Late Weezer bassist predicted death
Two weeks before former Weezer bassist and artist Mikey Welsh died in a Chicago hotel room, he posted on his Twitter account an alarmingly accurate prediction of his own death.
The tweet read, “dreamt I died in chicago next weekend (heart attack in my sleep). need to write my will today.” Shortly afterward he posted another tweet that said, “correction – the weekend after next.”
Though the cause of death won’t be confirmed until toxicology reports are complete, police found prescription pills and a substance believed to be heroin in the room.
Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore split
Half of Sonic Youth have called it quits. Bassist/singer Kim Gordon and guitarist/singer Thurston Moore announced an end to their 27-year marriage via press release. The couple gave no further details, asking that their privacy be respected.
Sonic Youth will finish their current tour but haven’t mentioned the band’s future.
Moore and Gordon have a 17-year-old daughter, Coco.
The Black Keys set to release new album
The new release from Ohio rockers The Black Keys is titled El Camino and is due out Dec. 6, with the new single “Lonely Boy” due out Oct. 26.
Actor Bob Odenkirk, from “Breaking Bad” and “Mr. Show,” has filmed a funny short commercial announcing the release of El Camino. The commercial features Odenkirk as a used-car salesman pitching the new album.
The seventh album from The Black Keys will sound different from last year’s Brothers, according to frontman Dan Auerbach. He lists the Clash and the Cramps as inspiration for the new album, as well as old rock and roll and rockabilly.
“It doesn’t have that open soul feel to it,” said Auerbach. “It’s way more driving and the tempos are really fast.”
To view the trailer, check out spin.com.
Paul McCartney marries for the third time
The former Beatle wed businesswoman Nancy Shevell in London on Sunday, Oct. 9 at Marylebone Town Hall. The ceremony was followed by a reception with guests that included Ringo Starr, George Harrison’s widow Olivia and Barbara Walters.
Beyonce accused of ripping off her dance moves
Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker (we all know her, right?) is saying that Beyonce’s moves in the video for her new single, “Countdown,” were stolen from De Keersmaeker’s 1983 piece “Rosas danst Rosas” and another piece from 1990.
The Belgian told Studio Brussel, “I’m not mad, but this is plagiarism. What’s rude about it is that they don’t even bother about hiding it.”
So apparently disguising the theft of the choreography would’ve been okay…
Jack White covers U2
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of U2’s Achtung Baby, Q Magazine has put together a tribute that includes covers of tracks from the 1991 album.
Jack White has given us a blistering version of “Love is Blindness,” complete with a scorching guitar solo in true Jack White form.
To listen to the song go to twentyfourbit.com.
Paul Simon turns 70
Singer Paul Simon celebrated his 70th birthday on Thursday, which also coincided with the 25th anniversary of his hit album Graceland.
The singer plans to tour in 2012 in support of the anniversary of his best-selling album. He also has plans to release a box set which will include a documentary about the album.
Tom Morello arrives at the Occupy Wall Street protest
True to form, the former Rage Against the Machine guitarist couldn’t pass up an opportunity to be politically active, showing up at the Occupy Wall Street protest last Thursday.
He performed as his alter ego, the Nightwatchment, playing Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.”
You can watch the performance at spin.com.
Big Boi avoids jail time for drug charges
The Outkast rapper appeared in a Miami courtroom on Thursday to face charges stemming from his August arrest for possession of ecstasy and drug paraphernalia.
The singer faced two felony charges, but if he remains drug-free during a testing period, all charges will be dismissed.
Member of Charlie Daniels Band dies in crash
Joel “Taz” DeGregario, keyboardist for the Charlie Daniels Band, died Wednesday night in a car crash near Nashville.
DeGregario had been with band for decades, and was a co-writer of the group’s biggest hit, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.”
The band has since canceled concerts in Georgia and Conncecticut.
Two sure signs of the looming apocalypse
Aside from the Detroit Lions going 5-0 to start off the season, here are two more signs that the world is surely eating itself from the inside out.
Numero Uno: Fred Durst, the annoying frontman of the annoying band Limp Bizkit (God, I even hate writing that band name…), will soon be starring in his own sitcom on CBS.
The show will revolve around a “rockstar” and his family, dealing with emotional family issues and the rigors of a touring musician.
What might be the name of this pricless gem? “Douche Bag.” Yep, you heard me. “Douche Bag.”
Numero Dos: Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan is entering the world of professional wrestling,
Well, he won’t be entering the ring himself, but Corgan has formed his own wrestling company called Resistance Pro.
The company’s first wrestling event takes place Nov. 25 in Chicago. Yippee.
Phoenix release tour documentary
The Versailles quartet Phoenix were followed for over a year by Antoine Wagner, director of their “Lisztomania” video, during which Wagner filmed footage of the band touring in support of their breakout record Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.
The result is a 52-minute documentary titled “Mess to the Masses” that will premiere on Oct. 13 in France and Germany and will hit theaters in the U.S. in November.
To watch a trailer of the film, check out twentyfourbit.com.
Jon Spencer releasing new album with Blues Explosion
In addition to reuniting the Blues Explosion last year for a world tour in support of new reissues of the band’s six albums, Spencer recently told Rolling Stone that the band is working on a new record that will likely be released next year.
When asked what the new material sounds like, Spencer said, “We’ve gotten back to some of the aggression, the confrontational nature of the earlier material. It’s not as crazy as the stuff we did in the first two or three years, but there seems to be a little flavor of that.”
