Bedouin Soundclash, The Lions, Rootbeer @ The Roxy, 7/29

I just walked into my house to silence. The dogs barked. I thought back to the show I'd just come from at The Roxy that featured two opening bands that showed up the feature like no other. I haven't been that much more impressed by openers since I saw P.O.S. and RX Bandits murder Gym Class Heroes a few years back.

The show started with two guys and a drummer rapping over some tracks littered with technical difficulties. But the energy they brought was absolutely amazing - from putting your fingers up, to putting your fists up, to your guns, to your deuces, the crowd was involved and lovin' it. Rootbeer sounded somewhat like a mix between The Beastie Boys and the Minneapolis native, Mac Lethal. For real, they definitely deserved riding in their pink limousine with white rims...

The second opener, The Lions, followed up with an 11-piece band that screamed, "We're baked. And we play reggae. And we love doing what we do." They were fun, soulful, and put an awesome touch to basic reggae beats and harmonies. Featuring three lead singers, an MC, a bassist, two guitarists, a keyboardist, drummer, a bongo player, and a set of brass, The Lions were an awesome band to watch. The guitarist was full of energy, and the overall performance was awesome.

Bedouin Soundclash, the headliner, came on with fantastic drum beats and a truly great bassist. But the lead singer had a horrible aura of pretentiousness that reminded me of a mix between Bono and the guy from Saves The Day. With a saxophonist and trumpet player, Bedouin had a great brass feel and a cool, refreshing sound. But at times the music felt almost like pop-punk vocals done over power-elevator music. Watching the lead singer was boring. And the three or four awesome songs weren't enough to keep the set going.

Overall, the show was a great night. I was so excited after The Lions that I even texted a friend about how great the two openers were. I came with low expectations, and left with a reminder, "You're not always going to recognize the names of good bands - no matter how much you try." These guys were good. And tonight was great.

Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse Present: Dark Night of the Soul

Think mellow. Add in some Tom Waits at times. Some Flaming Lips. A little Beatles. And a very little Black Keys-y soul-blues-rock, and you've got something close to Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse's Dark Night of The Soul. Danger Mouse (The Grey Album, The Black Keys' Attack & Release, Gorillaz' Demon Days, Beck's Modern Guilt) collaborated with Sparklehorse (Mark Linkous) to create a rather good album with an awesome flow that leaves you in a very interesting place. The simplicity and fantastic use of vocals creates a flow that pulls you up. Not quite forward - just up. It creates a weird sense of being at a strange yet comfortable height. And as the album finishes and drops you back off where you started, you can't help but feel a sense of deja vu.

Featuring Jason Lytle (of Grandaddy), Wayne Coyne (of The Flaming Lips), James Mercer (of The Shins), and multiple additional awesome artists, Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse take you on a ride. Not a journey, but a cool ride that's definitely worth having.

Also, due to legal issues you can listen to the entire album on NPR's website here.

Synecdoche, New York

Recently, I made myself a giant bowl of popcorn. To accompany my popcorn, Synecdoche, New York was put on. Written and directed by Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), I was soon taken on an unexpected mental journey. The film created an amazing sense of life. The fullness of a single life in a universe of time.

The film drew me in and had me following Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman) on his blurred journey between reality and dream-state on his effort to create something vast, pure, and authentic. As my housemate proceeded to pass out halfway through the incredibly long movie, I couldn't leave. I couldn't let go of his character and his suffering. And his obsessions with life truths.

I didn't necessarily enjoy the movie, I just love how it made me think. It was truly a mental journey. And its pieces came together in a way that made me forget I ever had popcorn in my lap.

California Fast Food

Spending the summer in Los Angeles, I've noticed a wide array of new signs, arches, and bumper stickers. Besides the fact that I laugh to myself constantly at the plethora of advertisements for "The Best Fish Tacos", 50-foot signs for fast food places I've never heard of have sparked my curiosity. Del Taco, Carl's Jr., In-N-Out, Fatburger, Randy's Donuts - All new places for me to try. Drunk.

Here are my reviews of the above West Coast (or LA) based fast food restauraunts in the form of made up awards:

Best Fries:

Carl's Jr. Flat, crispy, tasty. Mmm. Apparently Carl's Jr. is also Hardee's elsewhere, which I had growing up (bangin' biscuits), but I treated this as a new fast food place. It's everywhere.

