The Anti-Anti Artist Spotlight: Snowden

Those of you who were lucky enough to obtain a copy of my two-disc Christmas mixtape last year may recognize today's featured band, Snowden from Atlanta. They've been getting some press lately, due to the fact that they've finally released their debut album Anti-Anti. Having been familiar with this band for almost a year now I can easily rattle off a bunch of bands that they kind of sound like, Joy Division, Interpol, Editors, to name a few. However Snowden differs from these bands in the sense that they create an almost ethereal ambience to their expertly crafted songs. Everything here is swirling in heavy reverb that comes across as omnious at points. The somewhat off-key vocals at first seem gimmicky and disposable, however after a few listens it quickly takes on an irresistable charm. The complex rhythms and catchy bass hooks all lend to Snowden's immediate appeal. Snowden sounds like some sort of whacked out, LSD-inspired lullaby, and they lend themselves to becoming one of the greatest night-driving bands of all time. Snowden is definitely one to watch. And now, since you've patiently waded through my incessant ramblings, some MP3s to download, because I know that's what you're really here for.

Snowden - Black Eyes
Snowden - Victim Card
Snowden - Anti-Anti
Snowden - Stop the Bleeding

Bonus! The Snowden track that appeared on my Christmas mixtape Vol. 2: White Christmas & one more that didn't make the cut: Christmas Time is Here

R.I.P. Steve "The Crocodile Hunter" Irwin

Today is a sad, sad day. Steve Irwin, the man who fearlessly confronted many dangerous animals while shouting "Crikey!" for our viewing enjoyment, has passed away. A stingray stabbed him in the heart while he was filming a television special off the coast of Austrailia. I think that this incident has solidified my belief that all stingrays are vicious, evil hellspawn that must be exterminated from this Earth with the same kind of stone cold vigilanty justice that resides in their black hearts. Today, in tribute to one of the most celebrated psuedo-celebrities, Kozma and I deliver to you, The Steve Irwin Tribute Mixtape complete with songs that reflect the love of nature and it's creatures that Steve possessed. We'll miss you Steve.

1. Radiohead - Packt like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box
2. Goldfrapp - Deer Stop
3. The Beatles - Blackbird
4. The Rolling Stones - Wild Horses
5. Alice In Chains - Rooster
6. Mogwai - Glasgow Megasnake
7. Grandaddy - Stray Dog & the Chocolate Shake
8. Rogue Wave - Bird on a Wire
9. Belle & Sebastian - Funny Little Frog
10. The Beatles - Rocky Raccoon
11. Dave Matthews Band - Ants Marching

This is for you Jefferson...I just wanna dance Vol. 2

Our good friend Jefferson, over at I Am A Real American (or maybe now it's Coming Soon to a Blog Near You, not too sure which one he's using nowadays), considered the fact that the first installment of the "I just wanna dance mixtape" lacked any Kylie Minogue (see above) was downright blasphemous, so in order to compensate I figured that instead of just posting some Kylie Minogue hotness, I'd come up with an entirely new mixtape. So all you faithful readers can thank him for this, and be sure to check out his little corner of the blog-o-sphere. Enjoy.

Kylie Minogue - In Your Eyes - this is the song that our old war buddy Jefferson originally requested however he incorrectly reffered to it as "Spinning Around". Surely Jeff, you jest, by requesting a song you don't even know the title to.
Bonus Kylie hotness: Can't Get You Outta My Head / Love At First Sight / Come Into My World / I Believe In You
Annie - Heartbeat - this song is incredibly catchy, it really is dance-pop bliss. I honestly can't get this song out of my head. Annie is a Norwegian pop princess for lack of a better phrase, and this song was included on her debut album Anniemal. Oh and it was one of the songs featured on my Singles Awareness (Valentines) Day mixtape, so you know it's a favorite of mine, which means that in the two seconds it will take you to download this song, it will become a favorite of yours as well.
Bonus Annie: Chewing Gum
Goldfrapp - Ohh La La - apparently Goldfrapp translates into "Our songs can sell anything" due to the fact that their catchy dance tunes are being used in every commercial from Coca-Cola to Verizon. Either way, there's no denying that these songs are fun and extremely danceable.
Bonus Goldfrapp: Lovely 2 C U / Number 1
Ratatat - Seventeen Years - anything put out by Ratatat is awesome, so I don't feel the need to rant on and on about why I believe they should be included in the mix. You should just know by now. Ratatat is awesome.
Bonus Ratatat: Lex / Cherry
Cascada - Everytime We Touch - for some reason I just felt the need to include this song. I don't think that it has an ounce of redeemability in all of it's mid-90s-esque techno "dance" beats that sound like they originated off of one of those programs like Fruityloops or something, so I can't really give you a good reason as to why it's here.
Scissor Sisters - Comfortably Numb - again, no idea why this is here. Totally unneccessary cover of a classic Pink Floyd tune, but I thought it was mildly amusing due to the fact that it kind of sounds like a cross between the BeeGees and ABBA.
Dirty Vegas - Days Go By - this song, in my opinion, isn't the greatest, but it has it's moments. Plus the video is so fucking cool.
Fatboy Slim - Weapon of Choice - this is another song that I chose mostly because of the video. If you don't already know it features Christopher Walken. So you know it's totally sweet. I won't ruin the video for you if you haven't already seen it, but you won't be disappointed.
Bonus Fatboy Slim: The Rockafella Skank / Praise You (& it's equally entertaining video)

