Mmm...Simpsons

The New York Times loves our favorite yellow family on the big screen, too. Plus, Blender weighs in on the show's best band cameos.


Forever?

According to Billboard.com, the king of humility aka Kid Rock has practically phased out the hip-hop from his upcoming Oct. 9th release, Rock and Roll Jesus. (Oh, that title…we smell some contrived, Marilyn Manson-type shit-stirring coming on. Hmm…we wonder if Rock actually knows his album’s release date is the birthday of that “bigger than Jesus” guy.) His newly-made, confederate flag-waving, country artist friends should be delighted by this development. They always hinted in interviews how beneath him they thought hip-hop was. And now, presumably, Rock will give them a record they can be proud of. Idiots.


Not This Again

MARNIE STERN In Advance of the Broken Arm (Kill Rock Stars-2007)
So, it’s OK to release a sort-of prog-sounding record as long as you do it on an indie/hipster label? Give us a fucking break. Billy Corgan’s virulent dissing of the indie cred/mentality a few years ago looks more and more like the words of a sage with each passing season:

"...[T]he whole indie thing is just a pose. I can’t say that about everybody, but our general feeling in the Pumpkins always was that people took the indie route because deep down they knew they didn’t have the talent to make it on the mainstream level. And those people proved to me, that deep down they know they don’t have the talent, or the focus, or the true love of people to want to really get out there and try and connect with people. It’s really about them.

You have to make it seem like it’s about you, but it has to really be about others, it’s really about sharing. And their indie-cred mentality really is about, ‘What’s it got to dowith me?’ and ‘Can I find people who agree with me, who think like me,who dress like me, smoke pot like me?’ They’re just assholes. It’s simple. I could go on with a thousand stories, but you can put that in big capital letters: THEY’RE JUST ASSHOLES. They really didn’t care. They didn’t really care about the music, they didn’t really care about the fans … They really just want to live like pieces of shit and live their little weird creepy lives. End of story."

Oh, and uh, In Advance of the Broken Arm is alright. Nothing to write home about.


Better Him Than Us

Stereogum has got the low down on the infamous Andrew WK--remember him?--and Kathy Griffin "date". That must've been a hoot. Yeah, right.


Happy Birthday

This weekend candles will be blown out for singer/songwriter Pete Yorn (33) on July 27th; the infamous Afroman (33) on July 28th; and Rush vocalist/bassist Geddy Lee (54) on July 29th.