|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sharon Van Etten, Fleet Foxes, Love Language, RIP Poly Styrene & Phoebe Snow |
|
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 - 08:00 AM Posted by: Karl
POLY STYRENE, fmr frontwoman of X-Ray Spex, succumbed to cancer at 53. P-Fork has your A/V linkage, including "Oh Bondage! Up Yours!" Her latest LP, Generation Indigo, dropped yesterday and is streaming via Spinner, which also collected remembrances from musicians, while NPR has a piece from Robert Christgau. SHARON VAN ETTEN, Live at Brighton Music Hall, April 14, 2011. FLEET FOXES performed a session for Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show live at Maida Vale Studios. BRIGHT EYES played a mini-set at the World Cafe. THE LOVE LANGUAGE did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter. PHOEBE SNOW, a bluesy singer, guitarist and songwriter who had a defining hit of the 1970s with "Poetry Man" but then largely dropped out of the spotlight to care for her disabled daughter, has died at 60. For whatever reason, I more clearly remember her singing covers with Linda Ronstadt on a Saturday Night in 1979. JEFF TWEEDY talks to SPIN about Wilco's "obnoxious and irreverent" next album. BRAIDS are profled at The Guardian. THE KINKS: A "Kinks Kook" critically revisits the band's re-issued first three albums. HIT SONG LYRICS show a statistically significant trend toward narcissism and hostility over the last 30 years. LINDSAY LOHAN taped a surprise appearance on Leno, during which she complained about her jail sentence. NICOLAS CAGE: A child abuse detective was called in to investigate the actor on the night of his drunken arrest. CHARLIE SHEEN bailed out his pal, Lenny Dykstra, after the fmr baseball star was busted on federal embezzlement charges. KRISTIN CAVALLARI & JAY CUTLER (a/k/a Jerkface) got engaged in Mexico. ROB SCHNEIDER swapped vows with longtime girlfriend Patricia Azarcoya Arce on Saturday. ROBERT PATTINSON & KRISTEN STEWART strip for their final Twilight scene. KATIE COURIC announces she's leaving the CBS Evening News. Most of the press makes no mention of her bad ratings. IRAN warned it would retaliate for Bahrain's expulsion of Iranian diplomats from Manama. SYRIA: With reports emerging that at least one high-ranking Syrian military commander refused to participate in a bloody, predawn raid that left dozens dead in the southern border city of Daraa -- the heart of Syria's weekslong civil unrest, questions are being raised about possible cracks in President Bashar al-Assad's hold over the military. LIBYA: Forces loyal to Gaddafi shelled the city of Misrata despite withdrawing from the center of the town just days ago. Children as young as eight are being raped in front of their families by Gaddafi's forces, according to reports made to a leading charity. AFGHANISTAN: How many al Qaeda leaders are left in-country? A CALICO CAT gave birth to a puppy in Yangshan, eastern China's Jiangsu Province. Reportedly. (Thx, Lance.) MAYBE THE DINGOES ATE YOUR BABY: Two dingoes that mauled a 3-year-old girl on an Australian beach have been caught and destroyed, officials said Tuesday. SOME DOGS aren't much of a threat. TWIN BOY & GIRL POLAR CUBS are the first to survive in China. Aww...dorable.
