Two Reasons to Love April: Coachella and New Gnarls Barkley

OMG it's that amazing time of year again Californians! Coachella is coming April 25-27 and I'm as excited as Britney Spears in a crazy store. Indio, CA has never sounded so good. Tickets just went on sale January 25th, but already single day passes are completely sold out! Thats right SOLD OUT. No, you can't just slip in and hear Ben Gibbard/Death Cab play an amazing set on Saturday or bob your head to Rogue Wave on Friday. No, folks its all or nothing. And by "all" we mean the $285 big ones you'll have to fork over for admission, and the $57 plus for camping charges. Am I wrong to be conisdering this? Maybe I really am in a crazy store. But you might understand my temporary financial insanity after taking a look at this line-up.

Here are my personal highlights:

Friday 4/25
Vampire Weekend (Number One Pick)
The National
Les Savy Fav
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
Tegan & Sara
Rogue Wave
Stars
Battles
Aesop Rock
The Raconteurs (Hello Jack White!)

The Raconteurs - Steady As She Goes (Acoustic)

Stars - Today Will Be Better, I Swear

Saturday 4/26
Death Cab
Cafe Tacuba
Animal Collective (Number Two Pick)
MIA (Number Three Pick)
Hot Chip!!
Rilo Kiley
Jamie T
Kate Nash
DeVotchKa
Cold War Kids
Boys Noize

Cold War Kids - Hang Me Up to Dry

Hot Chip - Ready For the Floor (their new single)

Sunday 4/27
My Morning Jacket
Justice
The Streets
Brett Dennen
Shout Out Louds
The Field
Sia
Metric!

Metric - Hustle Rose

Brett Dennen - Ain't No Reason

Its basically like a recipe for everything good eargasmically. Throw a little Okkervil River or Matthew Pryor in there and I don't think I would have my top on for three days straight. As much fun as it sounds, I'm positive I would not be able to find anyone to go with me. Thus it would be three days of camping out by myself with offers right and left to smoke up. And since my hippie skills are currently slim to nonexistent (besides listening to Tom Petty and sticking it to the Man, I'm clueless), I'm pretty sure Coachella will remain more of a fantasy than a reality. Sort of like me at SXSW, Austin City Limits, or Lollapalooza. A girl can dream can't she...

Wayne and Garth never looked so good... Excellent

But what is not a dream? New Gnarls Barkley baby!! I don't have to be bitter about the month of April anymore because that's when GB's new cd, The Odd Couple, is slated for release. Their first single "Run" has been leaked amongst the blogosphere, and to say that the suits involved are having a field day would be as euphemistic as calling Joe Strummer just a singer. Any site that attempts to post the track for download is being shut down immediately. But because its so amazing people are still risking the stream. Thank God because I can't get enough. I don't care how many people want to compare it to the success of "Crazy," which btw, was one of my least favorite tracks on St. Elsewhere, beacuse this track is a hit. I want to stand up, shake my ass, and then picture Cee-Lo and DJ Dangermouse doing the same thing. I cannot wait for more!

Check out the song here

In the meantime to satiate your Gnarls thirst, grab a cup and fill it with these covers...

Cat Power - Crazy

The Kooks - Crazy

Nelly Furtado - Crazy (Live Lounge)

Peace love and April wishes

Superbowl Sunday: Why Eli Will Always Dominate Tom

Superbowl Sunday is all about the Giants kicking ass... In particular, Eli Manning going America all over Tom Brady's ass. Lets be honest, that face + Peyton Manning as your brother: who is not wanting to have sex with you?

You can take your perfect 18-0 season New England, and stick it in the mail with Tom Brady's child support payments. I guess ditching your absolutely gorgeous girlfriend (after knocking her up), then trading her in for another hottie is okay in world of professional sports,. But back in the land of the sane, we like our ridiculously good-looking people one at a time. Sidenote: There's a nasty rumor going around that if the Patriots win numero 42, Tom will propose to his girlfriend and Victoria's Secret supermodel, Gisele B. An engagement ring for a Superbowl ring; marriage in exchange for a shiny trophy. Ain't America grand?

In honor of the inevitable NY Giants win, I'm playlisting it up. Rooting for the underdog has never done me wrong. Except with the Seahawks, and the Sonics, and well, every Seattle sports team. Maybe I just learned that sentiment from Mighty Ducks 1-3. What the hell - television, reality, its all the same these days.

Queen - We Are the Champions

Ace Frehley - New York Groove

DeVotchKa - The Winner Is

Ryan Adams - New York, New York

Jay-Z - ROC Boys (And the Winner Is...)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Yeah! New York

Van Halen - Panama

Kanye West - Champion

Hells yeah Giants!

A Little Birthday Spesh

One of the most amazing people on campus is turning the big 21 on Monday and tonight we're celebrating in her honor! Yay Veronica you're 21; this mixtape is for you!

