On this date in 1987, a Beastie Boys/Run DMC concert in Liverpool, England, turned into a riot and ended with the arrest of Adam "Ad Rock" Horovitz. The pumped-out crowd reportedly began throwing bottles and cans at the group, which the Boys playfully batted back at them. At first. After just a few minutes, things continued to get out of hand and the concert was cancelled for the safety of all involved. At the hotel later that night, Horovitz was arrested because police believed he was responsible for the beer can that struck and injured a female fan.

Horovitz spent the night in jail and, in November, Ad Rock — 21 at the time — was found not guilty of the charges.

Here's an ancient MTV segment featuring the Boys at Spring Break (to give you a sense of the trio's pre-enlightenment personalities around the time of Horovitz's arrest).



Born This Day: Musical movers and shakers sharing a May 30 birthday include legendary Big Band bandleader and clarinetist Benny Goodman (1909); founding bassist for Punk giants Dead Kennedys, Geoffrey Lyall, better known as Klaus Flouride (1949); Jazz Fusion bassist Dann Glenn (1950); on-again/off-again drummer for The Clash, Topper Headon (1955); singer for Swedish Pop duo Roxette ("It Must Have Been Love," "The Look") Marie Fredriksson (1958); drummer and founding member of progressive Canadian Metal greats Voivod, Michel Langevin (1963); Country star Wynonna Judd (1964); Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello (1964); frontman for Indie Rock icons Pavement, Stephen Malkmus (1966); singer for Brit Pop crew The Charlatans, Tim Burgess (1967); Hip Hop-turned-Pop superstar Cee-Lo Green (1974); singer for Metal band Shadows Fall, Brian Fair (1975); "Freak Folk" poster child Devendra Banhart (1981) and Hip Hop MC Remy Ma (1981).

Remy was born Reminisce Smith and grew up in the Castle Hill Projects in the Bronx. Neighborhood MC Big Pun was an early mentor, putting Remy (then "Remi Martin") on a pair of tracks from his Yeeeah Baby album. It was a bittersweet debut, though; Pun died from a heart attack in 2000 and the album came out two months afterwards. (Big Pun was reportedly 698 pounds when he died.) Another big rapper, Fat Joe, took Remy under his wing and made her a member of Terror Squad. She was featured on the Terror Squad's huge 2004 single "Lean Back," which was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks that summer. It also earned Remy a Grammy nomination.

Remy's debut solo album, ‪There's Something About Remy: Based on a True Story‬, dropped on Feb. 7, 2006, the sixth anniversary of Big Pun's death. The album was critically acclaimed but didn't sell very well (Fat Joe and Remy blamed poor promotion and choice of singles). She left Terror Squad in 2007.

As a free agent, Remy reportedly received numerous label offers and even a reported deal for a reality show. She had her second album in the works, as well as the debut of the super-trio 3Sum, featuring fellow MCs Jacki-O and Shawnna, when things went really bad for Remy. She turned herself into police after a shooting outside of a nightclub that wounded a woman who had allegedly tried to rob the rapper. The woman ID'ed Remy as the shooter. In 2008, Remy was convicted of assault, attempted coercion and weapons possession. She was sentenced to eight years in prison. In 2008, she married her fiancee, Hip Hop artist Papoose.

Remy — who also has a young son — lost her appeal last June. The earliest she can be released is Jan. 31, 2015. If she has to serve her whole sentence, she won't be out until March 23, 2016.

Despite her jail stint and the limited material released, Remy Ma remains a big influence on established and up-and-coming female Rap artists.



Here's part of an interview Remy did with StreetHeat about her life in prison.

After a successful screening of an acclaimed Sigur Ros concert film recently, the Contemporary Arts Center is showing another concert flick soon, this time on the same night as dozens of theaters nationwide. On July 18, the CAC is listed as one of the venues screening Shut Up and Play the Hits, the much anticipated concert film/documentary that follows LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy as he preps for his band's final ever concerts, which took place at Madison Square Garden last spring.

