 The artist that has made what could very well be my favorite record of the year is finally coming to my neck of the woods to rock the house. M.I.A. has been slowly traveling along the U.S. promoting her new masterpiece, Kala. Kala is a dance freaks wet dream; filled with perfected congo-electroclash beats and M.I.A.s distinct vocals that really cannot be easily described. Nearly every song is flawless in its own way being pretentious or over experimental. After seeing her TV spot on MTV, I thought to myself, “I really need to see her live before this magic disappears.” It won’t be long before you hear her music in the next iPod Nano commercial. So sad. I any case, I have had so much fun dancing like a complete retard with Katie and my brother Cully to her infectious tunes. I hope you will too. Oh! And she’s touring with The Cool Kids! How freakin’ sweet is that? They’re like Lupe Fiasco without being cheesy. Or what they like to call themselves; the black Beastie Boys.
Download: M.I.A. – Paper Planes from the album, Kala.
Download: The Cool Kids – Pump Up The Volume from the EP, Totally Flossed Out
M.I.A. / The Cool Kids Tour
Monday, Nov 26 @ 8:00 PM Metropolis
Montreal, Quebec
Wednesday, Nov 28 @ 7:00 PM The Palladium
Worcester, Massachusetts
Thursday, Nov 29 @ 7:30 PM 9:30 Club
Washington, DC
Friday, Nov 30 @ 9:30 PM Sonar
Baltimore, Maryland
DECEMBER
Saturday, Dec 1 @ 8:30 PM The Electric Factory
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Saturday, Dec 8 @ 8:00 PM ICA
London, United Kingdom
Monday, Dec 10 @ 7:00 PM The Custard Factory
Birmingham, United Kingdom
Wednesday, Dec 12 @ 7:00 PM The Arches
Glasgow, Lanarkshire, United Kingdom
Friday, Dec 14 @ 7:00 PM Brighton Concorde 2
Brighton, United Kingdom
Saturday, Dec 15 @ 7:00 PM Anson Rooms
Bristol, United Kingdom
Monday, Dec 17 @ 7:00 PM Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Nottingham, United Kingdom
Tuesday, Dec 18 @ 7:00 PM Manchester Academy 2
Manchester, United Kingdom
Wednesday, Dec 19 @ 7:00 PM Waterfront
Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom
Thursday, Dec 20 @ 7:00 PM Coronet
London, United Kingdom
 Happy Thanksgiving people! Why you are reading this is beyond me, you ought to be spending time with family and friends. I will be here at the Coast Guard base eating with co-workers and writing a report on illegal fishing. Fun fun! So take advantage of your day off and listen to this song from Nada Surf. You will feel uplifted and kind of warm and fuzzy. Yay!
Download: Nada Surf - Always Love (KEXP Acoustic Version) originally from the album, The Weight is a Gift.
 It seriously tastes like Nutrasweet made a drink called Chilled Sweet Piss. I cannot explain why I'm still drinking it while I type this. So I won't.
Random Thought #.56 - If JCPenny took a shit, it would be Kohls.
I work on Thanksgiving, how sweet is that? Almost as sweet as this nasty iced coffee I'm drinking, bleach! I will be seeing M.I.A. in concert though. I'm happy about that.
Red Fox Grey Fox
 I found out about these guys through a Decoy Music review. While I don't completely agree with most of Decoys reviews, this one stuck out due to the Mew and Sunny Day Real Estate references. After a good listen, I was convinced to share them with you all. I introduce to you, Red Fox Grey Fox.
Download: Red Fox Grey Fox - Up with Mittens, Down with Gloves from the album, From The Land Of Bears.
Day One Symphony
 This band has been hidden for a while now and has yet to emerge with a new album. They did a short tour with dredg and went through some hard times (like every band does) and have released some pretty amazing material. Day One Symphony's sound can be best described as Radiohead without being pompous, I think. Whatever, you be the judge. Here are a few tracks from their online EP.