Well, that's all for today because frankly I'm lazy and I don't really feel like sitting at my computer for much longer, so until next time (insert your own life-affirming prolific message here).

City traffic puzzle...all points lead to The Hush Sound

I first head about Chicago band The Hush Sound through my good friend and fellow blog contributor, Kozma, and I have to say that I must remember to thank him for introducing me to this exceptional band. Their style is hard to pinpoint, as it ranges from alt rock to pop to folksy bluesy stuff but take it from me, it's all very, very good. Their songs are full of catchy guitar riffs, bliss inducing piano melodies and beautifully layered male/female vocals. The Hush Sound is truly a breath of fresh air in todays over-saturated music scene full of your run-of-the-mill Fall Out Boys and talentless Jessica Simpsons, but don't just take my word for it, take a listen and find out for yourself.

The Hush Sound - Crawling Towards the Sun - If you don't find this song incredibly catchy and enjoyable, you must be dead inside and, in turn, are now dead to me.

The Hush Sound - Momentum - Stop being difficult and just download it, one of my favorite tracks off of their 2005 debut album, So Sudden.

The Hush Sound Official Site & Their MySpace for more well-crafted pop-rock.

Animusiac

While checking out some street art online today I managed to stumble upon a great music video by Malajube, you havent heard of them because there from France. Their half live action half animation concept works surprisingly well, and inspired me to feed you with some other gems out there, and so we begin...

Malajube - Montreal -40C The video is fun, its in French, and makes you want to find a source to steal the bands album.
Kenna - Hellbent Ive loved this video since it first reached my hands a few years ago, my apathy disallowed my searching and listening to more of their music. Im sure theres a life message in this video, try and find it.
Genesis - Land of Confusion Ok, arguably, theres no animation in this video, but theres puppets, and they're really fuckin creepy. If you're five years old, your going to have nightmares.
Beck - Girl This is sort of a continuation of the Genesis theme, Not really animation, but its got some great effects, supposedly inspired by the Mad Magazine fold in.
Tool - Sober This video gets wierd somewhere around 00:07, buts its not until about 04:45 that your treated to your bizarre animated creatures.
Radiohead - Paranoid Android Its fun, its wierd, its radiohead, and American media felt it necessary to be censored. Enjoy.

BONUS FUN!! Pirate Baby's Cabana Battle Street Fight 2006!! This is absolutely amazing, and if you dont like it, I hate you. If the planets align soon enough, it will be turned into a video game or movie of some sort.

I just wanna dance...

As the title may already imply, this post is going to consist solely of songs that I consider to be so infectious that even your fat cousin Bertha and your 89 year old Grandmother Ethel would get off of their inactive asses and proceed to shake it like they've never shook it before. Now anyone who knows may will probably find this post odd, because, well, I don't dance. Ever. But if I did, these would be the tracks that would get me on my feet.

Ok Go - Here It Goes Again - ok, I'm sure most of you will recognize this song by the amazing choreography displyed in the ingeniously crafted video. Apart from the obvious pull that the aforementioned video has in the selection process, the song is catchy as hell and can stand alone on its own merit.
Head Automatica - Beating Heart Baby - Head Automatica is a power pop (which the perfect way to descirbe their blend of block rockin' beats) band founded by the lead singer of heavy metal musics Glassjaw. Go figure.
M83 - Don't Save Us From The Flames - M83 was originally an electronic pop duo from France consisting of Nicolas Fromageau & Anthony Gonzalez. After Gonzalez went Splittsville, Fromageau went on to record Before the Dawn Heals Us, which, in my opinion, is superior to previous two albums. This song is about a car crash, but the swirling synthesizers and the crashing guitars make for one pretty epic, catchy tune.
Daft Punk - Robot Rock - there are just so many Daft Punk songs that I wanted to include on this little mix. I'm going to cheat a little and let you grab these Electro-pop classics like Digital Love, Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, and finally, Technologic.
Gnarls Barkley - Smiley Faces - Gnarls Barkley, was originally written off as a one hit wonder with their smash hit Crazy, but in my opinion, the real rump shaker on the album is Smiley Faces. It's catchy as all hell and the video features Dennis Hopper and Dean Stockwell.
Bloc Party - Banquet - Bloc Party is one of my favorite bands, so their inclusion on this mix is a biased. However, Bloc Party's blend of indie rock coupled with incredibly infectious beats makes this one completely worthy.
Cansei de ser Sexy - Let's Make Love & Listen to Death From Above - Given the fact that so many of you love my previous post of CSS's Music is My Hot, Hot Sex, I just had to include this little boogie down gem.
MSTRKRFT - Work On You - MSTRKRFT (or MasterKraft, for those of you who aren't hip) is an electronic music group started by Jesse F. Keeler, formerly of Death From Above 1979. The song inself sounds like it features vocals by one of the Transformers or the supercomputer HAL from Kubrick's 2001 (well, not really, but I wanted to throw at least one obscure reference out there before I end this post).

