P-fork Update

I knew there was a reason I randomly woke up 10 minutes ago. Some more of the P-fork fest lineup has been unveiled. There's no NMH still, but the New Pornographers, Stephen Malkmus, De La Soul, Battles, and Ponys are now slated to play the three-day festival.

The festival is taking place at Chicago's Union Park from July 13-15. Three-day passes are at $50. Can you say road trip? I can't. My friends and I plan to fly.
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She's sitting back now, painting in her taylors...

Van She have been a buzz band / DJ troupe in Europe for a while (though I think they're Aussies...) and I found their "Kelly" song this past fall on myspace (yeah it was my profile song for a while, and shall be again!) but it wasn't till now that I saw this music video. Which I really liked! They're so eighties-rific it's practically obscene, and the bassist, aside from casting many creepy looks at the camera, has a Flock of Seagulls haircut! The video is basically a lot of Kellys through different eras/settings and I feel like I'm missing the point of it, though it does feature a lot of making out. And I know that if I were one of the Kellys in the video, I'd be going after the lead singer. Rrrowwr!

Then this gave me an idea -- for Mindset, not my love life -- could we do a piece where we all contribute our most ego-centric song, the one that causes you the most narcissism?

Just a thought!
x KELLY!
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Err

Disregard the previous post. Apparently, it's an April Fools Joke.

LAME!
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Tiny Mix Tapes Festival

Tiny Mix Tapes, famous for its "Huh?" style of news reporting, is jumping on the music-site-sponsored concert bandwagon with it first ever festival, which is scheduled for "August." Taking place in Minneapolis, the event will feature a reunited Neutral Milk Hotel. That's all you need to know.
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Bravery announce tour dates, indie kids apathetic at best

MOST READERS WILL NOT CARE ABOUT THIS ...


but the Bravery are coming to a town near you!! And yes, they'll have a new album out in May (July for you Brits. We win for once...if you call that winning...and if you don't count the Revolutionary War...)

At any rate, the Bravery are a huge guilty pleasure of mine and I am well excited to hear/read this news!

the dates:
Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom (May 14)
Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom (15)
Seattle, WA El Corazon (16)
Cleveland, OH Agora Ballroom (25)
Detroit Magic Stick (26)
Toronto, ON Opera House (28)
New York, NY Irving Plaza (29, 30)
Nashville, TN Exit In (June 3)
Philadelphia, PA TLA (5)
Washington DC 9:30 Club (7)
Reno, NV New Oasis (12)
Salt Lake, UT Club Sound (13)
Omaha, NE The Rock (15)
Minneapolis, MN Varsity (18)
Kansas City, MO Beaumont Club (19)
St Louis, MO Pop's (20)
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The Blow

When I was researching I Like Food, Food Tastes Good: In the Kitchen with Your Favorite Bands, I learned about this Pacific Northwest "duo." Consisting of Khaela Maricich, formerly of The Microphones, and Jona Bechtolt, The Blow craft delightful indie pop -- at times, airy, light, and instantly catchy, yet still thoughtful and earnest. However, leaving it as that doesn't give them enough credit. You should check out their Myspace and listen to "Parentheses" or "True Affection."

Basically, I've been listening to their 2006 full-length nonstop. It can get repetitive after a while, which means you should break it up with spurts of The Blood Brothers' Burn Piano Island, Burn.
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Bloc Party Vs. Oasis

Recently, Liam Gallagher, as a member of Oasis, had to criticize a band. I mean, when they're not making music, that's just what they do. Thus, Bloc Party is the latest victim in Oasis' war against all bands that aren't Oasis (or Kasabian --ed).

Bloc Party front man Kele Okereke had these words to say in response:

"I think Oasis are the most overrated and pernicious band of all time. They had a totally negative and dangerous impact upon the state of British music," Okereke told Uncut magazine. "They have made stupidity hip. They claim to be inspired by the Beatles but, and this so saddens me, they have failed to grasp that the Beatles were about constant change and evolution. Oasis are repetitive Luddites."

And this poses an interesting question.

Who is this Ludd guy?

You can read more on Spin but the Brit mags might have some better coverage, since, well, they're British.


Other stuff:

Play the new Maximo Park album at NME.
Radiohead deny Starbucks deal. Chris Wodicka cries tears of joy.
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Photo courtesy of NME.com

Okay, we all know that NME love Razorlight...but do they have to post the same (horrible) photo of frontman Johnny Borrell on the site for the March 31 issue? Four times?

