R.E.M. Take Away Shows

R.E.M. did some very cool Take Aways Shows. Check them out here.

Be Your Own Pet's new album sensored for violence

I read this article this week about the upcoming Be Your Own Pet album Get Awkward on Pitchfork and it just reminded me why major record labels are full of it sometimes. Three songs off the new album from this garage/punk foursome have been axed for the U.S. release by Universal. The same label that puts out the violent and sexual-filled music of Eminem, Akon, and Marilyn Manson has censored this album for references to knives. It just seems really odd and quite hypocritical. Maybe it's because the singer of the band is a seemingly innocent young girl and the relationship between youth and violence is one they don't want to convey. I'm not sure I buy it. If the band isn't the biggest moneymaker for the label, then it is easier to censor them. Why can't the consumer just listen to what they want without worrying if what they are listening has been censored or catered any way to what the label believes is correct. I've heard the new album and would recommend it to anyone who just wants to listen to some loud, angst-filled music that has a killer woman vocalist at the head.

Brandon Jennings' Hair

You got to love Brandon Jennings' kid 'n play haircut from the McDonald's All-American Game. A great fashion statement that hasn't been seen in about 15 years. He'll be taking his hair and his game to U of A next season. Learn a little about Brandon here.

Alela Diane

I found out about Alela Diane just recently on one of my more frequent music-finding binges. There are so many musicians out there that are very talented and I love finding new ones. Read about Alela Diane on her website and wikipedia. Here are a couple of her Take Away Shows which are some of the better ones I've seen.

# 79.2 - ALELA DIANE - THE RIFLE
Uploaded by lablogotheque

# 79.1 - ALELA DIANE - TIRED FEET
Uploaded by lablogotheque

This is what soccer is about

The game last week between Chelsea and Tottenham showed what soccer is all about. Extremely dramatic, both sides playing well, and a tie. Only in soccer would a tie be this exciting. This is one of the reasons I love this game.

New Music Tuesday

This week the most high-profile music releases include new albums from the B-52's and Gnarls Barkley. Read a review about the B-52's new album Funplex here. Gnarls Barkley comes back after a wildly successful debut album with a good sophomore effort. Here is a review of the new album The Odd Couple.

"The Dumbest man on the planet"

I love following Argentine soccer players abroad. Whether they are in the Premier League, La Liga or el Calcio I'm proud of seeing former Boca, San Lorenzo, Velez, and other clubs players playing in the best leagues outside of Argentina. In contrast I love seeing former River players play poorly or in a negative light. The latest is Javier Mascherano of Liverpool who was red-carded only 10 minutes into one of the most important games of the season, against Manchester United. Read about the incident here and about Mascherano's point of view here.

Argentine sues 'Dirty War' couple

I ran across this article today and it made me think again about this terrible period in Argentine history. The 'Dirty War' in Argentina was a time in which those who opposed the government were routinely kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by the state. Many just 'dissapeared' and have still not been found. Read about it here and here. I get chocked up, upset, and scared every time I read about the period and the histories of those involved. One of the more better-known consequences of this period was the literal stealing of children from parents. These children were given to military related families. There is a great movie about this called La Historia Oficial (The Official Story).

Well, the article I read this morning is about a woman who found out she was one of these stolen children and her suit against her adoptive parents. Read it here.

Read about Human Rights and South America here.

March Madness

The NCAA men's basketball tournament starts today with games across the country. It's the best time of the year. We don't have TV, so unfortunately, I won't be able to watch any of the games. But, it doesn't matter. I'll be following the tournaments action online. As for my favorite in the tournament, I like UCLA. They have made it to the final four the past 2 years and are a better team this year. Good luck to my two favorite teams, BYU and UNC.

White Rabbits

Last year I wasn't so diligent in my finding of new music. As a result, I missed out on some great new music and amazing albums. One of these is the New York-based White Rabbits. I first heard them on a KEXP podcast and thought they were very good. You can listen to them here. Here is there performance on the Letterman Show.

Flickr Faves

Recently Beckie introduced me to the photo-sharing website Flickr. Since then I've really enjoyed it. There are photos from all over the world of about anything you can think of. But, best of all, the talent of the photographers is amazing. I thought I would start adding some of my favorites to the blog on a regular basis. Here are the first couple.

"Brooklyn Bound" by Ramperto
I love New York. The diversity, the culture, the arts, and everything that goes with being a large city. The Brooklyn Bridge is definitely my favorite piece of architecture in NYC. Plus, it goes to Brooklyn, an amazing city. I like the contrast of color in this photo along with the emphasis on the bridge. "Brooklyn, New York" by My World Gallery
Another bridge picture. This time of the Williamsburg bridge taken from the Brooklyn side. Just another taste of the city and of Brooklyn.

Notable Record Releases of the week

Largeheartedboy has the notable releases of the week here. Most notably is the new disc from Why?, Alopecia. Check it out there and here. They will be playing in Salt Lake on April 12th at the Urban Lounge.

Grizzly Bear (w/mustaches) on the Late Late Show

Animal Collective - Water Curses EP

Animal Collective received the Plug music award for best indie album (Strawberry Jam) and a few days prior to this announced that they will be releasing a new EP on May 6th, Water Curses. Anything new from AC is excellent and I can't wait for this one.

Yeasayer Take Away Shows

#87.2 - YEASAYER - 2080
Uploaded by lablogotheque

#87.1 - YEASAYER - No need to worry / Redcave
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El Guincho!

I first read about El Guincho and his latest album Alegranza, a couple weeks ago in a record review on pitchfork. It sounded interesting to me that there was a spanish musician being compared to Panda Bear from Animal Collective. So, I checked it out and really enjoy it. It's just this crazy mixture of pop, afro-beats, chanting, and harmonies. Stereogum also has an article about them. Here are some songs on his myspace page. I especially recommend Antillas and Kalise.

Grad School

So, on Friday I received a letter from the department of graduate studies at BYU and was pleased to read that I had been accepted as a graduate student in Latin American Literature for Fall '08. We were very happy, this being our first choice. But, being that I applied to 2 other schools, I want to wait for those replies before I choose a school. I just want to be on the safe side in case the circumstances change. But, for now, we are very excited about this and are happy for the opportunity.

Notable Album Releases this week

"Saturnalia" by the Gutter Twins

Read here at the Largehearted Boy's blog the list of album releases for the week. The blog also includes some samples. They include new music from the Gutter Twins and What Made Milwaukee Famous.