Beneath the broken branches of twigless trees lies a spacious hole for you to crawl in and die...

I would assume that at this point, anyone who visits this site with any sort of regularity must know that I like to comprise collections of songs based upon some kind of theme that ties them all together. Today is no different. Some of you may be confused with the title of today's post, yes it seems dark and twisted, but it perfectly conveys the mood of today's collection of excellent music. I love music that has meaning. Something that I can listen to that will evoke a certain emotion in me is one of the most incredible connections any fan could have with their favorite artist(s). Some of the most powerful songs, in my opinion, are the ones that can make you feel the pain that the artist felt at the time of writing whatever song you're listening to. So without further rambling, I'll just move on to some of the most depressing songs I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. (P.S. - the title to this post is from a poem I wrote and subsequently ended up just cannibalizing the good parts for use in other things, such as this post)
Radiohead - How To Disappear Completely - this song is probably one of the most haunting songs I have ever heard in my entire life. On a cold night, plug those awful ipod earbuds dangerously close to your ear drum, go outside and stare out at a lone streetlight or something, press play when the clickwheel rolls to this tune and don't be afraid to cry.
Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - this song chronicles the story of a man who is trying desperately to hang onto the woman that he loves. he imagines them growing old together and dying in only a way that Jeff Magnum can. His lyrics quickly become very cryptic, however the emotion that is layered beautifully throughout the song remains intact.
Cat Power - The Greatest - this title track off Chan Marshal's brilliant latest release is crafted with such an intense sense of remorse and regret that Chan Marshal's incredible voice is really just icing on the cake.
Radiohead - Exit Music (For a Film) - Thom and company wrote this song after seeing the last half hour of Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet. Thom stated that the end of the film made him cry, and the end result is an incredibly sad song. (On a side note, as you can probably already tell, Radiohead will be featured prominently in this post)
Sigur Ros - Untitled #4 - in all seriousness, I could include virtually any song by Sigur Ros, but this track off of their album ( ) (or two sausages kissing, as I like to refer to it as) is an epic, sweeping experience, from the low, moaning guitars and Jonsi's almost extraterrestrial vocals. I wouldn't be surprised if I heard this album being played in a funeral home.
Sufjan Stevens - To Be Alone With You - yeah, I know. Sufjan Stevens is overhyped, yada yada yada. Believe me, I heard great protest from Kozma about the inclusion of this song, but I stand by my choice. And yes I know that this song is about God, but just pretend it's about some unrequited love and it instantly transforms into a very sad, depressing song.
Sia - Breathe Me - Sia has one of the most beautiful voices I've had the pleasure of hearing in a long time, and this song features her amazing vocals reciting some of the most heart wrenching lyrics in recent memory.
The Album Leaf - Over the Pond - this song captures a truly ethereal feeling, it embodies a unique "dream" quality, if that makes any sense to you. Jonsi from Sigur Ros is featured on vocals so it;s got that going for it. It almost sounds like he's saying "as soon as I look at you, I sigh" but I know that that's probably not entirely accurate considering he's singing in Icelandic.
Johnny Cash - Hurt - this cover of a Nine Inch Nails classic is absolutely devastating. The song is unbelievably powerful from the opening line, "I hurt myself today/to see if I still feel". I'm not going to lie, the first time I saw the video to this song, I cried. Literally jaw dropping.

