Mixtapes - Nothing Can Kill The Grimace

Nothing Can Kill The Grimace by Mixtapes  
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03 Nothing Can Kill The Grimace.mp3 (5270 KB)

Mixtapes are a four-piece pop-punk band from Ohio. I have no idea how I found them, but they are the poppiest anything I've held a weeks-long obsession with in years and not felt guilty about on any level.

The bands debut album, Maps, opens and closes with an acoustic track, so you're pretty much immediately thrown into the alternating male-female vocals don't always work out but make Mixtapes because it works, mostly because Maura Weaver's voice is suited to both an acoustic guitar and doot-kat-doot-doot-kat style punk rock.

"Nothing Can Kill The Grimace," the song that instantly convinced me how much I was about to listen to Maps, mostly covers not wanting to go out and get wasted for no good reason. Not that there's anything wrong with getting wasted, but tied to that is a desire to sit home and write. Personally, the two should be combined for ultimate effectiveness. That's me though.

Barely a year old, the band has put out Maps and a few 7-inch's. They also just signed to Warner Brothers. If it was any other major, I'd  be worried but Warner tends to let bands flesh out a bit before actually expecting anything. Man do I hope they don't screw these guys up cause this band actually has potential. They're even smart enough to keep their shots at Green Day good-natured instead of getting all bitter about it. Love it.

Buy Mixtapes debut album Maps at Shockhound.

PS My lesson of the day is that both me and Mixtapes mostly qualify as orgcore. 

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Kanye goes graphically horrorcore for "Monster" video. Thank god we have the Internet instead of MTV now.

The real version of this video wouldn't even have made it to late-night "Smack My Bitch Up"-style if MTV were still playing videos. One of the best songs on My Dark Beautiful Twisted Fantasy gets a sick video that you can't take your eyes off of. I know why people hate this guy, and it only makes me appreciate him more.

From Kanye in bed with a couple of dead girls, to two Nicki Minaj's, and back to Kanye again, this video is more art from the top artist in hip hop. Excellent.

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Radiohead - "Lucky"

Lucky by Radiohead  
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11 Lucky.mp3 (6088 KB)

I pulled out OK Computer last night with the intention of setting up the epic 01 and 10 playlist. I haven't done it yet, but you can be sure I'll post some sort of explanation on some other website when I do. 

In the meantime, "Lucky" was the last song that uploaded to my mp3Tunes locker and every time I've opened the website today, that's the first song that played. Which means I've heard it at least four or five times in the last 12 hours. (Why I open and close the mp3Tunes tab on my browser so much is an entirely different story.)

Unlike "Paranoid Android," "No Surprises" or "Karma Police," nobody ever posts "Lucky." "Electioneering" was always my favorite track on OK Computer. Right now, it's got competition. Something about the mid-tempo mix of self-doubt, new confidence and begging for a savior appeals to me as we get to the end of another year. 2010 has been a good year, but I'm convinced there's bigger things around the corner.

It says something that an album I listened to obsessively for large stretches of the last 13 years can still reveal new things to me. Worship OK Computer the next chance you get.

Buy Radiohead's OK Computer at Shockhound.

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Goldie - Digital (feat. KRS-One)

Digital by Goldie  
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2-02 Digital.mp3 (8252 KB)

This morning, while getting into my car, I had an epiphany: Why did I never start calling my Saturn "Goldie"? Lots of people have names for their cars, right? So, why not me? 

Putting aside the fact that my 2001 SL1 has nothing to do with the one-time "King of Jungle" as many referred to him in the late 90s. (Including Tricky, though I don't think he meant it as a compliment. That story can wait for another post though.) The truth is that Goldie is an innovator from both a production and label standpoint. His sound helped define a big part of drum n bass in the late 90s, and his label, Metalheadz, pushed like-minded producers. Also, Metalheadz had the coolest label logo in history.

To cut to the juicy bits of his Wikipedia bio: After putting out the legendary and darkly atmospheric Timeless in 1995. That album got him charting in the UK and he went global. He also went epic, and probably jumped the shark.

