Due March 27th from 429 Records (a unit of SLG), the record runs the gamut from pop to indie, metal to rap. Gray even touches on ’80s new wave with the first single, a version of the Eurythmics’ “Here Comes the Rain Again”. She goes indie with Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up” and “Maps” from Yeah Yeah Yeahs, hard with “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica and My Chemical Romance’s “Teenagers”, and shows love to Kanye with “Love Lockdown”. Hell, she’s even got “Two Joints” from Sublime (without Rome) on there. Yeah, it’s gonna be something, all right.

Of course, Ms. Gray will be putting her own soulful spin on the numbers, so don’t expect  to be moshing about, even with the Metallica track. In fact, she’s been playing a few of the songs live for a few years now. Below, you can watch her cover Radiohead’s classic “Creep” – which will be on Covered – at the 2010 North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands. The full tracklist follows. An extensive tour is expected to support the release, so stay tuned for more.

“Creep”:

Covered Tracklist:
01. Maps (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
02. Wake Up (Arcade Fire)
03. Nothing Else Matters (Metallica)
04. Teenagers (My Chemical Romance)
05. Here Comes the Rain Again (Eurythmics)
06. Creep (Radiohead)
07. Bubbly (Colbie Caillat)
08. Love Lockdown (Kanye West)
09. Two Joints (Sublime)
10. Sleep to Dream (Fiona Apple)
11. Sail (AWOLNATION)

Drummer Bud Gaugh has left Sublime with Rome and will be replaced by Josh Freese. Gaugh revealed the news in an interview with KROQ (see the video below), explaining that his wife is pregnant and he is leaving the band to spend time with his family.

A founding member of Sublime, Gaugh teamed with former bandmate and bassist Eric Wilson and singer Rome Ramirez in 2009 to form Sublime with Rome. Initially, the trio referred to themselves as Sublime, but changed their name to Sublime with Rome after a lawsuit was filed by the estate of late Sublime singer Bradley Nowell. Since then, the trio has toured the U.S. extensively and released their debut album, Yours Truly, earlier this year.

Along with Sublime with Rome, Freese is the permeant drummer for A Perfect Circle, Devo, and The Vandals. He previously played drums for Nine Inch Nails and Guns N’ Roses, and spent much of last year touring with Weezer.

Sublime with Rome’s only upcoming tour date is an appearance at Cypress Hill’s Smokeout Festival in San Bernardino, CA on Saturday, March 3rd, 2012.

Sublime and Sublime with Rome share obvious characteristics: style, audience, two-thirds of the band members. Their major difference, aside from vocals, is that Sublime was dangerous. The equally charming and subversive Nowell slipped freely between the comparatively tame lyrics of tracks like “Don’t Push”, and unabashedly, gloriously filthy songs like “Caress Me Down” as easily as he switched languages. The music reflected these changes in dynamics, soaring and falling, insulting and pondering in equal measure. Sublime With Rome, on the other hand, is not going to hurt you. Their music is gentler, more radio-friendly, and it tends to wander off.

Opener “Panic” blows the doors off, with fat ska horns that hearken back to “Date Rape” inspiring initial confidence. Ramirez lays the verses down smoothly, curling his voice around the corners of words, with a slight up-lilt that draws the ear. “Murdera” is catchy and unique, albeit annoyingly repetitive in the way so much jam music is. “Can You Feel It”, featuring Wiz Khalifa, is the better side of jam band territory. Flowy and loose, dreamy and melodic, this track is meant for peacing out at festivals. Outside of these highlights, though, things are a bit sleepy. Jams run on, and lyrics begin to bleed together until it’s easy to lose track of the music.

The best advice for this one is to remember that Sublime is a dead band. Sublime With Rome is its own creature, and Yours Truly is a very decent jam album. It’s no Sublime record, but you knew that from the name, right?

According to RollingStone.com, the trio is hard at work at Sonic Ranch studio in El Paso, TX with producer Paul Leary, who produced the original Sublime’s 1996 debut. Specifics are still forthcoming, but the group plans to release the record this summer through their new label, Fueled By Ramen. According to lead lead singer Rome Ramirez, the trio will also soon announce a supporting world tour.

When the group first started making waves, the family of former lead singer Bradley Nowell threatened legal action against the band, thus leading to the modified name. As for the band’s plans to record, Nowell’s widow, Troy Nowell-Holmes, said in a statement, “Sublime with Rome earned the fans’ approval with their live performances by showing it was never about replacing or forgetting Brad – it was about celebrating the music. And now the next chapter begins. Rome is such a great songwriter and with Bud and Eric’s amazing talent to back him up, Sublime with Rome will thrive and shine in its own right. I can’t wait to hear the new material because I know how talented they all are.”

Not a whole lot more details are available yet on their first album in some 13 years full-length debut (fear the lawsuit), but the band are hard at work at Radiostar studio in Weed, California (via ContactMusic). (Haha, Weed…) For now, they’re shooting for an early 2011 release. As to what we can expect from said LP, enjoy the song “Panic”, which they debuted on the road, as an early indicator (below).

