Daily Variety

I'll try to get up a couple of real posts sometime this weekend, but here's some links I've collected over the last few days.

-Stream Young Jeezy "White Girl"

-Stream Mark Ronson "Stop Me"

-stream Diddy "I Am" remix with Lil Wayne

-Redman on Rap City

-CocoRosie "Rainbowarriors"

-Black Milk interview from Suicide Girls

-Michael Showalter & Paul Rudd recreate that Huckabee's thing

-Thora Birch's dad is mad creepy

Peanuts and Corn mc John Smith recently released a new mixtape called The Double Bacon Genius Burger: Smithtape 2. It features a handful of tracks from last year's slept on album Growing Pains, including the awesomely great single Any Time, as well as brand new tracks and some that you've already heard some other rappers spitting on. Take a listen to John Smith over some TI and Nas.

John Smith "Whatuknowaboutrap"
John Smith "Black Cavalier"

New Music Highlights 3/27

It's not quite as good as last Tuesday, but there is still a decent selection of releases today, including a few big name hip hop acts and many indie rock releases that the hipsters will eat up. Most of these are only about ten bucks at Amazon, so buy them quick before the price jumps up.

Mims - Music Is My Savior
-stream "It's Alright"
-stream the entire album

Redman - Red Gone Wild: Thee Album
-stream "Put It Down"
-stream the entire album

Lil Flip - I Need Mine
-stream "Bust A Clip"
-stream the entire album

Tha Dogg Pound - Dog Chitt
-stream four tracks

Thes One - Lifestyle Marketing
-stream "Target"

The Kaiser Chiefs - Yours Truly Angry Mob
-stream the entire album

The Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future
-stream the entire album

Mika - Life In Cartoon Motiontar
-download "Relax"
-stream the entire album

DVD Picks, 3/27

Children of Men
This was probably my favorite film released in 2006. It is a true must see and an instant dystopic sci-fi classic.


Color Me Kubrick
I haven't seen this one yet, but it's Kubrick related, so it makes the cut. The film tells the story of a conman who passes himself off as reclusive director Stanley Kubrick during the later years of the director's life. The film was directed by Brian W. Cook, who was Stanley Kubrick's AD on Eyes Wide Shut, Barry Lyndon, and The Shining.

Buck 65

Here's what I believe is going to be the cover for Buck 65's upcoming album Situation. Don't expect to hear it anytime soon though. It's not expected to be out until the fall.

Also here's a video of Buck 65 performing "The Centaur" at SXSW with Sage Francis

15 Favorite Songs of the Week #3

Some of these songs are off of albums that were released this past Tuesday. Other songs made their first appearance on the internet during the past week. And some of them have been around for a little while longer, but I just got around to hearing them. Here's my favorite songs from the 3rd week of March.

1.The Archives "Sleep Driving"
2.Devin The Dude "Broccoli and Cheese"
3.El-P "The League of Extraordinary Nobodies"
4.Evidence "Line of Scrimmage" (with Slug)
5.J Dilla "Wild"
6.Je Suis France "That Don't Work That Well For Us"
7.John Smith "Buried In Snow"
8.Lil Wayne "This Is Why I'm Hot"
9.Mike Jones "My 6-4" (with Bun B & Snoop Dogg)
10.Panda Bear "Comfy In Nautica"
11.The Book of Knots "Pray" (with Tom Waits)
12.The National "Fake Empire"
13.Timbaland "Time" (with She Wants Revenge)
14.Wynton Marsalis "Where Y'all At"
15.Z-Trip "Mass Hysteria" (with Lateef & Chali 2Na)

Sunday Reading

It's a shame that I didn't find out until this week about Michael Chabon's serialized novel Gentlemen of the Road. Each Sunday, the New York Times Magazine features a chapter of Chabon's novel. They are currently up to chapter nine. They also have an audio recording of Chabon reading the first chapter.

Also from the Times: Patton Oswalt on guns and yoga

Bill Callahan "Sycamore"
Here's a track from Bill Callahan's (aka Smog) upcoming release on Drag City, Woke On a Whaleheart.

