It's been a while since the ultra-prolific Jeremiah Jae jumped over to his sole production moniker Jae R. After his jump to Warp, the Beastie Boys Black Rock project, Dirty Collections Vol. 1, and his awesome Bad Jokes mixtape, Jae returns with the instrumental-only Yard Sale 2.
The 18-track collection meanders between mythological eerie and downright trippy, playing with hazy loops and disjointed samples throughout the project. Stream it in full below or download it over at Jae's Bandcamp.
If we're keeping a tally, and we aren't, Lollapalooza's Saturdays usually end up being the strongest of the weekend. In 2008, it was Rage Against The Machine. In 2009, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs filled in for The Beastie Boys when MCA was first diagnosed with cancer. In 2010, Phoenix played the biggest show of the band's career. And last year, it was front and center for My Morning Jacket.
Predictably, 2012's Saturday stacked up as the strongest day of the weekend with the top-billed headliner Red Hot Chili Peppers slated to perform on the park's south side. But why Saturday ended up being the most memorable of the weekend was for completely different reasons.
Day Two:
Glancing at Saturday's schedule, there was enough quality acts to not only fill out the day, but to skip entirely. Looking at it again, there were several very-notable acts I neglected to see, including the aforementioned Chili Peppers. The trip started early with FIDLAR.
FIDLAR
Every year there's one small band that every Lolla-goer that ventures outside of Perry's falls in love with. For me, seeing FIDLAR at the Double-Door the previous Thursday really helped solidify their reputation as one of the most fun punk acts around. So while I was plenty familiar with the setlist, including a scorching closer of "Wake Bake Skate" in which lead singer Zac Carper jumped into a frenzied crowd to spit off the final 30 seconds, the excitement never dwindled. As one of the very few punk shows of the weekend, it was a fun change of pace and worth the early Saturday heat.
Pushing quickly while trying to cool down as much as I could, the next move was to Jeff The Brotherhood and right to Delta Spirit. Both performances were spirited, especially considering how extraordinary the heat had become during the Midwest's lengthy drought. Delta Spirit lead-singer Matthew Vasquez, at the end of his performance, was dunking his head in buckets of water and pouring them on eager fans jumping in the front rows. Still drenched in his own sweat, he nearly passed out at the end from the pure exhaustion.
Thereafter, the day drifted in another direction. Dry, grey clouds set an overcast - something most of us wanted but kind of feared at the same time. Venturing off, you noticed merchandising tents closing and small flocks gathering towards the entrance. If you were in the park last Saturday, in Chicago, or just watching CNN, you know what followed - a full evacuation. The rain is never so much of an issue as wind and lightning are. Considering those factors, along with a recent string of stage collapses at music festivals, the evacuation was actually a very good thing. For those who made it out and didn't waste their time, taking a break and letting the park cool down made the night that much more pleasant.
The delay only lasted from 3:30-6 p.m., pushing other performances back just an hour. Almost immediately upon reentry, The Tallest Man On Earth resumed Lolla festivities with one of the weekend's best sets. Going on over his scheduled play time, Kristian Matsson never seemed to slow down. Rounding off hit after hit from his previous three albums, it was clear that he resonated deeply with his fans who never seemed to leave.
Washed Out
While Washed Out did what they could considering their circumstances, and Frank Ocean's set was electric, the curiosity of the night laid with Twin Shadow. Sound problems and a rushed set forced the band for an extremely quick set (about seven songs), but what was seen was absolutely electric. The benefit of playing later at night than originally scheduled added a special element, which also leaked into Ocean's set.
Frank Ocean
Personal sets - truly personal - are actually fairly rare during music festivals. But for those around for Ocean's set, you truly felt a personal vibe. His on stage props streamed constant cartoons that any of his fans can identify with, while he constantly addressed his screaming onlookers. Culminating with the full 10-minute version of "Pyramids," it was a stellar way to end things on a very eventful Saturday.
Best Performances: FIDLAR, Tallest Man On Earth, Twin Shadow, Frank Ocean Worst Performances: Washed Out
Highlights: "Wake Bake Skate" by FIDLAR, "There's No Leaving Now" by The Tallest Man On Earth, "Five Seconds" by Twin Shadow, "Pyramids" by Frank Ocean. Lowlights: Evacuation
If you're a fan of comedian Neal Brennan and follow him on Twitter, you may have become aware of this long-lost Beastie Boys performance on a fall 2004 taping of Brennan's co-created Chappelle's Show. It's an original cut made for the show's third season, which was famously cancelled after Chappelle's well-documented possible insanity, shortly after the release of the group's To The 5 Boroughs album. It's already been removed from Youtube, but you can check out this version below before it possibly gets taken away.
It's been nearly three years since founding Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch was originally diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in 2009. Unfortunately for me, aside from being a fan for a long portion of my life, listening to my brother's cassette copy of Hello Nasty in the late 90s, my first personal interaction with them was when they cancelled their headlining show for that year's Lollapalooza. That being said, I never had my chance to see the group since then, and now never will.
