Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell’s wife Etty Farrell (@EttyLauFarrell) reacted to GrungeReport.net’s story on Dave Navarro trashing Eric Avery on her Twitter account:

I literally just laughed out loud & fell out of my chair. http://grungereport.net/?p=25585 This is why I ❤ @DaveNavarro @janesaddiction #4ever

The Jane’s Addiction soap opera just keeps getting more hilarious.  From Eric Avery’s lengthy interview trashing Perry Farrell in 2010, to Farrell calling Avery ‘the foreskin’ of Jane’s Addiction in the song “End to the Lies,” to the latest drama with Navarro saying Avery should “keep his fucking mouth shut.”  The question is, can it top the Stone Temple Pilots soap opera? We might need a couple more lawsuits.

Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro recently tore apart his former bandmate Eric Avery on his online radio show Dark Matter. Avery quit Nine Inch Nails last week, leaving the band before even embarking on his first tour with them. Avery played bass in Jane’s Addiction from 1985-1991 and 2008-2010. Avery ripped on Perry Farrell in a 2010 YouTube interview with Jane’s Addiction fansite Xiola.org for being a control freak and “douche,” he wasn’t nearly as harsh on Navarro and drummer Stephen Perkins but he did take subtle potshots at them for siding with Farrell.

Navarro reacted to Avery quitting NIN by saying, “I’m looking forward to the 12 hour YouTube session of him dishing the dirt on why.” He then did a mock impression of Avery, “Once again I am mesmerized by my inability to follow through with anything.”

Navarro then called out Avery, below are a series of Navarro’s quotes.

“Look, this guy has constantly talked shit about me and Stephen and Perry, and quit our band twice to quote on quote, pursue all of these really intense solo creative artistic output. All these different mediums that he’s going to, get into or whatever. where is it? Where’s all the shit that he’s doing? I don’t know.”

“I wouldn’t be so vocal about it if he didn’t do a feature length film talking shit about all three of us.”

“He quits Jane’s, he got thrown out of Garbage, he got rehired in Garbage, he’s in Nails, now he’s out of Nails, I mean what the fuck is the problem here? You know what I mean, me Perk and Perry have managed to put everything aside for 30 years.”

“The guy’s entitled to do whatever the fuck he wants to do, and it’s fine, but keep your fucking mouth shut. I don’t really care, you can quit every band in the world. Where’s this body of solo work? Where’s all this film scoring, you know what I mean? It literally sounds like a guy at Guitar Center plying out synthesizers. Literally like reading out of a book, or randomly turning knobs on a synthesizer. Alright!”

“Here’s the thing, I’m talking mad shit. The reason why is he opened the door. He opened the door with the feature length film, he goes to people that I know and work with in the music business to talk shit about me and Stephen. He talks to people who work at musical equipment manufactures, like that shit’s not going to get back to us? Come on. It’s just pussy shit, whatever.”

“I don’t wish him any harm, I have a lot of fond memories with him. But if you’re going to fucking open your mouth about the inner workings and dynamics of something that has been very very good to you for a lot of years, and then not follow through on anything else, you’ve got it coming.”

“This is me on reserve. Here’s the thing, he’s really good at commenting on other people who do really great work and take chances. He’s the first guy to tell you how great Walt Whitman is, and how great Picasso is, and how beautiful a particular body of land is that he’s looking at to piece things together to make him sound interesting and intelligent, but at the end of the day he doesn’t fucking do a thing on his own or follow through with his word. So, I’m not buying it, you know what I mean. Quit reading books and write one dude.”

Listen to the hilarious rant from Dark Matter below.

Before reading this review, please know that I know my opinion does not hold any more weight than yours! Feel free to think whatever you want about this album, if you love it or hate it great. I’m just a fan who owns a rock site, and reviews are part of the deal.

Anyways, Alice In Chains’ 5th studio album, and 2nd of the William DuVall era, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here leaked yesterday. I have listened to the album at least 5-6 times, on headphones and also while driving, trying to listen attentively, so this isn’t just a first impression review.

“Hollow” kicks off the album. I haven’t been a fan of this song since it came out in December, it just sounds really stale and uninspired. The lyrics are just Mad Libs/run of the mill AIC. The verses sound like an uninspired retread of the verses of the vastly superior “A Looking In View.” The overproduced vocals on this song also sets the precedent for most of the album’s overproduced vocal sound. This vocal production style/sound would work fine if the songs were good enough, like “Private Hell” had that same overproduced sound, but the vocal melody was so strong is overcame it.

The second track is “Pretty Done.” This sounds like it could be a Boggy Depot B-side, except it’s not as good as the rock songs on that album. This is also the first example of a song that just runs far too long. There are too many long songs on this album that simply aren’t good, and this is a band that has had great long songs in the past.

I still don’t like “Stone,” but after hearing the whole album it’s understandable why it is a radio single. It probably has the most memorable melody out of the ‘rock’ songs on the album. Still not big on this song, the riff just sounds so uninspired.

