The entirely trustworthy FOX News maps out the creepy pre-death dealings between Hayes and his creepy chosen faith.

[I]n January 2006, Isaac had a significant stroke. At the time, the word went out only that he had been hospitalized for exhaustion....His staff—consisting of Scientology monitors who rarely left him alone—tried to portray it as a minor health issue. It wasn’t. Sources in Memphis told me at the time that Isaac had significant motor control and speech issues. His talking was impaired....

[T]here are a lot of questions still to be raised about Isaac Hayes’ death. Why, for example, was a stroke survivor on a treadmill by himself? What was his condition? What kind of treatment had he had since the stroke? Members of Scientology are required to sign a form promising they will never seek psychiatric or mental assistance. But stroke rehabilitation involves the help of neurologists and often psychiatrists, not to mention psychotropic drugs—exactly the kind Scientology proselytizes against.

Read the whole thing here.

"How many different bands is that dude with the mustache in?"

^{photo by Lance Mercer}

"Kimya thought I was trying to take a picture up her skirt and called me a 'dirty bitch'."

^{photo by Jenny Jiménez}

Continue reading "Overheard..." »

FINALLY!

Word on the streets is that legendary, much beloved band Jawbreaker is reuniting to play a show for Fuck Yeah Fest. Further word suggests there will also be a mini-tour!

Get (tentatively) stoked:

(ht Chris Cab via Megan Seling)

Some random things I heard people saying at ole' Sassy...

"I just interviewed Robin Pecknold and all my questions were too sarcastic. He's a really nice guy. Probably too nice."

^{Fleet Foxes photo by Piper Carr}

"We came all the way out here for The Scholars and Cancer Rise. They both killed it. You know, I really don't give a sh*t about the rest of this."

^{Blue Scholars photo by Christopher Nelson / Cancer Rising by Sean Pecknold}

QUESTION: "Is the dude from The Presidents related to Michael Stipe?"

^{The Presidents of the United States of America photo by Piper Carr}

ANSWER: No. (But he may be related to the dude from The Cure?")

"Can you buy this band at Urban Outfitters?"

^{Rogue Wave photo by Piper Carr}

"THAT was the only band I even danced to..."

^{Truckasaurus photo by Kelly O}

"C'mon. Don't go watch The Kooks, let's go back to the tent and get mushrooms."

^{The Kooks photo by Piper Carr}

"Wait a minute, is that Mike Patton? How many f*cking bands is that guy in?"

^{Crudo photo by Christopher Nelson}

"I'm actually excited to see Modest Mouse. There, are you happy? I said it."

^{photo by Christopher Nelson}

"I give up. I tried three different spots, and still couldn't see M.I.A. She's really short and I think she's wearing all black."

^{photo by Christopher Nelson}

"I'm telling you these guys are gonna be huge."

^{Dyme Def photo by Sean Pecknold}

"Ben Gibbard has a giant head now. GIANT."

^{Death Cab for Cutie photo by Sean Pecknold}

"The Cure is the only reason we came. We've been out in the car playing cards all day because the rest of today's lineup kinda sucked."

^{The Cure photo by Kelly O}

This from comments in Kelly O's post:

Sorry, nay-sayers, it's 100% true. Courtney approached Pat, Pat talked Krist and Dave into it with some help from me and Bruce. Yes, it is a coup, yes it's happening in Redmond, yes it's happening this Summer. The Whigs will be in the supporting slot and Steven Jesse Bernstein will be headlining the 2nd stage. Be sure not to miss the Dickless and Gits reunion performances.

Yrs,
Jon

* Update. Statement from Sub Pop:

It won't be Pat on guitar, it's going to be Jimi Hendrix.

First let me say, this is a text message, retrieved from my phone at 11:20 pm, May 19th, 2008. If this is TRUE, I don't believe it. If it's NOT true, well, then f*ck me for posting... either way, here it is:

Text: Msg: Can u believe it?! Supposedly, Nirvana is playing Sub Pop 20. Courtney Love buried the hatchet with the surviving members, and she'll sing, with Pat Smear on guitar!

Courtney, R you fo'real?

Overheard:

"Thurston Moore does not look like he is 50. You know how he does it? He drinks his urine. If doing that makes you look as good as he does when you're 50 I'm going to start drinking my pee for sure."

