nyc street performer opens for g'n'r

one of the coolest stories i've read all week. last month, the drummer shakerleg (mark nicosia), an institution among nyc street performers, is rocking out in front of the trump hotel when he's asked by some woman to pack it up so her client can get some rest. the client? axl rose. his response? only if he can open for guns n' roses at their nyc show.

the short article is well worth the read, and the video at the end sums it all up nicely. (the youtube version loads faster).

also check out mark's own account of the encounter from his myspace page.

mathematiques modernes

i got a hold of this great comp of french new wave and post-punk music a little while ago. i find it highly enjoyable. there's lots of dancey, synthed-out, gritty songs on it. one of the top tracks is by mathematiques modernes. the record is called so young but so cold: underground french music 1977-1983. it's avaiable here.

listen to mathematiques modernes "disco rough [ian smagghe edit]"

baby dayliner rocks the bowery ballroom: the video

if it wasn't clear already, we really love baby dayliner. audz, the sneakmove superpal who recently bailed to nyc, shot a short video of bd performing last wednesday. apparently he held a blue hanky in one hand the entire night. check it out, then check out the blogs our cute and sassy friend does (unibloggal, younork)

(thanks, audz.)

giant bat-eating centipede

here's another crazy video where two unusual animals face off. this huge centipede acutally eats bats. yikes.

lime spiders

i remember staying up late in 1988 to watch 120 minutes on mtv. they used to play a bunch of somewhat interesting videos... timbuk 3, del fuegos, xtc, mojo nixon, robyn hitchcock, etc. i remember seeing a lime spiders video too. i have no idea which song. i've heard some tracks by them recently and their sound really takes me back. it's along the lines of the plimsouls or dramarama. sorta cheesy and garagey all at the same time. this is one of the softer songs on their volatile lp.

listen to lime spiders "jagged edge"

spiderman 3 trailer leaked to youtube, trumping itunes

the report states that apple was slated to debut the spiderman 3 trailer via itunes (which continues to be confusing to me) in conjunction with its theater debut (screening before the new superman film). but someone got their hands on it and put it on youtube earlier in the day. pirates!

here's the trailer (it hasn't been pulled). these spiderman movies put every other superhero franchise to shame.

Tracy Marune vs. James Kimmel

Minister and Prophet Tracy Marune, angered over remarks made about Marguerite Perrin (the crazy Christian lady on "Trading Spouses"), by late night television host Jimmy Kimmel, takes it to the streets to protest and fight the demons in the city of angeles, beginning with Mr. Kimmel.

Tracy Marune, (aka Andre Hyland)has a bunch of other hilarious videos he's done, including videos for (and featuring) anticon artists Why? & Odd Nosdam. Check out his other videos at BlondChili.com

animatronic flesh shoe

this one might be right up dallas penn's alley...

animatronic flesh shoe [2004 - 2005]

Artist statement:
It's a Nike shoe stapled together with human flesh, twitching...

(hey d--promise to get your newest pair of kicks up asap!)
(thanks, sizod.)

os brazões

a while back, i heard a compilation of brazillian pysch rock called love, peace, and poetry. it's a good selection of songs that seem to loosely fit together in mood if not in actual genre. the track by os brazões was a standout for me. it's definitely psych rock with extra nice brazilian percussion. of course, dusty groove stocks one of their albums.

listen to os brazões "tao longe de mim"

marc mac and the chess cadet all stars

marc mac is the guy from 4 hero. last year he put out a great record consisting of beats made using samples from cadet records and its parent label, chess. cadet's heyday was the mid to late 60s. they released great poppy jazz records by the likes of ramsey lewis, ray bryant, ahmad jamal, terry callier, rotary connection, etc. i'm not a fan of 4 hero's smoothed-out electronic soul sound. this is different. it's a really good hip-hop record. mac did a super job and the record, how about a game of chess, is worth picking up.

