Free Comic Book Day

Tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day. Just in case you were interested.

I'll be at work though, so you'll have to have fun without me. (Jon Arbuckle sigh.)

Golden Triangle and The Fresh and Onlys

Golden Triangle and The Fresh and Onlys just release a new split 7". I really dig it. Golden Triangle's got this groovy Jesus and Mary Chain/Sonic Youth punk rock swirl going on, and The Fresh and Onlys are great San Fran lo-fi garage pop. Go to Hardly Art Records to snag a copy.

Dork

So, i went to the comic store today (as i do every Wednesday) to get my nerd on as it is, and while i'm usually a superhero book type of guy, i've been reading "The Last Days of American Crime" by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini. It's really good. I've dug some of Remender's stuff in the past. He used to write a book called "Fear Agent," which was basically an off-the-wall sci-fi serial about an exterminator in space. He's also been doing some crazy stuff with "The Punisher" lately, turning him in Frankencastle. But, i've always kind of thought of him as a 2nd tier writer. That changes now. "American Crime" is fucking great, hard-boiled, and brutal at times. It's something you'd want to see Mickey Rourke in. And the art's good too, not to mention the bitchin covers by Alex Maleev (Daredevil). Anyway, if you're not into comics, but you like good crime fiction, check this one out. The first two issues should be available at finer comic shops.

Excelsior!

And yes, that picture is from "Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach." And you should be ashamed of yourself for knowing that.

How I Quit Crack

Go get this right now! Get it here. How I Quit Crack will warp your mind with a swirl of Cure-inspired, analog synthesizer magic in dayglo colors and black lights. Aww yeah. Es muy bueno.

Righteous Fists of Harmony

Daedelus's latest EP on Brainfeeder Records (Flying Lotus) is beautiful. Combining luscious orchestrations with hip-hop beats, along with some psychedelia and samba, this record brings to mind electro acts like Zero 7. Especially check out the track, "Order of the Golden Dawn." Superb.

New Best Coast

Best Coast have a new song, "Our Deal," which can be heard over here. It's good, but be wary. It will stay in your head for days.

Trans Am and more, more, more!

It's been a couple of years since these goofballs have released a record. Trans Am continues to explore the mind warping world of progressive-retronics on the new "Thing." For fans of 80's film score nostalgia, covers to old Dean Koontz novels, and humping Nintendo gaming systems. It's fucking awesome.

And go here to get a free download of Trans Am's "Interstellar Drift," as well as some other mind-blowing tunes (Troll Town anyone?). And read The Underworld Cup post...but only if trolls amuse you.

City Wide Garage Sale

Going over to the City Wide Garage Sale today over at the Palmer Events Center. If you haven't gone before, it's pretty cool. The do several a year. Last July when Paige and i went, i found a bunch of old Claremont/Byrne Uncanny X-Men comics that i got for a dollar (hooray!) and a bitchin' old banjo for $100 (that i did not buy...boo!). Maybe this will be the year we find the Ark of the Covenant...or an awesome Freddy Krueger doll.

Roommates

So, McCoy's going to Cleveland and Shipley's going to Cincinnati. As my brother said, they'll still be able to see each other on weekends. I've got to be honest though. It makes me really sad that i'm not going to be able to yell out, "ROOMMATES!" anymore since there will be no more McCoy passes to Shipley...or will there be?

Jaxon Shipley and Case McCoy

ROOMMATES!!?

Drunk Girls

This is pretty good...

Manic Meat

Tobacco finally releases a new album, "Manic Meat" on May 25th. This is the 2nd solo album from Black Moth Super Rainbow's Tom Fec, and if 2008's "Fucked Up Friends" set the template, then we're in for a hell of a ride. Heavy on psychedelia, hip-hop beats, and crunchy analog synths, Tobacco creates a sonic acid trip that starts up skipping through strawberry fields and ends up passed out in bathroom stall at a nightclub. Fun, fun, fun! Oh, and this time around, Beck adds some vocals to the mix. Check The Hype Machine to sample the new tune, "Fresh Hex," with mon signor Beck.

You're dead to me Denver

It's official. The biggest pussy in football was drafted in the first round by the Denver Broncos. Ugh.

Rangers

I'd like to take a second to recommend an album (the hell you say!). "Suburban Tours" by Rangers came out a couple months ago on Olde English Spelling Bee (who put out a great Ducktails record last year). Fans of analog synthesizers take note, this is the record for you. It kind of falls in with the recent wave of bands like Washed Out, Toro Y Moi, etc, but sounds way rawer, like they hijacked a bunch of old Moogs and then spent an evening smoking grass and playing in the basement. Pretty cool stuff. As per usual, you can sample them here.

