McCartney and Gorillaz?

If reports are to be believed, then Paul McCartney could be in line to collaborate with Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett's Gorillaz. The 68 year old Liverpudlian said "We have kind of talked - nothing serious but I like what they do. It's got near a couple of times but we never had the time". (Quote taken from The Celebrity Cafe website).

Gorillaz are well known for their all-star collaborations, with the likes of Lou Reed, Snoop Dogg and Shaun Ryder all having worked with the animated band in the past, as well as The Clash's Mick Jones and Paul Simonon donating their services recently on the band's tour.


Gorillaz

Should McCartney enter the fold, one wonders what his role may be. With his voice holding up pretty well these days and his multi-instrumental facets coupled with those of Albarn and Hewlett and a taste for more leftfield influence for Gorillaz this could be an exciting prospect.

With last year's Plastic Beach album being lauded by critics and achieving good commercial success, Gorillaz would be expected to come together again soon, however, with Albarn's many other projects, the question must be asked 'where will he fit it all in?'

Personally, the thought of Albarn and McCartney coming together to record each other's burps would dot it for me, but we shall have to wait to see what happens.

1994 Shooting of 2Pac: Man Allegedly Confesses

According to Pitchfork Media this morning, a man has allegedly confessed to shooting 2Pac in 1994. The shooting, which led to the infamous bitter and public rivalry between Biggie and 2Pac (due to 2Pac accusing Notorious B.I.G. of being behind the act), was allegedly carried out by a man named Dexter Isaac on behalf of music Exec. (now manager of rapper The Game) James Rosemond.

In light of this it is possible that police could follow up leads and shed new light on both of the unsolved murders of Biggie and Tupac. Though in many quarters it is believed to have been Suge Knight (Death Row Records's boss) who was behind the murders of both men.


2Pac

Dexter Isaac has decided to confess due to the staute of limitations for an assault passing.

If all of this is believed to be true this could be a big revelation and a step forward in finding out what went on back in those heady East vs West Coast days in the '90s.

The X Factor - Auditions

So, yesterday I spent my day in the audience of the third and final day at the Manchester X-Factor auditions and, wow, I think I saw a potential winner, a definite-to-make-the-telly double-act and, of course, many of Manchester's finest, fishwife-esque loud-mouths screaming away at the judges - the new line-up of Gary Barlow, Kelly Rowland, Tulisa from N-Dubz and the familiar presence of Louis Walsh - and the 'talent' or lack thereof.

Firstly, to the potential winner: an Anglo-American woman of 35 who has a fantastic voice. The lady in question, Beverly (born in Tottenham, London, raised in America, now back in England), sang the Minnie Ripperton hit Loving You in note-perfect fashion (yes, even that ridiculously high bit was perfect) and, as they always say 'this is a singing contest', it is worth mentioning that this lady is the finest singer I have ever seen stroll on to the X Factor stage. Fantastic.

Secondly, on to the two young chaps from Bradford. The guys did a superbly funny rendition of a Justin Timberlake song and that new Drake one (the names of both escape me at the moment), with the shorter, geekier one lurching into raps every so often. Very, very funny.


In with the New... The Class of 2011

The crowd were, well, like you'd imagine a British X Factor crowd to be. Loud, lairy and constantly booing, cheering and gasping where appropriate (or not). Mainly made up of females between 16 and 40, the audience had a wonderful array of exclamations to make for home town judge Barlow from "We love you Gary" to, rather crudely, "I wanna sit on his (Barlow's) lap and spin on his cock" from one rather over-zealous 30-something.

In all it was a great audition day and an insight into how the show is put together, even if it all is a little kitsch. Also Kelly Rowland is bloody gorgeous and Tulisa's not too shabby either. Don't worry I didn't shout out any crude fantasies though.

The Blame Files: Musicians to Blame for Many of the Dick Heads We Have to Encounter in the Modern World

Pete Doherty - To blame for every 2 bit idiot who thinks that because you've read a bit of T.S. Eliot's verse and pretend to chase the dragon every weekend that you're suddenly cool.

Morrissey/Ian Curtis/Noel Gallagher - To blame for every sycophant in Manchester who thinks it is the only place on God's Earth that a few decent rock bands have come from.


Ian Curtis

Mike Skinner - To blame for every knob who thinks if you write a couple of lines about lager, football and cigarettes, then you're the modern day equivalent of Wordsworth.