The film will be in theaters (or art museums, in our case) for one night only, then presumably be issued on DVD. (No release date on that yet.)

Tickets for most screenings go on sale June 8. Click here for updates. The film will be shown at the CAC at 9 p.m. and accompanied by a DJ set.

Here's the superb trailer for Shut Up and Play the Hits.

On this date in 1942 — months away from Christmas 1941 and Christmas 1942 — classic crooner Bing Crosby recorded what remains the best-selling single of all time, "White Christmas."  Crosby first performed Irving Berlin's classic for radio on Christmas Day, 1941. On May 29, 1942, Crosby reportedly recorded the song — with the John Scott Trotter Orchestra and Ken Darby Singers — in 18 minutes. It was released on July 30 that year as part of a collection of platters from the film Holiday Inn. The song caught on and hit the top of the charts in October of ’42, where it stayed through Christmas. The single was re-released and hit the chart-tops again in ’45 and ’46.

The single has sold over 50 million copies worldwide. The closest runner-up in the all-time biggest selling singles race is Elton John's tribute to Princess Diana, the re-recording of his "Candle in the Wind" from 1997, which has sold around 33 million.

That original version is not the one we hear endlessly to this day around the holiday season. After the original master recording was damaged, Crosby and the same crew of musicians re-recorded "White Christmas." That's the version you know/love today. Here's the original version of "White Christmas." Happy holidays!



Born This Day: Musical movers and shakers sharing a May 29 birthday include keyboardist and founder of progressive German "Kraut Rock" kings Can, Irmin Schmidt (1937); Jackson sibling and singer Rebbie Jackson (1950); former New Wave pioneer-turned-legendary-film composer Danny Elfman (1953); Jackson sibling and Playboy model (and singer?) La Toya Jackson (1956); singer for British Metal band Wolfsbane and temporary Iron Maiden vocalist Blaze Bayley (1963); former Oasis guitarist/songwriter/occasional singer Noel Gallagher (1967); bassist for modern British Rock legends The Verve, Simon Jones (1972); singer/dancer with Pop group Spice Girls, Melanie "Mel B" Brown (1975); co-founder of Hard Rock hitmakers Papa Roach, David Buckner (1976); and frontman for Swedish Garage Rock superstars The Hives, Howlin' Pelle Almqvist (1978).

With his ceaseless energy and hilarious, sometimes nonsensical between-song bantering, Almqvist is the reason Spin magazine once called The Hives "the best live band in the world." (The mag also called him one of the "50 Greatest Frontmen of All Time.")

The Swedes have a new album due out a week from today (June 5) called Lex Hives. According to a press release, the title comes from "the ancient Roman practice of enacting a system or body of laws and accepting them as a standard. Thus, the 12 songs on Lex Hives make up the holy laws after which all life from now on must be lived." Obey!

Here's a video clip of the band performing the new album's first single, "Go Right Ahead." Click here for a preview stream of the full album courtesy of The Guardian.

The Cincinnati natives of hugely popular Brooklyn-based Indie Rock band The National have recorded a song for the upcoming soundtrack for the second season of HBO's critically-acclaimed series, Game of Thrones. The soundtrack is due June 19. The National is the only group featured; the rest of the soundtrack album is the instrumental score, written by Ramin Djawadi and recorded by the Czech Film Orchestra and Choir.

According to Spin, the band members took the words from Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin's 2000 novel, A Storm of Swords. Check it out below.

On this date in 2004, modern "jam band" kings Phish announced on their website that they would be breaking up after a short summer tour. The group's "final" tour included a seven-song set on the Ed Sullivan Theater marquee for a swarm of fans on the street and a final show in Coventry, Ver., that attracted around 65,000 fans. That final show would have drawn more but the deluge of rain had organizers concerned that the stage would sink and cars were cut off from entering the site at one point, causing thousands of fans to leave their vehicles on the side of the road and walk to the grounds, Woodstock style.

