Digest: The Roots Picnic to Feature Nas, Dismemberment Plan, Wiz Khalifa; Fela Musical Goes to Nigeria

Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Rolling Stone

Roots Picnic to Feature Nas, Whiz Khalifa, Dismemberment Plan
The Roots have announced the lineup for their 4th annual Roots Picnic in Philadelphia on June 4th. This year's event will include Nas, Wiz Khalifa, the Dismemberment Plan, Ariel Pink, Little Dragon, Yelawolf, Man Man and Esperanza Spalding in addition to a headlining set by the Roots themselves.  [Brooklyn Vegan]

Fela Kuti Musical to Hit Nigeria
Fela!, the award-winning musical based on the life of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, is set to debut in Kuti's home country of Nigeria. The show will be staged at the Eko Hotel in Lagos, the Nigerian capital, beginning in April. [BBC]

WFMU Marathon to Feature Ted Leo and AC Newman
Listener-supported freeform radio station WFMU's annual pledge drive is under way. Pledges will be accepted during all of the station's programs for the next two weeks, but it should be noted that Ted Leo and the New Pornographers' AC Newman will be appearing on tonight's episode of Tom Scharpling's The Best Show on WFMU, and that show's marathon premium will include a 7 inch record featuring artists such as Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard performing cleaned-up versions of songs by shock rocker GG Allin. [WFMU]

Electric Prunes Bassist Dies at 62
Mark Tulin, the bassist for the Sixties psychedelic garage rock band the Electric Prunes has died at the age of 62. In recent years, Tulin was writing and recording new material with Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins. Tulin filled in as the Pumpkins' bassist for two shows in 2009 and performed on recent songs such as "Astral Planes" and "Widow Wake My Mind." [Buzzbands]

Diddy Dirty Money Announce Tour
Diddy Dirty Money will be kicking off their Coming Home tour in Minneapolis on April 13th. The month-long tour will hit cities such as New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles before wrapping up in St. Louis on May 15th. [Rap-Up]

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Song Stories

“Piano Man”

Billy Joel | 1973

Billy Joel’s first hit, “Piano Man,” was – ironically – an autobiographical lament about how his first album wasn’t a hit. When Cold Spring Harbor didn’t take off, Joel briefly became a lounge pianist in Los Angeles, and this song, about that experience, expressed his frustrations and fears at the time: “And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar/And say, ‘Man, what are you doing here?’” “It was all right,” Joel said later, about the gig. “I got free drinks and union scale, which was the first steady money I’d made in a long time.”

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