Audio By Carbonatix
The Daddy of Rock ‘N’ Roll (1963-2003)
The late Wesley Shabazz Willis was one of the coolest mofos in music.
The schizophrenic African-American musician (who refered to his psychotic episodes as “hellrides”) sung howling songs set to keyboard music usually about such disparate subjects as McDonalds, Alanis Morrisette, and Spider-Man. If you were fortunate enough to meet him in person, the dude would likely give you a headbutt.
Willis developed a huge cult following with his outsider music and wild performances (particularly amongst the indie/alt-culture crowd) which seems to have gotten even bigger after his untimely death in 2003. So it’s no surprise that his recently-released Greatest Hits album is the top seller at local indie music store Revolver Records, 4214 North 7th Avenue.
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What else got bought at the shop during the week of December 1-7? Here’s the rest of the list:
1. Wesley Willis, Greatest Hits (Alternative Tentacles)
2. Atmosphere, Sad Clown Bad Summer Number 9 (Rhymesayers)
3. Antony and the Johnsons, Another World (Secretly Canadian)
4. Hrsta, Ghosts Will Come and Kiss Our Eyes (Constellation)
5. Ween, Chocolate and Cheese* (Schnitzel)
6. Mudcrutch, Extended Play Live (Reprise)
7. Ryan Adams, Cardinology (Lost Highway)
8. Metallica, self-titled* (Warner Bros.)
9. Bloc Party, Intimacy (Vice)
10. Fresh Maggots, Hatch* (Sunbeam)
*re-issue
If you’re an owner of a local independent music store and would like to have your best sellers posted on Up On The Sun, send me an e-mail at benjamin.leatherman@newtimes.com. — Benjamin Leatherman