In 1998, the double-album Saturnz Return hit turntables and CD players worldwide. The second disc was filled with the sort of stuff Goldie staked his name on, and includes appearances by KRS-One (that's this track) and Noel Gallagher of Oasis (that would be "Temper Temper"). The first disc was a 60-minute largely orchestral but ultimately punishingly good drum n bass track called "Mother." I enjoyed it, but I imagine many thought the concept was preposterous. Those are probably the same people who think Zaireeka was bull shit too though and they don't matter to me.

Pounding beats and rolling, thundering bass lines. Mmmmm. If you didn't experience the electronic music scene in the 90s and early 00s, you missed out cause this stuff sounded great in wall-to-wall packed clubs. 

But my car is maroon. I don't know if it's right to call it Goldie, although I guess I could just tell people it's short for Golda Meir, cause she was tough as shit, kind of like my car. Yeah, that could be fun.

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Usher and Will.i.am need to watch less of The Simpsons. For real.

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"I'm gonna up to the fire truck. It smells like pee up there."

That's what we get for coming to McDonalds.

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Somebody missed something when they were proofing sports last night.

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Merry Christmas to you too Ke$ha. Really.

(via Mediaite)

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The Minutemen - "The Only Minority"

The Only Minority by Minutemen  
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Minutemen_11_The Only Minority.mp3 (1362 KB)

I know that this week is the 25th anniversary of D. Boon's death in a van crash because one of the first articles I read this morning, I have no idea how this worked out, was Rob Sheffield's piece on RollingStone.com, "Remembering D. Boon and The Minutemen." So obviously I listened to What Makes A Man Start Fires on the way to work today.

If Boon were still alive, what would The Minutemen would be doing right now? Maybe Mike Watt wouldn't sound a little crazy in "I Need That Record! The Death (or Possible Survival) of the Independent Record Store," which anybody who has spent more than two hours in the same records on more than one occasion should see. It's likely they would have cut a path of influence similar to Sonic Youth, or maybe Fugazi. Hopefully they would have released a lot more music and toured more like the former than the latter, too.

In any case, the albums are still good. Download one you don't have.

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Spoon - You Got Yr Cherry Bomb (Country Demo)

You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb (Country Demo) by Spoon  
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04 - You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb (Country Demo).mp3 (4408 KB)

Sometimes Spoon feels like a significantly cooler Steely Dan. The major difference, of course, being that Spoon is playing rock and roll and the dorks with a seriously cool band name are busy being snooty art school musicians. Britt Daniel is cooler than them. By cool, I mean he has the best quality control in history seeing as how there isn't a bad song on any of his albums. (Come on - prove me wrong.)

My hope would have been for a live album, or a collection of actual rarities, but in Bonus Tracks 2008-2009, we get a collection of demos with a few alternate versions that originally were posted for free download on the Spoon website. 

Most of the demos sound close to what appeared on Spoon's two previous albums, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and Transference, and don't stand out all that much with one exception, and it likely has nothing to do the song itself except for one significant thing. "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb" is the best song on Bonus Tracks 2008-2009, no shock because it also is one of the best songs on either album it was actually released as part of.

I thought, when I saw it on the track list and then when I started listening to it, of The Rolling Stones. The only other time I can remember a band doing a country themed version of their own song is "Country Honk" so I couldn't help it. Just to be clear, I'm not comparing "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb" to "Honkey Tonk Woman." At all. It's just the only other time I can think of it happening.

Bonus Tracks 2008-2009 is not an essential album by any means but the differences on nearly every one of these are the differences between them being very decent songs and the great songs they turned out to be. It's at least as good as any of the last couple of Stones albums though, and that counts for more some people probably think.

Buy Bonus Tracks 2008-2009 from Spoon. (It's only $6.30. Totally worth it.)

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It sounds like PJ Harvey is going pop, despite the strange new video.

I'm cool with it.

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Women's bathroom door at Bergeron Park. And no, I didn't do it. But I did laugh.

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Rachel made 48 cupcakes in Paige's party. YES!

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Finally found a webcam app that works on #ChromeOS. The video is grainy and laggy, but still...

The "nimbb" extension actually connected with the webcam, recorded and posted somewhere. This is progress. It's taken me four days to get to this point.

