SPIN…
Courtney Love Reminds Lana Del Rey ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ Is About ‘My Vagina’
CLASSIC ALBUM… #1 RECORD, BIG STAR
Alex Chilton and Chris Bell were the Memphis whiz kids at the heart of Big Star. They mixed British-pop finesse with all-American hard rock, from the surging “Feel” to the acoustic “Thirteen.” Big Star didn’t sell many records, but the Eighties explosion of poppy garage bands would’ve been unimaginable without them.
THIS DAY IN MUSIC…
August 1, 1987, Los Lobos were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of the Ritchie Valens song ‘La Bamba’, which was also a No.1 hit in the US. The song was the title track from the film based on Ritchie Valens who died in the same plane crash the killed Buddy Holly.
CLASSIC ALBUM… IN UTERO, NIRVANA
Nirvana hired hard-nosed Steve Albini to record the follow-up to Nevermind. Geffen asked them to clean up some of the results, and you can hear the tension in white-noise ruckus like “Serve the Servants.” But the only thing that can explain the scalding “Rape Me” is inner pain.
THIS DAY IN MUSIC…
July 10,1965, The Rolling Stones started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’, the group’s first chart-topper there. In the UK, the song was initially played only on pirate radio stations because its lyrics were considered too sexually suggestive.
CLASSIC ALBUM… SEA CHANGE, BECK
Breakup records are rarely this lovely. Sea Change is the pristine sound of everything falling apart, a glossy take on a bummed-out Sixties folk sound. The music seems to be floating up from the bottom of the ocean; the words were straight from Beck’s broken heart.
Mary J. Blige Addresses Burger King Ad Controversy…
Yesterday afternoon, Mary J. Blige addressed her contentious Burger King ad with Hot 97′s Angie Martinez. Blige apologized and described feeling hurt after the quickly-pulled ad created backlash online.
I went online to listen to the remix I did with Fat Joe and I’m looking for that. I’m looking for “Another Round,” and all I could see is Burger King, and chicken, and buffoonery…and it just broke my heart. I want to apologize to everyone that was offended or thought that I would do something so disrespectful to our culture. I would never do anything like that purposely, I thought I was doing something right so forgive me.
For more of Mary’s thoughts on the controversy, you can listen to the entire interview here. (via The Fader…)
Weezer Announce ‘Blue Album’ and ‘Pinkerton’ Nostalgia Shows…
Love early Weezer albums and hate the high seas? You’re in luck: fans who were skint (or sea-squirmish) around the time Weezer cruise tickets went on sale last year may now enjoy the emo-Caribbean jaunt’s musical accoutrements, which revived the band’s 2010 Blue Album-and-Pinkerton tour in a double performance of the albums, beyond these YouTube fan videos. The band just announced a new festival-heavy tour via a short, sweet, and to-the-point video (looking at you, Green Day) posted to their YouTube account that will include a pair of über-meta shows repeating those nostalgic performances of the entirety of two of their most beloved 90s albums (via This is Fake DIY).
The 11-date adventure will hit up only two traditional venues (the rest are all festivals — there’s even a fair!) before descending onto the Hard Rock Live stage in Orlando, coincidentally not too far from where the Weezer Cruise docked, in Miami, for two nights consisting only of the band’s first and second albums, The Blue Album and Pinkerton, in their entirety. Sadly, the jaunts probably won’t include a repeat performance from that pint-sized fan who rocked along to Ozma’s set on the cruise. Another appearance by Lost’s Jorge Garcia, though… (More via SPIN…)
