File: March 2008
Queen Nothing
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion . . . unless it isn’t Aretha Franklin‘s opinion, too. So let it be known from here forth that no female singer may ever be lovingly referred to as “the queen” by a star-struck admirer. That’s what Beyoncé did during an intro to Tina Turner’s Grammy performance in February, and Franklin, the Queen Of Soul, was so slighted by the praise heaped on Turner she felt the need to release a statement saying “I am not sure of whose toes I may have stepped on or whose ego I may have bruised between the Grammy writers and Beyoncé, however, I dismissed it as a cheap shot for controversy.”
Franklin wasn’t the only old-schooler riled up by these damn kids, though. Natalie Cole, who won her first Grammy in 1975, had a few things to say about Amy Winehouse winning five awards, mainly that she shouldn’t have. “We have to stop rewarding bad behavior,” Cole, a former substance abuser herself and apparently oblivious to how many drug-addled ne’er-do-wells have Grammy trophies on their mantles, told People magazine at a post-Grammy party.
Music That Cooks
All the proof you need South By Southwest might have lost its indie credibility: Television chef Rachael Ray is hosting a SXSW party/showcase. According to Idolator.com The Ettes will play, and among other groups on Ray’s wishlist for the “Feedback Showcase” were Battles and Holy Fuck. Battles declined (they aren’t doing SXSW this year) and no word as of press time if Holy Fuck planned to attend. Also no word on whether Food Network is officially tied to this thing, but we can’t imagine it is given the headliner might be Holy FUCK. Rachael fuckin’ Ray?
FYI: If you plan on making the Austin trip (the music portion of SXSW is March 12th to the 16th) make sure to leave some time for the bevy of Illinois talent playing, including Anathallo, The Audition, Bible Of The Devil, Bound Stems, Nick Butcher, Cap D, The Chandeliers, CoCoComa, The Cool Kids (see this month’s feature), Dreamend, Flosstradamus, Headlights, The Hood Internet, The Hush Sound, Icy Demons, Joan Of Arc, Kid Sister, Kidz In The Hall, Le Concorde, Mahjongg, Make Believe, Mannequin Men, Maps & Atlases, Walter Meego, Trevor Menear, Mittens On Strings, Naked Raygun, The 1900s, Office, Pit Er Pat, The Redwalls, Russian Circles, Sybris, Tub Ring, Waco Brothers, Andre Williams, and Yakuza. And eat some BBQ for us.
Call When You Find Work
If Paris Hilton can’t hold onto a major-label record contract, who can? Illinois Entertainer stumbled upon an interesting list put together by Entertainment Weekly (where we go for our most important music news) with the names of all the acts who lost major-label deals in 2007, the most brutal in a string of brutal years for the record industry. Of course, it should be noted all these bands weren’t “dropped” — some had contracts that expired, others left, and some were dropped but picked up immediately by another label. Some, like Hilton, Otep, Mooney Suzuki, Ruben Studdard, Shaggy, Skye Sweetnam, and Bo Bice aren’t so surprising, but the majors probably aren’t too happy about Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead, and Paul McCartney flying the coop. Locals that made the list were Liz Phair (we’re as clueless as you what she’s up to) and The Redwalls (signed with indie Mad Dragon), and if you’re wondering what kinds of music fans visit EW.com consider this article comment left by “Rasha” in defense of former NSync member and label casualty JC Chasez: “JC Chasez is such a talent, dare I say musical genius.” Dare, indeed.
— Trevor Fisher