</object>

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Bonnie makes art, kids make faces and The Duke's shotgun protects us all.

Dinner at Flashback Diner in Davie.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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The Rentals - Sweetness and Tenderness

Sweetness And Tenderness by The Rentals  
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10 Sweetness And Tenderness.mp3 (8337 KB)

What's the difference between Weezer in 1998 and now? This song. I bet if Matt Sharp rejoined Weezer, you'd get the proper follow-up to Pinkerton within a year. The truth is, Rivers Cuomo needs somebody to tell him to stop trying to be cool and just write a song that he can actually feel.

I hate to harp on it, really, but this came up on my iPod on shuffle today and my first thought was about how great the Blue album and Pinkerton are. Whatever the fallout between Cuomo and Sharp was, it's a damn shame. At least we've got a couple good albums from The Rentals to go with the two classic Weezer albums.

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White Lung - "Sleep Creep"

Sleep Creep by White Lung  
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03-white_lung-sleep_creep.mp3 (2860 KB)

I'm gonna keep this simple, and almost haiku-like: Female singer. Fast punk that's gonna grate on anybody who isn't into the obnoxious sound. Makes me wanna jump around and break shit, but in a good way. (What the hell is that supposed to mean.)

White Lung's self-titled, 11-track album on Deranged Records is a non-stop, don't blink or you'll miss it screaming freak-out. Once upon a time, the four women who are White Lung would be called Riot Grrrls, and maybe they still should be, but I'm just gonna call them punk as fuck. 

I don't know if it's true but, based on the record, I'm willing to bet they wouldn't think twice about beating your ass for laughs.

And that's the way it should be.

Download White Lung at Shockhound.

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The Cool Kids pick up Bulls tickets, but film a slick video instead of watching the game.

Nobody sounds like these guys. They've done better, but I still love it.

(via You Ain't No Picasso)

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A tankerful? Where can I order that size?

I could really use it right now.

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Good people: Plugged my flat tire for free, but advised I get it replaced soon.

Go there for all the stuff on their card.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Stephen Feller" <stephen.feller@gmail.com>
Date: Dec 15, 2010 3:11 PM
Subject: Good people: Plugged my flat tire for free, but advised I get it replaced soon.
To: <post@posterous.com>

Go there for all the stuff on their card.

Posted via email from Stephen Feller

Good people: Plugged my flat tire for free, but advised I get it replaced soon.

Go there for all the stuff on their card.

Posted via email from Stephen Feller

Bad Religion - "Avalon"

Avalon by Bad Religion  
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Bad Religion_10_Avalon.mp3 (7627 KB)

As I sift through albums for that Top 11, and realize that it's been a really great year for music, it dawned on me that I never wrote a word anywhere - save a few tweets - about this year's album from Bad Religion, The Dissent of Man.

This is the first time I've listened to a BR album and had the thought that these guys are clearly getting old. Maybe it's because the lyrics are starting to sound more reflective and personal, or maybe it's because "I Won't Say Anything" and "Turn Your Back On Me" sound tired. Really, they should have been left off the album.

Let's look on the bright side though: "Only Rain," "Resist Stance," "Meeting of the Minds," "The Day The Earth Stalled" and even "Cyanide" with it's country-ish solo courtesy of Tom Petty guitarist Mike Campbell. They're all good. And there are several more too. "Won't Somebody," one of the bonus acoustic tracks on the expanded re-issue of New Maps of Hell, is given good heft in its plugged in form.

The thing about the entire album, taken as a whole, is the sound of a band slowing down. I don't think they're settling, despite the fact that this should have been a 12-track album with three or four great bonus tracks. If this isn't the last Bad Religion album, and I sincerely hope it's not, this could be a transition album. I don't know what they're becoming, but there might be an interesting next step. Or they'll just put out another BR record they we all expect them too.

Which brings me to "Avalon." This was one of two songs on the album, "Only Rain," being the other, that really floored me. "Resist Stance" and "Won't Somebody" had long been out there, but continued to floor me. But I digress.

