Sigur Who?

Sigur Ros wants you to know that they can have fun. Their new album “með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust” which means “with a buzz in our ears we played endlessly” will be released June 24th in the states. You can download their first song, “gobbledigook,” and get this- the song is all of three minutes and sixteen seconds. The cooing is cut down to a mere three-second burst. If you still don’t believe this album is lighter, read that Jonsi will sing a song in English and then go watch the new video for “gobbledigook,” filled with hippie skinny dippers.

Download “gobbledigook” and stream the video here.

posted by Matt

“Johnny Appleseed” Gives Me Goosebumps

I have a vivid memory of sitting against the front of the couch in my parents’ living room, watching Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros perform “Johnny Appleseed” on Conan O’Brien back when their album Global A Go-Go first came out. I wish I could tell you that I instantly fell in love with the song and was converted to fandom on the spot. But no. “Meh,” I thought to myself, “It’s okay I guess. I thought this was the guy from The Clash. This should be more punk.” I could not have been more wrong. Subtlety is not a crime, High-School Adam!

The song is not just okay — it’s amazing. It re-entered my life yesterday via someone’s Myspace page and I’ve been playing the song non-stop since, getting goosebumps every time I hear it. The variety of instrumentation more at home in folk or traditional music (mandolin, flute and fiddles among them), the soaring vocals, the typical Strummer lyrics — the line “If you you’re after gettin’ the honey, then you don’t go killin’ all the bees” has been running around my head all day today. It’s a deadly combination and it’s got me eager to get the album — listening to the follow-up Streetcore (Strummer’s last album, finished after his death in 2002) for the hundredth time, while still great, just isn’t cutting it tonight.

So please, learn from my mistakes: Don’t be like High-School Adam — Listen and enjoy.

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Johnny Appleseed

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Johnny Appleseed (Live “Synth Version”) (Buy It)

posted by Adam

Point/Counterpoint

VS.

Point:

Here’s the deal, sweetheart. If you leave me and go out with another dude, I will track you down and murder you. No joke. Not kidding around. I’ll put that on a record, so EVERYONE knows. You’ll never turn a corner or open a door without wondering if I’m waiting around it or on the other side ready to make you sorry you ever met me, let alone left me.

The Beatles – Run For Your Life (Buy It)

Counterpoint:

Eeeesh. Boy, was I an asshole. Yeah, can you kind of just forget all of that other nonsense?

John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band – Jealous Guy (Buy It)

VS.

Point:

The American attitude is one of domination, as long as they don’t have to get off their couch to have it. Americans are obsessed with guns, movie stars, cars, religion and being right, to a degree that is severely unhealthy to themselves and the rest of the world.

David Bowie – I’m Afraid of Americans (feat. Trent Reznor) (Buy It)

Counterpoint:

F that noise. I just wanna dance.

LCD Soundsystem – North American Scum (Buy It)

Anybody have any others? Drop ‘em in the comment box! Also, be sure to check out the video for that Bowie song here, it’s one of my favorites.

posted by Adam

Workers of the World, Cast Off Your Chains and Get Down

Happy May Day, working readers! Consider this a quick reminder that the unions got us five-day work weeks and health plans and paid vacation and everything good like that by fighting hard for them. So as a tiny tribute to the Worker’s Holiday, here are some tangentially-related and some actually-related party tracks:

Aretha Franklin – Chain of Fools (Unedited version) (Buy It)

Lee Dorsey – Yes We Can, Pt. 1 (Buy It)

Joe Turner – Chains of Love (Buy It)

Eric B. & Rakim – Paid In Full (Mini Madness – Coldcut remix) (Buy It)

Sam Cooke – Chain Gang (Buy It)

The Coup – Lazymuthafucka (Buy It)

posted by Adam