I’m in the process of making a pro and con list about whether or not I should go to this show.

Pro: “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank” turned out to be a pretty rad record, despite all the “they’re rock stars now/ Johnny Marr joined the band” hype.

Con: Their Webster Hall show last fall started strong and then dissolved in to an endless, guitar-y wankfest. Johnny Marr is a good guitar player. We get it.

Pro: Man Man are awesome.

Con: Love as Laughter is deeply boring and sounds like Dire Straits. When I saw them last fall, I spent most of the show wondering whether the girl member was wearing tights or hot pants.

Pro: Maybe Isaac Brock has gotten back on the bottle and the show will be fun and chaotic, like the old ones.

Con: United Palace Theater is freaking far.

Summary: I might go. Then again, I might not. But “We Were Dead…” is a solid album.

Details: 4/30, 8:00 PM, Modest Mouse, Love as Laughter, Man Man, United Palace Theatre All Ages $37.50

Posted by Cortney Harding at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Performing "What Sin" from Jacksonville City Nights. Is it just us or has Adams, for better or worse, channeled the ghost of Jerry Garcia?

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

These two videos epitomize all that is wrong with Seventies commercial prog rock. Two case studies in why the flute and the fiddle should NEVER be used in rock music.

Kansas: Point of Know Return

Jethro Tull: Ian Anderson 's Flute Solo (07/31/1976)

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 02:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is hilarious:

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sure, Bishop Allen is a great, upbeat, fun indie pop band, but the real draw is that they’re fronted by the cute boy from Mutual Understanding. He can have a crisis about the direction of his life on my living room couch anytime.

Sat 4/28 6:30 PM Bishop Allen Knitting Factory (Main Space)

Posted by Cortney Harding at 09:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I imagine Deerhunter’s show at the Mercury Lounge will be one big music blogger clusterfuck, but their show at Sound Fix should be pretty chill. Deerhunter do the spacey, droney Grizzly Bear thing, which sounds pretty damn good while curled up with a mug of tea on a coffeeshop couch. Their latest CD, “Cryptograms,” is pretty nice bedtime listening, too.

Details:

Thu 4/26 7:00 PM Deerhunter Soundfix Records

Fri 4/27 8:00 PM Awesome Color, Deerhunter, Telepathe, Silent Barn (aka Raven's Den)

Posted by Cortney Harding at 09:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

...you know, now that the fancy folk are moving in. Bloomberg could save a few bucks by filling the pool with oil instead of water. (If you haven't watched Toxic Brooklyn, you can see it all here). Meanwhile, summer concerts are still being scheduled for McCarren Park Pool. You can see the full schedule here, though only a few dates have been announced thus far.

From NYTimes [Thanks Peter]

Changes for the city's 29,000-acre park system are even more ambitious than initially detailed by the mayor in his 25-year plan for a greener New York, and include reopening the High Bridge and the McCarren Park swimming pool, officials said yesterday....

The McCarren Park pool, built in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, in 1936 and closed in 1984, is one of 11 giant swimming pools built in the city as part of the Works Progress Administration. The pool, which could accommodate 6,800 bathers, will be reduced in size by about one third and reopened as an Olympic size pool. The work is budgeted at $50 million, and officials expect it to begin this summer and take a couple of years.

Details of the city’s plan to reopen the bridge and the pool were not discussed when Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg outlined his PlaNYC initiative on Sunday, but were confirmed yesterday by the Department of Parks and Recreation.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 02:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The White Stripes new single"Icky Thump" is now available on iTunes. Sounds like Jack White has been rocking his old Physical Graffiti LP again:

The White Stripes - Icky Thump (XFM radio rip) (MP3)

The album is due out June 19th. From Wikipedia:

The White Stripes official web site has announced that Icky Thump will be the sixth studio album by The White Stripes. Its completion was announced on February 28, 2007. The band's website announced that the album was recorded at Nashville's Blackbird Studio and took almost three weeks to record -- the longest of any White Stripes album to date.

A statement on the band's official website (spuriously attributed to "Kitayna Ireyna Tatanya Kerenska Alisof" of the "Moscow Bugle", a reference to the 1966 Batman film) claims that:

“The White Stripes have completed the recording and mixing of their sixth album. It is entitled Icky Thump, and is their first album to include a title track, which curiously (and not ironically) has the same words in it's [sic] name. Though some residents of northern England might almost recognize the title, the Stripes stress they are spelling it wrong intentionally just for "kicks" and "metaphors", and to avoid a possible lawsuit from the estate of Billy Eckstine.”

