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What Were Your Best Musical Experiences Of The Summer?

Maura — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:00:25 +0000

Oh man, it’s almost Labor Day weekend! Which means barbecues, earlier sunsets, and the close of summer in the American mind-set. (Not to mention the ever-closer encroachment of the Video Music Awards! Ack!) So what better time to look back? Feel free to share your favorite musical experiences of the Memorial-To-Labor-Day period in this space, while you are (I hope!) waiting to go outside and enjoy the last crackles of summer. My list—which ranges from shows to finding out bits of news—after the jump.

• Kelly Clarkson at the Great Allentown Fair, duh.
• Paul McCartney at Citi Field, which was made extra-special by me bringing my mom. Because it was her first concert! Ever! (I know!)
• The Roots Picnic, especially when the crowd was spazzing out over Public Enemy’s in-reverse performance of It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back.
• Mew at the Pitchfork Music Festival.
• Finding out that Annie’s Don’t Stop would be re-released with an awesome new cover and new tracks that I’d never heard.
• Watching my pal Christopher R. Weingarten claim his online-pundit status.
• It wasn’t technically summer, and they were putting on a slightly stale show, but I’m glad I finally got to see GWAR.

There were probably a few more, too. This summer wasn’t that bad!

The biggest summer bummer, after the strange aftermath of Michael Jackson’s death, was definitely finding out how many people would believe that “gullible” wasn’t in the dictionary if some Internet site told them that was the case. C’mon, people. Let’s all try to learn critical thinking skills for back-to-school season, ‘k?

“Guitar Hero” Manufacturers Pandering To Gen X Outrage, Or Something

Maura — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:00:33 +0000

The memory of deceased Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain has seen quite a few licensing-related blows over the past couple of years. There were the shoes. And the ash-smoking. And the Cold Case episode. But can any of those things compare to the spectre of America’s No. 1 Raincoats Fan miming Bon Jovi’s monster hit “You Give Love A Bad Name”? The makers of Guitar Hero 5 are apparently hoping that they don’t, and that you’ll channel your outrage over Kurt playing frontman for New Jersey’s favorite hair-shakers, neo-grunge pretenders Bush, and other bands that would never talk shit about corporate magazines into a “curiosity purchase” of their game. A clip of some of his finer moments, after the jump.

OK, I’m not going to lie: Kurt Cobain singing “Sweating Bullets”? Kind of amazing. Is it worth buying Guitar Hero 5–which, remember, will allow you to get the Michael Anthony-free Van Halen game for free—over? Eh, not really.

(Also, as an aside, is Daniel Johnston getting a ton of exposure this week or what?)

[Via RS]
Related: Kurt Cobain And The Bear

Six Songs That Have A Bit Of “Thriller” In Their DNA

Maura — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:00:30 +0000

The late Michael Jackson’s landmark 1982 album Thriller wasn’t a collection of songs as much as it was an event that upended the pop landscape, and birthed much of what would come in its wake. But in addition to thinking about it as a direct influence on today’s pop stars (i.e. the “I heard ‘Billie Jean’ and knew that I wanted to make music my life” narrative proffered by so many artists in the wake of his passing), one can also think about how the songs themselves were sampled by musicians who came in Jackson’s wake, deconstructed so that they became still-recognizable parts of a greater, slightly updated whole. Six of Thriller’s musical descendants after the jump. (Thanks to Idolator emeritus Jess Harvell for helping me with some of the brainstorming here.)

6. Aaliyah ft. Slick Rick, “Got To Give It Up” (samples the drumbeat from “Billie Jean” at the beginning)

5. Public Enemy, “911 Is A Joke” (samples Vincent Price’s laugh from “Thriller”)

4. Rihanna, “Don’t Stop The Music”

(This is a bit of a cheat, since the meat of the sample is Manu Dibango’s sampled-by-Michael “Soul Makossa.” But Michael’s “woo-hoo”s, essential to many of his songs, are laced in as well.)

