Hey all, welcome back for what will hopefully be a error free version of Sunday Bloody Sunday. I honestly don’t know what happened with the previous column and the links all going haywire, as I tested my HTML before posting the column and everything looked fine, honest! So if you’re reading this Eric, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Also, I don’t know if I agree with you for lumping Eric Lindros in there as being an egotistical player, as I think the concussions and number of times he’s been sidelined have had quite the humbling effect on him. Might I suggest Jagr or Theo Fleury for egomaniac hockey players who have hit rock bottom in some form or another? Fleury especially, considering that he’s now been reduced to begging teams to let him play for free. Also, thank you very much for the pimp, means alot to me, sir.
Your soundtrack for this Sunday would be John Frusciante’s newest, Shadows Collide With People, while your song lyric of indeterminable period of time would be:
And baby if I were in demand, you would be mine…
Yeah, having problems with the wymmn sucks, but that’s not news, THIS is…
Da News
– To start things off I’d like to issue a hearty f*ck you to the bastards at Pitchfork Media. They’re sort of the indie rock snobs of the Internet, as they tend to be pretentious as all bugger out. They run a pretty good site and I’ll admit I get some of my news from that site, but their attitude towards the fact that Winnipeg, Manitoba was chosen over a bunch of more ‘likely’ dates, acting as though fire had just been discovered up there last week and how the hell could a bunch of Filthy Canadians know who the Pixies are. Well, joke’s on you, asshats, as the Winnipeg show sold out, and this is where you have to pick where you’re getting your information from, 45 seconds to 3 minutes. The Calgary date sold out in 7 minutes while other Canadian dates all sold out under the 10 minute mark. Oh, and a brief history lesson for you, since I’m being generous: the Pixies final concert dates were in Vancouver at the Commodore Ballroom, so yes, you could say that us Canadians have some appreciation for the Pixies and the Pixies have some appreciation for us.
– Okay, so for those of you who bought some CDs in the last decade or so and have filed the appropriate paperwork, the check is in the mail. Checks to the princely sum of $13.86 were mailed out to approximately 3.5 million consumers thanks to the settlement of an anti-trust lawsuit filed back in 2000. The lawsuit stated that record companies and retailers were illegally conspiring to up the prices of CDs by imposing minimum pricing policies. Also as part of the deal, 5.6 million CDs are to be donated to schools & libraries across the US, and $20 million is being used to cover legal costs. What’s most interesting about this whole deal, aside from the fact that the record companies got a rather well deserved slap on the wrist, is that the record companies who were named in this suit cannot refuse to deal with retailers who decide to go below the Suggested Retail Price of a CD.
Big whoop, I hear some of you saying, but this is bad news as it directly impacts smaller retailers, as well as larger, stronger retailers who are on a strict ‘music-only’ basis. This is good news for shithole retailers such as Best Buy and Future Shop who use CDs sold at cost as a way of getting people into their store, as they can completely screw up smaller record stores by selling CDs below profit. I don’t know about you, but I happen to like shopping at places where the staff are knowledgeable about their product, and don’t view music like they would a sack of potatoes or a display rack of Wheaties. My (limited) experiences at places like Future Shop make me realize how little those sort of people care about the department they work for: they aren’t making commission like the other sections are, so why bother to care at all?
I know, I know. I’m being an idealistic little dreamer with romanticized ideals of how businesses should be run. Is that necessarily a bad thing? Didn’t think so.
– Victoria, BC rockers Hot Hot Heat have started rehearsals for their forthcoming album. They currently have 7 songs finished, 2 of which were being played while on tour.
– The Bitch Queen of MTV will be embarking on an ambitious tour of North America’s SHOPPING MALLS starting next week. For those of you who have that much of an avid disliking for her and possess the appropriate firepower necessary to take her out once and for all, you can receive 48 hour advance notice of when she might be storming through a Food Court that’s close to YOU. Also notable about this is that the place where I got this particular story from, Muchmusic.com, listed Winnipeg as being the site for this year’s Junos. Umm, way to stay on top of things there, guys.