A video of The Stripes in the studio working on the album can also be found at their site, although the aforementioned statement has this to say about the song: "The actual music has been replaced with mid eighties sampling keyboard technology to prevent what industry analysts are now calling 'song poaching'."

Jack White stated that the album will appeal to fans of the band's self-titled debut, perhaps suggesting a stripped-down hard rock sound. A trumpet/guitar duel is said to take place in one song.

The first track ("Icky Thump") has been announced as the first single to be taken from the upcoming album. Q101 in Chicago has become the first station to play the track.

[hat tip BrooklynVegan]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

MySpace owner Rupert Murdoch & Mark Burnett

From HuffingtonPost

The online social networking site MySpace and reality TV producer Mark Burnett are teaming to launch the search for an independent presidential candidate.

The political reality show "Independent" comes with a $1 million cash prize and a catch: the winner can't keep the money.

The prize can be used to finance a run for the White House or can be given to a political action committee or political cause.

Contestants in the show, set to launch in early 2008, will meet the public and interact with supporters, protesters and others. An interactive "town hall" will give MySpace users and TV viewers a chance to rate their performance.

The show does not yet have a commitment from a TV network.

Potential candidates will audition for the show by submitting a video. Once the contestants are chosen, they will set up MySpace profiles to serve as their campaign headquarters.

The hope is that the show, with its Internet component, will engage younger voters in the political process.

"Through this new network television series and the partnership of MySpace, we're going to discover in a big way what America really thinks, and bring to light the issues that are closest to those who now finally have a chance to be heard," Burnett said.

MySpace is a unit of Fox Interactive Media, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We're glad to see that one of our favorite records of the year, From Here We Go Sublime, is metacritic's highest ratest record of 2007 thus far. This wonderful release by Sweden's Axel Willner (Kompakt) is pure heaven for minimal techno aficionados. If you haven't heard it yet, you can check out a track here:

MP3: The Field: Over the Ice

Speaking of amazing music, Of Montreal's EP "Icons, Abstract Thee" is even better than Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? (which, frankly, we've been lukewarm on). Sadly, it's a bit difficult to find: From Polyvinyl

As a bonus to online store customers we are releasing this exclusive CDEP Icons, Abstract Thee for mailorder only! (The EP will also be available from of Montreal on tour). The EP consists of five songs which are not on the Hissing Fauna CD.

If you miss the carefree pop of The Sunlandic Twins, do yourself a favor and get your hands on a copy.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Jarvis Cocker
“Jarvis”
Rough Trade, 2007

After artsy Brit-poppers Pulp imploded in 2001, their iconic front man Jarvis Cocker seemed to go on a permanent musical hiatus as well, preferring guest editing stints at the UK’s Guardian newspaper and hanging out with his wife in Paris to releasing new music. To the delight of many fans, he reemerged last year with a witty, political track called “Cunts Are Still Running the World,” and Cocker seems to have lost none of his ability to provide sardonic social commentary via pop music. On his self-titled solo release, he rails against naughty, chubby teenagers on “Fat Children” and questions how parents can explain away the ills of the world on “Disney Time.” Cocker also casts a critical eye on modern romance in “Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time,” (which he wrote for Nancy Sinatra), but seems to find redemption on the joyful “Baby’s Coming Back to Me.” Musically, the album is a bit sparer than Pulp’s grandiose recordings, but still unmistakably Brit-pop. From “Common People” to the cunts in control, Jarvis is proving to be one of the smartest and most sardonic chroniclers of our time.

Show details: Mon 4/23 8:00 PM Jarvis Cocker Webster Hall 18+ $32

-Cortney Harding

Posted by Cortney Harding at 11:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

image c/o Gothamist

We've been meaning to spread the word about our favorite new brunch spot, Brooklyn Label. It can get crowded at times, but the food is well worth it. A welcome addition to the hood. Have you been? Let us know what you think here.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Animal Collective

The line-up thus far looks pretty solid and, as always, all shows are free [via BrooklynVegan]

June 1 - Animal Collective & Danielson
June 16 - Brooklyn Philharmonic
June 17 - The Jonas Brothers
June 29 - TBA
July 6 - Fujiya & Migyagi & TBA
July 13 - Menomena & TBA
July 20 - Bishop Allen & Rock Plaza Central
July 27 - TBA
August 3 - Turntables on the Hudson -- Billie Holiday Remixed and Reimagined
August 10 - Au Revoir Simone & Metronomy
August 17 - The National & Takka Takka & The Forms
August 24 - TBA
August 31 - Battles & TBA
September 7 - TBA

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CocoRosie, “Hairnet Paradise”

CocoRosie are definitely an acquired taste, but fans of Devendra B and Joanna Newsom should be eating this right up. I interviewed them a while ago and found them to be cool, down-to-earth girls who spun good stories and avoided talking about new agey unicorn bs. Plus, one of them has the best fashion mullet ever.