Fungi Girls

I just picked up a copy of Fungi Girls "Seafaring Pyramids," and these Texas teens do us right by it. They sound like some sort of mutant offspring of Jesus and Mary Chain, who were then led astray by the current wave of shit-gaze bands, only to come back home as a grown-up. Yeah, it's kind of like that. Give 'em a whirl over here.

Fluffy Lumbers

We were lucky enough to catch Fluffy Lumbers at a free show during SXSW. I was very impressed with the 2-man lo-fi, fuzzy jams. Think of My Bloody Valentine stripped down to the core. Anyway, i can't find any word on a proper release just yet, but you can go sample some of their songs on their myspace page. Instantly hummable.

qwertyuiop

Record Store Day was a success. I was able to find a copy of the Flaming Lips doing "Dark Side of The Moon," and a Dum Dum Girls 7", and much, much more. By the way, fuck you to all the assholes out there buying shit to sell on Ebay. I know it sucks to have a half inch penis, but why do you have to be such dicks? Fuck off and burn in hell.

Going to see "Kick Ass" in an hour. I can't wait. Apparently it's got Roger Ebert all in a tizzy because a little girl says, "cunt." It's just a word. And i'll be damned if i'm going to let the guy who wrote "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" telll me that a movie is reprehensible. You wrote "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" for Christ's sake.

"Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" is a great flick by the way.

Hooray "Kick Ass!"

Free weekend!

A whole weekend off from work! Not going out of town! No prior commitments!

I should finally get a chance to get recharged, get some records during Record Store Day, get some drinks over at the Brixton (1412 E. 6th St.), see "Kick Ass," and sleep, sleep, sleep! Hoorah!

This Is Happening

LCD Soundsystem will be unleashing their newest opus on us on May 18th. If you haven't heard the first single, "Drunk Girls," or the new jam, "I Can Change," go find them and download them immediately. You are missing out. I repeat, YOU ARE MISSING OUT. This time around, Mr. Murphy et. al. are bringing the noise in the vein of Berlin Bowie (look at the album cover...looks a bit like Bowie's "Lodger" record doesn't it?) are Gary Numan. Anyway, it's great, and this makes 'em 3 for 3.

Bored and rainy

Nothing going on. Work sucks. But here's the video for "Odessa" by Caribou. The new album comes out on Tuesday. Hooray!

Invisibility : Nonexistent

New Kurt Vile in May. Hooray! Go here for a free mp3 of the new tune, "Invisibility : Nonexistent." Groovy baby. Ga-roovy.

Nada

I've got nothing going on right now. Nothing to say. Nothing poignant to add to anything, yet i'm compelled to do this blog thing. I'd like to think that the above picture is happening somewhere, right now.

Record Store Day 2010

Record Store Day is this Saturday, April 17th. Yea!!!!

Go here for some details as to the who, the where, and a good list of what's coming out that day. Hooray!

Oh, and i haven't done this in awhile:

Tues: 228 lbs.

Black Devil Disco Club

I realize this record came out last year and that i'm just now getting around to talking about it. What do you do? Anyway, just picked up the 4th album from Black Devil Disco Club, "The Strange New World of Bernard Fevre." It's fantastic. The story goes that the first album by this guy came out 30 years ago and then was lost to the world. It was waaaaayyyyyy ahead of its time and now, next to impossible to find an original pressing. He then disappeared for 28 years only to resurface and start releasing his new space-disco jams. I'm not really sure if any of this is true or not (some people think it's actually Richard James from Aphex Twin, but who knows?), but it's really, really groovy. Definitely worth checking out if you're a proponent of fun. If you're not, well then your loss.

Run for the Rose pics

What's a couple of cocktails the night before a 5K?

Mike and Kelly Descioli: a whole lot of awesome

Finish line mofos!

We raised some cash for a good cause and i ate a breakfast buffet afterwards. Awesome.

Are we not men? We are Devo.

Go here to sample and vote for the songs that will appear on the new Devo record. Hooray!

Run, Run, Run

Heading off to Houston in the morning for a wedding and 5K on Sunday. If you're going to be in the Houston area and you feel like waking up at the ass crack of dawn to run around Reliant Stadium, visit Run for the Rose and come on out. It's for a good cause. If running ain't your thing, donate, donate, donate!

Not gonna be Houston this weekend? If you're in Austin, and you've got a yens for some records and suck, go to Waterloo Records. Everything in the store is 20% off (except for sale price items). Booyah! I'm endorsing the hell out of some shit today.

