Moons: ours and Saturn’s/Weekend stuff
June 5, 2009
Not much time today, but here’s the skinny for the weekend:
Tonight the Armed Forces play the first installment of the Poolapalooza series at the Opryland Hotel. This could be an interesting one… but I’ll be heading to Exit/In to photograph Black Moth Super Rainbow. I love the band name, but I’m honestly not that familiar with them. Also, How I Became the Bomb will be releasing the last installment of their 3-song digital EP series called Through Adversity to the Stars! at Mercy Lounge. They’ll be joined by Chattanooga’s Coral Castles and Pineapple Explode. Wait… what? Yes I agree, P.E. is by far the odd-man-out on the bill. But I’m really glad those guys/girl are getting to play for such a big crowd as opposed their usual basement shows.
Tomorrow I’m photographing Coldplay/Snow Patrol at the Sommet Center. Whatevs on the bands…. it’s always fun to shoot big stadium sized tours though. Snow Patrol is also doing a free in-store show at Grimey’s at 2pm. Sorry Grimey’s but I won’t be anywhere near your store tomorrow. I have a feeling the resulting clusterfuck on 8th Ave will rival that of Record Store Day.
Be sure to pick up a copy of the Scene before next week’s edition hits the stands and read Tracy Moore’s feature article “Almost Famous.” The article follows the story of 4 local-ish bands/artists who essentially got ground up and quickly spit back out of the major label music industry, and it’s damn good. Bands beware indeed. I honestly hadn’t a clue that Eureka Gold had come so close to a major record deal. Makes sense they kept it kinda quiet though.
I’m somewhat excited about a new sci-fi movie coming out called Moon. It’s set in the future where humans have a mining outpost on the Moon to extract Helium-3, which will solve the answer to earth’s energy crisis. The mining base is run by one solitary man, and the film follows him through his last 2 weeks of a 3-year stint working on the base. For a more detailed synopsis, check out the IMDB page. I’m not quite convinced it’ll really all that good, but it certainly shows promise. It comes out July 17th.
Speaking of moons, I came across this article on the Daily Galaxy about Saturn’s moon Titan. Astronomers are very interested in Titan because it’s one of the few places in the solar system that has the potential for life. The others being Mars, Saturn’s moon Enceladus, and Jupiter’s moon Europa. Titan is basically a much colder analog of earth. It has oceans, land, clouds, mountains, and even a nitrogen-rich atmosphere. The difference is the temperature. Obviously it’s much colder than earth because it’s so much farther away from the Sun, which means the oceans and clouds are mostly made of liquid methane, not water. But still, even with the extreme cold and all the methane/nitrogen, it still could harbor microbial life. We even have a few pictures of the surface of Titan, thanks to the Huygens probe which was part of the Cassini mission. I highly suggest reading the Daily Galaxy article. The surface of Titan:
Have a great weekend!
Let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way 1st… Camera Obscura was amazing last night, and we got to chat with TracyAnne for a minute. She seemed to like Nashville and I told her to be sure to come back on their next tour. Let’s hope they do. Oh, and the sound was exceptional too. Mercy has good sound for the most part, but this mix was especially good. Perfect night.
The Green Wagon is an awesome little store that only opened 6 months ago on Murphy Road in the Sylvan Park area, and just as I expected, the girl who runs it is opening another location on the east side. I must say it’s much sooner than I expected, though! She’s also opening a vegetarian cafe along with it. I’ve been to the current store a few times and it’s pretty awesome. If you haven’t checked it out yet, please do. And if you’re on the east side you’ll no longer have an excuse not to go. Via Nashvillest. Also, thanks to Morgan for pointing out my error regarding the age limit of the Opryland’s Poolapalooza events on yesterday’s post. They are actually all-ages this year.
Some cool sciene-y tidbits today:
The next mission to Mars will be called “Curiosity” thanks to a 6th grader name Clara Ma who won NASA’s essay contest to name the rover. Up until now it’s been called “Mars Science Laboratory.” This next rover will be by far the biggest we’ve sent to the red planet- about the size of a small sedan. Via Bad Astronomy.
