No, I'm still alive

Aw, I'm sorry, poor blog, to have neglected you. I didn't realize it had been so long since we last hung out. Time flies when you're not having any fun. Hang tight. We'll be back together soon. In the meantime, let me quickly say that I hope all the NY five boroughs kids are coming out tonight to see The Lodger open for Holly Golightly at Union Hall. Their record is quite wonderful. Reminiscent of The Wedding Present, Boo Radleys, The Smiths, any really good C-86 band (you know, I really, really suck at trying to describe bands)...As usual, Bill wrote up a great post about the band, so maybe just go over to his blog, because I give up. My blogging muscles have atrophied. I think I just pulled a tendon. Anyway, The Lodger were great at Cake Shop the other night. Here is a song from the album, one that I hope maybe they will play tonight:

The Lodger - Watching

See you at Union Hall later, right?

It's not just for virtually hitting on people

I am sure you are already aware of this, but MySpace is a really good source of information about bands. If you were to look at my profile, maybe you would think I am super duper popular because I have a lot of friends. Alas, no, I am just "friends" with a lot of bands that I like. I have, like, five and a half real friends. Instead of having to check a trillion individual band websites, it is easy to keep up with the news by reading all the band bulletins in one place. For instance, here are a few bits of information posted today:

David Brewis from Field Music writes about his project called School of Language. He's mentioned it before, but I guess he's playing out now. He has a gig with The Mules. I should probably hyperlink The Mules and anything else I mention, but meh. I loooooved Field Music. Like, a lot. A lot lot.

Junior from Junior Senior has a bit of a side project called I Scream Ice Cream.

Robert Wyatt and Bertrand Burgalat have collaborated on a song called "This Summer Night". You can hear it here. Just click on the cover.

To all of those

To all of those who are celebrating their special day, Happy Birthday! Here is a present for one of those people:

George Michael - Monkey
Buy Faith here

Embedding the music video for this song would have been more appropriate, but I can never copy the entire url for a video from YouTube. Does anyone else have that problem? I like how when I went looking for a photo, a fair amount of Michael Cera pictures came up in my search. I miss you, George Michael Bluth. There was a nice interview in The New York Times recently with Cera. It's hard to believe he is only 19. I mean, he looks young, but his ideas about comedy and his apparent lack of vanity seem very mature (Figure, he was about 15 or so when "Arrested Development" started shooting). I was slightly disappointed that Letterman didn't even mention "Arrested Development" when Cera was a guest recently.

Happy Anniversary!

Photo taken from Antiparticle's Flickr stream

Photo taken from Allysonmmurphy's Flickr stream

Photo taken from Roboppy's Flickr stream

I would credit this photo, but I just copied it off the Union Hall Myspace page

Photo taken from Antiparticle's Flickr stream

Photo courtesy of Lara Weissling

photo taken from Robotpolisher's Flickr stream

Happy Anniversary to Union Hall! Union Hall's first year has been amazing. There have been special anniversary shows all this week, and there are still three great events to come. Tonight is a free dance party. Tomorrow night, Enon is playing. Sunday night is extra special with the celebration taking over both floors: Michael Showalter, Eugene Mirman, Janeane Garofalo, David Cross, Todd Barry...and a secret surprise band playing downstairs.

Beyond my own personal affection for the place, it really is a nice space. As one person wrote, "Freaking cool bar with a library, bocce ball, unisex bathrooms, and basement music hall. Love!" Oh, and they have food too! There's music, comedy, dance parties, films and Secret Science Club, where they recently hosted Nobel Prize winner Eric Kandel!

You really should check out Union Hall if you never have. I remember the Math & Physics Club saying that they felt like they were playing their set in a game of Clue. I love the cameo portrait of some random lady that watches over the bands as they play. I only wish I lived closer, so I could hang out there even more than I already do. I included some photos of the place, and hope I credited all the photographers properly and also hope no one gets miffed at me for snagging the pictures. I tried to include a picture of that snazzy unisex bathroom, but no luck.