Also, apparently, NME trashed Maximo Park's new album. And Paul Smith (not that Paul Smith) called them out on it.

All in the current issue, which, like most things, is available in the US much later and only when it's not current or relevant anymore (in this case, a good rule of thumb is to expect at least a two-week delay between the mag rag hitting UK and US news stands.)

Chris and I share this pain constantly. In fact, I would say it's a vital part of my existence.
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Bang bang rock and roll!

Art Brut's new album, It's a Bit Complicated, is coming out in the US on June 26. Chances are, it will be out in Britain before then. This makes me sad.

And I'm still waiting for my little brother to discover rock and roll.
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Go get em, Tiger

Spidey looks pretty down, right? Maybe it's the rain or the black suit, which (shhhh) is really an alien symbiote. More likely, he's all emo after listening to the soundtrack for his last film, which featured Taking Back Sunday and Dashboard Confessional. Fortunately for our beloved webslinger (and his fans), the soundtrack for Spider-man 3 will be pseudo-indie, with songs by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Flaming Lips, The Walkmen, The Killers, and Snow Patrol.

There are also going to be songs by The Rolling Stones and Black Sabbath on it. By The Rolling Stones and Black Sabbath, I mean Jet and Wolfmother.
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Rock the Bells

If you're into rap, tell me this isn't a sick lineup: Wu-tang Clan, Rage Against the Machine, Public Enemy, Cypress Hill, The Roots, Nas, Mos Def, EPMD, Pharoahe Monch, MF Doom, Immortal Technique, Sage Francis, The Coup, Jedi Mind Tricks, Felt, Living Legends, Brother Ali, Cage, Mr. Lif, Grouch & Eligh, Hangar 18, Blueprint, and Lucky I Am. Tickets go on sale Saturday.


Jul 28 - Randall's Island, NYC
Aug 11 - Nos Events Center, San Benardino, CA
Aug 18 - McCovey Cove Parking Lot, San Francisco, CA
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Last.fm -- part II

In response to the previous post, I must make a push for last.fm. I much prefer this site as its purpose is to benefit the listeners rather than just to indulge the people who created it!

I set up a Pandora station based on Kasabian and it gave me Rock Kills Kid (hmm, kind of), Aqueduct (could of done better), and Linkin Park (that is insulting to Kasabian).

But based on my listening habits, Last.fm recommends to me: Hard Fi, the Smiths, Pulp, Buzzcocks, as well as tracks i might not have heard of by artists I regularly listen to...

On last.fm, not only can you get ideas of what you might like from your friends's charts (which is handy!) but also it makes recommendations for you based on what your 'neighbors' - or people with really similar musical taste to you - are also listening to. Like, for example, Chris' most listened to band is Thursday! You can also RSVP to events/shows so you know what people will be seeing.

Plus, you get to put of awesome photos of yourself. To my knowledge, it is only chris, bill, and myself that are on last.fm. So, people should join, become our friends, and we will form a mindset charting group...Yes, this all leads to world domination...



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Pandora Radio: Too Good To Be True?

In 2000, a group of hardcore music lovers banned together in an attempt to create the "most comprehensive analysis of music ever" (their website's words, not mine). The project, named "The Music Genome Project," involved the examination of lyrics, instrumentation, and style in forming a full description of a song based on its own merit rather than the reputation of the artist or genre. The analysts were trained professionals educated in 400 "musical characteristics."

The result of this pursuit was a common question fired at the project's crew: "How can I find music that I would like?" The question was the seed that eventually sprouted into Pandora Radio.

Pandora is an online music database that caters to the listener's musical preferences. Here's a step-by-step starter guide:

1. Go to www.pandora.com.
2. Set up a free account.
3. Click the "Create a New Station" feature.
4. Type in the name of an artist or song that you like.
5. The website-radio will start playing your song or a sample from the artist, so that you can correct it if need be. It will also provide a the Music Genome Project's description of the song or the artist's music.
6. After the first song, Pandora tells you that it will be searching for music with similar qualities from now on. It will then describe the second song, and what characteristics it shares with the first.
7. Help guide Pandora by rolling your mouse over the title of the track, and clicking either a thumbs-up or thumbs-down.
8. Add more artists to the current station, or create a new one.

