Snoop Dogg "Sensual Seduction"

Wow.

Just..wow.

Wu-Tang Clan Reveal 8 Diagrams Tracklist, Add Dates

(Swiped from Pitchfork Media)

Now that Thanksgiving is over, the mad rush to whatever winter holiday you may celebrate has begun. Yet, in the midst of it all, Wu-Tang Clan are making it pretty hard to forget that their new album, 8 Diagrams, comes out December 11 via Loud/Universal/SRC/Wu Music Group.

The album now has an official tracklist on which our eyes can feast, so mind the jump and check it out. Guests include Erykah Badu, George Harrison spawn Dhani Harrison, and John Frusciante (as you know), plus George Clinton and others. There's also the December 4 release of Ghostface's The Big Doe Rehab to tide you over for the week before 8 Diagrams.

What's more, the Clan have added dates to their previously reported winter tour, and GZA has his four solo shows in December.

8 Diagrams:

01 Campfire

02 Take It Back

03 Get Them Out Ya Way Pa

04 Rushing Elephants

05 Unpredictable [ft. Dexter Wiggles]

06 The Heart Gently Weeps [ft. Erykah Badu, Dhani Harrison & John Frusciante]

07 Wolves [ft. George Clinton]

08 Gun Will Go [ft. Sunny Valentine]

09 Sunlight

10 Stick Me For My Riches [ft. Gerald Alston]

11 Starter [ft. Sunny Valentine & Tash Mahogany]

12 Windmill

13 Weak Spot

14 Life Changes

Tang:

11-30 Oshawa, Ontario - The Big Sexy (Wu-Tang Super Show with Raekwon, U-God, GZA)

12-15 Chicago, IL - Metro

12-16 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue

12-20 Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium

12-23 Hollywood, CA - House of Blues Sunset Strip

12-30 Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo

01-03 Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues

01-09 Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live!

01-10 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory

01-12 New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom

01-13 New Haven, CT - Toad's Place

01-18 Richmond, VA - Toad's Place

01-24 Orlando, FL - Club Firestone

01-25 Miami Beach, FL - The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater

01-26 St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Landing

GZA:

12-07-09 Minehead, England - Butlins Holiday Park (ATP's Nightmare Before Christmas)

12-09 London, England - KOKO *

12-13 New York, NY - Knitting Factory *

12-14 New York, NY - Knitting Factory *

* performing Liquid Swords

MP3: Wu-Tang Clan: 8 Diagrams mixtape

DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist Join for "Hard Sell" Tour

(Swiped from Pitchfork Media)

Ever hear Brainfreeze? It was a mostly seamless, ultra-rare hour-long mix DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist crafted "live" around the turn of the millennium from their untold wealth of funk and soul vinyl. And it was amazing, a proto-Night Ripper all-jam-fricassee with a killer long-term memory.

They did it again (to slightly less revelatory effect) a few years later with Product Placement, but it's been a while. Still-- even after the recent, reasonably lackluster Outsider/Audience's Listening LPs Shadow and Chemist have respectively released on their own-- crate diggers the world over should unite for the joint tour these two old pals will embark on in the coming spring.

The tour kicks off January 18 in Austin, and each performance will be an "expanded" version of the "Hard Sell" show the two put on a bit earlier this year. Sounds like a pretty easy sell to me, fellas. Full dates after the jump.

Shadow/Chemist:

01-18 Austin, TX - La Zona Rosa
01-19 Dallas, TX - House of Blues

01-21 Atlanta, GA - The Loft at Center Stage

01-23 Baltimore, MD - Sonar

01-24 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

01-25 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts

01-26 New York, NY - Irving Plaza

01-27 New York, NY - Irving Plaza

01-29 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis

01-30 Toronto, Ontario - Phoenix Concert Theatre

01-31 Cleveland, OH - House of Blues

02-01 Chicago, IL - Park West

02-04 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue

02-05 Kansas City, MO - Harrah's Casino

02-07 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre

02-10 Seattle, WA - Showbox

02-11 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom

02-14 Anaheim, CA - House of Blues

02-15 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern

Video: DJ Shadow: This Time (I'm Gonna Try It My Way) [from the The Outsider LP]

Sly Stone makes his first NY stand in 32 years

NEW YORK (Reuters) - As the horns blare with a syncopated rhythm and singers call to the crowd of about 1,000 to dance, a hunched man hidden in the wings of the stage smiles broadly, watching his band like a proud father.

