Happy Halloween!

Halloween morning with my roommate some pumpkin donuts and this movie. perfection.



Needless to say, this song will be stuck in my head the rest of the day.

Dan Smith Isn't the Only One Who Will Teach You Guitar.

Vampire Weekend, The National, and Sara (of her and Tegan) can too! That is, if you're only interested in playing one of their songs. I don't know about you, but I've waited FOREVER for the mysteries of "A-Punk" to be revealed. But seriously, snark aside, this is a pretty fun series that Qtv has created here.

Now, prepare yourself to be schooled by Ezra Koenig:



Isn't that last part - about messing up even when he wrote the part - adorable? It helps that everything he does is intrinsically adorable. Can I have him?

ANYWAY, after annoying my roommate for 20 minutes or so last night, I think I can tell you it's a tiny bit trickier than it looks. Guess I need to watch the video again....

Who Else Is Excited...

... to see Pirate Radio?



Great cast. Great music. I'm pumped.

This Is Your Song...

I remember this one episode of Gilmore Girls (bear with me) where Lane's boyfriend was naming every song their band wrote after a girl's name. He explained that songs named after girls got better radio play (or something, i don't really remember), like Roxanne, Leila, etc. Anyway, it's true that a lot of bands have songs that are girls names. And at some point every girl will probably have a song with their name in the title (or in the song).

Unfortunately, this is mine.....



Who would have guessed? And now I know that Madelyn rhymes with again. Thanks Hanson!

Let me just say, that if my 11 year old self knew about this, she should have been really mad. She hated Hanson. A lot. At this point, I guess it's not so bad. It's a little cute.

AT LEAST I still have "Apology Song."

Some moments from Glee

I LOVE when Glee prominently features the sexy mohawked boy.

also, this song makes me think of the Red Sox.

"Sweet Caroline" from last night's Glee (starts at :27):



I mentioned this on twitter, but the lack of eyebrows on the lead guy (sitting in the back in this video) freaks me out sometimes.

And this has got to be my favorite musical number they've done yet (context: they're all high on uppers):



Oh how i love a good (and unexpected!) mash-up. And a break-dancing asian. You guys are watching this show, right?

a random note.

Thanks to google analytics, I can know how most people find my blog. And I think it's funny that someone found it by googling "dinosaures kids brooklyn" (their misspell, not mine).

I think it's even funnier that someone found this blog by googling "ezra dinosaur laser."


COMING UP ON Dino in Brklyn: My thoughts on...
Muse's The Resistance
I'm Not There
Karen O and Where the Wild Things Are
The Awesome New Republic show I'm attending on Tuesday
and
My brief encounter with John Mayer

see you soon....

A-Ha Update

Sad news 80's fans. After 25 years, A-Ha are breaking up. You may think to yourself, 'I didn't know they were still together.' And neither did I. BUT they were, and now they're not anymore. That is, until the end of their 2010 Farewell Tour. So, not broken up, but planning to breakup. It's like it's the summer after high school graduation and A-Ha are that couple that's going to colleges on different coasts; together for now, definitely over by Christmas.

But who knows? Didn't The Who have like 6 Farewell Tours? There's still hope!


Here's "Take on Me" Live (definitely post-80's):



Making that face is totally necessary to hit those high notes. Also, I think full band in leather pants is a good policy. I'm not so sure about Ms. Backupsinger's full-length vinyl dress, however.

My Vinyl Weekend

What a successful weekend it was! If one measures the success of a weekend by how many awesome records one buys. And everyone does, so, again, what a successful weekend it was!

What with finances being tight, I haven't wiled away as many hours searching for records as I might like these days. But on Saturday, my roommate and I took a walk down to Bedford Avenue and the first stop was naturally Academy Records. I love this place. It's 95% vinyl and 100% awesome. They even have an adorable cat!

Anyway, I wasn't planning to buy. That is, of course, unless I found Combat Rock, the only Clash LP I didn't yet have (Cut the Crap doesn't count as a real Clash LP). And I did find it. Along with the single for Rock the Casbah. And then I found Thriller, and I HAD to get that too! (I also found a HILARIOUS record that I can't post about just yet, but I will soon, promise). My roommate came away with a $4 big band-y Frank Sinatra record.

Monday, finding ourselves with another day off, my roommate and I headed down the block to The Vortex, a great junk/thrift store across from the Montrose L station (after egg sandwiches at our favorite cafe, natch). I was actually looking for a nightstand, but we ended up looking through the vinyl crates anyway. I was pumped to come across Black Market Clash, a B-sides and rarities LP. And I was THRILLED when I found Hunting High and Low, by A-Ha featuring, you guessed it, "Take on Me." AND THUS RETURNS THE DINOSAUR IN BROOKLYN TAKE ON ME PROMISE. Missed it, didn't you? To finish off the story of my great vinyl weekend, my roommate found a copy of Boston's self-titled (with "More Than a Feeling") that I informed her if she didn't buy, I would. And she did.

Ch-ch-ch-check it OUT:


Why yes, I did buy Rock the Casbah almost exclusively for that amazing cover.

Anyway, I spent way too much much money, but dancing with my roommate to "Take on Me" or sitting here now listening to "Straight to Hell," I am way too much happy. So it's worth it.

On a related note, Insound is having another Wharehouse sale coming up on October 23-24, in case you also want to stock up on some vinyl (or CD's or free beer). Here's the flier with details.

