busted up bulldozers

New Guns N Roses Track

2008-10-23T19:13:00.000-07:00

Chinese democracy is upon us.

I'm not going to deal with rumors about Walmart only sales, or what Axl has been doing since the Use Your Illusion tandem.

The first released track sucks.

Here's a link to the imeem page where the music is displayed. I'm not putting it on this page. You really shouldn't even listen to it, but if you really need to know...

Night Marchers Rise!

2008-03-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

If you were left broken hearted by the dual breakup of Rocket from the Crypt and Hot Snakes in 2005, don't kill yourself yet. Speedo's rounded up a (somewhat) new group of dudes to carry on. Hot Snake, Gar Wood is in the fold and ex Delta 72 dude, Jason Kourkounis will handle the drum duties. On April 22 Vagrant Records (yuck) will release the debut lp from The Night Marchers called See You in Magic. The band name apparently comes from Hawaiian mythology, pertaining to ghost warriors exiting their burial sites and returning to the field of battle. What's it sound like? You probably shouldn't have to ask. As my friend Charles would say, "do you like raging awesomeness?" Yes? Well there you go. You can check out three of their songs on the myspace and see if they're coming to your hometown on tour. No Akron dates yet.
If you just can't wait, RFTC has finally released the CD/DVD of their final ever performance. It's called R.I.P. The DVD features the final Halloween night 2005 marathon concert in it's entirety. I watched it with a couple friends and one of them (I ain't naming names) openly wept toward the end of the DVD. We all made fun of him, and then excused ourselves to quietly weep ourselves. This thing is on Vagrant records as well. They can realease Speedo related products every week for eternity and I'll never forgive them for unleashing this on the world.

It's True, Someone's Been Breeding Some Champions

2008-03-21T20:48:00.000-07:00

New Scissors, Cat Swallow, and Handcuff Killa.

Those are the titles of tracks one through three on the Royal Bangs soon to be released (May 2008) debut from Audio Eagle. It's poppy, it's forthright and from the get go, We Breed Champions is not fucking around. Well, that's sort of a lie. Let me put it like this: We Breed Champions is an infectious, electric, eclectic, loud, laugh-y, sing-a-long-y, gassy good time at the party because, man, you already had three Monster brand energy drinks earlier that day- before you started drinking expensive whiskies and cheap beers. So, it's not not fucking around in the way that it's taking itself too seriously; it's not fucking around like it's cutting through the bullshit and getting to the point, except that it seems like the point might just be the bullshit.

Now, I'm not just stuck on the first three tracks. As a matter of fact I've listened the shit out of this album over the past week or so. I'm into the entire album, though I'd be lying if I said the entire album was perfect. I consistently skip the last minute and a half or so of track four, Japanese Car. The singing falls into a painful wail for about thirty stinging seconds. Perhaps that's unfairly subjective, but this unfortunate portion stands out from the rest of the album and not in a good way. I'm not trying to hurt feelings here, but I really can't stand that part. ...I mean, overall, the CD is fucking great. And, as an optimist, I like to think these guys are only going to get better. So, I can't hold those thirty seconds against Royal Bangs when the rest of the album is so right on.

We Breed Champions will be available just in time to get everyone in your car, put the top down and cruise in the moonlight, radio blasting and you're all singing along and looking at the people driving the cars next to you on the highway and proving, with just the twinkles in your collective eyes, that you're having a better time than those other drivers ever will.

Check out Royal Bangs on your MySpace here.
Check out the Royal Bangs "website" here.
Sign your paycheck over to Audio Eagle here or here.

For real. The first three tracks are so fucking good and they're on Royal Bangs' MySpace page to hear for free! So, just go there and judge for yourself, already.

A Letter to Michael Murphy

2008-02-21T22:51:00.000-08:00

Barack Obama-detail, 2008 Wood, Paint, Steel & Light
Portrait of the presidential candidate rendered with the shadows cast by 6,400 2" nails.

I wrote the following text to Michael Murphy in reaction to seeing his newest work, a detail of which appears above. The email was written in late December of 2007, though it appears Barack Obama was not shown until the following year.

Barack Obama

I was just thinking in my head about those drawings you make before I got this email. I was walking across campus, trying to visualize them. I really like those. Do you even call those drawings?

It occurred to me just how peculiar it is that you've pulled the light source out of the picture. Light source is so important to portraiture and academic painting- all of depiction, really. And there you went and pulled the damn thing right out of the picture and put it in the room with the viewer. And so there's the viewer doing the same thing the light source is doing- glaring.

(We need to clear up whether or not this is a drawing. Is it a sculpture? Does it display too many qualities of both categories to be sufficiently narrowed? Perhaps it is naive to want for such a label. Perhaps it is for laziness that I want to be able to store it conveniently within the rubric of one discipline and not the other. Would it become more memorable as an object if I associate it with a group- making it easier to recall, or would it be more memorable if it had no associations in my brain for which to reference this unique object, but its singular experience?)

Moreover, there's the dialog stirred by the reproduced imagery, which involves you not turning to high technology, but "backwards" into pneumatic tools- creating a dissonance of time relations, creating a reference to the past, the present and, through the senator's candidacy, the future.

Through your process, instead of condensing all the "parts" of a drawing (line, point, shading, etc.) into as compact (flat) a space as possible, you've opened it up; you've dissected the drawing. You've extrapolated the "parts" of a drawing and put them on display. These "parts" retain functionality, while developing a state of disassociation from one another. But this disassociation is not quite allowed, because all the "parts" continue to function as a unit to make one image. This creates a sense of sophistication that would contradict your decision to rely on primitive tools. But it is in this contradiction and the other contradictions presented in Barack Obama that the artwork actually exists, isn't it? This is not meant to be now or then; it is not meant to be drawing or sculpture. However, it is neither meant to be not now or not then; nor is it meant to be not drawing or not sculpture. It somehow exists as all of these and none of them.

Check out more of Michael Murphy's work at his website.

January New Release Battle Royale

2008-01-22T12:16:00.000-08:00

Music is a competition. Don't let anyone tell you different. Hence these January releases must duke it out in the squared circle for the new release battle royale. It's also a really easy/lazy way for me to review a bunch of music without putting much effort in it. So here's the line-up for the 20 band battle royale. Imagine them walking down the aisle as the names are read by Howard Finkel (too inside?)

Cat Power- Jukebox (Matador) Future of the Left- Curses (Too Pure) Magnetic Fields- Distortion (Nonesuch) Super Furry Animals- Hey Venus (Rough Trade) Vandermark 5- Beat Reader (Atavistic) Times New Viking- Rip it Off (Matador) Black Mountain- In the Future (Jagjaguwar) Devastations- Yes U (Beggar's Banquet) Jack Penate- Matinee (XL) Bob Mould- District Line (XL) Radar Bros- Auditorium (Merge) Blood on the Wall- Liferz (Social Registry) Jeffrey Lewis- 12 Crass Songs (Rough Trade) Dead Meadow- Old Growth (Matador) Xiu Xiu- Women as Lovers (Tomlab) Vampire Weekend- s/t (XL) Chris Walla- Field Manual (Barsuk) Kelly Stoltz- Circular Sounds (Sub Pop) Evangelicals- The Evening Descends (Dead Oceans) Bon Iver- For Emma, Forever Ago (Jagjaguwar)

So that's a lot of stuff to absorb. After two months of almost no new releases we're getting some music worth listening too. Been looking forward to some of these and others here caught me by surprise. Some former champs might be losing their shine. So this should be an interesting scrum. Let's see what happens.

The bell rings and immediately Bob Mould, Jeffrey Lewis, Jack Penate, Chris Walla and Cat Power are ganged up upon and tossed over the top rope. They were at an obvious disadvantage being solo artists and all. A lot of the other bands have five or more people in em. Here's the problem: Bob Mould, no stranger to the world of pro wrestling, doesn't get it anymore. I had high hopes that with this being on Anti records, they might be able to revive his career. Unfortunately, Mould is still dabbling with electronic music. When he does this it sounds like the Astralwerks catalog circa 1994 with the dude from Sugar singing. Who wants to hear that? Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie fame delivers up a steaming hot plate of blandness on his debut solo record. It's not really possible to hate this, but I fail to see how anyone is moved by anything from the DCFC family tree. Cat Power's second covers collection "Jukebox" is similarly tepid. She takes a lot of decent songs and dulls the edges. Also, I still don't see the logic in drafting dudes from the Blues Explosion, Delta 72, and the Dirty Three to be in your band and then turning them into glorified studio musicians. Jeffrey Lewis' "12 Crass Songs" is an interesting idea. Like last year's Dirty Projectors Black Flag inspired LP Rise Above, Lewis takes crusty anarchist's Crass' back catalog and re-envisions it. It's good for a laugh, but I can't think if any reason to ever listen to this again.
Jack Penate: Too much Franz Ferdinand, not enough XTC

The Magnetic Fields' experiment in noise is worth a listen or two. I've never been a huge Magnetic Fields fan and Distortion dirties up their sound in a good way. They're always good for a handful of great songs and a few bummers as well. But it's not enough to avoid a closeline from the Future of the Left that knocks em right out of the ring. FOTL is made up of ex-members of Mclusky (kind of a Welsh Shellac.) This sounds not so different from the former band: loud, bass heavy, sarcastic. Out of nowhere Xiu Xiu tosses em from the ring. No one saw that coming. I like Xiu Xiu's frontman, Jamie Stewart more than I like his band. He's about as punk rock as you can get in 2008. He's not afraid to say unpopular shit. He wrote a song about not supporting the troops. In a recent interview he dropped a bomb on all the "indie bands" that sell their songs to commercials. However, when your band sounds like Xiu Xiu, I guess commercials probably aren't an option. Anyway, this is ike their 10th album in five years or something. As far as Xiu Xiu goes, I like it ok. It's difficult and noisy and features a fun little duet with M. Gira on "Under Pressure."

At this point in the match Devastations, Super Furry Animals and Bon Iver all voluntarily throw themselves over the top because I listened to those records twice and can't remember one thing about them. Vampire Weekend then Blindsides Xiu Xiu and throws em over the top. There's some tension here since these two are tag team partners. There's a stare down and Vampire Weekend extends their hand in good faith. Xiu Xiu takes the hand and yanks the VW out of the ring disqualifying them. They brawl all the way back to the locker room.

Now a word on Vampire Weekend. The year is just a month old, but it seems they are the hype band of 2008 for sure. Months before putting out an album there was already a considerable buzz. Now that it's out, their mugs are popping up all over the usual places. So what's the verdict? Catchy as hell, sure. Their main gimmick is that they explore "African guitar music through the filter of 80's pop." Which means their best songs sound like the Police and their worst stuff is not so far removed from Reel Big Fish.

Radar Bros. get tossed out next. They certainly have a pleasant alt-country vibe going on here. good songwriting. Auditorium's just one of those albums that'll get lost in the shuffle, but if you slapped the name Wilco on the cover it'd be praised as genius. Evangelicals and Kelley Stoltz are next. Stoltz is someone who's previous records I kind of ignored, but the sunny pop of Circular Sounds is sticking with me. Kind of reminds me of the best moments of Matthew Sweet. 'member him? Evangelicals "Evening Descends" may be the most ambitious of these new releases. The vocals are certainly divisive. They may be overreaching a bit and at times sound like a less song oriented Arcade Fire.

Dead Meadow and Black Mountain are probably the heaviest competitors in this thing. Dead Meadow's new album "Old Growth" finds them scaling down to a three piece. The guitarist that left the band must have been the one that owned all the pedals, cuz this record's got a really clean sound to it. "Old Growth" features a couple of acoustic ballads and one or two songs that seem like attempts to attract a wider audience, but overall it shouldn't really disapoint you if you're a fan. Black Mountain's second full length, "In the Future" trades between heavy galloping rock and long, snail's pace incense burners. The heavier stuff works better for me and I like the even distribution of the male and female lead vocals. This record definitely has some sweet jams that your pep-pep would like if it was 1973 all over again.

But, jesus christ! Out of nowhere comes Blood on the Wall's "Liferz" album and it just blitzes everything in it's path. and continues to rumble on the floor. "Liferz" is nothing new, but synthesizes the best elements of mid-80's SST Records and throws it all out there on a record that's over before you even know what hit you. It's probably the most satisfying 20 minutes of anything I heard this month.

Vandermark 5's beat reader follows last year's excellent Ken Vandermark project Powerhouse Sound. This one's another winner. Funky, skronky modern jazz that is completely tasty. This guy's been around for awhile and must have nearly as many album as John Zorn, but I've only caught on lately.

But for me the most enjoyable listen of the January releases is Times New Viking's "Rip it Off." This band seems to be following the career arc of Guided by Voices. Two releases on Columbus label Siltbreeze and then out of nowhere, they're signed to Matador. They write catchy as hell tunes and bury it all under a mountain of tape hiss and feedback. Everything on here sounds completely joyous. They're not hiding behind that noise, it's a crucial part of the sound. The drummer and keyboard player share vocal duties and provide a steady if unspectacular background for some legit guitaring. Every song on here hovers around the two minute mark. My favorite, Drop-out comes in at 1:04. That's ok though, you can put it on repeat a dozen times or so.

So TNV wins the whole shooting match sending everyone else back to the locker room shaking their heads. A lot of good stuff this month. Hopefully an omen, that this'll be a good year for rock.

New Del Song

2008-01-17T09:17:00.001-08:00

You know I love Del the Funky Homosapien. What a delight then, to find out that Pitchfork posted the first song from the new record to be released on Def Jux on March 11th. Lucky for you and me, Del didn't lose any of his wit or weirdness in the long-ass 7 years since his last contribution to the music world.

Here's the post about the record.

Black Key tour. Avett Brothers video. Breeders tour.

2008-01-14T12:15:00.002-08:00

The Black Keys will be releasing a new album on the April Fool's day, that by all accounts will be like nothing like they've ever done. They have also announced tour dates starting in March and you know those tickets are going fast so buy them soon. Here's the Pitchfork scoop on the new record (produced by Danger Mouse?! featuring a duet with the silver tongued Jessica Lea Mayfield!!).

In other bearded rocker news, The Avett Brothers released a video for the totally boss song Paranoia in B Flat Major. It's kind of a documentary type of thing. They also like Jessica Lea Mayfield and can be seen performing one her songs in this other video.

Paranoia in B Flat Major

For Today (Jessica Lea Mayfield cover)

In hopefully non-bearded news, The Breeders announced some tour dates to go along with the new record I mentioned the other day. Too bad only 2 of the date are in 'merica. One at SXSW and the other at Coachella. Strangely, Pitchfork has the US dates even though the 4AD site and the Breeders site don't.

It's Global!

2008-01-10T08:55:00.000-08:00

This is the link to a collection of images featuring various types of street art from the world, man.

The guys also added this link to a shit ton more images.
(Edit: March 26, 2008)

question mark exclamation point

2008-01-09T22:41:00.000-08:00

aka

?!

What looks like larry the cable guy, wears a yarmulke disguised as a baseball cap, and plays a 3-string guitar better than you can do just about anything?

It's Seasick Steve.

Can I get an O-M-F-G here or what?

Aught 8. One more ought that ought not be forgot

2008-01-07T10:46:00.000-08:00

This is a month old, but the Breeders finally confirmed a new record. This will be their (her?) first release since 2002. You can check out a new song from the record at their website. The song combines the slow thoughtfulness of Title TK and the dreaminess of Last Splash. So basically...textbook Breeders. That's fine by me.

Here's one my favorites from Title TK, live on Conan which, to critique myself, is neither slow nor thoughtful.

Top 10 Records of 2007

2008-01-04T20:13:00.000-08:00

It's the end of our first year, and how else could we possibly end other than by doing exactly what everybody else is doing. Hopefully our top 10 records will be pretty different than the other bajillion top 10 lists though. For example, I could not give less of a shit about In Rainbows. I mean it's good and they are geniuses and they let you pay what you wanted to because you were going to pay nothing....but c'mon...it was only good.

