Holy Shitizzle! Snoop Dogg Named New Creative Chairman of EMI Music’s Priority Records
When you’re an internationally famous hip-hop star that was just named Creative Chairman of EMI Music’s Priority Records, what do you do as your first task on the job? If you’re Snoop Dogg, you promote your own upcoming album, duh! With Snoop at the helm, Priority Records’ next release will be his new studio album, Malice N Wonderland, due out this December.
Priority Records made a name for itself by becoming a major force in the West Coast Rap scene of the 80s and 90s. Snoop will be in charge of relaunching “the legacy of Priority and will drive efforts to maximize untapped digital and branding opportunities at the label,” according to the press release. All of which basically means that the Priority label execs are catching onto this whole internet marketing phenomenon thing (omgz Twitter is totes exciting!). Snoop will also be an executive producer for a new series of Priority releases that are due out next year commemorating the label’s 25th anniversary.
Of course, no story about Snoop Dogg is finished without a direct quote from the Dogg Father himself. From the press release:
Starting fresh with EMI is a great feeling. It's a new partnership, a new Priority Records, and a new Snoop Dogg: the Creative Chairman... the Boss Dogg... the Dogg Father. The business model we've developed will bring the musical heritage of groups like N.W.A. to the forefront. And you definitely got to get ready for my new album Malice N Wonderland in December to kick it all off -- this is going to be the most potent dose of Snoop Dogg yet!
Pavement Reunion? Sure, I Could Definitely Fuck with Some Pavement Reunion.
Here's the question of the moment, the inquiry of the indie rock zeitgeist, the preoccupation of the "slacker generation": When the fudge is Pavement reuniting?? Earlier today, no one seemed to know. Anderson Cooper didn't know. Greg Kot didn't know. Kurt Cobain's avatar didn't know. Not even Ryan Schreiber™ knew. But all that changed at 7:35 PM, when Brooklyn Vegan and its "reliable sources" seemed to know:
There will be multiple, possibly four, nights of shows at NYC's Central Park Summerstage in September [2010]. That could be part of a tour. That could be the end of a tour, the middle of a tour, or even the beginning of a tour, but it seems reasonable to speculate that they might make their official comeback at Coachella in April.It's also time to start guessing who might be the big curator of September 2010's ATP NY festival (the job Flaming Lips had this year, and My Bloody Valentine the year before that). Might as well put Pavement high on the list of possibilities for that too.
A rumor and speculation? Wowee Zowee! Obviously, the rumor is unconfirmed, but does anyone else feel like releasing some cream of gold from your slanted and enchanted carrot rope?
Nobunny Goes On Tour, Everybody Goes As Nobunny For Halloween
I’m calling it now: Nobunny will be the hot Halloween costume of 2009. Just like how there were no less than eight Jokers at your party last year, you’ll be seeing dozens of dudes with scary bunny masks and no pants this time around. Sales for creepy rabbit masks will skyrocket in a way they haven’t since Donnie Darko first came out.
But why all the Nobunny fever? Because the fluffy-tailed garage rocker is going on tour, that’s why! The guy is hitting the road for the next two months, appropriately wrapping up the tour on Halloween, where he will surely stare back at a crowd of himself. Some of the dates will be in support of his brother-in-scuzzy-arms, Jay Reatard. Love Visions vs. Blood Visions: the ultimate showdown!
Speaking of Love Visions, Nobunny will follow up that 2008 debut with a new record on Goner Records in the first half of 2010. The new album is tentatively titled ONO, which is what you’ll yell when you find some sucker wearing the same costume as you this ‘Ween.
Nobunny loves tour:
09.17.09 - Las Vegas, NV - Boomer’s
09.18.09 - Flagstaff, AZ - TBA
09.19.09 - Phoenix, AZ - Trunk Space
09.20.09 - Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
09.21.09 - El Paso, NM - TBA
09.22.09 - Austin, TX - Mohawk
09.23.09 - Denton, TX - Mable Peabody's
09.24.09 - Memphis, TN - Gonerfest 6
09.28.09 - Chicago, Il - The Empty Bottle *
09.29.09 - Toronto, ON - The Reverb *
09.30.09 - Montreal, QC - La Sala Rossa *
10.01.09 - New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge *
10.02.09 - Boston, MA - Harper’s Ferry *
10.03.09 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar *
10.11.09 - Valencia, Spain - Funtastic Dracula Carnival ^
10.13.09 - Stockholm, Sweden - Vielle Montage ^
10.14.09 - Oslo, Norway - Funhouse ^
10.15.09 - Berlin, Germany - Cortina Bombs ^
10.16.09 - Brussels, Belgium - Brasserie Bellevue ^
10.17.09 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Pacific Parc ^
10.19.09 - San Francisco, CA - The Great American *
10.20.09 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah *
10.21.09 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey *
10.24.09 - San Francisco, CA - Budget Rock 8
10.30.09 - San Francisco, CA - The Hemlock Tavern
10.31.09 - Spookland, CA - Super Secret Scary Show (details TBA)
* Jay Reatard
^ The Okmoniks and Rock n’ Roll Adventure Kids
Last.fm to Launch as Broadcast Stations in Four Markets
CBS Interactive Music Group, owners of Last.fm, feel that you poor souls are missing out on some totally awesome HD Radio. Starting October 5, the Last.fm station will be “multicast on CBS's high-definition radio channels in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco-as well as streamed on CBS Radio's website-as a programmed channel,” according to Billboard.