Show details: Warsaw 16+ $18.50

-Cortney Harding

Posted by Cortney Harding at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to the Harry and the Potters website, “[t]he idea is that the Harry Potter from Year 7 and the Harry Potter from Year 4 started a rock band. And now, no one can stop the wizard rock.” Does this sound like the greatest thing ever, or what? I’ve never read any of the Harry Potter books and am scarred for life by the fact that I worked at a bookstore the summer one of the books came out and had to get up at 6am on Saturday to paint lightning bolts on kids’ faces, and I’m still excited for this show. Geek rock at its finest.

Mp3s: http://eskimolabs.com/hp/listen.htm

Show details:
:: Harry and the Potters
:::: Japanther
:::::: Jason Anderson and the Best ------> x Wolf Colonel

[ SUGAR FACTORY UPSTAIRS ]
289 Kent Ave @ S 2nd St | ALL AGES | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L-Bedford, G-Metropolitan, JM-Marcy | doors 8PM sharp!

-Cortney Harding

Posted by Cortney Harding at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Blogotheque has the story. [Thanks Aaron]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

That's right, Disco Biscuits are slotted to jam-out this August at McCarren Park. Obviously, Live Nation (aka Clear Channel) has its fingers on the pulse of Williamsburg. From Crooked Rain

Look's like Bisco, as Disco Biscuits are known to fans, and Umphrey's McGee are going to be playing McCarren Pool this summer.

Now for those of you not down with the jam band scene, Bisco and Umphrey's are two of the bands jockeying to fill the vacuum created after the disbandment of Phish and save the scene from complete obscurity. After seeing both bands several times, which I am a bit ashamed to admit, I have to say not only do they both kind of suck, but also have incredibly annoying fans. The only saving grace of hippies is their drug induced haze enables them to dance at shows rather than stand there like statues, desperately trying to look cool (NY hipsters, cough). However, I usually found that most fans of these bands tended to be more into the drug aspect of the concert than the actual music, so I guess it's a trade off. In the end, the irritating fans and monotony of the music caused me to abandon jam bands for greener pastures.

SO, be sure to avoid McCarren Park and Bedford Ave on 8/15 if troves of Long Island hippy stoners and twenty-minute suck-fest songs scare you as much as they scare me.

On the bright side, Cat Power will be playing in July.

On a related note, check out our new website mccarrenpark.com for all the latest info on McCarren Park Pool.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)

UPDATE: Sadly, "Sludgie" has died

Given how polluted those waters are, it will soon be spawning some creature that will battle King King on the streets of Manhattan. From the AP

In this photo released by the United States Coast Guard, a minke whale swims in New York City's Gowanus canal, Tuesday, April 17, 2007. Marine biologists were dispatched to investigate the whale that found its way into the narrow Brooklyn waterway best known for industrial pollution. It was not known whether the animal was in distress.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 09:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[Thanks Tooney]

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[Thanks Carlos]

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Chan Marshall portrait by Grant Siedleck

Given the persistence of this shitty weather, we're looking forward to some of this summer's upcoming shows. Namely Cat Power at McCarren Park Pool.

Plus it's been rumored that Sonic Youth may perform Daydream Nation, in its entirety, at Prospect Park. On the downside, Celebrate Brooklyn is reeking of patchouli this year:

Prospect Park Band Shell, Brooklyn, NY
Thu 06/14 - The Neville Brothers
Sat 06/16 - Joan Osborne
Thu 06/21 - Richard Thompson
Fri 06/22 - Ralph Stanley
Tue 06/26 - Manu Chao
Tue 06/27 - Manu Chao
Fri 06/29 - Ravi Coltrane, Groove Collective
Sat 06/30 - The Stills, Sam Roberts Band, Malajube
Thu 07/05 - Isaac Delgado
Wed 07/18 - Ani Difranco
Thu 07/19 - Morley, Blackmail with Alloy Orchestra
Fri 07/20 - Catherine Russell & Bobby "Blue" Bland
Thu 08/09 - The Hold Steady, The Big Sleep, The Teenage Prayers
Sat 08/11 - African Festival w/ Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars

BrooklynVegan has more here.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yacht is solo project of my Portland homeboy Jona Bechtolt from the Blow, and his forthcoming record “I Believe In You. Your Magic Is Real” is already getting major blog love. The Fader is even threatening "Akon-level posting" about him; the last band they did that to was TV On the Radio, and look what happened to them. Live, it’s Jona, his laptop, and a whole lot of crazy visuals and spazzing out.

Mp3s: http://www.myspace.com/yacht

Show deets: Gang Gang Dance, Professor Murder, Yacht Hiro Ballroom at the Maritime Hotel(Rhizome Benefit) 21+ $35

-Cortney Harding

Posted by Cortney Harding at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In case you missed them last night, Pitchfork has the video, costume changes and all. Check it out here.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 05:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Faggot Family

Our favorite story of the week: From the BBC

A West Midlands family is playing a central role in the quest to raise the profile of a forgotten British dish - faggots.

The Doody family from Wolverhampton has been crowned The Faggot Family in a national competition, and to kick off their reign they will launch National Faggot Week.

The family will be touring the country extolling the virtues of the dish, which is best-known for its links with the Black Country.

The Doody family were chosen to front the campaign after impressing judges at the Savoy Hotel in London in November. They displayed their fanaticism for the delicacy during quizzes, role-plays and mock commercials.

"The nation knows that the Cornish pasty, Yorkshire pudding, haggis and fish and chips are great British dishes, but all too often the faggot is left off that list," said Janet Doody.

Her husband Fred added: "It's unfair because faggots were a British delicacy long before any of the others.

"The great British faggot is full of flavour and a great belly warmer at this time of year."

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 09:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Free Williamsburg first interviewed Calla in July of 2003 (http://www.freewilliamsburg.com/july_2003/calla.html), and oddly, not much has changed since then. Calla’s new record, the dreamy “Strength in Numbers,” sounds very similar to 2005’s “Collisions” and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Calla has their slow, creeping, slightly psychedelic formula down pat, and they are smart enough to realize that it’s a formula that works. The last show I saw them play was at Brooklyn Lyceum way back in the fall of ’05, and they broke out the smoke machines and turned the bass high enough to make my insides vibrate. Their show at the Bowery tonight hopefully won’t be much of a departure.

Mp3s: http://www.myspace.com/callamusic

Show details: Sat 4/14 8:00 PM Calla, Dirty on Purpose, The Sugar Report Bowery Ballroom 18+ $15

-Cortney Harding

Posted by Cortney Harding at 08:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The New York Times has a nice overview of his life here.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 09:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I don’t know if Kaiser Chiefs front man Ricky Wilson has ever spilled his methadone supply in an airport and wound up smoking crack in it’s absence, but he sure has quite a few other traits in common with the Happy Mondays Shaun Ryder. The Chiefs, named after a South African rugby team, have the usual Brit-Pop influences (the Clash, anyone?), but manage to sound pretty fresh. I’m underwhelmed by their new record, but their debut album, “Employment,” still merits pretty regular spins.

Show deets: Thu 4/12 6:45 PM Kaiser Chiefs, The Walkmen, Annuals Roseland Ballroom All Ages $31

mp3s: http://www.kaiserchiefs.co.uk/txp/index.php?s=audio

-Cortney Harding

Posted by Cortney Harding at 06:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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She's done backup vocals for the Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens. Now Annie Clark (under the moniker of St. Vincent) is about to release a debut record that's all her own. You can check out the first single here. We've been loving it and can't wait to hear the whole thing when it's released July 10. More track streams are available on her MySpace page.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just in time for Easter, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone resurrected my faith in music. There are a whole lot of perks to being a rock critic – free records, free shows, and working in sweatpants most of time among them – but the problem is that after a while, you begin to hate music. Polite, boring, faceless guitar bands begin to irritate you. The raft of CDs that arrive in the mail start piling up in the corner, still wrapped in plastic weeks later. You forget why you even started doing this in the first place.

