Julian Lynch

Just picked up this awesome 7" by Julian Lynch from Underwater Peoples. Lo-fi dreaminess recorded in a basement. It's sold out from the label, but you can probably procure yourself a copy through other means.

Where The Boys Aren't

I'm very tired. But, this is pretty cool. The nice people at Aquarium Drunkard are putting together a mix tape. Check out the cover of "You're No Good," by Frankie Rose and The Outs. Good night everybody.

Black Mountain

The boys and girls of Black Mountain return on September 14th with their newest LP, "Wilderness Heart" from our friends over at Jagjaguwar Records. Aside from the awesome album art, the new record is full of the 70's stoner metal stomp we've all become accustomed to. So, light up, put on your giant headphones, and turn on the black light in your room, or pop in an 8-track, start up the Trans Am, and get high on the open road. Sweet.

The Age of Adz

Sufjan Stevens returns with a new album in October (November for the vinyl) from Asthmatic Kitty. From what i understand, it's pretty synthesizer heavy, so i guess that's good for people like me. Hooray!

Fiveng

Not quite ready to put those summer jams to bed yet? Of course you're not. It's like 100 degrees outside. Anyway, check out the debut 7" from Fiveng (Nicholas Ng) from Beachtapes. Or go to Mr. Ng's bandcamp page to download both the single and the B-side for free. Hooray!

Oh, and while i realize that pre-season football is just a cock tease, i'd be remiss if i didn't say this: FOOOTTTBBBAAALLL!!!

Prince Rama and Sun Araw

Crazy psychedelic haze makes its way to us from Brooklyn trio Prince Rama. The Gang Gang Dance, but with more focus on the tripped out psychedelia and less on the tripped out beats. They're full length comes out September 14th from Paw Tracks. You should be able to pre-order. Also, go here to pick up the mp3 for "Lightening Fossil," and a bitchin' remix of "Storm Worship" by the always foggy and far out Sun Araw (that's war anus backwards).

Ducktails III

New Ducktails record! New Ducktails record! New Ducktails record! Look for it on Woodsist Records! Hazaa!

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Thinking about catching this classic at the Starving Art Mini Drive-in on Thursday. Bosomy chicks drive around in fast cars and kick the shit out of dudes. Sweet.

Here's some info.

J. Biebz

So, many of you may be looking at the picture above and thinking to yourselves: A) who the fuck is that kid? or B) Justin Bieber? Tommy's lost his damn mind. Either of these thoughts would be correct, except the the Biebz is cool. That is, he's cool when you slow his song, "U Smile" down 800%. Rather than getting a DJ Skrewed version of a tweeny-bopper darling, you get a sprawling, ambient jam that sounds like the ocean. Seriously, it's like some lost B-side from Sigur Ros. Go here to listen and download. I'm totally serious on this one. It's cool.

Piranha 3D: A Review

So, what could i possibly say about "Piranha 3D," one of the funnest, goriest movies i've ever seen? I'll sum up my review in two words: FUCKING AWESOME.

If that's not a shining endorsement, then i don't know what is. Oh, and evidently Joe Francis (the Girls Gone Wild douche bag) is threatening to sue The Weinstein company for defamation of character. How does one defame the character of a pornographer? I'm not sure either.

Hooray!

Warp Riders

Austin's own metal blowhards The Sword are releasing their 3rd opus upon the world on August 24th, courtesy of Kemado Records. The new record is supposed to draw more from sci-fi than from fantasy like the previous albums. So, i would suspect that means more lasers and aliens, and fewer axes and goblins. Sweet?

Sounds pretty good though, and i love the old school Atari style album art.

Esben & The Witch

UK trio Esben and The Witch will be releasing an EP through Matador Records on October 12th. The track, "Marching Song" is a dreamy, raucous punch in the face...and so is the video. Literally. Check it out below.

Appaloosa vs. Glass Candy

Glass Candy offer up a cool remix of label mate Appaloosa's "Intimate." You can buy the 12" single right here. It will also be on the future forthcoming release, "After Dark 2" compilation. The first one's killer, so the sequel should be too. You can also download the remix here. Word.

