[HOT]
Weed Whacko
We’re all for marijuana legalization, even though our fanatical liberal/socialist president has already made it clear he won’t consider it. (This, of course, led to the sudden blaring of Bob Marley from Republican Senate offices and a motion by John Boehner to “totally make each state have to pick, like, a different Phish song as their official state song.”) 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? Maybe those High School Musical kids could be convinced to campaign? Or those hilarious talking babies from the E*Trade commercials?
Alas, the latest voice to make a loud pro-pot statement belongs to legendary guitarist Carlos Santana. In a recent interview promoting his upcoming Celine-like hotel residency in Las Vegas, Carlos called on President Obama to legalize weed and put the tax money toward education. That’s sane enough, but later in the interview Santana (defending his Vegas gigs, we think) is quoted as saying, “Every time I tell God my plans he cracks up, he starts laughing. … So I said, ‘Okay.’ Every time I want to make him laugh I tell him my plans.”
[WARM]
Slanted and Disenchanted
Apparently, sarcastic/ironic Indie Rock band names don’t translate well to some in the Asian-American community. The Oregon Commission on Asian Affairs, a government-funded org put together by the state’s governor, decided to pull funding for an Asian-American youth group because of its association with Indie Dance band The Slants. The group, which consists of Asian-American band members and frequently plays Anime conferences and community-minded events across the county, was punished purely because their name was deemed offensive.
Fearing further backlash, the Asian American Youth Leadership Conference cancelled the band’s scheduled appearance as well as Slants founder Simon Young’s keynote address. Great, now what chance do bands like The Really Good at Maths have?
[COLD]
Toby or Not Toby
Country superstar Toby Keith lost it at the recent Academy of Country Music Awards, and it didn’t have anything to do with the Taliban or assholes who disrespect the red, white and blue. His ire was raised by a new Rolling Stone profile of music legend Kris Kristofferson written by pastyfaced Hollywood liberal elitist pencil-necked geek Ethan Hawke.
In the piece, Hawke recalled seeing Keith and Kristofferson get into it backstage at a tribute show celebrating Willie Nelson’s 70th birthday. Hawke said he witnessed a big-time Country star who “had a monster hit about bombing America’s enemies back into the stone age” telling Kristofferson to not get into any “of that lefty shit,” causing Kristofferson to get in Keith’s face and yell at him — in front of Ray Charles and Nora Jones, no less! — because Keith never served in the military.
At the awards show, reports say Keith was livid, taking most of his anger out on a reporter from The Tennessean newspaper who figured out it was Keith in Hawke’s “blind item” and wrote a jokey news item about it. (Hawke and Rolling Stone stand by their story; Kristofferson said he didn’t recall the incident.) In the pressroom at the awards show, Keith said the newspaper reporter “supersized” Hawke’s gossip.
According to a report from another journalist in the room, Keith called Hawke’s story “a fictitious, fucking lie” and curiously said to the reporter, “You’ve never shit in your fucking ass like you have right now.” Which just so happens to be the name of Keith’s next album.
