Black Flag's decade of hair.

Click to see the full size image.

(ht to WFMU)

Over at the Music Slut, they've unveiled the track listing for Coldplay's upcoming album, Viva La Vida. Here are what the songs will be titled, presumably in order:

Life In Technicolor

Cemeteries Of London

Lost!

42

Lovers In Japan

Yes

Viva La Vida

Violet Hill

Strawberry Swing

Death & All His Friends

Like all right-thinking humans, I loathe Coldplay. But when I happened upon this blog post, I took a moment to imagine exactly how much this album will suck, and it was an interesting exercise. Does the exclamation point on "Lost!" mean that it's going to be an up-tempo number? Or is it more of a woeful cry of sorrow, as in "O, I am Lost!"? Will "Cemeteries of London" be the ballad I assume it to be, possibly about a deceased aunt or uncle, whose picture will appear in the liner notes for maximum Grammy sympathy votes? Or will Coldplay suddenly start ripping off The Cure, too?

There's a kind of delight in imagining how much something will suck, before its parameters of awfulness are defined by reality. Here is what I assume: This album will have copious amounts of piano on it. There will be some kind of 'branching out,' which will probably mean adopting some other culture's music in a half-assed way. There will be a ballad, and a slightly up-tempo song. There will be much sensitive mincing on Chris Martin's part, and there will be some lyrics that bad critics for bad music magazines will pick apart to see if any of them relate to Gwyneth, or Apple, or Moses, or someone else with a weird name, like Barbarus, or Fencey. Within eight months from today, while sitting in my dentist's waiting room, I will curse one of these songs for existing when I hear it for the two billionth time. These things are true. The rest of the possibilities--and the infinite ways that this album can suck--are breathtakingly wide open.

Via Yahoo News:

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Serj Tankian, the frontman for Los Angeles rock band System of a Down, is so dedicated to saving the planet that he wants to launch a virtual concert tour to reduce his carbon footprint.

"I've had an idea for a long time, which might sound a little crazy, but I really want to look into holographic touring," Tankian told Billboard.

"I think we could reduce our need to travel if we could project ourselves into meetings and concerts. We have the technology, and we're not using it right now."

He suggested that he could broadcast a show in real time from his home studio, and he could interact with fans as if they were in the same room.

"After all, it's not like the audience can touch me, anyway," he said with a laugh.

He also stresses that shows wouldn't be limited to clubs and bars and that ticket prices would cost less. Read the whole story here.

What do you think? Would you pay, say, ten bucks to see a holographic image of Kanye West perform instead of $66 to see the real deal?

James Brown is dead and unable to pay his huge legal bills and overdue taxes--so Christie's will auction off his stuff in August.

Here's just a sample of things going up on the block:

A phonograh from the 1920
A couple acoustic guitars (one signed by Ozzy Osborne, William King, and the Commodores)
A signed picture of James Brown and George Bush
A photograph of James Brown and George Bush, Jr inscribed "Killings is Out, School's In"
His 1983 25th Annual Grammy Award
His Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Award
A handmade tambourine
36 keys to various cities
A fur walking stick inscribed "James Brown - Godfather of Soul"
A bunch of clothes covered in rhinestones
A letter written to Princess Di, handwritten by James on the back of Delta in Flight service paper
His birth certificate
An Undercover Brother script
A Dear Sir letter regarding rappers taking advantage of James Brown
A Richmond County Sheriff's Badge
A poem written to James Brown, handwritten by Muhammad Ali

Click here to see all 18 pages worth of stuff via TMZ.com.

Figure 8 isn’t my favorite Elliott Smith record, but it's a great one. "Son of Sam" is a fantastic opening track. I love the way the bright, parlor piano contrasts the distorted guitar that crashes the whole song after he sings "Kiiiiing for a daaaaay!"

The embittered, but reluctantly empowered "Somebody I Used to Know"... "L.A."... every song is so good.

The track that always gets me is "Everything Means Nothing to Me." The perfectly graceful piano, the soft chorus of Smith's voice, slowly being layered over itself again and again to form a sad little choir--it's almost like he's haunting himself in the song.

"Everything means nothing to me... everything means nothing to me... everything means nothing to meee….”