Shangaan Electro

Shangaan Electro are from South Africa. The create crazy, South African dance music. It is awesome. Get it here.

Love that album cover.

Beck and Ramona

We caught a showing of "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World" on Sunday, and it's great, or to use the review from my friend Mike, it was "super awesome." Everyone is great in it. Michael Cera plays a slightly different version of the Michael Cera were used to seeing in movies. Kieran Culkin steals every scene he's in. Jason Schwartzman, Brandon Routh, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead are all fantastic as well. Edgar Wright pulls it off (not that i really doubted the genius behind "Spaced" and "Shaun of the Dead).

Oh, and the soundtrack is pretty killer too, starting with the 8-Bit version of the Universal Pictures Theme at start of the film by Nigel Godrich (oh he of Radiohead production fame). But, i love Beck's new tune, "Ramona." It would have fit perfectly on "Sea Change," and while that's kind of a sad bastard record, it's still a brilliant take on a Serge Gainsbourg album. "Ramona" feels that way too. You can find it on The Hype Machine.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Ramona Flowers

Gary War

Gary War has a new EP due out in October from Sacred Bones called "Police Water." GvsB recommends it for fans of holograms and 80's dystopian sci-fi flicks. Sold. Listen here.

Torche/Boris split

The good people over at Hydra Head Records were nice enough to release a split 10" featuring 2 of my favorite metal bands, Torche and Boris. If you can find the vinyl in the record bins, kudos to you. If not, pick up the mp3's here.

So hot...

It's so hot...

I'm playing hooky from work at the moment, but i'll go back...i always go back. Here's some stuff i'm into, aside from my clothes sticking to my sweaty body of course.

LISTENING:
-Goblin - "Profondo Rossi" soundtrack
-Wavves -"King of the Beach"
-Arcade Fire - "The Suburbs"
-Droids - "Star Peace"
-Marilyn Manson - "Mechanical Animals" - Shut up. It's not lame. It's actually a very under appreciated album. It's got a real glammy Bowie vibe to it, albeit with an industrial metal flair. So, fuck you. I like it.

WATCHING:
-"Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"
-"The Legend of Billie Jean"
-"New York Doll"
-"When You're Strange"
-"Class of Nuke 'Em High"

READING:
-Chuck Palaniuk - "Diary"
-David Foster Wallace - "Infinite Jest"
-Martin Wagner - "The Collegiate Hepcats"
-Bret Easton Ellis - "Imperial Bedrooms"

Excelsior!

Dent May pre-order! Hooray!

Forest Family Records' latest release, Dent May's "That Feeling" 7" is now available for pre-order! If the last three releases from the label are any indication, this will probably sell out in a hurry. So, don't delay, and while you're there, grab the mp3's for the A-side, and the super-awesome B-side, "Eastover Wives." Seriously, everything about this song is fantastic. Is that a killer sax you hear? Yes, it fucking is.

Droids

Droids is the brainchild of French musician Yves Hayat. In 1978 he created "Star Peace," obviously very influenced by "Star Wars." It's a groovy record full of disco funk and plenty of sci-fi synths. The parents of Daft Punk probably owned this record and played it all the time. So, check out the reissue (if you can find it), put on your Stormtrooper helmet, and start dancing.

R2D2 approved.

New Grouper

Grouper are set to release a new limited tour 7". Hazy, trippy, and beautiful as always. You can pre-order here. Give a listen to the A-side "Hold" below.

GROUPER -- Hold by ROOM40

Clique Talk

Continuing in the grand tradition i've established of espousing the virtues of cheesy synth bands that bring to life the 1970's and 1980's horror and sci-fi film scores that i grew up with, here's the latest one i've come across, Clique Talk. They create cold darkwave-inspired dance jams that serve as a great soundtrack to fleeing from killer cyborgs or cyber-punk zombies. Or you could just lock yourself in an abandoned factory alone with you S&M fantasies. Naturally, these guys are from Chicago.