Now that I have incited some attacks on my character (if anyone actually reads this), let me put this in context. I'm going to list my 10 favorite records. Not the 10 best records, or the 10 most influential records. Just the 10 records that I listened to and loved the most. And I'm not even going to try to put them in order, I'm just going to throw them out there.

Emotionalism by the Avett Brothers (myspace). I get into the twang a little more every year, and after spending six weeks in the car with this as the soundtrack I couldn't even tell if it was that great of a record or if I was just that connected to it. Then I saw them live, and yes it is that awesome. The upbeat stuff is better than the sappy but get this record dammit.

Technical Know-How by Beth in Battle Mode (myspace). 10 songs of straight up, jump up and down, do shots and sing-along rock and roll. To be honest, I don't know how these guys make a stale genre seem so fresh. Please buy this record so these guys can get from Toronto to Arizona and I can see them live.

None Shall Pass by Aesop Rock (myspace). The dude abides. He can't stop making great records. He doesn't give up on the things that define him but with a little help (or a lot) from Blockhead this is his funkiest album yet. Plus he wears a pig hat....and that's funny.

Person Pitch by Panda Bear (myspace). If the animal spirits of the Beach Boys each had a baby with a different electronic music gadget you might come close to the beauty and weirdness that is Panda Bear. Of course his band the Animal Collective is pretty wicked awesome too but his solo record is a little less erratic than Strawberry Jam.

Armchair Apocrypha by Andrew Bird (myspace). This is more confirmation of something you already knew. Seriously, if I'm the one telling you how good this records is, then congratulations on being unfrozen and surviving the ice age.

Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga by Spoon (myspace). How can you still be this good after like 14 records or something. This record is every bit Spoon but a little more than that too. All you "I like their old stuff" types better take notice that it's possible to stay relevant. Also, for a weird experience type Ga 5 times.

Friend Opportunity by Deerhoof (myspace). How do you stay this good and unique after 9 records? No idea. This record goes from super-cute to ridiculo-funk and back again....Love it.
Cease to Begin by Band of Horses. Like the first record this one keeps Ben Bridwell's vocals loud and clear as the common thread for all kinds of songs from mellow saddies to bouncy sing-alongs down to a few rockers.

Fort Nightly by White Rabbits (myspace). I'm running out of ways to say AWESOME! and the ones I had weren't that great anyway. It's a Slam-Bang Action Thriller and there's a weird throwback feel that I can't place.

Sound of Silver by LCD Soundsystem (myspace). You've heard it. You love it too. Cross-over hit of 2007 and all that.

Top songs of 2007.

2008-01-04T16:27:00.000-08:00

In no particular order here are my 20 Favorite Songs of 2007

Pesto's at 8 by Beth in Battle Mode....Please jump up and down! Stream at myspace

The Harbor is Yours by Aesop Rock....Gravel funk.
Listen

Marina by Julius Airwave....Pretty Beautiful.
Listen

Kid on My Shoulders by White Rabbits....The upbeatiest! Stream at myspace

Insane by Black Milk....Breaking from the norm by not talking about selling coke.
Listen

Bros by Panda Bear....Get high. Stream at the space.

Devastation by the Besnard Lakes....Same as Bros. Live video.

North American Scum by LCD Soundsystem....Dancy McDancerson.Video.

Tigers by Division Day....Jalapeno Poppers. Video. Stream at myspace.

Imitosis by Andrew Bird....Multi-Instrumentalated. Stream in space.

Believe E.S.P by Deerhoof. Funk-diculous.
Listen

Ode to LRC by Band of Horses....it sounds like Band of Horses. Excellent quality Live Video.

Northwestern Girls by Say Hi....Mellow. Pure. Fucking good. Stream. On myspace too.

Carefully Procedured in the Darkest Night by Drakkar Sauna...Weirdos with Banjos.
Listen

Black Like Me by Spoon....Still so good. Stream.

An Empty Space by Signal Hill Transmission....Heartfelt. Stream.

Gronlandic Edit by Of Montreal....Bowie-esque. Stream at myspace.

Hannah T. by the Comas....Soft then Rock. Like a 2.5 on Mohs' Hardness Scale.
Listen

Needed You Tonight by Ben Harper....Rock and Soul. Live video.

Paranoia in B Major....Twangily delicious. Live on Conan.

It's true, I like stuff, too.

2008-01-03T09:26:00.000-08:00

I'm not interested in making a properly hierarchical list of my favorites. I'll just mention a few things I found extra interesting or that got me especially excited over the past year-ish- not necessarily created during the year, but appreciated during the year.

Here's an alphabetical list of twenty things that were practically my all-time favorite at one point or another over the past year:

Animal Collective
Album Leaf
Beaten Awake (Get back in the studio, you bums!)
The Blind Tiger
The Jason Bourne movies (though, quality diminishes from first to last)
Cleveland sports franchises
Dogfish Head Beer
Michael Fried
Great Lakes Brewing Co. (Get out to NYC, already!)
Great Lake Swimmers- Oniagra
Grizzly Bear- Yellow House
Akira Kurosawa
Frank Miller
Panda Bear- Person Pitch
David Reed
Charlie Rose
Taqueria Tepango
Tilly and the Wall- Wild Like Children
Marjorie Welish
and finally, the development of my understanding concerning the transition from the Modern to the Post-Modern in visual art as defined and/or initiated by the transition from NY based High (Late) Modern painting to the de-materialization of the physical restraints (guidelines) of art as presented by Minimalism and eventually Post-Minimalism and the resulting theoretical shift from work to text.

My Favorite Stuff from 2007

2008-01-02T10:23:00.000-08:00

I don't like it when people say "Best of 2007" etc. Like they would know. Nobody listened to everything. So this is more like "best of what i heard in 2007." Not such a bad year for music, really. Several albums were serious contenders for best of the year. In the end I went with Panda Bear’s “Person Pitch” as the best of the bunch. It’s the one that was most rewarding to me upon multiple listens.

Lots of old favorites offered up solid new records and a few new bands made their mark. If you were willing to look there was plenty of stuff to keep your attention. In a world of “indie-rock” car commercial jingles and disposable downloads, here is what we call the real deal. These are records that are worth your time. Have yourself a nice little sit down with these and really absorb the music. Not enough people do that anymore, y’know.

I'm gonna try and post some of my favorite songs of the year in "the jam" section if i can figure it out. Damn this crazy technology. Ben must feel like he accidentally asked somebody's grandpa to do this thing.

Best LP’s

1. Panda Bear- Person Pitch

2. Caribou- Andorra

3 Electrelane- No Shouts, No Calls

4 Big Business- Here Come the Waterworks

5 Dinosaur Jr.- Beyond

6 The Angels of Light- We Are Him

7 Do Make Say Think- You, You’re a History in Rust

8 PJ Harvey- White Chalk

9 Liars- Liars

10 Arthur and Yu- In Camera

11 Black Moth Super Rainbow- Dandelion Gum

12 Low- Drums and Guns

13 Shellac- Excellent Italian Greyhound

14 Pissed Jeans- Hope for Men

15 Thurston Moore- Trees Outside the Academy

Honorable Mention: Band of Horses- Cease to Begin, Battles- Mirrored, Vic Chesnutt – North Star Desserter, Madlib- Beat Konducta 3 & 4, Les Savy Fav- Let’s Stay Friends, El- P- I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead, Magik Markers- Boss, Om- Pilgrimage, Beirut- The Flying Club Cup, Celebration- the Modern Tribe, Animal Collective- Strawberry Jam, The National- Boxer, Ghost- In Stormy Nights, Dalek- Abandoned Language, Miss Alex White- Space and Time

THE SGT. ROBERT MURTAUGH MEMORIAL “I’M TOO OLD FOR THIS SHIT” AWARD

Girl Talk- Night Ripper: I know it came out in 2006. I still don’t "get it."

BEST SINGLES/EPs

Tyvek- Summer Burns double 7”

Homostupids- Glow 7”

Jay Reatard- Night of Broken Glass 12”

No Age- Assorted 7”s and 12”s that make up Weirdo Rippers CD

Built To Spill- They Got Away 12”

1997 REVISIONIST HISTORY TOP 20

Built to Spill- Perfect from Now ON

Yo La Tengo- I can Hear the Heart

Radiohead- OK Computer

Will Oldham- Joya

Pavement- Brighten the Corners

Karp- s/t LP

Godspeed You Black Emperor- f@@##

Portishead- s/t

Superchunk- Indoor Living

Stereolab- Dots and Loops

Blonde Redhead- Fake Can be Just as Good

Guided by Voices- Mag Earwhig

Helium- The Magic City

Ween- the Mollusk

Elliott Smith- Either / Or

Mike Watt- Contemplating the Engine Room

Trans Am- Surrender to the Night

Three Mile Pilot- Another Desert

Karate- In Place of Real Insight

Smart Went Crazy- Con Art

TEN SONGS 2007

Tyvek- Frustration Rock

Jay Reatard- Night of Broken Glass

Caribou- Melody Day

Panda Bear- Comfy in Nautica

No Age- My Life’s Alright Without You

Low- Murderer

Black Moth Super Rainbow- Forever Heavy

Homostupids- Apeshit

Beirut- Cliquot

Electrelane- The Greater Times

Liars- It Fit When I was a Kid

BEST OF AKRON 2007

Hell’s Information- Rad Battle

Trouble Books- Distortion Pedal

Gabe Schray- Softest Service

Talons- Honey Gold

Low in the Sky- We’re All Counting on You, William

Why is it so Honorable to mention things?

2007-12-23T13:35:00.000-08:00

Some things make it to the top, and some stop right before they get there. Now, while some people seem to think that it is honorable to mention those that just missed the cut, I'm pretty sure that I remember reading in high school that "second place is just the first to lose." So instead we'd like to give you a list of things that although pretty good, we would still put a bumper sticker of Calvin pissing on them on our F-350 super-duty dually harley-davidson edition lowered badass trucks (yes, they are rolling on DUBS).

Or maybe we'll just list some stuff and then write some stuff about that stuff so you can read it and be amused or not amused while you try not to think about whether or not you are getting carpal tunnel in your mouse arm.

*My favorite video....None Shall Pass by Aesop Rock. C'mon, dude wears a cartoon pig hat.

*Record I hate but that plays all the time because it's listed first in Amarok.....Myth Takes by !!!

*Guiltiest Pleasure: Lil Wayne

*Most overused band photo: Put 'em in animal masks...Seriously that shit was a conspiracy.

*Most overused Band Flash Website Idea: Bugs. Dragonflies and buzzy bees on every freakin site.

*Some records that almost made it to the top 10.

Emerald City by John Vanderslice...Damn fine record. Damn fine live show. Nicest musician of all time.

Neon Bible by Arcade Fire....Amish or not I like this record. I got tired of reading about it every second of every day but, i did like it.
Popular Demand by Black Milk (myspace). Some great hip hop.

The Wishes and the Glitch by Say Hi. Came out of left field. Songs from the heart.

Oh and Happy New Year.

My New Year's resolution: Somehow do even less. Less is the new not as much.

Del moves to Def Jux

2007-12-12T18:56:00.000-08:00

Def Jux announced recently that they would be releasing Del the Funky Homosapien's (myspace) first solo record in 8 (7 depending on the source) years. The record will be almost entirely produced and written by Del save for a few "key assists" from producers J-Zone, KU and Opio, and according to the Del, you can expect a fair helping of the funk:

"I would say this album is funky, but it’s not a funk album. It’s more
hip-hop than anything. But I definitely tried to give it funky influences
and stuff"

The new record is called 11th Hour and it hits the shelves February 26th. You can put in you preorder over at the Def Jux site.

Before I sign off I want to be sure to make mention of something. See, I've read the "first solo album in 8 years" line in a couple of other spots....and while this is true it hurts me that few people are mentioning Del's other stuff. He remains active with the Heiroglyphics crew, the Hiero Imperium Label that he co-owns and let's not forget he was also part of one of the top 5 hip hop records of all time in there too.....If I have to tell you that I'm talking about Deltron 3030, you shouldn't feel that embarassed....but you should go buy it before you pay your rent this month.

Here's one of my favorite Del raps ever, plus a classic....stay tuned for a promo mp3 if one pops up.

Things You Can Do from Deltron 3030 (buy)

Wacky World of Mass Transit by Del the Funky Homosapien (buy)

Newer Heiroglyphics with Dan the Automator....or vice versa

Cadence Weapon.

2007-12-10T22:49:00.000-08:00

I just listened to (and downloaded) a new song over at the Cadence Weapon myspace, and it has given me an excuse to take a long overdue look at his 2006 debut, Breaking Kayfabe.....and yes I'll be renaming the blog to "Every Single Canadian Artist that I Can Possibly Mention Before I Die".

The term Breaking Kayfabe (wiki) refers to breaking character, or letting people see that something isn't real even when they already know that it's not. On the album Breaking Kayfabe, Cadence Weapon breaks convention, and let's you see the guts of each song. He exposes every part of the process, allowing each bit to play it's part with no pretensions about what it is supposed to be. This allows him to use the same tools to put together an altogether new machine....one with big-gnarly bone-crushing exposed gears.

I certainly don't mean to say that Cadence Weapon is altogether reinventing rap. What I do mean to say is that there is art that hides it's origins...like a perfectly polished marble statue. And there is art that allows you to see the process within the finished piece. Breaking Kayfabe is the second type, it feels finished but not so polished that you can't distinguish the layers. The beauty of this approach is that you never get totally comfortable listening to Breaking Kayfabe. It won't let you relegate it to a low-end bump while you figure out what to do tonight, or talk about your favorite Indian restaurant.

I don't know....
Like, the percussive staccato keyboard part on Oliver Square that doesn't pretend to be anything but, and that you can't tune out. Or just when you get comfortable with the groove in Sharks you get ground out of your daze at a minute thirty. Or like how you can't help but listen to every part in Fathom for a few seconds each, and you can't quite reconcile them to be one thing.

So here's the jam from Breaking Kayfabe, a video from the same, and you can check out his myspace to listen to the "open ended new shit" of a new song. The new record should be going down this spring.

Sharks by Cadence Weapon (buy)

Black Hand Video

Classic Rock?

2007-12-09T12:35:00.000-08:00

Reading Ben's entry about Jethro Tull got me thinking. I'm sure I've
liked a few bands and been afraid to tell people about it, but more
often I get accused of pretending to not like something that is
universally admired. For instance, my absolute detestation of Led
Zeppelin and the vast majority of what we in America refer to as
"classic" rock. Now I will admit that sometimes I'll hear the
beginning of a song and think, "damn this sounds like it could be a
good song." Inevitably though, it is ruined within seconds by the
shrill skullfucking wail of Mr. Robert Plant. Once that dude puts his
imprint on something, it is ruined my friend. This is true of any
number of 70's vocalists, who I guess were just doing their best to
upstage the guitarist and scream as loud as they could about some
stupid shit. But people really can't believe I don't like that stuff.
To not like classic rock is some sort of mortal sin in these parts.
With this being my first entry on this blog, I will attempt to explain myself

I probably didn't even hear a Led Zeppelin song until I was like 20
years old. My parents had three records that I can remember in the
house. Captain and Tenille's Greatest Hits, Saturday Night Fever, and
John Denver's Rocky Mountain High. Now that's enough to turn you off
to music entirely. And for a while I had absolutely no interest in
it. Until Weird Al came along, that is. The first Weird Al Yankovic
record came out in 1983 and it is the first record that I can remember
buying. I may not have liked music, but I loved comedy. Later that
year I think MTV convinced me to purchase Killroy Was Here by Styx. I
mean there were robots in the video. Very cool. I think I also
noticed an addition to the family record collection. Michael
Jackson's "Thriller." Of course. So I was now officially in to
music.