No regrets is one of the longtime themes that, along with the ideas of thinking for yourself and questioning everything, Greg Graffin returns to over and over. On "Avalon," Graffin is pretty solidly suggesting you stop looking over your shoulder and keep searching for it, whatever it is. That's an important message from a guy who has managed to pursue knowledge and experience like few others in punk rock. Henry Rollins comes close, but without a doctorate, he comes up short.

I say it with every new Bad Religion album, and I'll say it again with this one - if you're not already a fan this one probably won't be the one to rope you in. There's a reason they've stuck around though, and whether it's the oozin' ahhs, Brooks Wakerman kicking the beats or Graffin and Brett Gurewitz keeping their Mick-and-Keith streak alive, it's never too late to love the best band in punk rock.

Buy The Dissent of Man at Shockhound.

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How do I know a child has been on my computer?

I open something to get a name and find this. I'm not annoyed - I'm happy she's typing actual words.

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eMusic gets points over iTunes because it pushes bands like Pink Noise.

Every once in a while, the writers at eMusic pick a few bands they're freaking out about and try to get subscribers to freak out about them too. Pink Noise has an eMusic exclusive EP, Here Is Happiness, out now and their debut full length is being produced by Dave Sitek (TV On The Radio).

Lead singer and bassist Sharron Sulami is un-friggin-believable. This song is an ass-kicker, and the rest of the EP is worth joining eMusic and downloading for sure. 

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P.O.S. - Get Smokes

Get Smokes by P. O. S.   
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07-p.o.s.-get_smokes.mp3 (3119 KB)

P.O.S. is from Minneapolis, and is on Rhymesayers, so my first thought was Atmosphere. I'm not comparing. Just saying that I had a standard before I heard a lick.

"Get Smokes," like several other tracks on the 2009 album Never Better, blew my mind. P.O.S. can rhyme. Fast. But combining his lyrical skills with production that is beyond just good sampling was the real surprise. Who expects not just a Fugazi reference, but a sample, on a hip hop album? 

P.O.S. sounds like the best of Def Jux if it was produced by team of one X-ecutioner and one of the guys from Coldcut. What kills me is that there are beats on here comprised of drill'n'bass-style rolling drums, simple click tracks, Kung Fu-soundtrack style jazz and straight up turntablism - that's just bad descriptions off the top of my head - and P.O.S. rips shit up on every single one of them.

P.O.S.? Not so much.

Download Never Better by P.O.S. at Shockhound.

Posted via email from One Stupid Mop

Jason Segel and Jack Black totally slay David Bowie and Bing Crosby. Totally. Slay.

Unless they can prop up Crosby's carcass and get all four to sing together, this is the new holiday classic.

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Is this today or every day?

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Dre invented most of these hip hop video cliches, which makes the "Kush" video awesome instead of lame.

That beat is priceless, just as I expect the rest of Detox will be.

(via County Grind)

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Modest Mouse - "Missed The Boat"

Missed The Boat by Modest Mouse  
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06 Missed The Boat.mp3 (6269 KB)

I heard this song on the radio yesterday. ON THE RADIO! It bothers indie elitists, but Modest Mouse getting huge was a great great thing and the reason should be obvious to everybody who ever loved them.

Isaac Brock, with the help of the rest of the band, is a brilliant songwriter. It doesn't matter if you're talking about the catchy songs or the wordy songs or even the more spaced out songs that have peppered recent albums. The world deserves to hear them, and since the label hasn't messed with what they do, despite what haters may think, it means that people get to hear the cynical and complicated hopefulness that draws everybody to them.

Signing to a major label was the right thing for Modest Mouse to do. The Moon and Antarctica is one of the best albums of the last decade, and the two albums after it, Good News For People Who Love Bad News and We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, aren't far behind them. Again, despite what the indie elitist haters who just don't want anybody to like the same bands as them may say.

"Missed The Boat" has a hook to it - a hook that caught me from the first time I heard it - but it isn't the upbeat stuff that got the band all over MTV and whatever radio stations claim to have played them. Sometimes, I think Brock is inside my head, which is at turns both the-world-is-beautiful filled with hope and the-world-is-shit filled with angst. The lyrics to this song are so mixed up that you can't possibly think he's just an artist boiling it down for his art, which the good songwriters never do. Here's the hook from this song:

Oh, and we carried it all so well

As if we got a new position

Oh, and I'll laugh all the way to hell

Saying, "Yes, this is a fine promotion"

Oh, and I'll laugh all the way to hell

Damn I love this band.

