Midweek Music News Roundup 2.3.10: The Prince of the Super Bowl

Posted by Lucas Wesley on 02.03.2010

Pete Doherty still does drugs, new music from Tom Waits, Stephin Merritt and Panda Bear, the Grammys happened, Paul McCartney talks vegetarianism, Etta James is ill, the Girls Girls (not three) tour and a Milli Vanilli movie along with a thought about the Super Bowl Half Time Show. Read it here on the Midweek Music News Roundup!

So last week I got an angry comment about how my columns are all a week late or something, and how you should just read TMZ or some other site instead. First of all, yes, I do occasionally have a story from last Wednesday, because these are posted on Tuesday. And I miss things. Secondly, read TMZ or other sites, I do, it's where I get my news. I'm no investigative reporter, just a compiler and commenter. Lastly, Pitchfork just reported about the new Black Francis Thursday, while I've mentioned it as early as...months ago, I don't even know. They had more information, sure, but if we're gonna play the who got there first game...I guess my point is the news is all over everywhere. Everyone will keep posting it everywhere until they're convinced it's too old or everyone knows. It's how news works. Anyway, sorry to defend myself, I got carried away. News.



- Peter Doherty apparently loves getting fined. I mean, okay, on one level you could just say he really really loves doing drugs, and that's just an acceptable byproduct for him. Which, in fact, is what you should say. But sometimes, it's like he's just doing it for the fine. Case in point: it was recently reported that as he left a court room, hundreds of dollars worth of heroin leisurely fell out of his coat pocket. The excuse given was more or less that Pete has so many coats that some of them are bound to have heroin in them, and he doesn't know which is which. Unfortunately, that doesn't hold up in most legal systems. Considering just last week I mentioned the potential reformation of the Libertines, we'll have to wait and see how Carl Barat responds. Actually, no we won't. He probably just won't respond.

- After the proliferation of a widely circulated bootleg of mostly new material, Panda Bear has officially announced album number four: Tomboy. Paw Tracks is stating September as a tentative release. And the village rejoiced.

- I mentioned last week that Stephin Merritt likes to keep busy. He released a new album last week, and a film based on his actions was announced. And now he's given us his new plan: to score the 1917 silent film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. With live instrumentation. Theoretically the film will play on a big screen while he plays the music and syncs up to it. Eat your heart out, Dark Side of the Wizard of Oz. In other Magnetic Fields news, the legendary 69 Love Songs, one of my favorite albums of all times, is being released on vinyl on April 20. It will include six 10" records and will be huge.

- The charity for Haiti continues. Shane MacGowan, Nick Cave, Bobby Gillespie and, for some reason, Johnny Depp have combined efforts and plan to record a cover of "I Put a Spell on You." Little details have been given, but it will be a charity single and proceeds will go to Haiti.



- Legendary blues, R&B and pop singer Etta James was recently admitted to a hospital with an infection. The illness was said to begin around a month ago after she went through detox for an addiction to painkillers. Later reports indicate that the infection is a blood infection, and she has also been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and the MSRA super bug. The Alzheimer's diagnosis was apparently made over a year ago, but it has just recently been made public. I really don't know what to say in this situation, but...my heart goes out to her friends and family?

- So, the Grammys happened. Who gives a shit. I considered that being the whole article since I'm still a busy person and its so cliché to talk about award shows these days, not to mention I've previously written at length about the objectivity of it all. Not to mention again that everyone has previously written at length about both how much they suck and how objective it all is. But damn, man. Lady Gaga was the only good modern artist nominated for anything. That's not right! Sure, we got Prince, Bob Dylan and Neil Young...in the same category. But that's so last three decades. Come on, Grammys, listen to some music! Anyway, eh, who cares. I will say that three out of five of the Best Alternative nods were cool. So there was that.

- Paul McCartney has written a brief piece for the (for some reason to me, hilariously named) web site goop.com. The site is operated by Gwyneth Paltrow. Paul's piece is about Meat Free Monday and how cool being a vegetarian is. It's basically his episode of the Simpsons without Apu or cute baby lambs. I can't find where on the site its posted, but it was cross-posted on Paul's MySpace blog, so I believe that it's there somewhere. If you can't find it either and you're just dying to read about Meat Free Monday, here you go.


Academy Award Winner.

- Randy Newman has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song two more times this year, with "Almost There" and "Down In New Orleans," both from The Princess and the Frog. I'm not going to count up all of his previous nominations, but he's only won once so far. Good luck to him. Kind of interest that they snubbed Karen O and Paul McCartney, though...

- Indie rockers Girls (who, according to me, released the third best album of 2009) have announced they will be touring with Dum Dum Girls (who, according to me, probably released a single or something at some point). I report this only because it makes me very sad that they didn't invite Parenthetical Girls, Vivian Girls or Brazilian Girls along, just so they could have called the tour the Girls Girls Girls Tour.

- Tom Waits, along with director Robert Wilson and writer Martin McDonagh, is apparently planning another stage production. Waits and Wilson have previously worked on the plays Alice, The Black Rider and Woyzeck. All soundtracks were released as albums, the final titled Blood Money. Little additional information has been given, but anytime Waits is working, I naturally get happy.

- A Milli Vanilli biopic is apparently in the works, with the help of surviving member Fab Morvan. This has the distinction of being perhaps the most arbitrary music documentaries of all time.

