Exclusive video of Stereolab recording session

Frida Hyvönen

Frida Hyvönen

Swedish

Awesome

Listen

Frida Hyvönen - The Modern

Watch

"And it was sung for your ears only"

One of the reasons that make The Concretes such a good band is that they seem to have impeccable taste, their videos always have such a grand aesthetic.

The new video for "On the Radio"

The Mouser Heavyweight

Towser caught nearly 30,000 mice in his 24-year lifetime which earned him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. Towser was employed by The Glenturret Distillery, the oldest Distillery in Scotland.

A statue was erected on the distillery grounds to honor Towser who passed away in 1987.

Towser's immediate successor, Amber, was not quite so successful. During her 16 year career at Glenturret she never produced a single mouse. In 2001 she almost broke her back cornering a mouse. Sadly, it escaped.

Last year the Distillery held a "Puss Idol" contest to find a successor to Towser, narrowing the contest to nine contestants.

Hannah, one of the contestants...





"Despite having one eye, she is described as very sociable and enjoys making new friends."





The Distillery conceded that no single cat was fit to fill Towsers paw boots so they chose two, Dylan and Brooke.

You can view the winners and all the contestants here.

Paradiddle that snare Vinnie Chase

If you haven't had the chance to watch the HBO series Entourage, definitely put that on your queue. In the last two months, staff here at I'm So Sorry For This blog have had two Adrien Grenier sightings. First at The Belle and Sebastian concert in Los Angeles, followed a month later with a spotting in front of The SoHo Grand Hotel in NYC.

We just discovered that he plays drums in a band called The Honey Brothers who the Village Voice described as being "Glam ukulele rock that manages to reference the country-tinged sensitivity of the Silver Jews, the Beach Boys’ summery harmonies and the playful weirdness of Ween".

They are definitely better than Dogstar but better than The Bacon Brothers? Not so fast.

Website and Audio here

Mr. Alton Ellis

Thinking about and listening to Desmond Dekker this past weekend, I went into my library and pulled out some other Jamaican favorites. My first pick, Alton Ellis. Ellis is a pioneer of Jamaican music and one of the Godfathers of Rock Steady. The man is smooth, smooth, smooth...listen to him belt it.

Alton Ellis - Breaking Up is Hard to Do (Duet with his sister Hortense)
Alton Ellis - Sitting in the Park
Alton Ellis - Better Example

Holiday

Billie Holiday - I Cover The Waterfront
Billie Holiday - (There is) No Greater Love
Billie Holiday - Trav'lin' Light

f.u.t.u.r.e.h.e.a.d.s

I've only recorded a quarter of the songs from the upcoming Futureheads to listen to on my cassette walkman.

So far it blows...me out of the water!

I'm thinking I'm going to like News and Tributes better than the first record.

Out in the US on June 13th with a tour of the States starting a few days later.

The Futureheads - News and Tributes
The Futureheads - Burnt

Jamaican ska great Desmond Dekker dies

We absolutely love Desmond Dekker. We are bummed out again for the second time this month.

Idol Mania!!!

This is too good not to post, watching this is like seeing your Dad checking out girls at the mall.



clay Aiken 2.0

Pram Jam

It's wonderful when you do a little bit of spring cleaning and you run across some records that haven't been listened to in years.

England's Pram and their 2000 record The Museum of Imaginary Animals sounds every bit as good today as it did back then.

I've always identified them along with Broadcast and Stereolab as part of the keyboard triumpharite. If Stereolab is the drink and Broadcast the marijuana, Pram is the LSD.


I came across this funny yet perfect description of them at Capsule.org.uk:

"PRAM are best described as kitsch - horror music , incorporating Fisher Price toys, triangles and glockenspiels with eerie keyboards , horns in a jazz tinged lounge music style, which is best summed up as 'uneasy listening' music."

Pram - Mother of Pearl
Pram - Bewitched
Pram - A Million Bubbles Burst

Michael McDonald wins Idol

Michael McDonald, 54, won the 2006 edition of the American Idol contest beating out Katharine McPhee, 22.

More than 63 million votes were cast, "more than any president in the history of our country has received," Ryan Seacrest said.

Classic footage of the new American Idol with his band The Doobie Brothers performing "What A Fool Believes"

Camera Obscura North American tour dates

Get Me Out of This Country is the best record from track A to Z that I've heard in the past few years.

