Hot Panda - "Chinatown Bus" (MP3)

I just got a press release for a band Hot Panda, who are giving away a free MP3 of their song "Chinatown Bus." It's a cute little song, but as I read the press release I question the description of this band. Here are the various words and phrases. You can listen to the MP3 below, and follow along with me to see how non-descriptive it is.

Spastic energy: Nope.
Hand claps: I don't hear any. Maybe they are down in the mix?
Primal Screams: [See Hand claps.]
Synths: Okay! They got one!
Cowbells: [See Primal screams. Also see Hand claps.]
LoFi: I will give them this one.
BritPop: No. They are from Canada.

To be fair, I am judging this band by the singular song below. Maybe this is all more evident on the rest of the record. I actually like Hot Panda's "Chiantown Bus," I just don't think it's as advertised!

MP3: Hot Panda - "Chinatown Bus"

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Au Revoir Simone releasing new album

Most of the people I know hate on Au Revoir Simone. I understand why. They aren't exactly the most exciting band in the world, but it's good music to go to sleep to--I mean that as a compliment NOT an insult. So it's good news to me that their new album, Still Night, Still Light, will be released on May 19.

Here's the tracklisting:

Another Likely Story - Shadows - All or Nothing - Knight of Wands- The Last One - Trace a Line - Only You Can Make You Happy - Take Me as I Am - Anywhere You Looked - Organized Scenery - We Are Here - Tell Me

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Blogger DMCA takedown notification

I didn't get notice when they took down that MP3 of Lil Wayne's "Prom Queen," so I'm glad they made it all official for taking down the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs track, "Zero." I find this sort of stuff interesting, so I'm sharing the takedown notification with you. I find it interesting that Blogger removes the entire post, not just the link! Also, I find it shocking that I get enough hits on here for anyone to even notice the tracks! On this note, if you do own any of the tracks I have posted on here, just send me an e-mail, and I will remove them. That's how it usually works. Without further interuption, the takedown notice!

Blogger has been notified, according to the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), that certain content in your blog infringes upon the copyrights of others. The URL(s) of the allegedly infringing post(s) may be found at the end of this message.

The notice that we received from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and the record companies it represents, with any personally identifying information removed, will be posted online by a service called Chilling Effects at http://www.chillingeffects.org

. We do this in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Please note that it may take Chilling Effects up to several weeks to post the notice online at the link provided.

The IFPI is a trade association that represents over 1,400 major and independent record companies in the US and internationally who create, manufacture and distribute sound recordings (the "IFPI Represented Companies").

The DMCA is a United States copyright law that provides guidelines for online service provider liability in case of copyright infringement. We are in the process of removing from our servers the links that allegedly infringe upon the copyrights of others. If we did not do so, we would be subject to a claim of copyright infringement, regardless of its merits. See http://www.educause.edu/Browse/645?PARENT_ID=254 for more information about the DMCA, and see http://www.google.com/dmca.html for the process that Blogger requires in order to make a DMCA complaint.

Blogger can reinstate these posts upon receipt of a counter notification pursuant to sections 512(g)(2) and 3) of the DMCA. For more information about the requirements of a counter notification and a link to a sample counter notification, see http://www.google.com/dmca.html#counter.

Please note that repeated violations to our Terms of Service may result in further remedial action taken against your Blogger account. If you have legal questions about this notification, you should retain your own legal counsel. If you have any other questions about this notification, please let us know.

Sincerely,

The Blogger Team

Affected URLs:

http://theendofirony.blogspot.com/2009/03/first-listen-yeah-yeah-yeahs-zero.html

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Things that boggle the mind: BrooklynVegan in Austin

The official BrooklynVegan showcase at SXSW was announced today. I can't quite wrap my head around this. The site is a local NYC music blog, so why would they go down to Austin? I know SXSW makes Texas the center of the music world for one week in March every year, but there is something very illogical about this whole thing. Then agaib, whoever expected a site called BrooklynVegan to be dedicated to music instead of something like, say, veganism?

