Old News/Music Roundup

Saturday, January 30, 2010


Things have been moving a little slowly around here as of late, but that's ok; we're more concerned with quality than quantity, anyway. New music releases have hit a bit of a lull recently, other than the excellent new Retribution Gospel Choir album (thanks to Kyle for giving us the heads up on that one). There have been a few interesting developments here and there, though, so here we go:

  1. The National is releasing a new album in May. No title, tracklist, or artwork yet. There's an interview with lead singer Matt Berninger @ Pitchfork discussing the album, etc.
  2. Ditto for The New Pornographers. It's also coming out in May (4th to be exact); they do have a title ("Together") and artwork ready to go. Check it.
  3. Our buddies in New Ruins have posted a couple new tracks on their myspace page, and they're really good. I especially dig "Stance". If you've never heard them you really should check them out. Look for big things from these gentlemen in the near future...
  4. Broken Bells (The Shins' James Mercer and Dangermouse) have released a video for the ridiculously good track "The High Road" (their debut is set to be released in March). It more or less consists of the two encountering various whacked-out events as they walk along a road at night, which is actually cooler than it sounds:
    The High Road

    Broken Bells | MySpace Music Videos
  5. Jimmy LaValle's one-man project The Album Leaf is set to release a new LP in March, entitled A Chorus of Storytellers. It's floating around out there in cyberspace already, and it's more of the same (in a good way). If you've never heard of LaValle or his "band", his claim to fame is doing some work with Sigur Ros. His music is predominantly instrumental, and when he does sneak vocals in there, they're usually used as part of the landscape as a whole.

    "Falling From the Sun"
  6. Finally, the "Hope For Haiti Now" Telethon aired on pretty much all of the major networks last Friday, and there were several notable performances. In case you missed it:
Coldplay "A Message"



Justin Timberlake covering Jeff Buckley's cover of "Hallelujah"



Jay-Z, Bono & The Edge of U2, and Rihanna with a new track, entitled "Stranded"



There were several other notables as well, and you can check them all out here.

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Memory Tapes Remix Phoenix's "1901"

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

In case you hadn't heard or seen this already (it's kinda everywhere right now), one of the best new acts from last year, Memory Tapes, remixed what I consider to be the best track of 2009, Phoenix's "1901". But realistically it's a bit of a stretch to call this a "remix". It's really more of a complete restructuring; think Robocop or Darth Vader. The only remnants of the original are Thomas Mars' vocals, which are scattered throughout the track. Needless to say, if you, I, or anyone else end up digging this, it won't be because Dayve Hawke was coat-tailing off the catchiness that made "1901" a hit...




You can download it by right-clicking here.

In weirder news, Passion Pit remixed Lady Gaga. Enjoy:

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Retribution Gospel Choir

Monday, January 25, 2010

Retribution Gospel Choir is a 3-piece headed by Alan Sparhawk of Low. This is their second album entitled “2” and it will rock your face off. The music is very different from that of Low. Low seems to be very subtle and subdued whereas Retribution Gospel Choir is more about big riffs, huge drums and even a little classic rock in the mix. Their self-titled debut album was released through Mark Kozelek’s label Caldo Verde Records. This is their first album on Sub Pop and I can’t imagine it’ll be their last. My advice is to go out and buy this today and PLAY IT AS LOUD AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE!

Retribution Gospel Choir – Hide It Away

Retribution Gospel Choir - Your Bird

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Conan Says "Goodnight"

Saturday, January 23, 2010


Congratulations, NBC: You suck. Been out a few days, but in case you somehow missed it, Conan and NBC reached a buyout agreement, Jay is still trying to present himself as a victim in all of this, and January 22 saw The Tonight Show with Conan O'brien come to an end waaaay too soon. Of course, O'brien and the gang didn't go quietly; he defiantly ripped NBC up through Thursday night before bowing graciously and thanking NBC (but not Leno, mind you) on Friday night, had plenty of great guests and surprise appearances, and highlighted some of the best moments from his short stint as host of The Tonight Show. And then came one of the coolest things I've ever seen on television. After saying his goodbyes (for now), Conan closed out his version of one of the most storied and respected franchises in all of media with a goofy all-star jam rendition of "Freebird" that was at times just flat-out weird. It featured Max Weinberg and the rest of the Tonight Show Band, Ben Harper, Conan, Billy Gibbons (of ZZ Top), and Beck, with none other than Will Ferrell leading the way - and he brought his cowbell! Not sure that it was funny or that it even served any purpose, but it was pure Conan:



Goodnight, Conan. See you soon...

More on last night:

Evidently a lot of people were watching, and Jimmy Fallon and The Roots did a pretty awesome tribute at the top of their show:

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Parks and Recreation Auditions: RZA

Wednesday, January 20, 2010


Amazingly, not the first time Amy Poehler has worked with the RZA. The Wu-Tang were also on Season 2, Episode 3 of Upright Citizens Brigade.
Fun facts!

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Patton Oswalt is a BIG FAN

If you haven't seen a really weird movie in a while, here's one for you. It's Patton Oswalt like you've probably never seen him before. It's not exactly funny per se, but after watching it I could see how you could get away with calling it a BLACK comedy. Big Fan is written and directed by Robert D. Siegel, the writer of The Onion Movie and The Wrestler. There was barely any press for this movie, and I could see how it might not be a big money maker. But, this film is great and a must see for any fan of Patton. So just rent this movie and watch Patton be a weirdo. You can watch the trailer HERE.

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Spoon perform on 'The Tonight Show'

Wow, two of our favorite things to talk about, combined! It's like a McGriddle or something!


"Written in Reverse":

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