After an uber-tiny stint in the UK, the band returns to the U.S. for a chunk of dates that start October 20th in Norfolk, VA, center pretty heavily on Florida and California, and end on November 21st in Hawaii. What a bummer.

As always, stay tuned for more details as they’re announced.

Sublime With Rome 2010 Tour Dates:
10/05 – Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg
10/07 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy 2
10/08 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
10/10 – Sao Paulo, BR @ Fazenda Maeda
10/20 – Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
10/21 – North Myrtle Beach, NC @ House of Blues
10/22 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum
10/25 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live!
10/26 – Estero, FL @ Germain Arena
10/27 – Gulf Shores, AL @ The Hangout
11/04 – Highland, CA @ San Manuel Casino
11/05 – Bakersfield, CA @ Rabobank Theater
11/07 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
11/08 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
11/09 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
11/10 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
11/19 – Honolulu, HI @ Kakaako Beach Park
11/21 – Kahului, HI @ Maui Arts & Cultural Center

When I was 13-years-old, there was no band I liked more than Weezer. If you knew me at the time, this obsession made total sense… I was a huge dork who loved melodic indie rock and connected to anything remotely heartfelt. At the time, the band had made its triumphant return to the music scene, having just released Weezer (Green), which unleashed the crunchy, palm muted chords of “Hash Pipe” to own radio stations everywhere. Obsession aside, my love for Weezer led to one hell of a discovery, as its the only reason my best friend (and neighbor, but that’s irrelevant to you) brought up Kevin Smith at the bus stop one life-altering morning.

I had brought up the topic of Weezer, complaining that I wanted them to release more songs already. My friend, Michael Fredrick Cromwell I, had asked if I’d ever seen Mallrats. The thing is, I wasn’t necessarily confused. I recognized the title of the film, simply because every time I searched for Weezer on cdnow.com (How archaic, huh?), the movie’s soundtrack popped up. Cromwell I quickly informed me that the film featured a Weezer B-side called, “Susanne”. “It’s a good song,” he told me. As any curiously diligent teenagers would do, we came home from school that day, watched the movie, and I have pretty much never been the same since. I also have since then never looked at music on cdnow.com.

Mallrats came out in a very important time in film history, when the 90′s wave of independent films started crossing over into the mainstream. Almost over night, artists like Spike Lee, Kevin Smith, Richard Linklater, and Quentin Tarantino were all making these indie flicks that were breaking through to the popular world. As with any trend, they all came in different shapes and sizes. Some worked with A-list actors (Tarantino), a few made do with lesser knowns (e.g. Linklater), and others tried their luck absolute unknowns. Smith would fall into the last category. After selling his comic book collection for a hefty sum and maxing out credit card after credit card, Smith culled together enough talent (and gravitas) to release the 1994 comedy, Clerks. While not a commercial success, at least not then, the film became a critical smash, offering Smith a shot at a career in filmmaking. Then came Mallrats.

Although popular now, Mallrats hardly made a dent when it hit the silver screen. Well, that’s not true. It certainly made a mark on Smith’s resume, but in terms of popularity, it was a box office bomb. The sort of film that vanishes after opening weekend. In fact, Smith even says on the film’s DVD that when he went to see it opening night in his Jersey hometown, there was hardly anyone in the theater. Unlike Clerks, Mallrats received little to no acclaim, stumbling headfirst into the category of dirty comedies – the sort that parents everywhere scoffed at. Years later, however, Mallrats has become a comic staple, gracing many people’s DVD collections and becoming a ritually quotable movie in particular circles. For some, it’s also become a source of great music.

Looking back today, it’s hard to believe this was such a flop. First of all, how can you argue with a film that starts off with the line, “One time, my cousin Walter got a cat stuck in his ass…true story”? The then-slightly-unknown Jason Lee delivers a hilarious monologue about Walter, which became one of Smith’s trademarks (cousin Walter also broke his neck trying to suck his own penis, and jerked off in public on a plane). Jason Lee’s character, Brodie Bruce, delivers this story over a short, jazzy number from composer Ira Newborn that appears a few times throughout the film. Brodie completes his story, and the film launches into one of Smith’s most classic title credits. The credits display each character in the form of a comic book, as the track “Social” by the obscure Lookout! Records band Squirtgun plays. For being the only widely known song by Squirtgun (it’s the only one I ever found in my Napster days), it is actually a pretty decent tune, and was actually suggested to the film’s music supervisor by none other than Billie Joe Armstrong.

