Catch Torche at 2012's summer fests.

Constant intrascene belly-aching aside, a few local (and local-ish) acts are managing to squeeze out of South Florida geographical isolation this summer for big stages.

A number of major national festivals are featuring homegrown talent on the bill. And rightfully so.

Here's a quick rundown of South Florida (and SoFla-related) bands playing this year's summer festival circuit.
More >>

Lil Wayne making it rain at King of Diamonds in March 2011.

The act of throwing money at nude or semi-nude dancers has been around for eons. Or at the very least, as long as gentleman clubs have existed.

But there's more to the art of ballin' than just tossing paper currency in the air and watching it fall onto some stripper's ass crack.

There are a number of sophisticated strip club techniques that have been perfected by rainmaking millionaire rappers and rock stars. And so, we present you with this quick, three-step guide to the art of making rain.
More >>

Electronic dance music wunderkind MANIK (AKA Chris Manik) takes music very seriously. For one thing, he's a prolific producer with over a dozen records released on top labels like Ovum, Poker Flat, Hot Creations, and Culprit in just a few years.

But Manik is also a scholar of music. Literally. The music department of his alma mater, the State University of New York at Oneonta, even named him as a 2012-2013 Hall Of Fame inductee.

And MANIK's special area of musical study is the melting pot of diverse sounds he soaked up as a kid in his native New York City.
More >>

Via fox.com/glee

Good job, Blaine. Your Gotye cover blows.

Glee has managed to piss off yet another singer.

After the show's recent cover of "Somebody That I Used to Know," breakout artist Gotye expressed his frustration with the cast's rendition of his song. "They did such a faithful arrangement of the instrumentals, but the vocals were that pop Glee style, ultra dry, sounded pretty tuned, and the rock has no real sense," he said to Australia's Courier-Mail.

Sure, Gleeks may disagree. But this superpopular Fox show has ruined some amazing songs. So while you're patiently waiting for Tuesday's (inevitably terrible) tribute to Whitney Houston, here is a rundown of Glee's five worst covers ... So far.
More >>

There's no doubt that Snoop Dogg knows how to celebrate 4/20. But the rapper has decided to prove himself yet again.

Snoop recently announced that he will be releasing a novel, Rolling Words: A Smokable Songbook. Yes, you read right.

A regular book would be too boring. So if you want to smoke while reading, Snoop's got you covered. Just strike a match on the book's spine and the pages double as rolling paper. Weed sold separately.

Laugh all you want, but we think Snoop is onto something. While we wait for the rapper to announce the book's release date, his endeavor inspired us to list other things that should come with materials to help you light up.
More >>

PillowTalk

Disc jockeying is certainly a respectable craft. It requires certain skills, like programming a track selection and beatmatching/mixing records. But let's face it, we give DJs way too much credit -- all they do is play records.

There's something about the improvisational spontaneity and the hands-on human aspect of live musical performance that makes it much more visceral and exciting than watching someone play studio recordings like a jukebox.

With the recent surge of DJ software like Traktor and its much-maligned sync button, the stakes have been raised drastically higher in the EDM performance game. Because anyone can be a DJ now without acquiring the traditional beatmatching skills you used to need. And besides the music geeks hanging out at the booth and scrutinizing the DJ's every move, who's gonna know the difference?

Perhaps it's for this reason, if not people's growing tedium with the cult of the DJ in general, that there seems to be a rise in the number of EDM acts doing it live. And unsurprisingly they're becoming some of the most popular acts on the scene.
More >>

Dizzy and those famously jazzy cheeks.

It is no secret that jazz music is a national treasure. And locally, jazz served as the soundtrack to South Florida and its sunny lifestyle way before megaclubs and laptop DJs took over.

But we're not here to bitch about overpriced nightlife spots or knob-twiddlers. It's simply time to celebrate our nation's third annual, Congress-designated Jazz Appreciation Month -- not to mention this year's National Jazz Day on April 13.

And so, we here at Crossfade have assembled a fantasy septet -- Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Nina Simone, and four other jazzy geniuses -- who we'd love to see on a stage together, dropping some righteous jams.
More >>

Photo by Suzy Poling

​Seth Bogart is queercore's flat-chested poster boy and a household name among same-sex households with an affinity for independent garage rock.

The colorful 31-year-old Hunx and his Punx frontman has become one of Hardly Art's chief impresarios, a showman who's second to none. Whether he's eye-fucking men at his lively shows, threatening to pee in a bandmate's butthole, or questioning the respective sizes of the Jacuzzi Boys' dicks, Bogart's brash, unfiltered persona is both charming and alarming.

At a Sailor Jerry event in Miami last year, a free-balling Bogart did all three -- eye-fucked, threatened, and questioned. "I feel that this is, like, fake," he told the crowd that night. "Don't you feel like we're all extras in a movie?"
More >>

You can bet your left areola that Lil' Kim made the cut.

Earlier this week, Crossfade reported on Khia -- the rapping stripper from Tampa, Florida -- and the naked picture she Tweeted on Sunday.

Khia's stated motivation for leaking her own nudes was to celebrate the ten year anniversary of "My Neck, My Back," the MCs super explicit, lone hit single devoted entirely to cunnilingus.

In this lascivious spirit of revelry, Crossfade thought it was time to compile a list of the dirt nasty raunchiest MCs in the history of the game. Check the sweaty, sticky results after the jump.
More >>

Via facebook.com/VanHalen

​Retiring.

In a weakened economy, the thought of calling it quits at the age of 55 is a pipe dream. The grim reality for many is they'll work till the day they die, much like the 80-year-old who settles for a part-time gig at Publix to supplement a $300 Social Security check.

For rock stars, however, working past the AARP benefits-eligible age has become an inspiring musical trend. Just take Van Halen, a band that's currently in the midst of a 45-date reunion tour and being helmed again by original lead singer David Lee Roth.
More >>