Music's 3R's 02.01.10: Lauryn Hill Returns, Angels and Airwaves Free Album, New Jimi Hendrix, Metallica Concert Riots, More!

Posted by Aaron Titan on 02.01.2010

From the new Jimi Hendrix single and Taylor Swift's inexplicable bigness to the Metallica concert riots in Chile, Lauryn Hill's surprise return to the stage, American Idol's audition episodes, Angels and Airwaves' new free album, System of a Down's reunion rumors being squashed, and more, 411's Aaron Titan brings you all the Right, wRong, and Ridiculous in the music world in this week’s Music 3R’s!



Greetings

Welcome back to a little place I call the Music 3R's. Aaron Titan here as always, ready to bring you some music news commentary that doesn't have anything to do with the Grammys.

Honestly, I didn't watch em' live, but I have the trusty DVR to get me through nights when I've gotta' decide between a meaningless award show and the WWE Royal Rumble. It was a no-brainer and I chose to watch the Grammys later this week. Really though, I'll just skim to the performances I wanted to catch, such as the Drake, Eminem, Lil' Wayne, and Travis Barker collabo. There's a few others I can't think of right now but know I wanted to watch. I'll probably recap some of that shit next week, but by now, ten others have probably commented on the Grammys and I'll just choose to opt out this year. Maybe I'll head up the live commentary on 411Mania in 2011 if it's not during the Rumble or any NFL Playoff action.

And here's the Opus of the Week…



Opus of the Week: Taking the Long Way




Now I don't claim to be a big country fan. I mean, I dig on Johnny Cash and most recently, my friend Troy turned me on to some Hank Williams III stuff. I also enjoy Ween's country album for the fun-ness of it. Overall though, it's not my top choice in music, because most country these days is borderline pop and is from people who aren't from the south trying to be southern. However, about a year ago, I stayed up super-late and instead of writing my senior research paper (I was just finishing up college at the time), I decided to find a good movie to stream online. I remembered seeing previews for The Dixie Chicks' Shut Up and Sing documentary previewed and decided I needed to see it immediately, being the rock doc fan I am and all. The album depicts all the fallout from Natalie Maines' anti-George W. Bush comments and the eventual recording of the album in question.

I dig this album for several reasons. First of all, it's not the pop-country bullshit that pervades like, two or three channels on my cable programming (what's up with that anyways!?). Second of all, it's accessible and catchy as hell, but there's a certain musical integrity to it: good singing and harmonizing, great instrumental work, and a complete rounded album as a whole. Plus, Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) plays drums on it and Rick Rubin is the producer. Can't go wrong there!

Titan's Key Tracks: "Taking the Long Way," "Lubbock or Leave It"



The Column

For those unfamiliar with the 3R's 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 Jimi Hendrix: Will Jimi Hendrix be the new Tupac Shakur of classic rock, releasing more posthumous music than he did while alive? Time will tell, but the fall of 2010 marks the 40th anniversary of Hendrix's death and it's being commemorated with a new previously unreleased single, "Valleys of Neptune," as well as a new album of other unreleased tracks that come out in March. Here's the single:





I'm not a big Hendrix buff or anything – I own his greatest hits album and the Live at Woodstock double-album – but this song, decades later, is still better than a lot of the garbage being released these days. It's got the classic jamming Hendrix guitar sound and soulful vocals I know and love by this guy. I know I'll pick up this new Hendrix compilation as will a new generation of music fans who haven't listened to any of Jimi's music yet. Hendrix is a fucking legend and deserves any recognition possible, regardless of the whole "cashing in" factor. If some record execs get to cash in while we get new unreleased Jimi Hendrix music, I could give a fuck less. That's just a good thing right there. I wonder what other classic rock bands have some good B-sides shit sitting around in a vault that might suddenly get motivated to release it to the general public? Led Zeppelin…we're looking in your direction!



Angels and Airwaves Give Love:





On Valentine's Day, Blink-182's Tom Delonge and his brethren in Angels and Airwaves will release their third album Love for free online. Their record company, Geffen, is allowing them to self-release it themselves, which is pretty cool. I'm all for anything free, so I'll be checking this out despite my previous aversion to Angels and Airwaves. Basically, when Tom came out announcing this new project after Blink went on the "hiatus," he was talking like a weirdo about how this would be the biggest, most epic band in the world. There's nothing more annoying than declaring yourself "epic" instead of earning the respect of the music fans and letting them do that for you.

That said, Tom's going to be doing a new Blink album and if he can get over himself finally, I can too (get over Tom, not myself). Mark Hoppus recently said they're going to work like mad to ensure the album comes out in 2010 despite rumors of it being released in 2011.

