DEAR PHAWKER, 1. A band this allegedly likable must know that it can be despised. Help me bring bring balance to the universe. 2. A decent wedding band could play these songs note-for-note. 3. There’s no fucking way you’re going to bait me into saying something bad about Unitarians. 4. This new album is made possible by our collective unremitting gullibility. Break those fake kwassa-kwassa chains. Send these dudes back to grad school. 5. Wearing Docksiders in 2008 is gay, even if you lace ’em up with irony. JOE WARMINSKY Washington, DC PREVIOUSLY: 5 Reasons Why Vampire Weekend Was Better […]
INSTA-REVIEW: Cat Power Jukebox
NOW PLAYING ON PHAWKER RADIO! WHY? BECAUSE WE LOVE YOU! BY ED KING ROCK EXPERT Please stay with me tonight until I fall asleep. I’m afraid I may be entering the belly of the beast. Unlike you, I’ve never gotten into Cat Power. I’ve got enough of my own troubles; I don’t need to live vicariously through hers. The sultry voice only goes so far with me. The coffee-table soul she’s been getting into over the last couple of releases is better than what she used to do, but I don’t entertain too often. Those few I do entertain want […]
LIVE REVIEW: 5 Reasons Why Vampire Weekend Was Better Than Whatever Overhyped, Pitchfork-Approved, Ivy-League Indie Rocker Show You Saw Last Night
1. Vampire Weekend have not let the hype get to them. Even after hoards of Internet accolades, including the incredibly rare handjob from Pitchfork, the band humbly took the stage, played their songs, smiled a lot, and called it a night before 10:30. Classy fellows, they are. 2. Vampire Weekend, despite their tender age, have already achieved live perfection — each song off of their debut record was recreated with note-for-note flawlessness. Standouts included the opener “Mansard Roof,” the crazy-danceable “A-Punk,” and the sing-a-long “One (Blake’s Got a New Face).” 3. Vampire Weekend’s drummer, Chris Tomson, is a Unitarian! You […]
BREAKING: Back From Black?
Via her publicist: World renowned and 6 time Grammy nominee Amy Winehouse will perform via satellite link-up to the 50th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 10. Broadcast live from a London studio, Amy will make her hugely anticipated return to the stage. Amy is nominated for an amazing 6 Grammy Awards at Sunday’s ceremony, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Female Performance for ‘Rehab’, Album of the Year, Best New Artist, and Best Pop Vocal Album for Back to Black. This is unrivalled for a female British artist. While she had hoped to join […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
OXFORD COLLAR: Vampire Weekend, First Unitarian, Last Night [Photo by MICHAEL DONOVAN]
THIS U MUST SEE: The Matrix Of Dance Offs
[Hat tip to EVA LIAO] VIDEO: My Wonderful Life: pwning posers.
TONITE: Vampire Can Mating Oven
NOW PLAYING ON PHAWKER RADIO! WHY? BECAUSE WE LOVE YOU! BY ED KING ROCK EXPERT Vampire Weekend play a sold out show at First Unitarian Church tonight. If you can’t get in you’re not alone. Your parents were probably shut out too. The band’s debut album and style of music, which they cheekily refer to as “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,” “Upper West Side Soweto,” “Campus,” and “Oxford Comma Riddim,” goes down easy, so easy that I’m sometimes reminded of “Escape (The Piña Colada Song).” I’m sure they get more questions about raiding their parents’ Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel record […]
NEWS CLUES: Like A Nightstick At A Pinata Party
GAMBLE & HUD: City Claims Feds Forced Discount Land Deal For Kenny Gamble President Bush’s housing czar pressured the Philadelphia housing agency to transfer land worth $2 million to Kenny Gamble, the music producer turned developer, and retaliated when the agency would not knuckle under, a lawsuit says. The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) says the top federal housing official, Alphonso Jackson, improperly sought to steer the land to Gamble at a big discount. In court filings, Carl Greene, PHA’s executive director, says Jackson, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, called Mayor John Street twice to lobby on Gamble’s […]
BLACK MIRROR: Heath Ledger’s Fatal Obsession
DAILY MAIL: This haunting image of doomed actor Heath Ledger shows him apparently drowning in a bath – in a bizarre tribute to the tragic British folk singer with whom he was obsessed. The picture comes from a film Ledger made about Nick Drake, the cult singer-songwriter whose death bore disturbing similarities to his own. Ledger made the dark, brooding film to accompany one of the last songs Drake recorded before killing himself with antidepressants in 1974, at the age of 26. Like Drake, Ledger, 28, was found dead in his bed after taking prescription antidepressants. In stills taken from […]
Q&A: The Horrible Truth About Dan Deacon
[Photo by STEFANI LEVIN] WIKIPEDIA: Dan Deacon (born 1981) is a Baltimore, Maryland-based electronic music composer/performer. He attended the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College in Purchase, New York, where he played in many bands, including tuba for Langhorne Slim and guitar in the improvisational grindcore band Rated R, and completed his graduate studies in electro-acoustic and computer music composition. He studied under composer/conductor Joel Thome. Currently, he lives at Wham City in Baltimore, Maryland. Dan Deacon’s compositional style is best classified in the future shock genre along with Videohippos, Santa Dads, Blood Baby, Ecstatic Sunshine, Ponytail, and other bands […]
All Of This Happened While You Were Sleeping
5 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE TEENAGERS AT MAKING TIME 1. It’s hard not to think that even the guys of The Teenagers can’t take themselves seriously as they perform half smirking, probably thinking ‘Holy shit! How did this even happen?’ Last night at Making Time the trio of French Teenagers were accompanied by two young British ladies under the names of Antonia and Rebecca. Antonia played drums while Rebecca played backing guitar. 2. About halfway through their set they began to experience some technical difficulties. The bass drum pedal on Antonia’s drum set decided to stop working, conveniently […]
TONITE: 5 Things You Should Know About Teenagers
1. Just to be clear: when we say The Teenagers, we are talking about the super-hot French electroclashers, not the age group. Their super Euro-smash single is called “Starlett Johansson,” but it’s not like they are obsessed or anything. “We’re not like really obsessed with her or anything,” says Dorian Dumont of the hirsute Parisian trio, during a phone interview in advance of their appearance tonight at Making Time. “We just like saying her name… Johansson…and we think she’s pretty.” If that is a crime, let them be guilty. 2. The Teenagers are anxiously awaiting the release of Scarlett […]
Top 5 Reasons Why LUPE FIASCO Was Better Than Whatever Hip-Hop Show You Were At Last Night
U GO GO GADGET: Lupe Fiasco, The Fillmore, Last Night 1. Lupe turned the Fillmore into a walk down memory lane, beginning each song with a dream-like “Philly, do you remember that time when…?” No, Lupe, we don’t remember the time that we went grocery shopping with you for food and liquor and were jumping up and down in the aisles… but we’d love for you to refresh our memory. 2. I don’t know about everyone else, but I plan on purchasing a pair of the almost knee-high hi-tops that Mr. Fiasco was sporting as soon as possible. Only […]