They killed it. (Sorry. You can listen to Ghostface's new album here, at NPR, where one would expect to be able to listen to the new Ghostface Killah album. I recommend doing so. I enjoyed it very much yesterday before Brad Paisley and L.L. Cool J ruined rap forever.)
Frank Ocean performed the song "Bad Religion," from his new album Channel Orange, with a string section and The Roots on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" last night. And on the "Late Show With David Letterman," Tom Waits performed "Chicago" from his ten-month-old album, Bad As Me. With his son Casey playing drums.
Great Scots Belle & Sebastian played Jimmy Fallon's show last night, before they become the next band to get soaked by New York's monsoon season at their outdoor show in Brooklyn tonight. Questlove, the drummer and leader of Fallon's house band, The Roots, joined them for the title track to their new album and the old nugget "Piazza, New York Catcher" and it all sounded really nice.
The most passionate purple people might already have seen this—it's been up on YouTube for more than a month, posted by the account of 3rdEyeGirl, who as best as any of us can tell are Hannah Ford Welton, Ida and Donna Grantis, the three women in Prince's new band. For the slightly less passionate—those of us who were just happy to watch our newly afro'ed hero slay the the audience at Jimmy Fallon's show Friday night ("Bambi!")—this recent live performance of Sign o' the Times' "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man," all slow and pared down and heavy, a style which this [...]
Two members of the Los Angeles rap collective Odd Future appeared with The Roots on the Jimmy Fallon show last night. Odd Future are also known as Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, and sometimes they switch the W" from "wolf" with the "G" from "golf" so that it's "Golf Wang." This clip of their performance lets you know why so many people are so excited about them. They're maybe about as punk rock as rap has ever got. And, among other things, they're really good.
Erykah Badu brought her top hat and silver swim cap to Jimmy Fallon's show last night to sing her new single "Window Seat" with old friends the Roots-who, you'll remember, made much of the music on her first album, Baduizm, way back in 1996. She also wore a tan leather jacket over a very tight Wonder Woman costume that showed very much the shape of her body. But don't say anything about that because she is awesome.
Brownstone Brooklyn's own Solange had an easier time than you'd think in all green everything last night (clashing prints, too!) as she sang her new song on the Jimmy Fallon show. Where are the Roots these days? On holiday break? I would like to hear Ahmir and co. play that jaunty little remake of New Order's "Thieves Like Us."
Bruce Springsteen appeared on the Jimmy Fallon show last night, and played "Because the Night" with who-woulda-thunk-it backing from a supergroup combo of the E-Street Band the Roots.
"About ten years ago, I was doing a weekend of Christmas concerts, accompanied by a fine regional symphony in California… Minutes before I walked onstage the second night, a nervous representative of the orchestra board appeared in my dressing room to tell me that my program was 'too Jewish.' Wow, I thought, who knew that orchestra management played practical jokes on artists moments before their shows? My laughter turned to disbelief when the stuttering gentleman said that there had, in fact, been complaints." -Michael Feinstein, the popular standards singer who looks so much like a cross between Barry Manilow and Jimmy Fallon, has an op-ed in the [...]
