Pretenders, Ziggy, and Bruce

The Pretenders kick off their North American tour tonight (January 29th) in Albany. Chrissie Hynde says that the band plans to play a substantial portion of their latest album Break Up The Concrete, telling The Associated Press, "We'll be doing about eight or nine songs from the album. There's the chance of people going to the bar when you launch into a new song, but I can't do that greatest hits stuff anymore. We can play practically the whole album."

She was asked about whether after 30 years, her process in writing the new album was any different than when she wrote the Pretenders' biggest hits: "It's me alone with the guitar and a notebook. I don't use too many gadgets. My methods haven't changed."

• Hynde says that although rock and roll is an incredibly important part of her life, being a full-time mother helps her keep things in perspective: "This is, like, my hobby. I mean, I take it seriously and everything, but you know, I just feel like a guy that goes out on the weekends to watch birds, you know? Take my binoculars away, you know, and it would break my heart. You know, I think a hobby is real important to people, if it's the thing you love the most. It can't take over your life. And I don't want to be glib about it, you know? I think this is fantastic, and I make my living out of it, and it's my life's work and everything, you know? But I have to keep it in perspective, 'cause I've got... you know, I'm like a responsible mother and stuff."
• The Pretenders tour dates (subject to change):
  January 29 - Albany, NY - Palace Theatre
  January 30 - New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom
  January 31 - Atlantic City, NJ - Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa/Music Box
  February 2 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
  February 4 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
  February 5 - Jim Thorpe, PA - Penn's Peak
  February 6 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
  February 7 - Mashantucket, CT - Fox Theatre
  February 9 - Ann Arbor, MI - Michigan Theater
  February 10 - Cleveland, OH - House Of Blues
  February 11 - Indianapolis, IN - Murat Theatre
  February 13 - Cincinnati, OH - Taft Theatre
  February 14 - Akron, OH - Akron Civic Center
  February 15 - Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre
  February 17, 18 - Milwaukee, WI - Northern Lights Theater
  February 20 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
  February 21 - Kansas City, MO - Ameristar Hotel & Casino
  February 22 - Tulsa, OK - Brady Theater
  February 24 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theatre
  February 25 - Aspen, CO - Belly Up Aspen
  February 27 - Dallas, TX - House Of Blues
  February 28 - Houston, TX - House Of Blues
  March 1 - Austin, TX - Stubb's Bar-B-Q / Waller Creek Amph.
  March 4 - Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theatre
  March 5 - San Diego, CA - House Of Blues
  March 6 - Pala, CA - Pala Casino
  March 7 - Las Vegas, NV - House Of Blues
  March 8 - Anaheim, CA - Grove Of Anaheim
  March 10 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
  March 13 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
  March 14 - Reno, NV - Silver Legacy Resort Casino

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A representative for David Bowie formally denied rumors that he posted via a Twitter account that he's recording new material in Berlin and will appear as Ziggy Stardust at this spring's Coachella Festival in Indio, California.

NME.com reported that the Bowie spokesperson posted on davidbowie.com: "The story goes that David Bowie was in talks to perform his Ziggy Stardust album at the festival this year, the rumor really took hold and the 'news' was reported online around the globe and in the English press. You may have already seen the denial over at NME.com, but I'm sure the majority of you saw this tale for what it was anyway: poppycock! However, we feel duty-bound to deny this particular story here too, lest members be fleeced of their hard-earned (money). While we're about it, David Bowie does not have a Twitter account."

Last year Bowie released Live In Santa Monica '72 featuring his October 22nd, 1972 final gig as the Ziggy persona featuring the Spiders From Mars. His last new studio set was 2003's Reality which peaked on the Billboard 200 chart at Number 29.
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Bruce Springsteen says the title track from his new album Working On A Dream reflects the change in America's values -- although that was hardly the intent of the song. Springsteen told Rolling Stone that the song was conceived with a far more general message, explaining, "That was just the simple idea of effort and that you can't give up. I write my songs. I go around the world to sing 'em about a particular place I have imagined, that I hope is real. I don't see that often... Then suddenly, election night, the place you've been singing about for years -- it shows its face. You look in the crowds, you saw people crying, people who lived and worked in the civil rights era, and you completely understood. It's real."

Springsteen's manager Jon Landau confirmed that the long-delayed 30th anniversary box set celebrating his 1978 Darkness On The Edge Of Town album is nearing completion. No release date has been announced yet.

Springsteen will perform at the Super Bowl XLIII halftime show on Sunday (February 1st) in Tampa, Florida.