it was only a matter of time before someone put together a string quartet tribute to the mars volta.

The String Quartet Tribute is an adventurous mission to Mars Volta and beyond. In the hands of a daring chamber ensemble, their music is mutated into fantastical orchestral suites filled with light and mystery, from the bright-eyed glow of indie-hit “Son et Lumiere,” to the brooding menace of “Televators”. Violins take over the piercing guitar work and memorably eerie vocals, while cello and bass color in the band’s darker undertones. Exotic and hypnotic, Mars Volta set to strings is music that takes us to the outer limits of rock.

(thanks, sean.)

game: where did they get that name?

Everyone knows that David Bowie got his name from a Tin Machine song, and that Queen got their name from Freddy's prediction that one day Brian May would play to *the* Queen from the roof of Buckingham palace - but what about other bands?

new intel chip supports microsoft's drm, bringing the battle for copyright control to the motherboard. if it's such a good idea, why are they being so quiet about it?

great metafilter thread about analyzing records with sonograms.

creative loafing atlanta has a good piece on danger mouse, with some info about dangerdoom and dm's work with adult swim.

pérez prado

pérez prado & his orchestra - "mambo no. 5"

the mambo king's signature tune is soooo off the hook. listen and love.

the new york post profiles alt-mockers, aka "indie rock comedians" like jessi klein and eugene mirman.

Mirman, who takes pains to point out that he doesn't live in Williamsburg, also plays rock clubs simply because he can make more money there. ... "But I also know it's cool to play with the Shins," he says. "I'm not stupid."

classic album title!

slate: reggaeton, grime, baile funk, and the globalization of hip-hop.

paul wall addresses 10 whiteboy stereotypes in ozone.

some cool new movie trailers: the chronicles of narnia and david cronenberg's a history of violence, which i heard is terrific.

video: deva -- the all-girl devo cover band.

the guns 'n' roses midi synth rocks!

First, We took the recordings of several Guns N' Roses songs. ... We sped up these recordings exponentially until the tempo of the song became a pitched frequency. ... Then we take these short sounds use them as samples to play back midi files of various Guns N' Roses songs. For instance, the GNR Self-Similar version of Sweet Child O' Mine may use the entirety of November Rain as its snare drum sound and the entirety of Patience for a note in Axl's voice.

roadcasting: mobile podcasting.

simpsons episodes described for the blind.

google: the portal.

zak smith's illustrations for each page of gravity's rainbow. if i ran a publishing house, this is exactly the kind of thing i'd turn into a book.

rad profile of sonya thomas, the top-ranked female competitive eater in the USA.

She might be Korean in spirit, but Thomas loves living in America. "Yeah, I love it," she said. "More freedom. You can do anything you want. In America, there's so much freedom. I like it." Her Web site says it all: "And beneath what you may see on the surface, know this: My Yankee Doodle Dandy heart proudly pumps red, white and blue blood to the beat of "God Bless America."

also, check out the size of this fucking burger!

save kylie's boobs: cancer research fundraising with sass.

another dot-com hotshot may finally be out of work. barry diller (aka mr. burns incarnate) hints that ask jeeves may soon be de-jeevesed and re-branded as ask.com. the search engine journal supports the move:

I thought that English butlers went out of style in the ’80’s with Dudley Moore’s Arthur films and the Pink Panther movies. Not to mention that according to various accounts, many Europeans perceive Jeeves as “a gay butler” and not a source of useful information.

meet the man behind the zen-like waaaaah of the mac start-up sound.

It's a C Major chord, played with both hands stretched out as wide as possible (with 3rd at the top, if I recall). This just sounded right to me. I wanted something really fat, heavy bass, high notes, and a sharp attack. The chiffy sound was from pan pipes and something like a stick hit (I'm testing my memory here). I wanted lots of evolving timbres, stereo phasing, and reverb for further richness.

(via kottke.org.)

random, excellent MTV2-produced promos called "the world according to pretty toney" featuring ghostface killah discussing his views on wallabees, cheap eats, and biters.
(via soulstrut.com.)

mtv cribs: pernice brothers style.

wirednews' mediahack says that salon's "site pass" has made the site almost profitable. now the economist.com has adopted a similiar plan. is it online advertising's future?

the new yorker's sasha frere-jones: I will not write about any piece of music unless I have unlimited access to a portable version of it, renderered in either the CD, MP3 or vinyl format.

