The Mars Coda
The Mars Volta singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala announced that the band’s prog-rocking days are over via twitter last Wednesday, citing a lack of interest from guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López. “For the record I tried my hardest to get a full scale North American tour going for Noctourniquet but Omar did not want to.” The singer said that he wasn’t angry about Rodríguez-López’s unwillingness to tour, but asked of his fans, “What am I suppose to do be some progressive house wife that’s cool with watching their partner go fuck other bands? We owe it 2 fans to tour.” Bixler promised that he would be releasing new music soon, and expressed his deep gratitude to The Mars Volta’s fans. “To all our fans all over the world thank you for giving a fuck. You all ruled!”
Lupe by name, Fiasco by reputation
Despite being a known critic of Barack Obama’s policies, rapper Lupe Fiasco was asked to perform at the president’s inauguration celebration on Jan. 20. In his set at the StartUp RockOn event at Washington’s Hamilton Live, the rapper took to the mic with a vengeance, playing the same anti-war song for over 30 minutes and speaking out about why he disliked the current administration. When he refused to switch songs, organizers had a team of security personnel remove him from the stage. “Lupe Fiasco was not ‘kicked off stage’ for an anti-Obama rant,” wrote the show’s organizers in a statement. “We are staunch supporters of free speech, and free political speech. This was not about his opinions. Instead, after a bizarrely repetitive, jarring performance that left the crowd vocally dissatisfied, organizers decided to move on to the next act.”
Snoop Lyin’
Reggae icon Bunny Wailer, one of the founding members of Bob Marley & The Wailers, has called out Snoop Lion for what he sees as an appropriation of Rastafarianism in order to sell his music. Wailer says that Snoop’s “outright fraudulent use of Rastafari Community’s personalities and symbolism” is an insult to the culture and is all a gimmick to promote work, including the rapper’s upcoming docu-film Reincarnated, which details the artist formerly known as Dogg’s transformation into Snoop Lion. Equally outraged are the head of the Ethio-Africa Diaspora Union Millennium Council, who wrote a 7-page demand letter, saying “smoking weed and loving Bob Marley and reggae music is not what defines the Rastafari Indigenous Culture!” In the letter, the council have asked him to stop using “Lion” in his name and issue a public apology, or they will pursue legal action against him.
Which neighborhood is it in?
If you’ve got $325,000 to spare and are looking for a way to cement your title as the most die-hard Arcade Fire fan ever, why not buy the church the band recorded The Suburbs and Neon Bible in? The band had to leave the church when the roof collapsed and they must have found a better deal somewhere else, because the band posted the real estate listing on their twitter page with the caption “Anybody want to buy a church?” The listing describes the space as a “charming church which housed a small concert hall, followed by a recording studio also offering accommodation. Its architecture makes it a perfect location for an artist’s studio, a place of worship, a cultural, community or other organization. Offer here a unique setting to your project!” Oh, and the roof repairs should only run you about $24,300-$44,200, in case you were wondering.
