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Five Great (and Strange) Musical Origin Stories

By Justin Jacobs on 7:00 AM on October 19, 2009

At a recent Decemberists show in Athens, Ga., Colin Meloy explained how he, in fact, created R.E.M. The epic tale went like this: Meloy was tirelessly working to complete a song entitled "Dracula's Daughter." Upon finishing the track, he realized it was the worst song that had ever been written. Apparently agreeing with Meloy, God himself wept a single tear—a tear that fell over Athens, Ga. in the form of torrential downpour. Caught without an umbrella, young Peter Buck and Michael Stipe rushed into a nearby record emporium to take cover, where they soon made each others acquaintance. And that... read more

Ten Stunning Fan-Made Music Videos

By Rachael Maddux on 7:00 AM on October 18, 2009

Back in the hale 1990s, when MTV and VH-1 played less music videos than they once did but still more than they play today, names like Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze and Dayton/Faris were synonymous with glorious, three-to-four-minute masterpieces set to song. These days, those directors have moved on to bigger screens, but their legacy lives on—if not in pockets like Subterranean and mtvU then definitely online, where the work of professionals and amateurs alike have near-equal standing on sites like YouTube and Vimeo. So eat your heart out, McG—here are ten stunning fan-made music videos. Have a favorite not listed... read more

Fifteen Balloons Falcon Was Also Not In

By Austin L. Ray on 7:00 AM on October 17, 2009

Poor Falcon Heene. You gotta feel for the kid who made news headlines on Thursday and Friday, even vomiting on live television, simply for not being in a balloon. But rather than dwell on the fact that his life has probably been irrevocably changed by a silly event it’s pretty clear his almost-certainly-skeezy parents cooked up to rekindle the special kind of fame one gets from appearing on Wife Swap, let’s try to look at this from a positive point of view. For instance, did you ever notice how much balloon-themed art there is in the world? It’s crazy! Here... read more

Dead Man's Bones Photos - New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge - 10/15/09

By Sean Edgar on 6:30 PM on October 16, 2009

Photos taken by Sean Edgar at Le Poisson Rouge... read more

Unibroue's La Fin du Monde (Awesome of the Day)

By Josh Jackson on 5:15 PM on October 16, 2009

A few of my beer-geek friends were sitting around drinking beer (of course), and talking about some of our favorites. The question came up about which beer we choose if we could only have one beer for the rest of our lives. Being a malt-fiend, I chose some huge dark beer like St. Bernardus Abt. 12, but three folks—without hearing each other—independently came up with La Fin du Monde from Canadian brewer Unibroue. I thought that was an odd response, but I had one for the first time since that conversation—in Montreal with a giant plate of poutine, no less—and... read more

Sweet Talk with The Disco Biscuits Part Two

By Jay Sweet on 12:31 PM on October 16, 2009

Part Two of Sweet Talk's interview with The Disco Biscuits. ... read more

Sweet Talk with The Disco Biscuits Part One

By Jay Sweet on 12:26 PM on October 16, 2009

Sweet Talk had the good fortune to catch up with The Disco Biscuits on their tour bus and talk about what it takes to make it in today's music industry... read more

10 Songs I Sang in the Barrow County Jail

By Steve LaBate on 7:00 AM on October 16, 2009

I’ve spent the night in jail once. Which—given my long history of juvenile delinquency and general tendency to disregard most laws except those pertaining to capital offenses—is a small miracle. So what heinous crime was I finally pinched for that night back in early ’08? Arson? Aiding & abetting? Assault & battery? Nope. Late at night, on the way from Athens, Ga., to Atlanta, I was pulled over and hauled in for “driving on a suspended registration.” It was news to me. I tried to explain to the Barrow County sheriff that I had no idea what he was talking... read more

Download The Whigs' "In the Dark"

By Paste Staff on 6:00 PM on October 15, 2009

Download The Whigs' "In the Dark" here.The Whigs' In the Dark will be released in 2010 on ATO.... read more

