Cable & Tweed

Me and Missy Elliott, 4real

2010-06-26T15:04:00.006-04:00

Twitter makes strange bedfellows of me and Missy Elliott:

My stuffy white dude avatar could not be more appropriate.

Via triskaidekaphobia.

Francesco Francavilla's Captain America

2010-06-16T22:14:00.003-04:00

Comic artist Francesco Francavilla has a number of commission sketches on his website, including this sweet drawing of Captain America. I definitely recommend browsing his site (and buying his books!) as well as his blog Pulp Sunday, where he posts a pulp-inspired illustration each week.

Francesco Francavilla's official site
Pulp Sunday

Zombies take Atlanta

2010-06-16T08:29:00.002-04:00

AMC has released the first image of the Zombie invasion of Atlanta from the filming of The Walking Dead:

More images, including the first picture of series protagonist Rick Grimes, at AICN. Via Spinoff Online.

If you haven't read Robert Kirkman's excellent Walking Dead comics, I recommend them highly [available at Amazon].

Getting excited about Athens Popfest 2010

2010-06-15T23:29:00.006-04:00

After a year off in 2009, Athens Popfest returns August 10-14. I'm pretty excited about it, as my professional life has prevented me from seeing much live music lately. I'm particularly excited about veteran acts The Apples in Stereo, Mission of Burma, Oh-OK, and Your Heart Breaks, along with local favorites Madeline and Grape Soda. There's a lot more to see too, including a bunch of local bands on my radar, and it's only $45 for the whole festival. Should be a great late summer event and worth a visit to Athens for the out-of-town crowd. We're nice here, you know.

Mission of Burma - "Dirt"

The Athens Popfest 2010 lineup:

Keith John Adams - Afternoon Naps - The Antivillains - Apples in Stereo - Bambra - Bastards of Fate - Big Fresh - BOAT - Bunnygrunt - Cars Can Be Blue - Casper and the Cookies - Circulatory System - Dead Dog - Defiance, Ohio - Dream Diary - Elekibass - Eureka California - Eux Autres - Flash to Bang Time - Gold-Bears - Go Sailor - Grape Soda - The Humms - Laminated Cat - Los Meesfits - Madeline - Marshmallow Coast - Rose Melberg - Misfortune 500 - Mission of Burma - Nana Grizol - Oh-OK - Onward Chariots - The Open Letters - Pipes You See Pipes You Don't - Poison Control Center - PS Eliot - Quintron & Miss Pussycat - Raymilland - Reptar - Sleepy Vikings - Sourpatch - Standard Fare - Supercluster - Sweater Girls - Joe Jack Talcum - Terrapin Pond - Thee American Revolution - Titans of Filth - Tunabunny - Twinside - The Wedding Present - Werewolves - Witches - World Atlas - Your Heart Breaks

Athens Popfest official site
Athens Popfest tickets

What is best in life?

2010-06-15T22:30:00.002-04:00

Preach it, Conan.

From Conan the Barbarian: The Official Marvel Comics Adaptation of the Movie (1982); art by John Buscema.

Apparently it took a $1 paperback from Bizarro Wuxtry to get me posting here again. And away we go....

Sourpatch - "I Want You Either Way" (video)

2009-11-19T17:58:00.002-05:00

As may be apparent, I haven't been jazzed about a lot of new music lately. This week, however, I was introduced to an artist to watch. Sourpatch are a young band from San Jose, and they have a record on Athens label HHBTM Records. They've posted the video for "I Want You Either Way" and it's a promising sample:

Order Sourpatch records from HHBTM.

Jeff Lemire draws Tintin

2009-11-07T14:08:00.002-05:00

Tintin and Snowy by Jeff Lemire
From Leigh Walton's Tintin sketchbook on Flickr.

The Mountain Goats - "Psalms 40:2" on The Colbert Report

2009-10-07T10:13:00.005-04:00

The Mountain Goats were on The Colbert Report last night, and played a new song from their brand new album Life of the World to Come (Dig). Here is "Psalms 40:2":

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Mountain Goats - Psalms 40:2

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Michael Moore

Bonus track:

The Mountain Goats - Genesis 3:23

Werewolf By Night and the Godfather of Soul

2009-07-26T01:43:00.003-04:00

I watched the great documentary on the 1974 Ali-Foreman fight in Zaire, When We Were Kings, tonight and was surprised when a Marvel comic made a quick cameo. Not only did 1974's Werewolf By Night #23 make an appearance, but it was being read by James Brown. Hell yes.

The Godfather of Soul clearly digs his werewolves.

A timely find: Marvel's subtle reference to the Clarence Thomas hearings

2009-07-13T23:01:00.000-04:00

Flipping through NFL Superpro #5 tonight (don't ask), I had to pause and look at the "Bullpen Bulletins" page packed with whimsical news about Marvel's staff and books. Right under a sketch of Quasar and next to an announcement of the upcoming Operation: Galactic Storm was the "January Coolometer" for 1992:

See what's on top? It seems the Marvel office was offering subtle commentary on the then-recent confirmation process for Justice Clarence Thomas. The January street date for the issue means it probably went to press about three months prior, in October-November 1991. As the timeline notes, the initial allegations of sexual harassment by Anita Hill emerged in the media on October 6. Hill testified against Thomas in the Senate Judiciary Committee beginning on October 11 and the nation was swept up in the drama of sex, law, and politics. Thomas was later confirmed on October 15 by a 52-48 vote, the narrowest margin ever for a successful Supreme Court nominee. Pretty nifty to see a reference to the Thomas hearings show up in the funnybooks.

Either way, it's not as bad as the preemptive hit job that DC pulled on Robert Bork:

I'm guessing this seemed less perverse when it was published

2009-07-06T23:47:00.002-04:00

From Marvel Super Special #4: The Beatles Story (1978)

Prince would be proud.

Saturday afternoon at AthFest

2009-06-27T18:11:00.002-04:00

Wandered down to AthFest today to see Venice is Sinking and Liz Durrett play enjoyable sets. A few sights from the afternoon:

More pics from AthFest are on my Flickr. Tonight I'll be at the Kindercore showcase at Athens Cine.

Nerd + Sense of Entitlement = Ugh

2009-06-21T09:55:00.002-04:00

Note written by a "fan" on table of writer Brian Michael Bendis (New Avengers, Dark Avengers, Secret Warriors, Alias, Ultimate Spider-Man, Powers, etc.) at HeroesCon on June 19, 2009, after learning that Bendis would appear only after an upcoming panel discussion. Classy, no?

My other pics from HeroesCon, mostly of creators, are at Flickr.

St. Vincent plays "Now, Now" and "Marrow" at 40 Watt

2009-06-17T09:37:00.004-04:00

Courtesy of YouTube user NathanKerce, here are two video's from St. Vincent's June 13 performance at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia:

St. Vincent - "Now, Now"

St. Vincent - "Marrow"

Hat tip to Examiner.com.

Nick Fury Masterworks Volume 2 coming from Marvel: Steranko!

2009-06-13T13:14:00.003-04:00

Word in today via Collected Comics Library that most of Jim Steranko's gorgeous and imaginative run of Nick Fury spy stories from 1967-68 are being collected in the forthcoming Marvel Masterworks: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Volume 2 due in December. I'm excited to have the stories in this format. They're going to look so damn great (click to enlarge):

More preview pages are now available.

For those looking for a cheaper option, the bulk of these stories are also collected in the Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. trade paperback.

Recent videos from GSU's DAEL/indieATL: Robyn Hitchcock, Today the Moon Tomorrow the Sun, BabyShakes, The Coathangers

2009-06-13T09:20:00.006-04:00

The Digital Arts Entertainment Lab at Georgia State University does a lot to archive and promote the local music scene by inviting Georgia bands (and the occasional out-of-towners) in for live performances and sharing them online. Recently they have also established a new identity as indieATL, with a video podcast featuring their videos. If you prefer, you can also subscribe to their YouTube channel.

A sample of what they have posted in the last month or so:

Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3 - "What You Is"

Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun - "Like It or Not"

BabyShakes - "Just Another Day"

The Coathangers - "Stop Stomp Stompin'"

C&T ticket giveaway: Andrew Bird & Calexico at Cobb Energy Centre, June 15

2009-06-12T18:26:00.007-04:00

One of my favorite musicians, Andrew Bird, will be at the Cobb Energy Centre north of Atlanta on Monday night. He'll be supporting his current release Noble Beast and sharing the stage with veteran act Calexico.

Thanks to Bird's PR folks, I have a pair of tickets to the show available for a C&T reader. Just e-mail me with "Bird tix" in the subject line and I will pick a winner at random on Sunday night. Good luck, and I hope to see you there!

Andrew Bird - Oh No
Calexico - Cruel

Remaining Andrew Bird tour dates:

Jun 15 - Cobb Energy PAC - Atlanta, GA
Jun 18 - Radio City Music Hall - New York, NY
Jun 19 - Bank of America Pavilion - Boston, MA
Jul 10 - Greek Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
Jul 11 - Greek Theatre - Berkeley, CA
Jul 13 - Red Butte Garden - Salt Lake City, UT
Jul 14 - Red Rocks Amphitheatre - Morrison, CO
Jul 16 - Britt Pavilion - Jacksonville, OR
Jul 17 - Marymoor Amphitheatre - Redmond, WA
Jul 18 - McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater - Troutdale, OR
Jul 19 - McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater - Troutdale, OR
Jul 26 - Squaw Velley Ski Resort - Olympic Valley, CA
Aug 7 - Lollapalooza - Grant Park - Chicago, IL
Aug 8 - Lollapalooza - Grant Park - Chicago, IL
Aug 9 - Lollapalooza - Grant Park - Chicago, IL
Oct 2 - Austin City Limits Festival - Austin, TX
Oct 3 - Austin City Limits Festival - Austin, TX
Oct 4 - Austin City Limits Festival - Austin, TX

Sgt. Rock by Brian Bolland

2009-06-11T18:26:00.003-04:00

Sgt. Rock by artist Brian Bolland, first published in 1994's Sgt. Rock Special #2.

Athens/Atlanta album reviews: Casper & the Cookies, Marshmallow Coast, Pistolero, The Preakness, Allison Weiss

2009-06-11T16:52:00.004-04:00

As I get caught up on some albums and acts neglected here I've been busy, I thought it perfectly appropriate to review several acts by Athens and Atlanta bands here at once. I went to the CD release party for a couple of these albums last month, and they've all made me further appreciate my home region.

