July 31:  Song of the Day.  Fleet Foxes–White Winter Hymnal

Studies have shown that if you want a music video to be included in our Song of the Day feature your chances increase exponentially if the video includes cartoons, muppets, or claymation.  (I conducted this study personally, I should know).  Studies also show that it helps if the song is good, I like the lyrics, or the girl in the band is hot.   Bribes also work (for example:  If you buy me a pizza from this fine, local establishment in return for a Song of the Day feature, consider it a done deal).  Of course I’m only kidding. (maybe).

Well anyway here’s a new video from a relatively new band that seems to be all the rage these days among those that tend to define the current rage.  The band is Fleet Foxes, they’re from Seattle, WA, and their self-titled debut album was released on June 3rd by SubPop.  Three weeks later it made it to #1 on the CMJ Top 200 chart.  (The album is currently holding steady at #2).  And yep, you guessed it, their latest video features animation.  Actually it’s a claymation and it was directed by Sean Pecknold, who also happens to be the lead singer’s brother.  Enjoy.  [Video after the break.  Studies also show that I tend to ramble from time to time]

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Popularity: 32% [?]

It’s mix tape time once again here on the ol’ blogosphere that is cvilleMUSE!  Care to take a guess what the theme is?

[pic]

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Popularity: 39% [?]

Let’s face it, travelling these days has become a rather expensive affair.  With gas prices hovering around $4 a gallon, just filling up the tank has become an eye-popping and a checkbook depleting experience for alot of folks.  And unless your favorite band happens to be playing at a venue close to home, hitting the road to see a show can make for a rather expensive evening.  Hell, even if you don’t have to travel far, you still may have to pick and chose which shows you really want to see because concert tickets aren’t always cheap.

On a national level, the verdict on the summer concert season is still out.  For the most part there hasn’t been a huge increase in ticket prices due to rising fuel costs (although there are some that are saying this could be changing soon as touring artists begin to feel the pinch at the pump).  As the USA Today reported back in June, the festival season returns have been mixed with Bonnaroo, Coachella, and Merlefest reporting declining attendance from this year to last while others like Sasquatch, Stagecoach, and the CMA Music Festival are reporting a noticeable increase in concert-goers.  [Note:  In some cases this may have less to do with cost and more to do with the ever-growing number of music festivals which seem to keep popping up every year]

[Poll Question After the Break]

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July 30:  Song of the Day.  Soul Coughing–Screenwriter’s Blues

Here’s a scene from my make believe movie.  Shot in black and white with a camera mounted on the front of the car.  The headlights of our car and passing cars provide the only light.  The broken lines of a curving highway in the Hollywood Hills pass by at 60 mph.  We hear broken radio reception.  Jazz, talk, static.  And then this song. 

The lines pass by faster.  The car swerves.  We see the guardrail and then the opposite ditch.  Broken highway lines buzzing.  The scene goes all white, then black, and then slowly comes into focus.  A car in a ditch, two headlights beaming into the black night.  A tight shot of a single tire spinning off the ground slowly morphs into a black vinyl record skipping at the end of the album.  Skipping, pop, skipping, pop, skipping, pop.  Here’s the soundtrack. »Read More

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I stumbled across this video of Dave Berman (frontman for the band The Silver Jews and fomer C’ville resident) reading from his notebook while paying a visit to Juan’s Basement in Brooklyn, NY.  This one is called “Top Ten Redneck Moments” and orginally aired on Pitchfork.tv.  This reading served as the afternoon’s introduction and was followed by a number of live performances of material from the Silver Jews’ latest album Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea.  The album was released on June 17 by Drag City Records. 

If you’re hoping to see the Silver Jews perform live this summer, you’re going to have to hit the road for the band’s scheduled show on September 10 at the Black Cat in Washington, D.C.  Also be on the “lookout” for the DVD release of the documentary Silver Jew which follows the band on their first-ever world tour back in 2006.  Shot by filmmaker Michael Tully, the DVD hits stores on September 23. 

Enjoy the video reading.  It’s Berman at his most original and offbeat best.

[photo by Bobbi Fabian]

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It’s almost time for First Fridays again and last month I told you about this cool art/architecture exhibit going up in the CCDC here.

The Design center has some sweet pictures up on their Flickr account now and it looks like it was quite a good time dancing and hanging out amongst the architecture exhibit. The lighting reminds me of Artini. Did we miss the art party of the year?

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Popularity: 49% [?]

  (thanks to PJP for the image)

Previous Episodes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

So, last week, you heard about the ceremony.

Our wedding and reception were typical of most weddings in that it was mostly (98%) about what the bride wanted. She chose the colors, the flowers, the venues, pretty much everything. I put in my pointless two cents when it was requested, but mostly, I stayed out of the way, and just worked on my one declared decision - picking out the band - and vetoed a few small items here and there. It really was her big day, and I wanted it to be everything she wanted it to be.  »Read More

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As the Charlottesville Pavilion prepares to welcome country legend Willie Nelson to town this evening, I got to thinking about something: 

Let’s say you wanted to throw a little party for you and a couple hundred of your close friends, family, and acquaintances..  To cap it off you’ve decided to get Willie Nelson to perform in order to truly make this the ultimate party of parties.  First off, I definitely want to be your friend.  Secondly, I hope you have a pretty big backyard and rather deep pockets.  But if the space and money aren’t a problem, here’s a list of items you might want to have on hand if Willie is going to play at your little get together: »Read More

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July 28:  Song of the Day.  Willie Nelson & Bob Dylan–Pancho & Lefty

Well the ‘Red Headed Stranger’ hits C’ville on Tuesday, July 29 as Willie Nelson performs at the Charlottesville Pavilion.  I ain’t gonna lie to you, this should be a really good one to see.  If you don’t already have tickets you may be out of luck as Willie, who turned 75 earlier this year, has provided the first sold out concert of the season at the Pavilion.  Gates open at 6pm, show starts at 7pm.

I’ve seen Willie perform live twice, the first time coming back in July of 1998 with openers Steve Earle & the Dukes at Wolftrap.  The second show was just a couple years ago when Willie teamed up with Bob Dylan for their American tour of minor league baseball stadiums.  I happened to catch their tour stop in Richmond at the home of the Richmond Braves.  My biggest disappointment from that evening was that the pair did not perform onstage together.  I guess I’ll just have to live vicariously by watching this one over and over again. [video after the break] »Read More

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I’m not going to say it was always easy running around FloydFest, trying to see as much as possible, trying to post as much as possible, and trying to have as much fun as possible. 

There were a couple of early mornings that were just a scramble to get everything together, as I sat in a tent with a laptop, a data drive, and a rather inexpensive digital camera with the hopes of banging out some words and photos before heading up to the Cyber Cafe to wait in line for a computer and then post everything as quickly as possible.  But it’s done and overall I’m happy with what I got.  It wasn’t quite what I envisioned while heading down I-81 on the way to the festival, but what are expectations anyway?  Here are some final thoughts: »Read More

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