...Like a Fat Kid Loves Cake...

Believer magazine music issue

2010-08-29T20:37:00.001-07:00

If you're not a fan already, pick up the current issue of Believer magazine. The interview with M.I.A. and the article about Nina Simone's life is reason enough. Did I mention it comes with an awesome compilation featuring a remix of Janelle Monae's Cold War?

Still Life With Woodpecker

2010-08-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

"Goddamn it," she said. "A princess deserves better than this."

Spiritualized at Radio City Music Hall

2010-08-01T23:14:00.001-07:00

Greatest. Show. Ever.

Also, the greatest concert review involving a mens room urinal here.

What was it you wanted?

2010-01-05T21:14:00.000-08:00

In all the post holiday/ resolution/ hang-over delight, I got back to reading. While thinking of starting a book blog (yes, NERD ALERT! The world needs another blog perhaps?) I had to share the book I just finished. One, because it was awesome, and two, it was music related. For all you Bob Dylan fans who loved Chronicles: Volume I,(if you haven't read it, you should, it's great and a quick read) Suze Rotolo's A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties offers another perspective on a period of his life. For those of you who don't know, Suze was his sweet baboo as seen on the cover of his second album, as her memoir is cleverly renamed with. Beyond some letters included from Mr. Bob himself, it is another view on a romantic relationship, a feminist who was finding her own way in life while painting a picture of the 60s and her surroundings. She had an interesting life and I learned a thing or two about folk music.

"Exam should have 18 pages. Pls check."

2009-12-11T10:44:00.000-08:00

FUCK.

My Nouvelle Vague Channel

2009-12-10T09:41:00.000-08:00

Continuing on the theme from iMeem's sellout, which led me to Pandora...

My Goldenvoice email told me Nouvelle Vague is touring. Of course, in Los Angeles. Of course, in January - when I'm not there. Thank you, Goldenvoice.

Anyway, feeling the spirit, I typed Nouvelle Vague into my handy-dandy Pandora box. And so flowed the following progression...

Nouvelle Vague - Sweet and Tenger Hooligan
Bitter:Sweet - The Mating Game
Gotan Project - Epoca
Etta James - At Last
Prozac For Lovers - (Don't Fear) The Reaper
Madeleine Peyroux - Smile

Side note: I'm not good at very many things, but one thing I am good at is noticing something I like... and watching that something turn from nothing into amazing.

Each "new" song made me want to blog about it. So then I realized it wasn't really the music that deserved a post, but the importance of always willing to listen to it, to follow it, to let it develop on your taste buds. And in the end, sharing your opinion with others so that all things with talent receive the recognition they deserve.

Never enough hours for the endless amount of discoveries this world has to offer. The journey continues...

iMeem, Why Have Your Forsaken Me...

2009-12-09T14:54:00.000-08:00

Just days ago, I posted how I used iMeem to test my hypothesis about Cat Power vs. Warpaint. Literally days ago...

Yesterday, following my normal routine, I went to the iMeem site and typed in "Weezer." What the hell. How did I end up on Myspace? I thought I had a brain-fart so I re-typed in iMeem into my browser and paid closer attention.

iMeem sold itself to Myspace. Why... oh, why.

I invested 30 whole seconds in an attempt to figure out how to play music without having to sign in (I had long since forgotten my Myspace password). No avail.

Desperation ensued. I started panicking, and ranted to my sister how I hoped iMeem creators banked major monies because they pretty much sold the soul of internet music (rant continued for about 5 minutes)... then my sister said, "What's iMeem?"

Me: What's iMeem?!? How do you listen to music?
Sister: I use Pandora.

That's right. I gave up on Pandora when they told me they didn't know who Ted Leo & the Pharmacists were. C'mon. But apparently, three years later, I was pushed to find a new internet music streamer... and Pandora has turned into something awesome.

I typed in Lily Allen. Don't judge. I'm studying and need the peppy yet cynical music. Then I heard Yael Naim, the Pierces, Frou Frou, Kate Nash, and other artists I was in the mood for.

So in essence, what iMeem did by selling itself to Myspace was not beneficial for Myspace... but a winner for Pandora. And you can go ahead tell that one to your kids.

Cat Paints War

2009-12-06T12:28:00.001-08:00

Someone else on the internet brought this up, but I thought it was interesting enough to repeat.

Warpaint sounds a lot like Cat Power.

I'll be honest. I had Cat Power on my external drive, but didn't give her any real attention until her song popped up on Juno's soundtrack. Then, of course, I became the biggest Cat Power fan alive. To clarify, in my definition, "biggest ___ fan" simply means I listen to the album for about a month straight.

And because of the musical hibernation I was forced into by the iron claws of graduate school, I always jump at even the most abstract references to remnants of my past musical enthusiasm. In short, I saw "Warpaint sounds a lot like Cat Power" and thought, "Hey, I know Cat Power. I now have a basis to also build an opinion."

This aforementioned internetee built a clever playlist that is as follows:
1. Warpaint - Billie Holiday
2. Cat Power - Don't Explain
3. Warpaint - Stars
4. Cat Power - Still in Love
5. Warpaint - Krimson
... and so on.

Not surprisingly, I couldn't tell you which was which without actually reading my iMeem page. So I fail to reject the hypothesis that Warpaint does in fact sound like Cat Power.

Boring blog excused, Warpaint is some good, mellow shit.

Back to Basics

2009-05-14T10:18:00.000-07:00

Lots to talk about in the coming days, hopefully, but in the meantime, a couple of cover songs:

I felt it most prudent to ease back into this blogging thing. Besides, it's what we do best here.

One Regret

2009-04-19T02:42:00.000-07:00

The only thing for which I'd truly kick myself over skipping Coachella:

Otherwise, Monday begins the most masochistically fun part of the festival for me: bootlegs!!!

WEAK.

2009-04-19T02:38:00.000-07:00

The four fellas running torrent site The Pirate Bay have been convicted of breaking copyright law and are gonna be in jail for one year.

Read the fucking ridiculous details here.

Live Jigga

2009-03-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

When Jay-Z performed at Glastonbury last year, one of my favorite segments was his little smooth operator threesome in which he performed "Excuse Me Miss," "Song Cry," and "Girls, Girls, Girls." It would've been a foursome if it weren't for his horrible freestyle over Estelle's "American Boy," but whatever. Combine that with the soundboard quality of the recording I've got, and the fact that sharing is caring, and here you go:

Excuse Me Miss (Glastonbury live)

Song Cry (Glastonbury live)

Girls, Girls, Girls (Glastonbury live)

Youtube Mashup

2009-03-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

(via boingboing)

Siiiiick mashup artist, Kutiman, takes his samples from youtube clips. Be sure to check out the other vids in his "Through You" series.

i hate everyone...

2009-03-04T15:15:00.000-08:00

fuck... is anyone out there losing complete interest in life? i mean FUCK. what the shit? I FEEL LIKE I"M TAKING CRAZY PILLS.

RE: The Fat Man with the Bone

2009-02-26T22:41:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago, I stumbled onto a British show called Never Mind the Buzzcocks, which is a hilarious panel game much like Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me!, except it's televised and focuses on pop music rather than politics. A great majority of the show's charm comes from its very particular dynamic, which consists of pairing wittily sardonic comedians with flavor-of-the-week indie artists.

I was very lucky in that I was able to catch all the Simon Amstell-era episodes before the BBC started removing episodes here and there. I highly recommend the series, and if you enjoy the same stupid-in-a-smart-way (or smart-in-a-stupid-way; I'm still trying to figure which one is right) kind of humor I do, expect to blow an entire weekend on the series. Here's a little taste, courtesy of the candyman:

Guests: Nicholas Hoult, Midge Ure (from Ultravox), Romeo Stodart (from The Magic Numbers) & Russell Howard. Context for some of the jokes: In the episode prior, one of the guests, Samuel Preston of The Ordinary Boys, walked off in the middle of the show because Amstell kept clowning on his wife's autobiography.

Bonus: Best "guess who" round ever.

Again, the BBC is removing episodes on YouTube periodically, so if you enjoy these, watch them as soon as you can.

Valentine Fallout

2009-02-25T22:27:00.000-08:00

Rather than try to remember everything I tried to convey from the Valentine post that was subsequently murdered and covered up by the popo, I'll just relink the three songs that inspired what I mistakenly thought reflected Valentine's Day, you know, the spirit of giving. Here they are:

Oliver Future - Stranger Than a Stranger (KCRW live)

Friendly Fires - Paris (KCRW live)

The Magic Numbers - This is a Song (KCRW live)

Fat Kids During the Recession

2009-02-25T22:23:00.000-08:00

I realize that we all feel the effects of this spiraling economy, so here are a few ways to pinch pennies, Fat Kids style:

- FREE: New Phoenix single "1901" from their upcoming Wolfgang Amadeus album is available on their website: http://wearephoenix.com/. I don't know what I feel about it yet, as I haven't had enough time to digest it. But I do hope that their album churns out some golden tunes like "If I Ever Feel Better."

- SAVE $100: Skip Coachella on Sunday! The only band worth seeing that day is Friendly Fires, and thankfully they have a show in LA on April 13th at the Troubadour. I'm in. Enoch's in. You? (ok so technically you still have to pay for tickets to the show, but I'm pretty damn sure it won't be 100 bucks)

Should be a good show.

No Words to Do It Justice

2009-02-24T15:14:00.000-08:00

Post explaining how I came across this semi-retarded fat man singing into a bone and a multitude of other pop music lost gems very soon.

ELYs to dance

2009-02-23T13:25:00.000-08:00

Ely Kim, will you be my friend? I feel like everybody has blogged about Ely already but I can't help myself, I have to feature him here too.

100 dances, 100 places, 100 days. This would have been a fun project to be a part of. Quick, someone come up with a fun project with me that everybody blogs about! And get me that kitty shirt that shows up in #15 and #92! No really, you can hold off on that kitty shirt...

Ely Kim...he likes to dance:

BOOMBOX from Ely Kim on Vimeo.

I also can't resit this little video about Ely:

And in Other News

2009-02-19T14:49:00.000-08:00

1. The Pirate Bay trial in Stockholm just gets better and better. On day 2, half the prosecution's charges were dropped, and on day 3, the defense introduced something called "The King Kong defense." Tickets for the trial available outside the courthouse, via scalpers.

2. Blink-182 are back together. Guitarist Tom DeLonge reached out to his estranged ex-bandmates after drummer Travis Barker's plane crash. We can expect fart jokes and full frontal nudity this summer.

