More proof of Maxim's irrelevance

CBC Arts: Black Crowes demand apology to band from Maxim

Atlanta rockers Black Crowes are demanding an apology from Maxim magazine over a review of their album Warpaint done by a reviewer who heard one song on the unreleased CD.

As everyone knows, there's no such thing as bad press.

Here's my review for the album, and I haven't anything from the album at all: "A collection of mid-tempo rockers, a mainstream rock single or two, a ballad somewhere in the middle. Not a huge departure for the group, but an album that is sure to satisfy fans of bar-band bluesy rock and the dedicated fan base the group has earned over their extensive career."

Jesus like honey

Here's J&MC's killer song, "Just Like Honey", done up in video form in a Warholian style, ostensibly a nod to their stylistic fore bearers, the Velvet Underground.

Well is the mailman watching me?

Here's a classic article from The Onion.
FBI Discontinues Surveillance of Rockwell

Rockwell, long derided for what was widely seen as paranoid delusion on his part, said he is owed an apology from "a great many individuals."

And here's the son of Berry Gordy himself, backed by a couple of Jackson brothers on the chorus.

They find it all, a different story

Radiohead takes on a major influence, and comes out looking pretty good.

How to ruin your day in a few easy steps

Variety: "Reynolds, will.i.am join 'Wolverine'"

Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am will play Wraith, a mutant who has the power to teleport... It would be his first film role.

So... the guy who just helped tarnish Thriller gets a shot at pissing all over the X-Men franchise. It's a made up role for a made up talent.

If Mr. Adams was a better songwriter, I might even compare this event to Richard Pryor's role in Superman III... but a closer comparison for a franchise-murderer would be Beyonce in the third Austin Powers movie. Coincidentally (if you believe in such things), she's also just taken on the role of Etta James in a new music-history-iography that should land perfectly between Walk the Line and Dreamgirls, which should, naturally, solve the problem of racism in the south forever.

A nostalgic tale for mustering a smile

Here's a lo-fi live rendition of a smooooth classic.



For full context, please see Episode 1 of Yacht Rock.

State of disarray

There's a fresh new gang of Creed acolyte wannabes on the block, and they take their name from a 1984 Michael Jackson & the Other Brothers song (here's the track with a fearless amateur director's take on the grueling years where at one point MJ literally caught on fire). State of Shock take on one of the worst recent band names since The Music. Ugh, how dreadful.

Their name also reminds me a little too much of another mediocre-at-best-even-while-drunk Canadian band, Static in Stereo.

If only it could be 1998 forever...


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Here are a couple other Jackson Family song titles that would make great rock band names:

ABC's (Jackson 5)
Blood on the Dance Floor (Michael)
Daddy's Home (Jermaine)
Dancing Machine (Jackson 5)
Human Nature (Michael)
In the Closet (Michael)
Just Good Friends (Michael)
Rhythm Nation (Janet)
Smooth Criminal[s] (Michael)
Speed Demon (Michael)
State of the World (Janet)
Stranger[s] in Moscow (Michael)
Streetwalker (Michael)
Thriller (Michael)
Torture (The Jacksons)

(Rehab) Breakdown

I've been listening to Hot Chip's remix of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab". While not entirely convincing, it certainly is entertaining. Hot Chip have been picking up a number of cheques for remixes over the past few years, and that's sure to increase with their latest album, Made in the Dark receiving all sorts of solid accolades. I have yet to hear the album, so I can't comment... though the first single Ready-for-the-Ready-for-the Floor is a solid, bouncy dance floor trip.

I want to take you higher

Here's a groovy clip of Sly loaded and talking to Dick Cavett. I think the boom op was a lil' loaded too... the mic keeps coming into the shot!

To all the radio lovers

WFMU's Beware of the Blog has some great audio for fans of radio production. JAM Creative Productions produced a jingle single that will knock your socks off. Chances are, they produced the imaging for a radio station you're familiar with...

Also, David Lee Roth's vocal track from Runnin' With the Devil

And if you haven't bookmarked Beware of the Blog, do so immediately.

I wanna make it

If this was a just world, this song would be #1 the world over.

No.... nooooo.... noooooo!!!!!

I'm glad I skipped the Grammies this year. What a joke. I decided I'd skip it last year after embarrassingly awful performances from Chris Brown (the pirater here omits the heinous acts of cutting both Lionel and Smokey short to get to the new hotness who sings along to a backing track... and can barely keep his breath), and a terrible performance from the Police.

I knew I would have to check out the winners soon enough. All I can really say is that the members of the panel must have been more fucked up than Winehouse herself. The woman is talented, yes. The songs are catchy, yes, but the woman doesn't need to be encouraged to destroy herself in such a manner. I've never seen Iggy Pop with a golden gramophone. David Bowie didn't win his one Grammy for a song! (If you feel like wasting half an hour, seek out the long form version of the video)... when the Academy smartens up and starts handing out hardware for talent consistently, then I'll stand up and applaud Winehouse.

Speaking of talent, Herbie Hancock reminded the world why he should put out an album every single year by stomping over the competition in the Album of the Year category. There is a glimmer of hope after all.

No hope however for Justice, LCD Soundsystem, Feist, Queens of the Stone Age, or the Arcade Fire. Why anyone would even bother giving them a nomination at all is beyond me.

Here's a great thing about the whole debacle - we're reminded of just how idiotic and insipid "Country" "music" is with these two category victories:

Best Female Country Vocal Performance

Before He Cheats
Carrie Underwood
Track from: Some Hearts
[19 Recordings/Arista Nashville]

Best Male Country Vocal Performance

Stupid Boy
Keith Urban
Track from: Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing
[Capitol Records Nashville]

Wha...? I thought country was supposed to be about outlaws and bad guys, not bitches and sissies.
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Other Grammy highlights: Guilty pleasure Maroon 5 winning "Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals", Joni Mitchell winning "Best Pop Instrumental Performance", Prince somehow coming away with one for "Best Male R&B Vocal Performance", and the Flight of the Conchords winning best Comedy album. I recently saw the EP on sale for $4.99 at a major music store chain in downtown Toronto. Culture Bully raises a good point about the lack of proper nominees in the Comedy category (where's Patton?), but Steven Wright's latest doesn't even compare to the fresh take on both music and comedy brought by the two Kiwis. Long live the Conchords!

Angry Apocalypse

Black Flag - "Nervous Breakdown"
&
A film inspired by Godspeed You Black Emperor's "Dead Flag Blues"