German Producer-composer JJ Whitefield Unleashes "Ghanaian Afro-Rock" JOHNNY! 45x3 Bundle with Eric Owusu, Henry Taylor, Tomi Simatupang & Bernd Oezsevim (Now-Again)

"'Johnny" was our band internal call for "dude," "bro," etc... our sound guy Jochen started, at one point, calling everyone "Johnny" and this spread to the point that everybody was called "Johnny" by everyone in the crew... [it] was easy, you didn't have to remember names... also, there is a similarity to the West African habit of using the name "Charley" for "dude,'" Poets of Rhythm/Whitefield Brothers mastermind JJ Whitefield wrote within an email concerning his latest eclectic musical output, JOHNNY! Billed by Now-Again as "Ghanaian Afro-Rock from German producer/composer JJ Whitefield and an international cast of top-shelf musicians," JOHNNY! consists of Johnny (Henry) Taylor on vocals/keys, Johnny (Eric) Owusu on vocals/percussion, Johnny (JJ) Whitefield on guitar, Johnny (Tomi) Simatupang on bass, Johnny (Bernd) Oezsevim on drums, and Karl Hector helming production duties. "[Whitefield] first started exploring African rhythms with The Whitefield Brothers in the late 90's, continuing in the 2000's with Karl Hector & The Malcouns. He’s been instrumental in launching Ghanaian Afro Beat/Funk legend Ebo Taylor's international career, decades after the maestro recorded the landmark albums that have inspired thousands. Whitefield recorded two new studio albums with Taylor and toured in his band between 2009 and 2013, where he met Taylor’s son Henry and percussionist/singer Eric Owusu." JOHNNY! & Karl Hector are currently finishing up a proper full-length for Now-Again.

Johnny Whitefield said the group's influences come from two angles: first, a recent 4-year stint as tenor guitar player in Henry's father Ebo Taylor's band playing Afrobeat and Highlife-stylized music. Whitefield called it a "wonderful experience" playing with Ebo, Henry & Eric, having formed a close kinship easily transcending that of most touring band mates; at that time, the three young musicians already had the urge to continue making music after the Ebo years and in December 2012, JJ Whitefield decided to quit Ebo Taylor's band to start working on a Zamrock-centric project presented to him by Now-Again Records founder Egon. Together, Egon & JJ Whitefield re-issued, re-mastered, an properly released a big chunk of the classic sought-after 70's Zambian Rock LP's. Whitefield worked alongside Zamrock legends Jagari Chanda and Rikki Ililonga, a process which fueled his interest in "merging African rhythms with heavy Fuzzy Rock sounds, et voila: JOHNNY! got his style.” Last Wednesday, October 26th, Now-Again suddenly unleashed JOHNNY!'s 45x3 bundle (or single 7-inch) debut containing "Ago," "I'm Gone," "Only Love," and their companion instrumentals in a limited edition of 1000 die-cut dress jacket and re-sealable "Japanese-style" sleeves; upon my first listen, I almost instantly picked up notes of Thin Lizzy, Death, The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Paul Simon's Graceland, Music from Saharan Cellphones, Madlib + Mamao's cross-continental Sujinho album, Stevie Wonder, Seu Jorge, and even Iggy & The Stooges' brand of sleazy Fuzz Rock.

"Let Me Shine for You:" Lindsay Lohan for Playboy (Winter 2011-12 Leak)

Lindsay Lohan essentially embodies exactly "What NOT to Do In Hollywood :" Fame, fortune, success... sex, drugs & Rock "N" Roll . Within a fairly short period of time, Lohan somehow managed to obtain a plentiful helping of POWER @ a very young age. This gradual rise-downfall was captured on film; Between 1998-2010, she portrayed a wide array of roles across the silver screen in movies including: Mean Girls, Bobby , Herbie Fully Loaded , Georgia Rule, Machete , and Freaky Friday . Between rapid-paced film shoots, Lindsay Lohan also found time to record 2 Pop Rock albums for Casablanca , Speak (2004) and A Litter More Personal-Raw (2005). Needless to say, Lindsay Lohan has gotten roped up in a lot of troubles and woes with the law over the last 3-5 years... a vicious cycle of drugs, arrest, court, rehab, "daddy issues," jail time [Repeat]. That's the pure basics of it - But Google that shit for additional info, if necessary. Towards the end of...

[W]reckless, Topless American Youth: Lana del Rey - "Born 2 Die" (Britney Spears Birthday 30)

Lana del Rey [Lizzy Grant] effectively became 2011's "It Girl" with the release of her phenomenal debut single, "Video Games" (Stranger) . Like many struggling singer-songwriters, Grant has been signed, dropped, and significantly changed her public image since bursting onto the scene (2009). With that said, it can be assumed that Lana del Rey has collected just as many "haters" as she has avid supporters. To be perfectly honest, the only other artist I can think of that made this much commotion... garnered so much wide-spread buzz/hate and critical acclaim -- right out of the gates -- with just one track is Britney Spears . And maybe in this post- Mike musical era, that's the true synthesis of Pop Culture: Britney Lynn Spears . After months of repeated teasing and speculation, Lana del Rey 's major label debut, Born 2 Die will [finally] be released this coming Jan. 30-31, 2012. Pitchfork reports that it will feature "Off to The Ra...

Liberty Bell Cracked In 1/2: Ween - "Freedom of '76" (Gene Ween's Final Send-Off)

Chocolate & Cheese (1994) was one of the first albums I bought with my own money. I was in some sort of BMG Music Club , where you'd buy 5 CD's and then get 10 for "FREE." It was all sent through mail order and you picked the titles from some special booklet. I'm almost positive that Chocolate & Cheese's side boob-baring album cover was what initially drew me in... mind you, I was 12-15 and the zany Ween logo/middle finger CD graphic really didn't hurt either. Honestly, I forget how I really felt about it @ the time, but a few years later, my older cousin Josh told me that Ween were this BIG college "jam band." CKY did some sort pf 93.3 radio takeover to promote their new album and played "Freedom of '76" late that night on air. Needless to say, I re-visited Chocolate & Cheese @ about 20-something this go 'round and I fucking loved it! Ween were really weird, yet talented... almost too talented. I can vaguel...

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