(RED)NIGHTS (Good Art Saves the World)
The folks over at (RED), a charity dedicated to the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS in Africa, have shown themselves time and again to have great taste in music. The latest piece of evidence is the line-up for (RED)NIGHTS, "a concert series that saves lives." Here's a list of upcoming shows:... read more
Tapword iPhone Game (Awesome of the Day)
The iPhone is growing into a respectable gaming platform, with the development of surprisingly good sports games like RSoccer09, a decent adaption of Assassin's Creed and barebones MMO games like World War and Kingdoms Live. But where it really excels is in casual games, and my favorite lately has been Tapword from Ben Lewis and Lee Linden at Tapjoy. A simple word search game in the vein of Boggle, the free app gives you three minutes to find as many three-or-more-letter words by connecting letters on a four-by-four grid. You can adjust the board size, word length or the time... read more
WearYourMusic.org Bracelets (Awesome of the Day)
Ever wonder what happens to all those used guitar strings your favorite guitarists cycle through? So did WearYourMusic.org co-founder Hannah Garrison. Her Guitar String Bracelet Charity Project weaves used strings and recycled silver to create bracelets that are sold to raise money for charities of the musicians' choosing. Buy a bracelet made out of Death Cab For Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard's old guitar strings (or Nick Harmer's bass strings) for $125 and 100% of the profit goes towards Music in Schools Today, a community organization supporting music in the San Francisco Bay area. A bracelet from Ben Harper's strings goes... read more
The Guild Season 3 Premiere (Awesome of the Day)
Before Felicia Day became the star of Internet phenomenon Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog, she was the creator and star of another online series, The Guild—which has become a phenomenon in its own right. The show follows an attractive, neurotic violinist who's addicted to a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game similar to World of Warcraft. Her only relationships involve the other five members of her gaming guild, an unlikely bunch who have little in common except that they spend an unhealthy chunk of time in the same fantasy world.... read more
"I Hate Technology" MusicSkin (Awesome of the Day)
I thought I knew too many people with cracked iPhone screen to carry mine around unprotected, but I liked this image from Sam Brown at ExplodingDog so much, I've actually ditched the case for a while. It's one of the many phone, console and laptop adornments from MusicSkins.... read more
Baaba Maal's "Television" video (Awesome of the Day)
Beginning today, Paste editor-in-chief Josh Jackson will pick something new every day—like a song, a film, a beer or, in this case, a music video—that he thinks will make your life a little more enjoyable.Filmmakers David Hensher and Johan Koelb have thrown the kitchen sink at the title track of Baaba Maal's first proper album in eight years, Television. The video looks like every lo-fi Spike Jonze/Michel Gondry effect jumbled into each other as the directors move in and out of TV screens and across the globe, while Maal sings "L'Homme dans la television." "Every one of us is... read more
1,000+ Zombies Walk the Streets of Manchester
The most important rule for last Sunday's Zombie Walk in Manchester, England, according to the voice coming through the loudspeaker, was that "the undead never run." So 1,110 participants dressed as zombies shuffled through the streets of Manchester, coming just 160 short of the world record set in Nottingham last year.... read more
Manchester International Festival: Rufus Wainwright's opera Prima Donna
There's always been hints of the operatic in the music of Rufus Wainwright—the emotive crooning, the vocal gymnastics on his most epic tunes and, of course, the penchant for the melodramatic. But tonight marked his debut as an actual opera composer at the world premiere of Prima Donna—part of the Manchester International Festival. ... read more
Manchester International Festival: Elbow with Hallé Orchestra
I've long been a fan of Atlanta rock band Manchester Orchestra, but tonight I got a new appreciation for the real Manchester orchestra, The Hallé, as it played back-up band to hometown heroes Elbow at spectacular Bridgewater Hall. ... read more
How Brandi Carlile Saved My Daughters From Disney
You might assume that as editor of Paste, my kids have grown up on a steady diet of Flaming Lips and Death Cab For Cutie. But somewhere along the way, my cultural influence over them was overwhelmed by the folks at Disney. Roly Poly Olie eventually gave way to Hannah Montana, Zack & Cody and the horrendous Wizards of Waverly Place. High School Musical begat Camp Rock and Demi Lovato. Someone told them that they could find Radio Disney on the AM dial, and I'd have to endure Selena Gomez and Jesse McCartney through waves of static.... read more
The Vespa Experiment
