We perhaps have not given this band enough coverage on the blog, now, with proper big label backing, comes this excellent quality video of “Harold T. Wilkins” off their debut album, “Reservoir”.

Dopo il Tributo ai Radiohead ed ai R.E.M. sul sito è possibile scaricare l’album tributo a Bjork: “Post” è stato coverizzato da 12 artisti tra cui gli Atlas Sound (Headphones), Xiu Xiu (Isobel) e Liars (Army of me).

Buon ascolto.

Stereogum released a list of their 25 Most Anticipated Albums of 2010. There are a lot of exciting records coming up next year including albums by Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem, and Vampire Weekend. The list is definitely worth a browse.

I just wanted to share this video, simply because it’s extremely funny!

I found it on stereogum/videogum, so credits for them!
Enjoy!

I’m a sucker for Bjork covers almost as much as I am for the Icelandic pixie herself. Don’t tell anyone, but I took pictures in front of her house when I was vacationing in Reykjavic. I know that sounds creepy, but spend a few days there and you’ll realize everyone’s pretty chill — even the stalkers. But I digress.

Stereogum has put together a tribute album for Post, Bjork’s second album and probably what many would consider her break out LP. Featuring a track-by-track cover from artists such as the Dirty Projectors, The High Places, Atlas Sound and more, the results are thoroughly enjoyable and most importantly, free to download.

Granted, I’m not a musician, but I would imagine putting your name on a cover slated for a Bjork tribute album can be rather intimidating. How do you make something seminal because it was so idiosyncratic sound unique in your own way? Daunting task aside, Stereogum assembled some intrepid troubadours who basically went the only two ways covers can go — make it indecipherably different, or just play it bar-for-bar in your own style.

Sometimes these two options are not mutually exclusive (like Xiu Xiu’s caustically breathy Isobel rendition). By and large though I am a fan of the “being yourself” route. My favourite — and probably least wild — track on the album is the version of Possibly Maybe performed as a duet by Final Fantasy (Toronto native Owen Pallet) and Ed Drost of Grizzly Bear.

Pallet and Drost impart a reverential vibe essential to all good covers, plus the male duet brings something special to a quivering melody so associated with Bjork’s distinctive voice.

In general, this is a thoroughly enjoyable project and Stereogum does a great job interviewing all the artists about why they love Bjork, chats with Bjork herself and even includes album liner notes and special cover art.

Worth checking out, and you can download all the mp3’s in a zip file.

I THINK I AM GOING TO PUKE ALL OVER MY CPU SCREEN~ I AM SO DISGUSTED WITH WHAT THE BIGGEST MUSIC SITES HAVE BECOME. THEY USED TO ALL ACTUALLY TELL IT LIKE IT WAS AND GAVE THEIR OPINIONS WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT WHAT THE OTHERS WERE GOING TO DO OR WHAT WAS “HIP” OR “COOL” ~ IT’S NOT EVEN ABOUT THE MUSIC ANYMORE, IT’S LIKE THE DAMN MUSIC INDUSTRY (ESPECIALLY THE SUCCESSFUL INDIE CROWD) IS A HIGH SCHOOL PROM AND NOBODY’S SOULS OR HEARTS MATTER, JUST THEIR DRESSES AND WHO THEY ARE BRING WITH THEM TO THE BIG DANCE AND HOW THEY ARE GETTING THERE. I’M GOING TO DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO GET THIS BLOG ONTO THE RIGHT PEOPLE’S COMPUTER SCREENS IN THEIR HOUSES OR APARTMENTS! THERE HAS TO BE PEOPLE WHO FEEL THE WAY THAT I DO. WE MUST RISE AND CREATE A NEW GENRE OF MUSIC IN ALL FACETS OF THE THEORY! IT WON’T BE INDIE, IT WON’T BE ALTERNATIVE, IT WILL HAVE TO BE CALLED “OTHER(TWICE)”

I WROTE THIS ON STEREOGUM AFTER READING THE 4TH LIST FROM PITCHFORK WHICH WAS ONLY 20 INSTEAD OF 50 AND THEY WERE BY FAR THE BEST, THEY GOT MORE GOOD ALBUMS IN 20 PICKS THAN THE OTHERS DID IN 50!!!

