- Aqualaygualry in arcade fire - black wave/bad vibrations Today i watching overlay from here. this is wondeful film. Who are watching this?
- cattartiste in arcade fire - black wave/bad vibrations SplitVideo is a freeware virtual video clone and split video nick driver in behalf of connecting disparate applications to a single video...
- Peggus-interruptus in The Temper Trap Lovin’ The Temper Trap!
Chicago band “I Fight Dragons” proves that having a gimmick isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s easy to be initially skeptical considering the band uses the old school Nintendo video game system’s low-fi MIDI sounds to provide some of its music and they use old NES accessories like the Power Pad and the Power Glove during live shows, but this is anything but nerd-core with lame comic-book lyrics.
A listen to their new EP “Cool is Just a Number” reveals that IFD has a power-pop sensibility that recalls Weezer before they started sucking, and a bit of the electronic sounds of Postal Service mixed in. If you don’t believe me, check out this great video for their song “Money.” It’s got cool references to Super Mario Brothers, Pac-Man and Pole Position and the chorus has stuck in my head for the past three days.
I’d totally recommend checking out “Cool is Just a Number,” which is available for free on their website (when you sign-up for their newsletter). They’re also performing at the Apple Store on Michigan Avenue, in Chicago on May 22nd at 7 p.m.
not only is the airborne toxic event’s new s/t album one of my very favourite records of the year, this reply to pitchfork! at the disco’s ridiculously pretentious review of it makes me like them as people, not just as musicians. i want to have drinks with them. and maybe help them do things like pick up their dry cleaning. yes, that’s how impressed i am - i don’t even pick up my own dry cleaning.
you can listen on their myspace. they will be making an appearance on my ‘best of 2008′ list, so i will wax more eloquently about them at that time.
It’s official. September 12. Fall 2008. Death Magnetic. Brand new Metallica.
Hearing the new album title is much like learning the title of the newest Harry Potter months in advance so as to ponder its contents. “Death Magnetic” does not fit linguistically with the previous albums, “old” and “new.” It’s not a phrase, like “Ride The Lightning” or “…And Justice For All.” It’s not a double entendre, like “Load” or “ReLoad.” It’s most god-lovedly not a deity or a revamped city name like “St. Anger,” …at least let’s hope to Christ it’s not. “Death Magnetic” is something new.
There is one HUGE and GOOD significantly different aspect of this album. Rick Rubin holds the responsibility of producing it. You know Rick Rubin. I know you do. He’s responsible for some of the most amazing albums put out by a small army of bands…including Slayer, The Mars Volta, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Public Enemy, System of a Down, Rage Against the Machine, Johnny Cash, and Slipknot, for God’s sake.
For those that don’t know, the original Metallica producer was Paul Curcio for Kill ‘Em All. Flemming Rasmussen took the reigns from Ride The Lightning to ‘Justice. Rasmussen basically just gave Metallica freedom in the studio and let them do what they did naturally. From there, the infamous Bob Rock took the artisic overseeing helm of Producer/Desecrater/Manipulator/Shit-Tizer-Of Metallica. He brought the market to the eyes of the then up-and-coming metal gods. He took the “fuck you, mainstream” vibe of Metallica’s natural sound and threw it a bit by adding none other than…a mainsteam vibe. Metallica hit sextuple platinum record sales with the new sound and decided to stick with it. Thank you Bob Fucking Rock. They guys haven’t been the same since.
It’s not like they never tried to change that. After the departure of Jason Newsted in 2000 and the battle with Napster by drummer Lars Ulrich, therapy was what Metallica thought they needed. They also made the…new age?… decision to let their therapy be filmed. While interesting to see a rich megaband’s weakest moments and commemorate the balls (or lack of, however you respond to it) of the band to allow it, it was a snuffing glimpse for many metal-heads. The horrendous result of the therapy sessions was none other than the bathroom break of St. Anger that knocked even die-hards to their fuckin’ knees.
Rick Rubin’s utter wonder of a history in music suggests good things not only could be but should be in store for the new album. Surely Rubin knocked some sense back into the aging metal legends, right? The rumors are that Metallica is bringing it back to the old-school on this new album. This could be from the leadings-on that Rubin is doing much the same type of overseeing that Rasmussen did; letting Metallica do their thing…not allowing a sweater-donned therapist tell a metal band how to create. Let’s all hope for the love of hope itself that that is the case.
If Death Magnetic kicks some old-school ass, it could be a new beginning for Metallica. If it’s another shit-sandwich, a term Ulrich is fond of using, it’ll probably be the last thing we’ll ever hear from the metal behemoth.
Two years ago, noted hair metal enthusiast Chuck Klosterman reviewed Axl Rose’s long-awaited musical equivalent to Ishtar, Chinese Democracy. Of course, the review ran in SPIN’s April issue and appeared on their website with a date of April 1. I hadn’t been paying attention to what was going on with the record, though (who was?), so i won’t lie–i fell for that shit.
Well, if NME is trying to play an April Fool’s joke, they’re about 9 days too late, according to the April 10th date on this report that Axl has–no fuckin’ way–finally turned Chinese Democracy over to Geffen Records:
Therockradio.com reports that Geffen Records, the band’s record label, have confirmed they have received a finished copy of the album, and are currently haggling over money and rights issues with Rose.
The album is reported to have cost in excess of $13million (£6.5million) to produce.
As previously reported, it is rumoured that a Guns N’ Roses reality TV show is set to be broadcast to coincide with the release of the album.
Bullshit? Truth? Who knows–a release date could show up in Billboard tomorrow and i wouldn’t believe it until i saw a copy of the damn record in Wal-Mart, complete with sanitized family-friendly lyrics. At this point i’m more likely to believe an article that leads with “Axl Rose Finally has Cornrows Taken Out,” so, ya know, not very likely.
Axl, you’re aware that Velvet Revolver is looking for a singer, right? Just sayin’, whenever you’re ready to give up the dream, dude…
my friend brian sent me this link this morning about this band called the high strung that posted an open letter to pitchfork on their myspace. not only is the letter amusing and incredibly well-written, it calls out quite a few of the points about pitchfork that we bitch about here on superstarcastic. what criteria do they use to pick “the next big thing?” and if their reviews are all personal opinion journalism, why can’t they just come out and say that?
anyway, yay for the high strung for being witty while self-promoting. and for donating their van to the rock and roll hall of fame at 2:00am. you should read their letter. then you should check them out.
It’s a little late for Best of 2007 lists, or is it? Most of my favorite releases have been touched on by others herein, and better, so instead I’m going to revisit the 5 most important musical events of last year:
1) Britney Spears - back on top: Teen-idol-turned-homebody Britney Spears put
the critics to sleep this year with her stunning return to the spotlight, Elvis-comeback-style. The reclusive mother of two had been living out of the public eye for much of the past two years, which earned a number of comparisons to Bob Dylan’s ‘middle period’. But out from anonymity came her hit album Blackout, which stunned audiences and critics alike from the opening salvo in which she bravely announces, “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked… it’s Britney, bitch.”
2) Axl Rose chooses to spend the night popping pimples instead of releasing Chinese Democracy: the legendarily erratic lead singer of Guns ‘n Roses opted to stay in last Saturday night and squeeze whiteheads out of his forehead, and pop those weird, stinky polyps on his crotch, in lieu of unleashing the much-anticipated Chinese Democracy album. Rose’s publicity agent, Izzy Stradlin, said that while the album is nearly ready for release, Axl was also considering shaving and is soon expected to formally announce that Democracy will be posthumously released.
3) Radiohead sues fans for downloading new album In Rainbows: citing solidarity
with Metallica and Prince, Radiohead brought lawsuits against fans that downloaded the band’s new release before it could be released on CD and LP. A spokesperson for the UK megaband reminded fans that making music costs money, and that even if fans would pay, say, $0.05 to $0.99 a song, then Radiohead wouldn’t be forced to incarcerate downloaders who take the music for free.