Casper & the Cookies - Modern Silence [buy]

Modern Silence is the first record from Casper & company since The Optimist's Club in 2006, and it's a subtle but marked departure from its predecessor. It retains the great hooks and wit of the band's earlier work, but there is a greater emphasis on rock anthems and departures into power-pop ballads than I recall in earlier Casper records (in memory, anyhow). Modern Silence is, overall, pretty damn enjoyable.

The big rock of "Little Lady Larva" and the slinky bass-driven "Nagoya" are particular favorites, and I can vouch that they translate very well in a live setting. "Keep Talking" strikes me as a track that would fit quite well in the score of a Broadway show about romancing an alien (I smell Tonys!), and the tropical flair of "Chocolate Cake and Coffee" nicely accentuates the album's later half. The album's most fascinating track may be one that doesn't even feature the band itself -- closer "I Am Gone" includes contributions from dozens of musicians (including Sam Grindstaff, Mary O. Harrison, Fishboy, Keith John Adams, Vanessa Briscoe Hay, Hannah Jones, Bryan Poole, Robert Schneider, Jason Jones, Leslie Dallion Superstar, Bill Doss, and more) that fills a full 15+ minutes. Such a track could easily go off the rails, but Jason NeSmith's production keeps it tight and pretty much amazing.

Casper & the Cookies - Pete Ehrchik Bicentennial Service Area
Casper & the Cookies - Little King
Casper & the Cookies - You Love Me

Marshmallow Coast - Phreak Phantasy [buy]

While seeing him live the past couple of years, I have been able to see Andy Gonzalez play with different lineups and names, with the result of that progression being a return to his original moniker and a unique Marshmallow Coast record. Andy has moved increasingly toward electronic sounds and gadgets in his music, and the lyrics on Phreak Phantasy are decidedly R-rated. He acknowledges this in the liner notes, explaining that the record tries to explore a "broad set of feelings" that could be felt by someone else if not himself. The sometimes naughty lyrics are interesting juxtaposed against the latter-era McCartney sound in many of the songs. The album also features guest appearances by Jesse Flavin, Heather McIntosh, Will Hart, and Sara Kirkpatrick (with the latter the only mainstay in Andy's live band, though I'm told it now includes Jim Hicks as well).

As for the songs, there are a number of standouts among the nine tracks. "Please Don't" and "Lonely Days" are great pop tunes, with the guitar parts in the latter impossible to resist. "Millionaire" is weird but hypnotic, and "Nasty Dream" is entertaining -- I was relieved to see, however, that the lyrics mention a "deep ass hole to China" rather than, well... you can figure it out. "Sara's Song" is lovely, and title track "Phreak Phantasy" features some "4 track madness" from Elephant 6 luminary Will Hart, and celebrates "24 hours of only booze and weed" so adamantly that I wonder if it was written with a Phish parking lot in mind. Phreak Phantasy is a fun record, and one that has certainly grown on me with repeated listens.

Marshallow Coast - Please Don't

Pistolero - Warface [buy]

The latest release from Atlanta band Pistolero, Warface, is more ambitious and accomplished than their previous output, visiting several genres and styles over the course of its 13 tracks. Although the band's earlier EPs were nothing to sneeze at, the full-length format gives them room to move. Along the way they meander between garage rock, country, and Modern Lovers-style punk, and are largely successful along the way. Pistolero also use the longer format to feature quite a bit of interesting instrumentation -- "Sniviling Little Git" features not only the aforemention Modern Lovers flair, but also strings that give it an atmospheric quality it might have lacked without them. The country-tinged "Spreadsheets" and "King of Atlanta" feature harmonica and banjo, respectively.

My favorite tracks on the album are probably those in which Pistolero invoke their British Invasion influences -- "Yellow House" and "Postcard from the Apocalypse" remind me of mod acts from years ago, and "Sunburn" is decidedly psychedelic. The band also does straightforward rock the right way; I can imagine much dancing and throwing of beer during the raging "Picture Perfect." I don't love every track on Warface, but it's a quality record from a local act that deserves far more attention.

Pistolero - Yellow House

The Preakness - A Class Act in a Bad Situation [buy]

Longtime readers of C&T probably know that Atlanta trio The Preakness have been among my favorite Georgia bands since I first saw them at The EARL. I eagerly snapped up their demos and earlier vinyl EP, and have been looking forward to this first full-length record for ages. From the opening moments of "Wax On" with Tracy Clark on melodica, I absolutely adore it.

The 13 tracks on A Class Act in a Bad Situation are wonderful, jangly indie rock well-informed by frontman/guitarist Brandon Arnold's fondness for Lou Barlow, Bill Callahan, and the like. The songs are engaging and intelligent, and the dual vocals by Arnold and Clark provide welcome and warm texture to the tracks. The Preakness are equally adept at both pretty, low-key moments and guitar freakouts, and the studio environment has allowed them to incorporate some complimentary bells and whistles not present in the live show. I remain quite fond of favorites "Frog Logic," "I Thought I Was in Control," and "Air Traffic," and new (to me) songs "The Spoke" and "Before You Fell" are fine additions to the band's catalog. I am also pleased and surprised that (smog) cover "A Hit" made the record, as I have always enjoyed it in their live show. I hope more people pick this up and see what the band is about. A Class Act in a Bad Situation would be a fine introduction.

The Preakness - Frog Logic
The Preakness - What They're Saying
The Preakness - This Drive

Allison Weiss - & the Way She Likes It [buy]

After being in Athens for a couple years, it's hard to imagine living where Allison Weiss isn't ubiquitous. Around here her name peppers the various sites where stickers or gig posters show up, and college kids wear her T-shirts on the UGA campus. Despite her young age this is the fifth release for Weiss, though it is the first featuring a full band. After listening to this EP, it's evident why Weiss has an audience.

The songs on this EP are very much radio-ready. The tracks here don't break new ground in pop music, but they fit very well within its established boundaries. These are well-written songs with memorable melodies, great hooks, and plenty of lovelorn lyrics for any fan of the genre. I wouldn't be surprised to hear "I'm Ready" or "I Don't Want to Be Here" on FM radio one day, and not just at the left of the dial. Highly recommended for fans of girl-with-guitar pop.

Allison Weiss - I'm Ready

Escalation: L.A. Tool & Die releases video with final warning for Casper & the Cookies

2009-06-10T19:14:00.003-04:00

Man, this stuff is getting heated. First there was L.A. Tool & Die's initial warning to the Cookies, then the latter's response. Now, things are getting nasty (and there are unicorns involved!).

Cat Power plays The EARL in Atlanta on July 12

2009-06-10T11:02:00.003-04:00

Cat Power - "Lived in Bars"

A special treat for the Atlanta crowd, as The EARL has just announced that Cat Power will play at its multi-day anniversary event on July 12. She'll be backed by The Dirty Delta Blues.

The EARL has more info. Tickets are available this Friday. I highly recommend advance tix -- this will sell out promptly. Tix are $23 in advance, or $25 day of show if any remain.

Casper & the Cookies respond

2009-06-10T09:35:00.004-04:00

On Monday, Casper & the Cookies received an ominous warning. Today, they respond:

Watch your back, L.A. Tool & Die. These Cookies burn you.

A warning to Casper & the Cookies...

2009-06-08T20:05:00.002-04:00

From Charlotte's L.A. Tool & Die to Athens' own Casper & the Cookies:

It's on.

Les Meilleures Aventures des Super-Héros: En Français

2009-06-07T19:30:00.000-04:00

You know what's cooler than the Marvel heroes returning home from the Secret Wars? Doing so in French.

From Marvel reprints in Les Meilleures Aventures des Super-Héros, published by Les Editions Heritage Inc. (1984).

Ladies and gentlemen, the 45th President of the United States

2009-06-05T18:44:00.005-04:00

Inspired mostly by Kevin Church's frequent references to them, I recently picked up a variety of reprints of old Star Trek comics. I had no idea, however, that I would be learning the future history of my country.

In Gold Key's Star Trek #9 (February 1971), the crew check out planet Gamma Alpha V, where they meet an assortment of historical figures. Among them is the man bound to succeed Barack Obama in the White House, President Anton York:

I don't know much about Mr. York, but he appears to enjoy mountain biking (just like George Dubya). The picture above suggests that he also enjoys walking around in his pajamas and a cape, which will apparently be presidential apparel by 2017. Godspeed, Mr. President.

Star Trek #9 by Len Wein and Alberto Giolitti is reprinted in Star Trek: The Key Collection Volume 2.

Follow C&T on Twitter

2009-06-04T12:21:00.002-04:00

I've had a few inquiries lately about the lack of recent posts on C&T. As happens occasionally, I had to back off the site for a bit due to personal and professional commitments. While those have been the main causes, another culprit is the emergence of Twitter. Even while things slowed here, I have continued to post and converse via the C&T Twitter. Check that out if you want to see what doesn't make the main site.

I will be posting more on C&T again moving forward, including updates soon on upcoming events and what I've been doing lately. You've been warned.

Braves and Cubs tonight at The Ted, with Carlos Zambrano starting for my boys. I'll be the dude in Section 406 gnashing his teeth.

Judi Chicago this weekend in Athens, Atlanta

2009-06-04T11:59:00.002-04:00

Word in from Atlanta's kinetic Judi Chicago (via Twitter) that they will be in both Athens and Atlanta this weekend making the kiddos dance. The deets:

Fri, June 5 -- Go Bar, Athens
Sat, June 6 -- Artlantis Fest ATL, corner of Prince & Highland (6pm)

So you can dance at home:

Judi Chicago - Technicolor Silver Chrome and Chicken Bone
Judi Chicago - Bullet
Judi Chicago - Mad Ape
Judi Chicago - Burger Joy

RIP David Carradine, 1936-2009

2009-06-04T10:21:00.002-04:00

Sad news in this morning, with reports that actor David Carradine has died at age 72. Details are still coming, but apparently (per the Associated Press) Mr. Carradine died of suicide in a Bangkok hotel room in the past couple days.

