My Year So Far in Music

2007 is reaching its halfway point in about a week, so like any good little Williamsburg blogger I've come up with my mid-year analysis of music. As of right now, I think LCD Soundsystem's Sound of Silver is my forerunner for both album of the year and song of the year (Someone Great). However, the rest are still kind of up in the air. Without further ado, my picks:

My top albums of the year, so far

Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
This album sounds like a continuous dance party to me, which is weird
considering how depressing/grim the lyrics are.

Gogol Bordello - Super Taranta
I felt like I was at some crazy Russian bar where everyone was drunk when I heard this for the first time. This band is nuts, but genius.

Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the Rings
I'm pretty sure Dan Deacon is completely insane, but this album is ridiculous. I can't believe the shit he does with a keyboard.

Battles - Mirrored
Quite an amazing debut album.

LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
I don't know what to call this album other than a masterpiece. I love it from beginning to end.

Honorable mention goes to Arcade Fire's Neon Bible. I really enjoyed it a lot, but for some reason can't say its one of my favorite albums of the year.

Top songs

Of Montreal - A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsviger
This song is pure joy. I'm a sucker for the xylophone.

The National - Mistaken for Strangers
Such a dark song, yet so catchy. Unusual.

The Klaxons - Golden Skans
I have no idea what the fuck a golden skan is, but it makes for a rockin' song.

Cut Copy - Hearts on Fire
Love the Cut Copy. This song makes me excited as shit for their follow-up to the amazing Bright Like Neon Love.

Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position
I think I might have listened to this song like 10 times a day for a week. I'm pretty sure he's talking about gay sex, which only makes it better.

LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great
I want to cry from the beauty of this song every time I hear it. A heartbreakingly great song about remembering a lover who has passed on.

Worst album

YACHT - I Believe in You. Your Magic is Real
Seriously, does anybody like his solo stuff except James Murphy? I saw him open for LCD and he was so annoying I wanted to cry.

Most overrated albums

Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Yeah, this album was okay. Does ripping off the Beach Boys really qualify you for album of the year though?

Deerhunter - Cryptograms
Don't get it. Sorry.



Alright, that's my story for now.

New Movies

And as much as i know this is gonna end up sucking I'm still intrigued. Of course if its even a 1/4 as bad as I Robot i might have to gouge my eyes out.

Just when you thought there couldn't possibly be one more zombie film. The funny part is that it still appeals to me.

What do you think?

Monday Morning

It's 11am on a Monday morning and I am sitting in my apartment enjoying "The Object of My Affection" should I...

A: kill myself

B: be thankful that I don't have to work on Mondays and can appreciate Paul Rudd and Jenifer Aniston pre friends collaboration.

At least its not Haliburton

I know for so many of you Sonic Youth is god, but this is lame as all hell. First off you guys couldn't find anyone else to release this project? And also why do I give a fuck what Sonic Youth song Michelle Williams or Portia De Rossi loves the most. No offense Portia, but I don't really care if your first lesbian experience had Teenage Riot as the soundtrack.

Seriously whats the deal with people that don't need money or fame selling out to Starbucks?

See: Paul McCartney.

Happy Fathers Day

I'm sure this guy didn't really do it.

But for all of the real fathers that are actually good guys out there Thanks.

Sweat Descends

Yeah I was one of the guys holding his ass up on that yellow tarp. get ready for the McCarren Park summer concert series coming soon.

Fashion Memo: Bar Mitzvah Sunglasses

My residence in Williamsburg, though great in many ways, exposes me to some of the worst fashion trends around. Today's rant concerns the recent explosion of cheap, neon plastic sunglasses in the area and city at large.

I call these glasses Bar Mitzvah sunglasses mainly because they were party favors at almost every bar/bat mitzvah I attended (Jew from Westchester here, so that's at least 40) in my youth. Now they were cute and fun for the 3 hours a group of 13 year olds wore them while doing the Electric Slide and playing Pepsi vs. Coke, BUT, I'm sorry to inform you they are not a viable fashion trend.

