Neil Young and Bob Dylan - Helpless + Knockin' on Heaven's Door

Two of my favorite Neil Young and Bob Dylan songs.

The Dollyrots - Almost

The Dollyrots cover the Bowling For Soup song Almost. The original BFS version songs jokey. The Dollyrots version is a poignant song about life's regrets and missed opportunities.

Tex & The Horseheads - Clean The Dirt

An eighties cow punk band fronted by Texacada Jones. The band was founded by Gun Club lead singer Jeffrey Lee Pierce.

Pearl Jam - Breath

I have mixed feelings about Pearl Jam. I hate Jeff Ament's and Stone Gossard's previous band Mother Love Bone with a burning passion. That said, Breath is an irresistible song and should have been on Pearl Jam's debut album.

14th Wray - The Man Who Lives Next Door

A cool garage rock song from an extremely obscure band.

The Pandoras - Knock Knock

Whose there?

The picture of the setlist in the video belongs to Pandoras member Melanie Vammen.

Courtney Barnett - Pedestrian at Best

Courtney Barnett is hands down the best new songwriter right now. End of story.

Wilco Cancels Indiana Show

Wilco announced on Facebook that they are cancelling their Indiana show because of the anti-gay "Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act."

We are canceling our May 7 show at the Murat in Indianapolis. The “Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act” feels like thinly disguised legal discrimination to us. Hope to get back to the Hoosier State someday soon, when this odious measure is repealed. Refunds available at point of purchase.

Indiana is going to experience more boycotts because of this stupid piece of legislation.

The Outsiders - I'm Not Trying To Hurt You

A highly underrated piece of garage rock music.

The Punch Brothers - Just What I Needed

This is hans down the best cover I have heard in ages.

Public Image Ltd. - Disappointed

One of the best songs about the disappointments of friendship.

Sex Pistols - Problems

"THE PROBLEM IS YOU!"

Minor Threat - Salad Days

Minor Threat was only around for 3 years but they cast a huge shadow over the American hardcore punk scene of the early eighties.

Kathleen Hanna on the Creation of Smells Like Teen Spirit

Kathleen Hanna tells a really funny story of spray painting an anti-abortion clinic with Kurt Cobain. Hanna got drunk during the course of events that night and spray painted "Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit." Hanna was commenting of Cobain's girlfriend Tobi Vail, also Hanna's Bikini Kill bandmate, wearing the deodorant Teen Spirit.

Another interesting side note: Bikini Kill were big fans of the L.A. all girl band the Pandoras. Bikini Kill was very sadden about the death of Pandoras front woman Paula Pierce. Here is what Vail wrote about Pierce in a fanzine.

Hanna praised the Pandoras on her blog.

"Has anyone noticed that the title ‘Stop Pretending‘ was already used by perhaps the best all girl garage group of all time, The Pandora’s ??? So in addition to everything else, dude accidentally ripped off both a song and album title by an amazing all girl band. I mean it’s almost like a crazy psychedelic feminist musical nightmare."

Update: Kathleen Hanna professes her love of the Pandoras on Twitter.

Clear Channel Backs Dubious Rubio

Patricia Mazzei reports that Clear Channel refused to accept billboard ad buy by Forecast the Facts. The environmental organization want to post this billboard on Marco Rubio's climate science position.

NO CLIMATE DENIERS IN THE WHITE HOUSE," the proposed ad from Forecast the Facts Action read, steering viewers to RubioIsNotReady.org.

The billboard would look something like this.

Brant Olson had this to say about Clear Channel's decision.

"Clear Channel is applying a partisan filter to the ads that it allows Miami residents to see, and tilting the scale in favor of its own partisan agenda," Brant Olson, Forecast's campaign director, said in an email. "Clear Channel is playing dirty politics."

Clear Channel has heavily supported the Republican Party. The company pulled songs by the Dixie Chicks after lead singer Natalie Maines made these famous anti-Bush remarks.

Tom Hicks, an executive at Clear Channel, helped stage pro war rallies in support of President George W. Bush. The idea for the rallies came from Glenn Beck. Hicks bought the Texas Rangers from Bush and his partners. Hicks donated $146,000 to Bush's gubernatorial campaigns.

Clear Channel's reason for rejecting the ad.

"All our contracts clearly state we reserve the right to final ad approval," spokesman Jason King said in an email. "And sometimes the original ad presented in discussions may only be a draft."

Clear Channel has a right to reject the act. I just wish they would upfront about being pro-Republican.

Pussy Riot - I Can't Breathe

Pussy Galore have released have released their first English language song I Can't Breathe. The song is a tribute to Eric Garner. The death of Garner became a huge civil rights and police brutality issue after Garner died during his arrest.

New York City medical examiner ruled Garner's death a homicide.

Eric Garner, 43, died after being placed in a chokehold that caused him to suffer neck and chest compressions during his arrest two weeks ago in the Tompkinsville section of Staten Island, according to findings released by the New York City medical examiner’s office. Garner’s weight, chronic asthma and cardiovascular disease were listed as contributing factors.

A grand jury choose not to indict the officers involved in Garner's arrest.

The Pandoras Have Reunited

The reunited Pandoras will be playing their first show since 1990. Kim Shattuck will be taking over on lead vocals and guitar. Pandoras band leader Paula Price died of a brain aneurysm on August 10, 1991.