– The long anticipated and eagerly awaited animated movie, Live Freaky, Die Freaky, will soon be making it’s way into theatres sometime later this spring. The movie is focused on a futuristic Charlie Manson and has Green Day leadman Billie Joe Armstrong supplying the vocals for Manson. Other notable musicians involved are Travis Barker from Blink 182, Davey from AFI, Josh Freese from A Perfect Circle, Lars & Tim from Rancid, as well as Viggo Mortensen from the Lord of the Rings. I heard about this movie well over a year ago and have been dying to check it out, as it’s utilizing that stop-motion animation that you found in those old Christmas cartoons (you know, the one with the ‘origin’ of Santa Claus where he goes up against the Burgermeister, and the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer flick that has Yukon Cornelius & the Island Of Lost Toys), and had a chance to ask Josh Freese about the movie when APC played Calgary back in August. He absolutely gushed about the film and said they were having problems securing distribution, so it looks like that’s all cleared up, so, woo-hoo! Check out the website for more details and the cast listing for a portrait of Davey Havok that looks eerily like Michael Jackson.
– (Culled directly from chartattack.com):
Next to a collection of Civil War artifacts and 1000-year old fossils, North Carolina’s Museum Of History will be exhibiting an important piece in of contemporary American pop culture history.
Starting Tuesday (March 2), local hero and American Idol alum Clay Aiken’s clothing will be on display for all his friends to admire. The attire will be featured until September 6, after which these priceless artifacts will be added to the museum’s stored collection.
Clay Aiken…local hero? Why Lord, why?
– Okay, so for all you Yankees out there, one of Canada’s better bands will be gracing you with their presence in March. Montreal rockers The Dears will be going on a mini US tour with fellow Canadian band The Stars. This is worth your attention if you’re a fan of ‘indie rock’ or if you like stuff like Blur, they are totally worth checking out. I’m sure ticket prices will be DIRT CHEAP, and really, what the hell else are you going to be doing in March? Watching the NCAA basketball tournament? Right, anyways, if you live in the following cities, I highly suggest you guys check out The Dears. Tour dates are:
March 2 Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Cafe (w/Stars)
March 4 Portland, OR @ Roseland Grill (w/Blitzen Trapper, Jonah)
March 6 San Francisco, CA @ Cafe Du Nord (w/Stars)
March 7 Sacramento, CA @ Old Iron Side (w/Stars)
March 8 Modesto, CA @ Fat Cats (matinee w/Stars)
March 11 Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland (w/Stars)
March 13 Tucson, AZ @ Plush Room (w/Stars, Elefant)
March 15 Denver, CO @ Climax Lounge (w/Stars)
March 17 Austin, TX @ Elk Lodge (SXSW matinee)
March 17 Austin, TX @ Buffalo Billiards (SXSW)
March 18 Austin, TX @ Emo’s (SXSW matinee)
March 25 Washington, DC @ Black Cat (w/Stars, Broken Social Scene)
March 28 New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge (w/Preston School Of Industry)
March 29 Boston, MA @ TT The Bears (w/The Star Spangles)
You cats in Washington are lucky, as Broken Social Scene will also be performing for you guys. They’re another really good band that’s worth your attention. Once again, they’re totally worth your attention, and it’ll most likely be a cheap concert for you guys south of the border, so really, what’s your excuse?
– In news that warms my black, shriveled Grinch-like heart, the RIAA, who also possess black, shriveled Grinch-like hearts, are now being sued by a New Jersey woman who is alleging that the RIAA’s tactics are illegal, stating that the group uses scare tactics to exort money from the individuals they sue, and that the intent of the RIAA’s anti-downloading campaigns is to get financial settlements from those who ‘got served’ from the MAFIAA, saying they are in clear violation of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations laws. Now, irony from the fact that this lawsuit was made in Jersey (Hoboken, perhaps?), this lawsuit does nothing but put a smile on my face, it’s that cool for me, and it should be for you. Hopefully the RIAA will lose here, and another blow against these idiots will be dealt. Not that I’m saying that the proper groups and authorities shouldn’t be going after rampant downloaders (sorry, I know I happen to be in the minority regarding that particular sentiment…), I just find their gestapo tactics to be disturbing and I disagree with everything the music industry in general has done to try and handle this problem. I do believe that people should have to pay to download music, but I absolutely detest and loathe the current forms of paying for music that are out there (iTunes, Napster, Wal-Mart, etc), so I end up being in favor of downloading by default. Sort of an enemy of the enemy is a friend, I guess.