HERE IS MY RANT: What if the greatest album ever created comes out next month?! Anyways, Out of all the 4 lists from the Top Guns, Pitchfork got more right in 20 than any of the others did in 50!!!!!!!  They are the only ones to include a Modest Mouse Album, I know everyone thinks that Lonesome Crowded West was their Holy Grail & then they sold out, but as a Musician or even a massive fan of music, I think that what Isaac Brock did on The Moon & Antarctica (3 People), Good News For People Who Love Bad News & Even The Johnny Marr Included We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank  <— All 3 of them would be in My Top 50 Along With Ugly Cassanova! Silverchair – Diorama One Billion Percent Belongs In Every List~ It just infuriates me that all of these main music sites have to make sure they are still hip in their decision~ I mean, M.I.A is Beyond Amazing, But I don’t think that Arular is even half the album that Kala is and of course that is because she brought in Big Time Producers and all that, but M.I.A as a Singer/Rapper/Producer/Programmer <— She learned and got better at all of those things over the years in between those albums, but NOT ONE LIST HAD KALA, Just Arular Because It Is Cooler & More Hip To Say So & I Think Modest Mouse Made No Lists Because Of The Same Thing.. It’s Just Ridiculous. I am going to start a Music Blog & I am going to put the time, dedication and money behind it to get it into peoples heads and I will not bow down to what others think I should think. It is really getting pathetic at this point. HE DREAMS AWAKE Better Be In The Top 10 Of The Next Decade’s Lists~ If they want weird, unique, completely different in shape/sound/structure – That is where HDAWAKE Prevails by Landslides~

I MAY BE INSANE, BUT IT IS A BEAUTIFUL & BRILLIANT INSANITY.. AT LEAST THAT’S WHAT I TELL MYSELF WHEN I’M TRYING TO FALL ASLEEP ;P

HERE IS THE PITCHFORK TOP 20 OF THE LAST DECADE

Top Album Of The Decade

PASTE’S 50 BEST ALBUMS OF THE DECADE

NME’S 50 GREATEST OF THE LAST 10 YEARS

UNCUT’S TOP 20 ALBUMS OF THE ’00s

I HAD ACTUALLY LET UNCUT SLIP PAST ME & THEIR TOP 20 IS BETTER THAN HORRIBLE~ I WOULD TAKE THE TWO TOP 20’s OVER BOTH TOP 50 LISTS COMBINED TO A DESERTED ISLAND FOR THE REST OF MY OWN ETERNITY, NOT SAYING THAT WOULD BE EVEN DECENT, BUT IT WOULD DEFINITELY BE…… BETTER THAN NOTHING (i think)~

LET’S HOPE NOSTRADAMUS WAS WRONG ABOUT 2012 ALONG WITH THAT GROUP OF HARDCORE CHRISTIANS!!

ONE LAST THING.. ONE BIG ASS QUESTION: WHERE THE F#@K IS ELLIOTT SMITH’S FROM A BASEMENT ON A HILL??!!!!!!!!!  IT DIDN’T MAKE ONE SINGLE LIST AND IT HAS A FEW OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SONGS EVER WRITTEN AND HE IS TALKING ABOUT PURE PAIN AND FRUSTRATION BECAUSE HE STUCK A F#@KING KNIFE IN HIS HEART BEFORE HE EVEN RELEASED IT. IT WAS A DOUBLE ALBUM AND IT BELONGS ON ALL 4 OF THOSE LISTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT THE F#CK EVER~

Well, NME are near the Top of the BEST MUSIC WEBSITES for a reason and have once again given us a glimpse into their minds with their(DUH DUH DUH!!!!!)

LIST OF THE 50 GREATEST ALBUMS OF THE DECADE~ I hate to say it, but I am going to make my first Proclamation as a Music Blogger = This is THE LIST THAT MISSED!!

I Don’t Know If I Agree With The TOP 10 & I am going to check out the #1 Pick again to make sure that I completely disagree~

This Is About YOU THOUGH, SO GO AHEAD & CH-CH-CH-CHECK IT OUT —–>  Stereogum’s 50 Greatest Albums Of The ’00s

If Nothing Else, There Should Have Been AT LEAST ONE ALBUM BY A CERTAIN BAND WHO I BELIEVE IS THE GREATEST AMERICAN ROCK BAND OF THE LAST 13 YEARS

(Funny Number I Know, But That Is How Long They Have Been Putting Out Albums)  – I mean, even if you are part of the crowd that believes they “Sold Out,” Their 3rd Album & The First Of The Thousands SHOULD BE IN THERE, NO QUESTIONS ASKED. I will write more soon enough, I don’t want to ruin it for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet and I know how pi$$ed I can get if there is a Massive Spoiler in something I am reading about something that I am about to Hear, Watch, See or Read  (Does that make sense?! Just think about it 

Woo Hoo!!  My 2nd PoST~!!

