How the biggest electronic acts play their music live

How the biggest electronic acts play their music live - told in cartoons!

[via]

Unbelievable Beetlejuice Minecraft roller coaster

My brother Jon sends me this link of a video of a Beetlejuice roller coaster... Just watch.

[link]

How the Darcys went from catastrophe to indie stardom

Good article at blogto

Michael McDonald, Michael McDonald an Michael McDonald sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"

How did I miss this one??

Thoughts surrounding Google Reader's demise

[link]

I have noticed a lot more +1's in Google Reader in the past few days than normal, maybe people actually will move some of their attention there.

Saigon Sunday - Whale - Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe

Back in the Saigon Sunday heyday, it took me forever to learn the name of this song and the artist. I couldn't even Google the song because for the most part the lyrics are absolutely unintelligible, which I suspect was part of the the point of the song.

I recall reading somewhere that the group was made up of a bunch of Swedish journalists, but that's not evident on their wiki page.

In any case, this is one of those tunes that could truly be considered a "one hit wonder", destined to show up as a link in backwoods blogs twenty years on.

WHALE- HOBO HUMPIN' SLOBO BABE by noriko75

New Depeche Mode - Soothe My Soul

Another single from the forthcoming Depeche Mode album.

[via Pitchfork]

Atoms for Peace - Ingenue

Hitler finds out Google Reader is shutting down

[via]

I don't normally like this meme but this one got to me. Found this video in Feedly, which I guess is my new thing.
Of all the things I do on the web, Google Reader is where I spend 99% of my time... hopefully they reconsider.

Roxy Music - Love Is The Drug

Been on a bit of a Roxy kick lately, listening to Siren for the first time this week. Intro bassline copped by Talking Heads on "Psycho Killer"?

David Bowie's 'The Next Day': Above criticism

Dull, too long, a shadow of past works. 3/10

That's my review in a nutshell.

What I'm really interested in writing about is the way in which the music press is rushing to heap mounds of praise on to this mediocre album.

Check out the metacritic page for the record and you will see what I mean. The two reviews I most identify with, at Exclaim and PopMatters, raise a couple of good points.

In the Exclaim piece, here's the money line:

The Next Day is a good latter-day Bowie record, worthy of at least a few listens, but since it's so evocative of his earlier, better work there's little reason not to put on Scary Monsters or Heroes instead. At the very least, it'll save you from The Next Day's lyrics.

Nailed it. So true. I have this conversation with friends all the time. If an artist's new record makes you want to go back and listen to their previous work, it's probably not a good record.

The PopMatters piece is interesting because the score, 5/10, doesn't match the scathing criticism dished out by the reviewer. Unlike the writer, I'm a huge Bowie fan, yet I can accept some of the points he's making. The commenters, however shit all over the guy because of some imaginary 'bias' against Bowie, as if the former Thin White Duke is somehow above negative criticism now.

When the single and album cover were first released, I was astonished that the first offerings seemingly conjured out of the ether could be so poor. "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" is a decent enough single, and it would slide nicely into the first half of Reality. The rest of the cuts are generic and frankly boring, not to mention the appallingly stupid cover art.

My guess is that if this album were released in 2004 as a follow-up to Reality, the praise might not be so universal, as most of the rock-crit world would not be lining up to pay what they perceive to be their last respects to Mr. Bowie.

Yet Another Fucking Music Festival Announces Official 2013 Lineup!

Yet Another Fucking Music Festival Announces Official 2013 Lineup!

Everything you could want from a music festival!

How the Loudness War is crushing Dave Grohl’s analogue ambitions

[via Production Advice]

Phoenix - Entertainment

New clip from Phoenix from their forthcoming LP. Sounds like... Phoenix, that's for sure.

Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and Trent Reznor jam it out

Dave Grohl's Sound City Players Pound Out 'Mantra' in the Studio - Premiere

A sort of super group jamming out a song for the Sound City soundtrack. Pretty cool to see these guys play together, even if the song doesn't live up to a fanboy's dream of what it could be. Makes me even more excited for that new Queens record that's coming this year.

New Bowie album available for streaming

Not to ruin your morning, but here it is... Bowie streaming on iTunes. Meh. No interest.

The new video is pretty wacky/lame as well.