Blogs

Many famous musicians have spent a day or three in jail for driving drunk, holding drugs, or something really stupid. But only the select few have spent a serious stretch of time in prison, which brings us to David Allan Coe. The original country outlaw performs Friday at the Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale.

It's confirmed Coe did time at Ohio State Penitentiary and he has famously claimed to have been on death row for killing a man who attempted to procure a blow job from him -- this has not been confirmed or proven false. Although Coe is a redneck renegade who penned "Take This Job and Shove It," recorded the 1970s smash "You Never Even called Me By My Name" and recorded an album with the members of Pantera, he's by no means the greatest recording artist to do hard time. Here's a highly subjective list of the greatest musicians who worried about being some bulky dude's bitch.

1. Chuck Berry



One of the great pioneers of rock 'n' roll -- if not the greatest -- spent 1959-63 in prison for violating the Mann Act, which prohibits pimping and "white slavery." Basically, it appears Berry got busted because he was a black man with a ton of white teenage fans. No saint, though, Berry had already done about three years behind bars from age 18 to 21 for carjacking, a crime he admits to committing in his autobiography. In 1979, Berrry returned to the Big House -- via tax evasion -- for four months.

Chuck Berry performing a sizzling "Johnny B. Goode" in 1958. Clip includes great quotes from Keith Richards, Gregg Allman and Dickey Betts.

The season for spooking is here, and to help awaken your inner ghoul who's been lying dormant, here is a list of ten songs to celebrate the holiday. Some are obvious, some have loose, vague, or quirky affiliations with Halloween themes (you'll be hard-pressed to find some of these on other Halloween top ten lists), and others are just local horrorific awesomeness. This is by no means an end-all Halloween list. In fact, such a list would probably be about 70 percent Misfits. So if you're thinking of hosting your own zombie zoo or rockin' to some tunes on your way to Moonfest, Propaganda, or the Bubble this Saturday, here is something to get you in the spirit.

Hit the jump for the list.

Leonard Cohen

It's the tour those of us younger Leonard Cohen fans -- the ones who discovered his music through the Natural Born Killers soundtrack, covers of "Hallelujah," or when we walked into a tiny used CD store in Gainesville and heard "Take This Waltz" playing -- never thought would happen.

After gaining fame and respect in the literary world, Cohen began his singing career in the late 1960s, issuing the most brilliantly erudite, sad-sack folk stuff ever penned. Then, with 1988's I'm Your Man album, he introduced humor to his work -- while still exploring sex and spirituality better than any of his peers. Cohen's masterful 1992 album The Future teemed with darkness but, again, cynical smiles and wonderful romanticism are there as well. Having released about a dozen, mostly acclaimed, studio records and a couple terrific live albums, Cohen called it quits -- to live as a monk. But, then, like in a bad movie twist, a former business manager stole his money, forcing Cohen back on the road. Sounds like a perfect situation for the angry artist to drag his ass through the motions just to bank some much needed retirement cash. Judging by the CD/DVD Live in London, though, culled from a show last year, Cohen's craggy croon sounds delightfully expressive, as does his illustrious band and sultry backup singers.

It has been said before but it's worth repeating, Cohen's loss has become the world's gain. In honor of popular music's supreme poet performing Saturday in Sunrise, here's a highly subjective list of his finest songs.

Leonard Cohen, Saturday, October 17. BankAtlantic Center, One Panther Pkwy, Sunrise. Show starts at 8 p.m., tickets cost $19.50 - $252.75 via Ticketmaster.com.

It's like Beatlemania all over again. Not that I was there to witness the original madness, but, y'know... Last week, the Fab Four's re-mastered catalogue -- each album at least 40 years old (!) -- moved 2.25 million CDs in an era when the compact disc is suppose to be dead. "Underlining their timeless appeal and unique status in music, The Beatles have broken multiple chart records around the world following the September 9, 2009 (9-9-09) CD release of their digitally re-mastered catalogue," reads the e-mail EMI issued Tuesday.

It seems anyone not busy buying a freshly minted Abbey Road or The Beatles stereo box set  got their fix playing The Beatles: Rock Band. (Many, of course, did both.) To celebrate the big-ass checks soon to be cashed by Macca, Ringo, Yoko, Harrison's loved ones, and whoever has control of the Michael Jackson estate, here are the greatest Beatles songs of all time -- just in case you can ever purchase them individually on iTunes.