Daily Variety

-Pharoahe Monch interview from Suicide Girls

-White Stripes Icky Thump info & tracklisting

-Blitzen Trapper cover Heart's Crazy On You

-Random Rules: Pos

-Amy Winehouse's tour rider

-Jean Grae interview

-Feist "Sea Lion Woman" unofficial video

-Stream two songs from Boom Bip's Sacchrilege ep

-Stream Talib Kweli & Jean Grae "Say Something"

-Office stars' movie projects

-view the first episode of Showtime's This American Life

Here's the cover for Bjork's Volta, which will be in stores May 8th.

New Omar t-shirt available at Turntable Lab. Designed by those dudes at Crossfaded Bacon.

J Dilla "The $" (Madlib remix)
This track is from Stones Throw's Hella International 3-12" box set, which will be exclusively sold at the label's set during the Winter Music Conference in Miami this Friday. Limited quantities will be sold online afterwards.

New Z-Trip

DJ Z-Trip "Mass Hysteria" (featuring Chali 2Na & Lateef)
Here's a new joint from Z-Trip's upcoming mixtape Ahead of the Curve, which is probably dropping in May.

New Music Highlights 3/20

Today is one of the better release days of the year thus far. A few good hip hop releases and a handful of major indies come out today.

El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead
-download "Smithereens (Stop Crying)"
-stream four songs
-watch "Smithereens" and "Flyentology" videos

Devin The Dude - Waiting To Inhale
-stream "What A Job"

Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
-stream the entire album at aol or myspace
-watch "Dashboard" video

J Dilla - Ruff Draft
-stream "Wild"

Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
-download "Heretics"

Panda Bear - Person Pitch
-download "Comfy In Nautica"
-watch "Bros" video

Low - Drums and Guns
-download "Breaker"

Evidence - Weatherman LP
-stream "Mr. Slow Flow" and "Hot and Cold"
-watch "Mr. Slow Flow" video

Willowz - Chautauqua
-download "Evil Son"

Vandaveer - Grace & Speed
-download "However Many Takes It Takes"

Land of Talk - Applause Cheer Boo Hiss
-stream the entire album

The Red Krayola - Soldier Talk
-download "Discipline"

The Ponys - Turn The Lights Out
-download "Poser Psychotic" & "Double Vision"

King Kong - Buncha Beans
-download "Bulldozers"

Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid - Tongues
-stream "The Sun Never Sets," "Brain," and "Our Time"

Daily Variety

-Village Voice on El-P

-Bjork speaks on Timbaland

-New Iron and Wine live mp3s

-Tom Waits: Jesuit Role Model

-The Ponys on Daytrotter

-Voxtrot "Kid Gloves"

-Elliott Smith's live Beatles covers

-Modest Mouse tour dates

-Chris Rock on this past weekend's SNL

-David Carradine interview from Suicide Girls

-TV Show Opening Credits That Fit Their Show Perfectly from the AV Club

15 Favorite Songs of the Week #2

Some of these songs are off of albums that were released this past Tuesday. Other songs made their first appearance on the internet during the past week. And some of them have been around for a little while longer, but I just got around to hearing them. Here's my favorite songs from the 2nd week of March.

1.Black Milk "Say Something" (with Nametag & Slim SDH)
2.Boom Bip "Coogi Sweater" (with Ali Lee)
3.Bullet Tooth Tony "Fresh Daily" (with Cool Calm Pete)
4.Cilvaringz "Weeping Tiger" (with Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, & RZA)
5.David Banner "K.O."
6.Domingo "Fuck You Mean" (with PackFM, Slug, & Brother Ali)
7.Ghostface Killah "Chunky"
8.Harlem Shakes "Carpetbaggers"
9.Masta Ace "Play Hard"
10.Rich Boy "Boy Looka Here"
11.Rosie Thomas "The One I Love"
12.Sky Balla "California Soul" (with The Game)
13.Talib Kweli "Say Something" (with Jean Grae)
14.The Fratellis "Whistle"
15.Tum Tum "Caprice remix" (with E-40 & Rick Ross)

