Thrash legends Slayer, whose new album World Painted Blood comes out today, have been forced to postpone TV appearances and tour dates because Tom Araya has to undergo treatment for a back injury “thought to be related to his on-stage activity.” Yipes! [Slayer’s MySpace Blog via The Daily Swarm] More »
I don’t know about you, but the dog days of August are making me long for some levity. And what better way to bring in some hilarity than to think about the late Boots Randolph’s delightful “Yakety Sax,” a.k.a. “that Benny Hill Show song,” a.k.a. the best way to make any YouTube clip hilarious? Noted “Yakety Sax” enthusiast Jess Harvell and I put together a pair of lists related to the song—namely, a top 10 countdown of artists who need to cover the song soon, and a counterpoint list of 10 artists who should never get within a 25-mile radius of its implied hilarity, for fear of ruining it for all time. The countdowns after the jump. More »
In order to celebrate America, Idolator will be taking tomorrow off. But before we close things out, here are a few stories we missed during this verifiably insane week:
• Hey, look! An entire AP story speculating about who might fill London’s O2 Arena in the wake of Michael Jackson‘s death that includes a) some Sun-sourced speculation about an ABBA reunion and b) the following fan reasoning for why Whitney Houston should perform instead: “”because they suffer the same pain and deal with the same demons: drugs.” Ay yi yi. [AP]
• To continue Great Moments In Quotes, here’s Nick Cannon on the speculation that his wife Mariah Carey is going to use her forthcoming video for “Obsessed” as a way to lampoon Eminem: “My wife doesn’t beef. She’s Mariah Carey. She’s not beefin’, she’s a vegetarian.” [MTV] More »
Jeff Beck, Chic, Wanda Jackson, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Metallica, Run-DMC, the Stooges, War, and Bobby Womack are this year’s nominees for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame; five of them will be inducted next April after balloting concludes in January. This year’s list of nominees is almost more notable for who isn’t on it than who is; the list of eligible artists who were snubbed by the dudes who want to codify their definition of “rock and roll” includes inarguably influential artists like Slayer, the Cure, and–once again–Rush. Click through for our list of the six highest-profile acts who didn’t make the ballot, and vote for who you think was the most robbed. Once the votes are tallied, we can march on the Rolling Stone offices and plead for justice!
Are the thrash-metal kings Slayer ready to hang it up after closing out their 2008 tour schedule? Well, probably not directly after the tour winds down; they have an album coming out in 2009–their tenth–that will satisfy their contract with Rick Rubin’s label, American Recordings. But given that frontman Tom Araya told the UK metal site Thrash Hits that “seeing a 50-year-old man headbanging on stage would make [him] cringe” and he’s about three years away from that milestone, the day when Slayer hangs up their pentagrams might not be all that far off. Can you imagine a world without Slayer? You may have to. We all may have to.
My high-school yearbooks were notable for this one guy who wore Slayer T-shirts to portrait day year in and year out, but this eBay auction of a 1983 yearbook from South Gate High is doing old Hicksville High one better, as it features pictures of the metal kings in their awkward adolescent years. That school must have had the best Battle of the Bands ever!
Because some of our readers may, in fact, be so full of vitriol that the combination of Justin Timberlake and Paxil just isn’t doin’ it for them anymore, we bring you our bimonthly metal column, “Angry Music for Angry People,” written by MetalSucks‘ Axl Rosenberg, a.k.a. Matthew Goldenberg. In this installment, he celebrates the “most metal band of all time,” the almighty Slayer:
– Tour partners Marilyn Manson and Slayer are not in full-born feud phase yet, but they’re getting close! [MTV] – 50 Cent may have to ready an exciting new flavor of Glaceau water: “Child-Support Strawberry.” [Page Six] – The Killers. Panic! More »
– Lindsay Lohan inadvertently provides another reason to hate James Blunt. [NY Daily News] – Michael Jackson is hoping to build a fifty-foot “robot replica” of himself in Las Vegas, which will come complete with twenty-foot “Chapter 11 filing.” More »
