We are Beautiful Thieves

AFI just keep getting better and better as time goes by. Watch this beautiful video and see if you don't agree!

AFI - New Music - More Music Videos

Choke, California

For anyone who does not currently own The Glass Passenger by Jack's Mannequin, included with the CD is a DVD that includes the short film Choke, California. It is a very simply shot, yet stunningly beautiful short film. Running time is 18:49 minutes and basically follows Andrew on a road trip that eventually finds him in the desert, playing piano as the sun sets. In a way it is a video for the song Amelia Jean, and if all music videos were this amazing maybe MTV would not be populated by crap reality shows these days. So if you don't own this, please buy a copy, check it out, and let me know what you think of it.

Finally a vampire movie you don't have to be embarassed to go see!!

Finally a vampire movie you don't have to be embarassed to go see! Daybreakers brings an amazing cast and an interesting storyline into the fold of the vampire genre. You Tube has several cuts of the trailer if you haven't seen it yet. The trailer features the excellent Placebo remake of Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill which makes this movie all the more appealing to me. This was a terrific remake that never got the credit it deserved when it was out originally. With any luck this will generate additional interest in Placebo who put out one of the best albums of last year. If you are not familiar with Placebo please click the title above to be linked to their myspace. To hear a snippet of Running Up That Hill you can check out Amazon.com as they don't currently have that song on their myspace player. I look forward to seeing this film!

Owl City

While I have not yet had the pleasure of shooting Owl City I have been enjoying Adam's musical prowess for quite some time now. While he has taken a great deal of crap from LA radio stalwarts KROQ for "Fireflies", they still played it endlessly and helped make him very successful of late. I really never understood the reason behind the KROQ jocks problem with the song, since it is stylistically very similar to Death Cab For Cutie, whom they play endlessly without making fun of, but alas that is a mystery that remains unexplained. For my LA area readers I am including the flyer announcing presale of two shows I thought you might be interested in checking out:

The Summer Obession

LA is filled with great bands. You could see a different band every night of the week for a year, and start over with all new ones the following year. That is how swamped we are with great bands. But every now and then one puts out a song that is impossible to get out of your mind. It keeps coming back to you and making you smile every time you hear it. For me, The Summer Obsession did just that with Melt the Sugar. It is a lyrically very basic song and yet their is something inexplicably appealing about it that just makes you want to listen to it over and over. Click the title above to connect to their myspace and join me in my obsession with The Summer Obession.

And if you love them like I do come to The Viper Room January 19th.

Photo Credit: Preston McClusky

Favorite Albums of 2009 - The Runners Up

There were lots of good albums this year, contrary to what the music press would have you believe. I think all of these were worth checking out and you can sample by clicking the title and connecting to Amazon.com.
These were all under consideration for my Top 10 list, but didn't quite make the cut:


GREEN DAY - 21ST CENTURY BREAKDOWN

BREAKING BENJAMIN - DEAR AGONY

MAYDAY PARADE - ANYWHERE BUT HERE

TEGAN AND SARA - SAINTHOOD

THREE DAYS GRACE - LIFE STARTS NOW

THIRD EYE BLIND - URSA MAJOR

THE USED - ARTWORK

EMERY - IN SHALLOW SEAS WE SAIL

COCONUT RECORDS - DAVY

OWL CITY - OCEAN EYES

ENDLESS HALLWAY - AUTONOMY GAMES

SICK PUPPIES - TRI-POLAR

DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL - ALTER THE ENDING

ALL TIME LOW - NOTHING PERSONAL

A ROCKET TO THE MOON - ON YOUR SIDE

BRAND NEW - DAISY

THRICE - BEGGARS

NEKO CASE - MIDDLE CYCLONE

FRANK TURNER - POETRY OF THE DEED

CAGE THE ELEPHANT - CAGE THE ELEPHANT

MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA - MEAN EVERYTHING TO NOTHING

Photo Credit: both Mayday Parade and Sick Puppies by Ashlei Brittany

Favorite Albums of 2009

Welcome to the new year! After careful review I have narrowed down my list of favorite albums of 2009 to a Top 10. I have not, however, put them in any particular order. They are all great, unique records, and cannot really be compared to one another. If you haven't heard any of them I encourage you to click the title to be connected to Amazon.com where you can listen to snippets and buy the records for your own collection.

FAVORITE RECORDS OF 2009:

PLACEBO - BATTLE FOR THE SUN

YOUTH GROUP - THE NIGHT IS OURS


THEM CROOKED VULTURES - SELF TITLED

PHOENIX - WOLFGANG AMADEUS PHOENIX

AFI - CRASH LOVE

WE SHOT THE MOON - A SILVER LINING

SILVERSUN PICKUPS - SWOON

MUSE - THE RESISTANCE

ACE ENDERS AND A MILLION DIFFERENT PEOPLE - WHEN I HIT THE GROUND

SAY ANYTHING - SAY ANYTHING


Photo Credit: Deena McClusky

Copeland Breakup

Sad but true...the breakup tour of indie darlings Copeland has been announced. If you don't get yourselves to one or more of these dates you will hate yourself forever.

Tour dates:


Wed/Mar-03 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle

Thurs/Mar-04 Towson, MD Recher Theater

Fri/Mar-05 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of the Living Arts

Sat/Mar-06 Cambridge, MA The Middle East Downstairs

Sun/Mar-07 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom

Mon/Mar-08 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg

Wed/Mar-10 Toronto, ON Opera House

Thurs/Mar-11 Millvale, PA Mr. Small's Theatre

Fri/Mar-12 Akron, OH Musica

Sat/Mar-13 East Lansing, MI Small Planet

Sun/Mar-14 Chicago, IL Metro

Mon/Mar-15 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theater

Wed/Mar-17 Omaha, NE Slowdown

Thurs/Mar-18 Lawrence, KS Granada

Fri/Mar-19 Englewood, CO Gothic Theater

Sat/Mar-20 Murray, UT Murray Theater

Mon/Mar-22 Seattle, WA El Corazon

Tues/Mar-23 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theater

Thurs/Mar-25 Pomona, CA Glasshouse

Fri/Mar-26 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre

Sat/Mar-27 San Francisco, CA Slim's

Mon/Mar-29 La Jolla, CA Porter's Pub

Tues/Mar-30 Tempe, AZ The Clubhouse Music Venue

Thurs/Apr-01 Austin, TX Emo's Alternative Lounging (Outdoor)

Fri/Apr-02 Dallas, TX The Door

Sat/Apr-03 Tulsa, OK The Marquee

Mon/Apr-05 Nashville, TN Rocketown

Tues/Apr-06 Knoxville, TN The Square Room

Wed/Apr-07 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade

Thurs/Apr-08 St. Petersburg, FL The State Theatre

Fri/Apr-09 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Culture Room

Sat/Apr-10 Orlando, FL The Social

Sun/Apr-11 Orlando, FL The Social
 
Photo Credit: Preston McClusky

Favorite Albums of 2009 Vol 1

Am I the only one that reads all of the "Best of" lists at the end of each year and am fascinated by how hard people have worked to load them full of some of the most obscure discs they could possibly find in order to somehow make themselves look cool? As I finish the final cuts on my own list, to be published very soon, I can assure you that, as in years past, I am not going for the intentionally obscure. Instead, I am going for records I personally liked alot and felt contributed something great to the musical landscape of the year. The picture included is a clue to one album that will be on the list.

Photo credit: Preston McClusky

OMG