Irony.

#1: I was in a car accident last night. I was the driver, my friend Anna was in the front passenger's seat, and my sister was in the back seat. It was my first car accident ever - and it was with a cop.

Andrew Bird - Fiery Crash (buy)

#2: It was the fucking cop's fault!

Radiohead - Karma Police (buy)

#3: And, yeah, " an airbag saved my life," but it also gave me a NASTY burn on my wrist.

Doveman - Airbag (Radiohead cover)

#4: I was giving Anna a ride home after we had just seen "Superbad." If you've seen the movie, then you understand why this is the greatest irony of all.

Too Hot to Stop - The Bar-Kays (buy)

We were all okay, as were Las Vegas' finest (scumbags). The burn stings all the time, but I'll live. It could have been a lot worse.

Thanks to everyone who's called or left messages. Love you all!

-Phil

Against Me! , Matt & Kim, David Dondero - Jillians, Las Vegas, 9/14/07

I caught this show last night. Here's the rundown:

David Dondero started the show off at 7:30. Armed with just his acoustic guitar, he dove into a set of folky Americana emo-punk. Me and my friends had never heard of him before, but right away I pegged him as a Bright Eyes rip off. He sounded exactly like Conor Oberst - that slightly whiny, barely in tune quaver that we all know and love. He had great songs, though, so we bought his live album and got it signed after his set. Now, get this...this morning I was perusing the net and I find out that David Dondero is a major influence of good ole' Bright Eyes. David isn't biting Conor's style...Conor is biting David's style! Here's a song that had the ladies in my group swooning:

David Dondero - Rothko Chapel (buy)

Matt & Kim took the stage after David's set. As soon as they began soundchecking with "Lipgloss", you know things were about to get weird and exciting. With his black wiry glasses and nasally voice, Matt came across as what would happen if Fogell from Superbad did some crack and took up the synthesizer. And Kim...no words can express how fucking POWERFUL her drumming is. Meg White should pay her for some lessons. This song is highly recommended:

Matt & Kim - It's a Fact (Printed Stained) (buy)

Against Me! were the headliners, and the heroes of the evening. As soon as they ripped into their set, people in the center of the crowd began popping up and surfing to the front of the stage. Security was there to catch them and send them to the back before they could get to the band. Towards the end of their set, a kid nearly got on stage but was caught by this security guy and put into a nasty headlock. Against Me immediately stopped their show, reprimanded the asshole for letting his emotions do his job for him, and asked that he leave. The guy went backstage, probably fearing that he would get the shit kicked out of him by the crowd (who was obviously on their favorite band's side). It's really inspiring when a band feels that strongly about their fans' well-being. The set was a lot of fun, too - every single song was a sing-along.

Against Me! - Thrash Unreal (buy)

Thesis: If David Dondero, Matt & Kim, and/or Against Me! are playing in your area, GO SEE THEM.

-Phil

To celebrate the Video Music Awards...

...or de-celebrate, we suppose, here are our favorite videos of the year so far that didn't get much love from good ole' MTV.

Phil's Picks

Cold War Kids - Hang Me Up To Dry:

Phil says: "The whole movie-as-music-video thing has been worked to death (Maroon 5 did it recently to very shitty effect, for example), but never has it been done so gorgeously. It's like The Godfather starring Clap Your Hands Say Yeah."
MP3: Cold War Kids - Hang Me Up To Dry (buy)

Justice - D.A.N.C.E. :
*nominated for Video of the Year*

Phil says: "Don't you wish your t-shirts could do that? I think that's what Steve Jobs should work on next - video shirts. The iShirt!"
MP3: Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (buy)
*nominated for Best Video*

Lindsay's Picks

Feist - 1 2 3 4:

Lindsay says: "This just makes me smile. I'm currently learning the dance routine and knitting my own glittery blue jumpsuit."
MP3: Feist - 1 2 3 4 (buy)

Christina Aguilera - Candyman:
*nominated for Best Director*

Lindsay says: "My favorite is the redhead. Mmmm. I mean...what?"
MP3: Unavailable (buy)

...and...

We Have A Technical's Pick for Best Video of the Year

LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends:

We say: "Everything about this is beautiful. The video, the song, the makeup, the rain, the fireworks, the way he's always just on the verge of crying...heartbreaking."
MP3: LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends (buy)

Feel free to post your favorite in a comment. Cheers.

Fuck school fuck school fuck my school.

That's right, Replacements. You show those educatin' bitches who's boss.

Hey there, cats and kittens. Lindsay here, reporting from the University of Northern Colorado. Little known fact: Greeley, CO is hailed worldwide as the most boring location on planet Earth. My source? Me. That said, I am less than an hour away from both Denver and Ft. Collins, concert capitals of the cow crap universe, so I will be covering the music scene here from now on. Upcoming shows include: Wilco, The Killers, Muse, Rilo Kiley, Butch Walker, and yep, you guessed it, Snoop Dogg. Maybe I'll actually go to these shows instead of crying at night about being a poor college student in Hick Town. Big ups to Greeley, on tha real. Phil is still reporting from VegASS, so no worries for all you locals.

ANYWAY, it is, in fact, that time again, and I believe this is the end of the first week of school for most students. I hope it went well for everyone, wherever you may be. In honor of everyone's perennial favorite time of year, I present a Back-To-School Mini Mix!

Modest Mouse - Education

Pixies - U-Mass

Regina Spektor - Loveology

We Are Scientists - Textbook

Enjoy! Feel free to let us know about some of your favorite back-to-school tracks!

Until next time, keep it real, keep it classy, and don't listen to shitty music.

<3