Making Up for Lost Time

After having so many technical difficulties last week, and despite the fact that I've spent ridiculous amounts of time campaigning and haven't done any homework yet, I'm going to post anyway. I've got the time. This entry will be a combination of old and new since I've missed a few days.

So here's the news...

Hot Hot Heat is dispelling rumours that they are on the rocks. The band explains that they were merely testing out the tracks for the new album when they played a week of small shows in the UK recently. Somehow, people took this to mean that they were breaking up. I don't exactly understand how people could jump to that conclusion, but anyway, this one has left the rumour mill. In addition, the aforementioned new album, entitled Elevator, will be released tomorrow.

I think that for the next twenty minutes my favorite living human being will be Wilco's Jeff Tweedy. In a recent interview with the BBC, Tweedy explained how his band has used mp3s to its advantage, actually improving album sales with every free download made available on the band's website. Tweedy also encourages fans to bring recording equipment to shows and post it on the internet. He really gives me a lot of peace about the state of internet downloading right now. And like he says, people worried before that the radio would kill the music industry, and then the cassette tape, and so on. Hopefully he's right in saying that this will all just blow over. I'm sorry, RIAA, but I refuse to believe that Metallica is suffering because I downloaded Bloc Party's new album. Their problem is that they're a bunch of big babies. Jeff Tweedy, I salute you.

File this one under "the strangest album titles I've ever heard." As a direct reference to an incident in the Bible involving Jesus and Peter (I believe you can find it in at least the book of Matthew, if not some of the other gospels), The White Stripes have titled their new album Get Behind Me Satan. As I've mentioned before, the single for it is "Blue Orchid," which is another strange title. I'm not sure what to expect. I do know that I can expect to see it on shelves on June 7th.

Here's something I wanted to put in my last post but the internet was not on my side. Deerhoof is finally releasing a new EP, entitled Green Cosmos. You can check out the tracklist here.

Amazon.com.uk has available for pre-order the Belle and Sebastian biography entitled Belle and Sebastian: Just a Modern Rock Story. As Chromewaves recalls, the release of the book was supposed to be accompanied by the release of a new album. Hmm... makes one wonder, doesn't it? The book will be come out on August 1st, so be on the look-out.

Paste Magazine has a tribute to the last twenty years of Yo La Tengo. The three-page article is probably one of the best written articles I've read in a while, and the topic of choice is clearly a wise one.

If you're in the mood to see some Franz Ferdinand, you're in luck. Well, that is, if you live in the UK. Despite being firmly established in the United States, their summer tour will not take them stateside. Tragic, isn't it? Oh well, there will be other times, I'm sure.

This is also something I wanted to talk about last week but couldn't. The Killers' Brandon Flowers, who recently attempted to deflower The Bravery, has once again run his mouth at the expense of audiences, John Mayer, and even himself. Of course, this latest batch of insults and injuries was instigated by a Q&A done by Rolling Stone Magazine (thanks a lot, guys). The highlights include a description of his run-in with Jay-z, a thumb to the nose at both US and UK audiences, and a glorious rip by David Bowie that Flowers seems to have taken the wrong way. The latter is by far the funniest, as it appears that Bowie totally insulted The Killers, and Flowers actually appreciated it? I don't understand.

Two down, 48 to go. Sufjan Stevens has finished up his latest album, Illinois, a follow-up to his last album, Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lakes State. Both albums are part of his larger "50 states project," in which he plans to make one album for every state. I have my doubts about it, but I like him enough to keep up hope. The album will be released on July 5th (my birthday, guys!), and will come in CD and vinyl formats. The tracklist is available here.

Tomorrow is Tuesday, a.k.a. album release day. Here's what's up for grabs.
Hot Hot Heat - Elevator
Of Montreal - The Sundlantic Twins
Starflyer 59 - Talking Voice Vs. Singing Voice

Upcoming Columbus Shows

4.19 - M. Ward w/ Norfolk & Western and DeVotchKa - Little Brothers
4.20 - m83 w/ Ulrich Schlauss (feat. the Moog documentary prior to performance) - The Mershon Black Box
4.21 - Clem Snide w/ Langhorne and Marbles - Little Brothers
4.21 - Damon and Naomi w/ The Black Swans and Brian Straw - High Five
4.26 - House of Heroes w/ New Republic - Little Brothers
5.07 - The Decemberists w/ Willy Mason - Little Brothers
5.08 - The Books - Wexner Center
5.15 - Andrew Bird w/ Antenna - Little Brothers

Daily Downloads
Oh my gosh... five days of stuff to catch up on. Check it all out.

622 Music Videos (link, tons of stuff)
Sigur Ros - Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do (link)
Stereolab - Peng (link)
Belle and Sebastian - The Boy With the Arab Strap (link)
Various Artists - Lost in Translation Soundtrack (link)
Gorillaz - Demon Days (link)
William Shatner - Has Been (link)
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine (zip)
ABBA, the Complete Discography (rar)
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bayou Country (link)
Her Space Holiday - Audio Astronomy (link)
Belle and Sebastian - Storytelling (link)
Neil Young - Live @ Royal Festival Hall in London, 2.27.71 (link)
Ace of Base, the Complete Discography (rar)
Doves - Some Cities (link)
Godspeed You Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Wrists... (link)
Manitoba - Up in Flames (link)
Of Montreal - Satanic Panic in the Attic (link)
The Holy Bible Audiobook (link, many different translations available)

Whew. And that's not everything. More to come.