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Music News: Rivers Cuomo 'actually crying' over Weezer SNL skit

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE -- "Matt Damon" Episode 1755 -- Pictured: (l-r) Kenan Thompson, Leslie Jones, Beck Bennett, Heidi Gardner, host Matt Damon, and Cecily Strong during the "Weezer" sketch in Studio 8H on Saturday, December 15, 2018.
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE -- "Matt Damon" Episode 1755 -- Pictured: (l-r) Kenan Thompson, Leslie Jones, Beck Bennett, Heidi Gardner, host Matt Damon, and Cecily Strong during the "Weezer" sketch in Studio 8H on Saturday, December 15, 2018.Will Heath/NBC
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by Jay Gabler

December 17, 2018

Above, listen to an episode of The Current's daily Music News podcast. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts. You can also sign up for a daily Music News e-mail and join our Facebook group.


Rivers Cuomo says he's "actually crying" — with joy, presumably — over a Saturday Night Live skit debating the merits of Weezer. In the skit, host Matt Damon has a dinner-table debate with a new neighbor played by Leslie Jones. Damon is excited about the announcement of Weezer's forthcoming new album, but Jones replies that "Weezer fans know they haven't released a good album since Pinkerton in '96." Things go downhill from there. (Billboard)

Wrecking Crew bassist Joe Osborn dies at 81

Bassist Joe Osborn has died of pancreatic cancer at age 81. Osborn was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a famed studio band that played on many of the most iconic recording sessions of the 1960s. In the '70s, Osborn moved to Nashville, where he played on dozens of country chart-toppers. Denny Tedesco, who directed a 2008 documentary about the Wrecking Crew, remembered that Osborn "was asked why he kept the same strings on his bass for 17 years. His answer, 'No one told me I was supposed to change them.'"

You've enjoyed Osborn's bass playing if you're a fan of any of these songs: "California Dreamin'" by the Mamas and the Papas, "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" by the Fifth Dimension, "Windy" by the Association, "MacArthur Park" by Richard Harris, and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel. (Rolling Stone)

Bruce Springsteen ends Broadway run

The Boss has left the Great White Way. Saturday night was the final performance of Springsteen on Broadway, the solo show that enraptured audiences for over a year — becoming the hottest ticket on Broadway and earning a special Tony Award. In a statement posted to social media, Springsteen said, "Our closing is bittersweet but more adventures await down the road. I'll see you there."

If you missed the Boss on Broadway, you can now check out the show as both a Netflix special and a live album. (Billboard)

Paul McCartney gets "Back" with Ringo Starr

Paul McCartney was joined by a couple of surprise guests on Sunday in London, where he was playing the O2 Arena on his current tour supporting Egypt Station. McCartney said, "We've got a little surprise for you. It's a surprise for us, actually — it only happened today." He was then joined by Ringo Starr and Ron Wood for a rendition of the Beatles' "Get Back." Among those in the audience to enjoy the moment were Roger Daltrey (the Who), actor Emma Thompson, and fashion designer Stella McCartney, Paul's daughter. (Rolling Stone)

Offset apologizes to Cardi B, awkwardly

Cardi B also had a surprise guest during her set on Saturday night at the Rolling Loud festival in Los Angeles...but it wasn't about the music, and it wasn't a pleasant surprise. Her estranged husband Offset (Migos), the father of her infant daughter Kulture, showed up at the festival with a floral arrangement spelling "TAKE ME BACK, CARDI" and appeared onstage in the middle of Cardi's set to apologize for reported infidelity. It didn't go well.

The next morning, Offset tweeted, "All of my wrongs have been made public, I figure It's only right that my apologies are made public too."

Cardi isn't taking him back, but she did ask her fans not to humiliate him on social media. "Violating my baby father is not going to make me feel any better, because at the end of the day, that's still family," she said. (Billboard)

Pitbull covers "Africa," sort of

Maybe Pitbull figured that if Weezer could have a hit with a cover of Toto's "Africa," he should give it a try too. Mr. Worldwide's new single isn't exactly a cover of "Africa," but it does use the song's chorus...confusingly, since the rest of the lyrics for the song, "Ocean to Ocean," have absolutely nothing to do with Africa. Or Toto.

The song is out now on the Aquaman soundtrack, and judging by reactions on social media, listeners are unimpressed.

"I've found the worst song in recorded memory," tweeted one man. Another listener wrote, "We've gone thru enough this year. It doesn't have to end this way." A YouTube commenter suggested that Pitbull should be put away for "war crimes," and another person on Twitter wrote, "Just when I thought DC Extended Universe couldn't do anything worse to us, they gave us a Pitbull cover of Toto's Africa." (NME)

On the up side, though: Pitbull just had his hand and footprints immortalized outside the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. (USA Today)


Songs sampled in podcast
Jahzzar: "Comedie" (CC BY 4.0)
Simon and Garfunkel: "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
Springsteen on Broadway trailer
Paul McCartney feat. Ringo Starr and Ron Wood: "Get Back"
Jesse Spillane: "Ruffling Feathers" (CC BY SA 4.0-02)
Pitbull feat. Rhea: "Ocean to Ocean"
Weezer Saturday Night Live sketch
Weezer: "Africa"