Tag: Lil Wayne

Belatedly, From Bonnaroo 2011

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We came, we camped and we conquered. Frankly, SPIN covered the shit out of this festival. We also emptied its moonshine reserves, but you won’t read about that here. Nay, instead you’ll viddy glorious retellings of such historic events as:

The 5 Best Sets of Bonnaroo 2011 Day 1 (I wrote on Wavves, Twin Shadow), Day 2 (Atmosphere), Day 3 (Low Anthem, Gogol Bordello) and Day 4 (Explosions in the Sky, Junip); AS WELL AS Lil Wayne Returns Sober, AND Buffalo Springfield Reunites, AND Iron & Wine Goes Free Jazz (with set lists!) .

Yes, it happened over a month ago and nobody reads this stuff more than 12 hours after the fact, but … well, um, consider it? Maybe?

(Photo by Ian Witlen) Continue reading →

Feature: All Hail King Skinny Shitster, Wavves’ Nathan Williams (Also: He May Be Leaving Fat Possum Records, Definitely Digs Lil Wayne)

Wavves and Snacks the cat -- which one looks more together?

A little while back I had the hazy, kinda strange pleasure of interviewing Wavves’ Nathan Williams in the Los Angeles apartment he shares with girlfriend and Best Coast singer, Bethany Cosentino. What I discovered was the living embodiment of all that on-album ennui — a dude who probably hasn’t sat up straight  since … well, ever. But that may very well be to his music’s advantage, as Wavves’ new album, King of the Beach, is mighty high on my list of the best albums of 2010 so far.

Read the feature, All Hail King Skinny Shitster, over at L.A. Weekly (also in print this week). As a supplement to that, you can check out a few choice scraps from the cutting room floor on West Coast Sound, in the blog post, “Wavves May Leave Fat Possum Records, Wants to Meet Lil Wayne, Plays FYF Fest on Saturday,” whose title is also quite self-explanatory. Also: go to FYF Fest this weekend. You won’t be sorry.

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Roundup: Flying Lotus Leaks, Fool’s Gold + Mariah, Anticon, Nite Jewel + Stones Throw

Quick bloggy bits* from around the L.A. underground (and up).

  1. Flying Lotus Leaks New Songs, Lil Wayne Remix
  2. Fool’s Gold & Mariah Carey – Love at First Screech (MP3)
  3. Indie Rap, Live Comedy & Short Films, Oh My! Anticon Hosts A/V Event at Crane’s Tonight (MP3)
  4. Nite Jewel Plays Free Show Tonight, Leaks New Song, Signs To Stones Throw?! (MP3s)

    5. (all stories via West Coast Sound, via LA Weekly)

*If you like it, then you better put a tweet on it.

Cult Bit: Wallpaper. AutoTunes Jay-Z

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It’s my honor to introduce a furiously banging track by my dear friends in Oakland-based duo Wallpaper. This thing should be viral soon enough, but for now, you can stream it and download (by right-clicking) below.

Jay-Z & Wallpaper. – “D.O.A. + 99 Problems (Wallpaper. Remix)”

Now the backstory: Jay-Z recently contributed his piece to the raging (har har) international debate over the blatant overuse of AutoTune in radio pop. Essentially hopping on an already existing meme, he named his track “D.O.A. (Death Of Autotune)” — co-produced, ironically, by one of the fad’s biggest abusers, Kanye West — and caused a stir with the lyric, “This is anti-AutoTune / Death of the ringtone / This ain’t for iTunes / This ain’t for sing-along.”

Here, Wallpaper., a group that’s used AutoTune as an instrument since early 2005 (that’s pre-T-Pain, for those taking notes), repurposes that lyric for a very singable, digitally modified hook. The somewhat brillaint ironic appropriation doesn’t end there, however. The meat of the track comes from Jay’s monstrous 2004 hit, “99 Problems,” which leads to this rather astute line from Wallpaper vocalist Ricky Reed: “I’ve got 99 problems but my pitch ain’t one.”

Oh, and did I mentioned that Jay’s voice is AutoTuned throughout?

Cult Bit: “I need a Lil Wayne impersonator desperately.”

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Perhaps this is one for Helen Keller Services For The Blind? It seems a misguided and/or quite ingenious DC-area parent has come up with a plan to possibly scheme his/her son into having an extra-special birthday. That lucky son, who is set to turn 16, is evidently a huge fan of Lil Wayne. The thing is Wayne’s “schedule will not permit him to make it,” as the parent states in a Craiglist ad which calls for an impersonator. But here’s where it gets interesting:

“My son is blind so you do not need to look like the rapper just sound like him. I understand he grunts and mumbles a lot. I don’t care if you are 67 and Jewish if you can sing the songs you’re hired. Money is not an issue.”

The humble petitioner goes on to ask for video documentation of applicants’ best Weezy portrayal — “serious inquiries only,” of course. You can read the actual posting here as long as it’s available, and decide for yourself whether the parent plans on letting the birthday boy in on the plot. Thanks to Bomarr for the tip.