Minus The Bear Appreciation

So I was going through my music last night and came across Minus the Bear. I haven't really listened to them to a couple months so I decided to take a while to listen to them again. Upon listened I started wondering why I ever stopped listening to them in the first place. Their first full length, Highly Refined Pirates, is still one of those few records that I enjoy listened from start to finish. The complex guitar lines and clever lyrics still draw me in. The guitar lines also fit so well with each other. I love the titles of the songs. I wish they continued to name their songs like that.

I'll leave you with my favorite Minus the Bear song. It's off of a 2 disc compilation entitled, In Honor: A Compilation To Beat Cancer.

Minus the Bear - Houston We Have Uh-Oh
[Amazon]
So after starting my Minus the Bear appreciation, I further continued to check them out and discover they were on their annual fall tour. Here are the dates:

Oct 8 -- Spokane, WA -- Service Station
Oct 9 -- Missoula, MT -- The Other Side
Oct 10 -- Casper, WY -- American Legion
Oct 11 -- Denver, CO -- Gothic Theatre
Oct 12 -- Omaha, NE -- Slowdown
Oct 13 -- Iowa City, IA -- The Picador
Oct 15 -- Minneapolis, MN -- Varsity Theatre
Oct 16 -- Milwaukee, WI -- Turner Hall
Oct 17 -- Chicago, IL -- Vic Theatre
Oct 18 -- Columbus, OH -- Newport Music Hall
Oct 19 -- Detroit, MI -- Majestic Theatre
Oct 20 -- Cleveland, OH -- Grog Shop
Oct 21 -- Boston, MA -- Wilbur Theatre
Oct 22 -- Washington, DC -- 930 Club
Oct 23 -- Philadelphia, PA -- Theatre of Living Arts
Oct 24 -- Providence, RI -- Lupo's at the Strand
Oct 25 -- New York, NY -- Webster Hall
Oct 26 -- Sayreville, NJ -- Starland Ballroom
Oct 28 -- Richmond, VA -- The National
Oct 29 -- Raleigh, NC -- Lincoln Theatre
Oct 30 -- Asheville, NC -- The Orange Peel
Oct 31 -- Knoxville, TN -- Bijou Theatre
Nov 1 -- Atlanta, GA -- Variety Playhouse
Nov 3 -- Ft. Lauderdale, FL -- Revolution
Nov 4 -- Orlando, FL -- House of Blues
Nov 5 -- Jacksonville, FL -- Free Bird Cafe
Nov 7 -- New Orleans, LA -- House of Blues
Nov 8 -- Houston, TX -- House of Blues
Nov 9 -- Austin, TX -- Fun Fun Fun Fest
Nov 10 -- Dallas, TX -- House of Blues
Nov 13 -- Tempe, AZ -- Marquee Theatre
Nov 14 -- San Diego, CA -- Soma
Nov 15 -- Pomona, CA -- Glass House
Nov 16 -- Los Angeles, CA -- Henry Fonda Theatre
Nov 18 -- Sacramento, CA -- Empire
Nov 19 -- San Francisco, CA -- Bimbo's 365 Club
Nov 22 -- Seattle, WA -- Showbox at the Market
(all dates are with the Annuals)

A Cross the Universe

On 11/10, Justice will be releasing a DVD and live CD. The DVD will feature footage from their US headlining tour this past March and the CD will include live tracks from the world tour that followed.

Also, I found a new Justice remix. Wordtoyourmoms.com is claiming that it's from a live set, but the quality still sounds pretty decent. I'll just let the song speak for itself.

Source: Wordtoyourmoms

Stevie Wonder - Superstition(Justice Remix)

Banksy in New York City

Earlier this year we saw Banksy's art down in New Orleans and Alabama. I was just over on Hypebeast and saw that Banksy's just been through New York City. His new piece is apparently 3 stories tall and it looks amazing. I'm hoping he swings by Philly soon...

Image: The Worlds Best Ever

Redskins beat Cowboys 26-24

Sorry to all you Cowboys fans, but my Skins controlled the entire game yesterday. And we did it without our movie star Jason Taylor. At times I was a little worried, but the team really came through with a huge win. Campbell looked real solid, running game continued to do it's thing, and our receivers are finally starting to look like they can do some damage. And how about Springs and Rodgers' play against TO? Defense played well against another offense juggernaut. I honestly didn't think we had a chance in Big D but the Skins really surprised me.

I can't wait for the Eagles game next week.

The Cool Kids

The Cool Kids played in Philadelphia yesterday at a free outdoor event called Campus Kickoff. They only played for 45 minutes but they played a great set, mixing songs off The Bake Sale, unreleased songs, and a couple songs of their upcoming album, Fish Ride Bicycles. They interacted with the crowd very well and they were definitely feeling them. They even invited a crazy drunken white boy on stage from the crowd to jump around and make a fool of himself. All in all, I really enjoyed them. And I got a photo pass.
I've got plenty of more pictures to come.

You can pick up The Bake Sale here

New Kid Sister

If you've made your way over to Kid Sister's myspace recently, you would've noticed the new track that was put up. The track, Family Reunion, features David Banner. After listening to the song a couple times one thing is obvious, it is incredibly catchy. The hook will get stuck in your head. The beat has a great feel to it. And the more you listen to it, the more addictive it gets.

If this is any indicator of her full length, Dream Date, then I cannot wait for it to drop.

