Central Village

So good

I recently signed up with bloglines, and now don't know how I got along before without it. It's perfect. Anyway, along with the blog RSS feeds, I've also signed up for some podcasts and other news sites through this. One of which is the YouTube "most viewed videos" feed, which sends the 10 or so most viewed clips over the course of the day.

Here's one I got today somewhat regarding the Apple v. Apple verdict last week. I love it. The full story below:

Following a court case involving Apple Computer and The Beatles' record label, a floor manager had run to reception and grabbed the man, thinking he was , editor of Newswireless.net, a specialist internet publication.

Actually, he was a minicab driver who had been waiting to drive Mr Kewney home once the interview was completed.

The unknown cabbie attempted to bluff his way through and, speaking in a strong French accent, sustained a (somewhat illogical) form of conversation. Meanwhile, the real Mr Kewney watched indignantly on a monitor in reception.

UPDATE: Brooklyn Vegan sent me this, which explains that this guy was not a cabbie, but a tech guy who was supposed to be at the studio for an job interview. I find this to be even funnier. Can you imagine being on a job interview, being walked from reception, then all of a sudden, they mistakenly put you on live TV to talk about a subject you haven't a clue about? Highest comedy. His facial expression when it all gets going is priceless.

GnR tix back on sale

If anyone else came home last night to see this (where the picture is from) and was really upset you missed out...Tickets are back on sale for tomorrow and Monday night's shows (Wednesday still looks sold out). I got two in the first Mezz. Not cheap, but I'm really, really excited for this.

Friday's Set list (from BV's comments):

01. Welcome to the Jungle
02. It's So Easy
03. Mr. Brownstone
04. Better
05. Live and Let Die
06. Sweet Child O' Mine
07. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
08. Madagascar
(Band Introductions)
09. You Could Be Mine
10. Dizzy Solo
11. The Blues
12. Out Ta Get Me
13. Bumblefoot Solo
14. November Rain
15. My Michelle (with Sebastian Bach)
16. Chinese Democracy
17. T.W.A.T. (There was a Time)
18. Patience
19. I.R.S.
20. Nightrain
21. Robin Finck Solo
22. Paradise City

Brand New Date, etc

Thanks everyone for the heads up that Brand New have added a second date at Webster Hall. Tickets go on sale at noon. Unfortunately, as they will be taking the stage, I'll be on a plane to Chicago for the Pitchfork festival. Bummer.

Other rainy Friday thoughts (UPDATE: Just went outside...not so rainy! That was a shocker.):

Silversun Pickups are the KEXP blog's song of the day. Doesn't say what song, which is kind of weird, but it reminds me...Why aren't these guys coming back out to New York? They were a huge hit last time they were around. We loved them here. We want more.

From the people who brought us that beautiful Say Anything song, we get two new songs from deafening LA band The Bronx. These guys actually kind of rule, last time I checked. No plans to come back to NYC right now, but I'd like to see them play. If you're in LA, They're laying Spaceland for free for the next three Mondays.

The Bronx - History's Stranglers (mp3)
The Bronx - Shitty Future (mp3)

Bloc Party is coming back to play McCarren Pool in Brooklyn? I don't even know what this means, tho  I think I can picture this place...a big sprawling outdoor pool, empty now I presume. May have even been there when I was younger? I have vague memories. They're also playing Irving Plaza, but it's a fanclub thing.

While this all sounds very cool, a word of warning. I just saw Bloc Party at Coachella, and while the songs were nice to hear (especially the new ones), this band's great live show you may remember from Bowery Ballroom and The Roxy for Motherfucker mainly came from the stage energy the band gave off. The further away you are from the action, the worse it sounds and, unfortunately, the less fun it is. Just a heads up if it's been a while. By the way, you can download their entire Coachella set over at Blog Party.

