Method Man and Redman Head Out on Tour, Plan New Album, Frolic in Field While Holding Hands and Smoking Blunts
By Mike McHugh on Oct 24 2008
If last year’s Kanye vs. 50 Cent media slapfight taught us anything, it’s the good ol’ fashioned hip hop feud is dead. Rather than fire rhymes and dope beats, the bullets in this weak-as-an-anesthetized-box-turtle battle were catty remarks about record sales that Rolling Stone perplexingly saw fit to grace with a cover. Did LL Cool J vs. Kool Moe Dee ever make the cover of Rolling Stone? Fuck no! And that shit spawned “Mama Said Knock You Out”!
Well if hip-hop feuds are dead, thank the gods for Method Man and Redman, the pioneers of what should be rap’s latest trend: hip-hop friendship. Method and Red have been straight up pals for years, documenting their antics on wax with 1999’s Blackout!, on the big screen with the American classic How High, and on the small screen with their unfortunately short-lived sitcom Method and Red and even shorter-lived prank show Stung. But through all their many projects both together and solo, the two have stayed true to two unshakeable principles: to get high as hell every day and stay great motherfucking friends. Maybe the rest of the hip-hop community could learn a lesson from these two good buds who enjoy good bud, always together, always friends.
So get out of the house immediately, America, and catch Method and Red on their Still High tour. If you can’t make it to one of the shows, the dudes understand, but they’d appreciate it if you could pick up their latest record, Blackout 2, when it drops in December. Do it for yourself, but mostly, do it for your old friends, Method and Red. They both love you very much.
Vampire Weekend Piss Off Smaller Cities By Only Playing Major Cities On Upcoming Tour
By Annapocalypse on Oct 24 2008
Cincinnati, Sacramento, and Milwaukee are pissed, and they’re not going to stand for it much longer! It seems that the internet’s favorite band, Vampire Weekend, has gone and scheduled a tour for December that only includes major cities like Washington, D.C., New York City, Boston, New York City, Portland, and, uh, New York City. Not cool, dudes; what about that 15-year-old girl in Des Moines who has the lyrics to “Oxford Comma” written all over her algebra notebook? Or those college freshmen from Florida State University that still think it’s cool to throw dance parties to “A-Punk”?
Next time you’re planning a tour, Vampire Weekend, even a short one, think about all those smaller cities that are missing out.
Vampire’s December Weekend:
Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo To Release Alone II November 25th… I SAID: Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo To Release Alone II On November 25th! Hello?? Anybody???
By Nobodaddy on Oct 24 2008
"Alone." At this point, that's kinda the way we'd all like to picture mercurial Weezer frontman and patron saint of latter day, not-entirely-ironic mustache cultivation Rivers Cuomo, isn't it? I mean, seriously, if the guy was locked up in a tiny cell somewhere for the rest of his days, we first of all wouldn't have to hear any more songs about how cool it is to be uncoolly self-aware of how anti-cool it is to be uncoollishly cool-esque or whatever. And second, at least then he'd already be in jail, which would save the high courts of indie rock a lot of time and hassle in convicting him for attempting yet another assassination on his own legacy.
But alas, for the time being at least, Rivers Cuomo "alone" doesn't have anything to do with him being cast out of legitimate arts/entertainment society. Instead, it merely denotes another underwhelming release of slap-dash home recordings, pot brownie-fueled geek jams, and early demos of eventual Weezer "hits" that were, you know, later recorded more capably by the band itself. Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo, the second volume of Cuomo's money-mining journey within, is set for release November 25 via the good ol' Geffen label.
In case you forgot due to repeated listens of The Red Album (TMT Review) that pushed all other songs out of your brain, the first volume featured demo versions of hits like "Buddy Holly," a cover of Ice Cube's "The Bomb," and other understandably unreleased tracks, including several that were culled from the band's unreleased... ugh... space opera Songs From the Black Hole. What manner of forgotten corpses will be ruthlessly trod up from Cuomo's moneygreen ego pond by his latest round of self-aggrandizing canon fire? Well, unfortunately there's no further details as of yet. But if it's any consolation, you'll probably find out for yourself this Christmas when your Grandma plucks it off the Best Buy "new releases" rack... in all its slotMusic glory?
How To Get Your Free Dr. Pepper From Guns N’ Roses
By Annapocalypse on Oct 24 2008
Hey, remember when Dr. Pepper promised everyone a free soda if Guns N’ Roses were to release their long-awaited new album, Chinese Democracy, sometime in 2008 (TMT News)? Well, now that the album has a release date of November 23 (TMT News), it looks like Dr. Pepper is delivering on their word. Here's how:
- Step One: On November 23, drive your GNR car over to Best Buy, where the album will be available exclusively, and then come home and visit Dr. Pepper’s website.
- Step Two: Register with the site to receive your coupon for a free 20-oz. Dr. Pepper.
- Step Three: When your coupon arrives, redeem it at your local Dr. Pepper retailer.
- Step Four: Enjoy while listening to Chinese Democracy, of course.
Don’t forget the fine print too: “Coupons will be available for 24 hours, starting at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on Nov. 23, 2008. Allow 4-6 weeks for coupon to arrive. Coupons will expire on Feb. 28, 2009. Limit one coupon per person. Full terms and conditions available at www.drpepper.com.”
This guy should get at least a 24 pack.
Wzt Hearts Breaking Up, Baltimore Hearts Breaking Too
By Scott Lauer on Oct 24 2008
It seems that the Baltimore Scene (TMT Article) just grew a little quieter. The Charm City-based band Wzt Hearts (TMT Review) (pronounced “Wet”) will be calling it quits after a pretty solid four-year run. Member Jason Urick commented to Pitchfork:
We are now spread through three states, [and] the challenges of staying active while being physically displaced from one another eventually took [their] toll as we all have been involved with other aspects of our [lives] as well.
But fans of the noisy Hearts fret not! All four members of the band will be perusing other projects, so output from these dudes will continue. Starting with Jason Urick, he is just finishing up an album under hibernating moniker moonstealingproject (say that five times fast), as well as a 12-inch and a 7-inch with Half Japanese's Jason Willett using his own name. Jeff Donaldson will be working the boards for These Are Powers on their jaunt in Europe and will continue work on his 8-bit project NoTendo. Mike Haleta will be recording an album with Voltage Spooks and has been recording music with wife Dawn as backbreakerneckbrace. Shaun Flynn will continue to be a Baltimore figurehead playing in various Charm City groups. Finally, two former bandmates Jeff Donaldson and Mike Haleta will be playing a pair of dates at the Cake Shop in New York.
Jeff Donaldson and Mike Haleta tourdates:
11-28 New York, NY - Cake Shop
12-19 New York, NY - Cake Shop
