...Blind Melon would be kings of the jam band circuit had vocalist Shannon Hoon not died of a drug overdose in 1995? Seriously.
You know the latter-day Deadheads would love them...
4/23/2010
4/20/2010
RIP: Guru
Keith Elam, one half of influential rap duo Gang Starr, and best known by his stage name Guru died on Monday, April 19th after a long battle with cancer.
Aside from his work with the aforementioned Gang Starr, Guru released 8 solo albums, including the highly-acclaimed Jazzmatazz Vol.1 and Vol.2 in 1993 and 1995, respectively.
In late February of this year, Guru suffered cardiac arrest and fell into a coma, which he came out of a few days later, but eventually succumbed to cancer after his brief recovery.
Guru was 43 years old.
Aside from his work with the aforementioned Gang Starr, Guru released 8 solo albums, including the highly-acclaimed Jazzmatazz Vol.1 and Vol.2 in 1993 and 1995, respectively.
In late February of this year, Guru suffered cardiac arrest and fell into a coma, which he came out of a few days later, but eventually succumbed to cancer after his brief recovery.
Guru was 43 years old.
4/17/2010
RIP: Peter Steele
Brooklyn born Petrus T. Ratajczyk, best known under his stage name, Peter Steele, died from heart failure on April 14th.
For 20 years Steele was the frontman, bassist, and songwriter for Type-O Negative, a popular and influential pioneer in blending goth and metal.
He was 48 years old.
h/t GR Jones.
For 20 years Steele was the frontman, bassist, and songwriter for Type-O Negative, a popular and influential pioneer in blending goth and metal.
He was 48 years old.
h/t GR Jones.
4/09/2010
Haiti
In the era of the 24-hour news cycle tragedies occupy a fleeting place in the media, their place quickly taken over by a newer concern. But the sad aftermath, of course, lingers.
Here's a couple of fave Haitian tunes of ours:
"Inflación", a killer track by the legendary, NY-based Tabou Combo, from their album The Masters [Barclay-1975];
and "Pwazon Rat" (Rat Poison) from Vodou Adjae [Mango-1991],
the stellar debut album by Boukman Eksperyans:
Here's a couple of fave Haitian tunes of ours:
"Inflación", a killer track by the legendary, NY-based Tabou Combo, from their album The Masters [Barclay-1975];
and "Pwazon Rat" (Rat Poison) from Vodou Adjae [Mango-1991],
the stellar debut album by Boukman Eksperyans:
4/08/2010
RIP: Malcolm McLaren
A seminal yet controversial figure in the annals of punk rock, former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren died in Switzerland on April 8th, after succumbing to cancer.
Best known for managing the aforementioned Sex Pistols, McLaren previously ran an infamous clothing store and punk rocker hangout called Sex, with then-girlfriend Vivienne Westwood. He also managed both Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow, and later embarked on a music career as an artist, with several albums and two Top Ten UK hits, "Buffalo Gals" and "Double Dutch" to his credit.
Malcolm McLaren was 64.
Best known for managing the aforementioned Sex Pistols, McLaren previously ran an infamous clothing store and punk rocker hangout called Sex, with then-girlfriend Vivienne Westwood. He also managed both Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow, and later embarked on a music career as an artist, with several albums and two Top Ten UK hits, "Buffalo Gals" and "Double Dutch" to his credit.
Malcolm McLaren was 64.
4/01/2010
The Last Time: Stones 2010 Tour a Farewell?
Stop me if you've heard this one before: The Rolling Stones' upcoming massive world tour may be their last hurrah together. According to the folks at Glorious Noise:
Which is pretty interesting since they did not tour behind 1986's Dirty Work, at the time deepening a developing rift between Jagger and Richards. But ostensibly, the dead giveaway is the announced on stage guest appearances by bassist Bill Wyman--who left the band in 1992--and tributes to Ian Stewart, Mick Taylor, and of course, Brian Jones. Hmm...
At a hastily assembled press conference today, the Rolling Stones announced that they are planning another major tour which very well may prove to be the biggest tour of their storied career and perhaps the greatest tour of all time. With some of the details just now coming to light, many fans are speculating if the magnitude of it may signal that it will be their farewell tour.While many details are still in the development stages, one item that is finalized is the setlist. At the press conference, the band appeared together and told a room full of reporters that they would be following a similar pattern as many other bands are following recently: playing one of their classic albums in its entirety.
