Emeralds

After putting out numerous records, cassettes, and CD-R's over the past four years, i finally checked Cleveland trio Emeralds. And what can i say? I enjoyed the shit out of it. "Does It Look Like I'm Here?" is basically a progressive electronic record. It pulls heavily from Krautrock like Klaus Schulze and early Moog artists like Bruce Haack, but also weaves itself in with contemporaries like fellow synth enthusiasts Zombi and Oneohtrix Point Never. At any rate, it's really pretty and sounds like what the future was always supposed to sound like.

Body Language

It's getting colder outside, and how are we to stay warm but by shaking our asses. Body Language offers up their "Social Studies" EP to start the dance fever for all you electro dance pop disco boogie enthusiasts out there. These tunes should keep you warm until the cocoa's ready. Download it for free right here.

Cadence Weapon

Canadian born rapper Cadence Weapon has unleashed a new mix-tape, sampling Gucci Mane and Arcade Fire amongst others. Dig on that Tron vibe. You can download it here for whatever you deem necessary to pay.

This breaks my heart

Leslie Nielsen 1926 - 2010

Lazer Sword

Pop club music recalling smoky rooms, flashing lights, drugged-out disco, strange European girls, and a perpetual state of midnight. Lazer Sword fill the empty hole left in my heart until Justice makes the most triumphant return.

Currently touring with Midnight Juggernauts and Bikini.

Metal Swim

Aside from providing us with awesome cartoons every night, Adult Swim occasionally forays into musical territories with some pretty awesome releases (see the ATL RMX jams). This time around they attempt to tear our faces off with some great, obscure tracks from a slew of metal bands, including outings from Jesu, Torche, Kylesa, Boris, Saviours, and more, more, more! Download for freezies right here.

Even more free Atlas Sound

Man, this guy just won't stop putting stuff out. Go here to get the next two volumes of Atlas Sound's "Bedroom Databank." And do it before Sony Music tries to take them away from you.

Gobble, gobble, gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody. Enjoy the feast!

Dikes of Holland

After a couple of great 7" records, Austin's own Dikes of Holland have released their debut LP courtesy of Sundae Records. It's great, raucous, garage punk rock, so slam a couple of Lone Star tallboys, smoke a couple of Camels and head into your garage to play with the power tools.

You can buy the record here.

More free Atlas Sound

Some more free jams from Bradford Cox of Atlas Sound. Hazaa!

Bedroom Databank Vol. 1

Bradford Cox (oh he of Deerhunter, Atlas Sound, and being ridiculously skinny fame) has posted 11 demos to his blog, including Kurt Vile and Bob Dylan covers. Download the whole thing right here.

Standard Planets

Ready to go for a ride through time and space, like you're Stephen Hawking surfing on an anti-matter rocket? I thought so. Go check out London's Standard Planets. They, "create epic symphonies that effortlessly combine elements of monolithic drone, caustic machine funk, '67 psych, carpathian hillbilly, fourth world soundscapes, bipolar sludge and tectonic krautrock." Or something like that.

"Space is loud and colourful and will happily eat you."

Finally

My Texas Longhorns finally won a game today. That is all.

Bikini

NYC-based dance pop outfit Bikini (how often do i get to say that sentence?) a CD called "RIPJDS" courtesy of Lefse Records. It's danceable. It's hazy. It's kind of like a poppier Animal Collective in some ways. Download the track, "ACheerlaeder" right here.

The FDA took my Joose away

Just like Sparks and Four Loco before it, Joose has fallen victim to the uptight bastards at the FDA who have decided that we shouldn't be allowed to drink energy-beer. So remember, you can take a pill for indigestion that might make your butthole fall out, and you can take a different pill that give you a 4-hour boner that might make you go blind, but they'll be damned if they'll let you be drunk, hyper, and crazy all at the same time. So, Joose, we will miss you, but "we'll meet again. Don't know where. Don't know when. But, i know we'll meet again some sunny day."