That's all for today, I'm almost positive that Vol. 2 of this little collection will be hitting this site soon, so be sure to check back. As a bonus, I'm throwing in what could be one of the best hip-hop tracks I've heard in the past year...hopefully it will have the infectious beats necessary to lift you out of the "I hate myself and want to die" mood I've put you all in after the string of songs I've just posted, so hear it is, your uplifting track, Epic Man - More Is Enough (feat. Plan B)

Special Sauce Soundtracks, Vol. 2

After posting the first slew of Special Sauce Soundtracks I realized that I left out a few movies that have exceptional soundtracks. I was debting whether or not I should even mention them, however it's fairly obvious that I came to the conclusion that these soundtracks were worthy enough to validate a post. Anyway, here they are, Special Sauce Soundtracks, Vol. 2

Cruel Intentions - In my opinion, this movie isn't the greatest, but it's entertaining, which means that it's better than most of the drivel Hollywood tends to put out these days. The movie itself is just evil, rich kids manipulating each other, lots of sex, and a coked up Sarah Michelle Gellar as the puppetmaster, you really can't ask for much more, other than an awesome soundtrack, which this movie has.
Blur - Coffee & TV / Placebo - Every You, Every Me / Counting Crows - Colorblind / The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
Clueless - I don't care who you are, you like this movie. it's okay, you don't have to be ashamed to admit it. It's funny and there's nothing wrong with that. And it features a pre-eating disorder Brittany Murphy. Oh, and it's got a killer soundtrack.
Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees / The Muffs - Kids In America
Office Space - Possibly one of the funniest movies ever made. if you haven't seen it, go rent it, it's worth it. But is the soundtrack really that great? Well, when a movie features a supporting character named Michael Bolton who loves gangsta rap, the soundtrack is awesome by default.
Geto Boys - Damn It Feels Good to be a Gangsta
American Psycho - Don't get me wrong, the book is infinitely better than the film, however the film is awesome in it's own right. If you haven't seen it (or read the book), it's about a wealthy yuppie (played by a very convincing Christian Bale), who does a lot of coke and murders people in a very brutal fashion. As for the soundtrack, it consists of Christian Bale's character, Patrick Bateman's personal collection. And anyone who plays Huey Lewis and the News while hacking away at Jared Leto with an axe is cool in my book.
Robert Palmer - Simply Irresistable
All of Wes Anderson's movies - I love all of Wes Anderson's movies and they are always full of top notch songs, so instead of picking just one of his movies I decided to lump them all together and give you a little sampling. Enjoy.
David Bowie - Queen Bitch / Seu Jorge - Life on Mars / Elliot Smith - Needle in the Hay / Sigur Ros - Staralfur / The Beatles - Hey Jude

This picture has nothing to do with this post

It sounds inhuman, but seriously anyone who starts hitting explosive devices with a sledgehammer deserves to blown up. If your sensitive enough to get at all up in arms about that, your probably another fat and lazy American who complains all the time, and will eventually be using one of these, if your not already. Keeping with the topic of stupid people, Mel Gibsons new movie Apocalypto has been reportedly dropped by Disney and is currently looking for a new distributor, for some reason Disney doesn't want to be aligned with bigots.

And now for some music you haven't heard or are about to hear again. Well start off with the a nice random track by The Pixies - Hey, because their awesome. The next two songs come from a band you should have heard of, but probably haven't. The Division group consists of Ben Kenney (Incubus, The Roots) and Neal Evans (Soulive) and Ashley Mendel. If your not already impressed with the idea of Kenney and Evans playing together, check out And How Are You and Finding Happiness Within Impending Doom. You might find a lack of production that you would otherwise be expecting from such a group of musicians, but they recorded it themselves in Kenney's kitchen, supposedly, so how much can you really expect.

Special Sauce Soundtracks

The purpose of todays post is to give some recognition to films that possess exceptional soundtracks. Now we all know that soundtracks have the ability to heighten the viewing experience by evoking certain emotions that are relevant to the scene. The process of carefully choosing songs that will fit and flow throughout a certain scene is a painstaking one. So to pay a little homage to great soundtracks, I've compiled a list of some of the greatest soundtracks of recent memory (complete with MP3's, because I know that's the only reason you bother to stop by). Disclaimer: I fully understand that some of you may not have seen some of these films, thus you may not be able to fully appreciate the songs in relation to the film in which they appear, but it's your own fault for not seeing them, not mine. So go take your cheap ass to Blockbuster.