Around this time my brother, who is five years older than me was
starting to get yelled at about coming home wearing Millions of Dead
Cops and Circle Jerks t-shirts. Like any good high school outsider in
the early 80's, he had discovered punk rock. This would be of
interest to me a little bit later, but for now all that I was really
interested in was the Dead Milkmen. "Big Lizard in My Backyard."
That was about as funny as funny gets to a 10 year old. My brother
went to see them on the Bucky Fellini tour in 1987, but of course my
mom wouldn't let me go. It was a school night and she really didn't
want him corrupting me worse than he already had. I gave him $10 to
get me a t-shirt which I wore almost every single day of sixth grade.
The shirt is referenced by nearly everyone who signed my yearbook that
year. On the front it had the surfing cow (cows were also a subject
of great humor to me) on the back it said "smell like a cow tour."

I imagined the Dead Milkmen as a punk band, but really they were kind
of like a typical college rock band mixed with some surf and rock a
billy. The punkest thing about em was the snotty delivery of their
lyrics and their referencing of other real punk bands like the FU's
and Butthole Surfers. Anyways, they opened the floodgates to the rest
of my brother's record collection which included every great punk and
thrash metal record of the day. I saw a Motley Crue video on MTV one
day and my brother told me they sucked and handed me a copy of "Ride
the Lightning" to listen to instead. Among my other favorites were
the Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, Anthrax, Black Flag etc.

By the time I made a serious attempt to find out about the history of rock and roll, the things that I could get into were the early Rolling Stones, Kinks, Link
Wray, Otis Redding, James Brown, etc. I'm sure the reason why is the
fact that they share an economy of songwriting with the punk bands I
grew up with. No ten minute guitar solos, no overbearing lead singer,
nothing forced. OK, so maybe James Brown’s obsession with hot pants led him down some dark alleys occasionally, but he always found his way out. Classic rock will just have to remain that great enigma to me. If I haven't gotten it yet, I doubt I will in the future. It's not cuz I'm cooler than you, it's probably just cuz I
didn't grow up with it.

Random Jamdom

2007-12-06T12:05:00.000-08:00

Soon , I will have a proper job....then I will by records...then you will get proper record reviews. Till that day arrives here are a few songs that make my ever-growing ears happy.

I found this song while stumbling around the myspace-verse looking for some new/unappreciated artists. The song is from yet another Canadian artist, this one goes by Astral Black. There isn't much info out there about Astral Black and there hasn't been any activity at his myspace for a month, so who knows if the dude is even still around. Either way the song features Royce 5'9 and it rules. They use that mid-word-alliteration* style in the verses and I find that style to be awesome.

Dead Already by Astral Black

*I thought there was a word for alliteration in the middle of words, but it would appear (with minimal research) that it has more to do with repetition every syllable....depending, of course, on who you ask.

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The other song I wanted to post I heard this very day over at Side One: Track One, and I fell in love instantly. It's by MGMT and I'll post the song here to save a little bandwith but you should really click through and check out the write up over there. Here's a hint: electro-pop heaven.

Time to Pretend by MGMT (buy links at myspace)

David Reed at Max Protech

2007-12-02T07:51:00.000-08:00

David Reed's newest paintings are currently on exhibit at Max Protech, in Chelsea. Reed has recently become one of my favorite painters, somehow managing to carry a barely lit torch of abstract painting out of the 70's. Reed's paintings, expressive without becoming too subjective, investigate the language of painting through brush stroke/ gesture, color and form. The often irregular sizes of his canvases can appear to be arbitrarily chosen, though the composition always seems engaged appropriately to justify such decisions.

I'm also a fan of David Reed as a writer. I encourage those of you who actually like to read about art, instead of just looking at the images, to check out his website, in particular his essay titled : New york Painting Circa 1968: Notes Toward the Missing History of Experimental Abstraction.

The images shown here are not Reed's most recent paintings on display at Max Protech. You'll have to get out into the world to see those.

Buying Beth in Battle Mode Made Breezier than Before

2007-12-01T17:52:00.000-08:00

Photo: Mofatt Media

Just so you know, Technical Know-How, from Toronto band Beth in Battle Mode is now available on iTunes. I wouldn't usually mention something like this nor would I generally promote the supporting of an i-thing, but this record is so fucking good. I mentioned it here before and I pretty much listen to Pesto's at 8 every single day. I also found out from a commenter that the song (or part of the lyrics anyway) is based on a Kids in the Hall skit.

Also, is every band from Canada now? Not since the Michael J Fox-Bryan Adams early 80's double whammy have my thoughts so often been on the great white north. But that's cool I like the place quite a bit. They actually get to go to the doctor there too.

Pesto's at 8 by Beth in Battle Mode (buy at iTunes)

New Avett Brothers Video

2007-11-26T09:14:00.000-08:00

A new version of Left on Laura, Left on Lisa played live in Nashville, TN.

They rule.

Rock +/- Rawk (extreme? or X-Treem)

2007-11-17T12:08:00.001-08:00

Valient Thorr.
Poetic? No.
Derivative? Maybe.
Actually from Venus? Sources say yes.
Straight forward? The straightest.

Rocking? Hellz yea.

Myspace.

Other tidbits. Their fans are called Thorriors. They will be on tour with Motorhead...aka their original selves. At 0:39 in this video the singer has a devilock....Glenn Kilmister? = I might throw up.

Music that Made Me: Jethro Tull...Aqualung

2007-11-16T00:02:00.000-08:00

That's right dammit. Aqualung.

But first...a soliloquy.

There are 3 stages of music denial. They seem to be fairly linear but not always.

Stage 1: Straight Up Denial. This usually hits in about 8th grade and usually goes away around entrance to college but can last much longer if left unchecked. This stage can be summarized by the following scenario: You buy Michael Jackson's Bad but then find that your friends with older brothers are already touting their love for Zeppelin and Floyd. You scramble to catch up pretending to know the songs off Houses of the Holy like you were born listening to them, you stop practicing the moon walk, and act like your mother is a fool for thinking you would want to leave the radio on Dirty Diana. For those of you pretending to never have done this...please see stage 2.

Stage 2: Denial Denial. So you've grown up enough to admit that you beat off. In fact, you over-compensate by having multiple loud conversations at your local diner about who did it most in one day. I believe this conversation is now a Dane Cook joke. This is the time when you act like you have always been so steadfastly unique that you never denied liking something that you always have. My thoughts on this stage: Yes you have always liked No Doubt. Yes you did deny it. Yes you admitted it after they got a Behind the Music. Time does not equate to artistic integrity. This stage is also characterized by pretending to have always liked some mainstream band that now has credibility but that you didn't actually like at the time they were around.

Stage 3: Fuck it, I'm going to shut up. Luckily, at 32, I think that I've finally reached this stage. I was substitute teaching and a 14 year old asked me..."are you fruity?" because I sat with my legs crossed "like a girl". I have to cut hairs out of my nose. I beat off just as much as I always have but I'm kind of embarrassed about it again. So yea, I've always liked Jethro Tull. I denied it. I caught a lot of shit for it. I pretended that I've always been proud of it and wore it as a badge. And now, although I won't deny it, I don't admit it because 98% of the people I come into contact with fall into one of these categories: don't care, embarrassed that I exist, can't imagine that I could possibly like something that they do and/or simply aren't listening to me when I talk.

So here goes. Not only have I always liked Jethro Tull, they even informed some of my opinions right around the time that I was making my saint of a mother weep by telling her that I would not be getting confirmed. But, they were also helping me to avoid Color Me B.A.D.D. and Boyz II Men....oh wait I've always like Boyz II Men. Aren't they cool again. Oh shit...I don't know.

Thanks Jethro Tull. I never liked you. I've always loved you.
My God by Jethro Tull
Locomotive Breath by Jethro Tull

All Get Out

2007-11-12T10:29:00.000-08:00

The Spitting EP by All Get Out (myspace) is about as infectious as you can make pop/rock music. This is not stuff that you have to think about or wait to get. This is shower singing music, steering wheel drum music, maybe even air guitar music.

This is how it will go down. The vocal melodies will get you hooked and the playful guitars make it interesting enough to give it another listen. Then you need it. Mark my words: These guys will become a Major Label hit factory withing 2 years if the majors last that long.

The EC by All Get Out

tres el-song-o's

2007-11-08T20:44:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the infrequent posting. Hopefully there will soon be a time when I have more time to spend time writing and listening.

Here's another song from the UK based Younger Brother (myspace) whose new record The Last Days of Gravity grabbed me somehow. I usually get bored with electronic stuff, but lately it's been helping me to clear a headful of worries. The Last Days of Gravity has a curviness that I get in to. They also throw in some obviously live instrumentation that gives it the spontaneity that a lot of electronic stuff is missing. If you can make it, this song goes from pretty to pretty funky right around 6:44....it's worth it.

Happy Pills by Younger Brother (buy?)

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A while back I posted about the Guilt By Association compilation where indie rocksters recorded guilty pleasure songs like Two Tickets to Paradise (Geoff Farina), Straight Up (Luna), Say My Name (Superchunk)...etc. For the most part, the record takes away the pleasure and leaves the guilt but there are 2 songs that I'm pretty into. Petra Haden's, McFerrinesque version of Don't Stop Believin' by Journey is even more of a guilty pleasure than the original. I mean the 80's are back but they did not bring Bobby McFerrin with them. Point is, Hayden's version is so deliciously terrible or terribly delicious that I can't stop listening to it.

The other song is Geoff Farina's version of Two Tickets to Paradise by Eddie Money. The songs pretty good, but mostly I have a soft spot for Geoff Farina whose work in Karate helped turn me into the music fan I am today.

Two Tickets to Paradise by Geoff Farina (buy)

Don't Stop Believin' by Petra Haden (buy)

Audio Eagle Ohio!

2007-11-08T18:41:00.000-08:00

Ohio is well represented by Patrick Carney's latest release: Audio Eagle Presents... A Compilation of Bands from Ohio. There's twenty one tracks, each by a different band- from a different part of the state- playing different kinds of music, as implied by the title.

I honestly like every track. I'm not saying I'm in love with them all, or that my life is profoundly different (yours will be) but this is a great collection of bands from the heartland. (I'm very trustworthy- ask my friends.)

Now, if you aren't from Ohio, you may wonder what happens there. "Isn't it all just, like, farms and corn and stuff?" Dumb question. If you like fat people in tiny little swimsuits and baking in the sun, when you're not worried about earthquakes or hurricanes- avoid Ohio. If you like having to constantly split your attention between avoiding panhandlers and dog shit on the sidewalk en route to the subway- avoid Ohio. If you don't like the Browns, Cavs, or Indians- go fuck right off.

Instead of choosing bands we've already written about on BUB, or bands I'm personal friends with I present you with three bands I hadn't heard before this disc. Check out the following links to hear samples of the bands featured on the compilation, via the all-loving Myspace.

Machine Go Boom
Compilation track- Gentleman's Reply

Deathly Fighter
Compilation track- Spanish Fly

Southeast Engine
Compilation track-We Have You Surrounded

Then go here and buy the compilation for yourself or as a gift. Great for music lovers and people who have never heard music alike!

2007-11-05T09:34:00.000-08:00

Gil Mantera's Party Dream has posted dates for their upcoming tour.

Check dates at the Party Dream site, or at their Myspace.

I don't want to spoil it for you with my biased hype, but the live shows are AMAZING!

If you have a Party Dream live show story, leave it in the comments.

Another Video

2007-11-05T08:35:00.000-08:00

Remember when Do Make Say Think was amazing? I love it when that happens. This particular bit of awesome is from KUT's Retread Sessions.

mmmmmmmm...'n'n'n'n'n'n

2007-11-02T15:30:00.000-07:00

P.S. just got an email that Tapes n' Tapes finished their new record. Now you have all the details about it that I have. Still exciting. Presently, you can appease yourself with Insistor from Letterman...also still exciting.

Four Shizzle

2007-11-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

Isn't it cool that other people can write stuff and then I can put it up here and then it looks like I did something. Yay me. Yay them.

I caught a video by artist, Nate Harrison over at Nine Bullets. It's a detailed and well-written history of the amen break, a break beat you know better than you could imagine and the beat's place in the history of electronic music. After I watched that, I went to Harrison's site and watched a history of the Roland 303. Good.

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Daytrotter is pretty much the best place for free music in the universe. I just checked out the session they did with White Rabbits who have have been getting a lot of attention lately because of the ruling nature of their record, Fort Nightly. The Daytrotter session has 3 unreleased songs from said band and one song from said record. Kid On My Shoulders is track 1 from Fort Nightly and if it doesn't convince you of how good White Rabbits are then you, my friend are a dummy.

Kid on My Shoulders by White Rabbits (buy)
(Actually my host is being weird....go stream it at White Rabbits' Site)

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Panda Bear has a new video for Comfy in Nautica. The video isn't as good as the song, but why would you miss an opportunity to hear the song? The feel of the video is spot-on, it's just not very exciting.

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Your fourth shizzle is a couple posts from the Technology Liberation Front a great blog that focuses on tech/internet policy. They have been looking at concerns about the Do Not Track List proposal that's in the news and they made me realize how bad an idea this actually is. One post focuses on the possibility that concessions in the proposal will give regulators the tools to take this way further than it would appear to Joe Average Internet. The other post is actually one long quote of an article written by Declan Mcullagh over at CNET. Mcullagh's take is basically a "leave your regulation off our internet" with an added "hey internet users stop being lazy learn a little" thrown in for good measure. Word.

Say Hi with the A-Sides and the Velvet Teen

2007-10-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

Hey dudes, almost fell into a black hole.....but then I didn't. Been and will be a little busy for a whole nother week so, I'll try to get down when I can.

Whatever may come, I did get to go see a show last (last) weekend.

The A-Sides
The evening started with the A-Sides from Philly. I checked out the A-Sides' myspace several days before the show and I found the songs to be well constructed and nicely polished. What I didn't hear was heart, or whatever pseudo-spiritual word you want to tack on to that thing that conveys the emotion and feel of a song. I was therefore ready to only be half-attentive to their set, but about 2 songs in I realized the A-Sides suffer from an all too common disease...I call it the We Really Kind Of Rock But Our Record Is So Polished And Normalized That It's Hard To Tell Syndrome. Their set was awesome. Their songs were dynamic and the singer was belting and the bridges sounded spontaneous. So, here is the one song on the record that really captures what I think the A-Sides sound like. The rest is pretty good but this song stands above the rest.

Diamonds by the A-Sides (buy)

The Velvet Teen
Remember when all your friends played at places that didn't have a P.A. and you couldn't ever hear anything because it was either too quiet or it was so loud that you couldn't pick out a single note/instrument. Unfotunately, the Velvet Teen (myspace) fell into the second category. Their first song was amazing. It was refreshing to hear something that wailed and reminded of a time when raw emotion and volume were 1 & 2 on the "what makes shit sweet" list. After that I couldn't hear a thing. In the end I think the Velvet Teen might be really good, I just couldn't tell.

Say Hi
I saw that Say Hi (myspace) was coming to town and I remembered reading about them over at Who Killed the Mixtape(they have pics) and ThaBombShelter (Harry has some pics too), so I got a copy of the new record and have been rocking it almost daily since then. The record is called The Wishes and the Glitch, and although the official release isn't until February 2008, you can order it from the band....and you need it. The nutshell version of the Say Hi sound is: uptempo melancholy lo-fi pop and I don't think I could do any better were I to elaborate. The band's live sound wasn't too much of a departure from the record....the music was louder and fuller and I was drunker....but that's cool. I mean if your record rules you don't have to get all gimicky or anything. I also like being drunk.

Northwestern Girls by Say Hi (buy)

Toil and Trouble by Say Hi (buy)

P.S. yes, nother is now an official English word.

You like pancakes? You like art?

2007-10-24T07:35:00.000-07:00

Tell me how this fits into your life.

Mmmm...pancakes.

Salt and Samovar

2007-10-15T23:25:00.002-07:00

I was lucky enough to have dinner with the dudes (that's 3 genderally speaking dudes and one Mattison) from Salt & Samovar last week and they gave me a a few songs from their debut record, Old Joy New Joy . I 'm pretty smitten with We Will Break which is kind of a summer of love dance your high-ass ass off anthem but written in Brooklyn. ?.

