After Derrick Thomas, there could be no other No. 58 in a Chiefs' jersey.
Come Sunday, that will be the team's official stance. During halftime of this weekend's game against the Denver Broncos, the Chiefs will officially retire Thomas' number during a ceremony at Arrowhead.
Thomas will be the tenth Chief in franchise history to be awarded this honor.
During the 11 years he played for the Chiefs, there was not a better pass-rusher in the game. He amassed 126.5 sacks, 728 career tackles and stole the sleep of countless quarterbacks. In 1990, a year after he got to KC, he tallied 20 sacks, including 7 in one game. No player recorded more sacks than Thomas during the '90s.
Thomas died in 2000 after complications from a car wreck. He was posthumously inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year.
Having effectively teased us this autumn with leaked tracks off their much-anticipated full-length collabo ("Seasons" and "Knowwhere"), KC hip-hop artists Stik Figa and D/Will have just justified our love by releasing Hellogoodbye completely free on 2dopeboyz
As the duo told 2dopeboyz:
To delight in the wonder of the MPC is to go on a voyage of audio soul. And to master words is to liberate yourself. So when a producer and emcee come together, they can not only tell a story, they can engage the listener and make them feel things. Some good, some bad. D/Will and Stik Figa did just that with hellogoodbye.
There is no Batman-Robin complex in this duo. Instead, the beats and rhymes work together to deliver the best that each artist has to offer. D/Will says this is his finest production to date and Stik Figa went no holds barred creating a harrowing and complicated concept of suicide notes to his son. The result? An album that takes its listener on a bittersweet journey.
Download it at the link above or here, via Usershare: Stik Figa & D/Will, Hellogoodbye
We'll get back to you ASAP with a review of the album.
Easily the first local band to throw some original yule into the fire this year was KC's Sexy Accident, whose third album, Mantoloking (read our review), contained the original track "A Merry Christmas to You." That album came out, like, in August.
Now, in time for the actual holidays, the Sexy Accident is back with a remix of that song, courtesy of Seattle songwriter and producer Steve Fisk. And it's pretty damn good. With reverberating electronic sounds and dialogue samples, Fisk has added a strong, urban-paranoiac twist to the tune, which was originally a tight, bedroom-pop affair.
MP3: Sexy Accident, "A Merry Christmas to You (Steve Fisk Remix)"
Enjoy more Sexy Accident action at the group's Facebook, which they've done up in model fashion with lots of photos and videos.
The band is playing its annual Christmas show on Saturday, December 19, at Prospero's Books, where it will be giving away copies of the Christmas single and debuting some brand-new songs.
First of all, if you love rock 'n' roll in its raw form, you should already be hip to the GaragePunk Podcast Network. The network features a wide variety of badass programming, such as Japanese rock 'n' roll on "Mushi Mushi," the horror of "Haunted Shack Theater," and the screaming savagery of "Shout Bamalama!"
"Shout Bamalama!" is the newest addition to GaragePunk, and since the most recent episode just hit yesterday, it seemed to be a good idea to introduce you all to the rave-ups presented by your host, Count Brockula. The show focuses on fast fast fast rock 'n' roll from the '50s to modern day, hitting on garage, punk, soul, and everything in between.
The most recent episode, "the Bamalama Records Rhythm & Blues Revue" will rock your speakers six ways from Sunday. Considering the show takes its name from an early Otis Redding side (recorded back when he was with the Pinetoppers, and probably one of the rawest takes ever put to wax), it makes sense that Brockula'd hit the early roots eventually. It started my workday off with a bang, and hopefully it'll take your day out with one.
Download Shout Bamalama's "Rhythm & Blues Revue" or drop this link into your RSS reader to subscribe to the podcast.
A couple of people were hanging out with signs in front of the Blue Cross Blue Shield building near Main and Pershing Road this morning. It was a pretty unusual sight.
Boulevard Brewery's Bourbon Barrel Quad (BBQ) was a Smokestack Series beer released in two small batches last year. But a quick sellout and local demand means it's back on store shelves this week.
"After the success of last year's Limited Release Bourbon Barrel Quad, we decided it deserved a reappearance," says Jeremy Ragonese, Boulevard's director of marketing. "Many of our loyal fans were unable to secure a bottle of the first batch, and though the amount we're able to produce is still relatively small (largely dictated by the number of barrels used for aging), we're all glad to see it return."
The beer is a quadrupel that draws a lot of taste from fermented cherries and the oak bourbon barrels in which it's aged for up to a year.
Norah Jones is one of those artists I appreciate, but can't really get behind as a fan. Ms. Jones has a lovely voice, and is talented piano player, but she's just an artist I can't help but feel my grandmother would appreciate.
Jones is attempting to break out of that smooth piano pop realm, wherein she dominates lite FM radio stations with the likes of John Legend, by releasing a series of remixes this week. RCRD LBL has "That's What I Said (The NYC Remix by Adrock and Mike D)" today. Tomorrow, Stereogum will present "Chasing Pirates (Santigold and Snotty Remix)." On Thursday, December 3, Artist Direct will present "Chasing Pirates (Droogs Remix)," which was created by a remix collective that included Beck. The remixes will be released digitally and on vinyl on January 12.
Yeah, I'd say that's a pretty good way towards being known for something other than piano ballads. As fun as the Mike D and Adrock remix is, however, I can't help but feel that Santigold is going to have the real banger.
Tickets go on sale January 22, so that's two dates to mark on your calendar.
Attention, entrepreneurs! This one-time walk-up ice cream and hot dog stand -- with a primo location on 39th Street's "Restaurant Row" -- is for lease. The place was closed all summer, damn it, so it's time for someone to grab it.
While we always love an outdoor sculpture of an ice cream cone, we're thinking it doesn't have to be an ice cream and hot dog stand. We'd be just as happy with a walk-up burrito and churro stand. (Come to think of it, some authentic Mexican might give the Chipotle across the street a run for its money.)
Details below.
You can measure friendship in a lot of ways, but She Eats has one good metric: Just how far will a friend drive or fly with one of your favorite foods? For her, friendship is best served by the slice -- of New York pizza.
And without true New York pizza here in Kansas City, that's quite a friend. Because of all the foods that I miss since moving to Kansas City, a New York slice is near the top of the list.
Driving around over the past few days, I've been working my way through the stack of CDs piling up on my desk. There've been a good many CDs that've kept my attention, but one song grabbed my attention. Eddy Current Suppression Ring recently reissued their self-titled debut album on Goner, meaning you can finally get it in the States without having to blow import money on it.
On that album is a tune called "Cool Ice Cream," which is this amazing garage punk tune. It's not garage punk like all the other bands doing it right now, all fuzz and nonsense, but arty, angular garage punk that sounds a lot like Wire. It's lean, and it's mean. Crisp, clean guitar tone, spare drumming -- oh, it's superb. "Cool Ice Cream" is a simple song. It's about wanting ice cream, because it's hot. It is also a song that will lodge into your brain. Here's a live version, from a broadcast on Australia's Triple J radio.
MP3: Eddy Current Suppression Ring, "Cool Ice Cream" (live on Triple J)
Oklahoma Joe's ribs named the best in the country by The Daily Meal
Soundgarden's sludgy sound, last night at the Midland (review)
Homer's Drive-In: the oldest drive-through in the metro
Story celebrates with a pig roast and other weekend possibilities
KCPD will breathalyze patrons at Tanner's tonight
Royals fan sprints on the field, steals rosin bag
Kansas House ignores Brownback, Senate, goes home early for long weekend
Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper are headed to Cricket Wireless Amphitheater