Seems nifty, right? If you like a band, and would enjoy similar music but can't find it, then this should be an ideal tool.

I visit this site every once and a while, but I cannot honestly say that Pandora has helped me discover a new band that I really like, or any other such claim. I wish I could. Alas. I find it a bit annoying when I have to keep telling the radio that its selection sucks while I'm trying to hold an AIM conversation. Also, if you continuously fast-forward through songs, Pandora will cut you off for a brief period of time.

Despite these complaints, I encourage you all to check it out. I hope Pandora makes all your wildest dreams come true.
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Hadouken! Live at London Barfly

I first discovered Hadouken! (yes, the exclamation point is part of the band's name) because their song "That Boy That Girl" was the profile song of the MySpace page of Nathan Barley, self-facilitating media node. His song has since changed, but at the time, I just had to see what band was creating songs with lyrics like "You look silly when you put on your best MySpace pout."

They follow the lead of (over-used buzzword warning) "nu rave" bands like Klaxons...(who, yes, I feel I can make this comparison though it's cliche as I've seen Klaxons -- twice -- pretty much before, well, anyone.) Enough snobbery! Hadouken! write funny songs making fun of indie kids, wear neon, and just make noise!

Plus, it's really freakin catchy! I did already post about this band (which you should go to because I posted a cool video...) a while ago on a different blog. Since I was going to be in London when they played a gig at an interesting (but not my favo[u]rite) venue, I just had to check em out. And even though I only made it there for the last song -- I was there just in time to hear them crash into a false start of "That Boy That Girl"...before trying it again -- I definitely got more than enough material on this gig to write what I think is a fair review.



The kids loved it. Let me just say that. And I include myself as part of the collective 'kids.' I got upstairs to the stage area just in time to force myself into the centre of the floor before the band started up again. And the kids went nuts! It was a really crazy-energetic crowd who were totally into Hadouken! And also really into flailing wildly while Hadouken! played music.

But the live music bit is another story altogether. I had heard live clips of the band's live performances and I can't say I was disappointed with their live show -- mostly because I already expected that they were a band that just can't sound as good live! Sorry, luvs, but it's true.

So anyways, check them out and stuff, or at least look into adding something bright orange to your wardrobe.

xxx KD
yeah i took the photos as well
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Another week, more CDs

Even though Good Charlotte and J-Lo have new albums coming out tomorrow. Mindset suggests you check out "new" releases from Kaiser Chiefs and Klaxons. By "new," I mean they've been out in the UK for what seems like forever.
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Let's Spoon

A few days ago, I posted some news on the upcoming Spoon album. Now there's even a tour!

Spoon tour dates:

04.13.07 - Grinnel, IA - Harris Center
04.21.07 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
04.22.07 - Philadelphia, PA - Starlight Ballroom
04.24.07 - Asbury Park, NJ - Stone Pony
04.26.07 - New Haven, CT - Toad’s Place
04.27.07 - Northampton, MA - Pearl Street
04.28.07 - Boston, MA - Museum of Fine Arts
05.27.07 - George, WA - Sasquatch Festival
06.16.07 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Music Festival
07.04.07 - Detroit, MI - Comerica CityFest

Time to score Bonnaroo tickets. By that, I mean I'm going to sit in the corner and watch Stranger Than Fiction several times in a row.

In some extremely depressing news, Radiohead, the greatest band/anything ever, is supposedly in talks with Starbucks to release an album on the coffee chain's recently unveiled label, "Hear Music." Hear music? More like pure evil!

I'm not funny at all.

Paul McCartney is releasing an album on Hear Music, due out this summer.


Boo.
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Our Velocity [Single]

Addendum to an earlier post:

Maximo Park's new single Our Velocity is as good as the earlier material off their first album! It just took me 3 weeks to realize it. I am embarassed that I wrote this song off in the first place and would like to encourage everyone to listen to it (at least 5 times) before doing the same.

...though the artwork from this album is not as cool as the older stuff...

That is all!

x
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Sellouts Pt. 2

Read this article before responding to my earlier post about sellouts: David Eggers on "Selling Out". This article is uber-long, but very provocative. It's written by David Eggers, who (as some of you may know) wrote A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. He's pretty awesome...I wonder what he'd say about Avril's new record...

And I'm with him--Screw 90210, the Flaming Lips rock!
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2000 Hits!

Alright then, so today MINDSET has achieved 2000 hits!! Brilliant!

