Blog Posts by Daniel Kreps

As it stands now, Lil Wayne's first official live performance won't take place in his native New Orleans or a concert showcasing the Young Money roster. Instead, Lil Wayne will headline the Bamboozle festival next April 29th to May 1st, the annual teen-geared concert that brings the neon masses to the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Every year we're left utterly confused by the sheer randomness of Bamboozle's lineup, which seems like it was literally picked out of a hat, but this year's collection of artists is the most perplexing yet.

Insane Clown Posse, Das Racist, Rev Run's son Diggy Simmons and Waka Flocka Flame cover all corners of the hip-hop genre. They'll hit the stage alongside emo favorites like New Found Glory, Circa Survive, Taking Back Sunday and Boys Like Girl. And the glue holding it all together: Mötley Crüe.

The Bamboozle has become pretty much unrecognizable when compared to its jam band-rooted inaugural festival in 2003. At the show, held

Bummed out that tickets for Phish's three-night holiday stand at New York's Madison Square Garden sold out? Still hoping to ring in New Year's Eve with the Vermont jam band? Thanks to the magic of the Internet, now you can party with Phish in the comfort of your own room thanks to a Pay-Per-View webcast the band is offering. For only $39.99, phans can huddle around their computer screens on the nights of December 30th, 31st and January 1st and do Miley things while watching Phish dig deep into their catalog for three nights of concerts that promise to electrify the World's Most Famous Arena.

Sales pitch aside, Phish's MSG holiday shows are routinely legendary, so it's worth checking them out. If you already have plans for New Year's Eve, Phish are also allowing fans to purchase the pay-per-view for each show individually.

Here's a taste of some Phish New Year's fun, from 1996:

[Photo: Gary Miller/WireImage.com]

Unless you were a rapper on Kanye West's all-star "Christmas in Harlem," today was a bad day to have your name in the headlines as many of hip-hop's finest found themselves embroiled in legal problems.

Let's start in Atlanta, where police raided the house that Gucci Mane and Waka Flocka Flame, two of The Amp's favorites, were hanging at. In what sounds like a news story direct from the Mexican drug wars, TMZ paints Waka's Atlanta house like it's the epicenter of an international crime syndicate -- allegations of drug dealing, weapons, gang activity and prostitution. All that's missing is counterfeiting, loitering and making fake IDs.

Details are still sketchy, but cops found marijuana and weapons at the residence. Gucci, who has a history of violating probation in the most colorful ways possible, was handcuffed at the scene, but he's since been released. It's unclear whether he was charged with anything. Waka, the homeowner, reportedly was not around at the time of the raid. TMZ

For fans of both Sonic Youth and Beck, 2010 could be considered an off year: While Beck contributed plenty of music to soundtracks and Sonic Youth were out on tour, this year marked the first time since 2007, and only the second time since 2003, that neither artist released a new album. Perhaps to make up for the oversight in scheduling, Beck produced the next solo album by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, "Benediction," due out next year, Twenty Four Bit reports. It's a pairing so perfect we're not sure how it hasn't happened already.

The friendship between Sonic Youth and Beck goes way back: Both signed to Geffen/DGC during the label's alternative rock glory days (check out this interview between Moore and Beck from "120 Minutes" in 1994), and since then they've found ways to work together in some capacity. Moore penned an essay for the reissue of Beck's "Odelay," and just last year Beck and Sonic Youth split a Record Store Day 7" single that featured Beck performing Sonic Youth's

More bad news for "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark," the $65 million Broadway production featuring songs by U2's Bono and the Edge: The musical's scheduled opening night of January 11th, 2011 will likely be postponed again as the cast and crew continue to iron out all those technical problems that infamously (and hilariously) plagued the first preview performance of "Spider-Man," according to the Hollywood Reporter. The "Spider-Man" problems have become so well-known that it's now a running gag on "Conan."

Everything from technical difficulties to a financial-related shutdown to its two original stars (Evan Rachel Wood and Alan Cumming) dropping out have delayed the arrival of "Spider-Man" from its planned opening in April 2010 to January 2011, and now it seems as though fans will have to wait a little longer. One of the reasons why "Spider-Man" won't swing onto Broadway as scheduled is that actress Natalie Mendoza, who plays one of the show's key villains, continues to recover from a

Eddie Vedder, Justin Bieber, Christina Aguilera and Pharrell Williams all recorded songs specifically for Hollywood films this past year, and they may even get a chance to lose to Randy Newman at the Oscars in February! All of their songs and a few dozen more have made the 41-song shortlist for the Academy Awards' Best Original Song category.

The (long) shortlist will be whittled down to the usual mix of Disney songs, showtunes, and requisite one country track (maybe the Chris Martin-penned "Me and Tennessee" from "Country Strong") on January 6th, when artists like Jonsi ("Stick & Stones" for "How to Train Your Dragon") and Moby ("Be the One" for "The Next Three Days") will just take solace knowing they kind of had a chance at maybe being nominated for a major award.

As has become Oscar tradition, the shortlist announcement merely named song titles and the films they came from, forcing a nation of music and movie writers to flock to IMDb to figure out who sang what. The ensuing

One of the most entertaining moments at any Thanksgiving dinner comes when older folk at the table ask the younger folk to explain pop culture figures to them. It's amazing to watch grandparents try to wrap their heads around icons like Lady Gaga and Ke$ha when in their day the Rat Pack ruled while the Beatles were considered racy. So this video of legendary husband-and-wife comedy team Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller (or Frank Costanza from "Seinfeld") discussing South African weirdo rappers Die Antwoord is a must-see. Watch as Ben Stiller's parents argue about whether the rap group is made up of albino Jewish Neo-Nazis and how -- in their words, mind you -- "they stole all the rap stuff from the black Africans."

Animal Collective broke the proverbial seal on hip indie bands taking on the music of the Grateful Dead, and with the floodgates now open, the Decemberists have covered the Dead's "Wake of the Flood" track "Row Jimmy" as a B-side to their upcoming "January Hymn" (via Consequence of Sound). So, would Deadheads consider Colin Meloy and the Decemberists' version as jamtastic as the original?

Yes!
• The Decemberists don't so much reinvent "Row Jimmy" as they give it a face lift. By punching up the drums and giving their cover a guitar sound that falls midway between Allman Brothers and My Morning Jacket, the band does a great job of updating the song while staying true to the original.

• Meloy's voice has a tendency to maybe grate on us, especially when he's doling out his long-winded lyricism, but we find his vocal work on "Row Jimmy" somewhat refreshing.

• At six minutes and 35 seconds, it's just long enough to keep the attention of the ADD generation.

No!
• At six minutes and 35