Blender is the Shit

Before last month, I had been a subscriber to Rolling Stone for about 6 years. The last 3 years I was fed up with it, but figured why not? It's only $12 to renew 2 years. I finally realized that you couldn't get me to re-subscribe for free. Seeing another issue of 50 greatest albums/guitarists/songwriters/album art/etc was enough to drive me to a mental institute. That, and the maganzine is one big ad to keep Wenner Media afloat (and Us Weekly of course).

There is good news. During my subscription of discontent, I discovered and fell in love with Blender magazine. Whereas Rolling Stone constantly regurgitates classic rock for fogies, Blender offers a cool perspective on both the old and the new. Their articles are more interesting, and have a humorous element. For instance, this is an article countdown you must read. "50 Worst Things Ever to Happen to Music."

35. Van Halen fire David Lee Roth
34. Van Halen hire Sammy Hagar
33. Van Halen fire Sammy Hagar
32. Van Halen hire Gary Cherone

Super Mario

In a talent show, this guy decided to act out the first level of Super Mario Bros. He decided to take the tunnel with the coins instead of going for the 1up. But hey, we're not splitting hairs here. The performance is brilliant and well-executed.



(via CNet)

Neil Young

Stream the new Neil Young album.

D-Day: Alternative Observance

June 6, 1944 was the day allied forces stepped ashore at Normandy to invade Nazi-held France. But this year, there is an alternaive observance for D-Day...

...NATIONAL DAY OF SLAYER (6/6/06)

Official Statement on Participation

Listen to Slayer at full blast in your car.
Listen to Slayer at full blast in your home.
Listen to Slayer at full blast at your place of employment.
Listen to Slayer at full blast in any public place you prefer.
DO NOT use headphones! The objective of this day is for everyone within earshot to understand that it is the National Day of Slayer. National holidays in America aren't just about celebrating; they're about forcing it upon non-participants.

Canuck

In general, I'm a huge proponent of ripping on Canada. So this ad campaign struck me as quite humorous. Enjoy.

Beans

Beans, Beans, they're good for your heart. The more you eat, the more you fart. The more you fart, the better you feel. So eat your beans at every meal.

Well, not if these Venezuelan scientists have anything to say about it. Apparently, they've identified two bacteria that may be added to beans to reduce flatulence. And here I always thought the best part of beans was the gas. Yours truly, 24 with a mental age of 12.

They identified two bacteria, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, which can be added to beans so they cause minimal distress to those who eat them, and to those around the bean-lovers, Marisela Granito of Simon Bolivar University in Caracas, Venezuela and colleagues reported.

(via CNN, I'm not sure how this qualifies as headline fodder, but okay.)

Show Us the Way

Frampton is set to return with Fingerprint, an all-instrumental album, in September. Sorry dude, no matter how hard you try you will never escape the shadow of Frampton Comes Alive. With that, here is the obligatory Wayne's World quote: "Exqueese me? Have I seen this one before? "Frampton Comes Alive"? Everybody in the world has Frampton Comes Alive. If you lived in the suburbs you were issued it. It came in the mail with samples of "Tide". "Fingerprint" features an array of guests, including Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready and drummer Matt Cameron on an original song, "Blowing Smoke," as well as a cover of a well-known 1990s rock hit which Frampton declined to reveal. Other contributions were turned in by guitarist Warren Haynes and the Shadows' Hank Marvin and Brian Bennett. "If I couldn't have gotten the Shadows, I would have done a Shadows number myself, because they're the reason I'm standing here talking to you," Frampton says of the long-running U.K.-based instrumental rock outfit. (via Billboard)

How Old Am I?

I feel like this conversation could've been in Dumb and Dumber after, "You can't triple stamp a double stamp LLoyd."

Me: alright well steve is prob coming too
Me: no
Mike: yes
Me: no
Mike: yes
Me: no
Mike: yes infinite
Me: no
Mike: impossible
Me: you lose
Mike: no way
Me: you spelled infinity wrong
Me: ergo you lose
Mike: i infanitized my yes's......dick
Me: not if you cant spell it right

Over

Finally, real food again. BREAD and BEER!

DLR Canned

The logical follow up to my last DLR post is this one, in which Mr. Roth will be ousted from his CBS gig. Like him or not, he's gone. I feel that CBS should have invested more time into the show. You can't expect to replace Stern with equal results in less than three months. Roth still needed to nurture his role more. Oh well.

In a strange twist, Infinity will be licensing Opie & Anthony's show from XM in seven of its markets, including NYC.

David Lee Roth's short-lived radio CBS morning show stint will come to a screeching halt within a few weeks, sources say. In one of the first satellite-to-terrestrial radio syndication deals, XM Satellite Radio has an agreement in place to license its Opie & Anthony Show to CBS Radio as a replacement for Roth in seven markets.

