Babies were wearing rompers and eating organic way before such things were considered cool. But many of today’s parents are taking it a step further, dressing their offspring in American Apparel clothing and buying them faux-Mac products. While we’ll admit that we wouldn’t mind the adult version of a few of the products after the jump, we’ve got to ask: Whatever happened to putting your kids in embarrassing matching sailor suits, giving them a rubber ball to play with, and calling it a day?
Good news for Team Jacob lovers and Team Edward fans alike: Just for today, the Twilight: Eclipse soundtrack is available for streaming for all to hear and swoon over with each passing note. Whether you’re pro-vamp or merely pro-indie rock, it’s sure to win you over. After the jump, we give a full rundown of each and every tune streaming over on the pre-order site for the soundtrack, which will be available for purchase June 8th. Oh, and for the record, we’re totally Team Jacob.
Puppets, powdered wigs, and poltergeists, oh my! This week’s best videos feature everything from Vampire Weekend in 18th-century garb and Ray-Bans to Massive Attack being haunted by ghosts that look like they just came out of the laundry. We also got to accompany Charlotte Gainsbourg on a gravity-defying walk through the woods, go clubbing with Jahcoozi, and groove to rhythms of Big Boi’s funky puppet band. After the jump, enjoy our random sampling of the best the week had to offer and let us know what you think of our picks in the comments.
We are total Gleeks. And while we love hearing top ten hits in four-part harmony every week, our favorite episodes are those that pay tribute to particular pop artists. After the wildly popular Madonna episode (and confirmation of a followup), and in anticipation of tonight’s Lady Gaga spectacular, we started thinking about which indie artists we’d most like to see covered by the McKinley High School Glee Club. Is it so crazy to hope that Puck sports an ironic mustache or Rachel Berry trades in her patterned sweaters for thick-rimmed glasses? We don’t think so.
Earlier this week the announcement that Vampire Weekend, Beach House, and Dum Dum Girls would all be performing together this summer at Merriweather Post Pavilion (among other venues) may have gotten us a little bit too excited. The combination of these three massive indie bands all playing on the iconic stage that legends from Jimi Hendrix to Janis Joplin have graced (and that Animal Collective, of course, named their critically-acclaimed album after) has convinced us that this may just be the most “epic” concert of the summer. And that got us thinking: Could we come up with a concert that was even more epic in scope?
1. Greyson Chance — the 12-year-old whose talent show performance of “Paparazzi” went viral earlier this month — has signed a record deal with Interscope, Lady Gaga‘s label. Watch your back, Biebs. [via NYP]
2. Emerging playwright Annie Baker (who we interviewed here) has scored the Obie Award (think: Off-Broadway Tony) for new American play for a pair of works: “Circle Mirror Transformation” and “The Aliens.” [via Variety]
3. Artist Justin Lowe (whose faux meth lab took over Deitch Projects last summer) is going to recreate CBGB‘s iconic bathroom for Hartford’s Wadsworth Atheneum museum. [via WSJ]
4. Brace yourselves indie rock fans: Vampire Weekend. Beach House. Dum Dum Girls. All together on a north North American tour, beginning in August. [via P4K]
5. Christina Aguilera has posted an official statement on her website saying that she has “absolutely nothing against Lady Gaga” or any other female in the biz, for that matter. [via Vulture]
Everyone, even the harshest and most jaded of critics, had their first musical loves. One of ours was Weird Al Yankovic, that delightfully geeky master of parody. A decade and a half later, we still adore him — and a recent, non-musical stunt only renewed our passion. We won’t spoil the video for you, but we will say that it’s 20 seconds of pure, grammar-worshipping goodness.
The clip got us thinking about the way two of our favorite things, music and language, can join forces to create epically wonderful songs. English majors and fellow fans of grammar, vocab, linguistics, and literary devices in general, this mixtape’s for you.
Artist/designer and screen-printer Terrance Ryan (aka Lil Tuffy) made his first poster in 2002 for The Black Keys. From an auspicious start to a glossy finish, we find Tuffy’s work for bands that range from Sonic Youth to Vampire Weekend so visually compelling, that it’s hard playing favorites. To help narrow it down, here are eleven of ours after the jump. If you like what you see, Secret Serpents has a limited number of his prints available for purchase, as does GigPosters.
Just a friendly reminder: Zach Galifianakis is hosting Saturday Night Live this weekend, and Vampire Weekend is the musical guest. (That’s just a small upgrade from last week’s Jennifer Lopez double bill, no?) To be honest, we were a little trepidatious about the whole thing until we saw the promos; it looks like Zach will still manage to be funny in spite of the show’s awful writing this season. We only hope that he and Andy Samberg get to team up on an SNL Digital Short. Perhaps a “You Bring Me Joy”/”Jizz In My Pants” mash-up?
1. Vampire Weekend, Julian Casablancas, and Beck will feature on Hear To Help, an upcoming Haiti benefit album from Filter Magazine and American Eagle. [via NME]
2. The Last Goodbye, a rock musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet featuring the songs of Jeff Buckley (including “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” and “Eternal Life”), will premiere during the 2010-11 season. Fun fact: It’s the first show authorized by the musician’s estate since his death in 1997. [via Variety]
3. Watch clips from New York socialite Tinsley Mortimer‘s new reality show on The CW, High Society. [via Gawker]
4. There are seven(!) plays and musicals about gay life opening in New York in the next several weeks — and what’s exciting is they’re more about love than politics. [via NYT]
5. Among the celebrities still willing to talk to Jay Leno when he steals back The Tonight Show on March 1: Sarah Palin, Lindsey Vonn, and the cast of Jersey Shore. [via ArtsBeat]
Bonus link of humiliation: Tufts University admission videos on YouTube
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