The band is just off a tour out to the west coast so you might have to wait a minute to see them live (unless you live in NYC)...a format that would no doubt, compliment the Salt & Samovar sound, but rest easy because they will let you buy the record and will surely play again. Here's a couple songs....and you can get a couple more at their myspace.

We Will Break by Salt & Samovar
Swallowed a Pill by Salt & Samovar

By the way...this is a Samovar. I don't know why you would salt it.

The Village Voice has a more eloquent take on the record.

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The new the JAM is up. Thanks to Who Killed the Mixtape for making me see the point on Say Hi. I love this song.

Stuff

2007-10-11T01:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a few newses.

My boys; AKA the Kent Ohio Dream Team; AKA 3 drunks and a guy who hides it; AKA jordan jersey, old ass t-shirt, hipster hat and the cackle; AKA Beaten Awake...a band that rules (which means I've mentioned them before), are going on tour with Fat Possum's Dax Riggs. The fellows should have a few new tunes for you and if I know them, they might even be charming and really good at what they do.

The dates are more on parchment than set in stone but you can see them at their myspace.

I also mentioned last post that they put up some demo versions of stuff from their debut, Let's Get Simplified as well as some live versions of songs at their hipster myspace (virb). Consider it re-mentioned.

Broken Fang by Beaten Awake (buy)
Ghost Bought a Bicycle by Beaten Awake (buy)

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(photo by Matt Wignall)

Delta Spirit, a southern rock band from southern California (they would say Socal) is releasing the follow up to their excellent 2006 EP, I Think I've Found It. The new one is called Ode to Sunshine and you can preorder it now or buy it October 16th. You can hear a few of the new ones at their myspace, and they will be touring in support of the record. You can get the dates while you listen to the songs.

When in Roam by Delta Spirit

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I mentioned that Audio Eagle was putting together an all-Ohio record. Well the official track list is up. It goes like so...

Audio Eagle Records Ohio Mix 2007: Inspirational Jock Jamz

1. Doug Gillard, For What I’ve Done
2. Goodbye Ohio, Gabrial
3. Coffinberry, Earthworms In the Sun
4. Machine Go Boom, Gentleman’s Reply
5. The Same Things, Red Carpet
6. JJ Magazine, Dinner
7. Beaten Awake, It’s a Bubble Bath of Sharks!!!
8. Buffalo Killers, The Path Before Me
9. The Black Keys, Just Couldn’t Tie Me Down
10. Six Parts Seven, Stolen Moments
11. Circus Devils, In Madonna’s Gazebo
12. Deathly Figher, New Variations on Themes
13. Brainbow, Secret Histories
14. Southeast Engine, We Have You Surrounded
15. The Strange Division, New Way of Thinking
16. Hell’s Information, Song Six
17. Heartless Bastards, All This Time
18. Houseguest, King of Crystal Skies
19. Celebrity Pilots, Let the Shade Shine In
20. Gil Mantera’s Party Dream, Chalklit Pyhe II

The Dead Trees: Fort Music

2007-10-09T13:13:00.000-07:00

(photo by Colin Lane)

Here's a nice little bunch of 1's and 0's that I've had my computer interpret a lot lately. Fort Music by the Dead Trees is 6 songs of garage band americana with, maybe just a hint of british invasion. The Brit feel can be heard especially on Shelter and Head Trauma, both of which have a little more jangle than twang.

You can hear 4 of the 6 songs from the EP at the Dead Trees myspace and/or you can get 4 songs from a Daytrotter session they did back in July for free. Along with the 2 songs below...it would be lame if you didn't hear the Dead Trees.

Shelter by the Dead Trees

Second Hand Drugs by the Dead Trees

whoa...Arcade Fire

2007-10-08T10:02:00.000-07:00

I just saw this over at Gorilla vs Bear....It's cool, and it attests to the fact that, even if I hate the hype...Arcade Fire knows how to impress.

Beonlineb from Arcade Fire

Seriously, don't be lazy. Click it.

Saturday: a day of the week but not a weekday

2007-10-06T17:19:00.000-07:00

Weekends are for chilling. Black Moth Super Rainbow is for chilling. They're on tour with Aesop Rock starting the 10th of this very month.

Sun Lips by Black Moth Super Rainbow (buy)

Rollerdisco by Black Moth Super Rainbow (buy)

Tour Dates. Myspaces.

The Rhombus: Margins

2007-10-05T14:10:00.000-07:00

Margins, the most recent album from the Rhombus has gotten quite a bit of airtime around these parts lately. Just so you know, most recent translates to 2006, the Rhombus translates to Cody Hennesy and Margins translates to a mellow acoustic pop record that I like more and more every time I hear it.

The thing I like the most about Margins is that it seems to find a comfortable niche somewhere between a 4-track recording project and higher production singer songwritery type thing. The plain spoken innocence and touch of humor makes margins feel close and relevant, and reminds you that Cody Hennesy is just a guy that writes songs and puts them down on tape. But, even if recorded simply, the songs have a complexity that shows thoughtfulness and reflection but avoids density. The songs seem to be entirely written before they get recorded and not overworked to death. In the end, where a lot of 4-track style projects can lose themselves in layers to try to sound complete, Hennesy pulls it off with Margins. The songs are whole and simple...and good.

Rice by the Rhombus

Chance by the Rhombus

You can buy the album directly. Also, check out Stones from the Rhombus's first record Bupkes, which should be up as my JAM for a couple more days.

The Rhombus myspace.

Cosmobile, Rocking the Finns

2007-10-04T16:46:00.000-07:00

I listen to as much new music as possible as I hope (in vain) to keep up with at least some of the 3 trillion songs that people write every week. That's why I love it when music hits you in the Id. A complete and uncontrollable notion of...I'm into this shit. The newest album from Helsinki-based Cosmobile is just that. I pushed play on the record, and I just got into it. I started bouncing my head and stopped thinking about classifying it or describing it. That's refreshing.

Fire Exit by Cosmobile

Ghost Town by Cosmobile.

Buy the newest record Travels. I couldn't find an English site. If you find one put it in the comments.
Cosmobile myspace.

Learning form the Learned.

2007-10-02T02:15:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't like a funny picture and some stuff that's about stuff.

This to prove that I practice what I preach...stop reading Pitchfork and start reading blogs!

The fellow(s) over at mp3hugger turned me on to a group called Maestro Echoplex. Kind of mellow, kind of pensive... a touch melodic. Go check it out.

Captain Obvious has an interview and a few moving songs from a sad Texan that turns out to be Swedish...His name is Thomas Denver Jonsson....what's next kids from China named Dakota. World, you're going nuts!

The National Twee-pop Czar also known as Matt Skatterbrain has a sweet new tune that I've been digging today by The Airfields. He doesn't have enough good things to say about the airfields and I think he's funny so he's probably right.

I Rock Cleveland has a new post up about a sweet metal band that can include as one of its members...a guy I like to call Robot Arms aka the Human Metronome. There's also a guy in that band that does 5 fret stretches on the bass. They're called Beast.

Radiohead is releasing a new record soon and Radiohead is sooooooo great. Blah Blah Thom Yorke reinvent themselves blah blah. Of course, they really are great, I just get tired of hearing about it. The Rawking Refuses to Stop has a nice little preview of the new record with live versions of the stuff that will be on the new record.

Did I say funny picture? I meant amusing picture.

podcast/mixtape 1

2007-10-01T16:50:00.000-07:00

This our first mixtape here at the busted up. Hopefully we'll have a feed by the next one so that we can call it a podcast and you can make your itunes get it for you. We should be putting these up about every other month or so. I'll also hopefully find a faster file hosting service.

Anywho... here it is: 15 mostly new songs for your listening pleasure, all thrown into a 52 minute digital bag. (ugh digital bag sounds so gross).

Mixtape 1: Bulbous Dud Pretzels

Carefully Procedured in the Darkest Night by Drakkar Sauna
Hannah T. by the Comas
Magic Word by Federale
Chance by the Rhombus
Kid on my Shoulders by White Rabbits
Mo More Free Rides by Signal Hill Transmission
Georgia by the 1900's
Television by the Dead Trees
When in Roam by Delta Spirit
Pesto's at 8 by Beth in Battle Mode
Love in a Time of Hate by the Memories Attack
Operation Motorcide by Centro-matic
Get to Leave by Howe Gelb
Paranoia in B Major by the Avett Brothers
Tigers by Division Day

Instruction: save link. play it. be happy.

Music that Made Me: Quicksand...Slip

2007-09-27T16:15:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the age of 60 GB's of music in your back pocket and full library shuffles. All those lost and forgotten CD's are at your fingertips. So let's talk about some of those things that rocked my world way back when, that I have again had the chance to love.

Qucksand's first record Slip pretty much defines me in 1993. I had done classic rock. I was about 2/3 of the way through my Dischord phase, and I was rebelling against grunge. I was way into noise rock, and this is about the time things got a little darker. Other bands I got into that year include: Unwound, Drive Like Jehu, and Brainiac.

Fazer by Quicksand

Head to Wall by Quicksand

Next time Metroschifter.

Federale: Putting the snake handling back in Rock Revival

2007-09-25T10:14:00.000-07:00

(photo by Nicolle Mirabella)

No band around smashes the two words "classic" and "rock" together harder than Federale. Their self-titled, self-released, debut would make your Dad have flashbacks and see trailers. So how do they pull something new out of an old bag? Part of that is that they sound genuine: the cymbals are tinny, the vocals are soulful, the bass is fuzzy, and the guitars sound arena-ready when they wail on the same riff. Another reason is musicianship. These guys aren't trying to copy the Stones with a a gangly singer and a vintage drum set, they can play the shit out of those instruments. When you pile all that goodness on tried and true song structure, and hooks big enough for sharks, you have everything you need to rock. I mean, you already grew the 'stache, and you already wear the aviators....Time to start walking the walk.

Inevitable Comets on Fire reference. If Comets on Fire is a bong rip, then Federale is 4 shots of whiskey. And you like both, so get this record. Federale will be opening for the Hold Steady for a couple shows. Check their space for those dates.

Hong Kong Trail by Federale (buy)

Magic Word by Federale (buy)

2007-09-24T11:07:00.000-07:00

Here's one of my oldest friends, Taddy T, talking some art while he takes over NYC.
Enjoy.

The Geometry of Hope
Taddy T
September 24, 2007

Through December 8, New York University’s Grey Art Gallery is showing an exhibit titled “The Geometry of Hope: Latin American Abstract Art from the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection.” Bold and beautiful, captivating and confounding, NYU’s cozy, attractive gallery space brings together many of the region’s most renowned artists and places their work according to the geographic locales of their artistic creation: Montevideo, Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Paris and Caracas. The result is a varied exhibit that visually reveals geometric abstraction as one of the most significant and enduring artistic traditions in Latin America, particularly among the cities of South America’s Atlantic coast between the 1930s and the 1970s.

Chronologically, the show begins with several exemplary pieces completed in the 1930s by the Uruguayan cubist Joaquín Torres-García, a major influence on generations of artists to come. In Torres-García’s work, a modern, urban sensibility paired with an evocation of ancient cultures foreshadows what would be the primary preoccupations of many Latin American artists throughout the 20th century.

(Joaquín Torres García)

A large section of the exhibit concentrates on Kinetic Art, a movement primarily associated with Venezuelan artists of the 1960s through the 80s. Here, some remarkable teetering wire line constructions by Gego (Gertrud Goldschmidt) are visually paired with sculptural paintings by Jesús Rafael Soto, who creates a sense of motion through the use of overlapping layers of painted lines and wire. These pieces attempt to incorporate the viewer into the work by making perspective and movement central components of a continually changing visual experience.

(Gego)

(Jesús Rafael Soto)

Brazil offers some of the most compelling art from the later period represented in the exhibit. During this time Lygia Clark took movement and viewer participation to new levels in pieces like her “bichos” (bugs), metal forms that can be folded and unfolded (though not at this exhibition), creating a transformative and continually transformable piece of art. Hélio Oiticica, who might elsewhere be reduced to a South American Mondrian, can be seen here in the more ample context of the work of his contemporaries, predecessors, influences and disciples. In this well-chosen company, Oiticica’s primary colors and geometric shapes take on stylistic notes all their own, growing greater than they could in isolation, as pieces by these artists are often seen in North American museums. Therein lies the beauty of this show: it transports an artistic context, indeed a representative demonstration of an entire artistic movement, to North America for the first time, transmitting to viewers a perceptive and participatory experience that ultimately incorporates them into these moving works of art.

(Lygia Clark)

(Hélio Oiticica)

($3 suggested donation)

Grey Art Gallery: 100 Washington Square East, NYC 10003

Exhibit Home

Deerhoof....Free

2007-09-23T00:40:00.000-07:00

Deerhoof put up 13 free mp3's last week over at their little sliver of the Kill Rock Stars website. By my count, this little grab bag is 9 live songs, one of which is a noisy and pretty gol-dern rocking medley of 4 songs from 3 albums which makes a total of 12 live songs. There's also a remix of "Rrrrrrright", another band covering "The Perfect Me", a sweet mashup "we found" that uses the intro bit from "Believe E.S.P" which was pretty much designed to be rapped upon, and one long sound. That's right 1:10 of a noise entitled "Unused dedication sound effect".

There's also a nicely written account of what the band's been doing starting way back in the summer of ought-6 . A solid chunk of that, is a list of all the ways that Radiohead and the Flaming Lips and associates thereof were awesome to Deerhoof during tour. Including a tip from the Radiohead sound guy about getting a sweet bass sound.

Oh and also.....if I didn't say...it's free....like America.

my faves are:

Flower, panda, you're out two, the last trumpeter swan

Someone's swizz-deerhoof mashup we found

Ferocious Eagle

2007-09-21T17:29:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed that Indie Rock is just Indie now? Thank you then to Ferocious Eagle (myspace), a Portland-based trio with what can only be a purposefully direct name, for putting the rock back. When you push play on a Ferocious Eagle song you're getting just what the name says. Songs that are alternately distant and soaring or ready to rip your face off. Songs that are frenzied and, somehow still precise. So take out your earplugs and trade in your PBR for a whiskey and get your rock on.

Ferocious Eagle's new record is The Sea Anemone Inside of Me is Mighty, and it's out now on 54° 40' or Fight Records. Unfortunately the record is out of stock so we'll have to wait a minute before we can hear the rest. They also have a 7" out on Smells Delicious records, I'll update you if I can find out how you can get a hold of that. In the meantime you can download a few songs at their myspace.

The Sea Anemone Inside of Me is Mighty by Ferocious Eagle

Be Not Weary, Be Not Weak by Ferocious Eagle

Ohio....Hell Yea.

2007-09-21T02:14:00.000-07:00

I moved away just over a year ago and I was just there 3 weeks ago....but, damn, I miss Ohio. That's why I was pleased to find out that Audio Eagle, a label based in the Rubber City of Akron, Ohio (and mentioned here yesterday) has announced the Giant Fucking Ohio Compilation. Confirmed on the compilation so far are: Robert Pollard, Doug Gillard, the Heartless Bastards (live review), the Black Keys, Beaten Awake (previous mention) and Houseguest. Other bands will be announced with the release date. The release is set for 2007 though, and that only leaves a couple of months so stop back for updates. As soon as I hear more, you will hear more.

A Few Bits

2007-09-18T22:56:00.000-07:00

Audio Eagle artist Beaten Awake (us)..who put out a damn fine record back in ought-6 have put up some songs that you can have, over at their Virb. Hopefully you already own Let's Get Simplified, but you can buy it here if you don't.

Speaking of Audio Eagle, the big guy behind that label is in a little band you might have heard before, called the Black Keys. They just rocked Lollapalooza. If, like me, you were not in attendance, then you should definitely go watch the 3 videos they put up from that performance at the ATT Blue Room (whatever that is).

Tour News: Grand Buffet

2007-09-16T00:57:00.000-07:00

Grand Buffet, the self-proclaimed "only band on god's iPod" is about to visit your town. They will hit a few cities starting September 20 and will join up with Of Montreal (live review by us) and play with them through November 19.

