Music's 3R's 8.31.09: DJ AM's Death, New Rob Zombie, New Weezer, MJ Homicide?, More

Posted by Aaron Titan on 08.31.2009

From DJ AM's tragic death, M.I.A. slamming Tenacious D, and Michael Jackson's death being ruled a homicide to new tracks from Weezer, Drake, and Zombie, 411's Aaron Titan breaks down the Right, wRong, and Ridiculous from the week in music in the latest edition of Music's 3 R's!



Greetings

Welcome once again to The Music 3'Rs! It's been a long, tiresome week at work but I managed to find time to comment on current music world happenings. I'm actually having a hard time right now not having any concert tickets in my possession, as I'm usually looking forward to one at all times. I try to attend at least 8-10 shows per year, but this has been a slower year.

In the 2009 calendar year, I've seen the following shows: Les Claypool/Saul Williams/Devotchka, The Rockstar Energy Mayhem Tour, and the Mudvayne/Black Label Society-headlined Pedal to the Metal Tour. I was hoping to catch Wilco in October, but it's during the workweek, and with a full-time gig now, I just haven't the time. Oh well... On to brighter pastures I suppose, so let's get rolling.

The Column

For those unfamiliar with the 3'Rs concept, here's the breakdown. I will be reporting and commenting on happenings in the music world and categorizing all the hoopla into three sections: the Right, the wRong, and the Ridiculous. The Right will feature news, albums, and announcements music-related that I'm personally stoked about. The wRong will be the bad versions of all three of the aforementioned. The Ridiculous is the worst of it all, that which makes good ol' Mr. Titan shake his head in perplexing amazement.

The Right





New Weezer: Weezer will release their latest batch of songs, entitled Raditude, on October 27. The first single was released last week and can be streamed above. I just heard the song a few minutes ago and enjoyed it. It's poppy, fun Weezer stuff. Honestly, I can't wrap my brain around how some people revere this band and really set their albums to such a standard.

For example, I was in college when The Red Album came out. I bought it and dug a fair amount of the songs. I had listened to it a few times over and went on Facebook to find a bunch of status updates about the new album. Most were along the lines of "Red Album sucks" or "Wow! Weezer, you guys fucking blow now? What happened?"

I mean, it's fine to have your own opinion, but I don't think Weezer's the type of band who'll change the world. They write catchy, pop-rock songs and I personally enjoy them. Not something I live or die over. My expectations for Raditude are the same as they were for any Weezer album. I'll buy it, jam out to it in my car or while doing some paperwork, and let a few tunes get stuck in my head. Isn't that what music's generally for anyways? Enjoyment?

Forever:





Well goddamn! Not too shabby. Let's break down the verses shall we?

Drake's was pretty tight. I'm starting to see what the big deal is about this guy, though I'm not completely feeling the auto-tune use. I'm fairly confident his official debut album is going to be something special.

And hey, Kanye's rapping again. He's starting to win me over as an MC between this track and his spot on Jay-Z's new single, "Run This Town."

Weezy's was pretty good. Anytime Wayne talks about martians and shit, I'm entertained.

However, the breakout on this track is Slim Shady! He spits the verse on this track with a unique, rapid-fire delivery which is what I've enjoyed so much about 2009 Eminem. Listen to The Relapse and just see how he switches up his delivery. He's even said the reason Dr. Dre did all the production on his new albums was so he could focus on his rhymes.

This track is supposed to be part of the soundtrack to a new LeBron James documentary, More Than a Game.



New Zombie: Rob Zombie announced in a recent interview for his new film Halloween II will release his fourth solo album on November 10. As far as I know, guitarist John5 (ex-Marilyn Manson) is still a member of Zombie's solo band, so I'm counting on this album to be as solid as 2006's Educated Horses was. John5 is a guitarist I really respect. His solo work is really mindblowing and I think his songwriting and guitar playing really make Horses what it was. He's also a treat to watch in concert, as I happened to catch Zombie's American Witch Tour in 2007 twice (once playing with Lacuna Coil, once with Anthrax).

The reason I'm not sure whether John5 is still in Zombie's band is because of this asshole...



Ozzy's been in the press as of late, because he's talked about replacing long-time guitarist Zakk Wylde with a new axeman in his solo band. He's gone on record saying he fears his music is sounding too much like Wylde's side-project, Black Label Society. Just 2 years ago, Ozzy got longtime Rob Zombie bassist Blasko to jump ship to his solo band. Let's hope the same doesn't happen again. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to Zombie's currently untitled album and will hopefully be seeing his new remake sequel, Halloween II sometime over the next week.

The wRong



R.I.P. DJ AM: On Friday, August 28th, DJ AM (aka Adam Goldstein) was found dead in his New York apartment. This is a tragic event and having just found out about this, I'm super bummed. I first heard about DJ AM like a lot of people did, when he was involved in a plane crash with Travis Barker last fall that both men survived. I heard about Barker and AM's collaborative album Fix Your Face and really enjoyed it. Recently, I downloaded their live album, Fix Your Face, Vol. 2: Coachella '09 and also thought it was really dope.