After decades away from the spotlight, Sly Stone has returned to the stage with his band Sly and The Family Stone, performing in Europe this summer and this week making his first New York appearance in 32 years.

Dressed in a white sweatsuit trimmed in silver, sunglasses and Mohawk hairstyle, Stone fills the club with his rich, mellifluous voice as the band spends an hour cycling through their greatest hits, including "Everyday People," "Family Affair" and "Stand."

For those who have followed the career of 64-year-old Stone -- who was born Sylvester Stewart -- the shock is not the fact that he can still sing but that he showed up at all.

For after reinventing rock and roll in the late 1960s as a pioneer of funk, rock and rhythm and blues, Stone disappeared into a haze of death threats, financial problems and drugs.

Stone, who declined to be interviewed for this article, began missing concerts in the early 1970s on a regular basis. He has not released an album of new material since 1982.

Between 1973 and 1989, there was a steady list of arrests on drug and gun charges -- but for the better part of the last 20 years, there's been little more than silence.

However after appearing at the 2006 Grammy Awards, Stone returned to the stage this summer for a European tour and his agent, Steve Green of Artists International Management, says he how has a stack of offers including for the Super Bowl in 2008.

"He can do it," Green told Reuters in a telephone interview, sounding part salesman and part motivational speaker. "But he's got to want to do it."

FREE SPIRIT

Sly and The Family Stone emerged out of the San Francisco scene in the late 1960s, with anthems that came to define both the free spirit and the political turmoil of the era, with the band containing blacks and whites and also men and women.

But after a string of hits from 1968 to 1970, Stone's behavior turned erratic. He'd show up hours late for gigs, if at all. Financial problems tore the band apart.

And his own obsessive nature delayed the next album "There's A Riot Goin' On." The album is now considered a landmark, laying the blueprint for the funk sound influencing many from the Temptations, the O'Jays, to Miles Davis.

Despite a couple of flirtations with chart success in the early 1970s, Sly slipped into seclusion in California.

The turning point came a few years ago when his youngest sister, Vaetta, who sang on the Family Stone albums, was sent by his parents to care for him. She had a tribute band that played the group's old hits and cajoled him into attending one of their Los Angeles shows in 2005.

"I looked up and I saw him dancing to his own music. Since then he's been showing interest in wanting to play gigs," she said in an interview.

She said the biggest challenge was convincing agents that Stone would meet his obligations but her persistence paid off and this year's European tour was booked.

"He did all 14 shows on time," she said proudly.

Green said Stone was the most difficult act he had handled, recalling a story of Stone buying a puppy while in Europe which ended up in quarantine in London, in danger of being destroyed. Green had to intervene and find the dog a home in England.

"Sly has an amazing mind. He still comes up with lyrics that are unbelievable. But the other side of Sly is 'me, me, me'," he said.

In the meantime, Vet says Stone has a treasure trove of new music he's worked on for years. Will it be released?

"I certainly hope so," she said. "But it's got to be his decision. No one can make him do it when they want it done."

The best rapper alive this year. Don't even try to front.

Dude's got the hot fi-yah! (No Dylan).

Happy thanksgiving (thankstaking to some) to everyone.

Lupe Fiasco Reveals The Cool Tracklist

(Swiped from Pitchfork Media)

Lupe Fiasco has descended from the parapets of his mind and found his way out of the maze of all those tongue-twisting extended metaphors to deliver actual concrete info about his sophomore album, The Cool. Thanks to a report from Billboard.com that was confirmed by his publicist, we now know the Food & Liquor follow-up's tracklist.

Due December 18 via 1st & 15th/Atlantic, The Cool features production from Fall Out Boy singer Patrick Stump, UNKLE, Chris & Drop, and Soundtrakk, according to Billboard.

True to form, the report says Lupe has fashioned The Cool as a concept album of sorts, featuring recurring characters such as Michael Young History, the Game ("a male personification of a hustler's damaging influences," not the Compton rapper), and the Streets ("a female embodiment of an urban area's corrupt allure," not Mike Skinner). Billboard also says The Cool features two mentions from Lupe of his plan to quit music after releasing the album's follow-up, titled L.U.P.N.

