I. CRO-MAGS
New York hardcore/crossover thrash legends Cro-Mags have a 30-year legacy for violence at shows but they made headlines last weekend when they attempted to play the CBGB Festival at Webster Hall. Before the show former bassist and MMA meathead Harley Flanagan stormed through the venue’s VIP section and into the band’s dressing room. Once in there he allegedly pulled out a hunting knife and stabbed current members William Berario and Michael Couls. As if that weren’t enough it’s also alleged he bit Berario on the cheek. Several security guards and police officers wrestled Flanagan to the ground and his leg was broken in the process. He was arrested for two counts of second-degree assault and a weapons charge. Handcuffed to a wheelchair as he was pushed out of the venue some reports suggest that Flanagan still managed to flip off the venue full of booing Cro-Mags fans.
II. SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA
That wasn’t the only show that got stabby last weekend however as a Swedish House Mafia show in Dublin Ireland also erupted in knife-laden violence. The trio which is currently on a farewell tour through Europe was said to have attracted 45000 fans to the Dublin show. That many drugged-out EDM fans were sure to wreak some havoc and one dude in particular did a lot of damage with a knife. According to a report from BBC News one man stabbed four people at the show putting at least one in critical condition. On top of that five more people were involved in fights involving broken bottles and knives. A total of 30 people were arrested on various charges. To make matters worse a man in his early 20s also died of a suspected drug overdose at the concert.
III. TRENT REZNOR
After contributing scores to The Social Network and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor will lend his talents to a distinctly dumber form of drama by releasing a new song as part of Call of Duty: Black Ops II . Speaking with USA Today the Rez explains how the song fits into the game’s plotline saying “There is a lot of reservation and angst and sense of loss and regret and anger bubbling under the surface.” Does he realize that angst and sense of loss is in reality coming from some chubby Cheeto-fingered preteen putz on an Xbox in middle America? That kind of deflates the dramatic tension no?
IV. GREEN DAY
At the end of this year guyliner-wearing hair-dying up-and-down jumping cool dads Green Day will release not one not two but three albums called ¡Uno! ¡Dos! and ¡Tré! . As if that weren’t enough they’re also planning not one but two documentaries to be released in early 2013. The first is a film that frontman Billie Joe Armstrong says gets “into lifestyles of rock ’n’ roll and playing rock ’n’ roll and letting the story kind of tell itself” via backstage Green Day footage from the last year and a half. Sounds pretty shitty but there is a silver lining to this cheaply studded cloud as the second documentary will be made up of archival footage leading up to the band’s 1994 pop-punk classic Dookie . In other words only one of Green Day’s upcoming five releases will be good. So they’ve maintained their career-long average.
V. FRANK OCEAN
Look for a proper review next week but rising R&B superstar and peripheral Odd Future dude Frank Ocean decided to let loose his highly anticipated Def Jam debut Channel Orange a week earlier than its planned July 17 release date. It’s available on iTunes now and you should probably check it out because it’s album-of-the-year material.
