Idolator

Is The Afghan Whigs' "Miles Iz Ded" One Of The Greatest Songs Ever? [Burning Questions]

Maura Johnston — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 01:30:00 EDT

It's probably fitting that I was at a bar when I realized that my musical aesthetic of right now was more informed by the Afghan Whigs' bonus-track-gone-EP-anchor "Miles Iz Ded" than pretty much any other piece of music in existence. Originally a "bonus" track on Congregation that lived up to, and most likely outshone, a lot of the material on its attendant album, it has taken on a life of its own in my personal pantheon (even if it's not offically realized by discographers), and its junkies-gone-wild video above has only helped that process. (For those of you with long-ish memories: It's been a year and a half since we posted this song, so I think it's fair game for revisiting at this particular moment, i.e. me finding it on my local's jukebox and realizing that it's still so freaking good.) The last-call apocalypse feel of this track, which I suppose is more epitomized by the description "drinking itself into oblivion" than anything else, rings as true for me now as it did 15 years ago, when I was first wondering "wtf is this?" while letting my 5-disc changer run wild. After the jump, a video clip of "Miles" live (from an unnamed-on-YouTube festival) that more than holds up to the studio rendition.

Oh, Madonna. I really hope that Matthew Perpetua includes this track in s his whole "Your New Influences" thing sometime very soon.

Afghan Whigs - Miles Iz Ded] [YouTube]
MILES IZ DED the afghan whigs [YouTube]

A Long Listmaking Exercise For A Long Weekend [Somethin 4 The Weekend]

Maura Johnston — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:00:00 EDT

Today's list that's going around some blogs that I read: List the albums you like most from each year that you've been alive. It sounds simple, right? But in making a list like this, you realize things about yourself, like how Aerosmith's peak for me came right around the year I was born, even though I didn't really hear them until many years later. And how 2004 was something of a weak year for my personal canon, while 1989 was a really huge year for it, one where I had to pick between Like A Prayer, Doolittle, Cocked & Loaded, Full Moon Fever, and the album I finally wound up selecting. Anyway, peruse my list after the jump—Anthony made one too—and feel free to pick mine apart/make your own, although I should warn you that it took me a while to do. (I'm usually loath to use Wikipedia as a source, but its lists of album releases were helpful to cross-reference with Amazon, as were the Pazz & Jop rundowns on Robert Christgau's site.) If people enjoy this exercise, maybe we'll do singles lists next week! Or, hell, runners-up lists, since some of these "best" decisions were a lot harder than others.

1975 - Aerosmith, Toys In The Attic
1976 - Aerosmith, Rocks
1977 - Wire, Pink Flag
1978 - Van Halen
1979 - The Raincoats
1980 - Various artists, Wanna Buy A Bridge? comp
1981 - Motley Crue, Too Fast For Love
1982 - Michael Jackson, Thriller
1983 - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Dazzle Ships
1984 - Prince and the Revolution, Purple Rain
1985 - The Jesus & Mary Chain, Psychocandy
1986 - Janet Jackson, Control
1987 - Guns N' Roses, Appetite For Destruction
1988 - Pixies, Surfer Rosa
1989 - Faith No More, The Real Thing
1990 - Mother Love Bone, Apple

(This is the point where things started getting tough, like three-solid-contenders-per-year tough.)

1991 - Soundgarden, Badmotorfinger
1992 - Unrest, Imperial ffrr
1993 - Afghan Whigs, Gentlemen
1994 - Pram, Helium
1995 - Helium, The Dirt Of Luck
1996 - Olivia Tremor Control, Music From The Unrealized Film Script Dusk At Cubist Castle
1997 - Built To Spill, Perfect From Now On
1998 - Pulp, This Is Hardcore

(Here the toughness subsides. Draw your own conclusions as to why.)

1999 - Mr. Bungle, California
2000 - PJ Harvey, Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
2001 - Aveo, Bridge To The Northern Lights
2002 - Ikara Colt, Chat And Business
2003 - S Prcss, MNML
2004 - Dogs Die In Hot Cars, Please Describe Yourself
2005 - Celebration
2006 - Scritti Politti, White Bread, Black Beer
2007 - Siobhan Donaghy, Ghosts
2008 - Erykah Badu, New Amerykah Vol. 1

A thing to do. [bg5000]

The Recorded-Music Business Stems The Bleeding Just A Bit [The Biz]

Maura Johnston — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:00:00 EDT

Sure, the past few weeks have been good for the recorded-music industry, what with Lil Wayne and Coldplay breaking through the 500,000-sales-in-a-week barrier that even heavyweights like Madonna and Usher couldn't surpass. Overall, though, 2008 has been another dismal year for the biz, with this year's 204.6 million units sold through June 29 representing an 11% year-to-year decline. (Last year's tally at this time was 229.8 million units.) But take heart, everyone: At this point last year, album sales were on a 15.6% year-to-year slump. See? Numbers can make any semi-depressing reality look good! More stats from the reports after the jump.

CD sales are down 16.3%, but digital-album sales are up 34.4%, accounting for 31.6 million units and now account for 15.4% of album sales. Digital track sales are at 532.7 million units through June 29, a whopping 30% increase over last year.

The top three albums:
Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III (1.525,000 scans, 209,000 last week)
Jack Johnson, Sleep Through The Static (1,247,000 scans, 15,000 last week)
Mariah Carey, E=MC² (1,063,000 scans, 17,000 last week)

Coldplay's Viva La Vida will likely join that pantheon next week, as it's currently at the 971,000-sold mark and it sold 249,000 copies from June 23-29.