Daily Variety

-Pop Candy's favorite cover songs

-Win Butler of Arcade Fire interview from AV Club

-Devin The Dude interview from Complex Magazine

-El-P interview from Can I Bring My Gat

-RA The Rugged Man interview

-Preview video of Timbaland's Shock Value

-DJ Vadim "Kill Kill Kill" remix contest

-25 minute Grindhouse featurette

-The Savages trailer

-Alternate version/"freestyle" of Edan's Beauty from Grand Good

Stones Throw Podcast #19: Peanut Butter Wolf's Cover Me Badd is available now on itunes. The tracklisting is as follows:

1 - Cherlie "D"- Your Love Is Dead (LL Cool J)
2 - LL Mundy - You Had Love (LL Cool J)
3 - Nardo Ranks - Rump Shaker (Wrecks N Effect)
4 - Boys From The Bottom - Opp Spells HIV (Naughty By Nature)
5 - He Ghetto Girlz - My Man's Playin'Tricks On Me (Geto Boys)
6 - April B - A Fly Girl (Boogie Boys)
7 - Baron Zen - The Right Stuff (NKOTB)
8 - Finger Five - I Wnt You Back (Jackson Five)
9 - Bobby Jimmy - Roaches (Timex Social Club)
10 - Chocolate "Milk" Mama - The Rain (Oran "Juice Jones"
11 - Dancin Express - Another One Bites The Dust (Queen)
12 - Brooklyn Express - TBE (Kraftwerk)
13 - Barron Knights - Another Brick In The Wall (Pink Floyd)
14 - Los Rivales - Creas Que Soy Sexy ( Rod Stewart)
15 - Minipop Kids - Cruel Summer (Bananarama)
16 - Trans Lux - Big Apple Noise (Herbie Hancock)
17 - Country Mike - Country Delight (Sugarhill Gang)
18 - Frederick Knight - Let Me Ring Your Bell Again (Anita Ward)
19 - Icey - It Takes A Real Man (Rob Base)
20 - Sissy Penis Factory - Everybody Fuck Now (C&C Music Factory)
21 - PB Wolf - Louie, Louie (Kingsmen)
22 - Future Flash - Erotic City (Prince)
23 - ? - White Horse (Laid Back)
24 - 2 Live Crew - One And One (The Kinks)
25 - Fila Fresh Crew - Drink It Up (Isley Brothers)
26 - The Mistress - I Got Your Wild Thing (Tone Loc)
27 - L S Fresh - You Can't Get No Pussy (2 Live Crew)
28 - Sally - I'm That Girl (Gucci Crew)
29 - Pretty Girls - Gucci, You're Throug (Gucci Crew)
30 - Bobby Jimmy - Cubic Zirconium Girl (Nice N Wild)
31 - Countdown Mix Masters - Disco Nights (GQ)
32 - PB Wolf - Every Breath You Take (The Police)
33 - PB Wolf - Welcome To The Jungle (GNR)

Daily Variety

-Brother Ali interview from Format Magazine

-Black Milk & Pharoahe Monch "Let's Go" live video

-Black Milk & Guilty Simpson "Sound The Alarm" live video

-Lily Allen "Smile" (Mark Ronson DC remix featuring Wale)

-Andrew Bird interview from AV Club

-Oscar Nunez interview from Suicide Girls

-Spin.com book club discuss Denis Johnson's Jesus's Son

-Stream some tracks from Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip

DVD Picks, 3/13

Casino Royale
Casino Royale ended any speculation about Daniel Craig being a suitable James Bond. I've yet to see this film, but it got really really good reviews, and not just for a Bond film. Some critics put it in their top ten lists. My expectations have been set high, so I hope I'm not let down.


Harsh Times
Christian Bale is one of the finest actors of his generation. However, this movie is completely average besides Bale's performance. Still recommended viewing.