And keeping in the spirit of my post when we accumulated 1000 hits (poor schmucks!), I am all for keeping traditions alive. So here are some of the odd google searches that have lead to our humble blog:

“andrew duoos”
"mcsweeney's" and symphony space and "march 15"
“Winterpills Broken Arm lyrics meaning”
“avril lavigne next tour” (proud of this one, we are)
“matt wertz everything in between copies sold”
“Kelly Riley, Oasis apple apple Inc.”
“songs you listen to” “pete wentz”
“8 word song titles”
“daddy take me with you" (oh man...)
“I've Got 10 Friends and a Crowbar That Says You Ain't Gonna Do free download”
“ANTHONY KIEDIS+GIRLFRIEND+MIKA+BROKE UP” (I AM SHOUTING AT GOOGLE!)
…and my favorite…
“nirvana barney rubble Halloween”

In addition to some ridiculous searches, MINDSET also got visitors from the far-reaches of the world! Including:

England, Canada, Mexico, Spain, France, Finland, Greece, Italy, India, Netherlands, Poland, Hong Kong, Sweden, and Ecuador.

So keep the posts coming!

xx KD

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Stream some new albums + Spoon release date

If you haven't made the trip yet to Best Buy, you can stream a bunch of new albums over at AOL. They have the new Ted Leo, Modest Mouse, LCD Soundsystem, and Andrew Bird. For the record, I'm really digging the new LCD Soundsystem, despite my general ambivalence toward their debut.

The new Spoon album has a July 10 release date, according to the folks over at Pitchfork's news department. I have full confidence in them to release a worthy follow-up record to Gimme Fiction.

If you're in the NYC area this summer, Neko Case is playing Central Park Summer Stage on July 20. It might be a free event, which would be nice, thus allowing me to continue my tradition of not paying for summer concerts. For those of you with money, you can catch her at the following dates:

Sat 5/26/07 George, WA Sasquatch Music Festival
Thu 7/19/07 Pittsburg, PA Byham Theater
Sat 7/21/07 Greenfield, MA Greenfield Community College

Enjoy the streams.
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I stepped out onto the midway.

Great news, Slint lovers. The post-rock progenitors have finally added two US dates to their upcoming performance schedule. As part of ATP's "Don't Look Back" concert series, a reunited Slint will be playing their landmark second album, Spiderland, in its entirety for crowds around Europe and for two dates at New York City's Webster Hall (7/17, 7/18).

Slint are often credited, along with Talk Talk, with launching the so-called "post-rock" genre, which also includes bands like Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Although they broke up almost immediately after recording Spiderland, they've become something of indie-rock legends.

Slint guitarist David Pajo went on to play in Tortoise and Billy Corgan's Zwan.
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Count in Fives

YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!

parents beware: lock up your goth/indie kids! THE HORRORS are coming to these shores (and not just NYC)

kind of weird that they'd open for BRMC but hey! i'd go see em both...

dates (according to NME)
Seattle, WA The Showbox (May 13)
Boise, ID The Big Easy (15)
Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue (16)
Denver, CO Gothic Theater (17)
Omaha, NE Sokol Underground (18)
Lawrence, KS Granada (19)
St Louis, MO The Pageant (20)
Minneapolis, MN First Ave (22) (I will be at this one)
Milwaukee, WI The Rave (23)
Chicago, IL Vic Theatre (24)
Detroit, MI St Andrews Hall (25)
Toronto, ONT Kool Haus (26)
Montreal, QUE Le Tulipe (28)
Boston, MA Avalon (29)
New York, NY Webster Hall (30)
Philadelphia, PA TLA (June 1)
Washington, DC 9:30 Club (2)
Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall (4)
Indianapolis, IN The Music Mill (5)
Nashville, TN City Hall (6)
Atlanta, GA Roxy Theatre (7)
Ft Lauderdale, FL Culture Room (9)
Orlando, FL The Social (10)
Birmingham, AL Zydeco (12)
New Orleans, LA The Republic (13)
Houston, TX Meridian (14)
Austin, TX La Zona Rosa (15)
Dallas, TX House of Blues (16)
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Internet is no more. (campus reacts)

Don't worry, I'm not referring to Al Gore's selfless gift to humanity. I'm referring to that indie-rock super group, about which I wrote many weeks ago. Apparently, their little coming-out party at the McSweeney's benefit didn't go down, but they've regrouped and are set to play on April 10 (8 p.m. at NYC's Symphony Space). However, they've changed their name from Internet to Final Fantasy: Online a.k.a. Internet. I wish I had come up with it first.