The main gist of the TRV$DJAM was DJ AM spinning and remixes tracks with Travis Barker laying a drum beat over it all. It sounds different and I really like it. Here's a taste for those unawares out there:





Goldstein has filmed some sort of reality series based on his drug addictions for MTV called Gone Too Far. It was supposed to premiere in October; however, speculation has begun to arise that drugs played a part in his death. It's somewhat unlikely the show will air out of respect for his family, but we'll see... R.I.P. DJ AM.



M.I.A. insults 'The D': At this past weekend's Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco, The Beatles Boys were supposed to close our the last day as the headliners; however, MCA (aka Adam Yauch) has had a bout with cancer, one which it seems he will defeat. Tenacious D were brought on to replace The Beasties at Lands, but M.I.A., playing before The D that day, took issue with this via Twitter. Below is what she wrote in response to the news:

p.s I originally booked on shows coz Beasties were headliners, but now they ain't doing it and I jus wanna say, we have to go hard!!!

Can't believe they replaced Beasties with Tenacious D??? And if I pull out they sue! So really? Tenacious D after me?

So me and Jack Black are back to back, Beasties get well soon!

You're all welcome on stage from the get go, fu** it! I'm takin ‘Bird Flu' out of the set! Just to make a point!

Hey, M.I.A.,

Yeah, you had a really big hit single with "Paper Planes." I liked it, the Slumdog people liked it, we all liked it. But how about you fuck off for a while. Let's check the ego, OK? Yes, we all know that you have the uncanny ability to "fly like paper" and get "high like planes." Does that make you some sort of rock star? One hit single?

Honestly, if opening for Tenacious D pisses you off that much, how about you stop bitching about it and go out there and steal the show? That would make a bigger statement, wouldn't it? I hope Jack Black made fun of your ass onstage this weekend, because you should just stop tweeting and be a professional.

I need some 'D' to rebound from that one, just because I love Tenacious D.





The Ridiculous:

This week, I present the special Michael Jackson edition of "The Ridiculous." A lot of big news broke last week about Michael Jackson. Even though he's gone, he's still with us in spirit, though that's not necessarily a good thing after all...



Homicide?: Before I get started, I'd just like to say that homicide is nothing to scoff or make light of, and I don't intend to do so here. I find the roller-coaster story of Michael Jackson's autopsy process to be somewhat ridiculous, which is why I've filed the story here. I respect the music Michael Jackson created during his storied career and wouldn't use my voice here to defame him. It's the way the media and public are treating his death that's been pretty crazy, and if that's not enough, we finally have the autopsy report and it's even more bizarre than we originally presumed.

The Los Angeles Coroner's Office announced this past Friday that Michael Jackson's autopsy results showed that he died from "acute propofol intoxication." Essentially, he was given too much propofol (a surgical anesthetic) and a tranquilizer called Ativan, allegedly by his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, mere hours before his death.

So the saga of Michael Jackson takes another unexpected twist. We may have a murder investigation on our hands here. If the information about Murray turns out to be true, Jacko will probably come off as a victim, and rightly so to a certain extent. However, if he really was that dependent on drugs, shouldn't he have sought some help at some point? No doubt addiction is a bitch, so maybe his family should've been looking out for his interests a little more before he died instead of after the fact. It's all really speculation, which is what it's been since the beginning of this story anyways, but this brings me to my next news beat...



The Jackson 5 Reality Show!!!: Before Michael Jackson died, his brothers in the Jackson 5 (Marlon, Tito, Jermaine, and Randy) were filming a reality special for A&E centered around the hopefully fruition of Jackson family reunion concert. Supposedly, there is footage of Michael in the show that A&E will air as a series sometime in the future.

Michael and Janet both declined participation in any reunion show with the other Jackson siblings, so obviously the concert never happened. It's just more exploitation of a tragic situation. We haven't seen the last of Michael Jackson and the money train hasn't stopped chugging yet. I'm a Michael Jackson fan and think he's the best music video performer of all time - rivaled by none. With that said, it's gotten to the point where I'm getting sick of hearing his music when I'm out and about and seeing MJ tribute specials still running on TV.

I mean, the guy got a big sendoff at the Staples Center shown on multiple networks for the world to see. I can't remember a celebration of a celebrity's life after his or her passing that was so theatrical, hyped, and publicly broadcast to the eager masses as this one. What more needs to be said? It's almost like Michael Jackson is a bigger presence now that he's gone than when he was here. What's really interesting about it all is how people forget that he was on trial twice for sexual misconduct and erratic, inappropriate behavior with underage children. Granted, he was proven innocent both times, but the way he hung out with kids was no doubt strange. Everybody tore him a new asshole during both trials and he had such a bad name, but that whole story has seemingly dissipated now.

Well hey, at least we have a concert footage film in theaters around Halloween from his rehearsals for the "This Is It" London shows. As fun as that would be to see on Halloween weekend, I'm boycotting and going to the bar instead. The insanity must stop! Let's end this on a high note, OK?





Hasta Luego

And so goes another edition of Music's 3R's. As always, show love or discontent below because feedback is welcome. Any music news you want represented here next week? Let me know! Cheers!