July 2006
Tuesday, 4 Toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern
Wednesday, 5 Montreal, QUE La Sala Rossa
Thursday, 6 Boston, MA Great Scott
Friday, 7 New York,NY Bowery Ballroom
Saturday, 8 Philadelphia, PA Northstar Bar
Sunday, 9 Washington, DC Black Cat
Tuesday, 11 Carborro, NC Cat's Cradle
Wednesday, 12 Atlanta, GA The Earl
Thursday, 13 Memphis, TN Hi Tone
Friday, 14 Dallas, TX Gypsy Tea Room
Saturday, 15 Austin, TX Emo's
Monday, 17 Tuscon, AZ Plush
Tuesday, 18 San Diego, CA The Casbah
Wednesday, 19 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
Thursday, 20 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
Saturday, 22 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge
Sunday, 23 Seattle, WA Neumo's
Monday, 24 Vancouver Plaza Club
Thursday, 27 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theatre
Friday, 28 Chicago, IL Logan Square
Saturday, 29 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop
Sunday, 30 Newport, KY Southgate House

They Are The Pipettes

There's no doubt that "Your Kisses are Wasted on Me" and "Dirty Mind are great singles, but maybe a friend should suggest to The Pipettes that they only put out singles every now and then and ditch the album idea.

The new record We are the Pipettes is not bad at all, it's just listening to the record's 14 songs in one sitting I've become a little bit antsy.

It's like when you were a kid and you went to the bank with your mom and started shoving the free sugarcubes they had out for the coffee into your mouth. You realized you should have stopped after two or three but you ended up eating 14 and feeling insane.


From their forthcoming album, We Are The Pipettes, released by Memphis Industries on the 17th of July.

The Pipettes - Tell Me What You Want
The Pipettes - I Love You

The Tao of Willie

That Willie...he'll totally smoke you out.

Read the first chapter

Willie Facts:

• He earned his black belt at Tae Kwon Do at age 69, completing a spinning back-kick to break two boards as part of the test.
• He says the pot smoking hasn't hindered his songwriting. On the contrary, it may have helped filter out the duds. "I figured if it wasn't worth remembering it probably wasn't a very good song, so that would be the test, to see if I remembered it until I got back to a guitar or a piano," he said. "That was usually a pretty good measuring stick, but I'm sure I forgot a few that might have been OK."
  

Close Encounter of the 'Furred' Kind

1978's hillarious family comedy The Cat from Outer Space:

There's magic in the memories as great Disney moments are captured right here for you and your family to enjoy. Cosmic comedy is on the prowl when an extraterrestrial cat named Jake is forced to crash-land his spaceship on Earth. Jake then proceeds to lead a physicist, his girlfriend, the Army, and a team of baffled scientists on endless escapades during his unscheduled and hilarious visit!

six minus two equals three

Willoughby, the affectionate orange tabby from Edmonton who gained international attention for his six legs, underwent a double amputation Wednesday and was back home yesterday recovering. The year-old feline was having considerable difficulty getting around with four front legs.

The two front limbs that were amputated were on the left side of his body, faced opposite directions and were underdeveloped, explained Wilde, who has never before seen a six-legged cat.

"One (leg) was facing forward and one was facing backward," said Dr. Tammy Wilde, a vet at the Tudor Glen Veterinary Clinic in St. Albert who performed the hour-long operation, adding the limbs only served to trip up the cat. "This is going to give him better balance."On the other side, Willoughby has two front limbs that are fused together from the shoulder down to the paws, effectively serving as one leg.

"He's a three-legged cat now with four legs"

- Edmonton Sun April 28, 2006

That's Not Hot

Jam on this

The leaked Paris Hilton song "Turn You On"

"The clubs not hot until I walk thru
They stop and stare and watch me move like (damn I like that)
I'm sexy and you know it, clap your hands"

Dream of Birnam Woods

Two upcoming events in San Francisco to celebrate the life of Go-Betweens Grant McLennan

Tonight, Monday May 22nd at The Attic (24th between valencia and mission)
A tribute to Grant Mclennan. DJ Holly and DJ Jessica B will spin your favorite Go-Betweens songs.

Wednesday June 7th at The Hemlock Tavern.
Tribute concert and benefit (with members of Still Flyin', "Eddie Money", and Architecture in Helsinki playing a shitload of our and your favorite Grant songs.).

Go-Betweens - Going Blind

Village Voice's cranky pants Robert Christgau's nice obituary for Grant

The video for "Right Here"

Cool Patrol

Martin Leung, the Video Game pianist

You can find out everything you've ever wanted to know about him at his extensive Wikipedia entry

For Example:

• Leung is an avid fan of Pink Floyd.
• When Leung performed at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas he was spurred by the audience to do 21 encores

Video Game Pianist - Super Mario Brothers Theme
Video Game Pianist - Legend of Zelda

Stray Kitten Rights

From Valleywag

What heart could not be melted by kittens on the back porch? The icy heart of star web developer Jason Fried. Instead of letting a set of stray kittens (pictured) into his home, the 37signals co-founder sent photos to friend and blogebrity Sarah Hatter. Now Sarah is campaigning on Flickr to save the kitties
More Sadness

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sh/148807459/in/photostream/

Words so true Big Strong Union

Big Strong Union - Internet poker ruined my life

Sweden's Big Strong Union a little like Wolf Parade without the strychnine.

Big Strong Union - Happiest Valentine

Barcelona vs. Arsenal

This cat is rooting for Barcelona

Te Amo Yo La Tengo

"Beanbag Chair"

First MP3 from the upcoming brand-new Yo La Tengo album,I Am Not Afraid Of You and I Will Kick Your Ass in stores Sept 12, 2006

We Love The Jams And Jams Run Free

I've been listening a lot to the new Sonic Youth record Rather Ripped that hits the streets on June 13th. The first SY record since Daydream Nation that I've really embraced whole, the obvious ace in the deck is "Jams Run Free" a Kim Gordon-centric song.

rbally blog posted a recent SY performance on French radio. Two songs I wanted to note from the performance that I liked a lot on the record are "Do You Believe In Rapture" and "Or" (which reminds me of a Doors jam).

Clip of Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon on Gilmore Girls last week with guest star Coco Gordon Moore rockin' the bass.

Mr.Boots, Catnip Addict

Listen

I can't stay mad at you Camera Obscura

The great Spanish label Elefant Records has made available the B-side to the 7" vinyl release of "Lloyd, I'm ready to be heartbroken".

In Real Audio only
I can't stay mad at you (a cover of the Skeeter Davis song)

White Lightning

Another amazing Norwegian band.

White Lightning makes me think a little of The Pale Saints.

Three songs are posted on their myspace page, Harald from WL wrote back to me to let me know that the songs are still works in progress.

Go listen to them, you'll be psyched.






How nice a venue does this look...





The Pale Saints - Baby Maker
The Pale Saints - Throwing Back The Apple
The Pale Saints - Sight of You

Hawkeye the Scuba Diving Cat

Jolie Holland does an Amoeba

Jolie Holland free in-store in the San Francisco Amoeba tomorrow (Saturday May 13th) at 2 pm.

From the just released LP Springtime Can Kill You
Jolie Holland - Springtime Can Kill You
Jolie Holland - Crush in the Ghetto

Crystal Skulls = Awesome Skulls

The Skulls interview and session on Minnesota Public Radio, Songs performed: "Away From Home," "Baby Boy," and "Outgoing Behavior."
Listen to it here

Here's a live sketch version of "Baby Boy" from April of 2005 via Bradley's Almanac blog.

3 more shows left on the West Coast with Helio Sequence
05/11 Thu, Los Angeles CA Spaceland
05/12 Fri, Visalia CA Howie & Sons Pizza
05/13 Sat, San Francisco CA Rickshaw Stop

Mini-Heed II, the fan club + Pizzo

Watch Video

A local woman who believes she has the smallest cat in the world made a visit to Hillcrest after getting a letter from a senior citizen who is a fan. The woman had asked for a photo of the cat but instead got a surprise visit. "He wanted to say hello," the kitten's owner, Tiffani Kjeldergaard, told the woman.

The kitten's names is Heed, and Kjeldergaard said the 4-month-old is only 3.2 inches tall. This fall, when he is a bit older, Heed is going to be measured for the Guinness Book of World Records.

Heed also has a younger sister, Pizzo, both of whom are munchkin cats. The siblings are bred for their diminutive size, but the breed is controversial. The Humane Society argues that the animals are often inbred and frequently can have health problems. The cats have also have shorter life spans. Heed's owner told NBC 7/39 that she disagreed about the inbreeding, saying that you don't need two munchkins to breed a munchkin. In fact, she said, Heed's father is a normal cat.

Previously:
Mini-Heed http://imsosorryforthis.blogspot.com/2006/03/mini-heed.html

Cat "Unfortunate" to hear...

...will check out what all the fuss is about with Gnarls Barkley

AweOSLOsome

Je Suis Animal. G-Train let me in on this band

This Norwegian band is straight out of C86.

They Rule

Someone in America sign them or we die.

Make sure to listen to “Labyrinthe Game”
http://www.myspace.com/jesuisanimal

Heart Cooks Brain

If I were to imagine the perfect record it would sound exactly like New Buffalo's The Last Beautiful Day. Released last year on Arts and Crafts, New Buffalo is Sally Seltmann, who wrote all the songs and played all the instruments (save drums). I have much love for this record at the moment, so listen to these tracks, teleport to the record store , buy the album and float home.

