KEXP is an indie radio station out of Seattle, and true to its "bring it to the people" style, it's releasing a new CD of live music that has a little something for everyone. Sleater-Kinney, Bright Eyes, the Decemberists, Editors, Zero 7, Death CabFor Cutie, Aqualung anyone?
Check it out: Live at KEXP, Volume II 1. Lyrics Born – "Callin’ Out" 2. Gang of Four – "What We All Want" 3. Thievery Corporation – "Warning Shots" 4. Tapes N Tapes – "Insistor" 5. Sleater-Kinney – "Jumpers" 6. Ted Leo and the Pharmicists – "Walking to Do" 7. Death Cab for Cutie – "Crooked Teeth" 8. The Decemberists – "We Both Go Down Together" 9. Zero 7 – "Home" 10. Common Market – "Connect Four" 11. M.I.A. – "Galang" 12. Band of Horses – "The Funeral" 13. The Wedding Present – "Ringway to Sea-Tac" 14. Editors – "Munich" 15. Skullbot – "Lookout" 16. Bright Eyes – "At the Bottom of Everything" 17. Trashcan Sinatras – "Weightlifting" 18. Aqualung – "Brighter than Sunshine" 19. Drive By Truckers – "World of Hurt" 20. Patti Smith (with Lenny Kaye) – "People Have the Power"
It's probably not available in a store near you, so order it online and make sure all the money goes to Mom and Pop KEXP so they can continue to release cool tunes like these.
It has been one year since Hurricane Katrina rammed into the Gulf Coast and all Hell broke loose in my beloved hometown of New Orleans. There is so much left to do, and for those of us who can't be there to help, I think it's up to us to make sure the rest are not forgotten.
Pluto is no longer a planet? How can they just change your mind after all these years? What's next? Is Europe not truly a continent?
Is "y" not sometimes a vowel?
Is alternative music not actually alternative?
Wait, forget that last one.
National Geographic explains it like this ...
"According to the new definition, a full-fledged planet is an object that orbits the sun and is large enough to have become round due to the force of its own gravity. In addition, a planet has to dominate the neighborhood around its orbit. Pluto has been demoted because it does not dominate its neighborhood. Charon, its large "moon," is only about half the size of Pluto, while all the true planets are far larger than their moons."
Adding a "size matters" joke here is just way too easy, so I'm not going there.
Although this looks better than it did earlier today, it's still way too close for comfort. My parents, family and friends are living in a city that has not even marked one year since Hurricane Katrina -- that anniversary will be on Tuesday, Aug. 29. Ernesto is just adding to the anxieties. Say a prayer, OK?
Just days after PETE DOHERTY and DARKNESS singer JUSTIN HAWKINS checked into drug rehab, KEANE frontman TOM CHAPLIN has done the same. Due to this development, the band has postponed a North American tour, set to start next month. In a statement on Keane's Web site, the twenty-seven-year-old said, "I've been having to deal with an increasing problem with drink and drugs, and the time has come to get the professional help I need to sort myself out. I feel desperately disappointed to be letting down our fans, but I want to get myself right now so that I can be back on the road for the rest of the year." The group cancelled gigs in Edinburgh, Dublin and Ibiza earlier this month, saying Chaplin was suffering from exhaustion. Refunds are now available at the point of purchase. Keane's latest album, "Under the Iron Sea," debuted at Number One on the U.K. chart in June.
Little Miss Sunshine is a movie you must see. Right now. Get off your sarcastic butt and go pay a few dollars for one of the best movies you will see … ever. In the words of every cast member in Grey’s Anatomy, “Seriously.” (Seriously, every one on that show says it. If you haven’t noticed, you will now. Apparently, Shonda Rhimes, the series creator, uses the word all the time, too.)
Each character in this film is fantastic, and each gets the best lines and the biggest laughs. I started to write a one-line description of each character, but really, that gives too much away, and the best way to see a great movie is to know as little as possible about it. Just take my word for it.
I can tell you this … each character is trying so hard to get by and trying so hard not to fail, that they are failing miserably. But in their failings, they kind of find each other. I laughed hysterically during the movie – even doing that thing where my head flies back and I start clapping. (Why in the world do I do that?) I also did the “Awwwwww …” thing in unison with other moviegoers, and I even did the thing where I kind of let out a scream as I laugh.
You will walk out of the theater with a smile on your face, and you'll love with Abigail Breslin, who's absolutely adorable in the flick. And Steve Carrell is genius as usual. This may be my favorite movie of the year... Seriously.