Respect~

Cheers~

xo

KNiFA

Now including Videogum-related categories! Plus you can win stuff. I’m voting for “Kittens Inspired by Kittens” only because “The Best Burrito” isn’t an option

http://stereogum.com/gummys/

Solange Covers Dirty Projectors – MP3 – Stereogum.

Check this out! I have mixed feelings about this…on the one hand it seems a bit contrived (I can just picture her singing this song onstage alone to backing tracks) but on the other it’s just plain catchy! It also reminds me how blessed I am to play with such amazing musicians that value originality and authenticity! The Dirty Projectors have been on constant rotation on my Ipod and if you haven’t heard them before my favorite album is Bitte Orca.

… in which “cool” is defined as any music enjoyed by self-confessed music-fascist, Scar.

It’s probably going to contain guitars and sad men with messy hair and scruffy jeans.  Disclaimer: this is purely a style choice, not a gender-political one.  Scar is and always has been very cheerful about having a vagina.

When it’s not suicidally morbid, or even rather emo, it tends to be grunge, surfer punk and in some cases, things like Metallica and Nine Inch Nails.  Mostly, however, it tends to be stuff like Nick Cave, Mark Lanegan or a bunch of foppish looking young brits with floppy fringes.  Scar has never quite managed to shake off the nineties.

Scar is not a complete gender traitor, in fact she is sometimes known to sing tonelessly along with Tori Amos, PJ Harvey, Ani Difranco and the like.  Yup, there’s a pattern there too.

In order to fake some kind of cool factor, Scar hangs out at spinner.com and stereogum.com and downloads obscure music by bands with whimsical names.  The ones she keeps are generally the ones that remind her of nineties bands.  Her inverted snobbery is a prominent factor in her musical choices and if she admits to enjoying something mainstream, the admission is always prefaced by the muttered words, “Don’t tell anyone, but …”

Despite all of this, her favourite band since the mid-eighties has been R.E.M. and she reacts to 21st century descriptions of them as “grandad rock” with sincere distress.  She is also the only known lesbian on earth with a crush on Kurt Cobain.

klausīties šeit

A circa un mese e mezzo dalla pubblicazione ecco qualche nota su uno degli album tributi prodotti, pubblicati e diffusi gratuitamente da Stereogum (il blog di culto per i patiti della musica indie). Si tratta di Enjoyed: A Tribute To Björk’s Post, ovvero 46 minuti in cui si ripercorre la sequenza originale del secondo album di Björk, Post, (gran) disco del 1995. Ogni traccia è affidata a un artista differente e l’apertura, Army Of Me, tocca al nome forte tra le band coinvolte, i Liars: sporcato e rallentato (anche se non al livello delle cover più radicali sentite negli ultimi tempi, ossia quelle di Kode9 and The Spaceape, vedi Sign O’ The Times e Ghost Town) il brano, scelto all’epoca dall’artista islandese come primo singolo, così arrangiato sembra una colonna sonora ideale per scene apocalittiche di film ambientati in un prossimo futuro. Ma già il brano successivo cambia completamente atmosfera: la versione di Hyperballad firmata Dirty Projectors (l’indie band più chiacchierata dell’anno) è David Byrne oriented; qualche passo oltre l’indie-pop si ritrova subito la pace, insomma. Saltando qualche brano però arriviamo al vero pezzo forte: gli Xiu Xiu tirano fuori una versione di Isobel in chiave contemporanea che rende onore al concetto di cover, con al centro un violoncello rieditato e una voce spaesata che gli gira intorno. Ultima menzione per Headphones rifatta da Atlas Sound: tanto fosca quanto ammaliante.
Gli altri artisti coinvolti, sfruttando la bellezza dei brani originari, che non è poca, danno comunque il loro contributo. Ma per saperne di più (e scaricare il disco) cliccate qui.