– Boy George is going to be paying a guy £10,000 in compensation for defamation claims. Andrew Thompson, an employee at the Sweet Suite nightclub in London was punched in the face by the former Karma Chameleon and then was subsequently blamed for it when it went to trial. I dunno if ten thousand pounds is ample compensation for being punched out by Boy George.
– Andre 3000 from Outkast is in consideration for playing Jimi Hendrix in an upcoming biopic on the guitarist. No word yet if he’s agreed to taking the role of Chief Sitting Bull in an upcoming Western piece or not. Cough, cough.
– Looks like the studio/tour reports I made last week regarding Nine Inch Nails ended up being true (as opposed to being not true, which was also reported last week). Bleed Through, the latest release from Trent Reznor, will hopefully be due out in time for the summer, and that the band will soon be hitting the road. Hopefully NIN will swing by either Calgary or Edmonton or that I’ll have the money to afford a Seattle/Vancouver date, as & All That Could Have Been, the live disc of theirs, is f*cking amazing. Nine Inch Nails ranks pretty high on my ‘bands to see that I haven’t yet seen’ list, with only Radiohead and Blur ranking above them.
– Circle April 27th on your calendars as that’s the set date for the new D-12 CD. Obie will be guesting on D-12 World, which will be produced by Dr Dre, Mr. Porter, Trackboyz and Kanye West.
– Go here, now. Puddle of Mudd tries to performs live, lead singer too drunk to perform, band leaves in disgust, leaving lead singer all alone to have beer thrown at him and to get booed offstage. Video detailing the whole ugly mess available if you click on the link.
– Six Pence None The Richer have broken up. Took them long enough. To further make this seem like a really good week for us rumours are beginning to circulate that Creed have broken up. The bad news is that vocalist Scott Stapp is rumored to be working on a solo project, so this week isn’t ALL sunshine and roses, unfortunately.
– From the No Shit, Sherlock Dept: Artists are the ones getting screwed over by the record companies thanks to the current “downward spiral” the industry is in right now. Naturally the problem is with the artists who aren’t doing their part in selling the music to the masses, not to the companies who decide to sign a shitload of artists that suck ass and flood the market with their pap. Certainly not because the record labels are telling artists to start recording less and less material in an effort to try and save money. Nevermind albums like the new Outkast which is a friggen double album, and re-releases of classic albums such as Let It Be have done great in sales. Although I do rag on Courtney Love for being the gold-digging, useless, talentless hack that she is, I do have to give her props for taking a stand and showing just how little of the pie new/emerging artists are making nowadays. Artists make very little as it is, unless they happen to be a Metallica or a Whitney Houston (hihi $50 million contract) and now it seems that the labels want a piece of the touring and merchandising pie, which is really the only place where artists make any sort of money anymore, assuming you’re a level or two above the ‘touring in a rented school bus’ phase of your career, that is. I’m waiting for the day to come when American Idol manages to be able to bring back slavery into America. You ‘win’ the show, and everyone loves you? Congratulations, you’re now signed to BMG for the next 15 years. We’ll give you a roof over your head, some food and clothing, and everything else belongs to US. We also now retain the rights to your likeness, name and DNA, and can have you executed if we feel it’ll help record sales.