The piano gets louder, slowly. Then the drums hit, unexpectedly. And the strings. My favorite part is when the strings come in with the drums at about the 1:20 mark. The strings come in strong before fading out slow. His voice keeps echoing itself. "Everything means nothing to me... everything means nothing to me... everything means nothing to meee….” In the end, all that's left is the fading piano and the haunting ghost of a symphony.

“Man, I bet this song is amazing live," I thought. Then I recalled the few times I did see Smith. One time hardly counts--it was the really tragic show at the Showbox when he was too drunk/stoned/crazy to play through an entire song without messing up, apologizing, pausing, and starting again.

"He hasn't toured in a long time," I thought. "I wonder..."

Then the chill hit and I remembered--Elliott Smith is dead. He killed himself or someone killed him, but no matter what happened in the hours, minutes, and seconds before it happened, he still ended up with a knife through his heart.

How did I forget that?

His corpse was the most popular Halloween costume that year. It was the most talked about news story in music, mostly because it brought up the possibility for the suicide vs. murder conspiracy theories that still ring loudly over a decade after Kurt’s gunshot to the brain.

But while I sang along to Figure 8, I forgot all of that. Somehow, this morning, I completely forgot that Elliott Smith was dead.

It was so weird.

Mt. St. Helens, Vietnam Band, I'm calling you out.

What is with your obsession with this curtain?

What the hell is going on in this video?

homeostasis

Where's the music? Stop leading me on!

And the emos are losing.

From the Daily Swarm:

"Mexico's Emo Witch Hunt: Mob attacks in Mexico City and Guadalajara... Televisa VJ's rants inspire violence... Emo kids fight back across the country..."

The footage is all in Spanish, but you get the idea of the scene--the punks come in, the Hare Krishnas make an appearance... sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.

And then there's this video in which, says the LA Weekly, "a Televisa on-air personality named Kristoff expresses a serious dose of anti-emo rhetoric and switches to English to say, on network television, “Fucking bullshit” to the emo movement."

If anyone out there speaks Spanish and can translate it, please do. The jist of it is apparently the movement (emo) is stupid and self-absorbed. And yeah, "fucking bullshit." But I'd love to know exactly what's being said. Especially in the news broadcast clip.

Dr. Pepper offers free soda to EVERYONE IN AMERICA if Axl Rose releases Chinese Democracy by 2008's end.

Via Page Six:

March 26, 2008 -- TIRED of a world in which Americans idolize wannabe singers, and where musicals about high school students pass as rock 'n' roll, Dr Pepper is begging Axl Rose to finally release this year his 17-years-in-the-making album, "Chinese Democracy." The soft drink company's incentive to Axl, the frontman of Guns N' Roses? If he ships the album in 2008, everyone in America - except estranged guitarists Slash and Buckethead - will receive a free can of Dr Pepper. "It took a little patience for us to perfect Dr Pepper's special mix of 23 ingredients, so we completely understand and empathize with Axl's question for the perfect album," said a company spokesperson. Dr Pepper is asking fans to lobby Axl to drop the album already.

(Thanks to CK for the tip.)

Calling the city of Seattle any time soon? When they put you on hold, you'll be able to hear a mix of Seattle artists because, as the mayor says between songs "Seattle enjoys an amazing and diverse music scene."

For those of you with no business to tend to, though, you can still hear their stream of hold music via www.seattle.gov/OnHold/.

I just checked it out for a few minutes. The first song I heard--a world music dance track--was a mystery to me. After that, they played an operatic number. Also a mystery. Sadly, they don't identify the artists. But if you like what you hear, you can visit the website, where they list the songs included in the current mix. Right now there's KJ Sawka featuring Blake Lewis, Joshua Morrison, Bill Anschell, Seattle Women's Jazz Orchestra, Son Jack Jr., Matt Weiner and Del Rey, and more.

Weird, huh?

(Thank to John C. for the tip.)

No way! Not one of the "Build Me Up Buttercup" guys! No, no, no.

Has everyone already seen this? I give you, man falls down an escalator:

I miss the hour that was stolen from us Sunday morning. I blame its absence on the fog of tired that has clouded my brain for the past two days. Anyone else been remarkably sleeeeeepy? Today is the worst, though. And why? It's gorgeous outside! It's bright, the air is cool but not too cold, I should be wide awake.