Max screams; image courtesy of cherryhill.injersey.com

I saw Spike Jonze’s Where The Wild Things Are this past Saturday. At the Imax, dudes. With actual children, no less. And then I had a lovely dinner for four that two friends cooked. Austin is a town full of hospitable folk doing their part to drive the long-anticipated feature to the number one draw at the box office. Y’all come.

Now, I’ve been waiting for Jonze’s third feature, based on the classic Maurice Sendak children’s book, to come out for years (I guess on the heels of his video for Kanye West’s “Flashing Lights,” the duo have released We Were Once a Fairytale – thanks for the update, Annie). And while the $600 playsuit threatened to put a damper on the proceedings, dammit if I didn’t choke up every time I saw the trailer. In short, my expectations were susceptible to being dashed.

So I was pleasantly surprised that they pretty much weren’t. My only real complaint is that I actually think the script Jonze and Dave Eggers put together could have been less conventional. That said, the movie does a commendable job bridging a fantastical island of wild things from the protagonist Max’s imagination into some place at once real and unreal — the wild things are faithfully rendered from the book, yet have names like Carol and Alexander. It also does a good job capturing the loose pacing and the seemingly nonsensical ideas that come to life from creative processes. Carol, the leader of the wild things, builds a miniature world that contains all his friends and idealized notions of life with them in a manner at once so precise and makeshift that I couldn’t help but wonder if the diarama was Jonze’s tip of the hat to buddy Michel Gondry. Max orders the wild things to build a fortress that seems impossible to build, until it materializes before our eyes. 

Oh, and I can’t believe I saw a big-budget mainstream motion picture where all of the studio logos were defaced by children’s doodlings.

There are startling moments of realism in Max’s fantasy world, as when a real raccoon appears in a wild thing’s belly named Richard or when another wild thing rescues a housecat. There’s also shocking moments of aural and physical violence, both in Max’s real and imagined worlds. A wild thing rips a limb off another, teenage boys dive into the igloo Max lovingly built out of snow in his front yard, Max tells his mother (played by the superlative Catherine Keener) a story about a vampire who loses his fangs while trying to bite through a castle’s walls. Nothing is more violent than our emotions, however, especially when they materialize as shouts of joy and squishy snot pools of angst.  

Mother-son fighting; image courtesy of daemonsmovies.com

For Max, almost all of these emotions and flights of fancy are the result of his parents’ recent divorce, clearly Jonze’s attempt to process his childhood and his dissolved marriage to Sofia Coppola. Some people may really hate this narrative decision, which is no where addressed in the skeletal source material. I note that Sendak intentionally left the story elliptical and thus would be heartened to see multiple adaptations of this book from a variety of directors, each with their own sense of character motivation and plot. Also, as a product of a broken home who in all likelihood was sitting in a theater with other children and adults who dealt with divorce, I found a tremendous amount of catharsis in watching this lonely boy try — and sometimes fail — to work through his feelings about what once was but can never be again. Speaking for myself, I got through this by drawing murals of mermaids that talked to me, having eight imaginary sisters named Jessica, and running in my backyard alone pretending to be a fairy. So I felt for Max.

Thinking about kids, let me give it up for the crowd with whom I saw this movie. Possibly the only screening I’ve been to where the sound of babies crying actually added to the ambiance, I’m happy to report that the theater I saw this movie in was teeming with kids. And not all white, liberal, hipster kids whose parents like movies that do well in Brooklyn. “Regular” kids, some with bowl haircuts and homemade crowns and Nike running shoes. ”Normal” kids who seemed energized by the movie afterwards (as someone who was scared of monsters, I would not have been one of those kids). And most of them seemed to be pretty on-the-ball, problematizing some of the speculations that kids won’t “get” this movie. I’d gladly point out the boy behind us who instantly figured out that two squawking owls were telling a knock-knock joke. 

And speaking of on-the-ball kids, I can’t believe lead actor Max Records has only been in a few other things. With that too-cool-for-school name, I do believe that Lance Bangs (aka Lester Bangs’s son, aka Mr. Corin Tucker) discovered him. That said, there isn’t a false moment in his multi-faceted performance. Also, I feel a little weird about this, but he’s a total hottie-to-be, not unlike Emma Watson when she starred in the first few Harry Potter movies.