Are you as smart as the kids in the eighth grade? AOL has posted a quiz titled "Are you smart enough to pass eighth grade?" I got six out of eight questions right. Is that a C-?? Take the test. Devan, I'm waiting to hear your grade! :)
You may or not be able to pass the eighth grade, but you still have the maturity level of a kid in junior high, and we all know it. So, indulge in your zaniness.
In another chapter of "How Much I Love Photojojo.com," you must check out the latest installment: Long Awkward Pose. It's hilarious, and I could kick myself for not thinking of it first. Actually, this might have been what my mom was really doing while taking ridiculous amounts of time to take a picture of my brother and me in front of those Kodak Photo Spots in Walt Disney World when we were wee little kids.
Then again, those were print cameras...
These two "examples" had me laughing out loud. There's profanity, so be warned. If I can pull this prank on my dad and make him drop the f-bomb, I may just crap my pants. -- some guy named John and someone's dad.
... does Baby Shook, my little niece or nephew ...
look a lot like a Baby Bjork?
OK, in all seriousness, Baby Shook is upside down, and those things that look like Mickey Mouse ears, Princess Leia hair or Bjork's hairstyle in the picture above, are really the baby's legs. And if Baby Shook comes out wearing a swan dress, I'm going to love him/her just the same.
I was a downloading fool this morning, and I’m going to save you the trouble of searching for all this great stuff by conveniently providing you all the links on a silver platter. Sometimes, I’m nice. Enjoy it now because the bitch will be back soon. Thanks to the amazing bloggers who somehow find this amazing stuff and spread the love.
The Raconteurs’ recent Lollapalooza live set (including a cover of Gnarls Barkley’s ubiquitous “Crazy”) (Culture Bully)
R.E.M. and Radiohead at the National Bowl on July 19, 2005 (I caught this tour in Baton Rouge. It was an incredible show -- Radiohead circa The Bends, which sorry to be uncool, but is my favorite Radiohead album) R.E.M. Part 1 R.E.M. Part 2 Radiohead (rbally)
The DIY craze continues to reach new heights, and I’m as happy as crafty is cool. Although I don’t actually make many of the projects featured, I am a subscriber and huge fan of “ReadyMade” magazine. It’s a hip collection of do-it-yourself project that range in cost and difficulty. Even if you don’t actually sit down and make your own pre-fab sunroom for the backyard, it’s still a fun ride.
My latest DIY obsession is photojojo.com. I think I first read about it on Yahoo! Picks. One click, and I was hooked.
The Web site is one big depository of tutorials and simple instructions for making cool photo projects that don’t seem overwhelming or impossible. Here are some of the super-cool projects I can’t wait to try.
Photojojo's Stop-Motion Animation Tutorial With this easy-to-follow tutorial, a digital camera and iMovie, I’m ready to become the next Richard Linklater. There are sample movies you can watch to spark your creativity – and you will be inspired to create something, too. Maybe a short film about your dog trying to find her favorite toy, or perhaps an afternoon at Lake Eola, with guest appearances by whoever happens to walk by.
If you’re feeling a bit more daring and want to up the ante, you MUST check out this amazing YouTube video that’s a re-enactment of Space Invaders in a movie theater. Oh yes, it is that cool!
Space Invaders Re-enactment in stop motion
Make Your Own Photo Mosaic with LEGOs Get one of your favorite portraits, a few gazillion of the single LEGO blocks and Photoshop, and you got yourself a cool-ass conversation piece. For inspiration, someone even put together LEGOs to recreate Van Gogh’s A Starry Night. This would really step up the “cul-chah” of your dorm room.
Making Photo Transfers with a Blender Pen When I started my internship in the NewsRoom way back in 1997, I worked for one of the coolest people I’ve ever met. Kerry was a twenty-something who was the epitome of everything I wanted to be. She was the editor of the publication where I was working, she was an incredible photographer, she knew all the cool restaurants and theaters in Orlando, and she had the ovaries to pick up and move to France to study photography on a full Rotary scholarship. She continually inspired me.
She introduced me to photo transfers. I read about using Poloroids and freezing them, and even scratching them with coins for effect. I had no instant camera, so I had no photo transfers. But then I check out Photojojo, and whadd’ya know? There’s something called a blender pen that will work just fine.
According to the tutorial, all you need for “quick-and-dirty photo transfers is a photocopy of your image and a $4 blender pen… The blender pen transfer works on fabrics, tile, paper, wood, copper, linoleum, and a variety of other materials. And it won’t leave that plastic texture that old inkjet transfers sometimes did.”