Maybe God sent the rain because he's a huge Phish fan? What was he going to hippie dance to in heaven?!

In 2006, guitarist Trey Anastasio was pulled over and arrested for suspicion of drug possession (including hydrocodone, Percocet and Xanax), driving on a suspended license and driving under the influence. Though he had continued to be active musically, perhaps that was a "devil makes work for idle hands" kind of thing.

In 2009, the four band members decided that it was time to bring Phish back from the dead. Anastasio told The New York Times that it was because of the recession. Not that the members needed money — they wanted to provide an escape for fans hurting from the tough economic climate.

"For people in hard times, we can play long shows of pure physical pleasure,” he said. “They come to dance and forget their troubles. It’s like a service commitment.”

Alas, all concerts since the comeback have not been free.

This summer, Phish plays Riverbend on June 22. They're also a headlining act at Bonnaroo, coming up June 7-10. CityBeat is helping Phish fans who want to escape their money woes AND not spend lots of money doing it. Click here to sign up for a chance to win tickets to Phish's Riverbend show and here for a chance to score Bonnaroo tickets.

Here's the band performing "Maze" almost a year ago in New Jersey.



Born This Day: Musical movers and shakers sharing a May 25 birthday include Country music singer/songwriter Tom T. Hall (1936); American singer and songwriter; Country singer Jessi Colter (1943), frontman for German Metal giants The Scorpions, Klaus Meine (1948); Jamaican Reggae singer Sugar Minott (1956); still rocking former frontman for The Jam and Style Council, Paul Weller (1958); too-quiet-these-days Soul/Hip Hop genius Lauryn Hill (1975); guitarist for Pop/Rock band The Fray, Joe King (1980); and legendary lyricist Hal David (1921).

The best concert venue in Washington, D.C., may well be the White House. Hal David was recently honored there as part of a tribute concert to him and songwriting partner Burt Bacharach.

The pair was the latest recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. (David could not attend because he's recovering from a stroke; his wife gracefully and graciously accepted on his behalf.) The first winner of the prize — honoring great Americans' contributions to the world songbook — was Paul Simon in 2007. Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney have also received it. And received tribute concerts at the Prez's pad.

Obama's White House has also feted Motown, Country, Blues, Broadway and music from the Civil Rights movement; each celebratory concert was filmed and aired on PBS as part of its In Performance at the White House series.

"This is a pair that combined, like the Gershwins did, a very gifted lyricist (David) and a very gifted composer (Bacharach)," the librarian of Congress James H. Billington, told the Washington Post. "It's taken so long for a major national prize like this to be conferred on them, so we're very happy about it."

Bacharach & David's greatest hits include modern standards like "Do You Know The Way To San Jose," "What The World Needs Now Is Love," "Alfie," "I Just Don't Know What Do To With Myself," "I Say A Little Prayer," "Walk on By," "The Look Of Love" and "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head." The White House tribute — filmed in early May and aired this past Monday night on PBS — featured performances by Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, Diana Krall, Lyle Lovett, Arturo Sandoval, Michael Feinstein and, um, comedian Mike Myers (he cast Bacharach in Austin Powers and, at the White House, did a funny version of "What's New Pussycat?").

Watch (or skim through) the whole broadcast below:

Watch Burt Bacharach and Hal David: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize on PBS. See more from In Performance at The White House.

On this date in 2006, Taylor Hicks won that year's American Idol karaoke contest, laying waste to runner-up Katharine McPhee. Soul Patrol!!!

McPhee would bounce back and is currently starring in the hit network TV show Smash. Hicks, of course, went on to superstardom, scoring major hits with songs like … oh, wait. What ever did happen to that guy? Best guess: manager of a suburban Applebee's somewhere?