Hipster pre-teen idol; image courtesy of weloveyouso.com

As for the sounds, two things struck me about this movie that I haven’t fully processed but stay with me long after the initial viewing. One is the score. I’ve been thinking about Karen O and Carter Burwell’s work here for some time. I listened to the soundtrack after Stereogum posted it. On its own, it was pleasant and at times interesting, but seemingly not of a piece. With the visuals, however, the songs Karen O put together with Burwell and as one of the Kids take on new resonance. Her vocals also seem to help us orient and empathize with Max. Using a woman’s voice to identify with a boy protagonist is interesting, and certainly plays with notions of queerness, androgyny, and between-ness. This ambiguity was something that seemed possible in some of the M.I.A. songs used in portions of Slumdog Millionaire that focused on protagonist Jamal’s childhood. It is certainly evident in the construction of Max’s pre-pubescent, slightly degendered, soft boy identity here.

A final thing that interested me that I hadn’t anticipated was the use of voice actors for the wild things. Forrest Whitaker, Catherine O’Hara, Lauren Ambrose, Paul Dano, and James “Tony Soprano” Gandolfini lent their voices and considerable acting ability to create a whole different sense of aural corporeality and heightened realness to these otherwise fantastical monsters. When Ambrose’s KW tells Max “I’ll eat you up, I love you so” as she bids him goodbye as he returns home from his imaginary travels, I believe it and don’t forget the sound of her words.

So much Karen O. right now!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Heads Will Roll (A-Track Remix) (mp3)

Via.

Let me introduce you to Classixx. A powerhouse synth house group that has been nailing remixes and developing a cult following the past year. A great place to start is to listen to “I’ll Get You.”

If it doesn’t get you singing “Do You Like Bass, Do you Do you Like Bass” You are guaranteed your money back. By money back I mean absolutely nothing. Anyways you were probably wasting your employers money by reading and listening so lets just call it even.

The groups wheelhouse is pretty evident: Fun awesome synth pop!

http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vZ29yaWxsYXZzYmVhci5ibG9nc3BvdC5jb20vMjAwOS8wNy9tcDMtY2xhc3NpeHgteC1tYWpvci1sYXplci5odG1s

http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmdyZWVubGFiZWxzb3VuZC5jb20vaG9seWdob3N0

Sufjan Stevens was recently interviewed by VishKhanna.com and revealed that although the rumors are not true that he will be retireing, he does have a certain animosity towards music and what seems like life in general at the moment.

Some quotes:

- “What’s the point of making music anymore? I feel that the album no longer has a stronghold or has any real bearing anymore.”

- “…me versus my work, y’know? And I don’t think I can win; I feel like it’s a losing battle…”

- “But for myself, I definitely feel a kind of claustrophobia because of the excess in our culture and the availability of so much.”

Is Sufjan now playing the role of Conor Oberst?

Via.

The great people of Stereogum have given the best Icelandic artist a much-deserved indie-music tribute album – and giving it away for free…

Pulling out all the stops and creating a compilation featuring the Dirty Projectors (covering “Hyperballad”), Pattern is Movement (covering “Enjoy”), and Xiu Xiu (“Isobel”), the tribute gives Bjork’s already hard electronic sound an even heavier synth sound. 

Download here for free.

Ed-G.

PREVIEW: Download Animal Collective’s “Brother Sport” MP3.

Both Stereogum and Pitchfork commented today on Animal Collective’s latest plans, namely a random, coverless album that’s cropped up on Amazon.com. It’s called Fall Be Kind and is available for pre-order for a mere $11.83. Currently that’s all that anyone knows about the release. In other news, the experimental film that the band’s been working is nearly ready for release. [Previous 20 Watts Coverage: Best Albums of the Year So Far]

Stereogum also premiered a new Ida Maria video today. Ida Maria re-released her song “Oh My God” from the album Fortress Round My Heart, this time with vocals from the legendary Iggy Pop. Stereogum took issue with Iggy Pop’s baritone vocals supporting acts like Jemina Pearl, Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse and The BPA, not to mention on his own jazzy releases. [Previous 20 Watts Coverage: Iggy and The Stooges Get Nommed]