Posted via email from One Stupid Mop

OFF! - Poison City

Poison City by Off  
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OFF_05_Poison City.mp3 (3344 KB)

Keith Morris is 55 years old and he has a new band called OFF!. He doesn't sound or act or look like he's 55 years old. Well, he looks a little old, but he can still scream like he's 20. And he's as fired up as he was when he started Black Flag with Greg Ginn or formed the Circle Jerks with eventual Bad Religion guitarist Greg Hetson. It's inspiring.

The rest of the band - Dimitri Coats from Burning Brides, Steven McDonald of Redd Kross and Mario Rubalcaba of Rocket From The Crypt - have been in genre-busting influential bands too, and compliment Morris's scraggly scream with hardcore. Not metal, I'm talking about early 80s-style hardcore punk. Beautiful, beautiful hardcore punk.

OFF!'s debut album, The First Four EPs, will be released on vinyl as a 7-inch collection on December 14, with cover art done by the legendary Raymond Pettibon, who is best known for doing Black Flag and Sonic Youth album covers. Oh, and the album has 16 tracks that fly by in 18 minutes. These old guys are still on top of it.

This is an all-star team gaming the world. OFF! is what everybody hopes to be when they hit their fifth decade of life - full of middle fingers and settling for nothing. Bow and worship.

-

Download OFF!'s The First Four EPs at Shockhound.

Posted via email from One Stupid Mop

Off With Their Heads - The Eyes of Death

The Eyes Of Death by Off With Their Heads  
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05 - the eyes of death.mp3 (4453 KB)

Until last week, there were only two albums I was sure would be on my year-end top 11 (which I'll actually be doing this year): Surfer Blood and The Arcade Fire. As of right now, Off With Their Heads' debut for Epitaph Records, In Desolation, is definitely on the list.

Sounding like the punk love child of The Ergs and Fucked Up, Off With Their Heads tear through 12 roaring tracks of early 00's Gainesville-style punk rock. For the uninitiated, that's bands like Hot Water Music, As Friends Rust and even the first few Against Me! releases, among others.

Since getting together in 2002, the band has released a string of 7-inch's and two full lengths on No Idea. I'm just starting to dig through their back catalog but I've got high hopes after listening to In Desolation nearly nonstop for the last seven days. I already have no doubt, though, that Off With Their Heads is the best band Epitaph has signed in years. Here's to hoping they headline Warped Tour next year and get huge cause I can't take any more of these metal-bands-that-wish-they-were-emo. Yeah, I don't get it either.

Buy In Desolation at Amazon.

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Even Santa's secrets aren't safe.

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Members of Anthrax, Every Time I Die and Fall Out Boy are The Damned Things. Metal superheroes? Maybe.

Their name reminds me of a certain "crooked" supergroup that blew minds and eardrums earlier this year, but that doesn't matter. This is pretty quality.

If nothing else, they've got good taste: check out their MOG playlist.

The Damned Things full length debut, Ironiclast, is out next Tuesday.

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Mike D's remix of "Get Some" by Lykke Li reminds me of the Beasties b-side "Boomin' Granny" with a little more IDM to it.

And I mean that in a good way. 

An EP hits iTunes next week with another remix by Beck too. Sweet.

(via The Fader)

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And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Summer of All Dead

Summer Of All Dead Souls by And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead  
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01 - Summer Of All Dead Souls.mp3 (8988 KB)

Trail of Dead is one of those obvious bands and this is one of those obvious songs that would be ruling the world if it were 1996. And I don't mean because they sound like the 90s. It's because they kick ass. Every time. Playing the new Creed album (or even that catchy Godsmack track "Cry Like A Bitch") instead of stuff like "Summer of All Dead Souls" is the reason modern rock radio stations have been slowly sliding into nonexistence for the last decade. See 93Rock in South Florida, and every other rock radio station everywhere.