The top three tracks:
Leona Lewis, "Bleeding Love" (2,656,000 sales, 84,000 last week)
Flo Rida, "Low (ft. T-Pain)" (2.4 million 2008 sales, 3,994,000 overall sales, 27,000 last week)
Jordin Sparks, "No Air (ft. Chris Brown)" (2,153,000 sales, 47,000 last week)

Coming up behind those tracks: Madonna's "4 Minutes" and Lil Wayne's "Lollipop." (Chris Molanphy gets more into this data, and its further-reaching ramifications for the charts, in this week's 100 & Single.)

The biggest label groups:
Universal Music Group: 31.2% (last year: 31.5%)
Sony BMG: 24.8% (last year: 25.3%)
Warner Music Group: 20.8% (last year: 20%)
EMI: 9.4% (last year: 10.4%, and who knows, those numbers may get better once the Coldplay album's out for longer than a week)
Indies: 13.9% (last year: 12.9)

Mid-Year Sales Report: Top Sellers, Market Share And More [Billboard.biz]
Album sales down 11% in 2008 [Variety]

The Followup Conundrum: At Midyear, Big Hits Are One-Offs [100 And Single]

Chris Molanphy — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Ed. note: Chris "dennisobell" Molanphy, our resident chart guru, looks at the upward, downward, and lack of movement on this week's Billboard charts:

If you're trying to guess what might end up as Billboard's top song of 2008, you might take a gander at this week's Hot 100, where a prime contender is still sitting in the top three after peaking months ago.

That would be Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love," the neo-diva ballad that's outlasted anything her role model Mariah Carey has released so far this year. According to Nielsen SoundScan, which released its (mostly dismal) midyear report this week, Lewis' smash is the top-selling single for the six-month period beginning Dec. 31 and ending June 29.

That doesn't necessarily make the Lewis track a lock for the year's top prize, due to some technicalities which I'll discuss momentarily. But there is one thing that makes "Bleeding Love" emblematic of 2008: it's an undeniable smash single which has proven tough for the artist to follow up.

According to SoundScan, the first-half '08 best-sellers are "Bleeding Love," at 2.6 million downloads, Flo Rida's "Low" featuring T-Pain, with 2.4 million, and Jordin Sparks' duet with Chris Brown, "No Air," which sold 2.1 million. All three songs are currently charting on the Hot 100. This week, about two months after its four-week run at No. 1, "Bleeding" sits pretty at No. 3. Sparks' ballad, after peaking at No. 3, just fell out of the Top 10 last week, but it's still hanging on to the Top 20 at No. 18. And the unkillable former No. 1 "Low," now in its 36th week on the chart, finally falls out of the Top 40, down six spots to No. 42.

The Lewis and Sparks tracks sold virtually all of their copies in calendar 2008. But Flo Rida's hit did serious business last year—about another one and a half million sold in 2007. "Low," already the biggest-selling digital track of all time and still selling well (it ranks 52nd among this week's top digital songs), is now about 5,000 copies shy of total cumulative sales of 4 million.

Mr. Rida's 2007 sales are important to our discussion here, because as I've explained in this space before, Billboard persists in using an annoyingly skewed "chart year" in its year-end tallies, one that runs from Dec. 1 to Nov. 30. That extra month of sales will give "Low" a huge advantage in the year-end tally: it hit its stride last December and rose to No. 1 just after Christmas, months before anyone in America had even heard of Lewis.

Lewis is an established pop star in the UK, with three top hits to her credit (two No. 1's and a double-sided No. 2 single). It's too soon to say how she'll be regarded here, but so far, the Lewis phenomenon in America is all about one massive song; Sony/BMG has held off formally releasing a second single until mid-July. I say "formally," because of course, in the digital age, once an album is released any of its songs are de facto singles; and on the modern-day charts, any song radio chooses to play is Hot 100-eligible, regardless of a label's marketing plans.

So far, neither the public nor radio programmers have flocked to a second Lewis song en masse. The label's planned second hit is the thumping, midtempo pop track "Better in Time," which has been charting on Billboard's Pop 100 list for nearly two months (peaking at No. 45, now down a bit), but it has made no impression on the big chart. "Better" is Lewis' second-biggest seller at iTunes, but comparing it to "Bleeding" is like comparing a minnow to a baleen whale. Among all digital tracks, "Better" only ranks 176th in sales this week, with 8,200 copies. These are decent numbers for a song that's received little formal promotion as yet, but they're a little anemic for the followup single to the year's best-selling hit.

Lewis shouldn't be too dejected by this state of affairs—it's been a tougher year than expected for pop divas to follow up their hits. As I alluded above, Carey has had a tough time after her latest album produced a quick-burning No. 1, "Touch My Body." In the time it's taken Lewis' handlers to milk "Bleeding Love" for sales and airplay, Carey's people have already squeezed all they can out of "Touch" (now ranked No. 59 in its 20th and final week on the Hot 100); tried and failed with a second single, "Bye Bye" (peaked at No. 19, now down to No. 69); and started promoting a third hit, the Idolator-approved "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time." That third Carey single debuts this week at No. 100...on the Pop 100, not the Hot 100, where it is still M.I.A. So much for the year of Mimi.

And forget the divas—what about digital-sales giant Flo Rida? After "Low," his Timbaland-assisted second single "Elevator" was a flop, peaking quickly at No. 16 before plummeting off the chart in under three months. And one week after his third single, "In the Ayer," debuted at a more-than-solid No. 38, it's down to No. 40.

Other than Sparks, who can still hope that her post-American Idol album will produce a third Top 10 charter ("One Step at a Time" debuts this week at No. 79), none of this year's biggest smash songs has been followed by a serious hit.

That's not to say no one is having a good year: Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" is finally giving way to "A Milli" (up seven spots to No. 14); and Rihanna, still riding "Take a Bow" in the top five, has "Distrubia" waiting in the wings (up seven to No. 11—a surprise after her fluke debut last week).

