June 23 sees the release of the God Help the Girl, a story set to music by Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian.
In the latest video from the album, available for purchase here, Stuart seeks out and auditions a group of young singers who ultimately provide the vocal backbone for God Help the Girl.
Fans will recognize “Funny Little Frog” from Belle’s most recent album, “The Life Pursuit”.
A.C. Newman recorded several tracks from his upcoming album Get Guilty at a studio in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighborhood last Monday, and we filmed it. Click the video above to see the first one, “Like A Hitman, Like A Dancer” via Pitchfork.tv.
Don’t miss A.C. Newman at the Virgin Megastore in Union Square, New York, on January 20 at 7 PM.
Videothing taped a bunch of footage of Fucked Up on the F Yeah tour up the West Coast a couple weeks ago. Also featuring Crystal Antlers and the Strange Boys.
Go here (or click on the image above) and then select “fucked up in washington”:
The folks at Pitchfork.tv are screening the recent Mission of Burma documentary “Not A Photograph: The Mission of Burma Story” this week. The film features a laundry list of epic indie talking heads, classic clips and some incredible performances from M.O.B.’s initial 2002 reunion shows. If there is a better way to start your Saturday than with images of Burma killing it across 2 decades, an always excited Mike Watt, or a 5-guitar mega jam of “All World Cowboy Romance” we don’t know it.
See the whole thing HERE
Also, the Mission of Burma CD bundle is on sale for one final week HERE
Producer/musician/songwriter extraordinaire Wyclef Jean was quizzed by New York Magazine’s Sara Cardace this week about his influences (thanks to Ira for the link). Let’s just say he demonstrated greater candor than the majority of the Matador roster would’ve under similar circumstances.
Do you have a favorite movie?
My favorite movie is Black Orpheus. Do me a favor, okay? Please go see that. It’s very cinematic and raw. I think what makes a great movie is when you can feel the culture and the sun and the people and the vibe inside the lens. Another movie I love is Once Upon a Time in America. I fell in love with that movie because of the score. You can imagine—I’m a kid supposed to be watching the movie, and instead I’m listening to the score.
And guilty pleasures?
I’m a great porn collector. The best porn ever is Sweetest Taboo.You ever seen it? That’s a good one. I probably have over 5,000 pornos.
Really?! Where do you keep them all?
In my basement. I collected them through the years. I don’t lie about anything; I think if someone has a porn collection, they have a porn collection. I know people who say they don’t have a porn collection, but when they get up in hotels they run them bills wild! They might want to call me and I could rent them a few.
Whether or not Wyclef can be considered an heir to Ralph Whittington’s former throne as “King Of Porn” remains to be seen. But the next time a prominent musician is asked about a guilty pleasure and feels compelled to answer “Project Runway”, rest assured, the ante has been raised.
Did you know that aside from enjoying wine, women and bong, Early Man are huge hockey fans? It’s true! In fact, Early Man drummer Adam Bennati used to play hockey when he was a young lad. And Early Mike frequently likes to beat on people. So needless to say, we LOVE hockey! Which is why we teamed up with 2KSports NHL 2K8 for this once in a lifetime offer. But before we explain this contest, let’s start by getting you pumped up. Watch this:
Are you stoked? Psyched? Amped? Doesn’t that video game trailer look almost half as awesome as the song playing in the background? Well, here’s the deal. We are going to give away PS3 and XBOX copies of the 2KSports NHL 2K8 video game for free!! All you have to do is draw a picture of Early Man playing hockey. It’s so easy! We’re going to give you until next Wednesday, October 24th to complete the task. So we suggest that you stop stalking your ex-girlfriend on Myspace immediately ( it’s SOOO over…you’re not even in her top 8, dude) and use your time wisely by breaking out the markers/pencils/crayons and getting to work. We will announce and post the winning pictures on our page when it’s all said and done. Theres no age limit. Theres no IQ limit (unfortunately). Just like life itself, you can make this as complicated or as simple as you’d like. The choice is yours. Good luck!
Send your pictures to: earlymanarmy@hotmail.com, Keep the files small PLEASE!
IGF chairman Simon Carless predicted that this action won't "discourage people from making games that have social meaning." Well, I'm discouraged. I'm discouraged because I've had such satisfying experiences showing my games at a venue like Slamdance, with its broadly creative attendees, its large general population audience, its decidedly down-to-earth sensibility. We make games not just so that they might be played, but so that they might affect people, influence their opinions, change their attitudes, make them question their world. Today one venue for encouraging those ends has died abruptly, and prematurely.
Hey – can someone make sure Nils knows that I did go downstairs and check on that line of campers in front of Best Buy. No one, I repeat, no one had ever heard of The Ponys. So we're still good to give Pitchfork the exclusive on that April in-store announcement.
DISCLAIMER : My own expertise in the world of zippity-zappity ran outta steam shortly after the introductions of "Escape From Max Fish" and "John Madden's Colostomy Bag." The former's depiction of Ann Marlowe was far too scary and realistic, while the latter provoked something approaching an epileptic fit….before I even opened the box. That said, "The Top 10 Worst Games of All Time" by PC World's Emru Townsend includes at least one title I really wish I'd tried. "Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge", it ain't.
Super Columbine Massacre RPG (or SCMRPG), re-created Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold's 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, from the perspective of the two disturbed teenagers. Deriving the game's content largely from video footage of the events, the pair's diaries, and quotes from various media figures, creator Danny Ledonne strove for a certain level of verisimilitude–though the part of the game where Harris and Klebold find themselves embarking on further adventures in Hell after their suicides is, presumably, conjecture.
Like the developers of JFK Reloaded, another re-creation of a historic murder, the creator of SCMRPG claimed lofty aims. On his Web site–whose illegible look (blue and red text on a black background) is some sort of crime against good design itself–Ledonne says the game "asks more of its audience than rudimentary button-pushing and map navigation; it implores introspection." The site also links to press coverage of the game (typical example: the Denver Post's "Columbine Game Makes Us Ill") and a forum for discussion of the game and the actual shootings.
Whether Ledonne's site has any constructive value whatsoever is still up in the air. But as a game, Super Columbine Massacre RPG is appalling.
