If you couldn't make it, Lewis has made it possible for you to feel as if you did. Although, I'm still not talking to you.
Seriously, though. Great job, Lewis.
10.08.2007
8.21.2007
The Eames Era - "When You Were A Millionaire"
Even after hearing this song about 1,100 times in the edit, it's still my favorite song of the year.
8.18.2007
"The Wrong Kid Died!"
Judd Apatow, after years of being a Hollywood underdog with many failed series and movies and a cult following, is now relentlessly assaulting the box office. First it was 40-year Old Virgin, then Knocked Up, and Superbad which is, as I type, undoubtedly printing money. And now he's released a trailer for his next conquest, Walk Hard. I personally miss the bittersweetness of his ill-fated show Freaks and Geeks over the broad comedies, but he's still making broad comedies better than anyone. And this spoof of musician biopics just might be his funniest yet.
7.05.2007
6.28.2007
New Mini-Games Coming For The Wii
6.21.2007
6.19.2007
Paul McCartney Is One Lazy Billionaire
I like Paul McCartney a lot, but I watched his new iPod commercial in horror. I like the spot as an ad, I like the suit and sneakers look for the admittedly difficult question of "How should a really old rock legend dress?" It's cool that he's promoting a new song, and I don't mind the song musically.
But the lyrics, Paul, the lyrics. Good god, man. I mean, honestly. This is going to be heard by people. With ears. Connected to brains. That have not been lobotomized.
But the lyrics, Paul, the lyrics. Good god, man. I mean, honestly. This is going to be heard by people. With ears. Connected to brains. That have not been lobotomized.
6.18.2007
Hold Steady Frontman Fronts On Dead Frontman

I've always found The Doors to be the best example of "accessible edginess" also know as "non-edginess". Their music hit me, even at an early age, as indulgent, mediocre and pseudo-intellectual, much like Oliver Stone's movie about them(and all his other movies). And really, what was their contribution to rock history? To pave the way for Lenny Kravitz and a bunch of other so-so musicians who look good in giant belt buckles?
Brooklyn Vegan points to this article from The Guardian asking musicians to call Bullshit on a "classic" album. Makes for a good read, though I think the wise ones chose dead musicians. Craig Finn of The Hold Steady chose The Doors L.A Woman but particularly seems to go after the man in the leather pants. It makes sense seeing as how Craig is the polar opposite of the lizard king in every imaginable way. It's also nice how the other musicians used words like "attitudinising" and "unreconstructed" to detract, my man just calls Jimmy a "drunk asshole". Full piece below:
"The Doors LA Woman
Nominated by Craig Finn of the Hold Steady
In America when you're growing up, you're subjected to the Doors as soon as you start going to parties and smoking weed. People think of Jim Morrison as a brilliant rock'n'roll poet, but to me it's unlistenable. The music meanders, and Morrison was more like a drunk asshole than an intelligent poet. The worst of the worst is the last song, Riders on the Storm: "There's a killer on the road/ His brain is squirming like a toad" - that's surely the worst line in rock'n'roll history. He gave the green light to generations of pseuds. A lot of people told him he was a genius, so he started to believe it. The Velvets did nihilism and darkness so much better - they were so much more understated; what they did had subtlety, whereas the Doors had little or none: they were a caricature of "the dark side". I actually like Los Angeles, but the Doors represent the city at its most fat, bloated and excessive. Morrison's death does give rock some mythic kudos, but that doesn't make me want to listen to the music. In fact, if it comes on the radio, I change the station."
6.14.2007
5.31.2007
Google's Unbelievably Cool/Creepy New Feature
Ever wonder what your front door looks like? As you slept soundly one morning last fall, some Google geeks drove by your house and filmed it.
5.21.2007
You Shouldn't Need Convincing, But...
With 2 out of 4 members in Scottsdale last week, Untucked shot a promo to prove two things: my stepdad Reg is the undisputed man and The Eames Era are playing the two can't miss shows of the summer.
5.16.2007
New HBO Show - Flight Of The Concords
It's like a hipster "The Office", with all your favorite lower-east side comedians popping up. Here's the first episode in it's awesome entirety:
Flight of the Conchords - Pilot
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Flight of the Conchords - Pilot
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Outdoor Summer Concerts I Care About (So Far)
Summer Concerts are a mixed bag, I find. Some are free which is great because I like money. But as a result the crowds seeing your favorite bands are much bigger and less devoted. The ones that cost fix that problem but still usually have beer line issues, sweletering heat, etc.. I will probably be more selective this summer than years past, but these three shows are musts for me:
The Thermals @ McCarren Pool (Free, Sunday, date TBA)

