Most artists can’t even keep my attention for one full set these days. I don’t know, I guess I’m getting old.
But Butch Walker? Wednesday night residency all November at Hotel Cafe in LA? Four shows, walking distance from my home? Sign. Me. UP!
And we’re not talking 4 weeks of the same old song either. Butch is performing a full album each week. Which means… every week is totally different and every week is a must see event!
Nov 4 Letters
Nov 11 The Rise and Fall…
Nov 18 Sycamore Meadows
Nov 25 Fan Selected Set! (submitted via Twitter!)
Plus every week will include a cover that fans will also request through Twitter, and a bonus new song from his upcoming album “I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart” due out early next year. This just reminds me of why I steal don’t often buy music these days… so I have money in the bank for occasions like this.
Lip syncing isn’t just for pop stars… it’s a harsh and degrading reality of TV magic. Muse decided to have some fun while performing “Uprising” on an Italian TV show where they were forced to mime the single by swapping roles and just acting ridiculous. I wonder if the audience knew what was going on here with “The Muse”?
Guitar Hero 5 came out quietly, in the shadow of the fanfare of Rock Band: The Beatles. That is, until one gamer uploaded a video exploiting the exploits of an unlocked Kurt Cobain avatar, singing utterly un-Cobain-y tunes like Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name.”
The video went viral (cuz its funny), but Cobain fans and journalists were not amused, so the usual suspects came forth to defend themselves.
Courtney Love took to Twitter to clear her name, firing off 140 (x10) characters to say she never signed off on the avatar use. Whether or not you’re convinced, she clearly couldn’t have been sober enough to sign anything (she shouldn’t even hold anything as sharp as a pen…).
Former Nirvana-mates Krist Novoselic (who emerged from the Where Are They Now? file only to be re-filed into the There You Are But Where’s Your Hair?! file) and Dave Grohl released their own statement:“We want people to know that we are dismayed and very disappointed in the way a facsimile of Kurt is used in the Guitar Hero game. The name and likeness of Kurt Cobain are the sole property of his estate – we have no control whatsoever in that area… We urge Activision to do the right thing in “re-locking” Kurt’s character.”
Activision responded, “Guitar Hero secured the necessary licensing rights from the Cobain estate in a written agreement signed by Courtney Love to use Kurt Cobain’s likeness as a fully playable character. Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl… have no say whatsoever in the usage of Kurt Cobain’s likeness.”
Even Jon Bon Jovi… the real victim here… spoke out to the BBC, “I don’t know that I would have wanted it either… To hear someone else’s voice coming out of a cartoon version of me? I don’t know. It sounds a little forced.”
Calm down everyone. Hate the player, not the game! The object of Guitar Hero is not to give Kurt a bad name. It’s a secret nerd feature you can only access by “unlocking” him, whatever that means. Fans shouldn’t be interested in making Kurt act a fool, and haters (or cynical fans) will have a laugh and try to get viral attention at any opportunity, handed to them or not. Would this be as big a deal if not for this nerd’s viral clip? If it were different songs? If it were a hack instead of a secret feature?
From the moment some geek conceived the first Guitar Hero, we’ve been bastardizing classic rock tunes. Pushing colored buttons is not the same as strumming, tweens who can sing “Kool Thing” aren’t Sonic Youth fans, and a modified long-haired Mario isn’t meant as a homage to our real guitar heroes.
Forget picnics… today’s the day the teddy bears have their UPRISING! They’ve been forced, degraded and controlled for too long. Consider the new Muse video “Uprising” your warning:
Los Angeles-based concert promoter Live Nation is introducing a sort of season pass for club-level concerts, allowing fans to reserve a spot at non sold-out shows for the rest of the year by purchasing a “passport” for $49.99.
LA fans will probably benefit most, as Live Nation runs 5 area clubs – the Wiltern, the Hollywood Palladium, the Avalon and the House of Blues clubs in West Hollywood and Anaheim. Most cities may only have one.
Here’s a current list of participating LA Live Nation club shows (more will be announced each Monday pending availability):
The Wiltern:
Snow Patrol (Oct. 19 only)
Moby (Oct. 14)
Billy Squier (Sept. 26)
Los Enanitos Verdes (Oct. 3)
The Hollywood Palladium:
Brand New (Oct. 18 only)
Avalon:
Brazilian Girls (Oct. 19)
Ladyhawke — Perez Hilton Presents Tour (Oct. 3)
The Get Up Kids (Sept. 24)
White Tie Affair (Oct. 13)
House Of Blues — Sunset Strip:
Dinosaur Jr. (Nov. 5)
Dragonforce (Friday)
Saosin (Nov. 6)
Caspa (Saturday)
DJ Quik (Sept. 25)
BET’S 106 & Park Tour (Sept. 29)
— with Trey Songz & Mario
Better Than Ezra (Sept. 24)
Revolting Cocks (Sept. 27)
– with Jim Rose Circus & more
Tech N9NE & Slaughterhouse (Oct. 23)
Sippy Cups (Nov. 7)
KC & the Sunshine Band (Dec. 30)
House of Blues — Anaheim:
The Psychedelic Furs & Happy Mondays (Saturday)
Motorhead (Oct. 7)
Gov’t Mule (Sunday)
Citizen Cope (Sept. 23)
Murs (Oct. 9)
Los Lobos (Oct. 16)
Randy Travis (Oct. 1)
State Radio (Oct.
Lights – A Premier Tribute to Journey (Sept. 26)
In fall of 2001, I was a freshman at a liberal arts school in Boston, swapping Spin for CMJ and learning the fine art of “college music” from the good book of Thurston Moore. Then, like a bloody party Jesus from the heavens, along came Andrew WK to save me from my pity party:
Always cheesy, never subtle, and maybe akin to what you’d find on Jock Jams, at first glance AWK conjures little more than a WTF. But beneath the mangy surface lies much more: high energy hedonism, pop melodies, and genuine POSITIVITY… rare in pop and rock these days and non-existent in what we were listening to back then.
Anyway, AWK is back, sort of, with “55 Cadillac,” a new album of what he calls “spontaneous solo piano improvisations.” You can hear “Central Park Cruiser” on Billboard.com now. It’s piano. It’s not rock. It’s out Sept. 8th. And wouldn’t ya know… it’s being released by Thurston Moore’s label.
Who waits 4 years to release their sophomore album? Nightmare of You, that’s who. The emo-ish dancey boys will release Infomaniac on July 28th and our first taste of it is the single “I Think I’m Getting Older”… which, considering the time gap between their last album and this one, is true of both the band and their fans!
Remember when Nirvana covered “Dreamlover” & INXS covered “Heaven is a Place on Earth,” & Led Zeppelin covering “Kung Fu Fighting”?? No? That’s because they never did! Pre-Youtube, cover songs weren’t meant for contemporaries… there were rules! Covers were reserved for:
-Modern bands introducing a new generation of kids to a classic hit
-Modern bands giving an ironic homage to something they never actually listened to themselves
-Full on tribute bands, cover bands, weddings bands, etc. who make a living off imitation
But all the rules changed with on demand online video. Music videos at our fingertips meant artists had to go further to deliver exciting video content, and covers do just that, and artists are looking no further than the current Billboard charts for inspiration. Choosing other NEW artists’ field-tested hit singles ensures a built-in audience and double (or triple!) searchability in video site search engines.
Which brings us to Weezer… who covered MGMT’s “Kids” with a dash of Lady Gaga’s “Pokerface,” an entertaining fusion and also a keyword cocktail! Check it out:
