It's the Supersound

Taking mushrooms makes you rock on a chair for 4 hours. Or so it did for one of my friends while we were in Amsterdam last year. He did not move from that chair the entire time. Today he sends an e-mail to the group of us that were on the trip with a link to German DJ, Paul Kalkbrenner’s song, “Sky and Sand,” saying how he remembers listening to the song while rocking on that chair and that it’s still stuck in his head. Mushroom damage?

“Sky and Sand” was featured in Berlin Calling, a 2008 German film about a DJ, played by Kalkbrenner himself, that is about to make it big, but after taking a bad ecstasy pill, the DJ goes into a state of psychosis and enters a psychiatric institution, derailing his career (fitting to the mushroom story above). It’s a tragicomedy, with music by Kalkbrenner and his brother, Fritz, and it’s a good film.

“Sky and Sand” is on the softer side of house songs,  with a warm feel and introspective, earnest words. For some reason I think the way I feel in life right now sounds like this song. It’s always interesting when that can match up.

Paul Kalkbrenner – Sky and Sand

Just got back from seeing the new movie Drive featuring Ryan Gosling. I was unsure because the trailer wanted to make it look like an action-packed Hollywood heist movie, but it’s very introspective for a majority of the film, though parts are very violent. It reminded me of one of my favorite French movies, Le Samouraï. It had an awesome supporting cast too, including Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston and more. The music in the movie is kind’ve like another supporting actor. It has some songs from the Italians Do It Better crew, but I was really in love with this song from College featuring Electric Youth. Listen below.

It’s available now on a limited 7″ backed with the instrumental. Out now on Valerie Records. Drive is out now.

Much earlier this year, we geeked out over the trailer for the upcoming Banksy documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop. Now, with a full 5 minutes of the beginning of this months release, we have every right and rad reason to keep on grinning.

While the project was being touted as a feature film by street artist Banksy, the film actually has no credited director. The film starts out as a documentary by a video camera-obsessed Frenchman named Thierry Guetta. With a love for street art, and connections into the scene, Thierry sets out to capture the most elusive street artist…Banksy.

Naturally, the film becomes something much different, and far more elaborate. Screenings in NYC begin on April 16 at the Sunshine Theater and Lincoln Plaza.

Watch the first 5 minutes below. 

mp3: Gift of Gab – Way of the Light

Ok, ok…we’ll admit that we’re slightly more than super amped to see the new biopic surrounding the rise of The Runaways, the iconic 70′s gal rockers, led by the inimitables Joan Jett and Cherie Currie. We’ve strayed from reading any pre-opening reviews, cause frankly, we don’t care what anyone has to say…we’ll judge for ourselves. How punk rock of us!

The Runaways follows Jett and Currie as they rise from rebellious L.A. street kids to rock stars of the now legendary group that paved the way for future generations of girl bands. They fall under the guiding hand of rock impresario Kim Fowley, who turns the group into an outrageous success and a family of misfits. Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning lead the cast of talents in the flick.

The movie opens with a limited release next Friday, March 19, and nationwide on April 9; however, if you simply can’t wait for all the riotous radness to explode, either watch the trailer here, OR enter for a chance to win a severely massive prize pack. We’re giving away one of these beastly bundles and we’re also a little bummed we can’t win this.

Seriously, I’d want to get all in on this sweet prize action…but we’re giving out the goods instead. Details on how to enter below what all you lucky son-of-a-gun will be getting.

 

Prize contents include:

The Runaways tshirt

official poster from the film

a copy of Neon Angel (Cherie Currie’s story)

a copy of the upcoming Best of Joan Jett release

official film soundtrack (tracks from The Runaways, The Stooges and Sex Pistols, etc)

Joan Jett’s upcoming photobook with Todd Oldham

  

First, start by following me on twitter, even though you probably already are, cause you know it’s the right thing to do. Secondly, copy and paste the below tweet and send it to me.

yo @sheenabeaston, you drive me wild, but it would be super rock and roll if you tossed me a @RunawaysFilm prize pack

 

Do as above and you’re entered to win! Winners will be notified via Direct Message. Contest is open until Wednesday, March 17 at 5pm, so get your tweets lined up and go go go!

mp3: The Runaways – Queens Of Noise

We’re still riding a high thanks to the pleasantly warm weather here in NYC. Rad shows are coming to town more frequently and SXSW is but a week away, for all you Austin-bound beasts. Yep Spring is definitely in the air.

We’re stoked, I’m sure you’re psyched…hell, let’s get some goodies real quick so we can get on to the rest of today’s radness. 

RIP Corey Him.

Want to see the official trailer for TRON: Legacy, with the Daft Punk score? Check it out here, and if you go to the theater this week, take your 3D specs and hope for a widescreen wow. Saw it last night in the cineplex, and holy yeah!  

Earlier this week we went nuts for Kavinsky‘s new jam, Nightcall. Our pall MMMatthias took it upon himself to crank out a killer fix of the track, and hey, we’re dishing it out to you for free down below.

Tickets for Foals‘ UK tour are getting gobbled up right quick, so check out the full list of stops then get your in here.

mp3: Kavinsky (featuring Lovefoxxx) – Nightcall (MMMatthias Remix)

After last year's teribbly brilliant release, Fantasies, Metric have offered to lend a hand to the upcoming film, Scott Pilgrim vs The World...in the form of a track on the soundtrack, as well as grabbing the reins behind one of the fictional bands in the film. It's all a little more than confusing, so I'll do my best to explain below.

Edgar Wright's upcoming adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's comic series, Scott Pilgrim, is due out on August 13. The music-centric underdog superhero tale is helmed by Michael Cera, with a handful of additional indie-loving actors in tow. (ex: Jason Schwarztman, Anna Kendrick and Kieran Culkin). The plot centers around Pilgrim and the girl of his dreams, whom he can only be with by defeating evil ex-boyfriends. On top of that, each character has their own band. Whew!

Which bring us to Metric. Their song, Black Sheep, is basically performed in character during the movie. See, the Canadian outfit will be handling all the music for Scott Pilgrim's fictional band The Clash at Demonhead, while their semi-sister band Broken Social Scene will be "playing" Crash and the Boys. The music for Scott Pilgrim's own band Sex Bob-omb will be provided by folk-honey, Beck.

Fans of Metric may recognize the previously-unreleased track, as the band has performed it during their live sets a handful of times over the past few years. Video here.

mp3: Metric - Black Sheep 

A lot has been made of the utterly disastrous soundtrack for the upcoming Burton-feature film, Alice in Wonderland. One cut you simply cannot lump with the rest, however, is the sensational cover of White Rabbit (fitting), that the Vermont-bred Grace Potter and the Nocturnals offer up on the disc.

At their Burlington Waterfront Show in 2009, GPatN performed a live rendition of the song. Their cover really starts to get gritty around the 1:47 mark, and again at the 2:02 spot when a gnarly guitar riff makes a tidy home behind Potter's huskily-lovely vocals. The recorded version of the song is featured on the aforementioned soundtrack.

Watch the clip now.

mp3: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane Cover)