|
|
|
3084 Reads |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New Releases, Steve Earle, Iron & Wine, Tiny Stallion |
|
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 - 08:00 AM Posted by: Karl
FERRABY LIONHEART's latest video is for the tuneful "Pocketknife." NEW RELEASES from They Might Be Giants, An Horse, Bootsy Collins, Cass McCombs, The Wombats and Vandaveer, plus a Roy Orbison comp and more are streaming this week via Spinner. STEVE EARLE played a Tiny Desk Concert at the NPR offices. IRON & WINE played a mini-set at the UBS Forum for The Current. FLAMING LIPS produced four new songs in gummy skulls, now available via YANP. MY MORNING JACKET dropped "Holdin On to Black Metal" in advance of Circuital, but you have to Like the band on the Facebook to hear it. THE 10 BEST SHINS SONGS (So Far), according to Paste, with embedded audio. THE DUKES OF STRATOSPHEARE, the psychedelic front group for XTC, play "The Mole From the Ministry" and "You're A Good Man, Albert Brown" for Twofer Tuesday. BEASTIE BOYS get an extensive oral history from New York magazine, while the band posts an alternate stream of Hot Sauce Committee Part Two. PJ HARVEY talked to The Observer about 20 years in music and the emotions behind her latest dark masterpiece. PHOSPHORESCENT front man/composer Matthew Houck talks to Consequence of Sound about songwriting, moving up to big festival gigs, and more. HALEY BONAR talks to the Mpls City Pages about recording Golder. HAZEL DICKENS, a Bluegrass pioneer, has passed at 75. LINDSAY LOHAN will be picking up trash, emptying trash bins, mopping floors and cleaning windows and restrooms at the L.A. County Department of Coroner's facility. JAY-Z & BEYONCE playing the Royal Wedding reception? The rumors are so crazy right now. TONI COLLETTE is a mom again. KEVIN JAMES is a dad for the first time. RYAN PHILLIPPE wants to bow out of the harsh glare of Los Angeles, but isn't quitting acting. JOHNNY DEPP is doing an uncredited cameo in the 21 Jump Street movie. ELLEN BARKIN gets a lengthy profile in the New York Times Magazine. THE HOBBIT, which is being shot at 48 frames per second, loses Rob Kazinsky, who was to play Fili. SYRIA: The Obama administration said Monday it was considering "targeted sanctions" against Syria after government forces sharply escalated their deadly campaign to crush a five-week uprising. IRAN has been hit by a second computer virus, a senior military official said Monday, suggesting it was part of a concerted campaign to undermine the country's disputed nuclear program. AFGHANISTAN: Hundreds of prisoners escaped from a jail in the country's south on Monday through a tunnel dug by Taliban insurgents, officials said, a "disaster" for the Afghan government and a setback for foreign forces planning to start a gradual withdrawal within months. EINSTEIN: The world's smallest stallion has a ball. A SIX-FOOT GATOR invites himself into a home in Palmetto, FL. THE WORLD'S WICKEDEST BUGS are found in Japan. A SNAKE knocked out power to thousands in Upper Marlboro , MD on Easter. A very crispy snake.
|
|
|
2947 Reads |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fleet Foxes, Antlers, High Llamas, Beastie Boys, Puppy Cam |
|
Monday, April 25, 2011 - 08:00 AM Posted by: Karl
THE STROKES played "Games" for Conan, if not with him. FLEET FOXES are advance streaming Helplessness Blues. THE ANTLERS are advance streaming Burst Apart. HIGH LLAMAS are advance streaming Talahomi Way. BEASTIE BOYS are advance streaming Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 from a boombox half-court at MSG. ARCADE FIRE: Will Butler & Marika Shaw sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch at Wrigley Field. VAN DYKE PARKS gives Pitchfork musical picks, along with first-hand insights on Brian Wilson, Harry Nilsson, and Eartha Kitt. BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE: Mick Jones talks about hitting the reunion circuit -- and the unreleased cuts he and Strummer wrote that he would like them to see the light of day. THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART are profiled at the Chicago Tribune. THE THERMALS spoke with PopMatters about their latest release, touring with the Coathangers, smoking weed, and traveling through Europe. WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: In a bit of a surprise, Rio remained perched atop the cineplex with 26.8 million. Madea's Big Happy Family placed with 25.8 million, when tracking numbers projected a 30 million opening. Either Tyler Perry's franchise is fianlly weakening, or Easter