The Shapes - Birthday Song

Josh Ritter - Come and Find Me

The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1

Arctic Monkeys - The Bakery (Live & Acoustic on MPR)

The Beatles - Birthday

Bishop Allen - Click Click Click Click

Regina Spektor - On the Radio

Stereophonics - Have a Nice Day

Curtis Mayfield - Move on Up

Hot Chip nails Sexual Healing

Okay so I've heard my share of amazing covers, but when I found Hot Chip's rendition of Marvin Gaye's classic "Sexual Healing" I just knew I had to share it! With the release of Made in the Dark coming up on Tuesday (Its satisfyingly delicious btw) 2/4, it's only right to plug this amazingly zany group. Right now I can't get enough of new tracks "Shake a Fist," "Wrestlers," and the inspiration for the album title, "Made in the Dark."(Absolute favorite)


Since we fell apart I've been nothing but blue
Longing for a night-time to bring back my youth
Every night in motion, together, apart
Apart from the moments so dear to my heart

We were made in the dark
We were made in the dark
We were made in the dark
We were made in the dark

Since I stole this song we have made a new start
My premonition hits hard as our start is apart
Every night the motion must be fixed by glue
But babe, be careful, what's fixed as one breaks in two

We were made in the dark
We were made in the dark
We were made in the dark
We were made in the dark

Hot Chip - Made in the Dark

Hot Chip - Shake a Fist

Hot Chip - Sexual Healing

Its a Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend is currently the most buzzed about band in the blogosphere, and appropriately so. The quartet of Ivy-educated New Yorkers owe most of their fame to the mp3 blog phenomenon - especially to the amazing website Stereogum, which has given many an up and comer a powerful debut. I guess even rockers can go to Columbia now, sport pastel sweaters, and the kind of clean shaven, do-gooder look that suggests they might be more prepared to do my taxes than take the stage.

Lucky for Ezra, Rostam (really?), Chris B., and Chris T. their time in the spotlight doesn't seem to be fading quickly. Their self-titled debut album (please buy, its so good) has been a major success, earning "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" a number 67 spot on Rolling Stone's 100 best songs of 2007. Personally I can't get enough of "Campus," "M79," and "A-Punk," but I'll let you decide what you think these self-professed "Upper West Side Soweto" sound-makers have to offer. PS. I find them attractive, if that helps. But I mean, whats new?

Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

Vampire Weekend - Campus

Vampire Weekend - A-Punk

Vampire Weekend - A-Punk (Live on WXPN)

Yummy.

Satan's Gift to Me: Sadly, Not Metallica

Apparently Jesus forgot about me these last two weeks, and instead Lucifer has decided to make himself my new best friend. And what do BFFs do? Thats right, buy each others' love! Except evil's idea of a "welcome to the friendship" gift is more like a trip to the DMV or a root canal. For me on this joyous occasion, I got a wonderous computer virus. A completely debilitating virus calling itself Worm.Winsky.Net.32 and successfully annoying me into Sylvia Plath-like tendencies.

Daft Punk - Technologic

Internet has been sparce, but I am finally back online with an interum computer. Its an amazing substitute until the priest they have on staff over at Dell is able to exorcise all evil from my previous piece of machinary. Don't pull a Linda Blair on me Inspiron 600m. I'm so behind and have so much music to share/review/dismiss, but since there can only be one Lois Lane super-reporter (and sadly only one Clark Kent), I'll try and get my stories out as time permits.

Before I left for school I was watching the free premium channels with crazy ass movies like London, starring Chris Evans, Jessica Biel, and husband numero tres, Jason Statham. Someone was doing a lot of drugs when they wrote this; I can tell because if I was forced to watch it again I would clearly have to be under the influence of something to make it through. Basically it was a lot of existential bullshit, characters doing braindead amounts of coke, and a completely depressing and might I add, unrealistic view of relationships. The one bright spot was the use of The Perishers "Nothing Like You and I" (from the 2003 album, Let There Be Morning) in a particularly "pivotal" scene. I forgot for about ten seconds how much I love this song; how eerily it makes me excited to have my heart broken from the kind of all-out relationship that leaves one or both parties destroyed.

The Perishers - Nothing Like You and I

This past weekend I chick-flicked it up with the girls and saw 27 Dresses. Say what you want Rolling Stone (and every critic out there), I loved this movie. I think I was laughing 65% of the time, while the remainder of the film was spent worthwhile-y oogling James Marsden and the most gorgeous smile I've ever seen. Music selection was interesting to say the least - somehow incorporating Elton John's "Bennie and the Jets" (in the best scene of the movie, hands down), with Chaka Khan, Bloc Party, Common (ft. Lily Allen), Justice, The Turtles, and many more.

I mean, how gorgeous is he?

