Happy Halloween!

photo credit: logan hill

New News that's New!

I'm hoping to make these updates ongoing. I think I can do it.

1. The Boat People video contest is almost over, and no one has come close to getting all the answers, so anything goes! Give it a shot.

2. Natalie Portman's Shaved Head is touring with The Faint! Check the dates.

3. Peter Bradley Adams has a new track up on his label's site for free download. Get it here.

4. The Boat People are on KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic live! Watch and listen.

5. The Donorschoose.org Blogger Challenge is almost over! We've raised over 2,300 dollars by posting! Help us retake the lead over the Knitting Blogs by donating for your favorite blog! Help children here.

man on wire

if you have the opportunity to see this movie before it stops playing in theaters, you should.




It is a documentary on Philippe Petit and his ambitious love for wirewalking that illegally takes him to walking between the world trade centers in 1974. The movie chronicles his life and shows the events leading up to what some call "the artistic crime of the century." Its the most beautiful movie I've seen in a very long time. I almost shed a tear when he walked the rope and they (of course) played my senior year in high school recital piece Gymopedie No. 1.





memo: I have no idea what the deal is with the ducks in the second video.

im sick today, don't ride your bike in the rain.

This is a little ludacris

but maybe kind of awesome.

Halloween is a week from Friday!

I'm going as a droog:



what about you?

This is amazing

Watch the whole thing.

From New York Times.com...

McCain’s Fight Song

By Michael A. Cohen

Michael A. Cohen is a senior research fellow at the New America Foundation and the author of “Live From the Campaign Trail: The Greatest Presidential Campaign Speeches of the 20th Century and How They Shaped Modern America.” (Full biography.)

You can tell a lot about a presidential campaign and its supporters by the songs played at their campaign rallies. From Bill Clinton’s “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow” by Fleetwood Mac to George Bush’s “Only in America” by Brooks and Dunn, the most effective campaign songs offer listeners a clear sense of a campaign’s key messages.

For John McCain, the selections at his first rally after the final presidential debate spoke volumes about both the state of the campaign and the predisposition of the candidate: Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” and, as Mr. McCain entered the gymnasium in Downingtown, Pa., the theme from “Rocky.” Mr. McCain may be down in the polls, but if his soundtrack yesterday was any indication, he is not going down without a fight.

Mr. McCain matched his musical selection with a spirited and energetic performance on Thursday. If the Arizona senator is concerned about the state of the race, he certainly didn’t let on. “Fighting is what America is all about” he told the crowd and “to love America is to fight for it.” Fight was the word of the day, as some variation of it was repeated nearly 20 times in his speech. Mr. McCain’s final peroration was the highlight of the afternoon and demonstrative of the campaign’s new feisty, underdog persona:

Fight for a new direction for our country. Fight for what’s right for America. Fight to clean up the mess of corruption, infighting and selfishness in Washington. Fight to get our economy out of the ditch and back in the lead. Fight for the ideals and character of a free people. Fight for our children’s future. Fight for justice and opportunity for all. Stand up to defend our country from its enemies. Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. America is worth fighting for. Nothing is inevitable here. We never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history. Now, let’s go win this election and get this country moving again.

But for all of Mr. McCain’s tough talk what was missing from his stump speech — and has been missing for some time — is a softer side; particularly when it comes to the economy. Throughout the 2008 election, Mr. McCain has lacked the common touch and the empathy that would demonstrate he understands the plight of working-class Americans.

Take for example the opening of Mr. McCain’s remarks, which seemed intended to show that he understands the challenges America is facing; and has a plan for dealing with them:

These are hard times. Our economy is in crisis. Financial markets are collapsing. Credit is drying up. Your savings are in danger. Your retirement is at risk. Jobs are disappearing. The cost of health care, your children’s college, gasoline and groceries are rising all the time with no end in sight. While your most important asset — your home — is losing value every day. Americans are fighting in two wars. We face many enemies in this dangerous world, and they are waiting to see if our current troubles will permanently weaken us.

Strong even foreboding words, but the cumulative effect was more disquieting than inspiring. There is little sense in Mr. McCain’s words that he “feels people’s pain.” Perhaps this is an overemphasized skill in our Oprahified, political environment, but for better or worse if you are going to win an election amid an economic downturn it’s fairly essential.

Compounding the challenge for Mr. McCain is that he is a bit late to the game on developing a strategy for dealing with the economic crisis and still doesn’t feel comfortable talking about these issues. As a result, his economic message still lacks a compelling narrative and on Thursday seemed, at times, contradictory. Mr. McCain bounced around from regularly attacking Barack Obama for wanting to raise taxes to his familiar broadsides against pork barrel spending. The latter rang hollow, particularly when Mr. McCain, in discussing the recent bailout plan, pledged to “spend a lot of that money to bring relief to you.” In addition, only moments after talking about the $700 billion given to the Treasury (which raised the debt limit to approximately $11 trillion) Mr. McCain declared, “I’m going to make government live on a budget just like you do.”

