Paste's SXSW 2009 Party Playlist
In just a few days, Paste will be heading down (more accurately, West) to Austin, Texas, for SXSW. Although we'd like you to believe that we're discovering new artists from all over the world and taking in independent films, we're really just there to party. Actually, we're hosting three parties, each featuring live music from some of the best bands around. And since we're a bunch of party animal(z), you're guaranteed a wonderful time. Check out our full details of our SXSW coverage here.Here are just a few of the bands playing our ragers at SXSW 2009: ... read more
Watch Jon Stewart's full, uncensored video interview of Mad Money's Jim Cramer on The Daily Show
[Warning: Due to a strange technical glitch from Comedy Central's embedding technology, you may get a prompt asking for a password. Just hit "cancel" until it goes away for good.]The good old interwebs have bee abuzz today with talk of Jon Stewart's interview with Mad Money host Jim Cramer last night on The Daily Show. It's a pretty fantastic example of a putting-the-feet-to-the-fire kind of interview, a Sign of Life in culture if ever I've seen one. But in case you haven't had a chance to watch it, all three parts are embedded below. Don't worry, I won't tell your... read more
Eight Songs to Soundtrack this Morning's Michael Phelps Interview on NBC's Today
At 7 a.m. this morning, NBC's Today will run Matt Lauer's exclusive interview with twentysomething Olympic swimmer and multiple gold medalist Michael Phelps, during which Phelps will hilariously pretend to apologize for smoking a bong at a party (or at least for being stoned enough to get photographed smoking a bong at a party). But while he's being all penitent and fielding the hard questions from Lauer about his "bad mistake" so he can re-score that Wheaties contract, this is the music that'll likely be playing in Phelps' head—and on my home stereo system, as I provide my own personal soundtrack to... read more
All The Right Friends: On R.E.M.'s Carnegie Hall Tribute and Benefit Concert
There's an old and unavoidable joke, usually told by hectoring music teachers or waggish elders. You've probably heard it. The set-up goes, "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" The punchline? "Practice, practice, practice."... read more
Ten Reasons Why Elvis Presley is Overrated
1. The movies. Elvis was not a good actor, and his movies are horrible. Take, for example, Harum Scarum (1965). He plays a movie star (naturally) who’s kidnapped and taken to a Middle Eastern country where he’s enlisted by—get this—the Lord of Assassins to kill an Arabian king. Oh, and he falls in love with the king’s daughter. Check out the film’s trailer, which we thought was a parody until we noticed it was posted by Warner Bros. ... read more
Miley Cyrus' "7 Things" vs. 10 Things I Hate About You
For months, Miley Cyrus was germs, my iTunes antibacterial hand lotion. This worked until it didn't, when I over-inoculated on Fripp & Eno and killed off too many aural taste-buds resilient to bubblegum pop. On another lost plateau for music balkanization, Miley's omnipresence trumped selectivity.... read more
Alt-Country Roundup: The Believers, The Von Ehrics, Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls
Alt-country music arguably peaked in 1995, with the formation of Whiskeytown, The Jayhawks' Tomorrow the Green Grass, Emmylou Harris' Wrecking Ball, Old 97's Wreck Your Life, Steve Earle's Train a Comin', and the releases of the debut Wilco, Son Volt, and Buddy Miller albums. Don't look now, but that was almost a decade and a half ago. In the meantime, the genre, which once seemed to breathe fresh, new life into hoary country music, has gotten a little long in the tooth. Tastes have changed, and the audience, for the most part, has moved on. That's most evident in the... read more
Even More Great Art About the Midwest
Last week, I posted a list of the Greatest Art Ever Made About the Midwest, and invited your submissions for stuff I left out. Here, then—based on your comments, and on other stuff that popped into my head—is a follow-up list of more Midwestern goodness. ... read more
Five Reasons Why You Should Start Watching Battlestar Galactica Even Though You Don't Like Sci-Fi
It's almost become a cliché—Battlestar Galactica is a sci-fi show that even non-sci-fi geeks will love. But you need more than a cliché. You need actual, compelling reasons to commit to the 70-odd-episodes (not including the miniseries) that, however good, are still about robots at war with humans, first on a dozen far-off planets and then on the few human spaceships that survive. Not only is the premise as sci-fi as it gets, but the show is a remake of cheesy sci-fi. If ever there were a show that could clear those hurdles for people who won't be in costume... read more
A Smattering of Cringeworthy Album Covers from the Paste Mail Bins