Buh-scuse me? I tried finding some proof of this on the internet but there was nothing. The person who said it was completely serious. Anybody know the scoop? Where did this rumor come from?

Tonight at the Showbox, rumor has it that Colin Meloy will be adapting his musical compositions to transcripts of the second season of the reality show, I Love New York. The juxtaposition has intrigue and improbability, but Meloy makes it work. When he sings, “Do you have love for New York?” there is rapture. Meloy has moved on from ancient Japanese folk tales.

When boiled down, Meloy’s dactylic hexameter filled interpretation shows New York to be Homer’s Odysseus in an epic search for men and harmony. The overbearing presence of New York’s mother goes beyond the Telemachus – Penelope dynamic and enters into a Zeus - Mother oedipal God washed combo.

Meloy climaxes with a startling revelation that he is the one who really has love for New York. While the last two contestants accompany New York to the picturesque 5 Star resort in Ithaca for the final showdown, Meloy laments that he himself is not in the running to be New York’s man.

Alleged Jimi Hendrix sex tape to be released

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Vivid Entertainment is releasing a sex tape allegedly starring Jimi Hendrix.

The Los Angeles-based adult entertainment company said they obtained the footage of the music legend shot in a hotel room about 40 years ago from a memorabilia collector.

The footage features Hendrix engaging in various sexual acts with two women, according to a statement released by Vivid. The company said they consulted with several experts to authenticate the footage.

Hendrix died of a drug overdose in 1970. Seattle-based representatives for Hendrix's estate did not want to comment about the tape.

Vivid Entertainment was also responsible for the release of celebrity sex tapes starring Kim Kardahsian and Pamela Anderson.

Kool Keith and Tracy Morgan are the same person.

The Sun UK says:

The junkie singer, 24, is to be quizzed by police after claims she HEADBUTTED a Good Samaritan who hailed her a cab outside a bar.

Rehab star Amy, said to have PUNCHED a second victim in the face, sank to a horrific new low while high on Class A drugs.

Onlookers told how the married singer also SNOGGED a mystery fella at a nightspot and shocked punters by overturning tables and drinks.

She was later seen smoking drugs in the street, walked into a lamppost, and riled a cabbie by paying only HALF her promised fare home.

An onlooker said: “She was off her face, throwing drinks around and turning over tables. Amy screamed, ‘I am a legend, get these people out. I want to take drugs’.”

You go, girl.

Just so you know...

Beyonce and Jay-Z's marriage license is being filed (so they can stop with the denial bullshit) and Kanye West and Alexis Phifer have called off their engagement (so ladies, you have a chance after all).

From yesterday's Block Party announcement comments thread:

Upcoming announcements will include: Partman Parthorse, Coconut Coolouts, Dutchess and the Duke, Moondoggies, the Girls, the Intelligence, the Shackles.

Posted by Chirp | April 15, 2008 10:26 AM

A little birdy told me the suprise guest is the Halo Benders.

Posted by Chirp | April 15, 2008 11:57 AM

Good news!

Halo Benders are working out songs for their suprise headlining spot! All those Tina's and Todd's in the crowd are gonna drop their Stellas when Calvin unloads some serious science on them.

"Rippin off jocks, flippin' off cops, sippin' on toxic rocket fuel ... FREEDOM RIDERS!"

I also heard that Calvin is seriously excited by the chance to play a festival sponsored by Miller Brewing. Everyone who knows anything knows Calvin is a serious Miller Light drinker.

This is going to be amazing!

Posted by Chirp | April 16, 2008 9:28 AM
59

Calvin and i were sipping on brews and tokin on some camels last night rapping about this very subject. We are super soakin x-cited!

Posted by Partman Parthorse | April 16, 2008 11:54 AM

Devendra found his "sweet Tel Avivian lamb's bread." Adorable.

...are getting married.

"I want to put your rectal exam on my MySpace blog."

Maybe? Maybe not. TMZ.com is all aflutter with rumors of flower deliveries and Beyonce's dad showing up in a suit and both Jay-Z's mom and Beyonce's mom arriving together at some secret place in New York.

There's apparently a party tonight. A wedding reception maybe? Or, they could just be celebrating the fact that Jay-Z just signed a fucking $150 million deal with Live Nation.