listen to marc mac "the ride"

vote for miss ozzfest online

as summer's heaviest festival tours the country, the search is underway to crown "miss ozzfest 2006."
not surprising: there's some real freakies out there.
a little surprising: not as many freakies as you'd think - plus there's also some pretty cute ones.

postal service remixes flaming lips

get the story and the mp3 via throughitall.net

ok fine--here's the mp3 file. but click that link and check their site!

the monks vs. the monks

there is the iconic mid-60s u.s. army garage band called the monks. there is also the british band from the late 70s and early 80s called the monks which featured members of the strawbs. the former is grimy and aggressive while still sounding like a beatnik feelgood fest. the latter is slick with a more precise post-punk sound. both have a disillusioned message, both rock.

listen to the monks (1960s) "monk time"

listen to the monks (1970s) "suspended animation"

lambchop

lambchop's latest, damaged, is due out in august. it's really fantastic. once again it's epic guitar/strings/piano songs with devastating and funny lyrics. stuff like "bring him up the christian way/and now what can i say that's less profane". their is a woman lp is one of my very favorite records, fyi.

listen to lambchop "beers before the barbican"

special agent crazy flower

former jim yoshii pile-up guitar player sikwaya condon has a new record under the name special agent crazy flower. it's really inspiring, moving stuff. great triumphant guitar parts with synths and drums. lyrically, condon uses seemingly mundane details to evoke deep meaning. i'm listening to "half silvered" right now and it's giving me chills. the really ridiculous thing is the whole darn record is available for free download. it's licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial-sharealike 2.5 license. check this track out and then grab the whole thing!

listen to special agent crazy flower "half silvered"

the muffiest laptop cover around

muff up your ibook with a designer muff. so muffy!
(thanks, sizod.)

hillary duff, still a virgin

which is probably good because she's just 18 and her boyfriend is 27. but her boyfriend is also joel from good charlotte. which means that either they're lying about her virginity or this is just one of those fake p.r. arranged hollywood relationships.

free "chocolate swim" e.p.

adult swim is giving away more good music. after the recent free danger doom e.p., now there is a chocolate swim e.p. availble for free download. there's a spank rock remix and an edan remix. holy crap!

jay dee and jacques delon

since his death, jay dee aka jay dilla's music has gotten a lot attention. one of the tracks i've been most into is "fuck the police". i recently rediscovered the sample that jay dee used for the track. he takes long loops from a song called "dimension no. 9" by jacques delon. any info on mr. delon would be appreciated.

listen to jacques delon "dimention no. 9"

listen to jay dee "fuck the police"

richard davies

dang it! i was gonna post about the telegraph lp by richard davies, but captain's dead beat me to it. do yourself a favor and at least check out the "cantina" mp3. great pop from a talented austrailian fellow.

languis month-long residency at the echo--last show tonight

from the newsletter. also, stop screwing around and just buy their new ep finally. it's only $6 but is worth at least $10. (here's an mp3 sample).

Monday, June 19, 2006
10:30 PM (doors open at 8 PM)
Languis live with Hopewell (former member of Mercury Rev), Twinstar
(former member of The The), and Science of Subconscious
Free, 21+

The Echo is located at 1822 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90001
For more information, visit attheecho.com, www.languis.com

ishkur's guide to electronic music

one style of music that seems to have a thousand subgenres. ishkur breaks it down with his flash website, v2.5.

subindie presents... weekly diy music recording profiles

subindie.com is serving up a weekly profiles of recording artists, looking at their music, approach, and recording techniques. a cool site for all us diy musicians.

