On vacation til Oct. 1st

Will return in October.
Things have been quite busy for me...so I'll be taking a 2 week break from my daily entries.
Til then, please check out the fine sites on the side bar...and we'll be back in full force on Oct. 1st, Monday!
And who knows...i maybe back before that, so check in now and then...for a surprise.

Today's Brew | Beirut

J Loney singled to center, R Furcal and J Pierre scored.
Dodgers win again, but things are looking slim for them in the overall playoff scenario.


More Beirut performances courtesy of The Takeaway Show.

#64.1 - Beirut - Nantes
Uploaded by lablogotheque

#64.2 - Beirut - The Penalty
Uploaded by lablogotheque

Today's Brew | Dodgers & Dre

The race to the playoffs are on...
Lookin' Good:
AL WEST
Los Angeles Angels (86-59), first place, 9 1/2 games ahead


Loney rocks again with another HR
Lookin' Bad:
Los Angeles Dodgers (76-69)
Wednesday, won 6-1 vs. Padres: The NL Wild Card track is clogged thanks to a brilliant effort on short notice by Chad Billingsley, who stepped in after a bruised right hand scratched Derek Lowe and allowed a lone run in six innings. His support included homers by Jeff Kent and James Loney -- the rookie's fifth in six games. (source: MLB)
The Dodgers, Rockies and Phillies are all tied for second place in the wild card

Actually, while I was at the game, the subject of Barry Bonds came up as my friend caught SF playing the Dodgers, especially as everyone was waiting for Barry's big hit. Then our convo progressed (or digressed depending on how you see it) to the recent VMA awards...my friend thinks Barry isn't the only one on 'roids, but this guy. I'm reading up that Dre's coming out with another album called "Detox"...hmmmm.

Dre on roids? How did he get so big so fast?

Compare and Contrast:
::2007::
YouTube: Dre presenting award at VMA 2007


::2001::

Dr.Dre ft Snoop Dog - The Next Episode
Uploaded by hakim93200

Today's Brew | Thurston Moore

More acoustic, less of the experimentation, in this latest release by Thurston Moore (Mr. Sonic Youth). Album drops on Sept. 18th.

Samples From the album Trees Outside the Academy:
mp3:Thurston Moore- "Frozen"
mp3:Thurston Moore- "The Shape is in a Trance"



Video preview:Thurston Moore-"Trees Outside the Academy”

Also check out: BBC Collective: Thurston Moore Interview

Ecstatic Peace: Thurston Moore

Second Cup | The National

Video: The National- "Apartment Story"

Today's Brew | Tale of Two Brothers

Yes its old news, but today marks the release of both Fiddy Cent and Kanye's latest, to see who's the real moneymaker and forever determine the future fate of hip hop as we know it....okay, that sounded a bit too contrived. hahaha...

Fiddy's tactic: uses Justin Timberlake in hopes to outsell West with sexyback.



West tactic: utilizes the more cooler and hipper- Daft Punk to draw in the masses.



What's at stake? Fiddy will retire (meaning he'll start spending more time with Paris Hilton) if West could outsell him. Say it ain't so!! Oh no, what will the world be if Fiddy were to retire?!

I find this whole thing pretty damn hilarious.
Jeff (Passion of the Weiss) has a nice fun feature on this silly marketing stunt:
LA Weekly- Decision 2007: Kanye West vs 50 cent

Second Cup | Why the VMA Sucks

Question: What do Britney and MTV have in common?- Answer: Both are trying to make a comeback, as they're paddling their way back from a disastrous recent past.
I did catch a tidbit of the VMA, and as I predicted, it was so unbearable to watch, I had to turn off the TV. Made me not want to watch TV at all for the whole night.
After reading the reviews this morning of the lackluster opener, I curiously watched it on Daily Motion, please look it up on your own, I don't want to post it- its that bad.
I'm sure most of you all knew all this, but thought I throw in my 2 cents.

Today's Brew | Gravenhurst

This week on...

#63.1 - Gravenhurst - Trust
Uploaded by lablogotheque

#63.2 - Gravenhurst - Balck Holes in the sand
Uploaded by lablogotheque

Their latest release Western Lands comes out on September 10th (outside of the US), and then gets a domestic release on September 18th.

official site: Gravenhurst
My Space: Gravenhurst

Today's Brew | Stereo Total

Been quite busy these days, so forgive my lack of writing...actually my entries are usually very brief.
From the Deutschland, Stereo Total are in town to play at the El Rey Theatre tonight...



From the album "Paris-Berlin":
mp3: Stereo Total- "Ich Bin Der Stricherjunge"

Also visit their My Space to stream more tracks from their latest album "Paris-Berlin".

official site: Stereo Total
My Space: Stereo Total

Today's Brew | James Murphy and Weirdo Music

The next Fabriclive album features James Murphy & Pat Mahoney, and will be out domestically on November 20, but the UK (and rest of world) will get an early treatment as it drops on October 15.


James Murphy on FAMILY/MUSICAL ROOTS:
(below excerpt taken from an interview from Fabric London)

I listened to the Violent Femmes and B-52s and The Clash, maybe a little Flock of Seagulls, you know? Dead Milkmen, Black Flag – anything that was weirdo music. You know, when you’re a kid you don’t know the rules of what’s punk and what’s new wave, it’s all just weirdo music.

Read the full interview ovah here.

And now some 'weirdo music' from the past...
From the album Big Lizard in My Backyard (1985):
mp3: The Dead Milkmen- "Tiny Town"
mp3: The Dead Milkmen- "Gorilla Girl"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

My Space: Fabric London- UK

Today's Brew | Spokane

This morning I woke up to a cooler air. The never ending heat wave ended...at least for now, here in the city of Angels. The past couple of weeks were pretty brutal as one would wake up in sweat which is a rarity in LA especially at this time of the year.



From their album "Little Hours":
mp3: Spokane- "Thankless Marriage"

video: Spokane- "Thankless Marriage"

My Space: Spokane

Today's Brew | Menomena

This week on...

#62.3 - Menomena - Wet and Rusting
Uploaded by lablogotheque