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08 Dec 2009 10:25

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Music: Some weird animal guy wants to go to Africa. Give him money.

Deacon, the least-prominent member of Animal Collective, wants to go to Africa. So he’s using Kickstarter to raise $25,000 for a trip. Donate and get cool crap. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Dec 2009 10:19

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Music: A harrowing account of the scary-sounding Weezer bus crash

  • I couldn’t believe what was happening in front of me, as Rivers lay so helpless, shivering in the center of the chaos, and meanwhile the sun was coming up and revealing an utterly beautiful light covering of snow on the surrounding trees.
  • Weezer band associate Karl Koch • Describing the scene as Rivers Cuomo was pulled out of the wreckage after a bus accident yesterday morning. The bus fell in such a way that the fridge fell out of its position and the front entrance was blocked by mud. The jaws of life were used to get the Weezer frontman out. Cuomo is resting comfortably in the hospital after suffering severe rib injuries. The band has canceled the rest of their 2009 tour dates as a result of the accident. Pull through, Rivers! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Dec 2009 21:56

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Music: People are apparently shocked – shocked! that Best Buy sells vinyl

  • Some individuals come into our store and they stop in their tracks. They don’t expect to see this. You can see them reminiscing as they start looking at the album covers.
  • Best Buy sales representative Andre Sam • Describing the reaction many customers have to the fact that Best Buy actually sells vinyl records at some of its stores. And the vinyl isn’t old stuff, either – Lady Gaga, 50 Cent and Norah Jones are just some of the artists who make appearances in Best Buy’s bin. While vinyl only has 1% of the market cornered, it’s up 35% this year alone. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Dec 2009 10:42

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Music: We hear “Shy Ronnie” is getting a lot of hype this morning

  • “Shy Ronnie, speak up!” Rihanna and Shy Ronnie (Andy Samberg) are yet another example of how SNL can totally knock it out of the park when given the opportunity. The Lonely Island are on a high right now – they were just nominated for a very real Grammy for “I’m On A Boat,” which was just about the only surprise the Grammy nominations had to offer.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

05 Dec 2009 20:54

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Music: Our Saturday Mixtape wants to live in Montreal or something

  • 1. This song has been embedded in our brains for approximately two weeks. Montreal’s Think About Life, who come out on paper as a combination of TV on the Radio and Chromeo, is somewhat hit-and-miss, but when they hit, as on “Havin’ My Baby,” it’s a sugar rush you can’t ignore.
  • 2. Land of Talk – a fellow Montreal band fronted by Elizabeth Powell who comes off as a guitar superhero live – mixes the low-key and the guitar-smashers deftly. The centerpiece of their new “Fun and Laughter” EP, “May You Never” mixes calm and chaos (and the gift of hazy atmosphere) into a tasty stew.
  • 3. Disclosure: Plants and Animals will be in the mixtape two weeks in a row, because their 2008 album “Parc Avenue” is that good. “A L’Oree Des Bois” has this way of starting out loose and then expanding slowly.
  • 4. There’s a few obvious picks that can go on this list: Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, Wolf Parade, and so on. Handsome Furs are sort of on the cusp of that, but we admittedly like Dan Boeckner’s non-Wolf Parade band a little more than the main act, especially on “All We Want, Baby, Is Everything,” which manages to come across as unpretentious dance-rock. At least it’s less pretentious than Toronto’s Crystal Castles.
  • 5. The Lovely Feathers have a little of the Arcade Fire rising hugeness going on with “Lowiza,” but what’s really interesting is that the chorus sort of breaks into a group oy-style endeavor. It’s like they’re the Dropkick Murphys doing “Neighborhood #1.” (Well, kinda.) It’s pretty awesome to hear, actually.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Dec 2009 20:20

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Music: Public Enemy vindicated in a Washington Post correction

  • A Nov. 26 article in the District edition of Local Living incorrectly said a Public Enemy song declared 9/11 a joke. The song refers to 911, the emergency phone number.
  • A Washington Post correction that ran yesterday. The correction, currently the No. 5 article on WashingtonPost.com, is hilarious because it mistook Public Enemy’s “911 Is a Joke,” which predated 9/11 by over a decade, as a 9/11 truther anthem. *forehead slap* (hat tip @ohmgee) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

03 Dec 2009 03:45

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Music: REO Speedwagon can’t fight this feeling to be marketed with a game

Heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend who heard it from another that this game really sucks. Sorry, REO. Couldn’t resist the golden opportunity. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

03 Dec 2009 03:29

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Music: A quick rundown of the Grammy “Album of the Year” nominees


  • Obvious

  • Lame

  • Huh?

  • Obvious

  • Obvious
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Nov 2009 14:53

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Music: Saturday Mixtape: Our decade-in-review is in odd-but-awesome 2007

  • 1. Everyone went (Lady) gaga over Panda Bear‘s “Person Pitch,” which also came out in 2007, but we actually greatly prefer Animal Collective’s “Strawberry Jam,” which somehow pulled off the trick of making eight-minute-long songs sound like they were performed in three. “Peacebone” is also awesome on the album, but for our money, “Fireworks” is the classic here.
  • 2. Dan Deacon sounds like he shouldn’t be popular. Barring a few weirder archetypes from the late-’60s (Silver Apples is sorta close, Bruce Haack is closer) and a couple of avant-garde artists only Deacon himself could probably name, there’s really no context for his sound. But Deacon is, and “The Crystal Cat” truly shows why he matters. He synthesizes weirdness into pop but does it without being dull or unlistenable.
  • 3. The great thing about Radiohead’s “In Rainbows“ is that, pulled far away from the context of the pay-your-own-price scheme that brought the record attention, it holds up as the band’s best record this decade – still experimental, but far more focused than “Kid A” – and perhaps their best overall. Our fave from the record? “Bodysnatchers.”
  • 4. Spoon was consistent throughout the decade, but “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga” found them still being hugely listenable while bringing a more experimental bent to their sound. The extra touches on “Finer Feelings” – from the odd lyrics about finding true love in the Memphis Commercial Appeal to the odd musical interlude near the end – only make the pop-candy center stand out even more.
  • 5. Best song of the decade. If you’ve ever heard LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends,” you know why. No contest.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Nov 2009 13:05

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Music: Bob Dylan thankful that his weird Christmas album helps the homeless

  • They get food straight to the people. No military organization, no bureaucracy, no governments to deal with.
  • Bob Dylan • Regarding his choice to offer proceeds of his bizarre “Christmas in the Heart” to hungry and homeless charities. He mentioned this in an interview that ran in London’s “The Big Issue” and other similar sold-by-homeless newspapers in the U.S. That’s right, a guy who never does interviews with anyone gave one to a homeless newspaper. Random. But awesome. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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