Just when you thought Blu-Ray had totally killed the DVD, some scientists in at Swinburne University in Australia have come up with a new 5-dimensional storage technology that may put the DVD back in 1st place. Their idea is to use sophisticated multi-surface gold nanoparticles in the disc. It will not only use the different layers of the disc (as DVD’s currently do), it will also use polarization and the color of the laser light to encode information. The end result will be a DVD that can potentially hold about 7 TERAbytes of data. TERA-bytes. More at the Daily Galaxy.
Remember those crazy devices on Star Trek that doctors could just wave over a patient and tell what was wrong with them? Well, that technology is slowly becoming reality with the invention of a new portable device that identify pathogens in about 5 minutes. The Ostendum corporation has developed a prototype and is currently testing it. Although you still have to take blood or other fluid samples from a patient to use this thing, it’s still pretty damn cool, and will be a HUGE advantage in the battle against pandemics such as the H1N1 (Swine) flu. Via Science Daily.
I came across this intriguing blog called Movies in Frames via Kottke.org today. It has a plethora of various movies that the contributors have summed up (or at least attempted to sum up) in 4 frames. Some are not very effective, but some are. More visually-oriented films such as Heima, Little Miss Sunshine, and Darjeeling Limited work well. The one you see above is Stand By Me, which reminds me that I need to see this movie agian.
Tonight is the night! The Camera Obscura show is finally happening. To my knowledge, they’ve never played Nashville before, and it’s LOOOONG overdue. I can’t wait. If you like melancholy yet catchy twee pop… or if you like Scottish accents… by all means come to this show! You won’t regret it. Their show a couple years ago at the 40 Watt in Athens was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. Mercy is no 40 Watt (sorry Drew/Bruton), but this is probably the best venue for them to play in town. They’ve also been tweeting about Nashville since they arrived yesterday. Follow them.
The Opryland Hotel started a new summer weekly event last year Friday nights called “Poolapalooza” featuring local bands, the Cascades pool, and a good bar. It went over pretty well from what I’ve heard (I never attended one), and I certainly hope Megan & I can make it out to one this summer. Check Nashvillest or the Gaylord Website for the full lineup/dates. Each event is free, 21+ all-ages (thx to Morgan for catching my error), and starts at 7pm. That means you can get wet, drink some margaritas, hear some rock, and be done in time to hit up another show later in the evening!
Nashville Cream reports that 3 local fashion designers are finalists to be on the show Project Runway. As with most posts on there, there’s plenty of bickering in the comments. But it just wouldn’t be the Cream without them. I know Shea and Amanda, but I don’t know Shannon at all. What I do know is that everyone I’ve met involved with Local Honey and the local fashion scene is super-nice and very down-to-earth. I sincerely hope to see one of them on the show soon!
Oh yeah… Meg White married Jackson Smith and “little” Jack Lawrence married Jo McCaughey in a double-wedding in Jack White’s backyard on Friday. Obviously Jack & Jo didn’t immediately embark on their honeymoon because we saw him at Fido on Monday.
My only science-y bit today is to tell you to go sign the petition on the website for Space Exploration Day. This is an attempt to get the government to recognize July 20th as National Space Exploration Day. This July 20th will mark the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. I whole-heartedly agree that this should be an officially-recognized holiday. Supposedly it will be on same level as Flag Day.
Today I leave you with this hilarious little cartoon found at dontstaylong’s tumblr.
So Heypenny was the final band to win the “Road to Bonnaroo” series at Mercy Lounge last night. I’m sure you’ve already read this in 5 different places by now. What’s interesting is the apparent bitterness about the whole thing as evidenced by the commentary at the Nashville Cream thread. As I say in my comment, I don’t really see how their gimmick/flair is any different from that of the Protomen… or De Novo Dahl for that matter. It’s really just a good marriage of the right image/branding with their music. The pastel marching outfits and slightly theatrical stage presence compliments their sound well. They certainly aren’t my new favorite band or anything (last night was the first time I’d seen them), but I don’t think their winning was in any way tragic or unjustified. Honestly I think every single band that played last night deserved to go to Bonnaroo. Well… I have my hesitations about Elle Macho. They’re all great musicians in their own right, but there’s absolutely nothing memorable or interesting about their songs in my opinion. I’m just really REALLY happy that the promoters of Bonnaroo were awesome enough to do this, and I sincerely hope it becomes a yearly tradition. Kudos to A.C. Entertainment and Superfly Productions.