Did you miss the Mountain Goats on “The Colbert Report” last night?  Watch their performance of “Psalms 40:2″ here on Colbert’s website. Colbert had a field day with the Mountain Goats’ biblically inspired latest album, The Life of the World to Come. [Previous 20 Watts Coverage: 20 Watts Reviews The Mountain Goats’ The Life of the World to Come]

For all the European Pavement fans out there disappointed by their NYC reunion, do not fret.  Pavement are scheduled to headline All Tomorrow’s Parties on May 14-16 in Minehead, England, Pitchfork reports.  [Previous 20 Watts Coverage: Editor’s Pick #180: Pavement’s Reunion]

Brooklyn’s own Viva Radio has announced the release of a compilation including the likes of The Dandy Warhols, Jay Reatard,The Fiery Furnaces, Growing, Amazing Baby, and Sebastien Tellier, reports Filter. Entitled The Best of Me + You Vol. 1, the album was recorded between 2007 and 2009 in their Brooklyn studios and will include interviews and songs from some of the station’s guests. To make the offer even more enticing, the disc is available for purchase along with a limited edition Me + You t-shirt. We’re sold!

Filter also reports that Berkeley-based indie rockers the Morning Benders will play several shows with Grizzly Bear and Girls during their Fall tour. The Benders hooked up with Grizzly Bear on the production of their latest album, Big Echo, which was  co-producer by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor. The album is set to drop in March 2010 on +1 Records. [Previous 20 Watts Coverage:Editor's Pick #172: Grizzly Bear's "While You Wait For The Others" (Feat. Michael McDonald)]

– 20 Watts Staff

Their new album Sugarland is out via 10/27 via Rare Book Room. The duo has a hometown show then hits the road:

10/03 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (WFMU Fest) #
10/27 – New York, NY @ Cakeshop %
10/28 – South Hadley, MA @ Mount Holyoke
10/29 – Providence, RI @ Building 16 ^
10/30 – New York, NY @ TBA
10/31 – Washington, DC @ American University !!
11/01 – Baltimore, MD @ TBD
11/02 – Philadelphia, PA @ PIFAS **
11/03 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Nerve
11/04 – Columbus, OH @ Cafe Bourbon
11/05 – Louisville, KY @ Swan Dive
11/06 – Chicago, IL @ TBA
11/07 – Iowa City, IA @ TBA &
11/08 – Kansas City, KS @ TBD
11/09 – Tulsa, OK @ TBD
11/10 – Albuquerque, NM  @ TBD
11/11 – Tempe or Phoenix, AZ @ TBD
11/12 – San Diego, CA @ Music Trader ^^
11/13 – Los Angeles, @ TBD
11/14 – Los Angeles, CA @ Smell
11/15 – Los Angeles, CA @ TBD
11/16 – Oakland, CA @ TBD
11/17 – San Francisco, CA @ TBD
11/18 – Sacramento, CA @ TBD
11/19 – Eugene, OR @ TBD
11/20 – Portland, OR @ Backspace ((
11/21 – Olympia, WA @ TBA
11/22 – Vancouver, BC @ TBD
11/23 – Seattle, WA @ TBD
11/24 – Portland, OR @ Valentine’s ##
11/27 – Salt Lake City, UT @ TBD
11/28 – Denver, CO @ TBD
11/29 – Lawrence, KS @ TBD
11/30 – Iowa CIty, IA @ TBD
12/01 – TBD
12/02 – TBD
12/03 – TBD
12/04 – New York City @ TBD
12/05 – New York City @ TBD

# w/ Teenage Jesus & The Jerks, Sightings, Drunkdriver
% w/ Pterodactyl, Antimagic
^ w/ Little Teeth and Hyena
!! w/ Tickley Feather and Soft Power
** w/ Social Junk
& w/ Wet Hair and Cursillistas
^^ w/ Blessure Grave, Wet Hair, and Entertainment
(( w/ Wet Hair and Silver Interior
## w/ Wet Hair and Eternal Tapestry

Clarss

A continuación dejo una lista con mi top 10 de blogs favoritos. Incluye blogs que recomiendo sobre música, diseño, redes sociales y web, mercadotecnia, aplicaciones y humor. Espero que les gusten!

Si tienen algún otro que recomienden por favor dejen un comentario.

