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27 May 2010 21:54

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U.S.: Just to scare you, a preview of the 2010 hurricane season

  • 14-23 named storms, the NOAA says source
  • 8-14 number of hurricanes, which we hear mix well with an oil spill
  • 3-7 number of major hurricanes; stock up now kids – Summer’s gonna suck
  • » How bad is this, really? This is the highest prediction the NOAA has had since it started doing this back in 1998. Back in 2005, the storm season actually topped these numbers – 28 named storms, 15 hurricanes, and a storm that made it impossible for Katrina and the Waves to go on tour ever again under their most famous name.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Mar 2010 19:11

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Music: Saturday Mixtape: We’re suckers for a hazy, summery vibe

  • Summer can’t come soon enough for indie rockers, it seems, because the sound du jour at the moment is a hazy brand of indie rock, much less abrasive than 2008’s noisy lo-fi model (we’re looking at you, No Age and Wavves). Guitars, synths, doesn’t matter: The vibe is key here. And it started with some guy named Ariel Pink.

  • 1. The sad, whining tone of the guitar intro on The Morning Benders’ “Excuses” gives way to a fairly clean sound, but it’s one clearly informed by the calming fuzz of a warm summer day. The Beach Boys wrote the outline, but not the plot, here.
  • 2. They like Neon Indian, they really like him. Last year, the Nintendo-baked project actually drew a degree of success that put it in the forefront of the “chillwave” movement. It’s a lot more accessible than some of the other stuff here. In a good way.
  • 3. A buddy of Animal Collective, Ariel Pink never got the critical praise of his mentors, until it became clear that indie’s path was colliding into his often-bizarre, noise-worn sounds. This song, one of the hundreds he’s recorded over the years, had a proper release way back in 2004, yet it fits in perfectly here. Hm. With the extra attention (he recently signed to big indie 4AD), expect him to have a solid 2010.
  • 4. Bradford Cox, too, has been around a while between Deerhunter and Atlas Sound, but his last Atlas Sound album “Logos,” has a definite worn-out-summer vibe that fits perfectly here. It’s one not reflected in any of his previous albums, but seems to nail the moment perfectly. When we hear “My Halo,” want to laze out. Seriously.
  • 5. Somewhere, below the layers of noise covering up Best Coast’s “Sun Was High (So Was I),” is a killer hook in a killer female vocal. Like the best hooks, it cuts through, saying “listen to me again.” And usually, we’re forced to comply.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Oct 2009 20:48

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U.S.: The U.S. was infected with swine flu on a wide scale this summer

  • 5.7 million likely H1N1 sufferers between May and July source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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