Grizzly Bear Multi-Instrumentalist (Isn’t That How You’d Have To Describe Every Member Of Grizzly Bear?) Chris Taylor Releases First Solo Single As CANT, Called “Ghosts;” Stream It Here – Sounds Like Yellow House [Gorilla vs. Bear]
Pavement Drummer Bob Nastovich Says There Will Be No New Material During Next Year’s Reunion Tour; Somehow, Nastovich Manages To Come Off As Apathetic As a 15 Year Old Pavement Fan Circa 1996 [The Quietus]
Watch Sonic Youth’s Gossip Girl Cameo; My Reaction: “OHGODMYEYES I’VEBEENWATCHINGGOSSIPGIRLFORLIKEAMINUTENOW— Phew, Sonic Youth is On” [Videogum]
Broken Social Scene and Stars To Play 2010 Vancouver Olympics; International Musicians Like Wilco (HA!) and Iron & Wine (HAHA!) Also On the Bill – U.S. and Canada Being Independent Nations Realized For First Time; In Canada, Wilco = Exotic [Stereogum]
Watch Grizzly Bear and Beach House’s Victoria Legrand Perform “Two Weeks” Live on Conan; Legrand, Who Usually Causes Me To Become Temporarily Narcaleptic, Sounds Amazing [Pitchfork]
Tom Waits Announces Live Album Documenting Last Year’s “Glitter and Doom” Tour; First Disc: 16 Tracks. Second Disc: An Hour of Edited Together “Between Song” Banter, Which, Knowing Waits, Will Be Incredibly Unsettling; Released November 24 [NME]
Pete Doherty Hospitalized With Breathing Problems; Cancels Irish tour – Coincidentally, Heroin Causes Physical Damage [Prefix]
So You Already Own Some of Elvis’s Hair, But Want To Complete The “King of…” Collection? Well, Have a Single £1,000 Strand of Michael Jackson’s Hair. Elsewhere, I Stalk “King of Country” George Strait Around With a Pair of Scissors, Hoping to Retire Early [Idolator]
Stream Outkast’s (Better?) Hal Big Boi’s “Shine Blockas;” The Uber-Anticipated Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Song of Chico Dusty To Be Released Sometime This Year (Will Detox Be The Only Uber-Anticpated Rap Album Left Standing By the End of 2009? (Yes)) [Gorilla vs. Bear]
compiled by Max Sebela
Dickie Peterson, Bassist and Lead Singer of Foundational Metal Band Blue Cheer, Passes Away at 61 [Brooklyn Vegan]
Stream Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’s Bleak Theme From the Film Adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road; No Words, Just Grandiose Post-Apocalyptic Meandering [Gorilla vs. Bear]
Sufjan Stevens Is Going Through Serious Soul Searching, Questioning Point of Both The Song and The Album, Seems Loaded With Melancholia (In Other Words, Sufjan Stevens Feeling Exactly Like Sufjan Stevens) [Vish Khanna]
Stream “This Is It,” a Posthumous Michael Jackson Recording Featured in the Upcoming Jackson Documentary This Is It; “This Is It” and This Is It Making Good Case For This Not Really Being It, Unless “It” Is Mediocre Jackson Material [Pitchfork]
Musicians Come Together In London In Debate On Future of the Music Industry – While Everyone Familiar With Daft Punk Know They Have Already Figured It Out: Become Robots [NME]
Stream New Brooklyn Fuck-Core (Yeah, I Just Invented That Genre) Giants Lightning Bolt, “Flooded Chamber” – A Tribal, Ecstatic Blitzkrieg of Sound and Drums, Which I’m Pretty Sure Samples Radiohead’s “Pact Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box” at The Beginning; Garden of Earthly Delights Released Tomorrow [Stereogum]
Stream New Fall Out Boy, “Alpha Dog” – Which Is a Hilarious Amalgamation of Overproduced Cock-Pop, and Gang Vocals That Slightly Resemble The Bee Gees; Elsewhere, My Readership Confused As To Why I Post New Fall Out Boy Song [Idolator]