Then a show like Sunday night’s Casiotone gig rolls around, and you remember with a stunning sort of clarity. Casiotone, who is actually a bespectacled dude named Owen Ashworth, has been a favorite of mine for a while; his last record topped all my year end critics poll lists, and I’ve called him the next Springsteen in multiple publications. His lyrics have the narrative quality missing from so much music today; Ashworth is first and foremost a storyteller. His set at the Bowery started off with “Cold White Christmas,” a song about post-college malaise and homesickness. He then played “Nashville Parthenon,” which chronicles the feelings of a young gay boy whose lover is forced to leave town, and “Scattered Pearls,” disco track about broken necklaces. At this point, the crowd had swelled to fill the room, and most of them were dancing. The beat of the next track, “Young Shields,” sounded just like a heartbeat, and the audience went nuts when he brought out Carolee from Xiu Xiu to sing Prince’s “When U Were Mine” with him. The next track, “Bobby Malone Moves Home,” is the anthem of every confused kid who needs a couple months on the couch to figure things out; “New Year’s Kiss” perfectly encapsulated the crashing letdown that is the first morning of the year. He finished strong with the quiet, wrenching “Last Night Was a Disaster,” and closed the set with a new, untitled track that bore a strong eighties vibe.

Casiotone is playing tonight at the Raven’s Den in Bushwick. Do yourself a favor and go check him out.

Show details: Tuesday April 10th @ SILENT BARN

:: special secret band for the painfully alone
:::: High Places
:::::: Golden Ghost --------> Laura from Castanets

[ SILENT BARN ] aka Raven's Den aka Club Krib
915 Wyckoff Ave @ Hancock | Ridgewood/Bushwick, QNS/BKLYN
L-Halsey or M-Myrtle/Wyckoff | 8pm | all ages | --> $3 <--

mp3s: http://www.myspace.com/cftpa

Thanks to Jeff Stokvis for the photos.
-Cortney Harding

Posted by Cortney Harding at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Via Idolator

"Earth Intruders" is the first song from Bjork's Volta to make its way to the Internet, and it's got a big, messy backbeat by Timbaland, additional percussion by the thumb-piano players Konono N°1, and the enigmatic Icelandic singer surveying the carnage that surrounds her.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Vice investigates Greenpoint's Oil Spill. Turns out Williamsburg/Greenpoint is "the most toxic neighborhood" in NY.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 02:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Iggy Pop, “I Wanna Be Your Dog”

It’s IGGY FUCKING POP. Do you need another reason?

Show details: Mon 4/09 7:00 PM Iggy and the Stooges United Palace Theatre All Ages $39.50

-Cortney Harding

Posted by Cortney Harding at 08:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This video is hilarious, even if it's a bit derivative of this makeover we did for a writer at Entertainment Weekly, uh, 4 years ago. [Video via Gawker & Imaginary Socialite]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Toronto-based post-punkers the Creeping Nobodies might have started as a one-off collaboration at a Fall tribute show, but they have come a long way from imitating Mark E. Smith for kicks. The Nobodies are touring in support of their latest record, “Sound of Joy,” which was released in May 2006 on Toronto's Blocks Recording Club label and sounds like a modern version of Sonic Youth’s classic, “Sister.” The band also channels the Ex and the Birthday Party, and their live show is characterized by the frenetic energy they bring to the stage. Lead singer Derek Westerholm, in true punk fashion, is more than willing to not only hop on his band mates, but dive in to the audience as well. In an era when many post-punk bands take on an air of cool detachment, it’s refreshing to see a band that are willing to jump right in, even if they do wind up landing on your head.

Show deets: Creeping Nobodies -----> from Toronto
:::: Parenthetical Girls
:::::: The Golden Era

[ UNCLE PAULIE'S ] ~~ heated! ~~
NE corner of Monitor St & Greenpoint Ave | Greenpoint, Brooklyn
G-Greenpoint or L-Graham | 8pm | all ages | $tba
-- MYSPACE / DIRECTIONS --> http://myspace.com/unclepauliesnyc

mp3s: http://www.myspace.com/thecreepingnobodies

Posted by Cortney Harding at 09:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Webzine nemu.com described Erase Errata as “post-riot-grrl, post-feminist, and post-punk.” Maybe they’re better defined as the pre-eminent art noise band of the decade. Cited as favorites by godfathers of feedback Sonic Youth, Erase Errata caught some flack last year when a line-up change resulted in their usually chaotic noise gaining some discipline. They certainly haven’t hit the straight and narrow, though; their art-damaged noise is still spastic, danceable, and fun. Closer inspection of their lyrics reveals able brainpower and a feminist mindset; this is a band that hosted a discussion of third wave women’s issues after a concert at Smith College. Like a Gender Studies class set to a beat, Erase Errata inform and entertain at the same time. Their marriage of dancing and revolution would make Emma Goldman proud.

