So Long 2008...

a lil Mammoth, Lightspeed Champion, March Madness weekend, lots of goodbye to the NYC and all my friends and roomies, snickerdoodles, karaoke, yankees game, New Mini, DS Camping, back to NYC for Radiohead, 1st nephew Nate, Radiohead at the Bowl, Show Reeni LA, pPa, Joose and Beck with Ryan, Sigur in SD, family at the (Neil) Diamond, Cubbies+Dodgers, my music Jaimies, Macgruber+Goulet, Frightened Rabbit/pre-Obama bday, UCLA tailgate, New music friends @ Travis, High School Alumni game, NEW ZEALAND, Montieth's Brewery, Nate's 1st Xmas

Lebron's Nike Chalk Commercial

Another great Nike commerical with some nice beats courtesy of

Cornershop - Candyman (.mp3)

[courtesy of ScissorKick]

LOST: Jan. 21, 2009

LOST returns 1/21/09!

Slim Smith and The Uniques
My Conversation (.mp3)
[reggaehitthetown.com]

Stumble Upon...Broadcast 2000

I was stumbling around on the old Hype Machine tonight listening to some Broadcast when my stumbling lead me to Broadcast 2000 (the new improved Broadcast?? No). It seems the debut "mini-album" Building Blocks just came out this past August and was created, recorded and mastered by multi-instrumentalist Joe Steer in his North London flat. I could make meaningless comparisons to other groups that will just bias and disappoint you but I won't. Just listen to the first song I found and you'll see why I'm pretty excited to hear more from Broadcast 2000 and see 'em if and when they make it to the States.

Andrew Bird 2008/09 Tour

Andrew Bird (on Myspace):
Feb 18 - The Orpheum Theatre
Los Angeles, CA
Doors: 7 - Show: 8 - 16+
with Loney Dear

• $27.00 - 32.00 Day-of-Show (plus 2.00 Facility Fee)
• MusicToday presale - ($4.40 scg) - on sale Nov. 18 (TODAY...GO!)
• Ticketmaster.com - ($8.65 scg, $3.75 hand) - on sale Nov. 22

Other tourdates...

Andrew Bird
Scythian Empires (.mp3)
[slackworks.com]

Ed & Phil in New Zealand for new 7 Worlds Collide

From Dead Air Space...

Ed and Philip will rejoin Neil Finn in a follow up to the acclaimed Seven Worlds Collide project at the end of the year. Together with members of the original line up and other artists, the ‘supergroup’ will record an album of entirely new material in support of international development organisation Oxfam.

The original Seven Worlds Collide line up was Neil Finn, Ed O’Brien, Phil Selway, guitar supremo Johnny Marr, Soul Coughing bassist Sebastian Steinberg, songwriter and violinist Lisa Germano, and Liam Finn. Other artists joining the project include Jeff Tweedy, John Stirrat, Glenn Kotche and Pat Sansone from Wilco, and New Zealand songwriters Bic Runga and Don McGlashan. Behind the mixing desk will be master recording engineer Jim Scott. More names will be added to the lineup in the coming weeks.

The album will be recorded over the next few months in Auckland and is due for release in 2009. Like its predecessor, the project will also see a series of concerts featuring many of the artists included in the line up. The shows will take place in Auckland early in the New Year. Details will be announced soon.

Neil Finn said “Seven years ago I invited a few friends and fellow musicians to do a special series of concerts in New Zealand under the banner Seven Worlds Collide. The concerts were an amazing experience for all of us and we are delighted to have found an opportunity to gather again, this time to expand the concept and the line up too. What will make these sessions particularly meaningful is that all the proceeds of this recording will go to support the continuing great work of Oxfam International.”

Sweet!! I've always known that RH and I were soulmates....now I have concrete evidence. Not 3 weeks after I booked my December trip to New Zealand do we get word that Ed and Phil will be in town recording with Neil Finn and friends for the newest in Finn's Seven Worlds Collide project. Fan-F'ing-tastic! This trip gets better and better. Now I wonder where I'll run into them...sledging in Queenstown? Hiking the Franz Josef Glacier? Kayaking around Abel Tasman? Drinking wine and surfing in Gisborne? Ah who am I kidding, I'm not gonna run into them (come on reverse psychology!!) Check out the clip of their rehearsal from the first project back in 2001...