Special thanks to Jack. My recent "unofficial" event at Union Hall was super awesome, and I owe it all to him.

Switches in New York plus tunes

You know, I try not to pay attention to the hype for every British band that comes along, but I have to say that these two tracks by Switches are very catchy. Their album, Heart Tuned to D.E.A.D., will be out in the States in the fall, but their best tracks have this definite glammy 70s rock vibe that is irresistible. Shades of powerpop and pub rock too. Oohs and aahs. I quite enjoy the lyric, "rip out your heart and give it to me." I actually haven't posted a mp3 here of my favorite track, "Stepkids in Love", but their MySpace page has that song posted along with three other extremely fine tunes.

Switches are playing for free at The Annex this Sunday, July 15th. You can RSVP here. It looks like it will be a late show, but again it's free. They are also playing with The Fratellis at Roseland next Wednesday the 18th, but it's $18 and it's, uh, Roseland.

Anyway, Switches seem to be playing a few US dates. Here are two tracks...anyone want to go see them play on Sunday?

Message from Yuz

Lay Down the Law

Stereo Total is coming to town

Stereo Total - Ex Fan de Sixties
buy Monokini (Kill Rock Stars reissue)

If you have never seen Stereo Total perform, you are completely missing out. The last time they played New York, I think it was at the Bowery Ballroom. The two of them seemed to be having some kind of fight or something (I don't know exactly but one of them seemed miffed), and yet their performance was still so much fun. This track was added to Monokini when the album was reissued by Kill Rock Stars, but it can also be found on Casablanca, a comp Elefant Records put out. The comp also features tracks by The Divine Comedy, Future Bible Heroes, Hopkirk & Lee...Sorry, this entry is not particularly well-written, is it? I got about an hour of sleep. Did I even write in English?


Aug 21 2007
7:00P
Rock and Roll Hotel
Washington, Washington DC

Aug 22 2007
7:00P
Ottobar
Baltimore, Maryland

Aug 23 2007
8:00P
TLA
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Aug 24 2007
6:00P
Webster Hall
New York, New York

Aug 25 2007
7:00P
Middle East
Boston, Massachusetts

Aug 26 2007
7:00P
Zaphod's
Ottawa, Ontario

Aug 27 2007
7:00P
La Tulipe
Montreal, Quebec

Aug 28 2007
7:00P
Lee's Palace
Toronto, Ontario

Aug 29 2007
6:00P
Andy Warhol Museum
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Aug 30 2007
7:00P
Grog Shop
Cleveland, Ohio

Aug 31 2007
7:00P
Abbey Theatre
Chicago, Illinois

Sep 1 2007
7:00P
Entry
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Sep 3 2007
7:00P
Chop Suey
Seattle, Washington

Sep 4 2007
7:00P
Wonder Ballroom
Portland, Oregon

Sep 6 2007
7:00P
Bimbo's
San Francisco, California

Sep 7 2007
7:00P
El Rey
Los Angeles, California

Reminder: Tonight!

The Wombats hit the U.S.

It looks like The Wombats are doing a mini-tour in the U.S. in August. It's about time. I've been bopping around to their catchy hooks and witty lyrics for months and months. When they played SXSW back in March, they didn't play any other U.S. gigs, which I found a little surprising. However, I am hoping they are going to post a few more U.S. dates on their MySpace page, because I also finding it surprising that they are playing three dates in Los Angeles, and only one date in New York...at The Annex.

http://www.myspace.com/thewombatsuk

Aug 6 2007
8:00P
The Roxy
Los Angeles

Aug 7 2007
8:00P
Cinespace
Los Angeles

Aug 8 2007
8:00P
Spaceland
Los Angeles

Aug 9 2007
8:00P
Popscene
San Francisco

Aug 11 2007
8:00P
Mod Club
Toronto

Aug 13 2007
8:00P
Great Scott
Boston

Aug 15 2007
8:00P
Annex
New York

Ticket Giveaway: epo-555 at Union Hall 6/25

I am giving away 2 pairs of tickets to the epo-555/Taxi Taxi show at Union Hall this Monday, June 25th.

