The Flaming Lips and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes - Do You Realize???

I've been on a HUGE Lips kick after reading Mark Richardson's wonderful 33 1/3 entry on Zaireeka. Great version of a song that I believe may be one of the greatest songs ever written - but that also always makes me cry so - as happiness does - so I'm careful with the exposure.

I know I'm tangenting here, but I've never done Zaireeka. I was at the BoomBox Experiment live in 1998, but have never done the home listening experience.

That's about to change.

I've got a xmas bonus coming soon and one of the few things I intend to purchase for myself with a part of that is Zaireeka on cd so I can finally get around to throwing some Zaireeka parties.

Geez, how many times in one post can I say 'Zaireeka'?

image courtesy of blog.kexp.org

SunnO))) + Ulver = Greatness!!!

How long has it been since Monoliths & Dimensions? 2009? I can NOT wait for this!!!

New Pixies Video - Another Toe in the Ocean

Just released! What more can be said about the Pixies continued reunion?

Queens of the Stone Age Live in the Studio @ KCRW

Even after recording/releasing the new Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds live album do you still need proof that KCRW is America's greatest NPR station?

Above.

Burial - New Record Coming This Month (via Exclaim!)

I have to completely plagiarize Josiah Hughs from Exclaim!'s story from this morning and post this great news along with the same video he used because honestly I completely missed Burial's EP last December. So the above is from that and I'm tripping on new-old Burial music and the fact that two days after I just said to someone, "When the hell is Burial going to release something new?" I get this and then two weeks later I get more.

Exclaim has the full story here.

Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse - Down By The River

For my money Mr. Young is the best example of a 'simple' guitar player ever to walk the planet. Sparse, strategic and elegant, but harsh and dusty all the same.

Man... Or Astro Man - Disintegrate

Disintegrate also appears on Man... Or Astro Man?'s full length from this year, Defcon 5..4..3..2..1, which is definitely in the running to be in my top ten. The evolution Man... Or Astro Man? have undergone since back in the day is just fantastic. The new album begins with the classic instrumental, surf rock stylings fans of the band are used to, then moves into more vocal oriented material a la 1997's 1000x E.P. Defcon... then moves back and forth with the instrumental/vocal approaches, however as you reach the end of the record I'd say some of the songs break even stronger new ground, eschewing many of the more recognizable aspects of the band's sound for some electronics and even more focus on making the vocals the forefront of the songs. Case in point: there is very little if any 'surf' to the guitar in track 9, Electric Arc and track 10, Defcon 2 is very electronic oriented, with no discernible guitar at all. Since Astro Man's reunion several years ago it seemed very much to me like these guys work regular jobs and tour during vacation time. That said, if they keep making music the way they have been I am anticipating the interesting new avenues they seem to be perpetually exploring with their sound.

T. Rex - King of the Mountain Cometh

Awesome closing track on Electric Warrior. T. Rex is one of those bands that I know very little about. Really, aside from some very basic info the main thing I know about T. Rex is that I need to know more about them, as they inspired EVERYBODY during the 70's - Bowie especially.

Revolver - Cradle Snatch

Another band I knew nothing about until my good friend Amy dropped a link on my FB page recently. Really dig this - kind of an Oasis/Kula Shaker thing going on. Kind of.

Band's website here.

Failure - Saturday Savior

I had never heard of Failure before - or more likely I did back in the day and never paid any attention. My good friend Jacob of Blue Karma just turned me on to them after hearing news of their upcoming reunion shows in LA. I dig them quite a bit, and thus far this is a stand out.

Thee Comic Column #61 - Rick Remender and the Future of the Marvel U - SPOILERS

image courtesy of http://soulkiller-rebel-rogue.blogspot.com/

I really mean it about those spoilers, as in this week's edition of Thee Comic Column (here) I candidly discuss not only the events of Uncanny Avengers #14 but what Rick Remender's run on the book thus far may mean for the Marvel Universe going forward.

Cake - Frank Sinatra

I've been listening to a lot of Cake recently. This has always been one of my favorite songs on Fashion Nugget, which is an album where every song is outstanding.

Nick Cave Record Store Day (that's today) Live Album Release

image courtesy of Spin

I'm not going to lie - there is NO WAY in hell I'm going out to pick this up today. Working a skeleton crew day at the lab and then coming home to work on my script, then later maybe watch a movie or two because I am quite behind on what people have lent me recently. However, I will be going out tomorrow to pick this up. Live Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Recorded through KCRW, best NPR station in the nation, and if giving Henry Rollins a place for his radio show and putting something like this out doesn't prove that, I don't know what will.