10. Grace Smith, PostScript5

El Blog de Grace Smith, diseñadora gráfica proveniente de Irlanda y dueña de un estudio de diseño llamado PostScript5, es principalmente sobre temas de diseño, tecnología y redes sociales. Si te interesan algunos tips sobre diseño para tu página web o tu blog, entonces te gustará.

Algunas de las categorías interesantes que puedes encontrar en el blog son: Design, Web Development, Twitter y Theme Thursday, donde puedes encontrar algunos tutoriales bastante útiles.

9. CollegeHumor

Si…me divierte mucho este tipo de “humor”, o como lo quieran ver, tal vez muy en el fondo sigo estando en la etapa “college”. Lo que es cierto es que este blog tiene muchos videos divertidos. Por favor, no me echen la culpa si pierden tiempo en la oficina.

El blog, creado por dos chavos de Maryland, contiene videos originales, artículos, concursos, fotografías y videos que otras personas han enviado.

Recomiendo la sección Best of CH en la pestaña MORE, y por supuesto todos los videos creados por CH.

8. Pitchfork

Esta publicación de Chicago se ha vuelto una de las más importantes a nivel mundial sobre música independiente, en especial del género Indie Rock. Lo más importante de la página es que Pitchfork se concentra en música nueva, por lo que es bastante buena si lo que te gusta es estar investigando y buscando lanzamientos de tu interés.

Ha sido tal el éxito de Pitchfork que desde el 2006 cuenta con su propio festival de rock en Chicago.

Lo mejor: Best New Music y Forecast.

7. MacAppStorm

Para todos aquellos fanáticos de Mac, a.k.a. maqueros, este blog tiene no solo reviews de las aplicaciones de Mac. También pueden encontrar noticias, lanzamientos, trucos y tips y abarca todas las categorías de las aplicaciones desde negocios o finanzas hasta música y video.

Hay gran cantidad de blogs dedicados 100% a Mac. Sin embargo, este es de mis favoritos puesto que es bastante fácil encontrar tus temas de interés.

6. Sopitas

A pesar de que hay bastantes blogs mexicanos que son excelentes (me hubiera encantado ponerlos en mi lista), el blog de Sopitas es uno de los mejores porque reúne todos los temas que puedes encontrar en los demás. Desde los nuevos lanzamientos de música (en especial alternativa e independiente) hasta las noticias más reelevantes del día. También puedes encontrar mucho sobre deportes, por ejemplo agenda de partidos de algunos torneos, eventos y conciertos próximos en México, un poco sobre gadgets, entre otros. Más que un blog, es una guía de entretenimiento para el joven mexicano, en especial chilango o defeño.

Algo muy especial de Sopitas, es que si te perdiste su programa de radio (lunes-viernes de 6 a 8am, 105.7FM Reactor) o quieres saber alguna canción que programó en la mañana, entonces en el blog puedes ver el nombre para buscarla después.

Recomiendo darse una vuelta los fines de semana ya que Sopitas tiene una edición especial para estos días.

5. DoshDosh

En un principio este blog me llamó la atención por que la autora Maki, en lugar de usar una fotografía,  utiliza avatares estilo animé (muchos saben que me gusta mucho el animé).  Todas las categorías están relacionadas con mercadotecnia y publicidad por internet. Lo más interesante es que pueden encontrar desde temas relacionados con  estrategias para medios sociales, blogs y páginas web incluyendo Twitter, hasta recursos, tips, tutoriales, teoría entre otros para hacer $$$.

Mis categorías favoritas son Twitter, Social Media Marketing y Blogging Tips.

4. BoingBoing

BoingBoing , “A directory of wonderfull things”, se encuentra dentro de los primeros lugares de todos los Rankings de blogs. Es bastante popular debido a que primero fue establecido como una revista y después se convirtió en blog.  Ahora, su contenido es una combinación de temas como tecnología, futurismo, ciencia ficción, gadgets y política, que muestran la forma de pensamiento del geek actual (interesado en todos los temas actuales, por así decirlo).

Lo más interesante del blog, para mi gusto, son Gadgets, pero hay que tener en cuenta que los gadgets que se muestran no siempre son los que comunmente muestran otros blogs ni los más de moda. De vez en cuando hay posts bastante raros pero muy interesantes para la mayoría de nosotros. Bastante recomendable!

