The Light Drizzle

Does Anyone Speak German?

2010-06-30T09:54:00.007-04:00

Check out Shinichi Osawa's mind-blowing video for "BBG BBB":

A quick Google Translate for the German phrase, "komm geht ab wenn der beat jetzt lauft" got me this result: "come from is where the beat is running now," which sounds to me like a perfect translation. Nothing wrong with that at all. This guy knows:

"Diese Übersetzung ist sehr gut."

Just to be safe, however, I ran the phrase in Babel Fish and received this as my English translation: "come goes starting from if beat now run," which, if anything, just shows how much better Google translate is than Babel Fish and how much better Google is than Yahoo.

The real translation is probably something about, "come get up as this beat now plays." And honestly, I didn't have to care what the words were to get that message.

Games - 'Everything Is Working'

2010-06-29T16:26:00.004-04:00

According to Ears of the Beholder, "Games is an electronic duo featuring Daniel Lopatin of Oneohtrix Point Never." So now you know who Games is because obviously, you already knew about Oneohtrix Point Never. They are huge. They are the Missy Elliot of the psychadelic/IDM drone scene. But really, they've been on p4k a few times and the album is really good (got an 8.2, which is totally good enough for me to download it for free!!!1). It's ambient, droning and repetitive and sounds an awful lot like Steve Reich. Oh yeah, the other member of Games is Joel Ford of Tiger City.

Not Pictured: Games

So, it turns out that Games is also really good and also (I'm guessing purposely) impossible to Google, and even harder to Bing (haha, Bing).

Anyway, after the jump, check out the awesome video for "Everything Is Working," which features snippets of what looks like a foreign McDonald's commercial and some of the chillest waves yet.

I'm lovin' it! See what I did there? Maybe this is just viral marketing for McDonald's. Because if there's one thing that I think of when I think of DIY-psychadelic-chillwave music, it's chocolate-dipped ice cream cones. And if there are two things that I think of when I think of DIY-psychadelic-chillwave music, they are chocolate-dipped ice cream cones and Asian women.

Apparently there is a 7" single coming this summer on Hippos In Tanks, one of those Tumblr-based net labels that are just everywhere and seem to mean nothing.

[via Chocolate Bobka]

Brian Wilson to (maybe) rejoin The Beach Boys, which I guess is still a band?

2010-06-21T16:17:00.010-04:00

Pictured: The Beach Boys on the set of their new Ray-ban commercial

The Las Vegas Sun is reporting that surfer and beach enthusiast Brian Wilson is possibly returning to The Beach Boys, which I think is some chillwave band. In any event, frontman and sole remaining original member, Mike Love seems to think that Brian Wilson might want to return to the group:

“We began in the fall of 1961, and our first tour was in 1962, and it’s been nonstop since then. Now we’re gearing up for the 50th anniversary, and Brian Wilson, who has been working on some unfinished Gershwin music project, will rejoin us. I’m sad that Carl Wilson passed away 11, 12 years ago from the same lung cancer problem that claimed the life of George Harrison. That was not a fun time for us. But I am happy that now my son Christian is in the group. Yes, the lineup has changed over the years, but it’s been pretty consistent the past several years."

Of course, Brian Wilson is widely recognized as a genius songwriter and singer so obviously him doing anything musically is kind of a big deal. But the real news here is that The Beach Boys are still a thing. Not only are they a thing, but they are a thing that you can probably see live in the next few months provided you live on Earth. Check out these tour dates:

06/25 – Belfast, UK @ Bellfast Waterfont
06/26 – Castlebar, IE @ TF Royal Theatre
06/27 – Dublin, IE @ National Concert Hall
06/29 – Helsinski, FI @ Helsinki Ice Arena
07/01 – Kungalv, SE @ Bohus Fastning
07/02 – Karlstad, SE @ Mariebergsskogen
07/03 – Malilla, SE @ G&B Arena
07/07 – Santa Cruz de Tenerife, ES @ Pabellon Insular Santiago Martin
07/09 – Girona, ES @ Jardins De Cap Roig Festival
07/10 – Vasteras, SE @ Logarangen
07/17 – Santa Maria, CA @ Santa Barbara County Fair
07/18 – Saratoga, CA @ The Mountain Winery
07/20 – Turlock, CA @ Stanisalus County Fair
07/21 – Central Point, OR @ Jackson County Fair
07/22 – Brooklyn, NY @ Asser Levy Park
07/23 – Westbury, NY @ Theatre at Westbury
07/24 – Baltimore, MD @ Pier Six Pavilion
07/25 – Vienna, VA @ Wolf Trap
07/26 – Rangeley, ME @ Rangeley Health And Wellness Pavilion
07/28 – Englewood, NJ @ Bergen Performing Arts Center
07/29 – Harrington, DE @ Delaware State Fair
07/30 – Rising Sun, IN @ Grand Victoria Casino
07/31 – Rising Sun, IN @ Grand Victoria Casino
08/01 – Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
08/03 – Clearfield, PA @ Clearfield County Fair
08/04 – Morristown, NJ @ The Community Theatre At Mayo Center For The Performing Arts
08/05 – Stamford, CT @ Alive at Five
08/06 – Mashantucket, CT @ MGM Grand at Foxwoods
08/07 – Hyannis, MA @ Cape Cod Melody Tent
08/08 – Cohasset, MA @ South Shore Music Circus
08/10 – Moncton, NB @ Moncton Casino
08/11 – Moncton, NB @ Moncton Casino
08/12 – Rama, ON @ Casino Rama Entertainment Centre
08/13 – Rama, ON @ Casino Rama Entertainment Centre
08/14 – Ocean Grove, NJ @ The Great Auditorium
08/22 – Temecula, CA @ Pechanga Resort & Casino
08/23 – Lancaster, CA @ Antelope Valley Fair
08/24 – Kennewick, WA @ Benton Franklin Fair
08/26 – Missoula, MT @ Western Montana Fairgrounds
08/27 – Butte, MT @ Butte Civic Center
08/28 – Billings, MT @ Alberta Bair Theater
08/29 – Bloomington, IL @ U.S. Cellular Coliseum
09/01 – Highland Park, IL @ Ravinia Festival
09/02 – Marshfield, WI @ Central Wisconsin State Fair
09/03 – Harris, MI @ Island Resort & Casino
09/04 – Harris, MI @ Island Resort & Casino
09/05 – Elkhorn, WI @ Walworth County Wair
09/10 – San Diego, CA @ Humphrey’s Concerts By The Bay
09/11 – Rancho Mirage, CA @ The Show At Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa
09/30 – Calgary, AB @ Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
10/01 – Red Deer, AB @ Westerner Park
10/02 – Enoch, AB @ River Cree Resort And Casino
10/06 – Lexington, KY @ Singletary Center For The Arts
10/07 – Jackson, TN @ Carl Perkins Civic Center
10/08 – Biloxi, MS @ Beau Rivage Resort & Casino
10/09 – Biloxi, MS @ Beau Rivage Resort & Casino
11/04 – Provo, UT @ TBA
11/05 – Thackerville, OK @ Winstar World Casino

