June 23rd, 2008

MTV Discovers Spank Rock

In Charm City, where Spank Rock is from, songs are only about two things: sex and fighting. So don’t blame him for pumping his jams full of the former (that sounds nasssssty!), blame Baltimore. Spank lives here now, of course, and the mind warbles thinking what he might rap about had he been born and raised in the CoBL.

Probably sex. Yah. Mos def. Sex.

Update: Kudos to the Copywrite police at MTV who were able to pull this video off YouTube after a paltry 16 views.

“Sweet Talk” [Spank Rock]

June 23rd, 2008

OH NOES, YOUR FAVORITE INDIE BAND IS STAYIN’ HOMES!

Well you could just see this one coming a mile away. Not happy just ruining summer vacation plans, making food prices skyrocket, and dominating the news cycle, gas prices are now so high that…certain mid-level indie bands are canceling tours!

This. Means. War.

Er, bad choice of words.

Lookee:

“Once I ran the numbers it was a ‘There’s no (expletive) way’ kind of moment.”

That’s Steven Garcia from the band Something Fierce breaking out the calculator and discovering what he probably knew deep down in his indie-gut. Namely, if you’re a band that has yet to develop an audience, touring is no longer a practical way to bring your band to the masses.

The article is on CNN.com, and it goes on to interview one indie rocker after the next, each decrying the ever-increasing price of fuel, some even wondering when and if they’ll ever be able to hit the road again. CNN even interviews Ken Cheppaikode of Portland, Oregon’s, Dirtnap Records, which means nothing to you, but that guy put out a 7″ of a band I used to be in, proving he knows his shit! (7″ is SOLD OUT, natch!)

Sidenote for the sake of trivia: That particular 7″ was a split with Scared of Chaka, whose singer/guitarist Dave Hernandez now plays bass for the Shins. I’m now the music editor at PW, so I guess we know who got the raw end of that deal.

**Gas, a pain in the ass. [CNN]

June 3rd, 2008

It’s Like An Aural Amuse Bouche

June 2nd, 2008

Local Rapper Threatens Life Of Blogger

Byron Crawford (pictured, left), your favorite rapper’s least favorite blogger, can add another name to the long list of hip hoppers and their friends that would like to do him bodily harm, a list that already includes Pimp C, Bun B and Kanye West’s cousin. The current beef is with local rapper Dice Raw, an associate of the Roots who, according to Crawford, “dropped one good verse way the fuck back on the Roots’ first major label album Do You Want More?!!? and hasn’t done anything worthwhile since.”

The threat from Dice comes in the form of a track, “Battlefield,” released to the Internet a few months back, but just now coming to light. Dice is joined on the track by someone you’ve never heard of, Truck North, and someone you have, Nikki Jean, his bandmate in Nouveau Riche, a group I’ve tried to get into on the recommendation of countless friends, but just can’t seem to.

The offending line goes like this:

Niggas wanna play till I show ‘em who the boss is/ Send a couple thugs down to Byron Crawford’s residence/ Leave no evidence, criminal intelligence./Life loss without no wevalence(?)/ Raw like black get, pure excellence, nigga!

The emphasis on Dice’s enunciation of the word “relevance” is Crawford’s, but he’s right—Dice does seem to flub the word. Like I mentioned, the song is called “Battlefield,” and yes, it includes the unfortunate sample of Pat Benetar’s “Love Is A Battlefield,” which was and remains one of the least hip hop songs since, er, Dido’s “Thank You.”

Judge for yourself. [zSHARE]

Read more about Byron Crawford’s long list of enemies here. [River Front Times]

June 2nd, 2008

The Monday Night Club with Needles Jones + DJ Evan G

June 1st, 2008

Kaijs Big Battel Live Monster Mayhem!, The Harry Potters