music soothes the savage greek.

Police in Greece are giving away free folk music CDs in a attempt to calm motorists before the annual Orthodox Easter exodus.

give your ipod that brushed look. sharp!

"the ghost that feeds" = nine inch nails/ray parker jr. mash-up. surprisingly good.

sexy results! takes on hip-hop movies. scroll down for the priceless bit on higher learning, a film that routinely comes up in conversations i have with friends about things that are trite beyond belief.

best headline ever!
(thanks, frankie.)

meet china's break-dancing grandmother. she's super dope.

"I think you can say that I am trendy. That's why so many young people call me 'Auntie Cool.'"

guess-the-google.

props to philip sherburne for his sf weekly cover story on new order.

video: buddy rich versus animal. man, the muppet show was so fucking rad. bring it back!
(via pickin' boogers.)

femdefence: a protection against rape. uh, wow.

the washington post: 5 ways to unleash the music.

Millions of people still get their music online from a file-sharing service or site -- and in the process, put up with an often dubious selection, spyware-ridden software and the unpleasant reality that the artists who made that music won't make a cent off each such download. After two years of progress, what's still missing with the legit online stores?

beaterator from rockstar games is a flash-based sampler/sequencer app. pretty awesome.

the 350th episode of the simpsons airs sunday.

the guys at plug research are blogging.

joan morgan, elizabeth mendez berry, and jeff chang have written a petition calling for the end of sexual discrimination at the source. more than 1200 people have signed it so far.

i was in an old navy yesterday (cut me some slack -- they have cheap, good quality socks) and i heard a le tigre song on the in-store pay-for-play tape loop. "wow," i thought to myself. "i didn't realize le tigre was marketing to the total stupid-ass contingency." but apparently they absofuckinglutely are. looks like they're producing a track for paris hilton's upcoming album. yowza mclamely!
(via the fader.)

p. diddy is partnering with pitbull to launch bad boy latino. seems like an ingenious move.

Pitbull, who will sign artists, handle the marketing and help run the label, said that Combs’ involvement can only help Latino artists. ... "I see it as someone with vision who sees where music is going," Pitbull told the Miami Herald.

(via coolfer.)

read my short article about teen lit sensation emma maree urquhart in the new issue of wired.

kabbalah energy drink: pimping jewish mysticism since march, 2005. the company's press release offers a bit more about this li'l taste of liquid enlightenment.

"It’s got a light citrus taste and no after-taste like so many other energy drinks," says Darin Ezra, the director of the company. "You get the power of Kabbalah water, incredible energy and a great taste," adds Ezra.

(thanks, betrue.)

popmatters has a new interview with britt daniel of spoon.
(thanks, glenn.)

only the most web-savvy 8-year-old will be able to crack bud extra's age-check.

it's not new, but it's still a hot song for a fine april 28: turf talk f/ e-40 -- "it's ah slumper," produced by rick rock. why is this not on the radio every ten seconds?

best url ever: ifuckedanncoulterintheasshard.blogspot.com. and what a heartwarming story!
(via fimoculous.)

252,000 copies?!? seriously, how the fuck did this happen?

Rob Thomas makes Billboard 200 history this week as the first male artist from a pop or rock group to bow at No. 1 with his debut solo effort since the chart's realization in 1955.

poor alec empire. pitchfork sez, chuckle-inducingly:

On the monotonous "Point of No Return", it's not enough to repeat the title over and over (and over), he even goes on to explain it, in case you were confused: "You can't go back even if you wanted to." There's reinforcing the humorless German stereotype and then, it seems, there's Alec Empire.

i got the new white stripes album -- get behind me satan -- sent to me today at work. in lieu of cd-r advances, the band's publicity firm sent vinyl copies out to writers and editors. it's a pretty interesting low tech anti-piracy tactic, which was also used to promote elephant. i haven't listened to the music yet, but the cover is ridiculously cool looking.

the onion av club's norman lear interview rocks hard.
(thanks, jason.)

excellent mix available for download at optimo.co.uk.

hugh masakela - the boys doin' it (carl craig mix)
dub pistols - six million ways to live (paul daley mix)
prince - sign o the times
ciara - 1, 2 step (dub)
deep purple - hush
the beastie boys rub n' tug macho mix
ying yang twins - wait
amerie - one thing (dub)
the meters - oh calcutta! (loop)
scorpio loop / eric b and rakim loop
kenny dope presents the mad racket - supa
krs 1 - sound of da police (loop)
dillinger - punky reggae party
roxanne shante - have a nice day / country joe and the fish live @ woodstock intro
led zeppelin - trampled underfoot / schoolly d loop
the fall - how i wrote elasticman (loop)
ian dury and the blockheads - hit me with your rhythm stick

"support the arts and enjoy curse words" -- buy a cd copy of the "explicit content only" edit of nwa's straight outta compton.

infinity broadcasting is launching an all-podcast radio station in san francisco next month.