3. Dr. Dre's Detox, aka hip-hop's Chinese Democracy, looks like it'll be coming out later this year. However, it'll be after the good doctor's proteges, 50 Cent & Eminem, release their respective albums, Before I Self Destruct (due 3/24) and Relapse (due sometime after 3/24). According to 50, "It's a story actually, the three-headed monster returns. Before I Self Destruct, I'll Relapse, then Detox." Clever.

As a little bonus, DJ Quik provides some fun facts about the Detox sessions. Highlights: 1. Dre's got 400 tracks to choose from. 2. He's been taking piano lessons from Burt Bacharach.

4. U2 have a new album coming out at the end of the month. This is particularly newsworthy for me personally because it's probably the least amount of promoting the band has done for an album since the late '80s. Remember when they held a press conference at KMart for Pop? Nonetheless, this album won't be completely devoid of promotional whoring. The boys will be the first to hold a week-long residency on the Late Show with Dave Letterman.

You're welcome.

How to Bring the Fat Kids Together

2009-02-19T14:09:00.001-08:00

For the astute readers out there who've noticed a certain missing Valentine entry, here's the deal:

Blogger has been notified, according to the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), that certain content in your blog infringes upon the copyrights of others. The URL(s) of the allegedly infringing post(s) may be found at the end of this message.

The notice that we received from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and the record companies it represents, with any personally identifying information removed, will be posted online by a service called Chilling Effects at http://www.chillingeffects.org. We do this in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Please note that it may take Chilling Effects up to several weeks to post the notice online at the link provided.

The IFPI is a trade association that represents over 1,400 major and independent record companies in the US and internationally who create, manufacture and distribute sound recordings (the "IFPI Represented Companies").

The DMCA is a United States copyright law that provides guidelines for online service provider liability in case of copyright infringement. We are in the process of removing from our servers the links that allegedly infringe upon the copyrights of others. If we did not do so, we would be subject to a claim of copyright infringement, regardless of its merits. See http://www.educause.edu/Browse/645?PARENT_ID=254 for more information about the DMCA, and see http://www.google.com/dmca.html for the process that Blogger requires in order to make a DMCA complaint.

Blogger can reinstate these posts upon receipt of a counter notification pursuant to sections 512(g)(2) and 3) of the DMCA. For more information about the requirements of a counter notification and a link to a sample counter notification, see http://www.google.com/dmca.html#counter.

Please note that repeated violations to our Terms of Service may result in further remedial action taken against your Blogger account. If you have legal questions about this notification, you should retain your own legal counsel. If you have any other questions about this notification, please let us know.

Sincerely,

The Blogger Team

Affected URLs:

http://soulwhatisitworth.blogspot.com/2009/02/valentine-becomes-eclectic.html

And the family's reactions:

Me: The music popo got us!

Jerome: Congrats to all... We've made it!

Connie: Bitch muthafuckas.*

Bobby: Oh snap. Valentine Becomes Eclectic not kosher?

Me: I'm gonna print two copies of this notice. One to frame, and the other with which to wipe my ass.

Juliet: This is exactly why I need to quit my shitty job.

Zully: This is the way the IFPI shows love on Valentine's.

Connie: Fuck 'em bitchas.*

And an update:

I finally checked my hotmail after a couple of days, and it turns out the offending track was Spiritualized's "Soul on Fire." It has been automatically deleted from my box.net account, but the process to get the repost looks fucking scary, so I think I'm just gonna do a new post without the offending track, because, and I think you'll agree with me here, that artwork was TITS.

*Connie didn't actually say anything about the matter, but I'm sure this is what she was thinking.

It's Valentine's Day, So Why Not?

2009-02-13T21:21:00.000-08:00

Clever vid featuring the j-pop/rock band Base Ball Bear. The bassist, Shiori Sekine, is the bassist in the movie, Linda Linda Linda (which is sick!). Subtitles rule:

Dummy!

2009-02-08T18:43:00.000-08:00

I'm really lucky to have the friends I've got because it means I have an ever-present source of music-related news to consume and (sometimes) slowly digest. As a result, I don't travel very deep into the realm of the blogo-music-sphere. In fact, it's not uncommon for me to miss shit by months or years. And unfortunately, I have lots of facepalm moments where I am introduced or stumble across a sick act that I then realize I had heard about and passed up just months earlier, or sometimes years earlier. So yeah, this post is about Andrew W.K.

Well, I guess it's not totally about him. It's about how his first album, I Get Wet scared me away with its drippiness and I only just last week started to regret it. I kind of started to get a clue that all was not as it (bloody) seemed when I went to see Ted Leo & Rx's karaoke night and a super down-to-earth and all around nice guy Andrew W.K. was emceeing the event. Then the awesome Disgrasian blog posted about an album of j-pop cover songs. I should go ahead and just quote the man from his website:

I had never really heard music like this… At first it was hard for me to believe that these were the biggest hit songs in Japan - they sound so different from hit songs in the western world. But as I learned the songs and translated the lyrics, I fell in love with them and understood their appeal.

The album? It's effing awesome. Produced for the Japanese market, the thing unfortunately doesn't have distribution stateside. However, with some digging, you may be able to find it. And when you do, you'll find that j-pop standards translate super well into Andrew W.K.'s brand of party-metal. And once you've finished listening to the thing on repeat for a day or two, you may find like I did, that you have an itch to search out the source material. Which brings me to part 2 of this post: The Blue Hearts, who's track, Linda Linda, is included on AWK's cover album.

Debuting with their self-titled album in 1987, these guys apparently enjoyed some pretty mainstream success, with a couple of their songs even becoming classics (read: karaoke staples). Being a relative late-comer to the punk genre, I'll admit right here that I haven't got a very comprehensive understanding of punk history... but I can tell you that these guys are sick as hell. Lasting for 8 years and 7 albums has to count for something, right? There's also something to be said about having a movie written about a group of school girls learning to play covers of your punk songs. Anyway, on to the obligatory youtube embed:

Did you think I'd leave you without a tangible (audible?) sample of The Blue Hearts awesomeness? You were wrong.

Linda Linda - Andrew W.K.
Linda Linda - The Blue Hearts

Via My Weekly Routine

2009-02-01T21:42:00.000-08:00

Every Sunday, Chromewaves uploads a cover song as their "mp3 of the week," usually coinciding the selection with an upcoming tour or album release for the cover artist. Not so every Sunday, the site also provides a mini-treasure chest of goodies for said artist, including free, full album downloads. This just happens to be one of those Sundays.

The Morning Benders are a NorCal band who:

1. are gonna tour with the Submarines soon.

2. have their own blog, and,

3. are sharing a link to their entire covers album, which they have entitled, The Bedroom Covers:

The link off the Morning Benders' own site seems to be a little wonky, so I'd recommend using the sendspace link.

Storytime: One Last January Entry

2009-01-31T17:58:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Clare. Clare was from a land far, far away, called "Brooklyn." In Brooklyn, Clare was known for her beautiful, baby voice. Some would say she sounded like an angel. Others, like the chick from the Cardigans.

Now, Clare did pretty well for herself, releasing two solo albums, Sweetheart and Bentley Circle.

One day while studying at Berklee, Clare met a man named Olivier. I don't really know if they fell in love right away or whatever, but they did eventually get married. The couple brought in some people who could play strings and drums and stuff, and they all lived happily ever after as Clare & the Reasons. They have one album out so far, The Movie, which sounds pretty good, but this live cover of Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is just amazing:

Bonus mp3: Clare & the Reasons - Pluto

So Fucking Hot

2009-01-30T11:08:00.000-08:00

How badass is Friday? So much so that Leonard "I'm Your Man" Cohen is given fourth billing. However, the top-heavy lopsided billing begs the question, "Do they all have other plans for the rest of the weekend?" At least it'll be way cheaper to just buy the one day than to splurge on a whole weekend pass.

Take this opportunity if you can. You will probably never have another chance to see Paul McCartney and Morrissey for 100 bucks. After the show, we can go cougar hunting in Palm Springs again and be home in time for Saturday morning cartoons. Doesn't that sound like fun?

Tonight

2009-01-29T16:34:00.000-08:00

One of the cool things about working on this blog is occasionally hearing shit before it becomes two or more years old. Example: Lykke Li in 2008.

And then I get to do follow-up video-posts with like new music vids or some shit:

Lykke Li - Tonight from Lykke Li on Vimeo.

LA concerts

2009-01-23T11:01:00.000-08:00

While we wait for Coachella 2009 buzz, here are a few LA concerts to tickle your fancy:

Fri 1/30 @ 7PM - Franz Ferdinand @ Amoeba Hollywood - FREE!

Wed 2/4 @ 8PM - Matt & Kim (w/the Mae Shi) @ Troubadour $10!!

Tues 3/10 & Wed 3/11 @ 8PM - Matt & Kim (w/Cut Copy!) @ Henry Fonda $22
(Matt & Kim is a two person show, their material is lighthearted, fast pace and fun. I heard they make a really great live show. In the past, they would play in the middle of the dancefloor surrounded by their audience. I think these were in smaller venues)

Fri 3/27 - Cold War Kids @ The Orpheum

Thurs 4/23 - Black Kids w/ Mates of State @ Henry Fonda
(I LOVE Black Kids! I'm sad I missed them at Coachella and two other shows in LA in 2008. I must see them!)

Fri 4/24 - Black Kids w/ Mates of State @ Glass House (Pomona)

Join me! I'm going to see Franz Ferdinand at Amoeba next friday, Black Kids w/Mates of State in Hollywood & Matt & Kim in the same venue. Afterwards we can check twitter and hunt down the illustrious Kogi truck.

C'mon, the korean tacos are calling you...

50 and Still Sexy as Hell

2009-01-09T15:33:00.000-08:00

On Monday, January 12, 2009, Motown Records celebrates its 50th anniversary. Rather than go into detail about the label's ineffable contribution to pop music, I'm just gonna link their wiki page. Do yourself a favor and at least read the "production process" section.

Instead, I'm gonna share some of my favorite Motown songs, "favorite" also meaning ones that are readily accessible on the laptop (right click the album covers for the links):

P.S. - On a completely unrelated note, today, on a whim, I decided to go through a Smash Mouth live set that had previously only been labeled by track numbers. I was able to rename 11 of the 22 tracks, although two of the tracks were "intro" and "drum solo." Even so, given the nine songs I recognized, I'm both proud and ashamed at the same time. It's an odd feeling.