Rick Remender Interview and Upcoming Signing

This is an interview my friend Mike did with Rick Remender when he signed at Mike's store The Comic Bug (best comic shop in CA) back at the beginning of the year.

I've fallen so hard for Remender's writing - it reminds me a lot of how I fell for Grant Morrison circa 2000 and Chris Claremont in the 80's. Mr. Remender, along with Dean White (colorist on Remender's Black Science), Brian Posehn, Gerry Duggan and Scott Koblish are all signing at the Bug again this coming Wednesday, December 4th!!! Details HERE.

Fairies Wear Boots covered by All-Star Metal Line-up

One of my favorite Black Sabbath songs. This all-star line-up consisting of Geezer Butler, Zakk Wylde, Charlie Benante and Corey Taylor was recorded at a Hartke Bass event held at LA's wonderful Henry Fonda Theatre. The event honored Geezer Butler, who is - in my opinion - one of the greatest bass players around.

Via mxdwn.

David Lynch Remixed by Bastille

Previously I have not been huge on Bastille's radio single "Pompeii", however lately it's begun to grow on me. When I saw the video for the song or hear it in any context other than on the radio certain nuances come to the forefront. It reminds me of 80's Peter Gabriel - with those early forays into world music - mixed with The Streets. And honestly, I'm an Anglophile, so lead singer Dan Smith's very, very British voice wins me over. It may also have something to do with the fact that I heard an interview with Smith a few months back where he spoke about what a huge David Lynch fan he is (and subsequently I discovered they have a song called "Laura Palmer") and that he'd had the chance to remix one of Lynch's songs.

Well done Mr. Smith.

Uncanny Avengers #14 Blew My Freakin' Mind!!!

image courtesy of comicbookmovie.com

What an AMAZING week for comics - and I didn't even get everything in my damn box at the Comic Bug! The Walking Dead #117 was fantastic, TMNT #28 wrapped up the City Fall storyline in amazing fashion and I still have Transformers Regeneration #96 and Rick Remender, Matteo Scalera and Dean White's Black Science #1 to read (and OH! have I been waiting for that!). And speaking of Mr. Remender - the best and most shocking mind-fuck of the week was the above Uncanny Avengers #14. It will definitely be the subject of this week's Comic Column on Joup, but in the meantime I'll just say... that if this book wasn't already epic on Chris Claremont's Uncanny X-Men proportions it is now.

Forêt's Amazing La cage video

Forêt - La cage [vidéoclip] from Simone Records on Vimeo.

Wow. Found this on Brooklyn Vegan earlier. First - there's a part of Pennsylvania where a 50 year old fire still burns under a labyrinth of mines? WHAT? Awesome! And finding out about via this great band from Montreal named Forêt who use this amazing imagery in simply stunning music video (and who sonically really itch the old school Stereolab fan scratch I've serendipitously been feeling of late - I broke out Transient Random Noise Bursts w/ Announcements for the first time in quite a while yesterday).

Read more about this on Brooklyn Vegan. And you can buy Forêt's music on their bandcamp, linked below.

Unreleased Velvet Underground track (via mxdwn)

I found this unreleased Velvet Underground track on mxdwn this morning. "I'm Not a Young Man Anymore" apparently fits the bill of unreleased track as not much does in the post napster days - according to mxdwn it's not on any live or bootlegs known to exist. It will be available on the upcoming White Light/White Heat - get this - 45th Anniversary re-issue.

45 years!!!

Go to mxdwn or consequence of sound and read more about the 3-disc special edition here or here. I owned this album briefly and it disappeared, this was back in the mid-90's, and I never replaced it. In that brief time the track "The Gift" became a somewhat ridiculous obsession of mine.

Probably about time.

Factory Floor - Turn it Up

I've flirted Factory Floor since I first heard their remix of Grinderman's "Evil" a few years ago. I dig most of what I hear them do, and they're one of the few groups that do remixes that always seem to offer something new. Well, I shouldn't say one of the few - one of the few I know of, that's better said. Anywho, I came across this new video on Brooklyn Vegan earlier and dug it - the tone and style of the visuals fits the music quite well.

Oh, and that Grinderman remix: