Check out Tube Fruit All Smiles And Chocolate, a 1993 Modest Mouse cassette-only release that predates practically all of their recorded material.

Peter Jackson looks set to direct the two movie adaptations of The Hobbit, which goes some way towards lessening the sense of disappointment felt when Guillermo Del Toro pulled out.

Jason Segel talks about the upcoming Muppets reboot, whilst expressing dissatisfaction at being contractually obligated to star in How I Met Your Mother for another three seasons.

Listen to the new Antartica Takes It! album Constellations in its entirety.

Chromeo's eighties revivalist tendencies are fully engaged on new single "Don't Turn The Lights On."

Hear Swedish techno artist The Field's remix of the Bear In Heaven track "Ultimate Satisfaction."

Even taken out of context, this picture strikes me as fabulous. It reminds me of the faux-Lichtenstein images depicting apathetic modern day attitudes that ran through Generation X (complete with dialogue such as "Hey, Dad - you can either have a house or a life...I'm having a life"). Here, one man has accepted his lot in life without troubling himself too much about what he might be missing. To him, first class is unreachable, and he has long since learnt to live with that.

It's actually taken from the 23rd June Spider-Man strip that is widely syndicated in American newspapers, despite the fact that it is absolutely woeful. It's still penned by Stan Lee, and is the subject of a great deal of internet mockery (for examples, click here and here). The main criticism tends to be that Peter Parker spends far too much of his time sat around watching TV, or feeling inadequate compared to the earning power of his semi-famous wife rather than, say, fighting supervillains, or doing anything that could be construed as heroic. Here, he's shirking any sense of duty - of responsibility, even - in favour of kicking back and relaxing, his body language screaming "what, me worry?" in a situation that may very well require action. But Peter Parker remains either oblivious, or completely unconcerned. Way to keep that Gen-Xer spirit alive, Parker!

Just listened to Subiza, the latest Delorean album, for the first time, and it's pretty enjoyable, if you're willing to overlook how much it sounds like Panda Bear's Person Pitch. The similarities really are striking, especially when you consider that Delorean's self-titled debut record was essentially run of the mill indie pop, and what followed from them was much more dance-orientated material. Either they possess the chameleonic traits necessary to constantly evolve their sound from album to album, or their earlier releases made them faintly embarrassed, and they realised that a drastic reinvention was required. It's a successful change, whichever way you look at it, and whilst it certainly doesn't reach the heights of Person Pitch, it does belong alongside illustrious company.

I'm doing my own little thing

Given the choice, would you prefer to hear Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy perform Yankee Hotel Foxtrot track "Ashes Of American Flags," or a mostly spoken word cover of Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"? Well, back in March Tweedy was given that very choice and, surprisingly enough, he decided to go with the latter. It's now made its way onto the web, so you can all enjoy his frankly hilarious reading of Beyonce's smash hit for yourselves!

Dirty Projectors and Bjork have collaborated on Mount Wittenberg Orca, and it's due next week.

The National bassist Scott Devendorf talks about High Violet.

Also on the interview front: executive producer and head writer David X. Cohen speaks about the return of Futurama.

A new No Age album, Everything In Between, is due September 27th, a date worth marking in your calendars.

And there are two new Daytrotter Sessions that are worth your time, by Pearly Gate Music and Maps & Atlases respectively.

"I feel like we're at the end of Our Town, where the people of Grover's Corner are talking to one another from inside their graves."

I think the universe is telling me I should sit down and read Thornton Wilder's Our Town. The above quote is from Douglas Coupland's All Families Are Psychotic (I'm still working my way through it, and enjoying it more than Generation X and Shampoo Planet, even though it's not without its flaws), but Kurt Vonnegut also references Wilder's play on several occasions during Timequake, which I just finished rereading the other day.

It's strange how these things work, but now that my course is finished (right down to receiving my results today - just the graduation ceremony to go now) I'm finding it much easier to be enthusiastic about literature. Which is useful, considering that the subheading of this blog is 'Words about cinema and literature and music,' and I haven't really been living up to that tagline in a while.

Five books I own which I really need to get around to reading:

1. Michael Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

2. Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections

3. Glen David Gold, Sunnyside 

4. Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame

5. Daphne du Maurier, I'll Never Be Young Again

"So, this is what you want out of your life?"