Listeners will discover the delights of Last.fm’s user-generated weekly charts, which will provide part of the playlist mixed with interviews and live performances. Sat Bisla, the man behind A&R Worldwide and the MUSEXPO Conference in Los Angeles, will host the station’s flagship program, “Last.fm Discovers,” featuring new music and artist interviews.
Times New Viking Will Make Simple Things Really Loud All Across America on Their Fall Tour; Also They Will Release a New Record This Month; Yes, It Will Be Loud, Too
Gee whiz, pop music used to be so nice before Times New Viking had to go off and make it so damn loud and raunchy. I mean, I bet they’re really nice boys/girl, but golly folks, I have to use my ears all day at my job! My job at Crunkmatics Car Stereo Concepts! Where my cochlea gets so rattled from bass beats all day that it’s like there’s an Escalade bouncing on a trampoline in my skull! When I come home, all I want to do is kiss my parakeets, draw a nice cold bath, and pretend I had children who actually give a damn about their father, but every time I try it’s always Times New Viking on the radio, pounding my poor eardrums all over again. So please, on your upcoming tour and new album , titled Born Again Revisited and out on September 22 on Matador, just try to keep down the damn racket, you crazy kids!
10.14.09 - Columbus, OH - The Summit
10.15.09 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
10.16.09 - Urbana, IL - The Courtyard Cafe
10.17.09 - Grinnell, IA - Grinnell College
10.18.09 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th St Entry
10.19.09 - Fargo, ND - The Aquarium
10.22.09 - Seattle, WA - Vera Project
10.23.09 - Olympia, WA - The Northern
10.24.09 - Portland, OR - Berbati’s Pan
10.29.09 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
10.30.09 - Santa Cruz, CA - Crepe Place
11.01.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex (Part Time Punks)
11.03.09 - Phoenix, AZ - Modified Arts
11.06.09 - Dallas, TX - The Lounge on Elm St
11.07.09 - Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fun Fest
11.09.09 - Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone
11.11.09 - Birmingham, AL - Bottletree
11.12.09 - Atlanta, GA - Star Bar
11.13.09 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
11.14.09 - Baltimore, MD - Otto Bar
11.15.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Kung Fu Necktie
11.18.09 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
11.19.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Union Pool
11.20.09 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell’s
11.21.09 - Boston, MA - Great Scott
RIP: Pierre Cossette, producer and agent, best known for bringing Grammys to TV
From Rolling Stone:
Pierre Cossette, a talent agent and producer who in 1971 convinced reluctant television executives to broadcast the Grammy Awards as a glittery live event, died on Friday in Montreal. He was 85.Mr. Cossette had an extensive career behind the scenes of the entertainment business, booking stars like Ann-Margret and Frank Sinatra for hotel engagements in Las Vegas and elsewhere; serving as a personal manager to Andy Williams, Vic Damone and Anna Maria Alberghetti; helping start Dunhill Records, home of the Mamas and the Papas; and producing Tony Award-winning shows on Broadway.
Yet he was best known as the man who brought the Grammys to television.
UK Musicians Come Out Against Punishing File-Sharers
The British government has recently attempted to punish “Soccer Moms” and six-year-old girls, so it’s about time they started going for the real criminals: dastardly file-sharers. Over the summer, the government has explored various possibilities for punishing file-sharers, such as throttling broadband speeds or blocking access to download sites. The music industry has been egging them on in this regard with UK Music, an umbrella body representing the British music industry, saying it was "pleased that government is proposing accelerated and proportionate action to meet their stated ambition of reducing illegal file-sharing.”
Unfortunately for label executives, however, the people who actually make them money have pleaded with the government to not punish file-sharers. Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien, a member of the Featured Artists' Coalition (FAC), said: "It's going to start a war which they'll never win." This was backed up by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors who’s Chief Executive, Patrick Rackow, argued "The industry has to look forwards, not backwards. There is a huge problem here and we've got to find a solution to it. I don't know what this solution is, I don't think anyone does. There are more positive ways of dealing with this without totally upsetting your consumers." Quite.
DOOM to Release Unexpected Guests Compilation in October; Ghostface, Talib Kweli, Jake One, Masta Killa Appear
I have good and bad news.
The good news? On the Tuesday before Halloween, DOOM will release a new compilation, Unexpected Guests, via Gold Dust. The album collects many of those rare DOOM non-album gems -- guest tracks, remixes, B-sides, vinyl-only singles -- that have been released over the past few years. Highlights include tracks with Ghostface, Talib Kweli, Jake One, Masta Killa, and Vast Aire, as well as a track on which Jon Lovitz spits some truly captivating, homophobic rhymes. Hey, you never know!
