Politics

Nothing Ever Happens

Stephen Blackwell :: Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 7:15 pm

The vast majority of Americans would never fly a plane into a government building. Nor would they bulldoze their own home. But Americans are susceptible to being swept up in crazes good and bad, whether it’s Beatlemania or McCarthyism.

Casting the Tea Party as a wacky fringe borders on idiotic. It’s a movement that elects U.S. Senators. Its potential to become the “third party” is staggering, and I suspect liberal hatred of the movement is rooted in two things: (a) it possesses an unwavering message that (b) is completely rational. MORE »

Plants and Animals Debut New Video for “The Mama Papa”

Amy Laviero :: Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 6:00 pm

Plants and Animals sophomore album, La La Land will be released on March 20th through Secret City Records. The band has also released a video for the song “The Mama Papa” which was directed by Sinbad Richardson and features actor Joe Cobden (I’m Not There, Blindness, and The Aviator) as a creepy, mind-reading magician.

The band will embark on a North American tour beginning on March 12th and have a full SXSW schedule planned as well. Click through to watch the full video for “The Mama Papa” and check out a full list of tour dates. MORE »

The Whigs to Appear on The Late Show

Amy Laviero :: Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 5:25 pm

The Whigs are gearing up to release their third studio album, In The Dark, which will be out March 16th on ATO Records. The band has scheduled a string of performances in support of their album, beginning with The Late Show with David Letterman on April 1st where they will perform their latest single, “Kill Me Carolyne;” a really catchy pop-rock tune. If you don’t feel like waiting, you can listen to the song on the band’s Myspace, or download the single for free on their official website.

The Whigs are currently on tour with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. They will also perform during SXSW beginning March 17th, before embarking on a co-headlining tour with Band of Skulls on March 31st. Click through for an extensive list of tour dates. MORE »

GWAR Announces Brooklyn Crack-a-Thon

Shannon Hassett :: Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 4:40 pm

Sleazy P. Martini, manager of GWAR, held a press conference to announce Crack-a-Thon 2010, which appears to be the band’s version of a fundraiser. Martini summarized the event as giving “something back to the community, you know, something besides AIDS,” and lead singer Oderus Urungus’s description was blunt at best, “We are trying to raise money for the kids…not just muscular dystrophy, but retards as well, all kinds of fucked-up freaks.” The festivities will kickoff at the MF Gallery in Brooklyn on April 10, where a free party will signal the beginning of a week-long setup for the actual Crack-a-Thon on April 16th, an event that live web cams will broadcast from the gallery to a website (where donations can also be made). Do you really even need an excuse to go meet GWAR in an art gallery, let alone for charity? Details to follow. MORE »

Wilco Sandwich Shop Begs The Question: What Band Would You Eat?

Amy Rose Spiegel :: Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 4:30 pm

After perusing the menu of Sky Blue Sky Sandwich Co., a new Wilco-themed sandwich shop in Toronto, and reading about Led Zeppole, a Village-based restaurant that celebrates both powdered confections and classic rock, I began thinking of how five of my favorite bands might be interpreted through food. Below, a list of the music I want to sink my teeth into.
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Global Warming’s Changing Tides

Amy Laviero :: Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 4:15 pm

Global warming has always had it’s skeptics and until now, those skeptics came across as ignorant, ill-informed bastards. However, with the release of hundreds of hacked e-mails from an England-based climate research center last fall, credibility of the anthropomorphic global warming cause has deteriorated. MORE »

Today In Music

Colm McAuliffe :: Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 2:45 pm

Sean Lennon defends his father’s appearance in a Citroen advertisement

Completely overrated indie Anglophiles Pavement have extended their US tour

Eric Avery leaves Jane’s Addiction again (and apparently has been replaced by Duff McKagan)

A man figure skates to Smells Like Teen Spirit

New Order’s erstwhile bassist Peter Hook has announced a solo spoken-word tour with former drug smuggler Howard Marks

How healthy is the Gorillaz rider?

