Listen to new Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin MP3
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin may have the oddest name in indie rock. Before you get all, "But what about _____ or _____ or Vampire Weekend," let's examine the acronym for the Springfield, Mo.-based, deceased-Russian-referencing quartet: SSLYBY. "Seriously, bye." "Sssss, lie by." Or our favorite: "Silly bee!" Luckily for the four fellows, on the world wide web no one cares about the correct way to pronounce anything, much less acronyms. SSLYBY has earned itself a special place in the spanking-new canon of up-and-coming acts that have built reputations and fanbases upon a foundation of giddy Internet chatter. Not only... read more
Judd Apatow rings in new film Engagement for Universal
Judd Apatow doesn’t slow down. Keeping a breakneck pace seems to come naturally to this comedian turned filmmaker, who in the last year has produced (deep breath) Knocked Up, Superbad, Walk Hard: the Dewey Cox Story, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Drillbit Taylor, Pineapple Express, Step Brothers and is currently filming The Year One. Apatow will soon begin production on a comedy called Five-Year Engagement for Universal. Shauna Robertson will return to produce, as will writers Nick Stoller and Jason Segel. Stoller will direct the film and Segel returns to the starring role. “It's definitely an extension of our desire to explore... read more
Anti-Pop Consortium regroups, posts new track on MySpace
Between 1996 and 1997, the face of hip-hop shifted dramatically. Its two biggest stars, Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G., both met their demise from the end of a barrel. The East Coast-West Coast madness was growing out of control. Hip-hop seemed doomed to implode. Out of the darkness of that period, however, arose a quartet of artists—three MCs and a DJ—that called themselves the Anti-Pop Consortium. One of the first groups to straddle the line that had been artificially constructed between IDM and hip-hop, APC released only two full-length studio albums in its five-year existence. Citing creative differences, the... read more
Which MC deserves to be on Mount Rapmore?
Recently, ESPN columnist Bill Simmons has mused on which hip-hop icons he would put on "Mount Rapmore." Which MC do you think most deserves the honor? [1011 votes total] Chuck D (243): 24% Jay-Z (170): 17% Rakim (55): 5% Lil Wayne (28): 3% Notorious B.I.G. (91): 9% Big Boi (21): 2% Ice Cube (37): 4% Kanye West (73): 7% Tupac Shakur (208): 21% Other (85): 8% Full Results Comments... read more
LCD Soundsystem presents "Big Ideas" in 2008
It has been awhile since we last heard from LCD Soundsystem (almost four months since re-releasing running anthem 45:33, not that we're counting or anything). But fan can boogie once again thanks to the public unveiling of James Murphy's latest track, “Big Ideas.” The song is part of the soundtrack for the forthcoming 21, which is based on a non- fiction novel about a group of MIT students who create a system that allows them to stack the odds in their favor at Vegas blackjack tables. The film stars Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth and premieres at SXSW... read more
Cleveland Rocks: Family Guy spin-off in early stages
A spin-off of Fox’s hit animated comedy series Family Guy is in the works, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The show, tentatively titled Cleveland, will center on the Griffin family’s mellow neighbor of same name, a series regular meant to skewer black stereotypes. MacFarlane has already started writing with Family Guy writer/producer Mike Henry and Rich Appel, executive producer of MacFarlane’s other animated series American Dad. Family Guy has defied all odds to become Fox's top-rated comedy. The show premiered in 1999, but was abruptly canceled in 2000, and again in 2002. Cartoon Network started showing reruns of the show... read more
Animal Collective preps Water Curses EP, tours
Fresh off the success of last year's delicious Strawberry Jam, everyone's favorite creature collaboration has readied an EP for all of our listening and brain-bending pleasure. Water Curses is set to drop May 6 on CD and 12-inch vinyl, and will include four brand new Animal Collective tracks. They are as follows: 1. Water Curses 2. Street Flash 3. Cobwebs 4. Seal Eyeing The relevant press release informs us that these tracks have "a more stripped down feel than their recent work," but also has something more particularly tantalizing to say about the EP's final track; "'Seal Eyeing' is the... read more
Cablevision to team up with Ticketmaster