After the first photos of the film emerged yesterday, the teaser trailer for the film adaptation of The Green Hornet premiered on Jimmy Fallon Is Alive last night. Unsurprisingly, it has already made its way onto YouTube, and even though it doesn't offer much to go on, I still found it to be interesting enough to merit posting. As a self-confessed comicbook geek, I know very little about The Green Hornet as a character. My interest is primarily centred around Michel Gondry, who in my eyes can do little wrong. Critics were divided on The Science Of Sleep and Be Kind Rewind, but I felt there was a lot to enjoy about them. Gondry's aesthetic should lend itself well to a left field superhero movie, and I'm cautiously optimistic that this will kick off 2011 cinema in the best possible way.

Over at City Lifers, my review of the debut Alba Lua EP, "Ballad Of Joseph Merrick," was posted yesterday, and I'd appreciate it if you follow the link and go read it. I'm really enjoying spreading my wings and contributing to a proper website, so long may they continue to publish my stuff! Here's the closing track from the EP, "Valley Of Abra," so you can get an idea of what they sound like. For a first release, it's pretty damn impressive, and I'm certainly looking forward to hearing more from them in the future.

Alba Lua: Valley of Abra by SUPMAG

Hear the new Wolf Parade album Expo 86 in full.

A brief documentary of the making of the new Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin album, Let It Sway.

The video for the new Crystal Castles single "Celestica."

I'm currently on a Douglas Coupland rereading kick, and for the first time since I picked up one of his novels almost ten years ago, I'm having serious misgivings about his writing. Aged sixteen, Generation X seemed indisposable, an inspirational text that was completely in sync with what I wanted from my life (i.e. lazy days spent amongst a small handful of friends, telling stories that were celebrations of life, occasionally shuffling off to work some menial but inoffensive job, awaiting the grand discovery about myself that would make my existence worthwhile). Of course, sixteen is an incredibly young age to be thinking such thoughts, and I guess the passage of time has awoken me to how unfeasible the way of living represented within the novel actually is. Some passages were still powerful, but ultimately it lacked the profundity I remembered, and left me feeling disappointed.

And in fairness, I always had issues with Shampoo Planet. I found the protagonist, Tyler, to be an unlikable character, so much so that when his inevitable downfall occurs, I just can't muster up any sympathy for his plight. He deserves what he gets, and whether or not he's truly learnt anything from his travails is left unclear, as the novel ends before we find out one way or another. On top of this, despite his selfishness and stupidity, he still ends up with the kind of job he'd been dreaming about for years, meaning the denouement falls flat. Without the certainty that he has taken on board his failings, how can I possibly care about him, or relate to him in any way? It's a dispiriting lesson to take away, that life can be so kind to someone so undeserving of it.

Maybe All Families Are Psychotic will prove to be a more enjoyable experience. It's certainly further proof that Coupland loves his dysfunctional family units (a feature of both of the novels mentioned above). About a third of the way into it, my feelings are decidedly mixed...

Who am I to keep you down?

More on The Morning Benders, this time focussed around their love of covering other artists. I was surprised enough a few weeks back when I stumbled across them tackling the classic Jungle Book track "I Wanna Be Like You." I was entirely unaware that they recorded (and released for free) an impressive collection, The Bedroom Covers, that included their takes on songs by the likes of The Beach Boys, The Smiths and Paul Simon, amongst others. That set features the Fleetwood Mac classic "Dreams," and at a recent show in New York they performed it live, this time with a full band, and the result is something I definitely felt was worth sharing with you.

I'm moving past the feeling

For whatever reason, I've never managed to listen to Neon Bible all the way through. My relationship with Arcade Fire has always been a curious one, in fact. Way back when (2004, I think), before they broke big I missed the chance to see them in some small Manchester venue or other, solely due to laziness. I struggled for years to admit how great Funeral truly is, for fear of buying into the hype that surrounded the band.

Flash forward to 2010, however, and a new Arcade Fire album seems like something worth getting excited for. Judge for yourself: One Thirty BPM have four of the songs for you to listen to, and after a couple of listens I'm quietly impressed with all of them. Due August 2nd, the sixteen track length suggests that this will be their most ambitious release to date, and I for one am eagerly anticipating it.

The Suburbs track list:

1. The Suburbs
2. Ready To Start
3. Modern Man
4. Rococo
5. Empty Room
6. City With No Children
7. Half Light I
8. Half Light II (No Celebration)
9. Suburban War
10. Month Of May
11. Wasted Hours
12. Deep Blue
13. We Used To Wait
14. Sprawl I (Flatland)
15. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
16. The Suburbs (continued)

In the past, I've had little or no time for the Klaxons. I even argued that their cover of "It's Not Over Yet" was inferior to the original version (which needlessly drags on for over seven minutes) by nineties no marks Grace, just to be difficult. However, I can't resist sharing this with you: the frankly wonderful cover art for their new album, Surfing The Void, the bizarreness of which has definitely convinced me to give the record a chance when it's released on 23rd August.

