Kraftwerk were dealt a blow by Germany's high court today (November 20) in lawsuit determining whether artists should have the right to sample other bands' music without infringing on copyright.
So, we have a new book out, The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present, published by the Simon & Schuster imprint Fireside Books. It explores our 500 favorite songs from 1977-2006-- interspersed with sidebars on the most vital subgenres from electro to grime to riot grrrl-- to construct an alternate history of the past three decades of popular music. In the coming weeks we'll be posting streams of tracks from the book here in Forkcast and giving you a sneak peek at some of the entries.
If you're in Brooklyn, please come out for the The Pitchfork 500 launch party on Wednesday, November 26. Dance and bowl (yes, bowl) to selections from the book at The Gutter Bar, located at 200 N. 14th St. (between Wythe and Berry) in Williamsburg. We'll be there from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., there's no cover, and there will be books for sale. For a complete rundown of events, check www.thepitchfork500.com.
More self-aware internet humor from Weezer. We've seen the potentially Guinness-world-record-breaking video for "Red Album" highlight "Troublemaker". Now here's the "Pop-Up Edition" of the same video, featuring captions with such behind-the-scenes insights as "The audio you are hearing now was recorded live that day," "We were told not to eat or touch the nachos for our safety," and "All your records are belong to us." They did that onealready, I'm pretty sure, but I guess they're pimping hard to get on VH1's "I Love the Aughts" however they can. (Fun videos like these should be a good start.)
Former Nirvana bassist Krist Novaselic has revealed behind-the-scenes details of the infamous bass-throwing incident at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, when he failed to catch his instrument after tossing it in the air.
Former Brian Jonestown Massacre member Miranda Lee Richards debuted new material from her forthcoming solo album in Los Angeles last night (November 19).
Tim Harrington wants to help you. In last week's installment of "BEARDO", the Les Savy Fav frontman showed us how to make a quick buck off music festival-goers by offering low-cost haircuts and massages. In episode three, he hypnotically guides us into "Deep Relaxation", with breathing exercises (exhale... exhale some more...) and trippy visualizations to lure the viewer into soporific submission, in order to...well, what are you waiting for? Go watch! Tim Harrington needs your help.
Corgan lashed out at his band's fans once again at a recent Chicago gig, and this outburst comes with a YouTube video [via Stereogum].
I mean, we get it, guy! You released a mediocre album and were disappointed when people thought it was mediocre.
But Billy, let's be clear: You say in that video, "Last I checked we were in an alternative band. 'Alternative' means 'different than what everyone else is doing,' including those reunion bands that go out and just play the old songs."
Incorrect! "Alternative" means nothing in 2008, and the fact that you don't seem to realize that probably has a lot to do with your confusion over people's disappointment when you don't just play your good songs instead of meandering off into formless noise jams. You can do your own thing all you want, but it's rude, to say the least, to begrudge people their expectations when they pay hundreds of dollars to see you. And you can mock "those reunion bands" all you want, but your insistence on ruining people's nostalgic fondness for your band instead of playing to it doesn't change the fact that you're cashing in, just like they are.
Personally, I don't buy that this intentional audience befuddling is some kind of pure pursuit of an artistic muse. It seems like the flailing around of an artist who has declined and is unwilling to face that truth even when his own fans proclaim it so by their reactions to his art.
While Stereogum's hypothesis that Corgan's antics could be "some Tony Clifton crowd-antagonizing performance art BS" is certainly interesting, I don't buy that either. The man has been too sincerely whiny and self-indulgent in the past for all of this to be one big joke.
So what do we take from this: Billy Corgan is crazy? We knew that. This "20th Anniversary Tour" might not live up to the expectations of longtime Pumpkins fans? We could have guessed that. Do we "give [them] another chance," as Corgan requested in a disingenuous apology to "those of you we've disappointed"?
It seems to me that Corgan himself suggested the best thing to do when he said, "It doesn't go anywhere from here. You might as well head to your cars."
Matching standout cuts from his studio albums with an array of rare remixes and a slew of appearances from top-shelf guests, Ghostface Killah's collection GhostDeini the Great is due December 16 from Def Jam. The Wu-Tang MC is joined on the disc by cameos from Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Pusha T of Clipse, Ice Cube, Beanie Sigel, and all of his Wu associates.
Quite a few tracks will be familiar to anyone who's been following Pretty Toney's career trajectory to date, but several-- like opener "Slept on Tony", the Cube-laced remix of "Be Easy", the Pusha T-boosted "Kilo", and motherfucking "Ghostface Christmas"-- are previously unreleased. The set will be available digitally and on CD, with the CD coupled with footage from Ghostface's time on the Hip Hop Live! Tour.
Ghost will join the Wu-Tang Clan on the road over the next few months as part of their 8 Diagrams tour. The Wu are participating in the Rock the Bells charity auction, and The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan premieres on BET tonight at 8 PM EST, and hits DVD November 18 from Paramount. Oh, and don't forget to stock up on Wu boots for the wintertime.
Swedish pop singer Amy Diamond was only 12 when her debut single, "What's in It for Me", came out in 2005 on its way to becoming a huge European hit. To put that in perspective, Taylor Swift was 16 when she released her first single, "Tim McGraw"; Soulja Boy Tell 'Em was 17 when "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" made its climb up the charts. On wonderful debut album Here Comes the Future, the Honeydrips-- aka twee-leaning Swedish electro-popper Mikael Carlsson-- are unabashed about crafting sweet-sounding pop songs that could appeal to kids just as much as corny indie fuxx. See "(Lack of) Love Will Tear Us Apart", which you could enjoy even without catching the Joy Division allusion in the title.
When I saw the Honeydrips open for Jens Lekman earlier this year, Carlsson just sang along with his laptop, holding a guitar but not playing it. He's also been known to accompany himself with his cell phone. In this rendition of Diamond's "What's in It for Me", though, Carlsson just strums and sings, like a plain ol' vanilla singer-songwriter. He meets the song directly and without irony, much as Lekman recently did with Boyz II Men's "Water Runs Dry" and the Honeydrips' Sincerely Yours label bosses the Tough Alliance did with teen-pop duo Lucky Twice's "Lucky". Noel Gallagher wishes he could write a tune like this right now. (via PSL)