“Voices” is by far the best song on the album, it is a new Alice In Chains/Jerry Cantrell classic. The reason it’s so great is that it doesn’t sound like a stale retread plodding rock song with a recycled riff and melody trying to redo a past formula. The melody is incredible, the chorus is one of the best pop hooks Jerry Cantrell has ever come up with. This song will be a surefire radio hit and staple in AIC’s live shows. It reminds me a bit of past Cantrell ballads but it feels totally fresh.

The riff to the title track “The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here” kind of sounds recycled from “Love, Hate, Love.” This to me is the weakness of the song. Despite this, the song has more memorable melodies than many of the songs on the album and is among the stronger tracks. The lyrics have direction, with the condemning of religious extremists.  The next few songs kind of run together, and not in a good way. The first one is “Lab Monkey” which clocks in at nearly 6 minutes. This song just kind of drones on and goes on for far too long, the last minute of the song has an interesting melody with the lyrics “Had enough, no more tears left for me to cry” that probably should have come earlier in the song. About 3 minutes in there is a variation of it but the later version is the more appealing melody.

“Low Ceiling” is another generic rocker. There’s nothing really interesting here, outside of the guitar solo but the song itself is pretty forgettable. “Breath on a Window” recycles the riff to “Lesson Learned” and even the melody is similar in parts. There is a nice vocal melody in the 2nd half of the song, it makes me wish that idea had been used as the basis for a song rather than the Lesson Learned rehash in the first half.

“Scalpel” changes up the pace with more of a country vibe, this is one of the stronger tracks on the album. It doesn’t sound like an inferior rehash of anything AIC have done in the past like many of the songs , it sounds fresh and it feels like a new direction for the band. Most importantly it’s a good song. The line ‘It’s a lie you hide in someone else’ is one of Cantrell’s more memorable lyrics/hooks on the album.  “Phantom Limb” is the closest thing we have to an uptempo rocker on the album. This is the strongest of the few tracks that feature DuVall prominently vocally. Like I wrote in my review of this song a couple of months ago I think DuVall does a solid job here lyrically and melodically.

“Hung On A Hook” has a riff that attempts to recapture the Dirt sound, specifically of the title track off that album. DuVall has some good lyrics and interesting melodies on this song, but the chorus is lacking and his vocals are overproduced during the chorus. DuVall and Cantrell just never seem to let loose vocally on this album, it all sounds so robotic. We know William has it in him obviously, he has done it in both Alice In Chains and Comes With The Fall.  The closing track “Choke” definitely sounds like a grower. While it hasn’t immediately grabbed me on the first 4-5 listens, the lyrics are solid and it’s a different sound, unlike many of the stale songs on the album.

Overall, this is my least favorite Alice In Chains album, it’s also my least favorite Jerry Cantrell release. Boggy Depot and Degradation Trip were far more adventurous than this album, and they simply had better songs. I was a big fan of Black Gives Way to Blue, and The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here doesn’t even come close to that. That album was full of memorable songs that I still crank up in the car regularly today, barring “Take Her Out.” I won’t even bother comparing this album to the Layne Staley era of Alice In Chains. Layne is obviously sorely missed in AIC, but Jerry Cantrell has created great music without him so I’m not going to use a ‘No Layne No Chains’ cop out excuse for not liking the album. Cantrell is a legend in his own right. Overall, I’m happy I’ve got a new track to play to death in “Voices” but the rest of the album is a let down to me. It really pained me to write this review (cue ‘it was painful to read as well, like most of your writing’ insults in the comments section lol). I hope all of the readers like the album more than me, I’m not looking to get into any debates over it. If you like it, great. If you don’t like it, great.

Also, I know King Animal vs. The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here will be a big debate in the comments section. I dislike them equally. They both have one song I love (A Thousand Days Before and Voices) along with a few others I like fine. I really hope Pearl Jam bring it with their next album, don’t let me down boys on my most anticipated album of 2013!

Favorite tracks: Voices, Scalpel, Phantom Limb

No pictures for this review, as the band banned cameras for the concert due to their webcast. It probably made the concert more enjoyable for me since I didn’t have to worry about taking pictures for the site.

I arrived inside the Wiltern sometime after 6:30 and ended up getting near the front of the pit.  Alain Johannes opened at 8PM for a fantastic set. Alain is probably the most underrated man in alternative rock, his work with Eleven and countless Grunge era artists like Chris Cornell and Mark Lanegan is fantastic. When that dude is in the studio good shit is generally being made.  His track on the Sound City soundtrack with Dave Grohl and Josh Homme “A Trick With No Sleeve” is one of my favorite rock songs of 2013 so far. Johannes performed a 5-6 song set and received a warm reception from the crowd, immediately after he left the stage Queens of the Stone Age went on.

