Yesterday, while the Tennessee Titans trounced the Buffalo Bills in Nashville, Titans owner Bud Adams – who is looking pretty good for 86 years old – was seen vigorously giving a huge middle finger to all of the Bills fans in the audience:
And in fact, he was not only “seen making the gesture while in his luxury suite,” but again while down on the field. This has led to the NFL slapping Adams with a $250,000 fine; he issued an apology a few hours after the game. But I mean, come on! It’s this mad old dude flipping birds in a suit. That’s hilarious. This guy is a hero, like how T.I. means hero in his song “Hero” when he says, “I’m the man, it’s apparent even when I’m running errands.”
In late October, the L.A. band Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, a whimsical, ten-member band, were the largest to ever play the Tiny Desk Concert in the NPR Music offices. It’s a pretty cool mini-concert to check out. Lead singers Jade Castrinos and Alex Ebert (who is formerly of electro-pop band Ima Robot) are surrounded by their eight backing players whenever they perform. Ebert, whose sound in Ima Robot couldn’t have been more different, told a somewhat self-serving story to Paste Magazine about the creation of the messianic Edward Sharpe persona, saying “He was sent down to Earth to kinda heal and save mankind … But he kept getting distracted by girls and falling in love.” Whatever you think of the manufactured nature of this back-story, their full-length debut album, Up From Below, which took the Zeros more than a year and a half to record, is really good. However good they sound recorded though, as with similarly-sized bands like Arcade Fire, they seem to be a band that is best enjoyed live. The group is hot in the L.A. press right now, mostly because L.A. is where the group has been playing concerts. With their two shows in NYC next week, they could spread that love Eastward. Their show next Tuesday at the Bowery Ballroom is already sold out but they will be streaming the show live at rvibe.com. They are playing the following night at the Music Hall of Williamsburg but that’s sold out too! It looks like the Zeroes and this dream of theirs may last longer than 40 days after all…
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes – 40 Day Dream:
For my birthday (today!) the Jam is a classic that always puts me in a good mood and gets the party started. This killer live version was recorded for Sesame Street, which has been everywhere lately, as they are celebrating a big 40th Birthday themselves!
Illinois crooner Lissie Maurus, playing the early show tonight at the Mercury Lounge, is set to release her debut EP, Why You Runnin’, tomorrow on Fat Possum Records. Her song titles may be abbreviated and folksy but her talent’s not. Her first single “Little Lovin'” starts as a simple, sweet song and builds on its Midwestern bluegrass undertones to become surprisingly complex. The EP was produced by Bill Reynolds, the bassist in Band of Horses. Lissie will be opening for Ray Lamontagne on a bunch of his tour dates coming up in Illinois and in California.
This live version of “Little Lovin'” is from the her performance at the Troubadour in L.A. back in October. It’s pretty good but for the recorded version, you can check out her MySpace page.
The beginning drum beats of this song sound suspiciously like Marilyn Manson‘s “Beautiful People,” but once the guitar line drops in on “Percussion Gun” from New York City band White Rabbits, it’s clear that we have a great track on our hands here. There was kind of a reason not to write about a song with guns in the title today, but I can’t really tell what’s going on with this story. And then I stumble upon this live version of a song called “Rudie Fails” that White Rabbits performed at the SPIN offices. This is a good joke and another good song. This is a band that really knows how to rock out on the drum set. So White Rabbits wins. Jam of the Day.
White Rabbits – Percussion Gun:
And if the image of white rabbits gets you in the mood for a little magic this weekend, go check out Paper Garden Records Presents: Multiverse Playground on Saturday Night at 3rd Ward. It’s getting all sorts of press coverage, like even in the NY Post, and should be a great time with shows from Boy Crisis, a guest appearance from Das Racist, and sets from a bunch of other great bands. Come check it out!
East Village to Brooklyn 