Paste readers get feisty about our MJ cover
By now the Michael Jackson cover has been out long enough for us to receive some reader mail in response. Let’s take a look! Natalie Trott of Shrewsbury, Mass. writes in with the following rhetorical zinger: “Might I look forward to future issues featuring Britney Spears’ schoolgirl skirt, Buddy Holly’s glasses, Madonna’s cone bra and Elvis’ cape?” Neil Carver of Miami is thinking along similar lines: “MICHAEL JACKSON’S GLOVE? Puh-leeze! What’s next? Madonna?...The first shock was Kanye West on the September cover, now this.” And one Don H. of Milwaukee wondered whether our cover was a joke: “I subscribed to... read more
The real Jack of LOST, No Depression depression, Spiders on Acid, and Spy Satellites
The ups and downs of the week: BIG Up: Finally watched the second episode of the new season of LOST (the single best Network show on TV), and was blown out of my knickers when in the first five minutes, Jeremy Davies’ character, sits on a couch crying watching footage of Oceanic 815, when a kyron pops up to tell us he is in Essex, Massachusetts!. Yes dear readers, my hometown, population 2,800, where I was born raised and still reside. Home of the Fried Clam! BIZZARE. Think about it, you are a mid-thirties male sitting on your couch watching... read more
Rock Star Dance Party
As an Editor At Large, I’ve had the fortune/misfortune of being present at some truly hedonistic and bacchanalian parties hosted by some serial rage-aholics, 50 cent, Kid Rock, Phish, Flaming Lips, etc. However, none of these “experiences” could have prepared me for the utter madness of hosting a dozen kids for my son’s fourth B-Day party. The theme was “rock star dance party”. The idea started when my genius wife decide to make backstage passes for all the guests. We are not talking crayon, glitter and string; we are talking watermarked laminates with sponsored lanyards. The goodie bags, seemingly... read more
Mayercraft Carrier: Belated, thong-free videos
I have to admit that all those John-Mayer-in-Borat-thong photos took the wind right outta my sails in terms of posting about my Mayercraft Experience. It took me several long minutes to even regain the ability to speak after first seeing them, but really, nothing I'm capable of writing could ever compare to... ahem... that. These as-promised videos also feel quite dull by comparison, but perhaps you can forgive them. embedVideo("http://www.pastemagazine.com/video/2008/02/mayercraft_2.flv"); JavaScript must be enabled to see this content. The Paste crew attended the first of John's two nighttime headlining shows in the Carribean Lounge. The Lounge features octopus-patterned carpeting,... read more
Random Musical Notes
Whither (Wither) Columbus? I keep reading breathless reviews about the new U2 concert film U23D. I admit that my previous experiences with wearing the funky glasses at 3D movies has left me less than optimistic. But everything I read tells me that this truly is something different—U2 on a giant iMax screen, with eye-popping visual effects. One reviewer I respect, who is not typically given to hyperbole, stated that the experience was like being a fly on Bono’s shades, and that the new technology employed in this film could very well revolutionize the film industry. He noted that this was... read more
Nada Surf - Brooklyn - Music Hall of Williamsburg - 2/7/08
Photos taken at the Music Hall of Williamsburg by Sean Edgar Related links: Paste feature: Nada Surf Rides On Paste review: The Weight is a Gift NadaSurf.com ... read more
Shark Week Continues with Kelsey Grammar School
Kelsey Grammar School Following up with another post from Sweet Talk’s “Shark Week”. During a little après skiing libation consumption, ST ended up in a very involved fireside conversation in regards to how some sharks never stop moving. In summary they are the benchmark for ADD. Naturallythis conversation caromed off into how grey sharks give birth. Basically, it ain’t pretty. The species is ovoviviparous, which basically means that young sharks hatch inside the female shark’s uterus and immediately begin eating their siblings; a intrauterine, cannibalistic survival of the fittest so to speak. Only after the carnage is over and a... read more
Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’: The reaction to our Michael Jackson cover
Yesterday, I talked to nine different radio stations about Michael Jackson. Hello, Illinois! California! New York City! The timing made sense — yesterday, after all, was the day that Sony finally got around to reissuing Thriller in a 25th-anniversary edition, even though the actual anniversary date was late last year. I was a little surprised by how many DJs asked some version of, “So, just what DO you miss about Michael Jackson?” (Um, dudes, that’s kind of what the whole story is about.) But on the whole, the radio folks seemed to share my enthusiasm for Michael. This was encouraging.... read more
SXSW Campaign Coverage: Emerging Trends
Every winter my email inbox is flooded with emails from publicists and record labels, all inquiring about this publication’s plans for South By Southwest (SXSW) coverage and event participation. The campaigning is starting earlier and earlier, even as far out as September! After all of the campaigning is over, we have a big convention in Austin, Texas, called SXSW 2008. SXSW has become the election season of the music industry, with bands vying for the attention of fans, critics, record executives and the media. The playing field is deep and diverse. There are buzzed-about newcomers like Vampire Weekend (NY) and... read more
“You’re Going to Need a Bigger Boat”
“You’re Going to Need A Bigger Boat” -Chief Brody to Quint after seeing Jaws for the first time. As our own Sean Gandert published yesterday, the man who uttered the memorable line above, actor Roy Scheider, died at the age of 75 of cancer last Sunday.While he was a fine actor and had a long career, I would argue that this snippet of dialogue ranks in the top twenty movie quotes of all time and more importantly helped me overcome fear of “the big boy.” The line has been co-opted countless times. In fact I recently heard it used by... read more