So far the Subindie articles have turned up a variety of artists whose recording styles differ as much as their music. Many of us (myself included) use home recording as merely a method to deliver a song and too quickly gloss over the importance of the final production. This week's artist is definately[sic] an exception.

want to be profiled too? submit your songs for review.

related: check out zach archer's page for the movie soundtrack he composed (tecnhique, tools, and a download for the remix).

more "mario" guitar madness

not sure why everyone wants to play this song but check out the kid who plays it on two guitars simultaneously, stanley jordan style.

make your own wrench xylophone

cool looking, easy project posted on instructables (aka, best site on the internet).

cat power on david letterman

it is great.

the elephants

marching in the endless parade of animal-named bands is tacoma's the elephants. these guys are standouts, though. they're a great rock band. sounding not unlike, echo and the bunnymen or, for a more current reference, clap your hands say yeah. check em! (thanks, frankie.)

listen to the elephants "golden sun"

cody matherson: "can i borrow a feelin'?"

i've seen a lot of those bad album covers collections on the web over the years, but our buddy blog mash theory recently discovered an example of awful lp jacket design that i've never before come across. check out cody matherson's "can i borrow a feelin'?", which is presumably the funspiration behind the kirk van houten hit. i've googled around a bit, and there really isn't much about this record online. if anyone's got a copy, let a sneakmover know!

classic transformers are still the coolest thing ever

chris w just hit me with a few nostalgia-inducing webpages from the coolest of the 80's cartoon/toy combos. all the big names behind the upcoming film (thanks, jkvr) make more sense after remembering how rad this stuff was.

• transformers racetrack -- huge fansite with tons of history, photos, event info, etc (but no fan fiction?).

• check their timeline section, a year-by-year breakdown of everything in the transformers world. remember going through elementary school, highschool, college, and beyond? this goes from 1984-2003.

• best link: the original 1984 catalog.

• wikipedia page for fortress maximus - the biggest, most expensive of all the transformers. transformer wikinerds sure love being detailed.

cartoon classic - the "secret of omega supreme" episode is broken into three bits. just watch the opening credits on the first one and i'm hooked again.


• part 2 (the autobots save san francisco from a marauding invader)
• part 3 (the uploader "graciously" added an eminem/d12 song at the end, using transformer cartoon clips like a rock video. only worth watching for the part where a robot dinosaur catches a f-14 jet in its mouth)
(thanks, chris.)

tomorrow night in s.f.: susbstance abuse

sneakmove pals substance abuse are playing tomorrow night with kool keith at mezzanine in san francisco. they have a great new record called overproof out. eso'tre and subz rhyme about insecurity, fate, and the nature of fame. very original stuff. the production is amazing too. i can't really say enough about the record. it's a grabber.
substance abuse's first material was released by sneakmove's own dj ray liotta in 1998 in the form of a cassette called brand new crime. i recently ripped that cassette. let's listen!

listen to:
substance abuse "fake contacts (1998 version)"
substance abuse "trade off"
substance abuse "spontaneous egos"
substance abuse "century 21"

jay-z heads boycott on cristal bubbly

citing what he considers to be racist comments made by the managing director of cristal's parent company in the economist, jay-z is boycotting the champagne he once glorified in song.

Asked by the magazine if the association between Cristal and the “bling lifestyle” could be detrimental, Rouzaud replied:

“That’s a good question, but what can we do? We can’t forbid people from buying it. I’m sure Dom Perignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business.”

‘I view his comments as racist’
The comments left a bad taste in Jay-Z’s mouth. The rapper said he would pull Cristal from his small chain of popular sports lounges — where bottles of Cristal sell for $450 and $600 — as well as from his personal flutes.

“It has come to my attention that the managing director of Cristal, Frederic Rouzaud views the ‘hip-hop’ culture as ‘unwelcome attention,”’ Jay-Z said. “I view his comments as racist and will no longer support any of his products through any of my various brands including the 40/40 Club nor in my personal life.”

don't worry jay, i've got your back. no more cristal breakfasts for me, either!

younger days, freestyle fellowship

palms out sound has a great post about freestyle fellowship. there's a bunch of mp3s from records that were sampled to make the ff records.
the best part of the post to me is the nostalgic factor and the obvious connection the author has with the music. it makes me jealous. being young and seeing something really inspiring... can you imagine going to see those dudes tear it up in 1991? one of those rare moments when crazy-talented people are on the cusp of something new and have lightning in a bottle.
also, i didn't know that to whom it may concern almost came out on warner bros. anywayz, check a track out:

listen to freestyle fellowship "7th seal"

george bush loves making fun of blind people!

we try not to indulge in *too much* bush bashery stuff on here, but this story's too awesomely ridiculous to pass up: bush apologizes to vision-impaired reporter.

