The Arcade Fire: Live, Joker's Wild, Vegoose Music & Arts Festival, October 30, 2005

Awesome Montrealers rock out last year's Vegoose Halloween fest. Awesome.

Contest and Giveaway still on. Participate.

Wake Up
Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
No Cars Go
Haiti
Age Of Consent (New Order cover)
Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)
Une Annee Sans Lumiere
Crown Of Love
Headlights Look Likes Diamonds
Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
Rebellion (Lies)
State Trooper (Springsteen cover)
Tunnels

Yet Another Milestone Contest! Half Nelson Soundtrack Giveaway!

Folks, you've done it again. Another 100k of you have gone and visited this blog in the past month, bringing total visits to above 200k and generally blowing my very small mind. Thank you I say. For you regulars, you know what this means: another GIVEAWAY! As usual, we have the perfect giveaway to commemorate the occasion. What's really awesome about the giveaway is that it is meant to promote another excellent milestone, the release of the low budget flick HALF NELSON, starring the very Canadian Ryan Gossling (The Notebook), Anthony Mackie, and newcomer Shareeka Epps. The story focuses on an inner-city junior high school teacher who forms an unexpected friendship with one of his students after she discovers him getting high after school. Ah, teacher got high. Interesting. The movie opens in NY August 11, and many other places August 25.

More importantly, this flick was scored by Canadian super collective, Broken Social Scene, and includes cuts from many of our friends including Billy Bragg, The Marshall Tucker Band, and The Somnambulants. Here's a peek at the soundtrack and some sample tracks, of course.

Stars & Sons Broken Social Scene
Evacuation The Somnambulants
Wanted Rhymefest Featuring Samantha Ronson
Black Hearts Remy Balon
A New England Billy Bragg
The Corner Saigon
Shampoo Suicide Broken Social Scene
NA NI NA Conjunto Céspedes
Just Begun Blak and King Honey
Sometimes Dujeous
It's Alright to Cry Rosey Grier
Can't You See The Marshall Tucker Band
Da Da Dada Broken Social Scene

So as destiny would have it, I have two Half Nelson Soundtrack cds to give away! As usual, we have to decide this by way of contest. Since I probably suck at inspiring competition, I decided to borrow a contest idea from rbally (with your kind permission dear Jennings!). Basically, all you have to do is write down a word you think sounds great (in the comments section of this post). Can be of any length or even a combination of words, so long as it is one word and the components are known to English language. The final product need not necessarily have a dictionary meaning, so long as the components do. Damn, that is smart! And remember to leave your email address, only winners get notified. My family members and friends can play. I might even join the fun.

Watch movie trailer.
Visit movie website.

Bob Dylan, Vorst Nationaal, Brussels, Belgium June 17, 1998.

In case you Bob Dylan fans out there haven't heard, iTunes today unleashed an exclusive pre-order of the big guy's next album, the appropriately titled Modern Times, which is scheduled for release on August 29, 2006. To discourage the usual lust for unpaid enjoyment, they are also throwing in a number of goodies with the pre-order including four bonus videos, one additional bonus video if you order today (which I am sure will be the case tomorrow), a digital booklet, and a Ticketmaster pre-sale code for the upcoming Bob Dylan tour. All this for 13.99 CDN. Of course, Amazon is also playing dirty with a deluxe cd that comes with extra tracks, a dvd, and expanded booklet. Good deals I say. An even better deal is this live bootleg, offered by the mysterious Kwaya Na Kisser, just to remind you of the just recent ancient times. Who's the boss now?

Leopard-Skin PillBox Hat
License To Kill
Cold Irons Bound
Tears Of Rage
Silvio
Ballad Of Hollis Brown
Mr Tambourine Man
Tangled Up In Blue

Part 2 later.

iTunes pre-order.
Amazon pre-order.

They Might Be Giants: Live, Grant Park, Chicago, IL., 4th of July, 1992.

