Grantland

Jamie XX

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PAIRINGS

Jimmy Cliff, Tim Armstrong, and the 'Revival of Beloved But Forgotten Artist' Difficulty-O-Meter

By Amos Barshad at
Carlos R. Alvarez/WireImage

This week, 64-year-old reggae icon Jimmy Cliff releases Rebirth, an album produced by Rancid’s Tim Armstrong. It’s the latest in an ongoing trend that Flavorwire dubbed "inter-generational" musical collaborations: full-album pairings between an older legend and a younger industry stalwart. From Jack White and Loretta Lynn’s Van Lear Rose to Ben Folds and William Shatner's Has Been, these pairings have always been around. But the last few years have seen a marked uptick. And so now, in our never-ending quest to make everything a competition, we evaluate some of the more prominent inter-generational collaborations, not based on the merit of their music, but on the inherent difficulty level they possessed. Using our foolproof "Revival of Beloved But Forgotten Artist" Difficulty-O-Meter, we figure out exactly which young, elder-respecting musician/producer overcame the biggest challenge.

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SONGS OF THE WEEK

Songs of the Week: Nirvana, Strippers, and Lucky Charms

By Amos Barshad at

Nirvana, “Territorial Pissings”
Here is a professionally shot and edited video of Nirvana, playing “Territorial Pissings” at a show in Seattle on Halloween of 1991. It comes from the deluxe 20th anniversary reissue of Nevermind that’s out next week. It’s a tight, blistering version, but there’s nothing revelatory about it, and if you already feel inundated by the steady torrent of covers, tributes, and essays that have accompanied the album’s anniversary, we totally understand if you choose not to click. But just know this: You’ll be missing the opportunity to see Dave Grohl wearing white shorts over white long johns.

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