Mr. McCain even went so far as to compare Mr. Obama to Herbert Hoover and really whoever thought up this line of attack should have their head examined. Perhaps those of Mr. McCain’s mother’s generation can remember Mr. Hoover but for most Americans he is a faint memory — and a president generally associated with conservative misrule.

For the G.O.P. partisans in the half-filled gymnasium, they were not terribly interested in any apparent inconsistencies in Mr. McCain’s speech. Nearly all were clad in some sort of campaign paraphernalia and unbothered by the tepid turnout, they lapped up his words and offered their support.

But as Mr. McCain’s campaign has seemingly been slow to realize, it is not G.O.P. partisans who will decide this election, it’s independent voters. And here is the challenge facing Mr. McCain: there was little in his speech — and little in his overall campaign message — that would appeal to them. He bravely holds fast to his belief in selfless and honorable service to America. It is what defines him as a public servant. Perhaps in 2000 or 2004, this message would have resonated with voters. But today, the electorate is looking for a different kind of leader, one who will take the country out of its economic malaise. For all of Mr. McCain’s tenacity and fight on the campaign trail in recent days, his inability to play this role is the most intractable challenge he is facing. Unfortunately no song — no matter how catchy — is going to fix that problem.

New Passion Pit video

wooooooooooo

New Mount Eerie came out today

Lost Wisdom featuring Julie Doiron.
I saw them a couple of weeks ago,solid stuff.
It is warm and beautiful. Phil Elverum and Julie Doiron's emotional harmonizing is touching deep down and ultimately, very powerful.


Mount Eerie- Voice in Headphones


I think it's almost terrifying that in three weeks we should know who our future President is.
It will all be over soon....

Items

I'm ridiculously busy today, but here's the news.

Wax Fang RCRD LBL exclusive video / Daytrotter Session
War Tapes video
The Boat People Contest: How many bands can you find?
Peter Bradley Adams live on NPR
Donorschoose Music Bloggers Group raised 1,600 and counting!
Natalie Portman's Shaved Head touring with The Faint

Also, So Many Shrimp reminded me of this guy. I don't know what's better, the video, or the post absolutely killing the T.I. record.

I'm not sure what it all means

A shark in Virginia had a virgin birth:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081010/ap_on_sc/sci_shark_mystery



Virginia, virgin birth.
har har.


Thank god it's Friday.
Everyone pumped for the freakin' weekend?

Win A Box Of Cds

You know all about the Donorschoose.org blogger challenge. Well the stakes have been raised! The person who donates the most gets a box of cds (about 30). Filled up, mailed to your door, all for you. I'll list the cds as son as I can write them all out.

Here's our page. Find what you like and donate to it!

<---- Check out the boombox

Have you noticed there's a radio player right in front of your eyes? Click the boombox and you'll get a mix of music from all our departments. Just something I thought I'd mention.

The things people will do....

Ok, I'm not trying to hype the COMPETITION, but this is just fantastic. On the first day of the Donorschoose Blogger Challenge, bloggers began the begging, clawing, and fighting to win over their readers. This one is by far my favorite.

I have no idea what they do, but a blog called Finslippy is begging their readers by promising to reenact Pat Benatar's 'Love Is A Battlefield' complete with costumes, dancing, and the whole nine yards. Now that's genius. I almost want to give her money.

BUT WAIT!! Not only have we set prizes for music bloggers who make pages, but we'll be coming up with a prize for the person that donates the most from our site. Stay tuned.

mmmm

who is god's name would eat this?


everyone vote, there's not much time left!

Donnybrook

Word of the Day:
donnybrook
DON-ee-brook, noun,A brawl; a free-for-all.

I found this on thesaurus.com today, looking for another word for remiss. I occasionally use bigger words than 'WOW!' and write things that don't beg for so many exclamation points. It's rare, but it happens.

Anyway, this reminded me of The Donnybrook Writing Academy. Ever been there? They have more than just music, with a film section, art, politics, sex, love, and more. Also, you can become a member of their elite if you like to get backrubs. So I say to you, visit the donnybrook!!!

Blogger Smackdown Update:

Play By Play:
The contest is ON! General blogs jumped to an early lead by sheer quantity in numbers, and by last year's winner raising a quick $11k! Music blogs are behind but if last year teaches anything, it's that the winner can be decided in a matter of days. We also know that blogs with the most readers have yet to win! (Last year's winner only had 1,000 readers per month!)

Music Blog Updates:
Culture Bully is relaunching their entire site with a posting marathon including local bands, labels, and writers!

The Culture Of Me announces their page for helping "The Culture Of Someone Else!"

Shifted Sound, a podcast, is telling people about it, and pointing them to Hyperbola's giving page! (lucky us!)

Hyperbola raises $100 by mistake with one test post!

Total Impact

Donated:$36,760
Donors: 590
Students Reached: 5,482 ?