The Office Summer Vacation

Can't wait for the next season to start!

I'm Not There: Promising Soundtrack

I'm looking forward to I'm Not There, the Bob Dylan Bio coming out. 6 different actors play Bob Dylan, including Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Richard Gere and Cate Blanchett. It should be interesting how they do that.



The tracklist for the soundtrack has been released. I'm really excited to check that out, especially since Eddie Vedder has a few tracks. But I'm also interested in "Highway 61" Revisited by Karen O (from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Antony & the Johnsons "Knocking on Heaven's Door". Oh, what the hell! I want to hear almost all of them - Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, Jack Johnson, Sufjan Stevens, The Black Keys . . .

“All Along The Watchtower” :: Eddie Vedder & The Million Dollar Bashers
“As I Went Out One Morning” :: Mira Billotte
“Ballad Of A Thin Man” :: Stephen Malkmus & The Million Dollar Bashers
“Billy” :: Los Lobos
“Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window” :: The Hold Steady
“Can’t Leave Her Behind” :: Stephen Malkmus & Lee Ranaldo
“Cold Irons Bound” :: Tom Verlaine & The Million Dollar Bashers
“Dark Eyes” :: Iron & Wine & Calexico
“Fourth Time Around” :: Yo La Tengo
“Goin’ To Acapulco” :: Jim James & Calexico
“Highway 61 Revisited” :: Karen O & The Million Dollar Bashers
“I Wanna Be Your Lover” :: Yo La Tengo
“I’m Not There” :: Bob Dylan
“I’m Not There” :: Sonic Youth
“Just Like A Woman” :: Charlotte Gainsbourg & Calexico
“Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” :: Ramblin’ Jack Elliot
“Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” :: Antony & The Johnsons
“The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll” :: Mason Jennings
“Maggie’s Farm” :: Stephen Malkmus & The Million Dollar Bashers
“Mama You’ve Been On My Mind” :: Jack Johnson
“The Man In The Long Black Coat” :: Mark Lanegan
“Moonshiner” :: Bob Forrest
“One More Cup Of Coffee” :: Roger McGuinn & Calexico
“Pressing On” :: John Doe
“Ring Them Bells” :: Sufjan Stevens
“Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power)” :: Willie Nelson & Calexico
“Simple Twist Of Fate” :: Jeff Tweedy
“Stuck Inside Of Mobile With Memphis Blues Again” :: Cat Power
“The Times They Are A Changin’” :: Mason Jennings
“Tombstone Blues” :: Richie Havens
“When The Ship Comes In” :: Marcus Carl Franklin
“Wicked Messenger” :: The Black Keys
“You Ain’t Goin ‘Nowhere” :: Glen Hansard & Markta Irglov

Factory Girl

I just finished watching Factory Girl and I loved it! It's glamorous and sad and historical and full of sex and drugs. I'm such a sucker for druggie movies. It's the story of Edie Sedgwick, Andy Warhol's muse in the mid-60's. He stopped painting for a while and focused on movies, many of which she was the star. I guess she had a fling with Bob Dylan too. Rumor has it that he wrote Like A Rolling Stone about her. I just re-read the lyrics and it totally makes sense! Kind of freaky cuz I had a really different mental picture of that song. But it's way cool all the same.

Radio 1's 40th Anniversary

I just found out about a cool new album that is going to come out. I'm in the US so I am not too familiar with Radio 1 but I do have it as a Sirius channel in my car and I listen to it frequently. It's new to me since I've only had the car for a few months.

Anyways, Radio 1 is releasing a new album to celebrate the 40th anniversary. It's in a really neat format because they took the top songs from each of the 40 years and have a new popular British artist cover it. And some of my favorites this year happen to be British. I love The Fratellis, Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Paolo Nutini, The Kooks, Mark Ronson, Klaxon, the list goes on and on.

Below is the full tracklist, and I'm pretty excited to check it out.