What I listened to in 2008

2008-12-30T16:13:00.001-08:00

in no order and because i'm 1 of 3 people here at work today and i'm tipsy off my 2 hour lunch break...

here's what I listened to and actually gave a shit about this year:

Lil Wayne - The Carter 3

TVOTR - Dear Science

Lykke Li - Youth Novels

Outkast feat. Raekwon - Royal Flush... actually pretty much any song Three Stacks was on this year (with the exception of Green Light)

Arthur Russell - Love is Overtaking Me

Nina Simone - To Be Free

Mayer Hawthorne & The County - Just Ain't Gonna Work Out

HAPPY HOLIDAYS SNITCHES!

Our Very Own Amazian

2008-12-18T22:26:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have never read the Disgrasian blog, do it now. It's okay, I'll wait.

So now that you have a taste of greatness, you'll probably feel almost as proud as I do for having our very own Bobby "The Biz'Ness"* Lin get a "Rock of Asian" music submission printed. On top of the usual "Thanks, [your name here]!" the boy got additional big ups in the story itself. Double proud!

And for the record, he did consider posting the David Choi thing for this site but felt it was a bit old and out of character, so it's okay.

*not a real nickname

Ted "the one that says bad motherfucker" Leo & the "hopefully won't mind getting compared to the roots" Pharmacists

2008-12-11T16:08:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, December 3, 2008, two things of note happened. The first, which is probably not so interesting to any of you, is that for the first time, I forgot to pay my credit card bill for the month. Shit.

The second, is that Ted Leo & the Pharmacists played a gig in Brooklyn called Indie Rock Karaoke, hosted by Andrew W.K.

THAT was a fucking trip. Featuring three hours of covers, sung by the audience and backed by Ted & the Pharmacists. Songs by the Stooges, the Ramones, the Misfits, AC/DC, the Cure, the Clash, Joy Division, David Bowie, Blondie, Minor Threat, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Steely Dan, and others. They even let tons of people switch songs and do their songs: a Colleen from the audience perform their song Colleen and a dude successfully requested to sing Where Have all the Rudeboys Gone even though it was already played earlier in the night.

Coolest songs? Aretha Franklin's Respect (voted best performance of the night by Andrew W.K.) and the Outfield's Your Love:

In case you forgot how that song went... link

What a Crazy, Random Happenstance.

2008-12-04T14:31:00.000-08:00

For those of you that missed it the first time around, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is now available for free on the Hulu site. Highly recommended.

Pray for Zully...

2008-12-04T01:10:00.001-08:00

...because her mom might make her work this again:

Stagecoach: Tickets now available, swear to God, via layaway. And you thought it couldn't get any more white trash.

The Billy Corgan Experience

2008-12-03T17:23:00.001-08:00

Last night, as an early birthday gift, Connie took me to see the modern incarnation of the Smashing Pumpkins at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City. Before the show, I looked into several things:

1. Which venue sold out to Gibson, and subsequently read about the amphitheater's amazing acoustics.

2. What the Pumpkins' setlist was on their recent tour, and subsequently read about Corgan's ego being the fifth member.

3. What the traffic would be like to Connie's office, because it's always good to be prepared.

On to the show itself. First off, here's the setlist from the Pumpkins' site:
They also played "Eye," their marvelous inclusion on the Lost Highway soundtrack, pretty early into the set, maybe right before "Mayonaise." Combining this with the aforementioned sound quality of the venue, and I'd say about 90% of the show kicked ass. The hits were amazing, and songs like "Stand Inside Your Love" and "Tonight, Tonight" played live completely blow the album versions out the water. "Once Upon a Time," "The Crux," and "The Rose March" were played semi-acoustic, which was also great.

Personal highlight for Connie and me: Before going into "Once Upon a Time," Corgan intro'd it as a song on "Ado-ree" that was written for his mom. Two rows in front of us, some long-haired kid started jumping up and down gleefully, and called his friend to let him hear the song on the phone but hung up about 10 seconds into the song. Personally, I think he assumed it was gonna be "For Martha" and hung up when it turned out otherwise. Connie's highlight: the jumping. My highlight: the disappointment.

The other 10%: Twenty minute renditions of "United States" and "Heavy Metal Machine." Pretty much everybody around us zoned out, and at one point I turned to Connie to ask, "What the fuck is going on?" The linked Pumpkins setlist site probably had the best synopsis, which, in a nutshell, stated that Corgan has no sense of rapport with the audience, instead going into long, improvisational jam sessions that only serve to feed his ego. Miles Davis he thinks he is, but Miles Davis he ain't.

Still, overall, great show. Much obliged, Connie.

This is what Corgan wore. The bottom half is a dress. No lie.

They Only Look Like Dirty Hippies

2008-11-30T14:02:00.000-08:00

I accidentally discovered this sweet little ditty through a live version I heard a few days ago, and I am now hooked.

A little background info on the band: The Magic Numbers are two brother-sister pairs who all met at a London Catholic School. The two pairs met there, I mean. I'm sure the siblings knew each other somewhat longer. Then they became a band.

Anyhoo, two personal points I'd like to make: 1. "Forever Lost" was from their 2005 debut album. I know I'm way late on this, but it's just so good I gotta share it. 2. I really think I need to get over whatever preconceptions I have of bands based on their grimey looks, crappy album covers, or... mainly their grimey looks. I almost missed out on My Morning Jacket, and the Magic Numbers have a very poppy, Carpenters-esque sound. Moral: don't judge a band by its B.O.

And the live version: The Magic Numbers - Forever Lost (Benicassim live)

Triple Threat

2008-11-20T15:09:00.000-08:00

1. Is Q-tip done being pretentious? I'm not entirely sure, but Getting Up sounds miiiiighty nostalgic.

2. Anyone remember Common on Armand Van Helden's Full Moon joint? Well, the Universal Mind Control's electro groove is probably as close as dude will get to doing another house track (click through as embedding's been disabled).

3. Back when Black on Both Sides dropped, I remember listening to New World Water and thinking, shit, did Mos take ISF16 too? As supplementary material to my Cal course on technology and globalization, the track was totally on point. Mathematics is the new New World Water.

An 8bit Family Affair

2008-11-16T22:40:00.000-08:00

Like many Asian males who never played intramural sports, the boy Fat Kids are avid video game fans. Jerome's Wii is his baby. Bobby's obsession with anything involving a controller stems partly from a console-less childhood. I'll pretty much go wide-eyed for any game that involves stealing cars or firing off rocket launchers. On several occasions, we've talked about doing a gaming blog, but the biggest obstacle is that I can't get games for free on Mininova.

However, we'll always have video game music to tide us over. Enter: Chiptune band, YMCK.

Good entrance.

I mentioned YMCK a few months ago, mistaking them for a Taiwanese band simply because the latest news item on their official website at the time was them playing a Taiwanese festival. Oops.

Anyway, a few days ago I finally got their 2008 release, Family Genesis, and it's Chip-tastic. To pay my respects to this album, I finally signed up for another file-hosting site and uploaded a couple select tracks:

YMCK - Sabita Tobira No Dai 8 Tengoku

YMCK - Starlight

Old habits are still hard to break, so here's a video for sake of blog consistency:

VOTE

2008-11-04T10:08:00.000-08:00

(I'll just ignore that Cocoa Tea called me a chinyman...) In any case, go VOTE!

Edit

Of course Jerome had to find a better youtube link.

Hot Babes, Martinis, Licenses to Kill, and Bitchin' Songs

2008-11-03T22:27:00.000-08:00

I read somewhere a long time ago that one of the greatest musical honors is to be asked to write a James Bond film theme. Alumni have included Nancy Sinatra, Shirley Bassey, Paul McCartney, and perennial favorite, Quiet Riot. Kidding.

Anyway, prepare the marble busts for the newest additions, Alicia Keys and Jack White, with "Another Way to Die" for Quantum of Solace:

And while we're at it, here are couple of my favorites:

Garbage's "The World is Not Enough":

And Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better":

Half-Assed Reunions

2008-11-03T15:46:00.000-08:00

2 reunion stories to get you moderately amused:

1. Jackson 5

The good news: Janet's opening for the guys.

The bad news: Michael wants nothing to do with it.

The redeeming news: There were six brothers, so technically, they still could call themselves the Jackson 5.

Final take: Throw them a fucking bone, Mike. We're in the middle of a recession, and your sibs need to put food on the table.

2. Led Zeppelin

The good news: After an assload of reunion rumors, this one's finally kinda substantiated.

The bad news: Robert Plant wants nothing to do with it.

The redeeming news: Dee Snider of Twisted Sister claims the other guys are working with the singer from Alter Bridge.

Final take: It'll probably be better if they don't mention the Alter Bridge part.

I Ain't Fakin, I Ain't Fakin Now.

2008-10-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

Acoustic, acoustic... I never appreciated acoustic music the way it should be, with the realness blatantly imprinted on the wax.

A few months ago, I found a clip of the Ting Tings on Indie's website. They were performing acoustic, but what I liked the most about it was how un-acoustic it sounded. They were mishmashing two of their most popular songs (Great DJ and That's Not My Name). It was brilliant. I was hooked.

A few weeks later, I was shocked to find that their show had sold out before I had a chance to buy tickets. Were they already that popular? I didn't even hear them on the radio yet.

A few days ago, Enoch sent me some Ting Ting acoustic songs. Like a mentally disabled dog incapable of learning new things even after deep-rooted self-proclaimed transcendental analysis, I ignored his email and instead, went straight to listening to the full album.

I think I fall in love too easily. The one great thing I love about the Ting Tings is that every song is different. They don't pigeonhole themselves into one tiny niche where you think - Ah, yes, this. Instead, they make you like each and every song for very different reasons.

This one is my favorite:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3CsWQ5g14Y

Videos for Dummies

2008-10-14T22:21:00.000-07:00

When I was on yearbook staff in middle school, our advisor told us that the worst captions are those that state the obvious.

I bet you he'd hate this video:

In case that didn't get too old too fast, here's another one for kicks:

Doesn't Roland Orzabal kind of look like a prepubescent Jerry Seinfeld in this?

Thanks Jill for the link!

Bootleg Overload

2008-10-13T00:41:00.001-07:00

Let me preface this by saying finding decent quality Pinkerton-tracked live videos from Weezer is damn near impossible. It might be a combination of Rivers Cuomo's reluctance to play songs from that album and the general lack of Weezer recordings available, but I attribute it mainly to the horde of godawful covers inundating the Youtube search results. In a rare act of late-night genius, I was able to circumvent the webcam shots that should be reserved for amateur porn and found some gems like these:

By the way, Youtube is a subsidiary of Google, Inc. and thus the search bar functions similarly in that including a minus sign ("-") immediately in front of a term will prevent that term from being part of the search.