1. Romeo + Juliet - The film itself, is a breathtaking piece of cinema in it's own right. leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes have an undeniable chemistry and the sheer uniqueness of the film is mindblowing. The cinematography is sharp, making the sun drenched beaches of Verona seem incredible. With this being said the best part about this film hands down was the music. But I'll let you decide for yourself.
Radiohead - Talk Show Host / Garbage - #1 Crush
2. Vanilla Sky - A surreal movie that was made by Cameron Crowe. So you don't need me to tell you that the soundtrack kicks ass.
Radiohead - Everything In It's Right Place
Sigur Ros - Untitled #4 (aka njosnavelin/the nothing song)
3. Donnie Darko - Donnie Darko is not only a great movie that everyone should see (#100 on IMDB's top 250), but it proves to us all that the 80's does have an awesome catalog of music.
Tears for Fears - Head Over Heels / Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart / Gary Jules - Mad World / Echo & The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon
4. Trainspotting - Trainspotting is one of the few films that I dare to say is superior to the book (mostly because the book is near impossible to read) and the soundtrack that Danny Boyle and co. put together is stellar.
New Order - Temptation / Pulp - Mile End / Blur - Sing / Damon Albarn - Closet Romantic
5. Snatch - Guy Ritchie's superior follow-up to Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels is not only an adrenaline pumping ride that entertains to the very end, but has some great music as well.
Oasis - Fuckin' In The Bushes / The Stranglers - Golden Brown / Massive Attack - Angel / Huey "Piano" Smith - Don't You Just Know It
6. Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels - Guy Ritchie's debut film. Guy Ritchie is called the "British Tarantino" for two good reasons. One: Ritchie, like Tarantino, makes good flicks. Two: Ritchie, like Tarantino, has awesome music in the aforementioned flicks.
The Stone Roses - Fools Gold / The Stooges - I Wanna Be Your Dog / James Brown - The Payback

Yoga, So hot right now

Yoga, we've all heard of it, only few of us have been dumb enough to try it, I am one of them. I admit, I felt surprisingly refreshed and healthy after my 90 minute session, but I was stretching in a 110 degree room for an hour and a half. Unless your a sucker like myself, save your money and spring for a 20 minute hot shower, youll get the same effect.

In case you havent been offended today, let me present you with this interesting little film: Gay Niggers From Outer Space. If your not yet offended, be prepared for some great dialogue from "Capt. B. Dick" and his son, "Arm In Ass."

Moving away from film, if you have wanted to see bloc party but were too lame to ever do it, you can be slightly redeemed by going here and downloading some live shows. Or if you wanna listen to some music youve never heard before, you can check out Pelagia. Self described as machine rock, whatever the fuck that means, there worth a listen.

Finally, Ill leave all you potheads with some encouraging news, German scientists have been testing their new Anti-Stupidity Pill to cure short term memory loss.

Swedes Please!

This post is going to consist solely of music from artists who call Sweden their home. I figured it was appropriate considering the fact that Koz and I are planning on going to Sweden in the spring. Now let me first just say that Sweden is home to a lot of good bands, The Knife, Jose Gonzalez, The Hives to name a few. The purpose of this post is to introduce these artists and many more. Although Sweden has had its share of worthy exports, its also home to a lot of downright awful music (death metal anyone?). The following MP3's offer a sampling of both the good, and the bad.

The Good:
1. The Knife - Heartbeats - The Knife is beyond words. They're a brother and sister duo who create beautiful electonic soundscapes. Their newest release Silent Shout has been compared to Radiohead's Kid A.
2. Jose Gonzalez - Crosses - Jose Gonzalez is a singer-songwriter who released his debut album Veneer in 2003 (2005 for me and the rest of my American brethren). He relies on nothing but an acoustic guitar and his often haunting voice to create memorable melodies. This song was featured on the season 2 finale of The O.C.
Bonus: Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats (The Knife cover featured in that Sony Bravia commercial) & Jose Gonzalez - Teardrop (Massive Attack cover)
3. The Hives - Walk Idiot Walk - The Hives are basically the Swedish Strokes so you won't be disappointed. Bonus: The Hives - Here We Go Again
4. The (International) Noise Conspiracy - Capitalism Stole My Virginity - TNIC is loud, infectious rock & roll. True, they do have very Karl Marx-ish political views but it's not so overbearing that it makes them annoying.
Bonus: The (International) Noise Conspiracy - Only Lovers Left Alive
5. The Cardigans - My Favourite Game - Most people have probably written The Cardigans off as a one hit wonder when they released Lovefool, a pop song fluffier than a Nordic lamb. In reality however they are still around and have had a string of hit songs in Europe. Lucky for us The Cardigans have shed their cutesy 60's influenced retrokitsch pop and taken up bliss-inducing blend of rock and trip-hop.
Bonus: The Cardigans - I Need Some Fine Wine and You, You Need to be Nicer
6. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Big Time - I'm not all that familiar with Soundtrack of Our Lives. the only thing I really know about them is that they're from Sweden and they toured with Oasis in 2005. I will say that Soundtrack sounds a lot like 60's and 70's rock, The Who, to be more precise.