I've never had a giveaway before. How exciting is this? So the first two people to email me at uglyfloralblouse@gmail.com are the winners. You have until Monday afternoon to email me. You guys really should check out epo-555. Don't make me beg. Do you wanna see me down on my knees? Or bending over backwards now would you be pleased? I should actually give the tickets to the first two people who guess those song lyrics, but come on, that's an easy one!

************************************************************************
Monday, June 25th - 8:00pm

epo-555

Taxi Taxi
look at the cool poster Taxi Taxi made

with DJ French Toast playing tunes all night long
@
Union Hall, 702 Union Street at Fifth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn

Cost: $7.00

Directions
Union Hall is located in Park Slope, Brooklyn, right off the corner of 5th Avenue on Union Street.
R train to Union Street. Walk 1 block east.
F train to 4th Avenue. Walk north on 4th Ave and turn right on Union Street. 1 block up.
Q, 2, 3, 4, 5 trains to Atlantic Avenue. Walk south on 5th Ave. Make a left on Union Street.

DeLuxe* 2 Year Anniversary Party tomorrow night

DR MAZ

invites you to DeLuxe* - a night of the best new and classic indiepop, britpop, swedish pop, french pop, twee, c-86, and dance-pop

in beautiful New York City!

COME CELEBRATE OUR 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY WITH SPECIAL GUEST DJs:

SHIRLEY BEANS (NEW YORK NOISE )

CHRISTIAN (LABRADOR RECORDS / SWEDEN)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

lolita bar

266 broome street

lower east side

saturday june 23rd

9 pm - 4 am

free

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"DeLuxe is a monthly night at Lolita helmed by Dr. Maz, one of the DJs behind Mondo, Luke & Leroy's smashing dance party. It mines similar musical terrain as its sister party. Want to hear the latest single by soon-to-be U.K. superstars du jour? Or that Wedding Present song you haven't listened to in five years? Or a track by Scottish tweesters the Boy Least Likely To? It'll play at DeLuxe, an indie anglophile's wet dream of a hoist-a-pint-and-chat-with-your-friends evening."

- Gabby Warshawer, AOL CityGuide

http://www.myspace.com/deluxenyc

Come out come out

Denmark's epo-555 plays NY, NJ and MA

I've written about epo-555 before. They are coming back to the States to rock your world with their blend of shoegaze, pop, electronica, jangle, indie rock and dreaminess. There are some epo-555 mp3s posted below, but you have to promise you'll go buy their albums, deal? I'll post more epo stuff soon. It's an epo blitz.

The lineup has changed a bit since they were last in the US. Tine Winther has joined the band. Camilla left the group, since she and Mikkel now have a baby boy. However, Camilla and Mikkel have started another project called Oliver North Boy Choir and, of course, I am going to post about them in the future.

epo-555's records, along with albums from various other Crunchy Frog artists like Junior Senior (well, in August) and Power-Solo, are now available in the US via Ryko Distribution. You can buy some epo-555 albums here and on itunes too. You can also still buy all their material from Vibrashop. Vibrashop is one of the coolest international mailorder sites around. For instance, they also carry albums from awesome European labels like Apricot, Elefant, Labrador, Siesta and Tricatel.

