June 2010
48 posts
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Letters of Note: Come on, George. Loosen up.... →
Frank Sinatra’s open letter to George Michael circa 1990 about the latter’s very public rejection of “fame.” It’s a great read and a great moment in pop history, but that said, it’s hard not to think that if Sinatra knew what was making Michael so melancholy and ambivalent (his being firmly trapped in the closet), his reaction would have been closer to...
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The Internet Karaoke Songbook
So pretty much every time we go to karaoke, we always wish there was a subsection after “Musicals” that listed The Hits Of The Internet, the awesome little songs that go viral and then disappear. But we never put together the definitive list of those songs. So I’m gonna get the ball rolling, and then you’re gonna reblog and comment and all that fun stuff with the necessary...
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“Lately he has been receiving some criticism for his extraordinary focus or, if...”
– Critics’ Choice - New CDs - New CDs - Review - NYTimes.com
DING DING DING, Award for Accuracy, Ben Ratliff nails the appeal of The-Dream. I’ve been listening to Love King for a few days and this describes pretty much exactly what I’ve been getting out of it.
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First Listen: Kylie Minogue, 'Aphrodite' : NPR →
Full album streaming on NPR’s site if you haven’t heard it yet, which is a pretty good PR coup for Kylie’s American label, considering NPR’s market force these days!
My early impressions of the album: it’s good, but not great. They made the baffling decision to put the weakest tracks in at 4 and 5; it’s a huge trough after a run of three sharp, single-worthy...
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Question:
teenageart:
Does really liking the new Scissor Sisters album mean I have a drug and sex problem? Or does it just mean that I wish I did?
It does make me want to acquire more leather.
And, uhm, abs.
I am absolutely 1000% right there with you.
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“There are religious groups that cannot in good conscience agree in their bylaws...”
– Schools Need Not Recognize Groups That Discriminate - NYTimes.com
That’s Justice Alito on today’s ruling. Obviously as a gay man I’ve got a horse in this race, but I’d just like to point out that it’s not the school’s accept-all-comers policy that is causing the...
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Music - Dirty Fun - Band’s Midnight Evolution -... →
Times feature on the Scissor Sisters and their new album Night Work. Having lived with it for several weeks now, I think this is maybe my favorite album of the year so far, grappling only with Robyn for the top spot. It doesn’t have the immediate candy-coated feel of the previous two, but it really expands and warms up the more you listen to it. I really, really love this band.
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“As a child, he had known episodes of real-life terror. Michael’s biographer J....”
– The “Thriller” Diaries | Vanity Fair
OH MY GOD, MICHAEL JACKSON HAD A “AND THAT’S WHY YOU ALWAYS LEAVE A NOTE” MOMENT.
This article is completely essential, by the way; absolutely do not miss it.
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Gaga's new album is done, according to the new... →
Title to be revealed at midnight on New Year’s Eve. That’s a long time to sit on a finished album; this is bound to be… interesting.
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-6-20) →
Massive Attack (3)
Hot Chip (2)
Nine Inch Nails (2)
The Futureheads (1)
The Twilight Singers (1)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
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Pitchfork: Beck, Broken Social Scene Play Fake... →
This sounds great! I am hoping that Crash & The Boys’ “Last Song Kills Audience” is a hidden unlisted bonus track at the end. Or perhaps, in classic CD-era fashion, you have to rewind from track 1 to get to it!
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“Android and iPhone fans will read the preceding paragraph very differently....”
– Daring Fireball: ‘First to Do It’ vs. ‘First to Do It Right’
Award for Accuracy.
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Homes for $675,000 - Slide Show - NYTimes.com →
Holy cow, this first house is gorgeous. (That’s all I’ve got, I just felt like looking at nice houses today.)
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Just buy it already.
Today is the day: Robyn’s Body Talk Pt. 1 is in stores now. Most of you downloaded it already, I’m sure. BUT DID YOU PAY MONEY FOR IT? Here are the links that will allow you to do that, since you have no excuse for complaining how she’s not popular here if you don’t buy the damn thing. I promise you, the RIAA and the mainstream music industry are NOT reading your blog. They...
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Real talk.
I keep seeing people who watch soccer complain about something called a “vuvzela” and all I can think every time is “Gosh, people who watch SOCCER are complaining about OTHER PEOPLE WHO WATCH SOCCER doing something STUPID AND ANNOYING? IMAGINE THAT.”
You people are getting exactly what you signed on for. Suck it up.
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The journey of a thousand miles begins with blah...
I went back to the gym today for the first time since… last summer, maybe? I didn’t work out very hard, unsurprisingly, but at least I went.
The hard part is going to be actually going back repeatedly. Anybody who reads this and has my phone number, please text me sometime around 8PM on Tuesday to say “HAVE YOU GONE TO THE GYM YET?”, because my fat ass will almost...
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“Inside BP, there is a view that President Obama’s unflinching criticism of BP...”
– Obama Plans to Force BP’s Hand on Oil Spill Fund - NYTimes.com
How about “THERE IS ALSO A RESENTMENT THAT THE COMPANY CUT A MILLION FUCKING CORNERS IN THE PURSUIT OF CASH, HAVE REPEATEDLY TRIED TO CONCEAL THE EXTENT OF THEIR MISTAKES, AND ARE DESTROYING ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES IN...