Plus, it's just so…literal to download and listen to an album called Love on Valentine's Day.

Speaking of the need to be epic…

The wRong



System of a Down Hiatus Status: After all the System of a Down reunion rumors recently kicked into gear, everyone seems to think they'll be returning in 2010 for sure, except for the band themselves. Frontman Serj Tankian shed some light on the situation and confirmed a reunion is NOT in the work at the moment:

"We always have offers to play, from festivals and stuff, but we have not decided to do anything as of yet. We're in touch. We talk. We call it an indefinite hiatus, and that's how we still look at it. Nothing's really changed."

So what's Serj doing now? Apparently trying to be even more "epic" than Tom Delonge, if that's indeed possible. Apparently, he's worked with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in New Zealand to record an symphony version of his Elect the Dead solo album. The CD/DVD comes out in March.

I mean, was the album even really THAT good as a normal rock album that it deserves the ‘S & M' treatment? I threw it on yesterday while getting ready to go out and still can't quite get into it. I mean, there's a few good songs on there, no doubt, but overall, it just feels like Serj trying to be "epic" instead of letting the music's epicness peak through on its own in an organic way. A lot of bad self-harmonizing and just too much going on all over the place for me personally. I guess when you get to the success level of SOAD though, you can see these creative whims through and people will listen to it regardless.



Look Who Turned Up!:








Yes folks, Lauryn Hill turned up for a surprise performance at the Raggamuffin Festival in New Zealand (this is officially the most ‘New Zealand' mentions in the column thus far) on Saturday, January 23. She performed "Doo Wop (That Thing)" and a few other songs from what I can gather. I also see that she did pretty well from what the video showed.

Hill has been on a hiatus of sorts for a while. She hasn't released new music in forever and hadn't performed up until now since 2008 after some poor live showings and an onstage breakdown in New Orleans that was so bad, fans wanted refunds. She bailed on later gigs, citing "personal reasons."

I'm not sure what she's going through, but I hope that she can find her way back into the recording studio sooner than later and air it all out there. I know she had a kid and that's probably been a big part of her staying out of the limelight. I can definitely respect that. I guess my only point is that a voice like hers shouldn't go to waste. Point made. Let's move on.

[Credit: Billboard]



Fans Riot in Chile:





At Metallica's January 26 concert in Santiago, Chile, riots broke out when hundreds of non-paying fans tried to bum-rush the show's entrance at the Club Hipico horse-racing grounds. There were 120 fans arrested and one officer injured. If you watched the video above, you saw that they had to blast riot hoses at fans to get them back.

Now, some might be quick to just dismiss this as a riot in a foreign country, but I remember a similar event happening when I attended Lollapalooza 2008. Fans were trying to break into Chicago's Grant Park for the Rage Against the Machine set and inside, it wasn't much better. Fans were trampling each other – my girlfriend and I had secured a decent spot in the crowd and had to back up at least 50-100 yards because we were getting crushed – to get closer and drunk frat boys were trying to beat the hell out of each other in silly mosh pits.

Sometimes I wonder if promoters consider the logistics of their grounds and minimal security detail. In a crowded field at night during an aggressive hard rock band's performance, perhaps you need to disperse more security throughout the crowd, and almost as importantly, you need to make sure the fucking gate is secure at the entrance. That really shouldn't be hard to set up.

I would say – and this might have been true at this Metallica show as well – that at Lollapalooza that day, the security was heavier at 11:00 in the morning than during the headliners' (Rage and Wilco) performances at 9:00 in the evening. Wouldn't you have it be equal or maybe even heavier at night? I know that you need your forces thick when admitting people into the concert, but isn't everybody drunker at night-time when all the exciting bands play?

I don't know how many concerts Chile gets, but Metallica is one of the biggest bands in the world and you would think that they'd recognize the demand for the concert, legal and illegal, that night. I guess not though…

The Ridiculous



Who Is Taylor Swift: No, I know who she is! Everybody does and everybody loves her. She actually broke the record for most download sales in one week by a female artist with her single from the Valentine's Day soundtrack: "Today Was a Fairytale." Here's what all the fuss is about:





Ever since Taylor Swift became super huge, I've just been…trying to figure it out. What's her appeal? Perhaps it's the youth factor (20 years old) and kids connect to someone more their age? Maybe it's the cute factor, as she's certainly got the ‘cute look' going on, but she's certainly no sex symbol or like, as provocative as a Lady Gaga. I don't think Lady Gaga's hot or anything (she's kind of weird lookin'), but that's the angle she's working and I'm just acknowledging that.

