Awesome Pig.

Homer may have his Spider Pig, but this little fella is way cooler.

Even I Find This News About Sufjan Intriguing

It appears Sufjan, Messiah of the Undead, has been commissioned by BAM to compose as piece for their Next Wave Festival this fall about the BQE. Ahhhh, lovely I-278. For ages it has brought poets and lovers to gather beneath its shadows in its awe and splendor.

Mashup: Vanilla Ice & WiiSports [Yes, Really]

DJ BC has a new mashup and it's as odd as it's brilliant.

Vanilla Ice (Play That Funky Music, Whiteboy) & The Wii Sports Theme [mp3]

I bet Vanilla Ice hasn't reached 2367 in Tennis though.

Free Shows: Rock Plaza Central, Bishop Allen, Siren Festival, Band of Horses, Ox Cal

Lots of free shows this weekend.

First off, my favorite series of the summer continues with Rock Plaza Central and Bishop Allen at South Street Seaport tonight. I've been liking RPC's album more and more since I saw them earlier this year [the Mercury Lounge show was *much* better than the Glasslands show].

Rock Plaza Central -My children, be joyful [mp3]

And look. Holy crap. Bishop Allen has a sophomore LP finally, and it's out July 24th. I still really really love this song, which also appeared on an earlier EP [one of the previous 12].

Bishop Allen - Butterfly Nets [mp3]

Next up: Siren Festival is Saturday. Matt & Kim - Voxtrot pairing is what I'll focus on. I love Elvis Perkins, but that'll be a lot of time in the sun.

Matt & Kim - Yeah Yeah [mp3]
Voxtrot - The Start of Something [mp3]
Elvis Perkins - While You Were Sleeping [mp3]

Finally, Sunday brings two of my favorites in tandem [hey, both are on Sub Pop] to McPool: Band of Horses [now with birdies], and Oxford Collapse.

Band of Horses - The Great Salt Lake [mp3]
Oxford Collapse - Lady Lawyers [mp3]

Soak up the sun, and look for me at these things.

After The Jump Initial Line-up

[AFTER THE JUMP FEST]

AUGUST 25, 2007
STUDIO B (259 BANKER STREET)
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK


RIOT IN BELGIUM * SOULICO * THE VIRGINS * RA RA RIOT * LOCKSLEY * APACHE BEAT * GOES CUBE * JUKEBOX THE GHOST * BLING KONG * FINGER ON THE PULSE (DJ SET) * DAVID BRUNO (SLAP YOU IN PUBLIC) (DJ SET) * AND MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED!

FREE DAY SHOW (OUTSIDE STUDIO B)
NIGHT SHOW TICKETS ON SALE SOON

ORGANIZED BY:

themusicslut . batteringroom . disconap . earfarm . ryspace . irockiroll . musicsnobbery . merryswankster . softcommunication . theunderratedblog . sitdownstandup . watercoolergossip . bumpershine . themodernage . productshopnyc . yetidontdance . slapyouinpublic . subinev . punkphoto . poptartssucktoasted . stereoactivenyc . fingeronthepulse

All proceeds from the festival will help fund grants written by New York music teachers for their classroom via the Bloggers Choose chapter of DonorsChoose.org. Please join us in making a great day of music and a significant contribution to music education in our city.

WEBSITES:
www.afterthejumpfest.com
www.myspace.com/afterthejumpfest

CONTACT INFORMATION:
booking@afterthejumpfest.com
charity@afterthejumpfest.com
sponsors@afterthejumpfest.com
publicity@afterthejumpfest.com

Audiofile RIP?

The brainchild of Thomas Bartlett, Audiofile at Salon is no more.David Marchese's last entry was Friday. The readership is crying out.

We've been examining our culture coverage, as well as our balance of blogs vs. stand-alone, reported features and criticism. We've decided to phase out Audiofile, our daily music feature, though you'll still find its extensive archive of free songs in our left navigation bar under "Special Features."

Visiting just now, I realized I hadn't yet downloaded Richard Hawley's new track. I love this guy:

Richard Hawley - I'm on Nights [mp3] Audiofile on Hawley.

Hopefully, Salon will resurrect the column soon.

"Damn, that's good wine."

I read a lot of news throughout the day, but this has to be my most favorite story in a while:

It started about midnight on June 16 when a group of friends was finishing a dinner of marinated steaks and jumbo shrimp on the back patio of a District of Columbia home. That's when a hooded man slid through an open gate and pointed a handgun at the head of a 14-year-old girl.

"Give me your money, or I'll start shooting," he said, according to D.C. police and witnesses.

Everyone froze, including the girl's parents. Then one guest spoke.

"We were just finishing dinner," Cristina "Cha Cha" Rowan, 43, told the man. "Why don't you have a glass of wine with us?"

The intruder had a sip of their Chateau Malescot St-Exupery and said, "Damn, that's good wine."

