Octopus Overlords

Biz Markie, who infused his music with so much fun and humor that he became known as "The Clown Prince of Hip Hop," has died, his manager, Jenni Izumi, confirmed to CNN.
He was 57.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:03 pm Biz Markie, 'Just A Friend' rapper, dead at 57

Biz Markie, who infused his music with so much fun and humor that he became known as "The Clown Prince of Hip Hop," has died, his manager, Jenni Izumi, confirmed to CNN.
He was 57.

God I hate that song. I dont think in my history of music that a song was professionally released that had a worse sounding singer on it.

Roles in sitcoms and films eluded him, although he did make the most of small parts in Mel Brooks’s “History of the World: Part I” (1981) — he was “Jew No. 1” in the Spanish Inquisition sequence — and “The Jerk” (1979), in which he played the gas-station owner who employs Steve Martin.

In his interview with the Nobel Institute, he was asked him about his often-quoted line near the end of “The First Three Minutes” — “The more that the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.”

“What I meant by that statement is that there is no point to be discovered in nature itself; there is no cosmic plan for us,” he said. “We are not actors in a drama that has been written with us playing the starring role. There are laws — we are discovering those laws — but they are impersonal, they are cold.”

He added: “It is not an entirely happy view of human life. I think it is a tragic view, but that is not new to physicists. A tragic view of life has been expressed by so many poets — that we are here without purpose, trying to identify something that we care about.”

Kraken wrote: ↑Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:11 pm Borscht belt comedian Jackie Mason, at 93. NYT's obit had me thinking maybe I vaguely remembered him, and then this:

Roles in sitcoms and films eluded him, although he did make the most of small parts in Mel Brooks’s “History of the World: Part I” (1981) — he was “Jew No. 1” in the Spanish Inquisition sequence — and “The Jerk” (1979), in which he played the gas-station owner who employs Steve Martin.

Ah, there we go. The Jerk is one of my favorites and I remember that character.

ZZ Top has shared the sad news that its bassist Dusty Hill has died at his home in Houston Wednesday at the age of 72.

“We are saddened by the news today that our Compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep at home in Houston, TX. We, along with legions of ZZ Top fans around the world, will miss your steadfast presence, your good nature and enduring commitment to providing that monumental bottom to the ‘Top’. We will forever be connected to that “Blues Shuffle in C.”You will be missed greatly, amigo. Frank & Billy”

Jeff V wrote: ↑Wed Jul 28, 2021 4:34 pm Oh, fuck. That sucks. I saw ZZ Top 3 times, each concert was remarkable.

First time was their Deguello tour. It was at the Aragon Brawlroom and the special effects consisted of a neon campfire and a video projected on a screen behind them. It was all about the music, and this wasn't the biggest concert on that night...afterward we managed to catch half of the UFO concert being broadcast on radio and was where all the cool kids were.

Second time was the Eliminator tour. While the first time I saw them was the most austere stage show I'd ever seen done by an arena band, this tour couldn't have been more different. It was, at the time, the most expensive tour in rock history, clocking in at $25M. This was a sold out show at Alpine Valley, capacity 40,000 (Aragon maybe 8,000 ignoring fire codes). When we arrived, there was a big King Tut head in the middle of the stage, and a white sheet spanning the stage covering something. When the prelude music ramped up it's crescendo, suddenly the whole sheet was sucked up King Tut's nose. The set it was covering was the dashboard of a vintage Cadillac. The first half of their 3 hour set was all of their older music. At the end of the set, the guitars were spinning, fog machines were on, and then everyone was gone, just spinning guitars on stage. Then there was a pause when the dashboard converted from an old analog dashboard to a modern digital once. Then they did their new stuff, including most of the Eliminator album. It was really a spectacular show.

Third time was also remarkable. It was indoors (Rosemont Horizon for those familiar with the venue) but the opening act was an up-and-coming band, The Black Crowes, and it was an outstanding combination.

Saginaw Grant, the Native American actor known for his performance as Chief Big Bear in “The Lone Ranger” and for featured roles in “Breaking Bad” and other popular series and films, died Wednesday in Hollywood, according to the Associated Press. He was 85.

Grant’s publicist, Lani Carmichael, confirmed to the AP that he died peacefully of natural causes at a private care facility. “He loved both Oklahoma and L.A.,” Carmichael said about Grant, who was also the hereditary chief of the Sac and Fox Nation. “He made his home here as an actor, but he never forgot his roots in Oklahoma. He remained a fan of the Sooner Nation.”

Grant was born in Pawnee, Okla. in 1936 and later served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 31, 2021 11:41 pm He did a good job with what he did. RIP

Unagi wrote: ↑Sun Aug 08, 2021 9:01 am /edit: Meh... not worth it.