I could understand it if there weren't perfectly decent looking pharmacy sunglasses that, to be honest, aren't half bad in many cases. Yes, you're not going to find something as cool as a $150 pair of Ray Bans, but at least you won't look like someone who's desperately trying to be ironic and cool. You can practically feel these people's desperation to have someone comment on how funny they are for wearing bar mitzvah sunglasses or sweet they are for not "buying into" conventions of fashion.

Please, before you reach for this fashion faux-pas, can you ask yourself the following question: Is your accessory really ironic when there are 30 other hipsters sporting it in a five block radius?

Propaganda Alert

Is this movie really just a way to get us all to be alright with global warming?

Major climate change will be great. Look all the Penguins will have surfboards. Maybe they'll even say hilarious things too?

The New Tweed

and you thought LastFM was pretentious. Here it is for all the sophistactes too busy reading Pynchon to even know who Blonde Redhead is? Goodreads is the literay equivelant of LastFM and has already let Geiger prove to us all that he actually has read all those long books that most of just pretend to know.

I plan on starting a website called goodtoiletpaper.com where I let everyone know what fabric feels the best against my ass. Of course I would still have more dignity than bragging about all the 400 pages novels by Russian drunkards that I had read.

Did I mention that I am on the site though? oh and my favorite book is Less Than Zero so I guess that makes me the pretentious asshole (but you already knew that). Its actually quite embarassing, I dont even think that book hits the 250 page count.

art right?

Ashley Aldridge

Untitled Tarantino project signs Carlos D

Carlos D is now officially working 2 jobs. It appears as he has taken on the role of Padre' Alvarez in the new Tarantino flick.

Sources say his character is a simple priest in a small Mexican village, but When a band of ecstasy peddling Euro trash vampires take over the village as a trading post. Carlos must fight back armed with nothing but his faith and a jimmy rigged Crucifix crossbow.

picture via brooklynvegan

Well now I'll go.

Some will say it was inevitable. Some will say they cannot believe it has come to this. Others will be incredibly excited, and yet even more will look up to the sky not sure what to think. I for one have not made up my mind yet, but Its my duty as a serious journalist to inform you that some Scottish ballet will be using excerpts from a band some of you may know as Radiohead.

I personally was a huge fan of the Radiohead lullabies and would have my baby rocking in his Pampers diapers to knives out (y'know let him know from an early age about the depressing digital years where we as humans have lost our analog souls to the depravity of technology and an emerging electro-global economy or whatever the hell good O'll Yorke sings about)

Petronio whose ballet is entitled Ride the Beast describes so succinctly why he has decided to join the long list of artists that have used Radiohead just to make their art seem more deep, meaningful, and just over all better.

Radiohead's music is a brilliant investigation of achingly modern taste. They sail through genre and form effortlessly and passionately, and their music demands a physical response from me that by-passes reason.

On a side note Six Feet Under and Vanilla Sky both used Radiohead quite well.

Sharon Stone defies science.

Some people may think this is pornography, but it's more like the illustrated picture you see of the naked girl in your 10th grade biology text book. For someone going on 85 years old, Sharon Stone's breasts look amazing.

We won't discuss them being fake or not, as they obviously are, but for someone that's so old she could of assassinated Kennedy I think they're looking pretty good. I mean, this isn't something you pleasure yourself to, as much as look in amazement, like one of those photos of nature that just makes you stare in awe.

Remember When Steve Martin Used to Be Funny?

Me neither. This just in: the sequel we've all been waiting for is in the works, Pink Panther 2: Electric Bugaloo!

Yeah, that's not the real title. But seriously, it seems that a sequel to one of the worst movies ever made has been greenlit with cinelegend Harold Zwart (Agent Cody Banks, One Night at McCool's) at the directorial helm.

Apparently, the film has done roughly $160 million in business (and cost $80 mil). Translation: sequel = box office gold!

No word yet on whether Beyonce is reprising her truly awful attempt at the challenging role of international megastar singer, Xania.

Just When You Thought Polo Couldn't Be More Obnoxious

I bet you thought those Polos with the giant logo were annoying. Well, introducing the new Polo logo: colorfully gay polo athletes from the 19th century!

P.S. Black people wearing Polo? Gimme a break Ralph.


via Copyranter