Also:
Shortbus
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles season 4
The Ed Wood Collection: A Salute to Incompetence
Hubert Selby Jr: It'll Be Better Tomorrow

Daily Variety

-Amy Winehouse "Rehab (Desert Eagle remix)"

-Stream Amy Winehouse Back To Black & The Fratellis Costello Music

-Rugged Intellect & Ras Kass "Next Dose" video (produced by Domingo)

-Memphis Bleek "Alright (Ratatat remix)" at Music For Robots

-Patti Smith "Gimme Shelter" from Pitchfork

-Stream Eightball & MJG "Crusin" with Slim of 112 & Three 6 Mafia

-Cover songs that are better than the originals from the AV Club

-The Office: A Documentary by Ken Burns

Aesop Rock

Aesop Rock has recently contributed his mix to the Nike Original Run series. All Day: Nike + Original Run is 45 minutes that Aesop Rock describes as "if the runner were moving through a set of differing cities or landscapes." I'm planning on trying this out for it's intended purpose when I get my hands on a copy.

Preview: snippet one, snippet two
Aesop Rock's All Day: Nike + Original Run on iTunes

Joey Beats on Rhythm Incursions

Rhode Island based hip hop producer Joey Beats was the guest host of this past Saturday's edition of Rhythm Incursions. Listen to the show here or here. The playlist is listed below:

Joe Beats - Don’t Front, I’m Yo Trophy (00:00)
Introductions (04:34)
J. Medeiros - Constance (Joe Beats Remix) Instrumental (05:11)
M. Ward - Sad, Sad Song (Joe Beats Remix) (07:02)
Joe Beats - Supercult Mansion (09:08)
Joe Beats & Blak - Kiss Of Life (10:59)
Belle, Sebastian & Signify - Spaceboy Dream (Joe Beats Remix) (13:41)
Cunninlynguists - Hellfire (Joe Beats Remix) (16:13)
Los Angeles Negros - Tanto Adios (19:43)
Gary Young - Interlude (20:47)
Herbie & The Royalists - Flowers (21:17)
Dana Gillespie - Dead (24:59)
Wool - Love, Love, Love (27:57)
Anonjondoe - Get Help (Rough) (30:38)
Anonjondoe - Sick With It (Instrumental) (33:26)
Sev Statik - I Love You Anyway (35:37)
Intermission (37:46)
Non-Prophets - Mainstream 307 (Instrumental) (38:58)
Non-Prophets - Any Port (Instrumental) (40:49)
Joe Beats - Confessions Of A Trump Card (42:27)
Joe Beats - Hook Redux (Instrumental) (Limited) (43:41)
Non-Prophets - New Word Order (Instrumental) (45:13)
Non-Prophets - Tolerance Level (Instrumental) (46:36)
Joe Beats - Alone (unreleased) (47:55)
Joe Beats - Son Come Down (Instrumental) (49:42)
Joe Beats - Contingency Plans (Instrumental) (51:13)
Outro (53:06)
Joe Beats - Fade (54:00)

El-P North American Tour Dates

Here's the confirmed dates for El-P's I'll Tour Til You're Dead tour. The shows feature Mr. Dibbs, The Mighty Quin, and perhaps other guests. The tour also includes a bunch of European dates in April, and should also include a Chicago show that hasn't been scheduled yet.

March 22 - New York
March 25 - San Francisco
March 26 - Los Angeles
April 27 - Los Angeles
May 1 - Boston
May 2 - Montreal
May 3 - Toronto
May 4 - Cleveland
May 5 - Columbus
May 7 - Cincinnati
May 11 - Denver
May 12 - Salt Lake City
May 14 - Seattle
May 15 - Vancouver
May 16 - Portland
May 18 - San Francisco
May 24 - Albuquerque
May 27 - Austin
May 28 - Houston
May 30 - New Orleans
June 8 - Washington
June 20 - Gainesville

Weekend Variety

-Talib Kweli's Biggie tribute on Rap City

-The Teenagers "Starlett Johannson"

-R2D2 mailboxes

-Gap commercial starring Patrick Wilson & Claire Danes, directed by Little Miss Sunshine's Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton

-Stream some tracks from Death Proof soundtrack

-New pics from Wes Anderson's Darjeeling Limited

-Black Milk interview from The Smoking Section

-Stream Mike Jones "Like What I Got"

-NY Times on indie rock guitar heroines

15 Favorite Songs of the Week

Here's a new feature that I would like to start doing every weekend: a mix with my favorite songs that I first heard during the past week. Some of these may have been around a bit longer than that, but they were added to my hd some time last week. Here's my favorite songs from the 1st week of March.