Post-Idol, Hicks did score a role in the traveling production of Grease and his self-titled album went platinum, but Hicks was dropped from his label in 2008 and hasn't been heard from much since.

Last night, a fella named Phillip Phillips (no lie! that's his name!) won this year's American Idol, beating a lady named Jessica Sanchez. I must confess I've not watch one second of American Idol this year (or the year before, or the year before, etc.), but reading The New York Times story on him from today, it appears Phillips actually can play guitar pretty well and covered songs by Damien Rice and The Box Tops when he was allowed to chose his own material to perform.

Will Philly Phillips be a star, post-Idol? These things are hard to predict (ask Taylor Hicks), but it seems — from my admittedly peripheral view — that Phillips is more David Gray or Dave Matthews than Clay Aiken or Adam Lambert.

Born This Day: Musical movers and shakers sharing a May 24 birthday include creative Jazz saxman Archie Shepp (1937); American music icon Robert Allen Zimmerman, better known as Bob Dylan (1941); big-voiced and bigger-haired R&B diva Ms. Patti LaBelle (1944); producer and guitarist (with Stevie Nicks, Linda Ronstadt, Warren Zevon and others) Waddy Wachtel (1947); singer/songwriter and eldest daughter of Johnny Cash's, Rosanne Cash (1955); frontman for Soul/Funk group Cameo ("Word Up"), Larry Blackmon (1956); former keyboardist for Beastie Boys pals Luscious Jackson, Vivian Trimble (1963); bassist for Redd Kross and current member of old-school Punk supergroup OFF!, Steve McDonald (1967); guitarist for rockers The Black Crowes, Rich Robinson (1969); and singer/songwriter and Country artist Mike Reid (1947).

Born in Altoona, Penn., Reid attended Penn State, where he excelled on the football field. The tackle finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting his senior year (1969) and earned a Bachelor's degree in music.

In the 1970 NFL draft, Reid was the Cincinnati Bengals' top first-round selection (seventh overall). Known for his pass-rushing, Reid was a dominant defensive player selected All-Pro at his position in 1972 and 1973 (both years he made the Pro Bowl, as well). In ’74, an injured Reid posted lower numbers and retired at the end of the season as the Bengals all-time leader in sacks with 49. (Remember, the Bengals had only been a team since 1968.)

During the off-season, Reid played piano with orchestras in Utah and Dallas, as well as the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. With some help from Larry Gatlin, he was ready to go into music full-time after retiring from professional football. Focused on songwriter, Reid won his first Grammy in 1984 for writing Ronnie Milsap's "Stranger in My House." We would go on to write several songs that hit No. 1 on the Country charts, including "Walk On Faith," the only No. 1 he also performed.

Reid's songs were recorded by the likes of Etta James, Conway Twitty, Willie Nelson, Alabama, George Jones, Wynonna, Lee Greenwood, Kenny Rogers, Shelby Lynne, Shania Twain, Oak Ridge Boys, Collin Raye, Alabama and Tim McGraw over the years. But his "time capsule" tune has to be his 1992 hit with Bonnie Raitt, "I Can't Make You Love Me," his biggest Pop chart success.

Reid is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In honor of his 65th birthday, here's Reid's biggest song sung by himself, followed by a pretty chilling more recent version by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver.

Eight years ago, guitarist/vocalist Justin Ringle relocated from his native Idaho to Portland, Ore., and very quickly shifted his stylistic allegiance from the aggressive Rock he had played at home to the gentler Folk sound that pervades the Northwest scene. Ringle formed Horse Feathers to pursue his newfound acoustic passion and garnered rabid fans and critical acclaim with his first three albums — 2006’s Plug Award-nominated Words Are Dead, 2008’s House With No Name and 2010’s Thistled Spring — with reviewers consistently pointing out the wonderful tension between the dark poignancy of Ringle’s lyrics and the expansive beauty of the music that surrounds them.