You can watch it vanish in the blink of an eye

That I haven't yet posted about Wax Fang at any great length is something of a surprise even to me. I came away from their performance at the Pavement All Tomorrow's Parties thoroughly impressed (and armed with one of their t-shirts). Fortunately, the good folk over at Manchester Scenewipe have given me an excuse, recording this solo performance of "Wake Up, Sleepyhead!" from band leader Scott Carney. It's only half the length of the nine minute-plus album version (that can be found on La La Land), but that doesn't matter. It works wonderfully acoustically, and will hopefully inspire you to seek out more of their music.


Wax Fang from MCR Scenewipe on Vimeo.

In the heat of the night

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti are proving to be ridiculously productive at the moment. New videos and tracks keep springing up on a regular basis, and you have to admire band leader Ariel Marcus Rosenberg's dedication to his craft. July 8th will see the release of a brand new 12" EP, in collaboration with avant jazz group Added Pizzazz. You can hear the new track over at Pitchfork.

Ariel Pink with Added Pizzazz track list:

1. In The Heat Of The Night
2. Vapor Trail
3. Hot Body Rub
4. 19
5. IM NN7

Plans for the week? Well, today I will be dedicating my time to writing up a review of the debut EP from a French band, Alba Lua, for CityLifers website. My early impressions of it are favourable, and I'd definitely venture to say that they're worth a bit of your time.

Also, it's been a while since I last headed out to the cinema, and there's a couple of films I'm quite keen to see. Greenberg is the latest from Noah Baumbauch (who was responsible for the excellent The Squid and the Whale, and the middling Margot at the Wedding), and sees Ben Stiller in a rare serious role, alongside mumblecore legend Greta Gerwig, with a soundtrack by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem fame. Please Give, meanwhile, is the latest from Nicole Holofcener, a director I feel has passed me by. My interest has been piqued by this article, however, so I'd like to check it out.

Whatever you want from me

Really should have posted this a few days ago, but I guess I forgot about it. Here's The Flaming Lips and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic covering "Sugarcube," one of the all-time great Yo La Tengo tracks.

Everything You Need, Friday 18th June 2010

I've made a habit of promoting Everything You Need now, so I apologise if I'm repeating myself, but when you care about an event enough, the praise you bestow upon it is worth repeating. Whilst Manchester isn't short of alternative music nights these days, there are at best only a handful worth cherishing, and Everything You Need is definitely one of them.

This time round, you could argue I have a slight ulterior motive for writing this post. I'm lucky enough to be choosing the songs for an hour or so tonight. This being the first time I've ever been granted such responsibility, needless to say I'm experiencing a combination of nervousness and excitement. So right now, I'm frantically going through my CD collection, searching for songs that will adequately fit into the theme of, well, providing everything you, the attendee, will need.

Of course, that's only one reason for coming down. If you enjoy great music in the company of great people, then as always this night is for you.

"Let me note that Kilgore Trout and I have never used semicolons. They don't do anything, don't suggest anything. They are transvestite hermaphrodites."

Just as the semicolon was becoming a vital addition to my writing, Kurt Vonnegut - one of my favourite authors of all time - had to go and ruin it for me. Still, I bow to his superior literary genius, and accept that I'll have to modify my style accordingly. The above quote is from Timequake, which I've just finished rereading. Just one of the many examples of his brilliance.

The loneliest crowd

I'm sure many of us are hoping that the roll The Pains of Being Pure at Heart were on last year will continue well into 2010; a new album sometime soon would be much appreciated. Maybe another tour, too. Not to ask too much or anything. In the meantime, here's the (really quite lovely) video to their new (really quite lovely) song, "Say No To Love."

You're never there

The pressures of trying to find a new place to live and paid employment meant I've neglected the blog these last few days. Right now, though, I'm listening to the new Stars album, The Five Ghosts, over at NPR Music, and I definitely recommend that you check it out. "Fixed" and "We Don't Want Your Body" were leaked early, and piqued my interest, and fortunately they maintain the high standard of those songs throughout the record. It's great to see the indie rock veterans on such great form this year (see also: The Hold Steady, The National, Broken Social Scene, The New Pornographers...).

