Blog: blogs are for dogs

The Theater Fire will be at Good Records tonight at 7:00, hosting the release party for their long-awaited album Everybody Has a Dark Side . The usual in-store goodies will be available (free beer) and Chris from GvB will be dj-ing. The Theater Fire will then head over to the Cavern for a proper concert. I'm excited to hear the record in its entirety - the band manages to encorporate something like a dozen influences (country, mariachi, zydecoe?!?) into a unique and coherent sound. From Everybody Has a Dark Side : [...]

The NBA suspended Jason Terry for Game 6 of the Mavericks' series against the Spurs. The word had gotten around town all afternoon that the league was considering some sort of action due to claims that Terry had punched ex-teammate Michael Finley in the deciding moments of last night's game - but I never anticipated that they'd actually suspend him. Terry was fighting for the ball at the bottom of a pile, with Finley on top of him, but nothing was called at the time. Mavs' owner Mark Cuban called the suspension, [...]

I'm really enjoying the Avalanche - so here's one more track that I haven't seen anywhere. Sufjan himself called it the, "one song [from the Avalanche] that I would play live." Sufjan Stevens - The Mistress Witch from McClure (or, The Mind That Knows Itself) And also - the Clerks II trailer is out online. Sounds like a terrifically bad idea. (via kottke )

Here's the video of Wilco performing their new song - "Is That the Thanks I Get" - on Conan O'Brien last week. The song harkens back to the bands early, Being There-era country pop, especially when it comes to Jeff Tweedy's surprising sing-a-long at the end. Here's an mp3, with Conan's intro cut out: Wilco - Is That the Thanks I Get

The Futureheads' follow-up to last year's self titled debut is out June 13th. News and Tributes is a worthy second effort, combining the art-punk sound of their first record with poppier, more hook-filled guitar work. The first single, "Skip to the End," has all the makings of a summer radio hit, if only one that sounds a few decades late. "Worry About it Later" is another standout track, with a sound far bigger and more dynamic than anything FM has to offer. The Futureheads - Skip to the End [...]

As you ought to know by now, in a few months Sufjan Stevens is set to release a collection of songs that didn't quite fit on last summer's Illinoise (which we have since learned was "originally conceived as a double album"). The Avalanche couldn't be a more appropriate title, it seems, because we're now being overwhelmed by a torrent of banjo, strings, perfectly pitched falsetto, and other assorted sounds common to the state of Michigan. So much so that people are starting to get annoyed. The "indie rock stages of grief" go something like [...]

The third season of Scrubs came out on DVD this week, and with the current television season almost at an end, it makes for perfect replacement viewing over the summer. And since we supposedly face the death of the traditional sitcom , Scrubs is clearly the funniest and most intelligent comedy the networks have to offer. With its younger, more hip mentality, the show also features some of the best music on tv. Here's two of the stand-out songs, from a pair of Dallas bands: The Polyphonic Spree - Light and Day/Reach for [...]

Jason Lytle is abandoning Modesto, California and, on the heels of their latest album, Grandaddy are breaking up. Just Like the Fambly Cat works as both a tribute to the band and an elegy for its passing. While I skipped Lytle's recent in-store appearance at Good Records (as one of the few die-hard NBA fans still in existence), I have been enjoying Fambly Cat for some time now and will certainly miss the band and their brand of lo-fi brilliance. Here's Elevate Myself, on which Lytle sums up his musical mission: "I'd rather make [...]

I skipped the Grandaddy in-store at Good last night to watch Game 2 of the Mavs-Spurs series, by all accounts the worst decision of all time. Sure, the Mavs won in dominating fashion to even the series at one apiece, potentially stealing homecourt advantage from the defending champs. But the game was miserable to watch, thanks in large part to the back alley affair that was the officiating of Steve Javie and Co. Javie and his fellow refs botched the game so miserably that by the [...]

Congratulations are in order: To Avery Johnson, who in just his first full year as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, was named the NBA's Coach of the Year. The Mavs have to be considered one of the favorites to win their first title this year, in large part due to the Little General's constant intensity and emphasis on defense. To the Memphis Grizzlies, who lost game one of their series with the Mavericks and face Dallas again tonight. The Grizz battled hard down the stretch to win the [...]

Wes Anderson directs and stars in his own American Express commercial. It's like his previous ad work - only a lot funnier. Take that M. Night Shyamalan. Previously: Wes Anderson: LittleBlue SmurfBoy or Owen Wilson Coattail-Rider?

Vh1's Celebrity Eye Candy , which appears set to replace WebJunk in the Friday night slot after BestWeekEver , is perhaps the worst show on television. Imagine taking Gawker or Defamer and replacing the trademark commentary and media in-jokes with the kind of shrill-voiced idiocy that makes America's Funniest Home Videos such a hit with Middle America. And also, there is singing. And captions. Take the following clip of Jake Gyllenhaal as evidence. At least they got the gay jokes right.