There are few possessions I love in this world more than my seafoam green Vespa scooter. At a wicked 49cc, it putters around Decatur, Ga., at a mind-warping 38 mph. Whenever I want to head to the Square to visit my favorite pub, The Brick Store, or my favorite gastro-pub, Leon's Full Service, I know I can pull into one of six scooter-only parking spaces (mine's the one pictured in front, above). It's our second car, and I took my four-year-old to pre-school on it this morning. So I'm all in favor of The Vespa Experiment—an all-Vespa tour by Jason... read more
Celebrating Songkran in Chiang Mai, Thailand
While the Red-Shirts are out on the streets of Bangkok, clashing with riot police and clammering for elections, the people of Chiang Mai are storming the streets armed with water pistols, buckets and trashcans filled with ice water. It's Songkran, the Thai New Year, and along every road, Thai children and adults are hoping to share their blessing with a hose or water cannon. But the real action is in the northern city of Chiang Mai, specifically down at the ancient moat that used help protect residents from raiding Burmese. That's where we headed.... read more
Song Obsession of the Week: "A Field Report" by Loch Lomond
If you, like me, can't get enough of the spiritual children of Nick Drake (Iron & Wine, Bon Iver, Sun Kil Moon, Alexi Murdoch, etc.), Portland, Oregon's Loch Lomond is your new favorite band. Singer/songwriter Ritchie Young started the band as a solo project in 2003, and for subsequent recordings and shows, the group has ranged from one to 10 members. The song I've had on repeat isn't new—"A Field Report" off its third album Paper These Walls from 2007. But it also appears on the EP Trumpets For Paper Children, which the band is now offering for free... read more
Song Obsession of the Week: "No Wedding Cake" by Fol Chen
When people walk into the Paste office—assuming there's not a band playing in the Paste studio—they're often surprised by how quiet it is. Our space is wide open, so our staff is usually on headphones, since everyone needs to listen to different music. But often you come across a song you just have to play for the everyone around you. And sometimes, you just have to crank that song up, over and over again through the course of a week—no matter how many times Rachael gives you that look. Rather than keep interrupting my co-workers, I thought I'd start sharing... read more
M For Montreal
Last year, we published our first-ever international issue. We've always tried to look beyond our shores for great music and film, but recently we've stepped that up a notch, attending music festivals in Norway, Germany and most recently Canada, where I had the privilege to attend M For Montreal (or M Pour Montreal for you Francophones).... read more
Fiction Family, Joshua Radin and Dar Williams in-studio
The last two days have been busy in the Paste Studio. Yesterday, Switchfoot's Jon Foreman and Nickel Creek's Sean Watkins brought their new band Fiction Family in to play a few songs, including a cover of Radiohead's "Idioteque" around a single mic.... read more
An Indie Rock Alphabet Book release party
Ain't no party like a kids' book release party. On Sunday, Jan. 25, Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, Ga., was packed for the release party of Paste's An Indie Rock Alphabet Book. Oskar Blues provided the Dale's Pale Ale and local band Judi Chicago brought the rock. After a reading of Jarrett J. Krosoczka's Punk Farm, my daughters Jordan and Emma Jackson read their Indie Rock ABCs. It's even funnier when a kid reads, "Stone Temple Pilot turned into tools / But after all this time, Pearl Jam still rules." Co-authors Kate Kiefer and Rachael Maddux and illustrator owen... read more
Culture Roundup 12.30.08
It's eerily quiet here at the Paste office with most everybody taking a vacation day today. And I just said my goodbyes to Palmer Houchins, who as of Friday will be our first full-time Paste employee living in New York (Williamsburg, to be exact—hipsters, be nice to him). So I thought I'd just give you a round-up of cultural tidbits that our web team is too busy merry-making to otherwise tell you about...... read more
Dreams So Real finally gets the digital treatment
Years ago, high-school Josh was obsessed with music from Athens and Atlanta—R.E.M., Guadalcanal Diary, Drivin' & Cryin', the Indigo Girls. One of cassettes (hey, I said years ago) I listened to more than any other was a 1988 album called Rough Night in Jericho by Dreams So Real. It was a perfect gateway for classic-rock-loving junior-high-school Josh to start listening to college radio with gruff, earnest vocals over chime-y guitars.... read more
Neko Case & Antony Get Their Album Art Freak On
It's only December 11, but already 2009 is shaping up to be a year in memorable album art. First we found out that for Middle Cyclone (due out March 3), Neko Case has turned herself into the most badass hood ornament in history:... read more
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