“We took a look at all of the albums that we felt fans would most enjoy hearing,” declared an energetic Mick Jagger, “and we’ve decided to do the ‘Harlem Shuffle’ across North America!” The band will be performing Dirty Work in its entirety for the first set of their show.
Which is pretty interesting since they did not tour behind 1986's Dirty Work, at the time deepening a developing rift between Jagger and Richards. But ostensibly, the dead giveaway is the announced on stage guest appearances by bassist Bill Wyman--who left the band in 1992--and tributes to Ian Stewart, Mick Taylor, and of course, Brian Jones. Hmm...
3/24/2010
RIP: Jim Marshall
Legendary rock photographer Jim Marshall died in his sleep on March 24th in a New York City hotel room. No cause of death has been announced.
Marshall, an iconic artist whose career spanned 50 years, is credited with some 500 album covers. His best known images include Jimi Hendrix setting fire to his guitar at the Monterrey Pop Festival in 1967, Johnny Cash giving the finger at San Quentin Prison in 1969, and the cover of The Allman Brothers' Fillmore East album.
A California resident, Marshall was in New York City at the time of his death for a photography-related event. He was 74 years old.
Marshall, an iconic artist whose career spanned 50 years, is credited with some 500 album covers. His best known images include Jimi Hendrix setting fire to his guitar at the Monterrey Pop Festival in 1967, Johnny Cash giving the finger at San Quentin Prison in 1969, and the cover of The Allman Brothers' Fillmore East album.
A California resident, Marshall was in New York City at the time of his death for a photography-related event. He was 74 years old.
3/17/2010
RIP: Alex Chilton (1950-2010)
Singer, songwriter, guitarist Alex Chilton, best known as a member of of '60s pop-soul group The Box Tops ("The Letter") and leader of power pop cult favorites Big Star, died on the evening of March 17th in New Orleans, of a possible heart attack. News of Chilton's death was confirmed by his Big Star band mate, drummer Jody Stephens.Despite never being a household name, Chilton's music did garner some mainstream exposure late in his life: the theme song to That '70s Show was a reworking of Big Star's "In The Street", performed by Cheap Trick; Gilmore Girls featured the band's "Thirteen", and an exclusive prep school attended by one of the show's main characters was named Chilton Academy. His career both as a solo artist and with the aforementioned Box Tops and Big Star--each of which he rejoined in he mid-'90s--spanned 5 decades and influenced a score of artists including Jeff Buckley, Elliott Smith, Teenage Fanclub and latter day Big Star band mates Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of The Posies.
And of course, there's The Replacements, whose Paul Westerberg wrote "Alex Chilton", which contains a line both author and subject will always be remembered for:
"I never travel far / without a little Big Star"
Alex Chilton was 59 years old.
Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN) pays tribute to Chilton on the floor of the US House of Representatives: "His music will live on forever...He is an embodiment of Memphis music: hard, different, independent, brilliant, beautiful. We're lucky he came our way."
[Alex Chilton photo: Ebet Roberts/Redferns/Getty Images]
3/10/2010
Best. Simpsons. Ever.
Well, at least it's our favorite ever: "Mother Simpson," the eighth episode from The Simpsons' seventh season, first aired in 1995 and it's a great one.
After faking his death to avoid going to work, Homer goes to the Springfield Hall of Records to clear things up. There he discovers that his mother, who he thought had died when he was a child, is in fact alive. A visit to Mona Simpson's grave reveals it is actually Walt Whitman's; when Homer accidentally falls into his own freshly dug grave, he is berated by a lady who claims he is in her son's final resting place. Homer puts two and two together and, after 27 years, is reunited with his mom.
We won't give away any more of the plot, but "Mother Simpson" manages to be both funny and touching, and along the way, reveals little mysteries, such as the reason for Lisa's intelligence. It also has, arguably, the most poignant finale of any Simpsons episode. A classic.
After faking his death to avoid going to work, Homer goes to the Springfield Hall of Records to clear things up. There he discovers that his mother, who he thought had died when he was a child, is in fact alive. A visit to Mona Simpson's grave reveals it is actually Walt Whitman's; when Homer accidentally falls into his own freshly dug grave, he is berated by a lady who claims he is in her son's final resting place. Homer puts two and two together and, after 27 years, is reunited with his mom.
We won't give away any more of the plot, but "Mother Simpson" manages to be both funny and touching, and along the way, reveals little mysteries, such as the reason for Lisa's intelligence. It also has, arguably, the most poignant finale of any Simpsons episode. A classic.
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