Ok, so I just wanted an excuse to post something about Pavement. Check out this article where NPR staffers discuss their favorite Pavement songs at NPR.org. Of course, the didn’t list my personal favorite — Range Life — but you can’t win them all, can you? You can also see Pavement tour dates at MatatorRecords.com.
California dates include:
April 18, 210 – Coachella in Indio, CA
June 25, 2010 – Greek Theater in Berkeley, CA
Gen X may have loved Napster a little too much and kicked off a code red for the music industry, but there are certain things that even torrents can’t take down. The last few years have seen a resurgence of the vinyl format. The L.A. Times reported that at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, there was a place alongside the 3-D televisions for vinyl-lovers to get their oohs and aahs.
Just a few days ago, PBS talked about the resurrection of records. Sure, it’s a pain to transport all of those record and they are more fragile than, say, CDs or your hard drive, but there are a ton of things to love about vinyl records. Of course, there is a mixed bag of theories on why we still love vinyl. My own personal theories? There is a strong, tactile interaction that we have with old records. We have to treat them gingerly when we take records in and out of the sleeves. And what about having to flip the record half-way through? It reminds you to interact with the music. The album art is at a size that can actually be appreciated. There is a certain sense on nostalgia that we just don’t feel with CDs and MP3s, right? There is something romantic about putting on a record and getting cozy. Or I could just be full of B.S., but this is my blog and I’m sticking to my story!
One of my favorite perks of buying new pressings is that a lot of records also include free digital downloads. For a few extra bucks, you can fulfill your hipster sensibilities and your audiophile needs. What’s not to love? Although, I have friends who would differ…and who totally heckled my Facebook page for my love of vinyl.
Related Articles:
Cassette Tapes Turned into Art
Get Your Free Ringtones, While You Can
The only reason that I even bring it up is that I am still so irritated that Gorillaz got top billing over Pavement. It’ll take me a while to let this one go. Let me tell ya. See the full lineup at the official website: coachella.com/event/lineup.
Here is a collection of The Beatles: Rockband trailers and videos. Here’s the very first trailer for the game. Below is a video of all three trailers in one, the Sg. Pepper’s video, stage demo at E3, and finally the video of Paul McCartney and Ringo Star!
I just watched Powder Blue last night and was not surprised that it was straight to video. I will post a review of that DVD later. In the meanwhile, here are a collection of the Jessica Biel stripping clips. Enjoy this video at home. Seriously. Don’t watch this at work… there is mild nudity.
“Kids” – MGMT
Bamp Bamp Ba da da bamp baaa…the infectious synth pop beats that repeat throughout this song hook you right away. Although there is nothing spectacular about the song or lyrics, the rhythm and melody is addictive, causing me to put the song on repeat while working out at the gym. From the first eight counts, I immediately want to dig through my closet to find my leg warmers and leotards to dance around in. The image of Olivia Newton John in the video “Physical” comes to mind. It’s a great song for working out or dancing.
Watch the video and you decide if her tampon string was hanging out of her p*ssy, y’all!
This is from an art set called “Ghost in the Machine,” that includes a series of pop culture icons created from old cassette tapes and film reels. Awesome, right? I’ll always have a special place in my heart for cassette tapes because it’s called a Mix Tape, not Mix CD or mix play list. You can see the rest of iri5’s art on his/her Flickr page.
Not everyone wants/needs/can afford an iPod, especially the young ones. This is an adorable alternative for young kids who have a kawaii fetish. These Chinese Horoscope MP3 players are cute and for about $30 you can get 2 GB of space and five hours of play time. Sweet! Get it at Geek Stuff 4 U.
The LA Times posted a recent article stating the now “widespread news” that French electronic duo Daft Punk will be scoring Disney’s Tron sequel-cleverly dubbed Tron 2.0. I must admit that regardless of the nostalgic value enshrined in the original 1982 Tron, I question whether this is such a good idea. One thing, however, that I will attest to, is the logic behind delegating the scoring duties to Daft Punk. Their music certainly fits the mood as well as the aesthetics. Yet, I often wonder what is added to the collective cultural consciousness through the recreation-or addition of delayed sequels-of cult classics and pop culture gems by applying current technologies, standards, visions, and overall artistic developments to original stories, characters, and settings(see the recent Rambo, Indiana Jones 4, Die Hard 4, Transformers the Movie, the forthcoming G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, etc.). Do I alone to ponder over this? How long before they start remaking/modernizing the 1990s? How does this change the way we perceive/consider the originals? Anyways, for what it is worth, see the article here.
Wow. This is amazing news. It’s been confirmed that there will be a Beatles edition of Rockband, the popular rhythm-based video game.
The Beatles’ management said Thursday that a Beatles version of the Rock Band video game will debut in September. In addition, they’ll sell accompanying instruments modeled after the ones used by the band. (Google News)
I hope they offer John Lennon’s Rickenbacker. This is great news for Beatles fans. Woo hoo!
I love this concept design for a MP3 player that is modeled after old cassette tapes. The NVDRS Tape runs on kinetic energy–you have to poke your finger through one of the cassette tape holes just like in the old days. They would come in 45/60/90 minute capacities. These days that seems like nothing, right? Our iPods can play a new song for days at a time. The idea is to be selective, when creating a mix tape–the way we used to be. Some of us still are very selective (channeling High Fidelity). If the price was low enough, I would buy them and give them out. Since it’s still in concept phase, there is no detail on possible price points. Check out more pictures after the jump.
I’m kind of obsessive. If I find something I like, I latch onto it and don’t let go. Kind of like a pitbull (but without the lipstick).
My latest music obsession is a band called Snow Patrol. Check them out, they are worth the listen and the ticket across the Pond to see them in concert. But, if you can’t quite make it over the Pond check out a few of their videos on their last.fm station.
Enjoy!
This site has to be illegal somehow, but it’s up and running, so check it out. I found it a few months back and never got a proper chance to write about it. The site is audiko.net and it offers free ringtones. Not only can you search for ringtones, you can make them yourself with your music or a YouTube link. Then you can “crop” you song at any part you want, up to 40 seconds. The YouTube links take a long time to process, but it does work. The files supported are mp3, m4r, and AMR-nb. I’ve tested this service for my iPhone and it is awesome.
More info at audiko.net