Good news from the Obama Administration on the environmental front- by 2016 all new vehicles will be required to have an average of 35.5 MPG. I take this to mean that each car company’s fleet will have to average 35.5 MPG. This is great news, as hopefully it will quell some states’ desires to set their own, higher fuel economy standards. I think there should be one federal standard because it will make it easier for the car companies to comply. Why make it more complicated than it needs to be? The only catch is that the federal standard has to be high. I think 35.5 will do for now, though. Via Live Science.
The STS-125 astronauts released Hubble this morning and are now drifting away from it while doing more inspections of Atlantis’ heat shield. Keep up to speed at NASA TV.
I don’t know whether to be happy or depressed about the new Sherlock Holmes movie. It stars Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law… so it can’t be that bad. But still… one must be careful when doing re-makes these days as so many of them turn out to be horrible. The trailer in HD:
Road to Bonnaroo tonight/New Mew/Pregnant Mythbuster
May 18, 2009
The last “Road to Bonnaroo” 8 off 8th is happening tonight at Mercy Lounge. I definitely think this one will be tough to call, and could be a very close race, much like the first one in which The Features won by 1 fan vote. So be sure to come out to Mercy tonight and cast your vote. You never know, it could be the deciding vote! Nashville Cream has more on the lineup/order, etc…
Speaking of local music, the Magic Wands got another mention on RCRD LBL, this time for a Crystal Fighters remix of their breakthrough single “Black Magic.”
Remember that epic Danish band Mew from 2006? Well, they’re back in action, and I’m anxiously awaiting the release of their next album on August 25th. Leave it to them to use a whole effin’ poem as their album title… You ready? Here it is:
No more stories
Are told today
I’m sorry
They washed awayNo more stories
The world is grey
I’m tired
Let’s wash away
Yep, that’s it. A whole poem. More deets at Stereogum.
Credit: NASA
The astronauts of STS-125 have been hard at work repairing/upgrading the Hubble Space Telescope, doing a spacewalk every day since Thursday, and today was their last. Click the image or here to see more eye candy from the mission at Universe Today.
Speaking of great photography, the New York Times started a new photography & video blog called LENS. It has a great interface and allows you browse through several photo essays and great video clips.
I did a short preview of Wolfram:Alpha on here once before, and now it’s actually here. Head on over to check it out, but be sure to read about how to phrase your input before you just start typing in questions. We’re not quite to the point of a computer simply being able to correctly answer any question regardless of phrasing/syntax. But this is a damn good start… Is it better than Google? You tell me.
It should be no secret that I’m a HUGE Mythbusters fan. (In fact, the only good thing about LOST being over with is the fact that I now get to watch new episodes of Mythbusters.) Apparently I’m the last one to know this but Kari Byron, the red-headed geek-girl of the cast, is pregnant! It should also be no secret that I have a huge celebrity-crush on her (as does just about every male fan of the show). I didn’t even know she was married! What’s really cool about the whole thing is that she’s taking this opportunity to bust some common pregancy myths. She did an interview with Pregnancy Magazine in which she busts the top 5. Go Kari! Via Bad Astronomy. Also- watch this unedited clip on Discovery.com of her subtly announcing the news.
Awkward family photos/LOST/Empire Records tribute
May 13, 2009
The White Stripes. Via Awkward Family Photos. Seriously, go to this blog and thank me later.
So everyone knows that tonight is the season finale of LOST. I came across this post on io9 today with an excerpt from an interview with co-creator Damon Lindelof. He hints that the island will continue to exist after the series ends. This leaves open the possibility of a movie, or resurrection of the series somewhere on down the road. This leads to my next mention: the Empire Records tribute/cover night tonight at Mercy Lounge. Several bands (including Nite Nite, Armed Forces, Plex Plex, and my own, playing as “Damn the Man”) will be covering songs from the soundtrack. Mercy will also be screening the LOST season finale on a big screen/projector right before the show. (Which means the show will start just after 10pm.) I already had a LOST shindig planned with some friends at my place, so I will not be attending the screening, but will hop on over directly after it ends.