But in a digital-fueled, singles-based economy, the charts are getting crueler all the time.

Here's a rundown of the rest of this week's charts:

• As we forecast last week, the Jonas Brothers made a splashy debut on the chart. "Burnin' Up" materializes all the way up at No. 5—the second-biggest debut of the year after David Cook's No. 3 appearance last month with "The Time of My Life."

The Jonases probably would have placed even higher if the song had stronger radio airplay—thus far, it's nonexistent on the Hot 100 Airplay list, but it ranks 31st on the all-Top 40 Pop 100 Airplay list. Expect "Burnin'" to hold on or move higher, unless fans get distracted by a succession of pre-album Jonas singles Disney plans to drop in the next few weeks. Speaking of which...

• A few weeks ago in this space, I talked at length about the unusual multi-single strategies fueling the recent blockbuster albums by Lil Wayne and Coldplay. According to a story in last week's Billboard, this is a more coherent strategy than I first suspected, and (like so many things on the charts these days) it's spurred by iTunes:

"Releasing a single for digital download before an album's debut is about as standard these days as making it available to radio. But in the past few months, labels and artists have begun releasing multiple tracks in advance of an album's street date to promote new releases, relying in no small degree on Apple's iTunes Music Store's Complete My Album feature to convert them into full-album sales — in some cases with striking effectiveness."

It's been a while since I've said anything nice about the music industry, but kudos to the labels' promotion teams. This strategy takes advantage of an Apple feature in a way that benefits pretty much everybody: insatiable fans, who get to buy early singles confident they'll save money off the iTunes album release later; the acts, who don't have to be bound by the old, hidebound one-track-every-quarter release strategy; the labels, who protect their first-week album sales numbers; and Apple, of course.

Expect numerous superstar acts to try what we'll now refer to as "pulling a Weezy," dropping an array of early singles in the leadup to their albums' release dates. The Jonases are first—they'll prep fans for the mid-August release of A Little Bit Longer with, in order, "Pushing Me Away" on July 15, "Tonight" (no relation to the old New Kids hit, I guess) on July 29, and the title track on Aug. 5.

Top 10s
Last week's position and total weeks charted in parentheses (Digital Songs chart includes total downloads/percentage change in parentheses):

Hot 100
1. Katy Perry, "I Kissed a Girl" (LW No. 1, 8 weeks)
2. Lil Wayne feat. Static Major, "Lollipop" (LW No. 2, 16 weeks)
3. Leona Lewis, "Bleeding Love" (LW No. 3, 20 weeks)
4. Rihanna, "Take a Bow" (LW No. 4, 12 weeks)
5. Jonas Brothers, "Burnin' Up" (CHART DEBUT)
6. Coldplay, "Viva la Vida" (LW No. 6, 8 weeks)
7. Plies feat. Ne-Yo, "Bust It Baby (Part 2)" (LW No. 8, 14 weeks)
8. Chris Brown, "Forever" (LW No. 7, 10 weeks)
9. Demi Lovato & Joe Jonas, "This Is Me" (LW No. 11, 2 weeks)
10. Natasha Bedingfield, "Pocketful of Sunshine" (LW No. 5, 20 weeks)

Hot Digital Songs
1. Katy Perry, "I Kissed a Girl" (LW No. 1, 204,000 downloads, -6%)
2. Jonas Brothers, "Burnin' Up" (CHART DEBUT, 183,000 downloads)
3. Demi Lovato & Joe Jonas, "This Is Me" (LW No. 2, 123,000 downloads, +7%)
4. Coldplay, "Viva la Vida" (LW No. 3, 137,000 downloads, +7%)
5. Rihanna, "Disturbia" (LW No. 6, 112,000 downloads, +2%)
6. Miley Cyrus, "7 Things" (LW No. 4, 106,000 downloads, -19%)
7. The Pussycat Dolls, "When I Grow Up" (LW No. 5, 103,000 downloads, -20%)
8. Lil Wayne feat. Static Major, "Lollipop" (LW No. 8, 93,000 downloads, -15%)
9. Metro Station, "Shake It" (LW No. 10, 91,000 downloads, -11%)
10. Rihanna, "Take a Bow" (LW No. 9, 88,000 downloads, -13%)

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
1. Keyshia Cole, "Heaven Sent" (LW No. 1, 14 weeks)
2. Lil Wayne, "A Milli" (LW No. 4, 10 weeks)
3. Plies feat. Ne-Yo, "Bust It Baby (Part 2)" (LW No. 3, 18 weeks)
4. The-Dream, "I Luv Your Girl" (LW No. 5, 18 weeks)
5. Chris Brown, "Take You Down" (LW No. 6, 14 weeks)
6. Alicia Keys, "Teenage Love Affair" (LW No. 7, 20 weeks)
7. Lil Wayne feat. Static Major, "Lollipop" (LW No. 2, 16 weeks)
8. Usher feat. Beyonce and Lil Wayne, "Love in This Club, Part II" (LW No. 8, 10 weeks)
9. Trey Songz, "Last Time" (LW No. 9, 22 weeks)
10. Young Jeezy feat. Kanye West, "Put On" (LW No. 10, 8 weeks)

Hot Country Songs
1. Montgomery Gentry, "Back When I Knew It All" (LW No. 3, 19 weeks)
2. Blake Shelton, "Home" (LW No. 2, 23 weeks)
3. Kenny Chesney, "Better as a Memory" (LW No. 1, 15 weeks)
4. Alan Jackson, "Good Time" (LW No. 5, 12 weeks)
5. Dierks Bentley, "Trying to Stop Your Leaving" (LW No. 7, 25 weeks)
6. Brooks & Dunn, "Put a Girl in It" (LW No. 9, 10 weeks)
7. Carrie Underwood, "Last Name" (LW No. 4, 16 weeks)
8. Sugarland, "All I Want to Do" (LW No. 10, 6 weeks)
9. Brad Paisley, "I'm Still a Guy" (LW No. 6, 19 weeks)
10. Keith Anderson, "I Still Miss You" (LW No. 12, 22 weeks)