Then the film starts, and we meet the two protagonists, TS and Brodie. TS is played by the unlikeable Jeremy London, twin brother to the much better Jason London (Randall “Pink” Floyd of Dazed and Confused). TS has issues with his girlfriend going on a dating game show because it interferes with his blah blah blah… a typical boyfriend-girlfriend fight to kick off a movie. In the next (and better) scene, Brodie Bruce is passed out against a wall plastered with images of superheroes (again, one of Smith’s many fetishes). As he lies there with Shannon Doherty knocking on his skull, the then-unknown Silverchair has a song playing entitled “Stoned”. While the song’s intro is distorted, loud, and screams 1995, the song itself it a bit more mellow and fits the mood of Brodie’s spaced-out lifestyle, which involves Sega Genesis, comic books, and, naturally, malls. As the song ends, Doherty’s character Rene breaks up with Brodie.

As she says her harsh and mean good-bye, she tosses a letter to Brodie as the cue for the song “Seventeen” by Sponge kicks in. You all might remember Sponge’s more widely known track, “Plowed”, which appeared in Empire Records but did not show up on the album. While Sponge has always been historically documented for the one-grunge-hit wonder, I am always brought back to “Seventeen” when I read their name. The song itself is a good alt-rock number, with its dirty-sounding chords, monotone “la la la” chorus, and strung-out lyricism. It is also at this point that TS and Brodie combine forces and decide on the one solution to “ease their simultaneous-double loss.” Brodie, the mallrat that he is, convinces TS to join him at the mall with one simple persuasion (which in all honesty would be enough to convince me), “Oh come on man! They got these new cookies at the cookie stand, you gotta try them, they’re awesome!”

As Brodie and TS embark for the mall post-haste, the Bush B-side “Bubbles” plays, which always reminded me of some old Alkaline Trio tracks. The song captures the excitement, the motion, and the arrival of Brodie and TS at the mall perfectly. A shortened version of the song’s intro is played as they drive, and it then skips the verse and goes into the chorus as Brodie shouts, “I love the smell of commerce in the morning.” Clerks favorites Jay and Silent Bob return to the screen just a moment later to another original track from Newborn, while we get to see one of Jay’s hilarious dance routines.

At this point, the film is in full swing. Jay and Silent Bob are on a mission from Brodie to disrupt the game show that would otherwise inevitably doom TS’s reunion with his girlfriend (Claire Forlani), while TS mopes and Brodie tries to win back Rene. Pretty standard, right? Of course, but Smith’s movies (his old ones at least) are hilarious, and thus we keep watching. Plus, there’s already a kickass soundtrack. Throughout the rest of the movie, each character finds themselves in amusing, almost slightly believable and hilarious circumstances. Brodie ends up having sex with Rene in an elevator as a cover of “Build Me Up Buttercup” plays by the Goops. We are introduced to the character Trisha Jones (a 15-year-old girl writing a research book on male orgasms), whilst Elastica’s song “Line Up” plays. This song would later be seen in Not Another Teen Movie. And even more notable is the appearance of “Boogie Shoes” by KC and the Sunshine Band when TS and Brodie hide from police at a flea market. This one’s not on the CD, but it’s a song my best friend once stated “appears in every movie…ever.”

The film’s climax is pretty ridiculous, and for me to try and explain it to the average reader would be impossible unless you knew all the bizarre events that lead up to it. Basically, in terms of the soundtrack, this is what you need to know. A hilarious montage of Jay getting two complete dorks stoned takes place set to “Smoke Two Joints” by none other than Sublime. Mind you, this was before Sublime were the mega-icons they later became, so the inclusion of this song is kind of interesting. We watch Jay’s stoned prey as they hopelessly lie on the floor and feed themselves Cheetos. When each male cast member is confessing their love to the female leads upon the end of the film, the song “Broken” by the band Belly plays. I had never heard Belly prior to this film, but the song is well-fitting for the mood of the scene. It brings forth a sense of happiness, allowing you to feel what the characters are feeling; a happy fucking ending.

Before “Broken” even has a chance to fade away, the aforementioned “Susanne” cues up to kick off the “Where are they now…” sequence. The inclusion of “Susanne” always made me feel like it wrapped up the film nicely. It’s such a quality and heart-warming Weezer song, and even after I saw this film for the first time, I immediately went back home, turned on my computer and listened to it about 100 more times. Even the final shot of the film is perfect with that song, as Jay, Silent Bob and a monkey by the name of Susanne walk off into the sunset, while the bottom of the screen reads, “As for Jay and Silent Bob, that’s another story,” you feel a sense of joy knowing there will be four other movies with them and an animated series down the road. To close things out, though, the title track for the film plays by Wax, a band most notoriously known for a music video with a guy running on fire. Of course, it couldn’t be a ’90s movie without an obscure, alt-rock closer that nobody would ever remember.