Travis @ Troubadour - 11.11.08

Travis @ Troubadour Montage (courtesy of mysugarspun)

Man I had forgotten how good Travis are live...their just so nice and so much fun on stage (or off stage like when Fran sang Falling Down from the audience). And I'm trying to think of a better couple of guitar solos than Andy's in As You Are and All I Wanna Do Is Rock (at least in the 'alternative' genre). All in all just a really great show by a relatively big band (they used to sell out the Universal Amphitheater right?) in a great small venue (good to be back at the Troubadour after my year plus absence). Highlights included the band honoring both the US electing Obama ("Europe and the world are in awe just like when you guys put a man on the moon first") and Nick Harcourt who really helped the band get big and is soon to depart KCRW. All I Wanna Do Is Rock was punctuated with Andy's one handed solo while climbing the side scaffolding above us...ah to try to be young again. I like Andy but dude looks like he's lived a rockstar's life for certain. Good for him.

The crowd was great...not only did they sing and dance to most of the songs but some very nice new friends I met are going to hook me up with tips for my upcoming trip to New Zealand and told us the best 3 hour long Morrissey story you'll ever hear. :)

SETLIST:
1. CHINESE BLUES
2. J. SMITH
3. SOMETHING ANYTHING
4. WRITING TO REACH YOU
5. LONG WAY DOWN
6. RE-OFFENDER
7. LOVE WILL COME THROUGH
8. AS YOU ARE
9. SIDE
10. SONG TO SELF
11. SING
12. DRIFTWOOD
13. FALLING DOWN
14. ALL I WANT TO DO IS ROCK
15. GOOD FEELING
16. CLOSER
17. BEFORE YOU WERE YOUNG
18. TURN
_______________

19. I KISSED A GIRL (Katy Perry cover)
20. THIRTEEN (Big Star cover)
21. FLOWERS IN THE WINDOW
22. SELFISH JEAN
23. WHY DOES IT ALWAYS RAIN ON ME?

Hiphopopotamus Halloween

Awesome Hiphopopotamus costume | Flight of the Conchords Completely UNofficial Fan Site

Flight of the Conchords (Live on BBC)
Hiphopopotamus vs Rhymenocerous (.mp3)
[whatthefolk.net]

Beck: Night 2 @ Club Nokia/LA

Courtesy of hobogirl923

I was excited to see Beck open the brand new Club Nokia on Monday...then they went ahead and sold tickets for a second show on Sunday. Bastards. Then they went and added Jenny Lewis as the Sunday opener. Bastards. Oh well...I'll take the 2nd opening night and Jay Reatard (really??). As much as I enjoyed the show last month(?) at the bowl, there is nothing like seeing a band (especially Beck) in a more intimate environment. Club Nokia is pretty cool...allegedly has 2,500 person capacity but felt even smaller. Kinda like a Wiltern or Avalon but smaller. Guess it will fit the niche between those venues and the El Rey. Sound was decent...and I'm definitely a fan of the downtown location. The show itself was the usual good times from Beck, who opened with Two Turntables (as opposed to opening with Loser the night before). I like that he opens with one of the songs you'd expect him to close with...Beck, always the innovator. Was very happy to hear Lost Cause but my buddy and I were bummed when he put down the acoustic after only a few Sea Change songs. And the Sonic Youth cover was pretty sweet. Of course the highlight of the night for me was the return of Ryan, Beck's personal dancer. Top Gun Ryan got the crowd pretty excited for the encore...oh how I miss the days when he'd be onstage for the whole show.

Hell Yes - Black Tambourine - Clap Hands Medely

SETLIST:
1. Where It's At
2. Girl
3. Devils Haircut
4. Que Onda Guero
5. Mixed Bizness
6. Nicotine & Gravy
7. Hell Yes
8. Black Tambourine / Clap Hands
9. Modern Guilt
10. Orphans
11. Soul Of A Man
12. Think I'm In Love
13. Star Power (Sonic Youth Cover)
14. Missing
15. The Golden Age
16. Lost Cause
17. Pay No Mind (Snoozer)
18. Chemtrails
19. Loser
20. Nausea
21. Gamma Ray [with Jay Reatard]
22. Timebomb [with Ryan]
23. Minus [with Ryan]
24. Indefatiguable [with Ryan]
25. E-Pro [with Ryan]

Fleet Foxes - LA BLOGOTHEQUE

Fleet Foxes - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

A friend’s friend let us into an abandoned wing of the Grand Palais. There were empty spaces, as if abandoned at short notice, unreasonably high ceilings. The perfect place for the Fleet Foxes.