– The lead singer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers will have his autobiography coming out by the end of the year. Scar Tissue will take a look at Keidis’ life and times and will be ghostwritten by a Mr. Ratso, who also did Howard Stern’s book Private Parts. Looks to be an interesting read. Also, as part of his community service to repent against for his crimes against humanity for releasing St. Anger, Metallica lead singer James Hetfield will be contributing to the upcoming West Memphis 3 book coming out near the tail end of the year. Last Pentacle Of The Sun: Writings In Support Of The West Memphis Three will be available through Arsenal Pulp Press, and all proceeds will go towards legal fees for the West Memphis Three. For those of you who don’t know about the WM3, check out wm3.org for more details. So we have Hetfield not singing or performing music and contributing to a worthy cause. While it might not make up for St. Anger, it’s a step in the right direction. With my ritualistic mentioning of a book at the end of Da News, it’s time to move on over to…
Anti-Pop: This Is The Table Leg Of Truth, Fred
– Okay, so Mathan responds to the comments I made regarding the Benzino/Eminem situation, with an amazing salvo that has me playing Afghanistan to his America. He makes some good points and showcases his vastly superior knowledge to hip hop and it’s history. I still think that the whole notion that Eminem is a racist is overblown, although I will concede that in some ways he’s had it easier, career-wise, although you can’t deny he hasn’t faced his own fair share of discrimination while starting to make a name for himself. I also don’t know about white people having no culture and as a result their contributions are going to be sponging off of other cultures. I mean, Benzino has given the Beastie Boys the vaunted 5 Mics for one of their albums, so I don’t understand why some white rappers can’t contribute to rap, while others can, especially when you cannot deny that white people have contributed to another hijacked black-first genre of music: rock.
This might be my national bias creeping in here, as hip hop in Canada has never really had any sort of racial problems, or at least no racial problems that have been as publicized as what’s gone on down south of the border. As well, Canada tends to be far more laid back regarding race issues than our neighbors to the south. I might just be off because of geographical distance, but I don’t think that’s the case.
Additionally, I don’t see what the problem is with Eminem going in and regurgitating what has already been used and done to death in hip hop. One could argue that rap itself has tapped itself out and hasn’t provided much of anything new or original with the majority of its artists since Biggie and 2Pac kicked it. Like, how has the genre as an artform evolved or expanded past the bling / guns / drugs mindset that predominates the entire f*cking genre? I understand that there are artists that break the mold and don’t deal with this stuff, but the vast majority of artists in hip hop right now, black or not, have been doing the same bloody thing for who knows how long. There has been no real ‘evolution’ of hip hop, and you cannot blame that on Eminem. It’s the artists involved as a whole who are ‘ruining’ and ‘killing’ hip hop, not one white guy who is able to rap really well and make a shitload of money at a game that’s already been played out. This includes guys like Benzino who have tried to pick a beef with Eminem, and then perpetuating shit feuds like the one between 50 Cent and Ja Rule. It’s the same reason I find punk music nowadays to be boring as hell: it sounds like one group is copycatting another which in turn is copycatting another.
Actually, that explains why I find a good chunk of music nowadays to be boring or staid: it’s because it’s retreading the same water over and over and offering nothing new, nothing interesting or fresh.
I don’t know if anyone is finding this whole debate between me and Mathan to be all that interesting, but if you are, drop me or him a line and tell us what you think. I think I’ll shush up about this after this column, though, before Mathan does some real damage on my ass. He also answers the vaunted Six Questions in his latest, so feel free to check out his stance regarding Avril, guitarists and everything else touched on in those posts.
– Aaron is in his usual Friday spot in fine form, and to answer his question asking if you wanted a Wrestlemania program that includes a signature from an undead Ronald Reagan? I’d say yes, if only to prove finally that Mr. Reagan IS the vampire I’ve always thought him to be. Hey, if the Dayglo Abortions claim it to be true, it’s gotta be. Also Aaron, if I may, be careful throwing around the J-word. Winnipeggers are still extremely sensitive about the loss of their hockey team. Considering that they are neighbors to Minnesota, which is essentially an honorary Canadian province in terms to their hockey devotion, they are devoted fanatics to the sport and the talk with the CBA next year with the possibility of one of the American teams relocating to Winnpieg has Manitobans in a tizzy right now, especially when one considers which particular national hero has an ownership stake in the Coyotes.
Well, I’m only partially jesting about that, considering I know a couple of Winnipeggers who read this column, but still. Give a Canadian a chance to talk about hockey is like giving Jessica Simpson a chance to embarass herself before a national audience: it’s too easy and it won’t end anytime soon.
– We have ourselves a new Essentials up this week, care of Tom D’Errico. Pretty good read, although I do have to admit that I cringed a little when I saw Slipknot included there. Yes, yes, I know, my membership to the Club Maggot has been revoked, I’m sorry.
– Unfortunately I cannot directly link to Jeffrey Fernandez this week as his column wasn’t up and posted at the time I had to go and mail this in, but, do me a favor and head here and read his latest when it comes up so you can complete your Minority Report trifecta for this weekend.