I fell in love with this band the first time I saw them play. I was in Florida while on tour as the Party of Helicopters Official Band Mechanic and we were hauling in huge cabinets and sweating balls. They walked by with a portable CD player and 25 minutes later Lord Grunge and Grape-a-Don blew the place up with their thoughtful rhymes, chunky beats, and healthy dose of hilarity.

If you're already going to see Of Montreal, get there early. You'll thank me.

1000 Percent by Grand Buffet from Sparkle Classic (buy)

Things That Go Hump in the Night (Ultimate Remix) by Grand Buffet from Dicer: The Unheard Funk Tracks (buy)

Yes, that's Ultimate Donny from Gil Mantera (we mentioned them).

As a final note, Lord Grunge says that Grand Buffet has a new record just waiting to be mastered and pressed. There's at least one guy hoping they're ready by tour.

Continue reading for the tour dates.

Dates:
9-20-07 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
9-21-07 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
9-22-07 - Waltham, MA - Brandeis University
9-23-07 - Allston, MA - Harper‘s Ferry
9-24-07 - Providence, RI - The Living Room
9-25-07 - Northampton, MA - The Elevens
9-26-07 - New Britain, CT - Trinity On Main
9-29-07 - Toledo, OH - Frankie‘s
10-2-07 - Knoxville, TN - Bijou Theater
10-3-07 - Urbana, IL - The Canope Club
10-4-07 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater
10-5-07 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
10-6-07 - Chicago, IL - Metro
10-7-07 - Chicago, IL - Metro
10-8-07 - Oberlin, OH - Hale‘s Gym @ Oberlin College
10-9-07 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre
10-10-07 - Buffalo, NY - The Tralf
10-11-07 - Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero
10-12-07 - Boston, MA - The Roxy
10-13-07 - New York, NY - Roseland
10-14-07 - Baltimore, MD - Ram‘s Head Live
10-30-07 - Johnson City, TN - The Hideaway
10-31-07 - Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club
11-1-07 - New Orleans, LA - House Of Blues
11-2-07 - Houston, TX - Numbers (EARLY SHOW!!!)
11-3-07 - Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fun Fest
11-4-07 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
11-5-07 - El Paso, TX - Club 101
11-6-07 - Tempe, AZ - The Marquee
11-7-07 - Tucson, AZ - The Rialto
11-8-07 - Los Angeles, CA - Avalon
11-9-07 - Los Angeles, CA - Avalon
11-10-07 - San Diego, CA - Mandeville Auditorium at UCSD
11-11-07 - Pomona, CA - The Glasshouse
11-12-07 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
11-13-07 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
11-14-07 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
11-16-07 - Salt Lake City, UT - In The Venue
11-17-07 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theater
11-18-07 - Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall
11-19-07 - Saint Louis, MO - The Pageant

The iTunes Rant: Just Let Me Geek Out for a Sec

2007-09-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

Warning: This is not about music.

Apple makes amazing and innovative products. I have definitely been known to hate on Apple but a lot of that comes from the fact that a lot of Apple users think that Apple is actually looking out for them or that Apple is somehow a "nicer" company than, say, Microsoft. They aren't. So let's end the intro by saying....great products and huge meat-eating corporation...and that's OK. I drink Coke. I lived on Wendy's until I was 24 (alright 26) and I'd drink a Starbucks Mocha everyday if I could afford it.

This rant is about one thing. Apple doesn't let me choose when I want to use their product. Just because your stuff is nice doesn't mean that I shouldn't be able to make it do what I want it to do. Here's what I mean....iTunes is pretty and it functions nicely. But if you use iTunes (in windows at least) it starts at least 2 other programs . The programs are called ipodhelper.exe and apple mobile device. First issue, why does a program as big as iTunes need help. Secondly, isn't my iPod a mobile device, I don't have an iPhone.? Finally, and maybe most importantly, neither of these programs shutdown when I close iTunes. In fact, if you shut down Apple Mobile Device it's running again inside of 2 minutes. For the sake of full disclosure, both of the programs can be beaten (see below*) but not through any option that apple gives you. And neither of the programs is very large.

So here's why it irritates me, I mean, most of this is no big deal. Big program....that's OK it looks good and I have the RAM to spare (right now). The helpers....that just means it bigger...oh well. Here's my problem...Apple needs to stop pirating my computer. A lot of programs have background processes associated with them. Picasa runs a detector...that I can turn off. Quicktime (bundled with iTunes) runs at startup...unless I tell it not to.

You don't have to stop using iTunes. I still use it all the time. I just want to get this out there to let those who might not be aware of what's going on.

If you want to. Try Media Monkey (its tight and can sync your iPod). Try Songbird (it's OK).

Those programs are not as pretty, but they allow you to decide when you want to use their software. I know it will take minute...but you didn't know how iTunes worked either when you got that.

Tell me why I'm wrong.

*NOTE: Apple Mobile Device can be removed in the Add or Remove Hardware Control Panel. Ipod Helper can be removed from the "service" tab if you run MSCONFIG from "run" in the Start window. It should only slow down how fast iTunes opens when you plug in your iPod, but you take these actions at your own risk. Ask me if you have questions.

Brand New

2007-09-14T02:51:00.000-07:00

Brand new design.

I put a lot of work into the new setup. We added the JAM which is a one-click stop to our favorite flavors and we now have some actual busted up bulldozers.

Many thanks to JMO whose input was invaluable.

Tell me what you think.

Happenings.

2007-09-12T09:26:00.000-07:00

Here are a few bugs I found crawling around the world wide web.

On a side note: How about the sitcom...World Wide Webster? Like, Webster travels through the internet to different weird places and has adventures, and hijinks, and shit. And also...comedy ensues. Let me know.

**************************************

You probably know that Animal Collective released a new record called Strawberry Jam earlier this week. It's a great record but I think I'll save my 3 metaphors to write a review for a record that needs the press (or maybe you'll see one). In the Meantime, you should go listen to "Peacebone" at the (they must be most popular band in the Pitchforkverse without a real website) Animal Collective myspace.

**************************************

Aesop Rock also has a new record. It's called None Shall Pass and the title track is one of Ace's head bobbingest songs yet. The production work from Blockhead might have a little something to do with that. To get this straight, Aesop Rock put out an awesome record with a great title song and bumping production. But that's not all! If you push play on the video below, you'll get to see Aesop Rock wearing an animated pig hat for absolutely free. That, dear fans...is envelope-pushing.

**************************************

Finally, from the Onion comes a joke far funnier than this dude could ever think of...

"Pitchfork Give Music a 6.8"

I'd love to hear (read) what you have to say about the new Aesop Rock and Animal Collective.

Live: John Vanderslice at Plush in Tucson

2007-09-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

The crowd was small for the first set by the Bowerbirds, who are opening for John V. for a couple more dates. They'll be replaced by Bishop Allen who have their own great new record out. The Bowerbirds play intimate acoustic type stuff with a healthy dose of melody and a little violin and/or accordion to flush it out. This was my first exposure to the Bowerbirds and although I thought their set was great, I wish that I would have taken advantage of the album stream at their website, to become more familiar with their stuff. Usually, mellow music won't wow you, it's better to know what to listen for.

Then.

John Vanderslice got up, tuned, and without a word launched into "Kookaburra" from the new record, Emerald City. That was a sweet move. That song has everything that made the set and John's music great. It opens with a strong melody and wandering lyrics, backed up by harmonies or quiet strings, then it drops into a simpler, guitar driven part with those staccato drums that I find characteristic of a lot his music. That song set the tone for an amazing set. John's personable, light-hearted stage presence broke the invisible barrier between stage and floor, and the band (Ian Bjornstad, David Douglas, and ~~David Broecker~~* Daniel Hart) found a way to capture all the John Vanderslice in the older stuff while sounding like they wrote every note (maybe they did?).

Other highlights. They played lots of old stuff like: "Me and My 424", "They Won't Let Me Run", "Up Above the Sea", "Exodus Damage", and others. They closed the set on the patio surrounded by the entire audience and played "Dream Alive"

You can listen to the new record at Johnspace.
Go to Barsuk Records , to buy it.

More John:
The always amazing La Blogoteque Take Away Show.
He also released a live version of each song from the new album to different blogs. Find those links at his website.
A couple more photos.

If you're too lazy to continue on to any of the awesome options I've given you, you are a butthole. But here.

"Little White Dove" from Emerald City which you should buy.

*EDIT:Sorry, I checked my notes and David Droecker played on the record but Daniel Hart was there last night.

Science: Yes, it has Fractions

2007-09-08T09:56:00.000-07:00

From the Desk(top) of Doug Delune: Busted Up Science
Science. Technology. Science Policy. Etc.

Let's get summarizing....

Science Daily: Your Perfect Dark Cloaking Device dreams are one step closer to becoming a reality. Of course, you'll have to stand in a cylinder and you can't move. Oh, and they haven't built it yet either. But if they can....watch out next enemy! You won't even see us fuck up your country.

National Geographic: A study found that recently-hatched spotted salamanders have a strange survival tactic. Instead of hiding from their main predator, the marbled salamander, baby spotteds go for broke, swim around, and stuff their faces. The risk seems to be worth it if they can get too big to fit down the throat of the marbleds.

Slashdot: A 16-year-old Australian kid hacked an $84 million dollar porn filter in 30 minutes. The kid's name is Tom Wood. Get it...Wood. I love it when the punchlines come with the story.

Do You Live in a Cave?: In the interest of pretend journalists everywhere, here's the latest in the apple new. The iPhone will be $200 cheaper (Sciam). The new iPod is a phoneless iPhone (Wired). The iPhone has been hacked, so you can now use it without using AT&T (Ars Technica). A windows app can shrink your tunes to half their original size (Wired). Stevie J is going to give you $100 if you're an early adopter (Wired).

Wired: New hooker platforms come with some protection. The shoes have an audible alarm to ward off the crazy Johns along with a device that sends GPS coordinates to the local police. Why's is got to be just for the prostitutes? I'm not sexy enough to attack?

Discover: The dino-destroyer comet/asteroid that smashed into the earth 65 million years ago didn't kill mammals, or other reptiles, just the dinos. Right? Not so fast. New evidence suggests that maybe some of the dinosaurs made it too. Fossils from roughly 30 dinos, from as recent as 50 million years after the littlest big-bang in Pangea, are in the lab. Or maybe they were just put there by god to test your faith.

Honorable Mentions:
Sciam: Google Sky. You'll play with it for 10 minutes...just like Google Earth.
Discover: Homeland Bologna...Anti-terror money in the unlikeliest places.
Slashdot: Judge says, making music available on P2P is stealing, ...aka Be careful! Also at Ars
Discover Channel: Crush up glass and it's sand again...let's put it on the beach in Florida
Reuters: Cells kept their DNA in good shape even after 500K+ years in the deep freeze.

So what's it all mean?

It mean that during the upcoming alien invasion, you will have 3 choices.

1. Be totally invisible and totally immobile for the duration of the alien occupation in the Invisa-tube (patent pending Halliburton Energy Services). Guarantee is void if aliens can see infrared and detect your heat signature.

2. Freeze yourself for no more than 600,000 years . The upside is you could meet Frye and Bender or hang out with Walt Disney.

3. The American Dream: Eat so much that you become too big to fit into whatever hole passes for an alien mouth. But what if they digest their food outside their body and absorb it, like starfish?

The good news is that you'll be able to look at porn (even in Australia) and listen to 30GB of music on your 16GB iPhone while you figure out your strategy.

But don't!...No matter what!...I beg of you!..Don't attack the hookers!

Beth in Battle Mode

2007-09-06T10:06:00.000-07:00

This year's Technical Know-How, the first long player from the Torontan (Torontish?) trio Beth in Battle Mode, didn't hit me at first. But that's always my favorite stuff in the end. I think the delay came from the unassuming nature of the record. It's 10 songs. It's 30 minutes (barely an LP these days). It's not a record you have to try to figure out. It just goes. Short, driven songs constructed with power chords, keyboards on the low-end (mostly), and a sweet drummer that punctuates all the good and hangs back when he should. This is music that you don't choose to like, it's the stuff you can't help but grin at, and bounce your foot to, and hum while you're peeing.

So here's two songs from the new record. The first can be downloaded from their myspace. The second has the best first line ever and is my current champagne jam.

"No Feeling" by Beth in Battle Mode from Technical Know-How (buy)

"Pesto's at 8" by Beth in Battle Mode from Technical Know-How (buy)

You can also stream the record here.

Mattison: Now the Heads Will Know (video)

2007-09-04T10:32:00.001-07:00

I missed this one while I was on the road. Mattison posted a video for "Now the Heads Will Know". The song and the video share the same subtle elegance so they go together well.

Mattison, the group, has some regular gigs in NYC that you would be a fool not to go see. Check their myspace for those. You might have to wait though, because Mattison, the person, is on tour with Salt & Samovar through mid-October. Go see them too.

Also...go Browns. And thanks Pete for that sentiment.

Weddings = Dancing

2007-08-31T12:05:00.000-07:00

My brother's wedding is on Sunday, and the upcoming nuptials have me shining up my dancing shoes and honing a few dance party playlists to get the (after)reception attendees on their feet. Here are 2 of said jams that you might want to remember the next time your peering down the barrel of six shots and an all night drunken dance off.

"L.A." by Murs and 9th Wonder from Murray's Revenge (buy)

Murray's Revenge came out earlier this year and leaves behind that kind of independent hip-hop that sacrifices flow for content, without going too far and bumping up against that west coast big-production, big beat, big ego stuff. I mean damn, that sweet bounce on "L.A." guarantees a bump if not a grind.

"Shadow Grip" by Gil Mantera's Party Dream from Bloodsongs (buy)

Gil Mantera's Party Dream has a legendary live show. How about?.....Ziggy Stardust on crack with a full frontal shot but from actual space. Seriously. Ask JMO. That shit is weird. This song doesn't come with exposed genitalia but it might cause some.

Its not going to be called Pastor of Muppets. NEW BOH

2007-08-28T18:42:00.000-07:00

If I may indulge myself, I would like to be the 4,346,271,893rd person to point this out. Band of Horses posted the first taste of their upcoming record, Cease to Begin, at their space today. It's good. It's not so different from what you might expect...but I'm sure you're OK with that. The record will be available October 9th. You can pre-order the record from Sub Pop. Or you can just go listen.

Andrew Bird: Imitosis

2007-08-26T10:26:00.001-07:00

So also...you should check out the new video for "Imitosis" from Andrew Bird's latest album Armchair Apocrypha (buy).

Andrew Bird - Imitosis

While You're Waiting

2007-08-25T21:43:00.000-07:00

While I catch up with my headphones and listen to some music that happened while I was not at my cyberspace deck, let me throw out a couple of morsels of tour news.

The Hold Steady was easily the best show I've seen this year. Seeing a band that loves being a band is so much fun. The lack of affect is effective. So, if you missed their first loop around the lower 48 don't be a fool and miss it the second time (this means you: friends in NYC and Ohio). Seriously, jump on this band's wagon. You will not be let down.

Dates.

"Hot Soft Light" by the Hold Steady from Boys and Girls in America (buy)

The next bit is probably useless to most but I like hearing myself type. Dischord will be releasing a singles compilation from the delightfully mathy Faraquet and the band will be reforming at 2/3 capacity for 4 shows in Brazil and as a full band for "a show (or two)" in the states. Info can be found at the Dischord: Faraquet site and at the Medications site (2 out of 3 Faraquet alums). If you don't make it to the shows, aka you don't live in Brazil or D.C., don't worry medications is still working on new music, and it's delightfully mathy too.

"Rex" by Faraquet from their self-titled EP (out of print)

"Twine Time" by Medications from Your Favorite People All in One Place (buy)

I'm Back: Samer than Ever

2007-08-23T23:13:00.000-07:00

Hey all.
It's been more than 2 months since my last post...and I'm sorry.