3. Nas, “It Ain’t Hard To Tell” (samples “Human Nature”)

2. Kanye West feat. T-Pain, “Good Life” (samples “P.Y.T.”)

1. SWV, “Right Here / Human Nature” (Samples “Human Nature”)

Michael Jackson [WhoSampled]
The Michael Jackson Sample Map [Ethan Hein]

Flavor Flav And The Pirate Bay: The New Faces Of The New World Order

Maura — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:30:28 +0000

At Saturday’s Roots Picnic in Philadelphia, Flavor Flav took a moment at the end of Public Enemy’s Roots-and-Antibalas-aided performance of It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back to ask the crowd, quite seriously, if we would vote for him for President someday. The “YEAHhhheehhhhhh…” in response sounded like a balloon being slowly de-heliumed, and he quickly abandoned that line of questioning. And yet, I have to wonder: Who would I rather have in a position of authority–the man responsible for unleashing Tiffany Pollard on the world, or a member of the copyfighting, Pirate Bay-sympathetic Pirate Party, which won a European parliamentary seat in elections Sunday after garnering seven percent of the vote from Swedes who went to the polls?

“Citizens have understood that it’s time to pull the fist out of the pocket and that you can make a difference,” Rick Falkvinge, leader and founder of the party, told the Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet, after the result of the elections were revealed. “We don’t accept to be bugged by the government. People start to understand that the government is not always good.”

The Pirate Party is focused on three main goals: “to fundamentally reform copyright law, get rid of the patent system, and ensure that citizens’ rights to privacy are respected.”

The party was founded in 2006, and that year gained only 0.63 percent of the votes in Swedish parliamentary elections. But since then it has attracted members during the debate on several controversial laws that authorize monitoring of electronic communications and that make it easier to police file sharing on the Internet.

It is now Sweden’s third biggest party by membership. Its ranks swelled when four men were sentenced to prison in the high-profile Pirate Bay case in April. People use Web sites like The Pirate Bay to transfer movies and music, a practice that has drawn the ire–and the lawyers–of Hollywood studios and the recording industry.

Ah, the “government is not always good” argument from someone who… wants to be in government. It’s like when lawmakers who get paid by taxpayers complain about government spending, then vote themselves raises, you know? Anyway, I did come up with a slogan for Flav’s (perhaps inevitable / inevitably VH1-documented) run: “Flavor Flav For President: Because We’ve Had Worse Ideas.” Catchy! Also, true, as evidenced by the above blockquote.

Ahoy! Pirate Party gets berth in European Parliament [CNet]

Which Classic Albums Most Deserve To Be Re-Imagined In A Live Setting?

Maura — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 22:00:40 +0000

Tomorrow I’ll be tripping down to Philadelphia to attend The Roots Picnic, an all-day affair masterminded by Jimmy Fallon’s sidemen (haha, jk guys) and featuring two sets by the band; TV On The Radio, Santigold, and Antibalas are also on the bill. But perhaps the most intriguing part of the day’s festivities will be the start-to-finish performance of Public Enemy’s It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back–yes, they’ve done it before, but this time, the musical duties will be handled by the Roots and Antibalas. This and the impending relaunch of Unplugged have made me wonder: What albums most deserve a live re-imagining, whether it’s the transformation of samples into band arrangements or the classic Unplugged treatment? I’ve actually been mulling over this question all day, and can’t think of anything off the top of my head–unless Freestyle’s Greatest Beats, Volume One counts. (It should!) After the jump, a few musical experts offer their suggestions. Please feel free to expand further, and if you’re going to the picnic, come say hello!

Christopher R. Weingarten, Public Enemy sample expert / brevity exerciser: “Kylie.” (No specifics, although I would love to hear “2 Hearts” blown out by a big band.)

Lucas Jensen, IMterviewer: “I generally don’t like that stuff, unplugged for the sake of, BUT I imagine that The Queen Is Dead would be great.”

Amy Phillips, Pitchfork news editor: “Maybe Madonna’s Like A Prayer”

Dan Gibson, All My Children blogger: “Paul’s Boutique, although that doesn’t make much sense logistically. I also would have really liked to hear Aquemini straight through with a band.”

Tyler Coates, man about the Internet: “Maybe some of Jason Molina’s Songs: Ohia albums, but performed with the full band he has now.”

