Archive for the ‘News’ Category
I’m sorry. That exclamation point in the title is a lie. I just can’t get excited about this year’s Gathering of the Juggalos internet commercial. I wanted to be excited. I really did. But then I hit play and a sad realization dawned on me. I think the Juggalos may actually have achieved the unthinkable – going from a complete laughingstock to little more than a pitiful skid mark on the face of music.
Every year, I usually bust a gut laughing at these things because of how totally fucking moronic the Insane Clown Posse and their little festival in the woods are (and the Saturday Night Live skits that inevitably mock them are always hilarious). But this year’s commercial just wasn’t that funny. It was sad. Even Sugar Slam – sweet little Sugar Slam – looked like her soul had died sometime over the last year. And to put the nail in the coffin, it appears that Vanilla Ice is now leading the charge. I guess that pairing makes perfect sense though – after all, he is the guy who wrote the song called “Ninja Rap.” Fuck me.
Here it is for your perusal:
This might be my favorite part: “You’ll watch shit go down you’ve never seen before! I’m talking Midway Games that are ran (sic) by real low-life carny scrubs that just want your cash.” Also, “helicopter rides with a presumably drunk pilot.”
Ho-lee shit.
Also, RIP Ass Dan 1981-2011
-Sam
Straight from the horse’s mouth (aka Metallica’s website):
A few months ago our own Kirk Hammett hinted at a new Metallica project that’s “not really 100 percent a Metallica record.” While Kirk may have jumped the gun a little (and has since been properly punished with a series of push-ups!), we are more than proud to announce that we have just completed recording a full length album that is a collaboration with none other than the legendary Lou Reed.
Ever since we had the pleasure of performing with Lou at the 25th Anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at Madison Square Garden in October of 2009, we have been kicking around the idea of making a record together. Some of you astute Bay Area residents may have picked up news of recent Lou Reed sightings in the greater San Francisco area and we have indeed been working at our home studio at HQ on and off over the last few months. In what would be lightning speed for a Metallica related project, we recorded ten songs during this time and while at this moment we’re not exactly sure when you’ll hear it, we’re beyond excited to share with you that the recording sessions wrapped up last week.
A true innovator and easily one of the most influential songwriters, musicians, and performers in rock music history, Lou’s work with the Velvet Underground and as a solo artist has such an enduring quality that he has long been revered and respected by us and many of our peers. We can’t wait for you to listen to the finished record, so as we like to hear ourselves say around here, keep watching this spot for updates . . . we’ll be back with more details as they come together.
How cool is that?! They were really good together at the Hall of Fame concert, and I could definitely see this combo working on a full album. According to Ulrich, the album is already 90% done, but there are currently no firm release plans.
What do you think – good idea or bad idea?
-Sam
Jon Stewart can do no wrong.
If you can find me a more intelligent, nay – genius – political commentator working today, well let’s just say I’d be pretty surprised. Bill Maher and Stephen Colbert come close, but no one can quite match Stewart’s ability to rip apart the mindless hacks (mostly right-wingers, but then again, that description comes with the territory) who populate our culture, spewing their inane, mindless drivel on the airwaves, across the radio dials, and all over the interwebs.
The primary target of Stewart’s restrained rage and utter incomprehension is Fox News – that cesspool of a “news” outlet. Late last week, there was a significant media uproar over the fact that Michelle Obama had invited the rapper Common to the White House to take part in a poetry event.
Common…the least menacing rapper out there besides maybe Weird Al, and this is what those lousy fucks get up in arms about. But Stewart wasn’t content to let this go by unnoticed. Oh no, not only did he devote an entire hilarious segment of his show to this controversy, but then last night he went on O’Reilly’s show and intellectually murdered him face to face. It’s amazing to see O’Reilly fumble for an excuse when Stewart asks him why he is not consistently outraged over the fact that artists like Bono and Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen were invited to the White House with no repercussions despite having songs about convicted murderers. But I think I know where Bill was making the distinction – after all, Common’s the only one of those guys with chocolate skin.
Here’s the segment from The Daily Show last week. After the jump, catch Stewart’s appearance on O’Reilly’s show. It’s a lesson in how to intellectually pimp slap a fool.
Over the years, I have become a huge fan of Jack White – both as a singer, songwriter, musician, producer, and overall contributor to music. Also, as of late, I have become more and more intrigued by the chameleon like productions of Danger Mouse. My favorite product, by far, is the Broken Bells project he coordinated with James Mercer of the Shins. Yet another area I have grown to thoroughly enjoy is the sultry voice of female singers (no not Britney Spears and Lady Gaga) such as Adele, Emmy Lou Harris, Etta James, Zoey Deschanel, etc. Norah Jones falls directly into that category. Those three musicians – Danger Mouse, Jack White, and Nora Jones have come together, along with Daniele Luppi to produce what essentially amounts to an epic movie score. Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi, inspired by Spaghetti Western film score, set up in a studio with a slew of ochestral musicians to record the music portion of the album. Once the tracks were down, Brian Burton aka Danger Mouse passed along the instrumental demos to Jack White. Burton wanted a male/female aspect to the tracks and so recruited Norah Jones to sing along-side White. I don’t think you could dream up a more random collection of artists, inspirations, and genre’s to come up with, what sounds like it could be, one of the most interesting albums of the year. I am truly looking forward to listening to the album, titled “Rome”, when it is released on May 17th.
