When thrash titans Metallica took the field at San Francisco’s AT&T Park to play “The Star Spangled Banner” last week, they were but the latest in a long line of high energy decibel dealers putting their rough stamp on our hallowed National Anthem. Ever since Jimi Hendrix serenaded the Woodstock faithful that bleary August morning in 1969 with his electric-fried version of “The Star Spangled Banner,” rockers have been figuring out daring different ways to rock Francis Scott Key’s composition in instrumental form. We now present to you the 10 Most Rocking Versions of The National Anthem. Give us your feedback on vote on where you think they rank and remember to vote early and vote often.
Outkast‘s Andre “3000″ Benjamin will play Jimi Hendrix in the upcoming biopic All Is By My Side, but he won’t actually get to try on any of the psychedelic guitar god’s originals on for size. According to Rolling Stone, Hendrix’s estate has put the kibosh on that. And so, as it turns out, Andre Benjamin’s Jimi Hendrix experience might be Hendrix-less after all. Sort of.
Experience Hendrix, LLC, the family-owned company that over see’s Hendrix’s legacy, has asked that the biopic — which is currently in production in Dublin — not include original music or copyrights created by Hendrix. Because the film is meant to cover the years ahead of Hendrix’s landmark debut, Are You Experienced?, director John Ridley has opted instead to use some of Hendrix’s most famous covers. And so in lieu of Andre Benjamin remakes of “Purple Haze” and “All Along The Watchtower,” we’ll get Andre Benjamin covers of Jimi Hendrix covers of the Beatles, Elvis, Muddy Waters, and more. Not such a bad compromise, if you ask us! Read more…
The massive Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, TN hosted a mix (over 150) of musical acts spanning across genres from country to soul. The crowd was in for a treat with acts like Phish, fun., Bon Iver and Kenny Rogers blessing the stage for the four-day festival. Lionel Richie was on hand to join Rogers for “Lady” and “All Night Long (All Night).” And Richie wasn’t the only surprise.
Rumors quickly spread that The Roots would bring out a special guest. Low and behold in what turned out to be the crowd shocker of the night, D’Angelo, who hadn’t performed on a stage in 12 years (when his last album Voodoo was released), was The Roots surprise guest. According to Yahoo Music, ?uestlove announced, “I’ve been waiting 12 years to say this. Ladies and gentlemen…D’ANGELO!” Sounding as if he’d never stepped away from the music, D’Angelo played the piano and guitar doing a nine-piece set including oldies like Jimi Hendrix’s “Have You Ever Been To Electric Ladyland” and “Power Of Soul,” Funkadelic’s “Funky Dollar Bill,” and “Hit It And Quit It,” Sly & The Family Stone’s “Babies Makin’ Babies,” The Beatles‘ “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window,” Led Zeppelin’s “What Is And What Should Never Be,” and the Time’s “My Summertime Thang.” And we can’t think of any better way to do a comeback performance than with the legendary The Roots band. Check out our gallery of fun photos from Bonnaroo. Read more…
Just when we were getting excited about Andre 3000 rocking out in his new role as the late, great musicianJimi Hendrix in All Is By My Side, the Wall Street Journal reports there may be slight glitch that has the potential to halt the project. According to the report, the Hendrix family estate released a statement denying any involvement with the project. Experience Hendrix LLC is a family owned company that manages the late musician’s music and publishing. In the statement, Hendrix LLC says they have “made it known many times in the past that no such film, were it to include original music or copyrights created by Jimi Hendrix, can be undertaken without its full participation.”
There’s good news though! The CEO of the company, Janie Hendrix (Jimi’s sister), along with the board, isn’t opposed to being involved with a biopic, per the press release. “Experience Hendrix CEO Janie Hendrix, sister of Jimi Hendrix, and the EH board have not ruled out a ‘biopic’ in the future though producing partners would, out of necessity, have to involve the company from the inception of any such film project if it is to include original Jimi Hendrix music or compositions.” So, basically, All Is By My Side won’t have any original music by Hendrix since the estate wasn’t involved from jump. That is, unless the producers of All Is By My Side decide to pony up and pay some big bucks to the Hendrix clan. We hope the two sides can figure this out, because this is one movie that we cannot wait to see!
Remember how we were ecstatically anticipating a new solo album from Andre 3000, or even another Outkast album? Well, there doesn’t seem to be any new albums on the horizon for Three Stacks, but IFTN.com reports the Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik rapper is set to star as the legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix in an upcoming biopic about the late musician.