Ladies & Gentlemen,

I present to you fun nerd rockers They Might Be Giants! You have to be criminally "not happening" not to have heard of TMBG, so let's all pretend we have and move on with our lives. Responsible for my favorite TV theme song of all time (Malcolm In the Middle's "Boss of Me") and the utmostly rad Dial-A-Song service, I bring you one of my favorite boots of all time - an amazingly great sounding set performed on that day in July, 1992. And damn...that "Famous Polka" song is a-rocking!

Intro
Frankenstein
I Palindrome I
Twisting
Particle Man
The Guitar
The Statue Got Me High
The Famous Polka
Ana Ng
Your Racist Friend
Whistling in the Dark
Narrow Your Eyes
Birdhouse in Your Soul
Don't Let's Start
Dig My Grave

Buy TMBG.
Subscribe to free TMBG podcast.

Punks with Vaginas Mix

Video Link: He's My Thing by Babes in Toyland

The title of this mix isn't really meant to offend...maybe just catch your attention...and put the focus on my personal rock icons and role models that inspire me everytime I start screaming in my car about what's his name and who the hell does she think she is.

Growing up, I'm sure every hopeless male guitar fanatic had posters of Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, and for the nerdy lil' hipster you had your Thurston Moore arty black and white shot hanging in some unexpected place like the ceiling of your bathroom. (Hey arty kids ARE weird, and I should know since I'm one of them.) But where were the sonic rock n' role models to relieve the feminine angst that ruled my adolescence? Sorry, but as much as I love the cock rock of AC/DC I need the female equlivalent of "Big Balls." Girls get just as worked up and frustrated as men, maybe more so although I couldn't say seeing as I've never had a penis.

This mix is in an andidote that will relieve your over-dosage of Y chromosome in your music collection. While most of the artists I feature in this mix could be classified in the "Riot Grrrl" catagory, I want you all to know that this will not be called a "Riot Grrrl" mix. While I love Kathleen Hannah's yowling feminist spasms (she's on here twice, once in Bikini Kill, the other in Le Tigre) I think that label narrows out many good musicians I want to include in this mix; female artists that emerged before the "Riot Grrls" became media darlings and imploded in on themselves (example: Romeo Void, The Slits, and Delta 5). All songs here deal with the struggles of what it means to be female and how one can be liberated and dragged down by gender stereotypes. Also, I made this mix to prove that women can rock just as hard if not harder than their male counterparts. I'm all for equality men, but what better anguish for a punk song could you have than PMS and sexism? I know things have come a long way, but not long enough when just the other day I got sexually harrased at work for being a cute redhead.

So no, don't box in this artists with the label riot grrrl...just know that these are strong feminine forces to be reckoned with, not simpering sexpots playing the subserviant role to the typical male dominant.

One More Thing L7
Typical Girls The Slits
Never Say Never Romeo Void
I Live In a Town Where Boys Amputate Bratmobile
Deceptacon Le Tigre
Sweet 69 Babes In Toyland
Screwing Your Courage Team Dresch
Strawberry Milk Free Kitten
Too Many Creeps Bush Tetras
Don't Be Mean The Raincoats
Waitress Hell Heaven's to Betsy
The Scratch Seven Year Bitch
Sugar Bikini Kill
I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone Sleater Kinney
Oh! Bondage Up Yours! X-Ray Spex
Open Life Delta 5

Some Lamacq Sessions

Too busy watching cheesy Chinese films and reading the Law of Evidence to post anything substantial this weekend, but here are a couple of live sets from Steve Lamacq's BBC sessions to keep you interested in visiting this lowly blog.

Everyday Is A Child With Teeth Liars (Lamacq Session, June 2002)
The Garden Was Crowded & Outside Liars (Lamacq Session, June 2002)
With Shorts On & Drowning Liars (Lamacq Session, June 2002)
Fists of Fury The Rain Band (Lamacq Live Session, 23rd Nov 2002)
Island The Rain Band (Lamacq Live Session, 23rd Nov 2002)
Runaways The Rain Band (Lamacq Live Session, 23rd Nov 2002)
Bad Feeling The Beatings (Lamacq Live Session, 18th Jun 2002)
The Jailhouse The Beatings (Lamacq Live Session, 18th Jun 2002)
The Money Will Roll Right In The Beatings (Lamacq Live Session, 18th Jun 2002)