Here's the video for "Kemper Disco."



Have fun you goofy goth kids.

Porcelain Raft - Dragonfly

Neat little video from Porcelain Raft.

Neon Canyon

Neon Canyon have a digital EP called "Bricoleur" available here. Ambient, shoe-gazy pop. Es bueno.

Cobra

Remember the Stallone movie, "Cobra?" I'm watching it tonight, and you're not...unless you want to.

Birthdays

Are you into cassette tapes that sound like they were recorded in your garage by a bunch of deranged middle school kids? Yeah. Me neither. But, sampling a tune off of Birthdays' upcoming cassette-only release "Hawaiian Punch Wave," i am intrigued. It kind of sounds like something that would come out on Not Not Fun Records, but with a little less acid, and a little more melody. Bitchin' stuff. Go here to order it, or here to download the song, "Software."

Violens Summer Mix Tape

Looking for a summer mix to wash the blues away...or something. Check out the 2010 Summer Mix from Violens. It's dreamy. Get the track list and download here.

And by the by, "Ricco The Mean Machine" was fantastic. Ever wanted to see a guy get his weenis cut off and stuffed in his mouth? This is the movie for you.

Bad Movie Night

We're about to watch these movies. They should be awesome. Violent revenge from the 1970's and a roller disco movie from the 1980's. Hazaa!

Fun Fun Fun Fest line up!

The line up is out! Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 looks to be pretty damn good too: Dum Dum Girls, Deerhunter, Best Coast, Bad Religion, Devo, Delorean, Crocodiles, GWAR, Ariel Pink, Mastodon, Slick Rick, The Dwarves, and on and on and on. And as an added bonus, Weird Al Yankovic kick starts the whole thing off on Friday night! Excelsior!

Ariel Pink pics

Ariel Pink et al put on a great show last night. Here's some pics:

Tommy and Paige

Puro Instinct

Puro Instinct

Puro Instinct

Magic Kids

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti (in a very cool picture taken by my wife)

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti

The Suburbs

Arcade Fire's latest opus, "The Suburbs" was released today, and i'm going to admit that my original reservations that i've had for the last month or so were for naught. The album's good. So far, nothing has come out and grabbed me immediately, like "Neighborhood #1" from their first record, or "Intervention" from their second, but the album is really solid. So, phew. I will add though, that the worst song Arcade Fire has ever made is on this album. "Modern Man" sucks. It sucks bad. It sounds like something Springsteen would have farted. But, the rest of the record is good. So there.

I'm seeing Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti tonight, so hooray for me!

Holograms

Fol Chen are offering up their Holograms EP (for the record, it's a bunch of remixes, but it does have one by FUR) for free. I first heard them when they remixed a track off of the latest Liars LP, and their song "In Ruins" was remixed superbly by Baths, so you know they're probably good people. Go here to get it.

Beat Connection Surf Noir

Speaking of free downloads (please see blog post below), a couple of cats from Seattle dubbed Beat Connection are also offering their latest EP for free. These guys have kind of a Tanlines thing going for them. Check out the title and the cover, and i guess you can probably guess that the groovy, electro, summer beach jams will be oncoming until September. So, go download the sucker here, and hit the pool a few more times before the leaves start to brown.

Wise Blood

I love it when i find groovy albums or EP's available for free. This one comes to us from Houston's Wise Blood. Mastermind Christopher Laufman creates an R&B sampling roller coaster of summer jams, tripped out mixes, and grooves. The EP, entitled "+" is available for free, courtesy of the artist and Bandcamp. Enjoy.

Ducktails featuring Real Estate

Ducktails dictator Matt Mondanile (who also happens to be a member of Real Estate) recorded a session for New Jersey radio station WFMU a couple years ago with fellow Real Estate member, Martin Courtney. The set consists of pretty decent stripped down, acoustic folk jams, and the word on the street is that it will be released on Inflated Records pretty soon. And you know what they say about the word on the street? Believe it.