Kanye West performing "New Slaves" on Saturday Night Live

It's probably fair to guess just about everyone under the Sun has seen Kanye West's performance on Saturday Night Live's season finale at this point. Or maybe they caught the video for Yeezy's new song "New Slaves" playing on the side of a building somewhere around the world. Or maybe they've seen the man himself perform live recently.

Whichever way you heard it, most people are quickly becoming familiar with the new, darker, rawer Kanye presented on the songs "Black Skinhead" and "New Slaves." Opinions vary, of course, which is predictable any time an artist steps outside the boundaries of his or her most predictable sound. But the truth is, Kanye's new sound may be the most exciting, original thing to come out all year so far. Here's why.

More »

Photo by Groovehouse

Last week Dropkick Murphys raised more than $100,000 for their embattled fellow Bostonians.

Life can get pretty dreary at points, and last week was, without a doubt, the dreariest week in a long time. From the massive fertilizer-plant explosion that devastated West, Texas to the Boston Marathon bombing and everything in between, our nation faced some pretty horrific tragedies in which many, many lives were permanently altered.

But buried within the daunting headlines, the silver lining was there, even as rough as shit got. As unfortunate and truly unfair as last week's tragedies were, from them sprung a renewal of sorts, with people rallying together to help ease the struggling of those most deeply affected. That kind of support is often lost in the fray, tucked away behind the demands of our daily lives. But luckily for us, in the times when we need it most, that support always surfaces, ready to remind us of just how badass people truly are.

Sometimes it just takes squinting your eyes and looking closer, beneath the rubble of what's fallen apart, to see it. And that's just what I intend to do here. I'm squinting, and there's quite a lot to be amazed by. Below is our list of all of the silver linings that surfaced last week -- with a musical twist, of course.

More »

Photo by Marco Torres

Lupe Fiasco used to be a talented, socially conscious rapper known for putting out really good hip-hop albums.

Since he hasn't done one of those in a while, he's more well known these days for criticizing President Obama and espousing conspiracy theories about 9/11. Recently he was back in the news, this time to criticize hip-hop songs for being too violent.

More »

Colin Rego via Wikimedia Commons

Tomahawk

Not long ago, we finally saw the release of the long-awaited album from Radiohead/Red Hot Chili Peppers supergroup Atoms for Peace, and it got me thinking: Supergroups are a tough trick to pull off. We all fantasize about our favorite musicians playing together, but when it actually comes to fruition, we often have mixed feelings.

There's the excitement, yeah, but it's mixed in with a sense of dread. After all, how many supergroups have turned out to be absolutely awful? The vast majority of them end up being pretty bad, all things considered. Like I said, it's a tough trick. But every once in a while, it oddly enough manages to work out and satisfy fans.

More »

There's no way to say this in a ladylike fashion, so fuck it.

Because someone, somewhere wants me to make middle-school boner jokes today, Chubby Checker of "Twist" fame is suing Hewlett-Packard and Palm for releasing the "Chubby Checker," an app used to estimate a dude's potential boner size by measuring his foot. (Apparently the whole "judge a man by his shoe size" old wives' tale is true. Who knew?)

Marketed by its ability to support different units of measurement depending on your region, the app promises to help eliminate that whole "awkward disappointment with his mini-me" thing that we ladies so often face.

But don't issue that collective sigh just yet, ladies. The boner app has been off the market since September 2012, essentially ruining the lives of millions of women who weren't even aware the damn thing even existed.

More »

Photos courtesy of White Ghost Shivers

Listen up, fellow ruckus lovers...we're goin' on a road trip.

Follow me back in time, to a place where acoustic instruments reigned supreme, and the kazoo was safe to harmonize alongside the jug, and skirt-lifting had little to do with video hos.

It is there, dear ruckus lovers, that you will find the rare creatures known as the White Ghost Shivers.

Approach cautiously, though...they've been known to throw whistles while barn-dancing.

More »

There's an idea floating around in the pools of rap consciousness that most guys within the genre are merely method actors on par with Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln. Rick Ross might have already secured a few Academy Awards with his confusing portrayal of a flamboyant mafioso kingpin who dwells in matters of the absurd, but the meta of this? Watching someone else pull off the technique with little to no disparity.

We know RiFF RaFF. We love RiFF RaFF and also slightly despise what he represents. He belongs to Houston while belonging to the world. To date, I've yet to actually be involved in a hometown RiFF RaFF show, a crime against snob-blog humanity, I know.

He's a purist's absolute nightmare, even if he just had a hand in one of the year's best rap singles in "Bird On a Wire" with New York's Action Bronson. Bronson famously led a parade down Westheimer when he performed here back in September, so Jody Highroller is in elite company in that regard.

More »

prusakolep via Wikipedia.org

Mandolin enthusiasts Mumford and Sons have been on top of the world the past couple of years, dominating rock-driven radio with a folk sound that apparently touches the hearts of hard-rock bros around the world. Given that they have an apparently winning formula, one wouldn't expect them to change it.

But, being the artists that they are, Mumford and Sons are apparently broadening their horizons on their next record by collaborating with Big Boi and incorporating synthesizers. We'll avoid the suspect pairing of folk music and rapping, and instead focus on the group's use of synths.

How well will that go down? Well, actually it might end up being some of their best work, and here's my proof.

More »

Last year Houston saw a wide range of artists from the urban field, including Kendrick Lamar (three times), A$AP Rocky, Drake, Nicki Minaj and more. In another year where performances and live shows may wind up trumping actual music sales, there's a slew of artists who haven't made a visit to H-Town yet (or, in one case, keep getting spooked around).

Here are five urban artists or tours fans would love to see kill a stage or two.

More »

UPDATED: The On a Friday auction has ended, and the tapes have now been listed at $50K.

Ever been hanging around a venue just after your favorite band has played only to have some scuzzy-looking guy walk up to you and say, "Here, take this, it's my band's demo" and hand you an unsolicited CD-R or a cassette tape? What did you do with it? If you're anything like me, you probably threw it in the trash or took it home, listened to it once, and then promptly lost it.

The problem is that that scuzzy-looking guy could be a superstar in ten years, and you'd feel pretty dumb to have thrown away that early demo tape they handed you. Some people have held onto those things, though.

Take these tapes, by a little band called "On a Friday," which surfaced on eBay earlier this month. Inspired by a Talking Heads song, On a Friday later changed their name to "Radiohead." Those On a Friday demos just sold had been listed for $29,999.99, and some early Beatles demos are about to be sold as well.

More »