Jeez, are these guys just constantly touring? Don't they rest? According to Mike Love, "[The band's] still out there doing 150 shows a year, and the sound has reached all the way around the globe."

Look, Mike Love is 69 years old. That is really old to attend even one concert a year. Just the fact that he thinks 2010 Beach Boys concerts are why "the sound has reached all the way around the globe," tells me he is too old to tour at all. Actually that explains it a little bit. Maybe he's trying to make sure every single person sees the Beach Boys live so that they can know what they sound like.

As for the rest of the band, I don't know how old they are because I don't know anything about them because no one does.

The strangest part of this is that The Beach Boys make no new music and go around playing their old hits, which are basically Brian Wilson's hits, and people go to see that? Also, I guess Mike Love is kind of an asshole:

It’s very difficult to pick a real favorite,” laughed Mike when I talked with him before he flew here. “I’m proudest of all, though, with ‘Good Vibrations.’ I think it really says what we are all about. We must have played it somewhere over 7,500 times over the years. … If I had a nickel for every … fortunately, I do!”

Haha, the problem with that, Mike Love, is that you hated that song and called it 'avant-garde shit'. Also, you profit from your current touring because you have initiated three lawsuits against former band mates (including two against Brian Wilson) in order to make sure you can continue to profit from the Beach Boys name and that you get your share of anything else anyone tries to do. Love even tried to collect money after the 2004 release of Smile, which he played a role in canceling back in 1966.

So, Brian Wilson may rejoin The Beach Boys, which is really just a Beach Boys cover band at this point. Maybe? Maybe not? Who cares.

But one thing is for sure. The Beach Boys are still around. And still profiting from Brian Wilson's genius.

It's the first day of summer, and Love talked more about the band's current tour than Wilson's return, so I'm guessing he's just trying to build buzz for their shows. How else will people get to hear a bunch of Beach Boys' song's from the 60's?
[via COS]

Live Music Review - Ghost Lotion & Ike as in Dwight @ Weezie's Kitchen

2010-06-15T16:07:00.003-04:00

On Sunday, Richmond-native Ghost Lotion and Ike as in Dwight played a show at Weezie’s Kitchen in Carytown.

Weezie’s Kitchen is a nice-looking, family-owned restaurant named after the proprietor’s deceased pug. On Sunday the place was packed with college kids looking to see the show or grab some drinks at the bar.

It seems like a great place to get a relaxing Sunday dinner, but it was a bit cramped as a music venue. Indeed, at least one family (with a baby) seemed unpleasantly surprised to learn that a concert would be held during their dinner.

Ike as in Dwight played first and they were remarkably sweet and charming. The four-piece was delighted to be playing in Richmond, relating that this was only their second gig outside of their native Blacksburg, VA (their first being Friday, 6/11 in Roanoke). They were extremely gracious and happy to be there, which of course made the audience even happier to be there, as well.

They played a full set of exuberant folk songs laden with pretty piano melodies and gorgeous vocal harmonies. Vocalist and keyboardist Scott Robins, with his gentle cooing, sounds a little like James Mercer of The Shins.

Robin’s voice is understated enough to perfectly complement the singing of Maya Renfro, who also plays guitar. Her strong, clear voice brings every song to a new level. She sounds good when singing softly, but her voice is best suited for loudly belting out lyrics over the rest of the song, like a well-tuned trumpet ringing out. Certainly, the small venue had trouble containing her enormous voice.

Ike as in Dwight showed their versatility during the set, which included, among others, standout track “Wolves,” which wouldn’t sound out of place on a Fleet Foxes album, a keyboard-only ballad from Robins, a soft, solo piece by Renfro and an endearing and humorous cover of the Pete & Pete Theme Song.

As Ghost Lotion set up, the difference between the bands could be seen in the number of effect pedals laid out on the floor. While Ike as in Dwight utilized a natural, organic sound, Ghost Lotion’s songs were filled with layered guitars and heavy instrumentation.