And yet, out-wtf-ing every other detail related to The Cool in the article is this morsel: "Perhaps the oddest song is 'Gotta Eat', which is apparently written from the perspective of a cheeseburger and is rife with food/life metaphors."

The Cool:

01 Iesha Poem
02 Free Chilly
03 Go Go Gadget Flow
04 The Coolest
05 Superstar [ft. Mathew Santos]
06 Paris Tokyo
07 High Definition [ft. Snoop Dogg and Pooh Bear]
08 Little Weapons
09 Hip-Hop Saved My Life [ft. Nikki Jean]
10 Gold Watch
11 Street on Fire [ft. Matthew Santos]
12 Hello Goodbye
13 Gotta Eat
14 Dumb It Down [ft. Gemini and Graham Burris]
15 The Die [ft. Gemini]
16 Put You on Game
17 Fighters [ft. Matthew Santos]
18 Go Baby Go

Video: Lupe Fiasco [ft. Matthew Santos]: Superstar [from the forthcoming The Cool LP]

"Family" feud afoot for Fox cartoon

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Fox is producing fresh episodes of its animated comedy "Family Guy" without the participation of its striking creator Seth MacFarlane, who does many of the main voices, sources said.

The last episode completed before the Writers Guild of America strike began November 5 aired Sunday. Fox and sibling studio 20th Century Fox TV had the choice of going into reruns or continuing the show without MacFarlane, whose outspoken defiance of his employers has made him a cause celebre for striking writers.

After a large writers rally outside the Fox lot on Friday, where he was one of the speakers, MacFarlane said the studio could proceed without him, though he hoped it would not.
20th TV had no comment on the matter Tuesday but confirmed that it remains in production on new episodes. The first episode finished without MacFarlane's blessing has been delivered to Fox. Sources said it is one of three very close to completion, with others in various stages of production.

In addition to executive-producing the show, MacFarlane voices the characters of Peter, Brian and Stewis Griffin, the male members of the hapless Rhode Island family at the core of the domestic satire.

PLEASE EMAIL/SNAIL MAIL/CALL FOX AND TELL THEM NOT TO RUN NEW EPISODES OF FAMILY GUY WITHOUT SETH MACFARLANE'S PERMISSION. IN ADDITION, SUPPORT THE WRITER'S GUILD IN THEIR STRIKE.

FOX NETWORK SHOW MAILING ADDRESSES:

Paper Mail address only:
(NAME SHOW HERE)

P.O. Box 900

Attn: FOX BROADCASTING Publicity Dept.

Beverly Hills, CA 90213-0900

Ghostface Unveils Big Doe Tracklist, Guests, Cover Art

(Swiped From Pitchfork Media)

With anticipation levels surrounding Ghostface Killah's forthcoming The Big Doe Rehab fast approaching a boiling point-- particularly since we no longer need divide our anticipation between Big Doe and the Wu-Tang's 8 Diagrams-- Ghost has gone and added some kindling to the fire. Album details, people! Have a look.

First, of course, is that classy cover art you see up there, set to adorn copies of Big Doe that Def Jam delivers on December 4.

Next, the tracklist, reprinted in full below. Of note: Kid Capri-featuring first single "We Celebrate" (not just "Celebrate", as reported prior), which samples Rare Earth's "I Just Want to Celebrate"; Raekwon-boosted "Yolanda's House" and "Shakey Dog Starring Lolita" (an epilogue to Fishscale standout "Shakey Dog"!); a pair of tracks featuring Ghostface's tourmates Rhythm Roots Allstars; a track called "I'll Die for You" and another called "!".

Then, naturally, there are the guests, including the aforementioned along with Ghost's Wu associates Method Man (as you know), U-God, Masta Killa, and Cappadonna, plus Ghost's posse and More Fish co-stars Theodore Unit, Beanie Sigel, Styles P, and more.

