NEW TED!

And a release date! And a name! The Brutalist Bricks is out on Matador on March 9th. BUT you can download the lead single, 'Even Heroes Have To Die,' over at Pitchfork.

Now, I've heard this one live a few times now, and the studio version is exactly what I'd hope for. Plenty of energy, not over-produced, and a little drawn-out echoplex at the end. Oh Ted. LOVE.

Those Oh-oh-oh's are catchy, right? I am SO mad at myself for not getting tickets in time for his Bowery Ballroom show this weekend. Maybe I'll just show up and try to get in, it's worked before!

Only about 3 months to go for the album....

Don't Fight It

You won't win.



I take back every bad comment I've made about Lady Gaga. You win Gaga. You've made the hottest, most bat-shit crazy video I've ever seen. You are my idol now.

Contemplating the Future of Music

A really great discussion about the future of the music industry, passed on to me, that i am passing on to you. sure, it's a little long, but very engrossing:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monitormix/2009/11/to_pay_or_not_to_pay_q_a_with.html

I'm glad I didn't get a job at a label, that's for sure. But it's true, the system's broken. BUT that doesn't mean there's no future. The live experience will always be something people will want (and pay for). And even if music-as-commodity comes to an end, and streaming music will replace it, vinyl has proved it has staying power.

Also, I really connected to part about loyal fans paying for anything an artist does. Lord knows, I may not have bought Ted Leo's albums, but I've paid for 15 shows, and own two of his t-shirts and a hoodie. Plus I bought his last album cause it came with a bonus EP. I'm a sucker for that shit! But only if it comes from him. AND I only got into him cause I didn't pay for his music in the first place. I don't see an ethical dilemma here. I feel like the actually music is just a marketing tool to get people hooked on a brand (the artist) for life.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on the matter.

Hurry Boy, It's Waiting There For You

Because I've been watching a lot of Chuck recently, I have THIS SONG stuck in my head. Thanks Chuck.



Jeff and Lester are such a lovable odd couple. AND I LOVE Adam Baldwin's face at 1:33. PRICELESS!


There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever doooooo......


Oh, who I am I kidding? Everyone knows I can't resist terribly cheesy 80's Pop. So seriously, thank you Chuck.

It's Just Something in the Water Here

My new favorite band, Awesome New Republic, has an awesome new video out!

The official "Alleycat" video comes about a week after the release of their awesome new LP Hearts. (sidetrack: you can add "awesome new" to just about anything and it'll be funny. After seeing ANR live for the second time, very late at night and slightly intoxicated, I put this theory to the test and IT WORKED. It was awesome new funny.)

You may remember, I posted a live-in-studio video of this song a few weeks back, but this is a more colorful, if even more home-video-looking, version of the song (and I don't mean that in a bad way, I actually find it quite endearing).



I think this is probably the most bouncing and infectious break-up song I've ever heard. Oh, FYI, those are projections of jellyfish. How cool, right?! And isn't that drummer a looker? Trust me, he's even cuter in person.

There is nothing I don't like about this band. Except track 8 on the album. SKIP.

Speaking of Weezer...

Nothing warms my heart quite like watching someone mock Coldplay. And so Rivers Cuomo again has earned my good graces by ironically covering "Viva la Vida," complete with tracksuit, bells, and a cheat sheet with the lyrics. But, as Stereogum put it, he "clearly has Chris Martin's dramatic arm movements memorized."

Enjoy!

Oh Weezer, What Will You Think Of Next?

Weezer. More like Super Hot and the Geeks, amiright? I'll take the next foot massage, Brian.

Gotta admit, the new tune is kinda catchy, and with a 50's themed video to boot! I mean, I can accept they've peaked, but i don't begrudge them making new music. Or fun, fake infomercials.

11.02.2006

Let's have a flashback moment, shall we? all the way back..... to 2006.

On this day 3 years ago, me and my then-roommate, Angela, went to go see The Wrens and The Walkmen play a show at our then-school. I went cause I was getting really into music and heard that these bands were good, she went because we'd seen a guy dressed in a waffle costume handing out fliers the day before. Good reasons both, as far as I'm concerned.

We were in the front row for an electrifying (if crazed) performance by The Wrens.

As you can see, the frontman played a sawed-off bass and wore a parka. Then he started pulling kids onto the stage.
It turned into a amp-climbing, mic-screaming dance party (though nowhere near as epic as the one Broken Social Scene achieved in the same venue two years later).

We moved away from the craziness for The Walkmen, who were unfortunately less memorable. Though I remember the lead-singer being extremely adorable and tall and there being a crazy-looking, stripped-down piano.

As far as the music goes, I didn't really keep listening to either, but a track or two will make it onto the odd playlist. "Louisiana" and "The Rat," though very different, were Walkmen standouts in my mind. I heard their new album was great, but never got around to listening to it. Wrens standouts were easily "Everyone Choose Sides" and the demo of "Miss Me" which unfortunately became the less-good "Boys You Won't" on the album The Meadowlands.

So in honor of nostalgia, and the day before I met some of my best friends, here's the awesome Battleship themed video for "Everyone Choose Sides":



Be careful with those torpedoes! It's not just a game! It's real, old man!