Read more about it on P-fork.

I wonder if anyone cares.
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Finals Week Shows

the above is the image referenced at last night's meeting.
hopefully it exceeded your expectations.

in other news: ALL THE GOOD CHICAGO SHOWS ARE HAPPENING DURING FINALS WEEK!!!
how unfair is that?

well here's a run-down:

Thurs 3 May
Junior Boys @ Empty Bottle
Amy Winehouse @ Schubas (SOLD OUT)
Fri 4 May
Jet @ House of Blues
Sat 5 May
The Kooks @ Metro
Sun 6 May
LCD Soundsystem @ Metro
The View @ Schubas
Tues 8 May
Peter Bjorn and John @ Empty Bottle
Arctic Monkeys and Be Your Own Pet @ Riviera Theatre
Wed 9 May
Mando Diao and Pop Levi @ Double Door

and for those of us around for Senior Week:

Sat 12 May
Tapes 'n Tapes @ Abbey Pub (two shows)
Pretty Girls Make Graves @ Empty Bottle
Sun 13 May
Regina Spektor @ Riviera Theatre
Thurs 17 May
Animal Collective @ Metro
Fri-Sun 18-20 May
Arcade Fire @ Chicago Theatre
(and I think the Kings of Leon have a 20 May date as well...)

as always, post if you are interested in carpooling or ride-sharing or things of that nature.

xxxxxx
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P-fork Fest: Day One

To quote Eliot Spitzer's gubernatorial campaign, on day one, everything changes.

The above quote has nothing to do with this post. I just like Eliot Spitzer, because he cracks down on record labels for monopolizing the radio.

Two weeks ago, I posted some info on this summer's Pitchfork Music Festival. Since that time, Pitchfork has announced one of Friday's mystery acts: Sonic Youth. Along with ATP (All Tomorrow's Parties), P-fork will be presenting the seminal NYC group as they perform their 1988 album Daydream Nation in its entirety. In the coming weeks/months, Pitchfork will be naming two additional bands who will also be performing full albums on the festival's first day.

As long as the other two aren't The Mars Volta or The Fiery Furnaces w/Grandma Sarantos, we should be fine, right?
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Handbook for the Sellout

Man, I miss FIF...

Anyway, after accidentally turning the radio on during Fall Out Boy's new song and nearly giving myself an audio aneurysm, I had to stop and wonder whom I would nominate for the title of Biggest Musical Sellout. Nominees can consist of both bands/artists who previously had good music before selling out, as well as those whose music was always pure, unadulterated crap but still managed to sell out. Anyone?
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New music!

I hope everyone had a great spring break.

We're back at school, but don't despair. Tomorrow is a big day for new releases.

Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
J Dilla - Ruff Draft
El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead
I'm From Barcelona - Let Me Introduce My Friends
Jesse Malin - Glitter In The Gutter
LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Living With The Living
Low - Drums and Guns
Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank (Myspace stream)
Otep - Ascension
Panda Bear - Person Pitch
The Ponys - Turn The Lights Out

Go forth and spend money!
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Regards from UK/Ireland

Hey all! just wanted to say hi from across the pond -- got some internet time and wanted to let you know what you can look forward to:

- Review of the Horrors' full length album, Strange House (not released in US yet)
- Review of Patrick Wolf's full length album, The Magic Position (also not released in US yet, hopefully written by our own sweet Alisa)
- Review of Hadouken!'s live set (based on my missing the whole gig except their last song. Also, some crappy but colorful photos of the band by yours truly)
- Review of Lupen Crook's live set (+ band. Based on my being at a great Shoreditch gig courtesy of the wonderful Katie Camosey!)

Alright?! see you all in south bend soon enough =)

xx kelly


Oh, and also, I ran across this gig, looks to be good but coming up really soon!!!

