Into gorgeous, sentimental indie rock?

Thought so. Head over to www.myspace.com/annuals and check out Annuals, a little band from Raleigh, NC that's about to fuck shit up in the indie rock world. And I mean that in the most delicate, beautiful, passionate way possible. Their album, Be He Me, will be out on Ace Fu Records (Man Man, DeVotchka, An Albatross) in October.

Spin calls them "a Broken Social Scene-inspired, unwieldy affair" and Pitchfork says they "might be the label's best find yet" and included their song "Brother" in the Pitchfork Infinite Mixtape.

Annuals: "Brother"

Ace Fu Records

Hip or Dangerous?

Any self-respecting Williamsburg hipster who hasn't yet checked out The Burg needs to get with the program before this hilarious internet TV series is "so over."

The series parodies life in Billyburg to a tee complete with MySpace, fauxhawks, those creepy PETA ads, irony, roommate hunting, and trust fund baby cafe-lounging. Episodes range from one to 15 minutes and feature music from local bands-of-the moment, including Merryl Streep's son's band Bravo Silva. Yeah, that's right, Merryl fucking Streep.



New episodes are up now...or you can check out the series' "vintage" episodes which date all the way back to May 2006.

Rupert's Space

Parody of Rupert Murdoch's MySpace page:

http://www.slate.com/features/myspace/

Mix Tape Masterpiece

Q: How many hours of my middle and high school days were spent in my room lying down in front of my stereo, in attempt to create "the perfect mix tape?"

A: You know the how many, because you probably did it, too.


Cover art, song order, the perfect title...so many important elements are involved when making a stellar mix tape. Sometimes I worry that it's a lost art. I, for one, still have a tape deck somwhere in my tiny apartment, but does anyone else still think fondly enough on the days of the mix tape to bring it all back?

You know it. Check out the International Mixtape Project at www.myspace.com/mixtapeproject

Started by a dude in DC in 2003 (that kind of rhymes), the IMP has about 500 members in more than 30 countries who exchange monthly mix tapes (and, yes, mix CDs as well.) There's a $10 membership fee that covers "administrative costs" (um, construction paper and stickers?) and every member is required to send one compilation to another member every month for the duration of the project. You get an automatically generated assignment at the beginning of the month and then you have till the end of the month to create your masterpiece and send it off to its lucky recipient.

Wanna Play?

E-mail: international.mixtape.project@gmail.com
with the subject line "JOIN" or visit: www.myspace.com/mixtapeproject

Bowie & Iggy: 1976

Somebody cool found this, not me, but somebody else. (Duh, I said somebody cool.)

Check out this 1976 performance of "Funtime" by Iggy Pop and Bowie on the Dinah Shore show...

Watch it here.

Wow

I really haven't been back here in a while. That SXSW recap went well, huh? I kinda lost my momentum with that one if you couldn't tell.

Why can't I stop listening to that new Hoobastank song "Inside of You"? What is wrong with me?

The Magic Numbers

Let me take a break from taking a break from writing about SXSW to say that I saw the Magic Numbers last night at Webster Hall, and fell in love. What a beautiful, beautiful show. I only knew a little of their music going into it, so each song was like a wondrous little present, unwrapping itself to show what gems this band is capable of producing.

Gorgeous melodies and relaxed harmonies weave through their songs and create little 3-minute tapestries of "oohs" and "ahhs" and other things that make you think of the Beach Boys. Angela Gammon's vocals quietly stole the show, starting out as an addition to frontman Romeo Stodart's, but soaring their own about four songs into their set.

If that's not enough, the band is actually comprised of two pairs of siblings (and, no, not in a White Strips kind of way.)

Favorite songs: "Forever Lost," "Love Me Like You," "Don't Give Up the Fight."

Don't you want to be their friend now?

SXSW '06

I've had that "Deep in the Heart of Texas" song in my head for over a week now, and I think that means I'm ready to update this baby with some SXSW info! (clap, clap, clap, clap.)

WEDNESDAY
Wednesday involved checking out of one hotel and into another, meeting up with a friend from LA for lunch and seeing this wondrous little creature at a piñata store:


Oh yeah, I also saw some bands. :)

I met up with some peeps over at the Levi's/Fader tent and actually caught Tapes n' Tapes. Ok, this time, I planted myself there and watched the WHOLE show to see if I were missing something, but nope. Just not my thing I guess, which is very weird b/c that IS my kind of music. And I actually do like their song "Just Drums." Oh well.

I did see this band Peachcake, that I was totally psyched about before even seeing the show. Like the Postal Service on crack, this spazzy 6-piece (though actually a 2-piece?) kept me seriously entertained (which is proving to be a difficult task these days-what? ADD?) Their most catchy song is called, "Did I Do That or Was it Jim Carrey?" and, like the rest of their tunes, it combines new wavy synths, glitchy programming, bongos, a full drum kit, a keytar player and super quirky vocals delivered by pajama-bottom wearing singer, Stefan Pruett.
Check it:


mmmhmmm, and:


After that, I headed over to the Dirty Dog for a bit of the ASCAP showcase. Caught OFFICE which seemed a bit over-hyped. Nothing special, but not bad. Then the Rinse from Brooklyn--think Brit pop, but actually featuring a British singer. Fun, bubbly, young.

Then my BlackBerry died and I had to start calling people from other phones.

I headed over to Nuno's for Monsters Are Waiting--they seemed good enough, kind of playful yet rockin' but the singer seemed a little too cutsey for her own good.
I'd catch 'em again if they come to NY.

More to come...

Goodnight for now, Robots.

HiYA!!

Today is Chuck Norris' 66th birthday. Chuck Norris has officially graced this world for 66 years.

Represent.

When Chuck Norris does a pushup, he isn’t lifting himself up, he’s pushing the Earth down.

Birds for Sale

Remember this post about Birdmonster?

Well, guess what?

I failed to mention that they've got three (count 'em THREE) tracks up on iTunes that you can call your very own--for just $0.99 each. A small price to pay for some good music.

Get 'em here.