espn + uefa cup + rogue wave = smile

rogue wave - harmonium

for a limited time only - expired

had a post here, you missed it. sorry. it was the start of a short story. hopefully, i'll finish the thing and you'll read it published somewhere else, someday. until then, check out my pics from a beautiful weekend in phoenix. run the slideshow, set to a couple songs that fit my mood...

photos

the avett bros - if it's the beaches

basia bulat - little waltz

cat power - the colors and the kids

fin.

for now.

Re: Hum's song "Stars" in Cadillac commercial

this was too good not to share. there's another one out too, but i can't find it on youtube. both ads -- this one, and "hammer" -- are up here.

tracking it down was half as fun as watching the thing. realizing the first source google finds is the first place i should have looked, i know better -- openingbands.com, the community local music portal back in champaign. and these guys are all having similarly crazed reactions (mine was a verbal "holy shit!")...

Re: Hum's song "Stars" in Cadillac commercial
They did make good use of that short clip. Actually gave me shivers a bit.

me too, baby. what a good commercial. what a simple, guilty pleasure. openingbands thread.



until next time,

rock
paper
scissors

End of the Road for Internet Radio?

I don't usually do something like this, but I'm e-mailing everyone because this is personal and kind of a big deal. If you have some free time this afternoon and can catch up on the issue, the links on this page are great resources. I understand that "calling a senator" seems daunting, but it's really not. The link in the first paragraph walks you through step-by-step, and even gives you a little cue card to read from. Thanks! -Ryan

From WOXY's blog, The Futurist, this morning:

We got word here this morning that yesterday afternoon that the US Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. denied webcasters' emergency motion for a stay of the new royalty rates set to crush the Internet broadcasting industry. This means that now the rates will officially go into effect this Sunday, July 15th, and many webcasters are facing retroactive royalty bills of tens of thousands of dollars (millions for the big guys).

First things first – CALL YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES TODAY! Urge them to support the "Internet Radio Equality Act." If they've already co-sponsored, thank them and tell them to fight to bring it to the floor for an immediate vote. Even if you've already called, call again. If the line is busy, call back. This is our last good chance to make some noise about this before lots (and I mean LOTS) of Internet radio operations go silent.

Where will it go from here? What happens on July 16th? Hard to tell at this point. Webcasters really have three options: cough up the piles of cash required to keep broadcasting and the tens or hundreds of thousands that they owe in back royalties (not an option for most webcasters); not pay and keep broadcasting (which will put you legally in violation of US Copyright Law); or shut it down (which still doesn't relieve you of paying the thousands of dollars in retroactive royalties back to January 1, 2006). It's a difficult choice to be sure. While the fight to overturn the royalty rates will surely continue after July 15th, I think the majority of small webcasters will be unwilling to take the financial and legal risk of staying on-the-air and will simply go silent.

We'll post more updates here at The Futurist as we get em. Also some great resources for the latest news on the situation are KurtHanson.com, SaveNetRadio.org, and for a more in-depth legal analysis check out David Oxenford's excellent Broadcast Law Blog.

--

I just called my two senators and asked them to cosponsor this, and thanked my representative for already cosponsoring but to please bring it to the floor immediately... kind of exciting... do it!!

talking

And then a scholar said, "Speak of Talking."

And he answered, saying:

You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts;

And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips, and sound is a diversion and a pastime.

And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered.

For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words many indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly.

There are those among you who seek the talkative through fear of being alone.

The silence of aloneness reveals to their eyes their naked selves and they would escape.

And there are those who talk, and without knowledge or forethought reveal a truth which they themselves do not understand.

And there are those who have the truth within them, but they tell it not in words.

In the bosom of such as these the spirit dwells in rhythmic silence.

When you meet your friend on the roadside or in the market place, let the spirit in you move your lips and direct your tongue.

