Big Boi’s one that got away
Outkast rapper Big Boi’s upcoming album Vicious Lies And Dangerous Rumors boasts an all star cast of collaborators, with big names like Ludacris, Kelly Rowland, Kid Cudi and T.I. having already lent their talent to the rapper’s second studio album. As Big Boi told The Village Voice, though, there was one noticeable exception to the A-list roll call; his Outkast mate, Andre 3000. “He could’ve been on any song he wanted to. I gave the motherfucker about five songs, but I guess he was just too busy,” said Big Boi. “He said he had to do some Gillette shit.” Though the comment, referencing the series of Gillette ads the Hey Ya! hitmaker starred in, spawned laughter during the interview, Big Boi made sure they knew he was serious. “No for real. He said he had some contractual obligations.” Vicious Lies And Dangerous Rumors is set to drop on Dec. 11.
Did they try to shake him out?
In terms of embarrassing reasons to miss a gig, this one’s way up there. Florence and the Machine drummer Chris Hayden nearly missed his band’s BBC Radio 2 In Concert show because he couldn’t get himself out of the bathroom. “I didn’t know whether to say it on stage because I didn’t want to embarrass him, but he got trapped in the loo. He was screaming,” said singer Florence Welch. “He got really freaked out. We could hear him trying to bash the door down, and they had to take the door off its hinges, so my Dad did offer to stand in. But he did escape.” Thankfully, the band was able to play on time for presenter Jo Whiley’s Radio 2 show, but the question still remains: if you didn’t want to embarrass him, why did you tell the media about it?
Will it feature little pink haunted houses?
After more than a decade of working on the project, John Mellencamp and Stephen King’s musical Ghost Brothers of Darkland County will soon reach completion. The musical deals with two sets of brothers fighting over a woman, 30 years apart in the same cabin. Mellencamp originally hatched the basic idea in the late nineties while spending time in his cabin in Bloomington, Indiana — which he claims is haunted. As far as splitting duties goes, each man has a clear idea of what they contribute to the project. “It was Steve’s job to tell the story,” said Mellencamp. “It was my job to develop the characters through songs. That’s different than most musicals. The best example of that is My Fair Lady. They had a story with Pygmalion, so they just stuck songs in there.” Though an early version of the show ran in Atlanta earlier this year and there was a recent table reading in New York for investors, there are no plans to put the show on Broadway just yet. “John believes in reaching for the stars in everything he does,” said King. “But a lot of Broadway these days is fucking Disneyland. It’s blue-haired ladies from Westchester County. They come in buses and they want to see Aida or the Lion King. It’s almost like an amusement park.” If you’re interested in seeing the early version of the show, a CD/DVD deluxe edition, which will feature the soundtrack, handwritten lyrics and a mini-documentary about the making of the musical will go on sale March 19.