Peter Gabriel’s song swap project has not turned out as planned…

Sarah Palin’s Got Jokes… Cue “Applause” Sign

Matt Kiebus :: Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 2:30 pm

Sarah Palin is a jack-of-all-trades, a modern renaissance woman of sorts. What can’t she do? She is a governor, no wait she’s a vice-presidential candidate, a hip FOX News journalist, likely a presidential candidate in 2012, and a stand-up comedian? In an effort to sway the treasured “Jay Leno vote,” Palin did her best impression of a typical Leno monologue last night as a guest on The Tonight Show. It goes without saying she had the audience in stitches. MORE »

The Bird And The Bee + Hall And Oates = Fun

Amy Rose Spiegel :: Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 2:20 pm

The Bird and the Bee’s “Interpreting the Masters, Volume 1: Hall and Oates” comes out on March 23, and trust me, it’s a well-produced, rollicking album that has equal parts kitsch value and real listening pleasure. Although nothing can replace the original duo, this is a damn good interpretation of their work.
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Will The Coffee Party Wake Up US Liberals?

Colm McAuliffe :: Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 2:15 pm

There is alot of caffeine in the air at the minute…we only mentioned it in passing yesterday but the Coffee Party movement, the highly original response to the Tea Party, is making waves; its Facebook page has acquired over 50,000 fans and yesterday, supporters were registering their interest at a the rate of a thousand an hour.

Obsession: Here We Go Magic’s “Everything’s Big”

Amy Rose Spiegel :: Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 2:00 pm

Brooklyn band Here We Go Magic has completely taken over my iTunes lately. Their entire album, the recently released Here We Go Magic, released on Secretly Canadian, is seriously brilliant. What stands out most, though, is the final track. It serves mostly as a well-structured vehicle for lead singer Luke Wilson’s pitch-perfect voice, which is lovely as the ending note of an album focused on highlighted creative instrumentation. Wilson is a well-known songwriter on his own, but my favorite incarnation of his work has to be this project.
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The Onward March of Right-Wing America

Colm McAuliffe :: Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 1:30 pm

Yesterday, we innocently pondered whether the Tea Party would upset the Texas primary? Well, it turns out that the Tea Party did not upset the apple cart as Republican senator Kay Bailey Hutchison - who was considered sufficiently conservative to secure the backing of Dick Cheney - was completely outflanked by the ultra right-wing Rick Perry, taking full advantage of the wave of populist conservative anger sweeping the country right now.

Air Teams Up With RjDj To Release iPhone App

Amy Rose Spiegel :: Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 1:15 pm

French band Air and London-based music technology company RjDj have combined forces and created an iPhone application that allows users to play with Air’s music in interesting ways. Interactive features let fans record their own voices and sounds and integrate them into the music.

Upcoming Blind Melon Documentary to Focus on Hoon

Shannon Hassett :: Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 1:00 pm

While they may be best remembered for the bumblebee girl, a new video is about to shed some light on Blind Melon. October 21 will mark 15 years since the death of former lead singer Shannon Hoon, and to honor the anniversary of his passing, guitarist Chris Thorn is teaming up with director Colleen Hennessy and Danny Clinch’s Three by Tree productions to develop a documentary centered on the Hoon era of the band. In addition to footage of Blind Melon’s tours with Neil Young and the Rolling Stones, much of the film will feature Hoon’s self-shot footage, which Thorn compared to a video version of Kurt Cobain’s Journals. There is still debate whether a clip of Hoon speaking to his wife Lisa the morning of his death will be included — the last time anyone heard from him before he was discovered dead of a drug overdose at 28. Blind Melon is also on the search for a new singer, details for which can be found after the jump. MORE »

Spencer Tunick’s Latest Project Met with Mixed Reactions

Amy Laviero :: Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 12:50 pm

During his latest photo-shoot, art photographer Spencer Tunick enlisted 5,200 volunteers to strip down in front of Sydney’s famed Opera House. The installation is the latest of over 100 Tunick has organized and was commissioned by Austrailia’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, which began last Saturday and which is one of the world’s largest and most flamboyant. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is being met with mixed reactions. MORE »