If you wanna be a stalker, there's a live video feed of the "action" (and by action, I mean photographers standing around, waiting for something to happen).

Of course, since this is coming from an anonymous tip, I can't promise this is legit... but Sir Quispy says via e-mail:

Radiohead date for Seattle is August 20 at the White River Amphitheater. This is not close to playing "in the city" and the traffic getting in and out of that place is horrid. So much for reducing the environmental impact as they stated was their intention for venues they chose to play on this tour. 12,000 from Seattle and 5,000 from Portland choking up those two lane roads for a couple of hours getting in and out of the show.

He says he got the info from a NW radio station that included it in their weekly e-mail.

The fact that life is not fair has played out particularly gruesomely in the music world. What kind of God allows Biggie to die and Puffy to live? What kind of psycho assassinates John in a world that still contains Paul? And who gives Jethro Tull a Grammy for anything?

Still, the music scene was spared an unacceptable unfairness when Joni Mitchell's 1970s suicide attempt--allegedly inspired by her breakup with Jackson Browne—failed to prove fatal.

FOX News has the gossipy story, drawn from Sheila Weller's book, Girls Like Us, which chronicles the rise and fall of Mitchell, Carly Simon and Carole King.

Weller writes: “One confidante says ‘[Joni] took pills. She cut herself up and threw herself against a wall and got completely bloodied — glass broke. She vomited up the pills.’” The incident, Weller says, is recalled in Mitchell’s song, “Car on a Hill,” the stark number from Joni’s watershed album, Court and Spark.

Thank you, God, for not allowing Joni Mitchell to off herself over Jackson freaking Browne, which would be like Bob Dylan killing himself over Anne Murray. Amen.

Looks like "Kristen" might get her wish of a music career.

Since her identity was revealed, Dupré's MySpace page has had more than 5 million profile views – and growing – as of Thursday and the price of the song on Amie Street [an mp3 site that charges based on the popularity of the song] was up to 98 cents. A second single, "Move ya Body," also selling for 98 cents, had also been added by Dupré.

But the real question is: When does she get her own version of Flavor of Love?

I can see it now: "We've brought attractive men from all over the country to compete for Ashley's love, but she's wondering if they can pay the price on For Love or Money--Whore Edition!"

More highlights to come.

Akimbo drummer Nat Damm tells me that Neurosis so enjoyed the band's opening slot at the recent Neurosis/Converege show at Neumo's, that they've offered to release Akimbo's next album on their label, Neurot Recordings. Heavy!

"It was in the very same hallway that Jello offered to put us out on Alternative Tentacles," says Damm. The heavy hallway. Congratulations, Akimbo.

As evidenced by this copy of their self titled LP that went for 64 pounds on British eBay.

For those of you who can't read British, that's more than $130.

Of course, the wealth that I could attain by selling my copy is outweighed by the wealth I retain by keeping it.

Thanks for the tip, Bri-Bri!

"Hands down, the best use of fossil fuels."

This announcement

KID KOALA JOINS THE HARD SELL TOUR WITH DJ SHADOW AND CUT CHEMIST
10 Feb 2008 - Showbox At The Market

reminded me that this guy

made a cameo in this movie

Yes, that was the DJ born Lucas MacFadden playing Juno's high school science teacher.

...especially in NYC.

This is the post script from an email sent to me by an acquaintance:

P.S. My friends Xxxx and Xxxxx (names withheld - T.M.) are riding the kindergarten admissions merry-go-round in New York. They recently attended a school orientation with four other couples -- one of which was Matthew Barney and Bjork. According to Dave, Bjork was wearing "metallic leather pants, and a kind of red tent-like thing that I can only describe as a clown suit." She never opened her mouth, because she didn't have to -- she had everyone's attention anyway.

The rumors that the Blood Brothers were breaking up have been circulating since this summer's Capitol Hill Block Party. Now, punknews.org reports on a post to the Three One G message boards apparently from the Locust's Justin Pearson confirming the breakup.

There are no announced plans for a final show at this time. Jaguar Love (featuring the Blood Brothers' Johhny Whitney and Cody Votolato as well as Jay Clark of Pretty Girls Make Graves) play this Saturday at Nectar with New Young Pony Club.

