The weather is changing rapidly now and, in useless news, I got to wear a favorite old jacket for the first time this fall today. At the end of last winter, I packed up my cold weather clothes and remember thinking that they were beyond cleaning or repair. The same thing happens every year when I return to bring them back out to the hangers of my closet. They look better than ever

I know very little about The Ballet . I picked up their song "I Hate the War" a month or two ago but didn't listen to it for such a long time that now I have no idea where I actually found it. However, some google searches suggest it may have been either Brooklyn Vegan or Yeti Don't Dance . Their website has the following description of the band: "4 queers, 3 chords, 100 melodies. Marina plays bass, Ginger plays violin, Craig [...]

So in reading online about NYC band The Ballet , this term "sissy pop band" has been getting thrown around a lot (I guess since the band actually uses this label to describe themselves). I'm not sure how I feel about the word sissy as a music descriptor, especially since the jingle-jangle rock pop that they play has always been really appealing to me, especially on my happier days. Then again, they are called The Ballet , something your older brother probably wouldn't cop to listening to unless he himself wears a lot of sweater vests (oh [...]

ich hatte dank einem grippekranken kunden heute morgen nochmal kurz zeit für musik. "all in my head" hat mich den ganzen tag begleitet. the ballet habe ich erst gestern entdeckt und erkläre die band schon heute für großartig. die " sissy pop band " ist offensiv queer, klingt zuckersüss, die teils düsteren texte kontrastieren mit dem bubblegum-appeal. passen zwischen magnetic fields and tilly and the wall. mp3: in my head i hate the war links: website / myspace

They say the ones with the loudest bullhorns on the highest hills get heard best. A basic truth that leads to the most ideologically extreme points of view to often dominate and be heard most clearly. Unfortunately for fans of civil discourse, including the vastly larger swaths of logic minded peoples with center views, these bigmouths pollute genial dialogue with such toxic vitriol that it effectively (dare I say purposefully?) alienates the casual political observer. Much worse is the spin that sticks and then gets repeated by both shepherd and flock. Piles of bullshit for the [...]
The best of the best. Without repeating an artist, my favorite songs I’ve listened to in 2006, Part V. [Part I , II , III , IV and V previously]. 1. Lo-Fi Fnk â€" Adore (mp3) This fun dance track from this Swedish group made me an instant fan. It was an intrinsically appealing quality I can’t put my finger on. The first few lines are my favorite, “Laying on the floor listening to [...]

Alexis Dziena Alexis Dziena is the doe eyed starlet from ‘all tease no release’ melodrama Invasion (think Lost meets X files) With the kind of eyes that make her look like a manga caricature and the sultry poise of a girl who knows exactly how she comes across, it was no surprise then that she played Lolita in the Film Broken Flowers, in which she appeared completely naked in front of Bill Murray’s character. In [...]

Sehr schön, das Musikjahr 2006 erklimmt immer höhere Höhen - die tolle New Yorker Indiepop-Band The Ballet wird am 21. Juli eine Release-Party für ihr Debütalbum «Mattachine!» veranstalten. Leider wird es die CD vorerst nur auf ihren Live-Shows geben, aber vielleicht kann man die Jungs ja beknien, auch das eine oder andere Exemplar nach Deutschland zu schicken. :-) Wer The Ballet noch nicht kennen sollte, MUSS sich jetzt unbedingt «In my head» runterladen, denn dieser Song ist einer der besten (heimlichen) Indiehits der vergangenen Monate & Jahre! [...]
What have I dont this past month? I've seen plenty of gigs but none of which I've bothered to share. Until now. My Summer Vacation from Reviewing Shows On a Wednesday night in late June, I sat in the back of the bar at Joe's Pub taking in the vocal stylings of Clap Your Hands Say Say frontman, Alec Ounsworth, who was having an affair with Flashy Python and the Bodysnatchers . While it may sounds like a B-movie monster [...]

All together found on THE PIRATE SHIP . And since I visited THE PIRATE SHIP I'm a happy boy. Because this is so neat. If you like the mellow sound of P:ANO or BELLE & SEBASTIAN you should check out this great webpage and spent some time listenig to the this three bands and the tons of MP3s of you'll find there. Music to sit around on the balcony, drink coffee and smoke some cigarettes...and that's where I will be back in five seconds again. Relax, it's only one band. [...]
If my blog was of even the slightest importance I'd immediately start hyping these 10 bands/artists (Well I guess I'm already doing my very best at hyping them, though I'm not all that successful/any good at it): Anamia Webpage Myspace ...But It Wasn't So Back Then [mp3] [...]