Here is a trailer for the album:
Let us know what you think. I will have a formal review after the album is released.
For a band that is about to celebrate its twentieth anniversary, Pearl Jam sure do seem to be operating these days with the vigor of a band that just hit it big.
They’ve got plans on top of plans – continuing their ongoing reissue projects, celebrating their anniversary with a big summer show, recording a new album, working on a documentary, and even mixing a few solo projects in during their spare time.
Here’s the rundown of what you can look forward to in the coming year:
- On March 29th, the band will follow up its reissue of Ten with the re-release of Vs. and Vitalogy in expanded, remastered editions.
- Sometime in the fall, the Cameron Crowe-directed documentary, Twenty, will be released in addition to an accompanying soundtrack and book.
- On Labor Day weekend, the band will celebrate its anniversary with a concert bash somewhere in the middle of the country.
- They’ve already got 25 songs written for a new album that they’ll start recording sometime later this year.
- Bassist Jeff Ament will be releasing a new album from his solo project Tres Mts.
- Drummer Matt Cameron is planning to work on recording a new Soundgarden album.
- Singer Eddie Vedder will release his new solo album, Ukele Songs, on May 31. Also coming out that day is a live concert film called Water on the Road.
Holy crap. That wore me out just typing it. It’s good to see a band at that point in their career when they have just as much reason to look back with pride as they do to look forward with anticipation.
-Sam
Nate Dogg, dead at 41
Rapper/singer Nate Dogg has died as the result of complications from several strokes that he had suffered in recent years. He was 41 years old.
Nate Dogg was a veteran of the hip-hop scene who actually started out in a group with Snoop Dogg in the early 1990s. But his main claim to fame was as a collaborator and guest singer on some pretty huge tracks by other artists.
It’s not hard to see why he was in high demand by his peers. He had a smooth voice that he could actually do some pretty good R&B style singing with in addition to his rhyming skills.
In remembrance of Nate Dogg, here’s the song that really put his name on the map (and then check out some of his other biggest hits after the jump):
Mike Starr, dead at 44
Mike Starr, former bassist for Alice in Chains, was found dead yesterday in Salt Lake City. He was 44 years old.
If any of you are familiar with VH1′s Celebrity Rehab franchise, then you probably know that Starr appeared on the third season, as well as its sister program Sober House. He became a very popular figure on the show primarily due to his massively erratic personality, which veered from an intensely brooding and vile person to a reserved, thoughtful, and kind one. He even appeared on the show last season to talk to the current patients, and during that visit he pronounced himself more than six months sober.
But there’s hardly ever a clean break when it comes to shows like this. And just last month, Starr was busted for felony possession of narcotics.
The cause of his death has not yet been determined, but come on… Do any of you actually believe this wasn’t drug related? I’m sorry to sound so cynical, but he was a clearly troubled individual living his life around the guilt he felt over Layne Staley’s drug-fueled death. Ever since Staley’s death, he probably just set his life on a long drawn out course of self destruction which unfortunately probably resulted in his own death. It’s a shame because, like the sun faintly peeking through the clouds on a dark and overcast day, it really did seem like beneath all of his addiction was a good person.
-Sam
Radiohead Part Two
So what exactly is Radiohead up to these days? Fans have been speculating that the band might soon release yet another album as a follow up to ‘The Kind of Limbs’ album.
As you know, Radiohead dropped the album on February 18th – and only announced the release four days before that. And now fans are saying another release is on its way.
But it’s all speculation from the fans.
To be honest, it looks like fans are digging into this thing a bit too much. ‘The Kind of Limbs’ was a great surprise so enjoy it. I mean, just because the last track on the album was ‘Separator’ doesn’t mean another album is on its way. The track is not a ‘separator’ between albums.
What do you think? Are you guys Radiohead fanboys?
Proof that there is no God
Because if there were, he would never allow something like this to take place (courtesy of digital spy):
William Shatner is planning to record a metal album in Los Angeles.
According to LA Weekly, the actor will collaborate with a number of rockers on the LP, including Peter Frampton, Mike Inez, Steve Howe of Yes, Ian Paice of Deep Purple, Brian May of Queen and Bootsy Collins.
The Star Trek icon plans to cover popular rock and metal tracks for the release. Most of the songs will have a ‘space’ or ‘flying in space’ theme.
Two hits Shatner is expected to cover are Black Sabbath’s ‘Iron Man’ and Foo Fighters’ ‘Learn To Fly’.
I’m honestly not sure I can think of any idea I would be less disgusted/insulted by. Here’s a taste of what we are all in store for:
-Sam
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