The Roots Picnic [okayplayer.com]

It Is Time To Usher In A New Era Of Jock Jams

Maura — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:00:05 +0000

Now that the Carolina Hurricanes have been eliminated from the NHL playoffs, Merge Records impresario Mac McCaughan has moved on from chronicling the ‘Canes’ efforts to talking about the music that arenas employ to get fans in prime freak-out mode. In 2006, he brought some albums put out by his label down to the Hurricane home base, RBC Center, in hopes of breaking through what he called its “particularly stultifying mix of Top 40 / Classic rock / Emo (? i don’t know what to call some of the songs on there) / Sports Disco,” and it worked, at least a bit; “Punch Me Harder” got played during the 2006 NHL Finals, which–coincidence?–the Hurricanes won. Anyway, McCaughan has provided his own suggested playlist for hockey arenas to the local paper, and man, is it so much better than the nu-metal and snipped bits of Eurodance that I’m used to at my sporting events. A few selections:

Mastodon, “Crusher Destroyer”

AC/DC, “If You Want Blood”

Public Enemy, “Welcome To The Terrordome”

Rolling Stones, “Rip This Joint”

And, of course, “I Wanna Destroy You” by the Soft Boys. The whole list is certainly worth looking over, and perhaps adding to; McCaughan was too modest to include any Superchunk songs on his list, but hey, “Punch Me Harder” worked in the past. I’m just saying!

One thing’s for certain: “Yakety Sax” also needs to be handy at arenas. Why, just look at what it adds to Carlos Zambrano’s Gatorade-machine-killing rampage from yesterday!

Arena music: One man’s opinion [Talking Points]

Your Friday Festival Lineup Addition Roundup

Dan Gibson — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 05:30:00 +0000

It seems like during this springtime run-up to the summer festival season, there have been fewer lineup withdrawals from the big outdoor-music extravaganzas (with the exception of Winehouse) and more somewhat to very welcome additions. In that sunburned spirit, we present a wrapup of this week’s additions to Bonnaroo, the Pitchfork Music Festival, and the Calgary Stampede.

• Bonnaroo attendees are the big winner this week, although I suppose the validity of that statement depends on your feelings about alternative comedy. The Tennessee festival added a stack of artists including Public Enemy, Ani DiFranco, Janelle Monae, Amadou & Mariam, Passion Pit, and the underrated metal act Shadows Fall. Also, there will be an air-conditioned tent with seating, which might be enough good news to sell a few more tickets. Inside that tent: comedic acts, including Jimmy Fallon, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, some sort of Daily Show presentation, and Michael Ian Black & Michael Showalter. In other Bonnaroo news, I just started spelling the festival’s name correctly on the first try this week. No more doubling of the r’s, then going back to correct for me! [Bonnaroo]

• Information about the Pitchfork Music Festival is being leaked slowly, for some reason. We know the lineup for “the people you used to like playing songs from albums you might still own” show on Friday, and a few of the main festival acts, but that’s about it. According to the Chicago Tribune (but not, as far as I can tell, Pitchfork itself), the Flaming Lips will close the fest on Sunday, with the setlist also chosen by ticket buyers via the web. If those planning to attend would consider stuffing the ballot box for “Riding to Work in the Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now)”, I’d really appreciate it. [Chicago Tribune]

• Kelly Clarkson, in what is apparently her only Canadian appearance this year, will perform at super-rodeo the Calgary Stampede with George Strait, Kenny Chesney, and Taylor Swift. I don’t know how many readers we have in Alberta, but that’s a pretty solid lineup of acts for a Canadian version of a state fair. [Calgary Herald]

For the Next Three Days I’ll Be Bringing the Noise

Jess Harvell — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Good morning! Maura is… Actually, I have no idea why Maura has temporarily abandoned her post. (My guess is she’s already chasing Bloody Marys with Xanax in preparation for SXSW, but choose your own adventure.) After a seasonally affected lost weekend spent wrestling with Mega Man 9 and pining for sunlight, I’ve been once again handed the keys to this crazy thing, at least until Wednesday at the close of business. Be gentle with me if I’m occasionally off my blog game. (Also: I am no longer connected to the Idolator tip line, so if you have breaking news or naked photos of Bun E. Carlos, please send to jessATidolatorDOTcom with the usual stuff removed/replaced.) All of your Idolator faves will be pitching in as per usual, so don’t fret. And as you sip coffee and stare down the work week, here is really, truly, incredibly quiet tour bus footage of Anthrax and Chuck D doing “Bring the Noise” in an unplugged chill-out style. I have a feeling this would actually be kinda bad-ass in a different setting — i.e., one where you can actually hear Chuck. [Blabbermouth]

