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File Under: Internet Dream Teams

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:21:00 -0500

Josh Luft and Kali Holloway have teamed up to answer a very important question: Would you allow yourself to be adopted by Sandra Bullock and live with her for four years? Note that she will conduct herself as a rich, football-crazed Southerner who pities you and teaches you “life lessons” the entire time.

Panda Bear“Guys Eyes”Live from People Party circa...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:04:00 -0500

Panda Bear
“Guys Eyes”
Live from People Party circa 2007

The version of “Guys Eyes” from Merriweather Post Pavilion is glowing and lush, just gushing with optimism and goodwill as its vocals overlap in and out of phase like a Beach Boys harmony re-arranged by Steve Reich. This alternate solo arrangement by Panda Bear has a very different feeling, and flips the mood of the song without altering its essential sentiment. If anything, Panda is offering a different perspective — whereas the album recording comes off like a person deciding to accept the love and pleasure in his life, this take seems more like a man yearning for connections that elude him. Both versions come from an open and loving heart, but the solo arrangement sounds so….solo. Lonely, melancholy, confined to a wide empty space. He keeps singing about what he wants, and while all that seemed well within grasp in the Animal Collective recording, that mantra in this performance just sounds like painful, thwarted, impossible desire. (Originally posted 9/15/2009)

Use The Nightmare Machine

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:12:00 -0500

Tom Scharpling & Jon Wurster
“Little Bill, Big Bill, and Mr. Sherbert”

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I should’ve included this track in the Best Show compilation I re-posted earlier in the week, but the mp3 wasn’t on my laptop til just now. In this bit, Tom has a very confusing conversation with a rather unique family.

tUnE-yArDsLive in Minneapolis, 11/11/2009I think Rob Harvilla is...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:15:00 -0500

tUnE-yArDs
Live in Minneapolis, 11/11/2009

I think Rob Harvilla is right-on when describes this as “another example of tUnE-yArDs’ wanton radness.” Check out Merrill’s intensity near the end!

Tracy Morgan rails against the American foreign policy of the...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:53:09 -0500

Tracy Morgan rails against the American foreign policy of the ’60s in his new audio book. It starts off a little dry and stilted, but then he gets more passionate and funny. I really enjoy the East Coast/West Coast rap war analogy.

Oh No Ono“Internet Warrior”My review of this song is...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:40:00 -0500

Oh No Ono
“Internet Warrior”

My review of this song is up on Pitchfork this morning. Please do not be put off by the title!

tUnE-yArDs“Top Chef”Yes, Merrill Garbus is the type...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:15:00 -0500

tUnE-yArDs
“Top Chef”

Yes, Merrill Garbus is the type of person who will write a song about rooting for the winner of Top Chef and perform it in someone’s backyard. She’s awesome like that. AND IT’S A REALLY GOOD SONG!

Colville Strikes Again

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:43:37 -0500

Sometimes I get interviewed about mp3 blogs, and on occasion I get asked something to the effect of “What do you like in other sites?” or “What do you/did you want other mp3 blogs to be like?” This new post by Liz Colville is more or less the answer to those questions, and also maybe “What do you wish your site was like?”

Pavement“Conduit For Sale!”Live in San Diego, 1999If...

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:10:00 -0500

Pavement
“Conduit For Sale!”
Live in San Diego, 1999

If you never got to see Pavement but are going to see them next year, this ought to give you a sense of just how fun it’s going to be. Crazy, crazy, crazy fun. You will experience the full power of Nastanovich!

The Best of the BEST SHOW ON WFMU

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:43:16 -0500

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I’m reposting this by request. This is a compilation of some top-notch Scharpling & Wurster skits that have not yet appeared on any of the duo’s Stereolaffs cd releases. I strongly recommend buying those albums, and subscribing to both the Best Show and Best Show Gems podcasts.

1. Brock Puechk - A friendly discussion of current events heads off into creepy psycho-drama territory before shifting into a rambling conversation that touches on Shakespeare, an unbelievable dvd box set, and the secret lives of newscasters.
2. Montgomery Davies - Tom speaks to a local judge involved in a very strange scandal.
3. The Millionaire - Tom takes a call from a man who recently became a millionaire, but refuses to spend any of his money lest his bank balance drop below one million dollars.
4. The Predator - Tom gets a call from a delusional and highly ambitious pedophile.
5. The Story Weaver - Tom talks to a co-worker who turns out to be a pathological liar without any ability to craft believable lies.
6. BJ Brysson and the Bridge - A local radio personality tells Tom all about his various fan rallies.
7. Tom’s Therapist - Tom discovers that his former therapist has no qualms about revealing very sensitive confidential information over the airwaves.
8. Sean In Rampbridge - A survivor of a plane crash calls in to talk about the high and low points of his life in 2008.

