Acoustic: Carolina Liar

I heard these guys in an interview with 105.7, the alt-rock station in St. Louis, and thought they were pretty cool. They did an acoustic version of their new single "I'm Not Over" and did a damn good job. I couldn't find that performance on the internet, but I found a similar version that they did for another radio station. Surprisingly, I thought that their acoustic version was better than the studio version.

Remixes: Santogold drunk on Bud Light

Here's a phenomenal remix of Santogold's "Lights Out" that is being listed as "The Bud Light Remix", which is weird, because I'm almost 100% sure that the "Lights Out" that you hear in the Bud Light commercials is the studio version, so I have no idea why this remix exists. It doesn't matter though, because it's fantastic. It's my favorite kind of remix, as in a remix that doesn't sound like a remix. It's sped up a little, the pacing is toyed with, the synths are swapped out, and the result is a tighter, more energetic song that's on par with the original. And here it is:

Music Videos: "Flashing Lights", Part II

So, Kanye West made another crazy-ass video for "Flashing Lights" because he wasn't getting enough attention this week. Apparently there's a third one coming too. I liked this one better than the first; there's less shock value, but it's so much more interesting visually. I hope this video trilogy stunt brings more attention to this song, because it really deserves be the hit that "Stronger" was.

Remixes: Radiohead, the Rainydayz mixes

Quick Friday pre-weekend post 3 2 1 go...

Live Acoustic: Dustin Kensrue

This is at least three years out of date and I have no idea why I'm posting it now, but it's nice and makes me happy, so here it is. Dustin Kensrue. '05 solo tour. "Stare At The Sun". Live. Acoustic. Completely loveable.

Music Videos: New Alanis

I knew relationship drama would be the best thing to ever happen to Alanis Morisette. Artistically, anyway. The video for her new single, "Underneath", hit the internet today, and it's the coolest thing she's done in a while. The melody is nice and the lyrics settle in better each time you listen to it. It won't evoke the same response that "Jagged Little Pill" did, but this seriously might be the most interesting work she's done since then.

New Music: Foxboro Hot Tubs

Green Day is back, but you might not notice at first. As a brilliant ploy to hide from the backlash of long-time critics and the restrictive expectations of long-time fans, Green Day has released an album under a completely different style and name: Foxboro Hot Tubs. FHT is wild experimental ride through old school rock that won't seem fresh for very long but is a hell of a lot of fun for the here and now. Check out the stream:

Covers: Usher as classical music

WE'RE BACK! Finally. Anyway, here's a vid of phenomenal pianist David Sides performing "Love In This Club" as a full-scale piano solo. It works so much more than you would ever expect it to.

New Music: Death Cab's "Narrow Stairs"

OK, update: we're hoping to put up a couple more posts by the weekend, and then be back FULL TIME again starting Monday. Apologies for the sudden flatline in posting, but Best Buy customer service has been our worst enemy for the last couple weeks and internet access has been a challenge. But an end to the ridiculousness is in sight.

Anyway, new Death Cab is out. And it's fantastic. It doesn't have the same deep personal connection as "Plans" or "Transatlanticism", but it's still an amazing achievement. It's one of those albums you need to listen to a couple times to fully absorb it. Here's the iMeem stream of the whole brilliant thing:

New Music: Surprise NIN

Massive apologies for the sudden lapse in posting. We're experiencing some extreme difficulties with our laptop's internet connection, and until that gets worked out, expect slightly more sporadic posting. Hopefully it'll all be resolved in the next couple weeks.

In the meantime, let's celebrate the fact that NIN followed in The Raconteurs footsteps and sprung a new album on us out of nowhere, and then followed in Radiohead's footsteps by giving away the album for free on their website. It's called "The Slip", and it's Trent's attempt at a healthy balance between the extreme-left-center experimental work from "Ghosts" and his Saul Williams productions and the (relatively) more accessible work of "With Teeth" "Year Zero". The album is uneven at best, but still has some good moments... namely "Echoplex", which we've uploaded to iMeem just for you.