Sergio's White Hot Top 5: Kidz Bop - WTF?

Link: Kidz Bop - WTF? | Infomania

That's Gay: Johnny Weir

Link: That's Gay: Johnny Weir | Infomania

Surfer Blood: February 28, 2010 at Mercury Lounge

I'm seeing Surfer Blood Sunday night at sold out Mercury Lounge.

-Matt


Links:

Surfer Blood / Turbo Fruits - The Mercury Lounge - New York, NY - 2/28/2010 | Bowery Presents

Surfer Blood - "Swim" | mattmaison


UPDATE:
March 2, 2010 7:11pm

The show was great! You can read my write-up here:

We Are Country Mice / Turbo Fruits at Mercury Lounge 2/28/10 | mattmaison

and download songs from their Saturday night show here:

Surfer Blood: February 27, 2010 Market Hotel - Flac and MP3 Downloads | nyctaper

-Matt

Create Your Own Dodgers My Town Billboard

Create your own Dodgers My Town Billboard at dodgers.com.

-Matt

Figure Skating

Pearl Jam to Play 'Saturday Night Live' 3/13/10

Just announced, Pearl Jam will play live on 'Saturday Night Live', March 13, 2010. It will be the band's third appearance. They were on the show in 1992 and 1994. Here is footage from their 1994 appearance:


-Matt


Via: Pearl Jam to Play 'Saturday Night Live' | Spin Magazine

Toro Y Moi - "Blessa"

The gauzy A-Side "Blessa" is perfect for a breezy summer afternoon, some kind of Animal Collective-via-bedroom J Dilla. | Stereogum

Toro y Moi started in 2001 as a bedroom project but quickly grew into the live performance realm. The songs are born from a plethora of different genres, from freak-folk to R&B to French House—which is heavily influential on Chaz's newest dance alias, Les Sins. Before any full length album has been released, Toro Y Moi has already received praise from music websites like Pitchfork and Gorilla Vs. Bear as well as upcoming print features in the NME and Dazed and Confused. | Carpark Records

Notable upcoming shows:
Feb 25, 2010 - Cameo; Brooklyn, New York
Mar 12, 2010 - Muddy Water; Santa Barbara, California
Mar 13, 2010 - The Loft; La Jolla, California
Mar 14, 2010 - Rhythm Room; Phoenix, Arizona
Mar 15, 2010 - Plush; Tuscon, Arizona
Mar 17-20, 2010 - SXSW; Austin, Texas
Mar 22, 2010 - Drunken Unicorn; Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 25, 2010 - Kung Fu Necktie; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 26, 2010 - Brooklyn Bowl; Brooklyn, New York
Apr 5, 2010 - Hi Dive; Denver, Colorado
Apr 8, 2010 - Chop Suey; Seattle, Washington
Apr 10, 2010 - Mississippi Studios; Portland, Oregon
Apr 12, 2010 - Bottom of the Hill; San Francisco, California
Apr 13, 2010 - SLO Arts Center 1010; San Luis Obispo, California
Apr 14, 2010 - Echo; Los Angeles, California
(full list)

Buy his album Causers of This on Amazon.com.

Download "Blessa" from Stereogum HERE (right click, save link as). You can also get his song "Talamak" on Stereogum HERE and his cover of Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" HERE.

-Matt


Links:

TORO Y MOI

TORO Y MOI on MySpace Music

All Shows for TORO Y MOI | MySpace Music

The 25 69 Most Anticipated Albums Of 2010 | Stereogum

The Ten Most Promising Acts of 2010 | THE SKY REPORT

Album Reviews: Toro Y Moi: Causers of This | Pitchfork

Toro y Moi – Causers of This | Indie Shuffle

New Toro Y Moi - Blessa | Stereogum

New Toro Y Moi - "Talamak" | Stereogum

ButterxFace Pays Tribute To MJ | Stereogum

New Toro Y Moi Video - "Blessa" | Stereogum

Toro Y Moi: Blessa | Pitchfork

Neon Indian, Toro y Moi & MNDR played Mercury Lounge | BrooklynVegan

Toro y Moi is here - new album info & 2009 tour dates | BrooklynVegan

Sergio's White Hot Top 5: Best Selling Rock Songs on iTunes

"If you like edgy music that rocks, then you're not gonna like the best selling rock songs on iTunes."