All in all, Mallrats is still my favorite Kevin Smith film, which is sort of funny given the pain and tremor it caused the director. But really, it’s got everything. A hilarious cast (Jason Lee post-Blind Video Days is classic), great quotes from all of its characters (“Holy shit! Mother fucking Yoda and shit!”), and a kickass soundtrack, complete with 90′s odds and ends, make for one favorable cinematic ride. For me, it’s really about the music. But Smith has always done a top notch job putting music to his films – well, at least his first three. Even with Clerks‘ minimal budget, he was able to pull it off with great songs from the likes of Soul Asylum, Alice in Chains, and Bad Religion. With Mallrats, I felt his rhythm for musical inclusions improved. In the years that followed, Smith made some great films and some bad ones, but Mallrats will always hold a special place in my library, right next to my old Weezer posters, my Toy Machine shirt, and the start of my appreciation for underdog filmmakers.

Sublime with Rock kicks of their summer tour starting on June 5th in Irvine, CA, before swinging across the country in July. After a few weeks off, they’ll finish up their summer tour with shows in Bethlehem, PA, on August 15th and Tempe, AZ, on August 18th.

“To go back out on the road and play this music again is a gift,” drummer Bud Gaugh said in a press statement. “We want to celebrate the music and share the experience for not only our fans, but also for ourselves. It’s been 14 years and is long overdue.”

Tickets can be found at Ticketmaster.com.

Sublime 2010 Tour Dates:
06/05 – Irvine, CA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (KROQ Weenie Roast)
06/06 – San Francisco, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
06/12 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl
07/07 – Redmond, WA @ Marymoor Amphitheatre
07/09 – Magna, UT @ The Great Saltair
07/10 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
07/11 – Kansas City, MO @ The City Market
07/13 – Chicago, IL @ Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island
07/14 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave/Eagles Club
07/17 – Philadelphia, PA @ Festival Pier
07/18 – Baltimore, MD @ Pier Six Pavilion
07/20 – Wantagh, NY @ Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
07/21 – Glen Allen, VA @ Innsbrook Pavilion
07/23 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
07/24 – Saint Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheatre
07/25 – Boca Raton, FL @ Sunset Cove Amphitheatre
07/28 – Dallas, TX @ Superpages.com Center
07/30 – Las Vegas, NV @ Mandalay Bay Beach
08/15 – Bethlehem, PA @ Sands Riverplace
08/18 – Tempe, AZ @ Tempe Beach Park

On top of the two-day stop at Los Angeles’ The Palladium (beginning on 4/20 of all days) and shows at New York City’s Roseland Ballroom, there’s also shows in Boston, MA, Reno, NV, Columbus, OH, and Norfolk, VA. Plus, in addition to covers of all your favorite Sublime w/o Rome hits, proceeds from the concert will go toward an addiction recovery program that’s being set up to aid disadvantaged teens.

Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster.com.

Sublime with Rome 2010 Tour Dates:
04/20 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Palladium
04/21 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Palladium
04/23 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre
04/24 – Reno, NV @ Knitting Factory
04/26 – Denver, CO @ The Fillmore
04/28 – Chicago, IL @ Rivera Theatre
04/29 – Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room
04/30 – Columbus, OH @ LC Pavillion
05/01 – New York, NY @ Roseland Ballroom
05/02 – New York, NY @ Roseland Ballroom
05/03 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
05/05 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
05/06 – Norfolk, VA @ The Norva

In between, Sublime will Rome will “definitely generate new music.” So far, Billboard reports, the trio has written three songs, including “Panic”, which has been previously performed live. “We’re gonna continue working on material as we’re on the road,” explained drummer Bud Gaug. “It’s not without question to have a studio in one of the buses while we’re on tour. We do a lot of our best creativity on stage, so we’ll be trying out new stuff for the fans, even before we go into the studio.”

Confirmed tour dates can be found below; tickets here.

Sublime with Rome 2010 Tour Dates:
04/20 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Palladium
04/23 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre
04/26 – Denver, CO @ The Fillmore
04/28 – Chicago, IL @ Rivera Theatre
05/01 – New York, NY @ Roseland Ballroom
05/05 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory

• A poster for Ultra Music Festival‘s phase 2 leaked onto the web, and boy, does it look good! Now set to appear at the Miami, FL festival from March 26-27 are the likes of Orbital, Damian Marley & Nas, David Guetta, Sasha & Digweed, Fake Blood, Benny Benassi, Pendulum, Calvin Harris, and Little Boots! An official announcement is expected sometime this week; tickets are currently on sale here.

• Last Monday night, MGMT detailed its much anticipated sophomore studio effort, Congratulations.

• Following a lengthy legal battle, the recently reunited Sumblime have a new name: Sublime with Rome.

• Joanna Newsom offered yet another new song and tracklist for Have One on Me.

• Despite rumors of retirement, Bright Eyes announced plans for the release of a few new songs as part of the March 23rd reissuing of the 2004 release One Jug of Wine.

• Lil Wayne was going to go to jail. But then he realized he needs dental surgery.

• Google unexpectedly deleted the popular blogs, Pop Tarts Suck Toasted and I Rock Cleveland, because they “repeatedly violated Blogger’s Terms of Service.”

