Mos Def Almost Definitely Does Not Read Tiny Mix Tapes, So I Can Say Whatever I Want About Him and His Tourdates
By Nat Towsen on 08-03-2009
I met Mos Def once, and he was a really nice guy, which doesn’t matter, because there is pretty much no way he is reading this. Here are some facts about Mos Def you might not know:
- Mos Def tells all his friends that he’s really good at snowboarding, but, really, he only knows how to ski.
- Mos Def’s favorite of his own albums is The New Danger.
- While Mos Def was studying experimental theatre at New York University, he worked in the school’s Bobst Library, where he would frequently check out erotic novellas in other students’ names and then read them under his desk.
- Mos Def’s real name is Wilbur Doogan.
- Once, while making a guest appearance on Chappelle’s Show, Mos Def stole all the toilet paper from the Comedy Central bathroom because he had run out of toilet paper at home.
- Mos Def was in the movie The Italian Job.
- Mos Def once misread the subject line of an email from Chad Hugo as “New Breasts,” while the subject actually said “New Beats," and became momentarily excited. After the feeling of elation quickly faded, Mos Def contemplated the elusive nature of nowness.
- Mos Def is going to enter and exit one of the following shows on a gilded elephant:
08.05.09 - Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
08.08.09 - Newport, Rhode Island - George Wein's Jazz Festival
08.09.09 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
08.12.09 - Charlotte, NC - Amos' Southend
08.13.09 - Charleston, SC - Music Farm
08.14.09 - Atlanta, GA - The Tabernacle
08.15.09 - Miami, FL - Adrienne Arsht Center for Performing Arts
08.17.09 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
08.18.09 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues
08.19.09 - Houston, TX - House of Blues
08.21.09 - Denver, CO - TBA
08.22.09 - Park City, UT - Harry O's
08.24.09 - Edmonton, Alberta - Edmonton Events Center
08.25.09 - Calgary, Alberta - Flames Central
08.27.09 - Vancouver, British Columbia - The Vogue Theatre
08.28.09 - Seattle, WA - TBA
08.29.09 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre
09.03.09 - San Francisco, CA - Davies Symphony Hall *
09.04.09 - Oakland, CA - The Paramount Theatre *
09.05.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Palladium *
09.09.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
09.11.09 - Providence, RI - Lupo's
09.12.09 - Governors Island, NY - Water Taxi Beach
09.16.09 - Boston, MA - House of Blues
10.03.09 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits
* Erykah Badu
O Praise The Lord! October Shall Bless Us with a Brand New Mountain Goats LP Full of The Scripture
By Jon Lorenz on 08-03-2009
Anyone familiar with John Darnielle's project The Mountain Goats will know that he has gone through plenty of changes since his beginning, from the days of lowest-fi folk-pop songs to his most recent slick, big-band recordings. Well, on October 6, Darnielle will take yet another step in his own storied history when he releases a record full of Bible lessons, with each song named after a certain passage in The Bible.
So, the first thing that must be asked of this change is: Will Bible sales go up from all the rabid indie kids, simply to read the passages that Darnielle is referencing? Probably! Secondly: Has Darnielle had some sort of religous awakening? Well, Darnielle already saw that one coming and preempted the backlash through his website, writing that "lots of people might want to be coy about answering that, that's never really been my style, so: no. It's not like that. It's not some heavy-narrative-distance deal either, though, and it's not a screed. It's twelve new songs: twelve hard lessons the Bible taught me, kind of."
Darnielle's 18th (?) album, The Life of the World to Come, was recorded at Electrical Audio with Brandon Eggleston, at Sonic Ranch with John Congleton, and at Baucom Road with Scott Solter, between April and June of this year. The band is made up of Jon Wurster and Peter Hughes, as well as Owen Pallett doing string arrangements and playing on select tracks. Anyone looking to take a sneak peak should visit the Mountain Goats website where you can download "Genesis 3:23."
Tracklisting:
1. 1 Samuel 15:23
2. Psalms 40:2
3. Genesis 3:23
4. Philippians 3:20-21
5. Hebrews 11:40
6. Genesis 30:3
7. Romans 10:9
8. 1 John 4:16
9. Matthew 25:21
10. Deuteronomy 2:10
11. Isaiah 45:23
12. Ezekiel 7 and the Permanent Efficacy of Grace
RIP: Andy Parle, former drummer of Space
By Shane Mack on 08-03-2009
From NME:
Former Space drummer Andy Parle has died unexpectedly after collapsing in Liverpool on Saturday night (August 1).Parle, 42, who co-founded the Liverpool band with vocalist Tommy Scott and guitarist Jamie Murphy in 1993, fell while crossing a road in Dingle, Liverpool at roughly 11:30pm (BST) on Saturday. [...]