1967 - Flowers In The Rain (The Move) by Kaiser Chiefs
1968 - All Along The Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix Experience) by The Fratellis
1969 - Cupid (Johnny Nash) by Amy Winehouse
1970 - Lola (The Kinks) by Robbie Williams
1971 - Your Song (Elton John) by The Streets
1972 - Betcha By Golly Wow (The Stylistics) by Sugababes
1973 - You're So Vain (Carly Simon) by The Feeling
1974 - Band On The Run (Wings) by Foo Fighters
1975 - Love Is The Drug (Roxy Music) by Kylie
1976 - Let's Stick Together (Bryan Ferry) by KT Tunstall
1977 - Sound & Vision (David Bowie) by Franz Ferdinand
1978 - Teenage Kicks (The Undertones) by The Raconteurs
1979 - Can't Stand Losing You (The Police) by Mika
1980 - Too Much Too Young (The Specials) by Kasabian
1981 - Under Pressure (Queen & David Bowie) by Keane
1982 - Town Called Malice (The Jam) by McFly
1983 - Come Back And Stay (Paul Young) by James Morrison
1984 - Careless Whisper (George Michael) by The Gossip
1985 - The Power Of Love (Huey Lewis & The News) by Pigeon Detectives
1986 - Don't Get Me Wrong (The Pretenders) by Lily Allen
1987 - You Sexy Thing (Hot Chocolate) by Stereophonics
1988 - Fast Car (Tracy Chapman) by Mutya Buena
1989 - Lullaby (The Cure) by Editors
1990 - Englishman In New York (Sting) by Razorlight
1991 - Crazy For You (Madonna) by Groove Armada
1992 - It Must Be Love (Madness) by Paolo Nutini
1993 - All That She Wants (Ace Of Base) by The Kooks
1994 - You're All I Need To Get By (Mary J Blige) by Mark Ronson
1995 - Stillness In Time (Jamiroquai) by Calvin Harris
1996 - No Diggity (Blackstreet) by Klaxons
1997 - Love Fool (The Cardigans) by Just Jack
1998 - Ray Of Light (Madonna) by Natasha Bedingfield
1999 - Drinking in LA (Bran Van 3000) by The Twang
2000 - The Great Beyond (REM) by The Fray
2001 - Teenage Dirtbag (Wheatus) by Girls Aloud
2002 - Like I Love You (Justin Timberlake) by Maximo Park
2003 - Don't Look Back Into The Sun (The Libertines) by The View
2004 - Toxic (Britney Spears) by Hard-Fi
2005 - Father & Son (Yusuf & Ronan Keating) by The Enemy
2006 - Steady As She Goes (The Raconteurs) by Corinne Bailey Rae

Flight of the Conchords: Jemaine as Davie Bowie

Tonight Kia and I caught up on Flight of the Conchords. What a fucking genius series. They were a real group who performed "musical comedy" that got picked up by HBO who made a series out of it. I assume they had most of the songs written first and then episodes were built around the existing songs.

My favorite episode is by far the one where Bret sees David Bowie in his dreams. David Bowie appears to him from a different time period in each dream. Ziggy Stardust Bowie, Ashes to Ashes Bowie, and Labyrinth Bowie. How genius is that? Ziggy Stardust Bowie is of course an obvious choice to spoof Bowie, but Of all the different Bowie's, how did they choose Ashes to Ashes and Labyrinth? Too funny. The best part about it is that Jemaine is the one who dresses up as the different Bowies! At the end they sing a song called Bowie's in Space which is so hysterical it is a fine line between stupid and genius.

If the Internet Crashed

Breaking News: All Online Data Lost After Internet Crash

New Music from Reality TV

I fess up, I LOVE So You Think You Can Dance. I gladly let it hog up two nights of tv watching. I took dance lessons for over ten years so I really appreciate the talent those dancers have. But I have another secret. I use that show as a source for hot music finds. See the video below . . . isn't that sick? I love it! I'm off to find it on iTunes.

