On the heels of the Fox News protest he led outside the NewsCorp Building and his album hitting No. 1, Nas stopped by the Colbert Report to chat with Stephen about why he was in a flame war with Fox and Bill O'Reilly in particular, the scrapped title of his album, and how the news media is somehow more sensationalist than ever before. Video of him performing his Fox News dis "Sly Fox" after the jump.
More »
Someone brought to our attention this morning the existence of JewTube, which is exactly what you think it is. The emphasis seems to be heavily weighted toward the Orthodox end of things, so you wouldn't think you'd find much in the way of music. However, a search for "music" brought up, among other things, a list of phrases to click on. I went for "hip-hop." And how. Enjoy the site's sole rap effort to date, about which none more needs be said than the title of this entry. Oh yeah, and another thing: Oy. [JewTube]
More »
Latest by n/a: What about these guys?+ Watch video
Surely you've heard of their spanglish Hannukah song "Ocho Kandelikas" (above) or the always so tasteful "Kike on the Mike", right? more »
It has come to our attention that DJ Khaled is screaming over giant, Jeep-ready beats that have lots of names and almost nothing else of any merit going for them. Again. Now and, apparently, forever, but instead of "We Takin' Over" the name of the new album is We Global Now, continuing the least talented man in hip-hop's impressive streak of meaningless megalomania. Oh wait—"forever" is just how long it feels like listening to this clown wrench the words "We the best!" over and over again. It's hard to decide what the worst part of this video is: Akon declaring, "I'm-a stay me" (must you?) or the fact that Fat Joe keeps popping up in the clip despite not having a single verse in the song. Does this make him the Jon Lovitz of rap videos? [OnSmash]
Funny to hear this track for a couple reasons. One, it's called "Minimal" and is a fairly fizzy anthem, the kind of record you hear at the end of the night in a club simply because playing it elsewhere would likely throw a DJ set's balance off. The other is that the guy behind the original, Matias Aguayo, used to record as Closer Musik, and he's made some of the most obviously (and opulently) minimal tracks as is possible; so has the remixer of this version, DJ Koze, who is also responsible for one of the most outlandish "cover" versions I've ever heard, an extraordinary piss-take of "We Are the World" tucked at the end of a track recorded under the alias Adolf Noise. But this—this drunken piss-take on its ostensible category ("Cause this music got no groove, got no balls, no merci") is the kind of track we might have thrown into the Summer Jams Tournament if it had come out on time. [YouTube]
I was reminded of Toots & the Maytals' take on Radiohead's "Let Down" by the Facebook status line of our very own Michelangelo Matos this morning, of all things. I should send him flowers in thanks. Part of what makes the track so enjoyable (for me, at least) is the circumstance of the song's creation: A reggae remake of OK Computer, especially by the band behind a previous tribute to Dark Side of the Moon seems destined for the cut-out bin. But Radiodread, which is credited to the Easy Star All-Stars and also features Horace Andy and Sugar Minott, is remarkably solid, and worth picking up for this track alone. [Youtube]
Latest by SAShepherd: @SAShepherd: And, see, that's what I get for listening to satellite radio and not knowing that the song I liked is the very version being slammed. "Easy Star All-Stars" is already long enough on my player without adding "(feat. Citizen more »
We'll have to wait and see on the eyewear endorsements, but either way, it looks like someone watched the "Closer" video at a crucial time during this clip's storyboarding process! [OnSmash]
Twice in the past week, I have unexpectedly run into performances by John Mellencamp, a surprise that was nice the first time (when he performed "Pink Houses" at Shea Stadium, as seen above through someone's T-shirt) and somewhat disorienting the second; yesterday morning Mellencamp played a free concert that aired during breaks in CBS' The Early Show. The concert began soundchecking at 5:20 a.m.—gotta get ready for the few East Coast viewers that The Early Show still has, after all—and the sound quality was so pristine, I actually thought the music was coming from the hotel room next door to mine. (Which I suppose says something about the sort of equipment CBS can afford.) And his band sounded good! It just would have sounded a lot more pleasant if it hadn't been, you know, six in the morning. Anyway, at this point I'm awaiting a knock at my door, one that will announce the former Johnny Cougar to show up on my doorstep and hand me a pamphlet about why authority always wins before breaking into song. [YouTube]
After trotting out Tony Bennett, John Mellencamp, Don Henley, and John Mayer during what was supposed to be the last concert at Shea Stadium on Wednesday night, Billy Joel brought out perhaps the biggest gun in his cameo arsenal for Friday night's final last show: Paul McCartney, who performed "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Let It Be" (above) with the Piano Man. McCartney, of course, played at Shea with his old band the Beatles back in 1965 and 1966, and Wednesday's show was actually marked by Joel thanking the Beatles for letting him play "their room." (Everybody: Awww.) [YouTube]
The Jason Falkner/Jon Brion fronted act the Grays weren't around for long, but pulling out their out-of-print album Ro Sham Bo today has been a wonderful trip down power-pop memory lane. Digging for YouTube material featuring the act led me to a treasure trove of Jason Falkner footage on YouTube—which includes nearly an entire Grays' concert recorded in Denver. Some footage from that show after the jump.