The songs, densely populated with guitar, bass and drums sounded, from the outset of the show, heavily influenced by Radiohead, especially some of their earlier work. This influence was confirmed near the end of the show when Ghost Lotion covered two Radiohead songs including “Weird Fishes”. They also covered Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So”.

Ghost Lotion clearly wears its influences on its sleeve, any band that closes with three covers by two of the most well-known bands in the world would have to, but on their original songs they separate themselves enough to enjoy.

The songs streaming on their website are less noisy and rock driven than they seemed Sunday night. During the Weezie’s set they were a fairly straightforward rock band, with interesting instrumentation. The vocals were good, if a bit uneven at times and the two guitars added a nice depth to their noisy sound.

While Weezie’s Kitchen may not be the perfect music venue, it does its job: it allows fans of good music to hear local bands for free and gives those bands a forum to get their music out. And at least on Sunday, the music was definitely worth coming out for.

Ike as in Dwight has a show scheduled for 6/17 at the Seven Day Weekend in Greensboro, NC.

New Panda Bear - 'Tomboy' Single

2010-06-11T15:14:00.000-04:00

As we all know, in September, Panda Bear is releasing a follow-up to 2007's beloved Person Pitch, which is obviously so good. It's called Tomboy and surely you're as excited as I am. Also, there is a "Tomboy" 7" set to be released on July 13th. It will feature two songs, "Tomboy" (three times is a trend) and "Slow Motion".

He's also got upcoming shows for the following dates:

7/17 - Chicago, IL - P4k Fest
9/6 - San Francisco, CA - Fox
9/8 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
9/10 - Raleigh, NC - Hopscotch Music Festival
9/11 - New York, NY - Governor's Island

I'm assuming he'll add more dates as fall approaches but just to be safe you should probably go to one of these shows. On the other hand, since he loves touring so much I'm sure you'll get a chance to see him some time.

So July 13th, new single, only to be released on vinyl. All I know is, it's going to be a good birthday .

On a related note, Stereogum posted video of Panda's set at Primavera Sound and speculated on what songs are in the video. The final song in the video is one from a set he played in Berlin last year called Surfer's Hymn and it's fantastic.

Kairos - "For Mankind"

2010-06-11T12:54:00.004-04:00

Kairos is Nick Ingvoldstad, a musician from Blacksburg, VA formerly known as Ishkabum. He plays a variety of instruments but mostly uses his computer to craft electronic and dubstep/glitch songs. Kairos comes from the ancient Greek word meaning, “the supreme moment”.   

He’s currently working on finishing several releases including a dubstep/glitchhop LP tentatively titled Tycho Magnetic Anomaly, a darkly ambient collection of songs, and an album with Virginia musician Alex Burner aka AB200 .

Kairos recently finished, “For Mankind” a techno-informed track that samples Neil Armstrong and is also working on what he calls his “Saganstepic,” a concept album in which he sets a full chapter of Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot audiobook to music that he wrote.

He’s clearly got his hands full and is developing a thing for outer space, which after listening to “For Mankind” will strike no one as a bad thing.

"For Mankind" starts off with echoey bass and drums over aeronautic radio chatter. As a layer of fast paced, trance-like synths comes in, it becomes clear that the radio samples are from astronauts. It’s at this point that the main beat drops—it sounds a bit like something from The Knife but dubbier—and the song completely lifts off.  

There’s something otherworldly to “For Mankind”. The tones feel cold and sterile, like outer space. The synths are alien or even robotic. The astronaut samples are faint and obscured by computerized tones, which grow in intensity, like an ever-expanding dark void threatening to swallow the last tiny speck of humanity. But just when it seems that “For Mankind” lacks any traces of man, a voice clearer than before, rings out, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”  

For Mankind by [Kairos]

2010 Lollapalooza Festival Schedule (Brought to you by Mountain Dew)

2010-06-08T15:36:00.013-04:00

The 2010 Lollapalooza schedule was announced today and it sucks. Just kidding, it's quite good, obviously. Green Day and Soundgarden are headlining! What more could anyone ask for? Wait actually I think that's a mistake, I must have accidentally looked at the 1994 Lollapalooza schedule. Seriously, Green Day and Soundgarden? People will see that? Apparently schedulers for Lolla think people will not only spend two hours of their lives (not to mention $90 for day passes) to see Soundgarden in 2010, but that they will also miss Arcade Fire to do so.

Of course, like all festivals that don't feature Radiohead, there are plenty of good bands to see even if your high ticket price is mostly paying for shitty headliners. Whatever. Kings of Leon's hair stylist and wardrobe designer won't pay for themselves!

Pictured: Screenshot from the upcoming Twilight: Eclipse

Some good bands playing this year's festival include: Arcade Fire, Phoenix, Hot Chip, The National, Cut Copy, Erykah Badu, Grizzly Bear, Yeasayer, Dirty Projectors, the xx, Matt & Kim and others. Of course there are others but I'm tired of listing them (no LCD Soundsystem?). Just check out the lineup here.

The thing about Lollapalooza that is kind of annoying is how large a role corporate advertising plays. This year you have the Playstation stage right across from the Budweiser stage. I understand that money keeps the earth rotating on it's axis, but there's something weird about going to see the Mimicking Birds on the VitaminWater stage. I'm not asking you to be Bonnaroo (which will feature LCD and also has stages named What Stage, Which Stage, This Tent, That Tent, etc.), but I'm asking you to be careful. I'm worried that by 2012 we'll see M.I.A. on the BiffCo Enterprises Stage or whatever.

