I’m not sure who Myles Cooper is and there’s very little on his MySpace music page. This is what I can quickly glean about this guy from the video:

• He lives in San Francisco and is some sort of gay hipster of sorts, evidenced most apparently by the Aunt Charlie’s shout out in the end. I had a pretty decent time at the Tube Steak party there once!!! Although going through the tenderloin at night is a tiny bit scary!!!
• He has some sort of association with ex-Gravy Train member Hunx, now of Hunx and his Punx, who sings in the chorus.
  

One thing that can be said with certainty is that the guy (with the help of animator Skye Thorstenson and a slew of other folks) has made one of the best, funniest, cutest, campy-yet-sincere music videos I have ever seen. Happy Friday, guys.

[tons of props to CTRL + W33D for posting this and bringing it to my attention]

I was having this conversation with a buddy recent about the current state of music. We didn’t think the current climate was bad per se, but we couldn’t help but ask “WHERE IS THE ANGST?!!!” I mean, we’re in a depression, all our jobs suck, politics are more cynical than ever, and somehow most of popular culture still remains firmly rooted in a dedication to escapism. Why is our entertainment so seemingly happy when the rest of the world kind of sucks right now?

Well, it looks like Xiu Xiu’s upcoming album being released Monday, February 22, is aiming to provide some beautiful depressive catharsis. Xiu Xiu has consistently been one of the only bands I will shell out for whenever they come to town. The shows always have an amazing sense of live experimentation (For example, the last show I went to, they experimented with percussive tones using a yield sign placed on a saw horse). Jamie Stewart, the driving force behind the project, is magnetic on stage with an amazing ability to communicate on a personal level with large crowds. I was also always a big fan of Caralee, who unfortunately is now listed as a former member. (True story side note: I once went on a very unsuccessful date with a guy I met at one of their concerts!)

While the live performances have always been amazing, I always found some of their recording to be hit and miss. Sometimes the experimentation just doesn’t translate in recording. Don’t get me wrong. The most recent Women As Lovers was GREAT. Fabulous Muscles was a HUGE standby when I needed to emo out alone in my room in college. I actually can’t name an album I don’t like. I even liked the covers compilation released 3 years back. My point is more that I understand why people might NOT like it. Which is why these three leaked tracks from the upcoming Dear God, I Hate Myself have me really excited.

All three tracks go back to the sort of alternative electronic vibe that I first came to love about this band while adding in a kind of New Order 80s dance sensibility. Basically I have hopes that this could be one of the most accessible, successful, and listenable albums the group has done in a while. None of that is meant to sound patronizing, I think being “listenable” within this genre is actually a truly great quality.

I was looking at the YouTube comments to see what other people think. I think this mm60503642 has a good point but maybe doesn’t get the music?

However, I think I am more inclined to agree with VomitShovel.

Check out the title track “Dear God, I Hate Myself”:

Here’s another very dancey one called “Gray Death”:

And lastly my favorite of the leaked tracks, “Chocolate Makes You Happy.” You know, it’s just a simple song about binging on chocolate and then throwing it all up to try and make yourself feel better:

I still got some mp3 gift cards left over from Christmas that I know I will be using Monday.

This last weekend, this band, The Ruffian Arms, was the headlining band at QxBxRx, otherwise known as Queers, Beers, and Rears, otherwise known as the only queer party I religiously attend in NYC (they got a Facebook and a MySpace if you want to keep up to date on when they happen). The performance rocked my cock. Plus writing about them helps me fulfill both goals of writing about more cultural happenings and posting hot guys!

I think the only reason they are not more popular than they are is that they do a genre of music, a type of punk, that isn’t really the most fashionable these days if you look at Pitchfork (i.e. they are not a “collective,” ect). The thing is , they do good old left coast style performative punk REALLY well, even if it might not be the genre of music currently in fashion.  But remember how good punk music was in the 90s? And what do we need more in an economic depression than some good balls to the wall party music that gives a lot of attitude? I would be totally happy to see a resurgence. On top of that they add a certain level of raw sexual energy not always front and center in punk music, just take a quick listen to “Three Hole Circus.”

One thing to know is that their awesome sound just doesn’t translate as well when recorded. A large part of that is the awesome amazon of a woman that is the frontwoman of the band, Allison. She’s the sort of women that will smash your face in and then fuck you with a strap on until you pass out. When you come to bleeding on the floor, instead of feeling violated, you probably will just think about how awesome it all felt and want it again. That’s just the kind of gal she is. Memorable and sexy. Also very tall and intimidating.

It totally helps that she’s backed up by two very attractive men who slowly disrobe their sweaty bodies and flash their cocks on stage the entire performance. Sometimes music should beat you up and give you a boner at the same time. The Ruffian Arms accomplish that and then some.

Here’s some pics from last Saturday. If you’re into this and haven’t seen them, you should really check them out next time they play. When you wake up with a bloody ass the next day you’ll be thanking me.

Disclaimer: I have friends in this band, mainly the drummer. But I wouldn’t endorse them unless I actually thought they were rad. And they are rad. So I am endorsing them. This is the first in what I hope becomes a series of documenting the occasional awesome live shows I see.

Do u guyz kno about this guy who calls himself “Perfume Genius”? Because I just learned about this guy today via a post over on BUTT magazine’s blog and it’s legitimately some of the best video art I have seen in a long time. Granted, I have a tendency to love depressive art, but you need to watch this stuff.

A long time ago, I blogged about my love for Ryan Trecartin’s work, (especially how it caters itself to the online/YouTube viewing experience). This is work that succeeds in the opposite end of the spectrum. It’s mediative, beautiful, and probably the best way to see it would be as a projection in a small venue with everyone sitting on the floor while the music is played live. The fact that the clips on YouTube still work show well is a testiment to their actual beauty. Maybe a good point of reference would be something like The Cocteau Twins meets Lynch but then produced lo-fi as all fuck? I could probably describe the music as… Guided By Voices meets Chris Garneaux? I dunno. These short pieces have quality a lot like some of David Lynch’s earlier work and an aesthetic akin to the more experimental parts in his popular films (I’d compare them to parts of Inland Empire, but since I really consider that movie more of a return to form… that’s another post entirely).

I know there are “some artists” who think that video art is “bullshit.” These should make them eat their words. Below they are posted in reverse chronological order. Enjoy.

I really hope there’s a lot more of this work to come. As is it’s so good that I can’t wait to see how it develops in the future. If you want to check out Perfume Genius’ music, you can on his MySpace.

A good buddy just found this, put it on Facebook, and I can’t help but re-post. Thank you Internet for this glorious internet gift and letting me open it early on Christmas Eve. Below is what is a digitized and uploaded version of what is probably one of the only copies left of the music video for The Mo-Dettes “White Mice.” It’s fresh.

Recently I was discussing how great it would be to make a parody of “Video Phone” called “Rotary Phone”

So spin it round, hear it clickin’
On my rotary phone
Dial up grandma
Ring her on my rotary phone
You gotta speak up
Yell into my rotary phone
On my rotary, rotary
Hear me spin and click on my rotary phone

So being too lazy to actually make this in an expediant fashion, I shouted “More Lady Gaga parodies plz” into the abyss sometime last week after too much turkey, creamed pearl onions, mashed potatoes, and red wine. It seems like someone answered.

Well it looks like these bearded designer gays beat me to the punch of creating a soon to be wildly popular lady gaga parody video. If they weren’t so damn attractive I might actually be bothered by the fact that they totally pronounce Neutra incorrectly.

Hey you beautiful men, FYI, it’s pronounced “Noi-truh.”