More »
"Magic," the new single from spawn-of-Alan Lil Wayne collaborator Robin Thicke, is a sweet little slice of retro disco, complete with swooping strings and booty-shaking beat. But the video is another animal entirely, and all I can really say about it is that it seems like it was storyboarded entirely on black velvet and mirrored surfaces. An out-of-context strawberry, a heretofore undiscovered constellation that looks... exactly like Robin Thicke, and a chorus line made up completely of clones of the same are just the tip of the iceberg. [YouTube]
Latest by silkyjumbo: kudos to the choreographer for making robin look like he can dance. another brilliant move - cloning him so that there are no other dancers around. more »
In this fan-recorded clip from a few weeks ago, the B-52's, Cyndi Lauper, Erasure, and others come together to belt out a gleeful version of Sly and the Family Stone's inclusive anthem "Everyday People." It seems like a blast, but the amusing thing about the clip is the way every time Fred Schneider perks up and sings louder, it feels as though you've just bitten into something weird and unexpected. Sort of like finding a Gummi Bear in the middle of an Italian hero. [YouTube]
You know how we complain about all these people who are constantly snapping photos and filming videos at shows? It can be a nuisance, for sure, but sometimes it's a damn good thing those people are out there. Case in point: This video footage of Nirvana performing "Jesus Doesn't Want Me For A Sunbeam," "Aneurysm," and "D-7" at the City Gardens in Trenton, N.J., back in 1991 may not be particularly good, but it's an "I was there!" moment that is actually impressive and interesting, especially when it's 17 years later, the singer is dead, and people who never got to see Nirvana have to settle for whatever they can get. It seems a bit charitable to refer to the camera work as "amateurish"—the camera drifts around and occasionally lingers on the ceiling or the back of people's heads—but it's a good simulation of being at a crowded gig where you can't really see, and every glimpse you get of the band is precious and exciting. [YouTube via Jon Solomon]
And here I thought that being back on General Hospital would be a good thing for Rick Springfield (and his bank account), but apparently returning to his role as Dr. Noah Hunter isn't enough. He wants to be the next Bob Dylan, but instead of trying to go that route by working on the poetry of his lyrics, he's releasing "What's Victoria's Secret," a "Jessie's Girl" rewrite that's clearly meant to be played while women in Swarovski-covered bras shimmy down the runway on the next "fashion show" sponsored by the lingerie chain. Don't believe me about the rewrite thing? Play the above clip and the below clip simultaneously and marvel at Springfield's utter chutzpah. Which in this age will probably work for him all the way to the bank.
More »
"Like Lancome lipstick, scarlet/And frankly, I really do care, my dear." Besides entering Fonzworth Bentley in the mini-pantheon of R&B artists who've quoted Rhett Butler (the only other example I can think of is Chic's "You Are Beautiful," from 1983's Believer), "Everybody"—Bentley's new single featuring Sa-Ra, Andre 3000, and Kanye West—is more noticeable for who's on it than what any of them are doing. Sa-Ra have been mining this smooth-synth-funk vein for ages, and it's nice enough but not terribly compelling; ditto Andre's verse (can't win 'em all). Kanye sings the hook, because he is an all-around entertainer, and there is choreography (far better than the Dear Jayne video earlier, although that's not difficult), as well as tuxes and bow ties. Let us boldly predict that It will either sink like a stone or stick around the charts forever, and nothing in between. [Brightcove via kanYe West: Blog]
A few years back, my pal Kate Silver played me a record I loved pretty immediately. The group was the Thing, a skronk-jazz trio featuring reeds player Mats Gustafsson (from Sweden), bassist Ingebrigt H. Flaten, and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love (both from Norway), and the song was their cover of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Art Star." If you're familiar with "Art Star," you'll know it doesn't take much work to reimagine it in this form (it hops up and down rhythmically during the verses and then turns into spazzy noise on the refrain). I've kept less of an ear on the Thing's other work, though I've liked what I've heard, but I'm thinking of checking out the new four-CD box reissuing some older titles. "Art Star" makes an appearance on one of the discs in a live version, and in that spirit, here's a clip of the Thing playing it live in Sweden. [YouTube]
Latest by Big Gray.: Mats Gustafson was my hands-down favorite member of the Brotzmann Tentet (+2) shows I saw. He did this weird twittering thing with his reed that was truly wild. more »
Back in January, I read in Andy Kellman's occasional "R&B chart-watch" feature on the All Music Guide blog about a female trio from Atlanta I'd never heard of called Dear Jayne. The Jan. 28 entry mentioned that "Rain," their debut single—produced, Kellman said, by Carlos McKinney, a.k.a. L.O.S., who'd been behind J. Holiday's "Bed"—had entered the R&B Top 100 at No. 99. Kellman graded the song 9 out of 10. I went to Amazon's MP3 store, paid a buck, downloaded, listened, and immediately gave it a 9 out of 10 myself. I played it all the time, shocked that a record this good was coming out in friggin' January. The record fell out of the R&B chart after a week. A couple weeks ago, I made a list of my favorite tracks of 2008 so far. "Rain" is third. Damn, I thought, this is going to be lost forever, isn't it? Apparently not, since there is now a video.
More »
Blog world, you aren't doing me a damn bit of good if you don't, at the very least, alert me to new Primal Scream videos. "Can't Go Back" is a precursor to next week's UK release of Beautiful Future, the band's ninth studio album. Despite a few missteps (a duet with Kate Moss?), I still get excited by the prospect of new music from the band, which is more than I can say for most acts formed in 1982 that are still kicking around (cough, cough, James). Also: A new Primal Scream video is a perfect opportunity to look back at other highlights from the band's videography.
More »
Latest by n/a: I wish they would have stayed with what they were doing with XTRMNTR(Kevin Shields brought the noise). EVIL HEAT wasn't horrible, but going back to the bullsh*t Stones sound was. The two cuts I heard from the new album are more »
I really, really hope that Danish wonky pop outfit Alphabeat keeps releasing summer jams for the Stacey Q-raised set every month until September. Also: I would love to know just how many feet of magnetic tape were used in the climactic scene of this video, where Alphabeat singer Stine Bramsen unleashes the fury of the cassettes she's dedicated to the boy of her dreams. (If only I'd known how to employ that tactic back in ninth grade.) [YouTube / [MySpace]
Idolator