The bad news? On the Tuesday after Halloween, DOOM will sue several teens for using his "likeness" during Halloween. Fuck!
Tentative tracklist (final tracks and running order still to be finalized):
1. Get 'Er Done feat. DOOM - Jake One
2. Fly That Knot feat. DOOM - Talib Kweli
3. Sniper Elite feat. DOOM - Dilla Ghostface DOOM
4. Trap Door feat. DOOM - Jake One
5. Sorcerers feat. DOOM & Invizible Handz - John Robinson
6. Da Supafriendz - Vast Aire
7. Quite Buttery - Count Bass D feat DOOM
8. ? - DOOM featuring Kurious
9. All Outta Ale - DOOM
10. E.N.Y. House - Masta Killa
11. Bells of DOOM - DOOM
12. My Favorite Ladies - DOOM
13. Street Corners (Remix) - Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck & GZA
Ryan Adams Relaunches His Pax Am Label Digitally; Oh Great, Another Label For Mandy Moore To Release Music On!
It’s not enough to be a prolific singer/songwriter and an author; Ryan Adams needs more from life than that. Introducing: Pax Am, Adams’ digital record label that he officially relaunched last week with the release of his own digital single, “Lost and Found”/”Go Ahead And Rain.” The single is available for pre-order on the Pax Am website and will be the first in a series of $1.49 digital singles. Proceeds from the single sales will support Adams’ website and his FOGGY TV show.
Meanwhile, judging from the statement he released, it seems like Adams is still as eccentric as ever:
Thanks for making Pax Am the number one Ryan Adams merch site online. We would hunt anyone else down though.Did you have a rad summer? Good. If you said no, never worry, Pax Am is here. We are gonna fill your fall and winter up with vinyl, digital singles, and t shirts you don't need.
Stay tuned for videos, free tracks, and our digi-singles. Subscribers get first dibs on rare vinyl.
Remember, purchasing the buck 49 singles is a way to keep FOGGY TV on the air, but it is not necessary to view the weekly content.
This is my label and my internet disco dream.
Make it real you jerks.
Worship me.
Move Over O.A.R. and Ben Folds: Jay-Z Preps College Tour
Jay-Z, perhaps better known now as Beyoncé's wife, is going on tour in support of the big bad Blueprint 3 (TMT Review) this fall. Jay-Z will be visiting a number of colleges during October and November in a swift move to appeal to the same crowd that enjoys the Jay-Z namedrop in Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA."
Too bad I graduated last year, meaning I won't get a student discount for the inflated price. Whatever, I'd be out of place anyway, since I've never been a true follower of "Jay-Hova." When I was a little boy, Jay-Hova's Witnesses would come to our door, but my mom would turn off the lights and make everyone hide on the floor in the hallway.
Well, I guess there's no better place to recruit helpless, hapless followers than a college campus. Tickets are now on sale through Live Nation.
Now let's hear it for New York again, people!
10.09.09 - State College, PA - Penn State/Bryce Jordan Center
10.10.09 - Cincinnati, OH - Kentucky U/Bank of Kentucky Center
10.13.09 - Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
10.14.09 - Calgary, AB - Pengrowth Saddledome
10.15.09 - Kelowna, BC - Prospera Place
10.16.09 - Vancouver, BC - General Motors Place
10.17.09 - Seattle, WA - KeyArena
10.21.09 - Ypsilanti, MI - Eastern Michigan U/Convocation Center
10.23.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center
10.24.09 - Providence, RI - Dunkin Donuts Center
10.25.09 - Amherst, MA - U of Mass/Mullins Center
10.27.09 - Baltimore, MD - 1st Mariner Arena
10.28.09 - Columbus, OH - Ohio State/Schottenstein Center
10.29.09 - London, ON - John Labatt Centre
10.30.09 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
10.31.09 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
11.01.09 - Ottawa, ON - Scotiabank Place
11.12.09 - Champaign, IL - University of Illinois/Assembly Hall
11.19.09 - Albuquerque, NM - Tingley Coliseum
11.20.09 - El Paso, TX - U of Texas at El Paso/Don Haskins Center
11.22.09 - Austin, TX - U of Texas at Austin/Frank Erwin Center
RIP: Jim Carroll, punk rocker and author of The Basketball Diaries
From The New York Times:
Jim Carroll, the poet and punk rocker in the outlaw tradition of Rimbaud and Burroughs who chronicled his wild youth in “The Basketball Diaries,” died on Friday at his home in Manhattan. He was 60.The cause was a heart attack, said Rosemary Carroll, his former wife.
As a teenage basketball star in the 1960s at Trinity, an elite private school on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Mr. Carroll led a chaotic life that combined sports, drugs and poetry. This highly unusual combination lent a lurid appeal to “The Basketball Diaries,” the journal he kept during high school and published in 1978, by which time his poetry had already won him a cult reputation as the new Bob Dylan.
“I met him in 1970, and already he was pretty much universally recognized as the best poet of his generation,” the singer Patti Smith said in a telephone interview on Sunday. “The work was sophisticated and elegant. He had beauty.”
