[HOT]
Summer of Bitchy Whine
Ryan Adams seemed well on his way to reclaiming his former glory, releasing one fairly straight-forward, mostly solid album this year (instead of eight random ones) and not being such a pissy little brat all the time. Early interviews for the new album seemed to suggest a new sense of self-awareness and a regret over his past rude, baffling statements and actions. But, fear not Adams fans (Ryan, not Bryan) — the a-hole Ryan Adams is not dead yet. During a session for the BBC’s round-robin Songwriter’s Circle, Adams was teamed with songwriters Neil Finn and Janis Ian, but he reportedly refused to sing harmonies they’d worked out in rehearsal. Adams complained that the others played over his songs (the point of the show) and Finn yelled at him. Ian called his behavior the worst she’d seen in her 45-year career. He’s still got it!
[WARM]
Bring in the Clowns (and Cuff ’Em)
Juggalos — the dedicated, wide-reaching fan base of the oft-maligned Insane Clown Posse — have officially been declared a “gang” by the FBI’s National Gang Intelligence Center. In its 2011 “threat assessment” report on emerging gang trends, the FBI claims that, while only officially recognized as a gang in Arizona, Utah, California and Pennsylvania, ICP fans are rapidly expanding into many U.S. communities.” While the report says most of their crimes are “sporadic, disorganized, individualistic,” some ICP fans are “engaging in more gang-like criminal activity.” The report states that “Transient, criminal Juggalo groups pose a threat to communities due to the potential for violence, drug use/sales, and their general destructive and violent nature.” ICP should just print that on their next album cover. In other FBI news, Parrotheads are now considered a cult, the KISS Army is being deployed to Pakistan and Justin Bieber’s Beliebers have been added to the endangered species list due to an expected widespread outbreak of puberty.
[COLD]
Ain’t No Future In Your Frontin’
It takes some Hip Hop artists years to become spoiled, bratty, misogynistic dicks, but overhyped Hip Hop collective Odd Future came out of the gate with those qualities already in place. The group’s obnoxious behavior has often been accepted (and celebrated) as part of some sort of don’t-give-a-fuck gangsta-ism, but sometimes assholes are just assholes. At the recent Voodoo Experience festival in New Orleans, freelance photographer/writer (and regular CityBeat contributor) Amy Harris was in the photo pit shooting Odd Future’s set when the group decided they didn’t like having photographers there. After the first song, the group’s Tyler the Creator started complaining and member Left Brain began throwing water on the photographers, swinging and kicking at them. Then, Harris says, Left Brain slapped her across the face and knocked her camera to the ground. Harris did not pursue assault charges and her equipment wasn’t damaged.