The reunited Pandoras line-up.

Kim Shattuck lead vocals and guitar

Karen Basset - bass guitar

Melanie Vammen - keyboards

Sheri Kaplan Weinstein - drums

After the demise of the Pandoras, Shattuck and Vammem formed the Muffs. This is an earlier rehearsal of the original version of the Muffs. The rehearsal space was at Dave Naz's place.

Basset was fired from the Pandoras after she decided to hire her own manager. Basset later went on to become a member of Rebel Pebbles. Basset showed up to a Pandoras radio appearance on KROQ after she was already terminated from the band. Basset was placed in a separate radio booth from the rest of the band. In 2:55 of the Youtube clip, Pierce asks on-air for girls to audition to replace Basset.

The Rebel Pebbles had a minor hit with the song Dream Lover.

Kaplan Weinstein went on to become the drummer of Hardly Dangerous.

The Pandoras have an amazing history. You could literally write a book about all the stories that have been posted on the Pandoras Facebook fanpage. Some Pandoras trivia.

Musician Don Williams dated Pierce when he was 15 years-old and she was 14 years-old. This is Williams quoting Pierce's break-up letter to Williams.

Mike was a friend of Williams.

The song Close Behind is about anal sex.

Paula Pierce said to the other members of Pandoras that she had the "best ass in L.A." This became a running joke within the Pandoras. Shattuck and Vammen joke about it early in the Muffs rehearsal video.

There was once two rival versions of the Pandoras. The original version of the Pandoras splintered due to several personality conflicts. There are stories about Gwynne Kelly hitting Pierce with a beer bottle.

KIm Shattuck has publicly stated she hates the Pandoras EP "Rock Hard."

Pierce has had sex with several members of the band The Quick. Shattuck told radio host Lee Joesph that the band learned about Pierce's relations with the Quick from the Facebook fanpage.

None of the material the Pandoras recorded for Elektra has been publicly released. The working title of the album was "Come Inside." Some of the material has been illegally released on the bootleg "Psychedelic Sluts."

Some time aafter hearing the song I'm In Love With Paula Pierce, Miss Pierce had sex with Mr. T Experience member Jon Von Zelowitz while on tour.

Shortly after Pierce's encounter with Jon Von, Nardwuar interviewed the Pandoras. The band laughs when Nardwuar asks them if they ever heard of the Mr. T Experience. Go to 7:25 in the Youtube video.

Pierce and Sheri Kaplin Weinstein played on the Ronald Vaughn song Boris Karloff didn't Meet Runaways. You can listen to the song on Vaughn's Jango.com station.

The Pandoras shared a rehearsal space at Dave Naz's place with L7. The two bands were civil with each other but did not hangout. The Pandoras were never part of the riot grrl movement. L7 was told by Naz to stop clogging the toilet with their tampons.

Steve Peake of About.com makes the argument that the Pandoras were the best L.A. girl rock band of the eighties.

Led by the late Paula Pierce, one of the most ferociously charismatic frontwomen of all time, The Pandoras emerged during the early '80s from the L.A.-based paisley underground movement, inspired by a shared affection for gritty garage punk and a uniquely retro vibe.

Pierce wrote the song Stop Pretending about her ex-boyfriend Jeff Wolf from the band the Furies. I'm told this is Pierce's fuck you to Wolf.

Kim Shattuck took this wonderful photo of Pierce. This is Pierce out of her rock star persona.

You can get the latest news about the Pandoras on their Facebook fanpage.

Correction: I have been informed that Close Behind is about doggy style and not anal sex.

The Muffs - Big Mouth

Check out the Muffs blog for upcoming concert dates.

L7 - Fast And Frightening (Reading Festival)

This is the infamous moment at the 1992 Reading Festival when Donita Sparks threw her used tampon at the audience. The crowd was throwing mud at L7. Sparks had enough and responded with the tampon throw.

Dave Naz has a famous rehearsal space in Los Angelas that was used by Redd Kross, L7, Chemical People, It's Ok, Pandoras, and Muffs. Naz left this note in the bathroom.

"L7 ladies - don't put tampons in the toilet."

The Pandoras Music Goodies

@kimshattuck @melanievammen @karenbasset @sheriweinstein1 #hepandoras #therealrealpandoras #enigmarecords #restlessrecords

A photo posted by The Pandoras (@the.pandoras) on Dec 28, 2014 at 7:16pm PST

I have been listening to a lot of Pandoras lately. I thought I would post some stuff.

When You're in Love" (Nothing Else Matters) was performed live in Sierra Madre, CA in 4/88.

An incredible performance of Run Down Love Battery. Power is lost during a portion of the song and it is just vocals and drums. The Pandoras play their way through the song and the power comes back in time for the guitar solo.

Paula Pierce, Kim Shattuck and Sheri Kaplin doing karoake of Walk Like An Egyptian and Paula Abdul's Straight Up. The video is NSFW. Paula and Kim get very touchy feely.

Dark November was the last song Paula Pierce ever recorded. This song may never get an official release. The Pandoras have already broken-up and Pierce recorded this as a solo demo.

Surviving Pandoras members are very active on the band's Facebook group. You can also find the Pandoras on Instagram and Twitter.