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Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Titles> "When You Were Young"

Titles, "When You Were Young" from Shark Party Media on Vimeo.

Not to be confused with the song by the Killers, this "When You Were Young" is from Titles' next album Dirt Bell, out next month. The leader of the band used a Lite-Brite in the video for this heart-warming tune. So naturally, i'm down. -Kenyon

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Cut Copy >> new track + a few U.S dates


Full length due by January. U.S dates so far:

8/6 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
8/7 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
8/8 – Brooklyn, NY @ Jelly Pool Party at East River State Park

Saturday, July 17, 2010

The Coral > new video + record out
British band the Coral just released Butterfly House and Mani of Stone Roses/Primal Scream is saying it's the best thing he's heard since the Stone Roses' first album. Well, Butterfly House is a great record, but not THAT great. Still, this single will probably make it into my top 20 for 2010. The breezy, buttery leather harmonies of "1000 Years" bridges classics from America and CSNY with peer Brit bands Starsailor and Travis. As far as videos go, the Coral makes much better use of the desert than the Stone Roses. -Kenyon

Sunday, July 11, 2010

movies left for dead.

Magic (1978) Ventriloquist dummies are creepy, and a young Anthony Hopkins and his dummy Fats more than fulfill that notion. Sort of a twist on Psycho and other movies with someone who has a split personality, Corky is a troubled guy who is overcome by the identity of Fats. Magic is well made and acted, though the only thing missing in this early psychological horror film is a clear reason as to why Corky is off balance (something with his parents?) and how and why he decided to acquire a dummy after failing as a magician. [rating: $5] -Kenyon
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Wood Chipper Massacre (late 1980s) Amateur, camcorder-shot sorta horror-comedy concerning three kids that accidently kill their aunt and dispose of her in the woodchipper. There's a video on youtube that condenses the whole movie into a few minutes, which is really all that's necessary. Oh and the acting is beyond-the-door bad. [rating: $0] -Kenyon
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The Abomination (late 1980s) A bizarre grotesque parasite thing is spawned at a man's house. First its under his bed and then in the kitchen cabinets and clothes washer. It makes him kill people for food, including his mother, who is too dumb to get away from a monster confined to the cabinets and slow to stretch out its tentacles. Amusing for its cheap gore. [rating: $1] -Kenyon
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Mosquito (1994) Campy, fun gore via giant mosquitos. Cast includes Gunnar Hanson (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) who pays homage to himself by picking up a chainsaw. Fun times, unless you have a serious phobia of mosquitos. [rating: $6]
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Piranha II: the Spawning (1982) The piranhas have mutated into flying piranhas. Lance Henriksen (Aliens, Pumpkinhead) highlights the cast, who is directed by James Cameron (!) for his first feature film. Spawning is slow moving for most of the first hour, so it's only worth seeing the fish attacking. Appreciate this now before the remake of the original comes out. [rating: $2] -Kenyon
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Bloody Murder (1999) Low budget slasher that blatantly rips-off the most basic stories (guy with hockey mask terrorizing people at a camp, sound familiar?). While the potential victims speculate on who is the maniac, Bloody Murder goes into different directions for no reason other than to fill time. Total dud. [rating: $0] -Kenyon

Thursday, July 01, 2010

Beers, steers and tears.
Museum Mouth stays hip in the south.


Photo by Sarah Ellen Churchill


interview by Kenyon Hopkin
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Museum Mouth--who pulls its name from a song by Cap’n Jazz--is from a small town just outside of Wilmington, North Carolina. There's not a hell of a lot to do in that quiet town, yet the band is still rocking and rolling. The young trio are going to some big cities to support the self-released Tears in My Beer, which showcases the band's lo-fi indie-garage punk pop. All three members--Savannah Levin (vocals/bass), Graham High (guitar) and Karl Kuehn (vocals/drums)--were able to express themselves.
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Advance Copy: What is life like in Southport? You're right on the coast there, so it must be beautiful. Is there any kind of music scene there? i guess you need to go to Wilmington for that?
Karl: It is really pretty, but it’s super boring. And in terms of a music scene, there’s nothing. There’s one other band from Southport, but they hate us. And Wilmington’s music scene is questionable.
Savannah: It's way too easy to sleep all day in Southport. Yea, it really is completely gorgeous, but hey, looks aren’t everything. And if by “music scene” in Southport you mean retired old people, we have a lot.
Graham: Southport is really pretty if there’s no one around, but as soon as people are around its pretty obnoxious.

AC: Are you excited to be making your way up to New York? Have you played or been there before?
Graham: Honestly I think there’s nothing special about New York. I’ve been in big cities, is there anything inspirational about them? Fuck no.
Karl: I'm excited. I’ve been to New York before but not with this band, and not to play a show, so I’m really excited to be playing there.
Savannah: My sisters lived in NYC for a while now so I’ve been quite a bit and I think it gets better every time you go so I’m pretty pumped on going and the band that were playing with there, Sleepies, is fucking awesome.

AC: Do you think you'll stay in NC or do you have plans to move to Portland, Oregon or Brooklyn or Austin?
Graham: I'm planning on moving to Baltimore because I hear they have a high crime rate.
Savannah: We’re sorta playing it by ear. We probably won’t stay in NC but nothing else is for sure.
Karl: I’m more concerned with when our next show is gonna be or how we're gonna put out our next record right now. Not really thinking about the distant future too much.

AC: Any ideas on how to stop the spewing oil in the gulf?
Karl: The world is filling with oil! I need to get a pug NOW!
Graham: It’s too late to stop it now. Everything’s fucked as it is.
Savannah: My mom cries every time she sees coverage on it saying “the dolphins, the dolphins” over and over again.



AC: Your indie rock sound recalls the spirit of early indie pop bands like Beat Happening, the Vaselines and Go Sailor and some of the stuff from the influential C86 U.K. comp. Do you sometimes wish you were part of that era in the mid to late 80s? Or are you happy with 2010?
Graham: I’m fine with 2010 because the 1980s are pretty inconceivable to me.
Karl: I’m happy with 2010. Granted I wasn’t around in the 80s, but so far 2010 hasn’t been as awesome as 2009.
Savannah: I would much rather live in the mid to late 80s. Wasn't that when The Goonies was made?

AC: Your song "Outside" says "I'm sorry Salinger". Is that an apology to author JD Salinger?
Savannah: It's sort of an apology. When I wrote those lyrics it was more about apologizing to the things that used to mean a lot to me in a time when I felt really out of touch. It is directed at that author because he’s one of my favorites.

AC: How was radfest? looks like fun times.
Graham: I drank. So much. Duck Rabbit. It was wonderful.
Savannah. Gross. Duck Rabbit is a terrible beer made in Farmville, NC. Fuck that stuff. But on more serious things, Rad Fest was mind-blowingly awesome. My heart will break if there’s not a Rad Fest 2.
Karl: It was a blast. I loved all the bands we saw and all the bands we played with and I loved all the Chason. It was cool to play so close to home under such awesome circumstances. And so many friends everywhere, so good.