In 2006 I mistakenly got into two albums that ended up being important. One was Thom Yorke's The Eraser and the other was The Format's Dog Problems. Ultimately, Yorke's album gave me a new understanding and appreciation of Radiohead's catalogue and established something of a long-term relationship between the two of us. The Format album gave me six days of unrestrained joy, followed quickly by a

From Wikipedia: "The word geek is a slang term, noting individuals as "a peculiar or otherwise odd person, especially one who is perceived to be overly obsessed with one or more things including those of intellectuality, electronics, gaming, etc." Geek stuff seems to be 'in' right now, which is fine by me. I've been one for years, and a little social acceptance isn't a horrible thing, although I honestly don't care one way or the other. I'm also an unabashed Star Wars fan, and today's release of the Clone Wars is as good an excuse as any to [...]
This is probably one of the happiest posts I've had the pleasure of throwing up! Here's why: Reason #1: It's my fellow whale in a cubicle-r's day of birth. Happy 25th dude. Reason #2: I just got wind today that the Format's Nate Ruess has indeed teamed up with some fellow music-makers, and their first bit of magic has finally surfaced! It was a sad day in February when we learned of the Format's demise, but I know that we here at whale in a cubicle have been anxiously awaiting whatever Nate [...]

Anybody who isn't privy to Anathallo - the ex-Mt. Pleasant, MI indie-folk collective now living in Chicago and signed to mf'ing Antic...er, uh, maybe we're not supposed to say that yet - is seriously missing out. Some beautiful jams coming out of those kids (peep "Noni's Field" from the upcoming Canopy Glow for starters). We must admit that we were a little sad when we heard that multi-instrumentalist Andrew Dost recently left the group to join emo-country band Steel Train (yikes), but we're a bit more excited about this "fun" [...]
When Arizona intelli-pop band The Format broke up a few months ago , a little part of my heart broke. I loved those guys; the homemade "Format Sunny Supermix" is still a superstar on my car radio, all summer every summer. Well, hooray hooray for some good news before this summer ends: lead singer Nate Ruess has a new band, called simply " fun ." Strike two on the not good for Googling, guys. They're trying to undermine my whole system of band data gathering. Subversive. [...]

Every lead of a great band has gotta have a side project right? Well Nate Ruess of The Format has finally got his and they've just released this demo on their myspace . They're called Fun and it's way too early to make any final judgments but give the demo a listen and see what you think. [See post to listen to track] Benson Hedges.mp3 (right click to save as)
Supergroup alert! Fun recently announced its existence, and its ranks include members of personal favorites The Format (Nate Ruess), Anathallo (Andrew Dost) and Steel Train (Jack Antonoff). See, that sounds like a supergroup, doesn't it? Not only did Fun tell us all who is involved in the merry-making, but the band announced that it will accompany Jack's Mannequin on tour in the near future.
A nod to the kickoff of the 2008 Bejing Olympics today. Where the world gathers to see who can run faster, jump higher, compete harder, and throw longer, all in a quest to claim who's better and get the gold. 1 : The Black Crowes - Go Faster Buy Greatest Hits 2 : Sly And The Family Stone - I Want To Take You Higher Buy Essential [...]

Tomatoes and corn and longer shadows. That's August to me. Here's #6 in this Summer series. Forgetting to bug any of my more artistic friends to make cover art, I did this one myself... and it shows. But musically, this one turned out pretty good. Have a good weekend. DOWNLOAD SUMMER FRIDAYS #6 Here's the track list: 1. The Kinks - Party Line 2. Envelopes - I'd Like 2 C U 3. The [...]

You know that feeling when you fall in love with a particular song? You listen to it ad nauseam and miraculous you still love it. Inspired by this love, you decide to take a chance and google the band to find out more about them. It's a leap of faith, but for this one song, it is worth it. Lo and behold, your instincts have not failed you and it turns out you totally love this band's other songs too! You know that feeling? Riding on the wave of this exhilarating experience, you do more digging [...]
[See post to listen to audio] [See post to listen to audio] Download: If Work Permits.mp3 If Work Permits (Demo).mp3 Buy: Dog Problems

I just watched Be Kind Rewind. I'll let you know what I thought this weekend or on Monday. But I haven't posted another Perch Mix CD from the Christmas present I gave my aunt in a while. So far there's been Happy and Orchestra. Today, there's Love. Find the one you love, put on this mix, and let them know how much they mean to you. And I guess this is as good a time as any to announce that I'm once again taking applications for a girlfriend. If you're interested, please [...]

Playlist du 14 février au 21 février... Une radio pop, faite de reprise (improbable sur le "over & over" des Hot Chip par les Miserable Rich), de bootleg (quand les Nine Inch Nails rencontrent les Beatles avec DJ Zebra), de remixes (des Yeasayer et des Raveonettes), de nouveautés prometteuses et parfois enivrantes (The Helio sequence, Cut Copy, Basia Bulat, The Duke Spirit, AmpLive), de vieilleries intemporelles (Janis Joplin, XTC, Elvis Presley...... et Hot Butter), et de B.O (Barry Louis Polisar et son "All I want is you" qui accompagne l'excellent "JUNO"), etc.... pour deux heures [...]

MP3s for the GRIND. The Week That Was / The Week That Will Be Who doesn't love themed blog posts? By no means is this Work Mix playlist perfect - but here are songs for labor - guaranteed to spark some interesting thoughts. If you think I'm missing any really good ones, drop me an email and let me know. Here's to getting through another week of working for the man. Nothing tragic here - There are worse things... I suppose. [...]
Heather noticed that the Format are disbanding (the post on their myspace blog says it was amicable & everyone is still friends). This is sad news; the Format was an excellent pop band and they put out two great albums, chock full of pep and handclaps. If you've never given them a chance, well, no time like the present! "Interventions & Lullabies" especially is worth the listen. The Format - Site | Myspace 01. The First Single (Cause A Scene) I've [...]
The Format announced yesterday that they are putting the band on hiatus after a half-decade career, with lead vocalist Nate Ruess posting the following message on the band's website: We have just put out word that we will not be making a new Format album. Please understand this was a tough ...
![[News] The Format Break-Up](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/889544_lg.jpg)
Being the socially adept animals that we are, most of us know that breaking up over the internet or a text message is unacceptable and cowardly. This rule doesn't apply to musicians though. Nope, they're too intimidated by passionate fans to tell them face-to-face. Instead they'll opt for the combination of text and well placed punctuation to explain the break-up in one concise mass message. Sadly, another band has gone this ill-fated route the young and talented Format . Learning via the band's MySpace site and a quick notice from [...]

While I have not posted about them much in the past couple months, any person who has been a regular reader of HSB knows that one of my absolute favorite current bands is Arizona's pop-rock act The Format . They released two stellar albums the past few years and even had a free giveaway of their last album to anybody who wanted it, in a move that has put them to the forefront of the new models of music industry money-making which few bands can replicate. So it is terribly unfortunately that I [...]