3.Failblog

Otro blog de humor que me encanta, Failblog es simplemente una colección de videos y fotografías cómicas. No hay mucho que comentar, solo que si te gusta el humor negro y sarcástico pues entonces date una vuelta por ahi. La mayor parte de los videos son de fails, errores, ridículos y caídas de las personas.

Definitivamente es la página que me más me hace reir.

2. Mashable

Estaría en 1er lugar si no fuera porque hay algo que me gustan un poco más.

Mashable es donde pierdo gran parte de mi tiempo productivo (laboral por supuesto) del día, aunque en cierto sentido es un blog donde se puede aprender mucho si tu interés son las redes sociales y los blogs.

Basta con entrar al sitio para ver los temas en la fila superior: Twitter, Music, WordPress, Facebook, iPhone. Este blog tiene todo lo que me gusta de Internet y es por eso que está en mi 3er lugar, y en el top de muchos Rankings importantes. El flujo de personas que tiene es bastante grande y se puede ver a través de la cantidad de Retweets que tienen ciertos posts y los comentarios.

Además de tener excelentes tips y de dar información importante sobre lanzamientos de nuevas redes, recomendaciones de aplicaciones y noticias de eventos relacionados, también los autores están continuamente informando a los lectores sobre temas del momento como errores en los sites como Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Gmail, Google o Yahoo.

Indispensable entrar una vez al día!

1. Stereogum

Este blog, dedicado a la música, es el número uno dentro de mis favoritos porque  no solo habla de música Indie, si no también de Alternativa en general aunque no sea independiente. Este es uno de las páginas a través de la cual aprendo de música todos los días (si…todos los días leo el blog).

Tiene una colección bastante grande de mp3 la cual es legal y es gratis. Se puede escuchar online y además todos los posts tienen reviews de los autores. También el blog tiene videos de música, algunos albums gratis para descargas y fotografías.

Algo que me gusta mucho del blog es que si no te interesa todo el tipo de música puedes ir a la columna de la derecha y ver los posts más comentados y los más populares.

Lo más importante del sitio es que siempre está al día con las noticias y lanzamientos más reelevantes. La interfaz es bastante agradable y todos los Tags están hechos correctamente , por lo que muy sencillo encontrar la información que buscas, así sea vieja.

Abajo del GumMix (player de música) de Stereogum hay otras categorías las cuales son únicas del blog y vale la pena revisarlas de vez en cuando: Progress Report, Commercial Appeal, Premier Evaluation, Band to Watch, entre otros.

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Earlier today I interrogated Patrick about these seven words in his “Culture Clash” post: “to the dismay of indie music lovers.” Context:

Yesterday the track list to Twilight: New Moon was released to the enjoyment of millions of tweens that oh so want to be a vampire in love and to the dismay of indie music lovers. Rumors had been floating around for quite some time that Thom Yorke and Bon Iver would each be penning a song to the soundtrack but most of us didn’t want to believe it. Until it was confirmed. The album will also feature brand new songs from The Killers and Grizzly Bear to boot.

Dismay? One would think that, to Thom Yorke fans, the announcement of a new Thom Yorke track would be neutral-to-positive news. And to Bon Iver fans, a new Bon Iver cut, the same. But Patrick confirmed that, indeed, the news was met with raucous protest, and his point is well documented.

I don’t want to make light of the argument that all is lost (admittedly I think I just did), so let me condense the 76-comment thread linked above into three words for you: pearls before swine. That link takes you to a Stereogum article, and the commenters are irate. They don’t like the first film. They swear they won’t like the second. They’re mad at Thom Yorke, mad at Bon Iver, mad at Atlantic, mad about the “commercialization” of indie rock, mad that 13-year-old girls will gobble up all the tickets to indie rock shows. But more than anything, they’re just mad about the association of a good thing (indie rock) and a bad thing (vampire lit). Pearls. Before. Swine.

Yes, I made a joke about it, and then yes, I made another one. But if you demand a serious discussion on the subject, you’re required to drop subjective terms like “good,” “bad,” “indie,” “commercialization,” “beginning of the end,” “bullshit,” “abomination,” what have you. Of course after you drop all of those terms from the argument, you have a blank page.

Be glad that your favorite bands are getting a bit of exposure. The more royalties they pull down from these Faustian arrangements means more free downloads for you.

And if you absolutely cannot stand the fact that money changes hands over the noble art of music creation and appreciation, click here and never leave.