Austin Bound – Heading to SXSW!

Hey y’all! I am on my way to Austin, Texas tomorrow and it is going to be a CRAZY exhausting two weeks, but I am pumped. I will be blogging about the festival as it goes on. Giving the lowdown of how things are going and such. I shall keep you posted!

All Points West Festival – Line Up Announced

The line-up for the first annual All Points West Festival was announced today, and all the rumors are true. Times two. Radiohead will be the headliner for the Friday and Saturday night of the festival. It looks like it is going to be an awesome weekend. Tickets are also on sale now for $89/day or $258 for all three days. It sounds like it’s worth it. I would go if I was in the area.

So here is the line-up:

Friday August 8

• Radiohead
• Underworld
• Spearhead
• The New Pornographers
• The Go! Team
• Girl Talk
• CSS
• Forro in the Dark
• Juana Molina
• Little Brother
• Andrew Bird
• Mates of State
• Nicole Atkins

Saturday August 9

• Radiohead
• Kings of Leon
• Animal Collective
• Metric
• Chromeo
• The Roots
• The Black Angels
• The Virgins
• The Felice Brothers
• Alberta Cross
• Sia
• K’Naan
• Duffy
• Your Vegas

Sunday August 10

• Jack Johnson
• Cat Power
• Rodrigo y Gabriela
• Amadou and  Mariam
• Youssou n’Dour
• Black Kids
• Jason Isbell
• Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
• Rogue Wave
• Neil Halstead

So that’s the line up. Let me know if you’re going. If you need some extra info check out the All Points West website.

Cheers!

Paula Abdul’s New Music Video

*Warning: Viewing of this video may cause naseua, dizziness, vomiting, headaches, and severe worry of “where the f*** is the music industry going?”

Proceed with caution: “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow”

I am sorry Paula but you were finished when you did that music video in the 90’s with Keanu Reeves. Stick to your American Idol and booze and everybody will be happy. And watch for the Randy Jackson cameo, kicking it on the bass. It’s frightening, very frightening.

Also if you happened to miss Paula’s pre-recorded performance of the song at the Super Bowl check it out:

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis

There is this great new video clip of comedian Zach Galifianakis and Michael Cera from Superbad and Juno called “In Between Two Ferns.” I highly suggest you check it out. It is hilarious. You will be asking your friends to tickle your thigh for many days to come.

Stumped on your Oscar picks? Andy Saur can help!

Thought about your Oscar picks yet? Not quite sure who deserves to take that golden statue home? Well if you are looking for some insight into who the potential winners could be, look no further. Andy Saur – film reviewer extraordinaire is your answer. Andy has really great thoughts and insight into who the winners will be this year. I may not necessarily agree with all of his choices or his reviews on certain films, but damn I respect them. I have my choices for this year, and we have agreed on some of the winners.

We both agree that No Country for Old Men will win best picture, even though Andy was not such a fan of the film. I on the other hand loved it. One of my favorites of the year. But we both agree that it hits the right criteria that the Oscars voters look for. Most of the other categories are shoe-ins, which both Andy and I agree upon. Daniel Day-Lewis has got the best actor statue. Javier Bardem and Cate Blanchett will be winners in the supporting categories, but there is one category where both Andy and myself do not quite know what is going to happen: Actress in a leading role. Everybody is rooting for Ellen Page to win for her quirky performance in Juno (Andy review), but both of us agree that it is just not going to happen. Both Cate Blanchett and Laura Linney were good, but not good enough, and if Cate Blanchett didn’t win for Elizabeth the first time around, it’s not going to happen this time, because the sequel apparently sucked. So it’s pretty much down to Julie Christie and Marion Cotillard. I have yet to see either of these films. I would really like to see them, so I really can’t say who will win, but most of the buzz has been between the both of them. My chose Julie Christie and Andy chose Marion Cotillard. So we shall see who comes out on top on Sunday.

Who are your choices for this Sunday’s Oscars? Let me know and check out Andy Saur’s website for some great reviews and thoughts on film.

Paint It Black…the new trend in band names

Lately I have been noticing that there has been a new trend in band names: BLACK! Where did this come from. Everybody these days seem to have Black in their name. It’s like a few years ago when everybody was “The ___”: The Vines, The Hives, the White Stripes etc. But now it is all about black. I am heading to South by Southwest in a few weeks and there are 20 bands going to be there with the word Black in their names.

So here is my top 5 bands with BLACK in their name:

1. Blackalicious
2. The Black
3. The Black Lips
4. Black Moth Super Rainbow
5. The Black and White Years

Other notable names: Black Sabbath, The Black Crowes, The Black Angels, Black Mountain, Black Francis, Black Diamond Heavies, Black Earth, Black Joe Lewis and the Honey Bears, Blacklist, Blackout….the list goes on and on.