• Bob Dylan and Joan Baez performed in the East Room of the White House yesterday as part of “A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement.” Unfortunately, the former couple did not play together, as Dylan busted out “The Times They Are A-Changin’”, while Baez led a rendition of “We Shall Overcome”. The concert will be broadcast on PBS Thursday night at 8pm EST.

• Finally, it snowed a lot.

If you remember, prior his death, Nowell had trademarked the Sublime name. Nowell’s family, including his father and  Nowell’s wife and son, were in favor of Wilson and Gaugh continuing to play in Nowell’s memory, just not under said name. With legal action avoided, it seems the Nowell family can stop worrying about Nowell’s wishes being honored, and the new band can use some of the notoriety and avoid any further legal smackdown. And speaking of using the name, the band has already scheduled some 150 dates. We’ll be sure to pass those along once they’re announced.

And if you’re just not sure how you feel about Sublime 2.0, take a gander at the band’s recent performance at the SmokeOut Festival 2009.

“The point we tried to make is that we encourage these gentlemen to go out and play,” Jeremiah Reynolds, who represents the estate of original Sublime singer Bradley Nowell, explained in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “We think they’re great musicians. We just don’t think it’s appropriate to call a group that doesn’t have Bradley [Nowell] and has a new lead singer Sublime. It’s consistent with Brad’s intentions that we seek to protect the name. The court agreed that Bud and Eric and the new lead singer didn’t have the right to go out and call themselves Sublime.”

If you remember, the family of former Sublime singer Bradley Nowell had threatened legal action if Wilson and Gaugh continued to perform under the Sublime name. The family claims that before he died of a heroin overdose on May 25, 1996, Nowell trademarked the Sublime name to ensure it wasn’t used without him being a part.

As the Times goes on to report, the injunction will be upheld until the breach-of-contract/trademark infringement civil case goes to trial, or the parties reach a settlement. Of course, we’ll keep you updated.

The surviving members of the legendary outfit, Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh, first played a reunion show in Nevada with new singer Rome Ramirez last February. Then, this past weekend at the Smokeout Festival in San Bernardino, California, the trio played for the first time under the Sublime name (see below). However, as Rolling Stone reports, members of Nowell’s family have threatened legal action if Wilson and Gaugh continue to perform under the Sublime name. The family claims that before he died of a heroin overdose on May 25th, 1996, Nowell trademarked the Sublime name to ensure it wasn’t used without him being a part.

“As Brad’s heirs, and with the support of his entire family, we only want to respect his wishes and therefore have not consented to Bud and Eric calling their new project Sublime,” the Nowel family’s statement read. “We have always supported Bud and Eric’s musical endeavors and their desire to continue to play Sublime’s music. We wholeheartedly supported Bud, Eric and the many talented members of the Sublime posse that formed the Long Beach Dub All-Stars, soon after Brad’s death, to honor him through their original recordings, live performances and Sublime music until they disbanded in 2001. But, out of respect for Brad’s wishes, we have always refused to endorse any group performing as Sublime, and now with great reluctance feel compelled to take the appropriate legal action to protect Brad’s legacy.”

But Wilson and Gaugh responded with two statements of their own. The combined statement from the two said that while they continue to mourn Nowell’s untimely passing, they feel performing under the Sublime banner will get their musical message across that much better.

“Brad’s heirs apparently do not share this vision and do not want the band Sublime to continue and tried – unsuccessfully – to file a temporary restraining order to prevent the band from carrying on,” read the Wilson/Guagh statement. “Despite those objections, we are pleased that the United States District Court has allowed us to perform as Sublime for all of our fans. We urge everyone to join us in our message of peace and love, and we look forward to sharing the music we created — the music that defines us.”

Gaugh himself released a personal statement, attempting to drive home the fact that while Nowell is synonymous with the band, the group started in 1986 is just as much his and Wilson’s band.

“It’s unfortunate that The Estate would take a position against us,” Gaugh wrote. “Eric, Brad and I started this band when we were kids. We were the ones that spent years paying dues playing hole-in-the-wall clubs. We were the ones lugging around our gear in a broken down van. We were the ones that spent years writing, recording and rehearsing. WE. Not anyone else. Sublime is a band — our band.”

We’ll keep you updated if and when this issue reaches the courts.

Released mid-summer in 1996, Sublime was the band’s only album to come out under the wing of a major record label (Gasoline Alley/MCA), and what’s tragic about it is that frontman Bradley Nowell didn’t even make it alive long enough to see it hit the stores. Nevertheless, Nowell’s heroin-related death didn’t prevent his last work from going Platinum five times and becoming this little lass’s party predilection.