AMAZING song!

You Set the Scene: Nic Harcourt Steps Down as Music Director at KCRW

You Set the Scene: Nic Harcourt Steps Down as Music Director at KCRW

The LA Times called Harcourt during his program today and Harcourt hinted that his low, public radio pay was the main driver for stepping down. I couldn't find KCRW's most recent financial statements online, but if Charity Navigator is to be believed, Harcourt pocketed $117,958 in the year ending 6/06.

Thom <3's Obama

DEAD AIR SPACE: "did i fall or was i pushed?"

in celebration of nov 5th
jonnys burthday
amid bonfire and fireworks in the UK
and the dawn of a new era in politics in the USA
i humbly donate a remix of harrowdown hill that was finished ages ago during the band webcasts,
a small reminder of the dark days of Bush's....
x

Thom Yorke
Harrowdown Logic Jump Rmx (mp3)
[stereogum.com]

Mr. President-Elect

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."

"It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America."

brooklynvegan: president-elect Barack Obama's acceptance speech

Mr. November - The National

The LOST Mixtape

Was gonna make something like this but this blog beat me to it...nice work.

sl-LOST.com - Daily LOST News » The LOST Mixtape

MACGRUBER

The Complete MACGRUBER SNL Video Collection @ Hilarious.net

Macgruber...
Making lifesaving inventions out of household materials!
Macgruber...
Gettin' in and out of ultra sticky situations!
Macgruber...
The guy's a friggin' genius...
MACGRUBER!

Yeah...that's my costume for tomorrow night's all hallow's eve...

Bloc Party - LA BLOGOTHEQUE

Bloc Party, 'This Modern Love' - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Bloc Party - Bloc Party - LA BLOGOTHEQUE: "It was an October evening. We were insistent, helped by some fans and people passing by. In the end it was worth the trouble : Bloc Party accepted to play one of their best songs, all acoustic."

The Dears

The Dears at Hiro Ballroom - photo by Gabi Porter

brooklynvegan: The Dears @ Hiro Ballroom (CMJ), NYC: "The best way to describe The Dears is epic and complicated, and if anyone were to force me to name my favorite band ever, of the 5 or 6 contenders The Dears always seem to float to the top. Murray Lightburn plays the tortured town crier of the apocalypse really well, and despite the melancholy and doom, it's a trip you want to take with him because the music is just so damn good."

I've always like The Dears work but have never really given them a full and complete listen. Hopefully that will change after I get into this new album (Missles) as I'm always am happy when their songs pop up in my shuffle rotation. The voice of Murry Lightburn (lead singer) used to remind me of Morrisey for some reason...now I think more Lightspeed Champion.

Locally they'll be playing on all Hallows Eve Eve...Thurs. Oct. 30 at Key Club (ugh) opening for Secret Machines.

Go Canada!
The Dears
Money Babies (.mp3)
[fakepennycomics.com]

David Fincher’s Nike Fate Commercial

David Fincher’s Nike Fate Commercial: "“Fate” tells the life-long journey of pro football players LaDainian Tomlinson and Troy Polamalu as their destinies collide in an NFL football game."

Definitely the recipe for one of my favorite commercials...directed by my favorite director, scored with one of my favorite composer/soundtracks (Ennio Morricone) and starring 2 of my favorite NFL players. Its up there with another great Nike commercial from a year or two ago:

Wassup 2008

MINI E

MINIUSA.COM / minie-m

According to BMW, the Mini E will be powered by a 150 kW (204 horse power) electric motor fed by a high-performance rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Also, the Mini E’s drive will be transferred to its front wheels via a single-stage helical gearbox, making the car almost completely silent and entirely free of emissions.

In terms of single-charge distance coverage, BMW claims the Mini E’s battery technology will give the car a maximum operational range in excess of 240 kilometres, which is the equivalent of around 150 miles.

Interestingly, rather than rolling out the Mini E for general consumption, BMW has said that it will initially launch a fleet of 500 vehicles through a pilot project involving select private and corporate customers in California, New York and New Jersey. The company is also considering a similar introduction in Europe.