For those interested, the lineup are a bunch of bands I could probably care less about: Bell, Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers, Loch Lomond, Those Darlins, Phosphorescent, and Deer Tick. I guess if those bands tickle your fancy and you are down in Austin during SXSW, you should check them out at Club De Ville on Wednesday night, March 18, 2009. I will be in NYC checking out the shows that are actually going on in Brooklyn that week!

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Since when are albums released on a Monday?

An interesting post on Idolator says that the release date for the new Eminem is May 18, which is a Monday. Since when are albums released on Monday? I did a bit of snooping and went to Eminem's official website where it is listed as a more typical Tuesday release date of May 19.

Who knows if Idolator just got a fact wrong or let loose a small typo (8 and 9 are very close on most keyboards), but it got me thinking...maybe it would be an interesting experiment to actually release an album on a Monday. Right now, all those releases are stuffed into one day each week for charting purposes, but maybe labels should be worrying less about charts and more on, you know, actual sales.

Maybe there is some sort of sales philosophy for releasing every single record on a Tuesday. I don't know, but I haven't run out to the record store on a release day since 1998, and that was a rare exception. Sure, back in my teenage need-music-now days (before the internet allowed a girth of MP3s to barrage my harddrive), I liked to get a release as quickly as possible. But, heck, I could wait until the weekend! Though if I was still a teenager having to wait for a ride from my parents to the mall, I might use Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to find an illegal download site.

Maybe it's a good idea to mix up the day of the week albums are released. But might I recomend Friday? I have an inkling that's when the teenage kids head to the mall in search of that new Fall Out Boy disc.

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Declaring War on the Mystics

I have always felt rock would benefit from some sort of feud like rapper's often seem to have--you know, like the one between 50 Cent and Kanye West, which turned out to be fake but resulted in huge record sales for both parties? If you haven't heard, the Flaming Lips and the Arcade Fire aren't too happy with each other. Apparently, Wayne Coyne from the Flaming Lips said the Arcade Fire treated people "like shit," and Win Butler from the Arcade Fire claimed that he barely knows Coyne and has never spent that much time around him. Considering Butler is playing the rational human being role in this escapade, it's unlikely to escalate. But, damn, I sort of wished for some songs dedicated to this feud. Maybe some plucky, young third party band will write a song about it. If they do, we'll post a link to it on this site, we promise!

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Lil Wayne's new video

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Grizzly Bear attack with new album and tour

Brooklyn's Grizzly Bear have announced the release date for their new album, Veckatimest. It's going to be May 26 for those keeping track of that kind of thing (and we do like to keep track of that kind of thing). The press release states this is their sophomore album, and that 2006's Yellow House was their debut. Expect those incorrect facts to repeated ad-nauseum across the internet. Veckatimest will actually be Grizzly Bear's third album following Horn of Plenty in 2004 and the aforementioned Yellow Housein 2006.

Grizzly Bear, who have a pretty boring live show if I recall correctly*, hit the road in May to support the album as well. For something completely not boring check out this Girl Talk remix of Grizzly Bear's "Knife:"

MP3: Grizzly Bear - "Knife (Girl Talk Remix)"

Grizzly Bear tour dates:
5/24 Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theatre
5/25 George, WA @ Sasquatch Festival
5/26 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore
5/28 NYC @ Town Hall
5/29 NYC @ Town Hall
6/01 Washington DC @ 930 Club
6/02 Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
6/03 Boston, MA @ Berkley Performance Center
6/04 Montreal, QUE @ Le National
6/05 Toronto ON @ Phoenix
6/07 Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center
6/08 Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theatre
6/09 Bloomington, IN @ Buskirk- Chumley
6/11 Carrboro, NC @ Cats Cradle
6/12 Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo
6/13 Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle (With TV On The Radio)
6/15 Dallas, TX @ Grenada
6/16 Austin, TX @ The Parish
6/19 Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern
6/21 San Francisco, CA @ Fillmore

*For the type of music Grizzly Bear make, I don't expect an exciting live show. This isn't a complaint against them.