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OK, so the Madonna thing.
Tracklist as follows. Original album versions used unless otherwise marked.
DISC ONE: 1983-1989
“Everybody”
“Burning Up”
“Holiday” (Immaculate Version)
“Lucky Star” (Immaculate Version)
“Borderline” (Immaculate Version)
“Like A Virgin”
“Material Girl”
“Crazy For You”
“Into The...
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Hung up.
I’ve been on a bit of a Madonna kick since the “Alejandro” video (naturally), and apparently, I just spent the evening assembling the ultimate 3-CD Madonna best-of.
This is either an utterly tragic use of a Friday evening, or something that, years from now, I’ll be very glad I did.
I AM GUESSING IT IS THE FORMER.
I would post the tracklist, but then I would probably also...
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M.I.A. - /\/\ /\ Y /\ MP3 Downloads - 7digital →
There are lengthy sample clips of every song available here. I have to say, it does NOT sound promising; I am rushing to judge from scant evidence, obviously, but it basically just sounds dirgey and noisy, and not in an interesting way. “Tell Me Why” sounds cute enough in a “Paper Planes 2” kind of way; “It Takes A Muscle” has a light “Sunshowers”...
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Rick Moonen, Top Chef Masters Exit Interview: On... →
I was really pulling for Moonen at the end there, but alas, it was not to be. This is a really great interview (nice work, Lia) — that guy can talk!
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“But there’s something vulnerable in Christina’s desperation here, something...”
– fourfour: No robo Rich Juzwiak’s review of Christina Aguilera’s awful, trying-waaaay-too-hard album is right on, and very accurately summarizes Aguilera’s flaws as a pop singer, and the inadvertent sad sack charm of the record. (via perpetua)
——————
This is all...
There Was Shrinkage
Matthew: I suppose some kind of credit is due to the band Lower Dens for putting songs titled "A Dog's Dick" and "Two Cocks Waving Wildly At Each Other Across A Vast Open Space, A Dark Icy Tundra" on the same album
me: I mean, if it's dark and they're far away from each other, you'd never know
if a cock is waved on a dark icy tundra, and nobody's close enough to see it, does it make a meaty slap?
Matthew: hahaha
also, you know, it's cold
they might not get it up
me: yeah i'm assuming they're flaccid
Matthew: it might not get that much of a wave going
well, even flaccid, if it's super fucking cold?
me: I'm assuming these are big cocks
Matthew: yeah, fair enough
me: otherwise why bother writing a song about them
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“More people watched the series finales of Mr. Belvedere and ALF than the number...”
– Chris Cantwell (via mikehudack, bliptv) (via takethecityandrun)
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Views Show How a North Korean Policy Spread Misery... →
Seriously valuable reporting on what life is like inside North Korea.
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An Incomplete List Of Awesome, Classic, Obvious...
Elvis Presley - “Can’t Help Falling In Love”
Madonna - “Material Girl”
Madonna - “Express Yourself”
George Michael - “Freedom ‘90”
Madonna - “Cherish”
Everything But The Girl - “Missing”
Lady Gaga - “Bad Romance”
Suggestions for others are STRONGLY encouraged. I find this random bit of chart...
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Vogue (Madonna song) - Wikipedia, the free... →
I have learned many wonderful things about this song from this page today.
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“Walker’s first love was marine biology, with his idol being Jacques...”
– Paul Walker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yes, that is heartthrob actor Paul Walker. I was watching an HD show about great white sharks this afternoon (AS YOU DO) and suddeny they introduce the deckhand as “Actor and adventurer Paul Walker” and I was all “WHUUUUU?!?!?”
...
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Robyn tickets secure!
Hurray! See you on August 5th at Webster Hall.
Also: my roommate and I are trying to make this A Thing. When she does “Dancing On My Own,” take a break from air-punching along during the middle eight, and turn your back on Robyn and do the “hugging / making out with myself” hands thing. We want it to be like the Wave at sporting events, only for being sad and lonely.
...
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The Totalitarian Buddhist Who Beat Sim City «... →
Oh my God, this is brilliant and terrifying. How I love SimCity 3000; how dark this man has made it. (Via Kottke)
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Top 10 Dinosaur Museums in the USA →
(via dinosauriabones)
Yes, I reblogged this off the Radar, but it is obviously crushingly important.
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AT&T makes sweeping changes to data plans, iPhone... →
So wait — I’m going to buy a new iPhone this month and my bill might actually be lower?!?
I am OK with that.
If you have an AT&T smartphone, especially an iPhone, you should read this, it’s welcome news.
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Fluxtumblr: Girls Aloud - Gift Wrapped Kitty Cats →
DOWNLOAD IT! Taken at face value, you’d be forgiven for being skeptical about Girls Aloud. They’re a girl group created by a UK televised singing competition, and it’s not exactly easy to tell the singers apart on record. The thing that makes Girls Aloud special is that they have exclusively…
It’s very, very important that you download this today.
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ittookseconds:
Four minutes and seventeen...
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