In Print This Week: Moe Green, Hypernova, Cults

By Ian S. Port Wed., Jul. 14 2010 at 8:30 AM

Categories: In Print

Cults

So there's this 22-year-old rapper from Vallejo named Moe Green. He tweets every 10.5 seconds, rhymes about how he wants to be famous like the Rock -- yes, the pro wrestler -- and was recently named one of the Top 10 up-and-coming local rappers by the radio station KMEL. Our Dave MacFadden-Elliott sat down with Green for a chat about why he rarely sleeps, why Langston Hughes rules, and why MCs should stop talking shit on 'N Sync. The story's both a study in ambition and an early peek into a rising star in Bay Area hip-hop.

Elsewhere in this week's print edition, Phil Freeman explores the difficulties of putting on rock shows in Tehran in a piece about Iran's gothy disco-rock band Hypernova -- the first Iranian rock outfit to ink a record deal in the U.S. and tour here. Turns out I'm-a-dinner-jacket is even more intolerant toward lusty, English-language rock 'n' roll than you might expect.

Most bands have to try really hard to get noticed. But New York's Cults was discovered by some of indie rock's most esteemed tastemakers before its members even meant to share their music. Months after its songs made Gorilla Vs. Bear, the boyfriend-and-girlfriend band is putting out a record and hitting the tour circuit. Writer Katie Buono talked to Cults' Madeline Follin about just how ridiculously fast blogosphere fame can happen -- and about what to expect when Cults' first national tour kicks off this week in San Francisco.

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