Before we get into that though, I want to send some love to JMO for throwing a couple things out there in my absence. Hopefully (likely) you enjoyed what he had to say about tattooed pigs and the art of Richard Serra (whose opening at the MOMA was attended by me and JMO simultaneously). If you did enjoy the posts, stick around, he should be sharing some more of his observations on the art world, the music world, and the world world before too long.

Now back to my apology. I'm still sorry. If you actually noticed that I was gone let me explain. It's been a hell of a summer. I was on the road for six weeks and then I moved to the surface of the sun (you might call it Arizona). The road was amazing. 8000+ miles and 28 states is good for your soul. Arizona is alright too...except for a decent-sized case of the unemployments. Enough of that though.

The point is...this is the official back from hiatus post.

As a token of appreciation to you dear reader...

1 of 3 actual busted up bulldozers seen on the road

and our 2 most played songs from our 2 most played albums of the entire trip, both of which helped me keep it together while driving through the south in an A/C-less Pontiac Vibe

"Hot Soft Light" by the Hold Steady from Boys and Girls in America (buy)

"Will You Return" by the Avett Brothers from Emotionalism (buy)

So that's it.
Let's do the proverbial this.

RICHARD SERRA Sculpture: Forty Years

2007-07-14T07:32:00.000-07:00

Richard Serra's forty year retrospective of Post-Minimalist artworks is currently on view at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in NYC. The exhibit speaks to his various vocabularies of sculpture, from his use of rubber to his construction of large scale environments in steel.

Early works by Serra include sculptural drawings made from rubber straps hung on the wall (Belts), Verb List (not on view at the exhibit) which lists easily a hundred or more actions to perform, and thick sheets of metal propped and supported by each other/themselves, such as One Ton Prop (House of Cards). These works explore fundamental issues of art (specifically those of sculpture) such as weight, balance, and spatial relationships.

As Serra's career evolved, his work took on more of a monumental quality often sitting at twenty or more feet tall. These sculptures, predating (perhaps inspiring) the ongoing interest in site-specific and installational art, were created to interrupt the formal, traditional space of the gallery and (possibly more importantly) to create a higher sense of self awareness, or rather the awareness of the sculptures' effects upon spatial perception and personal physical experience. Sometimes the sculptures address the confines of the "white cube" of gallery space, other times these constructions stand in open space, turning and coiling into an environment of steel sheets twisting and leaning, possibly over you, possibly away.

The exhibit boasts four new sculptures by the acclaimed artist and will be running until September 10 of this year. The MOMA offers a discounted admission on Fridays," pay what you wish," making it financially possible for anyone living in or visiting New York to view the permanent collection as well as temporary exhibitions.

Should you be further compelled to view Serra's works, this link seems useful. Also, should you be compelled to witness the artist speak about his work, Richard Serra will be speaking with curator Lynne Cooke. Information about that can be found here. There are many interesting items on the page, but the Cooke/Serra conversation is set for September 6.

Reed Anderson

2007-06-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

Reed Anderson makes art that doesn't fit easily into the parameters of drawing or painting or any of those other basic umbrella terms that used to describe artists with such simplicity fifty or so years ago.

Best known for his paper works, Anderson meticulously cuts and folds large sheets of paper, creating mirrored images often including woodland creatures such as owls, deer, and raccoons. The process is highly intricate, made up of hundreds of carefully cut holes used to develop his Rorschach-like designs.

There are many examples of Reed Anderson's art at his website, which I encourage you to visit, but there must be some kind of techno/compu-protection on them that makes it impossible (or at least too hard) for me to post here. Again, his site has lots of work available to view. Check it out.

Anderson does not find himself satisfied making only these works, however. He has also made videos and intermittently immerses himself in collaborative relationships with fellow artists.

I recently had the opportunity to sit in on a lecture by Mr. Anderson. I was impressed not only by his thought process, but by his demeanor in general. He has a firm center in his spiritual life, which he pointed out is not "New Age, or anything," and a real lust for life. This approach informs not only his life, but his artwork. His art is about the journey, not the destination. (Oooh, if anyone read this blog, I'd be worried about catching shit for that one.)

Tattooed Pigs and Other Crazy Art Shit

2007-06-05T17:44:00.001-07:00

Wim Delvoye is a contemporary artist living in China, via Belgium.

Delvoye currently runs a pig farm in China. On the farm, the pigs are fed well, living a free range life style, and getting tattooed-- that's right, TATTOOED. The tattoos range from traditional flags and lions kind of stuff to Louis Vitton logo patterns. The skins are not used as formal art objects until the pigs die, at which time, the skins are removed and displayed on walls in various art venues. The pig farming had originally begun in Delvoye's homeland, but was moved to China recently to avoid the animal rights laws of Europe. It seems the laws in China are not as strict. At what point do these actions begin to create art? Was it the conception of the idea, the purchase, raising/caring, tattooing, or display of the first pig? And similarly, where does the art end? Does it become art when the pig dies? when the skin is displayed or purchased? or when the farming eventually stops?

Art News referred to this portion of Delvoye's art as a commentary on animal rights, commidification and investment, and the globalization of our world's various economies. It seems that, while on the surface, the pigs are being brutalized with tattoo guns (under mild sedation), these same pigs have been saved from fates including slaughter houses and handbag manufacturers. In essence, the tattoos seem to be a small price to pay for life-- and a free range life, at that.

In addition to his pig farm, Delvoye has also created machine s that "digest" food in a process similar to the human body's, sometimes complete with enzymes and bacteria. Not only do the machines break the foods down, but they also create substances replicating human feces. While one of the works was shown in New York, Delvoye "fed" the machine cuisine from some of the city's more prominent chefs. Can a celebrity chef make such an object more valuable or important?

At first, these examples may appear extreme, but it seems Delvoye is onto something here. He leads us as an audience to pose necessary questions about the constantly blurring boundaries of (modern) art such as: Is this art? How/why is this art? Why would someone commit such acts?

Delvoye puts contemporary culture on the stand, questioning our world of consumerism, manufacturing, and the power of celebrity. He highlights objects and actions in their transitions from commodity status to art status, in acts descendent from Duchamp.

I haven't figured out how to post a video in the blog so click here to watch the one I wanted to post.

Gnu Talkie from the Heartless Bastards

2007-05-13T23:26:00.001-07:00

The Heartless Bastards rule.

I've said so before.

They have a new video for "All This Time" and they'll be touring too.

Tour Dates:

May 13 Beachland Ballroom w/ The Hold Steady Cleveland, Ohio
May 15 Magic Stick w/ The Hold Steady Detroit, Michigan
May 16 Intersection w/ The Hold Steady Grand Rapids, Michigan
May 17 Miramar w/ The Hold Steady Milwaukee, Wisconsin
May 18 Orpheum Stage Door w/ The Hold Steady Madison, Wisconsin
May 20 Sokol Underground w/ The Hold Steady Omaha, Nebraska
May 22 Ogden Theater w/ The Hold Steady Denver, Colorado
May 23 Urban Lounge w/ The Hold Steady Salt Lake City, Utah
May 24 Neurolux w/ The Hold Steady Boise, Idaho
May 27 Tractor Tavern Seattle, Washington
May 28 Crystal Ballroom w/ The Hold Steady Portland, Oregon
May 31 Aquarium Fargo, North Dakota
Jun 1 400 Bar Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jun 2 Record Bar Kansas City, Missouri
Jun 8 Exit Inn Nashville, Tennessee
Jun 9 Red Light Atlanta, Georgia
Jun 11 Handlebar Greenville, South Carolina
Jun 12 Cat's Cradle Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Jun 13 Rock and Roll Hotel w/ Earl Greyhound in, Washington DC
Jun 15 North Star Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jun 16 Bowery Ballroom New York, New York
Jun 18 Higher Ground Burlington, Vermont
Jun 19 The Green Room Montreal, Quebec
Jun 20 El Mocambo Toronto, Ontario
Jun 22 Mickey Finns Toledo, Ohio
Jun 23 Belmont Art and Music Festival Chicago, Illinois
Aug 5 Lollapalooza - Grant Park Chicago, Illinois
Sep 15 Austin City Limits Festival Austin, Texas

The Heartless Bastards::Myspace::Fat Possum

It's Ay-vett not Ah-vett

2007-05-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

The Avett Brother's were on Conan O'brien last night performing a song from their new record Emotionalism. I was lucky enough to catch it and I hope that I/you can find the video on your site of choice soon enough.

The Avetts are fast becoming one of my favorite acts from the twangy side of music. Every person with an acoustic or a banjo puts the emotion in (or tries) but the Avett Brothers add an energy to that, so that even the slower songs feel full and fulfill.

The new record is out on Tuesday.
Myspace has upcoming shows.
Check out this old post for an older song.

"Will You Return" by the Avett Brothers from Emotionalism (pre-order)

The Avett Brothers :: Myspace :: Ramseur Records

EDIT:
The song is "Paranoia in B Major"

Here it is.

Well, hello. How are you?

2007-05-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

Singer/songwriter Daniel Johnston is currently on tour. Halfway through, he will be travelling from the Midwest into NYC. Check these tour dates. I don't know much about his set these days, but as I understand, he likes to play with a different local band backing him at each venue. Often the band will also open. My boys, Beaten Awake, take that job in Cleveland on May 12.

Johnston is also responsible for a series of drawings, which many people (myself included) seem to think are pretty cool. Oh, another art recommendation, you say? Get used to it.

And, finally, in case you haven't heard yet, there's a documentary about Johnston entitled The Devil and Daniel Johnston. Honestly, I'd have a hard time believing you haven't already heard something about it. If that is the case, however, when you decide to start up Netflix or crawl out from under that rock, take the time to watch it. It has a great soundtrack.

Here's a little taste:

Daniel Johnston- Funeral Home.mp3

Daniel Johnston- Casper.mp3

Wheat

2007-05-08T11:08:00.000-07:00

So, I apparently lost my ability (if I had any in the first place) to say stuff, or think about stuff...so I'll make this short. Wheat is is about to release their 3rd full length record and it's good. The record is called, Everyday I Said A Prayer for Kathy, And Made a One-Inch Square, is due out 5.22.07, and is a collection of mostly melancholy songs with a couple of poppy-rockers.

There is also a new video for my favorite song on the record (make sure you get to the sweet harmonies) that can be viewed at the website. This sounds good but is unfortunate in 2 ways: 1. The website has this crescendo-ing sound that makes sure you can't hear the video without closing the web page(if you find a way to turn it off, tell me), and 2. The video is really frenetic and distracting for this song.

Check out the video (link at the bottom).

"Little White Dove" by Wheat from Everyday I Said A Prayer for Kathy, And Made a One-Inch Square (pre-order)

Wheat :: Myspace :: Empyrean Records

Public Art

2007-05-07T07:43:00.001-07:00

Public art used to mean erecting a statue of a major political or religious figure in the public square or in front of the church, or maybe even the church itself. That has changed. Just as painting is no longer based solely on literal, figural representation, also no longer is sculpture.

I would never try to convince you that the human form is no longer of interest to artists, but literal representation as a whole is not the predominant style anymore, and hasn't been for more than a hundred years.

Public art has become a way for artists to broadcast their ideas (often permanently) to large groups of people who may not be interested in entering the gallery/museum setting. It can be found in a plethora of locations and styles and I encourage you to investigate beyond this blog to find something near enough to you that you can see it with your own eyes.

Until then, follow these links to learn more about public art across the globe.

Here is the wiki.

Here's some stuff I like:

The Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh, PA.
Michael Murphy
Felice Varini
James Turrell

Holy Fuck and ohh yea, The Slip: 4.27.07 at the Independent

2007-04-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

Let me let a few of you down right away. I didn't see the Slip. They seem like a swell band and their first 2 songs made me plenty curious but I had to roll.

I did get to see Holy Fuck from Toronto, and I can tell you...You would never have another day without the shadow of shame stinging your soul if you miss this band when they come to your town. These guys build songs from the ground up, gluing bits of interstellar beeps and buzzes to a rhythm section that just might contain the sickest drums you will hear this year. They don't pre-program, they don't bring a laptop. Just a drummer, a bass player, and two guys with keyboards that have buttons made out of other keyboards and the stuff your mom threw out when she got tired of of buying 4 D batteries. Even when you know the band doesn't pre-record anything it's amazing to see these songs built layer by layer, knowing that the drummer is flawlessy keeping time with that loop, and the sound you barely paid attention to was the one that the song was built around.

Luckily, you have all month to see them. The tour dates are below. Buy a copy of the new record, which is more directed and purposeful if not more refined than the last one. Also, the record isn't available through the website so you better get it at the show.

"The Pulse" by Holy Fuck from the Holy Fuck EP (newer) (BUY)

"Tonebank Computer" by Holy Fuck from the Holy Fuck EP (older) (BUY)

Dates:

08.11.07 Wolf Island Festival • Kingston ON
06.26.07 White Heat Club • London UK
06.25.07 ABC2 • Glasgow Scotland UK • w/ Deerhoof
06.23.07 John Peele Stage • Glastonbury Festival UK
06.21.07 Leftfield • Glastonbury UK
06.20.07 Madam Jo Jos • London UK
05.25.07 Headliners • Louisville KY • w/ !!!
05.24.07 Duck Room • St. Louis MO • w/ !!!
05.23.07 Metro • Chicago IL • w/ !!!
05.22.07 Southgate House • Newport KY • w/ !!!
05.21.07 Grog Shop • Cleveland OH • w/ !!!
05.19.07 Lee’s Palace • Toronto ON • w/ !!!
05.18.07 Les Saints • Montreal PQ • w/ !!!
05.17.07 Theatre of Living Arts • Philadelphia PA • w/ !!!
05.16.07 Bowery Ballroom • NYC NY • w/ !!!
05.15.07 Paradise • Boston MA • w/ !!!
05.14.07 9:30 club • Washington DC • w/ !!!
05.12.07 Showplace • Buffalo NY • w/ !!!
05.11.07 Magic Stick • Detroit MI • w/ !!!
05.10.07 Webster Hall • NYC NY • w/ Cornelius
05.09.07 Sonar • Baltimore MD • w/ Cornelius
05.07.07 Park West • Chicago IL • w/ Cornelius
05.03.07 Fox Theater • Boulder CO • w/ Cornelius
04.30.07 El Rey Theater • Los Angeles CA • w/ Cornelius

Holy Fuck :: myspace :: Maple Music

Pull up the Covers

2007-04-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

I like covers. So before I head off to the grind here's a story posted at Pitchfork today. Engine Room Recordings has a compilation in the works that has a whole slew of indie artists covering guilty pleasure type songs from the likes of the Spice Girls, Mariah Carey, Cher, and Eddie Money. Coverers include Will oldham, Geoff Farina (from Karate), Superchunk, Mike Watt, and many others. The release, called Guilty By Association, is slated for August. You can hear Will Oldham doing Mariah at the myspace.

K Bye

Science: Just Because I Was Lazy Doesn't Mean that It Was

2007-04-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

From the desk(top) of Doug Delune, the 15 days in Science

got any 3-D glasses

Hi.
Some more science.

Slashdot: Someone linked out to a discussion about Moore's Law and it's effect on the PC industry. A good discussion and the discussers point out that Moore's Law doesn't state that computing power doubles every 24 months, but that the number of transistors on a chip does. Meaning we may not be able to use all that power. I, quite literally, misquoted it yesterday, so it's good to be set straight.

Everyone: All the sites have been reporting on the recent discovery of the most Earth-like planet yet to be discovered. While this is exciting let's not get our panties in a bundle. This basically means that the mass of the planet is only 5x Earth's and that the planet is the right distance from the parent star for liquid water to exist. Reports: Scientific American, Science Blog, NY Times Science, Nature.

Science Daily: Michael Marmor is an eye guy. He also likes art. He has taken a look at (and written 2 books about) what past artists with eye problems might have seen when they were painting their masterpieces. This is cool shit. Original Stanford University press release. Slideshow showing how we see stuff compared to how they saw it.

