Brooklyn-based rap duo Das Racist has been tap dancing on the line between ridiculous and sublime, vulture and culture, transparent and transcendent since their annoyingly addictive song “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell” first cannon-balled into our culture’s collective unconscious.

That was way back in 2008. Since then, they’ve warred with music journalist Sasha Frere-Jones, held a “Cartoon-Off” with The New Yorker and spawned the smartest, funniest conversation about race America’s had, since, well, ever.

The game-changing Shut Up, Dude and Sit Down, Man mixtapes were released to a collective critical orgasm, with MTV, Spin and Rolling Stone moaning the loudest. They’re set to unleash the ominously titled Relax in June on their own label.

More significantly, however, they recently went cheese tasting for GQ, inspired by their timeless lyrics on “Rainbow in the Dark”: We could eat the flyest aged cave cheese for sheez, ma/ Yeah, we could eat gruyere as if we care/ we could eat Roquefort, or we could just kick it like Rockports in the periphery of Little Sicily.

The VP of Murray’s Cheese Shop in the West Village, Liz Thorpe, bravely donned a hairnet and brought the boys down into the cheese cave. GQ documented their intrepid cave-spelunking adventure–check it out for the boys’ take on cheese that smells “like ammonia and horses” as they search for a safe place to “cut a fart” and wax poetic about cheese.

Screeching Weasel frontman Ben “Weasel” Foster apologized Friday after punching a female fan in the crowd at Scoot Inn in Austin for reportedly spitting on him. See a video of the altercation here.

“As a husband, father, and a musician on the public stage, I understand that it is my duty to always take responsibility for my actions in a socially acceptable way, and most especially in the face of confrontation,” Weasel said.

The punk rock band was scheduled to play San Antonio the next night, but the show was canceled. One band, the Chinese Telephones, were set to play “Weaselfest,” a two-night event in Chicago next month, but has since dropped from the line-up.

Because of violence at other performances this year, including DFA 1979′s show that erupted in chaos (but was allowed to resume after police intervention), SXSW organizers are considering limiting free shows in 2012.

Foo Fighters are back, and they’re everywhere, including Austin for SXSW and the mtvU Woodie Awards.

The band previewed their forthcoming album, Wasting Light, at Stubb’s during the festival, where earlier in the week they also screened “Foo Fighters,” a documentary highlighting their early years, including their first 1995 tour. The documentary hits a theater near you in April.

The band will scale things down a bit to play the garages of nine fans next month. Fans can enter the contest by uploading a picture of their garage on the Foos’ website.

Lead singer Dave Grohl–he of Nirvana fame–is also in the news for declining to hand over Foo music to Glee. “It’s every band’s right, you shouldn’t have to do f—ing Glee,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.

Grohl recently talked to Rolling Stone about the new album. Check it out here.

Think you know where the best food is in Austin? Everyone attending SXSW has an opinion, from breakfast burritos to late-night vegan spots. And barbecue too, but that should go without saying.

So in the interest of a well-rounded experience at SXSW, we’ve done the foodie research for you.

Citizen Taco is a self-proclaimed “quick, easy, and reliable guide to finding good food, from four-star restaurants to no-name street carts.” That is, perfect for our quick and dirty needs down south. They draw up a nerdy, handy-dandy map of joints to hit, then break it down for dummies like me who want to eat every specialty the city offers.

The 512 Food Blog splits it up between the three main food groups you’ll be consuming: BBQ, Tex-Mex and burgers. What’s a vegetable?

The Modern Junkie organizes your week by meal, meaning you can hit all the events listed and never pay a dime for alligator chili, ice cream, crawfish, pancakes and more.

And of course there’s Foodspotting, one of the most popular apps to emerge from last year’s fest. This year they’ve got a street food scavenger hunt and secret menu items for users, as well as their usual international guide. We can taste it now…

Nate Dogg, famous for lending vocals to some of rap’s biggest hits, has died. He was 41.

While the official cause of death is unknown at this time, the singer, born Nathaniel D. Hale, suffered from two strokes in recent years and was undergoing therapy for paralysis on the left side of his body.

Nate Dogg first rose to prominence on Dr. Dre’s classic The Chronic, and later delivered memorable hooks for Eminem, Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch, 50 Cent and of course, crew mate Snoop Dogg.

Vice has a great interview with Nate Dogg (conducted by Chromeo no less) from 2004 in which the singer reminisces over the spots in Long Beach we know so well–if only in song.

Oh, Charlie, honey. In addition to getting fired, raided for firearms by the police, offered a starring role in a porn movie and being the victim of an Unfollow Campaign on Twitter, Charlie Sheen has found time to launch a new show on Funny or Die.

Check “Winning Recipes” for his tips on culinary teleporting, creating cauldrons of awesomeness with cooking wands, the art of killing green things and the importance of stalking and killing your own meat–all while Charlie chain-smokes, breaks plates, chugs wine and wears an orange tiger-striped chef’s hat.

The population of Austin expands exponentially this week as the 25th annual SXSW festival begins. Uncensored Interview artists like Toro Y Moi, The Airborne Toxic Event, Surfer Blood, MSTRKRFT, Tapes ‘n Tapes, Spank Rock, Daedelus, Vetiver, Army Navy, Visqueen, Das Racist, Shad and hundreds more perform March 15-20. The big names this year are Kanye West and The Strokes, who last played the fest in 2001.

Check our homepage for SXSW survival tips from artists like Andrew W.K. and Matt & Kim, and for the best foodie recommendations in Austin, Eat to the Beat will be delivering the goods. For those skipping the festival this year, don’t fret–plenty of radio stations and big corporations hoping to get in on the act will be streaming performances all week.

Chances are your must-see bands will be playing several times throughout SXSW, and Matt & Kim share a little advice about keeping up.