Wow, That T-Shirt Makes You Look So Effortlessly Cool.

I just found the coolest site.

Worn Free is a T-shirt company that reproduces shirts worn by rock stars. And we're talking Keith Moon, Joey Ramone, Debbie Harry type rock stars. The effortlessly cool ones. The ones you might actually want to dress like.

Each page has a photo of the musician with the shirt on, and the time and place they wore it. There are some obvious artists on this list (John Lennon, Kurt Cobain) but there are some surprises too. Like Iggy Pop. He didn't wear shirts often, and they have 4 different times that he did! wow! Also, Mohammad Ali makes the list. It's a little bit of a stretch, but I suppose we can consider him a metaphorical rock star.

I like Debbie Harry's "Camp Funtime" shirt:












Fun, right? Check out Keith Moon:














Jesus saves, indeed.

My favorite inclusion is Joe Strummer, obvs. Though the selection of t-shirts they chose to reproduce is underwhelming. Especially considering the Clash made so many interesting ones themselves. Reproducing a hand-made "Complete Control" T-shirt would be much more interesting. But I'll take what I can get.

What a great store idea. And Good News! Now through the 18th, all women's T-shirts on Worn Free are $25 (half-off). SWEET! Halloween, maybe? (or, i do have a birthday coming up...)

How could Rock Band be improved?

LEGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS!



IGGY! AS A LEGO! plus, this song is great.

They've got Bowie too!




Oh man, i can't wait! Apparently this isn't news, and trailers have been around for months, BUT this Bowie teaser was just released a few days ago.

Honestly, I thought this whole genre was heading toward the uncanny valley (did you see the Guitar Hero Kurt Cobain? creepy), but this is the BEST POSSIBLE solution to that problem. May the group playing of fake instruments never die. Amen.

The Band That Brought Me Back to Blogging

I have a new favorite band. And I just had to tell you about it. Their name? Awesome New Republic.


[in the interest of full disclosure, before I begin, I should first say that the PR firm I'm interning for represents this band. Also, I know my supervisor has a google alert on the phrase 'Awesome New Republic' (Hi Andy!). But rest assured, I'm writing about them from a place of pure, unadulterated love, and nothing else. MOVING ON!]


So it's been awhile since I wrote about anything. And it's been a combination of a truly soul-crushing job search and a post-job search i'm-working-two-jobs-and-the-band-has-started-up-again schedule. But it's also been because, as I tweeted to a friend a few weeks ago, I haven't found anything that really excited me in awhile. Since my Clash phase was plateauing to an appropriate (and not crazed) level of appreciation, and I can't expect a new Pharmacists album till the Spring, I was stuck in a playlist of a few exciting tracks that quickly wore themselves out.

Enter Awesome New Republic.

The Miami duo are not only masters of the dance-floor beat but true musicians who experiment with laptops and synthetic sounds as well as interesting instruments and various styles. And they are able to do this without having strained vocals or an at times alienating weirdness (I'm looking at you MGMT!), or without having substance-less lyrics or a too serious attitude.

Their style seems to be in interesting juxstapositions. Take the introduction of their EP Rational Geographic, Vol. I, "National Insecurity/Rotary Clone." The first track is a brief ragtimey piano tune that abruptly transitions synth-driven, dance-floor burning track, complete with a spoken, auto-tuned shout of their own name, "A. N. R."And it works. OR take the very next track, "Birthday," a standard dance tune about falling in lust in a club. But it's sung entirely from the girl's perspective (sexy falsetto included). I mean, they describe themselves as Punk/Soul/R&B, things that you would never think would go together, but magically, in them, do.

Should I take a moment to mention that I'm completely in love with Michael John Hancock's voice? I want to take it out behind the middle school and get it pregnant, so to speak.

So, being familiar with their three most recent recordings, Rational Geographic, Vol. I & II, and the soon-to-be-released full-length Hearts, it's REALLY HARD to pick my favorite tracks. But here we go:

"Digital World"
(appears on both Rational Geographic, Vol. I and Hearts)



Slow-building, thought-provoking, and stick-in-your-head-worthy. Great example of what they do, and an obvious stand-out among their tracks.

"Dances When"
(but ONLY the version on RG, I NOT the version they re-recorded for Hearts (bad decision, boys...))

I can't understand a word, but damn if I don't sing along.

"Alleycat"
(lead single off Hearts)



Upbeat song about a hot-and-cold relationship is extremely infectious.

"Wheels No Engine"
(Hearts)
I love how they sing about riding their bikes (see also: "Magic City" on RG I). It's adorable. Plus this song is gorgeous (though it did have to grow on me a little). The breakdown toward the end gets me every time. I won't post it, cause the album hasn't come out yet, but when it does...

"Florida"
(and pretty much the entire rest of Rational Geographic, Vol. II)

Epic. and awesome. The entire EP is so cohesive. Thematically and musically. I love it.




So there you have it. My new faves. What I've been listening to non-stop. A few weeks ago, RG I & II were available for free from their website, www.anrmiami.com, but I don't see that they are anymore, which is sad for everyone.


so.... WHO'S COMING WITH WITH ME TO SEE THEM DURING CMJ???

Winter's cold's too much to handle, indeed.

Has everyone heard the new Vampire Weekend?



Balaclava's a funny word. and they do indeed make you look psychotic.

"Horchata" is exactly what one might expect (read: want) from Vampire Weekend. After a few listens, here's thinking good thoughts for Contra.



via Paste.