More importantly, though, the link provided in the descriptions of those two videos lead to the motherload of Weezer bootlegs. Registration is free, so go nuts.

Also, this reminded me that I forgot to share a similar source for a multitude of Ash bootlegs which I found a few months ago. Again, registration is free. Happy day, right?

Celebrating Ten Years of Varying Degrees of Awesomeness

2008-10-06T22:59:00.000-07:00

It's good to know Photoshop.

Hello, Jailbait!

2008-10-06T22:19:00.000-07:00

Apparently, the Wonder Girls are a pretty big deal in Korea. Here are three interesting things I learned from researching this video:

1. They debuted in 2007, and this video is their "comeback." Rough year.

2. The dude stuck on the shitter is Park Jin-Young, their real-life Lou Pearlman.

3. Two of the girls are 16. So watch it, fellas.

This video was brought to my attention via Disgrasian, written by two of the most badass Asian girls ever. The other three occasionally write for this blog.

You Better Call Tyrone

2008-09-18T20:01:00.001-07:00

I must admit I was a bit late in getting on the My Morning Jacket bandwagon mostly because I pigeonholed them as a Phish-type band, which I am wont to do upon hearing the phrase "Kentucky jam band."

That all changed when I heard their cover of Erykah Badu's "Tyrone." If I ever pick up another online fire storage account, I'll get the studio version out. It's very tits.

In the meantime, check out these recent live versions. The first one is from the band's four-hour set at Bonnaroo, and the second includes Ms. Badu herself joining the fellas onstage. There are a few more complete versions available on Youtube, but these had the best sound quality:

Useless and retarded trivia: The lead singer of My Morning Jacket is named Jim James, so when he sings about how you're always bringing those guys around, "Jim James" is probably one name.

Two for the Money...

2008-09-08T23:02:00.000-07:00

Here are two upcoming shows in the LA area if anybody would be interested in carpooling:

1. The LA Weekly Detour Music Festival
After three years of advertising for these guys, it'd be nice if I were to finally go to one. However, given the fact that it's college football season, that's a BIG "if."

2. Kings of Leon w/ We Are Scientists & The Stills
I think I called Kings of Leon's Because of the Times something along the lines of "epic" last year. Their new album, Only By the Night? I've only heard a song so far, but I'm assuming the rest of the album is pretty awesome too.

Both supporting acts We Are Scientists and The Stills are sharing their new tunes as well. The Stills' Oceans Will Rise, which I haven't heard either (I've been out of touch with new music since July due to lack of hard drive space), is supposed to be quite excellent too; at the very least, I've heard it to be... let me see here... "rejuvenated." I don't know about you, but I'm pumped.

We Are Scientists' second album, Brain Thrust Mastery, which I actually have heard, isn't as good as their debut, With Love and Squalor, but the guys put on a pretty entertaining live show. Although they stopped bookending their shows with Phil Collins' "Against All Odds" and Boyz II Men's "End of the Road," the banter is still top notch. Just think of them as a more cerebral Blink-182.

Hail to the Prince of Soul

2008-08-24T01:37:00.000-07:00

If you've been watching the basketball coverage of the games, you've probably seen that Nike commercial with Marvin Gaye singing the national anthem interspersed with clips of the Redeem Team trying to live up to the hype. Having never seen the original performance, I thought, "sick beat and dramatic. Good job, Nike."

Then, I came across this:

The drum machine. The screams in the audience. All Marvin.

Northern Lights in Los Angeles

2008-08-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

Great Northern - Home

It's a huge hype, the idea of the local band. Usually, I only find out about local bands after they get huge and I hear them say, "I grew up in the dirty projects of Los Angeles," on MTV. Even if someone says they're from LA, they're usually from some shithole part of LA - like Upland or something. I Wiki-ed the Great Northern but found minimal information about their exact birth place. I digress.

So the Great Northern. The guy on Indie 103.1 told me I'd hear them on commercials more. As soon as he said that, I liked them a little less. They do sound like they'd be on a fucking toothpaste or Dentine Ice commercial.

I'll choose to like them for the next day or so. I might change my mind tomorrow, but as of today, I'll forget about that whole commercial comment and go back to my initial opinion that they sound like Death Cab with a little bit of Savage Garden with a chick. Like I said, I'll like them for the next day or so.

On a side note, why are the Olympics so goddamn addicting? I never cared so much about synchronized diving.

Canon Rock Revisited

2008-08-13T18:58:00.000-07:00

Yo. Enoch claims I spend too much time wasting time on Youtube. But come on. You gotta love it when it keeps on keeping you mesmerized with the same shit, better and awesomer.

Oh, the Tyranny of Distance

2008-07-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

Every summer, there are a number of concert series throughout the city of New York. River-to-River is a good one that features all free shows (I think). I remember seeing Rahzel & The New Deal perform together at one of their shows a few years back. Last Thursday, I hopped on the train and headed down to Battery Park to catch Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, described in The New Yorker as "heroes of the underground." I should have known, though, that the underground splits into numerous subterranean caves. While some of the inhabitants seem familliar, much of what's out there does seem foreign and uninviting.

Thursday, I found myself knee-deep in just such an underground body of water. A veritable sea of twenty and thirty somethings, reeking of for-the-sake-of-irony irony and malicious, self-serving condescention. Please don't stop reading, though, before you understand that I'm not trying to rag on the awesome Ted Leo & the Pharmacists. They were brilliant.

And the show was great. They played a terrific set, mixing old standards with all-new material. According to whitestrpsrock (since I'm horrible with Ted Leo+Rx song titles):

Heart Problems / New Song / Me and Mia / Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone? / New Song / Hearts of Oak / The One Who Got Us Out / Counting Down the Hours / Little Dawn / New - "There Goes My Brain" / New - "Gimme the Rock" / Annunciation Day/Born on Christmas Day / Bomb. Repeat. Bomb. / New Song / Bottle of Buckie / The Unwanted Things / Who Do You Love? / The World is in the Turlet / New - "Last Days" // Timorous Me / Hybrid Moments (Misfits cover) / Fisherman's Blues (The Waterboys cover)

While the stage was a little low, killing the view for anyone farther back than the third row, I did get a couple shots (of tiny Ted).

But back to the subject at hand, what pissed me off were the folks. I've never been more creeped out by a sub-section of society. Not by the punks, not by the goths, not by the preps.... Here's an exchange I overheard at the show:

Guy: Someone left a message on my myspace saying I should come to California and bring the whole band along. I checked her profile and our band is listed as her NUMBER ONE FRIEND!

Girl1: OMG.

Girl2: What a loooser!

Guy: I know!

All: condescending hipster laughter

Fuck a pack of ungrateful hipster musicians. Long live Ted Leo & the Pharmacists.

For That Much Needed Warm, Fuzzy Feeling

2008-07-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

The Things You'd Do to Make a Buck...

2008-07-02T10:18:00.001-07:00

This could easily turn out to be one of the greatest movies I'll ever watch.

Los Angeles is scattered with the hopefuls who bus their ways in from Kansas, Ohio, Kentucky... where California is a dream. People like me were born privileged. The Hollywood Hills, the beaches, the city, everything... I never had to struggle to reach out and grab it. And like the asshole we all are, I can easily say that I took it all for granted.

But say you came here and had nothing, no place to live, nothing to eat, no one to know... how severe would your survival tactics be? Los Angeles is a misnomer in a lot of ways. This city is full of dirty motherfuckers who are just waiting for the right moment to exploit the shit out of you. But everyone knows that before they get here. Hard to believe I love this city, but maybe it's just the Stockholm Sydrome where LA is my abductor and I am her sex slave.

A Garden Party Evening
Found Gallery
1903 Hyperion Avenue
Tonight, 7-10pm

The gallery is going to be buzzing with cast members, critics, fans, and weird random people like me. With art and photography by Tim Youd, the producer of the film, and Irene Kai, a reknowned Asian-American author, it's really hard to say no to crashing a party deep in West Hollywood.

Tram and I are hitting the scene. Our hopes are to get onto the News.

STOP! Hammer Time

2008-06-23T15:49:00.000-07:00

My favorite free concert series in LA returns for another summer of great local music. Every Thursday for the entire of month of July, Indie 103.1 will host Also I Like to Rock featuring LA bands at the Hammer museum's courtyard. Last year I checked it out a few times with Linda & Jill and found a local gem: Castledoor. I really loved the spirt and enthusiam of the singer, who had a campy almost hippie vibe. We missed the big show with Seawolf because we wandered in too late, but were able to catch Midnight Movies... I think I had a glass of wine too many to remember that performance.

Moving on, this year's lineup includes:

July 3rd: Nico Vega & The Growlers
July 10th: The Deadly Syndrome & Miss Derringer
July 17th: The Duke Spirit & Io Echo
July 24th: Tokyo Police Club & Afternoons

I plan to be there for the Deadly Syndrome and Tokyo Police Club. Let me know if you plan on going to either of these shows and we'll meet up for sandwiches at my favorite Westwood spot. Note: we will be eating these sandwiches while waiting in line for TPC. I learned my lesson from last year--I'm going early for the big ones. Also, there's no need to wear over sized parachute pants to these events.

How Can You Say No To Awesome?

2008-06-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

Girl Talk - Feed the Animals

I felt like a douche for typing in $0.00 when it asked me how much I'd like to pay to download the new album off of Myspace. But that feeling was immediately nullified after my brain started tripping out after spinning the fresh MP3s. The thing I like about Girl Talk is that he uses songs that aren't normally mixed in with HipHop beats.

I just wanted to share the link and the excitement about the album. It's better than Night Ripper. Download it and make your own opinion.

No Way to Ignore This One

2008-06-05T22:44:00.000-07:00

The interesting thing about Weezer is that while they sometimes just get so damn boring, they sometimes also get so damn awesome. Over the years, my love for Weezer has waxed and waned with more irregularity than other perennial up-and-downers (i.e. Busta Rhymes). Currently, however, Weezer is enjoying an extended stay in my good graces. While the last album, the Rick Rubin-produced "Make Believe", received low scores from the critics, I loved (most of) it.

Consider that your disclaimer. Oh, here's another one: Pitchfork hated the red album. You've been warned. Are you willing to continue with me into the depths of Weezer/Youtube nerdom?