Wallsten said the president said he would not treat him differently, so Wallsten encouraged him to "needle away."

"He said, 'I will. Next time I'll just use a different needle,' " Wallsten said.

Wallsten said he thought that was a pretty good line. And his only complaint is that the president didn't answer his question at the news conference.

tonight in S.F.: solvent

if you read a music blog in the last year, you've probably heard about msterkrft. they headline a bill tonight in san francisco at mezzanine. also on the bill is lesser-known beatmeisters solvent. one might compare them to kraftwerk if they had much harder beats. check some tracks out and get some records or see em play live.

from death in vegas' fabriclive record:
listen to solvent "think like us [think like ectomorph version]"

from the 2004 album apples and synthesizers:
listen to solvent "my radio"

from this comp:
listen to solvent "tonka truck"

prince, age 19, rocks american bandstand

the first part where they play "i wanna be your lover" is good.

the next part, where dick clark interviews him, is incredible.
supreme cockiness mixed with extreme shyfulness. the fluffiest hair ever. all at age 19.



(thanks, unibloggals - our newest online blogbuddies.)

chrome

the band chrome were way ahead of their time. they were experimental while still sounding simple and raw. listening to their debut album, the visitation, it's hard to believe it came out in 1977.

listen to chrome "return to zanzibar"

tonight in SF: creative commons salon

if you're gonna be in the bay area tonight, come visit a bunch of us sneakmovers at the cc salon in San Francisco. it takes place from 6-9pm (don't worry if you're late; there will be stuff happening all night) at shine, (1337 mission street between 9th and 10th streets).

cc salon is a free, casual monthly get-together focused on conversation, networking, and presentations from people or groups who are developing projects that relate to creative commons licensing, content, and tools. please invite your friends, colleagues, and anyone you know who might be interested in drinks and discussion.

tonight's presenters:

• rick prelinger (prelinger archives), who will screen the film panorama ephemera and discuss using the internet archive as its primary means of distribution.


• victor stone, who will talk about the development of the music remix community ccmixter.


• marisa olson, artist and curator at large for rhizome.org, who will present some of her recent work and discuss sampling, remixing, and licensing art.


• amit asaravala, manager of editorial content & strategy for techsoup.org, who will talk about content distribution in the nonprofit world.

also, catch a live cc music mix by sneakmove's very own quarterbar.

you can track this event on upcoming.org. hope to see you there!

spankrock rocks the house

a fun posse of us cruised over to see spankrock last weekend (website, myspace). tiny room, no stage, sweaty like a sauna. wouldn't want it any other way--the crowd was going nuts like they were hitting perpetual game winning three-pointers.

sneakmove pal j-keith dug up a booty-dropping video for backyard betty from music like dirt--also has the mp3 for put that pussy on me. definitely check the site--tons of other cool bits and pieces on there.

flyer

in the early 90s, a band called flyer played around the s.f. bay area. it was simple acoustic pop rock, but it had something special. the songwriting and singing were exceptional. never anything more than acoustic guitar, bass, and drums. simple and innocent. sadly, there's nothing about them on the web. they did one record in 1995 that is amazingly still available. check this song from one of their early demos. it's a barnburner!

listen to flyer "sanctuary"

real robots from 1985!

the magic world robots presented in the form of a 1985 children's book that we scanned for your jolly delight.

Some things that are easy for humans to do are difficult for robots. Squeezing mustard on a hot dog is one of them.

mp3 to listen to while reading:
kraftwerk - the robots (1976)

(thanks, stef!)

only three more "brainiacs on the nerd patrol" shirts left!

the stephen colbert shirts we pressed up were a SUPER big hit! and now we only have three left! buy yours now! don't forget: proceeds go to savedarfur.org.

pitchfork has a fun interview with jamie lidell up.

