Coming soon... Th' Corn Gangg!

I had something else in mind for the main feature, but this is just too great to pass up. When The Unicorns turned up D.O.A., it was such a sad day. I, for one, was rather devastated by the news. I'd only seen them twice (I say only, but I know so many people who missed out on the experience and are still kicking themselves to this day), and I loved them so much. I wasn't the only one, either. They had become well known among indie circles at colleges all over the place. I remember when my boyfriend found out that I liked The Unicorns, and he was totally surprised because he thought they were really underground. When I saw The Unicorns last at Skully's, the place was packed. They were a phenomenon well on their way to stardom, and it all ended in one foul swoop. Devastating.

To make matters worse, word began to spread that the group, or at least some of it, was reforming as a hip-hop group called Th' Corn Gangg. "The what?!" I said. It's bad enough to have one of your most beloved bands break up, but it's even worse to hear that they've decided to start playing one of your most hated styles of music. Yes, folks, I can't stand hip-hop. I like Jurassic 5, though, so give me some credit. Then came SXSW. I didn't get to go to the festival, tragically, but I read a lot about the performances, including an article about Th' Corn Gangg's appearance. The description I read made me rethink my snap judgement. From what I can remember of the article, which is very little, the band was still using Unicorns songs, but that they were even better. I've decided to take the article's word for it.

So then why did The Unicorns break up in the first place? After all, they could have just gone in a different direction. Nick Diamonds says that couldn't happen: We were moving in a different direction and one of us didn't want to go on with that." Good enough reason, but this wasn't actually a new direction. Diamonds admits, "We were doing Th' Corn Gangg before we did The Unicorns and we had to go back to it."

And who is this "Corn Gangg"? It consists of former Unicorns Diamonds and J'aime Trambour, joined by underground LA rappers Vick Booz and Busdriver. I've never heard of them, but then again, I don't like hip-hop, so I probably wouldn't have heard of them anyway. The band is working on new music, including new renditions of old Unicorns songs, which makes me happy. It's like they're gone but not completely. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes... okay, I'm done. Excitement abounds as I await their debut.

In other news...

Wee! It's an internet popularity contest and the winner is... Coldplay, with runners up Sleater-Kinney. Let's first check out our number two:

1. Feature in The Onion's A.V. Club
2. Cover story in Exclaim Magazine
3. Interview in The Guardian

And our winners...

1. Hillarious observations made by tankboy at donewaiting.com
2. NME article also on the #1 song by Crazy Frog
   
3. Interview in Newsweek
4. Feature on BBC News about the leak of their new album
   
5. Feature in the National Post

By the way, the new album is available for download below.

The new Strokes album will come out in January, and let's hope that it's better than their last one.

Nada Surf just announced that they, too, will have a new album coming out September 20th.

Rilo Kiley has officially signed a deal with Warner.

The following is sad, but true. The children's home that inspired The Beatles' "Strawberry Fields" has closed its doors.

Is the new X-Men 3 movie in peril? The film's director, Matthew Vaughn, has quit the job, citing that he didn't want to spend time away from his family.

Upcoming Columbus Shows

6.02 - The Wrens - Little Brothers
6.03 - Tokyo Rose w/ Lux Courageous and Self Against City - High Five
6.08 - Modest Mouse - Promowest Pavilion
6.13 - Iron and Wine w/ Band of Horses - The Newport
6.15 - Travis Morrison - Supraphonic Studios (Where the heck is that?!)
7.07 - Reel Big Fish - Newport Music Hall
7.20 - Howie Day - Promowest Pavilion
7.20 - Luna Halo w/ Modena Vox - Skully's Music Diner
7.22 - Tegan and Sara - Newport Music Hall
8.11 - Ben Folds w/ Ben Lee and Rufus Wainwright - Promowest Pavilion
8.30 - Xiu Xiu w/ Das Yellow Swans and Nedelle? - Little Brothers
8.31 - Coldplay w/ Rilo Kiley - Germain Ampitheater
9.06 - Of Montreal - TBA

Daily Downloads
from the regnyouth archives

Coldplay - X & Y (link, rar, password = rya)
The Bravery - The Bravery (link, mp3)
Cibo Matto - Working for Vacation (link, rar, password = 1235711)

Alas, my school year is drawing to a close. Yes, I'm still in friggin' school. I hate the quarter system. I have a final today and two next week. I should probably be studying that. Oh, also, my boyfriend's brother came in from Kuwait yesterday. He's on leave for 16 days. I think that's pretty awesome. I think I'll post tomorrow. We'll see.