You're saying to yourself, "Who cares if they'd be huge?" Well, you should. Trail of Dead is one stellar example of a band that should have been nurtured and cared for by its major label, Interscope, the way Warner has taken care of The Flaming Lips, which has paid massive dividends for the label, band and the fans. These guys are road warriors who draw a crowd and have an anxious audience that will pay actual money for their stuff. Just another example of the music industry paying attention to the wrong thing. 

Hmm. That turned out to be more of a rant than review. Whatever. Trail of Dead's seventh album, Tao of The Dead, is due out in February. It is expected to be epic. Until then, "Summer of All Dead Souls" will be on every playlist I make.

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Charlie Brown tree in front of my neighbor's house

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Come on - you're DTF and my abs are harder than your mother's head. Let's make something happen. It's safe.

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Who would win in a wrestling match - Lemmy or God? I hope to find out with this film.

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The FBI spent a year figuring out that Trent Reznor was, in fact, alive. Thanks for the gift "Hard Copy."

The "reporters" at Hard Copy weren't nearly as entertained by the mystery surrounding footage from the "Down In It" video that literally floated away. This would be the top story on Fox, and probably every other cable news channel, for at least a week if it happened now. I don't blame Trent for laughing at them. Seriously, it's funny and a little sad.

<p>NIN "Down In It" report on "Hard Copy," March 3rd 1991 from Nine Inch Nails on Vimeo.</p>

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Lowe's gives children a hammer and nails. And they enlist parents to do the work.

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Lowe's gives children a hammer and nails. And they enlist parents to do the work.

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I don't know if "Fun Time with Travis" is going to sell any copies but Tom Morello is bad ass on here.

That's got to be his best solo in years! To be fair, RZA and Raekwon are pretty bad ass on here too.

This comes from the Travis Barker solo album, Give The Drummer Some, due out in February on Interscope.

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The Green Lantern trailer reminds me of "Spawn": I wanted it to be really awesome but it, you know, wasn't.

"There's, um, water in the tap."

This looks like it could be much better than "Spawn" based on star power alone - Ryan Reynolds, Peter Sarsgaard, Blake Lively - but that doesn't mean anything. Green Lantern is a classic hero with an easy story. Cheap CGI could be the death of this, but here's to hoping the potential plays out in a good way...

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Best early Chanukah gift ever!

The mug, not the girl.

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Get In The Van: I want to make fun of hipsters with Rollins and an Iranian refugee too.

Rollins sounds like kind of a dick when he jumps to the "trust-fund kid" thing. Still cool though.

(via The Punk Guy)

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Globe: Kanye's wrong, George W. Bush loves black people

For the record, I didn't actually read the article. Unlike the National Enquirer, Globe doesn't check it's sources - so it doesn't matter what the article says.

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The Mooney Suzuki - "Do It"

Do It by The Mooney Suzuki  
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The Mooney Suzuki - Do It.mp3 (3657 KB)

I love the sound of rock and roll in the morning. Thankfully, the best thing to come from watching six hours of election coverage last night is that I saw a commercial from SAP. The commercial itself is, you know, a commercial. SAP means nothing to me. But that soundtrack. Oh, the soundtrack.

The Mooney Suzuki, at least until they signed a major label deal and seemingly calmed down, were an ass-kicking quartet from New York City. They were the American version of The Hives, but with better solos. The idea, as they put it, was to rock "the fuck" out.

If you need more - and believe me, you NEED more - download People Get Ready (which includes "Do It") or the world-beating Electric Sweat.

Posted via email from One Stupid Mop

CNN had a lot of interesting ways to explain data last night.

http://www.fastcompany.com/1699904/behind-the-scenes-cnn-mid-term-elections-technology-magic-wall-green-screens

While MSNBC was playing comic foil and Fox was playing to its base, the serious news network showed off all sorts of graphics and methods of boiling down crazy amounts of data from Twitter, "raw exit poll data" and other places.

The 3D graphics may look crazy, but amid the thousands of touch screens that were visible all night and the huge amount of information the talking heads were using, CNN hit their target of information overload. At least it looked pretty!

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If the Beatles never stopped doing acid, they might make this insane Mini Mansions video. Well, maybe not.

Mini Mansions is Queens of the Stone bassist Michael Shuman's other band. Grab their self-titled, debut album here.

