Chubby Jones

Important Pitchfork Update

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:32:28 -0600

Full press release below: PITCHFORK MUSIC FESTIVAL 2009 UPDATE: SATURDAY TICKETS SOLD OUT, FRIDAY TICKETS AVAILABLE IN VERY LIMITED QUANTITY, WEBCAST INFO, PMF IN THE COMMUNITY & GREEN INITIATIVES As predicted, Saturday tickets to the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival (July 17th - July 19th @ Union Park) have sold out. Tickets for Friday's "Write the Night" portion of the festival are available in very limited quantity, so buy now if you want to attend! Friday's line-up features what are sure to be legendary sets from Tortoise, Yo La Tengo, the Jesus Lizard, and Built to Spill. What better way to spend the eve of the Pitchfork Music Festival weekend than to gear up with some of the heaviest hitters of the last 20 years of indie rock. The best part is the festival-goers have picked the playlist. Want to hear "Car" by Built to Spill or "Seasick" by the Jesus Lizard? If you picked it, they play it. Don't miss out on what may be the mix tape of your dreams. Tickets for Friday can be purchased here: http://www.pitchforkmusicfestival.com. Pitchfork Music Festival Webcast Only a few Friday tickets remain, but fear not. Those who are unable to attend the festival can watch the event as it happens via webcast, which will be available on the media page of the festival website: http://www.pitchforkmusicfestival.com/media.php. Pitchfork Music Festival In the Community Just like any other considerate and conscientious member of the community, The Pitchfork Music Festival realizes that there are countless organizations working tirelessly to better the world we live in, or simply to provide a service that is not conventionally available to those who need it. From national organizations striving to help those who can't help themselves, such as United Way and Saving Shelter Pets, to local organizations that simply make the lives of those they touch a little brighter, such as Rock for Kids and Literacy Works, the Pitchfork Music Festival contributes to the causes that play an important role in our community and provides them with a venue to promote their objectives. Please take a look at the organizations PMF strongly supports and hopes you will, as well: http://pitchforkmusicfestival.com/community.php Pitchfork Music Festival - Environment/Sustainability The Pitchfork Music Festival takes our responsibility to the environment seriously, and encourages our audience, performing artists, and PMF vendors to do the same. That's why, to ensure the greenest festival possible, we've brought back the PMF Recycling store, where festival-goers can bring their plastic cups and bottles and exchange them for great festival swag. The Festival has also taken steps to use hybrid vehicles, provided by ZipCar, for PMF operations, and are generating all power for the event from Biodiesel fuel. A brief summary of some steps we're taking to ensure that our environmental "footprint" is as small as possible can be seen here: http://www.pitchforkmusicfestival.com/recycle.php Pitchfork Music Festival 2009 Schedule FRIDAY, JULY 17 8:40 (A) Built to Spill 7:20 (C) The Jesus Lizard 6:10 (A) Yo La Tengo 5:00 (C) Tortoise SATURDAY, JULY 18 8:40 (A) The National 8:30 (B) The Black Lips 7:30 (B) Matt and Kim 7:25 (C) Beirut 6:30 (B) Lindstrøm 6:15 (A) Doom 5:30 (B) Wavves 5:15 (C) Yeasayer 4:30 (B) Ponytail 4:15 (A) Final Fantasy 3:35 (B) Bowerbirds 3:20 (C) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart 2:40 (B) The Antlers 2:30 (A) F**ked Up 1:45 (C) Plants and Animals 1:45 (B) The Dutchess & The Duke 1:00 (A) Cymbals Eat Guitars 1:00 (B) Disappears SUNDAY, JULY 19 8:40 (A) The Flaming Lips 8:30 (B) The Very Best 7:30 (B) Mew 7:25 (C) Grizzly Bear 6:30 (B) Vivian Girls 6:15 (A) M83 5:30 (B) Japandroids 5:15 (C) The Walkmen 4:30 (B) DJ/Rupture 4:15 (A) The Thermals 3:35 (B) Women 3:20 (C) Pharoahe Monch 2:40 (B) The Killer Whales 2:30 (A) Blitzen Trapper 1:45 (C) Frightened Rabbit 1:45 (B) Dianogah 1:00 (A) The Mae Shi 1:00 (B) Michael Columbia A=Aluminum Stage, B=Balance Stage, C=Connector Stage

