I’ve been catching up on a lot of things lately, including back episodes of The Colbert Report and The Daily Show. I’m glad I didn’t let these episodes slip away. This segment of “The Word” from last Tuesday’s Colbert is comic gold.
Shane MacGowan Gets a Set of New Teeth (Links)
Shane MacGowan Gets a Set of New Teeth The Pogues singer had recently talked about getting his teeth fixed to prevent his face from ‘falling apart’. Tone Language Is Key To Perfect Pitch “Perfect” or “absolute” pitch is rare in the U.S. and Europe, but musicians who speak an East Asian tone language fluently are much more likely to have the ability. You’ve Read the Book, Now Take a Look! Literary tourism and the quest for authenticity. The New Nuke Porn From Critical Mass to The Road: a new wave of graphic nuke porn. Pop TV Shows Inaccurately Portray Violent Crime Researchers compared two popular television shows, CSI and CSI: Miami, to actual US homicide data, and discovered clear differences between media portrayals of violent deaths versus actual murders.
Review: Cloud Cult; May 14, 2009 at The Casbah; San Diego
Cloud Cult have worked hard to get where they are. Their early albums contained moments of brilliance, but were weighed down by a lack of focus, frustrating silence, and cacophonous filler. After releasing six promising but inconsistent albums, the band finally struck gold with 2007’s The Meaning of 8, which balanced quirkiness and catharsis without succumbing to the ADD-addled wanderings of previous efforts.
They further refined this aesthetic on 2008’s Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes), and in doing so crafted one of the year’s finest albums. With the one-two punch of those records, Cloud Cult had ascended to a new creative peak; naturally, the prospect of seeing them live during this renaissance promised to be thrilling and memorable. Why, then, did their May 14th performance at the Casbah prove disappointing? Continue reading
Neko Case Announces Summer Tour
A few months ago, Neko Case played a “secret show” at the Casbah, which was announced ahead of time on the underground Internet site MySpace. The show, designed to promote music enthusiasts TurboTax, was set to open its doors at 7pm and would only admit people on a first-come, first-serve basis.
However, people on the Casbah’s e-mailing list were told that they could show up at 3pm to get a wristband guaranteeing entry, and then reappear later and walk right in—information that was unavailable to anyone who found out the correct way (through MySpace). This therefore greatly benefited otherwise oblivious Casbah mailing list members; in other words, lots of people showed up a mere three to four hours ahead of time to find the show already sold out.
Those who missed Neko that night may be wondering if San Diego is to be included in her upcoming North American tour, but this time as a real show with purchasable tickets and an adequately-sized venue. Well, San Diegans can now rest easy because Neko has finally announced her tour dates and, if you did miss her last time, you remain hopelessly and utterly screwed.
However, if you live in any other city in North America, you’re in luck. Neko and her goddess-like vocals are coming to you! Tickets can be purchased here, and we’ve got the dates for you after the jump. You know, in spite of everything, we do still love you, Neko. Continue reading
Review: The Avett Brothers; May 10, 2009 at The Belly Up Tavern; Solana Beach
No one likes a gushy reviewer. People want evenhanded critiques that take a band’s flaws as well as their strengths into account. Reviews that seem overly positive wreak of bias and/or ignorance, smack of unchecked fandom, and can diminish the credibility of the reviewer. But, like it or not, this is going to be one of those reviews, because when The Avett Brothers performed to a packed house at The Belly Up on Sunday, it truly was a flawless show.
Backed by Bob Crawford on standup bass and—because no country/folk/bluegrass band is complete without a long-haired, head-banging Asian guy—Joe Kwon on cello, brothers Seth and Scott Avett took to the stage with understated confidence. Their aw-shucks Southern humility dropped no hints as to the stellar performance they were about to deliver but, from the moment they began to play, The Avett Brothers nailed each note with baffling ease and agility. Continue reading