The station's producers will screen submitted content to ensure it meets quality standards and does not violate FCC broadcast guidelines. Approved podcasts will be simultaneously broadcast over the AM airwaves and streamed online at KYOURadio.com.

from the whatthefuckingfuck files: undie rap is out of control!
(thanks, colin.)

tonight, lcd soundsystem makes its late night tv debut on the late show with david letterman. also on the show: amy sedaris and brainman.

dj shadow expands "endtroducing." damn, i didn't realize that the original version has sold 290,000 copies in the united states alone.

Highlights include the Extended Overhaul edit of "Organ Door" which Shadow created for Mo' Wax founder James Lavelle to use in his DJ sets, Cut Chemist's Party Mix of "The Number Song," Peshay's previously unreleased remix of "What Does Your Soul Look Like" and demos or alternate versions of "Building Steam With a Grain of Salt," "Best Foot Forward," "Changeling," "Why Hip-Hop Sucks In '96," "Mutual Slump" and "Napalm Brain."

(via coolfer.)

cyndustries has scanned copies of synapse, an electronic music magazine from the '70s. interviews with robert moog, tomita, and brian eno, as well as a bit on "making music with calculators." stellar stuff.

lambodoors: "vertical door conversion made easy." wow, they even have a kit for my hyundai accent! the customer testimonials at the bottom of the main page are pretty hahalarious.
(via catchdubs.)

more cartoon music madness: all the simpsons mp3s you can eat!
(via fimoculous.)

george lucas confirms rumors of two new star wars tv series. he also confirms that he's set to lame the fuck out on an upcoming episode of the o.c.

The plot: Lucas becomes interested in a graphic novel written by Seth (Adam Brody) and invites him to dinner to offer some sage advice. Seth is forced to choose between taking Summer to the prom or hanging with George.

the st. petersburg times has a cool profile of the onion's writing staff.

"We still are people who get drunk or stoned and lie on the couch all day and play video games," says writer John Krewson, who wears a sweat shirt with a drawing of a rifle that reads: "Defend Brooklyn."

read my interview with system of a down's daron malakian in the new issue of wired.

tylenol is so indie rock!

adult swim mp3s: download songs from "sealab 2021," "robot chicken," and more. there are some superrad remixes of schoolly d's "aqua teen hunger force" theme.

the guardian on happy slapping, which apparently "began as a craze on the uk garage music scene."

Welcome to the disturbing world of the "happy slappers" - a youth craze in which groups of teenagers armed with camera phones slap or mug unsuspecting children or passersby while capturing the attacks on 3g technology.

this article marks the first time i've ever heard of anti-bullying organzations. i'd love to know more about them.
(thanks, sean.)

the-glade is selling a limited edition neckface art book.

rollingstone.com: starbucks brewing hits.

With CD sales slumping in the last four years and record stores losing customers to file-sharing and video games, Starbucks is an unusual retail success story.

(via coolfer.)

if you're in new york this weekend, head to the tank and check out bent 2005 for a look at what's popping in the geektastic world of circuit bending.

The term circuit bending refers to the act of modifying the circuitry of battery-powered children’s toys to create strange, new, and unintended sounds for creative purposes

this provides laffs to me.

afterhours dancing at the popular glastonbury festival won't wake the neighbors. clubbers will wear wireless headphones and dance in total silence.

take the phat phree's nwa quiz. i only got one answer wrong. also, don't miss look at my striped shirt!

michaelangelo matos' cultural history of the song "apache," is a rad read. relevant links provided by oliver wang.

there's some slint gear up for auction at ebay. from their pr rep:

Fans of the band can seize this unique opportunity to own their piece of the Slint legacy including guitars played by David Pajo and Brian McMahan. While none of the items are currently autographed, the band member who used each specific item is willing to sign it upon the request of the winning bidder.

greencine is a san francisco-based dvd-by-mail rental service that specializes in anime, porn, classic horror, and other off-the-radar fare that netflix doesn't carry. they also offer a lot of cult movies through their video-on-demand service.

over at hiphopdx: reginald c. dennis, former music editor for the source, tells the story of the magazine's downfall. fascinating reading.