New Buffalo - On Sunday
New Buffalo - No Party

New Buffalo is on a North American tour supporting The Concretes.

Monday May 8, 2006, New York City, NY, Bowery Ballroom
Wednesday May 10, 2006, Boston , MA, Paradise
Thursday May 11, 2006, Philadelphia, PA, TLA
Saturday May 13, 2006, Chicago , IL, Martyrs
Sunday May 14, 2006, Minneapolis, MF, Fine Line
Wednesday May 17, 2006, Vancouver , BC, Richards
Thursday May 18, 2006, Seattle , WA, Crocodile
Friday May 19, 2006, Portland , OR, Doug Fir
Saturday May 20, 2006, San Francisco, CA, GAMH
Tuesday May 23, 2006, Los Angeles, CA, Troubadour
Wednesday May 24, 2006, San Diego, CA, Casbah

"Lloyd, I'm ready to be heartbroken" video

http://www.elefant.com/en/grupos_fin.php?id=5&n=4394

sadness

Grant McLennan passed away.

On Saturday 6th May 2006, legendary Australian singer-songwriter and member of The Go-Betweens Grant McLennan died in his sleep at his home in Brisbane.

read more

Leftist Cats

Cats against Bush merchandise

Cats hate Bush website

Adult Age Riot

Stereogum posted a new Sonic Youth song "What A Waste" from the upcoming album Rather Ripped out on June 13th. So far so Sonic Youth good.

Stream another song from the record "Incinerate"

WM Hi - http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/geffen/sonic_youth/audio/rather_ripped/incinerate/00_hi.asx?siteid=filter
WM Lo - http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/geffen/sonic_youth/audio/rather_ripped/incinerate/00_lo.asx?siteid=filter
Real Hi - http://boss.streamos.com/real/geffen/sonic_youth/audio/rather_ripped/incinerate/00_hi.ram?siteid=filter
Real Lo - http://boss.streamos.com/real/geffen/sonic_youth/audio/rather_ripped/incinerate/00_lo.ram?siteid=filter

When's the Coco Gordon Moore solo noise- experimental limited 10' inch one-sided vinyl hitting the streets? She's proven cooler than you again with her own Wikipedia page


The song that is the anthem of youth

Sonic Youth - Teen Age Riot

New Killers record to sound like The Boss's "Glory Days"

I agree with Goldenfiddle with their headline"The Killers are recording the worst album of the last 20 years."

From NME
"(The Killers Brandon) Flowers said of the recording process: "We just have to make the best album that we can. And we're doing it. This album is one of the best albums in the past 20 years. There's nothing that touches this album. And that sounds like I'm being cocky, but I'm just so excited."

The singer has now revealed more about his love for The Boss and said that he feels 'reborn' after discovering his music."

B.F.F

Holy Smokes, this video clip from Japan about the friendship between a kitty and a rooster is just too good. It's totally cry good.

Three Times Three

Came across this amazing article in yesterday's New York Times, this woman loves cats!

"Any evil intention against my cats and me, will come back to you, three times three."
Thus spoke the witch of Elmhurst last week, casting a protective spell over her coven of cats — 30 strong, but shrinking by the day — living in the rent-controlled studio apartment she shares with her mother on 80th Street in Queens.
The witch happens to be Melanie Neer, 50, a student of the principles of Wicca and Harry Potter.
The evil intention happens to be an eviction order from her landlord, who has long complained about the intense cat odor coming from the apartment.
Although it is against Wiccan principles to put a harmful spell upon others, Ms. Neer said as she took out a special candle used for "super-duper protection spells," one may cast a boomerang spell on a harmful person to so that the harm comes back to him.

Read more

pulasu minusu

I've been listening to the new plus/minus let's build a fire on repeat, sadly for you the records only been released in Japan. Yes this means Japan is still #1, the Japanese love Cats!

I believe it'll be released in the Americas later this summer on Absolutely Kosher.

I've read on the blogosphere that plus/minus is "the next Arcade Fire", which would mean that the David's Byrne & Bowie should be hitting them up to kick out some cred jams. I won't deny that I think the new record is as good as that Arcade Fire record, it's at least more interesting to me right now.

plus/minus doesn't have a dude in a motorcycle helmet with drumsticks doing triplets on himself on stage cause +/- are doing paradiddles on your soul.

plus/minus drummer and smoke master extrodinaire (food not weed) Chris Deaner made this very excellent video for the song "Steal the Blueprints"



a clearer version of the same video here, along with some more audio/video.

plus/minus - One Day You'll Be There (one of my favorites from let's build a fire)
plus/minus - The Queen of Detroit (from self-titled long-playing debut album)
plus/minus - I've been lost (from holding patterns)