Hipster Doesn't Know What Irony Is, Still Refuses to Stop Relying On It For His Entire Style

2010-06-07T22:06:00.000-04:00

This story from the NY Times isn't really about hipsters but it is an excellent example of why everyone hates them.

Album Review: Wild Nothing - 'Gemini'

2010-06-06T20:29:00.004-04:00

In May, Wild Nothing, aka Jack Tatum, performed a farewell show in Blacksburg, VA, on the eve of his graduation from Virginia Tech. For many local music fans, it was a bittersweet event. Their period of nearly exclusive access to Wild Nothing was coming to an end. At the same time, there was excitement for Tatum as he heads off to bigger things. With the May 25 release of Wild Nothing’s debut album Gemini, it is clear that for him, the sky’s the limit.

On Gemini, Wild Nothing joins the ranks of other lo-fi, dream pop groups like Real Estate, Fluffy Lumbers and label mates Beach Fossils. Gemini is a summery album. It’s carefree and washed with syrupy melodies, catchy hooks and breezy synths while guitar strums endlessly wash over you like waves in the ocean. Songs that have been making the rounds for months, like “Confirmation” and “Summer Holiday” are foot-tapping standouts. Meanwhile “Bored Games” and “The Witching Hour” fit nicely as they trade the soft guitar for punchier synths. Neither would be mistaken for dance songs, but the variety they add is key.

There’s still a melancholic tint to Gemini. Tatum’s hazy vocals remain subdued as they shift between soft wails and whines over backing vocals that sound almost ghost-like. There’s something nostalgic about these sweet dreamy pop songs. Tatum’s voice and guitar transport you to a simpler time and make you regret taking it for granted. On album opener “Live In Dreams,” he sings, “Our lips won’t last forever.” The good times don’t last forever either, but luckily we can look back on them fondly because, as Tatum reminds later in the song “We’ve got eyes on the back of our heads.”

Gemini succeeds because it blends the melancholic with the joyful. There’s a subtle turn towards the end of the album, especially on “Our Composition Book,” that shows that Wild Nothing understands what nostalgia is. He knows that one day, you’ll look back on this time fondly as well. Gemini is an album to play during a summer’s last visit to the beach, when it’s too cold to go in the water but there remain traces of a sand castle from the eighty-five degree days and blue skies of June.

Gemini is out now on Captured Tracks. Wild Nothing is kicking off a tour on June 9 that includes dates with Neon Indian.

Wild Nothing - Chinatown by LukeSlater

Local Weather Update and Thunderstorm Playlist

2010-05-28T02:01:00.002-04:00

There's a thunderstorm going on right now. Not where you are probably, but where I am there is definitely a thunderstorm happening. Aren't thunderstorms the best? They're scary and exciting and mysterious but also comforting and familiar. There's something about witnessing the awesome power of nature from fairly safe location. It's like watching The Twister on Blu-ray with surround sound. But with less Helen Hunt, I'm guessing.

Anyway, these songs are kind of like thunderstorms... I guess. They would go well as background music to a thunderstorm but listening to the storm is the best part so maybe music isn't the best accompaniment to T-storms (as they call them in the biz).

But try it. Take your Boombox outside during the next storm. Lay down in the wet grass (extra low so as not to get struck by lightning) and let these tunes blend with the sounds of the storm. Tracklist and link below.

Download Thunderstorm Playlist

What Do You Go Home To? (Mountains Mix) - Explosions In The Sky
O True Believers - James Blackshaw
Atlas - Battles
Custom Concern (Modest Mouse Cover) - Joshua James
Proven Lands - Jonny Greenwood
AirTap! - Erik Mongrain
Dance Yrself Clean - LCD Soundsystem
Conductor - We Were Promised Jetpacks
I'm Not (sayCet Remix) - Panda Bear

'Iron Man 2' is an Uproarius Comedic Romp for the Whole Family!

2010-05-10T16:23:00.002-04:00

A couple of days ago, I saw Iron Man 2. While the first Iron Man was good, it was overrated. It benefited from America's craving for a good superhero movie just like the first Spider-Man. Both movies were fun, but each was unjustly hailed as something remarkable. And like Spider-Man, the sequel to Iron Man failed to improve upon or match the original. Oh yeah, there might be SPOILERS.

The first half of Iron Man 2 is like watching an episode of VH1's Fabulous Life Of... because it just goes on and on about how rich and famous Tony Stark is. If you have ever seen Fabulous Life Of... then you know that this is a bad thing. Stark's house is giant and on the ocean and he has nice cars (nice product placement, Audi) and he has lots of bodyguards and people looking for autographs and owns a racing car and ENOUGH WE GET IT ALREADY. Tony Stark is very wealthy and has a great life.

Here's the thing: I understand that establishing characters is important and necessary and I also understand that when the movie's main purpose is to make a gazillion dollars the director must make sure that everyone gets it. But a large part of the first Iron Man was dedicated to exactly the same thing: Tony Stark is rich and famous and arrogant and an alcoholic and a womanizer. Got it yet?

The action sequences are few and far between. In fact, the movie feels like a really expensive comedy. In most action movies, there are one or two characters that provide comic relief. In Iron Man 2 every character serves that purpose. Robert Downey Jr. spits out one-liners faster than Steven Wright on amphetamines. Sam Rockwell, who plays Stark's business rival Justin Hammer, is the all-to-common bumbling villain designed to garner laughs. Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle each throw in a few jokes here and there.