A partnership seems imminent between Ticketmaster and cable provider/multi-network owner Cablevision. If the reported deal goes through, Ticketmaster owner AEG Live stands to gain a large media component alongside the world’s largest ticketing company. A major component of the partnership involves Rainbow Media, a division of Cablevision that runs the Independent Film Channel (IFC), WE: Women's Entertainment, American Movie Classics (AMC) and Fuse TV. Sources say the cable music channel Fuse TV will undergo a multi-million dollar re-branding effort as a result of the deal. Related links: Paste: Ticketmaster to split with Live Nation AEGLive.com Rainbow-Media.com Got news tips for... read more
Missy Higgins tours on just-released album
Australian singer/songwriter Missy Higgins kicked off a 13-date North American tour this week in support of her new album, On A Clear Night, released Tuesday on Warner Brothers. Higgins broke onto the music scene somewhat accidentally at age 17, when her sister submitted one of her tapes in a local talent-scouting competition and she won. She has since released two albums and several EPs in North America, Europe and her native Australia. Higgins returned to the States in January to make a quick stop in Park City, Utah, for a performance at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. She played the... read more
Rainn Wilson reveals audition tapes for Juno, I'm Not There
UPDATE: Watch our exclusive video of Rainn Wilson at Sasquatch here. Where have The Office's cast members been lurking since television shows crawled off the air during the WGA strike? Angela Kinsey's been avoiding microwaves and red M&M's while pregnant, and B.J. Novak made a round through the college stand-up comedy circuit. Meanwhile, Film Independent's Spirit Awards just nabbed Rainn Wilson to host the annual event, which took place a night before the Oscars. And while he wasn't nominated for his Juno cameo, Wilson's "audition" tapes for the Best Feature nominees recently surfaced on /Film. Watch Wilson get into characters... read more
Video clips surface from Heath Ledger's Nick Drake video
About a month after actor Heath Ledger’s death, a haunting video tribute he filmed in memory of British folk singer Nick Drake has raised many questions about the actor’s state of mind during his last days. Stereogum reports that Ledger directed, filmed and acted in a video set to Drake’s song “Black-Eyed Dog,” a term used by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to describe depression. Portions of the video are now available on YouTube, interspersed with an Australian news report: Ledger was a long-time admirer of Drake and his music, and made the film for an exhibition honoring the musician’s... read more
The Duke Spirit heads to SXSW, tours with BRMC
Despite the many misfortunes of its last major U.S. tour (broken limbs, stolen gear, traveling in a van for 287 shows) The Duke Spirit is returning to the road in honor of its forthcoming album, Neptune. Available in April, the band's second full-length comes two years after Cuts Across the Land with the help of Chris Goss (Queens of the Stone Age). The band will be using some West Coast gigs to warm up for three nights at SXSW, after which it will support Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Dates: March 4 Los Angeles, Calif. @ KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic 5... read more
Spring proves to be a Swell Season for live dates
Still basking in their Oscar glow, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova recently announced that they will embark on a U.S. tour with their band, the Swell Season. The tour that launches in April will hit Coachella, Bonnaroo and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Also highly notable is their May 19 stop at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. April 23 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ the Orpheum Theatre 25 - Indio, Calif. @ Coachella 26 - Oakland, Calif. @ Paramount Theatre 27 - Eugene, Ore. @ McDonald Theatre 28 - Portland, Ore. @ Portland Center for the Arts 30 - Seattle, Wash.... read more
Dylan, Bowie, Wilco, MMJ more on Heroes soundtrack
Bob Dylan, David Bowie and a host of others will appear on NBC’s soundtrack to Heroes to be released March 18. Also featured on the compilation will be the New Pornographers, Wilco, the Jesus and Mary Chain, Chemical Brothers and Yerba Buena. Bowie’s song “Heroes” will be featured, natch, as will Dylan’s “Man in the Long Black Coat,” which executive producer Allan Arkush was thrilled about, given the selectivity that Dylan’s representatives usually practice with rights to his songs. Arkush had used Dylan’s work before on “Crossing Jordan.” "We started talking about including music that inspired us--not just music that... read more
