Death + Taxes

That's right gang, D+T is getting a break from summer in NYC and heading for the greener pastures of sunny California. If you're in LA next week, come out to our D+T party at Cha Cha Lounge for drink specials, D+T Issue 15, and, as our flier indicates, general mayhem. See you there!

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The new record from spacey, brit-pop vanguard act, The Verve, will be released on August 26th. It's supposed to be quite the come-back record, but nowadays what isn't? We haven't had a chance to listen to the record here at the office because the CD said the artist's name was Colombo or something so we just threw it in the trash. The Verve are great, though. And Richard Ashcroft is still devilishly handsome. As for the "Bittersweet Symphony" video--they just don't make them like they used to:

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So the film adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk' s Choke is supposed to be the best movie ever. What you maybe didn't know is that the flick has a booming soundtrack, curated by the film's director, Clark Gregg. Here's what he had to say about the soundtrack:

Ben Kweller - "The Rules"

Ben Kweller kicks ass. These lyrics feel like Victor Mancini's rowdy, pissed-off subtext. I love that it starts off the soundtrack with some slamming indie rock and that it comes in during the colonial village while we're looking at all the puffy shirts and bonnets.

The Natural History - "Don't You Ever" (rare)

I only found this band recently, but I listened to them all through post. Max Tepper's vocals are superb. I actually prefer this version to the one by Spoon and I'm a huge Spoon fan. The band broke up a few years ago. I'm going to picket their houses until they get back together.

Fiery Furnaces - "Navy Nurse"

This groove just takes your breath away.

Radiohead - "Reckoner"

Like most people, I am a huge Radiohead fan. The adaptation took me years to write so I wrote it first to Kid A, then Amnesiac and then Hail to the Thief. Later, I learned from Chuck Palahniuk that he had written the novel while listening to their song, "Creep." In Rainbows came out while we were editing and I used almost every track in my early temp cuts of the movie. They all fit really well, but I particularly loved "Reckoner." The tension between Thom Yorke's keening vocals and Phil Selway's brilliant, driving drum track fit so perfectly that it worked almost like score. I was truly dreading the day when we'd have to take it out. Somehow ATO Pictures producer, Johnathan Dorfman persuaded their manager to show the band some footage and to our shock they were generous enough to let us use the song. It's a monumental addition to the movie.

Alap Momin - "Sin Terror"

I love this jam. We needed music for the strip-club scenes and music supervisors Lyle Hysen and Ken Weinstein knew Alap Momin from the band Dälek and he was kind enough to cook this up just for the movie. He even tailored the tracks to the scenes. The driving discordant build they layered into this piece feels like it's feeding the tension between Denny and Victor.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Satan Said Dance"

I loved their first album and we needed something dark but not too heavy for Victor's sudden rollercoaster ride back to the dark side. Hysen and Weinstein pitched this song and when we saw it over the scene it was just right.

Buzzcocks - "Orgasm Addict" (rare)Publish Post

This is the anthem. I sort of grew up loving The Buzzcocks, moshing my way through their songs in the East Village. I must have played it every day I was writing "Choke." I always thought we'd open the movie with it, but it didn't work out. In any case here is a cool alternate version with a more deadpan feel and at least it made it on to our soundtrack.

Death Cab For Cutie - "No Sunlight"

What can you say, they're just really, really good.

Blitzen Trapper - "Wicked" (unreleased)

We listened to a lot of Blitzen Trapper during the crazed five-week summer shoot. It just seemed to fit with spending your 18-hour days in a sweltering mental hospital. They've got some excellent chaos going on.

Ms. Tyree Sugar Jones - "If You Feel It"

This plays in another tricky scene where everything we tried felt wrong. And then I got turned on to the soulful sexy stylings of Ms. Tyree "Sugar" Jones. You put this on and you know some clothes are coming off.

My Morning Jacket - "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt 1"

We're all big Jacket fans. Listened to them constantly during the shoot. Very proud to have them on here.

Shout Out Louds - "Bicycle" (rare)

Nothing like a little kick ass Swedish indie rock. They're like The Shins' attitudinal Scandinavian cousins.