The only thing keeping my blood pumping is the music I'm listening to. Earlier it was Blues. Blistering hardcore was a little too abrasive for my fragile state, though. So right now I'm listening to Desaparecidos Read Music/Speak Spanish. It's a really high energy record, it's getting the job done. For now. Soon, it'll be over.

I need something that will wake me the fuck up but not melt my face off. Something with energy, but good energy--if it's angry, I'm likely to get cranky. If it's too fast, I'm likely to feel even more exhausted. Maybe a little USE? Maybe some old-school Madonna? I just don't know...

What do you listen to to keep your head from hitting your desk about this time everyday?

Suggest something. Quick. I'm fading.

In the poll Trent posted this morning, it's a pretty close race as to who would survive the imaginary plane crash--Lemmy's ahead with 21%, both Jackie Hell and 50 Cent are close behind with 16%, and Danzig's holding up third place with 14%.

But there's one artist who has a huge lead in the "Who would be the first to get eaten?" category: Ben Gibbard. Almost 40% of you think Ben Gibbard would be the first to get eaten.

I thought for sure Dave Matthews would take that one.

Neither did I! But a new documentary on the FBI claims it's true.

Via eonline.com:

A documentary covering the history of the FBI set to air on Britain's BBC Radio 4 has made public for the first time revelations that legendary rocker Mick Jagger was once the target of a failed assassination attempt.

The plan to off the knighted rocker was, per the documentary, hatched by a group of Hells Angels in the aftermath of the group's ill-fated and infamous concert at the Altamont Speedway in 1969.

During the free concert, for which the gang was providing security, an 18-year-old male fan was kicked and stabbed to death by a group of Hells Angels in an incident that was captured on several cameras and that, remarkably, did not lead to the cessation of the show.

Following the fatal concert, Jagger made public a vow not to employ the protection services of the chopper gang anymore, which, apparently, was taken as a big enough slight for the group to seek rather drastic vengeance and attempt to take out the superstar.

Read the whole, very weird story here.

The documentary begins airing tonight on BBC Radio 4, Jagger's episode will air March 11th.

I was fooling around the other day with itunes, attempting to compress the Beatles' White Album double CD version onto a single CD...I don't want two CDs that each only play for about 45 minutes. Plus, I'm not a fan of EVERY song, so I had to dump 14 minutes or so of DEAD weight...the hated Ob-la-de Ob-la-da was FIRST to get cut! So then I figured why not rearrange the track list to suit MY taste! HA, suck on that Mr. Martin! Plus, digitally, the original LP concept (or whatever) is NOT considered as a double CD. As a double LP there were four sides programmed by the band/producer to, respectably, consider, with specific beginnings and endings. You couldn't escape 'em either...well, unless you hovered over the turntable playing only the songs you wanted to hear (or you made a TAPE, I guess), so, odds are, you'd sit through which ever side was playing and hear what THEY wanted you to hear as THEY wanted you to hear it. Unless you were Charles Manson, then you heard something far sinister...ANYWAYS, now, as an armchair producer, I've built a SINGLE 78 minute start to finish piece. No time between tracks either...so here, I give you the Beatles, the "Mike Album" (GET IT?...har har har!)

Back In The U.S.S.R.
Glass Onion
Dear Prudence
Wild Honey Pie
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Happiness Is A Warm Gun
Martha My Dear
Blackbird
I'm So Tired
Piggies
Rocky Raccoon
I Will
Julia
Why Don't We Do It In The Road
Birthday
Mother Nature's Son
Yer Blues
Everybody's Got Something To Hide
Sexy Sadie
Long Long Long
Revolution 9
Helter Skelter
Savory Truffle
Cry Baby Cry
Revolution 1

Ah, now thats better!

We lost a Sonic Boom last night.

There was a sonic boom last night.

Via the PI:

SPOKANE, Wash. -- An apparent meteor streaked through the sky over the Pacific Northwest early Tuesday, drawing reports of bright lights and sonic booms in parts of Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

Although a witness reported seeing the object strike the Earth in a remote part of Adams County, in southeast Washington, it had not been found.

Weird, huh?

