Laibach Does North Korea
Industrial rockers Laibach recently played what might be one of the weirdest concerts in modern music history. The controversial Slovenian group, which is known for either mockingly or lovingly espousing and using fascist ideology and style as part of its stage persona, recently became one of a very few Western musical acts to perform in North Korea (Bill Clinton’s brother, apparently hard-up for any gig, also played there years ago). The aggressive band performed a short set of unusual songs after censors cut its intended set list in half. The audience reportedly responded politely as the band played a Beatles cover and Europe’s dreadful ’80s hit “The Final Countdown,” plus, um, a few songs from The Sound of Music.
Oh No: Pono in Trouble?
Though many have noted that average listeners can’t tell the difference between Neil Young’s “high-fidelity” streaming service Pono (and its PonoPlayer) and more standard digital options (some love it, though), the legendary rocker is still hopeful the hi-res audio company has a future. But things don’t look great. Despite raising a Kickstarter-record $6.2 million on the crowd-funding site, the company is in need of financial assistance. Young posted on Facebook a lengthy plea looking for more investors in his company, which, despite his optimism and enthusiasm, is never a good sign for any company’s future.
Parrotheads are Pigs
It’s not just the musical tastes of Jimmy Buffett fans that are disgusting — they also have some pretty heinous toilet habits. Police in Mansfield, Mass. patrolled the grounds at a recent Buffett concert for Parrothead tailgaters who reportedly bring their own toilets (mostly buckets) so they don’t have to waste a second of soaking in the suckitude by waiting in line for a proper restroom. This is apparently a known Parrothead trait, as the police posted a preemptive message online asking fans to use real bathrooms instead of their own handmade versions. Cops estimate 75-100 concertgoers were forced to get rid of their piss/shit buckets, but they still found seven-10 on the grounds post-concert. So if you needed another reason to never, ever go to a Jimmy Buffett concert…
This article appears in Aug 26 – Sep 1, 2015.