I'm sleeping with my clothes on

Indie pop team ups seem to be all the range these days. Not so long ago, Titus Andronicus and the Vivian Girls joined forces for an excellent version of Weezer's "Undone - The Sweater Song," and now Surfer Blood and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have jumped on the bandwagon, offering a live version of Lit's arguably seminal (well, I always loved it, anyway) "My Own Worst Enemy" at a recent gig.

It's like gravity doesn't apply

Having already written extensively about Heaven Is Whenever, there's not much more I need to say about how much I'm loving The Hold Steady right now, so I'll simply post this Pitchfork Special Presentation of the band performing "The Sweet Part of the City" for you all to enjoy.

Interstellar fugitives on the run from the law

The return of Futurama is obviously worth getting excited about; whilst the movies were a little hit-and-miss at times, they still delivered plenty of laughs, and proved that reviving the franchise was a great decision. So naturally, the upcoming brand new, twelve-episode season is cause for celebration; below, you'll find a short trailer explaining how they survived the end of 'Into the Wild Green Yonder.' At its best, Futurama often outstripped its "parent" show, The Simpsons; episodes such as 'The Luck of the Fryrish,' 'Jurassic Bark' and 'The Sting' packed a real emotional punch, and the intended finale, 'The Devils Hands Are Idle Playthings,' is still one of the high-points in television history.

You are a light turned low

If you haven't already given The New Pornographers latest album Together a chance, you really should get on it; having never really listened to the band, I wasn't expecting all that much, but it is an excellent record well worth your time. Here's the video for "Crash Years," one of the standout tracks, so you can judge for yourself.

I'm not in this for the long haul

Any collaboration featuring Arrested Development alumni Will Arnett and Jason Bateman is obviously going to be worth a look. The first output of their new production company DumbDumb is this short produced for Orbit (yes, the gum company). It has its moments, and Arnett throws himself into his role with gleeful abandon, but I can't help but feel a tad disappointed. The product placement does it absolutely no favours, either. I'd still say it was worth five minutes of your time, though.

Phantomwise

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin are one of those bands I can't say too many good things about. Blessed with an ear for a great melody, if debut album Yr Broom was filled with promise of greater things to come, then the follow-up record Pershing was an underrated indie pop gem. Which is why I'm so excited about their third effort, Let It Sway, due August 16th. They've already premiered one track, "Sink/Let It Sway," and now have released a short clip featuring a demo of "Phantomwise." Clocking in at just over a minute, whilst it's obviously not entirely representative of the finished product, it's still quite lovely.

World Cup Fever...

...have you caught it yet? If you've been watching the football played so far closely, probably not. Some of it has been bloody awful. Algeria versus Slovenia was the very definition of the word 'slog.' The less said about the England performance, meanwhile, the better. Unsurprisingly, the thoroughly dreadful 2010 version of "Three Lions" did nothing to inspire them; and unfortunately, they've almost certainly not heard the Dutch Uncles World Cup track "Fabio Acapella":

Fabio Acapella by Dutch Uncles

The United States, meanwhile, are unofficially represented by Weezer, who have obviously earned themselves a pass for life after The Blue Album and Pinkerton. The less said about the rest of their output the better, and "Represent" is pretty ho-hum, but at least they went to the trouble:



Even as I write this, it's hard to find too much enthusiasm for the tournament. The early stages always tend to be cagey, complete with ridiculous complaints about the brand new match ball (more round than ever before!). Most of my entertainment is being derived from the Back Of The Net website and Twitter; they provide humorous content that makes the mundanity of the on-field action much more tolerable. The Guardian and BBC coverage is, of course, essential too.

Don't feel so down

From the file marked 'Why Not'?: here's a video of The Strokes performing "Last Nite" the five hundred capacity London venue Dingwalls - their first gig in four years. The footage is far from fantastic, but it serves as a timely reminder that the song never stopped being great, and indeed, Is This It remains a truly wonderful album. A new record is due next year; lets hope it banishes the memory of the awful First Impressions Of Earth. It'd be nice to have them back on form again.

Keeps me in my bed

My Old Kentucky Blog debuted a track from the upcoming new Stars album The Five Ghosts yesterday, and as with the other material that the band have showcased so far, it bodes well for the record. And, if you haven't already heard "We Don't Want Your Body," head on over to I Guess I'm Floating, and savour the absolutely glorious chorus. June 21st really can't come soon enough.

