Kanye West is a weird (if incredibly talented) fella. Not Michael-Jackson-weird, but strange nonetheless. So it wasn’t a monumental shock to read that the rapper has picked up a little side gig — at chintzy clothing company The Gap.  

When the Aerosmith/ZZ Top concert at Riverbend was postponed last week due to an "unspecified" injury to one of the band members, our first thought was "beard injury." Alas, it appears ZZ's Billy Gibbons did not get his famous facial hair stuck in a toaster.  

It's been a tough week here at Minimum Gauge. The world lost one of its giants of culture and we've barely been able to get out of bed, let alone troll for news headlines to make fun of (largely because all the news was focused on our beloved lost icon). But Billy Mays' untimely passing wasn't the only important thing that happened this week.  

Weird or rude off-the-cuff remarks from musicians on stage are nothing new. And they’re usually pretty disingeuous— do you really think Rob Thomas genuinely cares, “How ya doin’ tonight, Boise?” Those statements are innocuous enough, but there’s a lesson to be learned from an Oasis concert earlier this month in the U.K.  

When Minimum Gauge first read the Los Angeles Times article on a new genre of music called “Jerk,” we thought, “Hmmm, seems odd Gene Simmons would merit an entire genre of music.” Turns out, Jerk is actually a Hip Hop subgenre that bubbled up from L.A. a couple of years ago.  

Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Aerosmith have had the most impressive second act in Rock history. Of course, the second half of their career has been full of shitty, overproduced ballads and fauxrockers, but still, they've made way more money in the past 20 years than they did when they were a genuinely amazing Rock & Roll band.  

Weezer could have commissioned its own “Sweater (Song) Bedazzler” or maybe a “Weezer Emo ShamWow” (for fans to wipe away those “rivers” of adolescent tears). Instead, the group has reportedly teamed with the Snuggie company to create the “Wuggie.”  

In talking with several jewelers that work with big-time Rap stars, the paper found that many of them have requested cheaper jewelry in the face of the recession. Instead of real diamonds, some have switched to — gasp! — cubic zirconium.  

We always thought that the most interesting and mysterious thing about network TV news anchors was the possibility that they don’t wear pants when they’re on the air. Turns out, newscasters are just regular people (admittedly with super-human hair) and some even have good taste in music.  

During a recent interview, Sony CEO Howard Stringer made some comments that suggested maybe some in the corporate music world might just be ready to enter the 21st century. The music industry has become a bit of a joke for its out-of-touch reaction to technological developments  

The best music show on TV, PBS's "Austin City Limits," has announced the lineup of artists for its 35th anniversary season, which starts Oct. 3. The roster is another great mix of established artists and relative newcomers and includes Cincinnati's own Heartless Bastards, who have relocated to Austin.  

Oklahoma has become the next state to name an official Rock song — hallucinogenic art rockers The Flaming Lips’ “Do You Realize?” (also, coincidentally, the official song of Mitsubishi). It was officially bestowed that honor earlier in the week.  

Defunct Cincinnati-bred rockers The Afghan Whigs have a great rare track posted on their MySpace page: a cover of John Lennon's "Woman," originally recorded for a planned (then shelved) Lennon tribute album in the mid-'90s. The group had trouble with the song initially because it was based around a looped sample from The Beatles' McCartney-penned hit "The Long and Winding Road," and Sir Paul refused permission for them to use it.  

After eviscerating The Jonas Brothers (well, their Disney overlords, more precisely) earlier this season, the creators of 'South Park' took on the egomaniacal Kanye West in a recent episode ... and might have actually caused the Hip Hop superstar to reconsider his arrogant ways.  

We're all for marijuana legalization, even though our fanatical liberal/socialist president has already made it clear he won't consider it. But we think the pro-marijuana movement needs to hire a big-time PR firm to help manage its image and unsanctioned spokespeople. Certainly they can do better than Snoop Dogg and Chong?