Arabic Rap

Probably the biggest story in the Middle East music scene these days is Dark2Men, the suddenly successful Saudi Arabian hip hop group.  The Washington Post has a clip here:

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Stand aside and watch the cultural revolution explode.

Kanye West Brand Jeans

Kanye is about to blowup in fashion.  Or so he thinks.  Talking to the New York Times fashion magazine, T, Kanye provided this tasty nugget:

"Q: Do you have your own line?
A: My line is Pastel. I wanted to be a fashion designer since before I wanted to be a rapper. Nobody said I could be a rapper and now I’m the be-all and end-all of rap. Next, I’m gonna be the be-all and end-all of fashion. If I can humbly say so myself."

Read all about it here.

Tweedy's Source of Genius

Migraine headaches.  Just that simple - loneliness, sickliness, turn to artistry for salvation.  A sad story leading to painkiller addiction and all of that.  Read the story here.

"There are a lot of different ways migraines have affected my music, and vice versa: being a musician has allowed me — for lack of a better phrase — to rise above the pain from time to time. I’ve never missed a show because of a migraine. But I’ve played some really horrible shows and cut them short because there was very little I could do to keep going. I’ve played shows where I had bucket on the side of the stage where I threw up in between songs regularly. There’ve been a lot of horrible experiences trying to, well, you know, have the show go on."