(via Filter)

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I can't wait for the new Cake album. The official video for "Sick of You" will do for now though.

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I voted. Did you?

This is the part where Americans make it happen instead of just watching on TV. Do it!

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Chanukah is only a month away...

And we got the hottest bush!

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A Perfect Circle does "Weak and Powerless" on Jimmy Kimmel. It would have been better if it was a new song.

Of course, it'd be a lot better if their tour was leaving the west coast. At least the performance was killer.

<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid401.photobucket.com/albums/pp94/theaudiopervjr/aperfectcirclekimmel1.mp4" >

(via Culture Bully)

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Has anybody actually seen, used or bought the $100 Android tablet?

http://androidspin.com/2010/10/24/walgreens-sells-android-tablet-for-99/

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This is a "clay cookie." Some people eat them as food.

Angel Aloma, executive director of Food For The Poor, gave this one to me this morning.

In some of the poorer areas of Haiti, they make these out of clay, oil and salt and then bake them in the sun. To me, it tastes like play-doh with sand in it.

There's no telling what effect they have on your body but I find it hard to believe that eating plates could be healthy. This, at least, keeps them from feeling hungry.

Aloma also showed me a bottle of water that is "typical" of what people are drinking down there. The bits of stuff in the cloudy water looked to me like feces, which is likely, and explains the cholera outbreak. 

Don't take your lunch for granted today.

Posted via email from Stephen Feller

So, Hot Sauce Committee Pt 2 is the same thing as Hot Sauce Committee Pt 1? Only the Beasties would do something like that.

The Beastie Boys website is now a group blog run by, you guessed it, the Beastie Boys.

More importantly, they've explained in another email that all the tracks planned and announced for Hot Sauce Committee Pt 1 will see the light of day after all. I'll let them explain:

BEASTIE BOYS HOT SAUCE COMMITTEE PART 2 TRACK LISTING REVISED, REPLACED ENTIRELY WITH SONGS ORIGINALLY RECORDED FOR HOT SAUCE COMMITTEE PART 1

In what can only be described as a bizarre coincidence, following an exhaustive re-sequence marathon, Beastie Boys have verified that their new Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 will be comprised of the same 16 tracks originally slated for inclusion on Hot Sauce Committee Part 1. The record (part 2 that is) will be released as planned in spring 2011 on Capitol.

The tracks originally recorded for Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 (which now are actually back on Part 1) have now apparently been bumped to make room for the former Hot Sauce Committee Part 1 material. Wait, what?

"I know it's weird and confusing, but at least we can say unequivocally that Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 is coming out on time, which is more than I can say about Part 1, and really is all that matters in the end." says Adam "MCA" Yauch. "We just kept working and working on various sequences for part 2, and after a year and half of spending days on end in the sequencing room trying out every possible combination, it finally became clear that this was the only way to make it work. Strange but true, the final sequence for Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 works best with all its songs replaced by the 16 tracks we originally had lined up in pretty much the same order we had them in for Hot Sauce Committee Part 1. So we've come full circle."

Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 marks Yauch, Mike "Mike D" Diamond, and Adam "Ad Rock" Horovitz's first full length effort since 2007's Grammy winning all-instrumental The Mix-Up. The new track listing of the album is now as follows:

1. Tadlock's Glasses

2. B-Boys In The Cut

3. Make Some Noise

4. Nonstop Disco Powerpack

5. OK

6. Too Many Rappers (featuring NAS)

7. Say It

8. The Bill Harper Collection

9. Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win (featuring Santigold)

10. Long Burn The Fire

11. Funky Donkey

12. Lee Majors Come Again

13. Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament

14. Pop Your Balloon

15. Crazy Ass Shit

16. Here's A Little Something For Ya

Posted via email from Stephen Feller

Can't wait to read this one.

Children's literature rules.

Posted via email from Stephen Feller

If you have an Android phone, get ready for DEALS DEALS DEALS!

Suddenly, Google not charging for Android makes a whole lot of sense. 

 (via @NiemanLab)

Posted via email from Stephen Feller

This Flying Lotus video just blew my mind.