Mannequin Men Not So Secret Anymore

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:05:15 -0600

Prefix magazine has called rock misfits Mannequin Men "Chicago's best-kept secret" but I've got a feeling Chicago will have to share what might be their new bright star with the rest of the world very soon. The quartet, composed of Kevin Richards, Seth Bohn, Ethan D'ercole and Miles Raymer (who replaced Rick Berger on bass in 2008), have released their third full length album, Lose Your Illusion, Too and are in the midst of blowing minds on tour. I'll be checking them out this Friday in Chicago but word on the street is, if you have a chance to see them and you live elsewhere, you need to be there. Here are some tunes for your troubles: The Boys from "Fresh Rot" Grapefruit from "Fresh Rot". 07.10.09 @ Metro | Chicago, IL LOSE YOUR ILLUSION, TOO RELEASE SHOW w/w/ Thomas Function, Davila 666, and Stranger Waves 07.11.09 @ Beachland Ballroom | Cleveland, OH w/ Davila 666 07.12.09 @ Bug Jar | Rochester, NY w/ Davila 666 07.13.09 @ The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern | Toronto, ON w/ Davila 666 07.14.09 @ Il Motore | Montreal, QC w/ Davila 666 07.15.09 @ The Church | Boston, MA w/ Davila 666 07.16.09 @ Johnny Brenda's | Philadelphia, PA w/ Davila 666 07.17.09 @ Southpaw | Brooklyn, NY w/ Davila 666 07.18.09 @ Cafe Nine | New Haven, CT w/ Davila 666 07.19.09 @ Maxwell's | Hoboken, NJ w/ Davila 666 07.21.09 @ Talking Head | Baltimore, MD w/ Davila 666 07.23.09 @ Black Cat | Washington, DC BACKSTAGE w/ Davila 666 07.24.09 @ 31st Street Pub | Pittsburgh, PA w/ Davila 666 07.25.09 @ Comet Bar | Cincinnati, OH w/ Davila 666 07.26.09 @ Ravari Room | Columbus, OH w/ Davila 666

Pitchfork Music Festival Preview: Saturday

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:30:48 -0600

Saturday's lineup at the 2009 PItchfork Music Festival has got me weak in the knees like SWV. The acts I am most interested in catching include (but are not limited to):

The Dutchess and The Duke (1:45 at the Balance Stage)

Kimberly Morrison and Jesse Lortz have a great Detroit garage rock 'n blues sound. I haven't heard much of them, but what I'm hearing so far, I like a lot. They aren't as polished as The Raveonettes but their sound is somewhat similar.

Reservoir Park - The Dutchess ...

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (3:20 at the Connector Stage)

These power pop kids are too cute. I've got to get at least two dances in with them before rushing off to the next stage.

Young Adult Friction - The Pai...

The Bowerbirds (3:35 at the Balance Stage)

This trio of Phil Moore, Beth Tacular and Matt Damron have got a great folk-rock sound and incorporate one of my favorite lesser-used instruments, the accordion. You can check out and download their Daytrotter session here.

Beirut (7:25 at the Connector Stage)

Ok I'm a bit torn and hoping the schedule is wrong because Beirut (Zach Condon) will be taking his utterly unique musicality to the stage at the same time as Matt and Kim! WTF! If I really do have to choose, I'll be hanging out with Beirut because I just can't keep myself away from a good ukulele session. Matt and Kim are cute but Zach's voice is so different and has accompanied me on so many bus rides through the city, I feel like I owe it to myself to see him live.

Nantes - Beirut

Yeasayer (5:15 at the Connector Stage)

The band's "All Hour Cymbols" album was one of my favorites of 2007 and 2008. Their trippy brand of haunting vocals will either be perfect for, or totally weird, on a hot summer day in the middle of a park in Chicago.

