Today at Flavorpill, we were a little freaked over these photos of a fictional drug addict for the Israel Anti-Drug Authority ad campaign. We were relieved that Jay-Z and Beyonce didn’t actually pay $1 million for a private hospital floor. We tried to imagine a time when states like Texas were nicknamed“Beef Head” and wondered what Missouri did to earn the moniker “Puke.” We thought the similarities between Michael Cera and Hitler’s mom were uncanny. We were surprised that bagpipes were invented in Persia, not Scotland. We said goodbye to the Obama administration’s second chief of staff, Bill Daley. We were fascinated by this time-lapse video of snowflakes grown in a laboratory. We bet this year’s BroNYCon sparkled with glitter like nothing we’ve ever seen before. We listened to a new track from The Shins. We were totally grossed out by these pics of three-year-old french fries and vowed never to eat them ever again. We heard what a Randy Newman version of the We Need to Talk About Kevin theme song might sound like. And finally, we loved this beautiful Hobbit animation from the same artist who worked on Tom and Jerry.
If you’ve ever wondered what your favorite literary characters might be listening to while they save the world/contemplate existence/get into trouble, or hallucinated a soundtrack to go along with your favorite novels, well, us too. But wonder no more! Here, we sneak a look at the hypothetical iPods of some of literature’s most interesting characters. What would be on the personal playlists of Holden Caulfield or Elizabeth Bennett, Huck Finn or Harry Potter, Tintin or Humbert Humbert? Something revealing, we bet. Or at least something danceable. Read on for a cozy reading soundtrack, character study, or yet another way to emulate your favorite literary hero. This week: Truman Capote’s “American Geisha,” Holly Golightly.
With end-of-year listomania receding and release schedules starting to get locked down for the coming year, it’s time to stop looking back and start looking forward at the the most exciting albums due out next year. We’ve started with a selection of 15 records that have definite (or pretty much definite) release dates, titles, etc. — mostly in the first three months of the year — and also included a more speculative look further forward at a selection of albums that are rumored to be dropping at some point in 2012. So far, we have to say that it’s shaping up to be an excellent year — bring on January!
When the discussion of the finest lyricists in rock ‘n’ roll comes up, you tend to hear the same names mentioned again and again. Bob Dylan. Leonard Cohen. Tom Waits. Morrissey. Nick Cave. Warren Zevon. They’re all worthy choices, for sure, but we find it a bit sad that there are plenty of other fantastic lyricists who never seem to make their way into such conversations. After the jump, we’ve put together a collection of lyricists who we reckon don’t get the credit they deserve, either because their music is generally undervalued or because their skills in other areas tend to overshadow their linguistic talents. Let us know in the comments who else you reckon doesn’t get the lyrical love they should do.
Today at Flavorpill, we listened to the reconfigured Shins cover David Bowie’s “Ashes to Ashes.” We loved The Hairpin’s hilarious roundup of Wikipedia entries for every situation. We learned the back story on the giant, inflatable union rat that hops around NYC, including the fact that he has a name — Scabby. We saw what some of our favorite celebrities may have looked like if they’d lived in other eras. We decided that it might be time to add Don’t Stop the Music — a crazy sounding ’80s movie that inexplicably stars the Village People, Steve Guttenberg, and Bruce Jenner — to our rental queue. We were surprised by the amount of Lopez news, both happy and sad: Jennifer will be returning as a judge on American Idol, while TBS has canceled George’s late-night show. We were curious as to what Snooki’s newly-announced fragrance will smell like. We got excited by rumors of a Jesus Christ Superstar revival heading to Broadway next spring. We felt like if you’re going to spend $18,000 on a pair of flip-flops in order to save 100,000 square feet of endangered rainforest land in Costa Rica, it might make you seem less insane if you donated your money directly to the cause. We got hungry thanks to this S’mores infographic. And finally, we couldn’t stop ourselves from watching this supercut of every Final Destination over-the-top death in the franchise so far.
Indie rock and children’s television came together this morning, when The Flaming Lips performed on the ground-breaking Nick Jr. show Yo Gabba Gabba. In its three seasons, the series has featured some surprisingly hip bands. For one of the show’s segments called “The Super Music Friends Show,” bands usually compose a song specifically for the series, in part because the lyrics to their hits may not be appropriate. (Fun fact: The Killers had to be introduced as “Brandon, Ronnie, Mark and Dave.”) To celebrate yet another awesome guest spot — and because even the biggest music fans might have missed them when they aired — we’ve compiled 12 of our favorite performances from the wacky kids show so far.
For its 2010 Revival Recordings project, Levi’s Pioneer Sessions roped in artists ranging from Dirty Projectors and Passion Pit to Bomba Estereo and the Roots to cover timeless tracks that influenced them.
It all kicked off with Nas’ take on Slick Rick’s “Hey Young World,” and has since seen She & Him, the Swell Season, the Shins, and others take on everyone from Rick Nelson to Smashing Pumpkins in a celebration of the lasting power of classic songs. There are still two more tracks to come, and all 13 covers are available to download for free.
Over the past week, it’s been really hot and then really wet and unseasonably cold in New York. The weather can’t make up its mind, but luckily we’ve already decided on the week’s ten best new jams, all oven fresh. We’ve got The Shins covering Squeeze, Wavves moving beyond acid, and fantastic releases from brand new acts like Everything Everything and Graffiti6. Whether you want to listen to them one at a time or all at once is up to you. Be sure to Right Click + Save As after the jump, or scroll to the bottom to download the entire mix.
The concept behind Peter Gabriel’s forthcoming album Scratch My Back is simple: The artist records his favorite tracks by everyone from David Bowie to Radiohead to The Magnetic Fields, and the musicians he has selected complete the song swap by covering a selection from Gabriel’s extensive songbook.
The list we’ve assembled here was inspired by a different kind of reciprocity — that is, of indie rockers showing appreciation for their own kind. So far, only one of these tributes has been mutual but that isn’t to say that we shouldn’t keep our fingers crossed for more. After the jump, check out ten indie acts covering 10 other indie acts’ singles. We think you’ll agree that imitation is the highest form of flattery.
“[James] Mercer has teamed up with producer extraordinaire/one half of Gnarls Barkley Danger Mouse to form a new band. The band’s name is still up in the air, but they’re going with Broken Bells for the time being. The debut from Broken Bells (or whichever name they decide to go with, I guess) is due early next year on Columbia.”
Admittedly less shocking news than the return of Flea, but still. Read More »