Twilight Singers - "There's Been An Accident"

One of the producers, Contrafilm's Beau Flynn, and I have been Greg Dulli fans for years. I listened to The Twilight Singers a lot when I was writing the script. The song is really moving in a haunting, portentous way that really works for the movie.

Nicole Atkins - "Crystal Ship" (unreleased)

Brilliant. She's got a great torchy, Peggy Lee sound with just enough tongue in cheek to feel like a perfect citizen of the Palahniuk world.

And check out the trailer:

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If you're in town this weekend definitely come to Williamsburg and take part in our first annual scavenger hunt and after-party. The winning team gets free sneakers courtesy of Sneaux, but all participants get free tacos courtesy of El Diablo Taco Truck, free beers courtesy of PBR, and a free show courtesy of The Suckers, The Blacks and Amazing Baby.

If you can't make it to the scavanger hunt definitely come to the after-party at Union Pool regardless. El Diablo Taco Truck has been killing it since it first opened about a month ago. Here's a photo of taco guru and truck owner Greg Matthews along with his numero uno chef, Mario. With Union Pool's newly expanded back yard and delicious tacos, what more could you want? Oh, I know! A show featuring some of the best local (and SF-based) bands around today.

For more information on how to enter the scavenger hunt, click HERE.

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El Guincho's celebrated album, Alegranza, is being re-released on October 7th through XL Recordings. The album is a collection of not-overtly hipster songs with Latin rhythms and an engaging tropical feel. You can listen to El Guincho's music HERE, and read about an interview with him in the next issue of Death+Taxes, which hits stands late August. El Guincho hails from Barcelona, Spain, and he enjoys windsurfing.

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Chromeo

The Virgins

Animal Collective

Radiohead

APW was a success-especially if you went Saturday like I did, because the weather was pretty much flawless. Nothing but bright skies and postcard backdrops like downtown NYC and that sexy statue of liberty. Oh, and the bands weren't bad either.

But before we get to the bands I'd like to tip my hat to APW for solving the alcohol conundrum. Since the venue took place in a government park-that meant no booze. The parties involved compromised and Dirty Jerz allowed every APW attendee a 5 beer max. Sounds whack, but it actually worked out well. We were given wristbands with 5 stubs to indicate how many beers we had left to chug.

As per the music, we started off with Chromeo-who put on a great show. It was 2:30 in the afternoon and David, aka the Canadian Jew, kept insisting that it was too early in the morning to be speaking, let alone performing. They ripped through every great song, but for whatever reason the crowd lacked proper enthusiasm. No one knew the words to any song and audience dancing was neither here nor there. I guess everyone was still on beer number ONE. Still, I loved it-it was a great set to kick off the day. After that I ventured back to the beer garden to chug my second and third babies. (The beer garden was a closed off area where you were allowed to drink your beer.) That's right, you couldn't take it out of the pen, or anywhere near any of the stages.

On to The Virgins. I was most excited for these dudes. Matt Pinfield, rock veteran and old school MTV VJ introduced the band as the future of his radio station 101.9 RXP. I wouldn't call their show the most thrilling of the bunch-maybe they were too sober OOPZ NO COKAYN BRNCH? Regardless, their music is pretty darn good and on the closing track "Rich Girls," they even jammed for a bit before the intro, which was unexpected.

We scurried over to Animal Collective after that, which you could hear from a half a mile away. I love bands that you listen to all the time and surprise you when you see them live. It was as if I'd never heard a beat. They were seriously intoxicated and presented a great segue into the darker hours of the day. We stayed at the main stage to watch Kings Of Leon. Again, another band I listen to all the time, but had never seen live. They weren't as surprising or as innovative as Animal Collective (then again, who the fuck is?), but they were solid. They played all the hits, some even twice if I'm not mistaken.

One thing led to another and I got dragged to the bullet stage to hear The Roots. It was hard to focus knowing that Radiohead was going to take the stage in about half an hour. After a dope rendition of "You Got Me" we fled The Roots, housed some BBQ and headed back to the main stage to stake a spot for Thom Yorke and Co.