E3 is winding down, and so far the PS3 is looking like a total mess. $600 for the premium package, same Playstation controller they've been using since the PS1, only with some tacked on tilt sensor inside, the sample system locking up, and absolutely no new game buzz from what I can tell. I smell trouble. Especially when people at Xbox are saying you'll be able to by an XBox 360 AND a Nintendo Wii for the cost of a PS3 once it comes out. I can't think of one reason why to get a PS3 this fall. The Wii, however, looks like a total trip. I'm all for that one. Sign me up.

Finally, Cloud Cult will be playing an in-studio on KEXP tonight at 8:00 Eastern time. Stay home and listen, It's gross outside. (UPDATE: Not actually gross...) Hopefully they'll squeeze in a couple new songs into the set. They've already played the station two times before since Happy Hippo came out, if I'm not mistaken.

This is what you get instead...

Lets start back early last week. I went to go see Sunset Rubdown while I was out in LA. It was the first show they had played together in a long time, first tour ever, etc. Considering Krug just played a show (their last?) with Wolf Parade two days earlier, it was very impressive to so effectively change gears like that. Despite his constant lowering of the crowd's expectations, (This isn't gonna be very good, OK?, We've never played these before, etc.) it came off great. Aside from that, he bantered a bit with the crowd, not seeming to have really enjoyed himself at Coachella. Had a classic line about how it was great to be back in a club where the boys wore shirts and the girls wore pants. Sounded pretty overwhelmed by the whole weekend, but mentioned he really dug Dungen and Deerhoof, the latter of which he watched next to Danny Divito and some other funny Hollywood celebrity.

So musically, they were pretty phenomenal. Aside from the Slowlands album, I don't think I've listened to anything as much this year. Hearing these songs realized on stage was a treat. Should mention, what I can assure you will be the theme of the blog reviews when they play New York in a couple weeks, that this is not Krug and friends. The whole band is really strong. Krug is the centerpiece, but it's by no means all him. The whole product was extremely well executed.

Above all else, it seemed like Krug was really happy not to be playing Wolf Parade songs anymore. Remember how, when they played Bowery, they said they were sick of playing Grounds for Divorce? And they had already started playing a handful of new songs. I have to imagine, after supporting their album for the last 6 or 7 months, playing the same set night in, night out, it all got pretty old for them. He seemed thrilled to finally be doing something different. Not sure if the shows are sold out in NYC yet, but jump on them if there are still some left.

Last night I saw a great Phoenix set. Can music sound skinny and good looking? Cause these guys do. Played a lot of new songs and all the old hits. Don't know what else to say. Just a really fun band to see live, played great music, had a blast.

Two nights ago I saw Pinback. I reviewed it for Gothamist here. Didn't see Beirut last night, but did see Devotchka last summer tho...

Seriously, he's not bad. Might actually be good. But never have I seen such a rush to dub someone so unproven to be the next big thing. And these days, that's saying a lot. I mean, before I even got a chance to listen, Pitchfork was already making self-referential comments about how he was what everyone was talking about. I just don't get it.

It's really all about Tokyo Police Club anyway. I'm just sitting tight for that one to come around.

24 Catchup

Inexplicably, I fell behind on watching 24 this season. I can't even remember what the last episode was that I watched. They were out of the contaminated office, maybe watched one more after that?  It had been a very good season, and my only excuse was that I hit a particularly busy patch in my life, and once I missed a week or two, and the previous eps got pushed off my DVR, it became nearly impossible to catch up. I was bummed I let it come to this, but I'm the kind of guy who really has a hard time catching up to something in the middle. I didn't watch Sopranos for years because I never got to see the earlier seasons. Then a couple years ago, when the last season started, I rented all the DVDs and got totally caught up. Anyway, there was no immediate on-demand catchup available for 24. I kind of had accepted the idea that I was gonna have to wait till the DVDs came out to finish the season. Something I wasn't totally thrilled about, but it was the way it was gonna have to be.

Well, I woke up this morning and checked the Apple rumor sites to see if the New MacBook was actually gonna come out today (it's not, and I'm just curious...never owned a Mac before) and saw a little blurb that said Fox has put a bunch of shows up on iTunes, including 24. Good deal! Not sure when I'll get around to sitting in front of my computer to watch it, but now I know I can.