I was most familiar with his roles in Kung Fu and its spinoffs, Death Race 2000, and his turn as the title character in Tarantino's Kill Bill saga. His filmography is much more extensive than those productions, however, and his presence will surely be missed by many fans of film and television.

For more on Carradine's passing, see Google News.

Wolverine, Arnim Zola, Captain Marvel, and The Invisible Man by Drew Weing, Eleanor Davis, Michele Chidester, and Joey Weiser

2009-05-06T23:14:00.003-04:00

I said in my previous post that I would post Robert's sketches from Free Comic Book Day last Saturday by Joey Weiser, Michele Chidester, Drew Weing, and Eleanor Davis. These feature Wolverine, The Invisible Man, Arnim Zola, and Captain Marvel, and they're pretty badass. Look at that Wolverine!

Many thanks to Robert B. for sharing these and allowing me to scan them.

Wolverine by Michele Chidester (watercolors)

The Invisible Man by Eleanor Davis (pen and ink)

Arnim Zola by Drew Weing (pen and ink)

Arnim Zola by Joey Weiser (colored pens)

Captain Marvel by Joey Weiser (colored pens)

See my sketches by these artists in my previous post.

Captain America and MODOK by Drew Weing, Eleanor Davis, Michele Chidester, and Joey Weiser

2009-05-06T21:16:00.000-04:00

I follow many of my favorite comics creators' blogs via RSS feeds, and was amused this week to see an entry by Joey Weiser (The Ride Home, Tales of Unusual Circumstance) about Free Comic Book Day last Saturday. Joey was at Bizarro Wuxtry in Athens along with wife Michele Chidester and fellow comics power couple Eleanor Davis (Stinky) and Drew Weing, and noted that "[n]one of us really draw superheroes much, but we had a great time taking a crack at folks like Captain America, MODOK, and Arnim Zola. He went on to say that "Michele did a freakin' great painting of Wolverine too" and "... Maybe some scans will surface, and I'll let you know."

Conveniently, several of the sketches mentioned above were done for me or my buddy Robert, so I can share them here. Up first are my Captain America and MODOK sketches, to be followed by Robert's Wolverine, Arnim Zola, and others. Take a look:

Captain America by Drew Weing (pen and ink)

MODOK by Eleanor Davis (pen and ink)

MODOK by Michele Chidester (watercolors)

Captain America and MODOK by Joey Weiser (colored pens)

Thanks to Joey, Michele, Drew, and Eleanor!

Happy 80th birthday, Audrey Hepburn

2009-05-04T18:08:00.005-04:00

Audrey Hepburn, perhaps my favorite actress, was born on this date in 1929. Here she is performing "Moon River" in Breakfast at Tiffany's:

mp3: Audrey Hepburn - Moon River

If you're new to Audrey, the Audrey Hepburn Collection is a great place to start.

She passed away from cancer in 1993.

Free Comic Book Day is Saturday; events at Bizarro Wuxtry in Athens, Criminal Records in Atlanta, Dr. No's in Marietta

2009-05-01T23:55:00.001-04:00

Word in from C&T's friends at Bizarro Wuxtry (Athens) and Criminal Records (Atlanta) that they're having guests in for Saturday's big Free Comic Book Day. Stop in either store for free comics released for the day, many of which preview upcoming events in the year to come.

From Bizarro Wuxtry:

BIZARRO WUXTRY LAST MINUTE SURPRISE FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2009! Come Help Us Celebrate FREE COMIC BOOK DAY upstairs at Bizarro Wuxtry, 225 College Avenue, in the heart of downtown Athens, GA.

This year, in addition to a wide selection of free comic books, Bizarro Wuxtry is proud to host local comic bookers Michele Chidester, Eleanor Davis, Drew Weing & Joey Weiser, who will be doing free sketches and signing their work throughout the day.They're really friendly, creative people and I'm thrilled that they agreed to do this at the very last minute.

We'd love to see lots of people, old customers and new friends, come up and walk away with several, new, fun things to read, for free! If you have never been to your local comic shop located on top of a record store before or just haven't been lately, come visit this Saturday, May 2.

From Criminal Records (yanked from here):

All of you, please read to the end this week, though it is a long one. Trust me.

First off, Free Comic Book Day is tomorrow! And, as a reminder, here is our schedule of events:

1 pm Nathan Edmondson - Writer for the upcoming comic Olympus will be discussing mythology in comic books.

2 pm Jason Flowers - Featured artist in Arcana's Velvet Rope and artist of the upcoming comic Ripped will be speaking about his first experience getting published and about his upcoming comic.

2:30 pm Angela Pratt - Will be talking about and signing people up for a new comic creator's network, the Atlanta Cartoonists Group.

3 pm Nathan Edmondson - Writer of the upcoming comic Olympus will be discussing how to get into comics.
6 pm Sass Parilla the Singing Gorilla - Do you really need a description? I think the name says it all. A singing gorilla, what more do you need? Yes, he has his own comic.

Also, Jennie Law will be passing out flyers for, answering questions about, and signing people up for the Criminal Comics Club.

Also, on May 20th, Nathan Edmondson will return to sign and discuss the first issue of his comic, Olympus, from 4-7pm. He is also having a release party that Friday, the 23rd, at 6:30pm at Avalon Comics in Macon, GA, (3317 Northside Dr., Macon, GA 31210 (478) 254-2749), where he lives. So, he is coming all this way just to invite you. Yes, you. He wants you there. He really does. He misses you. He left you a ton of messages, but maybe your roommate accidentally erased them all. Why don't you return his calls? The two of you never go out anymore and you seem so distant. What does he have to do to win your love?

For comics club this month, we are reading one of my favorite authors, Gail Simone. We will be meeting Monday, May 25th, at 7:30 at Thinking Man Tavern to discuss Welcome to Tranquility Vol 1. If you haven't read this book, you really need to. It's original, funny, creative, and downright entertaining. If you miss the more fun comics of yore, this book does a great job of bringing those feelings back while balancing them with the modern comics aesthetic. Wow. I sounded smart for second. Weird.

Lastly, and here is the really important part, next Friday is my last day at Criminal. I got a new job that I can't pass up. Everyone at Criminal has been really good to me, and I am going to miss this place. Most of all, I am going to miss all of you. No. Really. I really am. So, just so I don't go away too broken hearted, here is my personal e-mail address. Please do keep in touch.

It looks like I'll be hitting up Dr. No's in Marietta for my Free Comic Book Day festivities. They'll have Mark Bagley (Ultimate Spider-Man, Trinity, etc.) and Brian Reed (Ms. Marvel, various Marvel titles) in the house, which is a pretty big deal. Go out Saturday and get some free books!

The Invaders and the bad guys by Marcos Martin

2009-04-29T08:44:00.003-04:00

Art by Marcos Martin from Captain America #50, due on May 20, featuring The Invaders and their enemies from World War II. More preview images at IGN Comics.

Sonic Youth announce tour, play ATL on July 13

2009-04-27T15:34:00.002-04:00

Word in from Brooklyn Vegan today that Sonic Youth have announced tour dates for the summer. Among them is a July 13 show at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, which seems like a much smaller venue than they could play. I'd get tix early for this one.

Pre-sale tix will be available on May 1, and they'll be available to the general public on May 2. Sonic Youth will release their forthcoming album, The Eternal, on June 9.

C&T ticket giveaway: Untied States, A Fight to the Death, the Selmanaires at Fishmarket on Saturday, April 25

2009-04-23T16:09:00.001-04:00

There's a big weekend of music at Atlanta's new venue Fishmarket coming up, and they've provided a pair of tickets to the Saturday show for a C&T reader.

On Friday night they host Athens faves Casper & the Cookies along with This Piano Plays Itself. Saturday night they have personal favorites The Selmanaires along with Untied States and A Fight to the Death. Both shows are $5 and include free booze.

If you want tix to the Saturday show, please e-mail me with "Fishmarket tix" in the subject line. I'll notify a winner on Friday night.

Pay what you want for Paste subscriptions for a limited time

2009-04-18T12:40:00.003-04:00

For a very limited time, you can name your price and get a one-year subscription to Paste Magazine. Paste covers music, film, and pop culture, and is based in my old home of Decatur, Georgia.

Have at it.

St. Vincent adds Atlanta date, will play The EARL on June 14

2009-04-14T19:45:00.005-04:00

St. Vincent - Paris is Burning (live DUMBO Session, Brooklyn 2007)

I noted recently that C&T fave St. Vincent will be at the 40 Watt in Athens on June 13. Now Annie has added a second Georgia date at The EARL in Atlanta on the following night, and Pattern is Movement will open the show. I imagine this one will sell out, so get your tickets early. They are available now from Ticket Alternative.

St. Vincent's new record, Actor, is due on Cinco de Mayo.

C&T ticket giveaway: Wilco at Classic Center, April 20

2009-04-14T16:14:00.004-04:00

Y'all know that I love Wilco, right? They'll be in Athens at the Classic Center on Monday, April 20, and the band has been kind enough to provide a pair of tickets for a C&T reader. If you would like them, please send me an e-mail with "Athens Wilco" in the subject line. I'll pick a random winner on Friday night, April 17.

Wilco - What Light

Tickets to the show are still available through the Classic Center website. The band's new DVD, Ashes of American Flags, will be released on Saturday (Record Store Day!) everywhere.

Now that's some snappy dialogue

2009-04-12T18:36:00.002-04:00

From The Lone Ranger's Famous Horse Hi-Yo Silver #369 (1951):

I guess there's only so much you can have a horse say/do in his own comic. Here's hoping that Marvel's Pet Avengers are a little more compelling.

Download the full issue at archive.org.

New Allison Weiss video - "Let Me Go"

2009-04-11T20:09:00.002-04:00

Athens singer/songwriter Allison Weiss has released a new video for her "Let Me Go"... and there's a brawl in it. See Allison kick ass:

Allison plays at Kavarna in Decatur (Oakhurst) on Sunday night with Bess Rogers and Allie Moss.