– Evocator has your Earth on the Rocks, and by that I mean Iced Earth. Lame pun, I know, but still, a really good review from Mr. YOU.
– Brian J. Blottie does not stop when it comes to reviews. Click on the links for reviews of Damage Plan, Zero 7 and Lostprophets. One of the three is Blottie’s pick for record of the decade, go and read all three to figure out which one it is.
And that should do it for the plugs section this week. I’ll have something a little more substantial and interesting next week for inclusion in here, as I won’t be debating Eminem and Benzino with Mathan anymore. Something big, possibly cool and certainly INTERESTING coming up next week for y’all. But right now, we gotta mosey on over and check out the…
Sound Advice
So this week I’m covering an artist that was recommended by Ari Berenstein and who also happens to be a personal favorite of mine. Toronto native Sarah Slean has been compared to Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan, although to write her off as yet another female singer/songwriter who happens to play the piano is doing her a horrible disservice. She’s released a number of CDs, of which I only own one. Night Bugs, however, is a wonderful little listen. Sarah seems to retain a sense of fun to herself which is quite good, as her sound and feel would come off as being overly pretentious otherwise. However, she does what she does quite well, which makes Night Bugs thoroughly enjoyable.
As for the live performances? She’s got that bagged. A girl and her piano can create quite the isolated atmosphere, at least for me, as I’m usually not a fan of live ‘soloists’. Slean live, though, is amazing. She draws you in with her voice and her piano and blows your mind. She’s a HUGE Radiohead fan, which isn’t much of a surprise, I suppose, and I have been able to hear her cover ‘Bulletproof (Wish I Was)’ live. Utterly brilliant.
I don’t think I can say enough good things about her, to be honest. For those of you who remember the short lived reality TV show, Murder In Smalltown X, her music was featured on that show. She’s also guested on Hawksley Workman’s second release, (Last Night We Were) The Delicious Wolves, doing some vocal work. For those of you who were around for the first Sound Advice, you’d also know that Hawksley produced some material for Ms. Slean as well. So, for those of you who might’ve liked the zany Mr. Workman and his antics, you’ll be getting a female version of Hawksley with Sarah Slean.
An abbreviated playlist for those of you interested would be:
– Duncan
– Sweet Ones
– Crawling Up The Walls
– Bank Accounts
– Playing Cards With Judas
– Eliot
You can nab Sarah Slean’s stuff from Maple Music, probably THE Canadian music website to go to. You can also check out her website if you’re interested. 3 songs are available for sampling there, as well as a blog written by her. I should also quickly note that two of the cds listed on the Maple Music site (Universe, Blue Parade) aren’t available at a commercial level anymore, so the only way you’ll be able to get them would be through that website.
Other Artists Featured In Sound Advice: Sixty Stories, Sam Roberts, Hawksley Workman.
If you want to see a band or artist featured here (preferably Canadian) e-mail me at trevor411music@hotmail.com with your suggestions or catch me on AIM as flinch311.
The End Is The Beginning Is The End
And now our time with one another is coming to a close. For stuff that’s coming out this Tuesday you absolutely have got to buy School Of Rock if you know what’s good for you. Jack Black is utterly amazing in this, despite the sort of stupid premise. If you consider yourself to be a music nerd at all, you owe it to yourself to pick up this movie.
As well, The Man In Black has another CD coming out. Life is another compilation of existing material, if what I remember hearing is correct. Still, it’s Johnny f*cking Cash, so if you still haven’t checked him out but are still remotely interested, here’s yet another opportunity for you to test the waters before you delve on in. Jesus Christ, this guy is a a quality songwriter and one of the few existing country musicians that doesn’t suck about 8 tonnes of goat testicles, why are you still reading this? Check him out and get a feel for him!
Modest Mouse have their re-issue of The Moon & Antarctica coming out this Tuesday as well, complete with bonus tracks, and Ghostface Killah has Pretty Tony coming out. All in all a small, but decent list of shit coming out this week. We’ve got some country, some rock and some rap coming out, as well as some Jack Black, so there’s something for everyone March 2nd.
Tune in next week for the column that comes once every 4 years!