In other TV news, David Blane didn't break the hold-your-breath record. Didn't even come close, really...but it was pretty good TV for the last 15 minutes or so. I actually stopped what I was doing and did nothing but stare at the TV. I never do that. Got me thinking again about how good life would be if we didn't think so much. If we were like the large chunk of this country that watched David Blaine sit underwater and thought it was the most amazing thing they'd ever seen. If that was the kind of thing we were excited to tell our grandkids about. I know I'm shallowly grazing a thick and played out subject, but this is a fucking blog and that's what you do with a blog. How good would life be if we just didn't didn't know any better? Red pill vs. Green pill, etc. What if our guilty pleasures were simply our pleasures?

Which brings me to Angels and Airwaves. Singer Tom Delonge says that this is the "best music made in decades" Decades! How great would it be if that were true?

Angels and Airwaves - The Adventure (mp3)

April Flowers

Who the fuck is Lily Allen? I take one week off from the Internet, and three (3!) fucking bands pop up as the next greatest thing ever. Beirut? Lily Allen? At least I knew I didn't care about Cold War Kids before I left for LA.

I'm happy with what I know works. Bishop Allen, for example. Not only are they on pace to release 48 new songs in 2006 (12 EPs for every month with 4 songs each), but the music has gotten progressively better every month so far. We're up to April so far and the new EP's single, Flight 180, is my favorite out of the first 16 this year, just narrowly beating out March's single, The Monitor. More to come through the rest of the year.

Listen to all the 2006 singles below:

Bishop Allen - Corazon (January)
Bishop Allen - Vain (February)
Bishop Allen - The Monitor (March)
Bishop Allen - Flight 180 (April)

Going to see two old favorites this week. Pinback and Phoenix. I've never seem either, save for a Phoenix KEXP in-studio and a bit of their overcrowded tent set at Coachella, but I've only heard the most amazing things about them live. Pinback I'm more skeptical of live, but Bradley's Almanac caught them in Boston recently and had only the nicest things to say. He also has the mp3s from the show available to download, and a picture of their awesome looking setlist. May go see Mogwai at Webster Hall this weekend, tho I'm having a hard time convincing myself it could be an improvement over their perfect Coachella set. Also, Ghostland Observatory is in town again for the first time since last summer. They always bring a party.

A few thoughts, recomendations

Did anyone else completely dismiss the new(ish) Sounds album because of the album cover? I did. I just couldn't take it seriously. But I spent a good chunk of my time hanging out with a Swede last weekend who really digs them. Listened to the album a lot and was mighty impressed. Track 7...I think it's called 'Ego" is total a killer. Might be their single? That's what someone said. The whole album is pretty darn good tho. Who knew?

I'm gonna blabber about this new Walkmen album a lot this summer. Sorry. It's pretty much all I'm listening to these days. Can't put my finger on why I love it so much exactly, but it just hits me perfectly. If there was an official soundtrack to Brooklyn roof parties of the Summer of 2006, I think this and the Bishop Allen EPs are it. Their last album was the definition of a Winter album...dark cold and vicious. I can almost smell the hot charcoal and bus fumes when I listen to this one. This is what music written by a bunch of preppy white kids who lived on 136th street should sound like.

Speaking of the Bishop Allen EPs, I got the April one, but haven't had a chance to listen to it yet. They claim it's a change of pace for them. I'll post the single on Monday, but I'm sure you can already find it elsewhere with a little searching.

A buddy of mine works at FX and gave me the screeners for the first season of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." Great stuff. Watched the first 3 episodes and got a huge kick out of it. It's three guys and a girl who run a bar in Philly and madness ensues. Think a more scripted Curb Your Enthusiasm, but with younger, more relatable and slightly less despicable people. New season's starting soon. This show should be a hit.

Someone just told me I'll really like the new Thursday album...anyone hear it yet? Actually any good?