1.Beanie Siegel "Return of the Bad Guy"
2.Bright Eyes "No One Would Riot For Less"
3.Brother Reade "The Marcie Song"
4.Ciara "Promise (Ross Hogg Drumline Riddim remix)"
5.Devin The Dude "What A Job" (featuring Snoop Dogg & Andre 3000)
6.Jason Schwartzman "West Coast"
7.Kasper Hauser "King Pop"
8.Kinetic Stereokids "Cold and Tired"
9.Notorious BIG "Party and Bullshit (Ratatat remix)"
10.Panthers "Goblin City"
11.Ra Ra Riot "Each Year"
12.Redman "Gimme One"
13.Wilco "What Light"
14.Willy Mason "When The River Moves On"
15.Young Buck "Get Buck (DJ Kno remix)"

Unbelievable

Mick Boogie and Terry Urban have put together a sweet new Biggie mixtape Unbelievable, and they have made it available to download for free.

Joe Beats is the guest today on Resonance FM's Rhythm Incursions show at 4:30 pm eastern time. Tune in online.

Daily Variety (well, more like the last few days)

-Urb Podcast #5 is out with Busdriver, Lil Scrappy, Beatport

-El-P "The Overly Dramatic Truth" live at the PLUG Awards

-New Bright Eyes song "No One Would Riot For Less"

-Panda Bear "Bros" video

-Devin The Dude, Andre 3000, Snoop Dogg "What A Job" at Nah Right

-Zack Snyder interview from Suicide Girls

-25 Best Movie Posters from Premiere

-Rhymesayers gets distribution deal from Warner Bros

-Menomena "Wet and Rusting" video

Online Mixtape

The Race "Walls"
from Ice Station, available May 15th

Gowns "White Like Heaven"
from Red State, available March 27th

The WinterKids "Tape It"
from Memoirs, available March 12th

Daylight's For The Birds "To No One"
from Trouble Everywhere, available now

Cassette "Ladybug"
from Beautiful California, available now

Sage Francis

Here's the cover for Sage Francis's upcoming album Human The Death Dance, to be released on May 8th by Epitaph Records. Sage is also going on a forty date US tour with Buck 65, Alias, and Buddy Wakefield. Here are the dates that have been confirmed so far:

03/24 San Bernadino
05/23 Cambridge
05/25 New York
05/26 New York
06/02 Atlanta
06/06 New Orleans
06/08 Dallas
06/09 Austin
06/12 Tempe
06/13 Tucson
06/15 Los Angeles
06/16 Pomona
06/19 San Francisco
06/20 San Francisco
06/22 Portland
06/23 Seattle
06/24 Bellingham
06/25 Bend
06/26 St. Louis
06/27 Boise
06/28 Salt Lake City
06/29 Englewood
06/30 Englewood
07/06 Chicago
07/07 Chicago

My Favorite TV Comedies News

Michael Cera on NPR
This is the first part of Day To Day's series The Five Best Ideas in Television. This episode deals with online television, and Michael Cera discusses his deal with CBS's Innertube.

-10 Best Dwight Schrute Hidden Moments (from deleted scenes)
-It's Getting Hot In Here: Scranton Style
-B.J. Novak interview from The Improper Bostonian
-Rainn Wilson article from Parade
-some of these links were found at Office Tally

-Steve Coogan to appear on Curb Your Enthusiasm

Michael Showalter tour dates

Michael Showalter is going on the road next week, opening for Janeane Garofalo. The dates are as follows:

11-Mar-07 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of Living Arts
12-Mar-07 Baltimore, MD Ram's Head Live
13-Mar-07 Falls Church, VA State Theatre

DJ Shadow tour dates

Here's DJ Shadow's spring tour dates (via his Myspace page). It's basically all west coast shows and Bonnaroo.