I can't play any musical instruments* and I don't play video games, and I've only played Guitar Hero once, and I was so embarrassingly bad at it that I never want to touch the goddamned thing ever again.

But I'm oddly intrigued by this tiny, almost pocket-sized, home version of Guitar Hero, which will allegedly sell for fifteen bucks.

Continue reading "Wee Guitar Hero" »

How bad is mainstream hiphop at this moment? It's so bad that the super producer Rockwilder is giving it up for Christian music. Now that's bad.

In an interview with Movement TV, the Grammy Award winning producer said he has become bored with the current state of Hip-Hop music and will be returning to his roots in the church.

“It’s a new movement going on. And it’s a situation whereas Hip-Hop has reached a level to where it’s boring. [I don’t] really wants to glorify the violent aspects of it,” he said. “Right now, I’m pretty much doing a 360-degree [change] and bringing it back to the essence when I was first raised on that and that Christian music.”

Yesterday Jeff Kirby's post about math rock and the girls who (don't) love it begot a discussion about prog-rock that begot a discussion about Rush that begot the statement that Rush is a musician's band that begot a discussion about whether or not anyone but musicians like Rush that, of course, leaves these three very important questions asked by commenter cosby:

@31 (and all):
the concept of a musician's band brings up more fundamental questions:
1) do musicians enjoy rush or do they just respect rush's chops?
2) can non-musicians (aka lesser people) understand what musicians understand about rush's music?
3) do (non canadian / non musician) girls like rush?

All good questions, my friend. I wanted to bring them out of the den of the comments and open the thread to everyone since I fully agree that only musicians (or people who really wish they were musicians) claim to like Rush and I'm of the opinion that they don't actually like Rush (despite what they say) but they only respect what Rush does.

Why?

Because of all my friends who claim to think Rush is great, I've never once heard Rush them voluntarily listen to Rush--while they were at home, in the car, or at work listening to music... I've never heard a friend who "loves" Rush, listen to Rush.

Carry on.

This is old, so perhaps you've already seen it? But man. Using a Beach Boys song to send a pro-war message? Nuts-o, dude.

America's republican presidential candidate, ladies and gentleman.

Don't forget to caucus this weekend.

A couple weeks ago I posted a link to the website Stage6 which hosts a bunch of great live videos. Most of the good ones I found were from Philly, but I was recently directed to a video of the amazing set San Diego's Sleeping People played at Chop Suey last November. The sound quality is not great, but the band's talent shines through just fine. Watching guitarist Joileah Maddock got me to thinking about girl math rock guitarists, and if perhaps she was the only one. Are there any more? Do any other female musicians care about this genre? I am stumped to think of any other similar band that has a girl in it, particularly one who can shred a guitar like Maddock can. Come to think of it, I don't even know any girls who like listening to math rock. All of a sudden my loneliness is starting to have new context...

Slog beat him to it.

(hat tip to flamingbanjo)

Via Kirotv.com:

EVERETT, Wash. -- A man who falsely claimed to be a member of the local band Queensryche was sentenced in Everett to more than six years in prison Tuesday.

Guitarist Scott Moughton was convicted of 10 identity theft and forgery-related felonies.

The judge also ordered Moughton to pay $13,000 in restitution.

In court Tuesday, a tearful Moughton blamed his actions on drugs and pleaded for reduced time and treatment.

(ht to Idolator)

Three things have been capturing my attention lately on the subject of cover bands.

1) The upcoming performance of No Quarter, the world's premier Led Zeppelin cover band, at the Tractor on 2/23:

They boast "Authentic Costuming!" and "Exclusive Audio Visual Presentation and Laser Light Show!" and "Naming Ourselves After the Worst Led Zeppelin Song Ever Written!" as reasons you should book them.

You all should know that Led Zeppelin is my second favorite band of all time, right after Bikini Kill. I entered that stupid drawing for the London show on the first day, and convinced my dad and my officemate Nick Scholl to enter, too, and then give me the ticket it they won. Yes, I WOULD pay whatever they charged to go see Zeppelin. I think I calculated that if I won a ticket and bought a plane ticket the whole venture was gonna cost me around $700. I didn't care, but I didn't win.

I can't decide if I want to see No Quarter. These guys are obviously cheesenuts and it seems like they might emphasize all the wrong things about the Zep, the "Playing Stairway to Heaven in Guitar Center" type things.

