by join him on vocals for With a Little Help From My Friends by introducing him as Billy Shears.

Starr remained on-stage moving to behind the drums for a take on Cosmically Conscious, a rarity written during The Beatles trip to India and the show closing all-star sing-along of I Saw Her Standing There.

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• Eminem called Run-DMC his Beatles at the RRHoF inductions

Finally a few weeks back we reported that original Woodstock promotor Michael Lang was looking to honor the 40th annivesary of the fest with a pair of free concerts in New York and Germany. The latest rumor to circulating around the one-day free concert finds it landing in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park’s Long Meadow. Lang who has been in talks with the city’s parks department, is also still looking to lockdown between $8 to 10 million in sponsorship funding, which he would need to do by month’s end to pull off the event – which he is hoping to attract original Woodstock acts along with contemporary bands that have embraced the fests vibe like Phish and Dave Matthews Band.

A few weeks back, we dropped the gossipy news that singer-songwriter-blogger-novelist Ryan Adams had popped the question to former teeny-bopper pop star turned actress Mandy Moore. The odd couple didn’t wait long to getting hitched, as they secretly wed in Savannah, GA on Tuesday. Ry-ry, who has claimed that his current tour with the Cardinals is his last, was back on the road last night and is rumored to be working on a new album called Dear Impossible. The Cardinals tour runs through March 20.

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• Liverpool University will offer a Master Degree on The Beatles

Finally, we wanted to give a big shout out to our favorite alt.country chanteuse – Neko Case – whose new album Middle Cyclone debuted at number three on the Billboard Top 200 selling 44,000 copies last week. Thanks, I’m sure, to placement in front of registers at mega-coffee chain Starbucks, where I picked up my copy. Case kicks off her Spring tour on March 31 – which includes a two-night run at New York’s Nokia Theater as well as an appearance at this year’s Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival.

HT reader Opsil32 hipped us to yet another magnificent leak from The Beatles’ vaults. A few days ago we told you about Revolution Take 20 and today we’ve got an alternate mix of Revolution #9…

The Beatles – Revolution #9 (alt. mix)

The Beatles – Revolution (Take 20): MP3, FLAC

Recently, a magnificent studio outtake from The Beatles’ White Album sessions has surfaced of Revolution. There are three well-known variations of the song already including the laid back #1 which is featured on the album, the heavier single known as Revolution #2 and the rambling sound collage called Revolution #9. The track that has recently surfaced seems like the missing link between #1 and #9. As amazing as this track sounds, I’m more interested in how this “holy grail” of a track came out of the woodwork.

The Beatles’ PR people have yet to confirm if the track that surfaced is the genuine artifact that the quartet recorded recorded on May 30 and 31, and June 4, 1968, but if this is a fake the person that put it together should be commended. More likely, this track likely leaked from an employee at EMI, who have for years been rumored to be putting out The Beatles’ catalog on iTunes. Perhaps this was a bonus track they have ready for when The White Album hits the download portal. Or maybe it comes from Yoko Ono’s closet.

The tempo of Take 20 of Revolution is more laid-back than #1 and contains the “shoo-be-doo-wop” backing vocals found in #1. At about the five minute mark the song veers off into #9 territory with plenty of tape loops, siren-sounding guitar overdubs and spoken word from what sounds like Yoko Ono. Personally, I love this version until about the eight minute mark. Download it for yourself and let us know what you think.

• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD REVOLUTION (TAKE 20)