Here are your epo-555 links:
Myspace
Website

Here are your epo-555 tour dates:

Monday, June 25
8:00P
Union Hall
Brooklyn, New York

Tuesday, June 26
8:00P
200 Orchard
New York, New York

Wednesday, June 27
8:00P
Maxwell´s
Hoboken, NJ

Thursday, June 28
8:00P
PA´s Lounge
Somerville, Massachusetts

Here are your epo-555 mp3s:

From Mafia:
Examinor No. 39
Maid In China
Harry Mambourg

From the Radioaktiv - Mafia Fallout 7":
Sugarspiced Suicide featuring Lise Westzynthius

From the Depeche Mode tribute album, DMDK:
Stripped

From Dexter Fox:
Le Beat's on Fire
Dakota

A lone, lonely, loneliness mix

No, this lone, lonely, loneliness mix is not a cry for help. It's not even a particularly gloomy mix. The other day, I wanted to hear "Are You Lonely?" by LaBelle, and typed "lone" into my music player to search for the song. When I saw a bunch of songs come up, I figured there was a mix somewhere in there. The song genres are all over the map. Obviously, I am not posting every song I own that has "lone" in the title. For instance, there's no "Only the Lonely" by The Motels. No "Lonely Boy" by Andrew Gold. I feel like I only went with one really obvious song, but you can't leave Gilbert curbside. There are two songs that I downloaded from full album blogs that specialize in out-of-print records. Both blogs are excellent. You will see where I posted the links. I apologize, by the way, that the volume levels are not consistent. The American Anthem song is particularly low, but so worth it. Go, Mitch Gaylord, go.


Labelle - Are You Lonely?
Buy Nightbirds here

The Divine Comedy - Lonely at the Top
Buy some albums by The Divine Comedy. If I knew where you could buy this, I would tell you.

Twisted Nerve - When I'm Alone
From the Caught in Session single - I don't know where to get it

Kristoffer Ragnstam - Lonely Lane
Buy Sweet Bills here

Nick Garvey and George Hann - Love and Loneliness
Buy the American Anthem Original Soundrack here

Futurisk - Lonely Streets
From Player Piano 7" EP - I don't know where to get this either

Gilbert O'Sullivan - Alone Again (Naturally)
Buy The Very Best of Gilbert O'Sullivan here

Dogs - Lonesome Hearts
Buy Different here

Skeeter Davis - Mine Is a Lonely Life
Buy The Essential Skeeter Davis here

The Godfathers - Lonely Man
Buy Hit by Hit here

House Party Show on Friday with My Teenage Stride

I can't go, but you should. I have to say that I never paid much attention to Pants Yell! before, but they sounded great at the NYC Popfest recently. Oh, go see The Pains of Being Pure at Heart too. It's Peggy Wang East's other band (She's also in The Metric Mile). I make note of her location, because I am seeing Peggy Wang West soon, I hope. Lastly, do I really need to stress the awesomeness of My Teenage Stride?

FRIDAY JUNE 15
9:00 pm
$5 (FREE + 1 w/ RSVP to KIPBERMAN@GMAIL.COM before 6:00 pm Thursday, June 14)

Pants Yell!
My Teenage Stride
A Sunny Day in Glasgow
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
DJ Maxwell Williams (Hugpatch)
+ KEGS, KEGS I SAY, KEGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ONLY $5! (GET A FREE + 1 w/ RSVP to KIPBERMAN@GMAIL.COM before 6:00 pm Thursday, June 14)

The Carriage House
1027 Grand St.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(off the GRAND St. L stop)
MAP TO PARTY
(you have to walk through the main doors, go to the courtyard and make a hard right to an ivy covered door to find the secret home of this most excellent party)

The 1900s play New York

I meant to post this a while ago, because The 1900s have been playing a few East Coast dates. It's too late for me to mention the gigs in DC and Philly, but they are playing tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday in Brooklyn.

Friday the 8th - Magnetic Field
Saturday the 9th - Union Hall

I wrote about The 1900s last year. They are delightful. I don't know why they haven't blown up in some huge way yet. They are playing Lollapalooza in their hometown of Chicago in August though.

I would post another mp3, but I think I'm gonna make a mix instead with the webspace. Eh, maybe not. Well, you can listen to the band at their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/1900s.

