HOT: Albini vs. EDM
Steve Albini is probably more known today for his caustic missives about the music industry than for his seminal music. His 1993 essay, “The Problem with Music,” a brutal takedown of the major-label system, is still widely shared and cited. The latest Albini rant surfaced recently when EDM artist Powell revealed a note he received from Albini in response to a request to use a sample of Albini’s voice from a concert by his old band, Big Black. Albini’s reply detailed his abhorrence for Powell’s field of work: “I detest club culture as deeply as I detest anything on earth. So I am against what you’re into, and an enemy of where you come from.” The best part, though, was that Albini then gave Powell (who said he actually agreed with Ablini's assessment) permission to use the sample and, later, to use his abrasive note on a promotional billboard and in a music video.
WARM: Still Raging
Rage Against the Machine bassist Tim Commerford gave the Internet a few chuckles last week when he apologized for his band’s role in creating Limp Bizkit. But like that drunk uncle at Thanksgiving who makes a good point, then goes off on a crazed tangent, in a more recent Rolling Stone interview, Commerford revealed some of his wackier beliefs — like how ISIS, beheading videos and moon landings are all fake.
COLD: So Complicated
Speaking of conspiracy theories,
a Brazilian fan site unveiled one to explain why Avril Lavigne’s career
tanked and she married that dude from Nickelback. Noisey UK reported onthe claims that, after hitting it big
in the early ’00s, Lavigne — tiring of the spotlight and sad because her grandpa died — killed herself and a lookalike actress took her place. The main evidence? A series of photos that show skin blemishes on Lavigne’s body that moved,
the change in her musical output (and some leading and a TV interview during which the bemused singer didn’t deny the clone claim convincingly enough. The site’s owner has since admitted the theory was fake, but we’ll wait to hear what Tim Commerford has to say before we decide.