Bigger than the Sound

Superbusy back at work today...lots of catching up to do. I did mean to point to an interview I did with Nick Zinner that went up on Gothamist this Tuesday.

A little back story...I'm pretty sure this was the first time I've ever interviewed anyone for anything, aside from my grandparents for a paper I wrote in High School. I found out I was doing it about 3 hours before taking the phone call. They called my parents apartment, where I could use a land line, about half hour earlier than I had expected. Literally two minutes after I walked through the door to their place. Didn't even have time to get online and have the standard Gothamist questions in front of me. All I had was a post-it note with some random thoughts I had jotted down with some suggestions from a friend. Also, I didn't really have time to properly test the recorder I was using, so of course it didn't pick up his voice too well over the phone, which led to some transcribing problems. (most notably, I initially posted "Green Day" instead of "Gris Gris", for which I was quickly corrected.) At one point I had to have them call me back to a different phone, cause I honestly couldn't hear a word he was saying. Most of it came through in the end, however, but it was rough.

So, after all that, I don't think it turned out too bad. I certainly anticipated it to be a lot worse. Nick's a good sport tho, so that helped a bunch. Also, for those curious why I didn't grill him on the bloggers in the front row comment from a while back...Well, I did. Like three times. And he explained himself...I think. But this was the first thing I asked him, and the mic never picked up his answers. Sucks.

Anyway, you can read through the whole thing here. Enjoy.

This is not a Coachella Wrap-up

I'm not doing a wrap-up. takes too much work, don't really have anything new to say about all these bands I've all seen and written about two or three times already. Just some thoughts of an overall great weekend.

Really fun week out in Cali, but Coachella the festival was a pretty huge letdown. Way overcrowded, less open space, tents were overflowing, and the sound seemed to bleed in from the other stages much more than last year. That said, there were 6 acts that really made me happy to be there. In order of mindblowness:

Daft Punk
Mogwai
My Morning Jacket
Atmosphere
Walkmen
Minus the Bear

DP was truly amazing. The Dance Tent, while pretty useless most of the time for non dance fans, was a really nice space. Massive, but really well executed. Mogwai was not on my must see list, but I was feeling really lightheaded and woozy waiting for Madonna, so headed to the foodcourt area to grab a snack, ran into some other friends and just stretched out on the grass and stared at the stars. So well executed. I'd like to goto one of those Webster shows, but I feel there's no way they could top that. MMJ was super-tight as well, even from back in the crowd where we were. They sounded perfect.

I usually hate live hip-hop, but I love Atmosphere. Half w/DJ, half full band. He just knows how to keep a show going, get a crowd into it without being overbearing and annoying. Really really impressed. I love seeing the Walkmen live, so they're always a highlight. They handled the daunting main stage very well. The new album is really really good too. Digging every song, but "All Hands and the Cook" might just be be my jam of the year. Finally, Minus the Bear was the first band I saw on Sunday and, while I couldn't stay for the whole thing, what I saw was really great. Looking forward to Friday night at Warsaw.

Everything else was just OK to good. White Rose Movement was really really bad. Off the top of my head, that was it that I couldn't stand. The second outdoor stage was the place to be all weekend, as evidenced that 4 of my 6 favorite acts were on there. The tents were dreadful. The biggest problem was, while there were lots of good bands, few were really must-see. So the tents were packed and the stages were comfortably attended. I don't ever remember not being able to get into a tent during the day last year if I showed up when they went on. If the fest wants the crowd that comes for the whole day back next year, they'd be wise to slash the capacity like some of the other fests have this year to make it a better experience. Last year I was wowed as to how smoothly everything ran. This year was a total mess in comparison.

Aside from the actual fest, it's just so nice to be out there. We had a beautiful house, stayed with some great friends I usually don't get to hang out with for this extended a time, and just forgot about the internet, New York, My day job and all that for one weekend. It was a real vacation, which I haven't gotten to take in a long time. Loved it.