Apr 23, 2007 Crystal Ballroom Portland, OR, USA
Apr 25, 2007 Empire Sacramento, CA, USA
Apr 26, 2007 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA, USA
Apr 27, 2007 Coachella Festival Indio, CA, USA
Apr 29, 2007 Ogden Theatre Denver, CO, USA
May 1, 2007 Depot Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Jun 15, 2007 Bonnaroo 2007 Manchester, TN, U.S.A.

Cool Calm Pete "Get With The Times"
I was relistening to the Definitive Swim comp yesterday, and I'm starting to think that this Cool Calm Pete joint is the hottest song on that album. So if you haven't checked it out yet, definitely peep this song.

New Ratat remixes

Ratatat recently posted a new remix to their website: Notorious BIG "Party and Bullshit (Ratatat remix)"
Also Gorilla vs. Bear has a bonus Ratatat remix: Slim Thug's Three Kings

Zach Galifianakis

With the recent release of his concert DVD Live at the Purple Onion, Zach Galifianakis has been all over the internet in the past couple of days.
-AV Club interview
-Zach on The Sound of Young America
-Dead Frog interview
-Zach's also hosting the Noise Pop Festival in Austin on March 16th

IODA at SXSW

IODA Promonet sent me this sampler that highlights the artists that will be featured at their Third Annual SXSW Opening Day Bash taking place Wednesday, March 14, from 1-6pm at Emo's Annex. It's free to all with no wrist bands needed. The artists featured are listed below.

The Foundry Field Recordings "Holding The Pilots/Holding The Facts"
Canada "Beige Stationwagon"
The Twilight Sad "Cold Days From The Birdhouse"
The Affair "Left At The Party"
Uncut "Out of Sight"
Honeycut "Shadows"
Apostle of Hustle "National Anthem of Nowhere"
The Black Angels "The Sniper At The Gates of Heaven"
Pigeon John "Growing Old"

Daily Variety

-Spiderman 3 sneak preview

-Random Rules with Chuck Klosterman

-AV Club Mixlist: Songs About Years

-50 Greatest New York Musicians from Time Out New York

-The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 200 Definitive Albums List

-Charlotte Gainsbourg "The Songs That We Sing" video

-Stream LCD Soundsystem "North American Scum" (Kris Menace remix)

Neil Young - Live At Massey Hall

On March 13th, Neil Young is set to release Live At Massey Hall, a cd/dvd set featuring a live set from Toronto on January 19, 1971. "This is the album that should have come out between "After The Gold Rush" and 'Harvest,'" Young says now. "David Briggs, my producer, was adamant that this should be the record, but I was very excited about the takes we got on "Harvest," and wanted "Harvest" out. David disagreed. As I listen to this today, I can see why."
View the trailer
video of Neil Young performing "Old Man"
video of Neil Young performing "The Needle & the Damage Done"

Ra Ra Riot

Ra Ra Riot "Each Year"
I'm always delighted to hear new music from bands from my home area of upstate New York (read: anywhere besides the city and LI), so it was nice to receive this new song from Syracuse's Ra Ra Riot. The band formed only one year ago when it's members were students at Syracuse University. Since then they have gone on to play a handful of critically acclaimed shows at last year's CMJ Music Marathon, and to record a self-titled ep, which will be released on March 13th. You can currently catch Ra Ra Riot on tour, as they make their way down to Texas for SXSW. Their tour dates are listed below.

3/10/07 – Murfreesboro, TB @ Casa Burrito
3/11/07 – Tulsa, OK @ Mooch and Burn
3/13/07 - Denton, TX @ Haileys+
3/14/07 - Houston, TX @ The Mink #
3/15/07 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s SXSW
3/15/07 – Austin, TX @ The Apple St. Bar
3/16/07 – Austin, TX @ Cedar St. Courtyard/Filter Party 1:15pm
3/21/07 – Syracuse, NY @ Schine Underground
3/22/07 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
3/23/07 – Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell’s
3/30/07 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East *
4/9/07 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge ^

^ w/Tokyo Police Club
* w/ Snowden
+/ W Cloud Cult
# w/ Dead Meadow
@ w/ The Pony's, Cloud Cult, The Lionheart Brothers, New Violaters,
and Data Rock
$ w/ Margot and the Nuclear So & So's and Birdmonster
~ w/ Architecture in Helsinki, Little Ones, Dappled Cities, Aqualung,
Money Mark, Panda band

Visit Ra Ra Riot's website and myspace page

Notorious BIG's Greatest Hits is in stores today. You're better off just getting Ready To Die and Life After Death, if you don't already have them. Here's some videos of songs that appear on Greatest Hits.