Is it just the music? I think not based on this single. I mean, the holder of this record before Swift broke it was Britney Spears for her "Womanizer" single. I can wrap my head around why Britney Spears is successful. That makes sense, given her looks (OK, more so in the past than now, two kids and one substance abuse problem later), stage productions, and notoriety. And hell, "Womanizer" is a catchy song for what it's worth. This Taylor Swift song is just kind of bland and uncontrived when it comes down to it.

I think her ‘it factor' with SO MANY people is kind of a knockout combo of the cross-genre angle working with fans of pop and country music, the youth/cute factor, and the wholesome factor. I mean, if I had kids, I'd prefer they choose Taylor Swift over Miley Cyrus. She's not had any commotion in the press outside of some innocent celebrity dating rumors. Miley Cyrus on the other hand…well, we just won't go there.

Also, I'm sure the sympathy factor weighs in there pretty heavily still, as I don't remember her being nearly as famous before the Kanye West VMA incident as she was afterwards.

Note: I went to press with this before the Grammys. As I said, I didn't watch them live and have no idea if the big-ness of Taylor Swift continued with her cleaning house at the Grammy Awards ceremony or not. I would assume she at least won a few. More to come on that front next week in the R's.



American Idol Kicks Into Gear: So the American Idol audition episodes are pretty much over at this point. Tomorrow is the last one before their do a recap show on Wednesday, and they're having guest judge Victoria Beckham come back again for tomorrow's episodes. So what do I have to say so far about the show as I follow it from beginning to end for the first time since 2005?

Well, let's just look at the guest judges. Victoria Beckham looked and acted like she belonged there, being frank and honest when she had to. She's been in the business long enough and can sing well enough that I can respect her opinion. Now Avril Lavigne and Katy Perry giving people singing advice? Eh, not so much.

Neil Patrick Harris was pretty good, and I enjoyed the tension that got built up between he and Simon for their differences of opinion on several Idol hopefuls. That one Jonas brother kind of showed how tightly Disney has got him by the balls, as he didn't say anything interesting besides "yeah" the whole time. Shania Twain was pretty candid and looked hot, so I would welcome her back on my TV anytime she wants. Mary J. Blige was also pretty good, and I loved when she would just flat out laugh at people who thought they were good but weren't. I didn't expect that out of her, so that was pretty funny.

Overall, it's been entertaining and they've found some decent singers. I'm just kind of waiting for them to start getting into the competition part and doing genre-themed nights. I caught most of the Motown episode last season, which was a lot of fun. Really though, is there anything bigger than the "Pants on the Ground" song? That dude got to perform before the Grammys yesterday for cryin' out loud! Word on the street is that "General" Larry Platt kind of ripped that song off from these guys though:





Hasta Luego: Well, that's it for me. After waiting for three months, my local library finally got me a copy of Dan Brown's new novel The Lost Symbol and I've only got it for three weeks, so I've gotta' get crackin' on that shit. Hope you all have a good start to the week and I'll see you here next week for another edition of the Music 3R's. Cheers!

Soundtrack to the 3R's this week was played by the following artists…
Rage Against the Machine – "Born of a Broken Man"
The Notorious B.I.G. – "Ten Crack Commandments"
Gnarls Barkley – "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)"
Nine Inch Nails – Kinda I Want To
Queens of the Stone Age – "3's & 7's"
Jimi Hendrix – "Valleys of Neptune"
Bob Dylan – "Maggie's Farm"
Gorillaz – "Re-Hash"
Oasis – "Morning Glory"
Meat Loaf – "All Revved Up With No Place to Go"
Banjo and Sullivan – "I'm At Home Getting' Hammered"
Lynard Skynard – "Poison Whiskey"
The Ting Tings – "We Walk"
Pink Floyd – "Comfortably Numb"
Coheed & Cambria – "Ten Speed (Of God's Blood and Burial)"
The Beach Boys – "Dance, Dance, Dance"
Suicidal Tendencies – "It's Going Down"
Radiohead – "Idioteque"
Mos Def – "Thug Is a Drug"
Stevie Wonder – "Uptight (Everything's Alright)"
The Ramones – "Judy is a Punk"
Foo Fighters – "Cold Day in the Sun"
Tool – "Stinkfist"
Static-X – "Destroyer"
Les Claypool – "Red State Girl"
Ween – "Ocean Man"
MGMT – "The Youth"
The Dixie Chicks – "Lubbock or Leave It"
Soundgarden – "The Day I Tried to Live"
Velvet Revolver – "Fall to Pieces"
Tenacious D – "The Government Totally Sucks"
Stone Sour – "Get Inside"
The Roots – "Mellow My Man"