"The problem I’m referring to is Dave Mays’ troubling association with Boston criminal Raymond Scott a.k.a. Ray Dogg the Jackal a.k.a. Ray Benzino."

supermasterpiece has uncovered the original version of britney's "oops! i did it again," performed by none other than satchmo. winktown!
(via stereogum.)

lee hazlewood fans, take note: this fansite is ridiculously (in a good way) comprehensive.

stylus is podcasting.
(thanks, sean.)

the boston phoenix on the killers vs. the bravery.

What galled Ethan Kreitzer about Flowers’s diss was the implication that the Bravery are ripping off the Killers. "We were sound-checking [the Bravery’s current hit] ‘An Honest Mistake’ at Jewish summer camps in July 2003," he says — that is, before the Killers were even a blip on the radar.

(via catchdubs.)

fluxblog has some especially good music up today. the rapture/mobb deep mash-up is hawt!

author brian anderson makes a case for south park conservatives.

The fact that one of the most popular programs in America among young adult viewers regularly skewers the Left is of enormous cultural significance. It would not have been possible in an old media era.

martin leung, aka the video game pianist, is completely off the radometer.

everyone's a critic: tuning fork is a blog that reviews pitchfork's record reviews. great idea!

sony is launching a marketplace for virtual goods, which will enable everquest ii players to buy game commodities, currency, and characters from each other. the company estimates that this is a $200 million per year market.

also see: julian dibbell's 2003 wired article about the unreal estate boom.

the sunday times in the uk has an interesting profile of matt drudge.

“'There’s a danger of the internet just becoming loud, ugly and boring with a thousand voices screaming for attention.' He is no fan of the blogging phenomenon (weblogs linking sites): 'I don’t read them. I like to create waves and not surf them. And who are these influential bloggers? You can’t name one because they don’t exist.'”

(via gawker.)

these tetris shelves are super rad.

yahoo is planning to launch a new digital music service.

online piracy funds terrorism: xl is offering acapellas from m.i.a.'s album for download. note: if you can't get the page to work, try turning off your pop-up blocker.
(via coolfer.)

reebok has pulled an ad featuring 50 cent, in response to a call for a boycott by a british group called mothers against guns.

A spokesman for Reebok said: "The Reebok 'I Am What I Am' advertising campaign is intended to be a positive and empowering celebration of this right of freedom of self expression, individuality and authenticity. ... The advert shows the rapper counting up to nine - seen as a reference to him having been shot nine times.

the beach boys musical, called – surprise! – good vibrations, will close this sunday, after a measly three month run.

watch the persuaders – frontline's look at marketing and advertising. there's some cool accompanying written content; the bit about neuromarketing is especially interesting.

30 years after the [Pepsi Challenge] commercials debuted, neuroscientist Read Montague was still thinking about them. Something didn't make sense. If people preferred the taste of Pepsi, the drink should have dominated the market. It didn't. So in the summer of 2003, Montague gave himself a 'Pepsi Challenge' of a different sort: to figure out why people would buy a product they didn't particularly like.

not new, but still fun: plug an artist's name into the music-map and find other acts you might like.

the flaming lips' contribution to the latenighttales mix cd series hits stores tomorrow. blazing traxxx!!!
(via the fader.)

the houston chronicle's andrew dansby on why music geeks obsess over wilco.

We talk about Wilco because its captain, Jeff Tweedy, is the kind of guy who would talk about Wilco even if he weren't in the band. But because he's in the band, he probably ends up talking about Wilco more than any of us.

celebs rockin' metal-style devil horn hand gestures, courtesy of yuppiepunk.

John Kerry's former running mate John Edwards is a total hesher as well. He knows every word of every song on "Ride the Lightning." His favorite track: "Trapped Under Ice."

8-track heaven: everything you ever wanted to know about 8-track tapes.

cafepress: for all your ron mexico gear needs. more on this story.

the new york times on amazon's acquisition of booksurge, an on-demand printing company. (click past the ad wall).

According to Robert Holt, BookSurge's managing director, the company has created proprietary software programs that automate the printing process to the point where even single-copy print orders are profitable, even though the book's final price is comparable to that of books produced through traditional means.

a michigan appeals court dismisses deangelo bailey's lawsuit against eminem. the ruling upholds a 2003 decision by a rappin' judge:

"The lyrics are stories no-one would take as fact/They're an exaggeration of a childish act," circuit judge Deborah Servitto said at the time.