Hot Modern Rock Tracks
1. Weezer, "Pork & Beans" (LW No. 1, 11 weeks)
2. The Offspring, "Hammerhead" (LW No. 2, 8 weeks)
3. Foo Fighters, "Let It Die" (LW No. 3, 13 weeks)
4. Linkin Park, "Given Up" (LW No. 4, 17 weeks)
5. Seether, "Rise Above This" (LW No. 5, 19 weeks)
6. Death Cab for Cutie, "I Will Possess Your Heart" (LW No. 6, 15 weeks)
7. Disturbed, "Inside the Fire" (LW No. 9, 14 weeks)
8. Coldplay, "Viva la Vida" (LW No. 12, 4 weeks)
9. Nine Inch Nails, "Discipline" (LW No. 7, 10 weeks)
10. Flobots, "Handlebars" (LW No. 8, 13 weeks)

Next Big UK Pop Star Wishes You Would Floss More Often [Smile]

Kate Richardson — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:45:00 EDT

While the record industry may be relying heavily on adolescent talent in its time of crisis, hope remains for pop music fans of a certain age and rarefied taste who love Josh Groban, but wish he could perform an emergency root canal in a pinch. SonyBMG has signed a 35-year-old singing dentist from north London to a million-pound record deal, a prize he earned after sending them "an operatic version of the Prince anthem 'Purple Rain.' "

With NHS dentists already in disastrously short supply, the patients of one north London surgery will be relieved to learn that their man intends to complete their fillings - despite landing a £1m recording contract.

Andrew Bain's contract with SonyBMG is a lifetime's dream come true. He started singing in an Essex church choir at the age of eight, and said he had wanted to be a full time performer since the Christmas he sang the solo verse in Once in Royal David's City.

The urge to make a terrible joke here about England's notorious dental situation is overwhelming.

His debut album - which he has promised will not contain "yet another version of Nessun Dorma", despite a plea from a fan for just that on his MySpace page - is due out in September. He has promised, however, that he will not put down his drill for at least another three months, and said he did regret that the NHS was losing yet another dentist.
Richard Hinkley, a senior executive at the record company, called him "a refreshingly different talent ... He is performing opera with a uniquely contemporary touch. He has taken what is traditionally elitist and made it resonate with fans of popular music," Hinkley said.

Um, hello?

Currently the only song on Bain's MySpace is a quavery-voiced rendition of David Bowie's "Life on Mars." It's a decent cover with pretty solid production, and there's no denying that Bain can sing, but it's a bit like listening to college a cappella covers—technically impressive, yet uncomfortably absurd. But I doubt that will matter once SonyBMG gets this dude's picture plastered all over the UK:

Hunky!

Recording deal: Say do-re-mi-ah. Operatic dentist lands £1m recording contract
[The Guardian]
Andrew Bain [MySpace]

Blind-Item Break: Which Rock Star Has A Contentious Relationship With His In-Laws? [Blind Item]

Maura Johnston — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:30:00 EDT

"Which rock star's mother-in-law said about him this week? 'He looks like a rat but he's a good father to the kids... But he's a miserable, rat-faced man.' " [popbitch]

David Cronenberg's "The Fly" Is Now An Opera In Paris [Brundleopera]

Anthony Miccio — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:15:00 EDT

An opera based on an '80s remake of a '50s sci-fi classic. Conducted by Placido Domingo. Music by Howard Shore and directed by David Cronenberg, both of whom worked on 1986 classic. Currently playing in Paris and set to hit in Los Angeles in September. Well, that takes care of the what, when and who. All that leaves us is the how and the why why why? The original story is pretty melodramatic, but opera? Color me ignorant, but I didn't realize until reading the Guardian's review of La Mouche (if only it was an opera about La Bouche) that Broadway wasn't the only place good movies go to be turned into dancing and prancing. Dancer In The Dark and Lost Highway were also transformed into operas, and the New York City Opera hopes to give Brokeback Mountain the same treatment in 2013. But hey, who cares about the source material if the final product is good, right? Well, it doesn't look like La Mouche is knockin' 'em dead in Paris.

"Honestly, I'm not as enthusiastic as I'd expected to be. It was a little static, a little heavy. Some scenes were magnificent - others lacked rhythm," said Marion Millet, a young opera fan.

Another, Pascal Aubry, agreed: "I liked the singing, and direction was strong; but the music was a let-down," he said. "It was really lacking, more of a distraction than the music of an opera."

Whatever the critics make of Cronenberg's mutant creation, it will be a treat for those who love the film. Due to run until July 13 and have its US premiere at the Los Angeles Opera in September, it retains the famed plot line's structure.

Sorry, but it is not inherently a treat to watch the plot of a movie you enjoy sung loudly in a concert hall.

Do not want.

The Fly lands on Paris stage as a Cronenberg opera [Guardian]
Past The Point of No Return of The Fly [YouTube]

Little Jackie Wants To Be The Universe's Biggest Star [Videodrone]

Maura Johnston — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:00:00 EDT

Just in time for the BBQ-filled July 4 weekend, I've found a track to blare in between plays of that Lloyd song: Little Jackie's "The World Should Revolve Around Me," which is a huge, fun track from the new project by the Long Island native Imani "Legend Of A Cowgirl" Coppola. In the 10-plus years following that track, Coppola has collaborated with the likes of Mike Patton, Rahzel, and (really!) the Baha Men. Refresh your memory of what "alternative" used to sound like with the video for "Cowgirl," which I've placed after the jump.