Pork & Beans (sorry, embedding was disabled post-post)

The fact that I love this video will come as no surprise to those that know me and know how much time I waste on YouTube (ok, well, maybe only Enoch and my girlfriend know that about me). But srysly. This mishmash of all the best(/worst?) that YouTube has to offer is just so badass. In fact, I think it deserves an annotated guide, cut by cut (w/a couple updated edits):

0:00 Funtwo's Canon Rock room reference

0:14 others claim: Split screen reminiscent of One Man Band (what?)

0:16 Numa Numa Guy (Gary Brolsma) 1st appearance

0:17 Ronald Jenkees reference in upper right frame

0:19 Dramatic Chipmunk group appearance/spoof

0:23 Afro Ninja (Mark Allen Hicks) 1st appearance

0:28 back to Canon Rock room

0:31 Diet Coke & Mentos reference

0:37 G.I. Joe Gay & Guy Catches Glasses With Face reference (tshirt sports Charlie the unicorn)

0:41 Mentos experiments again

0:47 Most T-shirts Worn (Matt McAllister) spoof, the tshirts also reference the references in the video: prarie dog, gi joe, pbj time, etc...

0:52 Mentos again

0:56 more Afro Ninja

0:59 Britney Defender, Chris Crocker 1st appearance

1:04 All Your Base Are Belong to Us

1:07 Mentos

1:10 Miss South Carolina (Lauren Caitlin Upton) 1st appearance

1:13 Lightsaber (no specific reference) 1st appearance

1:16 Numa Numa guy again (lyrical reference, too)

1:24 3 Guys doing the Soulja Boy dance

1:26 Evolution of Dance guy (Judson Laipply) appearance

1:30 Chocolate Rain singer (Tay Zonday) 1st appearance/video reference

1:37 Chocolate Rain video reference again

1:39 K-Fed's Popozao video footage

1:44 Tay Zonday again

1:47 Daft Hands (Austin Hall) appearance

1:52 Daft Bodies appearance/spoof (that Enoch showed us)

1:57 more tshirts

1:59 more Mentos

2:04 more Tay Zonday

2:06 Kiscie's Sex Ed reference/appearance

2:08 Afro Ninja back for more

2:11 Afro Ninja + classic Bruce Lee pose & camera zoom

2:12 Chris Crocker again

2:14 Mentos

2:18 Chris Crocker

2:20 Mentos

2:22 Chris Crocker & Tay Zonday playing with Mentos

2:24 more Daft Hands

2:28 Shoes crossdresser (Liam Sullivan) appearance/spoof

2:36 Chris Crocker

2:37 A room filled with everyone, plus appearances of: Sneezing Panda, Ryan & Dorkman, Mocap Donald Duck , mocap gorillas (King Kongs, according to Wikipedia), & the Haiti UFO

2:42 Afro ninja pulls the mask off of a ninja assailant to reveal...

2:43 Peanut Butter Jelly Time banana!!

2:44 back to the room with everyone

2:47 Evolution of Dance guy again

2:48 Numa Numa guy again

2:51 the room & alot of rubiks cubes on a desk

2:53 in the big room w/ Miss South Carolina and a Blendtec "Will it Blend" Blender, and Charlie the Unicorn appears in the background

2:54 Dramatic Chipmunk spoof again

2:57 the big room again

2:59 IT'S PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!!! b/w the Evolution of Dance guy's worm, feat. Daft Bodies

3:01 Tay again

3:04 the big room again

3:07 back to Mentos

3:14 end

The Swedes Are Taking Over The World

2008-05-21T11:27:00.001-07:00

Enoch and I ventured down Wilshire to El Rey and saw Lykke Li perform along with Anna Ternheim and El Perro del Mar. Anna had this eerie resemblance to our Testmaster instructor, but that just made us like her more because we loved Amelia.

Lykke Li is one weirdass foxy chick, though. She busted out a kazoo at one point and the crowd went wild. Megaphones, cow bells, kazoos. You can't go wrong. She also kept talking shit about being in love, which was funny to me but probably not so funny to all the goddamn couples that were PDAing right in front fo me. Get a room, Mr. Face Licker!

El Perro del Mar was... blah. But I think I already didn't want to like her because she's this tall, lanky, pretty girl. No one wants to like girls like that, especially if they think playing a guitar and wearing flannel all of a sudden makes them look homely and acceptable. It doesn't.

I Got Game Girl, It Comes Easy...

2008-05-20T17:17:00.000-07:00

Time to get my weave and doo rag out. I'm going to Shoreline for a night of rumjungling with Phife and Q-Tip. August 16. That's the day Hip Hop reaches a new echelon of brain waves for yours truly. TRIBE. TRIBE. Worth it alone for Tribe. And the Pharcyde? Yes. Spank Rock. I don't know if anyone else likes them, but using words like 'Game Boy' in a rap song tickles me as much as proper grammar in rap songs tickles NPR commentators.

I also heard that the concert in Devore, CA (aka San Bernardildo) would lead to my inevitable death. Apparently, a bunch of black people jumping around could never have small Asian female survivors. I believe it.

To Shoreline I go.

Eight Bits o' Power

2008-05-14T21:18:00.000-07:00

Let the video load, and turn the volume up at around 2:48 because that's the jam to which my spiel pertains. This song was from the undersea base level in Double Dragon II (stage 4, after the helicopter ride).

Mario's & Zelda's themes were more well-known, but in my honest opinion, this track was the best song that came outta the original Nintendo era. The melody had a killer hook, and the accompanying bass added depth and texture that helped this song transcend the limitations of the time.

I'd also like to add the fact that my copy of the original Double Dragon was most likely stolen from me by my neighbor before we carpooled on the way to school at a time when NES games ran for about $50 a pop and the best I could hope for was a dollar a week from my grandma for good behavior.

As such, I've been moderately obsessed with the original Double Dragon series for some time now (subsequent SNES installments just blew), and to this day, the holy grail from which I've yet to drink has been a decent version of the undersea base melody to blast in my car.

So far, I've found two fan-made MIDI's:

Double Dragon - Undersea Base (version 1)

It sounds like 8-bit, ass-wiggling porno music, and while the novelty has yet to wear off, it's just kinda stupid.

Double Dragon - Undersea Base (version 2)

While it's a little more respectable than the first version, it is a little too airy and mellow that it just ends up trivializing the mad ceiling spikes, conveyor belts, and various other life-threatening obstacles that lurk around every corner.

In conclusion, as I continue to search for a better version, I'd just like to say the following: My neighbor was a little asshole.

New techniques include the whirlwind kick and the gang rape.

Sharing My Shame

2008-05-11T15:42:00.000-07:00

...because I got Rickrolled today. I felt this would soften the blow.

Wishlist

2008-05-08T12:09:00.000-07:00

Due to the engrossing world of GTA IV, Jerome beat me to the punch on a second edition of cool songs and albums. However, that won't stop me from piggybacking off the idea. Oh, and I second the Roots plug. That album is tits, so go get it.

Pretty much every recent Weezer album is bookended with disbandment rumors, and their forthcoming, yet again eponymous but will be referred de facto as "the red album," album already got the ball rolling. Add Rivers Cuomo's mental fragility when it comes to subpar album reception (see: Pinkerton). Just for the hell of it, let's also mention their base of rabid fans, some of whom I'm sure we've run into on the streets of Berkeley.

As such, every new Weezer album is a big deal, and the new one isn't gonna be an exception. I'm actually jumping on the bandwagon with this one mainly because I'm excited to hear other members take lead vocals. Somebody besides Rivers sang lead on "Why Bother" from a December 2005 Japanese bootleg, and whoever it was did an amazing job. Secondly, while "Pork and Beans" isn't exactly my cup of tea, "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived" is pretty fuckin' epic.

Weezer - The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)

Melpo Mene is an up and coming artist from Stockholm. After hearing "I Adore You" on a Volvo ad, I got the old album, Holes, and it was comparable in poppy goodness. His innocuous brand of music kinda reminds me of Belle & Sebastian, and whereas Barry from High Fidelity would call it "sad bastard music," I'd just call it nice and mellow. Bring the Lions Out, on which "I Adore You" can be found, is currently in production and will probably be out in a few months.

Melpo Mene - I Adore You

The Ting Tings have been buzzing on the blogosphere and the live circuit for a few months now, and so it was kind of a shock to find out they still haven't released a full-length album yet. That'll change come May 19th, when We Started Nothing will hit the shelves.

So, the Ting Tings are a chick and a guy (like the Fiery Furnaces), and the music is, depending on what song it is, either '60s pop throwback (like the Pipettes) or funk with a thick British accent on the mic (like the Go! Team). In addition to the touring, they've gained some additional exposure through an iPod commercial (like Feist). Hopefully, when the album comes out, it'll be out on torrent sites too (like everybody else).

The Ting Tings - Shut Up and Let Me Go (KCRW live)

Begging Me For Mercy

2008-05-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

Duffy - Rockferry

Getting ready for an 80's-themed fundraising prom party.

And now a limerick:

I listened while throwing one back,
Pure talent, the girl did not lack,
Her voice was pure jazz,
With attitude spazz,
I totally thought she was black.

More Cool Songs and Albums

2008-05-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

Santogold
Santogold’s a lot like M.I.A: she does weird things with her voice, she effortlessly mixes genres of music, she’s got a pretty wicked pop/fashion sense and I friggin' LOVE her. Her new self-titled album is a twelve track study in eclecticism that is easily this year's most impressive debut. It’s like New Wave fuzz meets Punk Rock ethos meets blip hop beats and any other gimmicky sounding genre I can't think of right now cause I'm so blown away by the album. Yea, just get it already.

The Roots - Rising Down
Black Thought, ?uestlove and those other guys are back and I'm not sure what happened but dudes are pissed and frustrated. That being said, Rising Down might be the best Roots album I've listened to in a while. Dudes simply do not compromise. The music sounds so raw and the crew throws down so hard on every cut that you can’t help but think they will be the last band standing when this music industry thing crumbles. Rising Down is out now.

T.I. - No Matter What
I’d like to think T.I. spends most of his time under house arrest walking around his mansion in his Hugh Hefner-esque pajamas and swimming in a sea of moneys like Scrooge McDuck. And if dude wants to put up the occasional YouTube video blog to update his fans on what he’s been up to then that’s cool too. But somewhere I forgot that T.I. is still the King of the South so he went and slapped me over the head with a pretty great new cut No Matter What. Dude cannot be broken, peep the realness: “I lost my partner and my daughter in the same year somehow I rise above my problems and remain here.” Then you bring in the church organ beat and then it’s official: sorry Kanye, No Matter What just replaced Can’t Tell Me Nothing as the underdog-f-the-haters anthem. Point blank, period.