This "listening session" nonsense hurts everybody—readers, critics and artists. Don't do it. Tell Memphis Bleek and Coldplay and everyone to shove their listening sessions and send out proper advances. If every publication did it, the labels would drop the practice in a week. The critic simply wants to think hard and do justice to the music and the reader.

jackie mittoo

jackie mittoo - "summer breeze"

this is my second-favorite reggae cover of a 1970s lite rock radio hit. ken boothe's version of bread's "everything i own" takes the top prize.

time's 100 best films ever.

system of a down's "mezmerize" storms the billboard chart, selling almost 500,000 copies in its debut week.

p. diddy ordered to pay the highest child support payment in new york history.

read my review of the various hip-hop energy drinks on the market. (scroll to bottom of page.)

at least two web sites posted advance copies of bob mould's new album in its entirety. mould addresses the situation on his blog.

I think there's a great difference between sharing something directly with someone in a discreet manner, and making it available to everyone everywhere. It's the difference between tape trading (which it what everyone likens file sharing to) and wholesale distribution (think iTunes with less promotion and no fee required). I hope the analogy makes sense to some of you.

check out the video for the white stripes' blue orchid, directed by floria sigismondi.

snoop dogg says he is open to working with suge knight again. related (from 2002): snoop calls suge knight a bitch on upcoming album.

total nerds will enjoy this list of continuity errors (click past ad wall) in revenge of the sith.

As Mace Windu and Palpatine battle each other with lightsabers, an errant saber strike shatters the huge picture window of the high-rise complex they are in. A huge amount of wind is then seen to be blowing everything around (not rapid decompression, as the building's close enough to ground level not to be pressurised). However, in the very next shot, there is absolutely no wind, or in any shot thereafter.

washington post takes on the various digital music subscription services.

damn, this year's san diego street scene is certainly an improvement over the bad old days when i used to go with my dad to watch huey lewis headline.

The lineup:

The Killers, Pixies, the White Stripes, Social Distortion, Snoop Dogg, 311, Black Eyed Peas, Garbage, the Used, the Flaming Lips, Method Man, Unwritten Law, Flogging Molly, Dashboard Confessional, Death Cab for Cutie, Kasabian, Hot Hot Heat, Rise Against, Louis XIV, the Adolescents, the (International) Noise Conspiracy, Autolux, Von Bondies, Swollen Members, Morningwood, the Locust, West Indian Girl, and more to come!

check out phil spector's crazy fucking hair!

50 cent wants to sign mobb deep and m.o.p. to g-unit.

legendary writer/director paul schrader's dominion: a prequel to the exorcist hit theaters last week. schrader completed dominion two years ago -- but the film's producers hated it and brought b-movie director renny harlin in for reshoots. harlin's reworked exorcist: the beginning was released last august and was a critical and commercial disaster. its failure set the stage for schrader's version to see the light of day.

big star

big star - "nature boy"

big star's alex chilton comes with the sad, somber steez on this killer reading of eden ahbez's "nature boy."

prefix interviews the living legends. apparently done via email, as the answers come from "living legends" and not individual group members.

yay! a sin city sequel is in the works (scroll to bottom of article). it's based on a dame to kill for -- the frank miller book that focuses on marv (mickey rourke's character) -- so i guess it's technically a prequel.

a friends movie? don't front -- you'd go see it.

september 2004 pig magazine profile of nigo, the japanese designer behind a bathing ape.

new york times in the studio with neil diamond and rick rubin. i can't wait to hear these sessions!

billy corgan's upcoming album, thefutureembrace, is actually quite good. you can check out one of the tracks, "a100," on corgan's myspace page. related: everyone seems to be on myspace these days -- even the smiths' andy rourke.

richard linklater will direct the film version of fast food nation, which will somehow be turned into a "fictionalized thriller."

next version of itunes to offer podcast support.

[Jobs] was slightly dismissive of populist podcasting, describing it as "Wayne's World for radio", and celebrating the arrival of professional radio stations into the market, but nonetheless, he was very high on the podcasting phenomenon, and the excitement that millions of users have displayed about it.

cool page about pierre schaeffer, the inventor of musique concrète.