I Like Elvis, But Not Enough To Dig Up His Body or Anything Weird Like That…Hmm…How Can I Show My Love For The King? I Know! I’ll Buy His Hair! (Yes, This is Real) [The Tripwire]
Stream Burial (That UK Dub-Guy Who…You Know, Everyone Loves) and Flying Lotus (That L.A. Glitch-Guy Who…You Know, Everyone Is Sort of Indifferent Towards) Collaboration; As Such, Track Is Sort of Unremarkable [Gorilla vs. Bear]
compiled by Max Sebela
Stream New Almighty Defenders Track (That Doo-Wop Supergroup Consisting of Black Lips, King Khan, and BBQ Show) “Bow Down and Die” (Or Better Yet, Stream This One…It’s Better); The Almighty Defenders Released September 22 [Brooklyn Vegan]
Watch 45-Second Clip of Michael Jackson Staging “Human Nature” For The Ill-Fated “This is It” Tour; Jackson Documentary This Is It Released October 28 [Idolator]
Stream Clips From Bob Dylan’s (Who, Let’s Remember, Is Jewish) Upcoming Christmas Album; Feel Unsettled As Dylan Leads You Through the Yuletide Season With The Voice of a Buzzsaw, Harmonies of Yore, and a Christmas Polka; Christmas in the Heart Released October 13 [Youtube]
Legendary Singer-Songwriter Leonard Cohen Collapses On Stage, Allegedly Due to Food Poisoning – Recovering Fine, Resuming World Tour Tonight [Pitchfork]
Stream New Devendra Banhart Song “Baby”…Then Feel Disappointed, Because “Baby” Is A Pretty Shitty Song, Then Grow Confused Figuring Out Why Banhart Went Funk, Then Turn Song Off and Do Something Else; What Will We Be Released October 27 [Pitchfork]
Pavement’s Scott Kannberg, Better Known As Spiral Stairs, Announces Solo Album, The Real Feel (Stream The First Track); Released October 20. Elsewhere, Did You All Hear Pavement Reunited? Yeah, That One Went Under the Radar [Brooklyn Vegan]
Watch Jack White “Pull A Kanye” – Interrupting White Stripes Documentary Director Emmett Malloy, Saying “I’mma Let You Finish, But Orson Welles Had One of The Great—,“ Jack, I’mma Let You Finish, But I’mmaLetYouFinish.com Has Some of The Best “I’mma Let You Finish”-es Of All Time [Spin]
Stream New T-Pain Track “Dope,” Recorded Without Autotune; In Other News, T-Pain Shouldn’t Record Songs Without Autotune [Prefix]
Jay Z Feels Rappers Are “The Poets of Our Generation,” Leaving Poets of Our Generation Confused As To What They Are (Perhaps Jewelers? Handymen? Cobblers?) [NME]
compiled by Max Sebela
Stream Shoegaze-y New Panda Bear Track, Performed Live This Weekend At All Tomorrow’s Parties NY (Warning: Recording Is Incredibly Janky, For Lack of a Better Word) [Gorilla vs. Bear]
Watch Kanye West Completely Ruin Taylor Swift’s “Best Female Video” VMA Win, Believes “Single Ladies” Best Video of Decade; Elsewhere, Kanye Apologizes (Sort Of: “I AM VERY HAPPY FOR TAYLOR” Followed By: “I GAVE MY AWARDS TO OUTKAST WHEN THEY DESERVED IT OVER ME”) [Entertainment Weekly]
Stream Death Cab for Cutie Song For Twilight Sequel New Moon, “Meet Me on the Equinox” (MTV Calls It “Perfect” Accompaniment For the Upcoming Film; MTV Correct: It Sucks) [MTV]
Watch Trailer For Documentary On Michael Jackson’s Last Planned Tour, This Is It (From The Look of It, Film Features Less Emotive Footage of Jackson’s Last Days; More Dancing and Pyrotechnics) [Prefix]
Former Rolling Stones Guitarist Mick Taylor Broke As Hell; Meanwhile, Keith Richards Sleeps On Seemingly Bottomless Pile of Gold, Cocaine, and Mickey Mantle Rookie Cards [Prefix]
