First Look/Listen: Garfunkel And Oates, "Save The Rich"

Finally! An anthem for our generation!

Electric Black Horse, "Capricorn Girl"

From 2011, here's Electric Black Horse with "Capricorn Girl."

Enjoy!

I Am Trying To Break Wilco's Heart But I Don't Think They Really Care

Something truly peculiar happened to me yesterday. Only twice in my life have I made special trips into a strange room to demand the people there reveal the name of the band they are playing and the song that is being sung. In a strange twist of fate, both times it's been Wilco.

These great songs, what planet were they being beamed in from?

It would probably be helpful for you to understand my long tempestuous relationship with Wilco in order to see why this is such a big deal. Wilco and I are like the two cantankerous protaginists thrown together by fate in a romantic comedy, who bicker incessantly like bitter enemies but underneath it all have unrestrained lust and affection for one another.

My earliest recollection of bad feelings for Jeff Tweedy & Co. can be traced back to the summer of 2004. Newly pregnant with my third child, I sat shotgun in a friend's car while he chaperoned my Finn Brothers concert experience. My husband was out of town and knocked-up former groupies can't be trusted to rock the night away at the 9:30 Club without some help. This buddy kept on about his fanatical devotion to Wilco and how he had traveled far and wide to "follow" the tour as it wound its way around the US. All this despite working a full time job and raising a family. I instantly went to the bad place I normally go when I hear about roving groups of music fans truckin' their way across state lines to see the object of their desire.

Deadville.

I knew this drill all too well having had an old boyfriend that bordered on the fault line between Clueless Hippy Vagrant and Beserkville Never mind that he eventually became a wildly successful dentist later on in life: anything Grateful Dead-related had to be experienced and I wanted absolutely NO PART of that droning mellow sea of waste.

My narrow mind was made up in an instant. I fucking hated Wilco.

Coolest USB Drive Ever?

I am a little obsessed by USB computer accessories because they come in all kinds of crazy shapes, most totally useless. Do I have a purple USB lava lamp for my computer? Yes I do. So I've seen a lot of random and cool USB drives, but today I think I've found the coolest of them all.

Introducing the Voltron 2 GB USB drive:

Here are the specs:

• Perhaps the coolest USB drive ever made: Voltron!
• Articulated head and arms.
• Chest lights up with data transfer.
• Includes: Blazing Sword!
• Blazing Sword can be held in hands AND feet!
• Comes preloaded with a full episode of the classic Voltron cartoon - remastered, for your protection.
• Dimensions: 3.5" tall.

At $36.99, is it insanely overpriced for a 2 GB drive? Yes. Do I still want it? HELL YES. I think maybe I need a Leap Day gift. Form blazing sword!

[source]

First Look: The Avengers Poster

I'm really excited for The Avengers. I've been excited since Marvel made their intentions clear at the end of Iron Man a few years ago. I'm excited that genre-nerd extraordinaire Joss Whedon is at the helm. I'm excited that I only have to wait a few more months until it's released.

What I'm not excited about is this poster:

The Avengers is about a disparate group of superheroes uniting to fight a common enemy. But you'd never know that by the poster. It doesn't seem like the Avengers are fighting the same battle, let alone in the same movie. None of the characters are even looking in the same direction. I'm no graphic artist, but even I can tell a haphazard cut and paste job with no unifying theme. It looks like the poster was done by a fanboy with Photoshop from the depths of his parent's basement.

DVD Review: Santana Live At Montreux 2011

About ten minutes into watching the massive concert experience that resulted in the two-disc Santana Live At Montreux 2011, I managed to wrap my mind around two things. One was the idea that at this point in the game, Carlos Santana has become the 800-pound gorilla and therefore has earned the right to call all the shots for himself musically. And the other is that the guy is a damn fine musician.

It's not that I haven't been told this on numerous occasions by rabid Santana fans all in a lather, but rather that I've never been able to catch the man in concert myself. This was rectified during the 204-minute surround-sound experience I had in a darkened basement while snacking on Toblerone chocolate and drinking root beer.

I'll admit I went in a little blind, not having the full impact of being a fan before becoming immersed in the show, but I found myself continually impressed by the guitar playing and the established musicians he surrounds himself with during this summer night in Montreux. All the old favorites are here as well as some new numbers to add spice to the mix and you'll see an appearance by new bride and well-respected musician in her own right, Cindy Blackman Santana.