Pitchfork: What section do you think you belong in?

Lidell: That depends on the shop. I might put it in outsider music or pop, just go for the big guns. That's where Motown belongs, right? If it has a lot of sections I'll end up putting it above the James Blunt CDs since he ripped off my bloody artwork and he's selling millions of records! I try to get people to buy mine accidentally.

the summer of 1989. this is a hot metal summer.

fundamentalist christian record label, frontline records, put out a compilation in 1989. it features some pretty awful metal and some hilarious and offensive chatter. host michael sean black (double first name!) conducts an interview with the band "shout". shout reveals that they don't believe in having a good time all the time. good to know! one band member claims he used to deal "quantities of hash". i find his choice of words hilarious. true to form, these right wing rockers also believe that aids will not end until people turn away from their deviant sexual behavior. classic!

listen to frontline records' interview with shout

252 trance dj sets to download

some of these are actually ok. but i'm not going to tell you which ones--you'll have to find them yourself...

why would george lucas do a cameo in a comedy song video?

so jamie kennedy has a song called "rolling with bob saget" which features bob saget talking about how huge and hard his dick is, etc etc.
star wars fans take note, george lucas makes an appearance about halfway through.

lil eazy-e arrested in compton. like father like son.

"Mr. Wright was in possession of a firearm and he was arrested," Lt. Michael Alerich said. "Two other guys in the car were also arrested, one for possession of a firearm and the other for a probation violation."

not a joke: detox clinic set for video game addicts

Bakker already has treated 20 video game addicts, aged 13 to 30, since January. Some show withdrawal symptoms, such as shaking and sweating, when they look at a computer console.

brand new baby dayliner video

it's got adrian grenier (the dude from entourage) in it.

world cup fever!

let's celebrate the start of the 2006 world cup! we've got some first timers and some immortals all ready to compete for the greatest honor in the world. you might not be able to watch all the games live so here's a collection of world cup themes and classic football (soccer/futbol/fussball/calcio/etc) chants to keep you in the mood until you can get to the pub, straight after work.


and make sure to check the soccer coaching dvd our media tech maestro british superbuddy sizod has assembled and is currently selling: the parent soccer coach.


"official" world cup theme songs:
• 1986 mexico (the best one - ¡méxico, ochenta seis!)
• 1998 france (by ricky martin; precursor to 1999's "livin' la vida loca")
• 2006 germany (il divo with toni braxton. sounds like a disney cartoon movie theme)


various chants, cheers, and live crowd sounds:
• cori stadio - as roma ultras - curva sud - chilometri
• cori stadio juventus - live in torino
• did you cheer when beckham scored (from the man united days)
• only one david beckham
• effeti sonori atmosfera stadio calcio
• football crowd during match with chants and cheers
• forza milan - ole ole ole
• ole ole ole ole - we shall not be moved
• viva italia - ac milan soccer chant

(some of these taken from red11.org)

nelly furtado: like glenn frey but super hot

nelly furtado is str8 killin' it! check "say it right". sure, it sounds something like a timbaland remix of "you belong to the city" (which, incidentally, NEEDS to be covered by rick ross for the miami vice movie soundtrack), but who cares? it's a great, great track. and it's just one of many great, great tracks on the stellar loose (aka best pop album of the year). grab it!

gil mantera's party dream

the video for "elmo's wish" by gil mantera's party dream is really great. the song is even better. aerobic outfits, 80s synths, hot moves, beautiful melodies, acid trip visuals. it's an increbidly odd feeling to get chills from good music while simultaneously laughing at absurd images. thanks to superpal stephanie for the link.

chad vangaalen

one of my favorites from the past couple years, chad vangaalen, has a new record coming out in august. last year, sub-pop reissued his amazing debut, infiniheart. the man is a bit of a genius. he makes some of the musical instruments that appear in his recordings. he also does crazy artwork and animations. apparently he's involved with a new kids show called yo gabba gabba.
here's a track that was foolishly left off the sub-pop version of infiniheart.

listen to chad vangaalen "human totem"

and here's a track from the online-only baby beans e.p.:

listen to chad vangaalen "the break of dawn"

afro samurai coming to tv: totally rad

the tv version of afro samurai is gonna be great. and now: with rza involvement!