Oh, late '90s, how you were so full of hope. Anyway, Little Jackie's album The Stoop comes out Tuesday, and if that track and that title are any indication, I am going to love it.

Little Jackie - The World Should Revolve Around Me [YouTube]
Imani Coppola - Legend Of A Cowgirl [YouTube]
Little Jackie [MySpace]

The rumored 360 deal between Shakira and ... [Deals]

Maura Johnston — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:45:00 EDT

The rumored 360 deal between Shakira and megapromoter Live Nation has apparently been signed and sealed. The deal, which will last 10 years and will encompass tours, merch, sponsorship, and recordings, is in effect immediately—except on the recorded-music side, where Shakira still owes Epic three albums (one in English, one in Spanish, and one in "greatest-hits cash-out"-ish). The deal is rumored to be worth somewhere between $70 million and $100 million, which at least sounds reasonable in the context of the other deals the company's been striking lately. [NYT]

"USA Today" Celebrates The Recession By Glorifying Overpriced Band Merch, Recycling Jokes From "PCU" [It's The Economy, Stupid]

Maura Johnston — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:30:00 EDT

Today's USA Today has a big piece on rock merch, talking about how $55 concert T-shirts are purchased by people who are "style-conscious and socially conscious" (oddly, the word "suckers" is not used), how being sold at Target hasn't hurt the alleged cool factor of Beatles and Rolling Stones shirts, and how the ever-annoying Katy Perry designed her merch in such a way that's inspired by (her apparent non-reading of) Lolita and "fruit motifs, especially strawberries and cherries." (Because eating them is, like, just like kissing a girl... plant!) It even finds some poor sucker to trot out the already-old-and-reliable "you can't download a T-shirt" notion! But perhaps the best part of the story is Edna Gudnersen's guide to "t-shirt etiquette," which seems to have been taken out of some sort of sidebar storage unit that was last replenished in 2004.

- It's geeky to wear a T-shirt you just bought at the concert you're attending. Besides, your mother would want you to wash it first.

This would seem to be Gundersen's reinterpretation of the "Don't be that guy" rule from PCU, in which Jeremy Piven's character chastises, "What's this? You're wearing the shirt of the band you're going to see? Don't be that guy." Only with laundry. And Mom. Not cool, dude.

- If you must wear a Metallica T-shirt at a Metallica concert, make sure it's from three or four tours back.

Not only does this break the aforementioned "don't be that guy" rule, it also creates the false caste system that people who actually went to see Metallica in 2003 are somehow better than "newer" fans.

- Unless you're 8, a High School Musical T-shirt will draw snickers. However, a Schoolhouse Rock! shirt is kitschy.

But if you wear it to a Blind Melon show, are you "that guy"?

I guess it depends on whether post-Shannon Hoon death Blind Melon is a different band. (Let the arguing commence!)

A Nirvana T-shirt at a Foo Fighters concert is too obvious; Melvins, maybe. A Screaming Trees shirt at a Queens of the Stone Age concert or a Green Jello shirt at a Tool show will reveal you as a fan with roots.

I wholly disagree with this idea, because it violates a corollary of the "don't be that guy" rule that I like to term as "don't be that person who is trying to have 'cred,' even though the shirt bestowing such was probably purchased at Hot Topic anyway."

- Don't wear a Woodstock or Live Aid T-shirt unless you actually attended.

- Even if you were there, don't wear a Woodstock '99 T-shirt. Why admit it?

Because comedy = tragedy + time? Hey, it's been nine years. (Really, when was this thing written?)

- Never wear a Gary Glitter T-shirt. If you don't know why, look it up.

OK, this is probably good advice. Although I did hear "Rock & Roll Pt. 2" at a sporting event recently, so who knows, his ironic rehabilitation could be just around the bend...

Concert tour T-shirts crank up the style [USA Today]

Natasha Shneider, R.I.P. [Obituaries]

Anthony Miccio — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:15:00 EDT

Natasha Shneider, who played keyboards and sang with the band Eleven and collaborated with Queens of the Stone Age and Chris Cornell, died of cancer yesterday. "She was a brilliant, beautiful, and ballsy woman who will be missed deeply by all those who knew her. Send your loving thoughts her way in the universe," wrote frequent collaborator Troy Van Leeuwen. Shneider and her husband Alain Johannes founded Eleven with former Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons in 1990, and the band recorded five albums and toured with Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Queens Of The Stone Age—all groups that members of Eleven would eventually collaborate with or join. Shneider's colorful career also included playing a cosmonaut in 2010: The Year We Make Contact and recording a song for the Catwoman soundtrack. Some clips from her career below.

"Broken Box" with Queens Of The Stone Age. Shneider and Johannes both performed on the album Lullabies To Paralyze and the following tour. The duo also appear on The Desert Sessions 7&8).

Eleven's "Reach Out," the closest to a radio hit the band achieved. You may recognize it from Beavis & Butt-Head.

Shneider's genre-defying "Who's In Control," for Catwoman.

A memorial fund in Shneider's name has been set up to help cover her medical costs. Shneider was 52.

