New Third Eye Blind(???)

Yes, it's true. New Third Eye Blind (or 3EB for those growing up in the mid 90s) material on the way. A three song EP to come out in November, followed by a 2009 full-length. I've always had a soft-spot for these guys and I still think their debut self-titled album was a great piece of pop music. Check out their new jam.

Third Eye Blind - Non-Dairy Creamer

"This Whole Premise Is Sweaty!"

Best. Halloween. Song. Ever! Fans of 30 Rock should recognize immediately. The first video is the clip in its original context. The second video has lots of pictures of Jewish boys and Jason Batemen. Then the mp3 for free download, so you can listen to it on the go.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Tracy Jordan - Werewolf Bar Mitzvah

(ctrl/right click to download)

Yeasayer TONIGHT!!!

Today's a good day for a couple of reasons:
1. It's Halloween.
2. This looks to be the first Halloween where someone doesn't try and fight me for looking like a sexy Spiderman.
3. Going to see Yeasayer in a few hours where my face will be rocked with some indie-hippie-psychadelic-middle-eastern-gospel tunes. For all you Chicagoans, enjoy KOL, WAS, and the Stills.

I'll be watching this:

Sunrise


2080

Boom! Ninja time on my own ears.

Wilco Play "Wilco The Song" On Colbert

Free Wilco/Fleet Foxes Doing Bob Dylan

So Wilco and Fleet Foxes are giving away their gorgeous live version of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" from an Oregon performance if you simply take the pledge to vote HERE (which you should all be doing anyway). Free stuff is always good, and voting is even better. America!!

New Artist Alert...Sort of

Most of you gossip-types out there have probably already read about/seen this, but the clip is new to me. It's of Joaquin Phoenix announcing his formal resignation from acting, allegedly to pursue a music career. Now I like Joaquin just fine, but he's coming off like a bit of a jerkstore here.

"Boom! Ninja time on my own face."

Sooo much like dude.

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

80 or 08?

The song's called "Walking On A Dream". The band is called Empire of the Sun. They're Australian. I don't know too much more than that, but I do know that this '08 song sounds sort of 80s-tastic. It seems to lift the melody/vocal styling off of some Tegan and Sara song. It sorta sounds like it could have been a MGMT song. And that album cover looks like it could have been a movie poster for the next Star Wars installment. Those are all positives in my book. Give it a listen.

Empire of the Sun - Walking On A Dream

NOLA

Seeing as how I just came back from the grand 'ol city of New Orleans, Louisiana, I thought I'd drop this little nugget of real world blues on y'all. Nothing more than accordion and gorgeous vocals (sung in Creole).

 Amédé Ardoin - "Tostape de Jennings"

Thanks to Said the Gramophone.

New Beirut

Finally. One of my favorite bands of all time (Beirut) has finally announced the release of some new material. Two EPs, one under the Beirut moniker (March of the Zepotac), and one under Beirut mastermind Zach Condon's old moniker, The Real People (Holland). Both are coming out February 17.

This song was featured on Natalie Portman's benefit compilation album, Big Change: Songs For FINCA, a while back, but it will also appear on Holland.

Beirut/The Real People - My Night With The Prostitute From Marseille

Borat Is Still Funny To Me (plus Neil Patrick Harris [and Tom Cruise not seeming so crazy])

Ugh...

I just threw up inside my own face.
CLICK ME

EDIT: Maybe I should clarify what exactly it is about this premise that bothers me. It's not the idea of tiny little indie bands I like, once my special little secret, being exposed to the masses. It's not the idea of bands I like "selling out" by allowing their songs to appear on TV shows or commercials (personally, I think it's a great way to get some quick exposure to a much larger audience [especially now that terrestrial radio and music television is effectively dead], as well as one of the only ways for small acts to get enough money in their pockets so that they may continue to record songs, put out records, and tour). It's not even the idea of people liking great songs not for their inherent greatness, but because it was the song to which their two favorite teen-drama characters first kissed.

What bothers me is the idea that, in order to get the American people interested in and aware of great new music, we have resorted to creating a teen web drama that revolves around a town called "Rockville," (more like "Barfville") where the music remains in the show's penumbra (law word!), while most of the focus stays on some girl trying to decide whether or not to go to the high school sockhop with the dreamy, blonde, convertible-driving, country club-going, all-star quarterback from the wealthy blue-blood family with the yacht, or to go with the dreamy, dark-haired, leather jacket-wearing, brooding, motorcycle-riding bad boy with a checkered past from the wrong side of town. Lame. So lame.

And, for those of you wondering, in high school I obviously fell into the latter category. Minus the leather jacket and the motorcycle and the checkered past and the brooding and the wrong side of town thing. So...just the dark-hair.