Family Reunion

Music From My Home

I heard about Georgie James over a year ago. Featuring ex- Q and not U drummer John Davis and solo artist Laura Burhenn. While still being the only two song writers for the band, Georige James later expanded to feature Andrew Black (ex- the Explosion) and Michael Cotterman (ex- The Loved Ones/ Kid Dynamite). After recording and self releasing, Demos at Dance Place, an album featuring the 7 demos they recorded, Georgie James released their first single, "Need Your Needs". It was this single that got them a deal on Saddle Creek Records. Last September, they released Places on their new label and began touring the new album. On the record the two share vocals, with some songs only having one of them sing. Sadly, the band called it quits in August so Davis and Burhenn could focus on their solo careers.

Need Your Needs
Long Week

Buy Places here
To check out a couple other songs, check out their myspace.

Matt & Kim + Mountain Dew

The latest artist to be featured as part of Mountain Dew's Green Label Sound is the Brooklyn duo, Matt & Kim. As characteristic of Matt & Kim, the track has a simple dance beat with piano and a snyth providing the melody. The song has a very catchy hook that has a very good chance of getting stuck in your head all day. And the track is free! It's definitely worth checking out.

I also added one of the tracks from their upcoming album, Grand.

Matt & Kim have some big plans coming up as the year goes on, so keep an eye out for them.

Daylight
Good Ol' Fashion Nightmare

Matt & Kim on Myspace

The New CD?

First there was vinyl. Then cassette tapes replaced vinyl. Compact discs then replaced cassette tapes. Now with digital sales continuing to soar and physical sales still dropping, it looks like the CD's replacement might finally be here.
The 4 major record labels, Sony BMG, Universal, EMI, and Warner and the memory card maker, and SanDisk have teamed up to bring "slotMusic". SlotMusic is a 1GB microSD card that carries an artist's full album on it, DRM free. It can be inserted into any device, cellphones or MP3 players, that can accept microSD cards. And since there is a full gig of space, the labels can add much more on it such as cover art, videos, etc. Users can also upload more songs, pictures, whatever they feel like onto these cards. SlotMusic also comes with a USB adapter for getting the songs onto your computer. So far, Walmart and Best Buy have picked up SlotMusic and will start selling them during the holiday season.

I don't know how I feel about my music being on a tiny memory card. It seems like it can easily get lost. But at the same time it's much easier to store them. I'm pumped about hearing that all slotMusic cards will come with DRM free songs. It's about time that happened. I'm just not sure if it can bring tangible music sales out of it's long decline. I guess only time can tell?

Article
slotMusic

LA Riots remix Crimewave

Here's the LA Riots remix to the Crystal Castles vs. Health track "Crimewave"
Just like all their other remixes, it's pretty solid.

Crystal Castles vs. Health - Crimewave (LA Riots remix)

LA Riots are also currently supporting MSTRKRFT on their fall tour. Check out their full fall schedule below:
9/24 Sacramento, CA - Barcode
9/25 Las Vegas, NV - Rok Vegas
9/26 Los Angeles, CA - The Henry Fonda Theatre*
9/27 Seattle, WA - Decibel Festival
10/2 Milan, Italy - Rocket
10/3 Ingolstadt, Germany - Maki Club
10/4 Friesing, Germany - Lidenkeller
10/9 Las Vegas, NV - Rock Vegas
10/13 Boston, MA - The Estate*
10/15 Baltimore, MD - Bedrock*
10/16 Charlotte, NC - The (Charlotte) Forum*
10/17 Nashville, TN - Mercury Lounge*
10/18 Atlanta, GA - Masquerade Music Park*
10/19 Memphis, TN - Hard Rock Café*
10/22 Houston, TX - Warehouse Live*
10/23 Austin, TX - La Zona Rosa*
10/24 Dallas, TX - House of Blues*
10/27 Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall*
10/28 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre*
10/31 San Juan, PR - Convention
11/7 Madrid, Spain - Macumba
11/15 Ghent, Belgium - I Love Techno
11/21 Gold Coast, Australia - First
11/22 Melbourne, Australia - Global Gathering
11/23 Perth, Australia - Global Gathering
11/29 Sydney, Australia - Global Gathering
11/30 Brisbane, Australia - Global Gathering
12/5 New York, NY - Le Poisson
( * = w/ MSTRKRFT)

LA Riots myspace

I'm finally starting my fall term today. I still haven't figured out why Drexel starts so much later than every other school. I just have one class today for 50 minutes though, so it's not like I'm really starting school.

And now for two completely unrelated songs:
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - The Impression That I Get
Franz Ferdinand - All My Friends (LCD Soundsystem Cover)

I also just found a new LA Riots remix that I'll be putting up later.

Music From My Home

I heard of These United States from their catchy song, First Sight, which caught my attention a month or two ago. I loved the song but had no idea how good the entire album would be. I've been playing it nonstop since I picked it up last night. It is easily one of those few albums which you can listen from beginning to end. But enough of what I think. Here are two songs so you can have a listen.

Kings & Aces
Sun Is Below & Above

from A Picture of the Three of Us at the Gate to the Garden of Eden

Also watch out for their new album, Crimes, which will be out on September 23rd.
Both albums can be purchased here

Sleepyheads

So we've come out of hibernation finally. Our fat reserves ran low and we had to come out and fill up again. Now that we're no longer in a state of metabolic depression and our body temperatures are rising back to normal, we'll be posting more often.

And for our first post hibernation song? It comes from a newer band hailing from Massachusetts called Passion Pit. Their EP, Chunk of Change came out Tuesday on Frenchkiss Records.

Passion Pit - Sleepyhead

Buy Chunk of Change here