Rock musician Natasha Shneider dies of cancer [Reuters]
Natasha Shneider Memorial Fund [Official Site]
We love you, Natasha! Rest In Peace [MySpace]
Eleven - Reach Out [YouTube]
Queens Of The Stone Age - Broken Box (Eurockéennes 2005) [YouTube]

Bjork Pulls Out From UK Festival, And The Cancellation Dominoes Fall [Fall Of The Wild]

Anthony Miccio — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:00:00 EDT

Bjork's claims that dropping out of the headlining spot at this weekend's Wild In The Country festival was based on general concern for all the artists' rather than demands on her part were backed up by Battles and Soulwax leaving the lineup soon after. With ticket sales dropping in response and a "key investor" pulling out, the entire festival, planned for Saturday, has been canceled. The organizers claim to be offering refunds to ticket buyers, as they did following Bjork's cancellation late Friday, but have yet to provide information as to how fans can receive them. NME]

Darkness Lead Singer Returns, Hot Leg In Tow [Coming Out Of The Dark]

Anthony Miccio — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:30:00 EDT

One of my favorite albums of 2005 was the Darkness' unheralded One Way Ticket To Hell...And Back. With the help of Roy Thomas Baker, the band had finally constructed an entire album of ridonkulous pop-metal moments—but it was tossed aside with minimum publicity thanks to internal meltdowns and label indifference. Since leaving the band in 2006, screaming mimi Justin Hawkins announced a solo album, Panther (now scrapped), and released the song "Do It In The Dark" as a free download to promote energy conservation. But now he has a new band, Hot Leg, and they have an album in the can and a tour kicking off next month.

This astonishing mega-tour begins on August 6th at London's Proud Galleries, hits the Birmingham Barfly on the 7th, takes in the Manchester Roadhouse on the 8th before the explosive Glasgow King Tuts finale on the 9th. Tickets are expected to sell like hot cakes, so click on the link from our myspace profile to get yours!

To celebrate, we're giving away 'Heroes', a live favourite of the future that will NOT appear on the Leg's long player. You can download it as a free MP3. All we ask in return is that you provide a genuine email address. Then we can keep you abreast of the Leg's future activities. Click on the link from our myspace profile to get yours!

Meanwhile, the first Hot Leg music album is now complete and it is absolutely stunning. The album is as yet untitled but don't worry, you'll be the first to know. We're aiming for a release later this year on Barbecue Rock Records.

"Heroes" is pretty good for a non-album promotional MP3, and this behind-the-scenes clip is equally promising.

Still, Hawkins has a lot to live up to. Could anyone top this?

The Darkness' Justin Hawkins Forms Hot Leg Band [Angry Ape]
Hot Leg [MySpace]
The Darkness - I Believe In A Thing Called Love [YouTube]
Hot Leg Video Diary: Episode 1 [YouTube]
The Darkness - Girlfriend [YouTube]

Clothing designer John Varvatos, whose new ... [Memories]

Maura Johnston — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:15:00 EDT

Clothing designer John Varvatos, whose new shop on the Bowery replaced CBGB, is still trying to play up his punk rock bona fides, telling the New York Post that his first concert was an Iggy and the Stooges show in 1970. "Even back then, he performed shirtless. Fast-forward 35 years and I put him in a three-piece suit in my ad campaign. He said it was the first time ever that anyone wanted to photograph him with clothes on." Ahh, isn't the realization of the punk-rock dream a beautiful thing? [NYP / Photo via BlackBook]

Lil Wayne Embarks On A Brief Constitutional; Ne-Yo Follows Along [Videodrone]

Maura Johnston — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:00:00 EDT

Lil Wayne's video for "A Milli" has a pretty straightforward concept: Watch as hip-hop's newest superstar walks to the set of his next video (which, um, looks to be set in the same hotel as Fatboy Slim's "Weapon Of Choice"), rapping all the way, even during bathroom breaks. The "Don't Tread On Me" hat is a nice touch, too. But did you know that Ne-Yo also released a clip for his version of the track? And it has Busta Rhymes in it and everything.

My affection for this particular remix is well known, but I'd be shirking my duties if I didn't point out that in whoever posted this clip is trying to claim that Ne-Yo's "A Milli" was at some point the third-most-downloaded track on iTunes. Let's all just be happy that "Closer" is finally, deservedly breaking through to the top 40, OK?

Lil Wayne's A Milli Walkthrough... Err... Video [MissInfo.TV]
NE-YO FT. BANGLADESH "A MILLI" REMIX (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO) [YouTube]

Anthony's Favorite Albums From Each Year Since His Birth [Pointless Listmaking]

Anthony Miccio — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

1979: Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Rust Never Sleeps
1980: The Feelies, Crazy Rhythms
1981: Kix, Kix
1982: The Fall, Hex Enduction Hour
1983: Kix, Cool Kids
1984: The Replacements, Let It Be
1985: Cocteau Twins, The Pink Opaque
1986: The Smiths, The Queen Is Dead
1987: Prince, Sign 'O' The Times
1988: Half Japanese, Charmed Life
1989: Ice-T, The Iceberg/Freedom Of Speech...Just Watch What You Say
1990: Flaming Lips, In A Priest Driven Ambulance
1991: Slowdive, Just For A Day
1992: Basehead, Play With Toys
1993: Urge Overkill, Saturation
1994: Pavement, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
1995: Yo La Tengo, Electr-O-Pura
1996: Weezer, Pinkerton
1997: Sleater-Kinney, Dig Me Out
1998: Cat Power, Moon Pix
1999: LeTigre, LeTigre
2000: The White Stripes, DeStijl
2001: Fugazi, The Argument
2002: Desaparecidos, Read Music/Speak Spanish
2003: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Fever To Tell
2004: Nellie McKay, Get Away From Me
2005: The Mountain Goats, The Sunset Tree
2006: CSS, Cansei de Ser Sexy
2007: LCD Soundsystem, Sound Of Silver
2008: Still hoping to hear something better than what I already have.

Bad Company Reunite To Play Florida Casino, Preserve Trademark [Feel Like Makin' Legal Precedent]

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:00:00 EDT

Does every band have to do this? Paul Rodgers will stop dick-slapping what little legacy Queen has left just long enough to perform with Bad Company for an Aug. 8 show at the Seminole Hard Rock & Casino. While the band and slot machine enthusiasts are sure to have a great time, the main reason for this get-together isn't necessarily festive in nature. Rodgers and company will go once more through "Simple Man," "Can't Get Enough" and all that crap so that they can preserve their touring trademark in America and keep fake Bad Companies from touring in their place. Does this mean I could get some friends together and perform as Husker Du?