RZA says, "As a fan of martial art and old Japanese Samurai movies, I have always wanted to be a part of such creativity and to have my own spice added is even better … The vibe of Afro Samurai is so soulful and cool, that when I was asked to compose the series my creative juices immediately reacted. I felt it was something for me to do," RZA says. The animated series will premiere on Spike TV this fall. FUNimation Entertainment will bring the story to DVD in spring 2007.

billy preston, 1946-2006

billy preston known as the "the fifth beatle" died the other night in arizona. in his remembrance be sure to check out his keyboard work on "let it be" and on "get back."

r.i.p.

the mash theory

has arrived.

sasha frere jones is the best

sasha frere jones rocks for so many reasons! here are just a few: just this morning, gary t and i were talking about how awesome s/fj's recent new yorker article about british pop is. then i told gary to check out s/fj's blog, because it's super good. and when i myself went to said blog to get my check on, i saw a ridiculously great post from today called nativeglyphics 06 that i was gonna post about here, saying something to the effect of "you know how sometimes you can say a lot more with a strategic hyperlink than actual words? well check out the glorious way s/fj sends traffic to sandbox automatic." but then i got caught up in doing actual job work, so i didn't end up writing up the post. but s/fj must have been feeling the sneakmove love, because he then posted this and totally, totally made my fucking day.

the apprentice blog for sale

do you have a few extra bucks? then do as the bulletboys do and go after the money money money!

quick edit (from gary t.):
also, here's the bulletboys mp3: for the love of money
also x2, bb lead singer marq torien has a myspace page!

the only thing that could make star wars nerdier

is to make a stormtrooper guitar. good going, fernandes!

the fader: now available on itunes!

check it out: starting with this issue, the fader is available as a pdf on itunes (and via rss for the itunesless) a week before the print version hits the stands. this is the first mag to go this route, and i love the idea lots! i also love the fact that this issue has my article about scott walker. get your read on, suckas!

sneakmove pals make it to vice magazine's "do's"

oh the sweet, sweet shame of it all.

prince, elvis, and the bee gees cover the pixies

well, no, not really. but matthew's celebrity pixies tribute is the next best thing!

also: national emo kid beatdown day

haha!

national day of slayer

i've gotta check the whois info for nationaldayofslayer.org (today, 6/6/06, blah)--very good chance the page was made by one of my closest pals from the jr. high days. but i think everyone had a friend like that, which is why we can all appreciate the sentiment:

National Day of Slayer, Official Statement on Participation

• Listen to Slayer at full blast in your car.
• Listen to Slayer at full blast in your home.
• Listen to Slayer at full blast at your place of employment.
• Listen to Slayer at full blast in any public place you prefer.

DO NOT use headphones! The objective of this day is for everyone within earshot to understand that it is the National Day of Slayer. National holidays in America aren't just about celebrating; they're about forcing it upon non-participants.

the dudes at artifacting have posted some mp3s in honor, plus one can't-be-missed slayer live in '85 video. my fave clip is angel of death recreated on an nes chip (mario style!).

nanoloop - sequencer/synthesizer for your game boy

plug in the cartridge and off you go, making you very own electronic music on your game boy or game boy advance with nanoloop.

the 2.0 section has some sound clips (this one is titled "house") , and the forum has links to songs made by users.

mr t dishes out 80s fashion advice

jeff, with his pegged pants, is a real dance machine. manny is wearing the b-boy look. b for breaking, and boy for "boy does that look tough."


(thanks, stefferz.)