Lollapalooza 2011 lineup

Lollapalooza’s 2011 lineup was announced today at midnight. Yours truly is especially excited about it because she will be going! Here are some acts that I’m looking forward to seeing this year:

Eminem, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, My Morning Jacket, Deadmau5, Cee Lo Green, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley & Nas, Arctic Monkeys, Beirut, Explosions In The Sky, Death From Above 1979, Ratatat, Crystal Castles, Atmosphere, Lykki Li, Local Natives, The Kills, Two Door Cinema Club, Ellie Goulding, Sleigh Bells, Smith Westerns, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, The Drums, Fitz & The Tantrums, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Lissie, Foster The People, Dom, Naked & Famous, Phantogram, Maps & Atlases, Tennis, Young The Giant, Boy & Bear, DJ Mel

And a few spinning at Perry’s: Girl Talk, Pretty Lights, Kid Cudi, & Modeselektor

Click here to see the full lineup.

Crazy Random Playlist: Songs for Bathing Grandma

Today we're introducing a new segment to the blog tentatively called the Crazy Random Playlist. Now what is the Crazy Random Playlist? Well, ya know how you have a playlist for some things in life? The Crazy Random Playlist aims to provide appropriate music for ALL those crazy, random times that don't ordinarily require a playlist.

Today's Playlist: Songs for Bathing Grandma

We've all been there... (Okay, I've never been there, but I'm sure some people have.) Grandma needs to be bathed, and there is no conversation topic that will make the experience less awkward... and the sounds of her soft, weak moaning when you scrub her back coupled with the sounds of the water dripping off her wrinkly, naked body are starting to bother you. So, here are 5 songs that are guaranteed to make the experience of bathing grandma MUCH more enjoyable.

Whipped Cream of the Day

• What I got at the record store last week: Panda Bear Tomboy, Eliza Doolittle self-titled US debut, tUnE-yArDs w h o k i l l, Jamie Woon Mirrorwriting (reviews to follow).

• This is STUNNING art.

• Just watched the first four episodes of “The Killing” and all I can say is, AMC has done it again with this thrilling, crime-scene drama about the mysterious death of a young girl. Prepare for some tears but mostly chillbumps. Click here to watch.

• Most enjoying this website that picks out the music according to your mood. It’s like Pandora’s cool little sister.

• You’ll soon learn that I love covers of songs, especially when the artist completely transforms the original version into something of their own. This is a stunning cover version of Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love” by Birdy. I expect great things from this lady. And she's only fourteen!

• Oh wait! Another cover for ya to enjoy.

• Really loving this new material from the Antlers: Download “Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out” & listen to “Parentheses”.

• A fun remix of Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks” (pretty much my favorite song for the past year). (Here you can pre-order their debut album out May 24).

• And I saved the best news for last: If you bought Radiohead’s latest album, you can download two tracks that were only released on Record Store Day for free at their website! And Animal Collective let us know that work has begun on their next album (!!!!!!). Download their set from a recent performance where they performed some new material here (remember, this is a bootleg & A.C. sounds best post-mastered).

Get Ready for the Drama

A special message from the co-creator and deputy treasurer of Motorcycle Sidecar Drama.



And in real news... WE'RE SEEING THE KILLS TONIGHT!

Whipped Cream of the Day

Welcome to my first segment of "Whipped Cream of the Day" which will include many links and stories on many miscellaneous topics. ENJOY! (beaucoup thanks to the most badass chick in town, Amanda, for helping me with the name)

• Boys new song “Make Some Noise” rocks—can’t wait for the rest on 5/3. And while we're on the subject, to prep for their new album, they got together some of Hollywood's funniest acts (Will Ferrell, Seth Rogan, Danny McBride, Rainn Wilson, John C. Reilly, Rashida Jones, Will Arnett, & Zach Galifianakis-just to name a few) to put together a short 30-minute video based on their hit (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party).

• Hear the saucy sweetheart, Eliza Doolittle, cover Kanye West's "Runaway"

• I'm not a fan of Katy Perry but "E.T." feat. Kanye isn't your usual dose of bubblegum & lollipops you're used to.

• Download My Morning Jacket’s “Circuital" here

• There's a mysterious video on Bon Iver's website that leaves me wanting more!!!! (New tunes are due in June).

• Watch the Arctic Monkeys be rockstars in their first video, "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair" from their upcoming record. It's fun and super psychedelic.

• Listen & download Gold Panda's remix of Lykke Li's "Sadness Is A Blessing" And if you're not on the RCRD LBL mailing list for FREE daily music downloads, do it!

• Watch & listen as my girl Taylor Swift does a country cover of Mumford & Sons' "White Blank Page", complete with backup banjo and violin.

• This girl totally does rap justice.

• Too many sad faces. Radiohead lets us down softly by saying that "King of Limbs" is not going to be followed with a sequel.

Terrible Song from My Youth - Eifel 65's "Blue"

For this terrible song from my youth, I did a video review.  We're also pleased to announce the formation of a youtube account.  More original video productions to come hopefully.



If you're wanting a good song with the word blue in it, try The Raconteurs' "Blue Veins" (live in Holland)

Film Review - INSIDIOUS (2011)

In Insidious, a family moves into a home, and then your standard, haunted-house, weird things start happening. Then one of the children falls into an inexplicable coma, and then weirder things happen. And then the disappointing second half of the movie happens only to be somewhat redeemed at the end.

Insidious is a decent but unmemorable scary movie.

Film Review - SOURCE CODE (2011)

In Source Code, a man (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up on a train and doesn't recognize or remember anything. We learn that he is a soldier who is part of a program called Source Code. Thanks to Source Code, Jake G's conscious was placed into the memories of someone (a teacher) that died on the train earlier in the day. The train was bombed in a terrorist attack, and Jake G's mission is to determine who is the bomber before the bomber bombs again... (and for some reason everyone seems to know that the bomber IS going to bomb again that day.) Jake G tries to figure out the bomber's identity by experiencing and (somehow) manipulating the dead guy's memory of the last eight minutes prior to the bombing. (When I say "manipulate" I mean, his actions and decisions have consequences on those he interacts with... in a memory. Yeah, it's ridiculous) He can only experience the same eight minutes, but he can repeatedly go back into that eight minute window... And all that makes sense when you watch it. Sounds like fun, right?

The problem is... The more you think about it, the less good and more ridiculous Source Code becomes.

Terrible Song from My Youth - Clay Aiken's "Invisible"

Clay Aiken burst onto the scene in 2003 thanks to American Idol... (Yeah, Thanks American Idol). He was...is... weird looking and nonthreatening (until you remember serial killers also look nonthreatening and are even scarier when they have that really southern accent) yet I must admit that he has a pretty solid, powerful singing voice. I get why he got as far in that competition as he did. Which brings us to our terrible song...

So, why is it terrible? We're gonna concentrate on the first verse and the legendary chorus.