From Middle Western's video of DMX at Zombie Pub Crawl 2012.

DMX's appearance at Zombie Pub Crawl was actually exactly what any person who has followed his erratic career should expect. He was late, he was ridiculous, and the still-gifted rapper said some pretty hateful things better kept to himself. This moment will not be added to our favorite things about him.

According to the introduction given, a four-hour flight delay was the reason for his start time nearly two hours after he was scheduled to perform at Midway Stadium in St. Paul. This was supposed to be in front of a record-sized crowd of drunk zombies, but by then many of the undead had headed elsewhere to drink their Brain Belt beer.

See Also:
Five of our favorite DMX moments
Slideshow: Zombie Pub Crawl 2012: Undead in St. Paul
Zombie Pub Crawl 2012: Undead in Minneapolis
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Photo by Erik Hess

Nikki Darlin playing the white Richmond guitar hours before it was stolen from their van.

See Also:
Best Coast, JEFF the Brotherhood, and Those Darlins at the Cedar, 7/28/12

Some thieving lowlife swiped a pair of guitars from Those Darlins' tour van just hours after they performed with Best Coast and JEFF the Brotherhood at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis Saturday.

Earlier in the day, the Tennessee cowpoke rockers' social networks were lit up with excitement about the petite Jessi Darlin celebrating her birthday -- but by Sunday a.m., the tone had shifted to disappointment. "MINNEAPOLIS - OUR VAN WAS ROBBED. HELP!" they tweeted. The two instruments in question are a red Fender Jaguar bass, and a white Richmond electric guitar.
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Call Me Zonday

For the many who enjoy the unfolding bounty of covers of Carly Rae Jepsen's ubiquitous "Call Me Maybe," here's a local tie-in that'll have you reaching for a chocolate umbrella. Yes, following in the viral paths of President Obama, Colin Powell, Harvard baseball players, the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders, and countless others, U of M grad and City Pages cover boy Tay "Chocolate Rain" Zonday is here to weigh in.

As is his wont, this song is transposed about three octaves lower than it was for Jepsen, who comes to town with Justin Bieber in October.

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Courtesy of lionelrichie.com

This week in Eighties Superstars You Forgot All About News: Lionel Richie has gone country, and is actually quite good at it. Yes, that Lionel Richie. The Lionel Richie of the Commodores. The Lionel Richie who once Danced on Ceilings. This week, his country duets album Tuskegee -- named after the place of his birth -- has been certified platinum after moving over one million units in just a little over a month.More »

Photo by Denis Jeong Plaster

Wiz Khalifa at Soundset 2010.

Related:
Up in the air: How Minneapolis became a flyover city for major rap artists
Kiss, Motley Crue lead Minnesota State Fair 2012 offerings

Star Tribune published two stories Tuesday detailing the Minnesota State Fair's latest Grandstand additions, but one would've been plenty. A couple hours after the paper's prominent music critic Chris Riemenschneider noted that Soundset veterans Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller would be the first rap performers to hit the Fair since Vanilla Ice in '91, we got another piece from a guy who doesn't frequent the "Variety" section. For good reason. 

Daytime breaking news reporter Paul Walsh's "Raunchy rappers to close out the State Fair for 2012" manages to pack a whole lot of off-base cultural commentary into a measly 144 words. Hip-hop fans and anyone getting paid to report for a living should be insulted that this was deemed worthy for publication.

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Katy Perry, unintended bottle rocket lobbyist

Minnesota Rep. John Kriesel may be retiring from the local Legislature, but he's trying to go out with a resounding bang. The Cottage Grove Republican has chosen an unlikely source for inspiration in his quest to legalize bottle rockets and certain more powerful fireworks in the state, and it's the motivational Katy Perry hit "Firework."

"Do you feel we are not as fun as other states?" he asked the representatives on Tuesday. And then laid into a lyric from the song: "You just gotta ignite, the light, and let it shine." A dozen of his colleagues followed suit and recited lines that might be taken a tad out of their original context.

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​Well, that was swift. Within a few hours of the Brick's opening bash hosting Jane's Addiction in Minneapolis' Warehouse District, many dissatisfied customers have voiced their discontent. Our reviewer noted that the sound was excellent, but did have some concerns himself.

Much of this commentary is currently unfolding via the Brick's Facebook page. Sample comment: "This place blows. Horrible sight-lines. It may be bigger, but who cares if only 10% of the audience can see the damn stage."

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Criticizing Dave Grohl is a good idea, but please don't use offensive slurs.

​Minnesota Wild prospect Justin Fontaine watched the Grammys along with everyone else Sunday night, but didn't get caught up in the Bon Iver fever. Instead, the 24-year-old graduate of University of Minnesota-Duluth decided to mouth off in the worst way possible regarding the Foo Fighters' performance, as pointed out by City Pages' Blotter today.

Not only did he use a homophobic f-bomb, but it dropped it on Twitter. Although he later deleted the offensive posting and apologized, the stunt still earned him a two-game suspension from the Houston Aeros, the Wild's minor league affiliate. The screen-capped pigheadedness lives on below. More »

Here's part of the design inked by Minneapolis' Twilight Tattoo artist Shane Wallin.

​It's one thing to talk about Minnesota pride, but it's another altogether to ink it permanently to your torso. St. Paul resident Sean Kelsey is the new champion in that department with an Ork Poster-esque tribute to many of our local cultural landmarks and heroes that he can show to his friends once the temperature rises to a comfortable range that might not eat the flesh right off of him. Anyhow, Prince & the Revolution, the Replacements, Mint Condition, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, and our venerable rock club First Avenue all were deemed worthy enough for inclusion in Peter Bekke's design for Burlesque Design in the shape of the North Star State. See the full tattoo below.More »

​Area pop singer/songwriter Tim Mahoney, who calls himself the "King Of Almost" and whose main claim to fame was being mistaken for a girl by Adam Levine on the NBC reality show The Voice, has written a diss track, jokingly voicing his beef with the Maroon 5 crooner.  "Hey Adam Levine," a song Mahoney wrote about the experience of being on the show and being eliminated from his team by Adam Levine, was posted on soundcloud three days ago. Here's the chorus, in which Mahoney pins Levine to the wall with lyrical daggers:

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