Star Power

Super Bowl Sunday is approaching. As someone who actively dislikes sports (and I'm male! Wow!), this means nothing to me. I've even avoided Super Bowl parties just because of my ardent hatred of the medium. I'm odd like that. But there is one thing about the Super Bowl that manages to marginally capture my attention each year: the Half Time Show. We all know that ever since Janet Jackson's breast didn't get exposed on television, it's been all about classic rock artists. We've seen Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Petty and now we're seeing the Who. And we also saw Prince.



I separate Prince not for negative reasons. Oh, god, no. Instead he is separated for the most positive reason I can possibly think of when it comes to separating an artist from the rest of the Half Time show roster. Prince put on the single greatest sub-15 minute concert of all time. I would rather see Prince do that brief set live than I would see any of the other acts that have ever played the Super Bowl, except maybe Michael Jackson. But he's dead now, so it's irrelevant. Prince rocked those twelve minutes in ways it was previously thought twelve minutes could not be rocked.

As such, this week's Star Power is a bit of recycling. This is a piece I wrote back in 2008, shortly after Prince performed at Coachella. However, at least half of the inspiration stemmed from his Super Bowl performance, which is why it's relevant this week. It rings true today. A little editing has been done because things have changed in the past two years, but all of the feelings ring true. Without further adieu, my open letter to Prince Rodgers Nelson.

Dearest Prince,

After listening to your cover of "Creep" approximately two hundred times, I am infatuated. The same thing happened to me when I heard your cover of "Best Of You" at the Super Bowl. You, sir, are a true artist.

However, it comes to my attention that neither of these performances has ever been commercially released, and probably never will be. Additionally, I realize that your concerts are likely to feature other covers as time goes on, as evidenced by the covers featured on 21 Nights. Unfortunately, unlike 21 Nights, the majority of these covers will also be relegated to a fate in which they are not commercially released. I understand that you are a busy man and cannot travel to every venue in every town to perform these unique interpretations, but at the same time you must realize that your fans are not all capable of traveling to the towns at which you perform. So, sir, I implore you: please release a covers record. It may be a studio album or live compilation--you may use your creative license to work out the technical elements of this release. I also allow (and implore) you to choose the means of distribution--you have come up with many creative and intelligent release ideas in the past utilizing many different mediums, and I'm sure that with this theoretical record, your creativity will come to a forefront once again.

I ask that you release a covers record because although you are a genius and have a massive catalogue of excellent originals, you have always managed to bring out something new, something better, in your covers. Also, I'm sure you listen to more music than the average fan does, and it is entirely within your powers to find some forgotten rock band and turn on of their duds into the song of the year. This would be a great boon for both the band covered, for you, and most importantly, for us, your fans.

So, Prince, I ask you one more time. Please. Make a covers album. I've even taken the liberty to offer certain suggestions for the title of your album:

Should you choose to cover any songs by The Rolling Stones, I would suggest the title Paint It, Purple.

Should you choose to cover any classics by The Beatles, I would naturally suggest The Purple Album.

Or, should you choose to have a sense of humor and announce your mastery over these songs before the rest of the world even hears them, I would suggest Game. Blouses.

Of course, you are also welcome to continue your string of brilliant album titles and come up with one on your own. In fact, Musicology would be a brilliant title for such a record, but I realize you've used that in the past to success already.

Anyway. I'm always bad at ending these things. But seriously, Your Royal Badness. Consider doing the world this favor.

Sincerely,
Lucas Wesley

PS: Since I first wrote this, you have covered "Crimson & Clover" on Lotusflow3r. It's a great start.



Farewell Song

Enter the 90s, the decade of grunge. Ew. Well, things weren't getting that bad yet, and it's my job to listen without prejudice. This year saw solid releases from Eric B and Rakim, Galaxie 500, LL Cool J, Pixies, Prince, The Time, Sonic Youth and Ween. The seeds of Britpop were being sewn by Happy Mondays and The La's. And John Cale was doubling up with collaborations, releasing duo album with Brian Eno and Lou Reed. But the title of song of the year is more personal to me than any talk of these artists or their fine albums could ever be. For a while it was my favorite song, then it fell out of favor for a little while. But after a prolonged period without hearing it, it may be my favorite again. It's one of those songs with great emotional resonance that you can't listen to too often without getting warn out. But the times you do listen to...it always blows you away. This is the second version of a song originally recorded in 1985, but this is the version I count as real. I don't usually care for lyrics unless they are particularly mind-blowing. This song can single-handed prove why I call Daniel Johnston my favorite lyricist. For my first semester of college radio, I closed every show with this song. I may go back to that tradition. I'm rambling which is why I don't talk about things I like, but let's get to it. Released in 1990, on an album appropriately titled 1990, this is Daniel Johnston's Christmas wish for you, even when it's nowhere near Christmas. He's a funny guy. "True Love Will Find You In The End."



So, you're listening to that thinking "wow, I bet the best album of the year isn't a rap album." Especially considering last week I kind of admitted I'm not huge on the genre, despite my own self-hatred about that fact. But there are elements of rap I just love, and one was released in 1990: Public Enemy's Fear of a Black Planet. I like it the most of all their releases. Every song hits hard. Black man, black woman, black baby. White man, white woman, white baby. Black man, white woman, black baby. White man, black woman, black baby. Somehow that sums it all up to me.

That's all for this week, friends. I'm tired. See you all next week for another Midweek Music News Roundup!