The lights, the mood, the voice-everything about Radiohead was mesmerizing. I missed Friday's show, but on the second night of APW, they were partial to the newest album, but snuck in some classics like "Kid A," "Everything In It's Right Place" and "The Bends." It's hard to say anything bad about the set, though as expected, you could barely move. I would liked to have been closer. Oh well, next time.

Bands I missed while being locked up in the beer garden: Metric, Sia, The Felice Brothers and The Black Angels. -TML

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Metallica are hitting the road in support of their new album, Death Magnetic, which streets on September 12th. They are crazy old, but not so old that it's uncomfortable to watch them play. The dates and supporting bands are listed below.

With support from Down and The Sword :
October 21 Glendale, AZ Jobing Arena
October 23 Albuquerque, NM Tingley Coliseum
October 25 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
October 26 Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena
November 1 Portland, OR Rose Quarter
November 3 Salt Lake City, UT Energy Solutions Arena
November 4 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
November 6 Omaha, NE Qwest Center
November 8 Moline, IL iWireless Center
November 9 Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center
November 17 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center
November 18 Tulsa, OK BOK Center
November 20 Houston, TX Toyota Center
November 22 Little Rock, AR Alltel Arena
November 23 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena

With support from Lamb of God and The Sword:
December 1 Seattle, WA Key Arena
December 2 Vancouver, BC GM Place
December 4 Calgary, AB Pengrowth Saddledome
December 7 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
December 12 Ontario, CA Citizens Bank Arena
December 13 Fresno, CA Save Mart Center
December 15 San Diego, CA Cox Arena
December 17 Los Angeles, CA The Forum
December 20 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena

With support from Machine Head and The Sword:
January 12 Milwaukee, WI Bradley Center
January 13 Detroit, MI Joe Louis Arena
January 15 Washington, DC Verizon Center
January 17 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center
January 18 Boston, MA TD Banknorth Center
January 26 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena
January 29 Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
January 31 Newark, NJ Prudential Center

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So we're on Twitter now if you'd like to keep up with us even more. Check us out at www.twitter.com/deathandtaxes or click HERE

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Of course he does. According to the Associated Press, American Glenn Eller won the gold medal with score of 190 points. But honestly this isn't even really a fair fight, given that the silver and bronze runners-up both come from countries that actually have gun control laws. Francesco D'Aniello of Italy and Hu Binyuan of China placed second and third, respectively. Both hailing from countries with zero private gun ownership outside the police force, it's hard to imagine how they could have held their own against Eller, from a country that clocks in 30,000 gunshot wound deaths every year. True, they had their work cut out from them against a Texan - but god help this sport if guys from South Central Los Angeles get Olympic fever in 2012. - AM

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Words by Aaron Schoonhoven
Photos by Sunny Shokrae

When I head that Eye & company would not be leading the NYC installment of 88 Boadrum (88 drummers playing an 88 minute compositions kicking off at 8:08pm on 8/8/08) I was a bit anxious. The involvement of corporate giant, Nike, and a setting amidst the half finished condo apocalypse of the Williamsburg waterfront also filled me with trepidation. Fortunately Gang Gang Dance was more than up to the task and rocked the "spiral of sound," delivering a blistering set that integrated their own aesthetic into the Boredom's vision.

While last year's 77 Boadrum composition used the spiral of drummers to create swirls of crescendo-ing sound to awesome, wave-like effect, 88 was characterized by a steady, driving pulse. Over the beat Gang Gang Dance layered their brand of eerie, dub influenced effects. In contrast to last year's sun-drenched affair, the vibe, both visually and musically, was closer to "Blade Runner" or the horror/prog soundtracks of Goblin. The epic drum freakout at the end was nothing short of transcendent. I can't wait for next years, or better yet - four years from now on 12/12/12 when the Boredoms perform with 112 drummers on Mars and Phil Collins fills in for them in Beijing.

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The future of cars is a toaster ...and I want one.

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