According to reports, All Is By My Side will focus on Hendrix’s time in England from 1966 through 1967. It was during that time Hendrix was discovered in a New York night club by the girlfriend of Rolling Stones‘ guitarist Keith Richards. Hendrix then traveled to London, recorded his debut album Are You Experienced and, well, the rest is history. Read more…
Watch Janelle Monae Cover Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing” Janelle Monae played a truly sexy, sultry cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing” at her concert last night in Papantla, Mexcio. And despite the fan made hand held phone footage, it’s easy to see how wonderfully Monae performed the iconic song, and that you would have had chills coursing down your spine had you seen it live. [CoS]
M83 Is Releasing A Remix EP For Their Track “Reunion”
From Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, M83 will be releasing a seven song EP of remixes of their track “Reunion,” including versions by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. and The Naked and The Famous. M83 uber-fans rejoice! [Paste]
Are You Afraid Of Lana Del Rey?
The Awl tries to dissect the Lana Del Rey beast, “the Manichean death match between veracity and popular consumption, the Del Rey Affair [that] has brought head-scratching and hand-wringing to new highs,” makes some interesting observations, but generally just gives you more to think about. [The Awl]
A Park Will Be Built in Seattle In Honor Of Jimi Hendrix
And it will be guitar shaped, no less. The park will be unveiled next year in honor of Jimi Hendrix‘s would-be 70th birthday. [NME]
On Tuesday night, the wildly talented musician and singer Gary Clark Jr.stood in with The Roots on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, jamming on his guitar and singing “Bright Lights” from his newly released four-song EP of the same name. Earlier that night, a showcase for the Austin, Texas native was held in swanky Soho House in New York City, and a who’s who of music execs, critics and press were in attendance. Naturally, when we heard that Clark was performing at Rockwood Music Hall last night, we had to go check out his show; while he came to play a short acoustic set for VH1 staffers last month, you could tell he was holding back the some of the nastier funk that comes along with being backed by a rhythm section.
Sure enough (and much to our delight), last night’s 75-minute set was impressive to a staggering degree. At age 27, Gary has already been compared to some of classic rock’s greats, invoking the guitar chops of Clapton and Hendrix and, with a broad vocal range, he’ll purr an Eddie Kendricks falsetto one minute and growl a B. B. King guttural tone the next. The music he unveiled crossed blues and soul with elements of jazz, funk and hip hop, but was also laced with smacking drums and rousing guitar solos that had Clark in a very clear, introverted, eyes-closed zone.
With lyrics like “I don’t owe you a thing, I ain’t buying you no diamond ring” and “If you love me like you say, why you trippin’ like you do?,” it’s clear that Clark holds the blues near and dear to his being. However, his multi-dimensional sonic flavor was embraced by the models, frat boys, music snobs, and hipsters present, which allowed him to flaunt an effortless malleabilty that could be paired well with any of your favorite artists, regardless of genre or time period. ?uestlove was in the house as well, hanging with Zoe Kravitz (who is apparently a longtime friend of Clark’s). And now, on the heels of a glowing Rolling Stone review of his Bright Lights EP, we’re certain that Clark’s star is on the rise, and the young talent has many years and many full-length albums ahead of him.
“Rehab” singer Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London apartment today. The cause has not yet been determined. For those who have followed her longstanding battle with depression, eating disorders and substance abuse (a constant source of fodder for tabloids), this sad news may not come as a huge surprise. In August of 2007, Amy came close to death after overdosing on a cocktail of heroin, ecstasy and cocaine – and later that year was found wondering barefoot outside in nothing but a bra and jeans. These incidents were preceded by Amy’s marriage in May of 2007 to Blake Fielder-Civil, who was quoted by a British tabloid as saying he introduced Amy to heroin and crack cocaine. Earlier that same year, Amy performed for VH1 Unplugged. Blake and Amy divorced in 2009.
The singer dominated the 2008 Grammys with five awards for Back to Black, her sophomore album, winning in the categories of Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Known for her singular voice and unorthodox retro look (tattoos, extreme cat-eye makeup and beehive hairdo), Amy is said to have paved the way for artists who wouldn’t previously have fit into the mainstream. Lady Gaga, for one, famously told AOL: “Because of Amy, very strange girls like me go to prom with very good-looking guys. She’s a different kind of woman. I don’t believe that what I do is very digestible, and somehow Amy was the flu for pop music.” Regardless of whether this is true, Winehouse certainly seemed to pave the way for fellow British songbirds Adele and Duffy, both of whom share Amy’s ’60s soul vibe.
In June, YouTube videos surfaced of an intoxicated and discombobulated-looking Winehouse forgetting her own lyrics and getting booed off stage in the first stop of a European tour, which subsequently had to be canceled. Amy was reportedly working on a third album. She joins a long list of musicians who have died at 27. A phenomenon known as The 27 Club, Brian Jones, Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain are among those who died at the same age. Let her legend begin.