The Bad (or embarassingly good guilty pleasures, I don't judge):
ABBA - Gimme Gimme Gimme
Europe - The Final Countdown
Ace of Base - I Saw the Sign
A*Teens - Dancing Queen
Robyn - Who's that Girl? (some might disagree with Robyn being on the shit end of the stick so to speak, what with her latest outing being produced by The Knife and all but this song is just plain old nauseating)
and finally my personal favorite out of this mind-numbing collection of god-awful music...
Basshunter - Boten Anna and the video to this insanely idiotic piece of euro-dance trash. Watch the video if you want to laugh.

Introducing the first (but certainly not the last) Insert Brand Name Here themed mixtape!

I wanted to post this days ago, however my busy professional schedule and the sheer insanity of my social life prevented me from doing just that. Anyway, this post contains the very first Insert Brand Name Here mixtape. Now I know that around Christmas I posted a two volume Christmas mixtape, however I'm not counting that one for two reasons. First reason: you couldn't download it, which I know is just completely lame. Second reason: it wasn't an official part of the new revamped IBNH collaboration between me and my good friend Koz. Enough with the legalities and on to the mixtape. After some debating as to what the theme to this mixtape was going be we finally decided on...silly songs. Silly songs, are generally songs that I find particularly amusing. I find that no matter what mood I'm in, I can play one of these tunes and instantly put a smile on my face.

1. Ben Folds - Bitches Ain't Shit - the geektastic Ben Folds covers Dr. Dre, complete with stirring piano melody. Give me one good reason as to why you wouldn't download this track.
2. Cansei de ser Sexy - Music is My Hot, Hot Sex - this song is pure pop bliss. It's undeniably catchy and the lyrics are so absurd they actually make some kind of sense.
3. LCD Soundsystem - Daft Punk is Playing at my House - LCD Soundsystem is straight-up New York underground disco. And they're singing about Daft Punk. Playing at their house no less.
4. Feist - Mushaboom - Kozma and I both really like this song. It's hard to explain what makes it so charming and endearing. Just download and find out for yourself.
5. Blur - Crazy Beat - Blur consistently puts out great music while managing to change their sound with every album. This song generally puts a smile on my face because it is incredibly infectious and the chorus is complete with what sounds like Daffy Duck on ecstasy.
6. Ratatat - Wildcat - this track is off of the upcoming album from Ratatat entitled Classics. Like most Ratatat songs the song is good, and supplies the aforementioned good in perfectly delivered ass shaking beats. Oh yeah, it also contains samples of a cougar.
7. Lovage - Stroker Ace - this tune is off the album Nathaniel Merriweather presents...Lovage, music to make love to your old lady by. Just the name of the album makes me giggle.
8. Presidents of the USA - Peaches - if you don't know this song already...remember the video? With the ninjas!
9. Mates of State - Goods - pretty much anything that Mates of State has put out has successfully made me jump with glee. I mean seriously how could you not?
10. The Koreans - Keep Me In Your Mind - Entourage fans will surely recognize this catchy tune from the episode entitled Crash and Burn.
11. Teddybears Stockholme feat. Mad Cobra - Cobrastyle - I know I already posted this one but how could I not post a song by a group who calls themselves Teddybears Stockholme feat. Mad Cobra?
12. Chromeo - Needy Girl - I know I posted this one already too, but this song is not only catchy and amusin, but it features some downright genius lyrics.

Everybody else is doing it, so why can't we?

I would like to announce my new partner in this little blog venture of mine. He's a hip cat that goes by the name of Kozma or G with a Jeff or whatever. It doesn't really matter what his name is, all that you have to know is that he'll be posting good stuff and that's all that really matters. For today I figured I would start out with a list. A list that could possibly prevent domestic disputes with your significant other, or at least put it off until you do something stupid. How is this "list" going to do that you might be asking yourself. Well let me explain. We're all familiar with the following scenario, you and your girlfriend plan to watch a movie together. That's all well and good, but when she enthusiastically jumps for something like Sweet Home Alabama or some lame Julia Roberts vehicle like Runaway Bride or (God forbid) Mystic Pizza while you on the other hand are holding an incredibly misogynistic film like American Psycho or some generic blow 'em up action film where the body count is well over 50 like Rambo: First Blood Part II, one of you will end up watching the complete antithesis of what you orignally wanted to watch. But it doesn't have to be that way. Introducing the perfect date movies.