was a curve ball. (Even so, with a reported 20 million budget, it will make tens of millions in profit.) Water For Elephants showed with 17.5 million -- a couple million more than the most optimistic estimates. Hop got an Easter bounce in the fourth slot, as its 12.5 million was 16 percent over last weekend's total. Scream 4 rounds out the Top Five with 7.2 million, tumbling 62 percent from its debut. Below the fold, African Cats opened in sixth with 6.4 million, which isn't bad for opening on just 1220 screens.The overall numbers were up a big 34 million year-over-year. LINDSAY LOHAN had her felony theft charge downgraded to a misdemeanor... but was sentenced to 120 days in jail. Li-Lo is reportedly shocked, but will appeal, and is out on bail. MAD MEL UPDATE: Gibson gave Deadline his first interview since portions of the taped conversations between the filmmaker and his ex-girlfriend were leaked to the Internet. CHARLIE SHEEN was dumped by "goddess" Bree Olson, by text message. LeANN RIMES & EDDIE CIBRIAN got hitched. RUPERT GRINT, contrary to rumor, was not photographed with a bong. PAUL REISER: Cancelled after two episodes. Ouch. LUKE CAGE, Marvel Comics' Hero for Hire, may be played by Isaiah Mustafa of the popular "Old Spice" commercials. NIGERIA: Muslim rioters have killed more than 100 Christians and burned down more than 40 churches in an attack that began in response to the election of Jonathan Goodluck, a Christian, as president, according to International Christian Concern. YEMEN: Embattled Pres. Saleh said he accepted a proposal by Arab mediators that would shift power to his deputy 30 days from the signing of a formal agreement and grant him and his family, who occupy key positions in Yemen's security apparatus, immunity from prosecution. SYRIA: The state-run news agency claimed security forces recovered digital equipment, bottles of fake blood used by a 'criminal group' to falsify photos and videos depicting acts of violence against protesters. LIBYA: Pro-Gaddafi tribes are threatening to oust rebels holed up in Misrata. IRAQ: Adm. Mullen said Iraq must decide in the next several weeks if it wants to extend the US military mission in Iraq.
SHIBA INU PUPPY CAM returns with a new litter. NEW ZEALANDERS celebrated Eatser by shooting teh bunnies. COMPETITIVE RABBIT JUMPING: Der Spiegel investigates. WET, SALTY CAT: The mystery surrounds a white, orange and black feline that arrived last weekend on Governors Island in New York. SCORPION on a plane.
|
|
|
3879 Reads |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lemonheads, PJ Harvey, Decemberists, Cutout Bin, Sleepy Kitteh |
|
Friday, April 22, 2011 - 08:00 AM Posted by: Karl
THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE: ...with THE LEMONHEADS! Evan Dando's songbook has always struck me as autmnal, though not all of it really is. For example, a very young Dando released his take on Suzanne Vega's hit "Luka" in May '89. He dissolved the band after releasing the Lovey LP, but returned with a new lineup on "It's A Shame About Ray" in July '92. Despite Johnny Depp's appearance in that video, the album lingered in the lower reaches of the charts, despite being filled with grunge-pop goodness like "Rockin' Stroll" and "Confetti." But that November, Atlantic released the band's take on Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson," which shot to No. 19 on the UK charts and landed Dando unlikely US gigs like "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee." The flip side of that single was the goofy "Being Around," which becomes a singalong live. The followup LP, C'mon, Feel the Lemonheads, hit the Top 5 in the UK, but only No. 56 in the US, with the single "Into Your Arms," which would later turn up on the soundtrack to Before Sunrise and in an FTD commercial. The other two videos from the LP, like "Ray," sport celeb cameos -- Angelina Jolie turns up in "It's About Time" and a young Chloë Sevigny can be seen in "Big Gay Heart" (which Dando makes safe-for-broadcat with a funny spoonerism). Unfortunately, Dando would soon slide into heavy drugs and the next album, Car Button Cloth was not nearly as successful -- commercially or artistically. An unremarkable solo album and sporadic gigs would follow, until Dando got his personal life together and revived The Lemonheads brand witha self-titled LP in 2005, from which "Black Gown" was the lead track. BONUS: Dando and Mudhoney's Mark Arm fromted the DKT-MC5 on a ripping version (is there any other kind) of the classic "Kick Out the Jams" of The Late Late Show. PJ HARVEY played the Warfield last week; you can stream the whole gig on demand now. MIDDLE BROTHER - composed of John J. McCauley III of Deertick, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes and Matt Vasquez of Delta Spirit - stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set. THE DECEMBERISTS: How about dozens of live covers? Not just of REM, Robyn Hitchcock, Big Star and the like, but Heart, Bad Company and Cheap trick, to name a few. THE BEASTIE BOYS released the full 22-minute version of "Fight For Your Right Revisted." MARIANNE FAITHFULL asks "Why Did We Have to Part?" in advance of Horse and High Heels. ROY ORBISON, who would have turned 75 yesterday, was celebrated with a new video for his signature hit, "(Oh) Pretty Woman." DOBIE GRAY is in with "The In Crowd." THE WRENS: Charles Bissell spoke to Prefix about the upcoming album, the state of the blogosphere, and what would happen if they became superstars. TIMES NEW VIKING talks to Drowned In Sound about leaving lo-fi behind. FIVE FEMALE SINGERS every man should listen to, according to Carrie Brownstein. 50 SONGS every man should listen to, also from Esquire's music issue. THE 10 BEST SOUTHERN ROCK ALBUMS, according to Alan Paul. (Thx, LHB.) CUTOUT BIN: From Liz Phair to the Beatles, from Tom Jones to the Clash, from the Beach Boys to Husker Du, plus Psychedelic Furs, Them, Kenny Rogers, Red Kross, the Urban Dance Squad and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are now streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM. NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are: Water For Elephants, which is currently scoring 45 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family, whcih was not screened for critics (per usual for Perry); and African Cats, which is scoring 70 percent. LINDSAY LOHAN is back on the Gotti biopic. CHARLIE SHEEN's exes, Brooke Mueller and Denise Richards, have struck up an unlikely friendship. LADY GAGA & WEIRD AL YANKOVIC: Um... I'll let him explain it, but thankfully, it's about a song parody. HALLE BERRY & GABRIEL AUBRY were back in court, but still haven't resolved their child custody dispute. JENNIFER ANISTON & BRADLEY COOPER: Not. Happening. ETHAN HAWKE is to be a dad for the fourth time. I'm guessing the mom-to-be will be careful about picking a nanny. EMMA WATSON was routinely heckled by her fellow students at oh-so-tolerant Brown University. KATE BECKINSALE has been offered the Sharon Stone role in the Total Recall remake opposite Colin Farrell. Eva Mendes and Rosario Dawson are the serious contenders for the role of Melina. WHY IS THIS SATURDAY DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHER DAYS? Because ABC has its annual showing of The Ten Commandments, a grand spectacle featuring acting from Edward G. Robinson and Anne Baxter that is so over-the-top that Yul Brenner starts to look good by comparison. And while Robinson's Dathan never actually spoke the line "Where's your Messiah now?" in the movie, it -- like "Play It Again, Sam" (not spoken in Casablanca) -- has become part of a part of our culture. The line actually comes from Billy Crystal (sample), originally a bit from the Oscars, iirc. It later turned up on The Simpsons, with Chief Wiggum playing Dathan to Ned Flanders' Moses. Mind you, I find it odd that this didn't air last weekend, before Passover. That's when I pulled out my DVD... and I'll get my Charlton Heston Easter fix with Ben-Hur. INDONESIA: Police arrested 19 terror suspects involved in a plot to blow up a church over Easter weekend in Serpong; police found a massive bomb at the gas pipeline leading to the church. IRAN: The UAE's foreign minister stated that Iran must treat its neighbors with "responsibility and respect." Kuwait's foreign minister accused an Iranian spy cell of planning attacks against US infrastructure in the country. LIBYA: Rebels took control of a border outpost in the west after more than 200 pro-Gaddafi troops deserted to Tunisia. NATO bombers attacked Gaddafi forces in Tripoli and Gharyan. AFGHANISTAN: Government officials in the north are building up their own ethnic-based militia groups to expand their influence and keep the Taliban at bay. But the spread of mostly Tajik and Uzbek militias is aggravating tensions with local Pashtuns. WALDO the KITTEH, passed out on a bookshelf, silently summarizing my Friday. GOLDFISH RACING cancelled in Tacoma. ...AND THERE WAS SHRIMP all over the highway. A BLACK ANGUS COW gives birth to rare triplets in Manhattan. No, not that Manhattan. SWAN and a TRACTOR: A Love Story.
