Musical World Records… Straight Outta Guinness

Inspired by Phil Knight, a British bloke who drummed his way in the Guinness Book of World Records after a 103 hour session, I was curious about what other musical superstars are highlighted in the good book of Guinness. Afterall, “Most Influential This” “Top 10 That” and even Pitchfork’s “Best New Music” are subjective, but there’s no arguing with the facts of Guinness!

Largest Accordion
Giancarlo Francenella
The largest playable accordion in the world is 99.6” tall, 75” wide, and 33.4” deep, and weighs 440 lbs., making it about 2 feet taller and 50 pounds heavier than Notorious BIG. That’s one Accordion BIG… and if you don’t know, now you know nigga!

giant accordian

Fastest Harmonica Player
Nicky Shane
If you can’t do something fast like, oh I don’t know, running… then you can always be the world’s fastest harmonica player. Nicky Shane (USA) set the record by playing ‘Oh When the Saints Go Marching In’ at a speed of 285 bpm. That’s some quick marching.

Largest Thriller Dancer
The largest thriller dance was achieved by Kevin Dua (USA) and 241 other participants in an event at the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA on 19 April 2009. But watch out! Or, tan cuidado. Fans in Mexico City plan to celebrate the rock star’s 51st birthday on August 29th with the largest dance-in ever. The organizer, Carlos Contreras, says more than 10,000 people have signed up to take part. Will they make it? To be continued…

Edited: August 22nd, 2009

Rivers Cuomo Explains Weezer’s “Raditude” Problem

When Weezer announced Raditude as the title of their upcoming album, music nerds far and wide had a serious Raditude problem and thought the band needed a Raditude adjustment. We don’t know what fans expected… this is a band that has released not one, not two, but three eponymous albums so far, the last of which featured their fearless lead Weez-er in a cowboy hat and mustache on the cover. Tongue-in-cheek is the name of the game and album titles are just another place for Weezer’s silliness. Face it: long gone are the heart-on-sweater-sleeve days of Pinkerton.

Nonetheless, Rivers Cuomo explained just where their Raditiude came from in an interview with a Spin… and it turns off The Office’s Rainn Wilson, Cuomo’s sometime collaborator, had a hand in it: “He has a super-rock persona,” Cuomo said. “When it came time to find a title for the Weezer album, I asked him what he thought the ultimate album title would be and he said ‘Raditude.’”

“The sound of Raditude is fun, high energy pop rock,” Cuomo said. “‘I’m Your Daddy,’ has an up vibe with the same, heavy Weezer guitar riff but with a little electro influence. And ‘The Girl Got Hot’ — that’s kind of a witty, party jam.”

Raditude strikes October 27.

Edited: August 21st, 2009

Arctic Monkeys Recession-Friendly Cover Art Cost $1

If one Arctic Monkeys fan somewhere buys one MP3 from their new album “Humbug,” out August 24th, that should cover the cost of the album’s art.

While the UK band recorded their third LP at Joshua Tree in California, they held the DIY “photo shoot” that produced the image.

“It’s a photo I took with a dollar camera. I bought a camera for a dollar while we were in Joshua Tree in the Californian desert. There were film students selling all this stuff off at ridiculously low prices.” Drummer Matt Helders told The Sun. “It’s a bold thing to be on the front of our album, even though we are still slightly disguised.”

I think Weezer would beg to differ:

weezer-albums-covers

Edited: August 21st, 2009

Fans Begged, Thrice Delivered

The new Thrice album, Beggars, was released today on iTunes in response to the album’s leak in July – way ahead of it’s planned October release.

The always evolving and label-hopping CA rock band is wrapping up this summer’s Warped Tour before hitting the road this fall with Brand New.

2009 VANS WARPED TOUR

FALL TOUR WITH BRAND NEW

Edited: August 11th, 2009

Flight of the Conchords Future Up in the Air?

Flight Of The Conchords could be back as a movie, a stage show – or not at all, according to the duo’s manager Murray Hewitt… err… Rhys Darby, the actor who PLAYS their hapless manager.

Darby told NME.COM that the digi-folk duo are pausing before deciding the show’s future.

“There’s no decision made. There’s been orders for another season but I know the guys have a British mentality where you create something, you finish it and move on. We’re being pulled different ways. Even if we do go on, there are different options there. Do we do a Christmas special, or a film or even turn it into a stage show and tour the world with it? It’s still a full on ‘who knows?’ scenario!”

Edited: August 8th, 2009

John Hughes Dies: Director of ‘The Breakfast Club’ and ‘Sixteen Candles,’ Dead at 59

It’s a cruel cruel summer… John Hughes, director and screenwriter of 80s films that did more for teens’ self image than prozac, died today in New York of a heart attack.

While most pop culture of the 80s have become things of nostalgia, Hughes’ contributions like “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Weird Science,” “Pretty in Pink,” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” continue to be as relevant as ever, clearly due to their wholly REAL characters portrayed by very real actors like Anthony Michael Hall and Molly Ringwald. In fact, the only one who didn’t seem like someone you might actually find in your school was Kelly LeBrock in “Weird Science” – and she was a computer simulated Frankenbabe!

The letter at the end of “The Breakfast Club” sums up best what people will always love about John Hughes’ films (omg spoiler alert?):

…You see us as you want to see us… In the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain and an athlete and a basket case, a princess and a criminal.”

Edited: August 7th, 2009

The Used Get In On “Blood” Craze!

If there were a Family Feud category that asked contestants to name “Mangy Strung Out Looking Alt Rock Punk Bands of the ’00s”… the survey would say… My Chemical Romance. And in a distant second… The Used. Those would be the only answers worth beans. Glassjaw is down the list somewhere but if you guessed that, your family may just disown you.

My point? The Used have always lived in the dark, dirty shadow of MCR, especially after the 2 bands began a feud of their own around 2005. But with The Used’s new album, “Artwork,” hitting shelves 9/1, and MCR’s still a TBD, they may have a good shot at winning back some fans.

One thing’s for sure… The Used never fall short on the video front. Check out the new video for “Blood on My Hands” after the jump! (more…)

Edited: August 5th, 2009

Band of Skulls: Twilight’s Latest British Import?

Band of Skulls and Robert Pattinson may have more in common than just nationality and disheveled hairdos. The British indie rockers can join the dashing teen idol in thanking Twilight for the generous boost into US stardom. Band of Skulls will join other UK powerhouses Radiohead and Muse on the soundtrack to New Moon which is sure to be pumping in every teen girl’s Prius this fall.

Band of Skulls are far from their epic, high-concept Brit brothers Radiohead and Muse. The most obvious comparisons will be drawn to The White Stripes, with a touch of the Yeah Yeahs Yeahs, and even bluesy overtones that bring to mind The Black Keys or Cage the Elephant. Their challenge will be to maintain some of their distinctly UK atmospheric tone and not become complete clones of the stateside indie blues scene.

Band of Skulls

All in all, a very deliciously unexpected addition to Twilight… but even if you’re not a sucker for bloodsuckers, suck up some of Band of Skulls “Blood” and don’t hold their vamp ties against them:

Band of Skulls – “Blood” (MP3)

Edited: August 5th, 2009

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