1. High Fidelity - This movie has it all. It's funny and witty and is full of pop culture references. Guys love it for the tunes, Jack Black, and because they can relate to John Cusack's average joe character. Girls will love it for Cusack's charm, and Jack Black.
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - This film is just surreal. The imagery is awesome and the script is fantastically awesome. It's perfectly cast and it will have your girlfriend saying "awww" more times than you can count.
3. Rushmore - You might be saying to yourself, whoa wait a second, Wes Anderson? Yes, Wes Anderon's best film is on this list because it's Wes Anderson and his movies are as enjoyable as they are quirky, the cast is awesome, and it's centered around a solid story that will tug the heartstrings.
4. A Life Less Ordinary - Not the greatest flick in the world but it has its moments. Ewan McGregor is in full swing here, playing a character thats a little more upbeat than the junkie he plays so brilliantly in Danny Boyle's masterpiece Trainspotting. The film has a weird story that will keep you interested and the chemistry between McGregor and Cameron Diaz is there.
5. The Beach - It stars Leonardo DiCaprio and it's more bearable than Titanic.
6. The Princess Bride - The tagline to this movie is "Scaling the cliffs of Insanity, battling rodents of unusual size, facing torture in the Pit of Despair, true love has never been a snap." Who's not sold?
7. Pirates of the Caribbean - For the girls: Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp. For the guys: Keira Knightley in a corset and an army of homicidal undead pirates.
8. Natural Born Killers - It's a love story written by Quentin Tarantino. I mean there has to be a pretty strong bond between Mickey and Mallory Knox if they can savagely beat and drown Mallory's sexually abusive father and then tie her mother to her bed and burn her alive, right?

And finally some MP3's
Stellastarr - My Coco
The Libertines - Can't Stand Me Now
Editors - Lights
The Stone Roses - I Wanna be Adored
Sigur Ros - Saeglopur
Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees
Teddybears Stockholme feat. Mad Cobra - Cobrastyle

I'm a psychedelic warrior who believes in UFOs and God

So the new Flaming Lips disc is pretty good. Pirates of the Carribbean 2: Dead Mans Chest was also pretty good for only half a movie (Can't wait to see The Descent though). Keeping it short today for reasons relatively unknown (although I will admit that it does have something to do with the fact that I am ridiculously lethargic today). With that being said, on to the fun stuff you can click on!

Every South Park episode ever. Seriously.

The first 24 minutes of A Scanner Darkly. You can thank me later.

What do you do when you have $50 million? You exact revenge on every person who has ever done you wrong. But how do I do that you might ask. Let Dave Chappelle teach you.

MP3s:

Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken
The Killers - When You Were Young (demo of new track off of upcoming sophmore album, not very impressive but worth a listen if you're curious)
Radiohead - Where I End & You Begin (The Sky is Falling In)
Placebo - Meds
Placebo - Infra-Red
Camera Obscura - Teenager
And finally what promises to be the sleeper hit of the summer, that is, if anyone actually hears this song (I was sick of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" about two months ago) Chromeo - Needy Girl

Clever titles are so last summer...

Considering I just spent the last three hours scouring the internet for interesting articles, games, etc. I'm going to keep this short, but very, very sweet. Just make sure you click on everything below so that I know my hard work isn't squandered into obscurity.

The Ten People You Meet In Every College Dorm

Eleven Horror Movies that are so bad, they're good!

A Comprehensive List of Problems Solved by Macgyver

I'm not entirely sure that this insanely stupid product is genuinely marketable, but you can judge for yourself.

Sarah Silverman singing her uplifting and rather soothing song, "You're Going to Die Soon" to a bunch of elderly folks.

The Best of Ari Gold (do I need to explain?)

Wonder Showzen seeks to explain some of life's greatest mysteries. Today's episode, What is Heaven?

Finally some super sweet mp3s that are totally hot right now
Wolfmother - Dimension
Wolfmother - Woman
The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist
Oasis - Fucking in the Bushes
Ocean Colour Scene - Hundred Mile Highway
Elastica - 2:1
Underworld - Born Slippy
Blur - Sing

Incoherent rambling and a picture that has nothing to do with anything

The United States is out of the World Cup. Oh well. There's still a whole bunch of other countries I've never heard of vying for the prize! Go Paraguay! Anyway, so I was sitting around my house earlier today watching the History Channel. Normally I wouldn't have minded watching the History Channel for any period of time but for some reason their 2 hour long snore fest that is "The History of European Revolvers" just wasn't cutting it. Don't get me wrong, guns are cool, I'm not some crazy leftist liberal hippie or something, although I am a registered Democrat. Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is that this particular program was boring. I ended up popping in the new unrated version of The Hills Have Eyes that just came out on DVD and it was considerably more gruesome than the theatrical version, which enhanced my overall viewing experience. To tell you the truth, I actually liked the remake more so than the original. After that I got bored again and so now here I am, talking to whoever out there who has enough time to waste at this site.

And now...fun things to click on!