The most unbearable example of the excessive comedy in the film is Jon Favreau, playing the assistant to Gwyneth Paltrow. In addition to this minor part, Favreau plays the slightly larger role of DIRECTOR OF THE MOVIE. I kind of hate when directors put themselves in movies and I know he's an actor (and a decent one) but I just hate him in this movie. Every time he appears, it feels unnecessary, like he wanted more screen time for himself or something. And that fight scene where Scarlett Johansson beats up a bunch of bad guys using mostly her thighs while Favreau fights one guy. He's generally a comedic actor and I get the feeling he really wanted to be an action star for just a few minutes so he wrote that part in. Maybe it's ridiculous to think he would mess around like this, considering how much this movie cost to make, but that is the feeling I got.

To top off this comedy, was Samuel L. Jackson wearing a leather trench coat and an eye patch. Does that sound stupid? Because it looked stupid. And I understand that he was in the last Iron Man and also in The Incredible Hulk but his part in this film is much larger. What is his part, you ask? He comes in halfway through the movie and recaps the entire thing and tells Tony Stark exactly what to do to solve his problem. Talk about deus ex machina, where machina = Samuel L. Jackson wearing a leather trench coat and an eye patch. This part made me feel like when you're watching a DVD and someone comes in halfway through and asks what he missed. Samuel L. Jackson was the guy bringing him up to speed in one minute.

One of the more dramatic scenes is when Stark is drunk at a party in his mansion wearing the Iron Man suit and shooting bottles that handsome-superhero-millionaire-genius groupies (read: women) throw into the air. I'm sorry Iron Man 2, but I paid my $12(!) to see CGI men fly around and shoot at each other. You can't expect me to care if a millionaire superhero plays a drunken game with his groupies and accidentally shoots one of them, William S. Burroughs style. The tension builds and builds until Don Cheadle puts on an Iron Man suit and fights Robert Downey Jr. to a mix by DJ AM, who is in the movie (more comedic relief).

It probably sounds like I hated the movie, but that's not true. It is pretty to look at and the actors do a pretty good job. Mickey Rourke is definitely a good villain and he is very scary, although I think mostly that was because his face is literally made out of rotting roast beef and is just frightening to look at. The fact is, Iron Man 2 cost more money than my mind can even conceive of and is going to make even more than that. Therefore, I have high expectations and they were not met. It's a moderately fun movie, but it just felt off. As an action movie, I found it very unsatisfying. But who knows? Perhaps it will win the Oscar for Best Comedy (That's a category, right)?

Technical Difficulties

2010-05-06T17:31:00.002-04:00

Yesterday as I was getting ready to leave school, a bad thing happened. After packing everything into my little red Saturn, I put the car in reverse and started backing out of the parking space, ready to begin my joyous summer. It was then that I felt the back wheels roll over something. When I got out of the car check it out, I saw my contorted backpack (filled mostly with clothes but also with my laptop, external hard drive, and computer speakers) jammed underneath the car just in front of the left rear wheel, which had just finished RUNNING IT OVER. Apparently, while I thought I had loaded all of my belongings, it turns out I had actually loaded all of my belongings except for one belonging.

I tried to pull the bag out from under the car, but it would not budge. I put the car into neutral and then proceeded to try to push the car off the bag which ended up just dragging the bag back and forth (tearing a hole in it in the process). It was noon in a crowded parking lot of parents helping their kids move out of the dorms. People were probably confused.

It was at this point that adrenaline took over. I reached down and bent my knees trying not to remember my pathetic dead lift attempts during JV baseball tryouts when I was a sophomore in high school. I grabbed rear bumper of the car and, like a mother saving her trapped baby, I was able to move the car off the bag.¹

The speakers and hard drive seemed fine, but the computer did not look so good. To my surprise, when I pushed the power button on the scraped and slightly bent Macbook, it made the startup noise and it appears to actually work. The screen is broken so I can't see anything but the keyboard and volume still work, so I'm going to try to hook it up to a monitor and test it.

I'm amazed that it even works at all, but I guess Macs are designed for simple people who only own a computer so they can look at pictures of their 5 year-old nephew on iPhoto, or use iTunes to download episodes of M*A*S*H, or whatever, so they probably planned for this sort of idiotic thing. I'm not saying that being "computer illiterate"makes you stupid, but I am saying that it makes you old (Huh?). And old people should not drive. And apparently, neither should I.

So, because of my ~~secret plot to kill Justin Long with a car~~ stupidness, I am without my computer for a while. This is such a giant tragedy that the world should be concerned about. It ranks somewhere between Dresden and getting sexually assaulted by Ben Roethlisberger.

Got Rape?²

Posts may be somewhat infrequent until I figure out the computer thing and I'm sure I'll be way behind the times once I start having the internet constantly flashing things at my eyeballs again, so bear with me if I post videos you already saw on your Yahoo! home page, or whatever. By the way, have you guys heard about Keyboard Cat?

¹ This stuff actually happens. I did a Bing search.
² Haha, ew. This Milk Ad caption is gross on so many levels, but it is still not as gross as that man's face.

Mr. Rogers Is Obviously not Evil

2010-05-03T02:35:00.004-04:00

We all know Fox & Friends is garbage television based around sensationalized non-journalism that is fed to its viewers who watch the program because it supports their already established notions of the world around them. We also know that the anchors of the show are fake tanned, plastic-faced morons who literally know nothing about how things work. Most importantly, we can all agree that it is so depressing that "Fox & Friends" is one step above "Fox & the Hound" on Google's popular searches. Speaking of Fox & Friends crushing childhood nostalgia, there's this:

The thing is, the overall argument is not that bad. We are a generation (nation) of self-entitled monsters who consume far more than we can ever hope to produce and who expect positive things to happen to us without a significant amount of work or sacrifice. But then again, I'm not sure that this generation is more like that than any other generation. And at the very least, I am positive that the cause of this lassitude has far less to do with a children's show co-starring a sweater¹, and far more to do with the fact that today the closest thing most of us come to a life-or-death problem in this country is when KFC doesn't have enough chicken so we can only buy one Double Down, not two.