"What I'm doing is protecting the legacy that we have built ... cementing the rights to the trademark Bad Company for touring," explains Rodgers, acknowledging that the group has learned of plans for at least one bogus Bad Company planning to hit the road. "I can't really go into that because it's kind of in the hands of our lawyers at the moment. But there are a lot of things that make it necessary to reinforce our rights here.

He continues, "By doing this one-night stand with Bad Company, we will be cementing our right to the trademark 'Bad Company' for touring, and anyone who attempts to challenge us and tour misusing our trademark and mislead the fans will be liable to legal action."

If large amounts of money can't get groups to reunite for festivals next year, maybe they can grab what hesitant dinosaurs remain unreformed with this legal logic.

Bad Company Plots One-Off Reunion [Billboard]

The memorial stone at Ian Curtis' grave, ... [C'mon, C'mon, C'mon, Touch Me From A Distance]

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:30:00 EDT

The memorial stone at Ian Curtis' grave, which features the phrase "Love Will Tear Us Apart," has been stolen from Macclesfield Cemetery in Cheshire, England. For all the biopics, documentaries, re-releases and ancillary merchandise, this is the kind of incident that makes it official: Ian Curtis is the new Jim Morrison. [BBC]

ZZ Top Is Rick Rubin's Latest High-Profile Comeback Production [American Recordings VI: The Velcro Fly]

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:00:00 EDT

ZZ Top! Of course! The trio will celebrate its 40th anniversary by herding into the studio with Rick Rubin later this year, after they wrap up a co-headlining tour with Brooks & Dunn. The band is aiming a sound more "La Grange" than "Sleeping Bag" (aw, can't they do both?), and Rick Rubin does seem the painfully obvious choice for a high-profile authenticity move. The band has also signed to Rubin's American Recordings, which heightens the prospect that its forthcoming album will get his full attention, rather than being one of eight projects he watches through a large telescope from inside his ashram. In recent years Rubin has worked with the Dixie Chicks, Linkin Park, Metallica, Weezer, U2, Kanye, Green Day, the dude from Semisonic... is there any respected figure in music that Rubin has yet to work with? I was able to come up with five who would be definite collaboration coups for both sides.

1. Paul McCartney
"Well, Paul... I think... we should go back... to Ram..."

2. Ian MacKaye
If the Evens ever break up, with Jeff Nelson not even in D.C., I'm sure the god of authenticity cash-ins would be happy to come down to Inner Ear and console Ian. "Maybe Henry... could fly in and join you... for some duets. I want to capture... your friendship."

3. Nickelback
"I want to hear... Canada... in you. I want to bring out... the Randy Bachman... in Nickelback."

4. Bruce Springsteen
They're both associated with Columbia, you know. And judging from Magic, the Boss could really use a fresh pair of ears. "Bruce... I only want... one song... about a motorcycle. But make it... definitive."

5. The Beastie Boys
Everyone's older, everyone's wiser, and the Beastie Boys clearly need help from somebody.

Plus, there's always Ray Stevens.

Exclusive: ZZ Top Signs To American Recordings [Billboard]
In The Studio With Rick Rubin And Ray Stevens [YouTube]

Young Jeezy Recalls Meeting With McCain, Compares Self To Obama [Thug Nomination 101]

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:30:00 EDT

I know what you're thinking: "Why should I care who Young Jeezy endorses more than any other groaning once and former coke dealer with a poor actual-rhyme-to-verse ratio?" But unlike Rick Ross (I presume), Jeezy actually met one of the presumed presidential nominees during a shared Saturday Night Live appearance. "John McCain is cool, but he looks like a fraud to me... I told him the 'hood was fucked up, and he was like, 'How you doing?' Real talk. They know entertainers, so they shake your hand [and say], 'I'm your friend.' But my mama is about to have surgery that I gotta pay for out of my pocket because she can't get insurance. I don't really feel McCain." Aw, but I'm sure McCain feels you, Mr. Snowman!

Don't think that Young Jeezy is going to vote for Barack Obama merely as an anti-Bush move. The main reason he supports the Democratic candidate is that he identifies with him.

"Barack, he has a lot of things going for him. He's ahead of his time. Given the right chance, he'll make some type of change. We'll feel it. I really feel that.

... It ain't just because Barack is black; he can make change. Just like Bush equals recession, Barack equals progression. I really feel that, all bullsh— aside. He's gotta come in and keep it right.

I be in the 'hood every day, and I motivate the thugs. [Barack] motivates me. To see somebody taking that extra mile ... like, 'OK, I can make some change.' That's how I felt when I got in the rap game. I felt I could make change. I did."

If we continue hearing priceless comparisons like this, I wouldn't be surprised if Trap Stars For Obama got a little Fox News screen time in the upcoming months.

Young Jeezy Gets Motivated By Obama [MTV]

I Beg Your Pardon, But The Time For A Response Song To An Old Pop Chestnut Is Long Overdue [Fantasy Music League]

Maura Johnston — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT

If a cheeky keyboard-driven outfit were to craft a peppy minor hit out of an 18-year-old soft-rock song, similar to the way the Canadian outfit Kon Kan transformed Lynn Anderson's "I Never Promised You A Rose Garden" into their U.S. top 20 track "I Beg Your Pardon," what song would you pick to be rescued from the pop history books? Feel free to ponder this question while noting the lyrical back-and-forth between the Kon Kan track and the Anderson song, which I've placed after the jump.

