Lanterns Light the Way

San Diego’s Lanterns might have a luminescent name, but they have yet to enjoy the spotlight.

Despite high-profile gigs with bands like Matt and Kim, …And You Will Knows By the Trail of Dead, and These Arms Are Snakes, the four-piece has operated mostly under the local radar. But, thanks to a critically-acclaimed EP and two crucial shows on the horizon, all of that is set to change for the band. Continue reading

Alec Ounsworth’s New Vision

When it was announced that indie darlings Clay Your Hands Say Yeah would be going on hiatus, fans clasped their hands and screamed no. Such breaks rarely bode well for a band’s future, and assurances from the group that the split would only be temporary did little to assuage concerns. Though the Brooklyn-based band’s future remains uncertain, fans can at least take comfort in following frontman Alec Ounsworth‘s new solo career. Continue reading

Thao with the Get Down Stay Down Get Sacked

The first thing Thao with the Get Down Stay Down ever saw in San Diego was a pair of dangling balls.

Last November, the band came to town to play a show and, upon entering the city’s limits, were treated to a memorable sight. The pair in question was hanging off the back of a pickup truck—I’m just going to go ahead and assume it was a Ford F150—and the image of the swinging Bumper Nuts™ quickly burned itself into the unsuspecting band’s retinas. San Diego may be known worldwide for its beaches and burritos, but it is our balls that Thao with the Get Down Stay Down will forever remember us for. Continue reading

The Curious Case of Jay Leno

When considering whether ancient aliens landed on Earth thousands of years ago and got civilization boost started here, you’re bound to create a few sentences ending with question marks. This is precisely what happened to Erich von Daniken when he wrote Chariots of the Gods, a book that reimagines Earth’s ancient origins. Among others, von Daniken poses the following questions: “Was God an astronaut?”; “What connection have mummies with our theory of space travelers in the remote past?”; “Will hospitals in the year 2100 be spare-part stores for defective men?”; and “Ought we not ask such questions?”

With more than two hundred question marks in the slim book, von Daniken leaves the reader clamoring for answers. But you have to appreciate the fact that von Daniken’s willing to ask the questions everyone else is perhaps too afraid to.

It’s with this inquisitive spirit that we consider Jay Leno’s unprecedented return to The Tonight Show. There are lots of questions, to be sure, but let’s start with what we do know: airwaves are soon to be The Jay Leno Show-free and new episodes of The Tonight Show will begin airing March 1, with Leno as the permanent guest host of the show, which has no permanent host. Now for the questions. Continue reading

Watchlist vol. 3: The Middle East (MP3)

Is America ready for a Middle East invasion?

Ready or not, don’t fret. The deceptively-named band actually comes from the land down under — Townsville, Queensland, Australia to be exact.

They create music as beautiful and diverse as the Great Barrier Reef itself. Their strings, harmonies, and layers have delighted audiences worldwide, yet they remain one of Australia’s best kept secrets.

But now, they have their sights set on America. Continue reading

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