4) Amy Winehouse’s personal troubles become 2007’s #1 source for good jokes: news networks and blogs had a field day all year with clever headlines about the troubled soul singer’s well-documented battles with substance abuse, husband Blake Fielder-Civil and being basically full-frontally fucked up. “They tried to make her go to rehab, and she said, ‘Yes, yes, yes’,” printed one skillful celebrity gossip blogger to much acclaim and cackling. Otherwise witless and quiescent commentators were also given voice by the diva’s many implosions, including Bill Smith who knocked co-workers dead at the offices of Progressive Insurance outside of Cleveland with the quip: “Looks like she’s really living up to her name. You know, like her last name is Winehouse, and everything.”
5) Superstarcastival garners website acclaim, beer: the #1 musical event of the year, the highly successful Superstarcastival, solidified both the reputation of the burgeoning website, and also the livers of most of the staff. “The whole weekend was amazing, the bands that played were great, and it was everything we were expecting and hoping for,” said Joie, who later admitted to not actually remembering anything after Delilah’s the night before. “Obviously a banner year for SSC,” she went on, “what with a successful festival and that high-profile Butler tiff and all.”
And that’s 2007! Already a long time ago…
There’s only one good thing that could come out of Barry Bonds’ steroid use…
I know this doesn’t seem like a music post, but stay with me…
I have a dream, that Barry Bonds’ steroid-enlarged head actually has festered a giant chemical bomb. One day, the Rock n Roll Comedy Jamboree starring Nickelback, Carlos Mencia, Larry the Cable Guy and Creed reuinon comes to San Francisco and Barry Bonds is the named guest of honor. All these acts together are exact combination to activate the chemical countdown of the bomb inside Barry’s head and while he’s on stage with all the acts doing their version of “Take Me Higher”, featuring Larry the Cable Guy on the moonshine jug, the last note causes the bomb to explode taking out everyone on stage, all the fans in the arena and all their monster trucks and tractors parked outside.
While this exact combination may not happen, my smaller dreams may come true some day at a 50 Cent or Mary J. Blige concert. These artists and more are under investigation in a steroids probe that are looking at doctors and clinics that provided athletes with steroids and they happen to go to the same doctors.
I mean, I can see the usage on 50 but Mary J? Can you imagine these two getting all pumped up and forming a WWE tag team or something? I think it would look a little bit… a’like this:
PS - Man, look at those awesome MS Paint skills!!!
so according to the nme, superstarcastic’s nemesis panic! at the disco has dropped the exclamation point from their name. henceforth they shall be known as the only slightly less annoying “panic at the disco.”
i would like to think that this is partly due to us and the huge amounts of ridicule we have thrown their way over the years. but however it came about, it is definitely a step in the right direction. i am sure their upcoming album will still suck though.
Applying to a Big, Ugly, Loud, Laborious Shit-Hot Industry Trade Show (or B.U.L.L.S.H.I.T.S.) like South By Southwest or this month’s CMJ New Music Marathon is a tricky proposition for a small-time independent rock band with little to no label support–ironic, since these festivals were originally started, allegedly, to showcase new, up-and-coming, undiscovered talent. Well, i’m not shattering anyone’s preconceived notions by pointing out that this hasn’t been true in awhile; after all, who are Spoon, Xiu Xiu or M.I.A. hoping to be discovered by at this point? So, sorry to say it, small-timers, but there usually is no room at the party for your stupid little band.
Still, every year, legions of hopefuls apply to hope beyond hope (that’s a lot of hope, y’all) that the genius of their unique take on Hot Topic-accessorized mallpunk or NPR-approved accordion-and-banjo driven crapass Americana “alt-country” will tickle the right ear at CMJ, and will be magically extended the Golden Ticket to Manhattan or Brooklyn. And how will they apply? These days, through SonicBids, the online Electronic
Press Kit (EPK) networking service that “has become one of the fastest-growing music communities on the web trusted by over 70,000 artists and over 6,000 festivals, music conferences, and clubs from over 100 countries” (or so says their website). For only $35 every six months, you and your band can enjoy access to quick and easy application processes for each of those festivals, all of which will charge you entry fees on top of the SonicBids subscription price! That’s right–SonicBids affords you the opportunity for quick and efficient application to and rejection from SXSW, CMJ, Milwaukee’s Summerfest, and many others!
