I guess what it boils down to is that I wasn't all that impressed.

Aimee Mann and openers Fountains of Wayne — who had a major hit in 2003 with "Stacy's Mom" — have been booked Oct. 11 at the Egyptian Theatre. Tickets go on sale for $26 advance at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Record Exchange or Boise Co-op or Egyptian box office (387-1273). Or, if you insist, you can order online at Brown Paper Tickets, even though my lone experience with that company will prevent me from ever using them again.

Remember the drooling kid in the silly "Stacy's Mom" video? (Basically the reason this song became a hit?)

Ah, Rachel Hunter. I had forgotten about the "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" tribute at the end.

94.9 FM The River music director Tim Johnstone and I spent a good portion of last night's show discussing whether there is a song of summer in 2009: That ubiquitous hit that crosses genres and takes over the airwaves. Last year, it was "I Kissed a Girl." Prior years have had smashes such as Jay-Z and Beyonce's "Crazy in Love" or Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy."

I suggested we bring KeKe Luv of Top 40 station Kiss FM into the debate, so we did. Ultimately, we still came to the conclusion that there really isn't a song of the summer in 2009.

Updated: 09/10/09: This is a statement regarding Nirvana, Guitar Hero and the likeness of the late Kurt Cobain. We want people to know that we are dismayed and very disappointed in the way a facsimile of Kurt is used in the Guitar Hero game.  The name and likeness of Kurt Cobain are the sole property of his estate - we have no control whatsoever in that area. While we were aware of Kurt's image being used with two Nirvana songs, we didn't know players have the ability to unlock the character. This feature allows the character to be used with any kind of song the player wants.   We urge Activision to do the right thing in "re-locking" Kurt's character so that this won't continue in the future. It's hard to watch an image of Kurt pantomiming other artists' music alongside cartoon characters.  Kurt Cobain wrote songs that hold a lot of meaning to people all over the world.  We feel he deserves better.
— Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl

----------

Somehow, I don't think Kurt Cobain would have wanted to be an animated character in "Guitar Hero 5." I guess control of your legacy is one of the concessions you make when you kill yourself.

Right after I graduated, I was lucky enough to interview Cobain weeks before he got mega-famous. But arguably the best Cobain quote came during one of his last interviews.

Interviewer: On "In Utero," and in concert, you play some of the most powerful “anti-solos” ever hacked out of a guitar. What comes to mind for you when it’s time for the guitar to cut loose?

Kurt: Less than you could ever imagine.

Don't waste a minute wondering what Collective Soul will pull out of its hat on its second self-titled album, informally known as "Rabbit": more guitar-powered, carefully crafted post-grunge pop-rock. In some ways, it feels like magic even if it's smoke and mirrors. Slick guitarists Dean Roland and Joel Kosche lean back and deliver heavy, churning riffs that always sound better in real life than on paper. And they never rock quite hard enough to scare the soccer moms.

If you flip to page 81 of the September issue of Men's Health magazine, you’ll see a full-page article grading America’s cities based on addiction to fast food.

Boise earned an “F” — as in fat.

The full article is not available online, but here's a copy for your viewing pleasure, tubby. (Thanks to Men's Health's publicity department for gleefully gladly supplying the .pdf.)

Heavy metal band Slipknot, which was slated to headline Friday night at Qwest Arena, has canceled its remaining shows in August and September. Drummer Joey Jordison has been hospitalized with an undisclosed medical condition.

From the press release from promoter Silvertag Live:

Silvertag Live would like to extend a 2 for 1 ticket offer to The Australian Pink Floyd show.

Ticket offer is good for two tickets for the price of one to the Australian Pink Floyd Show for each individual Slipknot ticket presented at a Qwest Arena or
Idaho Tickets/Select-A-Seat box office location. Select seat sections on the floor and in the lower bowl available for this offer while supplies last; so get your tickets now.

Tickets purchased online or by phone by credit card will be automatically refunded.

Tickets purchased at the Qwest Arena box office can be refunded there at Grove Plaza opposite Capital and Front, 233 S Capitol Blvd., Boise, ID 83702

Tickets purchased at Select-A-Seat outlets (including Albertson’s locations) can be refunded at the Select-A-Seat ticket office at Bronco Stadium, 1910 University Dr. , Boise, ID 83725-1230

Here's a fan-shot video of Slipknot two days ago telling Seattle fans that Jordison had been hospitalized and they wouldn't be performing. (Profanity warning: There are f-bombs galore.)

Too bad. I was looking forward to an old-fashioned rock concert drum solo at Qwest Arena.

Phish — “Backwards Down The Number Line”
David Bowie — “Cat People”

Collective Soul —
“Welcome All Again”
“My Days”
“Staring Down”

The Noisettes — “Never Forget You”
Weezer — “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To”

White Rabbits — “Percussion Gun”

Avett Brothers – “I and Love and You”

"The Other Studio" airs at 9 p.m. Sundays on 94.9 FM "The River."

I'm not sure how much stock we should put in music criticism coming from Elle magazine, but there's a thought-provoking list of the 12 greatest female electric guitarists this month. The thought provoked from me is that the list is garbage. (Lita Ford? Kelley Deal? And NO Bonnie Raitt?) I had a recent conversation on "The River" with one of the deserved women on the list, Jennifer Batten, about why there aren't more female guitar virtuosos. Ultimately, she had no answer.