CL Sound Bites: Oasis vs. Blur, Reznor vs. Manson, and more!

The mid-90’s Britpop feud between Oasis and Blur has become the stuff of legend. Noel Gallagher once famously hoped Blur frontman Damon Albarn would “catch AIDS and die” (he since recanted, blaming drugs for the outburst).  Surprisingly, he’s 100% behind the current Blur reunion: “I’m right into the Blur reunion, ’cause it’ll finish off the Kaiser Chiefs and put them to bed. There’s nothing worse than a shit Blur. And at least the original shit Blur are back to finish off all these other shit Blurs. I’m bang into the Blur reunion.”

From an old reunion to a possible new one: Nine Inch NailsTrent Reznor no longer thinks very highly about former friend and collaborator Marilyn Manson.  Reznor calls Manson “a malicious guy and will step on anybody’s face to succeed and cross any line of decency … Seeing him now, drugs and alcohol now rule his life and he’s become a dopey clown. He used to be the smartest guy in the room.  And as a fan of his talents, I hope he gets his shit together.”

Lots of news on the Flaming Lips, The Cult, STP, Moz, and more after the jump!

Read the rest of this entry »

Do you know Love?


If the answer to the headline is yes, but you’re referencing the feeling, and not the ’60s-era Los Angeles band, then you may want to head over to the Beach Theatre this Friday night for a special WMNF Film Series benefit screening of Love Story. The documentary tells the tale of the proto-psychedelic mixed-race cult rock band Love, led by legendary frontman/songwriter Arthur Lee. Love stood out from the rest because contrary to its name, the band had a dark musical vision very different from the Utopian ideals of the Flower Power generation. A portion of proceeds from the screening benefit ‘MNF. Fri., April 17, 7 p.m., Beach Theatre, St. Pete Beach, $7, 727-360-6697, beachtheatre.com.

Check out a preview for the flick: Read the rest of this entry »

Top 10 Songs for a Rainy Ass Day

It’s been raining all day, even before I woke up, making the already problematic feat of getting out of bed doubly difficult. The gray weather is making my brain cloudy and I’m having a hard time focusing on anything other than the soothing pitter-patter of drops on the Creative Loafing office’s metal roof. (If it was raining harder, it’d be near impossible for me to even think.)

Anyway, here’s a list of my top 10 personal favorite songs about rain. I know there are plenty I left out, but there are so many goddamn songs about rain. Makes a person wonder how many songs there are about the sun.

1. “Rain Song,” Led Zeppelin, Houses of the Holy, 1973

2. “Here Comes the Rain Again,” The Eurythmics, Touch, 1984

3. “Why Does It Always Rain on Me?” Travis, The Man Who, 1999

4. “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head,” written by Burt Bacharach for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969

5. “Dry the Rain,” The Beta Band, The Three EPs, 1998

6. “November Rain,” Guns n’ Roses, Use Your Illusion I, 1992 Read the rest of this entry »

Songs about Love: the 21st Century Edition

We all know the standard classic mixtape love songs – “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton,” Lionel Richie’s “Endless Love,” Stevie Wonder’s “Golden Lady,” “I Will Always Love You,” (Dolly or Whitney, you pick the version), “At Last,” by Etta James, most of the Beatles’ early catalog. But what about modern, 21st century love songs, i.e., those that came out after January 1, 2001?

Up until I started preparing this, I never really thought much about it, but surprisingly, I came up with a wealth of ideas, almost too many. The songs I thought up are not necessarily traditional ballads (though there are several), are not always romantic or saccharine or even very nice, do not always offer bold statements of devotion or everlasting ardor. But in each, the meaning is clear even if it isn’t always spelled out clearly.

“Fell in Love with a Girl,” The White Stripes, White Blood Cells (2001)
The song made stars of pasty, Detroit-based indie alt blues duo Jack and Meg White, both because it was nice and short and tasty raw, and because it has a really cool Lego video. Check it out, if you haven’t already seen it a few dozen times.

Read the rest of this entry »

Blog Widget by LinkWithin