I spend a lot of time at eltonjohn.com. So imagine how surprised I was to find that EJ has become embroiled in a child pornography investigation.
AP: Masta P apologizes to House Panel (and to women in general) for past westside gangbangin’ lyrics. No longer will be singing “Bounce That Azz,” or “Bangin'”.
Rolling Stone interview clip with Britt Daniel and Jim Eno:
Rolling Stone: What’s the most rock star thing you’ve ever done?
Britt Daniel: Ten years ago in Salt Lake City I jumped offstage and knocked somebody on his ass during a song. I was wondering why he was at the show because he kept giving me the middle finger. It was a pretty small show and there weren’t a lot of people there, and I was like, “Hey, nuh-uh,” and he just kept doing it song after song. Finally he did it again and off we went.
Jim Eno: Britt jumped offstage, hit him, and then the crowd attacked the guy and dragged him out. And the rhythm section kept playing.
bowiewonderworld.com: The Bowie clothing line hits stores on Oct. 15 and will be available exclusively at Target. Wait…what?
David Bowie/Target Men’s Look #1
Tiny Mix Tapes: The Forbes richest musicians list includes Bon Jovi. $67 in the shade.
aversion.com: The Libertines working on a “Best of” album that should blow everyone away with their 2-album catalog.
MSNBC: Marilyn Manson serves up his own brand of absinthe (Mansinthe) and great hair.
Rating: 8.4
What a pleasant surprise the new Marissa Nadler CD was when it arrived in my mailbox. She is a relatively new artist from rural Massachusetts whom I knew nothing about. Songs III: Bird on the Water is her third record, and it is her first that was professionally recorded. It is a folk album in the true sense of the word and it is great. There are no traces of what most would refer to as alt-country. Refreshingly, there is hardly one shred of country at all in this sophisticated collection of folk songs. The songs themselves are quite bare, with minimal ethereal accompaniment and contain a moderate amount of shimmer and echo. The songs are somber and haunting, and if I were to come up with a quick comparison, I would say that she sounds something like a modern day female Leonard Cohen, but she also grasps her own autonomous voice.
Rating: 8.2
“I think that’s the scrappiest version I’ve ever done of that in my life.”
That’s the line 21-year old Jamie Treays (aka Jamie T) uses to describe the album version of “Brand New Bass Guitar” to lead off his debut album, Panic Prevention, and I’d say that “scrappy” is an apt description of the album as a whole. He’s been compared to a number of seminal British musicians, from Joe Strummer to Mike Skinner, and those two influences in particular are apparent all over this album. He’s already been critically and commercially well-received over in the motherland, and is making moves in the States with his interesting blend of hip-hop (“So Lonely Was The Ballad”), spaz-dance-punk (“Operation”) and even a little scatting (“If You Got The Money”). The album flows seamlessly with vocal interludes all throughout and a very consistent tone, which might be what makes it so refreshing.
Usounds has been really busy for the last week and a half recruiting new writers, finding rare albums and bangin’ hos. So they pulled my ass out of the Himalayas to join the usounds reserve (which is kind of like the Army reserve but with less soldiers and more hard drugs and hella bitches) to do some mp3 reviews.
Georgie James “Need Your Need” [mp3]
Rating: 8.7
Andorra, the latest release from Ontario-based digital maestro Daniel Snaith, is about as good of an indie electronica release you’re likely to hear all year. Snaith has been playing under the name of Caribou since 2004 after the threat of a lawsuit from punk rocker Dick Manitoba forced him to change his previous title of the same name. Whatever Canada-inspired moniker he chooses to adopt, what hasn’t changed is his ability to direct his own sonic landscapes into a diamond-honed product. Still in his late-20s, Snaith has demonstrated a powerful presence as a producer and digital musician. The music of Andorra ranks as not only some of his most intricate work, but also that which finds itself in good standing to make top-10 lists for 2007.
