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
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
Matt and Kim Storm Charm City
The natives of Charm City know the legendary Ottobar well: a consummately grungy dive bar tucked in the backstreets of Baltimore’s Charles Village neighborhood. If the Hüsker Dü and Talking Heads posters lining the walls don’t give you an idea of the place’s character, a hirsute bartender in his trademark Megadeth t-shirt will slide dirt-cheap rail drinks your way and regale you with stories of the time he snuck into a church late at night and threw empty beer bottles at the apse.... read more
Soundtrack of Our Lives Presents: The 2009 Album Cover of the Year
Animal Collective was an early contender for The 2009 Album Cover of the Year, sure. Black Lips made an admirable stab at it. Neko Case and Antony each turned in rather kick-ass submissions as well. But pardon us as we refuse to acknowledge that there are 10 more months left in the year, and instead proclaim this, the cover for Soundtrack of Our Lives' forthcoming record (March 3), Communion, The 2009 Album Cover of the Year.... read more
Trailer Stash: S. Darko, Knowing, Funny People, more
And now, a look at some notable trailers lighting up the blogs and message boards:... read more
2009 Oscars Live Blog
And here we go.7:48: The show starts in a few minutes. Will it be all about Slumdog? Based on the red carpet, it certainly seems like it. Even the little kids are there-you know, the ones that the producers are accused of underpaying. Many, many of the people on the red carpet said they are involved in a big dance number, and they all look really nervous. This should be fun. Get a refresher on what to expect here.... read more
The Rockin' Pneumonia: Drive-By Truckers soldier on with Patterson Hood temporarily out sick
Photo by Mark C. AustinWhen Drive-By Truckers' frontman Patterson Hood walked into the Music Farm in Charleston, S.C., thursday afternoon, he'd just risen from an 18-hour slumber. And he still felt like hell."I don't know what it is," he told me, "I can't seem to shake this thing. I'll start to feel better and then the next day, I feel like shit again. It's been like this for three weeks now—running a fever off and on. My plan tonight is to put on some layers and sweat it out."... read more
Still Your Man: Leonard Cohen Takes Back Manhattan
Click here for more photos from Leonard Cohen's performance.--On his first U.S. stage in 15 years, Leonard Cohen smiled in a gangster suit. He removed his fedora and bowed deeply—to the 2,800 fans who paid premium to pack into Manhattan's gilded Beacon Theatre, then to the admiring musicians around him who answered by launching into "Dance Me to the End of Love." Cohen fell to a crouch. At 74, was he finally too feeble to perform standing? Or was his body channeling the song's supplication—"lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove"?... read more
Trailer Stash: Inglourious Basterds, Tokyo!, Terminator Salvation, more
And now, a look at some notable trailers lighting up the blogs and message boards:... read more
2009 Grammy Awards Live Blog
As we said in our Grammy Predictions, we have a love/hate relationship with the Grammys. But hey, we love music, so we're watching to see what happens. Could be a big year for Lil Wayne (did you see his interview with "Miss" Katie Couric?). Could be a controversial night if Coldplay's alleged Joe Satriani rip-off grabs some hardware ("Viva La Vida" by Coldplay and Satriani's "If I Could Fly"). But plenty of great artists are nominated (M.I.A., Allison Krauss/Robert Plant, Radiohead, Gnarls Barkley, Daft Punk, Brazilian Girls....we could go on), so as always, it'll be worth watching, especially for the... read more
Super Bowl Edition Trailer Stash: Transformers 2, Star Trek, Land of the Lost, Year One, more
Along with all those ultra-hyped commercials, every year Hollywood turns over its advertising dollars to preview next summer's blockbusters at the Super Bowl. Here's a look at some of the biggest trailers that premiered:... read more
Trailer Stash: Fast and Furious, Last House on the Left, Fighting
And now, a look at a few of the latest movie trailers to hit the web:... read more
Strange Victory, Strange Defeat: Our Favorite Silver Jews Lyrics
One of our favorite bands allegedly called it quits last week. It’s sad news, but it prompted us to dig through their catalog for our favorite lyrics. David Berman can turn a phrase, but it’s funny how many of them work as rap lyrics when they’re not in context. ... read more
Lovefest blog
The Ancient Greeks had several words that can be translated as "love," but three were most commonly used. Eros refers to the romantic love celebrated February 14 and found in 97 percent of all popular music. Agape is the New Testament word Jesus used when he said, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." That leaves the much-overlooked phileo, which can mean both, "I love the way my son refers to the dawn as ‘when the world started over'" and "I love way Arcade Fire begins 'Wake Up.'" It connotes a... read more
An Open Letter to the Internets Regarding Ryan Adams Quitting Music -OR- Stop Freaking Out: It's Only Ryan
Dear Internets, There’s noise on the playground that Ryan Adams is breaking up with music! And by "noise," I mean crazy-siren-hollering, panic-button-pushing freakouts by anyone within two clicks of a blog or message board who apparently still can’t figure out whether or not he really means what he blogs (so, pretty much this). And by "breaking up," I mean no more posting every other thought, no more surrendering to Jon Graboff’s infinitely more badass arsenal of socks, no more jams so spacey they make the plateau shake. No more.... read more
Trailer Stash: Wolverine, I Love You, Man, Two Lovers, G-Force, All About Steve
And now, a brief look at a few of the latest movie trailers to hit the web:... read more
Rob's Favorite Films of 2008
Making a list of ten favorite films as the new year comes into view is a time-honored tradition for a film critic, and it lays your taste on the line for posterity and eventual ridicule. I'm told this builds character. But if you've seen hundreds of films in a calendar year, ten slots feels paltry, so in the spirit of the forthcoming awards season I offer my official list of favorite films, a few brief remarks, and then a batch of categories that try to make sense of the pile of remainders. My ten favorite films that were released theatrically... read more
Oh crap, this song's about...!: Confessions of musical oblivion
[Above: Jellyfish, those sneaky bastards.]A recent conversation with Paste web editor Austin about power pop in general and Jellyfish in particular led me to make a perhaps ill-advised admission: After years of listening to Spilt Milk, it was only recently that I paid any real attention to the lyrics of "He's My Best Friend." Oy. I don't know how many total hours of my life have been spent singing along to that album (mostly alone in the car, thankfully) and I don't know why it took me so long to, um, ahem, grasp the true meaning of the song, but... read more
Are you there Zooey? It's me, Rachael.
An open letter to Zooey Deschanel.... read more
Current Events: When Pirates Attack - Paste counts down the Top 20 Best Pirate Songs not appearing in a Disney movie or theme-park ride
You can't turn on the news or pick up a paper these days without noticing a rather strange but kinda awesome (from dry land, at least) new phenomenon: the return of pirates to the high seas! OK, I know what you're gonna say—this isn't some kiddie movie starring Johnny Depp as a Keith Richards-impersonating swashbuckler; this stuff is for real! Even so, you gotta admire the moxie of those Somali scallywags. I mean, it takes some pretty big balls—even for a crew of buccaneers—to knock off a Saudi oil tanker carrying $100 million in crude. Now that's some 21st-century-style booty!... read more
The 20 Best Gadgets of the Decade…
The 20 Best Live Acts of the…
The 50 Best Albums of the Decade…
The 25 Best Movie Performances of the…
Download Harper Blynn's "Centrifugal Motion"
Blind Pilot - One Red Thread
B.O.B. - Put Me On
Punch Brothers - Punch Brothers at CMJ
David Bazan - Hard To Be