Jenny Owen Youngs to tour with Jukebox the Ghost, release limited 7" single

2009-04-11T19:54:00.001-04:00

Jenny Owen Youngs recently released her Led To The Sea EP and has a new album, Transmitter Failure, due on May 26. To promote the record she will be go on tour with indie rockers Jukebox the Ghost. The two bands promise that they will collaborate during their shows, trading vocals and banging out a few choice covers. The acts have also created a limited edition split 7" to sell on tour. One song from it, with JOY covering Jukebox the Ghost, is available now as a free download:

Jenny Owen Youngs - Good Day [Jukebox the Ghost cover]

The original, for good measure:

Jukebox the Ghost - Good Day

Jenny Owen Youngs on tour with Jukebox the Ghost:

4/30 Chicago, IL - Subterranean
5/01 Omaha, NE - Slowdown Jr
5/02 Denver, CO - Hi Dive
5/03 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
5/05 Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern
5/06 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
5/08 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
5/09 Los Angeles, CA - The Hotel Café
5/10 San Diego, CA - The Loft- UCSD
5/12 Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
5/14 Austin, TX - Stubb’s BBQ Indoors
5/15 Dallas, TX - The Prophet Bar
5/16 Little Rock, AR - Juanita’s Cantina Ballroom
5/17 Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone Café
5/19 Nashville TN - 3rd and Lindsley
5/20 Charlotte, NC - The Casbah@ Tremont Music Hall
5/21 Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
5/22 Richmond, VA - Canal Club Downstairs Lounge
5/23 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
5/26 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny and Brenda’s
5/27 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
5/28 Boston, MA - Café 939
5/29 Portland, ME - Empire Dine and Dance
5/30 Westport, CT - Toquet Hall

Zorro: Lessons for a young Bruce Wayne

2009-04-11T18:38:00.002-04:00

DC lore tells us that young Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered after a showing of The Mark of Zorro, and that the title character partly inspired Wayne's vigilantism. It's easy to see what Wayne admired about Zorro. He's ruthless, efficient, and hilarious.

From Zorro #7 (September 1967) by Gold Key, with art by the great Alex Toth. Available at archive.org.

Heads up, Seth Rogen: The 'Green Hornet' short film

2009-04-11T17:14:00.004-04:00

There have rumblings for quite a while about Seth Rogen's work to adapt the classic comics and TV hero The Green Hornet to film, but today I heard for the first time about a short film that may give Rogen a run for his money. French amateur filmmaker Aurenlien Poitrimoult created it in collaboration with several of his friends and colleagues including star Manu Lanzi. It's not a masterpiece, but it's a pretty entertaining take on the Green Hornet and Kato. The credits sequence to close the piece is pretty rad as well. Watch it online.

Hat tip to Splash Page.

Criminal Records announces Record Store Day lineup, April 18

2009-04-10T23:16:00.002-04:00

The annual Record Store Day is next Saturday, April 18. To celebrate the event Atlanta's Criminal Records will host music throughout the day. All the acts will be free and open to all ages. The lineup:

11AM – Death on Two Wheels
12PM – Thy Mighty Contract
1PM – Carolina Chocolate Drops
2PM – Mike Farris & the Roseland Rhythm Revue
3PM – Ocha La Rocha
4PM – Noot d’Noot
5PM – Player/Kommander
6PM – Carnivores
7PM – Selmanaires
8PM – Manchester Orchestra
9PM – Judi Chicago

Some damn good bands there and well worth checking out.

The store will also be having a big sale all day as well as running giveaways and selling special Record Store Day releases (mostly comprehensive list here). I've found some great deals there at prior Record Store Day events and am really looking forward to this year's festivities.

Bon Iver and Elvis Perkins at Variety Playhouse, June 7

2009-04-10T21:49:00.002-04:00

Bon Iver - "Flume" (on 89.3 The Current)

A pair of excellent acts will visit Atlanta on June 7, when Bon Iver and Elvis Perkins play the Variety Playhouse. I believe this is Bon Iver's first visit to the Atlanta area since blowing up, and this time he'll bring his new EP Blood Bank released in January. Elvis and his bandmates released Elvis Perkins in Dearland back in March, and it's a worthy to follow-up to its excellent predecessor Ash Wednesday.

Bon Iver - Blood Bank [via Spinner]
Elvis Perkins in Dearland - Shampoo

Tickets to the show are now available.

Jenny Lewis and Heartless Bastards in Athens 7/1, tix on sale Saturday

2009-04-10T21:18:00.005-04:00

An indie staple and a new personal favorite will be in Athens on July 1, when Jenny Lewis and Heartless Bastards share the stage at the Georgia Theatre. Jenny's most recent release is last fall's Acid Tongue, but the Heartless Bastards released their excellent record The Mountain in late February.

Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
Heartless Bastards - The Mountain

Tickets to the July 1 show go on sale Saturday. Spin has the complete tour itinerary.

St. Vincent at 40 Watt on June 13

2009-04-10T21:04:00.003-04:00

St. Vincent goes on an American tour next month, and its tail end brings her to the 40 Watt in Athens. She plays here in the classic city on June 13. Annie will be promoting her new album, Actor, on May 5. Tickets are already on sale.

St. Vincent - The Strangers

Actor is now available for pre-order.

Madeline 'White Flag' release show at 40 Watt, April 16

2009-04-10T20:43:00.002-04:00

Athens singer/songwriter Madeline Adams has already received much praise for he new record White Flag, and next week she'll host a release party for the album at the 40 Watt. The show will also serve as a fundraiser for the Camp Amped summer day camp at Nuci's Space. Thayer Sarrano and Stereo Campbell (with Page and Claire from Hope for Agoldensummer) will open the show.

Madeline - White Flag

White Flag is available now from Orange Twin.

Making of the FLUKE 2009 anthology

2009-04-02T09:23:00.002-04:00

This year's FLUKE Mini-Comics Explosion is on Saturday, April 4, at Tasty World in Athens (11AM-6PM, $5 admission). It's a very fun event, and you can both browse the comics available and chat with their creators. Each year a comics anthology is made to celebrate the festival. This year it is produced by Wide Awake Press, and you can see some of the process in this nifty video:

I recognize J. Chris Campbell, Brad McGinty, and Josh Latta in the video. Nice work, guys!

Thanks to Joey Weiser for the link.

'Where the Wild Things Are' trailer online

2009-03-26T13:23:00.002-04:00

Does this look great or what?

I'm in.

Hat tip to Cinema Blend.

Free Sub Pop 2009 Sampler at Amazon, too...

2009-03-25T18:49:00.004-04:00

The hits just keep on coming today. In addition to the Anti- sampler discussed in my prior post, Amazon also has a free Sub Pop 2009 Sampler available to download. The tracks:

01. Flight of the Conchords - Hurt Feelings
02. Vetiver - Everyday
03. Handsome Furs - I'm Confused
04. Obits - Pine On
05. Red Red Meat - Gauze
06. Vaselines - Son of a Gun
07. Blitzen Trapper - Furr
08. Fleet Foxes - Mykonos
09. Iron & Wine - Belated Promise Ring
10. Daniel Martin Moore - Stray Age
11. Chad Vangaalen - Willow Tree

Visit Sub Pop Records to learn more about these artists.

I'm curious whether The Shins would have been included if they hadn't just split with the label.

Free Anti- 2009 Sampler at Amazon

2009-03-25T17:31:00.004-04:00

Anti- has made a 13-track sampler of its excellent roster available for free, and you can grab it via Amazon. The tracklist:

01. Neko Case - People Got a Lotta Nerve
02. Booker T. - Warped Sister
03. Ramblin' Jack Elliott - Death Don't Have No Mercy
04. N.A.S.A. - Whachadoin? (feat. Spank Rock, M.I.A., Santigold, Nick Zinner)
05. Jason Lytle - Brand New Sun
06. Bob Mould - I'm Sorry, Baby, But You Can't Stand In My Light Any More
07. Westbound Train - Check Your Time
08. William Elliott Whitmore - There's Hope for You
09. Bettye Lavette - Talking Old Soldiers
10. Michael Franti - Hey World (Dont' Give Up version)
11. The Aggrolites - It's Gonna Be O.K.
12. Mavis Staples - Freedom Highway
13. Jolie Holland - Your Big Hands

Some damn fine artists there. Enjoy!

Bruce Lee vs. Iron Man

2009-03-25T09:46:00.002-04:00

This has been making the rounds, and it seems more than appropriate for C&T:

Video by Patrick Boivin. Hat tip to Splash Page.

Free Clap Your Hands Say Yeah show 4/20 at The Loft in Atlanta

2009-03-23T11:29:00.003-04:00

Word in today that Clap Your Hands Say Yeah will play a free private show at The Loft in Atlanta on April 20. Only 150 tickets are available, and they can be picked up at the box office at Center Stage/The Loft (1374 West Peachtree). I'd get on that quickly if you want to go.

Wolverines Playing Poker

2009-03-17T19:33:00.002-04:00

To commemorate the 35th anniversary of Wolverine's debut, Marvel is releasing a series of covers featuring the little guy in mock-ups of famous works of art. First up? The classy (and classic) Dogs Playing Poker art of Cassius Coolidge. Art by Paolo Rivera.

Nice one, Marvel. Hat tip to Hero Complex.

Batman by Dave Bullock

2009-03-13T21:48:00.002-04:00

From Dave Bullock's art book Bullock Art Works available from Brand Studio Press.

Embarrassing Fruits - "Corner"

2009-03-13T13:57:00.001-04:00

Chapel Hill-based rock/pop trio Embarrassing Fruits will release thier debut album, Community/Exploitation, on March 24. To hype it they have released debut single "Corner" and made it available as a free and legal download. It's a relatively mellow but engaging tune, and I'm fond of both the guitar riff and horns. Heavy shades of the classic Merge sound here, with vocals reminiscent of Stephen Malkmus.

Embarrassing Fruits - Corner

You can order the album from Trekky Records. The band will play several shows in the next couple months, most of which are in the southeast.

Live shows on the calendar:

3-20 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
3-27 Durham, NC - Alivia's
4-22 Chapel Hill, NC - The Cave
4-23 Greenville, NC - Spazzatorium
4-26 Asheville, NC - New French bar
4-29 Charlottesville, VA - Tea Bazaar
4-30 Richmond, VA - Rumors
5-01 Baltimore, MD - Talking Head

MODOK meets A Flock of Seagulls

2009-03-13T10:07:00.004-04:00

Art by Pedro Delgado.

For more fun art featuring the Marvel villain, visit March MODOK Madness throughout the month.

