Sometimes an unexpected collaboration can add up to a refreshing sum greater than its parts. Beyonce and Jay-Z’s “Crazy in Love,” M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel’s She and Him, and John Legend and Andre 3000’s “Green Light” all come to mind.

Then there are the terrible ones. This list is dedicated to the top ten worst musical miscarriages of the last 10 years. Some will make you laugh, some will make you cry, some will make you scratch your head in confusion and some might compel you to punch in your computer screen. Without further ado, let the disastrous duos begin!

10. Weezer feat. Lil Wayne “Can’t Stop Partying”

This song hovers at the bottom rungs of the list because it sounds suspiciously like Weezer and Weezy know exactly just how terrible this is and that they’re secretly laughing along with us. But whether or not it’s so bad it’s good is off the table – it’s really just straight bad. The only idea more ludicrous than Lil Wayne agreeing to guest on this track is the image of the nebbish Rivers Cuomo (the man who wallowed in self-loathing on Weezer’s sophomore album “Pinkerton”) as a big league playa rolling with “the real big posse” to “V.I.P.” with some “Bottles of the Goose” while hot girls are “in the corner getting loose.” Ew, Rivers, ew. (Click here to read more…)

By the beginning of the new millennium, pop music had cemented itself into fixed, immutable genres. Predictability, staleness and a refusal to cross-pollinate were the defining features most music. If you randomly scanned through radio stations, you’d find your ears subjected to predictable playlists of unsurprising hip-hop, stale corporate rock, formulaic country and synthetic R&B. Which begs the question—do people even listen to the radio anymore? Maybe they would if more artists topping the Billboard charts were like OutKast

With so many artists splintering further into their niche-genres, OutKast blazed a fearless trail in modern music. They threw all of pop’s generic odds and ends into a teeming pot and boiled the mix down to a delicious, spicy stew that married the best flavors of pop’s divergent branches. They evolved into a postmodern pop chameleon, effortlessly fusing genres that superficially seemed at odds. Listen to songs like “Roses,” “B.O.B.” or “Rosa Parks” and just try to pin down what genre OutKast trades in. Hip-hop always glued their wide-ranging sound together, but by the time they released Stankonia in 2000, they were creating an unprecedented, potent mixture culled from pop’s vast collective consciousness. (Click here to read more…)

The annual South Asian a cappella competition, Anahat, was hosted by UC Berkeley Indus at Zellerbach Playhouse last night. Competitors included USC Asli Baat, UCSD Sitaare, UCLA Naya Zamaana, UCI Andaaz, UIUC Chai-Town, Stanford Raagapella, CWRU Dhamakapella, and UC Berkeley Dil Se. Out of these seven teams, USC Asli Baat placed first, followed by UIUC Chai-Town second and UC Berkeley Dil Se third. Aditya Prakash of UCLA won Best Soloist, and Best Arrangement went to USC Asli Baat’s arrangement of The Beatles’ “Blackbird/Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai”. UC Berkeley Dil Se won the audience vote for Best Costume, but, given the audience in Zellerbach Playhouse, that, at the very least, was to be expected.

After a playful prerecording introducing each group, every team performed three to four songs in English or Hindi (or both) to a panel of four judges (Harini Krishnan Vikas, Vasudha Ravi, Mark Sumner, and Robin Estrada) and an energetic audience of varying age and predominantly South Asian descent. (Click here to read more…)

NSFW (language/cartoon gore)

When the Kanye West/Spike Jonze collaboration, “We Were Once a Fairytale,” first cropped up on blogs a few weeks back, I was curious but always too busy to watch the ten-minute clip. Then a friend insisted I check it out, proclaiming it proof that Kanye “really is the voice of this generation.”

So I checked it out. And . . . wow. Just wow. Stop what you’re doing and watch it. Unless you’re at work/in class, because it’s a little bit grody. (Click here to read more…)

What’s better than reality TV?

A lot of things, but tonight and tomorrow night at 8 p.m., one very important one will be gliding over heart strings and plucking at souls in Berkeley’s very own Hertz Hall. That’s right, the University Symphony Orchestra will be performing and, from the looks of this weekend’s program, they’ll also be completely ignoring Halloween.

No “Night on Bald Mountain,” for these presumably un-costumed folks, led by conductor David Milnes, who probably won’t be wearing a costume either. But maybe they’ve got a few tricks up their sleeves for Saturday. We don’t know. Maybe Milnes will dress up as a “conductor” and wear like a train driver costume or something. Get it? Like another kind of conductor. Because he’s the conductor. That’d be clever. Right?

