In one of those perfect storm moments, Barnes & Nobel’s “Upstairs at the Square” series of free discussions with leading artists has totally hit the nail on the head with the pairing of British singer/songwriter/all around inspiring dude, Badly Drawn Boy with Dana Spiotta, the author of Eat the Document (the book, not the Bob Dylan documentary).

Another big win for this excellent event series.

Admission is free, and no tickets are required. Seating is available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The talkin’ starts at 7pm.

Yessssss. I’ve been thinking a lot about Ryan Adams recently… maybe it has something to do with the Ryan Adams concert t-shirt I wear when I’m putzing around the house…or the Ryan Adams tote bag I use to shlep around papers… or the Ryan Adams Live in Jamaica DVD that Matt Music Slut bought me for my birthday earlier this month. Or maybe it’s all that crazy Ryan Minus Adams Dot Com biznatch he unleashes upon the world–which only makes me love him more.

Fresh from the press release machine, news of Ryan’s new (label-approved) material:

Ryan Adams’ Easy Tiger has been scheduled for a June 5 release on Lost Highway.

While the final sequence is still TBD, Easy Tiger will be comprised of the following tracks: “Goodnight Rose”, “Everybody Knows”, “The Sun Also Sets”, “Halloween Head”, “Off Broadway”, “Two Hearts”, “Tears Of Gold”, “These Girls”, “Two”, “I Taught Myself How To Grow Old”, “Oh My God, Whatever, Etc.”, “Rip Off”, and “Pearls On A String”.

Easy Tiger will be Ryan Adams’ ninth full length collection of new studio recordings.

I posted this on my other blog, So More Scene, so you can go there for my full 3-point analysis, but I just had to share with you kids as well. This. Is. Hysterical:

The one thing I will comment on here is this:

The area in which this is being broadcast is Devils Lake/Grand Forks, which is humorous in itself. But the scary thing is that this particular area (Devils Lake) in North Dakota was the home of the now (in)famous evangelical Christian “Kids on Fire” summer retreat documented in the Oscar-nominated film Jesus Camp. You know, that place where Pentecostal child pastor Betty Fischer made kids cry for the sins of the world out of deranged devotion for the Lord, where kids spoke in tongue, fell on to their knees, and hypnotically prayed to God. In other words, this town is seriously into Jesus, and sometimes a little TOO serious about everything.

NAME: Scatteredtrees
HOMETOWN: Chicago, IL
WEBSITE: www.scatteredtrees.com

Continue reading ‘Band of the Day: Scatteredtrees’ »

Sorority Evictions Raise Issue of Looks and Bias – New York Times
When a psychology professor at DePauw University here surveyed students, they described one sorority as a group of “daddy’s little princesses” and another as “offbeat hippies.” The sisters of Delta Zeta were seen as “socially awkward.”

So I did watch all of the Oscars, and although I could have live-blogged, I didn’t b/c I wanted to soak in all the Oscary goodness uninterrupted. I’m setting a time limit of 10 minutes for me to just go over everything I can think of about the show off the top of my head, starting…NOW!

Ellen’s jokes in the beginning were pretty funny. The joke about people being named “Oscar” made me laugh for about 2 minutes.

I hysterically laughed when Nicole Kidman said “Dreamgoils” instead of “Dreamgirls”. Maybe she’s really from the Bronx.

More laughter when Tom Hanks totally took the piss out of Chris Connelly when he asked him if their was more fun to come. Tom said something like, “SO MUCH FUN!”, with his face lighting up with cheesy enthusiasm. Brilliant.

Woah! Tom Cruise presented. That scared me a little.

Hello weird behind the scrim tumbler people making weird shadow people puppets for all the flicks nominated for Best Picture.

YESSSSSS! Martin Scorsese wins for directing The Departed. I am saddened Mark Wahlberg did not win, I just wanted to scream out WAAAAHHHLLLBEEERRRRRR really bad–and I did.

Leo DiCaprio and Al Gore sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.

Anne Hathaway. WHY. WEARING. VALENTINO BOW DISASTER?

Kirsten Dunst just cannot help but always look frumpy with her horrible posture and horrible fashion choices. What was up with her crazy grandma mermaid look? YUCK.

Emily Blunt, however, looked fab in a blue shimmery Calvin Klein dress. Jennifer Hudson tried out for the Flash Gordon movie with a ridiculous gold cape.

DIEGO LUNA = THE SEX. JAMES MCAVORY (aka Mr. Tumnas) = THE SCOTTISH DIEGO LUNA. THEREFORE DIEGO LUNA + JAMES MCAVORY + BOTH AT OSCARS = MY BRAIN EXPLODING FROM THE SEXY.

Beyonce had what looked like an entire vine of grapes falling all over her boob.

Something is wrong with Gywneth Paltrow. Like what was up with her hair sticking to her body? Why was she talking all weird. Why does she get to sit in the front row when she hasn’t even had a good movie in about 3 years?

Why are the following people allowed to present Oscars?: Cameron Diaz, Jerry Sienfeld, Jessica Biel.

Damn–out of time…

Red Carpet Confidential
All access, little insight: the Carpetbagger’s humbling season on the edge of celebrity.

Jeff Wall – The Luminist – Arthur Lubow – New York Times
How Jeff Wall’s large, glowing, elaborately staged pictures are helping to make photography the painting of our times.

Galliano, Westwood help launch fashion “MySpace” – Yahoo! News
IQONS, the name of the new online social network that the founders said was a fashion first, was launched at London Fashion Week on Tuesday and hopes to open up the cliquey, sometimes hostile, fashion world to the next generation.

Every time I hear this song I think “Santa Clause Is Coming to Town” during the first 10 measures. Anyway, I gotta give props to this new video by Bright Eyes for “Four Winds” in which they get booed of the stage and pelted with all sorts of trash. It’s a nice and clever change from all the usual music videos where the bands playing are in front of a crowd dancing and jumping up and down to the music, in total approval of the music they hear. Way to go guys! Link via the Sluts.

In the Studio with The Stooges
The band talks about the challenges of making the first Stooges record in 33 years.

Rap Meets Rock Again, Looking for the Emo Generation – New York Times
You could witness the latest collision at Webster Hall on Thursday night, during a sold-out show by Gym Class Heroes, a band from Geneva, N.Y.

Everyone’s favorite America’s Next Top Model alumni, super model blogger Elyse Sewell, recently met up with her boyfriend Marty Crandall of The Shins on their tour stops in Seattle and Vancouver. In a blog entry this week, Elyse answers a reader’s question regarding this photo:

“But what happens if a Shin has to poop in the middle of the night?”
Continue reading ‘“What Happens If a Shin Has to Poop In the Middle of the Night” and Other Interesting On-goings Inside the Shins Tour Bus’ »