Japanese Spider-Man rocks my socks

2009-03-12T21:24:00.007-04:00

Marvel has been releasing new (old) episodes of the '70s Spider-Man show from Japan lately, and Charm Points was awesome enough to note that there's a trailer online. Thanks, Yedna!

That's right -- Spidey is no longer Peter Parker, aspiring photojournalist. Instead he is badass Japanese motocross racer Takuya Yamashiro, who wields a machine gun and fights demons and giant robots. It'll blow your mind.

The episodes are available on Marvel.com.

The National show in Atlanta 5/27 moved to The Tabernacle

2009-03-12T19:35:00.003-04:00

Heads up, Atlanta crowd. The National's scheduled May 27 show has been moved from the Variety Playhouse to The Tabernacle. It won't be nearly as intimate, but the move up is probably justified.

The National - Fake Empire

The tour dates:

5/21 Kool Haus, Toronto
5/22 Metropolis, Montreal
5/23 House Of Blues, Boston, MA
5/24 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
5/25 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
5/27 Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA
5/28 Lincoln Theater, Raleigh, NC
5/29 Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA
7/18 Pitchfork Music Fest, Chicago, IL

Previously purchased tickets to the May 27 show will be honored at the door.

St. Vincent - "The Strangers"

2009-03-12T19:20:00.004-04:00

This is slightly old news now (almost a week!), but I'm just getting around to it. St. Vincent has a new album titled Actor due on May 4, and its first single is now in circulation. Her Marry Me was one of my favorite albums of the past few years, so it comes highly anticipated. "The Strangers" is a gorgeous and eclectic track of the type we've come to expect from St. Vincent, though I'll admit that the lyrics leave me scratching my head. I'm sure that won't stop me from listening to it repeatedly.

St. Vincent - The Strangers

Actor will be released by 4AD.

The Buddy System southeast micro-tour this weekend with Hot Lava, Eternal Summers

2009-03-12T15:45:00.004-04:00

Buddy System - "Horse Mountain"

Kindercore sends along word that The Buddy System will embark on a short tour this weekend with Virginia bands Hot Lava (Richmond) and Eternal Summers (Roanoke). The Buddy System are from here in Athens, and have been featured on C&T multiple times. They are calling this little excursion the Hot Summer Buddies Micro-Tour. If you're in the South, they might be in your neck of the woods. The shows:

Friday, March 13 @ BoBo Gallery/Asheville, NC with EAR PWR
http://www.bobogallery.com/
8PM, 5 bucks
• Saturday, March 14 @ Wonderroot/Atlanta, GA with Clemente and Paper Scissors Rocketpack
http://www.wonderroot.org/
8PM, ALL AGES!!, $5

• Sunday, March 15 @ Cine/Athens, GA with the Rockafire Explosion movie sneak preview!! EARLY SHOW!!
http://www.athenscine.com/
6:30PM, 5 bucks

• Monday, March 16 @ Alabama Music Box/Mobile, AL with The Press, The states
http://www.myspace.com/alabamamusicbox
9PM, 5 bucks

The Athens show will follow a 6:30 PM screening of The Rock-afire Explosion, an award-winning documentary about the animatronic animal band that used to rock out at Showbiz Pizza Place.

The Rock-afire Explosion trailer

I have no idea how I could miss that.

Vandeveer in Atlanta and Athens this week

2009-03-11T11:25:00.001-04:00

Washington, DC, alt-folk artist Vandeveer is coming to Georgia this week, and has a pair of great shows lined up in Atlanta and Athens. Tomorrow night, March 12, Vandeveer will share the stage with locals Little Tybee and The Good Graces at The EARL. That's a lineup sure to please the pop/folk crowd. On Friday night, March 13, Vandeveer plays the Flicker Theatre in Athens with rising star Kaitlin Jones, acclaimed locally for her country-tinged sound.

Vandeveer - However Many Takes It Takes
Vandeveer - Marianne, You've Done It Now
Vandeveer - The Streets Is Full of Creeps (live)
The Good Graces - Over It

Vandeveer has a new record, Divide & Conquer, due on April 6.

Casper & The Cookies to release 'Modern Silence' on May 12

2009-03-11T10:46:00.003-04:00

Athens band Casper & The Cookies got a lot of blog attention last year with a series of exclusive releases here and elsewhere. Now they have announced that the full album they were working on has a release date. Modern Silence will be released by Happy Happy Birthday To Me on May 12, just in time to rock out after final exams.

The band has provided two teaser tracks, one of which is new to circulation (and name-checks another prominent Athens musician):

Casper & The Cookies - Little King
Casper & The Cookies - Pete Erchick Bicentennial Service Area

The final track on the album features 35 musicians including Robert Schneider of Apples in Stereo, The Late B.P. Helium, and Vanessa Briscoe-Hay of Pylon. Should be interesting.

The band goes on tour today, and will play Athens on April 10:

3/11 - Jacksonville, FL - Club TSI
3/12 - Orlando, FL - Will's Pub
3/13 - Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds
3/14 - Valdosta, GA - Vito's Rock 'n Roll Pizzeria
3/15 - Panama City, FL - Gallery Above
3/16 - New Orleans, LA - Dragon's Den
3/17 - Mobile, AL - Alabama Music Box
3/18 - Lafayette, LA - Blue Moon Saloon
3/19 - Austin, TX - SXSW
3/20 - Austin, TX - SXSW
3/21 - Dallas, TX - The Cavern
3/22 - Denton, TX - TBA
3/23 - Little Rock, AK - ACAC
3/24 - Memphis, TN - Murphy's
3/25 - St. Louis, MO - The Firebird
3/26 - Bloomington, IN - Cinemat
3/27 - Indianapolis, IN - Locals Only
3/28 - Louisville, KY - Glassworks
4/10 - Athens, GA - 40 Watt

Andrew Bird and Calexico at Cobb Energy Centre on June 15

2009-03-04T14:52:00.002-05:00

Andrew Bird with Mucca Pazza - "Fitz & The Dizzyspells”

Andrew Bird sold out the Variety Playhouse last month, and has already announced a return to the Atlanta area. On June 15 he will share the stage with Calexico at the Cobb Energy Centre. Tickets to on sale this Saturday, March 7 ($23.50, $28.50, $33.50 plus fees). See OK Productions for ticketing information.

Andrew Bird - Heretics [live 5-30-2007]

For a complete list of Bird tour dates, see his Myspace. His current release, Noble Beast, is available now.

Rocket Raccoon by Jeff Lemire

2009-03-03T10:49:00.003-05:00

Comics writer/artist Jeff Lemire (The Essex County Trilogy, The Nobody) shares several recent sketches, including the image of Rocket Raccoon above, on his blog.

Bandstand Busking with Black Lips

2009-03-03T10:30:00.004-05:00

Atlanta's Black Lips recently played a set for Bandstand Busking, and the site has been kind enough to share them. Here are Atlanta's self-proclaimed flower punks playing a few tracks:

"Bad Kids"

"Bow Down and Die"

"I'll Be with You"

The band's new release, 200 Million Thousand, hit stores on February 24.

RIP Randy Bewley...

2009-02-25T19:50:00.006-05:00

Randy (in black) watching Judi Chicago at Athens Popfest 2008

Word in from various sources, both locally and online, that Pylon's Randy Bewley has passed away. This is... awful. He was an important part of the Athens music scene and I hope those than knew him better will offer tributes in the days to come. He was always a gentlemen when we spoke, and his absence will leave a hole in the local scene. I'm told that his family and bandmates were with him when he passed.

See the article at Pitchfork. The Athens Banner-Herald has more.

Update:

Please read Mike Turner's thoughts on Randy at the HHBTM blog. Mike and wife Leslie knew Randy well, and Mike's thoughts are touching.

Also see Athens local Lucas Jensen's article on Randy over at Idolator. It's loaded with info, videos, and comments about the man.

Randy Bewley of Pylon in ICU after heart attack/car accident

2009-02-25T12:53:00.003-05:00

Vanessa and Randy of Pylon (courtesy Mike White)

Word in from Crib Notes that Pylon, Supercluster, and Sound Houses guitarist Randy Bewley is in intensive care after a heart attack and car accident. The word from Pylon singer Vanessa Briscoe-Hay, courtesy of Chad Radford:

His van drifted off the road and tipped over. No other people or vehicles were involved. Rescue workers did CPR at the scene and he was taken to Athens Regional Medical Center. He is in ICU.

Besides being a member of great bands, Randy is a super nice guy. Please keep him in your thoughts and wish him a full recovery.

The Avett Brothers cover "Glory Days"

2009-02-25T11:09:00.004-05:00

Over on Bruce Springsteen's website, there is a "Hangin' on E Street" section featuring videos of other performers playing songs by The Boss. Among them are North Carolina's Avett Brothers, who rock out a version of "Glory Days" in what looks like a garage/storage unit/fallout shelter. Take it away, gents...

The Avetts have two Atlanta-area shows coming up in late April, but they're both opening for Dave Matthews. Thus, I will not consider attending. Sorry guys.

New Neko Case song - "Middle Cyclone"

2009-02-25T10:45:00.002-05:00

The Anti- label blog is celebrating its one-year anniversary today. To do so they've released a second free track from the forthcoming Neko Case album Middle Cyclone. It's the title track, and it has me even more eager for the record's March 3 release.

Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

The record is available for pre-order from Amazon for $7.99.

Howlies - "Angeline" video

2009-02-18T09:39:00.008-05:00

I overlooked this earlier this month, but Atlanta's Howlies have released a video for their infectious "Angeline" from Trippin' with Howlies. It's well done, and their masks freak me out a little.

Howlies are on tour now in the northeast (see Myspace for dates), and will be at the Caledonia Lounge in Athens on March 4.

Wilco to tour; play Classic Center in Athens on April 20

2009-02-18T09:25:00.000-05:00

Wilco - "Hummingbird" on The Late Show, June 16, 2004

I've been buried in work this week, so it was a real bright spot yesterday when I learned that Wilco will be at the Classic Center in Athens on April 20. The pre-sale begins today via MusicToday, and they go on sale to the general public on Friday.

The Athens show is one stop on Wilco's spring tour, which was just announced. The band also has a number of European dates ahead.