Busting a Bus

2008-05-01T17:52:00.000-07:00

I didn't really know anything about rap or hip hop growing up in New York City. It wasn't until I moved to the edge of Queens and started attending school in Long Island that I was confronted with Kriss Kross talent show performances and MC Hammer imitations by everyone and anyone who had the good fortune to need to tell someone to stop (hammertime) doing anything.

But one of the first music videos I ever watched on TV as a kid was Woo-Haa!! It showed up on that really fuzzy channel called The Box about once every hour. It was mesmerizing. But being the pre-napster age, once the video stopped getting airtime and (later) The Box vanished from the television set, I went back to listening to Ace of Base bootleg tapes.

It wasn't until I joined up with high school Track that the era of music sharing dawned in my life. Most people carried a short list of items in their bags to meets: running spikes/flats, sports drink of choice, a book they won't read, & CDs. Favorite pump-up album that I owned: The Offspring's self-titled album. Favorite pump-up album that I regularly borrowed: Busta Rhymes' Extinction Level Event.

Today I heard a track that took me back to those pre-apocalyptic days of The Coming, When Disaster Strikes, and E.L.E. It's called "Don't Touch Me" and it's sick.

Songs to make you cool...

2008-04-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, it's time for me to sprinkle this blog with some MAGIC that's been clogged up and tangled up due to some personal life drama. No more! Let the shit fest begin. Here's a quick preview and shout out to new music that's popping up on my radar:

Rich Boy - Bigger Than The Mayor mixtape
Rich Boy looked awfully awkward in his own video for Good Things standing next to a roided and oiled up Polow Da Don and Keri Hilson at the beach. Like, dude, aren’t you dying of heat in those jeans? At least wear some shorts man! But then maybe this is the sort of self imposed torture that Rich Boy puts himself through to keep spitting in that dead serious marble-mouthed growl we love so much. Urgency's the name of the game and Rich Boy delivers again with new mixtape Bigger Than The Mayor. Polow is noticeably absent from production duties but there are heaters a plenty. Check out thumpers Chevy a Monsta, PO’d Up, Wrist Out The Window. This is a pretty great follow up to dude’s debut from last year and it’s just a mixtape! It’s official: I'm penciling in Rich Boy’s next album as the most anticipated Hip Hop album to drop in 2008.

Fam Lay - The Dirtyway Mixtape
I was pretty iffy about hipster buzz bands (see Vampire Weekend) taking their sonic cues from African pop music. Frankly, I was secretly waiting for dude’s from the Hip Hop gutter to do the same. Enter Neptunes affiliate Fam Lay. The Norfolk rapper’s upcoming Dirtyway mixtape is an out-of-the-leftfield stab at Afrobeat-rap. So far, only cuts like Dirtyway(Intro) and War Music have surfaced but I'm totally up on these snippets and so should you!

Flight of the Conchords
Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros was one of those youtube clips that I sent around the office and subsequently heard random bursts of laughter bubble up from distant cubicles. Now that the Flight of the Conchords dropped an album featuring songs like the aforementioned track from their HBO show, I'm pretty relieved that I no longer need to send out a mass email with like 15 youtube links and can now just have the email read “Get this album!”. Thanks, dudes.

Be The He The Me It Is

2008-04-29T16:11:00.000-07:00

Introduction: Enoch gave me a CD with 62 albums. To encourage the listening of each album fully and critically, I gave myself an assignment. I will post an entry about each artist I like in a set format:

1. A YouTube of my favorite song off the album (if available).
2. What I feel is the best activity while listening to this album.
3. Something else random.

First Entry!

The Annuals - Be He Me

Painting the inside of my walk-in closet including the ceiling while eating kettle corn.

And now a haiku:

North Carolina
Bore this band of indie-pop
Listen to them sing.

With a Jab at Bush for Good Measure

2008-04-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

Radiohead performed "live" on Conan this past Earth Day, playing a terrific rendition of "House of Cards" from their London studio.

I've never seen Thom Yorke live up close, so to watch his lazy eye in (in)action like that is pretty freaky. Still, the guy's a genius.

Best random fact I ever read: 22% of the letters in Thom Yorke's name are superfluous.

Oh, But What a 2/3 It'll Be

2008-04-22T20:49:00.001-07:00

Zully just keeps on lucking out with this fucking lineup. Check out Sunday:

Or, if you don't want to go blind and want to check out the other dates while you're at it, go here.

The set times show "Sean Penn" performing two very short sets, one of which is right before My Morning Jacket on the main stage. It is quite possible "Sean Penn" is just a "Penn-name" for Eddie Vedder, who did a whole set with My Morning Jacket at Lollapalooza last year and actually played with Sean Penn, the actor, earlier this year in LA. You see what I did there with that play on words? I know, it's not funny if I have to explain it.

Sidenote: 2.5 hours for Roger Waters??? Luckily, judging from past setlists, he's gonna play a best-of set before and after the album. So, if your anything like me, you can stick around for 80% of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and "Wish You Were Here" and still have enough time for the last couple of sets in the Sahara Tent or, the heavens permitting, in your car and out the desert by 10.

Coachella 2/3

2008-04-22T00:32:00.000-07:00

As the only Fat Kid (or ghost Fat Kid, I should say) attending Coachella, I thought I'd update y'all on some crap news: I'm going to miss 1/3 of the fun and instead I will sit in a large windowless room with 300 other people absorbing company culture. Apparently higher management has the final say and they say: no Friday Coachella for Zully. (edit: I'll be at a "mandatory" staff training for work)

I best win that ginormous TV in the grand raffle in exchange for missing the following:

Vampire Weekend
The Raconteurs
Datarock
Tegan and Sara
Black Kids
Diplo
Fatboy Slim
Santogold
Spank Rock

Here's the good news though: I have full permission to work all 3 days of Stagecoach. Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming! 3 days of country music and this guy? OH. JOY.

LollaPalooza Please

2008-04-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

Since Enoch dropped the fucking ball on Lolla... or maybe he was waiting for me to write something about it...

Regardless, here it is.

Lolla is back on August 1 - 3, 2008, in the great Windy City. Needless to say, the weakass anal throbbing lineup for Coachella left my panties dry. Hence, I decided to wait it out and see if maybe... JUST maybe... Lolla would open a door of hope for me.

It did.

Headliners:
Rage Against the Machines
Raconteurs
Kanye West
Wilco
Nine Inch Nails
and... Radiohead

Last year, I learned a few tricks to stay sane through the 3-day overhaul of music lovage. One, it's okay to take a nap under some random tree in the park. Two, corn on the cob is ALWAYS a good idea. Three, dress in layers because sometimes it rains... and sometimes it's fucking hot.

Another thing to look forward to in Chi-town, a Midwest chain called Connie's Pizza. I was unable to score a t-shirt from them last time, but I will not fail again.

Net bill around $600. Worth every drug money penny.

Suh-weet... Like a Chariot

2008-04-15T23:51:00.000-07:00

About two-thirds of the way through Weeds season three, this delightful little tune came on while *SPOILER* Mary-Louise Parker and Romany Malco were making babies. *END SPOILER*

Said tune would be Page France's "Chariot," the first track from their sophomore album, Hello, Dear Wind. A little background on the boys: They're from Maryland, and in spite of the insistence of others, band leader Michael Nau denies the intentional usage of Christian symbolism in some songs, claiming that "it just rolled out that way."

Page France - Chariot

Nancy Botwin is THE quintessential hi-def MILF.

To All Those Sippin' on Haterade

2008-04-14T20:00:00.001-07:00

With the American festival season having already begun, the general one-two punch has been the following: 1. See Jack Johnson on the lineup as a headliner, and subsequently, 2. Bitch about seeing Jack Johnson headline.

Here's his US festival itinerary:

4/19 & 4/20 - Kokua Festival
4/25 - Coachella
6/15 - Bonnaroo
8/9 - Virgin Mobile Festival
8/10 - All Points West
8/24 - San Francisco's Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival

Most people are thinking, "what the fuck," right? Rather than go into a ten-point defense against people's anti-Jack diatribes, let me just say this: You can't deny the guy's drawing power, and the great thing about festivals is that one has many choices other than the headliner. In fact, if you think about it, Jack Johnson playing such a prime set makes it that much easier for one to choose seeing another big name at the same time. You'd probably miss out on the contact high, but that's the price one pays, right?

A more personal reason why it's all love with Jack Johnson: My last day in New York, Fat Kid alumnus Joyce and I went to Empenada Mama in Midtown, and the restaurant was playing In Between Dreams. "Never Know" came on, and to this day it still evokes memories of sitting somewhere warm in the dead cold of winter and having some bomb-ass Cuban food. That's just good stuff all around.

Jack Johnson - Never Know

So, anybody going to any of these shows?

Fuck.

2008-04-09T13:28:00.001-07:00

You win again, old man.

BahJork - Wanderlust

2008-04-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

Late pass but... dag, this just fucked my whole brain up... awesome:

Another Plea for Chinese Democracy

2008-03-26T16:23:00.000-07:00

Come on, Axl. It's worth a special mix of 23 ingredients to all Americans.

Big Boi feat. Andre 3000 and Raekwon - Royal Flush

2008-03-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

Back in '98, when I rocked Mecca, rolled one pant leg up and rocked Timbs to my suburban private academy, I damn near collapsed when I heard rap super powers Wu Tang and Outkast were collabing on a cut (Skew It On The Bar-B, new jacks). So you can imagine the frenzy our early morning blog scouring threw me into when I came across Big Boi's new single Royal Flush featuring Andre Three Stacks and Wu resident chef Raekwon. This is vintage Dungeon Fam gumbo funk that made Speakerboxxx my go to album for cruisin-with-the-windows-down purposes. Big gets all circa southernplayalistic flow on us, Rae drops gibberish gems, and 3000 continues his streak of immaculate cameos, dropping a verse chock filled with talking rodents and metaphysical musings. Incredible.

Big Boi feat. Andre 3000 and Raekwon - Royal Flush

Soul Brother Number Two

2008-03-20T23:00:00.000-07:00

I just heard the new Spiritualized single, "Soul on Fire," and it just blew me away. Although it has been a part of the setlist for the duration of this last tour, oh, yay, to finally hear a studio version in all its lush grandeur. Oddly enough, in spite of the prominent orchestral presence (and the fact that the version I got was a radio rip), it's got more of a sing-along feel than any of the stripped-down live versions I've heard. Kinda like "Hey Jude."

A new album, Songs in A&E, is expected around late May, and it will be the first since 2003's Amazing Grace. Bold prediction: this will be the first album I purchase this year.