Hipster Runoff examines Sean Penn’s current and past relationships. Who is his soulmate?
The Bad Astronomer lists ten things you probably didn’t know about the Hubble Space Telescope.
Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus. Sold.
Today Theory 8 Records released the new self-titled EP from Shoot the Mountain. So far I’ve only listened the 1st track “Invitation,” and so far so good. Actually, so far so AWESOME. I can’t wait to have time to check out the rest of it. Head on over to their Bandcamp page and purchase it for a measley $5. Yet another Nashville indie rock gem recorded and produced by Jeremy Ferguson at Battletapes.
In other release news, Those Darlins have announced the release date and album art for their debut self-titled full-length album. The vinyl version hits shelves on June 23rd, followed by those “other” formats on July 7th. They’ll be celebrating the album release on June 27th at Mercy Lounge with….. the Black Lips. Fuck yes. More details at We Own This Town.
Thank you to everyone who came out to my 8 off 8th last night. It was most definitely a success, at least as good as the last one I did. All the bands played great sets, and I was especially happy to hear some new stuff from The Nobility and Carter Administration. Mean Tambos killed it, and Ryan was really getting crazy on stage because my friend/bandmate/videographer Seth was taping the performance for their EPK. Hopefully I’ll do another one late summer/early fall. And who knows? Maybe I’ll book a full-on show.
It was really nice to have today off from work at Vandy. When you host an 8 off 8th you gotta stay till the end, and even a little after, so it was nice to be able to sleep in today. I’ve been sitting around with the doors open listening to the Lovin’ Spoonful and The Association on vinyl. It also gave me a chance to take the new kittens to the vet, where we discovered that Sebastian is actually a Sebina. But they’re in pretty good health, main concern was a little bit conjunctivitis in Sebina’s eye, which should be easy taken care of with some meds.
EcoGeek reported on an amazing new company that aims to create a Second Life-esque “video game” interface that will allow homeowners to control every energy-consuming device through a 3D animated program. The “game” uses avatars to control lights/AC/etc… So you would login and make your avatar turn down the AC, and in real-life your AC would be turned down by a computer that controls your house. Whatever you do, just don’t name your house’s computer H.A.L….
Space Shuttle Atlantis is now on its way to Hubble. They’ve completed the heat shield inspection with the shuttle’s robotic arm. There were a few dings found, but the initial opinion is that they’re very minor and not a threat. Detailed analysis is underway, however, to be certain. I’ll keep you updated daily. In the meantime, watch this kickass HD video of yesterday’s launch. If you have your computer hooked up to a sound system, I highly suggest turning the volume and bass waaaay up.
Flier by Monkey Ink Design
Obviously the most important thing to blog about today is my 8 off 8th tonight. This is the flier (done by Monkey Ink Design). I really hope you’ll come out and check out at least a few of these amazing bands I’ve picked. It will kick of PROMPTLY at 9pm, and I promise to keep things moving along swiftly so that the last band goes on no later than 12am, which means the show will be over by 12:20. Here are the last 2 mp3s:
First off is “Home Run Derby” by the Carter Administration. These guys have been around approximately 10 years now. They’ve crafted an interesting blend of simplicity and syncopation that never grows old for me. This track is part of a brand new digital-only EP called Victory Girls/Bitchery and Abomination.
Carter Administration- Bitchery and Abomination
The next track is by a relatively new Murfreesboro-based band called the Only Sons. They used to be known as Ribbon Pigeon but recently changed their name. It had been a while since I’d seen them, and then I heard their new record Steel Hearts. (It can be downloaded for free at their website.) It was done at Grand Palace Studios and shows some real promise. I look forward to seeing these guys continue to develop their sound and style, as I feel like in another year or so they could almost be the next Glossary.