Juicy
Big Poppa
Hypnotize
One More Chance remix
Get Money
Warning
Dead Wrong remix
Notorious BIG
Nasty Girl

DVD Picks, 3/6

Borat
This was easily one of the funniest, although perhaps overhyped movies of the past year. I can imagine this movie becoming the new Napoleon Dynamite in that the movie was ruined for any long term repeat viewings by fans constantly quoting lines to death.


Fast Food Nation
The reasons that you should check out this film are 1)it was directed by Richard Linklater, and 2)it was written by and based on the nonfiction book by Eric Schlosser. However, once you watch it you'll find that it's at best a decent movie. If you're looking for the nitty gritty dirt of the fast food business you should just read Schlosser's book. Although, there a few scenes in this movie that are much more revealing than whatever your imagination could come up with from Schlosser's details, and those scenes will stick with you for a long time.


Let's Go To Prison
I wish I was writing praise for this movie here because I really wanted it to be good. The parts are all in place: directed by Bob Odenkirk, written by State alums Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon, and Michael Patrick Jann, and starring Will Arnett fresh off his role of GOB on Arrested Development. However, it just doesn't come together. The characters are for the most part likeable, but the story is weak and lacks laughs.


Revenge of the Nerds: Panty Raid Edition
This was one of my favorite movies as a kid. I'm not quite sure why I was allowed to watch this film since it features plenty of boobs and beer as well as a little bit of pot and "hair pie," as Booger would call it. Anyhow, this is a cult classic, and in my opinion, one of the better comedies to come out of the eighties.


Zach Galifianakis: Live At The Purple Onion
I haven't seen this one yet, but I'm guessing that if you like Zach G, then you'll probably like this.

Daily Variety

-Wilco "What Light" from Sky Blue Sky

-Califone "Three Legged Animals" video

-Download full Dosh live sets (click on Discography/MP3s)

-Scott Storch & Nox "Built Like Dat" video

-Screaming Masterpiece trailer (Icelandic rock doc w/ Bjork, Sigur Ros, Mum)

-Nas tour dates

-Zach Galifianakis interview from Suicide Girls

-Top 25 Crimes of the Century from Time Magazine

Kasper Hauser

Kasper Hauser "Fossil"
Kasper Hauser "King Pop"
It's often hard for a small band to get noticed. It usually takes me several weeks to get around to listening to songs from bands that I've never heard of that send me emails. However, midwestern band Kasper Hauser's music got to my ears quicker than usual. You might ask how, and the answer is simple: I liked the band's name. When I saw the words Kasper Hauser in the subject line of the email, I immediately thought of Werner Herzog and decided to give it a go. And it was surprisingly good. I recommend checking it out if you dig on some Rolling Stones or Kinks tunes.

For more info visit: Kasper Hauser, myspace page,

Weekend Variety

-NME previews 3 tracks from The White Stripes Icky Thump

-Ego Trip's Sacha Jenkins interview from Philaflava

-Beanie Siegel "Return of the Bad Guy" video

-Some new Beck remixes at Silence Is A Rhythm Too

-Stream Slim Thug "Problem Wit That"

-The Roots tribute to U2 at NAACP Image Awards

-Ira Glass interview from NY Times Magazine

-Mo Rocca's new blog

New Wilco streaming

Wilco is offering a stream of their new album Sky Blue Sky for one night only, starting tonight at 10pm central time.