Jim Carroll, “Basketball Diaries” Author, Punk Frontman of The Jim Carroll Band, Passes Away at 60 [New York Times]
Atlanta Psych-Artists Deerhunter Announce Hiatus “For A Long Time”(Boo-Hiss); Frontman Bradford Cox Releases Atlas Sound LP Logos October 20 [Spinner]
Stream Dutch DJ Tiësto Track “Kaleidoscope” Featuring Sigur Rós Frontman Jónsi Birgisson, Kaleidoscope Released October 20 [Pitchfork]
Stream Toro y Moi Remix of Blog-Loved Washed Out Single “Feel it All Around;” – Not For Those With General Propensity To Feel Sadness/Regularly Tear Up At Brand New’s “Soco Amaretto Lime” [Gorilla vs. Bear]
Ohio Blues Duo The Black Keys Announce Hip-Hop Sideproject Blakroc; Blakroc Released November 27 (And Features Raekwon, Q-Tip, and Mos Def…Stream First Track [NME]
compiled by Max Sebela
Michael Jackson’s Death Officially Ruled Homicide [Rolling Stone]
Official Nirvana Live At Reading CD/DVD Due Out November 3 [Pitchfork]
The Doors’ Final Four New York Concerts To Be Released In Six-Disc Set [Rolling Stone]
Those Metallica Copycats Weezer Get Their Own Web Radio Station [The Tripwire]
Get The Deets On New Beck/Charlotte Gainsbourg Album [Pitchfork]
Blackalicious’ Gift Of Gab To Drop Solo LP, Escape to Mars [Pitchfork]
Watch Live Set From The Dodos [Stereogum]
Listen To Previously Undiscovered Elliott Smith Song, “Grand Mal” [Pitchfork]
And, For Something To Think About After An Unusually Pitchfork-Heavy News Day: Buddyhead Gives Pitchfork’s “Top 500 Tracks Of The 2000s” A 0.0 [Prefix]
compiled by Erin Sheehy
So It’s Actually Coming Out: Wu-Tang Member Raekwon To Play Two Nights At Manhattan’s Santos Party House To Celebrate The Long Anticipated Release of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II [Brooklyn Vegan]
Watch A Ridiculously Shoddy Video of “Michael Jackson” Allegedly Still Alive, Entering The Coroner’s Office…Tupac, Biggie, John Hughes, Andy Kaufman, and Jesus All Sighted on the Premises As Well [Idolator]
The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby” Scribe Ellie Greenwich Passes Away At 68 [Pitchfork]
Watch Goth Legend Bauhaus’s Peter Murphy Join Nine Inch Nails On Stage At NIN’s Farewell Show At New York’s Terminal 5 [Spin]
The Who’s Pete Townshend Announces A New Rock Opera Floss, Along With A New Who Album To Be Released Sometime In 2010 – Floss Is About A Bar Musician, Who The Who Couldn’t Have Possibly Related To In Like 20 Years [NME]
Noisy Brooklynites Gang Gang Dance’s Drummer Jesse Lee Attacked By Security At Belgium’s Pukkelpop Festival [Brooklyn Vegan]
Former Hüsker Dü Drummer Grant Heart Readies His First Solo Album In A Decade (Sidenote: Hell Yeah!); Hot Wax Released October 6 [Prefix]
UK Extravaganza, The Reading And Leeds Festival, Announces They Will Have Zero Tolerance Toward Crowd Surfing (Read: Fun) [Prefix]
Watch Rapper Lil Wayne’s Pro School PSA; The Sentiment Good…The Ad (And Trying To Consider The “Syrup” Addicted, Face Tattooed Lil Wayne A Role Model) Confusing [Videogum]
Stream The Second Song Of The Bon Iver/Collections of Colonies of Bees Collaboration Volcano Choir, “Youlogy” (It’s Dark, Brooding, And Decidedly Boring); Unmap Released September 22 [NPR]
compiled by Max Sebela
Annual New York Music Film Extravaganza CMJ Announces Initial Line-Up: Atlas Sound, Cymbals Eat Guitars, and The Antlers All Confirmed (Man, I Wish That Was Just One Showcase); CMJ Runs October 20-24 [Brooklyn Vegan]