Junior Boys [ft. Andi Toma]: "In the Morning"

2007 MTV VMA Nominees

Video of the Year
Amy Winehouse: "Rehab"
Beyoncé: "Irreplaceable"
Justice: "D.A.N.C.E."
Justin Timberlake: "What Goes Around ... "
Kanye West: "Stronger"
Rihanna (featuring Jay-Z): "Umbrella"


Male Artist of the Year
Akon: "Don't Matter," "I Wanna Love You" (featuring Snoop Dogg), "Smack That" (featuring Eminem)
Kanye West: "Can't Tell Me Nothing," "Stronger," "Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been" — DJ Premier remix, featuring Nas, KRS-One and Rakim)
Justin Timberlake: "Let Me Talk To You/ My Love," "SexyBack" (featuring Timbaland), "What Goes Around ... "
T.I.: "Big Things Poppin' (Do It)," "You Know What It Is" (featuring Wyclef Jean), "What You Know"
Robin Thicke: "Can U Believe," "Lost Without U," "Wanna Love You Girl" (remix, featuring Busta Rhymes and Pharrell)


Female Artist of the Year
Amy Winehouse: "Rehab," "You Know I'm No Good"
Beyoncé: "Irreplaceable," "Beautiful Liar" (featuring Shakira)
Fergie: "Big Girls Don't Cry (Personal)," "Glamorous" (featuring Ludacris), "Fergalicious" (featuring Will.I.Am)
Nelly Furtado: "Maneater," "Say It Right"
Rihanna: "Umbrella" (featuring Jay-Z)


Best New Artist
Amy Winehouse: "Rehab," "You Know I'm No Good"
Carrie Underwood: "Before He Cheats"
Gym Class Heroes: "Clothes Off," "Cupid's Chokehold/ Breakfast in America"
Lily Allen: "Alfie," "Smile," "LDN"
Peter Bjorn and John: "Young Folks"


Best Group
Fall Out Boy: "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race," "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs"
Gym Class Heroes: "Clothes Off," "Cupid's Chokehold/ Breakfast in America"
Linkin Park: "What I've Done"
Maroon 5: "Makes Me Wonder"
White Stripes: "Icky Thump"


Most Earthshattering Collaboration
Akon (featuring Eminem): "Smack That"
Beyoncé and Shakira: "Beautiful Liar"
Justin Timberlake (featuring Timbaland): "SexyBack"
Gwen Stefani (featuring Akon): "The Sweet Escape"
U2 (featuring Green Day): "The Saints Are Coming"


Quadruple Threat of the Year
Beyoncé
Bono
Jay-Z
Justin Timberlake
Kanye West


Monster Single of the Year
Avril Lavigne: "Girlfriend"
Daughtry: "Home"
Fall Out Boy: "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs"
Lil Mama: "Lip Gloss (No Music)"
T-Pain (featuring Yung Joc): "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')"
Timbaland (featuring Keri Hilson, D.O.E. and Sebastian): "The Way I Are"
MIMS: "This Is Why I'm Hot"
Plain White T's: "Hey There, Delilah"
Rihanna (featuring Jay-Z): "Umbrella"
Shop Boyz: "Party Like A Rock Star"


Best Director
Beyoncé and Shakira: "Beautiful Liar" (director: Jake Nava)
Christina Aguilera: "Candyman" (directors: Matthew Rolston and Christina Aguilera)
Justin Timberlake: "What Goes Around ..." (director: Samuel Bayer)
Kanye West: "Stronger" (director: Hype Williams)
Linkin Park: "What I've Done" (director: Joseph Hahn)
Rihanna (featuring Jay-Z): "Umbrella" (director: Chris Applebaum)


Best Editing in a Video
Beyoncé and Shakira: "Beautiful Liar" (editor: Jarett Figl)
Gnarls Barkley: "Smiley Faces" (editor: Ken Mowe)
Justin Timberlake: "What Goes Around ..." (editor: Hollee Singer)
Kanye West: "Stronger" (editors: Peter Johnson and Corey Weisz)
Linkin Park: "What I've Done" (editor: Igor Kovalik)