Paste receives a lot of CDs. And by a lot, I mean a lot. Everyday the interns haul in crates of manilla envelopes from the mid-morning post office run and get to work labeling and filing each album. This means, for better or for worse, we interns see most of what comes through these doors. And let me tell you, some of it is not pretty (aesthetically speaking). Here are my picks for the most cringeworthy album covers I've discovered in the depths of Paste's cache of CDs thus far.(Note: This has nothing to do with the music on the albums, most... read more
Lions and Tigers and Bears, Beware: Nine New Band-Name Trends on the Rise at SXSW
[Above: Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man., the past and future of trendy band names.]Around this time last year, Paste's marketing director (now-emeritus) Caren Kelleher compiled a pretty freakishly extensive blog post detailing statistical trends among bands playing at the 2008 SXSW Music Conference. It seemed, then, that animal band names were actually on the wane, but judging from this year's schedule, they've definitely made a comeback; there are more than 60 animal bands slated to play the 2009 conference (including associate editor Kate Kiefer's favorite, Kittens Ablaze).... read more
Cat Power (No, Not Her)
Steven Demitre Georgiou is an almost forgotten man these days, even when he goes by his much more famous musical pseudonym Cat Stevens. For a while there in the 1970s he was one of the biggest pop stars in the world, and he released two unquestioned masterpieces in Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat. But even on those unmistakeable triumphs there were signs of the discontent and restlessness that made him abandon music entirely at the end of the decade. Cat Stevens, perhaps more than any other pop star, was a spiritual seeker. He saw through the... read more
Raposauria, He: First-Listen Thoughts on DOOM's Born Like This
A couple weeks back, word came down that that tricky masked villain would be dropping a new album. MF Doom, now unfortunately rechristened DOOM ("All big letters, but it isn't no acronym," as he says on "Ballskin."), will release Born Like This on March 23 via Lex Records. For a guy with so much allegedly on his plate (a new Madvillain record? a collaboration album with Ghostface? other various stuff?), it's nice to see him get around to releasing something.We'll have a proper review of the full album, but in the meantime, take a stroll with me through the Born... read more
Trailer Stash: X-Men Origins: Wolverine, (500) Days of Summer, Public Enemies, more
And now, a look at some notable trailers lighting up the blogs and message boards: ... read more
The Six Greatest Things That Happened This Week to Paste Staffers Not on the Cayamo Cruise
As you may have read, a few Paste staff members were out sailing the high seas on Cayamo this week. Sounds like they're having a pretty great time, but while they're soaking up all the Caribbean sunshine, fancy mixed drinks and excellent roots music, a few of us are holding down the fort back at Paste HQ in good old landlocked Decatur, Ga. We weren't bitter about this arrangement (personally, I'm still recovering from last year's Mayercraft experience), but none of us stragglers had very high expectations for the excitement level of our office-bound week. However, though there wasn't a... read more
Valentino's Steps to Good Style
Legendary designer Valentino, who has a fantastic film coming out this month, shared with Paste his steps to good style. Take it for what it’s worth—fantastic advice from one of the most sophisticated clothing designers in the world! ... read more
...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - Cat's Cradle/Rock and Roll Hotel - Carrboro, NC/Washington, D.C. - 2/25-26/09
Photos taken by PJ Sykes at Cat's Cradle and Rock and Roll Hotel... read more
Our Favorite Things About Cayamo
Several Paste staffers are out of the office this week covering the Cayamo cruise. These are a few of their favorite things so far:... read more
The Greatest Art Ever Made About the Midwest
The new Cam’ron single “Get It In Ohio” is, amongst other things, an ode to the Midwest. In the grainy video, Cam and friends drive through slushy streets and complete business transactions in parking lots—and even if this doesn’t conform to your personal Midwestern experience, there’s a shock of recognition in seeing the heartland represented so proudly in a rap song. As someone who spent a fair amount of time in the Midwest myself, this got me thinking about other memorable songs, albums, movies and literature about the oft-ignored expanse of real estate known pejoratively as “flyover country.” Here are my... read more
Scion Rock Fest - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade - 2/28/09
Photos taken by Jason Reed at The Masquerade... read more
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