Lame.

2) It's weird how the Cramps were pretty much a cover band:

Tyler Bosch, who is one of our editorial layout designers (and is in the Ononos, kind of a Yoko Ono cover band), has been sending me a lot of the originals of songs that I previously thought of as Cramps songs. Here's Goo Goo Muck, for instance. It was originally recorded by Ronnie Cook & the Gaylads.

Now, I know this is like slap your forehead no fucking duh knowledge. There's even two volumes of a collection called "Songs the Cramps Taught Us" that has all these originals. So don't make fun of me. It's still interesting. And I still want to marry Poison Ivy. The Cramps weren't a cover band because they reworked all these songs with a new, snarling intensity. But. . .they kind of were. Sort of. I mean, technically.

3) I kind of want to form a cover band:

So you see where all this is going? I don't want to adopt the "Authentic Costuming" or whatever. And I don't have the musical chops to completely rework the songs I want to do. So it would be somewhere in the middle of the Cramps and No Quarter. But I still feel musically guilty. It's so unacceptable these days to even do what the Cramps were doing.

It's like eating at Taco Bell--so socially unacceptable, yet extremely satisfying. I want to cover Dusty Springfield, The Ronettes, and Patsy Cline songs. I've tried to satisfy this intense urge at karaoke. It doesn't work. (Partially because for some reason karaoke parlors only ever stock the sad Patsy Cline and Dusty Springfield songs, and I want to cover the badass ones.)

I feel so uncool.

It seems like as good a time as any to link to a recent British TV ad that makes no fucking sense. Reason for posting on Line Out instead of Slog will be apparent by ad's end.

People, we are THIS CLOSE to Bill Hicks' vision of an ad with a naked girl fingering herself, and only two words appearing beneath her body: "Drink Coke." What the hell? And even in spite of my high-and-mightyism, why do I still find this ad (and the G-Unit remix) so amusing? God help me.

A couple months ago I made up a fictional band called Crowbar who had an unclean, germ spreading bass player. Sure enough, there is a real band called Crowbar from New Orleans. They play sludge-core and sound exactly like you would think they sound. Large evil dudes with goatees you would not want to piss off who’s music approaches Orc-Rock.

Of course there is a Crowbar. In many ways it’s a perfect name, synonymous with and standing for all that is sludge-core. An object used with blunt force to strike another person, usually in the head area.

Lets do a quick band name exercise. Make up band names you think probably exist:

1) Destruction – Yes. Destruction. German thrash metal. A gimme.

2) Satan Finger – Almost. There is a Satan’s Fingers and the Hospital Bombers from New Brunswick, NJ. I never would have guessed the Hospital Bombers part.

3) Blotto – There’s a Mr. Blotto. A jam band from Chicago.

Lets take it a little further:

4) Plow Fire 60 – Nope. There’s a Plow, a Mr. Plow, and a Snow Plow.

And:

5) Night Wish – We’ve got a hit. It's Nightwish though, one word, not two. Colossally shitty Euro-sleeze metal with orchestral cheese ballads. Their release Dark Passion Play is nominated for best album at the Finnish “Emma” Awards.

If cheese were speed, Nightwish travel at light-speed.

I didn’t expect the metal aspect to a band named Nightwish. I expected more spiritual goddess. They combine crappy orchestral singing with every metal lick you played when you were in seventh grade. Not only is there a goatee going on, there is a double-split twirled goatee going on. Bass player, Marco:

This concludes today’s band name exercise. You are traveling light-speed, your goatee is split twirled, you have an orc axe, a million MySpace friends, and you’re nominated for best album / band of the year.

Oh, and you’re smoking crack. You smoke so much crack that you think you live in Hobbiton. You’re Finnish, you’re paranoid, and you sleep with your bass and a shield. You also hide pellets of crack in your goatee because if you don’t smoke every twenty minutes, you withdraw and breakdown at the realization that you write metal ballads about battling dragons and play them in front of people.

Via CBSnews.com:

Stacey Gayle recalled, 18 months ago, being at a barbecue and collapsing when the Jamaican rapper Sean Paul's music started playing, and then remembered having a previous seizure when she had heard his music. "I would get that aura before that song would come on," she said.