You make my eyes go boom

Just a quick reminder to you all that I recently reviewed the new Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti album Before Today over at City Lifers. It'd mean a lot to me if you could check it out; it's the first time I've actually contributed content to another website. It's an excellent record, one worth spending a bit of time with - one of the highlights of 2010 so far. Here's the video to "Bright Lit Blue Skies," a faithful cover of an obscure garage band, the Rockin' Ramrods:


Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - "Bright Lit Blue Skies" from gorillavsbear.net on Vimeo.

The radio sings a patriot song

After debuting two of the tracks from Expo 86 last month, Wolf Parade have a couple more for our listening pleasure, "Yulia" and "Cloud Shadow On The Mountain." They're both pretty damn impressive, raising my expectations even further ahead of the June 28th release of the new album.

2 songs from Wolf Parade's EXPO 86 by subpop

You could only be free

"Game Of Pricks" is undoubtedly one of the best songs in the vast Guided By Voices oeuvre, and one of the most frequently covered. Jimmy Eat World contributed a version to the Future Soundtrack for America collection; you can listen to A Sunny Day In Glasgow tackle it here; and I saw Surfer Blood perform it in concert last month (here's footage of it from another gig). Now, we can add Owen Pallett to the ranks of alternative acts who've put their own spin on it, as part of the previously mentioned A.V. Club Undercover sessions.


Owen Pallett covers Guided By Voices

Talking Up...Pearly Gate Music

It's always nice when an artist emerges from nowhere to take you by surprise. I'm having that experience right now with Pearly Gate Music, whose self-titled debut album wasn't remotely on my radar until a recommendation from the sadly now defunct music blog Pop Tarts Suck Toasted. In writing about it previously, I spoke of the understated beauty that defines the album. That's painfully evident on the standout track "I Was A River." I find it hard to believe anyone will release a more beautiful song all year; strikingly sparse, it relies almost entirely on Zach Tillman's wonderful vocal performance, as the lyrics build to the heartbreaking refrain of "if I still loved you / I wouldn't be free." The sincerity of the sentiment shines through, and it marks Tillman out as a songwriter of tremendous potential. "Big Escape," meanwhile, is a subtle pop gem, an ode to growing up that actually becomes somewhat anthemic the more you listen to it. It's not the most immediate of records, but it's worth spending some time with; it's definitely a grower.

Anyway, here's a trio of songs recorded in live venues that I think you might enjoy:

"Bad Nostalgia" and "Navy Blues"



"Gossamer Hair"

Tell him your troubles

The Morning Benders continue to go from strength to strength; after the critical acclaim that greeted their second album, Big Echo, they still have enough left in the armoury to put out the fantastic "Go Grab A Stranger" on a limited edition tour 7". They're playing the Night & Day on June 28th, a date definitely worth marking in the calendar.

Go Grab A Stranger by themorningbenders

I'm gonna change your life

The Thermals have become an impressively prolific band as of late, putting out albums with a minimum of fuss whilst consistently improving on past efforts with each new release. Which is reason enough to look forward to their latest; Personal Life is due September 6th, with the first single "I Don't Believe You" out on August 9th.

Personal Life track list:

1. I'm Gonna Change Your Life
2. I Don't Believe You
3. Never Listen To Me
4. Not Like Any Other Feeling
5. Power Lies
6. Only For You
7. Alone, A Fool
8. Your Love Is So Strong
9. A Reflection
10. You Change My Life

You were my only friend

It's amazing to me that, three albums in, BOAT's absolutely infectious indie pop hasn't yet earned them a wider audience. For a recent WNYU session, they contributed new song "Grand Opening," as well as a Guided By Voices cover. Both of which you can check out over at You Ain't No Picasso. I fully recommend that you do so.

I'll leave you alone forever now

Round these parts, I've spent too long focussing exclusively on music lately. Fortunately, there's a new Scott Pilgrim trailer for us all to enjoy/pore over with delirious glee. I've always described myself as cautiously optimistic at best as far as this film is concerned; I love the graphic novels so much that I couldn't bring myself to build my hopes up too much, despite the involvement of Edgar Wright. Now, I'm throwing caution to the wind, and deciding that 6th August cannot come soon enough.

How we lived our lives

For all those of you who felt that Sharpen Your Teeth was Isaac Brock's finest hour, here he is performing a new Ugly Casanova song, "Here's To Now." It always seemed unlikely that we'd get any new material from the band, but as it happens, they'll be contributing eight songs to the soundtrack of documentary feature 180° South. Which is both unexpected and wonderful news.