Watch the weird ressurrection of a goldfish hint: you have to click on the one entitled "goldfish" once you get to the site. And here I thought Mountain Dew was only good if you were planning on jumping out of a plane or hitching a ride on a shark or something else equally extreme.

Funny, yet strangley offensive Volkswagon commercial (Thanks to Kozma for finding that little gem)

Presenting the 50 worst video game names ever

And finally...I'm fairly certain that Wonder Showzen is the only show capable of having a skit where God can blow his head off with a shotgun and that's not even the most disturbing part of the sketch.

World Cup Craziness!

Okay, so I've been away for quite some time now I know, but it's okay because the World Cup is here and as some of you may already know, I am no fan of soccer (or football if you will), however one cannot possibly deny the worldwide popularity of the sport. With team names like the Socceroos (Austrailia), the appeal is quite obvious. Oh, did I mention that the devotees of this sport are extremely attractive?

Bonus: A few Placebo albums and b-sides can be found here
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium can be found here
Snow Patrol - Final Straw can be acquired with ease here

Holiday Mixtape Vol. 2

I Want You to Spend A Lot to Prove You Love Your Family: Holiday Mixtape Vol. 2 is here and it is a welcome addition to Vol. 1. There is a Vol. 3 in the works, however I don't know if I'll finish it in time for Christmas what with finals and everything, but who knows. Anyway here is the tracklist for Vol. 2:

1. Sufjan Stevens – Angels We Have Heard on High
2. The Dandy Warhols – Little Drummer Boy
3. Jack Johnson – Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
4. Jimmy Eat World – Last Christmas
5. Snowden – White Christmas
6. Ryan Adams – Hey Parker, It’s Christmas
7. Low - Just Like Christmas
8. Leona Naess - Christmas
9. Pearl Jam – Someday at Christmas
10. My Chemical Romance – All I Want for Christmas
11. The Winter Blanket – What I Want
12. The Ramones – Merry Christmas
13. Phantom Planet – Winter Wonderland
14. Johnny Cash – Silent Night
15. The Smashing Pumpkins – Christmastime
16. Snow Patrol – When I Get Home for Christmas
17. The Eels – Everything’s Gonna Be Cool This Christmas
18. The Winter Blanket – I’ll Be Home for Christmas
19. The Flaming Lips – Christmas at the Zoo
20. Weezer – The Christmas Song
21. Sufjan Stevens – Lo, How a Rose E’re Blooming
22. The Ravonettes – The Christmas Song
23. John Ondrasik – Happy X-mas (War is Over)
24. Death Cab for Cutie – The New Year
25. Nichole & the Dreamcatchers – Santa is the Greatest

Yeah, you know you want a copy.

Me, White Noise

I'm sitting here at my computer completely disgusted with the massive amount of work that I have in front of me. Procrastination is not my friend yet I embrace it like the wanting summer breeze caressing a gentle maidens bosom (I'm not even sure what I'm talking about so dont ask). I need a vacation really bad, wait, I just came back from one. Another would be nice though. Pictures from my trip to Aruba are up on my Facebook page so feel free to check them out and become envious. Finally finished my Holiday Mixtape (or Holla day Mixtape as it's known on the streets) and believe me it's good. I am no longer calling it the Christmas Mixtape, as it may be deemed discriminatory towards our Kwanza and Festival of Lights celebrating brethren, the tracklist is as follows:

1. Coldplay - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
2. Sufjan Stevens - Come On! Let's All Boogie to the Elf Dance!
3. Arcade Fire - Jinglebell Rock
4. Death Cab for Cutie - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
5. The Flaming Lips - A Change at Christmas (Say It Isn't So)
6. David Gray - December
7. Local H - Disgruntled Christmas
8. The Waitresses - Christmas Wrapping
9. Radiohead - Winter Wonderland
10. Coldplay - 2000 Miles
11. The Polyphonic Spree - Little Drummer Boy
12. Feist - Lo, How a Rose E're Blooming
13. Pas-Cal - Last Christmas
14. Sufjan Stevens - That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!
15. The Walkmen - Christmas Party
16. The Polyphonic Spree - Happy X-mas (War is Over)
17. Dave Matthews Band - Christmas Song
18. Trans Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve

You are all going to thank me for all of this free music I scoured the web for:

Download tons of David Gray live, rare and B-side mp3s, as well as videos

Download a whole bunch of Damon Albarn mp3s (check out the rare Blur tracks towards the bottom of the page)

Download three live Radiohead shows

Download a whole bunch of live and rare Neutral Milk Hotel mp3s

Download tons of Sublime bootlegs

Holy shit! Squirrels kill a dog. Squirrels. Fucking killed a dog. Anyone I have ever told the story about how the squirrels killed my pet turtle and doubted me, well here is your proof.