How to Make Panographies One of my old friends Rochelle made “panographies” of some of the international pavilions at Epcot. It looked awesome! Rochelle took more than a dozen photos of a pavilion and the surrounding scene. Then, she put together all of the photos almost like a puzzle so that the scene was somewhat jagged and more artistic than your average panoramic photo.
DIY Wide-Angle Lens For $11, you can use a peephole as a wide-angle lens and turn your pocket-sized digital camera into a fish-eye camera – I know!! It sounds awesome!
According to Photojojo.com, you can pick up one for about $11 at Home Depot instead of spending hundreds of dollars at your local camera store for a new lens – if one even exists for your miniature secret camera.
There are many other cool tutorials – from how to cut your own matting for a frame to making photo blocks. Each article makes my heart beat a little faster when I think of all the cool things I could do with all these great new tips.
I’ve had a not-so secret for the last three months, and I’ve finally been given the all clear to share it on a larger scale. Of course, I realize that everyone who reads this blog probably already knows, but even if you already do, I have something cool to share that's new.
When I said that the whole world has gone baby crazy, I guess I should have been a bit clearer. I’ve gone baby crazy because my best friend Christy is pregnant and … drum roll please … my brother and sister-in-law are expecting, too! I'm going to be the "crazy aunt"!
And here’s the cool part; Christy and Mandie are due within just days of each other. Because their dates are so close, they’re going through a lot of the same things at the same time. Just as Christy is starting to show and wearing copious amounts of elastic in the waist area (I may borrow those for Thanksgiving like Joey in “Friends.”), I assume that Mandie is breaking out the maternity apparel, too.
Although Mandie and Stephen live four states away, I feel closer to them because of my experiences with Christy. I even went with Christy to the doctor’s appointment where she first heard her baby’s heartbeat and saw her baby clapping in the womb. It was amazing! Earlier that week, Mandie and Stephen saw their baby kicking like a Rockette in utero. My family and friends are so talented, even as mere zygotes. (OK, I know they’re no longer zygotes, but I love that word!)
Anyway, the appointment with Christy was life-changing. I actually started crying when I saw the baby moving. I was overwhelmed with excitement for Christy and her family, and also for my family and me.
Here are two all-too brief videos from Mandie and Stephen’s last doctor visit. In the first one, you can hear the heartbeat, or possibly a cool new beat track for Daft Punk. Under that, you’ll see a restless Baby Shook moving around just trying to get comfy. Enjoy. Coo coo.
If you're like me, sitting in an air-conditioned room thinking what it would be like to in Grant Park right now waiting for Day 2 of Lollapallooza to begin, then here's something to make you smile.
AT&T is once again bringing the show to you live through a Webcast at its Blue Room.
Here's the schedule (All times Central): Friday August 4th Lineup* 12:30 PM Subways 01:30 PM Cursive 02:30 PM Panic! At the Disco 03:30 PM Editors 04:30 PM Umphrey's McGee 05:30 PM Secret Machines 06:30 PM The Raconteurs 07:30 PM Deadboy and the Elephantmen 08:00 PM Ryan Adams 09:00 PM Sleater-Kinney
Saturday August 5th, Lineup* 12:30 PM Living Things 01:30 PM Iron and Wine 02:30 PM Coheed and Cambria 03:30 PM Wolfmother 04:30 PM Nada Surf 05:30 PM The Smoking Popes 06:30 PM Common 07:30 PM Dresden Dolls 08:30 PM 5 Songs from Kanye West's Performance 09:00 PM Thievery Corporation
Sunday August 6th Lineup* 12:30 PM Sparta 01:30 PM Stars 02:00 PM Matt Costa 02:30 PM Ben Kweller 03:30 PM The Frames 04:30 PM The Redwalls 05:30 PM She Wants Revenge 06:30 PM Andrew Bird 07:30 PM Poi Dog Pondering 08:30 PM Wilco 09:30 PM Blues Traveler
Now I can enjoy the music AND hang out with Kristen during her visit from Cincy AND attend the long-awaited Labyrinth party. Aww yeah.
God bless the kids at NPR's All Songs Considered -- not only do they Webcast amazing shows from the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., from time to time, they also allow us the pleasure of downloading this music and keeping it forever.
Thank God, they decided to make this week's Sleater-Kinney show available to all of their fans who are mourning their announced split. This is one of their final shows -- only Lollapallooza and one in their hometown will follow. It's the whole freakin' show! Ow! Ow! Ow!
Seriously, this makes me so happy -- a much-needed shot in the arm! Now, go support public radio.