(Except for The Who's "Baba O'Riley")


Watch infoMania on Current TV Thursday's at 10/9c.

-Matt

Citi Field in Snow

Via: Curbed NY

Superbowl Moment

Via: Boing Boing

Family Guy: Meg's Joke

Tim Burton MoMA Exhibition

I went to The Museum of Modern Art yesterday to see the Tim Burton career retrospective.

This exhibition explores the full range of his creative work, tracing the current of his visual imagination from early childhood drawings through his mature work in film. It brings together over seven hundred examples of rarely or never-before-seen drawings, paintings, photographs, moving image works, concept art, storyboards, puppets, maquettes, costumes, and cinematic ephemera from such films as Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman, Mars Attacks!, Ed Wood, and Beetlejuice, and from unrealized and little-known personal projects that reveal his talent as an artist, illustrator, photographer, and writer working in the spirit of Pop Surrealism.

I really enjoyed the exhibition. I have always liked Burton's movies, but it was pretty cool seeing all his sketches, and the work he's done over the years that ended up influencing or being part of his movies.

The exhibition runs through April 26, 2010 entrance is included with the regular $20 museum entrance fee, but you have to reserve a time to enter the exhibit in advance. Reservations regularly are sold out, so reserve your time well in advance. MoMA members and their guests don't have to reserve an entrance time.

-Matt


Links:

Tim Burton Exhibition | MoMA

Tim Burton Exhibition - Interactive Site | MoMA

Tim Burton Exhibition - Checklist| MoMA

Tim Burton on His MoMA Retrospective | New York Magazine

Tim Burton MOMA Exhibition Preview | Hypebeast

Sneak Preview: MoMA’s Tim Burton Retrospective | New York Magazine

Tim Burton's MoMA Spot Commercial | Cinematical

Tim Burton | IMDB

The Official Tim Burton Website

Opening Ceremonies

Soundgarden - "Outshined"

Google SearchStories - "Parisian Love"

This rare ad for Google aired during the Super Bowl and is an episode of Google's SearchStories. It's a love story cleverly told by Google searches.


See more Google SearchStories on YouTube HERE.

-Matt


See also:

Google's Super Bowl Ad | Google Operating System Blog

SearchStories's Channel | YouTube

NFL Best Fans Super Bowl Commercial (feat "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire)

Have you seen Avatar?

Unhappy Hipsters

Unhappy Hipsters is a site that makes up captions for pictures from design magazines such as Dwell.


"The things that once so defined him — shag carpeting, Room & Board sofas, monogamy — now suffocated him."

It's very dry humor and it takes reading a few before you get the humor, but pretty funny once you do.

-Matt


Link: Unhappy Hipsters

See also: Unhappy Hipsters | Neatorama

Snooki Meme

Beginning Thursday afternoon, the internets started exploding with Snookie photoshop meme. In case you missed it, here are some links:

The Snooki Crasher Appears | Urlesque

snooki, you're my girl. | tumblr

Snookie Shop | tumblr

Meme Watch: Snooki Crasher | Current Comedy Blog

Snooki Crasher is officially a meme. | Current Comedy Blog

-Matt

Selleck Waterfall Sandwich

I have no idea where Selleck Waterfall Sandwich came about or what it means, but it was also all over the internets this week. Some links:

Selleck Waterfall Sandwich | tumblr

Meme Watch: Selleck Waterfall Sandwich | Current Comedy Blog

Snookie Waterfall Sandwich | snookieshop.tumblr.com

What he wouldn’t give for a waterfall…and a sandwich. | Unhappy Hipsters

-Matt

Surfer Blood - "Swim"

Quit hanging over me,
Look at the hair on the back of my neck.
Standing up on the rooftops,
Remembering everything she said.

Lucid afternoon dream
Cosmopolitan scene.
Look at what's in store for me.
Heads will turn in disbelief.

Relish in your energy.
That's the line of symmetry.

Swim to reach the end,
But I am steady not to offend,
On whom can you depend?
Swim to reach the end.


"Swim" is the monster riff-geek odyssey, complete with an Afro-pop breakdown that turns into a gorgeous distortion convulsion. | Rolling Stone

On a recommendation from a friend, I went to check 'em out. They played in this small venue, where I've seen a lot of shows... but I've never seen it as packed. You'll be hearing more from this band for sure. | Spin

I was swept by West Palm Beach’s Surfer Blood (formerly TV Club). Like sweetness accosted by danger and chaos, their blaring guitar pop pairs ringing, lovely and occasionally triumphant melodies with head-rushing swells of noise. They’re onto an exhilaratingly modern sound and have the goods to make big ripples. And wrecking your instruments at the end of your set never hurts." | The Orlando Weekly

I've got tickets to see them February 28, 2010 at sold out Mercury Lounge.