Contemplative Cowboys
I like my cowboys with philosophy degrees. It’s okay if they wear the Stetson hats as long as they quote Schopenhauer and Wittgenstein. Or know how to spell their names. Or at least have more on their minds than longnecks and short skirts. These three cowboys more or less fit the pattern, although none of them wears a Stetson, and one of them is at least partial to longnecks and short skirts. But I’m giving him extra credit for the literary reference on “Faulkner Street.” Kasey Anderson – The Reckoning Portland, Oregon troubadour Kasey Anderson has some cojones. He starts... read more
Mayercraft Carrier: Decompression chamber
I've been back from my Mayercraft Carrier voyage for a few days now but I am still trying to figure out what to say when people ask me, as they inevitably do, “How was it?” Though each time I have strained anew to express exactly how it was, I always return to the simplest, and perhaps truest, reply: “It was weird.” Because I'd never really had the desire to go on a cruise at any point in my life, and because I'm not the biggest John Mayer fan, I approached the trip with bemused, detached excitement, unburdened by the idealized... read more
Aradhna—Amrit Vani
There’s no great secret here, but I’ll spell it out. I’m a Christian who has very little use for Christian music. Although some of my favorite music has been made by Christians (U2, Bruce Cockburn, Vigilantes of Love, Tonio K., Innocence Mission, Mark Heard, Peter Case, T-Bone Burnett, Sam Phillips, Buddy and Julie Miller, Over the Rhine, not to mention Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Blind Willie Johnson and Ralph and Carter Stanley), the Contemporary Christian Music genre in general, and the Worship Music wing of that genre in particular, holds little appeal. There’s too much imitation of Fleetwood Mac circa 1975,... read more
Fleshtones - Take a Good Look
I love garage rock. But I hate garage rock revivals, even though I firmly believe that the genre is vibrant enough to be revived every five years or so. With the exception of The White Stripes, every one of the latest crop of revivalists—The Vines, The Strokes, The Hives—has let me down. After impressive starts, they flame out into limpid sophomore albums. And they never find their way back. So thank God for The Fleshtones. They started making garage rock twenty-five years ago, they’ve never stopped, and they’ve never, ever sucked. Their latest album, Take a Good Look, is twelve... read more
Mayercraft Carrier, ahoy!
Greetings from the severely overpriced internet cafe in the Greek vase-bedecked Ionian Room of the good ship Carnival Victory aka the Mayercraft Carrier! Among all the various things that the fine Carnival people don’t want you to do-- throw your cigarette butts overboard (there are signs everywhere), go hungry (there is food everywhere, at all times of day, and it’s free), save lounge chairs for friends (people do it anyway)-- using the internet is apparently right up there. This place is like the Bermuda Triangle. I’ve been on the boat since Friday afternoon; it’s Sunday now, and I just now... read more
Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings - Atlanta - Variety Playhouse - 1/19/08
Photos taken at Variety Playhouse by Katie Vesser Related links: News: Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings continue touring into 2008 News: Daptone Records teams up with Scion for sampler Sharon Jones on Daptone Records ... read more
I Can’t Hear You
In theory, music reviewers approach every new album as a piece of freshly created art, with no preconceptions about the quality of what they are about to hear. And if you believe that, I have a stupendous new Christmas album from Barry Manilow to sell you. The reality is that we bring all kinds of preconceptions and life experiences to the proceedings, and sometimes they mess with the music. Sometimes it’s impossible to hear the new notes because of the racket from the past that is playing in our heads. Take Shelby Lynne as a case in point. Shelby Lynne... read more
Sundance: Final Scorecard
We began the festival with temperatures in the single digits (and I don’t mean Celsius—I mean Kelvin) and ended at a positively balmy 31 degrees Fahrenheit. Jacket unzipped. Stocking cap stuffed into pocket. Fingers holding a pen that I can actually feel and manipulate with enough precision to write words—phrases!—into a notebook that isn’t shaking. We also began with a blank slate and now, ten days later, have some idea of what sort of (mostly) American independent films will find their way into multiplexes and art houses later this year. To help you sort them out as they come your... read more
Girl’s Night Out—Catherine Russell, Amy Winehouse, Shelby Lynne
Catherine Russell – Sentimental Streak I’ve just been complaining about the glut of standards albums in the marketplace these days. Well, here’s one that works because it trades the stuffy academic approach for the raw vitality of a southern juke joint. Russell, daughter of longtime Louis Armstrong musical director Luis Russell, has the jazz pedigree and the sultry voice, but what ultimately sets this album apart is the song selection, which is surprising, earthy, and often funny. Eschewing the obvious choices, Russell digs deep into the back catalogues to pull out Bessie Smith’s “Kitchen Man,” a wondrously carnal stew spiced... read more
Sundance: Winners
While the noisiest competition at Sundance often seems to be the one among distributors vying for marketable films, or the one among filmmakers trying to drum up interest in their movies, Sundance also referees an official competition in which juries choose their favorites of the eligible films. Jurors this year included filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino, Eugene Jarecki, Lucrecia Martel, and Amir Bar-Lev, and in a press conference at the start of the festival many of them said how excited they were to enjoy the festival as viewers for a change, gladly avoiding the pressure and packed schedule that go along... read more