Show deets: :: Adult
:::: Erase Errata
:::::: Child Abuse

[ STUDIO B ] -> totally superclub style! now w/ friendlier bouncer dudes!
259 Banker St @ Calyer | Greenpoint/Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L-Bedford/G-Nassau | -ALL AGES- | $10 | 8PM | 718.389.1880

-Cortney Harding

Posted by Cortney Harding at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This looks like a trailer to some unmade horror movie where Cheney leads a minion of Zombie Pod-People at the onset of Armageddon. [Via Huffpost]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We're voting for Myspace Tom

From HuffingtonPost

It's true, and it's a brilliant marketing gimmick if not exactly the most electorally sound: MySpace will be inviting each of its members to vote in their very own primary on January 1st and 2nd, 2008, prior to any of the state primaries. Said MySpace president Tom Anderson (that's MySpace Tom to you): "Iowa and New Hampshire may be selecting delegates, but the MySpace vote will be the first test of where candidates stand in the election year."

Wow. Sort of scary, when you think about it. How difficult is it, exactly to sign up for a MySpace account? For multiple MySpace accounts? You certainly don't have to be American to do so. Or of voting age (especially not of voting age, which is why MySpace got into some hot water with respect to its underage users). But, like the voting for American Idol, that matters not all that matters is the numbers, and when they come down next January you can bet they will shift the dynamic of the primaries. This is what they're talking about when they talk about the power of the web in 2008. READ IT ALL

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 09:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I've been wondering what to do with my cat's ashes. Now I know, I'll just cut her with some blow and do a few lines. [from AP]

Keith Richards has acknowledged consuming a raft of illegal substances in his time, but this may top them all. In comments published Tuesday, the 63-year-old Rolling Stones guitarist said he had snorted his father's ashes mixed with cocaine.

"The strangest thing I've tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father," Richards was quoted as saying by British music magazine NME.

"He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn't have cared," he said. "... It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive."

Richards' father, Bert, died in 2002, at 84.

Richards, one of rock's legendary wild men, told the magazine that his survival was the result of luck, and advised young musicians against trying to emulate him.

"I did it because that was the way I did it. Now people think it's a way of life," he was quoted as saying.

"I've no pretensions about immortality," he added. "I'm the same as everyone ... just kind of lucky.

"I was No. 1 on the 'who's likely to die' list for 10 years. I mean, I was really disappointed when I fell off the list," Richards said.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 03:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bright Eyes' new record, Cassadaga, is out next week and we love what we've heard thus far, even if the cover concept sounds a bit cheesy. From Music Slut:

As one rep at his label, Saddle Creek explains: "The original concept as Conor Oberst and I discused it was to use a 3D stereogram, a 'magic eye' illusion, for the artwork, so if you stared at it the right way, images of pyramids would appear in 3D. The problem with this was that, especially with CD packaging, the stereogram would have to be very small. Also, there are some people who are not able to view magic eye images - myself included - and they would be losing out."

"I did some hunting around for other options and found a company based in London who offer a patented process they developed called Focal Decoder that we ended up using. What we liked about this option was that it was very difficult to see anything of the hidden images without the decoder, it allowed a high level of detail in the hidden images and text, and it was a technique that we hadn't seen anywhere before."

"The hidden text was mostly written by Conor and translated into other languages by friends. The rest of the hidden text is magical in nature and from historical sources. I liked Conor's idea of using different languages, so even after you use the decoder to view the text, you still have one more level before you can decipher the message. The 'deluxe' version of the CD and the vinyl LP have the most encoded images. The LP decoder is a larger size to accommodate the larger encoded panels. The design of the decoder was based on Conor's idea of having it look like an antique scientific instrument."

Here's the cover and you can download some tracks here.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Afghan Whigs, “Conjure Me”

Their retrospective is out next month. If there is a God, there will be a reunion tour.

-Cortney Harding

Posted by Cortney Harding at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Their new record, Night of the Furies isn't out until April 10th, but we've been enjoying The Rosebuds' first single "Get Up, Get Out." A bit reminiscent of Stars, it's the perfect 80's-inspired pop song for a dreary Monday morning. Aquarium Drunkard has the mp3 here.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)