Black Eyed Peas Set New Record For Most Consecutive Weeks As Number One Single; Music Fans Confused As To Who Exactly Has Been Listening To The Black Eyed Peas [NME]
German Electronic Pioneers Kraftwerk To Release Epic 8-Disc Box Set, With Not So Epic 8-Bit Artwork [Pitchfork]
Michael Jackson’s Doctor And Dermatologist To Be Charged With Manslaughter According To…Err…Fox News? [NME]
Patrick Wolf Apologizes For Stage Freakout; More Importantly, Video Of Freakout Remains Mildly Humorous [Pitchfork]
Stream Danish Shoegazers Mew’s New Album, No More Stories…, (Just a Little) Early; Released August 24 [NME]
Banned And Unflattering 1972 Rolling Stones Documentary Cocksucker Blues Streaming On Internet – See Mick Jagger and Keith Richards Come Off As Assholes BEFORE That Was Obvious Upon Seconds of Exposure! [Prefix]
Southern Rap Pioneers OutKast’s Big Boi Announces New Solo LP, Sir Luscious Leftfoot: Son of Chico Dusty (Uhh..Awesome); Will Be Released “In A Few Months” [The Tripwire]
compiled by Max Sebela
August 16, 2009
Rolling In The Grave: “Billie Jean Dream”
NOT ROCK
Upon learning of Michael Jackson’s death, unfortunate as it may be, many vendors quickly went into the production of printing MJ t-shirts and framed photographs, attempting to cash-in on the tragedy. But who would’ve thought the has-been hip-hop artist LL Cool J would take part in these shenanigans, albeit in the most ridiculous of ways?
On August, 10, LL (not so?) Cool J dubbed over “Billie Jean” with a bunch of recycled lyrics, referencing the unflattering legacies of Jackson’s life. It’s not uncommon for musicians to pay homage to the deceased, and that has been happening for Jacko, but Cool J’s off-the-mark song is horrible.
The first of many issues with “Billie Jean Dream” is the motive. Cool J says that Jackson visited him in a dream, and delivered these lyrics; they are Jackson’s own words. He woke up and scribbled them down. I call bullshit. He woke up with dollar signs in his pupils. If Cool was trying to properly honor the King of Pop, he should’ve taken the extra time – compose some fresh beats, pinpoint his glory days, or even write an original chorus.
“Billie Jean Dream” opens with lyrics referencing Jackson’s iced-out Bentley and his purchase of the Beatles’ music catalogue, “Tell Paul to chill.” Really?! Doesn’t Cool J realize this was not a glory moment for Jackson? He goes onto to rap about all the millions “he’s” made, drinking merlot, and “There’s no sons on my lap/ the king wears a crown not a Santa Claus hat.” What does that even mean? The chorus is a regurgitated line from LL, “Something like a phenomenon,” repeated way too many times, then something about “Boom dizzle,” followed by, “Take a look at my sounds and fix your face/ I’ll do what I want, I’m the king/ I’ll put my nose on my chest if I want to.”
“Michael Jackson wrote that for me in a dream,” he claims. Yup, that really sounds like something the ever-passive Jackson would’ve said.
I think LL is either on too many drugs, completely delusional, and/or most definitely full of it. Not once does the song adhere to Jackson’s legacy outside of his copious amounts of money. Wow, LL, I guess the only thing you got going for you are your looks.
Song after the jump.
by Genette Nowak
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