War or Car?

Via newly minted UT Philosophy Ph.D. Neil Sinhababu, friend and fellow Utilitarian, who is currently teaching in Singapore:

WAR OR CAR?

power pop

found this gem from an interview i read
such a sucker for this sort of thing even with the not-even-trying synch
and check out that young dreamboat on the bass...

i really like wale
i may be the last person to get hip to it
sorry these aren't videos...but these tracks make my day

D. Boon is dead, long live D. Boon

Where is that confounded edge?

Happy August everyone. Done with my summer job, so I can get back to the good things in life, i.e. the ways we get by. Hope this blog continues to crawl slowly into the future.

going going back back

guilty pleasure perhaps
but i can't stop playing this new jason schwartzman jam
can it be the new 'california'?

summer jamz cont'd

also rich girls by the virgins has got a groovy thang going on. can you ever say groovy thang without spelling thang with an a? i think not.

i've been meaning to check out fleet foxes thanks to my kcrw's today's top tune podcast. this podcast led me to heart it races by dr. dog which started a whole dr. dog thing (which I must credit my sister for as well).

as for other things i've been up to this summer:

reads:
*prep by curtis sittenfeld
*the other boleyn girl (movie and book. the latter was described as "book candy" by my sister which is exactly what it is. the movie has a lot of brooding bana and is generally no good)
into thin air
ghost soldiers (non-fiction about a rescue op from a war prisoner camp in the Philippines during WWII)
the sun also rises (read while in Spain for atmosphere)
great expectations
*in cold blood
no one belongs here more than you - miranda july's short stories
*revolutionary road by richard yates
and I'm currently continuing my krakauer streak with under the banner of heaven and then tempering that with some austen, sense and sensibility

the stars were my favorites

movies:
i'm not there - i'm obsessed with this movie
persepolis
teeth - so graphic
inside man
iron man


and now i'm going to watch the terminator for the first time ever

i'm listening to

cut copy

lykke li (let it fall)

the new beck

an embarrassing amount of chris brown

i have a girl crush on katy perry

he that plays the king

clifford 'TI' harris' focus on an acting career is evident in his new music video




that said i'm a total sucker for another TI epic inspirational single
good waking up music (along with supergrass and mo moeny mo problems)

More White Denim

Just downloaded White Denim's new LP. This song's on it. I heart this band.

...with guitar!

i know this is boring to watch but i could kind of listen to that riff forever
it goes without saying i feel the same about biggie's rhymes
there are a number of other such remixes available for the price of free at the ratatat website

believe the hype

YYYYYYEAH

and the new elvis costello is great, duh

New Roots

ages 12 to 12

i'm pretty happy with this






how's your inner 12 year old?

VANDERSLICE

i saw john vanderslice open for stephen malkmus and ive been really diggin the bub

here's my favorite song



kookaburra

this one's good too
and album quality



exodus damage

Dextra! Dextra! Read all about it!

I found out about the Flat Duo Jets from a coworker who spent some time in Athens, GA during the 80s and suggested I check out the excellent documentary Athens, GA Inside/Out to get a feel for the era.

I think Jack White probably likes these guys. Probably.

Amy Lavere

Fave from south-by. Check her out!

Malkmus

Stephen Malkmus & Jicks are still quite an excellent live experience. They may be better than ever although I felt that arrangements on the gentler RET tracks were a little clumsy (We Can't Help You) That said in heavy jams they set fire to the night. Hopscotch Willie was an extended standout and sounded downright Doors-y for awhile. I only introduce this cause I think Brian and Dave are seeing him/have seen him and I'd like to compare notes. They covered Fear's I Dont Care About You.

And here's this weird FoxNews interview

Sequel 2

Can anyone think of any movies that incorporate the number 2 (signifying the status as a sequel) seamlessly into the title instead of tackily tacking it on at the end?

I'm thinking of...

2 Fast 2 Furious

Step Up 2 the Streets

ok maybe it's not tacky to go with a title like Spider Man 2 after all...

Television To Do List

Watch Battlestar Gallactica Season 1.

Deadwood Season 2.

Start The Wire. 

Heros Season 2 on DVD this summer.

Friday Night Lights some day?

R.I.P. The Wire

Seriously guys. The Wire. The MOTHERFUCKING Wire. How have we managed to overlook this transcendent series for so long? And now it's gone--the last episode aired yesterday, and I watched it today.

