The Crawl: In Which Ryan Adams Reads A Poem

 

+ When we spoke to Joe Perry last month, the axe-wielder, who'd just released a satisfying solo album Have Guitar, Will Travel, acknowledged that Aerosmith had endured a rough year, but Perry seemed confident that, following a short hiatus, the band would get back on the write, record, and tour cycle.

But that may not be in the cards.

Aerosmith recently played a previously booked show in Dubai, and English site Classic Rock was there... and they don't paint a pretty picture. The show itself? By all accounts, fine. What's eye-catching, though, are the observations of band behavior, specifically frontman Steven Tyler's, who does not interact with his bandmates, preferring to keep a dressing room as far from the other four members as possible.

There's also this bizarre response from Tyler regarding speculation that he may release a solo project:

"I don’t know what I’m doing yet, but it’s definitely going to be something Steven Tyler: working on the brand of myself—Brand Tyler."

'Brand Tyler'—Joe, Brad, Tom and Joey must love hearing that one. No surprise, then, that (Brad) Whitford left open the possibility of a Brand Tyler-less Aerosmith:

"Nobody could replace Steven or imitate him—he’s one of a kind. But if somebody was willing to do it and the chemistry was right, why not?"

Aerosmith would probably just be happy with someone who doesn't twirl himself off of stages. [Classic Rock]

 

+ This can't be true... can it? Emimen is set to produce and star in a 3D horror film called Shady Talez. Apparently, the vibe is 'The Twilight Zone meets Creepshow.' On board is John David, a producer of I, Robot. The film will be Em's first since a little movie called 8 Mile, which is now almost eight years old. [NME]

 

+ Musically worthy, if not terribly news-worthy: Here's Ben Gibbard playing Death Cab For Cutie's Twilight contribution "Meet Me On The Equinox" all solo and acoustic-like for KROQ. [Stereogum]

 

 

+ Polaris Prize winners Fucked Up promised to take the cash prize awarded to them for making the best Canadian album of the year and doing something charitable with it. Now, their plan has been revealed: They'll be putting together an all-star cast to remake the 1984 Bob Geldof-led celebrity-studded classic "Do They Know It's Christmas?" Already on board to join the Toronto punk-rockers are members of Vampire Weekend, Broken Social Scene, No Age, Yo La Tengo, Bob Mould, GZA, and comedian/actor David Cross.

So where's the money going? At least some of it will go to Justice For The Missing, a group that advocates for missing and/or murdered aboriginal women in Canada. A worthy, non-Fucked Up cause. [Vulture]

 

+ The Pixies have been on tour celebrating the twentieth (!) anniversary of their righteous Doolittle album by performing the album in its entirety each night. Now as token of their appreciation, they offer you, the Internet user, this free EP consisting of four tracks—"Dancing The Manta Ray," "Crackity Jones," "Gouge Away," and "Monkey Gone To Heaven"—taken from their October 16 Paris show. [pixiesmusic.com]

 

 

 

+ Ryan Adams can write songs. We know this because of the insane rate at which he puts out new music. He can also write poetry. We know this because he wears glasses that make him look smart, and also because he pops up in this video shot at the New York Public Library. In the clip, the prolific performer reads—nay, PERFORMS—a poem called "White Diamond" (originally published in Hello Sunshine, Adams' book of poetry). Recognize Adams companion on the 'stage'? It's none other than Mary Louise Parker. Possibly NSFW thanks to some salty language. One caveat: this poem doesn't rhyme! [@NYPL]