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Dan Deacon streams Bromst on NPR

NPR has a stream of Dan Deacon's new album Bromst on their website. The promo copy of the album was watermarked (which surprised me coming from Carpark), so I'm sure this stream will be the result of many leaks on the internet. So why not just listen to the source? Click here for the stream.

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Fall Out Boy play the Oregon Trail

Apparently, Fall Out Boy have a new online game that is remarkably similar to the Oregon Trail. You can play it online at their website. I still think I prefer the Lightning Bolt game.

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Frank Black produced the new Art Brut album? (MP3)

I had no idea Frank Black (from The Pixies) produced records. It's a bit more of a surprise that he produced the upcoming album for brit-rockers Art Brut. Whatever. The new album, entitled Art Brut Vs. Satan is slated to come out May 12 on Downtown Records. Enjoy that paycheck, Frank.

RCRDLBL is giving away a free non-album MP3: Art Brut - "Just Desserts"

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So This Is What American Idol Rejects Are Up To These Days...

I received a press release with the following title:

BO BICE TO PARTICIPATE IN CMT CAMP NASHVILLE™ COUNTRY MUSIC’S FIRST MULTI-ARTIST FANTASY CAMP

Um, really? Is that the best country fans can fantasize about? Hanging out with some guy who LOST the American Idol contest? Shouldn't you want to hang out with one of the winners? (Say, Taylor Hicks?--Actually, I think his career is in the toilet as well; maybe he's also appearing.) But really, it's the attached photo that takes the cake:

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New York Dolls reunite with anything they can find

According to the band's press release:

LOS ANGELES — After working together on the New York Dolls’ influential debut in 1973, the group reunited this winter with producer Todd Rundgren to record their fourth studio album, Cause I Sez So, set for a May 5 release on Atco Records.

I'm all for another New York Dolls album, but do we have to throw the word "reunite" about so much? It seems like the new buzz word to squeeze as much money out of long-time fans. Reuniting with a producer? Really? That's considered somehow epic?

Anyway, here's Cause I Sex So's tracklisting:

’Cause I Sez So - Muddy Bones - Better Than - Lonely So long - My World - Ridiculous - Temptation To Exist - Making Rain - Drowning - Nobody Got No Bizness - Trash - Exorcism Of Despair

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Rihanna sets a bad example

It's hard not to be a little sympathetic to Rihanna after Chris Brown allegedly beat her up a few weeks ago. Well, it appears the two have reconciled. Perhaps that's a bad wording. I prefer to say that Rihanna got back together who abused her. In elementary school, I remember learning that if you find yourself in an abusive relationship, you should just get the fuck out. There is a psychological compulsion to not do this, but you have to resist it. It appears that Rihanna is all too human in this rergard, but to set the right example she should get the fuck out.

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Passion Pit announce debut LP

I had dismissed Passion Pit as one of those hipster blog bands. However, seeing that they are signed to Frenchkiss, I think I may be willing to give them a new look. The band are slated to release a debut LP entitled Manners via Frenchkiss on May 26.

Here's the tracklisting:

Make Light - Little Secrets - Moth’s Wings - The Reeling - Eyes As Candles - Swimming In The Flood - Folds In Your Hands - To Kingdom Come - Sleepyhead - Let Your Love Grow Tall - Seaweed Song

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Ear Pwr Sign to Carpark (MP3)

A little while ago, I mentioned the fantastic band Ear Pwr. The North Carolian duo apparently have recently signed to Carpark Records (home of Dan Deacon and Adventure). They are in good company! Their official debut album, Super Animal Brothers III, will be released on May 19, 2009.

MP3: Ear Pwr - "Future Eyes"

Ear Pwr tour dates:
3/12 Baltimore, MD TBA
3/13 Asheville, NC Bobos
3/18 - 3/21 Austin, TX SXSW
3/21 Little Rock, AR Rad Hizzy
3/28 Durham, NC Duke Coffee House
5/13 Chapel Hill, NC The Nightlight
5/17 Baltimore, MD The Zodiac
5/29 Toronto, ON Primary Colors

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