Music wasn't the only trigger, but it was an important one.

"I was just having seizures, just found it was triggered by music," she said.

It was Sean Paul first, and then others.

Read the full, fascinating, weird story at CBSnews.com.

And then watch this video to see if you suffer from the same condition:

Jonathan Davis is 37 years old today!

I still really dislike Korn.

A bluegrass cover of "Sweet Child o Mine."

With fiddles.

And banjos.

And O Brother, Where Art Thou harmonies

(You'll find out more in the January 24th issue of The Stranger.)

Fuck you.

Who's tougher: Fucked Up or Swallowing Shit?

Poll closes when I feel like it. Results, as always, are binding.

I dare you.

Here's what the all-ages scene has to say to the "fucked up" 21+ scene (the lousy drunks that you are):

I'm kidding.

The all-ages scene has just as many drunks as the 21+ scene.

I'm kidding again. (Sorta.)

But actually, this is a more accurate representation of what I meant when I said the 21+ scene is currently fucked up (one of the first videos I saw when I tried to find the band Fucked Up playing "Nervous Breakdown" at SXSW [which is here]):

Whoa.

(Funnily enough, this video also perfectly captures the picture in my head I have of certain commenters.)

A curious line from this week's Underage:

So maybe you're still just a kid. It's okay—the 21+ scene is kinda fucked up right now and the kids appear to have their shit together.

Wha?! Fucked up because we're over 21 and drinking? Or does the 21+ scene not "have their shit together" just because some venues closed/changed hands (as happens from time to time, even with all-ages venues)? Or maybe you mean Fucked Up like this:

(If that's what you meant, then we're totally cool.)

So I'm sitting here working and listening to my iPod on random shuffle mode and on comes a song that I don't immediately recognize, but in a few seconds I realize it sounds more like the Magnetic Fields than anyone else. The song had the pretty/dreary feedback of the great Magnetic Fields songs of yore, synthy strings, an aggressively conventional structure and melody, and simple lyrics delivered in a charming near-monotone--who else could it be?

When I look, I learn the truth: It's Bruce Springsteen, "Girls in Their Summer Clothes," from last year's Magic.

When Bruce Springsteen sounds like the Magnetic Fields, musical postmodernism has come full circle.

Making this all weirder: This is the second Springsteen-related iPod mindblower I've experienced this year. The first happened last spring when my shuffle brought up what sounded like the greatest Bruce song I'd never heard—which of course turned out to be "(Antichrist Television Blues)."

Spooky.

Carry on.

Pitchfork reports today on an alleged physical altercation between Shins multi-instrumentalist Marty Crandall and girlfriend (and former ANTM contestant) Elyse Sewell that landed the couple in a Sacramento jail on felony domestic assault charges. From Sewell's Livejournal:

Think you had a shitty weekend? Nah. Why not compare it to mine?

1.) On the drive home (home?) from Albuquerque to Portland, my ex-boyfriend got shitfaced and roughed me up in a Sacramento hotel. I escaped from the room through a blitzkrieg of violence and talked to hotel security, who called the fuzz.

2.) Because he had a bite mark, inflicted in self-defense, on his arm, Marty told the police to PRESS CHARGES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST ME. Now I am a felon.

3.) I spent the night in jail. Dig the hilarous monetary contents of my wallet as described by the pig who booked me:

4.) Jailors. America's Next Top Model fans, all. As the warden took pics of my bloody knuckles for evidence (!!!! evidence!), he quipped, "So there goes that hand modeling job, huh? What's Tyra going to say about this?" And here is how I was summoned from the holding cell for a strip-search, complete with a thorough plumbing of the boodissy: "Hey, Supermodel! Git over here!"

4.) A bail bondsman (!!! I have a bail bondsman!) got me out of the hoosegow this morning and took me to a hotel room where I now await my court date. Martin Lesley Crandall is still incarcerated. You can follow his saga by searching for his name on sacsheriff.com (click on "inmate information").

So I'm stuck in Sac-town, alone and lonely, for 4-5 days until court. Court! OMFG.

On the flip side, I'm single and um, ready to mingle. Blind date, anyone?