My Teenage Stride on tour with A Sunny Day In Glasgow

Ch-ch-ch-check it out! My Teenage Stride is going on tour with A Sunny Day in Glasgow, and you should go see them play. I have written about My Teenage Stride before on this blog. Oh yes, hello there. I am still alive. Yeah, it's been a while since I've written anything. Anyway, they are going to be driving a lot of miles, so go to their gigs and give them your money, ok? I mean, buy their record. You can randomly give them money too. Everyone likes random and unexpected money.

June 13 - Boston, MA - Great Scott (w/Hands & Knees)
June 14 - Brooklyn , NY - Union Hall (w/ Palomar)
June 15 - Brooklyn, NY - Bushwick Loft Party -- 1027 Grand St.
June 16 - Pittsburgh, PA - Brillobox
June 17 - Chicago , IL - South Union Arts
June 18 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Club (w/ White Jazz)
June 21 - Seattle, WA - Crocodile Club (w/ Arthur & Yu)
June 22 - Portland, OR - Towne Lounge (w/ Gingerbread Patriots)
June 23 - Davis, CA – Delta of Venus
June 24 - Los Angeles, CA - Pehrspace
June 25 - Tucson, AZ - Vaudeville
June 27 - Austin, TX - Mohawk
June 28 – New Orleans, LA - TBD
June 29 – Atlanta, GA - 11:11 Teahouse
June 30 - Athens, GA - Caledonia Lounge
July 1 - Chapel Hill - The Cave
July 2 - Washington, DC - DC9
July 3 - Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery
July 5 - Philadelphia - Johnny Brenda's
July 6 - New York, NY - Cake Shop

http://www.myteenagestride.com/

NY: Check it out tomorrow night

My Teenage Stride record release party

with The Secret History (ex-My Favorite)

Friday, March 2nd

Doors 8pm

$7

Cake Shop - 152 Ludlow Street, NYC

http://www.myteenagestride.com (click on the music tab for mp3s)

http://www.myspace.com/myteenagestride

The new MTS album, Ears Like Golden Bats, is out! Come see my friends Jed, Brett and Jeff play. I've written about My Teenage Stride on here a few times over the past couple of years. The new album is fantastic. It's nice to see Jed finally getting some recognition for his talent (via blog action and print articles). There are four bands on the bill tomorrow night. I don't know anything about Skybox, but one of the members of Hands and Knees, Scott, produced and engineered the new MTS album with Jed. I was supposed to write about Hands and Knees about a year and a half ago on this blog. I'm no good, no good at all.

This will be The Secret History's first gig, and if you don't already know, the band is basically My Favorite minus the lovely and sweet Andrea Vaughn. Or rather, 5/6 of My Favorite plus two girls equals The Secret History. Please don't mistake the slapdash and last minute nature of this post for lack of enthusiasm. This is going to be a great gig, so please come out. Yeah, I know I need to start posting again on this blog. When I actually have the time to write, I find that someone has already blogged about the same things I had planned. Then, I sit at my computer, and wave my fists in the air and curse the blog gods. And that flailing around is usually accompanied by some sounds that are kind of like, "AAAAAAAAARRHHHHHHHHH!" So yeah, more posts coming if I can get my crap together and decide that I don't care if my posts are redundant.

IDOLATOR: Feb 12, 2007, My Teenage Stride Gives Us The Chills Jedediah Smith is the Brooklyn-based songwriter behind the band My Teenage Stride, and listening to the band's third full-length, Ears Like Golden Bats, you have to wonder just how much time he's spent obsessing over the Trouser Press; Ears wears its influences like one-inch pins bearing the logos of Orange Juice and the Go-Betweens. We've been especially charmed by the haunting "Reversal" (think of what would happen if the Chills' "Pink Frost" were turned upside down) and the manic, pogo-worthy "Chock's Rally"