|
|
|
3979 Reads |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The National, Morning Benders, Caribou, Dog Feeds Goats |
|
Thursday, April 21, 2011 - 08:00 AM Posted by: Karl
FLEET FOXES played "Grown Ocean" on Later with Jools Holland. THE NATIONAL stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session. THE MORNING BENDERS are streaming album tracks, covers and various rarities via Soundcloud. CARIBOU is offering the complete recordings of the live Vibration Ensemble set from All Tomorrow's Parties in 2009, also via Soundcloud. POKEY LaFARGE plays a Tiny Desk Concert of 20s and 30s-influenced tunes at NPR. YEASAYER dropped "Phoenix Wind" and "Swallowing the Decibels" for Record Store Day. WHITE DENIM dropped a trippy video for "Drug." TV ON THE RADIO's Gerard Smith has lost his battle with lung cancer. THE OLD 97s: Rhett Miller talks to Spinner about the value of preserverance. JULIANA BARWICK spoke to Pitchfork about favorite songs, Amy Grant, movies that are better than their books, and why it's good to have your own table. HOME TAPING IS KILLING MUSIC (REDUX): Three case studies, including Amazon's new cloud player. LINDSAY LOHAN can fuggedabout playing Victoria Gotti on film. CATHERINE ZETA-JONES speaks out about her bipolar disorder. DEMI LOVATO speaks out about her bipolar disorder. TIM ROBBINS loses both parents within 12 days. I'm not a fan of his, but my heart goes out to him. BRADGELINA have strict requirements for their nannies. EMMA ROBERTS & CHORD OVERSTREET were... wait for it.... caught canoodling at Coachella, for extra alliteration. TYLER PERRY tells Spike Lee he can go straight to Hell. JAMES FRANCO lists his Top 10 entries in the Criterion Collection. ELISABETH SLADEN, the British actress who played intrepid investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith on and off throughout Doctor Who's 30-year run, passed away on Monday. YEMEN: The UN Security Council's first talks on the crisis ended in New York without an agreed public statement, with diplomats saying Russia objected. LIBYA: The US is planning on sending more than 25 million dollars in non-military aid to rebel forces. EGYPT is reaching out to Iran and Syria, but a top Sunni cleric urged Iran "not to interfere" in turmoil-hit Arab countries. PAKISTAN: Admiral Michael Mullen said Pakistan has a "relationship" with the Haqqani Network but stopped short of accusing the country of supporting the terror group. IRAQ: Sadrists have threatened retaliation if US forces continue to stay in the country. GLADYS the BULL TERRIER, wearing "milk pants," feeds baby goats. AN OTTER causes chaos in County Clare (with awesome distressed otter pic). RODENT DROPPINGS "too numerous to count" were found by US health inspectors near a Delta Air Lines jet's galley where food and drink are stored. MILLIONAIRE DOG-NIPPING CASE rejected by judges in Taiwan.
|
|
|
3846 Reads |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|