(thanks, sattler.)

new jeep ad inspired by frogger provides smiles.
(via waxy.org.)

explicit content only is an edited version of nwa's straight outta compton with all the non-swear words cut out. fucking rad.
(via kottke.org.)

dallas austin is producing the new korn album.

[But] there's more on Austin's plate than just Korn. His resurrected record label, Rowdy, will release ... the latest from Dropsonic, a trio of rockers from Atlanta described as a cross between Zeppelin and Radiohead.

also see google's directory of music that has been described as a cross between radiohead and something.

nike is partnering with wal-mart to deliver a new low-priced shoe.

After arguing for years that its brand would be devalued if it sold shoes in discount chains, Nike Inc. has arrived at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. But you won't see the swoosh.

Wal-Mart customers at more than 400 stores nationwide can buy a $37 pair of Starter sneakers engineered by Nike and introduced last month. The world's largest maker of athletic apparel bought the Starter brand last year with the aim of entering the value end of retail.

this headline continues to elicit chuckles.

m-audio just released icontrol, a tactile control deck for garageband. looks super slick.
(thanks, mike.)

the video for daft punk's "robot rock" is hawt. big mike sez:

the new dp album seems to be a mix of good and not-so-good songs, but "robot rock" sums up what's good about life and the video has a good vibe too.

bbc collective on the new weird america. think: joanna newsom, devendra banhart, and cocorosie.

nine inch nails offers new single in garageband format.
(thanks, mike.)

infoshop news on unknown bands who attract buzz by misnaming mp3s of their songs.

Alternative rock musician 500 Won Project is hardly well known in his native South Korea, let alone the rest of the world. Yet some of his songs are being widely downloaded and shared online, generating the kind of exposure that newcomers only dream of. But fans are buzzing over the wrong band. They think they're getting unreleased songs by popular groups Sigur Ros and Mogwai because 500 Won Project's MP3s list their names as the artists.

(via largehearted boy.)

billboard offers new details about the upcoming white stripes joint, get behind me satan.

The piano and tambourine accents on "My Doorbell" gave off a Motown vibe, while on the acoustic guitar and piano-tinged "Forever for Her (Is Over for Me)," Jack's singing nodded to the impassioned style of Prince a la "Purple Rain."

(via goldenfiddle.)

if you haven't given baby dayliner a try, please do. wallpaper has this to say about ethan marunas' weird/awesome one-man band:

Imagine if fate had been kinder and Ian Curtis was still with us and recording with Money Mark, producing lo-fi paeans to the everyday struggles of life and love writ through with a wry irony. A crooner for our times, Baby Dayliner's monotone voice and cranky instrumentation belies a hopeless romantic who would make Serge Gainsbourg and Leonard Cohen smile.

that whole horrible rosa parks vs. outkast lawsuit has finally been settled.

Civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks and Sony BMG Entertainment have settled a lawsuit over OutKast's use of her name in the group's work. As part of the settlement, a tribute CD and a TV broadcast special will be produced, her guardian said Thursday.

(thanks, ken.)

gran faro has posted a directory of online music videos, from air to weird al. some broken links inside, but loads of great clips nonetheless. (and certainly the most comprehensive iron maiden collection going!)
(thanks, sean.)

check out a few pics from the filming of substance abuse and kool keith's "night on the town" video.
(thanks, john.)

trailer for last days, gus van sant's movie about a kurt cobain-like character.
(thanks, sattler.)

pitchfork slams mars black's folks music, the first hip-hop release on conor oberst's team love record label.

Lyrically, the heartland MC puts too much stock in tired axioms like keeping it real and knowing your history. "I'm givin' you my life, not a pack of lies," he says on "Crack the Whip". Turns out the life of a Nebraska rapper just isn't that exciting.

new frontline on israeli punk features interviews from liz nord's documentary jericho's echo.
(via fimoculous).

numark's new ipod dj mixer prototype is a great idea.
(thanks, matt.)

check out phoenix's recent performance on npr's all things considered.

the economist says that the future of innovation lies with creative consumers.

Open-source software development is already well-known. Less so is the fact that Bell, an American bicycle-helmet maker, has collected hundreds of ideas for new products from its customers, and is putting several of them into production. Or that Electronic Arts (EA), a maker of computer games, ships programming tools to its customers, posts their modifications online and works their creations into new games. And so on.

(via kottke.org.)