Best Choreography in a Video
Beyoncé and Shakira: "Beautiful Liar" (choreographer: Frank Gatson)
Chris Brown: "Wall To Wall" (choreographers: Rich & Tone and Flii Styles)
Ciara: "Like A Boy" (choreographer: Jamaica Craft)
Eve: "Tambourine" (choreographer: Tahesha Scott)
Justin Timberlake (featuring Timbaland): "SexyBack" (choreographer: Marty Kuldeka)

I Was A Daft Punk Virgin Until Lollapalooza 2007

Yes I had heard of Daft Punk. And of course I knew a few of their songs. But when faced with the choice of Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals vs. Daft Punk, I went with Ben Harper. Ben Harper is great. The only problem was that his music was all kind of slow. We wanted something more upbeat. So my friend and I decided to beat the traffic and leave early because we just weren't catching the vibe.

By leaving early we missed Ben Harper being joined by Eddie Vedder on stage to sing "Masters of War", the Bob Dylan cover. When I heard that after the fact I wanted to slit my wrists because that is one of my favorite songs to hear Eddie Vedder sing. And to have been able to hear it performed live with thousands of other people . . . that would have been heaven. But it wasn't to be.

Anyways, while we were walking to the exit, which is in the middle of the festival, we started hearing the Daft Punk beats. They sounded really good so we decided to check them out. Little did we know we were about to stumble into a rave! Daft Punk was so awesome. Everyone was just bobbing around and dancing. The light show was amazing. It was a great to leave the first night of Lollapalooza on such a high note.

Regina Spektor Live - Lollapalooza 2007

Okay, this video of Regina Spektor singing Fidelity completely captures my experience of seeing her at Lollapalooza. It's kind of creepy. I must have been a few rows of people in front of this guy cuz I remember seeing the guy in the orange shirt and sweatband over to the right of me. I keep trying to see if I can hear myself singing with the crowd :)

As you can see, it was kind of a mild crowd. The vibe was kind of wierd there. No dancing (excecpt for the one guy next to me tripping on something and looked like he should be at a Grateful Dead show instead of Regina Spektor). Lots of singing though. There were a ton of teenage girls up at the front of the stage when we first got there - and that was one hour early. She was the first performed we acutally waited and got there early. Then we realized it was too much of a pain and so we just wandered around to the rest of the performances and tried to get a decent space.

Anyways, her show was good. A whole hour of what you see there in the video. Besides Fidelity my favs were Us (which is Charlie Bird's song) and Real Love, the Beatles cover. Also other fun ones like On the Radio, Better, That Time, etc. She banged on a wood chair with a drum stick in one hand while she played the piano with her other hand during Poor Little Rich Boy. That was WAY COOL! I used to hate Apres Mois but after hearing it performed live I am now loving it. She did do two new songs that I'll have to be on the lookout for: one is called Baby Jesus (which was GREAT) and another one was called Bobbing for Apples. Can't find them on iTunes anywhere so I assume they are new and hopefully on a new album.

Pearl Jam Closed Lollapalooza

Oh my god, what a show! I forgot how fucking hot Eddie Vedder is! He moved that crowd in Grant Park. It was so awesome. I think there were about 300,000 of us crammed into the softball fields of Grant Park. There were just so many people. And they played an awesome set including Alive, Corduroy, Even Flow, World Wide Suicide, Life Wasted, Daughter, State of Love and Trust. I was begging for Jeremy but it was not meant to be. I was happy with what I got.

At one point he said "As a young man who used to ride the El train and listen on a Walkman to people like Patti Smith and Iggy Pop, there's a great deal of meaning to performing on this stage." Of course both Patti and Iggy played at the festival (I'll post more about the whole thing later) and of course most of us there used to ride the El train listening to our walkmans - which is why it was so funny. At the end of the night Ben Harper came out and there was a jam to Rockin in the Free World which Eddie used to sing with Niel Young. One of my favs. All-star jam was with Pearl Jam, Ben Harper, My Morning Jacket, Iggy and the Stooges, etc. Oohhh, it was just too much.

Rockin in the Free World - hell ya! (turn your speakers down a bit - audio is kind of scratchy)