I met Greg Sestero over the weekend; he did not seem interested in my suggestion that we buy a van and drive around the country solving mysteries. With that dream left behind, I can return to my regular dull routine, which means it’s time for the Friday Roundup of News and Thoughts and Such, where I copy/paste headlines and make a joke or 2. And you folks eat this up.
1. Skylar Grey forced to sell catalog to pay for divorce expenses:
Artists selling catalogs is en vogue at the moment but generally it is a voluntary decision for monetary gain. Skylar Grey, who has largely been out of the public eye for the last several years, revealed that she had sold her entire catalog, including her rights to royalties for hits like “Love the Way You Lie” and “Coming Home” in order to pay settlement expenses associated with an acrimonious divorce. It’s already frustrating to see artists have so little control over the songs they put their souls into (see last week’s TikTok discussion) and we all also know that record labels cannibalize the overwhelming majority of revenue brought in, but it’s pretty sad to see her lose any and all right/claim to her whole body of work under such circumstances. I hope she can bounce back if she so chooses.
2. Kate Bush is popular now or something:
I like Kate Bush. Always did like Kate Bush. “Running Up That Hill”? A banger. And now it was on Stranger Things or some shit and everybody loves it. Good. Kate Bush is happy about it too.
Go listen to “Running Up That Hill.” And then listen to it again. And then go watch that promo from Wrestlemania 26 where they used, like, a dude rock version of it for a video package for Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (above). And then go watch Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels. Any of them. IYH Badd Blood 1997, ‘Mania 25 or 26. They’re all classics. This is a music blog.
3. We’re getting some unreleased deep cuts from some all-timers:
We’re getting unreleased “from the vault” tracks from both Lou Reed and Freddie Mercury. Also there’s some unreleased SZA! That’s also cool. And Blondie!!!!!!!! What a time to be alive.
4. Mariah Carey sued over “All I Want for Christmas Is You”:
More like “All I Want for Christmas Is You (To Not Sue Me)! Get it? It’s basically a joke.
So, this fella, Vince Vance is his name, says Mariah Carey violated his copyright for an unrelated song of the same title. To reiterate, the title is the same. Nothing else about the songs is really similar. I find this a stretch. Songs, movies, books, all share titles constantly. It’s not that unusual.
The first guy to write a song called “I Want You” is no doubt seeing dollar signs right now as he prepares to file suit against Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Janet Jackson, KISS, Mary J. Blige, Common, Elvis Costello, Cheap Trick, Savage Garden, Marvin Gaye, and Bon Jovi.
5. New York to require ticket sellers to disclose fees upfront:
In a massive victory for those of us who just want to know what we are paying for things before reaching the end of the checkout process, the state of New York is now requiring ticket sellers to actually tell consumers the cost of tickets upfront. No more being caught off guard when you have to pay 62 dollars for those 35 dollar concert tickets.
6. What the fuck is this Minions soundtrack?:
I fear I haven’t been paying close enough attention to this because this has been out there in the open for a month now. I apologize to all of you who I let down. I zeroed in on the first thing I could make a joke about (Diana Ross x Tame Impala) and was satisfied but, friends, this thing goes so so so so so much deeper. Earlier this week, I awoke to the news that St. Vincent had covered “Funky Town,” complete with a music video where she is transformed into a Minion. My curiosity piqued, I did some searching and learned that we are dealing with the greatest children’s movie soundtrack since The Spongebob SquarePants Movie had music by Wilco and Motorhead (I’m not putting in those umlauts).
The Jack Antonoff-produced tracklist features contributions from HER, RZA, Brittany Howard, Thundercat, Bleachers, Phoebe Bridgers, and more, mostly covering 70s classics. This thing is probably gonna go hard and I’m going to end up ashamed to have a Minions soundtrack on my year-end list, but it is what it is.
7. Lil Nas X:
Lil Nas X was nominated for exactly zero awards at the BET awards. Given that he has been one of the biggest names in music for the last year, he was, understandably, not pleased with this development. Particularly given that Jack Harlow, his collaborator on “Industry Baby,” did get a nomination. Lil Nas X has since released a video entitled “Fuck BET” and is using his platform to discuss homophobia as pertaining to the situation.
8. Rolling Stone releases 200 Greatest Hip Hop Albums list; channel.WAV releases vitriol against Rolling Stone:
Rolling Stone put out its list of the 200 greatest hip hop albums. But you knew that already, because you read the title of this entry. Anyway, the list was meh and we thought we could do better, so here’s what we each came up with.
Slone:
1. good kid, m.A.A.d. city - Kendrick Lamar
2. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West
3. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below - OutKast
4. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - Lauryn Hill
5. Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star - Black Star
Honorable mentions:
1. 3 Feet High and Rising - De La Soul (still not on Spotify)
2. Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) - Wu Tang Clan
3. Liquid Swords - GZA
4. Flower Boy - Tyler, the Creator
5. Illmatic - Nas
Ritter:
1. Illmatic - Nas
2. Reasonable Doubt - Jay-Z
3. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back - Public Enemy
4. All Eyez on Me - 2Pac
5. To Pimp a Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar
Botts: (Brandon’s note: Aaron misunderstood the assignment but he also put forth considerably more effort than Dane and I put together. He suggested that I give him a C+. I think that’s fair.)
1. Dr. Dre – When defining success, how can you leave out the first billionaire? While I am a fan of most of his songs, he’s produced the best. He’s run Hollywood. And that’s what makes him earn my top spot.
2. [Redacted] – “[Redacted] is more of a songbird akin to Paul McCartney so he doesn’t really fall into the rap category” made Brandon lol just so everyone knows (Brandon’s note: it really, really did). But why will I stand by him? The man is a living Hollywood redemption arc A24 wishes to produce. "Runaway" at the VMA’s will forever be one of the most anticipated, transformative, and redemptive performances in history. You can fight me on this, but the second a song drops half the American nation is saying, “Whoop duh-di scoop.” Clout, talent, ego, and redemption constantly falls upon [Redacted], and he can only espouse 3 of the 4 aforementioned categories at a time. I can’t wait to see what he drops next.
3. Eminem – One of the few Rappers to win an Oscar. One of the few rappers my mom didn’t let me listen to (she heard "Crack a Bottle" – I can’t blame her when I’m 12, rapping the lyrics).
4. Tyler The Creator – Homeboy rocks. Performances are something a musical theatre director and choreographer should teach in a class. ‘Nuff said.
5. Kendrick Lamar – Aristotle reborn. Marcus Aurelius would have ‘meditated’ on this man’s lyrics. True philosophy meeting, influencing, and transforming the next generation of rappers. If this was Elizabethan England, we’d be reading stage plays this man wrote.
Honorable Mention/What I fought Dane About:
1. Ed Sheeran – Homeboy spits redheaded Irish slang that makes the Heat Miser jealous. I really don’t want to fight about this one.
2. @Donglover – Atlanta alone should land the man on the list.
What’s channel.WAV listening to this week?
Slone: Do you remember how the darkness doubled? Do you recall lightning striking itself? Do you have any idea what I’m talking about? If so, you’re probably a fan of Television’s “Marquee Moon.” I know I am.
Botts: Have you met Dane’s newest dog? The real question is if this is the song behind her namesake.
Ritter: I don’t remember how I came upon this song, but it’s been in heavy rotation this summer.
Rock icons Hinder are playing in our fair city of Lexington on June 22. Leave comments and maybe Dane will review the show. I have it on good authority, however, that he will release his cover of “Lips of an Angel” from the vault in exchange for enough comments.
- Slone
I agree with Aaron. Let the boy speak.
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