1. "Strawberry Fields Forever"

Recorded at the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band sessions but released as a single February of 1967, John Lennon reminisces about a childhood place of sanctuary while offering a brilliantly stirring self-analysis. Credit McCartney with the mind-blowing Mellotron playing. Here's the rather melancholy promo clip filmed in January of '67.

via lilwayne-online.com

Did Weezy make the cut?

Self-proclaimed "greatest rapper alive" Lil Wayne performs Sunday at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise. That boast had serious clout when Tha Carter III dropped last year. But with Weezy's ruinous rock album Rebirth in delay hell -- latest news has it coming out in November -- it's time to reassess the "greatest rapper alive" title. By that, we mean the best rapper right now, and offer a top ten tally (in no particular order) after the jump.

Lil' Wayne, with Young Jeezy, Soulja Boy, and Pleasure P. Sunday, September 6. BankAtlantic Center, One Panther Pkwy, Sunrise. Show starts at 7 p.m., tickets cost $39.75 to $125.75. Livenation.com

On Friday, August 21, Col. Bruce Hampton will bring his inspired, improvisation rock to Revolution in Fort Lauderdale. He's a jam band hero who helped form the highly influential '90s H.O.R.D.E. tours. With H.O.R.D.E., he employed future jam band all-stars Oteil Burbridge (Allman Brothers Band), Jimmy Herring (Widespread Panic) as well as numerous others. But Hampton doesn't quite make into in our Jam Band God Pantheon. Sorry. Hit the hookah, peruse our tally, and if you still have any energy left, feel free to tell us why Dave Matthews really, really should have made the cut.

Hit the jump for the top ten list.

As a baby of the '80s (well, I was actually born in '78), John Hughes' films played an important role in entertaining and, in all likelihood, shaping me. VHS copies of Vacation, Christmas Vacation, The Great Outdoors, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Uncle Buck, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Mr. Mom all enjoyed regular rotation in our household.

Home Alone came out when my friends and I were in seventh grade. We rode our bikes to the theater the weekend it opened, and laughed so loud and hard that soda squirted out our noses. On my own in college I would later discover Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, and the filmmaker's masterpiece The Breakfast Club.   

Hughes passed away suddenly last week at age 59, but will be remembered fondly for making movies that were at once humorous and humane. His soundtracks accomplished the same delicate balance. Here's my highly subjective list of the best songs to appear in Hughes' films.

Michael Jackson dies and all of a sudden he's the greatest entertainer of all time. Not so fast. MJ made three great albums, invented the moonwalk and, well.... Let us take another look at the performers who have truly proved most thrilling over the years.

1. Elvis Presley

Michael Jackson may have dubbed himself the King of Pop but Presley -- who has sold more records than anyone on this list -- has always worn the crown. An unstoppable sex symbol, he brought ass-shaking rock and roll to the masses and forever altered the cultural landscape of the '50s, paving the way for The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and so on. Check out Elvis the Pelvis doing "Blue Suede Shoes" in '56.

Read part one of this series here.

The Miami Dolphins are for sale to the highest musical bidders. Gloria Estefan and Marc Anthony have both recently bought minority shares of the franchise, leaving us all wondering: Who's next? We've compiled a list of 10 most wanted musicians with a tie to Miami who would be great partial owners for the Dolphins. Consider this an open letter to the following musicians:

Pitbull

The easiest way to stop all these Michael Vick to Miami rumors? Sell a share of the Dolphins to rapper Pitbull. He'll be staying far away after that. What other reason do you need?

The Miami Dolphins are for sale to the highest musical bidders. Gloria Estefan and Marc Anthony have both recently bought minority shares of the franchise, leaving us all wondering: Who's next? We've compiled a list of 10 most wanted musicians with a tie to Miami who would be great partial owners for the Dolphins. Consider this an open letter to the following musicians:

Luther R. Campbell

Luke Skyywalker of 2 Live Crew fame would be perfect as a partial owner for the Dolphins. First off, "As Nasty As They Wanna Be" needs to be the team's slogan next year, and Uncle Luke would certainly let them use that name free of charge. Secondly, you know the Dolphins cheerleaders could learn a thing or two under his tutelage. The dance routine practically writes itself: