New 'Music Worth Buying' episode, Bon Iver, Heart, Stripes and Lines, Kut U Up

This post is a collection of various (and noteworthy) news and notes, as well as an invitation to watch the latest episode of Music Worth Buying...

This week TJR immerses into dark psychedelic rock world of the Black Angels latest album Phosphene Dream. Meanwhile I celebrate Joan Osborne's latest album of soul music titled Bring it on Home. - Check it out and give us your feedback"

Bon Iver Announces New U.S. Tour Dates

Last week Bon Iver released a new iTunes Session (click HERE to stream its version of "Beth/Rest") and picked up the award for Independent Album of the Year at the inaugural Libera Awards curated by the American Association of Indepedent Music. Bon Iver's label has announced new dates along the Eastern United States, including two additional dates in New York at Radio City Music Hall. Anais Mitchell will open for most of these dates. Much has been said of Bon Iver's transformation into a nine-person live band. The Miami New Times in a recent live review, captures the essence of this magic particularly well: "Often, live music is an attempt to approximate something captured in a studio. As exceptional as Bon Iver's recordings are, Bon Iver in concert is an entirely different creature. By turns defiant and pliant, pained and triumphant, with Bon Iver, the songs are not merely live but living." Check out the full list of tour dates at the band's Web site here.

2010 Proves banner year for Heart with new studio album and hardcover memoir arriving this fall

With Heart's Fanatic, a new studio album, and Kicking and Dreaming, an insiders' memoir, arriving this fall, 2012 is shaping up as a banner year for the iconic American band who--beginning with hits like "Crazy on You," "Magic Man," and "Barracuda" in the mid-1970s running through 2010's Red Velvet Car--have created an enduring catalog of bona fide stadium rock classics and power ballads while establishing a lasting template for women in rock.

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Fanatic, Heart's 14th studio album, arrives Tuesday, October 2.  The group's second full-length studio album for Legacy, Fanatic premieres 10 new essential performances from sisters Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson on songs including "Fanatic," "Dear Old America," "Walkin' Good" (featuring Sarah McLachlan), "Skin and Bones," "Million Miles," "Pennsylvania," "Mashallah," "Rock Deep (Vancouver)," "59 Crunch," and "Corduroy Road." NOTE; YOU CAN READ MY REVIEW OF HEART'S EXCELLENT CONCERT IN ANAHEIM IN FEBRUARY 2012 HERE. SPECIAL THANK YOU TO KELLY A. SWIFT FOR THE USE OF HER IMAGE FROM THAT SHOW.

The first album of new music from Ann and Nancy Wilson since 2010's Red Velvet Car had its Top 10 debut in 2010, Fanatic was recorded in hotel rooms and studios up and down the West Coast, with Grammy-winning producer Ben Mink back at the helm with the Wilson sisters drawing from their own lives and personal experiences as inspiration for their music.  "Dear Old America" comes from memories of a military household and is written from the point of view of their father, a Marine Corps officer, returning from war ("When I get home, I'm going to own this town/Shine this medal/Wear that crown…."); "Rock Deep (Vancouver)" harkens back to the city where Dreamboat Annie was written; and "Walkin' Good" (a duet with Vancouver resident Sarah McLachlan) captures the joy of finding new life in a new love.

The title song is a celebration of the Wilson's life spirit: Ann and Nancy are fanatics about love, art, truth, and the belief that they can do anything together they set their minds to.  

"What a crazy year we are having," said Ann Wilson.  "Our box set, Strange Euphoria, and our book, Kicking and Dreaming, each tell the story of our lives so far, personally and musically. Our new album, Fanatic, tells our story as it is now and brings it all up-to-the-minute. What a thrill to have worked with both Charles Cross and Ben Mink respectively on these, and of course to touch the musical magic Nancy and I have always shared together. Anybody want to RAWK??"

Released in 2010, Fanatic's predecessor, Red Velvet Car (the first new studio album in six years from the groundbreaking Seattle-based band) entered the Billboard 200 best-selling album charts at #10, becoming the seventh Top 10 album of Heart's career.  Heart's critically-acclaimed first album for Legacy Recordings marked the return of Heart to the Sony Music Entertainment family, reaching #1 in sales on Amazon.com on Sunday, September 5.

On June 5, Epic Records/Legacy Recordings released Strange Euphoria, the first definitive career-spanning, multi-label boxed set retrospective chronicling the seminal American rock band Heart, personally curated by Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson.

And, finally, if you are in San Diego this weekend, the poster reproduced here pretty much provides you with the details about a special concert on Saturday, June 30th...