The girl's father, Michael Rabdau, 51, told the intruder to take the whole glass, and Rowan offered him the whole bottle.

The robber, with his hood down, took another sip and a bite of Camembert cheese. He put the gun in his sweatpants.

The story then turns even more bizarre.

"I think I may have come to the wrong house," he said before apologizing. "Can I get a hug?"

Rowan, who works at her children's school and lives in Falls Church, Va., stood up and wrapped her arms around the armed man. The four other guests followed.

"Can we have a group hug?" the man asked. The five adults complied.

The man walked away a few moments later with the crystal wine glass in hand. Nothing was stolen, and no one was hurt.

I agree, though: Chateau Malescot St-Exupery is one cuddly wuddly wine.

Disturbing, and yet...

This gets two votes for "Disturbing" [it's the classic lady punching another in the face] and one for hilarious [OMG the grandma is singing FRANZ!].



Story behind the smack.

"If you are already a musician, stop playing your instrument."

Nialler9 over at Elbo.ws posted this gem, an article from 1988 by the KLF. It's called, "The Manual: How To Have A Number One The Easy Way." At first [knowing the how threads usually go over at that forum] I figured it was about how to urinate with greater ease. Luckily, it wasn't. Rather, it's about how to have a chart-topping song like Avril Latrine. Hey, everybody, I.P. Freely!

Here's an excerpt:

If you are already a musician stop playing your instrument. Even better, sell the junk. It will become clearer later on but just take our word for it for the time being. Sitting around tinkering with the Portastudio or musical gear (either ancient or modern) just complicates and distracts you from the main objective. Even worse than being a musician is being a musician in a band.

All jokes aside, it's surprisingly truthful, and in the past 20 years nothing's changed. Read on.

Notes: OKX, Music Hall of Williamsburg, Recent Shows, Lunch

When I was playing with Amrit's new phone [you get one guess which one?] last Friday at the Fujiya & Miyagi show, I was testing it's iPod functionality [damn] and haphazardly selected a tune by David Bazan. Little did I know at the time, but it was actually a song commissioned by Stereogum for all-cover compilation of OK Computer to celebrate it's 10th Anniversary release. Well, the cover album is out and it's getting serious praise. Best of all: it's all free here, including some of my favorite artists like Bazan and Doveman. Too bad Radiohead SUCKS. *ducks*

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My picture also made Stereogum this week. It's not Gawker or Brooklyn Vegan or anything, but I'll take it.

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Fujiya & Miyagi were amazing at the Seaport on Friday. I'll definitely be at their Music Hall of Williamsburg show on September 28. Speaking of which. Their initial line up looks amazing. Les Savy Fav always rule, even with a free show this Saturday, I'll still try to go again this fall.

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Dan Deacon was great at MacCarren pool. Erase Errata and Octopus Project not as much. Bonde Do Role played Spiegeltent last night, and it wasn't a drunken frenzy like their Studio B show. The crowd was non into it - they were baffled, really- and it revealed how little depth Bonde Do Role has. They need a new cadence for their delivery.

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Spoon got Best New Baby Sounds today, just in time for their free River to River show tonight. Which means: yup, it's gunna rain... and right around 7:00.

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I didn't even know Tunng has a third album in the works, but apparently it has already leaked. My source -who wasn't a fan before- says it's actually pretty good. I hope so, since their second didn't do much for me.

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Today for lunch is:
Pesto Penne with Vegetable Soup

New Pornos in Rain | F&M, Octo Proj, Dan Deacon this Weekend

Picture Credit.

New Pornographers - My Rights Versus Yours [mp3]

For the second year in a row, rain has dampened the annual River to River Independence Day concert in Battery Park and somehow I managed to stay dry beneath a benevolent tree -but not the one Neko Case claimed to construct an eagle's nest in. While Belle & Sebastian brought Scottish charm last year, A.C. Newman brought even more from Canada leading his New Pornographers through a good mix of their four albums. "God Bless North America" - "... and Central and South," Neko added.

The best songs of the day were the oldies ["Testament To Youth in Verse" is always a favorite] but there were a few newer songs that were unmistakably theirs. The highlight was without a doubt -no great surprise here- "Bleeding Heart Show." It's good to have Neko back if only temporarily.

Midlake was... meh. They closed with "Roscoe", which is a pretty good tune, but -as their best tune- not very festive.

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Tonight the River to River events continue with Shearwater at Castle Clinton, but more importantly: Friday is Fujiya & Miyagi at South Street Seaport. That should be a blast.

Fujiya & Miyagi - Ankle Injuries [mp3]
Fujiya & Miyagi - Collarbone [mp3]


Also remember that Sunday is Octopus Project and Dan Deacon at MacCarren Pool [not associated with R2R].

Dan Deacon - The Crystal Cat [mp3] More.
Octopus Project - HMRA Sinnners[mp3] More.