Borat Movie: First Four Minutes

Related Post: Borat Movie - 6 Deleted Scenes

MP3 Inbox

It's been awhile since I've cleaned out the inbox. If you don't know what MP3 Inbox is then read here.

MP3:

Goodbye (Cassettes Won't Listen Remix) - The Postmarks
Lost to The Lonesome - Pela
Golden - Brookville
Famous Last Words - Faces On Film
Archers - Faces On Film
Fata Morgana - Gods And Monsters
Lady Luck - Can Joann
After The Seizures Gone - Can Joann
Old Man - P.G. Six
Mammut - OVO
Kyla Cries Cologne - Fair To Midland
Different Then You - The Exies

Art Brut Keg Stand

Great video I found on YouTube of Eddie from Art Brut doing a keg stand. I'll have a review of the Irving Plaza show up tomorrow.

Busy Day In Brooklyn

Plenty to do today if you're out in Brooklyn.

Link:

Brooklyn Peace Fair (via Brooklyn Vegan)

Bushwick Open Studios

MP3:
No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn - Beastie Boys

The city has a few cool things going on as well.

Link:
Taste of China Town

International Vintage Poster Fair

Tyra Banks Goes Apeshit!

This is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. Any theories on why she loves Vaseline so much?

via Superficial

Gypsy Dance Party w/ DJ Hutz (Gogol Bordello)

Eugene's famous party moved to Club Midway (Scenic) last week. This seems like a good place for a party like this.

MP3:

The Last Wish Of The Bride (J.U.F.)

Razorlight by Razorlight

Tom says:

Behold! We present to all of you, loyal audience, the classic sophomore album catastrophe! Uh-huh. Today, this calamity of calamities strikes our erstwhile friends Razorlight. We should first confess that we had warm feelings originally for Razorlight. The groups first full-length, “Up All Night,” was pretty damn alright. For those of you who are not familiar with it, “Up All Night” was essentially a poor-man’s “Up the Bracket.” Razorlight came across like the Libertines with less soul, zazz, and poetry, but with bigger, pop-ier hooks and trust funds. In fact, better yet, just imagine what the Strokes might sound like if covering Libertines tunes, with all the musical precision-cum-mechanical-joylessness that would entail. That’s what early Razorlight was like. Got that?

Anyway, the Razorlight boys, led by their maestro-troubadour Johnny “I Once Got Head-Butted—yes, head-butted—and Knocked on My Ass Backstage in Front of a Group of My Peers at a Festival by an Angry Pete Doherty” Borell, were onto a relatively good thing with their early material. This good thing continued onto the release of their opus (with a little ‘o’), “Somewhere Else,” a UK number one single that was released last year to near-universal acclaim and general widespread ballyhoo. All together, “Somewhere Else,” like the groups material before it, was a fairly clever, passably sincere, rabblerousing pub singalong about urban blight, youthful arrogance, and misguided romance…i.e. all the bits of pathos that every UK garage band writes about these days (Mike Skinner being a man alone in writing affectionate odes to his PlayStation 2). And of course, as is the case with their brethren, Razorlight’s rhythm section played loud and frenetically and the guitar player could spit out a few Edge-like lines here and there and Borell sang throughout to a usually pleasant, reasonably dispassionate clip. Things sure were swell then. Nonetheless, these records failed to register much stateside and so the group evidently returned to the garage to retool their sound. What they cooked up…geez…I can only describe as New Coke-like in its awfulness.

Why and in what ways do I think “Razorlight” sucks? Why is this a beautiful example of a second-record aristic implosion? Well, for starters, the rhythm section has traded in bravado for what sounds like sleepwalking. Really, where drum kicks and bass licks used to swing they now stomp and lag and bore the shit out of me. Secondly, the production has gone from “Up All Night’s” muddy-but-powerful wallop to steam whistle-clean. The guitars and keyboards literally sound like they were recorded in an 8’ by 10’ prison cell. Thirdly, inquiring listeners will notice Borell’s lyrics have decidedly turned away from yearning Paul Weller-isms to quasi-weary, dull, pompous Chris Martin-isms about subjects no less irksome than love, heaven, and Los Angeles. I know, it’s shameful. The band’s melodies are also slighter now than before, relying less on staccato phrasing and more on crooning, which in the hands of a more gifted singer (a la Julian Casablancas or Carl Barat) would work, but Borell is not a gifted singer, so, err, it doesn’t.

Ultimately, “Razorlight” is nothing if not depressingly lame; really, truly, awfully lame. Even the “Meet the Weezer” style cover-shot and the bored and uninspired liner notes manage to convey an unremittingly sad lameness that transcends words. Razorlight used to be too cool for school, now they sound like the score from an after-school special:

3 out of 10

Matt says:
Agreed... it sucks.

MP3:
America - Razorlight

Hey Let's Go! - Social Event Website

So there's a new event site in town and it's called Hey Let's Go. Now I know what you're saying, "aren't there enough event sites in NYC?" Yes there are but this ain't your mother's event site. Hey Let's Go combines elements of both social sites (like MySpace) and event sites (like What's Up NYC, Upcoming, MyOpenBar). Not only can you find events but you can also see who else is going, get your friends to go too, and many other cool features.