- Tweedy solo -
03/26 Higher Ground, Burlington, VT
03/27 Calvin Theatre, Northampton, MA
03/28 Beacon High Auditorium, Beacon, NY
- Wilco -
04/14 Pabst Theatre, Milwaukee, WI
04/15 Pabst Theatre, Milwaukee, WI
04/16 IU Auditorium, Bloomington, IN
04/17 Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Mem. Aud., Athens, OH
04/18 Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville, TN
04/20 Classic Center, Athens, GA
04/21 Thomas Wolfe Aud., Asheville, NC
04/22 Sloss Furnace, Birmingham, AL
04/23 Lyric Oxford, Oxford, MS
04/25 New Orleans JazzFest, New Orleans, LA
05/23 Tenerife Aud., Tenerife, Spain
05/25 Teatro Cervantes, Malaga, Spain
05/26 Teatro Calderon, Madrid, Spain
05/29 Territorios Festival-La Cartuja, Seville, Spain
05/30 Teatro Circo, Oporto-Braga, Portugal
05/31 Lisbon Coliseu, Lisbon, Portugal
06/01 Palacio de Congresos, Sala Braque, Santiago de Compostela-Galacia, Spain
06/03 Kursaal, Donostia, San Sebastian, Spain
06/04 Auditori Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
06/11-14 BONNAROO
07/22-25 10,000 Lakes Festival, Detroit Lakes, MN
08/21 Highfield Festival, Erfurt-Hohenfelden, Germany

See the Wilco site for more information on the band and tour.

Thor rocks the iPod

2009-02-13T11:47:00.005-05:00

The variant cover to Thor #601 by Marko Djurdjevic, hitting store shelves on March 18:

Marvel has a poll on their site asking what he's listening to. I hope it's AC/DC and not MC Hammer.

Thao and the Get Down Stay Down tour dates released; Atlanta show at The EARL on April 20

2009-02-11T22:32:00.002-05:00

Thao Nguyen and her band have announced a spring tour, with dates all around the U.S. The first two shows are Thao solo, and then Thao and the Get Down Stay Down will assemble for the remaining dates. Included is an April 20 show at The EARL in Atlanta. All the dates will be with Sister Suvi and Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers. Thao's record was one of my favorites of last year, so this should be a darn good time.

Thao and the Get Down Stay Down - Beat (Health, Life, and Fire)
Thao and the Get Down Stay Down - Bag of Hammers

The tour dates:

- solo shows -
2/26 Noise Pop - Swedish American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
2/27 The Coffee House Davis, CA

- band shows -
4/17 Black Cat, Washington, DC
4/18 Duke Coffee House, Durham, NC
4/19 Village Tavern, Mt. Pleasant, SC
4/20 The EARL, Atlanta, GA
4/21 Club Downunder-FSU, Tallahassee, FL
4/23 The Parish, Austin, TX
4/24 Lola’s, Ft. Worth, TX
4/25 The Foundation, Lubbock, TX
4/26 The Sub-College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
4/28 The Loft-UCSD, San Diego, CA
4/29 The Hotel Cafe, Los Angeles, CA
4/30 Independent, San Francisco, CA
5/01 Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR
5/02 Chop Suey, Seattle, WA
5/04 Neurolux Boise, ID
5/05 Kilby Court, Salt Lake CIty, UT
5/06 Hi Dive, Denver, CO
5/09 Empty Bottle, Chicago, IL
5/10 Beachland Tavern, Cleveland, OH
5/12 Iron Horse, Northampton, MA
5/14 Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
5/15 First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA
5/16 The Boot, Norfolk, VA

The band promises fun new outfits for the tour, so we'll see what they have in store.

The National announce tour; Variety Playhouse on May 27

2009-02-11T19:18:00.002-05:00

The National have announced a small selection of tour dates for late May. Luckily, one of those is a show at Atlanta's Variety Playhouse. Yes, I applauded in my kitchen when I read that on The Music Slut. It's been far too long since I've seen these lads live.

The National - Fake Empire

The tour:

5/21 Kool Haus, Toronto
5/22 Metropolis, Montreal,
5/23 House Of Blues, Boston, MA
5/24 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
5/25 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
5/27 Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA
5/28 Lincoln Theater, Raleigh, NC
5/29 Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA

I can't help but feel like I've missed an announcement or something about these guys. Are they still promoting Boxer, or is there a new record coming? Please chime in if you can drop some knowledge.

Athens Popfest 2009 is canceled

2009-02-11T11:05:00.002-05:00

Well, this is unpleasant news. Due to concerns about the economy, Athens Popfest 2009 is officially canceled.

From the press release:

After five years, thousands of attendees, hundreds of bands and an unimaginable amount of fun the organizers of The Athens PopFest have made the difficult decision to cancel this year's event.

The reason is quite simple. The entire world is suffering right now under the pressure and uncertainty of an increasingly unstable global economy. Owing to the fact that a large portion of the audience for the Athens PopFest, not to mention the bands themselves, thend to travel hundreds of miles to attend and play going forward with this event would mean placing a financial hardship upon many of them. This factor is compounded for those traveling from overseas. Further, the organizers feel it would be uncomfortable at best (crass at worst) to approach our local businesses, past sponsors and corporate entitites for financial support this year. Let's face it: when businesses around the world are laying off employees at record levels it just feels unseemly to ask them to transfer those dollars to us in support of a music festival.

There is more at the link. The organizers still plan to hold Athens Popfest in 2010, so we'll see what happens.

Thanks to Crib Notes for the info.

'The Ten-Cent Plague' author David Hajdu at Wordsmiths Books in Decatur, Thursday, February 12

2009-02-11T00:00:00.009-05:00

This Thursday, Cable & Tweed is co-sponsoring a visit to Decatur's Wordsmiths Books by author and Columbia University journalism professor David Hajdu. His most recent book, The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America, is a study of the comics hysteria of the mid-twentieth century. During that period a nationwide backlash struck the comics industry, with its product blamed for juvenile delinquency, illiteracy, and a general decay of American youth culture. The result was book burnings, boycotts, and contentious congressional hearings that crippled the comics industry and led to the adoption of the Comics Code to regulate content.

For those familiar with this episode in America's cultural history, many of the details will be well known. Although hysteria about the corrupting force of comics came and went throughout the early twentieth century, it hit a high point with the convening of congressional hearings in the early 1950s and the publication of Dr. Frederic Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent in 1954. He followed many others in arguing that comics had a detrimental effect on youth. Although Wertham's was not the only voice raised in opposition to comic books, it resonated with America's mothers and moralists like few before. While Wertham's tale is the best known to emerge from this era of comics history, Hajdu digs deeper to explore the numerous actions against comics in America as well as the concurrent growth and contraction of the industry. He did so by conducting over 150 interviews with comics veterans and uncovering more primary and secondary sources on the topic than I realized were available. It's a fascinating bit of American cultural history.

David Hajdu

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This week, Hajdu was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to answer questions that I sent him via e-mail.

C&T: Famed artist Al Williamson's quip that "[i]t was a bad time to be weird" (p. 210) sums up the situation examined in The Ten-Cent Plague pretty succinctly. I have to wonder, though, if there is ever a good time to be weird without provoking the powers that be. As you note, attacks on popular youth culture are cyclical and recurring. In my own formative years such attacks were made on heavy metal, rap music, "naughty" cartoons (e.g., Beavis & Butt-Head), and violent video games (among other supposedly corrupting forces). What about the attacks on the comics industry drew you to this topic a full half-century after the key events?

DH: I love that comment from Williamson. It would make a good book title – or perhaps a better song title. I’ll have to go visit Williamson again, with a guitar.

No time is exactly like any other time, of course, despite the recurrence of some themes in history. If we think of weirdness as bohemianism, that’s something that’s had a kind of cultural currency since 17th-century France. Rimbaud is forever cool, at least to young people interested in establishing their own generational identity by defying the standards of their parents. That said, each youth culture sets its own standards of weirdness, and they’re frequently rigid or parochial. When the Beatles came along, Elvis called them “weird” and “queer.” By the early ‘70s, when glam rock along, the Beatles no longer seemed so transgressive. They seemed like squares.

I was drawn to the subject of my book in large part because I didn’t understand it well. It represented a challenging new area of inquiry for me.

C&T: The aspect of The Ten-Cent Plague given the most attention is its focus on legislative responses to the perceived threat of comics as fostering juvenile delinquency. The congressional hearings of 1950-54 in particular remain captivating as both public spectacle and an example of legislative overreach. I wonder, however, about their depiction in the book. There seems to have been some balance in the 1950 hearings headed by Senator Estes Kefauver (D-TN), but nothing of the sort in later hearings. Is that a fair assessment, or were there dissenting voices in later hearings that did not make it into the book?

DH: No, I didn’t rig the evidence. I tried to convey the proportion of events as accurately as I could.

C&T: In your assessment, to what degree were elites' concerns about comics genuine rather than fueled by electoral concerns, self-promotion, or a desire to sell books and periodicals? Discerning the motivation of a Frederic Wertham, for example, hardly seems straightforward.

DH: When I started my research, I wondered if the hysteria over comics would have happened without Wertham, and I was surprised when I found that it DID happen without him -- that is to say, it began quite a while before he joined it. Wertham became important as a catalyst and as the public face of the campaign against comics. But he didn't start it; in fact, he didn't emerge as a prominent critic of comics until 1948, a full eight years after Sterling North, the children's author and book critic, wrote the newspaper column ("A National Disgrace") that was the manifesto of comics critics.

North sounded like Wertham before Wertham did. He called comics "badly drawn, badly written and badly printed -- a stain on young eyes and young nervous systems," and he describe the "effect" of comics as "that of a violent stimulant." He charged comics publishers with being "guilty of cultural slaughter of the innocents," foreshadoing the title of Wertham's book by fourteen years, while echoing the criticism of turn-of-the-century newspaper strips. That first piece of North's on comics (and it was only the first) was reprinted in forty newspapers around the country, as well as in the journal of the National Parent-Teachers Association.

A few years later, a Jesuit priest named Robert E. Southard took up the crusade against comics, making the first charge, in print in 1944, that comics were "largely responsible for juvenile delinquency." Parochial schools distributed a list of "objectionable" comics that Southard made, and they used it to organize protests against comics and public burnings as early as 1945, three years before Wertham turned his attention to comics. Wertham and the comics crusade -- or, more accurately, the multiple crusades against comics -- are not interchangeable.

