Bob Seger, as you’ve probably heard by now, has just released his latest single, a Rod Stewart Tom Waits cover. I remember watching the music video for Rod’s version as he is hovered over an emptied out steel drum warming his hands over an open fire chasing down some gal on a train. And now, Bob Seger covers the song, his first song in five years nonetheless. As a matter of fact, thanks to info from reader John Cortez and eventually the Detroit News, Seger told Stewart in the ’80s that he loved the song and planned to cover it, so Rod went ahead and recorded it and had a chart topping hit in 1989. This, understandably, angered ol’ Bobby. So twenty five years later Seger gets his kit in order and does the cover himself. He’s going on tour too, which, if it’s anything like last time, should be something of a national attraction. The goal, of course, will be to get Bob to wear his custom embroidered denim DETROIT LIVES! jacket while on tour. More info on all of the above here.

For a little Monday kick, here are a bunch of towns that are, literally, giving away free land. That’s right. Iowa, Minnesota and Kansas are throw in the mix, but nope, no Detroit. Just when you thought you heard enough of the $100 house narrative, here’s a bunch of places that are giving plots away for FREE. Now let’s watch the international media hound this one.

And while Seger’s latest single is important and underscoring the fact that Detroit is eons ahead of the pack because they aren’t yet giving away land for free, here are some classic soul spins straight from the heart of 1960s Detroit. In the words of Amy Kaherl, “BOOOYEAH!”:

OK. OK. It’s Friday. Not a bad thing. The weekend is chock-loaded with festivals of all varieties (Hamtown Labor Day Fest, Detroit Jazz Fest, Arts, Beats and Eats) and the weather, at this point, is supposed to precipitation-free. The Detroit Lives film is coming out real, real soon.

In celebration, it’s time for a little Friday Soul Roundup, a collection of succulent selctions coming straight out of Detroit in the late 50s and 60s:

There is an entire stockpile of information and anecdotes about Detroit soul, R&B and otherwise over at Soulful Detroit.  It’s quite easy to get lost in the depths of information over there. Have a pleasant weekend now, ya hear?

The BLOWOUT is upon us. 200′some bands, a lot of thrashing guitar arms and plenty of interesting folks to chat with at Paychecks during, perhaps, a $1.50 guzzling session with PBR (they serve cans of that stuff all the time for $1.50 by the way). There’s that temptation to list off five bands that you absolutely must see this weekend, but that’s probably what MetroTimes et al are for. Instead, here’s an artist that definitely is NOT at the Blowout in Hamtramck this weekend, but will undoubtedly provide some Detroit throwback joy:

Marv Johnson was quite the troubador, having been remembered probably most for performing on the first ever record to come out of Motown Records. In 1968, after some mixed business, ol’ Marv hung up his hat with his recording career in Detroit. Like clockwork, this is exactly when his jams became smash hits in the UK. Ahhh. Funny how that works. Speaking of the UK, have a gander at this article, hot off the press from foggy London-town, it is an account of (AHHH!) the real estate market here in Detroit. But don’t fret, get beyond the chatter about $100 houses and focus more on the two stories of folks from out of town moving here because they see opportunity in the city. AHA! That’s what I’m talking about.