Last week our art editor Marina Galperina prepared for New Year’s Eve with an excellent survey of how to throw a party like various famous artists throughout history. This week, with our NYE hangovers largely conquered and our party appetites pretty much replenished, we’re revisiting the idea with a similar feature — only this time we’re focusing on the music industry, because, as pretty much everyone knows, no one throws a party like rock stars (and rappers, for that matter). From Freddie Mercury’s novel use for people under five feet tall to Richard D. James’s Miami beach nightmare, it’s all here… Or is it? Let us know if we missed anything.
A while back, we looked at albums that’d make for great TV series, a topic that gave rise to much intra-office discussion and several as-yet-unfulfilled promises to actually sit down and write some serious pitches. Anyway, the release of David Lynch’s Crazy Clown Time has got us thinking about the logical follow-up to this idea — albums that’d make for great films! There are plenty of records that spring to mind, several of which could happily be shot by a certain Mr. Lynch himself. Here are the ten albums that we’d love to option the rights to — so if you’re a mega-rich producer, at least give us credit when you cash in on these, eh? Read More »
What’s more surprising — that Hole have canceled a scheduled set at Australia’s Soundwave Festival because they were slated to open for Limp Bizkit, or that both bands still exist in 2011? Either way, this makes one more well-publicized feud for Courtney Love, who tweeted at the festival’s promoter, AJ Maddah, “What bloody flight of crazed fancy made you think we’d open for Limp Bizkit dude? No offense, that’s nuts.” (Lest you begin to feel some pity for Maddah, let it be known that he responded by calling her a “rotten twat.”) This Hole vs. Limp Bizkit beef, which could just as easily have happened in 1997, got us thinking about the many epic musician feuds that took place in the ’90s — a few of which did not even include Love. Reminisce with us after the jump.
Our daily trawl of the internet has bought at least one excellent piece of news to our attention of late: Steve Albini has a cooking blog — called, no joke, “mariobatalivoice.” It’s been up and running since March, and a read of the archives reveals that Albini knows his Italian food, hosts a regular poker game for his friends, and is, as ever, an angry man: “I cannot abide [bad Italian] restaurants,” he writes at one point. “They debase our palates and insult our ancestors with watery matter piled in mountainous heaps and buried under granulated Kraft Foods ‘Parmesan’. Screw this school lunch bullshit and get it the fuck away from me.” The idea of Steve Albini toiling away over obscure pasta got us thinking about what sort of music would go best with various other types of food. Here’s a round-up of combinations we think would work well… now, get back in the kitchen and put on a big pan of water for the pasta while we play Shellac’s “A Prayer to God” again.
Queens of the Stone Age are re-releasing their self-titled debut album at the moment, 13 years after it introduced the new project for ex-Kyuss guitarist Josh Homme and ex-Dwarves bassist Nick Oliveri to the world. Since then, of course, QOTSA have gone on to global domination, even after Oliveri left in mysterious circumstances in 2004. The whole re-release has got us thinking about just how good QOTSA were when the Homme/Oliveri partnership was at its peak, and as a result, also about bands that haven’t been the same once the creative partnership that drove them came to its inevitable end. The history of rock’n’roll is littered with the fragments of such partnerships. Here are ten of our picks.
With Some Place Simple, trip-hop icon Martina Topley-Bird revisits her solo material in stripped-down arrangements that spotlight the versatility of her inimitable voice.
The album is her first for Damon Albarn’s Honest Jon’s label, recorded at the Blur and Gorillaz leader’s studio at his own request. Combining reinterpretations of tracks from Topley-Bird’s two solo albums — Quixotic and the Danger Mouse produced The Blue God — with a handful of new songs, the record shows why Tricky’s former muse has been the voice to call on for everyone from Massive Attack to Common for well over a decade now.
For those of us who love music and film in equal measure, it’s a rare treat to watch a beloved band’s music video and realize the group has been watching the same movies we have. While song clips can take inspiration from all manner of media, some of our favorites are based on or inspired by films. From R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts” to the Smashing Pumpkins “Tonight, Tonight,” the aesthetics of distinctive movies can complement songs in beautiful, unexpected ways. After the jump, watch 10 more fantastic music videos that take their cues from classic or cult films.
It’s before noon on a Wednesday. There’s a good chance you’re not far from your next cup of coffee. Or from your last one. We’ve all become addicted to the delicious goodness and the caffeine high it generates with each delectable sip. It’s no surprise then that musicians have found a love of the deep black drink as well. Maybe it’s not as high on the songwriting subject list as sex or love or breakups or drugs, but some musicians have such passion for the drink that it has made for some tremendous tunes. Here, what we think are the best ones.
1. Blur‘s first single since 2003 is about recording their first single since 2003. It’s also available for free download. [via Vulture]
2. CBS is developing a hidden-camera show starring Drew Carey that is tentatively titled WTF!. As in, Wow That’s Funny! [via THR]
3. Shepard Fairey swears that the new Banksy movie, Exit Through the Gift Shop, is not a hoax. [via Vanity Fair]
4. Does the final Lost cast photo contain more clues about where the show’s characters end up? [via THR]
5. M.I.A.’s new album has a release date: June 29, 2010. [via 24Bit]
Another reason we’ll never be as cool as the Brits: The UK’s Royal Mail just unveiled a series of 10 new stamps that honors the most iconic album covers of the past 40 years. And get this, the Queen herself actually approved the final design for each.
So which albums made the cut? The Rolling Stones’ Let It Bleed, Led Zeppelin’s IV, David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, The Clash’s London Calling, New Order’s Power, Corruption and Lies, Primal Scream’s Screamadelica, Pink Floyd’s The Division Bell, Blur’s Parklife, and Coldplay’s A Rush of Blood to the Head. Do you think QE2′s got any of these tunes on her Obama-gifted iPod?
As a refresher, we’ve rounded up the classic covers in order after the jump. Which one is your favorite?