Opie and Anthony will air on all seven stations where Roth replaced Howard Stern in January: WFNY New York, WYSP Philadelphia, WBCN Boston, KLLI Dallas, WNCX Cleveland, WRKZ Pittsburgh and WPBZ West Palm Beach.

(via Billboard)

Iggy's Back

Roll over Jake and Elwood, Iggy's getting the band back together. Hail the Stooges.

Punk icon Iggy Pop has been holed up in "a little cottage in the boonies on a little river" in Florida writing music with his old band the Stooges. The as-yet-untitled set, the legendary rock act's first since 1973, is due out next year via Virgin and will be produced by Steve Albini. It will also feature several tracks produced by Jack White (White Stripes, Raconteurs).

The Stooges will also embark on their first full-blown reunion tour, having previously focused on the festival circuit and one-offs since reassembling in 2003. At deadline, the lone date confirmed is an appearance in December at the U.K.'s Nightmare Before Christmas festival, which will be curated by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore.

I don't usually think too highly of washed up rock luminaries putting out new records. But contrary to my own beliefs, I wholeheartedly think that this album will rock out. The godfathers of punk still have relevance in today's music, and Iggy's still got it. Plus you can't go wrong with Steve Albini on the boards. But I'll have to wait until next year to see if I can prove myself wrong.

(via Billboard)

VR Experiments

I was a bit caught off guard when I learned that hip hop producer Pharrell was going to team up with Velvet Revolver. Rap-rock collaborations have been commonplace ever since Run DMC broke new ground with Aerosmith. Somehow I get the feeling that Pharrell may do more harm than good. Is it fair for me to say that? I mean, after all, people probably thought the same thing when "Walk this Way" was mashed up. I'm sticking to my opinion..(FMQB)

Earlier this month, it was revealed that Velvet Revolver is working with Hip-Hop super-producer Pharrell Williams on material for their next album. Now the band says that they hope to stretch out and expand their sound on their sophomore effort, tentatively titled Libertide. Drummer Matt Sorum tells Rolling Stone, "The first one was definitely a rocking, punky, bashing record. We really want to make a deeper album this time. The other record was more of a collaboration -- now we want to see what everyone brings to the table on their own. It's cool when people come in with an idea without the usual collaborators, 'cause it can totally spark."

Sorum added that he and Duff McKagan have been "writing a lot of riffs on the road, messing around with all kinds of different grooves, listening to Prince, tripping on stuff." Frontman Scott Weiland says that, "We have about 50 songs. We have to whittle it down, record 20 and then pick about 16." Velvet Revolver hope to have a new single on the airwaves by the end of the summer.

Jack & Coke - Update

Coke commercial featuring Jack White composition is now available.

Goths

This study found a higher suicide and self-mutilation rate among teens belonging to the "gothic" subculture. But you didn't need this study to confirm your already morbid stereotypes. Also, remember that just because there is a higher incidence among this group, does not imply that all goths mutilate or kill themselves.

Their definition of goth (albeit quite hilarious):

Goth is a subgenre of punk culture characterized by "a dark and sinister aesthetic, with aficionados conspicuous by their range of distinctive clothing and makeup and tastes in music,"

Yeah, somehow aficionados has the wrong connotation for this context.

D.L. Roth Sucks Hard

It appears that following Stern, radio's own rock star for the last two decades, is more difficult for the fast-talking Roth than staying on estranged bandmate Eddie Van Halen's Christmas card list.

Great quote. Terrible show.

I miss the original lineup of Van Halen. Sammy Hagar completely "pussified" the band. His only good songs were "Human's Being" and "Right Now". Other than that, he's pretty useless.

Beatles to Go Digital!

If there's one thing people know about me, it's that I'm a Beatles maniac. So I was quite surprised when I read this morning that soon enough the Fab Four will offer their catalog to dowloading services. Though this move is a watershed event, I am somewhat disappointed. I always thought the Beatles music is too good for the download treatment. And because the Beatles pretty much invented the concept album, the music needs to be consumed as such, rather than single downloads. How can one fully grasp the themes running through Rubber Soul or Sgt. Pepper without listening in its entirety? And so now a whole new generation of fans will identify predominantly their hit songs and not the albums on which they appear.

Read the article.

Back in Black (sort of)

My apologies for being MIA the past few weeks. Things have been quite busy as I'm gearing up to move into NYC. I didn't think anyone would care because my readership is so tiny to begin with anyway. But that's neither here nor there.

For all my Jewish readers, here is a festive slice of greatness. Follow the link.