Best Taco:

Del Taco. Pulling into the drive-thru in a daze, I ordered a Big Fat Chicken Taco. Which was topped with Del Scorcho sauce. And it was amazing. On almost a pita/flat bread, the thing was gone in a blur, much like the rest of the night.

Best Burger:

Alrighty. This was tricky. Choosing between Fatburger and In-N-Out is a difficult choice. Especially knowing that the one that loses ends up not receiving a prestigeous JK award. But, after much internal debate (and taking into account which one made me feel sicker the next half hour), I've decided to award In-N-Out with the best burger. It's the sauce, man. And the bun. And the burger. With toppings. Geesh, it's just so good. It's like crack. And will probably kill you just as fast. And they have a freakin' secret menu. Dope.

Best Jelly Donut:

Randy's Donuts. Oh my. I waited in line with a headache, looked up at this giant donut, and said, "Randy, you've got balls." And, being a fan of some sufganiot, I got one of the most delicious Jelly donuts I've ever had in my life. Almost like a cream puff of sorts. I don't know if Randy spurts Jelly, but it was that good. Perfect way to start the day.


Runner Up:

Alright. Since Fatburger lost to In-N-Out, I decided to give it a lame 'runner up' award that would really just stigmatize Fatburger with 2nd place for the rest of its existence. It was really good. An awesome burger. It just didn't cut it. It couldn't beat out the legend. It's sauce just wasn't that special. Bummer, man.

Mo Willems - Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus!

Ok. So apparently I'm a predator for writing about childrens books using the tone that I do (thanks, Mom), but I had to write about this great little book. Mo Willems (past writer of Sesame Street) created a great little ditty in 2003 that I've loved since I first read it while I was writing my own childrens book (it turned out horribly). The story throws the reader (presumably a child) into a first-person drama as the pigeon gets angry that you won't let him drive the bus. Hilarity ensues, and the pigeon gradually blows up to the point that he reminds me of my 7th grade choir teacher banging on the piano with tears in his eyes trying to get us to stop making fart sounds during the rests. Alas, brilliance.

E-603 - Torn Up

Ever imaged if Fred Flinstone and Tommy Pickles made music together? Well, I have. And this isn't it. But this is hella cool anyways. I've always enjoyed mash-up mixes. Some have sucked, and most only have a cool song or two. But E-603's (a.k.a. Ethan Ward) album, Torn Up, rivals Girl Talk's Feed The Animals. The transitions are seamless, the beats are perfect, and there are some great samples (I mean, anything that uses Toto is dank). But Vampire Weekend also makes an appearance, along with Ratatat, Modest Mouse, MGMT, Passion Pit, and Outkast (by far the best song ever written about Rosa Parks).

But it's a mash-up album. And, for some reason, this one feels long at times. Be sure to listen to the track, "Hey Shorty". You'll understand what I mean. But the CD is good. It's done well, and It's definitely worth downloading for free. Grab it here.

The Antlers - Hospice

Okay. If I tell you the concept of this awesome, awesome album, you may end up missing the point that, Jesus, this album is fantastic. Definitely one of my top 5 of the year. And it's by a band that, unless you've followed my obsessed-laced Facebook statuses or Twitter updates, you probably have never heard of. The Antlers, headed by Peter Silberman, have released a lovely tragedy entitled Hospice. At times depressing, at times fleeting, at times surreal, at times a weird mix of The Arcade Fire meets Radiohead. But always an aura of completion, beauty, and humanity. My favorite tracks, "Kettering", "Bears", and "Two" have been sent to every friend I've ever talked music with. The vocals are haunting, the journey is necessary, the concept, I'm keeping to myself. Do yourself a favor. Keep an eye out for these guys.

And be sure to hit up their myspace, or last.fm for free downloads. Or follow them on Twitter.

Elaborate...

Cartoons, Baboons, and Lullaboons. It's dedicated to the world of music, sarcasm, blaring racism, childrens literature, Jonathan Kriner obsessions, baseball, and graphic T-s.

But why? Why now? Why a selfish little thing called a blog? And what the fuck's a Lullaboon?