Let the voice within your voice speak to the ear of his ear;

For his soul will keep the truth of your heart as the taste of the wine is remembered

When the color is forgotten and the vessel is no more.

from the prophet by kahlil gibran

hold ourselves together with our arms around the stereo

you're going to be hearing a lot about the national this week. their 4th full-length, boxer, comes out today. we've already featured two tracks here, and i emailed a third, hauntingly sappy one to friends i miss from home. how about another?

the national - apartment story

mtv's subterranean premiered the band's video for "mistaken for strangers," track two on the album, and seven on jeff's mix. i wanna be the guy in headphones.

sam's town

I sincerely apologize for having dropped off the face of the planet like I have, but thankfully, Sam is here to rescue us all with a mix I've been listening to nonstop for the past 24 hours, and one I hope you'll spend as much time with yourself. Without ado...

SAMANTHA'S MIX: i want people to be afraid of how much they love me [pop-up player]

1. muscle 'n flo - menomena....they have shocked me, shocked me, SHOCKED ME! a lovely surprise and i haven't heard anything like it in years.

2. punctual as usual - the parson red heads....a summer video montage, driving with the windows down in a road-worn saturn, humming along "you are the ground beneath my feet."

3. a king and a queen - okkervil river....a sick, sweet waltz. and i'm a sucker for the horn intro.

4. goodbye - asobi seksu....i bought this cd on a lark when i had a free afternoon and too much money on my debit card. love from the get-go. and she inspires me to learn japanese...one day.

5. stars and sons - broken social scene....i watched half nelson on a snowy, cold saturday morning, wrapped in a blanket at my desk. he started to dance and i just knew.

6. beverly - the carrots....toe tapping, 60s girl harmony that makes me wish i was sipping lemonade and listening to vinyl, my hair up in a beehive and my feet zipped up in a great pair of go-go boots.

7. comfy in nautica - panda bear....wow.

8. wet and rusting - menomena....there's an awesome home-made video of the band members jumping up and down on mini trampolines. just makes me smile.

9. tokyo - headlights...jeff and i have debated many a time the best headlights material, and while i love the new stuff, i always come back to this song. "if home is where the heart is, then home is here." if that doesn't say it all....

10. look! - the antlers....in the attic of the universe is my most unexpected and cherished find. it just sounds like magic. anyone can download the album *FREE* at reloada.uk.com and i suggest that you do.

11. wearing the colors - the laughing....i just want to be in a dark nyc night club, wearing tight pants and grinding up on some rock and roll, indie dude that puts his eye liner on better than i do.

12. crown of love - the arcade fire...i was never a huge af fan until i saw their video at blogotheque and now i'm sifting through the material, hoping to find a real gem. this could be....? might be...? i haven't decided.

13. my moon my man - feist....1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10 reasons to love this song. :D haha, and the album for that matter. i wish i was a sealion woman.

14. snow & lights - explosions in the sky....a song i love to get lost in, lying on my floor with my eyes closed, just day dreaming.

15. goodhouses - madeline....be careful; this one will getcha. hauntingly beautiful.

16. sawdust & diamonds - joanna newsom....one long song after another, i know, but she's just such a great story teller. her voice cracks in just the right way and she's totally believable. she could sell me anything and i'd snatch it right up.

17. save your day - jose gonzalez....oh, jose. my lover, you have comforted me on so many nights. he's always ready to wipe away my harshest and fiercest of tears, with never a complaint. oh, jose. and! seeing him live was like seeing the messiah. but better.

18. holland - sufjan stevens....even sad things are beautiful.

19. the apple tree - peter and the wolf...."how lucky to be, so unusally free."

[I'm going to put this up as a ZIP file to download, but I'm having trouble archiving it. Anticipation makes the pleasure.]

--

Libra (September 23-October 22)
"There can be no transformation of darkness into light and of apathy into movement without emotion," wrote psychologist Carl Jung. That should be your motto in the coming week, Libra. Clear thinking and impeccable logic will not be sufficient to guide you to your next great adventure. You need the driving force of succulent emotion rising up in your solar plexus, the lush power of raw sensitivity piercing your heart. Feel as deep as you dare.