Come to think of it, the Plies/Ne-Yo song "Bust It Baby (Part 2)" samples Janet Jackson's 1990 song "Come Back To Me":

Even though my affection for Ne-Yo is well-documented around these parts, I'm looking for something a little... sassier, and more call-and-response (seriously, I thought the song was sampling an Anita Baker track for the first two months I knew about it). Like a remix of Kiss' "Forever" in which the singer is getting irritable with Paul Stanley's mealy-mouthed proclamations of fidelity. Or an answer song to the Glenn Medeiros/Bobby Brown duet "She Ain't Worth It":

Yes. Yes. Someone has to make my day and jump on "I'm Worth It '08" before it's time to turn the pop-song calendar year to 2009. Just don't let Bobby know, otherwise he might try to horn in on the recording sessions.

Kon Kan - I Beg Your Pardon [YouTube]
Rose Garden (Lynn Anderson) [YouTube]
Plies - Bust It Baby Part 2 [featuring Neyo] [YouTube]
Glenn Medeiros and Bobby Brown - She Ain't Worth It [YouTube]

The Music Industry Is Just Fine... For Rock Bands Whose Members Are Younger Than 20 [Teenage Kix]

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:45:00 EDT

Thanks to teenage acts' obvious appeal to young audiences, not to mention underage performers' understandable gullibility and relative lack of pretension, more of the music industry is following Disney's lead and putting more people who aren't old enough to vote on stage. Variety has the story of Drive A, a group that sounds like a hard-rock Hanson (riffs plus pubescent vocals). While labels are ready to sign these kids faster than you could say "Mmmbop," the Malibu band has yet to sign to a major, as they (or their handlers, label or no, teenage bands don't play the Royal Albert Hall without a bigwig manager) aren't exactly sure what the label would do for them. Plus, they'd rather play the Warped Tour than star in Camp Rock 2: The Legend Of Joe Jonas' Gold.

"It's really cool, but if you're going for longetivity, maybe it's not the best way to go," says Drive A's 16-year-old bass player Ashton Moio. "You end up getting overexposed before you have a solid fan base. People start to associate the band with a TV show and when the show is gone, you kind of forget about the band, too."

Lead singer and guitarist Bruno Mascolo agrees: "In a year we'd all be like, I wish we hadn't done that."

Make that "a couple of years," adds Moio, because "in a year we'd all have Lamborghinis and stuff. Maybe in 10 years I'd regret it."

Turning down that kind of exposure may be surprising for an up-and-coming band. But talent managers applaud the move.

As long as it's about the music, the added exposure that comes from TV is a bonus, says [William Morris music agent Julie] Colbert, who cautions, "The minute you start acting, you're making a career choice."

But that doesn't mean you can't take advantage of Rock Band the way underage metal band Crooked X has!

Crooked X, a heavy metal band made up of 14-year-olds and signed by William Morris last year, have a song featured on the soundtrack for MTV's popular "Rock Band" vidgame. Because of that deal, MTV is now developing a reality show around the band.

The music in games "are imprinted on everyone's brain," says Drive A's 17-year-old Jason Nott, who sings and plays rhythm guitar. "If you're hearing it all the time, you're curious who it is. It also doesn't seem like it's selling out."

Whether or not the current wave of teenpop is a passing fad, labels may increasingly have little desire to sign people old enough to drink, what with their desire to either just please their cults on the company dime or celebrate massive success by growing facial hair and recording with Brian Eno in Jamaica for six months. Because unlike fogies like Panic At The Disco, sprats like these are just happy to rock out.

Young Bands Drawn To Sirens' Song [Variety]
Drive A In London [YouTube]
CROOKED X!!! Rock and Roll Dream [YouTube]

Capitol's Famous Echo Chambers Endangered By Condo Construction [Capitol Hell]

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:15:00 EDT

Below the Capitol Records Building in Hollywood are several legendary echo chambers that have played host to the sonic output of artists ranging from Frank Sinatra to the Beach Boys to Green Day. But the allegedly magical, irreplaceable sound of Capitol Studios may be lost forever, thanks to the construction of a 16-story condominium/office building—complete with underground garage—next door. While Second Street Ventures, the group responsible for the construction, swears they'll do everything they can to preserve the studio's fabled ambiance, both Capitol and audio perfectionists like Jon Brion and Geoff Emerick are not pleased by the prospect of this piece of living history (which is currently used to record American Idol MP3s and orchestral Dido performances) being lost forever.

A Los Angeles City Council committee recently denied an appeal by Capitol parent EMI Music North America and recommended approval of the project, contingent on a series of additional measures — including construction walls and a foam barrier — to mitigate potential sound issues. Capitol had worked out the measures with developer Second Street Ventures as a backup plan, though still opposes the project.

"Capitol Records' executives are reluctant to keep open the recording studios and echo chambers if they run the risk of lawsuits from recording artists and their record labels," EMI's attorney John Whitaker said at the hearing.

David Jordon, co-owner of Second Street Ventures, said he felt confident that the measures would protect Capitol Studios' signature sound.

"We have no desire to create any negativity toward Capitol Records," he said. "Our design is to enhance and protect this iconic building and the area around it. From a personal standpoint, we wouldn't want that kind of liability."

Jordon maintains that his company is only looking to do loud excavation and demolition from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. He also says there would be an emphasis on "open and constant communication" with Capitol, including an onsite attendant every day. Discussions continue regarding compensation to Capitol if recording sessions are affected, he said.

The full council is set to give a final vote on the proposal July 8 in a session that could attract the many music industry insiders who oppose the project — from engineers to The Recording Academy.

Hey, take heart. ProTools or some other tech company must be working on a "Capitol Studios Echo Chamber" button right now. Right?

Famed Capitol studios fear neighbor's bad vibes [AP]