Elton John - Bennie and the Jets

Common ft. Lily Allen - Drivin' Me Wild

Chaka Khan - Love Has Fallen on Me

Bloc Party - So Here We Are

Pray for my computer, its in someone's hands. Not mine. And there is a good possibility that 13,456 songs will be deleted in order to restore the registry keys. Can you understand now why Lucifer should never be your Secret Santa? I still have hope though. And what puts me in a more optimistic mood than The Kinks? I'm not sure, Lola asked me to Come Dancing...

The Kinks - Catch Me Now I'm Falling

Peace love and records

Marriage Proposal # 137: James Mercer

The Shins were all over the critic's best lists this year - and rightly so. Wincing the Night Away was top notch indie pop. Lead singer James Mercer has been on my radar for a long time now. Oh, Inverted World is amazing, but it wasn't until I heard the beautiful vocals of "Pink Bullets" (off 2003's Chutes Too Narrow) that I was truly hooked. Zach Braff really put the band on the map by including Shins tracks "Caring is Creepy" and "New Slang" on the infamous indie soundtrack to his film, Garden State. They couldn't have been more appropriately poignant in the soul-searching story.

Despite a slew of amazing credentials, my favorite Mercer showcase to date was his 2004 in-studio performance on Portland's radio show "Station to Station." Not only is he unbelievably kind and personable, but his vocals sound even more amazing live and stripped. I know its my 137th proposal to date, but James Mercer, will you marry me?

James Mercer - Caring is Creepy (Live on Station to Station)

James Mercer - Young Pilgrims (Live on Station to Station)

James Mercer - Pink Bullets (Live on Station to Station)

My Desktop Wallpaper (James is the joyous one, second from left)

PS. I just bought my tix for The Virgins show at the Glass House in Pomona. March 8 can't come soon enough! My devious plan to meet the band includes dressing like a complete slut and hanging around their tour bus after the set with some sort of alcoholic beverage or contraband. The Glass House is such a small venue that artists kick it right outside afterwards. Maybe if I flash one of them they'll grace me with a pic or short interview. I have no reservations in that case.

Speaking of concerts I would like to extend an invitation to anyone in SoCal this semester - there are so many amazing bands coming to the GH. Rogue Wave will take the stage tomorrow and The Blakes on Thursday (crying because I can't go), but I'm looking for peeps who might want to see Pinback (Thursday, Feb 7), Nada Surf (Friday, March 21), Built to Spill (Saturday, March 22), or Tokyo Police Club (Tuesday, March 25). All shows are very reasonably priced and should be amazing!

Check out the full schedule and tix information HERE

Music Collects Social Security Too

I've spent the last week pissed at Disney for three reasons. 1.) Their DVD "Vault"; from which they decide to periodically take movies "out of" and make them available to the general public for sale. Bullshit, Disney. If I want to see clocks and candlesticks serve dinner while singing I should be able to go drop the ridiculous 30 dollars you charge for Beauty and the Beast. I don't get to see Jerry Orbach on Law and Order anymore, and his animation voice over credits are limited to one film - one film you refuse to sell me. 2.) Hannah Montana. NO ONE is worth $15,000/ticket live. 3.) I forget because I'm currently too pissed about the first two. But whatever it is, it was legit.

Beauty and the Beast - Be Our Guest

Disney's method of moving movies in and out of retirement is apparently a staple of the music industry as well. I was unaware that records could collect SS, move to Florida, and stock up on prunes. So I was definitely surprised when KEXP announced they were only offering their third live-in-studio album until December 31, 2007.

Luckily I bought my copy a few weeks before, but I was bummed to hear other people wouldn't have the opportunity to hear these excellent live recordings from artisits like Peter Bjorn and John, Beirut, The Shins, and Billy Bragg because of retirement. KEXP is a non-profit organization however, so the move makes sense. Check out their website if you get a chance to hear streaming feeds of exclusive in-studio performances. Or on itunes, they offer upwards of five different podcasts which dole out free songs and videos on a daily basis. (Amazing). Heres a little sample of the now-retired record. I hope it has a condo with a view.

Hot Chip - And I Was a Boy from School (Live in Studio)

The Shackeltons - Your Movement (Live in Studio)

Peter Bjorn and John - Young Folks (Live in Studio)

The Long Winters - Pushover (Live in Studio)

It's time for some new movie alerts! The fabulous Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars, Heroes) stars in the new comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall which, if I'm not mistaken is another Judd Apatow production the likes of Knocked Up and 40 Yr. Old Virgin. It also stars the loveable Jason Segel (Freaks and Geeks), Mila Kunis, Jonah Hill, and of course, Paul Rudd. Looks like another slightly shallow laugh out loud comedy. Loves it.



Next is the haunting drama Paranoid Park from award-winning director Gus Van Sant.



The dark comedy He Was a Quiet Man starring Christan Slader, Elisha Cuthbert, and William H. Macy.



Woody Allen's newest - Cassandra's Dream



And last but not least the motherfing Dark Knight Trailer! July 18 baby!!



Peace Love and Records.