Sunrise - Yeasayer

The National (8:40 at the Aluminum Stage)

Few bands have struck a chord with almost all of my friends like The National. "Boxer" is listened to and referred back to in our conversations repeatedly. That being said, I will also have to go on over to watch The Black Lips perform because it is sure to be a SPECTACLE! You never know what those boys are going to do but it usually contains nudity...which I'm ok with!

Fake Empire - The National

Veni Vidi Vici - Black Lips

Full list of bands taking over Union Park on Saturday: SATURDAY, JULY 18 8:40 (A) The National 8:30 (B) The Black Lips 7:30 (B) Matt and Kim 7:25 (C) Beirut 6:30 (B) Lindstrøm 6:15 (A) Doom 5:30 (B) Wavves 5:15 (C) Yeasayer 4:30 (B) Ponytail 4:15 (A) Final Fantasy 3:35 (B) Bowerbirds 3:20 (C) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart 2:40 (B) The Antlers 2:30 (A) F**ked Up 1:45 (C) Plants and Animals 1:45 (B) The Dutchess & The Duke 1:00 (A) Cymbals Eat Guitars 1:00 (B) Disappears

Pitchfork Music Festival Preview:Friday

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:56:03 -0600

Summertime is meant for outdoor music festivals all over the U.S. Some are better than others and some just get more hype than others. Personally, the time I look forward to most is when the Pitchfork Music Festival sets up in Chicago's Union Park. A group of my friends and I have gone every year and grab a spot in the shade now known as "Lazy Town". This is where we can rest between sets, eat various deliciousness from the vendors (shout out to Chicago Diner for their amazing vegan options) and stash our bags filled with extra toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Every year I come away with a list of new bands to love and a greater appreciation for bands I'm already a fan of.

This year I'll have to keep my beer drinking to a minimum in order to bring you some coherent festival coverage. The lineup looks great and there are a few bands I haven't seen yet that I'm really excited to check out live. There are too many amazing bands to put into one small blog entry so I'll bring them to you in stages starting with Friday night's lineup which includes:

At 5:00 the Connector Stage will play host to Tortoise whose new album, "Beacons of Ancestorship" was released June 23rd.

Beautiful Love - Tortoise

Catch The Jesus Lizard 7:20 at the Connector Stage. Check out their hard rocking "Nub" off of their upcoming Goat reissue.

Postcoital Glow - The Jesus Li...

Hoboken's finest, Yo La Tengo will be taking over the Aluminum Stage at 6:10. If anyone tries to get in the way of you getting to the front of the stage, just tell them, "I am not afraid of you and I will beat your ass". If they don't get the reference, they have no use for the front of the stage anyway. Download "Periodically Double or Triple" off of their Popular Songs LP.

From A Motel 6 - Yo La Tengo

Headlining Friday's festivities is the always awesome, sometimes hairy, Built to Spill. They'll be hitting up the Aluminum Stage at 8:40.

Randy Described Eternity - Bui...

Tickets were picked up quickly but some are still available for Friday and Saturday. Sunday, Two-day and Three-day passes are all gone so act quickly.

Justin Bieber is The Next Big (Little) Thing

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:29:43 -0600

Usher's got a new protégé and he is absolutely adorable. Justin Bieber is about to take the tweeny bop world by storm and pick up where Zac Efron left off. First of all, he's from Canada (which in my mind, can do no wrong). Secondly, for a 15-year-old, he's awfully cute. No, he won't be replacing V-Factory's Nathaniel for my affection, but if he were about ten years older... Thirdly, the boy can sing. Like the real kind. He is undoubtedly the next big thing - eventhough his watch is bigger than his head.