And at the end of that video, blonde Fran Drescher has a point when she says of Mr. Rogers' program, "I just don't think it either hurt much, nor did it help much [sic, duh]." But Mr. Rogers Neighborhood was, of course, a show for children while Fox & Friends is on Fox News and tries to offer an authoritative view of (generally made up) current events the same way a news show would.

For this reason the blonde zombie's quote half describes the impact of Fox & Friends. It certainly doesn't help much. But it hurts. ALOT.

^{1 What was up with that one guy's obsession with the sweater, anyway? He just kept coming back to the sweater as though he'd never seen the show but only clips of him changing his sweater. What about the shoes? Or the entire puppet world in his house? That's wierder.}

There Are Other Animals Besides Cats On The Internet?

2010-05-02T22:35:00.003-04:00

The Lyrebird does some cool things, guys. Am I the only one who didn't know about the Lyrebird before? Is this some big conspiracy to keep me in the dark? Why don't you answer me, World Wide Web, if that even is your REAL NAME?

Seriously though, check out the Australian-native bird mimic a variety of sounds including: camera shutters, hammers, chainsaws, walkie talkies, and many more!

"FAKE!" - Youtube Community

But wow, what a cool bird. It is pretty much the Michael Winslow of ground-dwelling Australian birds. Also, why is it that we have Oprah and Sigourney Weaver and in Britain they get David Attenborough for their wildlife documentaries? They always have the best things! Like their spiffy red coats that are irresistible to young female tourists.

Something Something Science

2010-04-29T19:03:00.001-04:00

So, a cool guy did a cool thing. His name's Dan and he does science. He made a flash and it explains a lot about the universe works (Hint to the ninjas out there: it's probably miracles). I guess it was for a class (Fucking extra credit, how does that work?) and I am having trouble fitting all the knowledge into my brain. Keanu? A hand please?

So check out the video here, and when you're done check out all else that Newgrounds has to offer. Which is to say, treat yourself to a little hentai. It's almost the weekend. You've almost earned it.

Mix For That Early Part of Summer When You Feel, Oh So Free

2010-04-28T15:59:00.003-04:00

Everyone's finishing up with classes and taking their finals and it's about to be that very exciting time when you get to see all your old friends and your family and enjoy life for a couple of weeks before you are forced to find a summer job and before you get tired of all the heat and free time and would do just anything to have someone assign you an essay or something JEEZ! Just kidding, summer is the best. She gets it:

Anyway, these are a few songs that fit the current mood in my head. You're welcome.
Summer mix.zip

Track List:
1. Be Cool - Golden Ages
2. Fickle Cycle - Animal Collective
3. We Own The Sky - M83 (Udachi Dubstep remix)
4. Who Knows Who Cares - Local Natives
5. Seasun - Delorean
6. Keeping Up - Arthur Russell

Haha, Great Job?

2010-04-28T14:47:00.003-04:00

This is pretty much the best video of a female version of Tim Heidecker (but hotter!) that exists. Why does this only have 2,000 views? This should have all the views. Does no one appreciate true beauty? On a side note, I wonder if this is just viral marketing for Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!

The video is described succinctly: "Hot girl lips her lips like Tim Heidecker." Haha, very good description. That is more or less what the video is about I suppose.

Poke, or no poke? What do you say Youtube commenter, abdu123?

abdu123: yea she not really hot

The verdict is in. She's a cow.

Broken Fingaz Graffiti Stop Motion

2010-04-27T20:52:00.005-04:00

Broken Fingaz is a "crew" of artists from Haifa, Israel. They have created a video that would be fair to describe as "neato". Apparently, it was made on their roof and took them three days. The Broken Fingaz stop motion video after the jump:

Good job, Broken Fingaz. This is very impressive work. I love that the music is by Boreta and edIT of The Glitch Mob. I like their comic book style illustration and use of bright colors. I don't like their tendency towards lawlessness and shenanigans. These vandals are a menace and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. In this country, we'd never let such beautiful art deface our buildings.

USA! USA! USA!

The U.S. Auto Industry Could Have Learned Something From The Human Body

2010-04-26T15:34:00.006-04:00

Scientists have released a video that utilizes revolutionary new imaging technology to show never-before-seen operations within the human body. Check it out after the jump.

Wow, the human body, ladies and gentleman. It is one well oiled machine. God did such a good job intelligent designing us. So many miracles up in this bitch!

"Touché, body." - Henry Ford.

The creators of this video did a nice job making something that is pretty to look at but is also VERY INFORMATIVE. In fact, it is actually (probably) being shown in health classes across the country at this very moment.

On a more serious note, I wonder if those little workers have a union? And why are they all white males? Well as we all know, the most successful groups in history have exclusively used goods manufactured by white males. Right guys?

"That's correct, yes."

In conclusion, your body is run by Nazi's.

Image source: http://www.ww2incolor.com/d/260456-2/factory_floor19

Finally, We Are All Becoming Human

2010-04-25T15:46:00.001-04:00

This is a pretty cool video. I like the animation and the song's not bad either. It's from 2007, so you've probably seen it. You being the hip and savvy internet user (hacker?) that you are.

