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Thursday, March 28th, 2024  

Jason Segel

The Broken West

“Dracula’s Lament” (Live on Craig Ferguson with The Broken West)

Dec 28, 2009

Watch on YouTube

This A.V. gem definitely slipped through the cracks in the leadup to Christmas so I’m rectifying that before 2010 rolls around. On December 15th The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson celebrated its one thousandth episode by letting the uber-emo Dracula take the stage for a song. Mr. Alucard was there with the comedic actor/songwriter Jason Segel to perform “Dracula’s Lament,” their moody musical ballad that first appeared in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Watch the performance above and there’s more below. The backing band for the clip was Merge Records’ L.A. indie rockers The Broken West.

In other Segel news, Slash Film reported that Disney and the actor had officially agreed to make The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made, a dream project the actor wrote and will star in. Concrete details have not been announced, but Segel has said the film will involve Jim Henson’s Muppets battling an oil tycoon.

Also, here is one of the original scenes from Marshall per Segel’s Dracula musical:

Pugwash

“Thanks For Christmas” (Three Wise Men [aka XTC] cover) MP3

Dec 28, 2009

I hope all of our readers had a frosty Christmas this year! To celebrate that special time for friends, family, egg nog, reflection, and presents here’s a sparkling cover of Three Wise Men’s “Thanks For Christmas.” Three Wise Men is the alias of the former Swindon new wave group, XTC. Andy Partridge’s promising musical protege Thomas Walsh (aka Pugwash) keeps the bright melodies alive with this spot-on rendition of the underappreciated Christmas classic. Also, check out the group’s other holiday single, “Tinsel and Marzipan.”

The Irish singer-songwriter recorded his version at home before he met Partridge. Expect to hear more XTC-like tunes from Walsh in the new year. At the moment you can hear his songs on Giddy, a compilation on Partridge’s Ape House imprint. In 2010 Pugwash will release their fourth LP, Eleven Modern Antiquities, in the U.S.

Findlay Brown

“Last Christmas” (WHAM! cover) MP3

Dec 23, 2009

Just in time for Christmas, London crooner Findlay Brown is giving away a seasonal tune for free. It’s his cover of WHAM!‘s perennial classic “Last Christmas.” Download it here. Also, check out our interview with Mr. Brown from earlier this year. He’s quite the gentleman. The singer/songwriter’s sophomore LP, Love Will Find You, is due out in America on Verve Records on January 12th.

A track and field meet turns into a nasty grudge match in this new music video from the new wave Brooklyn band The Drums. “I Felt Stupid” is on the blog buzz quartet’s Summertime! EP. The clip was directed by Chris Moukarbel and Valerie Veatch. Go here for upcoming concert dates for the blog buzz group. (Via P4kTV.)

Field Music: “That That Do Nothing” Video

Field Music‘s angular indie-pop single “Them That Do Nothing” gets the royal music video treatment above. Camera tricks, fisheye lenses, and dapper costumes all factor in the memorable little clip from the Sunderland trio. The song will be featured on Measure; David and Peter Brewis’, and Andrew Moore’s forthcoming double LP. That will be out February 16th on Memphis Industries/Revolver. Hear title track from (Measure) here. (Via Pitchfork.tv.)

Serena-Maneesh

“Ayisha Abyss” MP3

Dec 17, 2009

Oslo, Norway’s shoegaze/noise-pop atomizers Serena-Maneesh will be back to wreak havoc on your cochleas in 2010. Here’s the first destructive preview of their sophomore release, S-M 2: Abyss In B Minor, due out March 23rd via 4AD. The still epic six-minute edit of “Ayisha Abyss” will blow your mind in that Can-meets-black metal type way.

It definitely makes sense that SM’s long-awaited follow-up to 2005’s Serena-Maneesh was recorded in a cave on the outskirts of Oslo. This perfectionist rock rips. “Studio environments often get on my nerves,” Emile Nikolaisen explains, “and I love the underworld, you can silently head down there and do as you please, leave the world behind. So we found this huge cave with stone walls, it looked like a refugee hideout from World War II, with a huge, undiscovered treasure of sound.”

Make sure to stick around after the dust settles on “Ayisha Abyss.” The band’s noisy dark cloud opens up into a beautiful and ghostly melody. Also, check out this live performance of the My Bloody Valentine-like “Reprobate!” on Norwegian TV. Both songs will be featured on S-M 2. (Via MBV.)

S-M 2: Abyss In B Minor:

01 Ayisha Abyss
02 I Just Want To See Your Face
03 Reprobate!
04 Melody For Jaana
05 Blow Yr Brains In the Mourning Rain
06 Honeyjinx
07 D.I.W.S.W.T.T.D.
08 Magdalena (Symphony #8)

The best hip-hop LP of the year (sorry Jay-Z and Mos Def) is hands-down Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II. Well, the Chef keeps the stew going with two new videos this week. The first is for the interstitial Cuban Linx track, “Pyrex Vision.” There’s plenty of frosty times shown in the clip but not of the holiday variety. The NSFW video (lots of those floating around in ‘09) consists entirely of naked and semi-naked ladies cooking crack. Rae doesn’t appear, but I’m sure he was on set the day the crew was filming. Watch it above, via Onsmash.

The second clip is the Rae’s live performance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon last night. They busted out a slightly altered version of “Catalina” with the always amazing house band The Roots backing them up. The Roots’ Black Thought isn’t the best vocalist, but he ably fills in for Lyfe Jennings’ segment of the chorus, and even inserts his own new verse at the end. ‘Tis the season for cocaine rap. Peep it above, via Sound of the City.

El Perro Del Mar

“Change of Heart (Rakamonie Remix)” MP3

Dec 16, 2009

Listen to this lithe remix of the El Perro Del Mar‘s track “Change of Heart,” from latest full-length, Love Is Not Pop. Sarah Assbring’s melancholic single was recently given a house re-rub by fellow Swedish poptress Robyn. This is Robyn’s first remix ever for another artist. In releated news, El Perro Del Mar is touring with Taken By Trees, aka former Concretes singer Victoria Bergsman. See the February and March North American dates here. The Swedish Grammis-nominated Love Is Not Pop is out now on Licking Fingers. (Via P4k.)