Do yourselves a favor, be you on spring break or in need of a leisure pursuit--watch it. If you already have, commiserate with me, damn it.

And as New York Magazine so beautifully did, let us give Landsman the last word on Jimmy McNulty:

He was the black sheep, a permanent pariah. He asked no quarter of the bosses and none was given. He learned no lessons; he acknowledged no mistakes; he was as stubborn a Mick as ever stumbled out of the Northeast parish just to take up a patrolman's shield. He brooked no authority. He did what he wanted to do and he said what he wanted to say, and in the end he gave me the clearances. He was natural police. And I don't say that about many people, even when they're here on the felt. I don't say that often unless it happens to be true. Nat'ral po-lice. But Christ, what an asshole.

sxsw

anyone heard the new malkmus? the track on the avclub is boss.

vlad's coming to austin next thurs for sxsw. expect some rock and roll reportage from austin. we'll be hitting the bricks, waiting in lines for rawk, our tummies full of breakfast tacos.

layout

the layout of this blog is wickity wack and i can't figure out how to make it not messed up. i made you all admins so please try to fix this ish.

- celeste

Hola Aphrodite!?

The Super Furry Animals are one of those bands that I always heard about but never actually heard. Must be that quirky name. Anyway, I picked up their latest album "Hey Venus!" (Aug '07, OK, so I'm behind) after hearing a few sample tracks. It's as colorful as the cover art. The tunes span various genres from blue-eyed soul to hard electronica, but it's all great psychedelic rock and roll.

There's a bit of the Flaming Lips to many of the songs in the instrumentation and production, but instead of Wanye Coyne's rusty pipes, the lead singer has a bit of a Jarvis Cocker thing going on. Standout tracks include the Of Montreal-ish "Neo-Consumer" and my current favorite slow jam "The Gift that Keeps Giving". You can hear some of those and others on their website here.

HYPE MACHINE

check out the hype machine for finding new music

lykke li

i stole this from sasha frere-jones' blog
">lykke


it is pretty damn infectious
and moves

selling out thread continued

Tom Scholz v. Mike Huckabee

Zahn et. al.

Juno reviewed

From Metacritic:

Isaac gave it a 2:
if you have a penis, do NOT see this movie. It will fall off. Also, worst soundtrack ever.

Liars/Patrick Daughters

i'm seeing Liars tonight with no age which should be an ear-bleeding good time
and since their new video is a freak-a-leak i'll put it up here

">plaster

its directed by patrick daughters who is kinda cool having done videos for yeahyeahyeahs and feist (the 1 2 3 4 ipod video and one for my moon my man which i really dig)

Vintage Eminem

I came across this a while back, but I hadn't really given it a listen until it came up on my iPod shuffle while I was waiting for the bus last night. It's from his first album, "Infinite". He's a bit more laid back--not a single f-bomb, and the beat sounds like it could have come from a Tribe Called Quest album. Sample verse:

In this slaughtering house, caught up in bouts
With the root of all evil
I've seen it turn beautiful people crude and deceitful
And make them do shit illegal
For these Grant's and Jackson's
These transactions explain a man's actions (lyrics)

He gives the context of the recording in "Yellow Brick Road" (lyrics).

We've got a message from the action man

Freddie's Dead

rapped and masked

skillz 2007 rap up
funny, if you haven't seen...
">.

and this video is weird to me cause i like the album but who thought "we could really crossover this way..."
">.

No, AS a goof

ice cube is not for the pop charts

ice cube is still hard

">ice

Malkmus tour confirmed

New album in March. The tour dates:

March
19 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ First Avenue
20 - Milwaukee, Wisc. @ Pabst Theater
21 - Chicago, Ill. @ Vic Theatre
22 - Indianapolis, Ind. @ Vogue Theater
23 - Newport, Ky. @ Southgate House
25 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Mercy Lounge
26 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Variety Playhouse
28 - Washington D.C. @ 9:30 Club*
29 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Fillmore*
31 - New York, N.Y. @ Bowery

April
2 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
3 - Boston, Mass. @ Paradise Rock Club
4 - North Adams, Mass. @ MASS MoCA

*Not yet confirmed.

Info cribbed from Paste.

Unsolicited arguments: Why 'This is Hardcore' is the best Pulp album

Via Lou Frank

Man of the Year 2007 = Brian the Fat Kid