Gameboyz

Wired has a fun game: match the hip-hop lyric from the last 20 years with the piece of technology it refers to.

Man, hip-hop lyrics get pretty ridiculous.

P4k and the Flaming Lips

So I'm back from my vacation and hope I still have readers left after 3 weeks away!

Clearly the big news since I was gone is the Pitchfork line up, the vote-your-own-set-list set up for Friday, and the Flaming Lips headline slot. As various outlets have reported, the Lips were initially supposed to join in on the fan-voted set list fun, but almost immediately backed out, forcing Pitchfork to issue a correction. This earned the major ire of the Sun Times' Jim DeRogatis, who was thrilled about the fan-voted set list in the hopes that it would force the Lips to revisit older material and revitalize a stage show that has become a bit stale.

I guess have to agree with him. I'm probably one of the only people that greeted the Flaming Lips news with an "eh". I saw the Flaming Lips at Coachella in 2004, and while sure, the stage show is funny, in 45 minutes they played a whopping 3 songs, all from Yoshimi (and only after spending 10 minutes delaying the show so Wayne could get his giant bubble inflated). Festival shows don't really give the Lips enough time to do both the schtick and play actual music at the same time. And the schtick hasn't changed a whole lot in the 5 years since; their stage show has really become this pre-packaged, ultimately hollow thing that's not really about the music anymore but about how weird and silly they can be. I agree with Jim that festivals like Pitchfork are the time to do something really interesting and special, and when a stage full of animal costumes and a giant human hamster ball are no longer special, it might be time to revisit the formula.

Vaca

Hello faithful readers,

In order to escape the daily depression that is our economy, I'm heading out tomorrow on a much-needed vacation to Southeast Asia. As a result, expect blog posting to be virtually non-existent for the next couple weeks (unless I discover some incredible Cambodian indie rock band that the world just needs to know about ASAP) (unlikely). Hopefully I'll return to amazing weather, a Dow back at post-2000 levels, politcal unity and a plethora of jobs for all! Or at least some good shows in April, and a decent Pitchfork lineup. Cheers!

Spinal Tap Tour! (Sort of)

According to the Sun Times, Spinal Tap "members" Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer will be hitting the road for a six-week tour starting in April, with a stop at the Chicago Theatre on May 30. Sadly, they will be going on tour as themselves, rather than as their alter egos- i.e., no wigs, outfits or minature Stonehenges. They'll also be playing songs from A Mighty Wind. Oh, and it will be acoustic. As McKean says at the end of the article, 'the partners are “trying to figure out a way to do [Spinal Tap’s bass opus] ‘Big Bottom’ on three acoustic guitars” and said some incarnation of “Stonehenge” “is possible.”'

Bird Video

The video for Andrew Bird's first single, Fitz and the Dizzyspells, which was filmed during his surprise shows at the Hideout with marching band divas Mucca Pazza, is now available on his website. Check it out!