What are your favorite band names with BLACK in them. Let me know.

The Razzies – What are your picks?

The Razzies – awards celebrating the worst movies of the year – will be handed out on Feb. 23, the day before the Oscars. Here are the list of categories and nominees. Why do I think that Eddie Murphy is going to be a big winner this year?

1. Worst Picture

• Bratz
• Daddy Day Camp
• I Know Who Killed Me
• I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
• Norbit

2. Worst Director

• Dennis Dugan – I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
• Roland Joffe – Captivity
• Brian Robbins – Norbit
• Fred Savage – Daddy Day Camp
• Chris Siverston – I Know Who Killed Me

3. Worst Actor

• Nicholas Cage – Ghost Rider, National Treasure 2 and Next
• Jim Carrey – The Number 23
• Cuba Gooding Jr. – Norbit and Daddy Day Camp
• Eddie Murphy – Norbit
• Adam Sandler – I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry

4. Worst Actress

• Jessica Alba – Good Luck Chuck, Fantastic Four and Awake
• Logan Browning, Janel Parrish, Nathalia Ramos & Skyler Shaye – BRATZ
• Elisha Cuthbert – Captivity
• Diane Keaton – Because I Said So
• Lindsay Lohan as Aubrey – I Know Who Killed Me
• Lindsay Lohan as Dakota – I Know Who Killed Me

5. Worst Supporting Actor

• Orlando Bloom – Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
• Kevin James – I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
• Eddie Murphy as Mr. Wong – Norbit
• Rob Schneider – I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
• Jon Voight – Bratz, National Treasure 2, September Dawn and Transformers

6. Worst Supporting Actress

• Jessica Biel – I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, and Next
• Eddie Murphy as Rasputia – Norbit
• Julia Ormond – I Know Who Killed Me
• Nicolette Sheridan – Code Name: The Cleaner

7. Worst Prequel or Sequel

• Alien vs. Predator: Requiem
• Daddy Day Camp
• Evan Almighty
• Hannibal Rising
• Hostel: Part II

I have yet to see any of these movies and I hope I never see any of them, so I can’t really make any judgments about who the winners will be. Let me know who you think the big winners are going to be this year.

Solio Classic Solar Charger.

Just found out about this new all-in-one solar charger that you can get for $100. The Solio Classic Solar Charger can charge your cell phone, iPod, digital camera or pretty much any other digital device that requires you to use a cord for charging.

Found out about the charger through Rolling Stone. Check out their article on the new gadget. I may have to get one myself.

SXSW Music Line-Up

I talked about South by Southwest a few posts ago. Since the festival is only a couple of weeks away I need to figure out which bands I plan on seeing. There are over 1400 bands scheduled so it has been a task trying to narrow it down.

But I think I have narrowed it down to a select few:

• The Akron Family
• The Black Angels
• Black Mountain
• The Blow
• Billy Bragg
• The Cave Singers
• The Concretes
• Dolly Parton
• Islands
  
• Jens Lekman
• The Kills
• Thurston Moore
• My Morning Jacket
• Shout Out Louds
• Sons & Daughters
• Takka Takka
• Tapes n’ Tapes
• Vancougar
• The Von Bondies
• The Watson Twins
• Yo La Tango

Well I most definitely know I will be catching My Morning Jacket and Yo La Tango because they are doing a set together which will be insane! And I believe that Billy Bragg and Islands will be part of Anti-Label showcase, as well as the Kills will be part of the Domino showcase. So those are a definite three I will be checking out, but don’t know what to do about the others. If you have seen any of these other bands let me know if they were any good or not. Also if there are any other bands you think are worth checking out let me know.

Cheers!

Kevin Drew – The King of Romance?

Since it is Valentine’s Day on Thursday I thought I would blog about something that has to do with love and romance. I had recently been shown these two music videos by Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene and I have to say that they are some of the most romantic videos I have seen in a while. I never knew he was such a romantic. He is also really into the whole slow motion thing. I guess it’s a metaphor or something for how time slows down when you’re in love. Excuse me…I think I just threw up a little.

Anyways, the first video is for “Lover’s Spit,” which Kevin is known for performing live with his girlfriend Leslie Feist. I am not sure if it is actually her in the video, but I sure she wouldn’t let him make out with another girl like that. I will warn you that there is quite a bit of making out involved in the video, so be wary of the “lover’s spit.” There is quite a bit of it.

The second video is called “Pitter Patter Goes My Heart.” After watching this video I wanted to go to the beach and bask in the waves with my boyfriend and makeout, and I am sure that you will feel the same.