C&T: In my day job I am a social scientist, and I appreciate that The Ten-Cent Plague addressed the results of empirical studies in the 1950s regarding the relationship (or lack thereof) between juvenile delinquency and comic books. I was struck, but not shocked, by the fact that none of the scholarly or peer-reviewed research identified a causal relationship between comics and crime despite claims by various politicians and moralists. Why weren't these studies more influential? Were Wertham and his ilk simply better at self-promotion and rhetoric than their counterparts?

DH: Wertham clearly had an appetite for attention, and he understood how to use the media.

There were several serious studies of comics reading and scholarly papers on the subject published in the late 1940s, and most of them came to the conclusion that comics did no particular harm to young minds. They got very little attention in the popular press.

For instance, the November 1948 edition of the Journal of Educational Research included a study of 635 elementary-school kids in Farmingdale, New York, and it found no "significant differences between those children who read comic books, attended moving pictures, and listened to radio programs to the greatest extent and those who participated in these activities seldom or not at all."

In December 1949, after the early peak of hysteria over comics in 1948, the Journal of Educational Sociology devoted an entire issue to comics, and all the papers in the journal were tempered or positive about comics. This issue included a couple of fervent defenses of comics and critiques of Wertham's methods, including "The Comics and Delinquency: Cause or Scapegoat," by Frederic M. Thrasher of NYU. As Thrasher wrote, "In conclusion, it may be said that no acceptable evidence has been produced by Wertham or anyone else for the conclusion that the reading of comic magazines has or has not a significant relation to delinquent behavior."

C&T: My own inclination is to shun censorship and reject many of the arguments made by Wertham and his allies, but I can empathize with their concerns about graphic imagery in the hands of children. It seems that some comics professionals did as well (including UGA graduate Jack Davis, incidentally). Given that, why didn't the comics industry take its own Comics Code in 1948 more seriously? Is there evidence that age restrictions were ever considered for particular comics in the spirit of the modern film and television ratings? It seems that such a system might have blunted much of the later controversy, though it might have hurt the bottom line.

DH: Comics publishers did quite a bit to tone down their content after the early peak of the comics hysteria, in 1948, but they concentrated on crime content. The first wave of of comics regulations focused primarily on crime comics, on the grounds that the depiction of criminal acts in the panels might inspire their readers to act criminally. As a result, comics publishers shifted the tone of their crime titles or discontinued them. Only two newsstand dealers were actually arrested for selling crime comics, as far as I know; but the legislation against crime comics, in concert with the atmosphere of panic over their role in changing juvenile mores, led publishers away from crime. They turned to other genres, including horror and romance, proceeding blithely on the misconception that only crime comics could qualify as criminal.

C&T: While reading 'The Ten-Cent Plague' it would be difficult not to notice the attention given to EC Comics in its various incarnations. In fact, the book serves as a notable history of that imprint as well as broader attacks on comics. One gets the impression that EC's history is closely correlated with that of the industry as a whole, including its flame-out in the 1950s. Was it your intention from the start to focus on EC to such a degree?

DH: I gave EC the attention I gave it in part because EC comics were so serious and ambitious as art. One of the reasons I care about the debate over comics is that I care about comics. The debate over comics was a debate over not only moral values, but aesthetic values. The clampdown on comics, which resulted in the demise of EC, is tragic because it destroyed something of value.

C&T: In the course of a project of this magnitude, one inevitably learns things that are unexpected or stumbles onto wonderful artifacts. Do any such discoveries stand out in your mind? Was there a particular anecdote or fact that you wish had made the final manuscript, but did not?

DH: Oh, boy…I have literally thousands of pages of transcripts from my interviews, and I used just a tiny portion of them. Most of the material didn’t make it into the final manuscript! That was my choice, though, so I’m not complaining here. I think of writing largely as the practice of oblation.

The best story I didn’t use took place after the time period of the book. That’s why I didn’t include it. It came from Stephen Sondheim, who said that when he was first brainstorming “West Side Story” with Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins, he proposed to open the play with a musical number in which the Jets would sing about comic books. Showing that the kids were comic-book readers would establish immediately that they were juvenile delinquents!

C&T: The discussion at the beginning of the Notes indicates that you interviewed more than 150 individuals associated with the comic book industry during the course of your research. In fact, the list of interview subjects is downright overwhelming. Who among them did you find most interesting or impressive? Did anyone surprise you in some significant way?

DH: I’m thinking of posting all those interview on my website, since I didn’t use literally 90% of the material, and I’m not exaggerating. Who was the most interesting? Maybe Janice Valleau. That’s why I started the book with her.

C&T: Now that you have examined jazz, Bob Dylan, and comics, what can we look forward to from you in the near future?

DH: I’m just about finished putting together a collection of my essays – pieces I’ve done on music and film and comics and some other subjects over the past ten years or so – and that will be published in the fall. It’s called “Heroes and Villains.” I’ve also been working for a few years on a biography of the jazz singer Billy Eckstine – part two of a possible trilogy on African-American jazz singers from Pittsburgh named Billy. All I need is a third.

David Hajdu appears at Wordsmiths Books in Decatur, Georgia, on February 12 at 7:30 PM. The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America is available now.

RIP Blossom Dearie, 1926-2009

2009-02-09T16:08:00.003-05:00

I am sad to report that the great jazz singer Blossom Dearie has passed away at the age of 82. I featured Dearie here last year to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of her wonderful Once Upon a Summertime, and have been listening to her more in recent months. Such a unique talent.

Here's Blossom Dearie performing "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top" circa the early 1960s:

The Telegraph has an extensive obituary and article on her death.

The Decemberists announce tour; play Tabernacle in ATL 6/3

2009-02-09T15:32:00.004-05:00

Brooklyn Vegan reports that The Decemberists have announced summer tour dates, including a June 3 stop at Tabernacle in Atlanta. Pre-sale tickets are available today; they go on sale to the general public on Friday, February 13.

The band will be supporting their forthcoming album, The Hazards of Love, and the details sound cool:

On tour, The Decemberists will present a full performance of the album, a 17-song suite that tells the tale of a woman named Margaret who is ravaged by a shape-shifting animal; her lover, William; a forest queen; and a cold-blooded, lascivious rake. Joining the band on stage will be Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden who deliver the lead vocals for the female characters. The band announced last week that they will give the debut live performance of The Hazards of Love when they headline NPR Music's South by Southwest showcase at Stubbs in Austin on March 18th.

The tour:

5/19 Hollywood Palladium Los Angeles, CA
5/20 Fox Theatre Oakland, CA
5/21 McDonald Theater Eugene, OR
5/24 Wilma Theatre Missoula, MT
5/26 Fillmore Auditorium Denver, CO
5/27 Uptown Theater Kansas City, MO
5/29 Riverside Theater Milwaukee, WI
5/31 The Pageant St. Louis, MO
6/01 Lifestyle Communities Pavilion Columbus, OH
6/03 Tabernacle Atlanta, GA
6/04 Memorial Auditorium Raleigh, NC
6/05 The National Richmond, VA
6/06 Tower Theatre Upper Darby, PA
6/09 Bank of America Pavillion Boston, MA
6/10 Radio City Music Hall New York, NY
6/11-14 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival Manchester, TN

The Hazards of Love is due on March 24.

Radiohead - "15 Step" on the Grammys

2009-02-08T23:14:00.003-05:00

The performance got Twitter all abuzz, and now it's on YouTube. I hope it stays there.

That's the USC Marching Band making all the band geeks drool. Way to go, Trojans.

New 'Watchmen' viral video: The Keene Act and You

2009-02-05T22:16:00.003-05:00

The flood of impressive Watchmen promo material continues with this video on the Keene Act supposedly from 1977. It stresses vigilance and condemns vigilantism, and explains the danger of costumed adventurers.

Is that cool or what? Thanks to Ain't It Cool News for sharing.

Wanda Jackson announces live dates; Nashville 2/17, Tampa 2/21

2009-02-05T17:28:00.007-05:00

Wanda Jackson - "Hard Headed Woman"

A rare announcement from the Wanda Jackson camp, as the Queen of Rockabilly has announced some scattered live shows. Unfortunately, the closest dates to Georgia so far are Nashville on February 17 and Tampa on February 21. I don't know what material she performs these days, but I'd love to see her perform.

See Wanda Jackson live:

02/13 The Dame, Lexington, KY
02/14 The Southgate House, Newport, KY
02/17 The 5 Spot, Nashville, TN
02/21 Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa, FL
04/29 Ponderosa Stomp @ House of Blues, New Orleans, LA
05/08 Texas Rockabilly Revival, Austin, TX
06/04 Bearcreek Farms, Bryant, IN
06/05 Bearcreek Farms, Bryant, IN
06/06 Bearcreek Farms, Bryant, IN

Wanda will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 4. Her outstanding Rockin' with Wanda! is just $6 from Amazon.

Tip of the hat to Nashville Cream.

Deadpool digs Huey Lewis

2009-02-04T23:43:00.003-05:00

As a youngster, I was totally into Huey Lewis and the News. I'm amazed my cassette copy of Fore! still played after all the wear and tear. In today's Deadpool #7, we learn that Deadpool shares my younger self's affinity for Huey:

Deadpool #7 was written by Daniel Way and penciled by Paco Medina.

Bonus mp3: Glen Phillips - I Want a New Drug [live Huey Lewis cover]

Joey Weiser reveals FLUKE 2009 poster art

2009-02-04T20:40:00.002-05:00

Comics writer/artist Joey Weiser is a shiny new Athens resident, and today he revealed the poster he designed for the FLUKE Mini-Comics Show this April:

That's just one of three versions, but my favorite of the bunch. FLUKE 2009 takes place April 4 at Tasty World (upstairs) in Athens, Georgia. I had a great time last year, and recommend checking it out.

New Laura Gibson song - "Spirited"

2009-02-04T07:04:00.004-05:00

Laura Gibson's Beasts of Seasons is due on February 24, and label Hush has sent along the first single from the album. "Spirited" is a pretty but multi-layered tune, and strikes me as a little more experimental than much of Gibson's earlier output. Good stuff.

Laura Gibson - Spirited

You can pre-order Beasts of Seasons from Hush Records.