Download: Day One Symphony - Dirty Dishes from the album, [e]sampler
Download: Day One Symphony - Wannabe Cut-Out from the album, [e]sampler
 This past holiday weekend had me visiting my hometown of New York once again. This time in particular was very special to me. I didn’t do anything wild like ramp my car off a draw bridge or anything. I did however get to spend time with people I don’t normally see very often. Not only that but I got to do it all with Katie. Granted things are not perfect over there, I see healing within the family. I got to leave my hometown feeling content, which is better than the last time I left my old address. Whether it was eating shitty food with Rob (shitty as in: tasted good, but I felt like I ate 12 hot pockets afterwards), strolling gorgeous Cold Spring with my Aunt and Uncle, or beating the ever living crap out of my little brother in Mortal Kombat. It all felt good…that just felt nice to write. If you haven’t been to Cold Spring, you need to. I guess growing up there; I never really appreciated its beauty (refer to picture).
Ian LoveOne of the best driving albums I own is the Rival Schools CD, United by Fate from 2001. Unfortunately they never made another full length and only squeezed out a split EP with Onelinedrawing. The members separated into new bands and solo careers. One solo career in particular is that of Ian Love. There’s nothing generic about what Ian is creating nowadays. His sonically enhanced acoustic songs radiate a fresh sound that makes one think of road trips and, well, home. Feel free to check out his rarely updated website or just pick up his album at Limekiln Records. Or hell, download these songs!
Download: Ian Love – Old Enough from the album, Ian Love
Download: Ian Love – The Only Night from the album, Ian Love
Download: Ian Love – Butterfly from the album, Ian Love
 ...The Daily Show has posted every single episode with Jon Stewart on their website. Now I've always been a casual Daily Show watcher, but as of late, I have quickly become a huge Daily Show fan. I actually work my day around The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Now with the whole writers strike going on, I can no longer feed my craving for my fake news. However, with the fact that I can watch every episode ever until the writers of my two favorite shows get paid for webisodes and DVD sales, is kind of neat. If you want to know more about the strike, go here. If you want to watch Daily Show episodes up the ying yang, go here. Also, in light of this writers strike, Jon Stewart has told his writing staff that he will cover all their salaries for the next two weeks, according to a well-placed source. He has also vowed to do the same for writers on The Colbert Report. You can read all about that here.
This past summer I had the opportunity to see the Rock the Bells concert in Mansfield, MA. This included Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, and Cypress Hill among other great hip-hop artists. All of which I paid $35 for. Not bad considering each act played an energetic set and supplied the crowd with old and new material. When I got word that Wu-Tang would be going back on tour in smaller venues, I jumped at the chance to purchase tickets. I was severely disa-f^&%ing-pointed to find tickets to be $45. I saw them in full form with Nas and Cypress Hill and you guys are asking me to pay more than I did the last time I saw you? No. I will however gleefully listen to the new Wu-Tang track, My Heart Gently Weeps. It features the talented Erykah Badu and pretty neat Beatles sample. Welcome back Wu-Tang, but shame on you for high ticket prices.
Download: Wu-Tang Clan - My Heart Gently Weeps (ft. Erykah Badu) from the album, 8 Diagrams.
 That's right. So all you hipster shits out there better keep your skinny jeans and aviator sunglasses out of his sight or else he'll take a freakin' axe to your neck. No seriously, in Jonah Matranga's recent video for "Not About A Place or A Girl," he goes around singing what sounds like a Gin Blossoms cover and kills scenster zombies without mercy. It's a wonderful video despite the sugarcoated song. In fact, don't judge that song alone for his newest record, And. Only one other song follows that happy late nineties escapism radio rock shit; the rest of the album is as much as an emotional punch as the newest Radiohead. Actually Radiohead ripped off Jonah whether they know it or not. Jonah Matranga has been using the sliding scale price system for years and has always brought new and strange ideas to his shows and music. Although, you have to see Jonah Matranga live to really embrace what and who this man is. His shows are something so intimate and personal, that you feel as if it is only you and him in the room. Even picking up his recent live CD/DVD won't do him justice. You actually have to show up and experience the show first hand. If you are at all curious as to who or what Jonah Matranga is; go to www.jonahmatranga.com or www.myspace.com/jonahmatranga. Or you can even download the songs I posted of him performing solo, under the moniker onelinedrawing and his old band New End Original.. If you're a scenster, keep an eye out for this guy, he'll rip you limb from limb, Mwahahahaha!