Although some may say Sublime was just an unfortunate product of the 90s lowlife Cali crowd, or a mindless surfer boy experiment, I’m repping the LBC all the way. With tracks as classic as “Garden Grove”, “April 29, 1992”, “Doin’ Time”, “Caress Me Down”, and basically almost every other one on the album, I’m more than proud to bare my guilty pleasure. From beginning to end, Sublime captures the band’s ska, punk, & reggae kicks, offering a variety of styles from the radio-friendly, super boppy “What I Got”, to the slow, drawn out, sexy guitar of “Pawn Shop”, hardcore punk of “Paddle Out”, and chill hip-hop & latin vibes in “Doin’ Time”. This last track might be my sole favorite. It’s the perfect blend of soft congas, looping drum and bass, and the seductive serenade style that was Nowell’s forte.

I’m not much of a reggae fan, but listening to that man’s voice glide over their dubs, I can’t help but start hopping. There is such a decadent sexiness in his voice when it joins forces with the cadence of his guitar in numbers like “Pawn Shop”, it makes my hips just come alive and once the gyrating starts, it becomes contagious. It’s that neo-reggae funk that, for me, makes Sublime the band that means summertime.

Regardless of their obvious struggle with hard drugs, the guys in the band were able to produce carefree music, sometimes even incorporating a grimy sense of humor into their lyrics (see “Wrong Way”). They speak so clearly about a life of beer, weed, and desolate career prospects — a life I’ve come to know so well living in Miami, surrounded by twenty-somethings without direction and a love for days off. It always seemed to me like Nowell, bassist Bud Gaugh, and drummer Eric Wilson lead the same kind of existence. Southern Cali seems to be the 305 of the West Coast, and because our homes parallel each other, it’s easy for me to identify with their music, especially during times of leisure. This album, specifically, is great when you’re in the mood to take a load off and loosen up, maybe get a little raunchy, and break it down to “Caress Me Down”. This song masters the Long Beach dub beat and kills with its lyrics in Nowell’s broken Spanish, which is dirtier than a month-old litterbox.

Knowing the band’s history, their music also inspires a sort of rebellious nostalgia in me, especially tracks like “April 29, 1992”, which is truly more like an anthem than just a single. The second the bass kicks in after the cops are talking on the radio, a feeling of camaraderie is born within you. The song screams 1990s revolution with that killer bass line and the dropping of a “187” so casually in there. Perhaps there is just something extremely gratifying about hearing your hometown shouted out in a song about a riot. What’s great about Sublime’s version of rebellion is that it’s liberating without carrying that Cobain-esque aura of suffocation, which makes it more empowering rather than teenage angst-y. “Can’t fight against the youth!” declares Nowell in “Jailhouse”, and tell me that’s not just the kind of idealism you love to be a part of.

There are three basic elements that make Sublime worthy of keeping it in your iPod, even after you think you couldn’t bear to hear these songs more than you already have. First off, they had Brad Nowell for a vocalist at the time. The guy’s voice is like a lullaby that acts as a social lubricant. His soft moans and “everyman lyrics” always bear a sensuality that rolls so well over, around, and underneath the second reason to love them: Their beats are just so frickin’ laid back. Always kickin’ it with a relaxed bass and a backyard-band style drum beat that, together, invite you to join their group and their atmosphere by simply hanging out. Lastly, they couldn’t be Sublime without the synth dubs. In “Garden Grove”, they finish off the song with a sick turntable jam that follows Nowell’s listing of all his miserable activities. Marshall Goodman’s scratching combined with the slow drums and the song’s traditional ska/punk guitar make for a tune that is really just — there’s no other way to put it — sublime.

Slipknot, Deftones, Pennywise (minus its frontman), Method Man & Redman, and Kottonmouth Kings head the festivities, while Bad Brains, Immortal Technique, K’Naan, and Mix Master Mike are all also scheduled to make an appearance. Also confirmed will be reunions by Goodie Mob, The Geto Boys, Hieroglypics, and Living Legends. Oh and of course, Cheech and Chong will be hosting the event. Find the complete lineup here.

And as the name indicates, the festivities will also included a number of non-musical, cannabis-themed events, such as a medical marijuana expo, vendor village, and massive munchie gardens.

Pre-sale tickets will be available beginning Wednesday, September 9th. The general public will get its opportunity on Saturday, September 12th. Ticketmaster.com and Livenation.com will be the places of purchase.

“The last minute addition of our very special guests Sublime is crazy. We always strive to make our shows a once in a lifetime event. I know Bud, Eric and Rome can’t wait to tear up the Smoke Out stage,” promoter Chang Weisberg said in a statement.

Sublime will be joined by the likes of Slipknot, Pennywise, Goodie Mob, The Geto Boys, Cheech and Chong and others at this year’s Smoke Out.