Anyway, I digress. The orchestra will play Rachmaninoff’s “Symphony No. 2,” Ernest Bloch’s “Suite Hebraique,” and Bloch’s “Concerto Grosso for strings and piano.” It’s only $5 for students, and even if classical music isn’t really your bag, man, it’s still sometimes fun to go relax and hear something you might not ever hear otherwise.

Rachmaninov -- André Previn -- Symphony No.2 Mvt.4 (3/3) [YouTube]
University Symphony Orchestra [Dept. of Music Calendar]

Every October Neil Young and his wife Pegi put on The Bridge School Benefit Concert at the Shoreline Amphitheatre to raise funds for the bay area Bridge School, which since its opening in 1986 has provided specialized education to severely disabled children. Young has invited various A-list entertainers to the mostly acoustic concert over the years, and this past weekend was no different. The bill this year ranged across genres, hosting Young himself, No Doubt, Chris Martin of Cold Play, Sheryl Crow, Adam Sandler, Monsters of Folk, Wolfmother and more.

The all-day show left the earlier acts with a little less support as concert goers drunkenly mingled throughout the large venue’s bars, food tents and recreational areas. But Monsters of Folk didn’t seem to care as they strummed and wailed away. The group played some original tracks and even a song from member Conor Oberst’s other band, Bright Eyes (a nice emo treat). (Click here to read more…)

Entering Oakland’s Fox Theater last Saturday felt like entering a cross between Alice’s rabbit hole and a circus tent. The lights were already dim, the stage framed by two foreboding Hindu/Buddhist statues, the ceilings all carved out and ornate. Not that any of this mattered anyway, because once Mika burst on stage, he took us out of this world.

But first, the opening act: Gary Go. Gary was a highly emotional pop-rock British singer-songwriter who apparently could also play instruments via the iPhone, which was pretty cool, even if he fumbled over it a bit. But although his applause was loud, the applause for the furniture movers assembling the stage for Mika was even louder. “You’re here to see Mika, right?” Gary asked at one point. Yeah, yeah we were. (Click here to read more…)

On Monday night at Bottom of the Hill, indie-dream pop duo—along with a plus one on drums—Beach House played a sold out show. The opening group, Papercuts, is a band my friend deemed “the kind you’d want to do your homework to.” I can’t say I disagree but I enjoyed them nonetheless. Beach House followed—and delighted. (Click here to read more…)

It was tough getting out of bed this morning.  My feet and legs were sore, and I felt like I had been hit by a train. A glorious, glorious train.

But the knowledge of another amazing day at Treasure Island got me going. Plus, I was going to get the perks of the press pass. And after it took only an hour and a half to get to the festival today, I was in a good mood.

Image of Tommy Guerrero by Anna Hiatt/Staff Photographer

12:40- I missed the opener again today (Sleepy Sun), but Tommy Guerrero’a diverse set of jazz, latin funk, and dynamic rock jams were a great start for day two. And though the crowd was noticeably more subdued today, it was upbeat enough to remind us that even without the turn-tables and drum machines that were pretty prominent yesterday, we don’t have to fall asleep.

Image of Thao by Emma Lantos/Staff Photographer

1:15- Thao & The Get Down Stay Down kept things going with some cute, quirky indie pop. And as a chilly wind blew in from the bay, Thao told the crowd, “When I first got here, I was cold like you guys.  Then I started to dance.  And now I am very comfortable.” Thao, a resident of San Francisco, said she hated every time she had to leave her hometown and was really excited to be back. In her words, Treasure Island was the “Bestival,” or best festial she had ever been to. It’s a little to early to tell for now, but she’s probably pretty close. (Click here to read more…)

2:33- I won’t say much now, as Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros just came on, and foot-tapping and finger-drumming just became irresistable. I think I’ll go jump in the crowd for a minute. Maybe I can benefit from some mass body heat while I’m at it, my fingers are so cold I can barely type. Woe is me! Back in a minute.

3:04- The crowd-warming experiment definitely worked. Or maybe that’s just the feeling of my soul being warmed by Edwarde Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. These guys rock. Pure fun. They’re up there right now doing a great teaser for Beirut (5:30) and the Decemberists (7:10), with their quirky instruments.

There’s no doubt about it: This is a day for horns, accordions and mandolins. It’s a day for disheveled hair and tambourines striking off-beats. The crowd is older and colder. There are more leather jackets, less flourescent spandex.

Image of Sleepy Sun’s frontman by Anna Hiatt/Staff Photographer

San Franciscan psychedelic rockers Sleepy Sun opened up the day with an energetic set featuring breathy, haunting, almost sexual vocals from frontman and woman Bret Constantino and Rachel Williams in tight harmony. Constantino’s harmonica added a bluesy folk element. Their slow, drawn-out rock set the tone for the rest of the day: chill. In both senses of the word. (Click here to read more…)