NOVEMBER
6 Nov @ Boston, MA - Paradise - 8pm doors, 9pm-ish
8 Nov @ NY, NY - Mercury Lounge - 8pm-ish
9 Nov @ Philadelphia, PA - Unitarian Chapel Room - 7pm-ish
10 Nov @ Orlando, FL - Anti*Pop Fest - 10pm-ish
12 Nov @ East Coast Show TBA -- IDEAS?
13 Nov @ Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's - 8pm doors - ALL AGES
14 Nov @ East Coast Show TBA -- IDEAS?
DECEMBER
5 Dec @ Hamburg (DE), Grüner Jäger*
6 Dec @ Kiel (DE), Weltruf*
7 Dec @ TBA*
8 Dec @ TBA*
9 Dec @ Bielefeld (DE), TBA*
10 Dec @ Paris (FR), TBA*
11 Dec @ Saarbrücken (DE), Garage*
12 Dec @ Cologne (DE), Blue Shell*
13 Dec @ Gießen (DE), Muk*
14 Dec @ Lüdenscheid (DE), Alte Druckerei*
15 Dec @ Rotterdam (NL), Waterfront*
17 Dec @ Berlin (DE), Magnet*
*Ian Love opening and playing guitar w/Jonah
Download: Jonah Matranga - Breathless from the album, The Three Sketchy's (1999-2005)
Download: Jonah Matranga - Oh, I'm So Lucky from the album, The Three Sketchy's (1999-2005)
Download: Jonah Matranga - Savory (Jawbox Cover) from the album, The Three Sketchy's (1999-2005)
Download: Jonah Matranga - Lukewarm (Live) from the album, There's A Lot In Here
Download: onelinedrawing - Smile from the album, Visitor
Download: onelinedrawing - We Had A Deal from the album, The Volunteers
Download: onelinedrawing - Um... from the album, Visitor
Download: New End Original - Lukewarm from the album, Thriller
Download: Jonah Matranga - So Long from the album, And
 My definition of a hero is someone who goes against the norm and sets an example for humanity. Someone who isn't influenced by negativity and pushes ideas forward despite the odds.
Saul Williams is one of my heroes.
His words have always wowed me and his music has always defied genres and categorization. He allows the listener and reader to interpret his poetry in their own way. He has released 2 full length records and over 4 books filed with his poetry and thoughts. He as toured with the likes of The Roots, The Mars Volta, and Nine Inch Nails. I just can't say enough good things about this man. At least until now; Saul Williams has released a new record today (November 1st) and it may be his best yet. The record is The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! and it is a the creation of both Saul and Nine Inch Nails frontman, Trent Reznor. The duo has not only created a wonderfully diverse record that includes hip-hop, rock, and dance, but they have followed the footsteps of Radiohead's marketing technique. The record is available for $5 or for free at http://niggytardust.com/. What Saul and Trent are doing is slightly better than what Radiohead did, they are allowing the listener to choose what audio quality they can download; whether it be 192Kbps MP3, 320Kbps MP3, or FLAC lossless audio. So all you FLAC-heads can rejoice. In fact, music lovers can rejoice! This is an important day in music, so download the album (or these tracks) and be apart of something very special.
Download: Saul Williams - Break from the album, The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!
Download: Saul Williams - Banged and Blown Through from the album, The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!
Download: Saul Williams - Tr(n)igger from he album, The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!
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