This year’s Rock the Bells tour landed at Governors Island over the weekend, and the award for most talked about artist goes to headliner Lauryn Hill — and for once, it’s not because she did something completely crazy! Hill, who performed her classic 1998 album The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill in its entirety, was joined on stage by Pras at the end of her set; a Wyclef-free version of the Fugees went on to perform a few songs, namely “Killing Me Softly” and “Ready or Not,” suggesting that maybe they don’t hate each other’s guts after all. While the audio in the footage after the jump might not be the best, click through to get the gist of what it was like to be there.
Being as we’re shameless music geeks here at Flavorpill, we occasionally get to discussing shamelessly music geeky topics. Like, for instance, this one: great bands who’ve only made one album. The history of music is littered with bands and artists who, for whatever reason, never got beyond a single memorable record (and we’re not counting live albums or compilations here.) Some of these bands broke up, some of them were sundered by death or tragedy, and some simply went onto other things. But in every case, we’re left wondering what might have been had they got a chance to make a follow-up. After the jump, we’ve listed ten artists we’d have loved to have heard from again — what are yours?
We were excited to hear that Lil Wayne recently wrapped production on an episode of MTV’s Unplugged — mostly because it marks the show’s first hip-hop performance since Jay-Z’s acoustic concert in 2001 (not because we want to hear a stripped version of “Mrs. Officer”). We hope that Wayne’s appearance will pave the way for a new generation of rappers to grace the show’s stage. This news and Lupe Fiasco’s performance on Sunday night’s MTV Movie Awards got us thinking about our favorite hip hop performances on the network. Our top ten is after the jump.
Every summer’s most exciting hip-hop tour, Rock the Bells, has announced its 2011 line-up — and this time, they’ve really outdone themselves. The big news is that, not only is Ms. Lauryn Hill a headliner, but she’ll be playing her classic 1998 album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. If that isn’t enough to thrill your inner ’90s hip-hop fan, how about Nas performing Illmatic, Cypress Hill doing Black Sunday (yes, the one with “Insane in the Membrane” on it), Black Star teaming up again to do their self-titled debut, GZA reprising Liquid Swords, and Raekwon and Ghostface Killah reviving — you guessed it — Only Built 4 Cuban Linx?
As unbelievably fantastic as these full-album performances sound, they’re far from the only reason to snap up Rock the Bells tickets this year. Other acts will include Erykah Badu, Curren$y, Childish Gambino, Immortal Technique, Murs, Big K.R.I.T., and many more. And there will be a whopping four stages — three main stages and one called the “36 Chambers Stage,” curated by RZA and featuring members of Wu-Tang and other like-minded acts. Here’s the rub, though: Rock the Bells will only be in four cities this year (New York, LA, Boston, and San Francisco), so if you’re not on a coast, start planning your vacation now. For the full line-up and more information about the tour, visit Rock the Bells’ website. [via Brooklyn Vegan]
When people talk about the ’90s being back they think of our recent infatuation with grunge, plaid, and spandex. But with the nods in Fall 2011 collections to utility coats, mannish outerwear, and even pajamas-as-daywear, what’s really back is ’90s hip hop fashion. We’ve paired nine of this fall’s looks with the hip hop divas who might well have inspired them.
[Editor's note: When we heard that one of our favorite bands, Titus Andronicus, was playing at Coachella, we knew had to have guitarist/violinist Amy Klein, an accomplished and original writer and musician, cover it for us. We asked her to write about the mega-festival from a performer's perspective and sent her a copy of David Foster Wallace's famous essay "Ticket to the Fair" (PDF). The essay she gave us recalls Wallace in the best way possible: Honest, reflective, intelligent, and unsparingly critical, Klein chronicles everything from the jaw-droppingly exploitative moments when she realizes she's been trapped into marketing a product to the transcendence she feels on stage and watching heroes like Lauryn Hill from the crowd. This is, without question, the longest piece we have ever posted on Flavorwire -- and that's because it's well worth reading in full, after the jump. Photo of Klein performing at Coachella via The Stranger. Credit: Josh Bis.]
1. Former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr — who most recently appeared on VH1’s Celebrity Rehab in 2009 — has died of unknown causes. He was 44. [via Billboard]
2. Watch the new video for the National’s High Violet track “Conversation 16,” which features cameos from Mad Men star John Slattery and comedian Kristen Schaal. [via P4K]
3. The PS 22 Chorus has an 8-minute long musical message to Bravo’s Andy Cohen — who publicly panned their performance at this year’s Oscars. Evidently they weren’t satisfied with his apology. [via Vulture]
4. Michael Chabon and his wife Ayelet Waldman are working on a new show called Hobgoblin for HBO that will feature magicians, con men, and Hitler. [via Slashfilm]
5. Crushable is exclusively reporting that a potential Lauryn Hill book project fizzled out several years ago when the star was deemed more trouble than she was worth. Allegedly, the agency wanted Hill to write a memoir chronicling her early career; she was more interested in working on an addendum to the Bible which had appeared to her in a dream.
The title of She & Him’s latest music video may be “Don’t Look Back,” but the clip itself is all about nostalgia for the ’60s. Just when we thought Zooey and M. Ward couldn’t get any more adorable right? From the bright, Technicolor-like tones to the mid-century sets and wardrobe to the retro narration, “Don’t Look Back” is a quick and comforting vacation to a simpler time. After the jump, check out the She & Him clip, plus nine more music videos that will transport you back to the swingin’ ’60s.
It wasn’t even 8:30 a.m. when we learned that Coachella had announced its much-anticipated 2011 lineup. And guess what? It’s pretty incredible. Look past the predictable headliners — Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire, Kanye West, The Strokes — and you’ll find a varied list of acts so alluring it might just tempt you to throw down for a three-day pass and plane tickets.
Now, let’s talk some of the more unexpected entries on the schedule.
Musicians are, almost by definition, exhibitionist types — given to loud costumes, flashy spectacles, well-publicized romances, and various publicity stunts. But how about the exceptions that prove the rule, those recluses who have always made their music in seclusion, shied away from performing, or retreated to a shack in the middle of nowhere after years of fame? You may question what’s driven them away from the adoration of millions, but in the end, you also have to respect them for refusing to cash in and feed tabloid culture.
In fact, December has been a big month for these mysterious iconoclasts, what with Neutral Milk Hotel’s Jeff Mangum showing up to perform a set in Brooklyn and Lauryn Hill announcing a string of tour dates. After the jump, we take a look at the careers of some of music’s most reclusive artists, from Syd Barrett and Scott Walker to Hill and Mangum.
