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White Rabbits, Steve Miller, Scott Matthews, Jessica the Hippo   Printer-friendly page   Send this story to someone
Wednesday, July 25, 2007 - 08:00 AM
Posted by: Karl

Karl

THE WHITE RABBITS have been getting enough blog buzz that I should have blurbed them before they got to play "The Plot" on The Late Show with Dave.  This Brooklyn-by-way-of-Missouri sextet has the energy of native NYC bands like The Strokes, but with a ska influence reminiscent of early Madness or (especially) The Specials.  Indeed, their interest in rhythm occasionally has a slight tropical bent, too.  Pitchfork gave their debut LP, Fort Nightly, a decent 8.1 score.  You can currently stream a bunch of tracks from the album via the ol' HM.  The band also did the Daytrotter interview, plus free songs, three of which are brand new.

THE SWELL SEASON:  The Chicago Sun-Times profiles singer-songwriters Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova -- who wrote the music for the hit Irish indie film, Once, as well as star in it.  You can stream a few tracks from SwellSpace.

MARNIE STERN may exude "cheeky optimism," but the WaPo's Express also notes that she "pairs frenetic fretwork with crunching barre chords."  Interview and embedded video at the link.

HARD-FI:  The Clash-influenced rockers have their sophomore LP due in September, but the single, "Suburban Knights," is already streaming at TheirSpace.  If you've never heard them, I'd start with "Cash Machine," though.

DANIEL JOHNSON, the manic depressive singer-songwriter and artist talked to Drowned in Sound while touring the UK.

STEVE MILLER:  You know why people keep talking about him.  He came to mind because The Simpsons Movie arrives Friday, which had me thinking about "The Way We Was."

SON VOLT welcomes David Beckham to the US with a cover of The Fab Four's "Hello, Goodbye" for ESPN.

STAX RECORDS is honoring its own legacy by expanding the original double-LP release from the legendary Wattstax festival into a 3-CD collection featuring 47 songs.

SCOTT MATTHEWS: "Frequently (and justifiably) compared to a cross between Jeff Buckley and Nick Drake," according to David Dye at the World Cafe, you can stream a twofer and judge for yourself.

IS JONI MITCHELL the next major artist to sign with Starbucks?

DRINKY BLOHAN:  Though her enabling mother carefully said she is "in a safe place" and her lawyer carefully said she is "receiving medical care," it appears that Lindsay Lohan is not in rehab following yesterday's new arrest on DUI and cocaine charges.  The paparazzi at X17 claim that Li-Lo had been "desperate" for cash in recent days, offering to sell photos to the agency for 30 grand.  The actress was recently dumped by her on-off boyfriend Callum Best - because she's "too boring" when she's sober, according to British tabloid reports.  The producers of Lohan's next film remain hopeful the film will not be completely shelved amid reported financial troubles and Lohan's possible jail time.

BRITNEY SPEARS was snapped driving with her son on her lap again, which caused the pop tart to explode at the photogs.  And OK! Magazine says they're going to show Britney as she really was on the day of her disastrous photo shoot.

JOHNNY DEPP turned Pirate of the Mediterranean, setting sail for a romantic getaway with his long-term partner, French actress Vanessa Paradis.  Ladies, your shirtless Depp pics are at the link.

PAUL POTTS is keeping his day job, in case the opera singing gig doesn't pan out.  He entered the Britain's Got Talent competition on a coin-flip.

ENSIGN PAVEL CHEKHOV hopes to rally Starfleet cadets against Myanmar's military junta, an earthly "outpost of tyranny."

FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF:  Aussie writer Sam de Brito blogs that "everything you need to know about life is contained in the 102 minute running time of this '80s classic."

24 casts America's first lesbian President -- Cherry Jones, who irl is partnered with the younger and hotter Sarah Paulson.

HOT GHETTO MESS may not be the best name for a TV show, even if it's airing on BET.  The concept of the show -- based on a website by that name -- is intriguing.

THE 77 MOST UNFORGETTABLE MOVIE SONGS --except musicals -- according to AOL Music.

THE 20 BEST & WORST CELEB BLOGS, according to Entertainment Weekly.

WOULD YOU LIKE A CHUTNEY SQUISHEE?  With The Simpsons Movie looming -- complete with the promotion turning 7-Eleven stores into Kwik-E-Marts -- Indian media has been making much ado about Apu.  Some desis see the Apu character and promotion as a travesty, others as much Apu about nothing.

WARD CHURCHILL, the Colorado prof who became infamous for calling some of the World Trade Center victims "little Eichmanns" in an essay, has been fired for "repeated and deliberate" infractions of scholarship rules.  He vows to sue.

IRAN:  The French Press Agency goes on patrol with the Fashion Police.  Women not hewing to the strict Islamic dress code are arrested and sent to a "center for combating vice."

IRAQ:  In the second round of US-Iran talks, the two sides agreed to form a new panel for more regular cooperation on Iraq security issues.  US Amb. Ryan Crocker notes that added that since Iranian and US reps last met to discuss the matter two months ago, Iranian-supported militia attacks on US and Iraqi forces had seen "an escalation, not a de-escalation."  So, anyone want odds on the Iranians cooperating?   The Islamic State of Iraq denied that US troops had captured the highest ranking Iraqi in the leadership of AQ and that that the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq - identified as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi - was a "fictional role" and that an actor is used for audio recordings of speeches posted on the Web.  Anyone hear from Khaled al-Mashhadani lately?  Blogger Michael J. Totten has a photo essay from his patrol in Baghdad's Graya'at neighborhood with the 82nd Airborne.  IraqSlogger has a map showing the remaining hotspots of sectarian violence in Baghdad, though the site's claim that that the number of unidentified bodies in the capital has risen again to pre-surge levels over the last two months doesn't jibe with the actual numbers.

IRAQ in the MEDIA:  London's Guardian and Observer recently ran a remarkably (for them) even-handed piece on the state of the nation, esp. northern Iraq: "For there are two Iraqs in evidence these days: not just the one where weddings are bombed and young women murdered in reply. The other Iraq is harder to dramatise but it is equally real. It is a place where boring, ordinary things take place. And in taking place become extraordinary in the context of conflict," later adding, "the expectation that America may be crumbling over Iraq - and may leave soon - has acted as an accelerant where the violence is worst..."

IRAQ in the MEDIA II:  The New Republic has been running articles attributed to a US soldier in Baghdad using the pen name "Scott Thomas," describing gruesome incidents in Iraq.  Last week, The Weekly Standard questioned the veracity of the New Republic articles in a variety of areas, including the design and operation of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and the non-existence of a "Saddam-era mass grave site" described in the TNR articles.  TNR Editor Franklin Foer originally posted on the mag's blog, claiming he was getting corroboration from other soldiers, but yesterday told the NYT it's difficult to get them on the phone.  Vietnam vet Bruce Kesler writes that neither TNR nor The Weekly Standard have fared well in this episode, though he clearly is skeptical of the TNR pieces.  You would think that the mag that published all those stories from Stephen Glass would have corroborated these inflammatory articles before running them.

JESSICA the HIPPO:  If you watch only one ridiculously cute video about a domesticated hippo today, make it this one.  And when you think it can't get cuter, it does.

A COYOTE has been running around the southern end of Chicago's Lincoln Park, and he seems to be too wily for animal control right now.  Let's go to the video... or the slideshow.

PRIZE-WINNING POODLE Afonwen Welch Fusilier is the latest victim of identity theft.

OCTOPUS turns archaeologist, uncovers sunken treasure of the coast of South Korea.

ASSAULT with a DEADLY TURKEY charged in Seffner, Florida.

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