This was the response a co-worker gave me about four years ago when I said I'd been to a concert the following evening. "No, no, no...RY-an Adams." He was still a scrappy new comer at the time so I couldn't fault my co-worker too much for her painful faux pas, but it seems the mix-up still follows poor Ryan around. Most shows have the obnoxious fan that wants to hear "Free Bird" or hoot "play some Skynard," but Ryan gets requests for "Summer of '69." He once had a fan thrown out of the venue for shouting the request. It seems the pressure finally got too much, and he broke out his "first real six-string" in a recent concert in Sydney. Ah, the life of a rock star.

Source: Spin

Do you ever wonder how certain artists and songs get radio airplay while equally, if not more, talented ones get overlooked? I ran across this article from the Independent Weekly that discussed this exact topic with regards to Tift Merritt's debut disk Bramble Rose. It is a very interesting read to watch how this process unfolds, to see how clueless DJs actually are and what a mess radio has become. The quote of the week has to be this one concerning receiving the album without a single identified. "What would be on the playlist? Which one? Am I just supposed to listen to the whole CD and pick one out?" Imagine having to actually listen to a CD and pick your favorite track. What is the world coming to?

Read the full article at the Independent Weekly

If the song "It's a Small World" has ever driven you bananas, then you've got an idea where this story is going. We've all had tunes stuck in our heads. Some of them remind us of childhood friends, places or events.

A new study backs the obvious notion that a song can evoke strong memories. It also reveals that you don't even have to hear a song for the past to come flooding back. In fact, most people have an amazing ability to effectively hear songs that aren't even being played.

Read the full article at MSNBC.

Need to hear your music before you plunk down your hard earned dollar? What a zany idea. Well we have you covered. Check out NME's latest stash of new full length disks available to stream -- for free! Queue them up and see if they make your ears happy.

> Beck - Guero
> Daft Punk - Human After All
> Moby - Hotel
> New Order - Waiting for the Sirens' Call

Also be sure to read the PM review for Beck's latest release Guero and keep your eyes peeled in the week's ahead for a review of Moby's Hotel.

It's not only male rock stars who watch porn on tour buses and make out with fans. The Donnas are four women who date their groupies and sing about their sexual conquests with as much unapologetic abandon as the guys do. We asked the band, who've just released their appropriately raucous new album, Gold Medal, to share their rules for survival as an all-girl rock gang.

Read the Donnas rules for survival at SPIN.