Looks like it's back to sniffing glue.

Big Boi

What are you doing on December 4th? Well, now you know.

Cats

This picture made me very happy. Good night everybody.

Les Sins

Weren't you all wondering what Toro Y Moi would sound like if they were a little less R&B and a lot more disco? Yeah, i really wasn't either, but Les Sins, the dancier side of Toro Y Moi's Chazwick Bundick is catchy, catchy, catchy. To resist shaking your ass just for a second is to do serious damage to your entire spinal system and brain. So, tap that foot and make it clap! And, while these tunes have been around since 2009, they've finally seen a proper release via Carpark.

Documentaries motherfucker!

Tired of superheroes, wizards, lovers, torture porn, etc, etc? Then check out these two awesome documentaries.

I suck at movie reviewing, but you should check out "Winnebago Man." It takes a subject that we've all been laughing at for years (or at least those of us with found-footage or viral video obsessions) and makes it human. This old, pissed off guy is still old and pissed, but he's also human, and eloquent, and quite funny too. Oh, and he says "fuck" a lot.

If you like bad movies like i do, then you should watch this movie. "Best Worst Movie" takes a look at the film "Troll 2" (a film that you should also watch) and deconstructs the cult phenomenon from the perspectives of the actors, the film makers, the fans, and the people who have never heard of the thing. Nilbog lives!

Because i'm a huge nerd...

I'm so going to get my Potter-fix this weekend. What?

Girl Talk's All Day

Girl Talk released his newest album online today for free. And it was a really popular download. So popular in fact, that it seems to have crashed Illegal Art's server. Paige and i have been trying to download this damn thing all day (pun not intended). If you're feeling lucky, give it a try right here. I eventually got tired of failing miserably, and was able to get it over here instead. Hooray blogosphere!

Oh, and by the by, "All Day" is every bit as fun as any of Girl Talk's previous outings, so you should probably grab it.

Xander Harris

Just when i thought it didn't get any cooler than Nightsatan, along comes Xander Harris. Fans of "Buffy The Vampire" will recognize the name of course, but for the uninitiated, Xander Harris was the name of Buffy's dorky friend (the everyman really). Anyway, Urban Gothic is pretty damn cool, and like everything else i listen to, seems to be really Halloween oriented. You can buy it digitally right here.

Nightsatan

My cold wave/minimalist wave fascination and obsession continues to move ever onward. I swear i'm going to move on to something else soon. I promise. Jazz fusion maybe? Who knows? Anyway, how could i possibly ignore something called Nightsatan? It fits right in with my Carpenter addiction, and kind of sounds like what metal heads would make if they traded in their V guitars for synthesizers. And just look at the album cover for God's sake. How could we not all love this? You can listen here.

Mary Bell

Night Gallery are Adam Griffin and Aaron "Gatekeeper" David. They create electro dance anthems for aging hipsters and movie fans alike. Their song "Mary Bell" is bitchin' horror flick club jam deriving it's title from a 10 year old girl who murdered two toddlers in Newcastle, England in 1968. Maybe a bit creepy, but an awesome tune nonetheless. Go here to listen to the equally awesome VALIS remix.

Grossing out my wife

We just got "The Human Centipede" in the mail yesterday. Paige gets grossed out even thinking about it. This is going to be awesome.

Rome

When i heard that wunderkind producer Danger Mouse was teaming with Daniele Luppi, Jack White, and a bunch of musicians who worked on Ennio Morricone's spaghetti western soundtracks, i nearly pooped myself. "Rome" is a tribute to those soundtracks, and should be pretty unbelievable if Danger Mouse's other collaborations would attest. Look for it in March.

Wizard World Texas

I wish i could go to this. But, i can't because i'm a loser. You should go though. I mean it. Go and have fun. Go and live your life. I'll be right here. Just go.