THE DELI MAGAZINE: Striding Towards a New Record and Release Party With perfectly plucky bass lines, shimmering guitar work, a drum groove that moves along at a sprinter's pace, and luscious harmonies, My Teenage Stride's "To Live and Die in the Airport Lounge" is the perfect kind of song to convince you that you may not be as old as you think you are…which is good. Most folks have probably wasted a bit of time pining for lost days that have since passed them by. And I can't imagine Jedediah Smith, leader of the Brooklyn outfit, is an exception. But with his extremely recognizable guitar pop… no doubt the grand result of long evenings where The Kinks, The Velvet Underground, Joy Division, The Smiths, and Belle and Sebastian wore out the needle of his turntable… Smith and his band mates churn out the kind of classic kitsch that should have you feeling like there are plenty of glory days still to come. One such day, March 2nd, the band will be showing off new tunes from their forth-coming release Ears Like Golden Bats (Becalmed Records) at The Cakeshop. - David Pitz

BIG TAKEOVER: January 21, 2007, DAVE HEATON’S TOP TEN 1. My Teenage Stride – Ears Like Golden Bats (Becalmed)The best 2007 album I’ve heard yet – smart, funny, stylish, catchy indie-pop.

Urgh redux

Especially since I didn't have time (or energy - me sick plus my eyes are all swollen so I look like I have been crying for three days) to write anything substantive about Urgh! A Music War in my last post, I wanted to direct you to Bill's nice entry on the documentary. I was wondering the same thing as him about what version of the film they will show tonight. I am hoping it's not heavily edited.

If you like the Klaus Nomi section, I would recommend renting The Nomi Song as well. There is a very interesting part where they talk about Nomi filming his segment for Urgh! A Music War.

Oh, and regarding the whole TV show conflict thing, if you were planning on watching the new Cracker movie with Robbie Coltrane on BBC America. BBC America repeats their primetime programming after midnight usually. I wish more channels would do that.

If you were planning on watching Two and a Half Men, I don't think I want to help you. Oh, I kid, I kid. Who doesn't love Duckie and Melanie Lynskey?

Urgh! A Music War on VH1 Classic tomorrow night

Yeah, hi there. I know I haven't posted in quite a while. I don't know who is still checking this blog. I hope to be posting more regularly soon, but we can discuss that later. More importantly, VH1 Classic is showing "Urgh! A Music War" on tomorrow (Monday) night at 9pm. I can't tell from VH1 Classic's website if they will be repeating it after that, so I would say catch it if you can. If you don't have dvr and you feel the need to watch "Heroes", nbc.com streams the current episode after it airs plus the Sci-Fi channel reruns that week's episode at 7pm on Friday. If you have a conflict with another show, email me directly and maybe I can help you out. I'm like a human TV Guide, man. If you have a large social calendar and won't be home tomorrow night, well, good for you. I guess you are just better than me, eh? I have added two links below in case you haven't heard of the film. If I had more time, I would give more background.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urgh!_A_Music_War
http://www.urgh-dvd.com/



photos taken from:
http://www.kristianhoffman.com/recordings.htm
http://www.urgh-dvd.com/urgh-gallery.html

Cambridge, MA: Shepherdess plays with Beirut tomorrow night

Saturday, August 26th

The Critique of Pure Reason and The Middle East Present
Beirut (Ba Da Bing Rec.)
Get Him Eat Him (Absolutely Kosher Records)
The Curtains (Asthmatic Kitty Records)
Shepherdess

at The Middle East Downstairs
$12
18+

Tri-state people, go see Shepherdess. My friend Emily of the bands The Operators and The Tricunx plays the violin. Here is a mp3 from the band's myspace page. Actually there is no violin that I can hear on this track, but you should still download it. Shepherdess is fronted by Hilken Mancini of the bands Fuzzy and The Count Me Outs.

The Feeling - North American tour dates

We're very pleased to announce that The Feeling will be playing the following 16 US/Canadian dates in October.

