For the first time since 2001′s The Cold Vein, rap duo Cannibal Ox has released new music. This is beyond exciting for a number of reasons. The simplest reason lies in the fact that all three tracks on their new single, Gotham, are very very solid. I haven’t hear one couplet from MC’s Vast Aire or Vordul Mega since their epic early-aughts debut, but it doesn’t appear either one has lost a step with their delivery or ample lyrical prowess.
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As more and more festivals announce their line-ups, I find myself wondering what is going on with the festival circuit. To be frank, I’m a little bit worried. As a disclaimer, I don’t go to as many festivals as Wes and Todd do, but I do monitor the trends on what is going on with the line-ups and I have a bone to pick with all of them individually, and more importantly collectively.
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I have to admit, when Beck announced his Song Reader album, I was undoubtedly disappointed. It felt like a bit of a copout, making an album you don’t play yourself and ask other people to make. It just feels incredibly lazy. But once you really think about what all a decision like this entails, it becomes much more interesting. So here are three reasons this is a brilliant idea.
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The time has come for our favorite festival announcement of the year. If you’ve been following us for a while, I’m sure you’ve heard us gush over the glories of the Bonnaroo music festival on more than one occasion. If you are new to LxL and continue to follow us, I promise this won’t be the last you hear of it either. Today the full lineup was finally released. Rumors of Paul McCartney and and Wu-Tang Clan came true, while others such as Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, and Yeah Yeah Yeah’s fell short. One thing that I have found with music festivals is that each year the immediate reaction to an actual lineup announcement seems to be increasingly less exciting than the anticipation and wonderment of who will be there. Not that I am not excited about this year’s lineup, because I am, but I think that everyone’s expectations always seem greater than what they should be. This is mostly due to rumor-mills, fake posters, and people’s assumptions based on who is touring at the time, who is coming out with and album this summer, or who recently had just toured. All that to say, there certainly exists some major disappointments such as the lack of Jack White (again), no Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and no sight of Thom Yorke’s new collaboration Atoms for Peace.
Regardless, here we have it. A mix’n'match of hot new indie artists, some interesting solo/duo combinations, a few rarities, and some classic big guns. Let’s break this lineup down in a Bonnaroo 2013 pre-cap:
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Leave it to a music blog written by three dudes to totally forget that it’s freakin’ Valentine’s Day. The worst part is that Wes, our supposed trusted leader, is MARRIED! Had we remembered this nonsensical and most trivial of holidays before 10:30 AM the day of, we probably would have dedicated our patented Top Ten Thursday list to its honor. Disappointingly enough we also could have paired the list nicely and quite appropriately with our My Bloody Valentine review we posted earlier this week. However, since we did not think ahead to craft a new Valentine’s list, the MBV pairing is neither here nor there and we will simply re-post our list from last year later in the day. But for now, we leave you with about the only good thing that has really ever been associated with St. Valentine’s Day in our eyes (aside from a few on-point sitcom episodes here and there).
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