The Day The Hair And The Music Died

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:46:44 -0600

Today is a remarkably sad day - we've lost two of the most iconic pop culture figures around. We've got Farrah Fawcett, the Charlie's Angels star whose poster adorned the walls of boys and burgeoning lesbians everywhere. And Michael Jackson, whose dance moves, sparkly glove and red leather jacket I aspired to have (um, and his jeri curl too but don't tell anyone). They will both be missed by the world and my heart goes out to their families. Here is the giant glove experiment's video of MJ in better days and some great old Farrah footage:

Phil Spector: Murderer, iPod Lover

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:31:05 -0600

Question. Why is it that a convicted murderer is allowed to request certain amenities from behind jail bars? Maaaaan FUNK DAT!

Phil Spector has been transferred out of North Kern State Prison to the comforts of the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison at Corcoran and is making out his wish-list for his wife to bring in a care package. Somehow, this is commonplace at this facility and I am flabbergasted. It's not like he is incarcerated because of his hairpiece (even if he should be)...

...homeboy killed somebody and now, "He wants a TV and an iPod or something like that for listening to music," his wife, Rachelle Spector, said Tuesday. "And he would like to be able to receive e-mail." Well, I've got news for Phil and the California penal system, I bet Lana Clarkson would have liked all of those things too, but she's dead. I bet there are homeless children who would forgo any of that, in favor of some food and shelter - and they haven't done anything wrong. Why are inmates like this coddled? Why should they be allowed to have some of the finer things in life, like an iPod or television to take their mind of off the crimes they've committed? Why do they get to enjoy reruns of Weeds and Dexter for free while I can't even write them off as a business expense (and who do I talk to about that)? As far as I'm concerned, he and the rest of the inmates should be spending all day looking at themselves in the mirror for the next 19 years. That might be punishment enough.

Stream Bjork's "Voltaic"

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:50:56 -0600

I have a close friend who is absolutely obsessed with Bjork. He and I used to take our lunch breaks to walk over to Virgin Megastore (back when those were still around) and it seemed as though every other week there was a "new" album to purchase with the image of the Icelandic sprite on the cover. Between her first-run albums, remixes, remixes of remixes, soundtracks, live performances and box sets (oh the box sets!) there was no money for rent. He can now add "Voltaic" to his impressive collection but luckily he'll be able to stream it first. The album is a fantastic live performance filled with songs from Homogenic, Post, Vespertine, Medulla and Volta. It just so happens that most of the songs are some of my favorite from her entire repertoire; it's as though I created a mix tape of my favorite Bjork songs. Tracklist "Wanderlust" "Hunter" "Pleasure is All Mine" "Innocence" "I Miss You" "Earth Intruders" "All is Full of Love" (one of the best videos ever) "Pagan Poetry" "Vertebrae by Vertebrae" "Army of Me" "Declare Independence" (which is actually the ring tone I have for when my Mom calls)

Speidi Exterminated from E! Network

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:36:48 -0600

In what might be the best decision made by a network since TBS started doing their House marathons, E! has declared their space to be a Speidi-free zone.

Their website announced, "A startling 94 percent of you elected for the Hills stars' immediate expulsion. Consider them gone from our wheelhouse, voted off the island, fired, out and any other appropriate reality-show catchphrase. Their planned attempt at hijacking the I'm a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! reunion special on Wednesday? You won't read about it here. Barring any actual news (e.g., she gets knocked up, he falls off a cliff or—heaven help us—her album goes to No. 1), consider this their very last post." Here's to hoping everyone else will follow suit - including myself.

Ryan Seacrest Loves a Good Footlong

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:15:27 -0600

The following was just dropped off for Ryan Seacrest at his studio:

Ryan asked his Twitter followers, "Anyone got a bigger bun?" - this stuff just writes itself.

MGMT "Kids" Video is the Scariest Thing I've Ever Seen

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:39:36 -0600

In the last year or two, MGMT has taken the world by storm with their music. "Oracular Spectacular" made it onto almost every big Best of 2008 list and rightfully so. I was stoked to finally see that their music video for "Kids" finally made it to the light of day - expecting something similar to "The Youth". Yay more videos of kids dancing! I mean, HELLO, the name of the song is "Kids"!!! But no - the video is basically a terrifying nightmare for children and I can only hope that the baby actor in the video was just a really convincing little person. Maybe someone from the Roloff family. Check it out for yourself and please tell me I won't have nightmares and there are no boogie men under the bed.