Sublime, "Santeria"

From 1996, here's Sublime with "Santeria."

Enjoy!

Revisiting Def Leppard's Hysteria

1987 was the greatest year in the history of music. There, I said it.

Check out Wikipedia. Look at the list. Appetite for Destruction. Sign O' The Times. Document. Kick. Faith. Pleased To Meet Me. In My Tribe. I could go on. Many of these albums are justly remembered as beloved classics. But for some reason, you don't hear much of what for me was the definitive album of that year and, frankly, that entire era of my life.

1987 was the year of Hysteria. And it fucking ruled.

Everything about Hysteria screamed awesome to me, from its Tron-meets-Altered States album cover to its pedigree as the follow-up to what could be best described as patient zero for the hair metal movement, Pyromania. The first single I heard, "Animal," had the guitar bite and the punchy chorus that my 17-year-old brain was hardwired to fall in love with, and within a month the plastic cassette case went from shiny and clear to opaque from overuse. It was in my car, in my Walkman, in my boom box... pretty much anywhere a late '80s kid could put it without rectal bleeding.

My recollections of that time--from my senior year in high school through freshman year in college—-don't exist without a soundtrack, and so much of Hysteria formed the backdrop of my most precious memories. Driving my '64 Buick Skylark down Riverside Ave. with my friends in the back, singing "Women." ("Skin on skin/let the love begin!") Trying to woo potential girlfriends with "Love Bites." Sitting in the cafeteria and debating the political meaning of "Gods Of War" with friends. The 24-hour loop MTV seemingly played of "Pour Some Sugar On Me." Seeing the band live at the Spokane Coliseum (with Tesla!) and, when the power unexpectedly went out, being treated to an acoustic version of "Rocket." Even lamenting that, sixteen months after it was released, they still hadn't put "Love And Affection" out as a single.

I've Predicted The Entire Plot Of What To Expect When You're Expecting

At the movies this weekend, I was forced to watch the trailer for What To Expect When You're Expecting, loosely based on the best-selling self-help book. It seems that this movie got the Garry Marshall treatment, which is to throw offers at as many actors as you can, see what sticks, and cast those who need the paycheck and have no artistic integrity. And there are so many storylines that each actor only has to film a few scenes. Everybody wins!

Based on its successors, He's Just Not That Into You, Valentine's Day, and New Year's Eve, this will not be screened in any Feminist Studies College courses. The plot is likely derived of played-out stereotypes and predictable bad comedy scenes. In fact, I'll save you the time and the $10.50 by prediciting some major plot points:

1. One (or more) of the pregnant women will have weird food cravings and hilarity will ensue while they find that exact concoction (i.e., chocolate covered-pickles).
2. There will be lots of "comedy" from the superdads not using jokes, but showing that by being a stay-at-home dad has emasculated them will bring enough of the funny.
3. Since pregnant women have tons of hormones coursing through them, they will act in insane and evil ways, but the husband has to put up with them.
4. There will be a mishap with an accidental squirting of breastmilk.
5. One or more of the women will go into labor at the same time at the same hospital, ending up with a large gathering of all the main characters. There may or may not be an accidental switch of babies.

Seven Questions In Heaven With Tayisha Busay

Two weeks ago, we featured the video for Tayisha Busay's "Heartmeat/Lovemuscle" as our Song Of The Day. Since I was totally mesmerized by the video, it was only natural we'd spend Seven Questions In Heaven with the band.

Describe your music for our readers who may not be familiar with you.
Imagine if Cyndi Lauper and The B-52's had some sort of queer love child with The Spice Girls and Nirvana, and then the love child decided to produce strange electro-dance pop songs for all of her little friends and their choreographed dance parties. It's electro-pop/dance-bop.

Who are your musical influences and idols?
Idolizing other artists is a big commitment, but we are lucky to come from a generation where influences came easy and everything on TV in the '80s and '90s was inspiring in some way. Everything from the late, dear Whitney Houston to shows on Nickelodeon to Bikini Kill to La Bouche to Devo. Big '80s camp and dirty '90s grit.

CREDIT: Amy Seder Photography