Keep Shelly in Athens

Forest Family Records has just been swinging for the fences and knocking them out of the park since day one. The 7" singles from Cults, Gauntlet Hair, Sleep Over, and Dent May are all excellent, and worth checking out if you can find them. Keep Shelly in Athens is the first 12" release from the label, a smooth, "Balearic-tinged," down-tempo R&B record for all of us 80's electro-nuts. And they're from Greece, so there's that. They may not have an economy any more, but jams are flowing like honey. Pre-order here.

While you're there, you should probably grab a copy of the re-press of the long sold out "Go Outside" 7" from Cults. You don't have to. I'm just saying.

Excelsior!

Last Night at The Jetty

Panda Bear continues the parade of 7" records all leading up to the new LP "Tomboy." The latest is "Last Night at The Jetty" with "Drone" as the B-side from the good peeps over at Fat Cat Records due out in December. There will be a cool 3000 of them. Pre-order here.

James Pants

James Pants has a new LP coming out next year from our friends over at Stones Throw Records called "Love Kraft." It's fuzzy. It's danceable. It's fun. And check out the song, "Darlin" right here. There's a definite non-moody Suicide thing going on, and it's fantastic.

Conan

Conan O'Brien has made his return to television, and to celebrate, Jack White's Third Man Records has released a spoken word 7" from CoCo. Good to have you back jackass.

Dreams

We are Dreams. We are from Portugal. We make chilled, smooshy electronic pop for your eardrum pleasure. Check out our song, "In Dreams." It is nice. And catchy.

It Was Never Meant To Be This Way

CFCF have a new 12" EP available from RVNG. It's great, moody electro-fun! (That's a good thing). Get it here. Also be sure to check out the Games remix of "It Was Never Meant to Be This Way." It makes me very happy.

FFF Fest Day 3 recap

Fun Fun Fun Fest Day 3: feet are tired; due to the dust, there were so many bandannas and face masks out there, you'd think there was a SARS outbreak or we were all going to rob a train...a train carrying skinny jeans and scarves; Peelander Z might just be the greatest band of all time; i have a short attention span; we saw Eagle Claw, Indian Jewelry, Terp2it, Peelander Z, Deakin, Toro Y Moi, Kylesa, Cults, Floor, Best Coast, P.O.S., Washed Out, Deerhunter, Suicidal Tendencies, Yelle, and The Descendents. Whew!

I'm old, tired, and stupid, so i missed Mastodon. My loss. See everybody again next year.

Indian Jewelry (we saw these guys everywhere)

Indian Jewelry

Peelander Z (probably the best picture i took all weekend)

Peelander Z

Deakin

Toro Y Moi

Cults

Cults

Best Coast

P.O.S. (in arty-farty vision)

Washed Out

Washed Out

Suicidal Tendencies

Rot My Brain Away

Christopher Laufman, aka Wise Blood is set to release is set to release more sample-laden, soulful pop jams via Transparent later this month. The double A-sided 7" is magnifique! Go here to pre-order and to download for freezies!

Facial hair is cool

My beard may harness the power of a thousand suns, but your moustache is cooler than Kim Deal. Facial hair is sweet.

FFF Fest Day 2 recap

Here's a Day 2 recap: a lot more peeps; a lot more dust; i popped a porta-potty's cherry!; Antlers; Wavves are really young; so many white people at Slick Rick, you'd think Garth Brooks was on stage; Ariel Pink was groovy as per usual; Os Mutantes; an assortment of random punk and indie bands; Delorean's euro-rave fever; Dam Funk was late, late, late; i've seen Gwar 2 times this year; and Bad Religion are really old.

I also learned that UT football is a joke, Little Caesar's $5 pizzas are a great deal, and it's really hard to take pictures from the back of the crowd after dark. Here's some pics.

Tommy and Paige (staring at UT's 2010 offense or a lamp post...you decide!)

Antlers

Wavves

Slick Rick (older and fatter, but still pimpin')

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti

Os Mutantes

Delorean

Delorean