Black Crowes Get Trashed, Jagger Gets Slashed

or something similarly dramatic.

Warpaint, the new album from the Black Crowes -- notable for its addition of the North Mississippi All-Stars' guitarist Luther Dickinson to the band and the fact that there is a new album from the Black Crowes -- has been stirring up some serious controversy in the world of music journalism. It seems that Maxim magazine, that bastion of musical resources, published a negative review of the album without even listening to it. And rather than apologize to the band or retract its review, Maxim issued an apology to its readers and labeled the review a "preview" or "educated guess," stating that "we always prefer to (sic) hearing music, but sometimes there are big albums that we don’t want to ignore that aren’t available to hear, which is what happened with the Crowes. It’s either an educated guess preview or no coverage at all, so in this case we chose the former."

The magazine has since taken refuge behind its editorial policy of only assigning star ratings -- Warpaint was given 2.5 out of 5 -- to reviews (albums heard in their entirety) and not previews. The ethical questions this kind of nonsense raises for musicians, music fans and especially critics is well addressed by Malcolm X Abram of the Akron Beacon Journal here, but I'll give the final word to the Crowes' manager, Pete "The Other Peter Grant" Angelus:

"[...] It seems that your magazine’s actions have created an extremely blurry line, if there is any line at all, between “what’s a preview and what’s a review.” Shouldn’t a proper “preview” notify the reader that an artist’s work is forthcoming, whereas a “review” offers an opinion of the material after someone has actually heard the music? [...] In our business, a fabricated review is a serious concern that may ultimately harm all artists because it calls into question the credibility of the entire review process."

Check out Angelus' thoughts on increased animosity between musicians and critics in this article.

Moving on to what is normally the topic of a Black Crowes article (the band's habit of wallowing in the former glory of the Rolling Stones), the FBI has revealed that Mick Jagger was the target of a 1969 murder plot by the Hell's Angels. It seems that the usually docile Angels were pretty miffed at Jagger & Co. blaming them for their murderous rampage at Altamont. The water-based attack on Jagger's Long Island home was foiled "when a storm hit their boat, throwing the men overboard." You may remember this as the final scene in Harrison Ford's "Patriot Games," but most recognize it as the template for both "The Perfect Storm" and "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zisou."

Without any fanfare whatsoever, Buddy Miles -- sometime drummer for Jimi Hendrix and a slew of other R&B and soul groups -- died on Feb. 26 of congestive heart failure. His non-Hendrix achievements included forming Electric Flag with Mike Bloomfield, recording with Carlos Santana and singing lead vocals for a little band I like to call THE CALIFORNIA RAISINS.

That's about as cool as it gets, and I'm not being at all sarcastic.

As a tribute to Buddy Miles' passing, check out "Them Changes" with Hendix's Band of Gypsies.

-----insert song-----

As a tribute to the continued longevity of Mick Jagger and the Black Crowes, check out two excellent songs about murder and mayhem: "Turd on the Run" and "Black Moon Creeping" from the best albums by each respective band.

The Black Crowes - Black Moon Creeping

The Rolling Stones - Turd on the Run