You can download "Swim" from Stereogum HERE (right click, save link as). Buy the album or mp3 version on Amazon.com.

-Matt


Links:

Surfer Blood on MySpace Music

Surfer Blood / Turbo Fruits - The Mercury Lounge - New York, NY - 2/28/2010 - SOLD OUT | The Bowery Presents

The 25 69 Most Anticipated Albums Of 2010 | Stereogum

Breaking: Surfer Blood | Rolling Stone

New Music Report: Surfer Blood : Rock and Roll Daily | Rolling Stone

Album Reviews: Surfer Blood: Astro Coast | Pitchfork

Astro Coast : Surfer Blood : Review | Rolling Stone

Track Reviews: Surfer Blood - "Swim (To Reach the End)" | Pitchfork

New Surfer Blood Video - "Swim" | Stereogum

WATCH: Hot Florida Rockers Surfer Blood's New Video | Spin.com

The Cost of Health Care Around the World

Click to enlarge the graphic. Health care cost per person per year on left, life expectancy on right.

The United States spends more on medical care per person than any country, yet life expectancy is shorter than in most other developed nations and many developing ones. Lack of health insurance is a factor in life span and contributes to an estimated 45,000 deaths a year. Why the high cost? The U.S. has a fee-for-service system—paying medical providers piecemeal for appointments, surgery, and the like. That can lead to unneeded treatment that doesn’t reliably improve a patient’s health. Says Gerard Anderson, a professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who studies health insurance worldwide, "More care does not necessarily mean better care."

Link: The Cost of Care | National Geographic Magazin via Boing Boing

The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Jeffrey Thomas

See also: Jeffrey Thomas: Twisted Princess | mattmaison

Lost Bingo

Go to SCI FI Wire.com to print out your Lost bingo cards and play along during tonight's final season premier.

You're dying to see Lost's sixth-season premiere. Admit it. And you love it all, just like us—Sawyer taking off his shirt, Locke stroking his bald head, Hurley saying "Dude!"

But tonight, instead of just watching, you can win.

Print out SCI FI Wire's Lost bingo cards, plop yourself down in front of the TV with your friends as the final season begins, and prepare to mark your card whenever there's a smoke monster, someone has daddy issues or somebody finally punches Miles.

First one to get Bingo, post it in the comments and you'll win a free one-way ticket on Oceanic Airlines!

-Matt


Link: Print our Lost bingo cards and play along with the premiere | SCI FI Wire

Final Season Of 'Lost' Promises To Make Fans More Annoying Than Ever

Link:

Final Season Of 'Lost' Promises To Make Fans More Annoying Than Ever | The Onion

See also:

Smoke Monster From 'Lost' Given Own Primetime Spin-Off Series | The Onion

Senator Forms Subcommittee For The Watching Of Lost | The Onion

posts with label 'lost' | mattmaison

Here We Go Magic: January 29, 2010 at Music Hall of Williamsburg

Friday night I saw Here We Go Magic at Music Hall of Williamsburg. It was the fourth time I've seen them. Although they were good as usual, I don't know if it was the venue (which is usually good) or just the way the sound was set up, but I think they've sounded better. The House List, the Bowery Presents' blog, has a short write-up of the show.

Here We Go Magic followed with a smattering of songs from their debut album. As frontman Temple noted during the one-song encore, the band’s oldies only extend to a few months ago. Nevertheless, "Only Pieces" and "Fangela" came to life with fleshed-out vocal arrangements and dynamic instrumental interplay. Bassist Jennifer Turner is truly a talent, providing steady rhythm and excellent harmonizing. The band’s genuine connection and love of playing came through in their music, and I am eager to see how they continue to mature as a group.

The more I see them, the more I think Jen Turner, the bassist, is really good. I usually notice drums more than guitars when I see live shows, but I always am amazed at how much she stands out when I see HWGM. I'm glad she got a mention in the review.

-Matt


Link: Luke Temple Doesn’t Go It Alone | The House List

See also: posts with label here we go magic | mattmaison