MON19 (9:00pm; Free!)
Datarock (Norway) (Young Aspiring Professionals) // Berg Sans Nipple (France) (Bizarre K7Chocolate Ind.ProhibitedTeam Love) // LMNOP (Paribus) // Charlie Deets (Paribus)
Electronic duo DATAROCK make a rare stateside appearance, as a part of our 'free Monday' series. The group will be playing material from newly reissued longplayer Datarock Datarock, an album that, accordingly to Pitchfork, shoots for "instant pleasure and accidentally ends up being much more than that." Entertaining French electronic duo BERG SANS NIPPLE will also perform, making this an international affair. They have just released a new full length for the Team Love imprint. Locals and labelmates LMNOP and CHARLIE DEETS will open, playing second and first respectively.
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Notre Dame has concerts

This is the first in a ten-part series on my favorite shows that have come to Notre Dame between Fall 2003-Spring 2007.

10. Chin Up Chin Up, Kidbootz: Legends, Fall 2006

Really skeptical about how things would turn out, given the weather conditions of South Bend Decembers and the timing of a concert just before exam week, but this turned out to be a decent concert. Joshua et al. rocked the stage in a post-Rutabega mini-set of all original material, and Chicago's CUCU played a solid combination of music from both of their albums.

I kinda remember the weather being really cold and snowy, but a lot of people still came to check it out--and hopefully enjoyed it. There was little competition from other events that night--maybe a crappy bowl game or conference championship on TV, but that was it.

I waited on the guys from both bands on their Legends dinner orders. Vegetarian pasta dishes were popular, not much of a surprise. One guy ordered a rack of ribs, but I'm pretty sure he didn't even get to them with the sound checking running late. There was a strange moment during the concert where the kickdrum produced this sound that I often associate with colored bars on a television screen. It gave the percussion an extra underwritten character when the rest of the music carried enough personality to be a contestant on Deal or No Deal.

As expected, Chin Up x2 commented on the alcohol policy--an event which has really become mundane at the WVFI shows. Perhaps we can write, in addition to the no-alcohol policy, a "no discussion of the no-alcohol policy" policy. Bands usually don't mind when you restrict them.

Overall the show was much higher than my expectations. Good turnout, great performance, and the guys in both bands were splendid.
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Matchbook Romance

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but everyone's favorite 2006-end-of-the-year-show-at-Legends act Matchbook Romance have gone on "indefinite hiatus," which basically means they've broken up. All my emo friends are huddled in dark corners crying and doing who knows what else. By that, I mean I know one girl who's really upset about it. You don't have to do anything that drastic, but keep Matchbook Romance in mind the next time you hear one of their albums blasting from a car window in upper-middle-class suburbia or whenever you meet a pretty skinny girl named Ashley who likes to talk about bands.
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Ted Leo went to Notre Dame

A short distraction from work, I found a link to this video in the WVFI email box. Ted at his usual. Apparently AOL now reaches into indie rock? Apparently AOL still exists? Ted's interview in this segment turns into an interview to work for AOL, and the rep puts a business slant on his questions. Hilarity ensues!



You can find the rest of the videos here.

Ted Leo plays the Metro 4/28. It looks like Legends might be planning something big the same date unfortunately, but no announcements have been made concerning that gig yet.
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Maximo Park stuff

They're going on tour. Umm, hooray?

Here are the North American dates:
07-11 Boston, MA - Great Scott
07-12 New York, NY - Webster Hall
07-13 Montreal, Quebec - La Tulipe
07-14 Toronto, Ontario - Mod Club
07-16 Chicago, IL - Double Door
07-17 Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theatre
07-19 Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge
07-20 Salt Lake City, UT - Club Sound
07-22 Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
07-23 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards
07-24 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
07-26 San Francisco, CA - Popscene
07-27 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
07-28 San Diego, CA - Casbah
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P4k Fest '07

Pitchfork, the most loved/hated website in all of hipsterdom, has finally unveiled -- sort of, since I actually found this info on brooklynvegan -- some details about its summer festival. Taking place July 13, 14, and 15 in Chicago's Union Park, the second-annual event will feature Cat Power, Clipse, Iron & Wine, Grizzly Bear, and Professional Murder (Saturday) and Of Montreal, Girl Talk, Jamie Lidell, and Ken Vandermakr's Powerhouse Sound (Sunday). More acts will be added, as the final number will be somewhere around 40. Last year's festival included staple indie bands like Spoon, Yo La Tengo, Tapes n Tapes, Art Brut, Destroyer, Ted Leo + the Pharmacists, Silver Jews, The Futureheads, Band of Horses, and Devendra Banhart.

Tickets go on sale Monday. Three-day passes start at $45; two-day passes are $35.