Daily Variety

-Young Buck with 50 Cent "Hold On" video

-Nas, Kanye West, Rakim, KRS-One "Classic" video

-LCD Soundsystem "North American Scum" video

-Stream Notorious BIG "Runnin Your Mouth" with Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Fabolous, Busta Rhymes

-Stream Lil Flip "Bust A Clip"

-Cracked interview with Michael Showalter

-RA The Rugged Man interviews Crispin Glover at Mass Appeal

-Chuck Klosterman on Gilbert Arenas from NY Times

Gawdbless with Sean Price "Change of the Guard"
from Gawdbless's upcoming album Frontline Killers The Street Album Vol 1. Produced by Preme Diesel.

Online Mixtape

Chris Garneau "Between The Bars"
from Music For Tourists, available now

The Morning Pages "With The Lord"
from The Company You Keep, available now

Blonde Redhead "23"
from 23, available April 10th

Swati "2 O'Clock In The AM"
from Small Gods, available April 17th

Nicole Atkins "The Way It Is"
from Neptune City, available June 26th

EV Records presents Everything

Chicago based hip hop label EV Records recently released the compilation album EV Records presents Everything. The album features both artists from the label as well as others from the Chicago hip hop scene.

-stream EV Records presents Everything
-Modill "City Bus"
-Pace Won "Here We Go"
-One Be Lo & Longshot "Learn"
-Ang 13 "Ain't Goin Down"

Daily Variety

-Juelz Santana and Lil Wayne "Black Republicans" video

-Black Milk "Sound The Alarm" video

-Swizz Beatz "It's Me Snitches" video

-Chamillionaire "Not A Criminal remix" with Snoop Dogg & Busta Rhymes

-SXSW hip hop schedule

-RA The Rugged Man interview from Art of Rhyme

-Sage Francis Human The Death Dance album teaser video

-Dre Day 2007 stickers

-New White Stripes album = Icky Thump

-David Lynch video interview with Greencine

-Download Eraserhead soundtrack

-Background media from Children of Men

-Least Anticipated Films of 2007 from MSNBC

-20 Worst Post Oscar Career Choices from Premiere

-Grindhouse: Werewolf Women of the SS pics

Grind Time Rap Gang

Download Grind Time Rap Gang Skulls & Roses
This free mixtape is courtesy of grindtimeofficial.com. I'm about two weeks late on this one, but it's still worth a look if you haven't heard it yet.

Scion keeps dropping that good hip hop. Here's Big Daddy Kane & Percee P vs. Connie Price & the Keystones. The playlist features the songs International Hustler and Give A Demonstration Part 2. The hot artwork was done by Kofie.

Beck has recently released the deluxe edition of The Information. This new deluxe edition is a three disc affair. The first disc features all tracks from the original as well as three bonus tracks (Inside Out, O Menina, This Girl That I Know) that were featured on some international version's of last year's release. The second disc features brand new remixes by Ellen Alien, Bumblebeez, David Sitek, The Chap, Jamie Lidell, and Ricardo Villalobos. The third disc is a DVD featuring the original homemade videos for the album's fifteen tracks, plus two homemade videos for Inside Out and This Girl That I Know, as well as the professionally made videos for Cellphone's Dead and Nausea.

The twenty dollar price isn't too bad for this type of thing, but I would still only expect Beck completists and folks who haven't picked up the original yet to buy this. I've been thinking about buying this, but I've recently heard some bad reviews of the packaging. A reviewer on Amazon said:

"The outer box is really flimsy cardboard; it's difficult to open and I put a crease in my copy on the very first opening. This packaging is designed to fall to pieces, which makes the sticker aspect even more comical, like I'm really going to mess with this stuff. The two cds and one expanded dvd are all in cardboard slip cases, and the cases are sized wrong, it's really hard to even get the disks out of the covers!...Mr. Hansen recently mentioned on NPR that doing this kind of packaging should make the album interesting and attractive to obtain rather than just downloading the music. I don't think this album's packaging succeeds in achieving this goal."

The blog I Usually Don't Impose posted some pics of the packaging. Although, it does look cheap, it still does look pretty cool.

The best reason to buy this is for the new music, some of which is actually pretty damn good. Here's a fifteen minute remix of Cellphone's Dead to check out: "Cellphone's Dead (Ricardo Villalobos remix)"