OCTOBER
8th - Seattle, Crocodile Café
9th - Portland, Berbati’s Pan
11th - San Francisco, Café Du Nord
12th - West Hollywood, Key Club
14th - Denver, Hi Dive
16th - Minneapolis, Varsity Theatre
17th - Aragon, Ballroom - supporting The Fray
18th - Grand Rapids, Deltaplex - supporting The Fray
19th -Detroit, State Theatre - supporting The Fray
21st - Toronto, Kool Haus -supporting The Fray
22nd - Montreal, Le Spectrum - supporting The Fray
23rd - Boston, Orpheum Theatre - supporting The Fray
25th - New York, Hammerstein Ballroom - supporting The Fray
26th - New York, Hammerstein Ballroom -supporting The Fray
27th - Philadelphia. Electric Factory - supporting The Fray
28th - Washington DC, DAR Constitution Hall - supporting The Fray.

Write up about their previous NY gig found on Bill's site with a hot mp3. Some not so hot photos taken on the Treo found on my flickr account.

Sparkle Motion this Saturday

Brooklyn: Tomorrow night

Oppenheimer
The Metric Mile
Saturday, August 5th
9pm
702 Union Street at Fifth Avenue, Park Slope
$6

Directions:
R train to Union Street. Walk 1 block east. F train to 4th Avenue. Walk north on 4th Ave and turn right on Union Street. 1 block up.
Q, 2, 3, 4, 5 trains to Atlantic Avenue. Walk south on 5th Ave. Make a left on Union Street.

Elmo's parents

I'm so not kidding. That's his dad and his mom. The Sesame Workshop produced a dvd to help military families talk to kids about deployment. I guess Elmo's dad is going overseas or something. I suppose it could be his mom, but his dad's is wearing a tracksuit...which means, um, nothing. My powers of deduction are pretty weak. My sister and I started discussing how a tan muppet and a red muppet could have produced Elmo, who is purely red. However, my sister thinks muppet genetics may be different than human genetics, which cracked me up.

Life on Mars starts tonight

Check out "Life on Mars" on BBC America tonight. I would have posted a picture from the series, but Blogger is $&#**#^&$&#

Three reasons to at least watch the first episode:

1) John Simm is the lead, and he's a very likeable actor. I think he's grand. You may recognize him from when he played Bernard Sumner in 24 Hour Party People. He was fantastic in the BBC mini-series "State of Play". I highly recommend keeping an eye out for a repeat airing of this on BBC America or a possible dvd release. John Simm was also in Human Traffic if that helps. He was in a straight-to-dvd/cable movie with Christina Ricci called Miranda. I hate Christina Ricci in that movie. However, Julian Rhind-Tutt from "Keen Eddie" and "Green Wing" was also in the cast, so it's not all bad. John Simm appeared in probably the best episode of "The Canterbury Tales" adaptations with Keeley Hawes and Chiwetel Ejiofor. I think the first time I saw John Simm was in Michael Winterbottom's Wonderland, a very beautiful and sad film, and not in anyway related to the Wonderland starring Val Kilmer as John Holmes.

2) David E. Kelley bought the U.S. rights to "Life on Mars", which means he will be creating a U.S. version very soon. He's going to muck it up. I'm not a huge David E. Kelley fan. I will watch his shows some of the time, because he does have a knack for using interesting character actors. He tends to write outrageous material, and I think a lot of actors are attracted to that, even if it is just a guest spot. Those kinds of roles are fun to play, and get you noticed and possibly nominated for awards. However, I think Kelley always casts too many actors in his shows, and then doesn't know what to do with them. I also think he is more interested in being shocking than being true. He always ruins his own shows.

3) It takes place in 1973, so, you know, good music and fashion...

Sam Tyler (John Simm), a cool, sharp young detective, is working hard to keep the streets of 21st century Manchester safe from crime. But his world is turned upside down when the hunt for a serial killer becomes a personal vendetta after Maya (Archie Panjabi, The Constant Gardener), his girlfriend and colleague, goes missing. Desperately afraid she has been kidnapped by the killer, he sets out to find her, only to become involved in a near-fatal car accident. When he wakes, he finds himself in a different era - 1973. Is this reality, madness or a dream? Sam struggles to understand what is happening to him.

