Long hair? Beard? Anyone?

via Brooklyn Vegan

On September 22nd, Jagjaguwar (the folks who bring you Sunset Rubdown, Dinosaur Jr., Black Mountain, and Okkervil River– just to name a few) are set to release the side project full-length debut of Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon with Collections of Colonies of Bees– they call it Volcano Choir. The LP, Unmap, is an accidental three years in the making, which says something about musicians making music for music’s sake. Here’s what Vernon had to say (via Pitchfork):

“We started collaborating three years ago and just this year we started to realize we had nine or 10 tracks almost done,” he said. “I sing on it, but there aren’t a lot of lyrics– it’s definitely more on the experimental side of things.”

If both camps previous work says anything about the upcoming Unmap, it’ll be sure to make you feel like a leaf floating along in an Autumn wind destiny. Oh Wisconsin, how you always manage to bring us love in the form of indie lullabies…

Tired of giggling about South Carolina governor Mark Sanford’s dalliance in Buenos Aires but still hungry for more political slapstick? Well look no further than the Times’ latest attempt to ascertain what exactly our esteemed doucheba…er…state senators have been up to of late. In short, since one of the two Democrats who defected to the Republican side of the aisle returned to the fold, the two parties have been tied at 31 members each, both claiming leadership, forcing Governor Paterson to call a mandatory special sessions in order hold votes on gay marriage and, oh, every other issue needed to run New York. The parties “feuding junior high schoolers refusing to acknowledge each other, began holding separate legislative sessions at the same time,” complete with dueling gavels. Here are some zingers from what must be the funniest vaudeville act in Albany:
“Democrats gaveled the session to order at 3:02 p.m. After a few short speeches in which they said the governor’s proclamation for a so-called extraordinary session had constitutional and legal problems, they adjourned at 3:07 p.m. ‘Our members will be going home,’ said Malcolm A. Smith, one of the leaders of the Senate Democratic conference.”
“[State Supreme Court] Justice McNamara..continued to implore the sides to resolve their dispute on their own. ‘This has to be resolved by you, no matter what I do or don’t do on Friday,” he told the sides in court, adding: ‘I guess I’m talking like a human being, but I don’t understand what’s going on. You guys have to resolve this.’”
“Senator Dale M. Volker, 68, a Republican from the Buffalo area who is a former police officer, joked while he was riding up an elevator, ‘I might have to start carrying my sidearm again.’”
“‘This is turning into the worst reality TV show ever: ‘I’m a Senator, Get Me Out of Here,’ said Thomas R. Suozzi, Nassau County executive and former Democratic candidate for governor. ‘Jon and Kate are fighting less than these guys.’”

Photo of turncoat Pedro Espada Jr., now a Republican, care of Village Voice

This is just horrible:

partial transcript via

They tried to beat everyone on Saadi bridge and throwing them off of the bridge…. And everyone also on the sidewalks. They beat a woman so savagely that she was drenched in blood and her husband, who was watching the scene, he just fainted. I also saw people shooting, I mean the security forces shooting on people, on Lalezar. Of course were afraid….
They were beating people like hell. It was a massacre. They were trying to beat people so they would die. They were cursing — saying very bad words to everyone. They were beating old men. And this was exactly a massacre.

Arpline, who you may remember as The Kiss Off, made their ‚”debut” at The Mercury Lounge this past Saturday. Rarely have I had the opportunity to see a band evolve over time, as I have Arpline over the past couple of years. Although their sound has always been inventive, they have stepped it up, bringing in some brass and a new atmosphere to push them to the next level. With songs like ‚”Fold Up Like a Piece of Paper” and ‚”Weekend at the Colonies” you can’t deny there is an intelligence and craft to each song. And it will definitely make you move your feet.
If you have heard Arpline, but haven’t been to a show, I would definitely urge you to go– their live performance brings an entirely new energy that you won’t be able to experience otherwise (say, via myspace). Though part of me misses The Kiss Off, I am looking forward to Arpline’s next step. Whichever direction they chose to move in, I doubt it will disappoint.
Also, opening for Arpline and bringing the heat, was Big Bang TV, appealling to those who like bands similar to The Postal Service, but are striving for vocal range and an eclectic arrangement. Varying between dance happy pop rock and somber melodic ballads.
And, no worries to The Kiss Off fans– though you’ve got to call them Arpline now, the band consists of all the same boys you know and love.
– Torey Schantz

From Brooklyn Based:

The former Public Bath #7 becomes NYC Zine Fest #1 this weekend when the independent publishers, distributors and supporters of zines come together at the Brooklyn Lyceum to celebrate their self-published, homemade DIY publications. The Zine Fest opens both Saturday and Sunday at noon and continues until 7pm both nights. Free!

Make sure you stop by and check out our homies Free Danger, you kind of owe it to them since their DJ skills have been helping you shake your thang at Legion, Savalas, and our Northside showcase these last few weeks.

Via Pitchfork:

Best New Music honorees Cymbals Eat Guitars will have a new 7″ out via Transparent in the UK on July 20, and only Pure Groove will be selling it. The single even comes with a free prize for the first 300 buyers: a slap bracelet! (Hey, remember 1990, when we were all accidentally slitting our wrists? Fun times!).

To hold you over until their June 28th show at Cake Shop (w/ Bedtime & Teletextile), CEG is giving out their new non-album single “Tunguska” on their myspace page.

Discovery, the collabo project of Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij and Ra Ra Riot’s Wes Miles, hits the old school electro-pop soft spot in my brain. With special appearances by fellow Weekender, Ezra Koenig, and Angel Deradoorian from Dirty Projectors–who we are glad to hear are doing ok– how can you resist bopping around to the debut while basking in some rooftop sunshine.
Auto-tune + a Jackson 5 cover = yes, please!?
Ok, so maybe I’m desperate for the summer to actually start, but I’m feeling this!
Download “Orange Shirt”, the first single off of the July 7th release of LP (yep, another ironically titled album y’all), and tell me you aren’t mistaking it for a lo-fi Passion Pit jam– and that’s not a bad thing. Although, I have to admit, this might be the album I’ll want to never hear again after a few wild summer nights. Just saying…