Spiritualized - Soul on Fire

Two more months to think about a new album cover, fellas.

Crash Course

2008-03-17T15:17:00.000-07:00

For a nice mix of blogosphere-approved artists, check out the feed to Spinner.com's Interface. Each artist link usually includes a full set in both audio and video download formats.

Tear it up, and let me know if any particular artist stands out.

While you're at it, take a look at the massive list of SXSW shows available online. Largehearted Boy, who is a king among music bloggers, will continue to update the list as the festival goes on, so feel free to check back every day or so.

Breaking Down the Sound

2008-02-27T13:25:00.000-08:00

First of all, one of the biggest mistakes a band can make is releasing an album in Europe three months before doing so in America. The longer the leak, the less likely people like me will buy the album when it is commercially available. I'm just sayin'.

Anyhoo, the particular album I'm referring to in this case is the Raveonettes' Lust Lust Lust, their third full-length album.

Fact: Lust Lust Lust couldn't chart in the UK because each album is packaged with 3D glasses, and that would be considered cheating.

Unlike their previous effort, Pretty in Black, this one sounded familiar right away in that it takes the formulas from both the previous full length albums and their first EP, Whip It On. Here's how it plays out:

Whip It On: Everything's in B-flat minor.
Chain Gang of Love: Everything's in B-flat major and sounds like a cleaned up version of the Jesus & Mary Chain's Psychocandy.
Pretty in Black: They have a hard-on for Phil & Ronnie Spector.

Give a listen to Lust Lust Lust, and you can pretty much tell which of the previous albums each song is cookie-cut from.

However, I'm not saying this album is bad. Quite the contrary, since I really enjoyed all their previous works, the formulaic sound made this album easy listening, and not copying one particular album's sound prevented this one from being boring. So kudos to the Danes for this one.

The Raveonettes - Aly, Walk with Me

The Raveonettes - Dead Sound

And It Begins Again

2008-01-22T16:02:00.001-08:00

While I'm letting the good and the bad settle in, the only thing I can think of now is if Roger Waters is playing Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety, I'm expecting the same sea of black that appeared in 2004 when The Cure headlined. I know they have completely different audiences, but a freak by any other name... right?

In the Asshole of Our Eyes

2008-01-07T20:04:00.000-08:00

Ever wondered what a Ratatat song sounded like with vocals over them? Granted, you could get one of the Ratatat mixtapes, but if you're going for the authentic sound with really creepy lyrics, then I'd recommend the way of the Unicorns.

The Unicorns were only around from 2000-2004, and it was probably due to extensive touring and fighting with audience members that led to the band's demise. However, several members continued to collaborate afterwards as the band Islands, which, if you can find it, is good stuff too.

Anyway, here's one of their gems, "Inoculate the Innocuous," which is where I got the asshole in the eye lyric. I still kinda don't get it myself. If it relaxes when you cry, does that mean tears are like poo?

The Unicorns - Inoculate the Innocuous

2007: Let's Do This Thing

2008-01-01T21:41:00.000-08:00

Okay, since we're already about several dozen hours into 2008, let's get right down to business:

Top 20 Albums:
20. Fields - Everything Last Winter
19. Against Me! - New Wave
18. Shellac - Excellent Italian Greyhound
17. Elliott Smith - New Moon
16. The National - Boxer
15. Eisley - Combinations
14. Field Music - Tones of Town
13. The Coral - Roots and Echoes
12. Radiohead - In Rainbows
11. PJ Harvey - White Chalk
10. Ash - Twilight of the Innocents
9. Electrelane - No Shouts No Calls
8. Albert Hammond, Jr. - Yours to Keep
7. Blonde Redhead - 23
6. Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's Block

5. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky

I always thought Wilco was one of those good bands simply because everybody said they were good, albeit a bit boring. However, their 2007 effort just blew me away. It's so good I decided to follow them on tour this year... via live bootlegs on Dimeadozen.

4. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Living with the Living
Once I had the time to actually sit down and decipher what he was singing, I've realized that Ted Leo is a brilliant lyricist. He's also gone way more punk on this album than his previous albums. That's just good stuff all around.

3. Pink Martini - Hey Eugene!
Great and loungy, this is like the soundtrack to a long-lost Ingrid Bergman film. I don't understand half the lyrics, but what I do get is pretty damn good.

2. Kings of Leon - Because of the Times
There was this one song on their debut album called "Trani" that I really liked because it was like an epic Velvet Underground song. They expanded on that sound with this album, and kinda got rid of the hick thing they had going previously.

1. Interpol - Our Love to Admire
Although slow to grow on me, every successive listen has revealed more and more about the album's nuanced sound. These guys have really gone above and beyond the Joy Division comparisons and now are on a track to selling out stadium greatness.

Top 20 Tracks:
20. Justice - D.A.N.C.E.
19. Mika - Grace Kelly
18. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Who Do You Love?
17. Pink Martini - Taya Tan
16. Klaxons - Gravity's Rainbow
15. Bjork - Declare Independence
14. Charlotte Hatherley - I Want You to Know
13. The Arcade Fire - Keep the Car Running
12. Kings of Leon - Knocked Up
11. Ingrid Michaelson - The Way I Am

10. Feist - 1234

9. Peter Bjorn and John - Young Folks

8. Wilco - You Are My Face

7. Travis - Selfish Jean

6. Ash - You Can't Have It All

5. Interpol - Mammoth

4. Kings of Leon - McFearless

3. Pink Martini - Dosvedanya Mio Bombino

2. Interpol - Who Do You Think (not an official video. I think it's actually David Lynch's "Blue Velvet")

1. Ash - I Started a Fire

Enoch's Hall of Fame (Year 2):
Broken Social Scene - Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl
Doves - Last Broadcast
Ash - Evil Eye
Pretty Girls Make Graves - This is Our Emergency
Chemical Brothers - Starguitar

Happy 2008, everyone!

Confessions

2007-12-27T17:30:00.000-08:00

I haven't listened to 10 new albums that I liked enough to compile into a best-of list this year. In fact, there are only 5 that I can truly endorse from 2007. So with no other fanfare, I present to you my "Top 5 Albums of 2007" list:

Runner-up: Graduation - Kanye West
I really liked this. But couldn't put it in my list because I only listened to it maybe twice. I don't know any of the track titles. I can't even tell you what that song with the Daft Punk beat is called.

#5 OK - Zhang Zheng Yue
This Taiwanese singer/songwriter has eschewed the badboy rock and put out a new album featuring a mix of R&B-infused tracks hearkening back to his days of writing exclusively love ballads.

#4 Ronald Jenkees - Ronald Jenkees
The young gentleman in coke bottle glasses displayed his skill with a keyboard on Youtube. Now you can check out his FL chops on his first album, available on his website and in iTunes.

#3 Ultimate Victory - Chamillionaire
I haven't been listening to much hip-hop in general lately, and it's a testament to this fact that Chamillionaire was the only one all year to sustain my attention long enough for me to listen to an album all the way through. I'm glad, too, because this album was hot.

#2 Seimeiryoku - Chatmonchy
When I had $70 left in my checking account, I spent $38 to special order this album at Kinokuniya. I'm an idiot, but Chatmonchy is J-Pop perfection.

#1 Yours to Keep - Albert Hammond Jr.
You might think that this one isn't from 2007 as it's absent from pretty much every internet-music-blog-year-end-best-of-list... but it is! Lucky for me, because this is one of my favorite albums in recent memory.

And so there you have it. Kind of a small round-up though, innit? So I've prepared a second list. I put the year each album was released in parenthesis, so you know how hard you need to mock me for each individual item... Yup, "Top 10 Albums I Listened to for the First Time in 2007":

#10 Jarvis - Jarvis Cocker (2006)

#9 Classics - Ratatat (2006)

#8 Inhuman Rampage - DragonForce (2006)

#7 American Idiot - Green Day (2004)

#6 Sam's Town - The Killers (2006)

#5 Elements Pt. 1 - Stratovarius (2003)

#4 Fantasia - Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra (2004)

#3 Atmosphere - You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having (2005)

#2 Black Holes & Revelations - Muse (2006)

#1 Miminari - Chatmonchy (2006)

Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthin to Fuck With...

2007-12-22T16:46:00.000-08:00

I got Wu-Tang Clan's the 8 Diagrams as my Secret Santa gift. I'll admit. I added it to my Elfster.com Wish List so it wasn't as big of a surprise as the two giant papayas they came with... but I digress.

There isn't a musically invested soul out there who can't admit that Triumph is by far one of the best rap songs ever created in the history of the genre. It's clever. It has a good beat. And that's when I thought, hmm, maybe I should check their other shit out. I now own every single Wu-Tang album including the Killa Beez series and the Wu-Chronicles.

And I have yet to be disappointed.

In the last published Rolling Stones, they list The Heart Gently Weeps off the 8 Diagrams album as one of the top songs of 2007. The Wu rendition of George Harrison's masterpiece is great, especially with Erykah Badu singing the chorus. But to say it's the best song on the album is premature. I'd give that honor to Life Changes.

Most of the album shows respect to Ol' Dirty... since he's dead. And even though most of the members hold a grudge against Rza for holding too much producing power, since his own album (Bobby Digital) is awesome on its own, I'd have to say that keeping him as the ring leader and executive producer might be a good idea.

By the way, why the fuck is Cappadonna not part of the Clan yet?

A Punk Rock Anniversary

2007-12-17T22:04:00.000-08:00

30 years ago today, on December 17, in the year 2007 minus 30, Elvis Costello and the Attractions made history by appearing on Saturday Night Live and pissing the crap out of Lorne Michaels.

Interestingly, the host of the episode was an old woman named Miskel Spillman who won SNL's inaugural (and only) "Anyone Can Host" contest. She was gonna get matched up with the Sex Pistols, which probably would've been oddly entertaining, kinda like when Martha Stewart was paired with Busta Rhymes at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1997. Damn, the blog missed that anniversary.

Anyway, because of visa problems, most likely stemming from their numerous run-ins with the law, the Sex Pistols couldn't make the show. Enter: Elvis C.

The guys were asked to play "Less Than Zero," a song about some British fascist that had almost no bearing at all on the American audience, so the band stopped the song and instead played "Radio Radio," a criticism of commercial radio. They were subsequently banned from SNL for 12 years.

If you read the pertaining section in one of the SNL history books, it's been said that once Elvis Costello switched songs, Lorne Michaels stood in the wings and gave him the bird through the duration of the performance.

