It always feels like we’re pining for more free time during the holiday hustle, but often, when we’re faced with a few days at home to ourselves, we’re too spent to figure out how to enjoy them. Inspired by the release of the all-new Madden NFL 12 from our friends at EA Sports, we decided to spotlight some rewarding holiday activities you can enjoy in your newly discovered down time. Whether you’ve been celebrating Thanksgiving at home this year by choice or by consequence, we’ve come up with ten ways (Madden included) to keep you entertained — and none of them involve stepping foot out the front door. Read More »
It’s Monday, which means it’s time for Flavorpill to forge bravely into the wilds of the Internet in search of five noteworthy and/or excellent records that you can stream for free all week. Here’s the result of our heroic quest — a grab bag that’s stuffed full of tunes, including the latest Kate Bush album, a sort-of-new album from the incomparable Saul Williams, the debut from Canyons (who are soon to become DFA lovers’ favorite new band), a couple of fine live records, and even some bonus links for your listening delectation. Click through and get a piece of the action. Read More »
November is the cruelest month, breeding Nickelback albums out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire for something good to listen to, stirring dull releases with autumn snow. But never fear, because we’ve negotiated the waste land of the November release schedule, avoiding Bieber Christmas records and a slew of holiday season reissues to bring you 10 new albums that you really should be listening to over the next four weeks or so. You’re more than welcome.
Earlier this week NME published the outcome of its readers’ poll about the Greatest Singers of All Time. The results were pretty depressing, but then, the whole thing was a fairly ridiculous exercise to begin with — “of all time” makes no sense considering no one alive today has heard anyone who sang before the late 1800s, and without any evaluable criteria, “greatest” is entirely subjective anyway. Ho hum. Anyway, instead of arguing about whether our favorite singers are “greater” than anyone else’s favorite singers, we got to thinking about a more entertaining criterion — distinctive and downright weird voices. Here are ten of our favorites, past and present. There are plenty more, of course, so let us know your picks.
Another week, and another slew of free and joyously legal music to listen to on the internet. This time, we take in new albums from Kate Bush, Moby (no, wait, it’s actually quite good), and Friendly Fires, as well as the new Chad VanGaalen record and a tardily streaming album from Manchester Orchestra. If you like free music –- and, let’s face it, who doesn’t? –- then this is a fine old way to start your Monday morning.
1. Brace yourselves, muggles: The first trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 has landed online. Watch it here, and if you like what you see, mark your calenders for July 15th, when the final installment of the Potter franchise lands in theaters.
2. Last night at a benefit for the Academy of American Poets in honor of National Poetry Month, Alec Baldwin did a recital of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, “Annabel Lee,” that brought Patti Smith to tears. [OMG via Jezebel]
3. Cirque du Soleil is planning to recreate Michael Jackson‘s Neverland Ranch at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. They’ll also be launching the most expensive show in the company’s history, “Michael Jackson, The Immortal World Tour,” in October. [via AP]
4. Fans of The Office can watch three short preview clips of tonight’s farewell to Michael Scott (Steve Carell) here. Our favorite is his final meeting with the Party Planning Committee.
5. The Mighty Boosh’s Noel Fielding — who previously did a hilarious parody of Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights” on the BBC’s Let’s Dance for Comic Relief — stars in her new self-directed music video for “Deeper Understanding” alongside of Robbie Coltrane. [via NME]
It doesn’t seem fair, does it? This weekend, while Americans were falling asleep in front of the stillbirth that was the 2011 Oscars, our British counterparts were watching Mighty Boosh comedian Noel Fielding parody Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights” on the BBC’s Let’s Dance for Comic Relief. Incredibly, he managed bring the hilarity without uttering a single word or even really doing anything sillier than Bush did in the original music video. Watch both clips after the jump.
There are so many good songs that have been influenced by novels. For instance, Gang of Four’s, “We Live as We Dream, Alone” — a quote from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, which Beth Orton also references in Trailer Park, is a twofold example. There’s also Syd Barrett’s “Golden Hair” from The Madcap Laughs, where the former Pink Floyd frontman makes haunting music from James Joyce’s “Poem V.” And who could forget The Cure’s “Killing an Arab,” a riff on Albert Camus’s absurdist opus, The Stranger? Following this tack, we decided to do a roundup of ten music videos influenced by novels, from established artists to young upstarts.
You’ve already had a topical heatwave mix, so this week’s download is a slightly airier, tropical one you can listen to while you’re outside getting color or cooling off in front of the AC. We have some sounds from new bands (Jump Jump Dance Dance, Caged Animals), new sounds from familiar bands (The Drums, Au Revoir Simone), and just some cheeky remixes that go with any summer locale. Be sure to Right Click + Save As after the cut.