Cold War Kids on Leno: "Something Is Not Right With Me"

Not my favorite track off of the new album (see "I've Seen Enough" and "Relief"), but these guys put their hearts into it live.

Kings Of Leon Live On Jools Holland

As usual, the Followills sound tight as buckets live.

Sex On Fire


Use Somebody (love the harmonies on this one)


On Call

Animal Collective Listening Party Recap

So AC have got a new album dropping on January 20th. They had a listening party in New York the other day, and Pitchfork was there to report on it. From what I've read, it sounds like it's going to be more in the vein of their heavier, trance-ier stuff. Check out the trippy album cover above, get the low-down on the songs over HERE, and enjoy my favorite Animal Collective song below.

Animal Collective - Fireworks

(ctrl/right click to download)

The Streets Live on Jools Holland: "Everything Is Borrowed"

Mike Skinner and a butt-ton of musicians headed into Jools Holland to play the excellently uplifting lead track, "Everything Is Borrowed", from the Streets' most recent release of the same name. Check it out below, and then check out the video for the equally uplifting (but even more excellent) closing track, "The Escapist" (I believe Mike travelled from England to the coast of France on foot [and some boat]).

Bloc Party Making Modern Love In An Alley

I knew this one was coming for a bit. I caught a youtube cellphone video of Kele and Russell playing an acoustic "This Modern Love" in an alley in Paris over at a BP fansite. Within the footage I noticed a familiar face recording the performance with a real camera. It ended up being one of the guys from the fantastic Blogotheque. Check it out.

Bloc Party, 'This Modern Love' - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

New Stills Video: "Being Here"

Here's the mediocre new video for the excellent first single off of the Stills' mostly great new album (Oceans Will Rise). The video features Chris Elliott reprising his role as the butler with the janky hand in "Scary Movie 2."

Andrew Bird and Yo Yo Ma Just Being Andrew Bird and Yo Yo Ma

null |MTV Music

Animal Cuteness Overload: Bambi and Thumper...For Realz

As many of you may know, I looooove animals. BBWH will work tirelessly to bring you the cutest/most vicious of them.

Melts my little heart.

Wilco Heading Back Into the Studio

According to NME, Wilco have finished up on a whole slew of demos and are heading back into a Chicago studio to pick and choose some solid songs for their next release. Sonically, the band expects the album to be "a much wilder, more unexpected record."

Sky Blue Sky was one of my favorites, so if they can keep the melodies as strong but add a bit of kick to it, I'd be a happy little camper.

WILCO - YOU ARE MY FACE

(click on the link to download)

Passion Pit (one last time)

Just wanted to make sure that you all knew about these New Englanders by now. I know I've posted on them three or four times on the SCOPE blog before, but now I see that they've been bumped by MTV and youtube today, so I figure one last call to listen is in order.

Won't bother with any major introduction. If you guys/gals like Muscles, you'll probably like Passion Pit. Scientifically guaranteed to make awkward white kids dance.

 Word has it that they killed it at CMJ this year.

Sleepyhead - Passion Pit

(ctrl/right click to download)

Kings Of Leon B-Side: "Frontier City"

I know there are quite a few of you Chicago bros and broettes going to see KOL at the Aragon on Halloween (with We Are Scientists and the Stills opening [both of whom you should definitely try and catch]). But to get y'all prepared for any surprises they may throw your way, here's vinyl only b-side from their recent fourth full-length, Only By The Night. Personally, I think the song should have knocked out a couple of the ones that made the album, but you can't win 'em all.

New Bloc Party Tracks

So most of you Blocheads have probably already heard most, if not all, of Bloc Party's third album, Intimacy, which received only a digital release until now. Well, the physical album is due out in U.S. stores tomorrow and it comes with two non-digital tracks, "Letter To My Son" and "Your Visits Are Getting Shorter." The former track features the first ever Bloc Party song to feature acoustic guitar, at least as far as I'm aware of. Feels like it would have fit in with a number of A Weekend... b-sides. The latter track is a little more in the vein of the electro-tinged Intimacy tracks. The intro feels a little Burial-y with some pretty strings, but quickly gives way to more dance-y "Ares"/"Mercury" type grooves (although considerably less grating). You can grab both of them HERE. 

So It Begins...

Dear Loyal Reader,

This blog was a long time coming. I've always been desperate to share the music (and pop culture) I love with the people I love, but was having trouble figuring out a quick and easy way to do that while I'm stuck here in Iowa Shitty. The SCOPE blog gave me a bit of a chance to do that, but it felt like I was cheating my tastes by mixing my posts with the constant jibber jabber of the other writers, often posting about stuff I didn't care for. So read on and enjoy the music, videos, and street cred that come with checking this blog on a regular basis.

kappy