Mean Creek

By Jay Sweet on 5:22 PM on October 15, 2009

I know I'm regionally biased, but Mean Creek is not merely a great Boston Band; they're a really great band period. The J. Geils Band at the Worcester Centrum was the first concert I ever experienced. This was a few years before "Cenetrfold"/ "Freeze Frame" J. Geils . It was more the Full House LIVE J. Geils era, with "First I Look at The Purse", "(Ain't Nothin' but a)House Party", "Whammer Jammer" ie the down and dirty street shuffle, combat zone, jungle boogie shit that makes you proud of your dirty water heritage. I was twelve years old wandering around backstage when I ran into lead singer Peter Wolf, my... read more

EOS Wireless Speakers (Awesome of the Day)

By Josh Jackson on 4:48 PM on October 15, 2009

Part of the fall ritual when I was in college was running 100-foot wires to three-foot-tall speakers in various rooms of the apartment so you could play music throughout the house. That’s starting to feel as antiquated as the dorm-room CD player, VCR and answering machine. Wireless audio systems like one from EOS are just going to spoil today’s kids.... read more

CMJ Side Trip: The 52nd Street Project

By Jay Sweet on 3:32 PM on October 15, 2009

In between enjoying all your free skunked beer and ear shattering buzz bands at the Bowery, Cake Shop, and every open phone booth or hip neighbor's house when CMJ takes over NYC next week, do yourself a favor and check out some real emerging talent. The 52nd Street Project, through which accomplished theater actors and directors mentor Hell's Kitchen kids, is presenting public performances Oct 23 - 25 at Manhattan¹s TBG Theater.Entitled GETTING THERE: THE JOURNEY PLAYS, the program consists of 8one-acts written by Project kids and co-starring the kids and adultprofessionals. This is probably the last show they'll do outside their own theater,... read more

Download The Soft Pack Covering Phoenix's "Fences"

By Paste Staff on 1:33 PM on October 15, 2009

Download The Soft Pack's cover of Phoenix's "Fences" here.The Soft Pack's forthcoming, currently-untitled album is slated for a 2010 release on Kemado.... read more

Five Great TV Weddings

By Kate Kiefer on 7:00 AM on October 15, 2009

I’m getting married on Saturday! Jim and Pam’s wedding was very exciting for me, since like most brides, I have an unhealthy obsession with studying other people’s weddings—even televised fictional ones. Here are some of my favorites.... read more

Eight TV Shows That Hung On Too Long

By Paste staff on 3:00 PM on October 14, 2009

Yesterday, our esteemed colleague Josh Jackson listed the 15 Best TV Shows That Were Canceled Too Soon. (He left off Kings, but anyway.) Today we flip over the coin to comment on a few shows that maybe went on just a tiny bit too long. Or a lot too long. And in case anyone’s wondering how to end a show right, how to strike exactly the right note before the final credits roll—this is how.... read more

Mandolin Cover of "Just Like Heaven" (Awesome of the Day)

By Josh Jackson on 2:28 PM on October 13, 2009

There’s something wonderful about Damion Suomi and David Fountain’s rough and downhome take on the classic Cure song, “Just Like Heaven.” It helps that, despite the impromptu nature of the performance and the shaky camera, Suomi (guitar) is having so much fun that he can’t hardly stay in his stool. It also helps that Suomi is just a fine fella who helps out with the amazing To Write Love On Her Arms Campaign. You can watch his Live From Paste performance here.... read more

The 15 Best TV Shows That Were Canceled Too Soon

By Josh Jackson on 7:00 AM on October 13, 2009

Despite a heap of critical acclaim, Southland got the axe earlier this week. Here are 15 more TV shows that died too young. read more

Download Spiral Stairs' "True Love"

By Paste Staff on 4:00 PM on October 12, 2009

Download Spiral Stairs' "True Love" here.Spiral Stairs' The Real Feel comes out Oct. 20 on Matador.... read more

Cornhole All-Stars iPhone App (Awesome of the Day)

By Josh Jackson on 3:35 PM on October 12, 2009

If you're not familiar with the game of cornhole, it's the best (if most unfortunately named) of the lawn sports, just nudging out ladder golf and bocce ball. Two teams of two take turns tossing bean bags at a sloped board with a hole in it. A bag on the board is worth one point and a bag in the hole is worth three. Part of the fun is knocking the other players bags off the board and knocking your own into the hole. I've found that my tosses are much more accurate when I have a bottle of beer... read more