National Center of Science Education: The new pope (Benny XVI) is talking about evolution. The bad news is that he doesn't really understand the thing, the good is that he didn't denounce it or support the religion in science's clothing called intelligent design. As an aside to this discussion...few people realize that the last pope (John Paul II) actually supported evolution. His message was...religion can't be proven/disproven by science and vice versa. The lesson? DON'T CROSS THE STREAMS.

Slashdot: More Slashdot linkage. The blurb links to a 3-part article about the myth of the Superuser. The article was published on the blog, The Volokh Conspiracy and the general idea is that internet security discussions focus on superhackers, as depicted in movies, as the people we're protecting ourselves from. The myth drives how we protect ourselves when we should be focused on the small time scammers and spammers. Note to self: Neo doesn't give a shit about the $40 I have in my checking account.

National Geographic: Scientist have sequenced some soft tissue from a T. Rex (the dinosaur not the rock star) that escaped fossilization. The protein sequencing shows that dino collagen is similar to chicken collagen, furthering the theory that dinosaurs are direct ancestors of birds (the idea was based on physical structure before now). Incidentally, McDonald's can't wait to start growing dinosaurs in cages with no teeth so that they can keep the $1 chicken sandwich revenue at a maximum.

Malaysian Medical Resources: So the original story was from Nature but now they want me to pay for it. The article is about the most recent findings regarding playing Mozart (or other classical music) for your baby. The study findings suggest that you're new-age new-parent yuppie-hippy friend might as well start playing good music for their children. It doesn't do much, if anything, to play the old stuff. This does not mean you should stop forcing those piano lessons...that might help.

Notable but probably not interesting:

Slashdot: Joe Robot-builder builds better robots than smart Sandia sciencers.

National Science Foundation: New black smoker has new jelly fish species.

Reuters: Ancient Mexicans generally killed other peoples people not their own.

Discover: Plants would look weird if you were on planet Krilgon. Doi.

So what does it all mean? It means that the old pope was better than the new pope, as popes go. It also means that some of the awesome paintings you saw on postcards probably weren't supposed to look like they do, and that you can finally laugh at you friend that has that stupid picture of his pregnant wife with the headphones around her stomach. And it means that we'll have a new planet that's only about 20 light-years away that we can go to when McDonald's destroys the rest of the world's rain forest to create pasture land for it's modified steroid addicted herbivore Chickensaurus Rex farms. And you won't have to worry about Neo stealing your $40 that you've been saving for 36 spicy dinos, 2 small cokes and 2 small fries because it's the methed-out kid across the hall and 3 of those spicy dinos are for him.

Shrinking Cities: Research & Interventions, Part 1

2007-04-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

Shrinking Cities is an overwhelmingly informative exhibition dedicated to urban planning and design, as well as its effects on social structures and values. The information is split into two parts and locations. The Research portion of the exhibition is located at the Cleveland Urban Design Collective, while the Interventions are displayed at Spaces Gallery, both of which are located in the city of Cleveland. I have seen the half at Spaces, but have yet to visit the UDC. I'll tell you more about that one after my visit in a few weeks.

As for the Interventions displayed at Spaces, let me start by telling you that this is not your typical art exhibition. There is a high amount of creative thought and effort applied to the work, but you won't find traditional art objects on display. The collection is a group of maps, models and videos exposing and educating viewers to contemporary issues of urban growth and economy in four cities and regions across the world: Detroit, Michigan, Manchester, Liverpool, United Kingdom, Ivanovo, Russia and Halle/ Leipzig, Germany.

Get to Cleveland, check it out. The show runs until June 8, so you have plenty of time to schedule a day off or book a cheap flight from your own urban community.

So Much Wu-Tang

2007-04-24T00:48:00.000-07:00

Just saw this over at Gorilla vs. Bear. Wu-Tang Corp the official Wu-site has over 200 demos, mixtape tracks and rarities available for your listening/downloading pleasure. I was going to give you a couple samples but my Firefox is getting weird. That is all.

Still Can't F*cking Get Over It

2007-04-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

I have nothing interesting to say...so how about laughing with me instead of at me...

New Queens of the Stone Age

2007-04-19T00:51:00.000-07:00

Josh Homme and his never typed out band Queens of the Stone Age have released the first taste of their upcoming record. The song is called "3's & 7's". The record is due in June and is called Era Vulgaris (the Vulgar Era). Pitchfork had the scoop and also recently had a great interview in which Josh comes off looking like a pretty cool dude to have a few whatevers with. I can only assume the new record will be the nut.

Check it out

Queens of the Stone Age::Myspace::

Spring is for Rocking...I mean Rockin'

2007-04-17T01:30:00.000-07:00

Insufficient postage. Sorry yo.

Also, Doug was hit by a stray whiffle ball and should have the week in science up by Wednesday or Thursday.

But enough groveling. It's spring and as mentioned in my last couple posts, spring makes me want to curl my stumpy fingers into a fist and jam that fist in the air. Welcome then, the Delta Spirit, a Socal band that makes southern rock (sorock?) in the spirit of Rib Burn-offs and demolition derbies.

Mark my words, you will go to a Delta Spirit show within the next year and see boys and girls in the front row with sweat rolling off them, dancing, screaming the songs they know every word to, and spitting on the indie kids that are too cool to join them.

Long live the rock.

Gimme Some Motivation
Streetwalker

by the Delta Spirit
from I Think I've Found It
(BUY)

::Website::Myspace::Monarchy Music::

Killer Clouds?

2007-04-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

I picked up The Airborne Toxic Event self-titled/released EP (myspace) and have been wearing the needle out with it(editor: need cliche for playing the shit out of digital music). The EP is a 3 song collection of radio-ready dancey poppy upbeatednesss that's well worth a listen. The songs might not be timeless or innovative but they will keep your toe tapping and help bring you out of that winter funke. If you're a fan of Franz or throwing after hours with dancing for skinny white kids, this record is definitely for you. References to Morrissey-style vocals should also be considered.

"Does this Mean You're Moving On" by The Airborne Toxic Event from The Airborne Toxic Event EP (buy/myspace)

Science: Meh!

2007-04-09T11:46:00.000-07:00

From the Desk(top) of Doug Delune: The Week in Science

click

Dear Avid Reader,

Science was pretty boring this week, so I'm sorry if the week in science degenerates into a links list this week.

xoxo,
Doug

National Science Foundation: Work has begun on a deep-sea observatory, off the California coast. The first step was to lay the 32 miles of cable that will connect the instruments with researchers on dry land. The unique approach will allow researchers to monitor in real-time, know when an instrument goes on the fritz, and save in costly AAA batteries.

Sciam Observations: You know I love a little Apple-bashing . Don't get me wrong, no DRM is a step in the right direction, Stevie is making a good call...but it's still all about the Benjamins.

Scientific American: Researchers using the piezoelectric (voltage from stress, Wiki) properties of Zinc Oxide, believe that they could have a better way to power nanomachines. The researchers used ultrasound to bend tiny wires which, in turn, created some nanoamps. With a little (or a lot) work the method could be used to power devices with everyday motions of the body.

Discover Magazine: 20 things you didn't know about robots.

ScienceDaily: High resolution for Earth's mantle-core boundary.

Wired: Electric car that can dust a Ferarri.

So, what does it all mean? It means that, on your Ferrari-fast commute to work, the motion of your breathing will generate enough electricity from your zinc-oxide layered clothing to check your myspace on you DRM-free ibrain-phone-pod.

Jumping on the Rock Bandwagon

2007-04-07T20:20:00.000-07:00

Spring has come to California, the sun is warm but the air is still cool, the hills are green, and my thoughts have turned from slow wintry gloom and doom to optimism and an overwhelming desire to yell and drink. Because of the Times, is just in time then. The new record from Nashville-based Kings of Leon, is just the ticket for your porch party or to blast out of the recently-opened car windows. Indeed, the record has a little something for all your beer-swilling friends: the pixies inspired "Charmer", a dash of post-punk in "McFearless", "Fans" which seems to come from that time in rock that comes between "classic" and "80's crap", the funky fingered-bass on "Ragoo", rock-star wailing all over the place. Really, it's all in there, covered in rock sauce. My only advice is this: Jump on the bandwagon so that we can say we liked them before they were too cool....actually I think it's too late, oh well, if I am we can put them in the guilty pleasure category. Either way, I think some late-night, drunken "I love you guyses" are in order.

"Charmer" by Kings of Leon from Because of the Times (buy)

Coachella: It's Soon or Whatever

2007-04-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

Coachella is just around the proverbial corner and my resolve to not see it is stronger than ever, mostly because I can't afford tickets or take the time off work. I want(ed) to go though... and I've been sporadically posting some songs by artists that will be there....this is installment 3, check out 1 and 2.

People in the know (not me) have known about James Murphy for a while. As well as being LCD Soundsystem he runs DFA records and puts out records for the likes of The Rapture, Hot Chip and Black Dice. The new record Sound of Silver has been hailed by just about everyone (and I agree) as a great record that can move your feet and/or rock your face off

"North American Scum" by LCD Soundsystem from Sound of Silver (buy)

I never even heard of Evilnine (myspace) until I saw this video recently while looking around for information on the new Aesop Rock....but it rules. I don't think A.R. will be at Coachella but El-P will so that could make for a hot guest spot.

Video: "Crooked" by Evilnine featuring Aesop Rock

Explosions in the Sky is totally blowing up right now (yuk). I'm sure they're tired of this comparison but they sound like Do Make Say Think. Which is to say, they don't sound anything like Do Make Say Think but that they play the same kind of sonically-textured, dynamically-mobile space jams that are most easily described in a couple sentences by referencing another band. The new record, All of a Sudden, I Miss Everyone is out now and it even comes with a remix CD.

"Welcome, Ghosts" by Explosions in the Sky from All of a Sudden, I Miss Everyone (buy)

Science: Now with more Beakers!

2007-04-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

From the Desk(top) of Doug Delune: The Week in Science

click

Scientific American: The most widely reported story of the last week is that mammals were slow to fill the void when the dinosaurs bit it. We all know the story, dinosaurs went extinct when something big hit the earth and then small mammals flourished and spread to quickly fill the empty niches. The new study found that this happened about 15 million years too late. The study also focused on how many species were already around at the end of the Cretaceous Period when the dino-die-off (called the K-T Boundary by geo-geeks) occurred which would show how many lineages evolved before/after the K-T extinction.

Science Blog: Dude, a hexagon on Saturn. A huge hexagon....like with 6 sides. It's just there hanging out, being a hexagon and it's made of clouds or something. Weird. Science Blog post. NASA has a mini animation.

Ars Technica: Probably the most relevant bit for today and fresh off the RSS-press. EMI is going to offer all of it's music DRM-free on itunes. The songs will be higher quality (256 kbps) and will cost a little more ($1.29) than the music that itunes currently offers. You'll even be able to upgrade your old EMI stuff for $0.30. If you're not sure about what this could mean for the industry...check out this Wikisummary. What this (much to my Steve-hating chagrin) proves is that old-Jobsy and Co. are still out in front, leading the charge, but please don't make him a saint for this, this gives him a couple notches in my book but it's still all about the benjamins.

Slashdot: Strangely enough, this Slashdot post links to an article in the CNN Money section. The article reports on technology that can turn radio waves into electric current. Well, a hunch and some digging found that this was not new stuff, I read this article last fall, and this Wiki-entry suggests that electricity was produced using microwaves as early as 1975. But then my dumb ass realized...it's in the Money section. It's not about new, it's about the fact that somebody found out how to make the thing cost $5. So...bravo. Luckily, it'll be so cool that no one will care when they find out that it causes brain cancer.

Sciam Observations: Since, the science this week isn't that interesting or that joke ready, let's switch to smack talking. The NY Times blasted Sciam blogger Christopher Mims for saying that people believed in global warming. See, he was all "Americans believe in global warming because of this poll." and they were all like "he said that global warming was true because people believe it." and then he was like "uh-uh. I said that people believed it, not that that made it true or whatever." Maybe you should just read the post.

A few more:
(friends who are only reading to make me feel better about my life can skip straight to What's it all mean?. Thank you)

New Scientist: Space tether sling shotty launcher thingy

Slashdot: Luke Skywalker is more normal than you...Tattoine binary-star system may be common. Slashdot post. Space.com article.

Nature: L = I w. and warmer waters means bigger I if you know what I mean.

So, what does it all mean? It means that your wirelessly charged iphone won't cost anymore than the other one...AKA enough to support a third world village for a year, and that you'll be able to copy your music onto your ibrain and your work PC. It also means, no more messy cords to plug in your Johnny Mneomic style first generation brain implants, and that the human replacement will take a little longer than you thought when the comet hits, but hopefully "the Hexagon" will become a spring break destination for Kids 2.0 and people will have already colonized Tattoine before said comet does its thing.

Not Ill but definitely Illin'

2007-04-01T01:41:00.001-07:00

Pitchfork reported recently that Win Butler is ill and that the Arcade Fire must cancel all European tour dates. It seems however that while writing and recording Neon Bible, Win and Regine Chassange felt the pull of the real bible. So there is a very different reason for the cancellations. Win announced on their myspace that he and Regine will be pulling a Cat Stevens and as such will reject what Win called the "works of the devil". The 2 have decided to quit the band and pursue a more devout approach to music and performance together and have requested to be baptized into the Anabaptist church as "New Amish", a term used to refer to people who have shunned the modern world but were not brought up in the historical Amish tradition

I don't know...sounds weird.

edit:

P.S. Pysche

signed,
Super-Psyche

This Just In: Blogger Agrees with Self and Tells Others

2007-03-31T16:30:00.000-07:00

actual Arizona

Forget that Arizona is ridiculously good. Ignore the fact that their name lends itself to endless seemingly-clever post titles about a band based in New York called Arizona and stop wallowing in your own self-hatred for not already buying Welcome Back Dear Children for a minute...because....shit...I don't have a reason for you to stop doing those things. So go ahead and think about how good they are and some clever wordplay and buy the record already.

While your doing those things, check out an alternate version of "Splintered" (from WBDC), and a song I never heard until yesterday called "Life is Great" over at the Secrets of Mana myspace, which is either their fake side project or their real side project or someone making a myspace profile for fun.

Check out me agreeing with me and listen to a couple other songs, here or here.

More of the Same

2007-03-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

I swear I'll post about another band soon. Birdmonster stopped by MOKB Blog Radio and recorded some live songs. Unlike yesterday's MPR live post, you can have these for your very own. 2 new. 1 old.

Check it out.

MPR: Who'd've Thought

2007-03-27T11:06:00.000-07:00

You know I like me some Birdmonster. That's why I want you to know that they stopped by Minnesota Public Radio and played a couple of 3 songs, acoustically for The Current. The songs were, well....Birdmonstery, and even though the songs sounded thoroughly mellow and pretty I can't imagine that 2 out of the 3 won't have some flail-and-jump buildup when they play them live.

Among other tings (<-Italian typo....get it!) the band talks about holing up in the desert to write songs and putting out a new record. The guys, as usual, were warm and funny. So check out the performance, and that one other time they played at MPR, and their blog, and stuff.

Ohh That Reminds Me

2007-03-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

My Old Kentucky Blog just posted on the Arcade Fire on La Blogoteque in the elevator.
To clarify: MOKB put up a post today. It was about the Arcade Fire performing on La Blogoteque's Take Away Shows. Take Away Shows, is videos of artist playing their stuff in unlikely places in Paris...it's good stuff.

Although you probably stopped reading after Arcade Fi...the real point of this post was to put up an even better song that I forgot to post about after my week off. The songs are by Eagle Seagull and are the most effortless and honest songs that I've seen/heard on the Take Away Shows. The Arcade Fire stuff is good but these are gooder.

Eagle Seagull on Take Away Shows.

#38.3 - Eagle*Seagull - Death could be..
Uploaded by lablogotheque

#38.1 - Eagle*Seagull - Holy
Uploaded by lablogotheque

Science: Actually Just for Breakfast Now

2007-03-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

From the Desk(top) of Doug Delune: The Week in Science

Sciam Observations: Recent scandals involving fabricated data and now, misused photos have prompted the journal Nature to start spot checking every photo from a randomly selected submission each month. The Sciam post links to a case study that New Scientist did that showed two papers using the same pictures to show different sets of results (worst word ever: infographic). I think we should stick with making ourselves into centaurs.

