THE BREAKDOWN: Return Of The Wu Tang

BY M. EMANUEL When the BREAKDOWN first got word that all eight living members of the Wu-Tang Clan were heading to the studio to prep their fifth collective effort, 8 Diagrams, the news was met with cautious optimism. An admitted fan of the Wu’s classics, in part because the early albums formed the sonic backdrop for the high school incarnation of the BREAKDOWN, allegiance to the Wu has been downgraded, somewhat, from fanatic in the mid-nineties to mere respectful reverence in the post-new millennium. Still, while the promise of the new album, in stores yesterday, may not have registered as […]

5 Things U Should Know About Fiery Furnaces Last Nite

ELEANOR DIG ME: Fiery Furnaces singer Eleanor Frieberger, First Unitarian, Opener MGMT continued their streak of great opening sets in Philadelphia, playing as well with the Fiery Furnaces as they did with Of Montreal in October. Though their live show may be a bit low key for some, it was far from boring, and the guitarists had some of the best veins-that-pop-out-of-arm-while-playing in recent memory. Surprisingly, the Fiery Furnaces’ disjointed, wandering, and largely epic style of songwriting translated very well to the stage. Singer Eleanor Friedberger wove yarn after yarn in a set comprised of songs mostly from their latest […]

5 Things You Should Know About Neil Young Last Night

RUST NEVER SLEEPS: Neil Young, Tower Theater, Last Night 1. It takes a lot of dead dinosaurs fossil fuel to bring Neil’s folksy brand of crunchy laidback-ness to a theater near you, just so he can deliver in person that iconic line in that iconic song — “Look at Mother Nature on the run in the 21st Century” — like that old Indian chief in the commercial standing in the white man’s trash with a tear running down his cheek. And the audience can break into spontaneous cheers and applause, as was the case Sunday night at the Tower. By […]

BEANIE TO DELUCA: Big Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy

FROM THE INQUIRER: In prison, he hadn’t written a word. “I wasn’t in that state of mind,” said Sigel, who’s as well-respected a lyricist within rap as he is notorious outside it for his run-ins with the law, which include a 2003 attempted-murder charge. (He was acquitted.) “I wasn’t Beanie Sigel then,” he says. “I was 57613-066.” When he came up with “Return of the Bad Guy,” Sigel thought it would be the title track of his next album. But “Bad Guy” did not even make it onto his fourth album, which comes out Tuesday. It’s called The Solution. “I want […]

MONEY SHOT: Amy Winehouse Gobs Paparazzi

EDITOR’S NOTE: This may be the greatest celeb candid ever taken. It actually captures the loogie in mid-flight! Shades of Johnny Cash’s immortal middle finger! Seriously, give that guy a Pulitzer. And if anyone has earned the right to spit in the camera’s eye, it’s Miss Beehive 1965. God save Amy Winehouse. Please, God, we don’t ask for much. RELATED: The troubled singer Amy Winehouse finally has something to look forward to after receiving six Grammy nominations this afternoon. Winehouse, who has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons lately, received the second-highest number of nominations for the […]