Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith Names the Best Burger in the World

Rock stars love their burgers. Just ask Chad Smith, drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Chickenfoot. Smith stopped by Hunter House restaurant in his old stomping grounds of Birmingham, Michigan, last weekend, and he declared the diner has the best burgers on the planet.

“I grew up in this area for 38 of my years,” Smith, 50, told the Observer & Eccentric. “My mom still lives here and I come to visit her as often as possible ... but when I was a kid I used to ride my bike from Telegraph Road and I would come here to the Hunter House for their hamburgers...”

The ride from Telegraph to Hunter House is a long one, but Smith says it’s worth it, since, “these hamburgers, they’re just incredible. There’s a secret ingredient in the Hunter House hamburgers – I don’t know what they do.”

He went on to declare they’re the best burgers in the world! Coming from someone who’s likely had a burger in every state, that’s a major compliment. “I’ve traveled quite a bit. I do get around, and I like my hamburgers,” Smith said. “Nothing beats Hunter House – no doubt, hands down, the finest hamburger in the world.”

Side note: You know the old adage that dad is always right? Well, this writer’s dad – who grew up in Birmingham – has said for years that Hunter House has the best hamburgers on the planet. Father knows best!

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Patti Smith to Release Career-Spanning Compilation

Punk poet and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Patti Smith has announced she will release her first single-disc, career-spanning retrospective this summer. Outside Society will include highlights of Smith’s recordings from 1975 to 2007.

The collection, due on August 23, will feature material from both her tenure with Arista and Columbia. Selections include “Gloria” from 1975’s Horses, “Because the Night” from 1978’s Easter, “Dancing Barefoot” from 1979’s Wave, “People Have the Power” from 1988’s Dream of Life and “Glitter in Their Eyes” from 2000’s Gung Ho. The collection also includes her radically different version of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” from 2007.

The album booklet will include track-by-track notes from Smith. Her recollection of “Because the Night” (via  a press release):  “Bruce Springsteen gave me a great gift in allowing me to lend verses to his beautifully constructed anthem. My contribution was written for my future husband, Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith. Though we have performed it hundreds of times, the strong response it draws always makes it fresh and exciting to sing.”

Patti Smith, Outside Society tracklist:

1. “Gloria”
2. “Free Money”
3. “Ain’t it Strange” 
4. “Pissing in a River”
5. “Because the Night”
6. “Rock N Roll Nigger”
7. “Dancing Barefoot”
8. “Frederick”
9. “So You Want to Be a Rock N Roll Star”
10. “People Have the Power”
11. “Up There Down There”
12. “Beneath the Southern Cross”
13. “Summer Cannibals”
14. “1959”
15. “Glitter in Their Eyes”
16. “Lo and Beholden” (radio edit)
17. “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
18. “Trampin’”

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Gerard Smith of TV On The Radio is Dead

Gerard Smith, bass player for who played bass for the Brooklyn band TV On The Radio, died today (April 20) from lung cancer.

The band’s website announced the news: “We are very sad to announce the death of our beloved friend and bandmate, Gerard Smith, following a courageous fight against lung cancer. Gerard passed away the morning of April 20th, 2011. We will miss him terribly.”

Gerard Smith had been with TV On The Radio since 2005 and played on their most recent release Nine Types of Light. Smith had not been on the road with the band, who were touring in support of the album, so he could be treated for his condition.

TV On The radio want fans to know that the following shows have been cancelled:

April 20 St. Andrew Halls, Detroit MI
April 22 Metro, Chicago IL
April 23 First Ave, Minneapolis MN
April 24 First Ave, Minneapolis MN
April 26 Ogden, Denver CO

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Anthology Of American Folk Music (Edited By Harry Smith)

This deluxe 6-CD collector's boxed set contains a 96-page book featuring Harry Smith's original songbook framed by essays by Greil Marcus and other noted writers, musicians, and scholars. Play the enhanced sixth disc on your CD-ROM drive and access historic video footage, rare photos, artist interviews, and additional background information. Edited by Harry Smith. Reissue compiled by the staff of Smithsonian Folkways. Reissue liner notes by Greil Marcus, Neil Rosenberg, Jeff Place, Jon Pankake, Luis Kemnitzer and others. "...the missing link in rock's official history." -Newsweek ***** (five stars) -Rolling Stone

Price: $84.98

Click here to buy from Amazon