News Roundup: Bruce Springsteen, Ryan Adams, Pearl Jam, The Beatles

Videos by American Songwriter

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Bruce Springsteen fans are having a wild year. The Boss announced that for this weekend’s pair of shows at Madison Square Garden, the E Street Band will be playing, for the first time, The River (November 8) and The Wild, The Innocent, and The E Street Shuffle (November 7) in their entirety. The mind boggles. The River, which was released in October of 1980, has 20 songs, and clocks in at nearly an hour and a half.

Jack White’s Third Man Records are getting ready to drop some science. On November 9, they’ll release a seven-inch single of “A Glorious Dawn,” an auto-tuned rendition of a Carl Sagan speech on the glory of the cosmos and the nature of the universe. The release is timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Sagan’s birth. Listen to the track and watch the video here.

Head over to Stereogum to hear a new, possibly old Ryan Adams song, the bizarre country ballad “Jimmy Whistlenut” which features the chorus: “You’re in a time machine, and you’re trippin on robotussin and crack/ so here’s to Jimmy Whistelnut, break dancin’, and jumping jacks.”

“Heaven Can Wait,” a duet between Charlotte Gainsbourg and Beck, can be heard here. The track is from Gainsbourg’s upcoming IRM album (due out in January), which Beck produced and co-wrote.

The Stooges will reunite with guitarist James Williamson for the first time in almost three decades when they launch a tour in 2010. Williamson is stepping in for the late guitarist Ron Asheton, who passed away in January due to a heart attack. The Stooges are among the bands nominated for this year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Reread our 2007 cover story on the band here.

From “Whipping” to “Whip It”: Pearl Jam donned Divo costumes for their Halloween show in Philadelphia. The show was the final night of their four-night stand, and in addition to a stellar cover of “Whip It,” featured rarities like Vitalogy’s “Bugs” (which had never been performed live before), “Out Of My Mind,” and “Sweet Lew.” The band also covered Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall” and Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.”

On December 7, The new Beatles remasters will be reissued on a limited edition apple-shaped USB drive, marking the first time their catalog has been made available as digital files independent of a CD release. Vinyl versions of the remastered albums are also on the way. You can pre-order the USB from the official online Beatles store, which will cost $279.99.

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