Cat Power/Built To Spill @ McCarren Pool ($40, Saturday July 7th)


The Hold Steady @ Prospect Park (Free, Thursday, August 9th)
The Thermals @ McCarren Pool (Free, Sunday, date TBA)

Cat Power/Built To Spill @ McCarren Pool ($40, Saturday July 7th)


The Hold Steady @ Prospect Park (Free, Thursday, August 9th)
5.15.2007
5.03.2007
5.01.2007
Just Admit It
You love this clip.
You'd love to work here.
You love this song.
You want a SILF shirt.
You think the response is damn good too:
You'd love to work here.
You love this song.
You want a SILF shirt.
You think the response is damn good too:
4.27.2007
The Hold Steady @ NYU
For better or worse, the crowd of NYU students and hardcore fans who finagled their way in was the most rowdy of any Steady show I've seen. The moshing and stage diving makes me slightly proud of my Alma Mater, but for some it was a bit much. Not that it was aggressive, but it was constant and pretty intense. Not bad for a booze-free venue.
First of all, where have the Thermals been all my life? Best set by an opening band I'd never heard of in a long damn time. I guess it was kind of a double bill, since they have a following. For three people who look more like a study group than a rock band, they tear in up. I bought their latest CD and can't wait to listen to it, though I can't seem to find it this morning.
The Steady started with Positive Jam, and you immediately knew this crowd was going to toss you around a bit. The setlist was pretty standard, no major surprises. Craig made a crack about A-Rod finally hitting, which I guess is better than him referencing that they're in last place. Lots of people snuck through a side door and onto the stage to stagedive/crowdsurf. In the Killer Parties encore, Tad Kubler(guitar) surfed while playing. Then as, Craig prepared to follow, my friend Dan stole his moment and beat him to it. There was a little bit of second encore blue balls, as it took a minute for the lights to come on. We were out of smuggled Beam anyway. It's so hard to rank Hold Steady shows. It's more a feeling of another great night to put on the memory shelf.
Also, the whole show but especially the Thermals were insanely loud. I guess we're old, but there is rampant hearing loss among my crew today.
4.12.2007
RIP Kurt Vonnegut

Woke up to see my favorite author has died from brain injuries suffered during a fall two weeks ago. He was 84. His writing always struck me as totally original for blending wit, fantasy, absurdism and morality. He often wrote about beings from another planet, I believe, to have something to contrast people with. He seemed to speak for the human race to a vaccuum, with equal parts shame and pride. He also like to draw anuses.
Some of my favorite quotes:
"It used to be the whole point of smoking was that we were killing ourselves, and we didn't care."
"Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be."
"I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different."
"True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country."
"1492. The teachers told the children that this was when their continent was discovered by human beings. Actually, millions of human beings were already living full and imaginative lives on the continent in 1492. That was simply the year in which sea pirates began to cheat and rob and kill them."
"By saying that our leaders are power-drunk chimpanzees, am I in danger of wrecking the morale of our soldiers fighting and dying in the Middle East? Their morale, like so many bodies, is already shot to pieces. They are being treated, as I never was, like toys a rich kid got for Christmas."
"The big trouble with dumb bastards is that they are too dumb to believe there is such a thing as being smart."
"The worst thing that could possibly happen to anybody would be to not be used for anything by anybody. Thank you for using me, even though I didn't want to be used by anybody."
"So it goes."
YouTube Gem
Stumbled on this while cruising youtube. I can't remember seeing a short this funny in a long time. Don't know anything about it except it stars Nick Frost, half of the comedy team behind Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz, out next Friday.
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