Tat o' the Day

MPR/The Current Marketing guru @AliLozoff sent us this awesome pic of co-worker and Member Benefits Supervisor, Michael Popham's tattoo. Bad ass!

Did Michele Bachman confuse John Wayne Gacy for John Wayne?

Today MPR News posted a pretty funny clip featuring presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann invoking the name of John Wayne, a son of Iowa with whom she shares a spirit, she says. Only she says John Wayne is from Waterloo, Iowa - which is actually where the infamous serial killer John Wayne Gacy was born. MPR points out that John Wayne, the actor, was born 167 miles away in Winterset, Iowa. Keep the gaffes coming, Michele.



Via @MPRnews
Submitted by @jahnapeloquin

Minnesota Music Day on 89.3 The Current this Saturday!

On Saturday, May 15th tune your dials to 89.3 The Current for an all-day local music hootenanny! Word is excitedly spreading via bloggers and social media outlets that the beloved radio station will be dedicating Saturday to locally-rooted tunesmiths past and present -- and they'll even be taking requests!

Along with all-day local programming, a number of weekly specialty shows will be pinpointing certain areas of interest:

"Teenage Kicks"-- 8-10 a.m. Saturday
Former Suicide Commandos front man Chris Osgood will join host Jacquie Fuller and share his take on the scene.

"Radio Free Current" with host David Campbell--7-11 p.m. Saturday
Will ask the audience for their picks of best local gems.

"Redefinition Radio" with host Kevin Beacham--11 p.m.-midnight Saturday
Will be dedicated to the local hip hop scene.

And be sure to check out MPR's Minnewiki filled with endless info on local bands -- it's really quite epic!

Via Christian Erickson, Gimme Noise, and MPR


Submitted by @letoilemagazine

Stream Jeremy Messersmith's new album on MPR for free!

We love us some Messersmith! The singer/songwriter announced via Facebook this morning that you can get a sneak-listen to his brand new, yet-to-be-officially-released album The Reluctant Graveyard over at The Current's website. Click HERE to stream the entire album! We are loving it already.


Submitted by @letoilemagazine

Rock the Garden lineup!

89.3 The Current and the WAC announced the lineup for this year's Rock the Garden: MGMT, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, OK Go, and Retribution Gospel Choir!

The event will be June 19th! More info HERE.

Submitted by @letoilemagazine

New Prince track debuts to mixed reactions

This morning 89.3 The Current unveiled the brand new Prince song that everyone's been buzzing about. Mixed reactions on the internetz abound. City Pages, for instance, was left "cringing" and "horrified" while a message board commenters quipped, "Sounds like he was listening to the "Footloose" soundtrack when he wrote this... not "groundbreaking" sound at all..." and ""Prince must be getting a really high score on this round of Rock Band." Also, Pitchfork posted the song on their site and said it was" characteristically batshit."

The MPR DJs had a different perspective, with Jill Rielly saying "When I heard "Cause and Effect" for the first time, the term "rock anthem" instantly came to mind. The new song will delight your senses and melt your face." and Steve Seel chimed in, "The tune is like a little mini-symphony of Prince-ness. It's got a few different sections, some that have that classic funky, sexy, sinewy Prince and some with his more rockish tendencies ... come to think of it, that makes it all classic Prince. Except the rock-y parts might be the hardest he's ever rocked, which is pretty notable in and of itself."

Is this a classic case of purple ass-kissery? Honestly, we'd probably kiss Prince's ass too if he was showing up to our parties and giving us exclusives. Personally, we don't think the song is all bad...some cheesy parts to be sure (crowd cheering interludes for one), but hey, it's PRINCE. He's earned the right to throw crowd cheering into his tracks.

If we were Prince's publicist, however, we'd suggest a couple things.

1. Stop taking yourself so seriously.

2. find some people who will tell you the truth when you're in the production process.

3. Channel '80s Prince.

4. Write a rock opera (while channeling '80s Prince) and debut it at 1st Avenue.

5. Hire us as your publicist.

What do U think of the new Prince track?

We want Prince to paint us a picture, naked, with extra fog.

Here are some local tweeps reactions:

Submitted by @letoilemagazine

Sneak preview of new Prince song!

As we reported earlier in the week, Prince gave the Current an opportunity to play his new song "Cause and Effect" before anybody else. The song's official premiere is scheduled for Friday morning at 7am, but peeps from the Current have decided to give us a teensy sneak-listen to a snippet of the new song on their site today. Prince can still jam on the guitar like no other!

Check it out here and let us know what you think!


Submitted by @marrina.

MPR set to world premiere a new Prince tune this Friday...and it's not a Vikings fight song!

MPR tweeted some fun news this morning! Apparently, his royal purpleness is set to debut a brand new track on 89.3 the Current on Friday morning at 7am!

The Current dishes, "The song is called "Cause and Effect," and it's a rocker - filled with virtuosic guitar work, explosive drum breaks, a poppy chorus, trademark shrieks and whoops, some intriguing lyrics ("if I had the chance to do it all again / I wouldn't change a thing except my next of kin") and a call to mankind ("you need compassion"). Opening with Prince's classic pop smarts, the last minute of the tune swerves into a propulsive minor key guitar/strings/drum workout like we haven't heard from him in years."

Yet another reason to love Prince AND the Current. We can't wait to hear it, though the odds of us being awake at 7am on Friday morning are relatively slim, honestly. Thank god for mp3s, eh?

We wish he'd bring back the assless chaps. Can MPR arrange this?

Submitted by @letoilemagazine

OMG! Prince rumored to appear at First Avenue

OMG! We just heard from a little birdie (i.e., on good authority) that none other than Prince is rumored to make an appearance at tonight's five-year birthday show thrown by our friends at 89.3 The Current. The sold-out show will feature a stellar lineup of some of our favorite local acts - Solid Gold, P.O.S., Lookbook, Mason Jennings, and The Twilight Hours.

UPDATE: One of our tipsters just got word from a "Radio DJ who will remain nameless" that the MPR crew just got a call from Prince's handler asking about set times for tonight!!!

UPDATE: Prince totally showed up at 1st Ave last night! @Gimme_Noise reported via Twitter that The Current's Jim McGuinn said Prince wanted to come out to show his support for the station. He unfortunately didn't perform, but he did give starstruck fans something to tweet about, that's for sure!


It may be a long shot, but The Purple One sure has been making the rounds lately, and First Avenue is like his second home, so we're crossing our fingers that it's true! We scored tickets, so we'll be Twittering our findings tonight.

Submitted by @jahnapeloquin

Elvis Costello & Garrison Keillor live at the Fitz!

Sweet! MPR just sent a yip out about A Prairie Home Companion event at the Fitz that will be broadcast in HD to movie theaters all over the country! It will feature live performances by Elvis Costello, Jearlyn and Jevetta Steele, Robin and Linda Williams, and Heather Masse. Get your tix now before they sell out!

Tickets to the Fitz event HERE (Hurry!)

Tickets to Theater events HERE (no need to hurry!)

Golden Boys

Everybody's favorite local radio station, The Current, made a big announcement this morning: "We're proud to announce the line-up of our fifth anniversary party happening on January 29 at First Avenue. Members will get an early chance to get tickets to see Solid Gold, P.O.S., Mason Jennings, Lookbook, and Twilight Hours." We were excited to see a few of our local favorites on the same rooster, which was a general opinion on Twitter this morning. However, @solace (AKA Kyle Matteson from More Cowbell) raised a legit concern:

The post generated a few responses where people mostly agreed with his opinion:
What do you think?? Solid Gold over P.O.S.?

Submitted by @marrina.