As I'll hopefully have a summer internship that only requires three-day work weeks, this is something I'll be looking into, if only to see Cat Power not self-destruct on stage and catch another glimpse of the Of Montreal guy in a bridal gown. If you live in the area or will be doing the summer session at ND, you should really consider hitting this up.
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One of These Things Is Not Like the Other...

Or, wait, is it?


As I am Chinese, I feel I'm able to poke fun at this without being racist... :P

Be honest: When you first saw this pic, did you think it was 1 guy getting a little Photoshop-happy? Apparently, 2 of them are actually twins...JUST 2?? Honestly, combining nondescript Asian and the oh-so-individual emo look creates an army of drones.

Okay, admittedly, I do feel just a tad guilty for ripping on these guys, so here's a free plug for them. The band is called Too Koo, and they friended me on MySpace maybe a year ago, when their headline read "The best emo band in Beijing, China!!" I couldn't help thinking, The only emo band in Beijing, China? They're actually not that bad; as my roommate says, If Franz Ferdinand were Chinese...Here's their MySpace URL: http://www.myspace.com/tookoo. Chinese emo--Who knew?
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Avril Lavigne: Innovator

The new Avril single, "Girlfriend," has made its way around the globe. The girl who used to be a wannabe punk is now a wannabe punk. She earned major cred with 10-12 year olds with her early hits "Complicated" and "Sk8r Boi." We saw a maturer Canadienne on her later album with "Happy Ending."

But the new single and video seem to be a step off the 10th floor into an empty elevator shaft. The artist who wanted to be taken seriously as a punk, you know, like Johnny Rotten, Joey Ramone, and Iggy Pop, has a single that sounds tamer (except for one lyric) than a Disney Channel music video.

Dismiss it? Hell no. Avril Lavigne has invented her own genre with "Girlfriend." Post-wannabe. Its definition is still unclear, but she certainly knows what she's doing. Still skeptical? Well, have you ever had a single re-recorded in Mandarin? Has any other artist ever played the wannabe role and then when completely dismissed as part of a genre, settled so comfortably into the genre that everyone knew she was all along? The degree of consciousness has been raised considerably. I can only hope there's a gig at UP Mall on the next tour.



(Update: She may have partly lifted the lyrics to her chorus from the Rolling Stones tune "Get Off of My Cloud." Is ambiguous lyrical plagiarism a requirement for the genre? Guess we'll have to wait for the album)
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Who's Gonna Bite it Next?

I'm usually not a big fan of death pools, because they are usually about as bittersweet as contests come, unless you pick really horrible people every year. But considering there's no justice in this world, no one in their right mind could comfortably pick a list of people everyone generally wants to die because they'd never win.

But this pool will be slightly less tragic, at least to those who aren't fans of the bands they're picking:

What bands will break up in the year 2007? Insider information is frowned upon. For example, Fidel Castro's band has been on the ropes for years. High school/local bands are not really eligible because "I know The Half-Baked Heroes are going to break up because Jimmy's graduating LOLOLOL" takes the fun out of the speculation. I'd be interested to hear any guesses though and share some of mine for bands that will crumble this year:

The Killers: Brandon Flowers' inability to keep his mouth shut might get the better of what has become his backup act. Disappointment over the last album and the timing of their recent/current tour might lead to further internal problems in the band. I suppose they're still financially successful, but I could really see Flowers ditching his guys, thinking he can do better marketing himself, or his band just getting really sick of him being their pencil-moustache, paisleyed Gwen Stefani.

Arctic Monkeys: The combination of an album cover with a guy smoking a cigarette "Whatever People Say I Am..." and the subsequent EP with an f-bomb in the title. I love the music, but that combination of simple aesthetics and profanity sounds like a drug the Vines used to push.

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: According to a few sources, Conrad Keely has been dealing with a few personal problems recently, manifested in an outburst against his guitarist onstage at a live show.



I was one of the few that enjoyed "Worlds Apart," and since "Source Tags and Codes," the band hasn't gained the recognition fans might expect. Still. It might be time to end the instrument-destroying, mic-throwing, guitarist-attacking schtick, and just open up an Austin coffeeshop. (They could smash the cappuccino machine after every order!)
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It's Neon Bible week

Neon Bible officially comes out this week, and my preordered copy better get here soon. That should hold me over at least until the new Ted Leo album. Also, I'm curious if anyone heard the stream of Wilco's Sky Blue Sky on Saturday night, which was part of an official listening party on the band's website. I was too busy being emo, but from what I hear, the follow up to A Ghost Is Born is great, if slightly adult-contemporary-ish. If you missed it, there are probably leaked versions floating around now. I don't condone the downloading of these, obviously.

