”¢ There they are: Except for a couple late-2008 shows, we haven’t heard much from the Like recently – unless you like to pore over the Cobrasnake’s photo galleries. But the L.A. trio is surfacing on the high-profile compilation album, “War Child Heroes,” a benefit for children affected by wars. On the charity’s behalf, music legends such as Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson and Bruce Springsteen were asked to choose “next-generation” artists to cover one of their songs. The tracklisting is remarkable, and having toured the songs on MySpace, I submit that the concept worked brilliantly. Beck covers Dylan; Duffy covers McCartney; TV on the Radio covers David Bowie; and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover the Ramones, for a few. The Like? No surprise that they cover Elvis Costello’s “You Belong to Me.” The local trio’s Tennessee Thomas is the daughter of Costello’s drummer, Pete Thomas.
”¢ More Like: Caught the Jan. 27 debut of the all-star band JJAMZ at the Echoplex – the lineup features the Like’s Z Berg out front, along with Mike Runion, Jason Boesel (Rilo Kiley), Alex Greenwald (Phantom Planet) and James Valentine (Maroon 5). They talk about the project here. The music was good-natured pop-rock, and Berg was channeling Jenny Lewis (who was in the audience), but the performance had all the energy of an after-school assignment.
”¢ Tune in, or not: I know a lot of folks on Eastside were all atwitter when the WB.com’s series “Rockville CA” was being filmed at the Echoplex, but I dare you be interested after watching the trailer. Were these characters purchased from a vending machine? The debut is March 17.
”¢ The catalog:Rademacher, the Fresno indie-rockers who play so much in L.A. they’re considered a de facto local band, will also be joining the Airborne Toxic Event and the Henry Clay People on their big upcoming tour. Its 2007 album “Stunts” is highly recommended; now Rademacher has just released “RIP Gardenside,” a compilation of material recorded at Gardenside Studios in Fresno that appears on their four self-released EPs from 2004-08.
”¢ In tune: My favorite quote from the Grammys came via the Blind Boys of Alabama: “We’re not blind, we just can’t see.” Nice anecdote about them: My wife was on a flight from the Midwest to L.A. in December 2007, and upon being greeting warmly by the passengers on board, the Blind Boys regaled the flight with a cappella holiday tunes.
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