And while Ghostface and the Wu seem to have settled their beef, Ghost apparently isn't the only one upset with the way camp Wu is being run. Billboard.com points us to a MissInfo.tv interview with Raekwon, who revealed his own misgivings. "Bottom line," said Raekwon, "it's a lot of business that's fucking up the creativity." Is that why we haven't seen a second Cuban Linx yet? Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Finally, since Ghostface has been blowing up the Pitchfork news ticker in recent weeks, here's a quick, updated roundup of recent happenings:

* Ghostface doll: available now

* Ghostface book, The World According to Pretty Toney: due January 8 from MTV Press (moved from previously reported December 4 date)

* Ghostface's Walk Hard collaboration with Jewel, Lyle Lovett, and Jackson Browne: soundtrack in stores December 4, film in theaters December 21, collab's very notion still blowing minds

* Ghostface-boosted Beatles-interpolating track: set to appear on Wu-Tang Clan's 8 Diagrams, out December 11 via Loud/Universal/SRC/Wu Music Group

* Ghostface, Rakim, Brother Ali, and Rhythm Roots Allstars on the Hip Hop Live! tour: happening now, dates below

Phew!

The Big Doe Rehab:

01 At the Cabana Skit [performed by Ghostface Killah and Rhythm Roots Allstars]

02 Toney Sigel a.k.a the Barrel Brothers [ft. Beanie Sigel and Styles P]

03 Yolanda's House [ft. Raekwon and Method Man]

04 We Celebrate [ft. Kid Capri]

05 Walk Around

06 Yapp City [ft. Trife Da God and Sun God]

07 White Linen Affair (Toney Awards) [ft. Shawn Wigs]

08 Supa GFK

09 Rec-Room Therapy [ft. Raekwon and U-God]

10 The Prayer [performed by Ox]

11 I'll Die for You

12 Paisley Darts [ft. Raekwon, Sun God, Trife Da God, Method Man, and Cappadonna]

13 Shakey Dog Starring Lolita [ft. Raekwon]

14 ! [performed by Ghostface Killah and Rhythm Roots Allstars]

15 Killa Lipstick [ft. Method Man and Masta Killa]

16 Slow Down [ft. Chrisette Michele]

Hip Hop Live! dates:

11-08 Denver, CO - Ogden Theater *

11-09 Aspen, CO - Belly Up *

11-10 Kansas City, MO - Beaumont *

11-11 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue *

11-12 Chicago, IL - House of Blues *

11-13 Bloomington, IN - Bluebird Theater *

11-15 New Haven, CT - Toad's Place *

11-16 New York, NY - Nokia Theater *

11-17 Baltimore, MD - Sonar *

11-18 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club *

11-21 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero *

* with Rakim, Brother Ali, Rhythm Roots Allstars

Stream: Ghostface Killah [ft. Kid Capri]: We Celebrate [from the forthcoming The Big Doe Rehab LP]

Del the Funky Homosapien Signs to Def Jux for New LP

(Swiped from Pitchfork Media)

Because of his involvement in records like Deltron 3030 and the first Gorillaz album, it's easy to think of Del the Funky Homosapien (formerly Del tha Funkee Homosapien) as just a sci-fi rapper. But dig a little further back in his catalog (like back to his killer 1991 debut, I Wish My Brother George Was Here), and you find an MC geeked on making genuinely quirky everyman anthems-- like "Pissin' on Your Steps", "The Wacky World of Rapid Transit", and "Sleepin' on My Couch".

We're not sure which of the two Dels (or maybe an amalgamation of them both?) will appear on his forthcoming full-length, The 11th Hour, but we're psyched that it exists and is coming out via Definitive Jux on February 26.

Produced entirely by Del himself, The 11th Hour is the Hieroglyphics crew member's first solo record since 2000's Both Sides of the Brain. And while February is still a little ways away, Del is currently touring the U.S. in front of the album's release, alongside Devin the Dude and friends.

The tour's next stop is November 8, in Portland, Oregon.

Dates (all with Devin the Dude):

11-08 Portland, OR - Roseland

11-09 Seattle, WA - Showbox

11-10 Eugene, OR - WOW Hall

11-11 Chico, CA - Senator Theater

11-13 San Francisco, CA - Slim's

11-14 San Francisco, CA - Slim's

Stream: Del the Funky Homosapien: Various Tracks

Hear ye, Hear ye...

One week away! Prepare for good times :D