Tinie Tempah - To blame for every twat who believes geek glasses are a cool accessory.


Tinie Tempah - Apparently Cool

Gerard Way - To blame for every whining middle class teenager that moans, gripes and believes that nobody could understand their pain. How bloody hard it must be to be 14, have no real pressure, be financially stable and have to endure having your own bedroom in your parents' house.

Great Songs: MGMT - Kids

One day in 2007 I listened to a track a friend advised me to listen to. There I was, in front of a video made by some user or other on Youtube, that blue screen that they seem to love on there comes up and the sound of children playing is the first thing that hits me. Next comes the damn catchiest synth riff I'd heard in years set against some nice, simple sequenced drums before a bit more textural synth and bass kicked in. I sat and listened to that whole bloody song and by the end of it I sat there, silently, for a second or two and thought: shit! That's brilliant!

That song was Kids by MGMT, the best recent pop song I can think of. Shortly after I was devouring the delights of Weekend Wars, Electric Feel and Time to Pretend by that same band and loved it all.


Kids - Sadly not the video mentioned in this post though

When MGMT came along in 2007 they were necessary. Far too many shitty indie bands with annoying "oh oh oh" sing-along crap as their main repertoire were in operation. MGMT literally showed them all up and showed them that yes, a song can be simple, it can be quite sing-along, yet it can still be sang instead nigh-on spoken on in affected English accents and it can still sound fresh and exciting and good.

Kids is one of those epiphany-inducing songs that gets a band real exposure. The simplicity of it is bloody audacious to be honest, but, the simplicity just makes it even more admirable.

From listening to MGMT I was also inspired when I heard the simlar-sounding Brooklyn gang Yeasayer and Kids was the root of me caring at all.

Tyler, the Creator

Hip-hop has been in a rut over the past few years. The likes of Timbaland have given us soulless, lifeless, disposable music to listen to, maybe even dance to, then forget about. The genre as a whole has needed a kick up the arse, so to speak. Enter Tyler, the Creator.

At just 17 years old Tyler is making the kinds of waves in Hip-Hop it took the likes of Jay-Z a few years to make. At just 17 years old Tyler sounds as if he's a decade older than he really is with his gruff, deep vocal delivery. At just 17 years old Tyler knows more about how to create hype through controversial lyrics than any artist I can remember of his age. Tyler handles rape, devil worship and homicide with the kind of relish that Eminem once had for the darker sides of human behaviour.


Yonkers

New song Yonkers, currently quite the radio hit, is a wonderfully realised song which, much like a lot of his other stuff (see French and Bastard), gives credence to keeping hip-hop music simple and letting the verbal dexterity shine through. In a similar fashion to Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and Woody Guthrie, Tyler, the Creator manages to let the lyricism do the work and merely use simple music as a platform for his words.

The kind of excitement Tyler is generating is in part his own doing (he makes good songs), but also in part hip-hop's doing. By getting fat and lazy and pouring out big-budget, dancefloor and DJ obsessed crap over the last few years, hip-hop has been quite the turn off. Tyler, the Creator could be just what the genre needs at a time when the likes of Eminem's, Dr. Dre's and and 50 Cent's stars seem to be fading. Time for some new blood. Check him out.

Wow, What a Bank Holiday Weekend!

Where to begin? Firstly, I must scream from the rooftops as the mighty Queens Park Rangers have been promoted to the Premier League as champions of The Championship. Come on you R's.

The Royal Wedding was tosh. I couldn't care less if two free-loaders, lovely as they may be, get married at the British taxpayer's expense and whip up a frenzy. Why give us a day off if we cannot get into Central London without being faced with mental royalists?

Osama Bin Laden has been killed. This is not only the biggest news of the weekend, but, in fact, the biggest news of the year. The World's most wanted man is gone, 'buried at sea'. I do hope that the repercussions aren't more atrocities, but unfortunately I fear they may be.

Bin Laden - Gone

Donald Trump has been fucking mental! Excuse my French, but seriously, calling the Chinese motherfuckers and requesting Obama's Birth Certificate! Really? I feel this unfortunately shows up the racism that is still bubbling under the hardcore Republican ethos. Would he have asked for Bill Clinton's for instance? I think not.

Finally, Gadaffi claims his son has been killed. Many on the opposition do not believe him due to a similar incident where he claimed his daughter had been killed.

This has been a weekend to remember for many reasons. Who knows what will follow all of these events?