Like many of the pioneers of electronic music, Schaeffer was not a musician. He received his diploma from L'Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, and did an apprenticeship at the Radiodiffusion-Television Francaises (RTF) which led to a full time job as an engineer and broadcaster. He was a member of the French resistance during the occupation of France by the Germans. He also was a writer and biographer.

just-ice

just-ice - "cold gettin' dumb"

stand back or you might get slapped, jack!

post your most embarrassing phonepics at shame academy, a new site set up by sony ericcson to promote its camera phones.

email exchanges between lance, the king of black metal from gary, indiana (aka dave hill) and mathias, a norwegian black metal guy.

okay, let me break it down for you. first of all, i don't think anyone who is truly into black metal would start an e-mail by saying "hi!" you are not working at a smoothie shop buddy, you are representing black metal. pull yourself together! i should know- i'm the king of black metal in my hometown of gary, indiana. you should hear my band witch taint.

i hate all the recent star wars marketing where they make darth vader look like a clown, trying to trick people out of their fuckin' slurpees and whatnot. but i gotta say, the sith sense, a new flash game from burger king in which the dark lord reads your mind, 20 questions-style, is pretty rad. i was thinking of a steering wheel, and vader str8 guessed it!

master p is designing a line of rims. does anybody give a fuck?

read about tom moulton, the man credited with inventing the dance remix. be very sure to check out the sweet pics. dude was a fashion model on hiatus from the industry when he made history with his version of bt express's "do it 'til you're satisfied."

the new york times' kelefa sanneh on quasimoto and turf talk. registration lamely required.

Two of the most exciting new CD's out of California could be described as underground hip-hop, though they have almost nothing else in common. And maybe that's reason enough not to describe them that way.

the stone movement is stu stone and jamie kennedy's semi-funny rap group. they have a song featuring bob saget, which seems worth mentioning here.
(via stereogum.)

wired news on bands and social networking sites.

Startup bands like My Chemical Romance have launched careers exclusively through MySpace, collecting more than 100,000 fans through the service.

blossom dearie

amazon.com says: "if chet baker and betty boop had a baby, she'd be blossom dearie." good call, amazon.com!

blossom dearie - "teach me tonight"

though the writing itself is about six grade levels below what i'd expect from a so-called technology publication, this editorial on counterfeit reality is still thought-provoking. topics include tupac shakur, what-would-your-baby-look-like machines, lord of the rings, and the "magic quadrant."

secret wall tattoos = josh homme's hidden hotel room art.
(via cityrag.)

irrefutable proof: white people are super fucking lame!
(via kottke.org.)

act now! the new quasimoto video is secretly available at stonesthrow.com.

don't miss the final episode of america's next top model: cycle four, tonight! until then, check out this interview with my fave antm-er, the illustrious lluvy.

Is there anything else that you want to say to your supporters?

When people come up to me on the street, they have been saying nothing but nice stuff. So if there are any fans out there, I just want to thank them.

ah, sweet lluvers.
(thanks, mike.)

giant magazine's star wars last supper. ya gotta love the boba.

interesting site dedicated to tijuana bibles.

Tijuana Bibles were pornographic tracts popular in America before the advent of mass-market full-color glossy wank-fodder such as Playboy. A typical bible consisted of eight stapled comic-strip frames portraying characters and celebrities (eg. John Dillinger, Popeye, Disney characters) in wildly sodomistic situations. Many could be considered grossly racist, sexist, and otherwise wholly "politically incorrect."

star map: a guide to the star wars galaxy. cool, maybe this thing will help explain what the fuck was going on in episodes i and ii.

how d-nice got the nickname "the human tr-808." plus, bonus mp3 fun!
(via notes from a different kitchen.)

study: 32 million americans have terrible taste.

jason kottke: 50 fun things to do with your ipod.

six feet under will be back on june 6. it'll be the last season, though, which sucks. in other sfu news, season three of the show came out on dvd today.

david cross bringing the indie laffs: albums to listen to while reading overwrought pitchfork reviews.

video: vincent gallo breakdancing.
(thanks, jason.)

slate on movies that have the same titles as other movies: what crash and kicking & screaming have in common with crash and kicking and screaming.