Support Your Local Dying Industry Giant

2010-04-23T14:55:00.001-04:00

Some blog called The New York Times recently published a really interesting profile of the indie rock band The National. Somebody should really pay these guys for doing that kind of journalism. Hahaha, just kidding. More of this please.

Fuckin' Parodies, How Do They Work?

2010-04-18T21:02:00.005-04:00

A Juggalo parody is unnecessary. The best spoof of Juggalo culture, is Juggalo culture. No matter how much Faygo you drink and faces you paint, your attempts will not be as funny as the actual behavior of Juggalos. The same can be said for SNL's parody of Insane Clown Posse's music video for their song, "Miracles". On the other hand, it is funny. Watch it and the original music video after the jump.

SNL "Miracles" Parody:

"Miracles" by Insane Clown Posse:

New Track From Up-and-Comer (No Homo) Magic Face

2010-04-15T19:43:00.003-04:00

Magic Face is amazing! He is an up-and-coming artist. He is really, really up-and-coming (almost too up-and-coming). Trust me, you don't want to wait too long to find out about this guy. Don't come crying to me when he's on Jimmy Kimmel and it's no longer cool to like him. You've been warned.

(Full disclosure: I am Magic Face and I made this song.) Do you like it? Check "Y" for yes.

Magic Face - Eyes Forever/Don't You Hope To Die

Nerd Watch: Super Mario World Set to Music

2010-04-14T22:57:00.006-04:00

We all have to decide how to spend our time on earth. This time is short and, invariably, each of us wishes to have more of it. And while most of us die with little to show for the energy and time spent during our lives, a select few achieve greatness. Whoever created this (who do I look like, Bob Woodward?) has tasted that greatness. It obviously took more time than most adults can afford to waste, but that is why the man or woman (seriously, why would anyone pay for news when they have this high-caliber journalism for free?) who created it is a true hero. Great job, sir or madam, you complete me.

I Once Had A Dream

2010-04-13T23:54:00.013-04:00

So last Thursday, Pitchfork did a Forkcast on up-and-coming electronic musician Dream Cop. A week before that, on March 31st, I wrote a music profile on Tommy Davidson aka Dream Cop and his roommate Nick Ingvoldstad, or Ishkabum.

I'm not saying I should be writing for Pitchfork because I knew what they were going to write a week before they did, but I'm definitely hinting at it. Anyway, it was for a class assignment and it didn't get posted anywhere because I didn't have anywhere to post it. But now, because it's 2010 and bloggers are the new hackers I decided to get a place to post these things, so here it is along with free mp3's after the jump.

A piano greets visitors as they enter the apartment of Nick Ingvoldstad and Tommy Davidson located in the Foxridge housing complex, about 2 miles from the Virginia Tech campus. To the left of the piano, a keyboard synthesizer leans against the wall. An acoustic guitar teeters on the edge of a nearby couch. A small drum kit sits in the corner almost hidden behind hundreds of vinyl records. At almost any time, someone in the apartment has his hands on an instrument.

This time it’s Ingvoldstad, sitting at the piano in a t-shirt and jeans. He says hello without getting up.

“Grab something and play along,” he says over his soft piano melody. “The piano’s easy, I’m just sort of hitting the white keys.”

Ingvoldstad and Davidson are young musicians and part of a growing music scene in Blacksburg, Virginia, the site of the first annual Fever to Sing Festival, which came to a close on Sunday.

The festival included 70 acts, from college rock and indie pop to electronic and dubstep. Most of these bands were local, with about a third having traveled to Blacksburg for the event. “I think the farthest was from Atlanta,” says Davidson, who was part of a small group of students that organized and promoted the Fever to Sing.

The festival was organized by the Fever to Sing Arts Collective, a not-for-profit organization run by Virginia Tech students focused on showcasing the diversity of art from the student community and from the Blacksburg area. According to its website, the collective became an officially recognized Virginia Tech student organization in 2007. The goal of the collective is to help new and established local artists get to know each other and collaborate on projects.

Two such artists are Ingvoldstad and Davidson, also known as Ishkabum and Dream Cop, respectively. They are friends, roommates and budding musicians who performed numerous times in the Fever To Sing Festival over the weekend.

Each has been making music since his youth. Davidson began playing clarinet in middle school band class. Throughout high school he taught himself how to play the guitar and piano.

“My older brother was taking guitar lessons, so I would always mess around with his guitar,” Davidson says, his brown hair falling into his eyes. “We had a piano in our house and my other brother had a drum set.”

“I guess I never really had my own guitar,” he says, laughing. “I would always just borrow family instruments.”

Now, as Dream Cop, which is a project he started a year ago, Davidson uses his laptop and an audio production program to record and manipulate sounds from his keyboard and guitar, crafting an interesting brand of electro pop.

He combines the recorded parts with audio samples—snippets of songs, sound effects, etc.—to create his finished tracks. At this point he has four finished tracks and a handful of incomplete tunes.

One of his finalized tracks is titled, “Beach City/ Carol I Know” and uses vocal samples from two tracks by the Beach Boys: “That’s Not Me” and “Caroline No”. He layers a sample from the original vocal track and repeats it with various effects so that Brian Wilson’s voice becomes the centerpiece of the song. It is accompanied by guitar strums, drum beats, and sound effects that Davidson recorded and added separately.

“I was really obsessed with Pet Sounds for like a three week period when I was making that song,” says Davidson, referring to the Beach Boys’ iconic album. “I just wanted to make it look like the guitar was inside the mix. I tried to just kind of reshape the song. Give it that hazy feel and make it sound darker, too.”