For a a taste of what is to come, here’s a video of Rome performing an acoustic rendition of “Saw Red” with Wilson…

Well kids, it happened. Almost four months after rumors of a possible reunion first surfaced, Eric Wilson and Bud Gough took to the stage with new a singer and performed under the name Sublime; the first time doing so since May 25th, 1996. The performance, which took place on Saturday night at the Cantina Los Hombres in Sparks, Nevada, featured a musician named Rome replacing the late Bradley Nowell on vocals. Per Del Mar’s MySpace (Gaugh’s current outfit, which opened the evening):

“So Del Mar played the gig at Cantina last night in Reno, it was packed and amazing. What really fucking killed it was SUBLIME reuniting and playing with new singer, Rome. We’re fucking stoked for Bud, Eric, and Rome- Bud’s still playing with Del Mar, and Sublime doesn’t have any firm tour plans or anything YET, but we’ll keep you posted on their progress. Peace!”

While no pictures or video from the concert have surfaced, a few attendees have offered their firsthand perspective on the evening, including one commenter named LJ on CoS:

I was there last night. It was Eric, Bud, & Rome. You can never replace Brad.. but it was a bad-ass show!!! Rome has a great voice, guitar skills, and killer energy. It does more justice to the music to play it live then to let it rest forever only on recordings!! The crowd was thirsty for this show and the energy was surreal!! They dedicated the set to Brad & said it was the first time they had played those songs live in about 15 years! They played a new song too which sounded pretty bad ass!

As for what’s next? Perhaps Bamboozle?

More as it comes…

“Ball and Chain”

“What I Got”

Speculation centers around a show scheduled to take place at Reno, Nevada’s Cantina Los Hombres tonight. The bill is said to feature former Sublime drummer Bud Gaugh’s new outfit, Del Mar, along with “special guests,” ones which Gaugh notes on the band’s MySpace are must sees: “Trust us, you will kick yourself in the ass with spiked steel-toe boots if you miss this show.”

If you combine the fact that a Sublime reunion has been rumored for months with the “Del Mar w/ Special Guest-S**Lime” event listing currently appearing on Cantina Los Hompres’ webpage, it certainly appears as if Gaugh could reunite with former bandmate Eric Wilson this evening.

Of course, unless Bradley Nowell is resurrected from the grave, tonight’s performance would be just as much a reunion of the Long Beach Dub Allstars as it would be of Sublime. That being said, when the aforementioned rumors hit the web last November, Guagh and Wilson were said to be searching for a frontman to replace Nowell. Could they have finally found someone? Looks like we’ll find out soon enough…

Somewhere between Whitewater and Deep Blue, Electronic Freedom and welfare reform, the formation of Apocalyptica and the demise of Jawbreaker and Sublime (Bradley Nowell, R.I.P), there was music in 1996.  Clinton and Gore gained another term and we had begun to toy with an awkward mid-decade crisis before the world first learned of a Backstreet fan girl, before boy band phenomena swept the nation sans NKOTB, and before we could sic Eminem on them all. We had crossed through the glory of [The Offspring's] Smash and the ad nausea mourning of Kurt Cobain in ’94. We suckled upon The Bends and Collective Soul until the dying breath of ’95.

So what was it in 1996?  Shania Twain killed country music, and I was still in middle school during the latter half of the “angry white boy” era. This countdown embraces the early adolescence in me, and one hopes it can center you with the same crash and clatter I received. To anachronistically semi-quote the aforementioned Slim Shady: “Will the Class of ’96 please stand up?”

10. Tori Amos – Boys For Pele

Essentially a lengthy multi-instrumentalist piece for the pride of femininity, this was Amos’ first attempt at producing her own album. Hot off splitting with boyfriend and co-producer Eric Rosse, Boys For Pele represented the strength of being a woman and the complexities inherent to it. Imperfections are married to layered sounds with the profound acoustics found inside churches in New Orleans, LA and Ireland. Amos believed there was power and texture in the American South, but this is not easily grasped in the critically-bashed, difficult, and cryptic poetry. This was challenging airplay unit shifting and indeed marked the start of her playing producer on every consecutive release afterward, cementing a place for Tori Amos as a free- spirited woman in a man’s world.

9. Primitive Radio Gods – Rocket

While few know the band, many know the single “Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand” from its heavy radio play and prevalence in the dark comedy, The Cable Guy . While few remember the lyrics to this lengthily titled track, everyone knows the music and the sample from B.B. King’s “How Blue Do You Get?”.  Everyone who is not familiar with the entirety of Rocket, it is on this list because it is by far as unappreciated as Pearl Jam’s 1996 tour-killer, No Code. It’s a phenomenal record considering the overall production started when Chris O’Connor took a ’69 Ampex and $1000 to the test, resulting in demos later converted to this ’96 sleeper.

8. Current 93 – All the Pretty Little Horses

Complemented by it’s bookend albums (Where The Long Shadows Fall and The Starres Are Marching Sadly Home), this atmospheric release by English band Current 93 contains multiple references to Patripassianism, death, pain and the “inmost light” or soul. Dense layers of loops and haunting vocals are delicately intertwined, creating a wide array of images. Think of this as a dark and dreary day in the Catholic church, accentuated with beautiful artistic value, while not being so overly pushy in its religious subtexts.  Unlike the album before or after it, the whole recording is not a single track but could almost be mistaken for one due to the seamless flow of sounds encompassing it.