The drummer played on a number of Space's biggest hits, including 'Female of the Species', 'Neighbourhood' and 'Me And You Versus the World'. He left the band in 1998.
Parle's former bandmate Dave 'Yorkie' Palmer said that the drummer had been "essential" to Space.
"It's the saddest, most tragic end you could have," he explained of Parle's death.
He added: "Space continued to have success after Andy left but the band changed and lost something which Andy had contributed. Even though we had another brilliant drummer there was something about Andy's style which was unique."
- Space official website
Mark Lanegan and Soulsavers Return with New Album, North American Tour, and an Opportunity for Really Bad Wild West Fanfiction
By Liz Louche on 08-03-2009
Somewhere across the canyon, a lonely wind blows. The horses are drinking in deep, long gulps, and as you lift your eyes to the blazing sun, a vulture circles overhead. The carnival’s in town, Joe, they say, but you’re not listening. Because from somewhere in the distance a melody is playing, melancholic and tough. That voice: it sounds so familiar. Could it be… could it be… Mark Lanegan of The Screaming Trees and Queens of The Stone Age? Yessss, whisper the scattered trees. Yesssss, howls the coyote. He’s back with English band Soulsavers and some very, very special guests for the group’s third full-length, Broken.
“Special guests? In these here Godforsaken parts?” you ask. Why yessss. Friends like Mike Patton of Faith No More, Spiritualized’s Jason Pierce, Gibby Haynes of The Butthole Surfers, Richard Hawley, new Australian voice Red Ghost, and Martyn LeNoble, studio bassist for Porno for Pyros and Jane’s Addiction, all stop by for some sweet duet action. LeNoble will be helping Lanegran and Soulsavers take it to the streets, along with Spiritualized guitarist Rich Warren. The album drops August 18 on V2 Records and a North American tour winds its way through all the dusty, Harry Crews-influenced no-name towns of the United States. And you know, LA and DC and stuff.
Broken tracklisting:
1. The Seventh Proof
2. Death Bells
3. Unbalanced Pieces
4. You Will Miss Me When I Burn
5. Some Misunderstanding
6. All the Way Down
7. Shadows Fall
8. Can't Catch the Train
9. Pharaoh's Chariot
10. Praying Ground
11. Rolling Sky
12. Wise Blood
13. By My Side
Save the Date:
09.06.09 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
09.07.09 - Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival
09.09.09 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
09.10.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
09.12.09 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
09.15.09 - Austin, TX - Stubb’s
09.16.09 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues
09.18.09 - New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks
09.19.09 - Atlanta, GA - The Loft
09.21.09 - Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
09.22.09 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
09.23.09 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
09.25.09 - Toronto, ON - Mod Club
09.26.09 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
09.27.09 - Chicago, IL - Double Door
Congressmen Look to Investigate Ticketmaster/Live Nation Merger, All Sacco and Vanzetti-Style
By Brom on 08-03-2009
The Simpsons got it spot on with Ticketmaster (from the Homerpalooza episode):
Mr. Burns: [chuckles] And to think, Smithers, you laughed when I bought Ticketmaster. "Nobody's going to pay a 100% service charge."}Smithers: Well, it's a policy that ensures a healthy mix of the rich and the ignorant, sir.
Unfortunately, if the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger goes through, we’ll all be suckers! The proposed merger would see Ticketmaster, the nation’s dominant ticket seller, combine with Live Nation, which has its own ticketing business.
But one thing is for sure: this deal is not going through without a fight. Britain’s Office for Fair Trading, a consumer watchdog, has already referred the merger to the country’s competition regulator, the Competition Commission, which will report on November 24. And Senator Herb Kohl is most certainly not going to be taken for a goddamn fool either. As chair of the Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee, Kohl wrote to Christine Varney, head of the Justice Department's antitrust division, to argue "It is clear that this merger raises serious competitive concerns warranting thorough scrutiny.” In addition, Rep. Bill Pascrell wrote a letter expressing concern about the deal, which was signed by 50 members of the House of Representatives.
Kohl also says the venture would create "an enormous, vertically integrated entertainment giant, which will control everything from artist management, concert promotion, concert venues, and merchandise sales to primary and secondary market ticket sales."
On a lighter note, I did particularly enjoy Billboard’s comment that “the deal has been criticized by superstar Bruce Springsteen, politicians like Senator Charles Schumer, and legions of music fans commenting in Internet chat rooms.” Yeah, lets not forget those highly intelligent, sophisticated, and well-reasoned visitors of internet chat rooms, all (and I mean all) of whom engage with each other in an intellectual and erudite manner. Teh interwebz iz srs bsns!