Trailers, ahoy!: G.I. Joe, Land of the Lost, Year One, Star Trek, Transformers 2

2009-01-31T22:09:00.010-05:00

The folks at FirstShowing.net have been having a field day on this Super Bowl Eve, posting a number of new trailers that will debut during the big game. Three of interest to me are nostalgia cash-in G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, Harold Ramis historical flick Year One (with Jack Black, Michael Cera, David Cross, Paul Rudd, etc.), and Will Ferrell's Land of the Lost adaptation. Given the content of these trailers, my expectations are pretty low for all three.

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra trailer

Land of the Lost trailer

Year One sneak peek clip

None of them are too exciting, in my humble opinion, though I'm looking forward to G.I. Joe a tad bit more.

Update, 2/1, 1:30 AM: Now the new Star Trek and Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen trailers are up too!

New Elephant Parade song - "Home"

2009-01-31T19:23:00.003-05:00

I always enjoy what I hear from Brooklyn's Elephant Parade, and tonight they have been kind enough to send along their new single "Home." It's the first result I have heard from their recent time in the studio, and an endearing indie pop tune with horn flourishes.

Elephant Parade - Home

Details on their second album are forthcoming, but they do have some nifty new totebags available now as well as their enjoyable first album Bedroom Recordings.

Bill Hicks on The Late Show with David Letterman

2009-01-31T11:46:00.006-05:00

Back in October 1993, comedian and gadfly Bill Hicks performed for the taping of Late Show with David Letterman. However, his performance was famously cut from the airing of the episode that night and never saw the light of day. Hicks, unfortunately, died of pancreatic cancer just months later. Last night, more than 15 years later, the show invited Hicks's mother to the show as it broadcast the clip for the first time.

TV Barn has more information on the Hicks performance and its history.

C&T is three years old

2009-01-29T17:07:00.007-05:00

Three.

Three!

Cable & Tweed is three years old today. Thanks to everyone who reads the site, contributes, or leaves comments. It's been fun, and I hope you're all on board for another year of music, comics, and my inane banter.

New Black Lips song - "Short Fuse"

2009-01-29T08:56:00.005-05:00

I didn't cover the Black Lips' recent antics in India, but I am glad to see that Vice has revealed new music from the Atlanta band. "Short Fuse" is the second song to emerge from the forthcoming 200 Million Thousand (due February 24) and I like it a lot. They're not breaking much new ground here, but it's a rockin' track with punk vocals and a psychedelic edge.

Black Lips - Short Fuse

Since they fled India the band has reportedly been recording with King Khan, with the goal of releasing a joint album under the name The Defenders. They promise great things, and with those bands working together I expect they will deliver.

Note that the band's video contest for "Starting Over" discussed here recently is still going on.

Adron and Madeline Thursday night at Star Bar in Atlanta -- free!

2009-01-28T22:27:00.003-05:00

If you have been reading C&T for any length of time, you probably know that Adron and Madeline are two of my favorite young artists. Adron made my best-of-2008 list for her debut album, and Madeline's White Flag (due in March) is likely to make that list for 2009. They're an amazingly talented couple of ladies, and on Thursday night both of them play the Star Community Bar in Atlanta's Little Five Points. The show is free and curated by C&T's friends at Have You Heard, who offer a great Atlanta-based music podcast. If you can make it to the show, I advise you to do so.

Adron - Airplanes
Madeline - White Flag

Thank Adam and the gang from Have You Heard while you're there.

Modest Mouse announce tour; Atlanta on March 7

2009-01-28T22:15:00.003-05:00

Tour announcements from major acts continue to emerge, as Modest Mouse has unveiled the dates on their winter/spring outing. It begins on the west coast on February 22, and ends at Langerado. Along the way they will play at The Tabernacle in Atlanta on March 7. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, January 29.

Modest Mouse - Doin' the Cockroach
Modest Mouse - Interstate 8
Modest Mouse - Dramamine

Modest Mouse on tour:

2/22 Fox Theater, Oakland, CA
2/23 Fox Theatre, Visalia, CA
2/24 Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA
2/25 The Marquee, Tempe, AZ
2/26 Albuquerque Convention Center, Albuquerque, NM
2/28 Balch Fieldhouse, Boulder, CO
3/02 Uptown Theater, Kansas City, MO
3/03 Diamond Ballroom, Oklahoma City, OK
3/04 Stubb's, Austin, TX
3/06 The Lyric Oxford, Oxford, MS
3/07 The Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA
3/08 Langerado Music Festival, Miami, FL

'Watchmen Wear' revealed!

2009-01-27T14:10:00.004-05:00

Robert B. sends word via Patrick Dean that Watchmen costumes have been revealed on the movie's blog. I don't know whether to laugh, cry, or wonder how they got Mike Ditka circa 1985 to dress up as The Comedian.

See the whole line of "Watchmen Wear" on the movie's site. React as you see fit.

Gringo Star announce tour; Auburn 2/20, Atlanta 3/6

2009-01-27T13:00:00.002-05:00

Photo by Skylar Reeves

Gringo Star are an Atlanta favorite, as well as dedicated road warriors. The band has just released new tour dates for February and March that will take them all over the place from the east coast to Texas. Fear not, locals -- they will be at The EARL in East Atlanta on March 6.

Gringo Star - All Y'all

The tour:

2/20 Auburn Univ. Beaux Arts Ball, Auburn, AL
2/25 Pianos, New York City, NY
2/26 Death By Audio, Brooklyn, NY
2/28 The Jinx, Savannah, GA
3/06 The Earl, Atlanta, GA
3/13 Black Owl, Muscle Shoals, AL
3/14 Sticky Fingers, Little Rock, AR
3/16 Palladium Loft, Dallas, TX (w/ King Khan & the Shrines)
3/17 The Warhol, San Antonio, TX (w/ King Khan & the Shrines)
3/18 SXSW Austin, TX
3/19 SXSW Austin, TX
3/20 SXSW Austin, TX
3/21 SXSW Austin, TX
3/22 City Art Supply, St. Louis, MO
3/24 Green Lantern, Lexington, KY
3/25 Subterranean, Chicago, IL
3/26 Northside Tavern, Cincinnati, OH
3/27 The Matinee, Cleveland, OH
3/28 The Bog, Scranton, PA
3/29 BAR, New Haven, CT
3/31 Mercury Lounge, New York, NY
4/02 The Khyber, Philadelphia, PA
4/03 New French Bar, Asheville, NC
4/04 Snug Harbor, Charlotte, NC
4/17 Head On The Door, Montgomery, AL
4/18 The Loft, Columbus, GA

Loch Lomond release pay-what-you-want 'Trumpets for Paper Children' EP for download

2009-01-26T23:19:00.005-05:00

Portland's Loch Lomond have made great strides in the past couple years. To further introduce themselves to newbies and give fans a little treat, the band has released a pay-what-you-want online EP Trumpets for Paper Children via label Hush Records. It includes two songs from each of their albums, plus a new track called "Trumpet Song." It's available now from the Hush store.

A couple more Loch Lomond songs, courtesy of Hush Records.

Loch Lomond - Carl Sagan
Loch Lomond -Tic

Loch Lomond has some upcoming dates on the west coast. The dates are on their Myspace.

Death Cab for Cutie announce tour; play ATL on May 6

2009-01-26T22:56:00.004-05:00

I've gone from Seth Cohen levels of Death Cab enthusiasm to a lower level of interest, but I was still glad to see they'll soon be on tour and in Atlanta. The band will appear at Atlanta's Fox Theater on May 6. The fan club pre-sale opens on January 28 at 3PM, and they go on sale to the general public on January 31. That's this Saturday.

Death Cab for Cutie - Photobooth [live 7-30-2005]

The band also plays Birmingham, Alabama, on May 5. The remaining dates are on their website.

Naked Jimmy Olsen digs Van Halen

2009-01-23T22:36:00.004-05:00

So does Clark Kent, apparently. I really like the idea of Superman rocking out to Eddie and Diamond Dave, especially during the supermullet era. \m/

From Superman (vol. 2) #83 (November 1993) by Dan Jurgens and Joe Rubinstein.

Bonus mp3: Drive-By Truckers - Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love [Van Halen cover; live 4-15-2005]

Silver Jews call it quits?

2009-01-23T16:52:00.004-05:00

David Berman of Silver Jews

Over on the Drag City message board for Silver Jews, it appears that David Berman is bringing the band to an end after their January 31 show. As a fan of the man and his music, I'm a bit stunned by the news. Berman says that he wants to move on to other endeavors rather than make a career of recording and touring, and that's his prerogative. I wish him the best, and hope he keeps us informed as he tries new things. I'd be dishonest, though, to say I'm not bummed out.

Silver Jews - I'm Getting Back Into Getting Into You

The final Silver Jews show will be January 31 at Blueground Undergrass in Tennessee, and is already sold out. Hat tip to the Onion AV Club for the news.

Brian Jonestown Massacre to tour; tix for 4/10 in ATL now on sale

2009-01-23T15:26:00.008-05:00

"Anenome" (from DIG!)

The Brian Jonestown Massacre had an epic meltdown at The EARL a few years back, and now I see that Anton and his mates will return to Atlanta on April 10. This time they're playing at the much larger Variety Playhouse, which we can all hope will be the site of no technical problems or intra-band fisticuffs. Tickets are available now.

It's hard to tell whether the band is better known for their music or their role in the documentary DiG!, but either way they're a hell of a rock band when they're on track.

Brian Jonestown Massacre on tour:

3/16 Club Nokia, Los Angeles, CA
3/17 The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
3/20 crystal ballroom, portland, OR
3/21 Neumo's, Seattle, WA
3/24 Ogden Theater, Denver, CO
3/26 Turner Hall, Minneapolis, MN
3/28 The Metro, Chicago, IL
3/29 The Grog Shop, Cleveland, OH
3/30 Rex Theater, Pittsburgh, PA
4/01 Terminal 5, New York, NY
4/02 Paradise Theater, Boston, MA
4/03 Pearl Street, Northhampton, MA
4/04 Trocadero, Philadelphia, PA
4/06 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
4/07 Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC
4/08 Orange Peel, Asheville, NC
4/09 Exit/In, Nashville, TN
4/10 Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA
4/11 Hi Tone, Memphis, TN
4/13 Granada Theater, Dallas, TX
4/14 Emo’s, Austin, TX
4/16 Club House, tempe, AZ

Hear more from the band on Myspace.