At this point, he’s focused on taking the various loops he has recorded and turning them into finished pieces, while at the same time, getting his music out to a wider audience.

A large part of getting that exposure is tied to live performances, like the two Dream Cop shows that took place during Fever To Sing. “The first live performance that I actually concentrated on and was actually sculpting, was for this festival.”

The music blog, Pretty Much Amazing, which has been written up in the New Yorker and the New York Post, featured Dream Cop’s song “Basement Tapes” in December and Davidson expects to have another song, “Marooned” on a blog called Transparent. All of his songs are available on Dream Cop’s Myspace page.

“I was really excited to hear that because Pitchfork gets a lot of its [new artists] from Transparent,” he says. Pitchfork is a popular music site and major outlet for independent artists.

“He told me he liked the track and that he’d write a post about it tomorrow,” Davidson continued with a chuckle. “He said that like three weeks ago.”

In mentioning Pitchfork, Davidson hints at larger aspirations for Dream Cop. Being featured on Pitchfork is a breakthrough for indie musicians.

Pitchfork has already written twice about a fellow Blacksburg artist. The project’s name is Wild Nothing and it features Blacksburg local Jack Tatum. Wild Nothing was not featured in the festival, but delivered their shoegaze-inspired indie pop to an enthusiastic crowd at a house show on Saturday. Tatum and his band, formerly called Facepaint, are already well known within the Blacksburg music scene and with a full-length album on the label Captured Tracks, and buzz building on sites like Pitchfork, he could be recognized in larger circles very soon.

“He’s been on [Transparent],” Davidson says of Tatum. “I was excited that we actually had music in Blacksburg that was getting exposure like that.”

It appears as though he’s on the path towards getting similar exposure.

Just down the hall from Davidson, Ingvoldstad sits at his desk between two large speakers, with Arthur Russell playing loudly. It seems Ingvoldstad is never without music filling his ears.

Ingvoldstad got started in music playing violin in elementary school. He took piano lessons throughout middle school before teaching himself to play guitar.

The first thing he recorded was the sound of his parents fighting on a microphone he purchased to play computer games when he was 15 years old. He then began recording various sounds and guitar riffs on Sony Acid, a program he continues to use along with Reason another digital music program.

He now creates dubstep music under the name Ishkabum, and is also in a rock band with friends from Blacksburg called Grapes. He was busy during Fever to Sing, playing two shows as Ishkabum and two shows with Grapes. He says his focus is on his solo work.

As Ishkabum, Ingvoldstad has already digitally released three full-lengths and two EP’s with another album set to be released in May 2010. His albums are all available for digital download via the net label extlabs.

Ingvoldstad understands the importance of self-promotion. “I try to get onto every network I can think of: Twitter, Myspace, Last.fm, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, Youtube,” he says. “I post my stuff on all different kinds of forums. I basically just try to be everywhere.”

Beyond that, he continues to put out quality music. “If people follow and are interested then that’s great, but if not then I’m just doing it to put it out there.”

Having been making digital music since high school, Ingvoldstad taught Davidson some of the basics about using various programs to create music.

“Yeah, I actually gave him [Sony Acid],” says Involdstad. Davidson credits his roommate with helping him learn some techniques for recording his own material.

According to Ingvoldstad, the two keep up with each other’s work, often providing feedback as a song is being worked on. “We always play each other our stuff and comment on it,” he says. “We keep track of each other’s style and progression.”

They differ in their musical style, with Ishkabum sounding louder and more bass-heavy in the dubstep or glitch genre while Dream Cop makes a more subdued electronic pop.

Nonetheless, the two have recorded some music together. “He was on Daylight Savings Time,” Ingvoldstad says, referring to his self-released 2009 album. “He played a guitar line. On this other song that I think I will release on [upcoming album] Clear Theta Clear, I had just started with a synth line and asked Tommy to write a bass line for it. He came up with that and I wrote the rest of the song around it.”

The two also simply jam on the various instruments scattered throughout the apartment, often with friends from other bands joining in.

Between those instruments, the vinyl record framing the peephole on the front door, the posters lining the walls, the massive collection of records and CD’s, and the impressive stereo set-up, there’s no mistake: This apartment belongs to musicians.

Even spending only a short time there, it becomes clear that both of them have a remarkable passion for music. Ingvoldstad takes great care when choosing a record to play next. Davidson can wow you with references to everything from brand-new obscurities to 80’s classics. The two can sit and critique a piece of music for hours, connecting it to similar songs, reciting artist names, album titles and release dates on a particularly impressive variety of music.

The Fever to Sing Festival brought a small-but-growing Blacksburg music scene together for a weekend. It’s up-and-comers like Dream Cop and Ishkabum that will help the scene mature.

And here's the Dream Cop track that I mentioned, plus a pretty sweet Dead Prez remix from Ishkabum and a song from Wild Nothing.

Dream Cop - Beach City/Carol I Know

Ishkabum - Grip Grop [Dead Prez Crunkstep Mix]

Wild Nothing - Confirmation

Here...We...Go

2010-04-13T02:17:00.001-04:00

I'm a lot like the Joker at the end of The Dark Knight, except instead of blowing up ships full of upstanding citizens and criminals (Yuck!), I'm writing about music, pop culture, web videos and any stupid little things that I find funny and/or interesting. Whatever. We'll see what happens. I'm positive that in no time at all this blog will have a blogopoly on the entire blogosphere.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck" - Everyone else who has a blog