Annie“Songs Remind Me Of You”My review of...

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:37:17 -0500

Annie
“Songs Remind Me Of You”

My review of Annie’s long-delayed album Don’t Stop and the ancillary All Night EP is up on Pitchfork this morning.

Vampire Weekend“Oxford Comma”Live on Later with...

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:41:00 -0500

Vampire Weekend
“Oxford Comma”
Live on Later with Jools Holland 2007

Vampire Weekend should play at least one show in which they perform “Oxford Comma” at the end of the main set, but after starting the second verse, the song would break down into total cacophony. At that point, Ezra Koenig would start screaming “WHO GIVES A FUUUUUCK ABOUT AN OXFORD COMMA AHHHHHH” a few times over some grinding, disgusting dirge riff. After maybe three minutes of that, they’d throw some stuff around and storm off the stage. A few minutes later, they would come back for an encore, and play the song totally straight. Smiling and polite.

Very Serious Question Time

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:19:00 -0500

In your life, are you a cheer captain, or are you on the bleachers? I suppose you could be something else related to this scenario — a quarterback on the field, a stoner under the bleachers — but I’d prefer that you stick to the simple binary. Cheer captain, or on the bleachers?

Pavement“Trigger Cut”“Ex-magician / stills...

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:00:16 -0500

Pavement
“Trigger Cut”

“Ex-magician / stills knows his tricks / tricks are everything to me.”

“Trigger Cut” is a song about magic, or more specifically, it’s a song about how we can invest things with meaning, and can choose to inhabit a world where everything is alive and significant. It’s about the necessity of imagination, and the ability to find connections in the mundane chaos of life.

“I learned the truth / the truth of the words / truth I made for you because it’s just as good”

It’s also about the malleability of language and the fluidity of thought. It’s about being playful, and having an agile mind. It’s about inspiration, and it’s about attraction. It’s about the joy of ephemeral pleasures, and the happy distortions of memory. If any one song can convey what Pavement was all about, this is it. You connect with this song, and you’re in Malkmus’ world. It’s a better world, I promise.

Michael Kupperman, the genius behind Tales Designed To Thrizzle,...

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:44:38 -0500

Michael Kupperman, the genius behind Tales Designed To Thrizzle, created this t-shirt for an emergency pledge drive during tonight’s episode of the Best Show On WFMU. If you want to support Tom Scharpling and WFMU, or if you just want a Kupperman Best Show t-shirt, please pledge tonight, 8 PM - 11 PM EST.

Roundtable Discussion: The Role Of The Record Label

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:31:37 -0500

Roundtable Discussion: The Role Of The Record Label:

Carrie Brownstein leads a discussion with label heads from Matador, Merge, Sub Pop, Kill Rock Stars, Jagaguwar, and Saddle Creek. There’s a lot of interesting stuff mixed in with stuff you’ve heard a dozen times before, but the thing that interested me most — almost certainly because I have some involvement in it — is the discussion of how much power Pitchfork has in driving the success of some records. It’s a complicated thing. While Best New Music can really get people going, it only seems to work when the audience is already going to be interested. There are plenty of highly rated records on Pfork that the audience just seems to shrug off entirely. Also, as a person who puts a great deal of effort into writing for the site, it’s disheartening whenever people talk about how grades below a mid-7 are ignored entirely, in part because I know that’s true of so many readers. Internally, however, grades in the 6 and 7 range are considered to be positive scores!

Scenes From An Alternate Universe Where The Beatles Accepted Lorne Michaels’ Generous Offer

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:38:00 -0500

Scenes From An Alternate Universe Where The Beatles Accepted Lorne Michaels’ Generous Offer:

It kinda loses me a bit once you enter the mid-80s, but the initial stages of this scenario are great, as is the ending. Also, this writer seems to believe that the “fate has a way of course-correcting” thing from Lost is science-fact…

Vampire Weekend“Cousins”Live in Paris, 10/22/2009Are...

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:07:40 -0500

Vampire Weekend
“Cousins”
Live in Paris, 10/22/2009

Are people going to still harp on the “They’re stealing from Africa!!!” thing if their new single sounds rather like early Elvis Costello?

Hey, who's up for some Gilmore Girls non-news from Amy Sherman-Palladino?

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:11:53 -0500

Hey, who's up for some Gilmore Girls non-news from Amy Sherman-Palladino?:

Well, if you’re anything like me, you’re going to at least humor her.

Crowded House“Don’t Dream It’s Over”Live...

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:05:00 -0500

Crowded House
“Don’t Dream It’s Over”
Live in 1987

I heard this in the supermarket a half hour ago and it just hit me so hard. It’s one of those songs that is always lurking in the background of life, waiting for the moment to rip your heart apart. “Try to catch the deluge in a paper cup,” indeed.