<p>Flying Lotus - Kill Your Co-Workers from Warp Records on Vimeo.</p>

Posted via email from Stephen Feller

In this video, Lars from Rancid looks a little like the guy playing Al Capone on "Boardwalk Empire." Or maybe I'm crazy.

Posted via email from Stephen Feller

RIP Eyedea

He was 28. No explanation for his death has been announced, but Eyedea & Abilities were pretty damn good. http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/2010/10/eyedea_dead_at.php

 

Posted via email from Stephen Feller

The Beastie Boys "Hot Sauce Committee Pt 2" will be out in spring 2011. Yes, I said part 2. Sweeeeeeeeeeeet.

In an email at 3am this morning, the Beastie Boys sent out an email with two pieces of information. 

First, the new album is out next spring, as originally planned - which is an interesting point for them to make. 

The other bit of news, which is somehow not too shocking, is that "Hot Sauce Committee Pt 1" has been shelved indefinitely. But what about that Nas collaboration, and the other preview the Boys dropped on Record Store Day? Um, can you say deluxe reissue in 2031?

Posted via email from Stephen Feller

"Hurley" sucks, and that rarities album on the way is worthless. This is Weezer, and they'll never be this good again.

I just had a moment when I listened to "Tragic Girl." From the pacing of the song, to the background vocals, to the lack of irony in Rivers Cuomo's voice - this is what makes the Blue album and Pinkerton perfect albums. 

Back before he was trying to write hit songs, Cuomo wrote songs that meant something to him. Instead of being Katy Perry bouncing to "California Girls," he was, you know, an actual songwriter. 

In an interview about the Pinkerton deluxe reissue (due out on election day, November 2), the nerdy douche called this "You Know You're Right" for Weezer fans. This song pulls back some of the embarrassment I feel when I say I was ever a fan. Boom.

Posted via email from Stephen Feller

UNKLE offers sampler before US "tour."

UNKLE are playing three dates in the U.S. and two in Mexico. I don't know if that really qualifies as a tour. Faith No More and Rage Against The Machine played more reunion dates here, and they don't have a new album out.

Regardless, they're giving away two live UNKLE tracks and one each from the bands opening for them: Sleepy Sun, Ki:Theory and The Golden Filter. 

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Oh, and here are the dates:

Sat. Oct. 23 New York, USA @ Webster Hall w/The Golden Filter & Ki:Theory
Mon. Oct. 25 Los Angeles, USA @ El Rey Theatre w/Sleepy Sun
Thur. Oct 28 San Francisco, USA @ Regency Ballroom w/Sleepy Sun
Sat. Oct. 30 Guadalajara, Mexico @ Rock X La Vida
Sun. Oct. 31 Mexico City, Mexico @ Circo Volador w/Sleepy Sun

Posted via email from Stephen Feller

Would you suspend an executive w/o pay for including this in an email of "inspirational or at least interesting stuff?"

<br />VH1 Reality Show Bus Crashes In California Causing Major Slut Spill

Posted via email from Stephen Feller

A sample from a new book, just received in the newsroom.

From "'Twas The Night Before Christmas: 21st Century Edition" by Bruce Kluger and David Slavin.

Great, clever political satire on the downfall of Santa Clause. Brilliant.

(Read the book at the link above, or buy it on Amazon.)

Posted via email from Stephen Feller

A sample from a new book, just received in the newsroom

From "'Twas The Night Before Christmas: 21st Century Edition" by Bruce Kluger and David Slavin.

Great, clever political satire on the downfall of Santa Clause. Brilliant.

Posted via email from Stephen Feller

Here's the Mickey Mouse follow-up to Donald Duck's adventure in demagoguery and brainwashing.

Different person, same point. 

Posted via email from Stephen Feller

It must have taken days to get this mash-up together. It figures Donald Duck would fall for Beck though, right?

This is impressive, and probably more accurate than a lot of people on either side are willing to admit. Jonathan McIntosh, you are awesome. 

Posted via email from Stephen Feller

I haven't listened to the new Elvis Costello album yet, but my expectations have been raised significantly because of the cover.

If Costello has gone political, methinks he's already got the story figured out. This "National Ransom" is going to very good.

Posted via email from Stephen Feller