Manchester Orchestra Video Chapters

I have seen the band name Manchester Orchestra popping up all over the place as of late and really had not checked them out until recently.  For some reason I thought they were more of a rock jam project but was corrected by a friend and learned that in fact they are an indie rock band.

With a new album coming out on 04/21/09 titled Mean Everything To Nothing the band is promoting their CD with a full-album collection of videos that have been popping up on the internet. Have you seen them yet?  Well you are in luck as I have included the first three on this blog.  Word is the band will have videos for all of the songs on the album.  I think it is a great idea.

Additional info about the videos from a recent email I received from SonyMusic.com:

The full-album series concept was conceived by the Emmy Award winning directing team of Clay Lipsky and Jason Bognacki of Destroy Rock Music Inc., whom also directed “I Can Barely Breathe” from the band’s debut I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child.

Lipsky notes that the vision behind the videos are to “create a cinematic collage of decaying film and lost memories intertwined with a loose narrative about a young woman on a surreal journey to find what she is missing.” The videos to follow will continue to discover the many layers hiding within the new record.

Chapter One featured on AbsolutePunk:
Manchester Orchestra – “The Only One”

Chapter Two featured on Spin.com:
Manchester Orchestra  -“Shake It Out”

Chapter Three featured on MySpace:
Manchester Orchestra – “I’ve Got Friends”

Good Friday?

Yea I guess it is a good day.  Minus my dog Zeus and his terrible gas today has been just one of those days where I sit back and think of what to do…  I have been having a rough week with personal stuff going on so I have been not doing much lately and think today should be a productive day.

I could get a tattoo.
In fact it’s been over a month since I last got some work done so this may be a winner.  Persistence Tattoo is where I go.  Ronnie and crew rule.  I really want to finish up my sleeve.  I also want a Dick Goddard tattoo…and I am dead serious.  The guy is a Cleveland icon.  Not sure if it will be portrait or not.

I could go to Half Price Books.
It’s only been 5 years if not more since I last stepped foot in one of those stores.  I know, I suck but there is not one very close to me.

I could go to a park with the dogs and take a hike.
It’s been raining non-stop today and is a wee chilly so I am pretty sure I am going to skip that idea.

I could listen to music all day.
Well so far I have been listening to a ton of music today.  I checked out the new Doves album which is amazing, listened to some rarities from Strung Out‘s latest release, rocked out to Iron Maiden, and now for whatever reason have decided to listen to Metallica‘s Live S#it Binge & Purge.  Scratch that, I got sick of it and hit the random button…

I could hit up the local mall.
The local mall scares me.  In fact this city I live in right now scares me.  The water must be contaminated.  I have lived here for over 5 years now and only am friendly with my neighbors on both sides of my house.  I do want a new hat though…  I am torn.  Every year for the last few years I get a Cleveland Indians hat even though I am not a huge fan like I used to be in the mid-nineties.  I found one I kind of like for unknown reasons…it’s bright orange and Chief Wahoo is lime green.  Yeah, I know, no team colors there.

I could make lunch.
Food is always good.

I could play video games.
I can not even tell you the last time I picked up a controller and played some games.  Maybe today is a good day for that.  My brother did challenge me to Guitar Hero: Metallica on Easter Sunday, I mean Zombie Jesus Day.  As I still have yet to play that game I still have older ones and can work on my awesome finger tapping skills.

I could organize my vinyl.
I could do that but I would rather not today.  That requires a thought process and I am staying away from that right now.

I could…stop blogging about what I could do and get off the internet and do something…
Yeah that is a good idea.  I’ll be back later folks with some stuff to keep you entertained on this good Friday.


UPDATE: (For all of you who were biting your nails wondering what I was going to do…)

So after listening to some more music I opted to make a nice lunch for the lady and I.  After watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations I decided to call my tattoo guy at Persistence Tattoo and set up an appointment for later in the evening.

Since the weather never cleared up we ventured to Half Price Books to see if we could find anything cool.  I searched through the records and found an English Beat Wha’ppen LP and also grabbed a copy of Swingers as a certain someone in my household had never seen it.  I love that movie.

Before we headed for some tattoo fun, we stopped at Roly Poly in Mayfield Heights.  If you like your sandwiches fresh and healthy check this place out.  Annie had mentioned it to me in the past and said they make wraps and sandwiches.  We split a Nut & Honey wrap that was amazing.  It was a wrap with cream cheese, raisins, sunflower seeds, cashews, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, avocados, sprouts, and honey mustard dressing.  Needless to say it was delicious.

Running late we arrived to Persistence Tattoo in Eastlake where I got a beheaded St. Valentine on my right arm.  I’ll take a picture once it heals up if any of you are interested.  I think it looks sick and had a great time while getting it.  When I say great time I am not referring to the actual tattoo as I hate getting tattooed.  The fun was had in the conversations between all of us in the shop.  Crude, rude, and hilarious.

Headed home we decided we needed a dessert before watching Swingers so we made a pit stop at Handels Ice Cream and grabbed some deliciousness.

So it was a good Friday after all.  It really was the day I needed to end the week in a positive way.