Now that you're good and prepped, here it is, in all its original glory:

Me Likes Lykke Li

2007-12-10T11:51:00.000-08:00

I gotta wife this boo:

Sweden rules.

Get the mp3:
http://www.stereogum.com/mp3/Lykke%20Li%20-%20Little%20Bit.mp3

The Voxtrot Kids

2007-12-08T22:24:00.000-08:00

You know, of all the 80's knock-off indie outfits, none have been as entertaining as Voxtrot:

Their first full-length album, released earlier this year, is pretty damn good. The guitar riffs are solid, and the drumming is outstandingly clean. And the previously stated 80's throwback feel ain't too shabby.

However, my favorite track is still "Missing Pieces," from their 2005 ep, Raised By Wolves. That line about keeping away "the beauty from the dirt" just kills me.

Voxtrot - Missing Pieces

Fascination with Furries

2007-11-21T13:17:00.000-08:00

Because it's fucking cool.
No pun intended.

After Enoch and my journeys to Amoeba to pay homage to the music gods, I've revisited my past obsession with... what is the proper genre for this type? House? Electronic? Well, whatever, it's the category that includes Groove Armada, Basement Jaxx, and Girl Talk.

This lead me to search on Myspace, which lead me to find this great music video. It doesn't matter how crappy a music video appears to be in all other aspects, you put one human-sized animal dress-up thing, and I'm game. I don't even like Moby, but his music video for Beautiful is one of my absolute favorites. And remember Brandtson's Mexico? Yes, awesome.

Next year for Halloween, I'm dressing up as a giant bunny. Or you know what, if I get my hands on one, I might just wear it to the bar where I'll be drunk off my ass next Saturday.

Harder Bodies Faster Stronger

2007-11-16T11:32:00.000-08:00

Since the current theme is youtube videos bastardizing the classics, here's one more for you:

It comes off as bad and stupid at first, but once the tempo picks up, it gets good and stupid.

Pong+Tetris+MK+Pokemon+Zelda+Mario

2007-11-15T13:39:00.000-08:00

=The Cal Marching Band

Cowbell Hero

2007-11-14T10:17:00.000-08:00

Hey Geek Squad, can your puny Guitar Hero compete with...COWBELL HERO???

Didn't think so...

Testing the Obscurity of Your Knowledge

2007-11-02T22:42:00.000-07:00

Wanna see how well you can do on a quiz that basically tests how well you randomly guess at shit?

Then, take the Rolling Stone "Almost Impossible Rock & Roll Quiz."

"You don't know dick."

I got a 26, and I'm both proud and ashamed that one of my correct answers was correctly distinguishing between Tupac albums and Steven Seagal action movies.

Post your scores in the comments section.

You can blame Guitar Hero for this one...

2007-10-22T16:27:00.000-07:00

Alright. So where do I begin with this one? How has Guitar Hero changed my life? Let me count the ways... Well for one thing, it has turned something that should have been a passing fascination into a persistent obsession. Enoch called it a passing fancy and I agree -- metal is fancy! But I guess I should start at the beginning.

Basically, my interest in pop music didn't manifest itself until middle school. I was exposed to Ace of Base, then Greenday, then Third Eye Blind, then Linkin Park, etc, etc. Well, what I mean to say is that I missed out on the whole heavy metal phenomenon of the 80s and 90s. The first metal album I ever picked up was Metallica's S&M album senior year of high school. Too little, too late, you might say. For by the time someone is getting ready for college by buying extra long twin sized bed sheets at Bed, Bath & Beyond, it's pretty hard to convert oneself from Elvis Durant and the Z Morning Zoo listener to the dark side of double-bass pedals and keyboard/guitar solos. You'd think.

Well, luckily (or unluckily?), this is just about the time when nu-metal (umlauts optional) started to come into style with Linkin Park, Papa Roach, and Disturbed. This was also the heyday of Rage Against the Machine--the king of the legion. As with all good things, though, as RATM disbanded, so did my fascination with loud, screamy music. Wait, hold on, somewhere in there, you've got the other four-word group: System of a Down, arse all ready to sit upon a heavy rock throne vacated by the Zack-less RATM (who simultaneously blew fans' minds by announcing that the new front man would be Soundgarden's Chris Cornell?!).

Yeah, so thus started the age of Napster, freshman dorms, broadband, and pirate parties. Learned to love odd little things like Acid Jazz, Emo, J-Pop, Power Pop, Breakbeat, and Trip Hop. Well, you know how history likes to move in cycles? Metal wasn't through with me yet. Cue the Darkness.

Permission to Land was granted in 2003. Glam rock or British hard rock? Who can tell the difference? Serious or farce-faced? Who cares? These guys re-lit the dragon candelabra's black candle of Metal somewhere deep within my heart. For that, I am eternally grateful (don't mind Enoch's eye-rolling). Charisma plus ten to all! Two years later, to less fanfare, they would release another mind-numbingly-titled album: One Way Ticket to Hell and Back. What might, on an uneventful year, have been the hottest shit in Best Buy, was overshadowed, though, by a behemoth of a phenomenon, just two aisles over.

A revolution in rhythm-based gaming had arrived. Guitar Hero. That was 2005. Cowboys From Hell would become my anthem while it simultaneously proved to be my foil for two long years (finally beat it on expert earlier this year). Well, after the release of Guitar Hero 2 and Guitar Hero Encore: the 80s, I am now down with not just Pantera, but Slayer, Guns n Roses, Anthrax, Lamb of God, Dethlok, et al. The track list for Guitar Hero 3 has slowly been released as the October 28th release date draws near and here is where I get to the meat of this post. Last week I stumbled across a video displaying the hardest song in the upcoming melt-your-face-a-thon: "Through the Fire and Flames" by DragonForce.

As I ruminated over the subtleties of this masterpiece of dragons and wizards and flames, Enoch brought up an interesting question. How can you tell when a metal band is for real? Doesn't the whole thing just seem like one big black-t-shirted, flowing-long-haired joke? I thought about this and came to the conclusion that with this particular brand of metal, teh power metal, you've got to feel it in your soul. Because these guys are serious.

These guys are serious about things like dreams and destiny, eagles and rainbows. Man, I love power metal. Thanks to a little something called Pandora Radio (yes, ironic that I would blame everything on something named after the box that ruined mankind -- but don't forget, it left us with hope, and by association, power metal, too!), I was turned onto the awesomeness that is the Finnish power metal pioneers Stratovarius. If you're not sure about how well epic fantasy lyrics, keyboard solos, and double bass petal mix, you really have to look no further than their tour de force: "Eagleheart", to know if this music is for you.

Seriously, now. Just listen to these lyrics:

Heart of an eagle
He flies through the rainbow
Into a new world and finds the sun
Spreading his wings above all the sorrows
The glory of Eagleheart

'Nuff said. Now for the flurry of youtube music videos.

(And you're welcome!)

Now that's what I call epic.

After the rain...

2007-10-19T10:05:00.000-07:00

There's always a rainbow.

Did you guys download the new Radiohead off of their website?

The album is good. It offers the same stylistic endeavors that Radiohead has always so consistently provided. But what makes this album so different than the rest is that it's essentially free (and not because we're pirates).

Let's take a vote. Who thinks that bands should give their albums away for free with an option to donate whatever they feel is the proper value of the acquisition?

I vote yes. Why? Because I'm a fucking economist, and although I do believe in the Tragedy of Commons (no one will pay assuming that someone else will pay), I am FINE being that no one. I like Radiohead, but they don't need my $20 to pay for their extra Ferrari.

Let's take another vote. Who thinks that other bands will follow in Radiohead's footsteps and offer a similar "tip bucket" system?

I vote no. Why? Because I'm a fucking economist, and I know that almost everyone is out there to make a dollar. And not just one dollar, but a bunch of them. The diminishing marginal utility concept doesn't really apply to greedy people. An extra buck will always yield a happy fact.

That's enough of my Radiohead economics lesson. I've officially desecrated this blog.

Download it, now.

The Godfather of Britpop is Still the Shiz

2007-10-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

I know this album was actually released last year, as was the video, but I stand by my 6-12 month buffer zone in discovering new music. With that said, here's Jarvis Cocker's "Don't Let Him Waste Your Time":

And One for the Lovers

2007-10-10T15:04:00.000-07:00

This just in:

I've been following this recent tour of his, and I can assure you these two shows are gonna be simply beautiful.

Since I have class that Tuesday, we're gonna all get tickets for day one and have ourselves one big, cathartic lovefest. I would highly, highly recommend that you consider going to this show if you have the capacity to do so.

It Made Me Want To Chew Gum

2007-10-07T20:55:00.000-07:00

I didn't even consider listening to music on commercials because I was so used to hearing ABBA songs totally butchered or the Beach Boys singing about toilet paper. But after Enoch's sweater song (previous post), I thought I should pay a little attention.

And then I noticed this commercial that reminded me of Final Fantasy. That was attention grabber No. 1.

Then I liked the song because it was so Soul-Asylum-esque. That was attention grabber No. 2.

After quickly memorizing the chorus, I googled and saw that someone had asked the exact question on WikiAnswers: Who sing the newest Dentyne Ice commercial the lyrics are so kiss me again cuz only you can stop the st st st st stuttering... i like the song and want to know what its called and who sings it? That was attention grabber No. 3.

Ben's Brother - Stuttering

I couldn't find the full song online, but I did find the commercial. The full song is on their myspace page at www.myspace.com/bensbrothermusic.

Someone find the album and send it to me.

One for the Ladies

2007-10-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

I don't know why, but the minute I heard this song, I knew it was gonna be something the chicks would be all over. Maybe it's the innocuously Feist-like vocals, or maybe it's the million-dollar hook. Irregardless, say hello to Ingrid Michaelson:

The song I'm referring to, "The Way I Am," first came to my attention via an Old Navy commercial for sweaters. She's also contributed music to such girl-friendly programs as Grey's Anatomy and One Tree Hill. I swear, I only knew that because I read it on her Wiki.

Ingrid Michaelson - The Way I Am

The Kanye Lovefest Continues

2007-09-30T23:48:00.000-07:00

Serious, one more Kanye entry, and I think we'll need to rename the site to reflect his ubiquitous presence. Like he said, "I am the greatest show on Earth." What can we do?

Anyway, the topic of this latest entry comes in the form of his SNL skit in which he plays on his recent tirades. That line about the champagne is one for the ages.

Oh yeah, and mad props to George Smoot, one of the co-recipients of the Nobel "Peace" Prize in Physics. Go Bears, yay-yay.