Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Ganja Babe

Do I miss TV or what? Seasons were way too short this year (thanks writers for demanding what you're entitled to and inconveniencing my entertainment schedule in the process) and thus, I'm hurting.

Michael Franti - Ganja Babe [ysi]
Uploaded June 25

The light in the dark is that Weeds Season 4 is scheduled to start June 16th. God bless premium channels. I am so pumped, despite the fact that I don't get Showtime. There's no way I can get through the week without knowing what's going down in my favorite-fake California community! Whose selling what stash to who? Is MILF weed making a comeback? Will U-Turn rise from the dead and make me laugh my ass off at all his one-liners? And most importantly, what bands did producers rope into covering Malvina Reynolds stab at 1950s gated communities, "Little Boxes" this season? Death Cab: Done Regina: Done. Jenny Lewis: Done. Elvis Costello: Done. Billy Bob Thornton: Done, and we're oh so sad he did.


There is of course the HUGE cliffhanger from the season three finale; Is Agrestic still standing after last seasons brushfire blowout? After (Spoiler Alert) Nancy went schizo and torched their house for "protection"? May I just add that those montage scenes paired with State Radio's "Keepsake" were music supervision perfection. Haunting vocals singing "I'm gonna put my family back together again" over Nancy trashing her own house made the entire spectacle not only believable, but heartfelt. Bravo you overpaid bastards. Bravo.

In anticipation of the new season, yet another soundtrack (Volume 3) has been released. Randy Newman's and The Shins' version of "Little Boxes" open and close the record, while fillers include Page France, Great Lake Swimmers, Beirut, and State Radio, among others. If you got it, milk it right? And this is one trilogy I won't be disappointed in - Pirates of the Caribbean, Spiderman, you know what you've done...
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Private Affair

The Virgins have officially landed. It's new music Tuesday and what can make me smile more than Weezer's Red Album? Much more than knowing that the countdown to Coldplay and the Carter 3 are incrementally shorter? A self-titled, FULL LENGTH debut from NY-based, indie punk rock-revivalists The Virgins. It's been nearly a year since their five song EP smashed onto my iPod with nothing short of a Nancy Sinatra-type Bang Bang. It took about 72 hours for "One Week of Danger" to skyrocket to a respectable spot on my 50 Most Played Tracks, and even less to secure the Virgins a spot on UAFT's Best Songs of 2007.

So why is my smile so short lived? Because the vice that is capitalism/corporate record production has tightened its grip on this once-raw, rag-tag group. Obvious in reworked versions of fan-favorites like "Rich Girls," is a newly polished, very studio sound that has some us crying Wolf - or WTF! Proof that you can certainly take the street out of street rockers once said rockers make the move from the streets to the penthouse. (Insert Jefferson's Theme Here) This album, though still fully-entertaining, has left me wondering what happened to those badass boys whose most well-known song takes a lyrical stab at the wealthy. Choking on irony much?

Nick, Wade, etc. I love you, but step away from the studio. Your raw instrumentation and slinky vocals are much more sexy than whatever I'm hearing Atlantic produce. Keep your recordings a private affair. And don't make me nostalgic for an indie EP after only one release...

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