Now, before you think i’m being unduly harsh on the bands that subscribe to SonicBids and use it to place themselves on their knees, mouths open and gag reflexes at the ready, at the gross, veiny cocks of hundreds of aforementioned B.U.L.L.S.H.I.T.S., it’s time for full disclosure–we’re one of those bands too. Or, at least, i am. The SonicBids subscription comes out of my pocket because i think it’s sort of ridiculous to ask the band to shoulder something that stupid. So, why do i do it? More full disclosure–it’s worked for us. Our SonicBids application secured us a slot at the 2005 CMJ New Music Marathon, playing Chinatown’s 169 Bar at 1:30 in the morning on the last night of the festival in front of 18 appreciative(?) concert-goers…15 of whom we knew personally. But, um, hey, exposure! Right? Eh? Eh?
Sigh. I kid, though; the entire experience was actually pretty fun and i’m glad we did it. But any notion that playing a CMJ showcase did anything whatsoever for our “career” (ha) is naive at best, delusional at worst. Still, this did not discourage me from humbly submitting the band to the mercy of the CMJ selection committee once more this year.
Unfortunately, little did i know that the recording of our next full-length would eventually get delayed until October–this weekend, in fact–when i applied. Since we’re all saddled with those albatrosses known as day jobs, taking days off for recording and a road trip to New York in the same month wasn’t going to happen, so i wasn’t very disappointed when we finally got our rejection notice (although, wow, having played before doesn’t guarantee you a future slot, eh? Good to know). What i wasn’t expecting, though, were 15 replies to the rejection notice, each from a different rejected band, each hitting “reply to all” to emphasize the fact that CMJ forgot to blind carbon copy the email addresses of 671 rejected applicants.
Uh, oops.
OK, full disclosure first: I’m a huge fan of Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black album. Crack wise all you want about Hot Mess’ trainwreck existence as of late, but facts are facts: tracks like “You Know I’m No Good,” “Tears Dry on Their Own,” and yes, the single “Rehab,” are inspired gems of classic Spector-esque girl group production with a modern feminine fuck-you edge–oh yeah, and they’re totally danceable and hummable to boot.
That being said, yes, i appreciate the irony in the story reported today (which i’m sure will be all over just about every schadenfreude-obsessed dlisted ripoff gossip site on the intertubes before too much longer) which reports that miss “No, no, no” has said “well, all right” to rehab. Give us the haps, NME:
It is being reported today that Amy Winehouse’s mother in law has called the singer a heroin and cocaine addict.
Speaking to The Mirror, Winehouse’s mother-in-law, Georgette Civil-Fielder, said of the singer the singer had confessed to her.
“She told me she was addicted to heroin and cocaine,” claimed Blake Civil-Fielder’s mother.
She also suggsted that during Amy Winehouse and husband Blake ’s hotel stay following her drug overdose last Tuesday (August 7), the couple were delivered heroin by a friend, which they allegedly took in the hotel.
Amy Winehouse is currently in the Causeway drug rehab centre in Essex, casting doubt on whether Winehouse will perform this weekend’s V Festival (August 18 and 19) as scheduled.
This morning a V Festival spokesperson told NME.COM that they had heard no word from Winehouse’s camp about a possible cancelation, and so still expected her to play.
Really, though, it’s not like no one saw this coming. Amy babe, it’s like Sam Elliott said in The Big Lebowski: sometimes you eat the bar, and sometimes the bar eats you. And the bar doesn’t have that wicked British crackhead grill you’ve been sportin’ lately, Amy, so be careful when it goes chomp.
(photo via The Daily Mail, which is a very trashy rag.)
UPDATE: Holy craps, she’s out already, says The Daily Mail: Read more »