Slashdot: A single gene adds a lot more colors for mice. Humans can see 3 colors (that's why you have an RGB monitor/TV). Mice and most other mammals can only perceive 2, much like a human with color-blindness (ahem...color deficiency). One gene added to mice gave them the ability to see the third color...1 gene, d-damn. Just as cool is the fourth color seen by some women as discussed here. A graphic that will sum up all this nonsense is available here. Stop reading to avoid math...

To give you an idea what this means (if the mutations are ideal)...we can see each color in about 100 hues. 2 colors gives us 100x100 =10 000 colors. 3 colors gives 10 000x100 = 1 000 000 (most of us). 4 colors gives 1 000 000x100 = 100 000 000 aka hella colors!

Wired: Speaking of meeces, Wired has a retrospective on where the mouse came from (back in the 60's) and where it went on the way here. Very cool photo essay. The rock mouse is so tight.

Wired: Also from Wired...Novell spoofs Mac ads to promote Linux. Not only is Linux the hot girl but I love it when anybody makes fun of Mac, so check out the videos. (p.s. I know that's not really science...I guess I'm selling out).

EurekaAlert: If you haven't figured it out yet, I have a total evolution boner, so here's some news you probably won't care about. A researcher at the University of Alberta has found the oldest fossil evidence of a lizard with vestigial (useless, but there...think: appendix) limbs. Read the article if you care about the importance of this, otherwise I won't bore you. Incidentally, does anyone know what my Special Purpose is for?

2 more quickies:

Science Daily: A Canadian researcher successfully controlled a metal thingy inside a live animal with an MRI thingy. They moved a 1.5 mm metal sphere inside the Carotid artery of an unnamed animal. I think this will be some important stuff. I'm also pretty sure we'll read about the guy who gets a metal sphere blasted out of his neck by that stoned guy working the MRI.

The Technology Liberation Front: Not really that flashy but this post over at TLF talks about how Joe Tech-dependent-average-person can go about getting some decent backup. Specifically, they talk about internet back up, which was something you saw coming but is finally coming down in price.

I can't resist:

Omni Brain: What the fuck are you thinking Chuck?

So what does it all mean (are you tired of these yet)? It means that everything you just read is probably fake but since you live in the matrix it doesn't matter. It also means that by the time your legs are useless because you genetically engineered yourself to fly, you'll also be able to see microwaves, infrared and UV, and that you will be able to control the computers that float in your blood with magnets and that the nerds will only work right sometimes because the computers in their blood will be running on a beta distro of Linux, but hey...at least they won't be held down by the Man. It also means that Chuck Norris is an even bigger dick than I ever thought possible.

See ya next week....XOXO

Love Always,
Funnyname McFunnynamerson

shameless self-promotion

2007-03-24T17:26:00.000-07:00

Buy stuff from me.

$10 post paid.

I only have men's medium and large right now. If I get any requests for girl's sizes I can probably work something out, it'll just take longer.

Drop me an electronic mail if you're interested.

flying ohio

dog high five

my what a crappy thumb you have

2007-03-23T19:14:00.000-07:00

March 20, 2007 was a pretty good day for the old music. That day saw long awaited but, likely already-possessed releases from Andrew Bird (tight), LCD Soundsystem (hot), J-dilla (on my list), El-P (on my list), I'm From Barcelona (good), Ted Leo (maybe), Modest Mouse (meh.), and the subject of this review...Panda Bear.

As part of the Animal Collective, Panda Bear already has one good release under his belt this year. Now, with the release of the new LP, Person Pitch, he's proving that he has plenty more ideas to get off his chest. While Person Pitch doesn't stray too far from the Animal Collective formula it does just fine on its own. At its best the new record sounds like a Beach Boys record and a sound effects record got high and then had a baby that they shoved through a couple of effects pedals. That means warm lyrics, simple but addictive drum loops, enough jungle noises to keep you in the animal mood, and repetition used for good and not evil.

Animal Collective will be touring in May.

"Bros" by Panda Bear from Person Pitch (buy)

Prediction: Keepon is the new Jamster Crazy Frog

2007-03-22T10:39:00.000-07:00

Science and music come together in the cutest of ways...Especially when some dudes build a rubber Peep that can detect a beat in music and dance to it. The robot has at least as much soul as your drunken buddy "Matt" or "Kevin" and is designed to interact with kids.

Article...Video

Don't read the article just watch the video of the thing dancing to Spoon.

Maybe we can give these things pacifiers and light sticks and have robot raves.

Sorry.

stuff that Andrew Bird didn't write from his Lay-Z-Boy

2007-03-21T00:30:00.000-07:00

The new Andrew Bird record dropped yesterday. I was thinking about writing a sweet review full of metaphors and me jamming my nose into Andrew's multi-instrumental bum but my brain has atrophied over the past week and I wasn't that eloquent to begin with.

Here's the review: Easily the best record of the year so far...production, emotion, melody, some hooks, and I looked up "apocrypha" to come up with a failed witty title to this post. So effortlessly amazing that it might only seem really good at first. Just get the damn record and listen to the best damn song you have(n't) heard this year!

"Dark Matter" by Andrew Bird from Armchair Apocrypha (buy)

Every other song on the record is just as good.

P.S. Dr. Stringz

Science: More or Less Back to Being Regular Old Science

2007-03-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

From the Desk(top) of Doug Delune: The (2) Week(s) in Science

NASA: New Horizons is a lamely named space thingy headed toward Pluto. On the way, it stopped by our favorite almost-star, Jupiter, and it took some sweet pictures of the moon, Io, while it was there. The photo above is Tvashtar, a volcano that is spewing stuff about 180 miles into the sky. The volcanoes are so big on Io, because Jupiter squeezes it back and forth like your dad's gooey stress ball. A funny note: they were actually trying to photograph Prometheus which is the mushroom shaped volcano at 9 0'clock...seems like it worked out though.

Wired News: Beer tossing Fridge. It's its own joke. Video.

Scientific American: Researchers have discovered a short-legged mammal that shows transitional ear parts. This may not seem exciting but it is. The complexity of the modern mammalian ear and how it evolved from the much simpler Repitilian ear (see Illustration) has kept the white coats scratching at their combed-over noggins for quite a while. This little beauty is shedding some light on that mystery and is a great transitional fossil (yes they do exist, no matter what that fake $50 Jesus bill that you found says) to add to the catalog.

Scientific American: Another one for the fun column (you don't have a fun column?). Scientific American plays mythbuster and tells the truth about glass. No it isn't a super-cooled liquid like your high school chem teacher told you and no, it doesn't slowly flow making the bottom thicker than the top. I believed it for, like, 17 years.

Wired News: The U.S. army is always pushing the envelope when it comes to killing people, but there is a hump they can't get over. They can't get the their remote guided gunbots to stop glitching out which could mean...unresponsive robots with automatic weapons roaming the streets of next enemy #234 . Lucky for Palestinians this means that Israel shouldn't be able to send out their new remote killing machines either. Of course the things would really just shut off and stop....but c'mon.

Science Blog: The FDA wants makers of sleep aid drugs to strengthen the language in labels to warn people about the risks of doing things like preparing food, making phone calls and DRIVING! while asleep. The question is...can you hide your keys from a sleeping version of yourself?

Techworld: For all the tech nerds out there...Seagate is releasing a much talked about (by whom?) hard-drive that could be the most secure drive in the world. The drive will be introduced in laptops at the end of the month. The drive encrypts everything on the fly and has its own chips so that it doesn't soak up your processing power. The laptop also includes fingerprint identification and lots of other features that our laptop misplacing national agencies (1 and 2) will find to their liking.

Honorable Mentions:
Discovery News: Seas on Saturn's Satellites

Science Blog: Geologists Study Stuff that Nobody Gives a Shit About

Slashdot: Linux is Cool but Costs More for Non-Nerds

So what does it all mean? It means that evolution is real, but that you better not say that too loud or you'll get shot by remote control...so you better just sit on your couch and look at pictures of Jupiter's moons (that are probably as real as the moon landing), contemplate medieval windows, and have beers tossed to you so that you can wash down your sleep aids. You may, however, be shot anyway when you sleep-drive to 7-11 for some ice cream, but don't worry they won't find the porn on your laptop because your files will be well encrypted.

I Shall Return

2007-03-09T18:40:00.000-08:00

I will be otherly occupied for the next week. That's a vacation week, which is 9 days because vacations start on Firdays and end on Sundays. Due to this prolonged absence, I thought that I would beg you to come back and read more about music and, hell, 2 weeks of science news, with an offering of some songs that have been quieting the voices in my head as of late.

New:

The new Andrew Bird record, Armchair Apocrypha is that good. The song is a freebie from Fat Possum to tempt you.

"Heretics" by Andrew Bird from Armchair Apocrypha (buy)

This song is from volume 2 of the Chrome Children compilation which you can get for free over at Stones Throw Records.

"Marcus, Martin and Malcolm" by the Jazzistics from Chrome Children Volume 2 (get)

Old:

I just heard about these canucks from I Guess I'm Floating and got a hold of their first EP. They also have a new EP that I'll be looking for at my local Amoeba Music. This song is the nut.

"Tonebank Computer" by Holy Fuck from Holy Fuck EP (buy)

All the way back from '94 and I still listen to Yank Crime at least once a month. Too bad Hot Snakes suck.

"Golden Brown" by Drive Like Jehu from Yank Crime (buy)

Covers:

When I think about it, this cover is really unspectacular but I still can't stop listening to it...it might have subliminal messages or something.

"War Pigs" by Cake

This song might bring you down.

"Dramamine" by Sun Kil Moon from Tiny Cities (buy)

Califone: New Video

2007-03-07T09:57:00.000-08:00

Califone put out one of the last great records of 2006. The record called, Roots & Crowns, was well received without the usual anticipated-album hype. It's a hard record to say something about...it's not like anything else out there but you'd be hard-pressed to put into words the things that are wholly different. Trying to throw an opinion into the datasream is just as hard, each song is so personal that I almost feel like hearing my description might take away something for someone else (not a cop-out, i swear).

As an introduction I'll simply say that this is a mellow, folky, rock record that strays enough and has enough effects/weirdness to wrap a proverbial shit-ton of mystery around it (I told you I'd ruin it).

The original point was...Pitchfork reported on a new video over a Thrill Jockey for "3-Legged Animal" from the newest record Roots & Crowns.

"Burned by the Christians" by Califone from Roots & Crowns (buy)

Too much goodness to hear here...go listen at their myspace.

beer is tight

2007-03-03T20:52:00.000-08:00

Ever since Ben Bridwell from Band of Horses said they were going to call the new album Pastor of Muppets, in a Pitchfork interview, I've been wanting to put about them so that I cold say that....Now I have an excuse. Get your BOH Beer Coozy. There's only 200 so hurry.

BOH is on tour starting 3.8.07...the dates can be found at theirspace.

And did you see the "Great Salt Lake" video from last August?

John Vanderslice tour

2007-03-02T15:09:00.000-08:00

I, I'm a History in Rust

2007-02-27T10:30:00.000-08:00

5 records deep, and Do Make Say Think are still releasing records that effortlessly weave 10 different genres into a single complex pattern. Kind of like mixing polka dots and paisleys only it works every time. With the new record DMST has not redirected their sound but has surely refined it. The grittiness and aggressiveness of Goodbye Enemy Airship the Landlord is Dead, has been replaced with better dynamics and subtler changes. The floating quality of Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn has been grounded for a collection of more intimate songs.

The new record is called, You, You're a History in Rust, and while it might not blow your face off the way that "When Day Chokes the Night" did, 4-listens in you'll have an epiphany and realize how good it is, and it won't leave you're player for weeks.

"Herstory of Glory" by Do Make Say Think from You You're a History in Rust (buy)

When Day Chokes the Night" by Do Make Say Think from Goodbye Enemy Airship the Landlord is Dead (buy)

Do Make Say Think is on tour right now to support the new record. Support them.

Dates:
2.22 London, ON, CAN Call The Office
2.23 Detroit, MI, USA Magic Stick
2.24 Chicago, IL, USA Empty Bottle
2.25 Dekalb, IL, USA House Cafe
2.26 Minneapolis, MN, USA Triple Rock Club
2.27 Winnipeg, MB, CAN Pyramid
2.28 Regina, SK, CAN The Exchange
3.02 Edmonton, AB, CAN Starlite Room
3.03 Calgary, AB, CAN Warehouse
3.05 Vancouver, BC, CAN Richards
3.06 Victoria, BC, CAN Sugar
3.07 Seattle, WA, USA Neumos
3.08 Portland, OR, USA Doug Fir Lounge
3.09 San Francisco, CA, USA Slim's
3.10 Los Angeles, CA, USA Troubadour
3.11 Pomona, CA, USA Glass House
3.12 San Diego, CA, USA Casbah
3.13 Tucson, AZ, USA Plush
3.17 Lexington, KY, USA The Dame
3.18 Alfred, NY, USA Univ Knight Club
3.23 Storrs, CT, USA William Benton M.O.A.
3.24 Northampton, MA, USA Pearl St.
3.25 Burlington, VT, USA Higher Ground
3.26 Portland, ME, USA Space
3.27 Cambridge, MA, USA Middle East
3.28 Brooklyn, MA, USA South Paw
3.29 New York, NY, USA Bowery Ballroom
3.30 Philadelphia, PA, USA First Unitarian Church
3.31 Baltimore, MD, USA Ottobar
4.01 Washington, DC, USA Black Cat
4.02 Columbus, OH, USA Little Brothers
4.03 Cleveland Hts., OH, USA Grog Shop
4.12 Toronto, ON, CAN The Opera House

Science: because your uncle was wrong about how things got their names

2007-02-26T11:48:00.000-08:00

From the Desk(top) of Doug Delune: The Week in Science

Scientific American: In 2 related stories, Scientific American reports on efforts to code different bird species and the tools developed to use that data. The idea is to create a database of genetic codes for different species and then you can use a device to scan stuff to see what it is. This will be especially awesome when you're kids are dating and you're trying to find out if jimmy has any Xenoc blood in him...."My daddy always said 'Never trust a man what's made a gas'".

Ars Technica: The author of a recent analysis of many papers regarding the relationship between violence and violent video games concludes that the currently available data doesn't really say enough or take into account enough factors to show that actual violent behavior is influenced by violent video games. I'm sure that I'm preaching to the choir here, but....duh.

Scienceblog: The tip came from Scienceblog, but I found an article with pictures and links, over at New Scientist for those of us who need beeps and buzzes (who doesn't have ADD these days). The story is about a group of chimpanzees that live in the Fongoli area of Senegal. The chimps use sticks to stab cute little primates while they sleep. While other signs of tool use by chimps have been observed (nut-cracking, termite fishing and paleo-nut-cracking) this is still a sweet step and could help us learn a little more about early human tool use.

New York Times Science: Astronomers can't find any water in the spectra of a couple of Jupiter-like planets. This is weird because many brown-dwarfs (kind of like jupiter plusses) have oodles of water. People are also concerned because we always assume that life needs water. The dude over at the Sciam blog called it Arrakis.

New Scientist: A Sci-Fi staple may be getting closer as it seems that smart fabrics finally have a fabric to make smart. Scientists recently created a conductive textile that bends on any axis (previous attempts have bent in one). This means that the textile could have embedded sensors, gadgets, and better hypercolors (yea, I'm that old).

So what's it all mean? It means that I'm not violent because of video games...and that it's actually because I'm 99% chimpanzee, but it won't matter because my jacket will give me a shock the next time I want to say something to that kid I hear spouting some conservative rhetoric he heard his dad say...Oh...it also means we shouldn't create sapient squid to colonize other planets...they might seem ideal because they could take the extreme pressure but, alas..no water.