7. Soundgarden – Down On The Upside

After Superunknown, Soundgarden embarked on a tour supporting it before tensions within finally began hitting new highs. The more experimental Down On The Upside was sadly the last release from a band who probably would have went sonically downhill anyway had they continued on. Leaving the music scene at their peak was a smart move, only second to recording this album prior to Soundgarden’s dissipation.  While Chris Cornell did go on to Audioslave, develop a real asshole ego and make a crappy 2008 solo CD, we can be thankful for his pre-douche offerings, “Pretty Noose” and “Blow Up The Outside World” via Soundgarden.

6. Jay Z – Reasonable Doubt

It is said that Jay-Z is a master at freestyles in the studio. It is also said that this debut release from “Tha ROC” can be hailed as a true classic of hip-hop culture. The Source ranks it among the 100 greatest albums of all time, and one could definitely see why  this record is looked so highly upon within the scope of its genre. Rap got a ride with an album packed to the brim, featuring smoothly delivered lyrics and guest appearances that include Memphis Bleak and Jay’s fellow Brooklyn bad ass Notorious B.I.G. Popularizing the Mafioso rap game alongside Biggie’s ’94 debut Ready To Die, Jay-Z cemented his future status with Reasonable Doubt.

5. Tool – Aenima

Anyone who does not include this recording in a ’96 Best Of music list is either a ridiculously stubborn hipster or just plain deaf. You do not have to be a “metal head” to appreciate the intricacies involved with Aenima (or for that matter, anything regarding Tool pre-10,000). Songs like “Hooker With A Penis” ferociously attack silly people who blindly follow trends alongside label executives who beg on their knees for a hurried single release. The title track itself is a creative and lengthy, evil laugh poking fun at Los Angeles, dictating the city’s own personalized doomsday with vivid imagery. If you need a good dose of elaborate progressive rock song structures that do not bore the bejesus out of you, go with this record.

4. Marilyn Manson – Antichrist Superstar

Yes, you heard it here on this and every other ’96 listing under the sun. Yes, we are going to include the band who in one foul (and we mean foul in every nice way possible) swoop made goths popular. Yes, we know the bandleader went repulsively “emo” on Eat Me, Drink Me.  Yes, we did a Dusting ‘Em Off piece for this particular record already, and you are probably asking why on Earth should we include it here?  That can be answered with two words and one definite article: “The Beautiful People”. Before Manson and Co. became household names, this magnum opus of theirs reigned as a must-have for every pissed off teenager whose mother would later warn them about Columbine copycatting. Face facts, Antichrist Superstar will never go away!

3. Anti-Flag – Die For The Government

Aside from a much sought after collectible demo EP, this is considered Anti-Flag’s debut album. I know someone is going to ask me why I picked this as opposed to Rage Against The Machine’s Evil Empire. Well, it seems to me that Rage gets a lot of credit as political rock but everyone keeps forgetting political punk.  Nothing says patriotism like Die For The Government, does it?  Sadly, bassist Andy Flag left after the release of this album, so perhaps the sound changed a teeny bit. In the end though, we all remember that “you’re gonna die, gonna die, gonna die for your government…die for your country” and that is shit! A strikingly simple opening to a phenomenal punk recording by a band that could trump the Sex Pistols any day (Yeah, I said it).

2. Sublime – Sublime

There were many deaths in the ’90s that hit music hard, but not unlike Cobain’s melodrama, Sublime is one of at least five groups who were destroyed before their 15 minutes barely clicked into start. Reggae/dub trio front man Bradley Nowell died of a heroin overdose before the ultimately successful Sublime hit stores. This eponymous record was their major label debut, breaking Sublime into public view. Furthermore, this album helped push the third-wave ska movement into national stardom, helping bands like Slightly Stoopid survive. I put this here as a testament to Nowell, Hoon, Williams, Wood and Strait: “Love is what I got.”

1. Weezer – Pinkerton

Some might claim that putting this at #1 is a silly fan boy attempt to gush wildly about Weezer. I want to note that this list is (yet again) not in any particular order. Secondly, Weezer took a ballsy step recording this album when they did. The artistic integrity overall shines more than the singles alone, yet it did not live up to their previous release, Weezer (The Blue Album), in terms of sales or charts. The concept being loosely based on Madam Butterfly, any cryptic allusions were partially lost on an unassuming public save for Weezer’s then-budding fan base. However, Pinkerton shed even more light on a group who would soon show a generation of geeks that even they can make a rocking themed album. Pinkerton is not the best of its kind, but it certainly belongs somewhere on the 1996 lists.

Finally, the honorable mentions…

The Olivia Tremor Control – Music from the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle
Tupac Shakur – The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory
Stone Temple Pilots – Tiny Music…Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop
Modest Mouse – This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About
Opeth – Morningrise
AFI – Very Proud Of Ya
Slipknot – Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.