Just got back from the Friday love of Coachella, and even though it took 7 hours to get there, I got there late, and missed everything but Björk: it was totally worth it. Here is a video of her encore performance, Declare Independence from her new album Volta. (Note: if a very cute gay boy tells you to grab onto his waist as he rushes by you at a Björk concert, do it, as it will get you to the front of the stage like nobody's business.)
Individual Icons sells jewelry that works-- levels, rulers, magnifying glasses. I'm coveting this compass necklace. For a girl who gets lost all the time, it could come in handy-- or, you could always pick up the thermometer so surrounding folks could see how hot you are. (Rimshot.)
A friend just wrote in and said: I wish I could listen to all the music on the Fabulist like a radio station! And I thought about it, and I went, oh right! The Hype Machine does that!
So for all you folk who just want to listen to a bunch of lovely Fabulist tunes in one go, you can
click here for a pop-up Flash Player or, you can subscribe to the whole thing as a podcast on iTunes.
I think I like Gary Lightbody (of Snow Patrol) best when he collaborates with female singers. One of my favorite songs in the world is a duet he did with Martha Wainwright -- and here he is doing a beautiful duet with Lisa Hannigan, called Some Surprise. (Lisa Hannigan who until recently, played in support of Damien Rice.)
The ditty is from The Cake Sale, which features Mr. Rice as well as Emm Gryner and Gemma Hayes and a pile of other talented folk. (And! It's a charity album for Fair Trade. So you can't go wrong.) You can listen to more here and here -- thanks to Miss Elaine Doyle for sending it over!
First and foremost, a hat tip to Largehearted Boy for bringing this book to my attention. Do you like cooking? Do you also like rock and roll music? Well then holy cats, have I got a book for you: the cleverly named I Like Food, Food Tastes Good: In the Kitchen with Your Favorite Bands. With both vegetarian and carnivore friendly recipes or both food and beverages by John Vanderslice, Ted Leo, John Darnielle, They Might Be Giants, Belle and Sebastian (yeah, pretty much all of my favorite musicians) and many more, it appears to have something for everyone. I just ordered mine, and perhaps you should, too! I'll let you know how it is, but I am very excited.
Because you need music, because it is Thursday, because you are a special snowflake, because it's nearly May, because you have eyes and toes and elbows: here is what I've been listening to this week.
I've come across Take-Away Shows before, but it took notcot posting it before I really delved into the site. They're based in Paris, and feature all sorts of wonderful bands (Shins? Arcade Fire? My Brightest Diamond, here?) playing and singing in the strangest locales, like freight elevators and stairwells and things. I absolutely love this video of My Brightest Diamond, especially the end.
I spend a lot of time sitting on my ass not doing anything. My schedule is pretty unchanging: go to work, either go home and sleep or go to my friend's and watch Discovery Channel and THEN sleep. I'll spice things up sometimes with a concert or day-adventure, but for the most part it's "same old, same old."
Opus Moreschi is no such person! On March 5 (his birthday), he decided to do one new thing every day for a year and chronicle his shenanigans at
All New Year (dot com.)
Some days the new things are small, like wearing an eye patch for the day. Some days, like last Saturday, they are big: dude jumped out of a plane! Check out AllNewYear.com every day and prepare to be amused and, perhaps...inspired?
Liberated Matter has put up a lovely mixtape that I immediately had to go and soak up, featuring a new track from My Brightest Diamond-- whom I Love, with a capital L. I've put up the track here, but you can check out the rest of the mix (along with artwork and a booklet) over at their site.
* There's a (pre)release party for Björk's Volta happening in NYC on April 20th, held by TRIPNOTICA & Atlantic Records. You can find more info about the whens and hows, if you happen to be in the Big Apple and want to stop by: TRIPNOTICA.
I AM 8BIT opens tomorrow night at Gallery1988 (which, lookylooky, now has a blog). Stella IM Hultberg has put up a preview, and I'm sure there will be tons of photos from the event after tomorrow. From the site: Over 200 original pieces of art from over 100 artists --- Giant 5-and-a-half foot Atari 2600 controller (that works!) --- Mega Man 2600, playable on giant controller (developed exclusively for I AM 8-BIT to celebrate the Blue Bomber’s 20th Anniversary)
(Me = desperately wants to play Megaman with a giant Atari controller.)
Dean on 