Flavor Flav’s Fifth TV Show Sounds Like The Awesomest One Yet

Christopher R. Weingarten — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:30:00 +0000

From the “get the morgue and embalm the goner” department: World’s greatest hypeman and reality TV superstar Flavor Flav has just signed on to host a scary half-hour of TV called Nite Tales, which creator Deon Taylor describes as: “Tales From the Crypt meets The Twilight Zone, with Flav playing a role similar to Crypt’s Cryptkeeper.” Wait, can I start that post over again as if I was the Cryptkeeper? Ahem… World’s gravest hypeman and reality TV superscare Flavor Flav has just signed on to ghost a scary half-hour of TV… that was harder than it looks.

Anyway, we’re going to watch the living hell out of this show because nothing scares Flav. He lived in a house with girls who shit on the floor, which is way scarier than some lame haunted house. I’d take a thousand ghosts rattling their chains and being annoying over stepping on a mystery turd.

Here’s the trailer for the movie that was on BET last Halloween. Via BooooTube—shit, I’m doing it again!

[Flavor Flav's latest fright fest: 'Nite Tales'...the series! [Popwatch]
Nite Tailes Trailer [YouTube]

Conservative Rock Criticism: It Can Be Just As Hacktastic As The Left-Leaning Kind

Maura — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Forget all that talk about whether Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion is the best album of 2009. The real competition—the Worst Music-Related Article Of 2009 That Somehow Still Managed To Earn A Paycheck In This Completely Devastated Writing Economy—has already been sewn up, thanks to the new “conservatives can be cool and comment on pop culture too, man” blog Big Hollywood. Congratulations, Fox News pundit Greg Gutfeld: Your recently horked-up “Conservatives Rock” is not only headlined by perhaps the worst verb ever to use atop a music-related story, the underlying conceit is about as dumb as, well, a story entitled “Conservatives Rock” might ever hope to be.

See, you know all those scary left-wing rockers who loyal conservatives are normally afraid of? They’re actually sons of Goldwater! Just look:

NIRVANA. “Nevermind” is nothing but a celebration of free markets (”Smells like Teen Spirit” being an anthem about owning something as simple as deodorant). And the truth is – that adorable baby on the cover chasing the dollar is now in his late teens – a healthy testament to a system of monetary reward based on hard work and achievement. “If only Kurt Cobain had chased the almighty dollar instead of the dragon, he’d be alive today,” Steve Albini might have said, if he wasn’t so busy reading Hayek.

Stupid joke + references no one will get + conservative buzzwords = Hilarity! God, why don’t I think of this when I’m trying to figure out ideas for posts? Or at least sprinkle in a little more casual misogyny?

THE DIXIE CHICKS. Without question, the most ardent supporters of the policies of George W. Bush, they boldly released a romantic tribute to the man, called “Cowboy Take Me Away” – knowing it would reduce them to playing small venues. When they followed that up with “Wide Open Spaces,” a sexually-charged song describing how their bodies felt after making love to the commander in chief, perhaps it was “too much information.” Sometimes, certain things are better left unsaid, ladies.

Chicks, am I right? They can only sing about getting off! Lol, Greg, call me!

Of course, the real belly laughs are brought when Public Enemy comes into play:

PUBLIC ENEMY. Talk about guts: their song “911 is a Joke” served as an indictment of the left, or more precisely those who refused to take the attacks on the World Trade Center seriously. Indeed, they saw 911 as “a joke,” and Public Enemy took them to task for it. I am amazed at Chuck D’s bravery in releasing something that would make him so unpopular among the rap denizens of the upper west side. But he did. And my “kangol” is off to him.

Get it? No hip-hop fans live on the Upper West Side! Also “Kangol” is in quotes, because it’s a hat that white dudes who host aimless late-night shows don’t wear!

The post-post-post-post-post-ironic stance taken by Gutfeld is unfunny enough on its own, but when you add in the comprehension-challenged peanut gallery, the whole enterprise just becomes downright depressing:

Julie – January 6th, 2009 at 10:41 am

I THINK YOU ARE MISTAKEN ABOUT THE ROCKERS ON THIS LIST BEING CONSERVATIVE. MOST OF THEM ARE EXTREMELY LIBERAL

Oh, Internet. You give… and then you give me this.

Conservatives Rock! [Big Hollywood; HT Cameron Macdonald]