Liner Notes

Often when people turn 40, they do foolish things: they buy sports cars, they try to dress like their teenaged children, they start taking a suspicious amount of vacations to Thailand. But what happens when a band turns 40? In the case of Aerosmith, it decided to celebrate this milestone by going back out on the road, despite recent resentments between the band members themselves. The band began its “Global Warming Tour” in Minneapolis, a city renown for its high temperatures. Steven Tyler, who has been spending his downtime from the band turning into Joan Rivers, told the massive crowd in Minnesota “you reminded us tonight what we got into this business for.” The band will put out its 15th record, Music from Another Dimension, in August. After the tour ends, Tyler will go back to his gig with American Idol, grinning big as the youth of the national catapult themselves to irrelevance. Joe Perry will be put back into the Disney Vault.

Andrew W.K., famous party rocker and headbanger extraordinaire, is set to speak at a “My Little Pony” convention. The panel, which takes place in September, will be on the subject “What Would Pinkie Pie Do?” If W.K.’s track record maintains itself, Pinkie Pie would party. Hard.

Justin Vernon of Bon Iver has designed a shoe with the Los Angeles company Keep. They’re orange with a tweed backing and a fishbone design on the front. You don’t need a photo to know that they’re not the most attractive pair of shoes in the world, but the some of the proceeds of Vernon’s shoes, like the Animal Collective pair sold last year, will go to the Best Friends Animal Society, the largest animal sanctuary in the country. In account of this charitable tie, Wisconsin’s first son will, with any luck, sell a good number of shoes. (Warning: Wearing these shoes to a cabin in winter just after your girlfriend broke up with you does not guarantee you a breakout record or a chance to meet Kanye West.)

Drake and Chris Brown got in a bit of a tussle in NYC. At club W.I.P. in SoHO, Brown and Drake (and their respective entourages, of course) got into something of a fight, though accounts differ. Brown, who isn’t used to fighting men, came out with a cut on his chin. Basketball star Tony Parker sustained minor injuries. Some reports say that a bottle was thrown. One witness even says he or she heard a gunshot, but there has been no evidence whatsoever to corroborate that. The fight was also started, allegedly, over Rhianna. Lawyers have gotten involved, proving just how street the hip-hop stars are. “I have turned over evidence that it was Drake who instigated this. The evidence makes it clear that Chris is the victim in all of this,” said Brown’s attorney, Mark Geragos. “I believe the police are building a case against Drake and his thugs.” Putting aside the racially charged term “thugs” for now, it seems unlikely that there was a victim in this. It’s just a fight. They needed to settle a dispute. Things were so much easier when we had the Thunderdome.

R. Kelly owes a huge debt to his fans. They’ve supported him through thick and thin, through guilty and “innocent.” But the debt he owes to the U.S. government is a bit more tangible. The R&B singer stopped paying his taxes 7 years ago and is now owes $4.8 million to the IRS. You’d think with the millions that he makes or that the record labels make off of him, someone would get this man a CPA. This is a story we’ve seen over and over again in the music industry, from Master P to Mystikal. Because musicians are often paid sporadically (i.e. they’re cut a check now and then), there’s often no established taxes coming out of their check and so it’s easier to fall behind. In Kelly’s defense, he was unable to pay because, since 2005, he’s been trapped in the closet.