iTUNES SAVES THE DAY!!! (MUSIC PICKS FOR 2.14.06)

There wasn't shit at the record shop today. Luckily, iTunes had tons to choose from!


THE EELS * WITH STRINGS

25 tracks, including a couple covers (Prince's I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man) and backed up with an amazing set of strings, you have yourself a nice live album that isn't simply the studio versions plus a drum solo or two. I highly recommend this one.


ARCTIC MONKEYS * WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN (EP)

Next week, their full album hits the US...so until then, this four song EP will have to tide you over. And buying it off iTunes is MUCH cheaper than buying the $12 import!!!

And I can't find an image, but I also bought MORRISSEY's single of "YOU HAVE KILLED ME"

**oh, and I almost forgot about this, until I read the press release and it reminded me...

Nelson Unveils 'Gay Cowboy' Valentine

February 14, 2006, 4:45 PM ET

Willie Nelson chose Valentine's Day to release the gay-themed song "Cowboys are Secretly, Frequently (Fond of Each Other)." The country music icon premiered the track this morning (Feb. 14) on Howard Stern's Sirius Satellite Radio show as it was being made exclusively available via Apple's iTunes music store.

Nelson recorded the song, written in 1981 by songwriter Ned Sublette, last year at his home studio in Perdernales, Texas, around the time he first mentioned it during an appearance on Stern's former terrestrial radio show. The timing of the song's release coincides with a time when the idea of gay cowboys is being discussed throughout the media due to the success of the Academy Award-nominated film "Brokeback Mountain."

Coincidentally, Nelson contributed the track "He Was a Friend of Mine" to the movie's Verve soundtrack, which peaked at No. 54 on The Billboard 200.

"The song's been in the closet for 20 years," Nelson says in a statement released to the Dallas Morning News. "The timing's right for it to come out. I'm just opening the door."

Adding to the track's poignancy is David Anderson, Nelson's longtime tour manager, who revealed his homosexuality to Nelson two years ago.

"This song obviously has special meaning to me in more ways than one," Anderson tells the Dallas Morning News. "I want people to know more than anything -- gay, straight, whatever -- just how cool Willie is and ... his way of thinking, his tolerance, everything about him."

A video "Cowboys are Secretly, Frequently (Fond of Each Other)" will be created by the Broken Lizard comedy troupe ("Super Troopers," "Club Dread") with plans to release it exclusively through iTunes.