ETA: Breakfast in jail is served at 4:00am. Meat-stuffed croissant. And, you should already know what a "kite" is if you've been studying your 50 Cent lyrics. But "toilet talk"? That was a new one for me. Apparently, if you bail all the water out of the toilet, you can use the pipes to talk to inmates on different floors. And, girl, you can tell who do it 'cause they got like a big rash or whatever on they face from puttin' it down in the toilet and shit. Damn..

Crandall remains incarcerated (you can view his booking file here). No statement so far from Crandall, the band, or Sub Pop.

Update: Sub Pop has issued the following statement:

Marty Crandall and his ex-girlfriend Elyse Sewell were both arrested over the weekend following an argument at a Sacramento hotel which resulted in hotel staff calling the police.

They were both taken into police custody and released over the weekend.

There will be no further comment at this time and we would appreciate their privacy being respected.

From an email press release:

On Monday, January 7th, WWE Superstar Mr. Kennedy will be available for phone interviews to discuss the “RAW Greatest Hits: The Music” CD, which includes his entrance theme “Turn Up The Trouble”. He will be available from 8AM EST – 9:45AM EST. Please let me know if you’d be interested in scheduling some phone time with Mr. Kennedy.

Thank you,

Al Stavola
Publicity Coordinator
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

Office: 203-406-REDACTED
REDACTED@wwecorp.com

The tracklist:

1. The Time Is Now (John Cena's Theme)
2. I Won't Do What You Tell Me (Stone Cold Steve Austin's Theme)
3. If You Smell (The Rock's Theme)
4. The Game (Triple H's Theme)
5. Sexy Boy (Shawn Michaels' Theme)
6. Rest In Peace (Undertaker's Theme)
7. No Chance In Hell (Mr McMahon's Theme)
8. I Walk Alone (Batista's Theme)
9. Line In The Sand (Evolution's Theme)
10. Break The Walls Down (Chris Jericho's Theme)
11. Wreck (Mick Foley's Theme)
12. Time To Rock & Roll (Trish Stratus' Theme)
13. (619) (Rey Mysterio's Theme)
14. Slow Chemical (Kane's Theme)
15. Are You Ready? (D-Generation X's Theme)
16. Paparazzi (Melina's Theme)
17. Turn Up The Trouble (Ken Kennedy's Theme)

(Is that "Sexy Boy" by Air?)

From the album review on Amazon.com:

With fifteen years of Raw, a record-setting broadcast program, you might expect a decent amount of diversity. Not so in the case of WWE Raw's Greatest Hits, the newest WWE music CD.

In most cases, selection of a "Greatest Hits" package is fairly objective. What sold? What sold really well? Bands often compile their greatest commercial successes. With a compilation along these lines, it's not so cut and dry.

However, this CD's focus seems incredibly narrow, focusing on the "Attitude Era" and themes you could have all picked off one or two CDs, and current wrestlers. Often times, these groupings are one and the same. While several of the themes are appealing, they are not what I would call a spectacular compilation, or worth retail price.

Apparently people are pretty serious about this shit.

So. Anybody have any questions for Mr. Kennedy?

Megadeth main-man Dave Mustaine has worms. 51 varieties of them, to be exact:

Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine never realized when he hit the road, how much of it he brought back with him.

Mustaine says he went to see a health practitioner who did an analysis of his body.

She told him he found 51 parasites in his body, many of which were varieties of worms.

He couldn't believe it.

(thank you, Idolator)

CDs often come with stickers on the packaging saying stuff like "Featuring the hit single (insert hit single here)!" or "As heard on MTV2!" or whatever. This one that came in the mail the other day, Ben's Brothers' Beta Male Fairytales, had a sticker I'd never seen before:

As heard on the Dentyne Ice commercial? As heard for 30 seconds on a commercial for gum? That's worth boasting about. Gotta admit, though, as soon as I read that, I knew exactly which song they were talking about.

There's also this one, that Eric just reminded me of:

Saying "As Seen on YouTube" is like saying "as seen on the Internet."

Yeah, so in the Wilhelm Scream write-up I say "Lil Brudder." I say it because lately I've been totally in love with this:

"That Lil Brudder sure knows how to tug at your heartstrings."

(Thanks to Robby for introducing me to Lil Brudder.)