(Thanks to T for the tip)

Update: Blood Brothers management says: "They are taking a break currently for the rest of the year and will make any final decisions or announcements next year." (Pitchfork)

Word on the street is that they're ripping the sound system out of the Baltic Room today, following the club's recent sale. Rumor is the place is being turned into a cocktail lounge/restaurant, which would be a shame, as it's one of Capitol Hill's best dance floors. The Baltic Room's AC Lewis couldn't be reached for comment. Does this mean no Halloween Ruff Gemz? Stay tuned.

Halloween at the Baltic Room, at least, is on. Official statement from the Baltic Room re: future plans coming tomorrow.

Is Justice's cross the only thing up there that's not fake? Over on Division, two controversies are brewing about Justice's live show, (no doubt just sour grapes from people who waited to long to get tickets for Friday night's sold out show at Neumo's). The first is about their live set up. The thread goes like this:

"Is any of that mess on stage actually plugged in?"

"Nope. Saw them at Coachella and believe it or not what you see there is one of the most elaborate stage props in electronic music today (18 Marshall cabinets and a massive fake modular synth, complete with strobing cross and LEDs). Functional or not, you have to hand it to those guys; they've got their marketing down pat (Pedro Winter is a genius)."

"i gotta say, as a person who is normally skeptical of schtick/gimmicks/marketing in music, i love this. imagine the poor hair farmer dude who works at the rental company who carted all those cabs in only to find out they were just props being used by two dudes playing music off laptops. imo justice's music isn't much about being musicians...more like professional remixers. but they're great at what they do, and that's fine by me. "

So the modular synths and marshall stacks are fake, but what about that cross?

"Speaking of Justice and marketing, I do find it interesting that nobody has called Justice out on the overt Christian aesthetic (which I've been told is genuine) while people knock Green Velvet for embracing Christianity. If it is all just a marketing ploy then.....wow!!! Who'd ever though JC would help propel Parisian Electro Rock into the 21st century. Didn't see that coming at all."

"Funny I was just about to ask if the giant cross was genuine. I guess people are too busy contemplating a giant fake modular synth and how much of a letdown that is to worry about anything else."

"The difference between Justice and Green Velvet's affinity for Christianity, is that Calvin makes music that's the anti-thesis of Christianity and doesn't use the religion as a marketing ploy. He has always been vocally Chrisitian in daily life (but most black folks I know from the CHI are the same), where-as Justice seems to make the religion part of their gimmick."

"in 2005 the first time i laid eyes on the "waters of nazareth" cover artwork i thought it was a rip off heavy metal artwork/album covers. irony, you know? later i took the name into consideration and seriously thought they were taking the piss out of metal & its religious references, never once did it cross my mind they could actually be serious."

In my column this week, I have an admittedly flawed interview with Justice's Gaspard Augé in which he talks too briefly about both the duo's live set up:

"We are bringing a very big synthesizer, called Valentine," Augé said. "We are able to rearrange the tracks live, adding layers and layers of elements. And we also play a few keyboards and use a computer."

...and their religious iconography:

"The religious aspect is part of it, but we also just wanted something very simple and recognizable—like the Prince symbol or Metallica's 'Black Album'".

This is my guess. July wants...

...precisely the type of fame that Feist is currently enjoying.
Feist has stolen (and tripled) July's thunder.

DJ Night School (aka Brace Pain of the Gossip) will be DJing tonight at Pony following the Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem/Gossip at the UW.

Rumor on the interwebs is that Motor has been "stopped at the border" and may not make their scheduled appearance at Decibel Festival tonight. More info as we get it.

The setlist for Guitar Hero III has supposedly leaked, and rumor has it The Fall of Troy will be featured as a bonus track for their song “F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X.” I can only imagine how stoked the boys must be for the honor. Say what you will about their music, but there is no denying Thomas Erak is a serious shredder. Congrats.

As a Guitar Hero aficionado, I am particularly excited to attempt the impossibility that is Dragonforce’s “Through the Fire and the Flames.” I have a feeling I’m going to waste a large chunk of my winter trying to beat that song. Here's a video of the intro and outro. The solo in the middle of the song (second video), I contest, is quite possibly the greatest guitar solo ever played by man.