Film titles cannot be copyrighted, and although trademark and unfair competition laws can offer recourse, the litigant must convince the court that use of the name misleads or confuses the public. This can be a difficult burden of proof for films like Baumbach's Kicking and Screaming and Cronenberg's Crash, which received critical acclaim but have not entered the public consciousness the way, say, Star Wars has.

also see: crossroads, crossroads, and -- my personal favorite -- crossroads.

limited edition gorillaz toys go on sale next week.

chicago's going off in july! the intonation music festival on july 16-17 will include performances by broken social scene, dungen, ac newman, death from above 1979, the wrens, andrew bird, four tet, and more. wow, you say, that's a lot of pitchfork-y acts. no surprise, i reply, since it's curated by the editors of pitchfork.

the very next week, the reinvented lollapalooza (no longer a touring show, but a one-weekend, one-city deal a la coachella) will feature the pixies, dinosaur jr., the arcade fire, the walkmen, m83, digable planets, and billy idol. it was curated by perry farrell and the two texas promoters responsible for the austin city limits featival.

note to aging celebrities invited to write a nyt travel section piece: ditch the box of merit lights before you take the candid camel shot! also, this pretty much sums up her trip:

My camel's name was Sheila, and she had beautiful eyes. We were led around in a circle, much like children on ponies, slowly plodding around some great wheel. In fact, the whole desert adventure smacked ever so slightly of a children's party without the children. You had your camel ride, your sandboarding, your big dolly belly dancer Barbie and, last but not least, face painting -- only in this case, the paint was henna, and it was applied to the feet.

carrie, why?

bob james

smooth jazz that doesn't suck: bob james - "angela"

radio dj/mixtape dj/record producer/entrepreneur clinton sparks has been making some crazy tracks lately. buck on 'em, a freeway/mullyman track he remixed for his latest koch release, was cold--even if the verses felt a tad reheated. come to find out that mr. sparks has an assortment of mp3s on his own site including philly, another slapper featuring beanie sigel and peedi crakk. those whistles!
(via eastvillageradio.org.)

slate's daniel gross on rockonomics.

In some ways, the rockonomy resembles the increasingly winner-take-all American economy. The rich are getting richer, and it's good to be the king or queen of pop. In 1982, the top 1 percent of artists banked 26 percent of ticket revenues; in 2003, they garnered 56 percent.

the mpaa is suing six bittorrent sites that share tv shows.

new jim yoshii pile-up album on the way.

There are lots of songs on this record where I'm writing from a perspective that's clearly not mine. For example, I'm not actually a prisoner dying of AIDS.

jason macfarlane's new video for busdriver's "avant-core" is fun watchin'!
(via purpology.)

get paid to watch the daily show. sweet!
(via fimoculous.)

anyone see george lucas on the o.c. last night? wtf is up with dude's fat neck?

last year baltimore/dc/md auto dealer eastern motors ran a hilarious radio spot that (in no uncertain terms) ruled the airwaves. fittingly, dc dj/producer tittsworth created a hot b-more club remix of the no credit/bad credit ode.
(thanks, jed.)

bbc backstage: build what you want using bbc content.

art mobs is producing unofficial audio guides for moma and offering them as podcasts.

50 is the perfect age to write a novel, according to a recent study by on-demand publisher lulu.com. sweet, i still have some time to get my shit together!

fresh out the box: the gods of crookedtongues.com recently published sneakers: the complete collectors' guide. not too much in the way of commentary or "in the field" shots, but still a comprehensive coffeetable piece.

penguin publishing has just launched penguin remixed, a competition which invites musicians to sample audiobook versions of stories by the likes of nick hornby, charles dickens, and roald dahl. entrants who produce the best tracks win prizes; the top winner will have his or her song included on an upcoming audiobook release.

george lucas on some str8 oopsies shit: you won't find any star wars fun over at revengeofthesith.com.

dublab's up our sleeve exhibit will be in chicago on may 27. i saw this in sf last year and thought it was super great.

More than 450 contributing artists, ranging from photographers such as Glen E. Friedman and B+, actor Jack Black and musicians including Saul Williams, Mr. Scruff and Mia Doi Todd to street artists such as Kinsey, Mear, KofieOne and Shepard Fairey and graphic artists Geoff McFetridge, Mike Mills and Cody Hudson have transformed blank 12” record sleeves into works of art for LA-based web music broadcaster and DJ collective dublab.

ever wonder what happened to arabian prince? this fansite has the 411. apparently dude runs an animation/special effects studio, designs/slangs dj-themed streetwear, and still finds time to spin electro records with egyptian lover. he soooo doesn't get nwa royalties, right? fuckin' jerry heller.

andre 3000 is teaming with nickelodeon to make children's movies.

"I've noticed that kids, they're looking up to the Jay-Zs, they're looking up to OutKast,” Andre told the Associated Press. "So kids' movies and cartoons, they're getting smarter ... because it seems like kids are cooler."

this fan fiction timeline is off the geek meter. love it!