In which a song with a most charming history somehow becomes even moreso, which I wouldn't have thought possible. But here we have Feist on "Sesame Street," serenading the Muppet hordes with a modified version of her iPod-sanctioned hit "1-2-3-4" -- what could be more perfect?
This will air on the show's season premiere on Aug. 11. But you can dig it now.
A fairly famous artist did the poster for Tift Merritt's upcoming Raleigh show. Click through to give it a look-see.
Click through to see two possible signs of God's existence, plus a bunch more verbiage about one of my all-time favorites.
We have the first of what should be many benefit shows confirmed for Cy Rawls, who is being treated for a brain tumor -- Aug. 1 at Slim's in Raleigh. Devour, Grass Widow and Double Negative are on the bill. There are also plans in the works for "CyTunes" benefit recordings by area acts to start emerging soon.
More to come...
UPDATE: Double Negative is off the Aug. 1 bill at Slim's, but Grass Widow and Devour are still playing.
After repeatedly bypassing the Triangle last year, Billy Corgan's latterday version of Smashing Pumpkins will finally play in Raleigh next month -- Aug. 17 at Raleigh Memorial Auditorium. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at the usual places.
Because I'm always running weeks (if not months -- or even years) behind on keeping up with new movies, I didn't catch Pixar's latest piece of magic "Wall-E" until this weekend. And I flat loved it, cranky anti-capitalist overtones and all. It's a heartbreakingly sweet love story; and, in a great little bonus, the movie's closing-credits number is Peter Gabriel's best song in recent memory.
Two of the most volatile spheres of the online celebrity-music universe collided early Saturday morning, in the form of a crazed and furious blog post from Courtney Love. In it, Love accuses former Raleighite Ryan Adams of running up $858,000 on her credit cards to make his 2003 album "Rock N Roll" (which was produced by her then-beau, Jim Barber) and generally gets her rant on in that inimitable C-Lo style.
It is, of course, NSFW. But what the heck, it's the weekend.
If it comes to the writing of checks, perhaps this can be tapped?
(Thanks, Thomas.)
UPDATE (7/21/08): For whatever it's worth, the post in question seems to have disappeared from Love's MySpace blog.
ADDENDUM (7/24/08): Further legal trouble for Love.
FURTHER (7/31/08): Ryan responds? Hmm...
The ESPY Awards air on Sunday night, and yes, we've got a bit of a hometown angle. Click through to find out what it is.
If you've got a few hundred bucks burning a hole in your pocket, you can put in a bid on a piece of Raleigh rock history. One of former local Ryan Adams' old Whiskeytown-vintage guitar cases is for sale via ebay auction, with bidding starting at $200. The case dates from Whiskeytown's final tour in 1999 and was rendered superfluous after Adams smashed the guitar it held -- reportedly in the midst of some onstage trash talk about rival band the Old 97s. Below is the seller's description from the ebay listing.
Bidding ends Monday. As of yet, there's been no comment about this from Adams (who is working on a new album and book of poetry, according to his Web site). I've sent word and if he responds, I'll post it.
(Thanks, Dean.)
ADDENDUM (8/13/08): Speaking of history, one of Adams' guitars is on display at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Being offered is an acoustic guitar case that belonged to Ryan Adams during the last tour ever of Whiskeytown which took place in 1999. I was their guitar tech during that time. I kept every guitar for he and the other lead guitarist and bassist ready every day, every show, every place. The guitar that belonged inside was smashed to bits by Ryan on
stage in Houston, Texas so he had no further use for the case. The case is silver faux fur lined and remains in great shape. Everything you see was handwritten by Ryan personally. No, he no longer lives at the address noted on the case. I will throw in one of Ryan's Whiskeytown stage used guitar picks. Ryan and I left on terms that were absolutely fine. I revere his talent as one of the greatest songwriters alive. It is just that I would rather this go to someone who will appreciate it, take care of it and, perhaps, display it as a piece of Ryan
Adams/Whiskeytown history rather than it sitting in storage. Winner to pay actual UPS ground shipping plus supplies(meaning a sturdy box big enough to accommodate the case). I am only shipping this domestically inside the confines of the United States. If you wish to pay via Paypal the needed information will be supplied once the auction has ended. I would appreciate being paid within 10 days of your having received the needed payment information. I do not accept personal checks under any circumstances. Should you have any further questions feel free to ask. Thanks for your consideration.
Well, here's one sure to rile up ol' BillO -- rapper Nas' "Sly Fox" video. Equal parts old-school dis and media critique of the self-proclaimed we-report-you-decide network, it's sure to reinforce whatever pre-existing opinion you bring to the party.
(Yes, Virginia, it's NSFW.)
ADDENDUM (7/24/08): Nas on "Colbert."