While many expected the band to perform their new album …Like Clockwork in its entirety to kick off the show (like BillCo with Oceania), the songs ended up being spread throughout the show, which probably helped the show’s pace. The show kicked off with new track “Keep Your Eyes Peeled” and was followed up by QOTSA live staples like “Sick, Sick, Sick” and “No One Knows” which kicked the show into high gear immediately. “My God Is The Sun” was just as great live as I had hoped for based on the Lollapalooza live footage. Watching Josh Homme play keyboard on “The Vampyre of Time and Misery” was a highlight because it’s just something you don’t expect at a Queens of a Stone Age show. I thought this and the other experimental new song “Kalopsia” came off great live, and going in I didn’t really know how they would be performed or how the crowd might react. The way these songs (and all of the album) came off live just further shows that …Like Clockwork includes some of the band’s best and daring work.

“Turnin on the Screw” and “Burn the Witch” were two highlights, I had hoped Mark Lanegan would come out but the crowd singing along sufficed. The run of songs from “Little Sister” to “A Song For The Dead” was one of the better stretches of a concert I’ve ever been to. While I don’t usually go crazy moshing, but the last few songs I was going nuts.

“I Appear Missing” was the last song of the main set, and the magic of the song in the studio definitely translated well live. Josh Homme improvised part of the guitar solo. Like I said in my review of …Like Clockwork, this is one of my favorite QOTSA songs of all time. The encore kicked off with …Like Clockwork’s somber title track, and Homme was able to hit his falsetto. I thought it was a brilliant choice to follow up one of the most somber songs in the QOTSA catalog with arguably its most cerebral, “Feel Good Hit of the Summer.” The last song of the night was “A Song For The Dead,” it was one of the most rocking performances I’ve ever seen live. Josh Homme is really one of the great live guitarists.

This was my third time seeing Queens of the Stone Age live. I previously saw them twice on the 2007 Era Vulgaris tour in Costa Mesa and Irvine, and this show tops both of them. Incredible performance, I’d definitely recommend checking them out on the …Like Clockwork tour. The new drummer Jon Theodore impressed me as well.

Setlist:
Keep Your Eyes Peeled
You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Millionaire
Sick, Sick, Sick
First It Giveth
No One Knows
My God Is the Sun
I Sat by the Ocean
The Vampyre of Time and Memory
I Never Came
Kalopsia
If I Had a Tail
Turnin’ on the Screw
Burn the Witch
Make It Wit Chu
Smooth Sailing
Little Sister
I Think I Lost My Headache
Go With the Flow
I Appear Missing

Encore:
Like Clockwork
Feel Good Hit of the Summer
A Song for the Dead

You can listen to 30 second clips of every song from the new album The Sun Comes Out Tonight here.

On first listen, this is probably the best Richard Patrick’s voice has sounded since The Amalgamut. Looking forward to the album, somebody send me a leak or a PR copy please.

From the Bowery Ballroom on May 23, 2013. Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell performs The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy For The Devil” with Alex Levy, Austin Scaggs, and Matt Romano. Pretty cool of Perry to do this.

From Facebook.

Former Guns N’ Roses/Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum commented on Stone Temple Pilots’ new track “Out of Time” featuring their new frontman Chester Bennington on his Twitter page:

@truckstopcowboy it reminds me of a VR riff

He also said “no kidding” when a fan said after STP’s first performance with Bennington that Velvet Revolver had found their new frontman. Sorum had a bad falling out with Scott Weiland in 2008 when he left Velvet Revolver.

Motley Crue’s Nikki Sixx also commented on STP’s new lineup on Twitter:

So happy for the DeLeo brothers on their collaboration with @ChesterBe on the new STP.

Here are a couple of excerpts from GQ‘s new interview with Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme.

On if he was afraid to tell Elton John what to do in studio: “No, I don’t mind saying what’s on my mind. With music there’s no reason to beat around the bush – he certainly doesn’t do that! What really happened is we’re both focused on tinkering on the same toy or engine together. That song, even though it’s not clear, really has this root in that Marc Bolan, T-Rex, Wendy Carlos, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, Bowie with Iggy in West Berlin sort of vibe. And [Elton] was there with Marc Bolan! Bolan was a great friend of his. I think he got that without me having to say, “Hey! Like this!” Jamming with Elton for us was really that – I don’t think I need to say something obvious to him as he has his expertise in picking up on things without even making a thing of it. He was, like, “Don’t you wanna jam?” The answer is “Fucking A, yeah I do.”

On his favorite lyric from …Like Clockwork: “Well if I was to pick from that song [Smooth Sailing] I’d probably be excited about “Blowing my load / Over the Status Quo”. That song came at the end of recording an album that’s born out of a lot of being lost in the fog. I think that song is really an exhibition in “Screw it all.” All I really care about is that I’m being honest and I’m real and I’m coming from a real place. There’s a part of me that’s a total cad and a part of me that’s also a family man. I think the best thing you can do, if you’re blessed enough to do this for year after year, is to tell where you’re at, what you know and ask about what you don’t know. That can make you pretty f***ing vulnerable but I think you just have to let it all go and let what happens,happens.