Paste & Stereogum present The Dell Lounge @ SXSW 2008
[View a larger version of the above poster here.] If you're traveling to Austin this March for the musical spectacular known as South By Southwest, come on over to the Dell Lounge at the new Volume Night Club (located at 612 E. Sixth St., next door to Emo's) for Paste's fourth annual SXSW showcase, presented this year in conjunction with our blogging-fiend friends at Stereogum. Before we get to the set times for the myriad bands playing at the Dell Lounge, here's a few incidental reasons why the Paste & Stereogum party—which is open to the public as well as... read more
Paul Dano and Zooey Deschanel to star in Gigantic
Paul Dano has signed on to star in and executive produce the upcoming film Gigantic, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The delightfully quirky Zooey Deschanel will co-star with Dano in Gigantic, an offbeat romantic comedy about a young mattress salesman and a woman he meets at the store where he works. Rookie Matt Aselton will direct the film, which he co-wrote with Adam Nagata. Dano first gained widespread attention with a mostly mute performance as brooding teenager Dwayne in the 2006 breakout hit Little Miss Sunshine. He also garnered rave reviews for his role as a manipulative young clergyman opposite... read more
Ray Davies tours, speculates about Kinks reunion
Imagine it's 1970. "Lola" has just become a top 10 hit in the United States, against all odds, since it's a song about a transvestite. The Kinks have just been allowed to re-enter the United States after a four year expulsion, for reasons never made clear to the public. Now, let's fast forward to the early '80s. Ray Davies, lead singer of The Kinks, has begun to date Chrissie Hynde, who will soon have his child and leave him for Jim Kerr of the Simple Minds, all in the span of a year. Whether coincidence or stroke of fate, after... read more
John Mellencamp and Stephen King to unleash musical
In today's "WTF?" celebrity-collaboration news, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently reported that wholesome Chevy fan and impending Rock Hall member John Mellencamp will pair up with bestselling nightmare-inducer Stephen King to stage the musical they've been plotting for going on eight years. The Mississippi-set fratricidal mystery spans decades of life, death and afterlife in an old lakefront property and will be directed by Peter Askin, who helmed the Off-Broadway production of acclaimed glam-rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. It's slated to open in April 2009 at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre. (Let's hear it for Paste's hometown getting two big musical debuts... read more
Beatles pirate prosecuted, still no sign of legal digi-releases
In an age when many artists (even ones we never talk about) have begun to release music solely through digital outlets, and almost all release digital versions of their recordings in addition to CDs and vinyl, The Beatles remain the highest profile group to not have any of their work available digitally. A search on iTunes reveals various tribute acts or collaborations in the "artist" column. None of the real stuff—any of their 13 actual LPs, dozens of compilations, plentiful box sets, a live recording or two—can be purchased this way. Even the official Beatles online store, Beatles.FanFire.com, only offers... read more
Rock Hall announces presenters for 2008 ceremony
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recently announced the celebrities who will present each of 2008's inductees to the museum: Lou Reed will induct Leonard Cohen; Billy Joel will induct John Mellencamp; Tom Hanks will induct The Dave Clark Five; Justin Timberlake will induct Madonna; Jerry Butler will induct Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff; John Fogerty will induct The Ventures; and Ben Harper will induct Little Walter. Six hundred voters of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation chose the 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees from a list of eligible artists (meaning it has been... read more
The 20 Best Gadgets of the Decade…
The 17 Best Romantic Comedies This Decade
The 50 Best Albums of the Decade…
The 25 Best Movie Performances of the…
The 20 Best Live Acts of the…
Kim Taylor - Days Like this
Gregory Alan Isakov - The Moon Song
B.O.B. - Put Me On
Fanfarlo - I’m A Pilot
Punch Brothers - Punch Brothers at CMJ
David Bazan - Hard To Be
Anya Marina - Whatever You Like