Spring is here

Spring is upon us. Never mind that little cold front at the end of SXSW. I'm sure Gwar had something to do with that. Anyway, if you're already in the mood to break out the swim trunks and flippy-floppys, check out the new EP's by Tanlines and Lemonade, both on True Panther Sounds. Both are filled with warm, synthy jams to welcome in the new season. They should last you straight through the summer. Lotion up!

Final Fantasy

"Heartland" is the most recent album from Owen Pallett, aka Final Fantasy. Not entirely 100% sure what moniker he's using now. I'm assuming that Sony (or whoever owns big Final Fantasy) may have put a kibosh on that namesake...or else it was a preemptive change...or maybe he just got bored. I don't know. What i do know is that the album is really good. Owen is a fantastic violin player, and one hell on an orchestral arranger as well. Part Arcade Fire (of whom he is a sometime member), part Sufjan Stevens, part chamber pop, "Heartland" does something its awesome predecessor (2006's "He Poos Clouds") couldn't do...make itself accessible to people who aren't snooty music nerds while remaining off the radar. And that's a big step.

Hippies

Sure to be an instant classic, Austin's own Harlem release their 2nd album (but 1st on Matador Records) "Hippies" today. It's a great mix of garage rock, punk, and psychedelia, full of bravado, but not pretentious. Well, they are one of the indie darlings of the moment, so there might be just a little pretentiousness to go around, but not so much that you want to punch a member in the head. And that's a good thing.

Sample some tracks over on Hype Machine. I especially like "Friendly Ghost."

Somebody Give Me An Endorsement Deal Pt. 2: Nestle Quik

I love, love, love chocolate milk. Me and the Nestle bunny go way, way back. I'd drink this stuff everyday if i could. And you should too. Mmmmm. Now give me some money Nestle.

April 5th...my sister and brother-in-law's wedding anniversary

Happy 13th anniversary to Kristie and Boyd (not that they read this anyway). To celebrate, here's my floating head.

Viva L'American Death Ray Music

Picked up the new EP from V.L.A.D.R.M. on Mexican Summer. It's a trippy little monster, a fuzzed-out, Velvet Underground-inspired mesh of punk, garage rock, and dub. You can buy the sucker here.

Just watched Owen Wilson get crushed to death by a giant snake on TV. Yes...we were watching "Anaconda," he says in shame.

Happy Easter

Here's hoping you all have a great Easter. Much love and fire and eyeballs exploding from your eye sockets. If that doesn't say Jesus is resurrected, then i don't wanna know what does.

Get Him To The Greek

Just saw this trailer the other night. Yes! Yes! Yes!

Theta Pi must die!

Just watched "Sorority Row," the crappy remake of the crappy film, "House on Sorority Row." Who would have guessed it would be ass crap? On the plus side, there's plenty of nudity (if you're in to that kind of thing, and who's not, really?), a hot Asian girl gets shot in the face with a flare gun at a foam party, and that rocket scientist girl from The Hills dies in the first 10 minutes. So, ultimately i guess the film is worth your time. Go check this piece of shit out. Hooray!

Dum Dum Girls

Just picked up the new LP, "I Will Be," by Dum Dum Girls care of Sub Pop. If you're into reverby, garage-rock, girl pop, this is definitely for you.

It's really damn good by the way.

Young(ish), stupid Tommy...and friends

Just found this online today. Good lord. (I'm the yay-hoo on the right.)

Hot Tub Time Machine, or The Voice of a Generation

We just got back from the new modern masterpiece that it "Hot Tub Time Machine." You know when you hear a title of a movie or a book or something, and you immediately conjure up ideas and images of what that movie or book should be? Well, this movie does that. It was everything it should have been and so much more. Hilarious from start to finish. I fucking loved this movie. "So stupid, it's brilliant." Go see it now, or so help me, i'll stab you in the eye with a fork.

Round and Round

The new 7" by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti comes out on April 27th. If you haven't heard the title track, "Round and Round," you should be able to easily find a free mp3 of it somewhere. Try Hype Machine. The single is pretty fuckin' great, an homage to smooth 70's AM. And no, it's not a cover of a Ratt song. (Dig that cover.)

Gomorrah

Just saw "Gamorrah" last night. It's easily one of the best mafia movies i've ever seen before. The story and visuals are fantastic and the film touches on all levels of crime in Naples from the kids being brought in to the fold in the ghetto to the corporate side of illegal toxic waste disposal. A brilliant film about crime and corruption with all the usual glamorous sheen stripped away, i highly recommend it.

I only hope that "Hot Tub Time Machine" is as brilliant.

Totally gay for my dog

I'm a heterosexual. I swear. But i am totally gay for my dog. Hence, photos of said dog in a field of blue bonnets.

(God only knows what i'm going to be like when i have kids.)