On the fourth Horse Feathers album, the just-released Cynic’s New Year, Ringle pushes his sound in a few fresh directions, incorporating 11 musicians and new instrumentation to create a dusty Chamber Pop atmosphere reminiscent of Eef Barzelay, Joe Pernice and Gomez (in its unplugged moments). At the same time, Ringle and his rotating crew don’t stray impossibly far from their established sonic profile, somewhere in the ballpark of Eddie Vedder playing an acoustic seance and collaborating with the ghost of Nick Drake. Regardless of Ringle’s choice of musical translation, his lyrics consistently strike a heartfelt chord as bruised confessional odes or reservedly optimistic lullabies that breathe and haunt and shimmer like friendly but far from happy manor ghosts.

For the current tour — which hits Northside's The Comet tonight for a free, 10 p.m. show with opener Matt Bauer — Ringle and this iteration of Horse Feathers will be operating as a quintet, so the stripped down personnel will offer streamlined arrangements of the new songs and more fleshed out versions of the older, sparser material. Either way, prepare yourself for an emotional journey.

Here's the video for Cynic's track "Where I'll Be."

Click here for more live music events tonight in Greater Cincinnati.

On this day in 2000, brilliant Icelandic musician/singer/composer Björk won the Best Actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival for her starring role in Lars von Trier's gloomy "musical" Dancer in the Dark. The film also won the festival's highest honor, the Palme d'Or.

The movie is amazing but also difficult to watch because of its emotional weight. Björk played an impoverished Czech immigrant who moves to the U.S. with her son and gets a job at a factory. Her character, Selma, is going blind and she's sure her son will also inherit the disease that caused it, so she saves all her money to pay for an operation for him. Through a series of unfortunate events, she gets the money, but at a high price — she ends up being sentenced to death.

The genius of the film is in Björk's character's daydreams, where she imagines her life is like the Hollywood musicals she so adores. The singer wrote and recorded the soundtrack, which was released as Selmasongs: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack Dancer in the Dark. Reportedly drained from her physically and emotionally demanding performance, Björk announced that she'd always wanted to do a musical and that was the one — she said she was retiring from acting forever. So far, she's kept the promise.

Here is a clip of the film featuring the song "I've Seen It All." On the album, Thom Yorke of Radiohead sings the male lead. Here it's sung by co-star Peter Stormare.



Born This Day: Musical movers and shakers sharing a May 21 birthday include pioneering Jazz/Blues pianist Fats Waller (1904); Jazz tuba player (who appeared on Miles Davis classics Birth of Cool and Sketches of Spain) Bill Barber (1920); Jump Blues singer (and huge influence on Little Richard) Billy Wright (1932); influential British Folk singer and guitarist Martin Carthy (1941); Cincinnati native and hugely influential singer and songwriter with The Isley Brothers (and beyond), Ronald Isley (1941); successful ’70s Pop singer/songwriter ("You Make Me Feel Like Dancing," "When I Need You") Leo Sayer (1948); dynamic guitar wizard Marc Ribot (1954); singer/guitarist for noisy, influential Shoegaze outfit My Bloody Valentine, Kevin Shields (1963); singer and guitarist for cult faves Jawbreaker and Jets to Brazil, Blake Schwarzenbach (1967); half of Hip Hop twosome Mobb Deep, Havoc (1974); current hitmaker ("Somebody That I Used to Know") and satirist target Wally De Backer, better known as Gotye (1980); and slain Rap superstar Christopher Wallace, aka The Notorious B.I.G. (1972).

Biggie would have been 40 today had he not been murdered in 1997 when he was just 24. Here's a rare live clip recently discovered featuring B.I.G. and Jay-Z performing together.



And here's an interview with the Rap legend discovered last month.



What's your favorite Biggie jam? Pop Crush is running a poll; vote for your fave here. And here's a short interview with the late MC's mother reflecting on her son's legacy (from The Source).

R.I.P. B.I.G.