The Casualties To Record New Material

Looks like The Casualties are back.  Granted they have pretty much been touring non-stop since 2006’s Under Attack, there has not been any new material recorded.  The street punkers are stated to be in the studio this morning to push out a new release still to be named under SideOneDummy Records.  The band has also announced a summer tour.

I have always liked these guys.  They remind me of the harder punk rock of the eighties like The Exploited and The Subhumans as well as hardcore punkers Discharge.  Having only seen them a couple of times live I have enjoyed their material since I first heard 2001’s Die Hards.  From there I checked out their entire catalog and have been a fan since.

Per an email from SideOneDummy Records:

THE CASUALTIES ARE PLANNING A NEW RECORD FOR LATE SUMMER AND WILL HIT THE ROAD IN JUNE AND JULY

Los Angeles, April 8, 2009 – The Casualties are headed back to the Blasting Room in Fort Collins this month to record a new album with producer Bill Stevenson. The album is yet to be titled and will be the follow up to Under Attack (2006). The release date is tentatively set for August 4, 2009 on SideOneDummy. The band will also be doing a short run of shows in June and July. Here are the dates.

Thur. June 11 Baltimore, MD – The Ottobar
Fri. June 12 Richmond, VA – Canal Club
Sat. June 13 Norfolk, VA – The Norva
Sun June 14 Charlotte, NC – Tremont Music Hall
Tue. June 16 Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
Wed. June 17 Jacksonville, FL – Plush
Thur. June 18 Orlando, FL – The Backbooth
Fri. June 19 Orlando, FL – The Backbooth
Sat. June 20 Pensacola, FL – Sluggos
Sun. June 21 New Orleans, LA – Dragons Den
Tue. June 23 Houston, TX – Java Jazz
Wed. June 24 Corpus Christi, TX – House of Rock
Thur. June 25 San Antonio, TX – White Rabbit
Fri. June 26 Austin, TX – Red 7
Sat. June 27 Dallas, TX – The Door
Sun. June 28 Oklahoma City, OK – The Conservatory
Wed. July 1 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick
Thu. July 2 Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smalls Theatre

Times Of Yore: Gift

Bringing back my little Times Of Yore entires, I’ve decided to take a break from the music and focus on a film I used to love when I was in high school.

The movie was called Gift.  Does anyone out there remember this movie?

It starred Perry Farrell, of Jane’s Addiction fame, and his girlfriend at the time Casey Niccoli as well as included some Jane’s Addiction songs.  The film focused on a semi-autobiographical drug-addicted tragic love story that involved mainly heroin and does not necessarily have a happy ending.

Watching the movie I knew that Perry Farrell and Casey Niccoli were an item in the early nineties.  While the movie surrounded their love there were also heavy doses of fiction making for a wild viewing.  I remember a lot of my friends getting confused after viewing the movie.  I do not want to ruin anything so I will not metion the scenes that caused the confusion.

I should note that this was not intended to be a Jane’s Addiction movie and the band was only featured in a few scenes.  The film  created by Perry Ferrell and Casey Niccoli was more of a vision between the two lovers.

One part of the film showed a live cover of Sly & The Family Stone‘s “Don’t Call Me N*****, Whitey”  featuring Ice T and Body Count.  Seeing them on stage with Jane’s Addiction was, to me at the time, amazing (still is).

I also remember one of the lines said by Perry Farrell in the movie that was chilling to my ears:

“What would you do if you came home and found the person you loved the most in the world lying dead on the floor?”

At a day and age where I was turning from a teenager into a young adult, this movie opened my eyes to things never before I had thought of.  Hardcore drugs, overdose, depression…  I watched it over and over with my friends and sometimes alone.  I loved the performances by Jane’s Addiction even if they were brief but more so I loved the art aspect of it as well as the performance and execution of the idea by a musician.

The story itself was less than what I needed as a kid trying to learn what love was all about.  At times it was sweet to see the two in love and happy but towards the latter end of the film tragedy strikes and scarred my young eyes.

Sadly the VHS I obtained from Half Price Books for a only $7.98 collected dust for years and I finally rid of it thinking I would never want to watch it again.  Wrong.

As luck would have it though it is coming to DVD.  The film is scheduled to be released on DVD as part of the Jane’s Addiction box set, A Cabinet of Curiosities in April 2009.

Rancid – “Last One To Die” MP3 Released!

I just downloaded “Last One To Die”, Rancid‘s latest release from their upcoming Let The Dominoes Fall.  You should too:

Hellcat Records

Made By Squad


Normally I would just include a link to download the MP3 but that has not been made available to me yet so just enter your email address and they will send you a link for a download of the song.  That is all you have to do, I promise.

I am pretty sure you will dig the song as much as I have too if you are a Rancid fan.  The song is catchy and maintains the Rancid standard, meaning it will not shock you and it keeps with the sound you expect to come from Tim Armstrong and crew.

It’s been over 5 years since Rancid pushed out an album.  Good things come with time and I am honestly glad they were not putting together a mess of a release just so they could offer something for their fans.  I have high expectations from this CD.  I also have a feeling that this is NOT going to be their last effort.  Some people are thinking it might be time for these punk rockers to hang up their guitars and take a seat but I really have the feeling that these guys are going to be cranking out material for years to come.