Plus, and pay attention here, I am an editor for the NYC division! You see the site originated in Boston a few months ago where it has a hefty following. Due to it's success it has expanded to NYC but it's still in it's infant stage here. That is where you come in, please go take a look at the site. If you dig it then please sign up, if you do decide to sign up then email me and I'll send you an invite. That way you are automatically added to my friend list and I get credit for signing you up.

Keep in mind that this is an excellent opportunity for anyone involved in events, whether they be parties, concerts, or galleries this could be great for you. If you have something important happening make sure I know about it so I can check it out. If it's something people might dig then I can recommend it for an "editor's pick," which is basically the featured spot.

Link:
My Profile On Hey Let's Go

Tonight: Valiant Thorr, The Giraffes, & Goes Cube

Wow! A good show at Trash Bar - that doesn't happen often. These bands are fun rock n' roll machines. Based on what I've heard it will be a big party with lots of drinking and amusing stage antics. You can't beat this on a Monday night.

Link:
Having Fun - The Giraffes
Haunted Heaven - The Giraffes
Goes Cube Song 30 - Goes Cube
Valient Thorr Myspace

CBGB Is Closed

CBGB MySpace bulletin from this morning:

Last night we had our last show and rolled our gates down for the last time at 315 Bowery.

Some day soon we hope to open again in a new location. We are still looking.

The CBGB MYSPACE page will now be a tribute to CBGB and we will keep you posted on any new developments in the future.

For details regarding why CBGB closed, please read our blogs, rather than repost misinformed rumors.

We also invite anyone with a CBGB story to tell to please post on our new blog and leave your story of your CBGB experience (good or bad) to share with all those who wish to read it.

Thank you to all the bands and fans who have been there with us over the years... and more importantly thanks to all the staff who have been like a family over the years. For most of them it wasn't just a job, it was a home they helped maintain.

Trash @ Rififi - The Pictures

I didn't make it out to Trash on Friday but Phil did. Here some of the shots he snapped:

Link:
Full Set From Trash on Phil's 476AD

A Place To Bury Strangers & Read Yellow 10/12

Last night I took a trip out to Williamsburg to see A Place To Bury Strangers & Read Yellow at Northsix. Despite the fact that a coworker of mine manages APTBS this was my first time actually catching them. The other band performing was The Static Age - who I knew nothing about.

I got to Northsix at 9PM on the dot. I was told that Read Yellow would be going on exactly at 9 so I rushed over. Of course when I got inside the band was sitting at the bar having drinks but it wasn't a big deal. I grabbed a beer and shot the shit with my homeboy Su from World's Fair for a while.

After about 15 minutes or so Read Yellow hit the stage. I finished up my beer and headed up front for some pics. As was the case last time, Read Yellow was pretty damn good. As was the case last time, no one seemed to fucking care. I really don't get it - they're good and they play with a ton of energy (except the chick who might actually be asleep during their shows). There just weren't many people there and the few who showed up didn't seem all that interested.

Poor Read Yellow, I wish people would move around for you. I think it might be the bands you play with. You need to stop with the indie type bands and start playing with some post-hardcore and punk bands - they might get you.

After the set I decided $4 was too damn much for a PBR so I walked up about a block to Anytime (best tater tots ever!) and sucked down a $1 PBR. When I finished I went back to Northsix to see what The Static Age was all about. I lasted about 4 songs and then I got really sick of them and headed back to Anytime for round 2 of buck PBRs.

While I was there I got a call from my friend (and BSC album review guy) Tom. He was waiting for me at Northsix so back I went. As soon as I walked in I told him I was just at Anytime getting drunk for cheap. He liked my gameplan so we went back yet again while APTBS set up their shit.

After round three of the cheap shit it was back (again) to Northsix. We walked in just as A Place To Bury Strangers was about to go on. When the music started the lights dropped down to damn near pitch black levels. Then the projector started and the screen lit up behind the band. This would be the only light on stage all night. Which was cool because I got to test out my night time feature on the new camera - the results of which were kinda cool.

The vocals for APTBS were horribly muddy. I don't know if it was the dudes voice or the EQ but it sounded bad. Aside from that little set back I enjoyed the set they played. The music had that experimental thing going on but they still had song structure. The crowd was at least twice what Read Yellow had but they still were just standing there staring.

Towards the end of the set some people in masks came out and started banging on a floor tom set up. It had a very tribal effect which complimented the band well. Then all hell broke loose - I think one of the band members lifted and threw a monitor. At least that's what it looks like in one of the pictures I snapped.

After the show we decided to head into Manhattan for a party. Unfortunately we missed the last god damn train to the city and had to hunt down a cab. This hunt was executed very poorly, we got about 8 cabs stolen from under our noses. Anyway I spent a fair amount of time last night trying to get the fuck out of Brooklyn. I'll spare you the details but seriously MTA - what the fuck is up with the L train?

Link:
The Full Photo Set on BSC Flickr