Disoriented and traumatized, 21st century Sam is completely bewildered by his new environment. As all attempts to return to his own time fail, Sam falls back on what he knows best - his job. Each episode features a different case, some of the toughest Sam has ever tried to solve - partly because of what seems like archaic police procedure. This is a world without cell phones, where cops rely on paperwork and memory instead of computers, there's no DNA profiling and what forensics do exist take two weeks to process.

Furthermore, his 1973 colleagues are insensitive, unreconstructed cops who regularly intimidate witnesses and are happy to nail suspects irrespective of whether they have evidence. Sam's new boss is hard-nosed Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister), the antithesis of everything Sam believes in. He gets results by trusting his gut instinct and, all too often, sheer brute force. Most of his team have similar attitudes towards their work including detective Ray Carling (Dean Andrews) who is suspicious of Sam and his 'new-fangled' ideas. At least detective Chris Skelton (Marshall Lancaster, Clocking Off), despite being clueless, is more affable and keen to learn.

The only person in this alien world who reaches out to Sam is a young police officer, Annie Cartwright (Liz White, The Street), an educated and open-minded woman who helps Sam in his quest to find the truth about his new circumstances, as well as battling to lock up the criminals of 1970s Manchester.

In the first episode, it becomes clear to Sam that the killer who is holding Maya in 2006 started his killing spree here and now in the early '70s. Could catching the perpetrator be Sam's key to returning to the future?

Another show tonight

Tonight, Wednesday July 19th
8pm
The Besties, The Metric Mile, Shumai and Lil' Hospital
Tommy's Tavern
1041 Manhattan Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
718-383-9699



Sorry for the last-minute notice, but it's sure to be a lovely evening of twee pop.

Brooklyn: Friday night

www.magneticbrooklyn.com

Tune: Song of Ultraman

Misuzu Children's Choir - Song of Ultraman

I noticed that the first volume of Ultraman: Series One was released yesterday. There seems to be a lot of complaints about this particular release. Honestly, I know next nothing about Ultraman. I just like the theme song. It's super catchy. A big bear complained I only post pop music on here, but he's wrong.

The Feeling play NY tomorrow night

I have a ticket to see The Feeling tomorrow night at The Mercury Lounge. If I can just fight off this bug, I'm going. Anyone else gonna be there?

I like this review from Harmonium:

Several years ago, The Feeling were little more than a ski-resort cover band in the French Alps. Now, they’re British pop-rock architects, having left the snowy slopes behind in favor of b-b-baby’s, na na na’s, and other pop-tastic building tools. Twelve Stops and Home is what they’ve constructed, and debut albums rarely sound this precise.

In the vein of Supertramp (and, more recently, The Darkness and Scissor Sisters), The Feeling are unapologetically happy. Their hook-laden songs bop and bounce around Dan Gillespie Sells’ voice, and the multi-part harmonies evoke ELO without making the listener laugh. Even the bittersweet Sunday-afternoon-strut of “Kettle’s On” and “Sewn” sounds optimistic when filtered through the band’s British poise. And then there’s the really happy tracks – “I Want You Now,” “Never Be Lonely,” “Fill My Little World” – which burn through pop-rock tricks like the entire Beatles catalogue on fire. Apparently, The Feeling learned a lot from their cover-band days, and Home often sounds better than the bands they used to emulate.

Two of the album’s best tracks have already topped the U.K. Singles Chart. It’s hard to say if these sugary riffs will find a place on American radio, but does it matter? It’s rare that pop songwriting is this tight, this genuine, and actually written by the band. The Feeling’s off to a great start here, and Twelve Stops and Home is one of the best pop-rock albums in recent memory.

http://www.myspace.com/thefeeling
http://www.thefeeling.com/

I feel I may resemble a certain well-known blogger here by simply pasting what someone else wrote, and not writing anything of my own.