June 6, 2011

The Top Five Musical Feuds Of The Last 20 Years (Not Involving Moby)

Moby‘s comments last week about what types of pop are and aren’t music isn’t the first time he’s taken shots at other artists. At the 2001 Grammy Awards he called Eminem ”a racist, a homophobe, and a misogynist.” But he’s not the only artist who’s feuded over art (and, implicitly, integrity). Here are the five most notable feuds of the last 20 years.

FEUD: Nirvana vs. Guns N’ Roses
HOW IT STARTED: Nirvana never liked the lyrical misogyny and homophobia of Guns N’ Roses, but the feud officially got underway when Nirvana turned down an offer to open for the band on tour.
KEY NIRVANA PULLQUOTE: Kurt Cobain, interviewed by Kevin Allman in the February 1992 issue of The Advocate:

I can’t even waste my time on that band, because they’re so obviously pathetic and untalented. I used to think that everything in the mainstream pop world was crap, but now that some underground bands have been signed with majors, I take Guns N’ Roses as more of an offense. I have to look into it more: They’re really talentless people, and they write crap music, and they’re the most popular rock band on the earth right now. I can’t believe it.

KEY GUNS ‘N’ ROSES PULLQUOTE: Axl Rose, on stage in Seattle: “Nirvana would rather stay home and shoot drugs with their bitch wives than tour with us.”
WINNER: At the time, Nirvana by a mile, but as time has gone on and Cobain-as-icon has lost some of its political edge, it’s now closer to a draw.
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Tags: , , Pavement, Moby, Lady Gaga, Blur, The Smashing Pumpkins, Oasis, Nirvana, Nas, M.I.A., Jay-Z, Guns N' Roses, Eminem

May 3, 2007

M.I.A. Wants to Hit That

55888888 The kindly folk at the Fader point to an online leak from hipster icon M.I.A.‘s new record. The track, called "Hit That," is probably the rudest, sexiest, dirtiest thing recorded in a long while — it’s too bad the slang sort of prevents those not used to a thick British accent from understanding what it is she’s saying. (You’ll get a chance to mull it over better when her record’s released on June 25th.) Note the clever thievery of "all I wanna do is zoom-a zoom zoom." If ever there were a lyric to steal, that, ladies and gentlemen, is the one.

Tags: , M.I.A.

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April 10, 2007

Scratch M.I.A.’s Back, She’ll Scratch Yours

                               

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British/Sri Lankan beauty M.I.A. announced that she’s ready to release her sophomore effort, Kala, on June 25th. The follow-up to her critically acclaimed 2005 album Arular features collaborations with beat-whiz Timbaland and avant-hop-head Diplo. (She’s worked with Timbaland before; there’s a bonus track on the U.K. version of Shock Value called “Come Around” to that effect.) M.I.A., whose work thus far has been both sexually charged and a lightning rod for political controversy, has been hard at work on making challenging music. It’s not always the most danceable, but we love the title of her first single (which you can hear at her MySpace page): “Bird Flu.” Anyone care to guess at the titles of other tracks on the album? We’re hoping for “Project Red” and “Niger Yellowcake.”

Tags: , M.I.A., Timbaland