Yauch, better known as MCA, died earlier today in what is suspected to be involved with the aforementioned cancer. He founded the group in 1979, as the bassist for the original hardcore punk version of the band, later reforming into the iconic rap group alongside Adam Horowitz and Mike Diamond. The group's last album, Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2, was delayed because of Yauch's treatment, but was eventually released last year, alongside Yauch's directed short-film for "Make Some Noise."
For whatever it's worth, with the effective end of the lengthy career of the group, The Beastie Boys now see themselves in a pantheon of great acts that were always great. From 1986's License to Ill, to their directive change of pace in Paul's Boutique, and last year's Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2, Yauch, Horowitz, and Diamond ended up somewhere ahead of the curve, even if their styles were totally dependent of their 80s upbringing. It's an unfortunate, early ending to the group, despite the veteran longstanding.
Here's two videos from yesterday that somehow failed to make the Monday publishes: First, the Beastie Boys' and Santigold's action figure adventure of "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win," brought to us from the Funny or Die crew. The second is a little more of the ordinary from Foster the People for their second single "Helena Beat." Yes, somehow childhood Mad Max is more normal.
Beastie Boys (ft. Santigold) - Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win
Now that I'm effectively taking a break from talking about Lollapalooza until the schedule is released (or the lineup inexplicably changes), I'll get back to regular news.
Yesterday, the Beastie Boys made their upcoming and now extremely hyped album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two available for free stream online. You can listen to the whole monster 16-track LP below, which will be fully available May 3.
There's no video release for "Say It" (yet), but the newest Beastie Boys leak from Hot Sauce Committee Part Twois a nice change of pace from "Make Some Noise" and "Tadlock Glasses."
"Say It," is covered from beginning to end with full, fuzzy reverb, making the shocking revelation that the Brooklyn trio are still as relevant as ever. Listen to the stream below, via Pretty Much Amazing.
A couple weeks ago, the Beastie Boys premiered the trailer for the Brooklyn trio's upcoming 30 minute short film, featuring an insane vanguard of legitimate cameos, up to which included Will Ferrell, Jack Black, John C. Reilly, Seth Rogen, Elijah Wood, and Danny McBride all playing different versions of Mike D, Ad Rock, and MCA.
Late last night, the actual video for "Make Some Noise," the first single from the group's upcoming album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, premiered, featuring even more damn cameos from the likes of Steve Buscemi, Kirsten Dunst, Amy Poehler, and still more.
Yesterday, the Beastie Boys, after seemingly years worth of set-backs and delays, released the first song from Hot Sauce Committee Pt. Two (still in the lead for best album title of the decade), "Make Some Noise." The song (listen here), was huge yesterday, but the trailer for the group's upcoming "Fight For Your Right Revisited" short film kinda blows it away.
The cast-list is staggering: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Jack Black, Seth Rogen, Elijah Wood, and Danny McBride star as present and future versions of Mike D, MCA, and Ad-Rock (complete with Delorean) in a Brooklyn showdown with guest appearances from; Jason Schwartzman, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Rainn Wilson, and Will Arnett - and I probably missed some. And that's just the trailer.
Pre-ordering the album comes with the full movie as a digital download. Hot Sauce Committee Pt. Two will be available May 3.
Only one day after news of Adam Yauch's cancerous tumor and the Beastie Boys cancelling all their remaining Summer tour dates, Lollapalooza has already scheduled the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to replace the New York rappers for their Satuday night (August 8) show.
Prior to the release of the Lollapalooza scheduled the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were mentioned to be near locks for the Chicago festival, but were left off the initial billing.
As for the remainder of the Beastie Boys cancelled shows, including All Points West and Austin City Limits, word on a replacement has not been named as of yet.
The sad news has already circled around the Twitter Universe, but for those who may not know Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch (MCA) announced this morning that he had been diagnosed with a small tumor on his parotid gland in his neck.
Fortunately for Yauch the tumor was discovered early enough that the cancer had not spread and could be much more easily treated. However, the group was forced to cancel all of their remaining Summer tour dates and push back the release of their upcoming album Hot Sauce Committee Part 1.
Adam also released a video explaining the situation below ...
Of course the large issue here aside from the health and well-being of Yauch is what to do to replace the group who was headlining so many Summer festivals. As of now the possibilities are completely up in the air with minor word of mouth suggesting possibilities of Foo Fighters or Muse to replace the group at Lollapalooza, but as far as the other festivals are concerned there's very little certainty.
The group's appearance on Fallon last night ended (along with a plea from Jimmy) to give fans a taste from their 1992 album Check Your Head, with a Roots-backed rendition of "So What'cha Want." So far, so good for a Beastie-filled Summer.
Beastie Boys (ft. The Roots) - So What'cha Want (Live on Fallon)
available for free stream online. You can listen to the whole monster 16-track LP below, which will be fully available May 3.
