Wednesday, December 04, 2002

• INS Rules To Deport Slick Rick
  The Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) issued a ruling last week to deport legendary rapper Slick Rick back to England. Rick's lawyers filed a motion to stay the deportation, but the judge has not ruled, which means he could be sent back at any moment. Slick Rick is being held in a federal prison in Bradenton, Florida, where he has been held for 6 months after he left the U.S. to perform on a cruise ship and tried to return. Early in 1990, Slick Rick was arrested after shooting at his cousin and leading police on a high-speed chase. Rick served 5 years and 12 days in prison and according to United States law any non-citizen who serves more than 5 years in prison must be deported. Slick Rick has been a resident of the United States since 1976, but never became a citizen. Pay your tribute to thius fallen old school great by picking up a copy of his classic The Great Adventures of Slick Rick.
  
  
• Billie Holiday's Pianist Waldron Dies
  Mal Waldron, who played piano for jazz giants like Billie Holiday, Charles Mingus and John Coltrane, died of complications caused by cancer. He was 77.Waldron frequently worked with Charles Mingus from 1954-56 and was Billie Holiday's regular accompanist during her last two years (1957-59). He also wrote the jazz standard "Soul Eyes," his version of which is available on his One-Upmanship album. His work with Billie Holiday is probably best represented on the 2 CD set Anthology 1944-1959.
  
  
• Will Smith Eyeing 'I, Robot' Adaptation
  I offer this with no comment: Will Smith is in negotiations to star in 20th Century Fox's "I, Robot," a big-screen adaptation of Isaac Asimov's classic science fiction book. Smith will play a police officer who uncocers a conspiracy during the course of investigating a murder he suspects was commited by a robot. If they skew it towards another "Men In Black" the sci-fi geeks may take to the streets in rebellion.
  
  
• DJ Quik Conducting Orchestra For Chris Rock Comedy
  And not some Wyclef standing in front of an orchestra waving his arms around shit, either! Go, DJ Quik, go! The above linked article also has lots of info about his upcoming production work, yet nary a plug for the awesome Da Finale: The Best of Dj Quik, which you should pick up if you at all like West Coast gangsta rap.
  
  
• Oasis Reschedules Shows for Surgery
  Looks like Liam Gallagher isn't going to go the Shane McGowan route and indeed will get his teeth fixed up. Aloght the following quote makes it seem like he considered it: "Concerts scheduled this week in Dusseldorf and Bremen have been 'reluctantly' postponed, the band said Tuesday on its Web site. Oasis had canceled concerts in Munich on Sunday and Hamburg on Monday. 'The damage to Liam's teeth is worse than it first appeared and he will have to return to the United Kingdom for surgery before he will be able to perform again,' the statement said."
  
  
• Where The Heck Has Everlast Been?
  Working on a new album, getting even more into country-- that's where. He's label-less at the moment, after declining to hop onto Warner Bros. once Tommy Boy folded.
  

Tuesday, December 03, 2002

• Oasis Wild-Man Gallagher Loses Teeth in Club Brawl
  Here's the best part of this story-- the dust up started as and inter-band row but grew to include some other lads when one of the musicians fell on a table at which a group of five to six Italians were sitting. This is why you save those kind of things for backstage or the tour bus. Will Liam Gallagher get the teeth replaced or will he go get Shane McGowan route and just leave his missing teeth be? Only the shadow knows. Oasis' latest album, Heathen Chemistry, can be bought by clicking here. Me thinks they are overdue for a greatest hits compilation-- don't you agree?
  
  
• Lead Singer Quits Rock Band Midnight Oil
  Peter Garrett is leaving Midnight Oil to concentrate on his political passions-- campaigns against genetic engineering, coastal development and the nuclear industry. You've got to admit-- 25 years of playing with the same band has got to be some kind of record. Okay, so they've had a few different bassists-- but it still is a remarkable run. You can pick up 20,000 Watts R.S.L.: Greatest Hits by clicking here. You know that "Beds Are Burning" is still an awesome song with an on point message, right?
  
  
• Universal Music To Redo Royalties
  Now this is good news for artists, as oposed to that obvious shell game proposed by BMG where they give artists higher royalty rates and less deductions in exchange for a piece of an artist's touring and merchandising profits. Universal Music will now give auditors for artists access to manufacturing documents in response to criticisms/suspicions of selling albums manufactured overseas but not accounting for them in royalty statements. Universal will also double their auditing staff, hold royalty workshops for artists twice a year and waive contract restrictions that hamper an artist's ability to audit a label's books and records. Good for Universal Music, but artists should still stay on their toes. A snake in a new suit is still a snake.
  
  
• Copeland's Broken Arm Forces Doors Postponement
  God has spoken! The Doors reunion, with Ian Astbury and Stewart Copeland taking the place of Jim Morrison and John Densmore will be delayed becuase Copeland broke his arm over the Thanksgiving holiday. To me, this is a very clear sign. If it's The Doors you want-- peep the book No One Here Gets Out Alive (still a classic rock bio after all these years) or their Greatest Hits CD.
  
  
• Lyricists Lounge Tour Back On Track
  Erick Sermon, Scarface, Poverty, Blest e Nation, Killah Priest, and Grafh will hit the road this month as part of the Lyricist Lounge tour. Established in New York more than a decade ago as an open mic event, Lyricists' Lounge became a tour in 1998 and has showcased the likes of Eminem, Xzibit, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli, among many others. The brand has also spawned three various artists albums-- Lyricist Lounge Vol. 1 (which was good), Lyricist Lounge Vol. 2 (which was okay) and Underground Airplay Version 1.0 (which I've never heard but I understand is a good "mixtape" compilation). Anyway, I went to the 1998 version and it was off the chain. Check it out if you can.