Jessica Simpson Gets New Show: The Soup Gets More Arsenal

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:00:06 -0600

She was a walking talking blooper reel throughout Newlyweds and she's about to get another reality show! Jessica Simpson will star in The Price of Beauty, where she travels the globe to find out what makes a person beautiful and why. Somewhere Joel McHale and the editors over at The Soup peed themselves from being so happy! The pop starlet said, "I have always believed that beauty comes from within and confidence will always make a woman beautiful, but I know how much pressure some women put on themselves to look perfect." Well sure, when your "talent" is being beautiful you've probably had to try just about everything. Apparently, Jessica will be trying out the different "beauty secrets" from cultures around the globe. I can't wait for her to bind her feet and then try to get them into a pair of her Jessica Simpson brand heels! Poppa Joe will be co-producing the show with Jessica, which undoubtedly makes for good TV, even if it unmasks the ugly truth about pretty people getting ahead in life on their looks alone.

Beck Covers Velvet Underground and Nico

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:45:54 -0600

If ever there was a musician made for covering The Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning" it is Beck ("Sea Change" proved that). The artist has taken on a new project entitled, Record Club, for his website, and it has really started off with a bang. Well, a slow-paced bang, but a loud one! He says, "We've been working on changes to the website for the last few months. We'll be adding new sections as they're ready. The first one to be added is called Record Club, an informal meeting of various people to record an album in a day. An album will be chosen to be reinterpreted and used as a framework. Nothing rehearsed or arranged ahead of time. A track will be uploaded once a week on beck.com as well as through the web sites of those involved with the project. For this first edition, after lengthy deliberation and coming close to covering Digital Underground's Sex Packets, all present voted in favor of the 'other' Underground's The Velvet Underground & Nico. Participants included this time around are Nigel Godrich, Joey Waronker, Brian Lebarton, Bram Inscore, Yo, Giovanni Ribisi, Chris Holmes, and from Iceland, special guest Thorunn Magnusdottir, and myself. Thanks to everyone who helped put this together, and to all of you for indulging in this experiment. More soon."

Record Club: Velvet Underground & Nico 'Sunday Morning' from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

I'm hoping there will be an opportunity to take requests at some point. I'll go ahead and get mine in there now: Luscious Jackson's "Natural Ingredients".

Girl Gets Face Tattooed Then Tries to Sue

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:34:38 -0600

We've all done things we aren't proud of - hell, I even got a tattoo while I was three sheets to the wind and had no business making permanent life decisions. I take full responsibility for it though and sure as heck didn't get inked on my face. A 16-year-old girl from Belgium is seeing stars, lots of them, every time she looks in the mirror, and claims the tattoo parlor she went to is to blame for 53 unwanted ones.

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Now, excuse my beauty, but who falls asleep when a needle comes anywhere near their face? Unless you have taken some serious drugs, you're not falling asleep during a tattoo session honey pie. Next time, just stuck with a tramp stamp.

We Have Band - Missing the "A" But Not The Beat

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:58:23 -0600

This is by far one of the sickest, most visually interesting music videos I've ever seen. It doesn't hurt that the song "You Came Out" is a fun electro-disco tune. With lyrics like, "You came out, and you were wasted. You went home, and turkey basted," there's not much to not love.

We Have Band - You Came Out (Official Music Video) from We Have Band on Vimeo.

I can't imagine how much time and energy was put into the making of this. This was the blurb that accompanies the video, "We Have Band - You Came Out (Official Music Video). Directed by David Wilson in very special collaboration with Fabian Berglund and Ida Gronblom from Wieden + Kennedy. Produced by Blinkink. Shot over 2 days and stop frame animated from 4,816 still images without a single moment of video footage! Take a look at our Flickr page to see every single frame uploaded in high res - flickr.com/photos/39167181@N06/. For more info about us come and visit as myspace.com/wehaveband"