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The Funniest and Meanest Things Bands Have Said About Their Fans

By Tom Hawking on

Our friends at BuzzFeed recently exhumed the hilarious story of the Creed gig so disastrous that it led to the band’s fans filing a class action lawsuit against them for “failing to substantially perform.” The whole story is worth reading in a car-crash sort of way — the worst bit, though, was Stapp claiming the entire thing was the work of disgruntled fans who had tried to hit them up for free merch: “We gave them everything they asked for… The next thing we knew, there they were on TV, talking about their lawsuit.” Considering Stapp spent most of the show passed out on stage, we’re not sure he should be throwing stones here. Still, it’s not the worst thing a band has said about their fans. As a bit of lighthearted reading for a Wednesday afternoon, we’ve pulled together a bunch of other examples of bands teeing off on the people who ultimately pay their rent. … Read More

Music

Bewilderingly Complicated Music to Melt Your Tiny Mind

By Tom Hawking on

The new Modeselektor album is out this week, and if you’re into cerebral electronica, well, it’s going to nestle happily alongside the likes of Squarepusher and Autechre in your music collection. There’s something to be said for music that’s bewildering at first listen, but reveals its charms over the course of repeated listens — music you have to work at, in other words. Although it’s electronic music that seems to have had nerdbait locked up in recent years, thanks to the advent of “intelligent” dance music and the efforts of labels like Warp, highbrow music pre-dates synths and DAWs by a long way. If you’re up for a challenge, there’s a selection of similarly mind-bending music awaiting you after the jump. Turn on, tune in, and see if your brain doesn’t just melt. … Read More

Music

10 of the Grossest Music Videos Ever Made [NSFW]

By Tom Hawking on

It’s been quite a year for the Flaming Lips — they’ve released something pretty much every month, including a 24-hour song and an EP in a gummy bear skull. And, of course, they’ve managed to thoroughly piss off Erykah Badu by releasing an unapproved cut of the video for “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face.” The video understandably caused quite a stir, given that it involved Badu’s sister Nayrok sitting stark naked in bathtubs full of glitter, blood, and a substance that looked like it was supposed to be semen. After Badu went public with her concerns about the video, it was expunged from the Internet — so with the album from which the song is taken, namely The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, finally getting a proper release this week — we thought we’d round up some other, um, challenging videos for your viewing pleasure. Like most Flaming Lips videos, these are all pretty NSFW, but as far as we’re aware, they were made with the full consent of all involved. … Read More

Music

A Selection of Music’s Weirdest Lyrical Obsessions

By Tom Hawking on

The vast majority of music is written around some pretty well-worn lyrical themes: love, unrequited love, sex, unrequited lust, etc. But what of other, less obvious subject matter? Some of our finest lyricists (and, um, some of our less fine lyricists) have indulged some pretty wacky lyrical obsessions over the years, either focusing on an unconventional topic for a fleeting period, or cultivating a career-long obsession with an idiosyncratic theme. We’ve explored a few of our favorites after the jump — as ever, we’re open to suggestions. There must be loads more, eh? … Read More

Music

A Brief History of Bands Who Stuck It to the Man, 1990-Present

By Christine Jordan on

A band that sells out is never cool. Well, that probably depends on how you define “cool” — swimming in a pool filled with gold coins or leaning back against a chain link fence, cursing at everything that moves. When it comes to the music industry, we tend to be more impressed with the latter, despite how nice doing the backstroke in a pool of money sounds.

From refusing to be a cog in the record company machine wheel to straight-up verbal take-downs of the industries pop-music cash cows, we’ve compiled a brief history of bands who flipped the commercial world and its minions the bird, 1990-present. These guys make Dave Grohl’s refusal to license the Foo Fighters’ music for Glee look like child’s play. (Still, we won’t lie: refusing the glorified Kidz Bop treatment the show’s peddling is undoubtedly a noble decision.) … Read More

Daily Dose

Daily Dose Pick: Blood Into Wine

By Shana Nys Dambrot on

Newly released on DVD, Blood Into Wine is both a documentary and an all-new soundtrack celebrating Tool and Puscifer frontman Maynard James Keenan’s brutal, bloody education in wine-making.

Described as a “rock ‘n roll version of Sideways,” this extraordinarily intimate (for the very private Keenan) film is as much about the intense relationship with his business partner Erick Glomski as it is about a season in Arizona-desert oenology and the creative inspiration of the adventure. With cameos by Bob Odenkirk, Patton Oswalt, and Milla Jovovich, it’s also pretty funny. … Read More

Music

Can Rock Musicians Make Alcohol as Well as They Drink It?

By Peter Joseph on

Every musical artist needs a nest egg. Some rainy-day money for when the ticket sales slump. Pop singers like Gwen Stefani or Jessica Simpson can capitalize on their influence over young girls and launch a fashion label. The RZA has his limited-edition art. For rock stars known as much for their partying as their music, they might as well start earning some money for those boozy reputations. Tool‘s frontman Maynard James Keenan doubled down on his attempt to make a decent spirit. Not only is he making his own wine, but he let someone make a documentary about it. … Read More

Music

Photo Gallery: Music Conquers Mud at All Points West

By Doug Levy on

This past weekend brought the second-annual All Points West music festival to New Jersey’s Liberty State Park — along with a healthy dose of rain to provide the traditional mud-drenched festival experience our friends across the pond know so well. Jay-Z stepped in on Friday night to save the day after the Beastie Boys’ last-minute cancellation, performing to a crowd willing to brave thunderstorms for his high-energy set; both Jay and Sunday headliners Coldplay paid tribute to the Beasties by covering their material, with Chris Martin’s solo piano version of “Fight for Your Right” coming across as especially… Read More