today's cool shit...roller derby movie...

i'll ignore the fact that Drew Barrymore is directing...you had me at Ellen Page...

this is why Detroit is floundering...pt 2...

Mercedes is working on an all electric luxury sports car based on their iconic gullwing design...

"According to Wolf Zimmermann, the guy in charge of SLS eDrive development, look for a 0-62 mph acceleration of less than 4 seconds and a top speed north of 120 mph."(via Wired)

my favorite songs of the year...so far...

let's catch up, shall we...here are 20 songs released this year that i enjoy very much, and i think you might too...

right now this is my top contender for album of the year...i can't stop listening to it...

Heartbroken, In Disrepair - Da...

although the new joint from Mos Def is quietly sneaking up on it...

Quiet Dog - Mos Def

as is the new one from Mark Oliver Everett...or Mr. E...

Beginner's Luck - Eels

it's a concept album about a special kind of love...well, i'll just let Mr E. explain it...

"I was thinking 'what happens when the young 'Dog Faced Boy' (of the SOULJACKER album) grows up?' -- He tries to function in society. But he can't get past the fact that he's still likened to an animal," Everett says. "I was thinking about where he goes from there as he gets older, and it occurred to me that the best a dog faced boy could hope for would be to grow into something that can just squeak by in society with some semblance of dignity. I figured the best he could do was to become a dignified old werewolf."

speaking of concept albums, the latest from The Decemberists is getting a lot of ink for daring to be unified story in this age of playlists and choose your own mixes...it smells like rock opera to me...which is not a bad thing...as long as the music is good...and this album just didn't connect with me...except this compelling little ditty about a man who murders his three children...

The Rake's Song - The December...

maybe i need to give this one a second chance...

no one knows about second chances better than Bettye Lavette...maybe you were like me when she showed up at the Obama Presidential Inaugural Celebration...Bettye who?

but her rendition of A Change is Gonna Come piqued my curiosity...and i found this soul chestnut on a sampler from her label, Anti...

Talking Old Soldiers - Bettye ...

it's recycled from 2007 release The Scene of the Crime, but hey, never too late for second chances right...especially when retro soul is such a hot trend...

and no one is doing retro soul better these days than Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears...

Bobby Booshay - Black Joe Lewi...

then there's this bit of blue eyed soul from Jarvis Cocker that won't let me go either...

I Never Said I Was Deep - Jarv...

this is my kind of singer/songwriter smart, funny, and brave...

and my favorite singer/songwriter has been on repeat since February...

Hell or high water - William E...

Mr. Justin Townes Earle is doing right by his bloodlines with a great version of one of my favorite American stories...

Justin Townes Earle~They Killed John Henry from LaundroMatinee on Vimeo.

i was lucky enough to get my hands on the (0) release from local band Wentworth Kersey...they have good internet presence...but nothing embeddable...check out Adore, its a great track...one part spaghetti western, one part Leonard Cohen, and one part dreamscape...i hope to hear much more from these guys...

meanwhile M. Ward keeps churning out his country flavored power pop...

Never Had Nobody Like You (Fea...

the man is a machine of goodness...

and A.C. Newman is a welcome addition to my heavy rotation...

Like A Hitman, Like A Dancer -...

and Busdriver is finding a permanent place on my heavy rotation with his newest...


Depeche Mode is bringing back that old school new wave flavor...

Wrong - Depeche Mode

the search has ended...we have a new heir to the title of the Queen of Rap...Ms. Tiye Phoenix...

The Award - Tiye Phoenix

all fakes, frauds, and pretenders should just sit down...

other new...to me...stuff includes...

The Thermals...


N.A.S.A....

Whachadoin? (feat. Spank Rock,...

and The City Champs...

Takin' State - The City Champs

finally, let's wrap up with some hard to find internet download stuff...

dj BC mashup Shorty Shutup (The Tings Tings vs Busta Rhymes vs The Zombies)...


and Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse...i told you about this last month...

the track Little Girl is one of my favorites...

today's cool shit...Favreau & Vaughn...

i know, i know...i just love it when these guys work together...

the new micro-patronage...pt 2...

“Forget thinking you are going to make any real money from record sales,” wrote Reznor on his message board. “Make your record cheaply (but great) and GIVE IT AWAY [as DRM-free MP3s] … Collect people’s e-mail info in exchange (which means having the infrastructure to do so) and start building your database of potential customers. Then, offer a variety of premium packages for sale and make them limited editions / scarce goods.”

It’s a play straight out of Anderson’s playbook (and, in fact, Anderson cites Nine Inch Nails as an example of a business that understands “Free”).

To put it into practice, Reznor advises that bands distribute through Amazon, TopSpin or Tunecore; set up a simple, Flash-free site outside of MySpace (which he says is “dying and reads as cheap / generic”); never abuse their mailing list; use free tools from Twitter, Flickr, Vimeo, YouTube and SoundCloud; and give people a reason to keep coming back to their site (Reznor’s own forums are an example of this strategy).

However, Reznor says the strategy of giving away music in return for e-mail addresses, then marketing pricey box sets and other premium goods to those e-mail addresses only makes sense if a band wants to keep all its money and stay in control of its image."(click for full article)

this can work for printed media too...