In my column this week, I write about missing the Juan Maclean's set at last Friday's Sing Sing at the War Room and Juan's apparent disappointment with the evening. But, Juan and I got a few things wrong, according to the night's promoter Death of the Party's Clayton Vomero:

[Juan] was booked to play an hour set. Which he did.

DJ Mel was considered the headliner for that event and played immediately after Juan with three songs played by Zack and I in between. We did not kick Juan off as your article implies and he did not "end his set early". In all promotion leading up to the event it was made very clear that Juan was playing an early set. As for us asking if Barfly could "rap over his set", that's completely ridiculous. We asked Juan if he had any objections to Barfly announcing his name.

So, my mistake: I thought Juan Maclean was the headliner (as did everyone I was with that night, as Juan seemed to think), and I took him at his word re: his set time and the events of the evening.

Another error: In the print version of this preview of Decibel Festival, the Decibel Kick-Off Party/Death of the Party Showcase is incorrectly referred to as just the "Decibel Kick-Off Party." I sincerely regret the omission.

Rick Rubin can't stop talking about them in this week's New York Times Sunday Magazine.

So, Tom Gable, lapsed anarchist frontman of major label "punk" rockers Against Me! sees some defaced article about his band, tears it down ('cause there's nothing punks hate more than free speech and graffiti), and proceeds to rough up a kid who dares challenge his behavior? What a fucking douchebag. I'll always cherish the couple of awesome Against Me! shows I was a part of, but this shit just makes me glad I gave up on them around ...As The Eternal Cowboy. Reinventing Axl Rose indeed!

Today at the Stranger we received the new memoir by Floyd Landis, the 2006 Tour de France winner who had his medal stripped due to controversial doping allegations. The first thing I noticed about the book is how much this guy looks like Isaac Brock.

Lanids claims he was screwed, and that even though he won the race legit the "unchecked governing bodies of cycling" are determined to talk shit about his pretty sunset. We'll probably never know the real story. Or at least I won't: I'm not going to read this book. The only thing more boring than watching dudes ride bikes for a month is reading about it.

I really mean it when I say in next week's Polyphonic Spree review that the band is starting to look like a cross between a gothic Danielson Family and My Chemical Romance...

Exhibit A + Exhibit B = Megan is totally right.

You can't argue with math.

(The full review--that talks about more than the band's fashion sense--will be in the paper that hits the streets Wednesday. I just couldn't wait until then to put this up.)

According to punknews.org, the Explosion has broken up. The band posted this message on their MySpace blog earlier today:

After nearly nine years of rocking and rolling with you all, we The Explosion have decided to disband. We would like to thank each and every one of our fans who have supported us through this time. We made some great friends along the way, a few mistakes, but all and all we had one hell of a great time doing it. Thanks again!

Now this wouldn't usually be significant to me because, well, I don't like the Explosion enough to care whether or not they're around, but I also don't hate them enough to laugh at/celebrate their demise.

I only mention it because it gives me the opportunity to share this story with you:

I once wrote about the Explosion for this paper. The U&C opened with the query "Does not liking the Explosion make me an asshole?" Then I proceeded to say "...the Explosion has always just been a punk rock cover band (even if they do write their own songs). They're great at what they do, but what they do just ain't great enough."

Yeah, harsh toke, bros.

Clearly unhappy with my opinion, the band responded to my rhetorical question from the stage at their Neumo's show that week. I wasn't there to witness it, but a couple friends were and according to them the band had a copy of the paper on stage and they confirmed that yes, not liking the Explosion does indeed make me an asshole. People cheered.

The Explosion think I'm an asshole. The Explosion is no longer a band.

I win.

Posted by Jonah Spangenthal-Lee

In an interview over at Can i bring my gat, El Producto crushes any hope of a new Can Ox album:

Is there a new Can Ox album coming out any time soon?

I really doubt it.

Really?

The fact of the matter is that everyone has been crossing their fingers, including Def Jux, hoping that Cannibal Ox would get their shit together as a group, even to the point where I resigned them. I really hoped and prayed that they would get their shit together, thought they were at a certain juncture in time. At this point I can’t pretend anymore or cover for those guys. They haven’t been together for a long time, but they tried to get it back together again, but it’s proving to be an impossible task.

Fuck.

Enjoy the video for Painkillers and lament/dream about all the griminess that will never be.