The Only Sons- Hadn’t Been That Long
The other big news today is that Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for liftoff today at 2:01pm, Eastern Daylight Time. As of this morning, the lauch is a go. You can watch detailed video coverage at NASA TV. This mission will not go to the International Space Station, as the rest of the recent shuttle missions have. It’s the final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Because of this, Space Shuttle Endeavour is ready to go on the second launch pad, just in case Atlantis is severely damaged and needs a rescue mission. Normally they could use the ISS as a lifeboat, but since they’re going to Hubble instead, they don’t have that luxury in the event of a major problem. Let’s hope they launch on time and successfully.
Megan and I adopted 2 new kittens yesterday. Somehow I managed to leave my guitar at Springwater Sat. night. (Yes, I’m a dumbass…) and when we went back to get it yesterday (thankfully it was still there) a couple had these two kittens to give away. Since it had been a couple months since the death of Sherman, I figured why not… we ended up getting both of them because they were brother and sister, and had a very strong bond. They freaked out if they were away from each other for too long. Megan had the clever idea to name them Belle and Sebastian. So they’re now officially “indie rock kittens.” Here’s a pic:
I should have mentioned this in yesterday’s post but I forgot. That DJ gig at La Paz that was supposed to go down tonight got canceled. It’s probably better anyway because I have to work at the butt crack of dawn tomorrow. (A rare occurence, thankfully.)
I really don’t have time to post much today, so here are a few quick tidbits and 2 totally amazing videos.
The initial Bonnaroo schedule has been released. There will probably be many changes, so don’t be totally upset yet if 2 of your favorite bands are playing at the same time.
I just realized that I don’t actually have mp3s from a few of the bands on my 8 off 8th, I’ve just seen them live a few times and/or played with them. Weird huh? Well, instead of an mp3, just go check out Mean Tambourines’ myspace page, where they have a few new tracks streaming. Also check out Cuttlefish’s myspace for a sample of their tunes. Coming on Monday- mp3s from Carter Administration and The Only Sons.
My band Tigers Con Queso is playing at Springwater this Saturday night. We will be joined by J.A.W. and Teenage FBI. It’s the grand opening of Taco Party, the new taco bar on the back patio of Springwater. Come out, drink some beer, rock out, and eat tacos. Starts around 10pm. Here’s the flier. Click to enlarge.
Ok, here are the totally amazing videos. Seriously, you need to watch these all the way through. They will both blow your mind.
I noticed this post on Largehearted Boy today. It contains an mp3 from the Features’ latest album Some Kind of Salvation. What’s odd is it says the album is being released June 9, 2009. It also links to this Amazon.com page which says the same thing about the release. I’m confused. This album came out last fall… Did it get picked up by a label for a larger re-release? Anyone?
Here are a couple more mp3s from bands on my 8 off 8th this coming Monday. First up is The Nobility. I’ve loved this band ever since they started out as Jetpack, and they’ve evolved quite a bit since then. The Mezzanine, their debut album under the new name “The Nobility,” is my favorite of their’s to date. The songwriting and production is impeccable and lands somewhere between Elvis Costello and The Kinks. Here’s the title track from that album.
Here’s a track by Kelly Kerr & the Distractions. Kelly is an old friend and has been playing around Murfreesboro for at least 5 years now. He played in a Cure tribute band called the Lovecats… and used to have a band called Ghostflower. Then he played some solo shows as Kinky Briefcase… then it becamer Kerrific, and now it’s Kelly Kerr & the Distractions. The latest incarnation just released Whimsical In Reverse, a somewhat lo-fi approach to his quirky and intelligent songs. Here’s a fun track called “Alone (On the Makeout Couch).”
Kelly Kerr & the Distractions- Alone (On the Makeout Couch)
Not much else today, except that in his relentless effort to get his name permanently etched into history, Stephen Colbert has somehow gotten a new beetle named after him. Agaporomorphus colberti was named by Quentin Wheeler at Arizona State University and Kelly Miller at the University of New Mexico. These are the same people responsible for naming other beetles after Darth Vader and Roy Orbison. I’ll try to forget about the fact that they also named beetles after George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld. Via Science Daily.
Image: Arizona State University
steve cross loves music and science 