If you're not obsessed with the Arcade Fire like me, here are other releases coming out tomorrow:

!!! - Myth Takes
Air - Pocket Symphony
Bright Eyes - Four Winds EP
Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals) - Candylion
Albert Hammond Jr. (The Strokes) - Yours to Keep
My Brightest Diamond - Tear It Down
RJD2 - The Third Hand
Sevendust - Alpha
Son Volt - The Search
The Stooges - The Weirdness
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Short List

so this is my first blog post in over 3 years... since my high school band went defunct and i gave up on the blogging scene. so i figure i'll start slow and ease my way back into things.

i updated the short list on mindset's homepage today, but due to a few technical problems cannot upload the update... so here are some cds that seem to be generating some buzz lately at wvfi and in the college music realm:

Air - Pocket Symphony
Apples in Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna...

i think 'hissing fauna' even charted at number one this week (if my sources are correct), which is a testament how addictive that cd can be.

so yeah, that's the update that is hopefully going to be available to the internet at large very soon.

song on right now: "a glass can only spill what it contains" - mewithoutYou

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1000 HITS!!!

Congrats guys, this blog has really taken off thanks to our ranting, raving, and reviewing. As Statcounter webstress, I thought I'd do a little post commemorating all our visits!

Our blog has been read by people in the Algeria, Australia, China, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Germany, Mexico, Sweden, and the UK.

Not to mention all the hits we get from turning up on search engine results. Here are just a few of the searches we've turned up on:

"giant golden radio song on att comercial"
"'guys are crazy' disco party pictures sample"
"the song on the red lobster commercials"
"arctic monkeys ipod ad song" (did they do one?)
"lily allen wearing gun necklace" (we were the #3 hit on this search. #1 was Miss ModernAge and #2 was my same review on NowPublic.com)

Great first month, all!
xxx KD
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Reunions?! And scary monsters.

Sometimes bands break up. Sometimes bands reunite. This is a post about the latter, more uplifting scenario. Well, unless Fall Out Boy or Panic! break up -- I'll probably rejoice at that news, since I'm so elitist.

Back in the day, before Pitchfork was giving his solo stuff 0.0 reviews, Travis Morrison was in a nice little band called The Dismemberment Plan. They broke up in 2003. On April 28, they're playing a one-time-deal reunion/benefit show at the Black Cat in D.C. If you're in the area and feel like giving away your life's savings to scalpers, I think you should go for it.

As many of you probably know, the now-Chris-Cornell-less band Audioslave used to be called Rage Against the Machine, a band that actually had something to say that didn't involve metaphors about being a length of paved road. Rage is reuniting with their former lead singer, Zach de la Rocha, to play the sold-out Coachella festival. However, unlike The Dismemberment Plan, Rage has announced more shows, possibly hinting at a future of truly wonderful possibilities, such as a new album or at least a full-scale tour. They will be playing three dates on the Rock the Bells tour, along with Wu-Tang Clan. I have no idea what the situation with tickets is.

Finally, and I know I'm late on this, but everyone's favorite shoegaze pioneer/Sofia Coppola collaborator Kevin Shields -- that's right, I like him better than Kirsten Dunst -- has confirmed that there will be a follow-up to 1991's Loveless. By that, I mean, I hope he isn't taking cues from Axl Rose and plans on actually releasing the album within my lifetime. He told Magnet, "I do feel that I will make another great record... We are 100 per cent going to make another My Bloody Valentine record unless we die or something... A lot of people say the reason My Bloody Valentine didn't make another record is because we couldn't... That's mostly true, but not because we couldn't make another record, but because I never could be bothered to make another record unless I was excited by it. And just by fate or whatever, that never happened." I guess it's hard to get excited about something that has no timetable.

On a final note, everyone should check out Lordi, a Finnish "monster hard rock" band, who, well, dress up like monsters and play ridiculous music. It's basically everything Slipknot should be. Their brilliantly-named album, The Arockalypse, is hitting US stores on March 20. Brooklyn Vegan has an MP3 of their track "Hardrock Hallelujah."

If, in the future, after listening to that band, you completely disregard anything I say, I'll understand.
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